Sunday, August 16, 2020

Restart Wk.2- The Church of Simona

[A brief look-in at what was purportedly today's sermon at the Church of Simona, delivered from the pulpit of the traveling shrine of Hagia Simona. This particular weekend it was in Prague.]



"Simona is great. Simona is good. And we thank Her for our spiritual nourishment. Amen.




These have been a heady few years for we members of the Church of Simona. Faith, principle and, ultimately, spiritual relevance have led to something akin to an ongoing state of bliss for all disciples. The glorious seven year cycle that was completed at the close of 2019 brought an abundance of blissful, sacred moments that have proven to be transcendent for us all.

As we arrive clad in blue, red and gold to celebrate on this most recent day of reckoning, we reflect on past pilgrimages to Paris and London that brought such joy and allowed so many moments of reflection, and we again revel in the notion that where there was once weakness and doubt can also grow strength and confidence. Once nurtured and a light shone upon it, such characteristics grow roots that are not easily abandoned.

But we shall never, nor should we ever, forgot those mournful treks to the Cliffs to lament what was once lost, for while they made it possible to dream, the memory of their view now also make it impossible to take for granted the bounty that we have come to enjoy.

Our Savior has shed blood, not only for Herself but for us, as well. While we were rewarded for our faith in Her, as was She for Her efforts to discover it within Herself and hold it tightly thereafter.

Never forget the peril of the Cliffs, nor the inspiration of leaving them behind.

While we gather together again after a long interval of divine chastity, in the shadow of the formal beginning of a new ceremonial cycle, we have once again been granted access to the hallowed grounds of hope, honor and prosperity. Whatever quest, for as yet undetermined goals and length, may commence from this point, we shall all pledge communion to a common cause. As we bless our Savior for the work She is about to undertake, I ask that you all stand and join together in our sacred act of solemn consecration.

(motion for all to stand, then voices as one)

'Si-mo-na.'

Again. To rise outside the walls, and past the trees!

'Si-mo-na!'

Once more. Over the moun-tains!

'Si-mo-na!'

And to all points beyond!

'SI-MO-NA!'

Thank you. You say sit.

(all sit)

All hail Saint Simona of Constanta. Amen.

'Amen.' "





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*Restart WEEK 2 CHAMPIONS*
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC (Int'l/Clay Court Outdoor)
S: Simona Halep/ROU def. Elise Mertens/BEL 6-2/7-5
D: Lucie Hradecka/Kristyna Pliskova (CZE/CZE) def. Monica Niculescu/Raluca Olaru (ROU/ROU) 6-2/6-2
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY USA (Int'l/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Jennifer Brady/USA def. Jil Teichmann/SUI 6-3/6-4
D: Hayley Carter/Luisa Stefani (USA/BRA) def. Marie Bouzkova/Jil Teichmann (CZE/SUI) 6-1/7-5

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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jennifer Brady/USA
...the likes of Andreescu, Gauff and Rybakina aside, has any player improved more over the course of (about) the past two seasons as Brady? She's surely on the short list, and she may have reached her full stride in Lexington.

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2020 Top Seed Open Champion ?? @jenny_brady7 #TSOpen

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The 25-year old Bannerette dominated the event that was highlighted by the appearance of Serena Williams, got the most attention when the Williams sisters met for the 31st time, and was likely expected by most to be claimed by Coco Gauff once the "big names" dropped off. But Brady, who fine-tuned her game with nineteen (!!) exhibition matches during the shutdown, was the player who didn't lose a set all week, averaged just five games lost in her five matches and dropped serve just three times overall in her string of victories over Heather Watson, Magda Linette, Marie Bouzkova, the aforementioned Gauff and Jil Teichmann in the final, the first of Brady's career on the tour level. Her win isn't only her maiden in WTA competition, it's Brady's first singles crown of any kind (she fell in a 125 Series final last year) since 2016.

After ending 2018 at #116, and last year at #56, Brady will climb nine spots to a new career high of #40 this week.
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RISERS: Elise Mertens/BEL and Jil Teichmann/SUI
...Mertens' Restart didn't begin well in Palermo, as she lost her opening match 4 & 1 to Aliaksandra Sasnovich. But the Waffle rebounded in Prague, reaching her first final since winning Doha in February of last year. She posted wins over two Italians who outperformed her last week -- Jasmine Paolini (Mertens' would-have-been 2nd Rd. opponent *last* week) and Camila Giorgi -- as well as Genie Bouchard and Kristyna Pliskova before eventually falling to Simona Halep in the championship match.

The former world #12 will still be on the outside looking in at the Top 20, but will rise slightly to #22.



In Lexington, Teichman became the third player in sixteen 2020 events to reach the singles and doubles final of the same tournament. In singles, the Swiss got victories over Anna Kalinskaya, Yulia Putintseva, CiCi Rogers and Shelby Rogers to reach her third career tour final (and first in singles on hard court since 2014, as her last twelve ITF/WTA finals all came on clay), where she was outplayed (as was everyone else in Kentucky) by Brady.



In Teichmann's first career WTA doubles final (partnering Marie Bouzkova), she lost out to Hayley Carter & Luisa Stefani.
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SURPRISES: Mayar Sherif/EGY and Irina-Camelia Begu/ROU
...in making her way through Prague qualifying, via a comeback from 6-4/3-1 down vs. Leonie Küng in the final round, Sherif entered her first tour-level MD and became the first Egyptian to do so since 1999 (and the just the second overall). At that time, Marwa Elwany was in the MD via a WC into the inaugural (and only) WTA event held in Cairo, so Sherif is the first to *win* her way in. Elwany failed to win a game in the match. In the 1st Round, Sherif led Laura Siegemund 6-4/0-4 before play was stopped for the day, and then didn't fair well when the match was resumed, dropping eight of the next nine games.

In 2019, the former Fresno State and Pepperdine NCAA star, the 23-year old became the first Egyptian to reach the WTA Top 200 as she won 26 straight matches at one point en route to claiming six ITF crowns (one w/ a 6-1/6-0 win in the final over Küng). Sherif will inch up two spots to #170 in the new rankings, setting a new career high.



Begu reached the Prague semis after a very long week. A win over Anastasija Sevastova was followed up by another (a WTA season second-longest at 3:28, over two days) against lucky loser Küng in which the Swiss held three MP. Another two-day win over Sara Sorribes-Tormo (2:30+) followed, and then Begu had to take the court again a few hours later against Simona Halep. Begu twice served for the 1st set, but eventually tired (she was also playing with blisters on her hand from too much racket play) and fell in straights. While Begu didn't reach her first WTA final since 2017 (she *did* win the Indian Wells 125 just before the shutdown in the first week March, though), this was her fist SF since April '18 in Istanbul. She'll rise from #82 to #70.
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VETERANS: Simona Halep/ROU and Lucie Hradecka/Kristina Pliskova, CZE/CZE
...after six months off following both her Dubai foot injury and the eventual COVID-19 tour shutdown since early March, Halep showed her rust in Prague. She had to battle through the cobwebs in her first two matches, going three sets against both Polona Hercog (taking 7 MP to finally put away the Slovenian) and Barbora Krejcikova (she was down an early break in the final set) before cruising through Magdalena Frech, and then fighting against her own serve at times to defeat a tired Irina-Camelia Begu (SF) and then Elise Mertens in the final to claim her 21st career tour singles title.

The title runs Halep's winning streak to nine matches, the longest on tour in '20. She's gone 14-1 since the start of the Australian Open (w/ the only loss the AO semi defeat by, at least a *then*-resurgent Muguruza... who knows at the moment?), and is 15-2 overall in this two-chapter season.


Halep in her Church of Simona vestments?



And at a baptismal ceremony...




In the Prague doubles, Hradecka & Pliskova teamed to win their first title as a pair in their debut event (Hradecka is scheduled to play w/ Andreja Klepac at the U.S. Open, where Pliskova will play only singles). The duo outlasted Palermo champs Rus/Zidansek in a 10-4 match TB in the semis, then defeated Monica Niculescu & Raluca Olaru 2 & 2 in the final. It's the 24th career title for Hradecka, 35, and the fifth for Pliskova, 28.



Pliskova also put on a run in singles, defeating teenage Maiden Linda Fruhvirtova (15) in her tour debut, as well as #2-seed Petra Martic and Ana Bogdan (ret. 1st set) to reach her second 2020 semi (w/ Shenzhen).

Hradecka/Pliskova are the first all-Czech duo to win Prague since it was elevated to an International level event in 2015, though Katerina Siniakova (2015), Andrea Hlavackova (2016) and Kveta Peschke (2017-18) have been on title-winning teams during the stretch. In 2013, when the tournament was on the ITF circuit, Renata Voracova & Barbora Strycova were crowned champions.
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COMEBACKS: Genie Bouchard/CAN and CiCi Bellis/USA
...perhaps Bouchard's WTT participation put her in a good position for the Restart, or maybe the time away made her focus on the fact that she's still supposed to be a *tennis pro* aside from all her other activities. Either way, the #330-ranked wild card, who ended '19 on a 13-match WTA losing streak (a slump only "ended" by two wins in a WTA 125 in November), continued on the resurgent track established when she began '20 with a 4-3 mark before the shutdown . The Canadian came to Prague and reached the QF, her second (w/ Auckland) such result of the overall season. Bouchard posted a win over #40 Veronika Kudermetova that was her highest ranked victory since upsetting #24 Carla Suarez-Navarro in October '18, and only her second over a Top 40 player since August 2017. Better yet, she followed up her win with another (in three sets) over Tamara Zidansek, then took eventual finalist Elise Mertens to a decider in a 4-6/6-1/6-4 loss. She'll jump 59 spots to #273.



Four surgeries on her wrist, arm and elbow put Bellis' career in jeopardy in 2018-19, as she missed eighteen months of action. She returned last November, and sparked (as he did pre-injury) on the big stage with an upset of #22-seed Karolina Muchova in the Australian Open in January, after having already also posted a good win over Marie Bouzkova in Hobart.

This week in Lexington, the 21-year old (#302, in the MD using her protected ranking) notched victories over fellow Bannerettes Francesca Di Lorenzo and Jessica Pegula to reach her first WTA QF since Doha on February '18 (where she'd posted three Top 25 wins over Kasatkina, Keys and and Ka.Pliskova). Bellis fell to Jil Teichmann, but will be at #250 on Monday. She'll be in the U.S. Open MD as a wild card.

In 2014, Bellis made her slam debut as a WC at the Open, upsetting #12-seeded Dominika Cibulkova in the 1st Round.

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??????

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FRESH FACE: Coco Gauff/USA
...Gauff's Lexington outing included a win over Caroline Dolehide, her third career Top 15 victory in the 2nd Round against #11 Aryna Sabalenka (after previous wins over #8 Bertens and #4 Osaka in 2019 and '20, respectively) and Ons Jabeur, but she was bested by Jennifer Brady in the SF. The 16-year old will climb five spots in the rankings, coming in at a new career high of #48.

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DOWN: Sloane Stephens/USA
...Stephens got match play in West Virginia as her Chicago Smash team reached the WTT final, but it did her no good in Lexington as she officially opened her Restart slate with a 3 & 3 1st Round lost to 17-year old Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez. The defeat drops the '17 U.S. Open champ to 1-6 in 2020, just weeks before she's set to become one of just six former women's (+3 men's) champions (with Bianca Andreescu and Svetlana Kuznetsova the latest to be announced no-shows this past week) to show up at Flushing Meadows to contest what will be the most unique major ever.
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JUNIOR STAR: Alexandra Yepifanova/USA
...at the $10K Battle of Boca UTR event, 17-year old Bannerette Yepifanova, the #2 seed and last year's U.S. Open girls runner-up, took the title with a 6-4/6-1 win over Argentina's Maria Carlé, 20.

In the spring, Yepifanova committed to join the powerhouse Stanford women's tennis program.


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DOUBLES: Hayley Carter/Luisa Stefani, USA/BRA
...the NCAA-trained duo (Carter at North Carolina, Stefani at Pepperdine) picked up their second tour title in their third final appearance since September, winning Lexington without dropping a set all week. The biggest "name" win came over Mattek-Sands/Stephens in the QF, but the "most important" for the #4 seeds was the 6-1/7-5 win over Bouzkova/Teichmann in the final. *That* one got a bit dicey late after Carter/Stefani saw their 6-1/5-1 lead drift away and the set knotted at 5-5, then game #12 of the 2nd set came down to a no-ad game point at 40/40 that would either end the match or force a deciding super tie-break. Teichmann's netted return gave the title to Carter/Stefani.



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WHEELCHAIR: ---

3...2...1...


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Apparently, 2020 strikes again...




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1. Prague 1st Rd. - Simona Halep def. Polona Hercog 6-1/1-6/7-6(3)
Prague 2nd Rd. - Simona Halep def. Barbora Krejcikova 3-6/7-5/6-2
...after six months "off", it's hard to work out the kinks. In her opening match in Prague, Halep failed to convert three MP at 5-3 and love/40 up in the deciding set, then did the same with three more opportunities at 6-5. Finally, MP #7 proved to be the charm.

Halep went three again against Krejcikova, coming back from 0-2 down in the 3rd.



Prague SF - Simona Halep def. Irina-Camelia Begu 7-6(2)/6-3
...fighting her serve at times (8 DF, including 3 in one game), Halep fell behind love/40 on three different occasions in the 1st, and saw Begu serve for the set at 5-4 and 6-5. But the (other) Romanian, tired after a very busy week that left her little time to recover (Begu twice played a single match stretched over two days, one the WTA 2020 season's longest at 3:28 and another two and a half hours in length) and with blisters her hand, was too worn down to do the nearly impossible -- wear down her indefatigable two-time slam winning countrywoman.


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2. Prague Final - Simona Halep def. Elise Mertens
...6-2/7-5. Again, Halep had close to half a dozen DF and nearly let the 2nd set slip away, but her ninth consecutive win is the most on tour in 2020.



This was Mertens' first final in a year and a half, since she won Doha over... Halep.

Halep is set to make her U.S. Open participation decision public on Monday. I could be wrong, but her choosing to stay in Europe and put her focus on Roland Garros would be about as surprising as Trump calling any strong woman "nasty" and "mean."
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3. Lexington Final - Jennifer Brady def. Jil Teichmann
...6-3/6-4. Brady is the 18th first-time WTA champ from the U.S. since Serena Williams won her maiden tour title at the Paris Indoors in 1999.

Nine other Bannerettes won their first titles during the 16-year stretch from 1999-2014, while Brady is the ninth new U.S. champ in the last five years (and the fifth in 2019-20).
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4. Lexington 2nd Rd. - Coco Gauff def. Aryna Sabalenka
...7-6(4)/4-6/6-4. Gauff picks up her third-biggest career victory comes as Coco returns from a spring/summer of political/social/cultural awareness, just as Sabalenka's Belarus is currently experiencing its own period of protest/strikes after a disputed election maintained the nation's dictatorship. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko now says that Russian president Vladimir Putin has agreed to help "ensure the security" of the nation.



Hmmm... I wonder if Trump will seize the opportunity to be on the right side of history and support the Belarusian people over the dictators looking to crush their will and freedom?

via GIPHY

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5. Prague 1st Rd. - Camila Giorgi def. Marta Kostyuk
...4-6/6-2/7-6(4). Kostyuk led 3-0 in the 3rd over the Palermo semifinalist, who then followed up her comeback win with a 2 & 4 loss to Elise Mertens. Shocking, I know.
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6. Prague 1st Rd. - Genie Bouchard def. Veronika Kudermetova
...6-0/6-3. The victory over #40 Kudermetova en route to her good Prague QF result is #330 Bouchard's best win in almost two years, when she knocked off #24 Suarez-Navarro in Luxembourg in October '18.

Of course, the stories that float to the top of a current Google search mostly revolve around how the Canadian is facing off with "the haters," has stopped posting bikini photos on Instagram and the "fallout" over her romance with that random bet-winning fan.
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7. Prague 2nd Rd. - Irina-Camelia Begu def. Leonie Küng
...6-7(3)/7-5/7-6(7). The match was suspended for the day after the Swiss took the 1st set TB, then ultimately moved to near the top of the season's longest match list (2nd w/ 3:28) after Küng served for the match at 5-4 in 2nd, holding three MP, before then losing seven of eight games. She battled into, but lost, a deciding TB.
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8. Lexington 1st Rd. - Leylah Annie Fernandez def. Sloane Stephens
...6-3/6-3. A big win for LAF, but not nearly as big in 2020 as it would have been in, say late 2017 or '18.


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9. Lexington Q1 - Francesca Di Lorenzo def. Claire Liu
...6-3/5-7/7-6(5). Last weekend, Di Lorenzo led 5-3 in the 3rd and held two MP, only to see Liu lead 6-5 and hold a MP of her own. Di Lorenzo won, but lost a round later to Olga Govortsova, who moved into the U.S. Open MD when '19 champ Bianca Andreescu pulled out on Friday.

Earlier, Di Lorenzo had moved into the Open MD from the list of wild cards when Kiki Bertens withdrew. Later in the week, Liu moved *onto* the Open WC list when Fiona Ferro pulled out (w/ the Pastry being replaced in the MD by former WC Caroline Dolehide).

Here's the link to the regularly updated list of players withdrawing, as well as joining the MD and WC lists.
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10. Lexington 1st Rd. - Marie Bouzkova def. Johanna Konta
...6-4/6-4. Bouzkova (and her signature BIG water bottle) moved on, while Konta continued to have one the game's most interesting (but often not in a good way) series of career moments...



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HM- UTR Sydney Final - Destanee Aiava def. Alexandra Bozovic 7-6(6),5-7 [11-9]
UTR Brisbane Final - Lizette Cabrera def. Naiktha Bains 7-5/5-7 [10-1]
...with most of the Aussies staying put Down Under, the UTR pro events continued. Aiava won her third title of the series, while Cabrera picked up her second.


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Sadly Venus lost a very close match against Serena yesterday, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6?? Venus played a really good match and looked healthy which is the main thing heading forward. Her ground strokes were very impressive, and for the most part Venus dominated the longer rallies. Her return and movement also looked good, especially when you consider the speed of the balls coming from across the net. The serve was up and down, with Venus serving 11 double faults but also getting herself out of tight situations with aces and huge body serves. Credit to Serena however, who returned amazingly in the final set. Venus could’ve done more with a few short balls, and there were a few dodgy overrules from the umpire in the final game, but ultimately Serena earned the win. Overall it was a good test for both players, and a great experience for Venus as she and her team look forward to Cincinnati and the US Open????

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1. Lexington 2nd Rd. - Serena Williams def. Venus Williams
...3-6/6-3/6-4. Sister match-up XXXI, the first 2nd Round meeting between the two since 1998. Serena improved her record in the head-to-head to 19-12, but this time she became a rare Williams to defeat the other after dropping the opening set, as Serena's victory marked just the fifth time it's happened. Venus came back from 3-1 down in the 1st to take the early match lead, while Serena recovered from a 4-2 deficit in the 3rd.


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2. Lexington QF - Shelby Rogers def. Serena Williams
...1-6/6-4/7-6(5). After winning the 1st set in just twenty-six minutes, Williams was bested by her countrywoman, who became Serena's first conqueror ranked outside the Top 100 in eight years (Virginie Razzano in her huge RG upset in '12). It was the first Top 10 win for Rogers in three years.



Meanwhile, Williams' return saw her go three sets against Bernarda Pera, Venus *and* Rogers. She'll surely be the overwhelming favorite in a thinned field at the U.S. Open. But as I said at the start of '20, if Serena doesn't win #24 by the end of this season one has to wonder if she *ever* will. New York still seems a perfect fit for the feat, but if she fails to put away the title with so many top players skipping out on the event... well, surely, the odds of her tying Margaret Court would go down quite significantly.

Hmmm, with Halep back in good (though not perfect) form, and likely skipping the Open (though she hasn't made it *official*) in favor of Roland Garros, where *she'll* probably be the favorite, is the Romanian more likely to win a major for a third straight season than Williams is to claim her first since 2017?
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3. Prague Q3 - Mayar Sherif def. Leonie Küng 4-6/6-4/6-3
Lexington 2nd Rd. - Ons Jabeur def. Olga Govortsova 3-6/6-2/6-4
...the same week that Sherif made Egyptian tennis history with her qualifying run in Prague, coming back from 6-4/3-1 down vs. Küng to reach her first tour-level MD, about-to-be-seeded-at-a-major Jabeur reached her third 2020 QF in her last four events (and she was a 3rd set TB vs. Halep in Dubai, in one of the top matches of the first part of the season, from it being four straight).


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4. Lexington 1st Rd. - Venus Williams def. Victoria Azarenka
...6-3/6-2. Vika *still* can't catch a break in hardly *any* draw. Even if she'd won here, rather than fall to 2-6 vs. Venus in their head-to-head, she'd have played Serena, against whom she's 4-18 (though many of the losses were very close when she was at her career peak).

This was Venus' first WTA win since September, ending a career-worst five-match losing streak.


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5. Prague 1st Rd. - Kristyna Pliskova def. Linda Fruhvirtova
...6-2/7-5. And so it begins, as 15-year old wild card Fruhvirtova makes her tour MD debut, appropriately in the Czech Rebublic against the junior half of nation's most famous tennis playing sister pair. Linda has her own sibling in the sport, 12-year old sister Brenda.


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HM- Prague Final - Lucie Hradecka/Kristyna Pliskova def. Monica Niculescu/Raluca Olaru
...6-2/6-2. Three of Pliskova's five tour WD titles came with her twin Karolina, but the last of those came in 2014.
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Happy weekend ??????? #finally#flying

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Let’s get lost...

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Dear fans, After many discussions with those closest to me, I have made the difficult decision not to return to New York this year. I have taken this step in order to focus on my match fitness and ensure that I return ready to play at my highest level. The US Open victory last year has been the high point of my career thus far and I will miss not being there. However, I realize that the unforeseen challenges, including the Covid pandemic, have compromised my ability to prepare and compete to the degree necessary to play at my highest level. I want to express my appreciation to the USTA and the WTA for all of their efforts in making the event happen. I look forward to joining my competitors back on court soon. B

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State Of Disaster declared and a week into stage 4 lockdown here in Melbourne!!! 250,000-450,000 people have lost or will lose their jobs here in Victoria just in the next few weeks alone and today was the deadliest day since Covid-19 started!!! These are the images of Melbourne these days.Scary and sad how empty the streets are,almost apocalyptic like scenes in the city. Tough times for Victorians and especially Melburnians as we enter a 6 week lockdown again.We have been in some kind of lockdown here in Melbourne since April and only had a 2 week ease of restrictions in June. It’s been tough for so many people on so many levels.People have lost their jobs and their businesses.So many are struggling with mental health issues and families losing their loved ones. To all my fellow Victorians and especially Melburnians,hang in there.We will get thru this together. Please do the right thing,stay at home and if you do go out please wear a mask.Not just for your own health but for the health of others as well,especially the vulnerable. I am saddened to see Melbourne like this but we will be back and we will recover just please do the right thing. Sending all my thoughts,prayers,love and positive vibes to everyone out there that is struggling right now. Other parts of the world are really struggling also so I am also sending you all lots of love,light and positive vibes as well. Hang in there everyone.There are better days ahead. We will come out of this on the other side stronger than ever. Love you all. Photo credit:AAP images ???????????????????? #melbourne #victoria #australia #melbournelockdown #lockdown #lockdownlife #stage4 #covid19 #covid_19 #coronavirus #staystrong #staypositive #stateofdisaster #emptystreets #lovemelbourne #ilovemelbourne #home #hanginthere #betterdaysahead #wewillgetthroughthis #love #light #strength #prayers #wearamask #stayhome #staysafe

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The Force is Female ???????

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*WTA SINGLES TITLES - 2018-20 (active); '20 titles in ()*
7...Ash Barty, AUS (1)
7...Petra Kvitova, CZE (0)
7...Karolina Pliskova, CZE (1)
6...Kiki Bertens, NED (1)
6...SIMONA HALEP, ROU (2)
6...Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (1)
5...Sofia Kenin, USA (2)
5...Elina Svitolina, UKR (1)
[career titles - active; season of most recent win]
73 - Serena Williams, USA (2020)
41 - Kim Clijsters, BEL (2011)
49 - Venus Williams, USA (2016)
27 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (2019)
21 - SIMONA HALEP, ROU (2020)
20 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR (2016)
18 - Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS (2018)
16 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (2020)

*2020 WTA FIRST-TIME SINGLES CHAMPIONS*
Shenzhen - Ekaterina Alexandrova, RUS (25/#34) - def. Rybakina
LEXINGTON - JENNIFER BRADY, USA (25/#49) - def. Teichmann

*2020 WTA FIRST-TIME SINGLES FINALISTS*
Hua Hin - Leonie Kung, SUI (#283, 18, Q); lost to Linette
Acapulco - Leylah Annie Fernandez, CAN (#190, 17, Q); lost to Watson
Monterrey - Marie Bouzkova, CZE (#57, 21); lost to Svitolina
LEXINGTON - JENNIFER BRADY, USA (#49, 25); - def. Teichmann

*VENUS vs. SERENA*
1998 Aust.Open 2r (HO) - Venus 7-6(4),6-1
1998 Rome QF (RC) - Venus 6-4,6-2
1999 Miami F (HO) - Venus 6-1,4-6,6-4
1999 Grand Slam Cup F (Car) - Serena 6-1,3-6,6-3
2000 Wimbledon SF (G) - Venus 6-2,7-6(3)
2001 Indian Wells SF (HO) - Serena (walkover)
2001 US Open F (HO) - Venus 6-2,6-4
2002 Miami SF (HO) - Serena 6-2,6-2
2002 Roland Garros F (RC) - Serena 7-5,6-3
2002 Wimbledon F (G) - Serena 7-6(4),6-3
2002 US Open F (HO) - Serena 6-3,6-4
2003 Australian Open F (HO) - Serena 7-6,3-6,6-4
2003 Wimbledon F (G) - Serena 4-6,6-4,6-2
2005 Miami QF (HO) - Venus 6-1/7-6(8)
2005 US Open 4r (HO) - Venus 7-6(5)/6-2
2008 Bangalore SF (HO) - Serena 6-3/3-6/7-6(4) (VW MP)
2008 Wimbledon F (G) - Venus 7-5/6-4
2008 US Open QF (HO) - Serena 7-6(6),7-6(7)
2008 WTA Chmp rr (HO) - Venus 5-7,6-1,6-0
2009 Dubai SF (HO) - Venus 6-1,2-6,7-6(3)
2009 Miami SF (HO) - Serena 6-4,3-6,6-4
2009 Wimbledon F (G) - Serena 7-6(3),6-2
2009 WTA Chsp rr (HO) - Serena 5-7,6-4,7-6 (VW MP)
2009 WTA Chsp F (HO) - Serena 6-2,7-6
2013 Charleston SF (GC) - Serena 6-1/6-2
2014 Montreal SF (HO) - Venus 6-7(2)/6-2/6-3
2015 Wimbledon 4r (G) - Serena 6-4/6-3
2015 US Open QF (HO) - Serena 6-2/1-6/6-3
2017 Aust.Open F (HO) - Serena 6-4/6-4
2018 Indian Wells 3r (HO) - Venus 6-3/6-4
2018 US Open 3r (HO) - Serena 6-1/6-2
2019 Rome 2r (RC) - Venus (walkover)
2020 Lexington (HO) - Serena 3-6/6-3/6-4
--
Serena leads 19-12; winner of 1st set is 26-5

*2020 LONG WTA MATCHES*
3:33 - Hobart QF - Heather Watson/GBR def. Elise Mertens/BEL
3:28 - PRAGUE 2nd Rd. - IRINA CAMELIA BEGU/ROU def. LEONIE KUNG/SUI
3:09 - Palermo 1st Rd. - Jasmine Paolini/ITA def. Dasha Kasatkina/RUS
3:00 - Monterrey Final - Elina Svitolina/UKR def. Marie Bouzkova/CZE
3:00 - Australian Open 1st Rd. - Alison Riske/USA def. Wang Qiang/CHN

*U.S. WOMAN WINS MAIDEN WTA TITLE - since 1998*
1998: Venus Williams (Memphis)
1998: Tara Snyder (Quebec City)
1999: Serena Williams (Paris Indoors)
1999: Corina Morariu (Bol)
2000: Meghann Shaughnessy (Shanghai)
2001: Meilen Tu (Auckland)
2002: Jill Craybas (Tokyo JO)
2006: Vania King (Bangkok)
2012: Melanie Oudin (Birmingham)
2014: Madison Keys (Eastbourne)
2014: CoCo Vandeweghe (Rosmalen)
2014: Alison Riske (Tianjin)
2015: Sloane Stephens (Washington)
2016: Irina Falconi (Bogota)
2016: Christina McHale (Tokyo JWO)
2017: Lauren Davis (Auckland)
2019: Sonya Kenin (Hobart)
2019: Amanda Anisimova (Bogota)
2019: Jessica Pegula (Washington)
2019: Coco Gauff (Linz)
2020: Jennifer Brady (Lexington)

*WON WTA SINGLES TITLE w/o DROPPING A SET*
[2019]
Hobart: Sonya Kenin, USA
Madrid: Kiki Bertens, NED
Birmingham: Ash Barty, AUS
Bucharest: Elena Rybakina, KAZ
Palermo: Jil Teichmann, SUI
[2020]
LEXINGTON: JENNIFER BRADY, USA

*2020 SINGLES/DOUBLES FINAL IN WTA EVENT*
Auckland: Serena Williams, USA (W-L)
Hobart: Zhang Shuai, CHN (L-L)
LEXINGTON: JIL TEICHMANN, SUI (L-L)

*2020 WTA CHAMPIONS BY RANKING*
#1 - Ash Barty (Adelaide)
#2 - Karolina Pliskova (Brisbane)
#2 - Simona Halep (Dubai)
#2 - SIMONA HALEP (PRAGUE)
#5 - Sofia Kenin (Lyon)
#7 - Elina Svitolina (Monterrey)
#8 - Kiki Bertens (Saint Petersburg)
#10 - Serena Williams (Auckland)
#13 - Aryna Sabalenka (Doha)
#15 - Sofia Kenin (Australian Open)
#30 - Elena Rybakina (Hobart)
#34 - Ekaterina Alexandrova (Shenzhen)
#42 - Magda Linette (Hua Hin)
#53 - Fiona Ferro (Palermo)
#63 - JENNIFER BRADY (LEXINGTON)
#69 - Heather Watson (Acapulco)

*2020 WTA CHAMPIONS BY AGE*
20 - Elena Rybakina (Hobart)
21 - Sofia Kenin (Australian Open)
21 - Sofia Kenin (Lyon)
21 - Aryna Sabalenka (Doha)
23 - Ash Barty (Adelaide)
23 - Fiona Ferro (Palermo)
25 - Ekaterina Alexandrova (Shenzhen)
25 - Elina Svitolina (Monterrey)
25 - JENNIFER BRADY (LEXINGTON)
27 - Heather Watson (Acapulco)
27 - Karolina Pliskova (Brisbane)
28 - Magda Linette (Hua Hin)
28 - Kiki Bertens (Saint Petersburg)
28 - Simona Halep (Dubai)
28 - SIMONA HALEP (PRAGUE)
38 - Serena Williams (Auckland)

*2020 REACHED WTA FINAL IN HOME NATION*
[singles]
Adelaide, AUS - Ash Barty (W)
LEXINGTON, USA - JENNIFER BRADY (W)
[doubles]
Brisbane, AUS - Ash Barty (L)
Shenzhen, CHN - Duan/Sai.Zheng (L)
Acapulco, MEX - Giuliana Olmos (W)
Palermo, ITA - Cocciaretto/Trevisan (L)
LEXINGTON, USA - HAYLEY CARTER (W)
PRAGUE, CZE - HRADECKA/KR.PLISKOVA (W)

*UTR PRO SERIES FINALS - AUS*
Sydney: Ellen Perez d. Alexandra Bozovic
Melbourne: Destanee Aiava d. Storm Sanders
Brisbane: Maddison Inglis d. Lizette Cabrera
Sydney 2: Ellen Perez (2) d. Alexandra Bozovic
Brisbane 2: Maddison Inglis (1) d. Lizette Cabrera
Sydney 3: Destanee Aiava d. Ellen Perez
Brisbane 3: Lizette Cabrera d. Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz
Sydney 4: Destanee Aiava (3) def. Alexandra Bozovic
Brisbane 4: Lizette Cabrera (2) def. Naiktha Bains



futuristic-fonts


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Well, you know, except for the lack of evidence that there *isn't*. Imagine if court trials were conducted with this sort of reasoning... or maybe that's the plan for the *second* term.


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Answer:



Question: What's a courtesy that would never, ever, in a million lives (or, you know, about 170K and counting), be reciprocated under similar circumstances?


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Can I say that I was a full year ahead on the Go-Go's resurgence?

And, yes, this is *another* good potential "WTA Theme Song," by the way.

"Times up
It's a clarion call
Zero hour is upon us all
Tick tock, tick tock

The rules they made are battle lines
Their grand design is out of time

Hey, we got something to say
Gonna make the world shake
Ready or not here we are
Better get out of our way
Looking for heroes
We are Club Zero"


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Curbside Larry is da bomb!




Be Safe.
All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 6:57 PM 

16 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Instagram pics not loading.

I felt like I should be clutching a rosary while reading this week.

LPGA Dinah Shore has the same tradition of jumping into the lake.

Bellis' win was 2014.

Name the only player in the Top 50 not to have reached a tour final? Who is Veronika Kudermetova.

With Brady getting that well deserved title, only two other Top 50 players have reached a final without winning- Jabeur and Bouzkova.

At least Ellen Perez had a better week than Zach Plesac. Perez apologized for her video, while Cleveland pitcher Plesac broke a rule, blamed the press, then made an apology video, while driving. Entitled much?

Bencic pulling out of USO means that Austria's Barbara Haas is in. If she stays in the draw, she will be the first from Austria since herself in 2016. The last win? Not Sybille Bammer, though she deserves mention this week as a former Prague winner in 2009.

Tamira Paszek? No. Though I would have been wrong since I thought it was Yvonne Meusberger. It was Patricia Mayr Achleitner in 2013.

Somebody made a typo when referring to a pair of shoes, and because of it, I may refer to her as "Doc Mertens."

If I am being honest, the one difference since the return is that the line calls have been sketchy.

Kudermetova/Bouchard match could have been very different. Kudermetova had break points in all of Bouchard's service games in a set in which she was bageled. And at least 3 times, when she got a ball in, the point had to be replayed.

Frech and Begu played well against Halep, just too high of a standard to reach.

Sorribes Tormo/Strycova match felt like doubles on a singles court. So much that they played an 85 min set.

Sabalenka had more net cords than I can ever remember. Which seemed strange as she was long on everything.

Williams gets #4 seed, as Bencic pulls out.

Sun Aug 16, 08:26:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Diane said...

Okay, where is the St. Simoma candle? Those are all the rage now (Pelosi and AOC, for example, have candles with their likenesses). Several years ago, someone gave me a Frido Kahlo candle, and the prayer is definitely worth reading.

I didn’t know there was a Little Mo stamp. I bet my UPS Store doesn’t carry them, though.

I think Jen Brady got to a crossroad and decided to go for it, similar to what Goerges did. Her fitness is superb now.

Sun Aug 16, 08:54:00 PM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Stat of the Week- 13- Number of matches needed to win Big Apple Double.

I will also accept Gotham Double. After all, they are wearing masks.

Up/Down Side coming Thursday or Friday, as W & S will start Saturday.

With a couple of extra days to figure out who has a shot to win W & S, I will take last year's numbers for IW/Miami/Cinci to tell the tale. Using the Top 8 seeds.

Points from 3 events:

1055- Pliskova
920- Keys
395- Kenin
375- Osaka
235- Sabalenka
226- Kvitova
130- Williams
101- Konta

Now I will start with Konta, who initially was seeded 8. Then Osaka got WC, which dropped her to 9, which would have been a disaster, as only 8 of 16 seeds get a bye. Bencic would have been 4th on this list(401), but with her out, she is back to 8.

Konta earned 55% of her points last year on clay, so expectations are low.

Williams is the only one not to have played all 3 events, as she pulled out of Cincinnati after reaching Rogers Cup final.

Pliskova had highest total without winning an event(Miami F), while Keys won Cincinnati, but lost her first match in the other two.

This tells part of the story, but what about the upstarts? There are 4 women who could, no, should be seen as threats.

Points from 3 events:

65- Muchova
35- Gauff
1- Teichmann
1- Rybakina

You want to know how hard this will be to project? None of them played Indian Wells. None of them made the main draw in Cincinnati. Both Muchova and Gauff reached 2nd rd in Miami, but Muchova got more points going through qualifying.

The longshot will be Teichmann, as she will be in qualifying again. She lost last year, to another person that is relevant in Brady.

Should be fun.

Quiz Time!

In the Open Era, who has won the most Cincinnati titles?

A.Serena Williams
B.Peaches Bartkowicz
C.Simona Halep
D.Vera Zvonareva



Interlude- Laura Siegemund with a Porsche.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHClpxy27oc



Answer!

This event has not run consecutively, so the number is lower than you think.

(D)Zvonareva is a two time finalist, but only a one time winner. She won in 2006, beating Katarina Srebotnik, who is actually 4-6 in singles finals.

The underrated Srebotnik has actually reached 83(39-43) doubles finals, having reached a final every year from 1998-2015. Still ranked 80, it is unclear if she is coming to New York, as draw closes Tuesday.

(C)Halep is a 3 time finalist, but has never won. 2015, 17, 18. Not exactly Sharapova in Miami, but we will have to wait until 2021 to find out.

Original 9 member (B)Bartkowicz is a 2 time winner, but wrong on a technicality, as her wins were in 1966 and 1967.

That leaves default pick (A)Williams, which is always the safe guess. Also a 3 time finalist, she won back to back in 2014-15.

Sun Aug 16, 08:59:00 PM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

I actually have Little Mo stamps. Bought from USPS site.

Sun Aug 16, 09:01:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

C-

I don't know if the IG's are working now or not. I see them, but have been having problems the last two weeks with the Twitter images taking forever to load.

FYI: Blogger is in the process of "improving" itself (i.e. making everyone switch to a new version that is actually very user-unfriendly and people seem to think uses more space on computers -- I know I had the site freeze up when I was posting last week), so maybe that has something to do with it?

So consider this the annual moment when I say I've had it UP TO HERE with the whole Blogger operation.

I've had a version of this Halep post setting on file for almost two years, but every time I intended to use it she'd lose in a final. So I figured I'd finally use it when the opportunity struck. (Though I was wondering if history was going to repeat itself late in that 2nd set vs. Mertens.)

I can't believe that's never came up as a possible nickname for Mertens before now. :\

Fixed the Bellis year. ;)

I like "Gotham Double" best.

I'm guessing the Siegemund/Motoward video is from something based in the UK, as I wonder if the subtitle "gobsmacked" was a *direct* translation from her original German. :)

Quiz: Serena *is* almost too easy (though I did pick her, because... well, you know).


D-

Did you call the BSA Bookstore about the availability of the candles? ;)

Mon Aug 17, 12:57:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Monday morning, and Instagram pics load just fine.

Guess Andreescu is "unfit to play."

Mon Aug 17, 07:12:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Hoergren said...

Simona Halep has pulled out of US Open.

Mon Aug 17, 09:29:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

C-
With the IG, who knows? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

With BA, well... the lack of real info/comment about the knee almost seems like confirmation in its own way that it's still not right. You were right on the money on that one at the WTAF about how she was crazy to even try to play the day after she hurt it. Maybe she didn't make it worse, but maybe she did. :/


H-
Truthfully, I never quite understood why SH waited so long to announce it. And, pandemic aside, it makes sense for her (ala Rafa) tennis-wise with RG so soon afterward.

Mon Aug 17, 12:25:00 PM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

And the doubles draw is out, which leaves us with more questions than answers. Vandeweghe is not in it, unless she gets WC. However, 24 women that are still in singles are on this list, including Mertens/Sabalenka, Mladenovic/Babos, Azarenka/Kenin, plus others like Siniakova & Gasparyan.

Prague 125K entry list is out, with 128 player field, but that will change greatly as some of the lower ranked singles players made US Open doubles.

Mertens is also highest ranked player on Istanbul list, though if she matches last year's Open results, she will be otherwise engaged.

Last note-An inspired pick as Katrina Scott will be next WC.

Tue Aug 18, 05:43:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Mladenovic is still the most acutely interesting s/d question. I think the decision should be an easy one, but singles dreamers (esp. this year) are liable to dream. :/

By the way, I fixed the Gauff entry on this post. I'd said she'd reached the QF, but that shortchanged her. She reached the SF, of course.

Wed Aug 19, 01:09:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Seems like Mladenovic, and others might not have to make that choice. I haven't seen a rule change, but 7 of 8 doubles wildcards just went to players already in singles. Plus Mattek-Sands is now second alt for singles WC.

May have something to do with Prague 125K, which is worth more, and USTA is now funding.

Wed Aug 19, 01:50:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Hmm, I wonder when that changed? They *did* include that in the original announcement, but I don't remember seeing anything that changed it. I must have just missed it.

Wed Aug 19, 03:56:00 PM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

5 On the Up Side- Gotham Double Edition.

Welcome to the grind!

1.Pliskova- Might as well pick the top seed, though that line would have been better last week. Always good with a bye, since the beginning of 2019, she has won 4 of 13 events played with one. Minor red flag is a back issue.
2.Linette- Because she has won in New York. Well, the Bronx event last year, and that means she can play in humid conditions. Fun fact- there aren't any players in the draw from the last Forest Hills event in 2008, but there was one on the entry list until this week- Carla Suarez Navarro.
3.Rybakina- What does Rybakina have in common with the New York Knicks? As bad as they are, you would assume nothing. Both won 21 games this year. But that isn't it. It is the fact that even in a shortened season, the Knicks won more games this year than last. Rybakina is 3 wins away, even in this season, of passing last year's total.
4.Brady- Gets Clijsters, which is better now than the Open. Her job this week is to rack up stats. After having no Top 10 wins entering the year(0-7), she has gone 2-3 in this one, knocking off Barty and Svitolina.
5.Muchova- Another player that stayed busy during the break, which has already paid off for both Ferro and Brady, she is ready to hit the restart running.

Thu Aug 20, 09:38:00 PM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

5 On the Down Side.

1.Keys- Always a threat if she can win her first match. But on this list because of this unfortunate aspect. Already had to defend her Stanford title in San Jose, now gets to defend her Cincinnati title in New York. And she won't defend Charleston until next year.
2.McHale- Before the pandemic, McHale had Peter Lucassen as coach. Which means she has a full time, part time coach. Confused? Well, he works for the USTA, which means he can't coach her against another American. In the 52 weeks before shutdown, she played 11. Plus Arconada today. Her situation in a bubble really will let players know if they are a priority, or need to look elsewhere.
3.Garcia- Doesn't play well in America. Won 7 matches on grass last year. Has won 7 in 18 tournaments played since.
4.Azarenka- Just needs a little luck, and is in a section with a number of struggling players. Has not won a match since Cincinnati last year.
5.Alexandrova- On a 1-4 streak, but 1-2 since restart. No real reason for her slump either. Another one, like Konta, who just needs to win a match or two before the big one.

Thu Aug 20, 09:49:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

I'm going with Rybakina over either Pliskova/Kvitova in the final.

So, it goes without saying, "Sorry, Elena." :/

Fri Aug 21, 12:57:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Well... hey, I already apologized to Elena, so I'm good. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Sat Aug 22, 01:47:00 PM EDT  

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