Sunday, August 30, 2020

Restart Wk.3- With Luck, That's Good Vika

A Cincinnati event played in New York City. A semifinalist pulling out of an event with a boycott that soon morphs into a complete tournament "pause" that keeps her in the draw. After a victory, she withdraws on the morning of the final with an injury. On the same day, the men's champion, fresh off his expertly-produced Coronavirus Summer Follies production, announces designs for a new players' union that apparently plans to hang a "no women allowed" sign outside the treehouse.

I'd say, well, that's 2020 for ya.

But good luck with luck. Vika Azarenka was the Last Woman Standing... so maybe it's more like 2016? Huzzah!




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*Restart WEEK 3 CHAMPIONS*
CINCINNATI (at New York City) (Premier 5/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Victoria Azarenka/BLR over Naomi Osaka/JPN - walkover
D: Kveta Peschke/Demi Schuurs (CZE/NED) def. Nicole Melichar/Xu Yifan (USA/CHN) 6-1/4-6 [10-4]


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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Vika Azarenka/BLR
...after waiting for so many years for a Vika renaissance, I guess it figures that we get the rare signs of just that in the middle of a worldwide pandemic at a displaced event in which she's awarded her biggest (and first) title in four and a half years via a walkover in the final.

But, hey, who can quibble when the former world #1 finally sees a light at the end of what has sometimes been a very dark tunnel?

Coming into the Western & Southern (in Cincinnati via New York City) Open, the 31-year old Azarenka hadn't won a title since her Sunshine Double in Indian Wells and Miami in 2016, and often seemed to tread water (w/ injuries) since 2014 before that. Since then, she's been thwarted by horrible draws as an unseeded player, and it's sometimes been rare when she could travel and play at all while she faced a custody battle for a son (Leo) born in December 2016. She came into the week at #59, without a match win (4 consecutive losses) since Belinda Bencic retired in their 1st Round match-up at *last* year's tournament in Cincinnati. Her last three-win event was her Rome QF run in spring '19.

None of that mattered this week, though.

After a win over #15 seed Donna Vekic (5 games allowed), Azarenka knocked off Pastries Caroline Garcia and Alize Cornet in straight sets, then did the same to Ons Jabeur. After the tournament "pause" enacted following Naomi Osaka's initial SF boycott following the unrest related to the Jacob Blake shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Azarenka came back from a set down to defeat #8-seeded Johanna Konta in three to reach her first final since Monterrey in April of last year (Vika ret. in the 2nd set vs. Muguruza). On the morning of the final, Azarenka learned that Osaka, who'd won her delayed semi, was pulling out with a hamstring injury hours after learning she'd drawn the evening slot on Night 1 of the U.S. Open on Monday.



The title is the 21st of Azarenka's career, and immediately puts her in the "dark horse" category for the Open, where she's twice reached the final (2012-13) but hasn't played into the second week since 2015. She'll climb thirty-two spots to #27 in the new rankings, her highest position since March '17. Barbara Haas will be her first opponent at the Open, with #5-seed Aryna Sabalenka next in a possible 2nd Rounder. That doesn't seem like "good" luck, but by Vika's recent big event standards it's an improvement. Azarenka faced (and lost to) fellow Belarusian Sabalenka in the *1st* Round a year ago.

Some recent Vika slam draws:

2018 WI: Ka.Pliskova in 2nd Rd. (L)
2018 US: Stephens in 3rd Rd. (L)
2019 RG: Ostapenko in 1st Rd. (W), Osaka in 2nd Rd. (L)
2019 WI: Halep in 3rd Rd. (L)
2019 US: Sabalenka in 1st Rd. (L)
===============================================
RISERS: Maria Sakkari/GRE and Elise Mertens/BEL
...Sakkari pulled the second-ever Coco/Serena double (Halep/'19 Wimbledon) in the Western & Southern Open, kicking things off with a win over Coco Gauff, bridging the gap by defeating Yulia Putintseva, then upsetting Serena Williams (who served for the match in the 2nd set) to reach her second straight QF in the event (in '19 she knocked off Giorgi, Kvitova and Sabalenka en route).

Sakkari is the #15 seed at the U.S. Open, as she'll try to follow up her first career slam Round of 16 ('20 AO) result with something similar in the second hard court major of the season.

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Meanwhile, Mertens this week became the first two-time Restart semifinalist, and she did it on a *second* surface, following up her clay court final in Prague with a semi in the hard court Cin/NYC event. Wins over Rebecca Peterson, Kristina Mladenovic, Veronika Kudermetova and Jessica Pegula will be enough to nudge the Waffle back into the Top 20 for the first time since February.

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??????????? @cincytennis #semifinal

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SURPRISE: Jessica Pegula/USA
...another summer U.S. event, another Bannerette who flies well above her ranking. This week is was #83 Pegula, a Buffalo NY native who posted a 2015 U.S. Open MD win (so far, her only victory in a major) and scored her first tour title in Washington last summer.

Pegula, 26, reached her third career tour singles final earlier this season in Auckland (getting wins over Cornet and Wozniacki, but losing to Serena), and she was back at it in the Cincy event at New York City, qualifying then posting wins over Jen Brady, Amanda Anisimova and Aryna Sabalenka before falling to Elise Mertens in the QF. It's the first time that Pegula has won multiple matches in a Premier 5 or higher event. She'd been 1-6 in P5/Premier Mandatory events coming in, and a combined 2-12 if you added in her slam numbers.

Pegula jumps twenty spots to #63 ahead of the Open, just off her career high of #55. She opens her fourth U.S. Open appearance with a match against Marie Bouzkova.


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VETERAN: Johanna Konta/GBR
...other than expecting that she'll change coaches on a regular basis, no matter whether her results are lacking or spectacular, Konta's path is often hard to predict.

Following a year that saw her reach a slam SF and two QF, as well as the Rome final (her biggest ever on clay) as she jumped back into the Top 15 after slumping to #39 in '18, Konta came to New York fresh off parting ways with coach Dimitri Zavialoff just before the Restart, and entering a trial period with the well-traveled Thomas Hogstedt.

Other than having reached a semi in Monterrey in her final pre-shutdown event, Konta stood at 0-4 in her other 2020 tournaments (she didn't play in '19 following her U.S. Open QF result) heading into the week, and after her Lexington loss to Marie Bouzkova the Brit had complained of a possible heart issue (health-wise, not gameday nerve wise).

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Another #NewYork (Cincinnati) day! ??????

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Apparently she felt well this past week, though, as she strung together wins over Kirsten Flipkens, Vera Zvonareva and Maria Sakkari before falling in three sets to Victoria Azarenka in the (one-day delayed) semis.
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DOWN: Serena Williams/USA
...deciphering the results from the week before a major is always dicey. That's even more the case in 2020, and that's not even factoring in that the Western & Southern Open was held on the same USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center grounds on which the U.S. Open will take place. So the results could be either *more* telling, or just as easily *less* so since not having to travel to the slam site afterward may have given the event a "practice" feel to some and made their result seem "less important."

In this past week's event, the #1 and #2 seeds (Karolina Pliskova & Sonia Kenin) lost their opening matches, as did the defending champ (Madison Keys). So did Lexington champ Jen Brady. Coco Gauff and Sloane Stephens did, as well, just to name two. So did Petra Kvitova. Elena Rybakina had won *multiple* matches in nine straight tournaments dating back to last September, but she dropped in her opening match in her first Restart outing. Meanwhile, Kim Clijsters pulled out of the event with an injury, though she's still planning on giving things a go in her first U.S. Open appearance since 2012.

So, for lack of a better option, I'll go with Serena here.

As noted here before, on the surface, this Open would seem to be Serena's best shot at slam #24. But she's been forced to three sets in all five of her Restart matches, and this week squandered a lead and started to cramp down the stretch in a 3rd Round loss to Maria Sakkari. One argument would be that if she can't quite make it through a one-week event, how is she going to do so in one that lasts two? Of course, the *other* time-worn argument is that all of this match play, as well as days off between rounds, will allow her to play into form in the Open and be at her best at some point during second week. If she can get that far. First up is 2019 second week U.S. Open heroine Kristie Ahn.


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JUNIOR STAR: Zheng Qinwen/CHN
...Zheng, 17, won her first career pro title at the $15K challenger in Cordenons, Italy with a 6-1/6-0 win in the final over Austria's Mira Antonitsch. Zheng put up a bagel set against four of her five opponents -- in the 1r, 2r, QF and F -- over the course of the week.

Zheng reached the Roland Garros and U.S. Open girls singles semis last year, after having reached the 2018 junior finals at Eddie Herr (def. Elli Mandlik), the Orange Bowl (lost to Coco Gauff) and the Osaka Mayor's Cup (lost to Clara Tauson). The teen will jump 54 spots to a new pro tour high of #578, and is currently at #22 in the juniors (she was as high as #6 last September).

Zheng hails from the same Hubei province in China as Hall of Famer Li Na.


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DOUBLES: Kveta Peschke/Demi Schuurs, CZE/NED
...both Peschke and Schuurs have shown an ability to win with all sorts of partners, and they joined forces this week to take the Cin/NYC title to prove that they can also win *together*. It's the pair's first crown as a new 2020 duo (they'd been 3-3 prior to the shutdown).

After opening with a 10-5 match tie-break win over Kalashnikova/Kudryavtseva, Peschke/Schuurs won seven consecutive sets, handling defending champs Hradecka/Klepac in the semis, before being forced to another match TB in the final against Melichar/Xu. They won it 10-4, giving Peschke (at 45, again topping herself as the oldest tour title winner in recent years) her 35th career title (in 77 finals over a 22-year stretch) and Schuurs her 11th.


===============================================
WHEELCHAIR: ---
...de Groot will be looking to win a singles major for a *third* straight year for the first time in her career.


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1. Cin/NYC 2nd Rd. - Ons Jabeur def. Madison Keys 6-4/6-1
Cin/NYC 1st Rd. - Caroline Garcia def. Sloane Stephens 6-3/7-6(4)
...three years ago, Stephens defeated Keys in the U.S. Open final. Keys, the defending Cincinnati champ, was knocked off in her opening match by Jabeur (who'll be the first Arab woman ever seeded in a slam at the Open, on the heels of reaching a new career high of #31). Stephens is now 1-7 on the season.
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2. Cin/NYC 2nd Rd. - Alize Cornet def. Sonia Kenin
...6-1/7-6(7). Kenin will be trying to become just the second woman (Kerber '16) to sweep both hard court majors in a season since Martina Hingis in 1997.

Even with all her slam wins, it seems almost impossible that Serena -- with 7 AO and 6 US titles -- has never pulled the double, but she has not. Meanwhile, she's done the seemingly more difficult (for her, at least) RG/Wimbledon sweep twice.
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3. Cin/NYC 1st Rd. - Anett Kontaveit def. Dasha Kasatkina
...6-3/6-1. Kasatkina got a reprieve following her qualifying loss and entered the MD as a lucky loser. There wasn't anything "lucky" about it.

Kontaveit won the 1st set from Naomi Osaka in the QF, but lost in a 7-5 3rd. After a three-week return as the world #20, she'll fall out of the Top 20 heading into the Open. With all the high-ranked absences, she's the #14 seed on Monday.
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4. Cin/NYC 2nd Rd. - Marie Bouzkova def. Petra Kvitova
...2-6/7-5/6-2. Kvitova was 12-3 pre-shutdown, but drops her first Restart match. The Czech won just two combined matches on these same courts the last two years at the U.S. Open.


===============================================


5. Prague 125 1st Rd. - Sabine Lisicki def. Samantha Murray Sharan
...6-3/6-4. Meanwhile, in Europe.


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1. Cin/NYC 3rd Rd. - Maria Sakkari def. Serena Williams
...5-7/7-6(5)/6-1. Serena served for the match in the 2nd set, then saw a string of errors (and cramps) do her in down the stretch. In a way, she experienced what so many of her opponents have against *her* over the years decades.



Seven of Sakkari's nine career Top 10 wins have come in the last sixteen months (11 w/o the shutdown).
===============================================
2. Cin/NYC 2nd Rd. - Serena Williams def. Arantxa Rus
...7-6(6)/3-6/7-6(0). Rus served for the match at 6-5, 40-all, but ultimately failed to get her first Top 10 win in eight years, and third overall ('11 Clijsters, '12 Stosur).
===============================================
3. Cin/NYC Final - Victoria Azarenka def. Naomi Osaka
...walkover. Osaka was in surprisingly good form between the lines in her first event back, playing into her first final of the year with wins over Muchova, Yastremska, Kontaveit and Mertens. Outside the lines, the socially conscious side of the two-time slam champ that first surfaced during the protest-laden shutdown summer proved to have made the jump, as well. In the wake of the Jacob Blake police shooting and riots in Wisconsin, she joined many other team sport athletes in announcing on the eve of her semifinal that she would boycott her match and exit the tournament.

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#BlackLivesMatter

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Rather than see tournament end, though, Osaka saw the WTA and Western & Southern Open follow her lead and "pause" the event on Thursday, allowing her to remain the draw. Thus, Osaka played and won her semi on Friday, reaching her first '20 final (8th career). Then on Saturday, a day after the U.S. Open Day 1 schedule was posted, she withdrew from the final with a hamstring injury.

Osaka is set to play on Night 1 at the U.S. Open, so she won't get any *additional* time to recuperate. But, then again, maybe that was what her decision to not play on Saturday was all about, anyway?
===============================================
HM- Cin/NYC 2nd Rd. - Veronika Kudermetova def. Karolina Pliskova
...7-5/6-4. 2020 strikes again.


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I'm shocked -- SHOCKED! -- by this development... yeah, not really.






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1. Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2. Jennifer Brady, USA
3. Simona Halep, ROU
4. Diede de Groot, NED (WC)
5. Fiona Ferro, FRA
6. Elise Meretns, BEL
7. Anett Kontaveit, EST
8. Kveta Peschke/Demi Schuurs, CZE/NED
9. Naomi Osaka, JPN
10. Jil Teichmann, SUI
11. Maria Sakkari, GRE
12. Ons Jabeur, TUN
13. Camila Giorgi, ITA
14. Hayley Carter/Luisa Stefani, USA/BRA
15. Lucie Hradecka/Kristyna Pliskova, CZE/CZE
HM- Arantxa Rus/Tamara Zidansek, NED/SLO

RISER: Dayana Yastremska/UKR and Marie Bouzkova/CZE
FRESH FACE: Leylah Annie Fernandez/CAN and Elisabetta Cocciaretto/ITA
SURPRISE: Mayar Sherif/EGY and Ann Li/USA
VETERAN: Petra Martic/CRO and Irina-Camelia Begu/ROU
COMEBACK: CiCi Bellis/USA and Shelby Rogers/USA
DOWN: Sloane Stephens/USA and Madison Keys/USA
ITF: Clara Tauson/DEN and Zheng Qinwen/CHN
JUNIOR: Alexandra Yepifanova/USA
WC DOUBLES: Marjolein Buis/Michaela Spaanstra, NED/NED
MOST IMPROVED: Jennifer Brady/USA and Lizette Cabrera/AUS
FUTURE WATCH: Linda Fruhvirtova/CZE


*CINCINNATI/Western & Southern Open & U.S. OPEN FINALS - OPEN ERA*
1970 Rosie Casals, USA (W-RU)
1973 Evonne Goolagong, AUS (W-RU)
2010 Kim Clijsters, BEL (W-W)
2013 Victoria Azarenka, BLR (W-RU)
2014 Serena Williams, USA (W-W)
2016 Angelique Kerber, GER (RU-W)
2016 Karolina Pliskova, CZE (W-RU)

*WTA SINGLES TITLES - active (last title)*
73 - Serena Williams, USA (2020)
41 - Kim Clijsters, BEL (2011)
49 - Venus Williams, USA (2016)
27 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (2019)
21 - VICTORIA AZARENKA, BLR (2020)
21 - Simona Halep, ROU (2020)

*2020 WTA OLDEST CHAMPIONS*
[singles]
38 - Serena Williams, USA (Auckland)
31 - VICTORIA AZARENKA, BLR (CIN/NYC)
[doubles]
45 - KVETA PESCHKE, CZE (CIN/NYC)
35 - Lucie Hradecka, CZE ((Prague)
34 - Hsieh Su-wei, TPE (Doha)
34 - Hsieh Su-wei, TPE (Dubai)
34 - Hsieh Su-wei, TPE (Brisbane)
[doubles duo]
72 - PESCHKE/SCHUURS (45/27) = CIN/NYC
67 - Hsieh/Strycova (34/33) = Doha
67 - Hsieh/Strycova (34/33) = Dubai
67 - Hsieh/Strycova (34/33) = Brisbane
[doubles duos, 2016-20]
72 - PESCHKE/SCHUURS = 2020 CIN/NYC
72 - Jurak/Martinez-Sanchez = 2019 Bronx
72 - Groenefeld/Peschke = 2017 Prague
71 - L.Chan/Peschke = 2018 San Jose
70 - Melichar/Peschke = 2019 Zhengzhou
70 - Melichar/Peschke = 2019 San Jose
70 - Spears/Srebotnik = 2017 Doha
70 - V.Williams/S.Williams = 2016 Wimbledon

*2020 WTA 125 SERIES EVENT WINNERS*
Week of January 27: NEWPORT BEACH, USA: Madison Brengle/USA
Week of March 2: INDIAN WELLS: Irina-Camelia Begu/ROU
Week of August 31: PRAGUE, CZE: (this week)
Week of December 14: LIMOGES, FRA


*2020 U.S. OPEN WILD CARDS*
Hailey Baptiste, USA (18) *
CiCi Bellis, USA (21)
Kim Clijsters, BEL (37)
Allie Kiick, USA (25)
Claire Liu, USA (20)
Robin Montgomery, USA (15) *
Katrina Scott, USA (16) *
Sachia Vickery, USA (25)
-
*-making slam debut
[MD w/ protected ranking]
Kateryna Bondarenko, UKR
Irina Khromacheva, RUS
Vera Lapko, BLR
Tsvetana Pironkova, BUL
Vera Zvonareva, RUS

*2020 - MAKING SLAM DEBUTS*
[AO]
Q: Cocciaretto/ITA, Fernandez/CAN, A.Li/USA, Minnen/BEL, Trevisan/ITA
WC: Han Na-lae/KOR
Automatic Entry: Stojanovic/SRB
[US]
WC: Baptiste/USA, Montgomery/USA, Scott/USA
Automatic Entry: Arconada/USA, Gracheva/RUS, Kawa/POL, Korpatsch/GER, Minnen/BEL, Zavatska/UKR

*2020 - IN SLAM MD...*
[oldest]
40 - Venus Williams (US)
39 - Venus Williams (AO)
38 - Serena Williams (US)
38 - Serena Williams (AO)
37 - Kim Clijsters (US)
[youngest]
15 - Coco Gauff (AO)
15 - Katrina Scott (US)
16 - Robin Montgomery (US)
16 - Coco Gauff (US)
17 - Leylah Annie Fernandez (AO)
[doubles]
45 - Kveta Peschke (US)
44 - Kveta Peschke (AO)

*RG/US TITLES IN SEASON - OPEN ERA*
1969 Margaret Court, AUS
1970 Margaret Court, AUS
1972 Billie Jean King, USA
1973 Margaret Court, AUS
1975 Chris Evert, USA
1980 Chirs Evert, USA
1984 Martina Navratilova, USA
1988 Steffi Graf, FRG
1991 Monica Seles, YUG
1992 Monica Seles, YUG
1993 Steffi Graf, GER
1994 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, ESP
1995 Steffi Graf, GER
1996 Steffi Graf, GER
2002 Serena Williams, USA
2003 Justine Henin, BEL
2007 Justine Henin, BEL
2013 Serena Williams, USA

*AO/US TITLES IN SEASON - OPEN ERA*
[Sept/Dec finals; 1977-86]
1982 Chris Evert, USA
1983 Martina Navratilova, USA
[Jan/Sept finals]
1969 Margaret Court, AUS
1970 Margaret Court, AUS
1973 Margaret Court, AUS
1988 Steffi Graf, FRG
1989 Steffi Graf, FRG
1991 Monica Seles, YUG
1992 Monica Seles, YUG
1997 Martina Hingis, SUI
2016 Angelique Kerber, GER

*RECENT WOMEN'S SLAM WINNERS*
2016 AO: Angelique Kerber, GER
2016 RG: Garbine Muguruza, ESP
2016 WI: Serena Williams, USA
2016 US: Angelique Kerber, GER
2017 AO: Serena Williams, USA
2017 RG: Alona Ostapenko, LAT
2017 WI: Garbine Muguruza, ESP
2017 US: Sloane Stephens, USA
2018 AO: Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2018 RG: Simona Halep, ROU
2018 WI: Angelique Kerber, GER
2018 US: Naomi Osaka, JPN
2019 AO: Naomi Osaka, JPN
2019 RG: Ash Barty, AUS
2019 WI: Simona Halep, ROU
2019 US: Bianca Andreescu, CAN
2020 AO: Sofia Kenin, USA

*RECENT WOMEN'S U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONS*
2010 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2011 Samantha Stosur, AUS
2012 Serena Williams, USA
2013 Serena Williams, USA
2014 Serena Williams, USA
2015 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2016 Angelique Kerber, GER
2017 Sloane Stephens, USA
2018 Naomi Osaka, JPN
2019 Bianca Andreescu, CAN

*U.S. OPEN FINALS - ACTIVE*
10...Serena Williams (6-4)
4...Kim Clijsters (3-1)
4...Venus Williams (2-2)
2...Svetlana Kuznetsova (1-1)
2...Victoria Azarenka (0-2)
1...Bianca Andreescu (1-0)
1...Angelique Kerber (1-0)
1...Naomi Osaka (1-0)
1...Sloane Stephens (1-0))
1...Samantha Stosur (1-0)
1...Madison Keys (0-1)
1...Karolina Pliskova (0-1)
1...Vera Zvonareva (0-1)
--
ALSO: Jelena Jankovic (0-1)

*ACTIVE SINGLES PLAYERS - FIRST SLAM FINAL*
1997 U.S. Open - Venus Williams
1999 U.S. Open - Serena Williams (W)
2001 Roland Garros - Kim Clijsters
2004 U.S. Open - Svetlana Kuznetsova (W)
2010 Roland Garros - Samantha Stosur
2010 Wimbledon - Vera Zvonareva
2011 Wimbledon - Petra Kvitova (W)
2012 Australian Open - Victoria Azarenka (W)
2012 Roland Garros - Sara Errani
2013 Wimbledon - Sabine Lisicki
2014 Roland Garros - Simona Halep
2014 Wimbledon - Genie Bouchard
2015 Wimbledon - Garbine Muguruza
2016 Australian Open - Angelique Kerber (W)
2016 U.S. Open - Karolina Pliskova
2017 Roland Garros - Alona Ostapenko (W)
2017 U.S. Open - Sloane Stephens (W)
2017 U.S. Open - Madison Keys
2018 U.S. Open - Naomi Osaka (W)
2019 Roland Garros - Ash Barty (W)
2019 Roland Garros - Marketa Vondrousova
2019 U.S. Open - Bianca Andreescu (W)
2020 Australian Open - Sofia Kenin (W)

*ACTIVE SINGLES PLAYERS - WON IN FIRST SLAM FINAL*
1999 U.S. Open - Serena Williams
2011 Wimbledon - Petra Kvitova
2012 Australian Open - Victoria Azarenka
2016 Australian Open - Angelique Kerber
2017 Roland Garros - Alona Ostapenko
2017 U.S. Open - Sloane Stephens
2018 U.S. Open - Naomi Osaka
2019 Roland Garros - Ash Barty
2019 U.S. Open - Bianca Andreescu
2020 Australian Open - Sofia Kenin

*FIRST-TIME SLAM CHAMPS AT U.S. OPEN - OPEN ERA*
1968 Virginia Wade, GBR
1979 Tracy Austin, USA
1990 Gabriela Sabatini, ARG
1998 Lindsay Davenport, USA
1999 Serena Williams, USA
2004 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2005 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2011 Samantha Stosur, AUS
2015 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2017 Sloane Stephens, USA
2018 Naomi Osaka, JPN
2019 Bianca Andreescu, CAN

*LOW-SEEDED U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONS - OPEN ERA*
Unseeded/Wild Card - Kim Clijsters, BEL (2009)
Unseeded - Sloane Stephens, USA (2017)
#26 - Flavia Pennetta, ITA (2015)
#20 - Naomi Osaka, JPN (2018)
#15 - Bianca Andreescu, CAN (2019)
#9 - Samantha Stosur, AUS (2011)
#9 - Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS (2004)
#7 - Serena Williams, USA (1999)
#6 - Virginia Wade, GBR (1968)

*LOW-RANKED U.S. OPEN FINALISTS - since 1975*
Unranked - Kim Clijsters, 2009 (W)
#83 - Sloane Stephens, 2017 (W)
#66 - Venus Williams, 1997

*CAREER U.S. OPEN MATCH WIN LEADERS*
101...Chris Evert
101...Serena Williams*
89...Martina Navratilova
79...Venus Williams*
73...Steffi Graf
62...Lindsay Davenport
56...Arantxa Sanchez Vicario

*RECENT U.S. OPEN TOP SEEDS*
2010 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (SF)
2011 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (SF)
2012 Victoria Azarenka, BLR (RU)
2013 Serena Williams, USA (W)
2014 Serena Williams, USA (W)
2015 Serena Williams, USA (SF)
2016 Serena Williams, USA (SF)
2017 Karolina Pliskova, CZE (QF)
2018 Simona Halep, ROU (1st)
2019 Naomi Osaka, JPN (4th)
2020 Karolina Pliskova, CZE

*CAREER SLAM #1 SEEDS - active*
20...Serena Williams
5...Simona Halep
3...Victoria Azarenka
3...Angelique Kerber
2...Ash Barty
2...Naomi Osaka
2...Karolina Pliskova [2020 #1 seed]
1...Venus Williams

*EARLIEST EXIT BY SLAM #1 SEED at U.S. OPEN*
2018 1st Rd. - Simona Halep (lost to Kaia Kanepi)
1966 2nd Rd. - Billie Jean King (lost to Kerry Melville)
2008 2nd Rd. - Ana Ivanovic (lost to Julie Coin)

*EARLIEST EXIT BY SLAM #1*
[pre-Open era]
1962 Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Margaret Court (lost to Billie Jean Moffitt)
[Open era]
1979 Australian Open 1st Rd. - Virginia Ruzici (lost to Mary Sawyer)
1994 Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Steffi Graf (lost to Lori McNeil)
1999 Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Martina Hingis (lost to Jelena Dokic)
2001 Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Martina Hingis (lost to Virginia Ruano Pascual)
2017 Roland Garros 1st Rd. - Angelique Kerber (lost to Ekaterina Makarova)
2018 US Open 1st Rd. - Simona Halep (lost to Kaia Kanepi)

*SLAM TITLES AFTER AGE 30*
10..Serena Williams, USA (age 30-35)*
3...Martina Navratilova, USA (age 30-33)
3...Margaret Court, AUS (age 30-31)
2...Billie Jean King, USA (age 30 & 31)
2...Chris Evert, USA (age 30 & 31)
1...Flavia Pennetta, ITA (age 33)
1...Virginia Wade. GBR (age 31)
1...Ann Haydon Jones, GBR (age 30)
1...Angelique Kerber, GER (age 30)*

*OLDEST WOMEN'S SINGLES SLAM CHAMPIONS - OPEN ERA*
Serena Williams (35y/125) - 2017 Australian
Serena Williams (34/283) - 2016 Wimbledon
Serena Williams (33/285) - 2015 Wimbledon
Martina Navratilova (33/263) - 1990 Wimbledon
Serena Williams (33/254) - 2015 Roland Garros
Flavia Pennetta (33/201) - 2015 U.S. Open
Serena Williams (33/127) - 2015 Australian

*OLDEST WOMEN'S SINGLES SLAM FINALISTS*
Serena Williams (37,347d) - lost '19 US to Andreescu
Serena Williams (37,291d) - lost '19 WI to Halep
Martina Navratilova (37y,258d) — lost '94 WI to C.Martinez
Venus Williams (37,28d) - lost '17 WI to Muguruza
Serena Williams (36/347) - lost '18 US to Osaka
Serena Williams (36/291) - lost '18 WI to Kerber
Venus Williams (36/226) — lost '17 AO to S.Williams
Serena Williams (35/125) — '17 AO, def. V.Williams

*OLDEST FIRST-TIME SLAM CHAMPS*
33y,199d - Flavia Pennetta, 2015 U.S. Open
29y,346d - Francesca Schiavone, 2010 Roland Garros
29y,275d - Jana Novotna, 1998 Wimbledon
29y,154d - Kerry Melville-Reid, 1977 Australian Open
29y,98d - Li Na, 2011 Roland Garros
28y,277d - Marion Bartoli, 2013 Wimbledon
28y,12d - Angelique Kerber, 2016 Australian Open
27y,200d - Caroline Wozniacki, 2018 Australian Open
26y,255d - Simona Halep, 2018 Roland Garros
26y,207d - Amelie Mauresmo, 2006 Australian Open
26y,165d - Samantha Stosur, 2011 U.S. Open

*MOST SLAMS BEFORE FIRST MAJOR TITLE*
49 - Flavia Pennetta (2015 U.S. Open)
47 - Marion Bartoli (2013 Wimbledon)
45 - Jana Novotna (1998 Wimbledon)
43 - Caroline Wozniacki (2018 Australian Open)
39 - Francesca Schiavone (2010 Roland Garros)
34 - Samantha Stosur (2011 U.S. Open)
33 - Angelique Kerber (2016 Australian Open)
32 - Simona Halep (2018 Roland Garros)
32 - Amelie Mauresmo (2006 Australian Open)

*RECENT FIRST-TIME SLAM CHAMPS AND RESULT AT NEXT MAJOR*
2010 Francesca Schiavone (RG): Wimbledon 1st
2011 Li Na (RG): Wimbledon 2nd
2011 Petra Kvitova (WI): U.S. 1st
2011 Samantha Stosur (US): Australian 1st
2012 Victoria Azarenka (AO): Roland Garros 4th
2013 Marion Bartoli (WI): DNP/retired
2015 Flavia Pennetta (US): DNP/retired
2016 Angelique Kerber (AO): Roland Garros 1st
2016 Garbine Muguruza (RG): Wimbledon 2nd
2017 Alona Ostapenko (RG): Wimbledon QF
2017 Sloane Stephens (US): Australian 1st
2018 Caroline Wozniacki (AO): Roland Garros 4th
2018 Simona Halep (RG): Wimbledon 3rd
2018 Naomi Osaka (US): Australian W
2019 Ash Barty (RG): Wimbledon 4th
2019 Bianca Andreescu (US): DNP/injured
2020 Sofia Kenin (AO): ??

*TEEN SLAM CHAMPS - since 1997*
1997 Martina Hingis, 16 (AO)*
1997 Iva Majoli, 19 (RG)*
1997 Martina Hingis, 16 (WI)
1997 Martina Hingis, 16 (US)
1998 Martina Hingis, 17 (AO)
1999 Martina Hingis, 18 (AO)
1999 Serena Williams, 17 (US)*
2004 Maria Sharapova, 17 (WI)*
2004 Svetlana Kuznetsova, 19 (US)*
2006 Maria Sharapova, 19 (US)
2019 Bianca Andreescu, 19 (AO)*
--
* - first-time slam winner

*BIGGEST AGE DIFFERENCE IN SLAM FINAL*
18y,263 - Andreescu (19) d. S.Williams (37) = '19 U.S.
17y,45d - Seles (17) d. Navratilova (34) = '91 U.S.
16y,20d - Osaka (20) d. S.Williams (36) = '18 U.S.
15y,180d - Martinez (22) d. Navratilova (37) = '94 WI
14y,175d - Graf (18) d. Evert (33) = '88 AO
13y,113d - Muguruza (23) d. V.Williams (37) = '17 WI

*LOW RANKED IN SLAM FINAL - Open era*
NR - Evonne Goolagong, 1977 Australian (W)
NR - Kim Clijsters, 2009 US Open (W)
NR - Justine Henin, 2010 Australian
#181 - Serena Williams, 2018 Wimbledon
#111 - Chris O'Neil, 1978 Australian (W)
#83 - Sloane Stephens, 2017 US Open (W)
#81 - Serena Williams, 2007 Australian (W)
#78 - Betsy Nagelson, 1978 Australian
#68 - Barbara Jordan, 1979 Australian (W)
#66 - Venus Williams. 1997 US Open

*FIRST-TIME SLAM SEMIFINALISTS SINCE 2013*
=2013=
AO: Sloane Stephens/USA
RG: -
WI: Kirsten Flipkens/BEL
US: Flavia Pennetta/ITA
=2014=
AO: Genie Bouchard/CAN
RG: Simona Halep/ROU (RU), Andrea Petkovic/GER
WI: Lucie Safarova/CZE
US: Ekatarina Makarova/RUS, Peng Shuai/CHN
=2015=
AO: Madison Keys/USA
RG: Timea Bacsinszky/SUI
WI: Garbine Muguruza/ESP (RU)
US: Roberta Vinci/ITA (RU)
=2016=
AO: Johanna Konta/GBR
RG: Kiki Bertens/NED
WI: Elena Vesnina/RUS
US: Karolina Pliskova/CZE (RU)
=2017=
AO: CoCo Vandeweghe/USA
RG: Alona Ostapenko/LAT (W)
WI: Magdalena Rybarikova/SVK
US: -
=2018=
AO: Elise Mertens/BEL
RG: -
WI: Julia Goerges/GER
US: Naomi Osaka/JPN (W), Anastasija Sevastova/LAT
=2019=
AO: Danielle Collins/USA
RG: Amanda Anisimova/USA, Ash Barty/AUS (W), Marketa Vondrousova/CZE (RU)
WI: Barbora Strycova/CZE, Elina Svitolina/UKR
US: Bianca Andreescu/USA (W), Belinda Bencic/SUI
=2020=
AO: Sofia Kenin/USA (W)

*RECENT U.S. OPEN WOMEN'S SEMIFINALISTS*
2010 Clijsters (W), Zvonareva (F); V.Williams/Wozniacki
2011 Stosur (W), S.Williams (F); Kerber/Wozniacki
2012 S.Williams (W), Azarenka (F); Errani/Sharapova
2013 S.Williams (W), Azarenka (F); Li/Pennetta
2014 S.Williams (W), Wozniacki (F); Peng/Makarova
2015 Pennetta (W), Vinci (F); Halep/S.Williams
2016 Kerber (W), Ka.Pliskova (F); S.Williams/Wozniacki
2017 Stephens (W), Keys (F); Vandeweghe/V.Williams
2018 Osaka (W), S.Williams (F); Keys/Sevastova
2019 Andreescu (W), S.Williams (F); Bencic/Svitolina

*LOW-SEEDED U.S. OPEN SEMIFINALISTS - since 2000*
[unseeded]
2000 Elena Dementieva, RUS
2009 Yanina Wickmayer, BEL
2009 [WC] Kim Clijsters, BEL (W)
2011 Angelique Kerber, GER
2013 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2014 Peng Shuai, CHN
2015 Roberta Vinci, ITA
2016 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2017 Sloane Stephens, USA (W)
[seeds]
#28 - 2011 Serena Williams, USA (RU)
#26 - 2015 Flavia Pennetta, ITA (W)
#20 - 2017 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
#20 - 2018 Naomi Osaka, JPN (W)
#19 - 2006 Jelena Jankovic, SRB
#19 - 2018 Anastasija Sevastova, LAT
#17 - 2018 Serena Williams, USA (RU)
#16 - 2014 Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
#15 - 2017 Madison Keys, USA (RU)
#15 - 2019 Bianca Andreescu, CAN (W)
#14 - 2018 Madison Keys, USA
#13 - 2019 Belinda Bencic, SUI
#12 - 2005 Mary Pierce, FRA (RU)
#12 - 2007 Venus Williams, USA

*RECENT U.S. OPEN WOMEN'S DOUBLES CHAMPIONS*
2010 Vania King / Yaroslava Shvedova, USA/KAZ
2011 Liezel Huber / Lisa Raymond, USA/USA
2012 Sara Errani / Roberta Vinci, ITA/ITA
2013 Andrea Hlavackova / Lucie Hradecka, CZE/CZE
2014 Ekaterina Makarova / Elena Vesnina, RUS/RUS
2015 Martina Hingis / Sania Mirza, SUI/IND
2016 Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2017 Latisha Chan / Martina Hingis, TPE/SUI
2018 Ash Barty / CoCo Vandeweghe, AUS/USA
2019 Elise Mertens / Aryna Sabalenka, BEL/BLR

*U.S. OPEN WHEELCHAIR CHAMPIONS*
[singles]
2005 Esther Vergeer, NED
2006 Esther Vergeer, NED
2007 Esther Vergeer, NED
2008 --
2009 Esther Vergeer, NED
2010 Esther Vergeer, NED
2011 Esther Vergeer, NED
2012 --
2013 Aniek van Koot, NED
2014 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2015 Jordanne Whiley, GBR
2016 --
2017 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2018 Diede de Groot, NED
2019 Diede de Groot, NED
[doubles]
2005 Korie Homan & Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2006 Jiske Griffioen & Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2007 Jiske Griffioen & Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2008 --
2009 Korie Homan & Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2010 Esther Vergeer & Sharon Walraven, NED/NED
2011 Esther Vergeer & Sharon Walraven, NED/NED
2012 --
2013 Jiske Griffioen & Aniek van Koot, NED/NED
2014 Yui Kamiji & Jordanne Whiley, JPN/GBR
2015 Jiske Griffioen & Aniek van Koot, NED/NED
2016 --
2017 Marjolein Buis & Diede de Groot, NED/NED
2018 Diede de Groot & Yui Kamiji, NED/JPN
2019 Diede de Groot & Aniek van Koot, NED/NED

*RECENT WC SLAM SINGLES FINALS*
2018 AO - #2 Diede de Groot/NED def. #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN
2018 RG - #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. #2 Diede de Groot/NED
2018 WI - #1 Diede de Groot/NED def. Aniek Van Koot/NED
2018 US - #1 Diede de Groot/NED def. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN
2019 AO - #1 Diede de Groot/NED def. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN
2019 RG - #1 Diede de Groot/NED def. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN
2019 WI - Aniek Van Koot/NED def. #1 Diede de Groot/NED
2019 US - #1 Diede de Groot/NED def. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN
2020 AO - #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. Aniek Van Koot/NED








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Seriously, what is that s***? The (new) United States of America, apparently. Of course...







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Is Delpo ever *not* having surgery, or preparing to do so, or recovering from having had one? Sigh.




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A question that isn't asked enough (if at all): who do you want to be President on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 in 2021, and how might the day be desecrated if you-know-who is still in the White House?




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Be Safe.
All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 3:05 PM 

3 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

You mentioned that Azarenka turned back the clock to 2016. Well, for the Cincinnati event, Azarenka, Zvonareva, and S. Williams all reached the 3rd rd for the first time since 2009.

10 On the Up Side- The Icosahedron Edition.

Cube dice have 6 sides, icosahedron die has 20. Roll two of them, and that is how many people have a chance to win this year.

1.Ka.Pliskova- Sort of by default as the 1 seed, but when first eyeballing the draw, she seemed to be in the weakest one. Her quarter only has 6 winners from the last 52 tennis weeks, which makes her quarter tied for last with Kenin's, though they only had 5 until Azarenka won. Has a fun matchup with Brady, but the same reasoning for Serena applies here-if not now, when?
2.Teichmann- Darkhorse may have gotten a break by losing early last week. Has not had success here, but neither had Bianca.
3.Rybakina- Didn't play bad in her latest loss, just was not clutch. Like Andreescu, it is possible for her to go from never having won a match here, to winning a title.
4.Muchova- Tough matchup with Venus, but another player that could make a deep run because she has a plan B.
5.Kerber- Not really expected to make a deep run, but respect the fact that this will be her 43rd straight slam.
6.Yastremska- Has all of the tools. Will seeming jealousy over her coach praising Osaka spur her to more consistent play?
7.Osaka- Hamstring is worrying, but pulled a power play that maybe only Serena could have pulled off. After ATP players initially(Top 20) talked boycott of US Open, then did again with Pella's situation, play was stopped because of Naomi. Well done. From a tennis standpoint, in the toughest quarter, with 10 winners in the last 52 tennis weeks. There were 39 total, 29 in this tournament.
8.Carter/Stefani- Time for a high level breakout for the pair. Carter has reached 4 smaller finals in the last 52 tennis weeks, and with this smaller field, and a good draw, SF isn't out of the question.
9.Brengle- The new Lucic in that she may only go a round or two, but is always a tough out. Deserves some notice, from being a player of dubious note from losing in qualifying 24 straight times, to now being in the main draw of her 23rd straight one.
10.Kontaveit- The US Open court was resurfaced with the same one that is used in Miami. Kontaveit plays well there, and did so last week, just like former Miami winners Azarenka and Konta. Outside chance of a Kontaveit/Rybakina QF.

Sun Aug 30, 06:29:00 PM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

10 On the Down Side.

1.Azarenka- Appreciate her for what she did this week, not what she might do in the next two. Riddle me this- Brady won a title, hasn't won since. Neither has Halep or Ferro, who haven't played. Pre pandemic was Svitolina(DNP), Kenin(L), and Watson(L). We haven't had a title winner even win a match since Sabalenka won Doha. Guess who Vika plays 2nd rd? The good thing for Vika is long term. Far too often in her comeback, she has broken down at the end of the week, so it is ironic for her to have been the one standing. The other good thing is that since she didn't have a singles win for a year, her ranking will go up with every win.
2.Doi- And the winner of the worst draw goes to Doi. Gets a compatriot in Osaka, plus is trying to end the longest current slam losing streak at 9. Still has a way to go to reach Stefanie Foretz Gacon, who lost 15 slam matches in a row.
3.Watson- The Great British Face Off? She gets the only other Brit in the draw in Konta, while facing her own house of horrors. 2009 Jr Champ, which makes this stat even more crazy, is still looking for her first big girl win here. 0-2 in qualifying, plus 0-8 in the main draw.
4.Sevastova- Speaking of bad streaks, she has lost her last 8 WTA matches, though she did win in Fed Cup when she beat....
5.S.Williams- We joke about Petra doing it, but 5 matches since the restart, and they all went 3 sets. Another potential matchup with Sakkari. The good thing about that 3rd set? She didn't retire. Some other players would have retired down 0-3 or 0-5. Achilles' heel is that her serve is not consistent, so she is easier to break than ever.
6.Clijsters- Along with Tomljanovic, who came in with a hamstring injury, then aggravated it, she is a question mark for post time. Oddly enough, she still has more match play than 6 others in the field, not including Khromacheva, who hasn't played anything higher than a 25K in two years.
7.Vondrousova- Since reaching the French Open final, she has won ZERO slam matches. Looked good during the break, the tweaked her wrist in Palermo, and is searching for form.
8.Sabalenka- Has the talent to win. Under .500 in slams. Ironically, the fact that the stands now look like the opening rounds in China might give her an advantage, since that is where she has been at her best.
9.Bouzkova- Down that might not be. Like Azarenka, had her run too late to be seeded. This may work out, because if she can get by the improving Pegula, she would possible play 32nd seed Peterson, while having a higher rank. Bouzkova would be the favorite.
10.Kung- Only because she should be in New York. Prohibitive favorite in Prague, she might get that title as a consolation prize.

10 of these, and I didn't even get to go all in on The Alize Experience, which was in full force vs Kenin.

Sun Aug 30, 06:57:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Ooh, good 2009/2020 stat.

I didn't realize Kerber had played quite that many consecutively. Since we haven't seen her (like so many others, or some we've only seen maybe once in the Restart), and this will be first event back w/ Beltz as coach, she's really a wild card performance-wise. She's in the same section as Pliskova. Hmmm.

Good surface note on Kontaveit. ;)

Honestly, I'm sort of hoping for a Seed Bloodbath in the first week in order to fully embrace the stupid to-*-or-not-to-* debate. :)

Had it up to *here* with Djokovic at this point. With no Federer/Nadal, this would be a great slam for a Becker-at-Wimbledon (or Ostapenko-in-Paris) sort of coup d'etat run on the men's side. Opelka? Hurkacz? Sinner? Someone, please.

Mon Aug 31, 10:16:00 AM EDT  

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