Monday, September 21, 2020

Restart Wk.6- Romanian Holiday


For Simona in Rome, the third time was the charm.

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@simonahalep ?? Roma! ??????

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*Restart WEEK 6 CHAMPIONS*
ROME, ITALY (Premier 5/Clay Court Outdoor)
S: Simona Halep/ROU def. Karolina Pliskova/CZE 6-1/2-0 ret.
D: Hsieh Su-wei/Barbora Strycova (TPE/CZE) def. Anna-Lena Friedsam/Raluca Olaru (GER/ROU) 6-2/6-2


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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Simona Halep/ROU
...after two previous Rome final losses to Elina Svitolina (2017 & '18), Halep finally found the perfect opponent to assist in her lifting of the Italian Open trophy: an injured Karolina Pliskova.

But before the Czech (barely) made her way through a set and a half on a rare Monday final, Halep spent the weekend maintaining her perfect Restart record. After rolling through Jasmine Paolini, Dayana Yastremska and Yulia Putintseva (who also retired early in the 2nd set), the Romanian won a three-set battle with Garbine Muguruza (after nearly squandering a 5-1 3rd set advantage) in the semis to reach her 39th career tour final.

The first woman from her country to win the singles title in Rome, Halep heads to Paris on a 14-match winning streak (matching her career best run in '15), 10-0 in the Restart, and sporting a combined 20-2 mark in 2020 as she seeks to join Naomi Osaka this season as a three-time slam champ ("3-mona?").

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RISER: Yulia Putintseva/KAZ
...fresh off her quarterfinal result at Flushing Meadows, Putintseva knocked off Rebecca Peterson and Petra Martic on the clay in Rome, setting up a clash between the second-ranked Kazakh (herself) and the first (Elena Rybakina). Putintseva trailed by a set and 5-2...


But she staged a comeback against the increasingly more error-prone Rybakina, winning in three sets to reach her first Premier 5 QF.


Putintseva retired in the 2nd set of her QF match with Simona Halep.
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SURPRISE: Danka Kovinic/MNE
...the 25-year old Montenegran, a Top 50 player several years ago (and two-time WTA finalist in 2015-16), qualified in Rome and then followed up with MD wins over Julia Goerges (allowing just one game) and Belinda Bencic. The win over the Swiss is Kovinic's second career Top 10 victory (her first since def. Roberta Vinci in Madrid in '16), and her 3rd Round finish is her best result in a Premier 5 tour event.

She'll jump fourteen spots to #72 in the new rankings.

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VETERANS: Victoria Azarenka/BLR and Garbine Muguruza/ESP
...the unique quick turnaround from playing for the U.S. Open title to preparing for Roland Garros on clay in Europe was surely a difficult one, but you wouldn't know it from watching Vika. Less than a week after defeating Serena Williams in the semis in New York, Azarenka opened her stint in Rome by defeating Venus (the first time she's defeated both sisters in the same season).


Vika then destroyed Sofia Kenin (love & love) a round later, and was tied 6-6 in the opening set with Dasha Kasatkina when the Russian was injured and forced to retire (Vika provided a helpful assist to her opponent, and even gave her an eye-to-eye pep talk in the changeover area), setting up just the fourth meeting between herself and Garbine Muguruza (the others were a tie two-break win for Vika en route to the '16 Miami title, and a pair of retirements, one from each woman, in last year's Monterrey final and in the 3rd Round of this same Italian Open event).

The fourth meeting proved to be the charm for (finally) a three-setter. Azarenka rallied from 3-1 down in the 3rd, getting to 4-4 before an ill-timed loss of serve allowed the Spaniard to serve out the win, knotting their head-to-head series at 2-2.

Azarenka's lone semifinal result at RG came seven years ago, and she's gone just 3-4 in Paris since. But her current form virtually dares one to leave her off the "short list" of favorites for (at least) a SF/F run beginning next Sunday.

While Azarenka's comeback trip to the U.S. Open final is front of mind at the moment, remember, Muguruza staged a similar rally en route to the Australian Open final back in January. After her rusty Restart debut at Flushing Meadows, Rome offered Muguruza the chance to find her feet on the clay. After a straight sets win over Sloane Stephens, Garbi won a tough three-set battle with Coco Gauff, then took out Johanna Konta in two. In the QF, Muguruza's late final set break allowed her to serve out a 6-4 3rd set win over Azarenka. In the semis, after staging a comeback from 5-1 down in the 3rd against Simona Halep, the Spaniard's week finally ended with an unfortunate match-concluding pair of back-to-back DF that sent the Romanian to the final, but the former Roland Garros champ heads to Paris in the mix for another '20 slam final appearance.

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COMEBACKS: Dasha Kasatkina/RUS and Ana Konjuh/CRO
...things didn't end well for Kasatkina in Rome, but *she* was on fire before her ankle was.


Arriving in Rome ranked #74, the former Wimbledon/RG quarterfinalist and one-time Top 10er's lowest position since January 2016, the Russian made it through qualifying while allowing a total of five games to Arina Rodionova and Gaby Dabrowski. In the main draw, Kasatkina dropped four to Vera Zvonareva, then only five against Katerina Siniakova to put together her first five-match winning streak since her Kremlin Cup title run in '18 (she hadn't won more than three consecutive matches since). She had reached a 1st set tie-break in her 3rd Round match with Azarenka, only to roll her ankle and be forced to retire.

One step forward, two steps back? Well, at least the injury doesn't seem catastrophic, and the Russian says she'll *try* to be ready for Paris. After all the misfortune she's encountered over the past year and a half, it's nice to see she's kept her sense of humor...

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When you saw those awesome sneakers at the store but they don’t have your size?? But seriously, thanks everyone, I’ve got so many nice messages last night and very appreciate this. Everything is happening for a reason and one person told me that it’s only gonna make me stronger. Big respect to @vichka35 1st for the big battle yesterday and 2nd for the help and support after. That’s what sport is about. I will do my best to be ready for RG???? ????? ?????? ? ???????? ?????????? ??????, ?? ??? ?????? ????????? ? ???? ????????, ?? ? ???? ????????????? ???? ?? ???? ????????? ? ????? ?????????, ? ????? ??? ????. ?????? ?? ?????????? ?????? ??? ? ???? ??????? ????? ??? ??????, ??? ??? ??????? ???? ?????? ???????. ????????? ??????? @vichka35 1e- ?? ?????? ????, 2?-?? ????????? ? ?????? ?????. ??? ???????? ????????? ?????? ????? ??? ?????????, ????? ???? ??????? ? ????? ???????? ???? ???????! #DD #HealthFirst

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Konjuh's injury-plagued career finally had it's first good week in quite a while, as the still-only-22 year old Croat returned from a 19-month absence to win a $25K challenger title in Zagreb.

Konjuh won her maiden tour title at age 17 in 2015, and was a U.S. Open quarterfinalist a year later (the youngest in a decade, and the first woman from Croatia to advance so far in a dozen years) en route to a Top 20 ranking. By the end of 2017, though, her nearly four-year battle to right an elbow injury had begun. She had her fourth surgery for the problem last year, finally returning this week.

She took the title without dropping a set, defeating Tereza Mrdeza in the final to claim her first singles title since that '15 win on the grass in Nottingham, adding her name to the growing list of players who've emerged in the Restart after long absences (perhaps because their competitors were mostly in the same boat, somewhat leveling the playing field a bit) to find quick success.

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FRESH FACE: Marketa Vondrousova/CZE
...in Rome the 21-year old Czech, a finalist at Roland Garros last year, posted a semifinal result, her best since her September wrist surgery.

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After her runner-up result in Paris (her third final of the year), Vondrousova's 2019 season had ended with Wimbledon, and she came into this past week having gone just 4-8 since her return to action in January (she opened with a two-win QF result in Adelaide in Week 2, so she'd won two of ten matches since). In Rome, she ran off four straight wins over Misaka Doi, Arantxa Rus, Polona Hercog and Elina Svitolina, the latter her first Top 10 victory since her win over Simona Halep at last year's Italian Open. She was finally ousted by the defending champ, countrywoman Karolina Pliskova, in straight sets in the semis.
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DOWN: Elena Rybakina/KAZ
...the Kazakh was 21-4 before the shutdown, but has *already* lost nearly as many matches in the Restart. Rybakina did manage to string together back-to-back wins over Ekaterina Alexandrova and Marie Bouzkova in Rome, but in the 3rd Round (with the "aid" of 12 DF) she squandered a set and 5-2 lead against fellow Moscow-born countrywoman Yulia Putintseva and dropped to 3-3 since the resumption of tour play.
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ITF PLAYERS: Sara Sorribes Tormo/ESP and Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA
...Sorribes was active during the shutdown, winning a pair of Mapfre League tournament titles in Spain, and her form has carried over into the Restart. Already having upset Naomi Osaka in Fed Cup (soon to be the BJK Cup) in February, the Spaniard returned last month and recorded impressive wins in Prague over Barbora Strycova and Laura Siegemund, then got her first career MD win (def. Claire Liu) at the U.S. Open.

This week in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France Sorribes won her biggest career title with an $80K challenger crown. She took the event without dropping a set, defeating the likes of Whitney Osuigwe, Varvara Lepchenko, Viktorija Golubic and Viktoriya Tomova to reach the final. On Sunday, Sorribes defeated Romanian Irina Bara 6-3/6-4 to win her tenth career ITF title.


Meanwhile, Haddad Maia claimed her second challenger crown in her third final in the three weeks since her return from suspension from a failed drug test at the beginning of the year. At Santarem, Portugal the 24-year old improved her return record to 13-1 by taking the $15K title, finishing up the week by double-bageling Polish teen Martyna Kubka in the final.

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??ONE TEAM, ONE DREAM??Dessa vez queria compartilhar e dedicar esse ti´tulo a toda minha EQUIPE, porque sozinha eu so´ estou nas fotos haha!!! Faz 15 meses praticamente que estamos trabalhando a` dista^ncia, se entregando da forma que da (seja por um fi´sico no zoom, uma chamada de vi´deo ou um grupo no whatsapp) Cada um se entregando da forma que dava , mas SEMPRE com um sorriso no rosto e acreditando no processo! Sou muito grata por ter voce^s ao meu lado e acreditarem em mim nos momentos de alegria e dificuldades !!! Seguimos??????.... @paulorobertocerutti @german_gaich @tennistrainingpro @carladipierro @nicastroh @marciotorres81 @angaasset @jomasport @wilsontennis_br @chriscubera @timebrasil @dianagabanyi @cbtoficial #daybyday

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JUNIOR STAR: Zheng Qinwen/CHN
...the 17-year old picked up her third ITF title since the beginning of the Restart, winning a $25K in Frydek-Mistek, Czech Republic. After reaching the MD through qualifying, Zheng defeated #2-seed Victoria Kan, Katy Volynets and Raluca Serban prior to finishing off her 8-0 week with a 3-6/6-4/6-0 win in the final over Romanian Gabriela Talaba.

Zheng reached the girls singles semis at both Roland Garros and the U.S. Open in 2019.
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We see you @sw.hsieh ???? #IBI20 #tennis #hi

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DOUBLES: Hsieh Su-wei/Barbora Strycova, TPE/CZE
...playing together for the first time in seven months, Hsieh/Strycova picked up where they left off in February. The veteran duo, an almost accidental first-time pairing in Indian Wells in 2018, shared the tour lead with four titles in '19 once they became an offical team, and even with the limited opportunities in '20 they've *already* matched that total this season.

In Rome, they reached their fifth season final in five events, taking the title without losing a set. They barely kept that stat alive in the semis, rallying from 5-0 down in the 1st vs. Carter/Stefani to win in straight sets, then defeated Friedsam/Olaru in a 6-2/6-2 final on Sunday to pick up their ninth overall tour title together.

Oddly enough, though they've been *the* dominant doubles team in '20, Hsieh/Strycova have yet to win a slam this year. They didn't travel to New York for the Open, and their only loss on the season (21-1) came in the Australian Open final against Babos/Mladenovic. Hsieh/Strycova *did* win last year's Wimbledon, though.

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WHEELCHAIR: Manami Tanaka/JPN
...in Ile de Re, France the 24-year old Tanaka swept the singles and doubles titles at the Series 2 event, matching her biggest career title. She lost just one set in singles all week (to Jiske Griffioen) and closed out her title run with victories over Katharina Kruger and Michaela Spaanstra. In doubles, she teamed with countrywoman Saki Takamura to win a 10-8 3rd set TB in the final over Kruger/Spaanstra.


After years of #2 Yui Kamiji essentially being the lone high-level Japanese participant on the women's WC tour (and being a non-factor in Paralympic doubles when being teamed with a countrywoman), things are starting to change as the '21 Games in Tokyo near. Tanaka (now #13) makes it three women from the nation currently ranked in the Top 15 (along w/ #10 Momoka Ohtani), just one less than the longtime dominant contingent from the Netherlands (which still has three of the Top 4). The men's #1, Shingo Kunieda, is also from Japan (the '20 U.S. Open champ, he needs only a Wimbledon singles win to join Diede de Groot as the only players who've won all eight slam crowns, and the *only* to do that *and* win s/d Paralympic Golds).

Considering the vast possibilities of wheelchair athletics in the U.S., it's still a huge disappointment that the highest ranked U.S. women are just #11 and #27 (and there are just two men in the Top 50, as well). There seems to be a tremendous lost opportunity taking place here, as wheelchair tennis is the *one* such sport that holds major competitions (the slams) both at the same time -- and on the same site -- as another widely-covered able-bodied event. Even what is considered the top WC competition, the Paralympics -- though in the same host city -- takes place weeks *after* the Olympics. There are so many eyes in Melbourne, Paris, London and New York (on site or via TV/streaming coverage) there to be attracted, but the USTA (or whichever U.S. body would take the lead) seems to be content with blissfully ignoring such golden opportunities that could be used as lures to attract wheelchair athletes to the sport.
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1. Rome QF - Garbine Muguruza def. Victoria Azarenka
...3-6/6-3/6-4. In a match which featured thirteen breaks of serve (and 31 BP), Azarenka appeared to have grabbed the final change in momentum in the 3rd set when she rallied from 3-1 down to serve at 4-4. But Muguruza's late break turned the tables one final time, as she served out the win to knot their head-to-head at 2-2. Muguruza won eleven of the final thirteen points against a rapidly tiring Vika.
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2. Rome SF - Simona Halep def. Garbine Muguruza
...6-3/4-6/6-4. Halep led 5-1 in the 3rd, and twice served for the match, only to see Muguruza get things back on serve and have a shot to hold for 5-5. But then she dropped serve to end the match, closing with back-to-back DF.
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3. Rome 2nd Rd - Dayana Yastremska def. Amanda Anisimova
...4-6/7-6(3)/6-4. In her first event since parting ways with former coach Sascha Bajin, Yastremska saw her opponent -- '19 RG semifinalist Anisimova -- fail to close out the match while serving at 6-4/5-4. The Ukrainian then won a 9-7 tie-break to force a 3rd set.

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4. Rome 3rd Rd. - Yulia Putintseva def. Elena Rybakina
...4-6/7-6(3)/6-2. Rybakina led 6-4/5-2 and served for the match, but as errors (led by 12 DF) bled into her game, Putintseva seized control and won the battle of Kazakhs.


In Strasbourg, another Kazakh -- Zarina Diyas -- staged a comeback from 7-6/4-0 down to defeat Christina McHale on Monday.
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5. Rome 3rd Rd. - Victoria Azarenka def. Dasha Kasatkina
...6-6 ret. Kasatkina's scramble for a short ball, and the rolling of her ankle, ended the Russian's encouraging run in Rome on a bad note. Azarenka's comforting actions in the aftermath, though, turned the moment into something more.


For good, or bad, Dasha has been here before...

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6. Rome 2nd Rd. - Garbine Muguruza def. Coco Gauff
...7-6(3)/3-6/6-3. Gauff puts up a fight, but still falls for the fourth time in five matches.
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7. Rome 2nd Rd. - Victoria Azarenka def. Sofia Kenin
...6-0/6-0. I'll see your reigning Australian Open champ, and raise you a U.S. Open finalist.


This was Vika's first love & love win since she double-bageled Magdalena Rybarakova on her way to winning in Indian Wells in 2016.
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8. Rome 2nd Rd. - Yulia Putintseva def. Petra Martic
...6-4/6-7(2)/6-4. Before her comeback against Rybakina, Putintseva had survived one from Martic a round earlier. The Croat had forced a 3rd set after trailing 6-3/5-1 and saving a MP.

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9. Rome 1st Rd. - Magda Linette def. Alona Ostapenko 6-4/6-3
Rome 2nd Rd. - Polona Hercog def. Kiki Bertens 6-4/6-4
Rome 1st Rd. - Katerina Siniakova def. Angelique Kerber 6-3/6-1
...Ostapenko and Bertens *finally* make their Restart debuts, though briefly, while Kerber's short clay court campaign begins with a clunker. Ostapenko got her first Restart win Monday over Lauren Davis is Strasbourg.
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10. Rome 2nd Rd - Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Anett Kontaveit 4-6/7-5/6-3
Rome 3rd Rd. - Elina Svitolina def. Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6(6)/6-4
...Sveta downed the Estonian in 2:47, but falls to the two-time Rome winner a round later. "I think I'm done with expectations in my career," Kuznetsova said. "I just want to play. Expectations do nothing and bother you."
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11. Rome 1st Rd. - Aliona Bolsova def. Alison Riske
...5-7/7-6(4)/6-3. The Spaniard, who reached the Round of 16 last year in Paris, saves a MP and wins in 2:52.

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12. $80K Cagnes-sur-Mer FRA 1st Rd. - Dasha Gavrilova def. Greet Minnen 6-1/6-0
$80K Cagnes-sur-Mer FRA 2nd Rd. - Dasha Gavrilova def. Clara Burel 4-6/6-4/6-3
...in her first event since last year's U.S. Open, Gavrilova qualified and posted two MD wins. The Aussie hadn't won a match since the tour-level Lausanne in July '19. She lost in the QF to Viktoriya Tomova.

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13. $15K Melilla ESP QF - Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva def. Alina Charaeva
...7-5/7-6(5). The 15-year old reigning Australian Open girls champ (and junior #1) from Andorra posted her first pro match wins in what was her fourth career event, reaching the semifinals. She lost to the eventual champ, 16-year old Brit Matilda Mutavdzic.
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14. Strasbourg 1st Rd. - Nao Hibino def. Sloane Stephens
...6-2/3-6/6-1. Stephens is a former U.S. Open champ, Roland Garros finalist and world #3 (in 2018). Hibino is 2-11 in her slam career and never ranked above #56 (four years ago).
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1. Rome Final - Simona Halep def. Karolina Pliskova
...6-1/2-0 ret. So you say ya wanna hold a final on a Monday, huh? As it turned out, defending Rome champ Pliskova probably should have just stayed in the lockerroom. Playing with her thigh wrapped, she couldn't move, and clearly wasn't going to try to do so with Roland Garros a week away. The one game she got was gifted by two Halep DF and a free swing on a soft second serve.


This match is the perfect example of the idiocy of commentary that rips a player for retiring mid-way through a 2nd set when it's clear they can't put up a fight, just so their opponent can "win" the match. This one was pretty much over *before* it began. Kudos for Pliskova for not making Halep risk injury and having everyone else awkwardly go through the motions by dragging this out for another half a set.
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2. Rome Final - Hsieh Su-wei/Barbora Strycova def. Anna-Lena Friedsam/Raluca Olaru
...6-2/6-2. 2020 strikes again... this time in a good way.

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3. Rome 1st Rd. - Victoria Azarenka def. Venus Williams
...7-6(7)/6-2. This win makes Azarenka's Serena/Venus single season feat the 28th since both sisters began playing on the WTA tour in 1997.

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HM- Rome 1st Rd. - Coco Gauff/Christina McHale def. Lyudmyla Kichenok/Nadiia Kichenok 6-4/7-5
Rome 2nd Rd. - Hayley Carter/Luisa Stefani def. Coco Gauff/Christina McHale 7-6(5)/6-3
...so if Gauff & McNally are "McCoco," are Gauff & McHale "McCoco Lite?"
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Happy first birthday son! ??

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*CAREER WTA SINGLES TITLES - ACTIVE (last)*
73...Serena Williams (2020=1)
41...Kim Clijsters (2011)
49...Venus Williams(2016)
27...Petra Kvitova (2019)
22...SIMONA HALEP (2020=2)
21...Victoria Azarenka (2020=1)
18...Svetlana Kuznetsova (2018)
16...Karolina Pliskova (2020=1)
[15...Jelena Jankovic (2015)]
14...Elina Svitolina (2020=1)

*CAREER WTA CLAY TITLES - ACTIVE*
13 - Serena Williams, USA
9 - SIMONA HALEP, ROU
9 - Venus Williams, USA
7 - Sara Errani, ITA
6 - Kiki Bertens, NED
[6-J.Jankovic, SRB]
5 - Petra Kvitova, CZE

*MOST WTA FINALS in 2020*
4 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ (1-3)
3 - SIMONA HALEP, ROU (3-0)
2 - Sofia Kenin, USA (2-0)
2 - Naomi Osaka, JPN (1-0+L)
2 - KAROLINA PLISKOVA, CZE (1-1)
2 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR (0-1+W)

*MOST WTA FINALS (ACTIVE), 2018-20*
12 = 6/3/3 HALEP (7-5)
10 = 3/6/1 Barty (7-3)
10 = 5/4/1 Kvitova (7-3)
10 = 3/5/2 KA.PLISKOVA (7-3)
10 = 4/5/1 Bertens (6-4)
9 = 4/4/1 Sabalenka (6-3)
8 = 3/3/2 Osaka (5-2+L)
6 = 3/3/0 Goerges (3-3)
6 = 0/4/2 Kenin (5-1)
6 = 0/2/4 Rybakina (2-4)
6 = 4/1/1 Svitolina (5-1)

*MOST WTA SF in 2020*
4 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ (4-0)
4 - SIMONA HALEP, ROU (3-1)
3 - Naomi Osaka, JPN (2-1)
3 - GARBINE MUGURUZA, ESP (1-1+L)
3 - Ash Barty, AUS (1-2)
3 - Jennifer Brady, USA (1-2)

*MOST WTA DOUBLES FINALS in 2020*
5...HSIEH/STRYCOVA, TPE/CZE (4-1)
3...Melichar/Xu, USA/CHN (1-2)
2...K.Bondarenko/Fichman, UKR/CAN (1-1)
[individuals]
5 (4-1) = HSIEH SU-WEI, TPE
5 (4-1) = BARBORA STRYCOVA, CZE
3 (1-2) = Nicole Melichar, USA
3 (1-2) = Xu Yifan, CHN
2 (2-0) = Desirae Krawczyk, USA
2 (1-1) = Kateryna Bondarenko, UKR
2 (1-1) = Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
2 (1-1) = Sharon Fichman, CAN
2 (1-1) = Ellen Perez, AUS
2 (0-2) = Gaby Dabrowski, CAN
2 (0-2) = RALUCA OLARU, ROU
2 (0-2) = Zheng Saisai, CHN

*MOST 2019-20 WD TITLES - DUOS*
8...HSIEH/STRYCOVA (4/4)
4...Babos/Mladenovic (3/1)
4...Chan/Chan (4/0)
3...Aoyama/Shibahara (2/1)
3...Krejcikova/Siniakova (2/1)
3...Melichar/Peschke (3/0)
3...Mertens/Sabalenka (3/0)
2...Carter/Stefani (1/1)
2...Gauff/McNally (2/0)
2...Krawczyk/Olmos (1/1)

*DEFEATED BOTH SERENA & VENUS IN SAME YEAR [WTA events]*
1997 Lindsay Davenport
1998 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (Sydney-W), Martina Hingis
1999 Steffi Graf (Sydney)
2000 Lindsay Davenport
2001 Martina Hingis (AO)
2002 Kim Clijsters (WTA Chsp-W)
2003 Amelie Mauresmo
2004 Lindsay Davenport (Los Angeles), Maria Sharapova
2005 Silvia Farina Elia
2006 Jelena Jankovic
2007 Justine Henin (U.S. Open-W)
2008 Jelena Jankovic, Li Na
2009 Kim Clijsters (U.S. Open-W), Elena Dementieva
2010 Jelena Jankovic (Rome)
2011 Samantha Stosur
2012 Angelique Kerber
2013 Sabine Lisicki
2014 Ana Ivanovic
2015 -
2016 Angelique Kerber, Karolina Pliskova (U.S. Open), Svetlana Kuznetsova
2017 -
2018 Angelique Kerber
2019 Simona Halep, Bianca Andreescu
2020 Victoria Azarenka
--
(x): in same tournament; "W" if also won title

*ROLAND GARROS WILD CARDS*
Genie Bouchard, CAN (26)
Clara Burel, FRA (19)
Elsa Jacquemot, FRA (17) - slam debut
Chloe Paquet, FRA (26) - 4th con. RG WC
Pauline Parmentier, FRA (34) - 2nd '20 slam WC (AO/RG)
Diane Parry, FRA (18) - 2nd con. RG WC
Tsvetana Pironkova, BUL (33)
Harmony Tan, FRA (23) - 2nd con. RG WC

*2020 SLAM WILD CARDS*
[youngest]
US - Robin Montgomery, USA (15)
US - Katrina Scott, USA (16)
RG - Elsa Jacquemot, FRA (17)
RG - Diane Parry, FRA (18)
US - Hailey Baptiste, USA (18)
RG - Clara Burel, FRA (19)
US - Claire Liu, USA (20)
AO - Priscille Hon, AUS (21)
US - CiCi Bellis, USA (21)
AO - Priscilla Hon, AUS (21)
[oldest]
US - Kim Clijsters, BEL (37)
RG - Pauline Parmentier, FRA (34)
AO - Pauline Parmentier, FRA (33)
US - Tsvetana Pironkova, BUL (33)
AO - Maria Sharapova, RUS (32)
[slam debuts]
AO - Han Na-Lae, KOR
US - Hailey Baptiste, USA
US - Robin Montgomery, USA
US - Katrina Scott, USA
RG - Elsa Jacquemot, FRA







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Be Safe. All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 4:34 PM 

5 Comments:

Blogger Diane said...

Thank you again for all the promotion :)

It was great to see three players on the rise--Vika, Mugu and Marketa. I had forgotten how extremely crafty Marketa is on clay. It was so unfortunate, what happened to her.

The French Open is already sounding like a place Ash Barty is very smart to avoid.

Mon Sep 21, 06:44:00 PM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Serena and Venus. 28 times in 27 years. Farina Elia is the name that stands out.

Kasatkina and Muchova still in French Open draw. If they pull out before qualifying starts, it is Buzarnescu. Was Bonaventure before her mishap.

5 of 6 restarters lost their first match in Rome. Svitolina was the lone winner.

Bertens was not good. Someone who normally gets free points off of her serve had no aces.

Halep is the clear French Open favorite, but is Muguruza #2? If the draw shakes out poorly, they could meet as early as the 4th rd.

If this week's rankings are used for slam seeding, it would not be the first time after a Monday final. When Wozniacki and Zvonareva contested the soggy Rogers Cup final in 2010, Zvonareva moved up from 11 to 8, which was 7 after Serena's US Open withdrawal, then went on to reach the final.

Blinkova/Sabalenka winner in the drivers seat for Strasbourg.

Stat of the Week- 1933-34 - The last time 3 different women repeated at a slam.

1933. The year Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born. Tennis has come a long way, baby.

Now there have been instances where 3 slams have been repeated. In 2009-2010 only the French Open had different winners, as Kim Clijsters took care of the US open while Serena won both in Australia, plus Wimbledon.

We even have had an instance where all 4 slams had repeat winners, but with only two different women. In 1991-1992, Seles repeated at 3 majors, while Graf repeated at Wimbledon. This actually could have been a threepeat, as Seles won Australia, but, well, you know.

In 1933, Joan Hartigan won her home slam in Australia, as did Helen Jacobs did in the US. The twist was at the French, where Brit Margaret Scriven won her two slams.

Scriven was the first lefty to win a slam, but never did at Wimbledon, having tried 12 times.

Speaking of Wimbledon, the person who did not repeat was Helen Wills Moody. A shock that she did not repeat, it was because she did not play. Channeling her inner Serena, she won Wimbledon the last 8 times she played, yet took 12 years to do so.

Quiz Time!

True or False-Margaret Scriven was the first lefty to win the French Open. Is she the only British lefty to have done so?


Interlude hint- there have only been 6 British women to win the French Open.

https://twitter.com/humorandanimals/status/1306248907555573760



Answer!

Sue Barker is the last to have won, but she is a righty.

So is Christine Truman, though her claim to fame is participating in an all British Wimbledon final vs Angela Mortimer, who is also a righty.

Shirley Bloomer also a righty.

That leaves the only other woman to win the title more than once. Ann Jones won twice, but could not be the first lefty to win the French Open, however was the first to win Wimbledon.

Mon Sep 21, 07:18:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

D-
Sure thing! ;)

C-
Oh, the Round of 16 would be an awful draw for *both* Halep and Muguruza.


Meanwhile, Andreescu finally pulled up stakes on 2020. Not really surprising, but I still wonder about the details about the knee (a re-injury at some point, or simply her *hoping* to be back all year when there was really little chance of it) since she's been playing the I'm-coming-back-soon game since the week before Indian Wells.

Tue Sep 22, 10:05:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Shhh... that multi-year running Blowout prediction of a Mexican woman reaching a slam MD is just one win away from *finally* happening.

Zarazua (who's already this season, in Acapulco, become the first MEX in a WTA singles semi since '93) faces Seguel in the final RG Q-round.

Shhh.

Thu Sep 24, 11:08:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

I was going to post about your prediction earlier today, but because of Seguel. Would be first woman from Chile in the French Open singles since Silvana Urroz- 1977, or any slam since Germaine Ohaco- 1982 USO.

Bencic pulled out.

Lots of potential rematches.

Thu Sep 24, 12:49:00 PM EDT  

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