Friday, September 11, 2020

US.11 - The Vikaissance is Real

Sometimes good things come to those who wait. And fight. And grow. On Thursday night, one of those people turned out to be Vika.

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A moment seven years in the making. ??

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While the "NextGen" semifinal that preceded it on Night 11 featured a pair of women seeking to carve out new paths for themselves and their careers, the evening's closing act between #3-seeded Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka was a match-up of so-called "old guard" former champions looking to recapture their past glory in what was their 23rd career meeting (with Williams leading 18-4, but many in close, highly competitive fashion), and eleventh face-off in a major (Williams 10-0, including in back-to-back U.S. Open finals in 2012-13).

With her (by now) seemingly eternal quest for slam title #24 extending into a ninth major since she won her last more than three and a half year ago, six-time U.S. Open champ Williams, a little over two weeks from turning 39, had to view this U.S. Open -- what with so many top stars absent due to the pandemic -- as very likely her last *best* chance to finally bust through the door that had been unceremoniously slammed in her face in the last two finals at Flushing Meadows by the likes of maiden champs Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu. Though time has weathered Williams' legendary prominence in the sport just a tad, largely when it comes to her ability to maintain a consistently high level of play throughout an *entire* match (and the load that fact now routinely lifts from the collective shoulders of her opponents), to believe that Serena *isn't* still capable of storming through a slam field and winning a title would seem a ludicrous thought.

At the same time, fellow mom Azarenka, now 31 but finally in peak physical condition again and with a clear mind after a lengthy custody battle for her son, couldn't have arrived in New York a few weeks ago *expecting* to find herself anywhere near her first slam semifinal in seven years. Yet here she was, after having stunned the field by winning her first title in over four years at the Western & Southern Open which concluded on the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center grounds two weekends ago. Undefeated in her last ten matches after having arrived in the city without a tour-level match win in a year, a "Vika Renaissance" has seemed to be taking root in the city as Azarenka's intensity and confidence have risen with each match victory. In recent weeks she's started to resemble the player who once stood shoulder to shoulder with Serena at the top of the sport. Actually, in many ways, after all her trials, the Belarusian is something of a "New Vika" in that she now seems to appreciate her tennis more than ever, seeing the fun in simply her ability to play at all rather than *only* truly feeling it during her younger days when she found great success.

It set up to be a truly fascinating contest, and it turned out to be just that.

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Champions, rivals & best of all, friends.

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One of the problems for players who have long histories with Williams, and whom she respects as an opponent as she does Azarenka, is that Serena's keen memory of past battles (and some big losses, even if there are relatively few of them in the overall run of a series) means that she'll be focused for battle long *before* she hits the court (memo to Simona for "next time"). She knows she *has* to be, and she often arrives in full fighting form no matter how patchy or wobbly she may have been in previous rounds.

Williams came into tonight's semifinal in just that fashion.

At the same time, Azarenka, after being as in-form as she has been in years, wasn't that in the 1st. She opened the match with two double-faults in the first game and quickly found herself down a break. After she couldn't take advantage of two Williams DF in game #2 things quickly got out of hand a Serena was as dialed in on her groundstrokes and anticipation as she has been in *quite* a while.



Azarenka was soon down a double-break at 4-0. She finally got her footing late in the set, getting on the board with a hold and having a BP shot in game #6. But Williams shut down the effort, and continued to fire the sorts of shots, in long *or* short rallies, that have helped her win those 23 major titles. On her second set point, Serena broke Azarenka yet again to take the set 6-1.

The 2nd set began with a continuation of the all-encompassing Williams attack. But Azarenka, ever the fighter, held on. She saved a BP and held for 1-1, then did so again (at love) two games later. Bouncing, hopping and hoping as she virtually dripped with anticipation both immediately after and before every point, Vika searched for an opening. Finally, she found it and shouldered her way through the door.

Up love/30, Azarenka perfectly timed and jumped on a Williams second serve, then stepped into the middle of the court and fired a backhand winner to reach double BP. A backhand crosscourt winner got the break and gave her her first lead at 3-2. From there, Azarenka was clearly the more consistent player in the set. After a love hold for 4-2, Vika had two opportunities for a double-break lead in game #7. Williams, now faltering on second serve points, managed to get multiple first serves inside the box and held for 4-3.



But, by now, Azarenka was fully engaged in the fight. After Vika won a long, hard-hitting rally to go up 40/15, Williams got the game to deuce, but this time it was the Belarusian who shut things down, holding for 5-3 and then quickly reaching double BP/SP a game later. An Azarenka backhand winner took the 2nd set 6-3, and her shook her fist and burst with a hop, skip and a jump toward the changeover area, ready for more after having fired twelve winners vs. just one unforced error in the set.



As Williams was pushed into her ninth 3rd set in eleven Restart matches, the shift in momentum had turned things decidedly in Azarenka's favor. But Vika had been here with Serena in a major before, having served for the '12 U.S. final against Williams, as well as doing so twice in a 2010 Australian Open QF (which Serena would win en route to the title Down Under). She could take nothing for granted. Serena is still Serena, even with a little wear around the edges.

With Azarenka (likely the greatest returner of her generation in her earlier prime) having found a way to carve into Williams' serve, she further solidified her surge into the 3rd. In game #2, at deuce, Serena pulled up behind the baseline, doubled over and then gingerly went to the changeover area for a medical time-out. (Personally, I feared it was a torn Achilles tendon, as her movement and reaction surely made it seem possible.) As Williams had her left ankle heavily (re-)taped (she apparently "stretched" her Achilles), Azarenka closed her eyes and seemingly went into a Zen-like pose of total calm a few feet away. When Serena was ready to serve, Vika quickly pounced and reached BP. On Vika's second BP chance, Williams' wide forehand gave Azarenka a break lead in the decider at 2-0. Vika held for 3-0 with an ace, then spent the rest of the set trying to keep her past slam demons against Williams in the past.



Serving for the final at 5-3, as she'd done eight years earlier, Azarenka blinked (slightly) with a DF that helped turn a 30/love score into 30/30. But rather than fret, "New Vika" smiled, then promptly fired a 105-mph serve up the middle that Williams barely got a racket on, then served up a wide ace (confirmed via replay challenge) on MP to take the set, and the match 1-6/6-3/6-3.



Azarenka's fifth career win over Williams, her first in eleven tries against her in slam competition, gives her an 11-0 Restart record in New York over the past three weeks and sends her into her first slam final since she lost to Serena in the 2013 title match at Flushing Meadows.

Yes, the Vika Renaissance -- the Vikaissance -- is real.

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A long time coming... @vichka35 #USOpen

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While Williams' quest for #24 continues, it's hard not to view this Open as a lost opportunity. She won't likely be a *true* favorite on the clay in Paris later this month, either. At the start of 2020, I said that I felt she likely needed to win her record-tying slam *this* year if it was *ever* going to come. It sure looks as if it will not (though, under the unique '20 circumstances that cut one major from the schedule, I *suppose* that so-called deadline might extend one more major into '21 in Melbourne).

For Vika, now admittedly with a lot less ego and with a more even-tempered take on life, suddenly anything is possible again. No one knows better than she just how quickly opportunities such as the one she'll get on Saturday can be snatched away, maybe never to come her way again.

She'll give it her all to finally lift her first U.S. Open trophy, and then she'll likely give just a little bit more. We wouldn't expect anything less.







=DAY 11 NOTES=
...in the first semifinal of the night, rather than a case of two veterans with long and familiar histories, we had had a case of two young players both currently in the process of blossoming.

While #4-seed Naomi Osaka made such a move *on* the court when she won this title two years, she's spent the hot (literally and figuratively) U.S. summer making her voice known on cultural and social issues (she arrived tonight, as she has in each round in New York, wearing another mask highlighting a Black victim of police brutality, Philandro Castile). Meanwhile, the maturing of #28 Jennifer Brady, looking to give the U.S. Open a first-time slam finalist from North America for the third year in the last four, has been an ongoing process than started during her college years at UCLA, but which has entered something of a jet stream since she brought aboard a new coach and trainer late last year.

Brady's run to the U.S. semis was the first by a former NCAA women's player at the Open since Lori McNeil in 1987, and the recent Lexington champ came into the night having not lost a set all tournament. Osaka hadn't been quite as dominant, but represented a step up in power from Brady's previous opponents in this slam, and after stating that she'd brought seven *different* specially-made masks with her into the Flushing Meadows bubble, Osaka came into Thursday evening needing one more win to assure that her NYC messenger's mission would be able to be completed this weekend.

With the Ashe Court roof closed as heavy rain pelted the empty grounds outside the stadium, Osaka and Brady participated in a heavy-hitting, high quality, well-played contest during which there was a razor thin difference between the two women. It was a fine example of sort of future big stage matches the tour will see even after the Williams era fully passes into history (and it will, someday soon), even if it might have been difficult to point out any truly *big* and exhilarating moments in the proceedings, no matter how spectacular the ESPN commentators wanted to tell the audience everything was (why, it was almost as if they were trying to hold onto every last audience member while knowing that the match was airing against NBA and NHL playoffs games *and* the NFL opener on other networks, but maybe that was just an, ahem, coincidence). While the truly compelling nature and moments that generously populated the Williams/Azarenka match were in comparatively smaller abundance here, there is no arguing that the contest was about as rock-solid as one could ever hope to see on such a stage.

The 1st set was highlighted by the very same things that would be the calling cards of the entire match. Namely, big groundstrokes and solid service games that barely showed a hint of blemish. Osaka held at love to open the match, while soon after Brady held from love/30 down to even things at 2-2. Brady would get the only BP chance in the entire set in game #7, but failed to take advantage of a mediocre Osaka second serve and saw the Japanese star hold for 4-3. In all, while she *did* face that one BP, Osaka would win 21 of 22 first serve points in the set.

With neither able to wrestle away any sort of advantage, the set had to be decided via a tie-break. It was there that Osaka took command, grabbing a mini-break edge at 2-0 and never letting go. Brady missed on another second serve return in her last real chance to get back into the breaker, falling behind 4-1. Osaka won going away at 7-1, handing Brady her first lost set of the tournament.

In the 2nd set, break points were few and far between (if they were seen at all). While Brady didn't take advantage of the lone opportunity she'd had in the 1st, she eventually did here. After Osaka had held for 2-2 from a love/30 hole, Brady carved out her second BP chance in game #8 when her second serve return deep up the middle elicited an Osaka error. Osaka's wide forehand ended an 18-shot rally to give the Bannerette the first break of the match. Brady, still not having faced a BP on her own serve on the night, raced to a 40/love lead a game later and served out the set at 6-3.

In the 3rd, though, Osaka raised her game, and Brady could not quite follow. After holding from 30/30 for 2-1 with a series of big shots, Osaka finally got her first BP chance of the match a game later at 15/40 following an advantageous netcord off a backhand shot. Brady's long backhand on BP #1 gave Osaka a 3-1 lead (Brady's shot had actually hit the line, but she never looked up see coach Michael Geserer telling her to challenge the call). Osaka's running forehand crosscourt pass gave her a 30/love lead moments later, and she held for 4-1. Serving for the match at 5-3, 30/30, Osaka ended with a final flourish: a forehand crosscourt winner and then a service winner on MP to win 7-6(1)/3-6/6-3, as she closed like the rare three-time slam champ she'll now have the chance to be two days from now.



While Brady's admirable summer run (shutdown + Restart) will see her climb to a new career high of #25 next week, Osaka on Saturday will have an opportunity to cement something of an early-career legend. Not only will her "dance of the seven veils" be able to play out as she intended (whose name will get the final tribute?), but on the tennis front she could become the eighth woman to win at least three major titles this century. She bet just the second (after Angelique Kerber) to do so in the past decade.

The other six are all of the "one name" variety, either Hall of Famers or eventual enshrinees. They go by names like Serena, Venus, Maria, Justine, Kim and Jennifer. Naomi could add her name to the list at just age 22, with an entire career to work on additional accomplishments, both inside and outside the lines.



Two weeks ago, Osaka's withdrawal prior to the Western & Southern Open final against Azarenka had mildly perturbed Vika, as she said she felt like she was playing well enough to beat her fellow two-time slam champ.

Well, now they *will* face off in Flushing Meadows, after all, with the land woman standing becoming the sport's next three-time major winner.

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Women’s championship match ?

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...wheelchair play began on Day 11. In 2015 U.S. Open champ Jordanne Whiley's long-overdue return to New York, #1 Diede de Groot (the 2018-19 winner) advanced with at 6-3/6-4 victory. Neither played all that well, though, and de Groot's serve could prove to be her undoing if she doesn't clean things up quite a bit. She had three DF in one game in the 2nd set, and thirteen in the match. Afterward, de Groot admitted to nerves in the 1st set, and said the fact that she's won so often in New York (2 WS, 3 WD) puts a lot of pressure on her. Still, this is the Dutch #1's *first* official wheelchair match win of 2020.

#2 Yui Kamiji was nearly pushed to a 3rd set by countrywoman Momoko Ohtani, but prevailed 6-2/7-6(5). Marjolein Buis eliminated Dana Mathewson 6-2/6-1, and Colombia's Angelica Bernal made her slam debut with a three-set win over Brit Lucy Shuker.



...meanwhile, in Istanbul...



Okay, now *that's* worthy of a tweet. (Of course, it *is* Sveta after a seven-month break.)

And Kuznetsova's day *was* very Sveta-y. In that Genie Bouchard led 7-6/4-1, and held three MP at 5-4. Kuznetsova saved them all, then won a tie-break to force a 3rd set. Then Sveta lost the first three games in the deciding set at love. Bouchard closed it out for a 7-6(3)/6-7(5)/6-2 over the world #34. It's the Canadian's biggest win since October 2018. She's 10-4 on the season and has broken the Top 220 in the live rankings.




=WOMEN'S SINGLES SF=
#4 Naomi Osaka/JPN def. #28 Jennifer Brady/USA
Victoria Azarenka/BLR def. #3 Serena Williams/USA

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL=
#3 Melichar/Xu (USA/CHN) v. (PR) Siegemund/Zvonareva (GER/RUS)

=WOMEN'S WHEELCHAIR SINGLES=
#1 Diede de Groot/NED def. Jordanne Whiley/GBR
Marjolein Buis/NED def. Dana Mathewson/USA
Angelica Bernal/COL def. (WC) Lucy Shuker/GBR
#2 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. Momoko Ohtani/JPN

=WOMEN'S WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES=
#1 Buis/de Groot (NED/NED) v. Ohtani/Shuker (JPN/GBR)
Bernal/Mathewson (COL/USA) v. #2 Kamiji/Whiley (JPN/GBR)




2020 ON DAY 11:




ON THE EDGE OF OUR SEATS ON DAY 11:




2020 ON DAY 11:





ISTANBUL HAS MOMS, TOO ON DAY 11:




LIKE ON DAY 11:




ANSWERING A PREVIOUSLY REMAINING QUESTION ON DAY 11:




PERHAPS THERE SHOULD BE A MORE PERMANENT TRIBUTE TO THE ORIGINAL 9 AT FLUSHING MEADOWS? ON DAY 11:




LET THE SPECULATION BEGIN (AGAIN) ON DAY 11:




LIKE ON DAY 11:





John Mellencamp has fashioned a decades-long career as a "roots rocker." As Billboard magazine once noted, his "best music is rock 'n roll stripped of all escapism, and it looks directly at the messiness of life as it's actually lived. In his music, mortality, anxiety, acts of God, questions of romance and brotherhood, and crises of conscience all collide and demand hard decisions. ... This is rock music that tells the truth on both its composer and the culture he's observing."

Johnny Cash called him "one of the 10 best songwriters" in music.

Whether it be as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, John Cougar Mellencamp or, finally (right back to his birth name) John Mellencamp, the Indiana-born singer/songwriter's music never really grows old, likely because his lyrics have always honestly struck at the heart of the listener and their life and times.

Mellencamp recently said that he is working on a new album, as well as a musical based on his 1982 #1 hit "Jack & Diane" that is said to be "a story about those people who live, love and die on the underside of the American Dream in small towns all across our country. ...A tale laced with humor and visceral energy, about star-crossed lovers, and their stubborn refusal to give up, to lie down, to let go of the potential their youthful dreams once promised. This is also a story about a town in free-fall, and the tough choices people make, not always in their best interests."

Here's "Pink Houses" (1983), one of those songs that Republican politicians often use at rallies before being sent a cease and desist order from Mellencamp. This particular version is from Farm Aid (Mellencamp is one of the effort's founders, along with Willie Nelson and Neil Young) in 1987, with him oddly resembling Michael Hutchence.

"There's a black man with a black cat
Living in a black neighborhood
He's got an interstate running' through his front yard
You know, he thinks, he's got it so good
And there's a woman in the kitchen cleaning' up evening slop
And he looks at her and says:
'Hey darling, I can remember when you could stop a clock'

Oh but ain't that America, for you and me
Ain't that America, we're something to see baby
Ain't that America, home of the free, yeah
Little pink houses for you and me, oh for you and me"


And from Farm Aid 2005 (w/ violin):


Also, "Small Town" (1985, from Farm Aid 1997) and "Authority Song (1984 video, and from Farm Aid 2016), but not "Jack & Diane" (honestly, other than the line "Suckin' on chilli dog outside the Tastee Freez" -- mostly because I went to a high school that was near a Tastee Freez -- I've never really liked that song all that much):

"Well I was born in a small town
And I live in a small town
Probably die in a small town
Oh, those small communities

All my friends are so small town
My parents live in the same small town
My job is so small town
Provides little opportunity"


"I fight authority, authority always wins
Well, I fight authority, authority always wins
Well, I been doing it, since I was a young kid
I've come out grinnin'
Well, I fight authority, authority always wins"










kosova-font

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Ciao Roma ?? #tiriacair #thankyou????

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Letting her mask speak for itself. ??

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kosova-font

*CAREER SLAM FINALS - ACTIVE*
33...Serena Williams (23-10)
16...Venus Williams (7-9)
8...Kim Clijsters (4-4)
5...VICTORIA AZARENKA (2-2)
5...Simona Halep (2-3)
4...Angelique Kerber (3-1)
4...Svetlana Kuznetsova (2-2)
4...Garbine Muguruza (2-2)
3...NAOMI OSAKA (2-0)
3...Petra Kvitova (2-1)
2...Sloane Stephens (1-1)
2...Samantha Stosur (1-1)
2...Vera Zvonareva (0-2)
1...W: Andreescu,Barty,Kenin,Ostapenko
1...L: Bouchard,Errani,Kenin,Keys,Lisicki,Ka.Pliskova,Vondrousova

*U.S. OPEN FINALS - ACTIVE*
10..Serena Williams (6-4)
4...Venus Williams (2-2)
3...VICTORIA AZARENKA (0-2)
2...NAOMI OSAKA (1-0)
2...Svetlana Kuznetsova (1-1)
1...Bianca Andreescu (1-0)
1...Sloane Stephens (1-0)
1...Samantha Stosur (1-0)
[1...Jelena Jankovic (0-1)]
1...Angelique Kerber (1-0)
1...Madison Keys (0-1)
1...Karolina Pliskova (0-1)
1...Vera Zvonareva (0-1)

*U.S. OPEN LAST BANNERETTE STANDING*
2008 Serena Williams (W)
2009 Serena Williams (SF)
2010 Venus Williams (SF)
2011 Serena Williams (RU)
2012 Serena Williams (W)
2013 Serena Williams (W)
2014 Serena Williams (W)
2015 Serena Williams (SF)
2016 Serena Williams (SF)
2017 Sloane Stephens (W)
2018 Serena Williams (RU)
2019 Serena Williams (RU)
2020 Serena Williams and Jennifer Brady (SF)

*RECENT BEST U.S. WOMEN'S SLAM RESULTS*
=2011=
AO: Venus Williams (3rd)
RG: Vania King & Bethanie Mattek-Sands (3rd)
WI: Serena Williams (4th)
US: Serena Williams (RU)
=2012=
AO: Serena Williams (4th)
RG: Sloane Stephens (4th) & Varvara Lepchenko (4th)
WI: Serena Williams (W)
US: Serena Williams (W)
=2013=
AO: Sloane Stephens (SF)
RG: Serena Williams (W)
WI: Sloane Stephens (QF)
US: Serena Williams (W)
=2014=
AO: Sloane Stephens & Serena Williams (4th)
RG: Sloane Stephens (4th)
WI: L.Davis, M.Keys, A.Riske, S.Williams, V.Williams (3rd)
US: Serena Williams (W)
=2015=
AO: Serena Williams (W)
RG: Serena Williams (W)
WI: Serena Williams (W)
US: Serena Williams (SF)
=2016=
AO: Serena Williams (RU)
RG: Serena Williams (RU)
WI: Serena Williams (W)
US: Serena Williams (SF)
=2017=
AO: Serena Williams (W)
RG: Venus Williams (4th)
WI: Venus Williams (RU)
US: Sloane Stephens (W)
=2018=
AO: Madison Keys (QF)
RG: Sloane Stephens (RU)
WI: Serena Williams (RU)
US: Serena Williams (RU)
=2019=
AO: Danielle Collins (SF)
RG: Amanda Anisimova (SF)
WI: Serena Williams (RU)
US: Serena Williams (RU)
=2020=
AO: Sofia Kenin (W)
US: Serena Williams & Jennifer Brady (SF)

*U.S. OPEN GIRLS/WOMEN'S SLAM CHAMPS - OPEN ERA*
[won Girls & Women's titles]
Lindsay Davenport (1992 Jr. Champion; 1998 Women's champion)
[others]
Martina Hingis (1994 Junior RU; 1997 Women's Champion)
Svetlana Kuznetsova (2001 Junior RU; 2004 Women's champion)
Victoria Azarenka (2005 Junior champion; 2012-13 Women's RU, 2020 Final) *



TOP QUALIFIER: DNP
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): Victoria Azarenka/BLR
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #28 Jennifer Brady/USA
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: DNP
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd. - Varvara Gracheva/RUS def. #30 Kristina Mladenovic/FRA 1-6/7-6(2)/6-0 (trailed 6-1/5-1, 4 MP)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 4th Rd. -Shelby Rogers/USA def. #6 Petra Kvitova/CZE 7-6(5)/3-6/7-6(6) (4 MP saved)
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F): xx
TOP NIGHT SESSION WOMEN'S MATCH: Nominee: SF-Azarenka d. #3 S.Williams 1-6/6-3/6-3
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #12 Marketa Vondrousova/CZE (def. Minnen/BEL)
FIRST SEED OUT: #32 Rebecca Peterson/SWE (1st Rd.-lost to Flipkens/BEL)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Bonaventure/BEL, Fernandez/CAN, Gracheva/RUS, Scott/USA, Tig/ROU
UPSET QUEENS: United States
REVELATION LADIES: Belarus (5-0 in 1st Rd.)
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Australia (0-5 1st Rd.; #1 Barty and former U.S. champ Stosur DNP)
CRASH & BURN: #1 Karolina Pliskova/CZE (2nd Rd.-Garcia; tied for second earliest exit by U.S. Open #1 seed)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK: Varvara Gracheva, RUS (2nd Rd.: down 6-1/5-1, 4 MP at 5-2 vs. Mladenovic)
IT ("TBD"): Nominees: tennis moms (Serena, Vika, Pironkova, Zvonareva, Whiley), (WD), (wheelchair)
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: Nominees: Azarenka, (wheelchair)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: DNP Q
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: CiCi Bellis/USA, Katrina Scott/USA and Sachia Vickery/USA (all 2nd Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: Serena Williams and Jennifer Brady (SF)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Tsvetana Pironkova/BUL (first event since '17 Wimb; to QF)
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Serena Williams/USA and Victoria Azarenka/BLR
DOUBLES STAR: Nominees: Siegemund/Zvonareva, Melichar/Xu, (WC)
BIG APPLE BANNERETTE BREAKTHROUGH: Jennifer Brady/USA
BROADWAY-BOUND: "Three Moms and the QF" (Serena, Vika & Tsvetana in QF; first time three mothers in slam QF)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Naomi Osaka/JPN
JUNIOR UNDER 18 BREAKOUT: Katrina Scott/USA (16; slam debut as wild card, 1st Rd. win)
RG "Légion de Lenglen" HONOREE: U.S. OPEN SPECIAL: Madison Brengle/USA (chugs wine after 2nd Rd. victory)




Be Safe. All for Day 11. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 2:30 AM 

2 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Interesting matches last night. Osaka/Brady felt like Osaka/Kvitova 2019 AO, complete with Brady doing the same as Kvitova in not being broken in the first set, yet losing the tiebreak. That made the rest of the match feel like an uphill climb, even with Brady winning the second set.

Brady would have beaten 85% of the tour.

On the other hand, Azarenka/Williams felt like Kerber/Williams. Vika has been fluctuating between 110 mph to 70 mph on her serves. Kerber rolls in between 85-90. Getting them in, then playing great defense won Kerber slams against Serena. Vika was running balls down!

For that reason, Vika 55/45 over Osaka. Osaka is 1-4 vs Kerber, mainly because she gets less pace. Azarenka will try to do the same. Now if Osaka steps farther in on serve, it should be interesting.

With the day off, expecting Vika to come out better than she did today. 6-4, 6-4.

Rome is creeping up, and right now all 4 SF are still in draw- 3 direct entry, Azarenka with WC.

Bouchard is up to 216 in live ranking. It doesn't help much now, but will in January with Australian Open qualifying. Note that with Barty out of the French Open, the replacement for Q(Richel Hogenkamp) is 215.

Stat of the Day- 26- Number of consecutive wins for Victoria Azarenka at the start of 2012.

26-0.
4 titles.
9 Top 10 wins.
6 wins vs former or future #1's.
15 wins vs former or future slam finalists.
4 wins vs Radwanska.

Take out the zero, and that is a great season for most players. That was three months!

The rest of the season was good. 44 more wins, 2 titles, and 2 wins each vs Kerber, Sharapova, and Radwanska.

To do this in what was probably the peak year of the Big 3 was impressive.

Fri Sep 11, 04:07:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Even Naomi said she felt a bit like she was playing Kvitova in the AO final again, so that's a great comparison. ;)

Fri Sep 11, 02:11:00 PM EDT  

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