AO.8 - Leave it to the Bannerettes

The dream for any tennis nation, aside from having the *best* player, is to develop a group of fine young players who go on to great success, pushing and supporting each other, with one glory-filled run in a major event from one or more within the group serving to inspire similar results from others. With luck, future generations, brought to the game by this success, are fed into a system that consistently produces stars and champions for years on end.

While U.S. women's tennis success was spearheaded for so long by the Williams sisters, in recent years we've seen multiple waves of talent emerge from the varied areas of development in the U.S., from the official USTA system to the many youth tennis academies and, more and more of late, the nation's NCAA college tennis programs. Junior team titles and girls slam champions have become a common occurrence since the early 2010s, with Kathy Rinaldi jumping over from her successful role in USTA development to head up a once-more successful Fed Cup (now Billie Jean King Cup) squad. Non-Williams slam winners and major singles finalists, including (still, for a while longer) reigning Australian Open champ Sofia Kenin, have been the result.

From the looks of things, another major step is being taken by the collective group at *this* year's AO.

While Serena is still alive and kicking, and looking to be in contention for another slam final run, in the bottom half of the draw, on Day 8 it was the Bannerette contingent from the top half that took their turn in the Melbourne spotlight.

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26-year old Jessica Pegula, born in Buffalo and the daughter of an NFL/NHL owner, made her first appearances on the major stage in the early 2010s, only to be beset by injuries (knee/hip) that cost her upwards of two years of her career. The last few seasons, though, Pegula's hard work to overcome her troubles has proven fruitful. In 2018, she reached her first tour final (Quebec City), and a season later claimed her first title (Washington DC). In 2020, Pegula made her Top 100 breakthrough and had her first slam success, reaching the 3rd Round of the U.S. Open.

The unseeded and #61-ranked Pegula, just 3-8 in major MD (w/ 12 failed qualifying attempts since '11) prior to her three wins this past week, came into her maiden career slam Round of 16 match today against #5 Elina Svitolina having knocked off two former slam champions (Vika Azarenka and Sam Stosur) and a former doubles #1 (Kristina Mladenovic) without having dropped a set in this tournament. While her upward progression on tour has been apparent, Pegula still had one big albatross still hanging around her neck, though. Namely, her (so far) inability to notch a Top 10 victory despite numerous opportunities. After having blown a set and 4-1 lead vs. Kenin in one of the pre-AO warm-up events, Pegula stood at 0-6 vs. the Top 10, having lost 12 of 13 sets.

Oh, but Svitolina knows about albatrosses.

Also 26, the Ukrainian's career has seen enough big moments inside which dozens of careers similar to Pegula's could fit inside. She's a former world #3, 15-time singles champ, two-time slam semifinalist, WTAF winner and victor over twelve Top 3 players (six #1's) over the course of her career. But Svitolina's inability to fully bring her "regular season" WTA prowess to the slam stage has acted like a snare around her ankle for several seasons now. Only one of her 33 career Top 10 wins have come in a major, and rather that go down fighting when she's exited slams (often earlier than her seed says she *should*) she's usually been brushed aside rather rudely in straight sets (or noncompetitive 3rd sets) by players displaying more aggression and focus on attaining big time success than herself.

While Svitolina wasn't run out of this slam on a rail by her opponent on Monday, by the end of today's 4th Round encounter Pegula had conquered and moved past many of *her* longstanding personal hurdle. Svitolina had not, and was once again left wondering whether every decision she's made in recent years -- from her coaching inner circle to her recent addition of a psychologist in the wake of Iga Swiatek's Roland Garros run from from last fall -- has either helped or hindered her ability to take the *next* step that has now eluded her for multiple years, a time during which she's been a consistent year-long factor in the Top 10, a reliable title winner and a player capable of defeating the game's very best players on a regular basis.

In the 1st set, after failing to convert a pair of BP opportunities in game #5, Pegula got another chance to pull ahead of Svitolina two games later. Up 15/40, Pegula was thwarted by Svitolina's defense (which forced a failed overhead) on her first BP try, but saw the Ukrainian DF on BP #2 to give the Bannerette a 4-3 lead. Serving for the set at 5-4, Pegula took a 40/15 lead by ending a 31-shot rally with a backhand down the line winner before finishing off the hold for 6-4.

The inspired tennis of @JLpegula continues ?? #AusOpen | #AO2021 pic.twitter.com/IOgmmuo2J8

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 15, 2021

Despite grabbing an early break lead in game #1 in the 2nd set, Pegula's level of aggressive play dropped from its heights of the 1st. Svitolina, finally getting her first BP chance a game later, leveled the set at 1-1, then saved two BP in game #3. After getting the hold, Svitolina saw Pegula proceed to drop serve for a second straight time as the Ukrainian surged to a 4-1 lead. After Pegula held from love/40 down in game #6, Svitolina didn't allow the momentum to get away from her. She held for 5-2, then two games later buckled down from 30/30 onward to close out the set and send things to the 3rd.

Not content to simply go away, Pegula came back strong in the decider, bringing back the sort of aggressive play that won her the 1st set. Meanwhile, it was Svitolina who was sending irritated comments back at her players box contingent. Pegula, pushing forward toward the net behind groundstrokes that kept Svitolina behind the baseline, broke for a 3-1 lead, then backed it up with a hold in the following game.

Come ON!@JLPegula consolidates a break for a 4-1 lead in the decider over Svitolina. Will the fifth seed mount a comeback? #AusOpen | #AO2021 pic.twitter.com/gOsW5HYGoz

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 15, 2021

Down the stretch, Svitolina closed to 4-3, getting the set back on serve, but Pegula didn't allow her past history to ruin her day. After Svitolina had crawled out of a love/40 hole to get to deuce, Pegula pulled off an excellent drop shot from the baseline to earn a fourth BP chance. A deep groundstroke forced a Svitolina error, getting the break for a 5-3 lead. After having fallen behind love/30, Pegula's big serve and put-away combo got the game back to 30-all, then she ended a 9-shot rally at the net to reach MP. Svitolina's netted first serve return ended the 6-4/2-6/6-3 match to send Pegula to her first career slam QF.

First Top 10 win. ??
First major quarterfinal. ??@JLPegula is on her A game.
Read more: https://t.co/faf5hd8oPu#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/5S89qdlH8T

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) February 15, 2021

Meanwhile, Svitolina exits another slam by being bested by a more aggressive player who held up better under the sort big moment pressure that has been lethal to her own slam desires. It's clear that Svitolina is "close," able to quite easily regularly reach *this* stage in a major (and maybe a little deeper), but it's also just as clear these days that it's almost impossible to watch the current version of the Ukrainian and feel that she's up to winning that elusive slam title. The thought is that she'll *always* find a way *not* to do so, usually before things get *truly* serious (i.e. sometime before the final).

It'll be up to Svitolina to find a way to change that narrative. If she can. A few years ago she seemed to a clear "problem solver," hence the optimism that she'd have her day (eventually). But what's your next move when, by process of elimination, the problem is determined to be you?

Speaking of narratives, Pegula's win not only produces her maiden slam Fight 8 run, but it's also her first Top 10 win and will lift her into the Top 50 for the first time. The moment also served as just the first salvo of the day for U.S. women's tennis.

As she did after her previous round win, Pegula left a handwritten message on the courtside camera for good friend and fellow Bannerette Jennifer Brady, set to follow her onto Laver Arena and possibly be her next opponent in this AO.

It read: "See you next round, Jen B."

The saga continues ??#AusOpen | @JLPegula | @jennifurbrady95 pic.twitter.com/TeE9jgeWRo

— USTA (@usta) February 15, 2021

Well...





=DAY 8 NOTES= ...Pennsylvania native Brady, the #22 seed and a semifinalist at the most recent hard court slam ('20 U.S.), is now the leader in the growing group of players emerging on the WTA tour after having spent time and thrived in the team environment found within the NCAA tennis landscape (in Brady's case, at UCLA).

Facing off today with #28 Donna Vekic, the Bannerette once more proved that her dynamic hard court run in North America last summer is now her new normal, not just an isolated stretch of good results. Croatian Vekic had never advanced past the 3rd Round in her previous eight AO appearances before this year's Round of 16, but she *had* reached a U.S. Open QF just two seasons ago. Brady barely let Vekic up for air today, jumping on her early and often. An early 3-0 lead turned into 5-0 in the 1st, with Brady winning the set 6-1. Vekic was ailing and was soon a question mark when it came to continuing, having her knee wrapped during a medical timeout. With her movement somewhat improved, and Brady's momentum slowed, Vekic made a match of things for much of the remainder of the set, getting things back on serve at 4-4 before finally faltering again down the stetch. Breaking for a 6-5 lead, Brady efficiently put away the match on serve, winning ten of the final eleven points en route to a 6-1/7-5 victory.

A reason to smile ??

Jen Brady defeats Vekic 6-1, 7-5 to reach the quarterfinals Down Under #AusOpen | @jennifurbrady95 pic.twitter.com/AwHzyFhw8a

— USTA (@usta) February 15, 2021

Clearly at her best on hard courts, Brady's dueling histories in the US and AO are lining up quite nicely. Her career US results are 4r-1r-1r-SF, while she's now one win away from duplicating the sequence of results in Melbourne (she's 4r-1r-1r heading into the QF in her fourth AO appearance).

Brady will face Pegula in an all-Bannerette QF, and after her match she maintained the very public "note-sharing" relationship with her countrywoman, writing "Bring it on, Jen" on the courtside camera screen before going on with the rest of her day.

Ah, but the Bannerettes may not be finished yet. There is still one more U.S. woman set to play in the Round of 16, unseeded Shelby Rogers, who'll be looking to reach the QF at a third different major when she faces off with #1 Ash Barty on Laver later tonight.

"It's a big deal, it's pretty cool."

The #AO2021 second week is stacked with ????????????women and @JLPegula is here for it!#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/p2SSayvwiL

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 15, 2021

In that one, Barty will be seeking to reach the QF in Melbourne for a third straight year, which would be the best multi-year result for an Aussie woman in the event since Wendy Turnbull's F-SF-QF-QF-SF run from 1980-84.

Also still to play in the 4th Round tonight will be #18 Elise Mertens, 13-3 in her AO career ('18 SF) and 3-0 in tour-level finals Down Under ('17-'18 Hobart, '21 Gippsland), and #25 Karolina Muchova, looking to reach her second slam QF ('19 WI) after having previously been just 1-2 in her AO career before this year.

NOTE: I'm not going to cover those two matches here but, after the QF have been set, I'll come back later and add the AO Final Eight stats in the Lists section below.

...in the wheelchair semifinals today, #1 Diede de Groot and #2 Yui Kamiji set up yet another clash in another slam final.

De Groot handled Momoko Ohtani 6-2/6-4, while Kamiji put down the late surge of KJ Montjane, 6-1/5-7/6-0.

It'll be the third AO singles final between the two (de Groot 2-0), and their ninth slam singles final overall (de Groot 6-2).

The WC doubles semis are set to played later tonight, as well, with de Groot and Kamiji going against each other again alongside, respectively, Aniek Van Koot and Ohtani.

...RADKA LEITMERITZ STRIKES AGAIN ON DAY 8:

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...BUT I'M SURE YOU'LL HEAR JUST THAT... ON DAY 8:

I never want to hear Republicans talk about law and order again.

— Robert Reich (@RBReich) February 14, 2021

...O.J. SIMPSON COULD SEND OUT THE SAME TWEET, SO... ON DAY 8:

2-0

— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) February 13, 2021

...MEANWHILE, SOME VALENTINE'S DAY TWITTER TROLLING BY THE *OTHER* SON OF A FORMER PRESIDENT WHO CHEATED ON HIS THEN-PREGNANT WIFE WITH A PORN STAR, SO... ON DAY 8:

LOL. https://t.co/0mPr4y5qlM

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) February 14, 2021

We're not really going to allow these half-wit germs to spend the next four years trying to curry daddy's favor by being the "voice of the family" and attempting to emulate his abhorrent behavior with, let's be honest, about a thimble size amount of comparable "skill" (or whatever it'd be called) are we?

I mean, aren't we all supposed to "be best?"

...LIKE ON DAY 8:

"There's only one Su-Wei." ??

Hsieh Su-Wei's coach Paul McNamee sheds light on her whimsical approach to life and tennis --> https://t.co/Qpw5hHMRcH pic.twitter.com/aOtbXOYbVh

— wta (@WTA) February 14, 2021

...LIKE ON DAY 8:

That great defensive point from Serena from yesterday...

Simply @serenawilliams. Never runs out of lives.

One of the best defensive points I've ever seen. pic.twitter.com/JNd19B5AYv

— Patrick Mouratoglou (@pmouratoglou) February 14, 2021

Today provides a sharp right turn from yesterday's Amy Winehouse "And Finally...".

I've got a checkered and spotty history with country music. Over the years, I've bounced from enjoying large swaths of it to sneering at the "same-ness" of so much of it, as well. These days I don't particularly like any (well, hardly any) of the current male stars, personally or musically, and I don't know many of the female ones at all. Other than Carrie Underwood, I guess. But that's because I go back with her to the "American Idol" days, when she was my (very obvious) choice to win that season right out off her original audition performance.

But there was a time. During one period of country music I actually loved it, when it broke free from the old constrictions and allowed in a wide variety of compellingly different acts. The entire genre blew up with new fans because of the (mostly) more inclusionary feel of the period (the late 1980s to mid-1990s). At the time, there was something for everyone, which washed away that awful "sameness" and injected everything with excitement as more traditional country acts (old, but also new ones) took a seat next to the more outlaw-ish stuff, the singers who brought some "rock" feel to the music, and even the outskirts of the scene which was populated by people like k.d. lang and Lyle Lovett. It was great.

A couple of years ago, documentarian Ken Burns did a whole series for PBS on the history of country music. I didn't have much interest in watching it when it first aired, but last year (you know when) I ended up really getting into several of the episodes that were re-aired during a pledge drive, especially the ones that touched on what I realized was *my* era of country music, when people like Randy Travis, Vince Gill, Dwight Yoakam, Martina McBride, The Judds, K.T. Oslin, Clint Black, Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson, Roseanne Cash, Kathy Mattea, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood, early Garth Brooks and others became big deal stars. I loved watching the documentary parts that touched on that stretch, because at every turn there was this rush of recollection that made me pause the playback to let it sink in, or stop it entirely and come back to it later in order to prolong the good feelings.

Since then, country music has shifted away from a lot of that and it simply lost me all over again. I tuned in for a while when the likes of Taylor Swift brought a new freshness to it all, but the genre as a whole has never really pulled me back. (Individuals, such as Underwood or Darius Rucker, aside, both of whom I do like and follow.)

This particularly interesting dialed-up section from Burns' documentary focuses on the rise of the mother/daughter duo The Judds, followed by the story of the career of the traditional-yet-mold-breaking Yoakam. Due to copyright issues (I'm assuming) most of the songs drop out of the Yoakam section, but I'm including them afterward.



I especially liked Yoakam, because I thought he maybe more than any other represented the change and creativity that thrived within the genre at the time. Here are a few of his songs, namely "Guitars, Cadillacs," "Honky Tonk Man" and "Streets of Bakersfield" (w/ Buck Owens), all of which were cut from the above clip.



Here's a cover of Elvis' "Suspicious Minds"...



Yoakam was one of the musicians who provided commentary throughout the documentary series, and his words here about the lyrics of an old Merle Haggard song highlighted one of the notions that Burns' work pointed out, largely about how the traditional country songs told relatable stories in sometimes heartbreaking ways. As has been said before, at its best, country music can be poetry with an appropriate musical accompaniment It's the sort of stuff, including Haggard's own story that was (I'm sure) included in this section, that made the entire series so addictive once you got into it.



More in the same vein to come...







=WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16=
#1 Ash Barty/AUS def. Shelby Rogers/USA
#25 Karolina Muchova/CZE def. #18 Elise Mertens/BEL
#22 Jennifer Brady/USA def. #28 Donna Vekic/CRO
Jessica Pegula/USA def. #5 Elina Svitolina/UKR
Hsieh Su-wei/TPE def. #19 Marketa Vondrousova/CZE
#3 Naomi Osaka/JPN def. #14 Garbine Muguruza/ESP
#10 Serena Williams/USA def. #7 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR
#2 Simona Halep/ROU def. #15 Iga Swiatek/POL

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF=
Jurak/Stoyanovic (CRO/SRB) vs. (PR) Krunic/Trevisan (SRB/ITA)
#3 Krejcikova/Siniakova (CZE/CZE) vs. Fichman/Olmos (CAN/MEX)
Gauff/McNally (USA/USA) vs. #4 Melichar/Schuurs (USA/NED)
#7 Aoyama/Shibahara (JPN/JPN) vs. #2 Mertens/Sabalenka (BEL/BLR)

=MIXED DOUBLES ROUND OF 16=
(Alt.) Carter/Gille (USA/BEL) vs. Swiatek/Kubot (POL/POL)
(WC) Stosur/Ebden (AUS/AUS) vs. #8 Stefani/Soares (BRA/BRA)
Krawczyk/Salisbury (USA/GBR) vs. Zvonareva/Melo (RUS/BRA)
Klepac/Skupski (SLO/GBR) vs. Hradecka/Polasek (CZE/SVK)
#6 Krejcikova/R.Ram (CZE/USA) def. Shibahara/McLachlan (JPN/JPN)
#3 Dabrowski/Pavic (CAN/CRO) def. Mattek-Sands/J.Murray (USA/GBR)
(WC) Sanders/Polmans (AUS/AUS) def. (WC) Perez/Harris (AUS/AUS)
(WC) Ar.Rodionova/Purcell (AUS/AUS) def. #2 Melichar/Farah (USA/COL)

=WHEELCHAIR SINGLES FINAL=
#1 Diede de Groot/NED vs. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN

=WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES SF=
#1 de Groot/Van Koot (NED/NED) def. Kamiji/Ohtani (JPN/JPN)
#2 Montjane/Shuker (RSA/GBR) def. Bernal/Cabrillana (COL/CHI)

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Grand slam victory No. ????

And now the challenge of facing the legend in the quarter-finals ??

Looking forward to another battle #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/H1hNNWQjml

— Simona Halep (@Simona_Halep) February 14, 2021

Happy Valentine’s Day @Dlee042 ! I’m so excited to be doing life with you! ???? pic.twitter.com/yZIielVx06

— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) February 14, 2021

Happy Valentine’s Day from ???? pic.twitter.com/aaT9Jk0dv8

— Maria Sharapova (@MariaSharapova) February 14, 2021

*2021 AO FINAL 8*
[by career slam QF]
54 - Serena Williams, USA
15 - Simona Halep, ROU
4 - Ash Barty, AUS
4 - Naomi Osaka, JPN
2 - Jennifer Brady, USA
2 - Karolina Muchova, CZE
1 - Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
1 - Jessica Pegula, USA
[by career AO QF]
13 - Serena Williams
5 - Simona Halep
3 - Ash Barty
2 - Naomi Osaka
1 - Jennifer Brady
1 - Hsieh Su-wei
1 - Karolina Muchova
1 - Jessica Pegula
[w/ consecutive slam QF]
1+2 - Simona Halep (2020 AO...DNP 2020 US...2020 RG/2021 AO)
1+1 - Naomi Osaka (2020 US...DNP 2020 RG...2021 AO)
[w/ consecutive AO QF]
3 - Ash Barty
2 - Simona Halep
[2021 slam QF - unseeded]
AO - Hsieh Su-wei
AO - Jessica Pegula
[2021 1st-time GS QF]
AO - Hsieh Su-wei
AO - Jessica Pegula
[2021 slam QF - by nation]
3 - USA
1 - AUS,CZE,JPN,ROU,TPE
[WTA career slam QF - active]
54...Serena Williams, USA
39...Venus Williams, USA
19...Kim Clijsters, BEL
17...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
16...Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
15...Simona Halep, ROU
13...Petra Kvitova, CZE
9...Angelique Kerber, GER
8...Garbine Muguruza, ESP
7...Sara Errani, ITA
7...Madison Keys, USA
7...Karolina Pliskova, CZE
7...Samantha Stosur, AUS
7...Elina Svitolina, UKR
7...Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
6...Kaia Kanepi, EST
6...Johanna Konta, GBR
6...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
6...Sloane Stephens, USA
6...Vera Zvonareva, RUS
[WTA slam QF & W/L in 2020's]
2 - BARTY (1-0)
2 - BRADY (1-0)
2 - HALEP (1-0)
2 - Kenin (2-0)
2 - Kvitova (1-1)
2 - OSAKA (1-0)
2 - S.WILLIAMS (1-0)
1 - Azarenka (1-0)
1 - Jabeur (0-1)
1 - Kontaveit (0-1)
1 - Mertens (0-1)
1 - MUCHOVA (0-0)
1 - Muguruza (1-0)
1 - PEGULA (0-0)
1 - Podoroska (1-0)
1 - Swiatek (1-0)
1 - Collins (0-1)
1 - HSIEH (0-0)
1 - Pavlyuchenkova (0-1)
1 - Pironkova (0-1)
1 - Putintseva (0-1)
1 - Rogers (0-1)
1 - Siegemund (0-1)
1 - Trevisan (0-1)
1 - Svitolina (0-1)
[WTA slam QF by nation in 2020's - 4 slams]
9-USA
3-CZE
2-AUS
2-JPN
2-ROU
1-ARG,BEL,BLR,BUL,ESP,EST,GER,ITA,KAZ,POL,RUS,TPE,TUN,UKR



*2021 ITF SINGLES TITLE LEADERS*
2 - Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, ESP
2 - Linda Fruhvirtova, CZE
[singles+doubles]
4 - Linda Fruhvritova, CZE (2/2)
3 - Lexie Stevens, NED (0/3)
2 - Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, ESP (2/0)
2 - Oksana Selekhmeteva, RUS (1/1)
2 - Anastasia Tikhonova, RUS (1/1)
2 - Elina Avanesyan, RUS (0/2)
2 - Angela Fita Boluda, ESP (0/2)

*AO "LADY OF THE EVENING" WINNERS*
2011 Andrea Petkovic, GER
2012 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2013 Laura Robson, GBR
2014 Li Na, CHN
2015 Genie Bouchard, CAN
2016 "The Dasha Show" (Gavrilova)
2017 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2018 Elise Mertens, BEL
2019 Garbine Muguruza, ESP (3:12am finish)
2020 Garbine Muguruza, ESP
2021 Simona Halep, ROU

*ALL-TIME WTA SLAM QF*
54 - Chris Evert
54 - SERENA WILLIAMS
53 - Martina Navratilova
43 - Margaret Court
42 - Steffi Graf
40 - Billie Jean King
39 - Venus Williams
35 - Aranxta Sanchez Vicario

*ACTIVE PLAYERS WITH EXACTLY ONE SLAM QF IN CAREER*
Bianca Andreescu, CAN
Amanda Anisimova, CZE
Belinda Bencic, SUI
Sorana Cirstea, ROU
Kirsten Flipkens, BEL
Caroline Garcia, FRA
Camila Giorgi, ITA
Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
Ons Jabeur, TUN
Anett Kontaveit, EST
Ana Konjuh, CRO
Michaella Krajicek, NED
Petra Martic, CRO
Jessica Pegula, USA
Peng Shuai, CHN
Nadia Podoroska, ARG
Alison Riske, USA
Laura Siegemund, GER
Alexandra Stevenson, USA
Iga Swiatek, POL
Martina Trevisan, ITA
Lesia Tsurenko, UKR
Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL
Donna Vekic, CRO
Elena Vesnina, RUS
Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
Wang Qiang, CHN
Yanina Wickmayer, BEL

*DE GROOT vs. KAMIJI IN SLAM FINALS*
2017 US - #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. #2 Diede de Groot/NED
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 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 US - #1 Diede de Groot/NED def. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN
2020 US - #1 Diede de Groot/NED def. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN
2021 AO - #1 de Groot vs. #2 Kamiji
--
de Groot leads 6-2

How it began, how it’s going, etc https://t.co/M11o5LUXZg pic.twitter.com/JBtdLFMy6W

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 14, 2021

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— The Dodo (@dodo) February 14, 2021

TOP QUALIFIER: Francesca Jones/GBR
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): #3 Naomi Osaka/JPN
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q3: Whitney Osuigwe/USA def. #22 Mihaela Buzarnescu/ROU 2-6/7-6(1)/6-2 (trailed 6-2/5-2)
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): #2 Simona Halep/ROU def. Ajla Tomljanovic/AUS 4-6/6-4/7-5; 2:34; trailed 5-2 in 3rd, Tomlj. for match; won last 5 games
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): Nominee: 4r-#3 Osaka d. #14 Muguruza
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/WC/Doub.): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Naomi Osaka/JPN (def. Pavlyuchenkova/RUS)
FIRST SEED OUT: #23 Angelique Kerber/GER (1st Rd.-Pera/USA)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Olga Danilovic/SRB, Mayar Sherif/EGY, Liudmila Samsonova/RUS, Nina Stojanovic/SRB
UPSET QUEENS: United States
REVELATION LADIES: Estonia
NATION OF POOR SOULS: China (1-5, 2 seeds out 1r & all 3 Top 50; Wang Xiyu w/d with COVID)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Sara Errani/ITA, Kaja Juvan/SLO (both 3rd Rd.) + (LL: Schmiedlova-2r)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Dasha Gavrilova/AUS, Samantha Stosur/AUS (both 2nd Rd.)
LAST AUSSIE STANDING: Ash Barty (in QF)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: Nominees: Pegula, Brady, Muchova
IT (Egyptian): Mayar Sherif/EGY (1st Eqyptian slam MD win)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Rebecca Marino/CAN (first GS win in 10 yrs.; battled depression)
CRASH & BURN: Sofia Kenin/USA (2nd Rd. to Kanepi; earliest AO DC exit since 2003)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF MELBOURNE: Simona Halep/ROU (2nd Rd.- down 5-2 in 3rd vs. Tomljanovic, sweeps final 5 games)
KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: Hsieh Su-wei/TPE (first career WS slam QF at age 35) (Nominee: S.Williams)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Simona Halep/ROU
"G'DAY/GOOD ON YA, MATE" AWARD: nominees: Barty's post-shutdown return to slam stage; Osaka & the butterfly; Day 7 bottom half Rd. of 16: combined 51 slam titles (7 players), 460 weeks at #1 (5 players), 70 slam finals (all 8 players), 183 combined WTA s/d titles (all 8)
DOUBLES STAR: xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: [jr. event to be held later in '21]





All for Day 8. More tomorrow.