Tuesday, April 06, 2021

2021 1Q Awards: Let the Good Times Roll

After a year-long pandemic, a four-month shutdown, rankings chaos and, you know, all the usual off-court backbiting that takes place all along the tennis landscape even in a "normal" year, everyone came into 2021 *hoping* for the best, but not really fully committing to it becoming our reality.

Well, three months or so into the new season, it's become clear that we apparently *can* still have good things. For proof one need look no further than the WTA season in the 1st Quarter of 2021, where the embarrassment of women's tennis riches that were consistently on display were almost too much to adequately digest.

via GIPHY



Why, things have been so good so far this season that it almost causes one to consider giving a full pardon to the tour's stunning failure to come up with a legitimate marketing campaign -- the most recent one lasted about a day and a half before it died on the vine, before the season *had even started* -- that even scratches the surface of all the WTA has to offer.

Note, I said *almost.*



futuristic-fonts


1. Naomi Osaka, JPN (23/#2)
...Osaka claimed career slam #4 in Australia and didn't lose on the court until the Miami QF, ending her year-plus 23-match unbeaten streak and giving her a 12-1 mark on the season, though she stumbled (badly) in that QF when she still had a chance to reclaim the #1 ranking from Ash Barty. Stat note: Osaka has more slam titles (2) since the start of the '20 season than she has Top 10 wins (1 - Bertens/Brisbane '20) over the stretch. Granted, she's only played one other Top 10 player (Pliskova in that same Brisbane event) since the end of 2019.




2. Ash Barty, AUS (24/#1)
...after not leaving Australia for most of 2020 due to the pandemic, and not playing a match for eleven months, world #1 Barty has been on top of things seemingly when it's mattered most in her return. She opened her season by taking the crown at the Yarra Valley event (def. Muguruza in the final), then had a QF result at the Australian Open that completed the best three-year combo by an Aussie at the event since Wendy Turnbull (1980-84: RU-SF-QF-QF-SF), giving Barty Round of 16 or better results at her last seven majors. With her #1 ranking on the line in Miami, Barty saved MP in her opening match and then went on to clock three Top 10 wins to defend her '19 title and improve to 14-2 on the season (and 25-4 back to early '20). Stat Note: in her last seven events, after a season-opening one-and-done last year in Brisbane, Barty's seven-event follow-up results line to her career-best '19 season looks like this: W-SF-SF-W-QF-2r-W.

3. Garbine Muguruza, ESP (27/#13)
...at times Muguruza has been the best player on tour in 2021, though she may not have the hardware to prove it. Had she converted one of the two MP she had against Naomi Osaka in the 4th Round of the Australian Open, that might not be the case. As it is, the Spaniard still led the tour in 1Q match wins (20), finals (3) and semis (3), and reached back-to-back "desert finals" in Doha and Dubai, defeating Barbora Krejcikova in the latter final after big wins over Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elise Mertens to pick up her first crown since April '19 (Monterrey) and biggest since the summer of '17 (Cincinnati). Stat Note: at 20-5 this season, Muguruza's road hasn't been a cakewalk. Fourteen of her twenty-five matches in the 1Q came vs. players who'd have been seeded at a major (Top 32). She went 9-5, including 6-4 vs. the Top 20, and 3-4 against the Top 10.

4. Diede de Groot, NED (WC) (24/#1 WC)
...while she never lost the #1 ranking, de Groot was never quite right in 2020, either. She battled against her serve throughout the interrupted season's campaign, the status of which meant she didn't post her first official singles win until September. Of course, she *still* won a pair of slam crowns (US singles, RG doubles) in an "off" year (for her). After slam losses to less accomplished players a year ago, de Groot took the '21 AO singles with a hard-fought final victory over her closest rival, Yui Kamiji, who staged a mid-2nd set comeback in the final to force a 3rd set and then took a mini-break lead in the deciding MTB. De Groot teamed with Aniek Van Koot, the countrywoman whose upset of her in the '19 Wimbledon singles had prevented de Groot from sweeping all eight major titles that season, to win the doubles and sweep the wheelchair competitions in Melbourne. Stat Note: even with her early slam losses in '20, de Groot has still reached the singles final in 12 of the 16 slams in which she's appeared, as well as in 15 of 16 in doubles.

5. Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (23/#37)
...one of the most unexpected great developments of 2021 has been the resurgence of the Russian, as her work with coach Carlos Martinez has finally rediscovered her confidence and swashbuckling nature, allowing for the possibility that the tour might "Fear the Kasatkina" all over again. In a remarkable turn of events, Kasatkina was the first woman to two singles titles in '21 after having not won *any* since October '18 as her ranking fell (and it wasn't injury-related) from a season-ending #10 (she had two slam QF and reached three finals, including Indian Wells, in '18) to as low as #75 just this February. Wins in the Phillip Island event and back home in Russia in Saint Petersburg have lifted Dasha back into the Top 40 as she ended the 1Q on an 11-1 run. Stat Note: while Kasatkina notched an impressive seven Top 10 wins (7-5 overall) -- including five over Top 3 players -- three seasons ago she's yet to post another since, losing all three such encounters (all vs. players who were ranked #7 at the time, oddly enough) over the past two-plus years.

6. Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (22/#7)
...while she wasn't able to sustain the elite level of play with which she ended her '20 season beyond her season-opening title run in Abu Dhabi, Sabalenka's combined 2020-21 three-title, 15-match winning streak (an *actual* one, not one "extended" via preserving walkover exits from tournaments) stands as a testament to what the Belarusian is capable of when she's confident and in-form for an extended stretch. While Sabalenka didn't officially have her slam "breakout" run in Melbourne, her Round of 16 finish matched her previous best ('18 US) in a major, and she teamed with Elise Mertens to win a second slam doubles crown as a pair. Having reached a career-high #7 in January, Sabalenka went 14-5 in singles in the 1st Quarter (after adding WTA 1000 QF runs in Dubai and Miami), while also rising to #1 in the doubles rankings. Stat Note: though the lack of a deep slam run still sticks, since Sabalenka began to spread her wins in August '18 she's gone a combined 14-1 in tour finals, 9-1 in singles and 5-1 in WD.

7. Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP (24/#48)
...since teaming up with coach Silvia Soler Espinosa, Sorribes Tormo has become virtual hell on wheels (well, at least on hard courts, and maybe soon clay, as well) for opponents. A year after her 0-2 turn in WTA events in Mexico, the Spaniard won her maiden tour title in Guadalajara this year and then reached the semis in Monterrey a week later. She carried over her momentum to Miami, winning four straight three-set matches to reach her first WTA 1000 level QF. There, in a fifth three-setter, she battled Bianca Andreescu tooth-and-nail in one of the most physical matches seen on tour this season. She eventually lost to one of the tour's *ultimate* marathoners, but she earned the respect of her Canadian opponent and the entire tennis establishment as she ended the 1Q by breaking into the Top 50 for the first time. Stat Note: SST went 12-2 in North America in the 1st Quarter, completing a 29-12 eight-month stretch with Soler Espinosa as part of the team.




8. Elise Mertens, BEL (25/#17)
...as is often the case with Mertens, the Belgian has been a admirable model of consistency, going her usually eye-opening-but-unflashy 13-3 in singles in '21. Her Australian Open Round of 16 result gives her eight 4th Rd.+ runs in the last twelve majors, dating back to her AO semi in '18, as well as twelve straight 3r+ results in slams. She improved upon her strong record in finals (6-3) with a singles title in the Grampians event in Melbourne, posted her second career (w/ Cincy/NYC last year) WTA 1000 semi result in Dubai, and even added another doubles slam while teaming with Aryna Sabalenka at the AO. Stat Note: Mertens' well-earned reputation as a player who rarely suffers shocking opening match exits continues to play out, as she's had just one in her last 25 events, with 16 *multiple*-win tournaments during that stretch, including eleven straight.

9. Shuko Aoyama/Ena Shibahara, JPN/JPN (33/#13 WD; 23/#13 WD)
...the tour's top doubles team of the 1st Quarter, the Japanese duo went 3-0 in WTA finals with title runs in Abu Dhabi, Melbourne (Yarra Valley) and Miami, with the latter bringing both women the biggest titles of their career. They also reached the QF of the Australian Open. Stat Note: since October 2019, Aoyama & Shibahara have been unbeatable in finals, going a combined 6-0.

10. Iga Swiatek, POL (19/#16)
...despite adjusting to a racket switch, the reigning Roland champ reached the Round of 16 at the Australian Open (losing to Simona Halep, who got revenge for Swiatek knocking her off at last year's RG, one year after the Pole had done the same to Halep in Paris after a '19 RG defeat), then took things to another level in Adelaide. There, Iga raced to her second tour title, not dropping a set and allowing as many as four games in any single set just once in the nine she completed (one opponent ret. in the 2nd down 0-3) in the tournament. The run improved Swiatek's mark in pro singles finals to 9-1 (2-1 WTA/7-0 ITF). Stat Note: Swiatek's pair of no-sets-lost runs in Paris and Adelaide mark her as the only player on tour with multiple sweeps en route to titles since the start of the 2018 season.

11. Elise Mertens/Aryna Sabalenka, BEL/BLR (25/#5 WD; 22/#4 WD)
...like the former doubles duo of Makarova/Vesnina before them, Mertens & Sabalenka have (mostly) only gone for the "big stuff." They did it again in Melbourne, taking their second slam WD crown (w/ '19 US) while defeating top teams such as Aoyama/Shibahara (QF), Melichar/Schuurs (SF) and Krejcikova/Siniakova (F). The win is added to their previous big event titles in Indian Wells and Miami (their "Sunshine Double" in '19). Perhaps not coincidentally, since Mertens and Sabalenka announced in Melbourne that they were going to mostly focus on their singles in '21 and not team up in doubles as often, they've failed to win another match, going 0-2 in their only two outings in Dubai and Miami. Stat Note: wherever their partnership ultimately goes, the duo have been "money" in the big matches, putting together a 5-1 mark in finals since first teaming up in 2019.




12. Jennifer Brady, USA (25/#14)
...just as she did coming out of last summer's shutdown, Brady emerged from hard quarantine in Melbourne in fine form, reaching the Grampians semis and her maiden slam final at the Australian Open, just five months after reaching her first major semi at the U.S. Open in September. Stat Note: since defeating Karolina Muchova in the AO semis, Brady has yet to win a match, going 0-3 starting with her loss to Naomi Osaka in the final.




13. Petra Kvitova, CZE (31/#11)
...the Czech's 28th career tour title run in Doha was her first since April 2019, as Kvitova maintained her high level of result in the tournament which she'd already won once (2018) and reached another final (2020). Stat Note: Kvitova's title-less '20 campaign was her first on tour since 2010, and had she won last year's Doha final (a loss to Sabalenka) she'd have become just the ninth woman in tour history to win titles in ten straight seasons.

14. Clara Tauson, DEN (18/#102)
...the Danish teen put together a 13-match winning streak in ITF/WTA matches, claiming her maiden tour title in Lyon (in just her third WTA MD appearance, the quickest route to a title since Olga Danilovic's first-MD win in Moscow in '18) without dropping a set. It took Tauson, who opened her slam career with a 1st Round upset of Jennifer Brady in Paris last fall, less than six months to go from breaking into the Top 200 last September to cracking the Top 100 this March. Stat Note: two of Tauson's three singles titles (1 WTA/2 ITF) this season came with victories in the final over Swiss vet Viktorija Golubic, in a January $25K in the UAE as well as in Lyon.

15. Jessica Pegula, USA (27/#32)
...while upward ranking mobility has sometimes been hard on the pandemic-era tour, Pegula has jumped from #62 to #32 in three months, reaching her first career slam QF at the Australian Open and notching her first four Top 10 wins (granted, three came vs. one player -- Karolina Pliskova -- but still impressive). Stat Note: while Pegula has put up a combined 17-5 record in 2021 since she first arrived in Melbourne, three of her defeats since stand out, as she managed to lose a 7-5/4-1 lead vs. Sofia Kenin at the Yarra Valley event, a 7-5/5-1 edge on Elise Mertens in Dubai, and failed to convert six MP vs. Maria Sakkari in Miami.





16. Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (25/#39)
...while the Czech was up to her usual in doubles action, reaching two WD finals (Gippsland/AO, winning the former) with Katerina Siniakova and claiming her third straight slam MX crown in Melbourne, Krejickova also reached her biggest ever singles final (Dubai 1000) and cracked the Top 40 for the first time. Stat note: Krejickova's appearance in both the Australian Open WD/MX finals marked the first time the feat has been accomplished on tour since Nicole Melichar at the 2018 Wimbledon, where Krejcikova/Siniakova won the WD title.

17. Maria Sakkari, GRE (25/#19)
...playing a more aggressive game, Sakkari has worked around a hard quarantine in Melbourne to reach a tour-best (tied w/ Muguruza) three SF this season (including a career-best in Miami) en route to a new career high of #19. Additionally, the two biggest wins of her career (over #4 Kenin and #2 Osaka) have come in 2021. Stat Note: the Greek's two Top 5 wins gives her four such victories since the start of 2020.

18. Serena Williams, USA (39/#8)
...8-1 on the season, Williams reached back-to-back semis in the Yarra Valley event and Australian Open to open the season, advancing to her 40th career SF in a major (third all-time behind Chris Evert's 52 and Martina Navratilova's 44). She lost again in a slam to Naomi Osaka, leaving her quest for major title #24 open-ended. Stat Note: Serena's two Top 10 wins at the AO -- over Halep and Sabalenka, giving her 177 in her career -- marked the first time since 2016 in Indian Wells that she'd recorded two such victories in a single event.

19. Bianca Andreescu, CAN (20/#6)
...the Canadian has gone 9-3 in her comeback after missing all of 2020, reaching the Phillip Island SF and Miami final while battling through eight three-setters (7-1) in her twelve return matches. Stat Note: Andreescu has gone 28-2 in her last 30 matches in North America (w/ both losses coming via retirements in Miami), and is 41-3 on the continent across all levels of play back to late 2018.

20. Leylah Fernandez, CAN (18/#72)
...a year after forcing Heather Watson to take ten MP to finally defeat her in the Acapulco final, Fernandez returned to Mexico and swept to her maiden tour title in Monterrey without dropping a set. Stat Note: Fernandez was the fourth of the eight Canadian women to ever win WTA singles titles to claim her maiden crown while still a teenager (after Carling Bassett, Helen Kelesi and Bianca Andreescu; Genie Bouchard won at age 20).




HM (singles)- Viktorija Golubic, SUI (28/#82)
...the Swiss has played six events this season across the WTA and ITF, reaching four finals (incl. back-to-back WTA in Lyon and Monterrey, both losses, while being 1-1 in challenger title matches), going a combined 25-5. Stat Note: four of Golubic's losses have come to teens (Tauson-2, Fernandez & Rakhimova) with the other vs. her barely-20 year old countrywoman (Waltert).

HM (doubles)- Alexa Guarachi, CHI (30/#15 wd)
...a two-time title winner (Adelaide/Dubai) with two different partners (Desirae Krawczyk & Darija Jurak). Stat Note: Guarachi has reached ten career WTA doubles finals while playing alongside six different women, but three of her four titles have come with one partner -- Krawczyk.


kosova-font



[FROM TOP 20 OF 1Q]

*RISERS*
[Osaka-Barty-de Groot-Kasatkina-Sabalenka-Sorribes Tormo-Mertens-Brady-Pegula-Krejcikova-Sakkari]
*SURPRISES*
[Sorribes Tormo]
*VETERANS*
[Muguruza-Kvitova-S.Williams-Golubic]
*COMEBACK*
[Kasatkina-Andreescu]
*FRESH FACES*
[Swiatek-Tauson-Fernandez]
*DOUBLES*
[Aoyama/Shibahara-Mertens/Sabalenka-Guarachi]
*WHEELCHAIR*
[de Groot]


kosova-font
=RISERS=
1. Karolina Muchova, CZE
2. Belinda Bencic, SUI
3. Ons Jabeur, TUN
4. Elina Svitolina, UKR
5. Anett Kontaveit, EST
6. Marie Bouzkova, CZE
7. Danielle Collins, USA
8. Donna Vekic, CRO
9. Alja Tomljanovic, AUS
10. Bernarda Pera, USA

=SURPRISES=
1. Anastasia Gasanova, RUS
2. Mayer Sherif, EGY
3. Francesca Jones, GBR
4. Nina Stojanovic, SRB
5. Storm Sanders, AUS
6. Kristina Kucova, SVK
7. Jaqueline Cristian, ROU
8. Ankita Raina/Kamilla Rakhimova, IND/RUS
9. Olivia Gadecki, AUS
10. Gabriella Da Silva Fick, AUS

=VETERANS=
1. Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
2. Simona Halep, ROU
3. Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
4. Kaia Kanepi, EST
5. Genie Bouchard, CAN
6. Shelby Rogers, USA
7. Sorana Cirstea, ROU
8. Vera Zvonareva, RUS
9. Sara Errani, ITA
10. Laura Siegemund/Vera Zvonareva, GER/RUS

=COMEBACKS=
1. Ana Konjuh, CRO
2. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, SVK
3. Anastasia Potapova, RUS
4. Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
5. Rebecca Marino, CAN
6. Margarita Gasparyan, RUS
7. Katie Boulter, GBR
8. Amanda Anisimova, USA
9. Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
10. Urszula Radwanska, POL

=FRESH FACES=
1. Ann Li, USA
2. Veronika Kudermetova, RUS
3. Elisabetta Cocciaretto, ITA
4. Coco Gauff, USA
5. Jil Teichmann, SUI
6. Paula Badosa, ESP
7. Anna Kalinskaya, RUS
8. Kaja Juvan, SLO
9. Marta Kostyuk, UKR
10. Coco Gauff/Caty McNally, USA/USA

=JUNIOR STARS=
1. Natalia Szabinin, HUN
2. Diana Shnaider, RUS
3. Alexandra Yepifanova, USA
4. Oceane Babel, FRA
5. Petra Marcinko, CRO
6. Johanne Christine Svendsen, DEN
7. Anastasiia Gureva, RUS
8. Julia Garcia, MEX
9. Madison Sieg, USA
10. Linda Fruhvirtova, CZE

=DOUBLES=
1. Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2. Nicole Melichar/Demi Schuurs, USA/NED
3. Hayley Carter/Luisa Stefani, USA/BRA
4. Ellen Perez/Astra Sharma, AUS/AUS
5. Ankita Raina/Kamilla Rakhimova, IND/RUS
6. Alexa Guarachi/Desirae Krawczyk, CHI/USA
7. Alexa Guarachi/Darija Jurak, CHI/CRO
8. Nadiia Kichenok/Raluca Olaru, UKR/ROU
9. Caroline Dolehide/Asia Muhammad, USA/USA
10. Viktoria Kuzmova/Arantxa Rus, SVK/NED

=ITF=
1. Weronika Falkowska, POL
2. Nuria Parrizas Diaz, ESP
3. Clara Tauson, DEN
4. Linda Noskova, CZE
5. Yuliya Hatouka, BLR
6. Linda Fruhvirtova, CZE
7. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, ESP
8. Laura Pigossi, BRA
9. Oksana Selekhmeteva, RUS
10. Yuriko Lily Miyazaki, JPN

=WHEELCHAIR=
1. Yui Kamiji, JPN
2. Diede de Groot/Aniek Van Koot, NED/NED
3. Yui Kamiji/Momoko Ohtani, JPN/JPN
4. Aniek Van Koot, NED
5. KG Montjane, RSA

=DOWN=
1. Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2. Dayana Yastremska, UKR
3. Sloane Stephens, USA
4. Yulia Putintseva, KAZ
5. Elena Rybakina, KAZ
6. Johanna Konta, GBR
7. Sofia Kenin, USA
8. Angelique Kerber, GER
9. Katerina Siniakova, CZE
10. CoCo Vandeweghe, USA

=MOST IMPROVED PLAYERS=
1. Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP
2. Jessica Pegula, USA
3. Clara Tauson, DEN
4. Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
5. Ann Li, USA
6. Veronika Kudermetova, RUS
7. Anastasia Gasanova, RUS
8. Nina Stojanovic, SRB
9. Elisabetta Cocciaretto, ITA
10. Storm Sanders, AUS
11. Mayar Sherif, EGY
12. Kaja Juvan, SLO
13. Kristina Kucova, SVK
14. Kamilla Rakhimova, RUS
15. Danka Kovinic, MNE
16. Francesca Jones, GBR
17. Maddison Inglis, AUS
18. Olga Danilovic, SRB
19. Tamara Zidansek, SLO
20. Cristina Bucsa, ESP

=COACH OF THE QUARTER=
1. Silvia Soler Espinosa (Sorribes Tormo)
2. Conchita Martinez (Muguruza)
3. Carlos Martinez (Kasatkina)
4. David Witt (Pegula)
5. Tom Hill (Sakkari)
6. Craig Tyzzer (Barty)
7. Wim Fissette (Osaka)
8. Michael Geserer (Brady)
9. Anton Dubrov (Sabalenka)
10. Henner Nehles (Li)




futuristic-fonts


1. NAOMI'S (AUSTRALIAN) ARC
...once more bringing her best on the biggest of stages, Naomi Osaka claims her fourth slam crown by winning her second Australian Open. After having saved 2 MP in the Round of 16 against Garbine Muguruza, Osaka finished off her run with straight sets wins over Serena Williams (SF) and Jennifer Brady (F), winning her fourth hard court slam of the last six contested and extending her winning streak in HC majors to 21 matches. Osaka is 12-0 in slams from the QF forward in her career, and her spotless 4-0 mark in her first four major finals (one each season from 2018-21) is an accomplishment matched only by Monica Seles and Roger Federer in the Open era.

===============================================
2. MUGU LEAVES FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND
...a week after reaching the Doha final, Garbine Muguruza becomes just the sixth woman to reach same-season finals there and in Dubai, where she claimed her biggest title since Cincinnati 2017. The Spaniard's winning turn included impressive victories over Iga Swiatek (love and 4), Aryna Sabalenka and Elise Mertens, who'd combined to win six of the previous eleven WTA singles title dating back to '20 (Mugu had also held 2 MP vs. a 7th champ -- Osaka at the AO -- during the stretch).

===============================================
3. INVINCIBLE IGA
...after a period of adjustment -- new season, new scrutiny, new racket -- at the start of her '21 campaign, '20 Roland Garros champ Iga Swiatek returned in full force in Adelaide. Over the course of nine sets (and one half of another, due to her opponent's retirement), the Polish teenager allowed as many as four games in just one stanza, finally downing Belinda Bencic in the final en route to her first title since her slam-winning turn last October in Paris, where she also dominantly surged to the championship without dropping a set.

===============================================
4. BARTY DOES SOUTH BEACH
...with her #1 ranking in jeopardy, defending champ Ash Barty nearly lost in her opening match in Miami, saving a MP against Kristina Kucova. Once she'd cleared that hurdle, though, she reminded everyone how she took the top spot on tour in 2019 in the first place, by consistently keeping her cool (even in the Florida heat) and simply playing her game with no fuss and no muss. Wins over the likes of Victoria Azarenka, Aryna Sabalenka and Elina Sabalenka preceded a 2nd set retirement from Bianca Andreescu in the final that made Barty (now with six straight Top 10 wins, and 13 wins in her last 16 such matches) the sixth different woman (all the others are Hall of Famers, or will be) to win back-to-back Miami Open titles. Starting with her Miami win two years ago, the Aussie has compiled a 7-1 mark in her last eight singles finals.

===============================================
5. PETRA POWER!
...Petra Kvitova's Doha win ends a nearly two-year title drought. Already a former champ (2018) and previous runner-up (2020) at the event, the Czech opened with a win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, then defeated Anett Kontaveit in three sets for her first three-set victory since *last* year's Doha semis. Kvitova followed up by not losing another set all week, taking out Jessica Pegula in the semis and Garbine Muguruza in her 38th career tour final (a rematch of the '18 Doha championship match) in straight sets.

===============================================
6. UNSTOPPABLE SABALENKA
...in Abu Dhabi, the 2021 season began the same way that 2020 had ended, with Aryna Sabalenka being unbeatable. The 22-year old Belarusian claimed her third straight tour title dating back to her nine-match run to close out last season, dropping just one set in six matches in the tour's season debut event, notching victories over the likes of Ons Jabeur, Elena Rybakina, Maria Sakkari and Veronika Kudermetova in the final, extending her winning streak to 15 matches.

===============================================
7. HERE COMES A DANE AGAIN
...already a two-time winner on the ITF circuit in '21, 18-year old Dane Clara Tauson stepped up quite a few steps with her maiden tour-level title run in Lyon, an accomplishment pulled off in just her third career WTA MD and done so without losing a set. Tauson won all fourteen sets she played while making her way through qualifying all the way to the trophy ceremony, upsetting top-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova in the 1st Round for her second Top 50 win, then closing out her long week with a win in the final over fellow qualifier Viktoriya Golubic to join retired fellow Dane Caroline Wozniacki as a tour-level singles champion.

===============================================
8. THE RESURRECTION OF ST.BIBI
..in just her third event back in '21 after missing all of last season recovering and rehabbing the knee she injured at the '19 WTAF, Bianca Andreescu battled and brawled her way in the heat through a series of opponents in a fashion that magically transported anyone who watched back to the heriocs she displayed two seasons ago while winning in Indian Wells, Toronto and Flushing Meadows. The 20-year old former U.S. Open champ claimed four consecutive three-set thrillers over Amanda Anisimova, Garbine Muguruza, Sara Sorribes Tormo and Maria Sakkari, battling through exhaustion to blast baseline rally-enders with the same cold-blooded effectiveness as she executed mid-rally drop shots and how-did-she-even-get-her-racket-on-that-one-anyway winners from all areas of the court, leaving opponents flat-footed and showing once again that her biggest on-court asset may just be her unwillingness to lose. Ultimately, her run ended with a foot injury in the final vs. Ash Barty, but Andreescu's fabulous two weeks in Florida won't soon be forgotten.

===============================================
9. THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING HERE AGAIN!
...in Saint Petersburg, Russians filled seven of the eight quarterfinal spots, a feat not seen on tour since 1993, when U.S. women stacked the deck in an event in Oakland that ended with Martina Navratilova defeating Zina Garrison Jackson in the final. It was a diverse collection of Original Hordettes (Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva), members of the follow-up generation coming back from slumps or injury (Dasha Kasatkina and Margarita Gasparyan), the current Russian #1 (Ekaterina Alexandrova) and her recent rankings shadow (Veronika Kudermetova), and one of the season's biggest revelations (Anastasia Gasanova) who filled the QF with overflowing Hordettes (and one Romanian, Jaqueline Cristian) in the first tour event played in Russia in over a year. The four-strong semis was the first all-nation block since four Bannerettes reached the U.S. Open semis in 2017, and the event concluded with the 30th all-Russian singles final in tour history, as Kasatkina defeated Gasparyan (ret. 2nd set) to become the first home favorite to ever win the title.

===============================================
10. DIEDE THE (STILL) GREAT
...after a hit-and-big-miss 2020 season, wheelchair #1 Diede de Groot's greatness has once more been apparent in 2021. The Dutch woman swept the Australian Open WC singles and doubles titles (her sixth career act of such slam mastery), downing #2 Yui Kamiiji in the singles final to win her third crown in Melbourne in the last four years (and ninth major, improving to 7-2 vs. Kamiji in slam finals), and teamed with Aniek Van Koot to reclaim the doubles title she won two year ago (also her ninth WD slam win).

===============================================
HM- THE ADVENTURES OF COCO
...rarely has a week so perfectly mirrored the current state of a player as Coco Gauff's adventure in Adelaide did. The 16-year old has seen her performances take gigantic swings of momentum for most of the past year, and in this one event she seemed intent on repeating that scenario on a match-by-match (sometimes more than once) basis virtually every time she took the court. In the end, Gauff battled her way to her third career tour semifinal, picking up enough points to make her Top 40 breakthrough. But, my, what a journey it was.

It all began in the qualifying rounds, where she followed up a straight sets win over Francesca Jones by falling behind Kaja Juvan 6-3/3-0, with the Slovenian serving for the match at 5-4. Gauff then won nine of twelve games to reach the MD. In the 1st Round, Gauff led Jasmine Paolini 6-4/5-2 and had a MP for a straight sets win, only to see the Italian force a 3rd set, which the teenager won 6-2. A round later, Gauff stormed back from a set down to defeat veteran Petra Martic, then *twice* staged a comeback against Shelby Rogers in the QF after falling behind 6-2/4-2, then 4-2 *again* in the 3rd set. Facing Belinda Bencic in the semis, Gauff took a 4-1 lead in the 1st set, but lost it in a tie-break. After saving a Bencic MP in the 2nd set and winning TB to force a 3rd, Gauff's road finally came to an end in her *fifth* straight three-setter (after about the twelfth major momentum swing) of her week.

How do Gauff's parents deal with all the daughter-imposed stress? Well...

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


kosova-font



THE HSIEH SU-WEI EXPERIENCE
...Hsieh has only appeared in three draws all year, and none since the Australian Open (in singles or doubles). Meanwhile, her regular doubles partner (Barbora Strycova) just announced that she's pregnant. Still, no player made a more indelible mark on 2021 than the 35-year old vet in Melbourne, where she posted wins over Tsvetana Pironkova (slam semifinalist), Bianca Andreescu (slam winner), Sara Errani (slam finalist) and Marketa Vondrousova (slam finalist) to become the oldest first-time slam quarterfinalist in the Open era... but ultimately became *more* famous for her post-match interviews and press conference quotes. Make no mistake, at the season's first slam Hsieh was bigger than the butterfly, Barty, Djokovic and (maybe) even Osaka (hmm, maybe not... but Naomi had to go through Su-wei in the QF to win the title and didn't relish that fact one bit) as she belatedly became *the* social media breakout star of the tournament.

Meanwhile, as the 1st Quarter ended, Hsieh reclaimed the #1 doubles ranking that she'd lost earlier in the year to Aryna Sabalenka.





futuristic-fonts



1. Miami 4th Rd. - Bianca Andreescu def. Garbine Muguruza
...3-6/6-3/6-2. With more time on court, and with her back more comfortably against the wall, Andreescu's "St.Bibi" side began to shine against Muguruza as the Canadian truly started her march toward the Miami final.



Andreescu turned things up in the 3rd, registering her first Top 20 win since her '19 U.S. Open run, with her special brand of shots from nowhere, stunning head-turners, and guile-runneth-over rally enders reminding everyone once again that no lead -- and no match -- is safe from Andreescu when she's (mostly) healthy and (fully) zoned-in.

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


2. Miami QF - Bianca Andreescu def. Sara Sorribes Tormo
...6-4/3-6/6-3. When "tireless" is a trait common to *both* players on the court, this exhaustive and glorious superior-rally-heavy contest is what you get, and everyone "wins." Even the "losing" player.

While Sorribes didn't advance to the semifinals, she proved her North American heroics over the previous month are her "new reality" and not just a fluke of the early spring. As for Andreescu, well, her ability to almost immediately return so early in her comeback to the sort of routinely dramatic and grinding wars that were the hallmark of her breakout '19 campaign is a truly remarkable thing (even if your heart *does* navigate to your throat every time she bends over after a partucularly long and physical exchange of shots).



The Canadian took the 1st set right out of the hands of the Spaniard, surging back from a double-break deficit and then breaking Sorribes to win 6-4. Andreescu never held serve in the 2nd set, yet still managed to stay in the set until the closing moments as Sorribes took things to what was her *fifth* straight three-setter at this Miami Open.

Perhaps no stretch better captured the inherent drama of an Andreescu match than late in the sixth game of the deciding set. Up a break at 3-2, the Canadian looked exhausted as she fell behind love/40. Surely, she'd finally hit her physical wall, right? Umm, no. She simpy reeled off five straight points to hold for 4-2. Andreescu failed to serve out the match at 5-2 (she fell behind love/40 again, and when she got to 30/40 you *know* everyone more than half-expected her to find a way to hold), but quickly rebounded and broke Sorribes to close out the victory.

Battle buddies on a Wednesday night, the two shared a nice moment at the net, knowing they'd given their all and forced the other to do the same. Just as it should be.
===============================================
3. Australian Open 4th Rd. - Naomi Osaka def. Garbine Muguruza
...4-6/6-4/7-5. Muguruza *had this* only to falter down the stretch as Osaka pulled out her "they only remember the winners" mentality. Trailing 5-3 in the 3rd, and facing two MP, the would-be AO champ (again) won four straight games and 10 of 12 points to take out the '20 finalist.

===============================================
4. Australian Open WC Final - Diede de Groot def. Yui Kamiji
...6-3/6-7(4)/7-6(10-4). In their ninth meeting in a slam final, de Groot improved to 7-2 vs. her rival. But it wasn't easy. Kamiji rallied from 6-3/3-1 down to force a 3rd, which began with six straight breaks of serve. De Groot failed to serve out the match at 5-4, then staged a comeback from mini-break down in the 10-point TB to win it 10-4.
===============================================
5. Dubai 1st Rd. - Coco Gauff def. Ekaterina Alexandrova
...7-6(4)/2-6/7-6(8). Another event. Another country. Same Coco Gauff adventure. Gauff led 4-1 in the 1st, but soon saw Alexandrova up a break at 5-4. Gauff broke back, saved a BP in game #11 and went on to take the TB. Alexandrova forced a 3rd set, where Gauff led 5-1 only to then ride the screamingly-steep downslope of her latest up-and-down gameday and have to save a pair of MP before finally winning on her own sixth MP to end her latest 2:41 thriller, her sixth consecutive three-set match (5-1).
===============================================
6. Dubai 2nd Rd. - Coco Gauff def. Marketa Vondrousova
...3-6/6-0/6-4. The last of Gauff's streak of seven consecutive three-set matches (6-1) was the most contentious.

After falling behind 4-1 in the 1st, despite dropping the opening set, Gauff won 17 of the next 23 games vs. the Czech, a stretch of oft-tight games during which Gauff prevailed across the board. In the 2nd set, five of the six games went to deuce, with 12 combined deuces in the first three games. En route to a love set, Gauff saved four GP in game #1 and then four more in #2, then broke Vondrousova on her 7th BP chance in game #3.

Vondrousova didn't take kindly to Gauff asking the umpire if she could catch a service toss with her racket rather than with her hand or letting it bounce -- she could, she was told -- and soon after began screaming after winning points. Gauff screamed back, and later said, "I fight fire with fire" after finishing off the Czech in a tense 3rd set.
===============================================
7. Miami 2nd Rd. - Ons Jabeur def. Paula Badosa
...7-6(6)/5-7/7-5. In a physically draining 2:36 affair in the afternoon heat, Jabeur pulled her way through the muck (sometimes to the consternation of Badosa) to emerge with a warrior-cred-earning victory. After failing to serve out the 1st set, Jabeur was forced to save a SP before finally winning an 8-6 TB. The Tunisian called for a trainer mid-way through the 2nd set, and threw up on the court (in the corner, while Badosa waited to serve, then eventually DF'd and dropped the game). Badosa served for the win in the 3rd, only to fail to get the job done, as Jabeur laughed at the audacity of it all and then swept the final four games. As a still peeved Badosa exited, Jabeur sank to the court and stayed behind, worked on by a team of trainers/doctors.



Jabeur didn't just sink in the next round, either. Against Sofia Kenin, against whom she was yet to win a set in four meetings, Jabeur rallied to take the 1st set by winning the final twelve points (gonig from 3-4 down to a 6-4 win) en route to a three-set victory.

===============================================
8. Adelaide QF - Jil Teichmann def. Anastasija Sevastova
...6-4/6-7(8)/7-5. Match points for you! And match points for you! And match points for you! Teichmann saves two MP in the 2nd, then Sevastova saves five in the 2nd set TB. Finally, Teichmann converts on her second MP in the 3rd (7th overall) to get the win.
===============================================


9. Saint Petersburg 2nd Rd - Veronika Kudermetova d. Kamilla Rakhimova
...7-5/3-6/7-6(5). Another dramatic marathon filled with too many great rallies to count, as 19-year old Rakhimova nearly clipped the #2 seed to reach her first WTA QF. She served two up 5-4 in the deciding tie-break, only to see Kudermetova rise up in the closing moments to snatch the final three points to survive and advance.

===============================================
10. Melbourne Gippsland 3rd Rd. - Irina-Camelia Begu def. Johanna Konta
...4-6/7-6(10)/7-6(4). In a 3:32 marathon, Konta held two MP in the 2nd set, only to see Begu steal it on her own eighth SP to force a 3rd. The Romanian finally took the match in a TB on her ninth MP.
===============================================
HM- Abu Dhabi 3rd Rd. - Elina Svitolina def. Ekaterina Alexandrova
...6-2/6-7(5)/7-6(8). How the Svitolina Turns...

Svitolina, up a break three times in the 2nd set, served for the match at 5-4. Forced to a TB by Alexandrova, Svitolina held a mini-break lead three times before the Russian ultimately won it 7-5. In the 3rd, Alexandrova took a 3-1 lead and served for the win at 5-4. She DF'd on the first point and was quickly broken. Still, taken into a deciding TB by Svitolina, Alexandrova held two MP in the breaker, only to see Svitolina prevail on her own second MP.



One Round later...

Abu Dhabi QF - Veronika Kudermetova def. Elina Svitolina
...5-7/6-3/7-6(3). With the bottom half of the draw bereft of seeds other than herself, #2 Svitolina led *another* Russian 4-2 in the 3rd set. Broken in game #10, Svitolina broke back when Kudermetova served for the match at 6-5. In the deciding TB, Kudermetova took a quick 3-0 lead before finally winning 7-3 on MP #2.



Kudermetova fired eleven aces in the match and held a 50-19 edge in winners, but was knotted 108-108 with Svitolina in total points on the day. The Russian had no particular reason to fear the Ukrainian, having earlier recorded a win over her in the 2019 Kremlin Cup via a 7-5 3rd set.
===============================================


kosova-font



Adelaide 1st Rd. - Yulia Putintseva def. Laura Siegemund
...6-4/6-4. The Kazakh has had a crazy (i.e. oh-so-Putintseva like) start to 2021. From quarantine to the Mice Wars to The Battle of Stubbs, from blown MP in *two* losses to her 3rd Round AO loss (love & 4) to Elina Svitolina, Putintseva had already authored enough footnotes for (at least) half a season's worth of action in the season's opening weeks. Then came Adelaide.



Her opening match against Laura Siegemund (subtitled "The Traveling Grievance Circus," maybe?) included gripes about shoelace tying and Putintseva being given an arched eybrow warning from the umpire after calling the linespeople "unprofessional." You'd expect a heightened level of intensity (and, umm, other things, many surely eye roll worthy) in a match-up between these Putintseva and Siegemund, and that's just how things played out.



Ultimately, Putintseva won this match, only to lose (once more proving that there is no storm that Putintseva won't barrel head-first into) to Storm Sanders a round later.



1. Miami 4th Rd. - Maria Sakkari def. Jessica Pegula
...6-4/2-6/7-6(6). Sparta lives to fight another day.



With Pegula serving for the match at 5-3 in the 3rd, things looked grim for Sakkari. But a last-gasp break of serve, followed by a 15-minute hold during which the Greek woman's frontal attack saved five MP (four via clean winners, including one line-scraper) put the Bannerette on her heels. In the deciding TB, Sakkari led 5-2 only to see Pegula stage a late counteroffensive that pushed her into winning position again at 6-5 with MP #6. Sakkari saved it with a fifth winner, then struck at the heart of the New York state native with a conclusive blow that settled things on her own maiden MP. Sometimes it's just that close.
===============================================
2. Dubai QF - Elise Mertens def. Jessica Pegula
...5-7/7-5/6-0. Pegula seemed on the verge of another major result, leading Mertens 7-5/5-1 and holding three MP against the Waffle before dropping eleven straight games to end the match.
===============================================
3. Miami 2nd Rd. - Ash Barty def. Kristina Kucova
...6-3/4-6/7-5 Barty faced qualifier Kucova in just the Aussie's second event outside of Australia since November 2019. The world #1 looked about to suffer a third straight loss for the first time since 2014, with the Slovak about to notch her second career Top 10 win. Kucova served for the match at 5-3 in the 3rd, holding a MP. But Barty, with her #1 ranking in jeopardy at the event, avoided an early disaster, getting the break and then never losing another game. She held from love/40 down to close out the 7-5 set and get the win, then went on to defend her Miami Open crown.
===============================================
4. Miami 2nd Rd. - Aryna Sabalenka def. Tsvetana Pironkova
...0-6/6-3/7-6(9). After Sabalenka dropped the 1st set to qualifier Pironkova at love, she collected herself to force a 3rd in a match in which both women took medical timeouts and had ice bags on their heads during changeovers. In the final set, the Bulgarian veteran surged to a 5-2 lead, serving at 5-3. Sabalenka got the break to get the match back on serve, and the two soon headed to a deciding TB. Again, Pironkova took the early lead at 2-0, only to see the Belarusian battle back to 4-4. Sabalenka held back-to-back MP at 6-4 but couldn't convert, then saw Pironkova hold two MP of her own (at 7-6 and 8-7) in the back-and-forth breaker. But this match wasn't contended in a slam, so Pironkova didn't get the last laugh (or gasping triumph in the heat). Finally, Sabalenka put away MP #3 to win the tie-break 11-9 and advance.
===============================================
5. Australian Open 2nd Rd. - Simona Halep def. Ajla Tomljanovic
...4-6/6-4/7-5. Down 5-2 in the 3rd set and two points from defeat against the Aussie (Tomljanovic served for the win), Halep staged a nighttime comeback on Laver that saw her sweep the final five games en route to the second week.

===============================================
6. Miami 1st Rd. - Sara Sorribes Tormo def. Bernarda Pera
...6-2/2-6/7-5. Sorribes won their previous meeting in 3:23 in Abu Dhabi in January, and went 2:44 to get this victory, staging a comeback from 5-1 down in the 3rd set (saving 2 MP) to continue her early '21 North American momentum.
===============================================
7. Melbourne Grampians 2nd Rd. - Victoria Azarenka def. Yulia Putintseva
...6-4/1-6 [11-9]. After getting ready off the court with a new podcast, Azarenka made her '21 in-match debut an exciting one, saving two MP in the MTB vs. Putintseva after falling behind 5-1, 8-6 and 9-7. She'd already come back from 0-4 to claim the 1st set. Putintseva, of course, performed the usual art of racket abuse and huffing-and-puffing after having squandered her leads. Of course, Putintseva had already blown a MP (vs. Sofia Kenin in a loss in Abu Dhabi) in her *previous* '21 event, and would go on to lose a *third* time this season after holding MP in a Miami defeat against Nina Stojanovic).
===============================================
8.Adelaide Q2 - Coco Gauff def. Kaja Juvan 3-6/7-5/6-3
Adelaide 1st Rd. - Coco Gauff def. Jasmine Paolini 6-4/6-7(4)/6-2
Adelaide 2nd Rd. - Coco Gauff def. Petra Martic 5-7/6-3/6-4
Adelaide QF - Coco Gauff def. Shelby Rogers 2-6/6-4/6-4
Adelaide SF - Belinda Bencic def. Coco Gauff 7-6(2)/6-7(4)/6-2
...if Gauff had won her second career tour title in Adelaide her epic path of comeback magic would have been worthy of tales passed down through generations. Even so, her run to her third career semifinal will likely go down as one of the most twisty, momentum shifting walks through a dense WTA forest we'll see all season.

Gauff rallied from 6-3/3-0 (w/ Juvan serving at 5-4) to reach the MD, winning 9 of 12 games. After fumbling away a 6-4/5-2 (w/ a MP) lead vs. Paolini, the teenager took the 3rd set at two. After a comeback from a set down against Martic, Gauff twice surged after falling a break down at 4-2 vs. Rogers (at 6-2/4-2, then 4-2 in the 3rd) to get the win. She nearly did it all over again versus Bencic, too. Gauff lost a 4-1 lead (and the set) in the 1st, but pushed the Swiss into a 3rd set after saving a MP in the 2nd. Finally, Bencic took control and ousted Gauff in her fifth straight three-setter of the week. Whew!
===============================================
9. Australian Open 3rd Rd. - Donna Vekic def. Kaia Kanepi
...5-7/7-6(2)/6-4. Kanepi, who'd rallied from 6-1/5-3 down vs. Astra Sharma in the 1st Round of her Gippsland final run, led Vekic 7-5/3-0 here, and held a MP at 5-4, before the Croat won 11 of 13 points to end the set. Vekic won a 7-2 TB, then staved off a late Kanepi threat after having taken a 3-1 lead in the 3rd. The win put Vekic into the Round of 16 at a fourth different major her career, completing a "Round of 16 Slam."
===============================================
10. Melbourne Phillip Island SF - Marie Bouzkova def. Bianca Andreescu
...6-7(9)/6-2/7-5. Andreescu is indeed human. In the "extra" Melbourne event held during the second week of the Australian Open, Bouzkova trailed the Canadian 4-1 in the 3rd set of a three-hour affair, saving two MP to advance to her second career tour final.

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




1. Abu Dhabi 2nd Rd. - Anastasia Gasanova def. Karolina Pliskova
...6-2/6-4. In Pliskova's first tournament under new coach Sascha Bajin, it took just two matches for the Czech to be ousted in straight sets, losing to #292-ranked qualifier Gasanova in her worst ranking defeat since falling to #444-ranked German Julia Kimmelman in the QF of a $25K challenger in Grenoble, France in February 2013.

===============================================
2. Melbourne Phillip Island 2nd Rd. - Olivia Gadecki def. Sofia Kenin
...2-6/7-6(4)/6-4. Days after Kenin's defense of her AO title had ended, unranked 18-year old Gadecki, days after her maiden WTA MD win (over fellow Aussie Destanee Aiava), notches her first career Top 100 win in just her second tour-level MD appearance. Kenin ended up having a surprise appendectomy soon afterward, while Aussie Gadecki's ranking jumped some 9600 spots after this result, all the way into the Top 400 (her previous high was #988).
===============================================
3. Melbourne Phillip Island 2nd Rd. - Gabriella Da Silva Fick def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich
...6-3/2-6/7-6(6). Lucky loser Da Silva Fick made her WTA debut in this match (replacing Jo Konta in the 2nd, and inheriting the Brit's 1st Round bye), and the 20-year old Aussie (#566) made the most of it, saving two MP en route to a shocking first career WTA victory.
===============================================
4. Monterrey 1st Rd. - Kristina Kucova def. Sloane Stephens
...6-2/6-2. The list of unlikely Stephens losses has been mounting for a while, but still. 30-year old lucky loser (#151) Kucova's only other wins this season heading into this match were in the 1st Round of a $60K challenger in January and in the opening round of Monterrey qualifying (over Aliona Bolsova), and her last Top 100 win came a full year earlier in the opening round of 2020 Monterrey qualifying. As it was, Kucova won handily, and it was hard to call the result a true "surprise."

To her credit, in her next event, Kucova held MP against Ash Barty in the 2nd Round in Miami.
===============================================
5. Adelaide 1st Rd. - Storm Sanders d. Ajla Tomljanovic 6-1/6-2
Adelaide 2nd Rd. - Storm Sanders d. Yulia Putintseva 6-4/5-7/6-1
...first 500/Premier level MD win, third Top 100 win, then her first over a Top 30 player to reach her first tour-level singles QF. Sanders lived up to her name in Adelaide.

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




kosova-font




posted by Todd.Spiker @ 11:57 PM 

2 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

1Q awards with stats! You know I like.

How does the Sharma mess happen?

Flipkens said that they had to start the Errani/Sorribes Tormo match at 10 am so it would be finished by 8.

Billie Jean King Cup rosters are out, though we know nothing is set in stone until match time. Osaka, Swiatek and Konta are out. Kazakhstan has a full roster, but nobody in form.

Now my rebuttal.

HM-Mertens & Swiatek.

1.Osaka- Serena for this generation. The rock star that gets things done both on and off the court. AO run may be the most impressive title this season.
2.Muguruza- Is this year's version of Halep. If there is a marquee match, Muguruza is probably one half of it. Literally a threat to win every week.
3.Kasatkina- Both Barty and Kasatkina won on home soil, and on the road. The difference? Kasatkina was unseeded for one, and 8th seed in the other. Has brought the restart form she showed before injury vs Azarenka to 2021.
4.Barty- I liked the fact that she was a bit salty about her ranking. "Nobody passed me". The charm of her game, besides the spin, is the face that she does what the greats do, and that is come up with a big serve break point down.
5.Andreescu- Big Match Bibi. If she's healthy, it isn't over till the lights go out. Pundits dubbing her And3eescu aren't wrong.
6.Sabalenka- Seemingly on the wrong end of her biggest matchups, she wins everything else. Add doubles #1 ranking, and it has been a good start.
7.Williams- Small sample size leaves her here, but she turned back the clock. Would like to see one tuneup before the French Open.
8.Golubic- 250 queen has been the best player on the undercard. Now allowed into Australia due to AO Q loss, her start on season rank went from 138 to 82 on the strength of 3 finals, 2 being 250 events.
9.Brady- Brady has been all or nothing, so I can't have the slam finalist any higher.
10.Sorribes Tormo- Grind time when Sara comes to play. Rebounded from what could have been a bad loss to Sabalenka to becoming a tough out everywhere. Her 2Q mission? Consistency in bigger events, plus a deep French Open run.

Wed Apr 07, 12:08:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Haha! I thought you might enjoy that angle. ;)

I did that for the first couple but didn't know if I'd be able to get something for the entire list... I did it, but had to push it a little on a couple of them. :)

Re: Sharma. Yeah, where was Putintseva when we needed her? Inexcusable error from the umpire. Yulia would have played out a Holy War on the clay right then and there if she'd been cheated like that. I think Sharma was made to feel by a lot of people (incl. the umpire and, apparently, the WTA supervisor) as if *she* was at fault somehow for not keeping score in her head or being able to recount how she won *every* point in that game.

Players have been (often wrongly, though the "corrective" measures later get no attention) publicly accused and punished (see Tatishvili at RG) for things that bring a match result into question, and that umpire should be dealt with accordingly. It was likely a mistake, but one that just can't be made.

(This sort of thing is why Tennis Channel so linking itself with an online betting site is such a bad look.)

I actually liked my Barty-at-#2 ranking a little more when I realized that she'd *also* defeated Mugu in a final this year (I'd forgotten). I probably slightly overranked Kvitova in my listings, but didn't want to change my initial rankings on Sunday's post. Considered putting Kasatkina at #4, but her wins/opponents were on the "lesser" side (esp. PI). Either way, it was nice to be able to include her again. Wish I could have gotten Muchova (AO SF; #1 win, 8-1 but w/ 2 walkover L) at least a mention on the individual rankings.

Wed Apr 07, 01:53:00 PM EDT  

Post a Comment

<< Home