Sunday, May 09, 2021

Wk.15- Yes, There is Another

"Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try."




What Aryna Sabalenka didn't pull off in Stuttgart she *did* in Madrid.

But can the Belarusian carry over the momentum to Roland Garros, where her lacking slam history will once again prove to be an agent of the dark side of the Force to be reckoned with?



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*WEEK 15 CHAMPIONS*
MADRID, SPAIN (WTA 1000/Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Aryna Sabalenka/BLR def. Ash Barty/AUS 6-0/3-6/6-4
D: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE) def. Gaby Dabrowski/Demi Schuurs (CAN/NED) 6-4/6-3
SAINT-MALO, FRANCE (WTA 125/Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Viktorija Golubic/SUI def. Jasmine Paolini/ITA 6-1/6-3
D: Kaitlyn Christian/Sabrina Santamaria (USA/USA) def. Hayley Carter/Luisa Stefani (USA/BRA) 7-6(4)/4-6 [10-5]


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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Aryna Sabalenka/BLR
...the more she learns, the better she gets. And so do her results.

Just days after celebarting her 23rd birthday (May the 5th, a day after May the 4th, aka "Star Wars Day"), Sabalenka picked up career title #10 with a win in the Madrid final over #1 Ash Barty, one event after having lost to the Aussie in the Stuttgart decider. Sabalenka had advanced to the Madrid championship match without dropping a set, blitzing the likes of Vera Zvonareva (3 games), Dasha Kasatkina (6), Jessica Pegula (3), Elise Mertens (1 game, and then a retirement) and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (5). The Belarusian's run continued in the final, where she bageled Barty in the 1st while committing just one unforced error, as her successful attempts to dial back her power when necessary (thereby cutting back on the errors that have often been her only stumbling block to bigger and better things on tour in recent years during a span in which she's led the WTA in titles, finals and semis but has yet to reach a major QF) and maintain more in-match consistency continue to show just how lethal a contained and in-control Sabalenka can be.

In Stuttgart, Sabalenka stumbled in the 2nd set and could never quite regain her momentum. She dropped the 2nd in Madrid to Barty, as well, but hung close with the Aussie in the 3rd and then swept through the final three games of the match, taking the final two at love to win career title #10 and move up to a new career high of #4 in the rankings. The title run gives Sabalenka a 4-0 mark in WTA 1000 finals, and she's 10-2 in her last twelve championship matches (since August '18).



Of course, any discussion about Sabalenka's "regular" season prowess has to include the note that she's yet to have a deep slam run. Her Round of 16 at his year's Australian Open was just her second such result in thirteen MD appearances in majors (w/ '18 U.S.). Her jump into the realm of double-digit title winners adds her name to one of the more unique lists in tour history, as well, as Sabalenka is now one of just three women with 10 or more tour singles titles (Anna Smashnova and Anabel Medina-Garrigues) who've never reached the final eight at a slam.

There will be at least an additional stop or two before we get there but, really, the ongoing story of Belarusian Boom, for all intents and purposes, is now paused, and destined to be continued in Paris. Will The Force -- finally -- be with her?
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RISERS: Ash Barty/AUS and Karolina Muchova/CZE
...before dropping the final eleven points of the final against Aryna Sabalenka, Barty seemed about to add one more victory to what had become an ultra-impressive series of streaks. After Madrid victories over Shelby Rogers, Tamara Zidansek, Iga Swiatek (ending the Pole's 18-set clay run), Petra Kvitova (3x event champ) and Paula Badosa (the only player to defeat her since February) the Aussie was riding a nine-match winning streak in '21, with sixteen straight on clay since the start of the '19 Roland Garros, and sported season marks of 10-0 against the Top 20 and 6-0 vs. Top 10 competition.

Sabalenka ended all that in a second straight clay final (w/ Stuttgart) match-up between the two, but Barty's consistency as the #1-ranked player (her run in the top spot will reach 75 weeks on Monday) has been more than admirable. She's gone 54-14 since first reaching the top spot on July 24, 2019. And she was 15-1 in the stretch *before* becoming #1 in the world.



Meanwhile, in just her second event back after a two month injury break following her Australian Open semifinal run, Muchova immediately put herself back in the headlines.

After an opening win over Wang Qiang, the Czech posted back-to-back victories over #2 Naomi Osaka (giving her three Top 3 wins in her four career Top 10 victories, including def. #1 Barty in the AO this year) and Maria Sakkari to improve to 5-0 vs. the Top 20 this season, giving her her maiden QF result in five career WTA 1000 MD appearances.

She couldn't get past Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, though, even while holding a 4-1 2nd set edge and twice serving to force a 3rd. Muchova eventualy lost 7-6/7-6.
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SURPRISE: Viktorija Golubic/SUI
...I'm not sure anyone had Golubic at the start of the year as one of the players who'd be an all-circuit star in 2021, but that's just what the 28-year old Swiss has become over the first five months of the season.

Having already reached tour-level finals in Lyon and Monterrey this year (going 0-2), as well as in a pair of $25K challengers (1-1), Golubic claimed her second career WTA 125 crown this week in Saint-Malo, France. She won a 125 in Indian Wells in '19, as well as a regular tour event in Gstaad in '16.

Golubic is 31-6 across all levels of play in 2021.



Wins over Clara Burel, Greet Minnen (from 5-3 down in the 3rd), Aliaksandra Sasnovich (1 game allowed) and Harmony Tan put Golubic into the final. In three of her four previous '21 finals the Swiss lost to teenagers (Tauson twice, and Fernandez, while she def. 27-year old Maryna Zanevska), but this time around she faced 25-year old Italian Jasmine Paolini. Golubic won 6-1/6-3, and will jump from #84 to #71 in the new rankings as a result.
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VETERANS: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS and Petra Kvitova/CZE
...ten years ago in Madrid, Pavlyuchenkova (19) and Kvitova (21) were the youngest players to reach the QF. Kvitova went on to win the first of her three Madrid Open titles that year. A decade later, the two were the oldest to reach the same stage, with the Russian recording her best result in the event *since* that final eight run in '11.

This year, Pavlyuchenkova did them both one better, reaching the SF.

After three straight 1st Round exits in Madrid, Pavlyuchenkova ignored her 5-8 record on the season (1-4 in her last 5) to string together wins over Madison Keys, Karolina Pliskova, Jennifer Brady and Karolina Muchova, advancing to her first QF since the 2020 Australian Open and first SF since her 2019 Kremlin Cup final appearance. The Russian lost in straight sets to Aryna Sabalenka, but will move up eleven spots in the new rankings, climbing back into the Top 30. She hasn't ranked inside the Top 25 since April 2018.



Kvitova didn't walk off with her fourth Madrid crown, nor her fifth semifinal appearance. But ultimately, even with a loss in the QF (her sixth in the event, and fifth in six years) to Ash Barty (join the crowd, Petra), the Czech put up a good rebound week following her collapse against Elina Svitolina in the Stuttgart QF.

Kvitova improved her season mark on clay to 6-3 with wins over Marie Bouzkova (ret.), Angelique Kerber and Veronika Kudermetova, enough to allow her to ride her (now seemingly) week-by-week ranking wave and *return* once again to the Top 10 on Monday after having dropped outside twice over the past month.

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COMEBACK: Anastasija Sevastova/LAT
...after a woeful year and a half (a 6-20 stretch dating back to late '19) that saw her drop from #11 in the rankings to outside the Top 50, Sevastova has finally started to get some traction on her '21 campaign in recent weeks.

After starting the year 1-4, the former U.S. Open semifinalist has since reached a pair of QF (Adelaide & Miami), gone 2-0 for Latvia in the BJK Cup, and wrapped up a 3rd Round run in Madrid that saw her go through qualifying (def. Pironkova and Kostyuk) and then post MD wins over Ana Bogdan and Johanna Konta. She went three sets against Paula Badosa, but was ousted quickly in a love 3rd set.

Sevastova has now won 13 of her last 18 matches.

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FRESH FACE: Paula Badosa/ESP
...Badosa did a lot of celebrating this week. Whether it was when she became the first wild card to reach the Madrid QF since 2017...



Or the first Spaniard to reach the semis...



The 23-year old has quickly moved into contention for the season's Most Improved Player honor. And to think her big surge has happened since her *three*-week quarantine in Melbourne due to a positive COVID test. It says a great deal about Badosa's game, drive and, well, maybe even stubborness. All should serve her well as the clay season concludes over the next month, as well as beyond.

With Garbine Muguruza (w/d) and Sara Sorribes Tormo (1r) being non-factors in the event, Badosa inherited the support of the whole of the Spanish fans who returned to the stands over the past two weeks in Madrid, putting their full support behind her in the women's competition (while you-know-who led the men's). She didn't disappoint, carrying over the momentum from her Charleston SF run (where she upset #1 Barty) with another in her biggest event to date. Badosa's wins over Barbora Krejcikova, Jil Teichmann, Anastasija Sevastova and Belinda Bencic set up another clash with Barty in the final four. This one didn't go as well, as the Aussie won in straight sets, but it didn't dim what the Spaniard accomplished here or over recent weeks.

12-5 since the Australian Open, Badosa will jump twenty spots to a new career high of #42 in the new rankings.
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DOWN: Hsieh Su-wei/TPE
...so, how was your week (and a few extra days)? Probably better than Hsieh's in Madrid.

Playing for the first time since the Australian Open (where she famously reached the QF on a wave of meme-able moments... remember?), the Taiwanese vet fell in the final round of qualifying to Tamara Zidansek. But wait! She got into the draw as a lucky loser. But she drew Zidansek again, and lost again. Well, there's always doubles for the world #1, right?

Playing for the first time with Elise Mertens, the #1 seeded pair lost in their opening match to Ostapenko/Pavlyuchenkova, failing to convert on four consecutive MP in the deciding match tie-break and losing 11-9. The loss drops Hsieh to 2-3 in doubles on the season. Soon after, Hsieh's recent #1 doubles partner, the newly-pregnant Barbora Strycova, officially announced her retirement. The duo won eight titles in 2019-20, including Wimbledon, the Italian Open, Madrid and the '20 Dubai/Doha "desert double," with both reaching #1.

Oh, yeah. And Hsieh will lose her #1 doubles spot to Mertens in the new rankings, too.

But other than all that...
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ITF PLAYER: Claire Liu/USA
...Liu claimed her second straight challenger crown this week, winning a $100K title in Charleston after having picked up a $60K crown in Charlottesville last time out.

The 20-year old, a four-time ITF finalist in '21, posted wins over Alycia Parks, Mayar Sherif (#3 seed) and Harriet Dart before knocking off #1-seed Madison Brengle in the final, 6-2/7-6(6). Brengle had reached the final without dropping a set, and was seeking her second career $100K title.

Liu's biggest career crown (she'd previously reached a $100K final in Nicholasville in February '20) in her six-pack of accumulated challenger wins will lift the '17 Wimbledon junior champ to a new career high of #128 (from #172) on Monday.
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JUNIOR STAR: Julia Middendorf/GER
...during the first week of play in Madrid, Middendorf was in Ricany, Czech Republic claiming the biggest title of her junior career.

The 18-year old German, the girls #25 and the event's #12 seed, avenged a loss in March to Russian Diana Shnaider in a grade 1 semi in Villena by knocking off the top-seeded Hordette in the QF in Ricany J1. The win helped pave her way to the final, where she defeated Czech Nikola Bartunkova in a 7-4 3rd set TB to take the title. The result improves Middendorf's junior record in 2021 to 13-1.

A few weeks ago, Middendorf made it through qualifying in Stuttgart (def. Jana Fett and Tamara Korpatsch) to make her tour-level MD debut.

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DOUBLES: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
...in their first clay court final since they won Roland Garros in 2018, the Czechs won Madrid to claim career title #7 as a duo. After surviving an opening match 10-8 match TB over Keys/Pegula to begin their run, Krejcikova/Siniakova swept through their final three opponents -- Xu/Zhang, Bencic/Teichmann and first-time teammates Dabrowski/Schuurs in the final -- in straights to improve their tour-level final mark to 7-5 with their second title of '21.

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1. Madrid 3rd Rd. - Elise Mertens def. Simona Halep
...4-6/7-5/7-5. Halep was seemingly cruising to victory in the 2nd, but then the DF's started. The rest of the match, her issues with holding serve led to an overall waning confidence and (far too) tentative play from the Romanian, who often didn't go for her shots (when she did, she'd surge back ahead of Mertens, only to then fail to keep up the pressure). In the end, it all came back to haunt her.

Halep led 3-1 in the 3rd, but Mertens edged back to 3-3. In game #7, at 30/30, Halep scrambled to a drop shot and Mertens netted an easy backhand volley into the open court. Halep broke for 4-3, and she appeared to have finally wrestled away the lead for good. But she immediately gave the break back a game later. Serving to stay in the match at 5-6, Halep played tentatively once again and fell behind 15/40. After saving one MP, a shaky second serve was jumped on by the Belgian, who fired a return that Halep could barely get her racket on, ending the match.

Halep will still go into Paris as one of (if not the) favorite to win Roland Garros, but it won't come close to actually happening if *this* Simona shows up.



Unfortunately for Mertens, she wasn't able to take advantage of her big win, as she got just one game off of on/off doubles partner Aryna Sabalenka in the QF before being forced to retire with a leg injury down 6-1/4-0.
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2. Madrid 3rd Rd. - Karolina Muchova def. Maria Sakkari
...6-0/6-7(9)/7-5. In a match-up of the only women to defeat Naomi Osaka since March of last year, Muchova jumped on Sakkari early. She held two MP in the 2nd set TB on the Greek, only to fail to convert either as Sakkari eventually pushed things to a 3rd set on her fifth set point, winning the breaker 11-9. Sakkari led 5-3 in the deciding set, and served at 5-4. But Muchova's final push got the break and swept the final four games, with the Czech finally putting away the win by breaking Sakkari on MP #4.

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3. Madrid Final - Aryna Sabalenka def. Ash Barty
...6-0/3-6/6-4. In the first case of a pair of tour final match-ups between the same two players in consecutive weeks (well, sort of, since Madrid was a week-and-a-half event) since 2015, the script between Sabalenka and Barty was largely a replica of the one from Stuttgart. For a while.

After a virtuoso performance from the Belarusian in the 1st set (1 UE, and a win in :25), Barty rebounded to take the 2nd. In Stuttgart, the Aussie took control as Sabalenka was frustrated about having lost her lead. In Madrid, after Barty knotted the match (Sabalenka's UE increased to 15 in the 2nd) the two played a tight 3rd set, but with Barty leading 4-3, and 15/30 up on Sabalenka's serve, she seemed on her way to putting away her 17th straight clay court victory. But, in fact, she wouldn't win another point in the match.

Sabalenka held, broke Barty at love (the world #1 DF'd and saw the Belarusian blast a second serve return down the line for a winner to end the game) and then served out the match at love, sweeping the final eleven points.

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4. Madrid QF - Paula Badosa def. Belinda Bencic
...6-4/7-5. Usually one wouldn't make a snack of red clay, but under the circumstances...

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5. Madrid 3rd Rd. - Ash Barty def. Iga Swiatek
...7-5/6-4. The last two winners of Roland Garros faced off on red clay in an obscenely high-profile match-up in Madrid... in the 3rd Round. Hashtag WTA.

Barty, of course, was her usual, even-tempered, right-thinking self, while Swiatek (hot off having to take eleven MP to finally subdue Laura Siegemund) was a bit "off" and sometimes-panicky (she DF'd three times in one game at one point). Barty won in straights, ending the Pole's 18-set, 9-match winning streak on the surface dating back to last fall in Paris.

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6. Madrid 3rd Rd. - Belinda Bencic def. Ons Jabeur
...7-6(2)/4-3 ret. Neither woman was broken in the match, but Jabeur was injured while moving into a shot in the backcourt in the 2nd set. After seeing a trainer and trying to continue, she retired a short time later and dropped to 10-3 on clay courts this season.

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7. Madrid QF - Ash Barty def. Petra Kvitova
...6-1/3-6/6-3. Barty's ability to hold serve, and well-timed (and placed) aces proved to be too much for the three-time Madrid champ.

And the Tennis Gods were intent on keeping things on the level, too...

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8. Madrid QF - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Karolina Muchova
...7-6(4)/7-6(2). Ten years after last appearing in the Madrid QF, Pavlyuchenkova does this time what she didn't do then (when she lost to Julia Goerges) -- she advanced to the semifinals.

The Russian surged back from 4-1 down in the 2nd, denying Muchova twice as she served for the set at 5-4 and 6-5, then took control in the TB.
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9. Saint-Malo Final - Viktorija Golubic def. Jasmine Paolini
...6-1/6-3. Before Golubic, it'd been two seasons since a player reached singles finals on the WTA tour level, as well as in a 125 event and ITF challenger in the same year. Jessica Pegula and Patricia Maria Tig did in 2019.
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10. Saint-Malo Final - Kaitlyn Christian/Sabrina Santamaria def. Hayley Carter/Luisa Stefani
...7-6(4)/4-6 [10-5]. Another all-NCAA product doubles final, as former USC Trojan pair (the '13 NCAA doubles champs) Christian/Santamaria win their biggest title as a duo with a three-set triumph over the former North Carolina (Carter) and Pepperdine (Stefani) stars.

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10. Rome Q1 - Alize Cornet def. Giulia Gatto-Monticone
...7-6(9)/6-7(4)/6-4. Nearly every Cornet match has been an adventure of late (I mean, more than usual). This one lasted 3:22, with Cornet failing to serve out the 1st set (she had two SP) and being forced to save two SP before finally winning an 11-9 TB. She led 4-1 in the 2nd, but lost to Gatto-Monticone in a TB (the Italian led 6-0, but took five SP to get it done). The 3rd set began with seven straight breaks of serve before Cornet held in her final two attempts to get the win.

Cornet defeated Andrea Petkovic in the final round to reach the MD.
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11. 125 Saint-Malo SF - Jasmine Paolini def. Varvara Gracheva 6-3/6-1
125 Saint-Malo SF - Viktorija Golubic def. Harmony Tan 7-6(4)/6-3
...Paolini and Golubic advanced to the final, but the weeks of the losing WTA 125 semifinalists are worth noting.

Gracheva, 20, had gone twelve events without a multi-win outing, and was 5-9 on the season before reeling off good wins over Clara Tauson, Viktoriya Tomova and #2-seeded Rebecca Peterson.

Tan, a tour-level semifinalist in Bogota last month (and a $60K finalist in January), notched victories over Wang Yafan, Arantxa Rus and Aliona Bolsova. She's 16-6 on all levels in 2021. Come Monday, she'll have improved her ranking from #233 to #148 since the start of the year.
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12. Rome Q2 - Vera Zvonareva def. Kristina Mladenovic
...6-2/7-5. Mladenovic is a former RG quarterfinalist (four years ago), while Zvonareva also reached the final eight in Paris (18 years ago!), but hasn't won a MD RG match since '11.
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HM- $25K Prague Final - Jule Niemeier def. Dalma Galfi
...6-4/6-2. The 21-year old German picks up her third career ITF win. Galfi, 22 and the '15 U.S. Open girls champ (def. Kenin) was seeking for first challenger win since '16 and had put together an impressive string of victories this week as she knocked off the likes of Viktoria Kuzmova, Ana Konjuh and Gabriela Ruse.
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1. Madrid 2nd Rd. - Alona Ostapenko/Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Hsieh Su-wei/Elise Mertens
...7-6(2)/4-6 [11-9]. With Barbora Strycova announcing her retirement this week, Hsieh's teaming with Mertens could be her new "1a" partnership. In their first event, though, they were disappointed, as Ostapenko and Pavlyuchenkova (though, honestly, the Latvian seems to find doubles success -- WD or MX -- with whichever partner it is lining up beside her) saved four MP en route to knocking off the top seeds.



Mertens will still rise to #1 in the doubles for the first time, supplanting Hsieh.

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2. Rome Q1 - Nao Hibino def. Hsieh Su-wei
...6-2/6-0. Hsieh drops to 1-3 since her AO quarterfinal run (1-4 w/ doubles) in February.
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Long overdue, really.




A bit more surprising.





=MADRID, SPAIN=



=SAINT-MALO, FRANCE=







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*MULTIPLE 2021 WTA TITLES*
3 - Ash Barty, AUS [Yarra Valley,Miami,Stuttgart]
2 - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS [Phillip Island,Saint Petersburg]
2 - ARYNA SABALENKA, BLR [Abu Dhabi,Madrid]

*CAREER WTA SINGLES TITLES - active; last win*
73 - Serena Williams (2020)
41 - Kim Clijsters (2011)
49 - Venus Williams (2016)
28 - Petra Kvitova (2021=1)
22 - Simona Halep (2020)
21 - Victoria Azarenka (2020)
18 - Svetlana Kuznetsova (2018)
16 - Karolina Pliskova (2020)
15 - Elina Svitolina (2020)
12 - Ash Barty (2021=3)
12 - Angelique Kerber (2018)
12 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (2018)
12 - Vera Zvonareva (2011)
10 - Kiki Bertens (2020)
10 - ARYNA SABALENKA (2021=2)

*RECENT CONSECUTIVE WEEK WTA EVENTS w/ SAME FINALISTS*
2015 Bacinszky vs. Garcia: Acapulco & Monterrey (both won by Bacsinszky)
2021 Barty vs. Sabalenka: Stuttgart (Barty) and Madrid (Sabalenka)

*2021 WTA FINALS*
4 - ASH BARTY, AUS (3-1)
3 - ARYNA SABALENKA, BLR (2-1)
3 - Garbine Muguruza (1-2)
2 - Dasha Kasatkina (2-0)
2 - Vereonika Kudermetova (1-1)
2 - Elise Mertens (1-1)
2 - Viktorija Golubic, SUI (0-2)
[2020-21]
6 - 3/3 ARYNA SABALENKA (5-1)
5 - 1/4 ASH BARTY (4-1)
5 - 5/0 Elena Rybakina (1-4)
4 - 2/2 Elise Mertens (1-3)
4 - 1/3 Garbine Muguruza (1-3)
[2018-21]
14 - 3/6/1/4 ASH BARTY (10-4)
14 - 4/4/3/3 ARYNA SABALENKA (10-4)
12 - 6/3/3/0 Simona Halep (7-5)
11 - 5/4/1/1 Petra Kvitova (8-3)
10 - 3/5/2/0 Karolina Pliskova (7-3)
10 - 4/5/1/0 Kiki Bertens (6-4)
9 - 3/3/2/1 Naomi Osaka (6-2+L)

*PLAYERS WITH 10+ CAREER WTA TITLES, NO SLAM QF+ RESULTS*
Anabel Medina-Garrigues [11 titles; 3 slam 4th Rd.]
ARYNA SABALENKA [10 titles; 2 slam 4th Rd.]
Anna Smashnova [12 titles; 2 slams 4th Rd.]

*MOST #1 WINS - 2019-21*
3 - Belinda Bencic, SUI
3 - Sofia Kenin, USA
2 - Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2 - ARYNA SABALENKA, BLR

*2021 WTA SF*
4 - ASH BARTY, AUS (3-0+W)
3 - ARYNA SABALENKA, BLR (3-0)
3 - Garbine Muguruza, ESP (2-0+W)
3 - Elise Mertens, BEL(1-1+W)
3 - Veronika Kudermetova, RUS (2-1)
3 - PAULA BADOSA, ESP (0-3)
3 - Maria Sakkari, GRE (0-3)
[2020-21]
8 - ARYNA SABALENKA (6-2)
7 - ASH BARTY (4-2+W)
6 - Garbine Muguruza (3-1+WL)
6 - Elise Mertens (3-2+W)
6 - Jennifer Brady (2-4)
5 - Elena Rybakina (5-0)
5 - Naomi Osaka (3-1+L)
5 - Simona Halep (3-2)
5 - Maria Sakkari (0-5)

*2021 WTA SEMIFINALISTS BY NATION*
10 - RUS
9 - USA
8 - ESP
6 - CZE
5 - AUS,SUI
4 - BLR,CAN,UKR
3 - BEL,GRE
2 - COL,EST,FRA,JPN,MNE,ROU,TUN
1 - BUL,DEN,ITA,POL,SLO

*2021 BEST WTA RESULTS BY WILD CARDS*
[W]
Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, COL - Bogota (19, #180)
[RU]
Genie Bouchard, CAN - Guadalajara (27, #144)
Margarita Gasparyan, RUS - Saint Petersburg (26, #126)
[SF]
Vera Zvonareva, RUS - Saint Petersburg (36, #145)
PAULA BADOSA, ESP - MADRID (23, #62)
[seeded WC]
SF: Bianca Andreescu, CAN - Phillip Island (20, #9/2-seed)
SF: Victoria Azarenka, BLR - Doha (31, #14/8-seed)
SF: Elise Mertens, BEL - Istanbul (25, #17/1-seed)

*RECENT REACHED WTA/WTA 125/ITF FINALS IN SEASON*
[2017]
Aleksandra Krunic, SRB
Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
Zhang Shuai, CHN
[2018]
Ekaterina Alexandrova, RUS
Zheng Saisai, CHN
[2019]
Jessica Pegula, USA
Patricia Maria Tig, ROU
[2020]
none
[2021]
Viktorija Golubic, SUI

*2021 WTA DOUBLES FINALS - duos*
3...Aoyama/Shibahara, JPN/JPN (3-0)
3...KREJCIKOVA/SINIAKOVA, CZE/CZE (2-1)
3...Carter/Stefani, USA/USA (0-3)
2...Melichar/Schuurs, USA/NED (2-0)
[2020-21 - individuals]
6 - 4/2 (4-2) = Nicole Melichar, USA
6 - 3/3 (3-3) = Desirae Krawczyk, USA
6 - 3/3 (1-5) = Luisa Stefani, BRA
5 - 5/0 (4-1) = Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
5 - 2/3 (4-1) = DEMI SCHUURS, NED
5 - 5/0 (4-1) = Barbora Strycova, CZE
5 - 2/3 (3-2) = BARBORA KREJCIKOVA, CZE
5 - 2/3 (3-2) = KATERINA SINIAKOVA, CZE
5 - 2/3 (1-4) = Hayley Carter, USA
[2019-21 WD TITLES - duos]
8...Hsieh/Strycova, TPE/CZE (4/4/0)
6...Aoyama/Shibahara, JPN/JPN (2/1/3)
5...Babos/Mladenovic, HUN/FRA (3/2/0)
5...KREJICKOVA/SINIAKOVA, CZE/CZE (2/1/2)
5...Mertens/Sabalenka, BEL/BLR (3/1/1)
4...Chan/Chan, TPE/TPE (4/0/0)

*REACHED #1 IN WTA DOUBLES (45); w/ year first #1*
1984 Martina Navratilova, USA (former TCH)
1985 Pam Shriver, USA
1990 Helena Sukova, TCH
1990 Jana Novotna, TCH/CZE
1991 Gigi Fernandez, USA
1991 Natalia Zvereva, USSR/BLR
1992 Larisa Neiland, LAT (former USSR)
1995 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, ESP
1997 Lindsay Davenport, USA
1998 Martina Hingis, SUI
1999 Anna Kournikova, RUS
2000 Corina Morariu, USA
2000 Lisa Raymond, USA
2000 Rennae Stubbs, AUS
2000 Julie Halard-Decugis, FRA
2000 Ai Sugiyama, JPN
2002 Paola Suarez, ARG
2003 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2003 Virginia Ruano Pascual, ESP
2005 Cara Black, ZIM
2006 Samantha Stosur, AUS
2007 Liezel Huber, RSA/USA
2010 Serena Williams, USA
2010 Venus Williams, USA
2010 Gisela Dulko, ARG
2011 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2011 Kveta Peschke, CZE
2011 Katarina Srebotnik, SLO
2012 Sara Errani, ITA
2012 Roberta Vinci, ITA
2014 Peng Shuai, CHN
2014 Hsieh Su-Wei, TPE
2015 Sania Mirza, IND
2017 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
2017 Lucie Safarova, CZE
2017 Chan Yung-Jan, TPE
2018 Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
2018 Elena Vesnina, RUS
2018 Timea Babos, HUN
2018 Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
2018 Katerina Siniakova, CZE
2019 Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2019 Barbora Strycova, CZE
2021 Arya Sabalenka, BLR
2021 Elise Mertens, BEL
[WTA season-ending #1]
1984 Martina Navratilova
1985 Pam Shriver
1986 Martina Navratilova
1987 Martina Navratilova
1988 Martina Navratilova
1989 Martina Navratilova
1990 Helena Sukova
1991 Jana Novotna
1992 Helena Sukova
1993 Gigi Fernandez
1994 Natalia Zvereva
1995 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
1996 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
1997 Natalia Zvereva
1998 Natalia Zvereva
1999 Anna Kournikova
2000 Ai Sugiyama
2001 Lisa Raymond
2002 Paola Suarez
2003 Paola Suarez
2004 Virginia Ruano-Pascual
2005 Cara Black
2006 Lisa Raymond & Samantha Stosur
2007 Cara Black & Liezel Huber
2008 Cara Black & Liezel Huber
2009 Cara Black & Liezel Huber
2010 Gisela Dulko
2011 Liezel Huber
2012 Roberta Vinci
2013 Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci
2014 Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci
2015 Sania Mirza
2016 Sania Mirza
2017 Latisha Chan & Martina Hingis
2018 Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova
2019 Barbora Strycova
2020 Hsieh Su-wei

*2021 WEEKLY BACKSPIN PLAYERS OF THE WEEK*
Week 1: Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
AO Q: Francesca Jones, GBR
Week 2: Ash Barty, AUS
AO: Naomi Osaka, JPN
Week 4: Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
Week 5: Iga Swiatek, POL
Week 6: Petra Kvitova, CZE
Week 7: Garbine Muguruza, ESP
Week 8: Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (2)
Week 9/10: Ash Barty, AUS
Week 11: Veronika Kudermetova, RUS
BJK Playoffs: Magdalena Frech, POL
Week 12: Astra Sharma, AUS
Week 13: Ash Barty, AUS (3)
Week 14/15: Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (2)

*MADRID/ROME FINALS IN SAME SEASON*
=[Madrid started '09; w/ RG result]=
2009 Dinara Safina (Madrid W, Rome W + RG RU)
2013 Serena Williams (Madrid W, Rome W + RG W)
2017 Simona Halep (Madrid W, Rome RU + RG RU)







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Just don't be stupid.
All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 6:26 PM 

7 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Barty/Sabalenka 2021 starting to feel like Safina/Kuznetsova 2009. Then, it was a slam winner vs #1, now the #1 is a slam winner. Almost seem destined to meet at Roland Garros.

Barty is a problem solver. Plus can get free points off her serve.

Gavrilova?

Insta pics of Saint Malo are beautiful.

Stat of the Week- 28- The number of junior slam winners with multiple singles slams in the Open Era.

If you think that Strycova inspired this, you would be correct. The 2 time AO junior winner retired this week, leaving a big mark on the sport. But does winning 2 or more guarantee success?

First, let's see who won more than one.

4- Natasha Zvereva
3- Lesley Hunt
3- Natasha Chmyreva
3- Anne Minter
3- Magdalena Maleeva
3- Martina Hingis
3- Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
2- 21 Tied

Now, there are a bunch of impressive names at 2, but no sisters have multiples. However, Elizabeth Minter, Anne's sister, won one, as well as both Manuela and Katerina Maleeva, giving the family 5.

With the computer rankings starting in 1975, everybody has one except for Pat Coleman, the 2 time AO winner that briefly played on tour.

Top 10 Singles Rankings:

1- Martina Hingis
1- Jennifer Capriati
1- Amelie Mauresmo
1- Victoria Azarenka
4- Belinda Bencic
4- Magdalena Maleeva
4- Zina Garrison
5- Natasha Zvereva
6- Mima Jausovec
13-Kirsten Flipkens

Every ranked player except Amanda Brown cracked the Top 100. And she was close, finishing 1983 at 102, then following that up the next year at 101.

But this was inspired by Strycova! Have I done her a disservice by not doing doubles? Yes, so here are those numbers.

Top 10 Doubles Rankings:

1- Ilana Kloss*
1- Natasha Zvereva
1- Martina Hingis
1- Cara Black
1- Barbora Strycova
5- Zina Garrison
7- Victoria Azarenka
13-Magdalena Maleeva
14-Andrea Strnadova
15-Angelique Widjaja

Kloss was ranked 1, but not by computer. Lesley Hunt, Kazuko Sawamatsu, Pat Coleman, Natasha Chmyreva and Amanda Brown do not have rankings.

(Cont)

Sun May 09, 08:25:00 PM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

What about WTA titles? You would assume that this would slant toward the new generation, since they turn pro sooner or age out of juniors. Also note that since Bencic and Konjuh both won multiple slams in 2013, that we are on a 26 slam run without a person winning a second.

Note-2020 French Open winner Jacquemot will have the unique experience of her next slam being her followup slam.

In fact, only 10 of 26 winners played that next slam. Only 4 reached QF(Gauff, Zhuk, Potapova, Osuigwe).

Back to the numbers.

Most Singles Wins:

43- Martina Hingis
25- Amelie Mauresmo
21- Victoria Azarenka
14- Zina Garrison
14- Jennifer Capriati
12- Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
10- Magdalena Maleeva
5- Mima Jausovec
4- Anne Minter
4- Belinda Bencic

Way down on the list? Annabel Croft-1.

Did I shaft Strycova again? No, here is doubles.

Most Doubles Wins:

80- Natasha Zvereva
64- Martina Hingis
60- Cara Black
31- Barbora Strycova
20- Zina Garrison
19- Ilana Kloss
11- Mima Jausovec
8- Victoria Azarenka
5- Laura Garrone
5- Magdalena Maleeva

So what do the numbers tell me? That winning multiple slams doesn't mean that you will be a star, but in most cases, you can have a long and prosperous career.

Quiz Time!

Barbora Strycova is one of 7 TCH/CZE players to have reached #1 in doubles. Who has the most weeks at number 1?

A.Helena Sukova
B.Jana Novotna
C.Kveta Peschke
D.Barbora Strycova


Interlude- With the NFL schedule dropping this week, here is Derek Carr dropping a beat for EECU.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8R17ja7nEs


Answer!

You may wonder why Navratilova is not listed. How could I possibly forget the woman with the most weeks at #1 with 237.

It could have been 500.

Hyperbole? No, just an acknowledgment that when they started the computer rankings, they only did for singles. She won one slam before the computer existed with Chris Evert- French Open 1975.

She then won 17 doubles slams between the time the singles rankings started, to when doubles was added... 9 years later.

Add that to the fact that she then won 13 more slams. For the first 5 1/2 years of the doubles ranking, only her, or her long time partner Pam Shriver reached the top spot.

Even before switching citizenship, she would have had enough weeks to lead this list.

(C)Peschke isn't close with only 10 weeks. But I chose her to point out the fact that she was older than Strycova is now when she became #1, doing it the week she turned 36. 3rd in this group with 35 titles, the only Czech player with less weeks is Safarova with 6.

(D)Strycova is the most recent with a solid 27 weeks, which is more than Krejcikova-12, but less than Siniakova-33.

You could flip a coin, but (B)Novotna loses out. Holder of the top spot for 67 weeks, she did it the hard way, ascending to #1 11 different times. That actually isn't a record, as Zvereva did it 14 times!

That leaves (A)Sukova, who held the top spot for 68 weeks.

As prolific as they have been, nobody reached the top spot in the 00's.

Sun May 09, 09:07:00 PM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

5 On the Up Side- The Grind Edition.

Less off days in Rome, and lots of withdrawals.

1.Sevastova- I could just mail it in and pick Barty every week, but that would be too easy. Reached 11 in her career, and that matters here as the lowest career high for a winner was 19- Martinez Sanchez(2010). Seeming showing more fight than the last 2 years, she plays a brand of tennis that is rewarded on clay. Had a possible 51/49 match vs Andreescu, now opens with Teichmann-then Pliskova.
2.Gauff- Keys reached the final in 2016, and in a season where bodies are breaking down early, she has a chance to get on a good run.
3.S.Williams- 4 time winner here was in a section that was weaker before the Q and LL were placed. Her job is to instill fear into the field. She hasn't had a Top 50 win on clay since RG 2018- Goerges. Her playing her one warmup event in Rome isn't a shock, as she has not played an event on clay outside of Rome or RG since Bastad 2015.
4.Anisimova- One of the myriad of players that has recovered her mojo. Went 12-5 in 2019 on clay, winning in Colombia. Has a good draw, and has finally recovered from her early season bout of COVID.
5.Siegemund- Playing the best she has on clay since her injury in 2017. She also went 12-5 that season, which was impressive because only 3 of those matches were against players ranked below 50. She had 5 Top 10 wins. Those 2 losses? Golubic and Krejcikova- the injury match. Not a big threat for this week as she lost, but gets in as LL, but for the next couple. If she plays Belgrade, Parma or Strasbourg, she would be one of the favorites.

Sun May 09, 09:22:00 PM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

5 On the Down Side.

1.Riske- I feel like I am picking on her, but we are 3 years out from her last clay win-2018 Nurnberg. Also 300 pts from falling out of a French Open seed. This matters, because her facing a seed in the first round, or a French WC ranked 200, may be the difference between being seeded or unseeded at her beloved Wimbledon. The silver lining? Nottingham is scheduled to go on as planned, so she has somewhere to play if she loses the first week of the Open.
2.Sabalenka- She won, so it really isn't a down. Sabalenka climbed the mountain. She slayed the beast. But since Hollywood, er, the WTA doesn't have any new ideas, we get the sequel, only this time in the QF. Barty/Sabalenka having more sequels than Star wars. Her main goal for the week? Staying ahead of Kenin in the rankings, which would keep her away from Barty until SF at RG.
3.Andreescu- She signed up for Strasbourg. Do we believe it? That is a 250, and she is Keys like in avoiding them. Since Acapulco 2019, the only 250 she has played was Phillip Island. Now out of Rome, she needs matches desperately. She has 1 more MD win on clay that last 3 years. In fact, she has never played a clay event outside of Roland Garros.
4.Pliskova- Has reached the final here the last 2 times, but with her 2019 points coming off, will drop out of the Top 10. No expectation that she can do well this time, because she gives up on balls. What I mean is, that on clay, take Swiatek vs Barty, you can hit a winner, but you need to follow it up. Swiatek had to do that 3 or 4 times just to win a point. Pliskova hits a presumed winner and stops.
5.Linette- Not good on clay, then add the fact that she had offseason surgery, and you have a recipe for disaster. On a 2-8 run overall, her last Top 100 win was Ostapenko in Rome. Hasn't won back to back matches on clay since Bogota 2018- Kenin. That was not an upset by rank, Kenin was 90.

5B.V.Williams- Pulled out of Rome, on a 3-14 run. Ranking may be 100-105 next week. If she can't get into majors, she won't stick around.

Sun May 09, 09:44:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Diane said...

They rescued a cobra from netting, just like that--and I had to use Rescue Remedy to get a plain black racer free from netting. It was just going wild, hissing and twisting. Fortunately, the RR rendered it totally limp. (We never got all of the netting off, and I've often wondered how it explained to its family why it was wearing a tutu.)

Sun May 09, 10:52:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

C-

If they meet in Paris, I guess it'd have to be in the semis (or QF). At least that would take Sabalenka off *that list.*

Yeah, Dasha has been very "Gavrilovian Mind" of late. ;)

One wonders if the best chance for a multiple junior slam winner, or at least the chance to come back for a *second* junior slam crown, might ultimately rest with one of the Fruhvirtovas.

Quiz: I was *thinking* it was Novotna, with Sukova a *possibility.* So close. :/

Carr: Well, that was... something. :D

(Not sure if the fringe helped or hurt the effort.) :)

Gauff/Putintseva 1st Rd.: This seemed like a dead-solid lock for three sets, and so it was. As happened a few weeks ago, Coco's win was noted by some as maybe one that will kick-start her for a big run. But, again, this match played out like almost *every* one of her matches in '21.


D-

For a second there, I was like, "Whaaat?..." Then I remembered the Dodo tweet. :P

Mon May 10, 01:14:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Hoergren said...

wow a double bagel in the Rome final when did we see that last time or ever. Iga Swiatek ready to take over Roland Garros again -me thinks. Well done Iga. Think Pliskova is thinking of a new coach - again.

Sun May 16, 10:09:00 AM EDT  

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