Friday, June 11, 2021

RG.13- The Day Before the Day










=DAY 13 NOTES=
...after the women's doubles semis, the dream is still alive. #2-seeded Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova defeated the duo of Linette/Pera in straight sets to reach their fourth slam final together (2-1), maintaining the possibility that singles finalist Krejcikova could become the first woman to sweep the RG s/d since Mary Pierce in 2000.



You know another person who won her maiden singles slam and then doubled up by taking the WD, as well? Yep, Jana Novotna at Wimbledon in 1998. I'm just sayin'.

Their opponents in the final are #14-seeded Iga Swiatek & Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who offed Begu/Podoroska 3 & 4. While the teenager seeks to pick up a RG doubles win to go along with last year's crown in singles, Mattek is looking to take home her tenth overall major title. She's 5-0 in slam WD finals (all previous ones w/ Lucie Safarova), and 4-2 in the MX.



...the girls singles semis were completed on Friday, and we've got *two* unseeded finalists in a championship match pitting a Czech against a Russian (just like in the women's competition).

Czech Linda Noskova defeated #4-seeded Russian Diana Shnaider 1-6/6-3/6-3. The first Czech girls finalist in Paris since 1989, Noskova will now try to become the first from her nation to win the RG girls crown since 1978 (Hana Mandlikova).

Meanwhile, Hordette Erika Andreeva won out over fellow Russian #9 Oksana Selekmeteva 2-6/7-5/7-6(0). Selekmeteva led 6-2/5-3, then 5-4 in the 3rd, and ultimately served for the match twice (once each in the 2nd and 3rd). She had three MP at 5-4 in the 3rd, but ultimately dropped the deciding TB at love. Andreeva will next try to become the fifth Soviet/Russian to win in Paris, as the Russian Tennis Renaissance taking place with the new generation of Hordettes appears to be growing all sorts of branches.



In the junior doubles semis, top-seeded Alex Eala & Selekhmeteva defeated defending champs Eleonora Alvisi/Lisa Pigato 2 & 1, while Maria Bondarenko & Amarissa Kiara Toth outlasted #3 Noskova/Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva in a 10-4 match TB.

...with the RG wheelchair competition wrapped up, the rollers are playing again this week in the French Riviera Open in Biot. The top four seeds are through to the semis, where #1 Diede de Groot will face #4 Jordanne Whiley, and #2 Yui Kamiji goes off against #3 Aniek Van Koot.

In doubles, de Groot/Van Koot will meet Kamiji & countrywoman Saki Takamuro in the final. The Japanese players are possibly preparing for the Paralympics (though Momoko Ohtani would seem to be a better bet to team with Kamiji in Tokyo), since they defeated the all-Brit duo of Lucy Shuker & Joanne Whiley (Kamiji's regular partner) in the semis.

...in the tour-level grass event in Nottingham (yeah, *that's* going on this week), top-seeded Johanna Konta will face Nina Stojanovic, with Zhang Shuai going against Lauren Davis, in the semifinals.

Konta is a two-time finalist (2017-18) in the event, but hasn't played in a singles final since May 2019 in Rome. Her last singles title came in Miami in 2017. Both Davis and Zhang's most recent tour titles were won in that same '17 season, while Stojanovic has yet to claim her maiden WTA crown.




*WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
Barbora Krejcikova/CZE vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#14 Mattek-Sands/Swiatek (USA/POL) vs. #2 Krejcikova/Siniakova (CZE/CZE)

*MIXED DOUBLES FINAL*
Krawczyk/Salisbury (USA/GBR) def. (PR) Vesnina/Karatsev (RUS/RUS) 2-6/6-4 [10-5]

*WHEELCHAIR WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#1 Diede de Groot/NED def. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN 6-4/6-3

*WHEELCHAIR WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#1 de Groot/Van Koot (NED/NED) def. #2 Kamiji/Whiley (JPN/GBR) 6-3/6-4

*GIRLS SINGLES FINAL*
Linda Noskova/CZE vs. Erika Andreeva/RUS

*GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL*
#1 Eala/Selekhmeteva (PHI/RUS) vs. #8 Bondarenko/Toth (RUS/HUN)






...GOOD HAIR... ON DAY 13:




...TEK TEK BOOM... ON DAY 13:




...TIME IS BUT A NUMBER... ON DAY 13:




...REMINDS ME OF THE VERY GOOD AUSSIE MOVIE "RABBIT-PROOF FENCE" FROM A WHILE BACK... ON DAY 13:







After World War II, U.S. women's tennis ruled Paris.

After Margaret Osborne duPont claimed the first post-war women's French Championship title in 1946, the first won by a U.S. woman since Helen Wills Moody in 1932, the nation would go on to win the title six straight years, and seven in eight. Between 1950-54, the title passed between just three women: best friends Doris Hart and Shirley Fry, and teenager Maureen Connolly. Then Althea Gibson became the first African American to win a major singles title when she defeated Britain's Angela Mortimer in the French final in 1956.

In 1951, Fry defeated Hart in the final, then a year later the roles were reversed. In 1953, Connolly upended Hart.


HART, FRY and CONNOLLY (1953)


The threesome of Hart, Fry and Connolly also dominated the doubles and mixed in the first half of the fifties, as Hart/Fry teamed to win the WD crown a record four straight times (1950-53, losing just one set), a run snapped by Connolly (w/ Aussie Nell Hall Hopman) in '54. In MX, Hart won back-to-back-to-back French titles with Frank Sedgman (1951-52) and Vic Seixas (1953), followed by Connolly and Lew Hoad in '54.


HART


Hart was the second woman (after Connolly) to win a Career Grand Slam in singles, as well as the first of three players to claim a career "Boxed Set" of singles, doubles and mixed titles at all four majors. The others to do it are Margaret Court and Martina Navratilova. No male player has ever achieved the feat. In all, Hart won 35 overall slam titles, tied for sixth on the all-time list. She won six in singles (w/ 12 RU), 14 in WD and 15 in MX. Only Margaret Court (62), Martina Navratilova (59), Billie Jean King (39), Serena Williams (39) and Margaret Osborne duPont (37) have won more.

Hart won her first slam singles title at the 1949 Australian Championships, when she was the only non-Aussie in a 30-player field (and still a college player at the University of Miami). She swept the s/d/m at a single slam three times: the 1951 Wimbledon (she played all three finals on the same day due to rain delays), '52 French and '54 U.S.. Hart reached at least the QF in 32 of the 34 majors she played, including in her final 32 appearances between 1942-55.

In the early fifties, Hart won titles in nine consecutive slam WD appearances (1951-53) as well as in thirteen MX MD appearances (1951-55) in a row. She and Fry claimed eleven major titles as a pair, behind only Brough/Osborne duPont (20), Navratilova/Shriver (20), Williams/Williams (14) and Zvereva/G.Fernandez (14).



As a child, Hart suffered from osteomyelitis, a bone infection in her right leg that resulted in a permanent impairment. Some thought that she had polio, which leads to paralysis, and at one time there was consideration that she’d need to have the leg amputated. Hart was a bit bowlegged, but was able to play tennis, though not run as well as most. "She had the smarts," Fry said of her friend, whose game was based on finesse rather that power.

A Hall of Fame inductee in 1969, Hart died at age 89 in 2015. Upon her death, Fry (now Fry-Irvin, and still alive today at age 93) said, “Doris and I first played doubles together in 1949 when her brother Bud decided I would be a good partner for Doris because I could run down the lobs... we became best friends and traveling companions, and shared many hilarious adventures along the way. I will miss my friend Doris, but I know she is finally at peace and probably chasing down balls on two good legs now.”


HART and FRY


Fry, too, completed a Career Grand Slam in singles and doubles (one of just six women to do so in both disciplines, along with the likes of Court, Hart, Navratilova, Williams and Williams). She won the last three slam singles events she played, taking the titles at the 1956 Wimbledon and U.S., then the '57 Australian to complete her Career Slam (finally playing in the event for the first time after having skipped it for more than a decade ). Teaming with Hart for eleven of her twelve WD majors, she won the '57 Australian crown alongside Althea Gibson.



Fry was considered one of the fastest players of her era. She retired as a reigning champion, citing a longtime elbow injury while also admitting that she "was tired of living out of a suitcase." Inducted into the International Hall of Fame in 1970, and she continues to reside in Florida.


CONNOLLY


Connolly was the truly *special* player of the trio. Nicknamed "Little Mo," she went 9-0 in slam singles finals between 1951-54, taking the title in every major she played during the stretch after a pair of 2nd Round U.S. exits as a 14-15 year old in 1949-50. She was the first female player to complete a Career Slam, doing so in just her seventh slam MD appearance at age 18 in Paris. She's the only player to take a singles title without losing a set at all four majors.

In 1953, Connolly was the first woman to complete a true Grand Slam by sweeping all four majors in the same year (the only other women to do so are Margeret Court in '70 and Steffi Graf in '88, with Don Budge '38 and Rod Laver '62/'69 on the men's side), finishing the season with a 50-match winning streak in majors.

In July 1954, just two weeks after completing her second in-season sweep of Roland Garros and Wimbledon, Connelly was involved in a horseback riding accident in which she seriously injured her right leg, ending her tennis career before she'd turned 20. A concrete mixer truck had frightened Connolly's horse Colonel Merryboy, pinning her between the horse and truck. She was thrown and suffered a compound fracture to her right fibula. Connolly eventually sued the concrete mixer company, winning a $95,000 verdict in 1957.



Connolly had been raised by her mother and aunt in California following her parents' divorce. Unable to pay for horse riding lessons because of the expense, she played tennis instead. Her first coach initiated her switch from a lefty grip to a righty, and she was soon a baseliner with power on both sides. She picked up the nickname "Little Mo" when San Diego sportswriter Nelson Fisher compared the power of her groundstrokes to the firepower of the USS Missouri, which was known as "Big Mo."

A media darling at the height of her career, Connelly was named Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press for three straight years, from 1951 through 1953.



In 1955, the same year she officially retired from tennis, Connolly married Norman Brinker, a member of the '52 Olympic equestrian team. They had two daughters. Connolly acted as a tennis correspondent for several U.S. and British newspapers at major events, and was a coach for the British Wightman Cup team when it visited the United States. The married couple created the Maureen Connolly Brinker Foundation to promote junior tennis in Texas.

Connolly published an autobiography in '57, where she noted the dark side of her tennis career, writing, "I have always believed greatness on a tennis court was my destiny, a dark destiny, at times, where the court became my secret jungle and I a lonely, fear-stricken hunter. I was a strange little girl armed with hate, fear, and a Golden Racket."

In 1966, Connolly was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Three years later in 1969, she underwent a third operation for a stomach tumor. She died less than a month later at age 34. That same year Connolly was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.















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*RECENT EARLY-CAREER SLAM BREAKOUTS - SF+, under 10 slams*
2014: Genie Bouchard to AO semis (4th career GS MD, age 19)
2014: Genie Bouchard to WI Final (6th career GS MD, age 20)
2017: Alona Ostapenko wins RG (8th career GS MD, age 20)
2019: Danielle Collins to AO SF (6th career GS MD, age 25)
2019: Amanda Anisimova to RG SF (4th career GS MD, age 17)
2019: Marketa Vondrousova to RG SF (9th career GS MD, age 20)
2019: Bianca Andreescu wins US Open (4th career GS MD, age 19)
2020: Nadia Podoroska to RG SF (2nd career GS MD, age 23)
2020: Iga Swiatek wins RG (7th career GS MD, age 19)
2021: Karolina Muchova to AO SF (9th career GS MD, age 24)
2021: Barbora Krejcikova in RG F (5th career GS MD, age 25)

*RECENT ROLAND GARROS GIRLS FINALS*
2015 Paula Badosa/ESP d. Anna Kalinskaya/RUS
2016 Rebeka Masarova/SUI d. Amanda Anisimova/USA
2017 Whitney Osuigwe/USA d. Claire Liu/USA
2018 Coco Gauff/USA d. Caty McNally/USA
2019 Leylah Fernandez/CAN d. Emma Navarro/USA
2020 Elsa Jacquemot/FRA d. Alina Charaeva/RUS
2021 Linda Noskova/CZE vs. Erika Andreeva/RUS










TOP QUALIFIER: Varvara Lepchenko/USA
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #8 Iga Swiatek/POL
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #17 Maria Sakkari/GRE (def. both '20 finalists: Kenin/Swiatek)
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q2: Jaqueline Cristian/ROU def. #13 Mayar Sherif/EGY 7-5/5-7/7-6(1) (Sherif saves 2 MP in 2nd, rallies from 5-3 in 3rd, but Cristian ends 3-hr. match w/ TB win)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - Tamara Zidansek/SLO def. #6 Bianca Andreescu/CAN 6-7(1)/7-6(2)/9-7 (3:20; Andreescu broke for 5-4 lead in 3rd)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): QF - Tamara Zidansek/SLO def. #33 Paula Badosa/ESP 7-5/4-6/8-6 (1st SLO slam SF; 39 forehand winners)
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Ana Bogdan/ROU (def.Cocciaretto/ROU)
FIRST SEED OUT: #26 Angelique Kerber/GER (1st Rd./Kalinina)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Hailey Baptiste/USA, Tereza Martincova/CZE, Harmony Tan/FRA
UPSET QUEENS: Slovenia
REVELATION LADIES: Czech Republic
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Germany (0-3 in 1st Rd.; Kerber FSO 2 con GS/2 of 3 RG; Siegemund 1r)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Hailey Baptiste/USA, Anhelina Kalinina/UKR, Varvara Lepchenko/USA (all 2nd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Astra Sharma/AUS and Harmony Tan/FRA (2nd Rd.)
PROTECTED RANKING WINS: Mihaela Buzarnescu/ROU (2r), Elena Vesnina/RUS (3r)
LAST PASTRY STANDING: Fiona Ferro, Caroline Garcia, Kristina Mladenovic, Harmony Tan (all 2nd Rd.)
Ms./Mademoiselle OPPORTUNITY: Four first-time slam SF (Krejcikova/CZE, Pavlyuchenkova/RUS, Sakkari/GRE, Zidansek/SLO)
IT "Teen": Coco Gauff/USA
COMEBACK PLAYER: Sloane Stephens/USA
CRASH & BURN: Ash Barty/AUS and Naomi Osaka/JPN (#1 seed ret. 2r; #2 seed w/d 2r; second time in Open era top two out before 3r)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF PARIS (early-round): Katerina Siniakova, CZE (2nd Rd.: down 5-1 in 3rd vs. V.Kudermetova, saved 2 MP)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF PARIS (mid/late-round): Nominees: Mattek-S./Swiatek (3rd Rd.-5-1 down in 3rd, saved 7 MP vs. #1 Hsieh/Mertens); Krejcikova (SF-MP vs. Sakkari); Andreeva (Jr.SF-3 MP vs. Selekhmeteva)
DOUBLES STAR: Nominees: Krawczyk, Mattek-Sands/Swiatek
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS
Mademoiselle/Madame OF THE EVENING: Serena Williams/USA vs. Irina-Camelia Begu/ROU (first official night session match)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Nominees: Noskova, Andreeva
Légion de Lenglen HONOREE: Naomi Osaka/JPN (press drama and tournament withdrawal)
Coupe LA PETIT TAUREAU: Carla Suarez Navarro, ESP (June 1 - returned after '20 cancer diagnosis)






All for Day 13. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 7:09 PM 

2 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

As expected, German Jule Niemeier got WC for Berlin. However, it is for Q.

Also in Berlin, a possible rematch in final round of qualifying between Samsonova and Konjuh.

Swiatek could join a group that hasn't grown much in the last 10 years. Barty, Pennetta and Stosur are the only women to have joined the club of winning both singles and doubles slams at any point.

Stat of the Day- 23 - Number of events played by Mary Pierce in 2000.

With Barbora Krejcikova trying to be the first player to win singles and doubles here since Pierce did in 2000, why not take a look at her odd season.

That number is misleading, as that was the total. 13 were singles, and 10 were doubles, where like Krejcikova, she was more likely to walk away with the title. That was because Martina Hingis was her partner, as she was for 8 of Pierce's 10 events.

Hingis/Pierce reached the final in their first 3 events, winning in the 3rd-Pan Pacific. In singles, she won the Family Circle Cup, so she was a threat, but not the favorite. She made up for that by beating in succession, Seles-QF, Hingis-SF, Martinez-F.

Having won the double, she shut it down, only playing Wimbledon and the US Open the rest of the year, meaning that she only won 4 matches in singles the rest of the year. In doubles it was 3.

55/45 Pavlyuchenkova over Krejcikova. Both women feel like women of destiny. Both played doubles deep into the tournament. The difference is that Pavlyuchenkova has been more steady, while Krejcikova's play has been up and down. She has had a higher level of play in this tournament, but struggled with the ball toss, so going with 52 time slam entrant Pavlyuchenkova.

Fri Jun 11, 11:21:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Arsdorf said...

Is Barbora Krejcikova related to chess genius Josef Emi Krejcik?

A little background on J E Krejcik:


Josef Emil Krejcik (22 January 1885, Vienna - 4 January 1957) was an Austrian chess master, problemist, journalist and author.

Born in Vienna, he participated in many local tournaments before, during and after World War I. He took 6th in 1908 (Richard Réti won), took 5th in 1909/10 (the 2nd Trebitsch Memorial, Réti won), took 8th in 1910 (Carl Schlechter and Rudolf Spielmannwon), took 6th in 1914/15 (the 6th Trebitsch Memorial, Schlechter won), tied for 2nd-3rd, behind Józef Dominik, in 1915 (Quadrangular), won ahead of Schenkein in 1915, took 8th in 1921 (Friedrich Sämisch won), shared 1st with Hans Kmoch in 1921, and tied for 10-12th in 1929/30 (the 13th Trebitsch Memorial, Kmoch and Spielmann won).[1] In 1930, he drew a game with Pál Réthy in a friendly match Budapest vs. Vienna.[2]

Dr. Josef Krejcik published in Vienna's leading chess magazine, the Wiener Schachzeitung, and ran a chess column in the Neues Wiener Tagblatt. He was an author of famous chess books: 13 Kinder Caissens (Vienna 1924), Artige und unartige Kinder der Schachmuse (Leipzig, 1925), and Mein Abschied vom Schach (Berlin, 1955).[3][4] He was known for his humorous witty remarks.

His name is attached to the Krejcik Gambit in the Dutch Defence (1. d4 f5 2. g4).

Sat Jun 12, 07:22:00 PM EDT  

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