Monday, June 07, 2021

RG.9- Coco and Commander

Coco Gauff looks ready for her close-up. And maybe more.




Two years ago, Gauff made her slam debut at Wimbledon as a 15-year old. In her first match she upset Venus Williams, then reached the Round of 16 before falling to eventual champ Simona Halep. Since then, she's experienced the sort of growing pains that most young players do as they move through the early years of a career. But while a few early round losses and extra scrutiny might impact the psychological outlook of some would-be stars, thwarting their growth and confidence, in the case of Gauff it feels as if it has *all* been a learning experience. Every last moment. With each aspect playing a part in the brick-by-brick building of something special.

Every loss just as every win. Every blown lead just as every comeback surge. Every disappointment as well as every triumph, most recently being her title sweep in Parma last month. Every raised eyebrow about her being "overhyped" too soon as well as her being lauded last year for stepping out during the protest-laden summer in the U.S., acting as something of not only a leader for her generation but also unflinchingly as a potential role model for the entire WTA tour.

Everything has been a piece of the overall puzzle of Coco, who seems to get (and accept) not only the obligations of her chosen occupation, but also how to ride the natural ebb and flow of her maturation process, both on and off court. Her talent made Gauff appear destined to be a slam champion two years ago, but it's been how she's handled the initial "Call Me Coco" rush and avoided the crush, deflecting any potential backlash to it while also still improving her game and mindset over the same time frame.

What we know about her *now* has only served to allow us to see even more clearly what she could become. And she seems closer to that right now that she's ever been.

Facing off in the Round of 16 against #25 Ons Jabeur, #24 Gauff came storming into Day 9 and the Tunisian was never able to handle her. In a cool 53 minutes, the 17-tear old lost just nine points on serve, and committed only nine UE en route to a 6-3/6-1 win that makes her the youngest slam quarterfinalist since 2006 (Nicole Vaidisova at RG), and the youngest U.S. woman to drive so far into a major since Venus Williams in her debut run to the final at the U.S. Open in 1997.

And Coco brought the fire all the way to the final instant of the match, too. Literally.



Needless to say, Gauff's exponential growth has been showing this spring. Big time. She's 16-3 on the clay, and her confidence seems to be only blossoming even more with each victory -- and she was never a shrinking violet on that front anyway. Her path to a major title one day seems assured, whenever it may happen.

Thing is, the next big step in *that* process could come this weekend. In fact, it could be the *last* step.




=DAY 9 NOTES=
...in a slam suddenly jam-packed with first-timers to the quarterfinal stage at a major, Gauff wasn't the only player to punch her maiden ticket on Day 9. And she wasn't the only one to punch it *hard*, either.



Unseeded Czech Barbora Krejcikova essentially began her climb up the singles ladder last fall at Roland Garros with a 4th Round run that showed she needn't become a "doubles specialist" in her mid-twenties. Today against '18 RG finalist Sloane Stephens, neither woman played as clean a game as they would have liked. Frankly, *both* put up too many unforced errors -- Stephens 26, Krejcikova 19 -- for the number of games (14) they played. But Krejcikova found her way through the forest, staving off all three BP she faced while converting five of the eight she saw on her opponent's serve.



Krejcikova's 6-2/6-0 win, her ninth straight, maintains the momentum she's managed to put together with her singles game over many months (while *still* being alive in both doubles draws, at least until she and Filip Polasek lost a 12-10 3rd set match TB today in the MX), while the admiration for Stephens' resurgent run this spring will once again have to be parsed with the acknowledgement that performances such as this one prove that she's still not where she *needs* to be, but closer to something passably near it than she was a few short weeks ago. So there's that.



...in the last women's 4th Round match-up before the first female (defending champ Iga Swiatek) since Day 2 was deigned worthy enough to be included on the spectator-free (and, of late, just about hidden from view from the eyes of many would-be viewers) Chatrier night session schedule, '20 finalist #4 Sofia Kenin tried to keep up her problem-solving ways against #17 Maria Sakkari. As it turned out, the Greek was a problem that could not be solved.



Just like all the other winners during Day 9, Sakkri allowed just a handful of games, defeating Kenin 6-1/6-3 to become the first Greek woman in the Open era to reach the QF of a major. This result showed what can happen when Kenin *can't* win the big points that elbow aside her less than perfect moments. In the case of this match: 32 UE and 9 DF.

Sakkari's win made it six first-time slam quarterfinalists in the final eight, an Open era record.

...in the night match, once again embargoed by NBC and shown exclusively on its Peacock Premium streaming service in the U.S. (there is a free seven-day trial offer that can be cancelled once the tournament is over, but still... personally, I don't even want to give them the satisfaction of adding even one more -- albeit false -- number to what will surely be touted as "increasing" membership numbers ), #8 Iga Swiatek continued the day's theme with a 6-3/6-4 straight sets win over Ukrainian teen Marta Kostyuk.



Apparently the doubles finals will also be Peacock-exclusive affairs, by the way.

...in doubles, a day before they face in the singles QF, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova & Elena Rybakina reached the QF with an upset of #3 Nicole Melichar/Demi Schuurs, while another pair of singles players, Petra Martic/Shelby Rogers, defeated #9 Sharon Fichman/Giuliana Olmos. #11 Darija Jurak/Andreja Klepac took out the #6 Chan sisters.



...and so with six days left in the RG, the women's wheelchair competition is over. And Diede de Groot took home everything. Again.

A day after winning her tenth career singles slam, the world #1 joined with fellow Dutch Aniek Van Koot to win her tenth major doubles crown, the fourth in a row for the pair in Paris. Their 6-3/6-4 win over #2 Yui Kamiji/Jordanne Whiley allowed de Groot to sweep a slam s/d competition for the seventh slam in her career.



...in the girls competition, Erika Andreeva (RUS) upset #11 Linda Fruhvirtova (CZE) 6-1/7-6(4), Darja Vidmanova (CZE) defeated #15 Priska Madelyn Nugroho (INA) and Greek Michaela Laki took down #12-seeded Waffle Sofia Costoulas. Meanwhile, French wild card Maelie Monfils -- half-sister of you know who -- dropped her opening round match, proving that, well, it runs in the family.




*WOMEN'S SINGLES QF*
#24 Coco Gauff/USA vs. Barbora Krejcikova/CZE
#17 Maria Sakkari/GRE vs. #8 Iga Swiatek/POL
#21 Elena Rybakina/KAZ vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS
Tamara Zidansek/SLO vs. #33 Paula Badosa/ESP

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF*
#14 Mattek-Sands/Swiatek (USA/POL) vs. #11 Jurak/Klepac (CRO/SLO)
Begu/Podoroska (ROU/ARG) vs. Martic/Rogers (CRO/USA)
Linette/Pera (POL/USA) vs. Pavlyuchenkova/Rybakina (RUS/KAZ)
Pliskova/Pliskova (USA/USA) vs. #2 Krejcikova/Siniakova (CZE/CZE)

*MIXED DOUBLES SF*
Olmos/Cabal (MEX/COL) vs. Krawczyk/Salisbury (USA/GBR)
#3 Schuurs/Koolhof (NED/NED) vs. (PR) Vesnina/Karatsev (RUS/RUS)

*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






...IT'S BEEN SAID BEFORE, BUT... ON DAY 9:

Badosa sometimes *really does* resemble Sharapova on the court.




...HEARD ON THE OFT-IRREVERENT ROLAND GARROS RADIO... ON DAY 9:

SIMON CHAMBERS (I think): (reading a message from a listener) "Rambutan is actually quite nice. When it's right, it's sweet and tastes like liche."
GIGI SALMON: "Is it hairy?"
SC: "Yes."

(a brief return to match play-by-play)

SC: "I get the impression you don't like putting hairy things in your mouth?"
GS: "Do you?"
SC: (chuckle, pause) "No."
GS: (wryly adamant) "Does anyone?"

(back to play-by-play)






..."OH, MOM..." ON DAY 9:







Margaret (Peggy) Scriven was the first Brit to win the women's singles at the French Championships, doing so in 1933. She defended her title a year later, and is still the last British woman to win the same slam singles title in back-to-back years. Scriven was the first left-hander to win a women's slam championship, as well as the only unseeded champ in Paris until Alona Ostapenko won Roland Garros eighty-three years later in 2017. It took just three years for the *next* unseeded champ to emerge in Iga Swiatek in 2020.



1932 Helen Wills Moody/USA
1933 Margaret Scriven/GBR
1934 Margaret Scriven/GBR
1935 Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling/GER
1936 Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling/GER
1937 Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling/GER

Born in Leeds, Scriven was home schooled by her parents, both of whom were club level players. Exposed to tennis at an early age, as a youngster she played on holidays and in local tournaments. Coached by her parents, she won the British Junior Championships in 1929.

In 1933, Scriven was not chosen as an official member of the British touring party that traveled to Paris for the French Championships. After traveling to the tournament on her own, Scriven played and eliminated top-ranked countrywoman Mary Heeley and Betty Nuthall on her way to the final, where she defeated France's Simonne Mathieu to take the crown. She also won the MX doubles with Australian Jack Crawford.



A year later, now a member of the British team, Scriven successfully defended her title by defeating Helen Jacobs in a final that started late (6:30 pm), and during which both players tried to get tournament officials to stop the match after the 2nd set due to a lack of light. They were turned down and the two played into twilight. With Scriven up 2-1 in the 3rd, Jacobs again tried to have the match stopped, and was again turned down. Scriven went on to sweep the final four games.

Scriven lost in the semifinals of the '35 French event, and played for the final time in Paris in 1937. She married a wartime Royal Air Force officer in 1940, and later had a son and daughter. She died in 2001 at age 88.



To be continued...















kosova-font








kosova-font

*2021 RG FINAL 8*
[by career slam QF]
7 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
2 - Iga Swiatek
1 - Paula Badosa
1 - Coco Gauff
1 - Barbora Krejcikova
1 - Elena Rybakina
1 - Maria Sakkari
1 - Tamara Zidansek
[by career RG QF]
2 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
2 - Iga Swiatek
1 - Paula Badosa
1 - Coco Gauff
1 - Barbora Krejcikova
1 - Elena Rybakina
1 - Maria Sakkari
1 - Tamara Zidansek
[w/ consecutive slam QF]
-
[w/ consecutive RG QF]
2 - Iga Swiatek
[2021 slam QF - unseeded]
AO - Hsieh Su-wei, Jessica Pegula
RG - Barbora Krejcikova, Tamara Zidansek
[2021 1st-time GS QF]
AO - Hsieh Su-wei
AO - Jessica Pegula
RG - Paula Badosa
RG - Coco Gauff
RG - Barbora Krejcikova
RG - Elena Rybakina
RG - Maria Sakkari
RG - Tamara Zidansek
[2021 slam QF]
none with two
[2021 slam QF - by nation]
4...USA (1/1 - Gauff)
2...CZE (1/1 - Krejcikova)
1...AUS (1/0)
1...ESP (0/1 - Badosa)
1...GRE (0/1 - Sakkari)
1...JPN (1/0)
1...KAZ (0/1 - Rybakina)
1...POL (0/1 - Swiatek)
1...ROU (1/0)
1...RUS (0/1 - Pavlyuchenkova)
1...SLO (0/1 - Zidansek)
1...TPE (1/0)
[WTA career slam QF - active]
54...Serena Williams, USA
39...Venus Williams, USA
19...Kim Clijsters, BEL
17...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
16...Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
15...Simona Halep, ROU
13...Petra Kvitova, CZE
9...Angelique Kerber, GER
8...Garbine Muguruza, ESP
7...Sara Errani, ITA
7...Madison Keys, USA
7...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
7...Karolina Pliskova, CZE
7...Samantha Stosur, AUS
7...Elina Svitolina, UKR
7...Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
6...Kaia Kanepi, EST
6...Johanna Konta, GBR
6...Sloane Stephens, USA
6...Vera Zvonareva, RUS
[WTA slam QF & W/L in 2020's]
2 - Barty (1-1)
2 - Brady (2-0)
2 - Halep (1-1)
2 - Kenin (2-0)
2 - Kvitova (1-1)
2 - Osaka (2-0)
2 - Pavlyuchenkova (0-1)*
2 - Swiatek (1-0)*
2 - S.Williams (2-0)
1 - Azarenka (1-0)
1 - Badosa (0-0)*
1 - Collins (0-1)
1 - Gauff (0-0)*
1 - Hsieh (0-1)
1 - Jabeur (0-1)
1 - Kontaveit (0-1)
1 - Krejcikova (0-0)*
1 - Mertens (0-1)
1 - Muchova (1-0)
1 - Muguruza (1-0)
1 - Pegula (0-1)
1 - Pironkova (0-1)
1 - Podoroska (1-0)
1 - Putintseva (0-1)
1 - Rogers (0-1)
1 - Rybakina (0-0)*
1 - Sakkari (0-0)*
1 - Siegemund (0-1)
1 - Svitolina (0-1)
1 - Trevisan (0-1)
1 - Zidansek (0-0)*
-
* - to play RG QF
[WTA slam QF by nation in 2020's - 5 slams/40]
10-USA
4-CZE
2-AUS
2-ESP
2-JPN
2-KAZ
2-POL
2-ROU
2-RUS
1-ARG,BEL,BLR,BUL,EST,GER,GRE,ITA,SLO,TPE,TUN,UKR

*RG WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES CHAMPIONS*
2007 Maaike Smit/Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2008 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2009 Korie Homan/Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2010 Daniela Di Toro/Aniek van Koot, AUS/NED
2011 Esther Vergeer/Sharon Walraven, NED/NED
2012 Marjolein Buis/Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2013 Jiske Griffioen/Aniek van Koot, NED/NED
2014 Yui Kamiji/Jordanne Whiley, JPN/GBR
2015 Jiske Griffioen/Aniek van Koot, NED/NED
2016 Yui Kamiji/Jordanne Whiley, JPN/GBR
2017 Yui Kamiji/Marjolein Buis, JPN/NED
2018 Diede de Groot/Aniek van Koot, NED/NED
2019 Diede de Groot/Aniek van Koot, NED/NED
2020 Diede de Groot/Aniek van Koot, NED/NED
2021 Diede de Groot/Aniek van Koot, NED/NED

*CAREER WC MAJOR TITLES - slams/Paralympics/Masters YEC*
[Diede de Groot]
AO S: 2018,19,21
AO D: 2019,21
RG S: 2019,21
RG D: 2018,19,20,21
WI S: 2017,18
WI D: 2018,19
US S: 2018,19,20
US D: 2017,18,19
PARA S: [SF/4th Place-2016]
PARA D: [RU/Silver-2016]
MASTERS S: 2017,18
MASTERS D: 2016,17
SLAM SWEEPS (7): 2018 (WI/US), 2019 (AO/RG/US), 2021 (AO/RG)

*WHEELCHAIR SLAM DOUBLES TITLES*
21 - Esther Vergeer, NED [7-5-3-6]
17 - ANIEK VAN KOOT, NED [4-7-3-3]*
16 - Yui Kamiji, JPN [5-3-5-3]*
14 - Jiske Griffioen, NED [5-3-2-4]*
11 - Jordanne Whiley, GBR [3-2-4-2]*
10 - DIEDE DE GROOT, NED [1-4-2-3]*
7 - Sharon Walraven, NED [2-1-2-2]
5 - Korie Homan, NED [1-1-1-2]...[1+1]
5 - Marjolein Buis, NED [2-2-0-1]...[2+1]

*WHEELCHAIR SLAM s/d TITLES*
42 - Esther Vergeer, NED (21/21)
24 - Yui Kamiji, JPN (8/16)*
20 - DIEDE DE GROOT, NED (10/10)*
20 - ANIEK VAN KOOT, NED (3/17)*
18 - Jiske Griffioen, NED (4/14)*
12 - Jordanne Whiley, GBR (1/11)*

*RECENT BEST U.S. SLAM FINISHES*
=2018=
AO: Madison Keys (QF)
RG: Sloane Stephens (RU)
WI: Serena Williams (RU)
US: Serena Williams (RU)
=2019=
AO: Danielle Collins (SF)
RG: Amanda Anisimova (SF)
WI: Serena Williams (RU)
US: Serena Williams (RU)
=2020=
AO: Sofia Kenin (W)
US: Serena Williams and Jennifer Brady (SF)
RG: Sofia Kenin (RU)
=2021=
AO: Jennifer Brady (RU)
RG: Coco Gauff (in QF)

*Mademoiselle/Madame OF THE EVENING*
2020 Martina Trevisan, ITA
2021 Serena Williams, USA vs. Irina-Camelia Begu, ROU

*RG "KIMIKO CUP FOR VETERAN ACHIEVEMENT" WINNERS*
2015 Lucie Safarova, CZE
2016 Martina Hingis/SUI and Samantha Stosur/AUS
2017 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2018 Latisha Chan, TPE
2019 Latisha Chan, TPE
2020 Petra Kvitova, CZE & Laura Siegemund, GER
2021 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS

*RG "COMEBACK PLAYER" WINNERS*
2007 Patty Schnyder, SUI
2008 Elena Dementieva, RUS
2009 Maria Sharapova, RUS
2010 Kimiko Date-Krumm, JPN
2011 Casey Dellacqua, AUS
2012 Yaroslava Shvedova, KAZ
2013 Jelena Jankovic, SRB
2014 Andrea Petkovic, GER
2015 Ana Ivanovic, SRB
2016 Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina, RUS/RUS
2017 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2018 Maria Sharapova, RUS
2019 Johanna Konta, GBR
2020 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, SVK & Alona Ostapenko/LAT
2021 Sloane Stephens, USA









TOP QUALIFIER: Varvara Lepchenko/USA
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #8 Iga Swiatek/POL
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
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): xx
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: Nominee: Krejcikova, Sakkari, Zidansek
IT "...": Nominees: Badosa, Gauff, Rybakina, Zidansek
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: Badosa (3rd Rd.-MP vs. Bogdan); Mattek-S./Swiatek (3rd Rd.-5-1 down in 3rd, saved 7 MP vs. #1 Hsieh/Mertens)
DOUBLES STAR: xx
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: xx
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 9. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 5:47 PM 

1 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Badosa/Bogdan is the top mid round match so far.

Serena has played 12 slams since her return. She has had a better result than Sabalenka in 11, 20 RG is the only one better(3rd-2nd).

Quality loss for Kostyuk.

History will be made tomorrow.

Slovenia and Kazakhstan could have their first singles SF in history.

Pavlyuchenkova could end that Maleeva like streak and reach her first SF.

Badosa trying to make that Belgrade-RG double a thing.

Vesnina still alive in mixed. Both she and Makarova have a mixed title, with the same guy in Bruno Soares.

Krejcikova, Pavlyuchenkova, Rybakina, Swiatek still with a Serena like chance to win singles and doubles.

Ka. Pliskova also still in doubles. Good for her.

Babos is singles only at Bol 125K. Konjuh lost to Samsonova.

Stat of the Day- 5- The number of QF that have already played on Chatrier this year.

2 of the 3 left in Zidansek and Badosa will do so tomorrow.

The court hierarchy goes: Chatrier, Lenglen, Mathieu, 14, 7, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13.

Here are the court assignments through the first 4 rounds for the QF.

Gauff- 6, 7, Lenglen, Chatrier.
Krejcikova- 9, 11, Chatrier, Lenglen.
Sakkari- 14, 13, Mathieu, Lenglen.
Swiatek- Chatrier, Mathieu, Chatrier, Chatrier.
Rybakina- 14, 7, Lenglen, Chatrier.
Pavlyuchenkova- 12, 7, Mathieu, Chatrier.
Zidansek- 14, 7, 7, Lenglen.
Badosa- 6, 6, Mathieu, Lenglen.

Zidansek the only player on numbered courts for the first 3 rounds.

Mon Jun 07, 11:35:00 PM EDT  

Post a Comment

<< Home