Sunday, June 20, 2021

Wk.21- And Her Name (Finally) Goes Ons the Trophy

There she goes again... and for the first time.








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*WEEK 21 CHAMPIONS*
BERLIN, GERMANY (WTA 500/Grass Outdoor)
S: Liudmila Samsonova/RUS def. Belinda Bencic/SUI 1-6/6-1/6-3
D: Victoria Azarenka/Aryna Sabalenka (BLR/BLR) def. Nicole Melichar/Demi Schuurs (USA/NED) 4-6/7-5 [10-4]
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND (WTA 250/Grass Outdoor)
S: Ons Jabeur/TUN def. Dasha Kasatkina/RUS 7-5/6-4
D: Marie Bouzkova/Lucie Hradecka (CZE/CZE) def. Ons Jabeur/Ellen Perez (TUN/AUS) 6-4/2-6 [10-8]


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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Ons Jabeur/TUN
...well, it took several seasons, a Top 25 ranking, a slam QF, three tour finals (on three different surfaces), and a slew of "first Tunisian/Arab/North African to..." honors, but Jabeur -- at 26 -- finally fulfilled what has seemed like her destiny for a while now by claiming her maiden WTA title this weekend. As it turned out, maybe familiarity was the key. Not only was final opponent Dasha Kasatkina someone who'd defeated Jabeur in one of her two previous finals ('18 Kremlin Cup), but the two have been offseason training partners in the past, as well.

In Birmingham, Jabeur first had to defeat Caty McNally, Leylah Fernandez (3rd set TB), Anastasia Potapova and Heather Watson to get her third-time's-a-charm shot in a WTA final, which she then took advantage of with a 7-5/6-4 win to add "first tour champion" to the growing list of accomplishments on her career resume.

She very nearly added her maiden doubles title to the list, as well, but fell in a 3rd set MTB alongside Ellen Perez to the all-Czech duo of Bouzkova/Hradecka.

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RISERS: Dasha Kasatkina/RUS and Belinda Bencic/SUI
...in Birmingham, Kasatkina put herself in position to play for a *third* title this season, advancing to her third final (she reached five in 2017-18 combined) after having opened her week by having to stage a comeback from 6-4/3-0 down against Polona Hercog.



The Russian followed up with victories over Marta Kostyuk, Tereza Martincova and CoCo Vangeweghe to reach her first grasscourt tour final (though she play in the Wimbledon QF in '18). She fell in three to past training partner Jabeur, but showed how much she knew the moment meant to the Tunisian by immediately crossing over to the other side of the court to offer heartfelt congratulations.

In Berlin, Bencic put up what might be the Shot of the Year (see below) but ultimately came up a set short of her first grass title since winning Eastbourne in 2015 less than two years after having taken the Wimbledon junior competition. The Swiss defeated Jule Niemeier, Petra Martic and Ekaterina Alexandrova to reach her second SF of the season, then took out Alize Cornet to reach her fourth career final on the surface (in a fourth different event, as she lost previous finals at Rosmalen and Mallorca). She fell in three sets to qualifier Liudmila Samsonova, coming up short of her fifth career WTA crown.

The result will move her up one ranking spot to #11, just 80 points from a Top 10 return, with 3rd Round '19 Wimbledon points to defend in London.

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SURPRISES: Tereza Martincova/CZE and Heather Watson/GBR
...with so many high-flying countrywoman, 26-year Martincova gets lost in the shuffle. But the Czech is currently in the middle of a career season that has included her maiden slam MD victory (RG), as well as MD wins in big regular tour events (reaching the Dubai 3r and Miami 2r) and cracked the Top 100 for the first time. In Birmingham. she made her way through qualifying and then posted wins over Sam Stosur and Alona Ostapenko to reach her second straight QF (w/ Nottingham) this grass season.

The sixth-ranked Czech, Martincova will inch up to another new career high of #87 on Monday.



Watson didn't follow in countrywoman Jo Konta's footsteps and win a title on British soil, but her Birmingham SF run was her first on tour since she won the Acapulco title before last year's shutdown, and made her just the third from her nation to play so deep into the tournament's draw. The Brit bookended a mid-match retirement from Zhang Shuai with victories over Viktorija Golubic and Donna Vekic before she was finally ousted in her second Saturday match by eventual champion Ons Jabeur.

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VETERANS: Alize Cornet/FRA and Victoria Azarenka/BLR
...it's been a frustrating season for Cornet, who's been battling through injuries (leading to a Charleston loss to 15-year old Fruhvirtova), frustrating draws (2r defeats by Badosa, Osaka, Sabalenka and Kvitova) and disappointing results (AO 1r to Li, Philip Island 1r to Birrell, Madrid qualifying to Wang Xiyu, RG 1r to Tan). She came into Berlin at just 10-14 on the season, but finally found a groove in Germany.

Wins over Amanda Anisimova, Bianca Andreescu and Garbine Muguruza put the 31-year old Pastry into her first SF of the season, first in nearly two years (Lausanne in July '19) and first ever on grass in her career. Cornet lost in straights to Belinda Bencic in the final four, but will jump countrywoman Mladenovic in the new rankings to become the 4th-highest ranked French woman on tour at #56.



Meanwhile, Azarenka's semifinal run at the same Berlin tournaent was her first on grass since the 2012 Olympics, where she loss to Serena Williams but ultimately picked up a Bronze medal with a victory over Maria Kirilenko (completing the epic Serena-Maria-Vika medal stand in London).



Azarenka opened her week with wins over German vets Andrea Petkovic and Angelique Kerber (running her career head-to-head vs. the former #1 to 10-1 -- their only other meeting on grass came in the QF of those same Olympic games), then avenged her AO 1st Round loss to Jessica Pegula. She couldn't get past qualifier Liudmila Samsonva in the semis, though, but was able to play on in the event due to her doubles partnership with countrywoman Aryna Sabalenka.

The two had their imperfect moments...



But things worked out okay, as the Belarusians took the title with a 10-4 match TB win over top-seeded Nicole Melichar & Demi Schuurs in the final. It's Azarenka's ninth career tour doubles final (in her 20th final), and her first on grass.

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COMEBACKS: Madison Keys/USA and CoCo Vandeweghe/USA
...Keys' career highs and lows have has seemingly revolved around perfect (or the just opposite) timing. When she's healthy and in-form, though, she's capable of anything. But such stretches have often been scarce over the years. Don't look now, but Keys might be soon entering the building once again.

Just as she's starting to put together consecutive healthy events, Keys is hitting the part of the season where she might have a chance to make some noise. Off her 3rd Round result in Paris, Keys reached her first QF of the season in Berlin with wins over Magdalena Frech and Aryna Sabalenka, the latter matching her career best win (#4). She lost in three sets to Liudmila Samsonova in a match that included two TBs and no breaks of serve in the 3rd. The Russian won both TB, the decider in the 3rd set at love, but the prospect of Keys rounding into form could be something to keep an eye on.

She's reached just one Wimbledon QF (2015), but the first two titles of her career ('14 Eastbourne, '16 Birmingham) came on grass, and with another week of preparation before SW19, Keys might soon be tabbed as a legitimate dark horse for a second week run in London. If not there, the North American hard court season this summer could prove to be where she hits her stride. She put together RU/SF results in New York in 2017-18.



Vandeweghe picked up her maiden tour title, on the grass at Rosmalen, that same 2014 weekend as Keys, *and* joined her as one of the four Bannerettes to reach the U.S. Open semis in 2017 (her second slam SF that season, with the AO). She finished that year in the Top 10, but has largely been dealing with various injuries over the three-plus seasons since. Vandeweghe followed up her Top 10 year by falling out of the Top 100 in '18, then finished outside the Top 200 (#332 in '19, #213 in '20) the last two years, winning just one MD match at a major since her career year in 2017.



Coming back from another surgery, ranked #203 heading into this past week, Vandeweghe managed to find a spot to spread her wings. Naturally, it came on the grass. The two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist (2015/17) this week pushed her way into her first tour-level SF since 2018 (again on the grass, at Rosmalen) and her first at Birmingham since 2016. After making her way through qualifying (which she also did last week in Nottingham), Vandeweghe posted MD wins over Kristyna Pliskova (her first on tour since the summer of '19), Alja Tomljanovic and Marie Bouzkova before falling to Dasha Kasatkina in what was CoCo's second match of the day on Saturday thanks to Friday's rain-out.

There was a time not that long ago when Vandeweghe possessed -- for good as well as bad -- one of the biggest personalities on tour, but in the interim has been more than humbled and essentially has slipped from the recent tennis memory in remarkably quick fashion. She's not even the most notable Coco/CoCo swinging a racket these days. But this week is at least a *hint* that the "OG" CoCo could have another shot at making a run... somewhere. If she can stay on the court, that is.

She won't have to through SW19 qualifying, as she'll be in Wimbledon MD via her protected ranking.

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FRESH FACE: Liudmila Samsonova/RUS
...the 22-year old Hordette became the latest (and second this weekend) to join the ranks of first-time tour singles champions in 2021. After a successful Berlin qualifying bid (def. Ana Konjuh), Samsonova upset the likes of Marketa Vondrousova, countrywoman Veronika Kudermetova, Madison Keys (winning the deciding TB at love), Victoria Azarenka and Belinda Bencic in a three-set final. The Russian had only reached one previous QF or SF in her WTA career (Palermo '19, in just her fourth career MD), but became the fifth of the seven first-time finalists (one of whom, Ann Li, didn't even get to play her match) this season to walk off with a trophy in her first attempt.

Samsonova will crack the Top 100 for the first time on Monday, jumping from #106 to #63 (I guess the days of not being able to make big one-week ranking jumps *are* officially over), and was told after Sunday's match that she'd been awarded the AELTC's final wild card berth into the Wimbledon MD. It'll be her SW19 debut after falling in the last round of qualifying in '19.

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DOWN: Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
...the #1 seed in Berlin, Sabalenka fell in her opening match to Madison Keys after having taken an early break lead in the 3rd set. The Belarusian was coming off a 3rd Round exit in Paris that left her as the only player ranked in the Top 20 never to have reached a slam semifinal (when you think about it, that's an amazing stat), as well as the only player in the Top 30 without a major *QF* result in her career. Other than #4 Sabalenka, the only other Top 35 players coming out of Roland Garros without a slam final eight result were Veronika Kudermetova (#32) and Ekaterina Alexandrova (#34).

Sabalenka is just 1-3 at Wimbledon, with her only MD win coming in 2017. But she *has* had some success on grass, reaching the Eastbourne final in 2018, an event in which she also recorded her maiden Top 10 win (Ka.Pliskova/QF). That final run was the third of her career (she's now reached 15), and she'd win her maiden tour title two months later in New Haven. Since her loss in that Eastbourne final (to Wozniacki), Sabalenka has gone 10-2 in tour finals.

At least Sabalenka got a little extra work on the grass this week, reaching the doubles final alongside countrywoman Victoria Azarenka, the first championship match she's reached with someone other than Elise Mertens (5-1 finals) since 2018 (w/ Vera Lapko, where the all-BLR lost to Mertens & Kirsten Flipkens). The two knocked off Fichman/Olmos in the semis, then #1-seeds Melichar/Schuurs in a match TB in the final, giving Sabalenka her sixth career doubles crown.
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ITF PLAYER: Alison Van Uytvanck/BEL
...Van Uytvanck has three WTA titles in hand for her career, but none have come on grass. So her $100K Nottingham crown this weekend serves as her biggest on turf (she also reached the $100K Ilkley grass final in '17). Last week, the Belgian put up wins over Greet Minnen (yes, she played her fiancee in the QF), Renata Zarazua and the Aussie qualifier Arina Rodionova (playing in her biggest singles final, and first on grass since '14) in a 6-0/6-4 championship match.

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JUNIOR STAR: Linda Noskova, CZE
...days after picking up the Roland Garros junior title, Noskova was back at it at home in the Czech Republic, reaching the SF of a $60K challenger in Stare Splavy. A wild card in the event, the 16-year old posted wins over Veronica Cepede Royg, Anna Bondar and qualifier Irene Burrillo Escorihuela before falling to fellow teen Zheng Qinwen. In addition to her RG run, Noskova is 25-8 on the ITF challenger circuit this season, going 2-1 in finals.

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DOUBLES: Marie Bouzkova/Lucie Hradecka, CZE/CZE
...and Czechs will another one.

In Birmingham, Bouzkova & Hradecka, in their second '21 final (Charleston 500), teamed up to take down the Chan sisters (10-5 MTB), Nottingham champs L.Kichenok/Ninomiya, and Jabeur/Perez in a 10-8 MTB in the final to deny Jabeur a sweep of both the singles and doubles crowns. The win gives Bouzkova her maiden tour title, while 36-year old Hradecka picks up #25 in her 51st tour-level final.

In a week in which two first-time singles champs were crowned, is it out-of-bounds to note that Bouzkova and Hradecka are a combined 0-9 (0-2 and 0-7, respectively) in WTA singles finals? Well, there it is, though.

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WHEELCHAIR: Yui Kamiji/JPN
...at Queen's Club in Edgbaston, Birmingham the event billed as the first ever wheelchair ranking tournament held on grass outside of Wimbledon went to Kamiji, who swept the singles and doubles titles. She saved four MP in the singles final to defeat Aniek Van Koot in a 3rd set TB, as well as take the WD alongside Jordanne Whiley over Van Koot & KG Montjane.

Van Koot is the reigning Wimbledon WC singles champ, while the singles at SW19 is the lone slam event not yet claimed by Kamiji. In fact, the world #2 has yet to reach the final, losing in the SF three years running from 2017-19 (and QF in the inaugural event in '16).

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1. Birmingham Final - Ons Jabeur def. Dasha Kasatkina
...7-5/6-4. Kasatkina pulled Jabeur partly back from 0-4 down in the 3rd, giving her one-time training partner a chance to collapse. She didn't. And now the geez-when-is-she-ever-going-to-win-a-title? t-shirt is fitted for... hmmm, former slam semifinalist Danielle Collins?

With Jabeur off the board, the only title-less Top 50 players (week of June 14 rankings) are #40 Podoroska, #46 Rogers, #48 Collins and #50 Bouzkova.

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2. Berlin Final - Liudmila Samsonova def. Belinda Bencic
...1-6/6-1/6-3. Another hallmark moment in the Russian Tennis Renaissance, as Samsonova becomes the tenth first-time title winner of 2021 and the third different Hordette (Kasatkina, V.Kudermetova) to lift a tour singles trophy this season.
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3. Birmingham 1st Rd. - Ajla Tomljanovic def. Elise Mertens
...7-6(5)/6-7(5)/7-6(4). In a match delayed because of a "close contact" COVID issue, #1 seed Mertens is ousted in 3:12 by Tomljanovic, who posts her biggest career win on grass. It's the Belgian's uncharacteristic third one-and-out performance in her last six events.

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4. Berlin QF - Alize Cornet def. Garbine Muguruza
...4-6/6-3/7-6(5). Cornet = drama. I know, shocking, isn't it? After twelve straight holds in the 3rd set (and 19 consecutive over two sets), in the deciding tie-break, Cornet raced to a 6-1 lead, only to see Muguruza close to within 6-5. On MP #5, Cornet threw her racket at the ball and slid into the grass behind the baseline. After (eventually) climbing to her feet, Cornet finally won a point later when Muguruza's attempted drop shot failed to make it over the net.

While the win gave Cornet her best career result in a grass event, Muguruza's preceding wins (over Cirstea and Rybakina) were the Spaniard's first consecutive wins on the surface since her Wimbledon title run in 2017.

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5. Birmingham 1st Rd. - Dasha Kasatkina def. Polona Hercog
...4-6/6-3/6-4. The Russian rallies form 6-4/3-0 to get her first match win on grass since her 2018 Wimbledon QF run.
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6. Berlin 2nd Rd. - Madison Keys def. Aryna Sabalenka
...6-4/1-6/7-5. From 0-2 down in the 3rd, Keys matches her best career win by collecting her seventh victory over a world #4. She's never recorded a Top 3 win.

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7. Berlin 1st Rd. - Angelique Kerber def. Misaki Doi
...6-2/6-1. Kerber famously saved a MP vs. Doi in the 1st Round of the 2016 Australian Open and then went on to win the title. The same didn't happen here, as the German fell in the next round against Victoria Azarenka. And, you know, Doi never came close to sniffing a MP.
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8. Berlin QF - Victoria Azarenka def. Jessica Pegula
...6-2/5-7/6-4. Pegula upset Azarenka in the 1st Round in the Australian Open, and rallied from 4-2 down in thd 2nd set here -- winning 5 of 6 games -- to force a deciding 3rd set. There, the pair twice exchanged breaks of serve (Vika first, then Pegula) before Azarenka won four of five games to reach her first grass semi since the London Olympics in 2012.
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9. Berlin 2nd Rd. - Alize Cornet def. Bianca Andreescu
...7-6(2)/7-5. On her 21st birthday, Andreescu loses... and then has to wait around *after* the match to have "Happy Birthday" sung to her. Who's running this show, the FFT?

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10. Berlin 2nd Rd. - Belinda Bencic def. Petra Martic
...6-3/6-4. For just one reason...



Don't tell me the Polish fans are going to out-vote *this* for Shot of the Year, too. Right? (Shakes head.)
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11. Berlin 2nd Rd. - Ekaterina Alexandrova def. Elina Svitolina
...6-4/7-5. Alexandrova saves seven SP and notches her second Top 5 win of the season.

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12. $60K Stare Splavy CZE Final - Zheng Qinwen def. Aleksandra Krunic
...7-6(5)/6-3. The 18-year old from China claims her sixth ITF circuit title, and biggest ever, after following up an earlier upset of #1 seeded Kristina Kucova with a straights sets win over the veteran Serb (who'd been seeking her first singles title on any level since her maiden tour-level crown on the grass at Rosmalen in '18). Zheng rallied from 5-1 down in the 1st set TB to pave her way to victory.
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13. $25K Sumter SC (USA) Final - Peyton Stearns def. Fernanda Contreras
...6-1/6-2. Just weeks after leading Texas to the NCAA Team Championship as a freshman, and being named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, 19-year old Stearns picks up her maiden pro title. With both the semis and final played on Saturday, Stearns had to go over two hours to take out Marcela Zacarias, then had to come back to defeat another Mexican player, Contreras, in a final that lasted just a little over an hour.

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14. $25K Denain FRA Final - Dalma Galfi def. Paula Ormaechea
...5-7/6-2/6-4. The 2015 U.S. Open girls champ, now 22, wins her first title since 2016, defeating her doubles partner for the week (they also reached the final, but lost) to take the crown. The Hungarian lost in a $25K challenger final to Jule Niemeier in May.

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15. British WC Grass Court Tournament Final - Yui Kamiji def. Aniek Van Koot
...6-1/1-6/7-6. Kamiji saves 4 MP and wins the Wimbledon tune-up at Queen's Club, defeating the player who denied Diede de Groot the Double Grand Slam (all eight slam titles) in the '19 Wimbledon singles final. Hmmm.

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1. Birmingham SF - Ons Jabeur/Ellen Perez def. Hsieh Su-wei/Elise Mertens
...3-6/7-5 [10-3]. Methinks this Hsieh/Mertens thing just isn't going to work. After losing in Paris after holding a 5-1 3rd set lead and 7 MP, the duo lose here after leading 6-3/5-0 and holding 5 MP.
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2. Berlin 2nd Rd. - Jessica Pegula def. Karolina Pliskova
...7-5/6-2. Who does Pliskova have to pay protection money to in order ensure that Pegula stays away from her in the draw? The Czech is now 0-4 vs. the Bannerette in 2021. Welcome to her nightmare.

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3. Birmingham 1st Rd. - CoCo Vandeweghe def. Kristyna Pliskova
...6-4/7-6(1). Finally making some headway in her comeback, this was Vandeweghe's first tour-level MD win since since a 1st Round San Jose victory over Marie Bouzkova in July 2019. The win ended a nine-match WTA MD losing streak for the two-time slam semifinalist (AO/US 2017). She rode the momentum all the way to the semis.

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HM- Birmingham 1st Rd. - Marie Bouzkova def. Hsieh Su-wei
...3-6/6-1/6-2. Hsieh has gone 1-6 (w/ the win a Q1 victory in Madrid) since her QF run at the Australian Open in February. And that's not even counting the memorable losses in doubles since mom-to-be Barbora Strycova announced her retirement.
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*WIMBLEDON MD WILD CARDS*
Katie Boulter/GBR (24) - reached the 2nd Rd. in 2018
Jodie Burrage/GBR (22) - makes her slam MD debut
Harriet Dart/GBR (24) - her 2ndd con. WI WC; reached 3rd Rd. in '19
Francesca Jones/GBR (20) - AO qualifier makes Wimbledon debut
Samantha Murray Sharan/GBR (33) - in her first slam MD since 2013-14 WI
Emma Raducanu/GBR (18) - the Brit makes her slam MD debut, getting a WC when Venus moved into the MD w/ Osaka's withdrawal
Liudmila Samsonova/RUS (22) - the Birmingham champ gets the nod and will make her SW19 debut

*WIMBLEDON MD - PROTECTED RANKINGS*
Mona Barthel/GER (30)
Mihaela Buzarnescu/ROU (33)
Kateryna Kozlova/UKR (27)
Andrea Petkovic/GER (33)
Samantha Stosur/AUS (37)
Carla Suarez Navarro/ESP (32)
CoCo Vandeweghe/USA (29)
Elena Vesnina/RUS (34)










Don't you love it when people who follow tennis for about half a second -- or only pay attention to one or two players -- suddenly are spotting "new trends" and decide to speak up and give credit where it isn't due? For one, it isn't as if Nadal hasn't pulled out of events due to physical wear and tear before and, as Clijsters pointed out below, it's hardly a new trend at the the top of the WTA tour, either.







=BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND=



=BERLIN, GERMANY=







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*2021 FIRST-TIME WTA CHAMPIONS*
Lyon - Clara Tauson, DEN (18/#139)
Guadalajara - Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP (24/#71)
Monterrey - Leylah Fernandez, CAN (18/#88)
Bogota - MC Osorio Serrano, COL (19/#180)
Charleston - Veronika Kudermetova, RUS (23/#38)
Charleston 250 - Astra Sharma, AUS (25/#165)
Belgrade - Paula Badosa, ESP (23/#44)
Strasbourg - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (25/#38)
BIRMINGHAM - ONS JABEUR, TUN (26/#24)
BERLIN - LIUDMILA SAMSONOVA, RUS (22/#106)

*2021 WTA FINALS*
4 - Ash Barty, AUS (3-1)
3 - DASHA KASATKINA, RUS (2-1)
3 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (2-1)
3 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (2-1)
3 - Garbine Muguruza, ESP (1-2)
2 - Iga Swiatek, POL (2-0)
2 - Sorana Cirstea, ROU (1-1)
2 - ONS JABEUR, TUN (1-1)
2 - Veronika Kudermetova, RUS (1-1)
2 - Elise Mertens, BEL (1-1)
2 - BELINDA BENCIC, SUI (0-2)
2 - Viktorija Golubic, SUI (0-2)

*2021 FIRST-TIME SINGLES FINALISTS*
Abu Dhabi - Veronika Kudermetova, RUS (#46, 23)
Grampians - Ann Li, USA (#99, 20) - DNP
Lyon - Clara Tauson, DEN (#139, 18) - W
Guadalajara - Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP (#71, 24) - W
Bogota - MC.Osorio Serrano, COL (#180, 19) - W
Belgrade - Paula Badosa, ESP (#44, 23) - W
BERLIN - LIUDMILA SAMSONOVA, RUS (#106, 22) - W

*2021 - RUSSIANS IN WTA FINALS*
3 - DASHA KASATKINA (2-1)
2 - Veronika Kudermetova (1-1)
1 - LIUDMILA SAMSONOVA (1-0)
1 - Margarita Gasparyan (0-1)
1 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (0-1)

*2021 QUALIFIERS IN FINALS*
Lyon - Clara Tauson, DEN (W)
Lyon - Viktoriya Golubic, SUI
Monterrey - Viktoriya Golubic, SUI
Belgrade - Ana Konjuh, CRO
BERLIN - LIUDMILA SAMSONOVA, RUS (W)

*2021 LOW-RANKED SEMIFINALISTS*
#216 Jule Niemeier/GER - Strasbourg
#203 COCO VANDEWEGHE/USA - BIRMINGHAM
#190 Harmony Tan/FRA - Bogota
#188 Ana Konjuh/CRO - Belgrade (RU)
#180 Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL - Bogota (W)
#165 Astra Sharma/AUS - Charleston 250 (W)

*CAREER WTA TITLES - RUSSIANS (active)*
18 - Svetlana Kuznetsova
12 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
12 - Vera Zvonareva
4 - Dasha Kasatkina
3 - Elena Vesnina
2 - Margarita Gasparyan
1 - Ekaterina Alexandrova
1 - Veronika Kudermetova
1 - Alla Kudryavtseva
1 - LIUDMILA SAMSONOVA

*CAREER WTA GRASS TITLES - active*
8 - Serena Williams, USA
6 - Venus Williams, USA
4 - Petra Kvitova, CZE
3 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2 - Ash Barty, AUS
2 - Kim Clijsters, BEL
2 - Caroline Garcia, FRA
2 - Simona Halep, ROU
2 - Angelique Kerber, GER
2 - Madision Keys, USA
2 - CoCo Vandeweghe, USA

*2021 WTA DOUBLES FINALS*
4...Krejcikova/Siniakova, CZE/CZE (3-1)
3...Aoyama/Shibahara, JPN/JPN (3-0)
3...MELICHAR/SCHUURS, USA/NED (2-1)
3...Carter/Stefani, USA/BRA (0-3)
2...Guarachi/Krawczyk, CHI/USA (2-0)
2...BOUZKOVA/HRADECKA, CZE/CZE (1-1)

*2021 FIRST-TIME WTA WD TITLES*
Hailey Baptiste, USA (Charleston 250)
MARIE BOUZKOVA, CZE (BIRMINGHAM)
Jennifer Brady, USA (Stuttgart)
Caroline Dolehide, USA (Monterrey)
Elixane Lechemia, FRA (Bogota)
Ingrid Neel, USA (Bogota)
Ankita Raina, IND (Phillip Island)
Kamilla Rakhimova, RUS (Phillip Island)

*YEAR OF USSR/RUS-linked (former/current) FIRST TITLES*
1971: Morozova
1989: Meshki(GEO)
1990: Medvedeva(UKR), Zvereva(BLR)
1991: Savchenko(LAT)
1993: Likhovtseva(KAZ)
1999: Myskina
2002: Bovina, Kuznetsova, Safina
2003: Dementieva, Sharapova, Zvonareva
2005: Kirilenko, Petrova
2006: Chakvetadze
2009: Dushevina
2010: Kleybanova, Kudryavtseva, Makarova, Pavlyuchenkova
2011: Pervak(KAZ)
2013: Vesnina
2015: Gasparyan
2017: Gavrilova/AUS(ex), Kasatkina, Putintseva/KAZ(ex)
2019: Rybakina/KAZ(ex)
2020: Alexandrova
2021: V.Kudermetova, Samsonova

*2021 WTA CHAMPIONS BY RANKING*
#1 - Ash Barty (Yarra Valley Melb.)
#1 - Ash Barty (Miami)
#1 - Ash Barty (Stuttgart)
#3 - Naomi Osaka (Australian Open)
#7 - Aryna Sabalenka (Madrid)
#10 - Aryna Sabalenka (Abu Dhabi)
#10 - Petra Kvitova (Doha)
#15 - Iga Swiatek (Rome)
#16 - Garbine Muguruza (Dubai)
#18 - Iga Swiatek (Adelaide)
#20 - Elise Mertens (Gippsland Melb.)
#20 - Johanna Konta (Nottingham)
#24 - Ons Jabeur (Birmingham)
#30 - Coco Gauff (Parma)
#33 - Barbora Krejcikova (Roland Garros)
#38 - Veronika Kudermetova (Charleston 500)
#38 - Barbora Krejcikova (Strasbourg)
#44 - Paula Badosa (Belgrade)
#61 - Dasha Kasatkina (Saint Petersburg)
#67 - Sorana Cirstea (Istanbul)
#71 - Sara Sorribes Tormo (Guadalajara)
#75 - Dasha Kasatkina (Phillip Island Melb.)
#88 - Leylah Fernandez (Monterrey)
#106 - Liudmila Samsonova (Berlin)
#139 - Clara Tauson (Lyon)
#165 - Astra Sharma (Charleston 250)
#180 - Maria Camila Osorio Serrano (Bogota)
-
vacant - Kontaveit (#23) vs. Li (#99) [Grampians Melb. not played]





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THIS GUY: all this...




SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS: her daddy was governor, and she spent time as the scowling recounter-of-lies for an administration that lied so often that even *she* couldn't keep up with all the misdirection. So it was probably a good thing that she hardly *ever* actually publicly performed the job of Press Secretary while she was, you know, the White House Press Secretary.

Poor guy probably doesn't stand a chance.


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Rut-Roh!!!!!!!!!


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Found a really interesting spot on Twitter. A few samples...




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All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 7:11 PM 

4 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Martincova was another Czech player, like Krejcikova that played their COVID tour last year.

Hradecka was courtside at Bouzkova's matches. TV angle actually showed wheelchair on adjoining court.

Samsonova went through an impressive group for her first title.

Final 4 Wimbledon seeds- Konta, Riska, Kudermetova, Badosa. Should Halep or someone else pull out, Kasatkina is next up.

Stat of the Week- 3- Number of singles titles for Samantha Stosur by winning the US Open.

Krejcikova the doubles star won both singles and doubles at Roland Garros. Seemed somewhat similar to Stosur winning the US Open, but was it?

Age
25- Krejcikova
27- Stosur

Singles Titles
3- Stosur
2- Krejcikova

Doubles Titles
23- Stosur
9- Krejcikova

Slams- Stosur
1- Singles
2- Doubles
2- Mixed

Slams- Krejcikova
1- Singles
3- Doubles
3- Mixed

Singles rank when first became #1 in doubles
51- Stosur
202-Krejcikova

Stosur was 98 2 weeks earlier.

Stosur's numbers are 9/26 now, showing that she spent more focus on singles in the second half of her career. Krejcikova may eventually do the same.

Quiz Time!

Ons Jabeur was a junior slam winner in 2011. Which player did she defeat in the final?

A.Daria Gavrilova
B.Monica Puig
C.Anett Kontaveit
D.Carol Zhao


Interlude- Juggling.

https://twitter.com/StrictlyChristo/status/1398698877834784772


Answer!

Jabeur gets her first title 10 years after she put herself on the map. (D)Zhao is wrong, because the qualifier only made it to the 2nd rd. This is something she has yet to do on the main tour, taking time to go to Stanford, losing in Q 5 times since her return. Her best performance? Q3 last month at Roland Garros.

(C)Kontaveit is also wrong, but having BJK Cup experience at that age probably is why she was the only unseeded girl to reach QF.

(A)Gavrilova was the #1 seed, having won the 2010 US Open. Jabeur defeated her, but in the QF.

(B)Puig is your answer. Having lost the final in Australia, she came to the French Open and lost that too. The #5 seed, this was an upset as Jabeur was #9.

Mon Jun 21, 12:06:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

5 On the Up Side- Smorgasbord Edition.

1.Siniakova- Players that practice together sometimes see one make a small jump when the other makes a big one. 4 years out from her last title, Bad Homburg is an opportunity.
2.Svitolina- 2019 Wimbledon SF is on pace for a 6th consecutive 40 win season(excluding 2020). In a stacked draw, more likely she plays well this week at Eastbourne than next.
3.Anisimova- Looked good vs Cornet, then fell and never got back on track. Has a game that should do better than it does on this surface.
4.Andreescu- She got up for the 1000 event in Miami. With this the Biggest regular grass event in Britain, maybe she finds some form. The red flag? 9 of 16 matches this year have gone 3 sets. she has played 11 tiebreaks. Needs to be economical this week.
5.Ruse- Wimbledon qualifying is this week, and Ruse is the only woman trying to successfully qualify 3 years(18,19) in a row. 8th time she will try to qualify for a slam, Wimbledon has been the only successful runs. Still looking for first MD win.

Mon Jun 21, 12:20:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

5 On the Down Side.

1.Sorribes Tormo- There are players, like Bencic, who don't fit the grass profile but play well on the surface. Sorribes Tormo is at a disadvantage due to her serve. She may win a round, but 2 is pushing it.
2.Pliskova- Scared of Pegula, so she plays Eastbourne while Pegula plays Bad Homburg. I kid. Pliskova is a 2 time winner here and 3 time finalist, but isn't expected to reach those heights. Best case scenario is that she treats this like Rome.
3.Sabalenka- Slumpalenka? The truth is that she has only lost 2 in a row, but doesn't seem like a favorite this week. Ironically, not peaking might let her slip under the radar next week.
4.Teichmann- Withdrew from the Olympics. However still in Wimbledon draw. Seemingly with a similar injury to Halep, it doesn't seem that she will be in good enough shape to end her 6 match slam losing streak.
5.Vondrousova- Has variety on grass but whiffs on balls. Tries to squat like Kerber but isn't successful. If she can get out of her head she could be dangerous this week and next.

Mon Jun 21, 12:30:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Quiz: I just looked at that this weekend, and I recalled that it was Puig. ;)

On the juggling thread: best game of chase ;)

As was mentioned on TC, what with Osaka out of Wimbledon, Halep questionable and who really knows about Barty, Sabalenka (if things go screwy before Day 1) might actually be the *#1* seed, or quickly the highest seed left. Doesn't sound like a good formula, pressure-wise, for her slam breakthrough.

Mon Jun 21, 12:52:00 PM EDT  

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