W.4- A Checkered Path to Victory

On Day 4, Dasha Kasatkina faced quite the tactical conundrum against Alona Ostapenko in their 2nd Round match.

I mean, what would *you* do if your whole oeuvre as an athlete is a collection of shotmaking brilliance with a swashbuckling bent, but you face a day when those shots aren't landing *and* you suddenly become engaged in a push-and-pull, three-set match in which your fireballing but often imprecise opponent controls virtually the entire flow of the proceedings? Do you try to find your game and risk making costly errors, or do you "hold your tongue" (and pride) and patiently employ the wait-and-see approach down the stretch, conceding control and simply keeping the ball between the lines until the racket-wielder on the other side of the net either crushes a winner past you or swats or sails a ball into the net or backcourt, and eventually you end up on top of the numbers game?

Kasatkina tried to tow that fine line for nearly two hours. In the end, she fell on the wrong side of it.

Extra tennis on court 3 ??@JelenaOstapenk8 rallies past Kasatkina 6-1, 3-6, 8-6, to extend her match win streak to 7!#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/tz1TTq1CNz

— wta (@WTA) July 1, 2021

While the likes of ESPN was busy drinking Coco Gauff's virtual bathwater in a match that was treated as if it was the day's headline attraction (it wasn't), Court 3 presented a fascinating three-tiered game of chicken. Surely not chess, but maybe checkers... or possibly Connect Four? No matter. For what Ostapenko-Kasatkina lacked in strategy it made up the difference with the flip-a-coin nature of what was happening on the court. Essentially, it was a case of the match being on Ostapenko's racket pretty much from beginning to end. Sometimes such a thing might get tedious. But an Ostapenko match is never a tedious affair.

In the opening set, Ostapenko's Latvian Thunder cape was showing, as she blasted Kasatkina off the court, out-hitting her 12-2 in winners as the Russian collected just twelve total points in the 6-1 set. As errors started flying off Ostapenko's racket (17) in the 2nd, Kasatkina was pulled back into the match with a 6-3 win.

The 3rd set, though, was either best viewed with bated breath or through fingers stretched tightly across one's eyes. For it was there where Ostapenko "did her thing" while Kasatkina was seemingly trapped in No Hordette's Land when it came to picking the best strategy against a player who was just as likely to *give* her a point as *take* it on, well, just about *every* one of the 79 points played in the set.

Surely Ostapenko was fine with this scenario. It's her stock and trade, after all, and even won her a major title four years ago. But Kasatkina didn't look comfortable, and was even seen shaking her head and looking up at coach Carlos Martinez while she walked to the changeover area after she *won* a game in which she had very little input other than serving as a ball machine for Ostapenko, usually sending back slices for her to hit either in or out. At one point, even Martinez sort of shrugged and threw up his hands. Hmm, I wonder what the oddsmakers that ESPN loves to talk about so much would have said was the correct strategy? Ha! We'll never know because, naturally, Ostapenko/Kastakina was as good as nonexistent in the network's eyes.

Neither player could gain any sort of momentum in the 3rd, as they combined for six breaks of serve to start the set and saw the returner ultimately win eleven of the fourteen games that were played (converting 11 of the 15 BP chances). While Ostapenko would break at love for 2-2, firing return winners on the first and last points of the game, she'd just as routinely fall down love/40 on serve moments later, only to crush a series of additional winners (and an ace) to get to deuce, then string together back-to-back forehand errors to hand the break back. Come game #10, Ostapenko would put together consecutive points in which she missed a forehand return, blasted a forehand winner, put away a high forehand for a winner, then flat-out missed a forehand while the Russian... umm, well, she was there. Kasatkina's hope-and-prayer tactics were basically only allowing her to tread water on the scoreboard.

Things went on like this for a while, except for the occasional moment when Kasatkina couldn't hold back and made a simple mistake and put herself in a world of trouble by "stepping out of line." While serving for the match at 5-4, the Russian's ill-timed DF at 30/30 gave the Latvian a BP. Ostapenko's backwinner winner down the line knotted the score at 5-5.

Serving for the match again at 6-5, Kasatkina took a 30/love lead when Ostapenko's drop attempt failed to clear the net. But the Russian's wild forehand error moments later put things at 30-all. Perhaps trying to seize some measure of control in a key moment, Kasatkina worked a rally to her favor and came in behind a ball to put away the point, only to spray a forehand and go BP down instead. Ostapenko's forehand winner broke for 6-6, and the back-and-forth nature of the match effectively ended.

The Latvian held at love to take the lead in the set, as for once she put her hands on "11 and 2" on the wheel and simply played things safe. With this approach, she took a love/30 lead on Kasatkina's serve, having won ten of eleven points. The Russian got the game back even at 30/30, but Ostapenko's put-away forehand volley gave her a MP. In a match dictated by Ostapenko's winners and error totals, things were ended via a forehand error from Kasatkina that gave the Latvian a 6-1/3-6/8-6 win in a match whose result the #31-seeded Russian seemed to have *zero* control over, even while twice serving for the victory.

For the set, Ostapenko's W/UE totals (22/24) showed her to once again be the author of both her own fate and that of Kasatkina (3/9). For the match, she had 48 winners to 48 unforced errors. And that's about as Ostapenkonian as any stat can possibly get.

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Ostapenko's confidence still appears sky-high off her Eastbourne title run, after which she said this weekend, "I think it's just the beginning. If I keep playing the way I played this tournament, I think I can be back in Top 10." The 50/50 nature of her game vs. Kasatkina doesn't seem as if it will dent her mindset, and if that translates into a little Thunder coming back to SW19 and possibly even carrying over into the second week, this could get interesting.

Even if it just means a few future high stakes games of "checkers" on a slightly bigger stage.




=DAY 4 NOTES= ...nearly three weeks after meeting for the right to lift the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen in Paris, Roland Garros finalists #14 Barbora Krejcikova and #16 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova were both in action on Thursday. Both won, too.

Extending that singles win streak to 14 across two surfaces... ????

Roland-Garros champion ???? @BKrejcikova is into Round 3 with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Petkovic!#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/RFywcZIZmy

— wta (@WTA) July 1, 2021

Krejcikova's straight sets win over Andrea Petkovic increased her tour season-best winning streak to fourteen, while Pavlyuchenkova's 6-3/6-3 victory over Kristyna Pliskova game some legs to what seemed to be set to become an interesting postscript to the Russian's affirming run to her maiden slam final. No matter what people have told her over the years, Pavlyuchenkova has never quite bought into the notion that she could do well at Wimbledon. She managed to reach the QF in 2016, but came into this tournament just 8-12 in her other SW19 appearances, including having lost three straight times in the 1st Round as well as five times in seven trips to London, while never getting past the 2nd Round in all but one of her Wimbledon MD attempts since 2011.

Now, with a little of her Paris-inspired confidence perhaps sticking with her, Pavlyuchenkova has two wins. Might her recent experience, spiked self-belief and somewhat less pressure (she no longer has to prove herself just days before her 30th birthday, which she'll now be scheduled to play on this weekend) make a big difference? After all, at the moment, the Russian is sort of operating with a "bonus life." You know, like how when in the old-school Pac-Man game you'd get an extra "life" in the bottom corner of the screen when your score hit 10,000 and, with that in hand, one might suddenly take a few chances for bigger gains since the repercussions for failing were now significantly less.

This result gives Pavlyuchenkova just her fourth consecutive 3rd-Round-or-better stretch in her slam career, with the others coming in 2010-11 (5 - RG to RG), 2013-14 (2 - US to AO) and 2016-17 (4 - RG to AO). She's never posted back-to-back Round of 16 runs in majors, but she's now just one victory away from doing just that.

...in the only women's match scheduled for Wednesday that wasn't completed, Shelby Rogers (who'd won the 1st set) returned to take out #15 Maria Sakkari in straights to reach her first SW19 3rd Round since 2017. The top-ranked Greek woman, a RG semifinalist last month, continues to see Wimbledon as the only major at which she's yet to reach the Round of 16.

#30 Paula Badosa didn't quite reach the semis in Paris, but she *did* play in her first major QF. Her win today over Yulia Putintseva puts her into her first Wimbledon 3rd Round. And, judging from her clay season and now this, the Spaniard has got the celebratory post-match photo reactions *down cold*...

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...#3 Elina Svitolina must have become really confused with all the rain delays and schedule juggles because usually she waits until the second week of a major, when the draw starts to clear out and people start mentioning her as finally having "her chance," to be bundled out in a nice package to take back out on the road. But she did it today in Round 2, obliterating the ranking memory of her '19 semifinal result with a 2 & 3 defeat at the hands of unseeded Magda Linette.

Oh, well... I guess this just means she'll have more time to listen to French rap (as we heard about this week via Twitter) and, I don't know, put up some "fun" social media post within the next 36 hours that will be immediately lauded as "wonderful" and "refreshing" while everyone skips over how irrelevant she's become as a legitimate slam threat. Her early exits and blowout losses barely get noticed anymore, probably because they're so expected.

Top-10 toppled ??@MagdaLinette notches the biggest win of her career, defeating No.3 seed Elina Svitolina in straight sets#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/i3a1Okwd8Y

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2021

Linette, by the way, has now ousted consecutive former slam semifinalists, as she knocked off Amanda Anisimova in the 1st Round.

...CoCo Vandeweghe's injury troubles of recent seasons apparently began at Wimbledon in 2018 when she played through an injured foot in a loss against Katerina Siniakova, then continued to do so for months, causing her troubles to deepen.

A new perspective as the former World No.9's comeback continues.

???? @CoCoVandey tells @WTA_insider how she got back to where she is today ??#Wimbledon

— wta (@WTA) July 1, 2021

Now back in the Wimbledon 2nd Round, naturally, Vandeweghe once again faced Siniakova today. She lost again, in three sets, but her comeback continues into the summer hard court season. Meanwhile, Siniakova as well as anyone (and there are others to consider, like Tereza Martincova) seems to be the Czech poster child for how the success of a countrywoman (and, in this case, doubles partner) can seemingly inspire another to suddenly kick things into gear, as well. As Barbora Krejcikova has become a singles entity to pay attention to this season, Siniakova this spring and summer seems to have found a way to rescue her own disappointing solo career. Years ago, it was Siniakova who seemed to be the most promising singles player of the Krejcikova/Siniakova doubles pair, but she's slipped far below the radar in recent seasons. In 2021, though, she's reached a QF in Istanbul, semi in Parma, final in Bad Homburg (her first on tour in over three years) and now back-to-back slam 3rd Rounds. She's a win away (vs. #1 Ash Barty) from her second major Round of 16.

...while the Gauff match was taking place on Centre Court (and Ostapenko/Kasatkina on Court 3), perhaps the best women's match of the first two rounds occurred on Court 2 between #25 Angelique Kerber and Sara Sorribes Tormo.

Close from beginning to end (and it lasted a comprehensive 3:19), with 10 to 20-shot rallies galore, the two women battled it out until both seemed to be on their last legs in the final set. Both the 1st and 2nd sets were knotted at 5-5 before late breaks helped turn the tide, with Kerber taking the 1st and Sorribes the 2nd, after having saved a MP. Fighting against the player who more than any other has been the tour's "marathon woman" in '21, Kerber -- three years removed from her last slam title at Wimbledon, but raging through a resurgent grass court campaign after winning in Bad Homburg this past weekend -- continued to turn back the clock before our very eyes, showing the tenacity and big point rally-ending winners that helped her put together what will surely go down as the multi-season stretch that will one day make her a Hall of Famer.

Broken when serving for the match at 5-3, the 33-year old Kerber nonetheless outlasted her younger foe, as Sorribes finally blinked while serving to stay in the match. Falling down love/40 with a DF, Sorribes faced another MP some 1:20 since she'd saved one earlier in the day. She couldn't do it again, but while Kerber's 7-5/5-7/6-4 win pushes her into the 3rd Round spot where most expected her to find Serena Williams (it'll be Aliaksandra Sasnovich instead), Sorribes once more picked up loads of respect from an all-time great and likely a whole lot of new fans, too. Although one would suspect that she'd trade all that for a few more wins against players like Kerber -- remember, she also lost a knock-down-drag-out to Bianca Andreescu in Miami earlier this year -- as the respect and admiration that would come from *that* would be even sweeter than these sort of bittersweet defeats.

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Sorribes Tormo: “It was tough, every point was tough. I’m happy with the way I played, not happy that I lost. But I think it’s one more day to keep improving, keep watching the things I need to do better to beat these kinds of players. I feel like I’m getting closer day by day."

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) July 1, 2021

...wins by Ajla Tomljanovic (over Alize Cornet, proving once more that Alize is Life, which isn't always fair) and Kaja Juvan (over Clara Burel) cleared the women's draw of Pastries. Oh, and #20 Gauff *did* defeat Elena Vesnina 6-4/6-3, sending the Russian off from what will apparently (according to the ESPNers, which I hadn't heard before) be her final Wimbledon.

In another tight one, Sorana Cirstea downed #12 Victoria Azarenka, rallying from 3-1 in the 3rd to record her first career win over the Belarusian and reach the Wimbledon 3rd Round for the fourth time (they're well spaced out runs: 2009, 2012, 2017 and now '21).

After the match, Cirstea proved that she knows how to endear herself to the British fans, saying the Court 1 encounter had "the best atmosphere" ever for any match she's played and that the win would be the "best memory" of her entire career.

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...late in the day, 18-year old wild card Emma Raducanu officially became the Last Brit Standing with her 6-2/6-4 win over Marketa Vondrousova, as her maiden slam appearance will continue into the 3rd Round.

??????

A word for @EmmaRaducanu #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/R1JLZMjtuC

— LTA (@the_LTA) July 1, 2021

A few years ago, fellow Brit Jo Konta compared herself to the character Jason Bourne and said she was a "tri-citizen" due to all her national connections around the world. Then what does that make Raducanu?

18yo British wildcard Emma Raducanu scores a big win, defeating Marketa Vondrousova 62 64 to advance to the #Wimbledon 3R.

Born in Canada, Raducanu’s parents are Romanian and Chinese. Moved to the UK when she was 2.

Huge moment for the No.338.

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) July 1, 2021

...meanwhile, doubles action finally got underway today.

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In just her second appearance in a slam women's doubles draw since having a baby, Sania Mirza posted her first win in a major since 2017, joining with Bethanie Mattek-Sands to take out #6-seeded Desirae Krawczyk & Alexa Guarachi. Serbs Aleksandra Krunic & Nina Stojanovic defeated #8 Hayley Carter/Luisa Stefani and -- well, well -- Zarina Diyas & Arina Rodionova upset the #2 seeds, as Kiki Mladenonvic finally deigned to play some slam doubles this year with Timea Babos. Not for long, though, as the seven-time slam finalist duo (4-3) only won three games.

It's Mladenovic's earliest loss in a slam WD competition since the 2014 U.S. Open.





...HORRIBLE RECOGNITION ON DAY 4:

ESPN is still capable of twisting its coverage in ways that cause you to want to turn away from a player you've come to truly enjoy watching over the last two years.

In 2019, the network's incessant drumbeat for Coco Gauff during SW19 made one tire of the then 15-year old almost as quickly as she'd suddenly entered the front portion of the sport's consciousness, for if there's one hallmark of ESPN's tennis coverage it's that if there's anything that catches anyone's fancy for a moment it will find a way to beat it to its unmerciful death. And do it tenfold, too. Gauff's Wimbledon 4th Round run two years ago sort of felt like that. It was great to watch, as long as you didn't have to hear and/or watch ESPN's almost embarrassing over-coverage of it at the expense of, you know, virtually everything else in the tournament. Once she lost -- to eventual champion Simona Halep -- it was almost a signal that one could freely breathe oxygen again.

That Gauff hasn't made a deep run at any of the ESPN-covered slams since '19 has helped to settle her image on tour, and allowed her to be more healthily appreciated without all the waaaay-too-hyped analysis and openly jingoistic presentation. Thankfully, her RG quarterfinal happened far away from ESPN's clutches, causing one to be disappointed that she couldn't go further. If ESPN has been covering Paris, the nice moment of a young star truly beginning to find her destiny would have degenerated into something akin to being sledgehammered in the head over and over and over again by the network's transformation into the Coco Info Channel rather than a sports network tasked with providing coverage of an event where dozens of other players, too, are fighting for recognition and titles.

Can you say ??? Coco Gauff is 2nd on Centre Court tomorrow (Thurs.) between Barty and Federer! ?? @espn @Wimbledon

— Chris McKendry (@ChrisMcKendry) June 30, 2021

Upwards of three-plus hours away from Gauff taking the court today, ESPN was already busy triggering flashbacks to its 2019 style, with Chris McKendry breathlessly talking about the return of "Cocomania" (though I'm not sure this was any worse than her ongoing mission over the first three days to uncover the answer to what she seemed to think was the greatest question facing our life and times: "Novak or the field?"). Within seconds, all the feelings to throw something at the screen had been dredged up from the past and given new and thriving life in the present.

Although, it's worth noting that with all the talk of late about "mental well being," the moment did make one remember that there's more than one reason for a mute button between the actual matches. For that those who wish to enjoy Gauff's steady rise in peace can be thankful. (Raises hand.)

Generally, ESPN's coverage of the women's slams goes something like this: "SerenaSerenaSerenaSerenaSerenaSerena," until she loses and then they have to pick up another scent. Since it can't now be "NaomiNaomiNaomiNaomiNaomiNaomi" I guess the official third choice is now "CocoCocoCocoCocoCocoCoco." Meanwhile, over the past 17 majors, 13 different women have won titles, with 10 of 16 being first-time champs. The depth and unpredictability of the top of the tour is almost at a lengendary level at the moment, and *no* slam is really capable of being "predictable" unless one catches a gust a wind and successfully holds on.

But, you know, keep on talking about the oddsmakers' "favorites" and focusing on one or two individuals as contenders, and then wonder why we get to the QF or so and you're having to introduce 90% of the remaining field to your audience because you failed to do so over the first week and a half (and however many majors over however many years).


...SPEAKING OF THAT OTHER ESPN NONSENSE TOPIC... ON DAY 4:

Just how accurate *are* "the oddsmakers" you constantly refer to as if they're "seers on the mountaintop" when it comes to correctly prognosticating women's grand slam champions, anyway? I mean, did they all have Krejcikova in Paris? Askin' for a friend.


...MEANWHILE... ON DAY 4:

I held a racket again today. ?? pic.twitter.com/ANWhhpq5fg

— Barbora Strycova (@BaraStrycova) July 1, 2021

...MEANWHILE... ON DAY 4:

A Republican can keynote a white nationalist political rally and remain in good standing, but investigate the origins of the insurrection and they’re finished. https://t.co/dbaKuZHJaP

— Christian Vanderbrouk (@UrbanAchievr) July 1, 2021

...CONTINUED DISLIKE ON DAY 4:


What exactly is the reasoning behind an on-screen score box that seeks to "conserve space" during a best-of-three match by removing a single set column in favor of a cumulative set score (i.e. 1-1 as the 3rd set takes place, rather than showing the full scores of the 1st and 2nd sets)? I mean, would that lone column really take up *so* much space that it's worth not immediately communicating what's happened in an *entire* match during 99.99% of the competition and instead only allowing it to be seen for five seconds at a time as the players head into a changeover break? Just wondering.

...NOTABLE ON DAY 4:


While we know a lot of the big names set to be in Tokyo (or who *won't* be), take a moment to peruse the list for the names of the likes of players for which this honor might be *the* highilight of their careers, including players like Mayar Sherif and Ankita Raina.

Tennis ?? is heading to the Olympics?? ??

The ITF has announced the official entry list for this summer's Tokyo Olympic Tennis Event ??

— wta (@WTA) July 1, 2021

And, of course...

¡Estaré en Tokio! ?? Muy feliz por representar a ???? una última vez en los Juegos Olímpicos. ¡El mayor honor como deportista!

Happy to represent Spain at the @Tokyo2020 Olympic Games! Honored to have this opportunity as an athlete. Can’t wait! ??? pic.twitter.com/bRUXRtab79

— Carla Suárez Navarro (@CarlaSuarezNava) June 27, 2021

SW 19 Memories...

17-year old Maria Sharapova wins her maiden slam title [2004]

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Nice move, Nike!

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*WIMBLEDON "NATIONS OF POOR SOULS"*
[2010]
GBR (0-6 1st Rd.)
[2011]
AUS (1-3 1st Rd., Stosur & Dokic losses)
[2012]
SVK (1-3 in 1st Rd.; all 3 w/ WTA titles lost)
[2013]
GBR (1-6 in 1st Rd.)
[2014]
SVK (1-4 1st; grass champs Hantuchova/Rybarikova 1st Rd.)
[2015]
ITA (Pennetta "FSO," Vinci/Schiavone 1st Rd., Knapp ret.)
[2016]
CHN (1-4 1st; only win by LL Duan)
[2017]
CZE (0-6 2nd Rd., Kvitova/Pliskova lose; no CZE in 3r since '09)
[2018]
UKR (1-4 1st/2nd Rd., Svitolina/1st Rd. worst major result since 2014)
[2019]
BLR (1-3 1st; 3/4 of "Dream Team" lose, #10 Sabalenka FSO)
[2021]
CAN (0-2 1st; #5 Andreescu & Fernandez lose; Bouchard DNP)

*WIMBLEDON "LAST BRIT STANDING"*
2008 Elena Baltacha & Anne Keothavong (2nd Rd.)
2009 Elena Baltacha (2nd Rd.)
2010 Heather Watson (GBR 0-6 in 1st, Watson last to lose)
2011 Elena Baltacha, Anne Keothavong & Laura Robson (2nd)
2012 Heather Watson (3rd Rd.)
2013 Laura Robson (4th Rd.)
2014 Naomi Broady & Heather Watson (2nd Rd.)
2015 Heather Watson (2nd Rd.)
2016 Johanna Konta & Tara Moore (2nd Rd.)
2017 Johanna Konta (SF)
2018 Katie Boulter, Johanna Konta & Katie Swan (2nd)
2019 Johanna Konta (QF)
2021 Emma Raducanu (in 3rd Rd.)

*WIMBLEDON "ZOMBIE QUEEN" WINNERS*
2007 Venus Williams, USA
2008 Nicole Vaidisova, CZE
2009 Dinara Safina, RUS
2010 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2011 Marion Bartoli, FRA
2012 Tamira Paszek, AUT
2013 Eugenie Bouchard, CAN
2014 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS & Lucie Safarova/CZE
2015 Serena Williams, USA
2016 Dominika Cibulkova/SVK & Aga Radwanska/POL
2017 Arina Rodionova, AUS
2018 Katerina Siniakova, CZE
2019 Elina Svitolina, UKR
2021 [early] Kristie Ahn, USA
2021 [mid/late] TBD

*WIMBLEDON "LAST QUALIFIER STANDING" - since 2015*
=2015=
Olga Govortsova, BLR (4th Rd.)
=2016=
Julia Boserup, USA
Jana Cepelova, SVK
Marina Erakovic, NZL (all 3rd Rd.)
=2017=
Petra Martic, CRO (4th Rd.)
=2018=
Evgeniya Rodina, RUS (4th Rd.)
=2019=
Coco Cauff, USA (4th Rd.)
=2021=
Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, COL (in 3rd Rd.)

*WIMBLEDON "EARLY-ROUND TOP PLAYER" WINNERS*
[w/ final result]
2002 (Week 1 POW) Venus Williams, USA [RU]
2003 (Week 1 POW) Venus Williams, USA [RU]
2004 (Week 1 POW) Lindsay Davenport, USA [SF]
2005 (Week 1 co-POW) Lindsay Davenport, USA [RU] & Maria Sharapova, RUS [SF]
2006 Justine Henin-Hardenne, BEL [RU]
2007 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA [4th]
2008 Serena Williams, USA [RU]
2009 Venus Williams, USA [RU]
2010 Venus Williams, USA [QF] & Serena Williams, USA [W]
2011 Petra Kvitova, CZE [W]
2012 Agnieszka Radwanska, POL [RU]
2013 Serena Williams, USA [4th]
2014 Maria Sharapova, RUS [4th]
2015 Petra Kvitova, CZE [3rd]
2016 Simona Halep, ROU [QF]
2017 Johanna Konta, GBR [SF]
2018 Simona Halep, ROU [3rd]
2019 Ash Barty, AUS [4th]
2021 Angelique Kerber, GER

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I am pleased to once again have a poem published in Snakeskin. I invite you to read "Why I Didn't Retire Years Ago" https://t.co/pUZaAu6Tg9 (click on poem name--first in the table of contents) #poetry #retirement #WritingCommunity

— Diane Elayne Dees (@WomenWhoServe) July 1, 2021

And off we go on another magical mystery (or is it misery?) tour, step right up...

Trump Organization and CFO charged with tax crimeshttps://t.co/y9mvS8ihPg

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) July 1, 2021

TOP QUALIFIER: Ana Konjuh/CRO
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #25 Angelique Kerber/GER
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q3 - Lesley Pattinama Kerhkove/NED def. Jule Niemeier/GER 6-4/2-6/9-7 (saved 2 MP)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd. - #25 Angelique Kerber/GER def. Sara Sorribes Tormo/ESP 7-5/5-7/6-4 (3:19; wins on MP #2 1:20 after first MP)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Aryna Sabalenka/BLR (def. Niculescu - first official match at AELTC in 715 days)
FIRST SEED OUT: #10 Petra Kvitova/CZE (1st Rd.-Stephens)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove/NED, Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL, Emma Raducanu/GBR
UPSET QUEENS: Czech Republic
REVELATION LADIES: South America
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Canada - 0-2 1st Rd. (#5 Andreescu, Fernandez), while Bouchard (injured) DNP
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL (in 3rd Rd.) (LL 2r: Ahn)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: In 3r: Raducanu, Samsonova
PROTECTED RANKING WINS: Andrea Petkovic/GER, CoCo Vandeweghe/USA, Elena Vesnina/RUS (all 2nd Rd.)
LAST BRIT STANDING: Emma Raducanu (in 3rd Rd.)
Ms./Miss OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT "...": xx
COMEBACK PLAYER: xx
CRASH & BURN: #6 Serena Williams, USA & #10 Petra Kvitova, CZE (both 1st Rd;. won 6 of last 11 Wimbledon; Williams ret. for second career 1r slam exit)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF LONDON (early-round): Kristie Ahn/USA (already a lucky loser, also saved MP vs. Watson/GBR in 1st Rd.)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF LONDON (mid/late-round): Nominees: Brengle (1r-McHale 4 MP and served for match three times); Ostapenko (2r-Kasatkina twice served for match)
DOUBLES STAR: xx
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx
SPIRIT OF JANA (NOVOTNA) HONOREES: xx
RAD REMEMBRANCE DAY malevolent activity notes...
=June 26 official= All quiet, but on 25th Ula Radwanska loses in final qualifying round and on 27th top-ranked Brit Konta w/d due to COVID quarantine
=Day 3 observed= After two days of rain following a 715-day break since the last Wimbledon, the Day 3 schedule includes 39 women's (23 1r/16 2r) and 41 men's (27 1r/14 2r) singles matches. Slips and falls that led to back-to-back Centre Court retirements (including S.Williams) on Day 2 continued, and the day began with the unusual news that a pair of lucky losers -- Astra Sharma and Tsvetana Pironkova -- were being added to the draw three days into the event due to injuries (both former semifinalist Tsvetana Pironkova and Astra Sharma lost, the latter after holding a 4-2 3rd set lead). In all, three Top 10 women's seeds (#4 Kenin, #5 Andreescu and #9 Bencic) were ousted, longtime Wimbledon "marathon" man John Isner *lost* a five-setter, and 41-year old five-time champ Venus Williams was defeated a day after her sister left the tournament due to injury (marking just the fourth time in their long slam history that neither reached the 3rd Round of a major, and the first time ever at Wimbledon, where Venus became the first Williams to make her debut 24 years ago).






All for Day 4. More tomorrow.