Thursday, September 02, 2021

US.4- Sense and Sensibility

Well, there she goes again.




After a whirlwind grass court season that saw her make her tour-level debut in Nottingham and then take a Wimbledon wild card and advance all the way to the Round of 16 at SW19, becoming the youngest Brit to do so in the Open era, world #150 Emma Raducanu is proving that nothing overcomes a bad reaction to pressure better than learning from the experience and coming back stronger the next time. A good head on one's shoulders and a seeming attachment to reality doesn't hurt, either.

The 18-run old's 4th Round run in her home slam ended with an unfortunate mid-match retirement after she suffered from breathing difficulties against Ajla Tomljanovic. Unlike so many in recent weeks and months, though, Raducanu didn't attempt to paint herself as a "victim" of "horrible scheduling" (she fell on "Manic Monday") or condemn others for somehow "unfairly judging" her and committing the holy sin of pointing out that the pressure of the moment had finally, and understandably, gotten to her (no matter how many over-protective sorts both within tennis and without tried to throw up an unnecessary shield over her in the aftermath). Instead Raducanu -- shocker! -- freely admitted to the (should have been) apparent, that the "whole experience caught up with me," attributing it to "a combination of everything that has gone on behind the scenes in the last week and the accumulation of the excitement, the buzz," as she also stated her hope to be better prepared for her next foray into such big-time success.

In other words, Raducanu had a more adult reaction than many of the self-appointed adult protectors in the social media and tennis world had at the time. And, guess what, after refusing to shift blame and "owning" what happened, and doing so with a sensible and hopeful tone, she seems to have come back stronger, too. Imagine that.

After exchanging coach Nigel Sears for Andrew Richardson, a teacher from her younger days, Raducanu finally returned to action on summer hard courts in San Jose, losing in the 1st Round. After that she qualified for the MD, then retired from her QF match, in the $100K Landisville challenger. She was right back at it a week later in the WTA 125 Chicago event. After opening with an upset of top-seeded Alison Van Uytvanck she advanced to the SF without dropping a set. She defeated Claire Liu in three sets to reach her biggest career final (the previous best was at a $25K two seasons ago), picking up her second Top 100 win of the week to go along with her first two such career victories earlier this summer in London (over Sorana Cirstea and soon-to-be Olympic Silver medalist Marketa Vondrousova). After dropping the 1st set against fellow teen Clara Tauson, Raducanu rallied to force a deciding 3rd, where the Dane ultimately prevailed. Still, the Brit cracked the Top 150 for the first time in the new rankings the following Monday.

In New York, the teen has only built upon her momentum.



She made her way through U.S. Open qualifying last week, notching another Top 100 win over Mayar Sherif in the final round, winning three matches without dropping a set. One of five Brits originally in the Open MD (Jo Konta soon withdrew), it was the newcomer who was the only one who advanced. In fact, through *two* rounds of Raducanu's first MD at Flushing Meadows she's extended that sets-won streak to ten, first knocking off Stefanie Voegele on Tuesday before heading back out today.



Thursday on Court 10, against #49-ranked veteran Zhang Shaui, a two-time slam quarterfinalist, Raducanu was the one in control. She led 6-2/4-0 before Zhang finally stirred, getting one break back to pull within 4-2. The Brit had a BP chance in the following game, as the supportive crowd began a "Let's go Em-ma" chant, and two more opportunities after that before the Chinese woman got the hold. But rather than sulk over what had slipped away, Raducanu simply held at love to maintain her break lead, firing an ace to close out the game to lead 5-3. Two games later, she served for the match as what sounded like a consistent drumbeat (literally) sounded in the background. She quickly grabbed a 40/15 lead, then took the final rally when Zhang's forehand was pulled wide, ending the 6-2/6-4 match. Raducanu instinctively dropped her racket and once more reveled in an unexpected result that has become more and more expected as the summer has progressed. The victory over Zhang is the teenager's third Top 50 win in the last few months, as she's gone a combined 18-6 from her Nottingham debut through today's victory.



Raducanu herself is edging ever so close to making her Top 100 debut, and will next face off with Sara Sorribes Tormo for a chance to make it back-to-back slam Round of 16's.
Whatever happens this weekend, both on court and off -- and maybe more importantly, both in-game and out of it -- it's difficult *not* to truly like the cut of this one's jib.




=DAY 4 NOTES=
...this Open's relatively upset-free women's competition continued during the day session. Hmm, how long before some try to turn that into a negative about the tour's depth, after previously using situations where there were a *large* numbers of upsets as a weapon to criticize the talent of the upper tier in the rankings? Fact is, it just is what it is in a particular tournament, and really doesn't speak to any sort of notion either way.

But there were some dicey moments.

#7 Iga Swiatek trailed Fiona Ferro by a set and a break at 6-3/2-1, but turned things around to take a 4-2 lead in the 2nd. The Pastry got the set back on serve late, and managed to save two SP down 6-5 to hold and force a tie-break. Swiatek won the TB 7-3, then was virtually faultless in the 3rd. In Paris 2020 style, the Pole committed just three UE in the deciding set and won it at love.



#1 Ash Barty again wasn't in "A"-game form, and had a bit of a struggle closing out Clara Tauson, falling behind an early break in the 2nd, then seeing her 5-3 lead slip a bit and her nearly get forced to a TB before finally holding a back-and-forth game, saving a BP, to win 6-1/7-5.

#24 Paula Badosa wasn't as lucky, though. After trailing Russian Varvara Gracheva 6-4/4-1, the Spaniard got things back on serve at 4-4, but then she dropped the final two games. Gracheva's 6-4/6-4 win gives her back-to-back 3rd Rounds at Flushing Meadows, and three such results in the last six majors.

Last year, remember, Gracheva's route featured the staging of that epic comeback vs. Kristina Mladenovic from 6-1/5-1 and four MP down.

Gracheva will next face countrywoman Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The #14-seed and RG finalist was forced to three sets today by qualifier Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. After winning the 1st set, the Russian had rallied from 4-1 down in the 2nd with four consecutive games, only to lose the final three. She took the 3rd set 6-2 to become the fourth Hordette in the Final 32.

The all-Russian match-up assures at least one Hordette in the Round of 16 at 75 of the last 84 majors.

Meanwhile, Greet Minnen's win over another Russian, Liudmila Samsonova, puts *two* lucky losers into the 3rd Round (Raducanu is the only qualifier)..



#23 Jessie Pegula won to become the third Bannerette (with a few still to play, including Shelby Rogers, Amanda Anisimova and Lauren Davis) in the 3rd Round, defeating Misaki Doi in straight sets. She'll face #11 Belinda Bencic, the Olympic champ who defeated Pegula in the 1st Round in Tokyo last month.

...Gracheva's win over Badosa finally settled the "Upset Queens" award, as even with so few seeds having fallen the Hordettes have managed to take out *two*. Lucky loser Kamilla Rakhimova took out her countrywoman, #32 Ekaterina Alexandrova, yesterday (after def. Mladenovic in the 1st), and combined with her fellow Russian's win over the #24-seeded Spaniard today it's more than enough to qualify.

Still waiting for a "Crash & Burn," though, as as of this post *zero* Top 20 seeds have been defeated. In contrast, twelve men's seeds fell in the 1st Round alone, and two Top 10 seeds are out.

...tonight, Bianca Andreescu gets her *second* night match in two rounds (no Serena opens up a few spots), as she'll face Lauren Davis, who'll be looking to become the Bannerette early-round upset-maker that hasn't materialized as she *usually* does at the Open. That match will be on Armstrong (w/o the horizontal rainfall), while #4 Karolina Pliskova will face another Bannerette, Amanda Anisimova, on Ashe.

...meanwhile, in Tokyo, IT IS ON.

The medal matches have been set, and things have mostly held to form. Once more, #1 Diede de Groot and #2 Yui Kamiji will face off for a major crown (for Gold, after playing one another for Bronze five years ago in Rio). Both won in straights in the semis, with de Groot defeating #4 Jordanne Whiley 6-4/6-2, and Kamiji taking out #3 Aniek Van Koot 6-2/6-2. Whiley and Van Koot will play the Bronze match.

#1 De Groot and Van Koot will face #2 Whiley and Lucy Shukeer for doubles Gold, with #3 Kamiji and Momoko Ohtani going up against China's Wang Ziying and Zhu Zhenzhen for Bronze.

Not only with a chance for a Gold sweep, de Goot is also just a singles win away from arriving in New York next week with a chance to become the first singles Golden Slam winner in wheelchair tennis history, likely inspiring *another* generation of Dutch rollers (just as the great -- I want to say "Hall of Famer" but, you know, the Int'l Tennis Hall of Fame is still lagging embarrassingly behind in honoring the most dominant player in tennis, and maybe sports, history -- Esther Vergeer -- did her) to maintain the Netherlands' great tradition in the women's wheelchair game.






*PARALYMPIC WHEELCHAIR SINGLES*
GOLD: #1 Diede de Groot/NED vs. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN
BRONZE: #3 Aniek Van Koot/NED vs. #4 Jordanne Whiley/GBR/USA

*PARALYMPIC WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES*
GOLD: #1 de Groot/Van Koot (NED) vs. #2 Shuker/Whiley (GBR)
BRONZE: #3 Kamiji/Ohtani (JPN) vs. Wang/Zhu (CHN)







...SAD NEWS ON DAY 4:



Ditty had quite a bit of ITF doubles success in the day with Carly Gullickson, an old Backspin favorite who won a U.S. Open MX title in '09.


...2020, MEET 2021... ON DAY 4 NIGHT 3:




...WE'VE KNOWN THIS FOR A WHILE, BUT... ON DAY 4:

When she's done playing, if she wants it and chooses to fully embrace the platform, Sloane could be a *superior* tennis commentator whose words could cut through the sometimes ear-splitting clutter we generally hear on U.S. broadcasts of the sport. Ironically, there was a time when John McEnroe played that sort of role, but he's sort of abused the position over the years, often becoming a caricature of himself in other arenas. Andy Roddick *could* have it, but hasn't really confined himself to tennis broadcasting and appears only as an enticing guest on occasion. Mary Carillo (at least a while ago) was a clear voice of reason, but seemed to lose interest over time, while maybe Martina Navratilova fills the current spot as the "go to" TV opinion (whether everyone agrees with what she says or not, everyone should hear what she has to say and factor it into one's own thoughts) when it comes to tennis topics, though she maybe isn't as appreciated outside the tennis bubble as she should be. Some would say Jim Courier, I guess, but I know I've personally never really taken to his style.




...OF NOTE ON DAY 4:

ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption" gave 2:00 today to Tsitsipas' bathroom break, which is two minutes more than the show gave to Bianca Andreescu after she *won the damn tournament* two years ago, but right on par with the 2:00 segment a few months ago in which it was uttered, "What did Barty ever do to be become #1 anyway? I don't know." I'm just sayin'.


...A GOOD NIGHT ON DAY 4:

It's not just the official start of college football season, but it's season premiere night for "What We Do in the Shadows."




...Hmmm... ON DAY 4:

...why is it that whenever commentators (as those on ESPN+ did today) speak about Jessie Pegula's family wealth, and how it impacted her tennis upbringing (private lessons, little competition with younger peers) and puts her in a different position from some other pros (i.e. she "doesn't need to play tennis" to be in a good financial situation and she could quit the sport and "be fine," as if this somehow means that as a professional athlete she doesn't have or feel any sort of "pressure" to succeed) it always feels so "judgy" and borderline "discriminatory?"

Pegula's situation would seem to tell me that she really *wants* to be playing the game, as opposed to some other players put in the position of being the major (or only) bread-winner and financial supporter of her entire family at a very young age, leading to playing the sport becoming a chore that cannot be loved, leading to burn-out, unhealthy anxiety and, yes, poor mental health.

Some would say a player with such a "free mind" should be looked at as an asset to the tour, rather than described as if they need to "prove they belong" and/or have the same desire to succeed as their counterparts who may have had fewer options to choose from. I'm just sayin'.

There were always similar discussions with ATP player Ernests Gulbis years ago, and whenever he lost a match it was if, "oh, he doesn't care -- he comes from money." ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


...MAKE IT STOP!!! ON DAY 4:

That damn Applebee's commercial airing incessantly during the ESPN+ match coverage is going to make me want to put my head in a vice before long. I'm not sure what's worse, the "Fancy Like" song (which I despised even before it was made into an ad jingle -- it almost triggers my "Incredible Hulk anger gene" whenever I hear it) or the cringy sight of the people dancing.


...SERIOUSLY, WHO PUT TODAY'S SCHEDULE TOGETHER, THE ROLAND GARROS ORGANIZERS?... ON DAY 4:





...THEORY ON DAY 4:

True national tennis success can't be hailed until you have yourself a pair of successful sisters. (Not a *great* theory, but it's not a Big Lie or anything like that, either.)








FADE IN:




”Ace Queen”

INT. DIMLY-LIT ROOM
The tension is thick as a high stakes poker game takes place in a small, smoke-filled secret room likely beneath a respected establishment that serves as a cover for potentially explosive goings-on below ground level.

As the final round of bets are made, Karolina Pliskova pushes her entire mountain of gains -- hundred dollar bills, jewelry, a gold bar and... Fidget spinner? -- into the middle of the table. The rest of the gamblers gathered around the table grumble and throw their cards in. Too rich for their blood. Save for one player. Jessie Pegula confidently pushes her pile into the center, calling Pliskova’s bet. Once she does, she sees a small smile curl onto Pliskova’s face. Pegula swallows hard. She’s nervous now.

Pegula cautiously lays down her cards, four sixes and an eight.

PEGULA
Four of a kind.

She smiles, and then leans into the table. Waiting.

Pliskova stares Pegula down, finishes off the golden, shimmering liquid in her glass, then places her cards on the table, clicking the edge of each one with her fingernail as she lines them up along the felt-covered surface. Ace...Ace...Ace...Ace...and Ace.

Those around the table “ooh” and “ahh” at the play. Except for Pegula, who has a disbelieving look on her face. Pliskova knowingly shrugs, then scrapes up her entire load of loot off the table and into a large sack and then stands up to leave. She nods to the group before she goes.

PLISKOVA
Gentlemen.
(pause)
Jessie.

She walks off without another word. The dealer casually gathers all the cards and begins to reshuffle the deck. Pegula is still confused and a little mad.

PEGULA
How are five aces even possible?.

DEALER
(deadpan as he works, without looking up)
Ace Queen.

He doesn’t feel the need to explain any further. Pegula simply sighs and sinks in her chair.

PEGULA
This is bull-

Her words are cut off mid-sentence as the WTA logo appears on the screen.



END.


To be continued...
















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kosova-font

**U.S. OPEN "UPSET QUEENS" WINNERS**
2004 Russia
2005 United States
2006 France
2007 Russia
2008 China
2009 United States
2010 Taiwan
2011 Romania
2012 Romania
2013 United States
2014 United States
2015 United States
2016 China
2017 Japan
2018 Sweden
2019 Russia
2020 United States
2021 Russia
[2021]
AO: United States
RG: Slovenia
WI: Czech Republic

**U.S. OPEN - RECENT "LAST WILD CARD STANDING" WINNERS**
2010 Beatrice Capra, USA & Virginie Razzano, FRA (3rd)
2011 Sloane Stephens, USA (3rd Rd.)
2012 Mallory Burdette/USA & Kristina Mladenovic/FRA (3rd)
2013 Alison Riske, USA (4th Rd.)
2014 Nicole Gibbs, USA (3rd Rd.)
2015 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA (3rd Rd.)
2016 L.Davis/USA, K.Day/USA, V.King/USA (3rd Rd.)
2017 Maria Sharapova, RUS (4th Rd.)
2018 Victoria Azarenka, BLR (3rd Rd.)
2019 Kristie Ahn, USA (4th Rd.)
2020 C.Bellis/USA, K.Scott/USA & S.Vickery/USA (2nd Rd.)
2021 0-8 in 1st Rd.
[2021]
AO: Samantha Stosur/AUS and Dasha Gavrilova/AUS (2nd)
RG: Astra Sharma/AUS and Harmony Tan/FRA (2nd)
WI: Emma Raducanu/GBR and Liudmila Samsonva/RUS (4th)

**U.S. OPEN - RECENT "LAST QUALIFIER STANDING" WINNERS**
=2010=
Lourdes Dominquez-Lino/ESP
Mandy Minella/LUX (3rd Rd.)
=2011=
Silvia Soler-Espinosa/ESP (3rd Rd.)
=2012=
Olga Puchkova/RUS (3rd Rd.)
=2013=
Camila Giorgi/ITA (4th Rd.)
=2014=
Aleksandra Krunic/SRB
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni/CRO (4th Rd.)
=2015=
Johanna Konta/GBR
Anett Kontaveit/EST (4th Rd.)
=2016=
CiCi Bellis/USA (3rd Rd.)
=2017=
Kaia Kanepi/EST (QF)
=2018=
Karolina Muchova, CZE (3rd Rd.)
=2019=
Taylor Townsend, USA (4th Rd.)
=2021=
Emma Raducanu, GBR (in 3rd Rd.)
[2021]
AO: Sara Errani/ITA and Kaja Juvan/SLO (3rd)
RG: H.Baptiste/USA, A.Kalinina/UKR and V.Lepchenko/USA (2nd)
WI: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL (3rd)

**U.S. OPEN "ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK" WINNERS**
2008 Jelena Jankovic, SRB
2009 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2010 Samantha Stosur, AUS
2011 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2012 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2013 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2014 Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, CRO
2015 Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
2016 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2017 Madison Keys, USA and Sloane Stephens, USA
2018 Katerina Siniakova, CZE
2019 Donna Vekic, CRO
2020 Varvara Gracheva, RUS
2021 Elise Mertens, BEL and Rebeka Masarova, ESP
[2021]
AO: Simona Halep, ROU [2r: down 5-2 3rd vs. Tomljanovic]
RG (early): K.Siniakova, CZE [2r: down 5-1 3rd, 2 MP vs. Kudermetova]
RG (late): B.Krejcikova, CZE [SF: MP vs. Sakkari; won title]
WI: Kristie Ahn, USA [LL; saved MP 1r vs. Watson]

**BACKSPIN 2021 SURPRISE-OF-THE-MONTH WINNERS**
JAN/FEB: Francesca Jones, GBR
AO: Mayar Sherif, EGY
FEB: Storm Sanders, AUS
MAR/APR: Viktorija Golubic, SUI
1Q...SORRIBES TORMO
APR: Astra Sharma, AUS
MAY: Viktoriya Tomova, BUL
RG: Tamara Zidansek, SLO
2Q Clay Court...ZIDANSEK
JUN: Tereza Martincova, CZE
WI: Viktorija Golubic, SUI
2Q Grass Court...GOLUBIC
JUL: Tereza Martincova, CZE
OLYMPICS: Laura Pigossi/Luisa Stefani, BRA
AUG: Camila Giorgi, ITA
[2021 Weekly SURPRISE Award Wins]
4 - Viktorija Golubic, SUI
3 - Tereza Martincova, CZE
3 - Tamara Zidansek, SLO
2 - Anastasia Gasanova, RUS
2 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
2 - Nuria Parrizas Diaz, ESP
2 - Mayar Sherif, EGY
2 - Katerina Siniakova, CZE
2 - Viktoriya Tomova, BUL

**WOMEN'S WC GRAND SLAM SEASONS**
[SINGLES (4/4)]
-
[DOUBLES (4/4)]
2009 Esther Vergeer & Korie Homan, NED/NED
2011 Esther Vergeer & Sharon Walraven, NED/NED
2013 Aniek Van Koot & Jiske Griffioen, NED/NED
2014 Yui Kamji & Jordanne Whiley, JPN/GBR
2019 Diede de Groot & Aniek Van Koot, NED/NED
["GOLDEN SLAMS" (4/4+GOLD)]
-

**PARALYMPICS WC SINGLES MEDAL WINNERS**
[GOLD]
1988 Chantal Vandierendonck, NED
1992 Monique van den Bosch, NED
1996 Maaike Smit, NED
2000 Esther Vergeer, NED
2004 Esther Vergeer, NED
2008 Esther Vergeer, NED
2012 Esther Vergeer, NED
2016 Jiske Griffioen, NED
2021 ?
[SILVER]
1988 Monique van den Bosch, NED
1992 Chantal Vandierendonck, NED
1996 Monique Kalkman-van den Bosch, NED
2000 Sharon Walraven, NED
2004 Sonja Peters, NED
2008 Korie Homan, NED
2012 Aniek Van Koot, NED
2016 Aniek Van Koot, NED
2021 ?
[BRONZE]
1988 Terry Lewis, USA/Ellen de Lange, NED
1992 Regina Isecke, GER
1996 Chantal Vandierendonck, NED
2000 Maaike Smit, NED
2004 Daniela Di Toro, AUS
2008 Florence Gravellier, FRA
2012 Jiske Griffioen, NED
2016 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2021 ?


**PARALYMPICS WC DOUBLES MEDAL WINNERS**
[GOLD]
1992 Monique van den Bosch/Chantal Vandierendonck, NED
1996 Monique Kalkman-van den Bosch/Chantal Vandierendonck, NED
2000 Maaike Smit/Esther Vergeer, NED
2004 Maaike Smith/Esther Vergeer, NED
2008 Korie Homan/Sharon Walraven, NED
2012 Marjolein Buis/Esther Vergeer, NED
2016 Jiske Griffioen/Aniek Van Koot, NED
2021 ?
[SILVER]
1992 Nancy Olson/Lynn Seidemann, USA
1996 Hope Lewellen/Nancy Olson, USA
2000 Branka Pupovac/Daniela Di Toro, AUS
2004 Sakhorn Khanthasit/Ratana Techamaneewat, THA
2008 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer, NED
2012 Jiske Griffioen/Aniek Van Koot, NED
2016 Marjolein Buis/Diede de Groot, NED
2021 ?
[BRONZE]
1992 Oristelle Marx/Arlette Racineaux, FRA
1996 Oristelle Marx/Arlette Racineaux, FRA
2000 Christine Otterbach/Petra Sax-Scharl, GER
2004 Sandra Kalt/Karin Suter Erath, SUI
2008 Florence Gravellier/Arlette Racineaux, FRA
2012 Lucy Shuker/Jordanne Whiley, GBR
2016 Lucy Shuker/Jordanne Whiley, GBR
2021 ?











TOP QUALIFIER: Rebecca Marino/CAN (first US MD since '11)
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q3: Katie Boulter/GBR def. #8 Kristina Kucova/SVK 7-5/2-6/6-4 (from break down at 4-2, wins final 4 games to reach first U.S. Open MD)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Kristina Kucova/SVK (def. Li/USA)
FIRST SEED OUT: #31 Yulia Putintseva/KAZ (1st Rd./lost to Kanepi)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Valentini Grammatikopoulou/GRE, Rebeka Masarova/ESP
UPSET QUEENS: Russia
REVELATION LADIES: Greece
NATION OF POOR SOULS: USA (8-14 in 1st; Keys/Riske out; Serena/Venus/Kenin/Brady DNP; 3/4 '17 all-US SF out)
CRASH & BURN: xx
ZOMBIE QUEENS OF NEW YORK: Elise Mertens/BEL (1r vs. Peterson; down 6-3/5-3 and RP served twice for match; saved 5 MP in 2nd, 1 MP in 3rd) and Rebeka Masarova/ESP (1r vs. Bogdan; down 7-6/4-1; saved 2 MP in 3rd TB, on own 6th MP; first slam win) - simultaneously-played U.S. Open women's record 3:40 matches
IT ("xx"): Nominee: Raducanu
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: xx
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Emma Raducanu/GBR (in 3rd Rd.) (LL in 3r: Minnen, Rakhimova)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: none (went 0-8 in 1st Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: 8 reached 2r
COMEBACK PLAYER: xx
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): xx
DOUBLES STAR: xx
BIG APPLE BANNERETTE BREAKTHROUGH: xx
BROADWAY-BOUND: xx
LADY OF THE EVENING: xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx







All for Day 4. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 6:26 PM 

3 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Like the Ace Queen skit.

9 of 17(+Kerber) singles matches started at noon.

Pliskova sneaks through, so all Top 20 that started the event are in round 3. 8 of 16 matches will be between seeds, only one with 2 unseeded players. That is Sorribes Tormo/Raducanu.

In losses, both Juvan and Trevisan played well. Will be threats at IW if they can get to MD.

Stat of the Day- 22 - Years since a British woman won a match in each of their first two main draws.

Raducanu still has stuff to shoot for, as Konta went SF-QF-QF to finish 2019.

Emma Raducanu did it the traditional way, reaching the 4th rd at Wimbledon, then following that up with a 3rd rd here so far.

Louise Latimer did it the hard way. Primarily an ITF player whose claim to fame is winning Delray Beach in 1998 over Miroslava Vavrinec, aka Mirka Federer, she got a wild card into Wimbledon in 1998. Ranked 252, she beat Jana Kandarr to reach the 2nd rd for the first time. She then fell in qualifying at the next 3 slams.

Getting another WC in 1999, now ranked 137, she knocked off #45 Anne-Gaelle Sidot. Lather, rinse, repeat. Would you believe that she lost in qualifying at the next 3 slams. Again.

She then got another Wimbledon WC in 2000, and reached the 2nd rd again. But the next year was different. She did lose in qualifying at the US Open, but made the Australian Open in 2001 with her career high rank of 107. She lost first rd in what was her final slam main draw.

Disillusioned, Latimer retired after losing in Wimbledon qualifying later that year at the young tennis age of 23.

Fri Sep 03, 12:29:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Diane said...

I think the Pegula talk is beyond borderline—it’s a form of bigotry. Yes, she had some privilege, but you can’t buy talent and you can’t buy hard work and dedication (does the name “Gulbis” ring a bell?). They used to say that Maria could retire be ause she didn’t need the money, as if having wealth strips one of the desire to compete and to have a purpose.

Fri Sep 03, 10:28:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

C-
I realized afterward that I maybe should have had Julia Goerges in there somewhere (maybe saying "I'm the real Ace Queen"). ;)

D-
Yeah, it just sort of rubbed me the wrong way. They really did seem to believe that she didn't feel "pressure" because of the money, which is just absurd.

Fri Sep 03, 07:47:00 PM EDT  

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