Thursday, December 16, 2021

2021 Performance & Match Lists

2021's best feats and competitions, from top to bottom.








#1 - EMMA RADUCANU'S NEW YORK PERSUASION
...a qualifier can't win ten straight matches and claim a major title? Balderdash! They can't do it without dropping any of the twenty sets they played? Bunkum. 18-year old qualifier Emma Raducanu (ranked #150 and in just her second slam MD when she introduced herself to the greater sports, entertainment and, as it's turned out, world of tennis celebrity endorsements) would beg to differ. The Brit, who'd reached the Round of 16 at Wimbledon in her slam debut earlier in the summer (retiring mid-match due to difficulties she attributed to her inability to handle the pressure of the huge moment...at that time), thus became the first female slam winner from her nation since 1977. Ranked #338 at the start of play at SW19, Raducanu rose to #23 after Flushing Meadows and ended the season at #19.


===============================================

#2 - BARBORA et JANA DO PARIS
...with her late coach Jana Novotna serving as her inspiration, Barbora Krejcikova becomes the first woman since 2000 to sweep the singles and doubles titles at Roland Garros. The first female Czech representative to win the title since 1981, she's the sixth straight maiden winner to be crowned in the women's competition in Paris, the second straight unseeded RG champ and the second '21 major titlist (Osaka/AO) to save MP -- vs. Maria Sakkari in the SF -- en route to the winner's circle. Her doubles title with Katerina Siniakova was the duo's second at Roland Garros since 2018. Ranked outside the Top 100 in the fall of 2020 when she reached the Round of 16 in Paris in just her third slam singles MD, Krejcikova finished '21 at #5.


===============================================

#3 - ASTONISHING ASH
...in Cincinnati, Ash Barty terrorized (in a good "Ash way") her opponents. None took a set off her, and only one got as many as seven total games (in the 2nd Rd.). Azarenka (0/2), Krejcikova (2/4), Kerber (2/5) and Teichmann (3/1) all fell in short order as the Aussie won her tour-leading fifth and final title of the season en route to her third consecutive season-ending #1 finish.


===============================================

#4 - LEYLAH IN THE CITY
...19-year old Leylah Fernandez (#73) puts on a run for the ages at the U.S. Open, stoking excitement by winning four straight three-setters over three Top 5 players, two former #1's and a pair of ex-U.S. Open champs (Osaka, Kerber, Svitolina and Sabalenka) to become the third Canadian woman to reach a slam singles final (and second in three years in NYC). But in the first match-up for a major title between two teens since 1999, Fernandez came up short against Emma Raducanu, though her run will forever occupy a special place in the heart of the tournament, not to mention New York itself.


===============================================

#5 - ESTONIAN ON THE LOOSE!!!
...Anett's Kontaveit's run down the stretch of the '21 season was positively remarkable, as the Estonian put together a torrid four-title stretch from August to October that saw her win her two biggest titles (in Ostrava!!! and Moscow) to crack the Top 10 for the first time and qualify for the final berth in her maiden WTA Finals appearance. Once in Guadalajara, Kontaveit reached her biggest career final (her tour-leading 7th final of the season). The 25-year old finished her season on a 29-4 run (22-3 after the U.S. Open) that saw her tie for the tour lead in '21 match wins (48) and climb from #30 the week before Flushing Meadows (when her run began with a title in Cleveland) to a season-ending #7 three months later.


===============================================

#6 - SPANISH EYES SMILE IN THE DESERT
...in the delayed (from March) fall edition of the tournament, Paula Badosa's list of Indian Wells victims only grew in prestige throughout the one and a half weeks of play in the desert, and included four consecutive straight sets victories over Top 20 opponents (def. Gauff, Krejcikova, Kerber and Jabeur), a run that made Badosa the first Spanish woman to reach the Indian Wells final since Conchita Martinez in 1996. In the final against another former #1 and slam winner, two-time I.W. champ Victoria Azarenka, Badosa battled until the final moments, overcoming momentum-turning moments that may have broken her *before* 2021 but only served to give her the opportunity to prove how far she'd come this season. Playing her best in a pair of tie-breaks, Badosa pulled ahead of Azarenka at precisely the *right* moments to put herself in the spotlight that her junior success ('15 RG girls champ) once predicted for her, but which also served to produce a pressure cooker that caused her to stumble in her early years on tour. The title run fueled the Spaniard's climb into the Top 10 (after finishing '20 at #70) and her first WTAF appearance.


===============================================

#7 - ICONIC ASH
...fulfilling her tennis dream, former Wimbledon girls champ (2011) Ash Barty beccomes the first Australian woman to win the Ladies title at SW19 since Evonne Goolagong in 1980, defeating two former #1's (Kerber/Pliskova) and two slam winners (Kerber/Krejcikova) en route to her second career major. Having donned an oufit en route that paid tribute to fellow aboriginal Aussie Goolagong, Barty said, "I hope I made Evonne proud."


===============================================

#8 - THE GOLDEN SWISS
...at the Tokyo Olympics, Belinda Bencic took out both Roland Garros finalists (Krejcikova and Pavlyuchenkova), rallied from six SP down in the 1st, a set and a break deficit in the 2nd and 3-0 hole in the 3rd in her semifinal against Elena Rybakina. In the Gold final against Marketa Vondrousova, Bencic recovered from an early break deficit and acted strategically when she took an MTO up 4-3 in the 3rd (with Vondrousova set to serve after the changeover break) to have her big toe taped up for the (likely) final 15-20 minutes left of the match. The quick break of serve she grabbed against the suddenly error-prone Czech provided Bencic with the edge she never relinquished. She also won the doubles Silver alongside Viktorija Golubic.


===============================================

9. NAOMI'S AUSTRALIAN ASCENDANCY (or "the calm before the storm")
...once more bringing her best on the biggest of stages, Naomi Osaka claims her fourth slam crown by winning her second Australian Open. After having saved 2 MP in the Round of 16 against Garbine Muguruza, Osaka finished off her run with straight sets wins over Serena Williams (SF) and Jennifer Brady (F), winning her fourth hard court slam of six and extending her winning streak in HC majors to 21 matches. Osaka improved to 12-0 in slams from the QF forward in her career, and her spotless 4-0 mark in her first four major finals (one each season from 2018-21) is an accomplishment matched only by Monica Seles and Roger Federer in professional tennis' Open era.


===============================================

#10 - VENGEANCE OF THE BELARUSIAN
...one event after having lost to #1 Ash Barty in the Stuttgart final, Aryna Sabalenka knocks off soon-to-be RG finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the semifinals, then gets revenge on the '19 RG champ in the Madrid final, bageling the Aussie in the 1st set and then taking the final three games of the 3rd, sweeping the last two at love to collect career title #10 and her first as a pro on clay.


===============================================

#11 - IGA WITH AN ITALIAN "I"
...proving she could scramble her way to a title as well as dominate, Iga Swiatek maneuvers around a series of potholes in the draw -- falling down a double-break in the 1st against Alison Riske, seeing Madison Keys hold 3 SP in the opening set, saving two MP vs. Barbora Krejcikova -- and then ended with a flourish, defeating Elina Svitolina and Coco Gauff in straights on the same day to reach the final, where she delivered a double-bagel loss to Karolina Pliskova, the tenth such total defeat in a final in WTA tour history. The win pushed the Pole into the Top 10 for the first time.


===============================================



#12 - THE AMAZING MUGURUZA
...Muguruza's '21 season started with her reaching the finals at three events before mid-March, winning in Dubai (def. three players who'd reach the WTAF), her biggest title since 2017. But injuries slowed her momentum during the spring. As the summer began to wind down, the Spaniard began to inch toward something resembling her early-season form. With the in-flux WTA Finals unexpectedly settling in Guadalajara (Muguruza had already won a pair of tour titles in Mexico in 2018-19), the Spaniard had a destination to strive for. In her fourth WTAF appearance, Muguruza started slowly in round robin play, going three sets vs. Karolina Pliskova and Barbora Krejcikova, losing in a 3rd set TB to the former Czech before pulling out a win against the latter. She needed a final RR win over Anett Kontaveit (who'd already qualified for the SF) just to advance to the semis. Once there, though, Muguruza was the cream of the remaining crop. The veteran outclassed countrywoman Paula Badosa in straights in an all-Spanish SF, then posted another win over Kontaveit in the final to become the first Spaniard to win the event title, picking up her tenth career WTA crown and finishing up the season at #3 in the rankings, her highest finish and first Top 10 season since 2017.

===============================================

#13 - MUGU LEAVES FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND
...a week after reaching the Doha final, Garbine Muguruza becomes just the sixth woman to reach same-season finals there and in Dubai, where she claimed her biggest title since Cincinnati '17. The Spaniard's winning turn included impressive victories over Iga Swiatek (love and 4), Aryna Sabalenka and Elise Mertens, who'd combined to win six of the previous eleven WTA singles title dating back to '20 (Mugu had also held 2 MP vs. a 7th champ -- Osaka at the AO -- during the stretch).


===============================================

#14 - FORZA MAGNIFIQUE!
...finally winning a "big one," Camila Giorgi strings together victories over four seeded players (Mertens, Kvitova, Gauff and Pliskova, as well as Podoroska and Pegula), en route to her greatest career moment in Montreal. At #71, she's the second lowest-ranked (#80 Serena WIlliams '11 Toronto) woman to win a WTA 1000 level event.


===============================================

#15 - CONTINENTAL COLLINS
...having already reached a slam semifinal in her career, Danielle Collins, diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2019 and earlier this season undergoing surgery for endometriosis, finally reaches her first career tour final in Palermo (after having been 0-6 in career SF), winning her maiden title on red clay. Leaving Europe for the North American hard court season, she then completed a two-continent, two-surface, two-title run with another win in San Jose.


===============================================

#16 - A RETURN TO ANGIE LAND
...Angelique Kerber turns back the clock, winning her first tour title in three years (when she won Wimbledon in '18) in Bad Homburg, defeating Czechs Kvitova (SF) and Siniakova (F), and then riding her momentum all the way to the SW19 semifinals, her best slam result since at SW19 three years ago.


===============================================

#17 - COCO IN COMMAND
...after pushing through a series of three-set matches over the opening months of the season, Coco Gauff catches a wave and drops just one set (vs. Siniakova) while sweeping the singles and doubles (w/ Caty McNally) titles in Parma, picking up her first clay court titles and improving to 5-0 in career s/d finals on the WTA tour.

===============================================

#18 - A RUSSIAN MOWS DOWN THE FIELD
...qualifier Liudmila Samsonova displays a unique set of grass court skills in Berlin, defeating a group of opponents that included a former #1 (Azarenka), slam finalists (Keys/Vondrousova), a slam semifinalist (Bencic) and a '21 title winner (V.Kudermetova) en route to her maiden title, then hits her way into the Wimbledon Round of 16 by defeating another former slam champ (Stephens)


===============================================

#19 - BARTY DOES SOUTH BEACH
...with her #1 ranking in jeopardy, defending champ Ash Barty nearly lost in her opening match in Miami, saving a MP against Kristina Kucova. Once she'd cleared that hurdle, though, she reminded everyone how she took the top spot on tour in 2019 in the first place, by consistently keeping her cool (even in the Florida heat) and simply playing her game with no fuss and no muss. Wins over the likes of Victoria Azarenka, Aryna Sabalenka and Elina Svitolina preceded a 2nd set retirement from Bianca Andreescu in the final that made Barty (w/ six straight Top 10 wins, and 13 in her last 16 such match-ups) the sixth different woman (all the others are Hall of Famers, or will be) to win back-to-back Miami Open titles.


===============================================
#20 - THE SILVER-PLATED CZECH
...it all started early this season when Vondrousova determined that she would use her protected ranking from her wrist injury not long after she'd reached the 2019 Roland Garros final in order to bolster her chances of making the Olympic field. Though ranked #42, and the fifth-highest standing Czech on tour at the start of the Games, Vondrousova did manage to get into the draw, bumping #23-ranked countrywoman Karolina Muchova from the team roster. Oops... sorry, not sorry. Once play began, sentimentality wasn't an issue. The Czech ended the retiring Kiki Bertens' singles career with a three-set victory in the 1st Round, then two rounds later sent Japan and social media fave Naomi Osaka packing, as well. In the QF, Vondrousova saw Paula Badosa succumb to the intense heat conditions and retire in the 2nd set, then she sent newlywed Elina Svitolina out in short order in the semis, allowing just four games to become the first Czech woman to reach the Olympic Gold medal singles final. With the chance to become the lowest-ranked Olympic women's singles champ (Monica Puig was #34 in Rio), Vondrousova dropped the opening set (broken in game #12 for 7-5) to Belinda Bencic, but rallied to take the 2nd, as well as a break lead to open the 3rd. The two were on serve well into the final set. But then it was Bencic's own lack of sentimentality, taking a medical time out for a seemingly relatively minor ailment when up 4-3 with Vondrousova next to serve, that provided the Swiss' final cushion for victory. After the long wait, Vondrousova contributed a handful or errors that immediately put her down love/40 and led to a break of serve. She didn't win another game, as Bencic swept her way to the title.


===============================================

#21 - THE SWISS JUST MISSES, BUT...
...after posting early-season QF (Philip Island), SF (Adelaide) and SF (Dubai, with wins over Kvitova, Jabeur and Gauff) results, Jil Teichmann dealt with injuries that dropped her from a high of #40 in April to #76 come the North American hard court stretch. She needed a wild card to get into the Cincinnati MD, but with her body finally cooperating again the Swiss made the most of her opportunity. After wins over Sorana Cirstea and Bernarda Pera, she took down her biggest foe yet in #2 Naomi Osaka, then didn't stop there. Two more huge wins followed, as Olympic Gold medalist and countrywoman Belinda Bencic (#12) and Karolina Pliskova (#4) fell. With a spotless 4-0 mark vs. the Top 10 in '21, Teichmann faced off with #1 Ash Barty with the chance to become not only the second lowest-rated WTA 1000 champ (after #80 Serena Williams in Toronto in '11, just ahead of the previous week's winner in Montreal, #71 Camila Giorgi) but also the first player in three years to post wins over the world's top two ranked players in the same event. It wasn't to be, as Barty's brilliance extended one more match on the week. Teichmann jumped back into the Top 50 (she finished at a career-best #37) and later lent a helping hand to Switzerland in the its trip to the BJK Cup final tie (vs. RTF) in Prague.


===============================================



#22 - INTRODUCING EMMA
...not receiving a wild card into the Wimbledon Ladies competition until fairly late in the game, world #338 Emma Raducanu's gift from the AELTC appeared as if it'd be limited to simply making her slam debut -- in just her second tour-level MD -- and finally getting started on a high-level pro career. But then 18-year old she won, knocking off Russian qualifier Vitalia Diatchenko in straight sets (w/ a love 2nd) in the 1st Round. It was a good story. Nice goin', kid. Well, then she won again, taking out former Roland Garros finalist Marketa Vondrousova (also in straight sets) a round after the Czech had upset #24-seed Anett Kontaveit, a finalist in Eastbourne the prior weekend. Last Brit Standing. Good for her! (And, umm, her game was looking pretty, pretty good, too.)

Then the "nice little first week story" got serious, as Raducanu took out Romanian vet Sorana Cirstea, who'd just knocked off former #1 and #12-seed Vika Azarenka a round earlier, to reach the Round of 16 in her slam debut and become the youngest British player (male or female) to ever reach the Wimbledon 4th Round. She ultimately retired in her next match vs. Ajla Tomljanovic, setting off another round of news coverage. But what she'd do in her *next* slam MD a couple of months later would make what happened at the AELTC seem "quaint."

===============================================

#23 - THE GROUNDBREAKER
...Ons Jabeur once again breaks new ground, winning in Birmingham to become the first Tunisian, and first Arab woman, to be crowned a singles champion on the WTA tour


===============================================

#24 - THE HSIEH SU-WEI EXPERIENCE: DOWN UNDER EDITION
...Hsieh recorded just four tour-level MD singles wins after this season's Australian Open. Still, no player left a more indelible mark on 2021's opening weeks than the 35-year old (mostly) doubles specialist... as a singles player. In Melbourne, she posted wins over Tsvetana Pironkova (slam semifinalist), Bianca Andreescu (slam winner), Sara Errani (slam finalist) and Marketa Vondrousova (slam finalist) to become the oldest first-time slam quarterfinalist in the Open era... but ultimately became even *more* famous for her post-match interviews and press conference quotes. Make no mistake, at the season's first slam Hsieh was bigger than the butterfly, Barty, Djokovic and (maybe) even Osaka (hmm, maybe not... but Naomi had to go through Su-wei in the QF to win the title and didn't relish that fact one bit) as she belatedly became *the* social media breakout star of the tournament.


===============================================

#25 - THE QUEEN OF EGYPT
...Egypt's Mayar Sherif has been knocking down a series of "first in her nation to..." feats since the start of last year. This summer she added "first Egyptian to reach a tour singles QF, SF *and* final" in Cluj-Napoca (after upsets of Alize Cornet, Kristina Kucova and Mihaela Buzarnescu, and another win over future "first in her nation to..." multi-record breaker Alex Eala of the Philippines). The win lifted her into the Top 100 (another first). She also reached the doubles final in the event.



After reaching the U.S. Open MD (another first) as a lucky loser, during the second week of the event Sherif was in Karlsruhe, Germany accomplishing another first by winning a WTA 125 singles crown. She finished the season at a career-best #61.

===============================================



kosova-font




=THE BRIT WHO MADE 2021 SLAM HEADLINES BEFORE THE BRIT WHO MADE 2021 SLAM HEADLINES=
...Francesca Jones, a Brit born with the rare genetic condition Ectrodactyly Ectodermal Dysplasia that left her with three fingers and a thumb on each hand and just seven toes, was told she'd never be able to be a professional tennis player. But she's gone about proving the doubters wrong. Her Dubai AO qualifying run -- with wins over #28 Monica Niculescu, Jan Fett (in 3 sets) and Lu Jiajing (1 game allowed) -- put her into her maiden slam MD.



By the end of '21, 21-year old Jones had made her Wimbledon MD debut, won her biggest pro title ($60K) and cracked the Top 200, finishing at #151.

===============================================

=FRENCH FREE-FOR-ALL FOURSOME=
...an event that has hosted the breakthrough of a multitude of champions and stars for years, Roland Garros saw four first-time slam semifinalists emerge at this year's event. While eventual champ Barbora Krejcikova was the third-lowest ranked (#33) RG champ ever, #31-seeded finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova set the record for the longest wait to reach a slam SF/F (52 MD appearances), and #17 Maria Sakkari and unseeded Tamara Zidansek (#85) were, respectively, the first Greek and Slovenian woman to ever reach a major semifinal.
===============================================


=THE RUSSIAN TENNIS RENAISSANCE COMES HOME=
...in Saint Petersburg, Russians filled seven of the eight quarterfinal spots, a feat not seen on tour since 1993, when U.S. women stacked the deck (7/8) in an event in Oakland that ended with Martina Navratilova defeating Zina Garrison-Jackson in the final.

This time, the featured QF achievers were a diverse collection of Original Hordettes (Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva), members of the follow-up generation coming back from injury or slumps (Dasha Kasatkina and Margarita Gasparyan), the then-Russian #1 (Ekaterina Alexandrova), an up-and-coming young force (Veronika Kudermetova), and one of the season's biggest revelations (Anastasia Gasanova). Aside from the overflowing Hordettes, the final eight also included a spare Romanian (Jaqueline Cristian).

The four-strong semis was the first all-nation block since four Bannerettes reached the U.S. Open semis in 2017, and the event concluded with the 30th all-Russian singles final in tour history, as Kasatkina defeated Gasparyan.

By the end of the year, the tour's Russian Tennis Renaissance had grown even stronger, as Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had reached the RG final and won MX doubles Gold w/ Andrey Rublev (over Russians Vesnina/Karatsev), Kudermetova (Charleston) and Liudmila Samsonova (Berlin) had won maiden tour titles, and the Russian Tennis Federation had won a fifth BJK Cup title (the nation's first since 2008).
===============================================



#1 - THREE TIMES THE FUN
...Desirae Krawczyk becomes the first woman to win three MX majors in a season since 2015 (Hingis) and the first to win three straight (RG-WI-US) since Martina Navratilova in 1985. She joined with Joe Salisbury in Paris, then with Neal Skupski in London (def. Salisbury, who'd committed to play with Harriet Dart, in the final), then re-teamed with Salisbury in New York and won yet again. (For good measure, Krawczyk and Salisbury also reached the AO semis to start the year, falling in a 10-8 MTB to Stosur/Ebden.)


===============================================

#2 - THE GOLDEN DUO
...in Toyko, Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova became the first Czech Olympic women's tennis Gold medalists, winning three match TB -- vs. Badosa/Sorribes (2r), Barty/Sanders (QF) and Kudermetova/Vesnina (SF) -- en route to the final, where they prevented Belinda Bencic from becoming a double Gold winner at the Games, defeating her and countrywoman Viktorija Golubic 7-5/6-1. With the win, Krejcikova & Siniakova ended the Czech streak of going 0-3 ('88/'96 Novotna/Sukova, '12 Hlavackova/Hradecka) in Olympic doubles finals.


===============================================

#3 - DRAGON THE COMPETITION ACROSS THE DESERT
...Hsieh Su-wei & Elise Mertens got off to a slow start in their new partnership this season, losing a series of matches early on after having held big leads or MP. But when they were on, their skills as two of the best doubles players on tour made them a lethal combination. Their title run in Indian Wells was just their second, but both (the other was Wimbledon) were been big ones and their friendship -- and Hsieh's, well, let's just say "Hsieh being Hsieh"... which included wearing a dragon mask after a QF win over Fernandez/Gauff because, of course she did -- quickly made them one of the tour's signature duos in a very short time. So, naturally -- women's doubles being women's doubles -- both Hsieh and Mertens will be playing with *new* partners in '22.

===============================================
#4 - CLOSING OUT THE SHOW IN STYLE
...while the Czechs didn't get the chance in the fall to pull their country through the BJK Cup Finals in Prague, with Barbora Krejcikova playing only singles and Katerina Siniakova falling in a deciding doubles match alongside Lucie Hradecka as CZE was eliminated in round robin play, the longtime partners' play was virtually spotless in Guadalajara as they went 5-0 en route to their maiden WTAF crown. After going 3-0 in round robin play, the duo won a 10-6 MTB over Nicole Melichar-Martinez/Demi Schuurs in the SF, then posted their second win of the week over Hsieh Su-wei & Elise Mertens in a 6-3/6-4 final (the Czechs had won 3 & 1 in RR action) to claim their fifth title of the year (including RG and the Olympics) and tenth overall as a pair in their tour careers.


===============================================

#5 - THE NORTH AMERICAN ALLIANCE PREVAILS
...it took four match tie-breaks in five matches in Rome, but the CAN/MEX duo of Sharon Fichman & Giuliana Olmos both picked up the biggest titles of their careers. A 10-3 MTB win over Mattek-Sands/Pegula was followed by a 10-4 triumph over Hsieh/Mertens and 10-6 win over Gauff/V.Kudermetova to send Fichman/Olmos into the semis. Playing both the semi and final on Sunday, the duo took out Aoyama/Shibahara in straights, then defeated Mladenovic/Vondrousva 10-5 in the decider to take the crown. Already the only Mexican player to win a tour-level s/d title in the Open era (one WD in each of the last two seasons), Olmos' third (of course) also raised the bar one more notch by being the biggest ever claimed by a woman from her nation.


===============================================

HM- AND ANOTHER MAKES THREE
...with all the cross-discipline success that Barbora Krejcikova enjoyed in '21, winning singles and doubles titles in Paris, Olympic WD Gold and the WTAF while finishing in the Top 5 in both, it's easy to forget that the fabulous season began with the Czech winning her third straight Australian Open MX crown alongside Rajeev Ram (with whom she won in '19, with Nikola Mektic in the middle year). No woman has ever won the title four consecutive years (though Nancy Wynne-Bolton won four straight from 1940-48, with a five-year break for WWII in between). Krejcikova is now one of just four active women -- both of the Williams sisters and Sam Stosur -- with slam titles in singles, doubles and mixed.


===============================================


kosova-font


=HEY, I REMEMBER HER...=



Elena Vesnina's tour comeback after becoming a mother (she'd returned in March after being out since the '18 RG) didn't take long to find its footing. The Russian, a '16 Rio doubles Gold medalist, arrived in Tokyo having already reached the RG mixed (w/ Aslan Karatsev) and WI doubles (w/ Veronika Kudermetova, holding a MP) finals, though she'd been unable to take home the crown in either.

In Tokyo, playing again with Karatsev and Kudermetova, respectively, down went the #1 seeds (Mladenovic/Mahut, as well as teams w/ Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokovic) in MX and the #3 seeds in WD (Bertens/Schuurs), as Vesnina reached the medal rounds in both doubles disciplines.

After falling to #1 Krejcikova/Siniakova in the WD semis (via a 10-6 Match TB), Kudermetova/Vesnina lost to Pigossi/Stefani in the Bronze match afer having held four consecutive MP (up 9-5) in the deciding MTB before losing 11-9, then Vesnina/Karatsev held another MP in the MX Gold final (up 10-9 in another MTB) against Pavlyuchenkova/Rublev before falling 13-11 on Vesnina's 35th birthday.

Afterward, after sometimes playing the upbeat sister role alongside Karatsev (trying but usually failing to get him to smile and/or dance during a changeover) during the week, Vesnina had to correct him during the medal ceremony when he tried to swipe the Gold rather than the Silver.

In September, a home invasion saw both of Vesina's medals stolen (her Tokyo Silver, and, '16 Doubles Gold), but she recently revealed that both have been returned.






#1 - DIEDE THE GOLDEN GREAT
...already the unquestioned top women's wheelchair player in the world, Diede de Groot added multiple chapters to her growing legend this summer. After sweeping Paralympic Gold, the Dutch star also swept both competitions at the U.S. Open (in the first year in which both events were held in the same season) to complete the first singles Golden Slam (all four slams + Gold) in WC tennis history.



She then closed out the greatest (title-winning) wheelchair campaign by going to Orlando and sweeping the Masters singles and doubles crowns, as well, to wrap up a campaign that saw her win eleven of the twelve biggest WC titles (missing only the WI doubles) and lead the Netherlands to another World Team Cup crown. 41-1 in singles on the year (ending with a 36-0 run), she was also 25-2 in doubles.

===============================================




#2 - HONORS IN THE SHADOWS
...operating in the shadow of Diede de Groot (and even Naomi Osaka), Yui Kamiji had what would be a great year for *most* wheelchair tennis athletes. She reached singles finals at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, as well as the Paralympics and year-end Masters, falling to de Groot on every occasion. Still, she picked up a singles Silver in Tokyo, as well as a doubles Bronze (w/ Momoko Ohtani), as well as her 17th career slam doubles crown at Wimbledon (w/ Jordanne Whiley). That win gives her 25 total slam titles in her career, behind only the great Esther Vergeer. De Groot's only singles loss in 2021? It was to Kamiji in Australia just before the AO. And while Osaka got much attention for being the first tennis player to light the Olympic flame, shortly after that moment in Tokyo it was Kamiji having a hand in doing the same during the Paralympic opening ceremonies.


===============================================



HM - BREAKING NEW GROUND
...in a season dominated by de Groot, Kgothatso (KG) Montjane still managed to carve out an historic niche for herself this year. The South African became the first from the continent, and the first Black woman, to reach a wheelchair slam singles final, doing so at Wimbledon (where she'd become the first Black South African to reach the WC MD in '18). She also played in the doubles final at SW19 alongside Lucy Shuker, and was a flagbearer for her country at the Paralympics. Along with de Groot, Montjane is on the leading edge of the increased visibility of wheelchair tennis, garnering a high profile sponsorship from Avon.


===============================================





#1 - BANNERETTE TAKES THE BIG APPLE
...the U.S.'s Robin Montgomery sweeps the girls singles and doubles titles at the U.S. Open, knocking off Kristina Dmitruk (BLR) in the singles final and teaming with Ashlyn Krueger in doubles.


===============================================
#2 - MAINTAINING A MAIDEN TRADITION
...with the U.S., winners of the last three competitions, absent the Czechs coasted to their fifth Junior Billie Jean King Cup triumph even while being down a player (an ill Nikola Bartunkova) after round robin play. In fact, the only loss the Czechs suffered in their combined fifteen matches in Antalya, Turkey came when Bartunkova had to retire in her final appearance against Argentina. As it was, Brenda Fruhvirtova and Sara Bejlek were more than enough to carry the load. Fruhvirtova, at 14 the youngest player in the competition, had teamed with Bartunkova to help the Czech Republic win the 14-and-under World Junior team title in '19. She went 5-0 on the week, while 15-year old lefty Bejlek went 4-0 in singles while filling in for Bartunkova, including providing the clinching point in the final against Japan with a victory over Sayaka Ishii. The win is the fifth for the Czech Republic (counting Czechoslovakia's win in 1985), tying Australia for second place behind the U.S. (6, including wins over JPN in '17 and CZE in '19) in titles in the competition. It's their first win since 2015.


===============================================
#3 - SHE'S GOT THE LOOK
...in the girls singles final, Ane Mintegi del Olmo -- with her retro cap, glasses and flying, shoulder-length hair that is about as "signature" a look as any we've seen in the sport since Nadal's sleeveless shirts and Capri pants -- became the first Spaniard to claim the Wimbledon junior crown, dropping the 1st set to German Nastasja Schunk but gradually seizing control of the match en route to a 2-6/6-4/6-1 victory.


===============================================
#4 - THE *NEXT* CZECH GENERATION
...Linda Noskova wins the girls title at Roland Garros, defeating Russian Erika Andreeva in the final to become the first Czech to claim the crown in 43 years.


===============================================
#5 - WHATTA FINISH!
...step aside, Anett Kontaveit? On the junior circuit, 16-year old Petra Marcinko put together her own late-season sprint in 2021, as despite fairly lackluster singles results (1r-2r-QF) in the junior slams the Croatian finished off her year with a sweep of the Orange Bowl singles/doubles titles (the first since 1993) in the season's final event to snipe the year-end #1 ranking, jumping from #10 to #1 in one fell swoop at the wire.



Of course, Marcinko's run was more than a one-event surge. In the final months of '21, she posted her best slam result (U.S. QF) and went a combined 37-5 (22-4/15-1). In the Orange Bowl, she knocked off fellow challengers for the top spot (QF-#2 Linda Fruhvirtova, Final-#3 Diana Shnaider) head-to-head, then teamed up with one (good friend Shnaider) to win the doubles (a week after they'd done the same to take the Eddie Herr title) en route to becoming the first Croatian girl to finish a season as the junior #1.
===============================================


kosova-font


=THE KID CZECHS IN=
...after 15-year old Czech Linda Fruhvirtova turned heads on the junior and ITF circuits, she brought the show to the tour-level WTA 250 event in Charleston. She didn't disappoint. In just her second WTA MD and fifteenth overall professional event, the wild card battled to an impressive maiden tour-level win in the 1st Round against Alize Cornet. After being on top of the French vet for a set and a half, but not being able to serve out the match on two attempts in the 2nd or convert a MP, Fruhvirtova outlasted Cornet in a physically draining affair that ended with the Pastry retiring at 4-4 in the final set. Fruhvirtova followed up by rallying from 4-2 down in the 1st against Emma Navarro to win in straights before ultimately falling 4 & 3 to eventual champ Astra Sharma in the QF. The kid immediately jumped 138 spots in the rankings into the Top 375, and ended the season in the tour's Top 300.


===============================================


#1 - CZARINA SAMSONOVA
...a week before the BJK Cup Finals event in Prague, Russian Liudmila Samsonova had never played a Fed or BJK Cup match in her life. Now she's a Russian tennis legend in the event after debuting with an undefeated week that saw her win a pair of deciding doubles matches (w/ Veronika Kudermetova) to eliminate the defending champ (FRA) in rr play, as well as send the so-named (for now) Russian Tennis Federation (RTF) to the final with a win over the U.S. in the semis. Once there, she was subbed in for an injured Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and "all" she proceeded to do was hand Belinda Bencic, previously a combined 4-0 on the week (3-0 singles), the loss that clinched the title.

Almost lost in the big doubles victories and clinching singles win was a SF tie-opening upset of Sloane Stephens (from a set down) in Samsonova's singles debut for the RTF, a win which likely paved the way for captain Igor Andreev to decide to go with her in the key singles slot in the final. Samsonova ended up going 5-0 on the week, playing a part in the clinching point in three of the four ties that Russia won along its path to a fifth title in the event. She joins Svetlana Kuznetsova (who did it twice) as the only Russian woman to clinch FC/BJK Cup titles with a singles victory in the final.


===============================================

#2 - A POLISH SAVIOR (but not *that* one)
...in the opening weekend of the newly-dubbed Billie Jean King Cup, 23-year old Magdalena Frech of Poland -- who'd yet to break the Top 100 in her WTA career, had just one slam MD victory, and never recorded a Top 10 victory -- proved to be the most indispensable individual in the entire late-week Cup competition, becoming the only player to have a hand in all three of her team's points in the eight playoff tie match-ups on hand.



Frech's straight sets match #1 win over Brazilian Carolina Alves gave little hint of what was to come, while her 3:04, back-from-a-set-down victory over a very game Laura Pigossi in match #3 turned out be far more important than anyone realized once Katarzyna Kawa was upset by Alves in the next match, forcing the tie to the deciding doubles. There, Frech teamed up with the redemption-minded Kawa, facing off against Alves and a very-fresh Luisa Stefani. The NCAA product boosted Brazil to a 1st set win, but Frech helped lead her *second* comeback victory of the day to finally clinch the 3-2 victory.
===============================================


kosova-font


=THE WINNER FOR "BEST ONE-LEGGED BJK CUP CHAMPAGNE CELEBRATION" IS...=
...Kiki Bertens, following the Netherland BJK Cup victory over China in the final competition for longtime captain Paul Haarhuis final (as well as Dutch Cup great Bertens herself)





=BEST POINT=





=BEST ENTRANCE/BEST COUNTESS=





=BEST WINNING POINT (in an ultimately losing effort)=





=BEST MATCH POINT=





=BEST SEASON-ENDING SPEECH=



=BEST SEASON-ENDING PERFORMANCE BY A COACH=
While Conchita Martinez (also in the running in '20) was named Coach of the Year by the WTA following the WTAF title run of her charge Garbine Muguruza, it's hard to beat the change that occurred in Anett Kontaveit after she moved on from a three-year stint with Nigel Sears and added Dmitry Tursunov as coach this summer. Suddenly, all the talent that the Estonian has displayed for many seasons coalesced into a remarkable back-half run that saw her win four titles (and reach six finals), lift her game in bigger moments and on bigger stages than ever before, and climb into the Top 10 for the first time. If the combination can work all over again in '22, Kontaveit could be the story of the *whole* year and not just a segment of it.





=BEST PERFORMANCE BY A TENNIS CEO (yeah, I know the bar has been set pretty low for years... but this was well-earned)=



Meanwhile, the ATP (chairman Andrea Gaudenzi) has draped itself in rear-covering "glory" by pretty much saying nothing of note (and, usually, just nothing at all), while the ITF wasn't nearly as prudent, as chief David Haggerty publicly refused any sort of Chinese boycott, adding, "We don't want to punish a billion people." I'm guessing he was referring to the billions of people who likely didn't even know about Peng's current plight since her name is banned on social media in the country, and he wasn't *actually* saying that he didn't want to punish himself and his fellow tennis cronies by not accepting any sort of money from China.

Whatever the initial signals meant, *someone* in the public relations department has since shaken some sense into the powers that be, as the ITF just announced a similar ban on tournaments in China in 2022.

Hmmm, imagine if *all* the tennis entities pooled their power and influence and worked as one voice. Yeah, imagine that.



==TOP PERFORMANCE==
2003 Justine Henin-Hardenne (U.S. Open)
2004 Maria Sharapova (Wimbledon)
2005 Kim Clijsters (North American hardcourts)
2006 Maria Sharapova (U.S. Open)
2007 Justine Henin (U.S. Open)
2008 Venus Williams (Wimbledon)
2009 Serena Williams (Wimbledon)
2010 Serena Williams (Wimbledon)
2011 Petra Kvitova (Wimbledon)
2012 Serena Williams (Olympics)
2013 Serena Wiliams (Roland Garros)
2014 Petra Kvitova (Wimbledon)
2015 Belinda Bencic (Toronto)
2016 Monica Puig (Olympics)
2017 Alona Ostapenko (Roland Garros)
2018 Naomi Osaka (U.S. Open)
2019 Simona Halep (Wimbledon)
2020 Iga Swiatek (Roland Garros)
2021 Emma Raducanu (U.S. Open)

















1. Roland Garros SF - Barbora Krejcikova def. Maria Sakkari 7-5/4-6/9-7
...the one that got away for the Greek, and the one that paved the path to glory for the Czech.

After Krejcikova claimed her fourth straight game to go up 5-3 in the 1st, Sakkari upped her intensity and broke Krejcikova at love when she served for the set, then held at love to tie things at 5-all. After the Czech held serve, she got another chance at the set when Sakkari's forehand sailed long to give Krejickova a double-SP lead at 15/40. Sakkari's forehand bounced off the net cord and out as Krejickova took the 1st at 7-5.

Sakkari held a GP for a 5-1 lead in the 2nd, only to pull an open-court forehand wide. Krejcikova got a break for 4-2 instead. Sakkari would ultimately prevail in the set, but that Krejcikova kept a measured pace throughout after such a slow start, spoke much to her ability to remain calm and not allow the pressure of the moment to take her off her game and lose focus. She held to force Sakkari to serve things out, which the Greek finally did after committing two forehand errors on her first two SP, sending a passing shot off Krejcikova's racket to win the set 6-4 and knot the match. Sakkari took an early break lead in the 3rd.

Throughout the 3rd set, Krejcikova edged close to pulling back even with Sakkari, but the Greek's "Spartan fight" always seemed to pull her through. Sakkari saved a BP in game #4, and seemed to be "rollin' downhill." She came back from love/30 to hold two games later for 4-2. Krejcikova kept close, forcing the Greek to play things out. Sakkari took a 30/15 lead on serve in game #8 on a line shot that Krejcikova questioned but the chair umpire wouldn't overturn (replay showed it to indeed be out, as the Czech believed), holding for 5-3.

A game later, Krejcikova missed on a backhand to go down 15/30, then faced MP when her forehand shot bounced off the net cord onto her own side of the court.

MP down, Krejcikova followed up a shot behind Sakkari with a swing volley winner to extend the match, and held for 5-4. Still, the Greek served for a spot in the final, only to open the game with back-to-back forehand errors. She battled back to 30-all, then saved a BP with a first-shot backhand winner. But a bad drop shot gave Krejcikova another BP opportunity. Pushing Sakkari well behind the baseline, at one point nearly to the back wall, with high bouncing shots, the Czech then dragged the Greek into to sidelines, from which Sakkari netted a backhand to complete the service break and tie the score at 5-5.

Starting to take over rallies more and more with well-constructed points, Krejcikova held for 6-5 and 7-6, putting pressure on Sakkari to hold in order to stay in the match. In game #14, as Sakkari rushed the net behind a deep groundstroke, the Czech sent back a shot that dipped over the net and at the feet of the Greek. The ball tied her up, giving Krejcikova two MP. The first went away with a Krejcikova error, and the second with a Sakkari backhand winner.

A Krejcikova shot that dribbled over the net gave her a third MP, which Sakkari promptly saved with an ace. Sakkari then held for 7-7, but two games later was back having to hold to stay alive once again. Krejcikova's backhand winner down the line got the game to 30/30, and Sakkari's DF gave her a fourth MP. Sakkari's forehand sailed long and Krejcikova lifted her arms into a "V" pattern, only to hear the chair umpire overrule the match-winning "out" call and say it was in. The Czech immediately went to the wayward mark and circled it, but the umpire refused to return the call to its original form after reviewing the mark (replays seemed to indidate that that ball had indeed landed well out.

While others were rightfully up in arms, Krejcikova simply played on. She got a fifth MP, saved by Sakkari with a backhand winner. Sakkari even held a GP of her own. But the Greek's wide error to give Krejcikova a sixth MP finally proved to be the final bridge the Czech was forced to cross. Moving to the net to reach a short ball, Krejcikova routinely placed a backhand winner down the line and -- for the second time in a matter of minutes -- she'd advanced to her maiden slam singles final (which she'd win), claiming the longest women's semi at Roland Garros in the Open era (3:18) as Spartan fight was not enough to overcome the heart of a resilient Czech.


===============================================

2. Indian Wells Final - Paula Badosa def. Victoria Azarenka
...7-6(5)/2-6/7-6(2). In a final befitting the last big regular tour event of the season, Badosa and Azarenka engaged in a three-hour push and pull match that put both women to the test as they found inner reserves to fight back after the momentum of the match had turned against them. In the end, Badosa held her nerve and rode a final surge to the biggest moment of her career so far.



The Spaniard had claimed the 1st set despite having taken a break lead (at 4-3 and 6-5) only to see Azarenka break back immediately. Taking a 4-0 lead in the TB with the sun shining into her face, and leading 4-2 when the players switched sides, Badosa stood by as Azarenka knotted the score at 5-5 before an error gave Badosa a chance to serve out the set. She won a 28-shot rally on SP, taking advantage of her first opening to whack a backhand winner and win 7-5.



Azarenka rebounded quickly, going up a double-break at 3-0 in the 2nd. Badosa cut her break lead in half, only to see the Belarusian immediately take it back to lead 4-1. She served out the set to send things to a deciding 3rd.



The 3rd set consisted of a continually moving back-and-forth wave as control traded off (often in the middle of games) between the two women, often with both simultaneously showing fine form. Badosa led 2-0, 40/15 but threw in two DF and was broken. Azarenka, as she had throughout, forced the action, approaching the net with great success. After Badosa held from 40/15 despite then facing (and saving) a BP, Azarenka held at love for 3-3. After Badosa held from love/30 down, Vika did the same from 15/30 to tie things again at 4-4. Up 40/15 in game 9, Badosa DF'ed and saw her forehand briefly go off to drop serve and give Azarenka a chance to serve out the match.

Up 30/love, Azarenka came within two points of becoming the first three-time champ in the desert, but a few ill-timed errors cost her the opportunity. A long backhand gave Badosa the break. In the deciding TB, Badosa again grabbed an early lead, this time a double-mini break edge at 3-0. This time, she didn't waver one bit. She extended her lead to 5-1, then served out a 7-2 win in 3:04 to become the first Spanish woman to win the event title.



While Azarenka led in points (133-124), winners (48-44) and breaks of serve (7-5), Badosa's ability to raise her game in the tie-breaks proved to be the difference. The experience -- and success -- should serve her well in the future. In fact, her *2022* may have actually started right here.

===============================================

3. Miami 4th Rd. - Bianca Andreescu def. Garbine Muguruza
...3-6/6-3/6-2. With more time on court, and with her back more comfortably against the wall, Andreescu's "St.Bibi" side began to shine against Muguruza as the Canadian truly started her march toward the Miami final in what would be her best result in her comeback season.



Andreescu turned things up in the 3rd, registering her first Top 20 win since her '19 U.S. Open run, with her special brand of shots from nowhere, stunning head-turners, and guile-runneth-over rally enders reminding everyone once again that no lead -- and no match -- is safe from Andreescu when she's (mostly) healthy and (fully) zoned-in.


===============================================



4. Miami QF - Bianca Andreescu def. Sara Sorribes Tormo
...6-4/3-6/6-3. When "tireless" is a trait common to *both* players on the court, this exhaustive and glorious superior-rally-heavy contest is what you get, and everyone "wins." Even the "losing" player.



The Canadian took the 1st set right out of the hands of the Spaniard, surging back from a double-break deficit and then breaking Sorribes to win 6-4. Andreescu never held serve in the 2nd set, yet still managed to stay in the set until the closing moments as Sorribes took things to what was her *fifth* straight three-setter at the Miami Open.

Perhaps no stretch better captured the inherent drama of an Andreescu match than late in the sixth game of the deciding set. Up a break at 3-2, the Canadian looked exhausted as she fell behind love/40. Surely, she'd finally hit her physical wall, right? Umm, no. She simpy reeled off five straight points to hold for 4-2. Andreescu failed to serve out the match at 5-2 (she fell behind love/40 again, and when she got to 30/40 you *know* everyone more than half-expected her to find a way to hold), but quickly rebounded and broke Sorribes to close out the victory.

Battle buddies on a Wednesday night, the two shared a nice moment at the net, knowing they'd given their all and forced the other to do the same. Just as it should be.

While Sorribes didn't advance to the semifinals in Miami, she proved in North America (and over the course of the season) that being a "tough out" and playing marathon-length, head-knocking contests are a "new reality" for her opponents on tour. As for Andreescu, well, her ability to almost immediately return so early in her comeback to the sort of routinely dramatic and grinding wars that were the hallmark of her breakout '19 campaign was a truly remarkable thing. That one's heart, at the time, navigated to your throat every time she bent over after a partucularly long and physical exchange of shots, was no fluke, as the Canadian was rarely 100% for most of the season that remained.

===============================================

5. Roland Garros QF - Tamara Zidansek def. Paula Badosa 7-5/4-6/8-6
...in a match to see which would advance to their maiden slam semi, #85-ranked Zidansek's lethal forehand led the way, with an assist from Badosa's inability to keep away from it at the most important moments of their match.

In the 2nd, Zidansek let a straight sets win slip away. After breaking Badosa in games #4 and #6, she saw her her 3-1 and 4-2 edges evaporate when she couldn't consolidate her edge. The Slovenian tightened up and pulled back on her aggressive tactics, and Badosa took full advantage, stringing together a 10-point winning streak that allowed her to serve out the set.

In the deciding 3rd, game #13 proved to be the key in determining the winner. A Zidansek DF put her down 15/40, but with the chance to serve for the semifinals just one point away Badosa continued to allow the Slovenian's forehand to be her key to victory. Zidansek hit back-to-back forehand winners to save BP, but DF'd to give the Spaniard another. That's when those two missed BP chances came back to haunt Badosa, as a Zidansek shot took a bad bounce near the baseline, skipping under Badosa's racket to save her service game. Still holding on in the crucial moment, Zidansek fired three more forehand winners in the game, with the last -- on her fourth GP -- securing the hold for 7-6.

A poorly executed drop shot and two more errors put Badosa behind 15/40 a game later. Zidansek missed wide on an angled forehand attempt to end the match on MP #1, but didn't on her down the line forehand a point later. It was her 48th winner on the day, and 39th put away by her forehand. She thus bcame the first Slovenian to ever reach a slam singles semifinal and secured her Top 50 breakthrough.


===============================================

6. U.S. Open 4th Rd. - Maria Sakkari def. Bianca Andreescu 6-7(2)/7-6(6)/6-3
...the 1st set began inauspiciously enough for the Greek, as she DF'd three times in her opening service game and soon fell behind 4-1. But she rallied to get back on serve at 5-5 and saved SP to force a TB. There the Canadian again led 4-1, but chose to forgo an open down the line forehand and instead attempted a drop shot that Sakkari reached and put back for a winner. But Andreescu got the shot selection mistake back in immediate fashion, stealing the very next point with a net cord plopper to go up 5-2. She then served out the set, ending with an ace to win the breaker 7-2.



The intensity picked up throughout the 2nd as Sakkari fought to extend the match, while Andreescu tried to avoid the pitfalls (especially for her) of having to go three sets if there is any possibility of getting off the court in two.

This time it was the Greek who jumped ahead early, then had to hold back the Canadian in her attempt to keep a half step in front. Twice Sakkari took break lead early in the 2nd, only to see Andreescu break back a game later. 2-0 became 2-1, then 3-1 became 3-2 as Andreescu put things back on serve. Sakkari saved a BP to hold for 5-4, then two games later saved two more in an 18-point game to lead 6-5.



With Andreescu having already gone to the court in splits, she fell over backwards deep in the backcourt and landed hard on her hip in game #12, but still held to force another TB, the fourth in five sets (the previous two coming in Andreescu's three-set win earlier in the year in the Miami SF) in the series between the two. Sakkari led 6-3, only to see Andreescu gave three SP, but converted on her fourth attempt when the Canadian netted a backhand, giving the Greek an 8-6 win as things went to a 3rd set in front of an excited crowd at a quarter past one in the New York morning.



Andreescu moved forward in the court to put away a volley for a 2-0 lead in the 3rd, but Sakkari swept the next eight points to knot the score at 2-2. The Canadian, who'd been seen stretching her leg in the backcourt earlier, held for 3-2 but called for a trainer mid-way through the game and soon left the court. She returned with a wrap on her left thigh -- her landing leg on serve -- and was never the same when she returned. The fight was there, as usual, but once more (also as has often been the norm) her body wasn't willing to allow her to play at anywhere near the top of her game. Serving in game #7, Andreescu struggled to make it through. She fell behind love/30, often had to bend over, seemed about to fall, and went to a knee on multiple occasions (or was clearly hurting after landing on her bad leg on a serve).

Forlorn and often walking slowly, looking at her box and shaking her head, it's a scenario Andreescu has already had to experience far too often in her young career. Even while the instinct to fight remains, with thoughts popping up of the '19 WTAF in which she played on and injured herself to a point of eventually missing all of the '20 season, there were moments where a quick end almost seemed preferred in order to avoid a bad fall or something else that might cause her to injure herself even worse.

Andreescu managed to get her service game to deuce, but Sakkari got the break of serve, then saved a BP and held for 5-3. Serving to stay in the match, or maybe to just finish without endangering herself more, Andreescu still saved three MP in game #9, even as she seemed on the verge of falling, or worse. Finally, maybe mercifully, as whatever it would have taken for Andreescu to stage a comeback likely would have taken a physical toll far worse than the elation that would have come from the triumph, the match officially fell Sakkari's way. Ultimately, it was a 3:29 battle that ended at 2:13 a.m., the latest-ending women's match in tournament history, that ended Andreescu's 10-0 start to her U.S. Open career while eventually sending the Greek into her second slam SF of the season.


===============================================

7. Wimbledon 2nd Rd. - Angelique Kerber def. Sara Sorribes Tormo 7-5/5-7/6-4
...close from beginning to end (and it lasted a comprehensive 3:19, the longest women's match at SW since 2011), 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 was been the tour's "marathon woman" in '21, "summertime Angie" continued to resemble her 2016 self, showing a tenacity and flash of big point rally-ending winners representative of the multi-season, mid-career stretch (especially 2016-18) that will one day make her a Hall of Famer.

Broken when serving for the win at 5-3, the 33-year old German 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.

While Kerber pushed toward an eventual semifinal berth Sorribes once more picked up loads of respect from an all-time great and likely a whole lot of new fans. Next on the agenda: winning the sort of matches, like this and others, that managed to just slip through the Spaniard's grasp in '21.


===============================================

8. Wimbledon Final - Hsieh Su-wei/Elise Mertens def. Veronika Kudermetova/Elena Vesnina 3-6/7-5/9-7
...Vesnina served for the match as the Hordette pair led 6-3/5-4, holding two MP in the game. They failed to lock away the title, though, and back came Hsieh/Mertens, who swept the next three games to close out the set at 7-5.

In the 3rd, it was the #3 seeds who broke late, giving Mertens the chance to serve for the crown. She couldn't do it, as the two teams then traded momentum seemingly willy-nilly down the stretch. After getting things back on serve, Kudermetova/Vesnina held but didn't convert a BP chance at 5-5, nor any of three more at 6-6. Finally, on their fourth BP of the thirteenth game they took a 7-6 lead and once again served for the title. Again, the job was left uncompleted, as Hsieh/Mertens broke and then held at love. At 8-7, Hsieh/Mertens quickly took a 40/15 lead on the Russians' serve, finally winning and then collapsing onto the court.


===============================================

9. Australian Open WC Final - Diede de Groot def. Yui Kamiji
...6-3/6-7(4)/7-6(10-4). You can't (Golden) Slam without the what? The Australian Open, that's what. As it turned out, this was the most important wheelchair match of the season.

De Groot's "Golden Slam" year almost konked out at the starting line. Coming off an "off" '20 season, and just a week after a pre-AO loss to Kamiji, the Dutch woman found her back against the wall vs. her Japanese rival again in Melbourne. In their ninth meeting in a slam final, de Groot improved to 7-2, but it wasn't easy. Kamiji rallied from 6-3/3-1 down to force a 3rd, which began with six straight breaks of serve. De Groot failed to serve out the match at 5-4, then staged a comeback from a mini-break down in the 10-point TB to win it 10-4.

The rest turned out to be history, as Diede the Great never lost another singles match the remainder of the season.

===============================================

10. Miami 2nd Rd. - Ons Jabeur def. Paula Badosa
...7-6(6)/5-7/7-5. In a physically draining 2:36 affair in the afternoon heat, Jabeur pulled her way through the muck (sometimes to the consternation of Badosa) to emerge with a warrior-cred-earning victory.

After failing to serve out the 1st set, Jabeur was forced to save a SP before finally winning an 8-6 TB. The Tunisian called for a trainer mid-way through the 2nd set, and threw up on the court (in the corner, while Badosa waited to serve, then eventually DF'd and dropped the game). Badosa served for the win in the 3rd, only to fail to get the job done, as Jabeur laughed at the audacity of it all and then swept the final four games. As a still peeved Badosa exited, Jabeur sank to the court and stayed behind, worked on by a team of trainers/doctors.


===============================================

11. Bad Homburg 2nd Rd. - Victoria Azarenka def. Alize Cornet 6-4/3-6/7-6(7)
...just your typical Cornet match. Three hours. Cornet falling. Azarenka taking a medical time out mid-way through the 3rd, which she'd led 3-0, and then seemingly being moments away from a retirement before her treatment kicked in. Azarenka holding two MP at 5-4, then the Pastry with two of her own at 6-5 before things went to a deciding TB. There Cornet took a 5-3 lead, and ultimately held MP #3 and #4 before Azarenka finally won her hown own *third* MP to improve to 8-0 in the career head-to-head series.


===============================================



12. U.S. Open 4th Rd. - Leylah Fernandez def. Angelique Kerber 4-6/7-6(5)/6-2
...18-year old Canadian Fernandez continued to ride the wave of her own doing at this U.S. Open, proving once more that one of the beauties of youth is the ability to not yet know what one is not yet supposed to be doing.

Already having upset an off-kilter in her win over Naomi Osaka in the 3rd Round (a situation that Fernandez's own game played a large part in, along with her on-court obliviousness to their ranking difference and personal expectations, as well as an overt confidence that her four-time slam winning opponent would be fortunate to possess one day), the Canadian teen found #16 Kerber, the '16 Open champ, in her sights in the Round of 16. Kerber's experience seemed to give her the edge in the match-up of lefties, and it *did* help her pull out a tight 1st set in which the teenager led 4-2 before the 33-year old swept the final four games.

Kerber led 4-2 in the 2nd, as well, but saw Fernandez surge and stoke a wave of crowd approval en route to holding a SP at 6-5 on the German's serve. Kerber got things to a tie-break, where the Canadian's momentum carried her to a 5-1 lead before the score closed to 5-4. Fernandez won 7-5, and she was off into the 3rd.

Rather than Kerber's big-match and big-stage history coming to the forefront in the decider, though, it was the lack of fear or worry from diminutive kid with the surprisingly big shots that was the star. Fernandez got a break lead for 3-2 and never looked back. Living off the aromatic fumes of her own burgeoning confidence, the Canadian served for the match at 5-2. She had to save a pair of BP, but put away her first MP to burst into her maiden slam quarterfinal (and later final, after wins over two additional Top 5 seeds) by becoming the first player with wins over a pair of former WTA #1's at the U.S. Open since 1975.


===============================================

13. U.S. Open 2nd Rd. - Karolina Pliskova def. Amanda Anisimova 7-5/6-7(5)/7-6(7)
...in Anisimova's first career match on Ashe, former Open finalist Pliskova recorded a tournament record 24 aces en route to a dramatic nighttime win over the Bannerette. Two Pliskova DF in the 2nd set TB helped Anisimova to push things to a 3rd, where the home favorite led 5-2 in another (deciding) breaker. The two traded MP, with the Czech a point away at 6-5, and Anisimova at 7-6. Pliskova ultimately won 9-7 on her second MP, as the 2nd Round was completed in Flushing Meadows without a Top 20 women's seed falling.


===============================================

14. Tokyo Olympics Gold Final - Belinda Bencic def. Marketa Vondrousova
...7-5/2-6/6-3. Bencic rose the occasion late in both the 1st and 3rd sets, breaking the Czech to take the opener, then after having fallen down an early break in the 3rd (1-0, with a GP for 2-0) the Swiss won three straight games to take a 3-1 lead. Vondrousova got the set back on serve, but immediately dropped serve with a handful of errors following Bencic's semi-controversial MTO at 4-3.

After taking the break lead, Bencic served out the match to become the first woman from Switzerland to claim Olympic tennis singles Gold.


===============================================

A brief snipped of the "Rollercoaster Coco" phenomenon...

15. Dubai 1st Rd. - Coco Gauff def. Ekaterina Alexandrova
...7-6(4)/2-6/7-6(8). Another event. Another country. Same Coco Gauff adventure.

Gauff led 4-1 in the 1st, but soon saw Alexandrova up a break at 5-4. Gauff broke back, saved a BP in game #11 and went on to take the TB. Alexandrova forced a 3rd set, where Gauff led 5-1 only to then ride the screamingly-steep downslope of her latest up-and-down gameday and have to save a pair of MP before finally winning on her own sixth MP to end her latest 2:41 thriller, her sixth consecutive three-set match (5-1).



Dubai 2nd Rd. - Coco Gauff def. Marketa Vondrousova
...3-6/6-0/6-4. A round later, the last of Gauff's streak of seven consecutive three-set matches (she went 6-1) was the most contentious.

After falling behind 4-1 in the 1st, despite dropping the opening set, Gauff won 17 of the next 23 games vs. the Czech, a stretch of oft-tight games during which Gauff prevailed across the board. In the 2nd set, five of the six games went to deuce, with 12 combined deuces in the first three games. En route to a love set, Gauff saved four GP in game #1 and then four more in #2, then broke Vondrousova on her 7th BP chance in game #3.

Vondrousova didn't take kindly to Gauff asking the umpire if she could catch a service toss with her racket rather than with her hand or letting it bounce -- she could, she was told -- and soon after began screaming after winning points. Gauff screamed back, and later said, "I fight fire with fire" after finishing off the Czech in a tense 3rd set.


===============================================

16. Montreal 3rd Rd. - Ons Jabeur def. Bianca Andreescu
...6-7(5)/6-4/6-1. Wherever these two go, a memorable match is surely on the table as a possibility. So naturally when you get them together... two rain delays, two medical timeouts (both from Andreescu) and 2:39 of action later, Jabeur prevailed.

Andreescu won the 1st set on her second try, after her first converted SP had been overturned on replay. It was after the set that the Canadian took her first MTO (foot). The 2nd set saw a one-hour rain delay, while a slip and fall from Andreescu precipitated a second MTO (toe). A brief rain delay came at 4-4, after which Jabeur claimed eight of the final nine games.


===============================================

17. WTAF RR Day 1 - Karolina Pliskova def. Garbine Muguruza
...4-6/6-2/7-6(6). Of course, this win didn't help Pliskova get a SF berth over Muguruza despite both having finished 2-1 in round robin play, but it may have been the most exciting match of the week in Guadalajara.

After Muguruza rallied from a break down to win the 1st, Pliskova dominated the 2nd with an 89% first serve percentage and three love service games. In the 3rd, with nary a break of serve deep into the set, Muguruza saved two MP and held for 5-5. Pliskova saved a pair of BP a game later, then overcame an early 3-1 deficit in the deciding TB, converting on her fourth MP to win 8-6.



Muguruza's straight sets win over Kontaveit got her into the SF with a 2-1 mark, making Pliskova just the third player since the RR format was instituted in 2003 to go 2-1 but fail to advance. Muguruza won her first WTAF title, finishing the season at #3, just ahead of #4 Pliskova.

===============================================

18. U.S. Open 1st Rd. - Elise Mertens def. Rebecca Peterson 3-6/7-6(5)/7-6(5)
U.S. Open 1st Rd. - Rebeka Masarova def. Ana Bogdan 6-7(9)/7-6(2)/7-6(9)
...played out simultaneously on Day 1 at the U.S. Open,

On Court 13, Peterson led 6-3/5-3 agianst #15-seeded Mertens, twice serving for the match in the 2nd set and holding five MP. After falling behind 3-1 in the 3rd, the Swede rallied to see a sixth MP before forcing a TB, where she led 5-3 before Mertens swept the final four points to get the win in 3:40.

Meanwhile, on Court 9, Bogdan led qualifier Masarova 7-6/4-1, but lost the 2nd set and had to save two MP in the 3rd before things went to a deciding TB. There she saved three more MP, and held two of her own, before Masarova notched her first career slam MD win by convertng MP #6 in another 3:40 affair.


===============================================

19. Cincinnati 1st Rd. - Paula Badosa def. Petra Martic
...4-6/6-4/7-6(9). Badosa escapes the 1st Round while saving five MP, overcoming an ill-timed rain delay and winning on her won third MP after 2:34 of match play.

Martic served at 5-4 in the 3rd, holding three MP, only to see Badosa surge into the lead and hold two MP of her own at 6-5 on Martic's serve. In the deciding TB, Martic failed to convert MP #4 before a 20-minute rain delay, and then on #5, as well, after the two returned to the court. Finally, at 10-9, Badosa converted MP #3 to get the well-earned win.


===============================================

20. Indian Wells 2nd Rd. - Angelique Kerber def. Katerina Siniakova 6-1/6-7(4)/7-5
...all summer, Kerber took the opportunity to remind everyone of her "glory days" with a series of triumphant three-set battles, and this was yet another example. After serving for the match in the 2nd, then losing a TB on Siniakova's sixth SP, the German ultimately pulled ahead in the decider to win a 2:29 affair in her final tour event of the season (she reached the final, and was 30-16 overall on the year, finishing at #16).


===============================================

HM- WTAF SF - Anett Kontaveit def. Maria Sakkari 6-3/3-6/6-3
...Kontaveit's proving ground, as the Estonian found a way to win against a surging Sakkari, who'd hit a hot patch after trailing 6-3/3-3 to take the 2nd and go up a break in the 3rd at 3-2. Despite battling an oft-wayward forehand, Kontaveit pushed back with two consecutive love games to get back on serve and lead 4-3. She then broke the Greek in a long game #8 and served out the win. Bing. Bam. Boom. If Kontaveit does something great(er) in '22, this will be the match in which she signaled her intentions.


===============================================

kosova-font


=BEST TIE-BREAK=
Roland Garros 1st Rd. - Coco Gauff def. Aleksandra Krunic 7-6(11)/6-4
...after a tight opening set against qualifier Aleksandra Krunic went to a tie-break at Roland Garros, Gauff quickly took a 5-1 lead. Krunic then reeled off five straight points to reach SP at 6-5. She would hold a total of three SP before Gauff held her first SP at 9-8. Gauff missed a down the line backhand, then Krunic fired an ace to get her fourth SP. Gauff continued to deny the Serb the set, but couldn't put away her own second SP. After racing to a Krunic drop shot, then winning the rally with a reflex volley winner that landed in the backcourt, Gauff's ensuing third SP proved to be the charm. She won the wonderfully competitive breaker 13-11.



Not unexpectedly, Krunic was deflated by the result of the tie-break. Gauff raced to a 4-0 lead in the 2nd, but Krunic fought back to get within sight in the set. Still, Gauff put her away in straights.


=CARLA: THE RETURN=
After fighting for her life in 2020, the 32-year old Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro, a seven-time slam quarterfinalist, "only" had to face Sloane Stephens in the 1st Round in Paris. Well, that and her own body, worn down and having to be built back up all over again after a six-month regime of chemotherapy and radiotherapy to even get to the point of being able to walk onto Court Simonne-Mathieu on Day 3.



For a bit, it looked as if CSN's return would be one for the ages, as she took a 4-1 lead in the 1st set, saw Stephens get things back on serve, but then held on to take the set 6-3. She took an early break lead in the 2nd, as well, before Stephens surged and led 4-2. Stephens' advantage didn't last, either, as Suarez Navarro broke back and things went to a tie-breaker. There, CSN led 3-1 before Stephens pulled ahead and won 7-4.

The 3rd saw the two exchange breaks in the opening two games, then Stephens be unable to hold a break lead late, as CSN knotted things at 4-4. But, with Spaniard laboring and clearly exhausted after having to play such a hard match at this point in time, Stephens' break in game #9 proved to be decisive. Serving for the match, Stephens went up 40/15 and closed out the win on her second MP with an ace.





=CARLA: THE FAREWELL=
BJK Cup Finals rr #1 - Viktoria Kuzmova/SVK def. Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP 6-2/3-6/6-3
BJK Cup Finals rr #3 - Sorribes Tormo/Suarez-Navarro (ESP) def. Kuzmova/Mihalikova (SVK) 4-6/6-2 [10-7]
...the final turns of CSN's career on Day 1 of rr play in Prague. In her final win, she and Sorribes Tormo led 9-3 in the match TB before finally taking the tie on MP #5. A few days later, the Spaniard officially said farewell.





=DANCING WITH MUGU (and a towel) IN THE PALE MOON LIGHT=



U.S. Open 4th Rd. - Barbora Krejcikova def. Garbine Muguruza 6-3/7-6(4)
...the match that nearly squandered all the good will Krejcikova's Cinderella '21 campaign had brought her, as the Czech -- barely able to move around the court in the 2nd set -- proceeded to take the long walk for her towel after every point in the TB, even while nonetheless being able string together winners and build a 3-0 lead in the breaker up to that point. Muguruza wasn't able to push her struggling opponent to three sets and lost in straights, and was so angry about the ordeal that she waited before shaking Krejcikova's hand at the net... taking the time to first get her towel in the changeover area.




=BEST, umm, WELL, WHATEVER THIS IS (but it's still worth noting)=
Chicago 250 1st Rd. - Hsieh Su-wei def. Venus Williams 6-2/6-3
Chicago 500 1st Rd. - Hsieh Su-wei def. Kim Clijsters 6-3/5-7/6-3
...for all she's done in doubles, 2021 saw Hsieh reach her first singles slam QF in Melbourne (at age 35), and record her first two career wins over these tennis legends (albeit versions of their Hall of Fame selves, but it still looks good on the career resume) in the same city in two different events a month apart.

Clijsters' slo-motion comeback finally got a bit of movement this summer, as she played her first match since last year's U.S. Open, and just her fourth since her most recent retirement in 2012. The 38-year old managed to take Hsieh to three sets, but ultimately came up short to fall to 0-4 in this final... or whatever it is... elongated chapter of her career. The Belgian dropped her only other '21 match to Katerina Siniakova in Indian Wells, also in three sets. Venus, meanwhile, was 3-9 in '21 and currently ranked outside the Top 300.


=I'M NOT OUT OF ORDER. YOU'RE OUT OF ORDER! THE WHOLE FREAKIN' SYSTEM IS OUT OF ORDER!=


Bogota 1st Rd. - Giuliana Gatto-Monticone def. Astra Sharma 4-6/7-5/6-1
...the chair umpire's incorrect scorekeeping robs Sharma of a break in game #3 of the 3rd set, resulting in an eventual hold by the Italian, who then went on to sweep the remaining four games. Sharma's complaints after the game's end was announced were dismissed by the umpire, who demanded that the Aussie recount each point she won to prove her account correct, while the on-site WTA supervisor apparently sought to blame *her* for not better keeping track of the score during the game (as opposed to chair performing what is essentially the *only* clear item in the job description) and calling attention to the error earlier.



Sharma rebounded well, heading to Charleston (aka "Sharmaston") a week later and winning her maiden tour singles title at the 250 event there.


=TRAVELING DOWN (LATVIAN) THUNDER ROAD=
Wimbledon 3rd Rd. - Ajla Tomljanovic def. Alona Ostapenko 4-6/6-4/6-2
...on the same day that Emma Raducanu went down in Wimbledon lore, Tomljanovic/Ostapenko tried to live on in infamy. By the time this one was over both woman were contesting which of them was the most disrepectful and/or biggest liar of the two. Or something like that.

Things got off to the typical way an Ostapenko match might, with the Latvian being in-form and jumping out on top, taking the 1st set 6-4. In game #10 of the 2nd, Ostapenko was cruising and held a GP for 5-5, only to double fault. Well, you know what happened next. A point later, a wide unforced error on the forehand side suddenly had the Latvian down BP/SP, then she failed to get Tomljanovic's return back over the net and -- poof! -- the match was tied.

Tomljanovic took a 2-0 lead in the 3rd as Ostapenko's UE began to get the best of her, sending her game (and her) a bit off the rails. Increasingly frustrated, and down love/40 on serve, Ostapenko started arguing with the chair umpire about one thing or another, at one point telling her "you don't know the rules." After that moment, she began firing forehands and got the game to deuce, only to throw in another loose backhand error of her own to give Tomljanovic a fourth BP. Tomljanovic put in a backhand winner to go up 4-0. Then things got *really* interesting.

Suddenly, Ostapenko needed a medical time out. Well, Tomljanovic wasn't buying it for a second, and while Ostapenko sat on her chair rather than stay on the court to recieve the Aussie's serve, Tomljanovic refused to sit down and argued with the umpire about granting Ostapenko's MTO request in a non-changeover situation. "You know she's lying," the Aussie said of Ostapenko (within earshot of her opponent), considering the crucial stage of the match and the Latvian's poor play, and that she'd shown *no* signs of having issues until, convienently, just then. Tomljanovic asked for and got a supervisor to come to the court.



Eventually, a physio arrived and took Ostapenko off court, against Tomljanovic's objections. The Latvian's mom/coach Jelena jumped from her seat and followed, though rules say that they can't have any off-court contact in such a situation. As the clock ticked down on the scoreboard for the time allowed for Ostapenko to be away, the countdown suddenly froze at :27 and her absence far exceeded the time limit without explanation.

Ostapenko finally returned and play resumed, and it looked like it might get ugly. Tomljanovic opened with an UE and DF, though she leveled things at 30-all. After saving a BP, she dropped serve to cut her double-break lead in half. She broke back and served for the match two games later, only to be broken at 15 as Ostapenko clung to life in the match. At 5-2, Ostapenko lost the first two points of her service game. She got the game to 30/30, but couldn't keep up her momentum. An error gave Tomljanovic a MP, quickly saved by the Lavtian with a big serve. But another missed forehand gave the Aussie another MP, and another Ostapenko error converted it.

Then things got *especially* interesting, as everyone waited to see what would happen at the net... many likely with memories of the near-fight between Ostapenko and Naomi Broady in a testy encounter a few years ago (the one where the Latvian's tossed/slipped-from-her-hand racket hit a ball kid and the Brit argued vociferously that she should be defaulted).

While Tomljanovic took her time celebrating, Ostapenko set her racket down and then waited at the net. The two did clasp hands, and Ostapenko suggested the Aussie ask the physio whether she was faking or not. "I hope you feel better," Tomljanovic said with little sincerity, leading Ostapenko to fire back as her opponent walked away, calling Tomljanovic's behavior "terrible" and said that she showed "zero respect."

Tomljanovic refused to get into a shouting match, essentially ending things there. At least until next time...






==MATCH OF THE YEAR==
2005 Aust.Open SF - Serena Williams d. Maria Sharapova
2006 Aust.Open SF - Justine Henin-H. d. Maria Sharapova
2007 Los Angeles SF - Ana Ivanovic d. Jelena Jankovic
2008 U.S. Open Final - Serena Williams d. Venus Williams
2009 Wimbledon SF - Serena Williams d. Elena Dementieva
2010 Brisbane Final - Kim Clijsters d. Justine Henin
2011 Aust.Open 4th - Francesca Schiavone d. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2012 Miami 4th - Victoria Azarenka d. Dominika Cibulkova
2013 Cincinnati Final - Victoria Azarenka d. Serena Williams
2014 Indian Wells QF - Aga Radwanska d. Jelena Jankovic
2015 R.Garros 2nd - Francesca Schiavone d. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2016 Wimbledon 4th - Dominika Cibulkova d. Aga Radwanska
2017 Madrid 2nd - Genie Bouchard d. Maria Sharapova
2018 Aust.Open SF - Simona Halep d. Angelique Kerber
2019 Indian Wells Final - Bianca Andreescu d. Angelique Kerber
2020 R.Garros 1st Rd. - Clara Tauson d. Jennifer Brady
2021 R.Garros 2nd Rd. - Barbora Krejcikova d. Maria Sakkari














1. Australian Open 4th Rd. - Naomi Osaka def. Garbine Muguruza 4-6/6-4/7-5
...Muguruza *had this* only to falter down the stretch as Osaka pulled out her "they only remember the winners" mentality. Trailing 5-3 in the 3rd, and facing two MP, the would-be AO champ (again) won four straight games and 10 of 12 points to take out the '20 finalist en route to her fourth career slam title.


===============================================



2. Madrid 1st Rd. - Jil Teichmann def. Elina Svitolina 2-6/6-4/7-6(5)
...a Svitolina collapse is far from an *uncommon* occurrence, though at least this one was aided by the play of a gutsy Teichmann.

Svitolina served up 5-1 in the 3rd, then had four MP (including from 15/40) on the serve of the Swiss at 5-2. She was broken again when serving at 5-3, as *everyone* on tour seems to find their fighting spirit against Svitolina. The Ukrainian had MP #5 and #6 at 6-5 in yet another Teichmann service game, but again couldn't convert either. In the deciding TB, Svitolina had an early mini-break lead at 2-1, then turned around Teichmann's 4-2 lead to get to 4-4. The Swiss got the lead back, then converted on her first MP to win 7-5 as Teichmann became the first player in '21 to win *two* matches (w/ Adelaide QF vs. Sevastova, where she faced two and won on her seventh) after having been down MP.

===============================================

3. Tokyo Olympics SF - Belinda Bencic def. Elena Rybakina 7-6(2)/4-6/6-3
Tokyo Olympics Bronze - Elina Svitolina def. Elena Rybakina 1-6/7-6(5)/6-4
...for all the ground that Rybakina has made up on the field over the course of the past two seasons, her closing abilities are still in question. 1-4 in singles finals the last two seasons(2-5 career), Rybakina lost leads in *both* the Tokyo semis and Bronze medal match and ultimately went home empty-handed while the two opponents' whose backs she had against the wall went home with two of the three medals awarded in singles.

Against eventual Gold medalist Bencic, the Kazakh failed to put away the 1st set despite holding six SP and serving for the set. In the 3rd, she held a break lead at 3-2 and then dropped the final four games.

In her "do-over" in the Bronze match, Rybakina led Svitolina by a set and break at 3-2, then 3-0 (w/ two BP for 4-0) and 4-1 in the 3rd before losing the final five games. Rybakina didn't go away easily in the final game, but Svitolina eventually won on her seventh MP to take Bronze.


===============================================

4.Adelaide Q2 - Coco Gauff def. Kaja Juvan 3-6/7-5/6-3
Adelaide 1st Rd. - Coco Gauff def. Jasmine Paolini 6-4/6-7(4)/6-2
Adelaide 2nd Rd. - Coco Gauff def. Petra Martic 5-7/6-3/6-4
Adelaide QF - Coco Gauff def. Shelby Rogers 2-6/6-4/6-4
Adelaide SF - Belinda Bencic def. Coco Gauff 7-6(2)/6-7(4)/6-2
...if Gauff had won her latest career tour title in Adelaide her epic path of comeback magic would have been worthy of tales passed down through generations. Even so, her run to the semifinals went down as one of the most twisty, momentum shifting walks through a dense WTA forest we saw all season.

Gauff rallied from 6-3/3-0 (w/ Juvan serving at 5-4) to reach the MD, winning 9 of 12 games. After fumbling away a 6-4/5-2 (w/ a MP) lead vs. Paolini, the teenager took the 3rd set at two. After a comeback from a set down against Martic, Gauff twice surged after falling a break down at 4-2 vs. Rogers (at 6-2/4-2, then 4-2 in the 3rd) to get the win. She nearly did it all over again versus Bencic, too. Gauff lost a 4-1 lead (and the set) in the 1st, but pushed the Swiss into a 3rd set after saving a MP in the 2nd. Finally, Bencic took control and ousted Gauff in her fifth straight three-setter of the week. Whew! RoCoco indeed.

===============================================

5.U.S. Open 3rd Rd. - Shelby Rogers def. Ash Barty 6-2/1-6/7-6(5).
...after a quick start in which she won the 1st set 6-2, Rogers (the last U.S. women left in the draw) seemed on her way out. Barty, seemingly overcoming the first week, post-Cincinnati title run "spotty" play that saw her struggle in sections of her first two Open wins and into this match, won the 2nd 6-1 and led 5-2 in the 3rd, with a double-break edge. But a loose service game (3 UE) opened the door for Rogers, who surged back to erase the lead and break the Aussie in back-to-back serve games and force a TB. Knotted at 5-5 in the breaker, Rogers claimed the first mini-break for a 6-5 lead, then saw another Barty error end the contest and give Rogers her first career #1 win.


===============================================

6. Miami 2nd Rd. - Ash Barty def. Kristina Kucova 6-3/4-6/7-5
...Barty faced qualifier Kucova in just the Aussie's second event outside of Australia since November 2019. The world #1 looked about to suffer a third straight loss for the first time since 2014, with the Slovak about to notch her second career Top 10 win. Kucova served for the match at 5-3 in the 3rd, holding a MP. But Barty, with her #1 ranking in jeopardy at the event, avoided an early disaster, getting the break and then never losing another game. She held from love/40 down to close out the 7-5 set and get the win, then went on to defend her Miami Open crown. She never lost the #1 ranking the rest of the year, finishing in the top spot for a third straight season.

===============================================

7. Tokyo Olympics WD Bronze - Laura Pigossi/Luisa Stefani def. Veronika Kudermetova/Elena Vesnina 4-6/6-4 [11-9]
...the Brazilians eradicate Vesnina's first attempt at claiming a medal in Tokyo, erasing the Russians' 9-5 MTB lead and saving four consecutive MP as they sweep the final six points of the match to become the first from their nation to claim an Olympic tennis medal. Had the Russians won, along with the MX Silver she later win, Vesnina would have joined Steffi Graf (1-1-1) as the only woman to have won Gold, Silver and Bronze medals since tennis rejoined the Olympics in 1988.



In the MX final, Vesnina missed out on her second career Gold when she and Aslan Karatsev failed to convert a MP against fellow Russians Pavlyuchenkova/Rublev, who won a 13-11 deciding MTB.

===============================================

8. Stuttgart QF - Elina Svitolina def. Petra Kvitova 6-7(4)/7-5/6-2
...the previous month in Miami, Kvitova led Svitolina 6-2/5-4 (on serve), then rallied from 0-3 down in the 3rd to lead 4-3 before the Ukrainian eventually served out a comeback victory on her second try as Kvitova struggled across the finish line in the Florida heat. Indoors in Stuttgart, the Czech made that loss look routine.

Here, Stuttgart defending champ Kvitova led 7-6/4-1 and 15/40 on Svitolina's serve. She failed to get the break for the huge lead there, but held BP in every Svitolina service game in the set. She ultimately only broke once in the 2nd, but still led 5-2 and held MP in consecutive Svitolina serve games at 5-2 and 5-4. But as the scoreline got tighter, so did Kvitova. She missed multiple overheads, including one on BP down at 5-3, then again at 5-5, 30/30.

After Svitolina had had just four BP on Kvitova's serve up until 7-6/5-2, she converted on two of three chances to close out the set, serving things out at 7-5 after having saved two BP in her previous serve game (Kvitova was 3-for-16 on BP in the first two sets). Svitolina would ultimately win 11 of the final 13 games, yet still missed on two MP chances up 5-1 in the 3rd, finally putting Kvitova away on MP #4 two games later in a loss that led to several falls from the Top 10 for the Czech in the spring.

===============================================

9. Wimbledon QF - Veronika Kudermetova/Elena Vesnina def. Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova 6-7(6)/6-5/9-7
Wimbledon SF - Veronika Kudermetova/Elena Vesnina def. Caroline Dolehide/Storm Sanders 7-6(6)/3-6/7-5
Wimbledon Final - Hsieh Su-wei/Elise Mertens def. Veronika Kudermetova/Elena Vesnina 3-6/7-5/9-7
...on their way to the Wimbledon final, the Russians twice pulled matches back from the edge of oblivion. The top-seeded Czechs served for the match at 5-4 in the 3rd, and had four MP at 7-6 in the QF, while Dolehide/Sanders led 5-2 in the deciding set and had 3 MP at 5-4.

As it turned out, though, Kudermetova/Vesnina lost in the final (vs. Hsieh/Mertens) in a match in which *they* held MP.

===============================================



10. Roland Garros 3rd Rd. - Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Iga Swiatek def. Hsieh Su-wei/Elise Mertens 5-7/6-4/7-5
...the RG doubles produced one of the comebacks of the year, as #14-seeded Mattek-Sands/Swiatek trailed top-seeded Hsieh/Mertens 5-1 in the 3rd set. Over the next four games, Hsieh/Mertens held MP in each game -- 2 at 5-1, 3 at 5-2, 1 at 5-3, and another at 5-4 -- but couldn't hold off "Team Tek Tek Boom" (it's Mattek, so apparently they *have* to have a nickmame). After having been unable to convert any of seven MP, Hsieh/Mertens held GP in game #12 to extend the set but were broken to drop the 3rd 7-5. The Court Simonne-Mathieu marathon lasted 3:11.



Birmingham SF - Ons Jabeur/Ellen Perez def. Hsieh Su-wei/Elise Mertens 3-6/7-5 [10-3]
...*still* finding their way as a duo prior to their Wimbledon title run, at Birmingham, Hsieh/Mertens led Jabeur/Perez 6-3/5-0 and held 5 MP.

===============================================
11. Australian Open 2nd Rd. - Simona Halep def. Ajla Tomljanovic 4-6/6-4/7-5
...down 5-2 in the 3rd set and two points from defeat against the Aussie (Tomljanovic served for the win), Halep staged a nighttime comeback on Laver that saw her sweep the final five games en route to the second week.


===============================================

Though she was one of the most improved players of 2021, Pegula still left some *big* wins on the table this season, including in the two events that immediatly followed her Australian Open QF and Doha SF results...

12. Dubai QF - Elise Mertens def. Jessica Pegula 5-7/7-5/6-0
...Pegula seemed on the verge of another major result, leading Mertens 7-5/5-1 and holding three MP against the Waffle before dropping eleven straight games to end the match.

Miami 4th Rd. - Maria Sakkari def. Jessica Pegula 6-4/2-6/7-6(6)
...Sparta lives to fight another day.



With Pegula serving for the match at 5-3 in the 3rd, things looked grim for Sakkari. But a last-gasp break of serve, followed by a 15-minute hold during which the Greek woman's frontal attack saved five MP (four via clean winners, including one line-scraper) put the Bannerette on her heels. In the deciding TB, Sakkari led 5-2 only to see Pegula stage a late counteroffensive that pushed her into winning position again at 6-5 with MP #6. Sakkari saved it with a fifth winner, then struck at the heart of the New York state native with a conclusive blow that settled things on her own maiden MP. Sometimes it's just that close.

===============================================

13. Cluj-Napoca (Transylvania Open) 1st Rd. - Jaqueline Cristian def. Kaja Juvan 3-6/7-6(8)/7-6(3)
...The Countess makes her debut, and wins after saving two MP en route to the QF.


===============================================

14. Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Kristie Ahn def. Heather Watson 2-6/7-6(3)/8-6
...already a Wimbledon lucky loser, Ahn's MD shot saw her battle to push Watson to a 3rd set, winning a 7-3 TB that led to the Court 1 roof being closed the match playing on. In the deciding set, Watson led 4-2. After the Bannerette had knotted the match, the Brit broke back and served for the win at 5-4, holding a MP. But Ahn broke her again and they played on again. Down in the final games, Watson held from 5-6, but saw her time run out when Ahn got the match-ending break to win.

===============================================

15. Stuttgart SF - Ash Barty def. Elina Svitolina 4-6/7-6(5)/6-2
...Barty pulls one out on her 25th birthday, while Svitolina hands back her bid for her seventh career #1 win (which would have tied Svetlana Kuznetsova for third amongst active players, behind Serena's 17 and Venus' 15).

A round after her Houdini-esque escape against Kvitova, Svitolina paid the Tennis Gods back with interest, as she ralled from 4-1 down in the 2nd with four consecutive games that allowed her to serve for the match at 6-4/5-4. After Svitolina dropped serve, Barty held to force a TB, which the Ukrainian again led (4-2) before losing the final five points. Barty took control in the 3rd, breaking to take a 2-1 lead that she never relinquished.

===============================================

16. Tokyo Olympics 1st Rd. - Lyudmyla Kichenok/Nadiia Kichenok def. Sania Mirza/Ankita Raina 0-6/7-6(0) [10-8]
...the Ukrainian sisters trailed 6-0/5-2, but staged a comeback that included a match-tying 7-0 tie-break and then reeling off eight more points to lead 8-0 in the match TB (having won 19 of 20 points). The Indians made it close with an eight-point run of their own, only to then lose the final two.

===============================================

17. Miami 2nd Rd. - Aryna Sabalenka def. Tsvetana Pironkova 0-6/6-3/7-6(9)
...after Sabalenka dropped the 1st set to qualifier Pironkova at love, she collected herself to force a 3rd in a match in which both women took medical timeouts and had ice bags on their heads during changeovers. In the final set, the Bulgarian veteran surged to a 5-2 lead, serving at 5-3. Sabalenka got the break to get the match back on serve, and the two soon headed to a deciding TB. Again, Pironkova took the early lead at 2-0, only to see the Belarusian battle back to 4-4. Sabalenka held back-to-back MP at 6-4 but couldn't convert, then saw Pironkova hold two MP of her own (at 7-6 and 8-7) in the back-and-forth breaker. But this match wasn't contended in a slam, so Pironkova didn't get the last laugh (or gasping triumph in the heat). Finally, Sabalenka put away MP #3 to win the tie-break 11-9 and advance.


===============================================

18. Courmayeur SF - Clara Tauson def. Liudmila Samsonova 4-6/7-6(8)/6-4
...in a match filled with 28 aces (Samonsova 16, Tauson 12), the Dane rallies from 6-2 down in the 2nd set TB, saving five MP. Ultimately, Samsonova won more points (108-106), but Tauson advanced to the final.
===============================================

19. Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Madison Brengle def. Christina McHale 3-6/7-5/10-8
...in a two-day affair, Brengle survived McHale leading 5-3, serving for the match in both the 2nd and 3rd sets and holding four MP, before play was suspended with Brengle up 7-6. McHale came out hot again on the second day, winning back-to-back games and serving for the match a third time at 8-7. She was broken at love, and never won another game.

===============================================

20. Roland Garros 2nd Rd. - Katerina Siniakova def. Veronika Kudermetova 7-6(7)/5-7/7-5
...after squandering a 7-6(7)/3-0 lead, Siniakova had to rally from 5-1 down in the 3rd. Kudermetova twice served for the match, and held two MP (at 5-1 and 5-3, and she was two points away at 5-4). She even had to overcome some rather shaky umpiring. Ultimately, Siniakova got the set back to 5-5, held and then broke the faltering Kudermetova to seal the victory.


===============================================

HM- Rome 3rd Rd. - Iga Swiatek def. Barbora Krejcikova 3-6/7-6(5)/7-5
...in a match-up that would prove to be somewhat historic a few weeks later, Swiatek prevailed in a meeting of the 2020 and '21 RG champs.

After the two combined for six breaks of serve in the nine games of the 1st set, Krejcikova held two MP at 6-5 on Swiatek's serve in the 2nd. The Pole held to force a TB, won it 7-5, then saw the two combine for a run of twenty straight service holds over the 2nd and 3rd sets before Swiatek broke Krejcikova to take the match. It's the first time the teenager has ever come back from MP down to a win a WTA MD match in her career. In all, Swiatek faced 16 BP (saving 11) and held a slim (117-115) edge in total points on the day.

===============================================

kosova-font


=KIKI'S LAST STAND=
Tokyo Olympics 1st Rd. - Kiki Bertens/Demi Schuurs def. Caroline Garcia/Kristina Mladenovic 7-6(4)/5-7 [11-9]
...Bertens' career is extended as the Pastries fail to convert a MP, then see Garcia DF at 9-9 in the match TB.



Bertens' career came to an end a round later, as she and Schuurs fell in a 10-7 MTB to Vesnina/Kudermetova.



=CAMPUS CRAZINESS=
NCAA Women's Chsp. SF - Estela Perez-Somarriba/MIAMI def. Abbey Forbes/UCLA 6-7(5)/7-5/6-3
...in a three-hour bit of drama, defending NCAA champion Perez-Somarriba stages a comeback from 7-6/5-0 down, saving a MP. The Spaniard would return to the final, but lose to freshman Emma Navarro (Virginia).





=TECHNOLOGY FAILS WHEN THERE IS NO TECHNOLOGY TO SUCCEED=
Tokyo Olympics 1st Rd. - Xu Yifan/Yang Zhaoxuan def. Aleksandra Krunic/Nina Stojanovic 4-6/6-4 [18-16]
...the Serbs thought they'd advanced with a Krunic backhand winner into the corner at 11-10 in the match TB, but the "long" call couldn't be challenged because the outer court lacked replay capabilities. The Chinese duo went onto to take the 34-point breaker.





=AN EXTRA "COMEBACK," OR A "CHOKE?" Hmmm.=
WTAF rr Day 6 - Maria Sakkari def. Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(1)/6-7(6)/6-3
...in a battle for the final SF berth at the WTAF, Sabalenka blows a handful of leads and ultimately runs out of gas at the end of a nearly three-hour affair.

The #1 seed served for the 1st at 5-3, and held a SP at 5-4, only to double-fault on back-to-back points in her first serving stint in the TB and go on to lose it 7-1. In the 2nd, Sabalenka failed to convert a pair SP on Sakkari's serve at 5-3, and twice (at 5-4 and 6-5) couldn't serve it out. Finally, on her second BP in the TB she won 8-6 to send things to a 3rd.

Sabalenka took a 3-1 lead in the decider, but after rolling her ankle and increasingly losing control of her shots, Sabalenka didn't win another game down the stretch. She ended the match with 19 double-faults, 10 in the 3rd set alone. Her consecutive DF after holding GP at 3-3 proved to be her final push over the edge of the proverbial "Cliffs of Simona." A DF in the final game put Sabalenka down love/40, and she was quickly broken to end her breakthrough '21 season (w/ two slam SF and a #2 ranking) on a decidedly disappointing note.





=THE PERILS OF PUTINTSEVA=
Melbourne Grampians 2nd Rd. - Victoria Azarenka def. Yulia Putintseva 6-4/1-6 [11-9]
...after getting ready off the court with a new podcast, Azarenka made her '21 in-match debut an exciting one, saving two MP in the MTB vs. Putintseva after falling behind 5-1, 8-6 and 9-7. She'd already come back from 0-4 to claim the 1st set. Putintseva, of course, performed the usual art of racket abuse and huffing-and-puffing after having squandered her leads. Of course, Putintseva had already blown a MP (vs. Sofia Kenin in a loss in Abu Dhabi) in her *previous* '21 event, and would go on to lose a *third* early-season match after holding MP in a Miami defeat against Nina Stojanovic.

Adelaide 1st Rd. - Yulia Putintseva def. Laura Siegemund 6-4/6-4
...the Kazakh had a crazy (i.e. oh-so-Putintseva like) start to 2021. From quarantine to the Mice Wars to The Battle of Stubbs, from blown MP losses and a 3rd Round AO defeat (love & 4) to Elina Svitolina, Putintseva had already authored enough footnotes for (at least) half a season's worth of action in the season's opening weeks. Then came Adelaide.



Her opening match against Laura Siegemund (subtitled "The Traveling Grievance Circus," maybe?) included gripes about shoelace tying and Putintseva being given an arched eybrow warning from the umpire after calling the linespeople "unprofessional." You'd expect a heightened level of intensity (and, umm, other things, many surely eye roll worthy) in a match-up between these Putintseva and Siegemund, and that's just how things played out.



Ultimately, Putintseva won this match, only to lose (once more proving that there is no storm that Putintseva won't barrel head-first into) to Storm Sanders a round later.

Things eventually started to go the Kazakh's way, though. She'd go on to claim her second career tour title in Budapest, and even *won* a match in which she *saved* MP in Ostrava!!!, downing Zhang Shuai in a 3:24 1st Round encounter.



=SECOND CHANCES ARE THE PEARLS OF LIFE=
Angers Q2 - Daniela Vismane def. Vitalia Diatchenko def. Daniela Vismane 6-2/7-6(5)
Angers 125 2nd Rd. - Vitalia Diatchenko def. Daniela Vismane 2-6/7-6(6)/7-6(0)
...after two years of injury battles, Diatchenko used every opportunity given her to get back on the board in December. After losing to young Latvian Vismane in the final qualifying round, Diatchenko reached the MD as a lucky loser and soon found Vismane across the net again in the 2nd Round. The Russian rallied from 6-2/4-0 to get the win via a pair of tie-breaks, then didn't lose another set all week, finishing off her first title run since '19 with a love & four win in the final over Zhang Shuai.















1. U.S. Open 3rd Rd. - Leylah Fernandez def. Naomi Osaka 5-7/7-6(2)/6-4
...the moment Fernandez's Flushing Meadows run grew legitimate legs, loaded up on fuel and nearly stole the show, as the #3-seeded two-time and defending Open champ Osaka fell in three in what would eventually be four straight three-sets wins over seeding players (all former slam winners or semifinalists) for the teenager.

The Canadian's trip was nearly a short one, as Osaka served for the match in the 2nd set, only to fail to do so and then lose her composure, tossing her racket, glaring at the crowd and seeming to "semi-tank" before things went to a 3rd set. The #73-ranked Fernandez turned her under-the-lights magic into a "brand" over her two-week run, even carrying over her upstart status to her post-match interview, when she answered the standard "When did you believe you could win?" question into a crowd-pleasing "before the match" response. The secret to Canadian success in New York? "Maple syrup," of course.

===============================================
2. Roland Garros 1st Rd. - Tamara Zidansek def. Bianca Andreescu 6-7(1)/7-6(2)/9-7
...Andreescu wasn't necessarily seen as a threat for greatness in Paris, but it was hard to imagine that anyone *truly* saw Zidansek coming.

After winning the opening set TB, the Canadian rallied from 4-2 down in the 2nd to get things back on serve and head to another TB. Zidansek pulled it out, and forced Andreescu to save BPs early in the 3rd. She held for 2-2, then took a break lead at 5-4, but couldn't serve out the win, dropping serve a game later. Andreescu saved a MP at 6-5 and held to force a third tie-... no, RG is the last slam that plays out the final set. So they played on.

At 7-7, Andreescu had a BP look on Zidansek's serve, but the Slovenian held firm and then took a 15/40 lead on return a game later. Her converted MP ended the 3:20 match and gave her her maiden RG win (she'd been 0-3 in the MD), which she then turned into a stunning run to the semifinals, becoming the first woman from Slovenia to ever perform so well in a major.


===============================================

3. Melbourne Phillip Island 2nd Rd. - Olivia Gadecki def. Sofia Kenin 2-6/7-6(4)/6-4
...days after Kenin's defense of her AO title had unceremoniously ended in the 2nd Round, unranked 18-year old Gadecki, days after her maiden WTA MD win (over fellow Aussie Destanee Aiava), notches her first career Top 100 win in just her second tour-level MD appearance. Kenin ended up having a surprise appendectomy soon afterward and went on to have a forgettable follow-up campaign to her career year. Meanwhile, Aussie Gadecki's ranking jumped some 9600 spots after this result, all the way into the Top 400 (her previous high was #988) and she'd end the season at #230, winning her first two ITF circuit crowns along the way and declaring her's a name to watch in '22.


===============================================

4. Prague 1st Rd. - Rebecca Sramkova def. Petra Kvitova 7-6(5)/3-6/6-4
...fresh off her 1st Round exit at Wimbledon, Kvitova falls in match #1 on Czech soil to #226 Sramkova, who records her first WTA MD win in four years. Sramkova would lose to Viktoria Kuzmova in the 2nd Round, but not before having handed Kvitova her worst ranking loss since she was "upset" by then #934-ranked Sloane Stephens in Toronto in the summer hard court lead up to her injury comeback run to a U.S. Open title in '17.


===============================================

5. Abu Dhabi 2nd Rd. - Anastasia Gasanova def. Karolina Pliskova 6-2/6-4
...2021's inaugural big upset, just a few days into the new season. The result came in Pliskova's first tournament under new coach Sascha Bajin, just two matches in, as she was upset by #292-ranked qualifier Gasanova in her worst ranking defeat since falling to #444-ranked German Julia Kimmelman in the QF of a $25K challenger in Grenoble, France in February 2013.


===============================================

6. Tokyo Olympics 1st Rd. - Sara Sorribes Tormo def. Ash Barty 6-4/6-3
...the Wimbledon champ and world #1, wilting in the intense Tokyo heat while her Spanish opponent seemed to barely break a sweat, saw her time in the draw end in the blink of an eye as #48 Sorribes Tormo *finally* got her long-overdue "big win" after pushing but ultimately coming up short in magnificent matches vs. the likes of Andreescu (Miami) and Kerber (Wimbledon) earlier in the season.


===============================================

7. Tokyo Olympics 1st Rd. - Carla Suarez-Navarro def. Ons Jabeur 6-4/6-1
...icing on the proverbial comeback cake, as CSN gets her first singles win since returning from cancer treatment.


===============================================

8. Montreal 1st Rd. - Rebecca Marino def. Madison Keys 6-3/6-3
Montreal 2nd Rd. - Rebecca Marino def. Paula Badosa 1-6/7-5/6-4
...#220 Marino's wins over #26 Keys and #31 Badosa were her biggest since defeating a then-#15 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Luxembourg in 2011.


===============================================

9. BJK Finals RR Match #1 - Dasha Gavrilova/AUS def. Greet Minnen/BEL 6-4/1-6/6-4
BJK Finals RR Match #2 - Storm Sanders/AUS def. Elise Mertens/BEL 3-6/7-6(6)/6-0
...Australia's Day 2 upset overload (aka "The Day the Waffles Were Burned"), as Gavrilova comes up big in her first match since February and Sanders records her first career Top 20 win in her Cup debut. It was this set of big upsets that allowed the '19 Fed Cup finalists to return to the '21 semis even without Ash Barty in the fold in Prague.


===============================================

10. Wimbledon 3rd Rd. - Emma Raducanu def. Sorana Cirstea 6-3/7-5
...#338-ranked wild card Raducanu, 18, becomes the youngest Brit to reach the Wimbledon Round of 16 in the Open era, setting the stage for her historic summer.


===============================================

11. BJK Playoffs Match #2 - Maria Carle/ARG def. Elena Rybakina/KAZ 6-4/3-6/6-0
...in Rybakina's Cup debut, the #23-ranked Kazakh's slow-starting '21 continued when she was upended by #430 Carle (in her singles debut) in what the Argentine called a "perfect match." Rybakina, who'd retired in her most recent tour match in Charleston (and gone 3-7 in her last 10 WTA outings), took a medical time out in the 3rd set, which she ultimately lost at love. Later, she said that she'd been suffering from heat stroke and felt better once she got back to her hotel room.



BJK Playoffs Match #4 - Maria Carle/ARG def. Yulia Putintseva/KAZ 6-7(3)/7-6(3) ret.
...while it ultimately came in a losing team effort (for team captain Yaroslava Shvedova rose from the bench to help carry the Kazakhs to a win in the deciding doubles), Carle's turn for Argentina was that of a star.

Already having lost three times in matches this season in which she held MP, and losing another when she nearly did, Putintseva served for the tie-clinching win vs. Carle, coming within two points of victory. But she didn't put the win away, started to cramp, asked for and got an off-court MTO *during* Carle's service game (ARG Captain Mercedes Paz didn't like that, needless to say... and neither would have Yulia had she been witnessing it from that side of the net), came back and served underhanded because of the pain in her legs, lost the 2nd set TB, then fell to the ground a few points into the 3rd set and couldn't get back up, retiring to force the deciding doubles.

===============================================

12. Tenerife 1st Rd. - Camila Osorio def. Elina Svitolina 5-7/6-3/6-2
...Svitolina took the 1st set before play was stopped for the day due to darkness. When the two returned a day later, Osorio dropped just five games en route to her first career Top 10 win and (eventually) a spot in the final.


===============================================

13. Linz 2nd Rd. - Wang Xinyu def. Emma Raducanu 6-1/6-7(0)/7-5
...Raducanu was injured down the stretch, but still managed to save a MP and break back to knot the 3rd set at 5-5. But qualifier Wang swept the final two games, collecting her first career Top 20 win and cracking the Top 100.


===============================================

14. Cluj-Napoca 1st Rd. - Mayar Sherif def. Alize Cornet 6-2/6-4
...Sherif's breakthrough week started with a big win over the top seeded Pastry (#59), her biggest career victory to date. Sherif, continuing her ongoing assault on the tour records book, ultimately became the first Egyptian to reach a tour-level QF, SF and final by the end of the week.


===============================================

15. BJK Playoffs Match #3 - Marcela Zacarias/MEX def. Heather Watson/GBR 6-3/7-6(1)
...proving to be this BJK Playoffs' epitome of what Cup competition is about, Zacarias had what could very likely end up being her career-best moment in the spring. It doesn't matter that it came in what turned out to be an "inconsequential" match in an ultimately losing effort for her team.

She'd have to do something remarkable to top the reactions she had after her win here over Watson.


===============================================

16. Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Aliaksandra Sasnovich def. Serena Williams 3-3 ret.
...Williams retires with a leg injury, exiting a slam in the opening round for just the second time (2012 RG) in her career. Hey -- I see you raising your eyebrow -- it *still* counts as an upset. Technically.



This one is *slightly* borderline, too, but at least it's not because of injury...

Parma 2nd Rd. - Katerina Siniakova def. Serena Williams 7-6(4)/6-2
...Siniakova records her sixth career Top 10 win (but just her third since she had three in '17). Of note: this made it four of the Czech's six such wins having come over former/current #1's: Halep, Wozniacki, Osaka (who was #1 at the time, at RG) and Serena. She added another during the summer with an upset of Muguruza in Montreal.

#68 Siniakova was the second-lowest ranked player to defeat Williams since January 2017, topped only the then-#116 Shelby Rogers in the QF of Lexington last summer at the beginning of the Restart.


===============================================

17. Roland Garros 1st Rd. - Anhelina Kalinina def. Angelique Kerber 6-2/6-4
...Kalinina raced to 5-0 leads in both the 1st and 2nd sets of the 1st Round match, the Ukrainian's first MD appearance at RG. While the 23-year old came in on a 13-match winning streak (back-to-back challenger titles and 3-0 qualifying run) and sporting a 16-1 mark on the season, it was hard to envision such an occurrence actually happening considering the vast experience gap on such a big stage.

That difference *did* ultimately play a part in the final scoreline, though, as Kerber rallied late in both sets, dropping the 1st "only" 6-2 and then pushing Kalinina to the brink of a 3rd a set later. Kalinina was broken twice while serving for the match in the 2nd. Trying for a third time at 5-4, she took a 30/love lead only to see the German get the game to deuce. Kalinina failed to put away her first MP, but a second was all she'd need to finish off Kerber.

===============================================

18. Tokyo Olympics 3rd Rd. - Marketa Vondrousova def. Naomi Osaka 6-1/6-4
...after a few days of being the "favorite" and lauded for her form in her first action since her Roland Garros withdrawal and skipping of Wimbledon, Osaka looks a bit like "old school Naomi" (i.e. before pre-2018 Indian Wells) with 32 UE and little seeming recognition or willingness to determine how to turn the momentum back in her favor, ending her brief run in her anticipated appearance in the Japan-hosted Olympic event. Meanwhile, Vondrousova's medal run saw her pick up Silver.

===============================================

19. Adelaide 1st Rd. - Storm Sanders d. Ajla Tomljanovic 6-1/6-2
Adelaide 2nd Rd. - Storm Sanders d. Yulia Putintseva 6-4/5-7/6-1
...Sanders' first 500/Premier level MD win and third Top 100 win, then her first over a Top 30 player to reach her maiden tour-level singles QF. Storm lived up to her name in Adelaide.

===============================================

20. Tokyo Olympics 1st Rd. - Elena Vesnina def. Alona Ostapenko 6-4/6-7(2)/6-4
...the women's doubles Gold medalist (w/ Ekaterina Makarova) in Rio, Vesnina opens singles play in '21 with a big upset in her Olympic singles debut. The Russian was 3-5 in singles on the year. She ultimately played for two medal in Tokyo, losing in the WD Bronze and MX Gold match (taking home Silver).

===============================================

HM- Melbourne Phillip Island SF - Marie Bouzkova def. Bianca Andreescu 6-7(9)/6-2/7-5
...in the "extra" Melbourne event held during the second week of the Australian Open, Bouzkova trailed the Canadian 4-1 in the 3rd set of a three-hour affair, saving two MP to advance to her second career tour final.


===============================================


kosova-font


=THE NEAR-MISS=
Madrid Q1 - Kristina Mladenovic def. Ane Mintegi del Olmo 6-3/5-7/7-6(1)
...with her solo act already flagging this season, singles player Mladenovic (a former event finalist in '17) nearly crashlanded in Madrid against 17-year old wild card Mintegi del Olmo, the world #716 (jr.#32) who was playing her first career match of any kind in a WTA event. Mladenovic trailed 5-2 in the 3rd, but pulled herself up from a truly disaterous result (no matter if this match turns out to be a "remember her when..." moment for the young Spaniard, she just *couldn't* lose this one) by forcing a TB and winning it 7-1.

Mladenovic continued her "singles-first" mantra at Roland Garros, where she didn't even attempt to win her third straight WD crown in her home slam, skipping the doubles altogether. In the Pastry's lone doubles excursion during the clay season, she reached the Madrid final alongside Marketa Vondrousova, but the result didn't alter her plans.

As for del Olmo, she's already started to make good on that "remember her when..." notion, as just a few weeks later she became the first Spanish girl to win the Wimbledon junior crown.











posted by Todd.Spiker @ 8:45 PM 

9 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Always love the old time pics, especially the Hepburn looking one.

Kateryna Baindl is the artist formerly known as Kozlova.

Would have had Fernandez US Open run #2. Needs to be right behind Raducanu. Also puts her on a short list for a slam in 2022. Her run is most similar to Stosur's 2010 RG run. She won US Open in 2011.

Andreescu Fernandez needs to happen on the WTA level. Andreescu leads ITF 1-0.

Will we get "So Disrespectful" #5? Muguruza-Krejcikova split their first 4 meetings, all this year.

Have Badosa-Bogdan as Match of the Year slightly above Krejcikova-Sakkari. Both of those, along with a good number on your list, were at RG.

Cornet needs her own section. I have her match vs Wang higher than Fruhvirtova, but the falling, screaming, hyperventilating mess she makes of things is pure theater.

Ostapenko changed the world. Before her, we had not had a slam winner since Serena in 1999 do so without previously reaching a slam QF. Looking back on this, the first slam Serena skipped due to pregnancy, it was the end of an era. Without Serena knocking people out slam after slam, it became a free for all, culminating with Raducanu coming through qualifying to do so.

What does this mean for 2022? No Serena in Australia, so probably more of the same. And what about Raducanu, the first post(I can hope) pandemic star? Due to the pandemic, plus her age, she really hasn't had a full season anywhere. Should be fun to see how her season goes.

Stat of the Week- 35- Number of consecutive slams for Karolina Pliskova.

Those who saw the post already know that Pliskova has her wrist in a cast due to a training injury. She has since pulled out of the AO, ending this streak.

So who has the longest current streak for Czech players? The list might surprise you.

10 Highest Ranked Czech Players After Pliskova.

27- Siniakova
19- Kr.Pliskova
12- Muchova
10- Bouzkova
9 - Kvitova
7 - Vondrousova
5 - Krejcikova
3 - Martincova
0 - Maleckova
0 - Noskova


US Open 2012 was the last slam MD she missed, so long ago that 2 of the 3 seeded Czech players are already retired. Those were Zakopalova at 24 and Safarova at 15. Kvitova was the highest at 5.

Hopefully this turns out to be routine, unlike Bellis, and we will see her sometime this season.

Sat Dec 18, 01:12:00 PM EST  
Blogger colt13 said...

Quiz Time!

Which Czech player had a longer consecutive slam streak than Pliskova?

A.Jana Novotna
B.Kveta Peschke
C.Petra Kvitova
D.Helena Sukova

Interlude- Christmas music!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKJExBXRorA


Answer!

I actually would have used Navratilova for this, but due to the fact that she skipped both Australia and the French Open early and late in her career, her longest streak ties Pliskova at 35.

(C)Kvitova is wrong, and you can be pissed about it. Even though she has a current streak of 14 consecutive US Opens, and 13 Wimbledons, since they did not play in 2020, her 29 match streak ended because of her stabbing incident.

(B)Peschke is wrong, though she might have been a good guess because of longevity. It does put a twist on her numbers, as her 11 in singles not only is small, but from the start of her career. Her 21 and 17 event streaks in doubles, were after she stopped playing singles. In fact, the 17 event streak only ended after the pandemic in 2020.

(D)Sukova is wrong. Shockingly wrong. In a Babos like move, her 32 event streak ended at RG 1990, an event in which she won doubles with Jana Novotna. That 32 event streak is one in which she reached 3 of her 4 slam finals.

That leaves (A)Novotna, who just nipped out Pliskova with 36. That streak was not active when she won Wimbledon in 1998.

Sat Dec 18, 01:26:00 PM EST  
Blogger Diane said...

Another great late-season match was Pliskova-Anisimova at the U.S. Open. I had just gotten wireless back where I was staying after Ida, and I remember feeling so glad that I was able to watch that match.

I suppose I should be embarrassed to say that "All I Want for Christmas" is one of the few non-carol Christmas songs I can tolerate--possibly the only one. That's interesting because I don't care for Mariah Carey at all--that's the only song of hers I've ever heard that I like. (I'm not much for carols, either, but--if performed well--there are some I like--the Joan Baez Christmas album remains sublime.)

Here's an A capella (couldn't find the album version) version of a Christmas song I always liked: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hnk7xgIDMQo

Sat Dec 18, 07:48:00 PM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

C-
I believe that *is* the Great Kate, actually. I know she played a lot of tennis. ;)

Hmmm, as much as I don't particularly like the hyphenated names (i.e. Melichar-Martinez), I think I prefer them over those that require sleuthing. I hope Gavrilova doesn't officially go with "Dasha Saville" on tour.

You know, for a *brief* second (well, maybe less) I considered being a real poker and listing Fernandez #1 and Raducanu #2 on the list. :) I could see someone doing that, too. Still, I think 4th for a RU for a full season is pretty good. :)

Pliskova: when you started on that, I was thinking maybe Kristyna would have the next-longest streak. Wasn't far off.

Another person who'll miss the Australian swing is an Australian: Olivia Gadecki. A real disappointment (on a lot of levels) since she really made her original mark there last year and would have gotten an AO WC. She refuses to get vaccinated and none of the Aussies could convince her (Barty, who's been her mentor, says she won't try and will let her make her own decisions). Which makes me wonder, once she leaves to play the rest of the year, exactly when will she be able to return?

Had to skip the Christmas songs (can't *stand* Corden). :/

Quiz: I got it! Once more, Jana was a good partner. :)


D-
Thanks! It's always a little head-spinning going back over all of those... but it prepares me better to do the Carl Talks and Blowout, at least.

I *think* I have Pliskova/Anisimova in there *somewhere* because I can remember looking for (but not finding) a good video clip from that and having to settle for Pliskova's ranking on the aces-in-a-match list. Even in a loss, that was probably AA's finest moment in '21.

Though I don't hear it very often anymore, I think my favorite song was always "Silver Bells"... I think it was because when I was a little kid I always liked it when Bob Hope would sing it with someone during those Christmas specials he used to do. Here's one w/ Dolly Parton. ;)

Sun Dec 19, 10:51:00 AM EST  
Blogger Diane said...

Well, you can't go wrong with Dolly Parton singing anything. Every couple of years, I go through my CD collection and get rid of as many as I can (I could have trained Marie Kondo). But even though I haven't listened to some of them in many years, I can't bring myself to get rid of my Christmas albums (strange, I know). I have everything from Renaissance carols to Manneheim Streamroller (still like them) to ancient French carols.

The Baez album, btw, is "Noel." She sings "O Holy Night" in French and "Ave Maria" (my favorite) in German. There are also a few instrumental pieces on the album.

Sun Dec 19, 11:25:00 AM EST  
Blogger colt13 said...

To not clog Todd's next post, the mini blowout is here. Up/Down Side next week, as the season will start with 3 events.

Some interesting doubles news regarding AO, Hsieh, Schuurs and L.Chan are out, Van Uytvanck and Minnen have separate partners, and Mladenovic/Garcia is a thing. Halep also in for now, making her one of 6 Top 20(Krejcikova, Kenin, Pegula, plus Badosa/Rybakina) singles players in draw.

AO seeds will be affected by first week play as usual. With Pliskova, Brady and Muchova out, Giorgi, Alexandrova and Vondrousova are last 3 seeds for now.

We do have a twist. 2021 Abu Dhabi will either come off that week, or the next. However, 2020 Auckland, Shenzhen and Brisbane will come off that week. The only person, out of 32 QF spots, that has the potential to lose 2 events, is Rybakina.

Now that leaves 31 players, and some gave up their points early, like Wozniacki, Bertens and Goerges. However, 16 of those are Top 40, so there will be a shuffle.

Rybakina is unique in the mess she has. Even if Shenzhen and Abu Dhabi come off the same week, that is less points combined than 2020 Hobart, which will not affect AO seed, but be off by time event is played. She still has a whopping 6 2020 events(AO, Doha, Dubai, St. Petersburg) on her ranking, so she needs to get off to a great start.

The other 2 affected early? Kenin and Osaka. Both have title points to defend, but have a slight difference. Unlikely, but Osaka could leave Australia outside the Top 100, while Kenin could leave around 70 if they both faceplant early.

The difference? Kenin will keep those 2020 Lyon points until March, then might meet the same fate.

Stat of the Week- 24- The number of consecutive years that Serena Williams has spent at least 1 week in the Top 20.

At 41, her rank, that is, Serena will drop out of the Top 100 after Australia. Not just because of last year's results, but her 2020 Auckland title will drop off.

This will only be the 4th year(2006, 2011, 2018) that she has fallen out. Each time she has made it back within 6 months. But will she play at all?

Quiz Time!

Serena Williams has been #1 in 10 different seasons. Just writing that is crazy. Which is the only time in which she was #1 in back to back seasons for the whole year?

Interlude- Nepotism at it's....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHbrNz1RUVY


Answer!

2014-15 was the second peak of her career, and the one in which she won the second Serena Slam.

Mon Dec 27, 01:59:00 AM EST  
Blogger colt13 said...

And here we go! May I do this with the confidence of Chase Claypool celebrating a first down.

Before we get to Winners vs Top 20(next post) first we have the best and worst from the others.

Hacksaws- Most wins outside Top 20:

9- Bencic
7- Mertens
7- Ostapenko
6- Giorgi
5- Fernandez
5- Collins
5- Kudermetova

Normally this list is a showcase for youngsters like Fernandez. This one has players that fell out of the Top 20. Fernandez and Kudermetova project well.

Whipping Posts- Most Losses:

13- Kudermetova
9- Petkovic
9- Kasatkina
9- Gauff
9- Ostapenko
8- Cirstea

The fact that Kudermetova played 18 of these matches is a good thing. Petkovic and Cirstea got titles after long droughts, so bad numbers don't mean much. Red flag for Kasatkina and Gauff.

Chum- Zero wins or low percentage:

0-0 Zanevska
0-9 Petkovic
0-5 Paolini
0-4 Riske
0-4 Li
0-2 Ruse

Have never had a year with so many goose eggs. There is always one with a twist, and this year that is Zanevska, who has the 0-0 record, but had a really good year.

Confused? She played her first event in 2021 ranked 257. Ranked 165, she won Gdynia beating no Top 100 players. Some highlights:She didn't play any current Top 20 player, but lost to #7 Andreescu. She did play 2 winners, d #144 Tauson, l #50 Zidansek. Best win by rank? #56 Teichmann. Ended the year at 82.

In this category, zero is a red flag only for former Top 20 players. Since Petkovic is near the end of her career, no real change in projection.



Mon Dec 27, 02:18:00 AM EST  
Blogger colt13 said...

With Andreescu and Brady, among others, dropping out of the Top 20, they aren't reflected. The numbers, when compared to last full season in 2019, show that there was not a dominant person, but the wealth was spread.

First the numbers, then the notes.

Winners vs Top 20:

19-9 Muguruza
19-10 Sabalenka
18-8 Pliskova
18-13 Sakkari
16-5 Barty
16-13 Jabeur
15-11 Svitolina
14-9 Swiatek
14-12 Badosa
13-12 Kontaveit
12-9 Pegula
11-13 Krejcikova
9-9 Kvitova
9-15 Rybakina
8-9 Kerber
7-6 Halep
5-1 Raducanu
4-2 Osaka
4-4 Kenin
4-12 Pavlyuchenkova

Muguruza- After her 3rd 40 win season, and being Top 3 in all, she projects as #1 for part of the season. Partially because she she did not get any of those 19 wins on clay.
Sabalenka- Grass projects better than clay. Expect another couple of titles.
Pliskova- Expect regression. Has nothing to do with her wrist injury, but the fact that 12 of those 18 wins were not Top 20, which are similar to splits Garcia had when she was highly ranked.
Sakkari- Only people with more wins on clay(in this model) are Barty and Swiatek. If she wins a title, it should be on that surface.
Barty- Actually won more matches in 2019-57, than 2020-21 combined-53. Trying to win a title for the 6th year in a row, projects as #1 and a slam winner.
Jabeur- Darkhorse Wimbledon winner? Has most wins(tied with Pliskova) in this model on grass. Numbers good on all surfaces, but health is an issue.
Svitolina- Sneaky good numbers point to a Top 10 return.
Swiatek- Just about smoothing out the rough edges. Expect another 2 titles.
Badosa- Like Krejcikova, 2/3rds on her career wins were in 2021. Played 19 different winners and held up well.
Kontaveit- Besides slams, the one place she needs to improve is clay. Do that, and the rank stays the same, even with less titles. Had 0 wins on clay that met criteria, even Kenin had 1.
Pegula- Maxed out her talent. Expected to drop between 20-40 even if she wins a title.
Krejcikova- Underlying numbers are not good. Huge regression expected. Lost her last 5 matches vs this group.
Kvitova- Has 1 title in 11 different seasons. .500 record here means that she would probably have to win a 250 to make it 12.
Rybakina- Numbers are surprisingly bad. Obviously, winning 3 of those late round matches that she gave up would have got her to .500. Even with her win vs Serena, clay is the spot where her numbers need to increase.
Kerber- Slight regression, only for the fact that grass probably won't be as good, and is a non entity on clay.
Halep- Only won one more match than in 2020, lowest full season since 2011. No Cahill, new marriage, questionable health. One of the bigger wild cards.
Raducanu- Similar hopes as Swiatek going into last year, in that 2 titles without a slam would be a good year. No clay events yet, so the book has yet to be written.
Osaka- She just might be following Serena's playbook too closely. After Australia, in danger of blowing up draws as an unseeded player. Most obvious question? Are we getting the best version of her, which we saw in Australia, meaning that she is the one player in the field with a chance to win a slam for the 5th straight year, or are we getting the non clutch one we got the rest of the year?
Kenin- Garbage year. What can we glean from it? Well, the 4-4 record might point to a ratings drop. All 4 losses were Top 20. All 4 wins were non Top 20. Plus unlike Rybakina, she doesn't have uncounted events to replace the dropped ones.
Pavlyuchenkova- Putrid numbers. Lived off that French Open run to the point that it obscured her other numbers. Shockingly similar to her 2018 and 2019 stats, years in which she finished the season ranked 42 and 30 respectively. projects around 30 again.

Mon Dec 27, 03:01:00 AM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Quiz: went with 2012-13, but figured if that wasn't right it was in the 2012-15 window.

Impressive numbers there for Muguruza, and that #1 projection for part of the year lines up w/ an upcoming Blowout prediction, I believe.

One of last year's Carl Talks: "Do You Recognize Me? Don't Worry, You Will." - Leylah Fernandez

I think she'll have a follow-up Talk. ;)

Tue Dec 28, 06:58:00 PM EST  

Post a Comment

<< Home