Thursday, January 27, 2022

AO.11 - Great, Greater... Greatest?

Another slam, a little bit closer to greatness. At this point in our story, dominant women's wheelchair #1 Diede de Groot is both the chased *and* the chaser.




As has already been the case for a number of years, de Groot represents the face of women's wheelchair tennis, as well as being one of the most celebrated para-athletes in the world. Through her high-profile sponsorship deal with Nike, that standing would seem likely to only grow -- perhaps exponentially -- with each passing year.

While the 25-year old Dutch star's role as the frontrunning champion that all others are chasing in the sport is well-defined, with the Golden Slam season of a year ago placing her in a category filled only by herself, de Groot's career path has become both wider and more narrow. Her ability to stake out new ground in the sport, via both on and off court awareness, will remain vast for as long as she picks up a racket, but the direction of her career from here forward is currently in the process of changing. Well, actually, it *already* has, it's just a matter of when she publicly acknowledges it and fully takes up the notion of "The Chase."

None of this has come as a surprise.

De Groot's time at the top level of wheelchair tennis has played out just as many thought was possible years ago when she was first being touted as the "next great champion" as a teenager, billed as the once-in-a-generation talent who could re-write the sport's changing record books and insert her own name at the top of many, if not most, of the lists therein.

Until de Groot arrived, though there were many other champions, women's wheelchair tennis was defined by *the* greatest player in the game's history: the unmatched Esther Vergeer. Vergeer won pretty much everything there was to win in the sport -- including a string of 470 straight singles matches -- for more than a decade until the end of her career in 2012. She was described as possibly the most dominant athlete in professional sports, bar none, as she put down a foundation upon which the women's game could thrive in her absence. The (eventual) visibility of Vergeer's career alone may have virtually put women WC tennis on the international map.

Vergeer just happens to be de Groot's countrywoman, as well as her mentor.

Following her dominant 6-1/6-1 win over Aniek Van Koot in the Australian Open women's final in Melbourne today, de Groot's position atop the wheelchair pyramid feels even *more* unquestioned than in her outrageously special '21 campaign. Van Koot, with whom de Groot won the doubles title yesterday, was quite simply never in the match. The more veteran Dutch star, who has often successfully toiled in the shadows of others (including, at the start of her career, Vergeer) never found her game in the final, just days after having upset world #2 Yui Kamiji in the opening round. But, save for a final service game (at 6-1/5-0) in which de Groot seemed to blink (if only for an instant) and failed to serve out the match while committing a handful of unforced errors, the world #1 was perhaps in as commanding a form in the 58-minute encounter as she's ever been.



The win is de Groot's 42nd straight in singles (she hasn't lost since *last* January), and her two collected sets were the 77th and 78th she's won in the last 80 sets she's played. In completing her ninth career sweep of both the s/d titles at a major (all in the last 14 slam events contested), de Groot has now won 13 slam crowns in both disciplines. Her total of 26 puts her behind only Vergeer (42 in an era in which there weren't a full complement of eight major titles to be had in a calendar year) in women's WC history. [Note: Today, men's AO champ Shingo Kunieda, 37, picked up his 47th overall slam win.]

Afterward, de Groot noted that her '21 goals had centered around the Paralympics, where she (of course) picked up her first career Golds in both singles and doubles, but that *this* year she was putting her focus on the slams. De Groot didn't actually emphatically state it with that comment, but since with every slam win she inches that much closer to some of Vergeer's career marks, then it's safe to say that "The Chase" is now a two-woman race.

Not to be the mythical "greatest women's wheelchair player ever." Vergeer has been, is, and will always be that. But to possibly become the "player of record" in the sport's history. It's greatest and best-known champion. De Groot is well on her way to claiming that title as her own.

Because of the path set down by Vergeer's success, the opportunities are greater for the current generation of WC athletes, and no woman has threatened to take better advantage of it than de Groot. In recent years, not only has Wimbledon added a singles competition, but last year the U.S. Open and Paralympic events were held in the same season for the very first time. (The bonus attention that de Groot's Golden Slam accomplishment received as a result, one would hope, will at least go a little way toward making such an occurrence the norm rather than the exception.)

De Groot is the best player in the world in both singles and doubles, as well as the best on all surfaces, and she attained slam-winning form earlier than most. The greatest players not named Diede of the recent era all have come up short in at least one of those categories, as Van Koot has always been a more consistent doubles threat, Kamiji has never been able to win on grass, and another Dutch #1, the just-back-from-retirement Jiske Griffioen (the first woman to win the Wimbledon singles) didn't fully development her singles prowess until relatively late in her career.

While the very act of surpassing Vergeer's mark of 21 singles slam wins would be a headline-grabbing accomplishment for de Groot (it's something she could conceivably do during the '24 season, in another year in which the Paralympic spotlight will shine brightly), it's her chance at several more short-term firsts that could form the building blocks to her eventual legend.

De Groot won her Golden Slam (which also included a WC Masters title sweep) last season, but there are still more historic doors to burst through.

In 2019, she just missed out on becoming the first woman to sweep all eight slam titles, falling to Van Koot (w/ whom she won the Doubles Grand Slam that year) in the Wimbledon final. Last year, de Groot was a Wimbledon doubles title short of the 8-for-8 feat once again. In a year "focused" on the slams, maybe that mark gets knocked down in '22. [Note: In the pre-full major schedule era, Vergeer was 7-for-7 in slam titles in '09 and '11.] Come '24, the possibity of going 8-for-8, plus sweeping the Paralympics Golds remains, as well.

Back-to-back singles Grand Slams? A Double Grand Slam? A Double Super Slam? A Double Golden Slam? It's a crazy potential To-Do list, but none of it is beyond de Groot's grasp. Maybe matching one of Vergeer's undefeated seasons is a bridge *slightly* too far, but don't be *so* sure. So far in 2022, de Groot is a combined 10-0. She's gone 47-1 in singles in 2021-22, while also going 29-2 in doubles (where she's riding a 17-win run).

With every accomplishment de Groot checks off her career list, like Vergeer before her, she brings along women's WC tennis right with her. Aussie Dylan Alcott -- sorry, make that Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott -- has done much to bring the (Quad) wheelchair game to the attention of many, but with the ending of this AO he'll no longer be an active player. Watching a true legend-in-the-making in someone like de Groot carrying out her success over however many more years can only help to carry the sport that much further when it comes to public consciousness. Already with a prime spot in the tennis majors, the only international sporting events where para-athletes share the stage and attention with their able-bodied counterparts, gaining the respect of any who choose to watch, wheelchair tennis is likely *the* most visible para-sport in the world. With (hopefully) the full support of Nike (which has already managed to sneak her into some major ad campaigns), de Groot is set to be the preeminent active athlete in the para-sport movement.

On that level, the remainder of de Groot's career could play a part in a storyline that carries far beyond the lines of a tennis court.

It'll be a heavy burden to try to carry. Is de Groot up to the task(s)? Well, during the post-match photo session with the WC title trophy today, she stopped to note how heavy the actual hardware was. So she set the trophy in her lap and shook out her arms... then picked it up again.



De Groot is already nicknamed "Diede the Great." It's going to be fun to see she if she can pull off what might have one seemed an impossible feat in the sport -- truly earning a moniker of "Diede the Greatest."




=DAY 11 NOTES=
...in a day session that included no men's or women's singles matches (yet the WC singles final were put on Court 8?), doubles took up much of the schedule.

In the WD semis, unseeded Anna Danilina & Beatriz Haddad Maia (Week 2 champs in Sydney) led by a set and 5-3, holding a MP, before #2 Shuko Aoyama & Ena Shibahara forced a 3rd set. But, after having to clean the slate and start again, the Kazakh-Brazilian duo took the final set 6-4 to reach their first career slam final.



Their opponents will be the top seeds, as Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova, who handled #3 Veronika Kudermetova & Elise Mertens (the Belgian won the AO crown w/ Aryna Sabalenka in '21) in straight sets to reach the final for a second consecutive year.



A win would give the Czechs four major titles, their first AO crown, and would bring them one big title away from becoming the first women's pair in history to complete a Career Super Slam with titles at all four majors, the Olympics and year-end championships. At the moment, they're AO and U.S. Open titles short.

...on Night 9, the all-Aussie due of Jaimee Fourlis & Jason Kubler took another step in their unexpected MX doubles run, reaching the final in their first tournament together (they were a last minute combination, and Kubler originally was noncommital about playing because he said he wasn't very good at doubles). So far, the pair have upset last year's finalists (Stosur/Ebden) and ended Sania Mirza's final AO en route to the championship match. They'll next face the #5-seeded pair of Kristina Mladenovic (a two-time MX champ, including the '14 AO) and Ivan Dodig (3-time MX champ) for the title. The last Aussie duo to win in Melbourne were Jarmila Gajdosova & Matthew Edben in 2013, and just two teams (w/ Stosur/Draper '05) have won in the last 29 years.



...under the lights in the women's semis, #1 Ash Barty will seek to become the first Aussie woman to reach the AO singles final since 1980, where she'd have a chance to complete the third leg of a potential Career Slam. Her opponent, Madison Keys, would reach her second career slam final ('17 U.S.) with a victory. Barty, playing in her fifth night match in six rounds, has yet to face a Top 20 player at this major and has dropped just seventeen total games. Keys has lost 42, and had to rally from a set and a break down vs. Wang Qiang (winning a 3rd set TB) in the 3rd Round, but has since posted wins over an array of foes that included #8 seed Paula Badosa and #4 Barbora Krejcikova (after opening with a 1st Round win over '20 AO champ Sofia Kenin).

The semifinal nightcap will see #7 Iga Swiatek and #27 Danielle Collins decide which will reach a maiden AO final, with Swiatek looking for her second final ('20 RG) in sixteen months.





..R.I.P. ON DAY 11:










=WOMEN'S SINGLES SF=
#1 Ash Barty/AUS vs. Madison Keys/USA
#27 Danielle Collins/USA vs. #7 Iga Swiatek/POL

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES SF=
#1 Krejcikova/Siniakova (CZE/CZE) vs. Danilina/Haddad Maia (KAZ/BRA)

=MIXED DOUBLES FINAL=
(WC) Fourlis/Kubler (AUS/AUS) vs. #5 Mladenovic/Dodig (FRA/CRO)

=WHEELCHAIR SINGLES FINAL=
#1 Diede de Groot/NED def. Aniek Van Koot/NED 6-1/6-1

=WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES FINAL=
#1 de Groot/Van Koot (NED/NED) def. #2 Kamiji/Shuker (JPN/GBR) 7-5/3-6 [10-2]

=GIRLS SINGLES QF=
#1 Petra Marcinko/CRO def. Lola Radivojevic/SRB
#13 Liv Hovde/USA def. #6 Michaela Laki/GRE
Charlotte Kempanaers-Pocz/AUS def. Carolina Kuhl/GER
#8 Sofia Costoulas/BEL def. #2 Diana Shnaider/RUS

=GIRLS DOUBLES SF=
#1 Ngounoue/Shnaider (USA/RUS) vs. (WC) Kempenaers-Pocz/Preston (AUS/AUS)
Cross/Mboko (CAN/CAN) vs. #2 Marcinko/Svendsen (CRO/DEN)


















kosova-font

*WHEELCHAIR SLAM SINGLES TITLES*
21 - Esther Vergeer, NED [9-6-0-6]
13 - DIEDE DE GROOT, NED [3-2-3-4]*
8 - Yui Kamiji, JPN [2-4-0-2]*
4 - Jiske Griffioen, NED [2-1-1-0]*
3 - Aniek van Koot, NED [1-0-1-1]*
3 - Monique Kalkman, NED [0-0-0-3]

*WC SLAM SINGLES FINALS - active*
20 - Yui Kamiji, JPN (8-12)
16 - DIEDE DE GROOT, NED (13-3)*
14 - ANIEK VAN KOOT, NED (3-11)*
6 - Jiske Griffioen, NED (4-2)
1 - KG Montjane, RSA (0-1)
1 - Momoko Ohtani, JPN (0-1)

*AO WHEELCHAIR CHAMPIONS*
2002 WC Classic 8's at AO: Esther Vergeer, NED
2003 WC Classic 8's at AO: Esther Vergeer, NED
2004 WC Classic 8's at AO: Esther Vergeer, NED
2005 WC Classic 8's at AO: Mie Yaosa, JPN
2006 WC Classic 8's at AO: Esther Vergeer, NED
2007 Esther Vergeer, NED
2008 Esther Vergeer, NED
2009 Esther Vergeer, NED
2010 Korie Homan, NED
2011 Esther Vergeer, NED
2012 Esther Vergeer, NED
2013 Aniek van Koot, NED
2014 Sabine Ellerbrock, GER
2015 Jiske Griffioen, NED
2016 Jiske Griffioen, NED
2017 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2018 Diede de Groot, NED
2019 Diede de Groot, NED
2020 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2021 Diede de Groot, NED
2022 Diede de Groot, NED

*RECENT WC SINGLES SLAM FINALS*
[2017]
AO: Yui Kamiji/JPN def. Jiske Griffioen/NED
RG: Yui Kamiji/JPN def. Sabine Ellerbrock/GER
WI: Diede de Groot/NED def. Sabine Ellerbrock/GER
US: Yui Kamiji/JPN def. Diede de Groot/NED
[2018]
AO: Diede de Groot/NED def. Yui Kamiji/JPN
RG: Yui Kamiji/JPN def. Diede de Groot/NED
WI: Diede de Groot/NED def. Aniek van Koot/NED
US: Diede de Groot/NED def. Yui Kamiji/JPN
[2019]
AO: Diede de Groot/NED def. Yui Kamiji/JPN
RG: Diede de Groot/NED def. Yui Kamiji/JPN
WI: Aniek Van Koot/NED def. Diede de Groot/NED
US: Diede de Groot/NED def. Yui Kamiji/JPN
[2020]
AO: Yui Kamiji/JPN def. Aniek Van Koot/NED
US: Diede de Groot/NED def. Yui Kamiji/JPN
RG: Yui Kamiji/JPN def. Momoko Ohtani/JPN
[2021]
AO: Diede de Groot/NED def. Yui Kamiji/JPN
RG: Diede de Groot/NED def. Yui Kamiji/JPN
WI: Diede de Groot/NED def. KG Montjane/RSA
US: Diede de Groot/NED def. Yui Kamiji/JPN
[2022]
AO: Diede de Groot/NED def. Aniek Van Koot/NED

*WHEELCHAIR SLAM TITLES*
[singles/doubles]
42 - Esther Vergeer, NED (21/21)
26 - DIEDE DE GROOT, NED (13/13)*
25 - Yui Kamiji, JPN (8/17)*
23 - Aniek Van Koot, NED (3/20)*
18 - Jiske Griffioen, NED (4/14)*
13 - Jordanne Whiley, GBR (1/12)

*AO "ZOMBIE QUEEN OF MELBOURNE" WINNERS*
2008 Jelena Jankovic, SRB
2009 Dinara Safina, RUS
2010 Serena Williams, USA
2011 Francesca Schiavone, ITA
2012 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2013 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2014 Li Na, CHN
2015 Maria Sharapova, RUS
2016 Monica Puig, PUR
2017 Lucie Safarova, CZE
2018 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2019 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2020 Coco Gauff, USA ("Zombie Teen Queen")
2021 Simona Halep, ROU
2022 Amanda Anisimova, USA




kosova-font







TOP QUALIFIER: Hailey Baptiste/USA
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): #1 Ash Barty/AUS
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): Madison Keys/USA
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q2 - #8 Kamilla Rakhimova/RUS def. Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva/AND 6-7(5)/7-6(8)/6-4 (VJK wins 1st from triple SP down; Rakhimova saves 2 MP in 2nd, winning 10-8 TB; 3:17)
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2r - Clara Tauson/DEN def. #6 Anett Kontaveit/EST 6-2/6-4 (breakout performance of early rounds)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 3r- #8 Paula Badosa/ESP def. Marta Kostyuk/UKR 6-2/5-7/6-4
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/WC/Doub.): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #30 Camila Giorgi/ITA (def. Potapova/RUS)
FIRST SEED OUT: #18 Coco Gauff/USA (1r lost to Wang Qiang)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: (9) - Lucia Bronzetti/ITA, Jaqueline Cristian/ROU, Maddison Inglis/AUS, Nuria Parrizas Diaz/ESP, Gabriela Ruse/ROU, Wang Xinyu/CHN, Wang Xiyu/CHN, Maryna Zanevska/BEL, Zheng Qinwen/CHN
UPSET QUEENS: Romania
REVELATION LADIES: China
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Canada (0-2 1r, #23 Fernandez out; Andreescu/Bouchard DNP)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Hailey Baptiste/USA, Lucia Bronzetti/ITA, Martina Trevisan/ITA, Zheng Qinwen/CHN (all 2nd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Maddison Inglis/AUS (3rd Rd.)
LAST AUSSIE STANDING: Ash Barty (in SF)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: Nominees: Swiatek, Collins, Fourlis (MX)
IT (Teen Stars-in-Waiting): Marta Kostyuk/UKR and Clara Tauson/DEN
COMEBACK PLAYER: Madison Keys/USA
CRASH & BURN: Emma Raducanu, GBR (2nd) and & Leylah Fernandez, CAN (1st) ['21 US F]
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF MELBOURNE: Amanda Anisimova/USA (3rd Rd. - saved 2 MP, def. defending champ Naomi Osaka)
KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: Alize Cornet/FRA and Kaia Kanepi/EST
LADY OF THE EVENING: Ash Barty/AUS
AUSTRALIAN LANGUARGE ARTS AWARD: Tennis Australia tries to push unvaccinated Novak Djokovic through Aussies borders, yet bans on-ground items featuring protests in support of Peng Shuai
DOUBLES STAR: xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Nominees: Sofia Costoulas/BEL, Charlotte Kempanaers-Pocz/AUS, Angella Okutoyi/KEN, Meshkatolzahra Safi/IRA





All for Day 11. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 1:47 AM 

3 Comments:

Blogger Hoergren said...

Well this Collins win over Swiatek set Clara Tauson in a very positive perspective, at least she was close to winning against Collins - Switek was not present. I think Clara gets a lot from that match.

Thu Jan 27, 06:43:00 AM EST  
Blogger colt13 said...

Uptown Funk clip is cool.

Still hoping they expand wheelchair soon.

75/25 Barty over Collins. For the last 44 years, which probably seems like an eternity, Australian women have played the role of Sisyphus, pushing that grand slam boulder up the hill. Wendy Turnbull came closest in 1980, after that, there were years in which the boulder didn't budge.

Then came Barty. As good as Collins is, this is all about Barty. In form to the point that she might be the 3rd(Swiatek 2020, Raducanu 2021) woman in the last 6 slams to win without dropping a set, it is all about her managing expectations.

Stat of the Day- 24- Number of American women to reach a slam final in the Open Era.

Collins is the 24th, and that number is impressive, even with some gaps. The most obvious one is the 12 year gap between V.Williams/Davenport and Stephens/Keys, in which only Venus and Serena could reach them.

The beginning of the Open Era actually wasn't much different. That 10 year period was marked by Richey, King, Casals and Evert reaching multiple slams. That streak ended with Pam Shriver.

Shriver is one of 8 one time finalists. This is the red flag for Collins regarding history. Do we expect her to reach another slam final? Recent winners like Stephens and Kenin won their first, then dropped their second. But of those stuck at 1, they are 1-6.

(W)B.Jordan
(L)K.Jordan, Shriver, Nagelsen, Walsh, Keys, Brady

Nagelsen lost to O'Neil in the last AUS/USA matchup here.

For those thinking I am giving the short shrift to Australia, they have had 10 slam finalists, with 3 one timers. Dalton and Fromholz lost, leaving O'Neil as the only winner.

Thu Jan 27, 11:44:00 AM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

H-
Tauson could match Collins' power. Very few can in her current form.


C-
A lot of work went into that video, not just to get clips from all the movies that worked, but to time everything so well.

They had a 16-player WC draw at the AO back in 2009, but abandoned it after that. Maybe the field wasn't deep enough then. All the 1r matches were straight sets, with two going love/love, and only 5 of 16 sets that even went to 6-4. I'm thinking it'd be better now. At least bump it up from 8 to 12 or 14, with byes for either the Top 2 or 4.

Thu Jan 27, 05:16:00 PM EST  

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