Sunday, February 06, 2022

Wk.5- The In-Between

The WTA took a break during Week 5 (aka "the in-between"), but tennis didn't.








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*WEEK 5*

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ITF PLAYER: Tatjana Maria/GER
...the active contingent of German veterans includes *one* more, as Maria is still working her way back on the challenger tour since returning last July (after an 11-month absence) after becoming a mother for the second time last spring. This weekend in the Rome, Georgia (US) $60K, the 34-year old claimed her 16th career circuit title, her first win in singles since winning her lone tour-level crown in Mallorca in 2018.

Since her return last summer, Maria didn't win multiple matches in an event until last month in a $60K in Orlando (w/ both coming in qualifying). She started her latest comeback by going 7-17 heading into that Orlando event. Since then, though, she's gone 9-1, and this week in Rome her 7-win (2 Q/5 MD) streak (her best since that Mallorca title) included six straight sets victories over the likes of Tara Moore, Usue Arconada, Wang Xiyu, Katie Volynets and Emma Navarro that she then followed up with a three-set (6-4/4-6/6-2) triumph in the final over big-serving 21-year old Bannerette Alycia Parks (who'd also reached the final w/o dropping a set).

Maria, a one-time Top 50 player, entered the week at #311 and should jump back inside the Top 240 in the next rankings.

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JUNIOR STARS: Brenda Fruhvirtova/CZE and Nikola Daubnerova/SVK
...another week, another major Fruhvirtova move on the tennis chess board.

This week, in just her third pro event, 14-year old Brenda took home her first title at the $25K Tucumán challenger in Argentina. The girls' #4 (WTA #1079), after a 2nd Round at the WTA 125 in Seoul in December and qualifying run (and 1r exit) last month at $25K Monastir, reached her first final with back-to-back Top 200 wins over #3-seed Elina Avanesyan (QF) and #1 Paula Ormaechea (SF). In the final, she handled #5 Carolina Alves in a 6-3/6-3 straight sets victory that adds her name to the list of Czech teens -- including Barbora Palicová in '22, after Linda Noskova, Sara Bejlek and Brenda's sister Linda last year -- who've had recent title-winning success on the ITF circuit.



Back on the junior circuit, 16-year old Slovak (jr. #50) Daubnerova claimed her biggest career title at the J1 Inka Bowl in Lima, Peru without dropping a set. The #3 seed, Daubnerova handled top-seeded Sayaka Ishii in the semis, then defeated fellow Slovakian Nina Vargova in a 6-3/7-6 final to improve her record to 10-2 in her last twelve junior matches in '22, a run which has included additional J1 QF (Barranquilla) and SF (Salinas) results.


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DOWN: Kristina Mladenovic/FRA
...fresh off her AO Mixed Doubles win (but 1st Rd. singles exit) the #98-ranked Pastry fell this weekend in the opening round of qualifying in Saint Petersburg. Mladenovic lost in three sets to 17-year old wild card Hordette Erika Andreeva, who recorded her first career Top 100 win (good thing she didn't meet Kiki in a few weeks, I guess.). Mladenovic was the Saint Petersburg champion -- her *only* WTA singles win -- in 2017, but has now lost five straight matches in the event, starting with a defeat at the hands of Petra Kvitova in the '18 final when the Pastry was attempting to repeat.

Though she came perilously close in '21, Mladenovic has *yet* to see her once high ranking fall all the way out of the Top 100, but that could change very soon. She hasn't had a triple-digit ranking since September 2012.

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1. Saint Petersburg Q1 - Caty McNally def. Kristinca Kucova 4-6/7-5/7-6(5)
Saint Petersburg Q2 - Caty McNally def. Anna Kalinskaya 6-4/2-6/6-4
...two impressive three-set wins for McNally, who *still* needs to take out Kaja Juvan in the Q3 to reach the MD. A win would be a good way to celebrate her home town Bengals playing in next Sunday's Super Bowl.


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2. $60K Rome USA Final - Sophie Chang/Angela Kulikov def. Emina Bektas/Tara Moore
...6-3/6-7(2) [10-7]. Chang, 24, has already this season picked up her biggest singles title ($25K Vero Beach) and a pair of doubles crowns (w/ Vero Beach with Allie Kiick).
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1. Saint Petersburg Q1 - Erika Andreeva def. Kristina Mladenovic
...6-3/6-7(8)/7-5. This loss might just look a bit better in a few years, as 17-year old Andreeva is one of the Renaissance Hordettes on the rise (sort of like how Mladenovic was nearly upset by Ane Mintegi del Olmo a few weeks before the Spaniard won the Wimbledon girls title last summer). But, as of this week, it's a defeat at the hands of the world #300 while the Pastry is currently struggling to stay in the Top 100 herself.

Andreeva nearly pulled off the win in straights, as she held three MP in the 2nd before Mladenovic won a 10-8 TB to force a 3rd. The Russian eventually won on her seventh MP, picking up her first career Top 100 win and handing '17 tourament champ Mladenovic a fifth straight match loss in Saint Petersburg.


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2. Saint Petersburg Q2 - Erika Andreeva def. Viktoria Kuzmova
...7-5/4-6/6-1. Not a *second* Top 100 win (Kuzmova is #148), but the Slovak (as opposed to Kiki) was 6-2 on the season coming in.
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3. $15K Antalya TUR Final - Hurricane Tyra Black def. Ilay Yörük
...6-2/4-6/6-4. 20-year old Black continues to put up results on the lower end of the ITF circuit, defeating Turkey's Yörük (14-2 on the year prior to the final) to claim her third challenger win since last November. She won her first (#4) last June, after having none at the start of '21.
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HM- $15K Monastir TUR Final - Chiara Scholl def. Haruna Arakawa
...6-2/6-4. The 29-year old Bannerette picks up her eleventh career circuit crown, securing just her second singles win since 2017.
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*2022 ITF SINGLES TITLES*
2 - Hurricane Tyra Black, USA
2 - Elizabeth Mandlik, USA
2 - Sapfo Sakellaridi, GRE

*2022 TOP JUNIOR EVENT CHAMPIONS*
SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA (COFFEE BOWL) J1: Sonya Macavei/USA
TRARALGON, AUS J1: Sofia Costoulas/BEL
SVYATOPETRIVSKE VILLAGE UKR (VICCOURT CUP) J1: Linda Klimovicova/CZE
BARRANQUILLA, COL J1: Sayaka Ishii/JPN
AUSTRALIAN OPEN: Petra Marcinko/CRO
SALINAS ECU J1: Luca Udvardy/HUN
LIMA, PERU (INKA BOWL) J1: Nikola Daubnerova/SVK





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All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 5:28 PM 

11 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Those Czech girls are coming. With Prague in July, there should be a number involved, even in qualifying.

Stat of the Week- 4- Number of WTA titles for Anastasija Sevastova.

Sevastova is taking a break. If this is the last we see of her, she will have had one of the better second acts.

She played 11 slams the first go round, reaching a career high of 36 after reaching the 4th rd of the 2011 Australian Open. Due to poor play, injuries, and retirement, that would be the last MD slam win she would have for 5 years.

After 5-11 in slams the first time, with the 2011 AO being her best result, she went 33-23 this time, reaching the US Open QF in 2016 and 2017, then reaching SF in 2018.

Shortly after that, she reached a career high of 11.

Probably even more important to her, is that she won the Baltic Open, played in her home country of Latvia in 2019.

It is currently her last title.

Quiz Time!

Sevastova has won 4 titles. How many surfaces has she won on?

A.1
B.2
C.3

Interlude- Hungry? Try Uber Eats!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6I2qpPW0xg


(A)1 is wrong. As Todd mentioned, Maria won Mallorca in 2018 over Sevastova. But sandwiched between another finals loss in 2016, was her 2017 win over Julia Goerges.

That was on grass, the same surface in which she reached her only career doubles final.

(C)3 is wrong, as she has reached a final on hard, but did not win. That is ironic, not the fact that she didn't win, but that she reached the final at all. She lost the China Open, a 1000 event. This is her only career final that isn't a 250.

That leaves (B)2 as correct. She won 3 titles on clay, including Portugal in 2010, the only title won before her first retirement.

Mon Feb 07, 08:10:00 AM EST  
Blogger colt13 said...

5 On the Up Side- Winter Break is Over Edition.

1.Ostapenko- Like Sevastova, she has won 4 titles. However, she is the Latvian that has won on 3 surfaces. 4 of her 10 finals have been indoors, and she is a winner of this event(2015) when it was still at ITF level.
2.Rybakina- Would I be obligated to pick a Russian here? Well, Rybakina was born there, and is a former RU here in 2020. Not the first Kazakh, as Putintseva was 2017 RU to Mladenovic.
3.Swiatek- Not here, but deserves some notice as only 1(Barty & Krejcikova) of 3 women that have been QF or better in every event this season-min 2 events.
4.Alexandrova- Indoor queen already took out Giorgi, and reached the final of the Kremlin Cup, the last event played in Russia.
5.Van Uytvanck- In the much tougher half of the draw, so not expected to go deep, but never forget that 4 of her 5 titles have come indoors.

Mon Feb 07, 08:19:00 AM EST  
Blogger colt13 said...

5 On the Down Side.

1.Gasparyan- WTF? Often injured Gasparyan has had a rough year. Well, actually 11 months. This event was played in March last year, and the current #179 reached the final. She retired in that match, starting a 6 match losing streak. Has not played since RG. Also has 6 match LS in doubles, which stretches back to 2019.
2.Mladenovic- 2017 winner out in qualifying. 15-6 vs players ranked 100 or below in the last year. That percentage isn't great for someone still in the Top 100, but more troubling is that she has that many matches. It means she's having to go through Q too often.
3.Martic- In a 4-11 stretch in which the highest ranked player she beat was #63 Sevastova. This might give her a chance vs #104 Rakhimova, who might reach the Top 100 with an "upset." I'm kidding, Martic losing right now isn't close to an upset.
4.N.Kichenok- Last year's winner doesn't defend her title. She will lose 470 pts, but probably only drop one spot in the rankings. She didn't do anything wrong to show up on this list, but real world implications leave her sister(w/Ostapenko) as the only player from Ukraine in singles or doubles.
5.Zvonareva- Will likely drop out of the Top 100 after this week. Realistically, her comeback hasn't been great regarding her results. But I respect the fact that instead of retiring due to injury, she started a family, then came back on her own terms. Even won the COVID slam(2020 US Open) in doubles with the field slashed in half.

Mon Feb 07, 08:34:00 AM EST  
Blogger Diane said...

Judy Garland was, I think, 16 when she sang "In Between." How could a 16-year-old have that voice? This always amazes me--that she had the "Judy Garland Voice" before she became an adult.

Several years ago, a client asked me, "who do you think is the greatest female singer of all time?" Without hesitating, I said "Judy Garland." She stared at me and said, "I didn't know that she was a singer." I've never gotten over that.

Mon Feb 07, 01:13:00 PM EST  
Blogger colt13 said...

I would not put her in that class, but seeing a healthy version of Garland is jarring.

Extremely talented.

Mon Feb 07, 03:14:00 PM EST  
Blogger Diane said...

Sadly, that isn't a healthy version. She was already drugged to the gills by the time she was 11 or 12. Between her mother and Goldwyn (who also sexually abused her), she never had a chance.

For me, she will always be the greatest singer (and entertainer) who ever lived, and also one of the greatest survivors. The fact that she did what she did for as long as she did it was a kind of miracle.

Mon Feb 07, 03:30:00 PM EST  
Blogger Diane said...

Sorry--I meant LBM, not Goldwyn.

Mon Feb 07, 03:35:00 PM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

C-

Sevastova has been one of the rare non-U.S. players (Pennetta *sort of* fits in the category, too, though she had big success elsewhere) who arguably shined the *brightest* under the big lights of NYC where so many others aren't able to play their very best. Sometimes during those runs it felt like she was a "born New Yorker." ;)

Quiz: went with two because I couldn't remember a grass win. (!!)

Haha... Uber Eats should have done something like that for the U.S. Open.

Hard to believe Tauson doesn't try to hit *every* indoor event of the season.


D-

That is a bit stunning. I mean, even if you only know JG from Wizard of Oz...

I became a fan of Garland from watching all those old movies, years (and years) ago when I was trying to watch almost *every* movie of note from the 1930s/1940s, starting with all of those with James Stewart and then, in a "Six Degrees of..." sort of way, picking up new actors and actresses from a movie with someone I already liked and then going through a different person's movie list (from Hepburn to Grant to Myrna Loy to someone like Carole Lombard, who *far* too many people probably haven't even heard of these days). I think I went through a few hundred movies like that.

Anyway, Garland was in that mix. Even if some of those movies weren't great, her voice was always worth it.

Hmmm, maybe the Jukebox will roll out a few other JG performances this week...

Mon Feb 07, 11:53:00 PM EST  
Blogger Diane said...

Carole Lombard remains the funniest woman I've ever seen on film. My favorite is her hilarious turn as Hazel Flagg in Nothing Sacred.

Several years ago, I contributed to an on-going series, "Menmorable Moments in Music," that was published by a small Australian zine. My piece was about the nightclub scene in A Star Is Born, in which Garland sings The Man That Got Away. It is perfect. I was pleased and surprised to recently see someone on Twitter reference her brushing her hair away in that scene (I reference it in my essay). Because it wasn't just her once-in-a-century (or more) voice--it was the way she sang with her whole body.

Tue Feb 08, 09:51:00 AM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Looking at some videos last night to include in the next post, that sort of thing did come up quite a bit. A brush away of her hair in a dancing/singing scene w/ Gene Kelly in "Me and My Gal" was necessary, but also brought a certain charm to the performance. A wink in the middle of a line in another movie song, etc. And I know you saw the whole-body performances a great deal during the concerts (and short-lived TV show) later in her career.

On Lombard, I think I posted this a while back, but I always reference a really good episode from a few years ago on the You Must Remember This podcast that focused on Lombard's career, her relationship w/ Clark Gable and the tragedy of her plane crash death and how it destroyed CG. It's incredibly sad at times, but very well done.

Tue Feb 08, 12:26:00 PM EST  
Blogger Diane said...

Thanks for that episode link.

Oh, and Renee Zellweger nailed it.

Tue Feb 08, 02:26:00 PM EST  

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