Wednesday, April 06, 2022

2022 1Q Awards: Iga with a Dash of Ash

The 1st Quarter of 2022 began with a dominant display of excellence from the women's world #1 that provided tangible evidence that the top spot on the WTA pyramid had been durably secured for the foreseeable future. Two months later, the 1Q ended with the women's world #1 going on an historic cross-continental winning streak that provided tangible evidence that the top spot on the WTA pyramid had been durably secured for the foreseeable future.

In between those two feats, 25-year old world #1 Ash Barty -- the reigning Wimbledon and Australian Open champ who'd opened the season by going 11-0 -- announced her immediate retirement from the sport, and was set to be replaced at the top of the rankings by Iga Swiatek, who just so happened to be squarely in the middle of what would turn out to be a 17-match winning streak that culminated in her becoming the youngest woman to complete a sweep of both Indian Wells and Miami -- the fabled "Sunshine Double" -- just two days before she officially became the first Polish player to be ranked #1.



The WTA... simply irresistible.





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1. Iga Swiatek, POL ...the new women's #1, Swiatek's offseason coaching change has helped to lift her game (and belief) even higher. In the 1Q, she assumed the vacated top spot in style, winning three straight events (all 1000 level) and completing a "Sunshine Double" in Indian Wells in Miami. In Melbourne, Iga reached the Round of 16 at a tour-best sixth straight major, playing in her first slam SF since winning in Paris in the fall of '20 (and she was *disappointed* by that result).
2. Ash Barty, AUS ...before her sudden retirement, the top-ranked Aussie went 11-0 Down Under and became the first home grown AO women's singles champion since 1978.
3. Diede de Groot, NED (WC) ...Diede the Great -- the reigning 2021 "Ms.Backspin" -- continues to roll through the wheelchair tour and over all opponents. She's undefeated in '22 (9-0 singles, 6-0 doubles), having swept the Australian Open wheelchair titles for a second straight year. De Groot has won 45 straight singles contests (50-1 the last two seasons) and 19 in a row in doubles (31-2 in 2021-22).
4. Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE ...Siniakova has picked up a '22 WD title w/o Krejcikova, but the Czech duo is never better than when they're together, as their AO title run attested. The pair have won the AO, RG, WTAF and Olympic Gold in the past year.
5. Paula Badosa, ESP ...a title winner in Sydney, Badosa joined Swiatek as the only player to reach the second week at the AO (4r), I.W. (SF) and Miami (QF)
6. Alona Ostapenko, LAT ...Latvian Thunder was as loud as it's been in years in the 1Q, as Ostapenko won her biggest title (Dubai) since RG '17 and knocked off six slam winners (including Iga) in a nine-match stretch (sometimes flicking away future Hall of Famers as if they were annoying gnats).
7. Simona Halep, ROU ...opened the season with her first singles title (Melbourne 1) since '20, then reached the second week at the AO and the Indian Wells semis
8. Anett Kontaveit, EST ...while her big event results lag, Kontaveit is still nearly invincible indoors. Her Saint Petersburg title run extended her indoors winning streak to 20 matches. The Estonian also reached the Doha final, her tour-best eighth WTA final appearance since last summer.
9. Danielle Collins, USA ...overcoming numerous health issues, Collins reached her maiden slam final at the AO and cracked the Top 10 in the rankings
10. Maria Sakkari, GRE ...still working her way toward finding a way to finish off events in style, the Greek continues to give herself opportunities. After a Round of 16 at the AO, Sakkari excelled in 1000 events with a Doha SF and Indian Wells runner-up (and Saint Petersburg 500 final, too).
11. Laura Siegemund/Vera Zvonareva, GER/RUS ...with Siegemund back from knee surgery, the all-veteran duo (winners in Lyon and Miami) were the only team to claim multiple titles in the 1Q
12. Madison Keys, USA ...rebounded from a difficult '21 season to win her first tour title since '19 (Adelaide 2), reach her first slam SF since '18, and posted her career-best result (QF) in Indian Wells
13. Leylah Fernandez, CAN ...the Canadian's North American touch remains, as she defended her Monterrey title, then reached the Round of 16 in Indian Wells
14. Xu Yifan/Yang Zhaoxuan, CHN/CHN ...unexpected winners in Indian Wells
15. Anna Danilina/Beatriz Haddad, KAZ/BRA ...followed up their Sydney title with an appearance in the AO final




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1. IGA'S DAYS IN THE SUN
...maybe Iga Swiatek should have just worn a cape, for a player couldn't have more come to the rescue of the tour than she did in the 1Q's closing weeks. In this case, timing really was everything.

The 20-year old Pole's 1Q-closing dash saw her become just the fourth (and youngest) woman to complete the "Sunshine Double," taking Miami without dropping a set two weeks after having battled her way (often having to come from behind after losing the opening set in three matches) to win in Indian Wells. And that only scratched the surface of her current run.



Swiatek ended the 1st Quater on a 17-match (and 20-set) winning streak, became the first player to ever sweep (w/ Doha) the first three 1000 events in a season (and has won *four* in the past year), and is now officially the first Polish player to be ranked #1. Maybe more "importantly," at a time when the tour's #1-ranked player, the reigning champ at two majors, announced her retirement at age 25 less than two months after having completed the third leg of a Career Slam, Swiatek's dominant surge has allowed the WTA to more forward without skipping a beat. The handoff from the "Ash Era" to the "Iga Era" couldn't have gone any more smoothly. In fact, it's almost as if the Aussie has been relegated to "history" quicker than any former #1. Ever.

Swiatek is now the unquestioned #1, having legitimately *earned* the spot rather than simply inheriting it with Barty's exit. She'll still have to fight off multiple challengers for the top ranking the remainder of '22, but she enters the clay season, which has (so far) been her most favored part of the schedule (she won RG *and* Rome while still a teenager, remember) with a chance to put a little distance between herself and her closest competitors.

For the rest of the season, it may not be a case of "Ash who?," but it's surely one of "Iga, *that's* who."
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2. TH-TH-TH-THAT'S ALL, ASH!
...before announcing her retirement less than two months later, Ash Barty's final touches on her multi-year run (including three straight season-ending top rankings) were virtually spotless.

Barty swept through Australia before walking into the sunset (or maybe onto a series of golf courses?). Playing her first matches since the U.S. Open, the Aussie opened '22 by trailing Coco Gauff 6-4/4-2, with the teenager holding GP for a 5-2 lead. Barty rallied to win in three sets, then proceeded to never lose, going 11-0 (w/ 22 straight sets), taking the title in Adelaide (along with the doubles w/ Storm Sanders) and then going on to become the first Australian woman to win the AO singles crown since 1978, dropping serve just twice in seven matches (six played under the lights, avoiding the summer sun) in Melbourne.



The title run gave Barty titles at three of the four slams (on three different surfaces), improved her record on Australian soil since 2020 to 28-3 and saw her (at least for the moment) close out her career having gone 22-1 in her last 23 matches vs. Top 30 opponents.

In the aftermath, just weeks after setting down her rackets, Barty is already finding a new way to scratch her competitve itch...


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3. LATVIAN DESERT THUNDER
...after occasionally flirting with the notion of a full-fledged return of Latvian Thunder since last summer, when she won her first title in two seasons (first since taking the Roland Garros crown in '17) and later reached the semis of the fall version of Indian Wells, Alona Ostapenko fed off a Saint Petersburg semifinal result to put together one of the more unique and dramatic title runs in recent memory in Doha, knocking off four consecutive former slam champions, coming from a set down against three, saving a MP versus one, and adding some belated "Parisian vibes" by bageling her final RG title run opponent in a deciding 3rd set (after having blanked her in a TB to take the 2nd).

It was a trip that may not ultimately stack up with Ash Barty's dominating AO jaunt, or Iga Swiatek's historic quarter-closing triumphs, but will surely linger in the memory all season long and back up the idea that the Latvian is *the* most exciting player in the sport, while also being its most unpredictable and potentially awe-inspiring figure as audiences watch from both close by and afar and either wait for "the other shoe" to drop or for Ostapenko herself to drop the thudding hammer down on the head of an opponent that can do little but hope that she (eventually) starts to miss.

In Dubai, when Ostapenko did just that, it was a trend that didn't last for long. Her journey to a fifth tour title began with a straight sets win over '20 AO champ Sofia Kenin, and she followed that up by taking down '20 RG winner Swiatek (dropping the 1st before winning a 3rd set TB), two-time Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova (from a set and 5-3 back, saving a MP), and two-time slam winner Simona Halep, the Latvian's final foe in Paris five years ago, by taking a love 2nd set TB to force a 3rd, and then dropping a love final set on the Romanian to advance to the final. Once there, Ostapenko opened with a second consecutive love set in the 1st against Veronika Kudermetova, and went on to put away the Hordette in straights.

A week later in Doha, Ostapenko reached the semifinals after extending her winning streak to nine matches, a run which amazingly included (after additional defeats of Barbora Krejcikova and Garbine Muguruza) wins over six former slam champs.
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4. THE ROOF, THE ROOF, THE ROOF IS ON FIRE
...back in the comfort of home -- well, at least *indoors* just like home sweet home -- Anett Kontaveit picked up where she left off down the final stretch of '21, reaching her sixth final (and winning a fifth title) in eleven events while extending her indoor match win streak to 20, the best on tour since Petra Kvitova (23 WTA, 27 w/ Fed Cup) a decade ago.

After needing three sets to eliminate Jil Teichmann to start the week, Kontaveit ran off three straight sets wins over Sorana Cirstea, Belinda Bencic and Alona Ostapenko. She carried over her momentum into the final against Maria Sakkari, taking a 5-2 1st set and serving for the set at 5-3. Then the wheels began to fall off.

Kontaveit dropped seven straight games and on multiple occasions saw a string of errors appear to point her in the direction of defeat. But the grit she showed late last season came in handy, as she'd ultimately author comebacks in both the 2nd (from 2-0 down) and 3rd (5-2 back, with Sakkari serving at 5-3) to earn the right to lift yet another trophy.


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5. SPANISH EYES SHINE IN SYDNEY
...what a difference a year makes. After beginning her trip Down Under in 2021 by going into a three-week quarantine (after testing positive for Covid a week into the expected two-week lockdown) before going on to have a career year, Paula Badosa started '22 "in the black," bending fate to her will by claiming her third career tour title (second-biggest after her career-height win in Indian Wells last fall) in Sydney.

There was nothing that Badosa couldn't handle in Week 2, posting straight sets wins over Alona Ostapenko and Ajla Tomljanvoic, outlasting Belinda Bencic in three and putting down Dasha Kasatkina 2 & 2 in the semis to set up a meeting with fellow Top 10er Barbora Krejcikova in the final.

After the Czech took the 2nd set to force a decider, Badosa had a GP for a 3-0 lead before Krejcikova broke to get back on serve. From there, the Spaniard didn't waver and kept a nose in front on the scoreboard, forcing Krejcikova to hold from 4-5 and 5-6 to stay in the match. In the deciding TB, Badosa pulled away mid-breaker to win 7-4 to add a 500 level crown to the 1000 and 250 titles she won last season.
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6. DIEDE DOWN UNDER, PART IV
...rollin', rollin', rollin'. A ninth career slam s/d title sweep, fifth consecutive slam singles win and fourth AO wheelchair championship in five years only added to Diede de Groot's growing legend, as the Dutch #1 has now claimed 26 overall slam titles (13 in each discipline), winning 76% of the available major titles in the last seventeen majors (as well as sweeping last year's Paralympics Golds).


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7. A FERNANDEZ FIESTA, PART DOS
...Leylah Fernandez wins in Monterrey, becoming the first teenager to successfully defend a tour singles title since 2014.



As the week went on in Monterrey, Fernandez began to discover more and more of the magic and mindset that fueled her Open run. After opening with a win over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, Fernandez outlasted Zheng Qinwen in a 3rd set TB, finished Wang Qiang in straight sets in a "Late Night Leylah" match that ended at 2:45 a.m. and polished off Beatriz Haddad Maia to reach her fourth career final (and third in Mexico in three seasons). In the final, as she did so often in New York, Fernandez shined down the stretch in the 3rd set, rallying from 4-1 down against Camila Osorio. Twice serving to stay in the match, at 5-4 and 6-5 down, she saved five MP spread across those two games, with the last coming after she'd appealed to the umpire to stop play after a lights malfunction in the middle of the deuce point that had just been completed. The delay lasted almost twenty minutes, and it was legitimate to wonder whether Fernandez might come to regret her actions if she was unable to immediately put in a serve coming out of the long break. She did, and it was Osorio who committed the return error.

Fernandez won three straight points to get the hold. Now in control, she won a 7-3 TB to defend what had been her maiden tour title.
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8. CZECHING OFF ANOTHER BOX
...the Czech duo picked up their fourth career slam title by grabbing the AO crown, leaving them a U.S. Open win away from becoming the first women's duo to complete a Career Super Slam with titles at all four majors, the Olympics and the WTAF.
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9. DANIMAL DOWN UNDER
...less than a year after dealing with another round of health issues, Danielle Collins did what she does: persevere, reset and thrive. In this case, it was a maiden slam final run in Melbourne, a Top 10 ranking, and the realization that, yes, she *does* have the game and mindset that could eventually lead her into the slam winner's circle.

Collins is the third former NCAA women's player -- and first NCAA singles champ, as she was twice at Virginia -- to reach a slam final, following in the footsteps of Barbara Jordan ('79 AO), Kathy Jordan ('83 AO) and Jennifer Brady ('21 AO). She ultimately became the last victim in Ash Barty's reign as the world #1, but she made the Aussie work to do it in straight sets as Collins at one point led 5-1 in the 2nd.


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10. RISE OF THE FRUHVIRTOVAS
...the Crush of Czechs blossoming on the junior circuit is now spilling over onto the women's tour, with sisters Linda and Brenda Fruhvirtova leading the way.

The 1st Quarter has seen 14-year old Brenda become the youngest player to win a title on the ITF World Tennis Tour in over six years after triumphing on Argentine soil at a $25K Tucuman in what was just her third pro event. A week later, the Czech won another title. The next week, Brenda qualified in Guadalajara to made her tour-level debut, becoming the first player born in 2007 to play a WTA 1st Round match, the youngest to reach a MD match since 2009, and just the ninth do so this century. She lost to Sloane Stephens.



Meanwhile, less than a year since her tour-level debut in Charleston (where she reached the QF), 16-year old Linda joined her younger sister in the winner's circle with a February $25K win in Cancun, then returned to the WTA headlines with a Round of 16 result at Miami (w/ wins over Danka Kovinic, Elise Mertens and Victoria Azarenka in her first 1000 MD) to become the youngest to advance so far in the tournament since 2004.


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HM- ASIA DOWN UNDER (and then some)
...Bannerette veteran Asia Muhammad opened the '22 season by winning a tour level double title (w/ Jessie Pegula) in Melbourne, the seventh of her career. After the AO had concluded (she and Pegula lost in the 2r), Muhammad stuck around and player the Aussie challenger circuit. It proved to be a great decision, as she grabbed three straight ITF singles titles, winning fifteen straight matches, while also claiming a pair of ITF doubles wins.



Returning to the U.S., Muhammed then teamed with Ena Shibahara to reach the Indian Wells double final, the biggest of her career, while extending her overall s/d winning streak to 27 matches. The duo knocked off #1-ranked Katerina Siniakova, #3-seeded "McCoco" and #5 Dabrowski/Olmos en route, but fell in the final to Xu Yifan & Yang Zhaoxuan. It was the first tour-level WD final loss in eight appearances (2015-22) for Muhammad.

She's still won her last nine ITF singles finals (2018-22), her last two WTA 125 WD finals (2020-21) and gone 21-5 in ITF doubles championships (2015-22).
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*BEST MATCH POINT*



*BEST THROWBACK SOMBRERO MOMENT*



*BEST TOUR-SPONSORED HORROR MOVIE TRAILER (for future Ostapenko opponents)*



*BEST MARKETING OF TOFU*



*BEST POST-MATCH INTERVIEW*



*BEST REMINDER OF REAL LIFE CONCERNS*
...in Lyon, saying that her "heart stays at home," while her "mind is fighting here," Dayana Yastremska arrived in France after a harrowing escape from her Odesa hometown in Ukraine alongside her 15-year old sister Ivanna. Granted a wild card into both the singles and doubles draws, Dayana played alongside one another.



In singles, she saved two MP in her opening win against Ana Bogdan and then tried to finish the Ukrainian tennis mission started by Elina Svitolina in Monterrey. Like Svitolina, Yastremska couldn't quite reach the finish line, but her grit and determination were at perhaps an all-time high as the world #140 fought her way into her first tour final in over two years after what had already been a trying couple of seasons (a stretch which included a high profile coaching change away from Sascha Bajin, a provisional doping suspension that was ultimately overturned, a few unfortunate social media faux pas and a significant slide in the rankings after having ranked at #21 early in 2020) before the abhorrent Russian invasion and ongoing destruction of her country.



After putting away Sorana Cirstea in the semis, rebounding to break the Romanian to end the match after having failed to convert 3 MP on serve at 5-3 in the 3rd, Yastremska led Zhang Shuai by a set and a break, then by a break in the 3rd, in the final. But Zhang raised her level in the closing games, perhaps spurred on by at least one fan seemingly heckling her from the stands, got the late break before serving out a very tight match that was separated by just two points in the final stats, and saw Yastremska fire 31 winners and convert 4/4 BP attempts in an ultimately losing effort.

Afterward, Yastremska thanked the crowd for having her back all week long, and hailed the strength and resilience of the Ukrainians fighting for the nation's freedom back home.






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RISERS SURPRISES
1. Jessie Pegula, USA 1. Lucia Bronzetti, ITA
2. Veronika Kudermetova, RUS 2. Harriet Dart, GBR
3. Barbora Krejcikova, CZE 3. Danka Kovinic, MNE
4. Ons Jabeur, TUN 4. Anhelina Kalinina, UKR
5. Dayana Yastremska, UKR 5. Tamara Korpatsch, GER
6. Marie Bouzkova, CZE 6. Maddison Inglis, AUS
7. Dasha Kasatkina, RUS 7. Priscilla Hon, AUS
8. Belinda Bencic, SUI 8. A.Barnett/O.Nicholls, GBR/GBR
9. Elena Rybakina, KAZ 9. Jang Su-jeong, KOR
10. Jasmine Paolini, ITA 10. Jaimee Fourlis, AUS
HM- Marketa Vondrousova, CZE HM- Harmony Tan, FRA


FRESH FACES JUNIORS
1. Zheng Qinwen, CHN 1. Petra Marcinko, CRO
2. Amanda Anisimova, USA 2. Sofia Costoulas, BEL
3. Linda Fruhvirtova, CZE 3. Lucie Havlickova, CZE
4. Camila Osorio, COL 4. Liv Hovde, USA
5. Coco Gauff, USA 5. Barbora Palicova, CZE
6. Marta Kostyuk, UKR 6. Nikola Bartunkova, CZE
7. Ann Li, USA 7. Taylah Preston, AUS
8. Clara Tauson, DEN 8. Tereza Valentova, CZE
9. Anna Kalinskaya, RUS 9. Clervie Ngounoue, USA
10. Kaja Juvan, SLO 10. Solana Sierra, ARG
11. Wang Xinyu, CHN 11. Diana Shnaider, RUS
12. Wang Xiyu, CHN 12. Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz, AUS
HM- Hailey Baptiste, USA HM- Angella Okutoyi, KEN


VETERANS COMEBACKS
1. Simona Halep, ROU 1. Dasha Saville, AUS
2. Siegemund/Zvonareva, GER/RUS 2. Alona Ostapenko, LAT
3. Sloane Stephens, USA 3. Madison Keys, USA
4. Zhang Shuai, CHN 4. Sloane Stephens, USA
5. Asia Muhammad, USA 5. Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
6. Aniek Van Koot, NED (WC) 6. Naomi Osaka, JPN
7. Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR 7. Petra Martic, CRO
8. Shelby Rogers, USA 8. Katie Boulter, GBR
9. Petra Kvitova, CZE 9. Ana Konjuh, CRO
10. Alize Cornet, FRA 10. Wang Qiang, CHN
11. Alison Riske, USA 11. Jiske Griffioen, NED (WC)
12. Sorana Cirstea, ROU 12. Wang Yafan, CHN
HM- Nuria Párrizas Díaz, ESP HM- Karolina Muchova, CZE


DOUBLES DOWN
1. Krejcikova/Siniakova, CZE/CZE 1. Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
2. Siegemund/Zvonareva, GER/RUS 2. Victoria Azarenka, BLR
3. Xu Yifan/Yang Zhaoxuan, CHN/CHN 3. Camila Giorgi, ITA
4. de Groot/Van Koot, NED/NED (WC) 4. Emma Raducanu, GBR
5. Danilina/Haddad Maia, KAZ/BRA 5. Garbine Muguruza, ESP
6. V.Kudermetova/Mertens, RUS/BEL 6. Sofia Kenin, USA
7. Kristina Mladenovic, FRA (MX) 7. Elina Svitolina, UKR
8. Jessie Pegula, USA 8. Yui Kamiji, JPN (WC)
9. Asia Muhammad, USA 9. Fiona Ferro, FRA
10. Hozumi/Ninomiya, JPN/JPN 10. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
11. Gauff/McNally, USA/USA 11. Karolina Pliskova, CZE
12. Storm Sanders, AUS 12. Jil Teichmann, SUI


MOST IMPROVED COACH
1. Anna Kalinskaya, RUS 1. Tomasz Witkorowski (Swiatek)
2. Zheng Qinwen, CHN 2. Nicolas Almagro (Collins)
3. Lucia Bronzetti, ITA 3. David Witt (Pegula)
4. Harriet Dart, GBR 4. Jorge Garcia (Badosa)
5. Danka Kovinic, MNE 5. Dmitry Tursunov (Kontaveit)
6. Gabriela Ruse, ROU 6. Craig Tyzzer (Barty)
7. Harmony Tan, FRA 7. Thomas Hill (Sakkari)
8. Dalma Galfi, HUN 8. Georgi Rumenov (Keys)
9. Lily Miyazaki, JPN 9. Piotr Sierzputowski (Rogers)
10. A.Barnett/O.Nicholls, GBR/GBR 10. Corey Gauff (Gauff)
11. Tamara Korpatsch, GER 11. Henner Nehles (Li)
12. Panna Udvardy, HUN 12. Michael Geserer (Martic)


WHEELCHAIR ITF TOUR
1. Diede de Groot, NED 1. Asia Muhammad, USA
2. de Groot/Van Koot, NED/NED 2. Yuan Yue, CHN
3. Aniek Van Koot, NED 3. Brenda Fruhvirtova, CZE
4. Lucy Shuker, GBR 4. Sapfo Sakellaridi, GRE
5. Mathewson/Shuker, USA/GBR 5. Ana Bogda, ROU
HM- Lizzy de Greef, NED (Jr.) 6. Tatjana Maria, GER
-- 7. Sakura Hosogi, JPN
-- 8. Petra Marcinko, CRO
-- 9. Ysaline Bonaventure, BEL
-- 10. Séléna Janicijevic, FRA




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1. Sydney SF - Barbora Krejcikova def. Anett Kontaveit
...0-6/6-4/7-6(12). Krejickova saves seven MP in the 2:30 affair, preventing Kontaveit from her fourth straight tour final appearance dating back to her brilliant '21 season finish.

Kontaveit saved three BP in game #1 in the 1st, then went on to take the set at love. The Estonian had her first three MP at 6-5 in the 3rd before the Czech forced the TB. In the breaker, Krejicikova had her first two MP at 6-4 only to see Kontaveit extend the match. Finally, on the overall 12th MP of the match, Krejickova (on her fifth) secured the victory.


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2. Australian Open 3rd Rd. - Paula Badosa def. Marta Kostyuk
...6-2/5-7/6-4. For a set and a half, Badosa was nearly flawless. She led 6-2/4-2 before her good friend Kostyuk's impressive fortitude started to pay off as the Ukrainian teen stormed back to force a 3rd set.

Again, Badosa jumped out to the early lead at 2-0 in the decider. But (also again) Kostyuk didn't blink. Both players flashed their athleticism as they traded off momentum in the middle of the 3rd. Kostyuk's big stage "moment" may have been there for the taking as the physical nature of the battle began to take its toll on both players. But it was then that the teenager played quite possibly her worst game of the match, a four-point stretch filled with loose errors (a netted short ball, a backhand error) on points that had actually shown promise. She sent a backhand long at love/40 to hand Badosa back her break lead at 4-3.

Badosa's edge in experience proved to be key down the stretch. Up 30/love, she fired an ace, then after Kostyuk had closed to 40/30, won a 17-shot rally to hold for 5-3. Saving two MP on her serve, Kostyuk held for 5-4, forcing Badosa to serve things out. The Spaniard reached her first AO 4th Round, but couldn't bring the same level of effort in her second straight match in the Aussie heat vs. Madison Keys.


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3. Australian Open 4th Rd. - Alize Cornet def. Simona Halep
...6-4/3-6/6-4. Seventeen years after Cornet made her AO debut in 2006 as a 15-year old wild card, and in her 63rd career major, the veteran Pastry sets a new end-of-the-futility standard by finally reaching her maiden slam QF. She had to fight her way through Halep to do it, with both woman slowed (and the Romanian on occasion looking as if she might literally topple over) by the searing ("inhuman," per Cornet) Melbourne conditions.

Cornet beat Halep at her own game of long, physical rallies, but not before the former #1 rallied, reaching deep inside to retrieve some of her old magic to pull out of a 6-4/3-1 hole and force a 3rd set, winning sixteen straight points to take the 2nd.

The French woman took the lead in the decider with a late break, as her persistent defense kept multiple rallies alive until they were finally ended with Halep errors. The Romanian faced double MP at 5-3, but saved both. Cornet served out the win a game later, then dramatically (Alize couldn't have it any other way) fell to her knees in disbelief, the ultimate victor in a timeless battle of attrition.


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4. Monterrey Final - Leylah Fernandez def. Camila Osorio
...6-7(5)/6-4/7-6(3). In the second-youngest final match-up of the decade (behind last year's U.S. Open final between Fernandez and Emma Raducanu) 20-year Osorio battled back from 4-1 down in the 1st, but then saw 19-year Fernandez do the same against her in the 3rd. Fighting to keep her title defense dreams alive, on serve, Fernandez saved five MP down the stretch, two while serving down 5-4 and three more down 6-5.

The fifth MP came following a nearly 20-minute delay after a mid-point (at deuce) malfunction of the stadium lights that Fernandez immediately appealed to the chair umpire about. Naturally, some will try to charge "gameswomanship!" at Fernandez's action but, in truth, down MP and serving, the pressure was more on Fernandez than Osorio, who'd already had four MP chances. Of note, Fernandez never sat down during the break (Osorio did), and made a point to remain calm, sometimes simply by holding her racket flat and staring at the strings as she rolled a ball around the edges of the frame.

At it was, the Colombian missed on her first return and Fernandez won a third straight point out of the delay to force a deciding TB. She took an early mini-break lead in the breaker that she never relinquished, putting away her first MP when Osorio's crosscourt forehand sailed wide.

The result ended Osorio's streak of 16 straight 3rd set victories in tour-level Q/MD matches, and sees Fernandez become the first teenager to successfully defend a singles title since Elina Svitolina in Baku in 2014.


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5. Dubai QF - Alona Ostapenko def. Petra Kvitova
...5-7/7-5/7-6(9). Ostapenko, who trailed 7-5/5-3, rallies and (eventually) wins a tour singles title for the first time in her career after having staved off a MP.


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6. Indian Wells SF - Iga Swiatek def. Simona Halep
...7-6(6)/6-4. For Simona, it was one of those nights (i.e. when your opponent is in such supreme form that you must not squander *any* opportunity you're given if you want to have a chance... and even if you don't you're not *assured* of winning). Thing is, Halep *did* have a few key chances, but saw them taken away by Swiatek.

Halep played a near brilliant 1st set against the sparkling Pole, coming back from 4-2 down to put herself in position to hold double-SP in the TB up 6-4. But when she failed to convert either point -- swiping the court with her racket in frustration -- the Romanian likely had a sinking sense about her fate. When Swiatek swatted a forehand return winner off a Halep second serve to take the TB at 8-6 and grab the match lead, suddenly Halep had to essentially win *three* sets to down the Pole.

Playing with a sore thigh that required a MTO early in the set, Halep put up a valiant effort, taking a 4-2 lead before once again Swiatek came back with at her with everything she had and closed down the former I.W. champ, sweeping the final four games and serving out the win to both remarkably (and not surprisingly, as in often the case with this near Invincable Iga) win in *two* to reach her first tour final on North American soil.


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7. Saint Petersburg Final - Anett Kontaveit def. Maria Sakkari
...5-7/7-6(4)/7-5. Ultimately, in a match of swinging momentum, the "winning way" that Kontaveit picked up through the last third of the '21 season (a run which included a win over the Greek in the Ostrava!!! final) pushed her over the finish ahead of Sakkari, who is still finding her way when it comes to "finishing" some of the great runs she starts.

Sakkari rallied from 5-2 down in the 1st, seizing upon Kontaveit's string of errors and poor serving stretch to win seven straight games. Then it was Kontaveit's turn, as she staged a comeback from an early break deficit at 2-0 in the 2nd to finally take a 4-3 on-serve lead and win a 7-4 TB to force a 3rd set. There, again, Sakkari grabbed the early lead, charging ahead 3-0. She led 5-2 and served for the title at 5-3, only to see the last shift in momentum go Kontaveit's way. The Estonian swept the final five games to get the win, extending her indoor streak to 20 matches.


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8. Indian Wells 2nd Rd. - Petra Kvitova def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich
...6-7(4)/6-4/6-4. And we welcome Fightin' Petra to the '22 season.


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9. AO Q2 - Kamilla Rakhimova def. Victoria Jimenez Kastinseva
...6-7(5)/7-6(8)/6-4 ...the Hordette saves a pair of MP against the 16-year old Andorran, the winner of the most recent AO girls singles title in 2020. In the 3:17 match, Rakhimova held triple SP in the 1st at 5-4, only to see VJK surge back to take the set in a tie-break. Rakhimova had to save both MP in the 2nd set TB before prevailing 10-8, then went on to take the 3rd, denying Kasintseva just days after the teenager had lost in a $60K final in Bendigo.
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10. Miami 2nd Rd. - Katerina Siniakova def. Emma Raducanu
...3-6/6-4/7-5. Raducanu led 3-1 in the 2nd, and 5-3 in the 3rd. A week earlier, she'd held break leads in the 2nd and 3rd sets before eventually falling to Petra Martic in three. Additionally, the Brit retired in Monterrey in the middle of the 3rd set of the (still) longest match of the year vs. Dasha Saville.
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11. Monterrey QF - Camila Osorio def. Elina Svitolina
...1-6/7-5/7-6(5). In Svitolina's first event after the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Osorio wore the "black hat" in Monterrey, ending the Ukrainian's run despite playing with an elbow that was tended to by trainers. Employing crafty strategy (i.e. spins and such) over the final two sets, Osorio knotted the match and erased a 4-1 3rd set deficit to improve to 2-0 vs. Svitolina ('21 Tenerife 1r).

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12. Monterrey QF - Beatriz Haddad Maia def. Marie Bouzkova
...4-6/6-4/7-6(7). The Brazilian rallies from 4-2 down in the 3rd, and 6-3 in the deciding TB, saving three MP to win in 3:22.
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*SUCKING IT UP*

Indian Wells 2nd Rd. - Veronika Kudermetova def. Naomi Osaka
...6-0/6-4. Kudermetova, who in light of the war in Ukraine likely wondered how she'd be received by the crowd in her first match in Indian Wells (even without her nation's flag next to her name), was on Osaka from the start in an impressive performance, though (naturally) the post-match story quickly became about Osaka turning a few unkind words ("Naomi you suck!") from *one* spectator in the stands *one game into the match* (after which, it should be noted, the crowd made a point to support her) into yet another opportunity to turn the spotlight on the only thing that matters -- her own continuing (and often self-sustaining) drama.




*TAKING A DEEP BREATH*

Two weeks later, Osaka seemed to have done some soul-searching, and *maybe* emerged the better for it.

Miami Final - Iga Swiatek def. Naomi Osaka
...6-4/6-0. In just their second meeting, and first since Toronto in '19, Osaka tried to put a dent in Swiatek's brilliant recent run with the same serve that had guided her to her best result in over a year.

After saving two BP and firing four aces in the first game of the match, holding in a seven-deuce sequence, Osaka's efforts to carve into Swiatek's own service game never really worked. For a while, she tried to intimidate the Pole by standing some seven feet inside the baseline to return second serves, only to see Swiatek manage to serve around the obstacle and never allow Osaka to pounce (ala Serena, say) with huge groundstrokes that immediately gave her the edge in rallies (or outright won points w/o having to even engage in any back-and-forth). Once she gave up on that tactic, Osaka never really came up with anything else.

Osaka saved four of five BP in the 1st, but Swiatek's backhand crosscourt winner managed to convert one, giving her a 3-2 lead. It was enough, as she never gave it up. She took the set 6-4 without facing a BP, and then saw Osaka's game ebb once the 2nd began. Osaka ultimately won just eight points in the set, losing it at love as Swiatek claimed the match -- and a "Sunshine Double" -- without the pressure of having to stave off a single BP on the afternoon.

Women's tennis has been conspicuously short of *real* rivalries in recent years, largely because of the inability of top players to consistently reach the latter stages of majors, where such head-to-head histories truly develop their personality. *Maybe* this could eventually be an interesting one, with the required stylistic and emotional differences that make for good drama. Swiatek has shown an ability (w/ six straight slam 4th Rounds) to hold up her end of the deal. Now it's up to Osaka, with six such results in her entire slam career (all at HC majors), to do the same.

If she can, and the worst notions of some fans (both those against *and* for Osaka) can be kept at bay, the tour could only prosper greatly from it.







1. Adelaide 1 2nd Rd. - Ash Barty def. Coco Gauff
...4-6/7-5/6-1. Before it ended, it began. In Adelaide.

Barty trailed Gauff 6-4/4-2, 40/AD before ralling to win in three and open her season with a victory. She finished it without ever losing, taking 11 straight matches and 22 consecutive sets, walking off into the Aussie sunset with a cherished Australian Open title.

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2. Doha 1st Rd. - Victoria Azarenka def. Yulia Putintseva
...5-7/6-2/7-5. In a nutshell: Putintseva led 4-0 in the 3rd, held serve for 5-4 and then had a MTO right before Vika was set to serve to stay in the match, a move for which Azarenka said the Kazakh "needs a psychiatrist." Vika soon saved a MP, swept the final three games and then likely avoided a potentially testy post-match tête-à-tête at the net through the sheer force of Belarusian will.



Postscript: Azarenka pulled out of the event before her next match, exited Indian Wells after a mid-match crying binge, then stormed off the court without a word to her opponent in a mid-match retirement (vs. L.Fruhvirtova, for which she later apologized) in Miami, citing personal problems that will lead her to "take a break" from tennis.




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3. Lyon 1st Rd. - Dayana Yastremska def. Ana Bogdan
...3-6/7-6(7)/7-6(7). Not long after arriving in France after being forced to flee Ukraine, Yastremska engages in a three-hour tussle in which she saved two MP (one each in the 2nd and 3rd set), setting up her run to the final.


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4. Miami SF - Laura Siegemund/Vera Zvonareva def. Ekaterina Alexandrova/Yang Zhaoxuan
...3-6/6-2 [13-11]. The veteran duo trailed 9-4 in the MTB, saving five straight MP before finally going on to win on third own third in the superbreaker. Siegemund & Zvonareva went on to win the title.


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5. Lyon Final - Zhang Shuai def. Dayana Yastremska
...3-6/6-3/6-4. Zhang overcomes break disadvantages in the final two sets, including a 4-2 deficit in the 3rd after Yastremska broke serve from 40/love down. The moment stirred Zhang, who immediately broke back a game later, nearly (but didn't) lose her cool while questioning the chair umpire about a pair of line calls, then reacted to catcalls from a "fan" in the stands in the best way imaginable: by becoming even more focuses and fired up. She got the key hold of serve, pointed at the man in the crowd, then broke Yastremska and served out the match.




Even with the loss, Yastremska had the stats of a winner: 31 winners (to 22 UE) and 4-of-4 on BP in match in which she and Zhang were separated by just two points (81-79).
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6. Guadalajara Final - Sloane Stephens def. Marie Bouzkova
...7-5/1-6/6-2. Bouzkova led 4-1 in both the 1st and 2nd sets, but could only put away the 2nd. In the decider, the Czech saved BP in both of her first two service games, holding from love/40 down in game #2, but couldn't seize the lead as she failed to convert BP on Stephens' serve in game #5. Worse for the Czech, she then dropped serve a game later and saw Stephens carry the momentum to the end, winning the final four games of the match to take home her first tour title in nearly four years (and ending her three-final losing streak over that stretch).

Stephens also staged a comeback from 6-3/3-0 down vs. Dasha Saville in QF, and trailed Anna Kalinskaya by the same score in the SF before the Hordette's back injury eventually forced her retirement.


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7. Melbourne 2 Final - Amanda Anisimova def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich
...7-5/1-6/6-4. Anisimova overcomes an ailing hip and a 3-0 3rd set deficit to take her first title since 2019.


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8. Australian Open 3rd Rd. - Amanda Anisimova d. Naomi Osaka
...4-6/6-3/7-6(10-5). Anisimova prevails, saving two MP at 5-4 down in the 3rd, then winning a decisive TB to eliminate defending champ Osaka, who falls for the second time in Melbourne ('20 vs. another Bannerette, Coco Gauff) in the 3rd Round the year after winning the AO title. Osaka dropped to #85 in the rankings following the AO.


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9. Indian Wells 1st Rd. - Marta Kostyuk def. Maryna Zanevska
...6-7(5)/7-6(6)/7-5. Kostyuk finally makes her post-invasion return to the tour, and immediately shows that the resilience is strong within her, as well.

The Ukrainian teenager, playing against Ukrainian-born Belgian Zanevska, saved two MP at 6-4 in the 2nd set TB, then rallied from 5-3 down in the 3rd to get the win in 3:09 to get her first MD win since the Australian Open. Afterward, it was all about the post-match support at the net.

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10. Australian Open 3rd Rd. - Alize Cornet def. Tamara Zidansek
...4-6/6-4/6-2. Cornet's unexpected 4th Round (her first since '09) run continued with a three-set win over #29 Tamara Zidansek. The Pastry, on her 32nd birthday, rallied from 6-4/4-1 down in a match that included a long argument with the chair umpire, Zidansek being charged with a rare serving time violation, and seven straight games won by Cornet after she'd been two games from a straight sets loss. In other words, pure Cornet drama.

Cornet, noting the thirteen-year gap, called it a "a magic win for me."



After the match, the Aussie crowd serenaded Cornet with a rendition of "Happy Birthday."
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HM- Miami SF - Naomi Osaka def. Belinda Bencic
...4-6/6-3/6-4. This time the tears were joyful, as this one seemed to make everything all right for Osaka, even *after* her loss in the final. Bencic had led their head-to-head 3-1 coming in (w/ all three wins coming in '19), and pushed Osaka's back to the wall after winning the 1st set. Osaka came out firing, rallying to win with a personal best of 18 aces to reach her first final in over a year.


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1. Adelaide 1 1st Rd. - Priscilla Hon def. Petra Kvitova
...6-7(4)/7-5/6-2. The #263-ranked Aussie wild card, finally back strong after missing over a year (2020-21) with a hip injury, officially kicks off the '22 season with an "oh..." result to get everyone's attention in the opening days.


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2. Australian Open 1st Rd. - Maddison Inglis def. Leylah Fernandez
...6-4/6-2. The Canadian in no way resembled the player who set the U.S. Open aflame last summer, and was instead an error-prone entity who ultimately fell by the wayside against Australian wild card Inglis (#133), who recorded her first career slam MD win with a 6-4/6-2 victory en route to surprise 3rd Round run. Fernandez had 30 unforced errors in the 18-game match, compared to just eight winners.


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3. Guadalajara 1st Rd. - Dasha Saville def. Emma Raducanu
...5-7/7-6(4)/4-3 ret. Raducanu failed to put the #610-ranked, comeback-minded Aussie away in the 2nd set after serving at 5-3. The Brit held an early break lead in the 3rd, but Saville, herself having to consult a physio mid-match, continued to apply the pressure and ultimately saw Raducanu retire with a hip injury seven games into the final set. Even with the abbreviated final stanza, the 3:36 match length is the longest on tour this season.

The win was Saville's first Top 20 victory since 2018. She went on to reach the Indian Wells 4th Round and Miami QF, posting wins over #10 Ons Jabeur, #23 Elise Mertens and #41 Zhang Shuai. Saville ended the 1st Quarter ranked #129.
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4. Indian Wells 2nd Rd. - Harriet Dart def. Elina Svitolina
...2-6/6-3/6-3. After a spirited start after committing to donating her prize money to the Ukrainian war effort, Svitolina's performances receded to the mean. It was understandable under the circumstances, but it was still noteworthy that her defeat here handed Dart her first career Top 30 victory. The Brit had been 0-8 vs. the Top 20 prior to her win over #18 Svitolina.



After another early exit in Miami, Svitolina announced that she was taking a short break to deal with a lingering back injury. She's 5-8 on the season.
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5. Indian Wells 2nd Rd. - Jasmine Paolini def. Aryna Sabalenka
...2-6/6-3/6-3. The soon-to-retire #1 Ash Barty didn't play in the desert, and #2 Barbora Krejcikova pulled out after the draw was made. World #3 Sabalenka lasted just one match, falling to 6-6 on the year with her second loss in three matches against the Italian.


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HM- Miami 2nd Rd. - Linda Fruhvirtova def. Elise Mertens
...7-5/2-6/6-2. In her first match against a Top 50 foe, the 16-year old gets her biggest win (#24 Mertens), making the Czech the youngest to advance so far in the event since 2015. She'd top it with a retirement win over #16 Victoria Azarenka a round later.

Fruhvirtova's rise, along with that of so many others, is just one of the reasons that while Ash Barty will be missed, the Aussie also *won't* really be missed. The tour just keeps evolving, and the new blossoms just keep popping out all over the place.
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posted by Todd.Spiker @ 11:42 PM 

1 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

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Sun Apr 17, 10:35:00 AM EDT  

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