Q - [Alghero, ITA - HCO] ITA def. FRA 3-1 - MVP: Paolini/ITA Q - [Ashville (NC), USA - HCI] USA def. UKR 3-2 [dd] - MVP: Muhammad/Pegula, USA Q - [Prague, CZE - RCO] CZE def. GBR 3-2 [dd] - MVP: Vondrousova/CZE Q - [Nur-Sultan, KAZ - RCI] KAZ def. GER 3-1 - MVP: Putintseva/KAZ Q - [Vancouver (BC), CAN - HCI] CAN def. LAT 4-0 - MVP: Fernandez/CAN Q - ['s-Hertogenbosch, NED - RCI] ESP def. NED 4-0 - MVP: Sorribes Tormo/ESP Q - [Radom, POL - HCI] POL def. ROU 4-0 - MVP: Swiatek/POL Q - [+] BEL walkover BLR (nation suspended) Q - [+] AUS/SVK both into Finals (w/ DC RTF suspension)
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Americas I - [Salinas, ECU - HCO] BRA def. CHI 2-0 - MVP: Haddad Maia/BRA Americas I - [Salinas, ECU - HCO] ARG def. MEX 2-0 - MVP: Sierra/ARG Asia/Oceania I - [Antalya, TUR - RCO] Japan [rr #1] - MVP: Aoyama/Shibahara, JPN Asia/Oceania I - [Antalya, TUR - RCO] China [rr #2] - MVP: Yuan Yue/CHN Europe/Africa I - [Antalya, TUR - RCO] HUN def. SLO 2-0 [both advance] - MVP: Bondar/HUN Europe/Africa I - [Antalya, TUR - RCO] CRO def. SRB 2-0 - MVP: Marcinko/CRO
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Europe/Africa II - [Vierumaki, FIN - HCI] NOR def. ISR 2-1 [dd] - MVP: Helgo/NOR Europe/Africa II - [Vierumaki, FIN - HCI] EGY def. LTU 2-1 [dd] - MVP: M.Sherif/EGY
[BJK Qualifying Round]
Italy def. France 3-1 / Alghero, ITA (HCO)
...the traditional Team Italia spirit -- created by the Italian Quartet of Pennetta, Schiavone, Vinci & Errani -- lives and breathes. After years of being "favorites" while winning four titles from 2006-13, Team Italia has reloaded with a roster of (mostly) less-ballyhooed fighters who, after a few seasons of seemingly staring their Cup demise straight in the face, have now settled into the glorious role of indefatigable "underdogs." It fits them well.
In what might have been a close tie vs. France, Italy's Day 1 singles players arrived a combined 0-4 vs. their opponents. But by the end of the day, Italy led the tie 2-0, a lead sparked by Jasmine Paolini saving a pair of MP in Match #1 in a comeback victory. From that moment on, France didn't win another set in competitive play as Italy swept to its sixth consecutive tie win, handing the Pastries their third straight loss since winning the title in the very last "Fed Cup" campaign in 2019.
[MVP]
Jasmine Paolini/ITA
...Paolini only hit the court once in the tie, but her single win was arguably *the* most important of them all. Against a player (Alize Cornet) she'd never beaten (0-2), the Italian saved a pair of MP and rallied to win a deciding TB to give Team Italia an ever-important 1-0 lead. With a loss, Camila Giorgi would have had the pressure of the tie on her shoulders rather than playing the part of "closer," while the French would have been "comfortable" and felt more in control rather than the "panic" mode that set in on Day 2, precipitatating Captain Julien Benneteau's substitution of Harmony Tan into Match #3 on Saturday. Italy may have very well won *without* Paolini's win, but things wouldn't have turned into the blowout that eventually transpired.
From 2017-19, Paolini lost seven straight s/d matches in Cup play. With her win over Cornet, she's now gone 4-1 in the last two cycles (2020-22) of competition.
...as it turned out (at least this week), Giorgi was a team player. Who knew? After avoiding Cup play for years, Italy's highest-ranked player (at least for a little while longer) posted the first multi-win tie of her career with straight sets victories over Oceane Dodin in Match #2 and Harmony Tan in #3 to clinch Italy's advancement to the BJK Finals event this fall.
===============================================
[DOWN]
Alize Cornet/FRA
...in what very well could be her final Cup appearance, Cornet once again caused her captain all sorts of headaches. After puzzling Amelie Mauresmo for years, Cornet's performance in the opening match in Alghero set Julien Benneteau on a course of action from which there was no recovery. With a chance for a big win, Cornet failed to convert two MP vs. Paolini in the tie's opening rubber, dropping the match to fall to 5-16 in her Cup singles career. Rather than stick with her on Day 2, Benneteau went with Harmony Tan (in her debut), who notched just two games vs. Camila Giorgi as the Italians clinched a Finals berth before France could get on the board.
===============================================
Match #1 - Jasmine Paolini/ITA def. Alize Cornet/FRA 2-6/6-2/7-6(2)
...the tone-setter for the tie landed like a giant water balloon on the head of the French team's chances. Cornet added one last indignity to a long, undistinguished career in an otherwise super-successful blue-and-white era of Cup play. The Pastry, firing drop shot at every opportunity, held two MP at 6-5 in the 3rd. Paolini got to Cornet's drop shot to save MP #1, then was soon forced to change her worn out shoelaces (after so many forward dashes to race to a ball at the net) before MP #2, on which Cornet missed on her latest drop attempt. The Italian took the deciding TB 7-2 to end her 0-for-2 head-to-head vs. Cornet and give Team Italia a lead it never relinquished.
......Mladenovic's 14th career doubles win (14-2) in Cup play, six behind all-time national leader Nathalie Tauziat. She last lost a doubles match in Cup play in 2017 (w/ Hesse, vs. Bacsinszky/Hingis) and helped prevent the goose-egg on the scoreboard this weekend. One wonders if Kiki's participation in singles might have given France a better chance to compete, as even though her singles career on tour has recently flagged she's been a reliable French team force for years. Her last Cup win in singles, after all, came on France's title weekend in the '19 final vs. Australia. In *the* key match of the tie, she beat a player no longer in the sport. Her name was Ash Barty. Maybe you've heard of her.
United States def. Ukraine 3-2 [dd] / Asheville (NC), USA (HCI)
...predictably, in a match-up made all the more compelling due to happenings well away from the host city of Asheville, the pre-match atmosphere was one of support and friendship. After Day 1, that seemed as if it'd be maybe the only headline to emerge from the two-day event. But by the end of Day 2, the U.S. had narrowly avoided one of the more epic collapses in Cup history at the hands of a squad fueled by real-life emotion in their war-torn home nation and the continuing efforts of their countrymen and women to defend it.
[co-MVPs]
Asia Muhammad/Jessie Pegula, USA
...when Saturday began, the chances that Muhammad, a late call-up for her first career Cup nomination at age 31, would get on the court in a match that mattered seemed pretty slim. The U.S. led 2-0, and even if Dayana Yastremska got a win to keep the tie alive one figured that *someone* (either Alison Riske or Shelby Rogers) chosen by Kathy Rinaldi would find a way to clinch the overall victory before Ukraine was able to force a deciding doubles match. But that didn't happen, as Pegula failed to go 2-0 in singles (losing to Yastremska in Match #3) and the Week 1 Melbourne WD title winners were reunited in Asheville with a berth in the BJK Cup Finals on the line. For a while, it looked like the downward trend of Team USA would continue. Muhammad/Pegula saw their 5-3 1st set lead turn into a 5-5 tie, then their triple BP shot to go up 6-5 turn into a hold of serve by Ukraine. But the Bannerettes surged late in the 7-5 TB, with the final point coming via a Lyudmyla Kichenok DF, then pulled away in the 2nd set to win in straights to send the U.S. directly to the BJK Cup Finals.
...on a roster without either Elina Svitolina or Marta Kostyuk, the 22-year old world #201 was pretty much the only singles back-up to Dayana Yastremska. After getting just three games on Friday vs. Jessie Pegula, little was expected on Saturday when she was called upon to keep Ukrainian hopes alive vs. Shelby Rogers, who'd recently recorded hard court wins over Alona Ostapenko (2) and Amanda Anisimova during the I.W./Miami Sunshine swing. As it turned out, as we have so recently seen, never underestimate a seemingly outmatched Ukrainian's bite. Zavatska took down Rogers 6-3/6-4 to get her first career Cup win in singles (she's now 3-1 in s/d combined) and her first career victory over a Top 50 foe, forcing the tie into the deciding doubles.
...unlike the Ukrainians, Captain Kathy Rinaldi was blessed with a deep roster from which to choose, even with what would probably be called a "B"-team at hand in Asheville. Riske only got on the court once, but in the end her win probably saved the U.S. squad from the upset. It was pretty clear that Ukraine's most likely path to victory included a 2-0 singles mark from Yastremska, so a win in Match #1 from Riske, should it come, would be key. Her victory (her first in singles in Cup play since '17) included a 16-14 1st set TB (the second-longest in event history, and longest since '04) and proved to be the win that kept a successful comeback from Ukraine just out of reach all the way until the end.
===============================================
[FRESH FACE]
Dayana Yastremska/UKR
...none of the Ukrainian players have seemed to mature and come into her own over the past month of war in their nation (and its web of personal repercussions) more so than Yastremska. With the trend continuing into BJK Cup play, she found herself in the #1 role against the U.S. with a spot in the Finals on the line. She wasn't able to get a Match #1 win over Alison Riske, falling in a near-record 34-point 1st set TB. But she rebounded on Day 2 to take out U.S. #1 Jessie Pegula and keep Ukrainian hopes alive. Teamed with Lyudmyla Kichenok in the deciding doubles, once again a win didn't come, but the pair put up a fight that nearly saw them take the 1st set, an act which may have made the Ukraine comeback roll a force moving too swiftly to stop. Either way, Yastremska's standing both on the court and off it added still more positive notes to the ongoing discussion this week in North Carolina, and if the rest of her top-ranked countrywomen join her in Cup play in the future, they may not need a series of comebacks to end up on top of the heap.
Match #1 - Alison Riske/USA def. Dayana Yastremska/UKR 7-6(16)/7-5
...Riske's win, her first for Team USA in five years, included a 34-point 1st set TB that was the second-longest ever in Cup play, behind only a 2004 doubles match involving India (w/ Sania Mirza) and Uzbekistan.
Match #5 [dd] - Asia Muhammad/Jessie Pegula (USA) def. Lyudmyla Kichenok/Dayana Yastremska (UKR) 7-6(5)/6-3
...if it's possible for a player to be the Most Improved Player, Veteran of the Year *and* Rookie of the Year in the same season, then Muhammad is well on her to making it so. When was the last time a 31-year old first-time Cup player clinched a berth in the Finals, saving her team from an historic defeat, in her career debut match in the event?
In the seven previous World Group (3 in WG I, 4 in WG II) losses by teams that led 2-0 in a best-of-five tie format, only one WG I tie -- Italy in a loss to France in the 1st Round in '15 -- was squandered by a nation competing on home soil. Rinaldi's decision to add Muhammad to the squad for the first time may have been the move that prevented this U.S. team from joining that short list.
...the Brits were lacking in Cup (and clay) experience in Prague, but the sneaky suspicion that Anne Keothavong's bunch might just have a shot at a big upset proved warranted, as Team GB saw reigning U.S. Open champ Emma Raducanu win her first Cup match (in her first pro outing on clay) to keep things even on Day 1, then Most Improved Player contender Harriet Dart prevent the next Czech "One' (or at least the older sister of the next "One"... time will tell) from having a Cinderella debut, forcing a deciding doubles face-up. But, as she's shown in the past (see the Olympics), Marketa Vondrousova has no mercy for nice little stories, British or otherwise. And that was all the juice that Captain Petr Pala needed to move within striking distance of his *seventh* Cup title since 2011, but first since '18, as the Czechs improved their home tie record since '11 to 13-1 (and their overall mark in the era to 23-4).
Marketa Vondrousova/CZE
...Vondrousova can be ruthless, and she showed it again this weekend in Prague. After unapologetically claiming her spot in the Olympics last year (knocking out higher-ranked countrywoman Karolina Muchova because she took advantage of her by-then-long-ago protected ranking standing for the delayed Tokyo Games), Vondrousova proceeded to end a series of "nice stories" en route to a Silver medal. This week she allowed just *three* total games (only Iga can roll her eyes at that total) against Harriet Dart and Emma Raducanu, then came back to claim a third point by teaming with Muchova (ahh, the Czech team spirit, eh?) to clinch the 3-2 victory in doubles.
Vondrousova's last 4 matches at BJK Cup: def. Petkovic 6-1,6-3 def. Golubic 6-4,6-2 def. Dart 6-1,6-0 def. Raducanu 6-1, 6-1
...Dart's Match #1 outing vs. Vondrousova (1 & love, ouch) was a disaster, but the ever-improving Brit rebounded well to hand Linda Fruhvirtova a love opening set in a three-set victory (Dart's first in her Cup singles career) to force the deciding doubles. She and Katie Swan couldn't complete the upset in Prague, but the overall performance of Dart (and the rest of Team GB) is enough to make Keothavong feel very good about this tie, even in an ultimately losing effort.
...right on cue, Raducanu stepped up in a big moment, making her Cup debut and playing in her very first pro match on clay (w/ her lack of actual experience highlighting once again how stunningly out of the box her Open title run was last year) she took out Tereza Martincova in straight sets to knot the tie at 1-1. Playing with blisters on her foot, the Brit's movement was severely lacking in her Day 2 plastering by Vondrousova (1 & 1), but Raducanu's overall performance proved to be a reminder that last summer was but a preview of what she *could* do, and that it's going to take some time and work before her high-level 2021 success is something other than an eye-popping anomaly.
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Aged 16 years 350 days, Fruhvirtova becomes the youngest Czech player to compete in Billie Jean King Cup since Nicole Vaidisova (16 years 78 days) in 2005 ??#BJKCup | @jsmeceskytenispic.twitter.com/eowa9VyWkO
...this week added yet another chapter to the "Rise of the Fruhvirtovas" story, as 16-year old Linda became the youngest Czech in Cup play since 2005 (Nicole Vaidisova). Showing that he recognizes a potentially historic moment when he sees it, Pala switched in the teenager on Day 2, giving her a chance to clinch the tie in her team debut in Match #4. After a rocky 1st set lost at love, Fruhvirtova got her bearings and took the 2nd set, making Dart work to force the tie into the doubles. It wasn't a *perfect* debut, but the kid once again managed to give a tasty sampling of what might be on the horizon.
What's next up in the story? Well, there could be some big moments come November in the Finals. And at some point little sister Brenda is going to join the Czech Cup party, too.
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[DOUBLES]
Karolina Muchova/Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
...the deciding doubles win allowed Vondrousova to add her name to the long list of Czechs who have taken their turns dominating ties. Meanwhile, Muchova has had a difficult time staying on the court over the past year or so, and this was just the second Cup match of her career. The doubles victory is easily *the* shining light (so far) of her career with the team, and allows her to officially earn her team "letter jacket." Muchova's only other appearance was a singles win over Rebecca Marino (in a 4-0 blowout of Canada) three years ago.
Match #2 - Emma Raducanu/GBR def. Tereza Martincova/CZE 7-5/7-5
...maybe this'll shut 'em up for a while? Surely, the many social media trolls that have popped up since Raducanu's Flushing Meadows win (which has been followed by very little of note since, in terms of results) were waiting for a major stumble in her first pro clay court match to provide more grist for the mill. They didn't get it, at least, in this one.
...it's no portent of future doom to see the Czechs taken to the deciding doubles. Actually, it's more like a good omen. Thanks to the Czech Republic's overwhelming depth, Pala's teams have always had a stark advantage when it's come to DD matches, going 9-3 since 2011 (8-2 in best-of-five ties). In four of the Czechs' six title runs between 2011-18, at least one tie went to the decider, including three finals (2011/15/16) and *all* three ties in the '16 championship run.
...after a long history of coming "this close" to something big, well, Kazakhstan was due. With a chance to finally live up to its talent and reach the BJK Cup Finals event, the Kazakhs first dazzled the Germans with a bit of history, then let their best player do the rest. After years of seeing the bad side of Kazakh Cup tennis as a player, Captain Yaroslava Shvedova was finally allowed the satisfaction of seeing all the right strings pulled without the whole thing, against all odds, still finding a way to unravel in the end.
[MVP]
Yulia Putintseva/KAZ
...Putintseva's Cup career, much like her tour exploits, is full of dramatic contests that often end with killer defeats, often with Putintseva having been a converted MP away from the sort of win that could have provided a path to even greater things. When she dropped the opening set of Match #1 to Angelique Kerber, the usual script seemed about to play out for Kazakhstan *and* Putintseva. Two potential wins from Kerber would likely put the Germans in the driver's seat of the tie, with the likes of Laura Siegemund and/or Anna-Lena Friedsam waiting in the wings to secure a ticket to the Finals in the doubles. But Putintseva put an immediate end to that scenario, dropping just five games in sets two and three to put Kazakhstan up 1-0 and take the overall lead for most singles wins (15) in KAZ Cup history.
...taking the baton from Putintseva, Rybakina put the rest of the tie on her racket. No stranger herself to a series of failed attempts to "close," she followed up a 6-0/6-1 win over Siegemund with a Day 2 opening comeback victory over Kerber, who'd led 5-3 in the 3rd set. Kerber's lost lead was Germany's last stand, as Kazakhstan clinched a spot in the Finals before the Germans added a dead rubber WD win to avoid the shutout.
===============================================
Match #3 - Elena Rybakina/KAZ def. Angelique Kerber/GER 4-6/6-3/7-5
...in a rare occurrence, a Kazakh Cup tie saw the nation's *opponent* come up short in a dramatic singles contest that seemed about to be added to the "win column." Rybakina's sweep of the final four games of the match pushed Kazakhstan forward... and maybe will do the same for Rybakina when she gets back to tour play, too.
===============================================
Canada def. Latvia 4-0 / Vancouver (BC), CAN (HCI)
...a few years ago, Canada looked like a budding Cup champion with the likes of Bianca Andreescu and Genie Bouchard leading the way. Since then, injuries have prevented either from a proper second act. But, have no fear, Leylah Fernandez is here. The U.S. Open finalist has ably assumed the team's #1 singles role while still a teenager, and the nation's various "spare parts" (#3 singles options, good doubles specialists) are still good enough to compete against all but the *most* stacked foes. In this weekend's match-up with a Latvian team without its recently lethal 1-2 punch (Alona Ostapenko & Anastasija Sevestova, with a combined 37 Cup singles wins between them), Captain Heidi El Tabakh didn't even need to call on Francoise Abanda, the player whose career best moments have consistently come when employed as Canada's secret weapon (w/ seven singles wins, including five straight, with her last loss coming in 2016), as Canada authored one of the most comprehensive takedowns of the first BJK Cup week of 2022.
...Fernandez's results have been hit and miss since her U.S. Open run, but this week's two-day stint in Vancouver surely joins the former list, as the 19-year old did her best Iga impression by dropping just three games each in her two matches against Darja Semenistaja and Daniela Vismane to improve her 2020-22 Cup mark in singles to 5-1.
===============================================
[VETERAN]
Rebecca Marino/CAN
...Marino was out of tennis for quite a while, but her return has seen her become an important, reliably available weapon in El Tabakh's often on-the-shelf national arsenal. Last April in a Playoff tie vs. Serbia, Marino posted her first singles win since 2011 (then followed up with a November Finals rr loss to Alize Cornet, a rarity in Cup play for anyone). She got back on the proverbial horse in Vancouver, downing young Latvian Vismane in three sets to give Canada a 2-0 lead heading into Saturday.
===============================================
[FRESH FACE]
Daniela Vismane/LAT
...with Sevastova essentially out of tennis at the moment, with her future return still in question, Ostapenko needs a new Cup partner. Maybe it'll be the improving Vismane. In her Cup singles debut, the 21-year old won a second set TB from Marino to keep their Match #2 alive and give Latvia a shot to get out of Friday even on the scoreboard. The veteran Canadian ultimately won in three, but Vismane should get used to being given such opportunities by Captain Adrians Zguns as things go forward from here.
===============================================
Spain def. Netherlands 4-0 / 's-Hertogenbosch, NED (RCI)
...one gets the feeling that the immediate future of the Spanish BJK Cup effort could be good. *Very* good, actually. As in, the nation could realistically win its first title since 1998 this fall. Well, it could happen if Captain Anabel Medina Garrigues can get lucky and have both Garbine Muguruza and Paula Badosa, the best two-headed tour beast from Spain since the Sanchez/Martinez combo produced the nation's Cup heyday more than two decades ago. Even without the two top-ranked Spaniards in the game this week, AMG's squad had no trouble against the Dutch, as the Netherlands became the only Qualifiers host nation to lose this weekend. And it was never close.
[MVP]
Sara Sorribes Tormo/ESP
...Sorribes was on a three-match Cup losing streak before finding her footing with an upset of Naomi Osaka in a 1st Round tie vs. Japan in early 2020. Since then, she's been one the tour's most improved players and has gone 4-1 (3-1 singles) for Team Espana, including taking the lead role in 's-Hertogenbosch and getting a pair of dominant wins over Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove and Arantxa Rus to pave Spain's path into the Finals.
...in just her second career Cup nomination, the 30-year old late bloomer notched her first career win for Spain, opening the tie by immediately putting the home team in a hole with a 6-2/7-6 win over the Dutch squad's best chance to be competitive in this one, the always (well, usually) ready-to-take-a-higher-ranked-foe-to-three-sets (but still usually lose) Arantxa Rus.
===============================================
[DOWN]
NED BJK Cup future
...the Dutch Fed Cup story was a great one. Led by Kiki Bertens and captained by Paul Haarhuis, the 2010s saw the nation rise from zone play to legitimate Cup title contention, reaching the semifinals in 2016. The Netherlands won eight straight ties from 2014-16, outscoring opponents 25-5, and came within a deciding doubles match vs. France from facing off with the Czech juggernaut in the final that year. The story has since turned ugly.
Starting with that SF loss to France, the Dutch went on to lose seven of eight ties, including five straight (by a combined 18-4 score, and w/ losing scores of 1-3, 1-4, 0-4 and 0-4) from 2018-20. In last April's BJK Playoffs, the streak was ended with a 3-2 win over China. But that moment was more of a swan song than a resurrection, as it marked the final tie of both Bertens (retired, and now a new mother) and Haarhuis (who switched to Davis Cup captain). With this new reality, and no real talent lifeline in sight, this Qualifying Round appearance could be the last time we see the Dutch at this stage in the competition for quite some time.
2-8 from the '16 semifinals until today, the Netherlands have been outscored 33-13 in the stretch.
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???? 4-0 en Holanda… ¡Y clasificadas para las finales de la @BJKCup! ¡Otro gran fin de semana para el tenis femenino ????!
...once the Romanian roster was cut to the bone due to injury (and, at the last moment, even Covid), this one was pretty much a fait accompli. Iga Swiatek's continued brilliance was expected, but maybe the most encouraging aspect of Poland's shutout victory was the way the *rest* of her "supporting cast" seemed intent on following her lead. Come November, with the same roster (including Magdalena "In Case of Emergency Break Glass" Frech) and Swiatek perhaps looking to wrap up an epically successful season, Poland might just be a true dark horse (if that) pick to win the Finals.
[MVP]
Iga Swiatek/POL
...did we really expect anything less? Still, even after completing her Sunshine Double, it sort of knocks one's wind out to see Iga win two *more* matches, running her winning streak to *nineteen* while putting up *three* more bagels in four sets of play and holding a 24-1 edge in total games in the tie. She's *still* getting better... and this was just the *start* of her '22 clay campaign. Gulp.
The "Octopus" nature of the defense that powered her '20 Roland Garros title run was back in full force in Radom, and that should scare, well, just about everyone set to attempt to try to keep her from winning for a second time in Paris later this spring.
...Swiatek was the star, but spare a moment for the Polish #2. After living in the shadow of Aga, Linette is now in the shadow of Iga. She contributed a three-set singles win over Irina-Camelia Begu in Match #1 to help give the Poles their commanding 2-0 Day 1 lead, pretty much extinguishing any lingering Romanian hopes since any comeback story was then going to *have* to include a win over Swiatek.
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Match #3 - Iga Swiatek/POL def. Andreea Prisacariu/ROU 6-0/6-0
...the 14th-ranked Romanian on tour, Prisacariu was added to the roster due to the absence of so many of her higher-ranked countrywoman (Halep, Cirstea, Ruse, Bogdan, etc.). After her entertainingly comedic introduction speech behind the microphone earlier in the week, it was all downhill from there. Rarely has the different between the world #1 and the #324 been so ably displayed on the scoreboard.
Match #4 (dead) - Magdalena Frech/Alicja Rosolska (POL) def. Mihaela Buzarnescu/Andreea Mitu (ROU) 5-7/6-3 [10-5]
...Iga's ruthless scoreboard mastery continues to rub off on her fellow Poles, who after dropping the 1st set here *still* couldn't see fit to just allow the Romanians a "pity 1" on the final ledger.
As it turned out, this was Frech's only appearance in the tie. You remember her *last* Cup appearance, right? You know, when she was *the* star of the BJK Playoffs last April, having a hand in all three of the Iga/Magda-less Polish squad's points in the 3-2 win over Brazil that advanced Poland into this Qualifier match-up with Romania.
=Promotional Playoffs= Brazil def. Chile 2-0 Argentina def. Mexico 2-0
Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA
...last April, without Haddad Maia on the roster, Brazil was stunned by an Iga-less Poland squad in the spring BJK Playoff Round, losing 3-2 as Magdalena Frech accounted for all three points and sent the Poles into the Qualifier that Swiatek so thoroughly dominated in Radom.
Back for more, in her first Cup action in three years, Haddad Maia went 3-0 in singles (and 2-0 in doubles) to power Brazil through to the November Playoff Round. Her run included a tie-saving rr win over Argentina that saw her play 5+ hours in back-to-back matches, then down Daniela Sequel two days later to finish off a 2-0 sweep of Chile in the Promotional Playoff.
Haddad's 13 career Cup singles wins put her within striking distance of the national record of 18 held by Patricia Medrado (1975-89).
[MVP]
Solana Sierra/ARG
...at #648, the 17-year old junior was the lowest ranked and least experienced member of the Argentine team (and one of two players making their Cup debut). You'd never have known it. While she reached her first pro final earlier this year (in a $15K challenger), the youngster now has a new career-best moment on which to build.
Sierra went 4-0 for the week, recording impressive wins over Bogota finalist Laura Pigossi (the teenager saved 5 MP in a 30-point deciding TB) and Marcela Zacarias in the opening match of Argentina's 2-0 win over Mexico in the Promotional Playoff.
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[RISER]
Laura Pigossi/BRA
...fresh off her Bogota final run, Pigossi proved to be a capable #2 to Haddad Maia, going 3-1 (2-1 ws) on the week and providing the opening win over Barbora Gatica in the Promotional Playoff sweep of Chile.
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[FRESH FACE]
Maria Carle/ARG
...the 21-year old, at #237 the highest ranked player in the Argentine squad, went 2-1 for the week, finishing up with the clinching win over Renata Zarazua in the Promotional Playoff win over Mexico.
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In probably the craziest day of any single tie during this BJK Cup week, Brazil and Argentina -- Pool A members who'd both ultimately win PP ties to advance to the Playoff Round in November -- engaged in a fascinating three-match tussle that lasted 8:16, included four tie-breaks and a deciding doubles contest that, naturally, went the distance, as well.
Match #1 - Solana Sierra/ARG def. Laura Pigossi/BRA 7-6(1)/4-6/7-6(14)
...in a *huge* win for the 2021 U.S. Open junior and Eddie Herr semifinalist, Sierra battled Pigossi for 3:05, saving five MP in a 30-point 3rd set TB.
¡SOS COMPLETAMENTE INMENSA, SOLANA!
En su segundo partido de @BJKCup, @sierra_solana???? venció a Laura Pigossi???? por 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 (12) tras salvar cinco (!!) match points en el tiebreak final.
Fue un partido de locos, la marplatense superó calambres y mucha tensión. 17 años. pic.twitter.com/MAE55UnZ3s
Match #2 - Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA def. Maria Carle/ARG 6-7(10)/6-3/7-6(5)
...no to be outdone by the 17-year old Sierra, Haddad leveled the title at 1-1 with a 3:13 win over Carle, ralling from a set down to win a 7-5 3rd set TB to push the tie to the doubles.
...this one lasted just 1:58, but pushed Haddad Maia's day's work to over five hours (in back-to-back matches!). Thankfully, Haddad Maia was given the day off on the final day of rr play, then returned on Saturday to provide the clinching PP point vs. Chile.
La victoria y la serie es para ???? por 2-1 ??
Bia Haddad Maia/Carolina Meligeni Alves se imponen por un disputado 6-3, 3-6 y 6-1 ante Jazmín Ortenzi/Julia Riera para llevarse el triunfo ante ???? #BJKCuppic.twitter.com/iXW479jzJO
...with just six teams in action, the promoted nations were the top two finishers in Pool play. It was never really in question, as Japan and China dominated by going a combined 8-0 vs. the field. Japan ultimately won the zone with a 2-1 win over China in the final rr tie.
=Zone #1 and #2 finishes=
Japan (5-0) and China (4-1)
[MVPs]
Shuko Aoyama/Ena Shibahara, JPN
...Aoyama & Shibahara (8-1 in WTA finals) may have broken off their regular partnership on tour, but they once again showed their harmonious pairing on BJK gameday, going 5-0 on the week and winning deciding doubles matches in their final two outings vs. South Korea and China (def. Xu Yifan/Yang Zhaoxuan to win the zone in the latter).
Aoyama is now 18-4 (all in doubles) in her Cup career, just one off the Japanese record held by Kazuko Sawamatsu (1970-75). She and Shibahara's undefeated week improved their mark as a duo to 6-0, just four off the national record. Aoyama *already* holds that mark with her 10-win history with Eri Hozumi.
[MVP]
Yuan Yue/CHN
...Yuan was the only player to go undefeated in China's second place (but promotion worthy) finish in Antalya, as the 23-year old was a combined 4-0 (3-0/1-0) in her Cup debut. Her tie-opening 7-6/7-6 defeat of Yuki Naito in the final rr match-up (which served as the zone final) vs. Japan ultimately led to Aoyama/Shibahara being forced into action one final time in the doubles.
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[RISER]
Jang Su-jeong/KOR
...already having qualified at the Australian Open and claimed a $60K title in '22, 27-year old Jang continued her good Cup history in her seventh nomination. Her 3-0 record for the week gives her 16 career wins.
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[SURPRISE]
Moyuka Uchijima/JPN
...the 20-year old has been something of a revelation on the ITF circuit in '22, winning a pair of titles. Her roll carried over to Cup play, as she debuted with a 4-0 week that included a final rr tie victory over China's Zhu Lin that contributed to Japan's 2-1 victory and final finish atop zone play.
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[EUROPE/AFRICA I - Antalya, TUR / RCO]
=Zone Final= Hungary def. Slovenia 2-0 [both advance to BJK Playoffs] =Promotional Playoff= Croatia def. Serbia 2-0
[MVP]
Petra Marcinko/CRO
...Iva Majoli's Croatian team is surely one of the more intriguing in the competition, with a veteran base of Martic/Vekic/Konjuh, with the potential bonanza of junior #1 Marcinko, 18, only beginning to scratch the surface of her career. The AO girls' champ made her Cup debut in Antalya, going 4-0 in singles and almost -- almost, mind you -- relegating her more experienced teammates to "backup band members" status in Croatia's new Cup concert. Croatia's best Cup finish has been the QF in 2002.
So, when is a zone final almost meaningless? Well, when both Russia and Belarus have been suspended from Cup play, meaning that an extra team advances out of Zone I play to this November's BJK Playoffs. As a result, Hungary (#1 in Pool A w/ a 4-0 mark) and Slovenia (#2 in Pool B at 4-1) clinched their advancement from Europe/Africa I in round robin play, so there was very little (if anything) at stake when the two nations met to decide who'd be the on-paper top nation in the zone.
[MVPs]
Anna Bondar/HUN and Kaja Juvan/SLO
...after opening the week with a surprise loss to home nation Turkey's Ipek Oz, Bondar went 4-0 the rest of the week, sweeping her two remaining singles matches, taking a deciding doubles victory alongside Panna Udvardy vs. Serbia, and clinching the zone final win with a straights sets victory over Slovenian bench player Ziva Falkner.
Juvan opened three of Slovenia's rr ties with a Match #1 win (including one over Ana Konjuh), clinched a win over Bulgaria with a Match #2 victory against Viktoriya Tomova, and won a deciding doubles match (w/ Tamara Zidansek) to move SLO to 4-0 with a 2-1 win over Austria. She took the rest of the week off as the nation's bench took over in the two remaining ties.
===============================================
[RISERS]
Petra Martic/CRO and Donna Vekic/CRO
...they may have *seemed* like the band backing frontwoman Marcinko, but Martic and Vekic more than pulled their weight, combining to go 8-1 in s/d play (5-1 ws/3-0 wd, including 2-0 as a duo). In the Promotional Playoff, Martic took the microphone for the band's big song, eliminating Serbia with a three-set victory over Aleksandra Krunic after the teenager had handed her a 1-0 lead.
For her part, the still only 25-year old Vekic is moving up the Croatian Cup win lists. Her 13 singles wins trails current captain Iva Majoli's old player record of 15, and her 16 total wins are just six away from teammate Ana Konjuh's mark of 22 (Konjuh notched a win in both singles and doubles this week).
===============================================
[VETERANS]
Aleksandra Krunic/SRB and Reka-Luca Jani/HUN
...the now 29-year old Krunic was once again the heart and soul of the Serbian squad. In her 18th nomination since 2009, the Bracelet practically willed (as she does) Serbia into the Promotional Playoff match-up with Croatia. Serbia played four rr ties this week, going 7-5 in match play. Krunic had a hand in six of those wins, doubling up in singles and doubles on three different occasions (winning two deciding doubles matches) as she went a combined 6-1 to drag her nation to within a tie of reaching the BJK Cup Playoffs in November. Only 17-year old Lola Radivojevic managed to eke out an accompanying singles win (vs. Turkey) that kept Krunic from having to save another rr tie.
In the PP, Krunic needed a little help, and when she got none she found herself staring at having to win back-to-back matches again after Marcinko's win over Radivojevic put Croatia up 1-0. That said, credit to Radivojevic for at least taking Marcinko to three sets, the only time the junior #1 was pushed to the limit all week. Hmm, might Lola be a Bracelet-in-training?.
If Krunic had managed to pull off this assigned magic trick (her teammates entered with tour rankings of #435, #799 and #1503, by far the lowest-regarded team of Bracelettes she'd ever had to work with), she might have been *the* MVP of the BJK Cup week. Unfortunately, she fell at the first hurdle, losing a three-set, 2:17 battle with Petra Martic that ended Serbia's run.
Still, the Bracelet continues to climb the Serbian Cup standings. Her 24 wins leave her just ten behind Jelena Jankovic's 34 from 2001-16, and she's only three from matching Dragana Zaric's 15 doubles wins accumulated from 1995-2005.
Meanwhile, Jani was a workhorse for Hungary all week. The 30-year old won all five matches she played, going 3-0 in singles and 2-0 in doubles (w/ a DD win w/ Dalma Galfi over host Turkey). A longtime Hungarian Cup holdover, Jani's 35 career ties are a national record, while her 28 match wins are knotted with Petra Mandula (1994-2003) for the most ever. She's two wins from matching Anna Foldenyi's mark (16) for singles victories from 1992-2000, as well.
===============================================
[FRESH FACES]
Panna Udvardy/HUN and Amarissa Kiara Toth/HUN
...Udvardy, 23, made her Cup debut in Antalya, going 4-0 (3-0 ws/1-0 wd) on the week, including winning a key deciding doubles win over Serbia. 19-year old Toth made her Cup playing debut, as well, going 2-0 in doubles.
Throw in Galfi, 23, and Panna's younger sister Luca, 16, and Hungary suddenly has the makings of a pretty strong Cup bench. (Who knows, maybe even Timea Babos will re-emerge from the darkness at some point, too.)
It wasn't that long ago (well, 2019) that it felt as if the newly named BJK Cup's altered finals format was going to compound its eyebrow-raising issues by announcing that Hungary -- which at the time seemed eons away from legitimately winning its way there on merit -- was going to be gifted an annual prime spot in the 12-team BJK Cup Finals event solely due to it being named as the multi-year host (at Budapest) of the event. Come 2022-23, though, Hungary has the looks of a team deep enough to maybe just win its way into the field, after all.
It looks like it's going to have to, as the pandemic has caused the Finals to be cancelled in 2020, then moved from Budapest to Prague last fall. The site of this year's event has yet to be announced, but Budapest *never* seemed like the right fit... and maybe it'll never get the chance to prove otherwise. Team Hungary might be a different story.
===============================================
[EUROPE/AFRICA II - Vierumaki, FIN / HCI]
Moving ??
???? Norway and ???? Egypt both won promotion from Europe/Africa Group II on Friday#BJKCup
...Helgo overcame Ulrikke Eikeri's singles losses to carry Norway into Europe/Africa I zone play for the first time since 1996. The 21-year old was a combined 5-1 for the week, going 3-0 in singles and joining with Eikeri to record a pair of deciding doubles victories, including in the Promotional Playoff vs. Israel. Helgo has gone 10-1 in s/d Cup play in 2020-22.
Sherif, having won a WTA 125 crown in recent weeks, was expected to pull the bulk of the weight for Egypt in Vierumaki. She did, too, going 3-0 in singles and winning a pair of deciding doubles matches with older sister Rana to make Egypt the first African team to reach Europe/Africa I zone play since South Africa in '16 (and just the second to advance since '05).
===============================================
[COMEBACK]
Ulrikke Eikeri/NOR
...Eikeri, who in Charleston became the first Norwegian to post a WTA MD win since 1991, is Norway's all-time Cup leader in overall, singles and doubles wins. She went 0-3 in singles for the week, though, and had to scramble alongside Helgo to win a pair of deciding doubles matches (including one over the Sherif sisters in rr play to get Norway into the PP) en route to the team's advancement to Europe/Africa I.
===============================================
[DOUBLES]
Mayar Sherif/Rana Sherif, EGY
...all three of Egypt's ties went to the deciding doubles, and the Sherif sisters were there to take care of things, going 2-1 and adding another historic note to Mayar's already history-making career.
The sisters top the all-time winning doubles duo list for Egypt's Cup history, and their ten wins each make up two-thirds of a three-way tie (w/ Magy Aziz) for individual doubles victories. Mayar (w/ 19) still stands behind Aziz (26 from 2006-13) for total wins, and teammate Sandra Samir (17 to Sherif's 9) for singles victories.
...deciding doubles matches were the name of the game in Europe/Africa II, with both of the top two finishers in rr Pool A advancing over the top two from Pool B.
===============================================
Captain Tathiana Garbin (ITA) = "Forzaaaaa!!!! Team Italia never gives up, and never dies. Ever." Captain Petr Pala (CZE) = "We're still here, and the Era Fruhvirtovas has officially begun. Live with it." Captain Dawid Celt (POL) = "Iga, where have you been all my life?" Captain Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) = "We're comin' for ALL of you... if we can just stay healthy."
Captain Kathy Rinaldi (USA) = "In Asia I Trust." Captain Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) = "So THIS is what it feels like to win a big tie in Cup play. I could get used to this." Captain Heidi El Tabakh (CAN) = "By the grace of St.Bibi, please give me Bianca for the Finals." Captain Iva Majoli (CRO) = "Well, well. Look what I've got here -- another Petra!" Captain Anne Keothavong (GBR) = "How do you win for losing? When you have a slam champion on your team for the first time, and she pulls her weight in unfamiliar circumstances, that's how." Captain Olga Savchuk (UKR) = hand over heart (silently listening to the Ukrainian national anthem with tears in her eyes) Captain Csaba Babos (HUN) = "Maybe we can *win* our way into the '23 Finals, since we (apparently) can't count on that automatic host berth." Captain Toshihisa Tsuchihashi (JPN) = "Did you know that Naomi has played *one* match for us (and it was a loss) since 2018? Such is my life." Captain Roberta Burzagli (BRA) = "I'm *still* seeing Magdalena Frech in my nightmares, but this week will help with that (a little)."
Captain Mercedes Paz (ARG) = "I'm not promising anything, but this is a good step forward for our future." Captain Liu Feng (CHN) = "And we weren't really even loaded for (panda) bear. Imagine if we could ever have Xinyu, Xiyu and Qinwen on the roster. Yeah, I *know*, right?" Captain Mostafa Naim Dalam (EGY) = "One Sherif is nice, but two means we advance." Captain Jorgen Vestli (NOR) = "Eat it, rest of Scandinavia!" Captain Andrej Krasevev (SLO) = "We were already underrated and overlooked, and then our promotional playoff became a meaningless exhibition. Not that I'm complaining."
Captain Dusan Vemic (SRB) = "Hey, we can't expect the Bracelet to do *all* the work (although she *almost* did just that)."
Captain Adrians Zguns (LAT) = "In Latvian Thunder I Trust...just not this week." Captain Rainer Schuettler (GER) = "Note to self... (sigh) maybe the time has come to admit that the rebuild has officially begun and Jule Niemeier and Nastasja Schunk will now be the heart and soul of our Cup effort from here forward." Captain Nikolaos Allexiou (GRE) = "What's the point of having the deepest national pool of talent ever if two-thirds of the top two tiers of it don't show up?" Captain Horia Tecau (ROU) = "Si-mo-na? (sigh)"
Captain Elise Tamaela (NED) = "Why me? I never did anything to Kiki or Paul." Captain Julien Benneteau (FRA) = "My head hurts. I'd ask Amelie what I *should* have done... but she never figured out Alize, either."
*2022 BJK CUP FINAL NATIONS - 12 (Nov.)*
Australia (2020/21 semifinalist)
Belgium (w/o into finals)
Slovakia (advanced into finals)
Switzerland (2020/21 runner-up)
Canada (qualifier)
Czech Republic (qualifier)
Italy (qualifier)
Kazakhstan (qualifier)
Poland (qualifier)
Spain (qualifier)
United States (qualifier)
? (wild card) [in 2022 Playoffs (Nov.)]
Argentina
Brazil
China
Croatia
France
Germany
Great Britain
Hungary
Japan
Latvia
Netherlands
Romania
Slovenia
Ukraine
*FED CUP/BJK CUP FINALS*
1963 United States def. Australia 2-1
1964 Australia def. United States 2-1
1965 Australia def. United States 2-1
1966 United States def. West Germany 3-0
1967 United States def. Great Britain 2-0
1968 Australia def. Netherlands 3-0
1969 United States def. Australia 2-1
1970 Australia def. West Germany 3-0
1971 Australia def. Great Britain 3-0
1972 South Africa def. Great Britain 2-1
1973 Australia def. South Africa 3-0
1974 Australia def. United States 2-1
1975 Czechoslovakia def. Australia 3-0
1976 United States def. Australia 2-1
1977 United States def. Australia 2-1
1978 United States def. Australia 2-1
1979 United States def. Australia 3-0
1980 United States def. Australia 3-0
1981 United States def. Great Britain 3-0
1982 United States def. West Germany 3-0
1983 Czechoslovakia def. West Germany 2-1
1984 Czechoslovakia def. Australia 2-1
1985 Czechoslovakia def. United States 2-1
1986 United States def. Czechoslovakia 3-0
1987 West Germany def. United States 2-1
1988 Czechoslovakia def. USSR 2-1
1989 United States def. Spain 3-0
1990 United States def. USSR 2-1
1991 Spain def. United States 2-1
1992 Germany def. Spain 2-1
1993 Spain def. Australia 3-0
1994 Spain def. United States 3-0
1995 Spain def. United States 3-2
1996 United States def. Spain 5-0
1997 France def. Netherlands 4-1
1998 Spain def. Switzerland 3-2
1999 United States def. Russia 4-1
2000 United States def. Spain 5-0
2001 Belgium def. Russia 2-1
2002 Slovak Republic def. Spain 3-1
2003 France def. United States 4-1
2004 Russia def. France 3-2
2005 Russia def. France 3-2
2006 Italy def. Belgium 3-2
2007 Russia def. Italy 4-0
2008 Russia def. Spain 4-0
2009 Italy def. United States 4-0
2010 Italy def. United States 3-1
2011 Czech Republic def. Russia 3-2
2012 Czech Republic def. Serbia 3-1
2013 Italy def. Russia 4-0
2014 Czech Republic def. Germany 3-1
2015 Czech Republic def. Russia 3-2
2016 Czech Republic def. France 3-2
2017 United States def. Belarus 3-2
2018 Czech Republic def. United States 3-0
2019 France def. Australia 3-2
2020-21 Russia (RTF) def. Switzerland 2-0 [MOST TITLES]
18 - United States
11 - Czech Republic/Czechoslovakia
7 - Australia
5 - Russia
5 - Spain
4 - Italy
3 - France
2 - West Germany/Germany
2 - Slovakia
1 - Belgium
1 - South Africa *BACKSPIN FED CUP/BJK CUP AWARDS*
*-non-title winning nation [PLAYER OF YEAR]
2005 Elena Dementieva, RUS
2006 Francesca Schiavone, RUS
2007 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2008 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2009 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2010 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2011 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2012 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2013 Roberta Vinci, ITA
2014 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2015 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2016 Caroline Garcia, FRA*
2017 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
2018 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2019 Ash Barty, AUS*
2020-21 Jil Teichmann, SUI* [CAPTAIN OF YEAR]
2015 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA*
2016 Paul Haarhuis, NED*
2017 Kathy Rinaldi, USA
2018 Kathy Rinaldi, USA*
2019 Julien Benneteau, FRA
2020-21 Igor Andreev, RUS (RTF) [FINALS MVP]
2002 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2003 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
2004 Anastasia Myskina, RUS
2005 Elena Dementieva, RUS
2006 Francesa Schiavone, ITA
2007 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2008 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2009 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2010 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2011 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2012 Lucie Safarova, CZE
2013 Roberta Vinci, ITA
2014 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2015 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2016 Barbora Strycova, CZE
2017 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
2018 Katerina Siniakova, CZE
2019 Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2021 Liudmila Samsonova, RUS (RTF)
FRESH FACE:Diana Shnaider/RUS
...this year's AO junior finalists are proving to be quite adept at carrying over their success to pro events.
Girls' singles champ Petra Marcinko has won a pair of challenger titles, while singles finalist Sofia Costoulas reached a post-AO $25K final in singles and another $15K in doubles. Girls' doubles champ Clervie Ngounoue picked up an ITF WD win in three final appearances, and reached another in singles. This weekend in Oeiras, Portugal, Ngounoue's AO partner Shnaider won her second pro singles crown in a $25K.
The 18-year old Hordette, the junior #5, didn't drop a set while extending her recent run to 11-1, taking a 6-4/6-2 final from Italy's Martina Di Giuseppe.
Diana Shnaider with her Magnesium-K Active Ladies Open ??
ITF PLAYERS:Katie Volynets/USA and Mirra Andreeva/RUS
...20-year old Bannerette Volynets claimed her second pro singles title, and second in a $100K challenger on clay, at the U.S. Pro Women's Clay Court Championship at Palm Harbor, Florida. Wins over Kurumi Nara, Taylor Townsend (in her first event back from maternity leave) and Irina Bara set the stage for Volynets' 6-4/6-3 win in the final over Wang Xiyu.
— SPRING TENNIS FESTIVAL (@spring10sfest) April 17, 2022
In Antalya, 14-year old Andreeva joined fellow Renaissance Hordette Shnaider in the ITF winners' circle, making it back-to-back pro title runs by defeating Germany's Silvia Ambrosio 7-5/6-2 in the $15K challenger final to extend her winning streak to ten matches.
...while Marcinko was ripping things up in BJK Cup play, the AO junior runner-up was busy winning yet another J1 title on the junior circuit.
Girls' #3 Costoulas claimed the title at the J1 Plodiv Cup in Bulgaria, not dropping a set and eventually defeating Argentina's Lucia Peyre in the final. It's the Waffle's third J1 singles win of '22, while her accompanying doubles crown (w/ fellow Belgian Amelie Van Impe) is her second of the season.
#3 Sofia Costoulas (17)???? w/ 2nd straight G1??sweep, 64 64 over Lucia Peyre (16)???? in Sgls F @ Plovdiv.
Should move her past Linda Fruhvirtova???? to #2. Costoulas now 21-1 Sgls; 11-2 Dbls in '22. Career G1??: 3 Sgls, 5 Dbls.
...already surprise tour finalists this March in Lyon, the Brits picked up a $60K challenger win in Bellinzona, Switzerland with a 10-7 MTB win in the final over Xenia Knoll & Oksana Selekmeteva. It's their sixth challenger crown in eleven career finals together (seven since last June).
...in her second event of the season, WC #12 Lvova followed up her SF loss to Jiske Griffioen last week in Turkey with a title run in the Series 3 Kemal Sahin Open, her second consecutive event in Antalya.
The top-seeded Lvova, 23, defeated #4 Katharina Kruger in the semis, then #2 Manami Tanaka in the final to pick up her first title since October.
"I can’t wait to see what new adventures will cross my path." ??@Clijsterskim has officially called it a career, ending a quarter-century odyssey that yielded six major titles and took her to No. 1 in both singles and doubles.https://t.co/ET4X9Iwe7A
rest in peace to Gilbert Gottfried who has probably the best sequence in game show history on Hollywood Squares. if you're not an old hag like me who remembers the rules, both contestants needed his square to secure the 5-square win, but he decided to troll both of them pic.twitter.com/Egzyzygudd
You win the Swag Chain. Hey, the Padres are not using it with Tatis out.
I did project Cornet winning, and it being tied 1-1 heading into Saturday.
Vondrousova for MVP, though Swiatek obliterated Prisacariu.
One BJK Cup name that stood out? Minella. Went 2-2 over the weekend. In a group where Luxembourg played 3 different teams, the tie vs Finland stood out. Between the 2 teams, they had 3 players from the 80's, with Minella's teammate Claudine Schaul 2 years older, but none from the 90's.
Stat of the Week- 5- The number of times Czech Republic women have won 3 matches in a tie.
Both 1995(SWE) and 2003(RSA) were in dead doubles rubbers.
They used to play dead singles rubbers, but that is automatically skipped now if a team wins 3-0.
Vaidisova took down SVK, while Pliskova, in a career year, defeated ROU.
Vondrousova is the first, with help from Muchova, to win all 3 in straight sets.
PS. How crazy is it that you have Muchova in case of emergency?
Quiz Time!
How many of 2012's Top 20 juniors are in the Top 20 of the WTA right now?
A.0 B.1 C.7 D.9
Interlude- This clip is 10 years old, and just as insane as it first seemed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC8i0gt5m-Y
Answer!
(A)0 is wrong. That is the number of WTA main draw matches played by #17 Maria Inez Deheza, who seemingly didn't play anything over a 10K. However, she deserves notice as one of the few women seen from Bolivia.
(D)9 is wrong, but it is the total of women from that group that reached the Top 100. That might seem high, but is padded by Elizaveta Kulichkova, who reached 87 in 2016, then played her last match less than 2 years later.
(B)1 is correct. That is then #9 Bencic, who would go on to win 2 junior slams the next year. Ranked at 13 now, she is the one.
The 2012 class has been average, but not as top heavy as 2005, when the first 5 places were in order, Azarenka, Szavay, Radwanska, Wozniacki, Cibulkova. In 2012 you had Townsend, just coming of pregnancy break, Siniakova, who has earned her current doubles #1, the injured meteor in Bouchard, the often injured Konjuh, and Antonia Lottner.
Mertens and Kontaveit were at 19 and 20. Ostapenko and Brady farther down.
In the category of it is never too late, #7 Marcela Zacarias picked up her first MD singles win in Monterrey this year.
1.Swiatek- The Machine. 54-14 in the last 12 months, one thing comes to mind. Barbara Paulus. Huh? The fact that Paulus reached the final here(technically Filderstadt) means that Austria has had more women reach the final than Poland. If the streak continues, Swiatek can add her name with 1988 doubles champ Iwona Kuczynska as the only winners from Poland. 2.Cirstea- Can she go back to back in Istanbul? Has a tough draw, even with only one other winner(Martic 2019) in field. 2015 winner Tsurenko is still alive in Q. Needs a great week as a bad one might leave her unseeded for RG. That is probably a goal, as she hasn't been seeded there since 2013 & 2014, being 26th each year. 3.Kerber- 2015 and 2016 Stuttgart winner is better on this clay than others. The red flag is that she won those events during the peak of her career. In fact, 12 of her 30 finals were reached in 2015-16. 4.Sorribes Tormo- Has a softer draw than most, the problem is that she hasn't done much in Istanbul, alternating wins and losses, going 3-3. Her good health might be the difference in going deep this week. 5.Bartunkova- Another one? Another member of the Czech COVID tour, she gets WC and plays qualifier. 16 yr old jumps up in class, with nothing higher than a 25K. Again, this is where the COVID tour, and exhibitions help, as the assembly line of Czech youngsters get to play the best from their country. And there are many.
1.Paolini/Linette- Not really a down, as both picked up big wins this weekend. Keep an eye on their health as both women are the only ones in the field to have gone from Miami(hard) to Charleston(clay) to BJK Cup on hard, back to clay. Linette goes to Istanbul, while Paolini goes to Stuttgart. Why was Paolini listed first? Because she is also playing doubles. 2.Krejcikova/Siniakova- Will health derail their seasons? Siniakova pulled out of BJK Cup, leading to the Fruhvirtova era. She is signed up for Madrid with Fernandez. In Q for singles. Krejcikova singles only for now. As last years winners of both Madrid and RG, #1 will be in play if they don't answer the bell. 3.Kontaveit- Has an interesting match with Kerber. Win that, and this could be the most important 6 weeks of her tennis life. In 2018, #31 Kontaveit did in order, Stuttgart SF, Madrid R16, Rome SF, RG R16. Now ranked 6, shouldn't we expect better results? 4.Kudermetova/Mertens- Only partially, as both should be in Stuttgart. However, they are Istanbul defending champs. Also having done well in singles last year, I can see why. In a weak doubles field, they are a heavy favorite if they can get by one of the surprise hot teams in Barnett/Nicholls. 5.Turkey Doubles- It has been 6 years since a Turkish player won the title here. That was Ipek Soylu, with Mitu, also known as the woman laughing in the Prisacariu video. While some Turkish women(Aksu & Buyukakcay) had success with other partners, there has not been an all Turkish team to win a match since Sezer/Aksu in 2015. Last with anybody? Aksu/Dart in 2018 over Schoofs/Voracova. Voracova, the 2009 winner, makes her return from Novak Gate. Aksu/Sonmez open vs Bouzkova/Sorribes Tormo.
Haha. I think my best pick, oddly enough, was the Czechs being taken to the doubles vs. GBR.
How I'd rank things: Iga (obliteration is the perfect word) was the best player of the weekend, but Vondrousova was the MVP (3 wins in a competitive tie). I don't like doing the "baseball thing" and picking the player with the best season as the "MVP" (even if their team is awful... so how "valuable" can you be?).
I didn't do "Captain Rankings," but they'd be:
1.Rinaldi/USA (just for the Asia move) 2.Garbin/ITA 3.Pala/CZE (if the Fruhvirtova thing had made a "moment"...) 4.Medina Garrigues/ESP 5.Savchuk/UKR (L) HM-A.Keothavong/GBR (L) -- Zones: Paz/ARG
Making that move to skip an unnecessary 4th singles match was one of the best decisions in recent years, even if it was *long* overdue. They played a couple of dead *doubles* rubbers this weekend, which surprised me. Especially POL/ROU... I guess the Romanians just hadn't gotten beaten enough. :/
With all the new young Czechs coming up through the juniors (might the Fruhvirtovas not even be the best of the lot???), Pala might never leave. He might put up some John Wooden/Geno Auriemma-like championship numbers that'll *never* be matched.
Quiz: I admit, I peeked at the '12 jr. slam winners just to get a sense (Townsend, Beck, Bouchard and Crawford???). Because of that, I went with 1.
Ah, I really thought Szavay was going to be a good one before the injuries took her out.
Something I didn't say in the post: Costoulas is now 21-1 in junior play in '22. Her only loss: Marcinko in the AO final.
4 Comments:
You win the Swag Chain. Hey, the Padres are not using it with Tatis out.
I did project Cornet winning, and it being tied 1-1 heading into Saturday.
Vondrousova for MVP, though Swiatek obliterated Prisacariu.
One BJK Cup name that stood out? Minella. Went 2-2 over the weekend. In a group where Luxembourg played 3 different teams, the tie vs Finland stood out. Between the 2 teams, they had 3 players from the 80's, with Minella's teammate Claudine Schaul 2 years older, but none from the 90's.
Stat of the Week- 5- The number of times Czech Republic women have won 3 matches in a tie.
Since format change in 1995:
1995- 6-1 Sukova*
2003- 6-1 Koukalova*
2008- 6-2 Vaidisova
2016- 6-2 Pliskova
2022- 6-0 Vondrousova
Both 1995(SWE) and 2003(RSA) were in dead doubles rubbers.
They used to play dead singles rubbers, but that is automatically skipped now if a team wins 3-0.
Vaidisova took down SVK, while Pliskova, in a career year, defeated ROU.
Vondrousova is the first, with help from Muchova, to win all 3 in straight sets.
PS. How crazy is it that you have Muchova in case of emergency?
Quiz Time!
How many of 2012's Top 20 juniors are in the Top 20 of the WTA right now?
A.0
B.1
C.7
D.9
Interlude- This clip is 10 years old, and just as insane as it first seemed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC8i0gt5m-Y
Answer!
(A)0 is wrong. That is the number of WTA main draw matches played by #17 Maria Inez Deheza, who seemingly didn't play anything over a 10K. However, she deserves notice as one of the few women seen from Bolivia.
(D)9 is wrong, but it is the total of women from that group that reached the Top 100. That might seem high, but is padded by Elizaveta Kulichkova, who reached 87 in 2016, then played her last match less than 2 years later.
(B)1 is correct. That is then #9 Bencic, who would go on to win 2 junior slams the next year. Ranked at 13 now, she is the one.
The 2012 class has been average, but not as top heavy as 2005, when the first 5 places were in order, Azarenka, Szavay, Radwanska, Wozniacki, Cibulkova. In 2012 you had Townsend, just coming of pregnancy break, Siniakova, who has earned her current doubles #1, the injured meteor in Bouchard, the often injured Konjuh, and Antonia Lottner.
Mertens and Kontaveit were at 19 and 20. Ostapenko and Brady farther down.
In the category of it is never too late, #7 Marcela Zacarias picked up her first MD singles win in Monterrey this year.
5 On the Up Side.
1.Swiatek- The Machine. 54-14 in the last 12 months, one thing comes to mind. Barbara Paulus. Huh? The fact that Paulus reached the final here(technically Filderstadt) means that Austria has had more women reach the final than Poland. If the streak continues, Swiatek can add her name with 1988 doubles champ Iwona Kuczynska as the only winners from Poland.
2.Cirstea- Can she go back to back in Istanbul? Has a tough draw, even with only one other winner(Martic 2019) in field. 2015 winner Tsurenko is still alive in Q. Needs a great week as a bad one might leave her unseeded for RG. That is probably a goal, as she hasn't been seeded there since 2013 & 2014, being 26th each year.
3.Kerber- 2015 and 2016 Stuttgart winner is better on this clay than others. The red flag is that she won those events during the peak of her career. In fact, 12 of her 30 finals were reached in 2015-16.
4.Sorribes Tormo- Has a softer draw than most, the problem is that she hasn't done much in Istanbul, alternating wins and losses, going 3-3. Her good health might be the difference in going deep this week.
5.Bartunkova- Another one? Another member of the Czech COVID tour, she gets WC and plays qualifier. 16 yr old jumps up in class, with nothing higher than a 25K. Again, this is where the COVID tour, and exhibitions help, as the assembly line of Czech youngsters get to play the best from their country. And there are many.
5 On the Down Side.
1.Paolini/Linette- Not really a down, as both picked up big wins this weekend. Keep an eye on their health as both women are the only ones in the field to have gone from Miami(hard) to Charleston(clay) to BJK Cup on hard, back to clay. Linette goes to Istanbul, while Paolini goes to Stuttgart. Why was Paolini listed first? Because she is also playing doubles.
2.Krejcikova/Siniakova- Will health derail their seasons? Siniakova pulled out of BJK Cup, leading to the Fruhvirtova era. She is signed up for Madrid with Fernandez. In Q for singles. Krejcikova singles only for now. As last years winners of both Madrid and RG, #1 will be in play if they don't answer the bell.
3.Kontaveit- Has an interesting match with Kerber. Win that, and this could be the most important 6 weeks of her tennis life. In 2018, #31 Kontaveit did in order, Stuttgart SF, Madrid R16, Rome SF, RG R16. Now ranked 6, shouldn't we expect better results?
4.Kudermetova/Mertens- Only partially, as both should be in Stuttgart. However, they are Istanbul defending champs. Also having done well in singles last year, I can see why. In a weak doubles field, they are a heavy favorite if they can get by one of the surprise hot teams in Barnett/Nicholls.
5.Turkey Doubles- It has been 6 years since a Turkish player won the title here. That was Ipek Soylu, with Mitu, also known as the woman laughing in the Prisacariu video. While some Turkish women(Aksu & Buyukakcay) had success with other partners, there has not been an all Turkish team to win a match since Sezer/Aksu in 2015. Last with anybody? Aksu/Dart in 2018 over Schoofs/Voracova. Voracova, the 2009 winner, makes her return from Novak Gate. Aksu/Sonmez open vs Bouzkova/Sorribes Tormo.
Haha. I think my best pick, oddly enough, was the Czechs being taken to the doubles vs. GBR.
How I'd rank things: Iga (obliteration is the perfect word) was the best player of the weekend, but Vondrousova was the MVP (3 wins in a competitive tie). I don't like doing the "baseball thing" and picking the player with the best season as the "MVP" (even if their team is awful... so how "valuable" can you be?).
I didn't do "Captain Rankings," but they'd be:
1.Rinaldi/USA (just for the Asia move)
2.Garbin/ITA
3.Pala/CZE (if the Fruhvirtova thing had made a "moment"...)
4.Medina Garrigues/ESP
5.Savchuk/UKR (L)
HM-A.Keothavong/GBR (L)
--
Zones: Paz/ARG
Making that move to skip an unnecessary 4th singles match was one of the best decisions in recent years, even if it was *long* overdue. They played a couple of dead *doubles* rubbers this weekend, which surprised me. Especially POL/ROU... I guess the Romanians just hadn't gotten beaten enough. :/
With all the new young Czechs coming up through the juniors (might the Fruhvirtovas not even be the best of the lot???), Pala might never leave. He might put up some John Wooden/Geno Auriemma-like championship numbers that'll *never* be matched.
Quiz: I admit, I peeked at the '12 jr. slam winners just to get a sense (Townsend, Beck, Bouchard and Crawford???). Because of that, I went with 1.
Ah, I really thought Szavay was going to be a good one before the injuries took her out.
Something I didn't say in the post: Costoulas is now 21-1 in junior play in '22. Her only loss: Marcinko in the AO final.
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