Tuesday, May 31, 2022

RG.10- Martina the Third


There's just something about Martina. And Martina. And now Martina.




Tennis history has seen its share of women named Martina. The original (Navratilova) was an all-time great, while another named for her (Hingis) proved to be Hall of Fame worthy, as well. Could a *third* becoming (at least) a grand slam semifinalist cause scientists to scoop up the original for some testing? We'll have to see.



A surprise first-time tour quarterfinalist at Roland Garros in 2020, 28-year old Italian Martina Trevisan has been at it again in recent weeks. A first-time tour singles champion on the clay in Rabat on the very same weekend that play began in Paris, Trevisan just seems to find a way whenever she senses that the terre battue might be near.

Two years ago, in her RG debut, the #159-ranked Italian qualifier knocked off the likes of Camila Giorgi (ret.), Coco Gauff, Maria Sakkari and Kiki Bertens in succession. En route to the title in Rabat, with Paris just around the corner (at least on the calendar), the then-#85 ranked Trevisan upset #10 Garbine Muguruza (her second Top 10 win, after Bertens two years before). Ranked #59 as play began in the RG main draw, Trevisan has continued her run in the City of Light. She came into her Round of 16 match today against #17-seed Leylah Fernandez having won nine straight matches on the dirt, and sixteen sets in a row (and 18 of 19).

The match-up in Paris between the two was the first Roland Garros women's QF to feature two left-handed women since 1981 when Silvia Hanika faced off with Navratilova. Hmmm.

In recent outings, the 19-year old Canadian had just begun to flash the same sort of form and determination that carried her on an electric wave into the U.S. Open final last summer. But things quickly became scuttled in today's match, as early in the opening set Fernandez injured her foot (or made worse an existing issue). After receiving pain medication, Fernandez quite literally limped her way through the set, unable to engage in rallies of any length, or really run much at all. She played out the set as Trevisan handily claimed it at 6-2, hoping for the meds to eventually make a difference.

In the 2nd, Fernandez was better, but not 100%. She continued to try to shorten rallies and displayed a hitch in her gait. She broke Trevisan to take a 3-1 lead, but gave the break back a game later. Trevisan then held from 15/40 to knot the score at 3-3. The Canadian dropped serve at 15 to give Trevisan a chance to serve for the match at 5-4. And that was when Fernandez flipped her "Leylah switch."

Going for her shots, Fernandez built a love/30 lead, but her errors than gave Trevisan a MP. The teenager saved it with a big forehand winner. She reached BP, and Fernandez's deep return created a Trevisan error that tied the set at 5-all.

The 2nd went to a TB, as Fernandez' steady and determined look told the tale. She grabbed a 5-1 lead, then saw a DF from the Italian hand her a 7-3 tie-break win to send things to the 3rd.



But just as quickly as Fernandez's light had turned on, it flickered. Trevisan claimed 14 of the first 16 points in the set, committing no unforced errors. She raced to 3-0 lead, then won out in a 14-minute game when she finally got a ball past the Canadian on her fourth BP chance to lead 4-0. Trevisan held a BP in game #5, but missed a forehand wide. Fernandez broke serve in another long (9-minute) game to stay alive, only to lose serve again moments later. After failing in her second attempt to serve out the match at 5-1, Trevisan got a third chance at 5-3.

After a DF on the first point, Trevisan leveled things at 30/30, then fired a big serve up the T that gave her her second MP nearly an hour after she'd held her first. Taking Fernandez's crosscourt forehand return and sending it back with her own forehand behind the Canadian into the far corner, Trevisan secured the 6-2/6-7(3)/6-3 victory to become the first Italian woman to reach the RG semis in nine years.



With Trevisan's triumph, the famed Italian Quartet (Pennetta, Schiavone, Errani & Vinci) somewhat return to the spotlight, wonderfully as two -- Pennetta and Schiavone -- are in Paris for the return of the Legends competition on the RG grounds (Errani lost in qualifying). Trevisan noted today how she was inspired by the exploits of the group, who combined to win two slam singles titles, reach three other major finals (+3 SF), complete a Career Doubles Slam (Errani/Vinci) and claim four Fed Cup crowns.

Trevisan becomes the fifth Italian woman in the Open era to reach this stage in a major, continuing the tradition that the Quartet established with a string of emotional victories that created (almost from whole cloth) a whole new era of elite women's tennis accomplishment for the nation.



Since being barely ranked inside the Top 90 a week before the start of Roland Garros, Trevisan is now assured of more than halving her #59 ranking from when the tournament began. As of now, she'll be ranked in the mid-#20's, with one of the players she defeated in Paris two years ago established as her next opponent. Trevisan will remain the underdog, but the fighting spirit and belief instilled in her by her similarly-indefatigable countrywomen won't allow her to simply dismiss her odds of winning as too remote to stand a chance.

If such a thing meant *everything*, then the beaten path laid down by the Italian women's tennis greats for Trevisan to follow would have probably never been anything other than an overgrown patch of earth hidden beneath a thick forest canopy.




=DAY 10 NOTES=
...meanwhile, in the day's other quarterfinal...



The time had finally come for #18 Coco Gauff and Sloane Stephens to decide which was ready to "take the next step." For Stephens, it meant completing the stunning or inevitable -- it depends on the day for Sloane -- turn from being a non-entity on clay this spring who came into Paris off a loss to a #300+ ranked lucky loser into a player who was ready to contend for a major title. For some it'd be a transformation for the ages. For Stephens it was was just Tuesday.

At the same time, Gauff's three-year climb from 15-year old future star to *actual* major champion has never seemed so naturally close to becoming a reality as it does right now. In the Roland Garros QF for a second straight year, the now 18-year old hadn't lost a set all tournament, and has displayed a relaxed, mature and prepared-for-what's-coming persona since she arrived in Paris, high school diploma in hand and looming adulthood ready to mix with the sort of athletic stardom that so many have been predicting for her for years.

Gauff was clearly the more ready of the two when the match began. She broke Stephens in her first service game and served for the set at 5-3. But it was never going to be *that* easy. Stephens, already having turned back multiple opponents after falling behind on the scoreboard at this slam quickly look a love/40 lead and broke to get the set back on serve. Gauff's love hold set Stephens up with the chance to serve the set into a TB. But just when one might have expected Stephens to zig, Gauff zagged.

Stephens flew a forehand to fall behind love/30, then dumped a swing volley backhand into the net a point later as Gauff's point streak reached seven. Coco's inside-out backhand winner secured the set and kept the teenager's unblemished sets won record intact with a 7-5 win.

In the 2nd, it was Stephens who got out to an early lead, breaking Gauff in the opening game on her third BP. But Coco immediately answered, breaking Stephens a game later and then edging ahead with another break for 3-1. In game #5, Gauff's serve began to fail her with the semifinal so close. She DF'd three times in the game, going from holding a GP to facing three BP. On the third, a Stephens drop shot brought Gauff forward, and her weak reply set Sloane up with a sitter shot at the net to get the 2nd back on serve. But she overhit the ball and sent it beyond the baseline, and afterward crouched in frustration while lamenting the lost opportunity. A point later, Gauff closed on the net and put away a volley winner to reach GP, then got the hold for 4-1 to further highlight the importance of the point that Stephens hadn't grabbed.

Even a delay while a crowd member received medical attention didn't alter the late course of this one. Out of the unexpected rest, Gauff broke again to lead 5-1. Up 30/love while serving for the match, Coco again committed consecutive DF as Stephens got one of the breaks back, but Sloane still couldn't flip the momentum in *this* match in her favor. She fell down love/40 while trying to keep the set alive, and the match ended on Gauff's second MP, giving the teenager a 7-5/6-2 victory.



Gauff's straight sets win leaves her *still* without having dropped a set at this major, and she's now seen 22 of her last 23 matches wrap up in two sets (she's gone 14-8) after last season seemingly having a difficult time for a stretch (i.e. her "RoCoco Period") *not* being forced to three or *having* to go the distance after a particularly poor performance in an opening set.

Gauff's maiden slam semifinal berth comes in her 11th career MD in a major, and she'll next face off with Trevisan, also in her maiden slam semi while playing in just her *eighth* slam MD despite being a full decade older than Gauff. The stat sort of highlights the vastly different career paths that can develop on the tennis tour. And it makes it all the more interesting that this'll be the second meeting in Paris between the two in the last three years. In 2020, Trevisan prevailed in the 2nd Round in a three-set affair (7-5 in the 3rd despite Coco firing 19 DF), but *this* Gauff may prove to be a far more complicated foe.

So, with now three-quarters of the semifinalists at this RG (since Kasatkina/Kudermetova will also produce a maiden SF participant) set to be first-timers, this tournament is really starting to load up on players finding success on the clay that they haven't yet had elsewhere. In 2019, three semifinalists were there in a major for the first time, then two in '20, and all four last year. Thus, at least 12 of 16 semifinalists in the last four RG have been newbies... and it could be 13 if Jessie Pegula were to upset Iga Swiatek.

Meanwhile, Gauff's post-match interviews are becoming must-watch affairs. Both on court and just off it today, the teenager once more proved that teenagers in 2022 *can* be contemplative individuals who don't make everything about themselves (shocking, I know... heehee).



At the very least, though I guess I *could* be proven wrong, I doubt we're hear future Coco feign attempting to deflect attention while actually trying to get more of it by complaining and/or wondering why people are talking about her so much. Instead, one feels as if she'd likely roll with it and feel fortunate that she's relevent enough that people are still talking about her at all.

She's two matches away from being relevent for a very long time.

...while Madison Keys' singles run has ended, she's still alive in the doubles with returning mother and countrywoman Taylor Townsend. The pair reached the semifinals today with a win over Kostyuk/Rus.



A short while after her singles win, Gauff returned with Pegula and made it two all-Bannerette duos still alive in the WD, defeating veterans Lucie Hradecka & Sania Mirza in a delayed 3rd Round match to reach the QF.

...in juniors, in sharp contrast to the women's draw, 11 of the 16 seeds have reached the Round of 16. #3 Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva isn't one of them, though, losing today to Canadian Annabelle Xu.

Four Czechs are still alive (otherwise, only Canada has more than one player remaining, with Xu and Victoria Mboko): #9 Lucie Havlickova, #10 Sara Bejlek, #13 Nikola Bartunkova and Dominika Salkova.

...wheelchair action began today, with Momoko Ohtani downing Zhu Zhenzhen in three sets. After winning the 1st set, Zhu came back from 5-1 down in the 2nd to force a TB. But Ohtani won the breaker then took the 3rd set at 6-1. She'll face #2-seeded Japanese countrywoman Yui Kamiji in the QF.

Meanwhile, Jiske Griffioen defeated Lucy Shuker, while Dana Mathewson and Angelica Bernal also advanced. Bernal will face #1 Diede de Groot, who's currently riding a 48-match winning streak and hasn't lost since February. Of 2021. She's won twelve straight singles titles.




*WOMEN'S SINGLES QF*
#1 Iga Swiatek/POL vs. #11 Jessie Pegula/USA
#29 Veronika Kudermetova/RUS vs. #20 Dasha Kasatkina/RUS
Martina Trevisan/ITA def. Leylah Fernandez/CAN
#18 Coco Gauff/USA def. Sloane Stephens/USA

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF=
Bondar/Minnen (HUN/BEL) vs. #8 Gauff/Pegula (USA/USA)
(PR) Keys/Townsend (USA/USA) def. Kostyuk/Ruse (UKR/ROU)
#14 L.Kichenok/Ostapenko (UKR/LAT) def. Zanevska/Zimmermann (BEL/BEL)
(WC) Garcia/Mladenovic (FRA/FRA) vs. #13 Xu Yifan/Yang Zhaoxuan (CHN/CHN)

=MIXED DOUBLES SF=
Melichar-Martinez/Krawietz (USA/GER) vs. Eikeri/Vliegen (NOR/BEL)
#3 Dabrowski/Peers (CAN/AUS) vs. #2 Shibahara/Koolhof (JPN/NED)

=WHEELCHAIR SINGLES QF=
#1 Diede de Groot/NED vs. Angelica Bernal/COL
#4 KG Montjane/RSA vs. Jiske Griffioen/NED
Dana Mathewson/USA vs. #3 Aniek Van Koot/NED
Momoko Ohtani/JPN vs. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN

=WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES SF=
#1 de Groot/Van Koot (NED/NED) vs. x/x
x/x vs. #2 Kamiji/Montjane (JPN/RSA)

=GIRLS SINGLES ROUND OF 16=
#1 Petra Marcinko/CRO vs. #13 Nikola Bartunková/CZE
#12 Nikola Daubnerová/SVK vs. Taylah Preston/AUS
Solana Sierra/ARG vs. #16 Yaroslava Bartashevich/FRA
#11 Victoria Mboko/CAN vs. #6 Liv Hovde/USA
(Q) Joëlle Steur/GER vs. #9 Lucie Havlícková/CZE
Johanne Svendsen/DEN vs. Annabelle Xu/CAN
#7 Celine Naef/SUI vs. #10 Sara Bejlek/CZE
#14 Mirra Andreeva/RUS vs. Dominika Šalková/CZE

=GIRLS DOUBLES ROUND OF 16=
#1 Bejlek/Havlickova (CZE/CZE) def. Kupres/Stoiber (CAN/GBR)
(WC) Lew Yan Foot/Lim (FRA/FRA) vs. #6 Marcinko/Svendsen (CRO/DEN)
#3 Hovde/Lopez (USA/USA) vs. Seidel/Steur (GER/GER)
M.Andreeva/Valentova (RUS/CZE) vs. #7 Ciric Bagaric/Costoulas (CRO/BEL)
Fontenel/Sierra (SUI/ARG) def. Blokhina/Macavei (USA/USA)
Moyano/Perez Alarcon (ARG/PER) vs. #4 Bartashevich/Zaytseva (FRA/RUS)
#5 Shnaider/Vandewinkel (RUS/BEL) vs. Klimovicova/Salkova (CZE/CZE)
Kinoshita/Saito (JPN/JPN) vs. #2 Bartunkova/Naef (CZE/SUI)







...PAMMY, PAMMY, PAMMY... ON DAY 10:

Today when noting how she misses having any French players left in the draw, not for the first time at this RG, Tennis Channel's Pam Shriver praised the French fans. Based on her reaction, broadcast partner Martina Navratilova clearly could not agree with such a sentiment. She wouldn't be the only one.


...PROBABLY THE MOST (USUALLY) "UNMENTIONABLE" X-FACTOR IN WOMEN'S SPORTS, NO?... DAY 10:

Every time a player withdraws "due to illness" or "cramping" or something seemingly nonspecific the thought pops up that the unsaid reason *could* have to do with complications of that player having her period, but it is *very rarely* ever brought up. Meanwhile, due to the silence, those players are often attacked for their poor performances and the improbable nature of women's tennis results -- to which there surely is sometimes a link -- are used to denigrate the mentality and quality of the athletes. Clearly, more context is necessary, or should at least be considered.



Of course, when it *is* mentioned, it gets presented in some corners like this. So...




...I HAVE TO LAUGH, BECAUSE... ON DAY 10:

Caroline Wozniacki just *does not* think a whole lot of Trevisan. I mean, for about four rounds now, she's been referencing how "great" a draw everyone in the Italian's section has because "they'll be playing Trevisan" (i.e. rather than a "real" threat), yet she's still doing it because, you know, Trevisan keeps winning matches. I wonder, in the back of her mind, if the Dane is secretly wishing that *she* could have had Trevisan waiting for *her* deep into a slam draw. At least a few times. Haha.


...GOOD RG USE OF TWITTER ON DAY 10:




...A SECOND MARLENE DIETRICH REFERENCE HERE DURING THIS RG = FUTURE GOALS... ON DAY 10:




...Hey... ON DAY 10:

I'm pretty sure a week or so ago I heard Paul Annacone say on Tennis Channel that he didn't like the phrase "popcorn match" (thank you, I never have, either) so popularized by Jim Courier in recent years. Then today he talks about "bringing the popcorn" for a certain men's match on Tuesday night. Has anyone ever consciously decided to actually eat popcorn while watching a tennis match? I mean, other than a fan in the stadium who is just back from a concession stand.


...A NOD TO GOLOVIN FOR THE LENGLEN REFERENCE ON DAY 10:




...BIRTHDAY NOTE... ON DAY 10:

On Clint Eastwood's 92nd birthday, I note that I'm not an off-screen fan of Eastwood, especially in recent years. But it's hard not to respect his abilities as a director and filmmaker. And "Unforgiven," about a retired killer trying to go straight in order to reckon with his dark past only to discover that no matter how hard he tries his past won't allow him to escape it, might just be the western that exists at the "end of the rabbit hole."













Heard this the other day on the way to the graveyards, and realized I hadn't heard it in a long time. Queen created so many memorable songs that you sometimes forget they even sang a few of them.




I included this one because of one of the YouTube comments, which essentially reminds me of how annoying concert footage in nowaways because there are always a seas of phones being held up to record the performance for posterity (well, clicks, really) rather than people just enjoying it in the moment. (By the way, while Freddie Mercury has been gone for quite a while, one can embrace the startling fact that Brian May still has that same hair -- albeit a different color -- after all these years.)

"That women’s reaction at the end (3:40) perfectly encapsulates what’d I imagine anybody in her shoes now a days would feel like, witnessing such a stunning performance. She does not snap another picture despite holding the camera ready for an action shot, but she instead stands in awe, utter shock at the powerful display of raw emotion. She’s just processing and admiring it in the moment because she probably has realized she does not need a still image to remember nor would one single shot appropriately capture what she saw or what she felt. But the memory is burned in her mind."







kosova-font




Nice to see a member of the fam being sure to touch on *both* sides of the story. ;)








kosova-font

*FIRST-TIME SLAM SEMIFINALISTS AT RG SINCE 2000*
2000: -
2001: Clijsters (RU), Henin
2002: C.Fernandez
2003: Petrova
2004: Myskina (W), Suarez
2005: Likhovtseva
2006: Vaidisova
2007: Ivanovic (RU)
2008: Safina (RU)
2009: Cibulkova, Stosur
2010: Schiavone (W)
2011: -
2012: Errani (RU)
2013: -
2014: Halep (RU), Petkovic
2015: Bacsinszky
2016: Bertens
2017: Ostapenko (W)
2018: -
2019: Anisimova, Barty (W), Vondrousova (RU)
2020: Podoroska, Swiatek (W)
2021: Krejcikova (W), Pavlyuchenkova (RU), Sakkari, Zidansek
2022: Gauff, Trevisan
--
NOTE: Kasatkina/Kudermetova winner will be first; Pegula could be

*BEST RG GIRLS/WOMEN'S RESULTS*
[won Girls & Women's titles]
Sue Barker (1974 Jr. Champion; 1976 Women's Champion)
Jennifer Capriati (1989 Jr. Champion; 2001 Women's Champion)
Justine Henin (1997 Jr. Champion; 2003, '05-'07 Women's Champion)
Mima Jausovec (1973 Jr. Champion; 1977 Women's Champion)
Hana Mandlikova (1978 Jr. Champion; 1981 Women's Champion)
Simona Halep (2008 Jr. Champion; 2018 Women's Champion)
[others]
Martina Hingis (1993-94 Jr. Champion; 1997/99 Women's RU)
Natasha Zvereva (1987 Jr. Champion; 1988 Women's RU)
Renata Tomanova (1972 Jr. Champion; 1976 Women's RU)
Svetlana Kuznetsova (2001 Jr. RU; 2009 Women's Champion)
[active]
Amanda Anisimova (2015 Jr RU; SF)
Paula Badosa (2015 Jr. Champion; QF)
Leylah Fernandez (2019 Jr. Champion; QF)
Coco Gauff (2018 Jr. Champion; in SF)
Kaia Kanepi (2001 Jr. Champion; QF)
Dasha Kasatkina (2014 Jr. Champion; in QF)
Kristina Mladenovic (2009 Jr. Champion; QF)
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (2006 Jr. RU; 2021 Women's RU)
Elina Svitolina (2010 Jr. Champion; QF)

*UNSEEDED RG SEMIFINALISTS SINCE 2000*
unseeded...Clarisa Fernandez, 2002
unseeded...Nadia Petrova, 2003
unseeded...Kiki Bertens, 2016
unseeded...Alona Ostapenko, 2017 (W)
unseeded...Amanda Anisimova, 2019
unseeded...Marketa Vondrousova, 2019 (RU)
unseeded...Iga Swiatek, 2020 (W)
unseeded...Tamara Zidansek, 2021
unseeded...Barbora Krejcikova, 2021 (W)
unseeded...MARTINA TREVISAN, 2022
qualifier...Nadia Podoroska, 2020

*RG "LADY OF THE EVENING" WINNERS*
2021 Serena Williams/USA & Irina-Camelia Begu/ROU (1st Chatrier night)
2022 Alize Cornet vs. Alona Ostapenko




kosova-font

It's so on-brand "Canadian" that people die in the U.S.... and *Canada* makes laws to protect more people from dying, right?











TOP QUALIFIER: #2q Jule Niemeier/GER (slam MD debut; 7 games lost in 3 Q-matches)
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #1 Iga Swiatek/POL
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q2: #10q Viktoriya Tomova/BUL def. Marina Melnikova/RUS 2-6/7-5/6-0 (trailed 6-2/5-1; reached MD as LL)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - #21 Angelique Kerber/GER def. Magdalena Frech/POL (2-6/6-3/7-5; Kerber saves 2 MP, fans chant name)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #26 Sorana Cirstea/ROU (def. Maria/GER)
FIRST SEED OUT: #6 Ons Jabeur/TUN (1st Rd. to Magda Linette/POL)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Fernanda Contreras/MEX, Elsa Jacquemot/FRA, Leolia Jeanjean/FRA, Katie Volynets/USA
UPSET QUEENS: France
REVELATION LADIES: Czech Republic
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Hungary (0-4 1st Rd., Galfi 2 MP in loss)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Fernanda Contreras/MEX, Olga Danilovic/SRB, Aleksandra Krunic/SRB, Donna Vekic/CRO (all 2nd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Leolita Jeanjean/FRA, Dasha Saville/AUS (3rd Rd.)
PROTECTED RANKING BEST: Bianca Andreescu/CAN (2nd Rd.)
LAST PASTRY STANDING: Alize Cornet, Leolia Jeanjean, Diane Parry (all 3rd Rd.)
Ms./Mademoiselle OPPORTUNITY: Nominee: Trevisan, V.Kudermetova, Kasatkina, Pegula
IT "TBD": Nominees: Trevisan (Italian), Gauff (teen)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominee: Kasatkina, Townsend (d), Garcia/Mladenovic
CRASH & BURN: #6 Ons Jabeur/TUN (1st Rd. to Linette; Madrid W/Rome RU - previous three who reached both finals also reached RG final); #2 Barbora Krejcikova/CZE (DC; 1st Rd. to Parry, led 6-1/2-0)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF PARIS: Sloane Stephens/USA (lost to #306 Nefisa Berberovic pre-RG; 1r: set and 4-4, sitter for love/30 vs. Niemeier; 2r: Cirstea led 6-3/2-0, Stephens 12 con. games; 4r: Teichmann 2-0, Stephens 12 con. games)
DOUBLES STAR: xx
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Nominees: Trevisan, Stephens, (WC)
Mademoiselle/Madame OF THE EVENING: Cornet vs. Ostapenko
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx
Légion de Lenglen HONOREE: Alize Cornet/FRA
Coupe LA PETIT TAUREAU: Diane Parry, FRA (one-handed backhand) Additional nominee: Swiatek






All for Day 10. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 7:24 PM 

8 Comments:

Blogger Diane said...

Of course, all this talk about periods only makes me consider those two experts on female endocrinology: Dr. Tsonga and Dr. Djokovic. Djokovic, of course, was merely tacky (imagine that), while Tsonga was sexist to the point of nausea, and didn't pay at all for it--ever. There should have been push-back from the media who were present, but they just laughed. And there should have been push-back from the WTA, but hey--I also think it would be nice if I were on a balcony in Paris right now, sipping some champagne with Amelie Mauresmo.

I noticed Wozniacki's treatment of Trevisan, too--kind of a Danish verson of "WICKmayer."

Tue May 31, 08:55:00 PM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

So doubles is mainly Garcia/Mladenovic vs people going for their first slam. Xu has been in 2 slam finals.

Fernandez was compromised, the red flag was thinking back to Sherif getting her foot worked on. She managed to win the match, but is likely out for Wimbledon.

The fact that Trevisan beat Gauff leads to a good storyline. Either Trevisan backs it up to reach her first slam final, or Gauff becomes the latest teenager to do so.

Stat of the Day- 25- The number of players in the Open Era that have been QF or better at the French Open after winning the prior week.

With the exception of 1980, a season in which they went Italian Open, week off, Fed Cup, French Open, there has been at least one warmup event every year.

Note that Rome and Madrid were smaller events, New York Pro is before WTA. Listed is year, RG result, name, event won.

QF or Better:

1968 F- Ann Jones- New York Pro
1972 F- Evonne Goolagong- Surrey
1973 SF- Evonne Goolagong- Lee-on-Solent
1974 W- Chris Evert- Rome
1975 W- Chris Evert- Rome
1977 SF- Janet Newberry
1978 SF- Regina Marsikova- Rome
1983 W- Chris Evert- West Berlin
1987 SF- Chris Evert- Geneva
1989 QF- Jana Novotna- Strasbourg
1989 QF- Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere- Geneva
1996 SF- Jana Novotna- Madrid
1996 QF- Lindsay Davenport- Strasbourg
1997 QF- Stefanie Graf- Strasbourg
1998 QF- Patty Schnyder- Madrid
1999 QF- Lindsay Davenport- Madrid
2002 QF- Monica Seles- Madrid
2003 QF- Chanda Rubin- Madrid
2006 SF- Nicole Vaidisova- Strasbourg
2011 QF- Andrea Petkovic- Strasbourg
2014 SF- Genie Bouchard- Nurnberg
2016 SF- Kiki Bertens- Nurnberg
2020 QF- Elina Svitolina- Strasbourg
2021 W- Barbora Krejcikova- Strasbourg
2022 SF- Martina Trevisan- Rabat*

The list has changed. In the early days, it was the top players, while now it is a combination of players having breakout seasons. Vaidisova seems to be the dividing line.



Tue May 31, 11:29:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

D-

Ah, yeah, good comparison with the Wozniacki/Wickmayer reference. Like with so many things, all roads lead back to Pam, don't they? ;)

Caro pulled out the "she came out of nowhere" line about Iga at RG20 today... I pictured you growling. :)


C-

The week-before numbers have really been scuttled the last few years with Krejcikova (RG21), Kerber (WI21) and Trevisan, haven't they?

Wed Jun 01, 09:31:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Diane said...

I missed Woz's Iga statement. I rarely tune into TC because of Wozniacki, Davenport, Haber, etc. I mostly watch TC+--still all the mispronunciations, but none of the other idiocy.

Wed Jun 01, 12:59:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

It wasn't any sort of blatant questioning of Swiatek, but she noted the "questions in the lockerroom" about the '20 RG win since it had come in the fall when players maybe weren't at the same level as usual (or tired), and had been played in colder weather.

Davenport was less questioning, and both acknowledged that she's already more than proven herself whether she wins this RG or not.

Wed Jun 01, 07:01:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Also, Davenport noted how Swiatek was known to be someone to watch, but that she maybe just won a little earlier than anyone anticipated she might (which sounded fairly accurate).

Wed Jun 01, 07:09:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Diane said...

Yes, that does sound better (though I don't buy the "she won it in the wrong month" argument at all--really?--that's lame). It's funny, isn't it, that those of us who watch tennis are rarely surprised by these players who "peak early" or "out of nowhere."

Wed Jun 01, 10:27:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Haha. Exactly. ;)

Thu Jun 02, 12:58:00 PM EDT  

Post a Comment

<< Home