Sunday, May 29, 2022

RG.8- La Leylah


We've seen what Leylah Fernandez can do when she sinks her teeth into a slam.

At the U.S. Open last fall, the teenage Canadian posted three Top 5 victories en route to the final, with her wins usually accompanied by a clenched fist and a fixed stare that has a distinctly chilling "the last thing you see before..." quality to it. And, well, that look is becoming more and more familiar around the grounds at this Roland Garros.



Since her Flushing Meadows run last summer, Fernandez has had to adjust to being seen as something closer to the "hunted" than the "hunter" she was in the Open draw. Her results have been mildly uneven, including falling in the 1st Round in her next slam match in Melbourne, but she's still managed to defend a singles title (becoming the first teen to do so since 2014 - Svitolina/Baku), saving MP in the Monterry final vs. Camila Osorio en route, and becoming the fifth Canadian woman to reach the WTA singles Top 20.

2-3 on clay this season before Paris, the 19-year old (the '19 RG girls' champ), Fernandez nevertheless posted her first Top 20 win of the season (over '21 RG finalist Pavlyuchenkova in Rome) and just her second since New York (also Pavlyuchenkova, at last fall's Indian Wells) in her final preparatory event. Then in her most recent outing this past week, #17-seed Fernandez truly began to hint at a return of her big stage swagger, defeating #14 Belinda Bencic in three sets to reach her maiden 4th Round at Roland Garros.

Meanwhile, Amanda Anisimova's '22 campaign has been something of a rollercoaster, one that climbed high Down Under with her first singles title in almost three years and her best slam result (4r) since her SF in Paris at age 17 when she became the youngest U.S. player to have such a run at RG since 1990. That result was then spoiled by the sudden death of her father/coach that August. Understandably, Anisimova has had difficulty finding consistent footing in the seasons since. Coaching issues have followed her along her recent path, and this season has been no different, but when the now 20-year old has kept her head (and emotions) intact she's played even (or better) with the best (maybe save for one) on tour. A spring uptick during the clay season, during which she's won more matches than anyone other that Ons Jabeur, saw Anisimova post SF-QF-QF results in Charleston, Madrid and Rome, doubling her career Top 10 win total (going from 3 to 6) this spring as she climbed into the Top 25.

One of Anisimova's previous low points in '22 came at Indian Wells, when she led Fernandez 6-2/5-4, 40/love but couldn't convert four MP and eventually lost a 2nd set TB. Following the set, she simply grabbed her things and walked off court without explanation (she later said she was ill... though maybe "sick and tired" might have been more accurate in the moment), leaving a perplexed Fernandez behind.

The two met again today in a Round of 16 match in Paris, and just as was the case heading into the would-be 3rd set in the desert it was Fernandez who was ready to play the opening set while Anisimova couldn't quite say the same. The Canadian took an early break lead and pushed her edge to 4-0 before a DF on BP gave one of the breaks back to the Bannerette. Anisimova managed to tighten the score to 5-3, but Fernandez never lost her lead, winning 6-3.



Anisimova cleaned up her game in the 2nd set, upping her aggression and emerging from the fog to take a 3-1 lead and have the opportunity to serve for the set at 5-3. Nerves got the best of her, though, and she was broken at love.

Does Fernandez *ever* have a "case of nerves"?

Anisimova carved out a BP/SP on the Canadian's serve a game later, but Fernandez saved it with a lefty crosscourt passing shot that dipped over the net and under Anisimova's racket. But the Bannerette didn't blink, and instead continued to apply pressure with her return game, likely forcing the DF that Fernandez committed on GP. An Anisimova forehand passing shot gave her another SP, converted when Fernandez's backhand shot landed wide.



But Fernandez's ability to challenge an opponent, be they higher-ranked, of greater stature or more experienced on the slam stage, revealed itself last summer in New York, and she utilized the skill (or personality trait?) once more in the 3rd set, rising to the challenge yet again to present an even greater one for Anisimova to conquer. As it turned out, she couldn't.



Anisimova, 9-4 in completed three-setters in '22, opened the 3rd set well, holding and then taking a love/40 lead on the Canadian's serve in game #2. Taking advantage of an overruled call to earn an ace that made the score 30/40, Fernandez went on to get the key hold of serve. It proved to be a moment that turned the match, as three games later, when the Canadian finally got a break it gave her a 3-2 lead rather than simply put the set back on serve. With the switch in momentum, Fernandez's game continued its upward trajectory down the stretch, while the frustrated Anisimova -- at one point she tossed her racket across the clay, with it sliding near a linesperson -- saw her chances slip away as "New York Leylah" became "La Leylah."

The Canadian secured another hold in a close game #6, losing her 40/15 lead but never facing a BP in a two-deuce game that put her up 4-2. Down 5-3, Anisimova soon found herself having to hold to stay alive in the match. Fernandez reached MP, only to miss back-to-back returns that gave the Bannerette her first of two GP in the game. She converted neither.

Stepping in to fire a clean forehand return winner of a 97-mph serve from Anisimova gave Fernandez a second MP. When her deep return handcuffed Anisimova at the baseline, forcing an error, Fernandez's 6-3/4-6/6-3 win made her the first Canadian since Genie Bouchard in 2014-15 to post multiple slam singles QF results, and she'll next look to join the still-on-her-way-back-from-injury former Wimbledon finalist on the list of Canadians who've reached the semis in Paris (2014).



While the likes of Bouchard and Bianca Andreescu have put Canadian women's tennis on the map in recent years, perhaps feeding the already natural belief of their younger countrywoman, those two now find themselves seeking to get where Fernandez currently finds herself. In the thick of the battle for a slam title, and with a history that indicates that she knows what to do in order to thrive in this environment, and this time maybe even *win* the ultimate prize.




=DAY 8 NOTES=
...Martina Trevisan is at it again. In Paris. Did I already say "again?"



Over the last year and a half, the 28-year old Italian has truly found "her place" in the City of Light. Having lost years of time in the sport after battling anorexia following her junior tennis days, Trevisan now employs the maxim that her smile will be her signature. It's working pretty well, and better in Paris than anywhere else, in fact. She reached the Roland Garros QF in her MD debut in the fall version of the event in 2020, and this year came to town carrying the momentum of a maiden tour title run in Rabat during which she recorded her second career Top 10 win (the other was in the '20 RG 4r vs. Kiki Bertens) over Garbine Muguruza despite the former RG champion having led their 2nd Round match 6-2/3-1. Before that week-before-RG title run, Trevisan had gone 1-4 in her last five clay matches, dropping eight of ten sets.

With her 7-6(10)/7-5 win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich in Sunday's Round of 16 encounter, Trevisan has now won nine consecutive matches, and sixteen sets in a row (and 18 of 19).



Not that the Belarusian didn't have her chances. Sasnovich served for the set in both the 1st and 2nd, holding a SP in the opener's TB that Trevisan finally claimed on her fifth SP in the breaker after both women had traded off on playing tentatively on the most important points until Sasnovich's long backhand finally allowed the Italian to celebrate.

Up 5-3 in the 2nd, Sasnovich again couldn't serve things out and was broken at love. Another break allowed Trevisan to serve out her latest big win in Paris. The Italian, ranked #59 at the start of the tournament (after being #85 two weeks ago), is now assured of being on the cusp of reaching the Top 30 (or better) when it concludes.



With her second QF in three seasons at Roland Garros, Trevision is now 8-2 on the terre battue. She's 2-5 in the other slams. Yes, the Italian has found "her spot," and she's more than happy to show everyone how it makes her feel.

...speaking of players "finding their range," Coco Gauff has had some of her very best moments in slams, and she's currently authoring another one in Paris.



With five U.S. women into the Round of 16 at Roland Garros for the first time since 2003, the 18-year old, #18-seeded Gauff is shaping up to perhaps be the best opportunity, as least as far as her "cape-less" countrywomen are concerned, for yet another Bannerette slam champ. Well, at least slam *finalist*, and not just because she's positioned in the half of the draw that doesn't include a certain Pole.

While consistency over the course of the entire season is still a work in progress for the teenager, Gauff has shined on the biggest stages. She made her major debut by reaching the Round of 16 at Wimbledon three years ago. While she's spent less time in the limelight since, she's climbed into the Top 20 and put up many of her best efforts when the lights were the brightest, reaching the semis in Rome last year, as well as QF over the last two seasons at Roland Garros, Montreal, Dubai and Doha. In doubles, she's won in Doha, and reached the U.S. Open final and Miami semis.

Against #31-seeded Elise Mertens, Gauff found a player who has often seemed to operate quietly in the shadows, a tough feat for a former doubles #1 (a three-time slam winner, and one who has a shot at completing a Career Doubles Slam at this RG) and former singles #6. Still, Mertens has reached the 3rd Round at seventeen straight slams, and this run in Paris is her third consecutive (and 8th in 11 events) major Round of 16 result. Four times a year, everyone hears a slight rumble and looks over their shoulder and there she is. "Oh, that's just Belgian Rumble, doing what she does." So far, it's produced one slam semi ('18 AO) and a pair of QF (2019-20 US).

Mertens held an early break lead in the 1st today, but Gauff got the set back on serve, with the Belgian serving down 5-4. A Mertens' shot at the baseline was called in, but Gauff challenged the mark. The chair umpire determined that the ball had indeed landed out, handing Gauff the point and a SP. Mertens saved it with a 31-shot rally-ending overhead, but Gauff got a second SP opportunity and her lob and high-bouncing forehand put-away from the mid-court secured a 6-4 set that had lasted nearly an hour.



Gauff got the early break in the 2nd, then rolled to a love set to reach the QF in Paris for a second straight year.



...with one spot in the QF remaining in the bottom half, Future Sloane came to play. Of course she did.



Having come into Roland Garros off a 1st Round loss to #306-ranked (super) LL Nefisa Berberovic in Strasbourg, Stephens went 0-4 on clay this spring (and 1-6 overall) after picking up her first tour title in four years in Guadalajara in February. So, naturally, Sloane being Sloane, she was primed and ready to slip on her cape on the slam stage yet again.

Thing is, things were so close to turning the other way for Stephens early at this RG. In her opening match, Jule Niemeier led her by a set and 4-4, and had a sitter shot for a love/30 lead on Stephens' serve that might have put the German qualifier two points from serving for the match. She missed it and Stephens won eight of the next ten games to get the win. Sorana Cirstea led Sloane 6-3/2-0 in the 2nd Round before the former U.S. Open champ won the final 12 games. She dropped just five games to France's Diane Parry, and today faced #23-seeded Jil Teichmann for a spot in her seventh career slam QF.

In Future Sloane style, Stephens dropped the first two games... then never lost another, reeling off an off-brand double bagel macaron for the second time at this tournament.

After initially getting the break for 3-2 to assume the lead against the first-time slam second week Swiss, Stephens provided herself with some cushion by breaking Teichmann again in a five-deuce game in which she denied her opponent on three GP and got the break on BP #3. Having dropped the 1st set at 6-2, Teichmann's DF in game #1 of the 2nd put her down 15/40. Stephens' break of serve proved to kick off what was a string of 18 straight points for the U.S. veteran, who led 5-0 before the Swiss finally got on the board in game #6. The game went to 30/30, but Stephens soon converted on her first MP, reaching the Final 8 for the third time in Paris.

Stephens' win sets up a spicy all-U.S. QF between herself and Gauff. In their only previous meeting, Stephens toyed with Coco in a 6-4/6-2 win over the teenager in the 2nd Round of last year's U.S. Open.

...in junior 1st Round action, naturally, the Czechs made noise. #10 Sara Bejlek knocked off Greece's Michaeli Laki, a girls' quarterfinalist at this year's AO, though her unseeded fellow Crush member Barbora Klimovicova lost to Argentina's Luciana Moyano.

The big result of the day was the upset of #2-seed Sofia Costoulas, the AO girls' runner-up who had won 18 straight matches after losing to #1 Petra Marcinko in Melbourne before she lost in her final RG tune-up at the Milan JA event. The Belgian fell in a second straight match today in three sets to Dominika Salkova... yet another Czech of the unseeded variety.

Elsewhere, wild card Pastry Sarah Iliev defeated #8-seeded Hordette Ksenia Zaytseva in three, while Kenya's Angella Okutoyi (who broke down multiple tennis barriers with her 3rd Rd. run at the AO, which came up one round short of facing off with eventual champ Marcinko in the QF) advanced. Her next opponent: top-seeded Marcinko.

Also, French wild card Tiantsoa Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah defeated the U.S.'s Alexis Blokhina in a 10-5 3rd set TB.

...in ITF weekend action, Elisabetta Cocciaretto's climb back up the tennis ladder moved forward another rung with her second 2022 challenger win. Having won an $80K last month, today she picked up a $60K crown in Grado, Italy with a 2 & 2 win over Swiss Ylena In-Albon. It'll move Cocciaretto from outside the Top 150 to back around #130. She was on the cusp of a Top 100 breakthrough eleven months ago before seeing her season end in July due to a knee injury that required surgery that kept her out until late January. Cocciaretto is 20-6 on the year.



Yanina Wickmayer, the former U.S. Open semifinalist (2009) who returned in Februrary after becoming a first-time mother, reached the final of the $25K challenger in Netanya, Israel in her fifth event back. The five-time tour champ (2009-16) lost in the final to Aussie Priscilla Hon.

Meanwhile, Japanese sisters Haruna and Natsuho Arakawa won the doubles.

In Orlando, former NCAA #1 Robin Anderson (UCLA), 29, won her biggest career title at the Floridian $60K, defeating fellow Bannerette Sachia Vickery 7-5/6-4. Last November, Anderson reached her biggest career final (Midland 125), and she made her slam MD debut (via a WC for winning the USTA challenge series) in Melbourne in January. This win will lift her inside the Top 150 for the first time, to around #137.



32-year old veteran Ayumi Morita, healthy (for once) and in form, picked up her second consecutive challenger title, taking the $15K in Monastir, Tunisia.

And "Bracelet-in-training" Lola Radivojevic, the 17-year old Serb who made her BJK Cup debut last month alongside "original formula" Aleksandra Krunic, claimed her second title in two weeks in a $15K challenger in Greece, taking the second straight of back-to-back events in Heraklion with a love & 2 win over Greek Dimitra Pavlou.

Since her Cup experience in mid-April, Radivojevic has gone 15-2, won two singles titles and qualified and reached the QF of another circuit event. She's won her last 16 sets played, and 20 of 21 during her two-title run. Last weekend she swept the singles and doubles titles (see below), picking up her maiden pro titles in both disciplines:






*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Iga Swiatek/POL vs. Zheng Qinwen/CHN
#11 Jessie Pegula/USA vs. Irina-Camelia Begu/ROU
#29 Veronika Kudermetova/RUS vs. #22 Madison Keys/USA
#20 Dasha Kasatkina/RUS vs. #28 Camila Giorgi/ITA
Martina Trevisan/ITA def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich/BLR
#17 Leylah Fernandez/CAN def. #27 Amanda Anisimova/USA
#18 Coco Gauff/USA def. #31 Elise Mertens/BEL
Sloane Stephens/USA def. #23 Jil Teichmann/SUI

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES ROUND OF 16=
Bondar/Minnen (HUN/BEL) vs. Rosolska/Routliffe (POL/AUS)
#10 Hradecka/Mirza (CZE/IND) vs. #8 Gauff/Pegula (USA/USA)
Kostyuk/Ruse (UKR/ROU) def. #4 McNally/S.Zhang (USA/CHN)
(PR) Keys/Townsend (USA/USA) def. #9 Muhammad/Shibahara (USA/JPN)
Zanevska/Zimmermann (BEL/BEL) def. L.Chan/Stosur (TPE/AUS)
#14 L.Kichenok/Ostapenko (UKR/LAT) def. #3 Dabrowski/Olmos (CAN/MEX)
(WC) Garcia/Mladenovic (FRA/FRA) def. Doi/Tomljanovic (JPN/AUS)
#13 Xu Yifan/Yang Zhaoxuan (CHN/CHN) vs. #2 V.Kudermetova/Mertens (RUS/BEL)

=MIXED DOUBLES QF=
Haddad Maia/Soares (BRA/BRA) vs. Melichar-Martinez/Krawietz (USA/GER)
#4 Krawczyk/N.Skupski (USA/GBR) vs. Eikeri/Vliegen (NOR/BEL)
Hradecka/Escobar (CZE/ECU) vs. #3 Dabrowski/Peers (CAN/AUS)
Stosur/Ebden (AUS/AUS) vs. #2 Shibahara/Koolhof (JPN/NED)







...ITALIAN SMILES ON DAY 8:




...IMAGINE IF KIKI WOULD (oh, nevermind)... ON DAY 8:




...I SWEAR... ON DAY 8:

Every time I see Anisimova's (latest) coach Andis Juska in the stands I think he resembles actor Costa Ronin (from "Homeland," "The Americans" and "Endgame"... basically playing any sketchy eastern European character that you're drawn too and often like even when he's set againt the plot's protagonist).



See?







...WELL, AT LEAST JIL GOT TO "FEEL THE LOVE"... ON DAY 8:




...JULY 4th WEEKEND ISN'T TOO FAR AWAY... ON DAY 8:




...COCO & MARION ON DAY 8:




...REFRIDGERATOR-AND-MAGNETS MATERIAL ON DAY 8:




...MEANWHILE, BACK HOME... ON DAY 8:

We're about to the point in the U.S. where the furor over the *latest* school shooting is just starting to be consumed around the edges by the fake outrage from the bleating right side of the aisle, attempting to drown out the outrage by holding up bright shiny objects, as it focuses on the "lack of patriotism" being shown by a major league baseball manager who is protesting the gun industry's overwhelming influence on the nation's politics by announcing that he will no longer join his team for the pre-game national anthem.

This will last a couple of days, until around the time that the next mass shooting -- likely by, oh, Thursday -- is perpetrated by a different assailant using the same sort of weapon that all the others just like them have utilized in the past, pushing all the recent stories out of the headlines as thoughts and prayers are expressed for a whole new group of victims' families.

Then we'll do it all over again after that, and after that, and after that...















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*CAREER WTA TITLES - CANADA*
3 - Bianca Andreescu (2019)
2 - Carling Bassett-Seguso (1983-87)
2 - Leylah Fernandez (2021-22)
2 - Helen Kelesi (1986-88)
1 - Genie Bouchard (2014)
1 - Aleksandra Wozniak (2008)
1 - Jill Hetherington (1988)
1 - Patricia Hy-Boulais (1986)
[CANADIANS IN TOP 10 s/d]
Carling Bassett-Seguso (WS high: #8)
Gaby Dabrowski (WD high: #7)
Jill Hetherington (WD high: #6)
Genie Bouchard (WS high: #5)
Bianca Andreescu (WS high: #4)
[CANADIANS IN SINGLES TOP 25]
Carling Bassett-Seguso (high #8, 1985)
Helen Kelesi (high #13, 1989)
Aleksandra Wozniak (high #21, 2009)
Genie Bouchard (high #5, 2014)
Bianca Andreescu (high #4, 2019)
Leylah Fernandez (high #17, 2022) - live #14

*RECENT RG "ZOMBIE QUEENS OF PARIS"*
[2015]
Elina Svitolina, UKR (down 6-1/3-0, 4-1 in 3rd set in 2r; wins 9-7)
[2016]
Tsvetana Pironkova, BUL (down 6-2/3-0 vs. A-Rad 4r; wins 1st 10 games two days later)
[2017]
Kristina Mladenovic, FRA (1st Rd.: down 3-0 in 3rd to Brady, wins 9-7; 3rd Rd. - down 5-2 in 3rd, wins 8-6 vs. Rogers; to first RG QF)
[2018]
Yulia Putintseva, KAZ (3rd Rd.: down 6-1/4-1 & 2 MP, 3-0 in 3rd, vs. Wang Qiang; to second career slam QF)
[2019]
Anna Blinkova, RUS (Q2: trailed 6-3/3-1 vs. Kalinina; Q3: trailed Glushko 3-0 in 3rd; 1st Rd.: trailed Gaspayarn 4-0 in 3rd; 2nd Rd.: trailed Garcia 3-0 in 3rd)
[2020]
Kiki Bertens, NED (2nd Rd.: injured; Errani up break 5 times in 3rd, served for match 3 times, 1 MP at 6-5; collapses and wheeled off court after 9-7 win)
[2021 Early-Round]
Katerina Siniakova, CZE (2nd Rd.: down 5-1 in 3rd vs. V.Kudermetova, saved 2 MP)
[2021 Mid/Late-Round]
Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (SF: saved MP in 3rd vs. Sakkari)
[2022]
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)

*UNSEEDED/WC/Q in RG QF IN 32-SEED DRAW*
2002 C.Fernandez,Pierce,Suarez
2003 Pierce
2004 -
2005 Karatantcheva
2006 -
2007 -
2008 Kanepi,Suarez-Navarro(q)
2009 Cirstea,Sharapova
2010 Shvedova
2011 -
2012 Shvedova(q)
2013 Kuznetsova
2014 Muguruza
2015 Van Uytvanck
2016 Bertens,Pironkova,Putintseva,Rogers
2017 Ostapenko[W]
2018 Putintseva
2019 Anisimova,Vondrousova[RU]
2020 Collins,Podoroska,Siegemund,Swiatek[W],Trevisan
2021 Krejcikova[W],Zidansek
2022 Stephens,Trevisan
--
[W]=won title; [RU]=reached final; [q]=qualifier
--
NOTE: Q.Zheng and Begu to play 4th Rd.




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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
IT "TBD": Nominees: Q.Zheng, Gauff, Fernandez, Teens
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominee: Kasatkina, Stephens, 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: Giorgi, Begu, Hradecka/Mirza, Muhammad
Mademoiselle/Madame OF THE EVENING: Nominee: 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 8. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 7:05 PM 

2 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Fernandez fires up the fans, but surprisingly did not have the loudest fanbase on the women's side. That may have been Danilovic, who seemingly got Novak's fans to root her on.

On Lenglen: A player built like a runner vs one built like a speed skater. That turned out to be Sasnovich/Trevisan, which was a great old school match. Both leaned into what they do well and tried to run everything down, and they had to, as neither one hit an ace.

Stat of the Day- 24- Completed editions of Den Bosch.

After missing both 2020 and 2021, den Bosch is back next week.

A tournament that holds a slice of history, they have had #1 players show up. Hingis in 2000 and Safina in 2009.

This year might be a return to glory. After never having the #8 seed ranked lower than 45 between 1996-2014, the last 5 editions have only been above that once, going as low as 70 in 2015.

What happened? After being the week before Wimbledon from 1997-2014, they moved to the week after Roland Garros. So instead of having 5 Top 20 players like they had in 2002(Clijsters, Henin, Mauresmo, Dementieva, Maleeva), or 2012(Stosur, Errani, Cibulkova, Pennetta, Kirilenko), they have had as few as 1, both 2015 and 2016.

If the entry list stays even close to what it is now, there will be a strong field. Because of the ban, 6 Top 50 players from Russia and Belarus are in the field, giving them 14 Top 50 total. The seeds would cut off at 28.

For an event which has had winners from 14 countries plus Puerto Rico, things may be even more exciting this year.

Mon May 30, 02:53:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Diane said...

I was sorry that I couldn't watch Sasnovich-Trevisan. Now, colt, I think you've convinced me to watch it on demand.

Mon May 30, 08:55:00 AM EDT  

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