Monday, May 16, 2022

Wk.19- Please Iga, Don't Hurt 'em

Iga. Rome. You get the idea.






futuristic-fonts




*WEEK 19 CHAMPIONS*
ROME, ITALY (WTA 1000/Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Iga Swiatek/POL def. Ons Jabeur/TUN 6-2/6-2
D: Veronika Kudermetova/Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS/RUS) def. Gaby Dabrowski/Giuliana Olmos (CAN/MEX) 1-6/6-4 [10-7]
PARIS, FRANCE (WTA 125 Challenger/Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Claire Liu/USA def. Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA 6-3/6-4
D: Beatriz Haddad Maia/Kristina Mladenovic (BRA/FRA) def. Oksana Kalashnikova/Miyu Kato (GEO/JPN) 5-7/6-4 [10-4]
KARLSRUHE, GERMANY (WTA 125 Challenger/Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Mayar Sherif/EGY def. Bernarda Pera/USA 6-2/6-4
D: Mayar Sherif/Panna Udvardy (EGY/HUN) def. Yana Sizikova/Alison Van Uytvanck (RUS/BEL) 5-7/6-4 [10-2]




kosova-font

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Iga Swiatek/POL
...Ash who?

Seriously, though... it *does* seem like a certain Aussie retired about two years ago rather than just two months ago, doesn't it? That's all on Swiatek, who has *still* yet to lose since assuming the #1 ranking in April.

With Roland Garros less than a week away, Swiatek continues to roll. In Rome, she successfully defended a tour singles title for the first time, doing so without losing a set despite being challenged on more than one occasion (well, sort of, in stand-alone sets) by multiple opponents.

Lucky loser Gabriela Ruse won three games in the 1st set in the opener, then was bageled in the 2nd. Victoria Azarenka got to four in the 1st in the 3rd Round, but was allowed just one in the 2nd.

Bianca Andreescu, in the first pro meeting between the two, had maybe the *best* chance to mar Swiatek's current run of dominance, or at least make things interesting. With the opening set forced to a TB after the Canadian had rallied from 5-3 down, Andreescu was put behind an early mini-break when the chair umpire erroneously overruled a call of out on a Swiatek shot at the baseline, then refused to re-play the point (giving Iga a 2-1 lead) because she said the call had been made late and didn't impact Andreescu. Replays showed that the call was made on time, causing Andreescu to pull up on her swing... and video showed that the Swiatek ball was indeed out. Andreescu may not have won the TB had the point been handled correctly, but she never threatened in the match after that point. Swiatek took the TB 7-2, then the 3rd at love. She dropped just threee games vs. Aryna Sabalenka in the semis.

In the final, as has been the pattern, Swiatek wasn't handed any sort of gimme, even if the final scoreline might make it *seem* as such. The Pole's 6-2/6-2 win over Ons Jabeur, Swiatek's fourth in five finals during her streak in which she's faced off with a Top 10 player (the "other" final was against four-time slam champ Naomi Osaka in Miami), saw her take a 6-2/4-0 lead, but she had to fight off the Tunisian when Jabeur threatened to pull off back-to-back breaks to get the set back on serve. Staging a comeback from love/40 down in game #7, Swiatek raised her game to meet the challenge, saving four BP, the last in picture-perfect "Octo-Iga" fashion as she covered the entire court and ended things at the net...



Swiatek held, then broke Jabeur to win her 28th straight match (now officially the longest WTA streak since Serena won 34 in a row in 2013... and I won't even get into -- once again -- how many entities that should know better this week brought up Williams' mythical "27-match" win streak in 2014-15, which isn't actually a thing since it was broken mid-streak by a walkover loss). Rome gives Swiatek five consecutive titles, and four 1000-level crowns this season alone (the most since Serena Williams took five in '13). She's won 42 of her last 43 sets, and holds a remarkable 2780-point edge in the 2022 season Race (5290-2510) over #2 Jabeur, and has a 3413 lead over #3 Paula Badosa (1877).



Swiatek will now head to Paris as something pretty close to a Rafa-style RG favorite (well, maybe not *this* year) to lift the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen for a second time in three years.
===============================================



RISERS: Ons Jabeur/TUN, Dasha Kasatkina/RUS and Mayar Sherif/EGY
...if not for Swiatek, Jabeur would be the hottest player on tour as everything soon shifts to the second slam of the season. But that's a pretty big "if" at the moment, with the gulf between the Pole and even the "#2" one of a seemingly still increasing size.

Nevertheless, coming into Rome off her biggest career win in Madrid, Jabeur posted a second 1000 level final, putting away Ajla Tomljanovic and Yulia Putintseva before staging back-to-back comebacks to set up a date in the final with the world #1. Jabeur knocked off Maria Sakkari after having trailed 6-2/5-2 in the QF, then saved a MP (w/ a drop shot, naturally) against Dasha Kasatkina, winning her eleventh straight match and reaching her seventh career tour final.

After falling down a set and double-break vs. Swiatek in the final, Jabeur had four BP chances to get back on serve in the 2nd set but wasn't able to find the very small crack (if it currently exists, that is) in Iga's game that might have allowed for the possibility of a comeback victory (or at least a three-set tussle).



While she's not the "favorite," Jabeur now comes to Paris with some real pressure of expectation heading into a major for the first time. A two-time slam quarterfinalist ('20 AO/'21 WI), she's reached the Round of 16 the last two years at Roland Garros.

Meanwhile, Kasatkina's reputation for on-court flair, leaping backhands, and an abundance of drop shots has sort of been overtaken by Jabeur's own brand of gameplay, but her SF run in Rome -- her best 1000 level result since reaching the Indian Wells final in 2018 -- puts her squarely back on the radar heading into Paris (where she reached the QF four years ago).

After opening with a win over '21 RG semifinalist Tamara Zidansek, Kasatkina won a 3rd set TB over Leylah Fernandez before making #3 Paula Badosa her third Top 5 victim of the season. A QF win over Jil Teichmann (ret.) assured Kasatkina's return to the Top 20 for the first time since '19, and she'd have gotten her fourth '22 shot at world #1 Swiatek (she was 0-3 against her this season before Iga became #1, but has posted #1 victories over Kerber and Wozniacki in 2017 and '18, respectively) had she been able to convert a MP against Jabeur in the semifinals. Instead, she lost in three sets.



Sherif continues to build her career and set new standards for Egyptian women's tennis, season by season and now even event by event.

This week in Karlsruhe, Sherif defended her '21 title in the WTA 125 challenger, picking up her second 125 crown this season and third of her career. Wins over Kateryna Baindl (nee Kozlova), Laura Pigossi, Panna Udvardy and Anna Bondar put her in the final, where she defeated Bernarda Pera 6-2/6-4. The pair joined forces to win the doubles title, taking a MTB over Yana Sizikova & Alison Van Uytvanck. The title sweep is another career first (Sherif was a MTB away from doing the same a year ago in the same tournament).

Sherif continues to seek her first tour-level title, having reached one WTA singles final (Cluj Napoca '21) and two in doubles (Cluj, then Melbourne 2 this year) since August.

In the new rankings, Sherif becomes the first Egyptian to crack the Top 50.


===============================================
SURPRISES: Claire Liu/USA and Dalma Galfi/HUN
...Liu will return to the Top 100 with her career-best win in the WTA 125 Challenger in Paris. The 21-year old Bannerette strung together wins over Dayana Yastremska, Anastasia Gasanova and Varvara Gracheva in straights, then outran top-seeded Kaia Kanepi to take a love 3rd set and advance to her biggest career final. There she put away last week's 125 champ, Beatriz Haddad Maia, by a 6-3/6-4 score.

In 2017, Liu was the Wimbledon girls champion (def. Ann Li) as well as the junior runner-up at Roland Garros (losing to Whitney Osuigwe is what was the first all-Bannerette girls final match-up in the event in 37 years).

Seven years ago, Galfi was the ITF junior world champ and U.S. Open girls winner (def. Kenin in F), but her pro career (despite winning her first seven ITF finals from 2014-16) has been a slow-starting one.

Belately, the 23-year old Hungarian is seeing some movement. After having reached her biggest career finals in $100K and $80K events (and four total finals on the challenger circuit, going 1-3) in the past year, as well as playing in her first slam MD (U.S. Open, after finally making it through the qualifying at a major on her eighth attempt), reaching her maiden tour level SF (Budapest '21), recording her first career 1000+ MD victory (Miami in March) and finally cracking the Top 100 (April), this past week in Karlsruhe saw Galfi reach the QF after staging a pair of comeback victories over Aleksandra Krunic (saving 4 MP) and Zhu Lin (trailing 7-6/4-2, she won 11 of the final 13 games).

Galfi fell in the QF to Anna-Lena Friedsam.
===============================================
VETERAN: Yulia Putintseva/KAZ
...Putintseva has likely lost more matches in which she held MP over the past couple of years than any other player on tour, so she was due to turn the tables.

In Rome, the 27-year old qualified with wins over Storm Sanders and Ana Konjuh, then saved a pair of MP against Kaja Juvan in a 3:06 1st Round win. A round later, two points from defeat, Putintseva rallied again against Garbine Muguruza, overcoming a 6-3/5-3 deficit to reach her third QF in her last three events (w/ Istanbul SF).

She lost in the Final 8 to the phenomenon that has been Ons Jabeur in recent outings, but will climb to #37 in the new rankings as she continues to climb back inside the Top 40 after having slipped outside the Top 50 in April, her first such dip since 2018.


===============================================
COMEBACKS: Bianca Andreescu/CAN and Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA
...give her a little more time, and *maybe* things might be different.

While not yet 100% back in form, Andreescu has shown enough flashes to think she could be come summer, back on the hard courts where she made her legend three seasons ago. As it is, Rome provided still more signs that the Canadian's path is true, as she improved her season record to 6-3 (5-2 in her Madrid/Rome debuts) with a QF run -- her best in a 1000 event since Miami last year -- with wins over Emma Raducanu, Nuria Parrizas Diaz and Petra Martic.

She rallied from 5-3 down in the 1st in her final eight match-up with Iga Swiatek, and very nearly had a chance to serve for the match (holding a BP at 5-5). She "settled" for accomplishing the near-Herculean feat (for recent Iga opponents) of forcing a TB, only to then fall victim to a poor decision by the chair umpire (first jumping in to incorrectly change a correct call that had gone Andreescu's way, then just as mistakenly not re-playing the point, thereby awarding it to Swiatek). The turn of events gave the world #1 a mini-break lead at 2-1.

Andreescu, initially cleary bothered by the decision and perhaps never able to quite put it behind her even after leaving the court between sets (or maybe she was just caught up in the usual Iga undertow), only won one more point in the breaker and not a single game in the 2nd set.



The Canadian's expectations at Roland Garros aren't particularly high, seeing as she's only played the event twice (getting a single win in '19 before pulling out injured). Still, if she can find the form that threatened Swiatek in the 1st set in Rome, the majority of the field might have a hard time replicating Swiatek's reaction. More important for Andreescu might just be completing this clay season without yet another health setback, and being able to hit the summer schedule with her build-back unhampered by (fill in the blank for whichever muscle pull and/or strain might be a potential issue lurking around an upcoming clay court rally near you).

Meanwhile, a week after picking up a WTA 125 title in Saint-Malo, Haddad played her way into another 125 final in Paris. Still playing on the high of her win last weekend, the Brazilian opened the week with a 3:16 victory over Dasha Saville, winning a 3rd set TB after having previously squandered a 7-5/5-2 lead over the Aussie.

Three more three-setters followed as Haddad went the distance to take out Hailey Baptiste, Elsa Jacquemot and Ana Bogdan. On a nine-match winning streak, Haddad's run ended with a 6-3/6-4 loss to Claire Liu in the final. She didn't leave Germany empty-handed, though, as she teamed with Kristina Mladenovic (hey, whadda you know... the Pastry plays doubles and suddenly isn't a head-hanging and hand-wringing disappointment, imagine that) to win the WD crown.
===============================================
FRESH FACES: Amanda Anisimova/USA and Jil Teichmann/SUI
...Anisimova has gone just 2-2 in Paris since her SF run at Roland Garros in 2019, but after her third straight QF+ clay result this spring the 20-year old Bannerette will soon begin play in the RG MD after completing a successful clay court lead-up that will surely make her a "dark horse" pick for a deep run by many.



Anisimova, in some ways, already went through this drill with the season's first slam in Australia. She opened '22 with a title run in Melbourne, then backed it up with a Round of 16 AO result that included an upset of defending champ Naomi Osaka. A 2-4 skid (and "Cahill incident") followed, but Anisimova seems to have mostly righted her ship on the clay. Her QF run in Rome, with her third Top 10 win on clay this spring, leaves her at 10-3 on the surface in '22 after she posted victories over Tereza Martincova (even with the by-now-not-unexpected mid-match dip, in the form of a 2nd set lost at love), Belinda Bencic, and #9 Danielle Collins. After previously posting clay wins over Aryna Sabalenka in Charleston and Madrid this spring, Anisimova fell in three to the Belarusian in their third meeting in five weeks.


Meanwhile, Teichmann seemed well on her way to following up her Madrid semifinal with another eye-popping result in Rome. She posted wins over Jasmine Paolini, Karolina Pliskova (ending the Czech's streak of three consecutive Rome finals with the Swiss' sixth career Top 10 victory), and Elena Rybakina to reach the QF (her fourth at the 1000 level since the start of '21), only to then be forced to retire from her match with Dasha Kasatkina mid-way through the 2nd set with a hip/thigh injury.

Unfortunately, now Teichmann's fine recent form may once again not translate to anything at Roland Garros. To date, she's yet to win a match in Paris, having only appeared in one MD (in 2020, after failing to qualify three times and missing last year's version entirely). Of course, RG isn't exactly unique for Teichmann. Even with a series of fine 1000 level results, including a final in Cincinnati last year, six Top 10 wins since 2019 and this week a new career high standing of #24, Teichmann currently sports (if that's the correct word rather than, say, "endures") a career 3-10 mark in majors, having never advanced past the 2nd Round in any of the four events.
===============================================
DOWN: Alona Ostapenko/LAT
...once upon a time, about three months ago, Latvian Thunder roamed the land like an apex predator. Since then, not so much.

In February, Ostapenko flashed the sort of rare form that made her a slam champion (now) five years ago. Over the course of three events, she posted SF-W-SF results in Saint Petersburg, Dubai and Doha, going 12-2, posting three Top 10 wins and four straight (and 6 in 9) victories over former slam champions, including one over the soon-to-become #1 Iga Swiatek. Since that week in Dubai, things have changed greatly.

For one, the likelihood of another tournament being held in Saint Petersburg anytime soon are monumentally remote. At the same time, Swiatek has risen to #1 and hasn't lost a match, a streak that now stands at five straight title runs and 28 consecutive matches. Meanwhile, Ostapenko's 1st Round loss in Rome to Lauren Davis (2 & 3) gives the Latvian five straight losses.

A week before the start of Roland Garros, the event's former champion is still seeking her first clay court match win this season and first on the surface at all since *last* year's 3rd Round in Rome.


===============================================
ITF PLAYER: Wang Xinyu/CHN
...at La Bisbal d'Emporda (ESP), 20-year old Wang Xinyu picked up the first big singles title of her pro career, taking the $100K crown with a 6-3/6-7/6-0 win over 17-year old Hordette Erika Andreeva. Wang had previously reached WTA 125 (Columbus '21) and $60K (Charlottesville '21) finals in her career, but had lost both. Her previous best singles wins had been in four $25K events (three in pre-pandemic China).

The win is Wang's fifth on the ITF circuit, and will lift her to a new career high of #75.

Meanwhile, qualifier Andreeva had put on an impressive run with wins over top-seeded Arantxa Rus (ret.), Renata Zarazua and Asia Muhammad. Though she couldn't pick up her fourth pro win (her 15-year old sister Mirra has won two ITF titles in '22), she'll jump nearly 70 spots in the rankings from #240 to a new career high inside the Top 175.
===============================================
JUNIOR STAR: Sara Bejlek/CZE and Celine Naef/SUI
...Bejlek was supposed to play her big matches in Santa Margherita di Pula's (ITA) $25K challenger last weekend, but rain delays pushed her semifinal back to Monday of this week. After she won that, the 16-year old Czech defeated Poland's Weronika Falkowska in a 7-6/6-1 final on Tuesday to claim her second pro singles title (w/ a $60K in '21).

Still going the two different color shoes route (see below), Bejlek will now crack the Top 300 (#268) for the first time, settling into the Top 5 ranked players under 18 (three of whom are Czech, as are five of the Top 10, w/ Brenda Fruhvirtova being the *lowest* ranked at #387).



Meanwhile, in this week's J1 girls event in Santa Croce Sull'Arno (ITA), 16-year old Swiss Naef dropped no sets en route to her biggest career junior title. The top seed, and #14-ranked junior, defeated Slovak Nikola Daubnerova 1 & love in the singles final, after having teamed with her to reach the GD final (a loss to Luca Udvardy & Tereza Valentova a 10-6 MTB).

While this was Naef's biggest junior title, it's not her biggest career crown. In March, she picked up her maiden pro title in a $15K challenger event.
===============================================
DOUBLES: Veronika Kudermetova/Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS/RUS
...the all-Hordette duo barely survived their first match in Rome, saving a MP in an 11-9 MTB win over #5-seeded Coco Gauff & Jessie Pegula. From there, the duo knocked off the event's top three seeds en route to the title, taking out #1 Storm Sanders/Zhang Shuai (QF), #3 Desirae Krawczyk/Demi Schuurs (SF, saving 3 MP in a 10-7 MTB) and #2 Gaby Dabrowski/Giuliana Olmos (another 10-7 MTB, as the CAN/MEX pair sought to pull off the Madrid/Rome title two-fer) in the final.

Now a two-time '22 title winner, this was Kudermetova's third appearance in a 1000 level WD final this season and fourth (along with another at Wimbledon) in the past year. She's won four tour-level doubles titles in her career, two less than Pavlyuchenkova (though this was just the second 1000+ WD final in Pavlyuchenkova's career, along with her '13 Madrid win, after having gone just 1-7 in 1000 WD semis in her career before this week).


===============================================









kosova-font

1. Rome Final - Iga Swiatek def. Ons Jabeur
...6-2/6-2. Jabeur only put four games on the scoreboard, but she briefly reversed the momentum of the 2nd set, turning a 4-0 deficit into an opportunity to get back on serve with a second straight break of Swiatek's serve.

Jabeur led love/40 on return in game #7, only to see Swiatek lift her game, saving four BP (the last on a brilliant defensive/offensive rally from the world #1, who ended things with a picture perfect volley winner) before getting the hold to lead 5-2.

This was the sixth 2022 final to feature two Top 10 players. The last four have all featured Swiatek, who won them all.


===============================================



2. Rome SF - Ons Jabeur def. Dasha Kasatkina
...6-4/1-6/7-5. Jabeur led 4-2 in the 3rd, but Kasatkina surged back and found herself serving at 5-4 and holding a MP. Jabeur saved it with a down the line winner, then broke for 5-5 with what has become her signature...



Two games later, Jabeur ended the match with a drop shot...



...naturally.


===============================================
3. Rome 1st Rd. - Yulia Putintseva def. Kaja Juvan 7-5/4-6/7-5
Rome 2nd Rd. - Yulia Putintseva def. Garbine Muguruza 3-6/7-6(4)/6-1
...in a rare (for her) turnaround, it was Putintseva who wrestled victory from the jaws of defeat rather than then other way around.

First, she saved two MP in a 3:06 comeback win over Juvan, then she followed up with a rally from 6-3/5-3 down against Muguruza, with the Spaniard serving a 5-4 and coming within two points of victory.


===============================================
4. Rome QF - Iga Swiatek def. Bianca Andreescu
...7-6(2)/6-0. In their first meeting as pros, both managed to show their best sides before the (at least for the moment) inevitable conclusion to *any* Swiatek match these days.

Andreescu rallied from 5-3 down in the 1st, breaking Swiatek and holding at love to level the set. At 5-5, the Canadian erased Iga's 40/15 lead and held a BP before Swiatek got the hold on her fourth GP. In the TB, the chair umpire's incorrect change of an out call of a Swiatek baseline shot (and refusal to re-play the point, despite replays showing that the line call hadn't been "late" as she claimed) erased what would have been a 2-1 on-serve lead for Andreescu, instead making it a 2-1 mini-break advantage for Swiatek.

From there, with Andreescu momentarily distracted, Swiatek seized the moment and ran away with the remainder of the match, winning five of the next six TB points, then all six games in the 3rd.

Even with the uneven aspects of this one, there was enough good stuff within the margins to eagerly await Iga-Bibi II.


===============================================
5. Rome QF - Ons Jabeur def. Maria Sakkari
...1-6/7-5/6-1. Sakkari led 6-1/5-2, but nothing this side of Iga would prove to be a legitimate obstacle for Jabeur during the Madrid/Rome 1000 swing this spring. We'll soon see how/if that translates to French.

===============================================
6. Paris 125 1st Rd. - Beatriz Haddad Maia def. Dasha Saville
...7-5/6-7(3)/7-6(4). Saville may have rallied from 7-5/5-2 down to push Haddad into a 3rd set, only to lose in 3:16 while the Brazilian played all the way into the final, but the Aussie was soon after granted Tennis Australia's reciprocal WC into the Roland Garros MD. Saville will be making her first appearance in the event in two years.


===============================================
7. Rome 1st Rd. - Bianca Andreescu def. Emma Raducanu
...6-2/2-1 ret. In a match-up of U.S. Open winners in their debut Rome events, Raducanu's retirement (back) continues the trend that makes one wonder if the Brit's continual string of physical issues might soon rival those of Andreescu.


===============================================
8. Karlsruhe 125 1st Rd. - Dalma Galfi def. Aleksandra Krunic 3-6/7-5/6-1
Karlsruhe 125 2nd Rd. - Dalma Galfi def. Zhu Lin 6-7(5)/7-5/6-1
...slow starts and strong finishes characterized Galifi's week in Karlsruhe. She trailed Krunic 6-3/5-1, only to save four MP and win eleven consecutive games en route to the win, avenging her loss to the Serb last month in BJK Cup play.

A round later, Zhu led Galfi 7-6/4-2, serving for the match at 5-4, before the Hungarian won 11 of the final 13 games.
===============================================
9. Rome 2nd Rd. - Danielle Collins def. Simona Halep
...7-6(1)/6-3. For just one moment, really...



An Oscar-winning cinematographer couldn't have framed that shot any better.
===============================================
10. Rome 1st Rd. - Nuria Parrizas Diaz def. Sara Sorribes Tormo
...1-6/3-4 ret. Parrizas Diaz, who'd lost in qualifying after leading Kaja Juvan 6-1/5-3, had entered the MD as a lucky loser when Naomi Osaka, who lost in Madrid to Sorribes Tormo, pulled out with her injured Achilles. Then, in surely some weird Tennis Gods-related game of hot potato, *Sorribes* ends up retiring while leading her countrywoman on the scoreboard.

The win gives Parrizas Diaz another career first -- MD wins in back-to-back 1000 level events. She lost in the 2nd Round to Bianca Andreescu.
===============================================



11. Rome 1st Rd. - Simona Halep def. Alize Cornet
...6-4/6-4. A bit less dramatic than the last time.


===============================================



12. Rome QF - Aryna Sabalanka def. Amanda Anisimova
...4-6/6-3/6-2. Sabalenka finally solves the Anisimova puzzle, getting her first '22 win over the Bannerette in three meetings on clay this season.

The week turned out to be a good one for Sabalenka, who also notched wins over Zhang Shuai and Madrid finalist Jessie Pegula, posting her second SF+ result (w/ Stuttgart F) in three weeks.

Still, not unlike many all on tour, she's having a harder time with a certain Pole. Sabalenka has also faced Iga Swiatek three times in '22, but has produced diminishing results each time after defeating her in three sets in the WTAF rr last November. She lost 6-2/6-3 in the Doha QF, then 6-2/6-2 in the Stuttgart final, and then 6-2/6-1 this past week in Rome.
===============================================
13. Paris 125 1st Rd. - Magdalena Frech def. Kristina Mladenovic
...6-1/6-4. And so it continues.


Paris 125 Final - Beatriz Haddad Maia/Kristina Mladenovic def. Oksana Kalashnikova/Miyu Kato
...5-7/6-4 [10-4]. But *maybe* with a touch of something noteworthy.

Playing in her first non-BJK Cup WD matches since the Australian Open, and in just her second event since *last August*, Mladenovic won the Karlsruhe title.

Imagine if the player who could/should/would be the best doubles player in the world actually embraced the notion.


===============================================
14. Rome 2nd Rd. - Petra Martic def. Anett Kontaveit
...6-2/6-3. Right on time for slam season, Kontaveit has receded into the hedge in recent weeks. Starting with her 2 & love destruction at the hands of Swiatek in the Doha final, she's now lost five of eight.

via GIPHY


===============================================
15. WTA 125 Karlsruhe 1st Rd. - Mihaela Buzarnescu def. Tatjana Maria
...1-6/6-3/6-2. Buzarnescu hasn't played a tour-level MD match since Linz last November, but the 34-year old Romanian (#124, but briefly Top 20 in '18 after recording three Top 6 wins on three surfaces, reaching a trio of finals before a knee injury ended her season) posted a nice 1st Round win last week over recent Bogota champ Maria.

A round later, through, Buzarnescu got just one game off Panna Udvardy.
===============================================
16. $25K Santa Margherita di Pula ITA Final - Darja Semenistaja def. Irina Khromacheva
...6-4/4-6/6-1. The Latvian improves to 9-0 in career ITF singles finals (all since July of last year), as Khromacheva falls in her second final in two weeks.
===============================================
17. $25K Nottingham Final - Sonay Kartal def. Joanna Garland
...6-3/6-1. The 20-year old Brit picks up her fourth '22 challenger crown as she edges closer (#318) to the Top 300.


===============================================
18. $100K La Bisbal d'Empordà, ESP Final - Victoria Jimenez Kastintseva/Renata Zarazua def. Olivia Barnett/Alicia Nicholls
...6-4/2-6 [10-8]. 16-year old VJK, the '20 AO girls champ, wins her maiden pro WD title to go along with the singles crown she won in a $25K last fall. Meanwhile, Brits Barnett & Nicholls reach their ninth WD final together in the past year (2-6 ITF, 0-1 WTA).
===============================================
HM- Strasbourg 1st Rd. - Harmony Tan def. Samantha Stosur
...6-2/6-1. Hmmm, so I guess Stosur's singles career *isn't* completely over, after all?
===============================================






kosova-font

1. Rome 2nd Rd. - Jil Teichmann def. Karolina Pliskova
...6-2/4-6/6-4. No one was expecting a fourth straight Rome final from Pliskova. But, then again, no one was expecting a third in a row at this time last year, either. So anything was possible, until Teichmann put an end to such silly fantasies in a three-hour affair.
===============================================
2. Rome 1st Rd. - Aliaksandra Sasnovich def. Veronika Kudermetova
...3-6/7-6(4)/6-1. The only woman to have played in more tour singles finals than Kudermetova this season is Iga Swiatek, but while the world #1 enters Paris having won 28 straight matches the Hordette does so after having lost three in a row.
===============================================
3. Rome Final - Veronika Kudermetova/Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Gaby Dabrowski/Giuliana Olmos
...1-6/6-4 [10-7]. Kudermetova has faired better this season in doubles finals, where her four appearances (3 w/ Elise Mertens) lead the tour. She picked up '22 title #2 with countrywoman Pavlyuchenkova, as the duo prevailed in three match TB and saved four MP (in two different matches) over the court of the week.


===============================================
HM- Paris 125 2nd Rd. - Kaia Kanepi def. Linda Fruhvirtova
...7-6(4)/6-4. A week after dispensing with the Czech teen 3 & 4 in Madrid, Kanepi does it "Kaia" style (i.e. in a lower-level event, while still coming out on top).
===============================================







kosova-font





kosova-font





So I guess she was *really* serious about not having to play Russian or Belarusian players. All things considered, is it fair to wonder whether she'll *ever* return? I mean, all the tennis mothers that have since returned to the sport have been committed to it... and how many years has it been since that could be said about Svitolina?


kosova-font





kosova-font





kosova-font





kosova-font





kosova-font



















futuristic-fonts


kosova-font























kosova-font

*MOST CONSECUTIVE WINS, since 2003*
34 - Serena Williams (2013)
32 - Justine Henin (2007-08)
28 - IGA SWIATEK (2022) #-active streak
26 - Victoria Azarenka (2012)
25 - Serena Williams (2013-14)
24 - Justine Henin-Hardenne (2005)
22 - Justine Henin-Hardenne (2003)
22 - Kim Clijsters (2005)
22 - Lindsay Davenport (2004)
--
LONGEST SINCE 2000: 35-Venus Williams, 2000
[additional undefeated streaks]
27 - S.Williams (2014-15; w/o between 15 and 12-match streaks)
23 - N.Osaka (2020-21; walkover losses after #4 and #14)

*2022 - TOP 10 FINALS*
Sydney - #9 Badosa def. #4 Krejcikova
Saint Petersburg - #9 Kontaveit def. #7 Sakkari
Doha - #8 Swiatek def. #7 Kontaveit
Indian Wells - #4 Swiatek def. #6 Sakkari
Stuttgart - #1 Swiatek def. #4 Sabalenka
ROME - #1 SWIATEK def. #7 JABEUR

*2022 WTA SINGLES TITLES*
5 - Iga Swiatek, POL (Doha/I.W./Mia/Stutt/Rome)
2 - Ash Barty, AUS (Adelaide/Australian)
[2020-22]
8 - 1/2/5 - IGA SWIATEK
7 - 1/5/1 - Ash Barty
5 - 0/4/1 - Anett Kontaveit
5 - 3/2/0 - Aryna Sabalenka
4 - 3/0/1 - Simona Halep
3 - 0/3/0 - Barbora Krejcikova
3 - 0/3/0 - Garbine Muguruza
3 - 0/2/1 - Paula Badosa
3 - 2/1/0 - Elina Svitolina
[2020-22 Clay Court]
4 - IGA SWIATEK, POL
2 - Simona Halep, ROU
2 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE

*MOST WTA FINALS in 2022*
5 - IGA SWIATEK, POL (5-0)
3 - ONS JABEUR, TUN (1-2)
3 - Veronika Kudermetova, RUS (0-3)
2 - Ash Barty, AUS (2-0)
2 - Anett Kontaveit, EST (1-1)
2 - Maria Sakkari, GRE (0-2)
[2020-22]
10 - 1/7/2 - Kontaveit (5-4-1)
9 - 1/6/2 - Barty (8-1)
8 - 1/2/5 - SWIATEK (8-0)
7 - 3/3/1 - Sabalenka (5-2)
6 - 1/5/0 - Muguruza (3-3)
6 - 0/3/3 - JABEUR (2-4)
6 - 5/0/1 - Rybakina (1-5)
5 - 3/1/1 - Halep (4-1)
5 - 0/4/1 - Krejcikova (3-2)
5 - 0/2/3 - V.Kudermetova (1-4)
5 - 2/3/0 - Ka.Pliskova (1-4)

*KASATKINA TOP 10 WINS*
2016 (2)
#7 V.Williams, #8 Vinci
2017 (3)
#1 Kerber, #2 Kerber, #2 Halep
2018 (7)
#1 Wozniacki, #2 Wozniacki, #2 Wozniacki, #3 Muguruza,
#3 Muguruza, #8 V.Williams, #10 Kerber
2019-20 (0)
-
2021 (1)
#9 Swiatek
2022 (3)
#3 Muguruza, #5 Sakkari, #3 Badosa
--
10 of 16 vs. Top 3; 10 of last 14

*2022 WTA DOUBLES FINALS*
4 (2-2) = VERONIKA KUDERMETOVA, RUS
3 (1-2) = Elise Mertens, BEL
2 (2-0) = Katerina Siniakova, CZE
2 (2-0) = Jessie Pegula, USA
2 (2-0) = Laura Siegemund, GER
2 (2-0) = Vera Zvonareva, RUS
2 (1-1) = GABY DABROWSKI, CAN
2 (1-1) = Anna Danilina, KAZ
2 (1-1) = Coco Gauff, USA
2 (1-1) = Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
2 (1-1) = Andreja Klepac, SLO
2 (1-1) = Desirae Krawczyk, USA
2 (1-1) = Asia Muhammad, USA
2 (1-1) = GIULIANA OLMOS, MEX
2 (1-1) = Demi Schuurs, NED
2 (0-2) = Tereza Martincova, CZE
[2022 finals - duos]
3...V.Kudermetova/Mertens, RUS/BEL (1-2)
2...Siegemund/Zvonareva, GER/RUS (2-0)
2...DABROWSKI/OLMOS, CAN/MEX (1-1)
2...Danilina/Haddad Maia, KAZ/BRA (1-1)
2...Krawczyk/Schuurs, USA/NED (1-1)

*2022 ITF BJK-FC HEART AWARDS*
=Qualifiers MVP Fan Vote - April=
Leylah Fernandez, CAN
Camila Giorgi, ITA
Iga Swiatek, POL (winner)
Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
=Qualifiers Heart Award Nominees=
Jasmine Paolini, ITA
Iga Swiatek, POL
Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
UKR BJK Cup team
=Zones I Heart Award Nominees=
Europe/Africa: Kaja Juvan, SLO
Europe/Africa: Petra Marcinko, CRO
Asia/Oceania: Shuka Aoyama/Ena Shibahara, JPN
Asia/Oceania: Ankita Raina, IND
AMERICAS: Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
AMERICAS: Solana Sierra, ARG

*2022 WTA 125 FINALS*>
Marbella, ESP (rc) - Mayar Sherif/EGY def. Tamara Korpatsch/GER
Saint-Malo, FRA (rc) - Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA def. Anna Blinkova/RUS
Paris, FRA (rc) - Claire Liu/USA def. Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA
Karlsruhe, GER (rc) - Mayar Sherif/EGY def. Bernarda Pera/USA

*2022 $100K CHAMPIONS*
Palm Harbor USA (green clay) - Katie Volynets, USA
Charleston USA (green clay) - Taylor Townsend, USA
Wiesbaden, GER (red clay) - Danka Kovinic, MNE
Bonita Springs, USA (green clay) - Gabriela Talaba Lee, ROU
La Bisbal d'Emporda, ESP (red clay) - Wang Xinyu, CHN






futuristic-fonts


kosova-font

I hear ya, but maybe if more people had paid attention in 2016 (and voted) they wouldn't have to be protesting the lingering results of that election in 2022. Just sayin. When people say that elections matter it's because they do.




kosova-font


Meanwhile, this... along with the certainly that *nothing* will be done to prevent similar incidents from easily happening in the future.



kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font








All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 3:58 AM 

4 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

This will be a strange French Open. I feel like we know how the 127th match will end, but the other 126 should be fun.

Swiatek probably coming in as the biggest slam favorite since Serena at Wimbledon in 2015.

Funny you mention Mladenovic. Mladenovic/Garcia on preliminary French Open list. As 1st alternate as neither singles or doubles rankings were high enough to get in.

In the precocious teens category, Marcinko won MD match in Rabat. L.Fruhvirtova and Noskova won 1st rd Q.

Strasbourg has 4 LL. One was Bosnian Nefisa Berberovic, who beat Sloane Stephens.

Poor handshake was partially due to Putintseva hitting Muguruza with a shot.

Tarpischev has shown us who he is for decades. Unfortunately, not surprised.

With Svitolina out, Mertens gets final RG seed. If others(Krejcikova, Giorgi, etc) don't answer the bell, Kvitova, Kalinina, Putintseva and Osaka are next up.

Stat of the Week- 39- The number of years in the Open Era it took Poland to have a player with a 30 win season.

Swiatek has won 28 matches in a row. It took until 2007 until someone had 28 or more in a season. Of course, that was Radwanska, winning 31 in a season in which she hurdled the old record of 20, held by Magdalena Grzybowska back in 1998.

Most Wins-Season-Poland:

63- 2012 Radwanska
62- 2013 Radwanska
53- 2016 Radwanska
52- 2008 Radwanska
51- 2015 Radwanska
49- 2009 Radwanska
49- 2011 Radwanska
45- 2015 Radwanska
37- 2022 Swiatek*
36- 2021 Swiatek

Did not use initials as U.Rad's highest total was 28 in 2012.

Quiz Time!

Martina Navratilova went 86-1 in 1983. Which player did she defeat the most times? Multiple answers accepted.

A.Pam Shriver
B.Kathy Horvath
C.Chris Evert
D.Rosalyn Fairbank

Interlude- Lana covers Ariana.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cHQqXAoHP0


Swiatek's 28 match win streak is getting both Navratilova's 1983 season, and Venus' 2000 season some publicity.

(D)Fairbank is wrong, but shows what Swiatek won't do, that is beat a player from South Africa. She lost twice, but wasn't the only one, as Yvonne Vermaak(2), and Jennifer Mundel faced the same fate.

(B)Horvath famously has the one win. Martina got revenge in Toronto that season, but is wrong because those were the only 2 times they met that season.

History makes that RG match even stranger, as Horvath went 1-10 vs Martina, with the one being the only time she took a set off her.

(C)Evert is a good guess. Being that they met in countless finals over their careers, it isn't a surprise that they met 6 times in 1983.

What may surprise you is that (A)Shriver also did. No surprise that she lost, being that Pam went 3-40 vs Martina.

Strangely enough, that H2H at one point was 1-1, with Shriver arguably getting the biggest singles win of her career in the 1978 US Open SF over her.


Mon May 16, 12:48:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Diane said...

I feel so bad for Krejcikova. I doubt that she'll compete in Paris, and if she does, she'll be at an obvious disadvantage and presumably won't last long. There are a whole lot of unfair things in sports, I know, but this one really makes me sad.

Mon May 16, 10:22:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

C-

Meanwhile, Mladenovic today (Tues.) probably had her best win (if a sloppy one vs. a LL in Andrianjafitrimo) -- and surely fight -- in ages, rallying from 4-2 down in the 3rd, then surviving after blowing a 5-2 deciding TB lead and 2 MP, saving a MP against her to get her first WTA MD win since September. And she does it in her first match after a successful doubles week. Interesting. ;)

Nice Polish tennis numbers!

Quiz: went with the odds and said Evert. :/


D-

It might not, but you sort of wonder if her injury situation after increasing her singles play last year and overplaying (s/d) might make her decide to forego doubles (at least the rest of '22) once she gets healthy, and maybe only play big events after that.

Tue May 17, 10:00:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Diane said...

I thought about that, too--she wore herself out. And that IS the case, then I feel really bad for Siniakova, too.

Wed May 18, 10:35:00 AM EDT  

Post a Comment

<< Home