Saturday, June 04, 2022

A Symphony of Swiatek


In the end, Iga proved to be just who we thought she'd be at this Roland Garros.




Two years ago, while she didn't necessarily "come out of nowhere" to win Roland Garros at age 19, the then #54-ranked Iga Swiatek, the junior champ at Wimbledon just two years earlier, surely accelerated what had been seen as her career progress chart. As the lowest-ranked RG champ in the Open era, the Pole didn't lose a set and patrolled the backcourt like an "Octo-Iga" with eight arms. No ball was out of reach, and she wore down and frustrated every opponent she faced as she became the first teenage women's champ in Paris in 23 years.

Flashforward just nineteen months from that fall version of Roland Garros and the Swiatek that came into the season's second slam was a far different one than had played in what was then the year's third (and last) major held in 2020. Ranked #1 after having inherited the top spot when reigning Wimbledon and Australian Open champ Ash Barty retired in March, Swiatek hadn't lost a match since February, and was riding a nearly 30-match win streak that had made her the overwhelming favorite to win RG like no woman since the heady days of Justine Henin's domination of the terre battue in the mid-2000s. Armed with a forehand some now call the biggest shot in the women's game, just getting *close* to taking a set off of Iga has been something to be commended in recent months (and not many have been). After brief lapses -- a 10-minute stretch vs. Danka Kovinic in the 3rd Round, and a single squandered set in the 4th against teenager Zheng Qinwen -- Swiatek had utilized all the expertise of "Team Iga" to put such moments behind her in recent days as her expected trip to the final became a reality.

Tasked with finding a way to take down a player in the sort of long-term and consistent form that is quickly becoming legendary was 18-year old Coco Gauff, the prodigy who won the RG junior title in '18 and burst onto the slam scene a year later with a second week run in the women's draw at SW19 at age 15, and who was now making her maiden appearance in a slam singles final after having not dropped a set all tournament. The youngest slam finalist since 2004 (Sharapova), the youngest in Paris since 2001 (Clijsters), and the youngest U.S. finalist at RG since 1982 (Jaeger), Gauff was a win away from becoming the game's latest teen slam champ (after Iga herself, and Raducanu last year in NYC) to complete the years-long journey to becoming "an overnight success," with a first date with the Couple Suzanne-Lenglen and a spot in the Top 10 awaiting her should she prove to be successful.

All that stood in the way, in the second-youngest slam final this century (behind only last year's U.S. Open), was a 21-year old who'd packed a decade's worth of experience into the brief period between her two appearances in the RG final.



Gauff, a recent high school graduate in a family filled with teachers, had seemed relaxed all tournament, not to mention ready to take "the next step." But being ready to move on and actually *moving* Swiatek out of the way proved to be two mutually exclusive enterprises. While Gauff's forehand often hindered her just as she needed it the most, she was drowned out by a virtual "symphony of Swiatek" that refused to be silenced as the world #1 put on a virtuoso performance, her best of the entire event, raising her game at the mere notion of a hint of pushback from Gauff and ultimately leaving no doubt about her own position atop the sport.

Once the match began, just when she couldn't afford to do so, Gauff started slowly. A DF put her down love/30 in the opening game, and she flew a forehand to fall behind 1-0.



Gauff's backhand kept her close, as she utilized the stroke for a passing shot to go up 15/30 on Swiatek's serve, and again with a down the line winner to save GP. But Swiatek fired an ace, then used a wide serve and put-away forehand combo to consolidate her early edge.



With Gauff's forehand errors holding her back, it didn't long for the 1st set to get away from her. On GP in game #3, she sailed a forehand shot long, and when she'd get even a slight momentary edge she gave it back. A missed forehand down the line gave Swiatek her fourth BP of the game (saved by a backhand down the line), and another wide forehand provided BP chance #5. Gauff pulled another forehand to fall behind by a double-break at 3-0.

Down 4-0, Gauff DF'd to erase a 30/15 lead, then committed another UE when leading 40/30. She got on the board via a long Iga return, finally erasing the zero next to her name. When she was leading 4-1 (in a 2nd set) was when Swiatek had had her momentary lapse against Kovinic, dropping serve for 4-2 and then having a hard time moving past it. Swiatek fell behind 15/30 in game #6 vs. Gauff, but rather than waver she brought her big topspin forehand even *more* into play. A pinpoint shot into the corner got the hold for 5-1. Crisis averted, and this time not even suggested.



With Gauff serving to stay in the set, the teenager sent a wide Swiatek return out and Iga took the 1st at 6-1. Gauff's 14 UE in the set had included nine on her forehand side, some ultra important -- as they either erased leads or ended games -- if she'd desired to pressure the Pole in any sort of way.



Finally settled in, Gauff made her long-awaited competitive play early in the 2nd, getting her first BP chances at 15/40 in the opening game. Swiatek's wide forehand gave the teenager her first lead in the match, after which she opened game #2 with an ace and held for 2-0.



As the lights inside Chatrier were being lit as the skies darkened due to the coming rain, Swiatek held for 2-1. Gauff's attempt at a drop shot came up short early in game #4, putting her down love/30. A DF gave Iga double-BP and Gauff's missed forehand (back again) put the set back on serve. From there, Swiatek began to roll, holding at love in game #5, then breaking Gauff again for a 4-2 lead, acting with lightning quick speed to successfully turn back the brief challenge that had come her way. When Gauff netted a 30/30 forehand aimed at the open court behind Swiatek, Swiatek got within a game of a nearly insurmountable lead. With Coco's "last gasp" having come up short, Iga fired a backhand laser down the line off a Gauff return to take a 5-2 lead.

Gauff held to force Swiatek to serve it out, and the Pole quickly went up 40/15. A return error from the teenager ended the 6-1/6-3 final, with Swiatek spinning around at the baseline to face her team in the stands and falling to her knees in celebration, becoming the first woman since 2004 (Henin/AO) to claim the title at the slam at which she was installed as the #1 seed for the very first time in her career (and the first to do it in Paris since Monica Seles in 1991).



Swiatek must have really hated watching Polona Hercog lift the trophy at the close of the Lugano event back in the spring of 2019, for it was in that maiden tour-level final appearance of her career that Iga lost (so far) her only pro singles final. Today's win makes Swiatek 9-0 in her last nine WTA finals (w/ no player having gotten more than 4 games in any of the 18 straight sets she's won in such matches -- in fact, the four total games won by Gauff is just one less than the *most* any final opponent has taken off of Iga in those nine matches), including a now 2-0 mark in slams and 5-0 record (4-0 in '22) in 1000-level events. She's also 7-0 in ITF finals, and won the only junior slam final (WI '18) she played in, too. In other words, she's the sport's definition of "money in the bank" on the final weekend.

By extendng her winning streak to 35 matches (w/ 56 of 58 sets won), Iga ties Venus' 2000 mark for the best run this century, and all those "progress lists" about her standing vs. the longest recent winning streaks will now have to be dialed back a little further in time. The past 50+ runs of the likes of Navratilova, Evert, Court and Graf are still a ways off, and Original Martina's 74-match 1984 streak (the mention of which caused viewers to see Caroline Wozniacki's eyes bulge out on Tennis Channel this week -- when she *wasn't even on camera*) likely won't come into play. But, hey, who knows, right?



While Swiatek celebrated with her team, tears ran down the cheeks of Gauff as she sat in her chair, still one year younger than Iga was when she came from outside the Top 50 to win her maiden slam two years ago. Coco will be ranked #13 on Monday, still the youngest player ranked in the Top 138, with only Linda Noskova (the '21 RG girls champ who pushed Raducanu in the women's 1st Rd. this year) the only more junior player in the Top 150. Even with her step-by-step progress, Gauff is still well ahead of the accelerated pace that Swiatek established back in '20. Tomorrow, Coco could win her first major title when she plays in the women's doubles final with Jessie Pegula.



The trophy ceremony was full of encouragement for Coco (from the champ herself), thanks for Team Iga, hope for war-torn Ukraine (whose flag Swiatek has pinned to her cap for months), and still more tears (good ones, including during the Polish national anthem from the self-deprecating Swiatek).



All in all, it was a sign that the top of the women's game is in good hands, both today and into the future. (Ash who?) I wonder if RG tournament director Amelie Mauresmo was paying attention, or if after determining that neither woman in the final was enough of a "star" to be given even one appearance in any of this event's night sessions instead let her mind wander to the (maybe far more burning) question of whether Rafa Nadal would bite the trophy's handle from the right *or* left side tomorrow after he lifts it for the 14th time?

Either way, no stars were made on this Saturday, for both women were already as such. In this instance it was Iga who took her latest turn in the winner's circle, but Coco may very likely get her chance to shine soon. I mean, unless Iga *totally* strangles the life out of the competition.

But we are talking about the WTA, right? So things are sure to get interesting soon and be, well, simply irresistible, likely in ways that no one is expecting, even in the middle of one of the most dominant single-player runs seen in multiple tennis generations.








=DAY 14 NOTES=
...in addition to the women's championship, trophies were being handed out willy-nilly on Saturday in Paris.



Diede de Groot continued to storm through wheelchair tennis today, defeating Yui Kamiji 6-4/6-1 to defend her RG crown and win her sixth straight WC singles slam title (3rd RG, 14th overall). While Iga's streak is getting so much attention, it's good to take note of the fact that the Dutch #1 has now won 51 straight singles matches and 13 consecutive events, a streak that extends back fifteen months to February of last year. De Groot is 56-1 over the last two seasons, and she's swept her last 31 sets (and won 96 of 98), the greatest streak the sport has seen since the retirement of the (how is she not in the Hall of Fame yet!?!?!) Esther Vergeer.



#1 de Groot has now defeated #2 Kamiji in their last nine slam singles final match-ups.

De Groot & Aniek Van Koot's attempt to win a fifth straight RG doubles titles will have to wait, as their match with Kamiji & KG Montjane was stopped due to the rain with the score tied at 4-4 in the title-deciding match tie-break. The match will be concluded on Sunday.

...in juniors, Lucie Havlickova became just the fourth girl to sweep the junior singles and doubles titles in Paris, and the first to do it in seventeen years.

The #9 seed, 17-year old Havlickova became the second straight Czech girls champ (after Linda Noskova) in Paris, defeating Argentina's Solana Sierra 6-3/6-3.



Havlickova teamed with fellow Czech Sara Bejlek, as the top seeds, to defeat another Czech, Nikola Bartunkova and Swiss Celine Naef (#2 seeds) 6-3/6-3 in the girls doubles final. They're the first all-Czech duo to win RG since Miriam Kolodziejova & Marketa Vondrousova in 2015. Czechs Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova won in 2013, as well as Petra Cetkovska & Renata Voracova in '01.



...the Legends doubles competition returned at this year's RG, and it ended with a great pair of champions in 2010 women's champ Francesca Schiavone & Flavia Pennetta, as the Italians defeated the Argentine pair of Gisela Dulko & Gabriela Sabatini, 1-6/7-6(4) (10-5).



...elsewhere in the tennis world, in tour event qualifying on the grass, both Linda Fruhvirtova and Yanina Wickmayer are one Q-round win from reaching the Rosmalen main draw, while in Nottingham it was Pastry Tessah Andrianjafitrimo defeating Britsh wild card Hephzibah Oluwadare in a (whole-lotta-letters) opening round of qualifying affair.

Arina Rodionova will face off with Alison Van Utyvanck in the $100K Surbiton grass court challenger final. Rodionova has knocked off Ula Radwanska, Wang Qiang, #1-seed Madison Brengle (ret. in 3rd set) and CoCo Vandeweghe on her way to the final, dropping just one set; while Van Uytvanck's only dropped set came against Bannerette Alicia Parks.

On the clay, Laura Siegemund is in the final of the Annenheim (AUT) $25K challenger.






*WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#1 Iga Swiatek/POL def. #18 Coco Gauff/USA 6-1/6-3

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL=
#8 Gauff/Pegula (USA/USA) vs. (WC) Garcia/Mladenovic (FRA/FRA)

=MIXED DOUBLES FINAL=
#2 Shibahara/Koolhof (JPN/NED) def. Eikeri/Vliegen (NOR/BEL) 7-6(5)/6-2

=WHEELCHAIR SINGLES FINAL=
#1 Diede de Groot/NED def. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN 6-4/6-1

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

=GIRLS SINGLES FINAL=
#9 Lucie Havlícková/CZE def. Solana Sierra/ARG 6-3/6-3

=GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL=
#1 Bejlek/Havlícková (CZE/CZE) def. #2 Bartunková/Naef (CZE/SUI) 6-3/6-3

=LEGENDS FINAL=
Flavia Pennetta/Francesca Schiavone (ITA/ITA) def. Gisela Dulko/Gabriela Sabatine (ARG/ARG) 1-6/7-6(4) [10-5]







...PDA ON CHATRIER... ON DAY 14:




...COVERING EVERY ANGLE ON DAY 14:




...GOOD ON DAY 14:

The 2018 RG girls semifinals, which have injected talent into the tour like adrenaline just four years later. The final four included Swiatek (2 slam wins), Gauff (1 slam final) and Fernandez (1 slam final). And Caty McNally, too... noteworthy since her win over Swiatek prevented an early Iga/Coco RG final preview.

Also that year: Zheng Qinwen, Camila Osorio and Clara Tauson reached the 3rd Round, while Emma Raducanu (def. by Tauson) fell in the 2nd.

The 2019 semis included Fernandez, Osorio and Zheng.


...SO, WE'VE GOT A NEW WINNING STREAK LIST TO WATCH... ON DAY 14:

But with the same B.S. of including Serena's 2014-15 "not-a-winning-streak" of 27 matches in the tally? Seriously, the tour is making a mockery of its own records.



Williams gave a walkover to Halep in the Indian Wells semifinals in March of 2015, with the forfeit officially ending a 15-match win streak, which she then followed with 12 more wins before losing in Madrid two months later. So it was a 15-match streak, then a 12-match streak, but not a 27-match *winning* streak.




...ANOTHER NCAA CHAMPION TO TRACK... ON DAY 14:




...SO, IS THIS ALREADY OVER?... ON DAY 14:







kosova-font











kosova-font

*RECENT RG WOMEN'S FINALS*
2016 Garbine Muguruza/ESP d. Serena Williams/USA 7-5,6-4
2017 Alona Ostapenko/LAT d. Simona Halep/ROU 4-6,6-4,6-3
2018 Simona Halep/ROU d. Sloane Stephens/USA 3-6,6-4,6-1
2019 Ash Barty/AUS d. Marketa Vondrousova/CZE 6-1,6-3
2020 Iga Swiatek/POL d. Sofia Kenin/USA 6-4,6-1
2021 Barbora Krejcikova/CZE d. A.Pavlyuchenkova/RUS 6-1,2-6,6-4
2022 Iga Swiatek/POL d. Coco Gauff/USA 6-1/6-3

*RECENT WOMEN'S SLAM WINNERS*
2018 AO: Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2018 RG: Simona Halep, ROU
2018 WI: Angelique Kerber, GER
2018 US: Naomi Osaka, JPN
2019 AO: Naomi Osaka, JPN
2019 RG: Ash Barty, AUS
2019 WI: Simona Halep, ROU
2019 US: Bianca Andreescu, CAN
2020 AO: Sofia Kenin, USA
2020 US: Naomi Osaka, JPN
2020 RG: Iga Swiatek, POL
2021 AO: Naomi Osaka, JPN
2021 RG: Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
2021 WI: Ash Barty, AUS
2021 US: Emma Raducanu, GBR
2022 AO: Ash Barty, AUS
2022 RG: Iga Swiatek, POL

*AGE OF 2020s SLAM WINNERS*
18 = Emma Raducanu, GBR (2021 US) *
19 = Iga Swiatek, POL (2020 RG) *
21 = Iga Swiatek, POL (2022 RG)
21 = Sofia Kenin, USA (2020 AO) *
22 = Naomi Osaka, JPN (2020 US)
23 = Naomi Osaka, JPN (2021 AO)
25 = Ash Barty, AUS (2021 WI)
25 = Ash Barty, AUS (2022 AO)
25 = Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (2021 RG) *
--
* - first-time slam winner

*SLAM FINALS IN 2020s*
2 - Naomi Osaka, JPN (2-0)
2 - IGA SWIATEK, POL (2-0)
2 - Sofia Kenin, USA (1-1)
2 - Ash Barty, AUS (2-0)
1 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (1-0)
1 - Emma Raducanu, GBR (1-0)
1 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR (0-1)
1 - Jennifer Brady, USA (0-1)
1 - Danielle Collins, USA (0-1)
1 - Leylah Fernandez, CAN (0-1)
1 - COCO GAUFF, USA (0-1)
1 - Garbine Muguruza, ESP (0-1)
1 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS (0-1)
1 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (0-1)

*MOST CONSECUTIVE WINS, since 2000*
35 - Venus Williams (2000)
35 - IGA SWIATEK (2022) - active
34 - Serena Williams (2013)
32 - Justine Henin (2007-08)
[since 1990]
37 - Martina Hingis (1997)
36 - Monica Seles (1990)
35 - Venus Williams (2000)
35 - IGA SWIATEK (2022)
34 - Serena Williams (2013)
32 - Justine Henin (2007-08)

SINCE 1990 HIngis 37 (1997 RG end) 36 seles (90 wimb), 35 venus, 34 sw (2013), iga 34... 32 jh (to 08 ao) *RECENT RG #1 SEEDS w/ results*
2010 Serena Williams (QF)
2011 Caroline Wozniacki (3rd Rd.)
2012 Victoria Azarenka (4th Rd.)
2013 Serena Williams (W)
2014 Serena Williams (2nd Rd.)
2015 Serena Williams (W)
2016 Serena Williams (RU)
2017 Angelique Kerber (1st Rd.)
2018 Simona Halep (W)
2019 Naomi Osaka (3rd Rd.)
2020 Simona Halep (4th Rd.)
2021 Ash Barty (2nd Rd.)
2022 Iga Swiatek (W)

*WON TITLE AT FIRST SLAM SEEDED #1*
[since end of Evert/Navratilova era]
1991 Monica Seles (Roland Garros)
2002 Jennifer Capriati (Australian Open)
2002 Serena Williams (U.S. Open)
2004 Justine Henin-Hardenne (Australian Open)
2022 Iga Swiatek (Roland Garros)

*WON RG/WI BACK-TO-BACK (OPEN ERA)*
1970 Margaret Court, AUS
1971 Evonne Goolagong, AUS
1972 Billie Jean King, USA
1982 Martina Navratilova, USA
1984 Martina Navratilova, USA
1988 Steffi Graf, FRG
1993 Steffi Graf, GER
1995 Steffi Graf, GER
1996 Steffi Graf, GER
2002 Serena Williams, USA
2015 Serena Williams, USA

*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)
COCO GAUFF (2018 Jr. Champion; 2022 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)

*RECENT ROLAND GARROS GIRLS FINALS*
2010 Elina Svitolina/UKR def. Ons Jabeur/TUN
2011 Ons Jabeur/TUN def. Monica Puig/PUR
2012 Annika Beck/GER def. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova/SVK
2013 Belinda Bencic/SUI def. Antonia Lottner/GER
2014 Dasha Kasatkina/RUS def. Ivana Jorovic/SRB
2015 Paula Badosa/ESP def. Anna Kalinskaya/RUS
2016 Rebeka Masarova/SUI def. Amanda Anisimova/USA
2017 Whitney Osuigwe/USA def. Claire Liu/USA
2018 Coco Gauff/USA def. Caty McNally/USA
2019 Leylah Fernandez/CAN def. Emma Navarro/USA
2020 Elsa Jacquemot/FRA def. Alina Charaeva/RUS
2021 Linda Noskova/CZE def. Erika Andreeva/RUS
2022 Lucie Havlickova/CZE def. Solana Sierra/ARG

*RECENT GIRLS DOUBLES SLAM CHAMPIONS*
[2018]
AO: Liang En-Shuo/Wang Xinyu (TPE/CHN)
RG: Caty McNally/Iga Swiatek (USA/POL)
WI: Wang Xinyu/Wang Xiyu (CHN/CHN)
US: Coco Gauff/Caty McNally (USA/USA)
[2019]
AO: Natsumi Kawaguchi/Adrienn Nagy (JPN/HUN)
RG: Chloe Beck/Emma Navarro (USA/USA)
WI: Savannah Broadus/Abigail Forbes (USA/USA)
US: Kamilla Bartone/Oksana Selekhmetova (LAT/RUS)
[2020]
AO: Alex Eala/Priska Madelyn Nugroho (PHI/INA)
RG: Eleonora Alvisi/Lisa Pigoti (ITA/ITA)
[2021]
RG: Alex Eala/Oksana Selekmeteva (PHI/RUS)
WI: Kristina Dmitruk/Diana Shnaider (BLR/RUS)
US: Ashlyn Krueger/Robin Montgomery (USA/USA)
[2022]
AO: Clervie Ngounoue/Diana Shnaider (USA/RUS)
RG: Sara Bejlek/Lucie Havlickova (CZE/CZE)

*RECENT RG CHAMPIONS*
[Girl's Doubles]
2010 Timea Babos & Sloane Stephens, HUN/USA
2011 Irina Khromacheva & Maryna Zanevska, RUS/UKR
2012 Daria Gavrilova & Irina Khromacheva, RUS/RUS
2013 Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2014 Ioana Ducu & Ioana Loredana Rosca, ROU/ROU
2015 Miriam Kolodziejova & Marketa Vondrouosva, CZE/CZE
2016 Paula Arias Manjon & Olga Danilovic, ESP/SRB
2017 Bianca Andreescu & Carson Branstine, CAN/CAN
2018 Caty McNally & Iga Swiatek, USA/POL
2019 Chloe Beck & Emma Navarro, USA/USA
2020 Eleonora Alvisi & Lisa Pigoti, ITA/ITA
2021 Alex Eala & Oksana Selekhmeteva, PHI/RUS
2022 Sara Bejlek & Lucie Havlickova, CZE/CZE

*RG GIRLS S/D SWEEPS*
1987 Natasha Zvereva, USSR
1994 Martina Hingis, SUI
2005 Agnes Szavay, HUN
2022 Lucie Havlickova, CZE

*WC SLAM SINGLES FINALS - active*
21 - YUI KAMIJI, JPN (8-13)
17 - DIEDE DE GROOT, NED (14-3)
14 - Aniek Van Koot, NED (3-11)
6 - Jiske Griffioen, NED (4-2)
1 - KG Montjane, RSA (0-1)
1 - Momoko Ohtani, JPN (0-1)

*de Groot vs. Kamiji Slam Finals*
2017 US - #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. #2 Diede de Groot/NED
2018 AO - #2 Diede de Groot/NED def. #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN
2018 RG - #1 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. #2 Diede de Groot/NED
2018 US - #1 Diede de Groot/NED def. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN
2019 AO - #1 Diede de Groot/NED def. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN
2019 RG - #1 Diede de Groot/NED def. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN
2019 US - #1 Diede de Groot/NED def. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN
2020 US - #1 Diede de Groot/NED def. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN
2021 AO - #1 Diede de Groot/NED def. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN
2021 RG - #1 Diede de Groot/NED def. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN
2021 US - #1 Diede de Groot/NED def. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN
2022 RG - #1 Diede de Groot/NED def. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN
--
de Groot leads 10-2

*RG WHEELCHAIR CHAMPIONS*
2007 Esther Vergeer, NED
2008 Esther Vergeer, NED
2009 Esther Vergeer, NED
2010 Esther Vergeer, NED
2011 Esther Vergeer, NED
2012 Esther Vergeer, NED
2013 Sabine Ellerbrock, GER
2014 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2015 Jiske Griffioen, NED
2016 Marjolein Buis, NED
2017 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2018 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2019 Diede de Groot, NED
2020 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2021 Diede de Groot, NED
2022 Diede de Groot, NED

*JUNIOR GIRLS SLAM SINGLES CHAMPIONS*
[TCH/CZE]
1948 WI: Olga Miskova
1972 RG: Renata Tomanova
1975 RG: Regina Marsikova
1978 RG: Hana Mandlikova
1985 WI: Andrea Holikova
1989 WI: Andrea Strnadova
1990 WI: Andrea Strnadova
1991 US: Karina Habsudova
2002 AO: Barbora Strycova
2003 AO: Barbora Strycova
2010 AO: Karolina Pliskova
2010 WI: Kristyna Pliskova
2014 US: Marie Bouzkova
2021 RG: Linda Noskova
2022 RG: Lucie Havlickova

*2022 SLAM-WTAF/1000 CHAMPIONS*
Australian Open - Ash Barty, AUS
Doha - Iga Swiatek, POL
Indian Wells - Iga Swiatek, POL
Miami - Iga Swiatek, POL
Madrid - Ons Jabeur, TUN
Rome - Iga Swiatek, POL
Roland Garros - Iga Swiatek, POL
Wimbledon - x
Canada - x
Cincinnati - x
US Open -x
WTAF - x







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): #18 Coco Gauff/USA
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): #1 Iga Swiatek/POL
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): 3rd Rd. - #23 Jil Teichmann/SUI def. #15 Victoria Azarenka/BLR 4-6/7-5/7-6(5) (Azarenka 3-1 2nd, served for match in 3rd)
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: Nominees: Trevisan, Kasatkina, Pegula (s/d; Top 10)
IT "Teens": Leylah Fernandez/CAN, Coco Gauff/USA and Zheng Qinwen/CHN (2nd of last 45 slams w/ 3 teens in second week)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominees: Kasatkina, 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: Nominees: Shibahara, Garcia/Mladenovic, de Groot/Van Koot
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Nominees: Van Koot, Kamiji, Trevisan, Pennetta/Schiavone
Mademoiselle/Madame OF THE EVENING: Cornet vs. Ostapenko
JUNIOR BREAKOUTS: A Crush of Czechs (Nikola Bartunkova, Sara Bejlek and Lucie Havlickova in GS semis, Havlickova title; all three in GD F, Bejlek/Havlickova win)
Légion de Lenglen HONOREE: Alize Cornet/FRA
Coupe LA PETIT TAUREAU: Diane Parry/FRA (one-handed backhand) and Iga Swiatek/POL (breaks win streak tie w/ Henin on LPT Day)






All for Day 14. Clay Court Awards on deck.

2 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Mock John Facenda voiceover- Like a lioness stalking her prey, Swiatek pounced on Gauff's early mistakes, getting her teeth into a lead she would never relinquish.

Yeah, that is a stretch, but what can I say about a match that was like Sharapova/Errani in the fact that Swiatek squashed all hope pretty early?

She could be beaten on grass, and I think that there are 3 types of players that could get her.

1.Players ranked between 2-10 having a great day. Healthy Pliskova would be a threat, but will she be?
2.Grass cutters- Riske, Vekic, Kerber. An interesting matchup migh be a rematch with Kanepi, who will probably will be seeded with all the withdrawals. So might Riske, as projected last seed will be 41.
3.Ostapenko- Has the last win vs Swiatek, willing to play on grass, and aggressive enough to pin Swiatek to the baseline.

Love seeing Swiatek with the ballkids.

You have an outside shot regarding Mexico. Zarazua, Contreras Gomez and Zacarias are in Q, while Sanchez is 34 out. That sounds high, but no WC for MD or Q listed yet.

Nottingham as all the grass courters in the bottom half. Maybe Riske takes it.

Den Bosch has a more balanced draw. Maybe Saville.

Stat of the Day- 65- Number of minutes it took Justine Henin to win the French Open title in 2007.

This was the other match that came to mind today. 5 DF and 31 UE obviously was not a winning combination for Ivanovic, but was the start of a stretch in which she reached 3 slam finals in 13 months.

I'm not saying that Gauff will, but even a rough loss(in 68 min) like this is what 126 other women in the draw wanted the chance to do.

Good thing for her is she gets to get right back on the horse tomorrow, in a fun doubles match.

Sat Jun 04, 11:55:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Ah, the good ol' days of NFL Films. I'd still rather watch old random 1970s/80s highlights than anything recent (like, say the last 10-20 years).

Iga acts like she *is* another ballkid with them, rather than just being nice to them (which would still be a good thing, of course).

I was hoping maybe Olmos would play Q, too. :/

Sun Jun 05, 01:25:00 PM EDT  

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