Friday, June 03, 2022

RG.13- The Day Before the Day










=DAY 13 NOTES=
...as we head to the weekend, all the finals in every RG competition have been set. And we're going to see a lot of Coco Gauff.



Already winners as a pair in Doha earlier this year, Gauff & Jessie Pegula advanced to the women's doubles final with a SF win over fellow Bannerettes Madison Keys & Taylor Townsend. This is Gauff's second WD final at the last three slams ('21 US w/ Caty McNally), while Pegula (already with a QF singles run at this RG that will lift her into the Top 10, where she could be joined by Gauff with a win in the singles final) will play in her maiden slam final. Pegula also won a tour-level crown in Melbourne in January w/ Asia Muhammad.

After 21 years without a woman sweeping the s/d in Paris, Gauff has a chance to make it two straight years with such a feat, after Barbora Krejcikova pulled it off last year.



The #8-seeded Gauff/Pegula will be facing wild cards Caroline Garcia & Kristina Mladenovic, the '16 RG champs who six years ago became the first French pair to win the title since 1971 (Gail Chanfreau/Francoise Durr), and the first all-French born duo since THE Suzanne Lenglen & Julie Vlasto in 1926. Chanfreau (née Sherriff) had been born in Australia and represented France only after marrying a French men's player.



Mladenovic will be playing for her ninth career slam crown (second in '22 w/ the AO MX), and sixth in WD (she's won WD majors in three of the last four years, but only chose to play in one slam WD competition last year while playing singles in all four, winning just three matches). Whatta you do when the best doubles player in the world is ranked #232?

...we'll get another double dose of the familiar in the wheelchair finals, as Diede de Groot and Yui Kamiji will again face off for both titles.

#1 de Groot double-macaroned KG Montjane today, winning her 50th consecutive match, while #2 Kamiji handled Aniek Van Koot 2 & 3, winning her 11th straight. They'll play against one another in a 12th slam singles final. De Groot is 9-2 in those match-ups, winning the last eight. She'll be trying to win her sixth straight slam singles title and get half-way to completing a Grand Slam in a second consecutive season.

The Dutch #1 has defeated Kamiji nine straight times overall, and is 23-3 in the last 26 (27-15 overall head-to-head). De Groot's last singles loss was in February of last year to Kamiji in Melbourne in an AO tune-up event.



De Groot won the RG crown last year, as well as in 2019. Kamiji was champion in 2017, '18 and '20.

De Groot & Van Koot will play Kamiji & Montjane in the doubles final. The Dutch team is seeking a third straight slam title and fifth consecutive win in Paris. They've won 20 straight matches over the past two seasons.



...we knew there would be at least one Czech in the junior girls singles final, and it'll be #9-seed Lucie Havlickova, who defeated #10 Sara Bejlek (also Czech) 6-3/6-7(2)/7-5 today in the semis.

Havlickova rallied from 4-2 down in the 2nd set to hold a MP at 5-4 before Bejlek won a TB to force a 3rd. There Havlickova opened the set by holding after saving six BP and winning on GP #5, only to see Bejlek race to a big lead and serve for the match at 5-2 and 5-4. She couldn't do it either time, but had the chance to serve the set into a 10-point TB only to fail to convert two GP in game #12 and see Havlickova get the break of serve to end the 2:30+ hour match.

There's never been an all-Czech girls junior slam final, and there won't be one in Paris this year, either (give it time... maybe at Wimbledon?). Argentina's Solana Sierra defeated #13-seeded Czech Nikola Bartunkova to become the first from her nation to reach the RG final since Maria-Emilia Salerni in 2000.

This RG junior competition began with four seeded Czech girls. Sierra opened with a win over the highest-ranked, #4 Brenda Fruhvirtova. She got a second today, and next will see #9 Havlickova. Since dropping the opening set in the 1st Round vs. Fruhvirtova, Sierra has won ten straight.

Sierra is the sixth Argentinian girl to reach the RG final, with Gabriela Sabatini (1984) and Patricia Tarabini (1986) previously coming up with wins, while Ines Gorrochategui (1991), Paola Suarez (1992) and Salerni (2000) were runners-up.



The girls' doubles final will still be a Czech-dominated affair, as top-seeded Bejlek/Havlickova will meet #2 Bartunkova & Celine Naef (SUI).




*WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#1 Iga Swiatek/POL vs. #18 Coco Gauff/USA

=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 vs. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN

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

=GIRLS SINGLES FINAL=
Solana Sierra/ARG vs. #9 Lucie Havlícková/CZE

=GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL=
#1 Bejlek/Havlícková (CZE/CZE) vs. #2 Bartunková/Naef (CZE/SUI)







...FLASHBACK FRIDAY... ON DAY 13:




...FLASHBACK FRIDAY (TO THURSDAY)... ON DAY 13:




...FLASHBACK (TO THE GOOD OL' DAYS)... ON DAY 13:




...AnaIvo ALWAYS LOOKS LIKE A 1950s MOVIE STAR ON HOLIDAY ON THE FRENCH RIVIERA... ON DAY 13:




...SLOANE AND THE PHARMACIES: Epilogue... ON DAY 13:




...YEP... ON DAY 13:




...YOU HAVE TO ADMIT, SHE MAKES A POINT... ON DAY 13:













Answering the question of "Whatever happened to Roland Gift of Fine Young Cannibals, anyway?"







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*2022 YOUNGEST WTA FINALISTS*
18 - COCO GAUFF, USA (ROLAND GARROS)
19 - Leylah Fernandez, CAN (Monterrey - W)
20 - Camila Osorio, COL (Monterrey - L)
20 - Amanda Anisimova, USA (Melbourne 2 - W)
20 - Iga Swiatek, POL (Doha - W)
20 - Iga Swiatek, POL (Indian Wells - W)
20 - Iga Swiatek, POL (Miami - W)
20 - Iga Swiatek, POL (Stuttgart - W)
20 - Iga Swiatek, POL (Rome - W)
[doubles]
17 - Coco Gauff, USA (Doha - W)
18 - Coco Gauff, USA (Stuttgart - L)
18 - COCO GAUFF, USA (ROLAND GARROS)
20 - Caty McNally, USA (Saint Petersburg - W)
20 - Wang Xinyu, CHN (Guadalajara - L)
20 - Kamilla Rakhimova, RUS (Istanbul - L)

*2022 WTA SINGLES/DOUBLES FINAL IN EVENT*
Adelaide 1: Ash Barty, AUS (W/W)
Dubai: Alona Ostapenko, LAT (W/L)
Dubai: Veronika Kudermetova, RUS (L/W)
Roland Garros: Coco Gauff, USA

*S/D SWEEPS AT RG IN OPEN ERA*
1972: Billie Jean King, USA
1973: Margaret Court, AUS
1974: Chris Evert, USA
1975: Chris Evert, USA
1978: Virginia Ruzici, ROU
1982: Martina Navratilova, USA
1984: Martina Navratilova, USA
2000: Mary Pierce, FRA
2021: Barbora Krejcikova, CZE

*YOUNG SLAM FINALS SINCE 2000*
37 - 2021 US - Raducanu (18) d. Fernandez (19)
38 - 2022 RG - SWIATEK (21) vs. GAUFF (18)*
39 - 2004 WI - Sharapova (17) d. S.Williams (22)
40 - 2001 WI - V.Williams (21) d. Henin (19)
40 - 2003 RG - Henin (21) d. Clijsters (19)
40 - 2008 AO - Sharapova (20) d. Ivanovic (20)
40 - 2020 RG - Swiatek (19) d. Kenin (21)

*CAREER OVERALL SLAM TITLES - ACTIVE*
[singles/doubles/mixed]
39 - Serena Williams, USA (23-14-2)
23 - Venus Williams, USA (7-14-2)
9 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA (0-5-4)
8 - Samantha Stosur, AUS (1-4-3)
8 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (1-4-3)
8 - Kristina Mladenovic, FRA (0-5-3)
6 - Sania Mirza, IND (0-3-3)
6 - Katarina Srebotnik, SLO (0-1-5)

*CAREER WOMEN'S DOUBLES SLAM TITLES - active*
14...Serena Williams
14...Venus Williams
5...Sara Errani
5...Bethanie Mattek-Sands
5...Kristina Mladenovic
4...Timea Babos
4...Hsieh Su-wei
4...Samantha Stosur
4...Barbora Krejcikova
4...Katerina Siniakova

*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 vs. Solana Sierra/ARG

*RECENT RG CHAMPIONS*
[Women's Doubles]
2010 Serena Williams & Venus Williams, USA/USA
2011 Andrea Hlavackova & Lucie Hradecka, CZE/CZE
2012 Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci, ITA/ITA
2013 Ekaterina Makarova & Elena Vesnina, RUS/RUS
2014 Hsieh Su-Wei & Peng Shuai, TPE/CHN
2015 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2016 Caroline Garcia & Kristina Mladenovic, FRA/FRA
2017 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2018 Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2019 Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
2020 Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
2021 Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2022..Garcia/Mladenovic vs. Gauff/Pegula
[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..Bejlek/Havlickova vs. Bartunkova/Naef

*WC SLAM SINGLES FINALS - active*
21 - YUI KAMIJI, JPN (8-12)
17 - DIEDE DE GROOT, NED (13-3)
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 - ?
--
de Groot leads 9-2

*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..de Groot vs. Kamiji
[doubles]
2007 Maaike Smit/Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2008 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2009 Korie Homan/Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2010 Daniela Di Toro/Aniek van Koot, AUS/NED
2011 Esther Vergeer/Sharon Walraven, NED/NED
2012 Marjolein Buis/Esther Vergeer, NED/NED
2013 Jiske Griffioen/Aniek van Koot, NED/NED
2014 Yui Kamiji/Jordanne Whiley, JPN/GBR
2015 Jiske Griffioen/Aniek van Koot, NED/NED
2016 Yui Kamiji/Jordanne Whiley, JPN/GBR
2017 Yui Kamiji/Marjolein Buis, JPN/NED
2018 Diede de Groot/Aniek van Koot, NED/NED
2019 Diede de Groot/Aniek van Koot, NED/NED
2020 Diede de Groot/Aniek van Koot, NED/NED
2021 Diede de Groot/Aniek van Koot, NED/NED
2022..de Groot/Van Koot vs. Kamiji/Montjane




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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): #18 Coco Gauff/USA
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): 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)
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, Kamiji
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
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Nominees: Stephens, Trevisan, Kamiji
Mademoiselle/Madame OF THE EVENING: Cornet vs. Ostapenko
JUNIOR BREAKOUTS: A Crush of Czechs (Nikola Bartunkova, Sara Bejlek and Lucie Havlickova in GS semis, GD semis)
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 13. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 6:39 PM 

2 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Wimbledon list is out. With only 2 1/2 weeks before qualifying starts, we knew it was coming soon. List confirms ban, so those out of main draw are Sabalenka, Azarenka, Kasatkina, Pavlyuchenkova, Samsonova, Kudermetova, Alexandrova, Sasnovich, Gracheva, Potapova, Kalinskaya, Rakhimova, Diatchenko.

Whew. Osaka and Konjuh are in for now, as well as Kenin, Flipkens and Cocciaretto all using SR.

Unfortunately, I was right in comparing Fernandez to Sherif. She pulls out with a foot injury. Also out is Svitolina and Cristian, which were expected, while on the bubble Vondrousova stays out.

Next to last in- Krunic.

Stat of the Day- 1993- The first year players represented countries other than USSR at Wimbledon.

Technically, 1992 was played under CIS flag. Russia did not have any players in the main draw in 1993, but 4 new countries did.

2-Belarus- Natasha Zvereva, Tatiana Ignatieva
2-Ukraine- Natalia Medvedeva, Elena Brioukhovets
1-Georgia- Leila Meskhi
1-Latvia- Larisa Neiland

Moving forward,Russia and Belarus did not have players seeded at the same Wimbledon until 1999, when Zvereva was 16 and Kournikova 17, which made her a replacement in a 16 seed draw.

It was not until 2008, when Azarenka and 8 Russians did so, that both were seeded in a 32 seed draw.

With higher expectations for both, 2009 is the first time both had a player reach QF in same year, with Azarenka, Safina and Dementieva getting that done.

2011 took it one step farther, with Sharapova and Azarenka both reaching SF.

So who picks up the slack this year? There is a faint Russian influence as players from Estonia, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Georgia are in the main draw. Even Uzbekistan and Lithuania have a player in qualifying.

It should be one of the wildest slams ever. Well, at least until the US Open.

Fri Jun 03, 10:25:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Hmm, don't know about the Mexican women on grass... but maybe that *two* MEX players in a slam MD prediction *miiiight* finally have a chance??? Probably not.

Sat Jun 04, 07:24:00 PM EDT  

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