Thursday, July 07, 2022

W.11- Don't Worry, Be Ons


On women's semifinal day, #3-seed Ons Jabeur's march to the Wimbledon final continued unabated, as even good family friend Tatjana Maria wasn't going to get in its way.




In the opening set, Jabeur showed once again why she's been the overwhelming favorite to reach the final from the bottom half of the women's draw since the start of the second week (and even more so since Maria frustrated Alona Ostapenko out of the tournament in the Round of 16). The Tunisian took an early break lead and never gave it up, winnning the 1st at 6-2.

In the 2nd, Jabeur continued to pull off the occasional fantastical shot, but also produced enough errors that Maria suddenly found herself back in the match. Jabeur, chasing down balls due to the German's defensive maneuvers, was beginning to fall into the same expert trap that so many of Maria's previous opponents had succumbed to when they were unable to hold leads against the 34-year old mother, whose steady play and gradually increasing aggression each round had made her the oldest first-time slam semifinalist in the Open era. After a tough hold for 2-1, Maria took a break lead with a drop shot on BP, then backed it up with a hold for 4-1 as the set quickly got away from Jabeur. Maria did nothing to alter that course. Serving for the set at 5-3, the German took a 40/love lead. When Jabeur couldn't dig out a shot off the baseline on SP #2, Maria took the 2nd set at 6-3 to knot the match.

In the 3rd, though, the fairytale run became a bedtime story for Maria as Jabeur pulled her game together. She held at love to open the set, finishing off the first game with a leaping backhand crosscourt winner. In the following game, a Maria DF and slice forehand error gave Jabeur a BP chance. The Tunisian's forehand pass got the break, and when she backed it up with a hold Jabeur had a 3-0 edge, having lost just four points in the set.

Jabeur's backhand passing shot gave her BP at 30/40 in game #4. Maria saved it with a drop and lob combination. Jabeur went on to save a pair of GP, then get another BP chance when Maria framed a volley and nearly hit the Tunisian with the ball behind the baseline. Jabeur got the break for a 4-0 bulge on the scoreboard, then held for 5-0. Serving for the match two games later, Jabeur went up 40/love with a backhand passing shot off Maria's racket, then the German's return error ended the 6-2/3-6/6-1 match, allowing Jabeur to add still a few more "first to..." lines to her career resume, including being the first player from the continent of Africa to reach a slam final in the Open era (two South Africans -- Irene Peacock '27 RG and Renee Schuurman '59 AO -- did it in "the closed times").



After meeting at the net, Jabeur showed the form that has made one of the most well-liked players on tour, grabbing Maria's arm and pulling her friend back out onto the court to share in the applause from the Centre Court crowd. It was another winner on the day for the North Star of Tunisian tennis, who committed just three UE in the 3rd set in putting away her 13th three-set win of the season (tying Amanda Anisimova for the tour lead) and improving her summer grass court record to 11-0.



Win or lose on Saturday, Jabeur has made her mark at this Wimbledon, finally making her game, personality and honorable ideas a known quantity on a larger scale on quite possibly the biggest stage that the sport can offer. Still, lifting the Venus Rosewater dish is surely the next specific item on her To-Do list of things that will help to accomodate her broader career goals. Now it's just about going about the task in the same deliberate way in which she's built up her career, step by step, over the last few years, climbing as high as (now) #2 in the world, being chosen for the honor of playing doubles with Serena Williams (by the woman herself) and now playing for the oldest and most prestigious trophy in the sport.



For Jabeur, the big day will be a Saturday, but also the *next* first day toward nurturing the sort of change she wants to foster.








=DAY 11 NOTES=
...the result of the day's second semifinal was a surprise. Except that it wasn't a *total* surprise. (Oh, but the irony is mouthwatering, isn't it?)



What happened was known to be a potential outcome, but the hope was that time to prepare for today's match might give #16 Simona Halep what she needed to find a way to return to the Wimbledon final three years after she won the title in 2019. But she wasn't up to it on this day.

Well, check that, the Romanian wasn't quite up to par *and* #17 Elena Rybakina never gave her a chance to breathe new life (or tactics) into her performance.

To be honest, the worry signs were there coming in. In the closing games of Halep's last match in the QF against Amanda Anisimova, the Bannerette had belatedly started to accurately hit with power, while Halep began having issues getting her first serves in as she was trying to close out the match, leaving her vulnerable second serve open to being attacked by Anisimova. Needless to day, an easy win turned a bit dicey toward the end until Halep's first serve came back to her and she was able to escape (after a 5-1 lead had turned into 5-4, with Halep down love/40) with her 21st straight Wimbledon set to avoid a deciding 3rd stanza.

Against Rybakina, Halep's first serve struggles carried over, and she had trouble with the shot from the jump, immediately putting her in "catch-up" mode. At the same time, Rybakina hit the ground running in her Centre Court debut, opening the match with an ace and (save for one game, and maybe a few shots in another) never really letting up. As a result, Halep never got to test Rybakina's movement (though she's moved well on the grass at this Wimbledon, it's still generally an attackable part of her game, if one can find a way to get at it), which might have been key since the Kazakh had seemed to possibly tweak her hamstring a bit late in *her* QF against Ajla Tomljanovic.

Had Halep gotten her serve in order, which she never really did, it still might have been a difficult task to slow down Rybakina, as her semifinal ground game was hitting pretty close to its near-elite level from early 2020, when she burst into the season by reaching four finals by March (when Covid then shut down the tour), her clean ball-striking abilities bringing to mind the very best from (also tall, with court movement being a common part of their game to test) the likes of Lindsay Davenport, Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova (who've combined to reach 12 major finals in their careers, winning five) in the almost-distant and/or still very relevent (for a little while longer) past.

Rybakina held at love to open the match, and won the first six points. Moments later, in *her* opening service game, Halep DF'd and found herself BP down. Rybakina broke with a big forehand shot, then continued to outhit the Romanian. Finally, down 3-0, Halep saved a BP and got on the board in game #4, then saved another en route to another hold two games later. But even when Rybakina missed on a few first serves of her own, as she did in game #7, the Kazakh's power still allowed her to handily keep ahead of Halep and maintain her lead.

After leading 30/love, another Halep DF paved the path to another BP chance for Rybakina. Halep held, but Rybakina quickly closed out the 1st a game later, firing two aces and a crosscourt forehand winner to go up 40/love and taking the set at 6-3.



Halep opened the 2nd set with a three-DF game that saw Rybakina get the break to grab an immediate lead. Two games later, Halep *finally* had her first "easy" hold of the day, but was down 2-1. A game later, Rybakina fell behind love/40 on serve. Halep's stretching return of a wide serve was followed by the Kazakh missing on the crosscourt forehand that had been absolutely lethal all day long, At love/40, another error off Rybakina's racket ended her only *bad* game of the day, giving Halep the break and knotting the score at 2-all.

Since she first garnered such attention three seasons ago, though she's known for her apparent calm and lack of overt emotion on the court, Rybakina has totaled up more than a few significant blown leads on her ledger. Her game #4 bad stretch opened a door, perhaps for Halep to lift her game and see if another might happen today.

But, again, Halep's game wouldn't allow it. Rather than take potential advantage of the small opening, Halep's serve continued to bedevil her. Another DF made the score 15/15. On BP, she DF'd again and gave the break right back to Rybakina.

Rybakina extended her lead to 5-3 with an ace on GP, putting Halep's back firmly against the wall. Down to her last chance, the Romanian had to hold to stay in the match. She took a 40/15 lead, but her ninth DF of the day leveled the game at deuce. Rybakina's deep ball created a forehand error from Halep and brought her her first MP. The Kazakh stretched for Halep's wide serve, perfectly directing a backhand down the line that firmly planted itself in the corner, well out of the reach of the Romanian, ending the 6-3/6-3 match and sending Rybakina into her maiden slam final.



Though she didn't fully arm her own game, Halep never had an answer for Rybakina's surging power, if there really is one when the Kazakh is essentially writing all the questions. 9-1 at Wimbledon, we last saw this version of Rybakina when she started '20 on a 21-4 tear. At the time, it felt like Rybakina was "coming for everyone." Finally, two and a half years later (but no singles titles won since, as her 1-5 mark in her six finals since the start of the '20 season highlights a lingering inability to "close out" some of her very best runs... and remains until Rybakina can lift her next trophy), she may have finally caught the lead group.



Meanwhile, while Halep now stands at 31-9 on the year, she is *still* in search of that "signature" result to tie to her new teaming with coach Patrick Mouratoglou. The Romanian has improved her serve during the stretch, but when she needed it most in the last few days it let her down. Big time. After opening '22 with a title run, Halep has reached five additional semis (her 6 trail only Iga Swiatek's 8), but has yet to play in her second final this season. And she won't even get the benefit of additional points from this SF run after missing SW19 last year, either.

Of course, the one "delicious" aspect of this result, is that after the LTA and Wimbledon chose to break their arms patting themselves on the back for their moral supremacy by deciding to punish additional innocents by banning all Russian and Belarusian players as a result of Russian leader Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the Powers That Be will be chewing their fingernails into the weekend as the women's title could end up being claimed by a Russian-born Moscow resident who was only able to participate because she took Kazakhstan's offer of financial assistance four years ago (over options that had included playing college tennis in the U.S.).

As usual, the Tennis Gods are eternally undefeated.

(And I'm not even mentioning Rafa Nadal's withdrawal setting up a possible Djokovic/Kyrgios men's final that, while it would get a lot of attention, would turn off just as many or more people than it might attract.)




...the match-up of first-time slam finalists means we're assured of a 15th different women's champion at a major in the last 22, with 12 of 21 being maiden slam winners.

...the first champions of this Wimbledon were crowned in the MX doubles final today when #2-seeded Desirae Krawczyk & Neal Skupski successfully defended their title with a 6-4/6-3 win over Aussies Sam Stosur & Matthew Ebden.



The win is Krawczyk's fourth career MX crown, all claimed in the last six majors played. She remains alive in the WD semis with Danielle Collins, as well.

...the junior QF were played today, and three of the Top 7 seeds still remain.

#1 Liv Hovde, who saved MP (via a replay challenge) yesterday against Kayla Cross, defeated unseeded German Ella Seidel, and the Bannerette will next face Canada's #5-seeded Victoria Mboko, who defeated South African qualifier Isabella Kruger despite dropping the first seven games of the match.

In the other semi, it'll be #7-seeded Hungarian Luca Udvardy, who defeated a Czech in #3 Nikola Bartunkova today and will have take out another in the next round to get any further in the draw, and #16 Linda Klimovicova, who defeated British wild card Jasmine Conway.

In girls' doubles, RG junior finalists and top seeds Bartukova & Celine Naef reached the semis, as did Canadians Cross/Mboko (#4), #3 Lucija Ciric Bagaric/Nikola Daubnerova and unseeded Rose Marie Nijkamp/Angella Okutoyi (the latter Kenyan a player whose success will surely make Jabeur smile).

Play in the new 14-and-under junior competition began today, as well.

...wheelchair action got underway on Thursday, and (shocker) Diede de Groot is still undefeated in '22, winning 1 & 1 today over Dana Mathewson (USA) to record her 59th straight singles win. The Dutch #1 will face Momoko Ohtani in the semis, as the Japanese wild card knocked off Brit Lucy Shuker.

The results in the bottom half were a *tad* surprising, as Jiske Griffioen notched her first slam singles win since 2017 with a 2 & 2 win over '19 Wimbledon champ and fellow Dutch countrywoman Aniek Van Koot. Griffioen won the very first Wimbledon WC singles competition in 2016, then retired from the sport the following year. She returned in 2019, and earlier this year make her first comeback returns to the AO and RG fields.

In the other semi, #2 Yui Kamji (JPN) got her first Wimbledon singles win since 2019, defeating '21 SW19 finalist KG Montjane of South Africa. Kamji has never reached the Wimbledon singles final (she's reached 21 others -- 7 each at the other three majors -- in her career). Just last month, Kamiji played de Groot on grass for the first time, falling 3 & 2.






*LADIES' SINGLES FINAL*
#17 Elena Rybakina/KAZ vs. #3 Ons Jabeur/TUN

*LADIES' DOUBLES SF*
#1 Mertens/Sh.Zhang (BEL/CHN) vs. Collins/Krawczyk (USA/USA)
#4 L.Kichenok/Ostapenko (UKR/LAT) vs. #2 Krejcikova/Siniakova (CZE/CZE)

*MIXED DOUBLES FINAL*
#2 Krawczyk/N.Skupski (USA/GBR) def. Ebden/Stosur (AUS/AUS) 6-4/6-3

*WHEELCHAIR WOMEN'S SF*
#1 Diede de Groot/NED vs. (WC) Momoko Ohtani/JPN
Jiske Griffioen/NED vs. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN

*WHEELCHAIR WOMEN'S DOUBLES SF*
#1 de Groot/Van Koot (NED/NED) vs. Griffioen/Ohtani (NED/JPN)
Kamiji/Mathewson (JPN/USA) vs. #2 Montjane/Shuker (RSA/GBR)

*GIRLS' SINGLES SF*
#1 Liv Hovde/USA vs. #5 Victoria Mboko/CAN
#7 Luca Udvardy/HUN vs. #16 Linda Klimovicova/CZE

*GIRLS' DOUBLES SF*
#1 Bartunkova/Naef (CZE/SUI) vs. #4 Cross/Mboko (CAN/CAN)
#3 Ciric Bagaric/Daubnerova (CRO/SVK) vs. Nijkamp/Okutoyi (NED/KEN)







...GOOD ANSWER... ON DAY 11:




...(EYE ROLL)... ON DAY 11:

Note to ESPN...

Just because no one -- or few, as I'm sure *someone* did -- might have picked Rybakina to reach the final doesn't mean that the very idea of it happening could in no way have ever been conceived in the mind of anyone paying attention to this Wimbledon.

Anyone who knew anything about Rybakina acknowledged that she was *capable* of such a thing, and that if she could maintain her top form she could blow just about everyone off the court over the stretch of any tournament. In fact, if they saw any of her top-level play before the start of the pandemic in 2020 they likely figured at the time that there was a pretty good chance that she'd be playing for a major title within the next approximate two-year window, and maybe even would have thought it could have happened well *before* this Wimbledon.

But, you know... stuff happened. Rybakina finally caught up to her past.

If a women's slam finalist isn't named Serena, Naomi, Ash, Iga, Angie, Simona or a few others it doesn't mean that everyone is absolutely gobsmacked that (INSERT NAME HERE) will be doing so at this major. Or the next. Or the next after that.

Although that Raducanu/Fernandez final at Flushing Meadows last summer *did* come up from the earth and startle everyone. Anyone that had *that* one in any version of their mind's eye might just have been a time traveler who really should have been working on how to avoid and fix the bigger problems that face the world rather than checking out who's playing in grand slam tennis finals. Do better!


...LOOKS LIKE ONE MORE SLAM GOODBYE REMAINS... ON DAY 11:




...GIVE BAHRAMI A MATCH TO BE PLAYED DURING THE MEN'S FINAL... ON DAY 11:




...THE SPREAD OF THE WTA TOUR OVER THE PAST 10-15 YEARS RESULTS IN... ON DAY 11:

















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*WIMBLEDON SEMIFINALS - last 5*
2017: #10 V.Williams d. #6 Konta, #14 Muguruza d. Rybarikova
2018: #11 Kerber d. #12 Ostapenko, #25 S.Williams d. #13 Goerges
2019: #7 Halep d. #8 Svitolina, #11 S.Williams d. Strycova
2021: #1 Barty d. #25 Kerber, #8 Ka.Pliskova d. #2 Sabalenka
2022: #17 Rybakina d. #16 Halep, #3 Jabeur d. Maria

*MOST WTA FINALS in 2022*
6 - Iga Swiatek, POL (6-0)
5 - ONS JABEUR, TUN (2-2)
3 - Veronika Kudermetova, RUS (0-3)
2 - Ash Barty, AUS (2-0)
2 - Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA (2-0)
2 - Belinda Bencic, SUI (1-1)
2 - Anett Kontaveit, EST (1-1)
2 - Alona Ostapenko, LAT (1-1)
2 - Zhang Shuai, CHN (1-1)
2 - ELENA RYBAKINA, KAZ (0-1)
2 - Alison Riske, USA (0-2)
2 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (0-2)
2 - Maria Sakkari, GRE (0-2)

*2022 FINALS - by nation*
[Finals (W)]
9 (3) - USA
6 (6) - POL
5 (2) - RUS
5 (2) - TUN *
3 (2) - BRA
3 (1) - CZE
3 (0) - BLR
2 (2) - AUS,GER
2 (1) - CAN,CHN,EST,LAT,SUI
2 (0) - GRE, KAZ*
1 (1) - ESP,FRA,ROU
1 (0) - COL,ITA,JPN,SLO,UKR
[slam finals - 2020-22]
5 - USA (1-4)
2 - AUS (2-0)
2 - JPN (2-0)
2 - POL (2-0)
2 - CZE (1-1)
1 - GBR (1-0)
1 - KAZ (0-0)*
1 - TUN (0-0)*
1 - CAN (0-1)
1 - BLR (0-1)
1 - ESP (0-1)
1 - RUS (0-1)

*MOST WTA FINALS in 2020s*
10- 1/7/2 - Kontaveit (5-4-1)
9 - 1/2/4 - Swiatek (9-0)
9 - 1/6/2 - Barty (8-1)
8 - 3/3/2 - Sabalenka (5-3)
8 - 0/3/5 - JABEUR (3-4)
7 - 5/0/2 - RYBAKINA (1-5)
6 - 1/5/0 - Muguruza (3-3)
5 - 3/1/1 - Halep (4-1)
5 - 0/4/1 - Krejcikova (3-2)
5 - 0/3/2 - Bencic (2-3)
5 - 0/2/3 - V.Kudermetova (1-4)
5 - 2/3/0 - Ka.Pliskova (1-4)

*ACTIVE SINGLES PLAYERS - FIRST SLAM FINAL*
1997 U.S. Open - Venus Williams
1999 U.S. Open - Serena Williams (W)
2004 U.S. Open - Svetlana Kuznetsova (W)
2010 Roland Garros - Samantha Stosur
2010 Wimbledon - Vera Zvonareva
2011 Wimbledon - Petra Kvitova (W)
2012 Australian Open - Victoria Azarenka (W)
2012 Roland Garros - Sara Errani
2013 Wimbledon - Sabine Lisicki
2014 Roland Garros - Simona Halep
2014 Wimbledon - Genie Bouchard
2015 Wimbledon - Garbine Muguruza
2016 Australian Open - Angelique Kerber (W)
2016 U.S. Open - Karolina Pliskova
2017 Roland Garros - Alona Ostapenko (W)
2017 U.S. Open - Sloane Stephens (W)
2017 U.S. Open - Madison Keys
2018 U.S. Open - Naomi Osaka (W)
2019 Roland Garros - Marketa Vondrousova
2019 U.S. Open - Bianca Andreescu (W)
2020 Australian Open - Sofia Kenin (W)
2020 Roland Garros - Iga Swiatek (W)
2021 Australian Open - Jennifer Brady
2021 Roland Garros - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
2021 Roland Garros - Barbora Krejcikova (W)
2021 U.S. Open - Leylah Fernandez
2021 U.S. Open - Emma Raducanu (W)
2022 Australian Open - Danielle Collins
2022 Roland Garros - Coco Gauff
2022 Wimbledon - Ons Jabeur
2022 Wimbledon - Elena Rybakina
--
ALSO: Barty ('19 RG - W)

*RECENT WIMBLEDON MIXED DOUBLES CHAMPS*
2013 Kristina Mladenovic & Daniel Nestor, FRA/CAN
2014 Samantha Stosur & Nenad Zimonjic, AUS/SRB
2015 Martina Hingis & Leander Paes, SUI/IND
2016 Heather Watson & Henri Kontinen, GBR/FIN
2017 Martina Hingis & Jamie Murray, SUI/GBR
2018 Nicole Melichar & Alexander Peya, USA/AUT
2019 Latisha Chan & Ivan Dodig, TPE/CRO
2021 Desirae Krawczyk & Neal Skupski, USA/GBR
2022 Desirae Krawczyk & Neal Skupski, USA/GBR

*RECENT MX SLAM CHAMPIONS*
[2017]
AO: Abigail Spears/Juan Sebastian Cabal (USA/COL)
RG: Gaby Dabrowski/Rohan Bopanna (CAN/IND)
WI: Martina Hingis/Jamie Murray (SUI/GBR)
US: Martina Hingis/Jamie Murray (SUI/GBR)
[2018]
AO: Gaby Dabrowski/Mate Pavic (CAN/CRO)
RG: Latisha Chan/Ivan Dodig (TPE/CRO)
WI: Nicole Melichar/Alexander Peya (USA/AUT)
US: Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Jamie Murray (USA/GBR)
[2019]
AO: Barbora Krejcikova/Rajeev Ram (CZE/USA)
RG: Latisha Chan/Ivan Dodig (TPE/CRO)
WI: Latisha Chan/Ivan Dodig (TPE/CRO)
US: Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Jamie Murray (USA/GBR)
[2020]
AO: Barbora Krejcikova/Nikola Mektic (CZE/CRO)
[2021]
AO: Barbora Krejcikova/Rajeev Ram (CZE/USA)
RG: Desirae Krawczyk/Joe Salisbury (USA/GBR)
WI: Desirae Krawczyk/Neal Skupski (USA/GBR)
US: Desirae Krawczyk/Joe Salisbury (USA/GBR)
[2022]
AO: Kristina Mladenovic/Ivan Dodig (FRA/CRO)
RG: Ena Shibahara/Wesley Koolhof (JPN/NED)
WI: Desirae Krawczyk/Neal Skupski (USA/GBR)




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TOP QUALIFIER: Maja Chwalinska/POL
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #16 Simona Halep/ROU
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #16 Simona Halep/ROU
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1 - Jaimee Fourlis/AUS def. Dea Herdzelas/BIH 5-7/7-6(4)/6-4 (trailed 7-5/5-3, saved 2 MP)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - Harmony Tan/FRA def. (WC) Serena Williams/USA 7-5/1-6/7-6(7) (Williams for match at 5-4 in 3rd, up 4-0 in TB; first match in a year for SW; Tan Wimb. debut
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF/WD-MX): MX Doubles 2nd Rd. - (WC) Olivia Barnett/Jonny O'Mara (GBR/GBR) def. (WC) Venus Williams/Jamie Murray (USA/GBR) 3-6/6-4/7-6(18-16) (34-point TB ends match, Brits win on 5th MP in TB after saving 5 MP in TB)
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #28 Alison Riske/USA (def. Y.In-Albon/SUI)
FIRST SEED OUT: #31 Kaia Kanepi/EST (1st Rd.-Diane Parry/FRA)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Maja Chwalinska/POL, Elisabetta Cocciaretto/ITA, Dalma Galfi/HUN, Catherine Harrison/USA, Mai Hontama/JPN, Katarzyna Kawa/POL, Jule Niemeier/GER, Panna Udvardy/HUN
UPSET QUEENS: France
REVELATION LADIES: Poland
NATION OF POOR SOULS: AUS (1-5 1st; DC Barty retired in March)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Maja Chwalinska/POL, Catherine Harrison/USA, Mai Hontama/JPN, Katarzyna Kawa/POL, Yanina Wickmayer/BEL (all 2nd Rd.) (LL 2r: Kerkhove/NED)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Katie Boulter/GBR (3r)
PROTECTED RANKING WINS: Elisabetta Cocciaretto/ITA, Kirsten Flipkens/BEL, Yanina Wickmayer/BEL(Q) (all to 2r)
LAST BRIT STANDING: Heather Watson (4r)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: Harmony Tan/FRA Additional Nominees: (non-de Groot WC)
IT "Groundbreakers": Ons Jabeur/TUN (1st TUN slam SF) and Elena Rybakina/KAZ (1st KAZ slam SF)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Simona Halep/ROU Additional nominee: Griffioen
CRASH & BURN: #23 Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA (1st Rd./Juvan; had won 2 grass titles); #9 Garbine Muguruza/ESP (1st Rd./Minnen; love 2nd lost when back; worst three-slam stretch of career
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF LONDON: #24 Elise Mertens/BEL (2nd Rd.: P.Udvardy 2 MP in 2nd set, Mertens wins set and play susp; takes 3rd set a day later)
DOUBLES STAR: xx
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Tatjana Maria/GER and Alize Cornet/FRA
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Nominees: Hovde, Mboko, Cross/Mboko
SPIRIT OF JANA (NOVOTNA) HONOREES: Marie Bouzkova/CZE (1st career slam QF)






All for Day 11. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 8:10 PM 

2 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Maria came to net 52 times today. The most of the tournament for her, but what may surprise you is that when she came to net 45 times vs Niemeier, Jule did so 74 times.

Maria's run has been one of the more enjoyable in recent memory, every blade of grass was trampled by her.

It has been some time since Halep hit off her back foot as much as she did today.

I might have to start looking at Krawczyk's mixed stats.

51/49 Rybakina over Jabeur. The stats say Jabeur, but this should be close. Rybakina should use her power to keep Jabeur pinned to the baseline, but Jabeur hits her drop shots from farther back than most. The omen, if you believe in them, is that the one Kazakh that won a doubles slam is on site as Shvedova, 2010 Wimbledon and US Open winner, has been playing invitational doubles.

Stat of the Day- 5 - The number of Wimbledon winners that were first time grass finalists in the last 25 years.

Not surprisingly, it was the cream of the crop.

First Time Grass Finalists:

1997- Martina Hingis
1998- Lindsay Davenport
2000- Venus Williams
2002- Serena Williams
2006- Amelie Mauresmo

While both Jabeur and Rybakina would be the first time slam finalist to win this since Petra Kvitova in 2011, Rybakina fits this category as this is her first grass final, while Jabeur has won a grass title each of the last 2 years.

Thu Jul 07, 11:49:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

So, apparently, Jabeur might have had some secret info all along. ;)

Then again, so far, four of Halep's first eight losses in '22 have come to the player who went on to win the tournament:

Melbourne - W
AO - Cornet
Dubai SF - Ostapenko (champion)
Doha - Garcia
I.W. - Iga (champion)
Madrid - Jabeur (champion)
Rome - Collins
RG - Zheng
Birmingham - Haddad (champion)
Bad Homburg - w/o Andreescu
Wimbledon - Rybakina (?)

The photo of Rybakina in the tweet after the 1st set *really* reminds me of that classic Kvitova at Wimbledon shot.


Fri Jul 08, 09:35:00 AM EDT  

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