Sunday, August 21, 2022

Wk.33- Garcia, Her Flight Previously Delayed, Arrives at Her Destination

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane!

No, it's Caroline Garcia.






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*WEEK 33 CHAMPIONS*
CINCINNATI, OHIO USA (WTA 1000/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Caroline Garcia/FRA def. Petra Kvitova/CZE 6-2/6-4
D: Lyudmyla Kichenok/Alona Ostapenko (UKR/LAT) def. Nicole Melichar-Martinez/Ellen Perez (USA/NZL) 7-6(5)/6-3
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA CAN (WTA 125 Challenger/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Valentini Grammatikopoulou/GRE def. Lucia Bronzetti/ITA 6-2/6-4
D: Miyu Kato/Asia Muhammad (JPN/USA) def. Timea Babos/Angela Kulikov (HUN/USA) 6-3/7-5




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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Caroline Garcia/FRA
...it took five additional years, and nearly a lifetime of an in-family coaching set-up, but Garcia seems to have finally found her way down something closer resembling what *should* have been the true path of her career by now.

Back in 2017, Garcia showed the sort of form that her athletic, power game was capable of, using a superior finish (w/ back-to-back 1000 titles in China) to climb into the Top 10. Ironically, after her longtime circumstances of being coached by her father had already been questioned for several years, that great run *may* have worked against her future and prevented the French woman from moving forward with the sort of guidance she *needed*, a necessary (if uncomfortable) step that she may have taken far earlier had the late-season climb not occurred when it did.

After that great finish, Garcia's results didn't hold up. Her season-ending ranking slid from #8 in '17 to #19, #45, #43 and #74 the next four seasons, a frustrating fall that, quite frankly, made little sense except for the lingering fact that Garcia hadn't made the move to seek new coaching assistance in order to keep her '17 momentum rolling, and built upon it in recent campaigns. Finally, last season, the step away from father Louis-Paul began, first by bringing in Gabriel Urpi and then Bertrand Perret. After a slow start (9-11) to this season, the proverbial "click" occurred in the spring, perhaps with an assist from her confidence-boosting Roland Garros doubles title alongside Kiki Mladenovic (another former Top 10 Pastry whose talent far outdistances her recent and current ranking). With Garcia increasing the aggression in her return game, while also improving her serve (she leads the tour in aces), the good results finally returned. As occurred during Garcia's '17 finish (13-2), success has only begat more success.

Soon after Paris, Garcia claimed her first singles title since late 2018, winning on the grass at Bad Homburg. She reached the Round of 16 at Wimbledon, her best SW19 result in five years, then carried the form (and maybe improved upon it) into the summer's final stretch. Garcia won a title on clay in Warsaw last month, then had even greater success on hard court this week in Cincinnati as she ultimately strung together *eight* consecutive victories to became the first qualifier to claim a WTA 1000 (or Premier Mandatory, since 2009)) crown.

Three-set qualifying wins over Diane Parry and Andrea Petkovic merely set the stage, as Garcia went on to the MD and defeated the likes of Petra Martic, Maria Sakkari, Elise Mertens, Jessie Pegula, Aryna Sabalenka and Petra Kvitova in a 6-2/6-4 final, finishing off a string of opponents better than most slam winners have had to take down en route to a major title. It's surely one of the *the* best runs we'll see all season.

With her tenth career tour win, Garcia becomes the only player in '22 to win titles on hard, clay and grass courts (and is one of two, w/ Ons Jabeur, to play in finals on all three surfaces). She 26-4 starting with her Bad Homburg title run and will climb back into the Top 20 (#17) for the first time since April 2019.

Sometimes one decision, even a belated one, can make a world of a difference.


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RISERS: Madison Keys/USA and Ajla Tomljanovic/AUS
...as has often been the case over the course of Keys' career, she seems to coast along almost anonymously over about 75% of her season, producing either disappointing results or being limited by injuries (often both simultaneously). But that remaining 25% is often *very* good. 2022 has been no different.

Cincinnati saw Keys knock off three consecutive former slam winners (two reigning '22 champs) as she backed up a 1st Round win over Yulia Putintseva with victories over Alona Ostapenko, Iga Swiatek (not just her first career #1 win after having been 0-5 in such match-ups, but her first *TOP 3* victory ever) and Elena Rybakina to reach her second Cincinnati SF in four years (she claimed the title in '19 for her biggest career win). It's her first semi in a 1000 event in her last 14 tries (since that Cincy win).

Keys lost to Petra Kvitova, but her week is her first with multiple wins since her Round of 16 result at RG. She's reached the SF or better three times in '22 (all on hard courts), with her Adelaide win and AO semi (she also reached the I.W. QF on HC). She's 19-9 on hard court this season, and 5-5 on clay/grass.

Keys will now climb back into the Top 20 for the first time since March of last year.



Though Tomljanovic has clearly been the top Australian (well, amongst active ones, at least) on tour in '22, since she wasn't given points for her (second consecutive) Wimbledon QF she came into the week ranked at just #63, somewhat unreasonably close to AUS #2 Dasha Saville (at #72). Thus, the 29-year old had to make her way through Cincinnati qualifying with wins over Clara Tauson and Nuria Parrizas Diaz. The latter victory was a three set affair, which the Aussie then followed with three *more* three-set wins over Taylor Townsend, #4 Paula Badosa (her biggest win since 2014 - #3 Radwanska at RG) and Veronika Kudermetova to reach the QF, her best career 1000 result. She fell in straight sets to Petra Kvitova, but will rise into the Top 50 on Monday, putting some distance between herself and the next closest Aussie.

Tomljanovic reached a career high #38 in February.


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SURPRISE: Valentini Grammatikopoulou/GRE
...the 25-year old Greek, ranked #239, was the *second* qualifier to play herself into a (in this case, almost tour-level) title this week in Vancouver.

Grammatikopoulou's previous biggest career titles had been a handful of $25K ITF challengers from 2016-21, so her step up this week is equal or greater to her two previous slam qualifying runs ('21 US/'22 RG) to reach her only major MD (she even posted a 1r win at Flushing Meadows last year).

In Vancouver, Grammatikopoulou strung together seven straight wins, twice going to three sets in qualifying before getting MD victories over Astra Sharma, Cadence Brace (a 17-year old Canadian WC), Chloe Paquet, Emma Navarro (a third three-setter) and #2-seed Lucia Bronzetti in a 6-2/6-4 final.

The Greek had come into the week on a four-match losing streak and been one-and-done in six of her last seven tournaments, falling out of the Top 200 at the start of the month. She'll jump all the way into the Top 150 with her title run, coming in at a new career high of #143.


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VETERANS: Petra Kvitova/CZE and Zhang Shuai/CHN
...at various times in '22, Kvitova has looked both like a player possibly in the final stages of a great career (a 6-7 start, a 1-5 slide in the spring) and one still capable of displaying rushes of her former glory for significant stretches. This past week in Cincinnati was definitely the latter, joining her Eastbourne title run (and Miami QF) as a point of light for a player who will now find herself on the cusp of a Top 20 return (#21) as the U.S. Open approaches.

Of course, even the Czech's run to her 40th career WTA final (12th in a 1000 event) didn't come without a heartstopping start, as she had to save MP vs. Jil Teichmann in the 1st Round. Once (somehow) safely through, she put together a run of impressive wins over Sorana Cirstea (in 2), Ons Jabeur (love 3rd set!), Ajla Tomljanovic (in 2) and Madison Keys (from a set down) to reach her first final in her 11th appearance in the event (w/ 2 previous SF, the first a decade ago in '12).

Unfortunately, Kvitova's movement was hampered due to injury in the match vs. Caroline Garcia, leaving her in a bad spot as the Pastry continued to burn up the Cincinnati (and tour) courts. But just the sight of an in-form Kvitova for (most of) a big-event week is surely enough to brighten the mood of far too many tennis fans to count.



Zhang, 33, made Cincinnati the site of one of her best weeks on tour in four years, even as she'd already reached a pair of finals in '22 (winning in Lyon for her first title since '17, then losing in Birmingham). This week, the Chinese veteran reached her first 1000 QF since 2018 (Beijing) and posted her first Top 10 win (over #2 Anett Kontaveit) since that same season. She'd reached the 3rd Round just once (Miami 3r earlier this year) in her last 23 1000-level appearances.

Zhang's QF run -- which included additional wins over Naomi Osaka and Ekaterina Alexandrova -- was her first multi-win event since her 3rd Round result at Wimbledon during her 8-3 grass season earlier this summer. She'd gone just 3-3 (w/ a walkover loss) since.


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COMEBACK: Emma Raducanu/GBR
...since her stunning U.S. Open triumph last year, Raducanu has spend the last twelve months signing endorsement deals, changing coaches and recovering from a series of minor injuries while her on-court successes have been few and far between (though, when they've come, they've been promising ones). Through it all, the Brit has taken everything in stride, brushed off a stream of social media criticism and generally approached her situation -- that of a teenager with little pro experience suddenly being thrust into the spotlight with newly outlandish expectations based on a few weeks of work spread out over two majors -- from the sort of mature, grounded perspective that should be an example for others when it comes to dealing with the sort of instant pressure that sometimes comes with big-time success in the sport.

In Cincinnati, with her return to NYC nearly on deck, a healthy Raducanu may have brought to mind for the first time in the past year the player who won at Flushing Meadows. Granted, while her big, historic wins in the event came against all-time greats who are either mere shadows of their former selves or severly match play-deficient at the moment, it's hard to not raise one's eyebrows when *anyone* -- let alone the reigning Open champ -- strings together consecutive dominating wins over the likes of future Hall of Famers Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka. Raducanu allowed just six total games, handing the two back-to-back bagel sets in less than 24 hours, defeating Williams 4 & love, then Azarenka love & 2, winning 17 straight games in a stretch (final 7 vs. Serena, first 10 vs. Vika). The Brit was out-hit by Jessie Pegula a round later, but played well and stayed close in a 7-5/6-4 loss.

Did Cincinnati provide enough for Raducanu (still just 13-15 on the season, and 15-18 since her Open win) to arrive in New York with something of a wind behind her back that could set her up for big-stage success once again? Last summer, she reached a 125 final right before U.S. qualifying, and the rest became history.


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FRESH FACES: Caty McNally/USA and Emma Navarro/USA
...a Cincinnati native, wild card McNally put on a good run that nearly became something truly special in her home event, rallying from 5-3 down in the 3rd to defeat Aliaksandra Sasnovich for her first MD win in a 1000 event, and then ultimately holding three MP vs. world #5 Ons Jabeur in the 3rd Round before the Tunisian struck back at the eleventh hour and pulled off the win.



#179 this week, McNally will nearly climb back into the Top 150 with the result, getting to #152. She reached a career-high of #105 in September 2019.

In the WTA 125 challenger in Vancounver, '21 NCAA champ Navarro (ex-Univ. of Virginia) reached her third event SF (back-to-back $60K finals last month, going 1-1) since turning pro in June, defeating Rebecca Marino, Arianne Hartono ('18 NCAA champ) and top-seeded Madison Brengle, the latter her fourth career Top 100 victory (two have come vs. Brengle). She fell in the semis to qualifier Valentini Grammatikopoulou, but will crack the Top 150 in the new rankings, going from #168 to #144.


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DOWN: Jil Teichmann/SUI
...back where she had her biggest career run to a tour final last year, Teichmann's return to Cincinnati didn't produce similar feel-good vibes, as her resurgent turn last week in Toronto ended after a single match (in which she held a MP).

The Swiss was in full stride this spring, posting Madrid SF/Rome QF/RG 4r results (going 10-2). After dropping four straight matches, then squandering a 6-3/3-1 lead vs. Elli Mandlik in the final round of qualifying in San Jose, Teichmann finally seemed to right her course in Toronto, posting wins over Venus Williams and Anett Kontaveit before a loss to eventual champion Simona Halep.

Teichmann's 1st Round loss in Cincinnati to Petra Kvitova, considering the trip the Czech took *after* that match, on its surface isn't a "bad" loss, but she again had another match within her grasp only to fall in the end. Teichmann served for the match vs. Kvitova at 6-5 in the 2nd set, and led 4-2 in the TB that followed, holding a MP, but dropped the breaker and fell in three sets.

Teichmann will be seeded in New York, where she's failed to get out of the 2nd Round in her four MD appearances.
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ITF PLAYERS: Kamilla Rakhimova/RUS and Brenda Fruhvirtova/CZE
...Rakhimova, 20, reached her maiden tour-level SF in Bogota back in April. But rather than be a stepping stone result, it turned out to be an anonaly, with the week having ended what was a six-match losing streak. Since Bogota, the Hordette had gone just 6-13 as she headed into the $60K challenger in the Bronx, New York this week.

Once again, though, Rakhimova turned her slide around, claiming her sixth and biggest career ITF title (first since October '19) with wins over Kateryna Baindl, Moyuka Uchijima, Cristina Bucsa (from 6-4/3-1 down), Erika Andreeva and Mirjam Bjorklund in a 6-2/6-3 final. She'll climb back into the Top 100 on Monday, reaching a new career high of #90.

In Hungary, 15-year old Fruhvirtova continued to collect ITF singles titles, improving to 5-0 in pro finals (+1-0 in WD finals) with a double-bagel win over Germany's Luisa Meyer auf der Heide in the Mogyorod $25K challenger final. The Czech lost no sets en route to the crown, allowing two or fewer games in eight of her ten sets played.


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JUNIOR STARS: Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva/AND and Tereza Valentova/CZE
...in Vancouver, 17-year old Andorran VKJ reached the QF of this week's WTA 125 challenger event, prevailing over Misaki Doi and Jodie Burrage, the latter in 2:55 after the Brit twice served for the match, before falling to Lucia Bronzetti.

A former girls' #1 and Australian Open junior champ (2020), VKJ won the European 18u championship this summer and is one of four under-18 players (w/ Czechs Noskova, L.Fruhvirtova and Bejlek) ranked inside the WTA Top 200.



In Prague, Valentova added another J1 girls crown to the collective mantle of the Czechs, picking up her second such win (w/ Casablanca) of the season with a win in the final over fellow Czech Alena Kovackova. The 15-year old (jr. #25) swept the singles and doubles titles, teaming with, of course, another Czech in Amelie Smejkalova, defeating Nikola Bartunkova (yep) & Karolina Kozakova (ye-... psych! Nope, she's Swiss) in the final.


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DOUBLES: Lyudmyla Kichenok/Alona Ostapenko, UKR/LAT
...Ostapenko's singles run in Cincinnati was short-lived (2nd Rd.), but she made up for it on the back end.

Reaching their fourth WD final as a duo this season (tying for the tour lead, though playing in just their second final after two of the previous three were decided via walkovers), Ostapenko & Kichenok grabbed their second title, following up a SF win over top-seeded Kudermetova/Mertens (10-5 MTB) with a straight sets victory in the final over last week's Toronto runners-up Nicole Melichar-Martinez & Ellen Perez.

The win is Ostapenko's sixth at tour level, with her second crown (w/ '18 Doha with Dabrowski) in four career 1000 finals. Kichenok's seventh win is the biggest of her career.


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WHEELCHAIR: Shiori Funamizu/JPN
...a fairly new inclusion in the WC winner's circle this week, as 21-year old former junior #1 Funamizu claimed her biggest pro singles title at the Seoul Korea Open (Series 2) event. The unseeded Japanese player upset both the #1 (SF: Manami Tanaka) and #2 seed (F: Katharina Kruger) en route to the title, then teamed with Tanaka to win the doubles.

Funamizu's previous biggest singles title was a Series 3 event (most recently in '21), but she *has* picked a bigger crown in doubles, having won the Series 1 Victorian Open in Australia with Yui Kamiji earlier this year.

The current world #17, Funamizu is listed as a wild card entrant on the entry list for this year's U.S. Open, which will see its field increase to a slam record 16 players for the very first time. She's one of five Japanese women listed, the largest contingent of the ten nations represented (the Netherlands, the only other country will multiple members in the draw, has just three).

Here's a profile on Funamizu from last year's Paralympic, which details her path (through softball) to wheelchair tennis.
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1. Cincinnati 1st Rd. - Petra Kvitova def. Jil Teichmann
...6-7(2)/7-6(6)/6-3. A year after falling to Ash Barty in the Cincinnati final, Teichmann serves for the match at 6-5 in the 2nd and holds a MP at 6-5 in the TB, only to then lose in three, proving to be the launching pad for one of Kvitova's best weeks in a sometimes-trying season.



In a Six Degrees of Cincinnati situation, this turned out to be a match-up of the tournament runners-up of the last two years.
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2. Cincinnati 1st Rd. - Caty McNally def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-3/3-6/7-6(2)
Cincinnati 2nd Rd. - Ons Jabeur def. Caty McNally 6-3/4-6/7-6(7)
...Cincinnati native McNally lives out a dream with her 1st Round win in her home event, preventing Sasnovich from serving out the match at 5-4 in the 3rd and taking a deciding TB, only to then a round later fail to convert 3 MP of her own vs. Jabeur and lose a deciding TB.

Tennis.


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3. Cincinnati 3rd Rd. - Madison Keys def. Iga Swiatek
...6-3/6-4. While this was Keys' first career #1 win and (surprisingly) also her first Top 3 victory (of 22 career Top 10 wins), by comparison, 10 of Dasha Kasatkina's 18 career Top 10 wins have come vs. the Top 3, as have 12 of Elina Svitolina's 35 (w/ 6 #1 wins).
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4. Cincinnati Final - Caroline Garcia def. Petra Kvitova
...6-2/6-4. Neither the weather nor Kvitova's physical issues in the final could dampen the enthusiasm for the triumph of Garcia, who became the first qualifier to win a WTA 1000 singles crown, and the first Pasty to take a 1000 event title since Garcia *herself* won back-to-back crowns in Wuhan and Beijing in 2017.


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5. Vancouver WTA 125 Final - Valentini Grammatikopulou def. Lucia Bronzetti
...6-2/6-4. Apparently, it was a week for qualifiers. At #239, the Greek qualifier is the lowest-ranked singles champion in a WTA or WTA 125 event since the then #296-ranked Peng Shuai won a 125 title in Houston in November 2018.


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6. Cincinnati 3rd Rd. - Petra Kvitova def. Ons Jabeur
...6-1/4-6/6-0. The Czech's 58th career Top 10 win (47th on hard court). Interestingly, though both of her slam wins have come at Wimbledon, Kvitova only has three Top 10 wins on the surface (and they were all in 2010-11).

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7. Vancouver WTA 125 2nd Rd. - Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva def. Jodie Burrage
...7-5/6-7(5)/7-6(7). The Andorran teen failed to serve out the match in straight sets, then stopped the Brit when she *twice* tried to serve things out in the 3rd (at 5-4 and 6-5). VJK then won a 9-7 TB to end the 2:55 affair.
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8. Cincinnati Q2 - Anna Kalinskaya def. Anastasia Potapova
...7-5/6-1. The kerfuffle from last weekend didn't really make anyone look good. Not the fan draped in a Ukrainian flag sitting courtside during an all-Russian match with (obviously) the intention to be a distraction (accounts are conflicting about whether or not she purposely pointed the flag at the players between games... if she was doing so, then the incident arguably moves from the "free speech" column to the "potential intimidation" one, as the last thing the sport needs is another fan/protester/player physical altercation during a match). Not the player (apparently Kalinskaya) who complained to the umpire. Not the umpire (in a tough spot) who had the player's back and confronted the fan. Not the security who apparently got a bit rough when called upon to intervene. And surely not the tournament officials who (clearly) sent personnel in search of the fan after she left the stands in order to enforce a rarely-enforced rule about the size of flags that are allowed to be brought onto the grounds.



I'd say that it's good that this happened in Cincinnati so that the USTA will be better prepared for something similar at Flushing Meadows. But, well, you know.
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9. Cincinnati 2nd Rd. - Nicole Melichar-Martinez/Ellen Perez def. Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova
...6-3/6-2. The Czechs have won two slams this season, but stand just seventh (barely ahead of Garcia/Mladenovic, who won RG but have only played eight matches in '22) in the Race standings.

Krejcikova/Siniakova are 12-0 in slams this season, but 1-2 elsewhere. They also ended '21 with a 5-0 mark at the WTAF.
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10. Cincinnati 3rd Rd. - Jessie Pegula def. Emma Raducanu
...7-5/6-4. Pegula didn't win the singles (or any) title, but she maintained her QF consistency, reaching at least the final eight for the 9th time in her last 15 1000-level events (+ 3 of 7 slams).
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11. Cincinnati 1st Rd. - Amanda Anisimova def. Dasha Kasatkina
...6-4/6-4. Anisimova started strongly, dropping Kasatkina to 0-2 since winning in San Jose. But the Bannerette never played her 2nd Round match, exiting with an ankle injury (and wearing a boot).
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12. Cincinnati 1st Rd. - Marie Bouzkova def. Coco Gauff
...7-5/1-0 ret. Meanwhile, another U.S. hope in New York rolled her ankle and didn't even finish her opening match in Cincinnati. Seems like she's fine, though.


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13. Vancouver WTA 125 1st Rd. - Arianne Hartono def. Genie Bouchard
...6-2/6-2. Back from shoulder surgery, Bouchard plays her first match in 17 months.



Of course, the post-match story turned out to be the "whodunnit" mystery about the photo chosen by the tournament for the Canadian's credentials.


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14. $15K Cancun MEX Final - Solana Sierra def. Han Jiangxue
...2-6/6-3/7-6(7). The 18-year old Argentine takes home her first pro singles title (in her second '22 final). Sierra was a junior semifinalist at last year's U.S. Open, and runner-up at RG this past spring.


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15. $15 Bydgoszcz POL Final - Valeriia Olianovskaia def. Linda Klimovicova
...6-3/6-1. The 21-year old Hordette wins her second ITF crown, stopping the 18-year old Czech ('22 Wimbledon jr. SF) in her maiden pro final.
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16. Vancouver WTA 125 1st Rd. - Cadence Brace def. Claire Liu
...6-3/6-3. The 17-year old Canadian WC (#742) knocks off the #3-seeded (world #79) Liu, posting her first singles win above the ITF challenger level. Brace, with 13 ITF pro events under her belt, reached a $15K final last December.


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17. Granby Q2 - Cadence Brace def. Nadiia Kichenok 6-3/6-4
Granby Q2 - Kayla Cross def. Himeno Sakatsume 6-1/6-3
Granby Q2 - Marina Stakusic def. Erin Routliffe 6-2/6-7(4)/6-1
...this weekend a trio of Canadian teens made it through Granby qualifying to make their tour-level debut in the tournament's first year as a full WTA event after a decade as an ITF challenger. The tournament was cancelled in 2020-21 due to pandemic-related issues.


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1. Cincinnati 1st Rd. - Zhang Shuai def. Naomi Osaka
...6-4/7-5. On it's surface, this seems like a really bad omen for Osaka's U.S. Open prospects, right? But then...


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2. Cincinnati 1st Rd. - Emma Raducanu def. Serena Williams
...6-4/6-0. No one may be waiting with bated breath for it all to finally be over more than Serena herself, as the suspicion that there's a certain "let's get this over with already so that I can get on with my life" aspect to her side of this "farewell" only gets stronger.



Though that was a valiant post-match effort, Raducanu has still likely put herself in the crosshairs of SW fans for the rest of her career now.
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3. Cincinnati 1st Rd. - Karolina Pliskova def. Venus Williams
...7-5/6-1. The will and (oft-times, for a while) game are still there for Venus, but time and a lack of play continue to eat away the edges of her singles matches this summer. To paraphrase Pliskova, who trailed 4-2 before winning 11 of the last 13 games, the deeper into the match one goes vs. a 42-year old Venus the better landscape it is (and should be, says time and history) for her opponent.


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HM- $15 Bydgoszcz POL Final - Maryna Kolb/Naidiya Kolb def. Valeriia Olianovskaia/Stefanie Rogozinska Dzik
...6-4/1-6 [10-7]. The Ukrainian Kolb sisters win their sixth career ITF title, but first since 2018.

Neither sister played from September of last year until April of '22.
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*US OPEN WILD CARDS (#-slam MD debut)*

Jaimee Fourlis/AUS (22) - Tennis Australia's reciprocal WC, Fourlis completes her career set by making her U.S. MD debut (she's 1-4 in her slam career)

Sofia Kenin/USA (23) - back from injury (and ranked outside the Top 250), '20 AO champ Kenin plays in her first slam since this year's AO and her first U.S. Open since '20

Elli Mandlik/USA (21)# - the winner of the USTA's Wild Card Challenge. She'll become the first daughter of a former U.S. Open women's singles champion of the Open era (Hana Mandlikova, 1985) to herself play in the event.

Peyton Stearns/USA (20)# - the reigning NCAA singles champ gets the (usually) customary MD spot

Harmony Tan/FRA (24) - Tan, after upsetting S.Williams at Wimbledon, gets the FFT reciprocal WC for New York. Hmm, what are the odds that she'll draw Serena again (or maybe Venus)?

CoCo Vandeweghe/USA (30) - a U.S. Open WC recipient for the second straight year, the '17 semifinalist will come into NYC off her biggest singles title in six years at a WTA 125 challenger

Venus Williams/USA (42) - two-time (2000-01) Open champ Williams' 23rd U.S. MD appearance, her first since 2020, comes 25 years after her run to the final in her 1997 debut as a 17-year old

Eleana Yu/USA (17)# - the recent USTA 18-and-under champ -- and also a former 12u (2017) and 14u (2018) winner -- continues her climb, making her slam MD debut

*US OPEN - MD PROTECTED RANKING (as of August 21)*

Serena Williams/USA (40) - Serena's 21st (and apparently last) U.S. appearance comes 24 years after her debut. Over that stretch, she's been crowned singles champion six times, and has reached at least the SF in her last eleven Opens played dating back to 2008.

Karolina Muchova/CZE (25) - down to #161 (at 6-6 on the year) with all of her injury issues, Muchova is *slated* to play in New York. We shall see. She retired from her match in Concord, and withdrew in Cincinnati.

Nadia Podoroska/ARG (25) - out from the end of last year's Open until June of this year while recuperating from a series of injuries, the '20 RG semifinalist will be looking to play in her first major MD in a year

Laura Siegemund/GER (34) - the German has missed three of the last four majors, and lost in the final Q-Round in Paris

Taylor Townsend/USA (26) - back in her first Open since maternity leave

Evgeniya Rodina/RUS (33) - back after a three-year tour absence (she last played at the '19 Eastbourne event)













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Sigh. But this one feels a little more authentic...




Then...





















The answer to, "Alexa, how do I put a Serena acolyte into a full-on tailspin of rage and sorrow as she heads into retirement?" Show them this old Nike ad...








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*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 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ
Canada - Simona Halep, ROU
Cincinnati - Caroline Garcia, FRA
US Open - x
Guadalajara - x
WTAF - x
[doubles]
Australian Open - Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
Doha - Coco Gauff/Jessie Pegula, USA/USA
Indian Wells - Xu Yifan/Yang Zhaoxuan, CHN/CHN
Miami - Laura Siegemund/Vera Zvonareva, GER/RUS
Madrid - Gaby Dabrowski/Giuliana Olmos, CAN/MEX
Rome - Veronika Kudermetova/Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS/RUS
Roland Garros - Caroline Garcia/Kristina Mladenovic, FRA/FRA
Wimbledon - Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
Canada - Coco Gauff/Jessie Pegula, USA/USA
Cincinnati - Lyudmyla Kichenok/Alona Ostapenko, UKR/LAT
US Open - x
Guadalajara - x
WTAF - x

*WTA WS TITLES IN 2020s*
9 - 1/2/6 - Iga Swiatek
7 - 1/5/1 - Ash Barty
5 - 3/0/2 - Simona Halep
5 - 3/2/0 - Aryna Sabalenka
5 - 0/4/1 - Anett Kontaveit
3 - 0/0/3 - CAROLINE GARCIA
3 - 0/1/2 - Ons Jabeur
3 - 0/2/1 - Paula Badosa
3 - 0/2/1 - Dasha Kasatkina
3 - 0/3/0 - Barbora Krejcikova
3 - 0/3/0 - Garbine Muguruza
3 - 2/1/0 - Elina Svitolina

*2022 WTA TITLES, MOST SURFACES*
3 - CAROLINE GARCIA = Grass, Red Clay, Hard
2 - Iga Swiatek = Hard, Red Clay
2 - Ons Jabeur = Red Clay, Grass
['22 finals, most surfaces - chrono.]
3 - Onds Jabeur = Hard, Red Clay, Grass
3 - CAROLINE GARCIA = Grass, Red Clay, Hard
2 - Iga Swiatek = Hard, Red Clay
2 - Veronika Kudermetova = Hard, Red Clay
2 - Ayrna Sabalenka = Hard, Grass
2 - Alison Riske-A. = Hard, Grass
2 - Zhang Shuai = Hard, Grass
2 - Belinda Bencic = Green Clay, Grass
2 - Alona Ostapenko = Hard, Grass
2 - Elena Rybakina = Hard, Grass
2 - Anett Kontaveit = Hard, Clay
2 - Anastasia Potapova = Red Clay, Hard
2 - Beatriz Haddad Maia = Grass, Hard
2 - PETRA KVITOVA - Grass, Hard

*WTA TITLES on 3+ SURFACES - since 2010*
=Hard, Red Clay, Green Clay, Blue Clay, Hard=
2010: - 2011: 3 = Kvitova,Wozniacki
2012: 4 = S.Williams
2013: 3 = S.Williams,Halep
2014: 3 = Petkovic
2015: 4 = Kerber
2016: -
2017: -
2018: 3 = Kvitova
2019: 3 = Barty,Ka.Pliskova
2020: -
2021: 3 = Barty
2022: 3 = Garcia

*2022 WTA FINALS*
6 - Iga Swiatek, POL (6-0)
5 - Ons Jabeur, TUN (2-3)
3 - CAROLINE GARCIA, FRA (3-0)
3 - Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA (2-1)
3 - Anett Kontaveit, EST (1-2)
3 - Veronika Kudermetova, RUS (0-3)

*OLDEST 2022 WTA WS FINALISTS*
37 - Kaia Kanepi, EST (Washington - L)
34 - Tatjana Maria, GER (Bogota - W)
34 - Angelique Kerber, GER (Strasbourg - W)
33 - Zhang Shuai, CHN (Birmingham - L)
33 - Zhang Shuai, CHN (Lyon - W)
32 - PETRA KVITOVA, CZE (Cincinnati - L)
32 - Petra Kvitova, CZE(Eastbourne - W)

*2022 QUALIFIERS IN FINAL*
Melbourne 2: Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR (27/#107)
Bogota: Tatjana Maria, GER (34/ #237) - W
Bogota: Laura Pigossi, BRA (27/#212)
Istabul: Anastasia Potapova, RUS (21/#122) - W
Budapest: Bernarda Pera, USA (27/#130) - W
Lausanne: Olga Danilovic, SRB (21/#124)
Cincinnati: CAROLINE GARCIA, FRA (28/#35) - W

*2022 PLAYERS WITH WTA WS/WD TITLES*
Barty = Adelaide 1/Australian + Adelaide 1
Haddad Maia = Nottingham/Birmingham + Sydney/Nott.
OSTAPENKO = Dubai + Birmingham/Cincinnati
GARCIA = B.Homburg/Warsaw/Cincinnati + R.Garros
Pera = Budapest/Hamburg + Melbourne 2
Bouzkova = Prague + Istanbul
Potapova = Istanbul + Prague

*CAREER WTA FINALS - active*
98 - Serena Williams
83 - Venus Williams
42 - Simona Halep
42 - Svetlana Kuznetsova
41 - Victoria Azarenka
40 - PETRA KVITOVA
[SF]
126 - Serena Williams
116 - Venus Williams
73 - Svetlana Kuznetsova
66 - Simona Halep
63 - Victoria Azarenka
63 - Angelique Kerber
63 - PETRA KVITOVA

*LOW-RANKED WTA FINALISTS IN 2022*
#237 - Tatjana Maria, GER (Bogota - d. Pigossi)
#212 - Laura Pigossi, BRA (Bogota - lost to Maria)
#140 - Dayana Yastremska, UKR (Lyon - lost to Zhang)
[WTA 125]
#239 - VALENTINI GRAMMATIKOPOULOU, GRE (Vanc. - d. Bronzetti)
#213 - Sara Errani, ITA (Gaiba - lost to Van Uytvanck)
#192 - CoCo Vandeweghe, USA (Concord - d. Pera)
#161 - Sara Errani, ITA (Contrexeville - d. Galfi)
#157 - Elisabetta Cocciaretto, ITA (Makarska - lost to Niemeier)
#155 - Jang Su-jeong, KOR (Bastad - d. Masarova)
#149 - Tamara Korpatsch, GER (Marbella - lost to Sherif)
#146 - Rebeka Masarova, ESP (Bastad - lost to Jang)

*MOST WTA SF in 2022*
8 - Iga Swiatek, POL (6-2)
7 - Simona Halep, ROU (2-4 +L)
5 - Ons Jabeur, TUN (5-0)
5 - CAROLINA GARCIA, FRA (3-2)
5 - Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA (3-2)
5 - Veronika Kudermetova, RUS (1-2 +WW)
5 - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (1-4)
4 - Anett Kontaveit, EST (3-1)
4 - Anastasia Potapova, RUS (2-2)
4 - Maria Sakkari, GRE (2-2)
4 - Alona Ostapenko, LAT (2-2)
4 - ARYNA SABALENKA, BLR (2-2)
4 - Paula Badosa, ESP (1-3)

*U.S. - active players w/ #1 wins*
17 - Serena Williams
15 - Venus Williams
3 - Sofia Kenin
3 - CoCo Vandeweghe
1 - Jennifer Brady
1 - Danielle Collins
1 - Coco Gauff
1 - MADISON KEYS
1 - Alison Riske-Amritraj
1 - Christina McHale
1 - Shelby Rogers

*MOST WTA WD FINALS in 2022*
6 (1-4+L) = Elise Mertens, BEL
5 (4-1) = Jessie Pegula, USA
5 (2-3) = Veronika Kudermetova, RUS
4 (4-0) = Katerina Siniakova, CZE
4 (2-2) = Coco Gauff, USA
4 (1-1+WL) = LYUDMYLA KICHENOK, UKR
4 (1-1+WL) = ALONA OSTAPENKO, LAT
4 (1-2+L) = Zhang Shuai, CHN
[duos]
4...L.KICHENOK/OSTAPENKO (1-1+WL)
4...V.Kudermetova/Mertens (1-3)
3...Hozumi/Ninomiya (3-0)
3...Gauff/Pegula (2-1)
2...Siegemund/Zvonareva (2-0)
2...Dabrowski/Olmos (1-1)
2...Danilina/Haddad Maia (1-1)
2...Hradecka/Mirza (0-2)
2...Krawczyk/Schuurs (1-1)
2...Krejcikova/Siniakova (2-0)
2...Xu Yifan/Yang Zhaoxuan (2-0)
2...Mertens/Sh.Zhang (0-1+L)
2...MELICHAR-MARTINEZ/PEREZ (0-2)


*YOUNGEST 2022 SLAM...*
=WC=
US - Eleana Yu, USA (17)
AO - Diane Parry, FRA (19)
RG - Elsa Jacquemot, FRA (19)
AO - Wang Xiyu, CHN (20)
RG - Carole Monnet, FRA (20)
RG - Katie Volynets, USA (20)
WI - Sonay Kartal, GBR (20)
US - Peyton Stearns, USA (20)

=OLDEST 2022 SLAM...=
=WC=
US - Venus Williams, USA (42)
WI - Serena Williams, USA (40)
AO - Samantha Stosur, AUS (37)
RG - Lesia Tsurenko, UKR (32)
RG - Rebecca Marino, CAN (31)
US - CoCo Vandeweghe, USA (30)

=MAKING SLAM MD DEBUTS IN 2022=
=WC=
AO - Robin Anderson, USA
RG - Leolia Jeanjean, FRA
RG - Carole Monnet, FRA
WI - Sonay Kartal, GBR
WI - Lily Miyazaki, GBR
US - Elli Mandlik, USA
US - Peyton Stearns, USA
US - Eleana Yu, USA

=MULTIMPLE 2022 SLAM WC=
3 - Dasha Saville, AUS (AO/RG/WI)
2 - Harmony Tan, FRA (RG/US)

=2022 SLAM WC BY NATION=
9 - United States
8 - Australia
8 - France
5 - Great Britain
1 - China






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All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 11:13 PM 

3 Comments:

Blogger Diane said...

I remember the first time I heard "Fast Car"--I was blown away. I saw Chapman in concert years ago at the House of Blues in New Orleans, and she told this story (paraphrased):

"When I checked into my hotel, I asked the desk clerk what was going on, and for any recommendation for a place to go. He said, 'well, the House of Blues is a good place'--so here I am."

Mon Aug 22, 10:20:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Rick Astley hasn't aged much.

Was surprised about Shnaider going to college, but getting an education and laying low in this climate for 2 years makes sense.

Granby having Canadian women go nuts. Cross, Brace and Stakusic reach MD, Sebov wins first match, and guaranteed a 2nd round participant with Marino/Mboko.

Kvitova got louder as the week went on.

Garcia is on a roll. Still in Cleveland draw for now, Pera and Sasnovich are favorites as I dont expect her to stay in. Granby is new so, maybe Parry.

Garcia goes from unseeded to 17. Swiatek, Kontaveit, Sakkari and Badosa each have a quarter. Mertens steals 32nd seed, leaving the field in ruins as Kanepi is first seed out.

Stat of the Week- 7- Times out of the last 20 new events with a first time winner.

You know how I say to always pick a first time winner at a new event? Well, I decided to check the most recent numbers, and that is 33%, 7-21 counting the unplayed Grampians final.

The funny thing is that I thought that I was going to use Danilovic winning Moscow and Buzarnescu winning San Jose in back to back weeks in 2018, but the last 20 new events only go back to Feb. 2021.

First Time Winners-New Events-Recent:

All 2021

Tenerife-Li
Slovenia-Paolini
Poland-Zanevska
Hamburg-Ruse
Berlin-Samsonova
Belgrade-Badosa
Charleston 2-Sharma

Of the 20 finals played, only 3 were 500. 0 1000, which will make Guadalajara interesting.

In terms of Hamburg(2002), Berlin(2008), and Slovenia(2010), it had been more than 10 years since the last edition, so they were used. Events that missed a COVID season were not.

Quiz Time!

Who was the highest ranked Czech player in singles at the end of 2010?

A.Barbora Strycova
B.Petra Kvitova
C.Lucie Safarova
D.Iveta Benesova

Interlude- Tim Kurkjian and Tim Kurkjian?

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


Answer!

As pointed out on social media, there are no Czech players in the Top 20 this week as Kvitova(21), Pliskova(22), and Krejcikova(23) are hovering.

2010 is the last time none were in the season end Top 20. (D)Benesova was the best guess, but wrong. She was the only one to win a singles title, winning Fes, but finished 60 due to not reaching the 3rd rd of a slam.

She doubled in Fes, one of 4 doubles titles, but wasn't Top 20 there either, finishing at 21.

(A)Strycova, officially Zahlavova Strycova, is also wrong. She was at 67, even with her career best 3rd rd at Wimbledon, something she would not top until 2014.

She made her name in doubles, finishing at 20 after winning 5 titles. She wasn't the highest ranking doubles player, as that went to #5 Peschke, who also won 5 titles.

(B)Kvitova is wrong. Even though this was her breakout year, in which she reached the Wimbledon SF, she only finished the year at 34, being nipped by (C)Safarova who finished at 33, even with losing in the 1st rd of 3 slams.

Mon Aug 22, 12:18:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

D-

The only thing with using "Fast Car" is that I get it stuck in my head and can't get it out. It's always been that way. Anytime I'm doing something... there it pops. Almost two weeks going now.


C-

Of course, it probably helps that he looked about 15 when he originally recorded it. ;)

The fact that he's still able to get mileage out of that one song all these years later just goes to show how much just being a good sport can work out in the long run.

Felt the same initial surprise about Shnaider. But with college tennis now proving to be a nice stepping stone into the pros, rather than a "fallback" choice, it probably makes it an easier decision that one might suspect.

Quiz: went with Benesova, thinking Kvitova was on top the *next* year and Safarova had her big run mid-decade. :/

Kurkjian and avocados. Check it out, starting here, then here. ;)

Mon Aug 22, 10:18:00 PM EDT  

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