Sunday, August 28, 2022

Wk.34- Tennis in The Land of Liudmila






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*WEEK 34 CHAMPIONS*
CLEVELAND, OHIO USA (WTA 250/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Liudmila Samsonova/RUS def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich/BLR 6-1/6-3
D: Nicole Melichar-Martinez/Ellen Perez (USA/NZL) def. Anna Danilina/Aleksandra Krunic (KAZ/SRB) 7-5/6-3
GRANBY, QUEBEC CAN (WTA 250/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Dasha Kasatkina/RUS def. Dasha Saville/AUS 6-4/6-4
D: Alicia Barnett/Olivia Nicholls (GBR/GBR) def. Harriet Dart/Rosalie van der Hoek (GBR/NED) 5-7/6-3 [10-1]
BJK CUP - ASIA/OCEANIA II ZONE (B) (Dushanbe, Tajikistan/HCO)
PP: Uzbekistan def. Mongolia 2-1 [dd]




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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Liudmila Samsonova/RUS
...finally, as the summer homestretch is upon us, we're getting the Samsonova we thought we'd see throughout 2022.

In 2021, Samsonova looked like a potential world beater, first on the grass in Berlin (her first tour title, which she followed with a Wimbledon 4th Rd.) as well as when she led the Hordettes to the BJK Cup crown. But she started '22 at 6-7, and showed few signs of recovery. She put on a SF run in Stuttgart, pushing Iga Swiatek like no one did for months, but then fell into a 1-6 slide afterward.

After a 1-3 grass season, including a 2nd Round exit in her Berlin title defense, Samsonova took a six-week tour break. She emerged having righted her game and geared up for a summer hard court run. She won title #2 in Washington, and two weeks later arrived in Cleveland this week and took the title there (the same event won last year by Anett Kontaveit just before she took off down the stretch of '21, it might be worth noting), not dropping a set as she downed the likes of Iryna Shymanovich, Laura Siegemund, Magda Linette, Bernarda Pera (losing just four points on serve vs. a player who'd gone 19-1 in her previous 20 matches) and Aliaksandra Sasnovich in a 6-1/6-3 final, extending her winning streak to 10 matches.

The Hordette dropped serve just twice all week (once in game #2 vs. Sasnovich), holding in 36 of her 38 service games.



Samsonova drew one of the Czech Crushers at the U.S. Open, where she'll play a 1st Rounder vs. 16-year old qualifier Sara Bejlek.
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RISERS: Dasha Kasatkina/RUS and Bernarda Pera/USA
...after winning in San Jose, Kasatkina found herself on the wrong end of back-to-back bad draws that saw her lose 1st Round matches vs. Andreescu in Toronto and Anisimova in Cincinnati. As a result, the Hordette took a late WC into the Granby event in an attempt to get some of her "mojo" back. Well, the move sure *seemed* to work.

After dropping her opening set vs. Greet Minnen, Kasatkina never lost another, winning ten straight with additional two-set victories over Magdalena Frech, Nuria Parrizas Diaz, Diane Parry and good friend (and fellow) Dasha Saville in a 6-4/6-4 final to pick up her sixth career title (fourth since the start of '21). The match ended with a long rally, with Kasatkina then characteristically crossing over to the other side of the net to greet and assist (sometimes doubles partner) Saville, who was seemingly beginning to cramp.



With her four straight sets win in Granby, Kasatkina improved to 27-0 this season when she wins the opening set. 23-7 overall since her Rome SF in May, a stretch spanning three different surfaces, she's won two titles and reached her maiden slam semifinal over the last three and a half months.



Kasatkina improves to career-best #9 heading into the U.S. Open.

Meanwhile, in Cleveland, Pera's remarkable late summer continued. After putting together back-to-back title runs in Budapest and Hamburg, then reaching a WTA 125 final in Concord, the Bannerette added another tour-level SF result to her ledger this week. Wins over Eri Hozumi, Barbora Krejcikova and Sofia Kenin preceded a straight sets loss to eventual champ Liudmila Samsonova, leaving Pera with a stunning 19-3 record since Wimbledon and now with a Top 50 ranking (#45) for the first time.


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SURPRISES: Alicia Barnett/Olivia Nicholls, GBR/GBR and Marina Stakusic/CAN
...the year-long surge from the all-Brit duo of Barnett/Nicholls, which had previously included a 3-6 record in ITF finals and a WTA RU in Lyon since July '21, finally resulted in the maiden tour-level WD title for both in Granby. After opening with a 10-8 MTB win in the 1st Round over N.Kichenok/Mihalikova, the pair took the title with a dominant 10-1 MTB win over fellow Brit Harriet Dart & Dutch partner Rosalie van der Hoek in the final.

Overall, Barnett/Nicholls have now teamed to claim seven ITF and now one WTA crown as a pair.

Also in Granby, 17-year old Stakusic, who posted her first win in a WTA event a few weeks ago in Toronto qualifying (over Wang Xinyu, via ret.), qualified to make her tour-level MD debut in this week's Canadian-hosted event. The world #630 defeated Ulrikke Eikeri and Erin Routliffe to get her chance, which she then took advantage of with a three-set win over Jaimee Fourlis. Stakusic took the 1st set in a 2nd Round match-up with Marta Kostuk, but lost in three.


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VETERANS: Aliaksandra Sasnovich/BLR and Alize Cornet/FRA
...Sasnovich reached her fourth career tour-level singles final in Cleveland, posting wins over Aleksandra Krunic, Sara Sorribes Tormo, Madison Brengle (ending her three-QF losing streak since reaching the Melbourne 2 final in Week 1) and Cornet.



11-0 in ITF finals in her career (w/ the last coming in '14), Sasnovich's tour-level finals have been spread out over the last eight seasons (2015, '18 and this week), with a '19 WTA 125 final thrown in, as well. Sasnovich's straight sets loss to Liudmila Samsonova on Saturday leaves her 0-5 in singles finals above the ITF level (0-4 WTA, 0-1 125).

In the week before she breaks her tie with Ai Sugiyama for the most consecutive slam MD appearances (setting the women's record w/ 63), Cornet recorded her 500th career win (vs. Dayana Yastremska) in Cleveland and followed up with additional victories over Clara Tauson and Zhang Shuai to reach her second '22 singles semifinal.

She'll play defending champ Emma Raducanu in the 1st Round of the U.S. Open.


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COMEBACKS: Dasha Saville/AUS and Sofia Kenin/USA
...Saville continues to climb back deeper into the tour fray. This week saw the Aussie reach her fourth '22 QF in Granby, where she defeated Wang Xiyu to reach her second straight tour-level semi. A walkover from Marta Kostyuk put Saville into her first WTA singles final since October '17 in Hong Kong.

She lost out in the all-Dasha battle with Kasatkina, falling to 1-4 in career WTA finals, but made the Russian work to close out both the 1st and 2nd set, threatening to stage a comeback to win both (but twice coming up short). Saville will climb back into the Top 60 at #58 heading into the Open. She began the year at #421.



Ranked all the way down at #265, Cleveland wild card Sofia Kenin's comeback from injury (and other stuff) has officially begun. The '20 AO champ, on a nine match losing streak, finally posted her first win since Week 1 in Adelaide (a run which ended with a QF defeat vs. Ash Barty) with a 1st Round win over Dalayna Hewitt, then followed up with another over Irina-Camelia Begu.



In the QF, she became the first player to take a set off Bernarda Pera in a tour-level MD match since Wimbledon, before falling in three sets to her fellow Bannerette. Kenin will return to slam play, via a USTA wild card, at Flushing Meadows vs. Jule Niemeier.
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FRESH FACES: Diane Parry/FRA and Marta Kostyuk/UKR
...a week after taking eventual Cincinnati champion Caroline Garcia to three sets in qualifying, Parry advanced to her first career tour-level SF in Granby, posting wins over Tereza Martincova (breaking the Czech, who served for the 2nd set at 6-5, and then winning a TB to win in two) and Tatjana Maria (3rd set TB) before going out at the hands of another eventual title winner, Dasha Kasatkina.

In the same event, Kostyuk manuevered her way through the draw, defeating Tamara Zidansek, Marina Stakusic and Rebecca Marino to reach her first SF since last October, her best result since the war began in Ukraine six months ago. But, maybe more so than any other Ukrainian player, Kostyuk has handled her relations with fellow Russian and Belarusian tennis colleagues with something a far distance away from a light touch, or even much level of consistency.

On that front, Kostyuk's week's work included complaining about the presence of any RUS/BLR players in the U.S. Open's Fan Week "Tennis Plays for Peace" exhibition (the one that produced the clips that saw Swiatek teaming with Nadal in MX vs. Gauff/McEnroe) that she got Vika Azarenka kicked out of the event. Kostyuk, remember, had previously complained that RUS/BLR players hadn't privately or publicly condemned their nation's leaders' actions regarding the war *enough*, and has said that they should be banned from *all* tour events. But when a player such as Azarenka (smartly or not) sought to take a more public stand via her participation in the exhibition, that apparently wasn't something that Kostyuk could accept, either.



Then, after winning her SF without seeming to be injured, and advancing to within one match of possibly facing Russian Dasha Kasatkina in the final (if Kostyuk could defeat a former Russian, Aussie Dasha Saville, a good friend of Kasatkina), the Ukrainian suddenly pulled out of the Granby event with what was said to be a shoulder injury.

Kostyuk is still in the U.S. Open draw. Interestingly, she's positioned one round away from a possible 2nd Round match-up with Azarenka. Hmmm.
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DOWN: Varvara Gracheva/RUS and Kaja Juvan/SLO
...Week 34 was a good week for Hordettes, with two winning tour singles titles, two qualifying at Flushing Meadows, and another joining the Open MD as a lucky loser. Gracheva wasn't quite as lucky.

Gracheva's 1st Round exit in Cleveland at the hands of Madison Brengle came in a match in which the Russian led 5-3 in the 3rd, served at 5-4, 40/15 and held six MP. She failed to convert any of them, and handed away half via DF. The loss was Gracheva's ninth straight, but that she's still holding onto the possibility of a "winning" season (she's 20-22) in spite of that fact shows just how disappointing this recent slide has been after what had been a decent start to '22.

Juvan, as usual, hasn't been able to consistently follow up on another of her "highlight reel" results.

In Strasbourg in the spring, the 21-year old Slovenian knocked off Elise Mertens and Karolina Pliskova and then battled Angelique Kerber to the last drop in the final. With her qualifying loss in Granby to young Canadian Cadence Brace, Juvan has gone 3-6 since the loss to Kerber. Of course, Juvan being Juvan, she managed a big upset even in the middle of her stumble, taking down two-time grass titlist Beatriz Haddad Maia in the 1st Round at Wimbledon en route to the 3rd Round.

Juvan's pattern says that she might be primed for another large big-stage win in New York. She opens vs. qualifier Cristina Bucsa, with the winner of #19 Collins/Osaka a possible 2nd Round opponent (and maybe DC Raducanu in the 3rd). Hmmm.
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ITF PLAYERS: Brenda Fruhvirtova/CZE and Barbora Palicova/CZE
...while fellow Crush of Czechs members Linda Fruhvirtova, Linda Noskova and Sara Bejlek were qualifying for the U.S. Open (they're the three youngest players in the MD), Brenda the Younger and Palicova were busy on the ITF circuit.

15-year old Fruhvirtova won a $25K in Braunschweig, Germany, defeating German teen Noma Noha Akugue 6-3/6-1 to win her circuit-leading sixth 2022 title in her sixth career pro final. She'll now climb into the Top 250 for the first time.

In Prerov, Czech Republic, 18-year old Palicova picked up her biggest career crown, winning a $60K challenger (she's 2-2 in '22 finals) with a 6-2/1-6/6-0 win in the final over Burundi's Sada Nahimana.

Palicova has been on the cusp of great junior success this season, but the Fruhvirtova sisters -- Linda in the Roehampton semis, Brenda in a J1 final -- have often proven to be unconquerable obstacles. She'll now crack the pro Top 300, upping the number of Czech teenagers ranked there to five.


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JUNIOR STARS: Sara Saito/JPN and Mia Ristic/SRB
...in College Park, Maryland, Japan's Saito, 15, swept the J1 singles and doubles titles, picking up her biggest career wins in both.

The #5 seed, Saito defeated #2 Mirra Andreeva in the semis, then handled Bannerette Ava Krug 6-1/6-1 in the final. She won the doubles with Li Yu-yun of Taiwan.

Ristic took the crown at the J1 event in Pancevo, Serbia. The 16-year old Serb was recently crowned the 16-and-under champ at the European Championships, and last week picked up her first pro title with a win in a $25K final over Romanian vet Cristina Dinu (dropping the 1st at love, then winning a pair of 7-5 sets). This week Ristic defeated Laura Samsonova (who recently led her fellow Czechs to the ITF 14u team crown) in the QF, and finished up her first J1 title run with a three-set victory over Hordette Anastasia Grechkina.
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DOUBLES: Nicole Melichar-Martinez/Ellen Perez, USA/NZL
...the third time proved to be the charm for Melichar-Martinez & Perez, who after coming up short in the Toronto and Cincinnati finals the last two weeks finally picked up their first title as a pair in Cleveland.

The #2 seeds defeated the #3 (Aoyama/H-c.Chan... after having to extend their SF match to two days when a power outage suspended play with Melichar/Parez up 6-0 in the 2nd set TB, a conclusion which took just one point to reach on Saturday) and #4 (Danilina/Krunic in the final) seeds en route to the title.

Melichar's second '22 crown is the 12th of her career, while Perez now has five.


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WHEELCHAIR: Yui Kamiji/JPN
...world #2 Kamiji returned to the court for the time since reaching her first Wimbledon singles final. She reached both the singles and doubles finals in a Series 2 event in Pattaya, Thailand, facing off with #4 Zhu Zhenzhen in both contests.

Kamiji took the singles, winning her fourth title of the season, by dominating Zhu 6-1/6-0, ending the Chinese woman's 13-match singles winning streak. Zhu took the doubles alongside Manami Tanaka, defeating Kamiji & Shiori Funamizu 6-3/6-0.

The win extends Zhu's doubles winning streak to 16 matches, with seven straight WD title runs.
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BJK CUP: Akgul Amanmuradova/UZB
...the second half of BJK Cup Asia/Oceania II zone play took place this past week in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, with Uzbekistan defeating Mongolia 2-1 in the promotional playoff to win Event B and climb into A/O I for 2023.

The star on the court (and on the sideline) was veteran Akgul Amanmuradova, the all-time leader in just about everything in Uzbeki Cup history. Acting as a playing captain, Amanmuradova went 3-0 in singles on the week, sending the PP tie into the deciding doubles with a win over Maralgoo Chogsomjav, whose younger sister Martaa had opened the tie with a singles win for Mongolia over Ominahon Valihanova.

Amanmuradova & Valihanova then teamed to defeat the sisters 6-2/6-3 in the DD to finish on top for the weekend.

Amanmuradova, 38, tops the Uzbeki Cup lists for career seasons (19), ties (69), singles wins (28), doubles wins (21), doubles team wins (6, tied w/ herself in two different partnerships) and overall match wins (49). She made her Cup debut 21 years ago in April 2001 (she faced off against Li Na in her second match, a doubles loss).
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1. Cleveland Final - Liudmila Samsonova def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-1/6-3
Granby Final - Dasha Kasatkina def. Dasha Saville 6-4/6-4
...it was just a few weeks ago that Samsonova and Kasatkina both won titles on the same weekend (in Washington and San Jose, respectively)...



It didn't take long for a sequel in a Saturday of singles finals that featured two Russians, a Belarusian, a Russian-born Aussie and no Marta Kostyuk.

Samsonova's dominant win (though she did drop serve early in the 1st, just the second time she'd failed to hold all week) improved her career mark in WTA finals to 3-0, while Sasnovich fell to 0-4.

Kasatkina consistently took the lead vs. Saville, but then had to fight to close out both sets. She was broken while trying to serve out both sets at 5-3, but rebounded to break and take the 1st and then did the same to end the match, finally winning on her fifth MP of the final game at the end of a long rally with the Aussie. Afterward, the Dasha Front reconvened once more for some nice post-match photos and comments.



Showing just how much one huge result can prop up a player's ranking, this win by Kasatkina -- with two titles, four SF (incl. Rome & RG), 2 QF and a 1000 4r (Madrid) this season -- only now moves her past Garbine Muguruza to #9. Muguruza (best season result: a Doha QF, six months ago) will only hold onto her U.S. Open 4th Round points from '21 for a few more days before staring down a huge tumble when her WTAF title points fall off at the close of the season. No one needs a big result at Flushing Meadows more than her.

Meanwhile, after seeing their results linked in different cities in recent weeks, Samsonova and Kasatkina *could* meet on the court soon. If *all* goes well, they'd face off in the U.S. Open QF.
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2. Cleveland 1st Rd. - Madison Brengle def. Varvara Gracheva
...6-3/4-6/7-5. Gracheva's slump continues, as Brengle prevails despite the Hordette serving up 5-4. 40/15 in the 3rd, ultimately holding six MP (she DF'd on 3) before falling for the ninth straight time.


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3. Cleveland 2nd Rd. - Madison Brengle def. Ekaterina Alexandrova
...3-6/7-5/7-5. Brengle's journey In the Land ended in the QF, but she added another comeback victory over another Russian in the 2nd Round, this time overcoming a 6-3/5-3 deficit, with Alexandrova serving at 5-4.


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4. Granby 1st Rd. - Marina Stakusic def. Jaimee Fourlis
...4-6/6-3/6-2. The 17-year old qualifier (#630) joins the recent gang of Canadian teens posting hallmark career match wins, getting her first in WTA MD action.


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5. Granby 1st Rd. - Cadence Brace def. Kaja Juvan
...7-5/6-3. Another 17-year old Canadian qualifier (#646), Brace gets the first notch on *her* tour-level MD belt. At the very least, however high she rises in the rankings, likely most can probably agree that Brace has (at least) a "Top 10 name."
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6. Granby 1st Rd. - Katherine Sebov def. Wang Xinyu
...3-6/6-4/6-0. She's not a Canadian teenager (she's 23), but #307 Sebov joined in on her compatriots' fun in Granby by picking up her first career tour-level MD singles win, as well.



Meanwhile, Wang has produced just one WTA MD victory since March (in Monterrey), going 1-10 there and now dropping six straight in tour-level Q/MD action. The silver lining for Wang? During the stretch, she *has* qualified in Miami and Berlin, as well as won a $100K challenger.
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7. Cleveland 1st Rd. - Sofia Kenin def. Dalayna Hewitt
...6-4/6-3. Finally recovered from injury, Kenin ends her nine-match losing streak, posting her first WTA win since January. The result led to an immediate avalanche of sarcastic social media comments about her "one-match winning streak." Well, she made it two before exiting... so there.


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8. Cleveland 1st Rd. - Sara Sorribes Tormo def. Camila Osorio
...7-6(5)/4-6/6-3. This week's neverending match (aka Sorribes Tormo's longest match of the week) lasted 3:54, the longest on tour in '22 and the seventh-longest in MD women's tour play in the Open era. Naturally, the Spaniard is on that list twice (and she has a pair of 3:30+ outings in her last two events).


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9. Cleveland 1st Rd. - Alize Cornet def. Dayana Yastremska
...6-4/6-2. Ahead of her 63rd consecutive slam MD appearance, Cornet notches her 500th career victory.



After having previously considered retirement sometime in '22, Cornet now says that she'll play "at least through Roalnd Garros" next year after producing some of her best results vs. top players this season. Her next match? Versus #1 Iga Swiatek in New York.
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10. $15K Cancun MEX Final - Solana Sierra def. Victoria Rodriguez
...6-3/6-3. The 18-year old Argentine picks up her second consecutive pro title in Cancun after winning her maiden crown a week ago. In her 10-match winning streak, Sierra has dropped just one set.


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=4th Round=
#24 Anisimova def. #1 Swiatek
#8 Pegula def. Pera
#22 Pliskova def. #4 Badosa
#25 Rybakina def. Juvan
#7 Halep def. #12 Gauff
#17 Garcia def. #3 Sakkari
#10 Kasatkina def. #31 Rogers
Samsonova def. Tomljanovic

...Serena's Open history and current draw says that she could surely get this far (at least) -- in Tomljanovic's slot here -- but I'm not going to fall into the trap of thinking that *that* Williams is in *this* draw in 2022.

=QF=
#8 Pegula def. #24 Anisimova
#25 Rybakina def. #22 Pliskova
#7 Halep def. #17 Garcia
Samsonova def. #10 Kasatkina

...Samsonova in a slam SF was one of my preseason Blowout picks. Finally, she's at least a legitimate option, so I'm not going to miss out on my last shot this year to hit the proverbial nail on the head. In an alternate reality, I might take a flier on Garcia to take off here and land the title.

=SF=
#8 Pegula def. #25 Rybakina
#7 Halep def. Samsonova

...New York has never particularly been Simona's vibe. But the same could have been said about Wimbledon before 2019.

=FINAL=
#7 Halep def. #8 Pegula

...a chance for Pegula to "re-do" that Toronto semi. Or not.






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So maybe we'll see her in Melbourne, after all?


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First Elli Mandlik, and now....




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#TBPCPUS (Throwback post-Cincinnati/pre-U.S. Open, of course)...




A refresher (though it didn't include some of the gasoline that was thrown on the fire during this situation, and others, by Mladenovic around the time of it all)...



















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Oh, Paula. Don't encourage her...


















Or, you know, you could believe both sentiments are patently ridiculous. (Backspinner raises hand in the back of the classroom.)






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*2022 WTA SINGLES TITLES*
6 - Iga Swiatek, POL
3 - Caroline Garcia, FRA
2 - Ash Barty, AUS
2 - Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
2 - Simona Halep, ROU
2 - Ons Jabeur, TUN
2 - DASHA KASATKINA, RUS
2 - Bernarda Pera, USA
2 - LIUDMILA SAMSONOVA, RUS
[2020-22]
9 - 1/2/6 - Iga Swiatek
7 - 1/5/1 - Ash Barty
5 - 3/0/2 - Simona Halep
5 - 0/4/1 - Anett Kontaveit
5 - 3/2/0 - Aryna Sabalenka
4 - 0/2/2 - DASHA KASATKINA
[players w/ multiple titles]
2013: 10
2014: 9
2015: 13
2016: 12
2017: 11
2018: 14
2019: 9
2020: 4
2021: 6
2022: 9

*2022 WTA SINGLES TITLES w/o DROPPING A SET*
Australian Open - Ash Barty, AUS
Miami - Iga Swiatek, POL
Rome - Iga Swiatek, POL
Budapest - Bernarda Pera, USA
Hamburg - Bernarda Pera, USA
Prague - Marie Bouzkova, CZE
Cleveland - LIUDMILA SAMSONOVA, RUS

*BEST WINNING PCT. IN 2022 WTA FINALS (3 or more)*
1.000 - Iga Swiatek (6-0)
1.000 - Caroline Garcia (3-0)
1.000 - Ash Barty (2-0)
1.000 - Simona Halep (2-0)
1.000 - DASHA KASATKINA (2-0)
1.000 - Bernarda Pera (2-0)
1.000 - LIUDMILA SAMSONOVA (2-0)
0.667 - Beatriz Haddad Maia (2-1)

*2022 - #1 SEED WINS TITLE*
Adelaide 1 - Ash Barty, AUS
Australian Open - Ash Barty, AUS
Stuttgart - Iga Swiatek, POL
Rome - Iga Swiatek, POL
Roland Garros - Iga Swiatek, POL
Berlin - Ons Jabeur, TUN
Granby - DASHA KASATKINA, RUS

*MOST WTA FINALS in 2020's - 1920-22*
11 - 1/7/3 - Anett Kontaveit (5-5-1)
9 - 1/2/4 - Iga Swiatek (9-0)
9 - 1/6/2 - Ash Barty (8-1)
8 - 3/3/2 - Aryna Sabalenka (5-3)
8 - 0/3/5 - Ons Jabeur (3-5)
7 - 5/0/2 - Elena Rybakina (2-5)
6 - 3/1/2 - Simona Halep (5-1)
6 - 0/4/2 - DASHA KASATKINA (4-2)
6 - 1/5/0 - Garbine Muguruza (3-3)

*2022 FIRST-TIME WTA SEMIFINALISTS*
Melbourne 1 - Zheng Qinwen, CHN (19/#126)
Monterrey - Nuria Parrizas Diaz, ESP (30/#51)
Bogota - Laura Pigossi, BRA (27/#212)
Bogota - Kamilla Rakhimova, RUS (20/#111)
Rabat - Claire Liu, USA (21/#92)
Rabat - Lucia Bronzetti, ITA (23/#83)
Rabat - Anna Bondar, HUN (24/#67)
Rabat - Martina Trevisan, ITA (28/#85)
Prague - Linda Noskova, CZE (17/#112)
Granby - DIANE PARRY, FRA (19/#81)

*2022 FIRST-TIME WTA DOUBLES CHAMPIONS*
Bernarda Pera, USA (Melbourne 2)
Jessie Pegula, USA (Melbourne 1)
Kaitlyn Christian, USA (Guadalajara)
Catherine Harrison, USA (Monterrey)
Sabrina Santamaria, USA (Monterrey)
Aldila Sutjiadi, INA (Bogota)
Magda Linette, POL (Charleston)
Sophie Chang, USA (Hamburg)
Angela Kulikov, USA (Hamburg)
Anna Bondar, HUN (Palermo)
ALICIA BARNETT, GBR (Granby)
OLIVIA NICHOLLS, GBR (Granby)

*RECENT TOP JUNIOR EVENT CHAMPIONS*
KLOSTERS SUI JB1 (EUROPEAN 18u): Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva/AND
PREROV CZE JB1 (EUROPEAN 16u): Mia Ristic/SRB
MOST CZE JB1 (EUROPEAN 14u): Alena Kovackova/CZE
ITF JUNIOR TEAM 14u (PROSTEJOV CZE): CZE
DURBAN RSA J1: Ella McDonald/GBR
USTA NATIONAL CHSP 18u (SAN DIEGO USA): Eleana Yu/USA
USTA NATIONAL CHSP 16u (SAN DIEGO USA): Alyssa Ahn/USA
PRETORIA RSA JA: Sofia Costoulas/BEL
BYTOM POL J1: Yelyzaveta Kotliar/UKR
PRAGUE CZE J1: Tereza Valentova/CZE
COLLEGE PARK USA J1: Sara Saito/JPN
PANCEVO SRB J1: Mia Ristic/SRB





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All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 3:46 PM 

4 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Samsonova is scorching right now. Dispatched Pera easily.

I was miffed that McHale got a WC over the likes of Montgomery, but don't hate the Jersey girl getting one last shot.

Like the football, even the last hit.

Can't quibble about your picks, as this is kind of up in the air, but the one that jumps out is Pliskova. With all of the complaints about the balls, and her still wearing that wristband over her healing wrist, her on a non roof court on a wet day will make those balls feel like concrete.

Stat of the Week- 2- Times in the last 37 years that every slam finalist from the previous year played every slam in the next.

Every single one answering the bell isn't expected, but it is fair to say that results have been unpredictable because the 2021 class hasn't shown up every day.

2022 Slams for 2021 slam finalists:

4-Raducanu
4-Krejcikova/Elbow
3-Osaka/Achilles
3-Pliskova/Wrist
3-Fernandez/Foot
1-Pavlyuchenkova/Knee
1-Barty/Retired
0-Brady/Foot

Curious about the 2 years that everybody showed up? 2018-Wozniacki, Halep, Stephens, Kerber, Williams, Osaka.

The other was 1985, which was made easy for 2 reasons. The Australian Open did not play in 1986, so they only needed to play 3 slams. The other? 3 women filled all 8 slots. Navratilova(4), Evert(3), and Mandlikova(1) dominated, with Navratilova winning 2 slams, with the others winning 1.

Quiz Time!

Who was the first American to win the junior US Open?

A.Tracy Austin
B.Linda Siegel
C.Ann Kiyomura
D.Karen Hantze

Interlude- Dak Prescott.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qySVffwCNYY


Answer!

(D)Hantze is wrong, as she had both her junior(1960) success and her slam title(1962) at Wimbledon. She was the 3rd American, after Miriam Arnold in 1957(Wimbledon), and Sally Moore(same in 1958) to win a junior slam.

It is not (C)Kiyomura, who would be ranked as high as 15 in singles. It was about timing, as she won Junior Wimbledon in 1973, the year before the US Open played the event for the first time. When they did in 1974, she played the main tournament instead, winning 2 rounds.

It was not (A)Austin, as she won Wimbledon in 1978, making (B)Siegel correct, as she won the US Open the same year.

Pretty much forgotten by tennis history, Siegel only played one full year on tour. That was 1979, a season in which she went 3-15, getting more press from her Wimbledon attire than winning.

Sun Aug 28, 11:10:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Hoergren said...

Hi Todd

Those Darias has something about them now Qualifier Daria Snigur takes out No.7 seed Halep. ANd she played really well.

Mon Aug 29, 04:10:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

C-

Wow, that's a really interesting "year after" stat for slam finalists. I guess it's not really surprising, but you never really think to put actual numbers to it like that. The attrition is crazy.

Quiz: went with Hantze (about as good as my Halep pick, I guess) ;)




H-

Caro was doing the ESPN commentary on the Halep/Snigur match, and she did *not* think Snigur was going to win when Halep closed to 5-4. ;)

Of course, the good vibes didn't carry elsewhere as both Kasatkina *and* Saville lost. :(

Mon Aug 29, 10:00:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Hoergren said...

That's Leif - get it :) But sometimes it's fun to see how games can turn - and Daria did it freely to concentrate on third set - my opinion.

Tue Aug 30, 02:04:00 AM EDT  

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