Sunday, October 30, 2022

Wk.43- Things Are About to Get Scary Deep-in-the-Hearta






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*WEEK 43 CHAMPIONS*
TAMPICO, MEXICO (WTA 125/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Elisabetta Cocciaretto/ITA def. Magda Linette/POL 7-6(5)/4-6/6-1
D: Tereza Mihalkova/Aldila Sutjiadi (SVK/INA) def. Ashlyn Krueger/Elli Mandlik (USA/USA) 7-5/6-2




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RISER: Elisabetta Cocciaretto/ITA
...Cocciaretto's comeback from her 2021 knee surgery continues to pick up steam. The 21-year old Italian's season had already seen her post her first slam (Wimbledon) and 1000 (Guadalajara) MD wins, reach a new career high ranking, and win $80K (a career best) and $60K ITF challenger crowns.

In Tampico, the trend continued as she matched her biggest career final by reaching her third 125 title match, picking up her biggest title to date with a three-set win over Magda Linette. Cocciaretto had rallied from 0-2 down in the 3rd against both Marie Bouzkova (2r) and Camila Osorio (QF), then handled Zhu Lin in straights (SF), to get to the final.

Cocciaretto will jump from one her career high ranking (#79) to another (#63) on Monday.
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SURPRISES: Miriam Kolodziejova/Marketa Vondrousova, CZE/CZE
...however it came about, it was nice to see the reunion of the former all-Czech junior doubles force (winners of the GD at the 2015 AO and RG) in the $80K challenger in Poitiers, France. Better yet, they walked off with a title.

After having seemingly ended her season early after her latest wrist injury (following the one that ended her '19 campaign early, after having reached the RG women's final), Vondrousova popped up a little unexpectedly this week. She lost in the 1st Round of singles in her first action since April, but it was her re-teaming with Kolodziejova that gained traction. Despite their junior success, unlike countrywoman Krejcikova and Siniakova, the two had only played four events as pros, with the last coming in 2017. They reached three $15K finals in those four events, winning two.

In Poitiers, they were the #3 seeds, and on Sunday finished off their biggest title run together with a 6-4/6-3 win over top-seeded Pastry Jessika Ponchet & fellow Czech Renata Voracova.

It's the eighth doubles title across all levels for Kolodziejova in '22, as she likely looks to make some big moves in the rankings next season, adding this win to her maiden tour-level crown (Parma) and six other ITF runs.

Vondrousova, who got married during her time away, is currently ranked #124 in singles. Before the injury, she'd posted some impressive results, including wins over Liudmila Samsonova at the Australian Open and (AO finalist) Danielle Collins in Dubai, and split back-to-back three-set Indian Wells matches against Anett Kontaveit and Veronika Kudermetova. She played just one more match after that, a three-set loss to Ons Jabeur in Stuttgart, before her injury break.

One suspects that liberal use of a protected ranking could be in Vondrousova's future in the coming season. Of course, that's worked out quite well for her in the past.
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VETERAN: Magda Linette/POL
...playing in the long shadow of the world #1, Polish #2 Linette climbed back into the Top 50 with her Tampico 125 final appearance just weeks after finishing as the runner-up at the tour-level Chennai event to Linda Fruhvirtova last month.

Linette's week saw her post wins over Elise Mertens and Rebecca Marino en route to her third career 125 final (she's 2-3 in WTA finals), where she forced Elisabetta Cocciaretto into a 3rd set but saw the Italian pull away and take the decider 6-1.
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COMEBACKS: Rebecca Marino/CAN and Taylor Townsend/USA
...even while the Canadian has climbed back to relevence in 2022, Marino has left enough room for still more accomplishments in '23.

A week after putting up 24 aces in Guadalajara and coming THIS CLOSE to posting her first career Top 10 win over Caroline Garcia, Marino was back at it in Mexico, reaching the Tampico 125 semifinals with wins over Varvara Flink, Moyuka Uchijima and countrywoman Leylah Fernandez before falling in three sets to Magda Linette, one round short of her biggest final since 2011.

Marino will climb to #65 on Monday, her highest ranking of the year and in *any* year since 2012. She reached as high as #38 in 2011, and finished that year with her (still) career-best season-ending standing of #63.



She's a Tennis Channel commentator! She's a mom! She's a U.S. Open doubles finalist! And now she's a singles champion for the second time in '22. Yep, Townsend is doing it all pretty well in her comeback season.

In Tyler, Texas, Townsend added an $80K challenger crown to the $100K she won in the spring (Charleston), not dropping a set all week. She opened her run by knocking off top-seeded Kaia Kanepi, then later -- due to weather issues -- had to win her final three rounds over the course of a 24-hour period, defeating Nadia Podoroska and Storm Sanders on Saturday, then taking out Yuan Yue 6-4/6-2 in a noon-starting final on Sunday.

Townsend will jump 55 spots in the rankings on Monday, to #131.
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FRESH FACE: Polina Kudermetova/RUS
...while she awaits her chance to rank high enough to finally get to play doubles on the tour level with her sister Veronika, 19-year old Polina is making things happen on the ITF circuit.

In Istanbul, Kudermetova picked up her sixth career singles title, third in' 22, with a 6-3/6-1 win in the final over Tatiana Barkova to claim the week's $25K crown. Polina will move up to a new career high of #236 next week.

Meanwhile...


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ITF PLAYERS: Jasmine Paolini/ITA and Petra Marcinko/CRO
...Martina Trevisan may be the top-ranked Italian in '22, but Paolini continues to be the most consistent. After tour-level QF in Portoroz and Parma, and a final in Cluj-Napoca, the 26-year old claimed her second career $100K challenger crown (in '21, she won tour-level Portoroz and the Bol 125) in Les Franqueses del Vallès (ESP) after running off wins over Kamilla Rakhimova, Rebeka Masarova, Erika Andreeva and Kateryna Baindl in a 6-4/6-4 final.

The win will push Paolini up to #60, moving her past Camila Giorgi to be the #3-ranked Italian (w/ a one-spot lead over Tampico 125 champ Elisabetta Cocciaretto). Just ahead of both woman is ITA #2 Lucia Bronzetti at #60.



In Poitiers, France, '22 AO junior champ Marcinko claimed her biggest career title in the $80K challenger. The 16-year old Croatian advanced to her biggest final when Dane Clara Tauson retired from their semifinal contest, then won a 6-3/7-6 affair in the final over Ysaline Bonaventure.

While Marcinko will achieve her maiden Top 200 ranking with the win, Bonaventure (a $60K finalist last week, and Tallinn 250 quarterfinalist in September) will crack the Top 100 for the first time.


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JUNIOR STARS: Elena Pridankina/RUS and Lucciana Pérez Alarcón/PER
...in an all-17 year old match-up in Sharm El Sheikh, Hordette Pridankina prevailed over fellow Russian Anastasiia Gureva in a 6-7(5)/6-4/7-6(2) final, claiming her third pro crown and improving to 24-4 in pro events this season.

Gureva had been attempting to win back-to-back challenger titles.

On the junior circuit, with no J1 events this week, one turns to the J2 Copa Argentina event, where 17-year old Peruvian Pérez Alarcón claimed her biggest career title. The #41-ranked girl defeated top seed Luciana Moyano (#15; and a previous J1 champ in '22) in three sets in the final. The two combined to take home the doubles championship.

This is certainly a better memory for Pérez Alarcón than the one she took home from Wimbledon, where she dropped her 1st Round match to Ella Seidel after having held 10 MP.
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DOUBLES: Tereza Mihalikova/Aldila Sutjiadi, SVK/INA
...2022 has been a breakout season for Sutjiadi, as the 27-year old Indonesian has picked up her maiden tour title (in Bogota), and reached another final, won a $100K crown (Charleston) and this week grabbed her first career WTA 125 crown while partnering Mihalikova.

The #1-seeds, they knocked off fourth-seeded Friedsam/N.Kichenok in the semis, then handled Ashlyn Krueger/Elli Mandlik in straights in the final. Sutjiadi has reached five WTA/WTA 125 finals since July of last year.

For Mihalikova, it was her third career WTA 125 win (to go along w/ a tour-level win in Portoroz last year), and her second this season.


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1. Tampico 125 Final - Elisabetta Cocciaretto def. Magda Linette
...7-6(5)/4-6/6-1. 2022 has seen numerous career jumps from the Italian ranks, but Cocciaretto's win is just the third by an Italian woman this season above the ITF challenger level.

Martina Trevisan won the nation's lone tour-level crown in Rabat, while Sara Errani claimed a 125 this summer.


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2. Tampico 125 1st Rd. - Renata Zarazua def. Genie Bouchard
...7-5/1-6/7-5. An uneven match for Bouchard, who falls to 6-8 in '22.

The Canadian led 5-2 in the 1st, only to see Zarazua run off five straight games to take the opener. Bouchard then won five straight games in the 2nd to even match, and led 3-1 in the 3rd, having pushed her game streak to seven and eight of nine. But the Mexican surged last, taking the set at 7-5.


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3. Tampico 125 2nd Rd. - Elisabetta Cocciaretto def. Marie Bouzkova 2-6/6-3/7-5
Tampico 125 QF - Elisabetta Cocciaretto def. Camila Osorio 4-6/7-6(5)/6-2
...back-to-back comeback wins for the Italian, who rallied from 2-0 back in the 3rd against Guadalajara semifinalist Bouzkova, then from 6-4/2-0 against Osorio a round later.


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4. $25K Tmava SVK Final - Vera Lapko def. Lucie Havlickova
...4-6/7-6(1)/6-2. 17-year old Havlickova, the girls' RG champ and U.S. Open finalist, reaches her first pro singles final. She came within two points of a straight sets win at 5-4 in the 2nd, but sees Lapko ('16 AO Jr. champ) surge back to claim her seventh career ITF crown, and first since 2018.
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5. $60K Toronto CAN Final - Robin Anderson def. Jang Su-jeong
...6-2/6-4. Anderson, now 29, wins her second $60K challenger title of the season, tying her win in Orlando in May for the biggest title of her pro career.
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1. Tampico 125 QF - Rebecca Marino def. Leylah Fernandez
...6-3/6-3. Later teammates. First opponents.

In their first career meeting, Marino won the all-Canadian battle, putting yet another stamp on a successful comeback campaign.

Of course, all things being equal, Fernandez would surely prefer to be in Fort Worth rather than Tampico at this time of year. But after defending her Monterrey title in February, then reaching the Indian Wells Round of 16 and Roland Garros QF in the spring, the 20-year old's season prospects were essentially thwarted by a broken foot that caused her to miss the grass season and see her hard court summer be a slow-going affair. Fernandez came into Tampico having gone 2-5 since Paris, including a 1st Round loss in her U.S. Open return, so her two additional wins this week amount to her best post-injury result over the nearly three month period since her early August return.


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2. Tampico 125 1st Rd. - Magda Linette def. Bianca Fernandez
...6-3/6-0. After qualifiying to reach the MD of her biggest career event, the 18-year old sister (world #806) of Leylah falls to the eventual finalist.
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It'd be funny if he ended up being Coach of the Year, wouldn't it? He's surely on the short list (w/ David Witt and a few others).

It's hard to believe anything other than Papa Garcia likely having had *something* to do with Perret feeling the need to walk away, right? Sigh.

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As someone says in the comment thread here, bigger doesn't mean better. The reason Hopman Cup worked was because it wasn't some sprawling, multi-city, overstuffed money-grab. It was a more intimately-set event, w/ a small field (8 teams of 2) that stressed the *fun* over stakes, making it something of a "welcome to the new season" get-together. This seems very opposite of that.

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So does this mean we're going to have to go through all that U.S. Open BS again?














The story of Hazel Scott.








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*2022 WTA TITLES (WS-WD-MX) by NATION *
21 - USA (6-14-1)
15 - CZE (6-9-0)
10 - POL (8-2-0)
10 - AUS (2-7-1)
8 - FRA (3-4-1)

*WTA TOP 10 SINGLES RANKING HISTORY - USSR/RUS*
1975 Olga Morozova (USSR)
1988 Natasha Zvereva (USSR; later BLR)
1998 Anna Kournikova
2001 Elena Dementieva
2003 Anastasia Myskina
2004 Nadia Petrova
2004 Svetlana Kuznetsova
2004 Maria Sharapova
2004 Vera Zvonareva
2006 Dinara Safina
2007 Anna Chakvetadze
2013 Maria Kirilenko
2015 Ekaterina Makarova
2018 Dasha Kasatkina
2022 Veronika Kudermetova

*2022 $100K FINALS*
Palm Harbor, USA - Katie Volynets/USA d. Wang Xiyu/CHN
Charleston USA - Taylor Townsend/USA d. Wang Xiyu/CHN
Wiesbaden, GER - Danka Kovinic/MNE d. Nastasja Schunk/GER
Bonita Springs, USA - Gabriela Talaba Lee/ROU d. Katarzyna Kawa/POL
La Bisbal d'Emporda, ESP - Wang Xinyu/CHN d. Erika Andreeva/RUS
Surbiton, GBR - Alison Van Uytvanck/BEL d. Arina Rodionova/AUS
Ilkley, GBR - Dalma Galfi/HUN d. Jodie Burrage/GBR
Charleston, USA - Carol Zhao/CAN d. Himeno Sakatsume/JPN
Versmold, GER - Linda Noskova/CZE d. Ysaline Bonaventure/BEL
Grodzisk Mazowiecki, POL - Katerina Siniakova/CZE d. Magda Linette/POL
Landisville, USA - Zhu Lin/CHN d. Elli Mandlik/USA
Les Franqueses del Vallès, ESP - Jasmine Paolini/ITA d. Kateryna Baindl/UKR

*WHEELCHAIR TENNIS MASTERS CHAMPIONS*
[singles]
1994 Monique Kalkman, NED
1995 Monique Kalkman, NED
1996 Chantal Vandierendonck, NED
1997 Maaike Smit, NED
1998 Esther Vergeer, NED
1999 Esther Vergeer, NED
2000 Esther Vergeer, NED
2001 Esther Vergeer, NED
2002 Esther Vergeer, NED
2003 Esther Vergeer, NED
2004 Esther Vergeer, NED
2005 Esther Vergeer, NED
2006 Esther Vergeer, NED
2007 Esther Vergeer, NED
2008 Esther Vergeer, NED
2009 Esther Vergeer, NED
2010 Esther Vergeer, NED
2011 Esther Vergeer, NED
2012 Jiske Griffioen, NED
2013 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2014 Aniek van Koot, NED
2015 Jiske Griffioen, NED
2016 Jiske Griffioen, NED
2017 Diede de Groot, NED
2018 Diede de Groot, NED
2019 Diede de Groot, NED
2020 DNP
2021 Diede de Groot, NED
2022 ?
[doubles]
2000 Daniela di Toro/Maaike Smit (AUS/NED)
2001 Maaike Smit/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2002 Maaike Smit/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2003 Maaike Smit/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2004 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2005 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2006 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2007 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2008 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2009 Korie Homan/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2010 Aniek van Koot/Sharon Walraven (NED/NED)
2011 Esther Vergeer/Sharon Walraven (NED/NED)
2012 Jiske Griffioen/Aniek van Koot (NED/NED)
2013 Yui Kamiji/Jordanne Whiley (JPN/GBR)
2014 Yui Kamiji/Jordanne Whiley (JPN/GBR)
2015 Jiske Griffioen/Aniek van Koot (NED/NED)
2016 Diede de Groot/Lucy Shuker (NED/GBR)
2017 Marjolein Buis/Diede de Groot (NED/NED)
2018 Marjolein Buis/Aniek Van Koot (NED/NED)
2019 Diede de Groot/Aniek Van Koot (NED/NED)
2020 DNP
2021 Diede de Groot/Aniek Van Koot (NED/NED)
2022 ?

*RECENT JUNIOR FED CUP/BJK CUP FINALS [16s]*
2000 CZE d. HUN
2001 CZE d. POL
2002 BLR d. CZE
2003 NED d. CAN
2004 ARG d. CAN
2005 POL d. FRA
2006 BLR d. RUS
2007 AUS d. POL
2008 USA d. GBR
2009 RUS d. GER
2010 RUS d. CHN
2011 AUS d. CAN
2012 USA d. RUS
2013 RUS d. AUS
2014 USA d. SVK
2015 CZE d. USA
2016 POL d. USA
2017 USA d. JPN
2018 USA d. UKR
2019 USA d. CZE
2020 DNP
2021 CZE d. JPN
2022 ?

=MOST WTA CHAMPIONSHIP/WTAF TITLES=
8 - Martina Navratilova
5 - Serena Williams
5 - Steffi Graf
4 - Chris Evert
3 - Kim Clijsters
3 - Monica Seles
2 - Gabriela Sabatini
2 - Martina Hingis
2 - Justine Henin
2 - Evonne Goolagong
-
*-active ("definitively")

=MOST WTA CHAMPIONSHIP/WTAF FINALS=
14 - Martina Navratilova (8-6)
8 - Chris Evert (4-4)
7 - Serena Williams (5-2)
6 - Steffi Graf (5-1)
4 - Lindsay Davenport (1-3)
4 - Monica Seles (3-1)
4 - Martina Hingis (2-2)
4 - Gabriela Sabatini (2-2)
3 - Kim Clijsters (3-0)
3 - Evonne Goolagong (2-1)
3 - Amelie Mauresmo (1-2)
3 - Maria Sharapova (1-2)
3 - Venus Williams (1-2)*
2 - Justine Henin (2-0)
2 - Tracy Austin (1-1)
2 - Petra Kvitova (1-1)*
2 - Elina Svitolina (1-1)*
2 - Caroline Wozniacki (1-1)
2 - Mary Pierce (0-2)

=REACHED FINAL IN WTA CHAMPIONSHIP/WTAF DEBUT=
1979 Tracy Austin, USA
1981 Andrea Jaeger, USA
1994 Lindsay Davenport, USA
1996 Martina Hingis, SUI
2001 Serena Williams, USA (W)
2004 Maria Sharapova, RUS (W)
2011 Petra Kvitova, CZE (W)
2014 Simona Halep, ROU
2016 Dominika Cibulkova, SVK (W)
2018 Sloane Stephens, USA
2019 Ash Barty, AUS (W)
2021 Anett Kontaveit, EST

=MOST WTA CHAMPIONSHIP/WTAF WD TITLES=
11 - Martina Navratilova
10 - Pam Shriver
4 - Lisa Raymond
3 - Timea Babos*
3 - Cara Black
3 - Lindsay Davenport
3 - Martina Hingis
3 - Liebel Huber
3 - Natasha Zvereva
2 - Margaret Court
2 - Gigi Fernandez
2 - Anna Kournikova
2 - Sania Mirza*
2 - Kristina Mladenovic*
2 - Jana Novotna
2 - Nadia Petrova
2 - Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
2 - Samantha Stosur*

=WTA CHAMPIONSHIP/WTAF WS FINALS=
1972 Chris Evert d. Kerry Reid
1973 Chris Evert d.Nancy Richey
1974 Evonne Goolagong d. Chris Evert
1975 Chris Evert d. Martina Navratilova
1976 Evonne Goolagong d. Chris Evert
1977 Chris Evert d. Sue Barker
1978 Martina Navratilova d. Evonne Goolagong
1979 Martina Navratilova d. Tracy Austin
1980 Tracy Austin d. Martina Navratilova
1981 Martina Navratilova d. Andrea Jaeger
1982 Sylvia Hanika d. Martina Navratilova
1983 Martina Navratilova d. Chris Evert-Lloyd
1984 Martina Navratilova d. Chris Evert-Lloyd
1985 Martina Navratilova d. Helena Sukova
1986a Martina Navratilova d. Hana Mandlikova
1986b Martina Navratilova d. Steffi Graf
1987 Steffi Graf d. Gabriela Sabatini
1988 Gabriela Sabatini d. Pam Shriver
1989 Steffi Graf d. Martina Navratilova
1990 Monica Seles d. Gabriela Sabatini
1991 Monica Seles d. Martina Navratilova
1992 Monica Seles d. Martina Navratilova
1993 Steffi Graf d. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
1994 Gabriela Sabatini d. Lindsay Davenport
1995 Steffi Graf d. Anke Huber
1996 Steffi Graf d. Martina Hingis
1997 Jana Novotna d. Mary Pierce
1998 Martina Hingis d. Lindsay Davenport
1999 Lindsay Davenport d. Martina Hingis
2000 Martina Hingis d. Monica Seles
2001 Serena Williams w/o Lindsay Davenport
2002 Kim Clijsters d. Serena Williams
2003 Kim Clijsters d. Amelie Mauresmo
2004 Maria Sharapova d. Serena Williams
2005 Amelie Mauresmo d. Mary Pierce
2006 Justine Henin-Hardenne d. Amelie Mauresmo
2007 Justine Henin d. Maria Sharapova
2008 Venus Williams d. Vera Zvonareva
2009 Serena Williams d. Venus Williams
2010 Kim Clijsters d. Caroline Wozniacki
2011 Petra Kvitova d. Victoria Azarenka
2012 Serena Williams d. Maria Sharapova
2013 Serena Williams d. Li Na
2014 Serena Williams d. Simona Halelp
2015 Aga Radwanska d. Petra Kvitova
2016 Dominika Cibulkova d. Angelique Kerber
2017 Caroline Wozniacki d. Venus Williams
2018 Elina Svitolina d. Sloane Stephens
2019 Ash Barty d. Elina Svitolina
2021 Garbine Muguruza d. Anett Kontaveit

=WTA CHAMPIONSHIP/WTAF WD CHAMPIONS=
1973 Rosie Casals / Margaret Court
1974 Billie Jean King / Rosie Casals
1979 Francoise Durr / Betty Stove
1980 Billie Jean King / Martina Navratilova
1981 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1982 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1983 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1984 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1985 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1986a Hana Mandlikova / Wendy Turnbull
1986b Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1987 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1988 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1989 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1990 Kathy Jordan / Liz Smylie
1991 Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1992 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario / Helena Sukova
1993 Gigi Fernandez / Natalia Zvereva
1994 Gigi Fernandez / Natalia Zvereva
1995 Jana Novotna / Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
1996 Lindsay Davenport / Mary Joe Fernandez
1997 Lindsay Davenport / Jana Novotna
1998 Lindsay Davenport / Natasha Zvereva
1999 Martina Hingis / Anna Kournikova
2000 Martina Hingis / Anna Kournikova
2001 Lisa Raymond / Rennae Stubbs
2002 Elena Dementieva / Janette Husarova
2003 Virginia Ruano-Pascual / Paola Suarez
2004 Nadia Petrova / Meghann Shaughnessy
2005 Lisa Raymond / Samantha Stosur
2006 Lisa Raymond / Samantha Stosur
2007 Cara Black / Liezel Huber
2008 Cara Black / Liezel Huber
2009 Nuria Llagostera-Vives / Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez
2010 Gisela Dulko / Flavia Pennetta
2011 Liezel Huber / Lisa Raymond
2012 Maria Kirilenko / Nadia Petrova
2013 Hsieh Su-Wei / Peng Shuai
2014 Cara Black / Sania Mirza
2015 Martina Hingis / Sania Mirza
2016 Ekaterina Makarova / Elena Vesnina
2017 Timea Babos / Andrea Hlavackova
2018 Timea Babos / Kristina Mladenovic
2019 Timea Babos / Kristina Mladenovic
2021 Barbora Krejcikova / Katerina Siniakova






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Well, at least until the wrong people get into office who'll decide to throw out the votes for the winning candidates because they don't like who they were cast for. But until then -- which might be as soon as January all over the country -- well, yeah, that's true.

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As questionable as he was in so many other respects, Jerry Lee Lewis was undoubtably a one-of-a-kind performer...






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All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 6:06 PM 

6 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Todd, what is your posting schedule for next week? WTAF ends on Monday, BJK Cup starts on Tuesday.

Garcia continues the trend of having a career year and splitting with their coach. Andreescu, Cristian, Raducanu also made switches, plus an earlier one that I missed in Dehaies moving from Juvan to Mertens.

Stat of the Week- 7- Common events played by the Elite Eight.

With the Wimbledon ban, along with Jabeur missing Australia, those events are Doha, IW, Miami, RG, Toronto, Cincy, USO.

Most Points in Common Events:

7110- Swiatek
2296- Gauff
1905- Pegula
1886- Garcia
1736- Jabeur
1575- Sabalenka
1256- Sakkari
972 - Kasatkina

Last year's finalists were the bottom 2.

Last 10 Events:

7415- Swiatek
3731- Jabeur
3325- Pegula
2721- Gauff
2548- Garcia
2097- Sabalenka
1130- Sakkari
1038- Kasatkina

Even with Kontaveit's run last year, the fact that it was so heavily weighted to 250 events meant that she was 7th. Muguruza was last.

One thing before the next post, Badosa affected the Top 10 numbers more than anybody except Swiatek.

Mon Oct 31, 07:05:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Quiz Time!

Betty Stove won WTAF doubles 3 times. Which player did she fail to win with?

A.Francoise Durr
B.Jo Durie
C.Billie Jean King
D.Martina Navratilova

Interlude- Pride and Breadjudice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uCeeVl_He4

Betty Stove was a 5 time finalist. So the easiest way to knock out somebody is an award. (D)Navratilova/Stove won the first doubles team award in 1977, and they walked away with the title that same season.

Although the first event for singles was played in 1972, doubles did not debut until 1973. (A)Durr/Stove reached the final and lost, as they would also do in 1974, before winning in 1979 vs Ann Kiyomura/Sue Barker.

As you know, I normally have a theme, so (C)King/Stove is wrong as they won in 1976 over Kiyomura/Mona Guerrant.

This makes the last Brit to reach the final in (B)Durie correct. She did reach the final in 1984, but lost. Her partner? Ann Kiyomura.

Fun fact: Kiyomura won one doubles slam w/Kazuko Sawamatsu. 1975 Wimbledon. Would you believe that it was against Stove/Durr?

Mon Oct 31, 07:20:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

8 On the Up Side- Singles Edition.

Listed are names, titles, record vs Top 10, player to avoid.

1.Swiatek-8, 12-1. Could it be anybody else. Having a dominant season like Serena or Martina, she is the heavy favorite even with the US Open balls being used here. Player to avoid- Sakkari 2-3.
2.Pegula- 1, 3-9. She hasn't won a slam. Neither did Svitolina. But the 2 time winner on tour beat Swiatek en route to her Washington title in 2019. She would have to do it again to walk away with the title here. Player to avoid- Swiatek 1-4.
3.Sabalenka-0, 2-5. If you go strictly by H2H, she reaches SF. Even with the lowest number of wins on hard(17), the fact that she is not in Swiatek's group, plus in a group with another title-less player in Sakkari, makes her my surprise SF pick. Player to avoid- Swiatek 1-4.
4.Gauff-0, 3-8. 0-4 vs Swiatek, so expected to have at least 1 loss. Numbers don't project well, but in a group with struggling players. Player to avoid- Swiatek 0-4.
5.Kasatkina-2, 5-8. Hasn't closed as strong as one would like. 10 of 24 wins on hard were in Granby and San Jose, so there is concern if she can step up. Player to avoid- Swiatek 1-4.
6.Jabeur-2, 1-5. Lower than you would think. Should be rested as Monastir is the only event played since US Open. Also a reminder that her titles this year are on clay and grass, leaving with the second lowest amount(18) of wins on hard. Player to avoid- Pegula 2-3.
7.Garcia-3, 4-3. 13 of those 21 wins on hard were her Cincy/US run. Did not look impressive down the stretch, and coaching change leaves even more questions. Every projection has her 1-2 at best. Player to avoid- Jabeur 0-3.
8.Sakkari- 0, 1-5. All of her numbers are bad. Give her credit for getting here in a year that has tailed off since March. Would break Hanika's record if she won title. Hanika win was her 4th career title, this would be Sakkari's 2nd. Also, that title was a 250, which would put her in Cibulkova territory. Fun fact: Cibulkova's WTAF win was her final title. Player to avoid- Kasatkina 1-4.

Mon Oct 31, 07:49:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

8 On the Up Side- Doubles Edition.

Listed are titles, record, record vs field.

1.Krejcikova/Siniakova- 3, 25-4(5-1). The big bad. The defending champs. The overwhelming favorites even though they lost their last match. The other curious thing is their prep, as Siniakova played in Mexico last week.
2.Gauff/Pegula-3, 22-6(6-3). Kind of a part time team, they project as the second best team here even with Krejcikova/Siniakova in their bracket. The red flag is how will singles affect their doubles?
3.Danilina/Haddad Maia- 1, 21-22(4-2). Sneaky good year. On the side of the bracket expected to need tiebreakers. Has played well in bigger events. Probably happy with surface as 20 of 21 wins were on hard.
4.Kudermetova/Mertens-1, 26-11(5-4). Wouldn't be a surprise to see them win this. Solid team that goes deep in events.
5.Kichenok/Ostapenko- 2, 34-14(4-6). Results slated toward other surfaces as they have more wins off hard than any others. Also a reason why their results have tailed off lately. Still could get in by tiebreakers.
6.Xu/Yang- 2, 31-17(4-6). Following Martina's lead, it is only fitting that we have a lefty here. Xu, along with Haddad Maia and Krawczyk, keep that tradition going. May not be an elite team, but earned their spot.
7.Krawczyk/Schuurs- 1, 30-15(2-5). Schuurs is the lowest ranked woman here at 21. Sanders is 8, but played with 7 different women, including participants Siniakova and Kichenok. Fun Fact: Sanders won her first event of the season with Barty, and her last with Stefani. On the side of the bracket with both super teams, not expected to do well.
8.Dabrowski/Olmos- 2, 36-18(3-6). Every year, there is a team that makes it because of the amount they play. Most wins in the field. Most losses in the field. Lowest winning pct against the field. Numbers look bad, but tip a cap to them. They won, so unlike singles, every team in the event has a title. Also, Dabrowski qualified for last year's event but could not play due to Stefani's injury, so she probably appreciated the trip. That also applies to Gauff, who made it with McNally as a replacement before McNally's withdrawal. Numbers project 1-2 at best.

Mon Oct 31, 08:16:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Diane said...

Isn't it interesting that they named the event the BJK Cup at the same time that they destroyed it? I don't even care anymore. I'm going to watch the WTA Finals, but I don't want to; the selection of Texas as a venue is more than I can take.

Laura Branigan had such a wonderful voice. I'll never understand how someone can have severe headaches for weeks and not see a doctor.

Mon Oct 31, 10:00:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

C-

Hmm, since I'm probably going to be picking BJK (the 8 Playoff ties, definitely, and I *guess* SF/F in the Finals), I'll probably put up a post for everything but the WTAF on Sunday (and there's a lot, including a 125, the WC Masters and BJK Jr. finals), then something to wrap the WTAF on Mon/Tues.

The Garcia thing is not good, especially the way it seems to have happened.

Quiz: went with Durie. Yes!

Hmm, might Jabeur's highlight of the week end up being her "sneak attack" on Iga?


D-

Yeah, that's why I'm a little non-committal about picking the Finals. I still enjoy the lead-up, but hate the Final event concept. The best-of-3 s/d format cheapens it quite a bit. Depth means nothing and, as I said last year, there's really hardly a need for a Captain w/ one-day ties. The Qualifiers and next week's Playoffs at least hold to the past tie format that produces a more legit winner.

I was going to include Branigan's version of "Power of Love". You generally associate it with other singers (ex: Celine Dion), but she had the voice to blow it out, too.

Tue Nov 01, 05:55:00 PM EDT  

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