Sunday, February 19, 2023

Wk.7- Baking Up an Iga's Dozen

Everyone else went to Doha to play in the desert cold and wind. Iga Swiatek went to produce and sell baked goods.







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*WEEK 7 CHAMPIONS*
DOHA, QATAR (WTA 500/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Iga Swiatek/POL def. Jessie Pegula/USA 6-3/6-0
D: Coco Gauff/Jessie Pegula (USA/USA) def. Lyudmyla Kichenok/Alona Ostapenko (UKR/LAT) 6-4/2-6 [10-7]




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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Iga Swiatek/POL
...over the opening month of 2023, Swiatek gave the rest of the tour some hope. She lost twice, in United Cup play (to Jessie Pegula) and then again in the Australian Open Round of 16 (to Elena Rybakina). Aryna Sabalenka won her maiden slam, with Rybakina reaching the final. Suddenly, the door seemed ajar for someone -- maybe more than one -- to challenge the #1-ranked Pole's position atop and ahead of the field this season. Maybe Swiatek wasn't going to be quite *as* dominant in '23 as '22. I mean, how could she be, right?

Well, with one week in Doha, Iga served notice. In other words, don't speak so soon.

In the first title defense in '23 of any of the eight singles crowns she won a season ago, Swiatek smothered the field in Doha, where she began her 37-match winning streak a year ago. She allowed just five games en route to the title, the 12th of her WTA career. Sure, she got a 1st Round bye and QF walkover (from Abu Dhabi champ Belinda Bencic), but still. We've seen *this* Iga before. The master baker with a flair for delivering bagels and breadsticks to opponents while maintaining a humble disposition and a kind word for all.

Swiatek burst out of the gates in her first post-AO event, allowing 1 game to Danielle Collins, then (rested after getting to skip the QF round) just one to Veronika Kudermetova to reach her 14th career final. There, in cold and windy conditions, Pegula put up a fight in the 1st set, but once Swiatek got her clutches into the match she only squeezed tighter as things went along. After allowing an "unforgivable" three games in the 1st set, she served up a bagel in the 2nd.

Now 9-2 on the season, Swiatek is just weeks away from the defense of the first leg of the "Sunshine Double" combo in Indian Wells and Miami that christened her elevation to the world #1 position after Ash Barty's immediate retirement last spring. First, though, will be the second leg of a possible "Desert Double" in Dubai.

Just to make a note now, the last woman to sweep the two titles was Justine Henin in 2007 (w/ Martina Hingis in '01 the only other to pull off the feat).

Meanwhile, following the final, the post-match ceremony saw the Doha trophy pretty much openly mock its pedestrian (at best) Linz counterpart from a week ago.


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RISERS: Jessie Pegula/USA, Veronika Kudermetova/RUS and Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA
...until faced with a task too big to conquer (aka Iga), Pegula more than proved her resilience in Doha.

In her first post-AO tournament, and first since her public comments about her mother's health scare, Pegula defeated three straight Top 20 opponents on her way to her sixth career tour final (and second in her last four events, 3/5 w/ the United Cup team event), saving a pair of MP against Alona Ostapenko, then handling Beatriz Haddad Maia in straights and Maria Sakkari in three (from a set down).

Five weeks after upsetting #1 Iga Swiatek in the United Cup semis, Pegula played even with the Pole through 3/4 of the 1st set, but then Swiatek pulled away (as she does) and shut her out in the 2nd.

Pegula will return to #3 (flipping spots w/ the idle -- but not for much longer -- Ons Jabeur) on Monday, one better than her WD standing after she and Coco Gauff successfully defended their Doha doubles crown.



Meanwhile, four woman have reached multiple singles SF through the first seven weeks of 2023. Two of them, Aryna Sabalenka and Belinda Bencic, has picked up two titles each. The other two, V.Kudermetova and Maria Sakkari, have yet to reach a final this season.

Kudermetova's Doha run included a clutch deciding TB win over Barbora Krejcikova after the Hordette had squandered both a set lead and 4-1 edge in the 3rd. She followed up with wins over Bannerettes Sofia Kenin and Coco Gauff, the latter with another 3rd set victory (at love, improving Kudermetova's 3-set mark in '23 to 4-1), but joined the crowd in getting served a bagel (and a breadstick, too) in the semis vs. Swiatek.

The loss is Kudermetova's fifth straight in a singles semi (not counting her SF walkover to Belinda Bencic in Adelaide 2 last month), and leaves her still on the outside looking in at the Top 10. The Hordette will remain at #11 on Monday, less than 250 points behind #10 Elena Rybakina. Kudermetova ranked as high as #9 until falling out of the Top 10 following the Australian Open.



A week after a SF run in Abu Dhabi that included a win over #10 Rybakina, Haddad Maia reached the QF in Doha after adding two more Top 20 victims to her '23 ledger, #20 Paula Badosa and #8 Dasha Kasatina. Against Kasatkina, the Brazilian saved 3 SP in the 2nd to avoid going three. She went out in straights to #4 Jessie Pegula, but Haddad Maia still stands at 7-2 in her last nine outings vs. Top 10 players.

Haddad Maia will remain at her career high of #12 heading into Week 8.


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SURPRISE: Viktoriya Tomova/BUL
...Tomova continued her qualifying tear this weekend, as the 27-year old #100-ranked Bulgarian followed up her Q-runs in Linz and Doha with another in Dubai.

In Linz, she advanced with wins over Barbara Haas and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, but lost in the 1st Round to Marketa Vondrousova. She followed up in Doha with a trio of Top 100 wins over Maryna Zanevska, Lauren Davis (rallying from 6-3/5-3 to force a 3rd, where Davis retired) and Madison Brengle. She won just one game vs. Belinda Bencic in the 1st Round.

In Dubai, Tomova reached the MD, her third at a 1000 event in her career, with wins over Ankita Raina and Jang Su-jeong. 0-2 in 1000 MD, she notched her first career victory on Sunday over Kaia Kanepi.



Tomova rises to #98 in the new rankings, within sight of her career high (#89) from last October.
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VETERAN: Yanina Wickmayer/BEL
...Wickmayer added another good week to her comeback after giving birth to a daughter in 2021. In the Altenkirchen $60K challenger in Germany, the 33-year old Waffle claimed the doubles crown alongside Greet Minnen (who was also a singles finalist), defeating Brits Freya Christie & Ali Collins 1 & 3. It's Wickmayer's second straight WD win, following up her $40K title run last week with Celine Naef.

Since returning to the tennis tour, former U.S. Open singles semifinalist (2009) Wickmayer has picked up a tour-level WD crown ('22 Seoul), a $40K singles title (in January) and last summer at Wimbledon (as a qualifier) posted her first MD win (def. Zhu Lin) in a major since 2019.
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COMEBACKS: Maria Sakkari/GRE and Sofia Kenin/USA
...Sakkari reached her second straight semifinal, but showed herself to be no worse for wear after her most recent SF defeat (vs. Martic) in Linz. In fact, she posted impressive three set wins in Doha over Zheng Qinwen and Caroline Garcia around a straight sets victory against Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Sakkari fell once again in another SF, to Jessie Pegula in three sets, dropping her to 7-19 in career WTA semis, and 8-25 in SF/W matches. That said, her 4-9 run in SF/W since early '22 is far better than the previous 1-12 stretch she'd encountered after winning her lone tour title in Rabat in '19.

Meanwhile, Kenin's 6-3/6-1 win over Abu Dhabi finalist Liudmila Samsonova in Doha handed the Hordette her third and fourth consecutive sets lost following her three-set defeat at the hands of Belinda Bencic last weekend.

For #210-ranked wild card Kenin, it was her first Top 20 win since a semfinal victory over Petra Kvitova to reach the Roland Garros final in 2020. Kenin will jump 35 spots on Monday, back inside the Top 200 (#175) for the first time since last June.



In early Sunday play in Dubai, Kenin lost to Maria Bouzkova in a 1st Round match-up.
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FRESH FACE: Carole Monnet/FRA
...21-year old UKR-born Pastry Monnet took the $25K Santo Domingo challenger crown in the Dominican Republic, defeating Latvian Darja Semenistaja in three sets to finally put a blemish on the 20-year old's previously spotless record (11-0) in pro singles finals.

It's Monnet's eighth career ITF win. Last year, she made her slam debut in Paris as a wild card at Roland Garros, falling to Karolina Muchova in two.


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DOWN: Danielle Collins/USA
...after opening with a win over Elise Mertens, Collins (not that she was alone here) got just one game off Iga Swiatek a round later.

The week left Collins at 5-5 on the season, one in which three (so far) other U.S. women have claimed WTA singles titles, and she'll enter Week 8 at #40 after climbing as high as #7 in '22 and ending the season at #14.

She's been the victim of several bad draws, falling early twice to Elena Rybakina (Adelaide 1 1r, and then 3r in her AO finalist run defense) before facing the world #1 early in the week this time around.



Collins is already out in Dubai, as well, falling under .500 in '23 after falling vs. Czech Crusher Linda Fruhvirtova on Sunday.

Somewhat "better" news seemingly awaits Collins, though. Her last QF+ result in a 1000+ event to defend this season will come in Miami, though she *did* post a SF in San Diego and Round of 16 at the U.S. Open last summer.
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ITF PLAYER: Clara Tauson/DEN
...in Altenkirchen, Germany, a healthy Tauson continued her climb back up the rankings. The 20-year old Dane followed up her Linz QF by claiming the $60K challenger title with weekend wins over Jaqueline Cristian (SF) and Greet Minnen, ending the Waffle's 14-match ITF winning streak with a three-hour, three-set victory in the final.

It's Tauson's 11th career ITF title to go along with her two tour-level wins and a 125 (all three in '21). She'll be back up to #113 in the new rankings. The Dane was at #33 last February.


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JUNIOR STARS: Lucciana Perez Alarcon/PER and Federica Urgesi/ITA
...a week after stopping Iva Jovic's 14-match J300 winning streak, Perez Alarcon extended her own at the Inka Bowl in Peru, winning her second straight J300 title. With a winning streak of 10 matches, she's gone 13-1 in her last three events.

LPA defeated Bannerette Kaitlin Quevedo in a 7-5/6-4 singles final, and the two teamed to take home the doubles crown.

A girls' doubles winner at the Australian Open last month, Urgesi picked up her biggest junior singles crown at the J300 event in Cairo. The 18-year old Italian, the #1 seed, defeated Hordette Anastasiia Guereva in a 3rd set TB to claim the title.


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DOUBLES: Coco Gauff/Jessie Pegula, USA/USA
...Pegula's singles (RU) results outdistanced those of Gauff (QF) in Doha, but the top-seeded Bannerette duo joined forces to win the Friday doubles final, defending their '22 Doha crown via a 10-7 MTB win in the final over #2 seeds Lyudmyla Kichenok & Alona Ostapenko. It's the fourth win for Gauff/Pegula together, and Gauff's 7th and Pegula's 6th career title.

The pair had reached the final without dropping a set, defeating #4 Olmos/Zhang in the semis.



A week after Nadiia Kichenok's loss in the Linz final had failed to break the eight career title tie between the sisters, Lyudmyla's runner-up finish this week repeated the scenario. This time there wasn't a big elephant to hug to make it all better, though.
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WHEELCHAIR: Diede de Groot/NED
...make it 84 straight wins for Diede the Great.

In Rotterdam in her home nation of the Netherlands, de Groot once more swept through the competition to take home both the singles and doubles titles. Once again, though, it wasn't an open-and-shut case in the singles final vs. Yui Kamiji.

As she did in Melbourne, and in all three of their meetings this season, the world #2 claimed the 1st set. It wasn't because of woeful serving numbers from de Groot, either. De Groot wasn't at the top of her game in the opening set, but Kamiji's return game and defense consistently put de Groot in bad positions, often leading to unforced errors. Kamiji had an opening to grab a lead early in the 2nd and apply a bit more pressure, but de Groot righted herself in time and won 3-6/6-4/6-2 to claim her 22nd consecutive singles title dating back to the '21 Australian Open.

Kamiji's two singles wins on the week improved her winning streak vs. everyone *but* de Groot to 50 (55-1 in 2022-23), but her loss in the final was her 18th straight to de Groot (1-19 in 2021-23).

The doubles title went to de Groot and Aniek Van Koot, but they only had to play one match (the final) to get it as the competition was, as de Groot put it, a little "different" at this event. There'd been four teams in the original draw, but both SF were pushed to singles final day. #2-seeded Kamiji & Jiske Griffioen didn't play their post-singles final semi vs. Cornelia Oosthuizen/Lucy Shuker, and the #1-seeded Dutch team (after originally having opponents in the draw, they were later shown with a SF bye) ended up playing the only remaining team in the final.

De Groot/Van Koot won 6-0/6-0.

This was the inaugural women's competition in the ABN AMRO wheelchair event after years of hosting the men, a change spearheaded by tournament director Esther Vergeer, who had quite the busy day. Not only was she present for and participated in the finals' trophy ceremonies...



But she was also honored earlier in the day with an on-court ceremony during which it was announced that... (drumroll)... she'd been (finally!) elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
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1. Doha 2nd Rd. - Jessie Pegula def. Alona Ostapenko
...6-2/2-6/7-5. So, when Ostapenko fell behind 4-0 in the 1st, and lost the set 6-2 you knew it really didn't mean anything. And then when Ostapenko took a 4-1 2nd set lead and claimed the 2nd 6-2, *then* went up 4-1 in the 3rd... you still knew it didn't *really* mean the match was decidedly in her favor.

Such is the life of an Ostapenko match.

The Latvian led 5-2, and held two MP on Pegula's serve at 5-4. On one, she netted a blazing forehand return down the line that would have ended the match had it cleared the net. But it caught the tape at the net's highest point, and Ostapenko didn't win another game as Pegula swept the final five games to advance.

Speaking of Ostapenko, here's an article full of great (and honest) Alona quotes. (NOTE: it's interesting how it mentions that she prefers "Alona" over "Jelena" yet still refers to her as Jelena throughout. Umm, okay.)



Of particular interest in *this* space, Alona *gets* the ridiculousness of players facing off while wearing the same outfits, too. Was there ever any doubt?
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2. Doha 2nd Rd. - Belinda Bencic def. Victoria Azarenka
...1-6/7-6(4)/6-4. Poor, Vika. She was so close, and yet so far.

She led Abu Dhabi champ Bencic 6-1/4-1, then held 3 BP in game 8 (a break would have seen Azarenka serve for the win at 5-3). But Bencic, still breathing the fumes of her title run of a few days earlier (during which she saved 3 MP), rallied to win a TB and force a 3rd set and then rode a game 1 break all the way to her 14th win in 16 matches this season (she's on an 18-2 run starting with last year's BJK Cup finals).

Bencic then withdrew from the event, citing fatigue. Somewhere, Vika's head landed in hand.
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3. Doha QF - Maria Sakkari def Caroline Garcia
...6-2/6-7(5)/7-6(5). After having posted 42 of her 48 career Top 10 wins since 2019, Sakkari gets her first of '23.

Even while never dropping serve in the match (saving 3 BP), but getting two keys breaks of Garcia in the 1st set (the Pastry didn't drop serve in the final two sets), Sakkari *still* had to take the match in a 3rd set TB. Afterward, Sakkari chalked up the win to the bravery she showed in the deciding breaker after believing that she hadn't brought the same focus in the one that closed the 2nd.

The two combined for 73 winners (Sakkari 30, Garcia 43) in the match.


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4. Doha Final - Iga Swiatek def. Jessica Pegula
...6-3/6-0. In the same sort of cold and windy conditions that persisted all week, Swiatek (for her this week) got off to a "slow" start, dropping serve as Pegula recovered from 0-2 down to hold and even the score.

After Swiatek took a break lead in game 6, Pegula again broke back to stay on serve. But that was all she wrote, and all Pegula would get.

Swiatek wouldn't face another BP on the day. She won eight of the last nine points of the 1st set, and then bageled Pegula in the 2nd, serving out a two-deuce hold after Pegula saved three MP in the final game to keep the Bannerette off the scoreboard, defending her '22 Doha title and avenging her loss to the world #4 in the United Cup semis in the season's opening week.

Of her 18 sets won in 2023, Swiatek has handed out 4 "bagels" and 4 "breaksticks," with 3 & 2, respectively, dispensed to customers in Doha alone.


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5. Rotterdam ABN AMRO WC Open Final - Diede de Groot def. Yui Kamiji
...3-6/6-4/6-2. As noted a few times in the past, Kamiji must be having an internal battle about whether she should be encouraged by her recent matches with de Groot, or frustrated beyond all sense.

Five of the six sets dropped by de Groot in her last 168 have come vs. Kamiji, who has claimed eight of the ten she's lost since the start of '21 (the others were at the hands of Aniek Van Koot and Dana Mathewson, both two seasons ago). This was the third time in their three '23 match-ups in which Kamiji has claimed the 1st set, and the fourth time she's done so in their last five meetings (w/ the '22 U.S. Open).

After having won the 1st set of the AO Open at love as de Groot struggled with her serve, Kamiji led 4-1 here. De Groot's timing was off, and her forehand errors held her down, but Kamiji's good return game and defense showed that she's still *capable* of defeating de Groot. But de Groot hasn't won 84 straight matches by luck, and she eventually found her game and once again defeated Kamiji in three sets for her 18th straight win over the world #2.


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6. Doha Q2 - Gabriela Ruse def. Jil Teichmann
...6-7(5)/7-6(1)/6-4. Teichmann lets one slip away after leading 7-6/5-3, 40/15, holding four MP in game 9, and then getting within two points of the win (at 30/30) at 5-4.
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7. Doha Q2 - Viktoriya Tomova def. Lauren Davis
...3-6/7-6(4)/2-1 ret. Week 2 Hobart winner Davis was up a break twice in the 2nd, leading 6-3/5-3 and serving for the match at 5-4 before eventually retiring in the 3rd.

She was back in Dubai qualifying by the end of the week...
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8. Dubai Q2 - Dayana Yastremska def. Lauren Davis
...6-3/6-3. But it didn't turn out so well, either.
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9. Dubai Q2 - Rebeka Masarova def. Rebecca Marino
...4-6/6-3/7-6(5). Masarova wins the Rebeka vs. Rebecca clash.

Marino had rallied from 3-0 down in the 3rd, saving 2 BP in game 9 to lead 5-4, and held a MP on Masarova's serve a game later.

It'll be Masarova's first career appearance in a 1000 MD. In the only previous 1000 appearance of her career, she fell in the opening round of qualifying last year at Indian Wells.
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10. Dubai Q2 - Katarina Zavatska def. Stefania Bojica
...6-2/6-1. 17-year old Romanian wild card Bojica (#831) falls, but only after having scored a huge upset in the opening Q-round over #63 Danka Kovinic for her first win of any kind in WTA competition. She'd made her debut in the Abu Dhabi qualifying with a loss to Claire Liu.

If you're wondering (as I was) why a 17-year old Romanian girl got a wild card into the qualifying of a 1000 level event in Dubai. Wellll...



Here's one of those "one day I'll be playing down there" moments from a past Dubai event, with Bojica and her mother in the stands...


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11. $60K Irapuato MEX Final - Kamilla Rakhimova vs. Raluca Serban
...TBD. Sunday's final will see Rakhimova seeking her third $60K crown since August, with a return to the Top 100 (making the Hordette contingent there 10 members strong, second to only the U.S.'s group of 15).

Cypriot Serban is already assured of rising to a career high (up 30+ spots to at least #167), but a 14th career challlenger win, and at an event that would match her biggest crown to date, would be nice, too.

I'll update this after the match is completed.

UPDATE: Rakhimova won 6-0/1-6/6-2.
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12. $15K Manacor ESP Final - Rebecca Munk Mortensen/Ines Murta def. Mika Dagan Fruchtman/Shavit Kimchi
...6-0/6-3. Munk Mortensen, the 17-year old Danish junior with the great name, picks up her first career ITF doubles crown. She won her maiden pro singles crown last August in a $15K in Frederiksberg, Denmark at age 16.

Also a singles qualifier, RMM upset the #1 seed in the 1st Round. Last month, she qualified and reached the AO girls' Round of 16, losing to eventual champ Alina Korneeva.
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1. Doha 1st Rd. - Veronika Kudermetova def. Barbora Krejcikova
...6-4/3-6/7-6(5). Krejcikova pushed the deciding set to a TB after having trailed 4-1, but Kudermetova took a 6-5 lead and ultimately claimed the match via a replay overrule on MP.


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2. Doha Q3 - Karolina Pliskova def. Leylah Fernandez
...6-2/7-5. Another qualifying appearance for Pliskova, who was ranked #19 a week ago.

Her Doha Q-round wins over Ana Bogdan, Harriet Dart and Fernandez were of high enough quality that they might have gotten her into a 250 semifinal, but in this event they just set up the Czech to be knocked out in the 1st Round by Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Pliskova will be #18 on Monday, and in the Dubai MD (vs. Marketa Vondrousova) this coming week.
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Better late than never...

Meanwhile, I guess *none* of the other nominees -- Cara Black, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Ana Ivanovic, Carlos Moya, Daniel Nestor, Flavia Pennetta and Lisa Raymond -- got enough support. Eek.




Here's the initial bio listed for Vergeer on the HoF site...

"Esther Vergeer is one of the most decorated athletes in Dutch sport history as a 21-time singles Grand Slam champion, 13-time International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Champion and four-time Paralympic gold medalist in singles. For 668-uninterrupted weeks spanning from October 2000 to January 2013, she topped the world rankings, and retired with a singles winning streak of 470 victories. Vergeer’s career in doubles was equally impressive, as she won 23 Grand Slam titles and four Paralympic medals. In all, Vergeer captured 169 singles titles, 136 doubles titles, and posted a singles career winning percentage of 96 percent.

Since 2009, Vergeer has served as Tournament Director of the ABN AMRO Open’s wheelchair tennis tournament. In 2004, she launched the Esther Vergeer Foundation, which introduces children with disabilities in the Netherlands to the positive and lasting effects of sport."

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Soon after, the WTA responded (in a now deleted tweet) by telling Senoglu about the forthcoming joint donation project that would be announced at 9 a.m. the following day.



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Yeah, it's still plugged in and operating (on occasion)...

31 years ago, Bonnie Raitt won a Record of the Year Grammy for "Something to Talk About"...




Earlier this month (yeah, I'm a little late on this, but...), a year after she was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Raitt won the 2023 Grammy winner for Song of the Year...










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Here's the link to the article below in translated form. De Groot and Vergeer talk about their first meeting, their early mentor-mentee relationship, and Vergeer admits to wondering if she ended her career too soon.

With both Vergeer and de Groot having come from the same part of the Netherlands, there seems to be a connection between them that is a bit similar to the one that existed between Barbora Krejcikova and Jana Novotna. Fortunately, as opposed to what turned out to be the case with Novotna, Vergeer has been able to see the career success that de Groot has enjoyed.










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*CAREER WTA SINGLES TITLES - active (last)*
49 - Venus Williams (2016)
29 - Petra Kvitova (2022)
24 - Simona Halep (2022)
21 - Victoria Azarenka (2020)
18 - Svetlana kuznetsova (2018)
16 - Karolina Pliskova (2020)
16 - Elina Svitolina (2021)
14 - Angelique Kerber (2022)
12 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (2018)
12 - Aryan Sabalenka (2023)
12 - IGA SWIATEK (2023)
12 - Vera Zvonareva (2011)
11 - Caroline Garcia (2022)
10 - Garbine Muguruza (2021)
[2020s]
12 - 1/2/8/1 - IGA SWIATEK
7 - 1/5/1/- - Ash Barty (ret.)
7 - 3/2/0/2 - Aryna Sabalenka
5 - 3/0/2/0 - Simona Halep
5 - 0/4/1/0 - Anett Kontaveit
5 - 0/3/2/0 - Barbora Krejcikova

*MOST TITLES WON W/O DROPPING A SET - 2020s*
5 - IGA SWIATEK, POL (2020,'21,'22,'23)
2 - Ash Barty, AUS (2021,'22)
2 - Anett Kontaveit, EST (2021)
2 - Bernarda Pera, USA (2022)
2 - Liudmila Samsonova, RUS (2022)

*2020s REPEAT WTA WS CHAMPS*
[2020]
Karolina Pliskova - Brisbane
Kiki Bertens - Saint Petersburg
[2021]
Ash Barty - Miami
[2022]
Leylah Fernandez - Monterrey
Iga Swiatek - Rome
[2023]
IGA SWIATEK - Doha

*MOST WTA FINALS in 2020's*
13 - 1/2/9/1 - SWIATEK (12-1)
12 - 1/7/4/0 - Kontaveit (5-6-1)
11 - 3/3/3/2 - Sabalenka (7-4)
9 - 1/6/2/ret...Barty (8-1)
9 - 0/3/6/0 - Jabeur (3-6)
9 - 5/0/3/1 - Rybakina (2-7)
7 - 0/4/3/0 - Krejcikova (5-2)
7 - 0/3/2/2 - Bencic (4-3)
7 - 0/4/2/1 - Kasatkina (4-3)

*2023 WTA SF*
2 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (2-0)
2 - Belinda Bencic, SUI (1-0+W)
2 - VERONIKA KUDERMETOVA, RUS (0-1+L)
2 - MARIA SAKKARI, GRE (0-2)

*2022-23 WTA S/D FINAL IN EVENT*
[2022]
Adelaide 1: Ash Barty, AUS (W/W)
Dubai: Alona Ostapenko, LAT (W/L)
Dubai: Veronika Kudermetova, RUS (L/W)
Roland Garros: Coco Gauff, USA (L/L)
Nottingham: Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA (W/W)
Birmingham: Zhang Shuai, CHN (L/L walkover)
Eastbourne: Alona Ostapenko, LAT (L/L walkover)
Lausanne: Olga Danilovic, SRB (L/W walkover)
Warsaw: Anastasia Potapova, RUS (L/W)
[2023]
Hun Hin: Zhu Lin, CHN (W/L)
Doha: JESSIE PEGULA, USA (W/W)

*2020s WTA WD TITLES*
[individuals]
14 - Katerina Siniakova, CZE (1/6/6/1)
10 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (1/5/3/1)
7 - Elise Mertens, BEL (1/4/2/0)
6 - Shuko Aoyama, JPN (1/5/0/0)
6 - Hsieh Su-wei, TPE (4/2/0/0)
6 - Nicole Melichar-Martinez, USA (2/2/2/0)
6 - Kristina Mladenovic, USA (2/0/4/0)
6 - JESSIE PEGULA, USA (0/0/5/1)
6 - Ena Shibahara, JPN (1/5/0/0)
6 - Luisa Stefani, BRA (1/1/2/2)
5 - COCO GAUFF, USA (0/1/3/1)
5 - Desirae Krawczyk, USA (2/2/1/0)
5 - Demi Schuurs, NED (2/2/1/0)
5 - Laura Siegemund, GER (1/0/3/1)
[duos]
10..Krejcikova/Siniakova, CZE/CZE (1/5/3/1)
6...Aoyama/Shibahara, JPN/JPN (1/5/0/0)
4...Hsieh/Strycova, TPE/CZE (4/0 ret.)
4...GAUFF/PEGULA, USA/USA (0/0/3/1)

*2023 YOUNGEST WTA FINALISTS*
18 - Linda Noskova, CZE (Adelaide 1 - L)
18 - Coco Gauff, USA (Auckland - W)
[doubles]
18 - COCO GAUFF, USA (Doha - W)
20 - Leylah Fernandez, CAN (Auckland - L)

*DOHA/DUBAI ACCOMPLISHMENTS*
[reached AO-Doha-Dubai Finals; since 2001]
2001 Martina Hingis - AO RU, Doha W, Dubai W
[reached Doha-Dubai Finals; since 2001]
2001 Martina Hingis - Doha W, Dubai W
2004 Svetlana Kuznetsova - Dubai RU, Doha RU
2007 Justine Henin - Dubai W, Doha W
2009 Venus Williams - Dubai W, Doha (WTA Chsp.) RU
2011 Caroline Wozniacki - Dubai W, Doha RU
2017 Caroline Wozniacki - Doha RU, Dubai RU
2021 Garbine Muguruza - Doha RU, Dubai W
--
NOTE: 2008 two Doha-Feb/Oct; 2009-10 Doha only as Oct. WTA Chsp





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Probably the best old NFL Films' narration ever (narrated John Facenda, by Steve Sabol, adapted from Mary Jane Carr's "Pirate Wind")...




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Conundrum of the day: which was more triggering to some people? The "one of" part, or the narrowing down to "female?" Though the latter sort of can be attributed to the name of the Twitter account.



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Sometimes the title "Hall of Famer" is applied a bit too liberally...




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I like both of the helmets from the Patriots' first two years better than the ones they sport now...




Go back to these uniforms and helmets, please...




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"Homicide: Life on the Street" is one of the all-time (largely forgotten) *great* shows...






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All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 2:10 PM 

4 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Hof fails doubles players again. Raymond, Black and Nestor should be in.

I actually like how Kenin is working the points, but the results are not there.

Stat of the Week- 6- The number of women that have won 4+ titles in a season without reaching a slam SF that season.

Inspired by Bencic's slam troubles, I decided to go back to when the Original 9 started the tour.

Since 1971, there have been 163 occasions in which a player has had 4 or more titles in a season.

In only 2 seasons have we not had a player win 4 titles. 2020 is obvious, but the other is 2009, in which 6 players tied for the lead with 3 titles.

We have also had a season in which the leader did not win her 4th title until the finals, Cibulkova in 2016.

Out of 163, there are a dubious 6 which did not reach QF standard.

Titles, year, name:

8- 1971- Virginia Wade
6- 2013- Simona Halep
5- 2018- Petra Kvitova
4- 2002- Anna Smashnova
4- 2015- Angelique Kerber
4- 2021- Anett Kontaveit

Wade's was kind of a fluke, as she only played 2 slams, then went down to Australia in Dec. 1971 to win for the 1972 season.

On the other end of the spectrum was Smashnova, who lost in the first round of the first 3 slams, mercifully getting a win at the US Open before getting knocked out in the second round.

In what looks like a special year for Bencic, can she avoid this list?

Quiz Time!

Pam Shriver had 3 4+ title seasons in singles. Which player has more?

A.Manuela Maleeva
B.Amelie Mauresmo
C.Maria Sharapova
D.Petra Kvitova

Interlude- Spring training is here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vXy2FfrTDM

This list is populated with good players that had one great year. Chakvetadze is on because of 2007. Petrova because of 2006. (A)Maleeva is wrong because the only season that met the criteria was her rookie season in 1984. She won 5 titles that year, but never more than 3 in any other.

What might surprise you is that (C)Sharapova is wrong. Known for having a great season every other year, her success came in even years(2004, 2006, 2014). The fact that 2012 is not means that she ties Shriver. Serena blocked her, as she is on this list 8 times.

(D)Kvitova is also wrong. 2011 and 2018 are the only times she met the criteria. I assume Wimbledon consoled her in 2014.

(B)Mauresmo is correct. Her 25 titles tops Shriver, but is lower than Sharapova and Kvitova. But she got her titles in bunches, having 4 seasons(2001, 2004, 2005, 2006) with 4 + titles.




Mon Feb 20, 12:40:00 PM EST  
Blogger colt13 said...

5 On the Up Side- End of the Middle Edition.

1.Azarenka- Dubai pick partially because I want to spotlight someone other than Swiatek. Has turned back the clock. Has 9 wins counting today's win, and this is the most she has had at this point in the season since 2013, when she had 14.
2.Siniakova- Already had the Merida nickname because of her hair. Now gets to play there. All 7 of her finals have been in 250 events, so why not another one? Also was WTAF doubles win in Mexico.
3.Linette- Zhu Lin brought her AO level to Hua Hin and walked away with the title. Can Linette do the same in Merida? If she does, she could walk away with her first title since Hua Hin 2020.
4.Bencic- Outside of United Cup, 3 of her last 4 losses have been to the eventual winner(Swiatek/Sabalenka/Krejcikova). Playing at a high level.
5.Stephens- She's in Mexico! 6 of her 7 titles have been either in the US or Mexico. So if she ever is going to have a good week, this would be it. Also needs to defend her Guadalajara points from last year.

Mon Feb 20, 12:50:00 PM EST  
Blogger colt13 said...

5 On the Down Side.

1.Pliskova- Got destroyed by Alexandrova in 52 minutes. Worst loss by time since Swiatek gave her that 46 minute beatdown in Rome. Swiatek just made the #3 look pedestrian. But better results are expected against Alexandrova.
2.Kontaveit- Look at the previous paragraph and see Kontaveit's future. Think i'm kidding? Safe for IW and Miami, her live ranking drops her to almost 60 with her Doha 1000 points off. That means she will have to do what Pliskova is doing, and go through qualifying.
3.Dart- A bad start that is both bad and not bad. Confused? Dart is 2-6 on the season. She also does not have a Top 100 win. However, every loss has been to a player ranked higher than her. Even with the poor start, some draw luck might turn it around.
4.Bouzkova- This is really TBD. Has reached 2 of 4 career finals, plus a 125K in Mexico, yet skipped it for Dubai. I respect her wanting to go for the tougher field. One win so far.
5.Parrizas Diaz- Only on a 3 match losing streak, but expectations are higher once you realize that she has beaten both Potapova and Haddad Maia this season.

Mon Feb 20, 12:59:00 PM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Hard to believe at least *one* didn't get in.

HOPE: with only the WC players going in, Vergeer will truly get her due coverage-wise.

REALITY: with only the WC players going in, this will likely be the most ignored HoF induction ever. :/

That'll be an interesting list (and any potential additions to it) to keep track of. Naturally, Smashnova is on it. The entire memory of her career seems to be 80% (at least) talking about how little she did in majors vs. her regular tour success.

Quiz: I was choosing between Maleeva and Sharapova, and went with the "less obvious" of the two. So at least I didn't pick the wrong one of the two, I guess. ;)

Video: I was thinking it might be something linking to a rite-of-spring story of another Stephen Strasburg "injury setback."

Mon Feb 20, 08:52:00 PM EST  

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