Sunday, April 30, 2023

Wk.17- Truly, Madly, Madrid






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*WEEK 17*

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[Madrid 1st-3rd Rd.]




RISERS: Liudmila Samsonova/RUS and Jule Niemeier/GER
...for the second straight year, Samsonova has gotten off to a less than ideal start, coming into Madrid at 8-9 on the season and having not posted back-to-back match wins in any of the five tournaments she's played since reaching the Abu Dhabi final in mid-February. In 2022, Samsonova righted the ship starting with the summer hard court season and climbed into the Top 20 by season's end. Maybe she's getting a *slightly* earlier start this time around?

So far in Madrid, the Hordette has finally put together her first winning streak in two and a half months with consecutive victories over Maryna Zanevska (her first 1000 MD win on clay) and Alona Ostapenko, coming out on top vs. the former Roland Garros champion by an almost shocking (at least without an accompanying 1st set having been won by the Latvian) 6-2/6-0 score.



It's only April, so there's still time for Niemeier to make good on the '22 promise she showed while reaching the Wimbledon QF and U.S. Open Round of 16. After starting the year at 2-11, the German is finally starting to see things begin to click.

Niemeier reset the board of her '23 season with a big BFK Cup win over Beatriz Haddad Maia that helped Germany defeat Brazil in the Playoffs. After a 1st Round exit in Stuttgart (to Elena Rybakina, so call that one a wash), Niemeier reached the 3rd Round in Madrid after knocking off Wang Xinyu and Petra Kvitova, the latter win her second career Top 10 victory and the first on clay.

She lost to Elise Mertens.
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SURPRISES: Mayar Sherif/EGY and Irene Burillo Escorihuela/ESP
...Sherif is no longer the "surprise" she was a few years ago, but it's been a little while (well, since she won her maiden WTA title last October) since she notched a few "first Egyptian to..." highlights to put in her career bio. She's taken care of that in Madrid.



Sherif will play into the second week in Spain after recording wins over Camila Giorgi (ret.), Anhelina Kalinina and Caroline Garcia, the latter representing Sherif's first career Top 5 victory (second Top 10) and her best 1000+ result (4r, so far).

25-year old Spaniard Burillo Escorihuela made her Madrid (and 1000 level) debut after winning her way through qualifying with victories over Tereza Martincova and Emiliana Arango. In the 1st Round, she rallied from 3-1 back in the 3rd set to take out Kaia Kanepi before losing to Coco Gauff a round later.


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VETERANS: Laura Siegemund/GER and Petra Martic/CRO
...35-year old Siegemund has quietly been making up ground on the singles side in the opening months of 2023, putting on successful qualifying runs in Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami (she pushed Badosa to 3 in the 1r), as well as reaching the Australian Open 3rd Round (w/ wins over Bronzetti and Begu).

In Madrid, Siegemund again reached the MD via the qualifying route, defeating Viktoria Hruncakova (nee Kuzmova) and Kamilla Rakhimova, then followed up with a MD win over Nadia Podoroska. She lost to Petra Martic, but the current world #128 will jump nearly 20 spots in the next rankings as she closes in on a return to the Top 100. She last ranked that high in 2021.

Meanwhile, 32-year old Martic, continues to work her way back up the rankings after slipping outside the Top 50 following consecutive Top 20 seasons in 2019-20. During that stretch, the Croat reached her only slam QF ('19 RG), won her first tour title ('19 Istanbul) and reached her biggest final ('19 Zhenghou Premier) while climbing to #14 (2020).

Working with Michael Geserer since 2021, Martic has seen a steady climb. She returned to the top 40 last season, won her first title in three years and earlier this season was the runner-up in Linz. But outside of that 4-1 run in Austria, Martic came into Madrid just 6-8 in her other matches this season. A former Madrid quarterfinalist (2019), and Rome semifinalist (2020), Martic has strung together back-to-back wins over Siegemund and Anna Kalinskaya, defeating the Russian in three sets on Sunday to reach the tournament's second week.

She stands at #32 in the live rankings, a win away from getting back into the Top 30 with Paris less than a month away.
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COMEBACKS: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS and Genie Bouchard/CAN
...after recently dipping a toe back into the challenger arena while working her way back to tour-level, Pavlyuchenkova (in the MD w/ her protected ranking) saved a MP in the 1st Round in Madrid and posted her first WTA MD win in fifteen months with a victory over young Andorran Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva, though after rearranging and adding a few letters she lost to fellow Hordette Dasha Kasatkina a round later.



Meanwhile, Bouchard's "comeback" was both good and bad.

The Canadian worked her way through Madrid qualifying after a retirment from Sara Sorribes Tormo (as a quarterfinalist in the event last year, *and* a Spaniard, how did she not get a MD wild card?) and win over Elli Mandlik. In the 1st Round, she posted her first MD win in Madrid since 2017 with a victory over Dayana Yastremska.

Of course, it was after that that Bouchard reminded us just who she once was and still is. Her long absences, lack of relevance and relative quiet in recent seasons had somewhat created the illusion that maybe she'd matured a little (or at least wised up a bit) since her most recent -- at this point, years ago -- turn in the spotlight when over time she'd shown herself to be a meanspirited, vindictive presence on tour who was quick to publicly insult opponents and lob accusations and innuendo in the direction of fellow tour members she'd deemed to not be as "pure" as herself.

It only took one win in a big event to rev up Bouchard's bullying overconfidence enough to pull the covers back to once again reveal her oft-despicable true nature as she essentially danced on Yastremska's name with a since deleted Twitter turn referring not only to Yastremska's brief suspension two years ago on a doping violation (she was ultimately exonerated) but also to another player she once defeated in Madrid (in 2017, the Canadian's lone win in five career meetings), Maria Sharapova (whose own questionable suspension was ultimately reduced).



A day later, after Bouchard had lost to Martina Trevisan she had "second thoughts" (for what it's worth, and I say it's worth zilch, considering this was probably one of those "hostage situation" retractions forced on her by her representation). The telling clue: we know that all of Genie's words are meant to "cause harm," because she'd never publicly utter/tweet them otherwise.


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FRESH FACE: Alycia Parks/USA
...since her title-winning run indoors in Lyon in February, Parks had slumped to 2-8 and in no way resembled the player who'd sparked (outdoor and indoor) over the previous two seasons before putting things together in her maiden tour title turn, barely even competing in many sets (of which she'd lost 10 of her last 12) and committing far too many UE for even her big-time serve to bail her out.

In Madrid, Parks discovered a bit of her former (but still very recent) glow, opening with a win over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova and then knocking off Victoria Azarenka for her fourth straight win over a Top 20 player (the other three had included Garcia in Lyon, and Pliskova and Sakkari last October in Ostrava!!!). Parks wasn't able to extend that streak to five against Martina Trevisan, but her 3rd Round result is the best of her career in a 1000 event (she'd been 0-3 in MD 1000 matches) and will lift her back into the Top 50 in the next rankings (she's at a live career high of #49).


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DOWN: Anett Kontaveit/EST
...Kontaveit returned in BJK Cup zone play in her first action since retiring in Abu Dhabi with a back injury. She won three matches, but lost to Greek Despina Papamichail as Greece won a promotional playoff over Estonia to advance out of Europe/Africa II.

Kontaveit, having already fallen from #17 at the start of the year to #87, returned to tour-level action in Madrid, but fell in her opening match 2/2 to Karolina Muchova to drop to 2-6 in WTA play in '23.

The ghostly nature of Estonian tennis this season carried over to Kaia Kanepi, as well, as she fell in the 1st Round in Madrid to Irene Burillo Escorihuela in three sets and now stands at 3-9.
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ITF PLAYERS: Emma Navarro/USA and Irina Bara/ROU
...Navarro continues to dominate the U.S. clay court challenger circuit, following up her $100K win last week in Charleston (SC) with a $60K title run in Charlottesville (VA), defeating Ashlyn Krueger 6-1/6-1 in the final to finish off the two-week sweep. The 21-year old former NCAA champ ('21/U-Va.) and RG junior finalist (2019) has now picked up three challanger crowns this season, increasing her career total to three.



In Istanbul, Bara grabbed her 10th and biggest challenger crown -- her first since '17 -- at a $60K event, defeating Berfu Cengiz (the Turk was in her biggest career final, and has already won a $40K in '23) in a 6-7(2)/6-4/6-1 final.


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JUNIOR STARS: Mirra Andreeva/RUS and Charo Esquiva Banuls/ESP
...needless to say, Andreeva has rebounded quite well from her teary disappointment after coming up short in the Australian Open girls' final in January. Even before the past week, the 15-year old had gone 13-0 in ITF action this year, becoming the first player under 16 to collect two (and then three) $60K or better challenger wins in their career. Then came Madrid.

Given a wild card into her maiden 1000 event (second tour-level tournament after Monastir last October, where she lost in three in the 1st Rd. to Potapova), Andreeva has strung together wins over U.S. Open finalist Leylah Fernandez, #14 Beatriz Haddad Maia and (on her 16th birthday) Australian Open semifinalist Magda Linette to storm her way into the second week without dropping a set.

After arriving at #194 (she'd been #312 two weeks ago prior to her consecutive title runs), she's already set to make her Top 150 debut at the end of the tournament. She'll be the youngest player ranked in (somewhere around) the Top 340, with the next youngest player being Alina Korneeva, the fellow Hordette (and best friend) who beat her to take the AO junior crown in a 3:18 final three months ago.



In Offenbach, Germany, 15-year old Spanish qualifier Esquiva Banuls (jr. #130) claimed her maiden J500 title. In taking the crown at the highest non-slam level event in junior competition, Esquiva Banuls far surpasses her previous biggest crown at a J200 tournament in March. The Spaniard upset Serbia's Teodora Kostovic, who'd just won back-to-back J300 titles and 13 straight matches, in the QF, then defeated #23-ranked Nina Vargova (SVK) in a 6-4/6-7(3)/6-4 final.



Vargova won the doubles alongside Nikola Daubnerova.
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[Madrid 1st-3rd Rd.]

1. Madrid 1st Rd. - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva
...6-1/6-7(5)/7-6(7). The veteran and the teenager -- 14 years apart in age -- undertook a close battle to get the win.

VJK rallied from 4-2 down, then 4-2 in the TB, to take the 2nd set and force a decider. There the Andorran served for the match at 5-4, but Pavlyuchenkova got the break, then a game later rallied from love/40 to hold to take a 6-5 lead. VJK saved three MP in the TB, then had a MP of her own at 7-6 before the Hordette swept the final three points to pick up her first WTA MD victory in fifteen months.
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2. Madrid 1st Rd. - Genie Bouchard def. Dayana Yastremska
...6-7(6)/6-2/6-2. It's hard to tell which was worse, Bouchard's nasty (and uninformed, not that she cared at the time) post-match slander of her fallen opponent as just another "doper" she'd beaten in Madrid, or Tennis Channel's handling of its sometime-employee's disrespectful trolling in an almost playful manner via retweet.

The tweet, since delated, included the "whoops" hand-over-mouth emoji, along with a jalapeño.

(Hmmm, maybe TC thought a mention might stir up some additional betting on Bouchard's *next* match, as we know the network cares about as much about promoting gambling on the sport as it does, you know, covering it.)

This would be more like it...



Madrid 2nd Rd. - Martina Trevisan def. Genie Bouchard 6-2/7-5
...after such big talk from a player who has rarely had moments to crow after a victory in recent seasons, it was more than a little bit of karmic justice that Bouchard's time in Madrid only lasted one more match.

Clearly, Bouchard got much blowback for her comments, which she later deleted and then apologized for. Fine... as long as she doesn't now complain about being the focus of any of the sort of hateful remarks -- up to a point, at least -- that she clearly takes pride in dispensing herself.


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3. Madrid 2nd Rd. - Jule Niemeier def. Petra Kvitova
...7-6(9)/6-1. Having already posted second week slam runs on grass and hard court (US) last year, Niemeier begins the quest to add a third surface to the mix. Her win over Kvitova, in the Czech's 100th career 1000 event, was the German's second career Top 10 win, and her best ever on clay.


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4. Madrid 2nd Rd. - Wang Xiyu def. Bianca Andreescu
...3-6/7-6(5)/6-2. Andreescu didn't get the win, though she led 6-3/3-0. Still, after returning from her Miami injury far earlier that originally anticipated, just getting to the end of a 3-hour clay court match in her opener -- in one piece -- almost counts as a moral "victory."


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5. Madrid 1st Rd. - Elisabetta Cocciaretto def. Barbora Strycova
...6-3/7-6(5). Two years since exiting the tour (and "retiring") as she became a first-time mother, Strycova returns to action.


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6. Madrid 1st Rd. - Ana Bogdan def. Anna Bondar 4-6/6-4/7-6(2)
Madrid 1st Rd. - Jaqueline Cristian def. Sloane Stephens 5-7/6-4/6-4
...after a rough few weeks for Romanians, both on and off court, Bogdan and Cristian begin the turning of the tide.

Bogdan staged a comeback from 5-2 down in the 3rd -- with Bondar twice serving for the match -- to get the victory; while Cristian got the win after trailing Stephens 7-5/4-2, then being down an early break in the 3rd.


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7. Madrid 2nd Rd. - Alycia Parks def. Victoria Azarenka
...6-2/7-6(5). Finally some light at the end of that dark post-Lyon title tunnel for Parks, as she posts her fourth straight Top 20 win with an upset of the two-time Madrid finalist (though both runs were more than a decade ago in 2011-12).


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8. Madrid 1st Rd. - Irene Burillo Escorihuela def. Kaia Kanepi 6-7(5)/6-2/6-4
Madrid 1st Rd. - Rebeka Masarova def. Cristina Bucsa 6-3/5-7/6-4
Madrid 1st Rd. - Nuria Parrizas Diaz def. Anna Blinkova 6-3/6-0
Madrid 2nd Rd. - Rebeka Masarova def. Donna Vekic 6-1/7-6(5)
... The last two years have seen a pair of Spaniards -- Badosa '21 SF, Sorribes Tormo '22 QF -- play well into the second week in Madrid. Only Badosa followed suit this time around, but several other players posted nice early-week victories.

Qualifier Burillo Escorihuela rallied from a set down, then 3-1 back in the 3rd to defeat Kanepi.



Parrizas Diaz, another qualifier, fought her way past Blinkova before falling in three to Veronika Kudermetova.



And wild card Masarova outpaced countrywoman Bucsa in her main court debut for her first career 1000 MD win, then followed up with another over Donna Vekic. She fell in three a round later to Maria Sakkari.


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9. Madrid 2nd Rd. - Anna Kalinskaya def. Elena Rybakina
...7-5/4-6/6-2. Kalinskaya picks up her first career Top 10 clay court victory, as Rybakina drops her second straight match on the surface (after her 2nd Rd. retirement in Stuttgart) since having won her first three (w/ the first two in BJK play) of the season.


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10. Madrid 3rd Rd. - Dasha Kasatkina def. Lesia Tsurenko
...6-4/6-2. I'm sorry but, seriously, this is ridiculous. Not what Kasatkina said because, as usual, she's a voice of reason in what is often a storm of absurdity... and I'd never expect her take even a legitimate stance on this if she felt it might be viewed as hurtful to an opponent.

But I'm talking about Ukrainian players saying Russian players should speak out more against the war, and use that as a reason/excuse to not shake hands with their opponents, yet Kasatkina does just that and *still* doesn't warrant the sporting courtesy. Tsurenko *did* wave, which acknowledges that she knows Dasha's stance. But, still, no handshake. And, coming from Tsurenko, this is even more of an eyebrow-raiser than others, considering her own reaction to a lack of respect (standing at the net and staring, and waiting) from Donna Vekic, who'd ignored her a few weeks ago and wouldn't shake her hand after a match because of an ongoing beef they had about Tsurenko's injury complaints.

One might be amazed at how something as simple as a handshake between athletes from two nations at war could be used as an small bridge to possibly repairing some of the damage done to tour relationships due to the conflict and the overall poor handling of it from the top of the WTA on down to the level of the players themselves.

But harmony is a two-way street, and one can't simply expect the other side to buckle to all demands while you refuse to compromise on even small issues.
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11. Madrid 3rd Rd. - Iga Swiatek def. Bernarda Pera
...6-3/6-2. From her maiden slam title run at Roland Garros until now, Swiatek has gone 43-3 on clay. She's 24-1 the last two seasons.


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12. $25K Guayaquil ECU Final - Julia Riera def. Solana Sierra
...6-4/4-6/6-4. Riera's spring run continues, as she collects a second straight challenger title with another win over fellow Argentine Sierra (last week they met in the semis) in Ecuador.

Along with her 5-0 week in BJK Cup zone play, the 20-year old is riding a 15-match winning streak. She'll jump from #252 all the way into the Top 200 in the next rankings.


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HM- $25K Santa Margherita de Pula ITA Final - Nikola Bartunkova def. Ylena In-Albon
...6-0/7-5. The 17-year old Crusher picks up her maiden pro title. Bartunkova reached the RG girls' SF last year.


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[Madrid 1st-3rd Rd.]



1. Madrid 1st Rd. - Mirra Andreeva def. Leylah Fernandez
...6-3/6-4. The 15-year old came into the week on a 13-match winning streak at the ITF level, and hasn't batted an eyelash at the rise in competition. Her first career tour-level match win came at the expense of a U.S. Open finalist...



Madrid 2nd Rd. - Mirra Andreeva def. Beatriz Haddad Maia 7-6(6)/6-3
...her second produced her first Top 20 win.



Madrid 3rd Rd. - Mirra Andreeva def. Magda Linette 6-3/6-3
...win #3 gave her a another Top 20 victory, and was a nice Sweet Sixteen birthday gift.


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2. Madrid 3rd Rd. - Mayer Sherif def. Caroline Garcia
...7-6(2)/6-3. 0-2 in tour finals in '23 (in Lyon and Monterrey), Garcia went just 2-2 during the Sunshine swing (losing twice to Cirstea). After a 2-0 BJK weekend, she's gone 2-2 on clay in Stuttgart and Madrid.

For Sherif, it's her first Top 5 win, first Top 10 upset on clay, and her first 1000+ 4th Round-or-better result.


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3. Madrid 3rd Rd. - Veronika Kudermetova def. Anastasia Potapova
...7-6(3)/5-7/6-3. Kudermetova arrived in Madrid *needing* to get something going, having lost four straight and gone 1-6 in her last seven outings.

She opened with a win over Nuria Parrizas Dias, but her victory over countrywoman Potapova (14-4 in her previous 18) is surely a most encouraging sign, as she took the three-hour affair despite nearly squandering a big lead. Kudermetova led 7-6/5-2, and served for the match at 5-3 before dropping five straight games to go to the 3rd. There, she got a break in game #8 and then served out the match at love a game later.


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4. Madrid Q1 - Emiliana Arango def. Erika Andreeva
...6-7(5)/7-6(6)/6-3. Mirra's older sister couldn't join her in the MD, having lost in the opening round of qualifying.

Andreeva had taken the 1st after Arango served for it at 5-4, but the Colombian did the same (twice) when the Andreeva served for the match (at 5-4 and 6-5) in the 2nd.
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5. Madrid 1st Rd. - Paula Badosa/Bethanie Mattek-Sands def. Brenda Fruhvirtova/Linda Fruhvirtova 3-6/7-5 [10-7]
...Madrid offered a virtual cornucopia of all-sister doubles pairings.



Most didn't last long, but at least one early exit was balanced out by the return of Hsieh/Strycova.

Madrid 1st Rd. - Hsieh Su-wei/Barbora Strycova def. Latisha Chan/Chan Yung-Jan 1-6/6-2 [10-3]




Only one of the sibling pairings escaped the 1st Round, notching a win over Nadiia Kichenok/Kimberley Zimmermann. Naturally, it involved Mirra Andreeva.

Madrid 2nd Rd. - Gaby Dabrowski/Luisa Stefani def. Erika Andreeva/Mirra Andreeva 6-3/7-5



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HM- $25K Nottingham ENG Final - Arina Rodionova def. Marni Banks
...6-4/4-6/6-2. The Aussie takes her second title in Nottingham in two weeks, bringing down 20-year old Brit Banks in the final.
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Yes, this can easily be cynically viewed as a performative act of "atonement" from the English tennis establishment after having previously lifted last summer's RUS/BLR ban, not to mention bringing up the question of whether such actions will be taken by Wimbledon (never one known for stooping to help lift up the "downtrodden") for players from other conflict-torn nations from this point forward. (When it likely isn't, it'll be easier to see this for what it is.)

But a case can also be made that this sort of tact would have done a lot of good had it been taken -- and not just by Wimbledon -- at the start of the conflict rather than more than year after the toxic combination of toothless symbolism, and outright discrimination, reprisal and punishment against innocent individuals that *did* take place. Those initial actions helped serve to "normalize" the sort of ostracism and casual lack of respect for opponents that lingers today, and added to the establishment of an atmosphere that still makes it "acceptable" for some players to express beliefs that fellow athletes shouldn't be allowed to pursue their careers because of the actions of politicians/dictators.

In other words, it's too little, too late... and your bloomers are showing.



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Unfortunately, none of this comes as a surprise to anyone who has paid attention to these things over the years, as it is a key component in the notion that the entire drug testing "system" is an oft-discriminatory sham run by corrupt organizations that dole out punishment as a means to settle personal scores, give weight to petty jealousies, and above all else to justify their own existence, facts (and the search for them) be damned.

The "alphabets" (WADA/ITIA/ITF) will take every measure available, in this case slow-rolling (cough-cough) hearings supposedly set up to give players a "fair" shake, but usually simply a way for the organizations to refuse to admit mistakes, deny rightful evidence and eventually kick the decision to an unbiased third party arbiter while the player continues to serve the original "provisional suspension," otherwise known as *punishment* for an offense the player has not yet actually been judged to be guilty of. Of course, the kicker here is that even if the player is eventually determined to have been "at no fault" they've still been made to serve out a (usually long, often six months or, in Halep's case, even longer) suspension.

This is why I say that positive tests shouldn't be made public or provisional suspensions put into place until *after* the entire process has played itself out (unless it can be expedited and its length *at least* cut in half). It's why players who are ultimately deemed "innocent" when no one is watching have already served long "unofficial" suspensions in real time, as well as having long ago been judged "guilty" by much of the public (or tour colleagues, see Bouchard vs. Yastremska just this week) who either then lose track of the story, or just despicably refuse to accept the final ruling and wield it as a put-down weapon for years. See the case of Maria Sharapova and others for further evidence.

If Halep gets back for even part of the summer hard court season, she'll probably be lucky. I'd originally predicted a return around that time, but now I'm wondering if it can't possibly be any earlier than after the Open.

Truthfully, the timeline will likely look something like...

August 2022 - tests positive at U.S. Open
October 2022 - informed of positive test and provisionally suspended
December 2022 - has evidence to present in case
February 2023 - meeting to present case is postponed
March 2023 - meeting to present case is postponed again
May 2023 - meeting to present case is (likely) postponed (again)
Early summer - WADA deigns to allow Halep to present evidence in her case
Mid-summer - WADA denies evidence and upholds suspension
Late-summer - case is presented to an independent arbiter
U.S. Open - the one year anniversary of the original test passes
Early Fall - Halep wins case, as evidence is deemed to show that she is "not at fault" (whoops, sorry about the lost year)
Fall/Early 2024 - Halep returns to court

Thus, after likely more than a year of enforced absence from the sport, what Halep said from the start is officially put in the books as the accepted truth, along with a large chunk of lost opportunity in the finite remaining time in the tennis career of a 30+ year old athlete in the sport.

Ironically, I think that maybe the worst thing that has happened *for* Halep in this case was that so many people on the tennis landscape immediately came to her defense and said that they didn't believe that she would knowingly do anything in violation of the drug policy. In the eyes of a reasonable human, such comments would be an admirable comment on her character; but in the eyes of the WADA/ITIA, it was all likely viewed as an affront to their authority and further solidified the notion that as much of an example as possible would be made of her. Thus far, that has translated into official justice being delayed (or, in this case, literally postponed) for as long as the organizations could get away with it while an unofficial "sentence" of as long as possible would be assured of being served while Halep tries to prove her case.

Additionally, if Halep ultimately wins her case and is exonerated, WADA, et al. will *never* disavow the belief that the initial suspension was warranted, nor their denial of the appeal.

At some point, "that's just how things are" and "that's what they do" needs to be challenged by an athlete robbed of their ability to pursue their career because of such ongoing WADA/ITF tactics, but it would likely take a figure in the sport with a name even bigger than Halep's (and Sharapova's, for that matter... which leaves precious few nominees), with a public backing that goes beyond mere sport, for the system to be properly challenged and changed. Either that particular unicorn, or a "lesser" name with a pugnacious, spiteful streak as well as a backbone of steel who is willing to lose time while fighting for a more "fair" process. Most won't be up for undertaking that fight, (rightuflly) fearing the retaliation that would surely follow.

Meanwhile, Halep won't be the last to experience the WADA/ITF (in)version of timely "justice."



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I think Alona's outfits have been trending in the right direction the last month or so. And, you know, that smile makes the photo.















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*ESP - ROUND OF 16+ IN MADRID*
2010 Anabel Medina Garrigues
2010 Arantxa Parra Santonja
2011 Arantxa Parra Santonja
2012 Anabel Medina Garrigues
2013 Anabel Medina Garrigues (QF)
2014 Carla Suarez Navarro
2015 Carla Suarez Navarro (QF)
2016 Carla Suarez Navarro
2017 Carla Suarez Navarro
2017 Lara Arruabarrena
2018 Garbine Muguruza
2018 Carla Suarez Navarro (QF)
2021 Paula Badosa (SF)
2022 Sara Sorribes Tormo (QF)
2023...Paula Badosa (in 4th Rd.)

*IN STUTTGART/MADRID FINALS*
2009 Dinara Safina (RU-W)
2012 Victoria Azarenka (RU-RU)
2014 Maria Sharapova (W-W)
2017 Kristina Mladenovic (RU-RU)
2021 Ash Barty (W-RU)
2021 Aryna Sabalenka (RU-W)
[Stuttgart-Madrid-Rome Finals]
2009 Dinara Safina (RU-W-W)
[Stuttgart-Madrid-Rome-RG Finals]
2009 Dinara Safina (RU-W-W-RU)

*MADRID/ROME FINALS (Madrid started '09); w/ RG RESULT*
2009 Dinara Safina (W-W + RU)
2013 Serena Williams (W-W + W)
2017 Simona Halep (W-RU + RU)
2022 Ons Jabeur (W-RU + 1r)





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This video is only one minute long. Seems a lot longer. Things can happen so quickly.




Elsewhere...




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All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 6:56 PM 

2 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Begu went from not winning a match in Madrid for 5 years to reaching QF.

If Mirra pulls the upset, she will be ranked higher than Erika.

Bouchard/Yastremska was a fun match. 2 women hungry for a tour win.

I was going to refer to Rebeka as Midnight Masarova if she beat Sakkari, but she was doomed by going 3-20 on BP.

Potapova is on the cusp of something big. Either Rome or RG.

Niemeier/Wang played an 8 deuce, 14 min game. Niemeier won the game, and eventually the match.

Jimenez Kasintseva has a loopy forehand, but puts it deep into the court like Jankovic.

Stat of the Week- 3- The number of US Open QF on clay that never did so at RG.

Ah, that 1975-77 stretch where the US Open was on clay.

With 24 spots, they were filled by only 18 players. Not a shock, as Chris Evert took up 3 of those by herself, winning all 3 years.

Each of these women has a story, and only one might be surprising.

Zenda Liess is the first. Having been ranked 67 in the first computer rankings in 1975, she played her first slam in 1976. It was the US Open, in which she would go on the reach the QF.

The 16 year old would win the USTA Girls 16U in 1977, which was won by Tracy Austin in 1978 and Andrea Jaeger in 1979.

So you would think that she would be a star.

Injuries derailed that. After playing full time in 77-78, she was injured part of 79, then missed 10 months, making her comeback at the US Open in 1980. Her career would be over in months.

Having reached a career high of 32 in 78, she only went 6-6 in slams, only playing RG once in 1979.

Natasha Chmyreva is the second. One of the biggest what ifs in the sport, the former USSR star only shined for a few years.

Also in the original ranking at 21, she made it as high as 14, and would have been Top 10.

How can I be sure? She was junior champ at Wimbledon in 75 & 76, along with being US champ in 75.

Like Liess, she only played RG once, as a 17 yr old in 73. Unlike Liess, she had a good record in slams, going 14-6. In fact, all of her slam losses were to women that eventually reached slam finals(Evert 2, Navratilova 2, Morozova, Tomanova).

In a reverse of Liess, her 76 USO run would be her last slam. After mainly playing Team Tennis for the Soviets in 1977, she was banned by USSR from competing internationally.

That leaves the last person, and it might surprise you.

Betty Stove.

Her legendary 1977 season included her US Open SF after her Wimbledon final. But success at RG was hard to come by. In 10 appearances at RG, she never made it past the 3rd rd, losing in that round 5 times.

The doubles star holds a unique place in US Open lore.

Quiz Time!

Zenda Liess had her biggest career win against which player?

A.Virginia Ruzici
B.Kerry Reid
C.Renee Richards
D.Betty Stove

Interlude- Not Tracy Austin, but Austenland.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6vBlRbWRJQ

Answer!

With a short career, there were not many big wins.

Liess never won a title, but her deepest run was a SF in Toronto in 1978. That run ended with a loss to (A)Ruzici.

Not known for playing overseas, Tokyo is where she lost to (D)Stove in 1979. Stove had won this event in 1976, which was her last singles title. She would lose her last 8 finals.

After that match, Liess would play one match, then miss 10 months. She then lost to (C)Richards, in what was her last slam match.

That leaves (B)Reid. Liess beat Reid during that 1976 USO run, only to lose the rematch there in 1977.

Mon May 01, 08:25:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

I was familiar with Natasha Chmyreva (thanks to an old Tennis magazine article, back when Tennis was a real magazine), but not Liess. There are so many of those "lost" stories of young would-be tennis stars who got injured (or "other") and never reached their potential, I guess.

Any time I see anything about Stove, I always remember her for her run as Mandlikova's coach.

Quiz: went w/ Richards just because it was an unlikely mention. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. :(

Mon May 01, 09:42:00 PM EDT  

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