Sunday, June 11, 2023

Au Revoir, Paris (& Iga... until next year)




As the spring clay season comes to a close, some bookkeeping (prior to the Clay Court Awards this week)...



1. Iga Swiatek, POL ...after lagging just off the pace all spring, her second straight and third title in four years at Roland Garros put the emphatic exclamation point on a 19-2 stretch which began (Stuttgart) and ended with title defenses that bookend a final in Madrid (three-set loss to Sabalenka) and 3rd set QF ret. in Rome (vs. eventual champ Rybakina).
2. Aryna Sabalenka, BLR ...had the #1 ranking in her sights after knocking off Swiatek in Madrid (after losing to her in the Stuttgart final) and reaching her third straight slam SF, but her Paris meltdown from 5-2 up in the 3rd (w/ a MP) vs. Muchova abruptly ended the story.
3. Diede de Groot, NED (WC) ...continued her remarkable run, going undefeated on clay (7-0) and hard (8-0) courts this spring while leading the Netherlands to a World Team Cup crown and picking up her tenth straight WC singles slam at RG. She's won 103 straight singles matches.
4. Karolina Muchova, CZE ...her good health allowed her to climb into her maiden slam final in Paris, collecting two Top 10 wins (including the huge SF comeback vs. Sabalenka) en route, then taking the only set lost by Swiatek in four slam finals. A 4th Round in Rome was the best result from the Czech's other two clay outings.
5. Yui Kamiji, JPN (WC) ...even while living full-time in de Groot's extremely long shadow (she was 0-4 vs. the world #1 this spring), Kamiji reached RG finals in both singles (record 25th F in a slam) and doubles (winning slam WD #19), was undefeated (22-0 cc/hc) vs. non-Diede opponents and 17-0 in doubles.
6. Elena Rybakina, KAZ ...her Rome title run, albeit w/ three opponent retirements (one her third win over Iga in '23), highlighted a spring clay stretch that included BJK Cup (2-0) success but also two early losses (Stuttgart/Madrid) and an illness-related 3rd Rd. exit at RG.
7. Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA ...succeeded in singles -- at RG becoming the first BRA to reach a slam SF since 1968, cracking the Top 10 and posting QF at Stuttgart/Rome -- and doubles, winning the Madrid title w/ Azarenka.
8. Ons Jabeur, TUN ...started 7-0 as she won in Charleston and reached the Stuttgart semis, but finished 4-3 after a calf injury, going out in the RG QF (but completing a Career QF Slam).
9. Vernonika Kudermetova, RUS ...a feast or famine spring, as Madrid/Rome semifinal runs were paired with quick exits (0-3 combined) in Charleston (2r), Stuttgart (1r), and RG (1r, as #11 seed).
10. Mirra Andreeva, RUS ...the 16-year old burst onto the pro circuit this spring, going 22-3 on all levels, winning two $60K ITF titles, reaching the Madrid 1000 4th Round, then qualifying and reaching the RG 3rd Round in her slam debut.
11. Gauff/Pegula, USA/USA ...failed to win their first clay title as a pair, but were arguably the *most accomplished* duo over the course of the spring with Madrid RU, Rome RU and Roland Garros SF finishes.
12. Elina Svitolina, UKR ...re-emerged from maternity leave to win a tour-level title in Strasbourg and reach the RG quarterfinals.
HM- Hunter/Mertens (AUS/BEL) and Hsieh S./Wang Xinyu (TPE/CHN) ...both pairs made their first titles together big ones: Hunter/Mertens in Rome and Hsieh/Wang at RG


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1. Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
- the AO champ is still the season points (and wins) leader. A title (or even final) in Paris would have padded her "Ms.B" lead, but now it's a real shoulder-to-shoulder contest heading into the grass season.

2. Iga Swiatek, POL
- was running 4th or 5th, and then came Roland Garros. The only player to repeat as "Ms.B" was, naturally, Serena in 2013. Iga is now in the game.

3. Diede de Groot, NED (WC)
- still undefeated, still *expected* to be. If all remains the same, at the very least, the '21 "Ms.B" will never fall below #3 here.

4. Elena Rybakina, KAZ
- the RG w/d really hurts her big stage scorecard after RU-W-RU-2r-W results in the season's previous two-week events (AO-IW-Mia-Mad-Rome)

5. Krejcikova/Siniakova, CZE/CZE
- the Czechs had been undefeated in '23 (11-0) and had 24 straight slam wins until Siniakova's injury kept them off court as a pair all spring, and likely led to a 1r exit in Paris when they were going for the title in a fourth consecutive slam

6. Gauff/Pegula, USA/USA
- no duo has been a full-season force, but the Bannerettes have come the closest, reaching more finals (4, going 2-2) than any other pair, including in big events in Miami (W), Madrid and Rome (both RU), along w/ two slam SF

7. Belinda Bencic, SUI
- her season has gradually started to unravel after a huge start, but she's still reached three finals (2-1) and has a 76% win pct. (19-6)

8. Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
- still has a set of good-to-great singles results, including a win in Dubai (def. #1, #2 and #3), and four AO+1000 4r runs, but crash-landed to end the clay season, falling in the 1st Rd. at RG (she's 0-2 in Paris since winning the women's title in '21)

9. Karolina Muchova/CZE
- she's already got more wins (25) than in any *full* season since 2019, with her RG final at the top of a list of good results that have included 3 QF (two at 1000 events) and a 4th Rd. in Rome

10. Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
- a slam singles semifinalist and 1000-level WD champ with a new Top 10 singles ranking, and she's heading to what could be her *best* surface

11. Yui Kamiji, JPN (WC)
- might be a living wheelchair legend if not for de Groot. 32-0 vs. non-de Groot foes in '23 (w/ 70 con. wins), her 0-7 season mark (and 22-match losing streak) against the world #1 hides the fact that the gap between #2 and the rest might be as big as the one between #1 and #2.

12. Jessie Pegula, USA
- still coming up "just short," as in an AO QF, two 1000 SF (Dubai/Miami, though she won the WD in the latter) and a 1000 QF (Madrid)

HM- Petra Kvitova, CZE
- bad slam results (2r/1r) buoyed by good big event runs in Indian Wells (QF) and Miami (W)







=DAY 15 NOTES=
...the final women's trophies of this Roland Garros were presented for the women's doubles championship, as 35-year old Hsieh Su-wei, in her first slam since being out for 18 months, combined with first-time slam finalist Wang Xinyu, 21, to claim her fifth career slam WD crown (her first in Paris since '14 w/ Peng Shuai) with a comeback win over #10-seeded Leylah Fernandez & Taylor Townsend, 1-6/7-6(5)/6-1.



...in La Bisbel d'Emporda, Arantxa Rus claimed the biggest title of her career with a win in the WTA 125 final over Panna Udvardy, 7-6/6-3.



In Makarska, the week's other 125 crown went to Mayar Sherif, who staged multiple comebacks in the final vs. Jasmine Paolini, who'd been trying to win her second 125 title this season, one both before and after her 2nd Round exit in Paris.

Paolini had saved 5 MP in her 2nd Round match vs. Katarina Zavatska, winning a 12-10 3rd set TB (on her own 5th MP) to advance.

In the final, the Italian led 6-2/5-2, and served for the match at 5-3 in the 2nd set. She couldn't do it, failed to convert three MP on return, then lost an 8-6 TB after holding two more MP. In the 3rd, Paolini led 5-3, had a sixth MP on return, served for the match a second time at 5-4, and lost a 40/love lead on serve at 5-5, only to squander all those chances and ultimately fall by a 2-6/7-6(6)/7-5 score that went the Egyptian's way.

For Sherif, already the all-time 125 title lead, it's her fifth career win.



...in Surbiton, England, Yanina Wickmayer won the $100K grass court crown with a 7-1 3rd set TB win over Katie Swan in the final. The Belgian teamed with Sophie Chang to win the doubles, defeating Alicia Barnett/Olivia Nicholls 6-4/6-1 in the final.



Elsewhere, Bannerette Hailey Baptiste, 21, won her first challenger crown in four years (4-0 career finals) in $60K Caserta (ITA), and Chinese vet Wang Yafan took her fourth title of the season in $25K Tokyo.

2018 NCAA singles champ Arianne Hartono won the $25K Setubal (POR) event, '21 NCAA doubles champ Makenna Jones took the singles in $25K Madrid, and just-crowned NCAA singles champ Tian Fangran is playing in a late final on Sunday (her second straight at the ITF level) in the San Diego $15K vs. Aspen Schuman.

...movers in the new rankings:

#3 Elena Rybakina (new career high)
#10 Beatriz Hadda Maia (first BRA in Top 10 in Open era, sending Kasatkina down to #11)
#16 Karolina Muchova (new career high)
#27 Bernarda Pera (cracks Top 30)
#40 Mayar Sherif (cracks Top 40)
#46 Anna Blinkova (cracks Top 50)
#73 Elina Svitolina (from #192)
#74 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (from #100)
#80 Elina Avanesyan (from #134)
#82 Sara Sorribes Tormo (from #132)
#93 Clara Tauson (back in the Top 100)
#101 Mirra Andreeva (from #142)
#115 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (from #333)

Meanwhile, '22 RG semifinalist Martina Trevisan falls to #63 (from #24), and Leylah Fernandez to #95 (from #49).






*WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#1 Iga Swiatek/POL def. Karolina Muchova/CZE 6-2/5-7/6-4

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL=
(PR) Hsieh S-w./Wang Xinyu (TPE/CHN) def. #10 Fernandez/Townsend (CAN/USA) 1-6/7-6(5)/6-1

=MIXED DOUBLES FINAL=
Kato/Puetz (JPN/GER) def. (Alt.) Andreescu/Venus (CAN/NZL) 4-6/6-4 [10-6]

=WHEELCHAIR SINGLES FINAL=
#1 Diede de Groot/NED def. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN 6-2/6-0

=WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES FINAL=
#1 Kamiji/Montjane (JPN/RSA) vs. de Groot/Moreno (NED/ARG) 6-2/6-3

=GIRLS SINGLES FINAL=
#3 Alina Korneeva/RUS def. #6 Lucciana Perez Alarcon/PER 7-6(4)/6-3

=GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL=
#6 Grant/Ngounoue (USA/USA) def. #1 Korneeva/Saito (RUS/JPN) 6-3/6-2







...IT'LL FOREVER BE HARD TO BEAT THE SHARAPOVA-IN-PARIS POST-TITLE SHOTS FROM 2014 ... ON DAY 15:


It's the sight of the crowd and photographers in the shots, I think. It makes it look like a Hollywood premiere, Cannes or the Oscars red carpet.



But the Iga/Eiffel shots with the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen are pretty good (better than last year's, as well as the trying-too-hard post-AO ones w/ Sabalenka, I think)...





...BRADY TAKES IN THE ACTION... ON DAY 15:


Before announcing his comeback with the Raiders (come on, it's possible until it's too late).





...WELCOME, NEW DOUBLES ICONS?... ON DAY 15:




...IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN,.. ON DAY 15:




...A TREND DEVELOPING?... ON DAY 15:




...SO IS THIS (via NUMBERS GUY) ... ON DAY 15:



On deck, the first men's Grand Slam season in 54 years?








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*RECENT RG CHAMPIONS*
[Women's Doubles]
2014 Hsieh Su-Wei & Peng Shuai, TPE/CHN
2015 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2016 Caroline Garcia & Kristina Mladenovic, FRA/FRA
2017 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2018 Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2019 Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
2020 Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
2021 Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2022 Caroline Garcia & Kristina Mladenovic, FRA/FRA
2023 Hsieh Su-wei/Wang Xinyu, TPE/CHN

*RECENT WD SLAM CHAMPIONS*
[2018]
AO: Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic (HUN/FRA)
RG: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE)
WI: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE)
US: Ash Barty/CoCo Vandeweghe (AUS/USA)
[2019]
AO: Samantha Stosur/Zhang Shuai (AUS/CHN)
RG: Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic (HUN/FRA)
WI: Hsieh Su-wei/Barbora Strycova (TPE/CZE)
US: Elise Mertens/Aryna Sabalenka (BEL/BLR)
[2020]
AO: Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic (HUN/FRA)
US: Laura Siegemund/Vera Zvonareva (GER/RUS)
RG: Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic (HUN/FRA)
[2021]
AO: Elise Mertens/Aryna Sabalenka (BEL/BLR)
RG: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE)
WI: Hsieh Su-wei/Elise Mertens (TPE/BEL)
US: Samantha Stosur/Zhang Shuai (AUS/CHN)
[2022]
AO: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE)
RG: Caroline Garcia/Kristina Mladenovic (FRA/FRA)
WI: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE)
US: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE)
[2023]
AO: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE)
RG: Hsieh Su-wei/Wang Xinyu (TPE/CHN)

*CAREER WOMEN'S DOUBLES SLAM TITLES - active*
14...Venus Williams
7...Barbora Krejcikova
7...Katerina Siniakova
6...Kristina Mladenovic
5...Sara Errani
5...HSIEH SU-WEI
5...Bethanie Mattek-Sands

*2020-23 WTA DOUBLES TITLES*
15 - Katerina Siniakova (1/6/6/2)
11 - Barbora Krejcikova (1/5/3/2)
8 - Elise Mertens (1/4/2/1)
7 - HSIEH SU-WEI (4/2/0/1)
7 - Desirae Krawczyk (2/2/1/2)
7 - Jessie Pegula (0/0/5/2)
6 - Shuko Aoyama (1/5/0/0)
6 - Coco Gauff (0/1/3/2)
6 - Nicole Melichar-Martinez (2/2/2/0)
6 - Kristina Mladenovic (2/0/4/0)
6 - Demi Schuurs (2/2/1/1)
6 - Ena Shibahara (1/5/0/0)
6 - Luisa Stefani (1/1/2/2)

*2023 WTA DOUBLES FINALS*
4 (2-2) = Coco Gauff
4 (2-2) = Jessie Pegula
4 (2-2) = TAYLOR TOWNSEND
3 (2-1) = Desirae Krawczyk
3 (2-1) = Katerina Siniakova
3 (1-2) = Chan Hao-ching
3 (1-2) = WANG XINYU
3 (0-3) = LEYLAH FERNANDEZ
3 (0-3) = Giuliana Olmos
[2023 finals - duos]
4...Gauff/Pegula, USA/USA (2-2)
2...Krejickova/Siniakova, CZE/CZE (2-0)
2...FERNANDEZ/TOWNSEND, CAN/USA (0-2)

*RG "KIMIKO CUP FOR VETERAN ACHIEVEMENT" WINNERS*
2015 Lucie Safarova, CZE
2016 Martina Hingis/SUI and Samantha Stosur/AUS
2017 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2018 Latisha Chan, TPE
2019 Latisha Chan, TPE
2020 Petra Kvitova, CZE and Laura Siegemund, GER
2021 Anastasia Pavlyuchenova, RUS
2022 Flavia Pennetta & Francesca Schiavone, ITA/ITA (Legends)
2023 Kgothatso Montjane, RSA (WC) and Hsieh Su-wei, TPE

*ALL-TIME WTA 125 SINGLES TITLES*
5 - MAYAR SHERIF, EGY
3 - Ekaterina Alexandrova, RUS
3 - Vitalia Diatchenko, RUS
3 - Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL
3 - Zheng Saisai, CHN






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TOP QUALIFIER: Mirra Andreeva/RUS (16; youngest in MD)
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): (Q) Mirra Andreeva/RUS (6 games lost in fewest in field; 10 con. sets Q+MD)
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #14 Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): #1 Iga Swiatek/POL (3rd RG title in 4 yrs.)
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: #29 Brenda Fruhvirtova/CZE def. Antonia Ruzic/CRO 3-6/6-2/7-6(10) - Ruzic MP in MTB; B.Fruhvirtova qualifies for first RG
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd. - Anna Blinkova/RUS def. #5 Caroline Garcia/FRA 4-6/6-3/7-5 (Garcia saves 8 MP, but Blinkova gets upset on #9)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 4th Rd. - #14 Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA def. Sara Sorribes Tormo/ESP 6-7(3)/6-3/7-5 - 3:51 is third longest RG in Open era
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): SF - Karolina Muchova/CZE def. #2 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR 7-6/6-7/7-5 (from 5-2 down and love/30, saved MP; 20/24 points to end match)
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Magdalena Frech/POL (def. Sh.Zhang)
FIRST SEED OUT: #29 Zhang Shuai/CHN (1r: Frech/POL)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: M.Andreeva/RUS, Avanesyan/RUS, Grabher/AUT, Navarro/USA, Noskova/CZE, Shymanovich/BLR, Stearns/USA, Waltert/SUI
UPSET QUEENS: ITA
REVELATION LADIES: RUS (11-2 1st Rd.)
NATION OF POOR SOULS: CZE (3-9 1st Rd.; four seeds out 1r; Krejcikova 0-2 since '21 title)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Mirra Andreeva/RUS, Olga Danilovic/SRB, Kayla Day/USA, Clara Tauson/DEN (all 3rd Rd.)
LAST LUCKY LOSER STANDING: Elina Avanesyan/RUS (4th Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Leolia Jeanjean/FRA, Emma Navarro/USA & Diane Parry/FRA (all 2nd Rd.)
PROTECTED RANKING WINS: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS (QF), Elina Svitolina/UKR (QF); Sara Sorribes Tormo/ESP (4r)
LAST PASTRY STANDING: Oceane Dodin, Caroline Garcia, Leolia Jeanjean & Diane Parry (all 2nd Rd.)
Ms./Mademoiselle OPPORTUNITY: Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA (first BRA slam QF since '68) and Karolina Muchova/CZE (first slam final)
IT "One-Name Teen": Mirra Andreeva/RUS
COMEBACK PLAYER: Elina Svitolina, UKR
CRASH & BURN: Barbora Krejcikova/CZE (0-2 since winning '21 title; 24 con. slam WD streak ends)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF PARIS: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (2nd Rd.: down 5-2 3rd vs. Samsonova; #333 second-lowest ranked RG 4r; 4th Rd.: down set and 3-1, w/ 7 BP for 4-1 vs. Mertens)
DOUBLES STAR: Miyu Kato/JPN
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Kgothatso Montjane, RSA (WC doubles; first Black woman to win WC slam title) and Hsieh Su-wei/TPE
Mademoiselle/Madame OF THE EVENING: Aryna Sabalenka/BLR (won only women's night session match)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Lucciana Perez Alarcon/PER (1st PER slam jr. final) & Alisa Oktiabreva/RUS (qualifier to SF in slam jr. debut)
Légion de Lenglen: UKR/RUS-BLR controversies
Coupe LA PETIT TAUREAU: 20th Anniv. of Justine Henin's first RG title in 2003






All for now. Clay Court Awards this week.

3 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Vekic favorite in Nottingham, Samsonova in Libema.

Wimbledon won't be affected by this, but US Open might be:
27- Pera
40- Sherif-133 pts out of Wimbledon seed.
59- Tomljanovic- Will she be back for her beloved grass?
118- Niemeier
123- Teichmann

Stat of the Day- 5- The number of women that have won 4 or more girls doubles slams.

4- Victoria Azarenka, Meredith McGrath, Ludmila Varmuzova, Corina Morariu

5- Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

Pavlyuchenkova stands alone. The fact that she has won 6 on WTA level means that she leads all of her winning partners from juniors.

WTA:

5- Alisa Kleybanova
4- Sharon Fichman
1- Urszula Radwanska
0- Ksenia Lykina

Fichman is the player that won 2 with Pavlyuchenkova, but never won at WTA level with her. That was Kleybanova, who won Brisbane 2011.

Radwanska won her only doubles title with her sister.

Lykina had success on the ITF circuit, reaching 39 doubles finals, going 15-24.

Quiz Time!

Which players have won a slam both on junior level and WTA level? Multiple answers accepted.

A.Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
B.Wang Xinyu
C.Meredith McGrath
D.Corina Morariu

Interlude- Flag football.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7qMUn7fj3M

Answer!

One of these should be obvious. (B)Wang Xinyu was a 2 time girls champ, winning both AO and Wimbledon in 2018. With her win yesterday, she is the most recent girls champ to have won a final. Gauff/McNally 2018 US are both the most recent to have reached one.

(A)Pavlyuchenkova is wrong, though if the omen is correct, she has a doubles slam final in her. She reached 6 slam QF in singles before reaching the RG final in 2021. Right now, she has reached 6 doubles QF.

(C)McGrath is wrong, but came close. Winner of 25 doubles titles, she was a 2 time slam runner up, having done so at the Australian Open in 1994 and Wimbledon in 1996. Her 1996 loss to Hingis/Sukova came after her final career title in Berlin over the same duo.

Even more amusing to me is that she does have a mixed title, winning the US Open in 1995 over Gigi Fernandez/Cyril Suk.

With(D)Morariu/Varmuzoza being the only duo to win 4 together, it would be expected for at least one of them to do it. Varmuzoza did not, as her claim to fame is being one of the few players to represent San Marino, after previously playing for Czech Republic.

Morariu did, teaming up to win Wimbledon in 1999 with Lindsay Davenport, one of 3 slam finals they reached together.

Mon Jun 12, 07:47:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Zeynep Sonmez did something rare. Turkish player getting through qualifying.

Kato/Sutjiadi getting no rest, playing in Libema Open.

So are Flipkens/Bonaventure.

2nd quarter rebuttal:

1.Swiatek- RG and Stuttgart winner stepped up on the biggest stage.
2.Sabalenka- Madrid winner, Stuttgart final, RG SF. Even with her prior battles on clay with Barty, she took a step forward.
3.Rybakina- Rome winner looks to defend her Wimbledon title in a matter of weeks.
4.Haddad Maia- Even without a title, RG SF, Rome QF, Stuttgart QF shows she can be relevant on all surfaces.
5.Muchova- We have been waiting since her AO SF. Finally, a run where she is healthy enough to show her talent.
6.Jabeur- Charleston winner played well, just couldn't play enough.
7.Badosa- Surprised? Even with missing RG, she reached 3 QF on clay.
8.Svitolina- Won Strasbourg ahead of schedule. RG QF was unexpected until she won Strasbourg. Now she has to not overplay.
9.Andreeva- Wonderkid may have been overmatched at the end of her biggest runs, but looks like a future talent. Is the future now?
10.Kalinina- Rome may have been one of the most impressive runs of the year. As long as her body recovers from it, she could do well at Wimbledon.

Ms. Backspin rebuttal:

1.Sabalenka- AO, Madrid, Adelaide 1 winner has been a threat everywhere. Serve issues have been few and far between.
2.Swiatek- Not unbeatable, but walked away with RG, Stuttgart and Doha titles.
3.Rybakina- Rome and IW winner can beat #1 and #2. There have been years when that wasn't possible for #3, much less for someone who had been lower ranked most of the season.

4.Krejcikova- Huge gap between the first 3 and the rest, but doubles keeps her here.
5.Bencic- Hasn't done much since winning Adelaide 2 and Abu Dhabi early.
6.Vekic- Monterrey winner has been a tough out everywhere. Pam Shriver for Coach of the Year?
7.Stearns- Bogota RU and Rabat QF hit the ground running. More impressive that her Austin run was the fact that the others have been on clay. Any American proficient on clay will do well.
8.Jabeur- Charleston winner turned her season around on clay. Now has 2 slam finals to defend.
9.Haddad Maia- Finally got over her slam hump in a big way. Brazil's first Top 10 player in the computer era.
10.Ukraine- Kostyuk won Austin. Svitolina won Strasbourg. Tsurenko reached Hua Hin final. Kalinina did the same in Rome.

Mon Jun 12, 08:10:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Quiz: I wasn't *sure* if Pavlyuchenkova had won a WD slam (MX Gold, yes), but didn't think so so I skipped her. Went w/ Morariu and Wang. (!)

Vid: makes me think of the great Super Bowl ad w/ the flag football woman from MEX (didn't remember the cameo from BJK!). "Mafia style... nice." ;)

Tue Jun 13, 12:19:00 PM EDT  

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