Sunday, August 06, 2023

Wk.31- A Capital Coco






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*WEEK 31 CHAMPIONS*
WASHINGTON DC, USA (WTA 500/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Coco Gauff/USA def. Maria Sakkari/GRE 6-2/6-3
D: Laura Siegemund/Vera Zvonareva (GER/RUS) def. Alexa Guarachi/Monica Niculescu (CHI/ROU) 6-4/6-4
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC (WTA 250/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Linda Noskova/CZE vs. TBD
D: Nao Hibino/Oksana Kalashnikova (JPN/GEO) vs. Quinn Gleason/Elixane Lechemia (USA/FRA)




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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Coco Gauff/USA
...Gauff is still only 19 (or, as her final opponent in Washington noted, "a girl"), so the best seems yet to come even as it already seems as if she's been around for quite a while. (I mean, she *has* been on tour for more than a quarter of her life at this point, right?)

In Washington, where Gauff picked up her maiden tour doubles title back in 2019 at age 15, she grabbed the fourth and biggest singles title (500 level) of her career, taking home her second '23 crown without dropping a set (w/ Auckland) with straight sets wins over Hailey Baptiste, Belinda Bencic, defending champ Liudmila Samsonova and Maria Sakkari.

This is clearly Gauff's best week-long run to a fourth win in her five tour finals (her only loss came at RG in '22), and maybe her best sustained run in *any* event in her career, with possibly only Rome '21 -- with wins over #19 Sakkari, #4 Sabalenka and #1 Barty, the last via retirement when the Aussie was leading, before a SF loss to Iga Swiatek -- a possible spoiler. Though her win in Linz (2019) included the highest-ranked single opponent (#8 Bertens) of her title weeks, and Parma (2021) actually saw the highest average rank of opponents (61 vs. 61.5 this week), her route to the title in D.C. was clearly traversed over far, far sturdier stock.

As numbers (though not Djokovic's, I've been told I should say) sometimes don't tell the whole story, #204 Baptiste's inclusion in Gauff's list of opponents this past week totally upset the proverbial statistical apple cart. Otherwise, Coco's wins over three Top 20 opponents (in order #15, #18 and #9) account for three of the four "best" wins in the 20 MD matches she's won en route to her four titles. Before Washington, she'd only had to defeat three Top 50 opponents (#8, #40 and #48) to get her first three titles (all in 250s), and only faced two more in her Roland Garros push in '22 (#32 and #46) before her loss in the Paris final vs. #1 Swiatek.

Gauff will remain at #7 in the rankings, but her new partnership with coach Pere Riba (w/ an assist from Brad Gilbert) is officialy off and running.

Of course, the real heavy lifting came *after* the final.


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RISER: Maria Sakkari/GRE
...even when Sakkari clears a hurdle, there's another waiting for her just around the corner.

While Washington didn't have its schedule overturned by rain like Prague did late in the week, there were some issues. After a 1st Round bye, the Greek didn't hit the court until Thursday, when she finally downed her Wednesday night rain-out 2nd Round opponent -- Leylah Fernandez -- earlier in the day, then polished off Madison Keys a few hours later to reach the semifinals.

Sakkari was 0-5 in '23 semis, and had lost six straight back to last season, but managed to find a way past top-seeded Jessie Pegula in three despite squandering a 6-3/4-1 (and two points from 5-1 on Pegula's serve) lead. The win improved her career mark in tour SF to 8-22, but against Coco Gauff she still found a path to her second tour title (first since '19) blocked as she fell to 1-7 in WTA finals after dropping a 6-2/6-3 decision.

Since she experienced no repercussions, and precious little blowback of any kind, for joining in on the social media bullying of a fellow tour member a few weeks ago (calling for the player in question to be "banned" despite having broken no actual rules, while Sakkari herself had only a tenuous grasp on the facts of the situation), I guess this'll have to "suffice."
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SURPRISES: Nao Hibino/JPN and Tamara Korpatsch/GER
...Prague has gradually turned into the Nao Hibino Open.

The 28-year old Japanese vet (just #136, but at the moment the JPN #1), a two-time tour champion (but without an appearance in a final since '19), lost in qualifying to Emiliana Arango, but since 2023 has become the Year of the Lucky Loser she surely wasn't finished. After notching a win in the 1st Round vs. Sara Errani, Hibino followed up with additional victories over Viktoria Hruncakova and Tereza Martincova to reach the SF, the second lucky loser in three weeks (w/ Maria Timofeeva, who won the Budapest title) to do so in a WTA event. It's Hibino's first WTA semi since 2020.

Hibino's Saturday SF was pushed to Sunday due to rain, where she took a bit too long in putting away Jaqueline Cristian and found herself up 5-2 in the 3rd when rain arrived yet again and cancelled play for the remainder of the day. The match will be completed on Monday, where with a win Hibino would face Linda Noskova for the title (also on Monday).

Hibino is also scheduled to play for the doubles crown, as well, having reached the final along with Oksana Kalashnikova, and will face Quinn Gleason (an ex-Notre Damer in her maiden final) & Elixane Lechemia for the crown at some point on Monday (weather permitting, I guess). Hibino's last tour WD title was in 2019, and she and Kalashnikova lost a pair of WTA finals together in 2017-18.



In Prague, Korpatsch joined the suddenly crowded list of Germans -- Siegemund, Noha Akugue, Maria, Lys -- putting up notable summer results on tour in recent weeks, reaching her third career WTA SF and her first in two years.

Korpatsch entered the week sporting a 12-20 season record, with just three MD tour-level wins (all of them over the past month at Wimbledon, Budapest and Hamburg) on the year. Ranked #99, she qualified and posted three more in Prague alone, knocking off Viktoriya Tomova, Yanina Wickmayer (ret.) and Alize Cornet.

Korpatsch lost on Sunday in one of the rain-delayed semifinals to Linda Noskova, but will climb to #80 on Monday, just six spots off the career high she set last November.
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VETERANS: Laura Siegemund/Vera Zvonareva, GER/RUS
...Siegemund's had a pretty good two weeks, to say the least. A week after reaching her first tour singles final in six years in Warsaw, the German teamed with Zvonareva to claim their fourth WTA title as a pair in Washington.

After winning back-to-back MTB (vs. Mihalikova/Yang and #1-seeds Melichar-Martinez/Perez), the pair defeated the Kichenok sisters (SF) and Guarachi/Niculescu (F) in straight sets, adding a 500 title to the slam (U.S. '20), 1000 (Miami '22) and 250 (Lyon '22) crowns they'd shared in the past. They're 4-0 in finals.

It's Zvonareva's 13th career title, and Siegemund's 11th.



At 38 (Zvonareva) and 35 (Siegemund), the two slot in behind only Hsieh/Strycova (w/ one more combined year, at 74) as the oldest doubles champions of the season.
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COMEBACKS: Elina Svitolina/UKR and Jaqueline Cristian/ROU
...Svitolina's hot spring/summer carried over into Washington, where she posted wins over two of the recently familiar foes she'd gotten past in the last two slams, Victoria Azarenka (Wimbledon 4r) and Dasha Kasatkina (RG 4r).

Svitolina fell in three sets to top-seeded Jessie Pegula in the QF, but added to her impressive numbers over the past few months. As May began, Svitolina had played just five matches, and was 1-4. She's gone 18-6 since, won a title (Strasbourg) and reached a slam QF (RG) and SF (WI) while posting a W-QF-1r-SF-QF string of results over her last five tournaments.

She's already played 29 matches this season, and will inch up to #26 on Monday with zero points to defend the rest of 2023.



Look out, here comes The Countess once again (pssst...get ready, Transylvania).

Prior to her spring '22 knee injury, Cristian had been making her way up the WTA ranks, reaching the Linz final (and Nur-Sultan semi) in '21, winning her maiden slam MD match ('22 AO) and reaching a career high of #58. But the Romanian missed six months in the heart of last season, then returned after surgery and rehab to win her biggest career title at an $80K challenger last September. Still, she finished '22 at #148.

Cristian has continued to make progress in '23, winning a trio of ITF titles and posting a MD win at Wimbledon. In Prague, playing with her protected ranking, she reached her first WTA semi since her injury with victories over defending champ Marie Bouzkova, Emiliana Arango and Kateryna Baindl.

Rain pushed her Saturday semi vs. Nao Hibino to Sunday. Cristian led both the 1st and 2nd sets 4-1, dropping five straight games to lose the 1st but edging out Hibino in a 7-2 TB after having lost her lead again in the 2nd. Rain again interrupted the contest with Hibino up 5-2 in the 3rd.

If Cristian loses when the match resumes on Monday, the Romanian will still be on the cusp of her Top 100 return.
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FRESH FACES: Linda Noskova/CZE and Marta Kostyuk/UKR
...another member of the Crush of Czechs is looking to get into the WTA winner's circle.

2023 has already been a breakout year for 18-year old Noskova. She reached her maiden tour final in Adelaide, has notched two Top 10 wins (over Kasatkina and Jabeur) and another over a former #1 (Azarenka), recorded her first slam MD win (RG) and reached the Top 50. Her first tour title could be next.

This week in front of the Czech fans in Prague, the '21 Roland Garros girls' champ is into her second tour final (she'll face either Nao Hibino or Jaqueline Cristian on Monday in the rain-delayed event) after posting wins over Elvina Kalieva, Ankita Raina (who served for the match), Anna Karolina Schmiedlova and Tamara Korpatsch (in a Sunday SF).

Noskova has already improved on her '22 semifinal result in Prague as a wild card (she was the #4 seed this time around) and is already assured of climbing from her current #71 position to close to (at least #52) or back into the Top 50 (as high as #42) at the conclusion of the tournament.

Meanwhile, Kostyuk joined Svitolina in the QF in Washington after staging a comeback (after squandering a 4-2 3rd set lead) vs. Bianca Andreescu in the 1st Round, saving three MP and winning a deciding TB. She followed up with a win over #6 Caroline Garcia, her biggest career win and her second Top 10 victory this season (w/ Sakkari at SW19).

Unlike Svitolina, who has adeptly handled her RUS/BLR opponents on the court this season, going 6-2 (6-1 in her last seven), Kostyuk added another "L" to her ledger with a loss to defending D.C. champ Liudmila Samsonova.

Since winning the Austin final over then-Hordette Varvara Gracheva in March to claim her maiden tour title, Kostyuk has gone 0-4 vs. RUS/BLR opponents, winning just one set in those matches.
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DOWN: Bianca Andreescu/CAN
...another event, another Andreescu loss that could have (should have) been a win.

Even as the Canadian has at times (over patches of play) resembled her former slam-winning self in '23, her ability to win the very biggest points is still an inconsistent work in progress. In her opening match in Washington, Andreescu again won the opening set, but yet again was forced to a 3rd. There, she rallied from 4-2 back to reach MP in the back-to-back service games of opponent Marta Kostyuk, but failed to convert on her three opportunities.

Taken to a TB, Andreesu again rallied from 5-2 back, knotting the score at 5-5 with a Kostyuk DF, only to then lose the final two points.

Andreescu hasn't reached a tour singles QF since her Hua Hin SF in February, through she *has* had multiple-win efforts in three of her biggest events of the season in Miami, Paris and London.

At 15-15 on the year, Andreescu returns home to Canada next week, though in Montreal not near her Toronto area home. She won the event (in Toronto) in 2019 ahead of her U.S. Open title (hard to believe, but that was her most recent tour win, as well), but has exited in the 3rd Round the last two years.
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ITF PLAYERS: Laura Pigossi/BRA and Veronika Erjavec/SLO
...in Feira de Santana (BRA), Pigossi claimed her biggest career title (and first since '21) at the $60K challenger, defeating 19-year old Belarusian Jana Kolodynska 6-1/6-4 in the final. It's the 8th ITF win for the 29-year old Brazilian, who reached her maiden tour-level final in Bogota last year.

In recent weeks, Pigossi reached the QF at the Iasi 125 event.



In Cordenons, Italy, 23-year old Slovenian Erjavic continued her run of recent success.

Erjavic followed up her Iasi 125 WD title (and MD singles win) with a $25K singles title last week, and this week picked up a second straight (and biggest of her career) singles crown at a $60K challenger. Her third '23 title run included a 6-3/6-4 win in the final over Romanian Alexandra Ignatik (nee Cadantu).

Erjavec makes a huge leap in the next rankings, climbing from #250 all the way to a new career high inside the Top 180. She's the SLO #3 behind Tamara Zidansek and Kaja Juvan.


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JUNIOR STAR: Gloriana Nahum/BEN
...last season, Kenya's Angella Okutoyi defeated Benin's Nahum in the African Junior Championships. Last week, East African Okutoyi picked up her first career ITF pro singles title. This week, West African Nahum grabbed her biggest crown on the junior circuit, taking home the title at the J300 event in Durban, South Africa.

Girls #82 Nahum, 16, reached the SF of the J200 tournament at Durban last week and this week dropped just one set en route to the title as the #2 seed, losing a 1st set TB to #1 seed Mika Buchnik (ISR) in the final in what turned out to be a 6-7(4)/6-2/6-3 victory.

Last fall, Nahum worked her way into the QF in a pair of big junior events, at Sarawak (J1) and Merida (JA) in October/November.

Nahum also claimed the Durban doubles title (w/ Bannerette Maya Iyengar) via a walkover in the final from Buchnik & Norway's Emily Sartz-Lunde.


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WHEELCHAIR: Diede de Groot/NED
...de Groot returned to the courts for the first time since her Wimbledon sweep. Naturally, she didn't lose.

De Groot's title run on hard court in the British Open Super Series tournament included her dropping just six games in wins over Angelica Bernal (3 & 1), Aniek Van Koot (love & 1) and Zhu Zhenzhen (1 & love in the final).

She's now won 114 straight matches, including sweeping her last 20 sets of play, and 222 of the last 229. 40-0 in 2023, she's won 30 consecutive event titles back to the 2021 Australian Open.


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DOUBLES: Diede de Groot/Jiske Griffioen, NED/NED
...meanwhile, de Groot continues to play out the summer alongside Jiske Griffioen in doubles, even with Aniek Van Koot back full time after an injury in the spring. Thus far, the Dutch duo have gone 11-1 (de Groot/Van Koot were 7-2 early in '23) and on Saturday won their third straight title, following up a pair of grass titles in England (one at SW19) with a hard court crown at the British Open Super Series event with a 6-3/6-2 win in the final over Dana Mathewson & Lucy Shuker.

While de Groot's singles success has been overwhelming, she hasn't been too shabby in doubles, either. She's gone 69-7 with various partners the last three seasons (50-5 w/ Van Koot) and won 8 of the last 11 slam titles.
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1. Washington 1st Rd. - Marta Kostyuk def. Bianca Andreescu
...2-6/6-3/7-6(5). Another Andreescu loss that (probably) needn't have been.

After recovering from an early break in the 3rd, then another break disadvantage at 4-2, Andreescu grabbed the lead and had three MP on Kostyuk's serve, one at 5-4 and two more at 6-5.

Kostyuk held and forced a TB, where she led 3-1, then 5-2, before Andreescu held two to close to within 5-4. A Kostyuk DF knotted the score at 5-5, then she *nearly* DF'd again a point later. But the shot stayed in the service box, and the Ukrainian earned the point to reach MP. An Andreescu error ended it a point later.


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Somewhat suprisingly... no. But she flirted with it. I guess we know what it takes for Sakkari to get over one hump -- Jessie Pegula on the other side of the net.

Sort of like how it was in Guadalajara last season, when having Sakkari on the other side of the net in the final allowed *Pegula* to "get off the schneid" and win her first tour singles title in three years.

2. Washington SF - Maria Sakkari def. Jessie Pegula
...6-3/4-6/6-2. Sakkari led 6-3/4-1, and was two points from 5-1 on Pegula's serve, but a little frustration opened the door for a swoon and the Greek proceeded to drop serve twice and lose five consecutive games to end the set as Pegula won it 6-4.

Sakkari reclaimed a lead at 4-2 in the 3rd. She staved off a BP in game 7, held and then broke Pegula to avoid falling to 0-6 in '23 singles semis.
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3. Washington Final - Coco Gauff def. Maria Sakkari
...6-2/6-3. Sakkari was up a break in the 2nd at both 2-0 and 3-2, but Gauff ran off the last four games to wrap up the final in straights and take the title without dropping a set (and losing just 19 games all week).

Sakkari then had maybe one of the longest runners-up speeches ever, it seemed. But I guess she *does* have a lot of practice at those.

After being ready-to-go after her CPR training during a weather-related issue with a fan during the week, Coco made sure to dispense some medical advice for those sticking around for the men's final that followed.


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4. Washington 1st Rd. - Jennifer Brady def. Anhelina Kalinina
...6-2/6-1. World #1056 Brady posts her first WTA MD win since the Cincinnati 1st Round in August '21.


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5. Prague 1st Rd. - Yuan Yue def. Zhang Shuai
...6-2/6-2. 15 in a row (and counting).

Zhang faces Anna Blinkova in the 1st Round in Montreal.
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6. Prague Q1 - Emiliana Arango def. Mona Barthel 7-5/6-7(3)/7-5
Prague 1st Rd. - Emiliana Arango def. Barbora Palicova 6-3/6-2
...another week of note for the young Colombian, who barely escaped the opening round of qualifying.

Barthel led Arango 4-2 in the 1st set, getting within two points of taking it but never reaching SP. Arango won it 7-5, then recovered from a break deficit (2-1) in the 3rd to win another 7-5 set.

For Barthel, it was her eighth loss in nine matches and fifth consecutive (she had an earlier six-match losing streak this season), as she fell to 3-14 since reaching a $40K semifinal in March.

In the MD, Arango defeated young Crusher Barbora Palicova to pick up her first tour-level win outside of her home nation. She reached the Bogota QF in 2018, and then the 2nd Round there earlier this year.


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7. Prague 2nd Rd. - Alize Cornet def. Kaia Kanepi
...7-6(1)/5-7/6-4. Cornet (13 DF be damned!) claims the battle of veterans, rallying from 5-3 back in the 1st (Kanepi had two SP), then winning in 3:17.



Cornet was onto something, as she fell to Tamara Korpatsch in the QF.
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8. Washington Q2 - Lauren Davis def. Ashlyn Krueger 1-6/6-3/7-5
Washington 1st Rd. - Lauren Davis def. Sloane Stephens 7-6(8)/3-6/6-1
...Davis went out in the 2nd Round to Belinda Bencic, but left her mark.

The Bannerette lost the first five games vs. Krueger, but recovered to win in three sets (coming from 5-3 back in the 3rd); then Davis outlasted Stephens in the 1st Round, winning a 1:29 1st set (on her 5th SP) and then taking another three-setter. The 2nd/3rd sets were finished off in just an additional 1:08.
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9. Prague 2nd Rd. - Linda Noskova def. Ankita Raina
...1-6/7-5/6-1. Noskova's home run -- to the final, and maybe more -- included a comeback from 6-1/3-1 down vs. the Indian. Raina served for the match at 5-4, but ultimately lost nine of ten games to end the day.
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10. Washington 1st Rd. - Elina Svitolina def. Victoria Azarenka
...7-6(2)/6-4. Sometimes the easy answer *is* the correct one.



On her 34th birthday, Vika lost, gave a thumbs-up and dropped her second straight match to Svitolina. Before this summer, she'd been 5-0 in the head-to-head series.
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11. Prague 1st Rd. - Kateryna Baindl def. Dayana Yastremska
...6-4/2-6/6-2. Well, at least with this one Yastremska didn't have to concern herself with what her opponent was posting, liking or re-tweeting (re-xing?) on social media.

Hmmm, maybe she should concern herself more with tennis when tennis is involved. I know it's a bit old school, but maybe she could give it the ol' college try.
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12. Washington 2nd Rd. - Elina Svitolina def. Dasha Kasatkina
...6-2/6-2. Now 0-8 vs. Svitolina (w/ just two sets won in sixteen), Kasatkina ties for the fewest games she's ever won against her (4 in San Jose '19).
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13. Washington QF - Jessie Pegula def. Elina Svitolina 4-6/6-3/6-4
Prague QF - Jaqueline Cristian def. Kateryna Baindl 6-4/1-6/6-2
Washington QF - Liudmila Samsonova def. Marta Kostyuk 6-4/6-2
...extra points to all three winners for sparing us all.
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14. Prague 1st Rd. - Ankita Raina def. Barbora Strycova
...3-6/6-3/6-4. Strycova says goodbye to the Czech fans.


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15. $25K Junin ARG Final - Martina Capurro Taborda def. Solana Sierra
...3-6/7-6(2)/6-1. For the second straight week, this all-ARG match-up decided an ITF champion on Argentinian clay. After Capurro Taborda won last week's final in Bragado, she followed up with another win over Sierra in Junin.

Sierra led 6-3/3-0, and held a mini-break lead at 2-1 in the 2nd set TB. For Capurro Taborda, it's her fourth title of the season and she'll crack the Top 250 on Monday.

Capurro Taborda's win ties her with Wang Yafan for the most '23 ITF titles with #5 on the year.
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16. $15K Caloundra AUS Final - Melisa Ercan def. Emerson Jones
...6-3/6-0. Another week, another triumph on the challenger circuit for 17-year old Turk Ercan.

In Caloudra, Ercan ran her winning streak to 20 matches with her fourth consecutive title run, defeating first-time finalist Jones, a 15-year old Aussie playing in just her sixth career pro event, to move within one of the ITF title lead for 2023.


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17. $60K Cordenons ITA Final - Angelica Moratelli/Camilla Rosatello def. Isabelle Haverlag/Eva Vedder
...0-6/6-2 [10-5]. Back on the ITF circuit after their recent maiden WTA final in Palermo, the Italians pick up, respectively, their 29th and 36th career challenger crowns.
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18. Montreal Q1 - Danielle Collins def. Genie Bouchard
...6-1/1-6/6-1. In a match-up of former slam finalists, there's something about defeating a Canadian in Canada in the *opening round* of qualifying when the Canadian needed a wild card just to get into *that* competition.


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1. Washington 1st Rd. - Hailey Baptiste def. Karolina Pliskova
...6-1/0-6/6-3. Local favorite Baptiste (#204), who'd qualified with wins over Alycia Parks and Peyton Stearns, records the second biggest win of her career over #23 Pliskova, behind only her upset of then-#17 Madison Keys in Washington four years ago.

Meanwhile, Pliskova's good '23 start (15-5) has tailed off considerably in recent months as she stands at 19-14 after this loss. She's 1-6 since reaching the Stuttgart QF (a loss to Swiatek) in April.

Pliskova had already made the decision (again) to go back to the drawing board *before* Washington.


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2. Prague 2nd Rd. - Anna Karolina Schiedlova def. Wang Xiyu
...4-6/6-2/7-6(6). Wang went up a double-break at 3-0 in the 3rd, led 5-3 and served for the match at 5-4 and 6-5 before Schmiedlova was able to get things to a deciding TB. Again, Wang walked up to the finish line, holding double MP at 6-4, but AKS rallied once more, sweeping the final four points to win 8-6.
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3. $60K Hechingen GER Final - Brenda Fruhvirtova def. Ziva Falkner
...6-3/6-1. While Noskova awaits her ultimate fate in Prague, the younger of the Fruhvirtova sisters, 16-year old Brenda improved to 10-0 in career ITF singles finals, claiming her second title of '23 and (so far) biggest of her career. She's dropped just two sets in those ten finals.


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4. $15K Savitaipale FIN Final - Luca Udvardy def. Sabaina Dadaciu
...6-0/6-2. Udvardy, 17-year old sister of Panna and last year's junior Wimbledon runner-up, picks up her second career pro singles title. She also won the doubles crown alongside Laura Hietaranta.
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5. $60K Barcelona ESP Final - Arina Rodionova def. Valeria Savinykh
...6-4/5-7/6-1. Rodionova wins her fourth '23 title in her sixth challenger final of the season.
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Either this is the most disingenuous comment we've seen in quite some time (which is saying something, considering who said it), or she's been totally living in a bubble for her entire career. She literally defeated a new mom in the final when she won her first slam, and another (different mother) in the final when she won her third.

Maybe it's both.

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The U.S. Open WC draw lists were announced, and Next-Dutch-One-in-Training? Lizzy de Greef will finally make her slam debut. Still just one U.S. woman in the draw (Dana Mathewson).

It says something -- not good -- when there's not even a significant #2 to give a wild card to in a 16-player field in the home slam event, doesn't it?



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Talk about a nice little section in the Casey Kasem American Top 40 flashback for August 6, 1988:.












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*2023 WTA SINGLES TITLES*
4 - Iga Swiatek, POL
3 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
2 - Belinda Bencic, SUI
2 - COCO GAUFF, USA
2 - Petra Kvitova, CZE
2 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ

*TOP 10 FINALS 2020s*
[2020]
Rome - #2 Halep def. #4 Ka.Pliskova
[2021]
Miami - #1 Barty def. #9 Andreescu
Stuttgart - #1 Barty def. #7 Sabalenka
Madrid - #7 Sabalenka def. #1 Barty
WTA Finals - #5 Muguruza def. #8 Kontaveit
[2022]
Sydney - #9 Badosa def. #4 Krejcikova
Saint Petersburg - #9 Kontaveit def. #7 Sakkari
Doha - #8 Swiatek def. #7 Kontaveit
Indian Wells - #4 Swiatek def. #6 Sakkari
Stuttgart - #1 Swiatek def. #4 Sabalenka
Rome - #1 Swiatek def. #7 Jabeur
US Open - #1 Swiatek def. #5 Jabeur
Guadalajara - #5 Pegula def. #6 Sakkari
WTAF - #6 Garcia def. #7 Sabalenka
[2023]
Doha - #1 Swiatek def. #4 Pegula
Indian Wells - #10 Rybakina def. #2 Sabalenka
Stuttgart - #1 Swiatek def. #2 Sabalenka
Madrid - #2 Sabalenka def. #1 Swiatek
Washington - #7 Gauff def. #9 Sakkari

*CAREER WTA TITLES - current Top 10*
31 - Petra Kvitova, CZE
15 - Iga Swiatek, POL
13 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
11 - Caroline Garcia, FRA
5 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ
4 - COCO GAUFF, USA
4 - Ons Jabeur, TUN
2 - Jessie Pegula, USA
2 - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
1 - Maria Sakkari, GRE

*2023 WTA TITLES w/o LOSING A SET*
2 - Iga Swiatek (Doha/Warsaw)
2 - COCO GAUFF (Auckland/Washington)
1 - Aryna Sabalenka (Adelaide)
1 - Lauren Davis (Hobart)
1 - Ons Jabeur (Charleston)
1 - Katie Boulter (Nottingham)
1 - Petra Kvitova (Berlin)
1 - Madison Keys (Eastbourne)

*2023 YOUNGEST WTA FINALISTS*
18 - Linda Noskova, CZE (Adelaide 1 - L)
18 - Coco Gauff, USA (Auckland - W)
18 - LINDA NOSKOVA, CZE (Prague - ?) - TO PLAY FINAL
19 - Maria Timofeeva, RUS (Budapest - W)
19 - Noma Noha Akugue, GER (Hamburg - L)
19 - COCO GAUFF, USA (Washington - W)
20 - Zheng Qinwen, CHN (Palermo - W)
20 - Marta Kostyuk, UKR (Austin - W)

*2023 FIRST-TIME WTA CHAMPIONS*
Zhu Lin, CHN - Hua Hin (29/#54)
Alycia Parks, USA - Lyon (22/#79)
Marta Kostyuk, UKR - Austin (20/#52)
Lucia Bronzetti, ITA - Rabat (24/#102)
Katie Boulter, GBR - Nottingham (26/#126)
Maria Timofeeva, RUS - Budapest (19/#246)
Zheng Qinwen, CHN - Palermo (20/#26)
Arantxa Rus, NED - Hamburg (32/#60)
Elisabetta Cocciaretto, ITA - Lausanne (22/#42)
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TO FINISH IN PRAGUE: Noskova and Cristian are title-less

*2023 LOW-RANKED WTA FINALISTS IN 2023*
#508 - Elina Svitolina, UKR (Strasbourg, def. Blinkova)
#246 - Maria Timofeeva, RUS (Budapest, def. Baindl)
#207 - Noma Noha Akugue, GER (Hamburg, L to RUS)
#153 - Laura Siegemund, GER (Warsaw, L to Swiatek)
#140 - Rebecca Peterson, SWE (Merida, L to Giorgi)
#136 - Lesia Tsurenko, UKR (Hua Hin, L to Zhu)
#131 - Jodie Burrage, GBR (Nottingham, L to Boulter)
#130 - Rebeka Masarova, ESP (Auckland, L to Gauff)
#126 - Katie Boulter, GBR (Nottingham, def. Burrage)
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TO FINISH SF: #136 Hibino vs. #122 Cristian

*WTA BEST LL RESULTS SINCE 2018*
W: 2018 Moscow RC - Olga Danilovic, SRB
W: 2019 Linz - Coco Gauff, USA
W: 2023 Budapest - Maria Timofeeva, RUS
RU: 2018 Elite Trophy - Wang Qiang, CHN (rr)
RU: 2021 Linz - Jaqueline Cristian, ROU
SF: 2018 Budapest - Viktoria Kuzmova, SVK
SF: 2019 Palermo - Liudmila Samsonova, RUS
SF: 2021 Belgrade - Viktoriya Tomova, BUL
SF: 2022 Warsaw - Kateryna Baindl, UKR
SF: 2022 Washington - Wang Xiyu, CHN
SF: 2023 Prague - NAO HIBINO, JPN [TO FINISH SEMIFINAL]

*CAREER WTA TITLES - active*
[CZE]
31 - Petra Kvitova (2009-23)
16 - Karolina Pliskova (2013-20)
6 - Barbora Krejcikova (2021-23)
4 - Katerina Siniakova (2017-23)
2 - Barbora Strycova (2011-17)
2 - Marketa Vondrousova (2017-23)
1 - Marie Bouzkova (2022)
1 - Linda Fruhvirtova (2022)
1 - Karolina Muchova (2019)
1 - Kristyna Pliskova (2016)
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NOTE: Noskova in Prague final
[USA]
49 - Venus Williams (1998-16)
7 - Madison Keys (2014-23)
7 - Sloane Stephens (2015-22)
5 - Sofia Kenin (2019-20)
4 - COCO GAUFF (2019-23)
3 - Alison Riske-Amritraj (2014-21)
2 - Amanda Anisimova (2019-22)
2 - Danielle Collins (2021)
2 - Lauren Davis (2017-23)
2 - Jessie Pegula (2019-22)
2 - Bernarda Pera (2022)
2 - CoCo Vandeweghe (2014-16)
1 - Jennifer Brady (2020)
1 - Ann Li (2021)
1 - Alycia Parks (2023)

*WORST ACTIVE WTA FINAL WIN PCT. - 3+*
0-4 - Olga Govortsova, BLR
0-4 - Aliaksanda Sasnovich, BLR
0-4 - Ajla Tomljanovic, AUS
0-3 - Shelby Rogers, USA
1-7 - Genie Bouchard, CAN
1-7 - Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
1-7 - MARIA SAKKARI, GRE
1-5 - Veronika Kudermetova, RUS






futuristic-fonts


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One? Fine, then "Maggie May." (Then "You're in My Heart" and "Downtown Train.")

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All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 7:39 PM 

8 Comments:

Blogger khan35 said...

In Montreal, every Canadian got a qualifier. Yeah, draw isn't rigged.

Sakkari trying to win a WTA title in a final has become a laughing stock. At this rate, she would never win a 2nd WTA title.

At this point in her career, Andreescu is a journey woman.

Mirra wasn't in the qualifying draw. I think WTA should abandon the age eligibility rule. Some players are injury-prone and some players aren't. The rule didn't help Andreescu, Radacanu, Bellis as they're all injury-prone. At the moment, Mirra is with the momentum and in form. she should be allowed to play the tournaments that she enters on paper.

Mon Aug 07, 04:20:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Clogging the box with 5 posts, so let's get started.

5 On the Up Side-Poutine Edition.

1.Sabalenka- Halep isn't here to defend her title, so why not a former SF in Sabalenka? A threat everywhere.
2.Swiatek- 3rd rd in 2019 and 2021 is her best, but after winning Warsaw for the first time, here is another challenge.
3.Vekic- Happy to be away from clay. 3 of 4 QF in 2023 have been on hard, including her Monterrey title.
4.Azarenka- She's a 3 time SF here, but not since 2011. Event was skipped in 2020, the year she had her best summer since her peak.
5.Wozniacki- 2010 Montreal winner and 2017 runner up returns for the first time since 2019. Will her comeback remind people of Clijsters?

Mon Aug 07, 05:47:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

5 On the Down Side.

1.Svitolina- Only for this week. 2017 winner looks more like a slam contender than any time since 2019. However, the loss to Fruhvirtova means to expect a clunker either here or Cincinnati.
2.Riske- On a ghastly 1-14 in MD. Hasn't won back to back main draw matches since winning 3 at the US Open last year.
3.Paolini- Gets this spot by default. Kanepi is the only woman to lose in the first round of every 1000(0-5) this year. She isn't here, so Paolini(1-4) sets the spotlight. The silver lining is that she won a match in Rome after losing the first 4.
4.Bouchard- Lost in Q, which isn't a shock. Counting qualifying, Bouchard has a putrid 4-13 record at this event. Hasn't won a match here since 2016.
5.Yastremska- Obviously Yastremska has other concerns. But it is fair to say that her suspension cratered her career like Karantacheva. Has not had back to back MD wins since Birmingham 2022.

Mon Aug 07, 05:57:00 AM EDT  
Blogger colt13 said...

Palicova's strokes are a little slow.

Like the 14 yr old's instructions.

Quiz Time!

Maria Timofeeva won in her first WTA MD. Which player did the same?

A.Donna Vekic
B.Kiki Bertens
C.Iva Majoli
D.Mirjana Lucic

Interlude- Billie Jean King.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfPXBJItTlQ

Answer!

You might think this is late, with Timofeeva winning weeks ago, but with Gauff, Noskova and Noha Akugue all reaching finals within the last couple of weeks, this will have a teen focus.

(C)Majoli was not close. She reached the Osaka final in her 21st event, when she was only 16. She would win Zurich the next year and win the French Open at 19.

(B)Bertens is wrong. She entered her home event in Den Bosch in 2011 as WC, so when she made it through qualifying in Fes it was the first time in 7 attempts that she had done so. She went on to win the title in her 2nd WTA MD.

(A)Vekic is wrong, but almost right. She won Kuala Lumpur in 2014 in her 21st MD. However, that was after reaching the Tashkent final back in 2012 in her first WTA MD. That was a loss, as was her Birmingham final in her 7th draw.

(D)Lucic is correct. The 15 yr old phenom won Bol in her first WTA MD in 1997, then came back and won it again in 1998, beating Corina Morariu both times.

Stat of the Week- 43- The amount of times a year end Top 40(2010-19) player missed more than 12 consecutive months.

This is a Wozniacki inspired post, but needs a post to explain all the extras.

Wozniacki went 22-15 in the last 52 weeks before her retirement. To get an idea of what she might be able to do, I took a look at all of the year end Top 40 from 2010-19. That could have been up to 400 women, but due to Wozniacki, Kvitova and Serena, the only women to be Top 40 all 10 years, the list has only 124 women.

I wanted to have Laura Robson and Rebecca Marino, but even though their CH are high:Robson-27, Marino-38, neither met the cutoff.

Alona Bondarenko did not meet standard as she only played ITF matches during her comeback.

Since BJK Cup matches are counted as WTA wins, Paszek is reflected.

Henin was 12 in 2010, so her pre 2010 numbers were used.

Jamie Hampton missed 14 months in 2008-09, but never came back after last injury. Was 30-19 last 52 weeks.

Surprisingly, Andrea Petkovic is not on the list. Had 3 injury chunks of more than 6 months, but never more than a year. Same for Timea Bacsinszky.

Serena's numbers for 2010-11 were not used, as she came back for one grass event before Wimbledon. That year, she reached the US Open final in her second slam back.

Serena's 2017-18 numbers are reflected. That year, she reached the Wimbledon final in her second slam back.

Like Henin in Australia circa 2010, or Clijsters(US 2009), this means that Wozniacki should not be expected to make a miracle run at the US Open, but in Australia, since that is the one she won.

Mon Aug 07, 06:31:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Diane said...

Sakkari is still (slightly) "behind" Francesca Schiavone, who contested eight finals and lost all of them. And, unlike Sakkari, she had never won a title. Schiavone then hired a mental coach, and went on to win eight titles, including the French Open; she was also a French Open finalist the following year.

Mon Aug 07, 10:13:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

K-

I'm sure Bianca wishes she'd had a *different* qualifier, though. :/

Anytime a really good young player comes around it'll be discussed, but it'll likely almost always get shut down with one word/name: "Capriati."


C-

I guess Paolini was due: a 1st Rd. win, then a walkover from Keys.

14-year old took the assignment and ran with it. :)

Quiz: I thought I remembered it being Lucic. :)

Video: I counter with a YouTube Recommended video. ;)

Wozniacki/Vondrousova is going to be very intriguing. If she wins that one... likely Coco next.

Geez, that's quite a list of preseason (ala NCAA football) Comeback Award nominees for '24.

People don't think much good about Henin II, largely because it paled in comparison to Clijsters' comeback, but she reached the final in her first slam back (AO, taking Serena to 3) and had RG/WI 4r.

Meanwhile, *16* straight for Zhang.

Also, Garcia one-and-done... her late '22 run is coming home to roost soon, with huge points defenses in Cincinnati (W), U.S. (SF) and WTAF (W... but she won't likely even make that field w/o at least another huge result).


D-

Oh, that's exactly what Sakkari needs. If she were *so many* other players, she'd have had a lot more coaching turnover by now. Tom Hill has been with her since 2018. I guess she's worked some w/ Philippoussis this year, too.

I wonder if she and Bajin would mesh well?

Tue Aug 08, 10:47:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

So, we're here a day later and I'm wondering where all the calls for Sakkari to be "banned" are from the greater WTA field of players. You say she didn't do something worthy of being banned? Precisely.

As always, it was a case of negligent umpiring that should have *required* something. (And Miyu Kato would like a word.)

I haven't seen any players gripe at Collins, either... but they might be a little *afraid* to challenge her, maybe? She's never been afraid to "punch up" or "across," for better or worse.

As usual, they give passes to friends or "bigger" names (playing on both tours), but they jump right on the pile when it's a case of "punching down."

Thu Aug 10, 06:36:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Diane said...

Well, Danielle has long been a target of fans' rage, so the slightest provocation brings it on. I'm sure she's losing sleep over it. ;-)

Fri Aug 11, 04:45:00 PM EDT  

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