Sunday, October 22, 2023

Wk.42- Siniakova Sleight of Hand





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*WEEK 42 CHAMPIONS*
CLUJ-NAPOCA, ROMANIA (WTA 250/Hard Court Indoor)
S: Tamara Korpatsch/GER def. Gabriela Ruse/ROU 6-3/6-4
D: Jodie Burrage/Jil Teichmann (GBR/SUI) def. Leolia Jeanjean/Valeriya Strakhova (FRA/UKR) 6-1/6-4
NANCHANG, CHINA (WTA 250/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Katerina Siniakova/CZE def. Marie Bouzkova/CZE 1-6/7-6(5)/7-6(4)
D: Laura Siegemund/Vera Zvonareva (GER/RUS) def. Eri Hozumi/Makoto Ninomiya (JPN/JPN) 6-4/6-2
MONASTIR, TUNISIA (WTA 250/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Elise Mertens/BEL def. Jasmine Paolini/ITA 6-3/6-0
D: Sara Errani/Jasmine Paolini (ITA/ITA) def. Mai Hontama/Natalija Stevanovic (JPN/SLO) 2-6/7-6(4) [10-6]




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PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Katerina Siniakova/CZE and Elise Mertens/BEL
...Barbora Krejcikova was nowhere to be found. But that didn't stop Siniakova.

In Nanchang, the Czech added another significant entry onto her resurgent singles ledger for '23, reaching her tenth career tour final and winning her fifth WTA crown. Siniakova reached the final without dropping a set, defeating Wang Yuhan (age 16 in her tour debut, and just her third pro singles match ever), Varvara Gracheva and, after a walkover from Laura Siegemund, Leylah Fernandez in the SF in an "act of revenge" against the Canadian after she'd defeated her in the Hong Kong final last weekend.

In the final against fellow Czech Marie Bouzkova, Siniakova pulled off a comeback in a classic 3:33 affair, rallying from a 6-1/5-3 back (saving a MP in the 2nd set), then 5-3 down in the 3rd (2 more MP), before finally winning back-to-back TB, converting her own MP on a net cord shot that died in the middle of the court while a crestfallen Bouzkova watched from the baseline.

The run tops off perhaps Siniakova's *best* singles campaign, as she set a career high in finals (3), tied (w/ 2017) her best season total with two titles, and reached singles finals in consecutive weeks for the first time ever. She'll jump from #60 to #44, likely assuring a third straight Top 50 finish.

Don't worry, Krejcikova didn't wander far. While she was off this past week, she'll be in Zhuhai this coming week for the Elite Trophy event, and the Czechs are scheduled to reconnect right after that in Cancun for a run at the WTAF.

In Monastir, Mertens finished off a two-week dash to her season finish line to put a better glow on what had until then been a mediocre-at best 22-21 campaign in which she'd failed to reach a tour QF (w/ her best efforts being 4r runs in Miami, Madrid and RG). Following up her QF in Hong Kong from last week, the Belgian successfully defended her Monastir title to complete a 7-1 closing stretch on her '23 singles season and climb back into the Top 30.

In the same week in which she was set to lose the doubles #1 ranking that she'd held for the past month, Mertens didn't lose a set in her solo efforts. After winning a 7-5 1st set in the 1st Round against Alex Eala, the Waffle never gave up more than five games in any other *match*. After finishing off Eala with a love set, Mertens took out Iryna Shymanovich (5 games), Mai Hontama (3), Clara Burel (3) and Jasmine Paolini in a 6-3/6-0 final to claim career title #8. She's taken at least one singles title on tour every year save for one (2020) since 2017.


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RISERS: Marie Bouzkova/CZE and Jasmine Paolini/ITA
...for Bouzkova, it was a week of so-close-and-yet-so-far.

In Nanchang, the 29-year old Czech, coming in hot off back-to-back doubles titles and her lone '23 singles QF (Seoul) result, reached her fifth career tour final, not dropping a set against Kathinka von Deichmann, Amina Anshba (LL), Camila Osorio and Diana Shnaider.

Against countrywoman Katerina Siniakova in a battle for the title, Bouzkova won the 1st and led 5-3 in both the 2nd and 3rd sets, twice served for the match, and held a total of three MP over two games but ultimately fell in 3:33 on a rally that ended with a net cord winner from Siniakova.

The loss drops Bouzkova to 1-4 in career tour finals, but surely none of those other losses stung quite as much as this one.



Paolini added another impressive week to a season in which she'd already reached a tour final, won a 125 crown, collected two Top 10 wins and cracked the Top 30. In Monastir, the Italian reached her fourth career singles final and won her second WTA doubles title (w/ Sara Errani).

Off a SF run in Zhengzhou, Paolini raced through the MD with wins over Alize Cornet, Petra Marcinko, Lucia Bronzetti and Lesia Tsurenko before being upended in the final by Elise Mertens, who successfully defended her event title from a year ago.

Paolini, 9-3 during the 4Q Asian swing, will climb to another new career high of #29.


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SURPRISES: Tamara Korpatsch/GER and Ekaterina Makarova/RUS
...last week, after a qualifying loss to Aussie (mostly) doubles specialist Ellen Perez, it took a lucky loser berth for Korpatsch to even reach the MD in Zhengzhou. She lost in straight sets to Bai Zhuoxuan. This week went a little differently.



In Cluj, the #105-ranked German ran off a series of three-set wins, going the distance to defeat Leolia Jeanjean, Jodie Burrage (rallying from 5-1 down in the 3rd set TB) and Daria Snigur to reach her second '23 WTA semi (Prague). A 4 & 3 win over countrywoman Eva Lys put Korpatsch into her maiden tour final, where she dispatched home favorite Gabriela Ruse 6-3/6-4 to claim her maiden tour title.

Korpatsch still finds herself under .500 (27-30) for the season, but she'll climb to a new career high of #70 on Monday.

Meanwhile, Makarova -- not the one who last played in 2019 but the one born in 1996 -- qualified in Cluj and then ran off MD wins over Kateryna Baindl and Patricia Maria Tig to reach her maiden tour-level QF.



Makarova fell in the QF to Eva Lys, but will climb 30 spots to a new career high of #183.
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VETERAN: Lesia Tsurenko/UKR
...fresh off a 500 QF in Zhengzhou (where, naturally, she retired -- her sixth ret./walkover of '23), Tsurenko added three more wins in Monastir, defeating Chloe Paquet, Claire Liu and Nuria Parrizas Diaz without dropping a set to reach her second SF of the season. She lost a three-set affair vs. Jasmine Paolini.

For all her mental, emotional and phsyical struggles in '23, at age 34, Tsurenko has posted one of the best seasons of her career. Her 42 wins are her most since 2014 (44, tied for a career high w/ '11), and her 72% win percentage (42-16) is a career season best. She reached her first WTA final (Hua Hin) since 2019 as well as the second week (4r) at two slams and the 3rd Round in 1000 events in Indian Wells, Madrid and Rome. Ranked at #30 on Monday, Tsurenko could have her first Top 30 season since 2018 (a career season-ending best #27) after finishing outside the Top 100 three years running from 2020-22.


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COMEBACKS: Leylah Fernandez/CAN and Gabriela Ruse/ROU
...Fernandez didn't put together back-to-back title or final runs, but the Canadian carried her Hong Kong title momentum over to Nanchang, posting wins over a pair of Chinese players (Guo Hanyu and You Xiaodi) and Aliaksandra Sasnovich to reach her second WTA SF of '23 (and second in two weeks).

A week after defeating the Czech in the HK final, Fernandez's eight-match winning streak was ended by Katerina Siniakova a round short of the Nanchang final, but she'll climb to #34 and (in the final *season* rankings two weeks from now) will likely complete her third straight Top 40 campaign.



The best thing about this year's Transylvania Open, crowd favorite Ruse found some "home cooking" to be the key to finding her way once again after struggling to follow up her career season of 2021, when she made her Top 100 debut and won her maiden tour title (Hamburg).

Ruse reached a second final just two weeks after Hamburg two years ago, but hadn't reached another since. After being ranked as high as #51 in mid-2022, she'd found success to be pretty slim over the past two years. She'd reached no tour-level QF the last two seasons, and had slipped to #188 coming into this week, her lowest standing since before her maiden title run two and a half years ago.

In Cluj, Ruse opened by knocking out #2-seeded Alycia Parks in three sets, then followed up with wins over Anna Bondar, Emiliana Arango and Rebeka Masarova to reach her first final since winning in Hamburg (and her first on hard court). She ultimately fell in straights to Tamara Korpatsch, but finally finds herself pointed in the right direction again and will climb 60 spots to #128.
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FRESH FACES: Diana Shnaider/RUS and Eva Lys/GER
...Shnaider has had her initial breakout campaign on tour in '23 even while being away for a chunk of it while playing college tennis. The 19-year old reached her maiden tour final earlier this month in Ningbo, and ended the tour-level section of her season this week by reaching (w/ Hamburg) her second additional semifinal of the year.

Wins over Zhu Lin, Vera Zvonareva (ret.) and Nao Hibino preceded a loss to Marie Bouzkova, and the Hordette will climb from #72 to a new career high of #60 on Monday.



21-year old Lys, playing through injury, still managed to be a dream killer in Cluj, taking out both home-grown #1 seeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea *and* "The Countess" herself, Jaqueline Cristian, saving a MP in the latter conquest to reach her second WTA QF. A win over Ekaterina Makarova (not *that* one) put the German into her maiden tour semi, where she fell to countrywoman Tamara Korpatsch.

Lys will climb about 20 spots from her #133 standing, breathing down the neck of her standing career high of #112. She should blow past that by a considerable margin in '24.


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DOWN: The Transylvania Open's maintenance of its "brand"
...in 2023, the Transylvania Open wasn't *dead*, but it also wasn't "undead." And that was a real letdown.

Two years ago, the Romania-hosted tournament burst onto the WTA schedule by leaning into the legacy of the area's vampire-related fame, from a nicely-designed and color-coded indoor court to an actor (hmm, I guess?) wandering the area and the tournament's brilliant social media efforts dressed as Dracula. Then, crowd favorite Jaqueline Cristian walked onto the court for her match wearing a long black cape (w/ a winning smile and/or smirk on her face) and a WTA legend -- and a "Countess" -- was born.

The fun was carried over into the 2022 event, and as this year's event in Cluj-Napoca approached the same sort of extracurricular activities seemed set to end the WTA's "regular season" on a fun, light-hearted note after a year filled with controversy, negligence and mismanagement.

But, aside from a few high points, it all sort of felt like yet another familiar WTA disappointment, as has been the case with pretty much everything associated with the tour in 2023 -- its 50th anniversary season -- save for the actual action that has taken place on the courts around the world.

Rather than further lean into its unique across-the-board spookiness once again, the event seemed to lose its "dark" heart. It was like Ostrava without the "!!!". Fitting, I suppose, since the WTA also left that Czech-hosted event -- which literally wore its spirit on its sleeve/court surface -- off of *this* year's 4Q schedule because, well, the WTA can't help but WTA, I guess.

After peppering social media with its brand the last two years, the tournament seemed to forget that it was unique this past week. "Dracula" didn't make an appearance in the promotions until the week was nearly over, and even that felt like a moldy "leftover" from last year that someone found in the corner covered with cobwebs (and not in any sort of intentionally humorous way, either).



By the time the weekend had arrived, the event's social media wasn't even trying to hide its use of "spoiled," year-old creative goods in the service of half-hearted brand maintenance this time around.



One has come to expect such indifferent efforts from the marketing arm of the WTA, but the Transylvania Open was supposed to be different, a model for the tour's Powers That Be to take note of when attempting to sell the most successful women's sports tour in the world. Just make an honest creative effort. But much like so many other WTA-related business in 2023, it was a flat-on-its-face failure.

Even Cristian seemed to lose track of the plot.

After arriving on court wearing her cape the last two years, she didn't do so this time around. Talk about sucking all the air out of the room.

Oh, she *did* bring the cape along, but only pulled it out *after* defeating her 1st Round opponent (Celine Naef).



It was a nice reminder of what the Transylvania Open *has* been...



As noted, it was Cristian's *entrance* wearing the cape that made it "iconic." Fact is, since she "saved" it in her bag for a possible victory celebration, if she hadn't won her 1st Round match she wouldn't have worn it at all. She didn't arrive on court donning the cape for her 2nd Round match, either, and then she lost. And that was that.

Cristian's last minute cape reveal early in the week turned out to be the *only* remnant that remained of what made the Transylvania Open such a delightful (and informative, if the tour had been paying attention... which it wasn't) unicorn on the WTA schedule.



Oh, well. I guess there's always 2024. But that's a whole 12 months away... and who knows what new fresh hell everyone will have had to go through by then, right? Ala, when a *moment* is totally missed due to a lack of effort and creative will, it's often hard to ever recapture it.
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ITF PLAYERS: Bai Zhuoxuan/CHN and Viktoriya Golubic/SUI
...Bai, 20, continues to build momentum heading into a '24 season that could see her make an even more significant jump.

Already in '23 the young Chinese woman has made her slam debut (reaching the Wimbledon 2r), climb to a career-best ranking and win multiple challenger (two $25K) titles. This week in Shenzhen, Bai cleared a big hurdle with her biggest career win at the $100K event as she lost just one set en route to the title, finishing things off with victories over Carol Zhao in the semis and Yuan Yue (a finalist last week in Seoul) in a 7-6/6-2 final. She's now 11-3 in career ITF finals.

Bai is currently the #7-ranked CHN player -- behind the so-far-more-accomplished Zheng, Zhu, Yuan and the three Wangs -- but she could be ready to start to put a little heat on at least a couple of those ahead of her. Bai will climb to a new career high on Monday, closing in on her Top 100 debut at #105. She ended 2022 at #362.

Golubic maintained her momentum from last week's title run in the WTA 125 in Rouen, slipping into the U.K. and taking a $100K crown in Shrewsbury, finishing off her week with a 6-0/6-0 win in the final over 21-year old surprise British finalist Amarni Banks (#432), who was seeking her maiden pro title.

The win gives Golubic two $100K titles in the 4Q. They're the biggest ITF titles of her career, but still rank behind her lone tour-level win (2016 Gstaad) and three 125 crowns.


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JUNIOR STAR: Alina Korneeva/RUS
...the big-stage junior events of the early part of '23 were dominated by AO & RG champ Korneeva, so it's fitting that the season-ending Junior Finals event in Chengdu (CHN) -- returning to the schedule for the first time since the pandemic -- saw her come out on top, as well.

The 16-year old Hordette went 2-1 in round robin play, claiming the second SF berth out of Group B due to her loss to Group winner Sara Saito. In the semis, in a match-up of the top two junior players in the world, #2 Korneeva upended #1-ranked Wimbledon girls' champ Clervie Ngounoue (who'd gone 3-0 in Group A, losing just 12 games) in a 6-2/7-6 contest that set up a rematch in the final vs. Saito.

Unlike Korneeva, Saito didn't rise to the occasion in slam play this season, posting 1r-2r-2r results before her U.S. Open girls' QF run, but had picked up a pair of J300 wins early in the season. The Japanese teen's SF win over compatriot Sayaka Ishii had gotten her to within reach of the biggest title of her career.

Korneeva dominated the final, winning 6-0/6-3, adding another big result on the junior level in a season that also saw her win a pair of pro ITF crowns, including a $100K title this summer (she def. Pastry Carole Monnet 6-0/6-0 in the final).



Other match-ups finished out the competition in Chengdu, as Ngounoue's week ended with another loss to Ishii in the 3rd/4th place contest. Kaitlin Quevedo (USA) defefeated Renata Jamrichova (SVK) for 5th, while Laura Samsonova (CZE) outpaced Ena Koike (JPN) in the 7th/8th match.
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DOUBLES: Laura Siegemund/Vera Zvonareva, GER/RUS
...aside from the usual matches, titles and such, no players were playing with a more clear cut goal in mind during Week 42 than Siegemund and Zvonareva, who needed to win the title in Nanchang to slip past Leylah Fernandez/Taylor Townsend and into the 8th and final slot in the WTAF round robin field. They get the award for the clutch performance of the week.

Both also played singles, and went the "all in" route during the week as Zvonareva retired with illness in the 2nd Round, then Siegemund did the same in the QF in order to be rested for the doubles work that remained as the pair were within sight of the final. After winning a 10-4 MTB over Rakhimova/Sasnovich in the semis to reach the final, the veteran pair took down Hozumi/Ninomiya 6-4/6-2 on Sunday to assure their eleventh hour berth. It'll be 39-year old Zvonareva's first appearance in the tour's season-ending championships since 2011 (in singles; while her only WD participation was in '07), while it'll be 35-year old Siegemund's debut.

The two have been a late-career force as a doubles pair, winning their sixth title since 2020. They've picked up three this season (along with a U.S. Open final), while Siegemund has won four titles on the year.


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1. Nanchang Final - Katerina Siniakova def. Marie Bouzkova
...1-6/7-6(5)/7-6(4). Two Czechs. One classic final.

Bouzkova could have been the story here, but it ended up being Siniakova. Bouzkova took the 1st at 6-1, and led 5-3 in the 2nd (w/ a MP). She served at 5-4 but Siniakova got the break, then won a 7-5 TB to send things to a 3rd. Again Bouzkova led 5-3, serving for the match once more and holding *two* additional MP. Siniakova denied both, then won another TB to take the title.

She ended things with a net cord ball that died in the mid-court. Ouch.

Bouzkova's five tour finals have come on four different continents (one each in Australia, Europe, and Asia and two in North America), while two of Siniakova's five titles have come in China.

Siniakova is the fourth woman to win a title this season after being MP down, joining Belinda Bencic, Elisabetta Cocciaretto and -- wouldn't you know it? -- Barbora Krejickova.


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2. Monastir Final - Sara Errani/Jasmine Paolini def. Mai Hontama/Natalija Stevanovic
...2-6/7-6(4)/10-6. Errani, a potential future Hall of Famer with former partner Roberta Vinci (both ex-#1, five major titles, a Career Slam and five 1000 wins), picks up tour WD title #28, her first since 2018 (Auckland). Her only other final since then had been last year in Melbourne with Paolini.

The Italian pair salted away the title after falling behind 6-2/5-1 vs. Hontama/Stevanovic, winning a TB to stay alive and then claiming the 10-6 MTB (their third of the week) for the crown.
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3. Nanchang 1st Rd. - Amina Anshba def. Elina Avanesyan
...2-6/7-6(4)/6-4. A Tennis Gods Special as Avanesyan, the WTA's "Lucky Loser Queen," closes out the WTA schedule of her career season by losing... to a lucky loser.

#424-ranked Hordette Anshba trailed by a set and 5-4 (after erasing Avanesayn's 4-2 edge), then 3-1 in the 2nd set TB, before forcing a 3rd. Avanesyan led 3-0 there, but Anshba rallied against her countrywoman yet again and ultimately closed out the win with a break on BP #5 of game 10.


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4. Cluj-Napoca 2nd Rd. - Tamara Korpatsch def. Jodie Burrage
...2-6/6-2/7-6(5). Korpatsch served for the match at 5-3 in the final set, but then saw Burrage storm back and *herself* serve for the match three games later a 6-5. The Brit was broken at love.

In the deciding TB, Burrage led 5-1 before Korpatch authored the final surge of the match by sweeping the final six points.


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5. Cluj-Napoca Final - Tamara Korpatsch def. Gabriela Ruse
...6-3/6-4. Korpatsch becomes the twelfth first-time tour singles champion in 2023 (four more than in '22), denying the Romanian crowd a singles champion for the second time in the tournament's three-year history. Simona Halep lost to Anett Kontaveit in the '21 championship match. Irina Bara *did* win a share of the WD crown two years ago, at least.


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6. Monastir Final - Elise Mertens def. Jasmine Paolini
...6-3/6-0. Monastir is Mertens' second successful title defense, having claimed the first two WTA wins of her career in Hobart in 2017-18.

This is the sixth time a singles champion has repeated at a tour event this season (three times the winner was named Iga), and she's the twelfth to win a title without dropping a set.



She might need to win a *third* straight year in '24 to make up for her post-match forgetfulness...


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7. Cluj-Napoca 2nd Rd. - Eva Lys def. Jaqueline Cristian
...2-6/7-5/6-2. No shoes, no service. No cape, no win.

Cristian led 6-2/5-3, and served at 5-4 with a MP. She had a shot to force a 2nd set TB, holding at GP at 5-6 but dropped served as things headed to a 3rd. She led 2-0 there, as well, but then dropped the final six games as things wrapped up a 12:30 a.m. in Cluj.


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8. Cluj-Napoca 2nd Rd. - Rebeka Masarova def. Miriam Bulgaru
...3-6/7-6(8)/6-0. Masarova led 5-0 in the 2nd, but dropped six straight games and saw Bulgaru serve for the win at 6-3/6-5. After failing to put away the set at 6-4 in the TB -- never facing a MP, but seeing Bulgaru tie the score at 6-6, 7-7 and 8-8 -- Masarova finally forces a 3rd by converting on SP #8 and winning the breaker at 10-8. She swept the deciding set at love.


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9. Cluj-Napoca QF - Rebeka Masarova def. Ana Bogdan
...3-6/7-6(4)/6-3. Bogdan's run ends in Cluj, as Masarova takes out a second straight Romanian.

After winning the 1st after falling behind 3-1, Bogdan got within two points of the win at 5-4 in the 2nd, and led 3-1 in the ensuing TB. But, again, Masarova pulled ahead late to reach her first SF since Auckland in Week 1.


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10. $100K Shenzhen CHN Final - Kristina Mladenovic/Moyuka Uchijima def. Timea Babos/Kateryna Volodko
...6-2/7-5. Mladenovic's first 2023 doubles crown comes in late October. (Slaps forehead.)

A former WD #1, as recently as 2021, her last title came in a $100K in December with best friend Babos, her opponent here. They defeated Kateryna Volodko, Babos' partner in this final.


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11. Nanchang 1st Rd. - Valeria Savinykh def. Magda Linette
...7-5/3-6/7-6(3). Weeks after getting her first WTA MD win since 2013, Savinykh notches her first Top 30 win since that same season, rallying from 3-1 down in the 3rd and winning a deciding TB after failing to convert four pre-TB MP at 5-4.


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12. Monastir 2nd Rd. - Nuria Parrizas Dias def. Katarina Zavatska
...4-6/7-5/6-2. Parrizas Diaz notched her first WTA MD wins since May in Monastir. Rallying from 6-4/5-3 and saving a MP vs. Zavatska, she reached her first QF of the season.

The Spaniard reached a SF and five other QF in tour events in 2022.


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13. Cluj-Napoca 1st Rd. - Gabriela Ruse def. Alycia Parks
...6-2/1-6/6-4. In her first indoor hard court event since February (she won her maiden tour title indoors in Lyon that same month), Parks drops her fourth straight match and seventh in her past eight outings. Since defeating Caroline Garcia in the final to win in Lyon, Parks has gone 12-25 and (at 18-26) is likely fated to finish '23 with the worst win percentage in a single season of her pro career.


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14. Cluj-Napoca 1st Rd. - Jil Teichmann def. Yanina Wickmayer
...6-4/7-6(6). Teichmann posts a win over Seoul semifinalist Wickmayer. At #71, the Belgian represents the #142-ranked Teichmann's best win since her upset of then-#9 Belinda Bencic in the Indian Wells 2nd Round.

Teichmann lost a round later to Emiliano Arango, falling to 23-28 on the year.


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15. Cluj-Napoca Final - Jodie Burrage/Jil Teichmann def. Leolia Jeanjean/Valeriya Strakhova
...6-1/6-4. Despite her singles (mostly) disappointment, Teichmann had a good week, reaching the doubles title match along with three first-time WTA finalists.

In her own fourth WTA final, Teichmann finished the rebound by taking the title (her second on the WTA level) with Burrage.



This season had already seen Burrage reach her first tour singles final (Nottingham), first 125 WD final (Stanford title), win her biggest ITF crown ($60K) and post her first slam MD singles wins (WI/US) while climbing into the Top 100 for the first time.
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16. Nanchang SF - Katerina Siniakova def. Leylah Fernandez
...7-5/6-4. Revenge is a dish best served... warm?


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HM- J300 Sanxenxo ESP Final - Alena Kovackova def. Charo Esquiva Banuls
...6-2/6-3. Another week, another Crusher champion.

This time on the junior level, as 15-year old Kovackova (jr. #19) wins her second J300 title of the season.

She also reached the doubles final along fellow Czech Vendula Valdmannova, losing to another all-Crusher duo of Julie Pastikova & Magdelena Smekalova.
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1. Monastir 2nd Rd. - Clara Burel def. Erika Andreeva
...6-0/5-7/7-6(2). Burel led 6-0/5-3, and held a MP at 5-4 before Rouen 125 finalist Andreeva took the 2nd at 7-5 and forced a 3rd. There Burel raced to a 5-0 lead, serving for the match three times before finally advancing on MP #11 with a 7-2 deciding TB win. She played into her third '23 tour-level semi.


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2. $60K Hamburg GER Final - Tayisya Morderger/Yana Morderger def. Julia Avdeeva/Ekaterina Maklakova
...6-1/6-4. In Germany, the Morderger twins win career challenger title #12 (in 27 finals), defeating Julia Avdeeva and --not *that* Ekaterina Makarova, or even the *other* Ekaterina Makarova -- Ekaterina *Maklakova*.
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3. $25K Faro POR Final - Maryna Kolb/Nadiya Kolb def. Diana Marcinkevica/Sapfo Sakellaridi
...6-4/6-3. In Portugal, the Kolb sisters claim their third '23 title as a duo, and their tenth overall.
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HM- $80K Macon (Ga.) USA Final - Taylor Townsend def. Panna Udvardy
...6-3/6-4. Townsend wins her second challenger title (w/ $60K Tyler, Texas) of the month, taking the crown in Georgia without dropping a set all week. She'll move to #66, not far off her career high of #61 in 2016.

Unless another doubles duo pulls out, though, Townsend won't make her WTAF debut with Leylah Fernanez in Cancun.
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*2023 TITLES FROM MATCH POINT DOWN*
Abu Dhabi - Belinda Bencic, SUI (3 MP vs. Samsonova, F)
Dubai - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (4 MP vs. Kasatkina, 2r)
Lausanne - Elisabetta Cocciaretto, ITA (MP Naef/1r, MP Bondar/SF)
Nanchang - Katerina Siniakova, CZE (3 MP vs. Bouzkova, F)

*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)
1 - ELISE MERTENS (Monastir)
1 - Maria Sakkari (Guadalajara)

*2020s REPEAT WTA WS CHAMPS*
[2020]
Karolina Pliskova - Brisbane
Kiki Bertens - Saint Petersburg
[2021]
Ash Barty - Miami
[2022]
Leylah Fernandez - Monterrey
Iga Swiatek - Rome
[2023]
Iga Swiatek - Doha
Tatjana Maria - Bogota
Iga Swiatek - Stuttgart
Iga Swiatek - Roland Garros
Ekaterina Alexandrova - Nottingham
ELISE MERTENS - Monastir

*MOST WTA FINALS in 2023*
7 - Iga Swiatek, POL (5-2)
6 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (3-3)
4 - Coco Gauff, USA (4-0)
4 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (2-2)
4 - Jessie Pegula, USA (2-2)
4 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ (2-2)
3 - Belinda Bencic, SUI (2-1)
3 - Ons Jabeur, TUN (2-1)
3 - KATERINA SINIAKOVA, CZE (2-1)
3 - Liudmila Samsonova, RUS (0-3)

*RECENT WTA ALL-NATION FINALS*
[2020]
(USA) Auckland - S.Williams d. Pegula
(BLR) Ostrava - Sabalenka d. Azarenka
[2021]
(RUS) Saint Petersburg - Kasatkina d. Gasparyan #
(CZE) Prague - Krejcikova d. Martincova #
[2022]
(USA) Adelaide 2 - Keys d. Riske
(RUS) Istanbul - Potapova d. V.Kudermetova
[2023]
(GBR) Nottingham - Boulter d. Burrage #
(RUS) Rosmalen - Alexandrova d. V.Kudermetova
(CZE) Nanchang - Siniakova d. Bouzkova
-
#- tournament in home nation

*2023 WTA LONG MD MATCHES*
3:51 - Roland Garros 4r - Haddad Maia d. Sorribes Tormo
3:41 - Rome QF - Kalinina d. Haddad Maia
3:40 - Wimbledon 3r - Tsurenko d. Bogdan
3:40 - Rosmalen 1r - Samsonova d. Papadakis
3:34 - Lausanne SF - Cocciaretto d. Bondar
3:33 - Nanchang F - Siniakova d. Bouzkova
3:32 - Miami 1r - Giorgi d. Kanepi
3:32 - Austin 1r - E.Andreeva d. Dart
--
NOTE: 4:12 - Palermo Q1 - Ristic d. Buyukakcay

*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)
Ashlyn Krueger, USA - Osaka (19/#123)
Wang Xiyu, CHN - Guangzhou (#88/22)
TAMARA KORPATSCH, GER - Cluj-Napoca (#105/28)
[doubles]
Cristina Bucsa, ESP - Lyon
Wu Fang-hsien, TPE - Hua Hin
Liudmila Samsonova, RUS - Dubai
Diane Parry, FRA - Merida
Maria Paulina Perez, COL - Monterrey
Yuliana Lizarazo, COL - Monterrey
Danielle Collins, USA - Charleston
Iryna Shymanovich, BLR - Bogota
Ingrid Gamarra Martins, BRA - Bad Homburg
Guo Hanyu, CHN (Guangzhou)
Tsao Chia-yi, TPE (Hong Kong)
JODIE BURRAGE, GBR (Cluj-Napoca)
[mixed]
Luisa Stefani, BRA (Australian Open)
Miyu Kato, JPN (Roland Garros)
Lyudmyla Kichenok, UKR (Wimbledon)
Anna Danilina, KAZ (US Open)

*2023 LOW-RANKED WTA CHAMPIONS*
#508 - Elina Svitolina (Strasbourg)
#246 - Maria Timofeeva (Budapest)
#136 - Nao Hibino (Prague)
#126 - Katie Boulter (Nottingham)
#123 - Ashlyn Krueger (Osaka)
#105 - TAMARA KORPATSCH (Cluj-Napoca)
#102 - Lucia Bronzetti (Rabat)

*2023 WTA SINGLES/DOUBLES FINAL IN EVENT*
Hun Hin: Zhu Lin, CHN (W/L)
Doha: Jessie Pegula, USA (L/W)
Birmingham: Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (L/W)
Prague: Nao Hibino, JPN (W/W)
San Diego: Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (W/W)
Monastir: JASMINE PAOLINI, ITA (L/W)

*2023 WEEKLY BACKSPIN PLAYERS OF THE WEEK*
Week 1: Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
AO Q: Katherine Sebov, CAN
Week 2: Belinda Bencic, SUI
AO: Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
Week 5: Alycia Parks, USA
Week 6: Belinda Bencic, SUI
Week 7: Iga Swiatek, POL
Week 8: Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
Week 9: Donna Vekic, CRO
IW: Elena Rybakina, KAZ
Miami: Petra Kvitova, CZE
Week 14: Ons Jabeur, TUN
BJK Q MVP: Leylah Fernandez, CAN
BJK Zones MVP: Suzy Lamens/Demi Schuurs, NED
Week 16: Iga Swiatek, POL
Madrid: Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
Rome: Elena Rybakina, KAZ
Week 21: Elina Svitolina, UKR
RG Q: Mirra Andreeva, RUS
Roland Garros: Iga Swiatek, POL
Week 24: Ekaterina Alexandrova, RUS
Week 25: Petra Kvitova, CZE
WI Q: Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, ESP
Week 26: Madison Keys, USA
Wimbledon: Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
Week 29: Zheng Qinwen, CHN
Week 30: Iga Swiatek, POL
Week 31: Coco Gauff, USA
Week 32: Jessie Pegula, USA
Week 33: Coco Gauff, USA US Q: Wang Yafan, CHN
Week 34: Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP
US Open: Coco Gauff, USA
Week 37: Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
Week 38: Maria Sakkari, GRE
Week 39: Veronika Kudermetova, RUS
Week 40: Iga Swiatek, POL
Week 41: Zheng Qinwen, CHN and Jessie Pegula, USA
Week 42: Katerina Siniakova,CZE and Elise Mertens, BEL

*2023 WTA DOUBLES TITLES*
4 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
4 - LAURA SIEGEMUND, GER
3 - Desirae Krawczyk, USA
3 - Erin Routliffe, NZL
3 - Katerina Siniakova, CZE
3 - Luisa Stefani, BRA
3 - Aldila Sutjiadi, INA
3 - Taylor Townsend, USA
3 - VERA ZVONAREVA, RUS
[duos]
3...Krejcikova/Siniakova, CZE/CZE
3...SIEGEMUND/ZVONAREVA, GER/RUS
[2020-23 - duos]
12..Krejcikova/Siniakova (1/5/3/3)
8...Aoyama/Shibahara (1/5/0/2)
6...SIEGEMUND/ZVONAREVA (1/0/2/3)
5...Gauff/Pegula (0/0/3/2)
5...Hsieh/Strycova (4/0/-/1)

*WORLD JUNIOR FINALS - FINALS*
2015 Xu Shilin/CHN d. Kristina Schmiedlova/SVK
2016 Anna Blinkova/RUS d. Katie Swan/GBR
2017 Marta Kostyuk/UKR d. Kaja Juvan/SLO
2018 Clara Burel/FRA d. Camila Osorio/COL
2019 Diane Parry/FRA d. Daria Snigur/UKR
2020-22 - CANCELLED
2023 Alina Korneeva/RUS d. Sara Saito/JPN

*WTA SECOND SEASON-ENDING EVENT CHAMPIONS*
[Tournament of Champions; Bali 2009-11, Sofia 2012-14]
2009 Aravane Rezai, FRA
2010 Ana Ivanovic, SRB
2011 Ana Ivanovic, SRB
2012 Nadia Petrova, RUS
2013 Simona Halep, ROU
2014 Andrea Petkovic, GER
[Elite Trophy; Zhuhai 2015-present]
2015 Venus Williams, USA
2016 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2017 Julia Goerges, GER
2018 Ash Barty, AUS
2019 Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
[doubles]
2015 Liang Chen/Wang Yafan, CHN/CHN
2016 Ipek Soylu/Xu Yifan, TUR/CHN
2017 Duan Yingying/Han Xinyu, CHN/CHN
2018 Lyudmyla Kichenok/Nadiia Kichenok, UKR/UKR
2019 Lyudmyla Kichenok/Andreja Klepac, UKR/SLO





futuristic-fonts


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Fellow Shepherd grad makes good.


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All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 7:12 PM 

3 Comments:

Blogger Diane said...

I was happy to see that Cristian's first round would be played at 8 a.m. my time, meaning I could actually watch it. I'm not good in the morning, though, and I didn't think to tune in until 8:10, and by then, she was already on the court. Her 2nd round was played in the middle of the night, my time, so I missed her again. And she lost.

Today, I put on her first round replay, and was surprised to see her walk on without the cape. I tuned in to her 2nd round replay, and again, no cape. Something made me go back to her first round match and watch the end, and--sure enough--she threw on the cape for her on-court interview. I was relieved.

I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one (even though I didn't do a very good job of watching) who was really disappointed to see her walk out capeless (also disappointed to see her lose so early--Cristian just can't catch a break). I mean, she IS the Transylvania Open.

Sun Oct 22, 07:52:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Part of me wondered whether someone had told her that wearing it during her entrance was somehow "showing up" her opponent. :/

But, then again, pulling it out *after* a win would seem to run counter to that sort of thinking, right?

Oh, Karolina (Muchova). :(

BTW... * - "Siniakova Sleight of Hand." Though I guess I *could* have said that I meant it to be something of a double-meaning since Siniakova had won by such a "slight" margin, but in fact I didn't even realize it until it suddenly dawned on me that I'd misspelled it yesterday. ;)

Hope Colt is okay. He usually isn't absent in the comments for so long...

Thu Oct 26, 07:12:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Diane said...

I shared the video from 2021 with a friend, and she said the same thing--maybe someone said something to her. Maybe, after the win, she suddenly came to her senses and threw it on.

I feel terrible for Muchova. The two players I probably enjoy watching the most--Muchova and Andreescu--seem to be cursed.

Fri Oct 27, 11:29:00 AM EDT  

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