Sunday, March 31, 2024

Wk.13- Danimal Crackers in Miami Soup

Danielle Collins has a date with retirement. But that's for later. Right now, she's got some s*** to do.






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*WEEK 13 CHAMPIONS*
MIAMI (FLA), USA (WTA 1000/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Danielle Collins/USA def. Elena Rybakina/KAZ 7-5/6-3
D: Sofia Kenin/Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA/USA) def. Gaby Dabrowski/Erin Routliffe (CAN/NZL) 4-6/7-6(5) [11-9]
SAN LUIS POTOSI, MEXICO (WTA 125 Challenger/Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Nadia Podoroska/ARG def. Francesca Jones/GBR 6-1/6-2
D: Anna Bondar/Tamara Zidansek (HUN/SLO) walkover Laura Pigossi/Katarzyna Piter (BRA/POL)
ANTALYA, TURKEY (WTA 125 Challenger/Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Jessica Bouzas Maneiro/ESP def. Irina-Camelia Begu/ROU 6-2/4-6/6-2
D: Angelica Moratelli/Camilla Rosatello (ITA/ITA) def. Timea Babos/Vera Zvonareva (HUN/RUS) 6-3/3-6 [15-13]




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[Miami 4th Round+]



PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Danielle Collins/USA
...if Collins had a little Flavia Pennetta in her she might have thought to just retire immediately after winning the Miami singles title on Saturday. On the other hand, maybe she *does* have a little Flavia Pennetta in her and the time isn't quite *perfect* just yet.

Collins carved out a little corner of tour history for herself over the past two weeks. The opening months of her season, during which she announced that she'll retire at the end of '24, had already proven to be good ones. She'd reached a 1000 QF (Doha), beaten multiple former slam winners (Osaka, Kerber), pushed the likes of Iga Swiatek (AO) and Elena Rybakina (Abu Dhabi) to the limit in three-set losses, and had been in and out of a return to the Top 50 after dropping to #71 in February. She wasn't going out with a whimper, and seemed just as dangerous as ever.

And then came Miami.



After having made her tournament debut in 2018, impressively reaching the semis, Collins made her final Miami Open appearance a showstopper. After dropping the opening set of her 1st Round match to Bernarda Pera, she never lost another while knocking off Anastasia Potapova, Elina Avaneseyan, Sorana Cirstea, Caroline Garcia and Ekaterina Alexandrova.

In the 12 straight sets she won to reach the final, her biggest and *first* since playing for the Australian Open title in '22, Collins never lost more than three games. In the final against world #4 Elena Rybakina, who'd battled through a series of three-setters to get there, it was Collins who played the biggest points the best, saving 10 of 11 BP on the day and serving out a 7-5/6-3 win to claim her third and biggest career tour title. The win over Rybakina is Collins' 13th vs. a Top 10 player, and with it she's now notched at least one such victory every season since 2018.

The second-lowest ranked Miami finalist at #53, Collins is *the* lowest-ranked to lift the title in the event's 39 editions. She'll climb to #22 in the new rankings, and now stands at 20-7 on the year.


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RISERS: Elena Rybakina/KAZ and Ekaterina Alexandrova/RUS
...Rybakina can dominate with the best of them, but the version of her that came to Miami was one that isn't seen all that often.

After missing time (again) with illness, not playing for nearly a month (including missing out on her Indian Wells title defense attempt), Rybakina's play was spotty and streaky over the past two weeks. She was forced to come back from deficits, squandered big moments, and was seen bouncing her racket (and even cracking it on one occasion) in frustration. She lost a set at love for the time time in a year and a half, dropping seven straight games and sixteen points in a row in the match. The Kazakh wasn't consistently the cool, emotionally reserved, meticulous conqueror of foes that she's been during some of her best title runs. Rather than button-down brilliance, her "unbuttoned" game sometimes appeared to be flapping uncontrollably in the breeze. And yet...



While Rybakina ultimately didn't win Miami, her run to a second straight final in the event -- she's the first to do so in consecutive Miami Opens since Ash Barty in 2019 & '21, and the first in back-to-back years since Serena Williams' three-year run from 2013-15 -- saw her win four three-setters over five matches (vs. Peyton Stearns, Taylor Townsend, Maria Sakkari and Victoria Azarenka; with Madison Keys in the 4th Round the only straights sets victim) with her court time clocking in at a nifty 11:36. The 69 games she lost en route were the most ever for a singles finalist in the event. The four three-set were wins were the sixth, seventh and eighth in a row in matches that went the distance since Rybakina lost that 42-40 MTB vs. Anna Blinkova at the Australian Open. The final three-set win came vs. Azarenka when Rybakina rebounded from dropping the 2nd set at love (then end the day by playing a near-perfect TB).

Problems with converting BP, something that plagued her but she overcame all event, and occasional strings of errors (especially, surprisingly, on her backhand) in the final vs. Danielle Collins ultimately proved to be Rybakina's doom as the Bannerette's fairy tale run in her last tour-level event in her home state of Florida made the 30-year old soon-to-be-retiree seem almost destined to be the last woman standing on the winner's platform.

Rybakina is the first woman to lose consecutive Miami finals since Maria Sharapova lost three in a row from 2011-13.

Meanwhile, while her efforts coming off illness add a whole new wrinkle to the Rybakina career oeuvre, this loss also serves as something of a pivot point in terms of her career win percentage in finals. Truth is, while she's been better of late (4-2 in '23), she does not have the success rate that she really *should* have considering how many finals she's played and the magnitude of her biggest wins/finals (i.e. Wimbledon/Indian Wells wins; AO/Miami finals).

At 7-11, she has the worst career WTA final win percentage in the Top 5, and the seventh worst of the current Top 10.

*Top 5 in Career WTA Finals*
.875 - Gauff (7-1)
.836 - Swiatek (19-4)
.538 - Sabalenka (14-12)
.400 - Pegula (4-6)
.389 - Rybakina (7-11)
[Top 10]
.875 - Gauff (7-1)
.836 - Swiatek (19-4)
.538 - Sabalenka (14-12)
.500 - Ostapenko (8-8)
.400 - Pegula (4-6)
.400 - Zheng (2-3)
.389 - Rybakina (7-11)
.385 - Jabeur (5-8)
.333 - Vondrousova (2-4)
.200 - Sakkari (2-8)





Alexandrova had one of the toughest draws in the field in Miami, but maneuvered it well enough to match her career best 1000-level result with a SF run that included a pair of Top 5 wins, one her maiden victory over a world #1.

The Hordette, who reached the QF in 2023, got early wins over Donna Vekic and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, but hit her stride by out-hitting both #1 Iga Swiatek (ending the Pole's 15-match run vs. Top 20 foes) and #5 Jessie Pegula. The wins give Alexandrova three Top 5 wins (w/ Rybakina in Adelaide) in '24.

The locomotive force that was Danielle Collins in her final Miami appearance proved to be too much for Alexandrova to handle in her second career 1000 SF (Madrid '22), but she'll still next rise to a new career high of #15.


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SURPRISES: Francesca Jones/GBR and Nadia Podoroska/ARG
...the San Luis Potosi WTA 125 final has been pushed back to Sunday evening, so these two (who also reached the doubles SF together) can share this award, with the winner of that match picking up some hardware, extra prize money and points.

While Jones' tennis career was surely unlikely after being born with EED (Ectrodactyly Ectodermal Dysplasia), her last few seasons have been hamstrung due to various injuries. Now ranked #270 (she was in the Top 150 in early 2022, a season in which she played just two matches), the Brit was off tour after the AO in '22, then again between May and October '23.

She's back in action this season, and enters the final -- the biggest of her career -- with a 12-3 mark. Jones posted wins this week over Yulia Starodubtseva, Anna Bondar, Robin Mongomery and Julia Riera. Up to #214 in the live rankings, Jones would return to the Top 200 with a title.

Podoroska was a semifinalist at Roland Garros four years ago. She was ranked inside the Top 40 in 2021, but took ten months off in '22 to allow her body to heel. The Argentine climbed back into the Top 100 last season, and won a WTA 125 crown in Colombia (her biggest career title) earlier this season.

The 27-year old, ranked at #78, posted wins in Mexico over McCartney Kessler, Marina Stakusic, Lucrezia Stefanini and Elisabetta Cocciaretto (the defending tournament champ served for the match in the SF).

Heading into her 19th career pro singles final, Podoroska sports a 15-3 record (1-0 125, 14-3 ITF). Another win will get her up to #64 in the rankings.



NOTE: Podoroska def. Jones 6-1/6-2
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VETERANS: Victoria Azarenka/BLR and Jessie Pegula/USA
...three-time Miami champ Azarenka matched her SF run from six years ago, her best in the event since completing a Sunshine Double with a title run in 2016. But she once again failed to complete a good week's run with a late-stage surge that resulted in a final appearance and/or a title. She's reached just one tour-level final since 2020 ('21 I.W.), and hasn't lifted a singles title since Cincinnati/NYC four years ago.

Azarenka barely escaped her first match, winning a three-hour thriller over Peyton Stearns, but then followed up with career Top 10 win #78 against Zheng Qinwen. Wins over Katie Boulter and Yulia Putinteva put the 34-year old into her 26th 1000-level (all-time) SF. Against '23 finalist Elena Rybakina, Azarenka bageled the Kazakh in the 2nd set, then broke her when Rybakina served for the match in the 3rd. With the momentum on her side, Azarenka took a 6-5 lead, only to see Rybakina hold late and then play a wonderful TB (going up 6-1) to take the decider at 7-2.

The week will push Azarenka back into the Top 25 on Monday.

With her spring hard court season ending on a high note, what sort of results Azarenka will post between Miami the the summer HC swing remains to be seen. She hasn't won double-digit clay matches in a season since 2013, the same season as her last clay final (she's 1-6 in her career) and best RG run (SF, though she did reach a 4r in '21). Meanwhile, her best Wimbledon results were more than a decade ago (2011-12 SF, though she reached the Round of 16 last year) and her only grass final was in 2010 (a loss).



For Pegula, 2024 has been an odd bird.

While she's had to deal with some illness and injury in the opening months, and parted ways with coach David Witt, Pegula nonethless came to Miami with a pair of SF (Adelaide/San Diego) despite her having felt like something of an "afterthought" (thanks largely to a 2nd Round exit in Melbourne and one-and-out Indian Wells cameo, as well as falling doubles standing) thus far this season.

Despite a frustrating career record in second week slam runs (0-6 QF), Pegula has shined in recent seasons in 1000 events. Half of her four tour titles are 1000 wins, and she's reached another final and five semis in the big (though non-slam) tournaments on the schedule. Pegula started her 1000 career in similar fashion to how she has in majors, losing her first five 1000 QF matches. Under Witt, she'd turned that number around and gone 8-2 in her last ten QF.

Armed with the duo of Mark Knowles/Mark Merklein on her coaching team, and with consecutive semifinal runs in Miami (2022-23) on her ledger, Pegula showed some mettle in South Florida. After a win over Zhu Lin (who retired in the 2nd), Pegula rallied from 1st set deficits vs. Leylah Fernandez (down 5-3) and Emma Navarro (down 4-1 in what Tennis Twitter winkingly dubbed "The Battle of the Billionaires" due to their respective families' wealth) to win in straight sets to reach the QF, only to be out-done by Ekaterina Alexandrova in three.

Hmmm. So, while Pegula had finally mastered the QF stage in 1000 events under Witt, but never did so in slam play, wouldn't it be just like the Tennis Gods to see this stumble in a 1000 QF ultimately precede her *finally* have her slam breakthrough later this season under the new coaching set up? We should keep an eye-under-arched-eyebrow on that.
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COMEBACK: Caroline Garcia/FRA
...Miami may not have ended quite how Garcia would have liked (she exited in the QF in two quick sets vs. Danielle Collins), but North America (as it has in the past) successfully offered the Pastry the much-needed lifeline that she needed after a trying first few months of action in her '24 campaign.

Even with her Indian Wells 3rd Round (her best result of the season) in hand, Garcia was at just 6-7 coming into Miami. She ran off wins over Viktoriya Tomova, Naomi Osaka (giving her a 2-1 edge in their '24 series) and Coco Gauff, the latter the Pastry's first Top 10 win since she notched four (including one over Coco) en route to the WTAF title in '22. The win over Gauff ended Garcia's career 0-5 mark in Sunshine swing 4th Round matches for her career.



Garcia's three wins not only significantly upgraded her season mark (she's now above .500 at 9-8), but also her career record in Miami (from 7-9 to 10-10), as North America has once again potentially set the French woman on a better course. In recent seasons. Garica won a title in Cincinnati in '22 just weeks prior to her lone slam SF at the U.S. Open (part of her four-title summer/fall w/ wins over three former slam winners in finals, the WTAF championship run and a Top 5 finish). And it's not just the U.S., either. Garcia reached a 1000 SF in Guadalajara last year, as well, while her most recent final came last March in the Monterrey 250.

Garcia hasn't won a tour title since her WTAF run.
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FRESH FACE: Jessica Bouzas Maneiro/ESP
...last season, the 21-year old Spaniard (who made her slam debut at Wimbledon) showed signs of being someone to watch. So far in '24, it's proven to be true.

In Antalya (TUR), Bouzas Maneiro won the biggest title of her career in the WTA 125, adding a third singles title this season to the pair of ITF ($50K & $70K) challengers she'd previously claimed. Wins over Panna Udvardy, Polina Kudermetova (who led 6-2/5-2) and Simona Waltert preceded a three-set victory in the final over Irina-Camelia Begu.

Bouzas Maneiro, 22-5 on the year, will nearly crack the Top 100 on Monday, jumping 23 spots to come in at a career high #104.

After resting up to get 100% healthy, Begu (#126) was making her season debut in this event after last being in action at the U.S. Open. The 33-year old appeared in Antalya after having been in the MD of the last eight editions of the Miami Open. She'd reached the Antalya final without dropping a set.
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DOWN: Iga Swiatek/POL
...often times, Swiatek proves to be one of the more dominant #1 players of recent vintage. But when things don't go her way, the Pole can also have the appearance of being "lost" and appear to be one of the most vulnerable #1 players of the same time period, especially on quicker surfaces against players with hard, flat shots.

Again, it brings up the question of wheather she ever practices against these sort of players so she's more prepared. I mean, shouldn't last season's so-called "Coach of the Year" be finding tactics to combat this weakness by now? Why try to be so aggressive and play into the pocket of said opponent's game, as Swiatek invariably does in these cases? This shouldn't have continued to be an issue -- the *same* issue, with little evidence that anything is being done about it -- for this long.

The '22 champ in Miami, Swiatek missed last year's event due to injury. After a quick win over Camila Giorgi last week, she was lucky to escape Linda Noskova (her AO conqueror) as she squandered a 5-2 1st set lead vs. the teen Czech, and very nearly did it again in the 2nd (up 5-1) and 3rd (up 4-2) before finally winning on Sunday night to extend her Sunshine swing streak to eight match wins. A night later, Ekaterina Alexandrova jumped on Swiatek and never let her up for air, winning 6-4/6-1 and out-hitting her throughout.

The loss ended Swiatek's three-match win streak vs. Alexandrova, and a 15-match streak vs. the Top 20.

While Swiatek is firmly in control of the #1 ranking, and is in the mix for the Player of the Year honors once again through the season's 1Q, she's also clearly moved off the oft-untouchable form she displayed last fall after losing her top ranking at the conclusion of the U.S. Open. Her results so far in '24 have shifted like the sands. A two-time 1000 title winner (both w/o losing a set) and 22-3 on the year, she's also ridden a rollercoaster in the season's three biggest events so far, falling in the 3rd Round at the Australian Open, winning Indian Wells, but now struggling and then exiting in the 4th Round in Miami.

Of course, it's only March. If such inconsistency carries over into the clay season on even slower surfaces, then it'll be a story. Right now, not so much. At least not as far as Iga's status atop the rankings is concerned, anyway.

Beginning with her maiden title run at Roland Garros in 2020, Swiatek has posted a 56-5 mark on the dirt, winning six clay court titles (and back-to-back RG crowns). There's no reason to think that this spring won't bring similar results. Then, rememeber, later this summer the Olympics will be held on the terre battue, as well.
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ITF PLAYER: Lily Miyazaki/GBR
...in Croissy-Beaubourg (FRA), Miyazaki claimed her seventh and ties for the biggest challenger crown of her career in the $75K event.

The 28-year old Brit, an Oklahoma Sooner tennis product, defeated veteran German Mona Barthel in a 6-4/7-5 final, picking up her second title of the season and rising to a new career high (#138).



Eleven years ago, Barthel (now 33) was ranked #23. Her last slam MD appearance was three years ago, and her last tour-level final came when she won in Prague in 2017 (career title #4). If she'd won this title, it would have been her biggest win since that event. Barthel came into the week at #284, and will climb back into the Top 250.
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JUNIOR STAR: Renata Jamrichova/SVK
...in January, Jamrichova swept the AO girls' singles and doubles titles. This week the 16-year old Slovak claimed her first professional title.

After rallying from a set down in consecutive matches in the QF/SF to reach her maiden final, Jamrichova defeated 30-year old Romanian Elena-Teodora Cadar in the $15K Sharm El Sheikh (EGY) title match, once again coming from a set down to win, 2-6/6-3/6-3.


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DOUBLES: Sofia Kenin/Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA/USA
...though they've been a successful duo in the past, having won Abu Dhabi earlier this year, Kenin & Mattek-Sands had to wait to see if they'd get into the Miami draw. One of three alternate teams to be placed in the MD due to withdrawals, the Bannerette pair cut an odd path through the field en route to the title, winning four MTB over five rounds and getting it all done while Mattek-Sands played through an ankle injury that easily could have led to their own withdrawal before the final weekend.

After opening with a 10-8 MTB win over Ostapenko/L.Kichenok, they handled top seeds Hsieh/Mertens 11-9 (QF) and Errani/Paolini 10-1 (SF) to reach their third final as a team. Facing #2-seeded Dabrowski/Rouliffe, Kenin/Mattek lost the 1st set before struggling to avoid squandering a 5-1 lead in the 2nd. They won a breaker to force yet another MTB for the crown, where they took a 7-3 lead and held triple MP at 9-6. It took more, as the score was soon knotted at 9-9 before they finally finished things off on MP #4 to win 11-9.

The title makes Kenin, who has had little singles success (1-8, w/ 7 straight losses) in '24, 4-0 in career WTA WD finals (w/ 2 wins in '24); while Mattek-Sands picks up title #30, adding a second Miami win to the one she picked up in 2016.

The 38-year old isn't just the oldest champion on tour this season (topping her own Abu Dhabi run, which both place her just above fellow 38-year old Hsieh Su-wei's AO and IW wins), but she's also tied for the tour lead (w/ Melichar-Martinez and Perez) with three '24 WD finals and titles (w/ 2).


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WHEELCHAIR: Yui Kamiji/JPN
...two weeks in South Korea = two singles titles for Kamiji.

A week after picking up a Series 2 win, Kamiji took a Series 1 crown in the Daegu Open. Her four wins -- including victories over Manami Tanaka (SF) and Aniek Van Koot (F) -- run the world #2's non-de Groot winning streak to 34 (21-0 vs. "the rest" in '24, where she's 21-3 overall).
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[Miami 4th Round+]



1. Miami Final - Danielle Collins def. Elena Rybakina
...7-5/6-3. Both had taken far different paths to reach the final, as Rybakina played four three-setters in five matches and was on court for more than 11 and a half hours. While Rybakina lost 69 games (the most to ever reach the Miami final), Collins won 12 straight sets after dropping the opener in the 1st Round (never losing more than 3 games in any of them).

In the end, Collins held firm in the biggest moments while Rybkina was her own worst enemy.

In the 1st, at 3-3, Collins saved 4 BP and got the hold, then saved another at 5-5. She broke Rybakina a game later to win the set.

The 2nd saw Rybakina get a break to avoid a 0-3 hole (Collins had 2 GP), but again at 3-3 the set turned Collins' way. Rybakina's backhand errors helped her squander 3 BP as Collins managed another big hold. Serving at 5-3, Collins was down BP twice. Rybakina couldn't convert, and finished 1-of-11 on the day. Collins converted on her fourth MP to win a maiden 1000 title in her final year on tour, in the last tour event in her home state.


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2. Miami 4th Rd. - Ekaterina Alexandrova def. Iga Swiatek
...6-4/6-2. Once more, the prescription for potential success vs. Swiatek proves effective, as Alexandrova got to the Pole early, hit hard, flat shots that didn't give her time to react, and then rolled to her first career #1 win. 1-3 vs. Swiatek coming in, the Russian had been 0-5 vs. #1-ranked players in her career, including going 0-3 vs. a top-ranked Iga over the last three seasons.

Alexandrova's 31 winners powered the way to her second straight Miami QF, ending Swiatek's 8-match winning streak and 15-0 run vs. Top 20 opponents dating back to last year. For the first time since losing to Ash Barty in Adelaide in 2022, Swiatek failed to break her opponent's serve in a match.


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3. Miami 4th Rd. - Yulia Putintseva def. Anhelina Kalinina
...6-4/7-6(5). Putintseva follows up her Indian Wells 4th Round run with an even better result in Miami, somewhat playing the role of surprise Sunshine achiever that was filled by Sorana Cirstea last (IW QF, Miami SF).


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4. Miami QF - Victoria Azarenka def. Yulia Putintseva
...7-6(4)/1-6/6-3. Bring these two together and you know some drama will be in order (the last time they played Vika said that Putintseva needed psychiatric help).

In this case, the culprit was a 40-minute 1st set delay due to a power outage that knocked out HawkEye (i.e. an Ostapenko dream) and served to extend what turned out to be an already long opener.



Putintseva had gotten off to a quick start with a pre-suspension break, but put her lead in jeopardy with errors after the resumption of play. Still, she served at 5-4 and held three SP (Vika saved the third on a net cord dribbler). On her fourth BP of the game (after converting just 1 of her first 9), Azarenka knotted the score. She went on to win a 7-4 TB.

After Putintseva quickly put away the 2nd vs. a seemingly tired Vika, Azarenka got out early in the decider. She saved break points in the first game and got the hold, then fired a big return into the corner to break for a 3-1 lead as she finally found a way to convert on her BP chances. Of course, then Azarenka failed to serve out the match at 5-1 (w/ a MP), but managed to do so on her second attempt two games later to bring the nearly three-hour tussle to a conclusion.


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5. Miami QF - Elena Rybakina def. Maria Sakkari
...7-5/6-7(4)/6-4. Sakkari's good three-and-a-half week Sunshine run ends with a 7-2 record, with losses to the world #1 and #4.

Meanwhile, Rybakina fought her way through another three-set test over the course of the match's 2:48 running time. The Kazakh broke in game 12 of the 1st to avoid a TB, then came back from an early break in the 2nd to hold 2 MP on 5-4, 15/40 on Sakkari's serve. The Greek survived, then won a TB to force a 3rd set.



There Rybakina broke for a 4-3 lead, then had two more MP at 5-3 on Sakkari's serve. Again the Greek held the line. Rybakina finally served out the match, converting on MP #5, to return to the Miami semifinals, her seventh SF+ result in her last ten 1000 MD appearances.


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6. Miami SF - Elena Rybakina def. Victoria Azarenka
...6-4/0-6/6-4. For the fourth time in five matches, Rybakina battles through a series of ups-and-downs over three sets, winning the 1st but then suffering through an imperfect storm of a dip in the level her own game and the up-tick of that of Azarenka's in the 2nd. The Belarusian won 16 straight points in one stretch during the set, allowing Rybakina just five points in the 2nd, and ultimately claimed seven consecutive games as she bageled the Kazakh (the Rybakina's first love set lost since August '22) and took the early lead in the 3rd.



Once more, though, Rybakina surged back.

At 2-2, in a game in which she had a four-point, DF-ace-ace-DF stretch, Azarenka saved 4 BP (Rybakina was 1-of-10 in the match at that point) before failing to stave off a *fifth* opportunity in the game. Rybakina took a 5-3 lead, and served at 5-4, but couldn't serve things out as Azarenka took back the momentum again.

Azarenka led 6-5, but Rybakina held to force a TB, where she played her best tennis of the day when it mattered the very most. She took a 6-1 lead, winning 7-2 as she claimed 11 of the final 13 points on the day to reach her second straight Miami final.

The last back-to-back finalist was Ash Barty in 2019 & '21 (the tournament was cancelled in '20, of course), while the most recent to do it in consecutive calendar years was Serena Williams in a three-year run from 2013-15. Naturally, Serena *won* all three times.


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7. San Luis Potosi WTA 125 SF - Nadia Podoroska def. Elisabetta Cocciaretto
...6-7(5)/7-6(5)/6-2. Cocciaretto is already the only player to have so far lost more than one WTA MD match after having MP in '24. She never got that close here on the WTA challenger level (where she was the DC), but some of the same difficulties reared their ugly head.

Up 5-1 in the 1st, the Italian twice served for the set. She failed to convert on 6 SP chances, then on two more in the eventual TB before winning on #9. In the 2nd, after rallying from 3-0 down, Cocciaretto served for a spot in a sixth career 125 final at 5-4, only to fall behind love/40 and drop serve. She lost a 7-5 TB, and then Podoroska took control of things in the 3rd
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8. Miami 4th Rd. - Maria Sakkari walkover Anna Kalinskaya
...after her 3rd Round win over Alona Ostapenko, Kalinskaya's fifth Top 10 win of the season (she had three in her career before '24), she exits Miami as she has at so many other events *before* this year.

It's her first retirement/walkover since September (she had 13 such exits from tournaments from 2021-23).
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9. Antalya WTA 125 Final - Angelica Moratelli/Camilla Rosatello def. Timea Babos/Vera Zvonareva
...6-3/3-6 [15-13]. The Italians have proven to be a terrifically effective doubles duo in recent seasons, going 8-4 in finals on all levels of professional play since mid-2022 (0-1 WTA, 2-1 125, 6-2 ITF).


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10. $50K Kofu JPN Final - Catherine Harrison def. Lee Ya-hsuan
...6-7(8)/6-1/6-1. The UCLA product -- she made her WTA debut in '21, and got a Wimbledon MD win in '22 -- wins her fourth and biggest pro title, her second in '24.
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11. $50K Murska Sobata SLO Final - Viktoria Hruncakova def. Valeria Savinykh
...6-3/6-0. The Slovak wins her first singles title on any level since 2018.
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12. Easter Bowl Final - Tianmei Wang def. Daniela Borruel
...6-4/6-0. 17-year old Wang claims the USTA's 18s final at Indian Wells.


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*2024 OLDEST WTA SINGLES FINALISTS*
31 - Karolina Pliskova (Cluj-Napoca -W)
31 - Ana Bogdan (Cluj-Napoca -L)
30 - DANIELLE COLLINS (Miami -W)
[WTA 125]
33 - IRINA-CAMELIA BEGU (Antalya -L)
32 - Nuria Parrizas Diaz (Canberra -W)

*2024 WTA FINALS/TITLES BY NATION*
5 (1) - RUS
4 (2) - KAZ (Rybakina)
4 (1) - CHN
3 (3) - USA (Collins)
2 (2) - LAT,POL
2 (1) - BLR
2 (0) - UKR
1 (1) - CZE,GBR,ITA
1 (0) - BEL,GRE,ROU

*MOST WTA FINALS in 2024*
4 - ELENA RYBAKINA (2-2)
2 - Alona Ostapenko (2-0)
2 - Iga Swiatek (2-0)
2 - Aryna Sabalenka (1-1)
2 - Dasha Kasatkina (0-2)

*RUSSIAN WINS OVER #1 since 2012*
2012: #2 Sharapova d. Azarenka (Stuttgart F)
2012: #2 Sharapova d. Azarenka (WTA SF)
2016: #19 Kuznetsova d. S.Williams (Miami 4r)
2017: #26 Kasatkina d. Kerber (Sydney 2r)
2017: #16 Pavlyuchenkova d. Kerber (Monterrey F)
2017: #40 Makarova d. Kerber (Roland Garros 1r)
2018: #23 Kasatkina d. Wozniacki (St.Petersburg SF)
2024: #40 Kalinskaya d. Swiatek (Dubai SF)
2024: #16 Alexandrova d. Swiatek (Miami 4r)
[active RUS - #1 wins]
2 - Dasha Kasatkina
1 - EKATERINA ALEXANDROVA
1 - Anna Kalinskaya
1 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

*MIAMI FACTS 1985-present*
[Most Finals]
10 - Serena Williams (8-2)
7 - Steffi Graf (5-2)
5 - Chris Evert (1-4)
5 - Maria Sharapova (0-5)
4 - Venus Williams (3-1)
3 - Victoria Azarenka (3-0)
3 - Monica Seles (2-1)
3 - Gabriela Sabatini (1-2)
3 - Jennifer Capriati (0-3)
2 - Ash Barty (2-0)
2 - Kim Clijsters (2-0)
2 - Martina Hingis (2-0)
2 - Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (2-0)
2 - Svetlana Kuznetsova (1-1)
2 - ELENA RYBAKINA (0-2)
[Consecutive Finals]
=5=
1985-89 Chris Evert (L-W-L-L-L)
=4=
1993-96 Steffi Graf (L-W-W-W)
=3=
1986-88 Steffi Graf (L-W-W)
2001-03 Jennifer Capriati (L-L-L)
2002-04 Serena Williams (W-W-W)
2007-09 Serena Williams (W-W-L)
2011-13 Maria Sharapova (L-L-L)
2013-15 Serena Williams (W-W-W)
=2=
1990-91 Monica Seles (W-W)
1991-92 Gabriela Sabatini (L-L)
1992-93 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (W-W)
1998-99 Venus Williams (W-W)
2005-06 Maria Sharapova (L-L)
2019/21 Ash Barty (W-W)
2023-24 ELENA RYBAKINA (L-L)
[10 Finalists Have Never Won a Slam]
1990 Judith Weisner
1994 Natasha Zvereva
1995 Kimiko Date
1996 Chanda Rubin
1998 Anna Kournikova
2008 Jelena Jankovic
2012 Aga Radwanska (W)
2015 Carla Suarez Navarro
2017 Johanna Konta (W)
2024 DANIELLE COLLINS (W)
=DOUBLES=
[Most Titles]
7 - Jana Novotna, CZE
5 - Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, ESP
4 - Martina Hingis, SUI
3 - Nadia Petrova, RUS
3 - Lisa Raymond, USA
3 - Helena Sukova, CZE
2 - Gigi Fernandez, USA
2 - Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2 - BETHANIE MATTEK-SANDS, USA
2 - Martina Navratilova, USA
2 - Larisa Savchenko Neiland, LAT
2 - Pam Shriver, USA
2 - Katarina Srebotnik, SLO
2 - Samantha Stosur, AUS
2 - Ai Sugiyama, JPN
2 - Natasha Zvereva, BLR

*2024 WTA DOUBLES FINALS*
3 (2-1) = BETHANIE MATTEK-SANDS
3 (1-2) = Nicole Melichar-Martinez
3 (1-2) = Ellen Perez
2 (2-0) = Hsieh Su-wei
2 (2-0) = SOFIA KENIN
2 (2-0) = Elise Mertens
2 (1-1) = Storm Hunter
2 (1-1) = Lyudmyla Kichenok
2 (1-1) = Alona Ostapenko
2 (1-1) = Katerina Siniakova
2 (0-2) = Guo Hanyu
2 (0-2) = Jiang Xinyu
2 (0-2) = Desirae Krawczyk
2 (0-2) = Heather Watson
[2024 finals - duos]
3...Melichar-Martinez/Perez (1-2)
2...Hsieh/Mertens (2-0)
2...KENIN/MATTEK-SANDS (2-0)
2...Hunter/Siniakova (1-1)
2...L.Kichenok/Ostapenko (1-1)
2...Guo/Jiang (0-2)

*2024 OLDEST WTA WD FINALISTS*
38 - BETHANIE MATTEK-SANDS (Miami - W)
38 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands (Abu Dhabi - W)
38 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands (Auckland - L)
38 - Hsieh Su-wei (Indian Wells - W)
38 - Hsieh Su-wei (Australian Open - W)
38 - Hsieh Su-wei (Australian Open MX - W)
36 - Sara Errani (Linz - W)

*CAREER WTA DOUBLES TITLES - active*
34 - Hsieh Su-Wei
33 - Latisha Chan
30 - BETHANIE MATTEK-SANDS
29 - Sara Errani
28 - Kristina Mladenovic
24 - Timea Babos
24 - Katerina Siniakova
22 - Venus Williams

*2024 WTA 125 CHAMPIONS*
Canberra, AUS (hc) - Nuria Parrizas Diaz, ESP
Mumbai, IND (hc) - Darja Semenistaja, LAT
Puerto Vallerte, MEX (hc) - McCartney Kessler, USA
Charleston, USA (gc) - Elisabetta Cocciaretto, ITA
Antalya, TUR (rc) - Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, ESP
San Luis Potosi, MEX (rc) - Nadia Podoroska, ARG

*2024 ITF TITLES*
4 - Lucija Ciric Bagric, CRO
3 - Malene Helgo, NOR
3 - Tereza Valentova, CZE
2 - Lois Boisson, FRA
2 - Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, ESP
2 - Cristina Dinu, ROU
2 - Denislava Glushkova, BUL
2 - Catherine Harrison, USA
2 - Viktoria Hruncakova, SVK
2 - Saki Imamura, JPN
2 - Dalina Jakupovic, SLO
2 - Maya Joint, AUS
2 - Leonie Kung, SUI
2 - Katarina Kuzmova, SVK
2 - Lily Miyazaki, GBR
2 - Kaitlin Quevedo, ESP
2 - Nina Vargova, SVK
2 - Radka Zelnickova, SVK






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All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 6:48 PM 

3 Comments:

Blogger khan35 said...

Ladies and gentlemen, it's WTA tour where miracle happens very often.

Because of Collin's retirement announcement, she's now playing with house money with no pressure at all. This is certainly not the same Collins who blew a double break lead in AO.

Swiatek ain't no longer winning anything big outside clay and super slow indian wells.

Rybakina is not a big match player. She is a paper tigress.

2012 Vika would win calendar golden slam with playing on current tour.

Mon Apr 01, 04:30:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

I miss 2012 Vika. We've at least seen a few glimpses of *some* of her at times this year.

Wed Apr 03, 03:04:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Diane said...

Rybakina has been either ill or recovering from illness for a few weeks now, which actually makes her recent accomplishments rather notable.

During her Media Day appearance, Vika was--I don't know--kind of a cross between a mature, thoughtful veteran and a self-help book. I miss the old Vika, I miss angry Vika. All the same, it's great to have her here.

Wed Apr 03, 10:20:00 AM EDT  

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