Wednesday, July 10, 2024

W.10- Home is Where Their Feet Are


In their own way, both Elena Rybakina and Barbora Krejcikova have put down roots in the English garden that is Wimbledon, and now tomorrow they'll meet to determine which of the two previous slam champs will have the opportunity to play for their second major title this weekend on Centre Court.



Rybakina was the 2022 women's champ at SW19, and as we speak is putting together one of *the* great Wimbledon records. She entered the day with an 18-2 career mark in the tournament, cracking the 90% win percentage as only Steffi Graf and Ann Jones have before her in the Open era. Graf went 74-7 (or 91.36%), while Jones was 12-1 in her two Open era appearances (92.31%), but 57-13 for her career (81.43%, so she really *shouldn't* be counted here).

Needless to say, the Kazakh is someone to be feared at this tournament, and she's emerged over these two weeks as *the* favorite to win her second title at the AELTC. In truth, Rybakina needs (at least) a second to really join any sort of All-England Club pantheon of champions (after all, Kvitova has two, but that feels like a bit of a disappointment, especially since the last was won a decade ago and she's only gone 12-8 since).

Graf won seven titles, behind Open era leader Martina Navratilova's nine (120-14... 89.55% -- so close) and tied with Serena Williams (98-14, 87.5%). Others of note (overall #'s): Chris Evert (96-15, 86.49%), Billie Jean King (95-15, 86.36%), Margaret Court (51-9, 85%), Evonne Goolagong (49-9, 84.48%) and Venus Williams (90-19, 82.57%)

Rybakina maintained her roll today vs. #21 Elina Svitolina, a '23 semifinalist. She'd been taken to three sets earlier in the tournament by Laura Siegemund, but had otherwise had her way in wins over Gabriela Ruse, Caroline Wozniacki (1 game allowed, but the Dane *was* injured pre-event) and Anna Kalinskaya (who retired).

After the two exchanged breaks to open the match, Rybakina found her rhythm. She broke Svitolina at love for 5-3, then closed out the 1st set with an ace, winning 6-3 while controlling things with her serve and big shots, but also by willingly moving in toward the net. To this point this season, Rybakina was 35-1 when winning the 1st set.

Rybakina broke the Ukrainian with a forehand into the corner in the opening game of the 2nd. Down 15/30 a game later, she fired off a wicked crosscourt backhand winner and a 118-mph ace. She just missed putting away a Svitolina drop shot, but two forehand winners consolidated the break and she led 2-0. Rybakina went up a double break at 5-2, then served out the match at love, winning 6-3/6-2 to advance to her third slam semifinal (she's reached the championship match on the other two trips, once each in London and Melbourne).



So, make it 19-2. Two more wins for 21-2 and her win percentage would be 91.30%, and Steffi (aka Stefanie) would feel a little button-down breath on her statistical neck.

Unlike Rybakina, before this fortnight Krejcikova hadn't had great singles success at SW19. She had won two doubles titles (2018 and '22), as well as a junior doubles crown (2013), all with Katerina Siniakova. The '18 win came in the first Wimbledon held after the far-too-early 2017 death of Krejickova's mentor and former coach, Jana Novotna.

The Hall of Famer's often star-crossed path to an elusive slam singles crown both planted its own well-known roots at the AELTC (i.e. the lost lead vs. Graf in '93 and the tears on the Duchess of Kent's shoulder, then another final loss four years later) before eventually fully blossoming there when she claimed the women's title in 1998.



Krejcikova has spoken often of Novotna over the years, and as she's advanced through this draw she's surely thought of her more and more.

Of course, Czechs as a whole have a long history of success at SW19. Navratilova set the bar, Kvitova won a pair of titles, and Marketa Vondrousova is still the reigning champ for a few more days. In the Open era, fellow Czechs Hana Mandlikova and Karolina Pliskova reached finals, while the likes of Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova reached the semifinals. Today Krejickova added her name to that long (and maybe lengthening, with The Crush looming and *maybe* Karolina Muchova being healthy one day) list.

Against #13 Alona Ostapenko, the #31-seeded Krejcikova continued to make up on the slam stage for all the disappointment of a '24 campaign thwarted by a back injury, illness and even a downturn in doubles success due to the end of her partnership with Siniakova. In her second major QF of the year (w/ AO, as she's been 3-8 in her other tournaments), Krejcikova showed no hint of intimidation or being overwhelmed by the Latvian's forceful brand of tennis, and instead acted as a conductor at the baseline as she wielded her racket like a baton, sending shots deep in the court then then directing Ostapenko's power wherever *she* desired.

After getting an early break of serve, Krejcikova served out a 6-4 1st set at love. Ostapenko had come into the match having never lost more than five total games in any of her four matches.

Ostapenko grabbed the 2nd set advantage, breaking to lead 3-1 and then saving three break points to hold for 4-1. Keeping her shots deep in the court to hold Ostapenko's power at bay, Krejcikova got the break back at 4-3 She then saved a pair of BP from 15/40, holding for 4-4. A penetrating return shot produced an error from the Latvian and a 15/40 edge for Krejcikova in game 9, then a big forehand return smacked the corner line to get the break (Ostapenko challenged it... but no). It was at that point that the Latvian ordered her coach OUT of her players box. He dutifully complied.

In the next game, Krejickova served for the match. She got a call corrected via her own challenge on a shot into the corner, taking a 30/15 lead (Ostapenko got an "are-you-f-ing-kidding-me" look on her face in the moment -- surely if she could go back in time she'd consider egregiously harming the inventor of the tennis replay in their crib, right?).

Just two points from the win, though, Krejcikova soon was down BP, then DF'd on Ostapenko's second chance to extend the match. Ostapenko held serve for 6-5, and the 2nd ultimately went to a TB. There, Krejcikova sent back multiple slice shots before finding an opening and firing a big crosscourt forehand off the Latvian's racket for a 3-2 mini-break lead. She then held two for 5-2.

Again employing a series of defensive, rally-extending slices, Krejcikova ultimately goaded Ostapenko into going for a risky, on-the-run fireball down the line that missed and gave the Czech a MP at 6-3. On her second MP, Krejcikova's service winner took the TB 7-4 to end the match.



Tomorrow, while Rybakina deals with the pressure of being a big "favorite" to take the title (though Krejcikova is 2-0 against her), and with history (perhaps distractingly?) dancing all around her, Krejcikova will play on with a more subtle potential advantage of her own.

She's got a Jana perched on her shoulder, after all.

Will that be enough to corral the Kazakh? We shall see.








=DAY 10 NOTES=
...for the record, the two women's QF started thirty minutes apart, and ended within about ten minutes of each other.

...Day 10 was the great make-up day as 105 matches were completed (though not a Centre Court men's QF cancelled via walkover, as it turned out) in a wild scramble to try and get as close to back on schedule (pronounced "sheddjual," of course, for this major).

In the doubles QF, top seeded Hsieh Su-wei & Elise Mertens knocked off Coco Gauff & Jessie Pegula, while Katerina Siniakova (#4 w/ Taylor Townsend) also moved into the semifinals a few hours before former partner Barbora Krejcikova (w/ Laura Siegemund) fell in a 10-8 MTB to #2 Gaby Dabrowski & (another Kiwi) Erin Routliffe.

#7 Caroline Dolehide & Desirae Krawczyk are the remaining all-Bannerette duo in the final four.

...in juniors, #5-seeded Brit Hannah Klugman, the 15-year old who very nearly made it through qualifying into the women's MD, lost her 2nd Round match to Poland's Monika Stankiewicz. Roehampton champ Teodora Kostovic (#15 seed) avoided the same fate, with the Serb winning a 10-8 MTB over another Brit, Mika Stojsavljevic.

The are still a pair of home players left in the final sixteen, both of them wild cards. The name of one is a mouth-full of letters the order of which might at some point need to be memorized -- right now I'm trying to commit the new Chinese wheelchair players' names to "the file" -- while the second sort of sounds like a character from a 19th century English novel: Hephzibah Oluwadare and Flora Johnson.

...the wheelchair competition finally got underway, as well. #1 Diede de Groot won her 49th straight slam match with a straight sets victory over Momoko Ohtani, while #2 Yui Kamiji defeated Zhu Zhenzhen. Kamiji is 40-1 this season (132-3 since 2022) vs. non-de Groot opponents. Of course, she's also now 1-0 vs. de Groot in her last *one* in the series (after losing 28 in a row) following an upset in the British Open final at Roehampton last week.

...meanwhile, three years (to the day) after she lifted the Venus Rosewater...



We're now at the point of this slam (in *the* version of such a competition) where a recently retired star returns to play with and against usually-more-well-beyond-their-career opponents in the Invitational Doubles. In this case, that player is former #1 and Wimbledon champ Ash Barty. The Aussie is reunited with former WD partner Casey Dellacqua in the competition, and faced Andrea Petkovic/Magdalena Rybarikova on Centre Court today.

Hmmm, let me see, so Barty got to play on CC in her "return match" after retirement in her first visit since winning the title, yet Simona Halep didn't get to open on CC in '22, when Barty was the reigning champ but retired, after Simona hadn't been given the honor following her '19 win due to the '20 event being cancelled and then being injured in '21. The Day 2 "returning women's champion" spot in '22 went to Iga, the same player who has lost in the 3rd Round two of the last three years.

Okay, then.

Anyway, in the 2nd set. Barty held serve (saving 6 BP) to take the set and knot the match, forcing a match-closing MTB. Petkovic/Rybarikova led the breaker 4-1, but the Aussies won five straight points to lead 6-4. Dellacqua missed a would-be put-away volley, but Barty got the point back moments later with a volley off the line -- "chalk flew up!" -- and the pair went on to win 10-7, finishing things off with a Dellacqua return winner off a Rybarikova serve.

Of course, in the past these sort of events have often set the stage for the likes of Martina Hingis and Caroline Wozniacki to return to the tour. Will the same one day happen with Barty? The 28-year old -- half of the women's Round of 16 were 27 or older, BTW -- doesn't seem so inclined.



Still, who knows. It was nice to see her on a court again (she's also been good in the commentating booth), but she really *should* be back out there in matches that count at some point. I mean, she's a U.S. Open away from a Career Slam (even if she doesn't care about such a thing). Maybe one day soon someone will tell her it'd be a worthwhile "challenge* that her son would get to see her undertake (and remember it happening).






*WOMEN'S SINGLES SF*
#31 Barbora Krejcikova/CZE vs. #4 Elena Rybakina/KAZ
Donna Vekic/CRO vs. #7 Jasmine Paolini/ITA

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES SF*
#1 Hsieh/Mertens (TPE/BEL) vs. #4 Siniakova/Townsend (CZE/USA)
#7 Dolehide/Krawczyk (USA/USA) vs. #2 Dabrowski/Routliffe (CAN/NZL)

*MIXED DOUBLES QF*
Olmos/Gonzaelz (MEX/MEX) vs. (WC) Barnett/Willis (GBR/GBR)
Eikeri/Gonzalez (NOR/ARG) vs. Shibahara/Lammons (JPN/USA)
#7 Hsieh/Zielinski (TPE/POL) vs. Townsend/J.Murray (USA/GBR)
#6 Krawczyk/N.Skupski (USA/GBR) vs. #2 Routliffe/Venus (NZL/NZL)

*WHEELCHAIR WOMEN'S SINGLES QF*
#1 Diede de Groot/NED vs. Dana Mathewson/USA
#3 Jiske Griffioen/NED vs. Wang Ziying/CHN
Li Xiaohui/CHN vs. #4 Aniek Van Koot/NED
Kgothatso Montjane/RSA vs. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN

*WHEELCHAIR WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF*
#1 Kamiji/Montjane (JPN/RSA) vs. Mathewson/Tanaka (USA/JPN)
Bernal/Shuker (COL/GBR) vs. Li/Zhu (CHN/CHN)
Guo/Wang (CHN/CHN) vs. de Groot/Van Koot (NED/NED)
Moreno/Ohtani (ARG/JPN) vs. #2 de Groot/Griffioen (NED/NED)

*GIRLS' SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Renata Jamrichova/SVK vs. Sonja Zhiyenbayeva/KAZ
Sonja Zhenikova/GER vs. Rositsa Dencheva/BUL
#4 Tyra Caterina Grant/USA vs. Vendula Valdmannova/CZE
#10 Jeline Vandromme/BEL vs. (WC) Flora Johnson/GBR
Monika Stankiewicz/POL vs. (WC) Hephzibah Oluwadare/GBR
#16 Iva Ivanova/BUL vs. #3 Emerson Jones/AUS
#6 Iva Jovic/USA vs. #11 Wakana Sonobe/JPN
#15 Teodora Kostovic/SRB vs. #2 Laura Samon/CZE








..."BUTTON-POPPING" COMING SOON... ON DAY 10:




...SLAM-LEVEL SPORTS PESTERING AT ITS FINEST, RIGHT THERE... ON DAY 10:



Heehee. Fact is, that's an hilarious move deserving of "opposing fandom respect." Just let 'em know you're always watching.

(Alona and/or Elena should always wink at Iga if they happen to cross paths on the practice courts, just to remind her.)


...SO SAD... ON DAY 10:

We didn't get the opportunity for fifty cut-ins of Katie Boulter clapping on a Wednesday.



...NOW I CAN GET BEHIND THIS ONE (vote no on Vegemite, yes on Tim-Tams)... ON DAY 10:




...FOR A SECOND I WAS CONFUSED BECAUSE I THOUGHT I SAW YASTREMSKA... ON DAY 10:




...TRUTHFULLY... ON DAY 10:



I'm not ever certain the on-court interviewers this year know who *anyone* is (though I've thought Annabel Croft has been even worse). She sort of comes off like a holographic AI.

Not that I don't also cringe every time Courier or McEnroe walk out with a microphone at the U.S. Open. The Aussies (Dokic, Dellacqua, etc.) handle it much better.

Wimbledon *used* to be the one major that didn't conduct on-court interviews. Can we go back to that?









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*CAREER SLAM SF - active*
23 - Venus Williams, USA (16-7)
9 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR (6-3)
9 - Simona Halep, ROU (5-4)
8 - Angelique Kerber, GER (4-4)
8 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (3-5)
7 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (3-4)
7 - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (3-4)
6 - Iga Swiatek, POL (5-1)
6 - Madison Keys, USA (1-5)
4 - Naomi Osaka, JPN (4-0)
4 - Coco Gauff, USA (2-2)
4 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (2-2)
4 - Vera Zvonareva, RUS (2-2)
3 - Genie Bouchard, CAN (1-2)
3 - Sara Errani, ITA (1-2)
3 - Ons Jabeur, TUN (3-0)
3 - Karolina Muchova, CZE (1-2)
3 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ (2-0)*
3 - Sloane Stephens, USA (2-1)
3 - Elina Svitolina, UKR (0-3)
2 - Jennifer Brady, USA (1-1)
2 - Danielle Collins, USA (1-1)
2 - Sofia Kenin, USA (2-0)
2 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (1-0)*
2 - Sabine Lisicki, GER (1-1)
2 - Alona Ostapenko, LAT (1-1)
2 - Jasmine Paolini, ITA (1-0)*
2 - Maria Sakkari, GRE (0-2)
2 - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE (2-0)
--
*-to play SF

[SLAM SF 2020-24]
8 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (3-5)
6 - Iga Swiatek, POL (5-1)
4 - Coco Gauff, USA (2-2)
3 - Ash Barty, AUS (2-1)
3 - Karolina Muchova, CZE (1-2)
3 - Ons Jabeur, TUN (3-0)
3 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ (2-0)*
2 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR (1-1)
2 - Jennifer Brady, USA (1-1)
2 - Simona Halep, ROU (0-2)
2 - Sofia Kenin, USA (2-0)
2 - Madison Keys, USA (0-2)
2 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (1-0)*
2 - Naomi Osaka, JPN (2-0)
2 - Jasmine Paolini, ITA (1-0)*
2 - Maria Sakkari, GRE (0-2)
2 - Serena Williams, USA (0-2)
1 - Danielle Collins, USA (1-0)
1 - Leylah Fernandez, CAN (1-0)
1 - Donna Vekic, CRO (0-0)*
1 - Mirra Andreeva, RUS (0-1)
1 - Caroline Garcia, FRA (0-1)
1 - Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA (0-1)
1 - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (0-1)
1 - Angelique Kerber, GER (0-1)
1 - Martina Trevisan, ITA (0-1)
1 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (0-1)
1 - Magda Linette, POL (0-1)
1 - Tatjana Maria, GER (0-1)
1 - Garbina Muguruza, ESP (1-0)
1 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS (1-0)
1 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (1-0)
1 - Nadia Podoroska, ARG (0-1)
1 - Emma Raducanu, GBR (1-0)
1 - Elina Svitolina, UKR (0-1)
1 - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE (1-0)
1 - Dayana Yastremska, UKR (0-1)
1 - Zheng Qinwen, CHN (1-0)
1 - Tamara Zidansek, SLO (0-1)
--
*-to play SF

[2024 SLAM SF BY NATION]
2 - ITA (1-0) - Paolini
2 - USA (0-2)
1 - BLR (1-0)
1 - CHN (1-0)
1 - POL (1-0)
1 - CRO (0-0) - Vekic
1 - CZE (0-0) - Krejcikova
1 - KAZ (0-0) - Rybakina
1 - RUS (0-1)
1 - UKR (0-1)

[SLAM SF BY NATION 2020-24 / 18 slams]
13 - USA (6-7)
10 - BLR (4-6)
8 - CZE (4-3)*
7 - POL (5-2)
3 - AUS (2-1)
3 - KAZ (2-0)*
3 - RUS (1-2)
3 - TUN (3-0)
2 - GER (0-2)
2 - GRE (0-2)
2 - ITA (1-0)*
2 - JPN (2-0)
2 - ROU (0-2)
2 - UKR (0-2)
1 (W) - CAN,CHN,GBR,ESP
1 (-) - CRO*
1 (L) - ARG,BRA,FRA,SLO,ITA

[2024 WI SEMIFINALISTS - career WI SF]
2 - Elena Rybakina
1 - Barbora Krejcikova
1 - Jasmine Paolini
1 - Donna Vekic

[2024 WI SEMIFINALISTS - consecutive Slam SF]
2 - Jasmine Paolini

[2024 WI SEMIFINALISTS - career WI W/L]
19-2...Elena Rybakina
13-9...Donna Vekic
11-3...Barbora Krejcikova
5-3...Jasmine Paolini

[2024 WI SEMIFINALISTS - career Slam W/L]
47-17...Elena Rybakina
45-42...Donna Vekic
39-16...Barbora Krejcikova
18-18...Jasmine Paolini

[2024 WI SEMIFINALISTS - 2024 Slam W/L]
14-2...Jasmine Paolini
10-2...Elena Rybakina
9-2...Barbora Krejciikova
7-2...Donna Vekic



*MOST WTA SF in 2024*
7 - ELENA RYBAKINA (5-1)
7 - Iga Swiatek (4-2 +W)
6 - Coco Gauff (1-5)
4 - Dasha Kasatkina (3-0 +W)
4 - Danielle Collins (3-1)
4 - Aryna Sabalenka (3-1)
4 - JASMINE PAOLINI (2-1)
4 - Jessie Pegula (1-2 +L)
4 - Ekaterina Alexandrova (1-3)
4 - Emma Navarro (1-3)
3 - Karolina Pliskova (2-0 +L)
3 - Marta Kostyuk (2-1)
3 - DONNA VEKIC (1-1)
3 - Madison Keys (1-2)
3 - Liudmila Samsonova (1-2)
3 - Victoria Azarenka (0-3)
3 - Anhelina Kalinina (0-3)

*CZECHS IN WIMBLEDON SF - Open era*
1981 Hana Mandlikova (RU)
1984 Hana Mandlikova
1986 Hana Mandlikova
1993 Jana Novotna (RU)
1995 Jana Novotna
1997 Jana Novotna (RU)
1998 Jana Novotna (W)
2010 Petra Kvitova
2011 Petra Kvitova (W)
2014 Petra Kvitova (W)
2014 Lucie Safarova
2019 Barbora Strycova
2021 Karolina Pliskova (RU)
2023 Marketa Vondrousova (W)
2024 Barbora Krejcikova

*SLAM QF & W/L in 2020s - 18 events]
9 - Sabalenka (8-1)
8 - Swiatek (6-2)
7 - Gauff (4-3)
7 - Jabeur (3-4)
6 - ELENA RYBAKINA (3-3)
6 - Pegula (0-6)
5 - BARBORA KREJCIKOVA (2-3)
5 - ELINA SVITOLINA (1-4)
4 - Barty (3-1)
4 - Muchova (3-1)
4 - Ka.Pliskova (1-3)
3 - Halep (2-1)
3 - Keys (2-1)
3 - Pavlyuchenkova (1-2)
3 - Vondrousova (1-2)
3 - ALONA OSTAPENKO (0-3)
3 - Tomljanovic (0-3)
2 - Azarenka (2-0)
2 - Brady (2-0)
2 - Collins (1-1)
2 - Fernandez (1-1)
2 - Kenin (2-0)
2 - Kvitova (1-1)
2 - Osaka (2-0)
2 - JASMINE PAOLINI (2-0)
2 - Sakkari (2-0)
2 - Trevisan (1-1)
2 - DONNA VEKIC (1-1)
2 - S.Williams (2-0)
2 - Zheng Q. (1-1)

*WIMBLEDON INVITATION DOUBLES WINNERS - SINCE 2007*
[1992 Wendy Turnbull & Virginia Wade]-no official champs
2007 Jana Novotna & Helena Sukova
2008 Jana Novotna & Kathy Rinaldi
2009 Martina Navratilova & Helena Sukova
2010 Martina Navratilova & Jana Novotna
2011 Lindsay Davenport & Martina Hingis
2012 Lindsay Davenport & Martina Hingis
2013 Lindsay Davenport & Martina Hingis
2014 Jana Novotna & Barbara Schett
2015 Magdalena Maleeva & Rennae Stubbs
2016 Martina Navratilova & Selima Sfar
2017 Cara Black & Martina Navratilova
2018 Kim Clijsters & Rennae Stubbs
2019 Cara Black & Martina Navratilova
2020-21 DNP
2022 Kim Clijsters & Martina Hingis
2023 Kim Clijsters & Martina Hingis
[MX Invitational]
2022 Marion Bartoli & Nenad Zimonjic
2023 Rennae Stubbs & Nenad Zimonjic




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This is very similar to having opinions about players/teams in sports, tennis or otherwise. If something comes along that goes against an opinion enough to alter a stance (even if it's just temporary and in the moment), you really need to acknowledge it.

It's one of the reasons why I used to be so into political races, because the "horse race" of it all reminded me of sports. Of course, that was before every election seemed like a game of chicken featuring an existential threat to the very nature of the country.

Sorta takes the fun out of it, you know?

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TOP QUALIFIER: Katie Volynets/USA
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #14 Dasha Kasatkina/RUS
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #4 Elena Rybakina/KAZ
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): x
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q2 -Robin Montgomery/USA def. #10 Kamilla Rakhimova/RUS 7-6(0)/6-7(4)/7-6(10-4) - no breaks in 36 games, only 5 BP face; Montgomery w/ 20 aces; combined for 132 winners (67/65)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd. - #18 Marta Kostyuk/UKR def. Dasha Saville/AUS 4-6/7-6(2)/6-4 - Saville served for match three times in 2nd set, had a MP; Kostyuk break on BP #8 of game to force TB; Kostyuk wins on MP #5 in 3rd set
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 4th Rd. - (Q) Lulu Sun/NZL def. (WC) Emma Raducanu/GBR 6-2/5-7/6-2 - overcomes Brit on Centre Ct., first NZL to slam QF since '89; 52 winners
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): x
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Varvara Gracheva/FRA (def. Lesia Tsurenko/UKR)
FIRST SEED OUT: #8 Zheng Qinwen/CHN (1st Rd. to Sun/NZL) (after #22 Alexandrova/RUS, #3 Sabalenka/BLR and #16 Azarenka/BLR withdrew)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Day 1: Erika Andreeva/RUS, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro/ESP, Sonay Kartal/GBR, Robin Montgomery/USA, Yuliia Starodubtseva/UKR, Lulu Sun/NZL, Anca Todoni/ROU
UPSET QUEENS: Spain
REVELATION LADIES: Great Britain
NATION OF POOR SOULS: ROU (1-5 1st Rd.; #29 Cirstea out, Bogdan 2 MP, no Halep)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Lulu Sun/NZL (in QF)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Emma Raducanu/GBR (4th Rd.)
PROTECTED RANKING: Paula Badosa/ESP (4r), Bianca Andreescu/CAN (3r)
LUCKY LOSER WINNERS: Erika Andreeva/RUS (2nd)
LAST BRIT STANDING: Emma Raducanu (4th Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: Donna Vekic/CRO
IT "Kiwi": Lulu Sun/NZL
COMEBACK PLAYER: Paula Badosa/ESP
CRASH & BURN: #6 Marketa Vondrousova/CZE (1st Rd. to Bouzas Maneiro/ESP; first defending champ out 1r since 1994 Graf loss vs. McNeil; second in Open era)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF LONDON: #18 Marta Kostyuk/UKR (2nd Rd.- down 5-2 vs. Saville in 3rd, who served for win three times and held MP; in '24 slams has won from MP down at AO/WI, and 4-0 down in 3rd at RG)
DOUBLES STAR: x
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Nominees: (wc), (doubles), (Invitational)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x
SPIRIT OF JANA (NOVOTNA) HONOREE: Barbora Krejcikova/CZE (completes "Career QF Slam" at major won by former coach/mentor; first WI SF)






All for Day 10. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 6:44 PM 

4 Comments:

Blogger khan35 said...

Now I am certain that Ostapenko's 2017 RG run was a one-off and she will never reach another major final let alone win one. Two weeks are too long for her to sustain the high risk high reward ball bashing game she plays.

After hardly winning any match on tour level prior to the fortnight, if Krejcikova reach Wimbledon final then it would be typical WTA. Hahahaha!

I'm rooting for a Rybakina-Paolini final but probably will get a Vekic-Krejcikova one.

Thu Jul 11, 05:51:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Krejcikova had the back injury, remember. Took a while to get healthy (*and* she didn't get the usual WD practice, either, I suppose). She's always shown an ability to beat top players late in events if she can get there.

Well... half-right on the final. ;)

Thu Jul 11, 08:22:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Diane said...

Krejcikova was also number 2 in the world, won the French Open, and beat Swiatek in two finals. And in addition to her back injury, she was out for a while with illness.

Fri Jul 12, 10:41:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

I was looking at my lists, and if Krejickova wins she'll be on the short list of players *this* close to being *this* close (i.e. w/ 3 or more majors titles but never being ranked #1).

In the Open era, only Mandlikova (4 wins, high of #3) and Wade (3 wins, #2) are on the list, but both Kuznetsova (2, #2) and Kvitova (2, #2) were right there. Krejcikova would slide right in there, with a real chance at a third down the line, too.

Fri Jul 12, 07:15:00 PM EDT  

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