Wednesday, September 11, 2024

2024 3Q Awards: Paint the Town Red






3Q Top Players list (& "Ms.Backspin" update): HERE
3Q Top Players list (& "Ms.Backspin" update): HERE


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As for the rest...




#1 - SABALENKA IN THE CITY ...in her fourth straight deep run at the U.S. Open, Aryna Sabalenka finally wins the title in New York with a 7-5/7-5 victory in the final over Jessie Pegula. The Belarusian sweeps the AO/US titles in '24, becoming just the second woman (Kerber '16) to do so since 1997. Having won three of the last four hard court majors, Sabalenka has reached the final at *all* four, a feat not accomplished since her countrywoman Victoria Azarenka did the same (winning two AO, but going 0-2 in NY) in 2012-13. Sabalenka is 41-4 in slam play over the last two years, with 3 titles at two different events, 4 finals and nothing worse than a QF in any of them.
#2 - THE GOLDEN QUEEN OF PARIS ...in one of the more memorable Gold medal runs since tennis' return to the Olympics in 1988, Zheng Qinwen becomes the first Chinese singles champion in the event, hanging a shiny little bauble around her neck after a week that saw her complete a take-no-prisoners, I-don't-care-about-your-problems, I-don't-read-fairy-tales (because *I* am one, too) run. Zheng seemed to deliver one stunner after another on the grounds of Roland Garros, opening with a love & love win over Sara Errani, saving MP vs. Emma Navarro, ending Angelique Kerber's fairytale career-closing journey through the draw (staging a comeback from 4-1 back in the 3rd), taking out four-time RG champ Iga Swiatek in Paris (ending the Pole's 25-match run on the terre battue), then finishing off Donna Vekic 6-2/6-3 in the second most lopsided Olympic women's final in the sport's current 36-year run in the games.
#3 - THE TOURNAMENT OF HER LIFE ...at the Paralympics, Yui Kamiji ends the dominance of the Dutch women in the tennis event (the Netherlands had previously claimed all 16 women's Gold medals), first winning the doubles alongside Manami Tanaka with a defeat of Diede de Groot & Aniek Van Koot in the final, then in the coup de grâce to the world #1's shocking trip to Paris, defeated de Groot in the Gold singles final to sweep both competitions. The win completed the fifth sweep of the women's Golds (de Groot did it in Tokyo in '21), as well as ending de Groot's stunning run of nineteen straight major singles titles in Paralympic, slam and year-end Masters events. After having recently lost 28 straight singles matches to de Groot, Kamiji has now pulled off the upset *twice* in a row.
#4 - PEGULA SUMMER ...after missing time due to injury early in the season, when she was also breaking in a new coaching team, Jessie Pegula hit her stride on summer hard courts, becoming the first woman since 1973 (Goolagong) to reach the finals of Toronto, Cincinnati and the U.S. Open in the same season. Pegula defended her '23 Canada title in Toronto, reached the final in Cincinnati (a loss to Aryna Sabalenka), then overcame her career 0-6 mark in slam QF with a win over #1 Iga Swiatek at the U.S. Open before overcoming a 6-1/2-0 (w/ a BP for a double-break) deficit vs. Karolina Muchova in the SF to reach her maiden slam final. She put up a good fight in another match vs. Sabalenka, but the Belarusian proved to be too good (again) in the end.
#5 - A PRELUDE TO GREATNESS ...Aryna Sabalenka's Flushing Meadow surge started in Cincinnati, where she mowed down the competition without dropping a set. When the opponents got "bigger" in the closing rounds, Sabalenka's game did, as well. In a SF clash with world #1 Iga Swiatek, their first meeting since the Belarusian was 0-2 against her in the Madrid/Rome finals in the spring, Sabalenka dominated the Pole, and only wavered temporarily (after leading 6-3/5-1 and triple MP) as she needed ten MP and multiple games to finally finish off the win. In a Monday final vs. Jessie Pegula, Sabalenka led 6-3/5-3 before closing out a 7-5 2nd set. Afterward, Pegula compared Sabalenka's form to that of (yes) Serena Williams.
#6 - TO FORZA! IN FRANCE ...Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani, the latter at 37 the oldest woman to win an Olympic tennis medal, team to become the first Italian women and first Italian Gold medalists in Olympic tennis history. The win came via a deciding 10-8 MTB over Hordettes Mirra Andreeva & Diana Shnaider in the final. Errani's win, after she'd previously won a Career Doubles Slam with Roberta Vinci, makes her accomplishment a Golden one, making her the seventh woman to complete the feat. The other six are either in the Hall of Fame, or will likely be setting a date for as much in the future. Errani then went on to win her first MX slam title at the U.S. Open with Andrea Vavassori, while Paolini reached singles Round of 16 at a fourth straight '24 major.
#7 - TEENAGE DREAM ...17-year old Mirra Andreeva's maiden tour title run in Iasi saw her lose just nine games through the first three rounds, then got a bit complicated as the Hordette trailed Olga Danilovic 5-2 in the 3rd set and saved a pair of MP before rallying to reach her first tour final. Once there, Andreeva trailed Elina Avanesyan 7-5/5-4, but prevailed in the hotly contested battle when she ran off seven straight games and ultimately saw her then (for one last time)-countrywoman retire down 0-4 in the deciding set after winning just four total points in the 3rd. Andreeva is the youngest tour champion since Coco Gauff won in Parma in '21 (at 20 days younger).
#8 - ELEVENTH HOUR DECISIONS ...after a 1st Round exit at Wimbledon, Zheng Qinwen changed her mind and decided to defend her '23 Palermo title, taking a wild card into the event. It turned out to be a brilliant move, as she rediscovered her early season form and reached the final without dropping a set. In the final vs. Karolina Muchova, Zheng rallied and opportunistically grabbed the 1st after the Czech had held the lead, then denied a Muchova comeback attempt mid-way through the 3rd after Zheng had surged ahead 3-0. She broke Muchova's serve in her final two service games to pick up career title #3, the carried over the momentum all the way to Paris with a Gold medal run.
#9 - ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER CRUSHER CHAMPION ...19-year old Linda Noskova becomes the latest of the current generation of young Czechs to lift a trophy, winning in Monterrey in her third career WTA final appearance. The teenager lost zero sets all week, including sweeping through the likes of Elina Svitolina, soon-to-be U.S. Open semifinalist Emma Navarro and Wimbledon quarterfinalist Lulu Sun in the final.
#10 - THREE FOR THREE ...on the dirt in Budapest, Diana Shnaider wins her third title of the season, becoming the only woman this season to win on hard court, grass and clay. At 20, she's the youngest player to collect tour trophies on three surfaces in a season since a 19-year old Caroline Wozniacki did it in 2009.
#11 - LOVE AFTER LOCKING UP GOLD? ...Katerina Siniakova's 2024 experience has been all about breaking up relationships, reuniting and, oh yeah, winning tournaments. The Czech's trip to Paris inclued a bit of *all* of that in her latest Olympic experience. In Paris, Siniakova had signed up to play MX with significant other Tomas Machac before the couple announced that they'd broken up (off-court, that is) earlier this summer. They remained a team at the Olympics, though, and their latest journey ended with them winning a deciding 10-8 MTB over Wang Xinyu & Zhang Zhizhen to claim the Gold. It's Siniakova second Gold, having won the WD w/ Barbora Krejcikova in '21, making her the first *two*-time Gold medalist in Czech tennis history. Afterward, it seemed that the joy of teaming to win for their country may have rekindled Siniakova and Machac's off-court realationship, as well.
#12 - RE-INTRODUCING... AMANDA ANISIMOVA ...while she didn't take home the big trophy, Amanda Anisimova's week in Torono was more of a "build back" accomplishment than most title winners in 2024. A year ago, Anisimova's series of troubles caused her to take a "mental break" from the game. From May until the start of the '24 season, she didn't play a tour-level match after going just 3-8 last season. Anisimova's early '24 efforts included an encouraging Round of 16 at the Australian Open, but after sitting out February/March, she'd recorded just two match wins since Melbourne as she headed into Wimbledon qualifying (she lost in the final round). Ranked #132 in Toronto, Anisimova put together her best run since 2022, defeating Caroline Dolehide (off her D.C. semi) and then stringing together four consecutive Top 20 wins (tying for the '24 tour best) against Dasha Kasatkina (#12, her best win since Cincy '22, when she defeated Kasatkina), Anna Kalinskaya, Aryna Sabalenka (#3, matching her best career win) and Emma Navarro (who'd soon reach the U.S. semis) to reach her first tour final since she won an AO January tune-up event two and a half years ago. Anisimova forced a 3rd set vs. soon-to-be U.S. runner-up Jessie Pegula in the final, but saw the defending champ dominate the decider.



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*LET THERE BE LIGHT (and champagne)*







*BEST NON-NAVARRO RELATED DRIVE-BY*





*KAROLINA MUCHOVA APPRECIATION CORNER*







*BEST POST-MATCH "THANK YOU" SHOUT OUT*







*MOST AUDACIOUS POST-MATCH BEHAVIOR*







*MOST EXUBERANT POST-MATCH CELEBRATION*







*MOST UNIQUE POST-MATCH TRADITION*







*THE LATEST GOODBYE*







*BEST/MOST HONEST REACTION TO A DOUBLE-FAULT*







*MOST MEMORABLE WARDROBE*







*IGA vs. MATTEO*







*THE PLAYER WHO NEVER BREAKS CHARACTER*

Meanwhile, Putintseva continued to behave like, well, Putintseva...




Three cheers for the ballgirl. (To her credit, Putintseva *did* apologize on social media the following day.)



So we now have incontrovertible proof that Paolini, no matter the conventional wisdom, CAN NOT make *everyone* smile.




*THE SWEET SPOT BETWEEN SOCIAL MEDIA AND A TENNIS MAJOR WAS DISCOVERED IN NEW YORK*







*LATE NIGHT AT THE OPEN*







*ARYNA AND HER MINI-ME*









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1. Olympics QF - Donna Vekic (CRO) def. Marta Kostyuk (UKR)
...6-4/2-6/7-6(8). At Wimbledon, Vekic lost a barnburner of a match in the SF vs. Jasmine Paolini (in a 10-8 MTB). Here the Croatian wasn't -- though she *almost* was -- left at the altar once again.

Vekic served at 5-4 in the 3rd, and held a MP. She dropped serve, but broke Kostyuk and served for it again. She reached MP once more, but was broken for a second straight time as Kostyuk tried to add a huge Olympic comeback to her string of Houdini-like escapes in slam play in '24. She'd won after being MP down at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and was down 4-0 (2 GP from 5-0) in a match in which she prevailed at Roland Garros. She came to the Olympics with a tour-best three victories on the season after facing MP.

Kostyuk led Vekic 4-0 in the MTB. Her 5-2 lead evaporated and it was 5-5, but the Ukrainian reached MP at 6-5. Vekic saved it, and needed three *more* MP chances (at 7-6, 8-7 and 9-8) before she finally secured a berth in the medal round with a 10-8 win, assuring herself of being Croatia's first female tennis medalist.

Kostyuk's loss ended Ukraine's hopes of a second straight medal-winning run in singles, as Elina Svitolina finished third in Tokyo in '21.


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2. Cincinnati QF - Iga Swiatek def. Mirra Andreeva
...4-6/6-3/7-5. In her first meeting with the world #1, Andreeva pushes Swiatek to three (and could have taken her even deeper).

There were just three breaks of serve in the entire match, with each set decided by those occurrences. Swiatek broke Andreeva for 6-5 in the decider, then staved off a BP that would have produced a tie-break for the win. The victory makes Swiatek 10-0 in 1000 QF this season.

Until next time (BTW, the ball *is* really there, they're not just pantomining a rally)...


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3. Palermo Final - Zheng Qinwen def. Karolina Muchova
...6-4/4-6/6-2. Muchova plays her way into a final in just her third event back from wrist surgery, but the Czech would have surely liked to have been just a tad more tidy in this one, too.

Muchova was up a break on Zheng twice in the 1st, both early and late-ish, only to see the #1 seed sweep the final three games and steal the match lead. In the 2nd, Muchova again had the early lead, a double-break scoreboard bulge at 4-1. She ultimately survived, serving for the set at 5-4 and having to stave off four BP before knotting the match.



Zheng took a 3-0 lead in the 3rd, but Muchova got things back on serve at 3-2. But she couldn't carry through the momentum on serve, as Zheng finally got the break edge back by converting on BP #5. She then finished things off to defend her title.


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4. Budapest 1st Rd. - Sara Sorribes Tormo def. Gergana Topalova
...4-6/6-3/7-5. Bulgarian qualifier Topalova (#234) defeated Ella Seidel (who'd reach the QF as a lucky loser) in the final round of Budapest qualifying, and made her tour-level MD debut vs. Sorribes Tormo. Actually, let's call it an "initiation," as Topalova and the marathon-magnet Spaniard went 3:29, the fourth longest match this season.

Sorribes Tormo led 3-0 in the 3rd, only to then drop the next five gamaes. But Topalova couldn't put away her first career WTA victory, and Sorribes Tormo advanced.
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5. Cincinnati 2nd Rd. - Iga Swiatek def. Varvara Gracheva
...6-0/6-7(8)/6-2. "Fresh" (but probably not) off her Olympic Bronze medal (a fine result, if the event had been held anywhere *other* than Roland Garros), Swiatek bursts out of the gate, putting an exclamation point on her Paris experience by throttling new Pastry Gracheva to the tune of a 6-0/5-2 lead. She held four MP on Gracheva's serve in game 8, but couldn't convert any of them. She then dropped serve at love in the following game. Uh-oh.

A fifth MP (again on Gracheva's serve) came and went at 6-5, as did a 4-1 lead in the 2nd set TB. Gracheva won 10-8 on her fifth SP to send the match to a decider.



In the 3rd, Swiatek went up an early break (perhaps being ready to run away with things?), only to immediately give the break back a game later. The world #1 gathered herself again, broke to lead 4-2 and (finally) never looked back.


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6. Cincinnati QF - Jessie Pegula def. Leylah Fernandez
...7-5/6-7(1)/7-6(3). Pegula's hard court roll continued against Fernandez, but only after having to do a whole lot of extra work.

The Toronto champ led 7-5/4-0, but soon after saw herself saving four *Fernandez* SP before things went to a 2nd set TB. The Canadian won 7-1 to force a 3rd. Again, Pegula took an early lead (3-0), but after being unable to put away any of three MP had to go to a deciding TB to get the win. Finally, on MP #5, she won 7-3 in a little over three hours.
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7. U.S. Open 2nd Rd. - Ekaterina Alexandrova def. Iva Jovic
...4-6/6-4/7-5. After getting her maiden Top 50 win in her tour-level and slam debut over world #42 Magda Linette in the 1st Round, 16-year old USTA 18s champ Jovic next faced off against #29-seeded Alexandrova. The California teen was again almost preternaturally calm throughout the match played in the heat of the late afternoon on Court 12 in NYC.



Jovic took the opening set, but saw the Hordette stage a comeback in the 2nd. Serving at 5-4, Alexandrova dug out of a love/30 hold to knot the match, then twice went up a break in the first half of the 3rd. Jovic got one break back, but saw Alexandrova serve for the win at 5-4. She held three MP in the game (and DF'd on #3), then on Jovic's second BP Alexandrova double-faulted again. She immediately broke back, though, and got another chance to serve it out at 6-5.

Alexander again quickly reached MP, but squandered #4 and #5 with UE. She tossed her racket and received a warning from the chair umpire, then committed a third UE to hand Jovic a BP. She saved it, then saw MP #6 go away with a deep Jovic return that Alexandrova couldn't get back over the net. Finally, on MP #7, Alexandrova saw Jovic pull a backhand return off the court to end the 3:02 contest as the Hordette matched her career-best effort at the U.S. Open from a year ago.


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8. Iasi Final - Mirra Andreeva def. Elina Avanesyan
...5-7/7-5/4-0 ret. Top-seeded Andreeva outlasts Avanesyan in the 33rd all-Russian final in tour history, a match-up of the RUS #5 vs. the RUS #10. At ages 17 and 21, respectively, it was the youngest tour final since the 2021 U.S. Open.

Avanesyan led 7-5/5-4, but Andreeva swept the final seven games, dropping just four points in the 3rd set before Avanesyan retired 0-4 down after dropping game 4 at love.



The match would be Avanesyan's last as a Russian, as by the time she hit the court in her next event in Cincinnati she was officially representing Armenia.
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9. U.S. Open 1st Rd. - Jasmine Paolini def. Bianca Andreescu
...6-7(3)/6-2/6-4. For the third straight slam, #5 Paolini faced off with Andreescu, and for the third time the Italian prevailed. The last time women faced off in three consecutive majors it was 2007 and the players in question were named Justine Henin and Serena Williams (Henin went 3-0 in that series, as La Petit Taureau wasn't afraid of nuthin').

In a nearly 90-minute 1st set, Andreescu had held three SP before Paolini forced a TB, won by the Canadian 7-5. But, as she's done all slam season, the ever-energetic Paolini bounced back and wore down her opponent to get the win and reach the second week. Afterward, Andreescu humorously begged the smiling Paolini to let her win next time.


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10. U.S. Open 4th Rd. - Zheng Qinwen def. Donna Vekic
...7-6(2)/4-6/6-2. Zheng and Vekic met in the final match of of the day on Ashe in a replay of this summer's Olympic final on the terre battue at Roland Garros. The end result was the same, but the contest was a far better one than what happened in Paris.

Zheng took the 1st in a 7-2 TB after neither women dropped serve in the set (there were only two BP, both on Vekic's serve). In the 2nd, the two women exchanged early breaks, then Vekic nipped Zheng in the final game, getting the break to claim a 6-4 set on her third BP of game 10.

Zheng got the early break in the 3rd, then held the edge until the end, never facing a BP in the final set of a victory that send her back to a second straight Open QF, making her the first Chinese player to do so in back-to-back years in New York.

The nearly three-hour match ended at 2:16 a.m., making it the latest-ending women's scheduled night match in U.S. Open history.


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HM- Barranquilla 125 2nd Rd. - Mariam Bolkvadze def. Elsa Jacquemot
...6-7(4)/7-6(4)/7-6(3). Late on a Wednesday, this one happened. Bolkvadze had one ace vs. 26 double faults. And she won the match.

Bolkvadze and Jacquemot played three tie-breaks, combined for 49 DF (Jacquemot had 23, w/ 8 aces), 50 BP chances (24 were converted, including in 10 of the 12 service games in set 2) and 278 total points (Bolkvadze had a 12-point edge).

Still, the first MP didn't occur until the very last point of the 4:05 marathon, with Bolkvadze taking out the Pastry 7-3 in the deciding TB.
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*POLISH TENNIS HISTORY (w/o Iga)*

Prague Final - Magda Linette def. Magdalena Frech
...6-2/6-1. The Polish #2 takes out the Polish #3 in the first all-Pole WTA final clash.






*ITALIANS IN PARIS*

Italy's all-time medalists in tennis. That's it. Those are the three... and they did it on back-to-back days.




Olympics Doubles Gold Match - Sara Errani/Jasmine Paolini (ITA) def. Mirra Andreeva/Diana Shnaider (I.N.A.)
...6-2/5-7 [10-8]. For the record, Errani/Paolini are the first *Gold* medalists, as Lorenzo Musetti won singles Bronze on Saturday before the Sunday doubles final.



BTW, this is the second straight games in which Russians won tennis medals without actually representing *Russia*.




*DANIELLE DRAMA*



Olympics QF - Iga Swiatek (POL) def. Danielle Collins (USA)
...6-1/2-6/4-1 ret. There was some drama *during* the match, too.



It's a weird choice to die on the hill of Swiatek's "insincerity" when it comes to an opponent's injury, but who's going to convince Collins of *anything* that she doesn't initially believe to be true, right?




*THINGS ARE GONNA GET EASIER... (see, I told you)*



Olympics Doubles Bronze Match - Cristina Bucsa/Sara Sorribes Tormo (ESP) def. Karolina Muchova/Linda Noskova (CZE)
...6-2/6-2. Bucsa's season of under-the-radar doubles excellence added a trip to the medal stand in Paris, as her Top 20 WD ranking and three tour titles (all on clay) got some company.

While Muchova & Noskova failed to become the 11th & 12th different Czech women to win Olympic medals in tennis, Busca & Sorribes Tormo *are* the 6th & 7th Spanish women to do so. They're the first to win anything since Anabel Medina-Garrigues & Virginia Ruano Pascual's WD Silver in 2008, though.

Sorribes Tormo's week had started with a tough 1st Round loss in singles that left her an emotional mess in the moments that followed. Sometimes, the Tennis Gods *do* show a little compassion.






*A WEEK LATER, THEY COULD COMPARE GOLD MEDALS*

Olympics 1st Rd. - Zheng Qinwen (CHN) def. Sara Errani (ITA)
...6-0/6-0. And the rest was history... for both Zheng *and* Errani.




*AND A (FINAL) PINCH TO GROW ON...*

Olympics 1st Rd. - Angelique Kerber (GER) def. Naomi Osaka (JPN)
...7-5/6-3. After coming into Paris on a five-match losing streak, Kerber announced that she'd retire following the games. Her upset of Osaka -- on hardly the best surface for either during their careers -- kicked off a surprise QF run.



In 2021 in Tokyo, Osaka lit the flame during the Opening Ceremonies, and her Olympic experience has delivered little of note since then.

Olympics 3rd Rd. - Angelique Kerber (GER) def. Leylah Fernandez (CAN)
...6-4/6-3. Fernandez's 2021 U.S. Open final run included a 4th Round defeat of Kerber in what has turned out to be the '16 champion's final match in New York.

With the win, 36-year old Kerber became the oldest Olympic singles quarterfinalist since the 1988 return of tennis. The German has reached the QF in all three of her Olympic appearances (she won Silver in 2016).






*THEY SAY THAT WELL-BEHAVED WOMEN RARELY MAKE HISTORY... but what of Zhang?*


Cincinnati 1st Rd. - Diana Shnaider def. Zhang Shuai
...6-1/6-4. Without a win since January 2023, Zheng entered the Cincinnati with a protected ranking, and suffered a loss that put her "atop" the list of the worst losing streaks in pro tennis history with her 22nd consecutive defeat. She's already long since taken hold (at #18) of the WTA record.

The loss to Shnaider topped ATP player Vincent Spadea's record of 21 straight in 1999-2000.



U.S. Open 1st Rd. - Ashlyn Krueger def. Zhang Shuai
...0-6/6-1/7-5. It looked as if the 35-year old Chinese veteran might come out on top in her 1st Round match against Krueger (who was 0-6 in slam MD matches). But... uh, no. Instead, Zhang fell for the 23rd straight time.



Zhang had taken the 1st set at love, and Krueger didn't seem ready to take the next step in her own career. But even a best-of-three set match is a long test, and the 20-year old Bannerette proved resilient. She immediately staked her claim to the 2nd set, going up 4-0 and winning it 6-1. The 3rd proved to be a battle, with the score knotted a 5-5 and the potential for a winner-takes-all match tie-break seemed high.

But Zhang came up more and more short in the final stages (winning can be a habit, but so can losing). Serving down 5-6, she faced a pair of BP/MP at 15/40. A long Krueger return and backand winner down the line from Zhang kept the possibilities alive, but MP #3 soon arrived. Zhang was immediately put on the defensive, as she had been often in the closing moments, and Krueger's put-away ball at the net sealed the victory, the first in a major MD of her career. She reached the 3rd Round.




*THE COMPLICATED (and every-changing) RULES OF TENNIS ETIQUETTE (Armenian Edition)*

Monterrey 2nd Rd. - Elina Svitolina def. Elina Avanesyan
...6-4/6-3. For the record, we now know that ethnic Armenians who used to play under the flag of Russia (where her family fled to avoid war three decades ago) aren't worthy of a handshake, racket tap *or*, for that matter, any general acknowledgement of persisting on the same plane of existence, either, I guess.



It's a good thing Svitolina wasn't playing Irina Spirlea when she zipped past her opponent -- nearly shoulder-to-shoulder at one point -- with nary a glance there at the end. Jannik Sinner might have been involved in the *second*-biggest controversy of the week.






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1. Olympics 3rd Rd. - Zheng Qinwen (CHN) def. Emma Navarro (USA)
...6-7(7)/7-6(4)/6-1. What was actually a rather significant match -- made more so by Zheng's Gold run -- was turned into a punchline when Navarro oddly chose the moment of the choked-away match to nonsensically disparage her opponent at the net (then recount her unseamly words to the media after the match).

Navarro had taken the 1st set after Zheng led 5-3, served for the set and had four SP in the TB. After winning the breaker 9-7, Navarro led 5-3, had a MP on Zheng's serve, and then served for the match in the 2nd. Zheng won a 7-4 TB, then ran away with a 6-1 3rd to end the 3:12 contest.



*Then* the winner was lectured by Navarro at the net, who said she didn't know how Zheng had as many as she did because *Navarro* didn't respect her as a competitor, due to her perceiving her as being too "cutthroat" off the court and not fostering "camaraderie" in the lockerroom and practice courts. Or something like that, since Navarro has never gotten any more specific than that.

The bigger question: what sort of "camaraderie" is Navarro pursuing with her actions, both at the net and then in her public comments about it *afterward*? At the U.S. Open, Navarro admitted she hadn't even attempted to talk to Zheng in the month since the Olympics (why do that when a drive-by insult will do?), said that she'd probably have delivered her message to Zheng even if she'd won the match (so, not a "sore loser," but something maybe worse), and displayed not an inkling of remorse or regret.

Even with the complicated "rules of etiquette" that exists on the WTA tour in 2024, it's hard to find an avenue where this isn't a clear "no-no"... yet nearly two months later there's been no blowback for Navarro from fellow players (many of whom last year were quick to call for a "ban" of an unknown player for smudging out a ball mark two points after a point had been played and well past ruled on).
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2. U.S. Open SF - Jessie Pegula def. Karolina Muchova
...1-6/6-4/6-2. Early on, Muchova look unbeatable. After saving three BP and holding for 2-1 in the 1st, the Czech broke at love a game later and went on to win eight straight points. In such immaculate form that she made, as Pegula stated after the match, her opoponent "look like a beginner," Muchova took the set 6-1 and more than doubled up the Bannerette in points (30-14), winning 19 of the final 23 to end the set.

Her game perfectly tuned and all her multi-faceted weapons firing, Muchova broke Pegula to open the 2nd, held for 2-0 and was a BP away from a 3-0 double-break lead when Pegula's desperate forehand from off the court toward a waiting Muchova at the net *seemed* like just the shot before the Czech put away the volley that might seal the U.S. woman's fate in the match. But then Muchova pushed that volley just beyond the baseline, losing a point at the net for the first time in the match.

The moment, as innocuous as it appeared to be in that instant, turned the match.

Had Muchova gotten the additional break of serve, Pegula's hole on the scoreboard may have been too deep from which to escape. But Pegula *did* -- barely -- get the hold of serve. From there, Pegula's game finally found its footing, while Muchova -- though still brilliant at times -- appeared far more mortal. The serve-and-volleying Czech failed to get back a Pegula return that dipped over the net and at her feet, as Muchova was broken and the score tied at 2-2. Two games later, Pegula broke her again on the fourth BP of the game to take a 4-2 lead, winning a fourth straight game (Muchova had held a GP in three of them).

Muchova managed to break to get back on serve at 4-3, then held for 4-all, sliding a short ball crosscourt past (and spinning away from) Pegula. But, down 5-4, Muchova fell behind 15/40, then DF'd on Pegula's second BP/SP to close out the 6-4 set and knot the match. After having nearly taken a commanding lead, Muchova's UE totals for the 2nd set had climbed to 19 by its conclusion.

Winning 16 of 20 points, Pegula took a 2-0 lead in the 3rd, but managed to avoid the slip that the Czech had had a set earlier. Muchova *did* provide herself with chances, but Pegula slipped through the trouble each time and held her off. Pegula saved a BP and held for 3-0, then after losing a 40/15 lead two games later as Muchova once again began to make shots from everywhere on the court, she saw another BP come and go (w/ a Muchova forehand error) as her lead climbed to 4-1.

The same 40/15 to BP scenario played out again in game 7, but another Muchova error squandered the opportunity (the Czech threw her racket exceeding high in frustration... and then smoothly caught it with one hand in a move nearly as impressive as some of the points she won). Pegula held for 5-2.

Pegula didn't have to stave off BP again two games later, as she broke Muchova to end the match in the following game, winning to reach her maiden slam final, in her home country, in her home state.


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3. U.S. Open 3rd Rd. - Paula Badosa def. Gabriela Ruse
...4-6/6-1/7-6(8). Just when it looked as if Paula Badosa's U.S. Open run in the city of her birth was over, the Spaniard decided that she wasn't yet ready to say goodbye to her new home away from home.



Ruse, playing with aggression and going for her shots, broke into the lead in the match, taking the 1st set 6-4 on the back of 14 winners; but Badosa responded by taking control in the 2nd. With 12 winners vs. just 5 UE, Badosa won the set 6-1 and charged into the 3rd. She twice held break leads, at 3-2 and 6-5, but the Romanian didn't let up in the face of the moment. In the final third of the set, while Badosa was often content with keeping the ball in the court, Ruse was firing shots from the baseline. She immediately broke back after Badosa first took the lead, and denied the Spaniard the win when she served for the match in game 12.

In between Badosa's brief turns atop the scoreboard, Ruse's aggressive tactics had pushed her into the lead and she held a MP (after a big return winner) on Badosa's serve at 5-4 (Badosa saved it with a serve up the middle). But what worked for the Romanian also worked against her. Badosa's tactic of feeding her opponent balls during rallies helped to cause Ruse's UE total for the set to climb to 20. After Badosa couldn't serve out the win, things went to a deciding match tie-break.

In the 10-point breaker, Badosa went out to a 4-0 lead as she took advantage of Ruse's second serve. But Ruse wouldn't go away. After a Badosa DF, the Romanian's backhand down the line put the TB back on serve. But consecutive errors from Ruse gave the advantage right back, at 6-3. A Ruse miss to end a long rally made it 7-4, and a Badosa ace put her up 8-6.

Ruse held close, taking Badosa's second service point (8-7). With a shot to tie the score, Ruse pushed a forehand wide that instead gave Badosa her first MP at 9-7. On MP #2, her first on her own serve, Badosa's serve was returned long by Ruse as the Spaniard won to reach her first Round of 16 (and eventually QF) at the U.S. Open.


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4. Olympics QF - Zheng Qinwen (CHN) def. Angelique Kerber (GER)
...6-7(4)/6-4/7-6(6). The "no fairytales" portion of Zheng's week in Paris.

Kerber's unexpected, but characteristically gritty Paris run ended in 3:07 in her third career Olympic QF. Both had served for the set in the 1st, but Kerber won a TB to take the early lead. The German held for 4-1 in the 3rd, saving 4 BP and with a shot for her second medal (w/ the '16 Silver) within reach. But the Chinese woman forced a deciding TB, took a 6-3 lead, and finally ended Kerber's WTA journey on her fourth MP.


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5. Cincinnati 2nd Rd. - Leylah Fernandez def. Elena Rybakina
...3-6/7-6(3)/6-4. Shades of Fernandez's 2021 U.S. Open final run?

In Rybakina's return from her latest break due to illness, the Kazakh erased a 5-3 deficit in the 3rd to hold a pair of MP (on return) at 6-5. The Canadian saved both, won a 7-3 TB, then took the 3rd set to pick up her first Top 5 victory since notching three en route to the Open final three summers ago, handing Rybakina her second '24 loss (w/ Blinkova at the AO) after holding MP.



Rybakina, clearly still in wobbly form while after so many health-related issues, fired a career-best 20 aces in the match, but disabled that potential advantage with a career-most 17 DF (Fernandez had 13 herself in the win).
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6. Iasi SF - Mirra Andreeva def. Olga Danilovic
...3-6/6-3/7-6(1). Andreeva's title run came after the Russian had trailed Danilovic 5-2 in the 3rd in their semifinal, saving a pair of MP on her own serve and then breaking the Serb when she served for the match a game later. Andreeva went on to dominate the deciding TB, then take the title on Friday before heading to Paris.

It's the sixth time this season a player has won a title after saving MP.


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7. Cleveland 1st Rd. - Katerina Siniakova def. Sayaka Ishii
...6-7(5)/6-3/7-6(5). Whew! A veteran player never wants to lose to a teenager, let alone one ranked #284 and making her tour-level MD debut. But Ishii, who met all those standards, very nearly got (and probably *should* have gotten) the upset.

Siniakova had served for the 1st set at 5-4, but saw the Japanese youngster grab the lead with a 7-5 TB win. Up 5-1 in the 3rd, Ishii twice served for the match and held three MP at 5-3 (from 40/15 up). In the deciding TB, Siniakova trailed 5-3, but managed to sweep the final four points to get the win and (eventually) advance to her first SF of the season.
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8. U.S. Open 2nd Rd. - Liudmila Samsonova def. Marie Bouzkova
...3-6/7-6(1)/6-3. In the 1st Round, Bouzkova had staged a comeback from 4-2 back in the 3rd to get past qualifier Eva Lys. In her 2nd Rounder, and the Tennis Gods showed they They can taketh as well as They giveth.

The Czech led #16 Liudmila Samsonova 6-3/5-2, and served for the match at 5-3. After the Hordette took a 7-1 TB to knot the match, Bouzkova led by a break at 3-2 in the decider, as well. But Samsonova swept the final four games to get the win to reach her third consecutive U.S. Open 3rd Round, as well as her third straight 3rd Round at a major this season.
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9. Toronto 1st Rd. - Diana Shnaider def. Harriet Dart 6-3/3-6/7-6(2)
Toronto 2nd Rd. - Diana Shnaider def. Magdalena Frech 2-6/6-3/7-6(5)
...Shnaider opens her week in Ontario by twice pulling off wins in deciding tie-breaks, after having been as close as two points from defeat *three* times in *both* matches.


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10. Cleveland Final - McCartney Kessler def. Beatriz Haddad Maia
...1-6/6-1/7-5. Kessler overcomes a set deficit, and 3-1 hole in the 3rd, to take her maiden WTA title.

It was the tour-best tenth singles title won by a Bannerette in '24, and Kessler is the eighth different U.S. woman to lift a trophy (the most since 2000). She's the third maiden U.S. title winner this season, the most since four Bannerettes (Kenin, Anisimova, Pegula & Gauff) won title #1 in 2019.


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HM- Monterrey 2nd Rd. - Lulu Sun def. Maria Lourdes Carle
...6-3/2-6/7-6(2). Sun is no once-in-a- blue-moon achiever, and clearly Wimbledon was no fluke.

The Kiwi's final run in Monterrey included this little gem, in which she erased Carle's 4-1 3rd set lead, saving a MP on serve at 5-4.


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1. Olympics SF - Zheng Qinwen (CHN) def. Iga Swiatek (POL)
...6-2/7-5. Everyone just *assumed* that Swiatek would win Gold in Paris. Everyone, I guess, except for Zheng.

It's worth noting that Zheng had pushed Swiatek at RG during her '22 title run, a two-week stretch where *no one* else had, so she had reason to not be pessimistic about the encounter. And with Swiatek, even on clay in Paris, that can be more than half the battle. Still, Zheng came in with six losses in their six-match series.

The loss ended Swiatek's 23-match clay winning streak, and 25-match run at RG (though her 21 in a row in slam play remains active for '25). Hers was the third longest clay streak on tour in the last quarter century, with only Serena Williams (28 in '13) and Maria Sharpova (27 from 2005-06) with longer runs. Swiatek's previous best had been 18 in a row in 2022.


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2. Prague 2nd Rd. - Laura Samson def. Katerina Siniakova
...1-6/7-5/6-3. So, apparently we're at the point in the Czech Crusher Era when the younger generation (and one of the younger members of it, no less) eats away at the previous generation in a big occasion event in their home nation.

Siniakova led 3-1 in the 3rd, but Samson claimed the last five games en route to a SF run in her tour MD debut.


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3. Olympics 3rd Rd. - Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK) def. Jasmine Paolini (ITA) 7-5/3-6/7-5
Olympics QF - Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK) def. Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) 6-4/6-2
...6-2/6-4. Schmiedy takes out *both* of this year's Wimbledon finalists, as well as two players who have reached the final at Roland Garros on the same terre battue, as she becomes the first Slovak to reach the Olympic medal round.

AKS rallied from 5-2 down to take the 1st vs. Paolini, and was down a break twice early in the 3rd. Paolini served for the win at 5-4, but Schmiedlova swept the final three games to get her first Top 10 win since 2016. Krejcikova was her second.

The one in 2016? Hmmm, it was over Roberta Vinci... at the Rio Olympics.
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4. Olympics QF - Mirra Andreeva/Diana Shnaider (I.N.A.) def. Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE)
...6-1/7-5. The Russians' Silver run included the biggest upset of the doubles competition, as the '21 Gold medalist Czechs saw their reunited pairing fall short of the medal round.


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5. U.S. Open 1st Rd. - Iva Jovic def. Magda Linette
...6-4/6-3. The youngest player in the draw, 16-year old wild card Jovic, making her slam and tour-level MD debut as the USTA's 18u national champion, faces 32-year old Magda Linette and stuns the Polish vet.



Jovic nearly followed up with another upset, taking #29 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova to a 7-5 3rd set in the 2nd Round. The next week, Jovic reached the junior semis, losing to eventual champion Mika Stojsavljevic.
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6. Toronto 3rd Rd. - Taylor Townsend def. Alona Ostapenko
...6-2/6-1. The WTA's tweet isn't *wrong*, but it was actually Townsend's first WTA quarterfinal. Period.
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7. Toronto QF - Amanda Anisimova def. Aryna Sabalenka
...6-4/6-2. Anisimova notches her first Top 10 win since 2022. It's her eighth overall, three of which has come over Sabalenka (she recorded two against her on clay two seasons ago). The win over the then-world #3 tied Anisimova's 2019 RG QF upset of Simona Halep as the biggest of her career.



Sabalenka didn't lose another match on hard courts this summer, sweeping to the titles at Cincinnati and the U.S. Open.
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8. Monterrey 2nd Rd. - Erika Andreeva def. Danielle Collins
...1-6/6-3/6-3. Hey, sis. Look what I can do, too!

Andreeva's first Top 20 victory set the stage for her maiden tour QF and a new career high ranking (her sister Mirra was still ranked about 50 spots above her).


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9. U.S. Open 2nd Rd. - Gabriela Ruse def. Barbora Krejcikova
...6-5/7-5. In the absence of Simona Halep in New York the last two years, the former #1's fellow countrywomen surely made a point of filling the Romanian vaccuum.

A year ago, Sorana Cirstea overcame a number of years of injuries and frustration by coming to NYC and reaching her first slam QF since 2009, as she played into the second week of the Open for the first time in fifteen MD appearances (and two failed qualifying attempts).

In 2024, another Romanian whose promising career has been held back by injuries played into the 3rd Round of a major for the first time ever. Qualifier Gabriela Ruse upset #8 seed and Wimbledon champ Barbora Krejcikova. It's Ruse's second career Top 10 win, with the other coming about two and a half years ago over Paula Badosa in the 1st Round of Dubai.



Ruse faced Badosa again in the 3rd Round, holding a MP before the Spaniard rallied for the victory.
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10. U.S. Open 1st Rd. - Caroline Dolehide def. Danielle Collins
...1-6/7-5/6-4. Collins didn't have any sort of fairytale run in her final major, as the #11 seed went out to countrywoman Caroline Dolehide, who picked up her first U.S. Open victory in her fifth MD appearance (she's also failed to qualify four times, with her first attempt dating back to 2016).



Collins had led the match 6-0/2-0, but later temporarily staved off elimination when Dolehide served for the win at 5-3 in the 3rd, holding two MP. After getting the break, Collins dropped serve in the following game, then zoomed past Stacey Allaster and her attempt to bestow her with flowers on her farewell walk. Later, Collins gave a very good response when asked why she skipped any festivities "celebrating" her career.


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HM- U.S. Open 1st Rd. - Renata Zarazua def. Caroline Garcia
...6-1/6-4. Once again, Renata Zarazua was busy making some history for Mexican tennis. Already the first Mexican woman in 29 years (Angelica Gavaldon, 1995) to appear in the MD of all four majors in a season, she notched the biggest win of her career over #28 seed Caroline Garcia.



Zarazua's upset dropped Garcia to 16-16 on the season, and is the Mexican woman's first slam MD win since the 2020 Roland Garros. Now with two MD wins in majors in her career, Zarazua is the third woman from Mexico to record multiple victories in the Open era (after Elena Subirats and Gavaldon). Already at a career-best #92 heading into the match, Zarazua cracked the Top 90 after the Open to set a new career-best ranking high.
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STATISTICAL NOTE: since Ash Barty's retirement, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka have combined to win seven of eleven major titles. Add in Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff, and it's nine of eleven. The other two were won by Czechs.







posted by Todd.Spiker @ 12:15 PM 

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