Sunday, January 26, 2025

AO25 - G'Day, Melbourne

It's all over Down Under for AO25.








=AO NOTES=
...--if you're lucky enough to play doubles beside Katerina Siniakova, well, you're pretty fortunate. At the moment -- and maybe she's won the who's-going-to-be-my-regular-partner-lottery -- Taylor Townsend (hardly a pushover in WD, herself) is livin' the dream. Townsend picked up her second career slam crown on Sunday, with both coming while playing with the same Czech, by teaming with Siniakova to win their second major title (w/ WI) together in less than a year.

The top seeds took a three-set, 6-2/6-7(4)/6-3, final from #3-seeded Hsieh Su-wei & Alona Ostapenko. Hsieh was a defending AO doubles champ, while Ostapenko had been looking to win her second straight WD slam crown.

The Czech and the Bannerette became the final big-time champions at this AO (though there was apparently some men's contest later, I hear).




Siniakova has now collected ten women's doubles major titles (including three AO wins in four years) in her future-Hall-of-Famer career (she's now 10-2 in slam finals) and is currently the reigning champ at three of the four majors (missing only the U.S. Open, where she and Townsend lost in the SF). Most of those ten wins have come alongside Barbora Krejcikova, with whom Siniakova became the only women's duo to win all four slam titles, the season-ending championships and Olympic Gold, but while her fellow Czech has carved out a great singles career for herself in recent years, Siniakova has proven that she's a doubles superstar of the highest order in her own right apart from their longtime partnership.

Siniakova will be the doubles #1 for the 136th week in her career starting on Monday, ranking her fifth all-time. She'll be just one week from catching Lisa Raymond for the fourth-most weeks, and at that point would be only 100 weeks (less than two full years) from matching Martina Navratilova's record mark of 237 (though, to be fair, Navratilova would have *far* more weeks at #1 if the rankings had started before 1984).



With Siniakova's 10th major title, she and Krejcikova (w/ 12) are the current leading active overall slam title winners, excluding Venus Williams (w/ 23), but it's hard to tell if she should still be considered "active" or not.

...the Legends' competition didn't have any matches scheduled on the final weekend, so despite the AO website listing an eventual "Final" after the round robin, once again no champions are being crowned (unlike in Wimbledon's Invitational competition, which is always great fun, and even one recent year at RG when Pennetta/Schiavone were lifting a trophy). Each duo only played one match each in Melbourne, so there turned out to be no path to a "champion."

If the whole thing is just for sh*ts and giggles, I'm not sure what the point is of listing a "draw" that doesn't mean anything. (Shrug.)

And on that note...


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1. Madison Keys, USA ...Keys won a title in Adelaide on the same weekend that play began in Melbourne, then saw her momentum roll all the way to her maiden major title run at the AO, where she became the third-oldest (3 weeks from 30) first-time slam winner, with the third-longest wait (46 MD), the first to knock off the world #1 and #2 en route to a major title since 2009, and the latest to lift a slam championship trophy after saving a MP (vs. Iga in the semis). Five wins in Keys' 14-1 start have come over Top 10 competition.
2. Aryna Sabalenka, BLR ...Sabalenka won Brisbane and reached her third straight AO final (fifth straight at a HC major), but came up one game short of forcing Madison Keys into a deciding 3rd set MTB for the title, which could have made the Belarusian the first to three-peat since 1999. At least Keys' win over Swiatek in the semifinals allows Sabalenka to hold onto her #1 ranking (by just under 200 points).
3. Siniakova/Townsend, CZE/USA ...last year's Wimbledon champs teamed again on the major stage to win the AO crown, Siniakova's third title in Melbourne in four years. Townsend is the first player other than Barbora Krejcikova to win multiple slams alongside Siniakova. The Czech has won three of the last four majors (w/ RG with Gauff)
4. Iga Swiatek, POL ...Swiatek thrived again while representing POL (knocking off Rybakina, reaching the United Cup final), and held a MP vs. eventual champion Keys in the AO SF before a 10-8 MTB loss, nonetheless matching her best career result in the season's opening slam event
5. Clara Tauson, DEN ...Tauson opened 2025 with a Week 1 title run in Auckland, then went to Melbourne and got her customary seeded upset (#29 Noskova) in the 1st Round and arguably gave Aryna Sabalenka her best competition in the AO (the Dane had a shot to win both sets in a 3rd Rounder) before the world #1 lost to Keys in the final
6. Paula Badosa, ESP ...with her upset of Coco Gauff in the AO QF, Badosa joined Sanchez Vicario, Martinez and Muguruza as one of four Spanish women who've reached a major semifinal. Less than a year after thinking her career might be over due to a back injury, she returns to the Top 10 this week.
7. Yui Kamiji, JPN (WC) ...with Diede de Groot out following hip surgery, Kamiji grabbed an AO crown to go along with her Paralympic Gold and WC Masters crowns from late last year. She's set to replace the idle de Groot as #1 in the rankings.
8. Jiang Xinyu/Wu Fang-hsien, CHN/TPE ...Keys is the first multiple singles title winner in '25, but Jiang/Wu won back-to-back doubles titles in Auckland in the opening two weeks of the season
9. Coco Gauff, USA ...she came up short in the AO (QF), but led the U.S. to another United Cup title and started the season at 9-0
10. Olivia Gadecki, AUS ...her MX title run in Melbourne with John Peers made the Aussies the first home-nation AO championship team since 2013
11. McCartney Kessler, USA ...for the second time in five months, Kessler picked up a tour title (Hobart, as she did in Cleveland last August) just a day before the start of a major
12. Li Xiaohui/Wang Ziying, CHN/CHN ...with their doubles title run in Melbourne, Li/Wang became the first Chinese wheelchair slam champions
HM- M.Andreeva/Shnaider (RUS/RUS), Belinda Bencic/SUI, Kimberly Birrell/AUS, Guo/Panova (CHN/RUS), Hsieh/Ostapenko (TPE/LAT), Polina Kudermetova/RUS, Eva Lys/GER, Elise Mertens/BEL, Naomi Osaka/JPN, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS, Penickova/Penickova (USA/USA)(Jr.), Yulia Putintseva/KAZ, Wakana Sonobe/JPN (Jr.), Elina Svitolina/UKR, Jeline Vandromme/BEL (Jr.)









...THE BEACH (as is Brighton) IS BACK!:



Of course, they'll never top Li Na and her visit from an unexpected friend in 2014.




...SOMETIMES TENNIS IS LIKE A FAMILY PHOTO ALBUM:




...I THINK THIS IS THE FIRST SLAM EVER IN WHICH I DIDN'T WATCH A SINGLE POINT OF THE RUN OF THE MEN'S CHAMPION (and was never really tempted to do so by any match-up, honestly):

Thank you huge Australian time difference. (Wink.) Djokovic-Alcaraz was great, though.



...MEANWHILE ON THE ITF CIRCUIT:



The oldest woman in the AO main draw continued to win while AO25 was in its dying hours, defeating Leolia Jeanjean in three sets in India.

Elsewhere, Czechs cleaned up with wins by Tereza Valentova ('24 RG Jr. champ) and Nikola Bartunkova ('23 WI Jr. RU), while former Crusher Linda Klimovicova won her first title while representing Poland.




...DIANE'S TOP 10 IS HERE:







...with the new rankings coming out Monday, a quick update on the new state of the world (the tennis one, I mean, since we know the rest is pretty screwed up at the moment)...

* - Aryna Sabalenka retains her #1 ranking by 186 points over Iga Swiatek. Coco Gauff remains #3, more than 2000 points behind.

* - Elena Rybakina is back in the Top 5 (from #7)

* - TOP 10 UP/DOWN: Madison Keys (#7, matching her career high from 2016) and Paula Badosa (#10) are back in the Top 10, replacing Dasha Kasatkina (#11) and Barbora Krejcikova (#14). There are now four U.S. women in the Top 10 (#3 Gauff, #6 Pegula, Keys, #9 Navarro), with #12 Danielle Collins just on the outside (with her Miami/Charleston defenses closing in).

* - TOP 20: Donna Vekic is at a career-high #17, while 30-year old Yulia Putintseva (#20) is ranked in the Top 20 for the first time *ever*

* - TOP 50 NOTES: Maria Sakkari is still in the "slam seed zone," but barely, at #31. Clara Tauson is at #39, with her CH (#33) in sight. Olga Danilovic (#41) and Ashlyn Krueger (#50) crack the Top 50 for the first time, while Naomi Osaka (#42) is there for the first time since January '23.

* - TOP 100: Suzan Lamens (#67) and Kimberly Birrell (#95) reach career highs, while Veronika Kudermetova climbs 24 spots to #51, passing by her sister Polina (#58) after the Brisbane finalist had assumed the high family ranking before the AO.

* - BIGGEST CLIMB/BIGGEST FALL IN THE TOP 100: AO lucky-loser-turned-4th-Rounder Eva Lys is up 37 spots to a new CH of #91, while '24 AO semifinalist Dayana Yastremska drops 39 to #72.

* - TOP 200: Belinda Bencic's AO Round of 16 run jumps her ranking 137 spots to #157. Anca "Anca!" Todoni edges closer to her Top 100 breakthough, moving up to #108.

* - DOUBLES: Katerina Siniakova will be #1 for a 136th week in her career on Monday. Fellow AO champ Taylor Townsend is up to a CH #3, while Jasmine Paolini sets *another* CH by edging up to #7. Hordette duo Diana Shnaider (#29) and Mirra Andreeva (#33) both reach career highs. Andreeva (17y, 7m) is also *still* the youngest player ranked in the Top 170, with only Iva Jovic (#172) younger in the singles Top 240.










=WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL=
#19 Madison Keys/USA def. #1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR 6-3/2-6/7-5

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL=
#1 Siniakova/Townsend (CZE/USA) vs. #3 Hsieh/Ostapenko (TPE/LAT) 6-2/6-7(4)/6-3

=MIXED DOUBLES FINAL=
(WC) Gadecki/Peers (AUS/AUS) def. Birrell/J-P.Smith (AUS/AUS) 3-6/6-4 [10-6]

=WHEELCHAIR SINGLES FINAL=
#1 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. #2 Aniek Van Koot/NED 6-2/6-2

=WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES FINAL=
Li/Wang (CHN/CHN) def. Tanaka/Zhu (JPN/CHN) 6-2/6-3

=GIRLS' SINGLES FINAL=
#4 Wakana Sonobe/JPN def. #6 Kristina Penickova/USA 6-0/6-1

=GIRLS' DOUBLES FINAL=
#6 A.Pennickova/K.Penickova (USA/USA) def. #2 E.Jones/Klugman (AUS/GBR) 6-4/6-2

=GIRLS' WHEELCHAIR SINGLES FINAL=
#1 Vitoria Miranda/BRA def. Sabina Czauz/USA 0-6/6-3 (10-4)

=GIRLS' WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES FINAL=
Gryp/Miranda (BEL/BRA) def. Czauz/Mosko (USA/LAT) 6-1/6-1























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*RECENT AO WOMEN'S DOUBLES CHAMPIONS*
2013 Sara Errani / Roberta Vinci, ITA/ITA
2014 Sara Errani / Roberta Vinci, ITA/ITA
2015 Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2016 Martina Hingis / Sania Mirza, SUI/IND
2017 Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2018 Timea Babos / Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
2019 Samantha Stosur / Zhang Shuai, AUS/CHN
2020 Timea Babos / Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
2021 Elise Mertens / Aryna Sabalenka, BEL/BLR
2022 Barbora Krejcikova / Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2023 Barbora Krejcikova / Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2024 Hsieh Su-wei / Elise Mertens, TPE/BEL
2025 Katerina Siniakova / Taylor Townsend, CZE/USA

*CAREER OVERALL SLAM TITLES - ACTIVE*
[singles/doubles/mixed]
23 - Venus Williams, USA (7-14-2)
12 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (2-7-3)
10 - KATERINA SINIAKOVA, CZE (0-10-0)
9 - Kristina Mladenovic, FRA (0-6-3)
9 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA (0-5-4)
9 - Hsieh Su-wei, TPE (0-7-2)
6 - Sara Errani, ITA (0-5-1)
5 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (3-2-0)
5 - Iga Swiatek, POL (5-0-0)
5 - Vera Zvonareva, RUS (0-3-2)

*CAREER WOMEN'S DOUBLES SLAM TITLES - active*
14...Venus Williams
10...KATERINA SINIAKOVA
7...Barbora Krejcikova
7...Hsieh Su-wei
6...Kristina Mladenovic
5...Sara Errani
5...Bethanie Mattek-Sands
4...Timea Babos
4...Elise Mertens

*2020-25 WTA DOUBLES TITLES*
22 - KATERINA SINIAKOVA (1/6/6/3/5/1)
14 - Barbora Krejcikova (1/5/3/4/1/0)
12 - Elise Mertens (1/4/2/2/3/0)
11 - Hsieh Su-wei (4/2/0/2/3/0)
10 - Laura Siegemund (1/0/3/5/1/0)
9 - Shuko Aoyama (1/5/0/2/1/0)
9 - Anna Danilina (0/1/2/1/5/0)
9 - Desirae Krawczyk (2/2/1/3/1/0)
9 - Nicole Melichar-Martinez (2/2/2/0/3/0)
9 - Demi Schuurs (2/2/1/2/2/0)
9 - Ena Shibahara (1/5/0/2/1/0)

*RECENT AO "DOUBLES STAR" WINNERS*
2014 Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2015 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2016 Martina Hingis & Sania Mirza, SUI/IND
2017 Abigail Spears, USA
2018 Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
2019 Astra Sharma, AUS
2020 Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
2021 Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
2022 Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2023 Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2024 Hsieh Su-wei/Elise Mertens, TPE/BEL
2025 Katerina Siniakova/Taylor Townsend, CZE/USA







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TOP QUALIFIER: Maja Chwalinska, POL
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #1 Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #2 Iga Swiatek/POL
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): #19 Madison Keys/USA
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1 - #20 Maja Chwalinska/POL def. Dominika Salkova/CZE 7-6(3)/5-7/7-6(12-10) - Chwalinska in 3:23, was down a break twice in the 3rd. Salkova served for the win at 5-4, led 7-3 in the deciding MTB and held a pair of MP.
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - #8 Emma Navarro/USA def. Peyton Stearns/USA 6-7(5)/7-6(5)/7-5 - 3:22 between former NCAA champs; Stearns up set and 2-0, up 5-3 in 3rd and served at 5-4; Navarro wins 16/19 points to end
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 4th Rd. - #8 Emma Navarro/USA def. #9 Dasha Kasatkina/RUS 6-4/5-7/7-5 - Kasatkina saves 4 MP in 2nd and forces 3rd set; Kasatkina up break in final set and saves 7 BP in 4-4 hold; Navarro saved 2 BP at 5-5, then breaks from 30/love down to win fourth straight three-setter
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/WC/Doub.): SF - #19 Keys d. #2 Swiatek 5-7/6-1/7-6(10-8) - Keys saves MP and forces MTB, wins 10-8 to reach second major final
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #14 Mirra Andreeva/RUS (def. Marie Bouzkova/CZE)
FIRST SEED OUT: #29 Linda Noskova/CZE (1st Rd.- Tauson/DEN)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Destanee Aiava/AUS (6th MD), Talia Gibson/AUS (2nd MD), Suzan Lamens/NED (1st MD), Rebecca Sramkova/SVK (5th MD)
PROTECTED RANKING BEST: Belinda Bencic/SUI (4th Rd.) (2r-Birrell/AUS, Kovinic/MNE)
LUCKY LOSER BEST: Eva Lys/GER (4th Rd.) (2r-Dart/GBR)
UPSET QUEENS: Great Britain
REVELATION LADIES: Germany
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Czech Republic (1-4 1st Rd.; Kvitova/Pliskova/Krejcikova DNP; Vondrousova; Bouzkova First Loss; Noskova First Seed Out; Beljek 0-5 slam MD)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Destanee Aiava/AUS and Gabriela Ruse/ROU (both 2nd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Talia Gibson/AUS, Iva Jovic/USA, Ajla Tomljanovic/AUS(L) and Zhang Shuai/CHN (all 2nd Rd.)
LAST AUSSIE STANDING: Destanee Aiava, Talia Gibson and Ajla Tomljanovic (all 2nd Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: Paula Badosa/ESP
IT (WC Opportunist): Yui Kamiji/JPN
COMEBACK PLAYER: Belinda Bencic/SUI
CRASH & BURN: #5 Zheng Qinwen/CHN (2r- 2024 finalist and Olympic Gold medalist out in 2 sets vs. Siegemund/GER)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF MELBOURNE: Eva Lys/GER (LL added to MD on Day 3 ten minutes before start of 1r match; reaches 4th Rd. for first time at a major)
KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: Madison Keys/USA
LADY OF THE EVENING: Aryna Sabalenka/BLR & Jelena Dokic (dancing on Laver)
AUSTRALIAN LANGUAGE ARTS AWARD: ["A right corker"] The "Great Melbourne Coffee Scandal" erupts when Iga Swiatek says she prefers the cafe offerings of Sydney
DOUBLES STAR: Katerina Siniakova/Taylor Townsend, CZE/USA
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Annika & Kristina Penickova, USA/USA





posted by Todd.Spiker @ 2:52 PM 

1 Comments:

Blogger khan35 said...

men's Semi-final and final were duds.

Chiefs are into another super bowl. Is there any quarterback that did three-peat before? Mahomes might create history.

Mon Jan 27, 02:53:00 AM EST  

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