Monday, May 26, 2025

RG.2- Iga Catches 22

So far, so good. Now, onto the next.




On Day 1, #1-seed Aryna Sabalenka put down her initial RG25 foundation on this year's terre battue by allowing just one game in her 1st Round match. Three-time Roland Garros defending champ Iga Swiatek showed up on Day 2 to do the same, looking to find some on-court solace in Paris after going what will soon be a full year since she last won or played in a singles final, when she raised the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen for a fourth time in five years early last June.

Since then, Swiatek has faced more questions than she's found answers, with a positive drug test, coaching change, blowout losses, crushing defeats at the hands of not just longtime rivals, but even a few newcomers and past opponents she's tended to dominate against in the past. Dutifully, the now *#5* ranked Pole showed up in Paris a week ago to prepare, ready to put all that behind her. She managed to do so today, though not as easily as Sabalenka did on Sunday. Of course, no one really expected anything else to occur in her opening match.

After all, Swiatek's straight sets win over Rebecca Sramkova is not only her 57th straight win in a tournament-opening contest (she's been one-and-done just once -- in Cincinnati in '21 -- in her last 70 events, starting with her maiden RG title run in 2020), it's her 22nd straight victory in Roland Garros competition (though not in Paris, as she lost there in the Olympic SF last summer) as she continue to climb the list of the longest women's match winning streaks in the event's history.

A three-time defending champ, if Swiatek were to right the ship and win a *fourth* straight RG title it'd be an unprecedented feat in the tournament's Open era history on the women's side.

Against Sramkova, Swiatek took the 1st set 6-3, then (of course) didn't ultimately dash off court for an overly long between-set break as surely would have played out had she lost it, leaving her opponent patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for her (late) return as the Pole treated a dropped set like a calamity in the making. After falling behind 3-1 in the 2nd, Swiatek also didn't panic (yes, things might have been different vs. an Ostapenko or the like) and simply righted course and swept the final five games for a 3 & 3 victory. The only remaining "blip" might have been needing three MP to finally put away the Slovak, but that's a less-than-minor quibble.

Well, you know, unless in a short while those final moments might retroactively resemble the loose pebbles trickling down the cliff's edge before a big chunk of rock comes thundering down to earth, ready to engulf Swiatek once more. Ah, but that's a potential calamity for *another* day.

Perhaps it won't even happen again this time. Perhaps.










=DAY 2 NOTES=
...elsewhere on Day 2, as Rome champ Jasmine Paolini did on Day 1, #13-seeded Strasbourg winner Elena Rybakina found herself forced to a 3rd set -- despite having led 6-1/4-2 -- by Argentinian qualifier Julia Riera, but re-set and claimed a 6-1/4-6/6-4 victory to win her opening match for the 19th time in her last 20 appearances in majors.

#9 Emma Navarro can only wish to be Elena in Paris on a Monday, for she wasn't nearly as fortunate.

The Bannerette became the first Top 10 seed to fall at this RG, and she did so in truly monumental fashion, notching just *one* game in her match vs. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (she led 6-0/5-0), who got her second career Top 10 victory to go with her upset of Marketa Vondrousova in last year's Wimbledon 1st Round. Yes, Jessica finally found a lead -- of which she's had many this season, including in a lot of what eventually become losses -- she couldn't let slip away.



This marks Navarro's fifth straight event this clay season without consecutive wins, all since she won two in her home event in Charleston en route to the QF there.

...meanwhile, Ukraine's Yuliia Starodubtseva, the #1 Q-seed who lost to Sara Bejlek in the final round of qualifying last week, got a Sunday call to be a lucky loser when Sorana Cirstea withdrew with a calf injury (the Romanian has now missed two of the last three majors after playing in 33 straight slam MD, and in either Q/MD of 67 of 68 back to 2007). Starodubtseva, a former college star at Old Dominion University in Virginia, took advantage of the second chance, getting a win over qualifier Tamara Korpatsch for her second career MD victory in a major (w/ '24 SW19).

Emma Raducanu, who exited her last event with back issues, was able to withstand a three-set affair in a 7-5/4-6/6-3 win over Wang Xinyu, but one wonders if she'll have as much healthy juice left to face Iga Swiatek in the 2nd Round in a match that will surely have social media buzzing (and probably not in too many good ways).

In the Aussie corner of the draw, Ajla Tomljanovic managed to do in Paris what she couldn't do the other day in Rabat: beat Maya Joint.

The Australians faced off in the Rabat semis on Friday, but the veteran Tomljanovic retired due to illness after losing the 1st set. 19-year old Joint went on to win the singles *and* doubles crowns, both maiden titles on the WTA tour for the new pro. Tomljanovic won 6-1/6-3 today to record her 35th career slam win. Joint has just one ('24 U.S.), but she still has one more tour title to her name than Tomljanovic, who is 0-5 in WTA title matches.



...though neither are at their *best* on clay, #10 Paula Badosa vs. Naomi Osaka was nevertheless one of the highlight match-ups of the 1st Round. It lived up to the maybe inappropriate hype, though, and provided hope for *both* women.

Osaka arrived on the best clay court run of her career after she'd lost early in Madrid and dropped down to play a 125 event at Saint-Malo, where she won her first career clay title and then carried that momentum to a Round of 16 in Rome; while Badosa showed up having won just one match (via a retirement, no less) since Miami in March, with her only action being two matches last week in Strasbourg, after a recurrence of her back issues not long after her first career slam SF result at the AO in January (her fourth straight progessively better result at a major: 3r-4r-QF-SF from the '24 RG forward).

In a big-hitting face-off, Badosa served for the 1st set at 6-5, holding a SP, but Osaka got the break and took a 7-1 TB. The Spaniard responded brilliantly, running to a 5-0 lead in the 2nd (w/ a SP for a love set) before winning 6-1. The two exchanged breaks in games 2 and 3 in the 3rd, then Badosa grabbed a break edge at 4-3.

A game later, Osaka nearly leveled the set again, holding a BP before Badosa got the hold for a 5-3 lead. Two games later, she served things out at love to win 6-7(1)/6-1/6-4.

The win will perhaps help Badosa, currently ranked #10, hold onto her Top 10 standing as the likes of Elena Rybakina and Diana Shnaider (and maybe someone else who puts up a very big result) breathe down her neck in the rankings. She's defending 3rd Round points from a year ago, part of the late spring-through-fall surge that helped her stage last year's biggest comeback season.



Even with the loss, Osaka is still over .500 in Paris at 8-7 for her career, though she hasn't been past the 2nd Round since 2019. She's had even less success at Wimbledon (5-4), and one wonders if she'll show the same drive to improve on the grass that she (successfully) did this spring on clay, where she actually *gave it a go* and saw real progress (hint to Iga, also about the grass). Of course, that 49-13 record in hard court majors still makes you think that Osaka will focus *far* more on what's coming up later this summer in North America than what'll be happening soon in Southwest London.

...a year ago, it was Alize Cornet being commemorated as she ended her playing career (well, sort of... she's returned, but didn't find her way back onto the court at this RG), and this year it's Caroline Garcia exiting the French tennis stage (probably, maybe) after announcing her impending retirement last week.

Garcia was already feeling the loss before the match, which did indeed turn out to be just that.



Newly engaged, Garcia tried to extend the match a bit at the end vs. Bernarda Pera, holding three BP as the Bannerette attempted to serve out the win. Pera finally did so on her second MP, winning to gently send the current #144 off into the Paris night (well, afternoon) via a 6-4/6-4 score.

Afterward, Garcia received the customary send off by the tournament and fans, heard some nice words from Pera and, hey, even Cornet was there.



At her best, an elite form she unfortunately wasn't always able to maintain for long (generally due to the mind games that tennis players often can't keep from playing against themselves), Garcia was one of the most athletic and exciting players to watch on tour. She had a very interesting career, from the initial high promise (and, famously, praise from one Andy Murray) to disappointment, controversy (courtesy of her fellow Pastry players, while Garcia, to her credit, took the high road and rose above it) and ultimate success to the tune of high rankings of #4 in singles and #2 in doubles, 11 career tour singles titles (3 at 1000 events, and one WTAF crown), a major SF ('22 U.S.), 26 Top 10 wins, two WD slam titles (both at RG) and a Fed Cup championship (2019... and, no, I'm not going to call it BJK Cup, unlike CoCo Vandeweghe the other day, when it wasn't called that *at the time*).



With Garcia (likely) gone, Cornet (probably) only on a brief return and Kristina Mladenovic (who missed this RG due to injury) at or near the end (though Mladenovic could still be a doubles-only force if she chose), have the French adequately set up the generation that will replace what was a very successful group of players (which also included the slightly older Marion Bartoli, who won Wimbledon in 2013, early in this close-to-being-phased-out generation's run)?

Unless the next great Pasty is slowly percolating and will pop up soon, ala Paolini for Italy, a bit later in her career, or a junior is about to rise above the field, the torch doesn't seem to have been very successfully passed via the FFT's development system. The current highest ranked French player is #72 Varvara Gracheva, a Russian import, while #93 Diane Parry (still just 22) has struggled to find her footing, and Elsa Jacquemot (22, #138) and Clara Burel (24, #195) have yet to break out. There are currently no Pastries ranked in the junior Top 65.

Maybe 19-year old Tiantsoa (Sarah) Rakotomanga Rajaonah, a wild card entrant at this RG, could be the one just now starting to emerge? Or maybe it'll be Harriet Dart's best friend, 22-year old Lois Boisson. She was looking good last year before her knee injury, and has already come back strong. We'll see.

So far, the French women are 1-4 at his RG, with only wild card Leolia Jeanjean getting a late win on Monday after dropping the 1st set at love vs. Irina-Camelia Begu and ultimately seeing the Romanian retire down 0-3 in the 3rd. Four more Pastries are scheduled to play on Tuesday.







...SO IS THIS GOING TO END UP BECOMING A "KISSING-THE-BRICKS-AT-THE-INDIANAPOLIS-500" SORT OF THING ON CHATRIER? (someone only has to do it *once*, and then...)... ON DAY 2:




...THE WTA SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM POSTED THIS (the first tweet, not the second or third...but still)... ON DAY 2:



This was the very next post...




Of course, the real question is whether Emma respects Jessica as a player following such cutthroat thuggery.


...MEANWHILE (nothing against McCartney), THE LATEST INCARNATION OF THIS "CAMPAIGN" -- BEYOND THE INITIAL GRAPHIC IN THE VIDEO, WHICH I KIND OF LIKE -- IS A DUD BECAUSE IT'S COMPLETELY FORGETTABLE ABOUT TWO SECONDS AFTER YOU WATCH IT... ON DAY 2:




..."GOODBYES" IN TENNIS ARE... complicated... ON DAY 2:




...FOR OLD TIME'S SAKE... ON DAY 2:




...WELL, AT LEAST *THIS*... ON DAY 2:




...Hmmm... ALONA WAVING AT IGA IN THE BACK ROW?... ON DAY 2:



"Hey, girl! Yep, I'm still here... that 1st set was just me getting your hopes up." (w/ smirk)




...JUST SAYIN'... ON DAY 2:












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*LONGEST RG WIN STREAKS*
29 - Chris Evert, 1974-75/79-81
25 - Monica Seles, 1990-92/96
24 - Justine Henin, 2005-07/10
22 - IGA SWIATEK, 2022-current
20 - Steffi Graf, 1987-89
19 - Chris Evert, 1985-87
18 - Steffi Graf, 1995-97

*SWIATEK vs. IN RG WINNING STREAK (22)*
3 - Coco Gauff, USA
2 - Lesia Tsurenko, UKR
1 - Marie Bouzkova, CZE
1 - Cristina Bucsa, ESP
1 - Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
1 - Leolia Jeanjean, FRA
1 - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
1 - Danka Kovinic, MNE
1 - Claire Liu, USA
1 - Karolina Muchova, CZE
1 - Naomi Osaka, JPN
1 - Jasmine Paolini, ITA
1 - Jessie Pegula, USA
1 - Anastasia Potapova, RUS
1 - Alison Riske-Amritraj, USA
1 - Rebecca Sramkova, SVK
1 - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
1 - Wang Xinyu, CHN
1 - Zheng Qinwen, CHN
--
6 - USA
3 - CZE
2 - CHN
2 - RUS
2 - UKR
1 - BRA
1 - ESP
1 - FRA
1 - ITA
1 - JPN
1 - MNE
1 - SVK

*SWIATEK - RG CAREER HEAD-to-HEAD (36-2)*
3-0 - Coco Gauff, USA
2-0 - Lesia Tsurenko, UKR
2-0 - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
1-0 - Genie Bouchard, CAN
1-0 - Marie Bouzkova, CZE
1-0 - Cristina Bucsa, ESP
1-0 - Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
1-0 - Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
1-0 - Selena Janicijevic, FRA
1-0 - Leolia Jeanjean, FRA
1-0 - Kaja Juvan, SLO
1-0 - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
1-0 - Sofia Kenin, USA
1-0 - Anett Kontaveit, EST
1-0 - Marta Kostyuk, UKR
1-0 - Danka Kovinic, MNE
1-0 - Claire Liu, USA
1-0 - Karolina Muchova, CZE
1-0 - Naomi Osaka, JPN
1-0 - Jasmine Paolini, ITA
1-0 - Jessie Pegula, USA
1-0 - Rebecca Peterson, SWE
1-0 - Nadia Podoroska, ARG
1-0 - Anastasia Potapova, RUS
1-0 - Monica Puig, PUR
1-0 - Alison Riske-Amritraj, USA
1-0 - Rebecca Sramkova, SVK
1-0 - Martina Trevisan, ITA
1-0 - Wang Qinwen, CHN
1-0 - Wang Xinyu, CHN
1-0 - Zheng Qinwen, CHN
1-1 - Simona Halep, ROU
0-1 - Maria Sakkari, GRE
--
7-0 - USA
4-0 - CZE
3-0 - CHN
3-0 - UKR
2-0 - FRA
2-0 - ITA
2-0 - RUS
1-0 - ARG
1-0 - BRA
1-0 - CAN
1-0 - ESP
1-0 - EST
1-0 - JPN
1-0 - MNE
1-0 - PUR
1-0 - SLO
1-0 - SVK
1-0 - SWE
1-0 - TPE
1-1 - ROU
0-1 - GRE




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Classy as expected. You know what? He can wallow in his victimhood and misery. How about the rest of us go just enjoy the day and honor our fallen.

[image or embed]

— Adam Kinzinger (@adamkinzinger.bsky.social) May 26, 2025 at 9:36 AM


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TOP QUALIFIER: Nao Hibino/JPN
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q2 - Nao Nibino/JPN def. #17 Bianca Andreescu/CAN 2-6/7-6(5)/6-4 - Andreescu led 6-2/5-3, holding a MP in game #8 of the 2nd and then serving for the win a game later, and led 5-2 in the 2nd set TB; Hibino also saved 2 MP vs. Ella Seidel/GER in Q3.
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #13 Elina Svitolina/UKR (def. Sonmez/TUR)
FIRST SEED OUT: #28 Peyton Stearns/USA (1r: Lys/GER)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Day 1: Arango/COL, Bejlek/CZE, Mboko/CAN, Romero Gormaz/ESP
UPSET QUEENS: x
REVELATION LADIES: x
NATION OF POOR SOULS: x
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: 1r wins: Bejlek/CZE, Mboko/CAN, Romero Gormaz/ESP
LUCKY LOSER WINS: 1r wins: Starodubtseva/UKR
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: 1r wins: Jeanjean/FRA, Jovic/USA
PROTECTED RANKING WINS: 1r wins: x
LAST PASTRY STANDING: 1r wins: Jeanjean
Ms./Mademoiselle OPPORTUNITY: x
IT "TBD": x
COMEBACK PLAYER: x
CRASH & BURN: Nominee: #9 Navarro (1r- 1 game vs. Bouzas Maneiro)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF PARIS: Nominee: Potapova/RUS (1r- trailed #29 Noskova 5-2 in the 3rd)
DOUBLES STAR: x
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): x
Mademoiselle/Madame OF THE EVENING: x
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x
Légion de Lenglen: 100th anniversary of Suzanne Lenglen's first grand slam French Championship titles (WS/WD/MX sweep) in 1925 (first time event open to non-FRA competitors)
Coupe LA PETIT TAUREAU: x







All for Day 2. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 6:12 PM 

2 Comments:

Blogger khan35 said...

Overall, Osaka isn't an elite player. She is just a hard court merchant. I don't get it why she struggles on grass. Her game is tailor-made for grass.

Ostapenko won't reach the 4th round to meet Swiatek.

Tue May 27, 05:03:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

You're *probably* right about Ostapenko, but I sure hope not. :)

Tue May 27, 07:29:00 PM EDT  

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