Sunday, August 31, 2025

US.7- Survival of the Iga-est










=DAY 7 NOTES=
...Coco Gauff finally took a breath on Day 7.

The #3 seed had to battle inconsistency, her own work-in-progress serve and game opponents through the early rounds at this U.S. Open, but Gauff finally found her way to a less stressful and labor-heavy day as Labor Day weekend began in New York on Saturday, handling #28-seeded Pole Magdelana Frech 6-3/6-1 in the 3rd Round to reach the second week for a fourth straight year.



Gauff, 14-2 in majors this season, has reached the Round of 16 in eight of the last nine slams, and 12 of 15.

...so far, so good for #11 Karolina Muchova.

The Czech has shined often in New York, reaching the semifinals the last two years. She arrived at this major with just a 1-3 mark in slam play in '25, but with her win today over #21-seeded countrywoman the oft-injured tennis magician has managed to win back-to-back-to-back three-setters (w/ 1r/2r wins over Venus Williams and Sorana Cirstea, respectively) and lived to tell about it. Or, you know, at least stand without a limp or carry some other physical malady that would force the tennis world to release a collective sigh of resignation that *this* major could now also be ruled out as the possible site where Muchova might finally see the stars fully align in her slam life.

Muchova was forced to three today due to a squandered 5-2 lead in the 1st, where she'd served at 5-3 and held a SP at 5-4 before Noskova evertually took the match lead with a 7-5 TB victory. Muchova went on to rally for a 6-7(5)/6-4/6-2 win.



Muchova's best results have all come on hard courts this season, with SF in Dubai and Linz, and previous Round of 16 runs in Indian Wells and Montreal.

...after a spring/summer of improved results on clay and grass, Naomi Osaka has seemingly finally hit some sort of stride on her most comfortable surface, the hard courts on which she's claimed all four of her major titles.

The #23 seed burst into her 3rd Rounder on Saturday against #15 Dasha Kasatkina, taking a love 1st set. After dropping the 2nd, she bounced back to win 6-0/4-6/6-3 to reach her seventh career Round of 16 at a major. Not surprisingly, all have come in hard court slams.



This is Osaka's first 4th Round slam result since she won AO21, and her first in New York since she won the title there in 2020. In fact, in four of her previous six forays to this stage in majors, she's gone on to life the trophy.

Osaka will now face off with Gauff in just the sort of "big show" that U.S. Open night sessions were made for.



...#27 Marta Kostyuk has been hampered by inconvenient draws this season and, in recent weeks, injuries. As a result, even while posting three 1000 QF this year, she hasn't really been able to gain much momentum over the course of her '25 season. She played fine matches vs. Aryna Sabalenka this spring in Madrid and Rome, but dropped three TB sets in a pair of straight sets defeats (two of the best two-set encounters on tour all year long). Before this U.S. Open, Kostyuk had lost six straight matches this summer before reaching the final eight in Montreal, where she retired (wrist) vs. Elena Rybakina and then pulled out of Cincinnati after the 2nd Round.

Everything has held up for Kostyuk through the opening week at Flushing Meadows, though, and today she won a three-set affair vs. Pastry Diane Parry, reaching her third career slam 4th Round (first at the U.S.). She's put together her runs at three different events, with Wimbledon (0-2 in 3rd) being the only major where she's yet to reach the second week.



...for #13 Ekaterina Alexandrova, age 30 has been the new 20, as the Russian veteran has been knocking down a series of career-best results in 2025, including (w/ her dominant 6-1/6-0 win today over Laura Siegemund) three consecutive slame 4th Round runs (before this season, she had a 1-8 career mark in slam 3rd Rounds), her biggest career title (Linz 500), five Top 10 wins (including over #1 Aryna Sabalenka in Doha) that match her most ever in a season, and a career-best #12 ranking coming into this U.S. Open. Her second week run at Flushing Meadows is the first of her career in NYC.



...#8 Amanda Anisimova got a challenge from Romanian Jaqueline Cristian, but survived in three sets, 6-4/4-6/6-2, to rebound well from her double-bagel loss to Iga Swiatek in her slam final debut at Wimbledon last month. She's now 5-2 since that loss, has won 11 of 15 and is 17-6 since Roland Garro.s



Anismova's third straight slam second week, her first at the U.S. Open, completes her Career Round of 16 Slam in major MD #23. This is just the second season of Anisimova's career in which she's appeared in the MD of all four slams.

...in her last match, #2 Iga Swiatek was forced to three sets by Suzan Lamens. Such a thing didn't happen on Saturday against #29 Anna Kalinskaya, but once again the Pole found herself in the position of having to fight off an opponent while her own form wasn't exactly top-notch.

But there's a reason why Swiatek is a multiple-slam champion while Kalinskaya, for all her talent, often comes up *just short* of something great and potentially trajectory-altering, especially on the biggest stages. As it turned out, Swiatek won the battle for survival of the, well, Iga-est.

The 1st set proved to be the true test, as Kalinskaya staked out a 5-1 lead and gave herself multiple chances to grab the edge in the match. She twice served for the set, and held four SP at 5-2. Swiatek got things back on serve at 5-5, but then lost serve again to give the Hordette a *third* chance to serve out the set. Nope. Swiatek forced a TB, and took it 7-2.



The 2nd set was close, as well. After exchanging breaks to open the set, things were knotted at 4-4 when Swiatek broke to give herself an opportunity to close it out. Despite falling behind 15/30, she took care of business to win 7-6(2)/6-4 to claim her tenth straight victory in slam play and join Aryna Sabalenka as the only two women this year to reach the second week at all four majors. She's reached at least the 4th Round for five straight seasons in New York (winning the title in '22).

...in the latest-ending and final women's 3rd Rounder, #18 Beatriz Haddad Maia proved that it's never too late to make a dent in a season.

And make no mistake, 2025 has not been a good one for the Brazilian. She started the year at 2-12, suffered through a nine-match losing streak in the spring, then after seeing a bit of light at the end of the tunnel with her two best results of the year coming just a month apart -- a Strasbourg SF and Bad Homburg QF -- she soon exited in the 2nd Round at Wimbledon and came into the U.S. Open having not won a match since, riding a four-match losing streak into New York some eight months into a season that had seen her go just 10-23.

But Haddad Maia was still blessed with the memory of a QF run at Flushing Meadows from last year, the best U.S. Open result for a Brazilian woman since 1968 (Maria Bueno), and she's managed to recapture of bit of that glow over this first week back.

Already with earlier wins over Sonay Kartal and Viktorija Golubic, Haddad Maia downed Maria Sakkari 6-1/6-2 on Saturday night, matching Argentina's Solana Sierra's Wimbledon run (as a LL) for the best slam result from a South American player this season.



...meanwhile, in Repentigny (QUE), 16-year old Pastry Ksenia Efremova defeated China's Qu Yihan (who'd upset top seed Mika Stojsavljevic in the SF) to claim her second J300 event title of 2025.



...maybe things will change next year when the new schedule that seeks to play wheelchair events on the grounds alongside the WTA/ATP 1000/Masters tournaments, but as things stood this summer there were no big hard court wheelchair competitions in North America heading into this U.S. Open. The Series 2 event that ended this weekend in College Park, Maryland, was forced to suffice.

In that, the #11-ranked (!!!) Diede de Groot won her second of back-to-back titles since Wimbledon (the other was on clay) with a 6-2/6-1 win in the final over Aniek Van Koot. The former #1 had previously run off quick wins vs. Jinte Bos (3 & 1) and Zhu Zhenzhen (2 & 2), and also took the doubles alongside Zhu with a win in the final over Bos & Macarena Cabrillana.

De Groot next heads to New York, where she's won the U.S. Open singles title the last six times the event has been held (there was no event in '24 due to the Paralympic tennis tournament *idiotically* taking place during the U.S. Open). The Dutch star has gone just 1-2 in slam competition in '25 after coming back this spring from offseason hip surgery.









*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR vs. Cristina Bucsa/ESP
#9 Elena Rybakina/KAZ vs. Marketa Vondrousova/CZE
#4 Jessie Pegula/USA vs. Ann Li/USA
Barbora Krejcikova/CZE vs. Taylor Townsend/USA
#27 Marta Kostyuk/UKR vs. #11 Karolina Muchova/CZE
#23 Naomi Osaka/JPN vs. #3 Coco Gauff/USA
#8 Amanda Anisimova/USA vs. #18 Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA
#13 Ekaterina Alexandrova/RUS vs. #2 Iga Swiatek/POL

*MIXED DOUBLES FINAL*
(WC) Errani/Vavassori (ITA/ITA) def. #3 Swiatek/Ruud (POL/NOR) 6-3/5-7 [10-6]








...THE INEVITABLE MOMENT ARRIVES... ON DAY 7:


Only in this instance, no "hostage video" is included, nor necessary, just a little bit of learned common sense.



Still waiting for Emma's version, BTW. (Though she wouldn't be able to utilize either the second language or cultural misunderstanding defense.)


...STILL MORE VENUS (& LEYLAH) INCOMING... ON DAY 7:





...I HESITATE TO ASK WHAT IT'LL TAKE FOR THE SPORT'S POWERS THAT BE TO TAKE THINGS LIKE THIS SERIOUSLY... ON DAY 7:





...PAMMY BEING RIGHT (although there are so many additional reasons that could be added to the list)... ON DAY 7:




Of course, it'll never happen, largely because then the ATP would lose the main component of its ingrained superiority complex.


...AND SO IT BEGINS (AGAIN)... ON DAY 7:
























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**BACKSPIN 2025 WTA MOST IMPROVED-OF-THE-MONTH WINNERS**
JAN (pre-AO): Clara Tauson, DEN and Polina Kudermetova, RUS
AO: Olga Danilovic, SRB
FEB: Linda Noskova, CZE
MAR: Ashlyn Krueger, USA
1Q...KRUEGER
APR: Olga Danilovic, SRB
MAY: Victoria Mboko, CAN
RG: Hailey Baptiste, USA
2Q Clay Court...BAPTISTE
JUN: Maya Joint, AUS
WI: Hailey Baptiste, USA
2Q Grass Court...JOINT
JUL: Lois Boisson, FRA
AUG (pre-U.S.): Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, ESP

**BACKSPIN 2025 WTA DOUBLES STAR-OF-THE-MONTH WINNERS**
JAN (pre-AO): Jiang/Wu, CHN/CHN
AO: Siniakova/Townsend, CZE/USA
FEB: Siniakova/Townsend, CZE/USA
MAR: M.Andreeva/Shnaider, RUS/RUS
1Q...SINIAKOVA/TOWNSEND
APR: Erin Routliffe, NZL
MAY: Errani/Paolini, ITA/ITA
RG: Errani/Paolini, ITA/ITA
2Q Clay Court...ERRANI/PAOLINI
JUN: Muhammad/Schuurs, USA/NED
WI: V.Kudermetova/Mertens, RUS/BEL
2Q Grass Court...V.KUDERMETOVA/MERTENS
JUL: N.Kichenok/Ninomiya, UKR/JPN
AUG (pre-U.S.): Dabrowski/Routliffe, CAN/NZL
[Multiple 2025 Weekly DOUBLES STAR Award Wins]
4 - M.Andreeva/Shnaider, RUS/RUS
3 - Dabrowski/Routliffe, CAN/NZL
3 - Errani/Paolini, ITA/ITA
3 - Siniakova/Townsend, CZE/USA
2 - Babos/Stefani, HUN/BRA
2 - Danilina/Krunic, KAZ/SRB
2 - Guo/Panova, CHN/RUS
2 - Hsieh/Ostapenko, TPE/LAT
2 - N.Kickenok/Ninomiya, UKR/JPN
2 - Muhammad/Schuurs, USA/NED
2 - Zhang Shuai, CHN





*2025 US OPEN FINAL 16*
[by ranking]
#1 - Aryna Sabalenka
#2 Iga Swiatek
#3 - Coco Gauff
#4 - Jessie Pegula
#9 - Amanda Anisimova
#10 - Elena Rybakina
#12 - Ekaterina Alexandrova
#13 - Karolina Muchova
#22 - Beatriz Haddad Maia
#24 - Naomi Osaka
#28 - Marta Kostyuk
#58 - Ann Li
#60 - Marketa Vondrousova
#62 - Barbora Krejcikova
#95 - Cristina Bucsa
#139 - Taylor Townsend

[by age]
31 - Pegula
30 - Alexandrova
29 - Haddad Maia, Krejickova, Muchova, Townsend
27 - Bucsa, Osaka, Sabalenka
26 - Rybakina, Vondrousova
25 - Li
24 - Swiatek
23 - Anisimova, Kostyuk
21 - Gauff

[by nation]
5...USA (Anisimova, Gauff, Li, Pegula, Townsend)
3...CZE (Krejcikova, Muchova, Vondrousova)
1...BLR (Sabalenka)
1...BRA (Haddad Maia)
1...ESP (Bucsa)
1...JPN (Osaka)
1...KAZ (Rybakina)
1...POL (Swiatek)
1...RUS (Alexandrova)
1...UKR (Kostyuk)

[by career slam Round-of-16s]
20 - Swiatek
17 - Sabalenka
16 - Gauff
10 - Rybakina
9 - Anisimova, Krejcikova, Pegula
8 - Muchova, Vondrousova
7 - Osaka
4 - Alexandrova, Haddad Maia
3 - Kostyuk
2 - Townsend
1 - Bucsa, Li

[w/ consecutive slam Round of 16s]
12 (5) - Sabalenka (last 12 played, 5 con. = DNP Wimb.'24)
5 - Swiatek
3 - Alexandrova
3 - Anisimova

[w/ multiple career US Round of 16s]
6 - Sabalenka
5 - Swiatek
4 - Gauff, Muchova, Osaka, Pegula
3 - Vondrousova
2 - Haddad Maia, Krejickova, Townsend

[w/ consecutive US Round of 16s]
5 - Sabalenka, Swiatek
4 - Gauff, Pegula
3 - Muchova
2 - Haddad Maia
2 (1) - Vondrousova (last 2 played: 2023 & '25; DNP '24)

[WTA career slam Round of 16s - active]
50...Venus Williams
30...Victoria Azarenka
23...Petra Kvitova
23...Caroline Wozniacki
22...Madison Keys
20...Elina Svitolina
20...Iga Swiatek
17...Aryna Sabalenka
16...Coco Gauff
16...Sloane Stephens
16...Vera Zvonareva
15...Elise Mertens

[WTA slam Round of 16s since 2020 (of 23) - active]
19 - Swiatek
17 - Sabalenka
14 - Gauff
10 - Jabeur, Mertens, Pegula, Rybakina, Svitolina
8 - Badosa, Keys, Krejcikova
7 - Anisimova, Azarenka, Muchova
6 - M.Andreeva, Bencic
6 - Pavlyuchenkova, Vondrousova
5 - Kasatkina, Kvitova, Navarro
5 - Paolini, Sakkari, Samsonova
5 - Vekic, Zheng Q.
4 - Alexandrova, Collins, Garcia
4 - Haddad Maia, Kasatkina, Kenin
4 - Ostapenko, Ka.Pliskova
3 - Cirstea, Cornet
3 - Kostyuk, V.Kudermetova, Osaka
3 - Raducanu, Stephens, Tomljanovic, Zhang Sh.
2 - Avanesyan, Bouzkova, Danilovic
2 - Fernandez, Kalinskaya, Martic
2 - Niemeier, Noskova, Putintseva
2 - Riske-A., Siegemund, Tauson, Trevisan
2 - Tsurenko, Wang Xinyu, Wozniacki

[2025 slam Rd. of 16s - youngest]
17 - Mirra Andreeva (AO)
18 - Mirra Andreeva (RG)
18 - Mirra Andreeva (WI)
20 - Coco Gauff (AO)

[2025 slam Rd. of 16s - oldest]
37 - Laura Siegemund (WI)
34 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenokva (WI)
33 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (AO)
31 - Jessie Pegula (US)
31 - Jessie Pegula (RG)
30 - Ekaterina Alexandrova (US)
30 - Ekaterina Alexandrova (WI)
30 - Ekaterina Alexandrova (RG)
30 - Madison Keys (RG)
30 - Elina Svitolina (RG)
30 - Elina Svitolina (AO)

[2025 slam Rd. of 16s - unseeded]
=AO (4)=
Bencic(PR), Danilovic, V.Kudermetova, Lys(LL)
=RG (2)=
Baptiste, Boisson(WC)x
=WI (6)=
Bencic, Bouzas Maneiro, Kartal, Pavlyuchenkova, Siegemund, Sierra(LL)
=US (5)=
Bucsa, Krejcikova, Li, Townsend, Vondrousova

[2025 slam Rd. of 16s - 1st-time GS 4th Rd.; w/ MD #]
AO - (1) Lys (6th)
RG - (2) Baptiste (8th), Boisson (1st)
WI - (3) Bouzas Maneiro (7th), Kartal (6th), Sierra (3rd)
US - (2) Bucsa (16th), Li (15th)

[2025 slam Rd. of 16s - completed "Career Round of 16 Slam"]
AO - Dasha Kasatkina (36th slam MD), Emma Navarro (9th)
RG - none
WI - none
US - Amanda Anisimova (23rd), Elena Rybakina (25th)

[2025 slam Rd. of 16s - lowest-ranked]
#361 - Lois Boisson (RG)
#294 - Belinda Bencic (AO)
#139 - Taylor Townsend (US)
#128 - Eva Lys (AO)
#104 - Laura Siegemund (WI)
#101 - Solana Sierra (WI)

[2025 slam Rd. of 16s]
4 - Sabalenka (AO/RG/WI/US)
4 - Swiatek (AO/RG/WI/US)
3 - Alexandrova (RG/WI/US)
3 - Anisimova (RG/WI/US)
3 - M.Andreeva (AO/RG/WI)
3 - Gauff (AO/RG/US)
3 - Rybakina (AO/RG/US)
2 - Bencic (AO/WI)
2 - Kasatkina (AO/RG)
2 - Keys (AO/RG)
2 - Navarro (AO/WI)
2 - Pavlyuchenkova (AO/WI)
2 - Pegula (RG/US)
2 - Samsonova (RG/WI)
2 - Svitolina (AO/RG)

[2025 slam Rd. of 16s - by nation]
15 = 3/5/2/5 = USA (Anisimova,Gauff,Li,Pegula,Townsend)
12 = 4/3/4/1 = RUS (Alexandrova)
4 = 1/1/1/1 = BLR (Sabalenka)
4 = 0/0/1/3 = CZE (Krejickova,Muchova,Vondrousova)
4 = 1/1/1/1 = POL (Swiatek)
3 = 1/0/1/1 = ESP (Bucsa)
3 = 1/1/0/1 = KAZ (Rybakina)
3 = 1/1/0/1 = UKR (Kostyuk)
2 = 1/0/1/0 = GER
2 = 1/0/1/0 = SUI
= 1 AO: CRO,SRB
1 RG: AUS,CHN,FRA,ITA
1 WI: ARG,BEL,DEN,GBR
1 US: BRA(Haddad Maia),JPN(Osaka)

[2025 slam Rd. of 16s - by region]
22 = (6/3/8/5) - W.Europe/Scandinavia (CZE-ESP-POL)
19 = (6/5/5/3) - Eastern Europe/Russia (BLR-RUS-UKR)
15 = (3/5/2/5) - North America/Atlantic (USA)
6 = (1/3/0/2) - Asia/Oceania (JPN-KAZ)
2 = (0/0/1/1) - South America (BRA)
0 = (0/0/0/0) - Africa/Middle East/Mediterranean





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"She did not die defending the Constitution. She died trying to overturn it. She was not protecting lives at a gate in Iraq; she was forcing her way through windows in the Capitol to stop the peaceful transfer of power." New from @markhertling.bsky.social:

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— The Bulwark (@thebulwark.com) August 30, 2025 at 10:56 AM


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Poor kitty. #cats #kittens #caturday

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— Mike L Tilford 📚 😺 (@thatwriterguy.com) August 30, 2025 at 10:51 PM









TOP QUALIFIER: Janice Tjen, INA
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): Emma Raducanu/GBR
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): x
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q2: Dominika Salkova/CZE def. Kristina Dmitruk/BLR 6-3/5-7/7-6(10-8) - saved 4 MP on serve at 6-5 in the 3rd, then trailed 4-1 in MTB
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - Alex Eala/PHI def. #14 Clara Tauson/DEN 6-3/2-6/7-6(13-11) - comeback from 5-1 down in 3rd; first PHI w/ GS MD win
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F): x
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Polina Kudermetova/RUS (def. Parrizas Diaz/ESP, ret. after 2-2 in 1st set)
FIRST SEED OUT: #24 Veronika Kudermetova/RUS (1r, lost to qualifier Tjen/INA)
FIRST CAREER SLAM MD WINS: Alex Eala/PHI (3rd GS MD), Polina Kudermetova/RUS (5th MD) and Janice Tjen/INA (1st MD)
PROTECTED RANKING MD WINS: Sorana Cirstea/ROU (2nd Rd.)
LUCKY LOSER MD WINS: no LL in MD
UPSET QUEENS: Asia (seeded upsets by Tjen/INA, Eala/PHI; Uchijima saved 7 MP vs. Danilovic)
REVELATION LADIES: Russia (10-3 1r; first slam MD W by P.Kudermetova, and first US wins by Blinkova and Zakharova)
NATION OF POOR SOULS: China (1-5 1st Rd.; 0-5 start; Zheng Qinwen DNP)
CRASH & BURN: #6 Madison Keys/USA (AO champ loses 1r to Zarazua; second US 1r exit in 12 years)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK: Moyuka Uchijima/JPN (1r- saved 7 MP, down triple MP twice vs. Danilovic)
IT ("?"): x
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: x
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Priscilla Hon/AUS (3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Caty McNally/USA (2nd Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: in 4r: Anisimova, Gauff, Li, Pegula, Townsend
COMEBACK: Nominees: Osaka, Krejcikova, Sakkari, Vondrousova
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Nominees: Pegula, Alexandrova
DOUBLES STAR: x
BIG APPLE BANNERETTE BREAKTHROUGH: Nominees: Li, Townsend
BROADWAY-BOUND: Nominees: "Exquisitely Back in the City" (Sharapova gets HoF ring on Ashe, 19 years after won title); "Mortal Kombat: NYC" (Townsend/Ostapenko); "The Taylor Show/Taylor on the Town" (Townsend)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominees: Gauff, Townsend
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x







All for Day 7. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 1:33 AM 

2 Comments:

Blogger Diane said...

"Lock, Stock and Teardrops" may be my favorite k.d. lang song. (It was on my Angry Woman playlist that I made when I was getting a divorce--I still have the playlist.) For me, nothing showcases her extraordinary voice quite like that song.

Sun Aug 31, 09:57:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Note: it's strange sometimes how I end up finding my way to using a k.d. song. That phrase just popped into my head as I was searching for something to use in the description of the Gauff match result.

I didn't think it fit, but I started to do a search for "lock, stock and teardrop" (knowing it came to me because of lang) and immediately saw the link to her singing the song. I never did use a version of the phrase ("lock, stock and barrel," I guess, would be the phrase that better fit), but I got a nice little performance break with her that made me remember (again) how great the "Shadowlands" album was.

And then I included the video (I might use another soon). ;)

Mon Sep 01, 02:01:00 AM EDT  

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