Monday, September 01, 2025

US.8- Escape in New York


So, Barbora... what have you done for us lately? Oh, all right then.




Heading into Day 8, there had already been quite a few big comeback wins on the women's side at this U.S. Open, including one from 5-1 down in the 3rd (Eala/Tauson) and another in which the eventual winner had been down triple MP *twice* (Uchijima/Danilovic). Yesterday, Iga Swiatek rallied from 5-1 down in the 1st to win in straight sets over Anna Kalinskaya.

Barbora Krejcikova had one of those sort of wins, too, climbing out of a 0-3, love/30 hole in the deciding set vs. Emma Navarro in the 3rd Round.

On Sunday, though, the two-time major champion Czech put that comeback to shame against Taylor Townsend. Her triumph gives her three victories this season -- and she's only won 12, so a quarter of her wins -- in matches where she's found herself down MP.



Still buzzing from her early-round run-in with Alona Ostapenko and the off-court aftermath, Townsend had played her way into her second career slam Round of 16, and today had a stadium full of supporters (save, maybe, for one very committed Krejcikova fan) on Armstrong as she took a 6-1 1st set and pushed toward a straight sets victory. At 5-4, she held a MP on the Czech's serve.

Krejickova saved it, and Townsend had no idea what she'd unleashed.

Having been unable to corral the "W" on her first opportunity, Townsend saw Krejcikova then get a break to take the lead and serve for the 2nd set at 6-5. But Townsend bounced back to break and force a TB, where the Czech took an early 3-1 lead before Townsend ran off five straight points to reach triple MP at 6-3.

On the surface, Townsend *seemed* close to victory, and a passel of kids were let loose by an overconfident usher to bound down the Armstrong stadium steps with their oversized fuzzy tennis balls to be signed immediately after the match. That moment *could* have been close, but it really wasn't. Actually, it was an instant where it was time to recall the longtime catch phrase of just-retired ESPN personality Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friend!"



For the remainder of what turned out to be a 25-minute tie-break, Krejcikova would keep her wits and play her very best points of the match with her fate in it literally on the line should she take a false swing. Krejcikova saved those three MP, as well as three more (running her total to eight), one (#7) with a second serve return winner after Townsend had only narrowly missed on what would have been a match-ending (and Armstrong-erupting) ace only seconds earlier.



Townsend, too, saved three SP over a span of five points (from #15-19) in the middle of the breaker, but Krejcikova finally converted on her fourth to win 15-13 and push the contest to a 3rd set with a virtual wind suddenly behind her back.



The momentum carried the Czech to a 4-2 lead in the decider before Townsend broke back to keep her hopes (and that of the majority of the fans, many of whom were living and dying with every point) alive.

But with the match clock ticking over the three-hour mark, Krejcikova (who this summer has had to build back her physical resilience, while never having lost her psychological sharp edge, since returning from an early-season back injury) was the one of the two with the experience and mettle to "run through the tape." The Czech immediately broke Townsend to regain her break edge, then served out the victory (w/ one final mini-comeback from 15/30 down), winning 1-6/7-6(13)/6-3 on her second MP.



Krejcikova, like Townsend, has spent a great deal of her career being seen as a "doubles specialist," but the Czech's decision to give herself a shot in singles in 2020-21 has completely altered her career biography, not to mention served to create a Czech legend akin to a lurking threat who regulary pops out of the darkness to create the ultimate havoc with little notice, but quite the masterful touch.

Krejcikova has already won slam titles on clay ('21 RG) and grass ('24 WI), and will now play in her fourth major QF on hard court, with whispers of a career surface slam (a lowercase notion, for now) perhaps lingering in the air if she can get one step closer two days from now.

Hey, "stranger" things have happened, and they, too, may have even involved Krejcikova.






=DAY 8 NOTES=
...earlier, the first quarterfinalist was revealed when #4 Jessie Pegula advanced through to the last eight for the third time in the last four U.S. Opens, defeating Ann Li 6-1/6-2 in her fellow Bannerette's first career major 4th Round appearance.

Not that long ago, the notion of Pegula reaching the QF in a major would be quickly followed by an "uh-oh," but that finally changed a year ago in New York.

After previously being 0-6 in slam QF, Pegula's 2024 QF victory over Iga Swiatek finally got her over the hump and into her first major semifinal and, with a victory over Karolina Muchova, the final, too. She lost there to Aryna Sabalenka, but has gone on to become the only player this season to win tour singles titles on clay (her first), grass and hard court.



Now 22-8 at Flushing Meadows, the Open is Pegula's best major, with a 73% winning percentage (vs. 64%, at 32-18, at the other slams).

She'll next face Krejcikova, who holds a 2-1 head-to-head advantage in their career series (all matches have been on hard court).

...for #1 Aryna Sabalenka, these stages of a major rarely ever get the "uh-oh" treatment (for her, alas, those often come a short time later).

The reigning U.S. Open champion dispensed of Cristina Bucsa 6-1/6-4 on Sunday, reaching the QF for the fifth straight year in New York and at the last twelve majors she's played (and 14 of the last 16).

In Sabalenka's case, this has usually just been a scenic weigh station, though, as she's reached the SF at nine of her last ten slams, and the final at five of seven (and *all* of the last five played on hard court).

With her QF spot secured, Sabalenka is assured of keeping her #1 ranking no matter what happens the rest of this U.S. Open.



...and in the Ashe night session closer, Marketa Vondrousova once again proved to be the "other" comeback Czech (hmmm, or it is three? I suppose not, since Muchova is never really in "comeback mode," per se) whom you would be wise to *never* turn your back on.

Though her ability to "sneak up" on the draw remains greater, Vondrousova often does her deeds with fewer "highlight-worthy" moments than peak Krejcikova. But Marketa is no less lethal (and dream-ending) when she's healthy and in form. Thankfully for the rest of the tour, those moments don't come around all that often for the Czech. Still, even while having injury issues (most often w/ her wrist) since her breakout RG final run back in 2019, including having multiple surgeries for multiple ailments the last few years and missing five of the last fourteen majors, she's still added a Wimbledon title ('23), a pair of slam QF (RG '24, US '23), and an Olympic Silver medal (2021) to her resume. Earlier this summer, she won a title on grass in Berlin, posting victories over Madison Keys and Aryna Sabalenka along the way.

On Sunday against #9 Elena Rybakina, Vondrousova continued to display her cool, calm and collected "big moment gene." The Czech finished off a break-and-hold combo to snatch a 6-4 1st set from the Kazakh, but wasn't able to finish off Rybakina in straights, saving a SP at 5-4 but later being unable to hold in a deuce game to force a TB. Rybakina broke to win the set 7-5 and force a decider.

There, Vondrousova pulled ahead with another break and consolidating hold for a 4-2 lead, then grabbed a double-break edge at 5-2. Serving for the match despite having done so with less "fanfare" than her countrywoman earlier in the day, Vondrousova gave a little (you want fanfare? well...) to get a lot: she fell behind 15/40 to offer up Rybakina a smidgen of hope, then ended the match with an eye-popping four-serve, ace-ace-ace-service winner combo (giving her 13 aces for the match) to finish off a 6-4/5-7/6-2 win and reach her second U.S. Open QF in the last four years.

True to form, over that four-year stretch, Vondrousova has only been physically *able* to play in New York twice.



...in ITF action, 21-year old German Noma Noha Akugue won a pair of TB in a straights sets win over Italian Silvia Ambrosio to take the $50K clay court challenger in Oldenzaal, NED, to claim her first singles title of the year.

NNA, remember, reached the tour-level Hamburg final in 2023 in her MD debut (a loss to Arantxa Rus). This is her third career ITF win, and first since a $75K in August of last year.






*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR def. Cristina Bucsa/ESP
Marketa Vondrousova/CZE def. #9 Elena Rybakina/KAZ
#4 Jessie Pegula/USA def. Ann Li/USA
Barbora Krejcikova/CZE def. 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

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Siniakova/Townsend (CZE/USA) vs. Osorio/Yuan (COL/CHN)
#12 Alexandrova/Zhang (RUS/CHN) vs. (WC) Fernandez/V.Williams (CAN/USA)
#4 V.Kudermetova/Mertens (RUS/BEL) vs. Kostyuk/Ruse (UKR/ROU)
(PR) Aoyama/Wang Y. (JPN/CHN) vs. #5 M.Andreeva/Shnaider (RUS/RUS)
Xu/Yang (CHN/CHN) vs. #11 Babos/Stefani (HUN/BRA)
#13 Bucsa/Melichar-Martinez (ESP/USA) vs. #3 Dabrowski/Routliffe (CAN/NZL)
#7 Muhammad/Schuurs (USA/NED) vs. #9 Danilina/Krunic (KAZ/SRB)
Stollar/Wu (HUN/TPE) vs. #2 Errani/Paolini (ITA/ITA)

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








...BARBORA ALWAYS KNOWS THE SCORE... ON DAY 8:





...IF "SNL" WAS IN-SEASON, I'D SENSE A BOWEN YANG SKETCH COMING... ON DAY 8:





...IMAGINE IF... ON DAY 8:


...the women were playing best-of-five set matches, and how much drama would have been sapped from that 2nd set if those were SP to go up 2-0 rather than MP with do-or-die connotations attached to every swing. The chances of such a thing happening later on decrease with every long, drawn-out set that make matches more "long-distance runs" rather than the "show" that they *can* be when contained within a more manageable box.


...OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES... ON DAY 8:





...MEANWHILE... ON DAY 8:





...IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME... ON DAY 8:





...SO FAR, SO GOOD... ON DAY 8:


#WTARallyTheWorld, to date, has not risen from its overgrown grave during this U.S. Open. Not even for a moment.

























kosova-font









kosova-font

*U.S. OPEN "BIG APPLE BANNERETTE BREAKOUT" WINNERS*
2019 Kristie Ahn
2020 Jennifer Brady
2021 Coco Gauff/Caty McNally
2022 NO AWARD GIVEN
2023 Peyton Stearns
2024 Ashlyn Krueger
2025 Taylor Townsend

**BACKSPIN 2025 WTA DOWN PLAYER-OF-THE-MONTH WINNERS**
JAN (pre-AO): Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
AO: Zheng Qinwen, CHN
FEB: Anna Kalinskaya, RUS
MAR: Iga Swiatek, POL
1Q...HADDAD MAIA
APR: Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
MAY: Iga Swiatek, POL
RG: Emma Navarro, USA
2Q Clay Court...SWIATEK
JUN: Dasha Kasatkina, AUS
WI: Coco Gauff, USA
2Q Grass Court...GAUFF
JUL: Marta Kostyuk, UKR
AUG (pre-U.S.): Katie Boulter, GBR
[Multiple 2025 Weekly DOWN Award Wins]
4 - Lulu Sun, NZL
3 - Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
3 - Ons Jabeur, TUN
3 - Emma Navarro, USA
2 - Dasha Kasatkina, AUS
2 - Marta Kostyuk, UKR
2 - Karolina Muchova, CZE
2 - Linda Noskova, CZE
2 - Alona Ostapenko, LAT
2 - Maria Sakkari, GRE
2 - Iga Swiatek, POL
2 - Zheng Qinwen, CHN

**BACKSPIN 2025 WTA ITF PLAYER-OF-THE-MONTH WINNERS**
DEC/JAN: Joanna Garland, TPE
JAN 2: Victoria Mboko, CAN
FEB: Victoria Mboko, CAN
MAR: Victoria Mboko, CAN
1Q...MBOKO
APR: Mayar Sherif, EGY
MAY 1: Anna Bondar, HUN
MAY 2: Dasha Vidmanova, CZE
2Q.1...SHERIF
JUN: Janice Tjen, INA
JUN/JUL: Dasha Vidmanova, CZE
2Q.2...TJEN
JUL: Caty McNally, USA
AUG: Petra Marcinko, CRO
[Multiple 2025 Weekly ITF PLAYER Award Wins]
3 - Victoria Mboko, CAN
2 - Joanna Garland, TPE
2 - Tatiana Prozorova, RUS
2 - Antonia Ruzic, CRO
2 - Mayar Sherif, EGY
2 - Dasha Vidmanova, CZE





kosova-font


kosova-font


kosova-font


kosova-font









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(L), Pegula(W), Townsend(L)
COMEBACK: Nominees: Krejcikova, Osaka, Vondrousova
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Nominees: Pegula, Alexandrova, V.Williams
DOUBLES STAR: x
BIG APPLE BANNERETTE BREAKTHROUGH: Taylor Townsend/USA
BROADWAY-BOUND: Nominees: "Exquisitely Back in the City" (Sharapova gets HoF ring on Ashe, 19 years after won title); "Mortal Kombat: NYC" (Townsend/Ostapenko); "Naomi Osaka presents 'Labubu'"
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominees: Gauff
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x







All for Day 8. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 1:05 AM 

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home