Saturday, January 18, 2025

AO25 - Eva's New Lys on Life Lives On










=AO NOTES=
...while she's made some headlines for her coffee choices and the like, Iga Swiatek has sort of slid under the radar through the first week in Melbourne. The #2 seed -- her first at a major since the 2022 AO (when Ash Barty was #1 and active) after eleven straight top seeds -- has so far looked pretty good on her. Maybe never more so than in her 3rd Rounder vs. Emma Raducanu.

Swiatek's total games lost at this AO, round by round, has shrunk from 7 (1r vs. Siniakova) to 2 (2r vs. Sramkova) to 1 (3r vs. Raducanu) as the first week has progressed. The Pole's 6-1/6-0 win over the Brit gives Swiatek two consecutive slam Round of 16 runs for the first time since she reached all four in 2023 (part of a string of five majors in a row with 4r-or-better results).



Swiatek's next opponent is *still* enjoying her "new Lys on life" at this slam.

Yep, Eva Lys did it. She defeated Jaqueline Cristian by a 4-6/6-3/6-3 score to become the first lucky loser to reach the AO Round of 16 in the Open era (it's been done at the other three majors). Well, at least it seems that she's done so, unless someone digs out a more detailed, dusty (and probably coffee-stained) past AO draw out of some cluttered drawer of a forgotten filing cabinet tucked away in a locked room in some abandoned (and maybe condemned) building somewhere in Australia, I suppose (more on that in a moment).



You see, that's such an odd way of saying what Lys has accomplished ("since the event moved to Melbourne Park in 1988"). I suspect part of this is because the AO didn't even *have* seven rounds (and, hence, a 4th Round) until 1987, but if you extend it back to when the 3rd Round was the AO "Round of 16" then you can say it's never happened in the Open era (unless the widely available draws from the first two decades of the Open era are currently mislabeled and an equally successful lucky loser does not have "LL" next to her name in the results, that is).

This made me pull out one of the old Guide to Professional Tennis yearbooks to give that a check, and I didn't see anything that said otherwise there, either. So it seems that it hasn't happened since the start of the AO's Open era history in 1969.

Of course, some records from those early years *are* notoriously sketchy, with the latest example being Zhang Shuai's "record" 24-match losing streak that ended last year -- and, for that matter, Vincent Spadea's previous "all-time tennis record" of 21 set in 1999-00, as well -- both of which were individually widely reported for more than two decades (first one, then the other) as the longest ever in the history of the tennis tours through (at least) mid-September of last year.

Then, by the end of that same September, when Zhang finally recorded a win, the WTA began to note that a "forgotten" player named Madeleine Pegel had lost 29 straight from 1968-72, so Zhang's streak became (for now, I guess) the *second*-longest streak. (I didn't even catch up with that news until recently.)

Kudos to whomever individual was who dug that long-ago losing streak out of the dirt, checked and double-checked it, and "updated" a record that went more than half a century without a correction. The only question is, in a sport that highlights such accomplishments on a regular basis, why hasn't the tour (and the ATP, too, I guess) done a truly *deep* dive to get *every* record such as that sized up by putting those early years' results in line so many decades after the fact? "Forgotten" streaks shouldn't come out of the woodwork 50 years later, when everyone looks to the tours to keep such things straight for everyone else. IMHO.

Later, the BBC's online coverage *did* say Lys was the first at the AO in the Open era, so, at least until further notice, she does seem to be the most successful AO LL ever. Stay tuned, though.

...#8 Emma Navarro was pushed to three sets for the third straight time at this AO, but again she prevailed, defeating Ons Jabeur 6-4/3-6/6-4. Navarro has won seven of her last eight three-set matches dating back to last year, and has won her last six in slam competition, where she's won eight of nine three-setters since the start of last year (her only loss: in last year's AO 3r to Dayana Yastremska).



This marks Navarro's fourth consecutive Round of 16 at a major (completing her Career Round of 16 slam in her 9th major MD), and she's still in line to have a shot to improve upon her previous slam result for what would be a fifth straight time. She'd have to reach the final to do it, though, having posted 1r-3r-4r-QF-SF finishes at the last five slams.

...quite the opposite of Navarro's recent slam results, Veronika Kudermetova came into Melbourne having lost in the 1st Round at five straight majors and at six of the last seven. Veronika's little sister Polina, who reached her maiden tour final in Week 1 (Brisbane) and passed her big sibling by in the rankings, maybe gets an "assist" here, but the senior Kudermetova is alive and well in the Round of 16 (the third of her career, at a third different major) after a straight sets win over #15 Beatriz Haddad Maia.

Family dynamics are surely interesting, aren't they?



Hordettes fill a quarter of the final sixteen spots remaining in the women's draw.





...RYBAKINA IS THROUGH, but she was treated for a back injury mid-match... uh-oh):




...AND THAT'S A "CAREER ROUND OF 16 SLAM" FOR DASHA (in MD #36):




...THE FUNNY THING IS...:

A year ago, Jasmine Paolini would have been happy with a 3rd Round result as it would have been the best of her major career. Now, it's her worst performance since 2023 and she's the highest seed to exit in the opening week.




...SINCE EVERYONE IN MELBOURNE IS TALKING ABOUT COFFEE THIS WEEK, I THINK WE COULD USE A STIMULATING SHOT OF *GOOD* SLOANE SOON:



She won her two most recent titles in February (2022) and April (2024), so...



...A VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF LYS' JOURNEY SO FAR AT THIS AO (of course, Iga is up next, so...):




...SLAM "PROP PICK" UPDATE:

My pre-AO slam "Prop Pick" is still alive heading into the second week, with the likes of Swiatek, Gauff and Rybakina the Last Potential Winners Standing if I'm going to get my "champion prediction" correct for a third straight major since I went to this (I think, a bit more interesting... or at least it leaves more wiggle room that an all-or-nothing champion pick that might blow up on Day 5) format for trying to narrow down a possible winner before the start of play.

=SLAM "PROP PICK" PREDICTIONS=

TRT TOURNAMENT WINNER... YES or NO?
24 WI A Top 4 seed won't win the title YES (#31 Krejcikova)
24 US Winner will be a Top 6 seed (five times since 2015, U.S. won by a player outside the Top 6) YES (#2 Sabalenka)
25 AO Winner will be a past slam champion, but not a former AO winner (i.e. no 3-peat for Sabalenka) ??










=WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16=
#1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR vs. #14 Mirra Andreeva/RUS
#27 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS vs. #18 Donna Vekic/CRO
#3 Coco Gauff/USA vs. (PR) Belinda Bencic/SUI
#11 Paula Badosa/ESP vs. Olga Danilovic/SRB
#6 Elena Rybakina/KAZ vs. #19 Madison Keys/USA
Veronika Kudermetova/RUS vs. #28 Elina Svitolina/UKR
#8 Emma Navarro/USA vs. #9 Dasha Kasatkina/RUS
(LL) Eva Lys/GER vs. #2 Iga Swiatek/POL

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES ROUND OF 16=
#1 Siniakova/Townsend (CZE/USA) vs. #16 Fernandez/N.Kichenok (CAN/UKR)
#9 Mladenovic/Zhang Shuai (FRA/CHN) vs. #5 Chan H-c./L.Kichenok (TPE/UKR)
x vs. (WC) Birrell/Gadecki (AUS/AUS)
x vs. Rakhimova/Sorribes Tormo (RUS/ESP)
Kostyuk/Ruse (UKR/ROU) vs. #12 Guo Hanyu/Panova (CHN/RUS)
#13 Babos/Melichar-Martinez (HUN/USA) vs. #3 Hsieh/Ostapenko (TPE/LAT)
#7 Muhammad/Schuurs (USA/NED) vs. Kato/Zarazua (JPN/MEX)
x vs. #2 Dabrowski/Routliffe (CAN/NZL)

=MIXED DOUBLES ROUND OF 16=
#1 Errani/Vavassori (ITA/ITA) vs. Nicholls/Patten (GBR/GBR)
Khromacheva/Withrow (RUS/USA) vs. #6 Hsieh/Zielinski (TPE/POL)
#3 Perez/Krawietz (AUS/GER) vs. (WC) Hon/Bolt (AUS/AUS)
(WC) Birrell/J-P.Smith (AUS/AUS) vs. #7 Schuurs/Puetz (NED/GER)
Babos/Arevalo (HUN/ELS) vs. (WC) Gadecki/Peers (AUS/AUS)
Zhang Shuai/Bopanna (CHN/IND) vs. #4 Townsend/Nys (USA/MON)
#8 Muhammad/Molteni (USA/ARG) vs. Danilina/Heliovaara (KAZ/FIN)
Panova/Glasspool (RUS/GBR) vs. #2 Routliffe/Venus (NZL/NZL)






















kosova-font









kosova-font

*2025 AO FINAL 16*
[by ranking]
#1 - Aryna Sabalenka
#2 - Iga Swiatek
#3 - Coco Gauff
#7 - Elena Rybakina
#8 - Emma Navarro
#10 - Dasha Kasatkina
#12 - Paula Badosa
#14 - Madison Keys
#15 - Mirra Andreeva
#19 - Donna Vekic
#27 - Elina Svitolina
#32 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
#55 - Olga Danilovic
#75 - Veronika Kudermetova
#128 - Eva Lys (LL)
#294 - Belinda Bencic (PR)

[by age]
17 = M.Andreeva
20 = Gauff
23 = Danilovic, Lys, Navarro, Swiatek
25 = Rybakina
26 = Sabalenka
27 = Badosa, Bencic, Kasatkina, V.Kudermetova
28 = Vekic
29 = Keys
30 = Svitolina
33 = Pavlyuchenkova

[by nation]
4...RUS (M.Andreeva,Kasatkina,V.Kudermetova,Pavlyuchenkova)
3...USA (Gauff,Keys,Navarro)
1...BLR (Sabalenka)
1...CRO (Vekic)
1...ESP (Badosa)
1...GER (Lys)
1...KAZ (Rybakina)
1...POL (Swiatek)
1...SRB (Danilovic)
1...SUI (Bencic)
1...UKR (Svitolina)

[by career slam Round-of-16s]
21 - Keys
19 - Svitolina
17 - Swiatek
14 - Gauff, Sabalenka
11 - Pavlyuchenkova
10 - Bencic
8 - Badosa, Rybakina, Vekic
7 - Kasatkina
4 - M.Andreeva, Navarro
3 - V.Kudermetova
2 - Danilovic
1 - Lys

[w/ consecutive slam Round of 16s]
6 - Gauff
4 - Navarro
3 - Badosa, Vekic
2 - Sabalenka (last 9 played, DNP Wimb.'24), Swiatek
--
NOTE: Bencic (1, DNP 2024 slams; last 3 played)

[w/ multiple career AO Round of 16s]
6 - Keys
5 - Sabalenka, Svitolina, Swiatek
4 - Gauff, Pavlyuchenkova
3 - Bencic, Vekic
2 - M.Andreeva, Badosa, Rybakina

[w/ consecutive AO Round of 16s]
5 - Sabalenka
3 - Gauff
2 - M.Andreeva, Svitolina
--
NOTE: Bencic (last 2 played; DNP 2024)

[WTA career slam Round of 16s - active]
50...Venus Williams
30...Victoria Azarenka
23...Petra Kvitova
23...Caroline Wozniacki
22...Simona Halep
21...Madison Keys*
19...Elina Svitolina*
16...Sloane Stephens
17...Iga Swiatek*
16...Vera Zvonareva
14..Coco Gauff*
14...Elise Mertens
14...Karolina Pliskova
14...Aryna Sabalenka*
11...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova*
10...Belinda Bencic*
10...Ons Jabeur
10...Kaia Kanepi

[multiple WTA slam Round of 16s since 2020 (of 20) - active]
16 - Swiatek*
14 - Sabalenka*
12 - Gauff*
10 - Jabeur
9 - Mertens, Svitolina*
8 - Badosa*, Krejcikova, Pegula
8 - Rybakina*
7 - Azarenka, Keys*
6 - Halep, Muchova
5 - Bencic*, Kvitova, Pavlyuchenkova*
5 - Sakkari, Vekic*, Vondrousova
4 - M.Andreeva*, Anisimova, Collins, Garcia
4 - Kasatkina*, Kenin, Navarro*, Ostapenko
4 - Paolini, Ka.Pliskova, Zheng Q.
3 - Cirstea, Haddad Maia, V.Kudermetova*
3 - Raducanu, Samsonova
3 - Stephens, Tomljanovic, Zhang Sh.
2 - Avanesyan, Bouzkova, Brady, Danilovic*
2 - Fernandez, Kalinskaya, Kostyuk
2 - Martic, Niemeier, Osaka, Putintseva
2 - Riske-A., Trevisan
2 - Tsurenko, Wang Xinyu, Wozniacki

[2025 slam Rd. of 16s - unseeded]
=AO (4)=
Bencic(PR), Danilovic, V.Kudermetova, Lys(LL)

[2025 slam Rd. of 16s - 1st-time GS 4th Rd.]
AO - (1) Lys

[2025 slam Rd. of 16s - completed "Career Round of 16 Slam"]
AO - Dasha Kasatkina (36th slam MD), Emma Navarro (9)

[2025 slam Rd. of 16s - by region]
6 = (6/-/-/-) - W.Europe/Scandinavia (CRO-ESP-GER-POL-SRB-SUI)
6 = (6/-/-/-) - Eastern Europe/Russia (BLR-RUS-UKR)
3 = (3/-/-/-) - North America/Atlantic (USA)
1 = (1/-/-/-) - Asia/Oceania (KAZ)
0 = (0/-/-/-) - Africa/Middle East/Mediterranean
0 = (0/-/-/-) - South America







kosova-font

Thanks to @anntelnaes.bsky.social for this gem:

[image or embed]

— AFinRenoFightsBack (@callyson.bsky.social) January 18, 2025 at 12:50 AM


kosova-font







TOP QUALIFIER: Maja Chwalinska, POL
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): #1 Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): x
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): x
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/WC/Doub.): x
=============================
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 (in 4r) (2r-Birrell/AUS, Kovinic/MNE)
LUCKY LOSER BEST: Eva Lys/GER (in 4r) (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: x
IT (TBD): x
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominee: Bencic, V.Kudermetova
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: Nominee: Pavlyuchenkova, Keys, Svitolina
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominee: Sabalenka/Dokic
AUSTRALIAN LANGUAGE ARTS AWARD: Nominees: Aiava dons iconic Ivanovic/Sharapova dress designs during Q-run; The Great Melbourne Coffee Scandal
DOUBLES STAR: x
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x





All for now. More soon.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 2:55 PM 

1 Comments:

Blogger khan35 said...

I am nervous today. Belinda has already exceeded my expectation by reaching 4th round. On the other hand, a semi-final run here would boost her ranking up.

My favorite to win the title is Gauff, But I will be happy to be proven wrong.

Sat Jan 18, 07:31:00 PM EST  

Post a Comment

<< Home