Wednesday, January 22, 2025

AO25 - Something Happened on the Way to the Semis










=AO NOTES=
...okay, now where was I?

Back in business in this space after some technical difficulties, let's see where things stand in Melbourne...



As far the QF went, sometimes, things just don't go the way they're *supposed* to go (yeah, tell me about it).

Surely, #3-seeded Coco Gauff, undefeated on the season and on an extended heater since a coaching change after last year's U.S. Open (a run which included a WTAF title, and an active 13-match win streak heading into her fifth round of action at this AO), seemed well on her way to facing off with Aryna Sabalenka with a slot in the AO final on the line.

But while Gauff faltered in this particular QF showcase, #11 Paula Badosa chose Melbourne as the site where she'd finally take advantage of a huge slam opportunity, doing so less than a year after her slow recovery from a back injury saw her start last year at 6-9 and fall to #140 after a 1st Round exit in Madrid last spring. The Spaniard rebounded in a *big* way, going on to have a Comeback of the Year campaign, nearly climbing back into the Top 10, and now finds herself set to play in her maiden major semifinal.

In her two previous slam QF appearances, Badosa -- a former world #2 in 2022 before suffering her back injury in '23 -- had come up frustratingly short after having put herself into position for a career-best result. At the 2021 RG, she'd held a break lead in the 3rd set over Tamara Zidansek before the Slovenian rallied to win an 8-6 decider. Then, at the U.S. Open last September, she led Emma Navarro 5-1 in the 2nd set in her attempt to force things to a 3rd, only to collapse down the stretch and drop the final six games.

To get to this AO QF, Badosa had somewhat "righted" that most recent New York wrong, staging her own comeback from 5-2 down in the 2nd set vs. Olga Danilovic to win in straights. Against Gauff, her momentum increased just as Coco hit a major speedbump. Gauff committed 41 UE in the match's 22 games as she was never able to command either her forehand or serve (6 DF), and couldn't put the necessary pressure on the Spaniard's serve game.

Badosa only faced three BP in the match, and saw Gauff carve out none in the 1st set. After Gauff had saved a pair of BP in game 3 of the opener, Badosa got the key break back for a 6-5 lead and then held to win the set 7-5.

Any hope for a complete change of course went away quickly, as Gauff opened the 2nd set with a 22-point service game in which 11 of Badosa's 12 points came via errors off the Bannerette's racket, including back-to-back game-ending missed forehands that finally handed the Spaniard a break on BP #5.

Gauff got the break back to tie the score at 2-2, but lost a 40/15 lead in the following game as Badosa again took the lead. Rolling and up 5-2, Badosa failed to serve out the match on her first try, but did so two games later to close out a 7-5/6-4 win that makes this the 12th of the last 13 Australian Opens (missing out only in '22) with a maiden slam semifinalist.

Badosa is the 29th first-timer in the 20 women's majors held this decade.



...later on Tuesday night, top-ranked defending champion Sabalenka didn't suffer the same fate as quite possibly what had been her chief rival in the top half of the draw, instead outlasting #27-seeded Russian veteran Anastasia Pavlychenkova, who *did* manage to snap the Belarusian's 25-set Melbourne winning streak, in a 6-2/2-6/6-3 affair that improved Sabalenka's career record in slam QF to 10-1, keeping her AO three-peat hopes alive and well as she'll next play in her sixth consecutive hard court SF at a major.

Afterward, Sabalenka and interviewer Jelena Dokic were at it again, as the Aussie noted Sabalenka's tiger tattoo on her forearm and wondered aloud whether it was time for members of her team to follow suit with tiger tattoos of their own to show their commitment (in a more long-lasting way, not the temporary-pen-art-on-scalp treatment that her trainer sported at last year's U.S. Open).

Sabalenka suggested they'll need to talk about it, then said that maybe she could also just put something in their drink and take care of things while they sleep. She quickly noted that her casual talk of committing crimes before leaving Australia was just a joke. At least that's Aryna's story, and she's sticking to it.



Sabalenka's SF meeting with Badosa will once again feature an on-court face-off between the two best friends. To date, Sabalenka is 6-2 (w/ six straight wins) in the series.

...while the first half of the women's QF featured an unexpected result, the same might not be able to be said about either of Wednesday's contests.

The match-up between #19 Madison Keys and #28 Elina Svitolina turned out to be a three-setter that turned on a single break of serve in each set played between the veterans. Svitolina broke to lead 5-3 in the 1st, then served out the win. In the 2nd, Keys converted a BP to lead 4-2 and finished off the set. In the 3rd, again, Keys broke for a 3-2 edge, and never faced a BP in the final set (after having to stave off just one each in both the 1st and 2nd sets).



Keys' 3-6/6-3/6-4 victory is her tenth straight in '25 and sends her into her seventh career major semi, but thus far the 29-year old is just 1-5 in such matches at slam level, with her only win coming in her home event at the U.S. Open back in 2017, where she lost to Sloane Stephens.

Svitolina had come into these QF with the most experience (w/ 12 Final 8 appearances in majors) at this stage than any of the final eight who remained, but this defeat drops her to just 3-9 in those matches. She's 1-5 in major QF in the 2020s, with the only player with a worse mark during that stretch (amongst those with more than 3 slam QF) is Jessie Pegula, who has gone 1-6 (but *did* win her most recent at the U.S. Open last summer).

...if the QF opened with a surprise they concluded with probably the most expected result of the bunch.



With just her second career QF/SF run (the other came in '22) at this major, Iga Swiatek's new pairing with coach Wim Fissette is so far going nicely in their first slam event together, but we won't *really* know if anything has changed until she finally feels the pressure of a big-hitting foe who shortens her response time and/or she's forced to find a "Plan B" if things don't immediately go well. Since giving up seven games in the 1st Round to Katerina Siniakova, after her all-encompassing 6-1/6-2 QF win over #8 Emma Navarro, #2 seeded Swiatek has dropped just eight games in the last five rounds combined.

The Pole's win over Navarro was never really close or in question (Iga opened with a love break, won the first six points, and barely slowed down after that), though Navarro *did* play a tad better in the 2nd set. Iga's current form, the Bannerette's exhausting string of long matches (four straight three-set victories in Melbourne), and the fact that Swiatek does just about everything a bit better than the world #8 made this something of a dud when it came to being the finale of the women's QF round. (I'd thought it'd go something like an open-and-shut 6-3/6-3, but even that turned out to be overshooting things a little.)

Swiatek has been peerless through the middle rounds of this AO but, again, she *should* have been considering her competition. She'll finally get a true big hitter in Keys in the SF, but one has to wonder if Keys might have done Swiatek a solid by knocking off #6 Elena Rybakina in the Round of 16, considering the fear of the Tennis Gods that the Kazakh's game tends to put into Iga (that wasn't the case in their United Cup match a few weeks ago, but before that Rybakina had won four of their last five meetings).

Of course, Keys is no slouch herself when it comes to big shots, but she also brings along a host of negative intangibles into big matches like this one, as injuries or a sudden string of error-prone tennis always seem to get in her way at just the wrong time (see her 1-5 career slam SF mark).

It sure *feels* like a 1 vs. 2 final -- it'd be the first at the AO since 2018 and the sixth this century (w/ 2000, 2003-04 and 2015) -- but we shall soon see.

Swiatak and Sabalenka had five #1 vs. #2 match-ups in 2023-24, with Iga winning four of them (including the only one when Sabalenka was #1, at the '23 WTAF after which Swiatek took back the top ranking).

Iga is currently the "live" #1 in the rankings, and a match-up with Sabalenka in the final would see the winner atop the standings on Monday.

...meanwhile, the wheelchair competition presents a *massive* opportunity for someone, as world #1 Diede de Groot is absent until the spring while recovering from hip surgery. As a result, Yui Kamiji, the reigning Paralympic Gold medalist and AO #1 seed seems a good bet to win her first slam singles crown since RG 2020, and her third at the AO (de Groot has won the last four titles in Melbourne, and the last *15* slam events).

Though Kamiji *did* end the '24 season with back-to-back wins over the (we now know, ailing) de Groot, the Japanese former #1 (who'll almost surely return to the top spot in the rankings w/ de Groot's time away) has so far put up two wins in Melbourne to reach the semis. She's 147-4 against non-Diede competition since 2022.

On the other side of the draw, #2 Aniek Van Koot is seeking her first singles slam win since 2019 (WI). The top two seeds will face off vs. Chinese opponents in the SF, with Li Xiaohui (vs. Kamiji) and #3 Wang Ziying (vs. Van Koot) trying to produce the first-ever all-CHN slam final.

Of some note, Kamiji didn't team up in doubles with her usual partner, Kgothatso Montjane, in Melbourne. Instead she's with Brit Lucy Shuker, and they're in the SF vs. Li/Wang. Van Koot & Jiske Griffioen (vs. Tanaka/Zhu) are the top seeds. The veteran Dutch pair played in their first major final together at the 2011 AO, but haven't reached a slam title match as a pair since 2017 (RG). They went 8-13 in slam finals together before de Groot joined the scene. Van Koot has won 14 majors with de Groot, while Griffioen has shared two.

Dana Mathewson's retirement meant this AO had *zero* U.S. women in the WC competition (and just one, a wild card, in the men's). While Bannerette teenager Maylee Phelps seems to be on her way to the big stage, it still baffles me how so few U.S. (or Aussie, for that matter, considering that nation's big role in the early years of the sport) athletes are involved in wheelchair tennis despite such a large pool of para-athletes. The U.S. was third in total medals at the most recent Paralympics behind only China and Great Britain, so the numbers would seem to be there. Why *the* most visible para-sport has such a tiny U.S. presence remains perplexing (IMO).

It sure *seems* like the USTA, for all its talk about spreading the game, should have done enough by now (as the exposure of para-sports, the Paralympics and wheelchair tennis has grown exponentially in recent years) to see at least *a handful* of U.S. players in the mix *near* the top of the sport. But, at the moment, there are *none*.



...the girls' singles QF sport a pair of Aussies (#1 Emerson Jones and wild card Tahlia Kokkinis), two Japanese girls (the #4 seed and a qualifier), zero Czechs, only one Bannerette and the just-crowned Traralgon champ (#3 Jeline Vandromme).

While the Crusher presence in the singles shrunk to nil heading into the QF as both Kovackova sisters -- #11 Jana and #12 Alena -- saw their runs end in the 3rd Round, the siblings are set for an all-sister semifinal clash vs. the Bannerettes Penickovas, Annika and Kristina. Kristina P. defeated Alena K. in the singles Round of 16.

The winners of the Sisters Semifinal could face another all-Czech duo, as Tereza Krejcova & Vendula Valdmannova will go against E.Jones & Brit Hannah Klugman for the other spot in the final.

Meanwhile, Jagger Leach, aka the son of Lindsay Davenport, is alive in the boys' QF.







...WOMEN'S DOUBLES: THE NEXT GENERATION:




...WELP:




...PALVYUCHENKOVA BEING PAVLYUCHENKOVA:




...FAUX "WTA: SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE" ad, Part XXLI:




...HMMM, I FEEL LIKE ARYNA'S TIGER MIGHT NEED SOME REFRESHING AFTER SEVEN YEARS (it looked so much more vibrant and colorful when it was new):




...THERE WILL BE AT LEAST ONE (well, two) AUSSIE CHAMPIONS AT THIS AO:





This match is no longer relevent as far as the final result of this AO goes, but since the recap was ready but wasn't able to be posted the other day, for the purposes of keeping a record, here's what I'd written about the Navarro/Kasatkina Round of 16 clash (aka "The Taking of Dasha 1-2-3")...

O Tennis Gods... Dasha's kingdom (or maybe her vlog?) for a serve.

Dasha Kasatkina is an admirable individual, always giving a good (or better) accounting of herself both on and off court. She is often an entertaining, swashbuckling shotmaker who'll fight in matches until the last breath of the day. As a result, she's put together a very nice career. Only the very top players in the sport reach more finals than her -- she's behind just Swiatek, Sabalenka and Rybakina in WTA title match appearances this decade, and only Iga and Aryna (plus Krejcikova) have matched the three multi-title seasons in the 2020s that the Hordette has produced -- but she's played in just one slam SF/QF ('22 RG) this decade and is always on the outside looking in (though with a window seat) when it comes to discussing the best and/or most succcessful players of her generation, even as she's returned to the Top 10 over the past year.

But the inability of Kasatkina's serve to ever really contribute to her efforts remains, as will likely be the case until she strikes her last ball, a weighted rope around her ankle the precludes the sort of results that she *could* produce.

The latest example was the #9 seed's Round of 16 battle with #8 Emma Navarro, herself a player who doesn't rely on power but who seems to be getting the most out of her abilities since her career season last year.

Navarro raced out to 4-0 lead in the opening set on their match-up on Monday, only to see Kasatkina reel her back in and get the break to put the 1st back on serve at 5-4 after saving four Navarro set points. But, having finally gotten back into the set, Kasatkina then dropped serve at love and it was all essentially a wasted effort.

Kasatkina saved four MP at 5-4 in the 2nd set, but got the hold to stay alive and went on to win the set 7-5. Game on.

A series of long games characterized the 3rd set. Kasatkina broke Navarro to take a 3-2 lead, only to immediately give back her edge in the next game. The Russian saved seven BP in game 8 alone, holding for 4-4 in what had by now become a physical battle. While Kasatkina was often seen bending over at the waist, or draping herself over the walls of the backcourt, Navarro was her usual, frightfully calm-looking self (save for one rare, frustrated reaction to a lost point).

Kasatkina saw a pair of key BP chances at 5-5, but Navarro managed to get the hold and shift the pressure back to the Russian's own service game. Uh-oh. The Hordette quickly went up 30/love and a deciding MTB seemed on deck. But then it all slipped away, as the lead evaporated and Navarro suddenly had and converted her fifth MP opportunity, winning 6-4/5-7/7-5 to reach her third straight slam quarterfinal.



This win marks the fourth straight match in which Navarro has claimed a three-set contest at this AO. She trailed Peyton Stearns 5-3 in the 3rd in the 1st Round, but won 16 of the final 19 points. In the 2nd Round, she was down a break twice in the decider (and trailed 4-2) vs. Wang Xiyu, but swept the final four games. Ons Jabeur fell in the 3rd Round, and now Navarro still survives despite seeing three straight opponent rally from a set down to force a finale.

With eight wins in her last nine three-set matches, Navarro is on a seven match winning streak in three-setters at majors. She's 9-1 in slam play in such contests since the start of 2024. Her only loss in that year-long stretch came in the 3rd Round last year in Melbourne vs. Dayana Yastremska.

The Ukrainian would go on to reach the semifinals. Twelve months later, Navarro finds herself one win from doing the same.








=WOMEN'S SINGLES SF=
#1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR vs. #11 Paula Badosa/ESP
#19 Madison Keys/USA vs. #2 Iga Swiatek/POL

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES SF=
#1 Siniakova/Townsend (CZE/USA) vs. M.Andreeva/Shnaider (RUS/RUS)
#3 Hsieh/Ostapenko (TPE/LAT) vs. #2 Dabrowski/Routliffe (CAN/NZL)

=MIXED DOUBLES FINAL=
(WC) Birrell/J-P.Smith (AUS/AUS) vs. (WC) Gadecki/Peers (AUS/AUS)

=WHEELCHAIR SINGLES SF=
#1 Yui Kamiji/JPN vs. Li Xiaohui/CHN
Wang Ziying/CHN vs. #2 Aniek Van Koot/NED

=WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES SF=
#1 Griffioen/Van Koot (NED/NED) vs. Tanaka/Zhu (JPN/CHN)
Li/Wang (CHN/CHN) vs. #2 Kamiji/Shuker (JPN/GBR)

=GIRLS' SINGLES QF=
#1 Emerson Jones/AUS vs. Lilli Tagger/AUT
#4 Wakana Sonobe/JPN vs. (WC) Tahlia Kokkinis/AUS
Mia Pohankova/SVK vs. #3 Jeline Vandromme/BEL
#6 Kristina Penickova/USA vs. (Q) Shiho Tsujioka/JPN

=GIRLS' DOUBLES SF=
#5 A. Kovackova/J.Kovackova (CZE/CZE) vs. #6 A.Pennickova/K.Penickova (USA/USA)
#4 Krejcova/Valdmannova (CZE/CZE) vs. #2 E.Jones/Klugman (AUS/GBR)





























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*CAREER SLAM SF - active*
23 - Venus Williams, USA (16-7)
10 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (4-5)*
9 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR (6-3)
9 - Simona Halep, ROU (5-4)
7 - Madison Keys, USA (1-5)*
7 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (3-4)
7 - Iga Swiatek, POL (5-1)*
7 - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (3-4)
4 - Naomi Osaka, JPN (4-0)
4 - Coco Gauff, USA (2-2)
4 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (2-2)
4 - Vera Zvonareva, RUS (2-2)
4 - Karolina Muchova, CZE (1-3)
3 - Genie Bouchard, CAN (1-2)
3 - Sara Errani, ITA (1-2)
3 - Ons Jabeur, TUN (3-0)
3 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ (2-1)
3 - Sloane Stephens, USA (2-1)
3 - Elina Svitolina, UKR (0-3)
--
*-to play SF

[SLAM SF 2020-25]
10 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (4-5)*
7 - Iga Swiatek, POL (5-1)*
4 - Coco Gauff, USA (2-2)
4 - Karolina Muchova, CZE (1-3)
3 - Ash Barty, AUS (2-1)
3 - Ons Jabeur, TUN (3-0)
3 - Madison Keys, USA (0-2)*
3 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ (2-1)
2 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR (1-1)
2 - Jennifer Brady, USA (1-1)
2 - Simona Halep, ROU (0-2)
2 - Sofia Kenin, USA (2-0)
2 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (2-0)
2 - Naomi Osaka, JPN (2-0)
2 - Jasmine Paolini, ITA (2-0)
2 - Maria Sakkari, GRE (0-2)
2 - Serena Williams, USA (0-2)
1 - Mirra Andreeva, RUS (0-1)
1 - Paula Badosa, ESP (0-0)*
1 - Danielle Collins, USA (1-0)
1 - Leylah Fernandez, CAN (1-0)
1 - Caroline Garcia, FRA (0-1)
1 - Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA (0-1)
1 - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (0-1)
1 - Angelique Kerber, GER (0-1)
1 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (0-1)
1 - Magda Linette, POL (0-1)
1 - Tatjana Maria, GER (0-1)
1 - Garbina Muguruza, ESP (1-0)
1 - Emma Navarro, USA (0-1)
1 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS (1-0)
1 - Jessie Pegula, USA (1-0)
1 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (1-0)
1 - Nadia Podoroska, ARG (0-1)
1 - Emma Raducanu, GBR (1-0)
1 - Elina Svitolina, UKR (0-1)
1 - Martina Trevisan, ITA (0-1)
1 - Donna Vekic, CRO (0-1)
1 - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE (1-0)
1 - Dayana Yastremska, UKR (0-1)
1 - Zheng Qinwen, CHN (1-0)
1 - Tamara Zidansek, SLO (0-1)
--
*-to play SF

[SLAM SF BY NATION 2020-25 / 20 slams]
16 - USA (7-8)*
12 - BLR (5-6)*
9 - CZE (5-4)
8 - POL (5-2)*
3 - AUS (2-1)
3 - KAZ (2-1)
3 - RUS (1-2)
3 - TUN (3-0)
2 - ESP (1-0)*
2 - GER (0-2)
2 - GRE (0-2)
2 - ITA (2-0)
2 - JPN (2-0)
2 - ROU (0-2)
2 - UKR (0-2)
1 (W) - CAN,CHN,GBR
1 (L) - ARG,BRA,CRO,FRA,SLO,ITA

[2025 AO SEMIFINALISTS - career AO SF]
3 - Madison Keys
3 - Aryna Sabalenka
2 - Iga Swiatek
1 - Paula Badosa

[2025 AO SEMIFINALISTS - consecutive AO SF]
3 - Aryna Sabalenka

[2025 AO SEMIFINALISTS - consecutive Slam SF]
2 - Aryna Sabalenka (6 con HC slams)

[2025 AO SEMIFINALISTS - career AO W/L]
32-10...Keys
27-5...Sabalenka
22-6...Swiatek
11-5...Badosa

[2025 AO SEMIFINALISTS - career Slam W/L]
114-45...Keys
88-18...Swiatek
82-23...Sabalenka
38-19...Badosa

[2025 AO SEMIFINALISTS - 2025 W/L]
10-0...Sabalenka
12-1...Keys
9-1...Swiatek
6-2...Badosa

*RECENT AO "COMEBACK PLAYER" WINNERS*
2015 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2016 Andrea Hlavackova & Lucie Hradecka, CZE/CZE
2017 Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, CRO
2018 Angelique Kerber, GER
2019 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2020 CiCi Bellis, USA
2021 Rebecca Marino, CAN
2022 Madison Keys, USA
2023 Donna Vekic, CRO and Luisa Stefani, BRA
2024 Amanda Anisimova, USA
2025 Belinda Bencic, SUI

*RECENT AO "Ms. OPPORTUNITY" WINNERS*
2013 Sloane Stephens, USA
2014 Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
2015 Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
2016 Johanna Konta, GBR
2017 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
2018 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2019 Danielle Collins, USA
2020 Sofia Kenin, USA
2021 Jennifer Brady, USA and Karolina Muchova, CZE
2022 Danielle Collins, USA
2023 Magda Linette, POL and Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
2024 Zheng Qinwen, CHN
2025 Paula Badosa, ESP

*AO "KIMIKO CUP FOR VETERAN ACHIEVEMENT" WINNERS*
2015 Venus Williams/USA & Martina Hingis/SUI
2016 Angelique Kerber, GER
2017 Venus Williams/USA & Serena Williams/USA
2018 Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
2019 Samantha Stosur/Zhang Shuai, AUS/CHN
2020 Jordanne Whiley, GBR (WC)
2021 Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
2022 Alize Cornet/FRA & Kaia Kanepi/EST
2023 Sania Mirza, IND
2024 Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
2025 Madison Keys, USA

*LOWEST-SEEDED WOMEN IN AO SF, since 2020*
Unseeded - 2020 Garbine Muguruza, ESP (RU)
Unseeded - 2022 Madison Keys, USA
Unseeded - 2023 Magda Linette, POL
Qualifier - 2024 Dayana Yastremska, UKR
#27 - 2022 Danielle Collins, USA (RU)
#25 - 2021 Karolina Muchova, CZE
#24 - 2023 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
#22 - 2021 Jennifer Brady, USA (RU)
#22 - 2023 Elena Rybakina, KAZ (RU)
#19 - 2025 MADISON KEYS, USA
#14 - 2020 Sofia Kenin, USA (W)
#12 - 2024 Zheng Qinwen, CHN (RU)
#11 - 2025 PAULA BADOSA, ESP
#10 - 2021 Serena Williams, USA







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*Official Announcement* It's OK to buy a book, even if you didn't read all books on your shelf yet. Have a nice day! #booksky

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— Ethics in Bricks (@ethicsinbricks.bsky.social) January 19, 2025 at 1:44 PM







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): 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): 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.): 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 (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 (TBD): Nominee: (WC champion while Diede's away)
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 Nominee: (WD/MX)
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: x
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x





All for now. More soon.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 4:30 PM 

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