Thursday, July 10, 2025

W.11- Amanda's Got Next


Sometimes the journey *is* the story.




Since reaching her maiden slam semifinal at Roland Garros as a 17-year old back in 2019, Amanda Anisimova has gone through the tennis wringer. She was due, and deservingly so, to finally come out on the other side.

Not long after her initial big-time run, Anisimova's father/coach died suddenly, and over the next few years the grind of the pro tour often seemed to be turning her into dust. She finally stepped back from the sport in May '23, not returning until the following January. A year ago, she fell as an unseeded entrant (vs. Eva Lys) in the final round of Wimbledon qualifying while ranked #189 in the world.

Since then, things have greatly changed. Anisimova reached her first final in her comeback last August, and picked up her first title in February. A Round of 16 run at RG (ended by Aryna Sabalenka) sent her into the grass season with momentum, where she immediately reached the Queen's Club final. The #13 seed at SW19, she came into Day 11 having already posted her best Wimbledon result (besting her '23 QF), where she found #1 Sabalenka waiting for her once again.

Looking to reach her fourth straight major final, and with a maiden Wimbledon title match appearance become the only active woman to have played in all four slam singles finals, Sabalenka found herself in the position of still chasing her first major title of '25 even while holding a dominant edge over the field in the rankings. Several players have finished the year atop the rankings without having claimed a major title, but Sabalenka surely doesn't want to join that list.

Thing is, her foe in the semifinals, Anisimova, had the ability to match her big shots *and* came in with an overall 5-3 head-to-head edge in their career series. She had to *get* to another final before having another shot to *win* one.

Ay, there's the rub.

In the 1st set, the two didn't face a BP until the sixth game, in which Sabalenka climbed out of a 15/40 hole, with a pause for a spectator felled by the heat before the Belarusian emerged from her chair and finished off the 3-3 hold, then went up love/40 on Anisimova's serve. The Bannerette saved four BP in the game, and escaped any repercussions of a DF on her first GP, holding for 4-3.

Sabalenka served her way out of 15/30 deficit to knot things at 4-all, then after Anisimova edged ahead in the next game there was another break for a spectator having a hard time while sitting directly under the beating sun.

Meanwhile, it was in that moment that in the shaded Royal Box hats were passed out to all who wanted one... because, Wimbledon.

With Sabalenka serving to stay in the 1st, five times Anisimova was just two points from taking the set before Sabalenka missed a backhand down the line shot to give her her first BP. After mishitting a return, Anisimova, who'd served well and matched the world #1's power while effectively utilizing her flat backhand shot to its upmost advantage, was soon given another BP opportunity and gifted a Sabalenka DF to secure the 6-4 opening set.



Early on in the 2nd, Anisimova kept up the pressure, not taking a breath and continuing to fire shots back at Sabalenka. But it was the #1 seed who raised the decibel level -- literally and figuratively -- of the game mid-way through the set, with her post-point yells filling Centre Court and her big shots maybe filling Anisimova's head. After Sabalenka held for 3-3, Anisimova fell down BP in the follow game, and DF'd to give Sabalenka the lead. The Belarusian quickly backed it up with a 5-3 hold.

With Anisimova trying to hold on, Sabalenka's return misses prevented her from putting away the set on a combined four BP/SP opportunities. Anisimova held to force Sabalenka to serve it out. An Anisimova return error at 30/30 gave Sabalenka a chance to knot the match with a single swing of her racket, and she blasted a first serve off the line that Anisimova framed to end the 6-4 2nd set.



In the 3rd, Sabalenka appeared to have shifted into "championship mode" (or, in 2024, "championship final mode," at least), breaking Anisimova at love to open the set. But the Bannerette effectively reset and immediately got the break back, then saw an error/brain cramp from Sabalenka in game 3 tilt everything in her favor.

As Ansimova held a BP, Sabalenka fired a big serve that Anisimova could only get her racket on, giving the #1 seed a high-bouncing ball at the net to put away and keep the game alive. But Sabalenka, with an entire open court to hit into, went too big down the line in the vicinity of the off-court Anisimova, sending the ball long and giving up the break lead at 3-1. A game later, from 15/40, Anisimova held for 4-1. Saving a BP for 5-1, Sabalenka stayed just one break behind.

In game 7, Sabalenka led 15/30, but netted a deep ball on a point that could given her double BP. A point later, Anisimova covered Sabalenka's drop shot with two volleys to reach GP, then held with a forehand that tripped off the net cord and bounced mid-court, preventing Sabalenka from getting her full racket on the ball. Anisimova was a game away at 5-2.

With Anisimova serving for the final at 5-3, Sabalenka saw Anisimova lose a MP chance with a pulled backhand, then hand her a break lead with a long backhand on Sabalenka's second BP. But, with the final result once more in question, again Anisimova reset. Her unexpected drop shot from beyond the baseline, and behind the doubles alley, gave her a love/30 edge. Sabalenka sent a backhand long to go down love/40. She threatened to get the hold, saving Anisimova's first two MP, but the Bannerette's deep forehand winner put away her third, ending a 6-4/4-6/6-4 contest that sends her into her maiden major final.



While Sabalenka's quest for something tangible to hold up (and put in a trophy case) that would signify the lockdown on which she's had the #1 ranking throughout 2025 will continue in New York, Anisimova now steps into uncharted territory. Already having assured her Top 10 debut, now she's a win away from her first major title as the fourth different U.S. woman to reach the final at the last four slams.

Such a string of U.S. player appereances in major finals isn't a new thing, but such streaks have usually been dominated by just a few women. Since 2000, they've usually involved one or more Williamses. An eleven-major streak with U.S. finalists from the '00 Wimbledon to the '03 AO involved four woman (Venus, Serena, Capriati and Davenport), but *this* streak involves four different players in consecutive finals, with Jessie Pegula (U.S.), Madison Keys (AO), Coco Gauff (RG) and now Anisimova filling the slots.

The most recent short-term type of U.S. finalist variety came all the way back in 1983, when four different U.S. women appeared in a stretch of three major finals with match-ups of Martina Navratilova vs. Andrea Jaeger, Chris Evert and Kathy Jordan.

The only true thread other than nationality that ties this current run together is Sabalenka. All four woman played her, with Pegula losing to the Belarusian in her final, but Keys and Gauff getting the win in their chances.

Amanda... you've got next.








=DAY 11 NOTES=
...the concluding women's semi on Thursday, though it had its own inspiring storylines heading in, in practice didn't have nearly the same type of drama. In fact, unfortunately, it really had none.

The match was never close.



#8 Iga Swiatek played about as clean a game on grass as she *ever* has, while Belinda Bencic -- never a *great* mover anyway -- was clearly hampered by the broken toenail she suffered yesterday (she had to cut a hole in her shoe to make it less painful), and then she slid awkwardly in the second game of the match today and seemed to hyperextend her knee. The Swiss limped her way to the finish.



Swiatek broke to take a 2-0 lead, and never really looked back.

Swiatek's only moment of anything other than confident frontrunning came in the opening game of the 2nd set, when she DF'd twice and fell behind 15/40. Of course, even then, she still held serve and then never lost a game in the set, winning 6-2/6-0 to reach her maiden Wimbledon final, her second straight on grass this summer after going a full year without any on clay or hard court.



Swiatek joins Jadwiga Jędrzejowska (1937) and Aga Radwanska (2012) as Polish women who've reached the Wimbledon final, and if she improves her career mark in slam finals to 6-0 she'd match Monica Seles' record for the best start to a slam career in the Open era. Carlos Alcaraz, also 5-0, could do the same this weekend.

While the unexpected oft-increasily perfect play of Swiatek on her worst surface is already a glorious redemption story (and maybe just the start of an arc set to play out over the remaining summer/fall), the one downside to it all is that her success -- and it started on ESPN today, when it was mentioned as being a great addition to the Belgian's resume -- over the past three weeks might paper over the year-long stretch of coaching by Wim Fissette that saw her fall from #1 to #8, sometimes look totally lost and be uncharacteristically blown out by opponents she usually handles, and never reach a final, let alone win a title.

Dude's gonna get crowned after steering the "unsinkable" H.M.S. Iga into an iceberg. Ah, tennis. And to live the life of Wim, I guess.

Oh, also, while the women's tour is often accused (because it's almost always presented that way) of being "wide-open" in some majors, if Swiatek wins the title on Saturday (the final starts two hours later than usual, BTW, which I can't say I'm upset about) it will mean that since the retirement of then-#1 Ash Barty, the trio of Sabalenka, Gauff and Swiatek (who'd be 1-2-3 again on Monday) will have won 10 of 14 majors (8 by the Iga/Aryna combo). Throw in Elena Rybakina and it'd account for 11/14, with the other three all won by Czechs.

Of course, if anyone were to notice such a thing, that would also mean that the women's tour would *then* be accused in some corners as "only having a few good players, and the rest can't play at all."

...meanwhile, the first champions of this Wimbledon were crowned on Centre Court (during the *actual* tournament, imagine that) after the women's semis. And you didn't think the Czech women were getting out of here without at least one title, did you?

Katerina Siniakova & Sem Verbeek defeated Luisa Stefani & Joe Salisbury in a pair of tie-break sets in the final, giving doubles #1 Siniakova her eleventh career slam title (first in MX). It's Verbeek's first overall. Last year, Siniakova won the Olympic MX Gold with Tomas Machac in Paris.



Siniakova is also the defending champion in WD (w/ Taylor Townsend), and the pair is still alive in the semis in her attempt to sweep both competitions.

This will be the last legitimate MX competition of the slam season, as the glorified exhibition to be held during U.S. Open qualifying is either a one-shot deal that will line the pockets of singles players at the expense of the doubles players who have supported it for years and years before becoming a footnote in tennis history, or possibly the first step in the obliteration of the spirit of an event across all four slams that has been recognized as being part of major tennis since 1887. Well, unless it's really the start of the slow (or shockingly swift) and *total* death of the event in slam competiton, I guess. Ooooh, which option is more likely!?

...there are still multiple chances for Czech winners in the girls' competition, as well.

In doubles, four of the remaining teenagers across the four semifinalist duos are Czech, as the Kovackova sisters (Alena and Jana) will meet Vendula Valdmannova (she's a Crusher) & Kristina Penickova (she's a Bannerette) in one semi, and Czech Julie Pastikova (w/ German Julia Stusek) meets the all-U.S. team of Thea Frodin & Julieta Pareja in the other.

Valdmannova is still alive in the singles semis, as well, having led the charge when it came to sending out four of the five remaining seeded girls in the QF, defeating #5-seeded Serbian Teodora Kostovic. The last Czech to win the girls' crown at SW19 was *Kristyna* Pliskova back in 2010.

Also falling today were #1 Emerson Jones (the '24 runner-up) to Slovak Mia Pohankova, #2 Hannah Klugman (to #6-seeded Roehampton champ Pareja) and #3-seeded RG champ Lilli Tagger (to the last Brit alive, Mimi Xu).

...in the wheelchair QF, well, it happened again. No, not the casual disregarding of the greatness of Diede de Groot, who is not just the "2023 champion," as the Wimbledon social media pointed out, but also the 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2024 winner and four-time defending champ, I mean another nightmarish meeting for de Groot with her personal Freddy Krueger (no relation to Ashlyn Krueger, of course)...



After ending de Groot's 145-match overall winning streak last year, and 52-match run in majors at this year's RG, Li Xiaohui today ended the former #1's 14-match, four-event run as the All-England Club's champion.

De Groot still has her 20-match, six-title streak going at Flushing Meadows. We'll see what happens there later this summer, after de Groot has more than a month of additional time to recover from her hip surgery from last year.

Elsewhere, #1 Yui Kamiji blanked Lizzy de Greef love & love (moving closer to claiming the only major s/d title she's never won), #4 Wang Ziying defeated Saki Takamura, and South African vet Kgothatso Montjane ended the run of 19-year old Pastry Ksenia Chasteau in three sets.

Of course, Chasteau wasn't finished. After wins over #2 Aniek Van Koot in singles and the #1 doubles duo at this Wimbledon in just her second slam at the women's level, she and Angelica Bernal defeated de Groot & Lucy Shuker to advance to their first major women's final. They'll play the '25 AO-winning team of Li & Wang.








*WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#13 Amanda Anisimova/USA vs. #8 Iga Swiatek/POL

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES SF*
#1 Siniakova/Townsend (CZE/USA) vs. #4 Hsieh/Ostapenko (TPE/LAT)
Gadecki/Krawczyk (AUS/USA) vs. #8 V.Kudermetova/Mertens (RUS/BEL)

*MIXED DOUBLES FINAL*
Siniakova/Verbeek (CZE/NED) def. Stefani/Salisbury (BRA/GBR) 7-6(3)/7-6(3)

*WHEELCHAIR WOMEN'S SINGLES SF*
#1 Yui Kamiji/JPN vs. #3 Li Xiaohui/CHN
#4 Wang Ziying/CHN vs. Kgothatso Montjane/RSA

*WHEELCHAIR WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
Bernal/Chasteau (COL/FRA) vs. #2 Li/Wang (CHN/CHN)

*GIRLS' SINGLES SF*
Mia Pohankova/SVK vs. Vendula Valdmannova/CZE
Mimi Xu/GBR vs. #6 Julieta Pareja/USA

*GIRLS' DOUBLES SF*
#5 Frodin/Pareja (USA/USA) vs. Pastikova/Stusek (CZE/GER)
#3 Kovackova/Kovackova (USA/USA) vs. #8 K.Penickova/Valdmannova (USA/CZE)








...GRASSCOURT JUNGLE WHERE DREAMS ARE MADE OF... ON DAY 11:




...YOU KNOW... ON DAY 11:



Seriously, anyone griping from the outside the lines about "grunting" after it's been part of *both* the women's and men's games for three decades (blame better on-court microphones?) needs to utilize their time more wisely.

But, also, *players* who make noise can't really complain about it, either. C'mon, Aryna... you know better.


...TENNIS REALITIES ARE WEIRD SOMETIMES... ON DAY 11:









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*FIRST-TIME SLAM FINALISTS IN 2020s*
2020 AO - Sofia Kenin, USA (12th slam MD)=W
2020 RG - Iga Swiatek, POL (7th)=W
2021 AO - Jennifer Brady, USA (15th)
2021 RG - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS (52nd)
2021 RG - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (5th)=W
2021 US - Leylah Fernandez, CAN (7th)
2021 US - Emma Raducanu, GBR (2nd)=W
2022 AO - Danielle Collins, USA (17th)
2022 RG - Coco Gauff, USA (10th)
2022 WI - Ons Jabeur, TUN (21st)
2022 WI - Elena Rybakina, KAZ (12th)=W
2023 AO - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (20th)=W
2023 RG - Karolina Muchova, CZE (17th)
2024 AO - Zheng Qinwen, CHN (9th)
2024 RG - Jasmine Paolini, ITA (18th)
2024 US - Jessie Pegula, USA (23rd)
2025 WI - Amanda Anisimova, USA (22nd)

*MOST SLAM SINGLES FINALS - active*
6 - Aryna Sabalenka (3-3)
6 - IGA SWIATEK (5-0)
5 - Victoria Azarenka (2-3)
4 - Naomi Osaka (4-0)
3 - Petra Kvitova (2-1)
3 - Coco Gauff (2-1)
3 - Ons Jabeur (0-3)
--
ALSO: 16-V.Williams (7-9), 3-Wozniacki (1-2)

*BEST STARTS TO SLAM FINAL CAREER - OPEN ERA*
6-0 - Monica Seles
5-0 - Iga Swiatek
4-0 - Naomi Osaka
[men]
5-0 - Carlos Alcaraz
4-0 - Roger Federer

*SLAM SF - 2020-25*
12 - ARYNA SABALENKA (6-6)
9 - IGA SWIATEK (6-3)
5 - Coco Gauff (3-2)
4 - Karolina Muchova (1-3)
3 - Ash Barty (2-1)
3 - Ons Jabeur (3-0)
3 - Madison Keys (1-2)
3 - Elena Rybakina (2-1)
[2020-25 slam SF by nation / 22 events]
18 - USA (10-8)*
14 - BLR (7-7)*
10 - POL (6-4)*
9 - CZE (5-4)
3 - AUS (2-1)
3 - KAZ (2-1)
3 - RUS (1-2)
3 - TUN (3-0)
[2025 slam SF by nation]
3 - USA (3-0)*
3 - BLR (2-1)*
3 - POL (1-2)*
1 - ESP (0-1)
1 - FRA (0-1)
1 - SUI (0-1)*

*SLAM FINALISTS BY NATION - 2020-25*
=22 slams / 44 finalists=
10 - USA (4-5)*
7 - BLR (3-4)
6 - POL (5-0)*
5 - CZE (3-2)
3 - TUN (0-3)
2 - AUS (2-0)
2 - JPN (2-0)
2 - ITA (0-2)
2 - KAZ (1-1)
1 - GBR (1-0)
1 - ESP (0-1)
1 - RUS (0-1)
1 - CAN (0-1)
1 - CHN (0-1)
[Wimbledon - 5 events / 10 finalists]
3 - CZE (2-1)
2 - TUN (0-2)
1 - AUS (1-0)
1 - KAZ (1-0)
1 - POL (0-0)*
1 - USA (0-0)*
1 - ITA (0-1)

*MOST WTA FINALS in 2025*
7 - Aryna Sabalenka (3-4)
5 - Jessie Pegula (3-2)
3 - McCartney Kessler (2-1)
3 - Elise Mertens (2-1)
3 - AMANDA ANISIMOVA (1-1)
3 - Coco Gauff (1-2)
2 - Mirra Andreeva (2-0)
2 - Maya Joint (2-0)
2 - Madison Keys (2-0)
2 - Alona Ostapenko (1-1)
2 - Clara Tauson (1-1)
2 - IGA SWIATEK (0-1)
2 - Dayana Yastremska (0-2)

*LOW-SEEDED WIMBLEDON SEMIFINALISTS - Open Era*
[unseeded]
1968 Ann Jones
1969 Rosie Casals
1970 Francoise Durr
1971 Judy Dalton
1983 Yvonne Vermaak
1989 Catarina Lindqvist
1994 Gigi Fernandez
1994 Lori McNeil
1996 Meredith McGrath
1997 Anna Kournikova
1998 Natasha Zvereva
1999 Alexandra Stevenson (Q)
1999 Mirjana Lucic
2000 Jelena Dokic
2008 Zheng Jie (WC)
2010 Petra Kvitova
2010 Tsvetana Pironkova
2011 Sabine Lisicki (WC)
2016 Elena Vesnina
2017 Magdalena Rybarikova
2019 Barbora Strycova
2022 Tatjana Maria
2023 Elina Svitolina (WC)
2023 Marketa Vondrouosva [W]
[seeds]
#31 - Barbora Krejcikova, 2024 (W)
#25 - Angelique Kerber, 2021
#25 - Serena Williams, 2018 (RU)
#23 - Lucie Safarova, 2014
#23 - Sabine Lisicki, 2013 (RU)
#23 - Venus Williams, 2007 (W)
#21 - Vera Zvonareva, 2010 (RU)
#20 - Garbine Muguruza, 2015 (RU)
#20 - Kirsten Flipkens, 2013
#18 - Marion Bartoli, 2007 (RU)
#17 - Elena Rybakina, 2022 (W)
#16 - Simona Halep, 2022
#16 - Nathalie Tauziat, 1998 (RU)
#16 - Kathy Rinaldi, 1985
#15 - Marion Bartoli, 2013 (W)
#14 - Garbine Muguruza, 2017 (W)
#14 - Venus Williams, 2005 (W)
#13 - AMANDA ANISIMOVA, 2025
#13 - Julia Goerges, 2018
#13 - Aga Radwanska, 2015
#13 - Genie Bouchard, 2014 (RU)
#13 - Maria Sharapova, 2004 (W)
#12 - Alona Ostapenko, 2018
#12 - Kimiko Date, 1996
#12 - Billie Jean King, 1982
#11 - Serena Williams, 2019 (RU)
#11 - Angelique Kerber, 2018 (W)
#11 - Bettina Bunge, 1982
#10 - Venus Williams, 2017 (RU)
#10 - Gabriela Sabatini, 1986
#10 - Billie Jean King, 1983
[low-ranked champions]
#42 - Marketa Vondrousova, 2023
#32 - Barbora Krejcikova, 2024
#31 - Venus Williams, 2007

*RECENT WIMBLEDON MIXED DOUBLES CHAMPS*
2013 Kristina Mladenovic & Daniel Nestor, FRA/CAN
2014 Samantha Stosur & Nenad Zimonjic, AUS/SRB
2015 Martina Hingis & Leander Paes, SUI/IND
2016 Heather Watson & Henri Kontinen, GBR/FIN
2017 Martina Hingis & Jamie Murray, SUI/GBR
2018 Nicole Melichar & Alexander Peya, USA/AUT
2019 Latisha Chan & Ivan Dodig, TPE/CRO
2021 Desirae Krawczyk & Neal Skupski, USA/GBR
2022 Desirae Krawczyk & Neal Skupski, USA/GBR
2023 Lyudmyla Kichenok & Mate Pavic, UKR/CRO
2042 Hsieh Su-wei & Jan Zielinski, TPE/POL
2025 Katerina Siniakova & Sem Verbeek, CZE/NED

*MX SLAM CHAMPIONS in 2020s*
[2020]
AO: Barbora Krejcikova/Nikola Mektic (CZE/CRO)
[2021]
AO: Barbora Krejcikova/Rajeev Ram (CZE/USA)
RG: Desirae Krawczyk/Joe Salisbury (USA/GBR)
WI: Desirae Krawczyk/Neal Skupski (USA/GBR)
US: Desirae Krawczyk/Joe Salisbury (USA/GBR)
[2022]
AO: Kristina Mladenovic/Ivan Dodig (FRA/CRO)
RG: Ena Shibahara/Wesley Koolhof (JPN/NED)
WI: Desirae Krawczyk/Neal Skupski (USA/GBR)
US: Storm Sanders/John Peers (AUS/AUS)
[2023]
AO: Luisa Stefani/Rafael Matos (BRA/BRA)
RG: Miyu Kato/Tim Puetz (JPN/GER)
WI: Lyudmyla Kichenok/Mate Pavic (UKR/CRO)
US: Anna Danilina/Harri Heliovaara (KAZ/FIN)
[2024]
AO: Hsieh Su-wei/Jan Zielinski (TPE/POL)
RG: Laura Siegemund/Edouard Roger-Vasselin (GER/FRA)
WI: Hsieh Su-wei/Jan Zielinski (TPE/POL)
US: Sara Errani/Andrea Vavassori (ITA/ITA)
[2025]
AO: Olivia Gadecki/John Peers (AUS/AUS)
RG: Sara Errani/Andrea Vavassori (ITA/ITA)
WI: Katerina Siniakova/Sem Verbook (CZE/NED)

*CAREER OVERALL SLAM TITLES - ACTIVE*
[singles/doubles/mixed]
12 - Barbora Krejcikova (2-7-3)
11 - KATERINA SINIAKOVA (0-10-1)
9 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands (0-5-4)
9 - Kristina Mladenovic (0-6-3)
9 - Hsieh Su-wei (0-7-2)
8 - Sara Errani (0-6-2)
5 - Aryna Sabalenka (3-2-0)
5 - Iga Swiatek (5-0-0)
--
ALSO: 23-V.Williams (7-14-2), Zvonareva (0-3-2)

*FIRST-TIME SLAM CHAMPS AT WIMBLEDON*
[Open Era]
1968 Billie Jean King, USA
1978 Martina Navratilova, USA
1994 Conchita Martinez, ESP
1998 Jana Novotna, CZE
2000 Venus Williams, USA
2004 Maria Sharapova, RUS
2011 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2013 Marion Bartoli, FRA
2022 Elena Rybakina, KAZ
2023 Marketa Vondrousova, CZE





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TOP QUALIFIER: Carson Branstine/CAN
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #13 Amanda Anisimova/USA (7 games lost 1r/2r, double-bagel win in 1st)
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #8 Iga Swiatek/POL (to first Wimbledon SF)
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): x
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q3 - #30 Priscilla Hon/AUS def. Victoria Mboko/CAN 4-6/7-6(4)/6-1 - Mboko led love/40 at 6-5 in the 2nd on Hon's serve, holding five MP
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - #6 Madison Keys/USA def. Gabriela Ruse/ROU 6-7(4)/7-5/7-5 - Ruse fights off Keys' comeback to claim 1st, then Keys fights off Ruse's comeback in 3rd, serves out on second try
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): QF - #1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR def. Laura Siegemund/GER 4-6/6-2/6-4 - down a break bk twice in 3rd, GP for 5-3 led
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): x
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #14 Elina Svitolina/UKR (def. Bondar/HUN)
FIRST SEED OUT: #20 Alona Ostapenko/LAT (1st Rd. to Kartal/GBR)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Veronika Erjavec/SLO, Solana Sierra/ARG, Zeynep Sonmez/TUR
UPSET QUEENS: Great Britain
REVELATION LADIES: Italy
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Australia (1-6 1st Rd.; only new Aussie Kasatkina w/ win)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Diane Parry/FRA (3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: no wins (0-8)
PROTECTED RANKING WINS: Caty McNally/USA (2nd Rd.)
LUCKY LOSERS: Solana Sierra/ARG (4th Rd.); 2r: Victoria Mboko/CAN
LAST BRIT STANDING: Sonay Kartal (in 4th Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: Iga Swiatek/POL Additional nominee: (WC)
IT "Turk": Zeynep Sonmez/TUR (first TUR player into slam 3r)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Amanda Anisimova/USA
CRASH & BURN: #2 Coco Gauff/USA & #3 Jessie Pegula/USA - first slam w/ two Top 3 out in 1st Rd. (Gauff won RG, Pegula won grass title pre-Wimb.)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF LONDON: Solana Sierra/ARG (LL, first into WI 4th Rd.)
DOUBLES STAR: Nominee: Siniakova
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Laura Siegemund/GER (oldest first WI QF at 37)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx
SPIRIT OF JANA (NOVOTNA) HONOREE: Petra Kvitova/CZE - plays final Wimbledon match







All for Day 11. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 7:54 PM 

1 Comments:

Blogger khan35 said...

Wow! You hit a bull's eye by picking Anisimova as a dark horse. She's in the final, man.

Maybe, Swiatek has found her mojo back if you know what i mean.

Fri Jul 11, 05:47:00 AM EDT  

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