Monday, January 26, 2026

AO26 - American Pie

Bye bye, Ms. American Pie?




With half the women's quarterfinal field set, what was the marquee match-up of the second day of Round of 16 matches came right at the top of the schedule, as #9 seed and defending champ Madison Keys faced off with #6 Jessie Pegula, her pal and podcast partner, with not only a Last Eight spot on the line but a personal bet between the two that would see the one who failed to advance either having to sample apple pie covered with melted chedder cheese (Keys, per a supposed tradition from Pegula's Canadian grandparents) or wear a Kansas City Chiefs jersey (Pegula, after a week in which her father Terry found himself on the wrong end of criticism after firing the head coach of his Buffalo Bills franchise after yet another excruciating NFL playoff loss).

Pegula had arguably been the best player in the women's field through the first three rounds, while Keys' level of play had hardly been consistent in her title defense. Yet, the '25 winner suddenly found herself in position to make the sort of statement in this match that would truly answer the question of whether this AO was something barely above a "victory lap" for Keys a year after being crowned champion.

Over the opening weeks of the new season, Keys has seemed, if not content, than appropriately appreciative (and protective) of her most recent run Down Under, maybe even almost to the point of -- unlike, say, Aryna Sabalenka a year ago, who practically oozed with desire to pull off a title three-peat in Melbourne, only to be denied at the final gate by Keys -- not wanting to dare to hope for anything similar for fear that if it didn't come about it might somehow mar her memory of her maiden slam triumph.

As it was, on Day 9, Pegula's focus was still the most on-point of the two. She took early break leads in both the 1st and 2nd sets. Keys managed to get things back on serve at 4-3 in the opener, only to see Pegula get the break back in timely fashion in the next game and then serve out the set.

In the 2nd, Pegula ran her lead to 4-1 with a double-break advantage before Keys finally put forth a spurt of very good tennis over a multi-game stretch, cutting the lead in half with a break and then after pulling to 4-3 with a solid hold. But, again, Pegula swatted away any attempt at a comeback, saving a BP in the eighth game and holding for 5-3. Two games later, she served out the 6-3/6-4 win.



While Keys exits Melbourne with a respectable Round of 16 result in her title defense (she drops to #15 in the "live" rankings), Pegula moves forward to yet another slam QF. Once the "Quarterfinal Queen," and not in a "good" way, Pegula lost in her first six QF appearences in majors. But she's won in her last two, both at the U.S. the last two years with RU and SF finishes. This will be her fourth AO QF in six years.

Of course, the immediate topic of conversation after the match was, naturally, the bet.



So, to wrap up the match, one might just say that Jessie looked across the net at her friend Madi and said, "Forget cake, let her eat pie."










=AO NOTES=
...next up on the 4th Round docket was #4 Amanda Anisimova, who pulled away from Wang Xinyu in a close contest to become the fourth U.S. woman in the QF.

Anisimova had two BP opportunities on Wang's serve in the sixth and tenth games of the 1st, but could convert neither as the two went to a tie-break after twelve consecutive holds of serve. They were knotted up at 3-3 there, as well, before Anisimova finally wrestled away the win, taking the breaker 7-4.

After no breaks of serve in the 1st, of course, the 2nd opened with three consecutive breaks as Anisimova took a 3-1 lead. From there, no more breaks (and just one BP chance, on Wang's serve) were offered up as Anisimova closed out the 7-6(4)/6-4 win to reach her maiden AO QF in her fourth Round of 16 attempt, completing a Career QF Slam in major MD #24.



After playing just two slam QF from 2019-24, Anisimova has now reached three in a row following back-to-back major finals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

...in the final two 4th Rounders, there was little more than one-way traffic, as #5 Elena Rybakina and #2 Iga Swiatek rolled through opponents to set up a very intriguing QF match-up.

Rybakina eliminated #21 Elise Merteins 6-1/6-3, with 33 winners and 10 aces, to reach her first major QF since the '24 Wimbledon after going 0-3 in slam 4th Rounds last year. 17-1 since mid-October (w/ her only defeat a Week 1 loss to Muchova), this will be the Kazakh's first AO match beyond the Round of 16 since she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the 2023 final. Might a belated rematch be nearly on deck?



Of course, Rybakina will first have to get through Swiatek, who handled Aussie qualifier Maddison Inglis 6-0/6-3 in the night session on Laver. Swiatek has met little resistence in this AO since her opening match/opening set TB vs. Yuan Yue, aside from that brief all-is-right-with-her-world stretch from Anna Kalinskaya in the 3rd Round. She's into her sixth consecutive major slam QF, but after back-to-back eyebrow-raising losses in the United Cup and little so far in Melbourne that has allowed her to confirm her readiness in this major, Rybakina will provide a quick answer next time out.



Swiatek leads the series 6-5, but there have been big swings in momemtum. Rybakina won four of the first six, then Swiatek won four straight until Rybakina's whitewash win in last fall's WTA Finals when she dropped the opening set, and then proceded to drop Swiatek by allowing just a single *game* in the 2nd and 3rd sets combined en route to the title.

...there must be something in the water in Melbourne, as six of the top eight seeded women are in the QF, while seven of the top eight men are still alive, as well.



...in weekend ITF action, '25 Wimbledon girls' champ Mia Pohankova, 17, claimed her second pro title at a $75K in Leszno, Poland, while '23 AO/RG junior winner Alina Korneeva, 18, won in the Bahrain $75K final over Fiona Ferro, improving her mark to 7-1 in career finals as a pro.

In Weston, Florida, 19-year old Akasha Urhobo, who defeated Bianca Andreescu in the SF on Saturday, prevailed over Madison Brengle on Sunday, winning her second ITF title.





...YOU THOUGHT WE MIGHT GET THROUGH THIS AO WITHOUT A "First since Serena..." NOTE? WELL, NOPE... on Day 9:




...THE BEST PREPARATION FOR FACING WHAT RYBAKINA MIGHT BRING? Hmmm... on Day 9:




...MEMORIES WITH ELENA on Day 9:










=WOMEN'S SINGLES QF=
#1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR vs. #29 Iva Jovic/USA
#3 Coco Gauff/USA vs. #12 Elina Svitolina/UKR
#6 Jessie Pegula/USA vs. #4 Amanda Anisimova/USA
#5 Elena Rybakina/KAZ vs. #2 Iga Swiatek/POL

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF=
#1 Siniakova/Townsend (CZE/USA) vs. #7 Danilina/Krunic (KAZ/SRB)
#3 Hsieh/Ostapenko (TPE/LAT) vs. #5 Dabrowski/Stefani (CAN/BRA)
Hozumi/Wu (JPN/TPE) vs. Baptiste/Stearns (USA/USA) or #4 Mertens/Zhang (BEL/CHN)
.. (PR) Shibahara/Zvonareva (JPN/RUS) vs. (WC) Birrell/Gibson (AUS/AUS)

=MIXED DOUBLES QF=
(WC) Gadecki/Peers (AUS/AUS) vs. #5 Krunic/Pavic (SRB/CRO)
#4 Townsend/Mektic (USA/CRO) vs. Khromacheva/Harrison (RUS/USA)
Siniakova/Verbeek (CZE/NED) vs. (PR) Mladenovic/Guinard (FRA/FRA)
Danilina/Tracy (KAZ/USA) vs. #2 Stefani/Arevalo (BRA/ELS)

=GIRLS' SINGLES ROUND OF 16=
#1 Alena Kovackova/CZE vs. #13 Mariia Makarova/RUS
x vs. x
Ekaterina Tupitsyna/RUS vs. Sofiia Bielinska/UKR
x vs. x
#5 Zhang Ruien/CHN vs. #10 Kanon Sawashiro/JPN
x vs. x
x vs. x
Qu Yihan/CHN vs. Rada Zolotareva/RUS





























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**"CAREER SLAM" FEATS IN 2020s**
=QF=
2021 WI - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (36th slam MD)
2022 AO - Kaia Kanepi, EST (53rd)
2023 RG - Ons Jabeur, TUN (24th)
2023 RG - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (21st)
2023 WI - Jessie Pegula, USA (19th)
2023 WI - Iga Swiatek, POL (18th)
2023 US - Karolina Muchova, CZE (19th)
2023 US - Alona Ostapenko, LAT (31st)
2024 WI - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (18th)
2026 AO - Amanda Anisimova, USA (24th)

*2026 AO FINAL 8*
[by career slam QF]
15 - Aryna Sabalenka
14 - Iga Swiatek
14 - Elina Svitolina
10 - Coco Gauff
9 - Jessie Pegula
7 - Elena Rybakina
5 - Amanda Anisimova
1 - Iva Jovic

[by career AO QF]
4 - Sabalenka
4 - Svitolina
3 - Gauff
3 - Swiatek
2 - Rybakina
1 - Anisimova
1 - Jovic

[w/ consecutive slam QF]
13 (6) - Sabalenka (last 13 played; DNP '24 WI)
6 - Swiatek
3 - Anisimova

[w/ consecutive AO QF]
4 - Sabalenka
3 - Gauff
2 - Svitolina
2 - Swiatek

[2026 1st-time GS QF]
AO - Iva Jovic (6th MD)

[2026 slam QF - by nation]
4...USA (4/-----) - Anisimova, Gauff, Jovic, Pegula
1...BLR (1/-----) - Sabalenka
1...KAZ (1/-----) - Rybakina
1...POL (1/-----) - Swiatek
1...UKR (1/-----) - Svitolina

[WTA career slam QF - active]
39...Venus Williams, USA
18...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
15...Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
14...Elina Svitolina, UKR
14...Iga Swiatek, POL
12...Madison Keys, USA
11...Karolina Pliskova, CZE
10...Coco Gauff, USA
10...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
10...Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
9...Jessie Pegula, USA
7...Sara Errani, ITA
7...Ons Jabeur, TUN
7...Karolina Muchova, CZE
7...Elena Rybakina, KAZ
7...Sloane Stephens, USA
6...Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
6...Alona Ostapenko, LAT
6...Vera Zvonareva, RUS

[WTA slam QF & W/L in 2020s - 24 events]
15 - Sabalenka (12-1+W)*
14 - Swiatek (9-4)*
10 - Gauff (5-4)*
9 - Pegula (2-6)*
8 - Svitolina (1-6)*
7 - Rybakina (3-3)*
7 - Jabeur (3-4)
6 - Muchova (4-2)
6 - Krejcikova (2-4)
5 - Keys (3-2)
5 - Pavlyuchenkova (1-4)
4 - Anisimova (2-1)*
4 - Barty (3-1)
4 - Ka.Pliskova (1-3)
4 - Vondrousova (1-2+L)
4 - Zheng Q. (1-3)
3 - Osaka (3-0)
3 - Halep (2-1)
3 - M.Andreeva (1-2)
3 - Badosa (1-2)
3 - Navarro (1-2)
3 - Ostapenko (0-3)
3 - Tomljanovic (0-3)
2 - Azarenka (2-0)
2 - Bencic (1-1)
2 - Brady (2-0)
2 - Collins (1-1)
2 - Fernandez (1-1)
2 - Haddad Maia (1-1)
2 - Kenin (2-0)
2 - Kvitova (1-1)
2 - Paolini (2-0)
2 - Sakkari (2-0)
2 - Siegemund (0-2)
2 - Trevisan (1-1)
2 - Vekic (1-1)
2 - S.Williams (2-0)
1 - Boisson (1-0)
1 - Jovic (0-0)*
1 - Bouzkova (0-1)
1 - Cirstea (0-1)
1 - Cornet (0-1)
1 - Garcia (1-0)
1 - Golubic (0-1)
1 - Hsieh (0-1)
1 - Kalinskaya (0-1)
1 - Kanepi (0-1)
1 - Kasatkina (1-0)
1 - Kerber (1-0)
1 - Kontaveit (0-1)
1 - Kostyuk (0-1)
1 - V.Kudermetova (0-1)
1 - Linette (1-0)
1 - Maria (1-0)
1 - Mertens (0-1)
1 - Muguruza (1-0)
1 - Niemeier (0-1)
1 - Noskova (0-1)
1 - Pironkova (0-1)
1 - Podoroska (1-0)
1 - Putintseva (0-1)
1 - Raducanu (1-0)
1 - Rogers (0-1)
1 - Samsonova (0-1)
1 - Stephens (0-1)
1 - Sun (0-1)
1 - Yastremska (1-0)
1 - Zidansek (1-0)

[WTA slam QF by nation in 2020s - 24 slams/192]
42 - USA (4)
24 - CZE
17 - BLR (1)
15 - POL (1)
12 - RUS
10 - UKR (1)
8 - KAZ (1)
7 - AUS
7 - TUN
5 - GER
4 - CHN
4 - ESP
4 - ITA
4 - ROU
3 - FRA
3 - LAT
3 - SUI
2 - BRA
2 - CAN
2 - CRO
2 - EST
2 - GRE
2 - JPN
1 - ARG,BEL,BUL,GBR,JPN,NZL,SLO,TPE

[WTA slam QF W/L by nation in 2020s]
42 - USA (20-18)****
24 - CZE (9-14+L)
17 - BLR (14-1+W)*
15 - POL (10-4)*
12 - RUS (3-9)
10 - UKR (2-7)*
7 - AUS (3-4)
8 - KAZ (3-4)*
7 - TUN (3-4)
5 - GER (2-3)
4 - CHN (1-3)
4 - ESP (2-2)
4 - ITA (3-1)
4 - ROU (2-2)
3 - JPN (3-0)
3 - FRA (2-1)
3 - SUI (1-2)
3 - LAT (0-3)
2 - BRA (1-1)
2 - CAN (1-1)
2 - CRO (1-1)
2 - EST (0-2)
2 - GRE (2-0)
1 - ARG (1-0)
1 - BEL (0-1)
1 - BUL (0-1)
1 - GBR (1-0)
1 - NZL (0-1)
1 - SLO (1-0)
1 - TPE (0-1)






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TOP QUALIFIER: Guiomar Maristany/ESP
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #6 Jessie Pegula/USA (lost 5 games in 1r/2r)
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): x
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q2 - Guiomar Maristany/ESP def. Tatiana Prozorova/RUS 6-2/2-6/7-6(10-7) - saved four MP (at 6-5 in the 3rd), reached maiden slam MD
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - Elsa Jacquemot/FRA def. #20 Marta Kostyuk/UKR 6-7(4)/7-6(4)/7-6(10-7) - 3:31; first three-TB women's match at AO; Jacquemot saves MP in 2nd set, wins 10-7 MTB in 3rd for first Top 20 win
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/WC/Doub.): x
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: (WC) Talia Gibson/AUS (def. Anna Blinkova/RUS)
FIRST SEED OUT: #26 Dayana Yastremska, UKR (1r- lost to Gabriela Ruse/ROU)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Nikola Bartunkova/CZE (1st slam MD), Linda Klimovicova/POL (1st), Petra Marcinko/CRO (1st), Taylah Preston/AUS (3rd), Oksana Selekhmeteva/RUS (5th)
PROTECTED RANKING BEST: Karolina Pliskova/CZE (3rd Rd.)
LUCKY LOSER BEST: 0-1 in 1r
UPSET QUEENS: The Crush of Czechs
REVELATION LADIES: Australia (6 in 2r most since 1992)
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Russia (4-5 1st Rd.; only 9 in MD after AO-best 9 to 2r in '25; has lost 7 notable players to other nations since '23; lost 2 Top 20 seeds)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Maddison Inglis/AUS (4r)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Talia Gibson/AUS, Priscilla Hon/AUS and Taylah Preston/AUS (all 2nd Rd.)
LAST AUSSIE STANDING: Maddison Inglis (in 4r)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: Nominee: Jovic
IT (Beloved Turk): Zeynep Sonmez/TUR
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominees: S.Hunter, Zvonareva, Pliskova, de Groot?
CRASH & BURN: #26 Dayana Yastremska/UKR and #20 Marta Kostyuk/UKR (first two seeds out lose in back-to-back ANZ Arena matches on Day 1
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF MELBOURNE: Maddison Inglis/AUS (saved 2 MP vs. Leyre Gormaz Romero in 3-hr. Q1 match, then won back-to-back 3-hr. matches in 1r/2r en route to maiden slam Round of 16)
KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: Nominees: Venus Williams/USA (at 45 years and 7 months, breaks 2015 record of Kimiko Date as the oldest woman in an AO singles MD match), (wd)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominee: Sabalenka
AUSTRALIAN LANGUAGE ARTS AWARD: ["Show Pony Fashion Sense"] Naomi Osaka's jellyfish-inspired, "My Fair Lady" nighttime intro outfit
DOUBLES STAR: x
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x






All for now. More soon.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 9:00 AM 

1 Comments:

Blogger Diane said...

Remember when Andy Murray was hospitalized and one of the Spice Girls (can't remember who, but I think it was Ginger) got him to sing that song with her? :)

Mon Jan 26, 09:58:00 AM EST  

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