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Monday, July 7, 2025

W.8- Iga's Summer Śwolstice


Hmmm, are we in the midst of the tennis version of an astronomical phenomenon?




The final women's 4th Rounder to be played at this Wimbledon, let's be honest, was a match that turned out to pretty much be a dud. And it'd seemed like it may have been the most fascinating contest on the docket going in. Nope.

Thus, one's mind wanders to what it might mean, and the (semi-) conclusion could be that we are in the midst of a tennis version of an astronomical phenomenon, i.e. the early stages of an extended "Iga Summer Śwolstice," if you will. One in which the "longest period of daylight," a now year-long stretch in which the former #1 won't have to worry about defending any titles or championship-winning points (and with just one final appearance -- Bad Homburg -- not having to be considered, if at all, for another 50 weeks), bumps up against "the shortest night of the year," in which what will now surely be Iga Swiatek's "low-point" of a few short weeks of feeling the pull of no longer being the reigning Roland Garros champion as well as a ranking that sunk to as low as #8 (leading to her seed at this Wimbledon) before her first career grass final bumped it back up to #4 after just one week.

From now until next year, Swiatek can really do little *other* than go up. With the (technical) weight of expectation that comes with all she's done in the past lifted (at least for a calendar year), the Pole *has* nearly made the most of a stretch of the schedule this grass season during which she usually expects even less of herself than she often produces. It's quite the mood-lifting experiece, I'd hazard a guess.

It surely sets the stage for a summer of redemption for Swiatek. It's just a matter of when and where the high points are identified. Whether or not the Pole wins her maiden Wimbledon title this weekend, or comes closer to it this week than she ever has, her stop off at the All-England Club has served to open a new chapter worthy of an Iga's Book Club recommendation.

One thing that won't be recommended for its drama would be today's match vs. #23 Clara Tauson. The Dane arrived having downed former SW19 champ Elena Rybakina, and though she's had even less (far less) success on grass than Swiatek, her big shots and surprising variety and court coverage vs. the Kazakh seemed to make her an intriguing foe for Swiatek, who has often had trouble with such an opponent even on her better surfaces, especially of late.

But Tauson was never right from the start. After a series of breaks of serve from both women to open the match, a stretch during which the Dane broke Swiatek in back-to-back service games, winning eight of nine points, everything turned against Tauson and in favor of Iga. Once Swiatek got her serve in order, she was on her game with little wavering until the close of the day, while Tauson's loose errors piled high.

Still on serve at 5-4 in the 1st, a Tauson UE put her BP/SP down. She saved it with a crosscourt shot behind Swiatek, but then the Dane pulled yet another forehand shot off the court and was down BP/SP again. Tauson double-faulted to hand a 6-4 set to Swiatek.

Tauson took a brief MTO before the start of the 2nd set, and clearly didn't feel well. Surely not well enough to put up much of a fight. Down 2-1, Tauson couldn't put away several shots in a long rally as Swiatek's defense kept the point alive until she was able to execute a passing shot to break for a 3-1 lead. At that point, it felt like a 6-1 finish, and that's exactly what it was as Swiatek advanced into her second Wimbledon QF.



Swiatek may not win this tournament, nor is she probably even the favorite to reach the final in the bottom half of the draw. But she doesn't have do, and it doesn't matter if she does. Though she still might. What is clear is that a "new chapter" has begun -- the Śwolstice era is here -- and the plot is already starting to get interesting.

Load up on the strawberries, yogurt and pasta. There's a long summer stretch ahead.








=DAY 8 NOTES=
...as the second half of the Wimbledon Round of 16 kicked off for the women, as part of a reasonably-spaced schedule and not with nearly all of the four matches taking place as ridiculously early in the line-up as possible (*still* see you out of the side of the eye, RG), we saw the official reemergence of Belinda Bencic's season being one of the stories of the WTA year.



The Swiss' comeback from having her baby hit top speed in the opening months of '25, when she followed up her AO Round of 16 in her first major appearance since 2023 with a title in Abu Dhabi. Much more seemed possible at that point, but a spring thaw occurred due to a 1st Round hand injury in Rome that also kept her out of Roland Garros.

Facing #18 Ekaterina Alexandrova, Bencic took at 5-3 1st set lead, and served at 5-4. But the Hordette broke and ultimately forced a TB, where she took a 3-0 lead after winning both of Bencic's first two serves in the breaker. But at that point, Bencic settled and simply kept the ball inside the lines, letting Alexandrova lose the tie-break mostly on her own with errors. Bencic won six of the final seven points to take the TB 7-4.

Bencic again took a 5-3 lead in the 2nd, and seemed on her way to a quick close until Alexandrova managed to save five MP and get the break on her fourth BP to get things back on serve and keep her hopes alive. Then after all that, of course, Alexandrova dropped serve from 30/love up to end the 7-6(4)/6-4 match.



The result sends Bencic into her fourth career major QF, but first at Wimbledon and first at any slam other than the U.S. Open, where she last did it in 2021. She'd been 0-3 in Wimbledon 4th Round matches, and 0-6 in slams outside of Flushing Meadows.

On ESPN, when noting that so many of the players in her section also haven't produced deep Wimbledon runs in the past, CoCo Vandeweghe said that it's "almost as if Bencic (who's 28) is the seasoned vet." Hmmm, well, maybe that's because she kinda is... Bencic started very young on the tour, after all, making her maiden slam QF at the U.S. Open *eleven* years ago at age 17. Mirra Andreeva was 7 years old at the time.

[BTW, in trying to determine by ear who the female commentator was on this one I realized that Vandeweghe's voice somewhat registers directly *between* those of Lindsay Davenport and Mary Joe Fernandez, as she sometimes sounds *a little* like both of them.]

...seeking to succeed where her fellow Hordette hadn't (and as Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had yesterday), #19 Liudmila Samsonova looked to continue her usual mid-year surge and take it to a place she'd never gone before: a major QF.

Both she and her opponent, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, might have been hard pressed to see themselves in such a position a few months ago, as the Russian's annual slow-out-of-the-gate start saw her open at 10-11, while the Spaniard was just 3-8 in the opening months of 2025. Bouzas Maneiro's season began to turn the corner in the spring with her BJK Cup starring role for ESP in the Qualifier round. She arrived today 15-7 in her last 22, with her maiden Wimbledon 4th Round coming a year after she'd reached her first career slam 3rd Round at SW19.

One of the big things that has put a blanket over Bouzas Maneiro's results is a habit of squandering leads in matches, and that trait showed up again today. Against Samsonova, she led 3-1 in the 1st, during which the two combined for five consecutive breaks of serve in the middle of the set. Bouzas Maneiro served for the set at 5-4, holding 2 SP at 40/15. She couldn't square away the game, though, then two games later lost a 30/love lead on serve again, dropping serve for the fourth straight time after having taken that 3-1 lead, as Samsonova grabbed the opener at 7-5.

Naturally, in the 2nd, breaks were hard to come by. Both held serve through the first eleven games, staving off seven straight BP (six on the Russian's serve) until Samsonova finally broke to end the match in game 12, winning 7-5/7-5 to reach her maiden QF in a major in her 21st career MD. After her slow start, the Hordette has now won 14 of 18 matches.



Bouzas Maneiro, with a chance lost here, is still 9-5 in her last five majors, posting multiple wins at four of them. She's cracked the Top 50 for the first time in the "live" rankings, but could still fall out if Laura Siegemund were to upset Aryna Sabalenka tomorrow.

...later, Samsonova was joined by yet another of her countrywoman.



In her first career appearance on Centre Court, Andreeva once again flashed the training and natural star quality on the big stage that she's pretty much had since she first began to show up at high-level events a little more than two years ago. What she didn't allow to break loose from its moorings was the youthful (and potentially self-destructive) temper that has flared in recent weeks when things haven't gone her way between the lines.

Of course, the #7-seeded 18-year old didn't have too many occasions on this day in which she *wasn't* comfortably in the lead on the scoreboard vs. #10 Emma Navarro, who never really managed to find her own game or put herself into the match in any truly competitive way. In a sense, it was very similar to how Navarro was shipped out in the year's previous two majors, when she lost 1 & 2 vs. Iga Swiatek in the QF in Melbourne, then 1 & love to Bouzas Maneiro in the 1st Round in Paris.

Had defending champion Barbora Krejcikova (who has now also pulled out of doubles) been 100% in their 3rd Round match the other day, maybe the same scenario would have played out. It looked as if it might in the opening set on Saturday, but then the Czech's ailments stacked up and it took a major effort from her just to keep herself in it down the stretch in the final set vs. the Bannerette.

Composed and focused for all but a few spare moments, Andreeva handily won 6-2/6-3, reaching her maiden Wimbledon QF and becoming the youngest to reach the final eight at the AELTC (ask about the Last 8 Club!) in eighteen years (she's either the youngest, all at 18, since Nicole Vaidisova in '07, or Maria Sharapova in '05, as the difference is just a few days).

Andreeva didn't realize she'd converted MP in the moment (*too* focused?), then afterward noted that she tried to keep her eyes centered on the court all match because she didn't want to see Roger Federer in the Royal Box and get distracted. Addressing the eight-time champ during her on-court interview, Andreeva said that it'd been a dream of her see him "in real life" for the first time, and complimented Mirka on her dress.



Yep, Mirra's got the public relations and viral video angle down perfectly. Now she just needs to win one of these things.

...in junior play, being a tennis-playing sibling wasn't all it's cracked up to be on Day 8. Both Kovackova sisters fell, #9 Jana to Nauhany Vitória Leme Da Silva (BRA) and #12 Alena to Brit Mimi Xu, while #4 Kristina Penickova lost to LTU's Laima Vladson. Twin Penickova sister Annika hasn't played since the sisters lost in the RG doubles semis to the Kovackovas.

The top three girls' seeds are into the 3rd Round, as #1 Emerson Jones, #2 Hannah Klugman and RG girls' champ #3 Lilli Tagger all won today. Austrian Tagger defeated British wild card Ruby Cooling, whose might just have to make the "Top 10 Name List" that I realized today that I'm going to have to compile soon (featuring the likes of Cadence Brace and a few others).

Bulgarian Elizara Yaneva knocked off #10 Julia Stusek, setting up a Round of 16 match vs. #6 Julieta Pereja, who just a few days ago rallied from a set and break down against her in the Roehampton final to take the title there.

...meanwhile, in doubles, *two* women are still alive in both the WD and MX draws: doubles #1 Katerina Siniakova (QF w/ Taylor Townsend as the DC, and SF w/ Sem Verbeek) and Luisa Stefani (w/ Anna Bondar and Joe Salisbury). They play each other in the women's doubles QF.

...the wheelchair draw is out, and Diede de Groot is *not* seeded, having dropped to #5 in the rankings before she attempts to win her fifth straight Wimbledon singles title. She's won the title six of the last seven times the event has been held. She *could* face #1 Yui Kamiji in a SF, after having lost to her last week (for the third straight time in a year) at the Roehampton grass event.

If she gets past Lucy Shuker in the opener, de Groot may have to play her recent nemesis, #3 Li Xiaohui, who ended both her 145-match overall winning streak last year *and* her 52-match slam streak this year at RG.

Kamiji opens vs. Angelica Bernal, who defeated de Groot in the Eastbourne final *two* weeks ago (after having been 0-15 against the former #1, who is still on the comeback trail following hip surgery).

#2 Aniek Van Koot heads up the bottom half of the draw.

With Dana Mathewson's retirement, even with the recently-enlarged field, there are *zero* U.S. women in the 16-player draw.









*WOMEN'S SINGLES QF*
#1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR vs. Laura Siegemund/GER
#13 Amanda Anisimova/USA vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS
#7 Mirra Andreeva/RUS vs. Belinda Bencic/SUI
#8 Iga Swiatek/POL vs. #19 Liudmila Samsononva/RUS

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF*
#1 Siniakova/Townsend (CZE/USA) vs. #10 Bondar/Stefani (HUN/BRA)
#4 Hsieh/Ostapenko (TPE/LAT) vs. Cirstea/Kalinskaya (ROU/RUS)
Gadecki/Krawczyk (AUS/USA) vs. #16 Dolehide/Kenin (USA/USA)
#8 V.Kudermetova/Mertens (RUS/BEL) vs. #2 Dabrowski/Routliffe (CAN/NZL)

*MIXED DOUBLES SF*
Siniakova/Verbeek (CZE/NED) vs. #8 Babos/Pavic (HUN/CRO)
Stefani/Salisbury (BRA/GBR) vs. #2 Zhang/Arevalo (CHN/ELS)

*GIRLS' SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Emerson Jones/AUS vs. (Q) Eugenia Zozaya Menéndez/ESP
Nauhany Vitória Leme da Silva/BRA vs. Mia Pohankova/SVK
Laima Vladson/LTU vs. Vendula Valdmannova/CZE
(Q) Kanon Sawashiro/JPN vs. #5 Teodora Kostovic/SRB
Tahlia Kokkinis/AUS vs. Mimi Xu/GBR
(WC) Ruby Cooling/GBR vs. #3 Lilli Tagger/AUT
#6 Julieta Pareja/USA vs. Elizara Yaneva/BUL
#13 Charo Esquiva Bañuls/ESP vs. #2 Hannah Klugman/GBR








...YOU KNOW, IF IT WAS A BEST-OF-THREE MATCH... (I'm just sayin')... ON DAY 8:




...BUT THAT HAPPENED IN THE 1990s, so it didn't *really* happen... ON DAY 8:




...GREAT AD, BTW... ON DAY 8:



And if you can get an instantly identifiable song from a British singer that brings everything together and sticks in your brain... (pssst, WTA).


...JUST YOUR FRIENDLY REMINDER THAT... ON DAY 8:

...three of the eight women playing today, and half of this year's final eight at Wimbledon would have been barred from even playing the event three years ago, the public scapegoats for actions of their governments/leaders that they had no control over, in a decision that still bears the funk of 40,000 years (but without the legendary voiceover of Vincent Price -- yes, an impromptu "Thriller" reference on a Monday).

Still waiting for the All-England Club to ban players from other nations who start and/or engage in wars (i.e. blaming the zombie dancers for the evil of the Thriller... yep, another one).

Still waiting...














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*"FIRST CAREER SLAM QF in 2020s*
[at Wimbledon]
2021 - Viktorija Golubic, SUI (18th MD)
2021 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (15th)
2021 - Ajla Tomljanovic, AUS (27th)
2022 - Marie Bouzkova, CZE (14th)
2022 - Tatjana Maria, GER (35th)
2022 - Jule Niemeier, GER (2nd)
2024 - Emma Navarro, USA (7th)
2024 - Lulu Sun, NZL (2nd)
2025 - Liudmila Samsonova, RUS (21st)

*2025 WI FINAL 8*
[by career slam QF]
13 - Aryna Sabalenka
12 - Iga Swiatek
10 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
4 - Belinda Bencic
3 - Mirra Andreeva
3 - Amanda Anisimova
1 - Liudmila Samsonova
1 - Laura Siegemund

[by career WI QF]
3 - Sabalenka
2 - Anisimova, Pavlyuchenkova, Swiatek
1 - M.Andreeva, Bencic, Samsonova, Siegemund

[w/ consecutive slam QF]
4 - Sabalenka (last 11 played; DNP 24 WI)
4 - Swiatek
2 - M.Andreeva

[w/ consecutive WI QF]
1+2 - Sabalenka (last 3 MD; 2021/'23/'25; barred '22, DNP '24)
1+1 - Anisimova (last 2 MD played; 2022/'25, lost in Q '24)

[2025 slam QF - unseeded]
AO - none
RG - Boisson (WC)
WI - Bencic, Palvyuchenkova, Siegemund

[2025 1st-time GS QF]
AO - none
RG - Boisson (1st MD)
WI - Samsonova (21st)

[2025 multiple slam QF]
3 - Sabalenka (AO/RG/WI)
3 - Swiatek (AO/RG/WI)
2 - M.Andreeva (RG/WI)
2 - Gauff (AO/RG)
2 - Keys (AO/RG)
2 - Pavlyuchenkova (AO/WI)
2 - Svitolina (AO/RG)

[2025 slam QF - by nation]
6...USA (3/2/1/-) - Anisimova
5...RUS (1/1/3/-) - M.Andreeva, Pavlyuchenkova, Samsonova
3...BLR (1/1/1/-) - Sabalenka
3...POL (1/1/1/-) - Swiatek
2...UKR (1/1/0/-)
1...CHN (0/1/0/-)
1...ESP (1/0/0/-)
1...FRA (0/1/0/-)
1...GER (0/0/1/-) - Siegemund
1...SUI (0/0/1/-) - Bencic

[WTA career slam QF - active]
18...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
13...Petra Kvitova, CZE
13...Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
13...Elina Svitolina, UKR
12...Madison Keys, USA
12...Iga Swiatek, POL
11...Karolina Pliskova, CZE
10...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
10...Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
9...Coco Gauff, USA

[WTA slam QF & W/L in 2020s - 22 events]
13 - Sabalenka (11-1)*
12 - Swiatek (8-3)*
9 - Gauff (5-4)
7 - Jabeur (3-4)
7 - Pegula (1-6)
7 - Svitolina (1-6)
6 - Rybakina (3-3)
5 - Muchova (4-1)
5 - Keys (3-2)
5 - Krejcikova (2-3)
5 - Pavlyuchenkova (1-3)*
4 - Barty (3-1)
4 - Ka.Pliskova (1-3)
4 - Zheng Q. (1-3)
3 - Halep (2-1)
3 - M.Andreeva (1-1)*
3 - Vondrousova (1-2)
3 - Badosa (1-2)
3 - Navarro (1-2)
3 - Ostapenko (0-3)
3 - Tomljanovic (0-3)
2 - Azarenka (2-0)
2 - Anisimova (0-1)*
2 - Bencic (0-1)*
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 - Osaka (2-0)
2 - Paolini (2-0)
2 - Sakkari (2-0)
2 - Siegemund (0-1)*
2 - Trevisan (1-1)
2 - Vekic (1-1)
2 - S.Williams (2-0)
1 - Boisson (1-0)
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 (0-0)*
1 - Stephens (0-1)
1 - Sun (0-1)
1 - Yastremska (1-0)
1 - Zidansek (1-0)

[WTA slam QF by nation in 2020s - 22 slams/176]
36 - USA (1)
21 - CZE
15 - BLR (1)
13 - POL (1)
12 - RUS (3)
9 - UKR
7 - AUS
7 - KAZ
7 - TUN
5 - GER (1)
4 - CHN
4 - ESP
4 - ITA
4 - ROU
3 - FRA
3 - LAT
3 - SUI (1)
2 - BRA
2 - CAN
2 - CRO
2 - EST
2 - GRE
2 - JPN
1 - ARG,BEL,BUL,GBR,NZL,SLO,TPE

[WTA slam QF W/L by nation in 2020s]
36 - USA (17-18)*
21 - CZE (9-12)
15 - BLR (13-1)*
13 - POL (9-3)*
12 - RUS (3-6)***
9 - UKR (2-7)
7 - AUS (3-4)
7 - KAZ (3-4)
7 - TUN (3-4)
5 - GER (2-2)*
4 - CHN (1-3)
4 - ESP (2-2)
4 - ITA (3-1)
4 - ROU (2-2)
3 - FRA (2-1)
3 - LAT (0-3)
3 - SUI (0-2)*
2 - BRA (1-1)
2 - CAN (1-1)
2 - CRO (1-1)
2 - EST (0-2)
2 - GRE (2-0)
2 - JPN (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: 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): x
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): x
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: in 4r: Solana Sierra/ARG (2r: Victoria Mboko/CAN)
LAST BRIT STANDING: Sonay Kartal (in 4th Rd.)
Ms./Mrs. OPPORTUNITY: Nominee: Bencic, Pavlyuchenkova, Andreeva, Samsonova, (WC)
IT "Turk": Zeynep Sonmez/TUR (first TUR player into slam 3r)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominees: Anisimova, Swiatek, Bencic
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: x
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Laura Siegemund/GER (oldest first WI QF at 37)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x
SPIRIT OF JANA (NOVOTNA) HONOREE: Petra Kvitova/CZE - plays final Wimbledon match







All for Day 8. More tomorrow.

Sunday, July 6, 2025

W.7- Grass Court Jungle Where Dreams are Made Of












=DAY 7 NOTES=
...with the Round of 16 set, it was time to slice the group in half on the middle Sunday of this Wimbledon.

First up of the four matches was one that featured a British woman. Not that long ago, such a notion would have seemed *far* out of left field, but Team GB's tennis depth has steadily grown over the last decade, overcoming the "false start" that was the idea that the fast-starting Laura Robson was going to be the "Andy Murray" of the British women.

Recent years have produced one slam champ in Emma Raducanu, a former top contending player in the retired Johanna Konta, and now a handful of others who can jump up with a big result (ala Katie Boulter) or are part of a new generation of youngsters (Hannah Klugman, Mika Stojsavljevic, Mimi Xu) currently making the annual rite of Wimbledon handing out loads of wild cards for SW19 not look totally competitively obscene in retrospect.

Last year, Sonay Kartal became the first British qualifier to reach the 3rd Round in London this century.

The 23-year old came back for more this year, in the MD without needing a WC, and then opened the week with a win over #20 Alona Ostapenko (via ret.). Having won her maiden tour title last September (Monastir) and reached her first 1000 Round of 16 (Indian Wells) earlier this season, she rose to a career-high #49 last month. Kartal's win two days ago over Diane Parry put the Brit into her first slam 4th Round, where today she faced off on Centre Court with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a former junior superstar who has had an up and down pro career that has nonetheless produced some pretty big moments, with a slam final ('21 RG) and eight other QF runs (including one in January at age 33), twelve tour titles and nearly forty Top 10 victories in what has become one of the longer continuous stints on tour. She made her tour debut *nineteen* years ago this fall.

Pavlyuchenkova has always maintained that she's no good on grass, but she did reach a QF at Wimbledon back in 2016, and she arrived on Sunday to play to reach her second after previous wins over a seed (#31 Ashlyn Krueger) and former slam champ (Naomi Osaka). Meanwhile, Kartal was seeking to become the first British quarterfinalist in the event since Konta in 2019. Konta had also reached the semis in '17, part of what had been the tournament's best result by a home player since Virginia Wade in 1978.

Kartal found her way into the opening set, largely because of an egregiously missed call by the electronic line calling system (and an inactive chair umpire) on a *way* long Kartal ball on a Pavlyuchenkova GP in game 9. The Brit got the break, then served for the set at 5-4, holding a SP. But the veteran Hordette, who turned 34 a few days ago, broke back on her third BP and went on to take a 7-3 tie-break.

After exchanging breaks to open the 2nd, Pavlyuchenkova took a break lead at 3-2 and held it until the finish, serving out a 15 game to win 7-6(4)/6-4 and reach her tenth career major QF.



It's a so-very-Pavlyuchenkovian result line that shows the Russian with QF-1r-QF slam results (so far) in '25, as the ebb-and-flow of her long career has often had a similar feast-or-famine feel. Of her nine previous Last Eight (and once better) runs, she's only followed up with a result better than a 2nd Round at her next major twice (and both of those were just 3rd Rd. finishes).



...meanwhile, Laura Siegemund is busy trying to become the next Tatjana Maria.

Three years ago, Siegemund's fellow German became the oldest first-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist at age 34, then set another mark with her maiden SF. Both now 37, they were in the MD at this Wimbledon as the oldest competitors in the field, with Maria (who'd just won Queen's Club) slightly the senior of the two. But Maria fell out in the 1st Round, while Siegemund has gone on to produce a career run.

Earlier this year, Siegemund posted her first career win over a Top 10 player at a major, upsetting Zheng Qinwen in the 2nd Round in Melbourne. Two days ago, she got her second with a victory over Madison Keys in the Wimbledon 3rd Round. They're two of Siegemund's three *overall* Top 10 wins since the spring of 2017, truly coloring outside the lines of a career which had previously seen seven of the German's ten Top 10 wins before '25 coming in the same event, Stuttgart, between 2016-22.

With just two MD wins in her SW19 career before this past week, Siegemund had already become the oldest woman to be a first-time Wimbledon 3rd Round participant since 1970. Facing off today with Solana Sierra, the first lucky loser to reach the 4th Round in the event, the German's unorthodox and fiesty game clearly wasn't ready to fold up shop quite yet at this major.

Siegemund defeated the Argentine 6-3/6-1, advancing to her second slam QF (w/ '20 RG) and getting the shot to break Maria's three-year old mark as the oldest first-time slam semifinalist.



...at the top of the draw, #1 Aryna Sabalenka just keeps chuggin' along, today improving to 16-2 in slam play this season with a 6-4/7-6(4) victory over her former doubles partner, #24 Elise Mertens, getting her tenth straight win over the Belgian in their career series. The two won a pair of slam WD crowns between 2019-21.

As usual, Sabalenka played the late-set big points best. After having led 4-1 in the 1st, the Belarusian saw Mertens break to get back on serve at 4-3. Sabalenka had three BP opportunities a game later, but Mertens held. Serving to stay in the set at 5-4, the Belgian led 30/love, only to see Sabalenka's pull off a flurry of shots over the next four points, sweeping to secure the set 6-4.

Mertens had the early break lead in the 2nd, but it was erased mid-way through the stanza. Again, down 5-3, Mertens staved off BPs (two) to get the hold, and eventually forced a TB. But such a thing is simply a case of walking into Sabalenka's personal lair, as the won her fourteenth straight breaker at 7-4 to finish off the win. She has now reached the QF at the last eleven majors she's played.



Mertens had been the lone remaining of the six pre-Wimbledon singles title winners in the MD, and her loss continues what has become a long tradition of title runs in the grass court tune-up events not then translating into a follow-up Wimbledon championship.

With all six of this year's winners eliminated from contention, the Wimbledon title-less streak now stretches back over the last 85 pre-SW19 grass champs, with the last to win both before (at Birmingham) *and* at the AELTC being a 17-year old Maria Sharapova in 2004. Since Jana Novotna pulled the Eastbourne/Wimbledon double in 1998, Sharapova is also the only woman who has carried the roll into a SW19 win over the last 102 pre-Wimbledon grass events.

...the final women's 4th Rounder of the day turned out to be the only one to go three sets, as #13 Amanda Anisimova and #30 Linda Noskova engaged in a contest of shifting momentum.

After Anisimova had claimed the opening set, Noskova surged back to lead 5-3 in the 2nd. The Czech served at 5-4 and had a SP, but couldn't end things there. It took her breaking Anisimova in the following game, and then serving out a 7-5 set on her second try to force a decider.

With Anisimova clearly upset over having not finished up in two sets, Noskova took advantage and got the early break lead. But the Bannerette got back on serve mid-way into the 3rd, leading 4-3 and running off a streak of eleven straight points. Still on course for a tight finish, trailing 5-4, Noskova soon found herself down double MP at 15/40 after a few loose errors. Missing on her first serve on both points, the Czech couldn't survive the ordeal and Anisimova put away the 6-2/5-7/6-4 win with a soft put-away down the line on MP #2 to reach her second Wimbledon QF (w/ '22) in her last two MD appearances.



Anisimova moves into the Top 10 in the "live" rankings with this result (though she hasn't secured her breakthrough ranking quite yet).

...while Noskova was the last Czech to fall out of the Wimbledon draw, her countrywomen more than held their own this weekend on the ITF circuit, with three of the Crushers walking off with titles.

In Cary, North Carolina, 22-year old NCAA champ Dasha Vidmanova defeated Monika Ekstrand 6-1/6-3, picking up her third pro title of the season (sixth since last July) and the biggest (at $100K) of her career so far. That'll change, though.



Elsewhere, fellow Czech Nikola Bartunkova (19) knocked off Emily Seibold in the $35K at Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany for her second title of the year; while Lucie Havlickova (20) upended Katerina Tsygourova in the Mogyoród (HUN) $15K to also claim her second '25 crown.

And, finally, in Los Angeles, Veronica Miroshnichenko defeated Kylie Collins to win a $15K crown, the fourth of her career.

The 27-year old has one of the more interesting current bios in the sport, considering the world condition at the moment. Here's how her Wikipedia entry reads:

"Veronika Miroshnichenko (born 19 November 1997) is a Ukrainian tennis player who represents Russia. Miroshnichenko was born in Moscow to Ukrainian parents but grew up in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine before emigrating to the United States. Due to her birth, she has a Russian passport and was forced to represent the country, however she identifies as Ukrainian and as of 2023, is in the process of changing her passport officially."

Yet, as of today, she's still "flag-free" and considered "Russian" (i.e. "blank") in official tennis records. May you live in interesting times," I guess.








*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR def. #24 Elise Mertens/BEL
Laura Siegemund/GER def. (LL) Solana Sierra/ARG
#13 Amanda Anisimova/USA def. #30 Linda Noskova/CZE
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS def. Sonay Kartal/GBR
#7 Mirra Andreeva/RUS vs. #10 Emma Navarro/USA
#18 Ekaterina Alexandrova/RUS vs. Belinda Bencic/SUI
#8 Iga Swiatek/POL vs. #23 Clara Tauson/DEN
#19 Liudmila Samsononva/RUS vs. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro/ESP

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Siniakova/Townsend (CZE/USA) def. #15 Melichar-Martinez/Samsonova (USA/RUS)
#10 Bondar/Stefani (HUN/BRA) vs. #7 L.Kichenok/Perez (UKR/AUS)
#4 Hsieh/Ostapenko (TPE/LAT) def. #14 Alexandrova/Zhang (RUS/CHN)
Cirstea/Kalinskaya (ROU/RUS) def. #5 M.Andreeva/Shnaider (RUS/RUS)
Birrell/Joint (AUS/AUS) vs. Gadecki/Krawczyk (AUS/USA)
#16 Dolehide/Kenin (USA/USA) vs. Chan H-c./Krejcikova (TPE/CZE)
#8 V.Kudermetova/Mertens (RUS/BEL) vs. #11 Haddad Maia/Siegemund (BRA/GER)
#13 Khromacheva/Stollar (RUS/HUN) vs. #2 Dabrowski/Routliffe (CAN/NZL)

*MIXED DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
Siniakova/Verbeek (CZE/NED) def. Mihalikova/Gonzalez (SVK/MEX)
(WC) Silva/Paris (GBR/GBR) def. (Alt) Sutjiadi/Galloway (INA/USA)
Khromacheva/Withrow (RUS/USA) def. #3 Errani/Vavassori (ITA/ITA)
#8 Babos/Pavic (HUN/CRO) def. (WC) Lumsden/Stevenson (GBR/GBR)
Stefani/Salisbury (BRA/GBR) def. Muhammad/Molteni (USA/ARG)
Hsieh/Zielinski (TPE/INA) def. #4 Townsend/King (USA/USA)
Krawczyk/Skupski (USA/GBR) def. Panova/Lammons (RUS/USA)
#2 Zhang/Arevalo (CHN/ELS) def. Jiang/Bhambri (CHN/IND)








...WELCOME TO WIMBLEDON... ON DAY 7:




...ALSO WELCOME TO WIMBLEDON... ON DAY 7:




...PAVS CASUALLY DROPPING SOME CHARACTERISTIC HONESTY... ON DAY 7:




...MEMORIES... ON DAY 7:




...SOME TIDBITS ON DAY 6... ON DAY 7:




...UMMM... ON DAY 7:



Not really, since she hasn't played in the last eleven majors. This is the proper way to say it to avoid confusion...



The same goes for "winning streaks" when a player exits via a walkover. The *official* streak ends there, but "consecutive match wins" continues. If we're going to lace everything with "in the Open era," or (even better) when the WTA tries to designate (i.e. pigeonhole) accomplishments as "WTA (fill in here)" when the player has already done the (fill in here) in slam play, then you can't suddenly intentionally remove the context and/or details from whatever is being celebrated.





















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*LOW-RANKED WIMBLEDON QF*
#181 - Serena Williams, 2018 (RU)
#134 - Mirjana Lucic, 1999 (SF)
#133 - Zheng Jie, 2008 (SF)
#129 - Jelena Dokic, 1999
#129 - Severine Beltrame, 2006
#124 - Lulu Sun, 2024
#104 - LAURA SIEGEMUND, 2025
#103 - Tatjana Maria, 2022 (SF)
#99 - Gigi Fernandez, 1994 (SF)
#97 - Jule Niemeier, 2022
#96 - Yaroslava Shvedova, 2016

*ROUND-of-16 OPEN ERA SLAM RESULTS BY LL*
1980 RG - Hana Strachonova, SUI (3r)
1982 RG - Dana Gilbert, USA (4r; 1r bye)
1988 RG - Nicole Jagerman, NED (4r)
1993 US - Maria Jose Gaidano, ARG (4r)
2023 RG - Elina Avanesyan, RUS (4r)
2025 AO - Eva Lys, GER (4r)
2025 WI - Solana Sierra, ARG (4r)

*PRE-WIMBLEDON GRASS TITLES AND WIMBLEDON TITLE*
1998...Novotna wins Eastbourne/Wimbledon
1998 0/1
1999 0/3
2000 0/3
2001 0/3 (Henin Rosmalen W + F)
2002 0/3
2003 0/3
2004...Sharapova wins Birmingham/Wimbledon
2004 0/2
2005 0/3
2006 0/3 (Henin Eastbourne W + F)
2007 0/3
2008 0/3
2009 0/3
2010 0/3
2011 0/3
2012 0/3
2013 0/3
2014 0/3
2015 0/4
2016 0/5
2017 0/5
2018 0/5
2019 0/5
2020 -
2021 0/5
2022 0/6 (Jabeur Berlin W + F)
2023 0/6
2024 0/6
2025 0/6...[0-for-85, 1-for-102]

*OLDEST FIRST-TIME SLAM SF - OPEN ERA*
34 - Tatjana Maria, GER (2022 WI)
33 - Barbora Strycova, CZE (2019 WI)
32 - Roberta Vinci, ITA (2015 U.S.)
--
NOTE: Siegemund (37) plays for first SF





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In the spirit of radio-from-around-the world...



Television-from-around-the world...









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): x
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): x
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: in 4r: Solana Sierra/ARG (2r: Victoria Mboko/CAN)
LAST BRIT STANDING: Sonay Kartal (4th Rd.)
Ms./Mrs. OPPORTUNITY: Nominees: Bouzas Maneiro, Pavlyuchenkova, Tauson, (WC)
IT "Turk": Zeynep Sonmez/TUR (first TUR player into slam 3r)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominees: Anisimova, Swiatek
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: x
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Laura Siegemund/GER (oldest first WI QF at 37)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x
SPIRIT OF JANA (NOVOTNA) HONOREE: Petra Kvitova/CZE - plays final Wimbledon match







All for Day 7. More tomorrow.