Not a day of rest, but a day of lists:
*2013 RG WOMEN'S FINAL 16*
[by ranking]
#1 - Serena Williams
#2 - Maria Sharapova
#3 - Victoria Azarenka
#4 - Agnieszka Radwanska
#5 - Sara Errani
#8 - Angelique Kerber
#12 - Maria Kirilenko
#14 - Ana Ivanovic
#15 - Roberta Vinci
#17 - Sloane Stephens
#18 - Jelena Jankovic
#20 - Carla Suarez-Navarro
#39 - Svetlana Kuznetsova
#50 - Francesca Schiavone
#54 - Jamie Hampton
#67 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands
[by age]
32...Francesca Schiavone
31...Serena Williams
30...Roberta Vinci
28...Jelena Jankovic
28...Bethanie Mattek-Sands
27...Svetlana Kuznetsova
26...Sara Errani
26...Maria Kirilenko
26...Maria Sharapova
25...Ana Ivanovic
25...Angelique Kerber
24...Agnieszka Radwanska
24...Carla Suarez-Navarro
23...Victoria Azarenka
23...Jamie Hampton
20...Sloane Stephens
[by nation]
4...United States (Hampton,Mattek-Sands,Stephens,S.Williams)
3...Italy (Errani,Schiavone,Vinci)
3...Russia (Kirilenko,Kuznetsova,Sharapova)
2...Serbia (Ivanovic,Jankovic)
1...Belarus (Azarenka)
1...Germany (Kerber)
1...Poland (A.Radwanska)
1...Spain (Suarez-Navarro)
[by career slam Round-of-16's]
42...Serena Williams
28...Maria Sharapova
26...Svetlana Kuznetsova
18...Francesca Schiavone
17...Jelena Jankovic
16...Ana Ivanovic
16...Agnieszka Radwanska
15...Victoria Azarenka
8...Maria Kirilenko
6...Angelique Kerber
4...Sara Errani
4...Carla Suarez-Navarro
3...Sloane Stephens
3...Roberta Vinci
2...Bethanie Mattek-Sands
1...Jamie Hampton
[by consecutive slam Round of 16's]
6...Victoria Azarenka
6...Maria Sharapova
5...Angelique Kerber
4...Ana Ivanovic
4...Agnieszka Radwanska
4...Serena Williams
2...Maria Kirilenko
2...Svetlana Kuznetsova
2...Sloane Stephens
[by career RG Round of 16's]
9...Svetlana Kuznetsova
9...Maria Sharapova
9...Serena Williams
7...Francesca Schiavone
6...Jelena Jankovic
5...Victoria Azarenka
5...Ana Ivanovic
4...Agnieszka Radwanska
3...Maria Kirilenko
2...Sara Errani
2...Angelique Kerber
2...Sloane Stephens
2...Carla Suarez-Navarro
1...Jamie Hampton
1...Bethanie Mattek-Sands
1...Roberta Vinci
[by consecutive RG Round of 16's]
3...Victoria Azarenka
3...Svetlana Kuznetsova
3...Maria Sharapova
2...Sara Errani
2...Angelique Kerber
2...Sloane Stephens
[by preseason "Grand Slam Master List" rankings]
1 - Serena Williams
2 - Maria Sharapova
3 - Victoria Azarenka
6 - Agnieszka Radwanska
7 - Angelique Kerber
12 - Ana Ivanovic
17 - Sara Errani
19 - Maria Kirilenko
20 - Francesca Schiavone
22 - Svetlana Kuznetsova
26 - Jelena Jankovic
30 - Sloane Stephens
37 - Roberta Vinci
unlisted - Jamie Hampton
unlisted - Bethanie Mattek-Sands
unlisted - Carla Suarez-Navarro
[WTA career slam Round of 16's - active]
42...SERENA WILLIAMS
40...Venus Williams
28...MARIA SHARAPOVA
26...SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA
21...Nadia Petrova
18...FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE
17...JELENA JANKOVIC
16...ANA IVANOVIC
16...AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA
16...Vera Zvonareva
15...VICTORIA AZARENKA
[WTA slam Round of 16's since 2010 - active]
11...MARIA SHARAPOVA
10...VICTORIA AZARENKA
10...SERENA WILLIAMS
9...Caroline Wozniacki
8...Petra Kvitova
8...SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA
8...AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA
8...FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE
7...ANA IVANOVIC
7...MARIA KIRILENKO
7...Li Na
[2013 slam Rd. of 16's - youngest]
19 - Sloane Stephens (AO)
20 - Sloane Stephens (RG)
21 - Bojana Jovanovski (AO)
[2013 slam Rd. of 16's - oldest]
32 - Francesca Schiavone (RG)
31 - Serena Williams (RG)
31 - Serena Williams (AO)
30 - Li Na (AO)
30 - Roberta Vinci (RG)
[2013 slam Rd. of 16's - unseeded]
AO - Kirsten Flipkens, BEL
AO - Bojana Jovanovski, SRB
AO - Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
AO - Elena Vesnina, RUS
RG - Jamie Hampton, USA
RG - Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
RG - Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
RG - Francesca Schiavone, ITA
[2013 slam Rd. of 16's - 1st-time GS 4th Rd.'s]
AO - Kirsten Flipkens, BEL
AO - Bojana Jovanovski, SRB
RG - Jamie Hampton, USA
[2013 slam Rd. of 16's - lowest-ranked]
#75 - Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS (AO)
#67 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA (RG)
#56 - Bojana Jovanovski, SRB (AO)
#54 - Jamie Hampton, USA (RG)
#50 - Francesca Schiavone, ITA (RG)
Whew!
=DAY 7 NOTES=
...somewhat surprisingly, there was no truly BIG drama on Day 7 on the women's side. Oh, there were moments, but nothing earth-shattering. For example.
-- Vika Azarenka's serve was a bit "off," and her game was hardly in tip-top form on her worst surface. But, while she had to go three sets to take out Pastry Alize Cornet, she did it and didn't complain too much about it all in the process. Something which "old Vika" would never have done. She won 4-6/6-3/6-1, gradually taking over the match from the tiring Cornet. She'll have to step things up next time out against the oldest, but never tired, player left in the draw -- Francesca Schiavone.
-- Yep, the 2010 champ is still alive and kicking in Paris. The same can't be said for La Trufflette, as Schiavone's much-anticipated match-up with Marion Bartoli turned out to be a dud, with the Italian winning easily 6-2/6-1.
-- Elsewhere, Jamie Hampton reached her first slam Round of 16 with a straight sets win over Petra Kvitova, while Jelena Jankovic's resurgence continued with a 3-6/6-3/6-4 win over Sam Stosur (JJ recently defeated her in straights in Stuttgart, as well). Maria Sharapova took out Zheng Jie in straights, but had to fight back from a 4-1 deficit in the 2nd set to do it. Both Sloane Stephens (over Marina Erakovic) and Bethanie Mattek-Sands (over Paula Ormaechea) won to make it four Bannerettes -- more than any other nation -- in the final sixteen women, and while the Russian presence hasn't reached quite as deeply at this slam as it has at recent others, Maria Kirilenko's win over Stefanie Voegele means three Hordettes are still alive in the draw, as well.
...the losses by Bartoli and Cornet mean they tie with Virginie Razzano as the "Last Pastries Standing," while Ormaechea's defeat forces her to share the "Last Qualifier Standing" honors with Dinah Pfizenmaier.
...DISLIKES FROM DAY 7:
-- sure, Azarenka's serve was off a bit today, she might not be in the shape not that she was in Melbourne (time out with an ankle injury might have something to do with that), and she may have adopted a philosophy of playing it "safe" with her serve -- in spite of her height, which hints it might be able to be a bigger weapon -- in order to simply start points and get to her groundstrokes, which are a strong point in her game. But, really, please, a little nod to what she's accomplished, and not continuing to try to carve out corners during in-match commentary to bat around the medical timeouts in the AO semifinals would be greatly appreciated.
Seriously, if you listened to the match call from Lindsay Davenport, Mary Carillo and Martina Navratilova on Tennis Channel today, you'd have thought that Azarenka was an underachieving Top 10 player who'd yet to reach her potential rather than the recently #1-ranked, two-time slam champ (both in the last sixteen months) who's reached the final of three of the last five majors, and who has wins over both Serena and Sharapova in the last year. Nibbling at parts of Azarenka's game that can still be improved is one thing, but not equally acknowledging that she's done "pretty well" of late with how it is is another. And Davenport still managing to kick in that Vika's noting after the AO SF that her timeouts were anxiety-related was essentially "admitting that she cheated" is a bit tired, as well, especially since one of her fellow commentators just a few moments before noted that while she asked for back-to-back timeouts in January, it was the medical staff that erred in granting them in Melbourne.
Anyway... sheesh.
...and, finally, come on... you didn't think I'd get through one whole Daily Backspin without mentioning It did you?
So, there. I just did.
*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Serena Williams/USA vs. #15 Roberta Vinci/ITA
Svetlana Kuznetsova/RUS vs. #8 Angelique Kerber/GER
#4 Agnieszka Radwanska/POL vs. #14 Ana Ivanovic/SRB
#20 Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP vs. #5 Sara Errani/ITA
Bethanie Mattek-Sands/USA vs. #12 Maria Kirilenko/RUS
Francesca Schiavone/ITA vs. #3 Victoria Azarenka/BLR
Jamie Hampton/USA vs. #18 Jelena Jankovic/SRB
#17 Sloane Stephens/USA vs. #2 Maria Sharapova/RUS
*MEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Novak Djokovic/SRB vs. #16 Philipp Kohlschreiber/GER
#12 Tommy Haas/GER vs. #29 Mikhail Youzhny/RUS
#3 Rafael Nadal/ESP vs. #13 Kei Nishikori/JPN
#9 Stanislas Wawrinka/SUI vs. #7 Richard Gasquet/FRA
#32 Tommy Robredo/ESP vs. #11 Nicolas Almagro/ESP
#23 Kevin Anderson/RSA vs. #4 Davis Ferrer/ESP
#6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga/FRA vs. Viktor Troicki/SRB
#15 Gilles Simon/FRA vs. #2 Roger Federer/SUI
*RG "LAST QUALIFIER STANDING"*
2006 (3rd Rd.) Julia Vakulenko/UKR, Aravane Rezai/FRA
2007 (3rd Rd.) Dominika Cibulkova/SVK, Alla Kudryavtseva/RUS & Ioana-Raluca Olaru/ROU
2008 (QF) Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP
2009 (3rd Rd.) Michelle Larcher de Brito/POR, Yaroslava Shvedova/KAZ
2010 (4th Rd.) Chanelle Scheepers/RSA
2011 (3rd Rd.) Chan Yung-Jan/TPE, Nuria Llagostera-Vives/ESP
2012 (QF) Yaroslava Shvedova/KAZ
2013 (3rd Rd.) Paula Ormaechea/ARG, Dinah Pfizenmaier/GER
*RG "LAST PASTRY STANDING"*
2008 Alize Cornet & Emilie Loit (3rd Rd.)
2009 Virginie Razzano & Aravane Rezai (4th Rd.)
2010 Marion Bartoli & Aravane Rezai (3rd Rd.)
2011 Marion Bartoli (SF)
2012 Mathilde Johansson (3rd Rd.)
2013 Marion Bartoli, Alize Cornet & Virginie Razzano (3rd Rd.)
TOP QUALIFIER: Anna Schmiedlova/SVK
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #1 Serena Williams/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q2: #24q Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova/CZE d. Alexandra Panova/RUS 1-6/7-5/10-8
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - #13 Marion Bartoli/FRA d. Olga Govortsova/BLR 7-6(8)/4-6/7-5
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #5 Sara Errani/ITA (def. Rus/NED)
FIRST SEED OUT: #11 Nadia Petrova/RUS (lost 1st Rd. to Puig/PUR)
UPSET QUEENS: Slovak Republic
REVELATION LADIES: North America
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Czech Republic (2-8 in 1st Rd.)
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: Paula Ormaechea/ARG & Dinah Pfizenmaier/GER (both 3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Virginie Razzano/FRA (3rd Rd.)
LAST PASTRIES STANDING: Marion Bartoli/FRA, Alize Cornet/FRA & Virignie Razzano/FRA (all 3rd Rd.)
MADEMOISELLE/MADAM OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT "??": xx
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominees: Kuznetsova/RUS, Ivanovic/SRB, Mattek-Sands/USA, Jankovic/SRB, Schiavone/ITA
CRASH & BURN: #10 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN (4 of 5 pre-4th Rd. slam exits since lost #1 ranking, before which had reached 4th Rd.-or-better 10 of 11 times)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: #13 Marion Bartoli/FRA (1st Rd.: down a break 3 times in 1st & 2 MP in 3rd set; 2nd Rd.: down 4-1 in 1st & a break in 2nd set in 2nd Rd.)
JOIE DE VIVRE: Nominees: V.Williams/USA, Kuznetsova/RUS, Schiavone/ITA
DOUBLES STAR: xx
AMG SLAM FUTILITY UPDATE: lost 1st Rd. to #6 Li Na, once again failing to reach a slam QF in her career (so Anna Smashnova still has a buddy)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx
All for Day 7. More tomorrow.
