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Thursday, September 10, 2015

US.11 - The Day Before the Night... err, (New) Day


Tonight WAS the night.


More later... much later, as it turns out, because of this:





=DAY 11 NOTES=
...as far as this post, there wasn't all that much going on during the day at Flushing Meadows on Thursday, anyway.

After a rain-delayed start, action began with the men's and women's doubles semis, junior doubles quarterfinals, as well as the start of play in the Collegiate Invitational tournaments and the wheelchair competition before the primetime women's singles semifinals that were to take place tonight. But then the entire nighttime schedule was scrapped, and now the semifinals will be on Friday during the day, followed by the men's semis.

So I guess it'll be a "Super Friday" situation.

But I will use this moment to throw in a few facts about the women's wheelchair competition:

* - world #1 Jiske Griffioen will be looking to sweep the 2015 slam singles titles with her first U.S. Open crown. I suppose it would still be called a "Grand Slam," but since the WC singles have only been held at three of the four majors (the doubles competition takes place at all four) it's up for debate. That'll change next year when, finally, Wimbledon will add a WC singles to the mix to bring the wheelchair slam season up to par with all the other disciplines in the sport. Japan's Yui Kamiji won the title in New York a year and seemed to be set to dominate the singles & doubles majors ala Dutch great Esther Vergeer, but the 21-year old has slipped to #3 in the rankings since then.

* - Kamiji & Jordanne Whiley will be attempting to defend their 2014 doubles title and win their seventh slam of the last eight. The Japanese-Brit pair have faced the Dutch team of Griffioen & Aniek Van Koot in seven straight slam finals, going 6-1.

THE-LEAST-THEY-COULD-DO ON DAY 11:



No, really. It's the least.

LIKE ON DAY 11: Tennis secret publicity weapon for 2015 continues to make a case for ESPN to show a little more doubles on the network. Well, ANY doubles, really. If Martina sweep the WD/MX at a second straight slam, will that be enough for at least a mention of her come Melbourne? Yeah, I didn't think so.



LIKE ON DAY 11: The whole gang!



LIKE ON DAY 11: Not everyone gets tweeted about by the United Nations, you know.



...and, finally... ummm, I got nothin'.

Well, maybe this:





*WOMEN'S SINGLES SF*
#1 Serena Williams/USA vs. Roberta Vinci/ITA
#26 Flavia Pennetta/ITA vs. #2 Simona Halep/ROU

*MEN'S SINGLES SF*
#1 Novak Djokovic/SRB vs. #9 Marin Cilic/CRO
#5 Stan Wawrinka/SUI vs. #2 Roger Federer/SUI

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES SF*
#1 M.Hingis/S.Mirza (SUI/IND) def. #11 S.Errani/F.Pennetta (ITA/ITA)
#4 C.Dellacqua/Y.Shvedova (AUS/KAZ) vs. A.Groenefeld/C.Vandeweghe (GER/USA)

*MEN'S DOUBLES SF*
S.Johnson/S.Querrey (USA/USA) vs. #8 J.Murray/J.Peers (GBR/AUS)
#12 P.Herbert/N.Mahut (FRA/FRA) def. D.Inglot/R.Lindstedt (GBR/SWE)

*MIXED DOUBLES FINAL*
B.Mattek-Sands/S.Querrey (USA/USA) vs. #4 M.Hingis/L.Paes (SUI/IND)

*GIRLS SINGLES QF*
#13 Vera Lapko/BLR vs. #9 Sonya Kenin/USA
(WC) Kylie McKenzie/USA vs. #11 Fanni Stollar/HUN
Iryna Shymanovich/BLR vs. Francesca Di Lorenzo/USA
#10 Sofya Zhuk/RUS vs. #2 Dalma Galfi/HUN

*BOYS SINGLES QF*
#1 Taylor Harry Fritz/USA vs. (WC) Alex Rybakov/USA
#3 Mikael Ymer/SWE vs. #11 Chung Yunseong/KOR
#5 Tommy Paul/USA vs. #4 Hong Seong-chan/KOR
Alex De Minaur/AUS vs. #2 Michael Mmoh/USA

*GIRLS DOUBLES QF*
V.Kuzmova/A.Pospelova (SVK/RUS) def. K.Hobgarski/I.Shymanovich (GER/BLR)
#4 A.Blinkova/O.Pervushina (RUS/RUS) vs. #5 F.Di Lorenzo/L.Stefani (USA/BRA)
A.Kalinskaya/A.Potapova (RUS/RUS) def. E.Arbuthnutt/E.Francati (GBR/DEN)
K.Birrell/M.Inglis (AUS/AUS) def. #8 U.Arconada/M.Lumsden (USA/GBR)

*BOYS DOUBLES QF*
L.Harris/Y.Watanuki (RSA/JPN) vs. A.De Minaur/B.Hannestad (AUS/DEN)
L.Klein/P.Rikl (SVK/CZE) vs. B.Holt/R.Smith (USA/USA)
S.Tsitsipas/L.Wessels (GRE/GER) v. V.Kirkov/S.Riffice (USA/USA)
Y.Hossam/J.Tamasaki (EGY/JPN) vs. F.Aliassime/D.Shapovalov (CAN/CAN)

*BJK COLLEGIATE INVITIATIONAL WOMEN'S*
#1 Brooke Austin (Florida) vs. Chanelle Van Nguyen (UCLA)
#3 Lauren Herring (Georgia) vs. Maegan Manasse (California)
Julia Jones (Mississippi) vs. #4 Julia Elbaba (Virginia)
Josie Kuhlman (Florida) vs. #2 Robin Anderson (UCLA)

*BJK COLLEGIATE INVITIATIONAL MEN'S*
#1 Ryan Shane (Virginia) def. Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA)
#4 Gonzales Austin (Vanderbilt) def. Winston Lin (Columbia)
Jared Hiltzik (Illinois) vs. #3 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Virginia)
Quentin Monaghan (Notre Dame) vs. #2 Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA)

*WC WOMEN'S SINGLES QF*
#1 Jiske Griffioen/NED vs. Sabine Ellerbrock/GER
Marjolein Buis/NED vs. Yui Kamiji/JPN
Kaitlyn Verfuerth/USA vs. Jordanne Whiley/GBR
Lucy Shuker/GBR vs. #2 Aniek Van Koot/NED

*WC MEN'S SINGLES QF*
#1 Shingo Kunieda/JPN def. Gordon Reid/GBR
Maikel Scheffers/NED vs. Joachim Gerard/BEL
Stephane Houdet/FRA vs. Gustavo Fernandez/ARG
Michael Jeremiasz/FRA vs. #2 Nicolas Peifer/FRA

*WC WOMEN'S DOUBLES SF*
#1 Y.Kamiji/J.Whiley (JPN/GBR) vs. M.Buis/S.Ellerbrock (NED/GER)
L.Shuker/K.Verfuerth (GBR/USA) vs. #2 J.Griffioen/A.Van Koot (NED/NED)

*WC MEN'S DOUBLES SF*
#1 S.Houdet/G.Reid (FRA/GBR) vs. G.Fernandez/M.Scheffers (ARG/NED)
M.Jeremiasz/N.Peifer (FRA/FRA) vs. #2 J.Gerard/S.Kunieda (BEL/JPN)












**U.S. OPEN "LADY OF THE EVENING" WINNERS**
2010 Venus Williams, USA
2011 Samantha Stosur, AUS
2012 Serena Williams, USA
2013 Serena Williams, USA
2014 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2015 Serena Williams, USA & Venus Williams, USA
--
NOTE: I slightly amended this pick, adding Venus because, in the "together forever" spirit, they should share it

*SLAM WHEELCHAIR CHAMPIONS, post-Vergeer Era*
[SINGLES]
2013
A: Aniek Van Koot, NED
R: Sabine Ellerbrock, GER
U: Aniek Van Koot, NED
2014
A: Sabine Ellerbrock, GER
R: Yui Kamiji, JPN
U: Yui Kamiji, JPN
2015
A: Jiske Griffioen, NED
R: Jiske Griffioen, NED
[DOUBLES]
2013
A: Griffioen/Van Koot, NED/NED
R: Griffioen/Van Koot, NED/NED
W: Griffioen/Van Koot, NED/NED
U: Griffioen/Van Koot, NED/NED
2014
A: Kamiji/Whiley, JPN/GBR
R: Kamiji/Whiley, JPN/GBR
W: Kamiji/Whiley, JPN/GBR
U: Kamiji/Whiley, JPN/GBR
2015
A: Kamiji/Whiley, JPN/GBR
R: Griffioen/Van Koot, NED/NED
W: Kamiji/Whiley, JPN/GBR

*BACKSPIN 2015 MONTHLY "TEAM" WINNERS*
Preseason: Indian Aces
JAN: Polish Hopman Cup Team
FEB: French Fed Cup Team
MAR: Martina Hingis/Sania Mirza, SUI/IND
1Q: French Fed Cup Team
APR/MAY: Czech Fed Cup Team
MAY/JUN: Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
RG: Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2Q Clay Court: Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
JUN: Raquel Kops-Jones/Abigail Spears, USA/USA
2Q Grass Court/WI: Martina Hingis/Sania Mirza, SUI/IND
JUL/AUG: Washington Kastles
AUG: Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE





TOP QUALIFIER: (WC) Jessica Pegula/USA
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #2 Simona Halep/ROU
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #2 Simona Halep/ROU
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q3: Tereza Mrdeza/CRO d. #2 Yaroslava Shvedova/KAZ 5-7/7-6(8)/7-6(4) [3:12; saved 3 MP]
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd. - #12 Belinda Bencic/SUI d. Misaki Doi/JPN 5-7/7-6(3)/6-3 (down 3 MP in 2nd; outburst/crying/no shake umpire's hand)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 3rd Rd. - #20 Victoria Azarenka/BLR d. #11 Angelique Kerber/GER 7-5/2-6/6-4
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx
TOP ASHE NIGHT SESSION MATCH: Petra Cetkovska/CZE d. #4 Carolina Wozniacki/DEN 6-4/5-7/7-6(1) (saved 4 MP; ended past midnight after 3:02)
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Mariana Duque/COL (def. Kenin/USA)
FIRST SEED OUT: #7 Ana Ivanovic/SRB (lost 1st Rd. to Cibulkova/SVK)
UPSET QUEENS: United States
REVELATION LADIES: Japan
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Serbia (1-4; #7 Ivanovic, #21 Jankovic and '14 star Aleksandra Krunic out in 1st Rd.)
CRASH & BURN: #8 Karolina Pliskova/CZE (1st Rd. loss to Tatishvili/USA; :52; U.S. Open Series "winner")
ZOMBIE QUEEN: (LL) Daria Kasatkina/RUS (lucky loser, reached3rd Round after wins over Gavrilova & Konjuh -- best LL slam result since 1997, best at Open since 1993)
IT ("Kiki"): Kristina Mladenovic/FRA
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: Roberta Vinci/ITA
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Johnna Konta/GBR & Anett Kontaveit/EST (both 4th Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Bethanie Mattek-Sands/USA (3rd Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: #1 Serena Williams (in SF)
COMEBACK PLAYER: #20 Victoria Azarenka/BLR
KIMIKO DATE-KRUMM VETERAN CUP (KDK CUP): #26 Flavia Pennetta/ITA
DOUBLES STAR: Nominees: Hingis, Mattek-Sands
BROADWAY-BOUND: Lisa Raymond (farewell New York performance)
LADIES OF THE EVENING: #1 Serena Williams/USA & #23 Venus Williams/USA
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx




All for Day 11. More tomorrow.
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