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Wednesday, September 1, 2021

US.3- New Simona City

Who needs luck when you're feelin' good and got the weather -- and the appropriate colors -- on your side?



With the coming rains from the remnants of Hurricane Ida persistently knocking on the door all day long, Day 3 played out like a race against time before battening down the hatches before the latest apocalyptic threat would see fit to arrive on the scene.

In fact, there were remarkably few weather issues during a day session played out under threatening skies. Not only that, but with the withdrawal of Olga Danilovic before the start of 2nd Round play, her scheduled early match against Naomi Osaka on Ashe actually managed to help things run even *more* smoothly.

Especially if your name was Simona.

The absence of one match led to #12 Halep's contest against lucky loser Kristina Kucova, originally scheduled to be played on a roof-less court, served to make the Romanian feel like the "lucky" one, as she was able to not worry about potential delays and play out an entire match indoors.

After showing hints of her lack of match play in the 1st set against the Slovak, Halep's movement and confidence increased exponentially as the match wore on. She ultimately won 6-3/6-1, winning her first consecutive matches since early May in Madrid, advancing into the 3rd Round in New York for the first time since 2016 and looking like the injury issues that wrecked most of the spring and summer of her season are fully behind her.



Dressed at this Open (so far) in an outfit that could conceivably double as a Romanian team BJK Cup uniform, Halep's comfort level at the Open is never going to be what it has been in the past at Roland Garros (which she won), the Australian Open (where she's reached a final) or even Wimbledon (where she was last seen conveniently enjoying her greatest slam moment), but she could get used to this.








=DAY 3 NOTES=
...while the weather didn't have an impact on #20 Ons Jabeur's match today against former U.S. Open junior champ Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, the Tunisian seemed to play as if she had a ride to catch.



First up on Court 7, Jabeur handled the Colombian in just fifty-three minutes, winning 6-0/6-1.

Less than forty-eight hours after they both simultaneously won 3:40 matches in which they saved match points, tying for the longest women's U.S. Open match ever, Elise Mertens and Rebeka Masarova were again on the court at the same time on Wednesday. #15 Mertens faced off with Greek qualifier Valentini Grammatikopoulou, while qualifer Masarova had to deal with #5 Elina Svitolina.

Once more both found themselves dealing with similar obstacles, as both matches were delayed by rain late in the 2nd set with the end seemingly near. The circumstances were different for both players, though. Mertens led 6-2/5-2, while Masarova found herself down 6-2/5-5 and serving at 15/40 after two games earlier she'd staved off break points to remain on serve.

Mertens quickly dispatched the Greek when play resumed, taking the final game to end the match nearly two and a half hours quicker (1:20) than it'd taken to complete her 1st Rounder; while Masarova returned and double-faulted (her first of the day) on the first point to give the break lead to the Ukrainain. Svitolina quickly held at 15 to finish off the victory in 1:15.



...with #32 Ekaterina Alexandrova and Kamilla Rakhimova meeting in the 2nd Round today it was assured that there would be a Russian in the 3rd Round at the 83rd of the last 85 majors, but Dasha Kasatkina took care of that even before her countrywomen had the chance to decide who might join her.

The #25 seed had to scramble against Olympic Silver medalist Marketa Vondrousova, dropping the 1st set and being on serve deep into the 2nd. But the Czech, serving at 4-4 in the set, appeared to injure her knee while bending down for a shot at the baseline. She quickly dropped serve moments later, saw Kasatkina serve out the set, and then Vondrousova lost her serve again to open the 3rd. The set began with five breaks of serve, in fact, but Kasatkina's 4-2 edge held until she could bring the match home. The Russian served things out at 15 to win 3-6/6-4/6-4 and reach the 3rd Round at the U.S. Open for the first time since 2017.

Not long afterward, #115-ranked lucky loser Rakhimova took down Alexandrova 6-4/6-1 to become the first LL to reach the U.S. Open 3rd Round since Kasatkina did it in 2015. She's just the fourth to do it in the Open era (Greet Minnen will try to become the fifth tomorrow against another Hordette, Liudmila Samsonova).



Rakhimova, by the way, was Backspin's 2021 "Player Whose Name You'll Know" pick, so check-check.



...less than a day after #6-seeded countrywoman Bianca Andreescu survived her three-setter against Viktorija Golubic last night on Ashe, Leylah Fernandez went about trying to resurrect her '21 season today on Court 11. Since winning her maiden tour title in Monterrey in March, the Canadian came into this slam having gone just 9-11. Today Kaia Kanepi had the chance to push her to a 3rd set, serving to put away the 2nd at 5-4. But Fernandez got the break and ultimately swept the final four games to win 7-5/7-5, matching her career-best result at a major ('20 RG).



...Vika Azarenka's run to last year's U.S. Open final was one of the best things that came out of the 2020 Restart, and she's back to her winning ways at Flushing Meadows in 2021.

Azarenka got a late push from Jasmine Paolini today, though, as what appeared to be an open-and-shut victory nearly got sticky as the smallish Italian started firing big shots from all over the court against the #18 seed and doing, you know, what Italians do on the tennis court, especially at majors (i.e. give 100% until the cows come home, make their opponent *win* it, and get the crowd into things big-time). Azarenka had a MP in game #10, but Paolini held for 5-5, then continued to pull winners seemingly out of thin air to force a TB after saving another MP in game #12. The Belarusian took control there, closing out the 6-3/7-6(1) win to improve to 8-1 at the Open in 2020-21.



She'll next face #9 Garbine Muguruza (def. Andrea Petkovic) in what will be just the fifth meeting between the former #1's and two-time slam champs. Two of those match-ups have ended via retirements (one each), while their potential '21 match-up in the Doha SF didn't happened because of an Azarenka injury. When they have managed to play full matches, though, they've been good ones. Their initial meeting in 2016 was a 7-6/7-6 win from Vika (I believe I listed it as the best two-set match of the year), while Mugu won in Rome last fall 3-6/6-3/6-4 to even the head-to-head at 2-2. It'll be their first match-up in a major.

...remarkably, and likely against the odds, it looked as if all the women's 2nd Round matches in the day session would manage to be completed on time (even women's doubles was started late in the afteroon), but then the skies opened up with #8 Barbora Krejcikova leading Christina McHale 6-3/2-1 in the *last* women's singles match to finish. The Tennis Gods are jerks like that sometimes.

Ah, but sometimes "the good guys" win... the match was moved under the Armstrong roof and the Czech prevailed 6-3/6-1 well before the start of the evening session.

...under the lights, and surely under the roofs, two former women's champions, as well as maybe a future one, take the stage on Night 3.

On Ashe, #21 Coco Gauff will meet Sloane Stephens in their intriging (well, unless Bad Sloane shows up) first-career meeting, while #16 Angelique Kerber and Anhelina Kalinina will go on Armstrong. The German lost to Kalinina in the 1st Round in Paris earlier this year.




*PARALYMPIC WHEELCHAIR SINGLES SF*
#1 Diede de Groot/NED vs. #4 Jordanne Whiley/GBR/USA
#3 Aniek Van Koot/NED vs. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN

*PARALYMPIC WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES SF*
#1 de Groot/Van Koot (NED) def. #3 Kamiji/Ohtani (JPN)
Wang/Zhu (CHN) vs. #2 Shuker/Whiley (GBR)







...LIKE ON DAY 3 (from 2018):

That Julia Georges "Nien." video I mentioned yesterday (thanks, Colt).




...LEGENDARY ON DAY 3:




...CLARIFYING TWEET ON DAY 3:




...HEY, I KNOW HER FROM NIGHT 2... ON DAY 3:




...2021 SCENES FROM NIGHT 2 ON DAY 3:



Hmmm... it would look better on the red clay in Paris, though.








FADE IN:




”Counting Sheep Si-mo-nas”

INT. HOTEL ROOM
In bed and stretched out on her stomach while wearing her turquoise-colored unicorn footie pajamas, Simona Halep closes her laptop and sits up and turns off the lamp on the nightstand. She checks the clock, knowing that it’s time to go to sleep. She pulls the bedspread covers up around her neck, but it’s immediately apparent that she has a problem. She can only stare at the ceiling, and is tossing and turning.

Finally, she rises from bed and walks to the window. She opens it and leans out, waving to a group of fans congregating on the sidewalk below. They see her and cheer.

Leaving the window open, Simona jumps back into bed. The room’s silence is then replaced by the faint sound of the fans from the street as they chant “Si-mo-na! Si-mon-na!” over and over again in lullaby-like fashion.

Like a little kid, Simona pulls the covers up to her chin and snuggles into the heart of the bed. She breathes a sigh of contentment. With a smile on her face, she drifts off to sleep.

The screen fades to BLACK.



END.


To be continued...

















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**RECENT SLAM 3rd Rd.+ "LUCKY LOSER" RESULTS**
=AO=
3rd Rd. - Sandra Kleinova, CZE (1997)
3rd Rd. - Bernarda Pera, USA (2018)
=RG=
3rd Rd. - Veronika Martinek, GER (1995)
3rd Rd. - Gloria Pizzichini, ITA (1996)
3rd Rd. - Ons Jabeur, TUN (2017)
=WI=
3rd Rd. - Tine Zwaan, NED (1974)
3rd Rd. - Lauren Davis, USA (2019)
=US=
4th Rd. - Maria-Jose Gaidano, ARG (1993)
3rd Rd. - Nathalie Herreman, FRA (1991)
3rd Rd. - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (2015)
3rd Rd. - Kamilla Rakhimova, RUS (2021) - still alive
--
NOTE: Minnen still to play 2nd Rd.

**U.S. OPEN "REVELATION LADIES" - RECENT WINNERS**
2010 North America
2011 United States
2012 France
2013 Italy
2014 United States
2015 Japan
2016 Ukraine
2017 Australia
2018 Belarus
2019 United States
2020 Belarus
2021 Greece
[2021]
AO: Estonia
RG: Czech Republic
WI: South America

**U.S. OPEN "NATIONS OF POOR SOULS"**
2011 CZE (2-5 1st Rd., Kvitova loses)
2012 GER (4 of 5 highest-ranked GER out in 1st Rd.)
2013 AUS (1-4, Stosur out 1r, Rogowska 0-6/0-6)
2014 FRA (1-5 1st Rd.; only win in FRA-vs-FRA)
2015 SRB (1-4; Ivanovic/Jankovic/Krunic 1st Rd.)
2016 BEL (0-4 in 1st Rd.)
2017 GER (2-7 1st Rd.; Kerber 2nd U.S. DC out 1st)
2018 SUI (1-4 in 1st Rd.; Golubic 0-6/0-6; Bacsinszky love 3rd)
2019 ESP (1-4 in 1st Rd.; seeded Muguruza and CSN/ret. out)
2020 AUS (0-5 in 1st Rd.; #1 Barty & ex-champ Stosur DNP)
2021 USA (8-14 in 1st; Keys/Riske out; Serena/Venus/Kenin/Brady DNP; 3/4 '17 SF)
[2021]
AO: CHN (1-5 in 1st Rd.; 2 seeds, 3 Top 50 out)
RG: GER (0-3 in 1st Rd.; Kerber FSO)
WI: CAN (0-2 in 1st Rd.; Andreescu/Fernandez; Bouchard DNP)

**BACKSPIN 2021 RISER-OF-THE-MONTH WINNERS**
JAN/FEB: Ash Barty, AUS
AO: Jennifer Brady, USA
FEB: Danielle Collins, USA
MAR/APRIL: Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
1Q...BARTY
APR: Veronika Kudermetova, RUS
MAY: Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
RG: Paula Badosa, ESP
2Q Clay Court...BADOSA
JUN: Ons Jabeur, TUN
WI: Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
2Q Grass Court...JABEUR
JUL: Tamara Zidansek, SLO
OLYMPICS: Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
AUG: Danielle Collins, USA
[2021 Weekly RISER Award Wins]
6 - Paula Bados, ESP
5 - Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP
4 - Ons Jabeur, TUN
4 - Elise Mertens, BEL
4 - Jessie Pegula, USA
3 - Karolina Muchova, CZE
3 - Maria Sakkari, GRE
2 - Ash Barty, AUS
2 - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
2 - Anett Kontaveit, EST
2 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
2 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
2 - Iga Swiatek, POL
2 - Ajla Tomljanovic, AUS
2 - Tamara Zidansek, SLO

**BACKSPIN 2021 MOST IMPROVED-OF-THE-MONTH WINNERS**
JAN/FEB: Ann Li, USA
AO: Jessie Pegula, USA
FEB: Maddison Inglis, AUS
MAR/APR: Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP
1Q...PEGULA
APR: Paula Badosa, ESP
MAY: Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
RG: Maria Sakkari, GRE
2Q Clay Court...BADOSA
JUN: Katerina Siniakova, CZE
WI: Ajla Tomljanovic, AUS
2Q Grass Court...TOMLJANOVIC
JUL: Tereza Martincova, CZE
OLYMPICS: Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP
AUG: Mayar Sherif, EGY






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TOP QUALIFIER: Rebecca Marino/CAN (first US MD since '11)
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q3: Katie Boulter/GBR def. #8 Kristina Kucova/SVK 7-5/2-6/6-4 (from break down at 4-2, wins final 4 games to reach first U.S. Open MD)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Kristina Kucova/SVK (def. Li/USA)
FIRST SEED OUT: #31 Yulia Putintseva/KAZ (1st Rd./lost to Kanepi)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Valentini Grammatikopoulou/GRE, Rebeka Masarova/ESP
UPSET QUEENS: xx
REVELATION LADIES: Greece
NATION OF POOR SOULS: USA (8-14 in 1st; Keys/Riske out; Serena/Venus/Kenin/Brady DNP; 3/4 '17 all-US SF out)
CRASH & BURN: xx
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK: Nominees: Mertens (1r vs. Peterson; down 6-3/5-3 and RP served twice for match; saved 5 MP in 2nd, 1 MP in 3rd; 3:40); Masarova (1r vs. Bogdan; down 7-6/4-1; saved 2 MP in 3rd TB, on own 6th MP; 3:40 for first slam win)
IT ("xx"): xx
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: xx
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: In 2r: Danilovic(w/o), Grammatikopoulou (L), Masarova (L), Kr.Pliskova, Raducanu, AK.Schmiedlova (LL in 2r: Kucova=L, Minnen, Rakhimova=W)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: none (went 0-8 in 1st Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: 8 reached 2r
COMEBACK PLAYER: xx
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): xx
DOUBLES STAR: xx
BIG APPLE BANNERETTE BREAKTHROUGH: xx
BROADWAY-BOUND: xx
LADY OF THE EVENING: xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx







All for Day 3. More tomorrow.
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