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Wednesday, January 19, 2022

AO.3 - Melbourne Marta is Back

In 2018, a 15-year old Marta Kostyuk took the first week of the Australian Open by storm. Four years later, the kid is back. And she's seeking more than mere headlines.



A junior champ in Melbourne in 2017, the Ukrainian battled her way through qualifying to make her slam MD debut a year later. But that wasn't enough. Flashing a game that was as infectious as her personality, Kostyuk put on an unexpected run into the 3rd Round, upsetting a #25-seeded Peng Shuai in her major debut and not losing until she faced off with countrywoman Elina Svitolina (the #4 seed).

Since her extra early exposure to the big stage spotlight, Kostyuk has made steady progress on tour. While she's no (oh, let's say) Kaia Kanepi, the Ukrainian teenager has shown a penchant for slam upsets of seeded players in the initial chapters of her career. Two years after her AO run, Kostyuk went to New York and took down #31 Anastasija Sevastova (and an unseeded Dasha Kasatkina) before giving eventual champ Naomi Osaka as much trouble as anyone in their 3rd Round encounter, taking a 2nd set TB before falling in three. Last year, Kostyuk added a Roland Garros victory over #12 Garbine Muguruza en route to her maiden slam 4th Round, then ushered out #17 Kiki Bertens at Wimbledon a few weeks later.

During that same season, even while dealing with a lingering shoulder issue, Kostyuk made even greater strides, reaching her first three tour semifinals -- on hard court (Abu Dhabi), clay (Istanbul) and indoors (Transylvania) -- while cracking the Top 50 after having finished '20 just inside the top 100.

Something she said late in the season, though, might offer up a bit more about the mindset that Kostyuk brought into the '22 season, as she commented on the U.S. Open final runs of fellow teens Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez last summer. "I have to be honest," she said, "It was a bit rough for me to watch both of their runs. I want to be where they are. I am sure it’s going to happen, I didn’t feel nice looking at them playing finals," she added with a laugh. "I realized that I can do the same."

Like Fernandez, as well as many other young (and older) players in the game, Kostyuk, 19, is coached by a parent. In a nice twist, though, it's not a non-playing father doing the honors, it's her former tour player mom Talina Beiko.

Kostyuk came into this AO with more match play than some, though without a single sterling result. She'd posted a January win over Shelby Rogers, as well as a pair of three-set losses to Claire Liu and Coco Gauff. It wasn't anything spectacular, but it was good work. She's finally seemed to turn the corner on her shoulder, too.



Her win over Diane Parry on Day 1 was her first in the MD in Melbourne since her '18 3rd Round run, but the 2nd Round offered up a different set of obstacles. First, with temperatures rising the ever-present ice bags and wraps were in abdundance on Wednesday during changeovers, as was a persistent wind on 1573 Arena. Meanwhile, on the other side of the net was #32 Sara Sorribes Tormo, the Spanish revelation of '21 who has often served as the bane of her often higher-ranked foes' existence, grinding her way through long, physical matches and taking a great deal of steam out of her opponents even if she didn't manage to beat them in the end. Her "squishing" of a worn-out Ash Barty in the heat of Tokyo last summer, while Sorribes herself seemed to barely be breaking a sweat, was a sight to behold.

But Kostyuk solved the Sorribes riddle today, even managing to do so while avoiding the sort of three-set trap that has left many a Sorribes conqueror much worse for wear for their follow-up match. She did it by using an always-be-aggressive approach, one that often saw her pushing toward the net, cutting down the negative impact the wind may have had on her shots while also putting pressure on the Spaniard. Kostyuk's errors totals were high, but she made up for it with winners that allowed her to control her own fate.

Sorribes got off to a quick start, taking a double-break lead at 3-0 in the 1st set. But Kostyuk, in maybe *the* key game of the match (considering the Spaniard's history with going the distance), didn't allow the set to slip out of reach, breaking in game #4 in a three-deuce game to get on the board. Still down a break at 5-3, she struck again with another break to knot the set at 5-all.

The set went to a tie-break, where Kostyuk stuck with her aggressive approach, coming in to the net on the first two points (winning one), then lobbing over Sorribes (who could only barely get a racket on the ball in the breeze) to take a 3-1 lead. Firing an angled backhand winner from the baseline, Kostyuk reached triple SP at 6-3. Sorribes saved the first two (with a forehand passing shot, then a long Kostyuk backhand), but on SP #3 Kostyuk won out in the sort of arena in which the Spaniard thrives, taking the set's longest rally, hitting an overhead that was soon followed by a set-grabbing point at the net that secured the 7-5 breaker.

The teenager kept it up in the 2nd set, getting the break advantage with an in-court backhand winner to lead 2-1. From 15/30 down a game later, Kostyuk blasted a big serve up the T, but couldn't keep Sorribes from getting the break back two points later. But the Ukrainian didn't waver, holding to her gameplan and seeing it come to fruition with a break to take back the lead at 4-3. A hold got her within one game of returning to the AO 3rd Round.

With Sorribes serving to stay in the match, Kostyuk raced to the net and took a high volley out of the wind for a winner, grabbing a love/30 lead. The Spaniard's backhand volley error off a dipping Kostyuk crosscourt backhand gave the Ukrainian triple MP. Again, Sorribes saved the first two attempts, but couldn't control a wide forehand shot that ended the 7-6(5)/6-3 match. The teenager's yell and clenched fist signaled her return to the Melbourne stage, with the hope for an even longer stay than the last time she was there.

Kostyuk's aggressive tactics resulted in 33 winners to balance out 42 unforced errors, while she won 29 of her 74 total points in the match at the net.



After solving one Spanish problem, Kostyuk will next face another in #8 Paula Badosa. They're good friends, and a year ago both were publicly upset about being stuck in quarantine in Melbourne. In two days, they'll be playing to reach their first Round of 16 at the Australian Open.



With Badosa's current form rivaled really only by one player at the moment (hint: she's at the very top of the draw), this particular point in time may not produce Kostyuk's "moment" as she dives into a '22 campaign fed by the fuel of the inspiration/gnawing-itch-on-the-back-of-her-neck that was Raducanu/Fernandez. Or maybe it *will*... who knows? "Emma vs. Leylah" wasn't exactly being called on Day 3 at Flushing Meadows, after all.

But if this isn't it, one gets some sense that the moment *is* coming. It's just a matter of where, and when.






=DAY 3 NOTES=
...at the start of play on Day 3, it didn't take long before the multi-court race was on. To see which woman could be the first to advance to the 3rd Round.

#8 Paula Badosa (vs. qualifier Martina Trevisan) and #24 Victoria Azarenka (vs. Jil Teichmann), doubles partners *and* singles opponents already in '22, seemed to travel in lockstep from their positions on, respectively, Laver and Kia Arenas. The Spaniard took the 1st set at love, edging ahead of Azarenka, who led the Swiss 5-1.



Meanwhile, the player who'd been the first to reach the 2nd Round -- #30 Camila Giorgi, toiling on Cain Arena -- had already gathered up a 6-2 1st set against Tereza Martincova, and seemed in prime position to move through ahead of all the rest once more. But the 2nd set between the Italian and Czech slowed. At one moment, Giorgi, Badosa *and* Azarenka all were within a game of victory at the same time. Ultimately, Badosa (barely winning first, 6-0/6-3) and Azarenka (6-1/6-2, as both she and Badosa had simultaneously held a MP) busted through the tape, while Giorgi got into a bit of a battle.



After having trailed 5-2, Martincova caught Giorgi on the scoreboard and took an on-serve lead at 6-5. The Italian got the set into a TB, though, and won it 7-2 to match her career-best AO 3rd Round result, advancing so far for the fourth time.

...meanwhile, #15 Elina Svitolina seemed set to breeze through her match with Pastry Harmony Tan. She led by a set and a break in the 2nd set. Three times, in fact. At 3-2, 4-3 and 5-4. All three times, though, the Ukrainian gave her lead back. Tan swept the final three games, forcing a 3rd set as Svitolina DF'd on SP.

But there was no true, dramatic third act to this one. Just an injury that slowed Tan, and ultimately stopped her cold. Barely able to move, she was forced to retire down 5-1, then left the court in a way *no* player (well, save for the likes of de Groot, Kamiji, etc. I suppose) wishes to at a major.



Hmmm, Svitolina crashes her way out of a set, is seemingly primed for a potential early-round upset, only to be given a reprieve when her opponent can't physically get to the finish line. Sounds a little like the Ukrainian's maiden run to a slam semi at Wimbledon in 2019. Just sayin'.

(Honestly, the Tennis Gods have pulled off *more* diabolical plots in the past than that one would be.)

...the quieter things are for #1 Ash Barty at this AO, the better things must be going for her. Well, through two rounds, the sound of silence embracing the Aussie, two years ago the first home nation woman to reach the semis in Melbourne since 1984, is positively stunning.

Today Barty took down Italian qualifier Lucia Bronzetti 6-1/6-1, meaning she's dropped a *total* of three games through the first two rounds. Barty's matches are wrapping up so quickly at this major that she's maybe spent more time talking about Evonne Goolgong on the court than she has sweating her fate on it. That'll change soon, though. Right?



...in the Melbourne WC Open, Diede de Groot completed a week that should send a shiver down the spine of the collective women's wheelchair field. Could the world #1 be even *greater* in 2022 than she was in 2021?

Well, so far... yes. Yes, she might be.

Having already taken the doubles title, de Groot finished off her sweep with a singles title run today by wiping out Yui Kamiji, 6-2/6-1. Through her three singles matches on the week, she dropped just six total games vs. the likes of #2-ranked Kamiji and #4 KG Montjane. Already with a 15-match winning streak in doubles, de Groot has now won 39 in a row in singles, where she hasn't lost in over a year.

De Groot now stands 27-15 vs. Kamiji, but is 25-4 in the last twenty-nine meetings, winning nine straight. She's 23-8 in finals between the two, having won 23 of 26.

Meanwhile, it has been announced that this year's Wheelchair Masters (after a season in Orlando) will go to where the wild things are (i.e. the Netherlands). Oss, specifically. It's the first time the event has been staged in Holland since 2002 (when a then-21 year old Esther Vergeer was still younger than de Groot, 25, is now... so I guess it's a once-in-a-generation thing for a Dutch WC athlete).

Not that Diede the Great needs any incentive or advantages, but one would have to think that this will we be a pretty nice set-up for a women's WC event that has been so dominated by Dutch players over the years, complete (fingers crossed) with the sort of crowd support one might usually not get even in major events like slams (or last year's largely spectator-less Paralympics in Tokyo).

...on Night 3, young Chinese qualifier Zheng Qinwen faces off with #5 Maria Sakkari on MCA, while Laver sees defending champ #13 Naomi Osaka go against one of the many Madisons (or Maddisons, if you prefer) alive in this draw, Madison Brengle.

...some early awards for 1st Round action...

Quite a few nations were at the top of their collective game, with China (5-0), Romania (5-1), Spain (4-1), Italy (3-1) and Estonia (2-0, with Kanepi getting her usual early-round slam upset over #16 Kerber late on Day 2) leading the way.

REVELATION LADIES: turned out to be pretty easy here, as the promise of the Li Na Generation has finally been felt in a major. The Wangs Xinyu and Xiyu, as well as Zheng Qinwen, all notched their maiden slam wins. On the veteran side, Wang Qiang knocked out #18 Coco Gauff and Zhang Shuai again put on her best face in Melbourne. A year ago, China was the "Nation of Lost Souls" after going 1-5 in the opening round.

UPSET QUEENS: Romania fits the bill, with Gabriela Ruse (def. Paolini) and Cristian (def. Minnen) both getting their first slam MD wins, and Sorana Cirstea knocking off #20 Petra Kvitova. Irina-Camelia Begu and Simona Halep also advanced, but not in any sort of upset.

On the flip side, one slam after putting another woman in a slam singles final, Canada went winless (0-2, with Andreescu & Bouchard at home), while the faltering prospects of Germany (0-3, with losses by the veteran trio of Kerber, Petkovic and Maria) says the nation will be putting a lot (well, everything, really) on the young shoulders of Jule Niemeier and Nastsja Schunk awfully soon. France was just 2-6, with the only wins (neither a given going in) coming from Alize Cornet and Harmony Tan. One would think that a nation that won a Cup title as recently as 2020 would have more depth. It's coming, in the form of the likes of Burel, Parry, Jacquemot and others, but they had nothing to do with that FC run. Russia got off to a bad start, but had a good Day 2 to turn a 1-4 start into a 4-4 1st Round mark.

I'll go with Canada for Nation of Poor Souls, unless a 2nd Round bloodbath pushes another nation into the spot.





...NOTE FROM NIGHT 2 ON DAY 3:

Slam Emma is the only Emma that matters (apparently). 11-1 so far.




...Grrrr ON DAY 3:

I hate that Badosa and Kostyuk are having to play each other so early in this slam. If I had to pull out *the* two players I most wanted to tie a kite to and (hopefully) watch them fly sky-high this season it'd be the two of them. I wish *both* could maximize their trips to Melbourne, but at least *one* will now reach the second half of the tournament. So there's that... and there will still be three more slams left to play in '22, as well.







Launching performances...






I can't believe they're using that song in a Virgin Airlines commercial now. It's almost as bad -- but, really, not nearly as sacrilegious -- as Applebee's using the "Cheers" theme, "Where Everybody Knows Your Name."




I know that this didn't really "launch" Mars, but it surely put him squarely on the radar for me and will always be my reference point when it comes to him as a performer. (Note: This opened the show, the day after Whitney Houston had died in Beverly Hills, so he had quite the hurdle to overcome when it came to trying to break the L.A. audience out of a bleak mood.)





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*RECENT AO "UPSET QUEENS" WINNERS*
2014 Australia
2015 Germany
2016 Russia
2017 United States
2018 Ukraine
2019 United States
2020 Spain
2021 United States
2022 Romania

*RECENT AO "REVELATION LADIES" WINNERS*
2014 Romania
2015 France
2016 China
2017 Australia
2018 Estonia
2019 Teens (6 in 2nd Rd.)
2020 Kazakhstan
2021 Estonia
2022 China

*de Groot vs. Kamiji*
2022 Melbourne WC Open Final - DE GROOT 6-2/6-1
----------------------------------------------------
2021 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters Final - DE GROOT 6-3/2-6/6-2
2021 World Team Cup Final - DE GROOT 7-5/6-1
2021 US Open Final - DE GROOT 6-2/6-2
2021 Paralympics Final - DE GROOT 6-3/7-6(1)
2021 French Riviera Open Final - DE GROOT 6-2/6-1
2021 Roland Garros Final - DE GROOT 6-4/6-3
2021 Barcelona Open Final - DE GROOT 6-4/6-1
2021 Australian Open Final - DE GROOT 6-3/6-7(4)/7-6(10-4)
2021 Melbourne WC Open Final - KAMIJI 6-1/6-4
2021 Victorian WC Open Final - DE GROOT 6-1/7-5
----------------------------------------------------
2020 US Open Final - DE GROOT 6-3/6-3
----------------------------------------------------
2019 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters Final - DE GROOT 6-2/6-3
2019 US Open USTA WC Chsp. Final - DE GROOT 6-4/4-6/6-3
2019 US Open Final - DE GROOT 4-6/6-1/6-4
2019 British Open SF - DE GROOT 6-2/6-2
2019 Roland Garros Final - DE GROOT 6-1/6-0
2019 World Team Cup Final - KAMIJI 3-6/6-2/6-1
2019 Japan Open Final - DE GROOT 6-3/7-6(8)
2019 Australian Open Final - DE GROOT 6-0/6-2
2019 Melbourne Open Final - KAMIJI 3-6/7-5/7-6(11) - saved 5 MP
----------------------------------------------------
2018 NED Wheelchair Tennis Masters Final - DE GROOT 6-3/7-5
2018 US Open Final - DE GROOT 6-2/6-3
2018 British Open WC Tennis Chsps Final - DE GROOT 6-2/3-6/3-6
2018 BNP Paribas Open de France Final - DE GROOT 7-5/6-4
2018 Roland Garros Final - KAMIJI 2-6/6-0/6-2
2018 Australian Open Final - DE GROOT 7-6(6)/6-4
---------------------------------------------------
2017 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters Final - DE GROOT 7-5/6-4
2017 Open d'Amiens Hauts de France Final - DE GROOT 1-6/7-5/6-3
2017 US Open Final - KAMIJI 7-5/6-2
2017 US Open USTA WC Chsps Final - KAMIJI 5-7/6-3/7-6(12)
2017 British Open WC Tennis Chsps Final - KAMIJI 6-4/6-3
2017 BNP Paribas Open de France SF - KAMIJI 6-4/6-3
2017 Japan Open Final - KAMIJI 6-2/6-2
2017 Melbourne Wheelchair Tennis Open SF - KAMIJI 6-3/6-4
2017 Apia Int'l Sydney WC Tennis Open SF - DE GROOT 7-5/7-6(5)
---------------------------------------------------
2016 Paralympic Games Bronze - KAMIJI 6-3/6-3
2016 BNP Paribas Open de France Final - KAMIJI 6-3/7-6(4)
2016 Toyota Open Int'l de L'ile de Re SF - DE GROOT 4-6/7-5/1-0 ret.
---------------------------------------------------
2015 Sardinia Open QF - KAMIJI 6-1/6-1
2015 BNP Paribas Open de France QF - KAMIJI 6-2/6-4
2014 Swiss Open Starling Hotel Geneva 1st Rd. - KAMIJI 6-1/6-2






TOP QUALIFIER: Hailey Baptiste/USA
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q2 - #8 Kamilla Rakhimova/RUS def. Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva/AND 6-7(5)/7-6(8)/6-4 (VJK wins 1st from triple SP down; Rakhimova saves 2 MP in 2nd, winning 10-8 TB; 3:17)
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/WC/Doub.): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #30 Camila Giorgi/ITA (def. Potapova/RUS)
FIRST SEED OUT: #18 Coco Gauff/USA (1r lost to Wang Qiang)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: (9) - Lucia Bronzetti/ITA, Jaqueline Cristian/ROU, Maddison Inglis/AUS, Nuria Parrizas Diaz/ESP, Gabriela Ruse/ROU, Wang Xinyu/CHN, Wang Xiyu/CHN, Maryna Zanevska/BEL, Zheng Qinwen/CHN
UPSET QUEENS: Romania
REVELATION LADIES: China
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Nominees: CAN (0-2 1r, Andreescu/Bouchard DNP), GER (0-3), FRA (2-6 1r)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: In 2r: Baptiste, Bronzetti(L), Trevisan(L), Q.Zheng
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: In 2r: Inglis, Stosur, Wang Xiyu
LAST AUSSIE STANDING: In 2r: Barty(W), Inglis, Stosur
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT (TBD): xx
COMEBACK PLAYER: xx
CRASH & BURN: Nominees: #11 Kenin (2r/1r exits since '20 AO title); #23 Fernandez (1r loss to #133 WC Ingliss; first slam after U.S. Open final)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF MELBOURNE: Nominees: #12 Rybakina (1r- saved MP in 2nd set vs. Diyas); Baptiste (1r- down 6-4/5-3 vs. Garcia); #2 Sabalenka (1r- down set and 3-1 vs. Sanders)
KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: xx
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominees: Barty, Raducanu
"G'DAY/GOOD ON YA, MATE" AWARD: Nominee: "For the Good of the People" (Djokovic deported)
DOUBLES STAR: xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx





All for Day 3. More tomorrow.
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