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Friday, January 21, 2022

AO.5 - A Victorian Fairy Tale Story



Once upon a time in the land Down Under, Victoria Azarenka ruled the state of Victoria, or at least a small patch of land known as Rod Laver Arena. She'd often strut. And win. She was very in-your-face, and offered no apologies. And she won. She wore a glowing yellow outfit that could surely be seen from space one year, and instantly iconic white shorts another. And she won.

She was crowned the Australian Open champion two years running, in fact, in 2012-13.

The "best fans" in Australia never really appreciated her greatness, though. They often booed her, and even called her a "cheater" when she stepped away from a match she'd been dominating, save for a short five-minute stretch, because the pressure of the moment got the best of her and she questioned the status of her health. Years later, such actions of self-care would be called "groundbreaking" and something to be defended, but -- at the time -- the moment was used as a weapon by detractors to overshadow her accomplishments.

A lot has changed since then, and a lot of years have passed.

Azarenka, now 32, has become a mother, and endured a long custody battle that took her off tour for extended stretches. And then there have been the injuries that have always thrown up incovenient roadblocks to success. Through it all, she's managed to remain relevant whenever she's been able to stay on the court, pulling off the Indian Wells/Miami "Sunshine Double" in 2016, winning the displaced post-shutdown Cincinnati (at NYC) crown and reaching the U.S. Open final in '20 (her first major final in seven years), and returning to the Indian Wells final again in '21 as she's managed something of a "Vikaissance" of late in spite of it all. She entered this Australian Open with a Top 25 ranking, but was still missing the sort of "big piece" trophy befitting of the "third act" of one of the two or three best players of her generation.

In her 3rd Round match today in Melbourne, #24 Azarenka faced off (well...) with #15 Elina Svitolina. Really, though, there's not a *whole* lot to say about what happened on the court. Not that that is unusual for a slam exit match for Svitolina, who usually gets run out on a rail while winning five or fewer games in said match, whether it happens in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th or, on more rare occasions, a QF or SF round match. And that's what happened again today.

Suffice to say, Vika was great. Super aggressive. Dominant. Svitolina was far from any of that. The Ukrainian double-faulted to end game #1, and Azarenka took the 1st set at love, winning 25 of 35 points. Svitolina put in just 35% of her first serves, and won just 23% of her second. Azarenka was 3-for-3 on break points.

Azarenka was running away with the 2nd set, as well, until Svitolina -- once the match result was just about a foregone conclusion -- saved a bit of face in the closing moments. After Azarenka had held at love, then broke at love, to lead 5-2, she held a MP at 40/30. It was then that Svitolina "started to play" (all right, sure... w/ accompanying eyeroll) and ended up saving five MP and holding three BP in an eight-deuce, ten-minute game (in a match that lasted only 67 minutes) that finally ended when she netted a forehand return to close the 6-0/6-2 thumping.

The win puts Azarenka, who had just nine UE in the entire match, into her 26th slam Round of 16, and ninth in Melbourne (but her first at the AO since '16). It's just her fourth at a major since that 2016 AO, in fact (she missed six slams between 2016-18).

As for Svitolina... well, I'm sure she'll put out a fun TikTok in a few days. So there's that.

Azarenka may never star in the sort of lifting-the-hardware scene that would prove to be *the* bookending image of a Hall of Fame career, but maybe she doesn't have to. After all, for all that is similar, she's not quite the same Vika she used to be. Nor is she viewed with the sort of arched eyebrow that often accompanied the stares of her critics from a decade ago.

Somewhere along the way, she's become something of a crowd favorite. Almost a beloved figure, in fact. Actually, maybe it's not even a question.

It might simply be because she's still here, while so many others from the years she was a dominant force have drifted away, or their on-court impact receded. Let's face it, the "kid" that once took on the tour has become an "elder stateswoman," and that brings a certain innate cachet to the table.

It may be that people have come to view her differently since she became a mother, or that the likes of fellow mom Serena Williams has come to embrace her over the years has given some "permission" to bring her close.

It may have been the long, troubling custody battle for son Leo that, for lack of a better word, served to "humanize" Vika in the eyes of many.

But it also may be that Azarenka *has* changed, or is at least now a more layered version of her former self.



After she was often criticized years ago for being too self-centered, she now seems to revel in standing for something "more." Vika plays to win, but also to be an inspiration for her son these days. None of that invalidates all that young Vika embodied early in her career, but any alteration of course *does* highlight one of the things that we see in tennis that one doesn't generally get too often in other sports. We get to see players (well, some of them, anyway) grow and evolve. We get to see them "grow up" as they pass through an often impudent "childhood," into a (hopefully) more wise phase of adulthood and, eventually, move beyond the game that has dominated their entire lives and onto "whatever comes next."

Perhaps that's why so many tennis fans hold their favorites *so* dear and close, for good and bad. And perhaps why, finally, Vika is being outwardly embraced not just for what she's been, but for what she's become.

After outliving her detractors, now "all" she has to do it out-hit a few more opponents. Then she'd really feel the love.



After Azarenka was once a "hard sell" (for stupid reasons) to fans even inside the tennis bubble, a "third act" slam run to become what would be a (now) rare three-time slam champion is the sort of story that people from all corners could get behind in 2022. She's still far better known than most of the new top players in the sport, from the casual fan set to across the overall sports landscape. Longevity has its privileges.

If she can stay healthly (always a big "if"), Azarenka becoming a slam threat again isn't a *crazy* notion, either. She did play into a third set in a major hard court final (vs. Naomi Osaka) just sixteen months ago, after all, and she remains the only person to defeat the likes of Paula Badosa (alongside #1 Ash Barty, arguably the most in-form player so far in '22) this season.

Stranger things have happened. And probably *will* happen over the course of the coming season, too. Just watch.




=DAY 5 NOTES=
...one had the feeling that the 3rd Round match-up between good friends Marta Kostyuk and #8-seeded Paula Badosa would be a good one. And it was, too, it just took a little while for what appeared to be destined to be a two-set affair to turn into the highest quality three-set match of the tournament so far (well, at least maybe until Osaka/Anisimova a few hours later).

For a set and a half, Badosa was nearly flawless. There was no "friendship pass" to be solicitously given to the 19-year old Ukrainian. The Spaniard posted an early break in the 1st, extended the edge to 4-1 and served out a 6-2 set, keeping things -- in the words of the ESPN+ lead announcer -- "tighter than a tax man's purse."

Badosa broke serve to begin the 2nd, too. Kostyuk would challenge her on serve for half the set, only to be denied. Badosa wiped away two BP in game #2, and soon had pushed her lead to 4-2. But Kostyuk never stopped trying, and her impressive fortitude eventually paid off.

Finally, in game #8, Kostyuk's crosscourt backhand into the corner staved off a Badosa GP. A Badosa backhand error gave the teenager a BP chance, and after a series of deep rally shots Kostyuk placed a forehand down the line that the Spaniard couldn't get back, getting the break to knot the set at 4-4. She held for a 5-4 lead, forcing Badosa to (briefly) stop her momentum with a hold of her own just to keep the set alive.

With the set within sight, Kostyuk's serve heated up. She fired an ace for a 40/love lead, then converted a successful drop shot on her third GP to hold for 6-5. At 30/30 on Badosa's serve, Kostyuk came forward behind a net cord that had elicited an off-balance shot from the Spaniard, taking the ball out of the air to secure a set point opportunity. She missed out on her first attempt when she put a ball just beyond the baseline, and soon had to save a pair of Badosa GP in the four-deuce game, before her own third SP finally brought down the curtain on the 2nd set. Badosa's netted backhand gave the 7-5 set to Kostyuk as they played into a deciding 3rd.

Again, Badosa jumped out to the early lead at 2-0. But (also again) Kostyuk didn't blink. Sure, up 15/30 on Badosa's serve in game #4, the Ukrainian got a bit ahead of herself, trying to put a quick end to a rally by going for a winner in an opening that was more an illusion than illicit. Either way, Kostyuk sprayed her shot. But a forehand and volley combo got her a BP chance anyway, and she fired a crosscourt backhand laser into the corner to get back on serve at 2-2.

Both players traded off momentum in the middle of the 3rd. Kostyuk's missed overhead into the net put her behind love/30 moments after she'd knotted the set, leading to Badosa taking back her break lead, only to see Kostyuk go up 15/40 herself in the next game. Badosa saved both BP, but on a third Kostyuk's deep forehand shot forced Badosa to awkwardly take the ball on a short bounce at the baseline, producing an error that got the set back on serve yet again.

Kostyuk's big stage "moment" may have been there for the taking as the physical nature of the battle began to take its toll on both players. But it was then that the teenager played quite possibly her worst game of the match, a four-point stretch filled with loose errors (a netted short ball, a backhand error) on points that had actually shown promise. She sent a backhand long at love/40 to hand Badosa back her break lead at 4-3.

After a year that has seen her win her maiden tour title, reach a slam QF, take the Indian Wells crown, play into the Top 10 and the WTAF, Badosa's edge in experience proved to be key down the stretch. Up 30/love, she fired an ace, then after Kostyuk had closed to 40/30, won a 17-shot rally to hold for 5-3. Badosa's second serve forehand return winner knotted Kostyuk's service game at 30/30 moments later, and a rare DF from the Ukrainian gave her a MP.

Again, though, Kostyuk didn't go easily into the Melbourne afternoon. She saved the first MP with a down the line shot, then another via an error from the Spaniard, and held for 5-4. The teenager rifled a backhand down the line to open game #10, but Badosa took at 40/15 lead. On her third MP, Badosa shockingly sprayed a forehand put-away ball at the net, and Kostyuk's net pressure helped produce an error on MP #4.

Finally, on her fifth MP attempt, Badosa got the match over the finish line when Kostyuk missed on a crosscourt backhand, ending the 6-2/5-7/6-4 match.



The win extends Badosa's winning streak to eight matches, and after two quick wins to open this AO she's now played the tough, you're-in-the-tournament-now match that most players (Raducanu excluded) seeking their first great slam successs generally desire (if not need) to build up their match toughness for the even bigger battles to come around the near corner.



But while Badosa plays on in this event, Kostyuk emerges from it (yet again) an even bigger potential threat than she'd been going in. Badosa said that she played "Top 5" tennis on this day, and once more it feels like the Ukrainian's "Moment" (capital M) is just a bit closer to becoming a reality.



...#4 Barbora Krejcikova just had to wait out #26 Alona Ostapenko. For a while, though, the Latvian was very nearly a 100% pure version of her freewheeling self on Laver, with clean winners flowing in abundance from her racket as she built a 6-2/3-1 lead on the Czech, picking up seemingly everything off the ground with perfect timing and sending balls flying into the corners of the court.



Finally, through, mid-way through the 2nd, Krejcikova suddenly carved out a BP chance. One Ostapenko error later and the set was back on serve and the match forever altered. The Czech soon knotted the set at 4-4, then quickly built a 40/love lead on the Latvian's serve a game later. Ostapenko sent a short ball well beyond the baseline to give the break to Krejcikova, who then served out the set.

Krejcikova opened the 3rd with a break. She held the advantage throughout, and it wasn't until the eighth game that Ostapenko finally challenged one final time, sending a forehand return down the line just off Krejcikova's racket to reach BP. She couldn't convert the break, though, as the Czech got the key hold to maintain her lead at 5-3. Two games later, Krejcikova served out the win to reach her first AO Round of 16, doing so at a fourth consecutive major to complete a "Career Round of 16 Slam" after just eight total MD appearances in majors.



...in the other women's matches during the day session, #21 Jessie Pegula reached her second straight Round of 16 ('21 QF) in Melbourne with a straight sets win over Nuria Parrizas Diaz, while her Bannerette countrywoman Madison Keys, a title winner last week in Adelaide, kept her winning streak alive by staging a comeback from a set and a break down to defeat Wang Qiang in a 10-2 match tie-break.



#5 Maria Sakkari defeated #28 Veronika Kudermetova 4 & 1, preventing the Russian from becoming this AO's first Hordette in the Final 16. So it'll be up to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and/or Dasha Kasatkina tomorrow to try to improve upon the nation's 75-of-84 majors stretch with at least one player reaching the second week of a slam.

...in mixed doubles, top-seeded Desirae Krawczyk & Joe Salisbury were ousted in their opening match by Giuliana Olmos & Marcelo Arevalo in a 10-5 match TB, ending Krawczyk's attempt to win a fourth straight MX slam crown. Krawczyk won the final three MX majors in '21, taking RG and the U.S. with Salisbury, with a Wimbledon title run with Neal Skupski sandwiched between the two.

Intrestingly, Krawczyk/Salisbury had beaten Olmos Arevalo in the U.S. Open final last summer to pick up the third of Krawczyk's wins.

...in the night session, two *big* headliners played under the lights.

#1 Ash Barty got her customary spot on Laver against #30 Camila Giorgi, dominating again in a 6-2/6-3 victory.

Meanwhile, at the same time (seriously, what the hell kind of scheduling is that? -- the #1 and DC in dueling matches at a most inconvenient time for 80% of the world viewers?) on MCA, #13 Naomi Osaka met Amanda Anisimova.

In a biggie, Anisimova prevailed, saving two MP down 5-4 in the 3rd, winning a match TB to advance.



So, instead of a "meaty" Barty/Osaka clash in the Round of 16, we'll have a re-do of that crazy 2019 Roland Garros semi.





..NOTE ON DAY 5:



I still believe in the whole idea of the higher ranked player getting "outfit choice" and choosing their outfit, meaning that the opponent cannot wear the *exact* same thing. It *is* a TV/streaming sport, for the most part, after all... and in what head-to-head sport do teams wear the same uniforms?


..BOOK 'EM FOR NEXT WINTERFEST'S PERFORMANCE SHOW! ON DAY 5:




...BE VERY AFRAID, PATRICK MAHOMES...ON DAY 5:




...HISTORY MADE AT NIGHT ON DAY 4... ON DAY 5:










=WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16=
#1 Ash Barty/AUS vs. Amanda Anisimova/USA
#21 Jessie Pegula/USA vs. #5 Maria Sakkari/GRE
#4 Barbora Krejcikova/CZE vs. #24 Victoria Azarenka/BLR
Madison Keys/USA vs. #8 Paula Badosa/ESP
x vs. x
x vs. x
x vx. x
x vs. x









Questionable title. Pretty good song.








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*RECENT FIRST-TIME SLAM CHAMPS AND NEXT MAJOR RESULT*
2017 Alona Ostapenko (RG): Wimbledon QF
2017 Sloane Stephens (US): Australian 1st
2018 Caroline Wozniacki (AO): Roland Garros 4th
2018 Simona Halep (RG): Wimbledon 3rd
2018 Naomi Osaka (US): Australian W
2019 Ash Barty (RG): Wimbledon 4th
2019 Bianca Andreescu (US): DNP 2020; Australian 2nd
2020 Sofia Kenin (AO): U.S. 4th
2020 Iga Swiatek (RG): Australian 4th
2021 Barbora Krejcikova (RG): Wimbledon 4th
2021 Emma Raducanu (US): Australian 2nd

*RECENT AO "CRASH & BURN"*
2016 Simona Halep, ROU (1st Rd.)
2017 Simona Halep, ROU (1st Rd.)
2018 S.Stephens, C.Vandeweghe & V.Williams, USA (1st/'17 US SF)
2019 Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (1st Rd.; lost last 12 games)
2020 Serena Williams, USA (3rd Rd.)
2021 Sofia Kenin, USA (2nd Rd.; early AO DC out since '03)
2022 Emma Raducanu, GBR (2nd) and & Leylah Fernandez, CAN (1st) ['21 US F]

**WTA "CAREER ROUND OF 16 SLAM" - active**
[with slam at which completed]
Victoria Azarenka - 2009 Wimbledon (15th)
Ash Barty - 2019 Wimbledon (20th)
Genie Bouchard - 2014 US Open (5th)
Kim Clijsters - 2001 US Open (10th)
Alize Cornet - 2020 US Open (57th)
Simona Halep - 2014 Wimbledon (17th)
Angelique Kerber - 2013 Australian (21st)
Madison Keys - 2016 Roland Garros (16th)
Barbora Krejcikova - 2022 Australian (8th)
Petra Kvitova - 2011 Australian (11th)
Svetlana Kuznetsova - 2005 Australian (11th)
Petra Martic - 2019 US Open (32nd)
Elise Mertens - 2019 Wimbledon (12th)
Garbine Muguruza - 2017 US Open (20th)
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova - 2017 Australian (37th)
Karolina Pliskova - 2018 Wimbledon (25th)
Sloane Stephens - 2013 US Open (10th)
Iga Swiatek - 2021 US Open (11th)
Elina Svitolina - 2018 Australian (22nd)
Donna Vekic - 2021 Australian (29th)
Serena Williams - 2000 Wimbledon (8th)
Venus Williams - 1998 Wimbledon (6th)
Vera Zvonareva - 2004 US Open (11th)




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Ummm...




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TOP QUALIFIER: Hailey Baptiste/USA
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): #1 Ash Barty/AUS
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): 2r - Clara Tauson/DEN def. #6 Anett Kontaveit/EST 6-2/6-4 (breakout performance of early rounds)
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: Canada (0-2 1r, #23 Fernandez out; Andreescu/Bouchard DNP)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Hailey Baptiste/USA, Lucia Bronzetti/ITA, Martina Trevisan/ITA, Zheng Qinwen/CHN (all 2nd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Maddison Inglis/AUS (in 3rd Rd.)
LAST AUSSIE STANDING: In 3r: Barty(W), Inglis
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT (TBD): xx
COMEBACK PLAYER: xx
CRASH & BURN: Emma Raducanu, GBR (2nd) and & Leylah Fernandez, CAN (1st) ['21 US F]
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF MELBOURNE: Nominees: Anisimova (3r- saved 2 MP vs. Osaka); #2 Sabalenka (1r- down set and 3-1 vs. Sanders; 19 DF in 2r); Keys (3r- set and break down vs. Q.Wang)
KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: xx
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominees: Barty, Anisimova
"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 5. More tomorrow.
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