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Saturday, January 22, 2022

AO.6 - The Collins Bite Proves to Be as Big (and Loud) as Her Bark

Two days after another upset of a seeded player in a major, 19-year old Dane Clara Tauson looked to add the #27 seed to her list of victims in Melbourne. But Danielle Collins was having none of it.



Players come up the tennis ranks in different ways, as the careers of both Collins and Tauson show. Collins went the college route, winning a pair of NCAA singles championships at Virginia before having a go of things on the WTA tour, where she reached the Australian Open semis in 2019 in her Melbourne debut.

Meanwhile, Tauson was the top-ranked junior in the world, and won the AO girls crown three years ago. In 2021, both had big seasons, winning the first two titles of their careers.

Prior to her 2nd Round victory this week over Anett Kontaveit, Tauson's previous big win in a major over Jennifer Brady in the 1st Round in Paris in 2020 hadn't come with an immediate follow-up victory, but the level of comfort that the Dane seems to have achieved on the slam stage (maybe she was born with it, because it was already there in her debut match vs. Brady, too), not to mention her Davenport/Kvitova-like easy-and-clean groundstroke power that can eat up unsuspecting opponents, had already tagged her as a threat to any top player should they appear on the other side of the net.

Though she's been around longer, 26-year old Collins came into '22 with a mindset focused on even greater success, too. Her upswing in results, including those two titles picked up in back-to-back weeks last summer, after her endometriosis surgery, moved her up another notch in the tour hierarchy for the new season, and this major -- which has already hosted her career-best run -- surely stood as a beacon calling out to her all offseason.

In today's 3rd Round clash, Collins jumped out to an early break lead at 3-0 in the 1st set, with Tauson falling behind 15/40 on serve in game #4 of the match. The Dane held to get on the board, then quickly turned around the entire set, breaking Collins twice while winning six of seven games to claim the set at 6-4. Just like that, it was clear that Tauson wasn't going to be easily content with her lone upset result in Melbourne.



But Collins wasn't likely to calmly (nor silently) simply fold, either.

Still, Tauson carried over her big hitting from the 1st into the 2nd set, while also executing perfectly placed drop shots, as well. In game #3, she took a 15/40 lead on Collins' serve, then her forehand passing shot (pulled off with her back nearly completely facing the net from the corner of the far corner) earned the break for a 2-1 lead. Soon, she led 4-2. But with Tauson closing in on the win, Collins won a deep hitting rally and suddenly had the set back on serve at 4-4.

Moments later, Tauson had a key game within her grasp.

Down love/30 in game #9, Collins climbed out of the hole and got the game to deuce only to see her forehand break down on back-to-back points to give the teenager a BP for the chance to serve out the win. But Collins saved a pair of BP, then fired an ace after reaching GP.

The missed opportunity would prove costly for Tauson, as she'd soon fall behind love/30 in her own service game moments later after a Collins forehand return winner. Fighting fire with fire, Collins was able to match the Dane's deep shots, forcing a backhand error from Tauson to reach triple SP. Tauson saved a pair of SP, but on her third BP attempt Collins' wide return and put-away combo allowed her to steal the set at 6-4 and send things to a 3rd.

Collins reeled off her fifth straight game by taking the opener of the final set. She got to deuce on Tauson's serve a game later, but the teenager held to stem the Collins tide, then two games later held serve from 15/40 down.

It was then that Collins increased her intensity, vociferously celebrating even some of the more standard moments in the set, such as when she held for a 3-2 on-serve lead and then proceeded to react as if she'd just knocked off the #1-ranked player who'd also poisoned her pet hamster when they were kids.

Down the stretch of the set, both players flirted with disaster, only to pull themselves to safety. Tauson led 40/15, but saw the game taken to deuce, where she DF'd on a GP only to get the hold for 3-3 anyway. Soon after, Collins DF'd on her own GP at 4-4, but held to take a 5-4 lead.

Serving to stay in the match, Tauson slipped behind love/30 to the fired up Bannerette. Looking to get to triple MP, Collins went hard after a return winner attempt off a Tauson serve into her body, only to just miss the down the line shot. A point later, Collins chased down back-to-back-to-back huge Tauson groundstrokes, then pulled off a forehand passing shot that caught the baseline to give herself her first MP at 40/15.

Tauson saved MP #1 with a big serve and forehand winner, then #2 after the Dane pounded a backhand down the line into the corner and then another backhand behind Collins. Collins got her third MP with a backhand down the line shot, but the Dane saved it, as well. Finally having seemingly found her way out of the impending darkness, Tauson's wide serve gave her a GP, then she cracked a backhand down the line off a Collins return, producing an error off the Bannerette's racket that remarkably, somehow, had gotten her the hold of serve to knot the score at 5-5.

Tauson's was the sort of game-saving moment upon which championship runs are born.



But it didn't turn out to be the match-altering moment, just a decision-delaying one. Even after Collins opened game #11 with a DF, after which she ulimately held serve to again force Tauson into a hold-or-else position. It didn't work out so well for the teenanger this time. Serving at 5-6, in a blink, Tauson fell behind love/40. When a Collins backhand reurn caught the edge of the line, it was all over.

Collins' 4-6/6-4/7-5 victory puts the former AO semifinalist into her second consecutive slam Round of 16.



While the Bannerette moves on, Tauson adds her name to "the list" of rising teenagers to be checked up on at the *next* slam opportunity, to see just how much she might have learned from this one. If it's enough, the Dane might find herself right back in position similar to this very, very soon.




=DAY 6 NOTES=
...elsewhere, Alize Cornet's unexpected run continued with a three-set win over #29 Tamara Zidansek. The Pastry, on her 32nd birthday, rallied from 6-4/4-1 down in a match that included a long argument with the chair umpire, Zidansek being charged with a rare serving time violation, and seven straight games won by Cornet after she'd been two games from a straight sets loss. In other words, pure Cornet drama.

Cornet got the early break in the 3rd and maintained her lead all the way to the finish line of the 4-6/6-4/6-2 match, which ended with a DF from Zidansek on Cornet's second MP. The win gives Cornet, this time out finishing the match with *both* legs wrapped, her first AO Round of 16 since 2009. Noting the thirteen-year gap, Cornet called it a "a magic win for me."



After the match, the Aussie crowd serenaded Cornet with a rendition of "Happy Birthday."

Next up for Cornet will be #14 Simona Halep, the 2018 AO finalist who's reached at least the QF five times in the last eight years in Melbourne. The Romanian handled Raducanu conqueror Danka Kovinic 6-2/6-1.



...#19 Elise Mertens advanced past Zheng Shuai to reach yet another Round of 16 at the AO. The Waffle reached the semis in 2018, and has played into the second week in four of her five career MD appearances.

Oh, if only #6-seeded Anett Kontaveit had the same sort of grand slam swagger as her Estonian countrywoman Kaia Kanepi, who today added a second week run to her customary upset of a seeded player (#16 Kerber) from earlier in the week. While the Top 10-ranked Kontaveit was sent packing two days ago by Tauson, the 36-year old, #115-ranked Kanepi was still pushing hard today. After a poor opening set, the veteran settled down and easily took out Aussie wild card Maddison Inglis, 2-6/6-2/6-0.



The win completes a "Career Round of 16 Slam" at the majors for Kanepi, coming in her 53rd career major MD. She's reached six career slam QF stretched out over the other three touranments (two each) since 2008.

She'll face #2 Aryna Sabalenka in the next round as the Belarusian again staged a comeback from a set back, this time against #31 Marketa Vondrousova, pulling away after a poor 1st set as the Czech wilted down the stretch, winning 4-6/6-3/6-1.



And Sabalenka "only" had ten DF in this one! In a good move, in the post-match interview, Sabalenka punctured the potentially awkward topic on her own by outwardly celebrating her DF total after having pushed close to or going over 20 DF in each of her previous four '22 matches.



...in the opening day of junior action, Aussie Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz upset #16-seeded Hordette Elena Pridankina.

...the wheelchair draw is out, and #1 Diede de Groot will open with a match against Bannerette Dana Mathewson. Though Mathewson is 0-10 vs. the reigning champion in her career, she *is* one of just two players (the other is #2 Yui Kamiji, with both instances coming at last year's WC Masters event) to take a set off of de Groot in her last 74 sets of play in singles. De Groot enters on a 39-match winning streak.

Two-time AO champ (2015-16) Jiske Griffioen, who faces KG Montjane, will make her first appearance in a slam MD since 2017, before her since-rescinded retirement.

...in the night session, #7 Iga Swiatek and #25 Dasha Kasatkina fill face off in the early match on MCA (the Pole has grabbed the 1st set as of this post), while #10 Anastasia Palvyuchenkova and Sorana Cirstea will get the second match on Laver. So the question of whether the Russians improve on that 75-of-84 majors with a Hordette in a slam Round of 16 will last until the final hours of 3rd Round play.

I'll post the Final 16 Lists-a-Palooza on Saturday.





=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
#27 Danielle Collins/USA vs. #19 Elise Mertens/BEL
#14 Simona Halep/ROU vs. Alize Cornet/FRA
x vs. x
Kaia Kanepi/EST vs. #2 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR

=WHEELCHAIR SINGLES=
#1 Diede de Groot/NED vs. Dana Mathewson/USA
Zhu Zhenzhen/CHN vs. (WC) Lucy Shuker/GBR
KG Montjana/RSA vs. Jiske Griffioen/NED
Aniek Van Koot/NED vs. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN

=WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES=
#1 de Groot/Van Koot (NED/NED) vs. Mathewson/Montjane (USA/RSA)
Griffioen/Zhu (NED/CHN) vs. #2 Kamiji/Shuker (JPN/GBR)









Meat Loaf - 1947-2022













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*RECENT AO "LAST AUSSIE STANDING" WINNERS*
2015 C.Dellacqua, J.Gajdosova, S.Stosur,A.Tomljanovic (2nd)
2016 Dasha Gavrilova (4th Rd.)
2017 Dasha Gavrilova (4th Rd.)
2018 Ash Barty (3rd Rd.)
2019 Ash Barty (QF)
2020 Ash Barty (SF)
2021 Ash Barty (QF)
2022 Ash Barty (in 4th Rd.)



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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 (3rd Rd.)
LAST AUSSIE STANDING: Ash Barty (in 4th Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT (TBD): Nominees: teens (Kostyuk/Tauson/Zheng, etc.)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominees: Keys, Anisimova, Azarenka
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); Cornet (3r- down set & 4-1 vs. Zidansek)
KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: Nominees: Azarenka, Cornet, Halep
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 6. More tomorrow.
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