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Monday, January 24, 2022

AO.8 - #WhereIs(Censored by Tennis Australia)?










=DAY 8 NOTES=
...while Tennis Australia was once more showing itself to be a (charitably) borderline amoral entity, there *was* tennis to be played on Monday. Or should I say endured?

The first women's Round of 16 match played in the day, before the heat started to become nearly unbearable in the afternoon, turned out to be a rock 'em, sock 'em affair, with loads of shifting-momentum moments, between two former AO semifinalists in #19 Elise Mertens (who reached the final four in her 2018 debut) and #27 Danielle Collins (in her 2019 debut).

Collins was the one who burst out of the gate in all three sets. After taking a 3-0 1st set lead, though, she began to struggle with a back injury. Mertens raced into the lead, winning five staight games, saving two BP in game #8. Collins saved a BP a game later, holding to stop her games lost streak and forcing Mertens to serve out the set. Finally, on SP #3, Mertens' great defense on a series of big Collins groundstrokes kept a rally alive, then Collins' wide backhand allowed the Belgian to take the set at 6-4.



Collins again led 3-0 in the 2nd, but again Mertens battled her way back. She saved a BP, then held for 4-2 when Collins netted a high volley attempt. The Belgian held at love for 5-3 to force Collins to try to serve things out, which the Bannerette was unable to do. A wide, wild forehand from Collins on Mertens' third BP of the game put the set back on serve, but Mertens couldn't take advantage to put a two-set win on the table. Instead, Collins used her backhand to take control of the game, getting the break at love and sending things to a 3rd.



Collins held at love to open the decider, running her points streak to ten before Mertens got on the board and went on to hold for 1-1. The Belgian broke for a 2-1 lead, but Collins immediately broke back a game later. The two remained on serve until game #10. There, serving down 5-4, Mertens fell behind 15/40. She saved a pair of MP, but her DF on #3 ended the contest.

Collins' 4-6/6-4/6-4 win puts her into her third career slam QF, and second in Melbourne in four years. She joins two other U.S. women -- Madison Keys and Jessie Pegula -- in the final eight.



...the second Round of 16 match started out as a meeting of veterans, but quickly turned into a battle of attrition and then, finally, an historic occasion.



Both #14 Simona Halep and Alize Cornet have a somewhat checkered past with the Australian Open.

Halep, a future Hall of Famer, has never won the title in Melbourne but has seen some of her highest and lowest slam moments as a professional play out in the tournament. She came into the day having reached more QF there than at any major (in order, 5-4-4-2), but also more 1st Round exits (4-3-2-3), and with as many AO match wins as she has at her beloved Roland Garros (31 for both), the site of her other major championship (Wimbledon - 24) or the U.S. Open (20). Her best AO run came when she reached the '18 final after a two-week stretch where she'd badly turned her ankle and yet won a 15-13 3rd set in a 3:45 match (vs. Lauren Davis) in which she saved two MP, then saved two more MP vs. Angie Kerber (SF) before falling to Caroline Wozniacki in a three-set final. Halep, in many ways, "won" the heart of the tournament, but her reward was a trip to the hospital for exhaustion after it was all over.

Cornet's often drama-filled slam career has led to this AO featuring her 60th consecutive appearance in a major MD (two off the women's all-time mark), but she headed into today with a winless mark (0-5) in slam Round of 16 matches (Halep was 15-5). Her first had come in Melbourne some thirteen years ago, when she lost a match to Dinara Safina after having held MP. In her 63rd career slam, no women's player had ever gone so long without having ever reached a major QF.

Somewhat surprisingly, Cornet held a 3-1 advantage over Halep in their series coming in, but the two hadn't played since 2015. As it turned out, though, that little factoid would prove to be quite informative.

In the opening games, the Pastry saved break points to hold for a 2-1 lead over Halep, then turned around and broke the Romanian's serve a game later (put a star next to that one in your notes for later reference).



Halep broke back at love a game later, but soon the combination of Cornet's defense forcing her to have to engage in long, physical rallies (i.e. precisely how Halep herself usually seeks to break down opponents), and the getting-more-and-more-stifling heat breaking her down cell by cell began to take its toll. The conditions would eventually begin to slow Cornet, as well, but it was Halep who felt the effects first, often pausing to double over behind the baseline between points less than thirty minutes into the match.

Cornet broke again for a 5-4 lead, but Halep returned the favor moments later. As Halep's struggles increased, three unforced errors handed over another break -- and the set -- to the French woman by in a 6-4 score.

The two exchanged serves to open the 2nd. With the score knotted at 1-1, Halep crouched in the shade next to the back wall. A game later, Cornet's legs showed that she was finally slowing along with her Romanian opponent, seemingly not being able to fully launch into her serves. A DF put her BP down in game #3, but she saved it with a nice defensive stand and a rally-ending Halep forehand miss. Cornet held for 2-1, then quickly broke a wilting Halep, who looked as if she might literally fall over in a heap, to go up 3-1.

It looked as if Cornet might run away with what remained of the match, but it was at that moment that Cornet began to noticably drag. Halep broke back, then after coming out of the changeover which Cornet's overheard exchange with the chair umpire noted the "insane" and "inhuman" heat, which was apparently not yet to the Extreme Heat level in which special measures could be taken to protect the players, Halep seemed to find a way to reach deep inside and pull out some of her old magic.

Putting on her champion's warrior cape, Halep pulled herself together to make a match of things. She quickly took a love/40 lead on Cornet's serve in game #7, getting the break to win her third straight game and take a 4-3 lead. With the Pastry's errors increasing, Halep swept through what remained of the set, winning the final five games (and 16 straight points) to take the 2nd at 6-3.

Halep held from 15/30 to open the 3rd, then Cornet finally ended her games lost streak at six by holding for 1-1. By now, Cornet seemed to have caught a second wind and worked her way past her struggles. She saved BP and held for 3-3 then, as happened when Halep had failed to get what would have been a key break in the 1st set, Cornet struck in the immediately aftermath. In game #7, Cornet's backhand down the line produced a BP opportunity. Halep's backhand error gave Cornet the break, and the French veteran followed up with a hold for 5-3 a game later.

With Halep serving to stay in the match, Cornet's persistent defense kept multiple rallies alive until they were finally ended with Halep errors. The Romanian fell behind 15/40, facing double MP. She saved the first with a backhand down the line, then the second with a big serve and first shot that forced a Cornet error. Putting all her efforts into the attempt, Halep got to GP and secured the hold when Cornet fired a forehand long.



Serving for the match at 5-4, Cornet started shakily with an error on a drop shot attempt. A Halep return winner gave the Romanian a 15/30 lead. But Halep's miss to end a 19-shot rally turned out to be the future Hall of Famer's final stand at this AO. She fired a backhand long to end the next point, giving Cornet her third MP. A netted forehand return then brought down the curtain on a 6-4/3-6/6-4 Cornet win.

The Pastry's first career slam QF berth in her 63rd major MD sets a new record, by a *wide* margin, topping the previous end-the-futilty mark of 45. It comes seventeen years after Cornet made her AO debut in 2006 as a 15-year old wild card.



In the post-match interview, after Jelena Dokic noted Cornet's long journey to this moment, the French woman said, "It's never too late to try again."

The interview turned out to be one of best of its kind in recent memory, touching on Cornet's first AO QF loss in '09 (had she won, she'd have played Dokic in what turned out to be the Aussie's last of four career slam QF appearances), the cheesecake the tournament gave her for her birthday this week, and Cornet's words of encouragement to a grateful (and tearful) Dokic, who recently announced the end of her 19-year relationship with Tin Bikic, and angrily called out another recent round of online body-shaming she's had to endure.

If you haven't seen the interview, it's worth the few minutes to watch...



...as of this post, #7 Iga Swiatek is battling Sorana Cirstea (who leads by a set) in another 4th Rounder and, later, in the concluding Laver match in the night session, #2 Aryna Sabalenka will go against Kaia Kanepi to round out the AO group of eight quaterfinalists.

...the wheelchair doubles semis have set up the meeting between Diede de Groot and Yui Kamiji that we won't see in singles.

#1-seeded de Groot & Aniek Van Koot defeated Dana Mathewson & KG Montjane 6-0/6-3, as de Groot will play in her sixth WD final in six appearances in Melbourne. She won in both 2019 and '21 with Van Koot, a five-time AO doubles champ with de Groot and two other partners (Florence Gravallier and Jiske Griffioen).

Kamiji reaches the final with Lucy Shuker after downing Montjane/Griffioen today. The Brit is stepping in for her now retired countrywoman Jordanne Whiley, with whom Kamiji won twelve majors. Kamiji has won five AO crowns (3 w/ Whiley, and 2 w/ Marjolein Buis), while Shuker has yet to win a major title. She previously reached the AO final in 2010 (w/ Daniela Di Toro) and '13 (Buis).





..QUESTION ON DAY 8:



What fresh, new embarrassment has to emerge before Craig Tilley is removed as the head of Tennis Australia, anyway?




..GROUNDBREAKER+1 ON DAY 8:




...WHAT WON'T GET 0.000000001% OF THE COVERAGE THAT, SAY, THE LIKES OF NAOMI OSAKA'S MUSINGS WILL?...ON DAY 8:




...Hmmm... ON DAY 8:

After their win today, during Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova's post-match interview, Siniakova referred to the season's big team event as the "Billie Jean Cup." I think I like that, and I may just run with it.








=WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16=
#1 Ash Barty/AUS def. Amanda Anisimova/USA
#21 Jessie Pegula/USA def. #5 Maria Sakkari/GRE
#4 Barbora Krejcikova/CZE def. #24 Victoria Azarenka/BLR
Madison Keys/USA def. #8 Paula Badosa/ESP
#27 Danielle Collins/USA def. #19 Elise Mertens/BEL
Alize Cornet/FRA def. #14 Simona Halep/ROU
#7 Iga Swiatek/POL def. Sorana Cirstea/ROU
Kaia Kanepi/EST def. #2 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF=
#1 Krejcikova/Siniakova (CZE/CZE) vs. #9 Dolehide/Sanders (USA/AUS)
#3 V.Kudermetova/Mertens (RUS/BEL) vs. (PR) Flipkens/Sorribes Tormo (BEL/ESP)
Danilina/Haddad Maia (KAZ/BRA) vs. Peterson/Potapova (SWE/RUS)
Martic/Rogers (CRO/USA) vs. #2 Aoyama/Shibahara (JPN/JPN)

=MIXED DOUBLES QF=
Hradecka/Escobar (CZE/COL) vs. (Alt.) Ninomiya/Qureshi (JPN/PAK)
Mirza/Ram (IND/USA) vs. (WC) Fourlis/Kubler (AUS/AUS)
#5 Mladenovic/Dodig (FRA/CRO) vs. Routliffe/Venus (NZL/NZL)
#8 Shibahara/McLachlan (JPN/JPN) vs. #2 Sh.Zhang/Peers (CHN/AUS)

=WHEELCHAIR SINGLES SF=
#1 Diede de Groot/NED vs. (WC) Lucy Shuker/GBR
KG Montjane/RSA vs. Aniek Van Koot/NED

=WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES FINAL=
#1 de Groot/Van Koot (NED/NED) vs. #2 Kamiji/Shuker (JPN/GBR)

=GIRLS SINGLES ROUND OF 16=
x vs. x
#3 Ksenia Zaytseva/RUS vs. #13 Liv Hovde/USA
Dominika Šalková/CZE vs. #6 Michaela Laki/GRE
Ekaterina Khayrutdinova/RUS vs. Carolina Kuhl/GER
Charlotte Kempanaers-Pocz/AUS vs. Tereza Valentova/CZE
x vs. x









Jump x 3...












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**AO "AUSTRALIAN LANGUARGE ARTS AWARD" WINNERS**
2020 ["Good On Ya, Mate"] Aces for Bushfire Relief
2021 ["G'Day, Naomi"] Naomi Osaka & the "good luck" butterfly
2022 ["Freakin' Hell?"] Tennis Australia sides with unvaccinated Novak Djokovic, but bans visible support for Peng Shuai

**RECENT AO "LADY OF THE EVENING" WINNERS**
2015 Genie Bouchard, CAN
2016 "The Dasha Show" (Gavrilova)
2017 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2018 Elise Mertens, BEL
2019 Garbine Muguruza, ESP (3:12am finish)
2020 Garbine Muguruza, ESP
2021 Simona Halep, ROU
2022 Ash Barty, AUS



*2022 AO FINAL 8*
[by career slam QF]
8 - Madison Keys
7 - Kaia Kanepi
6 - Ash Barty
3 - Danielle Collins
3 - Barbora Krejcikova
3 - Iga Swiatek
2 - Jessie Pegula
1 - Alize Cornet
[by career AO QF]
4 - Barty
3 - Keys
2 - Collins
2 - Pegula
1 - Cornet
1 - Kanepi
1 - Krejcikova
1 - Swiatek
[w/ consecutive slam QF]
2 - Krejcikova
[w/ consecutive AO QF]
4 - Barty
2 - Pegula
[2022 slam QF - unseeded]
AO - Alize Cornet/FRA
AO - Kaia Kanepi/EST
AO - Madison Keys/USA
[2022 1st-time GS QF]
AO - Alize Cornet/FRA
[2022 slam QF - by nation]
3...USA (3) - Collins,Keys,Pegula
1...AUS (1) - Barty
1...CZE (1) - Krejcikova
1...EST (1) - Kanepi
1...FRA (1) - Cornet
1...POL (1) - Swiatek
[WTA career slam QF - active]
54...Serena Williams, USA
39...Venus Williams, USA
19...Kim Clijsters, BEL
17...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
16...Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
15...Simona Halep, ROU
13...Petra Kvitova, CZE
11...Angelique Kerber, GER
9...Karolina Pliskova, CZE
8...Madison Keys, USA
8...Garbine Muguruza, ESP
8...Elina Svitolina, UKR
7...Sara Errani, ITA
7...Kaia Kanepi, EST
7...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
7...Samantha Stosur, AUS
6...Ash Barty, AUS
6...Sloane Stephens, USA
6...Vera Zvonareva, RUS
[WTA slam QF & W/L in 2020's - 8 events]
4 - Barty (2-1) *
3 - Krejcikova (1-1) *
3 - Swiatek (1-1) *
2 - Brady (2-0)
2 - Collins (0-1) *
2 - Halep (1-1)
2 - Jabeur (0-2)
2 - Kenin (2-0)
2 - Kvitova (1-1)
2 - Muchova (1-1)
2 - Osaka (2-0)
2 - Pavlyuchenkova (1-1)
2 - Pegula (0-1) *
2 - Ka.Pliskova (1-1)
2 - Sabalenka (2-0)
2 - Sakkari (2-0)
2 - Svitolina (0-2)
2 - S.Williams (2-0)
1 - Azarenka (1-0)
1 - Badosa (0-1)
1 - Bencic (0-1)
1 - Cornet (0-0) *
1 - Fernandez (1-0)
1 - Gauff (0-1)
1 - Golubic (0-1)
1 - Hsieh (0-1)
1 - Kanepi (0-0) *
1 - Kerber (1-0)
1 - Keys (0-0) *
1 - Kontaveit (0-1)
1 - Mertens (0-1)
1 - Muguruza (1-0)
1 - Pironkova (0-1)
1 - Podoroska (1-0)
1 - Putintseva (0-1)
1 - Raducanu (1-0) *
1 - Rogers (0-1)
1 - Rybakina (0-1)
1 - Siegemund (0-1)
1 - Tomljanovic (0-1)
1 - Trevisan (0-1)
1 - Zidansek (1-0)
--
* - to play QF
[WTA slam QF by nation in 2020's - 8 slams/64]
13 - USA (3)
9 - CZE (1)
5 - AUS (1)
3 - BLR
3 - POL (1)
2 - ESP
2 - EST (1)
2 - GER
2 - GRE
2 - JPN
2 - KAZ
2 - ROU
2 - RUS
2 - SUI
2 - TUN
2 - UKR
1 - ARG,BEL,BUL,CAN,FRA(1),GBR,ITA,SLO,TPE




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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 QF)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT (Teen Stars-in-Waiting): Marta Kostyuk/UKR and Clara Tauson/DEN
COMEBACK PLAYER: Madison Keys/USA
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: Cornet, Cirstea, Kanepi
LADY OF THE EVENING: Ash Barty/AUS
AUSTRALIAN LANGUARGE ARTS AWARD: Tennis Australia tries to push unvaccinated Novak Djokovic through Aussies borders, yet bans on-ground items featuring protests in support of Peng Shuai
DOUBLES STAR: xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx





All for Day 8. More tomorrow.
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