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Friday, September 8, 2017

US.12 - Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!



"Oh, what a day. I will make it a holiday."
"Dr. Seuss"
Theodor Geisel (1904-91)
...children's book author, political cartoonist, poet, animator, book publisher, and artist



=DAY 12 NOTES=
...on the twentieth anniversary of their all-teen clash in the singles final, Venus Williams won't be winning a title at this U.S. Open, but Martina Hingis is still alive for two.

Today the Swiss Miss won WD and MX semifinals to reach both finals, joining with fellow SW19 Mixed champ Jamie Murray to defeat CoCo Vandeweghe & Horia Tecau. They'll face Kiki Michael Venus and Chan Hao-ching, the sister of Hingis' doubles partner.

Oh, yeah. And they won, too.



The one thing Chan Yung-Jan and Hingis have yet to win in their first season as a duo is a slam title, but today's victory over former Hingis partner Sania Mirza & Peng Shuai will give them the chance to rectify that. They'll face off with the all-Czech team of Lucie Hradecka & Katerina Siniakova, who advanced to their first slam final as a pair with a 6-2/7-5 win over another all-Maiden duo, Lucie Safarova & Barbora Strycova. Of course, the only thing anyone is going to remember about that one is the point in which a ball off Siniakova's racket traveled through Hradecka's hair. The point should have been given to Safarova/Strycova, but the umpire didn't see it the infraction, and neither Hradecka nor Siniakova owned up to it.

Needless to say, Lucie & Bara didn't like it. Afterward, Safarova even expressed her disagreement with and disappointment in her friends, countrywomen and Fed Cup teammates on Instagram, saying, ""Win or lose you should always play fair! Wouldn't expect that from a friend."


...in the juniors, there's still a chance for a third consecutive all-Bannerette slam final, after before this spring's Roland Garros such a thing hadn't happened at a major in twenty-five years.

13-year old wild card Coco Gauff defeated fellow Bannerette (and WC) Katie Volynets to reach the semis, while #4 Amanda Anisimova defeated #8 Olga Danilovic of Serbia, coming back from 1-5 down in the 1st set to win twelve of the final thirteen games in the match.

They could meet in the girl final, but must first off with -- get this -- two unseeded South Americans. Gauff gets Maria Lourdes Carle of Argentina, who knocked out the last Russian, #3 Elena Rybakina, while Anisimova will face Colombian Emiliana Arango (and her backwards cap), who defeated the fourth Bannerette quarterfinalist, Elysia Bolton.



...in wheelchair singles, there were no upsets to be found, as the top two seeds (JPN's Yui Kamiji, 2017's AO & RG camp and NED's Diede de Groot, the Wimbledon winner) advanced to the semifinals along with former Dutch slam winners Aniek Van Koot and Marjolein Buis. The latter defeated debuting Bannerette Dana Mathewson (who'll next try to become the first U.S. woman to win a WC slam crown in the doubles final w/ Van Koot).

de Groot, meanwhile, still has a two-title sweep within sight, and is one singles win away from reaching her fifth slam S/D final, all in her debut slam season of 2017.



...NCAA #1 Francesca Di Lorenzo (Ohio State) has advanced to the American Collegiate Invitational final at Flushing Meadows, and will play Florida's Ingrid Neel in the final.



...meanwhile, this week there's a WTA 125 Series event taking place in Dalian, China. And, of course, yet another comeback story is playing out there, as Vera Zvonareva (#623) has reached the semifinals. The Russian knocked off #4 seed Chang Kai-chen in the 1st Round.



She'll face another Hordette sporting a protected ranking, Vitalia Diatchenko (def. #2 Danka Kovinic) in the semifinals. Filling out the semis are Ukraine's Kateryna Kozlova (def. #1 Duan Yingying) and, in another comeback bid, Kazakh Zarina Diyas.


NEW LIKE ON DAY 12: Serena speaks...






OLD LIKE ON DAY 12: And so does history...





...and, finally... remembering once again the moment that Future Sloane was finally brought to life.







*WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#15 Madison Keys/USA vs. Sloane Stephens/USA

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#7 Hradecka/Siniakova (CZE/CZE) vs. #2 Y.Chan/Hingis (TPE/SUI)

*MIXED DOUBLES FINAL*
#1 Hingis/J.Murray (SUI/GBR) vs. #3 H.Chan/Venus (TPE/NZL)

*GIRLS SINGLES SF*
(WC) Coco Gauff/USA vs. Maria Lourdes Carle/ARG
#4 Amanda Anisimova/USA vs. Emiliana Arango/COL

*GIRLS DOUBLES QF*
#1 Danilovic/Kostyuk (SRB/UKR) def. #6 Appleton/Arango (GBR/COL)
#7 Lansere/Rakhimova (RUS/RUS) def. Chwalinska/Hertel (POL/POL)
#4 Liang En-Shuo/Wang Xinyu (TPE/CHN) def. #8 Bolton/A.Li (USA/USA)
Boskovic/Wang Xiyu (CRO/CHN) def. Naito/Vismane (JPN/LAT)

*WHEELCHAIR SINGLES SF*
#1 Yui Kamiji/JPN vs. Aniek van Koot/NED
Marjolein Buis/NED vs. #2 Diede de Groot/NED

*WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES SF*
#1 Buis/de Groot (NED/NED) def. Ellerbrock/Montjane (GER/RSA)
Mathewson/van Koot (USA/NED) def. #2 Kamiji/Shuker (JPN/GBR)

*AMERICAN COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL SF*
Francesca Di Lorenzo (Ohio State) def. Ena Shibahara (UCLA)
Ingrid Neel (Florida) def. Sydney Campbell (Vanderbilt)




Photobomb ??????

A post shared by Caroline Wozniacki (@carowozniacki) on





I really enjoy capturing how much fun hair salons are ???????

A post shared by Maria Sharapova (@mariasharapova) on






**CAREER WOMEN'S DOUBLES SLAM TITLES - active**
14...Serena Williams, USA
14...Venus Williams, USA
12...Martina Hingis, SUI
5...Sara Errani, ITA
5...Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
5...Lucie Safarova, CZE
5...Roberta Vinci, ITA
[Open era]
31...Martina Navratilova, TCH/USA
21...Pam Shriver, USA
18...Natasha Zvereva, USSR/BLR
17...Gigi Fernandez, USA
14...Serena Williams, USA*
14...Venus Williams, USA*
12...Martina Hingis, SUI*
12...Jana Novotna, TCH/CZE
[all-time]
31...Martina Navratilova, TCH/USA
21...Louise Brough, USA
21...Margaret Osborne duPont, USA
21...Pam Shriver, USA
19...Margaret Court, AUS
-
*-active

**SLAM MX TITLES - active*
6...Martina Hingis, SUI
5...Katarina Srebotnik, SLO
3...Sania Mirza, IND
3...Samantha Stosur, AUS
[Open era]
10...Martina Navratilova, TCH/CZE
7...Billie Jean King, USA
6...Martina Hingis, SUI*
6...Margaret Court, AUS
[all-time]
21...Margaret Court, AUS
15...Doris Hart, USA
11...Billie Jean King, USA
10...Margaret Osborne duPont, USA
10...Martina Navratilova, TCH/USA

**TOTAL SLAM TITLES - active**
[singles/doubles/mixed]
38...Serena Williams (23-14-2)
23...Venus Williams (7-14-2)
23...Martina Hingis (5-12-6)

**RECENT U.S. OPEN GIRLS FINALS**
2005 Victoria Azarenka/BLR def. Alexa Glatch/USA
2006 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS def. Tamira Paszek/AUT
2007 Kristina Kucova/SVK def. Urszula Radwanska/POL
2008 Coco Vandeweghe/USA def. Gabriela Paz/VEN
2009 Heather Watson/GBR def. Yana Buchina/RUS
2010 Daria Gavrilova/RUS def. Yulia Putintseva/RUS
2011 Grace Min/USA def. Caroline Garcia/FRA
2012 Samantha Crawford/USA def. Anett Kontaveit/EST
2013 Ana Konjuh/CRO def. Tornado Alicia Black/USA
2014 Marie Bouzkova/CZE def. Anhelina Kalinina/UKR
2015 Dalma Galfi/HUN def. Sonya Kenin/USA
2016 Kayla Day/USA def. Viktoria Kuzmova/SVK
2017 ?

**ALL-U.S. JUNIOR GIRLS SLAM FINALS**
[Australian Open]
1989 Kim Kessaris def. Andrea Farley
[Roland Garros]
1980 Kathy Horvath def. Kelly Henry
2017 Whitney Osuigwe def. Claire Liu
[Wimbledon]
1977 Lea Antonpolis def. Mareen "Peanut" Louie
1979 Mary-Lou Piatek def. Alycia Moultron
2017 Claire Liu def. Ann Li
[U.S. Open]
1979 Alycia Moulton def. Mary-Lou Piatek
1980 Susan Mascarin def. Kathrin Keil
1981 Zina Garrison def. Kate Gompert
1982 Beth Herr def. Gretchen Rush
1986 Elly Hakami def. Shaun Stafford
1992 Lindsay Davenport def. Julie Steven

*BACKSPIN 2017 "TEAM/MIXED" WINNERS*
DEC: Singapore Slammers (IPTL)
JAN: FRA Hopman Cup Team (Mladenovic/Gasquet)
AO: Abigail Spears/Juan Sebastian Cabal, USA/COL
FEB/MAR: CZE Fed Cup Team
APR: BLR & USA Fed Cup Teams
MAY: Florida Gators Women's Tennis (NCAA)
RG: Gaby Dabrowski/Rohan Bopanna, CAN/IND
JUN: GRE Fed Cup Team
WI: Martina Hingis/Jamie Murray, SUI/GBR
2Q Grass Court:
JUL: Orange County Breakers (WTT)
AUG: USA Jr. 14s Team (ITF World Chsp.)



TOP QUALIFIER: Kaia Kanepi/EST
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #3 Garbine Muguruza/ESP
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #20 CoCo Vandeweghe/USA
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q2: Jamie Loeb/USA def. (PR) Vera Zvonareva/RUS 7-6(4)/5-7/6-4 (3:16; delay after fan faints as Loeb to serve out at 5-4 in 3rd)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - (WC) Maria Sharapova/RUS def. #2 Simona Halep/ROU 6-4/4-6/6-3 (Night 1)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): QF - #9 Venus Williams/USA def. #13 Petra Kvitova/CZE 6-4/3-6/7-6(2)
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): Nominee: SF - Stephens def. #9 V.Williams 6-1/0-6/7-5
TOP ASHE NIGHT SESSION MATCH: Nominee: 1st Rd. - (WC) Sharapova def. #2 Halep (Night 1)
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Kristyna Pliskova/CZE (1st Rd. - def. Eguchi/JPN)
FIRST SEED OUT: #32 Lauren Davis/USA (1st Rd. - lost to Kenin/USA
UPSET QUEENS: Japan
REVELATION LADIES: Australia
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Germany (2-7 1st Rd.; DC Kerber out; one of two w/ a win defeated another German)
CRASH & BURN: #6 Angelique Kerber/GER (lost to Osaka/JPN; second U.S. DC to lose 1st Rd.loss, w/ '05 Kuznetsova; out of Top 10)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: Sloane Stephens/USA (QF - down 3-1 in 3rd vs. Sevastova) and Madison Keys/USA (4th Rd. - down 4-2 in 3rd vs. Svitolina) = both reach first slam final
IT ("?"): Nominees: Mathewson (U.S. WC Star), Gauff/USA
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: Bannerette Semifinalists (Keys,Stephens,Vandeweghe,V.Williams - first all-U.S. semifinalists at U.S. Open since 1981; at slam since '85 Wimbledon))
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Kaia Kanepi/EST (QF)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Maria Sharapova/RUS (4th Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: In Final: Keys, Stephens
COMEBACK PLAYER: Petra Kvitova/CZE
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Venus Williams/USA
DOUBLES STAR: Nominees: Mathewson/USA (WC), Hingis/SUI
BROADWAY-BOUND: Maria Sharapova/RUS & Simona Halep/ROU (Opening Night)
LADY OF THE EVENING: "The Late Show starring Madison Keys" (3rd Rd. - 1:45am finish, second-latest women's finish to own 1:48 finish last year)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Nominees: Gauff/USA, Carle/ARG, Arango/COL


*SEUSS-THEMED TITLES*
Preview: "Halep Hears a Who" (Horton Hears a Who!, 1954)
1: "Mugu on the Loose" (Dr.Seuss on the Loose, 1973 [CBS TV])
1.5: "The Cat in the Hat Comes Back" (The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, 1958)
2: "Thing One and Thing Two" (The Cat in the Hat, 1957)
3: "The 500 Hats of Svetlana Kuznetsova" (The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, 1938)
4: "Hop on Pop" (Hop on Pop, 1963)
5: "You'll Miss the Best Things If You Keep Your Eyes Shut" (I Can Read with My Eyes Shut, 1978)
6: "A Czech Maiden is Faithful One-Hundred Percent" (Horton Hatches the Egg, 1940)
6.5: "Lists-a-Paleussical" (Seussical, 2000 [Broadway])
7: "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish!" (One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, 1960)
8: "Daisy-Head Maiden" (Daisy-Head Mayzie, 1995/2016)
8.5: "The Waiting Place" (Oh, the Place You'll Go!, 1990)
9: "Did Venus Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?" (Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? , 1956)
10: "One Fish Two Fish, Red-White-and-Blue Fish!" (One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, 1960)
11 (a): "And to Think That I Saw It on Ashe," (And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, 1937)
11 (b): "Future Sloane I Am" (Green Eggs and Ham, 1960)
12: "Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!" (Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!, 1975)




All for Day 12. More tomorrow.
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