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Sunday, July 29, 2018

Wk.30- The Kids are All Right

Have no fear. The kids are all right.



Little by little, there's finally an inkling that it's happening. That the vast depth of talent and storylines, not to mention entertainment value (often high-level, sometimes "low-brow," but never, ever boring or easily ignored by anyone arriving on the scene without a personal bone to pick or prejudice to spout), of the WTA tour is winning out.

Just weeks after Wimbledon (where the women's final out-ranked the men's), where we saw the run of a 36-year old finalist who was also a new mother (in case you didn't know) and quite possibly the standard bearer for "great" in the sport from here forward, often pitched as a "bigger deal" than the just as compelling and very-newsworthy championship performance of a former #1 whose fully rebounded from a historically disappointing "year after" season to move within a single major title of a Career Slam; and just two months since the standing #1 broke down a career's worth of big stage barriers by becoming the most heartwarming first-time slam champion in a generation; and still only six months beyond the moment when another first-time slam winner erased the arguments of a decade's worth of doubters with her own first major crown (and then there's that Czech who fought off an knife-wielding attacker before becoming the dominant "regular season" force of '18), the tour proved (again) this week that *those* headlining moments were just scratching the surface of what's there to be sampled.

In fact, the Tennis Gods pretty much got drunk on their own brilliance in Moscow and Nanchang.

In a nutshell:

* - there were two first-time singles champions produced from a pair of all-maiden finalist championship matches

* - one featured just the third all-Chinese final in tour history, while the other involved a pair of 17-year olds in the youngest WTA final since 2005

* - Moscow champ Olga Danilovic became the first player to win the title in her WTA main draw debut since 2001, and the first lucky loser to ever claim a crown

* - meanwhile, another pair of teenagers (Jiang Xinyu & Tang Qianhui) defended the Nanchang doubles crown they won a year ago in *their* tour debut, while the losing 17-year old in the Moscow singles final (Anastasia Potapova) teamed with a 33-year old former world #2 and slam singles finalist (Vera Zvonareva) who is *also* a mother to win her maiden doubles title after just missing out on claiming the same in singles

Of course, such moments are almost becoming commonplace on this tour.



Hey, there's another marketing campaign -- "Where Stars are Born" -- the WTA will never entertain (ah, there's still another -- "Are You Not Entertained?") before ultimately settling on yet another "Beauty is Strength/Strength is Beauty" rehash, I'm sure. With such an embarrassment of riches, and a sublime vein of relatable possibilities and differing personalities to better sell and promote the women's game, you wonder how the tour can never quite figure out how to package the whole shebang for what it is.


No matter, though, for those already plugged into the weekly highs and lows delivered from well-known and experienced personalities to the growing crop of new and exciting ones, all mixing together to produce a potent stew of drama and intrigue, it's just a matter of what new and unexpected story will slap you in the face *this* week. Why, it's almost like keeping abreast of the political news in the U.S. every day, except without the potential for international disgrace and national embarrassment just waiting around the next corner. The way "You've-got-to-be-kiddin'-me" news *should* be, am I right?

I mean, sometimes you just want to ride the wave of the unexpected without democracy and Western civilization teetering on the brink, you know? Sometimes you just want a runaway dog with a GoPro in his mouth...



Bless that dog (wild-armed owner in hot pursuit and all)... and bless the WTA, too. And, this week, Olga Danilovic, of course.

Feels.

A post shared by Olga Danilovic (@danilovicolga) on





*WEEK 30 CHAMPIONS*
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (Int'l/Red Clay)
S: Olga Danilovic/SRB def. Anastasia Potapova/RUS 7-5/6-7(1)/6-4
D: Anastasia Potapova/Vera Zvonareva (RUS/RUS) d. Alexandra Panova/Galina Voskoboeva (RUS/KAZ) 6-0/6-3
NANCHANG, CHINA (Int'l/Hard Court)
S: Wang Qiang/CHN def. Zheng Saisai/CHN 7-5/4-0 ret.
D: Jiang Xinyu/Tang Qianhui (CHN/CHN) d. Lu Jingjing/You Xiaodi (CHN/CHN) 6-4/6-4



PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Olga Danilovic/SRB
...well, we certainly didn't see that one coming. Isn't that great?



Well, maybe there should be *some* backtracking on that. I mean, Danilovic *has* been making an under-the-radar move on the challenger circuit of late, and had already climbed into the Top 200 (#187) *before* Moscow. A Top 5 junior who grabbed three junior doubles slam crowns in 2016-17, she recently won a $60K title in Versmold (def. Laura Siegemund in three sets in the final) and a $25K in Italy in March (due to weather delays, winning a 3rd set 10-point TB over 39-year old Patty Schnyder in the SF to advance), and then there was that Fed Cup Heart Award-receiving performance in her February debut when she led the Bracelettes in zone play (she got a win over Anastasija Sevastova). But it wasn't so overwhelming a rise by the big-hitting 17-year old lefty that anyone arched an eyebrow *too* high when she lost in the final round of Moscow Open qualifying to Spain's Paula Badosa. But when the Serb entered the main draw (her first on tour) due to Petra Martic's withdrawal, the stage was set for history to be made.

Wins over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, Kaia Kanepi, world #10 Julia Goerges and Aliaksandra Sasnovich made Danilovic the first LL to reach a tour final since CoCo Vandeweghe did it in Stanford in 2012. Her 2:20 win in the final over Anastasia Potapova (with both age 17, it was the youngest tour final since Vaidisova/Golovin in '05), during which she battled nerves and a sometimes-wonky second serve with grit and teenage verve, she forged ahead from a break defict in the 3rd set to become just the first LL to ever win a WTA title (for years the WTA has listed Andrea Jaeger's 1980 Las Vegas title as the only other LL, but they've now gone back and altered the tour's recorded history *yet again*) and the first player to claim the crown in her maiden tour MD event since 2001 (Angelique Widjaja in Bali).



Danilovic will jump 75 spots to #112 on Monday, surging past Marta Kostyuk to become the highest ranked player under age 18. She's now 1-0 vs. the Top 10, 2-0 vs. the Top 20, 4-1 vs. the Top 50 and 5-1 vs. the Top 100. Needless to say, she's no longer "under-the-radar."

And then there's this (something which could prove more difficult as she grows older... but hopefully not):


===============================================
RISERS: Wang Qiang/CHN and Zheng Saisai/CHN
...Wang won the all-Chinese battle (just the third such final in tour history, and the only that hasn't included Li Na) of first-time WTA singles finalists in Nanchang.



26-year old Wang, with Danilovic, raised the total of first-time tour singles champions in '18 to five, adding a big tour win to the WTA 125 challenger she won last year to become the 20th player to have claimed both in a career. She put up wins over Ankita Raina, Sabina Sharipova, Liu Fangzhou and Magda Linette before seeing Zheng retire down 7-5/4-0 in the final. The win turned around the result from when the two met a few weeks ago in the 1st Round at Wimbledon in a match won by Zheng in three sets before she pushed #1 Simona Halep in the 1st set (7-5, after Zheng served at 5-4) of a straight sets 2nd Round loss.



Zheng, 24, has fairly quickly seen her results round into shape after being out due to injury following last summer's U.S. Open until March of this year, putting her in good position for a fifth straight Top 100 finish in '18. While she didn't manage to add a WTA title to her previous '18 WTA 125 and ITF challenger wins (if she had, it'd been just the fourth time a player has won all three in a season -- and two of the previous three times it was accomplished by the *same* player, Zhang Shuai). After a week that included victories over Miyu Kato, Karman Thandi and Zhu Lin, Zheng will see a 27-spot bump on Monday settle her in at #85 in the tour rankings.


===============================================
SURPRISE: Zhu Lin/CHN
...with the goings-on in Moscow, and a QF field in Nanchang that included the likes of junior star Liang En-shuo as well as Xun Fangying and Liu Fangzhou, I'll go with Zhu, one of the six Chinese women who reached the final eight. The 24-year old world #137 has had some bright moments in '18, including qualifying in Melbourne (and taking Hsieh Su-wei to 8-6 in the 3rd in the 1st Round) and defending her $60K title in Luan in May. She came to Nanchang having gone just 1-3 since, though, with her last match a Wimbledon Q1 loss to Genie Bouchard, but rebounded with her best week of the season. Zhu knocked off '16 Nanchang champ Duan Yingying in the 1st Round, then backed up the victory with wins over Tereza Martincova and #1-seeded Zhang Shuai to reach her second tour-level semifinal, but first in two seasons. She fell in three sets to Zheng Saisai.


===============================================
VETERAN: Vera Zvonareva/RUS
...naturally, in a week in which two 17-year olds met in the Moscow singles final, and two teens successfully defended their Nanchang doubles crown, one of those aforementioned teenagers -- Anastasia Potapova -- would end the week by teaming with 33-year old Zvonareva to secure the Moscow Open doubles win. The win gives the veteran Russian doubles titles in all three tour-level events that have been held in her mother country, at the 2004 Kremlin Cup, and this season here and in Saint Petersburg (she reached the Kremlin Cup WS final in '08).

Zvonareva & Potapova won a pair of 3rd set TBs early in the week (10-6 Dzalamidze/An.Rodionova 1st Rd., 10-8 Geuer/Siegemund QF), then had to play nearly two full matches on Sunday, finishing up a SF vs. Kozlova/Vikhlyantseva after Potapova's 2-hour plus singles final, then winning a love & 3 final over Panova/Voskoboeva. Zvonareva, now with two tour-level WD titles (8 career) since her return after having a baby, made her first appearance in a pro final in September 2000. Neither Potapova nor Danilovic were born until 2001.
===============================================
COMEBACKS: Laura Siegemund/GER and Margarita Gasparyan/RUS
...Siegemund's return from knee surgery has started to pick up significant steam in recent weeks. After a not-unexpectedly slow start (5-7), with this week's result factored in, she's gone 10-5 since early June, with a $60K final run in Versmold, $60K QF and now back-to-back final eight results in Bucharest and Moscow. A three-set victory over Gstaad champ Alize Cornet highlighted the German's week, which also included a win over Kateryna Kozlova (3 games) before a loss to Tamara Zidansek. She'll jump 32 spots back into the Top 200 (#185) on Monday.



While Russians were running rampant in Moscow, Hordette Gasparyan was in Nanchang, still working her way back from knee surgery. The 23-year old former #41 (playing with a protected ranking, she was #499 this week) and tour title winner ('15 Baku) picked up her first tour MD win in two years ('16 Miami) with a victory over Xu Shilin. She lost a round later to #1-seed Zhang Shuai, but she's now 13-5 on the season, with a semifinal and final result in a pair of $25K challengers this spring, though she arrived in China off a pair of walkover exits in tournament qualifying rounds in Europe. Teaming with Chantal Skamlova, Gasparyan also added a WD win (via 2nd set ret.) over #1-seeds Savinykh/Hozumi.


===============================================
FRESH FACES: Anastasia Potapova/RUS and Tamara Zidansek/SLO
...while Danilovic grabbed the majority of the glory in Moscow with her improbable lucky loser/first MD title run, it shouldn't be lost that finalist Potapova was playing in just her *third* tour-level MD (after Saint Petersburg and Wimbledon). Before this week, the Hordette had just one MD win to her credit.



The 17-year old wild card, the Wimbledon girls champ just two years ago and the former junior #1, arrived in Russia just on the outskirts of the Top 200 (#204) and with a handful of she's-almost-there results signaling her oncoming rise (though many times she was tripped up by generational rivals seemingly on a pace just a half-step ahead of her). She reached a $100K final in May (losing to teen Vera Lapko), a $60K in July (losing to teen Dayana Yastremska, the player she defeated to win the SW19 junior title), and another $60K QF in this spring (falling to teen Viktoria Kuzmova). So, she was looking for her first truly *game-changing* week as a pro, with her biggest title to date being just a $25K in Brazil in March of last year, when she defeated would-be U.S. Open junior champ Amanda Anisimova in the final. Even without the singles titles, Potapova likely got it on home soil in the inaugural Moscow Open, as she burst through the QF barrier and into her maiden tour final with wins over Viktoriya Tomova, Kristyna Pliskova, Valentyna Ivakhnenko and Tamara Zidansek. She battled Danilovic for three sets in the youngest tour final in thirteen years, winning a 2nd set TB (after Danilovic had failed to serve out the match in two, DF'ing on MP at 5-4) to push things into a decider before falling in 2:20.

But Potapova wasn't finished. She returned soon afterward to finish off her suspended doubles semifinal alongside Vera Zvonareva. The Russian pair won it, then defeated Panova/Voskoboeva love & 3 in the final as Potapova *did* get a first WTA title, after all. It took seven sets and nearly five hours of court time on Sunday for her to do it, but it at least allowed her to have the final word *at last* on a tournament's closing weekend. She'll climb 70 spots to #135 in the rankings on Monday.



Meanwhile, Zidansek's big week (it was also *her* third MD) got somewhat lost in the shuffle of Potapova and Danilovic's even *better* ones. But hers was surely noteworthy. Already having recently broken through the Top 100 barrier as the highest ranked of the three, the 20-year old leading the recent resurgence of Slovenian singles tennis on tour (in order, Zidansek, Hercog and Jakupovic are in the Top 100, with teenager Kaja Juvan quickly rising) added a tour-level result of note to the fine work she's been posting all season on the challenger circuit. With a WTA 125 title (Bol), three $25K wins, as well as SF and Final $25K results and $100K QF under her belt, Zidansek reached her first WTA SF with wins over Antonia Lottner, Dasha Kasatkina (twice coming back from a break down in the 3rd set to get her maiden Top 20 win) and Laura Siegemund. She took Potapova to three sets in her ultimate loss, retiring down 5-2 due to illness. She'll jump from #90 to #74 on Monday.


===============================================
DOWN: Dasha Kasatkina/RUS
...generally, the presence of Kasatkina in a draw in a tournament held if Russia is a sure bet to end with some weekend theatrics. After all, the Hordette's previous appearances in Moscow (at the Kremlin Cup) have included a doubles title (2015), doubles final (2016) and singles final (2017). The inaugural edition of the Moscow Open, though, didn't produce anything resembling such a result. In her first outing since her Wimbledon QF run, with a great result giving her the chance to edge ever closer to her Top 10 debut, #13-ranked Kasatkina allowed just two games to Anna Kalinskaya in her 1st Round match. But she failed to close out Tamara Zidansek a round later despite being a break up twice in the 3rd set. The Russian dropped the final three games of the match, dropping the deciding set at 7-5 as the Slovenian notched her first career Top 20 win.
===============================================
ITF PLAYERS: Gail Brodsky/USA and Julia Glushko/ISR
...as it's become a sport-wide trend, naturally the mother-returning-to-the-court-and-becoming-a-champion story also extends to the challenger circuit.

In this week's $60K in Ashland, Kentucky, 27-year old Bannerette Brodsky, who's barely played since 2012 after retiring and taking two breaks to have babies, won her sixth career ITF title. After making her way through qualifying, Brodsky knocked off Olivia Rogowska, Julia Elbaba, Nao Hibino (ret.) and Jovana Jaksic to reach the final, then defeated former NCAA #1 Maegan Manasse in their second tournament final this summer. In both matches, Brodsky came back from a set down to outpace the former Cal Bear in three sets, winning via a love set this time around.



Brodsky, a Brooklyn native, was a U.S. Open wild card in 2007-08, her only slam MD appearances. She reached the Top 200 that year, became engaged at age 21, and had her first child in 2015. She won her first event back, then was out while having another baby. A little over a year and a half later, she's back and winning again. So... what'll become a reality first -- a third title in this comeback or a third baby?

In Granby, Quebec it was 28-year old Israeli Glushko maintaining the steamrolling pace she's carried through the spring and summer as she claimed the $60K title, her biggest since 2013 (also in Canada, at Waterloo). Glushko lost just one set (1st Rd. vs. Samantha Murray) en route to career ITF title #11, getting a walkover in the semis past local favorite Bianca Andreescu (hamstring, as another leg injury holds the teenager back from achieving a stepping-stone result) and then winning 4 & 3 over Arina Rodionova in the final. The win extended a very productive Canadian stretch for Glushko, who also reached a $25K final in Winnipeg (losing to Rebecca Marino) and a $25K QF in Gatineau. Starting with her Fed Cup appearance in April, the Israeli has gone 33-5, including a 27-4, five-final (3-2) run since mid-May.

happy person #mercicanada????

A post shared by Julia Glushko (@julglushko) on


===============================================
JUNIOR STARS: Liang En-shuo/TPE and Clara Tauson/DEN
...while Danilovic and Potapova were starring in Moscow, another 17-year old, AO junior champ Liang, was in Nanchang putting up her own big result in her first tour-level MD appearance. After winning two qualifying matches to reach her maiden MD, the Taiwanese teen notched the first two WTA wins of her career over China's Zheng Wushuang and Thailand's Peangtarn Plipuech. In her first QF, she went three sets before falling to Magda Linette. Liang will be ranked inside the Top 300 (#288, up 117 spots) for the first time on Monday.



In Klosters, Switzerland it was 15-year old Dane Tauson taking the 18s title at the European Junior Championships, adding another big title to a 2018 resume that already includes a Grade 1 win (Perin Memorial), and Grade A final (Porto Allegre) & semifinal (Milan) through the season's first half. The #13 junior, Tauson lost just one set in six matches, defeating Poland's Maja Chwalinska 6-3/6-3 in the final. Chwalinska, back in May after being out since November, was playing in her first junior event of the season and hadn't lost a set all week, following up her $80K Olomouc QF from last week with wins over #2-seeded Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Wimbledon finalist Leonie Kung. She was the 16s Euro champ a year ago.



The 14s and 16s version of the European Championships were held in Most, CZE and Moscow, respectively, in recent weeks, with the latest NextGen prospect from the Czech Republic (Linda Noskova, who followed up with a Czech team 14s title in the Europa Cup) and Latvia (Kamilla Bartone) coming out on top.




Both Danilovic and Potapova have won European Junior titles in the past.

=RECENT EUROPEAN Jr. CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS=
[14s]
1996 Justine Henin, BEL
1997 Caroline Raba, GER
1998 Lina Krasnoroutskaya, RUS
1999 Petra Cetkovska, CZE
2000 Barbora Strycova, CZE
2001 Tatiana Golovin, FRA
2002 Michaella Krajicek, NED
2003 Raluca Olaru, ROU
2004 Renee Reinhard, NED
2006 Ksenia Pervak, RUS
2007 Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2008 Petra Uberalova, SVK
2009 Viktoriya Tomova, BUL
2010 Indy DeVroome, NED
2011 Ana Konjuh, CRO
2012 Olga Fridman, UKR
2013 Evgeniya Levashova, RUS
2014 Anastasia Potapova, RUS
2015 Iga Swiatek, POL
2016 Helene Pellicano, MLT
2017 Dasha Lopatetskaya, UKR
2018 Linda Noskova, CZE
[16s]
2000 Kaia Kanepi, EST
2001 Petra Cetkovska, CZE
2002 Monica Niculescu, ROU
2003 Madalina Gojnea, ROU
2004 Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU
2005 Alize Cornet, FRA
2006 Irina-Camelia Begu, ROU
2007 Simona Halep, ROU
2008 Timea Babos, HUN
2009 Polina Vinogradova, RUS
2010 Silvia Garcia Jimenez, ESP
2011 Jade Suvrijn, FRA
2012 Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP
2013 Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
2014 Fanny Stollar, HUN
2015 Anna Slovakova, CZE
2016 Olga Danilovic, SRB
2017 Maja Chwalinska, POL
2018 Kamilla Bartone, LAT
[18s]
1994 Martina Hingis, SUI
1995 Anna Kournikova, RUS
1996 Petra Mandula, HUN
1997 Barbara Schwartz, AUT
1998 Eva Dyrberg, DEN
1999 Stephanie Foretz, FRA
2000 Yuliya Beygelzimer, UKR
2001 Marie-Gaiane Mikaelian, ARM
2002 Eva Birnerova, CZE
2003 Tatiana Golovin, FRA
2004 Katerina Bohmova, CZE
2005 Agnes Szavay, HUN
2006 Carla Suarez Navarro, ESP
2007 Stefanie Voegele, SUI
2008 Ana Bogdan, ROU
2009 Elora Dabija, ROU
2010 Jana Cepelova, SVK
2011 Nastja Kolar, SLO
2012 Petra Uberalova, SVK
2013 Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
2014 Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP
2015 Anna Bondar, HUN
2016 Amina Anshba, RUS
2017 Kaja Juvan, SLO
2018 Clara Tauson, DEN

===============================================
DOUBLES: Jiang Xinyu & Tang Qianhui, CHN/CHN
...a year ago, the 18 & 16 year old pair of Jiang & Tang won the title in Nanchang in their tour debut. This week, they won tour title #2 via a successful title defense.


Despite their youth, the duo are a longtime pair. They won their first junior title together in their first tournament in early 2014, and reached their first pro final in a $10K in 2015. That week began with Jiang being just 15 (she turned 16 during the event) and Tang 14. They've gone on go 5-6 in ITF finals, and are now 2-0 in WTA championship matches. Now 19 and 17, the two have yet to lose a set in their back-to-back title runs in Nanchang, a stretch during which they've knocked off two #3 seeds, as well as a #4 (in the '17 final). The Chinese teens defeated unseeded countrywomen Lu Jingjing & You Xiaodi 4 & 4 in this year's final.
===============================================

WHEELCHAIR: Sabine Ellerbrock/GER
...at 42, Ellerbrock is twice as old as current WC #1 Diede de Groot, but the veteran German more than holds her own in the sport. Ranked #4 in the world behind de Groot, Yui Kamiji and Aniek van Koot, Ellerbrock picked up her fourth Belgian Open title this weekend. As the #2 seed, she didn't drop a set all week, defeating #3 Marjolein Buis (SF) and #4-seeded countrywoman Katharina Kruger (F) to close things out. Before Kamiji's title last year, Ellerbrock and van Koot had traded off the title in the event for six years running (they met in the '17 semis, with the Dutch woman prevailing), but their fourth final match-up since 2011 never materialized due to the #1-seeded van Koot leaving her SF with Kruger due to a wrist injury while leading 6-1/0-1.

=RECENT BELGIAN OPEN FINALS=
2011 Aniek van Koot d. Sabine Ellerbrock
2012 Sabine Ellerbrock d. Marjolein Buis
2013 Aniek van Koot d. Sabine Ellerbrock
2014 Sabine Ellerbrock d. Sharon Walraven
2015 Aniek van Koot d. Jordanne Whiley
2016 Sabine Ellerbrock d. Aniek van Koot
2017 Yui Kamiji d. Aniek van Koot
2018 Sabine Ellerbrock d. Katharina Kruger

Ellerbrock's path to the wheelchair tour is slightly different from most others at the top of the sport, as she arrived after playing tennis for twenty-five years without a chair before suffering a foot infection following an operation in 2007. She began her WC career two years later. She reached #1 in 2013, has won two slam titles ('13 RG/'14 AO) and reached three other slam singles finals.

In the Belgian Open doubles, Bannerette Dana Mathewson & Natalia Mayara (BRA) took the crown after receiving a walkover in the final from Buis & van Koot due to van Koot's injury.


===============================================




Chakvetadze Sighting + Oh, Nadia = (since everybody's doing it) a Petrova comeback in 2019-20 (overly wishful thinking?)





1. Moscow Final - Olga Danilovic def. Anastasia Potapova
...7-5/6-7(1)/6-4. Potapova was 2-0 ('16 AO & Roehampton) in their junior head-to-head, winning a pair of straight sets matches. But this match-up of two 17-year olds (at 34 combined, still two years younger than Serena) was a back-and-forth affair. Danilovic came back from 4-1 down (w/ points for 5-1) to win the 1st at 7-5, then DF'd on MP when serving for the title at 5-4 in the 2nd. In the 3rd, it was Potapova who lost a break lead as the Serb's aggression and big groundstrokes finally dragged her across the match's finish line first... and into tour history.



===============================================
2. Nanchang Final - Jiang Xinyu/Tang Qianhui def. Lu Jingjing/You Xiaodi
...6-4/6-4. The two-time Nanchang champion 19 and 17-year olds, at a combined age of 36, are still younger than Venus. With these sort of results, it's just *too* easy.
===============================================
3. Moscow 2nd Rd. - Tamara Zidansek def. Dasha Kasatkina
...6-4/2-6/6-4. Kasatkina was up a break twice in the 3rd, but the Slovenian swept the final three games to notch her first career Top 20 win and reach her maiden tour QF.


===============================================
4. Nanchang Final - Wang Qiang def. Zheng Saisai
...7-5/4-0. If you didn't know, you'd *never* be able to tell that Wang was unfamiliar with this whole post-match ceremony thing. Or maybe you would.


===============================================
5. Moscow QF - Olga Danilovic def. Julia Goerges
...6-3/6-3. Not even the highlight of the Serb's week, as it turned out. But it's still her first career Top 10 win.


===============================================
6. Moscow SF - Olga Danilovic def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich
...6-2/5-7/7-5. On her third try, Danilovic finally served this one out to become the third LL to reach a tour final (at least until the WTA decides to change *that* stat, too). Sasnovich still climbs to a new career high of #35.
===============================================
7. Moscow 1st Rd. - Laura Siegemund def. Alize Cornet
...4-6/6-2/6-3. The German's second Top 40 win (Stuttgart: Strycova) since her return.
===============================================
8. Moscow Q1 - Paula Badosa def. Elena Rybakina 7-6(6)/2-6/7-5
Moscow Q2 - Paula Badosa def. Olga Danilovic 7-6(4)/4-6/6-3
...Rybakina was playing her first match in Russia since she started representing Kazakhstan (when she played in Saint Petersburg in February, she was still listed as "RUS"). Meanwhile, Badosa's other win (eventually) became far more noteworthy.
===============================================
9. Nanchang 1st Rd. - Margarita Gasparyan def. Xu Shilin
...6-1/6-4. Gasparyan's first MD tour win in two years. If the TG's really wanted to shake things up, she'd win her *next* tour event. (Hopeful hint, hint.)


===============================================
10. $25K Baja HUN Final - Paula Ormaechea def. Nina Potocnik
...6-3/7-5. Back from wrist surgery, the 25-year old Argentine (#59 in '13, but currently #608) wins her first ITF title since 2016. She also took the doubles with Natalija Kostic.

?????? @wilsontennis

A post shared by Paula Ormaechea (@paulaormaechea) on


===============================================
11. $15K Evansville USA Final - Elysia Bolton def. Connie Ma
...6-3/4-6/6-3. The 18-year defeats a fellow Bannerette, 15-year old Ma, to claim her first pro title. Ma teamed with 16-year old Gianna Pielet to win the doubles, while 15-year old Savannah Broadus also reached the singles semis. It was one of those weeks.


===============================================
12. $15K Sandefjord NOR Final - Malene Helgo def. Lisa Ponomar
...6-3/4-6/6-3. The 18-year old Norwegian takes her second title in a month, and joins forces with Astrid Wanja Brune Olsen to sweep the doubles.


===============================================
13. $15K Schio ITA Final - Nastassja Burnett def. Bianca Turati
...6-1/7-5. Burnett wins the all-Italian battle, denying past NCAA #1 and Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year Turati (Texas) her first title since 2015.


===============================================
14. $15K Taipei TPE Final - Joanna Garland/Lee Hua-chen def. Chan Chin-wei/Kotomi Takahata
...6-1/3-6 [10-1]. UK-born 17-year old Garland (TPE) picks up her first career title. Garland reached the Roland Garros girls QF this spring, then reached the Wimbledon girls 3rd Round after double-bageling Eleonora Molinaro before losing to Brit Emma Raducanu.
===============================================


15. Nanchang 1st Rd. - Karman Thandi def. Lu Jiajing
...6-3/3-6/7-5. 20-year old qualifier Thandi, India's #2 singles player, knocks off Lu for her first career WTA MD win. She also defeated Lu in the final to win her maiden ITF title in June. She jumps 32 spots this week into the Top 200 for the first time.


===============================================


More from the Dutch painter...



Elena Vesnina... color coordination on point.




1. Moscow 2nd Rd. - Anastasia Potopova def. KRISTYNA PLISKOVA
...6-4/6-4. Pliskova was coming off a three-set 1st Round win over Katerina Siniakova in which she nearly blew a set and a break lead. It allowed the Czech to get in her first swim of the year a little earlier, though (or maybe later, as it *is* late July). Oh, and if you want to see just a sample of the sort of junk that WTA players have to deal with on social media if they choose to interact beyond merely posting photos, just read the comments on this Instagram post (umm, or *don't* read them).

First swim of the year??

A post shared by Kristyna Pliskova (@kristynapliskova) on


===============================================
2. WTT - Vania King (Springfield) def. VENUS WILLIAMS (WAS)
...5-3. Oh, Vania!


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??

A post shared by Simona Halep (@simonahalep) on





Casual

A post shared by Victoria Azarenka (@vichka35) on





I am a house owner!!! ???

A post shared by Daria Gavrilova (@daria_gav) on











#RoomWithAView #??

A post shared by Maria Sharapova (@mariasharapova) on





*WON TITLE IN DEBUT WTA MD EVENT*
1977 Tracy Austin, USA (Portland)
1988 Petra Langrova, CZE (Paris)
1997 Mirjana Lucic, CRO (Bol)
1999 Katarina Srebotnik, SLO (Estoril)
1999 Justine Henin, BEL (Antwerp)
2001 Angelique Widjaja, INA (Bali)
2018 OLGA DANILOVIC, SRB (MOSCOW MO)
[recent breakout performances]
2015: Nao Hibino in 2nd MD, wins Tashkent
2016: Rebeka Masarova to SF in WTA MD debut in Gstaad, 16 yrs.old
2017: Jana Fett to SF in WTA MD debut in Hobart
2017: Marketa Vondrousova in 2nd WTA MD wins Biel, 17 yrs.old
2017: Jiang/Tang win Nanchang WD in WTA debut
2017: Mihaela Buzarnescu to SF in 2nd career WTA MD in Linz, 29 yrs.old
2018: Anastasia Potapova to F in 3rd career WTA MD, 17 yrs.old

*RECENT TEEN WTA CHAMPIONS*
[2014]
17 - Donna Vekic, CRO (Kuala Lumpur)
19 - Madison Keys, USA (Eastbourne)
19 - Elina Svitolina, UKR (Baku)
[2015]
17 - Ana Konjuh, CRO (Nottingham)
18 - Belinda Bencic, SUI (Eastbourne)
18 - Belinda Bencic, SUI (Toronto)
[2016]
19 - Oceane Dodin, FRA (Quebec City)
[WTA 125: 17 - CiCi Bellis, USA = Honolulu]
[2017]
17 - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE (Biel)
19 - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (Charleston)
[WTA 125: 19 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR = Mumbai]
[2018]
17 - OLGA DANILOVIC, SRB (MOSCOW MO)

*2018 YOUNG WTA FINAL MATCH-UPS*
34 - MOSCOW MO = DANILOVIC (17) d. POTAPOVA (17)
40 - Indian Wells = Osaka (20) d. Kasatkina (20)
41 - Lugano = Mertens (22) d. Sabalenka (19)
[most recent all-teen]
2009 Charleston - Lisicki (19) d. Wozniacki (18)
2009 Linz - Wickmayer (19) d. Kvitova (19)
2017 Charleston - Kasatkina (19) d. Ostapenko (19)
2018 Moscow MO - DANILOVIC (17) d. POTAPOVA (17)
[most recent 18-and-unders]
2005 Tokyo JO - Vaidisova (16) d. Golovin (17)
2018 Moscow MO - DANILOVIC (17) d. POTAPOVA (17)

*2018 YOUNG WTA FINALISTS*
17,4m - ANASTASIA POTAPOVA, RUS (MOSCOW-L)
17,6m,1w - OLGA DANILOVIC, SRB (MOSCOW-W)
19,11m,1w - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (Lugano-L)
20,1m,3w - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (Eastbourne-L)
20,5m - Naomi Osaka, JPN (Ind.Wells-W)
20,9m,2w - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (Dubai-L)
20,9m,3w - Alona Ostapenko, LAT (Miami-L)
20,10m,1w - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (Ind.Wells-L)
[doubles]
17 - ANASTASIA POTAPOVA (MOSCOW MO-W)
17 - TANG QIANHUI (NANCHANG-W)
19 - Anna Blinkova (Rabat-W)
19 - JIANG XINYU (NANCHANG-W)
19 - Vera Lapko (Lugano-L)
19 - Aryna Sabalenka (Lugano-L)
19 - Fanny Stollar (Budapest-W/Rabat-L)
20 - Alona Ostapenko (Doha-W)

*2018 WTA FIRST-TIME CHAMPS*
Indian Wells: Naomi Osaka, JPN (20/#44) - def. Kasatkina
Rosmalen: Aleksandra Krunic, SRB (25/#55) - def. Flipkens
Mallorca: Tatjana Maria, GER (30/#79) - def. Sevastova
Moscow MO: OLGA DANILOVIC, SRB (17/#187) - def. POTAPOVA
Nanchang: WANG QIANG, CHN (26/#78) - def. SAI.ZHENG

*2018 WTA FIRST-TIME FINALISTS*
Hobart: Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU (#57, 29)
Taipei City: Kateryna Kozlova, UKR (#85, 23)
Acapulco: Stefanie Voegele, SUI (#183, 27)
Mallorca: Tatjana Maria, GER (#79, 30) = W
Gstaad: Mandy Minella, LUX (#226, 32)
Moscow MO: ANASTASIA POTAPOVA, RUS (#204, 17)
Moscow MO: OLGA DANILOVIC, SRB (#187, 17) = W
Nanchang: ZHENG SAISAI, CHN (#112, 24)
Nanchang: WANG QIANG, CHN (#78, 26) = W

*2018 LOW-RANKED FINALISTS*
#226 - Mandy Minella, LUX (Gstaad)
#204 - ANASTASIA POTAPOVA, RUS (Moscow MO)
#187 - OLGA DANILOVIC, SRB (Moscow MO) = W
#183 - Stefanie Voegele, SUI (Acapulco)
#181 - Serena Williams, USA (Wimbledon)
#132 - Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, SVK (Bogota) = W
#122 - Pauline Parmentier, FRA (Istanbul) = W
#112 - ZHENG SAISAI, CHN (Nanchang)

*LOW-RANKED WTA CHAMPIONS - since 2012*
#233 - Marketa Vondrousova = 2017 Biel
#208 - Melanie Oudin = 2012 Birmingham
#187 - OLGA DANILOVIC = 2018 MOSCOW MO
#182 - Peng Shuai = 2016 Tianjin
#174 - Lara Arruabarrena = 2012 Bogota
#168 - Francesca Schiavone = 2017 Bogota
#163 - Duan Yingying = 2016 Nanchang
#158 - Ash Barty = 2017 Kuala Lumpur

*2018 Q/WC/LL/PR IN WTA FINAL*
Brisbane - Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR (23, #88/Q)
Saint Petersburg - Petra Kvitova, CZE (27, #29/WC) = W
Stuttgart - CoCo Vandeweghe, USA (26, #16/WC)
Gstaad - Mandy Minella, LUX (32, #226/PR)
Moscow MO - ANASTASIA POTAPOVA, RUS (17, #204/WC)
Moscow MO - OLGA DANILOVIC, SRB (17, #187/LL) = W

*RECENT BEST LUCKY LOSER RESULTS*
W - 2018 Moscow - OLGA DANILOVIC
RU - 2012 Stanford - CoCo Vandeweghe
SF - 2008 Quebec City - Angela Haynes
SF - 2008 Tokyo - Jarmila Gajdosova
SF - 2012 Fes - Mathilde Johansson
SF - 2012 Linz - Irina-Camelia Begu
SF - 2013 Brisbane - Lesia Tsurenko
SF - 2013 Paris - Kiki Bertens
SF - 2015 Acapulco - Sesil Karatantcheva
SF - 2015 New Haven - Lesia Tsurenko
SF - 2015 Quebec City - Naomi Broady
SF - 2018 Budapest - Viktoria Kuzmova
[WTA all-time LL in finals]
2005 Canberra: Melinda Czink
2012 Stanford: CoCo Vandeweghe
2018 Moscow MO: OLGA DANILOVIC (W)

*2018 - DEF. #1 SEED, WON TITLE*
Auckland: Julia Goerges, GER (F-Wozniacki)
Australian Open: Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (F-Halep)
Doha: Petra Kvitova, CZE (SF-Wozniacki)
Budapest: Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL (F-Cibulkova)
Indian Wells: Naomi Osaka, JPN (SF-Halep)
Rome: Elina Svitolina, UKR (F-Halep)
Strasbourg: A.Pavlyuchenkova, RUS (SF-Barty)
Rosmalen: Aleksandra Krunic, SRB (SF-Vandeweghe)
Moscow MO: OLGA DANILOVIC, SRB (QF-Goerges)

*CHINESE - WTA SINGLES TITLES*
9 - Li Na (2004,08,10-14)
4 - Zheng Jie (2005-06,12)
2 - Peng Shuai (2016-17)
2 - Zhang Shuai (2013-17)
1 - Duan Yingying (2016)
1 - Yan Zi (2005)
1 - Sun Tiantian (2006)
1 - WANG QIANG (2018)

*AGE OF CHINESE MAIDEN WTA SINGLES CHAMPIONS*
20 - Yan Zi (2005 Guangzhou)
21 - Zheng Jie (2005 Hobart)
22 - Li Na (2004 Guangzhou)
24 - Zhang Shuai (2013 Guangzhou)
25 - Sun Tiantian (2006 Tashkent)
26 - WANG QIANG (2018 NANCHANG)
27 - Duan Yingying (2016 Nanchang)
30 - Peng Shuai (2016 Tianjin)

*WTA ALL-CHN FINALS*
2006 Estoril - Zheng Jie def. Li Na (ret)
2013 Shenzen - Li Na def. Peng Shuai
2018 Nanchang - WANG QIANG def. ZHENG SAISAI

*2018 WS/WD FINALS IN EVENT*
Shenzhen - Simona Halep/ROU (W/W)
Shenzhen - Katerina Siniakova/CZE (L/L)
Hobart - Elise Mertens/BEL (W/W)
Lugano - Elise Mertens/BEL (W/W)
Lugano - Aryna Sabalenka/BLR (L/L)
Prague - Mihaela Buzarnescu/ROU (L/L)
Nurnberg - Johanna Larsson/SWE (W/L)
Rosmalen - Kirsten Flipkens/BEL (L/L)
Moscow MO - ANASTASIA POTAPOVA/RUS (L/W)

*2018 WTA FINALS IN HOME NATION*
Sydney - Ash Barty, AUS
Miami - Sloane Stephens, USA (W)
Prague - Petra Kvitova, CZE (W)
Nottingham - Johanna Konta, GBR
Moscow MO - ANASTASIA POTAPOVA, RUS
Nanchang - ZHENG SAISAI, CHN
Nanchang - WANG QIANG, CHN (W)
[doubles]
Saint Petersburg - Alla Kudryavtseva, RUS
Saint Petersburg - Vera Zvonareva, RUS (W)
Budapest - Fanny Stollar, HUN (W)
Miami - CoCo Vandeweghe, USA (W)
Monterrey - Giuliana Olmos, MEX
Bogota - Mariana Duque, COL
Stuttgart - Anna-Lena Groenefeld, GER (W)
Prague - Kveta Peschke, CZE (W)
Rosmalen - Kiki Bertens, NED
Rosmalen - Demi Schuurs, NED (W)
Nottingham - Heather Watson, GBR
Mallorca - MJ Martinez-Sanchez, ESP (W)
Bucharest - Irina-Camelia Begu/Andreea Mitu, ROU (W)
Gstaad - Timea Bacsinszky, SUI
Nanchang - JIANG XINYU/TANG QIANHUI, CHN (W)
Nanchang - LU JINGJING/YOU XIAODI, CHN
Moscow MO - ANASTASIA POTAPOVA/VERA ZVONAREVA, RUS (W)
Moscow MO - ALEXANDRA PANOVA, RUS

*2018 WD REPEAT CHAMPIONS*
Stuttguart - Raquel Atawo, USA
Prague - Kveta Pesche, CZE
Bucharest - Irina-Camelia Begu, ROU
Moscow MO - JIANG XINYU/TANG QIANHUI, CHN

*2018 WTA MULTIPLE WS CHAMPS - NATIONS*
3: GER - Goerges,Kerber,Maria
2: BEL - Mertens,Van Uytvanck
2: CZE - Kvitova,Ka.Pliskova
2: FRA - Cornet,Parmentier
2: SRB - DANILOVIC,Krunic
2: UKR - Svitolina,Tsurenko




When tennis slam coverage was a real event...







WASHINGTON, DC USA (Int'l/Hard Court Outdoor)
=2017 WS=
QF: Makarova d. Halep
QF: Dodin d. Lisicki
QF: Goerges d. Niculescu
QF: Petkovic d. Andreescu
SF: Makarova d. Dodin
SF: Goerges d. Petkovic
F: Makarova d. Goerges
=2017 WD=
SF: Mirza/Niculescu d. Bouchard/Stephens
SF: Aoyama/Voracova d. J.Moore/Rae
F: Aoyama/Voracova d. Bouchard/Stephens
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Wozniacki, #2 Stephens
WD: #1 A.Chan/Yang Zhaoxuan, #2 Aoyama/Voracova


SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA USA (Premier/Hard Outdoor)
=2017 WS=
QF: Muguruza d. Konjuh
QF: Keys d. Tsurenko
QF: Vandeweghe d. Pavlyuchenkova
QF: Bellis d. Kvitova
SF: Keys d. Muguruza
SF: Vandeweghe d. Bellis
F: Keys d. Vandeweghe
=2017 WD=
SF: Cornet/Rosolska d. Day/Dolehide
SF: Spears/Vandeweghe d. Pavlyuchenkova/Savchuk
F: Spears/Vandeweghe d. Cornet/Rosolska
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Muguruza, #2 Keys
WD: #1 L.Chan/Peschke, #2 Buzarnescu/Watson


Lucky loser Danilovic has nothing on the Washington Valor. Check that, make that the ArenaBowl XXXI champion Washington Valor. After 0-7 and 1-10 starts, a fired coach and a new quarterback at mid-season, a 2-10 regular season mark and 4th place finish in a four-team league. But with 3-1 overall finish, and wins over the #1 and #2-seeded teams, a surprise championship season is completed a few weeks later. With a 4-11 (!!) record on the year. Go figure.





So, the Capitals. The Valor. Hmmm, all right, Kastles... you're now on the clock.


All for now.
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