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Sunday, October 28, 2018

Wk.43- A Singaporean Song of Svitolina

With her "Trust the Process" mantra suddenly evenly teetering on the edge of between being either a legitimate 2019 plotline, or a punchline, Elina Svitolina went to Singapore filled with a desire to prove her critics wrong. Geez, she should have gotten angry and mean -- in a positive way, of course -- sooner.

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After her opening round robin match at the WTA Finals, the Ukrainian made a point to note that the win was for the "haters" who'd questioned her presence in the field at all. She'd taken it upon herself in recent weeks (after parting ways with two different coaches, with only Andrew Bettles remaining from the previous set-up) to focus on qualifying for the season-ending event, to the point of trying to play "mean" in order to get the job done. Once she *did* make the eight-player field, though, there was only one way to silence (for now) those critics.

So, while the in-your-face aspect of the past week was only a minor factor, Svitolina *did* seem determined to re-write the thumbnail, spare-no-feelings description of her career thus far, to prove that she wasn't a player who was destined to be a "choker," nor a player who "wasn't any good." Factually, none of it was ever true. After all, her three previous '18 titles, just like her cache of other crowns in recent seasons, rank her at or near the top of any list of the tour's most successful recent winners. Her overwhelming number of Top 10 wins and defeats of various world #1's in recent seasons speak to her standing, as well

The only thing she didn't have was a slam title and the long-term respect that comes with it. Or even a major semifinal. Not that she hasn't been close. In fact, she's squandered numerous opportunities, not the least of which was an epic collapse in the Roland Garros quarterfinals two years ago against Simona Halep.

Thing is, rather than grow and learn from that experience in Paris, the last two and a half years have seemed to allow it (and other similar breakdowns) to be perpetually dragged along behind Svitolina like shoes tied to the bumper of an otherwise valuable sports car. "Everything looks good... but, you know, what's the deal with the shoes, anyway?" It was hard, if not impossible, to discuss her without bringing it up. Whenever another cover-your-eyes moment or early-round slam loss occurred, her past failures were highlighted yet again. Svitolina's lack of confidence in those recurring instances was often palpable, as well as a self-fulfilling prophecy for eventual failure.

A sudden burst to a major title, ala someone like Alona Ostapenko, was never going to be in the cards for Svitolina. It's just not her way, nor does it even seem to fly with a game style built on defense and opportunistic aggression that usually depends on a high confidence/low negativity level of angst in order to be effectively utilized at the most important moments in the biggest matches on the largest stages.

Svitolina desperately needed a boost. Something to put in her back pocket. A good memory to call upon in times of trouble. After searching for the table-turning moment for over two years, she seemed to collect a whole bushel of them this past week in Singapore.

With Halep's long-awaited climb into the slam winner's circle in '18, the deck was effectively cleared this past spring and readied for the "new" leading "hard luck" story to fully fill the "she deserves to win one" role when it comes to the neverending search for the next maiden slam champion. Thing is, that person wasn't to be Svitolina. She was "supposed" to have gotten there by now.

Svitolina's rise in recent years, from lower-level title winner to Top 20 player to Premier 5 champion and consistent Top 10 (or even 5) presence has been a multi-season affair in which the gradual construction of a legitimate champion was a pretty transparent "building project" headed up by the Ukrainian herself. From the seemingly annual exchange of coaches, seeking the next lesson to learn along her path, she became a fascinating case of how cerebral a player's decisions might become as she seeks to pool her resources over time to become the player she wants to ultimately be.

It's where and why the "Elina To-Do List" (seen in this space in recent seasons) came about. Her step-by-step march (via a process, if you will) to a slam title seemed an eventuality, if not a destiny waiting for her shortly down the line. But what happened in Paris in '16 has proved to be a hard hurdle to clear. This past year, in the latest attempt to add what was needed to take her game beyond the lingering slam "glass ceiling" her altered training regimen saw her develop a much more lean body type, leading many to question if she'd "gone too far" and lost strength, power and in-match stamina while following an elusive "Process" designed to improve (one would think) her speed and flexibility.



I must admit, even I, a longtime proponent of the Ukrainian's step-by-step, station-by-station, experience-by-experience climb up the ladder, was starting to, if not worry and outright question, then at least arch a suspicious eyebrow (or two or, all right, maybe three) in recent months as Svitolina went out meekly via another 3rd set collapse, then would post the usual "Trust the Process" mantra on social media.

Svitolina's undefeated WTA Finals title run, completed while building one confidence-building moment upon another, upon another, and upon another seemed to elevate the Ukrainian's prospects in clutch moments -- even in her own mind, where it's most important but is sometimes corrupted by negative emotions and frustration -- to another realm. Suddenly, after fighting through lingering moments of doubt as the week wore on, being "positive" seemed easier for her to pull off come the final Sunday. When Svitolina should have been physically dragging after a series of tough, intense in-match situations, she ended her season bouncing around the court for two hours, tearing the shoes off the bumper and shifting things into a new gear. One built for ultimate success.

Does winning in Singapore mean that Svitolina will win a slam in 2019? Well, no. Even if many first-time WTAF champions (most recently, the slam-deprived Caroline Wozniacki last year, who followed up by winning the Australian Open in her next major draw) have used this title as a springboard to greater things in the past, nothing is ever guaranteed.

But Svitolina now has a positive moment to bring to her next slam fight, as well as the confidence its trusty presence engenders. She's proven over the years that she can beat *anyone* (yes, even you-know-who) when her game is true. The biggest obstacle was often belief. She's got no reason to question it now.

So it's time for her to go get hers.




*WEEK 43 CHAMPIONS*
WTA FINALS (SINGAPORE) (Hard Court Indoor)
S: Elina Svitolina/UKR def. Sloane Stephens/USA 3-6/6-2/6-2
D: Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic (HUN/FRA) def. Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE) 6-4/7-5
WTAF - FUTURE STARS (u14)
Yang Ya-Yi/TPE def. Mio Kozaki//JPN 6-3/6-3
WTAF - FUTURE STARS (u16)
Ayu Ishibashi/JPN def. Annerly Poulous/AUS 7-5/7-6(5)
JUNIOR MASTERS (Chengdu, CHN)
Clara Burel/FRA def. Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL 7-6(6)/6-1




PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Elina Svitolina/UKR
...Svitolina's path to Singapore glory is chronicled at various stages throughout this post, so I won't be overly redundant by mentioning every moment here.

I will say, though, that this WTAF title run *will* change Svitolina. Remember, she's still on a mission to find a "full-time" '19 coach to work with along with Andrew Bettles, and the guts and promise of more she showed this week will now shine an even brighter light on that decision (especially after what happened after Osaka choose Bajin last winter). Going from being looked at as someone who falters in the majors to someone who most will now have more expectation to *win* a major is rarely a totally smooth transformation, either. Remember, while Svitolina will now finish at a best-ever #4 for 2018, her 13th career title *does* (at least temporarily) make her a Daily Backspin Slam Oddity -- unless or until, say, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova joins her by winning one more WTA singles title -- as Elina is now the only player (of 40 who qualify) in tour history with at least thirteen titles but zero slam semifinal results to her credit.

So, there's still that. But she can't really do anything about it for another three months, so...



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RISERS: Kiki Bertens/NED and Karolina Pliskova/CZE
...both Bertens and Pliskova came up a set short of facing off in the WTAF final match, bowing out on the weekend after shining brightly in Singapore before being unable to overcome a series of self-inflicted wounds in their final outings.



In her WTAF debut, Bertens became the first Dutch woman to reach the semis after battling her way through round robin play. First, she staged a Day 1 comeback win over Angelique Kerber after falling behind 6-1/2-0, taking her ninth straight match vs. a Top 10 opponent. After losing in three to Sloane Stephens, she reached the semis when Naomi Osaka retired (leg) after one set in the final RR match for both, giving Bertens a tour-best twelve Top 10 wins this season (on three different surfaces, on three different continents vs. nine different women). Facing Elina Svitolina in the semis for a spot in the final, Bertens at times found herself frustrated and rushing herself into errors in the match's biggest moments, including a spate of errors at the end of the 1st (including a DF on the Ukrainian's final SP) that thwarted a would-be comeback, then her inability to break Svitolina (she had two BP) as she served for the match in the 3rd. At the end of the 2:40 match, Bertens' 41 winners were overcome by 63 unforced errors.



Pliskova seemed to grow wings during her late-season swing after bringing Rennae Stubbs aboard as coach and committing to continuing to utilize Conchita Martinez (who helped her during her QF run a the U.S. Open) in '19. The lethal serve that pushed her to #1 not that long ago, but had since been less of a match-deciding factor, once again became a game-changing weapon. The form that produced a Tokyo title run and Tianjin final carried over to Singapore. The Czech opened play with a Day 1 win over Caroline Wozniacki and she advanced to her second straight WTAF semifinal with her first career win over countrywoman Petra Kvitova. Once there, she led Sloane Stephens 6-0/2-0, with a point for a 3-0 hold, before the Bannerette rose up and began to take advantage of what was Pliskova's worst serving game of the week. Stephens won in three, as the Czech had just a 45% first serve percentage, committed 41 UE and had 4 DF (w/ 0 aces). Still, with her 4Q surge Pliskova has reinserted herself into the "next maiden slam champ" discussion as 2019 actions kicks off before anyone has had much time to take a restful breath.


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SURPRISE: Harriet Dart/GBR
...the 22-year old Brit ended what has been her career year on a high note, sweeping the singles and doubles titles at a $25K challenger in Oslo. Dart picked up her second '18 singles title when Paula Badosa retired down 6-2/1-0 in the final, and she teamed with Swede Cornelia Lister to take the doubles. Coming into the week at a career high of #165, Dart is assured of her best season finish (she'd never completed a Top 300 year until now) in a campaign which included her slam debut at Wimbledon (after getting a WC following back-to-back-to-back $100K SF/QF/QF results on grass, after having coming into that stretch off an $80K QF and $60 SF, and an Eastbourne 1st Round win over Kristyna Pliskova) and taking Karolina Pliskova into a 1st set TB and (ultimately) three sets, and then putting on a semifinal mixed doubles run at the AELTC with Jay Clarke.
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VETERAN: Caroline Wozniacki/DEN
...who knows what might have happened had Wozniacki gotten off to a better star in Singapore, rather than losing on Day 1 to Karolina Pliskova and suddenly finding herself squarely behind the 8-Ball the rest of the week in her WTA Finals title defense attempt. In the end, though, the Pliskova loss proved to be too big a deficit to overcome in a tight round robin competition.

After outlasting Petra Kvitova, she entered the final day of White Group round robin play needing a straight sets win over Elina Svitolina to advance to the semis, while the Ukrainian needed to just win one set to eliminate Wozniacki. After winning the 1st set, the Dane took part in one of the oddest scenarios in head-to-head sport, as while a "win" was still within sight if she couldn't close out the 2nd it would be "meaningless" for her if it took her three sets to get it. Serving down 5-6, she fell behind 15/40, facing multiple BP/SP situations that were essentially a "MP" (though not really... but, in way, *exactly* that). Svitolina showed a touch of nerves, while Wozniacki remained calm and held a pair of GP that would have forced a "winner-take-all" TB (even if they still had to play a 3rd set). But it didn't happen, and Svitolina converted on her fifth BP/SP/Advancement Point. With Group placement at stake, they played out the 3rd, with Svitolina winning 5-7/7-5/6-3 to take 1st Place.

Afterward, Wozniacki cleared up the lingering mystery about what exactly was the injury issue she encountered during the summer, as she announced that she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis before the U.S. Open. If you remember, it was thought not long before the start of the season's final slam that she might decide to not play. She ultimately did, losing in the 2nd Round.



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COMEBACKS: Sloane Stephens/USA and Varvara Lepchenko/USA
...not really a traditional "comeback" entrant, for sure, but Stephens' debut appearance in the WTAF, even while it came up just short of earning her the title (dropping her to 1-3 in finals in '18), at least put to bed the notion that she can't bring herself to produce big results either, 1) outside the U.S., 2) in Asia or 3) in the 4Q of the season. If not for Svitolina's perhaps career course-correcting transformation, Stephens was well on her way to being the story of the week, brushing aside any questions that may have lingered about her staying power at the top of the game (and/or willingness to bring the sort of focus to the table in all portions of the season that could get her to #1). Three-set wins over Naomi Osaka and Kiki Bertens set the stage for her 3 & 3 win-or-go-home RR win over Angelique Kerber. In the semis, she rallied from a 6-0/2-0 (and nearly 3-0) deficit vs. Karolina Pliskova, and took the 1st set in the final from Svitolina. Even while the Ukrainian grabbed an early lead in the 3rd, it only came after staving off multiple potentially momentum-changing BP opportunities held by an "on-and-off" Stephens, and even after *that* the suspicion lingered into the final game of the match that Sloane might still "flip the switch" and send Svitolina into '19 with another lost lead on her big stage ledger.



But the question remains whether this might be Sloane's last gasp for '18, as this result is an autumnal anomaly as far as her career results go. She'll surely be counted on to head up Kathy Rinaldi's U.S. squad in the Fed Cup final, and the happenings of this week (remember, she went 0-2 vs. BLR last year and nearly single handedly cost the Bannerettes the title) -- both her own and that of the likely-tiring Petra Kvitova, as well as Pliskova's memory of the big SF comeback -- would seem to open the door (at least a little) for the possibility of a U.S. repeat against the favored Czechs.

In Macon, Georgia in the first tournament in the USTA's four-event Australian Open Wild Card Playoff, 32-year old Lepchenko picked up the $80K title, her first singles crown since winning a $50K challenger back in 2011. The world #162, who reached the Top 20 in '12, took the title without dropping a set, defeating Ashley Kratzer, Whitney Osuigwe, Allie Kiick and Veronica Cepede Royg in the final. This wasn't Lepchenko's only good result this quarter, as she also pulled the big upset of Aryna Sabalenka in Quebec City immediately after the U.S. Open and went on to reach the QF.
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FRESH FACE: Kaja Juvan/SLO
...so, is it too early to go ahead and name the top player on the 2019 "Name You'll Know..." list? Because, well, Juvan will be it.

The 17-year old Slovenian, fresh off her two Gold medal performance at the Youth Olympics, carried over her momentum to her fourth '18 ITF title (sixth final). At the $25K challenger in Pula, Italy, Juvan handed Fernanda Brito (6-2/6-1) a rare circuit loss, defeating the Chilean in the SF and dropping her to 47-3 since late April (a span during which she won eight singles titles). A 3-6/6-1/6-2 win in the final over Polina Leykina finished off Juvan's week, and season, as on Monday she'll be one of seven players under 18 positioned inside the Top 200 as we enter Week 44, after which the official "season-ending" rankings will be recorded.


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DOWN: Petra Kvitova/CZE
...without a notable result since her New Haven QF, and in her final tour-level event before the Fed Cup final next month, Kvitova seemed buoyed by the nation of a faster hard court surface in Singapore in the sort of indoor event at which she's traditionally thrived. But after the initial hopes about the surface proved to be premature, the Czech's notions of a final great individual result in her reawakening season seemed to drift away, as well. After opening with just her second loss in nine meetings with Elina Svitolina, she fell in three sets to Caroline Wozniacki and lost for the first time ever to Karolina Pliskova (and did so in straight sets). The loss is her second to a fellow Czech in '18 (and second to a Pliskova, having come up short vs. Kristyna in Charleston), dropping her her 27-2 vs. her countrywoman since 2012. With an 0-3 WTA Finals mark (she's now 4-9 in the event since going 5-0 and winning the title in her '11 WTAF debut), one wonders if Kvitova can effectively regroup and bring her best to the Fed Cup final in November. Even with her great FC history, she was 0-3 in indoor matches while playing for her country as recently as '16.



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ITF PLAYER: Viktorija Golubic/SUI
...in Poitiers, France the 26-year old Swiss took home the crown at the week's biggest European challenger event. Her $80K run is her first singles title of any kind since winning the tour-level event in Gstaad in 2016, and included her first appearance in a final since her $60K February defeat at the hands of teenager Marta Kostyuk. Golubic's week included wins over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, Anna Blinkova, Monica Niculescu and Natalia Vikhlyantseva in a 3-6/6-1/7-5 final. She saved a MP held by the Hordette in the 3rd set. The win will lift Golubic's ranking fifteen spots and back into the Top 100 at #92, meaning she's likely to finish the '18 season a week from now with her second Top 100 campaign. Her only other came two years ago (#57).
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JUNIOR STAR: Clara Burel/FRA
...Svitolina wasn't the only player to get over "the hump" in Asia this weekend. The 17-year old Pastry did it, too.

Burel has consistently been a top performer at 2018's biggest junior events, but she entered the week still seeking one of the season's most prestigious crowns. She was runner-up at both hard court slams, losing in the AO final to Liang En-shuo and in the U.S. vs. Wang Xiyu, and just a couple of weeks ago went home with Silver after falling to Kaja Juvan in the Youth Olympics final in Buenos Aires. This week, at the eight-player Junior Masters round robin event in Chengdu, China, Burel got one more big event opportunity to come out on top. Things finally went her way.



Burel went 2-0 in RR play, defeating Eleonora Molinaro and Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, advancing to the SF without playing a third match (after Wang withdrew with an injury). She then avenged her Melbourne loss to Liang to reach the final, where she again knocked off Osorio. The Colombian had reached the semis after defeating Wang and winning out over Molinaro, who'd served for the win, in the last RR match, and then upset Clara Tauson to make the final two. Burel's 7-6(6)/6-1 victory in the final followed up additional wins over Osorio in the U.S. Open and Youth Olympics semis. As Burel noted in her Instagram post, she'll now be the new girls #1.
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DOUBLES: Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
...The '18 doubles season of Babos/Mladenovic had a certain symmetry about it. It began with a run to the Australian Open title, then experienced an 11-6 title-less stretch until a win in Birmingham, immediately followed by another 11-6 title-less period heading into the WTA Finals. While they didn't manage to snatch the year-end #1 ranking away from Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova, the pair *did* hold up their end of the bargain when it came to taking the title. Their Singapore championship run, which included wins over Dabrowski/Xu and Barty/Vandeweghe (the latter in a 10-8 match TB) before a 6-4/7-5 victory over the aforementioned top-ranked Czechs in the final, represents the 19th career tour WD title for both women, and their sixth as a pair (three before Kiki's fruitful run with Caroline Garcia, and three this year, two of which included victories over Krejcikova/Siniakova). Babos (who won in '17 w/ Andrea Hlavackova) is the fourth woman to repeat as the tournament's WD champ with a different partner, while Mladenovic is the first Pastry to win the title since Francoise Durr in 1979.
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WHEELCHAIR: Michaela Spaanstra/NED
...at the Sion Indoor ITF 3 event in Switzerland, #2-seeded Spaanstra took the title with a 4-6/6-4/6-4 win in the final over top-seeded German Katharia Kruger (world #9). The 40-year old Dutch woman, ranked #12 on the WC tour, had faced off twice before in '18 finals with Kruger, defeating her in Wroclaw, POL in June and then losing in Ath, BEL in August. Spaanstra is 5-3 in singles finals this season.


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1a. WTAF Final - Elina Svitolina def. Sloane Stephens
...3-6/6-2/6-2. A week's worth of confidence-building wins served Svitolina well in the final. She got off to a slow start, dropping serve at love to go down 2-0, and then holding multiple BP in more than one game that went unconverted as Stephens grabbed the 1st. Unbowed, Svitolina took advantage of Stephens' slightly "off" (tiring?) form in the 2nd, jumping to a 3-1 lead and breaking to take the set. In the 3rd, the Ukrainian, quite obviously running on built-up adrenaline and keeping to coach Andrew Bettles' call to project positivity, embraced the moment on which what comes next in her career may pivot. Chasing down a net cord shot and flicking a forehand winner across Stephens' path, Svitolina broke for a 2-0 lead, then saved three BP a game later, holding with a put-away volley off the sideline.



But the match wouldn't end without a final push from Stephens, who turned her game up a notch, threw in a few "come on!" calls, held at love, then took a love/40 lead on Svitolina's serve en route to getting the break back after winning a battle of reflex shots at the net. While she remained a potential comeback threat, Stephens couldn't maintain the roll. As Svitolina stood strong against Sloane's groundstrokes and remained aggressive and confident, a handful of Stephens errors gave the break back. A Svitolina backhand passing shot held for a 5-2 lead. A game later, Stephens' DF put her down love/30. At 30/40 MP, a backhand error finally ended it. Svitolina (for the first time ever, apparently) fell to her back in celebration.

Trust the Process.



No matter which woman had won, it would have marked the second straight year that the four slams and WTAF were won by five different players. Before last year, it'd happened only once (2005) before. In all, the ten biggest tour titles in 2017-18 have been won by nine different women.

2017 AO: Serena Williams
2017 RG: Alona Ostapenko
2017 WI: Garbine Muguruza
2017 US: Sloane Stephens
2017 WTAF: Caroline Wozniacki
2018 AO: Caroline Wozniacki (2)
2018 RG: Simona Halep
2018 WI: Angelique Kerber
2018 US: Naomi Osaka
2018 WTAF: Elina Svitolina

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1b. WTAF rr - Elina Svitolina def. Caroline Wozniacki
...5-7/7-5/6-3. Svitolina's path to the title was made possible not by a win here, but by one set. The 2nd. One *game*, really. THE TWELFTH.

While Wozniacki needed a straight sets win to reach the SF and eliminate Svitolina, the Ukrainian needed only to take a single set. With the moment of truth fast approaching late in the tight 2nd stanza, with the Dane serving down 5-6, Svitolina went up 15/40. She didn't *have* to win game #12 to advance, as she would have gotten another chance in a "winner-takes-the-SF-slot" TB. But this moment can now be viewed through the lens of "before." Before Svitolina battled through her nerves (and some short-landing shots that allowed Wozniacki to battle back and hold two GP). Before Svitolina slayed one of her more lethal personal "can't win in the clutch, can't close out a win on the big stage" demons from her past and secured the game, set and the semis on her fifth BP/SP/Advancement Point. Before whatever follows in the aftermath of this win for the Ukrainian becomes a reason to look back on this moment once again.




Svitolina's eventual match win closed out a 3-0 round robin mark, giving her 1st Place in her group, altering what would have otherwise been the semifinal matchups. As it turned out, she faced Kiki Bertens in the SF, who faltered at the end of both the 1st and 3rd sets, and *then* in the final it was Sloane Stephens, who appeared a bit tired at the end of a long week while Svitolina (who'd faced just as many tight situations in long matches) was drinking from a cup filled to the brim with confidence, excitement and redemption.

Would Svitolina have won the title if she'd faced a slightly fresher Stephens in the semis, then either Bertens or Pliskova in the final? Maybe. Maybe not. But she wouldn't have had the chance if not for GAME TWELVE.

Thus, it carves out a special place in Svitolina history. The Process is officially a plotline, not a punchline.
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3. WTAF SF - Elina Svitolina def. Kiki Bertens
...7-5/6-7(5)/6-4. In a match packed with defensive gets by both players and the steady and confident play of Svitolina, Bertens was ultimately undone by ill-timed dips in play to close out both sets she lost. After being denied a SP at 5-4 in the 1st, Svitolina held in a close game for 6-5, then took the set with help from her Dutch opponent's game #12 errors (including a DF on SP). Despite leading throughout the 2nd, Bertens failed to convert a SP at 5-3 on Svitolina's serve, and was broken after having led 5-4, 40/love a game later as Svitolina's return game prevailed, frustrating Bertens and causing her to rush to the line to serve. Svitolina strung together nine straight points and led 2-0 in the TB, only to see Bertens rebound and win it 7-5.

Svitolina gave back an early break lead in the 3rd, dropping serve on BP #4 in a 13-minute. But she remained positive, and got the break back a game later. She got within two points of the win in two different games, but failed to reach MP. Superior Svitolina defense saved a BP, and she won a 22-shot rally on Bertens' second BP chance. Finally at MP, fully hitting out in a baseline rally, Svitolina took the 2:40 match when Bertens failed to get back a deep shot. Bertens led 41-12 in winners, but it wasn't enough to overcome a 63-36 gap in UE.


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4. WTAF rr - Elina Svitolina def. Petra Kvitova
...6-3/6-3. One for the haters. The rest turned out to be for Eli.


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5. WTAF rr - Kiki Bertens def. Angelique Kerber
...1-6/6-3/6-4. "The one that got away" for Kerber, as it likely cost her a SF slot. The German, the #1 seed in the event, led Bertens 6-1/2-0. But, a reminder to be careful... even in victory.


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6. WTAF rr - Sloane Stephens def. Angelique Kerber
...6-3/6-3. Stephens wins the outright battle for a SF berth in the final match of group play. With her 1-2 mark in Singapore, Kerber finished her season by going 7-7 following her seven-match run to the Wimbledon title.
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7. Junior Masters Final - Clara Burel def. Maria Camila Osorio Serrano
...7-6(6)/6-1. Try, try, try and try again...


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8. Junior Masters rr - Maria Camila Osorio Serrano def. Wang Xiyu
...6-4/6-2. (The now former) Girls #1 Wang withdrew from the event with a rib injury following this loss, but only after a summer and fall filled with promise. After knocking off heavily favored Coco Gauff in the Wimbledon junior competition, she reached the SF at the AELTC, won two $25K titles (and reached another final), won the U.S. Open girls title, made her tour-level MD debut at Guangzhou, posted her first WTA win (B.Pera) in Wuhan and then pushed Dasha Kasatkina into a 3rd set TB and picked up the Youth Olympic doubles Bronze with Wang Xinyu.
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9. WTA Finals SF - Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic def. Ash Barty/CoCo Vandeweghe 6-7(5)/6-3 [10-8]
WTA Finals F - Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic def. Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova 6-4/7-5
...Barty & Vandeweghe have gone 14-6 as partners in '18. Three of the losses have come to Babos/Mladenovic. On the other hand, two of Babos/Mladenovic's three '18 title runs have included wins over Krejcikova/Siniakova.


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10. Future Stars u14 Final - Yang Ya-Yi/TPE def. Mio Kozaki/JPN 6-3/6-3
Future Stars u16 Final - Ayu Ishibashi/JPN def. Annerly Poulus/AUS 7-5/7-6(5)
...Yang becomes first Taiwanese girl to win a Future Stars competition in Singapore, knocking off the #1 (Wang Xinyang/CHN) and #2 (Kozaki) seeds to do it. Meanwhile, Japan went 1-1 in the junior finals with #1-seeded Ishibashi's victory.


Yang and Kozaki

Ishibashi and Poulus
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11. $60K Saguenay CAN Final - Tara Moore/Conny Perrin def. Sharon Fichman/Maria Sanchez
...6-0/5-7 [10-7]. A week after losing together in a WD final in South Carolina, engaged couple Moore & Perrin manage to pick up their third overall title as a duo in their ninth final since 2015. It was Fichman's first final in her fourth tournament back after a two and a half year break from the sport.
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12. $60K Saguenay CAN SF - Katherine Sebov def. Dasha Lopatetskaya
...6-3/1-6/6-2. The 15-year old Ukrainian's remarkable 17-0 run to start her pro career finally comes to an end.
===============================================











1. WTAF rr - Sloane Stephens def. KAROLINA PLISKOVA
...0-6/6-4/6-1. Down 6-0/2-0, and a point from 3-0, Stephens peeked over the edge, cursed her predicament, and then stepped back... and up. She broke Pliskova's serve to provide herself a lifeline. With one game in her pocket, she slowly reeled in Pliskova (serving at a lowly 45% clip, 0 aces, 4 DF and 41 UE) and eventually took her down to reach the final.


===============================================
2. WTAF rr - Angelique Kerber def. NAOMI OSAKA
..6-4/5-7/6-4. After losing a set and a break lead in her opening match vs. Bertens, Kerber here fought against squandering a 6-4/5-4 lead not long after a flagging Osaka had dropped ten straight points. With Osaka serving at 3-3, 40/15 in the 3rd, the U.S. Open champ badly played a Kerber lob, was soon broken, and then saw the match quickly slip away. Though she was still alive for SF berth despite a 0-2 mark, Osaka only played one more set in Singapore, retiring with a leg injury mid-way through her third and final round robin match two days later vs. Bertens.


===============================================
3. WTAF rr - KAROLINA PLISKOVA def. Petra Kvitova
...6-3/6-4. Now 1-3 vs. Kvitova in her career, Karolina joins sister Kristyna (Charleston this spring) as the only two Czechs to defeat Petra since 2012, a stretch during which she's gone 27-2 vs. fellow Maidens.
===============================================
4. WTAF rr - Elina Svitolina def. KAROLINA PLISKOVA
...6-3/2-6/6-3. One of the necessary demons Svitolina had to slay in Singapore (with undertones of her past slam exits, in this case her blown Roland Garros QF vs. Halep last year) came when she led Pliskova 4-0 in the 3rd set. As the Czech began to stir, a comeback seemed possible that could leave the Ukrainian in shambles. Memories of big stage moments wasted in her past surely popped into her head. While her back-against-the-wall 2nd set game #12 win vs. Wozniacki could prove to be a key moment for Svitolina's future success, this more "minor" accomplishment may have helped clear a less (mentally) cluttered path that made it possible.
===============================================
5. $60K Bendigo AUS Final - Ellen Perez/ARINA RODIONOVA def. Eri Hozumi/Risa Ozaki
...7-5/6-1. The Aussie picks up her 30th career ITF doubles crown. Rodionova is 0-5 in tour-level WD finals, though.


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


By now familiar territory...



Meanwhile, for Sania, it's nearly time...



Kim's been there, done that (twice). But the "waiting game" still applies...










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Golden autumn in Latvia ??

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*SEASONS WITH FIVE DIFF. SLAM/WTAF CHAMPIONS*
2005 = S.Williams, Henin-Hardenne, V.Williams, Clijsters (+ Mauresmo)
2017 = S.Williams, Ostapenko, Muguruza, Stephens (+Wozniacki)
2018 = Wozniacki, Halep, Kerber, Osaka (+Svitolina)

*MOST WTA SINGLES TITLES in 2018*
5 - Petra Kvitova, CZE
4 - ELINA SVITOLINA, UKR
3 - Simona Halep, ROU
3 - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
3 - Kiki Bertens, NED
3 - Elise Mertens, BEL

*MOST WTA FINALS in 2018*
6 - Simona Halep, ROU (3-3)
5 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (5-0)
4 - ELINA SVITOLINA, UKR (4-0)
4 - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (3-1)
4 - Kiki Bertens, NED (3-1)
4 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (2-2)
4 - SLOANE STEPHENS, USA (1-3)

*2018 WTA FINALS - UKR*
4 - ELINA SVITOLINA (4-0)
1 - Lesia Tsurenko (1-0)
1 - Dayana Yastremska (1-0)
1 - Kateryna Kozlova (0-1)

*2018 WTA FINALS - USA*
4 - SLOANE STEPHENS (1-3)
2 - Serena Williams (0-2)
1 - CoCo Vandeweghe (0-1)
1 - Amanda Anisimova (0-1)
1 - Alison Riske (0-1)
1 - Bernarda Pera (0-1)
1 - Jessica Pegula (0-1)

*MOST WTA DOUBLES FINALS in 2018*
5...BABOS/MLADENOVIC, HUN/FRA (3-2)
5...Mertens/Schuurs, BEL/NED (3-2)
5...KREJCIKOVA/SINIAKOVA, CZE/CZE (2-3)
5...S.-Hlavackova/Strycova, CZE/CZE (2-3)
4...Melichar/Peschke, USA/CZE (2-2)
4...Klepac/Martinez-Sanchez, SLO/ESP (1-3)

*REACHED FINAL IN WTA CHAMPIONSHIP/WTAF DEBUT*
1979 Tracy Austin, USA
1981 Andrea Jaeger, USA
1994 Lindsay Davenport, USA
1996 Martina Hingis, SUI
2001 Serena Williams, USA (W)
2004 Maria Sharapova, RUS (W)
2011 Petra Kvitova, CZE (W)
2014 Simona Halep, ROU
2016 Dominika Cibulkova, SVK (W)
2018 Sloane Stephens, USA

*MOST WTA CHAMPIONSHIP/WTAF WD TITLES*
11 - Martina Navratilova
10 - Pam Shriver
4 - Lisa Raymond
3 - Cara Black
3 - Lindsay Davenport
3 - Martina Hingis
3 - Liebel Huber
3 - Natasha Zvereva
2 - TIMEA BABOS
2 - Margaret Court
2 - Gigi Fernandez
2 - Anna Kournikova
2 - Sania Mirza
2 - Jana Novotna
2 - Nadia Petrova
2 - Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
2 - Samantha Stosur
[defended title w/ diff. partner]
1980/81 - Martina Navratilova (Billie Jean King, Pam Shriver)
1996/97/98 - Lindsay Davenport (Mary Joe Fernandez, Jana Novotna, Natasha Zvereva)
2014/15 - Sania Mirza (Cara Black, Martina Hingis)
2017/18 - Timea Babos (Andrea Hlavackova, Kristina Mladenovic)

*FUTURE STARS, 16-and-under*
2014 Karman Thandi/IND def. Rifanty Khafiany/INA
2015 Pranjala Yadlapalli/IND def. Yun Hye Ran/KOR
2016 Violet Apisah/PNG def. Shivani Amineni/IND
2017 Megan Smith/AUS def. Lee Ya-Hsin/TPE
2018 Ayu Ishibashi/JPN def. Annerly Poulus/AUS

*FUTURE STARS, 14-and-under*
2014 Thasaporn Naklo/THA def. Yuki Ando/JPN
2015 Chu Jiayu/CHN def. Fitriani Sabatini/INA
2016 Shiori Ito/JPN def. Olesya Kim/UZB
2017 Priska Nugroho/INA def. Pimrada Jattavapornvanit/THA
2018 Yang Ya-yi/TPE def. Mio Kozaki/JPN

*PLAYERS WITH 13+ WTA TITLES (40); *-active *
=W (31)=
Martina Navratilova (167), Chris Evert (154), Steffi Graf (107), Margaret Court (92), Serena Williams (72)*, Evonne Goolagong (68), Billie Jean King (67), Virginia Wade (55), Monica Seles (53), Venus Williams (49)*, Justine Henin (43), Kim Clijsters (41), Maria Sharapova (36)*, Conchita Martinez (33), Tracy Austin (30), Caroline Wozniacki (30)*, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (29), Hana Mandlikova (27), Gabriela Sabatini (27), Petra Kvitova (25)*, Amelie Mauresmo (25), Jana Novotna (24), Victoria Azarenka (20)*, Nancy Richey (19), Simona Halep (18)*, Svetlana Kuznetsova (18)*, Kerry Melville Reid (17), Mary Pierce (17), Ann Haydon Jones (16), Ana Ivanovic (15), Jennifer Capriati (14)
=F (7)=
Pam Shriver (21), Aga Radwanska (20)*, Manuela Maleeva (19), Elena Dementieva (16), Jelena Jankovic (15)*, Dianne Fromholtz Balestrat (15), Zina Garrison (14)
=SF (1)=
Nadia Petrova (13)
=QF (1)=
Elina Svitolina (13)*

*MOST SINGLES TITLES - LAST 3 SEASONS, 2016-18*
10 - ELINA SVITOLINA = 1/5/4
8 - Petra Kvitova = 2/1/5
7 - Simona Halep = 3/1/3
7 - Caroline Wozniacki = 2/2/3
7 - Karolina Pliskova = 2/3/2
6 - Kiki Bertens = 1/2/3
5 - Angelique Kerber = 3/0/2
5 - Sloane Stephens = 3/1/1
5 - Caroline Garcia = 2/2/1

*JUNIOR MASTERS FINALS at Chengdu*
2015 Xu Shilin/CHN d. Kristina Schmiedlova/SVK
2016 Anna Blinkova/RUS d. Katie Swan/GBR
2017 Marta Kostyuk/UKR d. Kaja Juvan/SLO
2018 Clara Burel/FRA d. Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL

*WTA SECOND SEASON-ENDING EVENT FINALS*
[TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS, 2009-11 Bali/2012-14 Sofia]
2009 Aravane Rezai/FRA d. Marion Bartoli/FRA
2010 Ana Ivanovic/SRB d. Alisa Kleybanova/RUS
2011 Ana Ivanovic/SRB d. Anabel Medina-Garrigues/ESP
2012 Nadia Petrova/RUS d. Caroline Wozniacki/DEN
2013 Simona Halep/ROU d. Samantha Stosur/AUS
2014 Andrea Petkovic/GER d. Flavia Pennetta/ITA
[ELITE TROPHY, 2015-xx Zhuhai, CHN]
2015 Venus Williams/USA d. Karolina Pliskova/CZE
2016 Petra Kvitova/CZE d. Elina Svitolina/UKR
2017 Julia Goerges/GER d. CoCo Vandeweghe/USA
2018 ?
[ELITE TROPHY - Doubles Champions]
2015 Liang Chen/Wang Yafan, CHN
2016 Ipek Soylu/Xu Yifan, TUR/CHN
2017 Duan Yingying/Han Xinyu, CHN/CHN
2018 ?



*2018 WEEKS AT DOUBLES #1 - to December 24*
16 - Latisha Chan, TPE
13 - Timea Babos, HUN
10 - BARBORA KREJCIKOVA/KATERINA SINIAKOVA, CZE/CZE
8 - Latisha Chan/Martina Hingis, TPE/SUI
5 - Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina, RUS/RUS












ELITE TROPHY; ZHUHAI, CHINA (Hard Court Indoor)
=SINGLES PLAYERS=
Dasha Kasatkina
Anastasija Sevastova
Aryna Sabalenka
Elise Mertens
Julia Goerges
Madison Keys
Garbine Muguruza
Caroline Garcia
Ash Barty
Anett Kontaveit
Wang Qiang
Zhang Shuai (WC)
=DOUBLES TEAMS=
Buzarnescu/Rosolska
Kato/Ninomiya
L.Kichenok/N.Kichenok
Aoyama/Marozava
Jiang Xinyu/Yang Zhaoxuan (WC)
Xun Fangying/Tang Qianhui (WC)



MUMBAI, INDIA (WTA 125/Hard Court)
=WS FINALS=
2012 Elina Svitolina def. Kimiko Date-Krumm
2013-16 NOT HELD
2017 Aryna Sabalenka def. Dalina Jakupovic
=WD FINALS=
2012 Bratchikova/Kalashnikova d. J.Glushko/Lertcheewakarn
2013-16 NOT HELD
2017 V.Rodriguez/Schoofs def. Jakupovic/Khromacheva
=======================================
'18 TOP SEEDS
WS: #1 Zheng Saisai, #2 Jakupovic
WD: #1 Jakupovic/Khromacheva, #2 Hibino/Kalashnikova



And, finally...

"Peanuts" was *always* more than it seemed on the surface (just read some of the very early strips, in storyline sequence, to see the inspiration Schulz provided the likes of Bill Watterson's "Calvin and Hobbes" and others...)





All for now.
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