Backspin Sites

Thursday, January 24, 2019

AO.11 - Everything's Coming Up Petra

Everything's coming up Petra. And, really, who can take issue with that? She's more than earned it.



For the run of this Australian Open, Petra Kvitova has pretty much been mowing through the competition. Not only has she not lost a set, but she came into today's semifinal having not lost more than five total games in any of her first five matches. This is the Petra that often made the jaws of all-time greats literally drop when the Czech first flashed her top level form on the game's biggest stages, winning two Wimbledon crowns and being anything and everything to all, from Good to Great to Scary Petra to, well, just plain ol' Petra (who was ironically anything but).

While Kvitova had been dominant, her first-time slam semifinal opponent on Day 11 had had to survive on Day 1 (def. Julia Goerges, who'd served for the match), then caught fire. In all, Danielle Collins, without a slam MD win to her name a week and a half ago, had won five straight to get here, knocking off three seeds, delivering a shocking beating to world #2 Angelique Kerber, and outlasting Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in a three-set QF.

Kvitova and Collins had met in a 1st Round match in Brisbane in Week 1, a three-hour contest won by Kvitova, but one in which Collins got within two points of the win.

Having arrived in Melbourne fresh off another marathon triumph, a tough three-set final in Sydney vs. Ash Barty that saw her exhausted but still unbeatable down the stretch in a 3rd set TB, Kvitova has surely been helped in this Australian Open by a seasonable stretch of Melbourne weather that in no way has resembled the dangerous heat conditions of recent years. Conditions, it should be noted, that have often toppled the asthma-suffering Czech in the past. And though in her self-declared "best shape ever," Kvitova had to be looking back over her shoulder for the first ten days, wondering how long her luck would hold out.

Finally, the heat arrived today with the hottest temperatures of the tournament.

If one needed further proof that Kvitova's stars have been aligned of late, look no further than that the tournament's policy had already made it clear that once the conditions reached a certain point the roof would be closed due to the AO's new heat rules (and *not* because Nicole Kidman and Anna Wintour were seated in the front row).

Before that moment arrived, though, Collins was able to play even (or better) with Kvitova, just as she had three weeks ago. The Bannerette got the first break of the match. At 2-2, with Kvitova serving into sun, the Czech put in a DF and committed an error to make it 15/40. When she couldn't get back Collins' wide-bouncing backhand return, the U.S. woman took the break lead.

But Kvitova rebounded quickly. Up 15/40 in game #6, she committed errors on her first two BP, but got five more in the game. Finally, a forehand winner secured the break back for 3-3.

At 4-4, it was announced that the conditions threshold had been reached and the roof would be closed. It elicited a roar of approval from the stands, but as Kvitova would later note, *she* was maybe even happier for the move. She's always loved indoor tennis, and for years has been the most lethal player on tour in the controlled conditions under a roof.

The set went to a TB, and Kvitova's crosscourt backhand winner (and "Pojd!") gave her a mini-break lead at 2-1. It proved to be enough, as the Czech never relinquished her grip. She led 5-1 and 6-2, then served and volleyed to put away the TB at 7-2. Collins' six games won in the 1st set were more than any other player had had in an entire match vs. Kvitova at this AO.

But, with a set in hand, there was no stopping Petra now. Collins would remain at "6" on the stat sheet.

Up 15/40 in game #1, Kvitova grabbed an immediate break lead with a Collins backhand error. Two games later, a return winner made it 3-0. To this point, Kvitova's surge after closing the roof was at peak effectiveness, as she'd dropped just five points in the 3rd set.

At 30/30 in game #4, Collins had her last shot when Kvitova was unable to get back a fade away overhead. But the Czech pulled out an ace and big serve/put-away winner combo. Holding for 4-0, it was now just a matter of time.

Kvitova won 7-6(2)/6-0 to advance to her third career slam final, and her first in Melbourne.



Collins' career has been changed due to her great result here (she'll be not far from the Top 20, at #23), and she'll soon return to the sites (Indian Wells & Miami) of her breakout performances in 2018 with a far different status and more eyes on her than when she left the last time.

Kvitova, 7-0 in finals since returning from the career-threatening injuries sustained during a December '16 home invasion, will next play for her first AO title, as well as the #1 ranking.

Any predictions, Petra?



For her, those are fightin' words.



=DAY 11 NOTES=
...in the second semifinal of Day 11, Karolina Pliskova returned twenty-four hours after having staged a comeback from 5-1 and MP down vs. Serena Williams, saving four MP and winning six straight games after Williams rolled her ankle/foot and was never quite the same. She faced Naomi Osaka, coming in with a day off, and looking to become the first woman since Jennifer Capriati in 2001 to follow up her maiden slam by reaching the final (and, in JC's case, winning it) of her next major.

Osaka, too, had had some stressful situations en route to today's match, having been a set and 4-1 down to Hsieh Su-wei in the 3rd Round, and rallying from a set down to Anastasija Sevastova in the Round of 16.

Early on, as was to be expected, Osaka looked the fresher and more in form of the two. Pliskova's serve and game were a notch or two below yesterday's, while Osaka was simply not messing around. Pliskova DF'd but saved a BP in the opening game, then dropped serve in game #3. Later, another DF (on BP) handed another break to Osaka, and she soon finished off the Czech to win the 1st 6-2.

An Osaka break to open the 2nd seemed to set the stage for more of the same. But Pliskova's game improved. After falling behind 15/40, Osaka dropped serve, then saw the Czech hold from love/40 down to go up 2-1. Still, Osaka fired off three consecutive forehand winners to pull out of a 30/40 hole to even things at 4-4. A game later, she got within two points of breaking Pliskova and getting the chance to serve out the match. The Czech held, and Osaka's poor response to the disappointing finish to the game suddenly put the entire match in jeopardy. She fell behind love/30 in the next game when a Pliskova not cord dribbled over the net, and an Osaka error put her down triple set point. Pliskova swept the final six games, taking the set at 6-4 and sending things to a 3rd.

Did Pliskova have *another* improbably comeback tale to weave?

Having just dropped the set, a frustrated Osaka nearly fell down an early break in the 2nd while she tried to regain her focus. She faced three BP -- saving two with winners down the line and the third when a Pliskova shot just barely caught the tape and fell into the net -- and got the hold. Upping her aggression, Osaka followed up with a love break en route to winning ten straight points and 11-of-12, taking a 3-1 lead. A love hold made it 4-2.

But with Osaka leading 4-3, Pliskova jumped on a series of tentative second serves from the 21-year old. After holding a game point, Osaka soon found herself BP down. She pulled the game back with an ace, then outlasted Pliskova in a rally and blasted an unreturnable serve to hold for 5-3. She got within two points of the win on Pliskova's serve, but was made to attempt to serve out the win. At 30/30, Osaka followed her serve to the net and put away a short ball to reach MP. Once again, she pulled out her serve for the occasion. Her big shot up the middle was initially called out, though the noise inside Laver caused the call to get lost. After having thought she'd won, Osaka challenged the call, then waited...



When the image on the screen showed her serve *had* clipped a line, giving her ace #15 on the day (and winner #56), the 6-2/4-6/6-4 match was over. Osaka, now on a 59-match winning streak after claiming the opening state, is a grand slam finalist. Again.

She's still undefeated since she issued her Brisbane apology for an immature performance a few week ago, too.

Remember...?

[From Week 1]
Meanwhile, Naomi Osaka's exit (SF vs. Tsurenko) in Brisbane wasn't pretty, but her instant acknowledgement of such and public self-analysis was so special it'd be easy to forgive her even if it happens again in Melbourne: "Before I would just be nervous to be there in a way. But now I feel nervous because I feel I should win." Week 1 was a "valuable lesson" for Osaka, and her reaction to it should be one for a slew of other players, too.




Osaka went on the run that ended with a U.S. Open title last summer after she'd publicly called herself out for not doing as well as she should. She's one match away from doing it again.



...the heat shut down much of the action on the outside courts in the afternoon, but some matches were finished before the suspension of play.

Two of the junior QF were completed, as #4 Leylah Annie Fernandez (CAN) defeated Pastry Manon Leonard, and Hordette Anastasia Tikhonova upset Swiss #7-seed Lulu Sun. It's the #38-ranked junior's second win over a seeded player, as the Russian took out #2 Zheng Quinwen in the 2nd Round.

Once the night session started, the schedule picked back up. In wheelchair action, #1 Diede de Groot and #2 Yui Kamiji advanced to the singles final, where they'll meet for the fifth time in the last six majors. De Groot has played in seven straight slam finals (4-2), while Kamiji will be taking part in her fifth AO singles final since 2014 (1-3).

In the juniors, #1 Claura Tauson (DEN) and unseeded Daria Snigur (UKR) played their way into the girls singles semis.

...last night's Laver-closing match saw Sam Stosur & Zhang Shuai advance to the women's doubles final with a win over Barbora Strycova & Marketa Vondrousova. Already with a win over the #1 seeds (Krejcikova/Siniakova), the veteran pair will now take on the defending champs -- #2-seeded Babos/Mladenovic. Stosur is looking to become the first Aussie woman to win the AO doubles since Alicia Molik in 2005. It's Stosur's second AO final, having been runner-up in 2006. If she'd get the win, she'd be a Wimbledon title away from a Career Doubles Slam. She's 0-3 in WD finals at SW19.



Good thing Shuai didn't retire after the AO a few years ago, huh?



There's the chance for another Aussie doubles moment tonight, as Astra Sharma (w/ J.P. Smith) faces off in the MX semis with Nicole Melichar & Bruno Soares. The winner will play for the title against Barbora Krejcikova (going for her third slam title, after her pair of WD wins at RG and SW19 last year w/ Siniakova) & Rajeev Ram.

...the week's results assure Aryna Sabalenka, despite her early AO loss, of finally climbing into the Top 10 on Monday. She's the second player representing Belarus to make her debut, following in the footsteps of Vika Azarenka, who made her Top 10 debut in March 2009. Belarus-born (but playing for the Soviet Union at the time) Natasha Zvereva reached the Top 10 for the first time in June 1988, and later ranked there under the BLR flag after the fall of the USSR.

...meanwhile, in the week's WTA 125 Series event in Newport Beach, Bianca Andreescu made her '19 North American debut with a 2nd Round win over Katie Volynets. She'll face Marie Bouzkova next, with the possibility of an interesting QF match-up with fellow Canadian Genie Bouchard in the QF (she'll play Jil Teichmann before then).

Danielle Collins won the Newport Beach title in 2018.




...LIKE ON DAY 11: Mauresmo-rific!



...LIKE ON DAY 11: Kinda looks like me "back in the day" when Kim won her first slam title...





Since there won't be any women's singles matches on Day 12, I'll save both of the final two AO recaps for 2017-18 for tomorrow.

As for this spot today, with the women's final being played on Australia Day on Saturday (in Melbourne), from 48 hours out, it's time for the annual inclusion of "Waltzing Matilda" in the daily rundown. This year, I'll give ol' Slim Dusty a rest and go with a different version...




=WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL=
#4 Naomi Osaka/JPN vs. #8 Petra Kvitova/CZE

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL=
Stosur/Sh.Zhang (AUS/CHN) vs. #2 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA)

=MIXED DOUBLES SF=
#3 Krejcikova/Ram (CZE/USA) def. Martinez Sanchez/Skupski (ESP/GBR)
(WC) Sharma/JP.Smith (AUS/AUS) vs. #2 Melichar/Soares (USA/BRA)

=GIRLS SINGLES SF=
#1 Clara Tauson/DEN vs. Daria Snigur/UKR
#4 Leylah Annie Fernandez/CAN vs. Anastasia Tikhonova/RUS

=GIRLS DOUBLES ROUND OF 16=
Frayman/Rossi (RUS/ITA) def. #1 Park/Wong (KOR/HKG)
(WC) Gadecki/S.Smith (AUS/AUS) vs. #6 Avanesyan/Tikhonova (RUS/RUS)
#4 Custic/Pellicano (ESP/MLT) vs. Pepelyaeva/Sayfetdinova (RUS/RUS)
#8 Beck/Navarro (USA/USA) def. Kawamura/Kozaki (JPN/JPN)
Nahimana/Uchijima (BDI/JPN) vs. Hennemann/Ryser (SWE/SUI)
#3 Kawaguchi/Nagy (JPN/HUN) def. Allen/Martins (GBR/GBR)
#7 Bencheikh/Curmi (FRA/MLT) def. Krupenina/Snigur (RUS/UKR)
Bartone/Morlet (LAT/FRA) vs. #2 Naklo/Sawangkaew (THA/THA)

=WHEELCHAIR WOMEN'S SINGLES SF=
#1 Diede de Groot/NED def. Marjolein Buis/NED
#2 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. Aniek Van Koot/NED

=WHEELCHAIR WOMEN'S DOUBLES=
#1 de Groot/Van Koot (NED/NED) vs. Capocci/Kamiji (ITA/JPN)
Montjane/Shuker (RSA/GBR) vs. #2 Buis/Ellerbrock (NED/GER)





















*CAREER SLAM FINALS - ACTIVE*
31...Serena Williams (23-8)
16...Venus Williams (7-9)
10...Maria Sharapova (5-5)
4...Angelique Kerber (3-1)
4...Svetlana Kuznetsova (2-2)
4...Victoria Azarenka (2-2)
4...Simona Halep (1-3)
3...PETRA KVITOVA (2-0)
3...Garbine Muguruza (2-1)
3...Caroline Wozniacki (1-2)
2...NAOMI OSAKA (1-0)
2...Sloane Stephens (1-1)
2...Samantha Stosur (1-1)
2...Vera Zvonareva (0-2)

*SLAM FINALS - 2010-19*
17 - Serena Williams (12-5)
6 - Maria Sharapova (2-4)
4 - Angelique Kerber (3-1)
4 - Victoria Azarenka (2-2)
4 - Li Na (2-2) - ret.
4 - Simona Halep (1-3)
3 - PETRA KVITOVA (2-0)
3 - Garbine Muguruza (2-1)
2 - Kim Clijsters (2-0) - ret.
2 - NAOMI OSAKA (1-0)
2 - Francesca Schiavone (1-1) - ret.
2 - Sloane Stephens (1-1)
2 - Samantha Stosur (1-1)
2 - Caroline Wozniacki (1-1)
2 - Venus Williams (0-2)
2 - Vera Zvonareva (0-2)
= 1 - [1-0]=
Bartoli (ret.), Ostapenko, Pennetta
= 1 - [0-1]=
Bouchard, Cibulkova, Errani, Henin (ret.), Keys, Lisicki, Ka.Pliskova, A.Radwanksa (ret.), Safarova (ret.), Vinci (ret.)

*2010-19 - SLAM FINALISTS BY NATION*
22 - USA
8 - RUS
5 - CZE (Kvitova)
5 - GER
5 - ITA
4 - BLR
4 - CHN
4 - ROU
3 - BEL
3 - ESP
2 - AUS
2 - DEN
2 - JPN (Osaka)
1 - CAN,FRA,LAT,POL,SVK
[champions - 15 nations]
13 - USA
3 - GER
2 - BEL,BLR,CHN,CZE,ESP,ITA,RUS
1 - AUS,DEN,FRA,JPN,LAT,ROU
==
[vs. 2010-18 men's slam champions - 5 nations]
13 - SRB
12 - ESP
7 - SUI
3 - GBR
1 - CRO

*AUSTRALIAN OPEN FINALS - ACTIVE*
8...Serena Williams (7-1)
4...Maria Sharapova (1-3)
2...Victoria Azarenka (2-0)
2...Venus Williams (0-2)
1...Angelique Kerber (1-0)
1...Caroline Wozniacki (1-0)
1...PETRA KVITOVA (0-0)
1...NAOMI OSAKA (0-0)
1...Dominika Cibulkova (0-1)
1...Simona Halep (0-1)

*LOW-SEEDED AO CHAMPIONS - OPEN ERA*
Unseeded - 1978 Chris O'Neil, AUS
Unseeded - 2007 Serena Williams, USA
#12 - 2001 Jennifer Capriati, USA
#7 - 2016 Angelique Kerber, GER
#7 - 2005 Serena Williams, USA
#5 - 1979 Barbara Jordan, USA
#5 - 2008 Maria Sharapova, RUS
#4 - 1995 Mary Pierce, FRA
#4 - 1997 Martina Hingis, SUI
#4 - 2014 Li Na, CHN
--
FINAL: #4 Osaka vs. #8 Kvitova

*BACK-to-BACK US/AO TITLES OVER TWO SEASONS - Open era*
1969-70 Margaret Court, AUS
1970-71 Margaret Court, AUS
1988-89 Steffi Graf, FRG
1989-90 Steffi Graf, FRG
1991-92 Monica Seles, YUG
1992-93 Monica Seles, YUG
1993-94 Steffi Graf, GER
1997-98 Martina Hingis, SUI
2002-03 Serena Williams, USA
2003-04 Justine Henin-Hardenne, BEL
2008-09 Serena Williams, USA
2010-11 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2014-15 Serena Williams, USA
-
NOTE: Osaka going for 2018 US/2019 AO combo

*MOST SINGLES FINALS - 2015-19 (active)*
19 - Simona Halep (10-9)
17 - Karolina Pliskova (9-8)
17 - Caroline Wozniacki (8-9)
16 - Angelique Kerber (9-7)
15 - PETRA KVITOVA (12-2)
13 - Elina Svitolina (11-2)
13 - Serena Williams (8-5)
10 - Julia Goerges (5-5)
10 - Dominika Cibulkova (4-6)
9 - Sloane Stephens (6-3)
8 - Kiki Bertens (6-2)
8 - Garbine Muguruza (5-3)
8 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (5-3)
8 - Venus Williams (4-4)
8 - Kristina Mladenovic (1-7)

*CAREER OVERALL SLAM TITLES - ACTIVE*
[singles/doubles/mixed]
39 - Serena Williams, USA (23-14-2)
23 - Venus Williams, USA (7-14-2)
8 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA (0-5-3)
6 - Sania Mirza, IND (0-3-3)
6 - Katarina Srebotnik, SLO (0-1-5)
6 - Samantha Stosur, AUS (1-2-3)
5 - Sara Errani, ITA (0-5-0)
5 - Maria Sharapova, RUS (5-0-0)
--
NOTE: Mladenovic (0-2-2) in WD final

*CAREER WOMEN'S DOUBLES SLAM TITLES - active*
14...Serena Williams, USA
14...Venus Williams, USA
5...Sara Errani, ITA
5...Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
3...Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
3...Sania Mirza, IND
3...Elena Vesnina, RUS
--
NOTE: Mladenovic(2), Stosur(2) in WD final

*REACHED WTA SINGLES #1*
1975 Chris Evert, USA
1976 Evonne Goolagong, AUS
1978 Martina Navratilova, USA
1980 Tracy Austin, USA
1987 Steffi Graf, FRG/GER
1991 Monica Seles, YUG
1995 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, ESP
1997 Martina Hingis, SUI
1998 Lindsay Davenport, USA
2001 Jennifer Capriati, USA
2002 Venus Williams, USA
2002 Serena Williams, USA
2003 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2003 Justine Henin, BEL
2004 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
2005 Maria Sharapova, RUS
2008 Ana Ivanovic, SRB
2008 Jelena Jankovic, SRB
2009 Dinara Safina, RUS
2010 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2012 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2016 Angelique Kerber, GER
2017 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2017 Garbine Muguruza, ESP
2017 Simona Halep, ROU
2019 Kvitova or Osaka

*HIGHEST-RANKED CZECHS*
#1 - Martina Navratilova
#1 - Karolina Pliskova*
#2 - Jan Novotna
#2 - Petra Kvitova*
#3 - Hana Mandlikova
#4 - Helena Sukova
#5 - Lucie Safarova
#7 - Nicole Vaidisova
--
*-active career-highs

*RECENT TOP 10 SINGLES DEBUTS*
[2015]
Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
Lucie Safarova, CZE
Garbine Muguruza, ESP
Karolina Pliskova, CZE
Timea Bacsinszky, SUI
[2016]
Belinda Bencic, SUI
Roberta Vinci, ITA
Madison Keys, USA
Johanna Konta, GBR
[2017]
Elina Svitolina, UKR
Alona Ostapenko, LAT
Caroline Garcia, FRA
Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
[2018]
Julia Goerges, GER
Sloane Stephens, USA
Naomi Osaka, JPN
Kiki Bertens, NED
Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
[2019]
Aryna Sabalenka, BLR

*AO "KIMIKO CUP FOR VETERAN ACHIEVEMENT" WINNERS*
2015 Venus Williams/USA & Martina Hingis/SUI
2016 Angelique Kerber, GER
2017 Venus Williams/USA & Serena Williams/USA
2018 Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
2019 Samantha Stosur/Zhang Shuai, AUS/CHN

*RECENT WHEELCHAIR SLAM SINGLES CHAMPS*
=2017=
A: Yui Kamiji, JPN
R: Yui Kamiji, JPN
W: Diede de Groot, NED
U: Yui Kamiji, JPN
=2018=
A: Diede de Groot, NED
R: Yui Kamiji, JPN
W: Diede de Groot, NED
U: Diede de Groot, NED
=2019=
A: de Groot vs. Kamiji




TOP QUALIFIER: Astra Sharma/AUS
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): #16 Serena Williams/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #8 Petra Kvitova/CZE
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q3 - Astra Sharma/AUS def. #25 Irina Khromacheva 5-7/7-6(7)/7-6(10) (saved 3 MP, makes slam debut)
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd. - #18 Garbine Muguruza/ESP def. Johanna Konta/GBR 6-4/6-7(3)/7-5 (ended at 3:12 a.m.)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 4th Rd. - #16 Serena Williams/USA def. #1 Simona Halep 6-1/4-6/6-4
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr./Doub.): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Rebecca Peterson/SWE (def. Cirstea/ROU)
FIRST SEED OUT: #14 Julia Goerges/GER (1st Rd. - lost to D.Collins/USA)
UPSET QUEENS: United States
REVELATION LADIES: Teens - six teenagers win 1st Round matches - Andreescu/Anisimova/Potapova/Swiatek/Vondrousova/Yastremska; Anisimova and Yastremska reach 3rd Rd.
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Romania - 2-4 1st Rd., losses to two teens, #25 seed
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: Bianca Andreescu/CAN, Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA, Astra Sharma/AUS, Iga Swiatek/POL, Natalia Vikhlyantseva/RUS (all 2nd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Kimberly Birrell/AUS (3rd Rd.)
LAST AUSSIE STANDING: Ash Barty (QF)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: Danielle Collins/USA
IT (Teen): Amanda Anisimova/USA (first player born in 2000s to reach slam 4th Rd.)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Petra Kvitova/CZE
CRASH & BURN: #10 Dasha Kasatkina/RUS (after leading 3-0 in 1st set, loses 12 con. games in 1st Rd. loss vs. Bacsinszky)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: Karolina Pliskova/CZE (QF - down 5-1 and MP in 3rd set vs. S.Williams, Williams injures foot; saves 4 MP)
KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: Samantha Stosur/Zhang Shuai (AUS/CHN)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Garbine Muguruza/ESP (3:12 a.m. finish; def. Johanna Konta in 2nd Rd.)
DOUBLES STAR: Nominees: Babos/Mladenovic, Sharma, Melichar, Krejcikova
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Nominees: Tikhonova, Tauson, Snigur




All for Day 11. More tomorrow.
Posted by at