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Wednesday, May 29, 2019

RG.4- A Day of Daze

What sort of a day was it in Paris when the 2nd Round finally arrived? Well...



Yeah, that about sums up the mood of the day.




=DAY 4 NOTES=
...just when this Roland Garros was set to kick into gear, Wednesday brought something of a series of balloon-popping letdowns. Nothing that will likely ultimately diminish the overall tournament by this time next week, but when it comes to today...

via GIPHY


As for #4 Kiki Bertens, one of the stars of this clay season and a favorite to win the title (and, heading into today, one of three remaining women who could be ranked #1 two weekends from now), she quickly fell behind Viktoria Kuzmova 3-1 today. A game later, down 15/40, it was over.




So, just like that, after an early part of the day ws charactized by subpar and/or disappointing or mostly drama-free contests, the would-be highlight of the late afternoon barely even registered as a match at all.

Kuzmova, on a technicality, now improves to 2-10 vs. Top 10 players. Her other win game against Bertens, too, in Dubai earlier this season.

Moments, later #22 Bianca Andreescu, after withdrawing from her doubles match earlier in the day, also formally withdrew from tomorrow's singles match against Sonya Kenin due to continued issues with her shoulder after toughing out her two-day, three-hour, three-set win over Marie Bouzkova the last two days.




...I suppose we should have seen Day 4 coming, when it began with two of the game's most mercurial mistresses managing to maneuver their way through to the 3rd Round without leaving behind much of a footprint in the terre battue.

#7 Sloane Stephens, despite a slight hiccup mid-way through the 2nd after leading 6-1/3-1, defeated Sara Sorribes-Tormo 6-1/7-6(3), while #19 Garbine Muguruza didn't make any sort of mess of things (even briefly) while getting by Johanna Larsson, 6-4/6-1. Stephens, a finalist a year ago, has now reached at least the 3rd Round at every RG at which she's appeared since 2012, while '17 champ Muguruza has so far avoided the (necessary-eye-roll)-every-other-year pitfall that has fiddled with her experiences in Paris since 2014. Her career results: 1r-2r-F-2r-W-2r-(3r so far).



Meanwhile, one of the other oft-headslapping presences in any draw (well, any *slam* draw... and usually only once the second week rolls around, say around Wednesday at QF time, especially in Paris) is Elina Svitolina. She didn't have to worry about much today, either, as *her* prospective 2nd Round opponent -- Kateryna Kozlova -- withdrew with a viral illness. Svitolina's fellow Ukrainian had been set to attempt to pull off the upset to reach her first career 3rd Round at a major.

A year ago, she upset defending champ Alona Ostapenko in the 1st Round in Paris, and earlier this month got a win over Karolina Pliskova in Madrid. So, one might say that Svitolina may have dodged a proverbial Ukrainian bullet here. And we maybe missed out on a signature Day 4 moment, as well.

Doubles partners as juniors (together they won the first pro title for both in a $25K in 2010), Svitolina and Kozlova faced off as juniors in what was Kozlova's first upper age group girls event in Donetsk, UKR in 2008 (Elina won), but the two hadn't played each other since 2013.

And the (down)beat went on...

In a match that had great Generation PDQ Showdown potential, Marketa Vondrousova proved that while she's still a little hardware-light and slam results-short in comparison to some of her immediate age group rivals on tour, she's gaining fast in every other way. It could be that her breakthrough (QF-or-better) could just come at *this* major.

Anastasia Potapova, the girls #1 and junior Wimbledon champ in 2016, was coming off her first career Top 10 win over #5-seed Angelique Kerber. While the 18-year old Russian has posted some big early career results over the last year -- two WTA finals last season -- she came into the day just 4-4 on clay this spring and 11-11 overall since playing in the Tashkent final last September.

Vondrousova, the girls #1 in 2015, hasn't won a title since 2017, but has reached two finals this season as well as the QF at both Indian Wells and Miami in March. She entered the day on a 22-5 run since the Australian Open. The Czech has a mixed history in Paris, having twice reached the girls singles semis (once as an unseeded player in '14, then as the #1 seed a year later), but both times she lost to the eventual champion (Dasha Kasatkina and Paula Badosa, respectively). Both those years she also reached the girls doubles final, winning in her second attempt alongside Miriam Kolodziejova.

Vondrousova led their overall head-to-head 2-0, having defeated Potapova in the '15 U.S. Open girls 1st Round, but having only played once since, in the Budapest semis earlier this year. Both, of course, were hard court affairs.

Potapova won just two games off Vondrousova in their meeting in February, but the Russian doubled that total in the early going today, breaking the Czech to lead 3-1 and getting a hold for 4-1. Could the first of potentially many big stage PDQ matches between the two be about to get interesting?

Umm, as noted before, it's Day 4 at the 2019 Roland Garros... so, well, no.

Vondrousova put her foot down, and that was pretty much it. She broke to get back on serve at 4-3, and served for the first at 5-4, 40/15. Potapova got the game to deuce, but that was as far as it went. The Czech held for 6-4, opened the 2nd set with a break, and ran away with a 6-4/6-0 victory, claiming the final eleven games. While she had just a 45% First Serve percentage, Vondrousova won 53% on her Second. Both had 19 total winners, but the Russian's UE total (33) far outdistanced that of the Czech (13).

So, this one sort of went "pfffft," too.

Ah, but there *was* the continuing journey of Karmic Kiki to contend with.

Umm, no on that one, as well.

Apparently, Karma is no match for Petra. Petra Martic, that is. The #31 seeded Croat jumped on Kristina Mladenovic in their 2nd Round match today and never relented. She won 6-2/6-1, converting five of her six BP chances and nearly doubling the Pastry in total points (60-33).



...late in the day, with Day 4 looking for anything, anything at all, to spruce up the place...

Swede Rebecca Peterson seemed about to push #23 Donna Vekic, taking the 1st 6-1. But Vekic seized control and lost just two games in the final two sets.

Wild card Lauren Davis looked like she might push #26 Johanna Konta, taking the 2nd set and forcing a 3rd. The Brit immediately raced to a 5-0 lead. Davis made things interesting, drawing to 5-3, before Konta finally served it out at 6-3. After coming to Paris with no MD wins in four appearances, Konta now has two.

With just one hope left, the match between #15 Belinda Bencic and Laura Siegemund was moved to Chatrier Court with 2-3 hours of daylight left, a clue to the underwhelming drama produced by the *original* schedule.

Siegemund is a two-time clay court title winner on tour, and one of the game's better players on the surface (at least she was before her 2017 knee injury, which came right on the heels of winning her biggest title in Stuttgart), but had somehow never won a MD match at RG until her previous victory over qualifier Sofya Zhuk, one of the few young Hordettes NOT to win in the 1st Round.

Siegemund did her best to produce a dramatic ending to a lacking day. The German broke Bencic to take the 1st set 6-4, and led the 2nd at 4-2. But the Swiss has a penchant for comebacks, having won the Dubai title after saving six MP (all vs. Aryna Sabalenka) along the way, come within two points of defeat before upsetting Naomi Osaka in Madrid and defeated Anastasija Sevastova in Rome after trailing 6-2/3-0.

Siegemund seemed about to become her latest comeback victim.

Bencic got the break to get back on serve at 4-3, and won the 2nd at 6-4. She opened the 3rd with a break. Then, finally, some drama.

With Siegmund arguing for a stoppage due to the fading light, the two played on as Bencic raced to a 4-1 lead. Literally...



Siegemund wouldn't die so easily, though. She got one break back, extending the match still, denying Bencic's attempt to sprint to the finish. Then Siegemund got the other break back, too, knotting the set at 4-4 and getting the suspension of play she wanted.

So, no actual ending... but some *tennis* drama, indeed.



Bencic/Siegemund ended a day in which no women's seeds lost in any match that *finished* on its own merits. While Bertens retired and Andreescu withdrew -- joining the likes of Petra Kvitova (withdrew), Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki (lingering injuries) who saw health play a part in their Paris demises -- seeded women went 9-0 in *full* matches on Day 4.

(I see that any number of seeds fell in the men's competition on this day. But, frankly, I don't care. So...)

...earlier in the day, lost in all the mush, Veronika Kudermetova followed up her upset of Wozniacki by rallying from an early 1st set deficit to take care of Zarina Diyas in straights (not sure if Veronika got "lucky" to turn this one around, too... someone needs to ask Caro, I guess), winning 7-5/6-1 to reach the 3rd Round stage of a major for the first time in her career.



...doubles play got underway on Day 4, and once again Alona Ostapenko finds herself trying to salvage an event with a non-singles result. Well, so far so good. The Lavtian and Lyudmyla Kichenok knocked off #14-seeded Irina-Camelia Begu & Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-7(6)/6-3/6-4.

There was apparently a controversial call...



While I understand the aversion to using a replay system on clay courts because of the technology's acknowledged lack of accuracy, it's still very difficult to accept an alternate where umpires attempt to divine smudges in the dirt while everyone points and argues. It's not a good look.

And, rather quietly, Lucie Safarova's career appears to have come to a graceful end. At least she says she's 99% sure it has. Teaming with Dominika Cibulkova (BMS is hurt yet again), the former RG singles finalist (2015) and two-time doubles champ (2015/17) came up on the short end of a 6-4/6-0 scoreline on Court 4.








...LIKE ON DAY 4: The legend grows...



...LIKE ON DAY 4: Preserved in Pop Art...



...PROBABLY INEVITABLE ON DAY 4: Goerges is 12-11 (0-2 in slams), but 7-11 since defending her Auckland title in Week 1.

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Hallo alle zusammen! Ich möchte mich bei Michael für seine Arbeit und sein Engagement in den letzten 3,5 Jahren bedanken. Wir waren sehr erfolgreich zusammen und ich hatte eine sehr positive Entwicklung. Jetzt ist es an der Zeit einen neuen Weg einzuschlagen und die nächsten Entwicklungsschritte zu gehen. Von nun an wird Sebastian Sachs mir als Coach zur Seite stehen und ich freue mich auf alles was kommt. Vielen Dank für Eure Unterstützung! Eure Jule ?? Hello Everyone, I would like to thank Michael for his hard work over the past 3.5 years. Together we have had a very successful partnership and my game has developed positively. Now it is time to take a new path and make my next steps forward. Sebastian Sachs will be my new coach and I look forward to what is ahead. Thank you all for your continued support! Jule ??

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..."Oh, well..." ON DAY 4: ...it was a good thought on a day not exactly stuffed with great match-ups.


Maybe next time.

...LIKE ON DAY 4: Future (Senator) Sloane. If only.



...Hmmm... ON DAY 4: So, when you're the #1-ranked college player, THEN win the national title... congrats, you're the season #1! Well, hold on a sec.





































*RG OPEN ERA MATCH WINS*
84...Steffi Graf, FRG/GER
72...Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, ESP
64...Serena Williams, USA (through 1st Rd.)
62...Conchita Martinez, ESP
56...Maria Sharapova, RUS
54...Monica Seles, YUG/USA
52...Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
51...Martina Navratilova, TCH/USA
48...Venus Williams, USA
[matches]
94...Steffi Graf, FRG/GER
85...Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, ESP
80...Conchita Martinez, ESP
78...Chris Evert, USA
76...Serena Williams, USA (through 1st Rd.)
70...Venus Williams, USA
68...Maria Sharapova, RUS
68...Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
62...Monica Seles, YUG/USA
62...Martina Navratilova, TCH/USA

**FINAL 2018-19 NCAA WOMEN'S SINGLES TOP 10**
1. Katarina Jokic, Georgia (SRB)
2. Estela Perez-Somarriba, Miami (ESP)
3. Kate Fahey, Michigan (USA)
4. Ingrid Gamarra Martins, South Carolina (BRA)
5. Makenna Jones, North Carolina (USA)
6. Fernanda Contreras, Vanderbilt (MEX)
7. Alexa Graham, North Carolina (USA)
8. Kelly Chen, Duke (USA)
9. Sophie Whittle, Gonzaga (USA)
10. Michaela Gordon, Stanford (USA)
[season-ending #1 - since 2000]
2000 Laura Granville, Stanford (USA)
2001 Laura Granville, Stanford (USA)
2002 Bea Bielik, Wake Forest (USA)
2003 Vilmarie Castellvi, Tennessee (PUR)
2004 Amber Liu, Stanford (USA)
2005 Megan Bradley, Miami (USA)
2006 Audra Cohen, Miami (USA)
2007 Audra Cohen, Miami (USA)
2008 Aurelija Miseviciute, Arkansas (LTU)
2009 Mallory Cecil, Duke (USA)
2010 Irina Falconi, Georgia Tech (USA)
2011 Jana Juricova, California (SVK)
2012 Nicole Gibbs, Stanford (USA)
2013 Lauren Embree, Florida (USA)
2014 Jamie Loeb, North Carolina (USA)
2015 Robin Anderson, UCLA (USA)
2016 Danielle Collins, Virginia (USA)
2017 Francesca Di Lorenzo, Ohio State (USA)
2018 Astra Sharma, Vanderbilt (AUS)
2019 Katrina Jokic, Georgia (SRB)




TOP QUALIFIER: #22q Elena Rybakina/KAZ
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q3: #1q Bernarda Pera/USA def. #21q Kaja Juvan/SLO 6-4/1-6/7-6(1) [Juvan up break three times in 3rd, served at 5-4]
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #31 Petra Martic/CRO (def. Jabeur/TUN)
FIRST SEED OUT: #5 Angelique Kerber/GER (1st Rd./Potapova)
UPSET QUEENS: Russia
REVELATION LADIES: xx
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Italy (0-2, none in RG 2nd Round for first time since 1982)
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: In 2nd Rd.: Blinkova, Bolsova, Kucova(L), Nara
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: In 2nd Rd.: Davis, Hon, Parry(L)
LAST PASTRY STANDING: In 2nd Rd.: Garcia, Mladenovic(L), Parry(L)
MADEMOISELLE/MADAM OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT "??": Nominee: Parry
COMEBACK PLAYER: xx
CRASH & BURN: Nominee: #5 Kerber (1st Rd. for third time in four years at RG)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF PARIS: Nominees: #1 Osaka (1st Rd.-Schmiedlova served twice for match); Cirstea (1st Rd.-Juvan up set and 4-2 2nd, 5-3 in 3rd and served for match at 5-4)
DOUBLES STAR: xx
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Nominee: Parry (young MD winner since '09)
Légion de Lenglen HONOREE: Court Simonne-Mathieu
Coupe LA PETIT TAUREAU: awarded on LPT Day/June 1





All for Day 4. More tomorrow.
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