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Saturday, June 29, 2019

Wk.26- Maybe This Time?

It's just about time...



But before then...



*WEEK 26 CHAMPIONS*
EASTBOURNE, ENGLAND (Premier/Grass Outdoor)
S: Karolina Pliskova/CZE def. Angelique Kerber/GER 6-1/6-4
D: Chan Hao-ching/Latisha Chan (TPE/TPE) def. Kirsten Flipkens/Bethanie Mattek-Sands (BEL/USA) 2-6/6-3 [10-6]


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Karolina Pliskova/CZE
...a week after Ash Barty won her third '19 title on a third different surface, Pliskova followed up by doing the same. Winning her second Eastbourne title (2017), and third tour level grass event, the Czech posted wins over Margarita Gasparyan, Elise Mertens, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Kiki Bertens before dominating Angelique Kerber in another edition of their (now) five-finals-full "maybe next time" career series.

She's never reached the QF at Wimbledon (the only major where she hasn't been a semifinalist), but did post her best career SW19 result last year with a Round of 16 finish.

Maybe this time?


===============================================
RISER: Kiki Bertens/NED
...no player has more tour-level MD wins (7) on grass this month than Bertens, but the #4-ranked Dutch didn't claim any of the five available singles titles, finishing as the runner-up at Rosmalen and then falling in the semis this week at Devonshire Park to another eventual champion, Karolina Pliskova. Still, her wins over Yulia Putintseva, Anna-Lena Friedsam and Aryna Sabalenka increased her tour-leaving SF total to seven and sends her to London with the match play (theoretically) necessary to improve upon her QF result at Wimbledon last year.


===============================================
SURPRISE: Ekaterina Alexandrova/RUS
...the 24-year old is celebrating the end of the clay season, where she went 3-7 this spring (though she ended on a high note with two wins at RG to reach her maiden slam 3rd Rd.). With her fourth '19 QF run, Alexandrova improved to 5-3 on grass courts this month. After wins over Elise Mertens and (now) Wimbledon qualifier Ysaline Bonavnture, the Russian added victories over Ajla Tomljanovic (w/ 14 aces), Belinda Bencic (from a break down in the 3rd) and Alona Ostapenko (ret.) in Eastbourne. It's enough to lift her to a career-high #45, just behind Venus Williams and ahead of countrywoman Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Now it's on to Wimbledon, where she made her slam debut in 2016 as a qualifier, and upset Ana Ivanovic in the 1st Round. She'll open vs. Katerina Siniakova this time aorund, and would likely face Johanna Konta in the 2nd with a win.
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VETERANS: Angelique Kerber/GER and Alize Cornet/FRA
...despite her disappointing result in the Eastbourne final vs. Pliskova, Kerber likely picked up the matches -- wins over Sam Stosur, Rebecca Peterson and Simona Halep -- and confidence needed to begin her Wimbledon title defense this coming. As a member of the loaded top quarter of the draw, she'll need it. The German hasn't won a title since her victory at the All-England Club last July, having gone 0-2 in the finals (Indian Wells and this week) she reached over the past year.



Meanwhile, Cornet made a QF run in the same event with victories over Heather Watson, Elina Svitolina (career Top 10 win #19) and Zhang Shuai. It's her best result since a semi in Hobart in Week 2.


===============================================
COMEBACK: Aryna Sabalenka/BLR
...few top players needed a result of note more than Sabalenka, and she got one in Eastbourne.



Despite still holding onto her Top 10 ranking, the Belarusian had reached just one QF (Strasbourg) since her semi in Saint Petersburg a week after the Australian Open, from which she'd been blitzed out of the 3rd Round by Amanda Anisimova. After a 1st Round bye, Sabalenka notched wins over Tamara Zidansek and Caroline Wozniacki, the latter from 5-2 and MP down in the 3rd set to earn her first Top 25 win of the season. Whether it'll help at SW19 against Magdalena Rybarikova, a former Wimbledon semifinalist, is another thing. If she gets past that one, she'd get the winner of the much-anticipated Venus Williams/Coco Gauff opener.
===============================================
FRESH FACE: Ons Jabeur/TUN
...after coming back from 5-3 down in the 3rd to win a 1st Round match over Evgeniya Rodina, Jabeur hit her stride as the week went on. She followed up by taking out Mandy Minella, Johanna Konta and Alize Cornet, the latter after having injured her ankle, to reach her second career tour-level semi (w/ Moscow last fall after def. Makarova, Stephens, Kontaveit and Sevastova to reach the final). Unfortunately, her ankle forced her to give Kerber a walkover. As for Wimbledon (crossing fingers)...


===============================================
DOWN: Elina Svitolina/UKR
...this is becoming a depressing (but unsurprising, considering the unprofessional company she's kept most of the year has gradually crushed "the process" into a fine dust) regular occurrence. Svitolina's 2nd Round loss to Alize Cornet was no surprise, as it dropped her to 1-7 since the start of spring.

Not only that, but the rumored end of Svitolina's relationship with Gael Monfils was put to rest by (what else?) a ridiculous post on social media, where most of the Ukrainian's efforts seem to be focused of late.

Svitolina avoided the truly loaded part of the draw at Wimbledon, but will open with Dasha Gavrilova, with Gasparyan (who just beat her in Birmingham) or Friedsam in the 2nd, and possibly Sakkari after that. If she lasts that long, that is.
===============================================
ITF PLAYERS: TBD
...in Darmstedt, Germany it'll be Clara Tauson seeking her fourth '19 challenger win in the final against veteran Olga Govortsova, looking for her first since 2017 (and since having a baby in February of last year).

So, yes, the nearly perfectly positioned 16-year old Tauson is fifteen years older than Govortsova's son, while being fourteen years younger than Govortsova.

In Jakarta, the Netherland's Arianne Hartono (the 2018 NCAA singles champ for Mississippi) will seek to sweep the singles and doubles titles at the $15 challenger. Already a doubles winner with Nadia Ravita, she'll try to go home with her second pro singles win in the final against Rifanty Kahfiani.
===============================================

JUNIOR STAR: Sada Nahimana/BDI
...while Coco Gauff and Caty McNally get the "unofficial" nod here for their Wimbledon qualifying runs, there was *actual* junior play on grass in the Grade 1 Nottingham event the week before the traditional upcoming Roehampton tune-up.

There, Burundi's Nahimana, who only recently broke into the girls Top 20 after reaching Grade A finals in singles and doubles in Milan, swept this week's grass court crowns. Taking the GD with Liubov Kostenko, Nahimana also claimed her biggest singles title when Hurricane Tyra Black (in a '19 G1 final on her third different surface) retired down 6-4/2-1 in the final.
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DOUBLES: Chan Hao-ching & Latisha Chan, TPE/TPE
...while Babos & Mladenovic, Mertens/Sabalenka and Hsieh/Strycova have been more often in the spotlight in 2019, the Chan sisters' Eastbourne title run, which included just one lost set, ties them with the latter pair with a tour-leading three titles in 2019. Wins over Groenefeld/Schuurs and the intriguing first-time pairing of Kirsten Flipkens & Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the final reward the sisters with a 13th career WTA title, and moved then a little closer to Venus & Serena's all-time sibling record of 22. They've won titles this season on hard courts and grass, while Latisha added the clay court Roland Garros MX title earlier this month.

Meanwhile, this week marked Mattek-Sands' first women's doubles final appearance since injuring her knee at Wimbledon two years ago (though she *did* win the U.S. Open MX title last summer), before which she and Lucie Safarova had won three straight slam titles. Flipkens/BMS rallied from 8-5 down in a match tie-break in the semis vs. Halep/Olaru, winning the last five points to reach the final (the Waffle's second in two weeks).

While she's not set to play with Flipkens at Wimbledon (she's signed up w/ Danielle Collins, and Flipkens w/ Johanna Larsson), Mattek-Sands' first-time pairing with the Belgian sure had the *look* of a possible "get to know you" try-out for the future. At times, literally...



In a flash, the player who inspired "Team Bucie" even had a nickname for the pairing, too...



To be continued...?
===============================================
WHEELCHAIR: Zhu Zhenzhen/CHN and ???
...at the Wroclaw Cup in Poland, Zhu extended her winning streak to seventeen matches (w/ a 22-1 run) with a win in the Series 2 event. She followed up a semifinal win over Manami Tanaka with one in the final over Katharina Kruger.

In Barcelona, Jordanne Whiley will face off with Colombia's Angelica Bernal in the singles final, having already won the Series 2 event's doubles crown with Giuliana Capocci, defeating Marjolein Buis & Louise Hunt in the final. Whiley defeated top-seeded Buis in the semis, winning 7-6(5)/1-6/7-6(6) in a three-hour affair that put the Brit into her seventh final in eight events since returning in February after having a baby.

Whiley was given a wild card into the Wimbledon MD.
===============================================





How-to-Sakkari: Bun Edition



Sakkari Squared: Now It's Gettin' Serious






1. Eastbourne 3rd Rd. - Aryna Sabalenka def. Caroline Wozniacki
...2-6/6-4/7-6(5). A finalist in Eastbourne last year (she lost to Wozniacki), Sabalenka had to escape a 5-2 (w/ MP) hole in the 3rd just to return to the QF this year and get a touch of revenge. In her other win in three career match-ups with Wozniacki, Sabalenka saved 3 MP vs. the Dane in Montreal last summer.



While this is surely a disappointing loss for the newly married Wozniacki, earlier straight sets wins over Flipkens and Petkovic, and this near miss, helped produce what was actually a better-than-anticipated outing after having been concerned with so many non-tennis activities the last few weeks. Still, she'll fall to #19 now, and will enter Wimbledon holding onto a 142-week run of Top 20 rankings (currently the fourth longest streak on tour behind Halep, Pliskova and Svitolina, while Muguruza recently ended a 207-week run).
===============================================


2. Eastbourne 2nd Rd. - Alona Ostapenko def. Sloane Stephens
...1-6/6-0/6-3. After posting 14 DF (and winning anyway) in her opening round match, the Latvian rallies from a dud 1st set to record her first Top 10 win since Miami last year (an event which ended with a loss in the final to Stephens). It gave her multiple wins in back-to-back events for the first time since her Wimbledon semifinal run last summer.
===============================================


3. Eastbourne 3rd Rd. - Ekaterina Alexandrova def. Alona Ostapenko
...6-2/2-1 ret. Of course, then it all came crashing down... on June 26. AKA the original date of the 2013 "Radwanskian Massacre" at Wimbledon. Yep, the ol' Malevolent One still likes to toy with everyone's fate even with Aga happily off in retirement.



If the hip injury -- or, you know, the UE's or bad serves -- helps to bounce Ostapenko from SW19 (or keeps her from playing at all), she'll be looking at a steep climb back up the mountain down which she's already slipped down quite a bit...


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HM- Eastbourne 1st Rd. - Tamara Zidansek def. Carla Suarez-Navarro 4-6/7-5/7-5
Eastbourne 1st Rd. - Dasha Gavrilova def. Viktorija Golubic 6-0/6-7(2)/7-6(6)
Eastbourne 2nd Rd. - Alize Cornet def. Elina Svitolina 6-3/7-6(3)
...Zidansek trailed CSN 5-2 in the 3rd and saved two MP, while Gavrilova was down 5-3 in the 3rd. Cornet made headlines a few days later with her insta-verdict regarding the Fed Cup format changes.



Zidansek opens at Wimbledon with Genie Bouchard, while Gavrilova faces Svitolina. For Cornet, it's Azarenka.
===============================================


Well, you *knew* it was coming. But no one knew it was coming so soon. The news suddenly dropped this week.




So, essentially, those World Group Playoffs matches in the spring were a fraud, as (almost) all those nations will be in the new 20-team World Group (2019's semifinalists and, this year, 14 of 16 WG/WG II Playoffs teams from this spring -- the lowest ranked two, NED and ITA, don't make the cut for 2020 and remain in the zone competitions).

*2020 WORLD GROUP*
Australia (final)
Belarus (semis)
Belgium (WG PO loser)
Brazil (WG II PO loser)
Canada (WG PO loser)
Czech Republic (WG PO winner)
France (final)
Germany (WG PO winner)
Great Britain (WG II PO winner)
Hungary (host)
Japan (WG II PO winner)
Kazakhstan (WG II PO loser)
Latvia (WG PO loser)
Romania (semis)
Russia (WG II PO winner)
Slovakia (WG II PO winner)
Spain (WG PO winner)
Switzerland (WG PO loser)
United States (WG PO winner)
?? (wild card)
[WG II PO losers that didn't make WG]
Italy
Netherlands

Sixteen will compete in February home-and-away ties for eight open spots in the finals, along w/ the two '19 finalists (AUS/FRA), the host nation (a good deal for Hungary, which wouldn't qualify otherwise!) and a selected "wild card" nation, in a 12-team round robin over six days in Budapest in April. The winners of four three-nation groups will make up the semifinals, then two nations will play in the final at the end of the week. It'll be a big money event that will *supposedly* get more attention. We'll see.

While the finals are being contested in Budapest, there will be the usual competition (zone winners from February vs. the qualifying round losers) to determine which teams move up to the '21 World Group qualifying round to compete with the the nations that reached the 2019 12-team final round robin. Got it?

Here's a video explanation:


The February playoffs will continue to be played in the nation's home venues, but the 12-nation finals competition will be at a single site. It effectively guts the spirit of Fed Cup in the competition latter stages: the thrill of the fans cheering on the players to a title, and setting opponents on edge with a "home court advantage." THAT is precisely why so many top players *like* to play Fed Cup. Will having that sort of atmosphere only in the "preliminaries" be enough?



On the bright side, this format will allow nations to rise more quickly into contention for the title rather than having to rise through multiple tiers over multiple seasons, usually with multiple rosters. With the competition condensed, it'll mean the WTAF will *end* the season, and the players who have to drag themselves to a November FC final will have a longer offseason. And, possibly, since the commitment won't be as lengthy, maybe *most* of the big names will take part in this rather than just *some*.

Of course, they *still* might not.

The 5-match format is kaput in the finals (I'm not sure about the home-and-way ties in February, as it may remain there), so away go the 1 vs. 2, 2 vs. 1 match-ups to win the title, as there will only be two singles and one doubles contest in each RR/SF/F tie. Boo! That cheapens the benefits of depth, while allowing a nation with essentially *one* "good" player to have a chance to win it all. I guess it depends on how you look at it whether that's "good" or "bad."

Even with the flaws, it's better than what happened to Hopman Cup (may it R.I.P.), a virtually perfect event that combined the tours as well as the competition/entertainment angles of both exhibitions and "real" events because of its Week 1 positioning in Australia after a long offseason, only to be sacrificed upon the altar of money and a men-only event that nobody wanted starting next year.

With the round robin, week-long finals competition taking place solely in Budapest for three years, on clay at the start of the clay season, it'll fit nicely into the schedule, but will also "unfairly" benefit the nations with more players with an affinity for clay, and "hurt" those with big hitters who favor hard courts. Would the Czechs have won *all* those titles if so many finals were on clay? Maybe not.

And what about after 2022, when the three-year tie to Budapest ends? Will the venue, surface and schedule position change? Will the event still be *only* a clay court one, or will it have a hard court stint starting in 2023 somewhere else? I guess those answers will come, eventually, if the format survives.




1. Eastbourne Final - KAROLINA PLISKOVA def. Angelique Kerber
...6-1/6-4. Career title #14 ties Pliskova with Jennifer Capriati and Zina Garrison for 39th on the all-time tour titles list, one win behind Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Dianne Fromholtz.


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2. $15K Jakarta INA Final - Arianne Hartono/Nadia Ravita def. LEE BARNARD/ZANI BARNARD
...2-6/6-4 [11-9]. Middle Tennessee State's South Africa-hailing Barnard twins, playing in just their third challenger since 2014, fall in their first pro final. They'd defeated the #1 seeds in the semifinals.


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3. $15K Tabarka TUN Final - ANNA TURATI vs. Fanny Ostlund
$25K Tarvisio ITA Final - BIANCA TURATI vs. Paula Cristina Goncalves
...could it be a two-title weekend for the Turati sisters?
===============================================


Oh, and I made my Wimbledon picks (well, sort of) in an earlier post, but I'm thinking of maybe "stealing" and modifying this idea (with a twist or two) for this year's U.S. Open preview to avoid the consternation...
















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Caluje z @krakow_pl ??

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It’s that time of year again ?????? @wimbledon

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*2019 WTA FINALS*
4 - Ash Barty, AUS (3-1)
4 - KAROLINA PLISKOVA, CZE (3-1)
4 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (2-2)
3 - Kiki Bertens, NED (2-1)
3 - Sonya Kenin, USA (2-1)
3 - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE (0-3)

*WORST RECORD IN 2019 WTA FINALS (2+)*
0-3 - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE (0-3)
0-2 - Simona Halep, ROU (0-2)
0-2 - ANGELIQUE KERBER, GER (0-2)
0-2 - Johanna Konta, GBR (0-2)
0-2 - Donna Vekic, CRO (0-2)

*MOST WTA FINALS (ACTIVE), 2015-19*
21 - Simona Halep (10-11)
20 - KAROLINA PLISKOVA (11-9)
18 - ANGELIQUE KERBER (9-9)
18 - Caroline Wozniacki (8-10)
17 - Petra Kvitova (13-4)
13 - Elina Svitolina (11-2)
13 - Serena Williams (8-5)

*2019 OLDEST WTA FINALISTS*
31 - ANGELIQUE KERBER, GER (Eastbourne-L)
31 - Angelique Kerber, GER (Indian Wells-L)
30 - Julia Goerges, GER (Birmingham-L)
30 - Julia Goerges, GER (Auckland-W)

*CAREER GRASS TITLES*
8...Serena Williams, USA
6...Venus Williams, USA
4...Petra Kvitova, CZE
3...KAROLINA PLISKOVA, CZE
3...Maria Sharapova, RUS

*MOST WTA FINAL MATCH-UPS*
[2013-19]
6...S.Williams/Azarenka (3-3)
4...S.Williams/Sharapova (SW 4-0)
5...KERBER/KA.PLISKOVA (AK 3-2)
3...S.Williams/Kerber (AK 2-1)
[2016-19]
3...S.Williams/Kerber (AK 2-1)
3...KERBER/KA.PLISKOVA (KP 2-1)

*2019 WTA SF*
7 - KIKI BERTENS, NED (3-4)
5 - KAROLINA PLISKOVA, CZE (4-1)
5 - ANGELIQUE KERBER, GER (1-3+W)
4 - Ash Barty, AUS (4-0)
4 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (4-0)
4 - Donna Vekic, CRO (2-2)
4 - Belinda Bencic, SUI (2-2)

*2019 WTA DOUBLES TITLES - DUOS*
3 - CHAN/CHAN, TPE/TPE [2 HC,1 GR]
3 - Hsieh/Strycova, TPE/CZE [1 HC,1 RC,1 GR]
2 - Babos/Mladenovic, HUN/FRA [2 RC]
2 - Mertens/Sabalenka, BEL/BLR [2 HC]

*2016-19 WTA DOUBLES TITLES*
18 - LATISHA CHAN, TPE (3/11/1/3)
14 - Martina Hingis, SUI (5/9 ret.)
12 - Andrea S.-Hlavackova, CZE (4/6/2/0)
11 - Timea Babos, HUN (0/6/3/2)
11 - Johanna Larsson, SWE (4/4/1/2)

*WTA ALL-SISTERS DOUBLES TITLES*
22 - Serena & Venus Williams, USA
13 - CHAN HAO-CHING & LATISHA CHAN, TPE
3 - Karolina & Kristyna Pliskova, CZE
3 - Alona & Kateryna Bondarenko, UKR
3 - Lyudmyla & Nadiia Kichenok, UKR

*MOST CAREER CZECH WTA TITLES*
27 - Petra Kvitova (2009-19)
27 - Hana Mandlikova (1978-87)
24 - Jana Novotna (1988-99)
14 - KAROLINA PLISKOVA (2013-19)
10 - Helena Sukova (1982-92)
10 - Regina Mariskova (1976-81)
7 - Lucie Safarova (2005-16)



















All for now.
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