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Sunday, July 28, 2019

Wk.30- Once More, with Feeling

And thus we complete the odd, but brief, two-week window of clay court opportunity between the WTA's grass and summer hard court seasons.

Aside from a 125 Series event this week in Germany (but does that *really* count?), the tour-sponsored clay court events of 2019 are now all gone. Finished. That's a wrap.


(Okay, that was just a shameless reason to finally insert a Buffy clip in here somewhere.)

Anyway, the final clay court champions of the year are...






*WEEK 30 CHAMPIONS*
PALERMO, ITA (Int'l/Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Jil Teichmann/SUI def. Kiki Bertens/NED 7-6(3)/6-2
D: Cornelia Lister/Renata Voracova (SWE/CZE) def. Ekaterine Gorgodze/Arantxa Rus (GEO/NED) 7-6(2)/6-2
JURMALA, LAT (Int'l/Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Anastasija Sevastova/LAT def. Katarzyna Kawa/POL 4-6/7-5/6-4
D: Sharon Fichman/Nina Stojanovic (CAN/SRB) def. Alona Ostapenko/Galina Voskoboeva (LAT/KAZ) 2-6/7-6(1) [10-6]


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jil Teichmann/SUI
...Teichmann has been one of the true revelations of the 2019 season.

The 22-year old Swiss' maiden title run in Prague came in the role of a qualifier who ousted the likes of Svetlana Kuznetsova, Barbora Strycova and Karolina Muchova in front of a Czech crowd. It was hardly an expected thing. The same goes for title #2. Teichmann's week in Palermo saw her grab the title without losing a set, notching wins over Dasha Gavrilova, Anna-Lena Friedsam and, in the final, world #5 Kiki Bertens (a first career Top 10 victory) in the WTA's final clay court event of the season.



She'll climb from #82 to #54 this week, and now we'll see whether Teichmann can keep up her '19 improvement on hard courts. 11 of her 12 pro singles finals have come on clay.
===============================================
RISERS: Kiki Bertens/NED and Bernarda Pera/USA
...as nice as Bertens' season has been (two titles, four finals and a Top 5 ranking), it's still got a distinctive "what if" feel about it. What if she'd posted any sort of slam result worthy of her Top 10 ranking (she's had 2r-2r-3r so far)? What if she hadn't been sick in Paris? What if she hadn't squandered 5 MP vs. Alison Riske in the Rosmalen final? And, now, what if she'd picked up a third (fourth?) '19 crown in this weekend's Palermo final against youngster Jil Teichmann? The #1 seed this past week, Bertens lost just one set en route to her 13th career WTA final, the ninth on clay, but failed to take a set off (now) two-time tour title winner Teichmann.

Another opportunity lost?

24-year old Bannerette Pera wrapped up her two-week pre-hard court stretch on the clay with a second straight SF result, following her Lausanne run in Switzerland last time out with another in Jurmala. Wins over Alona Ostapenko (WD runner-up), Bucharest champ Elena Rybakina and Nina Stojanovic (WD winner) pushed her into a fourth career WTA semi, all coming since last September. Pera will climb to a new career high of #63 on Monday.


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SURPRISES: Katarzyna Kawa/POL and Liudmila Samsonova/RUS
...well, in Week 30, the Most Interesting Tour very nearly produced a legit contender for the most unlikely singles champion in WTA history. Almost.

Playing in her maiden WTA MD, 26-year old Kawa (#194) got within three points of becoming the first player in eighteen years (2001 Bali - Angelique Widjaja) to win a title in her first attempt. After being taken to a 7-5 3rd set TB by Anna Danilina in the opening round of qualifying, the Pole reached the MD with a win over Brit Naiktha Bains (ending her career-long 0-for-11 streak in tour-level qualifying attempts), then took down Ysaline Bonaventure, Jana Fett, Chloe Pacquet and Bernarda Pera to reach the final. There, Kawa led #1 seed Anastasija Sevastova by a set and a break before the veteran Latvian used the energy of the crowd to help lift her game and pull out a three-set victory.



Kawa may be unheralded, but she won a $25K U.S. clay court title in early April that matched her biggest career crown (she won three of those between 2012-18), reached an $80K singles semi and doubles final three weeks after that, nearly qualified at Wimbledon (losing in the final Q-round to Gabriela Ruse in what was just her second WTA *qualifying* draw since 2016) and then showed up in Bastad and reached the semis at the WTA 125 event held during the second week of play at SW19.

Never having finished a season higher than #267, Kawa broke the Top 200 for the first time in May, and will jump 67 spots to #127 on Monday.

In Palermo, 20-year old Hordette Samsonova added another career-first accomplishment in Week 30, rebounding from a qualifying loss to Amandine Hesse to join the MD as a lucky loser and post wins over Jaimee Fourlis, Tamara Zidansek, and Lausanne champ Fiona Ferro to reach her maiden WTA semifinal. It's the best LL result on tour since Olga Danilovic's title run last September (well, and that ridiculous Elite Trophy situation that pushed Wang Qiang into the final in last year's season finale). The Russian made her slam debut (as a qualifier) at Roland Garros during the spring, and a week after reaching a new career high of #144 she'll rise even higher to #123.


===============================================
VETERAN: Anastasija Sevastova/LAT
...in the inaugural edition of the Baltic Open in Jurmala, top-seeded Sevastova satisfied the Latvian crowd by claiming the title, coming back from a set and a break down in the final against qualifier Katarzyna Kawa to claim career WTA title #4. The 29-year old now heads into the summer hard court season, during which she's lifted her game to its greatest heights in recent seasons, posting QF-QF-SF results at the U.S. Open and recording four Top 10 wins since 2016 (three last year alone, over the likes of Julia Goerges, Elina Svitolina and Open defending champ Sloane Stephens).


===============================================
COMEBACK: Patricia Maria Tig/ROU
...another week, another good result from the Romanian mom who returned this spring after having been out since September '17. A week after riding a qualifying wild card in Bucharest all the way to the final, Tig, using her protected ranking, reached the QF in Jurmala with wins over Ankita Raina and Anhelina Kalinina before falling to Anastasia Potapova. Last week took Tig from being unranked to #264, while this week she'll climb a bit higher to #223.
===============================================
FRESH FACE: Paula Badosa, ESP
...it's been six years since the now 21-year old Badosa made her WTA qualifying draw debut in Palermo in 2013, and four years since the Spaniard was crowned the RG girls champ. But, slowly but surely, Badosa is climbing up the WTA ladder.

Winless (0-3) in ITF singles finals this season, Badosa has managed to make up for things on the higher level on play. While she's yet to make her MD debut in Paris, she *has* managed to do so in Melbourne and SW19 after successful '19 qualifying runs, and this week she was able to string together wins over Pauline Parmentier (ahem... cough, cough), Fanni Stollar and Arantxa Rus to reach her maiden WTA semifinal. Ranked #119 heading into the week, she'll now nearly break the Top 100 barrier for the first time, coming in at a new career-high of #101 after her biggest WTA result to date.

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Be the best version of you. #fightforit

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===============================================
DOWN: Margarita Gasparyan/RUS
...after another 1st Round loss in Jurmala, Ostapenko (again) recovered with a nice doubles run that unfortunately (once more) ended with a loss in a final. Meanwhile, also in Latvia, #2 seed Caroline Garcia lost in the 2nd Round to fellow Pastry Chloe Paquet (after winning a 2:51 opener vs. Kristyna Pliskova), but does it *really* matter when it's her last match on anything other than hard courts for the remainder of the season?

So I'll (only tentatively) go with Gasparyan, who battled back from a set down against Irina Maria Bara in Jurmala, but retired in the 1st Round down 4-0 in the 3rd set after having been treated for a leg injury that was hampering her movement. For the record, there was no Svitolina in sight, nor a moonwalking French opponent, either. But it *is* the fourth in-match retirement this season (after two, with two more walkovers, last season after she began her comeback in April '18 from an injury that required three knee surgeries) by the Russian.
===============================================
ITF PLAYERS: Tamara Korpatsch/GER and Maja Chwalinska/POL
...fresh off her maiden tour-level semifinal in Lausanne last week, 24-year old Korpatsch won her eighth consecutive ITF singles final (2015-19) with a straight sets victory over Denisa Allertova in the $60K Prague decider on Sunday. The German had previously posted wins over Teliana Pereira, Quirine Lemoine, Raluca Serban and Richel Hogenkamp.

While former #55 Allertova didn't get her first title since 2014, she'll climb back into the Top 300 (after reaching a career-best slam 4th Round in Melbourne last year, the Czech's season ended following Wimbledon), Korpatsch will climb to a new career high (#115) on Monday. She's still seeking to reach her first career slam MD, having lost in qualifying nine times (including ahead of RG and Wimbledon this year).



In Bytom, Poland, 17-year old Chwalinska claimed her maiden pro singles crown, dropping just one set all week and finishing off Nina Potocnik 3 & 4 in the final. The Pole improves to 8-1 in July in a pair of $25K challenger outings.

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25k!!??????@lotospztpolishtour

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JUNIOR STARS: Leylah Annie Fernandez/CAN and Coco Gauff/USA
...a week after sweeping the honors for her first pro titles in the Gatineau $25K, 16-year old Fernandez reached her biggest final yet in the $80K challenger in Granby, Quebec. The RG girls champ upset #1-seed Nao Hibino in the 2nd round, then defeated Aussie Maddison Inglis and countrywoman Franckie Abanda (finally back from injury), the latter in a 3rd set TB, to reach the final. She fell to Australian Lizette Cabrera, but Fernandez will break the WTA Top 300 in the new rankings.



In Washington, Gauff's first post-SW19 event has started just as her last did -- with a successful qualifying run. The 15-year old's weekend included straight sets wins over Maegan Manasse and Hiroko Kuwata.



===============================================
DOUBLES: Sharon Fichman/Nina Stojanovic (CAN/SRB)
...in Jurmala, Fichman & Stojanovic were the clutch performers of the week, winning a trio of match TB's on their way to their first title in just their second tournament together (the first was last week in Bucharest). #4 Kalashnikova/Shibahara fell 10-3, followed by another 10-3 win over Eikeri/Lechemia and, in the final, #1 Ostapenko/Voskboeva were put away 10-6. It's Fichman's second tour-level title, but first since 2014 (she took a two-year break from 2016 until spring '18), and the first in the career of Stojanovic (after being 0-3 in her previous finals, all in '17).


===============================================
WHEELCHAIR: Diede de Groot/NED
...the world #1 rebounded from her disappointing upset in the Wimbledon final, though she didn't get a chance for a little "payback" against her doubles partner/SW19 conqueror Aniek Van Koot.

At the hard court British Open, de Groot was taken to three in the QF by Jordanne Whiley, but then handled Yui Kamiji (now a SF match-up, with Van Koot ranked #2) 2 & 2 to cut the Japanese former #1's lead in their head-to-head to 14-13 (though de Groot has won 11 of 14), and wrapped up the title with a 6-2/4-6/6-2 win over countrywoman Marjolein Buis, who'd defeated Van Koot in another three-setter in the semis.

Reigning AO, RG & Wimbledon champs De Groot & Van Koot had already picked up another doubles title, defeating Dana Mathewson/KG Montjane (SF) and Kamiji/Whiley (F) en route.

Maybe it's just me, but the shifty one on the left looks a *tad* suspicious...



Meanwhile, Mathewson won a rare *mixed* doubles title, teaming with Dutch player Tom Egber to defeat Charlotte Famin & Nicolas Peifer in the final.


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





1. Jurmala Final - Anastasija Sevastova def. Katarzya Kawa
...3-6/7-5/6-4. Kawa held a set and a break lead, had a BP for a chance to serve for the match and at one point was three points from the title. But Sevastova's closing kick was the stronger of the two, as the Latvian continues to add big chapters to her resumed career. Another is within spittin' distance, as she enters Week 31 at #11, just nine points behind Aryna Sabalenka and her first Top 10 ranking.


===============================================
2. Palermo Final - Jil Teichmann def. Kiki Bertens
...7-6(3)/6-2.

Name the Swiss woman with the most titles over the past year? Two years? Three years?

"Oh, that's easy. Belin-"

Um, not so fast.

"Well, then it's Tim-"

Uh-uh-uh. (Wags finger.)

"Viktori-?

Nope.

"Really?

Yep.


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3. Palermo 2nd Rd. - Jasmine Paolini def. Irina-Camelia Begu
...6-4/5-7/7-6(4). In 2:46, Paolini reaches her second career WTA QF, recovering from 4-1 down in the 3rd set TB to win 7-4.



Six Italians were in the MD. Just two reached the 2nd Round. Paolini was the last one standing in the final eight (and she went three sets vs. #1-seeded Bertens). Camila "I don't watch tennis" Giorgi aside, is the pesky Paolini the new face of Italian women's tennis?
===============================================
4. Palermo Final - Cornelia Lister/Renata Voracova def. Ekaterine Gorgodze/Arantxa Rus
...7-6(2)/6-2. It's the first tour title for Sweden's Lister, who'd already won a $60K, reached a $100K challenger and two WTA 125 finals this season with the 35-year old Voracova, for whom this is title #11.

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FIRST @wta TITLE ??????

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===============================================
5. $25K Porto POR Final - Eva Guerrero def. Myrtille Georges
...6-4/6-7(4)/6-3. 16-3 since mid-June (RU-SF-RU-W), 19-year old Spaniard Guerrero picks up her biggest title, and first challenger crown since 2017.


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HM- $60K Ashland USA Final - Ellen Perez def. Zoe Hives
...6-2/3-2 ret. The ex-Georgia Bulldog outlasts her fellow Aussie to pick up career title #2, her first since a $15K win in 2016.


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






1. Jurmala 1st Rd. - Caroline Garcia def. KRISTYNA PLISKOVA
...6-3/6-7(6)/7-6(6). Days after picking up a doubles title in Bucharest, Pliskova nearly outlasted the #2-seeded Pastry in Jurmala. After Garcia had led 5-2 in the 2nd set TB and held a MP (saved by the Czech w/ an ace) in a set in which she was 0-for-4 on BP chances, the French woman was 0-for-6 on BP in the 3rd and *faced* a Pliskova MP. Still, Garcia won in 2:51 on MP #5, but was then taken down by countrywoman Chloe Pacquet a round later.


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








However that all turns out, why they go public with "provisional" anything until everything is cut, dry and official is really another example of how the agencies wield their power like an axe over the heads of the athletes, knowing full well the damage done in the minds of many simply by making *any* sort of announcement, which will get far more attention than the conclusion, positive or negative (no pun intended), at the end of the road.

























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When I tell you I was nervous ????

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*MULTIPLE WTA SINGLES TITLES in 2019*
3 - Ash Barty, AUS [Miami,Roland Garros,Birmingham]
3 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE [Brisbane,Rome,Eastbourne]
2 - Kiki Bertens, NED [Saint Petersburg,Madrid]
2 - Sonya Kenin, USA [Hobart,Mallorca]
2 - Petra Kvitova, CZE [Sydney,Stuttgart]
2 - JIL TEICHMANN, SUI [Prague,Palermo]
2 - Dayana Yastremska, UKR [Hua Hin,Strasbourg]

*2019 LOW-RANKED WTA CHAMPIONS*
#146 - Jil Teichmann, SUI (Prague)
#106 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ (Bucharest)
#98 - Fiona Ferro, FRA (Lausanne)
#89 - Polona Hercog, SLO (Lugano)
#82 - JIL TEICHMANN, SUI (PALERMO)

*2019 OLDEST WTA SINGLES CHAMPIONS*
30 - Julia Goerges, GER (Hobart)
29 - ANASTASIJA SEVASTOVA, LAT (JURMALA)
29 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (Stuttgart)

*2019 WTA SINGLES FINAL IN HOME NATION*
Sydney, AUS - Ash Barty
Charleston, USA - Madison Keys (W)
Prague, CZE - Karolina Muchova
Strasbourg, FRA - Caroline Garcia
's-Hertogenbosch, NED - Kiki Bertens
Bucharest, ROU - Patricia Maria Tig
JURMALA, LAT - ANASTASIJA SEVASTOVA (W)

*2019 TOUR-LEVEL BREAKOUTS*
2019: Bianca Andreescu to Auckland F (4th WTA MD, age 18)
2019: Iga Swiatek to Lugano F (3rd WTA MD, age 17)
2019: Astra Sharma to Bogota F (3rd WTA MD, age 23)
2019: Martina Di Giuseppe to Bucharest SF (1st WTA MD, age 28)
2019: Katarzyna Kawa to Jurmala Final (1st WTA MD, age 26)
2019: Liudmila Samsonova to Palermo SF (4th WTA MD, age 20)

*2019 LOW-RANKED SEMIFINALISTS*
NR - Patricia Maria Tig, ROU (Bucharest RU)
#223 - Chloe Paquet/FRA (Strasbourg)
#211 - Martina Di Giuseppe, ITA (Bucharest)
#194 - KATARZYNA KAWA, POL (JURMALA RU)
#165 - Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA (Bogota)
#152 - Bianca Andreescu/CAN (Auckland RU)
#146 - Jil Teichmann/SUI (Prague W)

*2019 BEST WTA QUALIFIER RESULTS*
W = Prague - Jil Teichmann, SUI
RU = Auckland - Bianca Andreescu, CAN
RU = JURMALA - KATARZYNA KAWA, POL
SF = Sydney - Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR
SF = Bogota - Beatriz Haddad, BRA
SF = s'-Hertobenbosch - Elena Rybakina, KAZ
SF = Buchrest - Martina Di Giuseppe, ITA

*2019 BEST WTA LUCKY LOSER RESULTS*
SF = PALERMO - LIUDMILA SAMSONOVA, RUS
QF = Bogota - Sara Errani, ITA
QF = Prague - Tamara Korpatsch, GER
QF = Lausanne - Han Xinyun, CHN

*de Groot vs. Kamiji*
2019 British Open SF - DE GROOT 6-2/6-2
2019 Roland Garros Final - DE GROOT 6-1/6-0
2019 World Team Cup Final - KAMIJI 3-6/6-2/6-1
2019 Japan Open - DE GROOT 6-3/7-6(8)
2019 Australian Open - DE GROOT 6-0/6-2
2019 Melbourne Open Final - KAMIJI 3-6/7-5/7-6(11) - saved 5 MP
--------------------------------------------------------------
2018 NED Wheelchair Tennis Masters Final - DE GROOT 6-3/7-5
2018 US Open Final - DE GROOT 6-2/6-3
2018 British Open WC Tennis Chsps Final - DE GROOT 6-2/3-6/3-6
2018 BNP Paribas Open de France Final - DE GROOT 7-5/6-4
2018 Roland Garros Final - KAMIJI 2-6/6-0/6-2
2018 Australian Open Final - DE GROOT 7-6(6)/6-4
-------------------------------------------------------------
2017 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters Final - DE GROOT 7-5/6-4
2017 Open d'Amiens Hauts de France Final - DE GROOT 1-6/7-5/6-3
2017 US Open Final - KAMIJI 7-5/6-2
2017 US Open USTA WC Chsps Final - KAMIJI 5-7/6-3/7-6(12)
2017 British Open WC Tennis Chsps Final - KAMIJI 6-4/6-3
2017 BNP Paribas Open de France SF - KAMIJI 6-4/6-3
2017 Japan Open Final - KAMIJI 6-2/6-2
2017 Melbourne Wheelchair Tennis Open SF - KAMIJI 6-3/6-4
2017 Apia Int'l Sydney WC Tennis Open SF - DE GROOT 7-5/7-6(5)
-------------------------------------------------------------
2016 Paralympic Games Bronze - KAMIJI 6-3/6-3
2016 BNP Paribas Open de France Final - KAMIJI 6-3/7-6(4)
2016 Toyota Open Int'l de L'ile de Re SF - DE GROOT 4-6/7-5/1-0 ret.
-------------------------------------------------------------
2015 Sardinia Open QF - KAMIJI 6-1/6-1
2015 BNP Paribas Open de France QF - KAMIJI 6-2/6-4
2014 Swiss Open Starling Hotel Geneva 1st Rd. - KAMIJI 6-1/6-2
--
Kamiji leads 14-13


I'm expecting no moonwalks from the winner...




Stay to the end...

















Here's how that editorial ends, by the way...

"Finally, while we would not sink to name-calling in the Trumpian manner — or ruefully point out that he failed to spell the congressman’s name correctly (it’s Cummings, not Cumming) — we would tell the most dishonest man to ever occupy the Oval Office, the mocker of war heroes, the gleeful grabber of women’s private parts, the serial bankrupter of businesses, the useful idiot of Vladimir Putin and the guy who insisted there are “good people” among murderous neo-Nazis that he’s still not fooling most Americans into believing he’s even slightly competent in his current post. Or that he possesses a scintilla of integrity. Better to have some vermin living in your neighborhood than to be one."

Whoosh! Now that's an ending a reality TV star can appreciate. Or not. "Next week on Presidential Apprentice..."



All for now.
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