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Saturday, August 22, 2020

The Blessed and the Cursed: Restart Edition

After a few weeks back, you start to get a sense about a few things.


Is it too early to *really* tell who/what belongs where? Well, probably. But, hey... it's 2020. Virtually anything goes, right?


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As the main draw begins play in Cincinnati New York...

Simona Halep: she's skipping New York, but she's already a Restart title winner on European clay. Halep has never really needed the U.S. Open (where she's won one match in three years) anyway. She'll head to Paris with more time prep on clay than most, as the likely Roland Garros favorite, with a shot to put a second slam on her current ranking period resume (with maybe the AO giving her a chance for a third early next year).


The Bannerette Breakout: there are always a few at Flushing Meadows, and now there will be more options than normal in a draw missing so many potential seeds. Coco Gauff (even w/ back-to-back Restart losses) will get the most attention and (likely) Ashe court scheduling, while Jennifer Brady is the U.S. player seemingly in the best post-shutdown form. But *someone* will surely emerge that no one was expecting to hear a great deal from. Although without the partisan crowd to spur them on, maybe not?

Genie Bouchard: she's come back from the break strong, reminding everyone that, yes, she *is* still a tennis player. But is this just another short-term uptick that'll soon degenerate into another double-digit losing streak?

Wheelchair Tennis: after an unexpected wave of support from across the tennis world, the WC event was included in this year's U.S. Open after initially having been left out (along with the still-absent Q-rounds, juniors and MX competition). In what was supposed to be a Paralympic year, the WC athletes weren't expecting to play the Open in '20, so this is almost a "bonus" major (and one that *finally* allows 2015 U.S. winner Jordanne Whiley to return to the event for the first time since she won it). With the lack of other competition in the second week, will this mean that the WC events will get at least a portion of the appropriate level of attention (and court assignments and TV coverage) that have usually eluded them at this slam (when, for example, the women's finally is generally played on the concluding Sunday *during the men's singles final*)? Stay tuned.

Generation PDQ: Sonia Kenin's AO win was the fifth in the last six majors by a member of GenPDQ. The Open has provided a stage for back-to-back breakthrough runs the last two years by Osaka and Andreescu. Is another about to happen? Could Rybakina be about to kick in *another* door? Or maybe Sabalenka? Yastremska?? Jabeur???

Tsvetana Pironkova: yeah, lost in the fog of everything else, the Bulgarian is back.

Restart 2020: so far, so good. Now comes the biggest test of them all at Flushing Meadows in the "Cincinnati"/U.S. Open two-fer. If it comes off without a major hitch, the USTA will take a bow (and a few players might even reluctantly question their decision to not play).


Western & Southern Open finalists: will this coming week's winner have a leg up heading into the U.S. Open? Even when this event has been held in Cincinnati a week earlier before the Open, the finalists have often followed up with similar success at Flushing Meadows. With the event taking place on the USTA grounds in NYC, the results could be even more telling. Since the tournament became a Premier 5 event in 2009, just two winners (Clijsters '10, Serena '14) have gone on to win the Open. But since 2012, eight of the sixteen Cincy finalists went on to reach at least the semis in (what is usually) the summer's final major.


New York: "The U.S. Open: The Shape of Water?" There won't be any fish sex going on, but the draw is a decidedly "fluid" situation.

Serena Williams: slam #24 would seem to be right in her sweet spot in an Open field missing six of the Top 8 women, including the world #1 and #2, last year's defending U.S. champion, all the '19 Open semifinalists not named Serena, and all but three (McNally, Muchova & Martic) of Williams' seven opponents from a year ago. But Serena had three straight three-setters in Lexington, and lost to Shelby Rogers heading into this week's pre-Open event. Even with her six titles, the Open has often offered Williams unexpected twists and turns. Is another one about to come? With losses in the last two U.S. finals, and her 39th birthday arriving next month, Serena probably won't get a better path to glory. Ever.

Naomi Osaka: ready to be the Serena Spoiler again in NYC? And this time there won't be a crowd for Williams to turn against her.

Garbine Muguruza: she looked good when we last saw her. But that was six months ago.

Karolina Pliskova: no matter how it comes, might the Czech's chance to finally win a major have fallen into her lap? She'll be the #1 seed in a slam for the first time since the 2017 Open, which came a year after she reached her only major final there.

Diede de Groot and Yui Kamiji: after an historic '19 season, de Groot *still* hasn't won a WC tour singles match in 2020. Her only tour match in '20 has been her opening round AO upset loss to Zhu Zhenzhen, while Yui Kamiji (the AO champ) is looking to ride an unexpected '20 surge back into the #1 ranking. De Groot *did* gain some form by taking the Dutch National WC Championships this weekend, though.

Venus Williams: with a new serve (and a close match w/ Serena) under her belt, does the 40-year old have one more second week Open run in her?


" * ": everyone wants to detract from *any* accomplishment, and this is just the latest example. While the AO champs from the late 1970s are known to have won majors when few top players played the (then) late December event held during the holiday season, there's no actual asterisk that officially stigmatizes it. Same with the fact that the majority of Margaret Court's 24 major titles came during the 1960s when the AO was played with almost an exclusively Aussie field, and with Rod Laver's greatness not being questioned by anyone noting that 14 of his 17 career major finals came on a surface (grass) rarely played on today. Fact is, if Serena Williams (and/or Djokovic, except in the eyes of Fed & Rafa fans) wins the Open the whole "asterisk" debate will be forgotten, while if a newcomer or overlooked vet rises up and plays the tournament of his/her (especially the latter) life it'll be easy for those in some corners to dismiss their "moment" as somehow meaningless. In other words, the same thing that usually happens.

Bianca Andreescu: the always-injury-plagued '19 U.S. Open champ's absence looks as if it'll be a year-long one since her knee injury at last year's WTA Finals. The Canadian has been vague (at best) about her actual physical condition, hanging her Open absence on the pandemic making it difficult for her to train properly. Yeah, her and a several hundred other players who've since returned, or will be soon. One suspects it's the knee that's holding her out. A full year out is not a "game changer," but coming back and injuring it again could be a future-altering situation. 2021 has more and more likely seemed her more realistic return date, and it seems to almost be confirmed now (even while it isn't *actually*). That Andreescu hasn't announced it as such is oddly both encouraging *and* a tad worrisome.

Kim Clijsters: the chances of THAT happening (come on, you know what I mean) have never been good. Then the pandemic virtually gutted the Belgian's year-long comeback back. And now she just pulled out of *this* week's event with an injury.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova: the Russian's decision to not play in New York means her streak of 49 straight slams (8th all-time in WTA history) will end. Alize Cornet (4th-best w/ 54) is looking to extend the current longest active women's streak, moving to approximately (who knows how many will be held in '21?) two years' worth of majors from matching Ai Sugiyama's record of 62.
ESPN Graphics: if it comes up (i.e. if Serena's in the second week), we might see whether or not ESPN still thinks Californian Helen Wills was born in jolly ol' England.

Victoria Azarenka: I wonder which Top 4 seed will Vika draw in the 1st or 2nd Round at the Open?


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*Western & Southern Open Finals - since Premier 5 event*
2009 Jelena Jankovic def. Dinara Safina
2010 Kim Clijsters def. Maria Sharapova
2011 Maria Sharapova def. Jelena Jankovic
2012 Li Na def. Angelique Kerber
2013 Victoria Azarenka def. Serena Williams
2014 Serena Williams def. Ana Ivanovic
2015 Serena Williams def. Simona Halep
2016 Karolina Pliskova def. Angelique Kerber
2017 Garbine Muguruza def. Simona Halep
2018 Kiki Bertens def. Simona Halep
2019 Madison Keys def. Svetlana Kuznetsova

*CINCINNATI/Western & Southern Open & U.S. OPEN FINALS - OPEN ERA*
1970 Rosie Casals, USA (W-RU)
1973 Evonne Goolagong, AUS (W-RU)
2010 Kim Clijsters, BEL (W-W)
2013 Victoria Azarenka, BLR (W-RU)
2014 Serena Williams, USA (W-W)
2016 Angelique Kerber, GER (RU-W)
2016 Karolina Pliskova, CZE (W-RU)


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FRESH FACE: Leylah Annie Fernandez/CAN and Ann Li/USA
...another U.S. summer hardcourt campaign, another shining Canadian. Having qualified and notched a MD win over Sloane Stephens in Lexington, 17-year old LAF qualified again at this week's "Cincinnati at NYC" event, defeating #2-seeded Anna Blinkova and Kristie Ahn to reach her second career Premier Mandatory/Premier 5 MD (w/ '19 Rogers Cup, where she was a WC in a tournament won by a different Canadian).



Li, 20, reached the Western & Southern Open MD with Q-round wins over Zarina Diyas and Viktoria Kuzmova. It's the first Premier Mandatory/Premier MD appearance in the career of the 2017 Wimbledon girls singles runner-up. She's soon set to play her maiden U.S. Open MD match, as well, seven months after making her slam debut at the Australian Open (and reaching the 2nd Rd.).
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ITF PLAYER: ---
...the first ITF circuit event since early March is being played this week in Oeiras, Portugal. The $15K challenger final is set for Sunday, with 17-year old Dane Clara Tauson (off her win in the unsanctioned Players Choice event in Bastad earlier this month) seeking her seventh career pro title against Spain's Maria Gutierrez-Carrasco, playing to claim her second.



Two more ITF events are scheduled to be held this week (Cordenons, ITA and Alkmaar, NED) before the schedule starts to pick up a bit steam once again.

Update:


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VETERAN: Vera Zvonareva/RUS
...with the ten-year anniversary of her appearance in the U.S. Open final coming up soon, the 35-year old Original Hordette (the *only* one playing in NYC, it should be noted) qualified to reach her first Western & Southern Open MD since 2011 (when she reached the semis). Zvonareva posted wins over Danka Kovinic and Astra Sharma.


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COMEBACK: CiCi Bellis/USA
...off her Lexington QF result last week, Bellis follow up with a qualifying run to reach just her second "Cincinnati" MD (w/ her 1st Rd. exit in '17) with Q-round victories over Madison Brengle and Ysaline Bonaventure. Bellis will be in the U.S. Open draw via a wild card.
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WHEELCHAIR: Diede de Groot/NED
...after nearly winning *every* available slam title (7/8) last season, WC #1 de Groot was shockingly upset in her opening match at the Australian Open in January. She'll soon arrive at Flushing Meadows to defend her U.S. Open crown, with the #1 ranking potentially on the line with AO champ Yui Kamiji not that far behind. De Groot warmed up this week back home, winning the singles title at the Dutch National Championships without losing a set. She defeated Marjolein Buis 6-2/6-2 in the final, getting her second win over her countrywoman on the week (w/ a round robin victory), but lost to her in the doubles final. Buis teamed with Michaela Spaanstrea to defeat de Groot & Jiske Griffioen, in for Aniek Van Koot (who'll also miss the Open), 6-4/6-4.


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DOUBLES: Marjolein Buis/Michaela Spaanstra, NED/NED
...2020 was a strange year for Buis *before* the pandemic shutdown (she'd been forced to prepare to retire because of a WC classification change, and had been set to play her final major in London, then close out her career at the Paralympics as there'd be no U.S. Open WC event... but things, well, changed just a bit), but she managed to take home two trophies this weekend before she hops a plane for New York. Aside from her singles runner-up, she joined with countrywoman Spaanstra to win the Dutch National Championships in doubles, defeating de Groot/Griffioen in the final.


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1. Dutch National WC Championships Final - Diede de Groot def. Marjolein Buis
...6-2/6-2. Time is short, but Diede the Great has some make-up housecleaning to do for 2020. She picked up a singles title here, with the Open and Roland Garros next on the agenda.

Here's the match:

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2. "Cincinnati" 1st Rd. - Ekaterina Alexandrova def. Elena Rybakina
...7-5/7-6(6). In her first Restart match, Rybakina exits after not winning at least two matches in an event in nearly a year (last September in Guangzhou).


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3. "Cincinnati" 1st Rd. - Maria Sakkari def. Coco Gauff
...6-1/6-3. Just the 16-year old's second one-and-done MD appearance in eleven career tour events.
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4. "Cincinnati" 1st Rd. - Vika Azarenka def. Donna Vekic
...6-2/6-3. Vika's first win of the year, *and* the first (and best) for the 31-year old since defeating then-#12 Belinda Bencic in the 1st Round of this same event nearly a full year ago.


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5. "Cincinnati" 1st Rd. - Dayana Yastremska def. Venus Williams
...5-7/6-2/7-5. From 4-4, the two traded breaks in three straight games, as Yastremska got her first opportunity to serve out the match at 5-4 before finally finishing things off two games later. Venus was playing in the U.S. Open singles final almost three years before Yastremska was born, and will now hope for a better draw in her 22nd career U.S. Open appearance. So will the Ukrainian in her third.


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1. "Cincinnati" Q1 - Katie Volynets def. Monica Puig
...4-6/7-6(4)/6-3. Four years and a week past her Gold Medal win in Rio, #91-ranked Puig is 18-year old Volynet's first career Top 100 victim. The Bannerette came back from 6-4/5-2 down to get the victory.


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2. "Cincinnati" Q1 - Kirsten Flipkens def. Katarina Zavatska 5-7/7-5/7-6(2)
"Cincinnati" Q2 - Kirsten Flipkens def. Katie Volynets 6-1/2-0 ret.
...the Waffle went 3:13 and saved two MP to get the win over Zavatska, then saw Volynets retire after just nine games. Flipkens' last "Cincinnati" singles MD was in 2014.
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3. "Cincinnati" Q1 - Dasha Kasatkina def. Kateryna Bondarenko 7-6(1)/4-6/6-0
"Cincinnati" Q2 - 6-3/7-5
...one Kasatkina step forward, one step back.
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[From BlackTennisHallofFame.com Class of 2015 bio]

"In 1956, Buxton made history by winning the French Woman’s Doubles Championship with Althea Gibson. She therefore played an important role in helping Althea Gibson become the first African American to win a Grand Slam tournament doubles championship. Buxton and Gibson went on to win the Wimbledon Women’s Doubles Championship that year as well. In 1953 and 1957, she won the Women’s Singles title at the Maccabiah Games for Jewish athletes. People of Jewish descent were not admitted to the All England Lawn Tennis Club where Wimbledon was played until 1952. In addition, they faced discrimination on the world tennis tour. The racism that Gibson experienced and the anti-Semitism that Buxton experienced brought them together on the tennis tour. When they won the Wimbledon Women’s Doubles Championship one British newspaper used the unfortunate headline “Minorities Win” to call attention to their victory.

Buxton was an excellent singles player who reached the 1956 Wimbledon Women’s Finals. Prior to that accomplishment, she won the English Indoor title, the London Grass Court singles championships and the English Hard Court Doubles title with Darlene Hard. She reached the semi-finals of the Women’s Singles division of French Championships in 1956 (the same year she and Gibson won the Women’s Doubles Championship)."


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Best soccer highlight ever...




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Be safe.
All for now.
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