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Wednesday, September 2, 2020

US.3 - All Aboard the Gracheva Train

Her name is Varvara. Varvara Gracheva. On Day 3, she kept the Gracheva Train running on schedule at this U.S. Open... even after being down 6-1/5-1 and facing four match points.



Last year, the presence of the now 20-year Russian was hardly akin to a whistle blasting in the ear of the WTA tour. She was more of a whisper, and you had to tilt your head just right to see her coming rollin' the bend. But once you saw the sunshine, even if you didn't know when, you had a sense that she wouldn't be stuck in any sort of lower circuit "prison" for long.

The Hordette was a force on the ITF challenger circuit in 2019, rounding up five singles titles in five final appearances (giving her a seven-match winning streak in finals dating back to November '17, and showing that she had a knack for seizing opportunities). She reeled off undefeated runs of nine, eight and fourteen matches, the latter streak carrying over into a qualifying run at the tour-level Kremlin Cup. Last summer, Gracheva made her WTA debut in Lausanne, and recorded her first career MD tour victory in Washington (over countrywoman Anna Blinkova, then followed it up by taking veteran Hsieh Su-wei to a 3rd set tie-break a round later). By the end of the season, she'd managed to climb 333 spots in the rankings over the course of a year, rising to #105 at the end of '19.

Gracheva didn't have much of an offseason. She played into the fall through early November, then again in mid-December in Dubai. But there she was, in China in Week 1 of 2020 in Shenzhen. After a 3-1 start in the qualifying rounds in that event and the Australian Open, her loaded travel schedule may have finally caught up with her. Gracheva dropped five straight matches over three levels of tennis (challenger/125 and WTA) before the shutdown, then picked up right where she left off. Traveling *everywhere* -- from the clay in Palermo and Prague to the hard courts in New York -- while winning just one of four matches.

She came into the 1st Round on Monday 1-8 in her last nine. But when the lights came on at the U.S. Open, the youngster was ready.

After having just cracked the Top 100 in March before the tennis tour went "poof!" against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gracheva was at #102 when she made her career slam MD debut against Spain's Paula Badosa (#94) two days ago. After taking the 1st set, Gracheva fell behind 5-3 in the 2nd, but staved off three SP and went on to close out the match in straight sets, 6-4/7-5. The experience of not accepting her fate (playing a 3rd set) would prove beneficial on Day 3.

Against #30-seed Kristina Mladenovic, who'd breezed through her 1st Round match even while dealing with being relegated to a "second bubble" on the USTA grounds due to having had contact with COVID-positive Frenchman Benoit Paire, Gracheva looked to have about nine toes out the door. She trailed 6-1/5-1, and saw the Pastry hold four MP up 5-2 in the set.

But the Gracheva Train runs on its own schedule, not Kiki's.

Whether she knew Mladenovic's history or not, Gracheva had her right where she wanted her. Or that'll be the official story from here on out. For all the varied talents of the Frenchwoman, Mladenovic can be inconsistent and is sometimes a bit of a head-case on the court over long stretches, with negative momentum crashing her confidence and potentially leading to some pretty horrible results (remember the 15-match losing streak in 2017-18?). Perhaps it's why her most triumphant moments have come in doubles and Fed Cup, where the nearly constant support system allows her to better spread her wings and soar.

Once Gracheva got into *this* match, the momentum quickly turned her way.

With Mladenovic's first serve numbers cratering (she hit just 43% in the 2nd set), Gracheva never gave up. As more of her shots found the mark, Mladenovic's numbers went the other way. 5-1 turned into 5-5, and the set soon went to a tie-break. Gracheva led 5-0, and won 7-2 with a forehand pass down the line to knot the match.

Rather than find her footing again, Mladenovic slipped all the way down the mountain the 3rd while her opponent kept her foot on the gas. The Russian led 5-0. With Mladenovic serving in game #6, Kiki took a 40/15 lead and seemed to at least be about to avoid a New York City bagel. But Gracheva fought back (again), and a Mladenovic double-fault brought the game to deuce. After having saved four MP in the 2nd set, Gracheva persevered and won on her own fourth MP in the 3rd, firing a backhand down the line to finally close out the Pastry's 12-minute game to win 1-6/7-6(2)/6-0.



It's a career-changing moment for Gracheva, who doubled her career earnings with that single match-ending winner.



This is the sort of loss that could haunt a player like Mladenovic, whose long losing streak began in Washington in '17 with a loss to Bianca Andreescu, who'd scored her first career WTA MD win a round earlier that week. Two years later, Andreescu won the U.S. Open. So, hmmm... Washington, Mladenovic, U.S. Open. Yep, there's a lot of crossover (on the surface details) to chew on between Andreescu and Gracheva, isn't there? I'm just sayin'.

(I'm not forecasting anything, of course. I'm just making a note... you know, just in case.)

Mladenovic has the doubles (she and Timea Babos are the #1 seeds) left to try to smooth over this very rough result. She'd be best to take advantage.

Meanwhile, Gracheva, who'll jump to between #90-95 in the live rankings with this result, will next see #8 Petra Martic on the other side of the net.

The faint sound of the Gracheva Train is no more, though. Everyone will hear her coming loud and clear. But isn't that the way any player with a real future farther down the line in the sport would prefer it?

All aboard! Let the no-longer-lonesome whistle blow your blues away.



=DAY 3 NOTES=
...grand slam tennis giveth, but it also taketh away. And not just if your name is either Varvara or Kiki, either.

It works with "Marketa" and "Aliaksandra," too.

Two days ago, #12 Marketa Vondrousova was the first player to advance to the 2nd Round on Day 1, while Aliaksandra Sasnovich had to save a match point en route to her comeback win over Francesca Di Lorenzo. Today, Vondrousova was the first player to *lose* on Day 3, as the Belarusian quickly raced out to a 4-0 lead on the Czech, then continued her good form in the 2nd set as the stanza rushed to its conclusion -- passing by the likes of Kerber/Friedsam, Kontaveit/Juvan and, of course, Mladenovic/Gracheva, all of which seemed on schedule to finish just a bit earlier) -- as Sasnovich won 6-1/6-2.

The 2nd Round win gives Sasnovich seven career U.S. Open wins, more than at any major (she's 7-6 in Flushing Meadows, while being at .500 or worse in the other three).

via GIPHY


...one of those matches that seemed set to finish early was that of #17 Angelique Kerber against fellow German Anna-Lena Friedsam. In the 1st Round, Kerber had resembled a woman in a hurry. But, lest we forgot, she also has the patience to take the time to wear an opponent down.



Kerber came in having never lost a set to Friedsam (4/4), but her fellow German, while streaky, is a dangerous foe (just ask Aga, whenever she gets up from her one of her much-deserved naps), as she proved in the 2nd set when she threatened to tire Kerber, playing in just her second Restart match. The set went into a tie-break, but the 2016 U.S. Open champ's consistency won out. After missing on a drop shot on MP at 6-5, Kerber saw Friedsam overcook a forehand to give her a second MP chance, this time on her own serve. A long Friedman backhand return ended things, as Kerber won 6-3/7-6(6) to improve to 5-1 in the 2020 majors, reaching the 3rd Round in New York for the eighth time in the last ten years.



...#6 Petra Kvitova, for a few moments, looked like she may have to morph into "P3tra" to win today against Kateryna Kozlova, as she trailed the Ukrainian 5-3 in the 1st and saw her serve for the set at 5-4. But the Czech got things to a tie-break, won it, and carried out her momentum to a 7-6(3)/6-2 victory.



Meanwhile, at least one of two of the better stories amongst the U.S. women -- that of #28 Jennifer Brady and wild card CiCi Bellis -- was fated to end as the fellow Bannerettes faced off on Wednesday. Brady won 6-1/6-2 to get within one victory of matching her career-best result at a major. Three years ago in 2017, Brady reached the Round of 16 at both the Australian and U.S. Open. Prior to this week, though, the '20 Lexington champ had gone a combined 3-8 in majors since the start of 2018.

The other all-U.S. 2nd Rounder of the day was a bit more shocking, as Ann Li destroyed #13 Alison Riske, 6-0/6-3.



...before the shutdown, #1-seed Karolina Pliskova (1 title) and #11 Elena Rybakina (four finals, one title) were putting together good '20 campaigns. The same can't be said of what they've done in the Restart.

Rybakina has at least played fairly well, but her match rustiness is evident in that she's lost three close sets in her two losses (in three matches): a 7-5/7-6 exit at the hands of Ekaterina Alexandrova in the Western & Southern Open, and a 7-5/6-1 defeat by Shelby Rogers today. Rybakina had 17/35 W/UE numbers and a 54% first serve percentage today.

Pliskova is another matter.

The Czech lost in straights to Veronika Kudermetova a week ago. After a love & four win over Anhelina Kalinina in the 1st Round, she never found her game today against Caroline Garcia, who posted her biggest career slam win (she'd been 1-14 vs. the Top 20 in majors) over the world #3 as Pliskova's 2nd Round exit ties her for the second earliest loss by a #1 women's seed in U.S. Open history (behind only Simona Halep's 1st Round loss two years ago, Billie Jean King in '66 and Ana Ivanovic in '08 also exited in the 2nd Rd.).



Pliskova had just one (!!) winner in the 1st set, to Garcia's fifteen. She finally got herself going in the 2nd (12 winners to another 15 from Garcia), but it was too late. She fell 6-1/7-6(2).

...in the final women's singles match before the night session, 18-year old Marta Kostyuk reached her second slam 3rd Rd. ('18 AO) with a 6-3/7-6(5) win over #31 Anastasija Sevastova.



...in the opening day of doubles (the only non-singles event at this Open other than wheelchair), defending champs #2 Mertens/Sabalenka advanced, as did #7 Azarenka/Kenin. #5 Mattek-Sands/Sh.Zhang were upset by Muhammad/Townsend. Gauff/McNally face off with Osuigwe/Baptiste in an all-teenage Bannerette affair.

...I posted the complete 1st Round W/L by nation in the comment section on WTAB following Donna Vekic's midnight defeat of Kristyna Pliskova on Tuesday evening, and the Belarusians made choosing the "Revelation Ladies" from this Open quite easy. As a group, they went 5-0 in the 1st Round (plus 1-1 today), with Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Azarenka winning to set up a 2nd Round clash. Sasnovich saved MP to advance, while Vera Lapko (w/ a protected ranking) and Olga Govortsova notched their first slam MD wins since 2015 and '18, respectively.

Other contenders were, as usual in New York, the Bannerettes. But it's just a little *too* easy to push players into the 2nd Round when your group consists of a quarter of the draw. The U.S. women went 16-16 in the opening round, with winners ranging in age from 16 to 38.

Also high-achieving nations: Ukraine (4-2 w/o Svitolina), Spain and France (both 3-1), Estonia and Croatia (2-0), and the Czech Republic and Russia (with 4 wins each, but from a larger group).

Not enough "upsets" so far to crown the Upset Queens, so the wait goes on there (though the Ukrainians have a slight edge at the moment, with the Bannerettes peeking over their shoulders).

...tonight, Naomi Osaka returns to Ashe court against Camila Giorgi.









LIKE ON DAY 3:

Examples of some of the big shots off Katrina Scott's racket yesterday...




LIKE ON DAY 3:


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A REMINDER ON DAY 3:




LIKE ON DAY 3:

Al Green was trending on Twitter today because of this...



So...


(Just realized today that I CANNOT hear "Let's Stay Together" without thinking of "Pulp Fiction.")


A driver on Letterman's team (Takuma Sato) just won the Indianapolis 500. I got *that* pick right, by the way. (My U.S. Open pick is still alive in the draw, too... but I'm not going to jinx her.)



CHRISSIE POSING ON DAY 3:



The lack of fans in the stands offers all sorts of unique photo opportunities.


LIKE ON DAY 3:

Can't undertand any of this, but it's still a calm, soothing watch. (Hey, that's the "Cheers" song.)



Diede could have a future in reading things for people to listen to as they fall asleep. That's a compliment, by the way, even if it might not sound like it. Haha.


LIKE ON DAY 3:

The tarps draped over most of the seats on Louis Armstrong and other courts, which feature a blue cityscape (along with various slogans in some cases, not just sponsor logos) that serve to highlight the court rather than the empty seats.




"Strange Fruit" originated as a poem ("Bitter Fruit") by Abel Meeropol in 1937. It was inspired by a 1930 photograph of the lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith in Marion, Indiana. Billie Holiday first recorded the song in 1939 in protest of the lynching of Blacks in the U.S. South. The lyrics compare the victims to fruit swinging on trees. The song has been called "the beginning of the civil rights movement." In 1999, Time magazine named the recording the "Song of the Century."

"Southern trees bear a strange fruit
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Black bodies swingin' in the Southern breeze
Strange fruit hangin' from the poplar trees"

This particular video is very well done, and was apparently created by a student at some point. It pieces together drawing/animation with paper cut-outs and photos before morphing into footage from a live Holiday performance of the song.


The brief clip of Holiday in the above video is from a 1959 television performance, deep in the heart of a time when there were still similar murders taking place in the South, and just before the civil rights movement that encompassed the coming decade in the U.S.. Surely it's message still twists the gut due to the headlines of the current times, unfortunately. Here's the entire performance:


Holiday was ultimately a tragic figure herself. She died not long after that performance, passing away at age 44 in July of '59 due to complications of cirrhosis of the liver, a condition that came about from her longtime drinking problem. She'd been swindled out of nearly all of her earnings as a performer, as well. When she died she apparently had just 70 cents in her bank account.





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Though, I must point out, Bianca isn't a *former* U.S. Open champion quite yet. Technically, she's still "reigning champ."










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**EARLIEST EXIT BY SLAM #1 at U.S. OPEN**
2018 1st Rd. - Simona Halep (lost to Kaia Kanepi)
1966 2nd Rd. - Billie Jean King (lost to Kerry Melville)
2008 2nd Rd. - Ana Ivanovic (lost to Julie Coin)
2020 2nd Rd. - Karolina Pliskova (lost to Caroline Garcia)

**U.S. OPEN "REVELATION LADIES" WINNERS**
2006 Russia
2007 Ukraine
2008 Slovak Republic
2009 Belarus
2010 North America
2011 United States
2012 France
2013 Italy
2014 United States
2015 Japan
2016 Ukraine
2017 Australia
2018 Belarus
2019 United States
2020 Belarus
[2020]
AO: Kazakhstan
RG: (September)
WI: CANCELLED
US: Belarus

**U.S. OPEN "CRASH & BURN"**
2007 Maria Sharapova, RUS (3rd Rd.)
2008 Ana Ivanovic, SRB (2nd Rd.)
2009 Elena Dementieva, RUS (2nd Rd.)
2010 Victoria Azarenka, BLR (2nd Rd.)
2011 Petra Kvitova, CZE & Li Na, CHN (both 1st Rd.)
2012 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (1st Rd.)
2013 Samantha Stosur, AUS (1st Rd.)
2014 Dominika Cibulkova, SVK (1st Rd.)
2015 Karolina Pliskova, CZE (1st Rd.)
2016 Monica Puig, PUR (1st Rd.)
2017 Angelique Kerber, GER (1st Rd.)
2018 Simona Halep, ROU (1st Rd.)
2019 Sloane Stephens, USA (1st Rd.)
2020 Karolina Pliskova, CZE (2nd Rd.)
[2020]
AO: #8 Serena Williams/USA (3rd Rd.)
RG: (September)
WI: CANCELLED
US: #1 Karolina Pliskova, CZE (2nd Rd.)

**2020 FIRST CAREER SLAM MD WINS**
=AO=
Paula Badosa, ESP
Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
Ann Li, USA
Greet Minnen, BEL
Elena Rybakina, KAZ
=US=
Ysaline Bonaventure, BEL
Leylah Fernandez, CAN
Varvara Gracheva, RUS
Katrina Scott, USA
Patricia Maria Tig, ROU



TOP QUALIFIER: DNP
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: DNP
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx
TOP NIGHT SESSION WOMEN'S MATCH: xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #12 Marketa Vondrousova/CZE (def. Minnen/BEL)
FIRST SEED OUT: #32 Rebecca Peterson/SWE (1st Rd.-lost to Flipkens/BEL)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Bonaventure/BEL, Fernandez/CAN, Gracheva/RUS, Scott/USA, Tig/ROU
UPSET QUEENS: xx
REVELATION LADIES: Belarus (5-0 in 1st Rd.)
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Australia (0-5 1st Rd.; #1 Barty and former U.S. champ Stosur DNP)
CRASH & BURN: #1 Karolina Pliskova/CZE (2nd Rd.-Garcia; tied for second earliest exit by U.S. Open #1 seed)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK: Nominee: Gracheva (2r: 6-1/5-1, 4 MP at 5-2 vs. Mladenovic)
IT ("TBD"): Nominees: Gracheva, Kostyuk
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: xx
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: DNP Q
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: in 2r: Bellis(L), Scott, Vickery
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: in 2r: Anisimova, Bellis(L), Brady(W), Brengle(W), Kenin, Keys, Li(W), McNally, Pegula(W), Pera, Riske(L), Rogers(W), Scott, Stephens, Vickery, S.Williams
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominee: Bellis (first U.S. Open win since '16), Pironkova (first event since '17), Azarenka
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): xx
DOUBLES STAR: xx
BIG APPLE BANNERETTE BREAKTHROUGH: Nominees: Brady, Li, Pegula
BROADWAY-BOUND: xx
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominee: Osaka
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Katrina Scott/USA (16; MD win in slam WS debut)




Be Safe. All for Day 3. More tomorrow.
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