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Monday, September 7, 2020

US.8 - Momma Mia!

"Mamma mia, here I go again
My my, how can I resist you?
Mamma mia, does it show again
My my, just how much I've missed you?"



As it turned out, though, #15 Maria Sakkari didn't miss #3 Serena Williams all that much.

Before the match, Sakkari had said, “The fact that I played her last week is giving me, you know, confidence because now I know how she plays.” The 25-year old Greek added, “But of course, she's Serena, and I respect that 1000% she's going to come up with a big game. She's going to come with a different tactic this time. I have to be ready for that.”

Just a week ago on the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center grounds, Sakkari had found a way to wiggle out of a tight spot, escaping a set and 5-3 deficit, then 4-1 disadvantage in the 2nd set tie-break, against Williams in the 3rd Round of the Western & South Open Cincinnati event in New York City. Already perturbed with having blown her lead, Serena then began to tire and cramp on the way to a three-set defeat.

Williams has traditionally had a long memory, rarely following up a particularly galling loss to a player with another one soon after (or, in the case of Maria Sharapova, well... I think that ground has been well-covered). So for Sakkari to face off with Williams again in the U.S. Round Round of 16 just over a week later was hardly a stroke of luck on her part.

But after climbing the WTA ladder over the last two years, reaching her second straight slam 4th Round, having broken into the Top 20 in February, notching seven Top 10 wins since the start of 2019, and having seen five of her eight 2020 defeats having come in three-setters against players ranked in the Top 25, Sakkari was more than game to give it a go on this Labor Day at Flushing Meadows.

Having been just three years old when Williams made her Open debut in NYC in 1998, Sakkari was all that stood between the 23-time slam winner and a twelfth appearance in the U.S. Open quarterfinals in her twelve appearances in the event since 2007, and her seventeenth overall since her first moment on such a stage twenty-two years ago.

From the start, Sakkari knew she needed to be mindful of her service games, knowing that to defeat Williams yet again she'd have to keep up with Serena's own serve. In the opening set, Sakkari managed to out-ace Williams 5-4, but failed to win the most important points. Up love/40 on Serena's serve, Sakkari saw Williams serve her way out of the hole to hold. After staving off a BP down 3-2, Sakkari reached game point but still dropped serve. Williams led 5-2 but, unlike last week, didn't let the set slip away. She served out the stanza at 6-3 to again win the 1st set from Sakkari.

In the 2nd set, Sakkari played as efficiently on serve as she *hadn't* in the first. While she never faced a BP in the set, she never converted one (0-for-2) on Williams' serve, either. Still, her holds kept her one step ahead through. 4-3. 5-4. 6-5. She hoped to hold on, and maybe make Williams "prove" that her issues with finishing off opponents in the tennis Restart were finally behind her. Williams saved a pair of BP in game #12 with big serves, forcing a tie-break.

With a 7-0 TB mark this season, even with her relative lack of big stage experience, Sakkari likely felt comfortable with her fate, or as comfortable as one can be against Williams on Ashe in the U.S. Open (unless we're talking about those recent finals against maiden would-be slam champions).

Right on cue, Sakkari raced to a 4-0 lead and Williams' screams filled the cavernous, fan-less stadium. Serena stormed back, and when the Greek netted a backhand the breaker was back on serve at 5-4. But a point later, Sakkari got a racket (sometimes that's all that's necessary) on a 120-mph Williams serve, and Serena's responding error gave Sakkari her first set point. Williams very nearly double-faulted it away, but caught a line in the service box and then fired a big forehand to extend the set. On SP #2, this time on Sakkari's serve, Williams' return winner made it 6-6. But after Serena pushed a return wide, Sakkari's third SP proved to be the charm. A long Williams forehand gave the Greek the TB at 8-6 and sent yet another of Serena's Restart matches (seven of nine... with Jeri Ryan was nowhere to be seen) to a 3rd set.

For the second straight week, Sakkari jumped to an early lead on Williams in the decider. With Serena still stewing over the end of the 2nd, Sakkari got a set-opening break and held for 2-0. But then her serve let her down just enough to matter. A few double-faults and Williams was back in the set, breaking for 2-2. A pair of aces allowed Sakkari to hold for 3-3, but two games later Serena held triple BP at love/40. Sakkari managed to save the first two (the second w/ a nice volley winner), but then sent a half-hearted falling-away forehand into the net on the third. The break allowed Williams to serve for the match at 5-3.

With the presence of fans in the stands, who knows, maybe the adrenaline might have caused Williams to tighten just enough to drop serve and put the match in jeopardy. But the funny thing about the empty seats is that it seems like it might *help* Serena. At this Open, we haven't really seen an overabundance of the "calm down, Serena" hand movements that we've gotten used to in recent years in big moments. Williams seems to be able to more easily self-correct through matches, and has stayed more within an "emotional neutral zone" so far at this Open. The occasional yells let off steam, but the lack of a pumped-up atmosphere on court seems to have made keeping her focus just a bit easier.

She routinely served out the victory, winning 6-3/6-7(6)/6-3.



With the challenger from Greece finally subdued, Serena moves ever closer to still more records. Her 53rd career slam quarterfinal is just one off the all-time women's mark (held by Chris Evert), and she's now the only person to ever win 100 matches on Ashe Court (and, remember, she has 105 *total* U.S. Open wins, so...). She'd already passed Evert for the most U.S. Open women's match wins with her initial victory at this year's event.




Obviously, the big(gest) stage suits Olympia's momma. Two more wins and she'll play in her third straight U.S. Open final (it'd be her fifth time in a slam final in back-to-back-to-back years), eleventh in New York (breaking a tie for all-time U.S. finals w/ Molla Mallory) and thirty-fourth overall in her slam career (that'd tie Evert for the most ever).

Three more wins and, well, you know.




=DAY 8 NOTES=
...while surely no one saw Tsvetana Pironkova's run at this U.S. Open coming (though maybe we *should* have, at least in an "it's 2020" sort of way) after her three-year absence from the sport, few likely pegged Alize Cornet as the French player who'd have the most left to play for at this stage in this event, either.

But after Benoit Paire's initial positive COVID test, Kristina Mladenovic's huge blown lead vs. Varvara Gracheva, Caroline Garcia's inability to follow up her win over #1-seed Karolina Pliskova, and then the belated net thrown over Mladenovic's doubles run due to her previous contact with Paire (and resulting quarantine order), there was Cornet on Monday looking to reach her first career slam QF in her 57th attempt in a major. Pironkova, meanwhile, was trying to do for the first time in New York what she's already done three other times (2010 WI SF & '11 QF, and '16 RG QF) in slams, after having knocked out (shocker!) back-to-back seeds in her last two matches.

After Cornet had taken an early break lead in the 1st set, Pironkova had gotten the set back to even in game #3. With a BP in hand at 4-4, the 32-year old Bulgarian mom scrambled to a Cornet drop shot, dug it out with a backhand, and flipped it back crosscourt to break and have a chance to serve out the set. With a slice forehand to one corner, then a backhand winner down the line in the other, Pironkova grabbed a 40/15 lead, then came into the net and put away a forehand to take the 1st at 6-4.

It was Pironkova who grabbed the 2-0 lead in the 2nd, and had three BP chances for a double-break bulge in game #3. But Cornet held, then broke to pull herself back from the edge. The Pastry soon broke for a 4-2 lead, but Pironkova came back from 40/15 down on Cornet's serve to get the set back on serve a game later. A long game #9 seemed to have permanently turned the tide in the Bulgarian's favor, as Cornet failed to convert three GP and Pironkova broke serve on her third BP (via a Cornet DF) to give herself a chance to serve for the match.

Pironkova reached MP at 5-4, but couldn't finish Cornet off. She netted a backhand on what would have been the magic moment. Another backhand error gave the French woman the break. A quick break back gave Pironkova a second chance to serve out the win, but after an early long rally she was fairly much spent for the rest of the set.



Cornet went up love/40. Pironkova saved two BP, but dropped serve again as things went to a TB. There, with Pironkova (already with a strapped leg, and having not played so much in some thirty-eight months), Cornet grabbed a 3-1 edge, and on several occasions took advantage of the tiring Bulgarian's movement, dragging her into the net, where she'd struggle to reach the ball, then go for too much and miss on her attempts. Cornet won the TB 7-5 to get into a 3rd.

Apparently, Pironkova found her second wind in the final set. After having held an early break lead, she broke Cornet for 5-3 and got a *third* chance to serve for the quarterfinals. After taking a 40/love lead, MP #2 proved to be golden, ending the 6-4/6-7(5)/6-3 match. The two combined for 70 winners (Pironkova 46, Cornet 24) and 84 unforced errors (Pironkova 50, Cornet 34) in the 2:49 affair.



Next, Pironkova gets the chance for her *biggest* slam seed upset, facing off with Serena Williams in the quarters. Whether she's physically ready for such a challenge or not.



Perhaps she can try to channel her past success in majors vs. VENUS, and forget about her 0-4 mark vs. her little sister.

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Cornet and Pironkova provided some ?? points

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Let me just get it out there... we sort just of "know" Pironkova is going to win this whole thing, right? I mean it *would* be PEAK 2020.

Seriously, though, if that *did* happen, Pironkova really should just "pull a Pennetta," accept the trophy and effectively drop the mic racket and walk off into the sunset, never to be heard from again.

She'd immediately become the forever star of the greatest legend in tennis history.

...with Victoria Azarenka's match with #20 Karolina Muchova now pushed into the evening, I get to *continue* to pull up the relative cone of silence regarding the (one-time? future? emerita?) "Face of Backspin" in this space during this Open.

It's worked out pretty well so far.



...in the women's doubles QF, Asia Muhammad & Taylor Townsend took out Alison Riske & Gaby Dabrowski (who'd advanced past the pulled Babos/Mladenovic team) to reach their first slam semifinal. They reached the U.S. Open QF four years ago, and have a long history of success as a pair. After winning nine ITF crowns between 2014-19, earlier this season they took home their maiden tour-level win together in Auckland (Muhammad's fifth career title, Townsend's first), then followed up with a WTA 125 victory at Indian Wells in March just before the shutdown.

#3 Nicole Melichar/Xu Yifan defeated Hayley Carter/Luisa Stefani to secure the other Final 4 spot.

...since I mentioned her the other day (or mentioned that the WTA, for some reason, posted video of her hitting balls in Turkey while a slam was taking place in NYC), I'll note that Genie Bouchard has opened her qualifying attempt in this week's tour-level event in Istanbul with a 6-2/7-6(9) win over Ivana Jorovic, who arrived after having made the semis in the WTA 125 in Prague. She'll next face Leonie Kung for a spot in the MD.

Svetlana Kuznetsova is the #1 seed in the event.

...tonight, #2 seed and Australian Open champ Sofia Kenin *finally* gets her turn on Ashe under the lights (which *should* have happened last round vs. Ons Jabeur, which went three sets, rather than the Keys/Cornet outing that ended via retirement early in the 2nd), facing #16 Elise Mertens.




=WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16=
#28 Jennifer Brady/USA def. #17 Angelique Kerber/GER
#23 Yulia Putintseva/KAZ def. #8 Petra Martic/CRO
#4 Naomi Osaka/JPN def. #14 Anett Kontaveit/EST
Shelby Rogers/USA def. #6 Petra Kvitova/CZE
(PR) Tsvetana Pironkova/BUL def. Alize Cornet/FRA
#3 Serena Williams/USA def. #15 Maria Sakkari/GRE
Victoria Azarenka/BLR def. #20 Karolina Muchova/CZE
#16 Elise Mertens/BEL def. #2 Sofia Kenin/USA

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES SF=
Muhammad/Townsend (USA/USA) v. #3 Melichar/Xu (USA/CHN)
Blinkova/V.Kudermetova v. (PR) Siegemund/Zvonareva (GER/RUS)




BUIS UPDATE(s) ON DAY 8: via @marjolein.buis"







NOTE ON DAY 8:




LIKE ON DAY 8:

For the jaunty skip down the stairs in the Chuck Taylors.




NOTE ON DAY 8:




THIS SHOULD BE, umm, "INTERESTING" ON DAY 8:





Hmmm... ON DAY 8:



About 188,000 or so of them (so far), I'd say.


SHOULDN'T CLIFF DRYSDALE BE TOUTING THIS AS MUCH AS WHEN KIMMY DID IT? ON DAY 8:




WHILEY GEARING UP ON DAY 8:

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Roaaarrrrrr ??

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THE DAY AFTER ON DAY 8:

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This whole situation has left me really sad and empty. I checked on the lines person and the tournament told me that thank God she is feeling ok. I‘m extremely sorry to have caused her such stress. So unintended. So wrong. I’m not disclosing her name to respect her privacy. As for the disqualification, I need to go back within and work on my disappointment and turn this all into a lesson for my growth and evolution as a player and human being. I apologize to the @usopen tournament and everyone associated for my behavior. I’m very grateful to my team and family for being my rock support, and my fans for always being there with me. Thank you and I’m so sorry. Cela ova situacija me cini zaista tužnim i praznim. Proverio sam kako se oseca linijski sudija, i prema informacijama koje sam dobio, oseca se dobro, hvala Bogu. Njeno ime ne mogu da otkrijem zbog ocuvanja njene privatnosti. Jako mi je žao što sam joj naneo takav stres. Nije bilo namerno. Bilo je pogrešno. Želim da ovo neprijatno iskustvo, diskvalifikaciju sa turnira, pretvorim u važnu životnu lekciju, kako bih nastavio da rastem i razvijam se kao covek, ali i teniser. Izvinjavam se organizatorima US Opena. Veoma sam zahvalan svom timu i porodici što mi pružaju snažnu podršku, kao i mojim navijacima jer su uvek uz mene. Hvala vam i žao mi je. Bio je ovo težak dan za sve.

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via GIPHY




Well, seeing how yesterday the U.S. Open finally went all "Helter Skelter," it's time to pull out the accompanying song.

The Beatles' 1968 single "Helter Skelter" has been called the "first heavy metal song," though now most tend to unfortunately link it to cult leader Charles Manson's co-opting of it as the title of what he saw as a coming "race war" in the United States.

[from Wikipedia]
"The Helter Skelter scenario is a theory put forth by Vincent Bugliosi, lead prosecutor in the Tate–LaBianca murder trial, to explain the series of murders committed by the Manson Family. Bugliosi described his theory at trial and in his book Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders. According only to Bugliosi’s theory, Charles Manson often spoke to the members of his 'family' about 'Helter Skelter' in the months leading up to the murders of Sharon Tate and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in August 1969, an apocalyptic war arising from racial tensions between blacks and whites. This 'chimerical vision involved reference to music of the Beatles, particularly songs from their 1968 double album The Beatles (commonly known as 'the White Album'), and to the New Testament's Book of Revelation. Manson and his followers were convicted of the murders based on the prosecution's theory that they were part of a plan to trigger the Helter Skelter scenario."

At the height of U2's big surge in the late eighties, they included a version of thes ong on their "Rattle and Hum" album. Bono opens with, "This song Charles Mason stole from the Beatles, we're stealing it back."


Here's the original:


An Aerosmith cover in 1977:


And worlds collide with Paul McCartney and Steven Tyler last year:












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I had a dream I was pulling a worm out of my face. So there's that.




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4?? out of 7?? complete... @naomiosaka #USOpen

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*2020 U.S. OPEN FINAL 8*
[by career slam QF]
53 - Serena Williams
17 - Victoria Azarenka
4 - Tsvetana Pironkova
3 - Elise Mertens
3 - Naomi Osaka
3 - Yulia Putintseva
2 - Shelby Rogers
1 - Jennifer Brady
[by career US QF]
17 - Serena Williams
5 - Victoria Azarenka
2 - Elise Mertens
2 - Naomi Osaka
1 - Jennifer Brady
1 - Tsvetana Pironkova
1 - Yulia Putintseva
1 - Shelby Rogers
[w/ consecutive slam QF]
none
[w/ consecutive US QF]
3 - Serena Williams (2018-20; 12 in last 12 app. 2007-20)
2 - Elise Mertens
[2020 slam QF - unseeded]
AO - Ons Jabeur, TUN
AO - Garbine Muguruza, ESP
US - Victoria Azarenka, BLR
US - Tsvetana Pironkova, BUL (PR)
US - Shelby Rogers, USA
[2020 1st-time GS QF]
AO - Ons Jabeur, TUN
AO - Sofia Kenin, USA
AO - Anett Kontaveit, EST
US - Jennifer Brady, USA
[2020 slam QF]
2 - none
1 - AO (8): Barty,Halep,Jabeur,Kenin,Kontaveit,Kvitova,Muguruza,Pavlyuchenova
1 - US (8): Azarenka,Brady,Osaka,Mertens,Pironkova,Putintseva,Rogers,S.Williams
[2020 slam QF - by nation]
4...USA (3) - Brady,Rogers,S.Williams
1...AUS (0)
1...BEL (1) - Mertens
1...BLR (1) - Azarenka
1...BUL (1) - Pironkova
1...CZE (0)
1...ESP (0)
1...EST (0)
1...JPN (1) - Osaka
1...KAZ (1) - Putintseva
1...ROU (0)
1...RUS (0)
1...TUN (0)
[WTA career slam QF - active]
53...Serena Williams, USA
39...Venus Williams, USA
19...Kim Clijsters, BEL
17...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
16...Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
14...Simona Halep, ROU
12...Petra Kvitova, CZE
9...Angelique Kerber, GER
[8...Jelena Jankovic, SRB]
8...Garbine Muguruza, ESP
7...Sara Errani, ITA
7...Madison Keys, USA
7...Karolina Pliskova, CZE
7...Samantha Stosur, AUS
7...Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
6...Kaia Kanepi, EST
6...Johanna Konta, GBR
6...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
6...Sloane Stephens, USA
6...Elina Svitolina, UKR
6...Vera Zvonareva, RUS

Leo's mom has (still) got it goin' on...



And three of my unnamed pre-Open semifinalists are still alive in the QF, too.


*UNSEEDED/WC/Q in US OPEN QF w/ 32-SEED DRAW*
[began in 2001]
2001 - Bedanova
2002 - Bovina
2003 -
2004 - Asagoe
2005 -
2006 -
2007 - Szavay
2008 -
2009 - Wickmayer,K.Bondarenko,Oudin,Clijsters(wc)...[W -Clijsters]
2010 - Cibulkova
2011 - Kerber
2012 -
2013 - Hantuchova,Pennetta
2014 - Bencic,Peng
2015 - Mladenovic,Vinci...[RU-Vinci]
2016 - Konjuh,Sevastova,Wozniacki
2017 - Kanepi(q),Stephens...[W -Stephens]
2018 - Tsurenko
2019 -
2020 - Azarenka,Pironkova(pr),Rogers

**U.S. OPEN LOWEST-RANKED QF**
[since 1975 rankings]
Unranked - 1977 Billie Jean King
Unranked - 1979 Billie Jean King
Unranked - 1981 Barbara Gerken
Unranked - 1982 Gretchen Rush
Unranked - 2009 Kim Clijsters [W]
Unranked - 2020 Tsvetana Pironkova
#418 - 2017 Kaia Kanepi
#103 - 1980 Barbara Hallquist
#93 - 2020 Shelby Rogers
#92 - 2016 Ana Konjuh
#92 - 2011 Angelique Kerber



TOP QUALIFIER: DNP
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): Victoria Azarenka/BLR (winning streak to 7 matches)
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): Nominee: #28 J.Brady
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: DNP
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd. - Varvara Gracheva/RUS def. #30 Kristina Mladenovic/FRA 1-6/7-6(2)/6-0 (trailed 6-1/5-1, 4 MP)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): Nominee: 4r-Rogers d. #6 Kvitova 7-6(5)/3-6/7-6(6) - 4 MP saved
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: United States
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: Varvara Gracheva, RUS (2nd Rd.: down 6-1/5-1, 4 MP at 5-2 vs. Mladenovic)
IT ("TBD"): Nominees: Rogers, (WD), (wheelchair)
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: Nominees: (many WS), Muhammad/Townsend
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: DNP Q
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: CiCi Bellis/USA, Katrina Scott/USA and Sachia Vickery/USA (all 2nd Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: in 4r: Brady(W), Kenin(L), Rogers(W), S.Williams(W)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Tsvetana Pironkova/BUL (first event since '17 Wimb; def. #10 Muguruza in 2nd Rd.)
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Nominees: S.Williams, Azarenka, Siegemund/Zvonareva
DOUBLES STAR: xx
BIG APPLE BANNERETTE BREAKTHROUGH: Jennifer Brady/USA
BROADWAY-BOUND: Nominee: S.Williams, Azarenka, Osaka
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominee: Osaka (3-0 in Ashe night matches), S.Williams, Azarenka
JUNIOR UNDER 18 BREAKOUT: Katrina Scott/USA (16; slam debut as wild card, 1st Rd. win)
RG "Légion de Lenglen" HONOREE: U.S. OPEN SPECIAL: Madison Brengle/USA (chugs wine after 2nd Rd. victory)




Be Safe. All for Day 8. More tomorrow.
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