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Monday, October 5, 2020

RG.9- The Improbability of Petra

Paris has so far never been Petra Kvitova's most favored tennis city in the springtime. But what about the fall?



Here's something to consider. Imagine it's once again the summer of 2011, right after Kvitova had stepped up and out at SW19, bringing what seemed like dozens of all-time greats to their knees and to visible awe as she stormed to her first slam title, becoming the first player born in the Nineties to lift a major title trophy. The then 21-year old Czech's work over the fortnight had made the occasion of her maiden appearance in a slam final a true have-to-see-it spectacle, and one that even a who's-who of tennis legends wanted to be able to witness first-hand so that, maybe, they'd be able to say they were there when her sure-to-be-epic career officially began its big stage life.

Now, imagine that "2011 you" were then told that, nearly a decade later, yes, Kvitova would have won another Wimbledon (2014), but only just that one. And that she'd never reached #1 (even after many times being seemingly one match win, or a winnable title, away from rising to the top spot), nor won another major title in all that time, and had had just one significant post-title match meeting with Serena Williams ('12 QF) at the AELTC, even as the possibility of a multi-chapter grasscourt series between the two during the whole of the 2010's seemed an exciting, dead-on certainty "way back when."

Even in a sport where "single moment snapshots" are sometimes shockingly unreliable when it comes to prognosticating the future, dropping that sort of future knowledge on an unsuspecting tennis public would likely have been a jaw-dropping, unforeseen and improbable occasion of a totally different sort.



That said, while not having been as dominant a force as it was thoguht she *could* become, Kvitova has still had a brilliant career. She'll be enshrined in Newport one day as, at the very least, a multi-slam title winner, possibly the best BJK Cup (nee Fed Cup) player of her generation and one of the most universally beloved and adored players in the history of the game.

But that doesn't mean, as she's entered her thirties, Kvitova's career resume isn't a little light for someone of her talents. It's true that the December '16 home invasion attack and subsequent career-saving hand surgery have played some small part in that reality, but even before then the Czech had had a hard time adding a third level of success to her early-career Wimbledon and team competition prominence.

One of the reasons is that the other three majors haven't exactly played into her strengths, and sometimes keyed in on her weaknesses. Over the course of her career, Kvitova has surprisingly recorded just one Top 10 win in a slam since her '11 Wimbledon run (and it didn't come until *after* the attack, over Muguruza at the U.S. in '17), and has lost seven straight WTA Finals matches dating back to '15. Her asthmatic condition has always made the heat of the Australian Open a second opponent on the court, her issues with on-court movement (though improved as her career has gone on) likely hampered her play at Roland Garros during her otherwise "peak" years on tour, and the atmosphere of the U.S. Open (not this year, but in a normal season) has always been a bit too chaotic for her taste.

Kvitova has had success on clay in her tour career, but the majority of it has been focused on one event (Madrid, which acccounts for three of her five titles, with a fourth coming in Stuttgart in the indoor conditions in which she's always thrived). Roland Garros holds a special place for Kvitova nonetheless, as it was the first major she played in '17 following her attack, but her 2012 SF run in the event (one of her three slam semis at three different majors in less than a year) has been an anomaly in her career rather than the ongoing standard.

Over the years, Kvitova's improved fitness has helped make her more of an all-surface/event threat, but the slam success she enjoyed early on has still been hard to come by. She's not reached the QF at Wimbledon since her 2014 title run, and she's never played in a SF at Flushing Meadows. She very nearly got her elusive non-SW19 major last year in Melbourne in her only slam final appearance outside London, but saw Naomi Osaka edge her out in three sets with the #1 ranking also at stake in the contest.

Today in the Round of 16 in Paris, #7-seeded Kvitova looked to continue to keep her head above the fray in an event where seeds have been falling at a faster rate than the traditions of U.S. democracy. She faced off with Zhang Shuai, the 31-year old whose '20 RG had already moved to within one slam Round of 16 run (at NYC) of joining Li Na as the only Chinese women to have produced such results at all four majors (with a win today she'd move into the same "on-deck" situation when in comes to major QF berths).

Kvitova had little true trouble getting the win, though it took her two attempts to serve out the opening set, and Zhang's break of serve late in the 2nd prevented a runaway down the stretch. Ultimately, after a Zhang hold, Kvitova served out a love game to win 6-2/6-4. The Czech faced just two BP on the day.



Kvitova hasn't dropped a set at this Roland Garros, and her QF is her best run in Paris since that 2012 semifinal. Her tournament has been hampered by just one real rough patch, and Kvitova made it a strength, casually (well, there were a few "Pojd!" yells in there) coming back from a 5-1 1st set deficit, saving three SP, in the 3rd Round against Canadian teen Leylah Fernandez and winning in straight sets.

While the conversation during this RG has often centered around, at first, Simona Halep, and most recently the likes of Iga Swiatek, Elina Svitolina and the vast collection of players, new, late-blooming and veteran, who have taken advantage of the improbable circumstances of this slam -- held late in the year, with a somewhat diminished draw, in heavier conditions (sometimes under a roof), with different balls, and having come following a quick turnaround from the late summer hard court season that concluded with the U.S. Open just two weeks before the start of action in Paris -- to put on unforeseen career-best runs, it could still be Petra who ultimately emerges in full form from the rocky landscape, much like the city in southern Jordan of the same name that was carved from the very walls of stone that surround it.



Kvitova is back in the Top 10 with today's win, with her best RG result in nearly a decade, and only her fifth QF-or-better run in the 22 majors she's played since she last lifted the Venus Rosewater dish at Wimbledon.



Things are very different at Roland Garros in 2020. And that difference could be just what Petra -- the Czech one -- has been waiting for.




=DAY 9 NOTES=
...meanwhile, Laura Siegemund continues to try to make up for lost time.



Three years after a knee injury prevented her from arriving in Paris with gust behind her back after her best career clay court campaign (she won Charleston and Stuttgart, her only two tour titles), the 32-year old German today won her first career slam Round of 16 match to reach her maiden major quarterfinal. Spain's Paula Badosa served for the 1st set at 5-3, and got within two points of the win, but Siegemund got the break and then swept the remaining games of the set, breaking again two games later and holding at love to win 7-5. Siegemund held the early break lead in the 2nd, and had three BP chances to widen her edge. Badosa held for 3-2, but the German's break to take a 5-2 lead gave her the opportunity to serve out the victory. Again, she held at love to win 7-5/6-2.



It's nice to see Siegemund get the sort of "second chance" that, say, someone like Nadia Petrova didn't. While Petrova had a far more successful career than the German, she never quite lived up to her talent in the majors. A two-time semifinalist in Paris, and six-time quarterfinalist at the other slams, she finally seemed "ready" to win a major in 2006 following a dominant clay court season that saw her win titles in Charleston, Berlin and Stuttgart, going 15-0 in WTA events with victories over three former/would-be RG champs (Henin, Li and Schiavone) and two RG finalists (Safarova and Safina). Having reached at least the QF at four straight majors, and in the semis twice in three years at RG, Petrova was even being talked about as a "favorite" heading into Roland Garros. But a hip injury in practice severely limited her once play began. As the #3 seed, she lost in the 1st Round to Akiko Morigami, who never advanced past the 3rd Round in a major during her career. Never quite the same in singles after the injury, Petrova only reached the RG QF once more (2010) in her career before it finally petered out due to injuries and a break following the death of her mother in 2014.

I was wondering what I'd said about Siegemund back in '17 *before* that injury, so I went back and checked (I'd forgotten she'd defeated Kristina Mladenovic in the Stuttgart final, which included the German being docked for a time violation that led to an arugment with the chair umpire... something that's an interesting footnote to the controversy during the match between the two at this RG). Here's what I said then:

"Siegemund served for the match at 5-4. But after falling behind 15/30, umpire Mariana Alves (lest we forget, she DOES have a history of injecting herself into the story at times) gave the German a point penalty for a time violation for taking too long to serve as she waited for the crowd to calm down before approaching the baseline. After a brief argument that only stoked the crowd a bit more, Siegemund dropped serve and then saw Mladenovic hold at love. She forced a tie-break, though, and overcame a 4-1 and 5-4 deficits, sweeping the final three points and getting to a Mladenovic drop shot on MP and (of course) lifting her own crosscourt drop shot over the net and painting a line to finally end things."

Siegemund rose from #49 to #30 in the new rankings after that win, three off her career high. She was injured the week before RG. As of right now, the German has climbed 18 spots in the live rankings and currently stands at #48 with her QF result.

On Petrova, who has recently gotten married and had a baby with her partner, here she is in an Instagram post from this week, and a Behind the Racquet from August:

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@behindtheracquet ? ?? “I was born to an athletic family. My mom was a bronze medalist in the 1976 Montreal Olympics in the 4 x 400 relay. My dad coached an Olympic medalist in the hammer throw. I have sport in my genes. My parents introduced me to tennis and I had success right away. At age 14, I won my first ITF Junior event and realized I wanted to play professionally. That same year, I played my first WTA event. The transition from juniors to the professional circuit was difficult because I had to raise my physical and mental level. I slowly got to that level and at age 17, I turned professional. In 2005, I broke into the Top 10. In 2006, I climbed to number 3 in the world. I won tournament after tournament on clay and was one of the favorites heading into the 2006 French Open. ?? ?? But the rest of the ride was not as smooth. A couple days before the 2006 French Open, I injured my left hip. That injury threw me off and I was never able to return to the same level of tennis. I came back and played the 2006 US Open Series but didn't win a match. Over the next few years, I won some tournaments and returned to the Top 10. But in 2013, I suffered another hip injury that eventually ended my career. I missed half of the year. On a December morning in 2013, I got a phone call that my mom passed away in a car accident. I put everything on hold, flew home, and prepared for the funeral. I tried to return to the circuit but did not have the mental energy. When your mind is not there, your body is not there either. I started breaking down and had multiple muscle tears. I decided to take a break for the rest of the year. Losing my mother was really hard to digest and she played a huge role in my tennis career. She always wanted more for my tennis and was hard on me when it was necessary. I lost the person I leaned on.”? #BTR @the1nadiapetrova ? Go to behindtheracquet.com for extended stories, podcasts and merch.

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...as this Roland Garros has progressed, #4-seed Sofia Kenin has rediscovered her strut. It seemed to have left the Australian Open champ in the early months of the Restart, but after her streak of twelve straight games to end her 3rd Round match against Irina Bara on Saturday, she opened today against Pastry Fiona Ferro by taking a 2-0 lead. Ferro seemed to stop the tide and reverse it the rest of the 1st set, running off six games in a row to take the lead in the match. But it didn't last.

In the 2nd, Kenin and the chair umpire had a running disagreement about her father Alex, who was seated close to Ferro's coaching box inside the nearly empty stadium, talking to her in Russian and possibly providing illegal coaching. It didn't seem to bother Kenin, but maybe it did Ferro. Who knows? Either way, Kenin blitzed her the rest of the way, winning 2-6/6-2/6-1 to join Kvitova as a multiple slam quarterfinalist in 2020.



...they *tried* to get the final Round of 16 match between #30 Ons Jabeur and Danielle Collins underway on Monday, but the rain would never allow it. Finally, they just sent them home. They'll play tomorrow. This sort of thing won't happen for *much* long, as Court Lenglen is slated to have a roof installed in a few years before the start of the '24 Olympics in Paris.

...the doubles quarterfinals were set with two additional matches being played on Monday. #4-seeds Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova defeated #13 Kristyna Pliskova/Viktoria Kuzmova, while Iga Swiatek (playing with Nicole Melichar) stayed alive in a *second* draw at this Roland Garros. The duo defeated #6-seeds Kveta Peschie/Demi Schuurs. Melichar has already reached four doubles finals in 2020, with Xu Yifan (1-2) and Schuurs (1-0).



...in junior action, #5 Weronika Baszak (POL), the AO girls runner-up, was defeated by Czech Darja Vidmanova. 17-year old Ukrainian Daria Lopatetska, back from that knee surgery that Elina Svitolina helped pay for (hmm, can you imagine if both...?), knocked off 13-year old Czech wild card Brenda Fruhvirtova in straights in the 1st Round. Lopatetska was beating pretty much everyone she faced on the challenger level before the injury, while Fruhvirtova upset Katerina Siniakova in a match during the shutdown.



In 2nd Round matches, #6 Kamilla Bartone (LAT) fell to Pastry Oceane Babel and will next face Hordette Julia Avdeeva, who defeated the *other* Fruhvirtova, #11-seeded Linda, in the 2nd Round.

Just to note, I'm not doing the "unnamed" thing with the juniors. For what it's worth, my pick for the girls singles before the start of play was #3-seeded Pastry Elsa Jacquemot. She *has*, at least, won her 1st Round match.




=WOMEN'S SINGLES QF=
Iga Swiatek/POL v. (Q) Martina Trevisan/ITA
#3 Elina Svitolina/UKR v. (Q) Nadia Podoroska/ARG
#30 Ons Jabeur/TUN or Danielle Collins/USA v. #4 Sofia Kenin/USA
#7 Petra Kvitova/CZE v. Laura Siegemund/GER


=WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF=
#14 Guarachi/Krawczyk (CHI/USA) v. #7 Aoyama/Shibahara (JPN/JPN)
Muhammad/Pegula (USA/USA) v. Melichar/Swiatek (USA/POL)
#9 Kenin/Mattek-Sands (USA/USA) v. #4 Krejcikova/Siniakova (CZE/CZE)
Kostyuk/Sasnovich (UKR/BLR) v. #2 Babos/Mladenovic (HUN/FRA)






...DUMBASSES ON DAY 9:


...Hmmm... ON DAY 9:

Maybe we could just set up a "Truman Show"-like bubble city for him, give him a free house, car and staff to take him places while we pump in applause 24/7, and hire extras to work the "town" and stand outside on the street holding signs that say how great he is and cheer when they see him "accidentally" walk past a window. They could even shoot off confetti cannons when he comes outside to greet the peons every other hour, and give him his own "highly-rated TV network" that only "broadcasts" within the bubble. It'd be a bit pricey, but well worth it.



...IMAGINE BEING SUCH A SUCK-UP THAT... ON DAY 9:


Of course...




...AND-WE'RE-OFF... ON DAY 9:


So when is the next mask-less rally scheduled... around next weekend? Maybe with him riding in a Popemobile type of car while everyone else is piled up twelve rows deep around it, trying to touch him through the glass?




...2020-WITH-A-TWIST ON DAY 9:


...LIKE ON DAY 9:


...(TENTATIVELY) 2021 PEEKS AROUND THE CORNER ON DAY 9:


...Hmmm... ON DAY 9:


Hmmm, actually, I think if he weren't President he'd probably be perfectly fine because he wouldn't view taking COVID seriously as some sort of reflection of his own mismanagement of the crisis. Being a germaphobe all his life, he likely wouldn't associate closely with anyone unless they were wearing a mask and, as he did privately in the Bob Woodward interviews, he'd publicly admit that danger... and blame the President for allowing the U.S. to be in such a dire situation.


...THE REASON BRENDAN FRASER WAS TRENDING ON DAY 9:


...LIKE ON DAY 9:
























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Coffee & Chill ?? ?? #october #RolandGarros

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Last few ?? from Paris??????

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kosova-font

*2020 FIRST CAREER SLAM QF*
=AO=
Ons Jabeur, TUN
Sofia Kenin, USA
Anett Kontaveit, EST
=US=
Jennifer Brady, USA
=RG=
Nadia Podoroska, ARG
Laura Siegemund, GER
Iga Swiatek, POL
Martina Trevisan, ITA

*RG "LAST PASTRY STANDING"*
2008 Alize Cornet & Emilie Loit (3rd)
2009 Virginie Razzano & Aravane Rezai (4th)
2010 Marion Bartoli & Aravane Rezai (3rd)
2011 Marion Bartoli (SF)
2012 Mathilde Johansson (3rd)
2013 M.Bartoli, A.Cornet & V.Razzano (3rd)
2014 Pauline Parmentier (4th)
2015 Alize Cornet (4th)
2016 A.Cornet, K.Mladenovic & P.Parmentier (3rd)
2017 Caroline Garcia & Kristina Mladenovic (QF)
2018 Caroline Garcia (4th)
2019 C.Garcia, K.Mladenovic & D.Parry (2nd)
2020 Fiona Ferro & Caroline Garcia (4th)

*UNSEEDED/WC/Q in SLAM RG QF IN 32-SEED DRAW*
[began w/ 2002 RG]
2002 - Mary Pierce, Clarisa Fernandez, Paola Suarez
2003 - Mary Pierce
2004 -
2005 - Sesil Karatantcheva
2006 -
2007 -
2008 - Kaia Kanepi, Carla Suarez-Navarro (Q)
2009 - Maria Sharapova, Sorana Cirstea
2010 - Yaroslava Shvedova
2011 -
2012 - Yaroslava Shvedova (Q)
2013 - Svetlana Kuznetsova
2014 - Garbine Muguruza
2015 - Alison Van Uytvanck
2016 - Kiki Bertens, Tsvetana Pironkova, Yulia Putintseva, Shelby Rogers
2017 - Alona Ostapenko [W]
2018 - Yulia Putintseva
2019 - Amanda Anisimova, Marketa Vondrousova [RU]
2020 - Nadia Podoroska (Q), Laura Siegemund, Iga Swiatek, Martina Trevisan (Q)
--
[W]=won title; [RU]=reached final; (Q)=qualifier
NOTE: unseeded D.Collins still to play 4th Rd.


*2020 ROLAND GARROS FINAL 8*
[by career slam QF]
13 - Petra Kvitova
7 - Elina Svitolina
[2 - D.Collins or O.Jabeur]
2 - Sofia Kenin
1 - Nadia Podoroska
1 - Laura Siegemund
1 - Iga Swiatek
1 - Martina Trevisan
[by career RG QF]
3 - Elina Svitolina
2 - Petra Kvitova
[1 - D.Collins or O.Jabeur]
1 - Sofia Kenin
1 - Nadia Podoroska
1 - Laura Siegemund
1 - Iga Swiatek
1 - Martina Trevisan
[w/ consecutive slam QF]
none
[w/ consecutive RG QF]
none
[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
RG - Nadia Podoroska, ARG (Q)
RG - Laura Siegemund, GER
RG - Iga Swiatek, POL
RG - Martina Trevisan, ITA (Q)
-
NOTE: D.Collins is unseeded
[2020 1st-time GS QF]
AO - Ons Jabeur, TUN
AO - Sofia Kenin, USA
AO - Anett Kontaveit, EST
US - Jennifer Brady, USA
RG - Nadia Podoroska, ARG
RG - Laura Siegemund, GER
RG - Iga Swiatek, POL
RG - Martina Trevisan, ITA
[2020 slam QF]
2 - Sofia Kenin (AO/RG)
2 - Petra Kvitova (AO/RG)
1 - AO (6): Barty,Halep,Jabeur,Kontaveit,Muguruza,Pavlyuchenkova
1 - US (8): Azarenka,Brady,Osaka,Mertens,Pironkova,Putintseva,Rogers,S.Williams
1 - RG (5): Podoroska,Siegemund,Svitolina,Swiatek,Trevisan
-
NOTE: Jabeur playing for second '20 QF, Collins for first
[2020 slam QF - by nation]
5...USA (1) - Collins [Collins to play 4r]
2...CZE (1) - Kvitova
1...ARG (1) - Podoroska
1...AUS (0)
1...BEL (0)
1...BLR (0)
1...BUL (0)
1...ESP (0)
1...EST (0)
1...GER (1) - Siegemund
1...ITA (1) - Trevisan
1...JPN (0)
1...KAZ (0)
1...POL (1) - Swiatek
1...ROU (0)
1...RUS (0)
1...TUN (0) - [Jabeur to play 4r]
1...UKR (1) - Svitolina
[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
13...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...Elina Svitolina, UKR
7...Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
6...Kaia Kanepi, EST
6...Johanna Konta, GBR
6...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
6...Sloane Stephens, USA
6...Vera Zvonareva, RUS
5...Sabine Lisicki, GER




TOP QUALIFIER: Mayar Sherif/EGY (first EGY woman in slam MD)
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #25 Amanda Anisimova/USA (lost 4 games)
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: #17q Barbara Haas/AUT def. Diana Snigur/UKR 6-0/5-7/7-5 [Haas led 6-0/5-0 40/30, then DF; won on 4th MP on 5th attempt to serve out match]
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd.- (Q) Clara Tauson/DEN def. #21 Jennifer Brady/USA - 6-4/3-6/9-7 (17/slam debut; saved 2 MP, wins on MP #5)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): Nominee; 3r-Garcia d. #16 Mertens
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Kamilla Rakhimova/RUS (def.Rogers/USA)
FIRST SEED OUT: #17 Anett Kontaveit/EST (1st Rd./Garcia)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Bara/ROU, Burel/FRA, Paolini/ITA, Podoroska/ARG, Rakhimova/RUS, Tauson/DEN, Trevisan/ITA, Zarazua/MEX
UPSET QUEENS: Australia
REVELATION LADIES: Romania
NATION OF POOR SOULS: United States (4 of 7 seeds failed to reach 3r, Serena w/d 2r, US QF/SF Rogers & Brady 1r, Venus 1r, Gauff 2r w/ 19 DF)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: In QF: Podoroska, Trevisan [LL Sharma-2nd Rd.]
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Genie Bouchard/CAN, Clara Burel/FRA, Tsvetana Pironkova/BUL (all 3rd Rd.)
PROTECTED RANKING WINS: Gavrilova/AUS (2r), AK.Schmiedlova/SVK (3r)
LAST PASTRY STANDING: Fiona Ferro and Carolina Garcia (4th Rd.)
Ms./Mademoiselle OPPORTUNITY: Nominees: Svitolina, Swiatek, Jabeur, Collins
IT "New Dane on the Block": Clara Tauson/DEN
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominees: Schmiedlova (had 12 con slam MD L), Ostapenko (had no RG wins since '17 title), Siegemund (4r three years after knee injury)
CRASH & BURN: 2020 U.S. Open semifinalists (Osaka DNP; Brady out 1st Rd., Serena w/d 2nd Rd., Azarenka upset 2nd Rd. within 24 hrs. on Day 3/4)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF PARIS: Kiki Bertens/NED (2nd Rd.: injured; Errani up a break 5 times in 3rd, served for match 3 times, 1 MP at 6-5; 3:11; collapses and wheeled off court after 9-7 win)
DOUBLES STAR: xx
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Nominees: Siegemund (32), Kvitova (30)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Martina Trevisan/ITA
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx
Légion de Lenglen HONOREE: Court Chatrier roof (+night tennis) debuts
Coupe LA PETIT TAUREAU: Simona Halep/ROU [not able to be awarded on LPT Day/June 1, Justine Henin's birthday -- but Halep wins on Day 1 on *her* own birthday]




All for Day 9. More tomorrow.
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