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Sunday, February 21, 2021

Upside Down Under

Naomi's Arc, err, art.








=POST-AO NOTES=
...in the new WTA rankings, AO champ Naomi Osaka will be back up to #2, sandwiched between #1 Ash Barty and #3 Simona Halep. In the current pandemic-related system, Barty leads by over 1300 points, despite having not won a slam in about 21 months, while Osaka is the reigning champ at two. Osaka was #1 for 25 weeks in 2019, while Barty's consecutive weeks reign is now at 64 (and counting), not counting the weeks during the 2020 shutdown.

Serena Williams is back in the Top 10 at #7, knocking out #11 Kiki Bertens. Jennifer Brady is at a career high of #13 (up 11), knocking #21 Petra Martic out of the Top 20. AO semifinalist Karolina Muchova, who has a previous career high of #21, is closer to her Top 20 debut at #22 (up 5), just over 100 points behind #20 Marketa Vondrousova. Jessica Pegula (#43) makes her Top 50 debut, while Hsieh Su-wei (#50) returns. Sara Errani (#106) is close to her own Top 100 return (last in October '18). And new #114 Mayar Sherif (up 17) has set another new career high ranking mark.

...on the challenger circuit, 18-year old Dane Clara Tauson claimed her ninth pro singles titles (9-2 in her last 11 finals dating back to early '19) in the $25K indoor event in Altenkirchen, Germany, defeating Swiss Simona Waltert 3-6/6-1/6-3. It's Tauson's second title of the year (she defeated another Swiss, Viktorija Golubic, to win in a UAE final in January -- Waltert defeated Golubic in the semis).



In Orlando, Florida it was Katie Swan defeating Robin Anderson (ex-UCLA) to win her eighth ITF crown. The Brit is 8-0 in career finals (but 0-5 in ITF WD finals, so go figure).



Elsewhere, 29-year old Spaniard Nuria Parrizas Diaz defeated Carol Zhao of Canada to win the $25K challenger in Potchefstroom, RSA to claim her second title (in a row) of '21. She's gone 15-1 on the ITF circuit since late December, picking up three singles titles (while also losing in AO qualifying in Dubai). In her first of two straight titles, Parrizas had defeated Anna Bondar to win another title in Potchefstroom.



She now has nineteen career wins on the challenger circuit.

...in the recently completed junior Grade 1 events, Hungary's Natalia Szabanin defeated Bannerette Madison Sieg 6-2/6-1 to claim the Salinas, Ecuador event last week. It's the 17-year old's biggest title, and she's currently at a career high of #14 in the girls rankings.



This week at the Asuncion Bowl in Lambare, Paraguay it was Croatia's Petra Marcinko, 15, defeating Solana Sierra (ARG) in a 6-4/7-5 final taking her biggest crown. Marcinko, who should rise into the Top 30, has reached ten finals in nineteen career events, winning six titles.



...meanwhile, we're at the stage in the 2021 season where there hasn't been a *true* month to highlight, nor a dedicated Australian swing (there's still another event) to shine a light on after the Australian Open, and the 1Q goes through March.

So, how about...?

1. Naomi Osaka, JPN
...butterflies are free, and Naomi has four slam titles (and counting)



2. Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
...Sabalenka came roaring into '21 by winning her third straight title (Abu Dhabi) and her 15th consecutive match. She didn't have the slam success she'd *hoped* for, but reached her second major Round of 16 (falling in three to Serena), picked up a slam WD crown and became doubles #1 in the rankings. 2021 is still on course to be the Belarusian's breakout year.
3. Jennifer Brady, USA
...both of her back-to-back hard court slam near-masterpiece runs (US semis, AO final) were ended by Naomi Osaka. But don't call her Andy Roddick just yet... Brady could still be a slam winner by the end of '21.
4. Diede de Groot, NED (WC)
...after a hit-and-big-miss 2020 season, de Groot's greatness has roared once more. She swept the AO wheelchair singles and doubles titles (her sixth career act of such slam mastery), and won two of three singles final match-ups over #2 Yui Kamiji



5. Elise Mertens/Aryna Sabalenka, BEL/BLR
...they're not going away, they just won't be seeing each other that much the rest of the year. Still, the doubles pair made their mark in 2021's opening stanza, winning their second slam crown at the AO and supplanting Hsieh Su-wei as #1 (Sabalenka to #1, Mertens #2) on the WTA computer
6. Ash Barty, AUS
...still #1, a Yarra Valley title winner and a third straight deep run at the Australian Open (QF-SF-QF) that is the best three-year stretch by an Aussie woman since 1984. The last Aussie to reach the final? Wendy Turnbull in 1980.
7. Shuko Aoyama/Ena Shibahara, JPN/JPN
...thus far, the only two-time WTA titles winners -- Abu Dhabi and Yarra Valley doubles -- on the season
8. Elise Mertens, BEL
...the Gippsland pre-AO singles title winner, Mertens reached the AO Round of 16 and won the doubles w/ Sabalenka
9. Serena Williams, USA
...she looked for all the world like a decent bet for #24 in Melbourne. Then Naomi showed up.
10. Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
...she reached the finals of *both* AO doubles competitions, becoming the first three-peat MX champ (w/ Rajeev Ram, with whom she won in '19) since Margaret Court in 1965. Hmmm, but since Court's third title came in a "sharing" situation when the final wasn't played and *both* teams were declared co-champions, Krejcikova's "hands-on" feat is (unofficially) the first since Nancy Wynn Bolton from 1946-48. Either way, Jana Novotna's protege continues to do big things. She & Katerina Siniakova also won the Gippsland Melbourne event.



11. Karolina Muchova, CZE
...might the AO semifinalist end up being the *highest*-ranked Czech by the end of 2021? It's not out of the question.
12. Jessica Pegula, USA
...Pegula not only knocked off two former slam winners (Azarenka and Stosur), a Top 5 player (Svitolina), and former doubles #1 (Mladenovic) before falling in three to Brady in her maiden slam QF, she also told Brad Gilbert she didn't particularly like any of his nickname ideas for her. Bonus points.
13. Kaia Kanepi, EST
...the Estonian vet reached the Gippsland final (her first since '13) after upsetting Sabalenka (ending her 15-match run), Kasatkina (who'd win the Phillip Island crown soon after), Muchova (soon-to-be AO semifinalist) and Alexandrova (who's thumped Halep), then took out defending champ Sofia Kenin at the AO.
14. Garbine Muguruza, ESP
...Muguruza is off to another good start, with a Yarra Valley final and AO Round of 16. And, oh yeah, she led 5-3 in the 3rd and had two MP on Osaka in that match. Maybe she should wear a butterfly patch on her dress the rest of the season?
15. Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
...yes, she lost the doubles #1 ranking, but Hsieh made a run to her first slam QF at age 35 (the oldest to pull off her maiden run in the Open era) and became *the* social media breakout star of the tournament.



HM- Maria Sakkari, GRE
...her good start to '21 (SF-SF, with wins over Gauff, Muguruza, Kenin and Kerber) was "balanced" out by a 1st Round exit at the Australian Open at the hands of Kiki Mladenovic


RISERS: Anett Kontaveit/EST, Veronika Kudermetova/RUS and Marie Bouzkova/CZE
SURPRISES: Mayar Sherif/EGY, Anastasia Gasanova/RUS and Gabriella Da Silva/AUS
VETERANS: Simona Halep/ROU, Sorana Cirstea/ROU and Sara Errani/ITA
COMEBACKS: Rebecca Marino/CAN, Dasha Kasatkina/RUS and Bianca Andreescu/CAN
FRESH FACES: Ann Li/USA, Kaja Juvan/SLO and Anastasia Potapova/RUS
JUNIOR STARS: Linda Fruhvirtova/CZE, Alexandra Eala/PHI and Polina Kudermetova/RUS
DOUBLES: Krejcikova/Siniakova (CZE/CZE), Raina/Rakhimova (IND/RUS) and Carter/Stefani (USA/BRA)
ITF: Clara Tauson/DEN, Linda Fruhvirtova/CZE and Nuria Párrizas Díaz/ESP
WHEELCHAIR: Yui Kamiji/JPN, de Groot/Van Koot (NED/NED) and Kamiji/Ohtani (JPN/JPN)
DOWN: Sofia Kenin/USA, Dayana Yastremska/UKR and Karolina Pliskova/CZE

=MOST IMPROVED PLAYERS=
1.Jessica Pegula, USA
2.Ann Li, USA
3.Kaja Juvan, SLO
4.Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP
5.Liudmila Samsonova, RUS
6.Bernarda Pera, USA
7.Mayar Sherif, EGY
8.Francesca Jones, GBR
9.Olga Danilovic, SRB
10.Nina Stojanovic, SRB
HM-Olivia Gadecki, AUS

=COACH OF THE YEAR (running list)=
1.Wim Fissette (Osaka)
2.David Witt (Pegula)
3.Michael Geserer (Brady)
4.Anton Dubrov (Sabalenka)
5.Carlos Martinez (Kasatkina)
6.Conchita Martinez (Muguruza)
7.Henner Nehles (Li)
8.Paul McNamee (Hsieh)
9.Sergei Demekhnine (V.Kudermetova)
10.Tom Hill (Sakkari)
11.Talina Beiko (Kostyuk)
12.Vladimir Voltchkova (Tomljanovic)
13.David Kotyza (Muchova)
14.Robbe Ceyssens (Mertens)
15.Libor Salaba (Vondrousova)

=BACKSPIN MVP=
1. "Naomi's Arc"
2. "Boom-shaka-Sabalenka"
3. Diede the (Still) Great
4. The Hsieh Su-wei Experience
5. Bannerette Buddies
6. The Star of Egypt (Sherif)
7. Fear the Kasatkina (Again?)
8. "Wombatty for Barty"


1. Australian Open 4th Rd. - Naomi Osaka def. Garbine Muguruza
...4-6/6-4/7-5. Muguruza *had this* only to falter down the stretch as Osaka pulled out her "they only remember the winners" mentality. Trailing 5-3 in the 3rd, and facing two MP, the would-be AO champ (again) won four straight games and 10 of 12 points to take out the '20 finalist.
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2. Melbourne Gippsland 3rd Rd. - Irina-Camelia Begu def. Johanna Konta
...4-6/7-6(10)/7-6(4). In a 3:32 marathon, Konta held two MP in the 2nd set, only to see Begu steal it on her own eighth SP to force a 3rd. The Romanian finally took the match in a TB on her ninth MP.
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3. Australian Open WC Final - Diede de Groot def. Yui Kamiji
...6-3/6-7(4)/7-6(10-4). In their ninth meeting in a slam final, de Groot improved to 7-2 vs. her rival. But it wasn't easy. Kamiji rallied from 6-3/3-1 down to force a 3rd, which began with six straight breaks of serve. De Groot failed to serve out the match at 5-4, then staged a comeback from mini-break down in the 10-point TB to win it 10-4.
===============================================



1. Australian Open 2nd Rd. - Simona Halep def. Ajla Tomljanovic
...4-6/6-4/7-5. Down 5-2 in the 3rd set and two points from defeat against the Aussie (Tomljanovic served for the win), Halep staged a nighttime comeback on Laver that saw her sweep the final five games en route to the second week.
===============================================
2. Melbourne Grampians 2nd Rd. - Victoria Azarenka def. Yulia Putintseva
...6-4/1-6 [11-9]. After getting ready off the court with a new podcast, Azarenka made her '21 in-match debut an exciting one, saving two MP in the MTB vs. Putintseva after falling behind 5-1, 8-6 and 9-7. She'd already come back from 0-4 to claim the 1st set. Putintseva, of course, performed the usual art of racket abuse and huffing-and-puffing after having squandered her leads. Of course, Putintseva had already blown a MP (vs. Kenin in a loss in Abu Dhabi) in her *previous* '21 event, so...
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3. Australian Open 3rd Rd. - Donna Vekic def. Kaia Kanepi
...5-7/7-6(2)/6-4. Kanepi, who'd rallied from 6-1/5-3 down vs. Astra Sharma in the 1st Round of her Gippsland final run, led Vekic 7-5/3-0 here, and held a MP at 5-4, before the Croat won 11 of 13 points to end the set. Vekic won a 7-2 TB, then staved off a late Kanepi threat after having taken a 3-1 lead in the 3rd. The win put Vekic into the Round of 16 at a fourth different major her career, completing a "Round of 16 Slam."
===============================================



1. Abu Dhabi 2nd Rd. - Anastasia Gasanova def. Karolina Pliskova
...6-2/6-4. In Pliskova's first tournament under new coach Sascha Bajin, it took just two matches for the Czech to be ousted in straight sets, losing to #292-ranked qualifier Gasanova in her worst ranking defeat since falling to #444-ranked German Julia Kimmelman in the QF of a $25K challenger in Grenoble, France in February 2013.
===============================================
2. Melbourne Phillip Island 2nd Rd. - Olivia Gadecki def. Sofia Kenin
...2-6/7-6(4)/6-4. Days after Kenin's defense of her AO title had ended, unranked 18-year old Gadecki, days after her maiden WTA MD win (over fellow Aussie Destanee Aiava), notches her first career Top 100 win in just her second tour-level MD appearance. Kenin ended up having a surprise appendectomy soon afterward, while Aussie Gadecki's ranking jumped some 9600 spots after this result, all the way into the Top 400 (her previous high was #988).
===============================================
3. Melbourne Phillip Island 2nd Rd. - Gabriella Da Silva Fick def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich
...6-3/2-6/7-6(6). Lucky loser Da Silva Fick made her WTA debut in this match (replacing Jo Konta in the 2nd, and inheriting the Brit's 1st Round bye), and the 20-year old Aussie (#566) made the most of it, saving two MP en route to a shocking first career WTA victory.
===============================================






...MYSTERY SOLVED:



...HERE'S SOMETHING I HAVEN'T SAID IN A WHILE. DJOKOVIC IS RIGHT...:



...THE "GOOD LUCK" BUTTERFLY IS THE "ANTI-RAD":



...IS THERE ANY REAL DOUBT THAT HE'S GOING TO END UP ATOP THE ALL-TIME MEN'S LIST?:



"The Numbers Guy" figured that out years ago, though. But winning the "unofficial" race, at least for a few generations of fans (until we get to one who didn't *watch* all the current players in the mix and pick a side other than Djokovic's), is still likely a losing battle.

...Hmmmm, FANS AFTER THE MEN'S FINAL BOOING THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT FOR ITS "INCOMPETENCE" AFTER HAVING THE STATE LOCKED DOWN FOR MONTHS LAST YEAR, "COSTING 800 PEOPLE THEIR LIVES" AND VIOLATING RIGHTS BY "FORCING" A VACCINE...:

...and having ZERO cases (or close to it) of COVID a year into the pandemic and just about being as close to "back to normal" as anywhere else on earth, and doing so at an event that wouldn't even be taking place if not for all of the above?

via GIPHY





...THE AO GETS SERVED:









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*2021 WTA CHAMPIONS BY RANKING*
#1 - Ash Barty (Yarra Valley Melb.)
#3 - Naomi Osaka (Australian Open)
#10 - Aryna Sabalenka (Abu Dhabi)
#20 - Elise Mertens (Gippsland Melb.)
#75 - Dasha Kasatkina (Phillip Island Melb.)
vacant - Kontaveit (#23) vs. Li (#99) [Grampians Melb. not played]

*2021 WTA CHAMPIONS BY AGE*
22 - Aryna Sabalenka (Abu Dhabi)
23 - Dasha Kasatkina (Phillip Island Melb.)
23 - Naomi Osaka (Australian Open)
24 - Ash Barty (Yarra Valley Melb.)
25 - Elise Mertens (Gippsland Melb.)
vacant - Kontaveit (25) vs. Li (20) [Grampians Melb. not played]

*2021 BACKSPIN WEEKLY PLAYERS-OF-THE-WEEK*
[WTA]
Week 1: Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
Week 2: Ash Barty, AUS
[AO Q's: Francesca Jones, GBR]
AO: Naomi Osaka, JPN
Week 4: Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
[ITF]
Week 1: Jéssica Bouzas Maneiro, ESP
Off-week 1: Jéssica Bouzas Maneiro/ESP and Zheng Qinwen/CHN
Off-week 2: Clara Tauson/DEN
Off-week 3: Harmony Tan/FRA and Chantal Skamlova/SVK
Week 2: Yuliya Hatouka, BLR
Week 3: Viktoriya Golubic, SUI
Week 4: Clara Tauson/DEN and Nuria Párrizas Díaz/ESP
[Wheelchair]
Week 1: -
Week 2: Diede de Groot, NED
Week 3: Yui Kamiji, JPN
AO: Diede de Groot, NED
[Juniors]
December: Ashlyn Krueger, USA
Week 1: Gabby Price, USA
Off-week 1: Linda Fruhvirtova, CZE (ITF)
Off-week 2: Anastasiia Gureva/RUS and Alexandra Eala/PHI (ITF)
Off-week 3: Robin Montgomery/USA (ITF) and Alexandra Eala/PHI (ITF)
Week 2: Linda Fruhvirtova/CZE (ITF) and Oksana Selekhmeteva/RUS (ITF)
Week 3: Linda Fruhvirtova/CZE (ITF), Polina Kudermetova/RUS (ITF) and Natalia Szabanin/HUN
Week 4: Petra Marcinko, CRO



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All for now.
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