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Sunday, March 14, 2021

Wk.7- Mugu is a Dish Best Served Cold

Disembodied Virtual Conchita Martinez is always watching. And she's very proud of Garbine Muguruza.




See...?




Coming into Dubai, Muguruza had it all, and nothing. By the end of the week, though, the tangible evidence of her return to the WTA spotlight was finally being lifted up to shoulder height in the desert.

It all began a year ago, in 2020, with her Hall of Famer countrywoman/coach Martinez (finally!) officially along for the ride after Muguruza had held on *too* long to her previous coaching relationship with Sam Sumyk -- whether it be more out of loyalty, indecision, lack of confidence, fear of change or some combination of all of the above -- she'd gotten out of the gates in good form. She'd opened the season with a SF-QF-RU-QF-QF stretch that saw her go 16-4 and reach her first slam final (in Melbourne, the fourth of her career) since she'd won her second major title at Wimbledon in 2017. Then the pandemic hit. Once the tennis Restart took hold, Muguruza's previous momentum was gone. She went 7-3 in her return to action, but most of those wins came in a single semifinal run in Rome. She failed to reach the second week of either the U.S. Open or Roland Garros in the resumed season's final chapter.

Whether Muguruza would pick up in '21 where she'd left off before COVID scuttled the tennis landscape (and, you know, everything else) was an open question, considering her choppy history prior to the opening months of last year.

Ranked #1 as recently as 2017, Muguruza had fallen out of the Top 30 by the end of '19. She often looked unhappy, impatient and petulant on the court, especially when "conversing" with Sumyk in the (now unnecessary, due to the tour allowing direction from the stands, changeover coaching sessions). She often drifted between focused-and-in-form to totally confused (i.e. the worst kind of "Muguing") at the drop of a hat.

Muguruza finally ended her four-year working relationship Sumyk in the summer of '19, then ended her season early. That November, she hired Martinez as coach (they'd worked together in Fed Cup, as well as when Martinez had filled in for an absent Sumyk during Muguruza's '17 Wimbledon title run, a fortnight marked heavily by the noticably lighter Mugu mood and ever-present *on-court* smile), and during her offseason embarked on a successful mission to summit Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

With Martinez in her corner (or maybe it was the aftereffect of the high altitude?), Muguruza was a changed player. Again. Her early season exploits this year, once more, spoke to the correct decision to bring in the former Wimbledon champ ('94) and three-time slam finalist, as well as the success of her offseason conditioning regimen.

Up through last week's runner-up result in Doha, Muguruza had reached the most finals on tour in '21, and had the most match wins. She downed her '20 AO final conqueror (Sofia Kenin) in the Yarra Valley event in Melbourne, only to lose to #1 Ash Barty in the final. After coming a point away (twice) from totally changing the narrative of Naomi Osaka's 2021 Australian Open, Muguruza posted her third, fourth and fifth Top 25 wins of the season in Doha, only to be throttled in the final by Petra Kvitova.

As the weekend approached in Dubai, Muguruza had added to her burgeoning season resume with additional wins over the likes of '21 title winners Iga Swiatek (dropping just four games), Aryna Sabalenka (her second three-set win in two weeks over the world #8) and Elise Mertens -- a trio who'd combined to be crowned the champion at six of the previous eleven tour events dating back to last season (and had those 2 MP vs. a 7th title winner, Osaka).

Those wins, as well as two others over Irina Camelia Begu and Amanda Anisimova, put Muguruza into her third '21 final, making her just the sixth different woman in tour history to reach the finals of Doha and Dubai in the same season, as well as being Muguruza's appearance in a fifth different WTA 1000 event final (along with the three different slam finals) over the course of her career, and her first back-to-back high level finals since her Wuhan/Beijing turn in the fall of 2015. But she still had to win the title to have something tangible to show for her excellent early season form, and to make her coach, Virtual Conchita Martinez, record a Virtual Smile after finally escaping her post-COVID diagnosis, two-week quarantine in Doha late in the week (she'd been watching all of Muguruza's matches via a courtside phone livestream, courtesy of the work of team camera production assistant physio Adriana Fort).

After having failed to close out Mertens in the SF on her initial *six* MP opportunities, Muguruza was forced to a 1st set TB in the final by Barbora Krejcikova after the Czech saved three SP in game #12 (from love/40 down on serve). The Spaniard put away SP #4, then waited out a 12-minute (a stat pointed out via social media by Virtual Conchita) between-set break, rather than what supposed to be five minutes, while Krejcikova went off-court with a trainer. Muguruza then claimed the 2nd set 6-3 to end her three-match final losing streak, and pick up career title #8. It's her first tour win since April 2019 in Monterrey, and her biggest since winning in Cincinnati in 2017 a month after she'd won career slam #2 at Wimbledon earlier that summer.



The title run edges Muguruza over .500 in career tour-level singles finals (8-7), as well as *finally* allowing her tour standing to "crack the pandemic ranking system code" (who needs Nic Cage, Tom Hanks or Dan Brown when you've got Garbi?) and actually rise a bit, as she'll climb from #16 to #13 this week, her highest rank since October '18, just two months after she last dropped out of the Top 10.

18-4 on the season (so that's a combined 34-8 from January-March in 2020-21... so far), with three finals and a title, Muguruza's numbers suddenly not only resemble her own from this time last year (but w/ a trophy), but also those of the scalding hot '20 start of Elena Rybakina, who'd begun 21-4 with four finals (1 title) last season. The Kazakh reached the Dubai final a year ago, as well, but lost. Rybakina, too, saw her momentum thwarted by the tennis shutdown, but *she* has yet to regain her previous form.

So maybe Muguruza has finally found the right combination of personal commitment + the assemblage of a feel-good *and* inspiring team + the on-court results to confirm that the aforementioned spokes in her personal tennis wheel have been correctly installed and are in fine working order.

For all the dynamic youth popping up all around the WTA, as well as the continued relevance of the veteran set, Muguruza's position on the tour landscape is still as dramatic and intriguing as anyone's. Remember, this is a player who has *proven* in the past that she can lift her game on the sport's biggest stages, and defeat *anyone* at their own game.

Muguruza is still just 27 years old. She might still have a heapin' helping of story left to be served.





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*WEEK 7 CHAMPIONS*
DUBAI, UAE (WTA 1000/Hardcourt Outdoor)
S: Garbine Muguruza/ESP def. Barbora Krejcikova/CZE 7-6(6)/6-3
D: Alexa Guarachi/Darija Jurak (CHI/CRO) d. Xu Yifan/Yang Zhaoxuan (CHN/CHN) 6-0/6-3
GUADALAJARA, MEXICO (WTA 250/Hardcourt Outdoor)
S: Sara Sorribes Tormo/ESP def. Genie Bouchard/CAN 6-2/7-5
D: Ellen Perez/Astra Sharma (AUS/AUS) d. Desirae Krawczyk/Giuliana Olmos (USA/MEX) 6-4/6-4


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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Garbine Muguruza/ESP




[Translation: Once recovered, return home to regain strength. I appreciate all the messages of support.]


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RISERS: Elise Mertens/BEL and Sara Sorribes Tormo/ESP
...Mertens is quite likely the most underrated/underappreciated player on tour. A Top 20 player with a slam singles semifinal on her resume (as well as an admirable consistency, with two additional QF, nine-of-twelve Round of 16 or better results, and twelve straight 3r+ results in majors), a strong record in finals (6-3), laudable doubles success (two majors and a "Sunshine Double"), and an earned reputation as a player who rarely suffers shocking opening match exits (just one in her last 24 events, with 15 *multiple*-win tournaments during that stretch, including ten straight).

This week in Dubai, Mertens returned for the first time since the AO and promptly put on a SF run, her second in a 1000 level event (w/ Cincy/NYC last year), with wins over the likes of Shelby Rogers, Caroline Garcia and Jessica Pegula (from 7-5/5-1 down, saving 3 MP).



In the semis against Garbine Muguruza, Mertens nearly forced things to a 3rd set, rallying from a break down in the 2nd to force a TB and making the Spaniard take seven MP attempts to finally put her away.

In Guadalajara, the shutdown/Restart surge of Sorribes Tormo -- which included several exhibition titles in Spain, then an $80K challenger win and a pair of tour-level QF last summer -- has now officially found its 2021 sea legs as Sorribes became the week's second Spanish singles champ by claiming her maiden WTA title.

After opening '21 with a QF result in Abu Dhabi, the 24-year old came into the week having won just one match since (and having not played in the three weeks since a 2nd Rd. walkover in the Grampians event in Melbourne). But Sorribes rode the momentum of a back-from-a-set-down 1st Round win over Greet Minnen to a string of four consecutive straight sets victories over Leonie Kung, Astra Sharma, Marie Bouzkova (saving 3 SP vs. her good friend in the 2nd) and then, in Sorribes' first WTA singles final, Genie Bouchard in a 6-2/7-5 match.

Despite playing a far more experienced player (Bouchard was in her 8th career final, including one at a major), Sorribes was composed throughout and consistently won the big points. She took the 1st set after saving seven of seven BP, then pulled away late in the 2nd after the two had exchanged breaks (and momentum) early in the set, ending the festivities with a leaping high volley forehand winner on her first MP.

She'll climb fourteen spots to a new career high of #57 as the new week begins.

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SURPRISES: Barbora Krejcikova/CZE and Ellen Perez/Astra Sharma, AUS/AUS
...chalk up Krejcikova as a player for whom 2020 was (inadvertently) very good.



The Czech, who'd had *great* doubles success as a pro (#1 ranking, two WD slams, and now three in MX after her '21 AO win), had reached a tour WS final back in '17, falling in Nuremberg to Kiki Bertens, but had never quite found the right conditions to properly pursue her solo dreams. Still working at it, she'd qualified to reach the AO main draw last season (just her second slam MD, after having failed to qualify fifteen times from 2014-19) and notched her maiden slam 1st Round win in Melbourne. With that small taste of success fresh in her mind, during the shutdown, Krejcikova finally has the "extra time" to work on her singles game. While she worked, she realized she was fine with the notion of *only* being a great doubles player. Having taken the pressure to have singles success off her shoulders, the Czech simply decided to enjoy the ride, wherever it took her.

At last year's Roland Garros, an event during which her 3rd Round match coincided with what would have been the birthday of Hall of Famer Jana Novotna, her late former coach, Krejcikova dedicated her performance to her much missed countrywoman. She got a win that day to reach the second week of a major -- in singles -- for the very first time. Things have changed a great deal for Krejcikova since. After years of coming close, she finally made her Top 100 singles breakthrough after Paris, and to this day she continues to eschew looking back.

Oh, Krejcikova has still had doubles success, winning the AO MX crown as well as the Gippsland doubles with Katerina Siniakova already this season. But singles success has continued to come, as well. Her late '20 semifinal in Linz boosted her post-RG momentum (she ultimately fell in three sets to Aryna Sabalenka, who'd soon become the tour's hottest player), then she upset Elena Rybakina in the Grampians event in Melbourne last month.

Having ended 2020 at #65, Krejcikova, 25, was able to play in the MD in Dubai this week. It was just the second WTA 1000 level MD of her career (aside from a 1r exit at the Rogers Cup in '18 after qualifying, she'd failed in seven other qualifying attempts in such events dating back to '16). All she did was run off consecutive wins over Maria Sakkari, Alona Ostapenko, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anastasia Potapova and Jil Teichmann to reach her second career WTA singles final. At #63, the Czech became the lowest-ranked player to reach the final of a Premier Mandatory or WTA 1000 event since the former designation system began in '09 (topping then #60 Bianca Andreescu's final/title run at Indian Wells two years ago).

Krejcikova fell in straight sets to Garbine Muguruza in the final. Had she won the title she'd have become the only tour player this year to win singles, doubles and mixed crowns in '21. One has the feeling that this could only be the beginning of even *bigger* things in singles for the Czech, though, so she'll likely get another chance to become the first (and likely only) player whose name will appear on that list this season. As it is, one year after she'd been ranked #115 in singles when the shutdown occurred, with her future on tour in the discipline highly in question, Krejcikova will make her Top 40 debut this week at #37 and should soon find herself playing a 1st Round match at a major as a *seeded* singles player. She's now the #5 Czech player on tour (up two spots on the national ladder), with room for still significant growth. And that's no small honor, considering the depth of Maiden talent in the WTA at the moment.

In Guadalajara, Perez & Sharma became the latest all-Aussie duo to pick up a tour-level women's doubles title. The #3 seeds, they won a pair of match tie-breaks (over Fernandez/Zarazua in the 1st Rd., Sanchez/Stollar in the SF) before prevailing over top-seeded Desirae Krawczyk & Giuliana Olmos in a 6-4/6-4 final. It's the second career title for both women, as Perez won in Strasbourg with fellow Aussie Dasha Gavrilova in '19, while Sharma joined with Zoe Hives (another Aussie) to win Bogota that same year.



Though they didn't claim the title, the final run from Krawczyk/Olmos was still noteworthy, as they've now reached the finals at three different tour level events in Mexico: Monterrey '18, Acapulco '19 and '20 (winning in their second appearance) and now Guadalajara. Olmos, already the first player representing Mexico to reach a final (singles or doubles) in the Open era as well as the only to win a tour title, has now reached a total of six in her career (going 2-4).
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VETERAN: Genie Bouchard/CAN
...it seems odd to call Bouchard a "veteran," but while she's largely in this category because, well, there really wasn't another available candidate this week, the now 27-year old *is* now seven seasons beyond her banner 2014 campaign (Top 5 ranking, Wimbledon final and AO/RG semis), so I guess the numbers are there to justify it.

A wild card into the Guadalajara draw, Bouchard once again recaptured some of her old success (as she has on occasional the last few years, only to be unable to restain her resurgence long enough to "return to the conversation"), but ultimately wasn't able to close out her week on the sort of winning note that might foreshadow a *true* comeback bid. Wins over Caroline Dolehide, Kaja Juvan, Caty McNally and Elisabetta Cocciaretto enabled the Canadian to reach her eighth career final. Once there, though, she was largely unable to win the biggest points against first-time finalist Sara Sorribes Tormo (i.e. going 0-for-7 on BP in the 1st set, then being unable to back up an early set break in the 2nd, and dropping serve in game #11 to give the Spaniard the chance to serve out the match).

Bouchard's Istanbul final last year was her first since 2016, while her loss here was her sixth straight in a tour-level singles final. Her last (and only win) came in Nuremberg in May of 2014, nearly seven full years ago. She's 1-7 in WTA singles finals, as well as 1-4 in tour doubles finals (including a loss a week ago in the Lyon WD title deciding match).

Still, Bouchard will rise from #144 to #116 this week, her highest ranking since August '19. So, we now once again enter the will-she-or-won't-stage with Bouchard, as the next question to answer will be whether this week will signal the return of a more consistent version of the Canadian, or if this result will instead serve as our almost yearly reminder of not only Bouchard's previous position in the game but also that she's never been able to *fully* reverse the downturn that essentially began with that late night slip in the U.S. Open lockerroom in 2015.

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COMEBACK: Anastasia Potapova/RUS
...after an 11-6 start last season, Potapova had knee surgery that caused her to miss the Restart in its entirety. In 2021, the 19-year old Hordette has returned in surprisingly immediate good form. This week's career-best WTA 1000 QF run in Dubai, as a wild card, included a pair of Top 20 wins over Madison Keys and Belinda Bencic (as well as Laura Siegemund).



7-6 on the season, even Potapova's losses have often included points of optimism, including a close 1st set TB fight in the Australian Open 3rd Round against Serena Williams and 3rd set TB defeat at the hands of Jessica Pegula last week in Doha, as well as an appearance in the Phillips Island doubles final.
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FRESH FACES: Jil Teichmann/SUI and Elisabetta Cocciaretto/ITA
...in Dubai, Teichmann posted her second straight (w/ Adelaide) SF result this year, improving to 10-3 since the AO. After getting a 2nd set retirement from Doha champ Petra Kvitova in the 2nd Round, the Swiss defeated Ons Jabeur and Coco Gauff, getting a measure of revenge for a pair of losses to the teenager (Gipplands/AO) earlier this year. In her biggest career semifinal, Teichmann lost in straights to Barbora Krejcikova, but will make her Top 40 debut this coming week.



20-year old Italian Cocciaretto (#134) qualified in Guadalajara, then followed up with MD wins over Wang Xiyu, top-seeded Nadia Podoroska and Lauren Davis to reach her maiden tour-level semifinal. There, she broke Genie Bouchard as the Canadian served for a straight sets victory, and forced a TB before finally seeing her career-best run come to an end. Cocciaretto will climb 22 spots in the rankings this week to a new career high of #112. She's hot on the heels of veteran Sara Errani (#109) to become the fourth-ranked Italian on tour, with the likes Jasmine Paolini (#100), Martina Trevisan (#89) and Camila Giorgi (#84, about 242 points ahead) now within legitimate reach. (Hey, it's never too early to be keeping an eye on a Blowout season-ending ranking prediction, right?)

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DOWN: Elina Svitolina/UKR and Karolina Pliskova/CZE
...the Dubai #1 seed, and a two-time former champ (2017-18), Svitolina led Svetlana Kuznetsova by a set and a break in her opening 2nd Round match. With a 4-1 head-to-head edge in the series vs. the Russian vet, naturally, Svitolina gave up the lead and then was quickly ushered to the exit in the 3rd, falling 6-1. What is this, about the eleventh or twelfth such faceplant-from-ahead loss by the Ukrainian in the last few years?

Svitolina continues to be a very odd case of a player who just can't get out of her own way. Even with a recent stretch (since 2018) during which she reached a pair of slam semis in '19 (one a fortunate "gift," one well-earned), and two WTAF finals (winning in '18), Svitolina has seemed to take a step *back* rather than forward. From 2017-18, Svitolina won four Premier 5 and two Premier titles (both classifications are now WTA 500 events), then finished the '18 season with her WTAF title. At that point, she was 13-2 in finals, including 9-0 over those two seasons. In the two-plus seasons since, though, she's reached just three finals, and her only two titles came in smaller International (now 250) events. Rather than gain momentum from her success, it has seemingly had little impact. In fact, she's almost inexplicably gone in the *opposite* direction.

Granted, her lack of focus and off-court distractions were pretty much embedded into her personality the last two years (hmmm, I wonder where she picked up *that* trait?) as she's spent much time trying to become a social media star (and, recently, "lip-sych artist") and virtually anything and everything *but* the would-be slam finalist/champ she once seemed on target to evolve into. But the worst part of the whole situation is that after seemingly shedding coaches on a semi-regular basis, even after one season's performance had topped that of the previous campaign, Svitolina now seems averse to making big moves when it comes to cutting (or adding) members to her team. As the Ukrainian was climbing the WTA ladder, step by step, she problem-solved with the best of them, and that included the very "tennis business"-minded adding and subtracting of coaches in order to address the parts of her game that she felt were wanting as she moved closer and closer to clearing out a path to ultimate slam success.

Where the heck is *that* Svitolina? She's been M.I.A. for a while now.

via GIPHY



Meanwhile, Pliskova's troubles continued, as well. The Czech managed to escape Svitolina's fate and *not* go winless in Dubai (where she reached the final in '15), but she had to work to do it. After failing to secure two MP in the 2nd set (and fumbling away a 4-1 TB lead) in her 2nd Round match against Anastasija Sevastova, Pliskova had to go three sets to defeat the Latvian. A round later, she suffered her second loss in back-to-back events to Jessica Pegula, winning just two games off the Bannerette to fall to 6-5 for the season, tying Svitolina for the most '21 losses by any Top 10 player.

So, the ticking clock has to be getting louder for coach Sascha Bajin, right? After all, Pliskova has a history of changing coaches in recent years, even after *good* campaigns, including a moment when she "stole" (Barbora Strycova's words) a coach from a fellow Czech and Fed Cup teammate. Unless things turn around *fast* it's hard to imagine that this coach/pupil experiment is going to end well, or last much longer.

In all truthfulness, the Pliskova/Bajin pairing always felt like an odd/doomed marriage with something along the possible lines of a 30/70 success/failure rate. Not as poor a chance for success as that eyebrow-raising Radwanska/Navratilova combo from a few years ago, but very much a Hail Mary attempt that seems to have immediately fallen (almost) as flat as a WTA marketing campaign.

To tie these two cases together, maybe Bajin will be free for a future look-see from Svitolina down the line. If not sooner. Such a a move might actually benefit *at least* one of the two players in question.

After all, one need look no further than this week's Dubai champ, Garbine Muguruza, to see just how much of a difference the correct coach/player match-up can be.
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ITF PLAYERS: Yuliya Hatouka/BLR and Seone Mendez/AUS
...20-year old Hatouka continued her great ITF stretch that goes back to last fall, winning the $25K Kazan, Russia challenger with a three-set victory in the final over Urszula Radwanksa. It's the Belarusian's second win in '21, and ninth overall. Hatouka finished off her 1st and 2nd Round matches with love 3rd sets, then advanced to the final without losing another set. Against U-Rad, she won an 8-6 1st set TB en route to a 7-6(6)/4-6/6-4 win.

This was Hatouka's fifth straight challenger final (23-3) dating back to December, and her eighth in ten events (40-6, 4 titles) since September.

Meanwhile, last month Mendez had to deal with a huge spider...



Then, perhaps strengthened by her accomplishments in that battle, the 21-year old Aussie swept the singles and doubles titles at this week's $15K in Amiens, France. After taking the WD with Maria Jose Portillo Ramirez, Mendez claimed the singles crown -- her first since 2019, when she won seven -- with a 6-4/6-2 victory in the final over Argentina's Paula Ormeachea.

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JUNIOR STAR: Linda Fruhvirtova/CZE
...another week in 2021, another Fruhvirtova accomplishment. This week, though, it was also a family affair.

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Already with a 13-1 mark and having scooped up her first two pro singles titles in ITF competition in 2021 (while also going 8-0 and winning her two maiden WD crowns), 15-year old Linda Fruhvirtova (#13-ranked girl) played her first junior event of the season in the Grade 2 in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Naturally, the Czech swept the singles and doubles competitions (claiming all 18 sets she played), finishing off things with a 6-2/6-1 win in the final over 16-year old Bannerette Gracie Epps (girls #366), who'd qualified and not dropped a set over seven matches en route to her first career ITF 18s final.

A day earlier Linda had combined with her 13-year old sister Brenda (jr. #159) to take the doubles, their first upper level doubles crown as a pair.

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DOUBLES: Alexa Guarachi/Darija Jurak, CHI/CRO
...while Dubai saw the top seeds, all 2021 achieving pairs, fall by the wayside -- #1 Mertens/Sabalenka (2r), #2 Krejcikova/Siniakova (QF), #3 Melichar/Schuurs (QF), #4 Aoyama/Shibahara (2r), #7 Carter/Stefani (QF) -- the draw ultimately fell into the laps of the #8-seeded duo of Guarachi/Jurak, teaming for just the second time in their career (with the first being a 1st Rd. exit last week in Doha at the hands of eventual champs Melichar/Schuurs).

The pair got revenge on their conquerors with a 10-3 match TB win over Melichar/Schuurs in the QF, then handled Mattek-Sands/Pegula (SF) and Xu Yifan/Yang Zhaoxuan (F) in straight sets to take the title. It's the seventh career crown for Jurak, at 36 the oldest (so far) champ on tour in 2021. For Guarachi, 30, it's title #4, but her third since just last September.

The Chilean (though Guarachi is Florida born, University of Alabama educated, and holds dual citizenship, having represented the U.S. from 2005-15) has taken a big step up in results of late. Before this title run, she'd been 0-2 in WTA 1000 level finals, and prior to 2020's final completed slam (RG) her career WD mark in majors was just 5-9. In Paris last fall, though, Guarachi doubled her career slam match win total with a run to the final alongside Desirae Krawczyk, with whom she's won her three previous WTA titles (including in Adelaide two weeks ago).

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1. Dubai QF - Elise Mertens def. Jessica Pegula
...5-7/7-5/6-0. Pegula seemed on the verge of another major result, leading Mertens 7-5/5-1 and holding three MP against the Waffle before dropping eleven straight games to end the match.



Pegula may have squandered her huge lead against Mertens, but the Bannerette's Final 8 result in Dubai continued what has already been a true breakout season for the 27-year old. After getting her third win this year alone over Kristina Mladenovic, Pegula knocked off Karolina Pliskova (allowing just two games) for her second win over the Czech in as many weeks. Her current 13-4 run includes three wins over Top 10 players (Pliskova, and Svitolina at the AO) and a QF-SF-QF result string.

Pegula added some doubles success this week, as well, joining forces with Bethanie Mattek-Sands to upset top-seeded Mertens/Sabalenka and reach the semis.

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2. Dubai 2nd Rd. - Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Elina Svitolina
...2-6/6-4/6-1. From a set and a break down, Kuznetsova ousts the #1 seed and two-time former champ to reach the Dubai 3rd Round for the first time since 2011, picking up her 63rd career Top 10 win in the process. This is the 16th year (15 of the last 16) in Kuznetsova's career in which she's recorded a Top 10 victory.

Though she doesn't always sustain it (Sveta lost a round later to Krejcikova), two decades into her WTA mission, Kuznesova still has more grit in her left pinky than Svitolina seems to have in her whole being at this point.

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3. Dubai Final - Garbine Muguruza def. Barbora Krejcikova 7-6(6)/6-3
Guadalajara Final - Sara Sorribes Tormo def. Genie Bouchard 6-2/7-5
...two events, two Spanish singles champs. It's the first time that's happened on tour since 2011, when Anabel Medina Garrigues (Palermo) and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (Bad Gastein) both took home trophies on the same weekend.

Both Muguruza and Sorribes had to fight to finish off their opponents in straights, as the former took four SP to put away Krejcikova in the 1st set in Dubai en route to her first title in almost two years, while the latter had to save all seven BP she faced against Bouchard in the opener in Guadalajara on her way to her maiden WTA crown.

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4. Dubai 2nd Rd. - Coco Gauff def. Marketa Vondrousova
...3-6/6-0/6-4. The last of Gauff's streak of seven consecutive three-set matches (6-1, making her 17-8 in career tour-level three-setters) was the most contentious.

After falling behind 4-1 in the 1st, despite dropping the opening set, Gauff won 17 of the next 23 games vs. the Czech, a stretch of oft-tight games during which Gauff prevailed across the board. In the 2nd set, five of the six games went to deuce, with 12 combined deuces in the first three games. En route to a love set, Gauff saved four GP in game #1 and then four more in #2, then broke Vondrousova on her 7th BP chance in game #3.

Vondrousova didn't take kindly to Gauff asking the umpire if she could catch a service toss with her racket rather than with her hand or letting it bounce -- she could, she was told -- and soon after began screaming after winning points. Gauff screamed back, and later said, "I fight fire with fire" after finishing off the Czech in a tense 3rd set.



A straight sets win over Tereza Martincova finally ended Gauff three-set streak, and then Jil Teichmann -- in the third '21 match-up of the two -- finally posted a win over Coco in the QF.
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5. Dubai 3rd Rd. - Garbine Muguruza def. Iga Swiatek 6-0/6-4
Dubai QF - Garbine Muguruza def. Aryna Sabalenka 3-6/6-3/6-2
...if Muguruza goes on to have a spectacular spring/summer, this two-fer might rightly be seen as the launching pad. A love 1st set vs. Swiatek, plus the stamping out of a late surge from the teenager in the 2nd, set the stage for the Spaniard's second straight three-set win over Sabalenka. Three matches later Muguruza had her biggest title in three and a half years.
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6. Dubai 1st Rd. - Misaki Doi d. Polona Hercog
...6-2/4-6/6-3. Doi's third consecutive event with a MD win as a lucky loser.
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7. Guadalajara Q2 - Astra Sharma def. Harriet Dart 6-3/6-2
Guadalajara 1st Rd. - Astra Sharma def. Harriet Dart 2-6/6-2/7-6(2)
...one of those rare whiplash moments when two players meet in back-to-back rounds of the same event after the qualifying loser from the first match gets into the MD draw as a LL and has a true deja vu moment.
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8. Dubai 1st Rd. - Amanda Anisimova def. Ana Konjuh
...6-2/6-2. Anisimova finally makes her 2021 debut, notching her first tour-level win since the 2nd Round of last fall's Roland Garros.

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9. $15K Amiens FRA QF - Elsa Jacquemot def. Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva 6-4/6-4
$15K Amiens FRA Final - Seone Mendez/Maria Jose Portillo Ramirez def. Elsa Jacquemot/Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva 6-3/6-3
...2020's AO (VJK) and RG (Jacquemot) junior champs, the top two ranked girls from last season, faced off in singles amidst what was the best-ever pro runs for both, then teamed up to reach their first pro final in doubles.
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10. Saint Petersburg Q2 - Clara Tauson def. Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove
...7-5/6-2. Cue the Eurythmics...



Here comes the Dane. Again.

Tauson's two-win qualifying run for this week's event in Russia gives the Lyon champ a 13-match all-level winning streak. Meanwhile, the teenager seems to have already developed her "signature shot."

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HM- Guadalajara QF - Maria Sanchez/Fanny Stollar def. Caroline Dolehide/Vania King
...6-1/3-6 [10-7]. Another week, another Vania King sighting as the recently retired doubles specialist followed up her challenger title run last week with a two-match appearance in her first WTA event since last year's Australian Open.

Also, she made if official: King/Shvedova will live again! (For two final "farewell" events: Miami and Charleston.)

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1. Dubai 2nd Rd. - Karolina Pliskova def. Anastasija Sevastova
...6-3/6-7(5)/6-2. Another close call for Sasc-... err, I mean Karolina, as the Czech held two MP in the 2nd set (and led the TB 4-1 before things tightened up there, too) but was forced to a decider.
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2. Dubai 3rd Rd. - Jessica Pegula def. Karolina Pliskova
...6-0/6-2. Run, Big Sascha, run!

Pegula takes out Pliskova for a second straight week. In Doha, Pliskova won four games. This week just two. Meanwhile, in Bajin's hotel room...

via GIPHY

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3. Dubai 2nd Rd. - Timea Babos/Veronika Kudermetova def. Karolina Pliskova/Kristyna Pliskova
...6-2/6-4. A Polina away from a house full of sisters.

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=DUBAI, UAE=



=GUADALAJARA, MEXICO=





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*REACHED DOHA/DUBAI FINALS IN SEASON*
2001 Martina Hingis = Doha W, Dubai W
2004 Svetlana Kuznetsova = Dubai RU, Doha RU
2007 Justine Henin = Dubai W, Doha W
2009 Venus Williams = Dubai W, Doha Chsp RU
2011 Caroline Wozniacki = Dubai W, Doha RU
2017 Caroline Wozniacki = Doha RU, Dubai RU
2021 GARBINE MUGURUZA = Doha RU, Dubai W
-
NOTE 1: 2008 two Doha events (Feb/Oct); 2009-10 Doha only as WTA Chsp. (Oct)
NOTE 2: Hingis also AO F in '01 (W)

*2021 FIRST-TIME WTA SINGLES FINALISTS*
Abu Dhabi - Veronika Kudermetova, RUS (#46, 23)
Grampians/Melb. - Ann Li, USA (#99, 20) -DNP final
Lyon - Clara Tauson, DEN (#139, 18) [W]
Guadalajara - SARA SORRIBES TORMO, ESP (#71, 24) [W]

*LOW-RANKED PREMIER MANDATORY/WTA 1000 FINALISTS - since 2009 *
#63 - BARBORA KREJCIKOVA ('21 Dubai)
#60 - Bianca Andreescu ('19 Indian Wells) [W]
#44 - Naomi Osaka ('18 Indian Wells) [W]
#38 - Dominika Cibulkova ('16 Madrid)

*MOST WTA SF last 2 seasons - 2020-21*
6 - 5/1...Aryna Sabalenka (4-2)
6 - 3/3...GARBINE MUGURUZA (3-1+WL)
6 - 4/2...Jennifer Brady (2-4)
5 - 5/0...Elena Rybakina (5-0)
5 - 3/2...Naomi Osaka (3-1+L)
5 - 3/2...ELISE MERTENS (2-2+W)

*2021 LOW-RANKED WTA SF*
#144 - GENIE BOUCHARD/CAN (Guadalajara -RU)
#139 - Clara Tauson/DEN (Lyon -W)
#134 - ELISABETTA COCCIARETTO/ITA (Guadalajara)
#129 - Viktorija Golubic/SUI (Lyon -RU)
#99 - Marta Kostyuk/UKR (Abu Dhabi)
#99 - Ann Li/USA (Melb./Grampians -F)
[first-time WTA]
Abu Dhabi - Marta Kostyuk, UKR
Melb.Grampians - Ann Li, USA (F)
Lyon - Clara Tauson, DEN (W)
Guadalajara - ELISABETTA COCCIARETTO, ITA

*2021 WTA BEST QUALIFIER RESULTS*
W - Clara Tauson, DEN (Lyon)
RU - Viktoriya Golubic, SUI (Lyon)
SF - Coco Gauff, USA (Adelaide)
SF - Jessica Pegula, USA (Doha)
SF - ELISABETTA COCCIARETTO, ITA (GUADALAJARA)

*2021 CONSECUTIVE WTA FINALS*
[singles]
2 = GARBINE MUGURUZA, ESP (Doha-L, Dubai-W)
[doubles]
2 = Krejcikova/Siniakova, CZE/CZE (Gippsland-W, AO-L)
2 = DESIRAE KRAWCZYK, USA (Adelaide-W, Guadalajara-L)

*2020-21 WTA DB FINALS*
5 - 5/0 (4-1) = Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
5 - 5/0 (4-1) = Barbora Strycova, CZE
5 - 3/2 (3-2) = DESIRAE KRAWCZYK, USA
5 - 4/1 (3-2) = Nicole Melichar, USA
5 - 3/2 (1-4) = Luisa Stefani, BRA
4 - 2/2 (3-1) = ALEXA GUARACHI, CHI
4 - 2/2 (2-2) = Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
4 - 2/2 (2-2) = Katerina Siniakova, CZE
4 - 2/2 (1-3) = Hayley Carter, USA
4 - 3/1 (1-3) = XU YIFAN, CHN

*MEXICO - WTA TITLES, OPEN ERA*
2019 - Giuliana Olmos (Nottingham WD)
2020 - Giuliana Olmos (Acapulco WD)
[RU]
2018 Monterrey WD - Giuliana Olmos
2019 Acapulco WD - Giuliana Olmos
2019 Guangzhou WD - Giuliana Olmos
2021 Guadalajara WD - GIULIANA OLMOS

WORST WTA FINAL RESULTS - active*
[zero titles]
0-7...Lucie Hradecka, CZE
0-4...Olga Govortsova, BLR
0-4...Ajla Tomljanovic, AUS
[w/ titles]
1-7...Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
1-7...GENIE BOUCHARD, CAN
1-5...Anett Kontaveit, EST (+1 DNP)
2-9...Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
2-7...Alison Riske, USA
2-6...Camila Giorgi, ITA
2-6...Donna Vekic, CRO

2021 BEST LL RESULTS*
3rd Rd.: Gabriella Da Silva Fick, AUS (Phillip Island)
2nd Rd.: Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, SVK (AO)
2nd Rd.: Misaki Doi, JPN (Adelaide)
2nd Rd.: Misaki Doi, JPN (Doha)
2nd Rd.: MISAKA DOI, JPN (DUBAI)
--
2r w/ 1r bye: Niculescu (Phillip I.), McHale (Adelaide), Trevisan (Dubai)

*"QUEEN OF MEXICO" WINNERS - Acapulco/Guadalajara/Monterrey since '15*
2015 Timea Bacsinszky, SUI (won Acap/Mont singles)
2016 A.Medina-Garrigues/A.Parra-Santonja, ESP (won Acap/Mont WD)
2017 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS (4-time Mont.WS)
2018 Lesia Tsurenko, UKR (2 con. Acapulco WS)
2019 Garbine Muguruza, ESP (2 con. Monterrey WS)
2020 Heather Watson, GBR (Acapulco W; second to win both Acap/Mont WS)
2021 ?
[2nd place]
2015 Caroline Garcia, FRA (RU Acap/Mont singles)
2016 Sloane Stephens, USA (Acap) & Heather Watson, GBR (Mont)
2017 Lesia Tsurenko, UKR (Acapulco WS)
2018 Giuliana Olmos, MEX (first MEX player in MONT.WD final)
2019 Maria Sanchez, USA (Guad/Mont WD W)
2020 Renata Zarazua, MEX (Acapulco SF, first MEX WTA SF since 1993)
2021 ?
--
NOMINEE #1: Sorribes Tormo (1st WTA WS title at Guad.)
NOMINEES #2: Sharma/Perez (Guad. WD champs)) NOMINEES #3: Krawczyk/Olmos in Guad. F, 4th tour-level final in MEX (1-3)
--
AWARDS GIVEN AFTER MONTERREY EVENT









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Jaws, Pulp Fiction, GoodFellas, Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Rear Window, The Shining, Die Hard...

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Stay the course.
All for now.
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