Backspin Sites

Sunday, April 18, 2021

Wk.12- Astra Rules Sharmaston

First-time WTA champions sure are a trending topic in 2021, aren't they?






futuristic-fonts


*WEEK 12 CHAMPIONS*
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA USA (WTA 250/Green Clay Outdoor)
S: Astra Sharma/AUS def. Ons Jabeur/TUN 2-6/7-5/6-1
D: Hailey Baptiste/Caty McNally (USA/USA) def. Ellen Perez/Astra Sharma (AUS/AUS) 6-7(4)/6-4 [10-6]


For the recap of this week's Billie Jean King Cup Playoffs, see here.



kosova-font
eggs-font
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Astra Sharma/AUS
...Sharma's title run in the Charleston 250 follow-up event continues what has become common on tour in recent weeks. Of the sixteen events in which champions have been crowned (remember, one event didn't play the final -- and even it included a first-time finalist), six have been maiden title winners. Four have come in the last six tour events, all six in the last ten, and (so far) all three of the tournaments held on clay in 2021.

The 25-year old Aussie, a former finalist in Bogota (2019), had quite the week. After a win over Wang Yafan, Sharma righted her ship after losing a 6-4/4-1 lead over Madison Brengle to win in three, then tamed the teenager two-fer of Linda Fruhvirtova and Maria Camilia Osorio Serrano. In the final, in a battle to see *which* woman would win her first tour crown, Sharma turned the momentum in her favor late in the 2nd set against Ons Jabeur and went on to win in three, recording her first career Top 30 victory in the process.

She'll jump forty-five spots to a new career-high of #120.



On another note, *this* is surely the appropriate -- and telling on many levels -- response from the Aussie to that horrendous situation last week in Bogota in which Sharma had a key break of serve stolen from her because the umpire couldn't correctly keep score, then was scolded by the umpire and the WTA supervisor for not keeping track of the score herself *and* not being able to immediately recount how she won every point in the game (as if that's in her job description) in order to "prove" she was correct.
===============================================
RISER: Ons Jabeur/TUN
...the quest to become the first Arab singles champ in WTA history drags on for Jabeur, but she continues to make one believe it's just a matter of time.

A week after a semifinal run in the Charleston 500 event, the Tunisian did one better by reaching her second tour level final ('18 Moscow) this time around. As the #1 seed, Jabeur didn't lose a set against Stefanie Voegele, Alycia Parks (winning ten straight games from 4-2 down in the 1st), Nao Hibino (1 game lost) and Danka Kovinic (in a repeat of last week's Charleston semi, only with a different winner). She appeared well on her way to her first title against Sharma in the final, but became more and more physically uncomfortable (she's been possibly having ab/stomach issues in Charleston, perhaps leading to her "no-show" SF loss last week, and faltering down the stretch here) as Sharma gradually took over the match.

Moving up two spots to a new career high of #25 this week, Jabeur remains the highest ranked player in the WTA without a tour-level singles title. She and Barbora Krejcikova (#38) are the only Top 40 players currently without a win.

===============================================


SURPRISE: Alycia Parks/USA
...after qualifying in the Charleston 250, 20-year old Georgian Parks defeated Grace Min in her WTA tour debut. She had an impressive start in the next round against top-seeded Ons Jabeur, leading 4-2 in the 1st before the Tunisian's far greater experience kicked in and she swept the final ten games.

Ranked #313, Parks won a $25K challenger (and the WD, too) in Orlando last November as a qualifier, defeating fellow Bannerette Robin Montgomery in the final.



By the way, here's the aforementioned incident from 2019 with Canadian Katherine Sebov:



Sebov also took "Part II" in that story, defeating Parks in a Rome (Ga.) challenger this past January.
===============================================


COMEBACK: Danka Kovinic/MNE
...a week past her run to the Charleston WTA 500 final, Kovinic advanced all the way to the semifinals in the 250 follow-up event, posting victories over Viktoriya Tomova (a Bogota semifinalist a week ago), Lauren Davis and Shelby Rogers. After dominating an "off" Ons Jabeur in last week's semi, Kovinic fell to the Tunisian at the same point in the draw this week, completing what was an 8-2 two-week stretch in South Carolina.

===============================================
FRESH FACES: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano/COL and Clara Tauson/DEN
...days after winning her maiden title in Bogota, Osorio Serrano changed continents and clay court colors but kept on winning. The 19-year old rallied from 5-3 down in the 3rd set vs. Magda Linette, then pulled out a match in which Christina McHale twice served for the win. In the QF, Clara Tauson retired with a knee injury in a match-up of former junior #1's, but the Colombian finally saw her run end in the semis against eventual champ Astra Sharma. She'll jump another 18 spots to a new career high of #117 on Monday.

Of note, Osorio Serrano got into the draw via a special exemption after picking up the title in Bogota last weekend. Though she was busy in Serbia this week, Monterrey champ Leylah Fernandez might have found such an act helpful a few weeks ago when she had to jump from Mexico to Miami in about a day's time in order to go from winning a tour title to playing a first round qualifying match (she lost, not surprisingly) rather than have a spot already waiting for her in the MD.



Meanwhile, the 18-year old Dane's trip to Charleston ended in tears, with her 2nd set retirement with a knee injury against fellow teen Osorio Serrano. But it was still a super-productive week, as Tauson (still in just her sixth career WTA MD, and third since winning the Lyon title) posted wins over Liudmila Samsonova and Ajla Tomljanovic (giving her another Top 100 win even as she continues to flirt with the ranking barrier herself) and reached her second tour-level QF of the season.

Having arrived on a two-match losing streak after defeats at the hands of Dasha Kasatkina (Saint Petersburg) and Daniela Seguel (in her clay court season debut in Bogota), Tauson still managed to improve to 23-6 overall on the season and will climb back into the Top 100 this week, matching her previous career-high of #96.

===============================================
DOWN: Magda Linette/POL
...last year, while Iga Swiatek was *the* headline-grabbing Polish player on tour, Linette had what was likely her best season while playing in the teenager's shadow. At 28, Linette rose to a career high (#33), won her second tour title in Hua Hin in February (just five months after her maiden crown), reached the 3rd Round of the U.S. Open and, upholding the Polish tradition, won the tour's Fave Favorite Shot of the Year honors. She finished the year at a season-ending best #40.

Linette's 2021 season got off on the wrong step, though, with a knee injury that caused her to skip the Australian swing. Since she's finally gotten on court, it's been slow going. Originally slated to play in Poland's BJK Cup Playoff against Brazil, she ended up not making the trip. Her 1st Round loss early this week in Charleston, after having led Maria Camila Osorio Serrano 5-3 in the 3rd set, dropped her to 1-3 on the season.

Linette has already slipped back to #51, her first time outside the Top 50 since September 2019.
===============================================
ITF PLAYERS: Polona Hercog/SLO and Jessie Aney/USA
...30-year old Hercog has an astounding career record in challenger finals. The Slovenian advanced to the final of the $60K event in Oeiras, Portugal, this week, a run highlighted by a three-set victory over Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru (hmmm, *she'd* been useful in the BJK Cup tie vs. Italy). Hercog sports a glorious 17-1 mark in challenger finals (she's 3-3 in the tour-level variety), but didn't get a chance to improve upon that this weekend since fellow finalist Clara Burel (who'd def. Georgina Garcia Perez and Francesca Jones, with both matches played on Saturday) was forced to give her a walkover in the championship match due to an ankle injury.

By the way, that's a cool looking court...



Meanwhile, Bannerette Aney picked up her second career title a week after she picked up #1, claiming another $15K crown in Shymkent, KAZ with a 5-7/7-6(6)/6-0 win in the final over Serbia's Tamara Curovic. Unseeded Aney knocked off the #7, #2 and #5 (Curovic) seeds on her way into the winner's circle. She's currently on a 23-3 run since the start of March, and is a combined 34-7 in Q/MD matches this season.

===============================================


JUNIOR STARS: Linda Fruhvirtova/CZE, Michaela Laki/GRE and Alina Shcherbinina/RUS
...15-year old Fruhvirtova has been turning heads all season, only it's been on (briefly, while winning her only outing in March) the junior circuit and in a series of ITF challengers (winning two $15K titles and reaching a $25K final). This week, she brought the show to the tour-level WTA 250 event in Charleston. She didn't disappoint.

In just her second WTA MD (Prague '20) and fifteenth overall professional event, the wild card Czech battled to an impressive maiden tour-level win in the 1st Round against Alize Cornet. Fruhvirtova was on top of Cornet for a set and a half, but couldn't serve out the match on two attempts in the 2nd, then didn't convert a MP in the TB. Both players dealt with physical issues, with Cornet slowing down more and more as the match wore on due to a thigh injury, while the teenager had her ankle taped early in the 3rd. Ultimately, Cornet, who could barely move around the court at all, had to retire at 4-4 in the final set.

Fruhvirtova followed up by rallying from 4-2 down in the 1st against Emma Navarro to win in straights before ultimately falling 4 & 3 to Astra Sharma in the QF as, following a trend that played out in her previous wins during the week, she had difficulties holding serve. Still, it's clear that the hype is no joke, and Czech tennis has yet another big-time talent on its hands. She's 15-3 in ITF/WTA matches in 2021, and 5-0 in her lone junior event.

Fruhvirtova jumps 138 spots in the rankings on Monday to #361, and is the youngest player in the Top 650. The next closest ranked player younger than her is Filipino Alexandra Eala (#661), who is just three weeks the Czech's junior (both were born in May '05).



At the Grade 1 Plovdiv Cup in Bulgaria, 16-year old Greek Laki grabbed the biggest title of her junior career (she'd previously won a pair of G3 crowns). The girls #42 dropped no sets on her way to the final, where she upset #2 seeded Belgian Sofia Costoulas (girls #20) 6-2/3-6/6-2.



At the Grade 1 Yeltsin Cup in Kazan, Russia, it was 17-year old Hordette Shcherbinina picking up the biggest crown of her junior career (her previous best was a G4 in '19). The #2 seed (girls #46), she defeated #5-seeded Dane Johanne Christine Svendzen, a previous '21 G1 champ, en route to taking the title without dropping a set, handling #8-seeded Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-4/6-1 in the final. Shcherbinina is the third different Hordette to win a Grade 1 event this season.

===============================================


DOUBLES: Hailey Baptiste/Caty McNally, USA/USA
...the 19-year olds claimed their first title together in Charleston, as the injured Coco Gauff continues to be absent. After dropping no sets en route to the final, giving up just 6, 0 and 2 games in three matches -- the last a dominating win over last week's Bogota champs Lechemia/Neel in the SF -- Baptiste & McNally battled back from losing an opening set TB to win a closing match-TB, 6-7(4)/6-4 [10-6], over Ellen Perez & Storm Sanders. It's Baptiste's maiden tour crown, while McNally now has a third to go along with the pair she previously claimed alongside Gauff.

===============================================




kosova-font
1. Charleston 2 1st Rd. - Nao Hibino def. Misaki Doi
...7-5/5-7/6-6 (1-0) ret. The wild one of the week.

In a 3:14 match in which both players battled against cramps, Doi charged back from 7-5/5-1 down, saving two MP as Hibino twice failed to serve out the win. Doi eventually led 5-2, 40/love in the 3rd against her countrywoman and doubles partner. Hibino saved five total MP, and eventually pushed things to a TB while Doi was doubling over and "walking" around the court straight-legged between points. Finally, after dropping the first point of the TB, Doi could take no more and was forced to retire.



Later...



Hibino posted an additional win over Francesca Di Lorenzo, but then was ousted 6-0/6-1 by Ons Jabeur in the QF.
===============================================
2. Charleston 2 1st Rd. - Maria Camila Osorio Serrano def. Magda Linette 6-3/4-6/7-5
Charleston 2 2nd Rd. - Maria Camila Osorio Serrano def. Christina McHale 2-6/7-6(2)/7-6(1)
...after flying in from Bogota, the 19-year old Colombian didn't let the switch in continents (or from red to green clay) cause her to lose focus, or her fight. She started her second straight banner week by battling back from 5-3 down in the 3rd to defeat Linette, then from a late break in the 2nd set vs. McHale (who twice served for the match) to force a 3rd. There it was Osorio Serrano who failed to serve out the match, but she rebounded to dominate the deciding TB.
===============================================
3. Charleston 2 Final - Astra Sharma def. Ons Jabeur
...2-6/7-5/6-1. While Jabeur didn't become the first Arab woman to win a WTA singles crown, Sharma becomes the fourth active Aussie woman to do so, as well as the latest former NCAA star to find hardware-gathering success on the WTA tour.

===============================================
4. Charleston 2 1st Rd. - Alycia Parks def. Grace Min
...6-1/6-4. In her MD debut, the 20-year old qualifier records her maiden tour-level victory against a fellow Bannerette ranked some 110 spots above her.
===============================================


5. Charleston 2 QF - Maria Camila Osorio Serrano def. Clara Tauson
...6-4/1-0 ret. The match between a pair of former junior #1's and 2019 girls slam winners -- Tauson AO, Osorio US -- didn't play out as anyone wished, but it was good while it lasted. And they'll surely have multiple chances for a pro-level do-over down the road.

In their only 18s match-up as juniors, Osorio Serrano won a three-set clash in the 2018 Junior Masters semis.

===============================================
6. Istanbul Q2 - Nuria Parrizas Diaz def. Barbara Haas
...2-2/6-1/6-0. A week after her maiden tour-level MD, and QF run, in Bogota, Parrizas Diaz is at it again.
===============================================
7. Stuttgart Q1 - Noma Noha Akugue def. Margarita Gasparyan
...6-3/6-4. With an event in North America, and so many playing BJK Cup this weekend, the qualifying events in Stuttgart and Istanbul were filled while a *whole lotta* new names. Here's one of the German ones, who ultimately lost in the final Q-round to fellow German WC Nastasja Schunk (so there's another one).

===============================================



kosova-font
1. Charleston 2 1st Rd. - Linda Fruhvirtova def. Alize Cornet
...6-2/6-7(7)/4-4 ret. An impressive and memorable maiden MD win for the 15-year old, as the match turned into a battle of attrition as Cornet was hobbled by a thigh injury and Fruhvirtova slowed by an bad ankle down the stretch.

While her serve began to let her down after a sterling first set and a half of play (she twice failed to serve out the match in the 2nd, and squandered a MP in the TB), the young Czech didn't let her inability to hold serve in the 3rd cause her to lose concentration in her receiving games. The two combined for eight straight breaks to begin the final set, then with Fruhvirtova a point from a hold (40/30) it was Cornet -- dragging her leg around and finally in too much pain to go on -- who succumbed and decided to end things with a retirement.

One could say this might be the most memorable maiden WTA win in recent years... but then you remember Clara Tauson's thrilling takedown of Jennifer Brady at last year's RG. No matter. We'll still end up looking back some day when Fruhvirtova wins something big and saying, "Ah, I remember when she..."

===============================================
2. Charleston 2 2nd Rd. - Linda Fruhvirtova def. Emma Navarro
...6-4/6-2. Navarro led 4-2 in the 1st, and had a BP for a 5-4 lead. But the Czech held and took the 1st, then finished off the Charleston native despite 11 total DF in the match (a stat that didn't matter when Fruhvirtova held at love for what proved to be an insurmountable 5-2 lead in the 2nd).

On another note, if Cornet would have been upended to know a few days earlier that, at just 31, she'd lose to a player *less than half* her age... what of Navarro, who at only 19 found herself being knocked off by a player *four* years younger than she is?
===============================================












=CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA=







futuristic-fonts


kosova-font











@daria_gavtennis

Reply to @drsoheinakagawa ##targetpractice ##dariagavrilova ##tennis ##?? omg TikTok removed it ??

? Classical Music - Classical Music









@saba_a05

##???????????????? ##????????????

? Waltz of the Flowers - The Manhattan Pops











mf-xinghei-font


kosova-font

*2021 FIRST-TIME WTA CHAMPIONS*
Lyon - Clara Tauson, DEN (18/#139) d. Golubic
Guadalajara - Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP (24/#71) d. Bouchard
Monterrey - Leylah Fernandez, CAN (18/#88) d. Golubic
Charleston - Veronika Kudermetova, RUS (23/#38) d. Kovinic
Bogota - Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, COL (19/#180) d. Zidansek
Charleston 2 - ASTRA SHARMA, AUS (25/#165) d. Jabeur

*2021 LOW-RANKED FINALISTS*
#180 - Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, COL (Bogota)[W]
#165 - ASTRA SHARMA, AUS (CHARLESTON 2)[W]
#144 - Genie Bouchard, CAN (Guadalajara)
#139 - Clara Tauson, DEN (Lyon)[W]
#129 - Viktorija Golubic, SUI (Lyon)
#126 - Margarita Gasparyan, RUS (Saint Petersburg)
#102 - Viktorija Golubic, SUI (Monterrey)

*2021 FINALS/CHAMPIONS BY NATION*
[w/ titles]
5 (3) - RUS
4 (2) - ESP
3 (3) - AUS
3 (1) - CAN,CZE
3 (0) - SUI
2 (0) - EST,USA
1 (1) - BEL,BLR,COL,DEN,JPN,POL
1 (0) - MNE,SLO,TUN
--
NOTE: 1 DNP final (USA/EST)

*WTA TITLES - AUSTRALIANS (active)*
10 - Ash Barty, 2017-21
9 - Samantha Stosur, 2009-17
1 - Dasha Gavrilova, 2017
1 - ASTRA SHARMA, 2021

*RECENT EARLY-CAREER NON-SLAM BREAKOUTS*
2015: Nao Hibino wins Tashkent (2nd WTA MD, age 20)
2016: Rebeka Masarova to Gstaad SF (WTA MD debut, age 16)
2017: Jana Fett to Hobart SF (WTA MD debut, age 20)
2017: Marketa Vondrousova wins Biel (2nd WTA MD, age 17)
2017: Mihaela Buzarnescu to Linz SF (2nd WTA MD, age 29)
2018: Olga Danilovic wins Moscow River Cup (1st WTA MD, age 17)
2018: Anastasia Potapova to Moscow River Cup F (3rd WTA MD, age 17)
2018: Tamara Zidansek to Moscow River Cup SF (3rd WTA MD, age 18)
2019: Bianca Andreescu to Auckland F (4th WTA MD, age 18)
2019: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano to Bogota QF (2nd career WTA MD, age 17)
2019: Iga Swiatek to Lugano F (3rd WTA MD, age 17)
2019: Astra Sharma to Bogota F (3rd WTA MD, age 23)
2019: Martina Di Giuseppe to Bucharest SF (1st WTA MD, age 28)
2019: Katarzyna Kawa to Jurmala Final (1st WTA MD, age 26)
2019: Liudmila Samsonova to Palermo SF (4th WTA MD, age 20)
2019: Coco Gauff wins Linz (5th WTA MD, age 15)
2020: Leonie Kung to Hua Hin F (2nd WTA MD, age 19)
2021: Clara Tauson wins Lyon (3rd WTA MD, age 18)
2021: Linda Fruhvirtova to Charleston 2 QF (2nd WTA MD, age 15)

*2021 FIRST-TIME WTA DOUBLES CHAMPS*
HAILEY BAPTISTE, USA (Charleston 2)
Caroline Dolehide, USA (Monterrey)
Elixane Lechemia, FRA (Bogota)
Ingrid Neel, USA (Bogota)
Ankita Raina, IND (Phillip Island)
Kamilla Rakhimova, RUS (Phillip Island)

*2021 REACHED FINAL IN HOME NATION*
Melb.Yarra Valley - Ash Barty, AUS (W)
Saint Petersburg - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (W)
Saint Petersburg - Margarita Gasparyan, RUS
Bogota - Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, COL (W)
[doubles]
AO Mixed - Samantha Stosur, AUS
Guadalajara - Giuliana Olmos, MEX
Miami - Hayley Carter, USA
Charleston - Nicole Melichar, USA (W)
Charleston 2 - HAILEY BAPTISTE/CATY McNALLY, USA (W)

*2021 WEEKLY BACKSPIN PLAYERS OF THE WEEK*
Week 1: Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
AO Q: Francesca Jones, GBR
Week 2: Ash Barty, AUS
AO: Naomi Osaka, JPN
Week 4: Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
Week 5: Iga Swiatek, POL
Week 6: Petra Kvitova, CZE
Week 7: Garbine Muguruza, ESP
Week 8: Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (2)
Week 9/10: Ash Barty, AUS (2)
Week 11: Veronika Kudermetova, RUS
BJK Playoffs: Magdalena Frech, POL
Week 12: Astra Sharma, AUS

*2021 TOP JUNIOR EVENT CHAMPIONS*
SVYATOPETRIVSKE VILLAGE UKR J1: Anastasiia Gureva/RUS
SALINAS ECU J1: Natalia Szabanin/HUN
ASUNCION BOWL PAR J1: Petra Marcinko/CRO
PORTO ALEGRE BRA J1: Natalia Szabanin/HUN
BANANA BOWL BRA GA: Oceane Babel/FRA
BARRANQUILLA COL J1: Johanne Christine Svendsen/DEN
SAN DIEGO USA J1: Alexandra Yepifanova/USA
VILLENA ESP J1: Diana Shnaider/RUS
PLOVDIV BUL J1: Michaela Laki/GRE
YELTSIN CUP RUS J1: Alina Shcherbinina/RUS






futuristic-fonts


kosova-font
A year ago, at the height of the worldwide lockdown, the Rolling Stones released what at the time seemed a picture-perfect song for the times.




A year later...




kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font

"You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? Then who the hell else are you talkin' to? You talkin' to me? Well, I'm the only one here."




kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font





Just hold on a little while longer.
All for now.
Wk.12- Astra Rules Sharmaston
Posted by at