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Friday, July 1, 2022

W.5- Alona and the Lawns of Opportunity


Even before today, the bottom half of the Wimbledon women's draw had the makings of something akin to an underground poker game where deuces were perpetually wild, and the women eventually left standing to collect their winnings at the end of next week were potentially going to be in position to go from relative "pauper" to "princess" in one final swing of a racket. After Friday's batch of 3rd Round matches, that's even *more* the case.

And then there's Alona.




As the sixteen women set to face off against each other prepared to head to battle on Day 5, only *two* could legitimately say that they had the sort of history that proved that they were capable of winning this third major title of 2022. That's because Alona Ostapenko, the '17 Roland Garros champ, and Angelique Kerber, the three-time slam winner and '18 Wimbledon title holder, were the *only* players in the group who'd done such a thing before.

Around an hour and a half into the day's action, Ostapenko was the first woman through to the Round of 16. A few hours later, of the two "proven" quantities in the section that doesn't sport an Iga, Simona, Petra or Barbora, the Latvian found herself as the lone member of a select group of one.

The #12-seeded Ostapenko didn't bring the thunder in the opening stages of her match today against Irina-Camelia Begu. The Romanian took the 1st set and led 6-3/1-0. But -- psst, and you *might* have heard this before -- once Ostapenko found her range and started firing, well, it would soon be time to pull out the bread product you just happened to bring with you to the court on a sunny Friday in London.

Meanwhile, Ostapenko continued to be Ostapenko. Try as she might, she just can't have it any other way.



Not unexpectedly, as it's never really that, Ostapenko proceeded to win six straight games to take the 2nd set. As the Latvian ran off 12 of the final 13 games to win 3-6/6-1/6-0, the TV commentator was heard to compare what was happening to a game of tug-of-war where one team picks up momentum and simply begins to drag the other across the line.

It's never a "pretty" sight, as it's easy to feel a bit sorry for the drag-ee. But it's always exhilirating.

The former Wimbledon junior champ (2014) and women's semifinalist (2018), Ostapenko's 28 winners for the day outpaced her 27 unforced errors as she reached the second week at SW19 for the third time, but the first time in four years. And, yes, the 3rd set further proved that having a bagel in your pocket is most definitely a way to tell Alona that you're happy to see her.



Later in the day, Kerber's Wimbledon came to an end, leaving Ostapenko as not only the lone seed remaining in her section en route to the SF, but also the lone woman in the bottom half who has reached a slam final, let alone claimed a major title.

Latvian Thunder cracking loudly and often above the grounds of the All-England Club at the end of a fortnight has always been a notion built to fascinate the mind, challenge tradition, and act like an aromatic and cleansing bath for the soul.

Could such a scenario be about to become a withering reality? If so, will Wimbledon's stodgy traditions ever be the same? Who'd like to find find out?

(Backspinner raises hand.)






=DAY 5 NOTES=
...in the bottom half of the women's draw, after Day 5's results, there remains Alona and seven other women. Five of them are unseeded, with four of those having just reached their maiden slam Round of 16 at this Wimbledon. There's one other former slam semi semifinalst, and two who've reached the QF. As well as a mother of two, the current doubles #1, and the reigning Roland Garros doubles champion. There's a Tunisian, a Brit (but not *that* one), a Belgian whose matches Kim Clijsters can watch from the stands with a smile on her face and a tear in her eye, a Czech (but not *that* one, or *that other* one, or even that *other* one) and two Germans (though neither are named Angie).

Jule Niemeier checks off few of those boxes, as the unseeded #97-ranked German reached her maiden slam 4th Round today (in just her second career slam MD) with a three-set win over Ukrainian veteran Lesia Tsurenko.



After having made her way through the first two rounds of this slam without dropping serve, Niemeier was more than a little bit patchy today. The 22-year old was broken *ten* times, to the tune of 3, 4 and 3 times in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd sets, respectively, as she DF'd 11 times and faced 19 BP. Still, she managed to pull away, converting 11 of 12 BP on Tsurenko's serve.

...the German's next opponent will be 30-year old Brit Heather Watson, whose SW19 history includes a near upset of Serena Williams on Centre Court in 2013, as well as a 1st Round exit a year ago after having held MP against Kristie Ahn. Today, #121 Watson, who came into Wimbledon at just 15-17 on the season, faced off with Kaja Juvan, the same Slovenian who'd knocked her out in the 1st Round of the U.S. Open last year.

The two women engaged in a 1st set battle that went to a TB. Watson held three SP at 6-3, only to see Juvan surge back and knot the score at 6-6 with a passing shot that left the lunging Watson on the turf. A point later, the chair umpire overruled a line call, saying that a Juvan ball had landed out. Juvan's replay challenge proved the call to be a correct one, as Watson reached SP yet again. Juvan's DF handed her the 8-6 TB.

It took quite a while for Juvan to put her last-hurdle stumble behind her. She dropped serve to open the 2nd, and saw everything come crashing down around her feet as she fell behind by a triple-break score at 5-0. Watson served for the match, with Juvan coming into game #6 having won only six total points in the set. But with nothing left to lose, Juvan finally woke up. She broke Watson on her third BP of the game, and two games later very nearly did it again. Taking a love/30 lead, she held four BP. But the Brit's stab volley on her first MP finally put a wrap on the match, giving Watson a 7-6(6)/6-2 win and her first berth in the 4th Round of a major (in her 43rd MD).



...#5 Maria Sakkari reached a pair of slam semis (RG/US) last year, but saw her chances of doing so at SW19 for the first time extinguished by 34-year old (35 next month) Tatjana Maria, who less than a year ago became a mother for the second time. She's also now the oldest German woman to ever reach the Round of 16 at a major, finally breaking through in her 35th career slam MD.



...Marie Bouzkova put an end to former Wimbledon quarterfinalist (and #28 seed) Alison Riske-Amritraj's hopes of returning to the Last Eight, busting into her own maiden slam Round of 16 after already this season having posted her maiden MD wins at both the AO and RG.



The Czech will next face Caroline Garcia, as the Bad Homburg-winning Pastry extended her grass court winning streak to eight matches with a double-TB win over #33 Zhang Shuai.



...the draw seemed to be possibly rounding into something good for #15 Angelique Kerber, but the '18 SW19 champ met #24 Elise Mertens (WD #1 and former AO semifinalist) today and that all came to an end. The Belgian had saved two MP in the last round against Panna Udvardy, tying the match at one set each to end play on Wednesday and then winning a 3rd set yesterday to reach her 18th straight slam 3rd Round. She didn't need such drama today, eliminating the former world #1, 6-4/7-5.



Ostapenko is the only former slam finalist/winner in the bottom half, but #3-seeded Ons Jabeur will surely have her share of "favorite" votes, not just to reach the final but because her last two grass court seasons have helped to establish the groundbreaking Tunisian/Muslim/North African as one of the game's most exciting on-court shotmakers, as well as most likable off-court personalities. Jabeur won her maiden tour title last year in Birmingham and then reached the QF at Wimbledon. She returned to the winner's circle on grass a few weeks ago in Berlin before entertainingly teaming up with Serena Williams (who chose Jabeur because she found her so nice) for doubles in Eastbourne.

Jabeur ended her match with Diane Parry today with a flourish, winning 14 consecutive points from 3-2 down in the 2nd set to win 6-2/6-3, then once again showed after the match why she keeps picking up fans by the handfuls every time she opens her mouth.





....in MX doubles, 42-year old Venus Williams made her first official appearance at this Wimbledon, the 24th of her career (but the first in which she didn't also play singles). She and Jamie Murray defeated Alicja Rosolska & Michael Venus (funny how *that* worked out) 6-3/6-7(3)/6-3. This is only her sixth appearance in the MX at SW19 since 1999, but she's played in the competition in the last three editions of Wimbledon.



...top-seeded Liv Hovde defeated #9 Johanne Christine Svendsen (DEN) 6-2/6-3 in the final of the Roehampton J1 junior grass court event. She's the first Bannerette to claim the title since since Claire Liu and Coco Gauff won in back-to-back years in 2018-19, and the sixth overall since the junior event debuted in 1996. Hovde, the #1 girls' seed in the upcoming Wimbledon juniors, matches her career-best J1 win on hard courts in San Diego in March. She also reached the J1 Milan final on clay last month.



Canadians Kayla Cross & Victoria Mboko won the doubles, taking their third J1 event (on a third different surface) in 2022.







*LADIES' SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
x vs. x
x vs. x
x vs. x
x vs. x
Marie Bouzkova/CZE vs. Caroline Garcia/FRA
#24 Elise Mertens/BEL vs. #3 Ons Jabeur/TUN
Tatjana Maria/GER vs. #12 Alona Ostapenko/LAT
Heather Watson/GBR vs. Jule Niemeier/GER







...BEST CATCH OF DAY 4... ON DAY 5:




...FLASHBACK FORWARD FRIDAY... ON DAY 5:



















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*RECENT WIMBLEDON "ZOMBIE QUEEN" WINNERS*
2015 Serena Williams, USA
2016 Dominika Cibulkova/SVK & Aga Radwanska/POL
2017 Arina Rodionova, AUS
2018 Katerina Siniakova, CZE
2019 Elina Svitolina, UKR
2021 Kristie Ahn, USA
2022 Elise Mertens, BEL

*WIMBLEDON "SPIRIT OF JANA" ANNUAL HONOREES*
[2018]
Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
...Brno-born; wins WD title in first Wimbledon since ex-coach Novotna's death
Nicole Melichar, USA
...born in Brno, CZE (like Jana); wins MX title in first Wimbledon since death
Donna Vekic, CRO
..."Good Donna"
[2019]
Donna Vekic, CRO
..."Bad Donna"
[2020]
RG Special: Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
...to RG 3rd Rd. (Oct.) on Novotna's 52nd birthday; dedicates to Jana
[2021]
RG Special: Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
...wins maiden slam singles crown w/ Jana as inspiration; also wins WD

*"SPIRIT OF JANA" RING OF HONOR*
Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (2018, 2020 RG, 2021 RG)
Nicole Melichar, USA (2018)
Donna Vekic, CRO [Good Donna 2018, Bad Donna 2019]






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"The ice cream cone truck is here... the ice cream cone truck is here..."




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TOP QUALIFIER: Maja Chwalinska/POL
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #16 Simona Halep/ROU
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1 - Jaimee Fourlis/AUS def. Dea Herdzelas/BIH 5-7/7-6(4)/6-4 (trailed 7-5/5-3, saved 2 MP)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - Harmony Tan/FRA def. (WC) Serena Williams/USA 7-5/1-6/7-6(7) (Williams for match at 5-4 in 3rd, up 4-0 in TB; first match in a year for SW; Tan Wimb. debut
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #28 Alison Riske/USA (def. Y.In-Albon/SUI)
FIRST SEED OUT: #31 Kaia Kanepi/EST (1st Rd.-Diane Parry/FRA)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Maja Chwalinska/POL, Elisabetta Cocciaretto/ITA, Dalma Galfi/HUN, Catherine Harrison/USA, Mai Hontama/JPN, Katarzyna Kawa/POL, Jule Niemeier/GER, Panna Udvardy/HUN
UPSET QUEENS: France
REVELATION LADIES: Poland
NATION OF POOR SOULS: AUS (1-5 1st; DC Barty retired in March)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Maja Chwalinska/POL, Catherine Harrison/USA, Mai Hontama/JPN, Katarzyna Kawa/POL, Yanina Wickmayer/BEL (all 2nd Rd.) (LL 2r: Kerkhove/NED)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Katie Boulter/GBR (in 3r)
PROTECTED RANKING WINS: Elisabetta Cocciaretto/ITA, Kirsten Flipkens/BEL, Yanina Wickmayer/BEL(Q) (all to 2r)
LAST BRIT STANDING: In 3r: Boulter, Watson (W)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: Nominee: Tan, Garcia, Bouzkova, Watson, Maria, Mertens, Ostapenko (or pretty much *everyone*)
IT "??": Nominees: Jabeur, Niemeier, Maria
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominees: Garcia, Kvitova, Boulter
CRASH & BURN: #23 Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA (1st Rd./Juvan; had won 2 grass titles); #9 Garbine Muguruza/ESP (1st Rd./Minnen; love 2nd lost when back; worst three-slam stretch of career
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF LONDON: #24 Elise Mertens/BEL (2nd Rd.: P.Udvardy 2 MP in 2nd set, Mertens wins set and play susp; takes 3rd set a day later)
DOUBLES STAR: xx
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Nominees: Cornet, Maria, Watson
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx
SPIRIT OF JANA (NOVOTNA) HONOREES: Nominee: Halep






All for Day 5. More tomorrow.
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