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Monday, July 4, 2022

W.8- Hot Dogs, Hegemony and Halep


In 2022, a July 4th tradition and its accompanying crowd returned to the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues. The gluttony and hunger for competition never left.




You think Wimbledon comes with inherent drama? Well, this year's 106th anniversary edition of the traditional Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island, New York, included the event returning to its old haunt after a two-year pandemic-related absence, the prospect of a former champion staging a comeback from a one-year break to have a baby, the "greatest living eater" seeking to add to his legendary status by competing with crutches and a walking boot and then being forced to subdue a stage-rusher MID-COMPETITION. A chokehold would suffice... and then it was back to business.

But other than that it was all pretty uneventful.



The calm before the indigestion...




On this summer day, 38-year old mega-eater Joey Chestnut (aka "Jaws," aka "The G.O.A.T.") had a lot on his plate. While the pressure remained on his shoulders (and stomach) to maintain his hegemony over the field of competitive eating and massage the fitness of his international legend, he also arrived to defend his crown yet again on Independence Day with, essentially, one leg tied behind his back.

As usual, Chestnut was tasked with winning (this time) a *15th* Mustard Yellow Belt in order to regain his edge over Rafa Nadal and his newly-enhanced career record for titles at a single major event at Roland Garros, as well as once more seeking to top *himself* after breaking his own competition mark a year ago by consuming 76 hot dogs and buns in ten minutes en route to the championship. Added to the already full '22 menu was an issue of injury.

Chestnut arrived in New York for the holiday weekend on crutches after having broken his leg earlier in the year, then injuring himself again and now being forced to wear a walking boot while dealing with a lingering ankle tendon issue. As a result of all this, he wasn't "munch tough," having missed many competitions this year and then having lost to the '21 Nathan's runner-up (Geoffrey Esper) when he did compete.



Due to the Covid pandemic, for the past two years the preeminent celebration-of-overconsumption had been forced to abandon its traditional stage. In 2020, an indoor event was held (with plexiglass separating the eaters) at an undisclosed location with no fans, while a limited crowd witnessed the '21 contest 500 steps away from Surf & Stillwell Avenues at Maimonides Park, home of the minor league Brooklyn Cyclones baseball team, with approximately 5000 fans gathered in front of the performance platform and in the stands. But in the noon hour of this day the whole picnic basket, from barker George Shea on down, was back where it belonged.

While the depth of the field facing Chestnut seemed greater this time than in recent years, with Esper being joined by the consistent Nick "Mr. Niki Sudo" Wehry, Aussie James Webb, back-from-a-ten-year-retirement Patrick Bertoletti and 6-foot-9 Nigerian Gidoen Oji, make no mistake, the competition rested -- Ostapenko-style -- on Chestnut's racket gullet.

While a record-breaking performance wasn't in the buns for Chestnut, even a lesser version of his impressive appetite was more than enough to clean the plates of his would-be rivals. But that wasn't the whole story.



Chestnut's 63 dogs and buns mark was well off his best performances in the event, and his winning margin over Esper (47.5) proved to only be 16.5, with Webb coming in third with 41. Chestnut's seventh straight title remains one off his previous string of eight in a row (his reign was briefly interrupted by Matt Stonie in 2015), but title #15 in the event once again puts him atop Nadal on the all-time championships list after the Spaniard's most recent 14th title run in Paris this spring had again made the ongoing contest a dead heat.



But the big story after the event wasn't so much Chestnut's continued dominance, but his takedown -- via chokehold -- of a protester who rushed the stage in the middle of the competition. After Chestnut threw the Darth Vader mask-wearing man to the stage, Shea and the event's security force dragged him off the stage. ESPN never showed or mentioned the incident during the telecast.





Thus, while he didn't break any records today, Chestnut *still* managed to add another chapter to his legend. Not only is he the G.O.A.T. of competitve eating, now he's also the Mike "Mad Dog" Curtis.



Injured, interrupted and sure to be indigested, Chestnut's greatness continues to stand (and eat) alone.

*NATHAN'S HOT DOG EATING MEN'S CHAMPS - since 2000*
2000 Kazutoyo Arai
2001 Takeru Kobayashi
2002 Takeru Kobayashi
2003 Takeru Kobayashi
2004 Takeru Kobayashi
2005 Takeru Kobayashi
2006 Takeru Kobayashi
2007 Joey Chestnut
2008 Joey Chestnut [def. Takeru Kobayashi in 5-dog "Eat-Off"]
2009 Joey Chestnut
2010 Joey Chestnut
2011 Joey Chestnut
2012 Joey Chestnut
2013 Joey Chestnut
2014 Joey Chestnut
2015 Matt Stonie
2016 Joey Chestnut
2017 Joey Chestnut
2018 Joey Chestnut
2019 Joey Chestnut
2020 Joey Chestnut
2021 Joey Chestnut
2022 Joey Chestnut

[competition record]
76 - Joey Chestnut, 2021
75 - Joey Chestnut, 2020 (*-held indoors)
74 - Joey Chestnut, 2018
72 - Joey Chestnut, 2017




Earlier, in the women's competition (streamed live on ESPN3, as it continues to not even get the network stage that the Eric-"Badlands"-Booker-drinks-a-gallon-of-Nathan's-Pink-Lemonade whatever-it-is is awarded), a new/old champion was crowned. And it was a comeback story.



A year ago, seven-time champ Miki Sudo took a break from her reign to become a new parent along with fellow eater Nick Wehry. In 2021, Sudo was part of the ESPN3 broadcast team as, at 37-months pregnant (that's *more* than nine months, FYI), she watched friend and past training partner Michelle Lesco take the crown in her absence.

Tatjana Maria has nothing on Sudo, though, as Miki, even while competing with an injury to her left (shoveling) hand, returned and reclaimed her title with husband Wehry and son Max (Shea announced him as the "smashed banana eating champ of Tampa, Florida") watching from the sidelines, winning her eighth Pink Mustard Belt with a "disappointing" total of 40 hot dogs and buns, well off her record of 48.5 from 2020 (though the men's totals were also uniformly down this year, likely due to the weather conditions).

Lesco finished second with 26, with (Peep Eating champion) Sarah Rodriguez in third with 23 and 1/4.



*NATHAN'S HOT DOG EATING WOMEN'S CHAMPS*
2011 Sonya Thomas
2012 Sonya Thomas
2013 Sonya Thomas
2014 Miki Sudo
2015 Miki Sudo
2016 Miki Sudo
2017 Miki Sudo
2018 Miki Sudo
2019 Miki Sudo
2020 Miki Sudo
2021 Michelle Lesco
2022 Miki Sudo

[competition record]
48.5 - Miki Sudo, 2020 (*-held indoors)
45.0 - Sonya Thomas, 2013
41.0 - Miki Sudo, 2017
40.0 - Sonya Thomas, 2011
40.0 - Miki Sudo, 2022







=DAY 8 NOTES=
...while the top half of the draw doesn't have the, hmmm, "variety" of the bottom half -- i.e. its final four group includes three seeds, a former Wimbledon champion and a '21 SW19 quarterfinalist after today's matches, as opposed to a remaining field on the bottom that includes three unseeded first-time slam quarterfinalists -- that doesn't mean it doesn't have its own charm.

After seeing her early season interrupted twice in the past three years (the Covid shutdown came in '20 when she the hottest player on tour, and then she contracted the virus itself this February), #17 Elena Rybakina is still trying to play "catch-up" in her career. But with her serve finding its groove at this Wimbledon, she's making up a lot of lost ground. Today she reached her second career slam QF (w/ '21 RG) with another brilliant serving display against Petra Martic.

Rybakina jumped to a 3-0 lead on the Croat in the opening set, only to see Martic string together a streak of four straight games to pull ahead. But in game #11, on BP, Rybakina's lunging return of a wide second serve sent back a high ball that caught the baseline. Moments later, Rybakina ended the rally that followed with a clean forehand winner into the corner to win the opening set 7-5. Martic wasn't able to pull off a set-extending stretch in the 2nd, though, as Rybakina's serve controlled the flow of play. She never lost a point on her first serve, and dropped just three on serve the entire set, which she served out to win 7-5/6-3. Rybakina won 76% of her first serve points for the match, with her serve speed hitting as high as 122 mph on the radar.



Rybakina, the second Kazakh to reach the Wimbledon last eight ('16 Yaroslava Shvedova), has yet to drop a set through four matches at this tournament.

...a year ago, Ajla Tomljanovic survived her own crazy ride on the Tilt-a-Penko at Wimbledon and rode her momentum all the way to her maiden slam QF. She returned there today with a three-set win over Alize Cornet, who'd been trying to reach the stage for the second time in a major this season after doing so for the first time in Melbourne in her 63rd career slam MD appearance.

Cornet claimed the opening set, and found herself in the thick of the 2nd deep into the action. Serving at 4-4, she led 40/15 but couldn't put away the hold of serve. Tomljanovic got the break and served out the set to force a 3rd. There, the Aussie grabbed an early break and raced to a commanding 5-1 lead. Tomljanovic's cushion allowed her to escape not being able to serve out the match at 5-2. After Cornet saved a pair of MP on serve in game 9, Tomljanovic ended the match with a backhand winner to prevail 4-6/6-4/6-3.



Afterward, Tomljanovic admitted that she didn't really believe she could reproduce her result from a year ago, and said that she'd been angry with her mother because she'd been too nervous to watch her matches, with Ajla believing that she'd likely never get to see her have such success again. Tomljanovic had her mother in the Court 2 stands for this one, though.



...#20 Amanda Anisimova has been this way before, but not at SW19. Her 2019 semifinal run in Paris as a 17-year old was just three years ago, but so much has happened since then that it feels even longer. 2022 has been something of a re-introduction of the Bannerette to the conversation about the best young players in the game. Now 20, her season, too, has been a work in progress. But Anisimova has consistently found ways around the obstacles -- some personally placed in her path -- over the last six months, and it's now paid off at this Wimbledon with her second career slam QF.

Anisimova ended Harmony Tan's dream run today, taking early break leads (in game 3 in both) in the 1st and 2nd sets and only increasing her lead down the stretch of each en route to a 6-3/6-3 victory.



The handling of Anisimova's next opponent won't be an easy task waiting to happen, but she's faced her at this same stage of a major before, at Roland Garros in 2019. The former #1, just as is the case at this Wimbledon, came into the match having won her last eleven matches in the event. Still, Anisimova was the winner that day.

That player, of course, is...



Today's 4th Rounder between #4 Paula Badosa and defending champ the only women in the '22 draw who won Wimbledon the last time she played it, #16 Simona Halep, was suppoed to be the most competitive match of the day. It turned out to be the most lopsided. But, at the moment, that's just what is "the norm" for Halep, whose 6-1/6-2 win over the Spaniard gives her 11 straight SW19 wins, 19 straight sets won in Wimbledon competition and continues her ongoing process of doing a "reverse Sharapova."

A day after finally making her '22 Centre Court debut, albeit during the 100-year celebration ceremony for the building, Halep was belatedly allowed to actually play a match on the grass there for the first time at this tournament on Day 8. She took to it just like she did in her last match there, when she defeated Serena Williams in the '19 women's final in a performance that Halep called the best of her career.



With her record at Wimbledon now standing at 28-8, we could be less than a week away from wondering if maybe *this* slam will be the one that proves to be the one most closely linked to the memory of Halep's career, not Roland Garros, where she first showcased herself as the tour's (likely) best clay courter and then eventually won her maiden slam crown in 2018. The Romanian's 2019 SW19 title run came almost as something of a surprise, but her reaction to and reverence for the event (and her grass results) makes one wonder, should she win another title at the AELTC, if her Wimbledon history will be what first leaps to mind when we think of her Hall of Fame career years from now.

It wouldn't be the first case of such a surprise late-career "switcheroo" in women's tennis. Maria Sharapova became a star at Wimbledon as a 17 year old, making her name with her '04 title run. But she never won there again, and (after shoulder surgery) remade herself as a top clay courter (on a surface she'd once seemed singularly unsuited for, calling herself "a cow on ice" on the dirt), winning a pair of Roland Garros crowns, while Wimbledon actually turned out to arguably be her "worst" slam over the course of her career (even though she had a *slightly* better winning percentage in London than NYC). Now, at the very least, Sharapova's exploits in Paris stand as her career benchmark, offered up as proof of the greater player she eventually became as opposed to the brilliant flash of light she was on the grass as a teenager.

RG will never be seen as Halep's *fourth*-best major (that'd be the U.S. Open, easily), so the comparison doesn't *completely* hold up, but it could be up for a nice discussion after this weekend if things go a certain way.

...meanwhile, a day after flying off the tracks in singles, Alona Ostapenko stayed alive in *both* doubles competitions. She and Lyudmyla Kichenok defeated Watson/Dart in three sets to reach the WD QF, while the Latvian teamed with Robert Farah to defeat Krunic/Cacic and reach the MX QF, as well.

Elsewhere in MX doubles, Coco Gauff & Jack Sock advanced into the semis, as did Sania Mirza & Mate Pavic. #1 seeds Shibahara/Rojer were taken out by Aussies Ebden/Stosur in the Round of 16.

...in junior play, Roehampton winner and #1 girls seed Liv Hovde allowed just one game to Ukraine's Anastasiya Lopata, joining the likes of Czechs Nikola Bartunkova (#3) and Linda Klimovicova (#16) in advancing to the Round of 16. While the likes of #2 Celine Naef (SUI) and Canadian's #5 Victoria Mboko, #10 Annabelle Xu and #13 Kayla Cross posted 2nd Round wins, #8-seeded Bannerette Qavia Lopez withdrew from the competition, Roehampton finalist (#11) Johanne Christine Svendsen (DEN) was upset by Poland's Olivia Lincer, #4 Nikola Daubnerova (SVK) fell to South African qualifier Isabella Kruger, and the Nottingham junior champ, #6-seeded Aussie Taylah Preston, fell to Taiwanese qualifier Li Yu-Yun in three sets.



...meanwhile, in the pair of WTA 125 events being held this week, the 1st Round of the event in Contrexeville (the other is in Bastad) will feature Dalma Galfi facing off with a player who by all rights *should* still be in Wimbledon playing WD or MX (or both), Kristina Mladenovic.

A loss from the Pastry would (once again) extend (another) losing streak, giving her four L's in a row since taking a challenger title immediately after having won the WD at Roland Garros (cough, cough). Mladenovic started the year at 0-6, and was 2-11 before her good $60K week when her Paris confidence was still pumping through her veins. So, other than that 5-match post-RG moment, she comes into the week just 2-14 in all other events. So I guess one can see why she's prioritizing her singles, right? Right?

I've noted it before, but I will again because it's so nutty. Mladenovic has won *two* majors in '22 (AO MX, RG WD), but chose to not play either discipline at Wimbledon, and instead hasn't won a match *at all* since June 12.






*LADIES' SINGLES QF*
Ajla Tomljanovic/AUS vs. #17 Elena Rybakina/KAZ
#16 Simona Halep/ROU vs. #20 Amanda Anisimova/USA
Marie Bouzkova/CZE vs. #3 Ons Jabeur/TUN
Tatjana Maria/GER vs. Jule Niemeier/GER

*LADIES' DOUBLES QF*
#1 Mertens/Sh.Zhang (BEL/CHN) vs. Klepac/Guarachi (SLO/CHI)
Collins/Krawczyk (USA/USA) vs. #11 Rosolska/Routliffe (POL/NZL)
#8 Aoyama/H-C.Chan (JPN/TPE) vs. #4 L.Kichenok/Ostapenko (UKR/LAT)
#10 Melichar-M./Perez (USA/AUS) vs. #2 Krejcikova/Siniakova (CZE/CZE)

*MIXED DOUBLES QF*
Ebden/Stosur (AUS/AUS) vs. (WC) Barnett/O'Mara (GBR/GBR(
Gauff/Sock (USA/USA) def. (PR) Cornet/Roger-Vasselin (FRA/FRA)
#6 Pavic/Mirza (CRO/IND) def. #4 Dabrowski/Peers (CAN/AUS)
#7 Ostapenko/Farah (LAT/COL) vs. #2 Krawczyk/N.Skupski (USA/GBR)

*GIRLS' SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Liv Hovde/USA vs. #13 Kayla Cross/CAN
Ella Seidel/GER vs. (Q) Li Yu-yun/TPE
(Q) Isabella Kruger/RSA vs. (WC) Mingge Xu/GBR
Olivia Linder/POL vs. #5 Victoria Mboko/CAN
#7 Luca Udvardy/HUN vs. #10 Annabelle Xu/CAN
Rose Marie Nijkamp/NED vs. #3 Nikola Bartunkova/CZE
Hayu Kinoshita/JPN vs. (WC) Jasmine Conway/GBR
#16 Linda Klimovicova/CZE vs. #2 Celine Naef/SUI







...THE WISDOM OF ONS... ON DAY 8:




...I MUST SAY... ON DAY 8:

Patrick M. really has a Robert Walker in "Strangers on a Train" vibe about him when he's shown looking out at Halep during matches, you know?




...ITF UPDATE... ON DAY 8:




...THE ORIGINAL SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER... ON DAY 8:













...YEP... ON DAY 8:




...YEP, TOO (well...)... ON DAY 8:




...YOU KNOW... ON DAY 8:

L.Ron Hubbard created an entire cult based on something less fantastical. I'm just sayin.





...SERIOUSLY, WE'RE BACK TO BRUSHING THIS UNDER THE RUG AGAIN?... ON DAY 8:

















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*RECENT WIMBLEDON "COMEBACK" WINNERS*
2015 Aga Radwanska, POL
2016 Serena Williams/Venus Williams, USA/USA
2017 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2018 Serena Williams, USA
2019 Alona Ostapenko, LAT (MX)
2021 Angelique Kerber, GER
2022 Simona Halep, ROU

*CAREER SLAM SF - ALL-TIME*
52 - Chris Evert
44 - Martina Navratilova
40 - Serena Williams
37 - Steffi Graf
36 - Margaret Court
26 - Billie Jean King
26 - Doris Hart
25 - Louise Brough
24 - Helen Jacobs
23 - Venus Williams

*LOW-SEEDED WIMBLEDON SEMIFINALISTS - Open Era*
#25 - Angelique Kerber, 2021
#25 - Serena Williams, 2018 (RU)
#23 - Lucie Safarova, 2014
#23 - Sabine Lisicki, 2013 (RU)
#23 - Venus Williams, 2007 (W)
#21 - Vera Zvonareva, 2010 (RU)
#20 - Garbine Muguruza, 2015 (RU)
#20 - Kirsten Flipkens, 2013
#18 - Marion Bartoli, 2007 (RU)
#16 - Nathalie Tauziat, 1998 (RU)
#16 - Kathy Rinaldi, 1985
#15 - Marion Bartoli, 2013 (W)
#14 - Garbine Muguruza, 2017 (W)
#14 - Venus Williams, 2005 (W)
#13 - Julia Goerges, 2018
#13 - Aga Radwanska, 2015
#13 - Genie Bouchard, 2014 (RU)
#13 - Maria Sharapova, 2004 (W)
#12 - Alona Ostapenko, 2018
#12 - Kimiko Date, 1996
#12 - Billie Jean King, 1982
#11 - Serena Williams, 2019 (RU)
#11 - Angelique Kerber, 2018 (W)
#11 - Bettina Bunge, 1982
#10 - Venus Williams, 2017 (RU)
#10 - Gabriela Sabatini, 1986
#10 - Billie Jean King, 1983

*WIMBLEDON FIRST-TIME SLAM SF 2010*
2010 Petra Kvitova/CZE, Tsvetana Pironkova/BUL
2011 Petra Kvitova/CZE (W), Sabine Lisicki/GER
2012 Aga Radwanska, POL (RU)
2013 Kirsten Flipkens, BEL
2014 Lucie Safarova, CZE
2015 Garbine Muguruza, ESP (RU)
2016 Elena Vesnina, RUS
2017 Magdalena Rybarikova, SVK
2018 Julia Goerges, GER
2019 Barbora Strycova/CZE, Elina Svitolina/UKR
2020 DNP
2021 Aryna Sabalenka, BLR

*2022 WI FINAL 8*
[by career slam QF]
16 - Simona Halep
3 - Ons Jabeur
2 - Amanda Anisimova
2 - Elena Rybakina
2 - Ajla Tomljanovic
1 - Marie Bouzkova
1 - Tatjana Maria
1 - Julie Niemeier
[by career WI QF]
5 - Simona Halep
2 - Ons Jabeur
2 - Ajla Tomljanovic
1 - Amanda Anisimova
1 - Marie Bouzkova
1 - Tatjana Maria
1 - Julie Niemeier
1 - Elena Rybakina
[w/ consecutive slam QF]
2 - none
[w/ consecutive WI QF]
2 - Ons Jabeur
2 - Ajla Tomljanovic
1 - Simona Halep (+1 '19; DNP '21)
[2022 slam QF - unseeded]
AO - Alize Cornet/FRA
AO - Kaia Kanepi/EST
AO - Madison Keys/USA
RG - Sloane Stephens/USA
RG - Martina Trevisan/ITA
WI - Marie Bouzkova/CZE
WI - Tatjana Maria/GER
WI - Julie Niemeier/GER
WI - Ajla Tomljanovic/AUS
[2022 1st-time GS QF]
AO - Alize Cornet/FRA
RG - Veronika Kudermetova/RUS
WI - Marie Bouzkova/CZE
WI - Tatjana Maria/GER
WI - Julie Niemeier/GER
[2022 slam QF]
2 - Jessie Pegula (AO/RG)
2 - Iga Swiatek (AO/RG)
[2022 slam QF - by nation]
7...USA (3/3/1) - Anisimova
2...AUS (1/0/1) - Tomljanovic
2...CZE (1/0/1) - Bouzkova
2...GER (0/0/2) - Maria,Niemeier
2...POL (1/1/0)
2...RUS (0/2/0)
1...CAN (0/1/0)
1...EST (1/0/0)
1...FRA (1/0/0)
1...ITA (0/1/0)
1...KAZ (0/0/1) - Rybakina
1...ROU (0/0/1) - Halep
1...TUN (0/0/1) - Jabeur
[WTA career slam QF - active]
54...Serena Williams, USA
39...Venus Williams, USA
17...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
16...Simona Halep, ROU
16...Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
13...Petra Kvitova, CZE
11...Angelique Kerber, GER
9...Karolina Pliskova, CZE
8...Madison Keys, USA
8...Garbine Muguruza, ESP
8...Elina Svitolina, UKR
7...Sara Errani, ITA
7...Kaia Kanepi, EST
7...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
7...Sloane Stephens, USA
7...Samantha Stosur, AUS
6...Vera Zvonareva, RUS
5...Sabine Lisicki, GER
[WTA slam QF & W/L in 2020's - 10 events]
4 - Barty (3-1)
4 - Swiatek (3-1)
3 - Halep (1-1) *
3 - Jabeur (0-2) *
3 - Krejcikova (1-2)
3 - Pegula (0-3)
2 - Brady (2-0)
2 - Collins (1-1)
2 - Fernandez (1-1)
2 - Gauff (1-1)
2 - Kenin (2-0)
2 - Kvitova (1-1)
2 - Muchova (1-1)
2 - Osaka (2-0)
2 - Pavlyuchenkova (1-1)
2 - Ka.Pliskova (1-1)
2 - Rybakina (0-1) *
2 - Sabalenka (2-0)
2 - Sakkari (2-0)
2 - Svitolina (0-2)
2 - Tomljanovic (0-1) *
2 - Trevisan (1-1)
2 - S.Williams (2-0)
1 - Anisimova (0-0) *
1 - Azarenka (1-0)
1 - Badosa (0-1)
1 - Bencic (0-1)
1 - Bouzkova (0-0) *
1 - Cornet (0-1)
1 - Golubic (0-1)
1 - Hsieh (0-1)
1 - Kanepi (0-1)
1 - Kasatkina (1-0)
1 - Kerber (1-0)
1 - Keys (1-0)
1 - Kontaveit (0-1)
1 - V.Kudermetova (0-1)
1 - Maria (0-0) *
1 - Mertens (0-1)
1 - Muguruza (1-0)
1 - Niemeier (0-0) *
1 - Pironkova (0-1)
1 - Podoroska (1-0)
1 - Putintseva (0-1)
1 - Raducanu (1-0)
1 - Rogers (0-1)
1 - Siegemund (0-1)
1 - Stephens (0-1)
1 - Zidansek (1-0)
--
* - to play QF
[WTA slam QF by nation in 2020's - 10 slams/80]
17 - USA (1)
10 - CZE (1)
6 - AUS (1)
4 - GER (2)
4 - POL
4 - RUS
3 - BLR
3 - KAZ (1)
3 - ROU (1)
3 - TUN (1)
2 - CAN
2 - ESP
2 - EST
2 - GRE
2 - ITA
2 - JPN
2 - SUI
2 - UKR
1 - ARG,BEL,BUL,FRA,GBR,SLO,TPE




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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 (3r)
PROTECTED RANKING WINS: Elisabetta Cocciaretto/ITA, Kirsten Flipkens/BEL, Yanina Wickmayer/BEL(Q) (all to 2r)
LAST BRIT STANDING: Heather Watson (4r)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: Harmony Tan/FRA Additional Nominees: Bouzkova, Rybakina, Tomljanovic, (non-de Groot WC)
IT "??": Nominees: Jabeur, Niemeier, Rybakina, Anisimova
COMEBACK PLAYER: Simona Halep/ROU
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): Tatjana Maria/GER and Alize Cornet/FRA
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Nominees: Canadians
SPIRIT OF JANA (NOVOTNA) HONOREES: Nominee: Bouzkova (CZE in 1st QF), Halep (champion's return), Anisimova (back from adversity)






All for Day 8. More tomorrow.
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