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Wednesday, August 31, 2022

US.3- Enter the Dragons


The young crop of Chinese players may not currently be competing on the WTA tour with the same sort of eye-popping numbers (or results) as, say, the Czechs, but make no mistake that the "Li Na Generation" that were likely part of the group of athletes pointed in the direction of tennis (rather than the various other racket sports in which the nation often thrives) by the great success of China's lone grand slam singles title winner in the 2010's are not just coming on the distant horizon. The early arrivals are already here.

And today it was Wang Xiyu's turn to introduce herself.



At the moment, the young Chinese tennis dragon is essentially a three-headed beast.

19-year old Zheng Qinwen has already made a name for herself (and a nickname -- QUEENwen) in '22, reaching her maiden tour SF in January (losing to Simona Halep), climbing into the Top 40, upsetting Halep (gotcha) and pushing Iga Swiatek to the limit at Roland Garros, knocking off Sloane Stephens at Wimbledon and, in Toronto, defeating home favorite Bianca Andreescu and #5 Ons Jabeur. Yesterday, she defeated #16 Alona Ostapenko, popping off 20 aces.

The Wangs -- Xiyu and Xinyu, both 21 but of no relation -- teamed to win the '18 Wimbledon girls doubles crown, but have yet to quite reach the heights of the looks-like-a-superstar-to-be Zheng. Xinyu has won a $100K challenger, reached at WTA 125 final and done well on tour in doubles, but she's currently in a bad spell in tour-level matches, as her 1st Round exit at Flushing Meadows (naturally, to one of the Crush of Czechs, Linda Fruhvirtova) was her seventh straight loss in a WTA event.

Xiyu, at #75, entered this slam as the #3-ranked Chinese player, behind #39 Zheng and #36-ranked veteran Zhang Shuai (who also got a win today over Schmiedy herself, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova). The 2018 U.S. Open girls singles champ, Wang was the first of the group to reach a tour-level semi, in pre-pandemic Acapulco in 2020. Like most Chinese players in '20, she didn't play a match from March until December. During that time, Zheng's big game seemed to surpass her own by the time the '21 campaign was up and rolling. As last season ended, Zheng seemed on the cusp of something far greater than before, and so has been the case.

Wang got right back on things to start '22, posting her maiden slam MD win in January in Melbourne. By June, she'd made her Top 100 debut (putting all three of the young Chinese players there for the first time), and faced off with Zheng in a 125 final in Valencia (Zheng won in three). A win over Barbora Krejcikova in Budapest preceded a QF run, which soon begat a 6-3 North American hard court record heading into the Open, with a SF in Washington (def. Vika Azarenka) and QF in Granby setting the stage for her 1st Round Open upset of Diane Parry.

But today was Wang's first time to truly shine, facing off and defeating #3-ranked Maria Sakkari on Louis Armstrong Stadium court to record her first career Top 10 win, using her forehand to take control of the match and send the '21 U.S. Open semifinalist packing by winning out in a tight battle down the stretch, overcoming having lost a 4-1 2nd set lead to pull ahead after Sakkari had won 4 of 5 games, and then staging a comeback from 3-1 down in the 3rd to the Greek, getting the set back on serve and then pulling off a match-ending break to win 3-6/7-5/7-5 and reach her first career slam 3rd Round.



The loss means that Sakkari, though she improved upon her '21 slam results in Melbourne (1r-->4r) and London (2r-->3r) this season, fell back considerably in trying to defend *both* of her big SF runs from last year in Paris and New York, going out in the 2nd Round on both occasions.

Wang can still only dream of such results to defend at this point, but she's also just at the start of this journey. Just like the still-growing promise -- and presence -- of the Li Na Generation in women's tennis.

So much talk at this slam has been about the *passages* of eras and *farewells* to great players. One can make a case that we should set aside more -- or at least as much -- time to ponder the arrivals, hellos and dreamers of the future. I'm just sayin'.




=DAY 3 NOTES=
...before the expected craziness of the night session, work was to be done in the daylight.

Ons Jabeur hasn't yet been given a proper spotlight at this slam, but the #5 seed became one of the first players through to the 3rd Round on Wednesday, defeating wild card Elli Mandlik 7-5/6-2. To date. the U.S. Open is the only major at which the Tunisian has yet to reach the second week, having now played into the 3rd Round there in consecutive years.

Meanwhile, Mandlik's debut home slam ends in the 2nd Round (she was still the Last Wild Card Standing, as Peyton Stearns lost in the resumption of her 1st Round match vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova), one round short of where the first appearance of her mother (Hana Mandlikova) came to an end. Mandlikova's 3rd Round result in 1978 was followed up two years later by her first final in New York, and seven years after that with a storied title run in 1985.

...later in the afternoon, veteran Bannerettes took aim at a pair of Camilas.

Camila Osorio has an impressive three-set record in her young tour career, but it wasn't enough to hold off #29-seeded Alison Riske-Amritraj in a three-hour plus battle today.

The Colombian led 4-1 in the 3rd, but saw the veteran Bannerette win four straight games, forcing the Colombian to have to hold to stay in the match at 5-5 and then again (after saving 4 MP) two games later. In the deciding MTB, Riske raced to a 5-1 lead and won 10-5, advancing to the 3rd Round at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2013. She has now also reached the 3rd Round at back-to-back majors for the first time since that same season (also a WI/US combo).

Riske's countrywoman, #20 Madison Keys has yet to star in any of her customary "Late Night with Madison" matches in New York this year, but she's still being taken to the limit.

After winning the 1st set against Camila Giorgi today, Keys saw the Italian force a 3rd and lead it 5-2. Giorgi served for the win at 5-3, but would never get closer than two points to the victory the rest of the match. Keys got the break, then seized control, acing to hold for 5-5. Giorgi held Keys back from a potential closing sweep, saving BP to hold for 6-5. After another Keys hold, the former Open finalist ran out to a 4-0 lead in the MTB. She ultimately took it 10-6 to win 6-4/5-7/7-6(6), picking up her 26th career U.S. Open match win. The victory makes her home slam where Keys has won more times than at any other major, breaking a tie with the Australian Open.

Keys was a semifinalist in Melbourne in 2015 and this year, while she posted RU/SF results in New York in 2017-18.

...Riske and Keys weren't the only Bannerettes forced to close out wins in tie-breaks today, but at least #12 Coco Gauff didn't have the pressure of *having* to win hers in order to survive. The 18-year old won the 1st over Gabriela Ruse, but found herself down a break to the Romanian in the 2nd. Gauff got the set back on serve before finishing it off with a TB victory to win 6-2/7-6(4).



Gauff's 3rd Round result (so far) matches her best result in New York, where she debuted with a 3rd Round run in 2019 at age 15. She lost under the lights that year to Naomi Osaka, the match where Osaka pulled her out to address the crowd one year after *she* had been overshadowed while defeating Serena Williams in the '18 final.

...Simona Halep's loss turned out to be Rebecca Marino's gain, as the Canadian continued her interrupted and belated climb back through the tennis ranks by taking out Daria Snigur, the Ukrainian qualifier who upset the #7-seeded Romanian on Day 1.



Marino led 6-3/5-3 before things got complicated, She failed to serve out the match at 5-4 as Snigur ran off three straight games and ultimately forced a TB. Marino won it 7-5, reaching the 3rd Round at Flushing Meadows for the first time, and at *any* major for the first time since Roland Garros in 2011 (in her what was her third career major MD).

Within two years of that '11 result, Marino was out of the sport for five years, dealing with depression before finally deciding to pick up her tennis career again in 2018. It's been a slow, deliberate climb, but the 31-year old earlier this season returned to the Top 100 for the first time in ten years. She entered this Open at #106, and should now be assured of a post-event ranking (likely inside the Top 90, or better) that will be her best since February 2012. She was as high as #38 in 2011 before she walked away.

...meanwhile, after the stat was sidelined during Wimbledon, this is the moment where it's noted that #18 seed Veronika Kudermetova's win tooday over Maryna Zanevska means that a Russian has advanced to the 3rd Round of 86 of the last 88 slams (in which they were eligible, of course).

...thus far, the women have been dominating the night sessions. I mean, Serena on Night 1, then Cornet/Raducanu *and* Collins/Osaka on Night 2? Things don't look as if they'll change on Night 3.

Part 2 of the (apparent?) final act of the Serena Farewell Tour (really, she should come out and say she's changed her mind, just to mess with the masses) continues as Williams faces #2-seed Anett Kontaveit. Should we get the result that most expect, the casuals (aka *everyone* on the regular ESPN who doesn't cover tennis, including, of course, PTI) will act as if some monumental thing has happened, but anyone "who knows" will just shake their heads and say, "it's Kontaveit in a slam... what did you expect? As long as Serena is ambulatory, she *should* win." If not, this whole thing has been a mirage, anyway.

The other women's night match could be even more interesting, as #15 Beatriz Haddad Maia faces off with '19 champ Bianca Andreescu on Armstrong. If things go a certain way, it could finish in the wee hours of the morning.





...AS THE SERENA OPEN PLAYS OUT... ON DAY 3:

I do NOT disagree with this.




...MEANWHILE... ON DAY 3:




...REALIZED ON... ON DAY 3:

That when I hear the name "Giorgi" I now think of this...












Not surprisingly, Taylor Swift has had a slew of summer hits that overlapped with the U.S. Open. She just announced the upcoming release of a new album of music, so here’s a look back... with "Change" (2008), "You Belong with Me" (2009), "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" (2012) and, naturally, "Shake it Off" (2014).
















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And, we're back...








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**RECENT U.S. OPEN "LAST WILD CARD STANDING" WINNERS**
2010 Beatrice Capra, USA & Virginie Razzano, FRA (3rd)
2011 Sloane Stephens, USA (3rd Rd.)
2012 Mallory Burdette/USA & Kristina Mladenovic/FRA (3rd)
2013 Alison Riske, USA (4th Rd.)
2014 Nicole Gibbs, USA (3rd Rd.)
2015 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA (3rd Rd.)
2016 L.Davis/USA, K.Day/USA, V.King/USA (3rd Rd.)
2017 Maria Sharapova, RUS (4th Rd.)
2018 Victoria Azarenka, BLR (3rd Rd.)
2019 Kristie Ahn, USA (4th Rd.)
2020 C.Bellis/USA, K.Scott/USA & S.Vickery/USA (2nd Rd.)
2021 0-8 in 1st Rd.
2022 Elli Mandlik, USA (2nd Rd.)
[2022]
AO: Maddison Inglis, AUS (3rd)
RG: Dasha Saville/AUS and Leolia Jeanjean/FRA (3rd)
WI: Katie Boulter, GBR (3rd)
US: Elli Mandlik, USA (2nd Rd.)

**BACKSPIN 2022 RISERS-OF-THE-MONTH WINNERS**
JAN (pre-AO): Paula Badosa, ESP
AO: Danielle Collins, USA
FEB: Anett Kontaveit, EST
MAR: Paula Badosa, ESP
1Q...BADOSA, ESP
APR: Belinda Bencic, SUI
MAY: Ons Jabeur, TUN
RG: Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
2Q Clay Court...JABEUR, TUN
JUN: Ekaterina Alexandrova, RUS
WI: Ons Jabeur, TUN
2Q Grass Court...HADDAD MAIA, BRA
JUL: Caroline Garcia, FRA
AUG (pre-U.S.): Dasha Kasatkina/RUS and Liudmila Samsonova, RUS
[2022 Multiple Weekly Riser Award Wins]
5 - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
5 - Veronika Kudermetova, RUS
5 - Jessie Pegula, USA
4 - Ons Jabeur, TUN
3 - Paula Badosa, ESP
3 - Marie Bozukova, CZE
2 - Lucia Bronzetti, ITA
2 - Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
2 - Anhelina Kalinina, UKR
2 - Madison Keys, USA
2 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
2 - Alona Ostapenko, LAT
2 - Jasmine Paolini, ITA
2 - Bernarda Pera, USA
2 - Shelby Rogers, USA
2 - Maria Sakkari, GRE
2 - Liudmila Samsonova, RUS
2 - Mayar Sherif, EGY
2 - Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP
2 - Jil Teichmann, SUI
2 - Ajla Tomljanovic, AUS

**BACKSPIN 2022 MOST IMPROVED PLAYERS-OF-THE-MONTH WINNERS**
JAN (pre-AO): Lucia Bronzetti, ITA
AO: Marta Kostyuk, UKR
FEB: Anna Kalinskaya, RUS
MAR: Harriet Dart, GBR
1Q...KALINSKAYA, RUS
APR: Anhelina Kalinina, UKR
MAY: Claire Liu, USA
RG: Jil Teichmann, SUI
2Q Clay Court...TEICHMANN, SUI
JUN: Jodie Burrage, GBR
WI: Marie Bouzkova, CZE
2Q Grass Court...BOUZKOVA, CZE
JUL: Marie Bouzkova, CZE
AUG (pre-U.S.): Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA




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TOP QUALIFIER: Sara Bejlek/CZE (16; youngest in MD)
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q3 - #28 Clara Burel/FRA def. #7 Misaki Doi/JPN 2-6/6-4/7-6(10) - Doi led 6-2/3-1, Burel up 4-2 in 3rd; Burel saves 4 MP at 5-6 down in 3rd (rain before MP #1) and 5th in TB before winning 12-10
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Anna Kalinskaya/RUS (def. Peterson/SWE)
FIRST SEED OUT: #7 Simona Halep/ROU (1st Rd./lost to qualifier Snigur/UKR in slam MD debut; 3rd 1r U.S. exit in last five app.)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Cristina Bucsa/ESP, Linda Fruhvirtova/CZE, Elli Mandlik/USA, Daria Snigur/UKR, Yuan Yue/CHN
PROTECTED RANKING MD WINS: Evgeniya Rodina/RUS, Serena Williams/USA
UPSET QUEENS: China
REVELATION LADIES: Ukraine
NATION OF POOR SOULS: GER veterans (Maria/Petkovic/Siegemund 0-3, pregnant Kerber DNP; Petkovic to retire)
CRASH & BURN: Nominee: #7 Halep (1r)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK: Nominees: Ka.Pliskova (1r- trailed Linette 4-1 3rd; 7-2 MTB lead to 7-8 down, wins 10-8); Burel (saved by rain when MP down in Q3 vs. Doi, saved 5 MP; upsets Wimbledon champ Rybakina in 1st Rd.); Riske-A. (2r- down 4-1 in 3rd vs. Osorio)
IT ("??"): x
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: x
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: in 2r: Bucsa, Burel, L.Fruhvirtova, Kuzmova(L), Snigur(L), Yuan
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Elli Mandlik/USA (2nd Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: in 2r: Collins, Davis, Gauff(W), Keys(W), Mandlik(L), Pegula, Riske-A.(W), Rogers(W), Stephens, S.Williams
COMEBACK: x
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): x
DOUBLES STAR: x
BIG APPLE BANNERETTE BREAKTHROUGH: Nominee: Mandlik
BROADWAY-BOUND: x
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominees: S.Williams, Cornet, Collins
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x







All for Day 3. More tomorrow.
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