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Friday, September 9, 2022

US.11- Ons for Art's Sake


With both of the U.S. Open's women's semifinals scheduled for the night session, Thursday took on a rather lopsided appearance. But that was nothing compared to the first match beween #5 Ons Jabeur and #17 Caroline Garcia.



Despite Jabeur's 6-0 career mark over the Pastry, 4-0 in juniors and 2-0 as pros, their meeting seemed to be an example of a compelling match-up of styles, with Garcia's recently-rekindled full-force attack having displayed a brilliant beauty all summer while Wimbledon finalist Jabeur's detailed slight of hand continued to come off as something akin to art. Garcia had run through Coco Gauff in her previous round, while Jabeur had struggled with her form in a victory over Ajla Tomljanovic. One thought that the two might meet in the middle for a fascinating battle of wits and wills.

But instead of such drama what was produced was a lopsided affair in which Garcia never really found a way to play the aggressive game that had helped her compile a 31-4 record in her previous 35 matches, with titles on grass, clay and hard courts. Instead, the French woman bounced between being too tentative (during rallies) and too stubborn, continuing to move inside the court, as she had to such great success vs. Gauff to return serve, even while Jabeur was uncharactistically pounding serves and tying up Garcia's attempts to take control of rallies from the first ball struck.

Jabeur claimed the opening set in just 23 minutes, taking it 6-1 while firing six aces and winning 90% of her first serves, not facing a BP while converting all three she saw on Garcia's serve.

Garcia's ace to hold for 1-1 amounted to a lifeline that kept her from falling off a cliff in the 2nd. Still, soon Jabeur led 3-1, as the Tunisian was by now seeming to riff on the court like she was producing a Jackson Pollock-style drip painting on the public square with her racket her only necessary tool.

Trying to hold on for dear life in what remained in the match, Garcia suddenly made a practice of rushing the net in game #5 after Jabeur look a 30/love lead on serve. She got the game to deuce, the first of the Tunisian's service games to be so close in the match. But a Jabeur shot bounced off the net cord and over Garcia's racket in the game's seventh point, giving Jabeur a GP which she then converted to lead 4-1.

Garcia got to deuce on Jabeur's serve again two games later, but again didn't reach BP as the match moved closer to its conclusion.

Serving for her second straight slam final at 5-3, Jabeur fired a forehand passing shot past Garcia to lead 30/15. A wide serve and put-away at the net gave her a MP, and Garcia's return error ended the 6-1/6-3 match. For the night, Jabeur won 83% of her first serves, and Garcia never saw a BP chance.



At the conclusion of the match, Jabeur lay spread eagle on the court on Ashe, staring up into the sky. When she sat up she'd left behind a sweat-stained silhouette of her presence on the surface, though one might say it just as easily could have been framed and hung in one of New York's many art galleries.

As Garcia quickly exited for the lockerroom, maybe the image of Ons was imprinted on the Pastry's pysche, too. Either way, the result was the same. Yet again, Jabeur is but one step away from another historic accomplishment.




=DAY 11 NOTES=
...as it turned out, the battle of wits and (even more so) will played out in the second semi between #1 Iga Swiatek and #6 Aryna Sabalenka.

There, after becoming well known this season for her series of dominating victories, Swiatek reminded us that at times in '22 she's shown that she can "win ugly," as well. Having come into New York with lessened expectations after a lackluster Wimbledon and summer (clay and) hard court stretch following her second win in Paris, Swiatek hadn't always been at her best in this U.S. Open but had still managed to reach the QF with barely a scratch on her. The storyline played out again in tonight's semi, as the Pole took the best (big) shots of her opponent, wobbled a bit for a time, but came out on the other end of the experience proving herself to be the more battle-ready of two.

Sabalenka's big game pushed Swiatek around early in the match, as the world #1 appeared to be trying to find her way. The Belarusian kept Swiatek on the run, preventing her from being able to find winning angles within rallies, while Sabalenka played within herself and built her lead. She took the 1st 6-3, ending Swiatek's 6-set winning streak vs. Top 10 competition.

Swiatek's bathroom break between sets provided her with a moment to reflect and regroup (and literally relieve herself, as she noted in her post-match interview before apologizing for being "disgusting"), and she burst into the 2nd set with a new belief.

Serving better, while Sabalenka's serve began to show cracks, Swiatek backed up a game 1 break at love with a love hold of her own. She held again at love two games later. In a crucial game, Sabalenka DF'd on one GP, then missed a down the line shot on another, before ultimately being broken again to fall behind 4-1. Serving down 5-1, another Sabalenka GP double-fault paved the way for a set-ending break as Swiatek took the 2nd 6-1.

In the decider, Sabalenka wouldn't be *quite* as generous, as the two engaged in a battle of shifting momentum in which it was the Pole's fight that made the difference down the stretch.

In the 3rd, Sabalenka reasserted herself early on, quickly grabbing a love/40 lead in a poorly played Swiatek service game and getting the break, then holding for 2-0. The Belarusian's big groundstrokes continued to impact the set's early going, but the world #1 dug in. She took a love/30 lead in the fourth game with a sliding backhand pass from behind the baseline, and got the break back with a big return that handcuffed Sabalenka and knotted the score at 2-2.

Sabalanka then took her turn, utilizing a big return with an accompanying drop shot and volley winner en route to another break to go ahead 3-2. The Belarusian fired a serve up the T that produced a Swiatek return error, taking a 4-2 lead and moving within two games of her first slam final. But it would turn out to be as close as she'd get.

With the final looming, Swiatek buckled down on serve. Meanwhile, Sabalenka framed a forehand to trail love/30 in game 8, fired a forehand long a point later and was broken at love, leveling the score again at 4-4. Swiatek led 30/love a game later, but Sabalenka's big groundies moved her from side to side until the Belarusian put away a crosscourt winner to tie the score at 30-all. But consecutive backhand errors squandered the chance, and Swiatek, after seemingly fighting from behind all night long, held for 5-4 to take her first official lead in the match.

Suddenly serving to stay in the match, Sabalenka DF'd to fall behind love/30. Swiatek miss-hit an overhead a point later, but had given herself enough margin of error that it still managed to stay inside the lines and give her triple MP. It all ended on the next point, with Swiatek breaking at love to win the match 3-6/6-1/6-4, taking 16 of the final 20 points as she won her ninth straight match vs. a Top 10 opponent.



Sabalenka's three slam semifinal losses have now all come in three-setters, as she remains tantalizing close to finally kicking down her next career accomplishment door.

Having already won two major titles while mostly playing from ahead on a surface that suits her best, Swiatek has now found a way to win from behind on a surface (and w/ tennis balls) that gives her troubles to become the first Polish woman in the Open era to reach the U.S. Open final (though Jadwiga Jedrzejowska did it in 1937, one of three slam finals in which she appeared in the 1930s).

Not satisfied with simply being the world #1 with a couple of slam titles in her back pocket, Swiatek clearly has the will and desire to survive and thrive, peeling back a few more layers of the proverbial onion in the still early stages of her career. Another scheduled reveal could come this Saturday.



...in Thursday's women's doubles semifinal, #3-seeded Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova inched one round closer to history. The reigning Australian Open and Wimbledon champs outlasted #10 Melichar-Martinez/Perez in three sets, sending the Czechs into their seventh career slam final where they could complete a Career Slam *and* become the first female duo to ever win all four majors, the WTAF and Olympic Gold. Their opponent will be decided tomorrow.



...in what will be their first of two doubles SF meetings this week, Storm Sanders (w/ John Peers, the #4 seeds) defeated Caty McNally (w/ William Blumberg) in a 10-8 MTB to reach the MX final, where the Aussies will take on Kirsten Flipkens & Eduoard Roger-Vasselin. Tomorrow, Sanders (w/ Caroline Dolehide) and McNally (w/ Taylor Townsend) will face off again with a berth in the WD final on the line.

...the junior quarterfinals cut down the girls' field to four, with reigning RG junior champ (#2 seed) Lucie Havlickova still with a chance to become the first to win titles in Paris and New York in the same season since Magdalena Maleeva in 1990. Havlickova defeated the last remaining Bannerette, Clervie Ngounoue, today.

The remaining three semifinalists have all reached this stage of a major before, but fell short of reaching a slam junior final. Havlickova will face #7-seeded Russian Diana Shnaider ('21 RG jr. SF), who defeated Brit Ranah Akua Stoiber. The other semi will feature #9-seeded Canadian Victoria Mboko ('22 WI jr. SF), who defeated #3 Celine Naef in a 7-5 3rd set, against #10 Alex Eala ('20 RG SF) of the Philippines, who knocked off #14 Mirra Andreeva.

...three of the top four wheelchair seeds have reached the semifinals. #1 Diede de Groot won her 63rd straight match when Momoko Ohtani retired after one set. She'll face countrywoman and doubles partner Aniek Van Koot, as the #3 seed defeated Katharina Kruger.

#2 Yui Kamiji dropped just one game to KG Montjane (her doubles partner), and will next face former #1 Jiske Griffioen, who defeated Manami Tanaka.




*WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#1 Iga Swiatek/POL vs. #5 Ons Jabeur/TUN

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES SF*
#3 Krejickova/Siniakova (CZE/CZE) def. #10 Melichar-Martinez/Perez (USA/AUS)
#12 Dolehide/Sanders (USA/AUS) vs. McNally/Townsend (USA/USA)

*MIXED DOUBLES FINAL*
#4 Sanders/Peers (AUS/AUS) vs. (PR) Flipkens/Roger-Vasselin (BEL/FRA)

*WHEELCHAIR WOMEN'S SINGLES SF*
#1 Diede de Groot/NED vs. #3 Aniek Van Koot/NED
Jiske Griffioen/NED vs. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN

*WHEELCHAIR WOMEN'S DOUBLES SF*
#1 de Groot/Van Koot (NED/NED) vs. Tanaka/Zhu (JPN/CHN)
Griffioen/Ohtani (NED/JPN) vs. #2 Kamiji/Montjane (JPN/RSA)

*GIRLS SINGLES SF*
#10 Alex Eala/PHI vs. #9 Victoria Mboko/CAN
#7 Diana Shnaider/RUS vs. #2 Lucie Havlickova/CZE

*GIRLS DOUBLES QF*
#1 Havlickova/Shnaider (CZE/RUS) vs. Milic/Rowinska (SLO/POL)
#3 Hovde/Preston (USA/AUS) vs. (WC) Block/Charney (USA/USA)
Kupres/Stoiber (CAN/GBR) vs. Kuhl/Seidel (GER/GER)
Blokhina/Xu (USA/CAN) vs. Hui/Yu (USA/USA)







...JESSIE ON DAY 11 NIGHT 10:



La Divine would approve.



...TRYING TO IMAGINE THE SOUND FROM INSIDE THE COLLECTIVE HEAD OF SERENA NATION WHEN MARIA SHARAPOVA SHOWED UP FOR AN IN-MATCH INTERVIEW (and to co-commentate for a few games) ON ESPN DURING THE JABEUR/GARCIA MATCH... ON DAY 11:

Noooooooooooooooooo!

(Heh-heh)




I've never really contemplated Sharapova as a commentating prospect with her busy schedule. But, hey, who knows? Maybe she could open up two weeks in her schedule for a trip to New York at some point in the future.

I never really considered Caroline Wozniacki in that role, either. But I've actually come to enjoy listening to her do matches.










On a somber day (for many) in the U.K., a British turn on U.S. summer music hits. Including 1983's "Every Breath You Take" from the Police (performed at Live Aid 1985 by Sting, with Phil Collins), David Bowie's "Fame" (1975; performed in 1978), and Elton John's "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" (1984; performed in 1988).

















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*MOST WTA FINALS in 2022*
7 - IGA SWIATEK, POL (6-0) *
6 - ONS JABEUR, TUN (2-3) *
3 - Caroline Garcia, FRA (3-0)
3 - Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA (2-1)
3 - Anett Kontaveit, EST (1-2)
3 - Veronika Kudermetova, RUS (0-3)

*2022 WTA FINALS by NATION (w/ titles)*
12 (5) - USA
10 (5) - RUS
7 (6) - POLAND (Swiatek)
6 (2) - TUNISIA (Jabeur)
5 (2) - CZE
4 (3) - ROU
4 (2) - BRA
4 (1) - EST
4 (0) - BLR
3 (2) - AUS,FRA
2 (2) - GER
2 (1) - CAN,CHN,KAZ,LAT,SUI
2 (0) - GRE,ITA,SRB
1 (1) - CRO,ESP
1 (0) - COL,JPN,SLO,UKR

*2020-22 SLAM FINALISTS - BY NATION (w/ titles)*
5 - USA (1-4)
3 - POLAND (2-0) *
2 - AUS (2-0)
2 - JPN (2-0)
2 - CZE (1-1)
2 - TUNISIA (0-1) *
1 - GBR (1-0)
1 - KAZ (1-0)
1 - BLR (0-1)
1 - CAN (0-1)
1 - ESP (0-1)
1 - RUS (0-1)

*SLAM FINALS IN 2020's*
3 - IGA SWIATEK, POL (2-0) *
2 - Ash Barty, AUS (2-0)
2 - Naomi Osaka, JPN (2-0)
2 - Sofia Kenin, USA (1-1)
2 - ONS JABEUR, TUN (0-1) *
1 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (1-0)
1 - Emma Raducanu, GBR (1-0)
1 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ (1-0)
1 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR (0-1)
1 - Jennifer Brady, USA (0-1)
1 - Danielle Collins, USA (0-1)
1 - Leylah Fernandez, CAN (0-1)
1 - Coco Gauff, USA (0-1)
1 - Garbine Muguruza, ESP (0-1)
1 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS (0-1)
1 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (0-1)

*OLDEST FIRST-TIME SLAM CHAMPS*
33y,199d - Flavia Pennetta, 2015 U.S. Open
29y,346d - Francesca Schiavone, 2010 Roland Garros
29y,275d - Jana Novotna, 1998 Wimbledon
29y,154d - Kerry Melville-Reid, 1977 Australian Open
29y,98d - Li Na, 2011 Roland Garros
28y,277d - Marion Bartoli, 2013 Wimbledon
28y,12d - Angelique Kerber, 2016 Australian Open
27y,200d - Caroline Wozniacki, 2018 Australian Open
26y,255d - Simona Halep, 2018 Roland Garros
26y,207d - Amelie Mauresmo, 2006 Australian Open
26y,165d - Samantha Stosur, 2011 U.S. Open
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NOTE: Jabeur (28y,1w)

*RG/US FINALS IN SEASON - since 2000*
2002 Serena Williams, USA (W-W)
2002 Venus Williams, USA (L-L)
2003 Justine Henin, BEL (W-W)
2003 Kim Clijsters, BEL (L-L)
2004 Elena Dementieva, RUS (L-L)
2005 Mary Pierce, FRA (L-L)
2006 Justine Henin, BEL (W-L)
2007 Justine Henin, BEL (W-W)
2013 Serena Williams, USA (W-W)
2022 Iga Swiatek, POL (W-?)

*WI/US FINALS IN SEASON - since 2000*
2000 Venus Williams, USA (W-W)
2000 Lindsay Davenport, USA (L-L)
2001 Venus Williams, USA (W-W)
2002 Serena Williams, USA (W-W)
2002 Venus Williams, USA (L-L)
2006 Justine Henin, BEL (L-L)
2008 Serena Williams, USA (L-W)
2010 Vera Zvonareva, RUS (L-L)
2012 Serena Williams, USA (W-W)
2016 Angelique Kerber, GER (L-W)
2018 Serena Williams, USA (L-L)
2019 Serena Williams, USA (L-L)
2022 Ons Jabeur, TUN (L-?)







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TOP QUALIFIER: Sara Bejlek/CZE (16; youngest in MD)
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): Serena Williams/USA (PR/#413; def. #2 Kontaveit; into 3rd Rd. at age 40) and Liudmila Samsonova/RUS (off back-to-back titles; def. '21 RU Fernandez 2r; 12 con. wins/14 con. sets)
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #17 Caroline Garcia/FRA
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): 1st Rd. - (Q) Daria Snigur/UKR def. #7 Simona Halep/ROU 6-2/0-6/6-4 (#124-ranked qualifier gets upset in slam debut)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 3rd Rd. -#21 Petra Kvitova/CZE def. #9 Garbine Muguruza/ESP 5-7/6-3/7-6(10) (Mugu wins 1st from 4-2; Mugu up 5-2 in 3rd, and Kvitova saves 2 MP at 6-5, then won 12-10 MTB on own MP #4)
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 (2r), Serena Williams/USA (3r)
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: #7 Simona Halep/ROU (1r- lost to #124-ranked qualifier Snigur/UKR in slam MD debut)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK: #6 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR (2nd Rd. - trailed Kanepi 6-2/5-1, Kanepi twice for match and 2 MP in 2nd set TB)
IT ("??"): Nominee: Jabeur, (jr.)
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: Nominees: Jabeur, (WC)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Clara Burel/FRA and Yuan Yue/CHN (both 3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Elli Mandlik/USA (2nd Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: Coco Gauff/USA and Jessie Pegula/USA (both QF)
COMEBACK: Nominees: Rodina, Garcia, Griffioen (WC), Townsend
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Alize Cornet/FRA (63rd con. slam; def. DC Raducanu 1r)
DOUBLES STAR: Nominees: McNally, Sanders, Krejickova/Siniakova, Flipkens
BIG APPLE BANNERETTE BREAKTHROUGH: Nominees: Mandlik, McNally, Dolehide
BROADWAY-BOUND: "Danimal After Dark" (Danielle Collins/USA - all four matches in night session)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Serena Williams: The End
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x







All for Day 11. More tomorrow.
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