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Monday, September 5, 2022

US.7- Preparing for Takeoff?


“Flight attendants, cabin crew and passengers, please take your seats and prepare for takeoff.”




The late New York City mayor David Dinkins, an avid tennis fan, is credited with convincing the Federal Aviation Administration to divert planes departing from La Guardia Airport away from a direct path above Flushing Meadows during the two-week run of the U.S. Open, alleviating the deafening sound of jet engines that often made playing, viewing and broadcasting matches on the courts of the USTA (since named Billie Jean King) National Tennis Center a sometimes-uncomfortable and nearly-untenable situation.

One wonders what Dinkins would make of Caroline Garcia as she threatens to fly her private plane into and (maybe) through the second week of this final major of the season.

The French woman's high-flying position, having played her way into a seed in a matter of months (she was ranked #75 in late June!), comes after a sometimes-brilliant summer run that saw her win titles on grass, clay and hard courts, surging into the Top 20 for the first time in three years after seeing her new coaching setup finally begin to produce big-time results after a slow (9-11) start to this season.

Garcia's summer drive really began last year when she finally began to break away from her longtime coaching realationship with her father in favor of more experienced eyes that might finally, consistently, get the most out of an athletic game style that, back in '17, had already shown itself to be capable of stringing together superior results on big stages. That season, Garcia rode a QF in her home major at Roland Garros to a season-closing flourish that saw her win back-to-back 1000 titles and climb into the Top 10.

After that great finish, Garcia's results didn't hold up. Her season-ending ranking slid from #8 in '17 to #19, #45, #43 and #74 the next four seasons, a frustrating fall that, quite frankly, made little sense except for the lingering fact that Garcia hadn't made the move to seek new coaching assistance in order to keep her '17 momentum rolling, and built upon it in subsequent campaigns.

While difficult, and understandably uncomfortable, Garcia's replacement of her father as coach was necessary for her (by now belated) on-court growth to occur. As the new season dawned, it was just about rediscovering that former groove and picking up where she "left off" five years ago.

The proverbial "click" for the Pastry in '22 occurred this past spring, perhaps with an assist from her confidence-boosting Roland Garros doubles title alongside Kiki Mladenovic. With Garcia's more aggression gameplan and improved serve taking hold, the good (to great) results returned. Soon after Paris, Garcia claimed her first singles title since late 2018, winning on the grass at Bad Homburg. She reached the Round of 16 at Wimbledon, her best SW19 result since '17, then carried the form (and maybe improved upon it) into the summer's final stretch. Garcia won a title on clay in Warsaw in July, defeating world #1 Iga Swiatek in her home event, then had even greater success on hard courts in Cincinnati, stringing together *eight* consecutive victories (three over Top 10 players) and going from qualifier to champion.

Coming into the day sporting an 11-match winning streak, #17 Garcia had already achieved her best U.S. Open result by reaching the Round of 16, and had dispatched '19 champion Bianca Andreescu with relative ease in the prior round. 29-4 since the start of her Bad Homburg title run, Garcia's quest to become the latest (five since 2010) to parlay a title in the Cincinnati event to (at least) a final at Flushing Meadows was rolling down the runway.

On the other side of the net in the 4th Round was #29 Alison Riske-Amritraj, making her first appearance in a U.S. Open second week since 2013 (before this event, she'd gone 2-8 in the MD since, including six 1st Round exits). Lately, the 32-year old has become the sort of late-blooming success story that is more and more common on tour. She reached her first slam QF at Wimbledon in 2019 in the 30th slam appearance of her career. Riske cracked the Top 20 for the first time that same season, posted her first #1 win (Barty/Wimbledon) as well as reached her first 1000-level final (Wuhan). She's played in seven finals, winning two of her three career titles, since the start of her 29th birthday campaign three seasons ago. With seven slam match wins in '22, this year's set of majors have collectively been her most successful ever.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Captain has turned off the Fasten Seat Belt sign, and you may now move around the cabin. However we always recommend to keep your seat belt fastened while you’re seated."

Already with a 0-3 record in her head-to-head vs. Riske, it took Garcia a while to find her way in Sunday's match, as well. She had to save BP in game 3, but held and managed to put herself in position to strike should her opponent blink down the stretch. At the worst possible moment, she did. Serving down 4-5, Riske played her worst game, falling behind 15/40 and dropping serve to give Garcia a very imperfect set victory.

"Now, sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight."

With a margin of error in hand, Garcia seized control in the 2nd set, with her aggressive play paying off as she took advantage of a series of Riske second serves. Up 4-1, the Pastry broke for 5-1 and served her for her first U.S. Open QF.

“We have just been cleared to land at Louis Armstrong Stadium. Ladies and gentlemen, as we start our descent, please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position. Make sure your seat belt is securely fastened and all carry-on luggage is stowed underneath the seat in front of you or in the overhead bins.”

In the pressure of the moment, Garcia's forehand was occasionally iffy, and she had to save three BP (via an ace, forehand winner and service winner) and took five MP to get the job done. But Riske's long return finally put the win in the books for Garcia, 6-4/6-1, her 12th consecutive victory on U.S. soil.



Garcia held a final 30-7 edge in winners on the day, with eight aces, as she flew into her first slam QF since Roland Garros five years ago.

Thus, the seats will soon be filled, with Garcia in the pilot's seat, ready to command another journey on Caro Air.

"We hope you have enjoyed your inflight entertainment. We shall be showing you another presentation forthwith.
On behalf of Caro Air, our Captain and the rest of the crew, I’d like to thank you for joining us on this trip and we are looking forward to seeing you on board again in the near future.
Have a nice day. Merci."





=DAY 7 NOTES=
...the new(-ish) era of slam tennis without a Williams presence in the second week of the U.S. Open began on Sunday, but #12 Coco Gauff did her best to grab the national baton in her home slam, taking on Chinese vet Zhang Shuai in an attempt to become the youngest Bannerette in the QF at Flushing Meadows since a 17-year old Melanie Oudin put on an unexpected run as a wild card back in 2009, when she followed up a Wimbledon Round of 16 result with a U.S. final eight (7-2 in those back-to-back majors, Oudin was 4-16 during the rest of her slam career).

Both 18-year old Gauff and 33-year old Zhang completed Career Round of 16 Slams by reaching this point in this U.S. Open, with Gauff doing so in just her 13th career slam MD. At the same point in Zhang's slam career, she'd gone 0-13 in MD matches. Her career-starting slam losing streak would hit 14 before she finally reached the Australian Open MD as a qualifier in 2016... and promptly played all the way into the QF. From 2016 until today, Zhang had gone 36-26 in her second act in major MD action (over 27 consecutive MD appearances).

Gauff, who last year often experienced a rollercoaster ride of swinging-momentum three-setters (aka "RoCoco"), this season has usually avoided such craziness. Oh, the swings still happen, but they are often contained within the boundaries a set, and she usually grabs the momentum late in sets and wins them rather than letting them slip through her fingers and having to go the distance.

Gauff played 19 three-set matches in '21, including seven straight at one point (she went 6-1), but so far has only eight this season. In '22, Gauff has had streaks of 13 and 15 consecutive matches finished in straights (going 18-10) and came into today having gone to three just four times in her last 28 matches. As it turned out, the teenager's penchant for quick(er) outings once again played out.

Zhang very well could have won both the sets the two played today, but Gauff surged late in both and won in straights. After trading breaks in games 7 and 8 in the 1st, Gauff rallied from 5-4 down to sweep the final three games, breaking for 6-5 and then serving out the set. In the 2nd, Zhang served for the set at 5-3, holding a SP, but Gauff broke to stay alive and went on to claim the final four games to close out the 7-5/7-5 victory.



With the win, Gauff reaches her first major QF outside of Paris (where she has two, including this year's run to her maiden slam final), and has won more singles matches in Flushing Meadows this year than in her three MD appearances as a 15-17 year old combined.



...two nights after ending the career of none other than Serena Williams, Aussie Ajla Tomljanovic was asked to return and try to win again. To her vast credit, that's just what she did, outplaying the previously-in-top-form Liudmila Samsonova on a night (after two sets, both for very different reasons) she's going to want to forget. Well, except for maybe to learn something from the experience.

Samsonova put herself in the proverbial driver's seat in the 1st, but twice saw Tomljanovic recover from break disadvantages, then survive a monumental tenth game in which the Aussie served down 5-4. In what turned out to be an 18-minute game that lasted 12 deuces, Tomljanovic rallied from a love/40 start to save a total of seven SP before, after Samsonova's wayward forehand seemed to forbid her from taking the set by the neck, finally holding on her own eighth GP to knot the set at 5-5.

Samsonova recovered from love/30 to hold for 6-5, forcing Tomljanovic to again hold to stay alive in the set.

The set went to a tie-break, where Samsonova was the first to take a mini-break lead at 6-5, holding her eighth SP. She failed to secure the set again, and then on the very next point, in the middle of a rally, the Russian seemed to pull up and not even attempt a swing at a ball that bounced near the baseline, apparently thinking that it had landed out. It hadn't. It gave Tomljanovic a SP. The Aussie promptly DF'd, but a short time later, on her third SP, Tomljanovic took the set when a Samsonova (what else?) forehand sailed long to end the 10-8 TB and (somehow) put Samsonova behind in the match.

Tomljanovic (with a W/UE ratio of 6/24) hadn't done anything spectacular to take the set other than to remain steady while Samsonova's own inopportune errors took her down, wore her out and ultimately ceded the set -- as well as the match, it turned out, since the Russian never recovered -- and her 17 winners were drowned out by a whopping 34 UE.

In the 2nd, Samsonova, riding a 13-match winning streak, hit the physical/mental wall, along with seemingly being slowed by a knee injury. She nearly lost the set at love, but a late hold prevented the ignominy in what still turned out to be a 7-6(8)/6-1 defeat. Tomljanovic committed just three UE in the 2nd, while Samsonova managed to add 22 more, giving her 56 in a 20-game, 157-point match.



While the suddenly cool-headed Tomljanovic will play on in her third slam QF since last summer, we'll soon see if this match proves to simply be a temporary, inevitable letdown at the end of a great stretch of play for Samsonova, or if the aftereffects of her disastrous inability to close out the 1st set linger far beyond just tonight's 2nd set and into the final quarter of the season.

...in the last night match on Ashe, #5 Ons Jabeur tried to follow up her Wimbledon final in the very different environment of New York City, taking on #18-seed Veronika Kudermetova. The Russian, who was 0-3 in her U.S. Open history before this year, had reached the QF (in Paris) at the last major she played.

Jabeur rallied from 5-2 down in the 1st set vs. the Hordette, who'd entered as the only woman not to drop serve through the first three rounds. Jabeur ended that designation in her comeback, then dominated a 7-1 TB (she led 6-0) to take the set. From there, Jabeur did what Jabuer does, using a varied combination of her vast array of shots, from drops to lobs to angled winners that leave opponents and spectators alike shaking their heads in awe, if not disbelief (or, in Kudermetova's case like so many others before her, frustration).



The Tunisian was the one building a 5-2 lead in the 2nd set. The Russian closed to within 5-4, but Jabeur got her third break of serve of the night to finish off a 7-6(1)6-4 win to reach her maiden U.S. Open QF, the fourth at slam level in her career, and her third in the last 14 months (w/ 2021-22 WI).



...in the last junior J1 warm-up event this weekend, Germany's Ella Seidel picked up her biggest career title in Repentigny, Canada. The 17-year old, who reached the Wimbledon girls' QF earlier this summer, defeated Japan's Sara Saito (the J1 champ at College Park, Maryland last week) in a 6-4/6-3 final.

Here are Seidel and Noma Noha Akugue after winning their maiden pro doubles title last month in Leipzig.



Seidel and Amelia Walifora (BEL) reached the GD final in Canada, as well, falling in a 10-8 MTB to the Kenyan/Polish duo of Angella Okutoyi and Malwina Rowinska.



Meanwhile, junior MD play began at Flushing Meadows on Sunday.

Recent J1 title-winning Brit Ella McDonald defeated Bannerette Eleana Yu, who played in the women's MD after earning a WC due to winning the USTA 18u championship. Ukraine's Anastasiia Lopata, who recently signed to play tennis at the University of Georgia, defeated #16-seeded Qavia Lopez of the U.S..

Bannerette Clervie Ngounoue upset #6 Nikola Daubnerova (SVK), while Canadian Mia Kupres (a semifinalist at Repentigny) knocked off #15 Ksenia Zaytseva (RUS).

...in mixed doubles, wild cards Caty McNally & William Blumberg upset top-seeded Desirae Krawczyk & Neal Skupski, the 2021 & '22 Wimbledon champs, to reach the QF. Krawczyk won last year's U.S. MX crown alongside Joe Salisbury, and has won four MX slams the last two years.

McNally is still alive in the WD 3rd Round, as well, and if she and Taylor Townsend defeat Galfi/Pera they *could* meet Krawczyk & Demi Schuurs in the QF.

...on the ITF circuit, Hungarian vet Reka-Luca Jani, the 31-year old who *finally* made her slam MD debut earlier this summer at SW19, won her 25th (and biggest) career challenger title in Prague, taking the $60K final with a 6-3/7-6(4) win over the aforementioned German 18-year old Noha Akugue (who has reached six finals in '22, but thus far won just one).



In Vienna, Jani's fellow Hungarian, 18-year old Natalia Szabanin added to their nation's surprising success this season, defeating Croatian Tena Lukas to improve to 3-0 in '22 finals.




*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Iga Swiatek/POL vs. Jule Niemeier/GER
#21 Petra Kvitova/CZE vs. #8 Jessie Pegula/USA
#26 Victoria Azarenka/BLR vs. #22 Karolina Pliskova/CZE
#19 Danielle Collins/USA vs. #6 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR
#12 Coco Gauff/USA def. Zhang Shuai/CHN
#17 Caroline Garcia/FRA def. #29 Alison Riske-Amritraj/USA
#5 Ons Jabeur/TUN def. #18 Veronika Kudermetova/RUS
Ajla Tomljanovic/AUS def. Liudmila Samsonova/RUS

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
Flipkens/Sorribes Tormo (BEL/ESP) def. #13 Guarachi/Klepac (CHI/SLO)
#10 Melichar-Martinez/Perez (USA/AUS) def. #8 Danilina/Haddad Maia (KAZ/BRA)
#3 Krejickova/Siniakova (CZE/CZE) def. #15 Aoyama/H-c.Chan (JPN/TPE)
#5 Dabrowski/Olmos (CAN/MEX) def. #9 Muhammad/Shibahara (USA/JPN)
#7 Xu/Yang (CHN/CHN) vs. #12 Dolehide/Sanders (USA/AUS)
#14 Garcia/Mladenovic (FRA/FRA) vs. #4 L.Kichenok/Ostapenko (UKR/LAT)
#6 Krawczyk/Schuurs (USA/NED) vs. #11 Kostyuk/Sh.Zhang (UKR/CHN)
McNally/Townsend (USA/USA) vs. Galfi/Pera (HUN/USA)

*MIXED DOUBLES QF*
(WC) McNally/Blumberg (USA/USA) vs. Ostapenko/Vega Hernandez (LAT/ESP)
#4 Sanders/Peers (AUS/AUS) vs. Fernandez/Sock (CAN/USA)
Stosur/Ebden (AUS/AUS) vs. (PR) Flipkens/Roger-Vasselin (BEL/FRA)
(PR) Shibahara/Skugor (JPN/CRO) vs. #2 Sh.Zhang/Pavic (CHN/CRO)







...BEGGARS CAN'T BE CHOOSERS ON DAY 7:



This should get "interesting" (especially since Coco will likely qualify, and isn't afraid to voice an opinion or two).





...PEGULA ON DAY 7:




...NYC STILL ❤️‍ LEYLAH... ON DAY 7:




...CUE THAT BONNIE TYLER SONG... ON DAY 7:




...FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH... ON DAY 7:


I actually...




...picked Kyrgios to win the men's title. (So, you know, congrats to Rafa on winning another slam, I guess?) But, hey, who knows?











U.S. Open summer duets, from Stevie Nicks & Tom Petty's "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" (1981; the original, as well as the 30th anniversary edition) to Prince & Sheena Easton's "U Got the Look" (1987)...














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*CINCINNATI/Western & Southern Open & U.S. OPEN FINALS - OPEN ERA*
1970 Rosie Casals, USA (W-RU)
1973 Evonne Goolagong, AUS (W-RU)
2010.Kim Clijsters, BEL (W-W)
2013 Victoria Azarenka, BLR (W-RU)
2014.Serena Williams, USA (W-W)
2016 Angelique Kerber, GER (RU-W)
2016 Karolina Pliskova, CZE (W-RU)
2020 Victoria Azarenka, BLR (w/o W-L)#
2020 Naomi Osaka, JPN (w/o L-W)#
-
NOTE: Premier/1000 since '09
#-both held in NYC in '20

**BACKSPIN 2022 DOUBLES STAR-OF-THE-MONTH WINNERS**
JAN (pre-AO): Katerina Siniakova, CZE
AO: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
FEB: Coco Gauff/Jessie Pegula, USA/USA
MAR: Laura Siegemund/Vera Zvonareva, GER/RUS
1Q...SINIAKOVA, CZE
APR: Gaby Dabrowski/Giuliana Olmos, CAN/MEX
MAY: Veronika Kudermetova/Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS/RUS
RG: Caroline Garcia/Kristina Mladenovic, FRA/FRA
2Q Clay Court...GARCIA/MLADENOVIC, FRA/FRA
JUN: Eri Hozumi/Makoto Ninomiya, JPN/JPN
WI: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2Q Grass Court...KREJCIKOVA/SINIAKOVA, CZE/CZE
JUL: Anna Bondar/Kimberley Zimmermann, HUN/BEL
AUG (pre-U.S.): Nicole Melichar-Martinez/Ellen Perez, USA/NZL
[2022 Multiple Weekly DOUBLES Award Wins]
3 - Coco Gauff/Jessie Pegula, USA/USA
3 - Lyudmyla Kichenok/Alona Ostapenko, UKR/LAT
2 - Eri Hozumi/Makota Ninomiya, JPN/JPN
2 - Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2 - Laura Siegemund/Vera Zvonareva, GER/RUS
2 - Xu Yifan/Yang Zhaoxuan, CHN/CHN






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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): 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): 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): 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 (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: Nominees: Sabalenka (2r- trailed Kanepi 6-2/5-1, Kanepi twice for match and 2 MP in 2nd set TB); Ka.Pliskova (1r- trailed Linette 4-1 3rd; 7-2 MTB lead to 7-8 down, wins 10-8); Kvitova (3r- down 5-2 3rd, saved 2 MP vs. Muguruza; won 12-10 MTB on MP #4)
IT ("??"): x
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: x
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: in 4r: Collins, Gauff(W), Pegula, Riske-A.(L)
COMEBACK: x
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): x
DOUBLES STAR: x
BIG APPLE BANNERETTE BREAKTHROUGH: Nominees: Davis, Mandlik, McNally (WD/MX)
BROADWAY-BOUND: Nominees: Cornet (63rd con. slam; def. DC Raducanu 1r), "Danielle After Dark", Tomljanovic
LADY OF THE EVENING: Serena Williams: The End
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x







All for Day 7. More tomorrow.
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