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Saturday, January 21, 2023

AO.6 - Czech Off the Shelf

The tour's Czechs are seemingly here, there and everywhere. But only one match in Melbourne saw two of them running directly across each other's path.



It was just a few years ago that Marketa Vondrousova was in Linda Fruhvirtova's shoes. A former junior star, she won her maiden tour title in 2017 at age 17 in just her second career main draw appearance. In 2019, she reached the Roland Garros final, becoming the first teenager to reach a major final in nearly a decade.

Since then, though, Vondrousova has spent much of her time on the sidelines, twice undergoing wrist surgery (the first coming after injuring her herself at Wimbledon just a few weeks after her run in Paris), though she still managed to put on a have-no-mercy burst to the Olympic final in Tokyo in '21 before settling for a silver medal vs. Belinda Bencic.

After last year sitting out from summer until early fall after her latest wrist issues, Vondrousova won a $100K singles crown in November and reached three doubles finals (RU at a 125, and wins at two ITF challengers, all with former junior doubles partner Miriam Kolodziejova). In the AO MD using a protected ranking (she came in ranked #86, just below #82 Fruhvirtova), now 23-year old Vondrousova knocked off #2 Ons Jabeur in a 2nd Round night match (the Czech's fourth career win over a world #2 of her seven Top 10 victories).

17-year old Fruhvirtova came into the 2023 season fully in the mix of the Crush of Czech teens looking to populate the tour in the coming season like a Wildebeest herd migrating across the Serengeti. Fruhvirtova was the first of the group to shine on the tour level, introducing herself by upsetting/outlasting Alize Cornet in a Charleston 1st Rounder in '21, then reaching the Miami 4th Round a year later. She was the first of the young Czechs to win a slam MD match ('22 U.S.), as well as their maiden tour titlist, taking Chennai last September as a qualifier and assuming the (as of then) lead role in the Crushers' march.

17-year old Linda Noskova's Week 1 final run in Adelaide, during which she defeated two Top 10 players and a former #1, moved *her* into the lead spot in the Crusher rankings (Top 60) early in the new season, but when she failed to make her way through qualifying along with fellow Czechs Brenda Fruhvirtova (Linda's 15-year old sister) and Sara Bejlek (16) -- who combined with L.Fruhvirtova to be the three youngest players in the women's MD -- she opened the door for *someone* to take her new spotlight away.

On Saturday in Melbourne, the "elder" Fruhvirtova did just that at 1573 Arena.

Vondrousova and Fruhvirtova engaged in a push-and-pull contest all afternoon. In the 1st, Fruhvirtova twice took break leads only to see Vondrousova level the set at 2-all and 4-all, then break the teenager to get the chance to serve for the set. Fruhvirtova quickly took a love/30 lead and denied her the chance by converting on her second BP opportunity. Fruhvirtova backed up her break with a hold for 6-5, then held a SP of her own after scrambling to reach a Vondrousova drop shot (a tactice MV probably utilized a bit *too* much on the day, as Fruhvirtova often got the better of such exchanges while also winning the longer rallies throughout the match) and putting back Vondrousova's low lob attempt. A point later, Vondrousova's netted forehand gave Fruhvirtova the set at 7-5.

Vondrousova grabbed the advantage in the 2nd, breaking Fruhvirtova to lead 2-1, then again for a 5-2 edge on her fourth BP chance of game 7 (helped along by a pair of Fruhvirtova DF). She reached SP a game later, only to see the teenager save it, again by taking advantage of a Vondrousova drop shot with one of her own, but a third SP proved to be the charm as Vondrousova closed out the 2nd at 6-2.

The 3rd set proved to be a chaotic affair, with the momentum shifting at precisely the time when it was *least* expected to do so, both players nursing injuries and the chair umpire (Thomas Sweeney) on multiple times having to (entertainly) admonish the crowd (some likely a bit, umm, already "overly fueled" on the first day of the weekend) for calling out during points, noting that "the players don't need your suggestions," and "how about we make a deal and you wait for the *end* of the point to..." at different times during the action after the players' (especially Vondrousova's) anger had been stoked by the misbehavior.

Vondrousova seemed set to move to the next round, as Fruhvirtova's greater error totals appeared to signal that her time in the draw was running out. Vondrousova broke serve to open the 3rd, and got a key hold to lead 3-1. A game later, she held BP for a 4-1 edge. But Vondrousova failed to aggressively take advantage of a Fruhvirtova second serve (the weakest aspect of her game, as she had 11 DF), sending her return down the middle of the court. Fruhvirtova saved the BP and escaped, holding for 3-2. The teenager then had her thigh wrapped during a medical time out.

Vondrousova opened game 6 with an ace and (still) seemed ready to close things out, but moments later *she* was the one limping around the court, bending over at the waist and balancing on one leg, seemingly dealing with an upper leg (hip?) injury. From that point forward, her solid lead evaporated along with her game as once again her body let her down. Vondrousova dropped serve, saw Fruhvirtova hold at love, and looked quite wobbly (both figuratively as well as literally) the rest of the way.

Vondrousova never took an MTO despite continuing to struggle to move, trying to win "rallies" with one swing and missing easy shots. She fell behind love/40 and lost her serve again. Suddenly serving for the match at 5-3, Fruhvirtova took a 40/love lead. On her second MP, she saw Vondrousouva sail a forehand as Fruhvirtova won her 16th of the final 19 points, taking the match 7-5/2-6/6-3 to reach her maiden slam Round of 16 in just her second major MD appearance.



While Vondrousova is left to (maybe) nurse yet another injury, Fruhvirtova is not only still alive in the second week of a major for the first time, but she's also on the cusp of her Top 50 breakthrough (she's now certain of passing Noskova into the Crusher #1 position once again) as she joins a three-Czech strong contingent (the largest of any nation) in the AO Round of 16. It surely won't be Fruhvirtova's last such slam journey, and it likely won't be long before she's joined by still more of her fellow Czech teens traveling along the same soon-to-be-well-worn path, either.

Buckle up... we're still in the opening *chapter* of this ongoing story. It could get wild.





=DAY 6 NOTES=
...while Day 6's group of bottom half outings provided fewer "headline" moments and match-ups than the top half, the opportunities abound for all involved.

The first two 3rd Round matches of the day featured players trying to rediscover lost form and return to contention.

Donna Vekic, now with Pam Shriver in a coaching capacity, is still working her way back from multiple injury layoffs in 2021-22, two seasons during which she nonetheless managed to play into late season finals, including a title turn in Courmayeur in 2021 that was her first since the '17 season.

Today the 26-year old Croatian won 2 & 2, handling Nuria Parrizas Diaz, who'd been playing to make her slam Round of 16 debut at age 31 in just her sixth major MD (the first came at the '21 U.S. Open).

Vekic's win put her into her fifth career slam 4th Round, two years after she reached the stage in Melbourne for the first time in '21 to complete her set of results in majors for a "Career Round of 16 Slam." This was Vekic's 12th career AO MD victory, the most she has at any major.



#30-seeded Karolina Pliskova, a year after her early '22 season was immediately sidetracked due to an offseason training accident, has quietly spun her return to the AO for the first time in two years into her first second week run in the event since her 2019 semifinal. Her 6-4/6-2 win over Varvara Gracheva (playing for her slam 4th Round debut) gets her second stint with coach Sascha Bajin off to a good start after the two had ended their initial 18-month partnership last summer.

Pliskova has reached at least the 3rd Round at every AO since 2015 (save for her missed tournament last year).



...in her first daytime singles match of the week, #12 Belinda Bencic advanced to her first AO Round of 16 since 2016, defeating Camila Giorgi 6-2/7-5. In her 42nd career major, Giorgi had been looking to complete her Career Round of 16 Slam. She instead falls to 0-5 in 3rd Round matches in Melbourne.

Bencic, with just her second slam Round of 16 run since reaching the U.S. Open semis four seasons ago, has now won seven straight matches. She's 8-1 on the season, with her only loss coming to Iga Swiatek in United Cup action in Week. 1

...#23 Zhang Shuai always celebrates her birthday during the Australian Open, and her 2016 QF run Down Under completely changed her slam career. Before that result she'd been 0-14 in slam MD matches, along with 13 failed attempts to qualify for majors between 2007-15. Starting with her QF seven years ago, Zhang (who turned 34 today, making her the oldest player left in the women's draw) improved to 37-27 in slams (from 2016-23) with her 3 & 2 win over qualifier Katie Volynets.

Zhang, who has gone on to reach the second week at all four majors, now has two slam QF and three (so far) Round of 16 results to her credit. This is the first time she's done it in back-to-back ('22 US) slams. Zhang joins countrywoman Zhu Lin in the 4th Round, making up for the underwhelming performances at this major by NextGen Chinese players Zheng Qinwen and the Wangs Xinyu & Xiyu.



...the final day session women's 3rd Rounder produced the fifth straight sets result in six matches, as #6 Aryna Sabalenka defeated #26 Elise Mertens in a match-up of former doubles parnters (they won the '19 US and '21 AO and completed the "Sunshine Double" four years ago). Sabalenka won 6-2/6-3 to reach her seventh slam 4th Round, with six coming in her last eight slam appearances, including at the last three AO.

...in the opening match of the night session, #4 Caroline Garcia faced off with Laura Siegemund at Kia Arena, with the German seeking her second career slam 4th Round after she'd arrived in Melbourne having lost her last six slam MD matches since she reached the QF in Paris in 2020.

Siegemund started out in fine form, with Garcia a tad slow in getting into gear. The German took the 1st set 6-1, but Garcia gradually grabbed control, pushing the match to a 3rd and getting a late break for a 4-3 lead. The Pastry held to force Siegemund to do the same to stay in the match. Siegemund battled in a long service game -- four deuce points, with her holding three GP -- to extend the contest, but Garcia closed it out without having to serve, winning 1-6/6-3/6-3 to reach the 4th Round at a tour-best third straight slam (but for the first time at the AO since 2018).

In the concluding match on Laver for Day 6, the field of 16 will be completed as a third first-time slam Round of 16 result (w/ Zhu and Fruhvirtova) will be produced as #19 Ekaterina Alexandrova (in her 24th slam MD) takes on Magda Linette (30th).

Alexandrova is the Hordettes' last chance to send *someone* to the second week after having had 14 players in the MD. There's been at least one Russian in the 4th Round at 77 of 87 majors (not counting SW19 last year).

...junior action began on Saturday, just a couple of days after the completion of the biggest Australian pre-AO junior event at Traralgon (now a "300" event, i.e. what was once less confusingly just called a J1, Junior Grade 1, tournament). The result there showed that Ons Jabeur's yes-you-can mantra regarding players from African nations is already starting to be fulfilled, as the title was taken by Turkey's Melisa Ercan.

17-year old Ercan, the junior #54, had seen her biggest title previously come at a J2 event in 2021. At Traralgon she opened with a 1st Round upset of #1 seeded Sara Saito (the Japanese player is also the AO top seed), and she finished off her run with a 2-6/6-3/6-4 win in the final over Mirra Andreeva (the AO #7 seed).







...COCO... STILL THE BEST "ACTION PHOTO" SUBJECT ON TOUR...ON DAY 6:




...REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED COLD...ON DAY 6:




...FLIPPER FLIPPING...ON DAY 6:




..."...starring Allie Riske"...ON DAY 6:










=WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16=
#1 Iga Swiatek/POL vs. #22 Elena Rybakina/KAZ
#17 Alona Ostapenko/LAT vs. #7 Coco Gauff/USA
#3 Jessie Pegula/USA vs. #20 Barbora Krejcikova/CZE
#24 Victoria Azarenka/BLR vs. Zhu Lin/CHN
#30 Karolina Pliskova/CZE vs. #23 Zhang Shuai/CHN
x vs. #4 Caroline Garcia/FRA
#5 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR vs. #12 Belinda Bencic/SUI
Donna Vekic/CRO vs. Linda Fruhvirtova/CZE

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES ROUND OF 16=
#1 Krejcikova/Siniakova (CZE/CZE) vs. Kalashnikova/Parks (GEO/USA)
Mihalikova/Sasnovich (SVK/BLR) vs. #6 Krawczyk/Schuurs (USA/NED)
x vs. Golubic/Niculescu (SUI/ROU)
Kostyuk/Ruse (UKR/ROU) vs. x
Pavlyuchenkova/Rybakina (RUS/KAZ) vs. #10 Aoyama/Shibahara (JPN/JPN)
Dolehide/Kalinskaya (USA/RUS) vs. x/x
x vs. x
#16 Kato/Sutjiadi (JPN/INA) vs. #2 Gauff/Pegula (USA/USA)








Did you know that "Babe" was an Australian movie? Well, it was.












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NOTE: I'll post the Lists-a-Palooza Final 16 info before the start of Day 7 action


**"FIRST SLAM..." FEATS IN 2020s**
=ROUND OF 16=
2020 AO - Ons Jabeur, TUN
2020 AO - Maria Sakkari, GRE
2020 US - none
2020 RG - Paula Badosa, ESP
2020 RG - Fiona Ferro, FRA
2020 RG - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
2020 RG - Nadia Podoroska, ARG
2020 RG - Laura Siegemund, GER
2020 RG - Martina Trevisan, ITA
2021 AO - Jessie Pegula, USA
2021 RG - Marta Kostyuk, UKR
2021 RG - Elena Rybakina, KAZ
2021 RG - Tamara Zidansek, SLO
2021 WI - Viktorija Golubic, SUI
2021 WI - Emma Raducanu, GBR
2021 WI - Liudmila Samsonova, RUS
2021 US - Leylah Fernandez, CAN
2022 AO - none
2022 RG - Veronika Kudermetova, RUS
2022 RG - Jil Teichmann, SUI
2022 RG - Zheng Qinwen, CHN
2022 WI - Marie Bouzkova, CZE
2022 WI - Tatjana Maria, GER
2022 WI - Jule Niemeier, GER
2022 WI - Harmony Tan, FRA
2022 WI - Heather Watson, GBR
2022 US - none
2023 AO - Linda Fruhvirtova, CZE
2023 AO - Zhu Lin, CHN
2023 AO - Ekaterina Alexandrova/RUS or Magda Linette/POL


**"CAREER SLAM" FEATS IN 2020s**
=ROUND OF 16=
2020 US - Alize Cornet, FRA (57th)
2021 AO - Donna Vekic, CRO (29th)
2021 US - Iga Swiatek, POL (11th)
2022 AO - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (8th)
2022 AO - Kaia Kanepi, EST (53rd)
2022 US - Caroline Garcia, FRA (42nd)
2022 US - Coco Gauff, USA (13th)
2022 US - Ons Jabeur, TUN (22nd)
2022 US - Zhang Shuai, CHN (41st)
=QF=
2021 WI - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (36th)
2022 AO - Kaia Kanepi, EST (53rd)
=SF=
2021 WI - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (36th)
=F=
none


*RECENT AO "IT" WINNERS*
2013 [Fortysomething] Kimiko Date-Krumm, JPN
2014 [Teen] Genie Bouchard, CAN
2015 [Madisons] Madison Keys/USA & Madison Brengle/USA
2016 [NextGen Belarusian] Vera Lapko, BLR
2017 [Party] (Ash) "Barty Party"
2018 [Teen] Marta Kostyuk, UKR
2019 [Teen] Amanda Anisimova, USA
2020 [Arab] Ons Jabeur, TUN
2021 [Egyptian] Mayar Sherif, EGY
2022 [Teen Stars-in-Waiting] Marta Kostyuk/UKR & Clara Tauson/DEN
2023 [Czech Crusher] Linda Fruhvirtova, CZE


*RECENT AO "LAST QUALIFIER STANDING" WINNERS*
=2016=
Zhang Shuai, CHN (QF)
=2017=
Mona Barthel, GER (both 4th Rd.)
Jennifer Brady, USA
=2018=
Denisa Allertova, CZE (4th Rd.)
=2019=
Bianca Andreescu, CAN (all 2nd Rd.)
Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
Astra Sharma, AUS
Iga Swiatek, POL
Natalia Vikhlyantseva, RUS
=2020=
Harriet Dart, GBR (all 2nd Rd.)
Nao Hibino, JPN
Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
Ann Li, USA
Caty McNally, USA
Greet Minnen, BEL
=2021=
Sara Errani, ITA (both 3rd Rd.)
Kaja Juvan, SLO
=2022=
Hailey Baptiste, USA (all 2nd Rd.)
Lucia Bronzetti, ITA
Martina Trevisan, ITA
Zheng Qinwen, CHN
=2023=
Cristina Bucsa, ESP (both 3rd Rd.)
Katie Volynets, USA

*RECENT TRARALGON JR. CHAMPIONS; w/ AO Jr. RESULT*
2015 Katherine Sebov, CAN (2r)
2016 Vera Lapko, BLR (W)
2017 Iga Swiatek, POL (1r)
2018 Liang En-shou, TPE (W)
2019 Clara Tauson, DEN (W)
2020 Polina Kudermetova, RUS (QF)
2021 DNP
2022 Sofia Costoulas, BEL (RU)
2023 Melisa Ercan, TUR




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TOP QUALIFIER: Katherine Sebov/CAN
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): #3 Jessie Pegula/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q2 - #27 Brenda Fruhvirtova/CZE def. Daria Snigur/UKR 5-7/7-6(3)/6-3 (rallies from 7-5/5-1, break down twice early in the 3rd; 15-year old is youngest in AO MD in slam debut)
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd. - #6 Maria Sakkari/GRE def. (Q) Diana Shnaider/RUS 6-3/5-7/3-6
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/WC/Doub.): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #3 Jessie Pegula/USA (def. Jaqueline Cristian/ROU)
FIRST SEED OUT: #28 Amanda Anisimova/USA (1r-lost to Kostyuk/UKR)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Anna Bondar/HUN, Olivia Gadecki/AUS, Diana Shnaider/RUS, Lucrezia Stefanini/ITA
BEST PROTECTED RANKING MD RESULT: Laura Siegemund/GER, Marketa Vondrousova/CZE (both 3rd Rd.)
UPSET QUEENS: UKR
REVELATION LADIES: CZE (three youngest players in MD)
NATION OF POOR SOULS: GER (1-4 1r; Petkovic ret., Kerber pregnant; NextGen 0-2)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Cristina Bucsa/ESP and Katie Volynets/USA (both 2nd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Kimberly Birrell/AUS, Olivia Gadecki/AUS, Taylor Townsend/USA (all 2nd Rd.)
LAST AUSSIE STANDING: Kimberly Birrell, Olivia Gadecki (both 2nd Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT (Czech Crusher): Linda Fruhvirtova, CZE (into second week at age 17 in second major)
COMEBACK PLAYER: xx
CRASH & BURN: Garbine Muguruza/ESP (1r; 5 con. losses; out of Top 80 first time in a decade)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF MELBOURNE: Nominees: L.Fruhvirtova (3r: Vondrousova led 3-1 w/ BP in 3rd; Vondrousova hurt after Fruhvirtova MTO, 17-year old sweeps final five games); Bucsa (2r: Andreescu MP in 2nd set TB); B.Fruhvirtova (Q2: trailed Snigur 7-5/5-1, break down twice in 3r; at 15 in youngest in MD)
KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: xx
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominees: Coco vs. Emma, Vika, Bencic
AUSTRALIAN LANGUAGE ARTS AWARD: One year after Barty is first WS champ in 44 years, #160 Fourlis is highest ranked AUS in MD; only two AUS wild cards get 1r wins, none past 2r
DOUBLES STAR: xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx





All for Day 6. More tomorrow.
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