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Wednesday, April 5, 2023

1Q BSAs, Pt.2: A Box of Matches


Here a match, there a match...






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1. Lyon Final - Alycia Parks def. Caroline Garcia
...7-6(7)/7-5. This one immediately goes into the "Best Two-Set Matches" of the year file for 2023, as it's slam final level of intensity, Cup-like atmosphere with the French crown backing Garcia in her home event, and inherent eyebrow raising at perhaps, perhaps, the official birth of something bigger in Parks than a maiden title winner at a 250 event.

The two combined for one break of serve in the match, via a DF by Garcia on Parks' MP to end the match, as Parks channeled her inspiration (Serena) with big (15 aces) and timely serving that consistently put the pressure on Garcia to hold *her* serve (which she impressively did until the bitter end) and pulled her out of a few holes as she refused to allow the Pastry to gain an edge in the match.

Parks' 8-ace 1st set ended with a 9-7 TB win after she'd missed on a passing shot on SP (at 6-5) and then denied a Garcia SP at 7-6. The 2nd saw Parks' serve blink slightly, but *still* provide a liferaft when times were getting tough. After falling on the first point of the set (an MTO attended to what seemed like a scraped/bloodied right pink finger/hand), Parks held from love/30 back. She then overcame two DF in Game 5, recovering from love/30 again.

In Game 7, Garcia missed two easy forehands at the net that would have put her up love/30 and given her a BP chance. Parks fired a Game 9 ace at 30/30 and held serve. In Game 11, she served another ace on BP, added a service winner on another, and after her first serve fault was cheered by the French crowd, answered with another ace on BP. Parks yelled ("Come on!"), in clear response to the boos, and gave a "rise up" gesture with her arms.

Clearly emotional in the moment, Parks calmed herself in time for Garcia's crucial serve game while down 6-5. At 30/30, a Garcia error suddenly gave Parks at MP, and Garcia's DF ended things to give the Bannerette her maiden tour title. The loss is just the second for Garcia in her last 12 singles finals since 2016.

Parks had a 28-13 edge in winners on the day, and surely looked like a player no one is going to want to face down the line if this level of play and focus becomes her "norm" on gameday.


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2. Australian Open 2nd Rd. - Maria Sakkari def. Diana Shnaider
...3-6/7-5/6-3. 18-year old qualfier Shnaider placed her image into the memory banks of fans and, even in defeat, provided them with a moment to be looked back on fondly years from now, once the NextGen Hordette -- after her prospective "college experience" -- has found and solidified her place on tour and become something more than a new face or "the girl with the polka dot bandana."

Shnaider didn't ultimately get the big win she was looking for against #6-seed Sakkari but her head-turning performance during the three-set battle continued to prove that her late-season surge last fall (when she won a 125 title, reached a $60K final and three 125 QF while winning 23 of her last 30 matches) was a sign of things to come. The N.C. State recruit had qualified and won two days earlier in her slam MD debut, just one year after she won the girls' doubles title last January in Melbourne.

Sakkari grabbed the early 3-0 advantage in the 2nd, but Shnaider fought to get the set back on serve. Sakkari broke for a 5-3 lead, only to see the Hordette break back and soon after level the set against the increasingly aggravated Greek. Sakkari, known to scream in exultation after big points, amazingly took that moment to shake her finger and complain to the umpire about Shnaider screaming "in my face" and threatened to call the referee if it happened again. (Geez, I guess she's never played Danielle Collins on one of *those* days -- you've seem 'em -- before?)



Sakkari finally wrestled away the set at 7-5, then carried her momentum over into the 3rd.



Sakkari led 5-2 and reached double MP on Shnaider's serve, but the Russian wasn't about to go quietly. She saved both MP, the second with an ace, and held to force Sakkari to serve things out (which was never a given, considering she'd failed on a chance to serve out the 2nd earlier). The Greek immediately fell behind love/30, losing the opening point on an 18-shot rally and then committing a crosscourt forehand error on the second.

But Sakkari smartly pulled the game back, putting in a sneaky, curling wide ace to get her third MP chance at 40/30. She put away a forehand winner down the line to finish Shnaider off, winning 3-6/7-5/6-3.



Shnaider out-hit Sakkari with a 39-32 edge in winners, but her greater UE total (53-40) ultimately tipped the scales in favor of the Greek, who spoke afterward in a nice on-court interview in which she noted how she views the AO as her "home slam" because of the large Greek populaton Down Under (though Melbourne *isn't* where her two slam semis have come), noted how the coaching tips from her box during the match helped (being sure to remind everyone that it's legal now!), threw in a great one-liner about competing in the new WTA ("you have to be aggressive or they'll eat you alive") and openly wondered whether Shnaider might want to re-think her college plans and just turn pro (soon after, the Hordette kept her pledge and *was* suiting up for the Wolfpack).



Meanwhile, Shnaider cracking the Top 100 after the AO after going from a junior champ to pushing a Top 10 player in less than a year, was all smiles as she exited, bathing in the applause from the crowd that her performance had earned. More is sure to come.
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3. Monterrey Final - Donna Vekic def. Caroline Garcia
...6-4/3-6/7-5. Vekic grabbed the 1st and opened the 2nd with a break. Then things got really tough.

After falling down a set and a break, Garcia threatened to run away with the title on the back of her service game. After Vekic converted her first BP in the 2nd, the Croat didn't see another for a very long time. Garcia held serve with little incident nine straight times without facing a BP. But Vekic staved off 8 BP in the 3rd, never giving Garcia the edge as she battled to keep a game ahead on serve on the scoreboard.

Vekic finally pressured Garcia's serve in game 10, but the Pastry held from love/30 down. But Vekic's best act was her final one.

After the disappointment of failing to reach BP, the Croat held at love and then raced to a love/40 lead on a Garcia's serve at 6-5. She converted her second of two BP chances in the 2nd/3rd sets to claim the title by closing on an eight-point winning streak.


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4. Indian Wells 4th Rd. - Petra Kvitova def. Jessie Pegula
...6-2/3-6/7-6(11). The 3rd set proved to be the most dramatic of the two weeks in the desert, as both saved multiple MP in the closing games before the match was decided in a 24-point TB.

Pegula led 5-3, and twice served for the match, holding a MP at 5-4. Both women's games turned quite sloppy down the stretch, which only heightened the tension as both lurched toward the finish line.

Pegula led the deciding TB 4-2, but Kvitova pulled even two points later. The Bannerette had MP #2 at 6-5, saved with a pair of overheads from Kvitova, who'd badly missed several just a few minutes earlier. MP #3 came and went (saved via multiple volleys from the Czech) at 8-7, as did #4 at 11-10.

Meanwhile, Kvitova got within a point of victory at 7-6, 9-8 and 10-9 before finally sealing the win on her 4th MP by completing a serve and volley combo with a shot off the line to improve to 4-1 vs. Pegula (including an AO win this year) with her fourth straight victory over a Top 5 opponent.



The two met afterward at the net in a fine display of respect, something no longer a given after an ongoing series of less-than-admirable net moments not only at this particular event, but collectively on tour over the past year.


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5. Australian Open Final - Aryna Sabalenka def. Elena Rybakina
...4-6/6-3/6-4. This year's Australian Open singles finalists were largely the same, but very different. Both came equipped with power to spare. But while dynamic #5-seed Sabalenka is often bombastic, loud and visceral, the silky bop of #22 Rybakina is deadly but smooth, as quiet and unsupposing as her button-down on-court persona.

With Sabalenka holding a 3-0 edge vs. Rybakina in their career match-ups, with all three having gone three sets, the final seemed to be set up to play out as a contest to see whether both could continue to handle the most pressure-filled moments of a match with the sort of focus necessary to win seven straight matches and lift a slam champion's trophy (in this case, the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup). Would Rybakina's past slam final experience lift her to a second title in the last three majors, or would Sabalenka's attempt at self-improvement prove to be a career-changing course adjustment?

After talk of the power outlay of the final being something close to "off the charts" (and maybe the most ever in a slam final, or at least any not involving a Williams), the notion played out early in the opening set. After DF'ing on the first point of the match, Sabalenka put in a pair of aces to hold. Not to be outdone, Rybakina had three aces in her first service game. The two combined for six aces in the match's first eleven points.

But Sabalenka's old bugaboo (i.e. double faults) started to creep back into her game, and Rybakina's underrated return game took advantage of it, pressuring the Belarusian's serve with big returns that put an even bigger burden on Sabalenka's first serve. After taking a 40/love lead in game 3, Sabalenka's DF gave the Kazakh a BP, and she converted it to lead 2-1.

While Sabalenka wrestled with her serve, Rybakina continued to roll with her own. She fired an ace to hold for 4-2. Sabalenka managed to make up the difference on her return game, using the advantage to dictate rallies in game 8 and breaking to get the set back on serve at 4-4. But in her proceeding service game, Sabalenka DF'd to go down love/30. Another DF handed Rybakina the break and gave her the chance to serve out the set. Up 40/love, Rybakina fired a serve down the T, producing a Sabalenka error that gave the Kazakh the opening set at 6-4.

It was Sabalenka's first lost set in 11 matches this season, ending her streak at 20.

As opposed to the opening set, the 2nd began with both servers dodging danger. Sabalenka saved 2 BP in game 1, while Rybakina pulled out of a 15/30 hole to tie things at 1-1. Needing to raise her game or risk getting run out of the match by the in-form Rybakina in a do-or-die set, Sabalenka responded. She fired back-to-back aces to hold for 2-1, then began to drive her groundstrokes deeper into the court, keeping Rybakina's power at bay. Sabalenka stepped in on a return and fired a deep replay that produced a Rybakina error, breaking for a 3-1 lead.

Sabalenka staved off a BP in game 5, extending her scoreboard edge to 4-1. Rybakina saved three BP in game 6, with the Belarusian badly overhitting a second serve return on #3, holding for 4-2 and avoiding falling behind by a double-break. But the Kazakh couldn't carve out an advantage a game later that might have flipped the momentum in her favor in the set's eleventh hour.

Instead, Sabalenka, not dwelling on her missed opportunity for a near insurmountable lead, held for 5-2. Sabalenka again couldn't break Rybakina in game 8, as the Kazakh saved a pair of BP and held behind an array of shots that included an ace, a backhand winner and a half-volley pick-up that avoided her facing a third BP. Still, Sabalenka got the chance to serve out the set at 5-3. A poor drop shot was easily taken down the line to knot the score at 30/30, leaving Rybakina two points from getting the set back on serve. But Sabalena emphatically slammed the door (that she'd left partially ajar) shut, firing back-to-back aces to hold and take the set at 6-3.

In the 3rd set, all of Sabalenka's hopes, dreams and trials came to bear for one final trial by fire.

Both players handily held serve through the opening games, but it was the Belarusian who steadily began to pick up pace, off the ground (led by her backhand) and in her rush toward her maiden slam title. Rybakina, for her part, battled until the end, saving a BP in game 5, firing off her two fastest serves of the tournament, and holding on her third GP for 3-2. Sabalenka responded with a two-ace hold of her own.



In game 7, Sabalenka's relentless power game, with new balls being injected into the mix, finally found its most solid footing. On her third BP of the game, Sabalenka crushed a second serve return off the baseline, nearly knocking Rybakina off her feet. The Belarusian's put-away smash got the break for a 4-3 lead.



Sabalenka consolidated the break with an ace (#16) on her fourth GP to move within one game of the title. After Rybakina's hold, Sabalenka's 2.0 "moment of truth" had arrived. Her self-improvement goal, and her trust in herself and the success of that process, would either sink her effort, or lift her to her desired position in the winner's circle.

Right on brand, it wasn't an easy task to fulfill. After firing her 17th ace up the T to reach MP, Sabalenka engaged with Rybakina in a push-and-pull contest down to the wire. Sabalenka DF'd on one MP, and failed to get her first serve in on two others, losing the points with wayward shots. In between, Rybakina held a BP, saved by Sabalenka with a big wide service winner.

Finally, one (the final one) of her big serve and forehand combos in the set gave Sabalenka her fourth MP chance. A Rybakina shot beyond the baseline brought down the curtain on Sabalenka's quest, with her 4-6/6-3/6-4 victory finally completing what had seemed to be her career destiny since she first appeared on the scene and bashed her way to the top tier of the sport.

Trial passed, with flying colors. Sabalenka fired 51 winners on the day, 20 more than her equally powerful opponent.



Sabalenka fell on her back at the baseline, covering her face while sobbing, the end result of a journey that only truly began to find its way once the Belarusian had seemed to have lost hers last season.

One year later, she's the same Sabalenka, but different. Chagrined into admitting and facing up to her game's faults, she's given up her prideful stubbornness (well, for now) and replaced it with a still powerful, but also more resourceful and tactical version of herself. It proved to be the difference between promise that ends a few steps short of her goal and literally cradling it in her arms.


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6. Abu Dhabi Final - Belinda Bencic def. Liudmila Samsonova
...1-6/7-6(8)/6-4. Bencic becomes the first singles champion this season to lift the crown (already her second of '23) after having saved MP in the tournament. Three, in fact.

Samsonova dominated the 1st set, and seemed set to improve her career tour final record to 5-0.



Bencic got off to a quick start in the 2nd, going up 5-2 and serving at 5-3. But Samsonova turned the momentum in her favor behind her solid forehand, got the break and soon knotted the score at 5-5. She had three BP chances at love/40 in game 11, but couldn't put herself in position to serve for the match.

Bencic went up 3-1 in the TB, but Samsonova stormed back again to get her first lead in the set at 5-4, and soon had three MP (2 at 6-4, then another at 8-7). The Hordette again couldn't close the door, though, and Bencic won the breaker 10-8 on her second SP.



Bencic edged ahead in the 3rd, grabbing the third of three straight breaks between to two to lead 3-2. She held the rest of the way, and served out the set at 6-4 to claim a title after having faced MP for the second time in her career (2015 Toronto).

Bencic had been 0-3 vs. Samsonova in their head-to-head, losing all three match-ups in 2021, including a grass court loss in their previous final clash in Berlin.
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7. Doha QF - Maria Sakkari def. Caroline Garcia
...6-2/6-7(5)/7-6(5). After posting 42 of her 48 career Top 10 wins since 2019, Sakkari gets her first of '23.

Even while never dropping serve in the match (saving 3 BP), but getting two keys breaks of Garcia in the 1st set (the Pastry didn't drop serve in the final two sets), Sakkari *still* had to take the match in a 3rd set TB. Afterward, Sakkari chalked up the win to the bravery she showed in the deciding breaker after believing that she hadn't brought the same focus in the one that closed the 2nd.

The two combined for 73 winners (Sakkari 30, Garcia 43) in the match.


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8. Dubai 1st Rd. - Liudmila Samsonova def. Paula Badosa
...6-7(3)/7-6(5)/6-4. Dubai had more than its fair share of early round battles, including this 3:22 tussle that was only the *third* longest match of the tournament (after briefly having held the title as the longest match of the year).

Badosa staged a comeback from 0-3 down in the 1st set TB to take the early lead, and held a 7-6/4-3 edge with a break in the 2nd, as well as an early break lead in the 3rd. But Samsonova hit her way out of the 1st Round with 57 winners (to Badosa's 46, though the Spaniard led 127-125 in total points).

After getting a seeming break with a walkover from Zheng Qinwen in the 2nd Round, Samsonova recorded just 1 game vs. Swiatek in their first meeting since their classic SF encounter in Stuttgart last spring. The Hordette rebounded by ending the week with her maiden tour WD title.


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9. Miami 2nd Rd. - Bianca Andreescu def. Maria Sakkari
...5-7/6-3/6-4. The 2019 I.W. winner (BA) vs. the '22 I.W. finalist (MS) vs. the '21 Miami finalist (BA) vs. the '22 I.W. semifinalist (MS).

Andreescu's three-set triumph, a follow-up to her 3rd set TB win over Sakkari in the Miami semis two years ago, ends the Canadian's three-match Top 10 losing streak as she notches her first since defeating Dasha Kasatkina last summer in Toronto.


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10. Adelaide 1 QF - Linda Noskova def. Victoria Azarenka
...6-4/6-7(3)/7-6(6). The most drama-filled match of Noskova's dramatic week, as the teenager led the former #1 6-4/4-2 before Azarenka won a 2nd set TB to force a deciding 3rd. There Noskova took a break lead at 5-4, but failed to serve out the match, then saw Azarenka stave off a BP in game 11. Down 6-5, Noskova saved a MP, holding to force another TB, where the Czech rallied from 5-4 down to win 8-6 and close out the nearly three-hour match.



The two combined for 90 winners, a number surpassed just once on tour in '22 (the fabulous Strasbourg final between Kerber & Juvan), and Azarenka's 15 aces led to her ending the match with a 10-point edge (127-117) in total points.
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11. Abu Dhabi 2nd Rd. - Beatriz Haddad Maia def. Yulia Putintseva
...6-4/6-7(5)/7-6(4). In a wild one that lasted over three hours and went past midnight, both Haddad Maia and Putintseva served for the match, with the Brazilian failing to put away three MP in the 2nd set, only to eventually get the win immediately after a Putintseva point penalty had given her a fourth MP.

Haddad twice served for the match in the 2nd set, and held 3 MP at 5-4 before Putintseva got the break on her sixth BP of the game, only to then see Haddad break back (on BP #5) a game later, but then drop serve once more as the set went to a TB. Haddad held a mini-break lead at 5-4, but Putintseve swept the last three points to force a 3rd set.

Haddad took a 3-0 lead in the decider, but Putintseva battled back and served for the match at 5-4. At 30/15, Putintseva stopped mid-way through a neutral rally to challenge a baseline ball from Haddad. But rather than see the replay go her way and give her a MP at 40/15, the ball wasn't out as Putintseva had hoped. The point went to Haddad, and the score was 30-all. A few moments later, Putintseva's chance to end the match was over and the score was 5-5.

The set went to a deciding TB, where Putitintseva took a double-mini break lead at 3-1 via a Haddad DF, then pushed the edge to 4-1. But The Kazakh dropped both serving points to put the breaker back on serve, and the Brazilian held two points to take a 5-4 lead. It was at that moment that Putintseva drew a point penalty (!!!) for an audible obscenity, gifting Haddad a fourth MP chance at 6-4. Putintseva's unforced error ended the match a point later.



And, thus, the 2023 season *officially* began, for such a thing cannot be declared until Putintseva has gone down in self-immolating fashion in a match that left everyone a some point with their head in their hands. It happens *every* season, usually fairly early, but this time time around it took until Week 6.
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12. Abu Dhabi 1st Rd. - Alona Ostapenko def. Danielle Collins
...7-5/1-6/7-5. An on-so-very Ostapenko (and Collins, too, in many aspects) match.

It was a battle of swinging momentum, as both players traded off game winning streaks of 3 (Collins), 4 (Ostapenko), 4 (Collins), 3 (Collins), 3 (Ostapenko), 3 (Collins) and, naturally, 3 (Ostapenko) throughout the course of the match. Meanwhile, Ostapenko blew through her replay challenges at the 1st set's mid-way point (shocker), and Collins got into a public back-and-forth with... Ostapenko's mom?.



Ultimately, the Latvian prevailed, only to fall a round later (to Zheng) and prove to be unable to carry over her desert derring-do from '22 (in Doha/Dubai) to Abu Dhabi.


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13. Dubai 1st Rd. - Sorana Cirstea def. Beatriz Haddad Maia
...4-6/7-6(7)/7-5. Neither Cirstea nor Haddad stuck around long enough to make a real dent in the tournament storyline, but both starred in the opening moments in the longest match (3:29) on tour so far this season.

Haddad had a pair of MP at 6-4 in the 2nd set TB, only to see Cirstea stay alive with a 9-7 win. The Brazilian twice held break leads in the 3rd, including at 4-1, but the Romanian won six of the final seven games to get the win. Both fired off 49 winners on the day, while Haddad ended with a slight edge (125-123) in total points in the loss.


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14. Australian Open Jr. Final - Alina Korneeva def. Mirra Andreeva
...6-7(2)/6-4/7-5. The AO junior singles final saw a match-up of 15-year olds who are not only fellow Hordettes, but doubles partners with a years-long friendship.

The teenagers, playing in the opening match on Laver, played a pretty remarkable junior slam final, going 3:18 in the heat in a match with any number of highs and lows, ultimately ending in ecstasy for one and agony for the other. Early on, the two were putting together rallies like this (and they never really stopped)...



In the closing games, Korneeva broke Andreeva to get the chance to serve for the match at 5-4. She dropped serve in a 6-deuce game in which she had two MP and saved four BP before Andreeva finally converted on her fifth attempt. But Korneeva got a break in game 11 and served for the match again, this time closing it out via a 6-7(2)/6-4/7-5 score.

Though they're the same age, Korneeva seemed to naturally assume something of a "big sister" role at the net, comforting the crushed Andreeva and offering words of encouragement (then and later during the trophy ceremony, promising her that they'd play many more times and that she'll win many of those matches).



This final was the fifth all-Russian girls slam singles final, and the first ever in Melbourne. Korneeva joins Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (2006-07), Ksenia Pervak (2009) and Elizaveta Kulichkova (2014) as Hordettes who've won the junior AO crown, and is the first slam girls singles champ since Anastasia Potapova at Wimbledon in 2016.
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15. Auckland 1st Round - Venus Williams def. Katie Volynets 7-6(4)/6-2
Auckland 2nd Round - Zhu Lin def. Venus Williams 3-6/6-2/7-5
...the week started out well for Williams. The 42-year old notched a win over Volynets, her first at tour level since the 2021 Wimbledon. She battled Zhu within a few points of her first QF since 2019 (Cincinnati), leading 4-2 in the 3rd, serving at 5-4 and holding four BP chances at 5-all. Zhu ultimately held, then broke Williams' serve to end the match.

By the end of the weekend, Venus' 2023 season had taken its first direct hit as she withdrew from the Australian Open (she'd been given a WC) due to injury, meaning that Melbourne was without *either* Williams sister in the MD for the first time since 1997.


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HM- Dubai Final - Barbora Krejcikova def. Iga Swiatek
...6-4/6-2. For the second time in less than five months, Krejcikova proves that Swiatak is most definitely *not* unbeatable when all the money in on the table, defeating her in a second singles final to level their head-to-head at two wins each, and preventing Iga from rushing into her "Sunshine Double" defense with a "Desert Double" in her back pocket.



Krejcikova thus became the fifth woman to defeat the top three ranked players in one event, but the second in a matter of months after Aryna Sabalenka did it in the WTAF last November (only to then lose in the final). The Czech also became the first with two wins over the Pole since she climbed to #1 (Elena Rybakina later became the second), and remains the only woman (doing it twice, w/ Ostrava!!!) to defeat Swiatek in a singles final in the last 30 months.

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*A TALE OF TWO TIE-BREAKS*




Indian Wells Final - Elena Rybakina def. Aryna Sabalenka
...7-6(11)/6-4. Less than two months after meeting in a pressure and power-packed AO final, the two did the dance again in a match that ended very differently than the previous four meetings (all won by Sabalenka) between the two.

Putting in 10 DF in the opening set, Sabalenka both squandered and nearly stole the 1st. She led 4-2, but Rybakina got the set back on serve and from 5-4 up forced Sabalenka to hold twice just to force a TB (she staved off a SP at 6-5 when Rybakina fired a backhand long).

The TB saw the momentum go back and forth like a teeter totter. Rybakina held a SP at 6-5, then Sabalenka at 7-6 (she DF'd). A long Sabalenka forehand gave Rybakina a SP at 8-7, then *she* DF'd. A big serve from the Kazakh have her a 4th SP at 9-8, saved by Sabelenka with a big serve of her own and an aggressive net rush. Another Sabalenka DF have Rybakina a SP at 10-9, but she failed to convert, then the Belarusian's power groundstrokes gave *her* a second SP at 11-10. Sabalenka DF'd yet again (#10).

Finally, on her 6th SP, Rybakina grabbed the set with a Sabalenka forehand error, winning 13-11. Whew! Even if you're *not* Elena's sister.

Rybakina quickly grabbed a 2-0 lead in the 2nd, then a double-break edge at 5-2 before Sabalenka won back-to-back games to finally apply some pressure. Serving for the match for a second time, Rybakina finished off her *second* biggest title run with an ace, becoming the first Kazakh to win in the desert and the first woman to knock off both the top two players in the world in a single I.W. event. She's the 38th to do it in tour ranking history (since 1975).

During the post-match trophy ceremony, the pair teamed up to form a fairly adept comedy team (even if Rybakina was something of an "accidental tourist" in the act).


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Miami Final - Petra Kvitova def. Elena Rybakina
...7-6(14)/6-2. As just the sixth woman to reach the AO, IW and Miami finals in a single season, Rybakina seemed on her way in the early stages of the final to following up Iga Swiatek's 2022 coast-to-coast U.S. title combo with of her own. And she *might* have had done it, had she won the opening set and established a mountain for Kvitova to have to climb the rest of the way.

Rybakina was chugging along until Kvitova got a break and served for the set at 5-4. She couldn't do it, and the set went to a TB, where both women held five SP each.

Rybakina led 4-2, but it was Kvitova who reached SP first at 6-5. Rybakina fired off an ace. After Rybakina held her first SP at 7-6, Kvitova edged ahead 8-7 and seemed set to take it before a 15-shot rally was ended with a Rybakina shot off the back of the baseline caused a Kvitova frame job and resulted in a put-away winner from the Kazakh.

The 22-minute breaker would see Rybakina hold the last of her five SP at 13-12, followed by Kvitova 4th and 5th chances, the last of which was finally converted when Rybakina netted a forehand to win 16-14 to complete the fascinating group of long tie-breaks we've seen over the course of this year's month-long Sunshine swing.



Kvitova got the early break in the 2nd, then pulled away, ending Rybakina's 13-match run (and denying her the Sunshine Double) and finishing the match by dropping serve just once in the final while picking up title #30.
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1. Australian Open 2nd Rd. - Miriam Kolodziejová/Marketa Vondrousova def. Beatriz Haddad Maia/Zhang Shuai
...3-6/7-6(9)/7-6(12). The Czechs save 9 MP, coming back from the brink from a final set deficit that *no one* will top in 2023. It can only be matched, and won't likely be.

Kolodziejova/Vondrousova saved three MP in the 2nd set, two in a TB that they finally won 11-9. In the 3rd, Haddad/Zhang led 5-0, 40/love, but the Czechs saved four more MP in game 6, then two more in a MTB (at 9-8 and 11-10 - making it 9 in all) before finally winning 14-12.

Whew!


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2. Miami QF - Jessie Pegula def. Anastasia Potapova
...4-6/6-3/7-6(2). Potapova's great week in Miami nearly became stupendous, but she stumbled down the nervy final stretch. Twice the Hordette served for the match, at 5-4 (holding 2 MP on serve) and again at 6-5 after breaking Pegula in the "in-between" game.

Pegula forced a TB, and converted MP in the early morning hours (1:27 a.m.), reaching her 7th SF in he last 14 1000-level events.
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3. Dubai 2nd Rd. - Barbora Krejcikova def. Dasha Kasatkina
...6-4/4-6/7-5. Tennis results often balance on the head of a pin, and Krejcikova's huge week in Dubai (wins over #1, #2 and #3, and the title) very nearly went the other way just a few days in.

After leading 5-0 in the 1st, Krejcikova held off a charge from Kasatkina, but then dropped the 2nd and saw the Hordette hold four MP at 5-4 in the 3rd. Kasatkina gave away two of her opportunities via DF before Krejcikova got the break on her 4th BP of the game. She then had to save a BP in the following game. In the lead on the scoreboard in the deciding set for the first time at 6-5, the Czech broke Kasatkina to claim the match.

The rest would soon become history.
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4. Austin 2nd Rd. - Katie Volynets def. Anastasia Potapova
...5-7/6-2/7-5. Potapova led 5-0 in the 3rd, twice served for the match, and held a MP on Volynets' serve at 5-1.

But Volynets swept the final seven games en route to her maiden WTA semifinal.



As that week's Tennis Channel guest broadcaster Andrea Petkovic later said of this match, "Tennis is a wonderland."
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5. Dubai QF - Barbora Krejcikova def. Aryna Sabalenka
...0-6/7-6(2)/6-1. A moment that might have led to Swiatek completing a "Desert Double," or at least facing off with an undefeated Sabalenka in a blockbuster final.

Sabalenka, 13-0 on the season after having knocked off defending champ Alona Ostapenko, led Krejcikova 6-0/3-1. The Belarusian fell behind 15/40 in game 5, though, then DF'd to hand the Czech the break. From there, the rush to a different conclusion was on.

Krejcikova's secret weapon? "Funny words" shouted out by Czech fans in support of her efforts, of course.


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6. Adelaide 2 QF - Veronika Kudermetova def. Danielle Collins
...4-6/7-6(5)/6-1. In her final match of the week (she gave Bencic a SF walkover), Kudermetova saves five MP on serve at 6-5 in the 2nd to force a TB, where she rallies from 0-3 down (and 4-5 on serve) to win in three.


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7. Doha 2nd Rd. - Jessie Pegula def. Alona Ostapenko
...6-2/2-6/7-5. So, when Ostapenko fell behind 4-0 in the 1st, and lost the set 6-2 you knew it really didn't mean anything. And then when Ostapenko took a 4-1 2nd set lead and claimed the 2nd 6-2, *then* went up 4-1 in the 3rd... you still knew it didn't *really* mean the match was decidedly in her favor.

Such is the life of an Ostapenko match.

The Latvian led 5-2, and held two MP on Pegula's serve at 5-4. On one, she netted a blazing forehand return down the line that would have ended the match had it cleared the net. But it caught the tape at the net's highest point, and Ostapenko didn't win another game as Pegula swept the final five games to advance.
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8. Indian Wells 2nd Rd. - Bernarda Pera def. Liudmila Samsonova
...2-6/7-6(8)/7-6(6). Samsonova led 6-2/3-1, then Pera won four straight to lead 5-3. Samsonova forced a TB, but lost it 10-8 after holding 3 MP at 6-5, 7-6 and 8-7.

Pera won another 8-6 TB to win, after the Russian had twice gotten within two points of victory, finishing off her comeback on her own second MP in the breaker.


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9. Merida SF - Rebecca Peterson def. Caty McNally
...6-2/6-7(4)/6-4. After squandering a 4-0 2nd set lead, but pulling her hopes back from the edge by winning a TB to force a 3rd, McNally took another 4-0 lead in the decider, with her maiden tour singles final achingly within reach.

But it remained so, as McNally never won another game, dropping six straight to end the match.
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10. Doha 2nd Rd. - Belinda Bencic def. Victoria Azarenka
...1-6/7-6(4)/6-4. Poor, Vika. She was so close, and yet so far.

She led Abu Dhabi champ Bencic 6-1/4-1, then held 3 BP in game 8 (a break would have seen Azarenka serve for the win at 5-3). But Bencic, still breathing the fumes of her title run of a few days earlier (during which she saved 3 MP) in Abu Dhabi, rallied to win a TB and force a 3rd set and then rode a game 1 break all the way to her 14th win in 16 matches this season (she's on an 18-2 run starting with last year's BJK Cup finals).

Bencic then withdrew from the event, citing fatigue.
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11. Auckland Final - Miyu Kato/Aldila Sutjiadi def. Leylah Fernandez/Bethanie Mattek-Sands
...1-6/7-6 [10-4]. Kato & Sutjiadi win their first tour crown as a duo (they were RU in Hamburg last year), claiming three of their four wins via MTB, including in the final over Fernandez/Mattek-Sands after rallying from 6-1/5-1 down and saving two MP (at 5-3). It's Kato's third career win, while Sutjiadi now has two (with all three finals having come since April).


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12. Adelaide 1 1st Rd. - Bianca Andreescu def. Garbine Muguruza
...0-6/7-6(3)/6-1. In the '23 tour MD opener, Muguruza puts her worst season behind her by... blowing a 6-0/5-2 lead and failing to serve out the win up 5-3 and 30/love, dropping 10 of the final 12 games.

Oh, Garbi.


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13. Australian Open Q2 - Brenda Fruhvirtova def. Daria Snigur 5-7/7-6(3)/6-3
...in her previous major, Snigur upset Simona Halep. Here she saw the 15-year old Czech rally from 7-5/5-1 down and after having trailed by a break twice early in the 3rd set. - youngest in AO MD (15)
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14. Miami 3rd Rd. - Anastasia Potapova def. Coco Gauff
...6-7(8)/7-5/6-2. Potapova squandered a 5-2 1st set lead, failing to put away 2 SP in the TB. In the 2nd, it was Gauff who couldn't close things out, serving for the match at 5-3 before dropping four consecutive games heading into the 3rd. There, the U.S. teen once again went out with surprisingly little scoreboard pushback in the decider.


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15. Dubai 2nd Rd. - Victoria Azarenka def. Amanda Anisimova
...4-6/6-4/7-6(5). Last year in Madrid, Anisimova nearly had a meltdown vs. Azarenka after serving up 6-1/5-1, 40/love, only to see her lead nearly slip entirely away. A missed easy volley at 40/15 started an avalanche that saw Azarenka close to 5-4. Finally, Anisimova put the win away with an ace on her sixth MP.

Here Azarenka dropped the 1st after twice holding break advantages. Vika then won the 2nd from 0-2 back. In the 3rd, Anisimova led 3-1 and 5-3, serving for the match at 5-4. She couldn't close the door, and this time Azarenka caught her and took the win.

As is often the case, the final images of so many Anisimova defeats look messy and/or troubling. This one was no different.


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HM- Austin 2nd Rd. - Anna-Lena Friedsam def. Erika Andreeva
...7-5/6-7(2)/7-6(8). Friedsam ultimately won the 3:11 match after Andreeva had led 5-2 in the 3rd and served for the win at 5-3. The Hordette got within two points of victory in two different games before the exciting deciding TB, where she then saved a Friedsam MP at 7-6 with a lob from *behind* "AUSTIN" on the court (see in the video), held a MP of her own at 8-7 (she missed on a passing shot) and then saw the German win on her own second MP when Andreeva failed to keep her down the line shot inside the court's boundaries.


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1. Australian Open 2nd Rd. - Katie Volynets def. Veronika Kudermetova
...6-4/2-6/6-2. The 21-year old Bannerette picks up her first career Top 10 win over #9 seeded Kudermetova, becoming the first U.S. qualifier to reach the 3rd Round in Melbourne since Lindsay Davenport in 1993. The win helped Volynets make her Top 100 debut after the AO.

Volynets' victory continued her rise since opening the season by becoming the first player to lose to Venus Williams in singles since the '21 Wimbledon. The California native, who posted her maiden slam MD win last year in Paris after winning a USTA WC into Roland Garros, took 3-1 and 4-2 leads over Kudermetova in the decider. Trying to stay in the match, the Hordette rallied from 15/40 down in game #7 and held two GP in a 10-minute game, but Volynets got the decisive break and then served her way into her first slam 3rd Round.


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2. Adelaide 1 1st Rd. - Linda Noskova def. Dasha Kasatkina 6-3/6-7(2)/6-3
Adelaide 1 SF - Linda Noskova def. Ons Jabeur 6-3/1-6/6-3
...#102 Noskova's pulls off her maiden Top 10 victories en route to her first tour final as, appropriately, it was a Czech Crusher who became the first player to strike the sort of decisive, eye-opening blow that officially christens a new season.


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3. Australian Open 2nd Rd. - Cristina Bucsa def. Bianca Andreescu
...2-6/7-6(7)/6-4. It was hard to tell whether Bucsa's perpetual in-match facial expression vs. Andreescu was more of a "Mona Lisa smile" or a "Cheshire cat grin," or just a winning combination of the two.

The newly Top 100-ranked Spaniard's victory, which came after the match momentum flipped mid-way through the 2nd set in a windy stretch of weather during which Andreescu's toss got a bit sketchy and she seemed to lose her timing overall, though the Canadian recovered and managed to reach MP in the 2nd set TB before Bucsa converted on her third SP.



Bucsa grabbed her final break lead in the 3rd at 3-2, then saved a late BP in the final game as she served out the win.



Even before this upset, Bucsa had been having a *time* in Melbourne. She'd saved 12 set points in the opening set vs. Nao Hibino in the Q3, then she did this after qualifying for the fourth time in the last five majors...


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HM- Australian Open Jr. 1st Rd. - Stefani Webb def. Sara Saito
...3-6/6-1/6-2. Aussie girls' wild card Webb takes out the #1 seed, as Japan's Saito was one of five of the top six junior seeds who fell in the opening round in Melbourne.


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ALSO: 1Q Top Players and Performers


1Q BSAs, Pt.2: A Box of Matches
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