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Sunday, May 28, 2023

RG.1- Sabalenka's Chatrier Shebang

Roland Garros got rolling on Sunday, and so did Aryna Sabalenka.




On Day 1, the tournament scheduled the #2 seed and reigning Australian Open champion for the slam-opening match on Chatrier show court. That her opponent was Marta Kostyuk, of course, was purely coincidental. Yeah, umm, I'm sure that's true.

I mean, the organizers surely wanted to highlight the player who has been the best on tour this season, right? They certainly didn't place the match in such a prime position because Sabalenka's opponent has spoken so forcefully, and more often than not immaturely, about her wish that all Belarusians (like Sabalenka) be banned from the sport because of their government's role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, nor because Kostyuk seems to keep a journal in which she registers every BLR/RUS player's travels to and from Russia for whatever training or familial reasons they deem necessary (and scribbles a black "X" next to their name every time they do it), while also keeping a "Not on My S**t List" list of players who personally bend the knee seek her out to express feelings against the war (not that that means she'd then shake their hand after a match, of course), as well as her embracing of the practice of refusing to back down from such nonsense because, of course, in 2023 when presented with much evidence that your actions are ridiculous the correct move isn't to humbly course correct but to *double-down* on such actions and comments.

Hmmm. Well, at any rate, the tournament got just what it wanted from Sabalenka-Kostyuk. I suppose.

The Chatrier shebang opened without the usually customary photo between the two players at the net along with the children given the honor of being brought out to participate in the coin toss because, you know, Kostyuk wouldn't want to be seen in a photo with a "dirty Belarusian," I guess. Thanks for coming anyway, kids.... now shoo.



Once the match began, Sabalenka, save for a brief five-minute stretch, showed the form that has led to her leading the tour in match wins and titles this season, though she's never advanced further in the draw in Paris than the 3rd Round (three times from 2020-22). Meanwhile, Kostyuk didn't back away from Sabalenka's power. Long a promising talent, the Ukrainian began to find some of that overdue success earlier this year, opening 15-6 and claiming her first tour singles title. But she entered Sunday having gone 3-5 since, with just two wins on clay, and had yet to defeat a Top 10 player in thirteen previous match-ups in her career. Her numbers wouldn't improve today.

Sabalenka slightly opened the door for Kostyuk to gain a foothold in the match mid-way into the 1st set when she failed to convert break points in the fourth game, then saw Kostyuk's forehand slice drop shot from behind the baseline give the Ukrainian a love/30 lead a game later. Sabalenka double-faulted to go down love/40, and dropped serve at love to fall a break down at 3-2.

But rather than go into a mini-tailspin, or berate herself for a bad stretch as she might have in years past, Sabalenka settled into the match and barely looked back. She DF'd on game point in game 7 and was forced to save a BP, but she held serve and quickly took a break lead a game later. She served out the 1st set at 6-3.



Sabalenka didn't let up in the 2nd, taking a double-break lead at 4-1 and firing her way into the 2nd Round with a 6-3/6-2 win, her 30th victory on the season and eighth straight in slam competition.

There was no post-match handshake at the net, which the RG organizers knew would happen, as did (one would think) the majority of the fans in the stands, but maybe hope springs eternal that a big sporting event might bring out the best in a previously obstinate and disrespectful competitor. Or maybe the French fans just like to boo (well, we *know* that's true). At any rate, Kostyuk received boos and whistles for her no-words, no-look, no-acknowledgement march to her chair to put away her things.

Somehow, though, Sabalenka originally thought the boos were for her (the side effect of the Six Degrees of Russian Separation hate thrown her way over the past year, something hardly alleviated and likely stoked by the likes of Kostyuk). Whether her dramatic bow was *fully* a snide response to the wrongly perceived displeasure of the fans (really, who *hasn't* thought the worse of the French fans, right?), or at least *partly* a reaction to once again being publicly dismissed by a just-vanquished opponent, Sabalenka was quickly reassured (seemingly by the chair umpire) that the boos hadn't been for her, but for Kostyuk. She seemed relieved and apologetic, saying to the crowd, "Sorry guys I didn’t get it at first. I thought this 'boo' was against me. So I was a little surprised, but then I felt your support. So thank you so much for the support. It’s really important."

Still, even with apologies coming from *one* side of the aisle, the writhing tail of this whole mess continues to produce bad looks and worse takes, and none of it is likely to end anytime soon.

NOTE: perhaps I'm wrong, but it seems that most of the videos of the post-match booing of Kostyuk and Sabalenka's bow have been removed from social media, as Roland Garros would likely have the ability to deny any and all usage, so make of that what you will. Below is one of the few still up as of this posting...



But it won't likely last long.



Kostyuk received a mixture of applause and boos as she left the court, and whether anyone believes she deserved either is really inconsequential, for Kostyuk will read the situation as either solidifing her belief that her actions are "correct" or as proof that she's being further victimized by a situation not of her own making (even if the majority of *this* sort of situation actually is). One thing is certain, though, and it's that as hard as it is to believe that an athlete can create an environment in which onlookers can turn on and like her less *after* her country has been invaded, well, Kostyuk has proven quite magnificently that it *is* indeed a manageable feat. Afterward, Kostyuk continued her How-to-Win-Friends-and-Influence-People performance from her (as always) all-knowing perch, informing everyone who doesn't agree with her just how wrong and naive they are for not saying and doing things precisely how she thinks they should.



Now, with this surely (cough-cough) unexpected sideshow out of the way, we can return to our regularly scheduled program in which Sabalenka tries to blast her way through yet another glass ceiling, gain ground on world #1 Iga Swiatek and (maybe) have to work around the potentially lurking force of Rome champ Elena Rybakina (though she couldn't face either woman until the final) as she sees if Paris can be anywhere near as fun as Melbourne was in January.

3, 2, 1... go. (We'll see how long that lasts.)




=DAY 1 NOTES=
...meanwhile, it's always nice when we can get the 1st Seed Out and First Victory out of the way on Day 1 in one fell swoop. At this Roland Garros, we can thank Magdalena Frech for that. Or maybe Zhang Shuai.

#29 Zhang came into Paris on the short list of possible early upset victims, being just 4-10 on the year and with seven straight losses as she's apparently been playing through illness this spring. Her last win came on the final day of January in Lyon (vs. Brengle) after she'd reached the Round of 16 at the Australian Open.

Zhang dropped serve and was quickly down 0-3 vs. Frech before finally getting on the board in game 4. She then very nearly went out without winning another. Frech won the next eight games, and served at 5-0, 40/15 in the 2nd before Zhang managed to stave off three MP and get the break. No matter, she dropped serve a game later to end the match. It's the second straight year in Paris in which a Pole has dumped the first seed, after Magda Linette advanced past Ons Jabeur in 2022.



Zhang hasn't won a match in Paris since 2020 (4r), but going out in the 1st Round of a major isn't a foreign concept to the veteran. Before her slam breakthrough in 2016 (AO QF) she'd lost her first 14 slam MD matches. She's since gone on to reach at least the Round of 16 at all four.

...while Zhang was looked upon as a potential 1st Round upset, perhaps no one had a tougher opening assignment than #8 Maria Sakkari. A semifinalist in 2021, the Greek fell in the 2nd Round a year ago to the always-dangerous, always-perilously-in-the-draw Karolina Muchova. Guess who Sakkari drew in the *1st* Round this time around.

Some match-ups just seem to go a certain player's way. Serena/Maria, de Groot/Kamiji... Krejcikova/Swiatek? (We may yet get to see about that one in Paris.) Well, add Muchova/Sakkari to that list, at least when it happens on clay.



After winning 7-6/7-6 last year in Paris, Muchova prevailed 7-6/7-5 in "Take Two," improving to 3-0 in tour-level matches vs. Sakkari (all on clay since 2021). Sakkari won their lone hard court meeting in a challenger event in 2016.



Muchova remains a player no one could rightly want to see emerging from the shadows ahead of them in any draw, much less a major, where five of her now eight career Top 10 wins have occurred. So what if RG is the only slam at which the Czech hasn't reached the second week, though she *is* coming off a Round of 16 in Rome and has posted consecutive *3rd* Rounds in Paris the last two years.

Somewhat surprisingly, after being so often beset with injury issues, Muchova's MD appearance at this RG is the 17th time in the last 18 slams that she's at least been *present* for the opening round of a major.

...another dangerous floater in the draw is Leylah Fernandez, a quarterfinalist a year ago who is fighting to hold onto a Top 50 ranking after four months of wanting results. She arrived from Rabat with no breeze behind her (aside from a $100K semi in Madrid a week prior) after falling in the 2nd Round to Peyton Stearns. But the Canadian's quest to "hold on" proved successful on Sunday, at least for now. She took down #21 Magda Linette, a semifinalist in Melbourne in January, by a 6-3/1-6/6-3 score. Fernandez is 8-3 in her RG career, matching her best numbers at the U.S. Open (where six of her wins came in a single event in '21). She's 1-5 combined in her AO/WI history.



...the French came into this slam with little real hope -- outside of a spare win or two from elsewhere -- outside of Caroline Garcia (best result: a QF six years ago) and maybe Clara Burel or Diane Parry (but not likely both) for a shot at the second week. There were 10 Pastries in the MD, but six of those came via wild cards (one -- somehow -- *incredibly* generously handed out to Kiki Mladenovic) and another was a qualifier. Three were on the schedule for Day 1.

WC Jessika Ponchet managed just two games vs. Nadia Podoroska early on, while Alize Cornet's record 65th consecutive major (and 19th RG MD) saw her fall to Camila Giorgi as the Italian staged a comeback from 4-2 back in the 2nd set to win in straights.



So the bulk of the day's chances fell on wild card Leolia Jeanjean, the former NCAA player who last year made her slam debut at age 26, suprisingly upsetting #8 Karolina Pliskova and reaching the 3rd Round. Today she faced off with another wild card, Aussie Kimberly Birrell. Needless to say it was a "journey."

It didn't seem as if it'd be that way. Jeanjean led 6-4/4-1, and served and held a MP at 5-4. As the increasing marathon-like match-up (it'd include a 41-shot rally and went 3:10) carried into a 2nd set TB, Jeanjean led 6-2, holding quadruple match point. But Birrell saved all four, sweeping the final six points to win 8-6.

Jeanjean ultimately took the 3rd at 6-2 to prevent the home nation women from hanging a zéro (or would it be a nul?) on Day 1.



...elsewhere, stop me if you've heard this before, but Jil Teichmann is no more in the opening days of a major.

Monica Raymund Gabriela Dawson GIFfrom Monica Raymund GIFs


Last year, the Swiss *finally* had something resembling a slam breakthrough, reaching the Round of 16 in Paris after previously having not even reached the 3rd Round at a major. And, remember, this was player who *had* had big-time BJK Cup success and reached the Cincinnati 1000 final *and* two 1000 semis (Dubai/Madrid) in the past. She ranked as high as #21 last summer. With her loss today to Sara Errani, though, Teichmann falls to 1-4 in the four majors *after* her (sorta) breakout run.



Naturally, Teichmann took the 1st set from Errani, then rallied from 4-2 down to knot the score at 4-all and give herself a chance to pull out a straight sets win. She lost eight of the next ten games and was sent packing.

For 2012 RG finalist Errani, this is just her second MD win in Paris since 2017, and third since 2015.

...#3 Jessie Pegula won the all-U.S. match-up with Danielle Collins, prevailing 6-4/6-2 to save the Bannerettes -- hey, *one* of the two was assured of doing it -- from going winless on Day 1. With 19 women in the MD, no nation has more faces in the game in Paris, but the Bannerettes currently stand at just 1-4.

...three MD matches into her slam career, Czech Sara Bejlek is still seeking her first win, in a match *or* set. The 17-year old Crusher has qualified at the last three majors, but has yet to garner more than four games in any 1st Round match. In New York she fell 3 & 1 to Liudmila Samsonova, then lost 3 & 1 again in Melbourne to Barbora Krejickova. Today it was Kamilla Rakhimova doing the honors, dispatching Bejlek love & 3.

On the opposite end of that spectrum, though it took her a while to get there, one player joined the One Is All I Need Club on Day 1, and it was Iryna Shymanovich. The 25-year old Belarusian celebrated her slam MD debut by defeating Panna Udvardy for her first win. She joins the other three women -- Olivia Gadecki, Diana Shnaider and Lucrezia Stefanini -- from this year's Australian Open who also won in their opening shot at a 1st Round match in a major. Mirra Andreeva and Simona Waltert will get their chance to do the same when they play over the new two days.



Shymanovich is the 16th woman in the four RG events held during the 2020s to pick up her maiden slam win in Paris (four did it last year). A good junior player nearly a decade ago, Shymanovich reached four girls' slam singles QF (2013-15), and a girls slam WD final ('13 WI).

...wrapping up some Week 21 title-winning news, Belarus' Yuliya Hatouka took home the biggest challenger title of the week, winning the $60K Grado (ITA) event with a 2-6/6-3/6-1 win in the final over Czech Crusher Lucia Havlickova. It's her tenth career title, and first since 2021.

17-year old Aussie Taylah Preston won her maiden pro title, defeating Czech Gabriela Knutson in a 3-6/7-6(5)/6-3 $25K final in Monastir, Turkey.



Bannerette Elvina Kalieva, 19, won her first own first pro title in Warmbad Villach (AUT), taking the $25K final over Julia Struplova (CZE) 4-7/6-2/6-1.

...in junior play, Bannerette Kaitlin Quevedo claimed her biggest career title at the J500 Milan event, dropping just one set all week and then seeing Renata Jamrichova retire after losing the 1st set 7-5 in the final.

17-year old Quevedo won a J1 title in '22 (Guadalajara), but this season after reaching at least the SF in all five of her previous junior level events had failed to win any titles until today (going 0-3 in finals).

...in Spain, wheelchair #1 Diede de Groot claimed the singles title at the Barcelona Open, winning her 25th straight event and extending her match winning streak to 99. After wins over Angelica Bernal (1/1) and Kgothatso Montjane (0/2), the Dutch great defeated #2 Yui Kamiji 7-6(5)/7-5 in the final, her 21st straight win in the series.

Kamiji, 0-6 vs. de Groot this season, extended her own non-Diede winning streak to 65 matches, as well as picking up the doubles title alongside Montjane.

De Groot comes into Paris on a 29-match, 9-major title run.





...MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND GRAVEYARD HOPPING ON DAY 1:























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*RECENT RG "FIRST VICTORY" HONORS*
2016 A.Pavlyuchenkova/RUS (d. Sorribes Tormo/ESP)
2017 Petra Kvitova/CZE (d. Boserup/USA)
2018 Ekaterina Makarova/RUS (d. Sai.Zheng/CHN)
2019 Petra Martic/CRO (d. Jabeur/TUN)
2020 Kamilla Rakhimova/RUS (d. Rogers/USA)
2021 Ana Bogdan/ROU (d. Cocciaretto/ITA)
2022 Sorana Cirstea/ROU (d. Maria/GER)
2023 Magdalena Frech/POL (d. Zhang/CHN)

*RECENT RG "FIRST SEED OUT"*
2014 #25 Kaia Kanepi/EST (Niculescu/ROU)
2015 #31 Caroline Garcia/FRA (Vekic/CRO)
2016 #32 Alona Ostapenko/LAT (Osaka/JPN)
2017 #31 Roberta Vinci/ITA (Puig/PUR)
2018 #9 Venus Williams/USA (Q.Wang/CHN)
2019 #5 Angelique Kerber/GER (Potapova/RUS)
2020 #17 Anett Kontaveit/EST (Garcia/FRA)
2021 #26 Angelique Kerber/GER (Kalinina/UKR)
2022 #6 Ons Jabeur/TUN (Linette/POL)
2023 #29 Zhang Shuai/CHN (Frech/POL)

*MAIDEN CAREER SLAM MD WINS AT RG (16) - 2020-23*
2020 Irina Bara, ROU
2020 Clara Burel, FRA
2020 Jasmine Paolini, ITA
2020 Nadia Podoroska, ARG
2020 Anastasia Rakhimova, RUS
2020 Clara Tauson, DEN
2020 Martina Trevisan, ITA
2020 Renata Zarazua, MEX
2021 Hailey Baptiste, USA
2021 Tereza Martincova, CZE
2021 Harmony Tan, FRA
2022 Fernanda Contreras, MEX
2022 Elsa Jacquemot, FRA
2022 Leolia Jeanjean, FRA
2022 Katie Volynets, USA
2023 Iryna Shymanovich, BLR
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NOTE: through Day 1

*RECENT MILAN (J500) JR. CHAMPIONS*
2008 Simona Halep, ROU
2009 Sloane Stephens, USA
2010 Beatrice Capra, USA
2011 Irina Khromacheva, RUS
2012 Katerina Siniakova, CZE
2013 Belinda Bencic, SUI
2014 CiCi Bellis, USA
2015 Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
2016 Oleysa Pervushina, RUS
2017 Elena Rybakina, RUS
2018 Eleonora Molinaro, LUX
2019 Alexa Noel, USA
2020-21 DNP
2022 Celine Naef, SUI
2023 Kaitlin Quevedo, USA

*DIEDE DE GROOT vs. IN STREAK*
[99-0]
21 - Yui Kamiji, JPN
13 - Kgothatso Montjane, RSA
10 - Aniek Van Koot, NED
8 - Momoko Ohtani, JPN
6 - Angelica Bernal, COL
6 - Dana Mathewson, USA
4 - Jordanne Whiley, GBR
3 - Macarena Cabrillana, CHI
3 - Jiske Griffioen, NED
3 - Katharina Kruger, GER
3 - Lucy Shuker, GBR
2 - Viktoriia Lvova, RUS
2 - Emmanuelle Morch, FRA
2 - Cornelia Oosthuizan, GBR
2 - Manami Tanaka, JPN
1 - Shelby Baron, USA
1 - Nalani Buob, SUI
1 - Pauline Deroulede, FRA
1 - Huang Jinlian, CHN
1 - Saki Takamura, JPN
1 - Busra Un, TUR
1 - Britta Wend, GER
1 - Louie Charlotte Willerslev-Olsen, DEN
1 - Wang Ziying, CHN
1 - Zhu Zhenzhen, CHN
1 - Maayan Zikri, ISR






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Do we call this "pulling a Pat Cash?











TOP QUALIFIER: Mirra Andreeva/RUS (16; youngest in MD)
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: #29 Brenda Fruhvirtova/CZE def. Antonia Ruzic/CRO 3-6/6-2/7-6(10) - Ruzic MP in MTB; B.Fruhvirtova qualifies for first RG
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Magdalena Frech/POL (def. Sh.Zhang)
FIRST SEED OUT: #29 Zhang Shuai/CHN (1r: Frech/POL)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Day 1 wins: Shymanovich/BLR
UPSET QUEENS: xx
REVELATION LADIES: xx
NATION OF POOR SOULS: xx
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Day 1 wins: Hunter/AUS, Shymanovich/BLR, Tauson/DEN
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Day 1 wins: Jeanjean/FRA
PROTECTED RANKING WINS: Day 1 wins: xx
LAST PASTRY STANDING: Day 1 wins: Jeanjean
Ms./Mademoiselle OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT "TBD": xx
COMEBACK PLAYER: xx
CRASH & BURN: Nominee: xx
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF PARIS: Nominee: xx
DOUBLES STAR: xx
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): xx
Mademoiselle/Madame OF THE EVENING: xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx
Légion de Lenglen HONOREE: xx
Coupe LA PETIT TAUREAU: xx






All for Day 1. More tomorrow.
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