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Sunday, May 21, 2023

Wk.20- It Happened in Rome

Bend the knee, Elena Rybakina is now a tri-surface threat.






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*WEEK 20 CHAMPIONS*
ROME, ITALY (WTA 1000/Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Elena Rybakina/KAZ def. Anhelina Kalinina/UKR 6-4/1-0 ret.
D: Storm Hunter/Elise Mertens (AUS/BEL) def. Coco Gauff/Jessie Pegula (USA/USA) 6-4/6-4
PARIS, FRANCE (WTA 125 Challenger/Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Diane Parry/FRA def. Caty McNally/USA walkover
D: Anna Danilina/Vera Zvonareva (KAZ/RUS) def. Nadiia Kichenok/Alycia Parks (UKR/USA) 5-7/7-6(2) [14-12]
FLORENCE, ITALY (WTA 125 Challenger/Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Jasmine Paolini/ITA def. Taylor Townsned/USA 6-3/7-5
D: Vivian Heisen/Ingrid Neel (GER/EST) def. Asia Muhammad/Giuliana Olmos (USA/MEX) 1-6/6-2 [10-8]




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[Rome 4r+]



PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Elena Rybakina/KAZ
...Rybakina's Italian Open title run isn't going to rank high as far as artistic points go. She had three matches ended by retirement (including vs. the #1-ranked, two-time defending champ *and* in the final), played a rain-interrupted semifinal, was apparently called a "B" by the Latvian in Apartment 23, and had her trophy ceremony marred by fans booing the tournament organizers while Rybakina was accepting gifts.

But none of that erases the fact that the Kazakh -- already a major champion, participant in two of the last three slam finals, and who came up one victory short of a "Sunshine Double" this season -- has officially declared herself a "tri-surface" threat with the clay court Rome win being added to a big trophy-filled mantle that already includes crowns claimed on Wimbledon grass and Indian Wells hard court. She'll finally crack the Top 5 on Monday.

Meanwhile, even with this week's QF match ended by Iga Swiatek's thigh injury, Rybakina is now 3-0 vs. the Pole this season. After winning in Melbourne and Indian Wells in straights, Rybakina erased Swiatek's 6-4/4-2 lead and had turned the tide and nearly won the 2nd set TB *before* Iga pulled up in the backcourt (she'd eventually retire at 2-2 in the 3rd).

Rybakina's other wins in the two-week event came over Jasmine Paolini, Anna Kalinskaya (ret.), Marketa Vondrousova, Alona Ostapenko (winning in two after erasing 3-1 and 4-1 deficits in the 1st and 2nd sets, and sweeping the final four games after a long rain delay), and then Anhelina Kalinina in the final (the Ukrainian led 3-1 in the 1st, and ultimately retired a game into the 2nd).

Career tour title #5 is Rybakina's first on clay since her maiden title in Bucharest in 2019.


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RISERS: Veronika Kudermetova/RUS and Alona Ostapenko/LAT
...another great big event result for Kudermetova, but also another stumble just before the final. The Russian managed to follow up her 1000 semi in Madrid with another in Rome, but her three-set loss to Anhelina Kalinina counts as the eighth straight time that Kudermetova has failed to advance out of the semis (going 0-7 in those matches, with a walkover loss) in a tour-level event.

Picking up steam this spring, the '22 RG quarterfinalist posted wins in Rome over Nura Parrizas Diaz, Anastasia Potapova and Marie Bouzkova to reach her fourth career 1000 QF, then handled Zheng Qinwen in three sets for a second straight semi.

Against Kalinina, Kudermetova couldn't back up a late 1st set break that got the set back on serve at 5-5, ultimately dropping the opener; but she turned the tide completely late in the 2nd as Kalinina led 5-3, and served at 5-4. Kudermetova swept the final 16 points to send things to the 3rd, only to quickly fall down a double break and never really challenge in the decider.

One wonders what good might occur should Kudermetova break out of her semifinal slump, as she's been incrediby streaky at that stage in her tour career. In 2019, she lost all four of WTA SF she played, then she advanced out of six straight (4-0, w/ 2 walkover wins) from 2020-22. Rome is her eighth consecutive in the *other* direction, bringing her overall career SF mark 4-11 (plus 2-1 in walkovers).



Ostapenko can be a lethal opponent to face off with, but she often has to deal with herself, too. On most occasions, the Latvian's own inconsistency and/or poor second serve eventually end her chances.

She put on a good run in Rome, besting her previous high water marks there (2018/21 QF) with a semifinal result during which she took out Sorana Cirstea (on her 7th MP), Barbora Krejcikova (winning in two after losing 16 straight points from 1-1, 30/love and then being 0-2 down in the 1st set TB), Dasha Kasatkina (in three, closing out a second straight match with a love set to pick up her first Top 10 win on clay since RG 2020) and Paula Badosa (also in three).

Against Elena Rybakina in a rain-interrupted, stop-and-start semi, Ostapenko lost the 1st set after leading 3-1, led 4-1 in the 2nd, and battled the linespeople (no shock), the chair umpire (ditto), the weather (both not wanting to *and* wanting to play through showers when it suited her, or didn't) and, shockingly, the Kazakh herself (who does that w/ *Elena*, of all people?) after Rybakina had swept the final four games after she'd argued against playing in the driving rain, leading to a suspension of play with Ostapenko leading 4-2 (ah, there's the rub).

The stoppage of play thwarted her roll, and that was that.

Of course, the high point of Ostapenkian momentum was her title run in Paris in 2017. She's gone just 3-5 in the event since, though she *did* open the '23 slam season with her best-ever AO result (QF) in January.


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SURPRISES: Anhelina Kalinina/UKR and Jasmine Paolini/ITA
...Kalinina has gotten the least attention of the Ukrainian players over the past year, but she's been the best, had already been the highest ranked (and now is once again) and after Rome will settle into a career-best Top 25 ranking after putting in an immense amount of work en route to her first 1000 level final. Of course, all that match time came back to bite her in the end vs. Elena Rybakina, as she was forced to retire from the championship match just one game into the 2nd set.

Kalinina both opened and closed her Rome winning streak with wins over Russians, defeating Anna Blinkova and Veronika Kudermetova (in the latter, winning out in a three-setter in which she'd failed to serve out the 2nd and lost the last 16 points of the set before quickly bouncing back), and knocking off a pair of Bannerettes (Sofia Kenin and Madison Keys) and a Brazilian (Beatriz Haddad Maia, against whom she rallied from 3-0 down in the 3rd to win in 3:41) in between.

After a promising start in the final vs. Rybakina (she led 3-1 in the 1st), Kalinina's Roman wear-and-tear finally forced her to pull up, perhaps putting her potential for a career-best run in Paris in doubt. She's reached the 3rd Round of a major just once, at this year's AO.



Kalinina, though the #30 seed in Rome, actually came into the event at #47 after slipping in the final pre-tournament rankings after losing her 2022 Madrid QF points. It didn't take her long to recoup, as she'll jump 22 spots and reclaim UKR #1 from Marta Kostyuk (#39).

All Paolini needed was a second helping of "home cooking." Mired in a 3-8 slump after falling to Elena Rybakina in the 2nd Round in Rome, the Italian headed to Florence and claimed her second career WTA 125 crown (she won a tour-level title in Portoroz in '21 and reached the Transylvanian Open final last year).

After surviving her opening match against Katie Swan in a contest that went three after Paolini had led 6-4/3-1 before twice having to recover from break deficits in the decider (and come back a second day after play was suspended at 2-2), the Italian strung together victories over Dayana Yastremska, Ylena In-Albon and Lucia Bronzetti before defeating Taylor Townsend in the final, 6-3/7-5.

Paolini will climb 13 spots to nearly break back into the Top 50 (she'll be #52).


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COMEBACKS: Diane Parry/FRA and Taylor Townsend/USA
...last season, Parry looked ready to make a significant move on tour. She made her AO debut, notched back-to-back 3rd Round runs at RG and SW19, defeated #3 Barbora Krejcikova in Paris and cracked the Top 100.

2023 has presented a bit of a course correction.

After her opening round of qualifying loss in Madrid, Parry's six straight losses had her standing at 6-13 on the season. Things have finally started to click for the Pastry in recent weeks, though. She reached a $60K SF in Zagreb, then this past week in Paris played her way into a WTA 125 final in Florence, defeating the likes of Selena Janicijevic (they've both received MD wild cards for RG), Yuan Yue, Linda Noskova and Varvara Gracheva.

The 20-year old got a break from Caty McNally, who withdrew from the event before the final, handing Parry her second 125 crown ('21 Montevideo), matching the biggest of her career.

Parry will climb back into the Top 100 for the first time since November with the result, coming in at #78.



Townsend, coming off a qualifier-to-3rd Round (and nearly more) run in Rome in Week 19 that included a win over Jessie Pegula, in Week 20 carried over her momentum all the way to the Florence 125 final after getting victories over Ana Konjuh (ret.), Ana Bogdan, Matilde Paoletti, and Sara Errani, saving a MP in the 2nd and recovering from double-break down in the 3rd against the former slam finalist.

In the final against Jasmine Paolini, her third Italian opponent of the week, lost in straight sets but will climb 60 spots on Monday to #108. She last ranked in the Top 100 in 2021 before taking maternity leave.
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FRESH FACES: Zheng Qinwen/CHN and Caty McNally/USA
...Zheng's role as as the "next Chinese star" on the women's tour is finally starting to kick in on the court. Less than a year after her breakout Round of 16 run in Paris (where she was one of two players to take a set off Iga Swiatek on clay during her undefeated spring run), she became just the third woman from her country to reach a clay court 1000 QF, with her Rome result boosting her ranking into the Top 20 for the first time.

The 20-year old's Rome journey included wins over Alize Cornet, Anna Bondar and countrywoman Wang Xiyu, the same player she faced off with last year in a 125 final (she won then, too). This past week, Zheng lost in three to Veronika Kudermetova, coming up short of a huge SF result just ahead of her return to Roland Garros in a week's time.

Zheng is the second youngest player ranked in the Top 45, behind only Coco Gauff (and the third youngest in the Top 50, w/ Linda Noskova jumping back in on Monday).



McNally has a recent history of *almost* putting up a superior result. She cleared one hurdle this week in the WTA 125 in Paris, only to fail to even get the chance at clearing another.

After posting wins over Kristina Mladenovic, Tamara Zidansek and Nao Hibino, McNally found herself on the doorstep of a singles final. Last November, she'd reached and won another 125 final (Midland), but earlier this season at tour-level Merida had squandered a 4-0 3rd set semifinal lead over Rebecca Peterson. Last summer in her home event in Cincinnati, McNally failed to convert match points against Ons Jabeur for what would have been her maiden Top 10 win.

In Paris, she managed to defeat fellow Bannerette Katie Volynets to reach the final, only to withdraw (leg injury) from that match before facing off with Diane Parry for the title.

McNally will still climb to a new career high of #54.
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ITF PLAYERS: Olga Danilovic/SRB and Maria Carle/ARG
...Danilovic has had a hard time recapturing the unique magic she displayed while winning a tour title as a lucky loser in Moscow back in 2018, reaching a second WTA final last year in Lausanne but mostly staying well under the radar as she's battled injuries while never being able to lift her ranking back into the Top 100 since spending a month there in October 2018.

Ranked #138, the 22-year old Serb claimed her biggest title in five years in the Madrid $100K challenger, advancing past back-to-back qualifiers (Katarina Zavatska and Suzan Lamens) to reach the final, where she defeated Sara Sorribes Tormo (who'd def. Jaqueline Cristian and Leylah Fernandez) 6-2/6-3 to claim the title, her sixth on the ITF level.

Danilovic will jump 34 spots in the rankings to get ever so close to her belated Top 100 return, coming in at #104.



In Bodrum, Turkey, Carle picked up her second straight challenger title, taking the $60K crown with a 6-4/6-4 win over Romanian Irina Bara.

She'll climb back into the Top 150, just three spots off her career-high at #149.


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JUNIOR STARS: Celine Naef/SUI and Tyra Caterina Grant/USA
...the next generation of Swiss are beginning to make inroads on the pro level. Less than a year ago, 17-year old Naef was reaching the Roland Garros girls' doubles final. Already this year, she's reached three ITF singles finals, winning a $40K and $25K title and falling in a $60K championship match to fellow junior star Mirra Andreeva.

This week in Florence (ITA), Naef made her way through qualifying at the WTA 125 challenger with wins over Federica Urgesi and Erin Routliffe. In the 1st Round, she rallied from 6-4/4-2 down, saving a MP in the 2nd set TB, to defeat Katrina Scott. She lost in the 2nd Round to Aussie Patricia Hon.



Naef will make her Top 200 breakthrough on Monday.

Meanwhile, 15-year old Grant became the latest Bannerette to pick up a top-level junior crown in '23 -- the fourth different to win six J300+ titles this season -- as she claimed her biggest career crown at the J300 Santa Croce Sull'arno (ITA) event by defeating the top three seeded girls in the draw.

#91-ranked Grant opened play with a win over #3-seeded Aussie Emerson Jones, then followed up with an upset of #1-seeded Czech Tereza Valentina in the semis and #2-seed Renata Jamrichova (SVK) in a 6-3/6-3 final.

Earlier this season in U.S.-hosted tournaments, Grant reached a J300 QF (San Diego/March) and J100 final (Delray Beach/April).
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DOUBLES: Storm Hunter/Elise Mertens, AUS/BEL
...for the second big clay event in a row (third if you count the final big clay event of '22 in Roland Garros), the duo of Coco Gauff & Jessie Pegula reached the final but walked away with runner-up trophies. Last year in Paris, it was Garcia/Mladenovic celebrating. In Madrid, Azarenka/Haddad Maia lifted the hardware. In Rome, it was Hunter & Mertens' turn.

The Aussie/Waffle duo opened with a MTB win over Flipkens/Rosolska, and advanced into their first final as a pair with a SF victory over Bouzkova/Mattek-Sands. After falling to Gauff/Pegula in the Miami QF in March, Hunter/Mertens won 6-4/6-4 this time around.

The win is Mertens' 5th 1000 title (Hunter's 2nd) and 17th overall (6th).

One of the new doubles pairs in '23, Hunter/Mertens are now 13-4 on the season with three additional QF at the AO and both ends of the Sunshine Double.

Of some note, Mertens only needs a Roland Garros crown to complete her Career Doubles Slam, having won previous major titles alongside Aryna Sabalenka (AO/US) and Hsieh Su-wei (WI).
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WHEELCHAIR: Kgothatso Montjane/RSA
...results have been harder to come by for Montjane than one might have expected when she posted her historic Wimbledon singles final result back in 2021. Heading into this week, the South African had claimed just one WC singles crown since , on home soil just two short months after that SW19 run. In fact, Montjane came into the Series 2 tournament in Madrid having *reached* just one additional singles final since that September '21 RSA title, and none since last May.

That changed this week, as Montjane ran off wins over Lizzy De Greef, Macarena Cabrillana and Zhu Zhenzhen in a 6-4/7-6 final to claim the singles honors.

Montjane and Zhu teamed to win the doubles crown, as well.
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[Rome 4r+]



1. Rome QF - Anhelina Kalinina def. Beatriz Haddad Maia
...6-7(2)/7-6(6)/6-3. You knew it was going to come eventually, so here is this clay season's first marathon, as Kalinina and Haddad Maia battled for a tour season-long 3:41.

Kalinina had held a SP in the 1st, and needed four in the 2nd to send things to a deciding set. But down 0-3 in the 3rd, the Ukrainian rallied against Haddad Maia, who was playing through a calf injury.

Ultimately, Kalinina payed the price for this one, too, it just took another one and a half matches for the bill to arrive.



Haddad, surprisingly in her Rome debut, had posted wins over Ruse, Linette and Osorio after having rebounded from her poor Madrid singles experience by taking the doubles there. This was her second 3:29+ match loss this season, along with her Dubai 1st Round defeat at the hands of Cirstea.

The Brazilian is still looking for her first significant slam run, having yet to reach the 3rd Round in eleven major MD appearances.
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2. Rome QF - Elena Rybakina def. Iga Swiatek
...2-6/7-6(3)/2-2 ret. Early on, Swiatek looked ready to continue on to what would be her third straight Rome title.



She led 6-2/4-2, but Rybakina found her groove and stormed back, erasing the break edge and forcing a TB. She led 5-3 when Swiatek stumbled in the back court on the point that gave the Kazakh a 6-3 lead and 3 SP, grabbing her thigh and immediately knowing something wasn't 100% right. Rybakina won the next point, while Swiatek went off court for a medical evaluation.



The Pole returned to play, but was clearly not willing/able to play full out, and did the smart thing at 2-2 and called it day, perhaps giving herself the best shot to preserve her chances in Paris starting a week from now. Rybakina moves up to #4.



As it is, Rybakina's comeback precipitated not only the lingering question that will hang over the would-be #1 seed at RG, but also threw yet another dart at Swiatek's tour dominance. She's now 3-0 vs. Swiatek this season, joins Sabalenka with a first win over her on her favorite surface, and drops the world #1 to 1-5 vs. the pair since winning the U.S. Open last summer.

After her early Rome exit seemed to deal Sabalenka a minor setback in her seasonal chase for the #1 ranking, with Swiatek's QF loss the Belarusian actually *gains* about 345 more points to lower the deficit to 1399.
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3. Rome Final - Elena Rybakina def. Anhelina Kalinina
...6-4/1-0 ret. The runner-up in the Rome final hasn't won a set since 2017, two of the last four finals have ended with a retirement, while the other two were won by Iga Swiatek 6-0/6-0 and 6-2/6-2. Roman holiday, indeed.


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4. Rome 4th Rd. - Zheng Qinwen def. Wang Xiyu
...6-4/3-6/6-1. These sort of all-Chinese match-ups could become more and more common, but as of now it's still a bit of a novelty. These two met in a 125 final last June in Valencia (Zheng won in three).


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5. Rome SF - Elena Rybakina def. Alona Ostapenko
...6-2/6-4. Wherever Ostapenko goes, drama is sure to follow. Even when it's the reserved Rybakina across the net.

Rybakina rallied from 3-1 to win the 1st, and trailed 4-1 in the 2nd in a stop-and-start match plagued by rain. After play was suspended with Ostapenko up 4-2 (Rybakina didn't want to play in the rain and risk injury, while the leading-in-the-set Ostapenko did, after she hadn't wanted to play in the rain earlier, naturally)...



Rybakina swept the final four games when play resumed, and Ostapenko didn't exactly take it well.


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6. Paris 125 Final - Anna Danilina/Vera Zvonareva def. Nadiia Kichenok/Alycia Parks
...5-7/7-6(2) [14-12]. Zvonareva, the "last remaining" (Sveta TBD, I guess) of the Original Hordettes, picks up her first title of any kind on the year. She's won a pro title of some kind on some level in 18 different seasons since the start of 2000.

To get this one she and Danilina had to rally from 5-1 down in the MTB and saved a total of three MP.


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7. Rome 4th Rd. - Alona Ostapenko def. Dasha Kasatkina
...4-6/6-4/6-0. Ostapenko's first Top 10 win on clay since the 2020 Roland Garros.


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8. Florence 125 1st Rd. - Jasmine Paolini def. Katie Swan
...6-4/4-6/7-6(7). Swan forced a 3rd set from 6-4/3-1 back. The Brit was up a break twice early in the 3rd, and led the deciding TB 5-4 before Paolini surged ahead. Swan saved a pair of MP, but the Italian won 9-7 and went on to win the title.
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9. Florence 125 SF - Taylor Townsend def. Sara Errani
...4-6/7-5/7-5. Errani held a break lead twice in the 2nd, had a MP on Townsend's serve at 5-3, and served for the match at 5-4. In the 3rd, the Italian held a double-break edge at 3-0.

But it was Townsend who played in the final a day later.
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10. Strasbourg 1st Rd. - Elina Svitolina def. Louisa Chirico
...6-4/7-6(1). Svitolina records the first tour-level match win in her comeback.


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11. Florence 125 Final - Vivian Heisen/Ingrid Neel def. Asia Muhammad/Giuliana Olmos
...1-6/6-2 [10-8]. Heisen and Neel win in Florence, as the latter picks up her first title since switching from "USA" to "EST" earlier this year.
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12. Florence 125 QF - Sara Errani def. Genie Bouchard
...6-3/1-0 ret. Something about... wondering what Bouchard was cooking up in her head to tweet if she'd won this match.

Turns out, she didn't even finish it. The match, not the possible tweet.
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HM- $60K Saint-Gaudens FRA Final - Robin Montgomery def. Alice Robbe 7-5/6-4
$25K Bethany Beach USA Final - Liv Hovde def. Raveena Kingsley 6-4/6-7(5)/6-2
$25K Feld am See AUT Final - Sofia Costoulas def. Lara Salden 6-3/6-1
...three former junior stars picked up pro titles this weekend.

2021 U.S. Open girls' champ Montgomery, 18, claimed her third career ITF crown, her first on clay. 2022 Wimbledon junior winner Hovde, 17, improved to 3-0 in pro finals (all since September). And '22 Australian Open girls' runner-up Costoulas, 18, finally took home her maiden pro title in her fifth career ITF final.


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[Rome 4r+]

1. Rome SF - Anhelina Kalinina def. Veronika Kudermetova
...7-5/5-7/6-2. Back and forth, forth and back, in the third consecutive three-setter in their three-match head-to-head series.

Kalinina served for the 1st set at 5-4, but dropped serve. Kudermetova couldn't back it up a game later from 30/love up, as Kalinina got the break back and served out the set.

Kalinina led 5-3 and served for the match at 5-4 in the 2nd, only to see Kudermetova win 16 straight points, sweeping the final four games at love and sending things to a 3rd.

But the final set saw Kalinina quickly establish a double-break lead at 3-0. She held for 4-0, and completed her second three-set win over Kudermetova (Dubai 1r) this season.


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2. Stuttgart Q2 - Hsieh Su-wei def. Sophie Chang
...6-2/6-4. Hsieh is in the singles MD in Stuttgart, her first such appearance in a tour event since 2021 (Courmayeur/OCT.). She's a win over LL Erin Routliffe in the 1st Round from facing Elina Svitolina for a QF berth.
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Hmmm, so Simona Halep speaks publicly in late April about her frustration with the sport's corrupt (my word, but a true one) drug testing/punishment apparatus, stepping out of line and precipitating the need to attempt to put her in her place (see Sharapova, Errani, etc.). If you didn't think that she'd be made to pay for such disobedience then you haven't been paying attention.

Less than a month later...



Of course, the "best" part of the ITIA (the ironically named "International Tennis Integrity Agency") poison pen letter is that it included the note that this allegation will generate much attention but that "it would be inappropriate for us to comment on specifics until the conclusion of the process." In other words...



Of course, this also means a whole new round of abuse and character assassination for Halep, once again without anything other than an allegation still not yet allowed to be countered by the accused herself. And once the *other* one is eventually dealt with, *this* one will likely linger even longer, further punishing Halep for the audacity of speaking up for herself.

Players in these situations always get frustrated, anxious and sometimes depressed. I long for the one who'll come along -- and *one* will at some point -- who just gets stark-raving furious. At some point, that player -- or, more likely, one with nothing to lose -- needs to take it upon themselves to instigate the sort of action via lawsuits, etc. that will tear down this blatant and ongoing system of arrogant power plays, recrimination, and vindictive score-settling. Some day.

Meanwhile, though, because of this you've now got the Serena chowderheads -- quieted about any it-wasn't-going-to-happen-anyway "comeback" since she's pregnant again -- believing they now have license to harp on a slam final she lost four years ago (Wimbledon, remember?) in one of her last shots at #24. You know, just like they did with the Wimbledon she lost to Sharapova way back when. Ah, it's that annual rite of tennis spring (and summer, fall and winter) that confirms that Williams never lost a match, since she was either injured, robbed or her opponent was cheating.

It's a good thing it has its positive points, because tennis sure is a s**t-fest sometimes.

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Hmmm...



Yeah, I'm afraid that's not quite the slam-dunk finger-wag this guy thinks it is.

All this is awful, and you feel for Kalinina and all the other Ukrainian players. But it doesn't invalidate the legitimate conversation about the misplaced disrespect of not shaking the hand of an opponent (w/ which you have no actual personal beef). (Especially when, as Tsurenko did earlier this season, one of those same players reacts badly when an opponent shows the same disrespect *to* them.)

Just because there's something *more* horrible doesn't mean that everyone is disallowed from pointing out something that is wrong in its own right somewhere else, even if it involves -- personally or tangentially -- some of the same people.



Valiant effort, though.

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Another weekend, another old Casey Kasem's "American Top 40," from the (peak '80s moment, with big names, big songs, duets, "girl groups" and even... Tracey Ullman?) week of May 19, 1984. Oddly, this was a rare MJ-free zone, though.

Either falling from or rising to the Top 10...

39."Eyes without a Face" (Billy Idol)
30."It's a Miracle" (Culture Club) - their 8th straight hit single
28."Jump (for my love)" (The Pointer Sisters)
25."Miss Me Blind" (Culture Club)
24."Self Control" (Laura Branigan) - I didn't rember the weird Phantom/Eyes Wide Shut vibe to the video




22."Borderline" (Madonna) - Top 10 hit #2, before "Like a Virgin" and "Material Girl"
21."Heart of Rock and Roll" (Huey Lewis & the News)
17."They Don't Know" (Tracey Ullman) - didn't even know about this; there's a Beatle cameo in the video




15."The Authority Song" (John Cougar Mellencamp)
14."The Longest Time" (Billy Joel)
12."The Reflex" (Duran Duran)
11."Head over Heels" (The Go-Go's) - off the #1 album, second all-female group ever




The Top 10 (alas, if only the Top 5 was as good as #6-20)...

10."Footloose" (Kenny Loggins) - movie soundtrack hit #353?
9."You Might Think" (The Cars) - and its memorable video




8."Oh Sherry" (Steve Perry) - his first solo hit
7."Love Somebody" (Rick Springfield)
6."Time After Time" (Cydni Lauper) - just her second Top 40 hit after "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"
5."To All the Girls I've Loved Before" (Julio Iglesias/Willie Nelson)


Not the real duet (but still memorable)...



4."Hold Me Now" (Thompson Twins)
3."Against All Odds" (Phil Collins)
2."Let's Hear it for the Boy" (Deniece Williams)
1."Hello" (Lionel Richie)








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*2023 SLAM-WTAF/1000 CHAMPIONS*
Australian Open - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
Dubai - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
Indian Wells - Elena Rybakina, KAZ
Miami - Petra Kvitova, CZE
Madrid - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (2)
Rome - Elena Rybakina, KAZ (2)
[doubles]
Australian Open - Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
Dubai - Veronika Kudermetova/Liudmila Samsonova, RUS/RUS
Indian Wells - Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE (2)
Miami - Coco Gauff/Jessie Pegula, USA/USA
Madrid - Victoria Azarenka/Beatriz Haddad Maia, BLR/BRA
Rome - Storm Hunter/Elise Mertens, AUS/BEL

*MOST WTA FINALS in 2023*
5 - Aryna Sabalenka (3-2)
4 - ELENA RYBAKINA (2-2)
4 - Iga Swiatek (2-2)
3 - Belinda Bencic (2-1)
2 - Caroline Garcia, FRA (0-2)
[2020-23]
16 - 1/2/9/4 - Iga Swiatek (13-3)
14 - 3/3/3/5 - Aryna Sabalenka (8-6)
12 - 1/7/4/0 - Anett Kontaveit (5-6-1)
12 - 5/0/3/4 - ELENA RYBAKINA (4-8)
10 - 0/3/6/1 - Ons Jabeur (4-6)

*2023 FINALISTS BY COUNTRY*
5 (3 wins) - BLR,USA
4 (2 wins) - KAZ,POL
4 (1 wins) - RUS
3 (2 wins) - CZE,SUI
3 (1 wins) - UKR
2 (2 wins) - ITA
2 (1 wins) - CRO,UKR
2 (0 wins) - FRA
1 (1 wins) - CHN,GER,TUN
1 (0 wins) - ESP,SWE

*MOST WTA SF in 2023*
5 - Aryna Sabalenka (5-0)
5 - Iga Swiatek (4-1)
4 - ELENA RYBAKINA (4-0)
4 - Jessie Pegula (1-3)
4 - VERONIKA KUDERMETOVA (0-3+L)
4 - Maria Sakkari (0-4)
3 - Belinda Bencic (2-0+W)
3 - Ons Jabeur (1-2)

*2020-23 WTA DOUBLES TITLES*
15 - Katerina Siniakova (1/6/6/2)
11 - Barbora Krejcikova (1/5/3/2)
8 - ELISE MERTENS (1/4/2/1)
7 - Desirae Krawczyk (2/2/1/2)
7 - Jessie Pegula (0/0/5/2)
6 - Shuko Aoyama (1/5/0/0)
6 - Coco Gauff (0/1/3/2)
6 - Hsieh Su-wei (4/2/0/0)
6 - Nicole Melichar-Martinez (2/2/2/0)
6 - Kristina Mladenovic (2/0/4/0)
6 - Demi Schuurs (2/2/1/1)
6 - Ena Shibahara (1/5/0/0)
6 - Luisa Stefani (1/1/2/2)
5 - STORM HUNTER (1/0/3/1)
5 - Veronika Kudermetova (0/1/3/1)
5 - Caty McNally (0/2/2/1)
5 - Laura Siegemund (1/0/3/1)

*ROLAND GARROS WILD CARDS*
Clara Burel, FRA (22) - RG 3r 2020; 2 slam girls' finals (2018 AO/US); '22 US/'23 AO qualifier
Kimberly Birrell, AUS (25) - RG debut; 2 con. slam WC
Selena Janicijevic, FRA (20) - Backspin's RG wild card countdown ends... first RG MD since '19; '23 AO qualifier
Leolia Jeanjean, FRA (27) - 2 con. RG WC; '22 US qualifier, '23 AO LL
Kristina Mladenovic, FRA (30) - oldest slam WC so far in '23; RG QF in '17, 2-5 since
Emma Navarro, USA (21) - RG debut; first slam MD since US '21; 2019 girls' finalist
Diane Parry, FRA (20) - 2 con. slam WC; RG 3r last year
Jessika Ponchet, FRA (26) - first RG MD since '19 (lost in Q in last 7 majors, 11 con. attempts since RG '19 1r loss)
[MD - protected ranking]
Jennifer Brady, USA (28) - 2 yrs. since last major (RG '21), ending SF-F-3r run in majors; was world #16 in last tour action ('21 Cincinnati)
Kristina Kucova, SVK (32) - MD in 6/7 majors (ties best stretch of career, 2016 US-2018 RG)
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS (31) - RG runner-up in last appearance in '21
Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP (26) - has reached 3r once ('21 US) in 21 slam MD
Elina Svitolina, UKR (28) - has reached 3 RG QF (2015/17/20); last major MD was '22 AO
Patricia Maria Tig, ROU (28) - 2020 RG 3r is her best career slam result

*2023 TOP JUNIOR GIRLS' TITLES*
[Grand Slam]
Alina Korneeva, RUS
[J500]
Mayu Crossley, JPN
Charo Esquiva Banuls, ESP
Federica Urgesi, ITA
[J300]
3 - Lucciana Perez Alarcon, PER
2 - Iva Jovic, USA
2 - Teodora Kostovic, SRB
2 - Clervie Ngounoue, USA
2 - Sara Saito, JPN
1 - Melisa Ercan, TUN
1 - Mara Gae, ROU
1 - Valerie Glozman, USA
1 - Tyra Caterina Grant, USA
1 - Vlada Mincheva, RUS
1 - Rebecca Munk Mortenson, DEN
1 - Francesca Pace, ITA
1 - Federica Urgesi, ITA

*RECENT NCAA WOMEN'S D-I TEAM CHAMPIONS*
2010 Stanford
2011 Florida
2012 Florida
2013 Stanford
2014 UCLA
2015 Vanderbilt
2016 Stanford
2017 Florida
2018 Stanford
2019 Stanford
2021 Texas
2022 Texas
2023 North Carolina
[most team titles]
20...Stanford
7...Florida
4...Texas
2...Georgia
2...UCLA
2...USC





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From a longtime (then-)Redskins fan, Emmitt Smith is my favorite former Cowboy. Toughest running back I ever watched play. Most dependable. Most clutch. Long career. A winner.

Any of the "Smith or Barry Sanders?" questions always make me angry. One was a (admittedly, exciting) highlight-generator who came up small in the biggest games, and whose 1 or 2-yard gains and negative plays set his offense up for failure while his (oft-crazy) long runs made it appear as if *he* could do no wrong (and then he quit on his team and retired on the eve of training camp); while the other was the best RB of his generation. Full stop.

Really, it's not even close. (And I always liked Sanders, just not the deification of career.)

Smith's signature moment:



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All for now.
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