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Friday, July 7, 2023

W.5- The Agony of Victory and the Agony of Defeat


Between Lesia Tsurenko and Ana Bogdan, only one was assured of a "happy" ending on Day 5. In the end, they both paid the same agonizing price.

One has to come back and play *another* match... so whether or not she was the true "winner" may be only a matter of semantics.



Bogdan seemed on her way to a victory in the 3rd set, serving for the match at 5-3. But she was broken at love. She didn't know what would now be in store for her. With Tsurenko serving for the match at 6-5, Bogdan saved a MP and sent the match to a deciding TB.

And what a breaker it'd be.

It would last 37 minutes, the longest in Wimbledon women's history, and extended the match length to 3:40, the second-longest slam match this year (behind 3:51 Haddad Maia/Sorribes Tormo at RG). The 38-point tie-break would be the longest in women's slam history, with both players hunching over or on their knees between points as the two women battled through a series of metronomic baseline rallies, trading off and sharing 11 MP. When it was over, the winner was flat on her back, while the unfortunate "loser" was draped over the net but still on her feet. Sort of. Barely.

Like a 15-round boxing match (with SIX trips to change sides of the net over the course of the fight), the breaker was largely a battle of attrition, with neither woman willing (nor able, really) to break free from her position at the baseline to push the action, but also steadfastly refusing to concede. One long, brutal rally followed another, with both getting multiple chances to end their pain, but failing to do so and then visably seeming to collapse internally in the immediate aftermath as they realized that they now had to DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN.

Tsurenko had the first opportunties, first with a conventional MP (#2 overall) at 9-8. Bogdan fired a winner down the line, only to net a short crosscourt forehand a point later and give the Ukrainian a third MP (10-9). She saved it by utilizing a drop shot that helped her claim the point. At 11-10, Bogdan saved a fourth MP with a put-away backhand, then fired another backhand into the corner behind Tsurenko to get her own MP at 12-11. The Romanian netted a volley.

Tsurenko's fifth MP at 13-12 went away with another Bogdan backhand down the line, while on #6 (14-13) the Ukrainian's deep slice shot elicited an error. The Romanian's wide service winner gave her a second MP at 15-14, but a bad backhand error pushed the play deeper into the afternoon. A forehand error (at 16-15) squandered Bogdan's third MP.

The baseline battle was entrenched by now, and the thought that one player would win was both welcome (since the pain would end), but also just as devastating for the one who'd come up just short after having had so many chances. Nearly every point saw both woman hunched over in preparation for the next, leaning on their knees but then straightening their bodies and finding the energy to make their way back into position once more.

It was just what they were *supposed* to do. So they did it.

After Bogdan's fourth MP (17-16) came and went, the point ended with Tsurenko on her knees and Bogdan stretching her calves in the hopes of avoiding cramps that would make the experience even worse. The Ukrainian's sprayed forehard gave Bogdan a fifth MP (18-17). As she prepared to serve, using as much time as allowed, the Romanian received a code warning for a time violation by a chair umpire who was not giving an inch. Bogdan failed to convert once again, netting a forehand.

Another error off the Romanian's racket handed Tsurenko her seventh MP (sixth in the TB alone), and the end was finally nigh. Bogdan's missed drop shot ended the 38-point affair with the Ukrainian on top 20-18.



After Tsurenko struggled from her back to reach her feet, she found her way to meet Bogdan at the net. The two embraced, forever tennis sisters through shared experience.



Tsurenko's 4-6/6-4/7-6(20-18) win came with the two combining for 55 winners and 125 UE (Tsurenko 28/60, Bogdan 27/65), 251 points (Tsurenko 129-122) and 12 combined MP (Tsurenko 7, Bogdan 5). With the win, the 34-year old reaches her first Wimbledon 4th Round, and second in a row in slam competition this year (RG 4r). Already with a checkered injury past (just ask Donna Vekic), how Tsurenko recovers from this in time to put up much of an effort in a Round of 16 match-up with #4 Jessie Pegula this weekend is anyone's guess.

But she and Bogdan will always have Court 14. Even better... Tsurenko gets a day off on Saturday.









=DAY 5 NOTES=
...#9 Petra Kvitova might yet buck her personal, nearly decade-long trend of underperforming at Wimbledon. Two rounds into her 15th go-around at SW19, it's a so far, so good, situation.



The Czech sometimes looked positively spectacular while winning two titles in five years from 2011-14, bringing out the tennis lumunaries to Centre Court just to -- often with mouths agape -- get a glimpse of the player who seemed destined to become Wimbledon's next great women's champion. But since her second SW19 title run, that hasn't happened. Kvitova came into this tournament having reached the 4th Round in London just once in the last seven versions of her favorite event.

Granted, Kvitova has had to overcome much during that period, from a near-tragic home invsasion and the continuation of career-long issues with illnesses and breathing difficulties associated with her asthma. But it's not as if she hasn't been a grass court force during those years, just not at SW19.

Since 2015, even with her Wimbledon struggles, Kvitova has won a grass court tune-up event on three occasions, only to be unable to use that momentum for good to close out the brief annual seasons on the lawns. She won another title *this* year coming into this week, taking the Berlin crown for career title #31, her sixth grass court crown in a fourth different city over the past thirteen years. She's tied with Venus Williams for the most career tour titles on the surface amongst active players.

In this case, her Berlin run accounted for her first no-sets-lost title run in seven years. But she came to London this summer just 9-7 in London since 2015 (after going 26-3 from 2010-14).

In the 1st Round, Jasmine Paolini, 0-2 at Wimbledon, pushed her match with Kvitova to a 3rd set, taking a 5-0 TB lead in the 2nd and winning it 7-5. But the 3rd set saw the Czech end a streak of 20 consecutive holds between the two when Paolini DF'd on BP to give Kvitova a 3-1 lead. Kvitova took the momentum to the finish line, winning 6-4/6-7(5)/6-1.

Today, the Czech's efforts in her first match didn't go to waste, as this time at SW19 she didn't come up disappoingtly small against a tricky opponent (Aliaksanda Sasnovich has a SW19 Round of 16 under her belt). In fact, Kvitova was in fine form. Her 6-2/6-2 win over the Belarusian is, with just four games lost, her most dominant single match win at the AELTC in 14 matches, since the 1st Round in 2016 (6-0/6-4 vs. Cirstea).



Now *that* is something we can work with. The question is... can Petra do the same?

...well, so much for Jule Niemeier catching fire once again at Wimbledon after advancing yesterday over Karolina Muchova. The German's three-set loss to Dalma Galfi, a former Roehampton champ (and Wimbledon girls' doubles winner), makes the Czech's exit feel like all the more of a waste.

Niemeier had the chance to advance. She claimed the 1st set, and led the 2nd set TB 5-3 before the Hungarian swept the final four points. Galfi then won a 6-1 3rd.



...#21 Ekaterina Alexandrova is another player looking to bring her pre-Wimbledon grass success (back-to-back Rosmalen wins) to the All-England Club. Or, you know, *any* slam at all. Coming into this tournament, she hasn't gotten out of the 3rd Round in any of her 25 career slam MD, and was just 24-25 overall in match play following her 1st Round win.

The Hordette will get a chance to change that in her next match, but it took a whole lotta work today just to get past Madison Brengle and her movie-worthy service motion (i.e. the sort of service motion that makes her look like an actress only *portraying* a tennis player in a movie).



After dropping a 1st set TB, Alexandrova had won another to end the 2nd and force a 3rd set. There, Alexandrova held three MP at 5-4 on Brengle's serve, but couldn't put the win away. Brengle then broke and led 6-5, 30/30, only to lose the next five points as Alexandrova forced a third TB. It made this the first Wimbledon women's match in the Open era to include three TB.

Alexandrova led 3-0, then 5-1 (having won 7 of 8 points), and reached MP #4 at 9-6. She DF'd, but a return error from Brengle finally awarded Alexandrova the TB on her fifth MP, ending the 2:49, 6-7(4)/7-6(5)/7-6(10-6) struggle.



This is Alexandrova's third consecutive slam 3rd Round in 2023, but she managed to get there this time around despite 91 UE (Brengle had 42), largely because she supplemented that stat with 49 winners (Brengle has just 13). Alexandrova had 12 DF to Brengle's 8.



...for a while, it appeared as if #2 Aryna Sabalenka's Roland Garros SF collapse might have gotten a second life, but the reigning AO champ managed to pull back a match that was quickly becoming a disaster and turn it into a test of fortitude that might prove to be very helpful over the rest of this Wimbledon.

With errors littering her game, Sabalenka saw newly-minted Pastry Varvara Gracheva race to a 5-2 1st set lead. Sabalenka didn't even both forcing the former Hordette, one of the more consistent slam players on tour (with 5 slam 3rd Rounds in the last 10, but not yet a 4th) that most likely aren't all too familiar with, to serve out the set. She dropped serve in game 8 and did the work for Gracheva, who took the opening stanza at 6-2. Sabalenka walked to the changeover area talking to herself (and likely her team) and pointing at her head.

After neither player carved out a BP chance through the first 10 games of the second, Sabalenka finally cracked the code to take a 6-5 lead. She served out the set at 7-5 a game later. With her spell broken, Sabalenka quickly took control in the 3rd, improving to 14-1 in slam play in '23 with a 2-6/7-5/6-1 victory that runs her record to a very Serena-esque 8-1 in her last 9 slam matches in which she's dropped the 1st set.

Sabalenka's current set-down run started at the '22 AO, and her only loss has been that loss to Muchova in Paris last month.



...while Simona Halep waits for the inevitable ruling against her after her recent (and long-overdue) hearing after failing a drug test nearly a year ago at the U.S. Open -- sure to be announced during Wimbledon so that the Alphabets can get maximum exposure for the usual character assassination -- that will then be appealed to a "unbiased" body (which says something about the origin of the charges) as she tries to get back on the court at some point during one of the next two slams, there were *still* players making headlines either from Romania or with Romanian roots on Day 5.

One was Ana Bogdan, and we know how *that* turned out. The other was Bianca Andreecu. Not Romanian, per se, but close enough to provide me with an opening to include a mid-post paragraph about Si-mo-na. So, mission accomplished.

Andreescu remains seemingly incapable of getting off the court in two sets unless it's in a loss. Today she led #26 Anhelina Kalinina 6-2/4-2, only to then drop four straight games and head to a 3rd. Because of course she did.

In this case, it looked as if it'd be to her detriment, too, as she fell behind the Ukrainian 5-2. But with Kalinina serving for the win at 5-3, Andreescu got the break and ultimately sent things to a match TB. With Kalinina struggling a bit physically, the Canadian took an 8-2 lead. A huge deep return -- seemingly hit with all she had -- produced an error from the Ukrainian and gave Andreescu a handful of MP at 9-2. She'd need nearly all of them.

It took a while, including a three-volley point that she lost on her second MP, but Andreescu finally claimed the match on her fifth try, winning 10-6 with a Kalinina forehand error. She reaches her first career Wimbledon 3rd Round. As for her 3rd set proclivities, seven of Andreescu's last ten wins have come when she's been forced to go the distance.



...while the Tsurenko/Bogdan 3rd Rounder started well before her match, for obvious reasons #19 Victoria Azarenka actually became the first player to advance to the Round of 16, downing #11 Dasha Kasatina (who'd been the first into the 3rd Rd.) 6-2/6-4 on Court 12.

For Azarenka, it's her fourth second week slam run in her last six major MD, her best run since 2014-16. She reached the Australian Open semis in January (remember... remember?). It's her sixth career Wimbledon Round of 16, but her first since 2017, and the 29th in the 33-year old's slam career, coming almost 16 full years since her first at the U.S. Open in 2007. Wow, it doesn't seem like Vika's been around that long.

And her next opponent will be...



Because I'm sure that'll be the prevailing storyline. Nice try, though. (Although the dueling moms thing is just as inane, though in a more "dumbass-y" way and less of a stupid one. Though both are equally insulting.)



...meanwhile, #1 Iga Swiatek moved on over #30 Petra Martic, but got her first hint of a pushback. Leading 5-3 in the 2nd, she served at 5-4 and was broken. But she broke back and served out the match, finally putting away her third MP chance in the game after leading 40/love.

...#5 Caroline Garcia and #20 Donna Vekic both escaped hotly-contested matches yesterday, but neither could follow up with a win today.

Garcia was tied deep in the final set with #32 Marie Bouzkova, with the two exchanging breaks in games 5 and 6. Garcia then saw the Czech fight off two BP and hold for 5-4 in a five-deuce game. A game later it was Garcia's turn, saving a MP and knotting the score once again. Finally, up 6-5, the Czech broke Garcia's serve to end the match, avoiding yet another match TB to end the day as Bouzkova won 7-6(9)/4-6/7-5.

Garcia had 51 winners on the day, but her 53 UE were just enough to tip the scales in Bouzkova's favor.



It's Bouzkova's second career slam Round of 16, with both coming in the last two years (w/ a '22 QF) at Wimbledon. She's gone out in the 1r/2r in her other 16 slam MD appearances.

The result sets up an all-Czech 4th Rounder with Marketa Vondrousova, who downed Vekic 1 & 5 a day after the Croat had staged a comeback from a set and 3-0 (w/ 2 BP) down, 5-2 down in the 3rd, vs. Sloane Stephens.

The loss of Berlin finalist Vekic means that the runners-up at all six pre-Wimbledon tour grass events are out of the SW19 draw (only Kasatkina reached the 3rd Rd.), along with two of the crowned champions. The only remaining title winners still alive are Alexandrova, Katie Boulter, Petra Kvitova and Madison Keys.

...the Roehampton final never happened, as Slovak Renata Jamrichova was declared champion via a walkover from Czech Crusher Tereza Valentova. Jamrichova is the #5 seed in the Wimbledon girls' competition.



AO and RG champ Alina Korneeva is the top seed, followed by Clervie Ngounoue, Sara Saito and Lucciana Perez Alarcon.







*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Iga Swiatek/POL vs. #14 Belinda Bencic/SUI
#19 Victoria Azarenka/BLR vs. (WC) Elina Svitolina/UKR
#4 Jessie Pegula/USA vs. Lesia Tsurenko/UKR
Marketa Vondrousova/CZE vs. #32 Marie Bouzkova/CZE
x vs. x
x vs. x
x vs. x
x vs. x







...KUDERMETOVA AND SAMSONOVA MAY HAVE HAD BETTER WIMBLEDONS *LAST* YEAR... ON DAY 5:




...INSULT TO INJURY ON DAY 5:




...ALSO... ON DAY 5:



Agree. Not sure where this need comes from to make tennis coverage some version of a mix of the Kardashians and "The Bachelor/Bachelorette" -- from the old Thiem/Mladenovic run to Svitolina/Monfils and now Badosa/Tsitsipas -- but it's unecessary and, eventually, more than a little bit insulting (often to the sport's audience, and almost always to the WTA player involved).

Why can't more "tennis relationships" be covered like Keys/Fratangelo (i.e. so low-key you hardly know it exists)? Of course, now that they're engaged, I'm sure ESPN and the rest will try to turn it into a reality show for as long as she's in this draw and at the U.S. Open (which means every-other-point shots of the Players Box, if applicable, and on-set questions about wedding planning, bridal showers, etc.).



Sigh.



...UPDATES... ON DAY 5:




...COLORS! ON DAY 5:




...MARTINA IN THE BUILDING ON DAY 5:




...BOOP... ON DAY 5:


















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*RECENT WIMBLEDON "EARLY-ROUND TOP PLAYER" WINNERS*
2014 Maria Sharapova, RUS [4th]
2015 Petra Kvitova, CZE [3rd]
2016 Simona Halep, ROU [QF]
2017 Johanna Konta, GBR [SF]
2018 Simona Halep, ROU [3rd]
2019 Ash Barty, AUS [4th]
2021 Angelique Kerber, GER [SF]
2022 Simona Halep, ROU [SF]
2023 Madison Keys, USA

*RECENT WIMBLEDON "CRASH & BURN" WINNERS*
2014 Sloane Stephens, USA (1st Rd.)
2015 Genie Bouchard, CAN & Simona Halep, ROU (both 1st Rd.)
2016 Garbine Muguruza, ESP (RG champ; 2nd Rd.)
2017 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS (1st Rd; 7 MP)
2018 Petra Kvitova, CZE (1st Rd.)
2019 Naomi Osaka, JPN (1st Rd.)
2021 Serena Williams, USA & Petra Kvitova, CZE (both 1st Rd.)
2022 Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA & Garbine Muguruza, ESP (both 1st Rd.)
2023 Tatjana Maria, GER ('22 SF to 1st Rd.)

*WIMBLEDON "SPIRIT OF JANA" ANNUAL HONOREES*
[2018]
Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
...Brno-born; wins WD title in first Wimbledon since ex-coach Novotna's death
Nicole Melichar, USA
...born in Brno, CZE (like Jana); wins MX title in first Wimbledon since death
Donna Vekic, CRO
..."Good Donna"
[2019]
Donna Vekic, CRO
..."Bad Donna"
[2020]
RG Special: Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
...to RG 3rd Rd. (Oct.) on Novotna's 52nd birthday; dedicates to Jana
[2021]
RG Special: Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
...wins maiden slam singles crown w/ Jana as inspiration; also wins WD
[2022]
Marie Bouzkova, CZE
...Czech with first slam QF
[2023]
Karolina Muchova, CZE
...hard-luck Czech falls and injures self (again)

*"SPIRIT OF JANA" RING OF HONOR*
Marie Bouzkova, CZE (2022)
Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (2018, 2020 RG)
Nicole Melichar, USA (2018)
Karolina Muchova, CZE (2023)
Donna Vekic, CRO [Good Donna 2018, Bad Donna 2019]

*ROEHAMPTON CHAMPS, w/ WIMB.JR. RESULT & WINNERS*
1996 Amelie Mauresmo = W
1997 Brie Rippner = RU (C.Black = Roe.QF)
1998 Jelena Dokic = SF (Srebotnik = Roe.DNP)
1999 Lina Krasnoroutskaya = RU (Tulyagnova = Roe.3r)
2000 Aniko Kapros = QF (Salerni = Roe.2r)
2001 Gisela Dulko = 3r (Widjaja = Roe.QF)
2002 Vera Dushevina = W
2003 Allison Baker = QF (Flipkens = Roe.RU)
2004 Michaella Krajicek = SF (K.Bondarenko = Roe.QF)
2005 Caroline Wozniacki = 1r (A.Radwanska = Roe.DNP)
2006 Kristina Antoniychuk = 3r (Wozniacki = Roe.DNP)
2007 Petra Kvitova = 3r (U.Radwanska = Roe.DNP)
2008 Melanie Oudin = 2r (Robson = Roe.RU)
2009 Kristina Mladenovic = RU (Lertcheewakarn = Roe.SF)
2010 Kristyna Pliskova = W
2011 Indy de Vroome = SF (Barty = Roe.2r)
2012 Genie Bouchard = W
2013 Belinda Bencic = W
2014 Alona Ostapenko = W
2015 Dalma Galfi = 1r (Zhuk = Roe.3r)
2016 Anastasia Potapova = W
2017 Claire Liu = W
2018 Coco Gauff = QF (Swiatek = Roe.DNP)
2019 Daria Snigur = W
2021 Linda Fruhvirtova = SF (Mintegi del Olmo/ESP = Roe.3r)
2022 Liv Hovde = W
2023 Renata Jamrichova
--
6 - USA (Rippner, Baker, Oudin, Liu, Gauff, Hovde)
3 - CZE (Kvitova, Kr.Pliskova, L.Fruhvirtova)
3 - RUS (Krasnoroutskaya, Dushevina, Potapova)
2 - FRA (Mauresmo, Mladenovic)
2 - HUN (Kapros, Galfi)
2 - NED (Krajicek, de Vroome)
2 - UKR (Antoniychuk, Snigur)
1 - ARG (Dulko)
1 - AUS (Dokic)
1 - CAN (Bouchard)
1 - DEN (Wozniacki)
1 - LAT (Ostapenko)
1 - SUI (Bencic)
1 - SVK (Jamrichova)





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Whew! Talk about there being no "good" side to be on.

I mean, have people already forgotten the damage that the Facebook guy did? You know, the sort of thing they'd be roasting Tesla guy over if he'd done the same thing? Be careful what you wish for... you just might get it.

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TOP QUALIFIER: Jessica Bouzas Maneiro/ESP
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #25 Madison Keys/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q3 - #18 Lucrezia Stefanini def. (PR) Hsieh Su-wei 6-2/6-7(3)/7-6(11-9)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd. - #20 Donna Vekic/CRO def. Sloane Stephens/USA 4-6/7-5/6-4 - trailed 6-4/3-0 and 2 BP, Stephens served at 5-3
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: (PR) Barbora Strycova/CZE (def. Zanevska/BEL; first Wimb. match since 2019 SF)
FIRST SEED OUT: #15 Liudmila Samsonova/RUS (1st Rd.-Bogdan/ROU)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Bai Zhuoxuan/CHN, Jodie Burrage/GBR, Tamara Korpatsch/GER, Natalija Stevanovic/SRB
UPSET QUEENS: Romania
REVELATION LADIES: The Return of the Hordettes
NATION OF POOR SOULS: ITA (1-6 1st Rd.)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: in 3r: M.Andreeva, Kenin(L), Stevanovic
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: in 3r: Boulter, Svitolina(W)
PROTECTED RANKING: Jaqueline Cristian/ROU, Sara Sorribes Tormo/ESP, Barbora Strycova/CZE (all 2nd Rd.)
LUCKY LOSER WINS: Tamara Korpatsch/GER (2nd Rd.)
LAST BRIT STANDING: Katie Boulter (in 3r)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT "??": xx
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominees: Kenin, Svitolina, Hsieh/Strycova, Andreescu
CRASH & BURN: Tatjana Maria/GER ('22 semifinalist, loses 1st Rd.)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF LONDON: Nominees: Tsurenko (3r: in 3:40, wins slam record 38-pt. TB over Bogdan on 7th MP; saved 5 MP in TB); Andreescu (2r: trailed 5-2 in 3rd vs. Kalinina)
DOUBLES STAR: xx
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Nominees: Cirstea, Kvitova, Azarenka, Tsurenko, Svitolina
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx
SPIRIT OF JANA (NOVOTNA) HONOREE: Karolina Muchova/CZE






All for Day 5. More tomorrow.
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