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Wednesday, January 24, 2024

AO24 - Dayana Does Down Under

With the defending Australian Open champion and reigning U.S. Open titlist already having taken their places in the final four from the bottom half of the draw, it was time for the relative neophytes in the top half to have their say. Ultimately, a pair of first-time slam semifinalists were assured to emerge.



In the first match-up, 19-year old Linda Noskova finally got her chance to play her first full match since her upset of #1 Iga Swiatek in the 3rd Round, having barely played in the Round of 16 when Elina Svitolina retired with a back injury just three games into the match to send the Czech into her maiden slam QF. Dayana Yastremska, on the other hand, has seemingly done nothing *but* play. The week before last, she was making her way through qualifying in Melbourne, and last week she was busy playing her way into her first slam second week in five seasons.

As it turned out, if Noskova's "day off" in the last round allowed her to tighten up a bit in her first big stage run, perhaps Yastremska's comparable lack of inactivity has allowed her to groove her game and mindset perfectly. The Ukrainian has been aggressively firing away with her big shots for multiple rounds now, holding back nothing and simply going for it. Yastremska has been producing high UE numbers, for sure, but still topping them (or nearly so) with her number of outright winners. It's allowed her to hit with and/or out-hit foe after foe, including two-time champ Victoria Azarenka in the 4th Round.

With Noskova not quite up to par in this contest, Yastremska took advantage of the moment and continued to go for her shots without hesitancy. At times all tournament, it's been a sight to behold.



Yastremska put away the win 6-3/6-4, winning her eighth straight match in Melbourne. After fighting through three three-setters in qualifying, including vs. #221 Lea Boskovic and #565 Maya Joint (an Aussie junior WC), Yastremska has won 10 of 11 sets in the MD. She joins compatriot Svitolina as the only Ukrainian women to reach a slam singles semifinal, and is just the fifth qualifier to advance so far in a major in the Open era (the last to do so at the AO was in 1978).



Now, as she steps into the slam semifinal spotlight, Yastremska's history will get "officially entered into the record" for some. That could be both good and bad for her. Her flight from Ukraine with her sister in 2022 might already be known by some casual fans, and will give her an underdog appeal. But, remember, though she's currently ranked #93 this run isn't really a shot ringing out from the darkness. Yastremska was a junior star (Wimbledon girls' finalist), has been ranked as high as #21 (2020), won three tour titles as a teenager (2018-19) and reached a previous slam Round of 16 ('19 Wimbledon).

But Yastremska's pro career has been dotted with controversy, as well. The accusations of faking injuries, a 2021 provisional doping suspension that played out overly publicly (she was later ruled to have been of "no fault or negligence" -- but we know how *that* goes in some circles) that caused her to miss that year's AO, the so-called "blackface" IG post in '20 (she was attempting to promote equality by painting her face both black and white in the wake of the George Floyd protests only to get trapped in the web of cultural mores that there should have been no expectation that she'd know how to traverse), and the continuing UKR/RUS-BLR situation on tour (she and Sabalenka *could* play in the final, which would drag that back into the street to be kicked around).

Hopefully the *tennis* will prevail.

Of course, with Yastremska's win, some people were also jumping out of their skin on social media following the match, noting with wide-eyes how just three seasons after Emma Raducanu became the first qualifier to win a slam title (at the '21 U.S.) Yastremska is now a win away from seeing another reach the final. Yes, that *is* true... but those people seem to have forgotten that Raducanu's run had actually come just *one* season (less than one year, actually) after Nadia Podoroska had reached the semifinals as a qualifier at Roland Garros in 2020, as well.

Three times in three and a half years. It's no longer a shock.

That said, there was little belief that the Argentine might actually be able to win the title in Paris; but Raducanu *had* reached the Wimbledon Round of 16 earlier that summer, and had played spotless tennis in New York over three weeks. Yastremska (think Ostapenko, firing early and often and getting things in more often than not) seems to fall into the latter category, and is currently sporting the type of form and function that makes her a legitimate potential champion in this thing. If she can keep her head.




=AO NOTES=
...in the last quarterfinal, Zheng Qinwen won a three-setter over Anna Kalinskaya to reach her own maiden slam SF.



The match was a pretty even affair, with Kalinskaya holding a slight edge at 7-6(4)/3-3, but from there Zheng took her game to another level and won nine of the final ten games (Kalinskaya also had her customary MTO in the late going). At 4-1, Zheng even pounded three consecutive aces en route to a 6-7/6-3/6-1 victory.

Thus, QUEEN-wen is the fourth different Chinese woman to reach a slam semi, the first since 2014 (Peng Shuai, U.S.), and she does it at the tenth anniversary AO of Li Na's title run in Melbourne.

Of all the young Chinese players, Zheng has surely seemed to be the one with "landscape-changing" ability, with the potential to be both an on and off-court star. She first drew big attention at Roland Garros in '22, where she gave Iga Swiatek her best battle in Paris, winning the only set the Pole lost all tournament in their Round of 16 encounter in what was just Zheng's second career slam MD.

Zheng finally cracked the maiden tour title barrier last summer in Palermo, and then reached her first slam QF at the U.S. Open. It was then that she lost her coach, Wim Fissette, who told her (without warning, apparently) that he'd be immediately returning to his former set-up with the back-from-maternity leave Naomi Osaka. The situation apparently struck a very strong emotional chord with Zheng, especially with the exit coming just before the Asian Games, a very important event for the Chinese players. She rebounded well, winning Gold in the event, then picking up title #2 in Zhengzhou and reaching the Elite Trophy final. Fissette has since been replaced by Pere Riba, who was part of the coaching team (w/ Brad Gilbert) that helped guide Coco Gauff to her brilliant back-half run last season.

Counting her (unofficial 5-win) Asian Games stint, Zheng has gone 20-3 since Fissette's exit. She's assured of entering the Top 10 for the first time after this AO, joining Li (whom made her debut in 2010) as the only Chinese players to do so.





...DRAMA DOWN UNDER: DOUBLES EDITION:

Facing each other in a WD match for the first time in seven years, 2022-23 AO champs Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova faced off in the QF with different partners. Krejcikova & Laura Siegemund led 4-1 in the 3rd, only to see Siniakova & Storm Hunter charge back to win 4-6/7-5/6-4. The post-match moment between the Czechs at the net wasn't exactly a heartwarming one, be it because of the lost lead, that Krejickova is nursing an injury, or because Siniakova (apparently) initiated the '24 split due to Krejcikova's availability issues last season due to her battles with injury. Either way, it's kind of sad when you consider their longtime friendship and the important role (as a duo, they're HoF worthy) they've both played in the tennis life of the other.




...MEANWHILE...:

Diede de Groot racked up win #133 in a row, defeating Aniek Van Koot in the wheelchair singles QF, but only after dropping the opening set. She then won the 2nd/3rd sets while losing just one game. Van Koot thus becomes just the second player (w/ Yui Kamiji, who's won 10) to win more than one set against de Groot since the start of the 2021 season.




...PERSPECTIVE IS ALSO UNDEFEATED:




...FINALLY...:

The first final of this AO was set as Hsieh Su-wei (w/ Jan Zielinski) and Desirae Krawczyk (w/ Neal Skupski) advanced to the MX final. Some big career numbers are assured of being added to, as Hsieh will be seeking her seventh career slam title (but first in MX, as this is her maiden final), while Krawczyk will be looking for her 5th MX crown *and* to complete a Career MX Slam after previously winning in Paris, London and New York. She and Skupski are two-time champs at SW19.





=WOMEN'S SINGLES SF=
(Q) Dayana Yastremska/UKR vs. #12 Zheng Qinwen/CHN
#4 Coco Gauff/USA vs. #2 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES SF=
#11 L.Kichenok/Ostapenko (UKR/LAT) vs. #4 Dabrowski/Routliffe (CAN/NZL)
#3 Hunter/Siniakova (AUS/CZE) vs. #2 Hsieh/Mertens (TPE/BEL)

=MIXED DOUBLES SF=
#3 Hsieh/Zielinski (TPE/POL) def. (WC) Fourlis/Harris (AUS/AUS)
#2 Krawczyk/N.Skupski (USA/GBR) def. (WC) Gadecki/Polmans (AUS/AUS)

=WHEELCHAIR SINGLES QF=
#1 Diede de Groot/NED def. Aniek Van Koot/NED
#3 Jiske Griffioen/NED def. Zhu Zhenzhen/CHN
Kgothatso Montjane/RSA def. Manami Tanaka/JPN
#2 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. Dana Mathewson/USA

=WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES SF=
#1 Kamiji/Montjane (JPN/RSA) vs. Bernal/Zhu (COL/CHN)
Mathewson/Tanaka (USA/JPN) vs. #2 de Groot/Griffioen (NED/NED)

=GIRLS SINGLES ROUND OF 16=
#1 Renata Jamrichova/SVK def. Maya Joint/AUS
(WC) Ksenia Efremova/FRA def. Mia Slama/USA
#15 Vlada Mincheva/RUS def. #4 Hannah Klugman/GBR
#10 Ena Koike/JPN def. Vendula Valdmannova/CZE
#12 Mimi Xu/GBR def. (Q) Lea Nilsson/SWE/GBR
#16 Iva Ivanova/BUL def. (Q) Aspen Schuman/USA
#6 Emerson Jones/AUS def. #9 Tyra Caterina Grant/USA
#2 Sara Saito/JPN def. Mika Stojsavljevic/GBR

=GIRLS DOUBLES SF=
#1 Koike/Saito (JPN/JPN) vs. #3 Grant/Jovic (USA/USA)
Pastikova/Stusek (CZE/GER) vs. #2 Klugman/Xu (GBR/GBR)







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*CAREER SLAM SF - active*
23 - Venus Williams, USA (16-7)
9 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR (6-3)
9 - Simona Halep, ROU (5-4)
8 - Angelique Kerber, GER (4-4)
8 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (2-5) *
7 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (3-4)
7 - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (3-4)
6 - Madison Keys, USA (1-5)
5 - Garbine Muguruza, ESP (4-1)
5 - Iga Swiatek, POL (4-1)
4 - Naomi Osaka, JPN (4-0)
4 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (2-2)
4 - Vera Zvonareva, RUS (2-2)
3 - Genie Bouchard, CAN (1-2)
3 - Sara Errani, ITA (1-2)
3 - Coco Gauff, USA (2-0) *
3 - Ons Jabeur, TUN (3-0)
3 - Karolina Muchova, CZE (1-2)
3 - Sloane Stephens, USA (2-1)
3 - Elina Svitolina, UKR (0-3)
2 - Jennifer Brady, USA (1-1)
2 - Danielle Collins, USA (1-1)
2 - Sofia Kenin, USA (2-0)
2 - Sabine Lisicki, GER (1-1)
2 - Alona Ostapenko, LAT (1-1)
2 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ (2-0)
2 - Maria Sakkari, GRE (0-2)
--
*-to play SF

[SLAM SF 2020-24]
8 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (2-5) *
5 - Iga Swiatek, POL (4-1)
3 - Ash Barty, AUS (2-1)
3 - Coco Gauff, USA (2-0) *
3 - Karolina Muchova, CZE (1-2)
3 - Ons Jabeur, TUN (3-0)
2 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR (1-1)
2 - Jennifer Brady, USA (1-1)
2 - Simona Halep, ROU (0-2)
2 - Sofia Kenin, USA (2-0)
2 - Madison Keys, USA (0-2)
2 - Naomi Osaka, JPN (2-0)
2 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ (2-0)
2 - Maria Sakkari, GRE (0-2)
2 - Serena Williams, USA (0-2)
1 - Danielle Collins, USA (1-0)
1 - Leylah Fernandez, CAN (1-0)
1 - Caroline Garcia, FRA (0-1)
1 - Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA (0-1)
1 - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (0-1)
1 - Angelique Kerber, GER (0-1)
1 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (1-0)
1 - Martina Trevisan, ITA (0-1)
1 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (0-1)
1 - Magda Linette, POL (0-1)
1 - Tatjana Maria, GER (0-1)
1 - Garbina Muguruza, ESP (1-0)
1 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS (1-0)
1 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (1-0)
1 - Nadia Podoroska, ARG (0-1)
1 - Emma Raducanu, GBR (1-0)
1 - Elina Svitolina, UKR (0-1)
1 - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE (1-0)
1 - Dayana Yastremska, UKR (0-0) *
1 - Zheng Qinwen, CHN (0-0) *
1 - Tamara Zidansek, SLO (0-1)
--
*-to play SF

[SLAM SF BY NATION 2020-24 / 16 slams]
12 - USA (6-5)*
10 - BLR (3-6)*
7 - CZE (4-3)
6 - POL (4-2)
3 - AUS (2-1)
3 - TUN (3-0)
2 - GER (0-2)
2 - GRE (0-2)
2 - JPN (2-0)
2 - KAZ (2-0)
2 - ROU (0-2)
2 - RUS (1-1)
2 - UKR (0-1)*
1 (W) - CAN,GBR,ESP
1 (-) - CHN
1 (L) - ARG,BRA,FRA,SLO,ITA

[2024 AO SEMIFINALISTS - career AO SF]
2 - Aryna Sabalenka
1 - Coco Gauff
1 - Dayana Yastremska
1 - Zheng Qinwen

[2024 AO SEMIFINALISTS - consecutive Slam SF]
6 - Aryna Sabalenka
2 - Coco Gauff

[2024 AO SEMIFINALISTS - career AO W/L]
20-5...Aryna Sabalenka
12-4...Coco Gauff
8-4...Dayana Yastremska
7-2...Zheng Qinwen

[2024 AO SEMIFINALISTS - career Slam W/L]
64-22...Aryna Sabalenka
49-16...Coco Gauff
19-8...Zheng Qinwen
14-15...Dayana Yastremska

[2024 AO SEMIFINALISTS - 2024 Season W/L]
10-0...Coco Gauff
10-1...Dayana Yastremska
9-1...Aryna Sabalenka
7-1...Zheng Qinwen

*RECENT EARLY-CAREER SLAM BREAKOUTS - SF+, under 10 slams*
2020: Sofia Kenin wins AO (12th career GS MD, age 21)
2020: Nadia Podoroska to RG SF (2nd career GS MD, age 23)
2020: Iga Swiatek wins RG (7th career GS MD, age 19)
2021: Karolina Muchova to AO SF (9th career GS MD, age 24)
2021: Tamara Zidansek to RG SF (9th career GS MD, age 23)
2021: Barbora Krejcikova wins RG (5th career GS MD, age 25)
2021: Leylah Fernandez in US F (7th career GS MD, age 19)
2021: Emma Raducanu wins US Open (2nd career GS MD, age 18)
2022: Martina Trevisan to RG SF (8th career GS MD, age 28)
2024: Zheng Qinwen in AO SF (9th career GS MD, age 21)

*NON-SEEDS IN AO SF, since 2000*
Unseeded - 2000 Jennifer Capriati, USA
Unseeded - 2007 Serena Williams, USA (W)
Unseeded - 2010 Zheng Jie, CHN
Unseeded - 2015 Madison Keys, USA
Unseeded - 2016 Johanna Konta, GBR
Unseeded - 2017 Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, CRO
Unseeded - 2017 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
Unseeded - 2018 Elise Mertens, BEL
Unseeded - 2019 Danielle Collins, USA
Unseeded - 2020 Garbine Muguruza, ESP (RU)
Unseeded - 2022 Madison Keys, USA
Unseeded - 2023 Magda Linette, POL
Wild Card - 2010 Justine Henin, BEL (RU)
Qualifier - 2024 Dayana Yastremska, UKR

*RECENT AUSTRALIAN OPEN SEMIFINALISTS*
2019: Osaka (W), Kvitova (RU); Collins/Ka.Pliskova
2020: Kenin (W), Muguruza (RU); Barty/Halep
2021: Osaka (W), Brady (RU); S.Williams/Muchova
2022: Barty (W), Collins (RU); Keys/Swiatek
2023: Sabalenka (W), Rybakina (RU); Azarenka/Linette
2024: Yastremska/Zheng, Gauff/Sabalenka
[W=RU; SF,SF]
2010 - 1=wc; 16,un
2011 - 3=9; 1,2
2012 - 3=4; 2,11
2013 - 1=6; 2,29
2014 - 4=20; 5,30
2015 - 1=2; 10,un
2016 - 7=1; 4,un
2017 - 2=13; un,un
2018 - 2=1; 21,un
2019 - 4=8; 7,un
2020 - 14=un; 1,4
2021 - 3=22; 10,25
2022 - 1=27; un,7
2023 - 5=22; 24,un
2024 - Q=12,4=2

*FIRST-TIME SLAM SEMIFINALISTS AT AO SINCE 2013*
2013 Sloane Stephens, USA
2014 Genie Bouchard, CAN
2015 Madison Keys, USA
2016 Johanna Konta, GBR
2017 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
2018 Elise Mertens, BEL
2019 Danielle Collins, USA
2020 Sofia Kenin, USA (W)
2021 Karolina Muchova, CZE
2022 none
2023 Magda Linette, POL
2024 Dayana Yastremska, UKR
2024 Zheng Qinwen, CHN

*RECENT AO "Ms. OPPORTUNITY" WINNERS*
2010 Zheng Jie, CHN & Li Na, CHN
2011 Li Na, CHN
2012 Sara Errani, ITA
2013 Sloane Stephens, USA
2014 Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
2015 Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
2016 Johanna Konta, GBR
2017 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
2018 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2019 Danielle Collins, USA
2020 Sofia Kenin, USA
2021 Jennifer Brady, USA and Karolina Muchova, CZE
2022 Danielle Collins, USA
2023 Magda Linette, POL and Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
2024 Zheng Qinwen, CHN

*SLAM SF AS QUALIFIER*
1978 Australian Open - Christine Matison, AUS
1999 Wimbledon - Alexandra Stevenson, USA
2020 Roland Garros - Nadia Podoroska, ARG
2021 U.S. Open - Emma Raducanu, GBR (W)
2024 Australian Open - Dayana Yastremska, UKR

*SLAM SF+ - CHINA*
2010 AO - Li Na
2010 AO - Zheng Jie
2011 AO - Li Na (RU)
2011 RG - Li Na (W)
2013 AO - Li Na (RU)
2013 US - Li Na
2014 AO - Li Na (W)
2014 US - Peng Shuai
2024 AO - Zheng Qinwen

*RECENT WTA TOP 10 SINGLES DEBUTS*
2022 [5]
Collins/USA, Gauff/USA, Pegula/USA, Raducanu/GBR, V.Kudermetova/RUS
2023 [4]
Rybakina/KAZ, Haddad Maia/BRA, Vondrousova/CZE, Muchova/CZE
2024 [1]
Zheng/CHN

*"FIRST SLAM..." FEATS IN 2020s*
=SF=
2020 AO - Sofia Kenin, USA (12th slam MD)
2020 US - Jennifer Brady, USA (13th)
2020 RG - Nadia Podoroska, ARG (2nd)
2020 RG - Iga Swiatek, POL (7th)
2021 AO - Karolina Muchova, CZE (9th)
2021 RG - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (5th)
2021 RG - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS (52nd)
2021 RG - Maria Sakkari, GRE (21st)
2021 RG - Tamara Zidansek, SLO (9th)
2021 WI - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (15th)
2021 US - Leylah Fernandez, CAN (7th)
2021 US - Emma Raducanu, GBR (2nd)
2022 AO - none
2022 RG - Coco Gauff, USA (10th)
2022 RG - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (26th)
2022 RG - Martina Trevisan, ITA (8th)
2022 WI - Ons Jabeur, TUN (21st)
2022 WI - Tatjana Maria, GER (35th)
2022 WI - Elena Rybakina, KAZ (12th)
2022 US - Caroline Garcia, FRA (42nd)
2023 AO - Magda Linette, POL (30th)
2023 RG - Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA (12th)
2023 US - none
2024 AO - Dayana Yastremska, UKR (17th)
2024 AO - Zheng Qinwen, CHN (9th)

*ALL-TIME MIXED CAREER SLAMS*
Cara Black
Margaret Court
Daniela Hantuchova
Doris Hart
Martina Hingis
Billie Jean King
Martina Navratilova
[Open era]
Cara Black
Margaret Court
Daniela Hantuchova
Martina Hingis
Martina Navratilova
--
NOTE: The Open era began four months after King's final AO mixed title in 1968




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All for now. More soon.
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