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Wednesday, January 17, 2024

AO24 - Deja Vu All Over Again

Like a tennis-themed Russian nesting doll, the new Hordettes are crawling out of the woodwork all over Melbourne. And they're being led by their unofficial pied piper.



Of course, in the moment, it's hard not to get something of a sense of deja vu.

Not just where Andreeva is concerned, either. Though there's enough evidence that's mounted up over the past year for that to be so. After all, in each of her three previous slam debuts at the other majors on the schedule the 16-year old also posted opening round wins. In fact, before doing so at this AO, she'd already stepped into the 3rd Round twice, and once into the Round of 16 (at Wimbledon). Throw in 4th Round runs at 1000 events in Madrid and Beijing, even with her enforced limited schedule, and the AO Twitter pronouncement of "a star is born" feels bit "old news." Andreeva's celestial existence in the tennis world became a reality well before this week, it's just a matter of when she makes the Supernovic (as in you-know-who, 20 -- eek!! -- years ago) jump from phenom to legit major title threat.

As with so many things in women's tennis, the moment might come knocking on the door long before anyone was expecting such a visitor.



But Andreeva's win over #6 Ons Jabeur was more than just the first true upturn in a women's draw that half-way into the 2nd Round has already seen 17 of the 32 seeds sent out in disappointment, it may actually be the Reveille call that officially wakes up and fully reestablishes the legitimacy of the next revolutionary wave of Hordettes on the women's tour.

Granted, things will likely never again resemble the glory days of the Original Hordettes. While there still remains one of that group in action -- Vera Zvonareva, who put together one of the best seasons of her career just last year, albeit mostly in doubles, at 38 -- to provide a "living link" between the past and the present, their long, long shadow has and continues to loom over the results of all the countrywomen that have followed and, alas, failed to come close to matching their collective efforts. But, really, how could they?

After Anna Kournikova had played the role of "harbinger" with her 1997 Wimbledon singles semifinal (yes, she did that), within a few years the horde of Russians (I dubbed them the "Hordettes" way back when) were blanketing the women's tour. In 2004, everything came to a head as three Hordettes won slams, filling five of the season's eight slam final slots, and meeting in a pair of all-Russian major finals.

From 2004-15, the Hordettes won eight slams, and one (the previously referenced Maria Sharapova) accomplished a Career Slam. Six different women reached slam finals, filling a combined 22 slam finalist slots. After Sharapova's last in '15, the only one since has come from Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the form of a RG runner-up in '21.

But it wasn't just a small circle (ala the Williams sisters when talking about "U.S." titles/finals) rolling up the numbers. From 2003-16, eleven *different* Russians reached slam semis, doing so at 13 consecutive slams from 2004-07, then 8 more in a row (21 of 22). They did so at 12 straight RG, and 5 consecutive U.S. Opens. 8 of 9 AO, and at 7 of 8 Wimbledons. Since the just-unretired Elena Vesnina's SW19 final four run in 2016, just two Hordettes have matched the feat: Pavlyuchenkova in '21, ending a 17-slam SF drought, and Dasha Kasatkina a year later in Paris.

Recent seasons have seen a Hordette Renaissance, as a group of twentysomethings have returned to prominance (Pavlyuchenkova, at 32, is sort of a "middle child" positioned between the two tennis generations), but have so far stalled out and hit something of a ceiling while ranking somewhere around #12-25. High enough to be factors, but not consistent or dangerous enough to contend for majors and plant themselves long-term in the Top 10.

At least one Russian has reached the 3rd Round at (now) 91 of 93 slams, and the Round of 16 at 80 of 91. The truly *historic* results in Melbourne, Paris, London and New York have been M.I.A., though.

2024 is the 20th anniversary season of the original Hordette uprising, but it's also the ninth season since the last Russian slam champion. Like Sharapova before her, though, perhaps Andreeva is the supernovic component whose success will clear the path for others. We've surely seen signs of something coming on the horizon. Again.

In 2022-23, 13 tour singles titles were claimed by Hordettes, the best two-year run since the tail-end of the "glory days." Last year's 14 finalists were the most since 2012, and 31 SF+ results (after putting up 30 in '22) the best since 2011. There were 27 all-RUS WTA final match-ups from 2003-15, but just two from 2016-20. The last three seasons have produced one each. Something is slowly brewing.

Last season, Alina Korneeva won back-to-back junior slams, the first by a Russian girl since 2016. The all-RUS AO junior final between her and Andreeva was the first since '15, and just the third since the "calm-before-the-storm" '02 Wimbledon girls' final that pitted Zvonareva (who won) and Sharapova (who'd lift the big plate just two years later).

At this AO, it hasn't just been Andreeva sparking old memories.

Ten Hordettes (the most of any nation) reached the 2nd Round (9 of them unseeded in the MD), with three of them being first-time slam MD winners, and a pair (Andreeva & Korneeva, the two youngest players in the field) coming in at just 16 years of age.

Already joining Andreeva in the 3rd Round are qualifiers Maria Timofeeva and Anastasia Zakharova, as well as the unseeded Elina Avanesyan.



20-year old Timofeeva, who won the title (as a lucky loser) in her WTA tour debut last year in Budapest, defeated '18 AO champ Caroline Wozniacki to reach the stage of 32 in her slam debut. Meanwhile, 21-year old Zakharova obliterated Kaja Juvan (coming up small yet again after a slam upset of a seed) to join her countrywomen.



And Avanesyan, 21 and already having recorded a slam Round of 16 as a LL last year in Paris, took her turn and became the second Hordette to oust a Top 8 seed with her straight sets win over #8 Maria Sakkari (cue the -- finally, after being player/coach loyal maybe to her own detriment for possibly a few seasons too long -- Thomas Hill Watch?).



Three more Hordettes could still join those four in the 3rd Round. Yes or no, the story of this *next* generation of Russian players will continue to be told at this Australian Open and throughout the remainder of the slam season (and beyond).

The bridge between past and the future for the young Hordettes finally seems to have been sturdily constructed, and it's now a matter of which will cross it, and in what order.

Will Andreeva, seemingly the most ready for a shockingly deep run, prove to be the Kournikova (harbinger) or Sharapova (Supernova) in *this* story?

She could be either, but part of the fun is always watching just how it plays out, right?





...TENNIS LIFE COMES AT YOU FAST (and sometimes that's a spectacular thing):




...HMMM, GOOGLE... HAS THERE BEEN A RULE CHANGE I DIDN'T HEAR ABOUT?:




...I think they forget "ON A PARTLY SUNNY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON WITH A SLIGHT EASTERLY WIND WHILE A BIRD FLEW OVERHEAD AND THE UMPIRE WORE A BLUE SHIRT WITH A SMALL PEN CLIPPED INSIDE THE CHEST POCKET":




...APPARENTLY, THE ENTIRE CITY OF MELBOURNE IS NOW INDOORS, BECAUSE OTHERWISE...:




...AND SO IT BEGINS:



There was an interesting column in the Washington Post recently that spoke to the potential "changes" inside Saudia Arabia with regard to the leadership apparently attempting (take the use of the word for what it's worth) to foster social change (particularly when it comes to women's roles in the nation) while also maintaining a brutal reputation, especially when it comes to anti-regime dissent (see bone saws and missing journalists). Of course, most things exist at least *partially* in an overall gray area (even when some parts of the argument *are* definitively black and white), and most people are prone to picking and choosing anecdotal items that put forth whichever side of the argument that they tend to favor in the moment.

I suspect that as tennis (and the WTA) dips fully into the coffers of Saudi Arabian funds that the only way to avoid an overwhelming sense of shame in the act will be to try to push the notion that just being there might foster some sort of societal change. Maaaaaybe. That's the cover that Wozniacki is using here, and others will surely follow, even if it feels like something more of a wish than a mission statement (or, really, even a goal).

It almost appears as if the tour has informed the players behind the scenes that getting in bed with Saudi Arabia is a financial imperative for the tour's future health, as Iga Swiatek sure seems pained here when trying to explain the inevitable path (but *try* she does, bless her).




...MELBOURNE MARTA STRIKES AGAIN:

Marta Kostyuk and the AO have always mixed quite well. As a 14-year old she won the junior title in 2017, and a year later reached the women's 3rd Round. After reaching the same stage the last two years, she saved a MP (down 6-5 in the 3rd) vs. #25 Elise Mertens, and overcame a 3-0 MTB deficit, to defeat the Waffle 5-7/6-1/7-6(6) and do it for a third straight time.



Of course, since Kostyuk can't be mentioned without also having either a Russian or Belarusian enter the conversation, the Ukrainian's next opponent will be Avanesyan. Since her last win over a Russian (Varvara Gracheva, who now plays for France, in Austin), Kostyuk has gone 0-7 vs. RUS/BLR opponents.


...AND WE HAVE OUR TRARALGON CHAMPION:



Jones would have the most favorite name (of this Backspinner) of all the Aussies juniors if it weren't for the likes of Maya Joint,








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*RECENT TRARALGON JR. CHAMPIONS; w/ AO Jr. RESULT*
2015 Katherine Sebov, CAN (2r)
2016 Vera Lapko, BLR (W)
2017 Iga Swiatek, POL (1r)
2018 Liang En-shou, TPE (W)
2019 Clara Tauson, DEN (W)
2020 Polina Kudermetova, RUS (QF)
2021 DNP
2022 Sofia Costoulas, BEL (RU)
2023 Melisa Ercan, TUR (1r)
2024 Emerson Jones, AUS




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TOP QUALIFIER: Alina Korneeva, RUS
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q2 - Alina Korneeva/RUS def. Ma Yexin/CHN 6-7/6-4/7-6(5) - '23 AO girls champ saves 2 MP; qualifies and is youngest in women's MD
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/WC/Doub.): xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Kamilla Rakhimova/RUS (def. Emina Bektas/USA)
FIRST SEED OUT: #13 Liudmila Samsonova/RUS (1r-lost to Anisimova/USA)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Brenda Fruhvirtova/CZE, McCartney Kessler/USA, Alina Korneeva/RUS, Maria Timofeeva/RUS, Anastasia Zakharova/RUS
PROTECTED RANKING MD WINS: In 2r: Anisimova(W), Badosa(W), Raducanu, Tomljanovic
UPSET QUEENS: France (only nation to defeat multiple seeds in 1st Rd.)
REVELATION LADIES: Unseeded Russians (9-1 in 1st Rd.)
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Seeds from Russia (1-4 in 1st Rd.)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: In 2r: B.Fruhvirtova(L), Hunter(W), Korneeva(L), Timofeeva(W), Yastremska, Zakharova(W)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: In 2r: Kessler, Wozniacki(L)
LAST AUSSIE STANDING: In 2r: Hunter(W), Tomljanovic
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT (??): Nominees: Her? (Mirra), 16-year olds (M.Andreeva, B.Fruhvirtova & Korneeva); Kostyuk
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominee: Anisimova, Badosa
CRASH & BURN: Nominee: #6 Jabeur (2r 2 games vs. M.Andreeva)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF MELBOURNE: Nominees: Wang Yafan (down 6-0/3-0 and 4-1 vs. Cirstea in 1st Rd.); Kostyuk (saved MP vs. Mertens in 2r)
KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: xx
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominees: Sabalenka (2-0)
AUSTRALIAN LANGUAGE ARTS AWARD: xxx
DOUBLES STAR: xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx





All for now. More soon.
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