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Sunday, June 9, 2024

Au Revoir, Paris (until this summer)










=DAY 15 NOTES=
...and then there were two...

Final champions, that is.



The last women's title match of this Roland Garros was contested on Sunday morning, and it was the first-time duo of Coco Gauff & Katerina Siniakova emerging victorious with a 7-6(5)/6-3 victory over Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini, dropping the latter to 0-2 in finals this weekend (just as Gauff was on the concluding weekend of the '22 RG).

It was an odd -- but oh so right -- pairing of former WD #1 players that came about due to injuries to Siniakova and Gauff's regular partners, Storm Hunter and Jessie Pegula, respectively.



For Gauff, it's (finally) her first slam WD crown after having lost in a pair of previous finals, as well as two semis, in various majors since the start of the '21 season (hmmm, she got away from that bad Buffalo Bills major title karma and she wins big... go figure), while Siniakova claims her eighth, but first without longtime doubles partner Barbora Krejcikova by her side.



...in Bari, 19-year old Romanian Anca Todoni defeated Panna Udvardy 6-4/6-0 to claim her biggest career title at the 125 event; while Katie Volynets handed Mayar Sherif her fourth loss in a singles final (1 WTA, 3 125) since the start of May with a 3-6/6-2/6-1 win in the Markarska 125 final. It's the 22-year old Bannerette's biggest career title.

A year ago, it was Paolini who was playing in the Makarska final, only *losing* to Sherif. So... RG final next year for Volynets?

...meanwhile, in the opening week of the '24 grass season, Alison Van Uytvanck once again proved that under the right circumstances -- i.e. on grass or indoors -- she is one of the more difficult outs in the sport. When she's healthy, that is. She apparently is at the moment, so of course she picked up the $100K Surbiton crown in London, defeating German veteran Tatjana Maria, 6-7(5)/6-1/6-2.



Van Uytvanck has won both the Nottingham and Surbiton (twice, w/ '22) challengers on grass, as well as reached the Ilkley final. She also has a 125 win (in '22) on grass in Italy.

Oddly enough, though, the Belgian has never reached the final of any of the tour-level grass events, nor has she ever really posed much of a threat at Wimbleon. She reached a lone Round of 16 in 2018, but has been bounced out in the 1r/2r in her seven other MD appereances. In that one 4th Round run she upset #3-seeded Garbine Muguruza (the defending champ) and #28 Anett Kontaveit before falling to #14 Dasha Kasatkina in three sets.

Van Uytvanck will climb more than 130 spots in the rankings to inside the Top 270. She's 23-8 in career pro singles finals (5-0 WTA, 3-1 125, 16-7 ITF).







1. Iga Swiatek, POL ...21-1 on clay, she became the second woman (Serena) to sweep the Madrid-Rome-Roland Garros trio, winning two of the titles after saving MP, and the third in the Open era to three-peat in Paris (Seles & Henin). Iga ended on an 19-match winning streak, the best of her career on clay, and she'll take that run back to France for the Summer Olympics at the end of next month (she won't likely play a pre-Paris clay event, as there are only two weeks of post-Wimbledon 250s on the schedule before the Games).
2. Aryna Sabalenka, BLR ...her Madrid/Rome final combo (only 6 women have ever done it but two this year) were overshadowed by being beaten in both by Swiatek (after Sabalenka had 3 MP in Madrid). A hoped-for Part III in Paris never materialized, as she was struck ill in the QF and failed to get past Mirra Andreeva (ending her six-slam SF+ run).
3. Diede de Groot, NED (WC) ...de Groot saw her 145-match winning streak end (vs. Li Xiaohui) in the World Team Cup, but kept her runs alive in slam play, going to Paris and taking her 14th straight singles slam crown (running her match streak to 48), passing Esther Vergeer for the most women's singles majors (22) in wheelchair history, and swept the s/d at a slam event for the 15th time (she also did it at the AO in January).
4. Elena Rybakina, KAZ ...somewhat held back by illness (and a lack of sleep) again, withdrawing from Rome (as the reigning champ), but still won Stuttgart, reached the Madrid SF and RG quarters and had wins over both finalists in Paris earlier in the spring. Rybakina lost just twice on clay (vs. Sabalenka and Paolini), but played in only 14 matches.
5. Jasmine Paolini, ITA ...aside from her Rome WD title, the Italian didn't have a great clay lead-up to Paris (she was 4-3), but reached maiden slam finals in singles *and* doubles at Roland Garros, avenging earlier clay losses to Rybakina (Stuttgart) and Andreeva (Madrid) and played her way into a pair of career-best rankings (#7 WS, #14 WD).
6. Madison Keys, USA ...put together her best-ever claycourt spring, going 13-4 while reaching the Madrid SF, Rome QF and winning in Strasbourg (her first red clay crown), only to be ejected early (3r) at Roland Garros.
7. Coco Gauff/USA (& Katerina Siniakova/CZE) ...the first-time teammates took the title at Roland Garros, finishing off a clay circuit in which Siniakova (w/ partner Storm Hunter's Achilles injury) was limited to just two doubles tournaments. Gauff also reached the singles semis in Rome and Paris (her tour-best third straight slam SF). Both runs ended with straight sets losses to Swiatek, but the 20-year old will be the new world #2 behind Iga on Monday.
8. Danielle Collins, USA ...rolled off of her Miami title in her farewell season to win in Charleston, as well. She went 16-4 on the clay, reaching the Madrid 4th Round, Rome SF and Strasbourg final before finally bowing out of Paris in the 2nd Round vs. a qualifier.
9. Mirra Andreeva, RUS ...the 17-year old continues to climb, rising to #23 after just 17 career tour-level MD events. The Hordette reached the Madrid QF (def. Paolini en route) and, in her first return visit to a major, reached her maiden slam SF (the youngest in 27 years) at RG with a career-best win over #2 Sabalenka. Paolini got her back a round short of the final.
10. Errani/Paolini, ITA/ITA ...the Rome champions on home clay, the duo finished off the spring dirt circuit with a runner-up result in Paris.
H.M. Cristina Bucsa/ESP (wd), CHN World Team Cup [WC], de Groot/Van Koot (NED/NED)[WC], Varvara Gracheva/FRA, Marta Kostyuk/UKR, Li Xiaohui/CHN [WC], Naomi Osaka/JPN, Camila Osorio/COL, Emma Raducanu/GBR [BJK], Laura Siegemund/GER, Clara Tauson/DEN



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1. Iga Swiatek, POL
...building a huge lead, but now comes the grass season (followed by a return to Paris, so...)

2. Diede de Groot, NED (WC)
...yeah, she lost a match. But that's the *only* one she's lost on the court all year -- 25-1 ws/14-0 wd, though she had a walkover doubles loss -- and she's swept all four slam titles. If Iga falters down the stretch, Diede the Great could still roll to the front of the line.

3. Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
...she wound up a converted MP in Madrid and a badly-timed illness in Paris away from possibly a truly stunning follow-up to her AO title defense. Needs a big summer to gain ground.

4. Elena Rybakina, KAZ
...her five finals are tied with Swiatek for the tour lead, but she's pulled out of two events (IW/Rome) due to illness that she *won* in 2023. Rybakina, between health issues and losses in finals, still leaves *so* much untouched on the table.

5. Danielle Collins, USA
...some *great* runs in her farewell campaign, with her Miami/Charleston titles and 15-match streak. Is just 2-2 in slam play, though.

6. Jasmine Paolini, ITA
...the most steadily improving player on tour, she's reached the Top 10 (and Top 15 in WD), won a 1000 titles in both singles and doubles, and reached both finals at Roland Garros.

7. Coco Gauff, USA
...has "quietly" reached back-to-back slam SF after winning the U.S. Open, just won her maiden slam WD crown in Paris, defended a singles title (Auckland) and climbs to #2 in singles on Monday. Yet we still want "more."

8. Hsieh/Mertens, TPE/BEL
...they've traded off the #1 WD ranking since Melbourne, and won the AO and Indian Wells titles on the season (+ Hsieh won the AO MX, too). But they had a disappoiting clay season, going 6-3 w/ no finals.

HM- Alona Ostapenko, LAT
...has tailed off after early-season titles in Adelaide and Linz, though her 4r/QF combo in Madrid/Rome prove she's always a couple of swings away from an epic result. Not good: 0-2 vs. Top 10 in' 24, and 2r/3r exits in majors.




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...with the new rankings coming out Monday, a quick update on the updated state of things...

* - Coco Gauff is the new #2, bumping Aryna Sabalenka down to #3, while RG finalist Jasmine Paolini makes her Top 10 debut at #7. In/Out: Danielle Collins falls out to #11. Marketa Vondrousova, heading to the U.K. to defend her Wimbledon crown, rises one spot to a new career high of #5 after her QF result in Paris.

* - Top 25 career highs: #17 Emma Navarro, #18 Marta Kostyuk and #23 Mirra Andreeva (she'll get her first slam seed at SW19... so no more "sneaking up" on anyone in the draw). In/Out: '23 RG finalist Karolina Muchova, who hasn't played since the U.S. Open semis, falls from #19 to #35.

* - Sofia Kenin climbs 11 to #45, "passing ships" in the rankings night with Sloane Stephens, who falls 12 to #47.

* - The biggest riser in the Top 100: Makarska winner Katie Volynets, up 31 to #77. Biggest riser in the Top 200: Bari 125 champ Anca Todoni, up 43 to #136.

* - A year after reaching the RG 4th Round, after a 1st Round exit this time around, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova slides 26 slots to #80. It ties with Bernarda Pera (#80 to #106) for the second-biggest fall of the Top 100 players heading into RG. The biggest: Kayla Day, who went from #99 to #130 (-31). Day reached the 3rd Round in Paris in '23, but went out in the 1st this year.

* - DOUBLES: Elise Mertens re-assumes the #1 ranking, replacing partner Hsieh Su-wei, who falls to #2. RG champ Katerina Siniakova jumps back into the Top 5 (going from #11 to #5) with her title run, while Coco Gauff is back in the Top 20 (#21 to #12). Jasmine Paolini rises to a WD high of #14 (from #26), joining Gauff and Alona Ostapenko as the only three women in the Top 20 in both singles and doubles. Meanwhile, Jessie Pegula's freefall continues, going down 15 to #44 after missing RG.

* - COMEBACK WATCH: Caroline Wozniacki remains at #117, while Naomi Osaka is up 9 to #125 (oh, if only...) and Angelique Kerber rises 9 to #233. Dane Clara Tauson rises 6 to #66, her highest ranking since 2022.







*WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#1 Iga Swiatek/POL def. #12 Jasmine Paolini/ITA 6-2/6-1

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL=
#5 Gauff/Siniakova (USA/CZE) def. #11 Errani/Paolini (ITA/ITA) 7-6(5)/6-3

=MIXED DOUBLES FINAL=
#2 Siegemund/Roger-Vasselin (GER/FRA) def. #4 Krawczyk/N.Skupski (USA/GBR) 6-4/7-5

=WHEELCHAIR SINGLES FINAL=
#1 Diede de Groot/NED def. Zhu Zhenzhen/CHN 4-6/6-2/6-3

=WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES FINAL=
#2 de Groot/Van Koot (NED/NED) def. #1 Kamiji/Montjane (JPN/RSA) 6-7(6)/7-6(2) [10-4]

=GIRLS SINGLES FINAL=
#12 Tereza Valentova/CZE def. #3 Laura Samson/CZE 6-3/7-6(0)

=GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL=
#3 Jamrichova/Valentova (SVK/CZE) def. #4 Grant/Jovic (USA/USA) 6-4/6-4

=WHEELCHAIR GIRLS SINGLES FINAL=
#1 Ksenia Chasteau/FRA def. Maylee Phelps/USA 6-2/6-3

=WHEELCHAIR GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL=
Ksenia Chasteau/Maylee Phelps (FRA/USA) def. Vitoria Miranda/Yuma Takamuro (BRA/JPN) 3-6/6-0 [18-16]







...WRITTEN IN THE STARS?... ON DAY 15:




...NOTICED THIS YESTERDAY (she learned)... ON DAY 15:




...IF ONLY THE FFT HAD SUCH A LEARNING CURVE... ON DAY 15:


I'd forgotten that the U.S. Open did this in 2022, but it needs to happen *on the court*. Roland Garros gets the most chances... do better.




...TROPHY SHOOT '24... ON DAY 15:



I have to say, it feels like the top half was styled by one person, and the bottom half styled by a totally different person.


...Hmmm... ON DAY 15:



I think of the four Paris photo shoots, I'd rank them, in order: 2022, 2020, 2023, 2024.

I'd totally forgotten about the all-white '22 look. I think it best links the casual/dressy sides of the equation, with a "business-like" feel. Plus, Iga looks great *and* comfortable.

2020 had the Eiffel Tower (always a smart move), and while all the colors were jarring at the time it looks nice now.

Last year was a decent effort, but I doubt that Swiatek had any hand in the decision. She just looked a bit uncomfortable.

This year was a bit disjointed, and they didn't even leave the grounds! It's such a shame that Paris doesn't have any great landmarks to use as backdrops or anything. If you're going to never leave the tournament site for the photo shoot, how about utilizing the Suzanne Lenglen sculpture outside her stadium?




...THIS IS A UNIQUE ANGLE, THOUGH... ON DAY 15:




...CHAMPIONS HAVING THE BACK OF CHAMPIONS HAVING THE BACK OF CHAMPIONS... ON DAY 15:




...MEANWHILE... ON DAY 15:



A lot of good, and some bad here.

*All* the slams being off over-the-air network TV in the U.S. is bad, but NBC's just-a-sip coverage of Roland Garros (holiday/weekend-only, and usually screwing up things with exclusive matches and/or airing nothing at all in big windows... and then not even showing all the men's trophy ceremony today) in recent years was just a way to *say* the network still aired the event. The majors have been a 90% cable-only endeavor for more than a decade. Once NBC lost Wimbledon to ESPN, it mostly lost interest. And the days of the great Bud Collins on NBC -- where my interest in the sport was born -- were a long time ago, and never replicated or replaced.

I worry that Tennis Channel getting pushed out of the only slam it still aired is bad for the network, but I won't really miss the coverage (or some of the announcers) at slam time.

RG airing on TNT, TBS and TruTV (hey, it's like the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament) is nice, and I know *I* would personally be more apt to sign up for a short streaming run with MAX for the event than I ever was for TC+ or whatever service Tennis Channel was always trying to force on people in order to watch more than a single match at a time.







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*CONSECUTIVE SLAM REPEAT CHAMPIONS TO START SEASON - Open era*
[4]
1992 - Seles (AO), Seles (RG), Graf (WI), Seles (US)
[2]
1970 - Margaret Smith Court (AO), Margaret Smith Court (RG)
1975 - Evonne Goolagong (AO), Chris Evert (RG)
1986# - Chris Evert (RG), Martina Navratilova (WI)
2024 - Aryna Sabalenka (AO), Iga Swiatek (RG)
--
# - AO played in December 1978-85 (RG & WI were first two slams of year)

*CAREER OVERALL SLAM TITLES - ACTIVE*
[singles/doubles/mixed]
23 - Venus Williams, USA (7-14-2)
11 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (1-7-3)
9 - Kristina Mladenovic, FRA (0-6-3)
9 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA (0-5-4)
8 - Hsieh Su-wei, TPE (0-7-1)
8 - KATERINA SINIAKOVA, CZE (0-8-0)
5 - Sara Errani, ITA (0-5-0)
5 - IGA SWIATEK, POL (5-0-0)
5 - Vera Zvonareva, RUS (0-3-2)



*CAREER WOMEN'S DOUBLES SLAM TITLES - active*
14...Venus Williams
7...Barbora Krejcikova
8...KATERINA SINIAKOVA
7...Hsieh Su-wei
6...Kristina Mladenovic
5...Sara Errani
5...Bethanie Mattek-Sands
4...Timea Babos
4...Elise Mertens
3...Elena Vesnina
3...Vera Zvonareva

*RECENT RG WOMEN'S DOUBLES CHAMPIONS*
2014 Hsieh Su-Wei & Peng Shuai, TPE/CHN
2015 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2016 Caroline Garcia & Kristina Mladenovic, FRA/FRA
2017 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2018 Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2019 Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
2020 Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
2021 Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2022 Caroline Garcia & Kristina Mladenovic, FRA/FRA
2023 Hsieh Su-wei & Wang Xinyu, TPE/CHN
2024 Coco Gauff & Katerina Siniakova, USA/CZE

*2020s WD SLAM CHAMPIONS*
2020 AO: Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic (HUN/FRA)
2020 US: Laura Siegemund/Vera Zvonareva (GER/RUS)
2020 RG: Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic (HUN/FRA)
2021 AO: Elise Mertens/Aryna Sabalenka (BEL/BLR)
2021 RG: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE)
2021 WI: Hsieh Su-wei/Elise Mertens (TPE/BEL)
2021 US: Samantha Stosur/Zhang Shuai (AUS/CHN)
2022 AO: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE)
2022 RG: Caroline Garcia/Kristina Mladenovic (FRA/FRA)
2022 WI: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE)
2022 US: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE)
2023 AO: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE)
2023 RG: Hsieh Su-wei/Wang Xinyu (TPE/CHN)
2023 WI: Hsieh Su-wei/Barbora Strycova (TPE/CZE)
2023 US: Gaby Dabrowski/Erin Routliffe (CAN/NZL)
2024 AO: Hsieh Su-wei/Elise Mertens (TPE/BEL)
2024 RG: Coco Gauff/Katerina Siniakova (USA/CZE)

*2024 WTA DOUBLES FINALS*
3 (3-0) = Cristina Bucsa
3 (2-1) = SARA ERRANI
3 (2-1) = JASMINE PAOLINI
3 (2-1) = Irina Khromacheva
3 (2-1) = Bethanie Mattek-Sands
3 (2-1) = KATERINA SINIAKOVA
3 (1-2) = Lyudmyla Kichenok
3 (1-2) = Nicole Melichar-Martinez
3 (1-2) = Ellen Perez

*2020-24 WTA DOUBLES TITLES*
18 - KATERINA SINIAKOVA (1/6/6/3/2)
13 - Barbora Krejcikova (1/5/3/4/0)
11 - Elise Mertens (1/4/2/2/2)
10 - Hsieh Su-wei (4/2/0/2/2)
9 - Laura Siegemund (1/0/3/5/0)
8 - Shuko Aoyama (1/5/0/2/0)
8 - Desirae Krawczyk (2/2/1/3/0)
8 - Demi Schuurs (2/2/1/2/1)
8 - Ena Shibahara (1/5/0/2/0)
8 - Luisa Stefani (1/1/2/3/1)
7 - COCO GAUFF (0/1/3/2/1)
7 - Storm Hunter (1/0/3/2/1)
7 - Veronika Kudermetova (0/1/3/2/1)
7 - Jessie Pegula (0/0/5/2/0)
7 - Vera Zvonareva (1/0/2/4/0)

*RECENT RG "DOUBLES STAR" WINNERS*
2015 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
2016 Caroline Garcia & Kristina Mladenovic, FRA/FRA
2017 Gaby Dabrowski, CAN
2018 Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2019 Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2020 Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
2021 Desirae Krawczyk, USA
2022 Diede de Groot & Aniek Van Koot, NED/NED (WC)
2023 Miyu Kato, JPN
2024 Coco Gauff & Katerina Siniakova, USA/CZE

*RECENT RG "COMEBACK PLAYER" WINNERS*
2017 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2018 Maria Sharapova, RUS
2019 Johanna Konta, GBR
2020 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, SVK & Alona Ostapenko/LAT
2021 Sloane Stephens, USA
2022 Caroline Garcia/Kristina Mladenovic, FRA/FRA
2023 Elina Svitolina, UKR
2024 Naomi Osaka, JPN

*RECENT RG "KIMIKO CUP FOR VETERAN ACHIEVEMENT" WINNERS*
2015 Lucie Safarova, CZE
2016 Martina Hingis/SUI and Samantha Stosur/AUS
2017 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2018 Latisha Chan, TPE
2019 Latisha Chan, TPE
2020 Petra Kvitova, CZE and Laura Siegemund, GER
2021 Anastasia Pavlyuchenova, RUS
2022 Flavia Pennetta & Francesca Schiavone, ITA/ITA (Legends)
2023 Kgothatso Montjane, RSA (WC) and Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
2024 Laura Siegemund, GER



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TOP QUALIFIER: Jule Niemeier/GER
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #2 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR (7 games lost in 1r/2r)
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #1 Iga Swiatek/POL (8 games lost 3r-QF)
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): #1 Iga Swiatek/POL (wins third con RG title, 4th in 5 years)
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q2: Raluca Serban/CYP def. Dominika Salkova/CZE 3-6/6-4/7-6(13-11) - both served for win in 3rd, w/ Salkova 2 MP, then third in TB; Serban wins 24-point MTB
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd. - #1 Swiatek/POL def. (PR) Osaka/JPN 7-6(1)/1-6/7-5 - Osaka led in 3rd at 4-1 w/ pt. for 5-1, 5-2 up, served at 5-3 and had MP
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 4th Rd. - #1 Iga Swiatek/POL def. Anastasia Potapova/RUS 6-0/6-0 (10 points lost total; 40 minutes)
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC):
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Donna Vekic/CRO (def. Tsurenko/UKR ret.)
FIRST SEED OUT: #29 Veronika Kudermetova/RUS (1r: Bouzkova/CZE)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Moyuka Uchijima/JPN (2nd MD)
UPSET QUEENS: United States
REVELATION LADIES: China
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Germany (1-5 1st Rd.)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Olga Danilovic/SRB (in 4th Rd.)
LUCKY LOSER WINS: Hailey Baptiste/USA, Jana Fett/CRO (both 2nd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Chloe Paquet/FRA (3rd Rd.)
PROTECTED RANKING WINS: 3rd Rd.: Bianca Andreescu/CAN, Irina-Camelia Begu/ROU; 2nd Rd.: Amanda Anisimova/USA, Naomi Osaka/JPN
LAST PASTRY STANDING: Varvara Gracheva (in 4th Rd.)
Mademoiselle OPPORTUNITY: Jasmine Paolini/ITA
IT "Teen": Mirra Andreeva/RUS
COMEBACK PLAYER: Naomi Osaka/JPN
CRASH & BURN: #6 Maria Sakkari/GRE (lost 1st Rd. 4 of 5 slams)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF PARIS: Iga Swiatek/POL (2nd Rd.: down 4-1 -- pt. for 5-1 -- and 5-2 vs. Osaka in 3rd; Osaka MP at 5-3)
DOUBLES STAR: Coco Gauff/Katerina Siniakova, USA/CZE
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Laura Siegemund/GER
Mademoiselle/Madame OF THE EVENING: Mirra Andreeva/RUS and Victoria Azarenka/BLR (1 a.m. 2r finish on Court 12)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Czech Crushers: Tereza Valentova & Laura Samson (first all-CZE jr. slam final)
Légion de Lenglen: Firsts (Court Lenglen roof debuts, and Varvara Gracheva's first RG as FRA) and Last (Alize Cornet's farewell tournament)
Coupe LA PETIT TAUREAU: Iga Swiatek completes three-peat at RG since Henin in 2007






All for now.
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