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Tuesday, June 4, 2024

RG.10- Gauff Returns to RG Base Camp, Hopes to Scale Mt.Swiatek

Ons Jabeur's slam quest will have to wait. Coco Gauff is going to give it *another* try against Iga Swiatek, this time with a berth in the Roland Garros final on the line.




Well, we've come to the stage of this slam in which Gauff, now a (still fairly) newly-minted slam champion, stands on the precipice of scaling a truly monumental "game-changing" moment not only in *this* major but in her entire career, or instead only to once again lose her grip and fall down its face and be tasked with trying to re-fuel for another summer run.

All bets can be made (and later collected) at the Tennis Channel FanDuel Desk. (If any commentators are there when you arrive, please ignore and -- for this is very important, for your own psychological well-being -- do NOT feed them or offer them an ear.)

But first the #3-seeded Gauff had to face off today in the QF with #8 Ons Jabeur, with the latter having only recently started to resemble the brain-frying artiste who has played her way into three slam finals in the last two years.



Early on, it looked as though Jabeur was going to write the script for this one. She won the 1st set on the back of fine serving, claiming 17/18 first serve points and never facing a break point.

But Gauff became more aggressive after falling behind, taking early break leads (at 3-1) in both the 2nd and 3rd sets. Jabeur immediately broke back in the 2nd, only to drop serve at love in the following game as Gauff went on to knot the match. After falling behind in the decider, though, Gauff never allowed Jabeur to get things back on serve. Gauff didn't face a BP in the 3rd until its final game, and after Jabeur (on serve) had saved a MP one game prior, Gauff saved a lone BP and then took the match on her third MP, winning 4-6/6-2/6-3.

Now 5-2 vs. Jabeur, Gauff leads their head-to-head series on clay at 3-1.



This marks the 20-year old Gauff's second semifinal at RG, and fourth in her slam career. She's done it at three straight majors, making her the youngest woman to do so in seventeen years (since a certain Russian with a business-related sweeth tooth).

Meanwhile, Jabeur leaves another major without a title, but with a bit of wind behind her back, a leveled season record (10-10) and renewed hope for another summer with two *more* realistic opportunities for the one thing keeping her around.

The Tunisian has gone 10-2, 11-1 and 7-3, respectively, the last three grass seasons, with a pair of Wimbledon finals and two tour titles (Birmingham/Berlin) on the surface. SW19 would seem to be her best bet for a deep run (Vondrousova won it a year ago, so being a big hitter isn't necessarily a prerequisite to get one's hands on the Venus Rosewater Dish), but if she's healthy when she arrives in New York (she wasn't last year, but still gritted out a Round of 16) the Open isn't totally out of the question, either. Jabeur reached the U.S. final two years ago.

Truthfully, it feels like this summer might be Jabeur's last best shot for the sort of Novotna-like late-career triumph that she's craving after years of frustrating near-misses. She needs to put every last bit of blood, sweat and tears into the next few months)

Gauff has mostly stayed out of the limelight in Paris, having lost no sets before dropping the 1st today (she'd allowed an average of 4.5 total games through the first four rounds), but she'll next step into the glare of a SF vs. the overwhelming favorite, on her best surface, on her favorite court in the world, in an event in which she hasn't lost since 2021. Oh, and did I neglect to mention the 1-10 career head-to-head vs. Iga Swiatek?

Gauff finally nipped the Pole for the first time last August during the Summer of Coco run, but has since gone 0-3 vs. the world #1, including a 4 & 3 loss in Rome less than three weeks ago. She's 0-4 vs. Swiatek on clay (0-of-8 in sets), and 0-2 against her at Roland Garros, falling 6-1/6-3 in the '22 final and 6-4/6-2 in the '23 QF.

Tennis Channel's Lindsay Davenport has clearly been pushing up Gauff's chances in the tournament for a while (ranking her above Rybakina as the more likely winner the other day, for example), and she (sorta) doubled down on that today, noting her record vs. Swiatek and her winless mark on clay, but adding, "There's just something about Coco this entire event that says she's (become) a better player, and more mature."

Better than she was last summer? That's a pretty tall order to fill. But we shall see.




=DAY 10 NOTES=
...what hath Naomi Osaka wrought?

Was it really not even a week ago that Iga Swiatek seemed certainly headed to her 2024 Roland Garros doom, only (about 10 minutes later) to pull a bigger rabbit out from under her hat than she had, well, at any time in her entire career? If Osaka had just kept a few -- maybe as many as 1 or 2 -- shots in the court over a two-game stretch late in the 3rd set of their 2nd Round match, then Swiatek might be posting photos of some early grasscourt practice right now and vowing that *this* would be the season that she finally conquers lawn tennis. Instead she's threatening to add a new chapter to the annals of the season's second major (four years after she first did so when it was a season's third and last major).

I suppose history has turned on the head of smaller pins, but rarely has a major seen such an overwhelming favorite go from having a foot and a half out the door to then looking like an even *more* overwhelming favorite quite so quicky, or naturally. Probably not even Serena after one or two of *her* early-round near-misses en route to 23.

What we've seen in the last two rounds in Paris is precisely the Swiatek that is being referred to when her name is included in or atop lists of accomplishments (taken out of context or not) with players with names like Serena, Chris, Justine, Monica, Martina and others. That doesn't mean that the momentum rollercoaster *can't* be reversed one more time by the end of this weekend, but its likelihood will appear increasingly remote until, and only *if*, that precise moment were to actually occur.

Two days ago, Swiatek made a mockery of her Round of 16 match vs. Anastasia Potapova, unintentionally humiliating the Hordette's effort in just 40 minutes in a 6-0/6-0 victory in which she relinquished just ten total points in the entire match. Today's outing against #5 Marketa Vondrousova lasted only two games longer, but needed an additional 22 minutes as Swiatek allowed 21 more points to the Czech (31) than she had the Russian, outpacing the *reigning Wimbledon champ* by 27 points rather than 38. Still, that seems like a lot.

After taking the opening set at love (again), her third straight bagel/macaron set at this RG, Swiatek ultimately extended her game-winning streak over three matches (3r-through-QF) to 20 before Vondrousova finally got on the board early in the 2nd in what would be a 6-0/6-2 victory for the world #1.

The win puts Swiatek into her third consecutive RG semifinal, and fourth in five years (sixth in her slam career). FLASH QUIZ: Who was the player who defeated her in Paris *before* the SF in the one year in the last five in which she missed out at RG? Good luck with that.



ANSWER: Maria Sakkari in the 2021 QF. (Kudos if you remembered.)

...wheelchair action began today, and score one for Diede the Great.

Earlier this spring, Li Xiaohui ended Diede de Groot's 145-match singles winning streak during World Team Cup play, but the Dutch #1 got a shot at some measure of revenge in their 1st Round match-up in Paris today. De Groot won 6-3/6-4, improving on the service numbers that ultimately did her in during the Antalya match last month.

In the loss, de Groot had 10 DF and won just 26% of first serve points and 32% of her second. This time vs. Li, de Groot had 7 DF (vs. 5 aces, though Li had 8 DF), and won 65% of first serves and 43% on her second.

Elsewhere in the WC draw, #2 Yui Kamiji won her 46th straight non-de Groot match with a victory over Angelica Bernal, and young Dutch would-be star Lizzy de Greef scored her maiden slam MD win (she'd been 0-2) with a victory over Emmanuelle Morch.

...in junior play, the girls who posted big upset wins in the 1st Round -- Hordette Daria Shadchneva and Crusher Vendula Valdmannova -- both went down in the 2nd. Waffle Jeline Vandromme, last week's J300 winner in Charleroi-Marcinelle, took out #7-seed Brit Mimi Xu, while Mia Pohankova (SVK) upset another GBR seed, #5 Hannah Klugman.

The Netherlands' Joy de Zeeuw upset #9 Alena Kovackova (CZE), while Bannerette Kristina Penickova knocked off #11 Iva Ivanova (BUL).

The girls' Final 16 includes four from the U.S., two Dutch juniors, two Czechs, and a pair of Slovaks.








*WOMEN'S SINGLES QF*
#1 Iga Swiatek/POL def. #5 Marketa Vondrousova/CZE
#3 Coco Gauff/USA def. #8 Ons Jabeur/TUN
#12 Jasmine Paolini/ITA vs. #4 Elena Rybakina/KAZ
Mirra Andreeva/RUS vs. #2 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF=
Navarro/Shnaider (USA/RUS) vs. #11 Errani/Paolini (ITA/ITA
M.Andreeva/Zvonareva (RUS/RUS) vs. Kostyuk/Ruse (UKR/ROU)
#8 Dolehide/Krawczyk (USA/USA) vs. Olmos/Panova (MEX/RUS)
#5 Gauff/Siniakova (USA/CZE) vs. #16 Kato/N.Kichenok (JPN/UKR)

=MIXED DOUBLES QF=
#7 Hsieh/Zielinski (TPE/POL) def. #1 Perez/Ebden (AUS/AUS)
#4 Krawczyk/N.Skupski (USA/GBR) def. (PR) Zhang S./Arevalo (CHN/ELS)
Eikeri/Gonzalez (NOR/ARG) def. Kato/Puetz (JPN/GER)
#6 Routliffe/Venus (NZL/NZL) vs. #2 Siegemund/Roger-Vasselin (GER/FRA)

=WHEELCHAIR SINGLES QF=
#1 Diede de Groot/NED vs. Wang Xiying/CHN
#4 Aniek Van Koot/NED vs. Dana Mathewson/USA
Lizzy de Greef/NED vs. Zhu Zhenzhen/CHN
Momoko Ohtani/JPN vs. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN

=GIRLS SINGLES ROUND OF 16=
#1 Renata Jamrichova/SVK vs. #16 Teodora Kostovic/SRB
#12 Tereza Valentova/CZE vs. #6 Wakana Sonobe/JPN
#4 Tyra Caterina Grant/USA vs. (Q) Ren Yufei/CHN
Joy de Zeeuw/NED vs. Jeline Vandromme/BEL
Eliska Tichackova/CZE vs. #10 Iva Jovic/USA
#14 Kaitlin Quevedo/ESP vs. #3 Laura Samson/CZE
(Q) Mia Pohankova/SVK vs. Kristina Penickova/USA
#15 Kaitlyn Rolls/USA vs. Rose Marie Nijkamp/NED







...COCO THE DIPLOMAT... ON DAY 10:




...A PROUD CONCHITA ("Coachita?")... ON DAY 10:



Muguruza retiring might be the best thing to ever happen to Martinez's coaching career.


...I KNOW WHAT TO GET JAQUELINE CRISTIAN FOR HER BIRTHDAY... ON DAY 10:









They say the umbrella-like roof over Lenglen is supposed to resemble the pleats in La Divine's skirt. Yep, I can see it.






















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*RECENT RG "MADEMOISELLE/MADAM OPPORTUNITY" WINNERS*
2017 Simona Halep, ROU & Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2018 Simona Halep, ROU
2019 Ash Barty, AUS & Diede de Groot, NED (WC)
2020 Iga Swiatek, POL
2021 Krejcikova/CZE, Pavlyuchenkova/RUS, Sakkari/GRE & Zidansek/SLO
2022 Dasha Kasatkina/RUS and Martina Trevisan/ITA
2023 Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA and Karolina Muchova/CZE
2024 Jasmine Paolini, ITA

*RECENT BEST U.S. WOMEN'S SLAM RESULTS*
=2020=
AO: Sofia Kenin (W)
US: Serena Williams and Jennifer Brady (SF)
RG: Sofia Kenin (RU)
=2021=
AO: Jennifer Brady (RU)
RG: Coco Gauff (QF)
WI: Coco Gauff and Madison Keys (4th)
US: Shelby Rogers (4th)
=2022=
AO: Danielle Collins (RU)
RG: Coco Gauff (RU)
WI: Amanda Anisimova (QF)
US: Coco Gauff and Jessie Pegula (QF)
=2023=
AO: Jessie Pegula (QF)
RG: Coco Gauff (QF)
WI: Madison Keys and Jessie Pegula (QF)
US: Coco Gauff (W)
=2024=
AO: Coco Gauff (SF)
RG: Coco Gauff (in SF)






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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): xx
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): xx
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): xx
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): xx
=============================
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 (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: Nominees: Osaka, Errani
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: x
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Nominees: Jabeur, Errani(wd), Zvonareva(wd), Siegemund(mx), Hsieh(mx), Routliffe(mx), (Legends comp.)
Mademoiselle/Madame OF THE EVENING: Nominee: M.Andreeva/Azarenka (1 a.m. 2r finish)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x
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: Nominee: Iga attempt at first three-peat since Henin in 2007






All for Day 10. More tomorrow.
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