Backspin Sites

Thursday, July 4, 2024

W.4- Is There No Escaping the Inevitability of Kostyuk?


It's been said in the past (well, by me) that Marta Kostyuk is "inevitable," but I'm not sure that it was supposed to play out *quite* like this.



Today, in a 2nd Round match vs. Dasha Saville, Kostyuk saw her Aussie opponent seemingly have her right where she wanted her. Saville led 5-2 in the 2nd set, and served for the match victory (and just her second slam 3rd Rd. since 2018, when she reached that stage at Wimbledon). Saville couldn't close Kostyuk out. She got another chance at 5-4, and another at 6-5.

In her third attempt, Saville finally reached MP only to see Kostyuk get another break of serve by converting her eighth BP opportunity of the game to force a do-or-die TB. Kostyuk quickly grabbed a 5-1 lead, and won it 7-2. She went up an early break in the 3rd set, and put away a 4-6/7-6(2)/6-4 victory on her fifth MP (after having had one at 5-3, then after leading 40/love in the final game) to improve to 7-2 in slam play in 2024, a run that included her first career QF result (AO) in a major and now her second straight 3rd Round at SW19.



Thing is, this sort of scenario is becoming a common one for the Ukrainian, as she's quickly earning the reputation as the biggest "Houdini" in women's tennis.

At this year's Australian Open, she saved two MP vs. Elise Mertens in the 2nd Round en route to that QF. Last month at Roland Garros, Kostyuk trailed Laura Pigossi 4-0 in the 3rd set (w/ 2 GP for 5-0), then got a reprieve with a suspension due to rain with the Brazilian up 4-2. When play resumed, Kostyuk raced to a 6-4 final set win.

Doing things "the hard way" seems to come easy for Kostyuk this season, as this match put her in the tour lead in '24 for the most wins in three-hour matches with her third so far (her four 3:00 contests are tied for the most in the WTA w/ Saville, who is now 1-3 in such encounters vs. Kostyuk's 3-1) and she also sits alone atop the list of most matches won after being MP down with this being her third such improbable victory.



Talk about the style of her specially-designed Wilson tennis dresses all you want, just so long as you never turn your back on Kostyuk when a big win is on the line.






=DAY 4 NOTES=
...pity poor Lily Miyazaki. The 28-year old only started representing Great Britain in 2022, and earlier this week posted her first career SW19 MD win. She was supposed to play #14 Dasha Kasatkina yesterday, but all the early rain delays pushed the match-up to Day 4. Then when she belatedly hit the court today, Kasatkina, still riding high off her title run at Eastbourne and on a six-match winning streak handed Miyazaki a love & love thumping that lasted just 50 minutes.

After posting a bagel set to end the 1st Round, Kasatkina is on seven-match and 19-game winning streaks, and is 8-1 overall this grass season. She's allowed three games through two rounds.



Kasatkina outpaced Miyazaki 53-19 in total points, and committed just seven UE (w/ 10 winners) vs. 31 (w/ 7 W) for the Brit.

...#5 Jessie Pegula became the highest women's seed to lose when she was upset today by Wang Xinyu, who notched her first career Top 10 win.

The 22-year old won the 1st set, then rallied in the 2nd after Pegula took a 4-2 lead. Wang served for the match at 6-5, but couldn't put things away. In the proceeding TB, Wang took a 3-1 lead, but saw Pegula surge and reach SP at 6-4. Wang saved both SP and held her own MP at 7-6, but again saw Pegula stage an in-breaker comeback. The Bannerette had her third SP at 8-7, then raced to a short ball and put away a winner to win it 9-7 and force a 3rd set.

But just when you'd expect the match to zig, it zagged. It wasn't the '23 Wimbledon quarterfinalist and recent Berlin champ who immediately seized control in the decider, but instead was Wang. Wang took a 5-0 lead and won the finale 6-1 to advance to the 3rd Round for the fourth time in the last six majors.



...we knew at least one Spanish woman was going to push her way into the 3rd Round today. As it turns out, there would be two.



Jessica Bouzas Maneiro has had quite the slam season in 2024.

The Spaniard made her slam MD debut at last year's Wimbledon, but failed to reach the MD in Melbourne this year. In AO qualifying, she lost to Ankita Raina after leading 5-3 in the 3rd and holding a MP (she finally lost a MTB). In Paris, Bouzas Maneiro led Jana Fett 4-1 in the 3rd set in the 1st Round. She served at 5-3, only to lose a 7-5 set.

Two days ago, Bouzas Maneiro burst into her Centre Court debut and upset defending champ Marketa Vondrousova, the first one-and-done DC at SW19 in thirty years. Today she faced off with countrywoman Cristina Bucsa (who saved 2 MP in the 1st Rd. vs. Ana Bogdan) for a spot in the 3rd Round. After having failed to serve out the first set (w/ 2 SP) at 5-4, Bouzas Maneiro dominated a 7-1 TB and finished off Bucsa in straights, winning 7-6(1)/6-3,

Joining her in the Final 32 is countrywoman Paula Badosa, who is really starting to string together wins again after struggling with a back injury.

Badosa knocked off Mirra-conqueror Brenda Fruhvirtova 6-4/6-2 to reach the 3rd Round at a third straight slam event. 4-1 on grass this season, Badosa has put up a 9-3 record since losing in the 1st Round in Madrid... to Bouzas Maneiro. She was just 6-9 in '24 up to that point.



...with the winner joining countrywomen Emma Raducanu and Sonay Kartal in the 3rd Round, #32 Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart, both 27, faced off on Thursday, with apparently a testy personal relationship serving as a footnote to the action.

Things went to a 3rd set, with the tour's highest-ranked Brit racing to a 6-2 lead in the deciding MTB. But the #100-ranked Dart (GBR #2) would have the final say, turning things around in the closing moments and reaching MP at 9-8. Dart won 4-6/6-1/7-6(10-8) to match her best career slam result, a 3rd Round at SW19 in 2019. While Boulter has collected three tour-level singles titles since the start of last season, Dart just reached her maiden WTA semifinal earlier this year in the Cluj event.

Thankfully, they both had the sense to not produce an awkward scene afterward at the net and let the competition speak and stand for itself (pity that can't always be the case).



...meanwhile, Bernarda Pera saved a MP in her 1st Round match vs. Anastasia Potapova, and that retrieved life perserver paid off today when the Bannerette made #23 Caroline Garcia -- the last Pastry in the draw -- the fifth of what would be six seeds to fall in the 2nd Round (and the tenth overall, not counting the three who pulled out on Day 1 after the start of play) with a 3-6/6-3/6-4 victory.



It's Pera's maiden trip to the 3rd Round at SW19 (she's done so at the other three majors, including a 4th Round last year in Paris). The 29-year old entered this grass season without a winning mark in any year on the surface (and was 1-4 the last two seasons), but now stands 6-2 on it in recent weeks with this follow-up to her Gaiba 125 final run.

...in the last match of the day, resumed after a stoppage due to rain at 3-3 in the 3rd, wild card Caroline Wozniacki earned one of the best wins of her comeback, saving a pair of MP on serve down 5-4 and then breaking #30 Leylah Fernandez on her sixth BP of game 11. The Dane then served out a 6-3/2-6/7-5 victory over this past weekend's Eastbourne finalist.



...in the Roehampton wheelchair event, Diede de Groot escaped a close contest vs. Jiske Griffioen in the semis, winning 6-7(2)/6-4/6-4 to advance to the final to face (yep, yet again) Yui Kamiji, who defeated Aniek Van Koot 3 & 4. De Groot has won her last 28 matches vs. Kamiji.

The 1st set was the first lost by de Groot vs. Griffioen since 2017, as since the veteran came out of retirement she'd lost all 16 sets she'd played against the world #1.

De Groot & Griffioen lost a 10-8 MTB to Li Xiaohui/Zhu Zhenzhen in the doubles semis, while Kamiji & Kgothatso Montjane defeated Angelica Bernal/Lucy Shuker love & 2.

...the Roehampton juniors saw a pair of upsets in the semis, as #5 Iva Jovic of the U.S. knocked off #1 Laura Samson, and will next face #15-seeded Serb Teodora Kostovic, who took out #2 Emerson Jones of Australia. Jovic is also alive in the doubles final alongside Tyra Caterina Grant.





...IF SHE CAN BOTTLE THAT... ON DAY 4:



Of course, you'd probably like to avoid having to go three sets with players like Laura Siegemund (or anyone not identifiable by their first name alone, if preferable) and being forced to stave off four BP while serving for the match at 5-3 in the 3rd set. But otherwise...


...LOOK WHO'S BACK, BACK AGAIN... ON DAY 4:




...COMING SOON (eventually) TO A WTA COACHNG BOX NEAR YOU?... ON DAY 4:










Well, the big moment on July 4th finally arrived on the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in the form of the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island, New York, but the usual testament to gluttony and summer pageantry was missing something this year.

After 2023 nearly saw the men's event cancelled after a lightning strike, downpour, and the flooding of the streets caused the stage to be cleared and spectators to run for cover and huddle together anywhere they could find safety, in 2024 the lightning strike came from within.



Though "the greatest living eater" and soon-to-be 16-time champ Joey Chestnut seemed to play the role of "hero" last summer, emerging in Pope-like fashion from behind the scenes to seemingly rally efforts to get the event back on track several hours after the weather emergency (he'd ultimately win an eighth straight Mustard Belt for the second time in 17 years, of course), several weeks ago the "reigning chomp" was banned from this year's event due to an apparent contract violation with Major League Eating and Nathan's when he endorsed a plant-based hot dog made by Impossible Foods brands.

But the show must go on. It's just the names that change. In this case, it might have even been the competition.

In a U.S. spring and upcoming summer that has been and will surely be dominated by female athletes such as Nelly Korda, Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Katie Ledecky, Coco Gauff, Sha'Carri Richardson and (maybe again) Coco Gauff, once more it was a female who stepped into the spotlight as nine-time Nathan's womens' champ Miki Sudo finally was given (a little bit more of) her due.

While the women's hot dog eating competition remains a streaming-only live event shown only on tape delay during the ESPN broadcast of the festivities, it was given far more attention this year than in the past. And Sudo didn't disappoint.

Since 2014, the now 38-year old Arizona native has dominated the women's competition, winning every year in which she's participated (she missed '21 due to being nine and a quarter months pregnant), and in 2020 set the women's record by eating 48.5 dogs in ten minutes. This year, she outdid herself on a partly cloudy (with only moderate humidity) New York morning, breaking her own record and becoming the first woman to crack the 50 barrier.

Sudo gulped down 51 dogs and buns today, far outpacing Tokyo's Mayoi Ebihara (w/ 37) and '21 champ Michelle Lesco (23.5) to claim her 10th pink belt.



The only question that remained, other than whether Sudo would be primed and ready for her dental hygienist class on Monday (she said she will!) was whether Miki's total of 51 would be topped by whichever "replacement" champ won the men's event in Chestnut's absense an hour later.

*NATHAN'S HOT DOG EATING WOMEN'S CHAMPS*
2011 Sonya Thomas
2012 Sonya Thomas
2013 Sonya Thomas
2014 Miki Sudo
2015 Miki Sudo
2016 Miki Sudo
2017 Miki Sudo
2018 Miki Sudo
2019 Miki Sudo
2020 Miki Sudo
2021 Michelle Lesco
2022 Miki Sudo
2023 Miki Sudo
2024 Miki Sudo

[competition record]
51.0 - Miki Sudo, 2024
48.5 - Miki Sudo, 2020 (*-held indoors)
45.0 - Sonya Thomas, 2013
41.0 - Miki Sudo, 2017
40.0 - Sonya Thomas, 2011
40.0 - Miki Sudo, 2022

Of the men's competitors, only one came into the day with a personal best hot dog eating record as high as the 51 that Sudo consumed today. That man was Patrick Bertoletti, who once ate 55. But that occurred back in 2011. Bertoletti was twice a runner-up to Chestnut on July 4th (in 2011-12) but, now 39, had since retired from competitive eating before recently returning to the proverbial meat grinder. The runner-up to Chestnut the last three years, Geoffrey Esper, Australian James Webb, Nick Wehry (Sudo's fiance) and Tokyo native King Yamamoto were also expected to contend in the closest battle in years.

As it turned out, Chicago native Bertoletti, a fan favorite "back in the day," had a career afternoon, but the Nathan's competition, as is the current fashion in the U.S., was a case of watching the clock oddly turned back to an earlier time in an act that blatantly erased years of progress. Bertoletti's winning total of 58 would not have "reverse won" a past Nathan's crown until 2010 (when Chestnut won w/ 54). Before that the most recent winning total less than 57 was in 2006.



Wehry, 35, had led early in the 10-minute period, but was soon passed by a group led by Webb and Esper (at 49, the oldest in the field), and then Bertoletti, who soon went to a convincing lead in the final minutes. Esper ended up in 2nd place again with 53 dogs, followed by Webb's 52, and Wehry's 46 and 3/4.

*NATHAN'S HOT DOG EATING MEN'S CHAMPS - since 2000*
2000 Kazutoyo Arai
2001 Takeru Kobayashi
2002 Takeru Kobayashi
2003 Takeru Kobayashi
2004 Takeru Kobayashi
2005 Takeru Kobayashi
2006 Takeru Kobayashi
2007 Joey Chestnut
2008 Joey Chestnut [def. Takeru Kobayashi in 5-dog "Eat-Off"]
2009 Joey Chestnut
2010 Joey Chestnut
2011 Joey Chestnut
2012 Joey Chestnut
2013 Joey Chestnut
2014 Joey Chestnut
2015 Matt Stonie
2016 Joey Chestnut
2017 Joey Chestnut
2018 Joey Chestnut
2019 Joey Chestnut
2020 Joey Chestnut
2021 Joey Chestnut
2022 Joey Chestnut
2023 Joey Chestnut
2024 Patrick Bertoletti

[competition record]
76 - Joey Chestnut, 2021
75 - Joey Chestnut, 2020 (*-held indoors)
74 - Joey Chestnut, 2018
72 - Joey Chestnut, 2017



Of course, Chestnut wasn't just going to "go away" on the Fourth of July. A few hours later at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, the man known as "Jaws" competed in a 5-minute hot dog eating contest against a combined entry of four military personnal.

In half the time of the Nathan's event, Chestnut wolfed down 57 dogs and buns, just one fewer than Bertoletti's winning Coney Island total. The four-man entry combined for 49. Another solid victory.



Whether Chestnet ever gets the chance for his 17th Nathan's Mustard Belt, one could say that his presence -- even in his absence -- was clearly felt on this day. I hear they have medication for that.




















kosova-font











kosova-font

*RECENT WIMBLEDON "EARLY-ROUND TOP PLAYER" WINNERS*
[w/ final result]
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 [QF]
2024 Dasha Kasatkina, RUS

*BRITISH 4th RD.+ RESULTS AT WIMBLEDON - OPEN ERA*
1968 SF - Ann Jones
1968 4th Rd. - Joyce Williams
1968 4th Rd. - Shirley Brasher
1969 W - Ann Jones
1969 4th Rd. - Christine Janes
1969 4th Rd. - Nell Truman
1970 QF - Winnie Shaw
1970 4th Rd. - Virginia Wade
1971 QF - Winnie Shaw
1971 4th Rd. - Virginia Wade
1971 4th Rd. - Lindsey Beaven
1971 4th Rd. - Christine Janes
1972 QF- Virginia Wade
1972 4th Rd. - Winnie Shaw
1973 QF - Virginia Wade
1973 4th Rd. - Glynis Coles
1974 SF- Virginia Wade
1974 4th Rd. - Lesley Charles
1975 QF - Virginia Wade
1975 4th Rd. - Lindsey Beaven
1975 4th Rd. - Winifred Woolridge
1975 4th Rd. - Glynis Coles
1976 SF - Virginia Wade
1976 QF - Sue Barker
1977 W - Virginia Wade
1977 SF - Sue Barker
1978 SF- Virginia Wade
1978 4th Rd. - Sue Barker
1979 QF - Virginia Wade
1979 4th Rd. Deborah Jevans
1980 4th Rd. - Virginia Wade
1981 4th Rd. - Jo Durie
1981 4th Rd. - Anne Hobbs
1983 QF - Virginia Wade
1984 QF - Jo Durie
1984 4th Rd. - Anne Hobbs
1985 4th Rd. - Jo Durie
1998 4th Rd. - Samantha Smith
2013 4th Rd. - Laura Robson
2017 SF - Johanna Konta
2019 QF - Johanna Konta
2021 4th Rd. - Emma Raducanu
2022 4th Rd. - Heather Watson



kosova-font


kosova-font


kosova-font









TOP QUALIFIER: Katie Volynets/USA
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #14 Dasha Kasatkina/RUS
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): x
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q2 -Robin Montgomery/USA def. #10 Kamilla Rakhimova/RUS 7-6(0)/6-7(4)/7-6(10-4) - no breaks in 36 games, only 5 BP face; Montgomery w/ 20 aces; combined for 132 winners (67/65)
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd. - #18 Marta Kostyuk/UKR def. Dasha Saville/AUS 4-6/7-6(2)/6-4 - Saville served for match three times in 2nd set, had a MP; Kostyuk break on BP #8 of game to force TB; Kostyuk wins on MP #5 in 3rd set
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): x
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Varvara Gracheva/FRA (def. Lesia Tsurenko/UKR)
FIRST SEED OUT: #8 Zheng Qinwen/CHN (1st Rd. to Sun/NZL) (after #22 Alexandrova/RUS, #3 Sabalenka/BLR and #16 Azarenka/BLR withdrew)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Day 1: Erika Andreeva/RUS, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro/ESP, Sonay Kartal/GBR, Robin Montgomery/USA, Yuliia Starodubtseva/UKR, Lulu Sun/NZL, Anca Todoni/ROU
UPSET QUEENS: Spain
REVELATION LADIES: Great Britain
NATION OF POOR SOULS: ROU (1-5 1st Rd.; #29 Cirstea out, Bogdan 2 MP, no Halep
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: in 3r: Kartal/GBR, Sun/NZL
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: in 3r: Raducanu/GBR, Wozniacki/DEN
PROTECTED RANKING: in 3r: Andreescu/CAN, Badosa/ESP
LUCKY LOSER WINNERS: Erika Andreeva/RUS (2nd)
LAST BRIT STANDING: in 3r: Dart, Kartal, Raducanu
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: x
IT "??": x
COMEBACK PLAYER: x
CRASH & BURN: #6 Marketa Vondrousova/CZE (1st Rd. to Bouzas Maneiro/ESP; first defending champ out 1r since 1994 Graf loss vs. McNeil; second in Open era)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF LONDON: Nominees: Kostyuk (2nd Rd.- down 5-2 vs. Saville in 3rd, who served for win three times and held MP; in '24 slams has won from MP down at AO/WI, and 4-0 down in 3rd at RG); Pera (1st Rd.-MP vs. Potapova); Wozniacki (2nd Rd.-2 MP vs. Fernandez)
DOUBLES STAR: x
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): x
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x
SPIRIT OF JANA (NOVOTNA) HONOREE: Nominee: Jabeur slam quest






All for Day 4. More tomorrow.
Posted by at