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Saturday, July 6, 2024

W.6- Iga Goes Ka-Put


Well, I guess it holds true that the bigger they are, the harder they fall.




Though she didn't play a grass tune-up event before this Wimbledon, world #1 Iga Swiatek -- the top seed at a tenth straight major, the longest women's run since Serena Williams sat atop sixteen consecutive MD from 2013-16 -- *seemed* better suited for a deeper SW19 run this time around. She'd greatly improved the power behind her serve, and seemed cognizant and committed to playing with the more aggressive mindset necessary to win on what has been the surface that has given her the most trouble.

But after a 3rd Round loss at Wimbledon today to Yulia Putintseva, Swiatek again leaves London chagrined, shown up in two dominant, match-closing sets by a foe who, until a week before the start of Wimbledon also hadn't posted a significant grass result. Putintseva had just two grass wins since 2019 before a few weeks ago, but came into today on a surprising seven-match surface streak created by her better preperation for success obtained by, you know, actually engaging in a few matches on grass over a course of three weeks before starting a major played exclusively on it.

Swiatek cited "exhaustion" for not trying to find her grass footing *before* Wimbledon, but the delaying tactic didn't prove effective at SW19, making one wonder at what point -- if ever -- will her failure to show much bother for 25% of the slam season be embarrassing enough to lead to a *true* effort to change her fortunes there. Her hero, Rafa Nadal, was considered a "clay courter" early in his career until he started to annual temporarily alter his game for the grass season and went on to reach five Wimbledon finals (his first in his third MD appearance, as opposed to Swiatek's now five), winning twice (including in the "The Greatest Match Ever Played" vs. Federer).

If Swiatek is to be the "great" #1 that so many portray her to be, that *has* to change. Or at least the effort to make it so has to be more apparent.

In truth, Swiatek started well today, grabbing an early lead and serving for the 1st set, denying three Putintseva BP and holding to win 6-3. A 22nd straight win (19 of which came on clay) this season seemed well within her grasp.



But just when it seemed as if Swiatek's career-long hegemony over Putintseva would continue, the Kazakh struck back in the 2nd set. Rediscovering the light-on-errors form that helped her win Birmingham, while Swiatek began to total up UE, Putintseva claimed a clear victory to knot the match, winning the 2nd at 6-1. It was the first set she'd ever won from Swiatek, having dropped all nine they'd previously played, including in two straight sets defeats on hard court and clay earlier this season.



It was then that Swiatek, the mistress of decorum (as we're always told), escaped the confines of Court 1 for an off-court bathroom break. She was gone for what seemed like an irregularly long time. The crowd grew restless, while Putintseva asked chair umpire Kader Nouni where her opponent was (he shrugged and seemed to wonder himself). Finally, Swiatek returned to some light, distant boos and audible grumbling. While she got things set back in place and prepared her racket for play in the changeover area, Putintseva stood at the baseline with crossed legs and leaned on her stick. If there was a desk nearby for her to commence finger tapping, she surely would have done so.



When Swiatek finally (!) ran onto the court, the boos that greeted her were no longer quite so distant. Putintseva broke her at love to start the 3rd, and then never really let her up for air. She broke Iga again for 3-0, and held for 4-0. Swiatek came back from the brink vs. Naomi Osaka in Paris, but she didn't seem to have any answers to questions about how to stop this freefall. She broke Putintseva's nine-game run with a hold in game 5, but couldn't stop the errors from coming off her own racket. As proved to be the case vs. Osaka in that Roland Garros 2nd Rounder, her best chance for a comeback win likely rested on her opponent's side of the net.

Putintseva annually loses multiple matches each season while holding big leads or even MP, and her emotional nature might have provided a chance for a result-altering bad patch from an angry Kazakh had Swiatek been able to get a late break. But she never did.

Serving for the win at 5-2, Putintseva went up 40/15. Swiatek saved two MP to reach deuce (hope?), but on Putintseva's third MP it was Iga who netted a backhand return (UE #38, to her opponent's 15) as the Kazakh reached her first Wimbledon Round of 16, with her second career #1 win, via a 3-6/6-1/6-2 victory.



Swiatek, with her 21-match win streak now snapped (though she still hasn't lost on clay in nearly three months, on April 20), will soon get the opportunity for an Olympian-style rebound in Paris at the end of the month, but aside from her uncharacteristically scrambling run to the U.S. Open title two years ago, the Pole has looked more and more like a one-surface, one-event behemoth who flies high when unchallenged but often wilts in the face of legitimate opposition on the major stage ever since.

Since that affirming Flushing Meadows run, Swiatek has gone 14-5 in play *outside of Paris* (where she's been 14-0, part of a 21-0 stretch). Not bad, but she's been the world #1 for all but a fraction of that time while producing just one non-RG QF in six MD at the other three majors. World #2 Coco Gauff has two outside of RG (and is working on a third as we speak) over the same 2023-24 period, #3 Aryna Sabalenka has four and #4 Elena Rybakina has two (as of today). Even #5 Jessie Pegula has two. So does #6 Marketa Vondrousova, and #8 Zheng Qinwen. #7 Jasmine Paolini, Swiatek most recent final victim in Paris, could match Iga non-RG quarterfinal tomorrow.

Swiatek's exploits in Paris have led her own to be compared to the runs of the likes of Justine Henin and Monica Seles in recent decades. But both those two women, while they never won Wimbledon, made a good faith effort to do so.

For the Belgian's part, Henin won four grass titles and played in a pair of Wimbledon finals (plus three semis).

In *her* day, the young Seles was seen as a clay/hard court maven faced with having to contend with Steffi Graf on the grass, the German's best surface. But rather than wallow in her fate, Seles reached the 4th Round, QF and the final at SW19 before her on-court stabbing changed the trajectory of everything that followed. If that near-tragic moment hadn't occurred, it's likely that Seles would have found a way to win Wimbledon, somehow and some way, as it was clear that she was making the effort to do so.

Can Iga say the same? The proof is out there... but we're still waiting to see it.





=DAY 6 NOTES=
...Swiatek has made it known that she doesn't look ahead in the draw to spy possible future opponents. But one could have sworn that during her bathroom break she spotted that Alona Ostapenko (w/ a 4-0 record against the Pole) would be waiting for her in the Round of 16... and she wanted nothing to do with *that*.

She won't have to worry about that now. That's Putintseva's headache to deal with...



The #13-seeded Latvian was her pile-driving self today against Bernarda Pera, winning 6-1/6-3 to reach her seventh career Round of 16 at a major. It's her fourth at Wimbledon, but just the second since she reached the semis in 2018.



This SW19 run finally gets Ostapenko set back on the right path this season. After starting the year at a blazing 16-3, she came into Wimbledon having gone 10-10 in her last twenty matches.

Iga losing could be a good thing for Alona, but not because of anything the world #1 would have done on the court. Maybe the unnatural high that would have likely occurred had Ostapenko gotten the opportunity and *did* take down Swiatek again might have worked against her overall chances, as the natural give-and-take in such instances (and often her own) is that a big dip comes after the rise moment. Maybe the flow will continue to gradually build if she gets past Putintseva, ala what happened in Paris seven years ago.

A deep SW19 run would be fun, especially considering all the off-court attention Ostapenko has gotten of late with the revealing of celebrity fans like Steve Carrell and Lil Wayne. Of course, the joys (w/ all the highs, lows, looks, eye rolls and poor eyesight/self-delusion when it comes to line calls) of watching Latvian Thunder are well known to the majority of fans and the social media world, but I guess it takes a few recognizable names to get the tour, ESPN and other media outlets to finally clue in and talk about it. Naturally.

[insert OSTAPENKO EYEROLL here]

...who knows what might have happened had one particular swing not have occurred today in the match-up between #31 Barbora Krejcikova and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. But, as it turned out, the Czech advanced to the second week at a major for the second time this season (w/ AO QF), even as her win today only lifts her overall '24 record to 10-9.

It took Bouzas Maneiro a while to find her way in this match. She lost the 1st set at love, but managed to get on the board to open the 2nd. Then play was stopped due to rain, as was often the case on Saturday (the match began several hours after it had been scheduled to start for the same reason). The Spaniard was more settled when she returned, and was starting to make a match of things.

Up 3-2 in the 2nd, Bouzas pushed a Krejcikova serve game to deuce before back-to-back return errors awarded the game to the Czech. Early in the following game, Bouzas seemed to pull her back reaching out to hit a low ball at the baseline. She grimaced and it was clear that she immediately felt something, as she crouched over and held her lower back. She spent most of the rest of the game stopping to bend over and rest her hands on her knees, and once didn't even attempt to make a run at a potentially reachable ball. She dropped serve and called for an evaluation by a trainer.

Her lower back was worked on on the court, and after an official MTO she tried to give it a go. But she couldn't/wouldn't move toward any ball. Krejcikova hit three straight (casual) aces, and Bouzas pulled the rip cord to end the 6-0/4-3 match just after it had seemed to finally be getting interesting.



Thus ends the third leg of what has been a interesting slam campaign for the Spaniard, complete with some lost leads, a maiden Top 10 win over a defending champion (on Centre Court), and now an injury that cut her journey short. Wimbledon still stands as another good chapter in a breakthrough year, though Bouzas will actually slightly *fall* in the rankings (live #84, after being the current #83) after her SW19 3rd Round result because in the corresponding stretch last year she actually won a $60K title on clay in Rome and the +23 points in the exchange won't be enough to make much of a different.



...#17 Anna Kalinskaya's best (and, importanty, healthiest) season continues to hit new high points. The Hordette took out #15-seeded countrywoman Liudmila Samsonova 7-6(4)/6-2 today, giving her a second career slam 4th Round result (and a second this year, after an AO QF). She'd been 0-2 at Wimbledon until this week, and before 2024 was 4-13 in slam MD for her career. So far she's 8-2 this season (a jump not to the shocking degree of Paolini's, but admirable and still capable of much more).

Remember, Kalinskaya nearly won her maiden tour title heading into SW19, having held five MP in the Berlin final vs. Jessie Pegula. She's recorded seven of her ten career Top 10 victories this season, and will get a shot at another in the 4th Round vs. #4 Elena Rybakina.

The Kazakh destroyed wild card Caroline Wozniacki today, winning love & 1 to advance to the Round of 16 for the fourth time in four MD appearances at SW19. The '22 champ is 17-2 in her Wimbledon career.



...meanwhile, one has to wonder if that sound you hear is the air officially escaping the deflated balloon of #10 Ons Jabeur's chances to ever win that elusive major title. After an injury-troubled early season, the Tunisian has recently started to look more like herself, but the process wasn't completed quickly enough for her to be a true factor at the slam at which she likely has the best chance. She reached the Wimbledon final the last two years, but won't make the second week this time after a 6-1/7-6(4) loss to #21 Elina Svitolina (a '23 semifinalist).



While Svitolina has been fairly quiet this season, this *is* her third straight slam Round of 16 (only Gauff and Paolini have done the same in all three majors in '24). Since her return to the tour after becoming a mother, the Ukrainian has reached at least the 4th Round in five of six slams.

Svitolina won't be facing a Brit in her next match, and will instead get young Chinese player Wang Xinyu. The 22-year old rallied from 6-2/3-1 back vs. Harriet Dart, then 3-1 down in the 3rd, as well, to reach her second major 4th Round (w/ '23 U.S.).



Things only got worse from there for the British contingent, as Emma Raducanu awoke with some wrist stiffness (uh-oh... she had surgery, remember) and smartly decided against playing her mixed doubles match with Andy Murray. Of course, *that* decision didn't go over well in some quarters (see below), and now there will be that to throw into the mix when she plays Lulu Sun for a spot in the QF.

...Krejcikova's next opponent wasn't decided until late in the day, as the match between #11 Danielle Collins and #20 Beatriz Haddad Maia was delayed, then stopped again with Haddad Maia up 4-0 in the 1st. When play resumed. Collins ran off nine straight games to lead 6-4/3-0. The Brazilian won three straight and play was stopped at 3-3. Again, Collins surged out of the break in her final Wimbledon, winning by a pedestrian-looking 6-4/6-4 score in a match that had its share of cracks and crevices.



At 30, Collins is the oldest woman to reach the 4th Round this year, as her maiden second week run at SW19 completes her "Career Round of 16 Slam" (in her 27th major MD). It also gives her a first good slam result in an otherwise sterling farewell season. She went out in the 2nd Round in both Melbourne and Paris.







*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
Yulia Putintseva/KAZ vs. #13 Alona Ostapenko/LAT
#11 Danielle Collins/USA vs. #31 Barbora Krejcikova/CZE
#4 Elena Rybakina/KAZ vs. #17 Anna Kalinskaya/RUS
#21 Elina Svitolina/UKR vs. Wang Xinyu/CHN
(Q) Lulu Sun/NZL vs. (WC) Emma Raducanu/GBR
(PR) Paula Badosa/ESP vs. Donna Vekic/CRO
#7 Jasmine Paolini/ITA vs. #12 Madison Keys/USA
#19 Emma Navarro/USA vs. #2 Coco Gauff/USA







...IT WAS TEN YEARS AGO TODAY (July 6, 2014)... ON DAY 6:

She won her first big title in the Wimbledon juniors...





...I ALWAYS WONDER... ON DAY 6:

You see so many people in the stands at tennis matches, in countries all over the world (and many players, too) sporting the "NY" cap in various colors (including multiple ones today during the Krejcikova/Bouzas Maneiro match, in the original dark blue). I've always wondered if they even *know* that it's the logo of the New York Yankees, or if they simply see it as representing New York City.

You never see people wearing New York Mets caps this way, and it also has a (different) "NY" logo on it.




..."BOND... JAMES BO-" (err, my bad, it's Roger Federer)... ON DAY 6:




...SHE CAN'T JUST FADE AWAY FOREVER IN THE FALL, RIGHT?... ON DAY 6:




...THE CALL IS COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE... ON DAY 6:



(If that Murray tweet response was truly typed with the snottiness with which it reads, of course.)


Hmmm, I didn't know that Raducanu was simply there to serve Andy and not her own tennis career. And I'm sure Andy will say essentially the same thing when he has a free moment.

After the way the end of Raducanu's last Wimbledon Round of 16 run was treated, and how much crap she's gotten for not winning every major since the '21 U.S. Open, one would think one would think before they tweet (even if it involves your own son). Don't add fuel to the fire.











I watched the PBS documentary series on disco music over the past month. Did you know that Kiss released a disco-flavored song in the 1970s?










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*MAIDEN SLAM 4th ROUND IN 2024*
=AO=
Oceane Dodin, FRA (20th slam MD)
Magdalena Frech, POL (11th)
Anna Kalinskaya, RUS (14th)
Linda Noskova, CZE (6th)
Jasmine Paolini, ITA (17th)
Maria Timofeeva, RUS (1st)
=RG=
Elisabetta Cocciaretto, ITA (11th)
Olga Danilovic, SRB (5th)
Varvara Gracheva, FRA (15th)
Emma Navarro, USA (6th)
Anastasia Potapova, RUS (18th)
Clara Tauson, DEN (11th)
=WI=
Lulu Sun, NZL (2nd)

*MAIDEN SLAM 4th ROUND IN 2020s*
=at Wimbledon=
2021 Viktorija Golubic, SUI (18th slam MD)
2021 Emma Raducanu, GBR (1st)
2021 Liudmila Samsonova, RUS (6th)
2022 Marie Bouzkova, CZE (14th)
2022 Tatjana Maria, GER (35th)
2022 Jule Niemeier, GER (2nd)
2022 Harmony Tan, FRA (7th)
2022 Heather Watson, GBR (43rd)
2023 Ekaterina Alexandrova, RUS (26th)
2023 Mirra Andreeva, RUS (2nd)
2024 Lulu Sun, NZL (2nd)

*"CAREER ROUND OF 16 SLAM" COMPLETED IN 2020s*
2020 US - Alize Cornet, FRA (57th slam MD)
2021 AO - Donna Vekic, CRO (29th)
2021 US - Iga Swiatek, POL (11th)
2022 AO - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (8th)
2022 AO - Kaia Kanepi, EST (53rd)
2022 US - Caroline Garcia, FRA (42nd)
2022 US - Coco Gauff, USA (13th)
2022 US - Ons Jabeur, TUN (22nd)
2022 US - Zhang Shuai, CHN (41st)
2023 RG - Karolina Muchova, CZE (17th)
2023 RG - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (21st)
2023 WI - Jessie Pegula, USA (19th)
2023 WI - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE (21st)
2023 US - Alona Ostapenko, LAT (31st)
2024 WI - Danielle Collins, USA (27th)

*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
2024...Emma Raducanu (in 4th Rd.)

*RECENT WIMBLEDON "LAST WILD CARD STANDING"*
2015 Jelena Ostapenko, LAT (2nd Rd.)
2016 Tara Moore/GBR & Evgeniya Rodina/RUS (2nd Rd.)
2017 Zarina Diyas/KAZ & Heather Watson/GBR (3rd Rd.)
2018 Katie Boulter/GBR, Ons Jabeur/TUN & Katie Swan/GBR (2nd)
2019 Harriet Dart, GBR (3rd Rd.)
2021 Emma Raducanu/GBR & Liudmila Samsonova/RUS (4th Rd.)
2022 Katie Boulter, GBR (3rd Rd.)
2023 Elina Svitolina, UKR (SF)
2024 Emma Raducanu, GBR (in 4th Rd.)

*RECENT WIMBLEDON "LAST BRIT STANDING"*
2010 Heather Watson (GBR 0-6 in 1st, Watson last to lose)
2011 Elena Baltacha, Anne Keothavong & Laura Robson (2nd)
2012 Heather Watson (3rd Rd.)
2013 Laura Robson (4th Rd.)
2014 Naomi Broady & Heather Watson (2nd Rd.)
2015 Heather Watson (2nd Rd.)
2016 Johanna Konta & Tara Moore (2nd Rd.)
2017 Johanna Konta (SF)
2018 Katie Boulter, Johanna Konta & Katie Swan (2nd)
2019 Johanna Konta (QF)
2021 Emma Raducanu (4th Rd.)
2022 Heather Watson (4th Rd.)
2023 Katie Boulter (3rd Rd.)
2024 Emma Raducanu (in 4th Rd.)

*RECENT WIMBLEDON "COMEBACK" WINNERS*
2015 Aga Radwanska, POL
2016 Serena Williams/Venus Williams, USA/USA
2017 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2018 Serena Williams, USA
2019 Alona Ostapenko, LAT (MX)
2021 Angelique Kerber, GER
2022 Simona Halep, ROU
2023 Elina Svitolina, UKR
2024 Paula Badosa, ESP

*RECENT WIMBLEDON "ZOMBIE QUEEN" WINNERS*
2015 Serena Williams, USA
2016 Dominika Cibulkova/SVK & Aga Radwanska/POL
2017 Arina Rodionova, AUS
2018 Katerina Siniakova, CZE
2019 Elina Svitolina, UKR
2021 Kristie Ahn, USA
2022 Elise Mertens, BEL
2023 Lesia Tsurenko, UKR
2024 Marta Kostyuk, UKR



*2024 WIMBLEDON FINAL 16*

[by ranking]
#2 - Coco Gauff
#4 - Elena Rybakina
#7 - Jasmine Paolini
#11 - Danielle Collins
#13 - Madison Keys
#14 - Alona Ostapenko
#17 - Emma Navarro
#18 - Anna Kalinskaya
#21 - Elina Svitolina
#32 - Barbora Krejcikova
#35 - Yulia Putintseva
#37 - Donna Vekic
#42 - Wang Xinyu
#93 - Paula Badosa
#123 - Lulu Sun
#135 - Emma Raducanu

[by age]
20 = Gauff
21 = Raducanu 23 = Navarro, Sun
25 = Kalinskaya, Rybakina, Wang Xinyu
26 = Badosa
27 = Ostapenko
28 = Krejcikova, Paolini, Vekic
29 = Keys, Putintseva, Svitolina
30 = Collins

[by nation]
4...USA (Collins,Gauff,Keys,Navarro)
2...KAZ (Putintseva,Rybakina)
1...CHN (Wang Xinyu)
1...CRO (Vekic)
1...CZE (Krejcikova)
1...ESP (Badosa)
1...GBR (Raducanu)
1...ITA (Paolini)
1...LAT (Ostapenko)
1...NZL (Sun)
1...RUS (Kalinskaya)
1...UKR (Svitolina)

[by career slam Round-of-16's]
20 - Keys
18 - Svitolina
12 - Gauff
8 - Krejcikova
7 - Ostapenko, Rybakina
6 - Badosa, Vekic
5 - Collins
4 - Putintseva
3 - Paolini, Raducanu
2 - Kalinskaya, Navarro, Wang Xinyu
1 - Sun

[w/ consecutive slam Round of 16's]
4 - Gauff
3 - Paolini, Svitolina
2 - Navarro, Rybakina

[w/ multiple career WI Round of 16's]
5 - Keys
4 - Ostapenko, Rybakina, Svitolina
3 - Badosa, Gauff
2 - Krejcikova, Raducanu, Vekic

[w/ consecutive WI Round of 16's]
4 - Rybakina
3 - Keys
2 - Svitolina

[WTA career slam Round of 16's - active]
50...Venus Williams
30...Victoria Azarenka
23...Angelique Kerber
23...Petra Kvitova
22...Simona Halep
22...Caroline Wozniacki
20...Madison Keys
18...Elina Svitolina
16...Sloane Stephens
16...Vera Zvonareva
15...Iga Swiatek
14...Karolina Pliskova
13...Elise Mertens
12...Coco Gauff
12...Aryna Sabalenka
10...Ons Jabeur
10...Kaia Kanepi
10...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

[WTA slam Round of 16's since 2020 (of 18) - active]
14 - Swiatek
12 - Sabalenka
10 - Gauff, Jabeur
8 - Krejcikova, Mertens, Svitolina
7 - Azarenka, Pegula, Rybakina
6 - Halep
5 - Badosa, Keys, Kvitova, Muchova
5 - Sakkari, Vondrousova
4 - Anisimova, Bencic, Collins, Garcia, Kenin
4 - Kerber, Ostpapenko, Pavlyuchenkova
4 - Ka.Pliskova
3 - M.Andreeva, Cirstea, Cornet
3 - Kasatkina, Rogers, Stephens
3 - Tomljanovic, Zhang Sh., Zheng Q.
2 - Avanesyan, Bouzkova, Brady, Fernandez
2 - Haddad Maia, Kalinskaya, Kostyuk, V.Kudermetova
2 - Martic, Niemeier, Osaka, Paolini, Putintseva
2 - Raducanu, Riske-A., Samsonova
2 - Trevisan, Tsurenko, Vekic, Wang Xinyu

[2024 slam Rd. of 16's - youngest]
16 - Mirra Andreeva (AO)
17 - Mirra Andreeva (RG)
19 - Linda Noskova (AO)
19 - Coco Gauff (AO)
20 - Coco Gauff (RG)
20 - Coco Gauff (WI)
20 - Maria Timofeeva (AO)

[2024 slam Rd. of 16's - oldest]
34 - Victoria Azarenka (AO)
30 - Danielle Collins (WI)
29 - Ons Jabeur (RG)
29 - Elina Svitolina (WI)
29 - Elina Svitolina (RG)
29 - Elina Svitolina (AO)
29 - Madison Keys (WI)
29 - Yulia Putintseva (WI)

[2024 slam Rd. of 16's - unseeded]
=AO (9)=
M.Andreeva, Anisimova(PR), Dodin, Frech, Kalinskaya, Kostyuk, Noskova, Timofeeva(Q), Yastremska(Q)
=RG (7)=
M.Andreeva, Avanesyan, Cocciaretto, Danilovic(Q), Gracheva, Potapova, Tauson
=WI (6)=
Badosa, Putintseva, Raducanu(WC), Sun(Q), Vekic, Wang Xinyu

[2024 slam Rd. of 16's - 1st-time GS 4th Rd.]
AO - (6) Dodin,Frech,Kalinskaya,Noskova,Paolini,Timofeeva
RG - (6) Cocciaretto,Danilovic,Gracheva,Navarro,Potapova,Tauson
WI - (1) Sun

[2024 slam Rd. of 16's - completed "Career Round of 16 Slam"]
AO - none
RG - none
WI - Danielle Collins (27th slam MD)

[2024 slam Rd. of 16's - lowest-ranked]
#442 - Amanda Anisimova (AO)
#170 - Maria Timofeeva (AO)
#135 - Emma Raducanu (WI)
#125 - Olga Danilovic (RG)
#123 - Lulu Sun (WI)

[2024 slam Rd. of 16's]
3 - Gauff (AO/RG/WI)
3 - Paolini (AO/RG/WI)
3 - Svitolina (AO/RG/WI)
2 - M.Andreeva (AO/RG)
2 - Kalinskaya (AO/WI)
2 - Krejcikova (AO/WI)
2 - Navarro (RG/WI)
2 - Rybakina (RG/WI)
2 - Sabalenka (AO/RG)

[2024 slam Rd. of 16's - by nation]
8 = 2/2/4 = USA (Collins,Gauff,Keys,Navarro)
7 = 3/3/1 = RUS (Kalinskaya)
5 = 3/1/1 = UKR (Svitolina)
4 = 2/1/1 = CZE (Krejcikova)
4 = 1/2/1 = ITA (Paolini)
3 = 2/1/0 = BLR
3 = 0/1/2 = KAZ (Putintseva,Rybakina)
2 = 1/0/1 = CHN (Wang Xinyu)
2 = 1/1/0 = FRA
2 = 1/1/0 = POL
= 1 AO: -
1 RG: DEN,SRB,TUN
1 WI: CRO(Vekic),ESP(Badosa),GBR(Raducanu),LAT(Ostapenko),NZL(Sun)

[2024 slam Rd. of 16's - by region]
17 = (5/7/5) - W.Europe/Scandinavia (CRO-CZE-ESP-GBR-ITA)
16 = (8/5/3) - Eastern Europe/Russia (LAT-RUS-UKR)
8 = (2/2/4) - North America/Atlantic (USA)
6 = (1/1/4) - Asia/Oceania (CHN-KAZ-NZL)
1 = (0/1/0) - Africa/Middle East/Mediterranean
0 = (0/0/0) - South America




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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: Lulu Sun/NZL (in 4th Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Emma Raducanu/GBR (in 4th Rd.)
PROTECTED RANKING: Paula Badosa/ESP (in 4r), Bianca Andreescu/CAN (3r)
LUCKY LOSER WINNERS: Erika Andreeva/RUS (2nd)
LAST BRIT STANDING: Emma Raducanu (in 4th Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: x
IT "??": Nominee: Sun ("Kiwi"), Navarro ("NCAAer")
COMEBACK PLAYER: Paula Badosa/ESP
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: #18 Marta Kostyuk/UKR (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)
DOUBLES STAR: x
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): x
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x
SPIRIT OF JANA (NOVOTNA) HONOREE: x






All for Day 6. More tomorrow.
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