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Saturday, August 31, 2024

US.5- España in the City


Just when it looked as if Paula Badosa's U.S. Open run in the city of her birth was over, the Spaniard decided that she wasn't ready to say goodbye to her new home away from home. Not yet, anyway.



#26-seeded Badosa's spring/summer lead-up to the final major of the season was super intriguing, as she both lurched forward out of the quicksand that had seemingly stalled her long recovery from last year's back injury *and* improved her results in a such a gradual way that her natural progression seemed to portend (at least) a second week surge in New York, if not maybe something more than that if things went in her favor.

Romanian qualifier Gabriela Ruse nearly derailed that particular notion on Day 5, but Badosa said, "I won't go."

Ruse, playing with aggression and going for her shots, broke into the lead in the match, taking the 1st set 6-4 on the back of 14 winners; but Badosa responded by taking control in the 2nd. With 12 winners vs. just 5 UE, Badosa won the set 6-1 and charged into the 3rd. She twice held break leads, at 3-2 and 6-5, but the Romanian didn't let up in the face of the moment. In the final third of the set, while Badosa was often content with keeping the ball in the court, Ruse was firing shots from the baseline. She immediately broke back after Badosa first took the lead, and denied the Spaniard the win when she served for the match in game 12.

In between Badosa's brief turns atop the scoreboard, Ruse's aggressive tactics had allowed her to push her way into the lead. She held a MP (after a big return winner) on Badosa's serve at 5-4 (Badosa saved it with a serve up the middle). But what worked for the Romanian also worked against her. Badosa's tactic of feeding her opponent balls during rallies helped to cause Ruse's UE total for the set to climb to 20. After Badosa couldn't serve out the win, things went to a deciding match tie-break.

In the 10-point breaker, Badosa went out to a 4-0 lead as she took advantage of Ruse's second serve. But Ruse wouldn't go away. After a Badosa DF, the Romanian's backhand down the line put the TB back on serve. But consecutive errors from Ruse gave the advantage right back, at 6-3. A Ruse miss to end a long rally made it 7-4, and a Badosa ace put her up 8-6.

Ruse held close, taking Badosa's second service point (8-7). With a shot to tie the score, Ruse pushed a forehand wide that instead gave Badosa her first MP at 9-7. On MP #2, her first on her own serve, Badosa's serve was returned long by Ruse as the Spaniard won 4-6/6-1/7-6(10-8) to reach her first Round of 16 at the U.S. Open.



While Ruse leaves New York having notched five straight wins in qualifying and MD play to reach her first slam 3rd Round (and was but a single point away from even more), Badosa's run completes a "Career Round of 16 Slam" with her 4th Round result at a fourth different slam. She's 10-3 in majors in '24, the best slam season of her career. And to think she was comptemplating the end of her tennis career during the spring when her frustrating road back from injury still seemed littered with too many roadblocks to overcome.

But in the concrete jungle where dreams are made of, those of Badosa are still alive and well in her home away from home. She refused to go today, so maybe she'll decide to stay a while.




=DAY 5 NOTES=
...after being slow out of the gates in her first two matches at this Open, #7 Zheng Qinwen didn't risk screwing around and finding out today, and instead dominated Jule Niemeier from the start en route to a 6-2/6-1 victory that sends the '23 Open quarterfinalist back to within another victory of backing up her result from a year ago.

(Hmmm, self, remind yourself again why your pre-Open "prop picks" put the cut-off line at the Top 6 seeds in New York rather than the Top *7* seeds. I mean, there *had* to be a reason... not that it's one that immediately comes to mind at the moment.)



25-11 in her slam lifetime, Zheng's Round of 16 match will find her facing off with a rather familiar face, in a replay of a recent big match that took place on a different continent, on a different surface, and at a different slam-hosting venue than the one at Corona Park in Queens.

Up next will be #24 Donna Vekic, Zheng's opponent in the Olympic Gold Medal match in Paris.



Vekic took out Peyton Stearns 7-5/6-4 today, adding another result to a great summer run that has included the Bad Homburg final, Wimbledon semis and Olympic Silver medal. It's amazing how "easily" such things come sometimes once a player gets into a good groove.

This marks the first time Vekic has reached the second week at consecutive majors, and it comes five years after her last such excursion in New York, a 2019 QF run that was following by a 3rd Round and three straight 1st Round exits at the U.S. Open before this week.

...unlike a year ago, #3 Coco Gauff didn't arrive at Flushing Meadows in full flight, so any sort of recapturing of the roll that led to her maiden slam title run is going to take some work. Today was an example of that work.

#27 Elina Svitolina took the opening set, forcing Gauff to gradually find her serve and cut down on her errors. She completed the task, rallying to win 3-6/6-3/6-3 and flash some moments that brought to mind her Summer of Coco form as well as function, with an I'll-show-the-world vibe becoming apparent in her being for the first time in a while.



The win is Gauff's first in three sets since her QF victory over Ons Jabeur at Roland Garros (she only played one-three setter in intervening nearly three months, a 2nd Round loss to Yulia Putintseva earlier this month in Cincinnati, as her last ten wins came via straight sets or an opponent retiring).

Gauff has maintained a level of consistency in results at the Open. This is her third straight Round of 16 or better result there, as well as at her fifth consecutive major. At the monent, she's the only woman to reach the second week at all four slams this season, and only Jasmine Paolini (who plays Saturday, following her and Sara Errani's disappointing 2nd Round WD loss to Dart/Parry on Friday) can match her of the players yet to play their 3rd Round matches. Svitolina had been seeking to reach *her* fourth straight slam 4th Round in '24.

Gauff's next match will be an all-Bannerette affair, as #13 Emma Navarro outlasted #19 Marta Kostyuk, overcoming a 3-1 final set deficit to sweep the final five games of the match in a 6-4/4-6/6-3 victory.

Navarro had been 0-2 in her U.S. Open career until this event, but has now reached the 4th Round at three straight majors after a Round of 16 in Paris and Wimbledon QF. Navarro defeated Gauff in the Wimbledon 4th Round this summer in their most recent meeting (Coco on in January in Auckland en route to her title defense).



...Wang Yafan started the slam season in Melbourne by posting her best career result at the AO, a 3rd Round that provided enough momentum to carry the 30-year old Chinese veteran to good late 1Q results in Hua Hin (SF) and Austin (QF). Her results flagged over the course of the late spring/early summer, though. Wang was on a 3-10 slide coming out of the grass season, but used the North American hard court stretch to reclaim her earlier form.

In Washington, she knocked off Karolina Pliskova and pushed Victoria Azarenka to three sets in a loss. Successful 1000 qualifying runs in Toronto and Cincinnati followed, as Wang defeated Sofia Kenin and Sara Errani, then took Elina Svitolina to three sets.

At Flushing Meadows, things began to go Wang's way immediately. Quite literally. In one of the first matches up on Day 1, Wang was the first player to reach the 2nd Round when #9 Maria Sakkari retired after losing the opening set. Another win over Diane Parry followed. Today, #20-seeded former Open finalist Azarenka was again on the other side of the net. The ex-#1 put up a fight, but Wang prevailed in three sets, winning 6-4/3-6/6-1 to reach her maiden slam 4th Round in her 17th career MD appearance in a major.

Azarenka has reached the second week in New York just once (2022) since playing into her third U.S. Open final in 2020.



...in the night session, #14 Madison Keys had her usual slam experience. She went in as the "favorite," showed some moxy, then came up short (but not on errors) in the end.

Keys had saved five SP at 5-4 in the 1st set vs. #33 Elise Mertens, then won a 7-5 TB to take a set that saw six combined breaks of serve. In the 2nd set, Keys came within two points of the win, at 30/30 on Mertens' serve at 5-4. She'd get no closer. The only break of the set came a game later, and it was Keys who finally faltered. After getting the break in game 11, Mertens served out the set to knot the match.

Again, the 3rd set was on serve at its mid-way point. But, again, it was Keys who cracked, as the Belgian broke for a 4-3 lead (after Keys couldn't convert any of three BP of her own in the previous game). Keys had two BP chances to get back on serve in game 8, but Mertens held for 5-3. Two games later, she served out the 6-7(5)/7-5/6-4 win, reaching her first second week in New York since doing it four straight years from 2018-21.

Though she just got this year's in under the wire, Mertens had now recorded at least one slam 4th Round result in seven straight seasons. She has 14 overall in her slam career.

Keys, who had 60 UE on the night, falls early one year having reached her first U.S. Open SF since 2018. Unlike Maria Sakkari, Keys will take a rankings shot with *her* loss, dropping ten spots in the "live" rankings, out of the Top 20 down to #24.

...in the final match on Ashe, #2 Aryna Sabalenka and #29 Ekaterina Alexandrova get a very late start (i.e. post-midnight, and it might have been post-1 a.m. had the men's match that preceded it gone five rather than four sets).

After a discombobluted start, during which she led 2-1 before dropping five straight games, Sabalenka saved a pair of BP in the opening game of the 2nd. She got the hold, and the ship was thus righted. Shortly thereafter, Sabalenka ripped through the remainder of the match. She took the 2nd at 6-1 and won ten straight games to 5-0 in the 3rd. Naturally, it took Sabalenka two tries to serve it out but she got the win 2-6/6-1/6-2, finishing things up at around a quarter to 2 o'clock in the morning.



...the Paralympics' women's singles action (finally, what took so long?) starts on Saturday, as Diede de Groot will begin her quest to extend her remarkable big event title run and win a second straight singles Gold.

De Groot, already with a fifteen straight slam title run, has also won three season-ending Wheelchair Masters crowns in a row along with the Tokyo Paralympics during a stretch that begin with the Australian Open January 2021. That's nineteen straight tites at the biggest events in the sport.





*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
x vs. x
x vs. x
x vs. x
x vs. x
#26 Paula Badosa/ESP vs. Wang Yafan/CHN
#13 Emma Navarro/USA vs. #3 Coco Gauff/USA
#7 Zheng Qinwen/CHN vs. #24 Donna Vekic/CRO
#33 Elise Mertens/BEL vs. #2 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
x vs. Cristian/Moratelli (ROU/ITA)
#10 Chan H-c./V.Kudermetova (TPE/RUS) vs. Dart/Parry (GBR/FRA)
x vs. x
#12 Haddad Maia/Siegemund (BRA/GER) vs. x
#8 Schuurs/Stefani (NED/BRA) vs. #9 Kenin/Mattek-Sands (USA/USA)
x vs. x
x vs. #11 Bouzkova/Sorribes Tormo (CZE/ESP)
M.Andreeva/Pavlyuchenkova (RUS/RUS) vs. x

*MIXED DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
Danilina/Heliovaara (KAZ/FIN) vs. Bucsa/Vliegen (ESP/BEL)
(WC) Townsend/Young (USA/USA) vs. N.Kichenok/Nys (UKR/MON)
#4 Krejcikova/Ebden (CZE/AUS) vs. (WC) Jovic/Bigun (USA/USA)
Siniakova/Peers (CZE/AUS) vs. #8 Sutjiadi/Bopanna (INA/IND)
#7 Hsieh/Zielinski (TPE/POL) vs. Olmos/Gonzalez (MEX/MEX)
(WC) Mateas/McDonald (USA/USA) vs. #3 Errani/Vavassori (ITA/ITA)
(WC) Krueger/Kwiatkowski (USA/USA) vs. Perez/Gille (AUS/BEL)
(WC) Gran/Kovacevic (USA/USA) vs. (WC) Parks/Withrow (USA/USA)

*PARALYMPICS WHEELCHAIR WOMEN'S ROUND OF 16*
x vs. x
x vs. x
x vs. x
x vs. x
x vs. x
x vs. x
x vs. x
x vs. x

*PARALYMPICS WHEELCHAIR WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF*
#1 de Groot/Van Koot (NED) vs. x
#3 Li Xiaohui/Zhu Zhenzhen (CHN) vs. x
x vs. x
x vs. #2 Kamiji/Tanaka (JPN)







...BADOSA *SO* CELEBRATES LIKE MARIA (it's part of her whole visual on-court "Sharapova similitude," I think)... ON DAY 5:





..."HOMETOWN" HEROINE... ON DAY 5:





...THE SWEET SPOT BETWEEN SOCIAL MEDIA AND A TENNIS MAJOR WAS DISCOVERED... ON DAY 5:





...IN 2024, PETKO IS NEVER HAVING TO SAY GOODBYE... ON DAY 5:




Petkovic did some nice work on the commentary for Badosa/Ruse, including noting a positioning change in the 3rd set for Badosa when returning Ruse's serve, right around the stage when Ruse edged ahead and had a MP. Badosa started to position herself at the center of the service box on the baseline and didn't move to either side. Petkovic noted that it seemed to impact (and maybe intimidate) Ruse since she didn't have a more open target on other side to aim at on serve, leading to more missed first serves, which then led to second serves that Badosa rarely ever lost. It proved key down the stretch.

One thing that Petko didn't do was gently correct broadcast partner Ted Robinson when he said multiple times in the final moments that Badosa had had a MP prior to the TB (it was Ruse who did) and, also, when Petkovic noted how Ruse had "gotten over the hump" in her career, as far as building confidence, when she won a singles title she left out one salient bit of information about that moment.

I looked it up. Ruse won her (so far) lone WTA title in Hamburg in 2021... by defeating Petkovic in the final.

While it was Ruse's first tour-level final appearance, it wasn't Petko's *last*. She won her last tour title, in her final championship match, a month later... but she *did* get it in Cluj, in Ruse's home country of Romania.

















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via GIPHY







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**2024 MAIDEN SLAM ROUND OF 16*
=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)
=US=
Wang Yafan, CHN (17th)

**WTA "CAREER ROUND OF 16 SLAM" - active**
[with slam at which completed]
Victoria Azarenka - 2009 Wimbledon (15th slam MD)
Paula Badosa - 2024 U.S. Open (19th)
Genie Bouchard - 2014 US Open (5th)
Danielle Collins - 2024 Wimbledon (27th)
Caroline Garcia - 2022 US Open (42nd)
Coco Gauff - 2022 US Open (13th)
Simona Halep - 2014 Wimbledon (17th)
Ons Jabeur - 2022 US Open (22nd)
Madison Keys - 2016 Roland Garros (16th)
Barbora Krejcikova - 2022 Australian (8th)
Petra Kvitova - 2011 Australian (11th)
Petra Martic - 2019 US Open (32nd)
Elise Mertens - 2019 Wimbledon (12th)
Karolina Muchova - 2023 Roland Garros (17th)
Alona Ostapenko - 2023 US Open (31st)
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova - 2017 Australian (37th)
Jessie Pegula - 2023 Wimbledon (19th)
Karolina Pliskova - 2018 Wimbledon (25th)
Aryna Sabalenka - 2023 Roland Garros (21st)
Sloane Stephens - 2013 US Open (10th)
Iga Swiatek - 2021 US Open (11th)
Elina Svitolina - 2018 Australian (22nd)
Donna Vekic - 2021 Australian (29th)
Marketa Vondrousova - 2023 Wimbledon (21st)
Venus Williams - 1998 Wimbledon (6th)
Caroline Wozniacki - 2010 Roland Garros (12th)
Zhang Shuai - 2022 US Open (41st)
Vera Zvonareva - 2004 US Open (11th)

**"CAREER SLAM" FEATS IN 2020s**
=ROUND OF 16=
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)
2024 US - Paula Badosa, ESP (19th)

**BACKSPIN 2024 WTA FRESH FACE-OF-THE-MONTH WINNERS**
JAN (pre-AO): Emma Navarro, USA
AO: Linda Noskova, CZE
JAN: Zheng Qinwen, CHN
FEB: Diana Shnaider, RUS
MAR: Peyton Stearns, USA
1Q...ZHENG
APR: Marta Kostyuk, UKR
MAY: Mirra Andreeva, RUS
RG: Mirra Andreeva, RUS
2Q Clay Court...M.ANDREEVA
JUN: Diana Shnaider, RUS
WI: Emma Navarro, USA
2Q Grass Court...SHNAIDER
JUL: Diana Shnaider, RUS
OLY: Mirra Andreeva/Diana Shnaider, RUS/RUS
AUG (pre-U.S.): Mirra Andreeva, RUS
[2024 Weekly FRESH FACE Award Wins]
6 - Mirra Andreeva, RUS
6 - Emma Navarro, USA
6 - Diana Shnaider, RUS
4 - Diane Parry, FRA
3 - Erika Andreeva, RUS
3 - Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, ESP
3 - Clara Burel, FRA
3 - Elisabetta Cocciaretto, ITA
3 - Robin Montgomery, USA
3 - Linda Noskova, CZE
3 - Anca Todoni, ROU
3 - Wang Xinyu, CHN
2 - Elina Avanesyan, RUS/ARM
2 - Brenda Fruhvirtova, CZE
2 - Marta Kostyuk, UKR
2 - Katie Volynets, USA
2 - Wang Xiyu, CHN
2 - Zheng Qinwen, CHN

**BACKSPIN 2024 WTA JUNIOR STAR-OF-THE-MONTH WINNERS**
JAN (pre-AO): Emerson Jones, AUS
AO: Renata Jamrichova, SVK
JAN: Renata Jamrichova, SVK
FEB: Antonia Vergara Rivera, CHI
MAR: Iva Jovic, USA
1Q...JAMRICHOVA
APR: Rositsa Dencheva, BUL
MAY: Emerson Jones, AUS
RG: Tereza Valentova, CZE
2Q Clay Court...VALENTOVA
JUN: Hannah Klugman, GBR
WI: Renata Jamrichova, SVK
2Q Grass Court...JAMRICHOVA
JUL: Laura Samson, CZE
OLY: --
AUG (pre-U.S.): CZE ITF 14u Team
[2024 Weekly JUNIOR STAR Award Wins]
5 - Renata Jamrichova, SVK
5 - Iva Jovic, USA
4 - Maya Joint, AUS
4 - Emerson Jones, AUS
4 - Teodora Kostovic, SRB
4 - Jeline Vandromme, BEL
3 - Maya Crossley, JPN
3 - Rositsa Dencheva, BUL
3 - Laura Samson, CZE
2 - Melisa Ercan, AUS
2 - Tyra Caterina Grant, USA
2 - Tyra Caterina Grant/Iva Jovic, USA/USA
2 - Kristina Penickova, USA
2 - Sara Sato, JPN
2 - Monika Stankiewicz, POL
2 - Antonia Vergara Rivera, CHI






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TOP QUALIFIER: Yuliia Starodubtseva, UKR (4 con. slam Q-runs)
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #2 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): x
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: Francesca Jones/GBR def. #5 Rebeka Masarova/ESP 6-1/2-6/7-6(6) - Masarova comes back from 5-1 in 3rd to force MTB, and leads 4-2 before Jones rallies for 10-6 win
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd. - #29 Ekaterina Alexandrova/RUS def. (WC) Iva Jovic/USA 4-6/6-4/7-5 - Alexandrova outlasts 16-year old, wins on MP #7
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F): x
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Wang Yafan/CHN (def. #9 Sakkari/GRE, ret. after 1st set)
FIRST SEED OUT: #9 Maria Sakkari/GRE (1r- retired vs. Wang Yafan after losing 1st set)
FIRST CAREER SLAM MD WINS: Maya Joint/AUS, Iva Jovic/USA, Ashlyn Krueger/USA, Jessika Ponchet/FRA, Ena Shibahara/JPN
PROTECTED RANKING MD WINS: Ajla Tomljanovic/AUS (2r)
LUCKY LOSER MD WINS: none
UPSET QUEENS: United States
REVELATION LADIES: Italy
NATION OF POOR SOULS: CAN (0-2 1st Rd.; '19 champ Andreescu & '21 finalist Fernandez)
CRASH & BURN: #4 Elena Rybakina/KAZ (2nd Rd. walkover is 8th '24 event pulled out, walkover or retired; at third different 2022-24 major)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK: Nominee: Samsonova (2r- down 6-3/5-2, Bouzkova served at 5-3, then up break 3-2 in 3rd); Badosa (3r- MP down 5-4 3rd vs. Ruse; 10-8 MTB win for first U.S. Open second week)
IT ("??"): Nominee: Jovic (Bannerette teen), Zheng Qinwen
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: x
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: in 3r: Ponchet/FRA, Ruse/ROU(L)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Iva Jovic/USA and Naomi Osaka/JPN (both 2nd Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: in 3r: Gauff(W), Keys(L), Krueger, Navarro(W), Pegula, Stearns(L)
COMEBACK: Nominees: Badosa, Muchova
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Nominee: Errani, Wozniacki, Wang Yafan
DOUBLES STAR: x
BIG APPLE BANNERETTE BREAKTHROUGH: Ashlyn Krueger
BROADWAY-BOUND: "Final Curtains" (Collins & Rogers); "The Lights (Far) Off Broadway" (Paris Paralympic tennis); "Brackets/Rackets and Bows" (Osaka)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominee: Sabalenka
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x







All for Day 5. More tomorrow.
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