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Monday, August 19, 2024

Wk.33- Sabalenka Supremacy in Cincinnati

In the late 1800s, Cincinnati was known as the "Paris of America."

On Monday, "The Queen City" crowned a new monarch for 2024. Her name? Aryna Sabalenka.

She was magnifique.






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*WEEK 33 CHAMPIONS*
CINCINNATI (Mason), OHIO USA (WTA 1000/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Aryna Sabalenka/BLR def. Jessie Pegula/USA 6-3/7-5
D: Asia Muhammad/Erin Routliffe (USA/NZL) def. Leylah Fernandez/Yulia Putintseva (CAN/KAZ) 3-6/6-1 [10-4]
BARRANQUILLA, COLOMBIA (WTA 125/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Nadia Podoroska/ARG def. Tatjana Maria/GER 6-2/1-6/6-3
D: Jessica Failla/Hiroko Kuwata (USA/JPN) def. Quinn Gleason/Ingrid Martins (USA/BRA) 4-6/7-6(2) [10-7]




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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Aryna Sabalenka/BLR
...welcome back to *the* conversation, Aryna.

While Sabalenka's summer lead-up to the upcoming U.S. Open wasn't as stunningly drawn out and successful as Coco Gauff's a year ago, the *once again* world #2 showed a side of herself in Cincinnati that immediately makes her a huge threat another major title in New York, where she's posted SF-SF-RU results the last three years.

Since defending her Australian Open title in January, Sabalenka's arguable "highlight" heading into Cincinnati had been her Madrid/Rome final combo, in both of which she lost to Iga Swiatek (once after having 3 MP). Over the past week, though, Sabalenka barely let her opponents up for air, taking the title without dropping a set to put her very best foot (and self) forward just as #1 Swiatek (who has struggled this summer), #3 Gauff (even more so) and #4 Rybakina (oft-ill, again) have seen their level of play waver in recent months.

Sabalenka's wins over Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Elina Svitolina and Liudmila Samsonova set the stage for a clash with world #1 Swiatek in the SF, their first meeting since those two losses in the spring. Sabalenka dominated the Pole, and only temporarily stumbled (after leading 6-3/5-1 and holding triple MP) as she needed ten MP and multiple games to finally finish off the win. In the Monday final vs. Jessie Pegula, Sabalenka led 6-3/5-3, but failed to serve out the win a game later. She got things under control more quickly this time, sweeping the final two games to collect career title #15 (more than half of which -- 8 -- have been at either 1000 or slam events).

Ultimately, even Pegula recognized the mountain was too high to scale. Actually, she got a bit more specific than that, referencing Sabalenka's serving skills on the day with perhaps the ultimate name-dropping compliment...


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RISERS: Jessie Pegula/USA and Leylah Fernandez/CAN
...Pegula was on the doorstep of history in Cincinnati.



Buuuuut... not quite.

Coming in off her title run in Toronto (after arriving there from Paris), due to a combination of a late event start (Tuesday), a 1st Round bye and rain delays, Pegula didn't play her first match until Friday. When she finally did, she played *two* that day, taking out both Karolina Muchova (in 3) and Taylor Townsend. Leylah Fernandez was next, with Pegula winning another three-setter after squandering a 7-5/4-0 lead. She took out Paula Badosa (three sets *again*) for her ninth straight win. Her four matches over three days totaled up to eight and a quarter hours on the court, and she still had to play Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

With the shot to become the first woman to complete a Canada/Cincy sweep since 1973, Pegula was clearly running on fumes, but she put up a good-enough fight in the Monday match-up, pressuring Sabalenka late and making the Belarusian pull herself out of a dicey situation late (tied 5-5 after Sabalenka had served for the win) to get the title.

Pegula will head into New York back at #5 in the rankings and with a head a steam, or maybe that'll just be her trying to catch her breath. Her next challenge might be to avoid a disappointing early exit after perhaps playing herself out to nearly the end of her rope *before* showing up at Flushing Meadows.



It was three summers ago that a then 18-year old Fernandez made her name on the big stage, putting away the likes of Osaka, Kerber, Svitolina and Sabalenka in order to reach the U.S. Open final (all but Kerber were ranked in the Top 5 at the time). The Canadian hadn't posted a Top 5 win since then when she arrived in Cincinnati at the start of the week.

After a win over Yuan Yue, that drought ended when Fernandez saved a pair of MP and downed #4 Elena Rybakina in the 2nd Round. After a Top 20 victory over Diana Shnaider, Fernandez rallied form 7-5/4-0 down vs. world #6 and Toronto champ Jessie Pegula, winning a 2nd set TB and then saving three MP and forcing another TB to decide the final result.

Pegula got the win via a 7-3 breaker, but Fernandez's third career 1000 QF (w/ '23 Guadalajara and '24 Doha) will push her ranking back inside the Top 25.

Meanwhile, a week after reaching the Toronto doubles as a WC entrant with sister Bianca, Fernandez reached her fourth tour-level WD final, but fell (w/ Yulia Putintseva) in a 10-4 MTB to Muhammad/Routliffe, leaving the Canadian still seeking her first WTA title.
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SURPRISES: Elina Avanesyan/ARM and Taylor Townsend/USA
...welcome to a new tennis reality, Armenia.

In her maiden event representing her new country, Avanesyan fell in qualifying to Harriet Dart. But the 21-year old has a history of putting up MD results after such early disappointment. She reached the Roland Garros 4th Round as a lucky loser last season, then in her RG follow-up played into the QF in Berlin after another qualifying loss. In 2021, the then-Hordette won a $60K title as a lucky loser, as well.

She was at it again in Cincinnati. With "LL" next to her name, Avanesyan put up wins over no less than Bianca Andreescu and Alona Ostapenko to reach her second 1000 3rd Round of the season (w/ Miami). She took the 1st set from former countrywoman Liudmila Samsonova in the following round, only to fall in three sets. Still, the run represented a "best-ever Armenian result" (a phrase that'll surely be worn out pretty quickly) in a 1000 event, and Avanesyan will now climb to a career high #52... yep, another Armenian record.

Meanwhile, like an urgent visitor, Townsend has been scratching at the door throughout this summer's hard court stretch. For three straight weeks, she's found herself a round away from the QF, a stage to which she'd never advanced in singles at a tour level event coming out of Wimbledon.

After remaining a round short in Washington, Townsend made her QF breakthrough (as a LL) in Toronto before falling to Emma Navarro (but still climbing to a career high #53). A qualifier this past week in Cincinnati, she set off on the quest for another potential career-best result. Wins over Caroline Dolehide (Townsend saved two MP, after having previously failed to convert two of her own in the match) and Dasha Kasatkina assured that the 28-year old would crack the Top 50 for the first time *and* give her another shot at a QF berth



For the second time in three weeks, though, Townsend fell just short, losing 6-1/6-3 to Toronto champ Jessie Pegula.

She'll come in at another career high of #46 in the new rankings. Her eight wins in 1000 events this season are a career best, topping the five she posted last year. Townsend is 13-9 in 1000 MD play in 2023-24, after being 8-12 prior to last year.
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VETERAN: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS
...Pavlyuchenkova has seemingly been hiding out for most of 2024. She reached a 1000 SF in Doha in February, but came to Cincinnati having gone just 10-13 since, including a combined 4-7 over the clay and grass court seasons.

She collected herself in the last 1000 of the summer, gradually picking up momentum as she notched a three-set win over Beatriz Haddad Maia then followed up with additional victories over Caroline Wozniacki (for her first consecutive wins since March) and Olympic champ Zheng Qinwen (ending the world #7's 12-match winning streak and posting her best win since her '21 run to the RG final).

Pavlyuchenkova fell in the QF to Paula Badosa, but leaves the week with some rather unique accomplishments to add to her resume. Her Cincy QF comes a tournament record nine years since her last final eight run in the event (a stretch that includud 3 DNP, 1r/2r/3r exits and even a defeat in the opening round of qualifying, her only such exit in a 1000/slam over the past 15 years). Also, her 17th match win in a 1000 event (since the designation debuted in '09) is the most by a player who has never won a 1000 title and, and in the most "Pavlyuchenkovian" feat of them all, her 39th career Top 10 win is the most ever by a player who has never *herself* ranked in the Top 10.

After all these years, Anastasia *still* has the ability to do things simultaneously fabulous and oddly frustrating, and I suppose she should get some extra kudos for that.
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COMEBACKS: Paula Badosa/ESP and Nadia Podoroska/ARG
...while others have produced flashier results over the past month, don't overlook the strides that Badosa has made, as well.

Back in the spring, remember, she was still working her way back from her back injury. After a 1st Round exit in Madrid, she stood at 6-9 on the season and was #140 in rankings immediately afterward. Since then, the Spaniard has gone a combined 20-6, won a title on hard court in Washington, reached a slam Round of 16 (Wimbledon) and QF (Bad Homburg) on grass, and a 4th Round on clay at 1000 Rome. This week in Cincinnati, Badosa added a 1000 SF following wins over Peyton Stearns, Anna Kalinskaya, Yulia Putintseva and Anastasia Pavlychenkova. She played Jessie Pegula into a 3rd set in the semis, but likely lost her chance to surge into the lead in the final set when she couldn't put away any of four BP in game 3. With the loss, Badosa still waits to add her first Top 10 win since her back injury.

But after being well outside the Top 100 less than four months ago, Badosa will now be *seeded* at the U.S. Open. She'll be #27 in the new rankings this week. A season that looked to be in danger of being "lost" has turned out to be a pretty good one, and it's far from finished.



Podoroska, a Roland Garros semifinalist in the fall of 2020, took a 10-month sabbatical from the tour less than a year after her biggest career result. Out from the end of the '21 U.S. Open until June of the following season, the Argentine fully began her climb back up the tennis ladder last season, returning to the Top 100.

This week in Barranquilla, the 27-year old picked up her third WTA 125 title since the start of last year (her biggest on hard court since winning a $25K challenger in January '20) with a 6-2/1-6/6-3 win in the final over #1 seed and defending champion Tatjana Maria (also a former slam semifinalist, at Wimbledon in '22).

Ranked at #88 this past week, her lowest position since June of last year, Podoroska climbs back inside the Top 70 in the next rankings. She was as high as #36 in 2021.


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FRESH FACE: Mirra Andreeva/RUS
...the 17-year old put up another deep big event run in Cincinnati, stringing together wins over Emma Navarro, Karolina Pliskova and Jasmine Paolini, the latter her fourth Top 10 win of the season, to reach her second career 1000 QF (w/ Madrid '24), and her best yet on hard court.

The Hordette had a shot vs. #1 Iga Swiatek. Andreeva took the 1st set, dropped serve just once in the 2nd (Iga won it) and was on serve deep in the 3rd at 5-5 before Swiatek got the key break in game 11. Andreeva saw a BP on Swiatek's serve as she tried to close out the match, but couldn't convert it then saw the Pole finish off the deciding 7-5 set.



Andreeva will still have to wait to may her Top 20 debut, though, as she her rise will stall (for this week) at #21 in the new rankings.
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DOWN: Zhang Shuai/CHN
...Iga *almost* stumbled her way down to here early in the week, but she straightened herself out in time to avoid a post-Olympic head-scratcher. Instead, we get Zhang. Again. Still.

Back on January 31, 2023, Zhang defeated Madison Brengle in a 1st Round match in Lyon. Nineteen months later, she's still looking for that follow-up singles victory.

Flashforward to August 2024, and Zheng was in the Cincinnati MD despite a #689 (!) standing, using a protected ranking despite never actually missing time with an actual *physical* injury, taking a valued spot in a *1000* draw that *should* have been occupied by a player with more to give and more upside (even Osaka wasn't deemed high-value enough to be given a MD wild card and had to play -- and lose -- in qualifying). Yes, Zhang took six months off at the end of last summer after losing 16 straight matches (attribute the slide, at whatever percentage, to whatever one wishes, but she was well enough to continue to participate in doubles over her '23 playing stretch), then returned this season and still hasn't won a match (0-6 and counting) as fall approaches.

Zhang's 6-1/6-4 1st Round exit at the hands of Diana Shnaider this past week wasn't just another "L" added to her streak, it was historic. Her 22nd straight loss, after having long since broken the Open era WTA record (w/ #18), tops Vincent Spadea's 21-loss slide over 1999-2000 that, until now, had been the longest stretch of futility ever seen on either of the pro tennis tours.



Gifted with a 43-point bump for her brief appearance in the MD (and, I'd assume, the nearly $15K US prize money... hmm, that's an amount that might have been a real boost to some other player) Zhang will actually see her ranking *rise* 43 spots this week to #646.

Seriously, what in the Sakkarian Hills is going on in a reality where *that* happens after a 22nd straight defeat?
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ITF PLAYER: Nuria Parrizas Diaz/ESP
...Parrizas Diaz was a late-blooming talent, not cracking the Top 100 until after she turned 30. While she's slipped a bit after reaching the Top 50 two seasons ago, the now 33-year old Spaniard continues to achieve in the latter stages of her career.

In Cary, North Carolina, she grabbed the title at a second straight $100K challenger, adding a win on U.S. hard courts to the clay court crown she took in Spain earlier this month (she also won a 125 tournament in Australia back in January). She rallied from 5-3 back in the 3rd set vs. Renata Zarazua to get the win this weekend in a deciding TB.

In between her '24 title runs, Parrizas fell in qualifying at all three of the season's majors, and even suffered through an eight-match losing streak this spring, part of a 1-10 slump that followed her qualifying run and 1st Round victory at Indian Wells.

She'll climb back into the Top 100 in the new rankings.



I like that scoreboard -- it almost looks like neon.
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DOUBLES: Asia Muhammad/Erin Routliffe, USA/NZL
...teaming together for their first title as a pair in Cincinnati, Muhammad picked up her eleventh and biggest career title, while WD #1 Rouliffe's seventh win put still more distance between herself and #2 Katerina Siniakova in the rankings. She's now up 1080 points, adding 665 to her lead as Siniakova lost in the QF this week alongside Taylor Townsend. The New Zealander had been up just five points over the Czech two weeks ago before increasing her lead by around 400 points with a runner-up finish (w/ Gaby Dabrowski) in Toronto.

Muhammad/Routliffe won a pair of MTB en route to the title, in the QF (vs. Schuurs/Stefani) and the final vs. Leylah Fernandez/Yulia Putintseva (who were both seeking their maiden WTA WD crowns).

In her tour-leading seventh final of '24, Routliffe grabbed her second title of the season. It's her first career 1000 win (she'd been 0-4 in 1000 finals, including 0-2 this year), though she won an even bigger crown less than a year ago at the U.S. Open. Muhammad's win is her second this summer, after taking Washington with Townsend just two weeks ago, and third of the season.



Muhammad, 33, cracks the doubles Top 20 for the first time with this result, rising from #24 to #19.
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1. Cincinnati 2nd Rd. - Iga Swiatek def. Varvara Gracheva
...6-0/6-7(8)/6-2. "Fresh" (but probably not) off her Olympic Bronze medal (a fine result, if the event had been held anywhere *other* than Roland Garros), Swiatek bursts out of the gate, putting an exclamation point on her Paris experience by throttling new Pastry Gracheva to the tune of a 6-0/5-2 lead. She held four MP on Gracheva's serve in game 8, but couldn't convert any of them. She then dropped serve at love in the following game. Uh-oh.

A fifth MP (again on Gracheva's serve) came and went at 6-5, as did a 4-1 lead in the 2nd set TB. Gracheva won 10-8 on her fifth SP to send the match to a decider.



In the 3rd, Swiatek went up an early break (perhaps being ready to run away with things?), only to immediately give the break back a game later. The world #1 gathered herself again, broke to lead 4-2 and (finally) never looked back.



This was easy to see as either a very bad sign for Swiatek's U.S. Open hopes, or a great sign that in her opening hard court match of the summer the spirit of her '22 title run in New York -- a scrapping quest that was *very* different from her wins at RG -- was alive and well inside the world #1.
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2. Cincinnati SF - Aryna Sabalenka def. Iga Swiatek
...6-3/6-3. Well, regarding the previous question about Swiatek, it turned out that the former reality was maybe closer to the truth.

After barely escaping Mirra Andreeva in her first meeting with the 17-year old in the QF, Swiatek was dominated by Sabalenka like she's rarely been. Ultimately, the match wasn't even as close as the not-exactly-close-looking scoreline might suggest.

Swiatek won zero points on her second serve in the 1st set, and in the end was broken five times in nine service games on the day. Sabalenka led 6-3/5-1, and was up triple MP on Swiatek's serve at love/40 in game 7 of the 2nd. Then things got a bit rocky, as Iga started getting in first serves and Sabalenka's aggression waned just a bit.

Sabalenka didn't convert on seven MP chances in the game, then saw Swiatek hold. The Belarusian had MP eight & nine in the next game after rallying from 15/40 down, but DF'd on BP #4 to keep the set alive. Swiatek had a GP shot at 5-3, with the opportunity to truly put some pressure on Sabalenka. But the world #1 missed long on a sitter at the net, then committed another error a point later to give Sabalenka a tenth MP. It proved to be the charm.

Swiatek had won three straight vs. Sabalenka, but now sees her series edge cut to 8-4. Since winning the U.S. Open in 2022, Swiatek has gone a combined 5-7 vs. her two main rivals, Sabalenka (4-3) and Elena Rybakina (1-4). It's the fifth #1 win of Sabalenka's career.


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3. Cincinnati 2nd Rd. - Yulia Putintseva def. Coco Gauff
...6-4/2-6/6-4. The Slumber of Coco continues this summer, as Gauff is one-and-done in Cincinnati, the site of the second of her three-title run last year on U.S. summer hard courts.

Gauff led Putintseva 4-2 in the 3rd, but dropped the final four games to fall to 1-2 during the same period when she went 18-1 last summer en route to her U.S. Open title run. 3-4 overall since reaching the Wimbledon Round of 16, Gauff will fall to #3 on Monday and will slip out of a Top 2 seed at Flushing Meadows.

Meanwhile (*this* probably does not bode well for Coco's *third* title defense attempt of the summer, either)...



With Pere Riba in the corner of Zheng Qinwen this season as the 21-year old has started to soar, while Gauff has started to fall off her previous high and re-assume (or develop new) bad habits, it makes you wonder if maybe Riba was the more important part of that two-headed "new coaching team" that pushed Coco over the top last summer (and not the louder member of that duo).

At the match, an interesting moment, as maybe Mirra's Iasi speech has seemingly opened the door for nothing-to-be-ashamed-of honesty from others on tour...



Putintseva now has wins over #1 (Iga at SW19) *and* #2 ranked players this season, but if you thought that that would be a career first, well, you'd be wrong: she defeated Naomi Osaka twice -- as #1 *and* #2 -- in 2019.
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4. Cincinniat Final - Aryna Sabalenka def. Jessie Pegula
...6-3/7-5. When Sabalenka has been "on" in 2024, she's been nearly untouchable. In Cincinnati, she won her second title of the year and (w/ the AO) her claimed her second without losing a set.

As was the case vs. Iga Swiatek in the semis, Sabalenka raced out to a dominant lead (6-3/5-3), only to see the match extended a bit in the end. She failed to serve out the title at 5-4, but pulled off the break and hold combination to finish off her run (ending Pegula's 9-match win streak) to her first Cincinnati title after going out in the SF three times in the previous six years.
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5. Cincinnati 1st Rd. - Taylor Townsend def. Caroline Dolehide
...3-6/6-4/7-6(7). Townsend nearly follows up her first career WTA QF by squandering a 1st Rounder to Toronto WD champ Dolehide. Townsend led 5-2 in the 3rd, served for the win at 5-3, and had two MP at 5-4.

Dolehide forced a TB, and held two MP of her own, but Townsend took the breaker 9-7 to advance.


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6. Cincinnati 1st Rd. - Ashlyn Krueger def. Donna Vekic
...5-7/7-6(4)/6-2. Back with a Silver medal in her pocket (and no worry that the Romanian delegation will belatedly challenge anything and put it in jeopardy), Vekic rallied from 4-1 down to take the 1st set. Krueger (after a Toronto 3rd Rd., and Q-win over Osaka) then forced a 3rd after a no-break 2nd. Krueger won the 3rd set 6-2 to drop Vekic to 0-3 in three-hour matches this season.


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7. Cincinnati 1st Rd. - Elina Avanesyan def. Bianca Andreescu
...6-4/7-5. In her first tour-level MD match as an Armenian, lucky loser Avanesyan drops Andreescu to 0-2 this summer hard court season.



Even with her absences and up-and-down play over the last few years, Andreescu (who also received a U.S. Open wild card this week) still maintains a 44-17 record in North America (WTA MD) for her career. Overall, at all levels back to 2018, she's 57-17 on the continent.

She'll need to call upon some all of that good-but-slipping (if not fully slipped) mojo at Flushing Meadows.
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8. Barranquilla 125 2nd Rd. - Mariam Bolkvadze def. Elsa Jacquemot
...6-7(4)/7-6(4)/7-6(3). Late on a Wednesday, this one happened. Bolkvadze had one ace vs. 26 double faults. And she won the match.

Bolkvadze and Jacquemot played three tie-breaks, combined for 49 DF (Jacquemot had 23, w/ 8 aces), 50 BP chances (24 were converted, including in 10 of the 12 service games in set 2) and 278 total points (Bolkvadze had a 12-point edge).

Still, the first MP didn't occur until the very last point of the 4:05 marathon, with Bolkvadze taking out the Pastry 7-3 in the deciding TB.
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9. Cincinnati 3rd Rd. - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Zheng Qinwen
...7-5/6-1. Zheng's 12-match post-Wimbledon 1st Round exit winning streak comes to a close, as she doesn't quite catch the sort of fire (yet, at least) that Coco Gauff did last year after her similiar early loss at SW19.

Early in the Tennis Channel coverage of this one, Brett Haber and Lindsay Davenport (with that team you just know that a compliment is forthcoming, right... right?) noted Zheng's Nike gift of a "Medaling Isn't for Everyone" jacket, then a few minutes later mentioned the MP she saved in Paris vs. Emma Navarro. Seemed like an opportunity to discuss, well, you know (i.e. Cutthroat Island). But... crickets.

Haber did mention that before the Olympics Zheng hadn't really done a lot since the AO before her recent upswing. It's *somewhat* factual, but, you know, I'm sure a few U.S. players (one, hopefully) would surely take a season that includes a slam final, Gold medal, successful title defense, #1 win and Top 10 ranking.
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10. Cincinnati 1st Rd. - Anna Kalinskaya def. Katerina Siniakova
...1-6/6-2/6-3. Sure, Siniakova arrived from Paris and lost in the 1st Round. But what's the status of her relationship with fellow MX Gold medalist Tomas Machac?


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11. Cincinnati 1st Rd. - Jessica Bouzas Maneiro def. Lucia Bronzetti
...6-4/3-6/7-6(1). Bouzas Maneiro wins the 1st Round battle of lucky losers, rallying from 3-1 back in the 3rd and Bronzetti serving for the win at 5-4.
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12. $75K Kursumlijska Banja SRB Final - Lola Radivojevic def. Barbora Palicova 6-4/6-2
$35K Erwitte GER Final - Irene Burillo Escorihuela def. Julie Struplova 6-3/6-2
...another week, another... well, the Crushers can't will 'em all, right?

Both 19-year old Czechs fell short in challenger finals this weekend.
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13. $35K Algershot ENG Final - Mimi Xu def. Haley Giavara
...6-4/6-1. 16-year Brit Xu (girls' #11) wins her maiden pro singles crown (and doubles, too, w/ Naiktha Bains).


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14. $35K Bistrita ROU Final - Patricia Maria Tig def. Oleksandra Oliynykova
...6-1/6-1. Tig wins her circuit best tying fifth challenger crown of the season, and adds the doubles crown (w/ Briana Szabo) for good measure.
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1. Cincinnati QF - Iga Swiatek def. Mirra Andreeva
...4-6/6-3/7-5. In her first meeting with the world #1, Andreeva pushes Swiatek to three (and could have taken her even deeper).

There were just three breaks of serve in the entire match, with each set decided by those occurrences. Swiatek broke Andreeva for 6-5 in the decider, then staved off a BP that would have produced a tie-break for the win. The victory makes Swiatek 10-0 in 1000 QF this season.

Until next time (BTW, the ball *is* really there, they're not just pantomining a rally)...


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2. Cincinnati 2nd Rd. - Leylah Fernandez def. Elena Rybakina
...3-6/7-6(3)/6-4. Shades of Fernandez's 2021 U.S. Open final run?

In Rybakina's return from her latest break due to illness, the Kazakh erased a 5-3 deficit in the 2nd to hold a pair of MP (on return) at 6-5. The Canadian saved both, won a 7-3 TB, then took the3rd set to pick up her first Top 5 victory since notching three en route to the Open final three summers ago, handing Rybakina her second '24 loss (w/ Blinkova at the AO) after holding MP.



Rybakina, clearly still in wobbly form after so many health-related issues, fired a career-best 20 aces in the match, but disabled that potential advantage with a career-worst 17 DF (Fernandez had 13 herself in the win).
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3. Cincinnati QF - Jessie Pegula def. Leylah Fernandez
...7-5/6-7(1)/7-6(3). Pegula's hard court roll continued against Fernandez, but only after having to do a whole lot of extra work.

The Toronto champ led 7-5/4-0, but soon after saw herself saving four *Fernandez* SP before things went to a 2nd set TB. The Canadian won 7-1 to force a 3rd. Again, Pegula took an early lead (3-0), but after being unable to put away any of three MP had to go to a deciding TB to get the win. Finally, on MP #5, she won 7-3 in a little over three hours.
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4. Cincinnati 3rd Rd. - Mirra Andreeva def. Jasmine Paolini
...3-6/6-3/6-3. 17-year old Andreeva didn't get her first #1 win over Swiatek, but her win over #5 Paolini was her fourth Top 10 victory on the season, adding to her long list of age-related accomplishments.

One thinks she's got her eyes on bigger goals than that, though.


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5. Cincinnati 1st Rd. - Mirra Andreeva def. Emma Navarro
...6-2/6-2. Such a shame to lose in the 1st Round to a player not yet old enough to have a driver's license (on a court owned by the Navarro family, no less).

Even with the loss, Navarro didn't tell Mirra that she didn't respect her as a competitor after the match. Although, maybe if Andreeva had served her up a bagel or two Navarro might have felt that the Russian went about things a bit too seriously (aka "cuttthroat").



As it was, Andreeva simply hung "a Chuck Woolery" ("two and two") on Emma instead.


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Welp.

After being pleasantly surprised by Osaka's resolve during the clay season, and at least her attempt to try on the grass, I wouldn't have expected her to bail out in the heat of the only portion of the schedule that really mattered to her season. (Well, in retrospect...).

Oh, of course, she still has the U.S. Open to play, but unless a miracle happens there, showing up in New York with little stamina and no match toughness doesn't bode well for a long stay. After that? Probably no fall tournaments (I mean, right?), and who knows about the start of 2025 at that point.

It's fair to say that the clock is now ticking on this entire experiment.

Hmmm, I wonder if Wim Fissette is having second thoughts right about now?

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Didn't see that one coming in 2024.


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The G.O.A.T. ("Greatest of All Tweets") of Serena's social media career?




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And then there was...







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Hmmm, if everyone gets *the same* amount then it's still a bit of a paycut for some... well, for *one*, at least. They have *got* to get the Paralympic tennis event straight for the *next* time (they won't), since it's incredibly stupid to wipe out arguably *the* premiere para-athlete competition outside of the Paralympics once every four years because they can't get their s**t together and work around the dates.

Start the tennis event early, even a few days before the Opening Ceremonies (they do it w/ soccer and some team events in the Olympics) so that the athletes can still go to New York, where the WC tennis could have started around September 2nd or 3rd this year.

The Paralympics run from August 28 to September 8 (the tennis is played from the 30th through the 7th), and the U.S. Open is August 26th to September 8. This year, they could have started the tennis event in Paris on August 23-24, finished the medal rounds in the first few days of the games (wrapping it up by August 31/September 1) and -- viola! -- the Golden Slam could still be in play (as was the case in '21) if it applied.

Why rob the greatest WC tennis athletes of that opportunity?

Oh, I forgot... they don't really care. Noted.










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*2024 WTA SINGLES TITLES*
5 - Iga Swiatek, POL = Slam(1), 1000(4)
3 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ = 500(3)
3 - Diana Shnaider, RUS = 500,250(2)
2 - Katie Boulter, GBR = 500,250
2 - Danielle Collins, USA = 1000,500
2 - Alona Ostapenko, LAT = 500(2)
2 - Jessie Pegula, USA = 500(2)
2 - ARYNA SABALENKA, BLR = Slam(1), 1000
2 - Zheng Qinwen, CHN = Oly,250
[2020-24]
22 - 1/2/8/6/5 = Iga Swiatek
10 - 3/2/0/3/2 = ARYNA SABALENKA
8 - 1/5/2 = Ash Barty (ret.)
8 - 0/3/2/2/1 = Barbora Krejcikova
7 - 1/0/1/2/3 = Elena Rybakina
6 - 0/1/0/4/1 = Coco Gauff

*MOST 2024 WTA TITLES w/o LOSING A SET*
3 - Iga Swiatek (Doha/Indian Wells/Rome)
2 - ARYNA SABALENKA (Australian Open/Cincinnati)
1 - Madison Keys (Strasbourg)
1 - Karolina Pliskova (Cluj-Napoca)
1 - Elena Rybakina (Brisbane)

*CAREER HARD COURT WTA TITLES - active*
31 - Venus Williams
24 - Caroline Wozniacki
20 - Victoria Azarenka
20 - Petra Kvitova
13 - Simona Halep
13 - ARYNA SABALENKA (2024: 2)
12 - Iga Swiatek (2)
11 - Karolina Pliskova (1)
12 - Eilna Svitolina
9 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
9 - Vera Zvonareva
[2020-24]
11 - Iga Swiatek (0/1/5/3/2)
8 - ARYNA SABALENKA (3/1/0/2/2)
6 - Ash Barty (1/3/2 ret)
5 - Anett Kontaveit (0/4/1/0 ret)
5 - Barbora Krejcikova (0/1/2/2/0)
4 - Coco Gauff (0/0/0/3/1)
4 - Dasha Kasatkina (0/2/2/0/0)
4 - Jessie Pegula (0/0/1/2/1)
4 - Elena Rybakina (1/0/0/1/2)

*2024 WTA CHAMPIONS - Top 10 (# time of title)*
#1 - Iga Swiatek (Doha)
#1 - Iga Swiatek (Indian Wells)
#1 - Iga Swiatek (Madrid)
#1 - Iga Swiatek (Rome)
#1 - Iga Swiatek (Roland Garros)
#2 - Aryna Sabalenka (Australian Open)
#3 - Coco Gauff (Auckland)
#3 - ARYNA SABALENKA (Cincinnati)
#4 - Elena Rybakina (Brisbane)
#4 - Elena Rybakina (Stuttgart)
#5 - Elena Rybakina (Abu Dhabi)
#5 - Jessie Pegula (Berlin)
#6 - Jessie Pegula (Toronto)
#7 - Zheng Qinwen (Palermo)
#7 - Zheng Qinwen (Olympics)

*MOST WTA FINALS in 2024*
5 - Iga Swiatek (5-0)
5 - Elena Rybakina (3-2)
5 - ARYNA SABALENKA (2-3)
4 - Dasha Kasatkina (1-3)
3 - Diana Shnaider (3-0)
3 - Danielle Collins (2-1)
3 - JESSIE PEGULA (2-1)
3 - Jasmine Paolini (1-2)

*CAREER WTA FINALS - active*
83 - Venus Williams
55 - Caroline Wozniacki
42 - Petra Kvitova
42 - Simona Halep
41 - Victoria Azarenka
34 - Karolina Pliskova (2024:2)
30 - Vera Zvonareva
29 - ARYNA SABALENKA (5)
26 - Iga Swiatek (5)

*MOST WTA SF in 2024*
9 - IGA SWIATEK (4-4 +W)
7 - Elena Rybakina (5-2)
6 - ARYNA SABALENKA (4-2)
6 - JESSIE PEGULA (3-2 +L)
6 - Coco Gauff (1-5)
5 - Emma Navarro (1-4)
4 - Dasha Kasatkina (3-0 +W)
4 - Danielle Collins (3-1)
4 - Jasmine Paolini (3-1)
4 - Diane Shnaider (3-1)
4 - Donna Vekic (2-2)
4 - Ekaterina Alexandrova (1-3)

*2023-24 WINS OVER #1*
[2023]
United Cup SF - #3 Jessie Pegula/USA d. Swiatek (W-USA)
Australian Open 4r - #25 Elena Rybakina/KAZ d. Swiatek
Dubai F - #30 Barbora Krejcikova/CZE d. Swiatek (W)
Indian Wells SF - #10 Elena Rybakina/KAZ def. Swiatek (W)
Madrid F - #2 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR def. Swiatek (W)
Rome QF - #6 Elena Rybakina/KAZ def. Swiatek (W)
Wimbledon QF - #76 Elina Svitolina/UKR def. Swiatek
Montreal SF - #3 Jessie Pegula/USA def. Swiatek (W)
Cincinnati SF - #7 Coco Gauff/USA def. Swiatek (W)
US Open 4th Rd. - #21 Alona Ostapenko/LAT def. Swiatek
Beijing QF - #5 Elena Rybakina/KAZ def. Sabalenka
WTA Finals rr - #5 Jessie Pegula/USA def. Sabalenka
WTA Finals SF - #2 Iga Swiatek/POL def. Sabalenka (W)
[2024]
Australian Open 3rd Rd - #50 Linda Noskova/CZE def. Swiatek
Dubai SF - #40 Anna Kalinskaya/RUS def. Swiatek
Miami 4th Rd. - #16 Ekaterina Alexandrova/RUS def. Swiatek
Stuttgart SF - #4 Elena Rybakina/KAZ def. Swiatek (W)
Wimbledon 3rd Rd. - #35 Yulia Putintseva/KAZ def. Swiatek
Olympics SF - #7 Zheng Qinwen/CHN def. Swiatek (W)
Cincinnati SF - #3 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR def. Swiatek (W)
=
(W) - won title

*CAREER WTA #1 WINS active*
15 - Venus Williams, USA
7 - Elina Svitolina, UKR
6 - Petra Kvitova, CZE
5 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ
5 - ARYNA SABALENKA, BLR
4 - Belinda Bencic, SUI
4 - Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
3 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR
3 - Sofia Kenin, USA
3 - Jessie Pegula, USA

*WTA #1 WINS (37) - 2020-24*
5 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ
4 - ARYNA SABALENKA, BLR
3 - Jessie Pegula, USA
2 - Coco Gauff, USA
2 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
1 - Ekaterina Alexandrova, RUS
1 - Paula Badosa, ESP
1 - Jennifer Brady, USA
1 - Danielle Collins, USA
1 - Alize Cornet, FRA
1 - Caroline Garcia, FRA
1 - Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
1 - Anna Kalinskaya, RUS
1 - Sofia Kenin, USA
1 - Madison Keys, USA
1 - Petra Kvitova, CZE
1 - Magda Linette, POL
1 - Karolina Muchova, CZE
1 - Linda Noskova, CZE
1 - Alona Ostapenko, LAT
1 - Yulia Putintseva, KAZ
1 - Shelby Rogers, USA
1 - Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP
1 - Elina Svitolina, UKR
1 - Iga Swiatek, POL
1 - Zheng Qinwen, CHN
[wins-by-nation, 2020-24]
10 - USA
6 - KAZ
5 - CZE
4 - BLR
2 - ESP,FRA,POL,RUS
1 - BRA,CHN,LAT,UKR
--
LOSSES: 23-Swiatek, 11-Barty, 3-Sabalenka

*SWIATEK vs. SABALENKA*
2021 WTAF rr (hc) - Sabalenka 2-6/6-2/7-5
2022 Doha QF (hc) - Swiatek 6-2/6-3
2022 Stuttgart Final (rci) - Swiatek 6-2/6-2
2022 Rome SF (rc) - Swiatek 6-2/6-1
2022 U.S. Open SF (hc) - Swiatek 3-6/6-1/6-4
2022 WTA Finals SF (hci) - Sabalenka 6-2/2-6/6-1
2023 Stuttgart Final (rci) - Swiatek 6-3/6-4
2023 Madrid Final (rc) - Sabalenka 6-3/3-6/6-3
2023 WTA Finals SF (hc) - Swiatek 6-3/6-2
2024 Madrid Final (rc) - Swiatek 7-5/4-6/7-6(7)#
2024 Rome Final (rc) - Swiatek 6-2/6-3
2024 Cincinnati SF (hc) - Sabalenka 6-3/6-3
--
# - Swiatek saved 3 MP

*CAREER WTA SINGLES TITLES - ACTIVE*
49 - Venus Williams (most recent: 2016)
31 - Petra Kvitova (2023)
24 - Simona Halep (2022)
22 - Iga Swiatek (2024)
21 - Victoria Azarenka (2020)
17 - Karolina Pliskova (2024)
17 - Elina Svitolina (2023)
15 - ARYNA SABALENKA (2024)

*2024 BEST RESULTS (w/ PROTECTED RANKING)*
RU - Amanda Anisimova (Toronto)
RU - Ajla Tomljanovic (Birmingham)
SF - PAULA BADOSA (Cincinnati)
QF - Anastasija Sevastova (Cluj)
QF - Naomi Osaka (Doha)
QF - Anastasija Sevastova (Austin)
QF - Aleksandra Krunic (Rosmalen)
QF - Angelique Kerber (Olympics)

*LONG WTA (MD only) WINNING STREAKS - 2024*
21 - Iga Swiatek (Apr-July; ended by Putintseva)
15 - Danielle Collins (March-April; Sabalenka)
12 - ZHENG QINWEN (July-August; Pavlyuchenkova)
10 - Barbora Krejcikova (July; Schmiedlova)
10 - Coco Gauff (January; Sabalenka)
--
UNDEFEATED NOTE: Pliskova (9 WTA MD wins, walkover loss, then 2 wins)

*ALL-TIME WTA MD LOSING STREAKS*
22 - Zhang Shuai (2023-24)*
17 - Arantxa Rus (2012-13)
17 - Sandy Collins (1984-87)
[WTA+ATP]
22 - Zhang Shuai (2023-24)*
21 - Vincent Spadea (1999-00)
--
* - active streak

*2024 WTA DOUBLES FINALS*
7 (2-5) = ERIN ROUTLIFFE
5 (4-1) = Katerina Siniakova
5 (3-2) = Irina Khromacheva
5 (1-4) = Gaby Dabrowski
4 (3-1) = Sara Errani
4 (3-1) = ASIA MUHAMMAD
4 (3-1) = Jasmine Paolini
4 (2-2) = Chan Hao-ching
4 (2-2) = Anna Danilina
4 (2-2) = Lyudmyla Kichenok
4 (2-2) = Bethanie Mattek-Sands
4 (2-2) = Nicole Melichar-Martinez
4 (2-2) = Ellen Perez

*RECENT CANADA/CINCINNATI FINALS*
2015 Simona Halep - Canada L, Cincinnati L
2018 Simona Halep - Canada W, Cincinnati L=had MP vs. Bertens
2024 Jessie Pegula - Canada W, Cincinnati L
--
LAST TO WIN BOTH: Evonne Goolagong (1973)

*CINCINNATI/U.S. OPEN FINALS - OPEN ERA*
1970 Rosie Casals, USA (W-RU)
1973 Evonne Goolagong, AUS (W-RU)
2010.Kim Clijsters, BEL (W-W)
2013 Victoria Azarenka, BLR (W-RU)
2014.Serena Williams, USA (W-W)
2016 Angelique Kerber, GER (RU-W)
2016 Karolina Pliskova, CZE (W-RU)
2020 Victoria Azarenka, BLR (w/o W-L)#
2020 Naomi Osaka, JPN (w/o L-W)#
2023 Coco Gauff, USA (W-W)
--
NOTE: Premier 5/1000 since '09
# - both held in NYC in '20






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No, this is not a "modernized" version of an old painting. These dark glasses were in the original back in 1837.

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