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Saturday, September 7, 2024

US.12- The Day Before the Day










=DAY 12 NOTES=
...while preparations were being made in New York on Friday, the Paralymics were wrapping up the women's wheelchair tennis competition in Paris. And, in a truly epic development, Yui Kamiji completed the second half of the greatest tournament result of her career.



A day after joining with Manami Tanaka to win the doubles Gold and become the first non-Dutch winner of any of the women's Paralympic singles/doubles tennis competitions (16 in total) over the years, Kamiji doubled up today and pulled off the sweep, upsetting world #1 Diede de Groot by a 4-6/6-3/6-4 score. The win completes the fifth sweep of the women's Golds (de Groot did it in Tokyo in '21), as well as ending de Groot's stunning run of nineteen straight major singles titles in Paralympic, slam and year-end Masters events.

While a Kamiji win over de Groot is a major development in any season, *this* season it's a little bit less so. This is Kamiji's second win over the dominant Dutch legend in six match-ups in 2024 (she also led 5-1 in the 3rd and held a MP in one of the defeats), a huge step up from the 28-match losing streak Kamiji had vs. de Groot from 2021 until earlier this year. Even before this year, Kamiji had begun to chip away at de Groot's dominance, pushing her to three sets in four of nine matches in '23 (including in three straight meetings when Kamiji claimed the 1st set).



This is de Groot's third loss this season after putting together a three-year, 145-match winning streak that started in early 2021. After seeing the doubles final end with a badly sprayed volley on MP by de Groot vs. Kamiji/Tanaka, the singles final ended with a de Groot double-fault. De Groot's serving issues, even during her winning streak, have traditionally been the aspect of her game that has continually placed victories in jeopardy.

Kamiji's Gold sweep in Paris adds a significant chapter to her career bio, and provides an interesting bookend to her rivalry with de Groot. Kamiji had been the #1 WC player in the world before de Groot's game matured, and even defeated the then 19-year old Dutch player (32 months Kamiji's junior) in the Paralympic Bronze match in 2016. Kamiji held an early 11-2 edge in their head-to-head. De Groot won her first slam title at Wimbledon at age 20 in 2017, and has rarely looked back. She now leads the series 46-17, and is 16-2 vs. Kamiji in slam finals (Kamiji improves to 2-1 in Paralympic meetings).

Kamiji had won four singles majors when de Groot won her first. Now de Groot has 23, while Kamiji has added just four more over that stretch of Diede dominance, and hasn't won any since 2020. She's had to be content (frustratingly so) finishing #2 most of the time (de Groot is 16-2 in their slam final match-ups), while racking up a great deal of slam wins in doubles.

Still, while morphing into the "Evert" to de Groot's "Navratilova," or the "Sharapova" to her "Serena," after a good start in the series, Kamiji has been the winningest and most consistent player other than de Groot for years. She had 74 and 46-match winning streaks vs. non-Diede opponents in recent seasons, and is 137-4 against such foes since 2022.

Her performance in both disciplines in Paris, though, sets the 30-year old Kamiji apart from every other player in women's wheelchair history other than de Groot, who is the only player to have won all eight slam crowns, and the s/d in both the Paralympics and WC Masters events (there was no Wimbledon singles event during the career of Esther Vergeer, so the Hall of Famer was never able to win that one). The only title now missing from Kamiji's collection is also the Wimbledon singles, where she's reached the final just once (2022).

Kamiji's countryman Shingo Kunieda is the only men's WC player to have won all eight majors, both Paralympic Golds and the s/d Masters events.

Behind only Vergeer and de Groot (both with 42) in career women's slam s/d crowns (w/ 29, 21 coming in doubles), Kamiji's own Hall of Fame credentials were bolstered greatly by the past week. If she ever wins at SW19, she's certain to *eventually* wind up in Newport (though that group has treated wheelchair player candidacies horribly over the years).

Meanwhile Aniek Van Koot defeated Wang Ziying 7-6/6-1 in the Bronze match to complete the medal stand lineup.



...back in New York, the women's doubles champions were crowned when Lyudmyla Kichenok & Alona Ostapenko defeated Kristina Mladenovic & Zhang Shuai 6-4/6-3, picking up the first slam WD title of either of their careers. They'd reached the AO final earlier this season.



Kichenok had previously won a MX major at Wimbledon last year, while Ostapenko, of course, won the Roland Garros singles in 2017. The Latvian also has reached a MX final, at Wimbleon in 2019, so she's legitimately in the running now to become one of the rare players to win slam titles in all three disciplines.

Since the Williams sisters both picked up their multiple MX crowns in the late 1990s, only three woman have completed their collections of major titles with at least one slam win in singles, doubles and mixed: Martina Hingis (who won singles/doubles majors in her first career in the 1990s, then added more doubles/mixed titles during two comebacks), Samantha Stosur and Barbora Krejcikova.

...the girls' final will see #7 Wakana Sonobe of Japan face off with unseeded Brit Mika Stojsavljevic. Sonobe defeated #8-seeded Brit Mimi Xu, while Stojsavljevic upset #3 Iva Jovic in three sets in the semis.



No Japanese girl has won a slam junior singles title, while Heather Watson in 2009 was the last Brit to do it in New York.

In the doubles final, Moroccan Malak El Allami joins with Norway's Emily Sartz-Lunde to face the Czech/German duo of Julie Pastikova & Julia Stusek (I'd accidentally listed Stusek as Czech yesterday... but the "another week, another Crusher champion" mantra will still be appropriate if the pair wins).

...maybe Sonobe can take inspiration from the junior wheelchair event, *thankfully* held at this Open while the big names were in Paris.

#2 Yuma Takamuro of Japan defeated top-seeded Brazilian Vitoria Miranda in a 2-6/6-4/6-4 final to take the girls' title in the third year of the competition at Flushing Meadows.



Takamuro joined with fellow Japanese teen Rio Okano to win the doubles, defeating Miranda and Waffle Luna Gryp.

...in the 125 event in Guadalajara, Tatjana Maria (who defeated Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the SF) will face Kamilla Rakhimova (def. Emiliana Arango).

The Montreux 125 is a day behind, but the Saturday semifinals will feature #292-ranked, 18-year old wild card Petra Marcinko, the '22 AO girls' champ.





*WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#6 Jessie Pegula/USA vs. #2 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#7 L.Kichenok/Ostapenko (UKR/LAT) def. Mladenovic/Zhang S. (FRA/CHN) 6-4/6-3

*MIXED DOUBLES FINAL*
#3 Errani/Vavassori (ITA/ITA) def. (WC) Townsend/Young (USA/USA) 7-6(0)/7-5

*GIRLS SINGLES FINAL*
Mika Stojsavljevic/GBR vs. #7 Wakana Sonobe/JPN

*GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL*
El Allami/Sartz-Lunde (MAR/NOR) vs. Pastikova/Stusek (CZE/GER)

*WHEELCHAIR JUNIOR SINGLES FINAL*
#2 Yuma Takamuro/JPN def. #1 Vitoria Miranda/BRA 2-6/6-4/6-4

*WHEELCHAIR JUNIOR DOUBLES FINAL*
#2 Okano/Takamuro (JPN/JPN) def. #1 Gryp/Miranda (BEL/BRA) 6-3/6-2

*PARALYMPICS WHEELCHAIR WOMEN'S FINAL*
#2 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. #1 Diede de Groot/NED 4-6/6-3/6-4

*PARALYMPICS WHEELCHAIR WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#2 Kamiji/Tanaka (JPN) def. #1 de Groot/Van Koot (NED) 4-6/7-6(3) [10-8]







...TENNIS PRO PRIORITIES INTACT... ON DAY 12:





...ATHLETE GONNA ATHLETE (they should have posted this *last* night)... ON DAY 12:





...AND WITH TWO GOLDS, YUI KAMIJI MAY HAVE JUST LOCKED UP A TENNIS HALL OF FAME BERTH (of course, who knows how long that will take)... ON DAY 12:












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**PARALYMPICS WOMEN'S GOLD SWEEPS**
2004 Esther Vergeer, NED
2012 Esther Vergeer, NED
2016 Jiske Griffioen, NED
2021 Diede de Groot, NED
2024 Yui Kamiji, JPN

**PARALYMPICS WC SINGLES MEDAL WINNERS**
[GOLD]
1988 (demonstration) Chantal Vandierendonck, NED
1992 Monique van den Bosch, NED
1996 Maaike Smit, NED
2000 Esther Vergeer, NED
2004 Esther Vergeer, NED
2008 Esther Vergeer, NED
2012 Esther Vergeer, NED
2016 Jiske Griffioen, NED
2021 Diede de Groot, NED
2024 Yui Kamiji, JPN
[SILVER]
1988 (demonstration) Monique van den Bosch, NED
1992 Chantal Vandierendonck, NED
1996 Monique Kalkman-van den Bosch, NED
2000 Sharon Walraven, NED
2004 Sonja Peters, NED
2008 Korie Homan, NED
2012 Aniek Van Koot, NED
2016 Aniek Van Koot, NED
2021 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2024 Diede de Groot, NED
[BRONZE]
1988 (demonstration) Terry Lewis, USA/Ellen de Lange, NED
1992 Regina Isecke, GER
1996 Chantal Vandierendonck, NED
2000 Maaike Smit, NED
2004 Daniela Di Toro, AUS
2008 Florence Gravellier, FRA
2012 Jiske Griffioen, NED
2016 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2021 Jordanne Whiley, GBR
2024 Aniek Van Koot, NED

**PARALYMPICS WC DOUBLES MEDAL WINNERS**
[GOLD]
1992 Monique van den Bosch/Chantal Vandierendonck, NED
1996 Monique Kalkman-van den Bosch/Chantal Vandierendonck, NED
2000 Maaike Smit/Esther Vergeer, NED
2004 Maaike Smith/Esther Vergeer, NED
2008 Korie Homan/Sharon Walraven, NED
2012 Marjolein Buis/Esther Vergeer, NED
2016 Jiske Griffioen/Aniek Van Koot, NED
2021 Diede de Groot/Aniek Van Koot, NED
2024 Yui Kamiji/Manami Tanaka, JPN
[SILVER]
1992 Nancy Olson/Lynn Seidemann, USA
1996 Hope Lewellen/Nancy Olson, USA
2000 Branka Pupovac/Daniela Di Toro, AUS
2004 Sakhorn Khanthasit/Ratana Techamaneewat, THA
2008 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer, NED
2012 Jiske Griffioen/Aniek Van Koot, NED
2016 Marjolein Buis/Diede de Groot, NED
2021 Lucy Shuker/Jordanne Whiley, GBR
2024 Diede de Groot/Aniek Van Koot, NED
[BRONZE]
1992 Oristelle Marx/Arlette Racineaux, FRA
1996 Oristelle Marx/Arlette Racineaux, FRA
2000 Christine Otterbach/Petra Sax-Scharl, GER
2004 Sandra Kalt/Karin Suter Erath, SUI
2008 Florence Gravellier/Arlette Racineaux, FRA
2012 Lucy Shuker/Jordanne Whiley, GBR
2016 Lucy Shuker/Jordanne Whiley, GBR
2021 Yui Kamiji/Momoko Ohtani, JPN
2024 Guo Luoyao/Wang Ziying, CHN

**ALL-TIME PARALYMPC WC TENNIS MEDALS**
8 - Esther Vergeer, NED [7-1-0]
7 - ANIEK VAN KOOT, NED* [2-4-1]
6 - Shingo Kunieda, JPN [4-0-2]
6 - David Hall, AUS [1-3-2]
5 - DIEDE DE GROOT, NED [2-3-0]
5 - Jiske Griffioen, NED* [2-2-1]
5 - ALFIE HEWETT, GBR* [1-3-0] + to play MS Gold final
5 - Stephane Houdet, FRA [3-1-1]
5 - YUI KAMIJI, JPN [2-1-2]
5 - GORDON REID, GBR* [2-2-1]

**RECENT U.S. OPEN WOMEN'S DOUBLES CHAMPIONS**
2005 Lisa Raymond & Samantha Stosur, USA/AUS
2006 Nathalie Dechy & Vera Zvonareva, FRA/RUS
2007 Nathalie Dechy & Dinara Safina, FRA/RUS
2008 Cara Black & Liezel Huber, RSA/USA
2009 Serena & Venus Williams, USA/USA
2010 Vania King & Yaroslava Shvedova, USA/KAZ
2011 Liezel Huber & Lisa Raymond, USA/USA
2012 Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci, ITA/ITA
2013 Andrea Hlavackova & Lucie Hradecka, CZE/CZE
2014 Ekaterina Makarova & Elena Vesnina, RUS/RUS
2015 Martina Hingis & Sania Mirza, SUI/IND
2016 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2017 Chan Yung-Jan & Martina Hingis, TPE/SUI
2018 Ash Barty & CoCo Vandeweghe, AUS/USA
2019 Elise Mertens & Aryna Sabalenka, BEL/BLR
2020 Laura Siegemund & Vera Zvonareva, GER/RUS
2021 Samantha Stosur & Zhang Shuai, AUS/CHN
2022 Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2023 Gaby Dabrowski & Erin Routliffe, CAN/NZL
2024 Lyudmyla Kichenok & Alona Ostapenko, UKR/LAT

**RECENT U.S. OPEN "DOUBLES STAR" WINNERS**
2014 Yui Kamiji & Jordanne Whiley, JPN/GBR (WC)
2015 Martina Hingis, SUI
2016 Laura Siegemund, GER
2017 Martina Hingis, SUI
2018 Ash Barty & CoCo Vandeweghe, AUS/USA
2019 Diede de Groot & Aniek Van Koot, NED/NED (WC)
2020 Yui Kamiji & Jordanne Whiley, JPN/GBR (WC)
2021 Desirae Krawczyk, USA
2022 Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2023 Erin Routliffe, NZL
2024 Lyudmyla Kichenok & Alona Ostapenko, UKR/LAT

**U.S. OPEN GIRLS' WHEELCHAIR WINNERS**
[junior singles]
2022 Jade Moreira Lanai, BRA
2023 Ksenia Chasteau, FRA
2024 Yuma Takamuro, JPN
[junior singles]
2022 Jade Moreira Lanai & Maylee Phelps, BRA/USA
2023 Ksenia Chasteau & Maylee Phelps, FRA/USA
2024 Rio Okano & Yuna Takamuro, JPN/JPN





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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): #2 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR
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): 3rd Rd. - #26 Paula Badosa/ESP def. (Q) Gabriela Ruse/ROU 4-6/6-1/7-6(10-8) - saved MP at 4-5 3rd, led by break twice in 3rd (3-2,6-5); wins 10-8 TB on MP #2 for first U.S. second week)
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: Paula Badosa/ESP (3r- MP down 5-4 3rd vs. Ruse; 10-8 MTB win for first U.S. Open second week)
IT ("Bannerette Teen"): Iva Jovic/USA
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: Jessie Pegula/USA and Emma Navarro/USA
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Jessika Ponchet/FRA and Gabriela Ruse/ROU (both 3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Iva Jovic/USA and Naomi Osaka/JPN (both 2nd Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: Jessie Pegula (in final)
COMEBACK: Karolina Muchova/CZE
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Sara Errani/ITA
DOUBLES STAR: Lyudmyla Kichenok/Alona Ostapenko, UKR/LAT
BIG APPLE BANNERETTE BREAKTHROUGH: Ashlyn Krueger
BROADWAY-BOUND: "In the Heat of the Night" (Zheng/Vekic 2:16 a.m. finish, latest for U.S. women's match)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Aryna Sabalenka/BLR
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Mimi Xu/GBR and Mika Stojsavljevic/GBR







All for Day 12. More tomorrow.
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