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Monday, September 2, 2024

US.7- Ready Slayer One


Ready or not, here comes Emma Navarro.




The short list for the most improved players on the WTA tour in 2024 is surely topped by the likes of two-time slam finalist Jasmine Paolini, followed closely by three-time title winner Diana Shnaider. But while her biggest results to date and calm on-court demeanor don't exactly scream for attention (her most headline-worthy moment of the season was a seemingly uncharacteristically fractious assessment of an opponent's character, declared to her face immdiately after she'd lost a match to her), Navarro is most definitely in that conversation.

Coming into this U.S. Open, the former NCAA women's champion's season saw her win her maiden tour title (Hobart), reach five other semis (including 1000 Toronto), a slam QF (Wimbledon) and Round of 16 (RG), notch a pair of Top 3 wins, crack the Top 20 and stand on the cusp of the Top 10 (#12). 1-4 in her slam career before this season, Navarro's 3r-4r-QF results in the first three majors of the year have served to set the stage for another, possibly deeper run at the final slam on the schedule.

At the same time, Coco Gauff has felt the hot spotlight of expectation since she made her slam debut at age 15. Five years later, she's already accomplished far more than most in the sport ever do (including winning last year's U.S. Open), but it always seems to feel like it's never "enough" (her two slam SF this season feel undervalued, if not somehow completely overlooked, and while she arrived at Flushing Meadows at #3 in the rankings it was noted that she'd been #2 just a few weeks earlier) or her follow up to success isn't as sweet as was anticipated (she's one of two women to reach the second week at all four slams in '24, all coming after her title run last year in New York, yet the focus is usually on what Gauff *hasn't* done).

The highlight women's Round of 16 match of the day on Sunday featured this pair of Bannerettes, Olympic roommates just weeks ago, in a match-up that assured the U.S. Open of having at least home favorite in the QF. Since 1994, only one year (2021) has seen no U.S. women reach the final eight in New York.

#3-seed Gauff and #13 Navarro's meeting in NYC stood as their second in as many majors this summer, for the two had faced off at Wimbledon two months ago, with Navarro prevailing handily in straight sets in a match in which Gauff has said she "mentally collapsed." Unlike a year ago, when a coaching change preceded a stretch of the best tennis of her career, the corresponding months in 2024 have been no repeat of the Summer of Coco, and inconsistency and far too many errors have left Gauff searching for form and function.

Still, while Gauff's U.S. Open title defense seemed unlikely considering her recent results coming into this slam, she'd shown a few flashes of her year-ago self in the opening rounds during the first week to at least maintain a tepid hope of a repeat run, with a little luck. But once play began today, it wouldn't take long to see that Navarro was ready for this second go-around with Gauff, while Coco simply was not.



Up a break at 4-2 in the opening set, Navarro weathered a two-deuce game to get the hold for 5-2, then took a love/30 lead on Gauff's serve a game later. Gauff saved a BP with a big serve and got the hold, but Navarro remained her steady and efficient self when she stepped up to the line. As she had to open the match, Navarro held at love, taking the set 6-3 while facing just a single BP throughout (her W/UE numbers were an even-keeled and unflashy 8/8).

Meanwhile, Gauff's five winners were overwhelmed by 21 UE (5 from double-faults), and a 50% first serve percentage.

Navarro remained steady in the 2nd, showing great anticipation of Gauff's shots, indicating how well-coached (Peter Ayers has worked with her since she was a junior) she is, and willing to take instruction. It stood in stark contrast to a Gauff who was in no way the player who left Flushing Meadows with the big trophy (and check) last year (I mean, unless coach Brad Gilbert and team's plan is for her to make the same errors over and over and over again without seemingly trying to course-correct mid-match).

As the set wore on, a Navarro straight sets win seemed fated. She broke Gauff for a 4-3 lead, and quickly took a 30/love lead on serve a game later. But it was then that the competitiveness that has led Gauff to be the #2 (#3 coming into this slam) ranked player in the world belatedly reared its head. She finally began to keep her shots between the lines, and Navarro slightly pulled back. Gauff saw three BP chances in the game, and on the third Navarro skipped a second serve off the net cord and out to hand back her break advantage.

Gauff carried her new momentum through the end of the set, holding for a 5-4 lead, then going up 15/30 on Navarro's serve as she was suddenly tasked with holding to stay in the set. In the closing moments, it was Navarro with the ill-timed errors that gave Gauff's chances new life. Gauff took the set 6-4 and they headed to a 3rd.



But rather than Gauff carrying over her momentum into the decider, what occurred was a repeat of the 2nd set, only with a different ending.

Navarro took a break lead at 2-1, as Gauff DF'd on the third BP she faced in the game. Coco held from 15/30 in game 5, but two games later (down 4-2) with a 30/love lead, Gauff continued to be her own worst enemy. Her third DF of the game put the score at deuce, though she again got the hold to stay on Navarro's heels at 4-3 even while Coco and her game remained far from crisp.

Down love/15, Navarro avoided a precarious hole that might have opened the door to another late-set slip. Navarro's great get of a Gauff volley kept a rally alive with a well-placed lunging backhand lob. Coco eventually ended the point with an error, and Navarro soon held at 30 for a 5-3 lead.



With Navarro having avoided slipping back in the closing moments as she had in the 2nd set, *this* time the writing *really* seemed to be on the wall. Meanwhile, listening to the ESPN Chrises -- Fowler and Evert -- talk about how Gauff could *still* make another comeback did no one any good. No, the real bellweather was when, as Coco was about to serve to stay in the tournament, a gang of children clutching those huge fuzzy tennis balls crowded around the front row of the stands, jostling for position from which to ask for autographs after the match, which would surely end soon. Yeah... the kiddos knew.



Is Gauff wasn't already psyched out by the moment, that might have done it. It surely seemed so in her service game, in which she had three DF (giving her 11 for the set), the last one handing Navarro a MP. Gauff's forehand (naturally) error off a Navarro return ended the experiment of Coco's title defense attempt in New York. Navarro's 6-3/4-6/6-3 victory sends her to her first U.S. Open QF (she's the first NCAA women's singles champion to get there), and at her second straight major this season.



Gauff ended the day with 60 unforced errors, 29 from her forehand side, and 19 (!) double-faults.

In most cases on tour, being in a similar situation as that of Gauff would mean that a coach might be soon getting an unwanted text, phone call or dreaded meeting "to talk."

Now a full year removed from last year's immediate "new car smell" spark when she changed her coaching team and ran off a string of results to the U.S. Open title, Gauff is displaying none of the verve that accompanied last summer's great times. There is an obvious backsliding into bad habits, an inability to make in-match changes to fix wayward strokes and/or amend tactical gameplans, as well as a general awkwardness during in-match interactions with the team (Gilbert often looked like he was hiding under his hat, trying not to look at what was happening on the court).

Clearly, whatever worked before is not working now, and whatever gains are thought to be being made in practice aren't penetrating Gauff's gameday consciousness and showing up during matches. And, really, the partnership doesn't have the sort of roots to make it worth sticking it out for much longer, if at all beyond this slam.

(Gilbert being on air with ESPN soon after the match, rather than breaking down the loss with Gauff both before and after her press conference obligations wasn't a good look, either.)

For Navarro, the win moves her into the Top 10 in the "live" rankings. She's not yet assured of sticking there after the tournament, but she *is* going to move past fellow Virginia Cavalier and NCAA champion Danielle Collins into the #3 U.S. ranking position behind Gauff and Jessie Pegula.

And, in case you were wondering, no, Navarro has not yet passed Maria Sakkari in the rankings since, you know, it takes a virtual seismic event to occur in real time for *that* to happen.

Navarro likely respects the Greek as a competitor, but what she should really respect is Sakkari's ability to horde a cache of compromising emails and photos to hold over the heads of members of the Rankings Division of the Tennis Gods' organizing committee. Those things must be *really* juicy.





=DAY 7 NOTES=
...in Sunday's early 4th Round match, #26 Paula Badosa both knew and completed her mission: to take control of her contest with first-time slam second-weeker Wang Yafan, and then not release her grip. The Spaniard took a 5-0 lead in the 1st, won it 6-1 (saving five BP), then was well on her way to a dominant win with a double-break lead in the 2nd.

Badosa staved off a pair of BP in game 8, serving for the match up 5-2, and managed to avoid things getting sticky on a day in which she directed the action throughout, littering the scoreboard with 26 winners (while also 27 UE, including 7 DF) while converting on four of five BP chances on Wang's serve on the day.



Badosa reaches her second career slam QF, her first since the 2021 Roland Garros.

Despite an affinity for good results on U.S. soil -- including an Indian Wells title (and another SF in the desert), her most recent title (in Washington), and three of the five biggest wins of her career (all in '21, in three different tournaments) -- Badosa has only been 2-4 at Flushing Meadows before putting togther her four-win string over the past week.

Her (so far) QF result in New York continues Badosa's intriguing ascending level of play in recent months during which she's knocked down a series of "best since...," "best ever..." and "biggest ever..." accomplishments just a short time (she was 6-9 on the season as recently as early May) after finally putting her doubts and frustrations behind her after struggling to recover from a back injury incurred last year.

...in a match that the day's play carried into a nighttime start, #2 Aryna Sabalenka (in her third match of four under the lights) continued her buzzsaw path through the draw (save for that 1st set vs. Alexandrova in the 3rd Round after a latest-ever-at-the-U.S. Open 12:10 a.m. start), knocking off former doubles partner (they won a pair of majors in 2019 and '21, the former coming at Flushing Meadows) #33 Elise Mertens, 6-2/6-4.

It's Sabalenka's fourth consecutive QF in New York (she was in the final last year), and she's reached the final eight at the last eight majors she's played (she missed this year's Wimbledon).



...in the final match up on Ashe, #7 Zheng Qinwen and #24 Donna Vekic met in a replay of last month's Olympic final on the terre battue at Roland Garros. The end result was the same, but the contest was a far better one than what happened in Paris.

Zheng took the 1st in a 7-2 TB after neither women dropped serve in the set (there were only two BP, both on Vekic's serve). In the 2nd, the two women exchanged early breaks, then Vekic nipped Zheng in the final game, getting the break to claim a 6-4 set on her third BP of game 10.

Zheng got the early break in the 3rd, then held the edge until the end, never facing a BP in the final set of a 7-6(2)/4-6/6-2 victory that sends her back to the Open QF, making her the first Chinese player to do so in back-to-back years in New York. Since her 1st Round exit at Wimbledon, Zheng has gone 16-1 this summer.

The nearly three-hour match ended at 2:16 a.m., making it the latest-ending women's scheduled night match in U.S. Open history.



While the QF will see Zheng and Aryna Sabalenka square off seven months after they played in the AO final, we also now stand one round away from another replay of an Olympic face-off. I guess if it happens we'll have to call it "Cutthroat Island: Escape from New York."

Of course, "Sabadosa" will have a little to say about that.

...junior action began on Day 7, with a girls' singles draw that contained *both* Penickova sisters of the U.S., the lovely-named Bannerette qualifier Capucine Jauffret, Kazakh Asylzhan Arystanbekova (oh my...), Dutch teen Joy de Zeeuw (but does she play with joie de vivre?), both Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (KAZ) and Sonja Zhenikhova (GER) -- not vs. one another, but think of the possibilities! -- and, of course, her-name-is-a-headline Kaitlyn Rolls (as opposed to top-seeded Aussie Emerson Jones, whose name is simply an overwhelming urge).

On Saturday, 18-year old Italian Noemi Basiletti won her first J300 crown in Repentigny, Quebec. Unseeded, she completed a rare sweep of the top three seeds in the event, upsetting #2 Wakana Sonobe (2nd Rd.), #3 Mimi Xu (SF) and #1 Hannah Klugman en route to the crown.

Basiletti won't play her 1st Round match until Monday.

Of the aforementioned who played today, both #9 Kristina and unseeded Annika Penickova won, as did #13-seeded Bannerette Rolls, #1 Jones, #14 Zhiyenbayeva and De Zeeuw. Meanwhile, Arystanbekova lost (to a Crusher), while Jauffret's run was disappointingly brief.

Also advancing was #3 Iva Jovic, the 16-year old Bannerette who rode a women's MD WC into the 3rd Round in her slam debut last week.

#2 Tyra Caterina Grant of the U.S. dispatched Maya Crossley by a double-bagel score. Grant is alive in the MX QF with Aleksandar Kovacevic, which I assume is why she isn't in the girls' doubles draw. Of course, neither is Jovic, who has been Grant's doubles partner in the other majors (so maybe *her* singles run played a role in their absence).

Over the past two seasons, 16-year old Grant has won three girls' doubles slams (two w/ Jovic, one w/ Clervie Ngounoue), and if she'd been in the U.S. Open GD draw she'd been a title there away from becoming the first junior to complete a Girls' Career Doubles Slam. Maybe next year?






*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Iga Swiatek/POL vs. #16 Liudmila Samsonova/RUS
#18 Diana Shnaider/RUS vs. #6 Jessie Pegula/USA
Caroline Wozniacki/DEN vs. #22 Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA
Karolina Muchova/CZE vs. #5 Jasmine Paolini/ITA
#26 Paula Badosa/ESP def. Wang Yafan/CHN
#13 Emma Navarro/USA def. #3 Coco Gauff/USA
#7 Zheng Qinwen/CHN def. #24 Donna Vekic/CRO
#2 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR def. #33 Elise Mertens/BEL

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Dabrowski/Routliffe (CAN/NZL) def. Cristian/Moratelli (ROU/ITA)
#10 Chan H-c./V.Kudermetova (TPE/RUS) vs. Dart/Parry (GBR/FRA)
Danilina/Khromacheva (KAZ/RUS) vs. Mihalikova/Nicholls (SVK/GBR)
#7 L.Kichenok/Ostapenko (UKR/LAT) def. #12 Haddad Maia/Siegemund (BRA/GER)
#8 Schuurs/Stefani (NED/BRA) vs. #9 Kenin/Mattek-Sands (USA/USA)
#3 Siniakova/Townsend (CZE/USA) def. Muhammad/Watson (USA/GBR)
#5 Melichar-Martinez/Perez (USA/AUS) vs. #11 Bouzkova/Sorribes Tormo (CZE/ESP)
Mladenovic/Zhang S. (FRA/CHN) def. M.Andreeva/Pavlyuchenkova (RUS/RUS)

*MIXED DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
Danilina/Heliovaara (KAZ/FIN) def. 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)
#3 Errani/Vavassori (ITA/ITA) def. (WC) Mateas/McDonald (USA/USA)
Perez/Gille (AUS/BEL) def. (WC) Krueger/Kwiatkowski (USA/USA)
(WC) Grant/Kovacevic (USA/USA) vs. (WC) Parks/Withrow (USA/USA)


*PARALYMPICS WHEELCHAIR WOMEN'S ROUND OF 16*
#1 Diede de Groot/NED vs. Maayan Zikri/ISR
Momoko Ohtani/JPN vs. Guo Luoyao/CHN
#4 Wang Ziying/CHN vs. Maylee Phelps/USA
Saki Takamuro/JPN vs. #5 Angelica Bernal/COL
Li Xiaohui/CHN vs. Lucy Shuker/GBR
Manami Tanaka/JPN vs. #3 Aniek Van Koot/NED
#6 Zhu Zhenzhen/CHN vs. Macarena Cabrillana/CHI
Ksenia Chasteau/FRA vs. #2 Yui Kamiji/JPN

*PARALYMPICS WHEELCHAIR WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF*
#1 de Groot/Van Koot (NED) vs. Ohtani/Takamuro (JPN)
#3 Li Xiaohui/Zhu Zhenzhen (CHN) vs. Montjane/Venter (RSA)
Bernal/Rodriguez Trujillo (COL) vs. Guo Luoyao/Wang Ziying (CHN)
Bos/de Greef (NED) vs. #2 Kamiji/Tanaka (JPN)







...PUTINTSEVA WAS RIGHLY DRAGGED FOR HER BEHAVIOR, and even she realized she was being something of a putz (it's more than you get from most players a day later)... ON DAY 7:





...THE SIMILARITY OF THE BODY POSITIONING IS ALMOST EERIE... ON DAY 7:





...HMMM, SO BADOSA-NAVARRO WILL BE AN "ALL-NEW YORKER" FACE-OFF, I GUESS... ON DAY 7:





...LATE NIGHT AT THE OPEN... ON DAY 7:





...SO I GUESS SOME PEOPLE WERE BENT OUT OF SHAPE ABOUT THIS YESTERDAY... ON DAY 7:

But it's the correct shot, and the fake apologies are always irritating.























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**Latest Scheduled Night Session Match Conclusion (Women's)**
2:16 a.m. - 2024 4th - Zheng Qinwen d. Donna Vekic
2:13 a.m. - 2021 4th - Maria Sakkari d. Bianca Andreescu
1:48 a.m. - 2016 1st - Madison Keys d. Alison Riske
1:48 a.m. - 2024 3rd - Aryna Sabalenka d. Ekaterina Alexandrova
1:45 a.m. - 2017 3rd - Madison Keys d. Elena Vesnina
1:35 a.m. - 2010 4th - Samantha Stosur d. Elena Dementieva

**RECENT U.S. OPEN "ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK" WINNERS**
2015 Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
2016 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2017 Madison Keys, USA and Sloane Stephens, USA
2018 Katerina Siniakova, CZE
2019 Donna Vekic, CRO
2020 Varvara Gracheva, RUS
2021 Elise Mertens, BEL and Rebeka Masarova, ESP
2022 Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
2023 Elise Mertens, BEL
2024 Paula Badosa, ESP

**BACKSPIN 2024 WTA WHEELCHAIR PLAYER-OF-THE-MONTH WINNERS**
JAN (pre-AO): Diede de Groot, NED
AO: Diede de Groot, NED
FEB: Diede de Groot, NED
MAR: Yui Kamiji, JPN
1Q...DE GROOT
APR: Yui Kamiji, JPN
MAY: CHN World Team Cup
RG: Diede de Groot, NED
2Q Clay Court...DE GROOT
JUN: Diede de Groot, NED
JUL (pre-WI): Yui Kamiji, JPN
WI: Diede de Groot, NED
2Q Grass Court...DE GROOT
JUL/AUG: Angelica Bernal, COL
[2024 Weekly WHEELCHAIR Award Wins]
8 - Diede de Groot, NED
7 - Yui Kamiji, JPN
3 - Angelica Bernal, COL
1 - CHN World Team Cup
1 - Lizzy de Greef, NED
1 - Jiske Griffioen, NED
1 - Aniek Van Koot, NED

**BACKSPIN 2024 WTA DOUBLES PLAYER-OF-THE-MONTH WINNERS**
JAN (pre-AO): Lyudmyla Kichenok/Alona Ostapenko, UKR/LAT
AO: Hsieh Su-wei/Elise Mertens, TPE/BEL
JAN: Hsieh Su-wei/Elise Mertens, TPE/BEL
FEB: Storm Hunter/Katerina Siniakova, AUS/CZE
MAR: Hsieh Su-wei/Elise Mertens, TPE/BEL
1Q...HSIEH/MERTENS
APR: Chan Hao-ching/Veronika Kudermetova, TPE/RUS
MAY: Sara Errani/Jasmine Paolini, ITA/ITA
RG: Coco Gauff/Katerina Siniakova, USA/CZE
2Q Clay Court...GAUFF/SINIAKOVA
JUN: Hsieh Su-wei/Elise Mertens, TPE/BEL
WI: Katerina Siniakova/Taylor Townsend, CZE/USA
2Q Grass Court...SINIAKOVA/TOWNSEND
JUL: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
OLY: Sara Errani/Jasmine Paolini, ITA/ITA
AUG (pre-U.S.): Caroline Dolehide/Desirae Krawczyk, USA/USA
[2024 Weekly DOUBLES Award Wins]
4 - Errani/Paolini, ITA/ITA
4 - Hsieh/Mertens, TPE/BEL
3 - Dabrowski/Erin Routlifef, CAN/NZL
3 - Dolehide/Krawczyk, USA/USA
3 - Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
3 - L.Kichenok/Ostapenko, UKR/LAT
3 - Melichar-Martinez/Perez, USA/AUS
2 - Danilina/Khromacheva, KAZ/RUS
2 - Ulrikke Eikeri, NOR
2 - Hunter/Siniakova, AUS/CZE
2 - Kenin/Mattek-Sands, USA/USA
2 - Desirae Krawczyk, USA






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Same kid, 22 years later...




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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: Paula Badosa/ESP (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 (Queen in Queens), Bandanna (Shnaider), Haddad Maia (Brazilian)
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: x
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: in 4r: Gauff(L), Navarro(W), Pegula
COMEBACK: Nominees: Badosa, Muchova
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Nominee: Wozniacki, Pegula
DOUBLES STAR: x
BIG APPLE BANNERETTE BREAKTHROUGH: Ashlyn Krueger
BROADWAY-BOUND: "Final Curtains" (Collins & Rogers); "The Lights (Far) Off Broadway" (Paris Paralympic tennis); "España in the City" (Badosa); "Same Time Next Slam" (Paolini/Andreescu); "My Favorite Year" (Paolini)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Nominee: Zheng Q./Vekic, Sabalenka
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Nominee: Jovic (WS)







All for Day 7. More tomorrow.
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