Yeah, that match was played on the Friday, and she was in WTA qualifying for a clay 250 on the Sunday, so it possibly was on her mind. Mind, her results around that period weren't great, so it probably wouldn't have made much difference, certainly to the actual outcome, if she was fully focussed. I remember having a double ITF stream that day as Jodie was playing Shinikova at the exact same time, with the winners meeting in the SF as GAMEOVER says.

It's amazing to think of the difference to where Badosa is now to where she was then (although the same applies to Emma). Back then it was a number of retirements, constant ITF events - even her last two before the March 2020 shutdown were Aussie ITFs. She's improved so much this year, movement, fitness, mentality, backhand and I can't believe she's actually made the top 10, especially as she was still in the 70's at the start of April. She's about 16 months older than Katie S, but she won the RG girls title the same year Katie made the AO final, and like Katie, has struggled with injuries and personal issues after reaching a fairly decent ranking at a young age, so it does give me some hope that, while maybe not to the same extent as Paula, it could finally click for Katie if she can put together a good number of tournaments, and can still have a decent WTA career.

Tough match today against Sakkari, and thankfully it's at 8pm UK rather than 1.30am (well for me anyway, Badosa would have probably preferred the evening session again) - the winner of that one will be in a great position to advance to the SFs.

Ace Ventura wrote:

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Sakkari beat Swiatek 6-2 6-4 earlier. Iga very emotional on match point and got a time violation for holding up play. Felt sorry for her.

And an amazing turnaround in the other match between Badosa and Sabalenka. Sabalenka was playing so well early on, dictating and dominating, and Badosa was doing well to hang on, but at 4-2 *40-15 it all changed. Paula did play well, but Sabalenka basically turned into an error machine and ended up losing the next 10 games, so Badosa won 6-4 6-0. There was some slight resistance at 1-0 in the second set, but Aryna couldn't convert her only BP of the set, and it was one way traffic after that. It finished just before 3am, a lot earlier than I was expecting.

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 I know this sounds harsh but I really didn't feel sorry for her at all. Lost the first set in 34 minutes and then had to have a bathroom break. She's not the only one but seriously? A bathroom break after just half an hour. I know sometimes there are other reasons but this is really getting out of hand on the women's tour. Then to turn your back on your opponent when they are serving for the match and delay them serving, however upset you may be, just isn't acceptable. She totally lost her composure just as Sabalenka did in her match and Pliskova did against Kontaveit in the second set.

I think the location is great as the altitude is giving the women another dimension to consider and the only surprising thing is for the top 8 women in the game to be basically so awful at adapting to the conditions. Badosa against Sakkari may be an interesting match as both women seem to have adapted to the playing conditions.

In the other pool Kontaveit's level of tennis has simply been on another level to the other women. Right now at this very moment she's probably the best woman player in the world. Her level in the last few weeks has been frankly insanely high.  Shows getting the right coach can really work.  Odds on to lose her next match now!

 

That was a hell of a battle, but Paula almost there , beats Sakkari 7-6(4) 6-4 in a 2+ hour battle - she was definitely feeling it. If Sabalenka can take a set off Swiatek tonight then Badosa is through before the final match, but 2-0 Iga and it will go down to the final match, but would still be in a decent position.

Yeah, the crowds have largely been great, especially for the evening sessions (yesterday's day session was very good too), and the last 3 matches have all been exciting after a few one sided wins to start it off. It's apparently a Mexican national holiday tomorrow, so the day session crowd could be good as well, although the singles match (Badosa vs Swiatek) is a dead rubber.

Still 5 players going for the remaining 2 semi final spots. Sabalenka vs Sakkari is a straight shootout tomorrow.

Ace Ventura wrote:

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Pliskova wins a strange match against her compatriot Krejcikova. She lost the first set 0-6 and was 2-4 down, and had to save a break point, but ended up winning 0-6 6-4 6-4, so Krej is out. Not the best quality match, scrappy, and the sun was affecting the serve at one end. Pliskova did have a couple of gritty holds late on in the decider, but I think it was more a drop in level and more errors from her opponent which changed the match.

Straightforward now for the semi finals.

Badosa vs Muguruza / Pliskova
Kontaveit vs Sabalenka / Sakkari

If Muguruza beats Kontaveit by any margin later on, she will face Badosa, but if she loses by any margin, it will be Pliskova. No sets / games % etc. just win and she is through, lose and she is out. Sabalenka vs Sakkari is a straight shootout tomorrow.

There were only 3 slam champions among the 8 involved, but if Muguruza loses then all 3 will have exited at the group stage.

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 What happens if Krejcikova wins over pliskova in straight sets and Muguruza loses in straight sets? Krejcikova would have a 3-4 sets record, muguruza 3-5 and Pliskova 2-5. Wouldnt Krejcikova go through or am I missing a nuance ?

 

edit -sorry missed fact Krejcikova had actually lost today to Pliskova- should have actually read what you wrote ! Duh. 

-- Edited by JonH comes home on Sunday 14th of November 2021 11:26:14 PM

Poor Ons Jabeur will drop down the rankings from WR 7 to WR 10 as, win or lose, the players here pile on extra points.

The semi finalists are currently live ranked 5 through to 8 so a couple of these will steam even further clear of her.