RG.15- The Revenge of The Radwanska?

The Men's final may never be completed (or at least it feels like that's the case), but the Daily Backspin goes on anyway.

You KNOW who -- or what -- I blame for all this.



=DAY 15 NOTES=
...the junior singles champions WERE crowned this Sunday, and they're #2-seeded German Annika Beck and #6-seeded Belgian Kimmer Coppejans.

Beck defeated unseeded Anna Schmiedlova, the Slovak who'd already knocked out two Top 5 seeds at this RG, in three sets in the final, 3-6/7-5/6-3. So, Beck's 2012 Parisian experience ultimately ends with a victory, after it began two and a half weeks ago with a loss in the opening round of women's qualifying to #1 seed Kiki Bertens in a 9-7 3rd set. Coppejans defeated Canadian Filip Peliwo to become the first Boys Waffle to win a junior slam crown since Jacky Brichant, who won the very first Boys competition at RG in 1947. Peliwo was trying for the second straight slam final to become the first player from his country to win a junior slam singles crown.

...LIKES FROM DAY 15:

-- wondering whether or not Perrier actually LIKED that Djokovic smashed a hole in the company's advertising sign on his chair after losing his serve late in the 2nd set. After all, Perrier got a nice bit of additional attention during (and likely after) the match. If someone was opportunistic enough, it could even be the basis for a Djokovic-starred ad for the company, since I doubt the Serb's gluten-free diet precludes him from sipping on the bubbly water.

I mean, if Caroline Wozniacki can sell her own line of underwear...

...meanwhile, in Week 23:


ITF PLAYER: Urszula Radwanska/POL
...oh, no. The name rears its ugly head yet again, as a send-off from this RG, as well as a cheery greeting on the grass. Yep, Urszula won a grass court challenger this weekend in the $75K event in Notthingham, defeating the likes of Irina Falconi and Elena Baltacha before taking out Coco Vandeweghe in the final. The '07 Wimbledon junior champ, U-Rad hadn't won a challenger title since 2010.


1. $75K Nottingham 1st Rd - Keothavong d. Ka.Pliskova 6-4/6-2
$75K Notthingham QF - Keothavong d Kr.Pliskova 4-6/6-1/6-4
...hmmm, is there a Czech version of The Rad to sick on Keothavong?
=============================
2. $25K Karshi 2nd Rd - Valentyna Ivakhnenko d. Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-7/6-4/6-4
$25K Karshi SF - Nadiya Kichenok d. Valentyna Ivakhnenko 7-5/7-5
...as so often happens, one Kichenok sister gets some measure of revenge for the other...
=============================
3. $25K Karshi Final - Nadiya Kichenok d. Tadeja Majeric 6-3/7-6
...then gets a little something for herself one round later.
=============================

...and, as far as Week 24 goes:



BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND (Int'l $220K/grass outdoor)
11 Final: Lisicki d. Hantuchova
11 Doubles Champions: Govortsova/Kudryavtseva
12 Top Seeds: Schiavone/Lisicki
=============================
=QF=
#1 Schiavone d. Lucic
(Q) Zheng d. #15 Baltacha
#3 Hantuchova d. Tanasugarn
(Q) Riske d. #7 McHale
=SF=
(Q) Zheng d. #1 Schiavone
(Q) Riske d. #3 Hantuchova
=FINAL=
(Q) Riske d. (Q) Zheng

...assuming Hantuchova isn't totally healthy, why not a qualifier-vs.-qualifier final? Zheng is a former Wimbledon semifinalist, while Riske has reached the SF and QF at this event the last two years after two other qualifying runs.


BAD GASTEIN, AUSTRIA (Int'l $220K/red clay outdoor)
11 Final: Martinez-Sanchez d. Mayr-Achleitner
11 Doubles Champions: Birnerova/Hradecka (Hradecka champion 2007-11)
12 Top Seeds: Goerges/Wickmayer
=============================
=SF=
#1 Goerges d. #6 Begu
#4 Suarez-Navarro d. Mayr-Achleitner
=FINAL=
#1 Goerges d. #4 Suarez-Navarro

...and, finally, although there's a spare 2Q claycourt event this coming week in Bad Gastein (craziness), the Claycourt Awards will be posted this week, along with my "MVP" list of "essential" Backspin players (along with a supernatural entity/occurrence or alter ego, or two) as this spot reaches its tenth birthday at the conclusion of Wimbledon. Hmmm... who will be #1. Maybe who you might think, but maybe not.



*WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#2 Maria Sharapova/RUS def. #21 Sara Errani/ITA 6-3/6-2

*MEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#1 Novak Djokovic/SRB vs. #2 Rafael Nadal/ESP

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#4 Errani/Vinci (ITA/ITA) def. #7 Kirilenko/Petrova (RUS/RUS) 4-6/6-4/6-2

*MEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#1 Mirnyi/Nestor (BLR/CAN) def. #2 Bryan/Bryan (USA/USA) 6-4/6-4

*MIXED DOUBLES FINAL*
#7 Mirza/Bhupathi (IND/IND) def. Jans-Ignacik/S.Gonzalez (POL/MEX) 7-6/6-1

*GIRL'S SINGLES FINAL*
#2 Annika Beck/GER def. Anna Schmiedlova/SVK 3-6/7-5/6-3

*BOY'S SINGLES FINAL*
#6 Kimmer Coppejans/BEL def. #5 Filip Peliwo/CAN 6-1/6-4

*GIRL'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#2 Gavrilova/Khromacheva (RUS/RUS) def. #6 Gonzalez/Haddad Maia (PAR/BRA) 4-6/6-4/10-8

*BOY'S DOUBLES FINAL*
Harris/Kyrgios (AUS/AUS) def. #7 Pavlasek/Safranek (CZE/CZE) 6-4/2-6/10-7

*WOMEN'S WHEELCHAIR FINAL*
#1 Esther Vergeer/NED def. #2 Aniek Van Koot/NED 6-0/6-0

*MEN'S WHEELCHAIR FINAL*
#2 Stephane Houdet/FRA def. Shingo Kunieda/JPN 6-2/2-6/7-6(6)

*WOMEN'S WC DOUBLES FINAL*
#2 Buis/Vergeer (NED/NED) def. Ellerbrock/Kamiji (GER/JPN) 6-0/6-1

*MEN'S WC DOUBLES FINAL*
Cattaneo/Kunieda (FRA/JPN) def. Jeremiasz/Olsson (FRA/SWE) 3-6/7-6/10-6



*RECENT RG FINALS*
[Girl's Singles]
1998 Nadia Petrova/RUS def. Jelena Dokic/AUS
1999 Lourdes Dominguez (Lino)/ESP def. Stephanie Foretz/FRA
2000 Virginie Razzano/FRA def. Maria-Emilia Salerni/ARG
2001 Kaia Kanepi/EST def. Svetlana Kuznetsova/RUS
2002 Angelique Widjaja/INA def. Ashley Harkleroad/USA
2003 Anna-Lena Groenefeld/GER def. Vera Dushevina/RUS
2004 Sesil Karatantcheva/BUL def. Madalina Gojnea/ROU
2005 Agnes Szavay/HUN def. Ioana-Raluca Olaru/ROU
2006 Agnieszka Radwanska/POL def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS
2007 Alize Cornet/FRA def. Mariana Duque-Marino/COL
2008 Simona Halep/ROU def. Elena Bogdan/ROU
2009 Kristina Mladenovic/FRA def. Daria Gavrilova/RUS
2010 Elina Svitolina/UKR def. Ons Jabeur/TUN
2011 Ons Jabeur/TUN def. Monica Puig/PUR
2012 Annika Beck/GER def. Anna Schmiedlova/SVK
[Boy's Singles]
2002 Richard Gasquet/FRA def. Laurent Recouderc/FRA
2003 Stanislas Wawrinka/SUI def. Brian Baker/USA
2004 Gael Monfils/FRA def. Alex Kuznetsov/USA
2005 Marin Cilic/CRO def. Antal Van Der Duim/NED
2006 Martin Klizan/SVK def. Philip Bester/CAN
2007 Uladzimir Ignatik/BLR def. Greg Jones/AUS
2008 Yang Tsung-Hua/TPE def. Jerzy Janowicz/POL
2009 Daniel Berta/SWE def. Gianni Mina/FRA
2010 Agustin Velotti/ARG def. Andrea Collarini/USA
2011 Bjorn Fratangelo/USA def. Dominic Thiem/AUT
2012 Kimmer Coppejans/BEL def. Filip Peliwo/CAN




TOP QUALIFIER: Kiki Bertens/NED
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #2 Maria Sharapova/RUS
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #6 Samantha Stosur/AUS
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): #2 Maria Sharapova/RUS
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: #1q Kiki Bertens/NED d. Annika Beck/GER 6-1/4-6/9-7
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - Virginie Razzano/FRA d. #5 Serena Williams/USA 4-6/7-6(5)/6-3
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 4th Rd. - #2 Maria Sharapova/RUS d. Klara Zakopalova/CZE 6-4/6-7/6-2
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): SF - #21 Sara Errani/ITA d. #6 Samantha Stosur/AUS 7-5/1-6/6-3
=============================
FIRST WINNER: #6 Samantha Stosur/AUS (def. Baltacha/GBR)
FIRST SEED OUT: #30 Mona Barthel/GER (lost 1st Rd. to Lauren Davis/USA)
UPSET QUEENS: United States
REVELATION LADIES: France
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Romania (1-5 in 1st Rd; A.Cadantu double-bageled & 18 total points)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Yaroslava Shvedova/KAZ (QF)
LAST WILD CARDS STANDING: Claire Feuerstein/FRA, Melanie Oudin/USA & Irena Pavlovic/FRA (all 2nd Rd.)
LAST PASTRY STANDING: Mathilde Johansson/FRA (3rd Rd.)
IT: Sara Errani/ITA
MADEMOISELLE/MADAM OPPORTUNITY: Samantha Stosur/AUS
COMEBACK PLAYER: Yaroslava Shvedova/KAZ
CRASH & BURN: #5 Serena Williams/USA (lost 1st Rd. to Razzano/FRA; led 6-4 & 5-1 in 2nd set tie-break; was 46-0 in career slam 1st Rd. matches)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: #1 Victoria Azarenka/BLR (came back from down 7-6/4-0, BPs for 5-0, to Brianti/ITA in 1st Rd.; avoided earliest exit ever by RG women's #1 seed)
JOIE DE VIVRE: Virginie Razzano/FRA
DOUBLES STARS Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci (ITA/ITA)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Anna Schmiedlova/SVK




All for now. More tomorrow... or SOMETIME. I guess it'll depend on The Radwanska's mood.