{"id":4230,"date":"2021-03-01T12:09:36","date_gmt":"2021-03-01T12:09:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/blog\/?p=4230"},"modified":"2021-03-01T12:09:36","modified_gmt":"2021-03-01T12:09:36","slug":"expected-points-march-1-a-weekend-of-teenage-exploits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/blog\/2021\/03\/01\/expected-points-march-1-a-weekend-of-teenage-exploits\/","title":{"rendered":"Expected Points, March 1: A Weekend of Teenage Exploits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Expected Points<\/strong>, my new short, daily podcast, highlights three numbers to illustrate stats, trends, and interesting trivia around the sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Up today: Juan Manuel Cerundolo makes Argentinian tennis history, Iga Swiatek proves she\u2019s more than a one-hit wonder, and Rotterdam kicks off with a slightly depleted field. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scroll down for a transcript.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"castos-iframe-player\" src=\"https:\/\/601b036c283f30-50244448.castos.com\/player\/372498\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"100%\" height=\"150\"><\/iframe> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can subscribe on <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/expected-points\/id1552064903\">iTunes<\/a>, Spotify, Stitcher, and elsewhere in the podcast universe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Music: <a href=\"http:\/\/dig.ccmixter.org\/files\/admiralbob77\/63197\">Love is the Chase<\/a> by Admiral Bob (c) copyright 2021. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. Ft: Apoxode<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Expected Points podcast is still a work in progress, so please let me know what you think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> <iframe allow=\"autoplay *; encrypted-media *; fullscreen *\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"450\" style=\"width:100%;max-width:660px;overflow:hidden;background:transparent;\" sandbox=\"allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.podcasts.apple.com\/gb\/podcast\/expected-points\/id1552064903\"> <\/p><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rough transcript of today&#8217;s episode:<\/p>\n\n\n<p>The first number is 154, the number of ranking positions gained by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/cgi-bin\/player.cgi?p=JuanManuelCerundolo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Juan Manuel Cerundolo<\/a> this week. The 19-year-old lefty from Argentina won the Cordoba title in his debut tour-level event, the first Argentine to do so in the Open Era. While he didn\u2019t have to face top seed <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/cgi-bin\/player.cgi?p=DiegoSebastianSchwartzman\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Diego Schwartzman<\/a>, he still needed to prove his mettle against quality opponents, including 3-seed <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/cgi-bin\/player.cgi?p=MiomirKecmanovic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Miomir Kecmanovic<\/a>, 7-seed <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/cgi-bin\/player.cgi?p=ThiagoMonteiro\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Thiago Monteiro<\/a>, and fifth seed <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/cgi-bin\/player.cgi?p=AlbertRamos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Albert Ramos<\/a> in the final. All of those players pushed him to three sets, but Cerundolo bounced back each time, winning each of the deciders by scores of 6-2 or 6-3. He entered the Cordoba qualifying draw ranked 335 and eight matches later, he heads to Buenos Aires up 154 spots, at 181st on the official list. The Tennis Abstract Elo ratings are even more bullish, ranking him 88th, just ahead of Monteiro and fellow teenage prospect <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/cgi-bin\/player.cgi?p=LorenzoMusetti\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lorenzo Musetti<\/a>. The next order of business for Juan Manuel is to chase down his older brother, Francisco, currently ranked 137th. While Juan Manuel\u2019s performance in Cordoba earned him a main draw place in this week\u2019s Buenos Aires event, Francisco will play a final round qualifying match this evening.<\/p>\n<p>Our second number is 7. 7 is the number of active players on the WTA tour who won titles on both hard courts and clay courts before their 20th birthday. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/cgi-bin\/player.cgi?p=IgaSwiatek\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Iga Swiatek<\/a> joined the club on Saturday with a routine win over <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/cgi-bin\/player.cgi?p=BelindaBencic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Belinda Bencic<\/a> in the Adelaide final, giving her the hard court trophy to pair with last fall\u2019s breakthrough at Roland Garros. This is a rare list that even <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/cgi-bin\/player.cgi?p=SerenaWilliams\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Serena Williams<\/a> doesn\u2019t qualify for. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/cgi-bin\/player.cgi?p=VenusWilliams\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Venus Williams<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/cgi-bin\/player.cgi?p=SvetlanaKuznetsova\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Svetlana Kuznetsova<\/a> are among the familiar names who achieved the same feat as teenagers, and Swiatek is only the second, after <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/cgi-bin\/player.cgi?p=DayanaYastremska\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dayana Yastremska<\/a>, to do so in the last decade. While Yastremska needed third-set tiebreaks to win two of her teenage title matches, Swiatek barely breaks a sweat. Just like her Roland Garros title run, it was straight sets all the way in Adelaide. Iga\u2019s title moves her up to 15th in the WTA rankings, which almost certainly underestimates her current level. Tennis Abstract Elo has her at number six, only four points behind <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/cgi-bin\/player.cgi?p=PetraKvitova\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Petra Kvitova<\/a> for a place in the top five.<\/p>\n<p>Today&#8217;s third and final number is 10, the number of players who withdrew from this week\u2019s ATP event in Rotterdam before the draw was made. The initial entry list was so star studded that one wag dubbed the tournament Rotter-slam, but the loss of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/cgi-bin\/player.cgi?p=RafaelNadal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rafael Nadal<\/a> sent the field back to typical ATP 500 territory. Nadal is resting his back, and will also skip Acapulco, and may not be back in action before the tour returns to European clay. In addition to Nadal, five more top-20 players opened up places for alternates, including <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/cgi-bin\/player.cgi?p=MatteoBerrettini\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Matteo Berrettini<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/cgi-bin\/player.cgi?p=DenisShapovalov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Denis Shapovalov<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/cgi-bin\/player.cgi?p=GaelMonfils\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gael Monfils<\/a>. There\u2019s still plenty to see at the Dutch indoor event this year: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/cgi-bin\/player.cgi?p=DaniilMedvedev\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Daniil Medvedev<\/a> enters as the favorite, with his eye on the number two ranking position, and at 25 years of age, he is the oldest among the top four seeds. Fans who prefer veterans won\u2019t be disappointed either: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/cgi-bin\/player.cgi?p=AndyMurray\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Andy Murray<\/a> is here as a wild card, and the withdrawals bumped Stan Wawrinka into position as the 8th seed.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Expected Points, my new short, daily podcast, highlights three numbers to illustrate stats, trends, and interesting trivia around the sport. Up today: Juan Manuel Cerundolo makes Argentinian tennis history, Iga Swiatek proves she\u2019s more than a one-hit wonder, and Rotterdam kicks off with a slightly depleted field. Scroll down for a transcript. You can subscribe &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/blog\/2021\/03\/01\/expected-points-march-1-a-weekend-of-teenage-exploits\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Expected Points, March 1: A Weekend of Teenage Exploits<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-expected-points-podcast"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4230\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}