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Terranean Broadcasting Company

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Tennis: Fournier/Fournier vs. Zhuo/Rentos — as it happened

By Zion Berik
TBC Sport in Cenial

Last updated March 14, 2021

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Preamble
With their second match in just two tournaments, the two doubles teams of Sara Zhuo and Gyrachor Rentos (of Ceni and Electrum, respectively) and the Fournier siblings of Recuecn have established a nascent rivalry. Will Ines and her brother Camille extend their lead over the mixed-nation duo to two in two, or will the home favorites take advantage of a rowdy and drunk crowd last on the Janine Gredello Arena to even things up? Follow along with us at TBC Sport as we follow along with this match blow by blow.

A quick note for those readers who have never joined us for live commentary: an asterisk by a player's name means they served the last game.

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Third Set
C. Fournier/I. Fournier 0-1 Zhuo/Rentos*
Rentos must have breathed a sigh of relief to escape from that last set, and he plays a relatively loose service game. He tosses in a couple of faults in the first few points, but still manages to elicit a couple of errors on the return, especially from Ines' backhand. Camille, the more aggressive player, attempts to pound a couple of volleys right at Rentos, but of course he forgot about Rentos' quick hands at the net. All in all, it's a fairly quick hold for Rentos.

C. Fournier/I. Fournier* 0-2 Zhuo/Rentos
Zhuo and Rentos break the Fourniers for the first time in the third set, but judging from the last few games in the second set where the two teams traded breaks for practically every single game, it does not quite seem dispositive at this early moment. At 15-15, a rare miscommunication from the Fourniers left everyone smiling as both siblings swung for a volley at the net, sending their rackets clashing and forcing the ball astray. But it was a Rentos return at 15-40 that sealed the deal for the Cenian-Electrumite duo.

C. Fournier/I. Fournier 0-3 Zhuo*/Rentos
Sara Zhuo is not particularly known for her serve but she is known for her movement, so an initial drop shot return from Ines doesn't faze her much. At 30-0, Rentos intercepts an angled return that the siblings must have counted on internally, for his partner stood lifeless as his volley came roaring down. And at 40-0, Zhuo seals off the game from the back of the court with an inch-perfect lob that left the Fourniers unable to respond at the net.

C. Fournier*/I. Fournier 1-3 Zhuo/Rentos
Camille earns the first hold for his team in this set, but there's still light at the end of the tunnel as they're only one break down. In particular, the siblings show off their vaunted communication skills as Camille silently nodded to his partner to claim a floating overhead. Of course, Camille won that point with a smash. At 40-30, Ines draws Zhuo in with a drop shot, which gives Camille the perfect opportunity to rifle a forehand down Zhuo's side.

C. Fournier/I. Fournier 2-3 Zhuo/Rentos*
Things are getting interesting now as the Fourniers break Rentos. The game was not particularly special for the Fournier as a confluence of errors and mishaps befell the Cenian-Electrumite duo, although Ines wins the day on break point when she manages to get to the baseline from the net and hit a running backhand passing shot.

C. Fournier/I. Fournier* 2-4 Zhuo/Rentos
And just like that, Zhuo and Rentos are back in business, again breaking Ines' serve. Zhuo definitely wins point of the match, and point of the tournament perhaps, when she catches one of Camille's smashes on the back of her racket and redirects it back into open court as the Fourniers stand agape. Of course, her partner cannot stand idly by after a shot like that, and he deftly flicks a forehand passing shot into the alley on the next point. To add a cherry on top, Rentos manages to close off a 22-shot rally with a subtle drop volley after forcing the Fourniers to scramble to the back of the court.

C. Fournier/I. Fournier 2-5 Zhuo*/Rentos
Things are going good for Zhuo and Rentos as Zhuo holds for the second time this match. She manages to fire a kick serve out wide for an ace at love all, and things are easy sailing after that as Zhuo and Rentos continue to act as a brick wall at the net; the Fourniers are simply not hitting enough aggressive shots to stay in contention like they did at Steinegestrasse.

C. Fournier*/I. Fournier 3-5 Zhuo/Rentos
Camille Fournier serves to stay in the match, and he delivers a couple of cannonball serves to hold off the nerves. It looks like he still has enough stamina left to play a couple more games, and even though he sends a swing volley at 40-30 horribly wide to force a deuce, an ace and a service winner close out the game to force a nervous Gyrachor Rentos to serve out the match.

Sara Zhuo and Gyrachor Rentos win the match! 1-6, 7-5, 6-3
It was honestly a pretty anticlimactic end to the match with Rentos serving. He tries to vary out his service motion with a couple of serves to the T and a couple out wide, and the variation managed to keep Ines guessing. On match point, Ines sent a weak return over the net; Zhuo hit the ball right through the middle after it bounced on her side of the net. It was a sublime shot for Zhuo, another communication error for the Fourniers. Those errors had not defined the match, but they had sneaked in at the most inopportune times. Elite tennis can turn on moments such as those, and today, Zhuo and Rentos took advantage.

After the round of 16 day of amazing results for Reçuecian players in Centralis, where every player and doubles pair remaining advanced, the quarterfinals were a bit of a reality check. The Fournier siblings, Reçueçn's highest-ranked athletes left in the tournament, finally came to the end of their grand slam run in a heartbreaking match that started strongly in their favor but turned against them at the end. Leloup and Weisgerber, who had claimed a shocking victory over the world's number one doubles pair, also went out in the quarters. It was Elia and Xia Fal of Ceni who defeated them. (Are the Fals twin sisters? We'll let The Turnip decide.)

The third remaining pair of Reçuecians, however, surprised everyone to advance to the semifinals. Magnier and Günther have had the least television viewership back in Reçueçn of any of the nation's competitors still in the tournament, and an informal poll conducted of a few of the Reçuecian fans who had made the trip to Electrum to watch the tournament gave similar results: when it came to doubles, the Fournier siblings were far and away the most popular choice to see in-person, and otherwise the fans were most interested in the singles athletes.

Among those athletes, the most popular back home in Reçueçn is without a doubt Abelie Fontana. The young prodigy's success has made her something of a star, despite - or in fact, most likely because of - her age. Fontana has achieved a lot for the sport of tennis in Reçueçn, democratizing it by bringing it to a wider audience and representing a minority national group in the country (most well-known athletes are French- or German-speakers). Given the early upset of Gaëlle Sellier, the woman who took the spot as Reçueçn's top athlete around the time the NSTT came to prominence, Fontana has received even more media attention than usual. Now she has the opportunity to make it all the way to the final of the biggest hardcourt tournament in a run that has captured the attention not just of her supporters but tennis fans all around the world.

Every game at this point in the competition presents a new challenge and a higher level of difficulty. It's tempting to speculate on her ability to win the whole thing, or theorize about Magnier and Günther's odds of achieving two incredible upsets back to back, but we'll just have to wait and see. Centralis has brought us many surprises, so who knows what the last two rounds have in store?

Singles - semifinals

Georg Heraklit (Q) (PUG)          6   3   3   4
Ardil Navsal (9) (CEN)            4   6   6   6

Valentina Spetsova (18) (TJU)     4   3   7   6   8
Abelie Fontana (14) (RCN)         6   6   5   3   6

Doubles - semifinals

Elia Xal/Fia Xal (9) (CEN)                        4   3
Sara Zhuo/Gyrachor Rentos (5) (ETM/CEN)           6   6

Spencer Kohnhead/Marcus Hathwar (2) (KHD/ETM)     6   6   6
Lucas Magnier/Adelinde Günther (RCN)              7   3   4

Order of play - day 8
Phillip Maxwell Arena (Center Court) - Ticket required (starts 5pm)
Underdog Trophy presentation to Georg Heraklit (PUG) for best debut
Sara Zhuo/Gyrachor Rentos (5) (ETM/CEN) vs Spencer Kohnhead/Marcus Hathwar (2) (KHD/ETM)
Night session (starts at 7pm)
Ardil Navsal (9) (CEN) vs Valentina Spetsova (18) (TJU)

A beautiful morning had arisen in Centralis, Electrum, which could only mean one thing: Semifinals Day at the Electrum Slam. The final 4 had to be split into the contenders for the title and the ones who will just miss out on the opportunity to try and grab some gold. In the morning light, the play had to begin at some point and Scarlet herself would be the one to kick things off as a nation watched. Her quest to try and reach the level of Jean van de Kloor has certainly been successful so far and with the opportunity at her first Singles' crown up for grabs, you knew that she would certainly give it her all. The opponent for the 18th seed on this day would be the 14th seed, a tough competitor in the form of Recuecn's Abelie Fontana, and with many people watching across the multiverse, you knew that we would see drama no matter what.

This would start tightly in Set 1, as expected, but it would be Fontana who would draw first blood, taking a key breakpoint to take the whole set 6-4. The second set would be more of the same, with Fontana taking it 6-3, and things were certainly not looking good for Valentina at all. She was 2 sets down and with momentum on this side of her opponent, many were getting ready to see TJUN-ia bow out of this Grand Slam. But Spetsova wasn't ready to go just yet and from this point on, Scarlet would be fighting for her place in the final with energy unrivalled by many in the sport. Set 3 was a siege to the end as both players were desperate to claim it but Spetsova just about pulla ed away to win it 7-5 and put this contest into the 4th. The 4th would certainly be fun for her as well as the impact of the 3rd hit Fontana hard. 6-3 it was and so, to a decider we went and this one would certainly be a tight one, with both players fighting it out with some brutal play for a spot in the final itself. It would end up at 5-5 and that meant no one left until someone had a 2-game advantage, but would be Scarlet who won this epic contest in the end, taking the final set 8-6 to pull off a remarkable reverse-sweep.

Scarlet had won this battle by the skin of her teeth and now, she was in another Singles final with the chance at redemption on the line. She was in a Singles final in her 2nd ever tournament, only falling at the final hurdle to a player from Pemecutan, but now, only 9th seeded Ardil Navsal of Ceni stood in the way of redemption. It was TJUN-ia versus Ceni in the final who knows what will happen for both nations after this one...

[18] Valentina Spetsova (TJU) bt [14] Abelie Fontana (RCN) (4-6, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 8-6)

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SCHEDULE
Singles Final
[9] Ardil Navsal (CEN) vs [18] Valentina Spetsova (TJU) (16/03)

The Pick: Electrum Slam finals

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(9) Ardil Navsal (CEN) vs (18) Valentina Spetsova (TJU)
Ceni and TJUN-ia have started up an incipient rivalry, so Cenian players have a lot of experience playing TJUN-ian players. Strangely, though, these two have never played each other -- and it'll certainly be an interesting first clash. Of course, Spetsova has had success in the doubles, so that more aggressive mentality has tended to drip over into her singles game as well. It's worked -- at the Cenian Open, she reached the semifinals before losing to the golden boy of the tournament, Fiorenzo Tartoni. She's been no slouch at the Electrum Slam either, coming back from a two set deficit to beat Recuecn's tennis sensation Abelie Fontana. That bodes ill for Spetsova -- a tired player makes more unforced errors than usual.

On the other hand, Navsal doesn't need to be tired to make a lot of unforced errors -- see his various first-round exits at the Electrum Slam over all these years. But in the end, it seems likely that Navsal's experience will see him through to the end of the match.

Winner: Navsal

(5) Sara Zhuo/Gyrachor Rentos (CEN/ETM) vs (2) Spencer Kohnhead/Marcus Hathwar (KHD/ETM)
As far as we can tell, this is the first Grand Slam final between two mixed nation pairs -- a testament to how successful the idea has been, and a testament to how successful these two teams in particular have been. In the semifinals, Zhuo and Rentos dispatched the veterans Elia and Fia Xal in two sets, and in the quarterfinals, they squeaked past the Fournier siblings of Recuecn. Chalk one up for the Cenian and the Electrumite on strength of schedule -- the only seeds that Kohnhead and Hathwar have faced were the 10th seeds and the 16th seeds, not exactly the strongest schedule.

Chalk another one up for Zhuo and Rentos on the head-to-head: They defeated their incipient rivals in a tightly contested three sets in the semifinals at the Cenian Open. But that factor will be pretty inconclusive in the final calculus, since one head-to-head victory does not a rivalry make. Similarly, the home advantage -- another factor we like to include on our calculus -- will be pretty inconclusive as well, for one simple reason: both teams have an Electrumite playing for them!

All things considered, though, Kohnhead and Hathwar look pretty impregnable. They convincingly won the Steinegestrasse Open, including a victory over the omnipresent Fournier siblings in the final. And they're certainly more experienced with each other -- Kohnhead and Hathwar have played with each other since Season 6. They're certainly the most successful mixed-nation pairing, with another title at the Ethanian Open on grass to boot.

At least one thing's for certain -- an Electrumite will be holding the Alia Craft Memorial Trophy at the end.

Winner: Kohnhead/Hathwar

Singles - final

Ardil Navsal (9) (CEN)            0   4   5
Valentina Spetsova (18) (TJU)     6   6   7

Doubles - final

Sara Zhuo/Gyrachor Rentos (5) (ETM/CEN)           6   0   8
Spencer Kohnhead/Marcus Hathwar (2) (KHD/ETM)     4   6   6

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Congratulations to all the winners! It's been a great outdoor hard court season.

It was finally here - the match the TJUN-ia had been waiting for a few gruelling hours. Georg Heraklit had claimed the Underdog Trophy and in the Doubles, it would be Sara Zhuo and Gyrachor Rentos who would take down Spencer Kohnhead and Marcus Hathwar in the first-ever mixed-nation pairing final to claim Alia Craft Memorial Trophy for hosts Electrum and Ceni - the nation which TJUN-ia had to play at 7 pm local time. It was a cool evening here in Centralis for the final moments of the Electrum Slam, the 2nd since the NSTT was brought back, and it would be the 9th and 18th seeds duking it out for one of the most famous trophies in all of tennis: the Harvey Regent Trophy.

Valentina Spetsova, the one they called Scarlet, was the 18th seed from TJUN-ia, a player who made a Singles final in her 2nd tournament and hasn't been back until tonight. She is already in the TJUN-ian Hall of Fame with her Doubles Triumph with Austin McDanielson down the road in Hamilton (and with The Cowboy in attendance tonight, the expected memes about #Austina were rife on social media) but with De Kloor in the Hall with 2 Singles Crowns, many expected Scarlet to fight for her 2nd Crown as well to certainly bring the battle in the BIg 2 to a whole new level. The opponent for Scarlet would be Ceni's 9th seed in Ardil Navsal, a player no one from the tennis giant really expected to make it this far based on recent form. Back-to-back first-round losses in tournaments proceeded this on for the #9 but say that he broke that run in style would be an understatement, making it all the way to this showdown - a showdown no one really expected. If you told someone it would be TJUN-ia vs Ceni in the final, then many would assume it would be Jean van de Kloor vs Lonus Valarin - but none of them is here at all. Nonetheless, it would be TJUN-ia vs Ceni anyways - a matchup many are beginning to see as a rivalry in the making.

The first set was expected to be a tight one, as they always seemed to be on occasions like this, but this wouldn't be the case at all. Spetsova came into this contest hungry for redemption, for a chance to prove she had what it took to be an elite player in this sport, and she would certainly do that here, winning game after game after game. Navsal certainly tried to break this run down but here, it was simply impossible - Scarlet took Set 1 6-0, a definite statement of intent by tennis standards. The second set would be a tighter affair as Navsal finally began to gain some momentum of his own, with game after game swapping between the two players. It would be 4-4 soon enough and it would be here where Spetova struck again, taking a tight Game 7 and 8 to win this Set 6-4 and bring her to within 1 more set of breaking the chains of her past. This final set would, of course, be the tightest of them all, as Scarlet pushed for the match itself while Navsal was determined not to let it end just yet. It would be a brutal time indeed with tight play all around but when we reached 5-5, everyone knew someone had to break eventually. That would turn out to be Navsal again, Spetsova just pushing the 9th seed to his breaking point and then some. In the end, the final score would be inevitable: Spetsova had finally claimed redemption.

After shaking hands with her beaten opponent, she finally showed the first emotion she displayed all day to the waiving crowd: tears of pure joy. You could feel the tectonic plates of TJUN-ian tennis shift once more as Spetsova finally accomplished a Singles crown, making her the first-ever TJUN-ian to win a tournament in both Singles and Doubles brackets. A lot of people were happy for her, but none more than her doubles partner in The Cowboy, who would run onto the court to celebrate with his teammate. It was a beautiful moment out there, something that will be replayed over and over for the world to see. It would appear as though we have reached a new era of TJUN-ian tennis: anything De Kloor can do, Scarlet can certainly better.

[18] Valentina Spetsova (TJU) bt [9] Ardil Navsal (CEN) (6-0, 6-4, 7-5)