The Tennis Thread

[Scott]

well the point i am making though is that,looking at how things have transpired the last couple years,it's not so indicative of major success anymore. it's no longer the go-to formula because anybody can and have come out of the gate to play their best. just like serena going on that tear during the us open series and sam taking it to her in the final of the open. tour titles haven't necessarily equated to major success. and with that in mind,i do think when you have two recent major winners and the no.4 and no.6 players,at that,still very much involved,you can't overlook their chances either.

 

[Chaky]

I missed the ladies today. Getting down to the wire - who is everyone picking? I can't see past either Kvitova or Sharapova winning this? Who else could do it?

At this point I'd pick Sam Stosur. I've not seen all her matches but she seems to have been the most solid of all of them. (Although I've made this mistake before, two years ago!) She's a great clay-courter and now has the slam-winning experience so perhaps less likely to falter in the crunch situations.

Sharapova is getting through but she seems to be struggling much more now than the early rounds. And I don't think I've seen any of Kvitova's matches at RG but she hasn't really convinced me with her results this year.

Having said all this Errani will probably go and win it now!

 

[Scott]

i'd have to at least give an edge to sam myself,either or....with her history and her comfort on this surface,at this event.....you'd have to lean a bit more on her side. the question will be,how will she handle the occasion this time? of course,i feel now that she's got the monkey off her back at the open,it might not be as stressful. she also hasn't dropped a set....even against one of her biggest nemesis in nadia petrova. errani i think will give her a good fight with her own brand of clay tennis but i think sam will have just a bit more power and kick for errani to handle.

as for petra or maria,we'll have to see. maria did not look spectacular in her last match and i certainly wouldn't say she looked flawless today against kanepi....kanepi didn't take much advantage on maria's serve which is a shame for somebody of that calibre. and petra has had a couple of unnecessary three-setters but both girls are fighters and hit a big ball.....again the question will be,which woman will be the one that rises to the occasion when it matters most? i have to say though,i watched petra's match today and despite the streakiness,i loved at 4-4 in that final set how petra dialed it back a bit and started to be a little more consistent,a bit more patient and moving the ball better. she obviously knows what she has to do,i just can't understand why she gets into these patches.

btw,i learned today with petra's win and progression into her first semi,she will return to the top 3 again,replacing radwanska. and i think sam will move ahead as well to 4.

 

[Scott]

well i'm surprised but not completely stunned. sam let the occasion get to her and she stopped moving her feet on crucial points. errani,played a very aggressive match today and really tried to go for sam's forehand a lot to get to her backhand and i think that really helped her. and besides all that,errani is playing the best tennis of her career this season and is and will be especially dangerous whomever she faces in the final. don't underestimate her whatsoever.

 

[Chaky]

Well I totally jinxed that didn't I?

 

[dennab216]

Very happy to see MaSha back and on top of her game Fingers crossed for Federer.
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[MyNameIs]

Congrats to Maria on reclaiming the Number 1 ranking. She deserves it. After that shoulder injury and all the struggle in the beginning, she's really become very good. Got her serve (mostly) in order. The UE can still plague her at times, but she's mostly managing them as well. Above all, she's very consistent. Unlike say Azarenka who had a good stretch there but is now struggling, or Kvitova who's a hit or miss, Sharapova has been going deep in most tournaments. I would be most happy if she wins on Saturday. It would be just such a good comeback story and t win the one major that's evaded her, would be amazing.

 

[Scott]

btw,isn't it funnily appropriate too that both of these women also happen to have the best records on clay this season? maria with her success but now i see why errani has 22-2 match record and 3 titles on the red dirt. for once,the lead-up success has actually translated. and sara will surpass the top 15 by entering the top 10 next week.

but if i see one more person complain about RG and how lame it supposedly is..... the truth of the matter is,it isn't about the tournament it's the fact that we don't have a truly visible clay-court stalwart like we did when we had justine henin,steffi or arantxa.

 

[MyNameIs]

^I don't know why people are complaining that we on't have a "truly visible clay-court stalwart", I LOVE the fact that it's truly unpredicted. Every match can give us an upset. Makes it more exciting, imo. I'd rather have what we have in WTA than what we have in ATP. I mean, yeah they're good and all, but how utterly boring is it to see Nadal/Novak/Feder in the top four in every major tournament?

 

[Scott]

well for me,i adore that we have many players that can take this title however i also would love to see more clay-court depth in the top 10. like a schiavone or errani. to me there's just something wonderfully magical about watching players slide naturally.....moving about the court with such ease.....and utilising the nuances this surface offers,in terms of touch,feel and the spin that these courts eat up.

that being said too.....do i want another justine henin dominating all the time--not really. in fact it was rather exhilarating the prospects after she retired. sveta,dinara,lena,ana et al. but i would love to see some sense of melange at the top again though. stosur is really the only real clay courter we got right now. hopefully errani can make the most of her run here and i would love to see sveta continuing to improve,with her new coaching and living situation back in spain once again.

 

[Scott]

congrats to maria. simply too much firepower on those crucial points but you have to give some respect to sara errani because after maria went up 4/0 in the first set errani did not make it easy for her....she was in almost every single game....more so in that second set despite it being 6/2.....it lasted for close to an hour alone.

looking ahead do you guys think maria can legitimately keep this going into the summer....continue taking advantage of this lull we seem to be experiencing at the moment? vika is not playing so brilliantly....petra certainly isn't in top form. can she do this against serena on grass or HC? it'll be an interesting next few months to say the least. and how will errani capitalize on this run of form?

 

[MyNameIs]

Congrats to Maria. I was so happy when she clinched it, because for some reason I am never 100% sure when it comes to Maria, lol. Glad it was against Errani and not against someone like Azarenka, bc I would've been a nervous wreck. Still, I agree Errani fought well. After that 0-4 start, you'd think she'd be defeated, but she sort of turned it around. I also think the final score box doesn't tell the full story. While it was 6-3, 6-2, the match felt closer than the score indicates. Every game seemingly had a couple of douce moments with each player saving a few break points. But yay for Maria, very deserving.

 

[Not Plain Jane]

I am very happy for Maria; I don't think I have ever seen her so affected by a win. From pure joy, to tears, to huge grins. It was lovely to see. She loves the sport; she loves to compete, and you could see how much this win at Roland Garros meant to her. Not to mention completing the career slam. But oddly that seemed like a side note. More important, it seemed, to Sharapova, was the fact that after 4 years of struggle since her shoulder issues, she is back. Indeed. Come back stories are always heartening.

Now for the men's final: I still think Rafa will win, but I think Nole could maybe get a set! In present form, and on this surface, I think it's too much of a hurdle for Nole to leap this time. Though he does continue to surprise and create drama.

 

[Not Plain Jane]

Scott, what makes me think that Maria has a chance to keep going is how well she served this FO. That could definitely help her on grass and hard courts. She's always had a great return and wicked groundstrokes, but the serve was never reliable like it seemed to be this fortnight.

 

[Scott]

well i think the key in that is that she did have some dodgy serves but she quite often backed it up with an ace or an un-returnable. and the struggles on serve also didn't seem to affect the rest of her game as it tends to do. but i think what i noticed more than anything was the improved movement on this surface compared with all her struggles here in the past.

but egads,what a disappointment this event has been for the rest of the top women.

 

[kournikov]

WOW, CONGRATULATIONS TO SHARAPOVA!!!

Who would've thought she would've won the French Open, I thought maybe a few semis, but not winning, I'm extremely happy for her, really happy, she worked hard for this and deserved it, still in shock that she has all four, the first tournament I ever watched was 2004 Roland Garros when she made it to the quarters, and that was her breakthrough. Now, look at her, having the career grand slam!!!. Off to Wimbledon, where I'm sure, her, Serena, and maybe even Venus are the favorites, along with Kvitova, Azarenka, and Stosur in the background.

Also, congratulations to Nadal, he didn't let the pressure get to him at all, Djokovic tried, but he just couldn't get to the King of Clay, Nadal. Nadal now has the MOST French Opens, with seven!. If Djokovic would've won, it truly would've been a special moment, winning four consecutive slams, winning Roland Garros for the first time, AND defeating Nadal in the final...but nope didn't happen. Let's see how Wimbledon plays out, Nadal trying to win it again, Djokovic defending, Federer trying to achieve another slam, and Murray just trying to win at least ONE.

 

[kournikov]

Okay people, what are your top three women's matches of all time?

 

[Scott]

capriati VS clijsters RG 2001

mauresmo VS mary pierce YE championships 2005

elena dementieva VS serena williams wimbledon 2010

hon. mentions--lena vs. capriati-us open semifinal 2004,davenport vs venus-wimby final 2005,mauresmo vs venus-antwerp final 2005,henin vs clijsters aus open final 2004,capriati vs mauresmo-rome final 2004.

 

[Northern Star]

LUKAS ROSOL.......just played out of his skin in beating Nadal at Wimbledon.
What a performance.

 

[pixiedust1603]

Wimbledon is on for these next two weeks and Nadal lost today in the second round. It isn't as shocking to me as Federer's defeat last year but still shocking nonetheless.
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