The Tennis Thread

[Scott]

that's true. i completely forgot the fact that she had faced kirilenko twice and that match-up being so fresh on the mind of maria as they played that marathon at the open.

 

[Not Plain Jane]

First time Sam has beaten Maria isn't it? Normally Maria wins, but I wonder if that ankle injury was still bothering her?

Thanks Chaky for posting all the pictures; some of the girls look almost unrecognizable all gussied up.

 

[Chaky]

So Masha withdrew. Not remotely surprised. She really wasn't playing well from what I saw and is now blaming her ankle injury. It seems every year at the YEC one of the alternates gets a match.

Didn't see Stosur-Azarenka. But seems slightly unfair that Sam had to play late last night and then first on today. I suppose they start in the afternoon anyway so wouldn't have made much difference.

I watched all of Vera vs Caro. Gotta say, in the past I've been pretty ambivalent about Wozniacki, but in recent months I've started to find her really annoying. Or maybe the correct word is frustrating.

She allowed herself to be dominated by Vera during this match and only made in-roads when Vera was on mental walkabout. I understand she's supposed to be a counterpuncher but it's all too rare that she turns her excellent defence into attack. And she doesn't seem able to think for herself; only able to change gameplan once her dad comes on to tell her what to do. I'm thinking about what she needs to do to win a slam and not get brushed aside by the first aggressive player who is not swayed by her playing like a backboard.

I was very happy to see Vera stepping in and taking the ball early. She just seemed to get nervous when she'd made a nice lead for herself. This should have been over in straight sets.

 

[Scott]

not to take anything away from sam or li na because they still had to battle and win those matches in impressive fashion but you could tell in maria's level was a notch or two below par. really pleased with li na's performance today especially given her last few months. li really seems to play better against the top players for some reason because if you've noticed all her losses since RG have been against lower-ranked players. if she keeps playing at that level,she may surprise the hell out of all of us this week.

btw unimpressed would be my word,chaky. all i can say is for as much as woz didn't do enough vera does in fact know how to beat her. this season especially she's owned her....from the hong kong event at the start of the season then in doha and now today. i can tell in their match-up when vera is really hitting her shots deep in the back of the court with some pace or when she changes the direction of her shots down the line caro has a difficult time handling it.

 

[Chaky]

Missed most of the tennis today because I was out. But I caught the last half hour of Vera vs Aga. Pretty exciting and quite a comeback from Aga saving match points. I'm more of a Zvonareva supporter but I'm impressed with Radwanska recently. I thought she would bow out of this event quickly with her shoulder injury but she showed amazing character to hang in there and make Vera doubt herself.

Eurosport commentators were very confused about the round robin standings and were saying that Vera was out and that that was what the WTA were telling them. As I understand it Wozniacki is definitely out and any of the other three can still go through in that group.

 

[Scott]

^they were saying that on stateside coverage as well. and i was like well wait,that's not how it's worked in years past. although they are almost equal in score pattern,zvonareva has a higher winning percentage in her game points. not to mention the fact that she took that set from aga 6/1 today. so obviously vera is still in contention depending how radwanska fares against kvitova. even if aga loses if she takes a set off petra she will be in the semis. but wozniacki is definitely out of it.

 

[Scott]

btw,talking about radwanska once more....i too am ever-so impressed with how she's been playing of late. i really think hiring on new coaching has helped her immensely. she's a different kind of player now....she's playing aggressively,taking the ball early,hitting with a pinch more power and she's using her great variety with different intention i.e. less defensive. talk about somebody who saw the need to evolve and so she did---and in such a short amount of time at that. and then we look at wozniacki and she seems so indifferent about change.

 

[MyNameIs]

So who moved on to the semis?
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[Scott]

^because radwanska lost in straight sets to kvitova,zvonareva gained a berth into the semifinals. there was simply nothing radwanska could do today to wilt the determination and the sheer power of kvitova. aga had her chances but petra just didn't budge. even after that 5/1 lead kvitova never gave up.

but nothing to be terribly disappointed about for radwanska. she's had a splendid second half of the season and hopefully will go into 2012 continuing on this path. she has improved so much.

i really believe kvitova will win this one this year. i am just so thoroughly impressed with her whole disposition this whole event. determined,great attitude,great demeanour.....she never lets you know if she's losing. she's definitely got her championship game and her focus back on track.

 

[Chaky]

talk about somebody who saw the need to evolve and so she did---and in such a short amount of time at that. and then we look at wozniacki and she seems so indifferent about change.

If Kvitova wins the YEC then I think she'll be very very close to Caro which will make the start of next season very interesting. If Caro loses her #1 ranking then perhaps it will free her up to make some more radical changes. I mean, what happened to this mystery coach of hers? Or was that just a ploy to get the media off her back at the US Open?

 

[Scott]

your guess is just as good as mine. i have no idea what happened to this supposed coach she hired on. she certainly hasn't been talking about any coach since the open except for her dad. and you're right if kvitova ends the season no.2 that's going to make things a lot closer. andd since woz has struggled in the second half of this season she's lost some points so this makes everything so much more intriguing now come the start of 2012.

and congrats to petra and vika on their performances today. i really thought sam played a good quality match for the first set and a half....the first player to really kind of make petra play and win this week. but still her determination this week hasn't wavered one bit. and for zvonareva....i don't know what's happened with vera this season. this was a terrible performance for somebody of her stature. she had a nice early part of the season till after doha and suddenly after she and the model-turn-coach split,she's all but collapsed. it's been very mediocre. consistent she has been but certainly not enthralling form. that serve seems different to me somehow....it was so much more consistent in 2010.....i dunno if she tweaked her motion or anything but she's falling back on that first serve instead into the serve. i hope she takes this off-season training and goes back and looks at what she was doing brilliantly in 2010 and maybe get back on that track again. with the season having transpired as it has would have been lovely to see vera lift a major championship this season.

things don't look so great though for vika tomorrow as she has a 3-match losing streak to kvitova and all on bigger stages,including madrid final and the wimby semifinal.

 

[Chaky]

Vera to me this week has seemed mentally exhausted. Not physically as she's been really going for it in some of these matches but really coming undone at times when she's got in front and should have been winning. To be honest she was pretty lucky to make the semis.

I think probably the right players have made it to the final in terms of play this week. Vika threw in that horrible match against Bartoli but aside from that has played a good standard. I still want Petra to win for the aforementioned reason of getting close to Caro in points. When her game clicks she has been almost unplayable this week. Think how many more slams she could win if she can keep it up.

 

[MyNameIs]

I'm pulling for Vika all the way. She needs a big win, finally. Would've preferred to see Vika and Vera in the final, but alas that couldn't happen.

 

[Scott]

hurrah petra!! a close match and certainly vika played at a much higher level today than in their previous meetings but kvitova just would not waver. and no.2 in the world.

 

[Chaky]

That was a seriously loud match! Petra's shrieks after almost every point she won in the third set and Vika's ever present wailing on every hit.

Glad Petra won it though. She could really be a force next year. Both her and Wozniacki have a few points to defend in January but they are very close now. We could see a change at the top by Feb/March.

 

[MyNameIs]

WHAT IS GOING ON WITH ALEX DOLGOPOLOV?!?! Another loss today. He had a nice run at the China Open until he lost in the QF, a match where he was the favorite. Now he's had four straight losses since. Third tournament where he is eliminated in the first round.

 

[Chaky]

I think the concerning thing must be that he's losing to players much lower ranked than himself. Maybe he's just tired after a long season?

 

[MyNameIs]

^Yepp, that too. Plus also, I believe he lost every match in straight sets. I'm hoping it's just fatigue and nothing more. He has played a ton of tournaments this year. It was still a good year for him, overall. Hopefully he can build up on it, be more selective with the tournaments he plays, and plays deeper into more of them.

 

[Chaky]

He actually strikes me as the type of player who might be quite streaky. But only time will tell. I hope he can build consistency because he is very entertaining when he's playing well.

 

[Scott]

dolgopolov plays such a high-risk kind of game i wouldn't be surprised if he was a little bit streaky either. he's the kind of player that has to have his timing in order to really make his game effective. when he's on he's awesome to watch but i've seen him lose some bad ones this year too.

fed cup this weekend! i hope kvitova has enough left in the tank to make a strong go at it. might have to rely a bit on some adrenaline from this past weekend. but certainly they need not place all their eggs on petra as they have two other rubbers and a doubles. with vera leading the other team and some pros and cons for both with the up and down play of both safarova and sveta alike.....could be closer than anticipated.