The Tennis Thread

[Chaky]

I was worried for Azarenka at the start as she seemed (understandably) very nervous. But she got over it quickly and then gave Sharapova a total beatdown. I did not see this final being as one-sided as it turned out.

Great for Vika as she's obviously worked really hard to get herself together mentally. I think she's moving better than she did last year and she's mostly successful coming into the net. She deserves number one, even though I'd have preferred if it was Kvitova.

So with Wozniacki dropping to #4 does anyone think this marks the start of a new era in the women's game. Personally I would be excited to see a good rivalry building between Azarenka and Kvitova.

Sharapova seems a level below them. The manner of her loss has got to be cause for concern. I thought her speech afterwards was good though. And Azarenka is slowly winning over the crowds. Even if they don't like her wailing on court, her off-court personality seems quite fun. A good ambassador for the WTA?

 

[MyNameIs]

Ah, I feel so bad for Sharapova. To lose her second straight GS final to a first timer, must be brutal. And to lose this badly too. I said before that this maybe her last chance to win a GS. Well, I don't know if I really believe that, but I do think it's going to be tough. And especially with now two straight losses, you have to imagine she'll have them in the back of her mind. But even with the loss, I do think Sharapova can be very proud of what she's been able to achieve since her comeback. Two GS final appearances, a number of lesser titles, back in the top five, etc. And she's still young. If she stays with it, not suffer another major injury, who knows.

Congrats to Azarenka. Quite a statement with that victory. If she played anything like she did against Clijsters, then major props for her fighting spirit. Glad she was able to get her nerves in order and win her first major. Plus the #1 ranking. Each a first for her country. I don't need to tell anybody, this girl has a bright future ahead of her.

So is the ranking going to be
1. Azarenka
2. Kvitova
3. Sharapova
4. Wozniaki
?

 

[Chaky]

New rankings:

1) Azarenka +2
2) Kvitova -
3) Sharapova +1
4) Wozniacki -3
5) Stosur -
6) Radwanska +2
7) Bartoli +2
8) Zvonareva -1
9) Li -3
10) Petkovic -

And Clijsters drops from #14 to #30 due to only having a few tournaments on her tally. Interesting that Petkovic didn't drop despite not even playing.

 

[Scott]

and stosur will remain no.5.

i agree with you Chaky,i'd like to see that myself,in regards to vika and petra. i was actually hoping it would be those two in the final but i think it was probably better for vika against maria to get her first major. everybody keeps talking about this transition and i really believe we're finally seeing it with these two players.

**nice to see that aga will be the new no.6!

 

[MyNameIs]

Aww, Vera Zvonareva all the way down to 8. I'd like her to have another run at it.

She won Australian Open doubles with Sveta Kuznetsova, so yay for them.

 

[constanceMafioso]

To lose her second straight GS final to a first timer, must be brutal. And to lose this badly too. I said before that this maybe her last chance to win a GS.

I do think Maria has another major in her but it's true she's a clear level below Petra and Victoria... -- Victoria is really a very bad match up for Maria and there's a reason why Maria hasn't even taken a set of her since Stanford 2010. Victoria plays a controlled aggressive tennis that really forces Maria to overplay.

Victoria uses pace very well, changes directions comfortably, takes the ball very early and really exposes lots of defaults in Maria's tennis. Maria showed no game plan today and was just contenting herself to hit the ball hard and harder obviously which doesn't work against such great defender and aggressive player like Victoria.

I'm really happy Vika won today, should really be a trampoline for her game [...] I do think she has the potential to dominate the tour better than Petra because her game is much more consistent and stable than the Czech who's still having issues with her game off grass.

At last I think they'll be the 2 greatest rivals in the future, they were yet again one match away from colliding in the AO F so I do believe they'll meet more and more often in the big tournaments -- the WTA really needs that.

 

[Scott]

^completely agree with you although i do feel kvitova will ultimately overcome her lapses. she's come such a long way in such a short amount of time,i think the trend will continue.

 

[Scott]

wow...what a match. i slept through it till those final three points of course but close to 6hr long. congrats to nole for defending successfully.

 

[MyNameIs]

Epic match. Shame Nadal couldn't pull it off, especially after having gotten that break earlier in the set. I too slept through most of it, woke up at two all in the fifth set, but I was still able to see some good tennis. They both gave it their all, with over five hours of play and some long rallies. Each went every ball everytime. Hard to imagine, after seeing that, that Nadal could beat Novak on a big stage in the near future.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[Chaky]

Incredible match. I watched the whole thing - all six hours!

I know some people are already calling this the greatest match of all time. I wouldn't go that far. The first three sets were pretty mediocre by Nadal and Djokovic's standards. It was only after the third where Nadal was getting crushed and everyone thought he was a goner that it picked up. Nadal raised his level and Djokovic started to respond. Then the crowd really got into it and became the epic it turned into.

Maybe it was made better for me by the fact that I didn't really mind which player won, I just wanted a good match. And they really delivered in the end. Such atheticism - it's incredible! Both great champions.

 

[Not Plain Jane]

In a match like that, with two wonderful warriors competing epically for hours and hours, tennis wins.

 

[constanceMafioso]

Great match, not the greatest of all time I agree ; I watched the whole 6 hours or almost too and one thing I have to say is that I feel that Nadal seemed to have come close to Djokovic -- I think there are lots of positive things he can take from a strategy wise perspective.

At 4*-2 30*-15 in the 5th. probably he should have sealed the deal. Novak looked completely out of it and was praying God for something to go in his favor. Anyways great match and 2 amazing warriors.

 

[YoninahAliza]

I'm so mad that I had to work today... and of course I would miss a match like this! I saw the first hour or two and it was really good. But I can only imagine that the later half of the match was amazing to watch. I managed to see clips of the match later... and wow... it looks like both Novak and Nadal were at the top of their game! In a way it doesn't matter who wins with a game like this, those who follow the sport win, because we get to witness something as fantastic as this.

 

[kournikov]

Congratulations to Victoria Azarenka!, on defeating Maria Sharapova, she beat her really good, 6-3, 6-0?!?. That's crazy. I don't think this will break down Sharapova, Sharapova has always been mentally strong, along with her game, that's one thing that I adore her. She'll recoup and move on and go on to the next tournament greatly, Victoria will have a great new confidence on her.

Wow, what a MATCH, Novak Djokovic defeating Rafael Nadal, I really wanted to see Nadal win, I thought he had it locked after winning the first set and was catching up on Novak in the second set, then I went to sleep (It was 3am here in Vegas), then I woke up to the spectacular score, and found out Novak won, well congrats to him. This is a great rivalry.

 

[purplethistle]

I'm loving the Djokovic and Nadal rivalry. It was a great match and pretty much watched the whole match. The standard was good for the whole match but tensions rose in the 4th and 5th set where it looked like it could have been won by either one of them.

The media here have been going on about the equal pay between men's and women's tennis especially after both finals when the women's final lasted just over an hour and the men's final close to six hours.
Personally I wouldn't mind seeing the women playing a few extra sets, least from the quarterfinal round and beyond since I don't feel the need for every match to be 5hrs long.

 

[kournikov]

Well, it's just that a lot of people wouldn't be used to giving womens matches 5 set matches, they've tried it before at WTA tournaments, and it didn't work out too well.

What tournament is coming up next?

Hopefully, I'll be able to go to Indian Wells this year

 

[Scott]

the thing is women are not physically able to compete at high levels in 5 setters. i mean people already criticize the quality of women's matches as it is,can you guys imagine the quality if women played 5 sets?

i think whosoever uses that match to justify that idea is silly. firstly,vika was simply too much in the zone....secondly,the men could just as easily win matches in that fashion in three sets as the women in two sets. in fact djokovic had such a match against mahut....0-1-1.....and also the women's game at the top isn't quite as tough as the guys top 4. frankly,the whole issue is redundant. i wish people would just accept and appreciate the differences but also realize at the same time the women work as hard as anybody.

 

[MyNameIs]

I think the problem some people have is that despite women having to play less tennis, they get paid as much as men. Which, imo, is a valid argument. Do all GSs pay equal sums to men and women?

 

[CielDeLit]

Why would it be a valid argument ? Women play less not because they want to, but because of their strength and physical abilities. They play their full capacity, like men do, that's why they should be paid the same.

 

[MyNameIs]

Because you don't get paid for 'doing your best', you get paid for getting the end result. Men have to play an average 2-3 hour match, women play an average 1-1.5 match, yet their salary is the same. In other words, men get paid at half the rate women do.