2013 women's tennis thread....

by shivfan Thu 27 Dec 2012, 10:46 am

First topic message reminder :

Just to offer a little variety, on a forum where the focus seems to be primarily on men's tennis....
Cool

Who do you think will be the main contenders for the first Slam of the year? Serena Williams? Vika Azarenka? Maria Sharapova?

by lydian Tue 18 Jun 2013, 3:45 pm

Do you detect she has a problem with double yips?

by The Special Juan Tue 18 Jun 2013, 3:58 pm

I think it's part psychological, part technical (perhaps 30%-70%). Serving near 150 double faults this year alone would put doubts in anyone's mind, especially at 4-4 deuce or near the end of a tiebreak, but it's something that can be worked on. It's very "basic" looking and players have changed their serve during their careers before with Sharapova and Djokovic being prime examples. She doesn't use her back leg at all, she just chucks the ball up in the air and hits it. It's been alright today though; she's hit a few aces.

by The Special Juan Tue 18 Jun 2013, 4:29 pm

And she wins 6-3 6-2. When the serve works, her game works. Who's next? Ooh, Wozniacki.

by The Special Juan Wed 19 Jun 2013, 4:09 pm

Just got in. Good to see she's not broken herself yet.

by The Special Juan Wed 19 Jun 2013, 4:26 pm

Oh dear. Chucks in 2 double faults to break herself Sad

It was all going so well until then.

by The Special Juan Wed 19 Jun 2013, 4:32 pm

First set for Wozniacki at 6-4. That one slack game really cost her in the end, up until then she was near enough crusing on serve. Miles is on and I like what he's saying to her. She will overpower Wozniacki eventually if she keeps hitting it back to her instead of going for the line.

by The Special Juan Wed 19 Jun 2013, 4:42 pm

Wozniacki's got the break as Robson again breaks herself, this time with unforced errors.

by time please Wed 19 Jun 2013, 4:53 pm

Laura breaks back!

by The Special Juan Wed 19 Jun 2013, 4:54 pm

There's the break back with some ferocious hitting!! More of the same please.

by The Special Juan Wed 19 Jun 2013, 5:08 pm

Oh my word a drop shot!! A drop shot!! Who'd have thought?

by ryan86 Wed 19 Jun 2013, 5:16 pm

Robson choosing the best game to get broken again.

by The Special Juan Wed 19 Jun 2013, 5:18 pm

4-4 again

Ironically, she's served better overall in these two matches than she has for the last few times I've seen her and it's just been two double fault-riddled games that have ended up tipping the balance.

by ryan86 Wed 19 Jun 2013, 5:24 pm

And misses an easy shot to hand Wozniacki the match.

by CaledonianCraig Wed 19 Jun 2013, 5:24 pm

Watched some of the match. Laura can carve out the chances but just fails on the big points. She is close to cracking it but still needs a few tweaks here and there.

by Andy11 Wed 19 Jun 2013, 8:34 pm

I'm afraid Laura is going to learn the hard way that an offensive game is more or less incompatible with the modern game. Serena can only do it because of her physique which cannot be replicated by other women.

by time please Wed 19 Jun 2013, 8:41 pm

It's a matter more of her learning when to be offensive, and when to have the patience to work a point I feel - is it a matter of fitness that she is reluctant to do so, or a matter of nerve?

by lydian Wed 19 Jun 2013, 9:18 pm

Yes I don't agree an offensive game is the issue. Actually, offensive and attacking tennis is the future ahead of us. We have gone from attacking fast-court tennis to defensive slow-court tennis, now we're on the march to attacking slow-court tennis. You can see this in Men's tennis particularly clearly. Grips are being modified through coaching to hit flat and hard, it's not all about whip anymore. Laura is the future style of tennis but she needs to be able to move well...it's the first foundation block any young player must have...not just to defend but to be able to get into position to hit those humdingers. So I agree with TP, her fitness has to be a priority. I'm sorry to say that many many female players on tour are just not fit or in shape enough. Laura is one of them. She doesn't have to become Sam "Biceps" Stosur but she does need to be more mobile and stronger on the stretch. Better core strength will also probably aid her serve too.

by The Special Juan Wed 19 Jun 2013, 9:35 pm

Fitness could definitely be an issue with her in the future but the problem at the moment is she's not playing for long enough/going on tournament runs for fitness to be a problem. Hopefully Miles can get her in shape and help her movement. There's only so fast you can get someone to run though; if they're not fast, they're not fast. It'd be funny if she came back over the winter break shaped like Serena!!

by lydian Wed 19 Jun 2013, 10:28 pm

Look at Sharapova, she was slim and fit but still improved her lateral speed significantly with the right training programme. I don't mean to be blunt but Robson needs to address other things first, including looks like she's carrying too much weight to me for a player wanting to push up into the top 30 tennis players in the world.

by lydian Fri 21 Jun 2013, 12:40 am

Sorry but I saw this photo from Eastbourne whilst reading the Telegraph and I simply had to post it to reinforce some of my posts above. It clearly shows a serious lack of conditioning in her legs...this is extraordinarily bad IMO for someone trying to reach the upper echelons of women's tennis. Is it any wonder her movement is not as good as it should be?

2013 women's tennis thread.... - Page 4 Image18

2013 women's tennis thread.... - Page 4 Image18

by The Special Juan Sat 22 Jun 2013, 1:50 pm

I've seen Jamie Hampton a few times this year now and the more I see, the more I like. She's not going to be a contender for the majors but she's like Aggy with a bit more power with the variety she displays. She ran Azarenka very close in Oz and only lost because she started cramping.

by ryan86 Sat 22 Jun 2013, 2:27 pm

The one thing I was amazed buy was they were talking about the young up and coming American Hampton against the ex-world No.1 Wozniacki yesterday. Except Hampton is older than Wozniacki.

Halep, she of breast reduction fame has been on quite a run recently, winning back to back tournaments between the two Slams and dismantling everyone she met in The Netherlands. This means she will probably be exhausted for Wimbledon and lose 1R, but maybe one also one to keep an eye on.

by djlovesyou Sat 22 Jun 2013, 4:02 pm

ryan86 wrote:The one thing I was amazed buy was they were talking about the young up and coming American Hampton against the ex-world No.1 Wozniacki yesterday. Except Hampton is older than Wozniacki.

Don't see the issue. The sport isn't dominated by teenagers anymore.

She's 23 and quickly moving up the rankings. Isn't that the very definition of 'young and up and coming'? The comparison to Wozniacki is irrelevant, everyone develops differently.

by Guest Sat 22 Jun 2013, 6:48 pm

lydian wrote:Sorry but I saw this photo from Eastbourne whilst reading the Telegraph and I simply had to post it to reinforce some of my posts above. It clearly shows a serious lack of conditioning in her legs...this is extraordinarily bad IMO for someone trying to reach the upper echelons of women's tennis. Is it any wonder her movement is not as good as it should be?

That's disgustingl.

I've said it before and I'll darn well say it again.

There's no excuse for a 19 year old professional athlete in such a physically demanding sport to have cellulitic legs. There's just no need for it at all.

ghost

emancipator

by djlovesyou Sat 22 Jun 2013, 8:27 pm

Looks like she's got a 'cellulitic' shin too. (cellulitic isn't a real word in this sense I'm afraid.)

It's the photo, she's impacting the ground hard with her right foot and it's causing a shockwave up her leg.

Nothing to see here misogynists.

by shivfan Mon 12 Aug 2013, 7:12 am

Serena beat Sorana Cirstea with the loss of just two games in the final to win the Rogers Cup in Toronto....
clap

by shivfan Sun 08 Sep 2013, 1:04 pm

Vika says that Serena is the GOAT....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/24000851

by invisiblecoolers Mon 09 Sep 2013, 12:03 am

Vika fights her way back from 1-4 and 5-6 to 7-6 in the 2nd set, Serena goosed it up when she had in her racquet to serve the match out in st.sets.

by shivfan Tue 24 Sep 2013, 1:02 pm

Venus knocks Azarenka out at two and four in the second round at Japan....

TBF, Vika was clearly ill...this is the first time I've seen her silent while hitting a ball in the entire match!
Shocked

by shivfan Tue 01 Oct 2013, 12:35 pm

Because of the Sjogrens, Venus always has an up-and-down season...semis in Japan after beating Azarenka, Stosur etc, and then out in the first round at China, tamely to Lisicki.

by shivfan Tue 01 Oct 2013, 1:45 pm

Another early exit for Robson....

Hmmm...it seems Laura only seems to be able to motivate herself for the Slams.

She's behind in the rankings to the up-and-coming Americans Sloane Stephens, Jamie Hampton and Madison Keys, the promising Canadian Eugenie Bouchard and the devastating Romanian Simona Halep.

At this rate, Robson won't be seeded for the Australian.

by shivfan Sat 05 Oct 2013, 12:38 pm

Serena battled some serious back pain to beat Radwanska at two and two in the semis....

by djlovesyou Sat 05 Oct 2013, 12:45 pm

Are your interests in women's tennis limited to Williams winning and Robson losing?

by shivfan Sun 06 Oct 2013, 2:33 pm

Are your interests in women's tennis limited to talking about my posts?
Rolling Eyes

If there are other players that you're interested in talking about, you're free to post about them....

Deja vu...Serena battles back pain to beat Jankovic by the same scoreline in the final.

That's her tenth singles title of the year...amazing!
clap

by djlovesyou Sun 06 Oct 2013, 5:52 pm

You still standing by your prediction that Heather Watson will have a better career than Robson, the one you made before ever watching her play?

by shivfan Tue 22 Oct 2013, 5:34 pm

Oh, do grow up, little boy....
Rolling Eyes

Since you're totally clueless, you apparently don't know that Watson's career might just have been ended by glandular fever, which has ended the careers of Mario Ancic and Robin Soderling. Not that something like that has ever stopped you from laughing at the fate of Watson.

Azarenka had to work hard for that win against an injured Errani....

by shivfan Tue 22 Oct 2013, 7:01 pm

A convincing win for Serena over Kerber....
clap

by djlovesyou Tue 22 Oct 2013, 10:05 pm

shivfan wrote:

Since you're totally clueless, you apparently don't know that Watson's career might just have been ended by glandular fever, which has ended the careers of Mario Ancic and Robin Soderling. Not that something like that has ever stopped you from laughing at the fate of Watson.

I've always been a huge supporter of Heather, never laughed at her (I've wanted to to win every match she's played) I've only ever laughed at you. (She had a good win today against McHale by the way.)

Your problem was that you felt, for one reason or another, you had to pick one of the young players to support and not like the other. Bit odd that.

by Guest Tue 22 Oct 2013, 10:29 pm

Although I might disagree with a few posts of djlovesyou - there is no doubting his expertise of the game especially in the juniors / ITF/ Challenger levels - so I would always take seriously what he has to say. I don't know too much about shivfans expertise but I think there is no doubting the enthusiasm and heart on sleeve attitude - which is also important. Smile

by Guest Tue 22 Oct 2013, 10:33 pm

With regard Heather it has been a disappointing fall - maybe she tried too much too soon - maybe she should have dropped down a level to the ITF circuit or mixed it up more (ITF/WTA)? Hopefully she can build up her confidence again to get back into the top 100 ... top 50 ...

The other thing to consider is ability to maintain focus, when you win your first WTA singles tournament, when you are lauded by the press, when you have more press interviews and advertising offers available, when the money begins to start flowing in ... maybe it becomes difficult to maintain the same level of commitment as before. Then you have the niggly injuries, the expectation to do well, maybe you feel more pressure ... I don't know.

by shivfan Sat 26 Oct 2013, 5:29 pm

Anybody who's supposed to know anything about Heather would've known that her fall in 2013 has been down to glandular fever...surely, you knew that too, Nore?

The fact that djloveswhogivesacrap didn't know that tells me that he knows next to nothing about British women's tennis. Clearly, his knowledge of British women's tennis is solely restricted to Laura Robson.

Serena battled a back injury to beat Jankovic in three sets...this match is a refutation for those critics (i.e. the Sunday Times) who say that Serena's game is solely based on power.

Serena had to cut the pace on his serve, and gone are the ripping service returns, and muscled winners from the back court. Instead, she's focussed mainly on placement, and Jankovic has had no answer.
clap

by djlovesyou Sat 26 Oct 2013, 6:05 pm

shivfan wrote:Anybody who's supposed to know anything about Heather would've known that her fall in 2013 has been down to glandular fever...surely, you knew that too, Nore?

The fact that djloveswhogivesacrap didn't know that tells me that he knows next to nothing about British women's tennis. Clearly, his knowledge of British women's tennis is solely restricted to Laura Robson.

Glandular fever has nothing to do with which one of the two is clearly the better player.

It was years ago (before Heather had ever played a match on TV) when you quite confidently exclaimed (obviously without having seen her play, perhaps seen a picture though!?) that Watson is quite clearly the more talented player and would go on to have the better career.

With or without the glandular fever, I'm not sure your prediction is quite going to plan.

You can say what you want about me, but to suggest I know 'next to nothing' about British women's tennis is a bit silly. I'm no expert, but I do keep very much in touch and could probably give you a quick bio on most of the top 20 (and a few more juniors/college players).

by banbrotam Sat 26 Oct 2013, 6:09 pm

djlovesyou wrote:Your problem was that you felt, for one reason or another, you had to pick one of the young players to support and not like the other. Bit odd that.

Why's that odd? Or even a "problem"? I too prefer Watson to Robson. The impression I now get, is that in your quest to shove Shiv's 'wrong' (in your mind) opinion about Heather, you're prepared to write unbalanced comments about her

i.e. even Roger suffered a loss of form when he had the mono. In all likelihood it led to other fitness issues - leading to not been quite himself. If such a thing happens to a lower ranked player, given the relatively low number of points they have the ability to win - ranking wise it's a huge affect.

In reality, Heather might never be the same again, so it's not something to use as a stick to beat others. To me it's quite sad

by kingraf Sat 26 Oct 2013, 6:11 pm

I too prefer Heather. Quite adorable... and probably better.

by djlovesyou Sat 26 Oct 2013, 6:42 pm

Bit sad maybe (although I did say I support both equally) but probably less sad than really disliking a player because she's popular and then picking another player to 'support' simply to be contrary.

Shiv's only real interest in British tennis is Laura, the Heather thing is only something he can use against all the 'fanboys', 'bigots' and 'racists' that think Laura is the better player.

by Sponsored content