In between Grand Slams tennis thread

RosyLily

Not surprised that Vika pulled out of her match; she looked awful in her match against Vinci. Perhaps the year is taking its toll on her.

Great win for Stosur over Masha. She has not fared well against the Russian in the past so this will give her a boost!

Looking forward to Aga vs. Kerber tomorrow!:)

yerwanthere123

Losing to Stosur is not in Sharapova's nature, she lead the head-to-head 10-1 before the match! Perhaps it's the end of the year and she doesn't care as much? And talk about the stars aligning for Aga! Maria loses and personal tormentor Vika out sick.. her title defense looks feasible!

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Losing to Stosur is not in Sharapova's nature, she lead the head-to-head 10-1 before the match! Perhaps it's the end of the year and she doesn't care as much? And talk about the stars aligning for Aga! Maria loses and personal tormentor Vika out sick.. her title defense looks feasible!

It's a wonder Maria got as far as Sam this week. She's been playing awful awful tennis. It was sheer will to win that got her past Watson. She did slightly better in her other match but it was still pretty terrible stats from her. On the plus side though she defended her points from last year in Tokyo, where she rolled her ankle in the QF's and now has nothing to defend until the Aus Open in January.

yerwanthere123

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

It's a wonder Maria got as far as Sam this week. She's been playing awful awful tennis. It was sheer will to win that got her past Watson. She did slightly better in her other match but it was still pretty terrible stats from her. On the plus side though she defended her points from last year in Tokyo, where she rolled her ankle in the QF's and now has nothing to defend until the Aus Open in January.

Oh really? I haven't seen her play all week. She must have been playing badly to lose to Stosur

I don't hold out much hope for her in Istanbul either, I think she's looking ahead to 2013. I'm already impatient for the new season! Even though technically this one isn't over, it more or less ends for me when the US open draws to a close.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Oh really? I haven't seen her play all week. She must have been playing badly to lose to Stosur

Her match against Watson went on for just over 3 hours. She had 67 unforced errors and 14 double faults. Hogstedt was saying something to her about her shoulder being tired during one of her changeovers so it's possible it's affecting her a bit. This has probably been her first full year since her shoulder surgery and definitely her best since it, she's gone to final or SF stage in a lot of the big tournaments, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if her shoulder was feeling it.

After the US Open you do tend to see players who've been successful all year drop off a bit. Look at Djokovic last year.

As for Stosur beating her, it's not that surprising. Their match in Stuttgart earlier in the year was brilliant. They were both playing at a really high level and it went to 3 sets and Sharapova only just took it.

RosyLily

It's been a great year for Sharapova...not surprised she's feeling the pinch now. Not a lot of players can keep up their form for an entire year.

Aga had a nice win over Kerber in Tokyo, 6-1 6-1. I was expecting a more competitive match but Aga pretty much dominated. Petrova caused an upset by defeating Stosur in straight sets.

The 4 women that reached the SFs in Tokyo have been given first round byes in Beijing. Radwanska is the defending champion here. No Serena (flu) or Venus (back injury) again. Victoria Azarenka is in the same half of the draw as Stosur, Kvitova & Errani; on the other side is Radwanska, Sharapova, Li, Wozniacki & Kerber.

Robson & Watson are in the final round of qualifying. The former will play Johanna Larsson for a place in the main draw and the latter plays Camila Giorgi.

cgpg5

I for one am very much looking forward to seeing how Heather progresses over the next year. No doubt most eyes will be on Laura and seeing can she build on her US open run. Heather will be looking to come in nicely under the radar.

Didn't see the Sharapova game but it seemed error ridden to say the least. Agree that she may well be tiring after a long and good season

yerwanthere123

cgpg5 wrote: »

I for one am very much looking forward to seeing how Heather progresses over the next year. No doubt most eyes will be on Laura and seeing can she build on her US open run. Heather will be looking to come in nicely under the radar.

Didn't see the Sharapova game but it seemed error ridden to say the least. Agree that she may well be tiring after a long and good season

I don't hold out much hope for Heather to be honest. She just lost in the Beijing qualifying rounds, if she was going to be a top player she would be winning these matches by now. I think she will become a reliable top 50/40 player, but not a major contender. I think when Kvitova was her age she was already ranked inside the top 30?

Nadia Petrova winning Tokyo must be one of the most random wins of the year, although she didn't have to play Vika, Maria or Serena so it's somewhat understandable. Still, Aga should have beat her! Serena now moves up to No.3

cgpg5

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

I don't hold out much hope for Heather to be honest. She just lost in the Beijing qualifying rounds, if she was going to be a top player she would be winning these matches by now. I think she will become a reliable top 50/40 player, but not a major contender. I think when Kvitova was her age she was already ranked inside the top 30?

Nadia Petrova winning Tokyo must be one of the most random wins of the year, although she didn't have to play Vika, Maria or Serena so it's somewhat understandable. Still, Aga should have beat her! Serena now moves up to No.3

I find it hard to disagree with that alright. I'm just looking forward to seeing how she progresses with no real pressure on her shoulders; at this stage all the expectation is on Laura. She showed good glimpses (especially at W'don) but her lack of any real weapons is always going to be problematic. Can she improve in this regard one wonders? There's a substantial difference between being 18 and 20 alright in tennis terms. Not qualifying in Beijing was poor in all honesty

Aye seemed a very strange match. I'd have thought Aga would have had too much especially as she was defending her title. Was really topsy turvy- Nadia bagled her in the first only to be the victim of a 6-1 swing in the second. She took the third 6-3. Talk about severe momentum shifts between sets!

All in all good tournament by petrova, beating Stosur and Errani along the way aswell

yerwanthere123

Poor Andrea Petkovic, defending almost 70% of her ranking points this week. A first round loss will send her down to 150+ and beyond! I doubt she'll be too upset however, this year has been a disaster and she'll be able to start afresh in January, hopefully injury-free. What tournaments has she even played since she came back? I know she had a first round loss in Tokyo and at the US open.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Her 1st comeback was in April when she played 1 Fed Cup match, then played in Stuttgart where won her 1st match, then injured herself in the next match against Azarenka.

Her 2nd comeback was in August where she played New Haven just before the US Open. Won her 1st match, lost her 2nd. Then R1 loss at US Open.

I'd say she's just trying to get back into the swing of things now and then get a good off season and start from scratch in January. Very tough year for her but she was making real progress last year so hopefully she can get back to where she was.

cgpg5

Laura Robson out of China Open anyway with a very disappointing loss to Spain's Domingiez Lino. Seemed to be filled with the all too familiar scatter of UE's and double faults. She's making progress but that is a bit of a blow. WOuld have liked to see her meet Radwanska to give herself a good test

Meanwhile Andy Murray was back on the court (and back on twitter for those interested!) for the first time since his US open win. He beat big serving karlovic 7-6, 6-4. Karlovic hit a mad number of aces but never came close to breaking (reminded me of the Raonic game at US open).

I see David Ferrer was a retirement against Lu in Beijing which is disappointing news.

Rafa has confirmed he'll make Abu Dhabi at Christmas. Hmm I don't know waht to think with him...

Also, it comes up every year but I'd be in full agreement with toning down the number of events around now at this time of year, especially for the year that's in it (Olympic year). Seems to be taking its toll on players

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

cgpg5 wrote: »

Rafa has confirmed he'll make Abu Dhabi at Christmas. Hmm I don't know waht to think with him...

He's also told the Aus Open that he plans on making his comeback at it. We'll see.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Line up for YEC's complete.

Vika, Masha, Serena, Aga, Kvitova, Errani, Kerber and Li Na.

Stosur and Bartoli are alternates.


Anyone see Kerber retire against Sharapova this morning. Down 6-0 3-0 in about half an hour and she quit. Said it was her foot but there looked to be absolutely nothing wrong with her.

cgpg5

Indeed seen that alright, couldn't hack the humiliation I guess but I can't stand that sort of stuff. Still great show by Masha though

Tokyo- Murray through to the semis anyway beat Wawrinka in 3. Faces Raonic next. Will be a similar type of game to the r1 match v Karlovic you'd imagine. Berdych plays local guy Nishikori in quarters, really looking forward to that one

cgpg5

Nishikori beats Berdych! Am surprised at that although I'm a big Nishikori fan and he's playing at home if you will. Looking like it'll be him and Andy in the final

Tox56

The Raonic match looks like it will be the final for Murray, even though Nishikori will have home support should he get through.

cgpg5

Tox56 wrote: »

The Raonic match looks like it will be the final for Murray, even though Nishikori will have home support should he get through.

If Murray turns up at all he'll win the two handy enough. Just like at FM I can't see Raonic getting much opportunities to break the Murray serve. The best of 3 will be a help to Raonic I guess. If he can hit a hell of a lot of aces you'd never know but there's only one player going to win the rallies. Murray played him excellently at FM and I'd imagine he'll do the same here. Probably will come down to how much he wants it

cgpg5

So Raonic beats Murray! Didn't see it coming tbh fair play to the young Canadian. Murray had the match in the bag really but Raonic broke back in the final set to force a breaker and never looked back. He'll play Nishikori in final. Hard one to call

It'll be interesting to see how Raonic does at AO. He's still way off the top players imo but that serve is an incredible weapon...

Tox56

I was worried he might have done the same in the US Open, but at least it happened now rather than in New York.

cgpg5

Tox56 wrote: »

I was worried he might have done the same in the US Open, but at least it happened now rather than in New York.

Still a world of difference between this and a slam though. Murray was 4-1 in the third and somehow lost. Missed two MP's too. Credit to Raonic though. I'd like to see him win it

A kick up the backside for Andy I guess. Might be no harm at all Nevertheless were the two to meet soon again in a slam I'd fancy Andy comfortably any day of the week.

Djok is into the semis of China anyway. Plays Mayer in the semi. Tsonga/Lopez in the other. Hope Lopez comes through there Either way Djok will probably win it comfortably enough

Shanghai draw has been made. Potential semis Murray/Fed, Djok/Berdych

The Czech has a nasty draw though- he'll have to beat Raonic and Tsonga to make the semis alone

RosyLily

Definitely surprised by Raonic's win. Especially since he came back from 1-4 down in the decider. Excellent win for him though; hope he can continue this run in the final and maybe bring it forward to 2013.

Maria made easy work of Li Na earlier, especially in the second set. The serve was desperate at times though!! 3 DFs in a row!!! Masha's been having a fantastic year....her best yet according to many critics. 4 titles, Career Grand Slam done & Olympic silver medal. Not too shabby for a 25 year old!

Maria and Vika will contested the final tomorrow. They had a great match at the US Open a few weeks ago so I'm hoping this will be another competitive match.:)

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

^ Does Maria have 4 titles this year? I can only think of Stuttgart, Rome, RG....? Those three were on clay too, how weird is that?

Anyway, if Vika wins the final here I think it pretty much wraps up Year End #1. If Maria wins it will come down to who plays best in Istanbul. Could be an exciting finish to the year. Azarenka is down to play Linz next week, can't see that happening.

yerwanthere123

My first time sitting down to a watch a tennis match since the US open ended... hope Maria and Vika play a good one! I feel that Maria needs to win this a lot more than Vika, otherwise their head-to-head will turn very lopsided in Vika's favour.

RosyLily

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

^ Does Maria have 4 titles this year? I can only think of Stuttgart, Rome, RG....? Those three were on clay too, how weird is that?

Anyway, if Vika wins the final here I think it pretty much wraps up Year End #1. If Maria wins it will come down to who plays best in Istanbul. Could be an exciting finish to the year. Azarenka is down to play Linz next week, can't see that happening.

Oops, my mistake! 3 titles.:o She has reached 8 finals this year...impressive!

Comprehensive loss to Azarenka earlier. 6-3, 6-1. Can't remember, but has Maria only beaten Vika on clay this year?

Bob & Mike Bryan have won their 82nd career title in Beijing, defeating Berlocq & Istomin in straight sets.

yerwanthere123

RosyLily wrote: »

Oops, my mistake! 3 titles.:o She has reached 8 finals this year...impressive!

Comprehensive loss to Azarenka earlier. 6-3, 6-1. Can't remember, but has Maria only beaten Vika on clay this year?

Bob & Mike Bryan have won their 82nd career title in Beijing, defeating Berlocq & Istomin in straight sets.

This is correct, in the Stuttgart final. She lost the other four matches, all on hard courts. Vika now leads the head-to-head 7-4 (although one of Maria's 'wins' was a retirement). The last thing Maria needs is Vika getting inside her head like Serena is!

cgpg5

Nishikori wins! Bagled Raonic in the final set for good measure. Disappointing for Milos though, I guess the Murray game was his final

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

This is correct, in the Stuttgart final. She lost the other four matches, all on hard courts. Vika now leads the head-to-head 7-4 (although one of Maria's 'wins' was a retirement). The last thing Maria needs is Vika getting inside her head like Serena is!

Already has. No other explanation for it. Vika's serve is weak compared to most of the girls and yet Maria can't deal with it. It's ridiculous. She refuses to change her game though, same against Serena, so it's hardly surprising she keeps getting the same results.

At the US Open she was asked about changing her game if she had to play Serena and she basically laughed it off. Vika and her coach were asked the same question and they said that looking at their past results it was obvious they had to change something. They did and it very nearly worked for them.

Masha is my favourite but her stubborn streak is a major problem.

The fight between Djokovic and Federer for number one is fascinating at the moment. Given the tournaments coming up (Basel and the Bercy are next after this aren't they?), I'd make Federer slight favourite to be the number one going into the Final 8.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Deleted User wrote: »

The fight between Djokovic and Federer for number one is fascinating at the moment. Given the tournaments coming up (Basel and the Bercy are next after this aren't they?), I'd make Federer slight favourite to be the number one going into the Final 8.

Depends on what happens this week in Shanghai. Federer won most of his points last season in this last stretch, Djokovic won very few. I'd put money on Djokovic for year end #1 anyway.