Afterthoughts (a.k.a therapy)
7 years ago
Showing posts with label Victoria Azarenka. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Victoria Azarenka. Show all posts
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Paragraph Woes
My issues with Blogspot and its refusal to believe in paragraphs continue. Back tomorrow to talk about the men's final and to wrangle with it some more. (Congrats, Vika!)
Friday, January 21, 2011
Life On Show Court 2
Today was my last day at the Australian Open - sadface. I finished it off with wonderful drinks with Dootsiez and PJ from All I Need Is A Picket Fence, which was the perfect way to end what has been a wonderful tournament for me. I have had the time of my life, and you can bet your bottom dollar that I will be back for 2012 - for even longer, if I can possibly afford it!
I spent a great part of my day on Show Court 2 today - first for Almagro vs Ljubicic and then for Azarenka vs Scheepers. Herein is my report.
Almagro was playing as well as I have ever seen him on a hard court. We all know that he is the Prince of Clay, but he was absolutely on fire today against Ljubicic. If you'd asked me to place a bet before the match, I would have said Ljubicic in straights. Instead, it turned out being the other way round.
I never realised Almgaro had such massive shots - he can hit the ball HARD. I think the only person I've seen hit the ball that (noticeably) hard is Soderling. And maybe Nadal. Seriously, his strokes were MASSIVE today. He has a real flair for the passing shot and the angled forehand. And he played a totally fierce second set tiebreak. That tiebreak was the real key point in the match, and it was Almagro who held tough. I was very impressed. I totally understand how he gave Tsonga such a good run for his money last year! Actually, Almagro has a pretty decent record in Australia, and I totally get why.
Ljubicic, on the other hand, was doing something weird with his shots. I don't know if I was influenced by his grunt, which made him sound extremely like he was in pain, but he seemed to be collapsing inwards on a lot of his shots - sort of curling up, which seemed to be really hampering his movement. I don't know if I've missed, like, his entire career, and he's always played like this, but I felt very much like he was playing through big pain. I was kind of glad Almagro put him out of his misery, to tell the truth.
And then it was time for the ladies. This was the first full ladies' match I have watched outside of Rod Laver Arena, and it was suitably compelling, even if the scoreline did not suggest it.
I have not been a big fan of Azarenka in the past. I don't know if I have changed my opinion, but I was pretty impressed with her today. Scheepers possesses some big shots - like, BIG. She can hit winners like nobody's business and she has a lot of power. But Vika didn't panic and deflected all that power straight back at her. It was great tennis from Vika, combined with a bit of inexperience from her opponent, which won her this match. And in a women's draw more wide open than ever, why shouldn't it be time for Vika to make a charge?
And then it was time for Federer. I didn't have Rod Laver Arena tickets, but I watched on the big screen in Grand Slam Oval. And had twenty minor heart attacks, even though Federer was in front virtually the whole time.
Federer played this whole match like he'd left the oven on - distracted and wanting to get off as soon as possible. He managed the latter, but it was a strange, nervy match. He oscillated between extreme brilliance and Federror, his evil shadow-self. And then there was his strange obsession with the drop shot...
But he'll be right. He's Federer. And that is the truth of the matter.
I'm watched the Rod Laver Arena night session as I write this. Stan Wawrinka has just put paid to an awful Gael Monfils. Seriously, could Monfils have played any worse in this match? He possibly has the worst mentality in tennis. I came to this conclusion after watching him tank the third set against Gil the other night, and it was only reinforced tonight.
We've watched Federer and Nadal. We know that tennis champions have minds of steel. Monfils demonstrated tonight that he does not have one. He fell apart, totally and completely. He might have the talent, he might even have the game, but unless he works on what he has upstairs, he's not going anywhere.
In short, it is time for Gael Monfils and Roger Rasheed to BREAK UP. Rasheed is infecting him with douchiness.
Stan, on the other hand, played wonderfully. He may be a little douchey in his personal life - I cast no stones, I said 'may' - but his backhand is a freaking work of art. That thing is gorgeous.
And then the second Rod Laver Arena match... poor Venus. That poor girl. Poor scheduling decision, considering her injured-ness, but oh my goodness. That girl was HURTING. Get well soon, Lady V!
I spent a great part of my day on Show Court 2 today - first for Almagro vs Ljubicic and then for Azarenka vs Scheepers. Herein is my report.
Almagro was playing as well as I have ever seen him on a hard court. We all know that he is the Prince of Clay, but he was absolutely on fire today against Ljubicic. If you'd asked me to place a bet before the match, I would have said Ljubicic in straights. Instead, it turned out being the other way round.
I never realised Almgaro had such massive shots - he can hit the ball HARD. I think the only person I've seen hit the ball that (noticeably) hard is Soderling. And maybe Nadal. Seriously, his strokes were MASSIVE today. He has a real flair for the passing shot and the angled forehand. And he played a totally fierce second set tiebreak. That tiebreak was the real key point in the match, and it was Almagro who held tough. I was very impressed. I totally understand how he gave Tsonga such a good run for his money last year! Actually, Almagro has a pretty decent record in Australia, and I totally get why.
Ljubicic, on the other hand, was doing something weird with his shots. I don't know if I was influenced by his grunt, which made him sound extremely like he was in pain, but he seemed to be collapsing inwards on a lot of his shots - sort of curling up, which seemed to be really hampering his movement. I don't know if I've missed, like, his entire career, and he's always played like this, but I felt very much like he was playing through big pain. I was kind of glad Almagro put him out of his misery, to tell the truth.
And then it was time for the ladies. This was the first full ladies' match I have watched outside of Rod Laver Arena, and it was suitably compelling, even if the scoreline did not suggest it.
I have not been a big fan of Azarenka in the past. I don't know if I have changed my opinion, but I was pretty impressed with her today. Scheepers possesses some big shots - like, BIG. She can hit winners like nobody's business and she has a lot of power. But Vika didn't panic and deflected all that power straight back at her. It was great tennis from Vika, combined with a bit of inexperience from her opponent, which won her this match. And in a women's draw more wide open than ever, why shouldn't it be time for Vika to make a charge?
And then it was time for Federer. I didn't have Rod Laver Arena tickets, but I watched on the big screen in Grand Slam Oval. And had twenty minor heart attacks, even though Federer was in front virtually the whole time.
Federer played this whole match like he'd left the oven on - distracted and wanting to get off as soon as possible. He managed the latter, but it was a strange, nervy match. He oscillated between extreme brilliance and Federror, his evil shadow-self. And then there was his strange obsession with the drop shot...
But he'll be right. He's Federer. And that is the truth of the matter.
I'm watched the Rod Laver Arena night session as I write this. Stan Wawrinka has just put paid to an awful Gael Monfils. Seriously, could Monfils have played any worse in this match? He possibly has the worst mentality in tennis. I came to this conclusion after watching him tank the third set against Gil the other night, and it was only reinforced tonight.
We've watched Federer and Nadal. We know that tennis champions have minds of steel. Monfils demonstrated tonight that he does not have one. He fell apart, totally and completely. He might have the talent, he might even have the game, but unless he works on what he has upstairs, he's not going anywhere.
In short, it is time for Gael Monfils and Roger Rasheed to BREAK UP. Rasheed is infecting him with douchiness.
Stan, on the other hand, played wonderfully. He may be a little douchey in his personal life - I cast no stones, I said 'may' - but his backhand is a freaking work of art. That thing is gorgeous.
And then the second Rod Laver Arena match... poor Venus. That poor girl. Poor scheduling decision, considering her injured-ness, but oh my goodness. That girl was HURTING. Get well soon, Lady V!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Sam She Is
I just realised that Sveta is not in Doha. I know she didn't have a good enough year to come anywhere close to making it, but it still makes me sad.
You know who is in Doha, though? And doing awesomely? That would be one Sam Stosur, who is kicking arse and taking names. She played the only competitive match of the day yesterday when she beat Francesca Schiavone, and today she pulled a really big coup by beating Caro Wozniacki.
Caro Wozniacki may be the #1 player in the world, but she is completely vulnerable to a zoning player. Well, anyone is vulnerable to a zoning player, I suppose, but she is super-vulnerable. Her game is all based around the fact that everyone else's game is based on risk - if she can keep the ball in play, eventually the coin will comes heads instead of tails, so to speak. But when her opponent is taking the risks and the majority of them are paying off... hello, trouble.
That's what happened today. This isn't the best I've seen Stosur play, but it was pretty damn good. Nearly everything she hit went in and she hit through Caro basically at will. She had the ol' serve forehand combo working like a dream. It was great stuff. And now she has total control over the Maroon Group with only one match left to play... and when you consider that that match is against the emphatically out of form Elena Dementieva, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see Sammy's path straight into the semis.
Vera Zvonareva is on top of the White Group for now, but Kim Clijsters is also undefeated - you'd have to think that it'll be the winner of that match who wins the group. Jankovic definitely isn't going through and I'm not so hot on Vika's chances either, so you have to think that it'll be Clijsters and Zvonareva going through here. Stosur and Wozniacki have to be the picks in the other group, unless Schiavone pulls out something a bit spesh.
I just realised something. Did Venus not qualify this year? or is she just not playing? What's the deal there? This must be the first Williams-less final in some time!
You know who is in Doha, though? And doing awesomely? That would be one Sam Stosur, who is kicking arse and taking names. She played the only competitive match of the day yesterday when she beat Francesca Schiavone, and today she pulled a really big coup by beating Caro Wozniacki.
Caro Wozniacki may be the #1 player in the world, but she is completely vulnerable to a zoning player. Well, anyone is vulnerable to a zoning player, I suppose, but she is super-vulnerable. Her game is all based around the fact that everyone else's game is based on risk - if she can keep the ball in play, eventually the coin will comes heads instead of tails, so to speak. But when her opponent is taking the risks and the majority of them are paying off... hello, trouble.
That's what happened today. This isn't the best I've seen Stosur play, but it was pretty damn good. Nearly everything she hit went in and she hit through Caro basically at will. She had the ol' serve forehand combo working like a dream. It was great stuff. And now she has total control over the Maroon Group with only one match left to play... and when you consider that that match is against the emphatically out of form Elena Dementieva, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see Sammy's path straight into the semis.
Vera Zvonareva is on top of the White Group for now, but Kim Clijsters is also undefeated - you'd have to think that it'll be the winner of that match who wins the group. Jankovic definitely isn't going through and I'm not so hot on Vika's chances either, so you have to think that it'll be Clijsters and Zvonareva going through here. Stosur and Wozniacki have to be the picks in the other group, unless Schiavone pulls out something a bit spesh.
I just realised something. Did Venus not qualify this year? or is she just not playing? What's the deal there? This must be the first Williams-less final in some time!
Monday, September 27, 2010
A List of Unrelated Facts
Let's see if I can string together a blog post that doesn't rhyme for the first time in what? four days? Maybe this week will be more interesting. I have to believe it.
Let's do a list of things I think are noteworthy or interesting instead of a poem. And I'll try very hard to make sure it doesn't rhyme. I will, however, be extremely cryptic and not explain what I mean.
1) I used to really like Viktor Troicki. Now I think he is a bit disappointing.
2) Jack Sock is kicking Ryler de Heart's arse when it comes to the best name in American tennis.
3) I really need to watch some of this Thiemo de Bakker dude. Everyone seems to think he's awesome. I've missed it totally. I hate missing bandwagons. It makes me sad.
4) I am on the Yuki Bhambri bandwagon. Mostly because he has a cool name.
5) Being a Svetlana Kuznetsova fan is like repeatedly banging your head into a wall. Sometimes you're so dazed you forget the wall's there, but mostly you're in agony.
6) I'm really glad I'm not a Vika fan. That seems like it would be worse.
7) It would be awesome if Bepa became #1 in the world, even if it was just for a week.
8) Is Kevin Anderson awesome or something now? He seems to be everywhere.
9) Andrey Golubev is definitely awesome.
10) What are your random inane comments?
Let's do a list of things I think are noteworthy or interesting instead of a poem. And I'll try very hard to make sure it doesn't rhyme. I will, however, be extremely cryptic and not explain what I mean.
1) I used to really like Viktor Troicki. Now I think he is a bit disappointing.
2) Jack Sock is kicking Ryler de Heart's arse when it comes to the best name in American tennis.
3) I really need to watch some of this Thiemo de Bakker dude. Everyone seems to think he's awesome. I've missed it totally. I hate missing bandwagons. It makes me sad.
4) I am on the Yuki Bhambri bandwagon. Mostly because he has a cool name.
5) Being a Svetlana Kuznetsova fan is like repeatedly banging your head into a wall. Sometimes you're so dazed you forget the wall's there, but mostly you're in agony.
6) I'm really glad I'm not a Vika fan. That seems like it would be worse.
7) It would be awesome if Bepa became #1 in the world, even if it was just for a week.
8) Is Kevin Anderson awesome or something now? He seems to be everywhere.
9) Andrey Golubev is definitely awesome.
10) What are your random inane comments?
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Bloody Coup
So much for bloodless.
We have to start by talking about Andy Roddick, because this is one of the worst losses he's taken in a while - not just in opponent but in demeanour. This is probably the most bad tempered match I have ever seen Andy play. He just had nothing going on, and he was berating himself stupid for it. It was painful to watch and to experience and does not bode well into the future. Anyone can take an early loss - but the manner in which he took this loss does not make me hopeful for his future.
Congrats to Janko Tipsarevic, though - great win! This really opens up the Djokovic quarter, and because I don't see Djokovic coming through, why not Tipsarevic to be surprise semi finalist? This quarter quite literally belongs to anyone.
You know who else is going nowhere fast? Oh HI, Tomas Berdych? Am I gleefully glad that you got booted out of the tournament like a whelp? Why... YES. I am really happy about that because I am never going to forgive you for Wimbledon EVER and I really, really love what Michael Llodra is bringing and maybe you don't deserve this but I am so, SO glad you are out, out, OUT!
Okay. Ahem. Back now.
There were a couple of other scares - Sam Querrey springs to mind - but otherwise the dudes survived okay. Oh, except for Ljubicic! This is a big win for Ryan Harrison. I wouldn't go tipping him for future glory or anything, but it has to be heartening.
Now, over to the ladies. Vika, Vika, Vika. I don't even like you and I am TOTALLY worried about you. I am glad that it wasn't heat-related because that would have been seriously worrying, but could you try not to give yourself a concussion when I've picked you to make the final? That would be greatly appreciated.
But I don't think this says anything about my picking abilities. How was I supposed to anticipate a concussion?
Oh, and we have to talk about Ana Ivanovic. What is this whole winning-two-matches-in-a-row-in-a-convincing-fashion thing? This is not dreamt of in my philosophy!
We have to start by talking about Andy Roddick, because this is one of the worst losses he's taken in a while - not just in opponent but in demeanour. This is probably the most bad tempered match I have ever seen Andy play. He just had nothing going on, and he was berating himself stupid for it. It was painful to watch and to experience and does not bode well into the future. Anyone can take an early loss - but the manner in which he took this loss does not make me hopeful for his future.
Congrats to Janko Tipsarevic, though - great win! This really opens up the Djokovic quarter, and because I don't see Djokovic coming through, why not Tipsarevic to be surprise semi finalist? This quarter quite literally belongs to anyone.
You know who else is going nowhere fast? Oh HI, Tomas Berdych? Am I gleefully glad that you got booted out of the tournament like a whelp? Why... YES. I am really happy about that because I am never going to forgive you for Wimbledon EVER and I really, really love what Michael Llodra is bringing and maybe you don't deserve this but I am so, SO glad you are out, out, OUT!
Okay. Ahem. Back now.
There were a couple of other scares - Sam Querrey springs to mind - but otherwise the dudes survived okay. Oh, except for Ljubicic! This is a big win for Ryan Harrison. I wouldn't go tipping him for future glory or anything, but it has to be heartening.
Now, over to the ladies. Vika, Vika, Vika. I don't even like you and I am TOTALLY worried about you. I am glad that it wasn't heat-related because that would have been seriously worrying, but could you try not to give yourself a concussion when I've picked you to make the final? That would be greatly appreciated.
But I don't think this says anything about my picking abilities. How was I supposed to anticipate a concussion?
Oh, and we have to talk about Ana Ivanovic. What is this whole winning-two-matches-in-a-row-in-a-convincing-fashion thing? This is not dreamt of in my philosophy!
Friday, August 27, 2010
US Open Predictions - The Ladies
It's Slammin' time again! Moreover, it is Slam prediction time again, giving us all something to write about that is not New Haven (thank God.) So here we are - Slam predictions for the laydeez.
Caro's quarter: Oh, how it galls me to write 'Caro's quarter'. If I had my way, she would never have a quarter. But she is the #1 seed and I guess we have to suck it up and deal. And if the talent in her quarter holds true, she is not getting out of this quarter alive.
The two big names in this quarter are Kuznetsova and Sharapova, and I can seriously see either of them coming through here. I have quite a good feeling about Kuznetsova, actually - it's all contingent on her not going off to la la land in the middle of a match, but then, this is always going to be true of Sveta. And who is ever going to count Sharapova out in a Slam? Not me, that is for sure.
Also keep an eye on Li Na. We all know from experience that she can sneak her way into the semis without you even noticing!
Winner: Svetlana Kuznetsova
If not her, then: Maria Sharapova
Dark horse(s): Li Na (really dark horse = Aravane Rezai)
First round matches to watch: Groth/Sharapova, Kuznetsova/Date Krumm, Cibulkova/Voegele, Li/Bondarenko
JJ's quarter: I can't quite remember how JJ came to be ranked #4, but I'm glad she is, because this is the best chance she has had to come through in a long time. If she can get through her first round over the difficult youngster Simona Halep.
You have to consider Vera Zvonareva, because hello, Wimbledon final, but I'm not quite sure if she has the repeat in her - you know how she always gets injured. That said, don't count her out, because we all know how much game Bepa has. She's in a little section with Agnieszka Radwanska, who has been playing quite well, and that would be a very fun match to watch. (A-Rad is also an outside chance, I think.) And another you can't count out is Yanina Wickmayer. She made the semis here last year. Why couldn't she do it again?
But my pick is Nadia Petrova. She is playing well and the Russians are after revenge. If she keeps her game up, she can win this quarter easily.
Winner: Nadia Petrova
If not her, then: Vera Zvonareva or Jelena Jankovic
Dark horse(s): Yanina Wickmayer and Agnieszka Radwanska
First round matches to watch: Jankovic/Halep, Lisicki/Vandeweghe, Petkovic/Petrova
Venus's quarter: I would like to begin this by saying in no way am I picking Melanie Oudin to do anything in this section. Just so you know.
This is a tough one, because I'm not entirely sure who to pick. I think, based on current form, I have to go with Azarenka, but this seems to be the weakest quarter of the bunch. I don't see Venus doing too much. The other big seed is Schiavone, and somehow, I don't see her as a multiple Slam champion (sorry, Frankie). That leaves Azarenka, and she really is the only choice here.
That said, this is the quarter which might be the most exciting in terms of someone breaking through. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, I am looking right at you. This is the best opportunity you are going to see in quite some time. And you too, Flavia Pennetta. I know you are awesome. BE AWESOME.
Winner: Victoria Azarenka
If not her, then: Flavia Pennetta
Dark horse(s): Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (or, at a push, Tsvetana Pironkova)
First round matches to watch: Bondarenko/Dushevina, Vinci/Williams
Kimmie's quarter: Oh, how I would love Kim to repeat here. I would love that SO MUCH. That image of her and Jada and the trophy last year was too gorgeous not to be repeated. And she definitely has the chops to do it, too.
The other big seed in this section is Stosur, but I'm hesitant to pick her due to the fact she's coming back off injury. I'll be happy if she gets through her first round, to tell the truth - Vesnina is the kind of player who could pull an upset.
There are lots of names and not a lot of form in this section. Safina and Ivanovic are both in here, as is Dementieva and Hantuchova and a whole bunch of other people with famous names but not big results. (I am maybe a little unfair to Hantuchova here, but still.) This gives these people a golden opportunity to find their form and play themselves deep. Who will do it? Who knows? But I can't wait to find out. This quarter looks like the most interesting one of the draw.
Winner: Kim Clijsters
If not her, then: Daniela Hantuchova
Dark horse(s): Petra Kvitova and Zheng Jie
First round matches to watch: Hantuchova/Safina, Ivanovic/Makarova, Stosur/Vesnina
That leaves us with:
Kuznetsova vs Petrova
Azarenka vs Clijsters
These are hard matches to pick, but I'm going to say that leaves us with a final of:
Kuznetsova vs Azarenka
Who to pick there? It's tough. But I am going to go with Svetlana Kuznetsova on this one. I just have a feeling. So you heard it here first - Jodi's pick for the US Open is Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Caro's quarter: Oh, how it galls me to write 'Caro's quarter'. If I had my way, she would never have a quarter. But she is the #1 seed and I guess we have to suck it up and deal. And if the talent in her quarter holds true, she is not getting out of this quarter alive.
The two big names in this quarter are Kuznetsova and Sharapova, and I can seriously see either of them coming through here. I have quite a good feeling about Kuznetsova, actually - it's all contingent on her not going off to la la land in the middle of a match, but then, this is always going to be true of Sveta. And who is ever going to count Sharapova out in a Slam? Not me, that is for sure.
Also keep an eye on Li Na. We all know from experience that she can sneak her way into the semis without you even noticing!
Winner: Svetlana Kuznetsova
If not her, then: Maria Sharapova
Dark horse(s): Li Na (really dark horse = Aravane Rezai)
First round matches to watch: Groth/Sharapova, Kuznetsova/Date Krumm, Cibulkova/Voegele, Li/Bondarenko
JJ's quarter: I can't quite remember how JJ came to be ranked #4, but I'm glad she is, because this is the best chance she has had to come through in a long time. If she can get through her first round over the difficult youngster Simona Halep.
You have to consider Vera Zvonareva, because hello, Wimbledon final, but I'm not quite sure if she has the repeat in her - you know how she always gets injured. That said, don't count her out, because we all know how much game Bepa has. She's in a little section with Agnieszka Radwanska, who has been playing quite well, and that would be a very fun match to watch. (A-Rad is also an outside chance, I think.) And another you can't count out is Yanina Wickmayer. She made the semis here last year. Why couldn't she do it again?
But my pick is Nadia Petrova. She is playing well and the Russians are after revenge. If she keeps her game up, she can win this quarter easily.
Winner: Nadia Petrova
If not her, then: Vera Zvonareva or Jelena Jankovic
Dark horse(s): Yanina Wickmayer and Agnieszka Radwanska
First round matches to watch: Jankovic/Halep, Lisicki/Vandeweghe, Petkovic/Petrova
Venus's quarter: I would like to begin this by saying in no way am I picking Melanie Oudin to do anything in this section. Just so you know.
This is a tough one, because I'm not entirely sure who to pick. I think, based on current form, I have to go with Azarenka, but this seems to be the weakest quarter of the bunch. I don't see Venus doing too much. The other big seed is Schiavone, and somehow, I don't see her as a multiple Slam champion (sorry, Frankie). That leaves Azarenka, and she really is the only choice here.
That said, this is the quarter which might be the most exciting in terms of someone breaking through. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, I am looking right at you. This is the best opportunity you are going to see in quite some time. And you too, Flavia Pennetta. I know you are awesome. BE AWESOME.
Winner: Victoria Azarenka
If not her, then: Flavia Pennetta
Dark horse(s): Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (or, at a push, Tsvetana Pironkova)
First round matches to watch: Bondarenko/Dushevina, Vinci/Williams
Kimmie's quarter: Oh, how I would love Kim to repeat here. I would love that SO MUCH. That image of her and Jada and the trophy last year was too gorgeous not to be repeated. And she definitely has the chops to do it, too.
The other big seed in this section is Stosur, but I'm hesitant to pick her due to the fact she's coming back off injury. I'll be happy if she gets through her first round, to tell the truth - Vesnina is the kind of player who could pull an upset.
There are lots of names and not a lot of form in this section. Safina and Ivanovic are both in here, as is Dementieva and Hantuchova and a whole bunch of other people with famous names but not big results. (I am maybe a little unfair to Hantuchova here, but still.) This gives these people a golden opportunity to find their form and play themselves deep. Who will do it? Who knows? But I can't wait to find out. This quarter looks like the most interesting one of the draw.
Winner: Kim Clijsters
If not her, then: Daniela Hantuchova
Dark horse(s): Petra Kvitova and Zheng Jie
First round matches to watch: Hantuchova/Safina, Ivanovic/Makarova, Stosur/Vesnina
That leaves us with:
Kuznetsova vs Petrova
Azarenka vs Clijsters
These are hard matches to pick, but I'm going to say that leaves us with a final of:
Kuznetsova vs Azarenka
Who to pick there? It's tough. But I am going to go with Svetlana Kuznetsova on this one. I just have a feeling. So you heard it here first - Jodi's pick for the US Open is Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Small Signs of Life
Ana Ivanovic won a match today.
I can barely remember a time when saying that was not out of the ordinary - a time when Ana Ivanovic was a regular feature in the second week of Slams, when she was in the final, hell, when she won freaking Slams. We talk a lot about people not actualising their potential and never winning a Slam when they totally have the potential too... perhaps we should be applauding Ana for getting there at all. When I can go on for this long about Ana winning a single match, well...
To be fair to her, she did beat Victoria Azarenka, which makes this victory a whole lot bigger. I thought Vika was playing a lot better of late - she made a final recently, did she not? - but maybe not. Or maybe she was tired, but I don't know if that really washes too well. I think it's very telling that Ivanovic not only beat Azarenka, she beat her after losing the first set. I'm not going to mention words like 'resurgence' - because it's still only one match - but that is nothing but a positive sign for Ivanovic.
Now. Back it up.
And Dinara Safina won a match today as well. In straights. She beat Roberta Vinci, who isn't exactly top ten but who definitely does not suck, so that is a really positive result. I'm just really hoping she didn't come back too soon, what with all her back problems. I'd be really sad if she screwed herself up again.
Oh, and quick follow up from yesterday - Jelena Dokic's epic fifteen match streak has come a little too late to catapult her into the main draw at the US Open, which is a real shame. However, I know Australia has a reciprocal wildcard arrangement with the USTA, and please please PLEASE Jelena deserves that wildcard. I know she's had a bunch of chances but PLEASE she deserves it. And just to prove it's fate, do you know what she's ranked now? #82. Exactly what Yen-hsun Lu and Tsvetana Pironkova were ranked when they made their runs at Wimbledon - and, I believe, what Andrey Golubev was ranked when he won his title and jumped into the top fifty. IT'S A SIGN.
I can barely remember a time when saying that was not out of the ordinary - a time when Ana Ivanovic was a regular feature in the second week of Slams, when she was in the final, hell, when she won freaking Slams. We talk a lot about people not actualising their potential and never winning a Slam when they totally have the potential too... perhaps we should be applauding Ana for getting there at all. When I can go on for this long about Ana winning a single match, well...
To be fair to her, she did beat Victoria Azarenka, which makes this victory a whole lot bigger. I thought Vika was playing a lot better of late - she made a final recently, did she not? - but maybe not. Or maybe she was tired, but I don't know if that really washes too well. I think it's very telling that Ivanovic not only beat Azarenka, she beat her after losing the first set. I'm not going to mention words like 'resurgence' - because it's still only one match - but that is nothing but a positive sign for Ivanovic.
Now. Back it up.
And Dinara Safina won a match today as well. In straights. She beat Roberta Vinci, who isn't exactly top ten but who definitely does not suck, so that is a really positive result. I'm just really hoping she didn't come back too soon, what with all her back problems. I'd be really sad if she screwed herself up again.
Oh, and quick follow up from yesterday - Jelena Dokic's epic fifteen match streak has come a little too late to catapult her into the main draw at the US Open, which is a real shame. However, I know Australia has a reciprocal wildcard arrangement with the USTA, and please please PLEASE Jelena deserves that wildcard. I know she's had a bunch of chances but PLEASE she deserves it. And just to prove it's fate, do you know what she's ranked now? #82. Exactly what Yen-hsun Lu and Tsvetana Pironkova were ranked when they made their runs at Wimbledon - and, I believe, what Andrey Golubev was ranked when he won his title and jumped into the top fifty. IT'S A SIGN.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Upping the Awesome Level
Well, well, well, Vika Azarenka seems to be pulling herself together. And so does Maria Sharapova. I am going to be very interested to see how this final tomorrow turns out.
Both of these ladies have been spectacularly disappointing this year - more so Vika, really, as MaSha sort of does still have that injury comeback thing going for her, I suppose. Both ladies have incredible amounts of potential - slam winning, I would argue. (In MaSha's case, this isn't even an argument - it's a fact). And so it's nice to see them back on track.
I'm definitely not Victoria Azarenka's biggest fan, but she really did bring something to the game. She has a particularly brand of fierce emotional tennis that is somewhere between compelling and disturbing. When she redlines her game, I think just about anyone would be hard pressed to beat her - Serena Williams from the Australian Open 2009 would agree with me on this one. But she hasn't found that redline so far this year.
Until now.
I'm annoyed she took out Sam Stosur, obviously, but I want the US Open to be interesting, damn it, and that means having as many of the top ladies in form as possible. And so if Vika and MaSha can bring their best games to the table, I say bring it and bring it HARD. Let's see how much awesome we can get in place come September.
Both of these ladies have been spectacularly disappointing this year - more so Vika, really, as MaSha sort of does still have that injury comeback thing going for her, I suppose. Both ladies have incredible amounts of potential - slam winning, I would argue. (In MaSha's case, this isn't even an argument - it's a fact). And so it's nice to see them back on track.
I'm definitely not Victoria Azarenka's biggest fan, but she really did bring something to the game. She has a particularly brand of fierce emotional tennis that is somewhere between compelling and disturbing. When she redlines her game, I think just about anyone would be hard pressed to beat her - Serena Williams from the Australian Open 2009 would agree with me on this one. But she hasn't found that redline so far this year.
Until now.
I'm annoyed she took out Sam Stosur, obviously, but I want the US Open to be interesting, damn it, and that means having as many of the top ladies in form as possible. And so if Vika and MaSha can bring their best games to the table, I say bring it and bring it HARD. Let's see how much awesome we can get in place come September.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Wimbledon 2010 - The Ladies
It's that time again - le predictions de Jodi, Wimbledon edition. Let's start with the ladies.
Serena's quarter: This quarter isn't terrible for Serena, but it's not great either. Normally I'd expect her to come through it without any problems at all, but I'm just a little concerned about her level of injury at the moment. Still, if the girl is going to get to quarters and very-nearly-almost of Roland Garros (which is what she did last year, when she won Wimbledon...)
The biggest name lurking in this section has to be Maria Sharapova. She's not doing too badly - she made a final last week - but she could be doing better (she should have won that final.) She could meet Serena in the round of sixteen, and wouldn't that be a screamathon (even more so if Michelle Larcher de Brito got through - all of SW19 is going to be able to hear Serena's first round encounter with the young screamer.)
Winner: Serena. You'd be a fool to bet against her.
If not her, then: Maria Sharapova. No shocks there.
Dark horses: Na Li. I'm never counting this lady out. And also, randomly, Dominika Cibulkova. I heard she's working with Zeljko Krajan now, and maybe that'll give her a little sumthin' sumthin'.
First round encounters to watch: Serena/Screamer, Cibulkova/Safarova and Keothavong/Rodionova.
Caro's quarter: This is a much better draw for Sam Stosur than she had at Roland Garros, and consequently, I don't expect her to go as far. She places best as the underdog, when there's no pressure on her, and I don't think it would be unfair to call her favourite for this quarter, as Caro doesn't seem to be in much form.
One to watch out for, however, is Caro's teen queen frenemy, Vika Azarenka. She's hit a nice patch of form right at the right time - however, I'm not sure if playing a final the Saturday before Wimbledon will help or hinder her. Jury's out there. And is it a fluke? Who knows.
Oh, and miss gold lame dress herself is in this quarter (though presumably wearing a different dress.) What can she make happen here?
Winner: Vika Azarenka. I just have a feeling.
If not her, then: Sam Stosur. I don't expect it, but it'd be nice if it happened. Or maybe Pavlyuchenkova - I like her game a lot.
Dark horses: I like the look of Alexandra Dulgheru, but I'm not quite sure what she can do on grass. Oh, and maybe Rezai.
First round matches to watch: Pavlyuchenkova/Benesova, Cirstea/Kvitova and Stosur/Kanepi.
Jankovic's quarter: They might as well have just named this quarter the Belgian quarter, as all three of the big Belgian contenders (and Kirsten Flipkens) are in here. Surprise! they're all major chances in my book. I love Kimmie's game on grass - and if she can beat someone in 38 minutes (even though she lost the next round) I appreciate it. JuJu definitely has the drive. And I just really like Yanina Wickmayer.
As to JJ herself - I don't know if she's really recovered from the mental beatdown Stosur put on her at Roland Garros. But I am ready to be proved wrong.
Also watch out for Nadia Petrova. You never know what she can do.
Winner: Kim Clijsters. I like her game on grass the best of all the Belgians - oops, I mean, everyone.
If not her, then: Justine Henin. You know she wants this one.
Dark horses: Yanina Wickmayer. Belgian surprise! And also Nadia Petrova. And Jankovic - can I call her a dark horse in a quarter she's seeded to win?
First round matches to watch: Jankovic/Robson, Oudin/Flipkens and Kirikenko/Voegele.
Venus's quarter: Not only do we have Venus 'I care only about Wimbledon and nothing else' Williams in this quarter, but the recently crowned Roland Garros champ Francesca Schiavone, proof that anything can happen (and frequently does). That said, I'm not expecting lightning to strike twice for Frankie, but definitely keep an eye out for her - I think she'll play out her seeding, if nothing else.
It's hard to pick against Venus at Wimbledon, even though she's been so pathologically underwhelming for a while now. This quarter isn't too bad for her, because the major headcases of the game - Ivanovic and Safina - are in there, and should Venus meet them, I don't expect she'd have too much trouble dispensing with either one.
Do watch out, however, for Yaroslava Shvedova. She's been playing some good ball lately.
Winner: Venus. Not betting against her in her backyard. She wants revenge against Serena for last year.
If not her, then: Frankie. Don't think it'll happen, but who's going to count her out now?
Dark horses: Shvedova, as noted above. And also Marion Bartoli - we know she's gone deep here before, maybe she can do it again. And maybe even Safina, now that the pressure's off a little and no one's really talking about her.
First round matches to watch: Peer/Ivanovic, Mirza/Kerber and Safina/Groenefeld.
This leaves us with the following semi final match ups:
Serena vs Vika
Kimmie vs Venus
I bet you think I'm going to pick the Williams sisters, don't you? It's been the all-Williams show for a wowzand years now. But guess what? My finals pick is...
Vika vs Kimmie
That's right, not even one Williams in the final in the Jodi draw. Neither have been playing well enough for me to merit picking them. (That said, neither is Vika, but she is totally due a win over Serena). And I have a feeling.
And the winner is...
Kimmie.
Probably not the safest bet, but I have a really good feeling about Kim Clijsters in this tournament - a holding up the trophy feeling. And it's always a feelgood victory when Kimmie wins.
What do you think?
Serena's quarter: This quarter isn't terrible for Serena, but it's not great either. Normally I'd expect her to come through it without any problems at all, but I'm just a little concerned about her level of injury at the moment. Still, if the girl is going to get to quarters and very-nearly-almost of Roland Garros (which is what she did last year, when she won Wimbledon...)
The biggest name lurking in this section has to be Maria Sharapova. She's not doing too badly - she made a final last week - but she could be doing better (she should have won that final.) She could meet Serena in the round of sixteen, and wouldn't that be a screamathon (even more so if Michelle Larcher de Brito got through - all of SW19 is going to be able to hear Serena's first round encounter with the young screamer.)
Winner: Serena. You'd be a fool to bet against her.
If not her, then: Maria Sharapova. No shocks there.
Dark horses: Na Li. I'm never counting this lady out. And also, randomly, Dominika Cibulkova. I heard she's working with Zeljko Krajan now, and maybe that'll give her a little sumthin' sumthin'.
First round encounters to watch: Serena/Screamer, Cibulkova/Safarova and Keothavong/Rodionova.
Caro's quarter: This is a much better draw for Sam Stosur than she had at Roland Garros, and consequently, I don't expect her to go as far. She places best as the underdog, when there's no pressure on her, and I don't think it would be unfair to call her favourite for this quarter, as Caro doesn't seem to be in much form.
One to watch out for, however, is Caro's teen queen frenemy, Vika Azarenka. She's hit a nice patch of form right at the right time - however, I'm not sure if playing a final the Saturday before Wimbledon will help or hinder her. Jury's out there. And is it a fluke? Who knows.
Oh, and miss gold lame dress herself is in this quarter (though presumably wearing a different dress.) What can she make happen here?
Winner: Vika Azarenka. I just have a feeling.
If not her, then: Sam Stosur. I don't expect it, but it'd be nice if it happened. Or maybe Pavlyuchenkova - I like her game a lot.
Dark horses: I like the look of Alexandra Dulgheru, but I'm not quite sure what she can do on grass. Oh, and maybe Rezai.
First round matches to watch: Pavlyuchenkova/Benesova, Cirstea/Kvitova and Stosur/Kanepi.
Jankovic's quarter: They might as well have just named this quarter the Belgian quarter, as all three of the big Belgian contenders (and Kirsten Flipkens) are in here. Surprise! they're all major chances in my book. I love Kimmie's game on grass - and if she can beat someone in 38 minutes (even though she lost the next round) I appreciate it. JuJu definitely has the drive. And I just really like Yanina Wickmayer.
As to JJ herself - I don't know if she's really recovered from the mental beatdown Stosur put on her at Roland Garros. But I am ready to be proved wrong.
Also watch out for Nadia Petrova. You never know what she can do.
Winner: Kim Clijsters. I like her game on grass the best of all the Belgians - oops, I mean, everyone.
If not her, then: Justine Henin. You know she wants this one.
Dark horses: Yanina Wickmayer. Belgian surprise! And also Nadia Petrova. And Jankovic - can I call her a dark horse in a quarter she's seeded to win?
First round matches to watch: Jankovic/Robson, Oudin/Flipkens and Kirikenko/Voegele.
Venus's quarter: Not only do we have Venus 'I care only about Wimbledon and nothing else' Williams in this quarter, but the recently crowned Roland Garros champ Francesca Schiavone, proof that anything can happen (and frequently does). That said, I'm not expecting lightning to strike twice for Frankie, but definitely keep an eye out for her - I think she'll play out her seeding, if nothing else.
It's hard to pick against Venus at Wimbledon, even though she's been so pathologically underwhelming for a while now. This quarter isn't too bad for her, because the major headcases of the game - Ivanovic and Safina - are in there, and should Venus meet them, I don't expect she'd have too much trouble dispensing with either one.
Do watch out, however, for Yaroslava Shvedova. She's been playing some good ball lately.
Winner: Venus. Not betting against her in her backyard. She wants revenge against Serena for last year.
If not her, then: Frankie. Don't think it'll happen, but who's going to count her out now?
Dark horses: Shvedova, as noted above. And also Marion Bartoli - we know she's gone deep here before, maybe she can do it again. And maybe even Safina, now that the pressure's off a little and no one's really talking about her.
First round matches to watch: Peer/Ivanovic, Mirza/Kerber and Safina/Groenefeld.
This leaves us with the following semi final match ups:
Serena vs Vika
Kimmie vs Venus
I bet you think I'm going to pick the Williams sisters, don't you? It's been the all-Williams show for a wowzand years now. But guess what? My finals pick is...
Vika vs Kimmie
That's right, not even one Williams in the final in the Jodi draw. Neither have been playing well enough for me to merit picking them. (That said, neither is Vika, but she is totally due a win over Serena). And I have a feeling.
And the winner is...
Kimmie.
Probably not the safest bet, but I have a really good feeling about Kim Clijsters in this tournament - a holding up the trophy feeling. And it's always a feelgood victory when Kimmie wins.
What do you think?
Monday, May 24, 2010
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and The Still-In-It-Just
Roland Garros is here! Day one is over and gone and we have some stories and some winners and some losers and all kinds of things. Tennis, tennis, tennis - I love tennis! I love Roland Garros! (Yes, I have had a couple of glasses of wine...)
The winners: Robin Soderling. Big time. He smashed Laurent Recourderc like a guitar and looked very, very dangerous. I thought this was the best performance of the day by a long way - for the boys at any rate.
Over in the women, you have to go with Gisela Dulko, because that was quite some win she had over Vika Azarenka. See notes re smashing like a guitar. But another person that did some serious smashing was Aravane Rezai. That gold dress has given her superpowers, even though it's totally fug.
The losers: You can't go past Victoria Azarenka on this one, because this was one of the most disappointing performances I have seen in a long time. I thought this was going to be an upset win, but I didn't think it was going to be an upset shut out. Dulko absolutely destroyed Azarenka, but Azarenka destroyed herself as well.
There have been 'Azarenka is the next Vaidisova' opinions voiced. I think this is a bit OTT - Azarenka had a leg injury which she didn't take time off to heal, which was totally stupid, but not the end of the world. She really needs to take time off now, and this exit gives that, at least.
And also - Janko Tipsarevic. What kind of performance was that?
The disappointments: It's got to be Gulbis. This was a great win by Julien Benneteau, but obviously not the way that Gulbis wanted to conclude his clay tournament, especially when he's done so well at this tournament in the past. And the retirement... oh, Ernie. Not happy with you, chappie.
The scraped-in-by-the-skin-of-teeth: Jo-W Tsonga. He really, really shouldn't have gone five sets. I picked him to win his quarter and I will be mighty pissed off if he screws up my bracket. Obviously he hasn't been in le form d'awesome or anything, but his quarter is so eminently winnable...
That's all from Day One... oh, except for Dinara Safina breaking up with Zeljko Krajan! That made me actually very sad - I loved those crazy kids, with all their shouting... I kind of hope they get back together. I love them.
The winners: Robin Soderling. Big time. He smashed Laurent Recourderc like a guitar and looked very, very dangerous. I thought this was the best performance of the day by a long way - for the boys at any rate.
Over in the women, you have to go with Gisela Dulko, because that was quite some win she had over Vika Azarenka. See notes re smashing like a guitar. But another person that did some serious smashing was Aravane Rezai. That gold dress has given her superpowers, even though it's totally fug.
The losers: You can't go past Victoria Azarenka on this one, because this was one of the most disappointing performances I have seen in a long time. I thought this was going to be an upset win, but I didn't think it was going to be an upset shut out. Dulko absolutely destroyed Azarenka, but Azarenka destroyed herself as well.
There have been 'Azarenka is the next Vaidisova' opinions voiced. I think this is a bit OTT - Azarenka had a leg injury which she didn't take time off to heal, which was totally stupid, but not the end of the world. She really needs to take time off now, and this exit gives that, at least.
And also - Janko Tipsarevic. What kind of performance was that?
The disappointments: It's got to be Gulbis. This was a great win by Julien Benneteau, but obviously not the way that Gulbis wanted to conclude his clay tournament, especially when he's done so well at this tournament in the past. And the retirement... oh, Ernie. Not happy with you, chappie.
The scraped-in-by-the-skin-of-teeth: Jo-W Tsonga. He really, really shouldn't have gone five sets. I picked him to win his quarter and I will be mighty pissed off if he screws up my bracket. Obviously he hasn't been in le form d'awesome or anything, but his quarter is so eminently winnable...
That's all from Day One... oh, except for Dinara Safina breaking up with Zeljko Krajan! That made me actually very sad - I loved those crazy kids, with all their shouting... I kind of hope they get back together. I love them.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
The Slightly More Cheerful Story of Ana Ivanovic
Whoa, whoa, whoa. I feel like I want to write exactly the same post as I did yesterday, only even more so.
So now not only has Ana Ivanovic had a win, she's had a win over a top ten player...?
Surely not.
I am, of course, hesitant to place any faith in this win because a) only a tennis moron would put any money on Ana to do anything, and I like to think I am not one of those, and b) Vika is obviously injured. But injured or not, it cannot be overstated what a massive win this is for Ana.
The reason why a win, any win, is good for Ana is not because she's been losing a lot - which she has - but because her opponents haven't been beating her. She hasn't given them the chance - she's been too busy beating herself. If she can stand on the other side of a net from Victoria Azarenka and not self-destruct, this is a massive, massive moment.
Like I said, not placing any faith in Ana nor expecting this to be the start of something. But this win will have to do wonders for her self-confidence. Maybe she's going to go on and take a bunch more losses. But if that happens, I hope she actually gets beaten rather than losing. That would be a positive step.
So now not only has Ana Ivanovic had a win, she's had a win over a top ten player...?
Surely not.
I am, of course, hesitant to place any faith in this win because a) only a tennis moron would put any money on Ana to do anything, and I like to think I am not one of those, and b) Vika is obviously injured. But injured or not, it cannot be overstated what a massive win this is for Ana.
The reason why a win, any win, is good for Ana is not because she's been losing a lot - which she has - but because her opponents haven't been beating her. She hasn't given them the chance - she's been too busy beating herself. If she can stand on the other side of a net from Victoria Azarenka and not self-destruct, this is a massive, massive moment.
Like I said, not placing any faith in Ana nor expecting this to be the start of something. But this win will have to do wonders for her self-confidence. Maybe she's going to go on and take a bunch more losses. But if that happens, I hope she actually gets beaten rather than losing. That would be a positive step.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Dangerous Belgians
I rated Justine Henin 'hot' on the hot or not scale a few days ago, and I would like to raise that to 'absolutely smokin' hot'. Damn, that girl is playing well.
It's been all 'oooh, your comeback's not so great now, is it, haw haw haw' since JuJu lost to A-Kley in Indian Wells, which really doesn't take into account the fact that a) A-Kley had mad skillz and b) it was a third set breaker. JuJu is absolutely steamrolling her opponents at the moment. This is one lady you do not want to face across the net. Elena Dementieva, who has met her early on in two tournaments now, must be doing the Dance of Joy, because after this tournament, JuJu will be back inside the top thirty and thus will be no more a dangerous floater.
Speaking of dangerous Belgians, Kim Clijsters was absolutely fierce against Victoria Azarenka today. Sure, Vika crumbled like too-dry pastry in the second set, but it was the face of the Clijsters Onslaught, which is enough to frustrate any player to tears (or violence - just ask Serena). I really wouldn't be surprised to see a Belgian take out this tournament - I just couldn't tell you which one.
And you know who else is a genuine contender? Sammy Stosur. She put a bit of a beating on Jelena Jankovic today, which, considering JJ beat her last week pretty easily, is a job well done indeed. If Sam can keep her head and not have one of those random match meltdowns she can be prone to, she has a great shot at the crown here. Wouldn't that be a great way to open her account as a top ten player...?
It's been all 'oooh, your comeback's not so great now, is it, haw haw haw' since JuJu lost to A-Kley in Indian Wells, which really doesn't take into account the fact that a) A-Kley had mad skillz and b) it was a third set breaker. JuJu is absolutely steamrolling her opponents at the moment. This is one lady you do not want to face across the net. Elena Dementieva, who has met her early on in two tournaments now, must be doing the Dance of Joy, because after this tournament, JuJu will be back inside the top thirty and thus will be no more a dangerous floater.
Speaking of dangerous Belgians, Kim Clijsters was absolutely fierce against Victoria Azarenka today. Sure, Vika crumbled like too-dry pastry in the second set, but it was the face of the Clijsters Onslaught, which is enough to frustrate any player to tears (or violence - just ask Serena). I really wouldn't be surprised to see a Belgian take out this tournament - I just couldn't tell you which one.
And you know who else is a genuine contender? Sammy Stosur. She put a bit of a beating on Jelena Jankovic today, which, considering JJ beat her last week pretty easily, is a job well done indeed. If Sam can keep her head and not have one of those random match meltdowns she can be prone to, she has a great shot at the crown here. Wouldn't that be a great way to open her account as a top ten player...?
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Fix the Roger, Fix the World
I have a terrible nervous tic with Federer Slam matches that I'm sure a psychologist would find interesting. When things get tight - when Roger's not looking good - I start trying to fix things.
Not him, obviously - as he is far far away and, you know, on a tennis court, away from my frazzling. But things around me. I distinctly remember the Federer/Tipsarevic match a few years back that went deep into the fifth - in fact, there's a ye olde worlde blog post on here about it somewhere - going out into my overrun backyard and weeding. I couldn't fix Roger, so I had to fix my yard.
The same thing happened today. Roger was down a set, he was down a break, and he was playing like what could politely be described as 'absolute crap'. He was misfiring off every possible wing and would have made a few shots... if the court were three metres wider. Added to which Nikolay Davydenko was on fire like whoa. It was completely depressing.
So I started cleaning.
I started with the last vestiges of my unpacking from the Epic Tennis Adventure. I put on a few loads of laundry. I folded some only ones. I sorted through epic stacks of paper on my desk and threw most of them away. I put books back on bookshelves. I rehung clothes. I went all spring-cleaning-like.
And while I cleaned, while I fixed up my house, Roger fixed up his game and won a casual thirteen games in a row.
Then I stopped cleaning and all of a sudden! Kolya held serve. Well, we couldn't have that, so I started the pile of mending that had grown up around me over the past few months. I sewed on buttons. I hemmed things. I mended torn seams. I fixed things up.
It didn't work immediately - apparently it's not a fine art, my fix life = fix Roger act - and Davydenko won some games, and did some breaking, and it was all on serve. I looked up nervously from my mending and looked for more things to clean. But I persevered with the mending and Roger persevered with his winning. He got one break and was serving for it... but Davydenko suddenly became a zombie who wouldn't lay down. I set down my mending for a second to polish my window sill before I picked it back up again.
And it worked. I fixed it. As I sewed on the last missing button, as the last vestiges of sun set over Canberra, Roger Federer defeated Nikolay Davydenko in four crazy sets to reach his twenty third consecutive Grand Slam semi final.
I don't want to claim any credit for this (well, maybe a tiny bit). But it did seem oddly poetic. And made me wonder whether I should check myself into a mental hospital.
Back to, ah, more sane tennis talk - this was a really topsy-turvy match, but it really did show just what the difference is between Roger and Kolya, and the difference is this: gears. Roger was playing craptastically, so - seemingly without warning, after Kolya missed one single shot - he shifted gear and suddenly became King Roger of the Land of Fedgasm. Kolya certainly missed more after this, but it was a combination of forced errors and what I saw called 'mentally forced errors' the other day. Kolya played worse because Roger made him play worse.
Kolya did lift his game in the fourth set - and considerably - but it was kind of like he found himself (and the lines) a bit more after being shellshocked for thirteen games there. Federer came down from Cloud Nine (to approximately Cloud Seven) and so Kolya was able to compete more. But what is so good about his game - his consistency - may also be what is stopping him from going from extremely good to great. He has no upper level to shift to. This also means it's harder for him to go down, but if he can't work out the answer to a player, then he's in big trouble. He doesn't, at this stage, have anywhere to go.
I know one thing he can improve. He can get rid of those Viking axe chop two handed volleys and get some nice new ones. Then we'll be cooking.
But all this criticism aside, Kolya had a great tournament, and had he been in a different section of the draw, I think he could have gone further. I would have been very interested to see Murray and Davydenko play each other. That would be a really interesting match up of games.
But I digress. Kolya has found himself lately and while I think he's still getting used to some aspects of it - his newfound status as media darling, for example - he is here to stay. I would not be surprised at all to see him win some more big tournaments and to have some more deep Slam runs. And Irina Davydenko might just be my favourite WAG since Mirka. Any man that can pick Kolya up by his head (see photos from Kolya's victory in Shanghai) is fine by me.
Roger will now play the winner of the currently-in-progress Djokovic/Tsonga match. Who comes out of this match is anyone's guess at the moment - it's a total gunslinging shootout at the OK Corral at the moment. I'm not overly fussed over which it is - I think Roger can beat either of them. But I wouldn't mind them tiring each other out a little.
And a quick word to the women - Venus Williams and Victoria Azarenka, you should be ashamed of yourselves. You both had your matches completely won today before you threw them away. Not to take anything away from Li Na and Serena Williams respectively, who stole these matches back, but there has to be some serious losing going on to throw away leads that big. Oh, WTA. What a sad little place you can be.
Not him, obviously - as he is far far away and, you know, on a tennis court, away from my frazzling. But things around me. I distinctly remember the Federer/Tipsarevic match a few years back that went deep into the fifth - in fact, there's a ye olde worlde blog post on here about it somewhere - going out into my overrun backyard and weeding. I couldn't fix Roger, so I had to fix my yard.
The same thing happened today. Roger was down a set, he was down a break, and he was playing like what could politely be described as 'absolute crap'. He was misfiring off every possible wing and would have made a few shots... if the court were three metres wider. Added to which Nikolay Davydenko was on fire like whoa. It was completely depressing.
So I started cleaning.
I started with the last vestiges of my unpacking from the Epic Tennis Adventure. I put on a few loads of laundry. I folded some only ones. I sorted through epic stacks of paper on my desk and threw most of them away. I put books back on bookshelves. I rehung clothes. I went all spring-cleaning-like.
And while I cleaned, while I fixed up my house, Roger fixed up his game and won a casual thirteen games in a row.
Then I stopped cleaning and all of a sudden! Kolya held serve. Well, we couldn't have that, so I started the pile of mending that had grown up around me over the past few months. I sewed on buttons. I hemmed things. I mended torn seams. I fixed things up.
It didn't work immediately - apparently it's not a fine art, my fix life = fix Roger act - and Davydenko won some games, and did some breaking, and it was all on serve. I looked up nervously from my mending and looked for more things to clean. But I persevered with the mending and Roger persevered with his winning. He got one break and was serving for it... but Davydenko suddenly became a zombie who wouldn't lay down. I set down my mending for a second to polish my window sill before I picked it back up again.
And it worked. I fixed it. As I sewed on the last missing button, as the last vestiges of sun set over Canberra, Roger Federer defeated Nikolay Davydenko in four crazy sets to reach his twenty third consecutive Grand Slam semi final.
I don't want to claim any credit for this (well, maybe a tiny bit). But it did seem oddly poetic. And made me wonder whether I should check myself into a mental hospital.
Back to, ah, more sane tennis talk - this was a really topsy-turvy match, but it really did show just what the difference is between Roger and Kolya, and the difference is this: gears. Roger was playing craptastically, so - seemingly without warning, after Kolya missed one single shot - he shifted gear and suddenly became King Roger of the Land of Fedgasm. Kolya certainly missed more after this, but it was a combination of forced errors and what I saw called 'mentally forced errors' the other day. Kolya played worse because Roger made him play worse.
Kolya did lift his game in the fourth set - and considerably - but it was kind of like he found himself (and the lines) a bit more after being shellshocked for thirteen games there. Federer came down from Cloud Nine (to approximately Cloud Seven) and so Kolya was able to compete more. But what is so good about his game - his consistency - may also be what is stopping him from going from extremely good to great. He has no upper level to shift to. This also means it's harder for him to go down, but if he can't work out the answer to a player, then he's in big trouble. He doesn't, at this stage, have anywhere to go.
I know one thing he can improve. He can get rid of those Viking axe chop two handed volleys and get some nice new ones. Then we'll be cooking.
But all this criticism aside, Kolya had a great tournament, and had he been in a different section of the draw, I think he could have gone further. I would have been very interested to see Murray and Davydenko play each other. That would be a really interesting match up of games.
But I digress. Kolya has found himself lately and while I think he's still getting used to some aspects of it - his newfound status as media darling, for example - he is here to stay. I would not be surprised at all to see him win some more big tournaments and to have some more deep Slam runs. And Irina Davydenko might just be my favourite WAG since Mirka. Any man that can pick Kolya up by his head (see photos from Kolya's victory in Shanghai) is fine by me.
Roger will now play the winner of the currently-in-progress Djokovic/Tsonga match. Who comes out of this match is anyone's guess at the moment - it's a total gunslinging shootout at the OK Corral at the moment. I'm not overly fussed over which it is - I think Roger can beat either of them. But I wouldn't mind them tiring each other out a little.
And a quick word to the women - Venus Williams and Victoria Azarenka, you should be ashamed of yourselves. You both had your matches completely won today before you threw them away. Not to take anything away from Li Na and Serena Williams respectively, who stole these matches back, but there has to be some serious losing going on to throw away leads that big. Oh, WTA. What a sad little place you can be.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Reverse Psychology
Channel 7 have this thing every year where they try to convince the world that Lleyton Hewitt is going to win the Australian Open, despite huge amounts of evidence to the contrary. This year was no different, but they managed to do it via the most ridiculous 'inspirational' montage I have ever seen.
'Roger will beat Lleyton.'
'Lleyton might get a set if Roger gets so bored he falls asleep.'
'Lleyton has no chance.'
'Roger will smash Lleyton like a guitar'.
(Words mine, but message = everyone they interviewed, from Jim Courier to Brad Gilbert to Darren Cahill to Roger Rasheed).
And this was supposed to be a pro-Lleyton inspiration montage. Perhaps reverse psychology was involved? Or something?
Anyway, no matter what was involved, the predictions of Everyone Who Means Anything came true and Federer's victory over Hewitt was total. There is nothing that Hewitt can do that really troubles Federer - he doesn't have the arsenal. His speed used to be his biggest weapon but he's a good half step short of where he used to be.
And then there is that whole thing where Federer has now beat him fifteen times in a row. There's some psychology for you, Channel 7.
Hardly any of the other men's quarters were quite so simplistic, however. Roger will now face his recent bugabear Nikolay Davydenko... though he will be very glad to see that Kolya went five sets when he really shouldn't have. Jo Tsonga also played a completely unnecessary five sets. Both Kolya and Jo were up two sets to love before Verdasco and Almagro, their respective opponents came back strong.
It's the first time I've ever seen Kolya spray so much, and I think it might have something to do with his mental strength rather than his game. This is his first experience of being talked about as a serious chance and I don't think he likes it much. It will be interesting to see how that plays out in his match against Federer - I think he will either be incredibly strong, because of his previous two victories, or incredibly weak, because to a degree, there is expectation that he will pull off the upset.
Intriguing.
I felt a bit sorry for Nando getting knocked out... but then I realised that he hit over twenty double faults and nipped that in the bud at once. Almagro really had no right to take Jo so deep so he can justifiably be proud - that was a great achievement from the little claycourt dude.
In the women, we - surprise, surprise - have the Williams sisters through, and I think you justifiably can predict a Serena/Justine final at this point. We also, for the first time, have two Chinese women in the quarters - great achievement! - and Vika Azarenka came through in a tight one, though Caz-Woz, her fellow teen queen got knocked out.
I blame the pom poms on her socks.
'Roger will beat Lleyton.'
'Lleyton might get a set if Roger gets so bored he falls asleep.'
'Lleyton has no chance.'
'Roger will smash Lleyton like a guitar'.
(Words mine, but message = everyone they interviewed, from Jim Courier to Brad Gilbert to Darren Cahill to Roger Rasheed).
And this was supposed to be a pro-Lleyton inspiration montage. Perhaps reverse psychology was involved? Or something?
Anyway, no matter what was involved, the predictions of Everyone Who Means Anything came true and Federer's victory over Hewitt was total. There is nothing that Hewitt can do that really troubles Federer - he doesn't have the arsenal. His speed used to be his biggest weapon but he's a good half step short of where he used to be.
And then there is that whole thing where Federer has now beat him fifteen times in a row. There's some psychology for you, Channel 7.
Hardly any of the other men's quarters were quite so simplistic, however. Roger will now face his recent bugabear Nikolay Davydenko... though he will be very glad to see that Kolya went five sets when he really shouldn't have. Jo Tsonga also played a completely unnecessary five sets. Both Kolya and Jo were up two sets to love before Verdasco and Almagro, their respective opponents came back strong.
It's the first time I've ever seen Kolya spray so much, and I think it might have something to do with his mental strength rather than his game. This is his first experience of being talked about as a serious chance and I don't think he likes it much. It will be interesting to see how that plays out in his match against Federer - I think he will either be incredibly strong, because of his previous two victories, or incredibly weak, because to a degree, there is expectation that he will pull off the upset.
Intriguing.
I felt a bit sorry for Nando getting knocked out... but then I realised that he hit over twenty double faults and nipped that in the bud at once. Almagro really had no right to take Jo so deep so he can justifiably be proud - that was a great achievement from the little claycourt dude.
In the women, we - surprise, surprise - have the Williams sisters through, and I think you justifiably can predict a Serena/Justine final at this point. We also, for the first time, have two Chinese women in the quarters - great achievement! - and Vika Azarenka came through in a tight one, though Caz-Woz, her fellow teen queen got knocked out.
I blame the pom poms on her socks.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Just When You Thought It Was Safe...
Just when you thought it was safe to say nice things about the WTA...
...Sydney happens.
Honestly. It's a new year, new decade, and we've just seen one of the greatest women's matches of the latest five years. You'd think that this might be enough to restore some semblance of order to the permanent misrule that is women's tennis. But no, in the first couple of days of Sydney we've lost three of the eight seeds and come so close to losing another one it's just not funny.
Sigh, WTA. No wonder players like Clijsters and Henin can come back and pummel you into submission. If JuJu had played this tournament, I would have backed her for sure.
We lost Vera Zvonareva to injury - seriously, is this girl ever going to sort her injury woes out? That makes it sound like it's her fault, which it's obviously not, but she retires hurt so often it makes one think she's coming on court hurt to begin with. The mummy bandages don't exactly belie that assumption either. Maybe she needs to sit out for a while until she's completely healed - though who knows how long that could be?
Then Jelena Jankovic lost to Agnes Szavay, a qualifier. I used to think that Szavay would be a real big thing one day. I've since changed my mind, and this match doesn't really alter that at all. Szavay played some great stuff, sure, but JJ really lost it. I'd like to blame this one on first-match-of-the-season yips, but it's too much of the same to do so. Pull yourself together, JJ.
And then Caroline Wozniacki lost a match she never should have lost to Li Na. I know Li Na is one of the girls who pulls upsets, like, every four seconds, but Wozniacki was all over her in the first set. And then... watch that tumbleweed go past. Caro needs to get herself some grit, stat. That's all I'm saying about that.
Victoria Azarenka went through, but she came OH SO VERY CLOSE to going out to Sabine Lisicki. As I'm pretty sure Lisicki will be top ten soon (if she can keep her error count down - that's her Achilles heel) this isn't quite so bad, but still... oh, and Nadia Petrova lost to Kimiko Date Krumm, making it two first round exits in two weeks (even if the first one was to JuJu). Come on, WTA. Pull yourself together.
We have Dinara Safina and Serena Williams in action today. Let's just say I won't hold my breath.
...Sydney happens.
Honestly. It's a new year, new decade, and we've just seen one of the greatest women's matches of the latest five years. You'd think that this might be enough to restore some semblance of order to the permanent misrule that is women's tennis. But no, in the first couple of days of Sydney we've lost three of the eight seeds and come so close to losing another one it's just not funny.
Sigh, WTA. No wonder players like Clijsters and Henin can come back and pummel you into submission. If JuJu had played this tournament, I would have backed her for sure.
We lost Vera Zvonareva to injury - seriously, is this girl ever going to sort her injury woes out? That makes it sound like it's her fault, which it's obviously not, but she retires hurt so often it makes one think she's coming on court hurt to begin with. The mummy bandages don't exactly belie that assumption either. Maybe she needs to sit out for a while until she's completely healed - though who knows how long that could be?
Then Jelena Jankovic lost to Agnes Szavay, a qualifier. I used to think that Szavay would be a real big thing one day. I've since changed my mind, and this match doesn't really alter that at all. Szavay played some great stuff, sure, but JJ really lost it. I'd like to blame this one on first-match-of-the-season yips, but it's too much of the same to do so. Pull yourself together, JJ.
And then Caroline Wozniacki lost a match she never should have lost to Li Na. I know Li Na is one of the girls who pulls upsets, like, every four seconds, but Wozniacki was all over her in the first set. And then... watch that tumbleweed go past. Caro needs to get herself some grit, stat. That's all I'm saying about that.
Victoria Azarenka went through, but she came OH SO VERY CLOSE to going out to Sabine Lisicki. As I'm pretty sure Lisicki will be top ten soon (if she can keep her error count down - that's her Achilles heel) this isn't quite so bad, but still... oh, and Nadia Petrova lost to Kimiko Date Krumm, making it two first round exits in two weeks (even if the first one was to JuJu). Come on, WTA. Pull yourself together.
We have Dinara Safina and Serena Williams in action today. Let's just say I won't hold my breath.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Wishing Dinara Well
Oh, Dinara.
I want to say 'this hasn't been your year', but you know what? It has been her year. She's reached two Slam finals and become world number #1, which is, really, when you think about it, not too shabby. But the pressure and her own temperament have worked against her, and... perhaps it's better this way. Perhaps it's better that she's injured and doesn't take part rather than suffering more humiliating defeats.
Go away, Dinara. Rest. Recuperate. Heal. Work on your serve. Enjoy your time away from the public eye. Because I want you to defend those damn points you earned in Australia, and I want you to do even better. Because I know you can. Get better, Dina.
In other matches, we won't be seeing any defending champion action, as Serena put paid to Venus's hopes, giving big sister V two losses. Oh well. Serena's got to be the favourite to win this tournament, even with the whole US Open drama still hanging over her head... and she's delivered thus far, with two solid wins.
But the match of the day was the battle of the teen queens, Azarenka and Wozniacki, who duked it out over three epic sets. Though I have to say Azarenka's style of play appeals to me more and I like her grit, I'm glad Wozniacki won, because even though she plays pretty vanilla tennis, I've never seen her throw a tantrum on court like Vika. And I'm not big on tantrums. (Have I harped enough on my dislike for Azarenka?)
I wouldn't be surprised to see these two teen queens be the semi final qualifiers from this group, so it'll be interesting to see what happens if they meet again in this tournament. This rivalry is going to be a very interesting one down the years...
(Oh, and in the men - remember them? - not only did Marat win, but my homeboy Ernests Gulbis upset fourth seed Jeremy Chardy. I'm even more convinced that we're coming to the light at the end of the tunnel there...!)
Today's Results
Sony Ericsson Championships (Doha)
Jelena Jankovic def. Dinara Safina, 1-1 retired
Serena Williams def. Venus Williams, 5-7 6-4 7-6 (7-4)
Caroline Wozniacki def. Victoria Azarenka, 1-6 6-4 7-5
St Petersburg Open (St Petersburg)
Marat Safin def. Richard Gasquet, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4
Mikhail Youzhny def. Andrey Golubev, 6-3 6-2
Igor Kunitsyn def. Pablo Cuevas, 6-4 6-3
Horacio Zeballos def. Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr, 6-3 6-1
Victor Hanescu def. Illya Marchenko, 6-3 6-4
Ernests Gulbis def. Jeremy Chardy, 7-6 (9-7) 6-3
Bjorn Phau def. Andreas Beck, 6-4 2-1 retired
Bank Austria Tennis Trophy (Vienna)
Daniel Koellerer def. Jarkko Nieminen, 6-1 6-2
Gael Monfils def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 7-5 6-4
Janko Tipsarevic def. John Isner, 7-6 (7-4) 6-4
Dominik Hrbaty def. Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, 6-3 6-4
Radek Stepanek def. Frederico Gil, 6-2 6-3
Nicolas Almagro def. Wayne Odesnik, 6-4 6-4
Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Victor Crivoi, 6-2 6-0
Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon (Lyon)
Gilles Simon def. Simone Bolelli, 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5)
Nicolas Kiefer def. Sebastien Grosjean, 4-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-2)
Olivier Rochus def. Vincent Millot, 6-3 602
Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Leonardo Mayer, 7-6 (7-5) 6-2
Julien Benneteau def. Kevin Anderson, 7-5 6-2
I want to say 'this hasn't been your year', but you know what? It has been her year. She's reached two Slam finals and become world number #1, which is, really, when you think about it, not too shabby. But the pressure and her own temperament have worked against her, and... perhaps it's better this way. Perhaps it's better that she's injured and doesn't take part rather than suffering more humiliating defeats.
Go away, Dinara. Rest. Recuperate. Heal. Work on your serve. Enjoy your time away from the public eye. Because I want you to defend those damn points you earned in Australia, and I want you to do even better. Because I know you can. Get better, Dina.
In other matches, we won't be seeing any defending champion action, as Serena put paid to Venus's hopes, giving big sister V two losses. Oh well. Serena's got to be the favourite to win this tournament, even with the whole US Open drama still hanging over her head... and she's delivered thus far, with two solid wins.
But the match of the day was the battle of the teen queens, Azarenka and Wozniacki, who duked it out over three epic sets. Though I have to say Azarenka's style of play appeals to me more and I like her grit, I'm glad Wozniacki won, because even though she plays pretty vanilla tennis, I've never seen her throw a tantrum on court like Vika. And I'm not big on tantrums. (Have I harped enough on my dislike for Azarenka?)
I wouldn't be surprised to see these two teen queens be the semi final qualifiers from this group, so it'll be interesting to see what happens if they meet again in this tournament. This rivalry is going to be a very interesting one down the years...
(Oh, and in the men - remember them? - not only did Marat win, but my homeboy Ernests Gulbis upset fourth seed Jeremy Chardy. I'm even more convinced that we're coming to the light at the end of the tunnel there...!)
Today's Results
Sony Ericsson Championships (Doha)
Jelena Jankovic def. Dinara Safina, 1-1 retired
Serena Williams def. Venus Williams, 5-7 6-4 7-6 (7-4)
Caroline Wozniacki def. Victoria Azarenka, 1-6 6-4 7-5
St Petersburg Open (St Petersburg)
Marat Safin def. Richard Gasquet, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4
Mikhail Youzhny def. Andrey Golubev, 6-3 6-2
Igor Kunitsyn def. Pablo Cuevas, 6-4 6-3
Horacio Zeballos def. Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr, 6-3 6-1
Victor Hanescu def. Illya Marchenko, 6-3 6-4
Ernests Gulbis def. Jeremy Chardy, 7-6 (9-7) 6-3
Bjorn Phau def. Andreas Beck, 6-4 2-1 retired
Bank Austria Tennis Trophy (Vienna)
Daniel Koellerer def. Jarkko Nieminen, 6-1 6-2
Gael Monfils def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 7-5 6-4
Janko Tipsarevic def. John Isner, 7-6 (7-4) 6-4
Dominik Hrbaty def. Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, 6-3 6-4
Radek Stepanek def. Frederico Gil, 6-2 6-3
Nicolas Almagro def. Wayne Odesnik, 6-4 6-4
Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Victor Crivoi, 6-2 6-0
Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon (Lyon)
Gilles Simon def. Simone Bolelli, 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5)
Nicolas Kiefer def. Sebastien Grosjean, 4-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-2)
Olivier Rochus def. Vincent Millot, 6-3 602
Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Leonardo Mayer, 7-6 (7-5) 6-2
Julien Benneteau def. Kevin Anderson, 7-5 6-2
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Anyone-Can-Win (Because Everyone-Can-Lose)
We've had our first three matches in Doha. In a tournament which is anyone-could-win because everyone is certainly capable of losing, any result is, by nature, interesting. But there was one I thought was especially interesting, and that was Venus being beaten by Dementieva.
In terms of ability, this is hardly surprising. Both Venus and Elena are exceptionally talented, and Elena, when she's firing, can take just about anyone. Look how much trouble Serena - an in-form Serena - had taking her out in Wimbledon: far more trouble than she had taking out Venus, that's for sure. But one always associates the Williams fire with Venus, the desire to win the big ones, plus the fact that she's the defending champion, and Elena is usually classed among the headcases. Because, you know, she is one.
But Elena didn't go all headcase on us today - and, I would like to point out, she fought her way back from the brink of defeat. From one set down, she won the second set breaker eight points to six and then roared away in the third. That shows admirable grit and, given that Elena isn't usually a player one associates with grit, a nice surprise. Well done.
In the other matches, Serena triumphed over Sveta in two close sets and Azarenka pummelled Jankovic into submission. I was really hoping Sveta could pull her match out but I guess Serena probably had a wee score to settle after Roland Garros which might have fired her up a bit. Azarenka making mincemeat of Jankovic is not surprising to me. I really don't think Jankovic belongs here this year. It should be Clijsters, man, it should be Clijsters. (Not that Azarenka has been especially impressive of late either, but she looked good today... all the compliment I'm prepared to pay her).
I'm going to be very interested to see who brings the goods to the table and qualifies for the semis in both groups. Like I said, it's anyone-can-win because everyone-can-lose, so no matter who wins, I think it's going to be a little surprising. What I do hope is that someone, you know, wins the tournament, instead of just not losing. Let's end the WTA year on a high!
Today's Results
Sony Ericsson Championships (Doha)
Victoria Azarenka def. Jelena Jankovic, 6-2 6-3
Serena Williams def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 7-6 (8-6) 7-5
Elena Dementieva def. Venus Williams, 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-2
St Petersburg Open (St Petersburg)
Jeremy Chardy def. Petru-Alexandru Luncanu, 6-2 6-2
Igor Andreev def. Potito Starace, 6-4 6-2
Sergiy Stakhovsky def. Evgeny Korolev, 6-4 6-3
Horacio Zeballos def. Yuri Schukin, 7-6 (11-9) 6-3
Illya Marchenko def. Fabio Fognini, 6-4 6-1
Michail Elgin def. Mikhail Kukushkin, 6-3 6-3
Andrey Kuznetsov def. Marcel Granollers, 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (8-6) 6-4
Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr. def. Robby Ginepri , 6-2 1-0 retired
Bank Austria Tennis Trophy (Vienna)
Radek Stepanek def. Lukasz Kubot, 6-4 6-1
Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Dieter Kindlmann, 6-1 6-3
Feliciano Lopez def. Andreas Haider-Maurer, 6-4 6-4
Jurgen Melzer def. Marco Chiudinelli, 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (12-10)
Michael Berrer def. Steve Darcis, 6-3 6-2
Jan Hajek def. Andreas Seppi, 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 6-3
Marin Cilic def. Alejandro Falla, 6-2 6-3
Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon (Lyon)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Kevin Kim, 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5)
Ivan Ljubicic def. Martin Vassallo Arguello, 6-3 6-4
Benjamin Becker def. Paolo Lorenzi, 6-2 6-3
Albert Montanes def. Fabrice Santoro, 6-4 6-4
Michael Llodra def. Lamine Ouahab, 6-1 6-2
Marc Gicquel def. Jerome Haehnel, 6-1 6-4
Kevin Anderson def. Simon Greul, 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-3)
David Guez def. Rajeev Ram, 6-2 6-4
In terms of ability, this is hardly surprising. Both Venus and Elena are exceptionally talented, and Elena, when she's firing, can take just about anyone. Look how much trouble Serena - an in-form Serena - had taking her out in Wimbledon: far more trouble than she had taking out Venus, that's for sure. But one always associates the Williams fire with Venus, the desire to win the big ones, plus the fact that she's the defending champion, and Elena is usually classed among the headcases. Because, you know, she is one.
But Elena didn't go all headcase on us today - and, I would like to point out, she fought her way back from the brink of defeat. From one set down, she won the second set breaker eight points to six and then roared away in the third. That shows admirable grit and, given that Elena isn't usually a player one associates with grit, a nice surprise. Well done.
In the other matches, Serena triumphed over Sveta in two close sets and Azarenka pummelled Jankovic into submission. I was really hoping Sveta could pull her match out but I guess Serena probably had a wee score to settle after Roland Garros which might have fired her up a bit. Azarenka making mincemeat of Jankovic is not surprising to me. I really don't think Jankovic belongs here this year. It should be Clijsters, man, it should be Clijsters. (Not that Azarenka has been especially impressive of late either, but she looked good today... all the compliment I'm prepared to pay her).
I'm going to be very interested to see who brings the goods to the table and qualifies for the semis in both groups. Like I said, it's anyone-can-win because everyone-can-lose, so no matter who wins, I think it's going to be a little surprising. What I do hope is that someone, you know, wins the tournament, instead of just not losing. Let's end the WTA year on a high!
Today's Results
Sony Ericsson Championships (Doha)
Victoria Azarenka def. Jelena Jankovic, 6-2 6-3
Serena Williams def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 7-6 (8-6) 7-5
Elena Dementieva def. Venus Williams, 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-2
St Petersburg Open (St Petersburg)
Jeremy Chardy def. Petru-Alexandru Luncanu, 6-2 6-2
Igor Andreev def. Potito Starace, 6-4 6-2
Sergiy Stakhovsky def. Evgeny Korolev, 6-4 6-3
Horacio Zeballos def. Yuri Schukin, 7-6 (11-9) 6-3
Illya Marchenko def. Fabio Fognini, 6-4 6-1
Michail Elgin def. Mikhail Kukushkin, 6-3 6-3
Andrey Kuznetsov def. Marcel Granollers, 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (8-6) 6-4
Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr. def. Robby Ginepri , 6-2 1-0 retired
Bank Austria Tennis Trophy (Vienna)
Radek Stepanek def. Lukasz Kubot, 6-4 6-1
Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Dieter Kindlmann, 6-1 6-3
Feliciano Lopez def. Andreas Haider-Maurer, 6-4 6-4
Jurgen Melzer def. Marco Chiudinelli, 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (12-10)
Michael Berrer def. Steve Darcis, 6-3 6-2
Jan Hajek def. Andreas Seppi, 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 6-3
Marin Cilic def. Alejandro Falla, 6-2 6-3
Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon (Lyon)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Kevin Kim, 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5)
Ivan Ljubicic def. Martin Vassallo Arguello, 6-3 6-4
Benjamin Becker def. Paolo Lorenzi, 6-2 6-3
Albert Montanes def. Fabrice Santoro, 6-4 6-4
Michael Llodra def. Lamine Ouahab, 6-1 6-2
Marc Gicquel def. Jerome Haehnel, 6-1 6-4
Kevin Anderson def. Simon Greul, 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-3)
David Guez def. Rajeev Ram, 6-2 6-4
Monday, October 26, 2009
Doha And Other Thorny Puzzles
So Doha has not yet started, but can I just say - Dinara Safina may not have been in spectacular form lately, but she was rocking that dress she was wearing at the draw ceremony. She looked gorgeous. I'd dearly love to see her do well - ideally, win - in this tournament, to at least make some of these catcalls of 'worst #1 ever' go away, because despite everything, I still believe in Dinara. So here's looking at you, Dina, in your rockin' dress and awesome shoes - cheering for you!
One group does seem to be a lot stronger than the other - though it might just be because it contains both Williams sisters. We have Dinara, C-Woz, Jankovic and Vika in the White Group, and Serena, Venus, Sveta and Elena D in the Maroon Group. I don't want to go making predictions, and it's mostly because I genuinely don't know who to pick. I wouldn't say any of these ladies has shown especially amazing form lately - Sveta is the only one coming in off a win, and much as I think she's awesome, her headcaseness cannot be denied - and for every good point I can think of for all of them, I can think of a few bad points as well.
For starters, Dinara: she's got the game, she's got the grit, but she's been all over the place since Wimbledon, if not earlier. I certainly believe she can win this tournament, but whether I believe she will or not is another story.
Serena: Hasn't played much lately. Hasn't done much of anything since the infamous semi against Clijsters in New York. This tournament isn't a Slam, and I don't know how much she's going to bring to the table.
Venus: Same deal as Serena when it comes to the tournament not being a Slam - but she did win it last year, and I'm sure she'd be eager to defend. But same as Serena again in not having much done much of anything since New York, though at least she doesn't come in with a monkey on her back like her sister does.
Dementieva: She played awesome at the beginning of the year. She played an awesome match against Serena in Wimbledon, where something resembling a serve was sighted. Unfortunately, it hasn't been seen since, and the odds on it showing up here...?
Wozniacki: I could say something about her being vanilla and boring, but she did make it to the US Open final, an achievement which cannot be discounted, even in a weakened field. However, she retired hurt last week, and injury lurks around her.
Azarenka: I don't like her attitude. And while she started off the year strongly, with that Miami title, she crashed out early in New York and I can't remember her doing a lot before that either. And I don't like her. So there.
Kuznetsova: If she's on song, I would just hand her the trophy now. She can beat anyone when she has her day, and she won a Slam this year, and she's coming in off her win. However, will it be her day, or will Captain Headcase rear his ugly head?
Jankovic: Really shouldn't be here, in my opinion. Hasn't won enough stuff to merit it - crashed out immediately after qualifying for here last week. I don't see her suddenly becoming awesome again and destroying the field. Would have given the spot to Clijsters.
So who's going to win?
...you got me.
I'd like to say Dinara. I think this might give her some confidence and a bit of validation for being back in that #1 spot. However, I'm going to go out on a limb and pick Kuznetsova this time. She is capable of roundly thrashing every player here, if she plays to the best of her ability. So it's not a question of her ability, but whether she can bring it to play. And you know what? I think she can.
Today's Results
St Petersburg Open (St Petersburg)
Karol Beck def. Viktor Troicki, 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-4
Bjorn Phau def. Stanislav Vovk, 6-3 6-2
Denis Istomin def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-4 6-4
Bank Austria Tennis Trophy (Vienna)
Nicolas Almagro def. Peter Luczak, 5-7 7-6 (7-3) 6-1
Daniel Brands def. Robert Kendrick, 7-6 (7-5) 7-5
Victor Crivoi def. Jan Hernych, 6-3 6-3
Wayne Odesnik def. Lukas Rosol, 6-2 5-7 7-6 (8-6)
Frederico Gil def. Stefan Koubek, 4-6 6-4 6-4
Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon (Lyon)
Juan Monaco def. Josselin Ouanna, 6-3 6-2
Julien Benneteau def. Alberto Martin, 7-6 (7-1) 6-1
Florent Serra def. Christophe Rochus, 6-3 6-3
One group does seem to be a lot stronger than the other - though it might just be because it contains both Williams sisters. We have Dinara, C-Woz, Jankovic and Vika in the White Group, and Serena, Venus, Sveta and Elena D in the Maroon Group. I don't want to go making predictions, and it's mostly because I genuinely don't know who to pick. I wouldn't say any of these ladies has shown especially amazing form lately - Sveta is the only one coming in off a win, and much as I think she's awesome, her headcaseness cannot be denied - and for every good point I can think of for all of them, I can think of a few bad points as well.
For starters, Dinara: she's got the game, she's got the grit, but she's been all over the place since Wimbledon, if not earlier. I certainly believe she can win this tournament, but whether I believe she will or not is another story.
Serena: Hasn't played much lately. Hasn't done much of anything since the infamous semi against Clijsters in New York. This tournament isn't a Slam, and I don't know how much she's going to bring to the table.
Venus: Same deal as Serena when it comes to the tournament not being a Slam - but she did win it last year, and I'm sure she'd be eager to defend. But same as Serena again in not having much done much of anything since New York, though at least she doesn't come in with a monkey on her back like her sister does.
Dementieva: She played awesome at the beginning of the year. She played an awesome match against Serena in Wimbledon, where something resembling a serve was sighted. Unfortunately, it hasn't been seen since, and the odds on it showing up here...?
Wozniacki: I could say something about her being vanilla and boring, but she did make it to the US Open final, an achievement which cannot be discounted, even in a weakened field. However, she retired hurt last week, and injury lurks around her.
Azarenka: I don't like her attitude. And while she started off the year strongly, with that Miami title, she crashed out early in New York and I can't remember her doing a lot before that either. And I don't like her. So there.
Kuznetsova: If she's on song, I would just hand her the trophy now. She can beat anyone when she has her day, and she won a Slam this year, and she's coming in off her win. However, will it be her day, or will Captain Headcase rear his ugly head?
Jankovic: Really shouldn't be here, in my opinion. Hasn't won enough stuff to merit it - crashed out immediately after qualifying for here last week. I don't see her suddenly becoming awesome again and destroying the field. Would have given the spot to Clijsters.
So who's going to win?
...you got me.
I'd like to say Dinara. I think this might give her some confidence and a bit of validation for being back in that #1 spot. However, I'm going to go out on a limb and pick Kuznetsova this time. She is capable of roundly thrashing every player here, if she plays to the best of her ability. So it's not a question of her ability, but whether she can bring it to play. And you know what? I think she can.
Today's Results
St Petersburg Open (St Petersburg)
Karol Beck def. Viktor Troicki, 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-4
Bjorn Phau def. Stanislav Vovk, 6-3 6-2
Denis Istomin def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-4 6-4
Bank Austria Tennis Trophy (Vienna)
Nicolas Almagro def. Peter Luczak, 5-7 7-6 (7-3) 6-1
Daniel Brands def. Robert Kendrick, 7-6 (7-5) 7-5
Victor Crivoi def. Jan Hernych, 6-3 6-3
Wayne Odesnik def. Lukas Rosol, 6-2 5-7 7-6 (8-6)
Frederico Gil def. Stefan Koubek, 4-6 6-4 6-4
Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon (Lyon)
Juan Monaco def. Josselin Ouanna, 6-3 6-2
Julien Benneteau def. Alberto Martin, 7-6 (7-1) 6-1
Florent Serra def. Christophe Rochus, 6-3 6-3
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Thai Dyed
Well, I did not get my Thailand wish. Neither Marat Safin nor Ernests Gulbis managed to win their next matches.
Marat I am very disappointed in. He should be able to beat Marco Chiudinelli with his eyes closed and one arm tied behind his back, instead of losing tamely like he did. Still, it's pretty obvious that the fire is gone for Marat. He doesn't have any love for tennis at all and he's just hanging out for retirement so he can lie on the beach for a while. Here's one guy I don't think will be coming back.
Though my track record is not the best with these predictions - look what I said about Justine Henin.
Ernests Gulbis, on the other hand, did quite well. Could he finally, finally being finding his feet again? He pushed top seed Jo-Willy Tsonga all the way to a third set breaker, and considering the folks Jo-Dub has beaten of late - Federer springs to mind - that's really something a bit spesh. Not as good as winning, of course, but there's hope for the young Latvian yet. I'm still on your bandwagon, Ernie.
Over to the women, and I do believe I have some words to eat. I said Azarenka had to be the favourite to take the title... yeah, she went and lost. Just like all the other seeds. Li Na took her out - there's no way I would have picked that result. But JJ is still flying the seed flag, and Aggie Rad, and MaSha is still there - so it's not exactly like the semis of the US Open, which really was a decimation!
Today's Results
PTT Pattaya Open (Bangkok)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-2)
Gilles Simon def. Kevin Kim, 6-2 6-2
John Isner def. Mischa Zverev, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4
Andreas Beck def. Donald Young, 6-1 6-7 (3-7) 6-4
Marco Chiudinelli def. Marat Safin, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)
Evgeny Korolev def. Robby Ginepri, 6-1 6-1
Proton Malaysian Open (Kuala Lumpur)
Fernando Verdasco def. Karol Beck, 6-4 6-0
Fernando Gonzalez def. Rohan Bopanna, 6-4 3-6 6-4
Gael Monfils def. Martin Vassallo Arguello, 6-4 6-2
Tomas Berdych def. Simon Greul, 6-3 4-6 6-3
Richard Gasquet def. Joachim Johansson, 4-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-2
Toray Pan Pacific Open (Tokyo)
Jelena Jankovic def. Marion Bartoli, 6-4 6-3
Li Na def. Victoria Azarenka, 7-6 (9-7) 4-6 7-6 (7-4)
Agnieszka Radwanska def. Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-3 6-1
Maria Sharapova def. Iveta Benesova, 6-4 7-5
Marat I am very disappointed in. He should be able to beat Marco Chiudinelli with his eyes closed and one arm tied behind his back, instead of losing tamely like he did. Still, it's pretty obvious that the fire is gone for Marat. He doesn't have any love for tennis at all and he's just hanging out for retirement so he can lie on the beach for a while. Here's one guy I don't think will be coming back.
Though my track record is not the best with these predictions - look what I said about Justine Henin.
Ernests Gulbis, on the other hand, did quite well. Could he finally, finally being finding his feet again? He pushed top seed Jo-Willy Tsonga all the way to a third set breaker, and considering the folks Jo-Dub has beaten of late - Federer springs to mind - that's really something a bit spesh. Not as good as winning, of course, but there's hope for the young Latvian yet. I'm still on your bandwagon, Ernie.
Over to the women, and I do believe I have some words to eat. I said Azarenka had to be the favourite to take the title... yeah, she went and lost. Just like all the other seeds. Li Na took her out - there's no way I would have picked that result. But JJ is still flying the seed flag, and Aggie Rad, and MaSha is still there - so it's not exactly like the semis of the US Open, which really was a decimation!
Today's Results
PTT Pattaya Open (Bangkok)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-2)
Gilles Simon def. Kevin Kim, 6-2 6-2
John Isner def. Mischa Zverev, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4
Andreas Beck def. Donald Young, 6-1 6-7 (3-7) 6-4
Marco Chiudinelli def. Marat Safin, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)
Evgeny Korolev def. Robby Ginepri, 6-1 6-1
Proton Malaysian Open (Kuala Lumpur)
Fernando Verdasco def. Karol Beck, 6-4 6-0
Fernando Gonzalez def. Rohan Bopanna, 6-4 3-6 6-4
Gael Monfils def. Martin Vassallo Arguello, 6-4 6-2
Tomas Berdych def. Simon Greul, 6-3 4-6 6-3
Richard Gasquet def. Joachim Johansson, 4-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-2
Toray Pan Pacific Open (Tokyo)
Jelena Jankovic def. Marion Bartoli, 6-4 6-3
Li Na def. Victoria Azarenka, 7-6 (9-7) 4-6 7-6 (7-4)
Agnieszka Radwanska def. Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-3 6-1
Maria Sharapova def. Iveta Benesova, 6-4 7-5
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Godzilla
The remaining seeds in Tokyo are righting the ship a little -by which I mean none of them actually lost today - but I'm still in total awe about how one tournament could turn into such a mess. When Jelena Jankovic is the highest seed and most consistent player remaining (JJ of this year, not JJ of last year) then something's awry.
Not that I don't think JJ is capable of winning tournaments... but let's face it, this has not been her year. It hasn't really been anyone's year, except maybe Kim Clijsters, and she only played for about four seconds. Oh, WTA. What a glorious mess you are.
I think you have to like Victoria Azarenka to win this title - US Open aside, she hasn't done too bad for herself this year, and you can bet that she'll be kicking herself because Wozniacki made it to a Slam final before she did, claiming the crown of Teen Queen for the present. But you know who I want to see win this title, to be the Godzilla that claims Tokyo? Maria Sharapova.
I love that a) she's still in it and b) the MaSha serve is back! That abbreviated motion might have been good for her shoulder, but it was a total mess for her game, what with those eleventy million double faults. I hope she and her team have found a way to make the old MaSha serve not bad for her shoulder... but if that's the choice she's going to make, more power to her. I'd love to see her win this tournament. Time for Maria's comeback to go nuclear.
Today's Results
PTT Pattaya Open (Bangkok)
Viktor Troicki def. Thomaz Bellucci, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)
Jurgen Melzer def. Marsel Ilhan, 6-4 6-2
Kevin Kim def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-4 6-4
Mischa Zverev def. Leonardo Mayer, 5-7 6-3 6-3
Proton Malaysian Open (Kuala Lumpur)
Nikolay Davydenko def. Taylor Dent, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)
Robin Soderling def. Brendan Evans, 6-1 6-1
Mikhail Youzhny def. Marcos Baghdatis, 6-2 6-3
Gael Monfils def. Denis Istomin, 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2)
Richard Gasquet def. Victor Crivoi, 6-1 6-2
Simon Greul def. Christophe Rochus, 6-4 3-6 6-2
Toray Pan Pacific Open (Tokyo)
Jelena Jankovic def. Elena Vesnina, 6-1 3-0 retired
Victoria Azarenka def. Lucie Safarova, 7-5 604
Agnieszka Radwanska def. Andrea Petkovic, 6-4 3-6 6-3
Marion Bartoli def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 4-6 6-2 7-5
Li Na def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 2-6 7-5 6-3
Maria Sharapova def. Alisa Kleybanova, 2-6 6-2 6-2
Iveta Benesova def. Chang Kai-Chen, 7-5 6-2
Magdalena Rybarikova def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 1-6 6-3 6-3
Not that I don't think JJ is capable of winning tournaments... but let's face it, this has not been her year. It hasn't really been anyone's year, except maybe Kim Clijsters, and she only played for about four seconds. Oh, WTA. What a glorious mess you are.
I think you have to like Victoria Azarenka to win this title - US Open aside, she hasn't done too bad for herself this year, and you can bet that she'll be kicking herself because Wozniacki made it to a Slam final before she did, claiming the crown of Teen Queen for the present. But you know who I want to see win this title, to be the Godzilla that claims Tokyo? Maria Sharapova.
I love that a) she's still in it and b) the MaSha serve is back! That abbreviated motion might have been good for her shoulder, but it was a total mess for her game, what with those eleventy million double faults. I hope she and her team have found a way to make the old MaSha serve not bad for her shoulder... but if that's the choice she's going to make, more power to her. I'd love to see her win this tournament. Time for Maria's comeback to go nuclear.
Today's Results
PTT Pattaya Open (Bangkok)
Viktor Troicki def. Thomaz Bellucci, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)
Jurgen Melzer def. Marsel Ilhan, 6-4 6-2
Kevin Kim def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-4 6-4
Mischa Zverev def. Leonardo Mayer, 5-7 6-3 6-3
Proton Malaysian Open (Kuala Lumpur)
Nikolay Davydenko def. Taylor Dent, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)
Robin Soderling def. Brendan Evans, 6-1 6-1
Mikhail Youzhny def. Marcos Baghdatis, 6-2 6-3
Gael Monfils def. Denis Istomin, 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2)
Richard Gasquet def. Victor Crivoi, 6-1 6-2
Simon Greul def. Christophe Rochus, 6-4 3-6 6-2
Toray Pan Pacific Open (Tokyo)
Jelena Jankovic def. Elena Vesnina, 6-1 3-0 retired
Victoria Azarenka def. Lucie Safarova, 7-5 604
Agnieszka Radwanska def. Andrea Petkovic, 6-4 3-6 6-3
Marion Bartoli def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 4-6 6-2 7-5
Li Na def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 2-6 7-5 6-3
Maria Sharapova def. Alisa Kleybanova, 2-6 6-2 6-2
Iveta Benesova def. Chang Kai-Chen, 7-5 6-2
Magdalena Rybarikova def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 1-6 6-3 6-3
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