Talk About Tennis 2.0

Suliso wrote: ↑Sat Jun 18, 2022 4:31 pm By the way most bookmakers are listing Gauff as the 2nd favorite. I think that's an exaggeration, but on the other hand is there a very strong case for anyone else?

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 18, 2022 4:33 pm

Suliso wrote: ↑Sat Jun 18, 2022 3:37 pm

meganfernandez wrote: ↑Sat Jun 18, 2022 3:33 pm

Someone with that serve shouldn't be weak on grass. Hopefully she figures it out in the near future.

Agree, but the results argue that she is indeed weak on grass. I wonder if it's entirely technical reasons or some kind of weird psychological aversion as well.

I still say that grass is not about the big serve. It is about movement. And Naomi is a great mover ON HARD COURTS. She plants herself with a lot of power, and can change directions very quickly when she has traction. On grass, you have to be quick, but you have to be light. You try to do a hard court stop, and you will go down.
It was the reason somebody basically without a serve (Connors) was able to win it twice, and make three more finals. His feet were very light and he took an extra two steps to get to the ball, so after he hit, he was already stopped. Then he could change directions.
Plus, of course, at the time points were just 4 strokes at best.

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 18, 2022 4:33 pm

Suliso wrote: ↑Sat Jun 18, 2022 3:37 pm

meganfernandez wrote: ↑Sat Jun 18, 2022 3:33 pm

Someone with that serve shouldn't be weak on grass. Hopefully she figures it out in the near future.

Agree, but the results argue that she is indeed weak on grass. I wonder if it's entirely technical reasons or some kind of weird psychological aversion as well.

I still say that grass is not about the big serve. It is about movement. And Naomi is a great mover ON HARD COURTS. She plants herself with a lot of power, and can change directions very quickly when she has traction. On grass, you have to be quick, but you have to be light. You try to do a hard court stop, and you will go down.
It was the reason somebody basically without a serve (Connors) was able to win it twice, and make three more finals. His feet were very light and he took an extra two steps to get to the ball, so after he hit, he was already stopped. Then he could change directions.
Plus, of course, at the time points were just 4 strokes at best.

Suliso wrote: ↑Sat Jun 18, 2022 5:01 pm Iga's top favorite status is 99% reputation and the win streak. Nothing to do with her actual ability on grass.

meganfernandez wrote: ↑Sat Jun 18, 2022 4:55 pm

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 18, 2022 4:33 pm

Suliso wrote: ↑Sat Jun 18, 2022 3:37 pm

Agree, but the results argue that she is indeed weak on grass. I wonder if it's entirely technical reasons or some kind of weird psychological aversion as well.

I still say that grass is not about the big serve. It is about movement. And Naomi is a great mover ON HARD COURTS. She plants herself with a lot of power, and can change directions very quickly when she has traction. On grass, you have to be quick, but you have to be light. You try to do a hard court stop, and you will go down.
It was the reason somebody basically without a serve (Connors) was able to win it twice, and make three more finals. His feet were very light and he took an extra two steps to get to the ball, so after he hit, he was already stopped. Then he could change directions.
Plus, of course, at the time points were just 4 strokes at best.

You're right that movement is important. Might be why Radwanska did well, plus her great hands and ability to get low. But I think the grass makes a big serve even more dangerous and gives someone who's not a great mover on grass more of a chance. I don't think Kvitova is a great mover, for instance. This is a general rule - applied, there are more factors. Osaka would need to spend a lot more time on grass to get comfortable with it.

Iga hasn't played a warmup yet, has she? And she's not entered into Eastbourne. So no grass prep for Iga? Yikes.

ashkor87 wrote:

meganfernandez wrote: ↑Sat Jun 18, 2022 4:55 pm

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 18, 2022 4:33 pm I still say that grass is not about the big serve. It is about movement. And Naomi is a great mover ON HARD COURTS. She plants herself with a lot of power, and can change directions very quickly when she has traction. On grass, you have to be quick, but you have to be light. You try to do a hard court stop, and you will go down.
It was the reason somebody basically without a serve (Connors) was able to win it twice, and make three more finals. His feet were very light and he took an extra two steps to get to the ball, so after he hit, he was already stopped. Then he could change directions.
Plus, of course, at the time points were just 4 strokes at best.

You're right that movement is important. Might be why Radwanska did well, plus her great hands and ability to get low. But I think the grass makes a big serve even more dangerous and gives someone who's not a great mover on grass more of a chance. I don't think Kvitova is a great mover, for instance. This is a general rule - applied, there are more factors. Osaka would need to spend a lot more time on grass to get comfortable with it.

Iga hasn't played a warmup yet, has she? And she's not entered into Eastbourne. So no grass prep for Iga? Yikes.

Serena hardly ever played prep matches on grass, Nadal doesn't much,vand neither did Agassi..in fact Agassi refused to even practice on grass..so grass tournaments are not a must...and Swiatek is a junior W champion so ...