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Ouch…JTContinental wrote:Post-match interviewer: Sloane Stephens, you are so much more than a tennis player, you are also a wife (paraphrased).
The guy in Stuttgart was great. Former player.ponchi101 wrote:The same kind as the entire concept of the on-court interview. I have never seen a good one; the level of ridiculous questions is amazing.
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Rybakina: well, she will always have a Wimbledon trophy, but I am changing my opinion to "One slam wonder".
The only good thing is that next year she will not lose any points.
I'd say Swiatek's chances of winning the next RG are very high.ti-amie wrote: ↑Tue Aug 30, 2022 7:58 pm I don't see the current crop of "top" WTA players having the drive that we saw in Chrissie, Martina, Monica, Jankovic, Ivanovic, and others. Serena is the last of a dying breed, someone who really wants to beat you and will do all she can to do so. Maybe Cori, Leylah, and others will pick up the baton so we see high level tennis again more often than not. After this US Open there will be, in my opinion, a slew of one Slam wonders until some of the newer players like those I mentioned (but not limited to them) mature.
Remember around 1998? We had that era in which it looked like we were about to enter an era of titanic battles, because the depth was so deep. Alexandra Stevenson, Kournikova, Mauresmo, Hingis, and the Williams were coming in. Graf and Davenport were still making some noise.ti-amie wrote: ↑Tue Aug 30, 2022 7:58 pm I don't see the current crop of "top" WTA players having the drive that we saw in Chrissie, Martina, Monica, Jankovic, Ivanovic, and others. Serena is the last of a dying breed, someone who really wants to beat you and will do all she can to do so. Maybe Cori, Leylah, and others will pick up the baton so we see high level tennis again more often than not. After this US Open there will be, in my opinion, a slew of one Slam wonders until some of the newer players like those I mentioned (but not limited to them) mature.
Yepponchi101 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 30, 2022 8:11 pmRemember around 1998? We had that era in which it looked like we were about to enter an era of titanic battles, because the depth was so deep. Alexandra Stevenson, Kournikova, Mauresmo, Hingis, and the Williams were coming in. Graf and Davenport were still making some noise.ti-amie wrote: ↑Tue Aug 30, 2022 7:58 pm I don't see the current crop of "top" WTA players having the drive that we saw in Chrissie, Martina, Monica, Jankovic, Ivanovic, and others. Serena is the last of a dying breed, someone who really wants to beat you and will do all she can to do so. Maybe Cori, Leylah, and others will pick up the baton so we see high level tennis again more often than not. After this US Open there will be, in my opinion, a slew of one Slam wonders until some of the newer players like those I mentioned (but not limited to them) mature.
Then, it all went away, and Venus and Serena took over. Hingis understood she could not compete against the power of those two, the rest simply didn't blossom to the degree we expected, and we entered that Serena/Venus era, which morphed into just Serena.
The only problem I see is that the style of play in the WTA is so similar all over. 100-105 MPH serve, 2H BH that is more solid than the FH, but a harder FH, and a reluctance to understand how to approach the net.
We don't remember that the great ones were all different from the pack: Serena was different, Graf was different, Martina was different, Chrissie was different. Seles was TOTALLY different. Somebody has to make that commitment: play a truly different game. Then we may see a new, dominant champion
Let's not completely rewrite the history... Serena was a towering figure of that era. Venus much less so and Henin won as many Slams (7). Clijsters (4) and Sharapova (4) should not be forgotten either.ponchi101 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 30, 2022 8:11 pmRemember around 1998? We had that era in which it looked like we were about to enter an era of titanic battles, because the depth was so deep. Alexandra Stevenson, Kournikova, Mauresmo, Hingis, and the Williams were coming in. Graf and Davenport were still making some noise.ti-amie wrote: ↑Tue Aug 30, 2022 7:58 pm I don't see the current crop of "top" WTA players having the drive that we saw in Chrissie, Martina, Monica, Jankovic, Ivanovic, and others. Serena is the last of a dying breed, someone who really wants to beat you and will do all she can to do so. Maybe Cori, Leylah, and others will pick up the baton so we see high level tennis again more often than not. After this US Open there will be, in my opinion, a slew of one Slam wonders until some of the newer players like those I mentioned (but not limited to them) mature.
Then, it all went away, and Venus and Serena took over. Hingis understood she could not compete against the power of those two, the rest simply didn't blossom to the degree we expected, and we entered that Serena/Venus era, which morphed into just Serena.
The only problem I see is that the style of play in the WTA is so similar all over. 100-105 MPH serve, 2H BH that is more solid than the FH, but a harder FH, and a reluctance to understand how to approach the net.
We don't remember that the great ones were all different from the pack: Serena was different, Graf was different, Martina was different, Chrissie was different. Seles was TOTALLY different. Somebody has to make that commitment: play a truly different game. Then we may see a new, dominant champion
Only compared to Serena's 33JTContinental wrote: ↑Tue Aug 30, 2022 8:26 pm I wouldn't consider 16 grand slam finals as "much less so."
Bianca is the only one I can say and actually have any belief behind it and that's if and only if she ever gets her body right again, and as most are aware, I have serious doubts that can happen. I think she's doing better with the new physio, but think those decisions made for her in 2019 may be detrimental to long-term success.
Agree. You added to my list, but your additions make my point. Henin was different. Sharapova (who actually has 5) and Clijsters were not identical to the others, although they did fit the 2H BH, big FH mold.
You also forgot Stephens.JazzNU wrote: ↑Tue Aug 30, 2022 8:43 pmThe possibilities are Andreescu, Kenin, Raducanu, Krejcikova, and Rybakina, right? So yeah, that's where I'm at right now. I'd be happy for any of them to change my mind. Kenin is so far off from where she was in 2019 and 2020 that I have to wonder what injury she had. That girl has the killer instinct I'm talking about in spades.
Forgot about Ostapenko. Eh. I'm not expecting it, but I could see way more than other options, that's for sure. I was high on her before she won and that hasn't lessened. She's a roller coaster, at any point to me she can go on a run and win another GS or big title. I just wouldn't suggest you put down any money you can't afford to lose on that bet.