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ti-amie Tournament: Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
Location: Stuttgart, Germany
Dates: April 17 - April 23, 2023
Level: WTA 500
Total Financial Commitment: $780,637
Surface: Clay
Name Country WTA Ranking
1 F Swiatek, Iga Swiatek, Iga Poland POL 1
2 F Sabalenka, Aryna Sabalenka, Aryna 2
3 F Garcia, Caroline Garcia, Caroline France FRA 4
4 F Jabeur, Ons Jabeur, Ons Tunisia TUN 5
5 F Gauff, Coco Gauff, Coco USA USA 6
6 F Rybakina, Elena Rybakina, Elena Kazakhstan KAZ 7
7 F Kasatkina, Daria Kasatkina, Daria 8
8 F Bencic, Belinda Bencic, Belinda Switzerland SUI 9
9 F Sakkari, Maria Sakkari, Maria Greece GRE 10
10 F Kudermetova, Veronika Kudermetova, Veronika 11
11 F Kvitova, Petra Kvitova, Petra Czech Republic CZE 12
12 F Krejcikova, Barbora Krejcikova, Barbora Czech Republic CZE 13
13 F Haddad Maia, Beatriz Haddad Maia, Beatriz Brazil BRA 14
14 F Samsonova, Liudmila Samsonova, Liudmila 15
15 F Pliskova, Karolina Pliskova, Karolina Czech Republic CZE 17
16 F Alexandrova, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Ekaterina 18
17 F Vekic, Donna Vekic, Donna Croatia CRO 20
18 F Ostapenko, Jelena Ostapenko, Jelena Latvia LAT 22
19 F Zheng, Qinwen Zheng, Qinwen China CHN 23
20 F Trevisan, Martina Trevisan, Martina Italy ITA 24
F = Full Member
Q = Qualifier
W = Wild Card
https://www.porsche-tennis.com/prod/pag ... nt_players
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ti-amie Qualifying Singles Entry List
Nr. Name Land Rang
1 ANASTASIA POTAPOVA - 26
2 ANHELINA KALININA UKR 28
3 PAULA BADOSA ESP 29
4 JIL TEICHMANN SUI 32
5 AMANDA ANISIMOVA USA 35
6 BERNARDA PERA USA 37
7 ELISE MERTENS BEL 39
8 PETRA MARTIC CRO 41
9 LINDA FRUHVIRTOVA CZE 50
10 ALYCIA PARKS USA 56
11 ANNA KALINSKAYA - 64
12 KATIE VOLYNETS USA 77
13 LESIA TSURENKO UKR 81
14 CRISTINA BUCSA ESP 82
F = Full Member
Q = Qualifier
W = Wild Card
https://www.porsche-tennis.com/prod/pag ... nt_players
by ashkor87 this is the first real clay court tournament of the season.. Charleston is a sort of transition between hard and clay.. I wonder how Rybakina will do on clay - Swaiatek and Sabalenka are proven champions on clay, Rybakina isnt..yet. I somehow feel her movement may not be ideal for clay.. let us see what she does. Ostapenko is one established clay courter who is playing well lately, she may do well (except for the virus she is recovering from).. I wonder about Pegula no reason why she should not do as well on clay as anywhere else but no proof point yet. Kenin will, we know.. Krejcikova of course.. stuttgart shold be a good test, I generally ignore Charleston when it comes to understanding clay court form..
by ashkor87 One clue to look for is - is someone performing well on a surface that doesn't really suit him/,her? Sinner, Tiafoe and Krejcikova come to mind..should do well when the clay season begins...also Khachanov and Samsonova (though she has underperformed a bit lately)
by ponchi101 Charleston is on har-tru, so indeed it is not "clay". But I always liked that surface and I feel that it has been maligned slightly. It is fun to play on it.
I do not expect to see Elena playing well on clay. Her movement is the worse of the top players, and with that extra flat FH, the errors will pile up.
Ostapenko has a reputation as a clay courter because she won one French, and indeed, that should qualify her. Until you see her record there:
2016 - R128, 2017 - W, 2018 - R128, 2019 - R128, 2020 - R32 (pandemic year, played in October, on very cold days), 2021 - R128, 2022 - R64. She has no other clay court FINALS and her only final on something similar is Charleston. So, she has to be gauged accordingly. I don't see her doing anything on clay.
by ashkor87 good point about Ostapenko - she has done better on grass than on clay, actually..
by ashkor87 I have played on green clay just once - at the Rock Creek Club in DC (actually Maryland)..didnt like the way it robbed my serve of all its pace..
the thing about Charleston is - it has been won in the past by such red clay stalwarts as Bencic, Kerber, Keys.. so not very good omen for the red clay season..clearly it is not the same as red clay.
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ponchi101 Not the same, indeed. I would say that har-tru is the one kind of court that you can alter speed (I am not sure if you worry about this
) the most. A few extra layers of har-tru and you have a very slow court; a few less, and it is very fast.
But you can slide the same as on clay. So, the footwork is the same, as far as I am concerned.
One problem: all courts are different. Even at the same club, two adjacent courts will play differently. But I say it is a fun surface. AND: very soft on your knees, which is a plus.
by JazzNU I think Rybakina can do very well in Charleston, Stuttgart, and Madrid. I'm not sure she'll ever get to the finals of RG, but she has been to the QF already, so in general, I wouldn't rule her out of clay court tournaments no matter the size.
by ponchi101 As much as I am getting to be a fan of hers, I think her weakest skill is movement. And her FH is very, very flat.
Hope I am wrong, of course, but (for example) I am not coming close to her for my TSiP team. I don't think her tool set will get her many points during the clay swing.
by ashkor87 as we move on to red clay... I would rate the players thusly:
1. Swiatek of course, the bext clay courter n the world today - she should win RG and at least one of the other big ones(madrid/Rome)
2. Sabalenka - better than one would expect on clay - she has a great record and she has the right game - big power, being abit slow on her feet wont hurt her much as she knows hoe to move on clay.. will win at least one of the 1000 series and maybe get to the finals of RG
3. Jabeur - seems to be back, has the game for clay - moves well on clay - has done well last year too, takes confidence from Charleston..
then a couple of wild cards:
4. Samsonova - always great on clay - tremendous power, nearly beat Swiatek last year, will do well this year, I think,
5. Krejcikova - a proven champion, comfortable and confident on clay.. will do well, possibly win one of the 1000 series , go to the semis or better at RG
the ones I do NOT expect much from on clay:
Rybakina, Bencic, and, of course (sorry, American fans out there) Coco and Pegula- Coco needs to find ways to put the ball away, being defensive doesnt help and Pegula, well, she needs some weapons.. though she will get to the QF of almost any tournament she plays (you could call that doing well, but I dont)
Leylah could do well, she has the ability to put the ball away at the net and moves well on clay.. Badosa also will do well enough, QFs and so on.
thoughts? without getting too emotional about anyone, please!
by ponchi101 Swiatek? A given. No refutation there, with only one caveat: last player to defend a slam title was Serena at Wimby ('15-'16). So, sure, she will be the favorite. But not at 75%.
Sabalenka. 3 times R32 at RG. That is her best showing. But she has won Madrid, at that altitude (ha!) of 600 mts. Sincerely, don't see her doing much.
Ons. Sure, why not? She likes the surface, and seems to be back after yesterday's win.
Samsonova. You have your soft spot for her.
Krejcikova. I say she will be the second best player of the season.
Rybakina? See you on grass, my dear.
Bencic? Nah, she will do fine, and will be a force in the smaller 500's.
Coco. She is the RG RU from last year. She will do better than you expect. Repeating that final will be tough.
Dark horse. Mademoiselle OTHER. Get ready for some unknown players winning something big (not a 1000).
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ashkor87 ponchi101 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 10, 2023 3:36 pm
Swiatek? A given. No refutation there, with only one caveat: last player to defend a slam title was Serena at Wimby ('15-'16). So, sure, she will be the favorite. But not at 75%.
Sabalenka. 3 times R32 at RG. That is her best showing. But she has won Madrid, at that altitude (ha!) of 600 mts. Sincerely, don't see her doing much.
Ons. Sure, why not? She likes the surface, and seems to be back after yesterday's win.
Samsonova. You have your soft spot for her.
Krejcikova. I say she will be the second best player of the season.
Rybakina? See you on grass, my dear.
Bencic? Nah, she will do fine, and will be a force in the smaller 500's.
Coco. She is the RG RU from last year. She will do better than you expect. Repeating that final will be tough.
Dark horse. Mademoiselle OTHER. Get ready for some unknown players winning something big (not a 1000).
Agree except mmlle other! Which tournament, ,500 and over, has she won lately?!
by atlpam Swiatek, if she's healthy, and Krejcikova would be my favorites
Ons & Coco would be in the mix to go deep in the tournament.
Otherwise, I'm with ponchi on the dark horse.
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ashkor87 atlpam wrote: ↑Mon Apr 10, 2023 7:46 pm
Swiatek, if she's healthy, and Krejcikova would be my favorites
Ons & Coco would be in the mix to go deep in the tournament.
Otherwise, I'm with ponchi on the dark horse.
Ok but which tournament, other than 250 level, has a dark horse actually won?
Curious why you think Sabalenka will not be a major force...do you think the bad sabalenka has returned? She did well last year and is playing better this year than last year....
by ponchi101 Sabalenka is not off. She has had a very good first quarter. But, other than Madrid, which she has won before, her record at RG is not that great.
It is just that it is not her surface. If she goes on and wins something big, other than Madrid, I will not be surprised.
Looking at winners. Least accomplished player to win something bit in the last half a year is Samsonova, and I will grant you she is ranked 15th. So, lately, mademoiselle Other has indeed been dormant.
by Deuce Leylah reached the quarter final of Roland Garros last year - and only lost to Trevisan in that match because she was playing with a stress fracture in her foot (which sidelined her for 2 months after Roland Garros).
She also won the Roland Garros Junior tournament in 2019, and lost in the semis there to Gauff in 2018.
by ashkor87 agree Rybakina doesnt seem to move well on clay, but I am encoyraged when I remember Sharapova - the self-described 'cow on ice' - she did somehow figure it out and went on to win not one, but two FOs after... I think she said she decided to just pick up her feet and run, not even try to slide and whatnot - that seemed to work for her.
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ashkor87 ponchi101 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 10, 2023 3:36 pm
Swiatek? A given. No refutation there, with only one caveat: last player to defend a slam title was Serena at Wimby ('15-'16). So, sure, she will be the favorite. But not at 75%.
Sabalenka. 3 times R32 at RG. That is her best showing. But she has won Madrid, at that altitude (ha!) of 600 mts. Sincerely, don't see her doing much.
Ons. Sure, why not? She likes the surface, and seems to be back after yesterday's win.
Samsonova. You have your soft spot for her.
Krejcikova. I say she will be the second best player of the season.
Rybakina? See you on grass, my dear.
Bencic? Nah, she will do fine, and will be a force in the smaller 500's.
Coco. She is the RG RU from last year. She will do better than you expect. Repeating that final will be tough.
Dark horse. Mademoiselle OTHER. Get ready for some unknown players winning something big (not a 1000).
i have been warned not to criticize Coco - there is a law against it, apparently.. so I will say only this - she had a very good draw at RG last year.. indeed, when I saw the draw, I said she is going to the semis (didnt expect Trevisan to be her semi opponent, so didnt say finals!) - you can check if you like on last year's forum.
by ashkor87 On Rybskina- yes, flat shots without much spin, doesn't move well on clay...then I remembered Sharapova,,!!
by ponchi101 That is a good analogy. I can buy it.
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ti-amie UPDATED MD Singles
F Swiatek, Iga Poland POL 1
2 F Sabalenka, Aryna 2
3 F Garcia, Caroline France FRA 4
4 F Jabeur, Ons Tunisia TUN 5
5 F Gauff, Coco USA USA 6
6 F Rybakina, Elena Kazakhstan KAZ 7
7 F Kasatkina, Daria 8
8 F Sakkari, Maria Greece GRE 9
9 F Kudermetova, Veronika 13
10 F Kvitova, Petra Czech Republic CZE 10
11 F Krejcikova, Barbora Czech Republic CZE 12
12 F Haddad Maia, Beatriz Brazil BRA 14
13 F Samsonova, Liudmila 15
14 F Pliskova, Karolina Czech Republic CZE 16
15 F Alexandrova, Ekaterina 17
16 F Vekic, Donna Croatia CRO 23
17 F Ostapenko, Jelena Latvia LAT 21
18 F Zheng, Qinwen China CHN 24
19 F Trevisan, Martina Italy ITA 20
20 F Potapova, Anastasia 24
21 W Raducanu, Emma Great Britain GBR 68
22 W Maria, Tatjana Germany GER 66
23 W Niemeier, Jule Germany GER 65
24 W Badosa, Paula Spain ESP 31
F = Full Member
Q = Qualifier
W = Wild Card
https://www.porsche-tennis.com/prod/pag ... nt_players
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ti-amie Qualifying Draw
Nr. Name Land Rang
1 BERNARDA PERA USA 37
2 PETRA MARTIC CRO 41
3 LINDA FRUHVIRTOVA CZE 50
4 ALYCIA PARKS USA 56
5 ANNA KALINSKAYA - 64
6 KATIE VOLYNETS USA 77
7 LESIA TSURENKO UKR 81
8 CRISTINA BUCSA ESP 82
9 TAMARA KORPATSCH GER 106
10 ANNA-LENA FRIEDSAM GER 98
11 LAURA PIGOSSIBRA 102
12 ARANTXA RUS NED 110
13 KIMBERLY BIRRELL AUS 111
14 TEREZA MARTINCOVA CZE 113
WC NOMA NOHA AKUGE GER 210
WC SABINE LISICKI GER 305
F = Full Member
Q = Qualifier
W = Wild Card
https://www.porsche-tennis.com/prod/pag ... nt_players
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ashkor87 ponchi101 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 11, 2023 1:45 am
Sabalenka is not off. She has had a very good first quarter. But, other than Madrid, which she has won before, her record at RG is not that great.
It is just that it is not her surface. If she goes on and wins something big, other than Madrid, I will not be surprised.
Looking at winners. Least accomplished player to win something bit in the last half a year is Samsonova, and I will grant you she is ranked 15th. So, lately, mademoiselle Other has indeed been dormant.
Sabalenka is better than we think, on clay .she was beaten in Rome and Stuttgart only by Swiatek,. Once in the finals, once in the semis...bad loss at the RG, but it was Giorgi! So yes, I expect her to be a force. More than record, which is all about the past, her game is good for clay..power...her movement is not great but it doesn't need to be, on clay ..
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Owendonovan ashkor87 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 11, 2023 4:16 am
ponchi101 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 10, 2023 3:36 pm
Swiatek? A given. No refutation there, with only one caveat: last player to defend a slam title was Serena at Wimby ('15-'16). So, sure, she will be the favorite. But not at 75%.
Sabalenka. 3 times R32 at RG. That is her best showing. But she has won Madrid, at that altitude (ha!) of 600 mts. Sincerely, don't see her doing much.
Ons. Sure, why not? She likes the surface, and seems to be back after yesterday's win.
Samsonova. You have your soft spot for her.
Krejcikova. I say she will be the second best player of the season.
Rybakina? See you on grass, my dear.
Bencic? Nah, she will do fine, and will be a force in the smaller 500's.
Coco. She is the RG RU from last year. She will do better than you expect. Repeating that final will be tough.
Dark horse. Mademoiselle OTHER. Get ready for some unknown players winning something big (not a 1000).
i have been warned not to criticize Coco - there is a law against it, apparently.. so I will say only this - she had a very good draw at RG last year.. indeed, when I saw the draw, I said she is going to the semis (didnt expect Trevisan to be her semi opponent, so didnt say finals!) - you can check if you like on last year's forum.
I think the Americans, both the men and the women, are solid QF and SF players at the big tournaments. I don't see any American having the game/weapons to take a GS, and only an occasional 1000.
by ponchi101 I saw the ATP show yesterday. A few of the top guys (Stefanos and Zverev, to name two) were saying "watch out for Tommy Paul at RG. He likes the stuff, and he is good on it".
It surprised me, but those two should know a bit.
by Owendonovan I'd love to see him make a strong run on clay this season. I've pretty much discounted any American man on clay since Agassi.
by ashkor87 Well, Tommy volleys ..that is always effective on clay...
by ti-amie Qualifying Draw
P. Martic (1) vs N. Abduraimova
S. Lisicki vs K. Birrell (7)
A. Parks (2) vs A. Konjuh
K. Von Deichmann vs T. Korpatsch (6)
L. Fruhvirtova (3) vs E. Seidel
M. Barthel vs Y. In-Albon (8)
K. Volynets (4) vs D. Yastremska
N. Noha Akugue vs C. Bucsa (5)
by ashkor87 Good test for Swiatek, to see if she is recovered .she should win. I know folks here think winning anything two in a row is difficult but that is not true After having won one! Depends on the prior...defending champion should be more comfortable, more confident...
by ashkor87 Tough tough first round matches! Krejcikova vs Samsonova, Raducanu gets Ostapenko..badosa vs kasatkina..
by ponchi101 Ridiculous draw in terms of how tough it is. It is indeed a slam starting in the round 3.
by
JTContinental ashkor87 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 11, 2023 4:16 am
ponchi101 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 10, 2023 3:36 pm
Swiatek? A given. No refutation there, with only one caveat: last player to defend a slam title was Serena at Wimby ('15-'16). So, sure, she will be the favorite. But not at 75%.
Sabalenka. 3 times R32 at RG. That is her best showing. But she has won Madrid, at that altitude (ha!) of 600 mts. Sincerely, don't see her doing much.
Ons. Sure, why not? She likes the surface, and seems to be back after yesterday's win.
Samsonova. You have your soft spot for her.
Krejcikova. I say she will be the second best player of the season.
Rybakina? See you on grass, my dear.
Bencic? Nah, she will do fine, and will be a force in the smaller 500's.
Coco. She is the RG RU from last year. She will do better than you expect. Repeating that final will be tough.
Dark horse. Mademoiselle OTHER. Get ready for some unknown players winning something big (not a 1000).
i have been warned not to criticize Coco - there is a law against it, apparently.. so I will say only this - she had a very good draw at RG last year.. indeed, when I saw the draw, I said she is going to the semis (didnt expect Trevisan to be her semi opponent, so didnt say finals!) - you can check if you like on last year's forum.
<heavy eye roll> what I actually said is that you don’t need to dunk on her in literally every tennis-related thread on the the forum, which you are doing yet again in this backhanded fashion.
by ti-amie Day 3 Order of Play
Centre Court
Starts at 03:30 PM
ESP C. BUCSA (5) vs GER T. KORPATSCH (6)
FOLLOWED BY
RUS E. ALEXANDROVA vs CRO D. VEKIC
Court 1
Starts at 12:00 PM
CHN Q. ZHENG vs USA A. PARKS
NOT BEFORE 3:00 PM
UKR L. KICHENOK/LAT J. OSTAPENKO (1) vs RUS V. KUDERMETOVA/RUS A. POTAPOVA
by JTContinental Foot injury is what Twitter says
by JTContinental Martic had already qualified? It looks like Alycia Parks got the LL spot
by ti-amie I saw most of the second set of Vekic vs Alexandrova. Vekic wins in straight sets 7-6(7), 7-6(5). It looked for a while that Alexandrova would force a third set but as she so often does she faded away.
by JTContinental Vekic really seems to be thriving under Pam's coaching
by ti-amie Day 4 Order of Play
Centre Court
Starts at 12:00 PM
ITA M. TREVISAN vs BRA B. HADDAD MAIA
UPCOMING
RUS D. KASATKINA (7) vs ESP P. BADOSA
UPCOMING
GER T. MARIA vs SUI Y. IN-ALBON
UPCOMING
LAT J. OSTAPENKO vs GBR E. RADUCANU
UPCOMING
CZE B. KREJCIKOVA vs RUS L. SAMSONOVA
Court 1
Starts at 12:00 PM
USA N. MELICHAR-MARTINEZ/MEX G. OLMOS (3) vs GER V. HEISEN/EST I. NEEL
UPCOMING
ESP C. BUCSA/GEO O. KALASHNIKOVA vs JPN M. KATO/INA A. SUTJIADI
UPCOMING
CRO P. MARTIC vs RUS A. POTAPOVA
UPCOMING
RUS A. PANOVA/RUS Y. SIZIKOVA vs SVK T. MIHALIKOVA/USA A. PARKS
UPCOMING
UKR N. KICHENOK/BEL K. ZIMMERMANN vs USA D. KRAWCZYK/NED D. SCHUURS (2)
by ti-amie Day 5 Order of Play
Centre Court
Starts at 12:00 PM
CZE K. PLISKOVA vs GRE M. SAKKARI (8)
FOLLOWED BY
USA C. GAUFF (5) vs RUS V. KUDERMETOVA
NOT BEFORE 5:00 PM
GER J. NIEMEIER vs KAZ E. RYBAKINA (6)
NOT BEFORE 6:30 PM
B. KREJCIKOVA OR L. SAMSONOVA vs BLR A. SABALENKA (2)
FOLLOWED BY
TUN O. JABEUR (3) vs LAT J. OSTAPENKO
Court 1
Starts at 12:00 PM
CZE M. KOLODZIEJOVA/POL A. ROSOLSKA vs CHN Y. XU/CHN Z. YANG
FOLLOWED BY
CHI A. GUARACHI/NZL E. ROUTLIFFE vs ROU M. NICULESCU/JPN M. NINOMIYA
NOT BEFORE 3:00 PM
GER M. BARTHEL/GER A. FRIEDSAM vs CAN G. DABROWSKI/BRA L. STEFANI (4)
FOLLOWED BY
RUS V. KUDERMETOVA/RUS A. POTAPOVA vs JPN M. KATO/INA A. SUTJIADI
FOLLOWED BY
Quarterfinal
TBD vs TBD
by
ti-amie I'm glad someone posted this because it seemed that there hadn't been a handshake at the net.
There was an expression on Alona's face when she walked onto the court that made me say to myself "girlfriend has taken all of her crazy pills today". She romped over Raducanu in just under an hour - 59m I think.
I don't know what they're going to do about Raducanu. They did a slo-mo of her trying to track down a shot by Ostapenko and she looked slow. Maybe it's the surface? I don't follow her that closely.
I think this post by @MOBY sums up what happened to Raducanu today.
Ostapenko isn't going to make that many mistakes off what are essentially practice balls that do not challenge her in terms of speed, placement or spin. The problem with Raducanu isn't that she can't hit the occasional great shot. It's that her rally ball is a nothing ball, and not a nothing ball in the way Agatha's were nothing balls -- because those were at least off-pace, low, and tricky to tee off on.
by ponchi101 2 & 1. That is indeed a romp.
I am as curious as you are. Has Emma ever expressed opinions about playing on clay? Does she like it, dislike it?
Maybe she was just at the receiving end of one of Alona's "on fire" days.
by ti-amie Krejcikova is beating up on Samsonova 6-2, 3-0
by
JazzNU ponchi101 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 12, 2023 1:08 am
I saw the ATP show yesterday. A few of the top guys (Stefanos and Zverev, to name two) were saying "watch out for Tommy Paul at RG. He likes the stuff, and he is good on it".
It surprised me, but those two should know a bit.
Tommy is the only one of those three to actually hold a RG title of some kind, so yeah, he can play on clay. It was long viewed as a his best surface, that was always the talk about him.
by JazzNU I don't know why the change happened, but I miss the days when Stuttgart got the #1 coverage during this week on Tennis Channel.
by ponchi101 Coco edges Kudermetova in what seems, by the numbers, a bit of a sloppy match. 133 combined UE's, 15 breaks of serve.
Serious here. Is it better to watch a 25 strokes rally that ends in a UE than to watch a 12 strokes rally that ends in a winner? I could only see the highlights on the WTA site and it seems neither was able to pass the other, ergo the UE's. And they broke each other all those times because the second serves were being creamed (after all, the second serve is a stroke that lands short, by definition: it lands inside the service box).
I know I joke with Ashkor about court speed but, you can make a clay court a bit faster. Take a couple of layers off.
Also. Krejcikova has to raise her ranking. She has to play Sabalenka, again, in the round of 16. Too early (and Krejcikova is not the player her ranking says she is).
by
ti-amie ponchi101 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 3:11 pm
Coco edges Kudermetova in what seems, by the numbers, a bit of a sloppy match. 133 combined UE's, 15 breaks of serve.
Serious here. Is it better to watch a 25 strokes rally that ends in a UE than to watch a 12 strokes rally that ends in a winner? I could only see the highlights on the WTA site and it seems neither was able to pass the other, ergo the UE's. And they broke each other all those times because the second serves were being creamed (after all, the second serve is a stroke that lands short, by definition: it lands inside the service box).
I know I joke with Ashkor about court speed but, you can make a clay court a bit faster. Take a couple of layers off.
Also. Krejcikova has to raise her ranking. She has to play Sabalenka, again, in the round of 16. Too early (and
Krejcikova is not the player her ranking says she is).
Sabalenka won it 2&2 with almost no fight back from Krejcikova.
by ti-amie Day 6 Order of Play
Centre Court
Starts at 12:00 PM
CRO D. VEKIC vs CZE K. PLISKOVA
FOLLOWED BY
USA C. GAUFF (5) vs RUS A. POTAPOVA
NOT BEFORE 5:00 PM
POL I. SWIATEK (1) vs CHN Q. ZHENG
NOT BEFORE 6:30 PM
GER T. MARIA vs FRA C. GARCIA (4)
FOLLOWED BY
BRA B. HADDAD MAIA vs KAZ E. RYBAKINA (6)
Court 1
Starts at 12:00 PM
USA N. MELICHAR-MARTINEZ/MEX G. OLMOS (3) vs CZE M. KOLODZIEJOVA/POL A. ROSOLSKA
NOT BEFORE 3:00 PM
ESP P. BADOSA vs ESP C. BUCSA
FOLLOWED BY
CHI A. GUARACHI/NZL E. ROUTLIFFE vs CAN G. DABROWSKI/BRA L. STEFANI (4)
by
ponchi101 ti-amie wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 6:20 pm
ponchi101 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 3:11 pm
Coco edges Kudermetova in what seems, by the numbers, a bit of a sloppy match. 133 combined UE's, 15 breaks of serve.
Serious here. Is it better to watch a 25 strokes rally that ends in a UE than to watch a 12 strokes rally that ends in a winner? I could only see the highlights on the WTA site and it seems neither was able to pass the other, ergo the UE's. And they broke each other all those times because the second serves were being creamed (after all, the second serve is a stroke that lands short, by definition: it lands inside the service box).
I know I joke with Ashkor about court speed but, you can make a clay court a bit faster. Take a couple of layers off.
Also. Krejcikova has to raise her ranking. She has to play Sabalenka, again, in the round of 16. Too early (and
Krejcikova is not the player her ranking says she is).
Sabalenka won it 2&2 with almost no fight back from Krejcikova.
Further proof of my limitations as a forecaster. I am not surprised Sabalenka won, but the score is unexpected to me.
by nelslus YET another match that Ostapenko should have won, and Jabeur should have lost. For a set and about 3/4's, Jelena was playing her A++++ game. And then- she wasn't. Ons just hung in there, played better and better, and turned the match completely around. As is true of other players (See: Kvitova, Petra), a big problem is, even if you are being destroyed in a match- good players know to just hang in here with Jelena, and see if her level will drop.
It did. Sure, sometimes Jelena will destroy you. But, once you get this reputation....And, of course, Ons played some beautiful tennis.
by ponchi101 I see it as a matter of statistics and the beauty of the tennis scoring system. Alona comes out and hits 25 winners in a row. But nobody can keep that level. So, eventually the winners stop and the UE's arrive. And since in tennis what you did in the first set means nothing in the 2nd and 3rd...
A bit like basketball. Nobody hit 5 of 6 three pointers in the first half, and does the same in the 2nd.
Ostapenko, when hitting winners, is a wonder to see. And when she starts missing, it is borderline scary.
by ti-amie Day 7 Order of Play
Centre Court
Starts at 12:00 PM
Quarterfinal
ESP P. BADOSA vs BLR A. SABALENKA (2)
NOT BEFORE 3:30 PM
Quarterfinal
RUS A. POTAPOVA vs FRA C. GARCIA (4)
NOT BEFORE 5:00 PM
Quarterfinal
TUN O. JABEUR (3) vs BRA B. HADDAD MAIA
NOT BEFORE 6:30 PM
Quarterfinal
POL I. SWIATEK (1) vs CZE K. PLISKOVA
by JazzNU I hadn't seen Karolina's hair out in a ponytail in ages in a match. It's up now and she's losing. Maybe she'll let it back out in the 3rd and it will change her fortunes.
She played a really good first set. Here and Rome are where she tends to do her best on clay.
by JazzNU On the Iga front, I won't go as far as saying I love the new kit, but I like it and it is a definite upgrade to the pedestrian Asics designs.
by Suliso Convincing from Iga in the end.
by
ponchi101 JazzNU wrote: ↑Fri Apr 21, 2023 6:52 pm
On the Iga front, I won't go as far as saying I love the new kit, but I like it and it is a definite upgrade to the pedestrian Asics designs.
ON seems to be aiming for the conservative crowd. The tennis shoes are good quality, but the designs are nothing to get excited about (the running shoes have some interesting things). For the price, I am not sure if I would buy any of their gear.
by ti-amie Day 8 Order of Play
Centre Court
Starts at 12:00 PM
CHI A. GUARACHI/NZL E. ROUTLIFFE vs USA D. KRAWCZYK/NED D. SCHUURS (2)
NOT BEFORE 2:00 PM
Semifinal
RUS A. POTAPOVA vs BLR A. SABALENKA (2)
NOT BEFORE 4:00 PM
Semifinal
POL I. SWIATEK (1) vs TUN O. JABEUR (3)
Semifinal
RUS V. KUDERMETOVA/RUS A. POTAPOVA vs USA N. MELICHAR-MARTINEZ/MEX G. OLMOS (3)
by JazzNU Garcia appeared to get injured during her match. Not sure if it's serious, but her play was noticeable at lower level than it was at the start. Some are saying that it is an abdominal injury, but haven't seen anything confirmed. She left the court for her treatment so it wasn't as clear as it otherwise may have been.
by
3mlm ponchi101 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 21, 2023 7:42 pm
JazzNU wrote: ↑Fri Apr 21, 2023 6:52 pm
On the Iga front, I won't go as far as saying I love the new kit, but I like it and it is a definite upgrade to the pedestrian Asics designs.
ON seems to be aiming for the conservative crowd. The tennis shoes are good quality, but the designs are nothing to get excited about (the running shoes have some interesting things). For the price, I am not sure if I would buy any of their gear.
I know ON is designing new shoes specifically for Swiatek and she was wearing an ON kit but it appeared she was wearing Asics shoes today.
by ponchi101 Ons (not the company) retired with a calf injury against Iga. Seems that her streak of bad luck continues, with the injuries.
by ti-amie Day 9 Order of Play
Centre Court
Starts at 01:00 PM
Final
POL I. SWIATEK (1) vs BLR A. SABALENKA (2)
UPCOMING
Final
USA N. MELICHAR-MARTINEZ/MEX G. OLMOS (3) vs USA D. KRAWCZYK/NED D. SCHUURS (2)
by ptmcmahon Happened in the third point of the game too.
by Suliso An important win for Iga over Aryna to defend her Stuttgart title. H2H is now 5-2 in favor of Swiatek. Didn't have her serve broken today (1 BP).
13th WTA title in her 16th title.
by Fastbackss It was high octane and enjoyable to watch.
Not sure where it ended up but Iga's 1st serve percentage was ridiculously high
by ponchi101 3 & 4 is a one sided score against Aryna. Obviously I could not watch the match, but the stats make it look like Iga was never in danger.
Best clay court players since .... Henin?
by ponchi101 Do we know what Porsche they get? I assume the Taycan (the EV) but I can't find anything about that.
by
Owendonovan ponchi101 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 23, 2023 10:09 pm
Do we know what Porsche they get? I assume the Taycan (the EV) but I can't find anything about that.
Porsche Taycan GTS Sport Turismo
by
ashkor87 JTContinental wrote: ↑Sun Apr 16, 2023 6:54 pm
ashkor87 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 11, 2023 4:16 am
ponchi101 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 10, 2023 3:36 pm
Swiatek? A given. No refutation there, with only one caveat: last player to defend a slam title was Serena at Wimby ('15-'16). So, sure, she will be the favorite. But not at 75%.
Sabalenka. 3 times R32 at RG. That is her best showing. But she has won Madrid, at that altitude (ha!) of 600 mts. Sincerely, don't see her doing much.
Ons. Sure, why not? She likes the surface, and seems to be back after yesterday's win.
Samsonova. You have your soft spot for her.
Krejcikova. I say she will be the second best player of the season.
Rybakina? See you on grass, my dear.
Bencic? Nah, she will do fine, and will be a force in the smaller 500's.
Coco. She is the RG RU from last year. She will do better than you expect. Repeating that final will be tough.
Dark horse. Mademoiselle OTHER. Get ready for some unknown players winning something big (not a 1000).
i have been warned not to criticize Coco - there is a law against it, apparently.. so I will say only this - she had a very good draw at RG last year.. indeed, when I saw the draw, I said she is going to the semis (didnt expect Trevisan to be her semi opponent, so didnt say finals!) - you can check if you like on last year's forum.
<heavy eye roll> what I actually said is that you don’t need to dunk on her in literally every tennis-related thread on the the forum, which you are doing yet again in this backhanded fashion.
if you read Coco's own statements, she is saying exactly what I am saying, that level of self-awareness does her credit...it means she will be able to turn things around. Except for the technical error on her forehand, which is easy to correct by some coach who works on her footwork. This kind of flaw is easier for an external observer like me, or anyone who knows tennis, than for Coco herself to see. She doesnt seem to have realized what her problem is. Hope she does, soon.
by ti-amie She has hired a new coach, Jarmere Jenkins. I talked about it in the Coaching Merry-go Round thread.