mike danny
Bionic Poster
I am impressed by Halep's ability to win her matches easier now. She has only dropped one set so far and in that one match she dropped a set in, she was the better player anyway.
Big_Dangerous
Talk Tennis Guru
ACE of Hearts
Bionic Poster
Pusher really? Halep pushes the ball even more with those rallies waiting for the UE. Hope Sloane wins on Sunday. I hate halep’s style.
Fedole
Semi-Pro
Halep has been a pusher most of the times I've seen her, but today and against Kerber she has been the aggressor and she has been good enough to pull it off so fair play to her. Gotta be honest Sloane isn't exactly high on my list of players to watch so I might be misjudging her.
ACE of Hearts
Bionic Poster
I hope Sloane makes halep choke on her grunts. It gets louder with every damn point. It’s annoying.
ACE of Hearts
Bionic Poster
She’s capable of hitting her backhand and forehand but she plays it safe here.
Service Ace
Hall of Fame
Heh, so you're one of "those" apologist.
Halep proved today, that she can play "winning" tennis in big matches against big players. While Muguruza made quite a few UE, I can't say she played poorly so Halep's win is even more relevant.
I hope she can produce another similar performance for one more match on Sunday to grab the ever elusive prize. Will she? Very hard to say.... Can she? For sure.
I hope she can produce another similar performance for one more match on Sunday to grab the ever elusive prize. Will she? Very hard to say.... Can she? For sure.
Fed881981
Hall of Fame
Agreed. Halep had 16 winners today in a relatively short match (Mugua had 14), and 26 against Kerber (24 for the latter). These are good numbers for a player who is not known to be aggressive, and I think that it reflects some of Halep' strengths: she can force her opponents to make unforced errors (53 by Kerber and 31 by Mugu), but she can also wait patiently before pulling the trigger. Her ability to defend and to retrieve balls allows her to choose when to go for the winner. When I watch her, I don't see a player who is afraid of being aggressive, on the one hand, or afraid of being patient and construct the point nicely, on the other.
Over the past 12 months, Halep has reached three GS finals and arguably could win the last two (especially RG 2017 when she had the lead in the 3rd set). That is a testament to her tenacity, big heart, fighting spirit and skills. She doesn't go away easily! I don't remember feeling disappointed watching any grand slam match of her over the past 2-3 years.
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nolefam_2024
Talk Tennis Guru
Yes.
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
What happened here ????? Wasn't Mugu supposed to be too powerful for Simona ????????
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
This is finally Simona's time to win the dirt ball slam.... Go for it my love, and then after the win, we will celebrate together..........
Fed881981
Hall of Fame
If Halep wins, she will be the 4th lady to win her first slam in the last 5 slams: Ostapenko, Stephens and Wozniacki achieved that over the past 12 months.
To me, Muguruza relies a lot on her A game. Simona, however, is a bigger fighter, never gives up and that in itself can always keep her in matches, even those that she ends up losing. When she has a slow start, like against Kerber, she knows how to walk her way back into matches.
Muguruza is almost unstoppable when she is playing well. However, she's not a great problem solver in my view, and still prone to big lapses in her level. She started slow today and never found a good formula to unlock Halep's defences. She managed to get a break early in the 2nd set, but still lost it 4-6. She is too inconsistent for the talent that she has (which is something that she can improve over time).
To me, Muguruza relies a lot on her A game. Simona, however, is a bigger fighter, never gives up and that in itself can always keep her in matches, even those that she ends up losing. When she has a slow start, like against Kerber, she knows how to walk her way back into matches.
Don't forget bananas for "potassium loading." You wonder if they'd be OK with just popping potassium pills.... and of course carb loading with pasta. It gets pretty silly after awhile.
SystemicAnomaly
Bionic Poster
@paranoidandroid
Interesting that you would characterize it as such.
Pointing out the inconsistency/double standard here. Until AO 2016, Maria had not been taking a banned substance. As of 01/01/2016, Meldo was a banned. Difficult to believe that she would continue to use, w/o asking WADA for an exception, if she or her team was aware of the status change. WADA banned the substance because they “suspected” that it MIGHT have a PE effect or because athletes might be taking it for that reason. AFAIK, there is actually no compelling evidence that it really is PE.
However, it is well known that creatine and caffeine are PE substances. And a high % of athletes use these for this very reason. But so many are quick to crucify Maria S for Meldo use yet are willing to overlook the use of these real PE substances.
Interesting that you would characterize it as such.
Pointing out the inconsistency/double standard here. Until AO 2016, Maria had not been taking a banned substance. As of 01/01/2016, Meldo was a banned. Difficult to believe that she would continue to use, w/o asking WADA for an exception, if she or her team was aware of the status change. WADA banned the substance because they “suspected” that it MIGHT have a PE effect or because athletes might be taking it for that reason. AFAIK, there is actually no compelling evidence that it really is PE.
However, it is well known that creatine and caffeine are PE substances. And a high % of athletes use these for this very reason. But so many are quick to crucify Maria S for Meldo use yet are willing to overlook the use of these real PE substances.
AM75
Hall of Fame
You can always add a special sauce to your pasta! Ask Sara Errani how to!
I have no idea what "Russian files" you're talking about, and, whatever they are, who SAYS, they were "very factual," YOU? Don't know what your 2nd sentence means, either. You can whine about something that happened 7 years ago all you want, no suspension, no fine, not even a reprimand, as opposed to the cheating shrieker, who got booted from the game for a year and a half. Fifty years from now, any story about her will mention that she was suspended for cheating...no room for argument, really.
Too many here are jumping to conclusion forgetting that a day does not always look like the day before and much less in tennis. H2H record, ranking, etc means nothing. There is no "favorite" for this match if you think straight and relatively objective. They both are experienced players that did something right over the past 2 weeks to get here.
I certainly want Halep to win and I think she is the better player overall and she deserves this GS on her name, but... there is another match to be played for that and I would not discount Sloane's ability to win it.
I only hope for another good performance from Halep but we'll have to wait and see until Saturday.
Happy speculation in the meantime!
I certainly want Halep to win and I think she is the better player overall and she deserves this GS on her name, but... there is another match to be played for that and I would not discount Sloane's ability to win it.
I only hope for another good performance from Halep but we'll have to wait and see until Saturday.
Happy speculation in the meantime!
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
so what does this mean for the final ? how does simona matchup with powerful but tempermental sloan ?
FrontHeadlock
Hall of Fame
And Mrs. Margaret Court has 24.
But if you want to denigrate her AO titles, then you have to acknowledge that Evert was basically only playing 3 majors a year, and only 2 in some years bc of WTT.
And if you want to take other factors into play, Steffi has better other factors.
Quite a pickle you're in.
NoleFam
Bionic Poster
Margaret Court at 24 Slams has never held more weight than Navratilova at 18 or Graf at 22. The reason is because she won a bunch of Australian titles when none of the top players bothered to show up. People always held Graf's 22 with way more weight than Court's 24. Now that number has been surpassed and some of you are having trouble dealing with it.
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This is a really sad display. So many excuses to avoid facing reality. Very sad.
Exactly. It's really embarrassing.
No one ever talked about Court being the GOAT until Serena got close to surpassing Steffi.
Predictions are always iffy. Especially so in this case with 2 players who are apt to play very inconsistently at times and mentally breakdown.
No way to tell what will happen. Sometimes Halep can play quite aggressively as she did a few years ago in beating Serena at the year end championships. Sometimes she is a steady counterpuncher with controlled aggression as she was today against Muguruza. Sometimes she completely implodes.
Same for Stephens.
There's no way to tell with these 2.
I will feel really bad for Simona if she loses this one. The losses seem to be pretty devastating to her.
NoleFam
Bionic Poster
Because everyone knows Court wasn't the GOAT. She's just used as a hurdle to denigrate what Serena achieved. Serena's 23 > Court's 24.
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
WOW,, Simona said she will be calm during the final. and fight for every ball. lets hope that works.
https://www.rolandgarros.com/en-us/article/roland-garros-2018-halep-muguruza-semi-final
https://www.rolandgarros.com/en-us/article/roland-garros-2018-halep-muguruza-semi-final
FrontHeadlock
Hall of Fame
I have no problem with someone taking the position that number of majors isn't the only criteria; in fact, I agree with it.
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
Let's hope we see this on Saturday.
Aussie Darcy
Bionic Poster
Halep v Sloane.
Should be a good slam final.
Really happy with either of them winning. Think i'd prefer Halep just so she can finally get a well deserved slam and she won't be a slamless #1 anymore
Should be a good slam final.
Really happy with either of them winning. Think i'd prefer Halep just so she can finally get a well deserved slam and she won't be a slamless #1 anymore
ausfrewimuso
Semi-Pro
Notice how I never bash Court?
Whereas you come out of the hole you live in whenever the word 'Serena' is mentioned, and start delivering your usual rubbish.
Steffi this, Court that, Evert this, Navratilova that, you can continue crying and attempting to evaluate Steffi's and Serena's differences, but the number of slams Serena holds will remain at 23.
I don't give a toss whether Steffi retired at 30 or 15 years old, and how many slams she was playing a year, she has 22 slams and Serena has 23, that's the reality, get it into your head.
You are really out here with your 'would have' and 'could have' fantasy situations, please come back to the real world airhead.
fundrazer
G.O.A.T.
He's talking about the Fancy Bears leak of the documents from the Olympics. One of the documents released showed that Serena had gotten a TUE for a banned substance during one of her French Open runs. Personally, I don't like the lack of transparency regarding TUE's, because they've been abused in other sports in the past.
Another brilliant suggestion. The public should have access to athletes' medical records because you don't like the lack of "transparency."
ausfrewimuso
Semi-Pro
Imagine if peak Court played peak Serena
The result would be a H2H bearing a resemblance to this:
NoleFam
Bionic Poster
Imagine if peak Court played peak Serena
The result would be a H2H bearing a resemblance to this:
Yea it would be Panera Bread free for all.
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fundrazer
G.O.A.T.
Where did I suggest anything? Kinda making an ass of yourself.
It's called reading comprehension. You want player's TUE's to be "transparent"....releasing TUE information to the public is releasing protected medical information to the public.
Not really thinking through your posts, huh?
Blinded with hate for Serena. I hope you get some help for that.
Boogslice
Rookie
You must be out of your mind
Exactly. I grew up regarding Steffi the GOAT for her 22 slams and I remember everyone else having the same opinion. Margaret was never talked about.
D
Deleted member 293577
Guest
Court also lost to Bobby Riggs.
NuBas
Legend
I sure don't want Sloane to have another slam but Halep could very well choke.
nolefam_2024
Talk Tennis Guru
She didn't choke in AO. She was in hospital for some time after the match. This time its different.
And since when did Sloane become so good on clay?
We all know Halep is favorite, just most are thinking she will choke in another final.
nolefam_2024
Talk Tennis Guru
She didn't choke in AO. She was in hospital for some time after the match. This time its different.
And since when did Sloane become so good on clay? Sorry if reposted.
NuBas
Legend
Restore our faith in you Halep
SystemicAnomaly
Bionic Poster
Truly bizarre reason for wanting Simona to lose. Did you feel the same way when Cahill was coaching Hewitt, Agassi or others? Did you also wish Venus and Serena to lose cuz Richard Williams was arrogant?
And what actions prompted this assessment of Cahill anyway? If you want to see Aussie arrogance, take a look at Kyrgios (or maybe Tomic). I don’t perceive Darren as you portray him at all. Words like conscientious, insightful and hard-working come to mind. But not words like arrogant little ****
SystemicAnomaly
Bionic Poster
(Deleted double post)
Aussie Darcy
Bionic Poster
Good point. We all love to pay out Halep (myself included) but she really only choked against Ostapenko.. I mean she was up a break in the 3rd against Wozniacki but she was also down a break twice against Woz in the 3rd so she fought well. And her final against Sharapova was very competitive.
Aussie Darcy
Bionic Poster
In saying that though, she did blow an incredible lead to lose to Ostapenko and it's hard to forget that...
