Heather or Laura

[Ash_Smith]

Catching up on the Aussie Open from last night and was watching the super Brits Heather Watson's and Laura Robson's matches...

Laura:
Tall, lefty, big serve, big forehand. Improving physical strength and athleticism, but not up there with the best yet, footwork can get a little lazy (by her own admission). Ball striking as good as anybody on tour when in position, but prone to UE's when not. Likes to pound the winners.

Heather:
Shorter, righty, great athlete and very, very strong. Great hands and very good defender from the back of the court. Can move up the court and finish from the mid-court/net well, but indecisive (prefers defending the baseline).

Both 19 (well Laura turns 19 next week), both ranked about 50 in the world, both have career earnings of around $500,000.00.

So, question - who would you rather be? (essentially this is a question of game styles!)

Cheers

[julian]

Originally Posted by Ash_Smith

Catching up on the Aussie Open from last night and was watching the super Brits Heather Watson's and Laura Robson's matches...

Laura:
Tall, lefty, big serve, big forehand. Improving physical strength and athleticism, but not up there with the best yet, footwork can get a little lazy (by her own admission). Ball striking as good as anybody on tour when in position, but prone to UE's when not. Likes to pound the winners.

Heather:
Shorter, righty, great athlete and very, very strong. Great hands and very good defender from the back of the court. Can move up the court and finish from the mid-court/net well, but indecisive (prefers defending the baseline).

Both 19 (well Laura turns 19 next week), both ranked about 50 in the world, both have career earnings of around $500,000.00.

So, question - who would you rather be? (essentially this is a question of game styles!)

Cheers

----->
Watson wants Radwanska revenge
ESPN staff
January 16, 2013 « Chelsea target Aspas to stay in Spain | Man United share increase values club at £1.63 billion »
Heather Watson roars with delight © Getty Images
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News: Watson returns from the precipice to beat Pervak
Profile: Heather Watson

Heather Watson is determined to avenge last year's defeat to Agnieszka Radwanska when she takes on the Pole in the third round of the Australian Open.

Watson was forced to dig deep as she came from behind to secure a 4-6 7-6(7) 6-2 victory over Ksenia Pervak to set up a rematch with the world No. 4.

Radwanska handed Watson a sobering 6-0 6-2 defeat in the third round at Wimbledon last year.

"That killed me," Watson said of her defeat to Radwanska. "I was so upset. I was playing at home in front of everyone and I just got wiped off the court."

Watson, who was not aware of her third-round opponent, claiming she had not looked at the draw, believes she learnt a great deal from that defeat and comes into the match a different player after landing her maiden WTA title at the end of last season.

"Well, she's a very different player to most of the girls," Watson said of her next opponent. "She's consistent, got great feel, so it's going to be another physical match.

"I've played her before, so I've got that feeling. I think the first time I played her I just went guns blazing, didn't know what to do. Just went for way too much. This time I'm coming in a different player, and I'm going to approach it differently."
Read more at http://www.espn.co.uk/tennis/sport/s...HkicMjwyLTg.99

[dominikk1985]

I like robsons game a little more but always when a see a tall, hard hitting woman with limited movement I see firls like hantuchova, ivanovic and to some extend sharapova (when she is not on), i.e tons of UEs.

Often those girls dominate for some time but then opponents figure out how to neutralize that big FH and make them run.

that is not always the case (see davenport) but to be consistenly successfull (not only some fluke tournaments when their big hitting is on fire) she needs to improve her movement. not an easy task if you are 6 and taller as a woman.

but I do think she can do some damage maybe even win a slam.

[safc_number10]

Laura Robson will have the best career IMO. Mainly down to her height, strong serve and that she has already taken top players out in major competition.

I think they both could be in the top 20 soon though.

Would be great for either of them if they could pull off a victory in their next matches (v Kiviota/Radwanska).

[maggmaster]

I like Heather Watson's game, she seems like a fighter.

[luvforty]

Ash you wrong (forum)

[julian]

Originally Posted by safc_number10

Laura Robson will have the best career IMO. Mainly down to her height, strong serve and that she has already taken top players out in major competition.

I think they both could be in the top 20 soon though.

Would be great for either of them if they could pull off a victory in their next matches (v Kiviota/Radwanska).

Very hard to figure out scheduling of matches-probably NOT today.
The proper spelling is "Kvitova"-not trying to be a smart ***

[Ash_Smith]

Originally Posted by luvforty

Ash you wrong (forum)

Nope, this discussion is built around types of gamestyle and their potential effectiveness for developing players.

That makes it themed around instruction.

[sureshs]

Did either of them develop through the 10 and under or whatever is the ITF equivalent, or did that happen later?

[Ash_Smith]

^^^not sure actually, Heather started playing at about 7 and went to IMG at 12 and Laura I don't know.

[sureshs]

Probably not, if Heather was at IMG. I remember even when the 10 and under was introduced, Nick went on record opposing it, and then did a 180 degree turnaround.

[Ash_Smith]

She went to IMG at 12, she would have been well out of 10u tennis systems by then. Whether she did anything within a mini tennis system before then I don't know. She's quite busy in Oz at the moment too, so I can't ask her!

[rkelley]

Originally Posted by Ash_Smith

Catching up on the Aussie Open from last night and was watching the super Brits Heather Watson's and Laura Robson's matches...

Laura:
Tall, lefty, big serve, big forehand. Improving physical strength and athleticism, but not up there with the best yet, footwork can get a little lazy (by her own admission). Ball striking as good as anybody on tour when in position, but prone to UE's when not. Likes to pound the winners.

Heather:
Shorter, righty, great athlete and very, very strong. Great hands and very good defender from the back of the court. Can move up the court and finish from the mid-court/net well, but indecisive (prefers defending the baseline).

Both 19 (well Laura turns 19 next week), both ranked about 50 in the world, both have career earnings of around $500,000.00.

So, question - who would you rather be? (essentially this is a question of game styles!)

Cheers

I'll play.

So knowing nothing about either woman other than what you wrote, I'd pick Laura Robson.

Robson's tall and a lefty. You can't teach either of those things (let's just forget Nadal and the lefty thing). Her height will allow her to have a big serve, and lefty factor will just add to its effectiveness if she learns to use it to its best advantage. You say she's got the hands and eyes to hit big if she keeps her feet moving - well footwork is something you can teach, work on, and fix. At the very top you have to be able to hit winners on some kind of regular basis and she's apparently doing that. It can't all be just about great defense, though that's super important in today's game.

Heather sounds like she could be a really good player. I don't know how tall she is, but at some point it's really hard to have a world class serve if you don't have the height. Weak serves get pounded on the WTA, and there are too many weak serves. Fast and strong are always good (speed never has a slump), but to get to the top you have to be able to produce winners, not just defend and grind.

Maybe I'll watch them hit and totally change my mind.

[julian]

Originally Posted by Ash_Smith

^^^not sure actually, Heather started playing at about 7 and went to IMG at 12 and Laura I don't know.

I put a seperate thread entitled "For Ash" in the instruction section
Sorry for an awkward way way of communicating.
I do NOT do Facebook and Twitt

[Bhagi Katbamna]

I'll take the taller girl. Footwork and movement can be improved. Height for a bigger serve cannot.

[Ash_Smith]

Well, I think height and weapons are winning the day over athleticism and grit at the moment.

*SPOILER - maybe*

Laura did show some real guts and determination against Kvitova! Hope Heather can get the W over A.Rad tonight

[Cheetah]

NO SPOILERS!!!

[Ash_Smith]

baffling isn't it!

I don't really know laura very well, but on the odd occasion I have spoken to her she has been very pleasant and speaks very well. Heather I know better and she is lovely!

Hoping they push each other all the way!

[tennis_balla]

What do you make of Eugene Bouchard?

[Ash_Smith]

^^^Not seen loads of her play, but seems to have a lot going for her.

Forehand looks good, but she pulls off it a little too often for my liking.

Serve looks tidy too, ball toss is on the high side so I wonder whether she is losing some potential momentum, but the timing seems to work for her, so no worries at the moment.

Backhand is a bit short (lacks extension) and punchy, which is a worry for me as she does't seem to move well laterally (especially to that backhand side) so she could often leave the ball short off that wing. Left hand looks very strong through contact, which would suggest she may struggle on the DTL backhand (pretty essential in the womens game).

Havent seen enough to know if she can get up the court, but is she's got a drive volley (very essential in the womens game) then she should do fine.

Cheers