The "What's Wrong With Her?" Thread

[MEAC_ALLAMERICAN]

Originally Posted by soyizgood

Venus slugged her way to avoid achieving a "career slam" of 1st round exits. I don't like Venus' game, but I appreciate she puts 100% in her matches unlike Serena. Dushevina didn't deserve to face Venus in the first round, but she kept her head together, played within her element, and didn't beat herself. Venus is lucky to have come out on top because hitting 52+ UEs usually won't get the job done.

You have said it yourself over and over again, that you don't like Venus game. But the focus should be on Safina, who has all the intention to win, but in all actuality she is scared to win when it matters. Venus has been around long enough to know what it takes to get through. Venus is 29 years old, the thread belong to those that were suppose to make an impact.

Ana Ivanovic tonight is one of those...

[soyizgood]

Ivanovic fans have some SERIOUS explaining to do.....

[soyizgood]

Originally Posted by MEAC_ALLAMERICAN

You have said it yourself over and over again, that you don't like Venus game. But the focus should be on Safina, who has all the intention to win, but in all actuality she is scared to win when it matters. Venus has been around long enough to know what it takes to get through. Venus is 29 years old, the thread belong to those that were suppose to make an impact.

Ana Ivanovic tonight is one of those...

In Venus' case, I respect her but pretty much I'm neutral on her. I give her a hard time in some ways because I feel she should be the Williams with the most slams. Her height, athleticism, power, hustle, and effort would usually translate to greatness but she hasn't pulled it together the way folks assumed. That said, she's had a great career but most would agree she could/should have taken that extra step forward.

I'm quite harsh towards Safina even though I've been rooting hard for her since Berlin 2008. She's made humongous strides in the past 18 months. She's been in 15 finals from Berlin 2008 to now, but only 7-8 in those finals. The tour is quite shaky and if she had the killer instinct she could very well dominate the tour. But she just can't handle the pressure. She can claw her way back down match points in mid-round matches, but when she's the favorite with all eyes on her, she just wilts like a flower in autumn. I've been screaming for her to fix that serve for well over a year. It just does NOT work! Maybe that's why her coach only made it to #70 on the ATP for all I know. If she had watched some film of Davenport's or even Kuznetsova's serve she would be a gold medalist and possibly a 2x slam champ by now.

[jamesblakefan#1]

How did Ivanovic lose? I couldn't watch. Is her serve finally in Coria territory???

[soyizgood]

Originally Posted by jamesblakefan#1

How did Ivanovic lose? I couldn't watch. Is her serve finally in Coria territory???

I didn't get to see it either. Apparently from others that saw it, her forehand let her down. Stats wise there wasn't a major difference between the two and Ana won 2 more points than Bondarenko. It probably was an evenly played match with moments of choking from both players.

[saguar0]

Originally Posted by soyizgood

I'm quite harsh towards Safina even though I've been rooting hard for her since Berlin 2008. She's made humongous strides in the past 18 months. She's been in 15 finals from Berlin 2008 to now, but only 7-8 in those finals. The tour is quite shaky and if she had the killer instinct she could very well dominate the tour. But she just can't handle the pressure. She can claw her way back down match points in mid-round matches, but when she's the favorite with all eyes on her, she just wilts like a flower in autumn. I've been screaming for her to fix that serve for well over a year. It just does NOT work! Maybe that's why her coach only made it to #70 on the ATP for all I know. If she had watched some film of Davenport's or even Kuznetsova's serve she would be a gold medalist and possibly a 2x slam champ by now.

I agree...
I am thinking it is quite common for many russian girls on tour - they do need to work with a sport psychologist, almost all of them seem to lose their fighting spirits and/or choke at the very crucial moments of the match. I mean, this is what gets Serena going at Slams - she fights, she believes in herself till the very end.
With Safina, Petrova, Kirilenko, Chakvetadze and others, I think the spirit is not there.
Sharapova does seem to have it, she is a fighter. PErhaps, because she was trained in States? Dementieva and Kuzi seem to have improved in this area. Elena changed the coach, may be this is the reason for improvement?
Safina needs this badly, she gets so tight and negative, it is painful to watch! May be it is a time for a new coach...

[Grizvok]

I'm not an ******* or a sexist, but the WTA really is a joke right now.

[vandre]

here's a stat breakdown of the ana match. not really good for either player but the +8 ues in ana's column appear to be the difference maker.

Match Summary
Ivanovic(SRB) Bondarenko(UKR)


1st Serve % 63 of 107 = 59 % 68 of 107 = 64 %

Aces 3 0

Double Faults 5 7

Unforced Errors 50 42

Winning % on 1st Serve 37 of 63 = 59 % 40 of 68 = 59 %

Winning % on 2nd Serve 21 of 44 = 48 % 17 of 39 = 44 %

Winners (Including Service) 34 24

Receiving Points Won 50 of 107 = 47 % 49 of 107 = 46 %

Break Point Conversions 6 of 14 = 43 % 5 of 12 = 42 %

Net Approaches 21 of 26 = 81 % 18 of 28 = 64 %

Total Points Won 108 106

Fastest Serve Speed 113 MPH 108 MPH

Average 1st Serve Speed 97 MPH 93 MPH

Average 2nd Serve Speed 88 MPH 76 MPH

[soyizgood]

GG Zvonareva. Showed she has some fight in her after all. Chakvetadze's getting a bit better, but still way off her 2007 level.

Radwanska (aka JJ Lite) was slayed by "Beauty without Substance" Kirilenko. Down went Mauresmo. Not sure if Mauresmo is returning next year.

[soyizgood]

Safina in another 3 setter. At least she disposed of her opponent in the last two sets, but come on girl!

[Bloodshed]

Originally Posted by soyizgood

Safina in another 3 setter. At least she disposed of her opponent in the last two sets, but come on girl!

I would add Jankovic to that list. I mean from a Finalist Last Year to 2nd round today is just plain pathetic. Both Serbs are out? Oh man gj011 must be crying in his sleep.

And Dementieva... after all the work she put in Toronto and she pulls out this abysmal performance vs Oudin? Disgusting at his best.

You have to wonder who in the hell will pull out from the Top Half as a finalist?

[Sartorius]

Couldn't watch the matches today, but extremely disappointing results with JJ and Dementieva going out. Ivanovic made her exit too and even Safina may do the same sometime soon, probably not going to win the whole thing anyway. You never know for sure, but we all actually do know who's the heavy favourite. Personally my hopes are with Kuznetsova, and Clijsters to an extent.

It's not "What's Wrong With Her?" anymore, since a long time it has been "What's Wrong With WTA?"...

[speckles]

"Schnyder (Retiring after this year. A GOAT among headcases.)"

This made me laugh out loud... Novotna could challenge her for all-time GOAT.

Vera Dushevina should be put on alert for a year after Monday night. I don't want to add her just yet, but she's a concern. I like her, so hope she manages to move up but stays off the list.

ps--Virginia Wade sounded exasperated covering the Safina match today, but at least she gets paid to watch.

[soyizgood]

Originally Posted by Bloodshed

I would add Jankovic to that list. I mean from a Finalist Last Year to 2nd round today is just plain pathetic. Both Serbs are out? Oh man gj011 must be crying in his sleep.

And Dementieva... after all the work she put in Toronto and she pulls out this abysmal performance vs Oudin? Disgusting at his best.

You have to wonder who in the hell will pull out from the Top Half as a finalist?

Jankovic losing was inexcusable. Then again, Shvedova was aggressive and made Jankovic play like a pusher for the parts I saw. Jankovic could not put her away even with a horde of break points and set points at her disposal. Shvedova played a somewhat high-risk game but her backhand was on fire when it mattered most. Jankovic just lacks an extra gear to get through and relies on her opponents beating themselves. Didn't happen this time.

Dementieva lost to a player she beat twice this year iirc. Oudin's not a pushover and with the crowd on her side I expected it to be a tough one for Dementieva (i.e. 2 tight sets). Oudin was playing through some visible pain and Dementieva still could not take charge. Well-fought match and Oudin showed that her win over Jankovic was no fluke. She out-slugged, out-fought, and out-played Dementieva. No signs of being a headcase here, but one of not forcing the issue or imposing her will for Dementieva.

[angharad]

Originally Posted by soyizgood

Jankovic losing was inexcusable.

Her grandmother passed away last night. I can imagine her being upset by that, to the point of not even being sure if she really wanted to win the match and end up having to stay in New York longer.

I'm not excusing the rest of her game, but there were other circumstances for this particular match.

[soyizgood]

Originally Posted by speckles

"Schnyder (Retiring after this year. A GOAT among headcases.)"

This made me laugh out loud... Novotna could challenge her for all-time GOAT.

Vera Dushevina should be put on alert for a year after Monday night. I don't want to add her just yet, but she's a concern. I like her, so hope she manages to move up but stays off the list.

ps--Virginia Wade sounded exasperated covering the Safina match today, but at least she gets paid to watch.

Dushevina is not likely to get on the list until she can string together some results beyond Istanbul and then produce some mediocre, eye-popping, head-scratching, mindless play. Seriously, she wasn't hyped up like her compatriots Dementieva/Kuznetsova/Zvonareva/Safina/Sharapova/Petrova/Myskina, so she'll have to duke it out with the Vesnina/Pavlyuchenkova/Kleybanova/Makarova/A. Bondarenko/Kirilenko group for now.

[soyizgood]

Azarenka had a very disappointing summer.

[speckles]

Originally Posted by jamesblakefan#1

How did Ivanovic lose? I couldn't watch. Is her serve finally in Coria territory???

I's serve was atrocious - she kept grabbing her toss, try again, repeat. Bondarenko looked semi-injured and like she just wanted to get off the court ("please, i am trying to give you this match - just take it") and Ivanovic wouldn't let her ("I don't want it either!")
As usual, no shortage of drama. The WTA in a nutshell.

[speckles]

Originally Posted by soyizgood

Azarenka had a very disappointing summer.

I know - it's sad. She was my pick to win it all. But good on Schiavone for playing so well.

on a happier note (dare I say it) Vera Z. is moving nicely thru her draw. Maybe it's the 'towel over head' fashion statement...

[jamesblakefan#1]

Azarenka's on the list now. Overrated = her. One great win over injured Serena and everyone hopped on the bandwagon, bet some want the refund for those tickets...