The "What's Wrong With Her?" Thread

Li/Aza match. Commentator : " I don't think these two have played a match before so few people. A match that means so much. A quarterfinal of a premier event."

Li is up a break in the first set after 6 games. I had my reservations but this surface is really a strikers surface, not a defenders surface. I love it <3

First set 6-3 Li Na. Li's been utterly dominating nearly every rally and striking winner after winner. Aza's reeling. I hope Li maintains a level head. Commentator : "they are playing this like it is hard courts."

Exchanged service breaks, Li's making more errors now Aza up 4-1. If I were Li's coach, I'd tell her to stop aiming for the lines, she will still hit winners with a comfortable margin. On one hand, Aza's improved her returns a lot more in this second set while Li barely lost a point on serve in the first. On the other, even for good movers like Aza and Li, it is very difficult to move on this surface.

Second set Aza 6-3.

Start of the third, they've over watered the court, now they are dragging the mat and redoing the lines. Aza's looking at the court with great displeasure lol. key in this third is Aza's return and how well Li deals with it. Too much Mug-Na at the moment. bp for Aza already. She's continuing to look very solid off her returns. Aza breaks serve on third bp.

3bp for a double break for Aza who is sailing along now. 3-0 Aza . gsm already.

Aza wins 3-6 6-3 6-3. After being 4-0 up, Li came back to 4-3 and had 2 bp to get 4-4 but Aza was too mentally tough. She won this on her returns in the 2nd and 3rd, got all her ros consistently deep, almost never missed.

Wow.. Li took the first set off Radwanska in Stuttgart and Azarenka in Madrid, but loses both pretty comprehensively in the 2nd and 3rd.
To be honest, maybe this is a good thing for Li? Who will expect her to defend her FO title if she's lost to 2 women who will probably be classed as favourites (well Radwanska should make SF's on paper). Li isn't the best with pressure, so maybe it will at least stop a meltdown or early round loss?
At least Li is up there with the top players and can beat anyone on her day. A positive is that she beat Kerber, who would likely be a dangerous 4th rounder, and on current form, she's probably Top 10 right now.

No slow start today for Serena. Sharapova's serving as best as she could and Serena's is just aiming her hammer blows on her returns measured and deliberate. Serena herself has already served 5 aces. 4-1 up.

That return of serve from Serena forehand cc winner, commentator : "That was Djokovic like. At least 90mph."



first set 6-1 Serena. She had 2 DF in that service game to hold but due to the sun in her eyes.

This is how Serena plays Sharapova; her force of her shot, her body language, dominating Maria mentally, dominating Maria physically, she is going to CRUSH CRUSH CRUSH!!!

Commentator : "Wimbledon 2004 is at the forefront of her brain!"

Commentator : "When Sharapova cannot get front foot in a match, there is nowhere for her to go."

2-2 Sharapova broke back with four go for broke returns.

6-1 6-3 Serena, whose level in the 2nd set was about 50% that of the first.

[MichaelNadal]

Get it Aneres that's my girl!

[Gizo]

Serena was outstanding in the first set. In the second set she eased off and was far from her best but still comfortably held off Sharapova.

Serena hates Sharapova and absolutely loves putting her in her place. Regardless of what form Serena is in at the time, when it comes to these matches against Sharapova she is always motivated and comes out firing. She gets more satisfaction out of beating Sharapova than any opponent including Henin in the past.

Serena is in Sharapova's head and has won 14 out of the last 15 sets they have contested. Sharapova always gets nervous as hell against Serena and messes up the few good opportunities that come her way in their matches.

[jamesblakefan#1]

Just as I said...wish I was a betting man so I could make some $$$ when those two play. But with my luck, Serena would retire w/ injury or something and cost me if I bet.

[soyizgood]

We got a match in Radwanska-Lepchenko. On serve with Lepchenko serving 4-5.

Radwanska takes the 1st 6-4.

[hugobosstachini]

Originally Posted by soyizgood

I'm kind of confused by your post. Did Sharapova win Stuttgart because it was held on a fast indoor clay surface? Or was it because clay is slower which allows Sharapova to get to balls easier?

On Stuttgart self, they don't put lots of clay something kind of similar to Madrid -- I'd say Maria won because Stuttgart's clay is pretty fast and indoors helps her serve/ground-strokes a lot. Maria does have a big advantage over Victoria on faster surfaces --

On a general stand-point, the fact that Sharapova has more time on clay to counter Azarenka IMO still stands. I know I'm kind of contradicting myself because actually out there, there's no "perfect" clay courts anymore. Surfaces play almost very close to medium paced HC IMO.

Azarenka's lost the last 4 matches to Kvitova. The scores have been somewhat close, but in all of them the matches were on Kvitova's racquet. Wimbledon 2011 is a prime example. Going toe-to-toe backfired on Azarenka in set 1, but then she got aided by Kvitova having a brain-fart in set 2. Set 3 Kvitova got her act together and pushed Azarenka aside. Even Madrid 2011 it shouldn't have been that close. Kvitova's brain farts made it close despite hitting almost 4x the winners as Azarenka.

I think you're ignoring the fact that Petra Kvitova has very high peaks. They're unsustainable. She stroke 11 winners for 2 or 3 unforced errors in that Wimbledon SF. Who in the world is going to keep that kind of tennis flowing for like another 50 minutes without faltering ?

Azarenka has become a smarter player, but she's still in the Wozniacki/Radwanska/Kerber family of players.

Again this is an exaggeration. I could couple Kerber and Azarenka as kind of similar players but Wozniacki and Radwanska just no.

The proportion of offense in Azarenka's game is close to 60-70% which not the case for the Radwanska/Wozniacki who relies a lot more on opponent's unforced errors.

That's the big difference. I've never denied that Victoria is "forcing shot" type of player. She really works you extremely well while hitting winners generally around 15-20 with very few unforced errors. Wozniacki and Radwanska rely much much more on their opponent's missing, they're leaving the matches in their hands.

Azarenka doesn't look to leave a match in a more powerful player's hands than her unless if she really forced to do so. She'll try her best to take charge but can fall short.

I think you must take in consideration the mentality of the player. Victoria searches to be offensive but she tries to do it as clean as possible.

Pick your spots to initiate the action. Or sit back and wait for the opponent to implode. Nothing wrong with that style. It's working for her. She has the patience to play as a pro-active counterpuncher. She realizes she's not going to outblast certain players and doesn't have to. That said, I don't think she's entirely shed her "Retirenka" act. The wrist injury in Stuttgart final being Exhibit A.

That's the only way to go for her -- Victoria has to play all-court tennis simple as that. Personally I'm glad she can rally as good as she does because when you watch Sharapova who when she's outplayed has absolutely 0 plan B it's scary.

Sharapova/Serena today was yet another example. If Maria can't blast immediate winners she's just a total clown on the court, can't rally, can't defend, can't counter-punch -- I mean what a fail at times lol.

Azarenka is my 2nd favorite "Genration Suck" player. So I'm really happy for her success. At the same time, I'm not going to sing her praises as there are enough fans doing that.

[hugobosstachini]

Originally Posted by Gizo

Serena was outstanding in the first set. In the second set she eased off and was far from her best but still comfortably held off Sharapova.

Serena hates Sharapova and absolutely loves putting her in her place. Regardless of what form Serena is in at the time, when it comes to these matches against Sharapova she is always motivated and comes out firing. She gets more satisfaction out of beating Sharapova than any opponent including Henin in the past.

Serena is in Sharapova's head and has won 14 out of the last 15 sets they have contested. Sharapova always gets nervous as hell against Serena and messes up the few good opportunities that come her way in their matches.

Sharapova's game is so limited, I think I'm happy to see that her brand of tennis is kind of disappearing.

She cant' move, can't defend, can't counter-punch her only solution is to hit quick winners but Serena does that triple much better than her.

[Gizo]

Yes Serena has a much better serve than Serena, is stronger from the baseline, moves better and is mentally stronger. It is a terrible match-up for her and the match is always on Serena's racket regardless of the surface.

Even when Sharapova plays really well against Serena like at Charleston in 2008 and Wimbledon in 2010, Serena gets the job done.

Also all this talk recently of clay now being Sharapova's best surface is ridiculous. In reality this is hard court dominated era (even more so on the women's tour than the men's). The vast majority of players on the tour are very comfortable on hard courts, but are completely clueless on clay. Thus there are more players who have the mental belief that they can beat Sharapova on hard courts than clay. That doesn't disguise the numerous limitations in her game on this surface.

Serena has convinced herself since the 2004 YEC final, when as NadalAgassi said the Sharapova camp celebrated as if she had won the calendar grand slam after edging past an injured Serena who could barely move, that she will never lose to Sharapova ever again. So far so good after their 7 matches since then. In early 2008 when Serena could hardly care less about any tournaments outside the slams and Miami, she was loudly celebrating pretty much every point she won in that 3rd set against Sharapova at Charleston.

It would be cool if Serena could show the same motivation she has against Sharapova, against the rest of the tour and win her second French Open title this year 10 years after her first. A French Open title would be much better for her legacy than another Wimbledon or US Open title IMO.

[SAFINATORZ]

Sharapova got whooped by Serena haha if serena wants to destroy someone, she surely can haha

[storypeddler]

Originally Posted by soyizgood

Here we can discuss WTA players that for whatever reason just can't seem to get it together. This could be due to a minor or major slump, inconsistent results, mental fragility, not living up to the hype, a combination of things, etc.

Feel free to agree/disagree as well as suggest others to be included



List:
Boardroom Executives
Kuznetsova (Permanent member of this group. Only does well when least expected to. Disappoints otherwise.)
Chakvetadze (Going into Russian politics... and not for Putin's party? This can not end well. R.I.P. krasivaya Anya. )
Ivanovic (I still don't think she's entirely dead, but some of her fans are even holding up R.I.P. signs as their avatar. Jankovic gives you a fist pump as a sign of solidarity.)
Petrova (Just stick to doubles. Wasting your time playing like garbage in singles.)

Advisory Board
Dementieva (That's the least I can do for her)
Safina (Best of luck in your post-tennis career. We all know you gave 100% effort.)
Schnyder (What brand of orange juice does she endorse? GOAT of craziness. Now she's broke.) R.I.P.

Supporting Cast
Wozniacki (Floor leader of the group. "Great Wall of Denmark" being bulldozed to rubble in 2012)
Li (. Seriously, what is wrong with her?)
Hantuchova (I'm beginning to think she's an overachiever. She has no redeeming qualities of a winner, yet has 2 tier-1s.)
Kirilenko (Little more than eye candy)
A. Bondarenko (Something's missing in her head. She's so light now she might fall up. A few more injuries keeping her out of sight.)
Zvonareva (Crybaby can't help herself at the finish line. Now she has no clue where a finish line is.)
Vesnina (If BYE was her opponent in a final, she'd still lose)
Kanepi (Wins Brisbane.... turning a corner?)
Pennetta (better at doubles anyway)
Goerges (Her fans find any excuse to hype her up, but it's something about the 3rd round at a major that gets to her)
Wickmayer (Maybe making the USO SF was a curse. Just a MM princess at best)
Peer (So close to the top 10, yet so far now.)
Safarova (Berdych left you hanging, but you got a home here.)


Not ready for prime time
Oudin (TERRIBLE in 2011, excluding the USO mixed doubles title)
Vandeweghe (Been hearing about her for over two years.. time to prove you are worth the wait)
Cirstea (Someone needs to put her face on milk cartons as she's been "MISSING" for a while)

Drama queens:
Serena (The Queen is terrorizing the younger peasants, once again)
Jankovic (Does she even care anymore?)
Rezai (I might need to post up "Missing" flyers)
Mattek-Sands (Most Wanted by the Fashion Police)
Bartoli (Her and her dad. Even the French Federation won't let her play in the Olympics.)
Sharapova (She still needs a muzzle over her mouth when she plays.)
Radwanska (That blunt motor-mouth calling out any and every person wrong on the tour, but backing it up with winning)

Matches to watch 2009-present (best if you are brave or bored):
Sharapova vs Oudin USO
Dementieva vs Jankovic Cincinnati
Li vs Venus Australian
Pavlyuchenkova vs Vesnina Istanbul
Sharapova vs Dementieva Stanford
Clijsters vs Henin Miami
Kuznetsova vs Serena French
Clijsters vs Kleybanova Indian Wells
Venus vs Serena Miami 2009
Azarenka vs Kanepi Rome
Ivanovic vs Dulko AO
Wickmayer vs Dulgheru AO
Sharapova vs Kirilenko AO
Safina vs Kvitova USO
Sharapova vs Radwanska Stanford
Dementieva vs Stosur USO
Ivanovic vs Makarova AO
Wozniacki vs Jankovic Rome 2011
Schiavone vs Paszek WO 2011
Jankovic vs Sharapova Cincy 2011
Suarez Navarro vs Kanepi Estoril 2012

Kuznetsova? Really? I'm inclined to believe that if you end your career with a couple of slams under your belt, whatever else people may find wrong with you, you are way out ahead of all but a handful of players.

[volleyandfun]

A quote from WTA site
"Radwanska will rise to No.2 in the world if she wins the title in Madrid."

Current standing
2 2 Sharapova, Maria 19/04/87 RUS 8260 16
3 4 Radwanska, Agnieszka 06/03/89 POL 6750 21

and that's with points already dropped from last year's Madrid
How is that possible? max she can get is 1000 points. She can be #2 but on the race list, not rankings

[Moose Malloy]

It would be cool if Serena could show the same motivation she has against Sharapova, against the rest of the tour and win her second French Open title this year 10 years after her first

has that happened at any major? including men? closest I can think of was Connors winning his 2nd Wimbledon 8 years after his 1st.

Would be quite an achievement for Serena, winning the French Open again 10 years later.

[soyizgood]

Originally Posted by volleyandfun

A quote from WTA site
"Radwanska will rise to No.2 in the world if she wins the title in Madrid."

Current standing
2 2 Sharapova, Maria 19/04/87 RUS 8260 16
3 4 Radwanska, Agnieszka 06/03/89 POL 6750 21

and that's with points already dropped from last year's Madrid
How is that possible? max she can get is 1000 points. She can be #2 but on the race list, not rankings

Radwanska's last 4 majors haven't been impressive, with only 1 QF among them. That and Radwanska 2.0 didn't appear until after the USO.

I think the WTA site is wrong, yet again. The publisher likely thought Radwanska had 7750 points, which a title would boost Radwanska under that scenario. In any event, Sharapova gains at least 250 points to have a firm grip on #2.

[soyizgood]

Originally Posted by storypeddler

Kuznetsova? Really? I'm inclined to believe that if you end your career with a couple of slams under your belt, whatever else people may find wrong with you, you are way out ahead of all but a handful of players.

The list of matches Kuznetsova has choked away and/or blew herself off the court is endless. Have you watched her at all over the last 5 years? Her game and her head has been all over the place.

[Moose Malloy]

Stosur-Hradecka is going to a UE fest. I'd choose Stosur, but she's as much of a nut as Hradecka is a brainless ball basher.

Hradecka d Stosur 76, 76(no breaks, can't remember the last womens match where that happened)

and she had 19 aces.

sounds like she may give Serena a match.

[volleyandfun]

Originally Posted by Moose Malloy

Hradecka d Stosur 76, 76(no breaks, can't remember the last womens match where that happened)

and she had 19 aces.

sounds like she may give Serena a match.

how many UFE, do you know?

[Gizo]

Originally Posted by Moose Malloy

has that happened at any major? including men? closest I can think of was Connors winning his 2nd Wimbledon 8 years after his 1st.

Would be quite an achievement for Serena, winning the French Open again 10 years later.

Goolagong won her two Wimbledon titles 9 years apart in 1971 and 1980. If you include the men Rosewall won his second French title 15 years after his first (1953 and 1968 ) and his second US title 14 years after his first (1956 and 1970) but of course there was the whole 'amateur vs. professional tour' split then.

If Serena wins any slam from no-one she would join the very elite group of players to have won slams in her teenage years, 20s and 30s which would also be some achievement.

[WinNCash]

Originally Posted by Moose Malloy

Hradecka d Stosur 76, 76(no breaks, can't remember the last womens match where that happened)

and she had 19 aces.

sounds like she may give Serena a match.

This was a fun match to watch. They both served really well and hit some spectacular winners. Hradecka is right up there with the biggest hitters.