2024 WTA Miami

OMG, that tape of 11-year-old Azarenka was incredible!

Women’s tennis gonna women’s tennis. Ryba only won 5 points in set 2 after winning set 1. No surprises.

That was not a simple bagel. Vika the 24 points of the 6 games. Riba only won 5 points.

pcplum said:

Right, let's sum up all your posts in one go...

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1-5: No

SeeingDusk said:

Women’s tennis gonna women’s tennis. Ryba only won 5 points in set 2 after winning set 1. No surprises.

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And people wonder how fans of the WTA can be frustrated? What in the world did we just see? In an M1000 semifinal?!?

Why just give a set away when breaking serve in the WTA is far from impossible, especially for a player like Rybakina who is a danger to break every time?

I believe there was a moment it was 16 points in a row.

Elena consolidates to 4-2.

spystud said:

Elena breaks to 4-2.

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I think this would be challenging for any psicologist after that 2 set.

At a match in the UTS Los Angeles event one player was grunting obnoxiously and the crowd joined in during the points, screaming UNNGHHHH with him when he hit the ball.

I wish we could do the same with Azarenka. A whole stadium going ahWHOOOOOo in unison ..

Hey Vika, I'm rooting against you, but maybe try hitting your next approach shot someplace other than Rybakina's backhand? Seriously...

BenC said:

At a match in the UTS Los Angeles event one player was grunting obnoxiously and the crowd joined in during the points, screaming UNNGHHHH with him when he hit the ball.

I wish we could do the same with Azarenka. A whole stadium going ahWHOOOOOo in unison ..

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I can't remember how many times my GF has walked into the room when I'm watching Azarenka, Sabalenka or the like, and the expression on her face is always, 'are you watching porn?', before she sees what is actually on the TV.

Elena serving for the final at 5-4.

Damn, Elena played that point all wrong to get broken.

Vika is putting on a show.

Sheesh, Elena’s gonna blow this.

spystud said:

Damn, Elena played that point all wrong to get broken.

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She seems to get super, super tight on big points. Her biggest issue by far.

_phantom said:

Vika is putting on a show.

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Vika is absolute insufferable right now. Her antics after breaking back to 5-5 were just pathetic.

spystud said:

Sheesh, Elena’s gonna blow this.

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Sure looks that way. I'm not a proponent of the tactical MTO's, but if Rybakina took one right now, I'm pretty sure Vika's (empty) head would just explode.

spystud said:

Sheesh, Elena’s gonna blow this.

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Not sure if she will, but yes she might…..all I know is, I adore Rybakina but sentiment makes me want Azarenka to win as I love her too. Sheesh, how will it go?!

But of course she holds at love to force the breaker.

Brilliant call by Petko "Fire and Ice"!

spystud said:

But of course she holds at love to force the breaker.

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She can't get tight on her first serve, so when she lands it, it's huge for her.

Azarenka mucking it up!

Crazy sport sometimes.

Never a doubt.

Rybakina has to look for every way to lose before she finds a way to win.

By the way, I really like the font on Rybakina' shoes.

Vika is not begging for applause now. Glad she lost.

Somewhat of a heartbreaker for Vika. She gave it her ALL. But what a great third set for Elena after that bagel. She is absolutely incredible. Congrats and can’t wait to see her in the final! Great tennis!

Bill Lobsalot said:

Vika is not begging for applause now. Glad she lost.

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Yep, skulk away Vika... skulk away...

Amazing win from Elena.

Could not watch 1 second of the match, but I SURE AM GLAD VA LOST.

coolcamden said:

Could not watch 1 second of the match, but I SURE AM GLAD VA LOST.

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Didn't miss much. A lot of screaming and fist pumping. Last set and TB were pretty good.

robyrolfo said:

Yes, I want to you take into consideration the fact that the tour isn't strong. And with a weak tour, 4 slams at 22 is good, but take a look at how many Graf had (something like 10, including a Golden Slam). Plus, one of those slams (the COVID French played in the fall) was one of the strangest Slams I've ever witnessed, and we are talking about an era where Vondrousova and Raducanu have won slams. Raducanu! Heck, even Kenin won two slams!

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While the tour has been relatively weak since 2008 after the old guard of Henin, Hingis, Davenport, Capriati, and Mauresmo all retired (at least from singles) while Venus diminished with Sjogren's syndrome and Clijsters returned to play only part-time leaving only ATGs in Serena and Sharapova, Swiatek is undoubtedly the most dominant player since Serena retired. While Iga shares the same number of slams as Osaka, she is far more consistent in results than Osaka and Iga is 4 years younger. I don't know why Graf is the measuring stick because she has a strong argument as GOAT. You're basically saying because Iga is not GOAT material, Iga is not very good. If that's the case, the only good players in the Open Era are Evert, Navratilova, Graf, and Serena (and maybe Seles). That's a nonstarter of an argument. Raducanu is not a good example either. She has basically been continuously injured since shortly after her US Open win. We know injury can derail a career. Just look at Murray and Thiem, who have been shadows of themselves for years. Maybe Raducanu would have still not amounted to much, but we can't know for sure.

robyrolfo said:

So how can you say the calibre of her opponents has been fantastic? Who has been fantastic? Or more specifically, who has she beaten that was playing fantastic against her? See, that's the thing. Racking up number right now is good, but if you want to be great, don't get blown away by an Ostapenko having a good night at the US Open. Find a way to beat her. Don't get beat by a determined Gauff in a Masters 1000 final. Don't lose limply to Noskova at the AO.

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Every great player has poor losses. Nadal lost to Steve Darcis in the first round of Wimbledon and to Lucas Rosol and Dustin Brown, both in the 2nd round of Wimbledon. Ostapenko has had a better career than all of those three. Who has Iga beaten when they played fantastic? If you weren't biased against her, the answers come to mind easily. Just looking at last year, Swiatek beat new #1 Sabalenka on Iga's way to winning the year-end-championship, Swiatek beat a red-hot Garcia in Beijing, Swiatek beat a strong Muchova twice, once to win Roland Garros and once at Montreal.

robyrolfo said:

I love women's tennis, and that is why I post here so much. But that is why I'm so frustrated right now. The game is in a bad place. We don't have anyone playing the type of beautiful tennis that players like Hingis, Henin, Venus... were capable of. Forget about Graf and Navratilova. Look at the ATP tour. The big 3 are fading away, but now we have these two young stars coming up to fill the gap. Imagine if they weren't there, and someone like Tsitsipas won 4 slams, or Medvedev. Yes, we would think they were very good players, but certainly not greats. Who does the WTA have? Andreeva? Still too early to tell, and some signs are worrying. Gauff isn't it. Noskova isn't it...

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While I love watching Alcaraz and Sinner play, I know they are going to win 95% of their matches when playing someone outside of the top 5, which is not conducive to much excitement. The winners in women's tennis are not preordained and so that level of uncertainty helps. I also like the stories on the women's side better. Can Osaka return to her old form? What's going on with Jabeur's slump? Will Andreeva break through to the top? Can Sabalenka, Rybakina, or Gauff take the top spot away from Iga? I think those latter four are pretty competitive against one another except for the lopsided Swiatek-Gauff matchup. And while the tour is weaker at the top than in the past, the tour has more depth than in the past: #10 Ostapenko, #11 Kasatkina, #12 Muchova, #17 Svitolina, #20 Navarro, #21 Krejcikova, #27 Garcia, #30 Boulter, #32 Azarenka, #35 Fernandez, #38 Andreeva, #42 Siniakova, #53 Collins, #67 Stearns, #72 Townsend, #80 Badosa. There are a lot more names to follow, and at least for me, I tend to find those names more interesting than similar top 100 names on the men's side.

I've also complained about how the WTA has been weaker for a long time, but Swiatek is not a weak #1. Her career win percentage is 81.6% at age 22 when she may not even be at her physical or mental peak as a player. That win % puts Swiatek at #8 among all players in the past 50 years, just under Seles and Henin and above Hingis, Clijsters, Davenport, and Sharapova. Even if the field is weak, you can't argue against her because she has been dominating it. Sure, she's not dominating it like an Evert, Graf, Navratilova, or Serena, but she is dominating it one tier short of that and giving out breadsticks like there's no tomorrow.

Dani v. Alexandrova shortly.

spystud said:

Dani v. Alexandrova shortly.

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Who y'all got in this one? I think its a tossup.

I got EA.

Last American and all, but I’m never one for Manimal. She’s super mean. I worked at a tournament where she played a few years ago, and the way she treated the ball people, her screaming at her box, and the atm boy toy was way, way over the top.

Free People DC.

coolcamden said:

I got EA.

Last American and all, but I’m never one for Manimal. She’s super mean. I worked at a tournament where she played a few years ago, and the way she treated the ball people, her screaming at her box, and the atm boy toy was way, way over the top.

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That all sounds about right.

Rafa.the.Magnificent said:

Somewhat of a heartbreaker for Vika. She gave it her ALL. But what a great third set for Elena after that bagel. She is absolutely incredible. Congrats and can’t wait to see her in the final! Great tennis!

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Reminds me of that IW final against Badosa. Or worse, the 1st USO final against Serena. Azarenka is used to these kind of heartbreaking 3rd set tie-breaks. Add the Osaka 2020 match and a few other ones. I like her but if sadly she's lost too many matches like this one today. She deserved more than her 2 AO.

America looking strong, 5-2.

Collins is like a assassin out there right now. Brutal.

That set was relatively painless.

spystud said:

That set was relatively painless.

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Remember, it's the WTA, anything is possible.

The Russian has left the court. Big surprise. Could be a little package taped under the Ladies room sink.

Anyone take a MTO or bathroom break after winning a set? Or after breaking serve?

HBK4life said:

Anyone take a MTO or bathroom break after winning a set? Or after breaking serve?

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Apparently no one needs to go to bathroom after these type of things.

Utter destruction. When she is on she is a heck of a player.

DC occasionally shows a mean streak, but she's a nice, accomplished person off the court. UVA grad and has a Masters' degree. How many pros have one of those? Short career in tennis and then moving on.

What an enjoyable match between two of the best bodies backhands on tour!

Dani continues her insane run since dropping the very first set of the tournament to Bernie Pera. Since then...

61 61 62 62 61 62 63 62 63 62 63 62

Crazy stuff.

Baseline_Bungle said:

What an enjoyable match between two of the best bodies backhands on tour!

Dani continues her insane run since dropping the very first set of the tournament to Bernie Pera. Since then...

61 61 62 62 61 62 63 62 63 62 63 62

Crazy stuff.

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I'm with ya on the bodXXX backhands. I'm singing the Sir Mix A Lot song.

robyrolfo said:

And people wonder how fans of the WTA can be frustrated? What in the world did we just see? In an M1000 semifinal?!?

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I'm absolutely certain you weren't born yet or were a baby in 1988. Imagine watching women's RG final then.

Caught the hi-lights of danimal’s win. Big babe tennis right there. When she’s good she is so good. Also I think her yells have gotten louder.

Collins could very well take this title out, surely needs to reevaluate retiring at the end of the year. A win in the final would push her to #22 in the world and #7 in the race.