2013 US Open Women's SF: Flavia PENNETTA vs. Victoria AZARENKA[2]

Who will win and in how many sets?

  • Pennetta in 2

    Votes: 1 14.3%

  • Pennetta in 3

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Azarenka in 2

    Votes: 4 57.1%

  • Azarenka in 3

    Votes: 2 28.6%
  • Total voters
    7
  • Poll closed .
Down_the_line

Down_the_line

G.O.A.T.
The match just started. It's 1-1 after both players traded breaks, Pennetta serving.

I'm going with Azarenka in straight sets. Pennetta will give Azarenka some troubles in the 1st set but Azarenka will gradually figure out the Italian and win the 2nd set comfortably. I'm thinking something like 6-4 6-2.
 
I took Vika in 3 because she hasn't played well this tournament and Flavia has. I would even pick Flavia but Vika's a warrior and will find a way to win no matter what
 
dafinch said:
27 double faults and 10 aces for Vika? Hard to believe one could win a Slam with a stat like that...
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She hasn't faced anybody good enough to take advantage of it. Very weak half of the draw due to Errani Woz and Kvitty.
 
Vanhool said:
I took Vika in 3 because she hasn't played well this tournament and Flavia has. I would even pick Flavia but Vika's a warrior and will find a way to win no matter what
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I know it's in the early going but what do you think of the match so far, Vanhool? I like the way Pennetta is hitting the ball but you just get the feeling Vika is going to figure her out.
 
Pennetta is solid but doesn't seem to have that extra gear when playing the important points. And those are the ones that matter against a player like Azarenka. She was 30-0 up after breaking to come back to 3-3 and didn't take advantage of it. If you don't stamp your authority when you need to, Azarenka will eventually find a way to win. Despite the double faults.

It's a very typical trend in matches like this one: the underdog plays great points, rallies brilliantly, but only wins these rallies when it's 15-0. Let's hope Pennetta can contradict me and turn this into a classic. :)
 
So, Aza unable to get the crucial hold of serve, lol. These kinds of matches don't exactly present the WTA in the best light...
 
Yay! I caught up to live TV. I like Flavia's game. I'm glad she's back. She's got the fun stuff if Vinci, but with more pop, like she can actually win. But when Vika's A game shows up, it's all her way. Her A game is very erratic this match though, so should be pretty suspenseful.
 
Break for Pennetta. 4-all. I will say that Pennetta looks like the better player so far. She's hitting so cleanly. If she could hold serve Azarenka would be in a bit of trouble right now. As I said before, though, I feel like Azarenka will just find a way to win. ScentOfDefeat sort of summed up how I feel.
 
azarenka is such an offensive baby pants! :mad:

that's twice she has let out one of those prepubescent mating call screams! :evil:

she's supposed to be woman?!?!?! she's not.
 
Down_the_line said:
Break for Pennetta. 4-all. I will say that Pennetta looks like the better player so far. She's hitting so cleanly. If she could hold serve Azarenka would be in a bit of trouble right now. As I said before, though, I feel like Azarenka will just find a way to win. ScentOfDefeat sort of summed up how I feel.
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I don't think we're watching the same match, they BOTH stink, and "If she could hold serve" falls into the "Other than THAT, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the theater" category," don't you think?
 
dafinch said:
I don't think we're watching the same match, they BOTH stink, and "If she could hold serve" falls into the "Other than THAT, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the theater" category," don't you think?
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Lol but in her defense, Vika is one of the best returners in the game.

I think that the women have really improved their returns and groundstrokes but their serves, for the most part, haven't evolved as quickly. Breaks are very common...it can be frustrating to see when it's obviously crappy serving But when they are being pressured by a good returner, I think it makes it more entertaining in a way because every game is contested; you don't know what will happen.
 
Panetta's volleying is nothing short of putrid, she's already had at least 4 semi sitters that she did absolutely nothing with.
 
Down_the_line said:
It may sound weird, but I find it kind of cute.
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Her grunting becomes more shrill the more desperate she becomes. She hit a weak passing shot and screamed as loudly as possible for no reason..Penneta hit the easy volley winner. That is really annoying to me. Djokovic is her ATP-tour counterpart. He starts screaming like a madman on big points.
 
Pennetta is clutch. How many set points is that saved. This is a great match. Vika not playing her best though.
 
dafinch said:
I don't think we're watching the same match, they BOTH stink, and "If she could hold serve" falls into the "Other than THAT, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the theater" category," don't you think?
Click to expand...

We must be watching a different match. Neither player is playing superb, by any means, but I think Pennetta is handling herself pretty well in rally situations with Vika.

You're right about the holding serve comment, I suppose.

Azarenka holds and takes the 1st 6-4.
 
Atherton2003 said:
Azarenka's screeching must be annoying to the opponent. There should be a penalty for the screaming. Should not be allowed.
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I find it very helpful. I was watching from the kitchen and they're both wearing red, but even from far away I could still tell who was hitting the ball. Thanks, Vika.
 
Down_the_line said:
We must be watching a different match. Neither player is playing superb, by any means, but I think Pennetta is handling herself pretty well in rally situations with Vika.

You're right about the holding serve comment, I suppose.

Azarenka holds and takes the 1st 6-4.
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If you serve 5 times, are broken three of them, hit 5 doubles, no aces, I think it's a pretty safe assumption you should expect to lose a very high percentage of the time. And I don't know how hitting volleys softly right back at Aza when she has all sorts of options to put the volley away qualifies as "...handling herself pretty well in rally situations," either. Penetta just got broken again-SHOCKING!-with more putrid play, so I now expect Aza to run away with it. On the other hand, I'm not as concerned about the final as I was, I don't expect Serena to choke 3 times in about 1.5 months to begin with, and Vika is gonna have to raise the level of her play a LOT to even get in a position to induce her to choke.
 
Last edited:
Brian11785 said:
Pennetta is clutch. How many set points is that saved. This is a great match. Vika not playing her best though.
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I don't think she's clutch. She should be winning these service games. She's playing like Ivanovic, going 30-0 on her serve and then gifting the game to her opponent.
 
Vanhool said:
I find it very helpful. I was watching from the kitchen and they're both wearing red, but even from far away I could still tell who was hitting the ball. Thanks, Vika.
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Hahaha, this is so true. Azarenka is a friend of the blind. You can tell everything about what's going on just because of her grunt.
 
Sid_Vicious said:
Her grunting becomes more shrill the more desperate she becomes. She hit a weak passing shot and screamed as loudly as possible for no reason..Penneta hit the easy volley winner. That is really annoying to me. Djokovic is her ATP-tour counterpart. He starts screaming like a madman on big points.
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I'm not talking about her grunting, or "hooting". I'm referring to that one point where she missed the easy volley and screamed at the top of her lungs.

Does nobody realize that sports can be very emotional? Sometimes, players will instinctively yell out in angst. The grunting is a whole other matter though. That I hate, especially when it's clearly forced.
 
dafinch said:
If you serve 5 times, are broken three of them, hit 5 doubles, no aces, I think it's a pretty safe assumption you should expect to lose a very high percentage of the time. And I don't know how hitting volleys softly right back at Aza when she has all sorts of options to put the volley away qualifies as "...handling herself pretty well in rally situations," either. Penetta just got broken again-SHOCKING!-with more putrid play, so I now expect Aza to run away with it. On the other hand, I'm not as concerned about the final as I was, I don't expect Serena to choke 3 times in about 1.5 months to begin with, and Vika is gonna have to raise the level of her play a LOT to even get in a position to induce her to choke.
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Just forget it man. We both have different observations of the match. It happens.
 
Shangri La said:
Azarenka seems to have gained some weight.
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I'm not sure if that's the case -- but it does seem to me that she has an incredible talent for picking the absolute worst fit and style for her of the outfits she wears, and the ones for this US Open seem to be especially bad for her.
 
ruerooo said:
I'm not sure if that's the case -- but it does seem to me that she has an incredible talent for picking the absolute worst fit and style for her of the outfits she wears, and the ones for this US Open seem to be especially bad for her.
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She just has a funny body shape, she looks much better in regular clothes.
 
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