2015 US Open Women's QF: Petra Kvitova[5] vs. Flavia Pennetta[26]

Who will win?

  • Kvitova in 2

    Votes: 1 50.0%
  • Kvitova in 3

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Pennetta in 2

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Pennetta in 3

    Votes: 1 50.0%

  • Total voters
    2
  • Poll closed .

Sysyphus

Talk Tennis Guru
Are all the matches played on center court today? Is that why they are pushing back Standerson so much?
 

Fed881981

Hall of Fame
This match is better than at least half of the men's matches. In what way,men's matches are better? I can't see that.

Wawarinka-Anderson is what people are looking forward to? Why? Because one player will be serving bombs and winning games easily while his opponent is looking for sniff of a chance to win a set without a TB? No, thank you.

I'm enjoying what I could see of Pannetta-Kvitova and looking forward to Halep-Azarenka.
 

Down_the_line

G.O.A.T.
Pennetta breaks. This match has just been way to ugly for Kvitova to justify her winning, unless of course she suddenly picks it up here.
 

ScentOfDefeat

G.O.A.T.
In this thread: people still talking about Azarenka as if she's the most dangerous player in the world when much has happened in tennis since her two Australian Open titles; people assuming that putting the women's game on equal terms with the men's game (with best of 5 in Slams) won't inspire said women and make them work just as hard as the men to give us exciting 5 set thrillers. One thing is to not like the women's game - then you won't like it anyway, whether it's 3 or 5 sets. But if you like women's tennis, there's no reason why having best of 5 isn't a great idea.
 
N

Nathaniel_Near

Guest
Best of 5 throughout the whole tournament for the women would probably cause some serious scheduling issues. I'd at least like the potential of a 5-set final for the women. Maybe semis too... but at least the final.
 
J

JRAJ1988

Guest
Can I ask, as I'm not familiar with Women's tennis to an extent, did they ever play 5 set matches? if so when?
 

ScentOfDefeat

G.O.A.T.
Best of 5 throughout the whole tournament for the women would probably cause some serious scheduling issues. I'd at least like the potential of a 5-set final for the women. Maybe semis too... but at least the final.

I think the obvious and decent compromise would be to have best of 3 in the beginning and then best of 5 from a certain point onwards for both tours. I don't understand why the women aren't pushing for this, respectability for the WTA would certainly increase if they agreed to play equal events for equal prize money.
 
Can I ask, as I'm not familiar with Women's tennis to an extent, did they ever play 5 set matches? if so when?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WTA_Tour_Championships:

"From 1984–1998, the final of the [WTA championships] was a best-of-five-sets match, making it the only tournament on the women's tour to have had a best-of-five match at any round of the competition. It was the first time since the 1901 U.S. National Championships that the best-of-five format was used in women's matches. In 1999, the final reverted to being a best-of-three-sets match."​
 

ScentOfDefeat

G.O.A.T.
Can I ask, as I'm not familiar with Women's tennis to an extent, did they ever play 5 set matches? if so when?

The WTA championships used to have best of 5 finals some 15-20 years ago.

Oh, I see it's been answered already. There were at least two great 5 set finals that I remember, one between Graf and Hingis and the other between Graf and Huber.
 

ChrisRF

Legend
Can I ask, as I'm not familiar with Women's tennis to an extent, did they ever play 5 set matches? if so when?
The US Open (respectively the US National Championships back then) had 5-set-finals for women around 100 years ago.
More recently, the WTA Year-End-Final had it until the late 90s.
 
N

Nathaniel_Near

Guest
I think the obvious and decent compromise would be to have best of 3 in the beginning and then best of 5 from a certain point onwards for both tours. I don't understand why the women aren't pushing for this, respectability for the WTA would certainly increase if they agreed to play equal events for equal prize money.

Yes. That works, and have thought the same myself. Best of 3 up to the quarter-finals for both tours would work. Of course, many will find this opinion to be absurd.
 

Chicharito

Hall of Fame
Kvitova looked like she had mono

Best of 5 throughout the whole tournament for the women would probably cause some serious scheduling issues. I'd at least like the potential of a 5-set final for the women. Maybe semis too... but at least the final.

hmm, that might cause issues. Players have to specifically train for a bo5 match fitness wise, so put all that physical training in for just one match a year potentially, a 1st time slam finalist has to play their 1st ever bo5 match (Safarova at RG for example), could put too much a premium on fitness.

I like the idea though.
 
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ScentOfDefeat

G.O.A.T.
Yes. That works, and have thought the same myself. Best of 3 up to the quarter-finals for both tours would work. Of course, many will find this opinion to be absurd.

Well, I still believe the fifth set tiebreak at the US Open is rather extravagant, but I've learned to live with it. Our proposal would at least make all Slams equal, unlike this strange American exception which almost makes the US Open seem like a different kind of tournament.
 

Tcbtennis

Hall of Fame
I think the obvious and decent compromise would be to have best of 3 in the beginning and then best of 5 from a certain point onwards for both tours. I don't understand why the women aren't pushing for this, respectability for the WTA would certainly increase if they agreed to play equal events for equal prize money.

I have to wholeheartedly disagree with this statement of respectability for the WTA. Professional tennis is by far the most respected sport for women. It's not even close. You look at the top earning women athletes in the world and it always overrun by tennis players. So there is a difference between respectability according to TT message boards and respectability according to the world.
 
N

Nathaniel_Near

Guest
Kvitova looked like she had mono



hmm, that might cause issues. Players have to specifically train for a bo5 match fitness wise, so put all that physical training in for just one matcha year potentially, a 1st time slams finalist has to player their 1st ever bo5 match (Safarova at RG for example), could put too much a premium on fitness.

I like the idea though.

Yep. Conversely, should both the men and women play best of three up to the quarters, the men's tour will become less about the survival of the fittest and more about tennis skills. I do wonder about the women playing too many 5-set matches due to not being able to win as many cheap points off the serve - dunno how true this is though, making assumptions here.

As you suggest, it's never so simple. Lots to think about.
 

THUNDERVOLLEY

G.O.A.T.
The WTA championships used to have best of 5 finals some 15-20 years ago.

Oh, I see it's been answered already. There were at least two great 5 set finals that I remember, one between Graf and Hingis and the other between Graf and Huber.

Anke Huber! That's a name I've not heard in a very long time. Really, she's one of the forgotten, former "names" of her era.
 

ScentOfDefeat

G.O.A.T.
I have to wholeheartedly disagree with this statement of respectability for the WTA. Professional tennis is by far the most respected sport for women. It's not even close. You look at the top earning women athletes in the world and it always overrun by tennis players. So there is a difference between respectability according to TT message boards and respectability according to the world.

Well yes, I'm sure you're right. But I meant respectability in relative terms, that is, in relation to the men's game. I think it's disappointing that BJK's commendable efforts have been insufficient in this matter. It seems that somewhere along the road gender equality became a merely commercial/financial issue and the actual sport itself was forgotten. Equal pay should reward equal effort, and that's why I think women should play best of 5 sets. The effort is always proportional.
 

Tcbtennis

Hall of Fame
Jason Goodall who commonly partners with Robbie Koenig is on ESPN with Hannah Storm and Brad Gilbert. He has a great voice and one of my favorite commentators. It's great to put a voice to a face. He doesn't look like I think he would.
 

veroniquem

Bionic Poster
Grand Slam Semifinals featuring Roberta Vinci and Flavia Pennetta. Blegh...
I agree with Vinci but Pennetta is a talented player. In any case, everything is set up for Serena to bag the calendar slam, no sweat. However, I don't really care about that achievement in WTA given the state of the women's tour. The true feat would be to do it on the men's tour and it's nowhere close to happening there.
 

THUNDERVOLLEY

G.O.A.T.
Kvitova---how long can heat be used as an excuse? Even Venus--with a serious, chronic illness can endure playing women of a younger generation, and fresh--then Kvitova should do something to condition herself for the same NY heat she faces every year.
 

Down_the_line

G.O.A.T.
What? They've earned it. They won their matches, didn't they? And at 32 and 33 years of age respectively. Blegh yourself, you troglodyte.

I don't mind Pennetta in the semis. She has had proven success on hard courts in recent years, having been to the semis here in 2013 and won a Premier Mandatory event in Indian Wells last year. Vinci, though.... Sure she deserves to be there because she got herself there, but let's face it: she's an example of someone taking advantage of a super weak section of the draw who is otherwise not nearly a high enough level player to be in a Grand Slam QF. It's kind of like Kubot getting to the Wimbledon QF's in 2013, or hell, even Pospisil this year.
 

Down_the_line

G.O.A.T.
I have to wholeheartedly disagree with this statement of respectability for the WTA. Professional tennis is by far the most respected sport for women. It's not even close. You look at the top earning women athletes in the world and it always overrun by tennis players. So there is a difference between respectability according to TT message boards and respectability according to the world.

Very good point!
 

Vrad

Professional
This match is better than at least half of the men's matches. In what way,men's matches are better? I can't see that.

Yup. A lot of folks on this forum (not all, obviously) simply hate women's tennis and will go out of their way to bash it.

A very obvious example of this was seeing a lot of posters who complain about service breaks in women's tennis turn around and state that the Fognini-Nadal match (which featured 7 straight Service breaks in the final set) as a match with great tennis (which I partially agree with, but then again, I don't dogmatically claim that the tennis in a match sucks simply because there were service breaks in it).
 

Al Czervik

Hall of Fame
Well, I still believe the fifth set tiebreak at the US Open is rather extravagant, but I've learned to live with it. Our proposal would at least make all Slams equal, unlike this strange American exception which almost makes the US Open seem like a different kind of tournament.

I have come around on this. The sport is too much of an endurance contest now to be having guys go 14-12 in the fifth set. If someone can't win the match in four hours, then bring it to a conclusion, especially in the early rounds.

Women's best of five would be the biggest disaster ever. When their 2 out of 3 matches take three hours, it already pushes scheduling to the limits. Slams would basically only be able to do two matches for a day session and one at night. Seeing it for a year end final like they used to do would be cool.

I love Pennetta. Flavia v Sabine at Indian Wells is the best match I've ever seen in person.
 

Tcbtennis

Hall of Fame
Kvitova---how long can heat be used as an excuse? Even Venus--with a serious, chronic illness can endure playing women of a younger generation, and fresh--then Kvitova should do something to condition herself for the same NY heat she faces every year.

Actually it more likely the humidity more so than the heat itself that causes problems for Petra. Asthma is also a serious, chronic illness that is not cured but managed. It's obvious to me that Petra is doing better with it than she has in the past. Unless New York's climate drastically changes in the summer this will always be a problem for Petra. Most people who have well-controlled asthma are not athletes who are running around for hours at a time in the hot humid sun where court temperatures can exceed 100 degrees. She is doing better than she has before but her asthma will not be cured.
 

ScentOfDefeat

G.O.A.T.
I have come around on this. The sport is too much of an endurance contest now to be having guys go 14-12 in the fifth set. If someone can't win the match in four hours, then bring it to a conclusion, especially in the early rounds.

Women's best of five would be the biggest disaster ever. When their 2 out of 3 matches take three hours, it already pushes scheduling to the limits. Slams would basically only be able to do two matches for a day session and one at night. Seeing it for a year end final like they used to do would be cool.

I love Pennetta. Flavia v Sabine at Indian Wells is the best match I've ever seen in person.

I wouldn't mind if they introduced the fifth set tiebreak in all Slams. As it is, it makes the US Open seem like the "lesser" Slam and it diminishes it for me. The surface and the venue are different, but the rules of the game at Grand Slam level should be the same across the board. I know scheduling would be a problem but I think using it as an excuse is a bad reason not to do it. It's almost like saying "let's keep the apartheid a few more years because people aren't ready for freedom yet".
 

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
I don't mind Pennetta in the semis. She has had proven success on hard courts in recent years, having been to the semis here in 2013 and won a Premier Mandatory event in Indian Wells last year. Vinci, though.... Sure she deserves to be there because she got herself there, but let's face it: she's an example of someone taking advantage of a super weak section of the draw who is otherwise not nearly a high enough level player to be in a Grand Slam QF. It's kind of like Kubot getting to the Wimbledon QF's in 2013, or hell, even Pospisil this year.

The problem I have with Penetta being here regardless of her recent HC accomplishments/form (and Vinci too) is that neither has a hope in hell of beating Serena at the USO. I don't care if Serena wins, but I don't want her to go through Vinci and Penetta in the SF and Final to win a CYGS. Now one of Halep or Azarenka has to beat Penetta or we won't get much of a USO final IMO. It'll be more like a coronation.
 
The problem I have with Penetta being here regardless of her recent HC accomplishments/form (and Vinci too) is that neither has a hope in hell of beating Serena at the USO. I don't care if Serena wins, but I don't want her to go through Vinci and Penetta in the SF and Final to win a CYGS. Now one of Halep or Azarenka has to beat Penetta or we won't get much of a USO final IMO. It'll be more like a coronation.

I agree Vinci has 0% shot to beat Serena. I think Pennetta would have a shot, 10-15% shot. Honestly I think she has as much chance as Halep would have. I could never see Halep beating Serena here really. Azarenka is the biggest threat.
 

Algo

Hall of Fame
I wouldn't mind if they introduced the fifth set tiebreak in all Slams. As it is, it makes the US Open seem like the "lesser" Slam and it diminishes it for me. The surface and the venue are different, but the rules of the game at Grand Slam level should be the same across the board. I know scheduling would be a problem but I think using it as an excuse is a bad reason not to do it. It's almost like saying "let's keep the apartheid a few more years because people aren't ready for freedom yet".
Pretty sure someone must've said that, as it's the main argument of most if not all conservatives on whatever they wanna conserve.
 

THUNDERVOLLEY

G.O.A.T.
In this thread: people still talking about Azarenka as if she's the most dangerous player in the world when much has happened in tennis since her two Australian Open titles

You can say "much has happened," but she's still in the key zone of her best years, and has the game to trouble anyone. People love to talk about her H2H vs. Serena, but anyone can find their way into dismantling an opponent's game. Further, she is a recent history majors winner who illustrated she can defend titles, so she is battle tested when it mattered most. I've read the posts of some who tried to place Kvitova over Vika as a force on tour? Kvitova has never had a consistent showing at the majors ever in her career, yet some (for reasons born of trying to turn Kvitova into some "god" of Wimbledon / anti-Serena...yeah., sure) still give her the respect Vika earned long ago.
 
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