2018 WTA Wimbledon Final: A. Kerber [11] vs S. Williams [25]
- Thread starter FakeEmpire
- Start date
PDJ
G.O.A.T.
Probably. But she did have a cake walk to the final. I think she needs to improve her fitness to take on those players similar to Kerber.The good news for Serena is that she will probably still be in slam finals at 40
her determination is second to none.
But against the big hitters she's much better placed.
sportmac
Hall of Fame
It's not meaningless words, it's a simple question based on a claim you made.
You claim he's ignoring empirical evidence. He's asking for proof of this empirical evidence.
You saying his use of words is meaningless is a dodge. You made a claim. Provide the evidence to back it up. What empirical evidence have you provided?
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Serena played very poorly and made a ton of UEs at very bad times. Kerber never played at her best level but she didnt have to.
disgruntledamsel
Professional
The best way to beat Serena is by returning hard and deep down the middle - ask Muguruza and Ivanovic. Easier said than done of course - it works when Serena isn’t serving at her best
disgruntledamsel
Professional
This match reminded me of the Vinci match. Serena definitely was nervous because she wanted to prove that she can still be on top as a mom. Her ground game is exceptional, but when her serve is off, she loses confidence and her ground game suffers. It’s like she panics when her serve is off and her entire game, movement, ground and volleys, falls apart. I wish she knew how good the rest of her game is and trusted it when her serve is not at top peak. Usually, she will let out some roars when she hits a winner, and everything starts clicking again. That didn’t happen with this match. You could tell how nervous she was because she kept looking away from the court and putting her hand down to calm herself. Even with her being less than her best physical shape, she has moves that most players don’t. No one is more competitive and she can often simply will herself to win. Kerber had a lot to do with Serena faltering - Serena knows she is a worthy adversary and she needed to bring her A game. Imagine if she were playing Sharapova? I don’t think she would have faltered. Serena was nervous because of what was at stake and because she knew what Kerber brings to the table. Not to take anything away from Kerber - I’m a fan, but Serena did not play well at all.
Exactly. Wasn’t prime Angelique but didn’t have to be either.
Aussie Darcy
Bionic Poster
Look it definitely wasn't the best tournament, especially in terms of quality and that's coming from a big fan of the WTA.
The two SF's were subpar, Ostapenko played abysmally until the final few games and Goerges well, just wasn't good enough. This final wasn't that great as well, a friend joined me in watching it in the 2nd set who isn't a big tennis fan and was like "oh is it over already". Poor tennis from Serena in the final. Kerber played very well all tournament but as some said, it wasn't exactly her A+ game which she didn't really need.
But that's just one slam, the Australian and French Open were awesome with some fantastic matches. This one dropped off a bit unfortunately with so many top names falling early. No Petra definitely hurt it most in my opinion. Players like Wozniacki, Sloane, Svitolina and Garcia weren't huge losses to me but Kvitova was the one real bad one.
Just sub her in now in the draw and we would've gotten Kvitova v Gavrilova 3R, Kvitova v Ostapenko 4R, Kvitova v Kerber SF.
Already three great matches whereas we had Sasnovich v Gavrilova, Ostapenko v Sasnovich and Ostapenko v Kerber (which ended up being a dud).
The two SF's were subpar, Ostapenko played abysmally until the final few games and Goerges well, just wasn't good enough. This final wasn't that great as well, a friend joined me in watching it in the 2nd set who isn't a big tennis fan and was like "oh is it over already". Poor tennis from Serena in the final. Kerber played very well all tournament but as some said, it wasn't exactly her A+ game which she didn't really need.
But that's just one slam, the Australian and French Open were awesome with some fantastic matches. This one dropped off a bit unfortunately with so many top names falling early. No Petra definitely hurt it most in my opinion. Players like Wozniacki, Sloane, Svitolina and Garcia weren't huge losses to me but Kvitova was the one real bad one.
Just sub her in now in the draw and we would've gotten Kvitova v Gavrilova 3R, Kvitova v Ostapenko 4R, Kvitova v Kerber SF.
Already three great matches whereas we had Sasnovich v Gavrilova, Ostapenko v Sasnovich and Ostapenko v Kerber (which ended up being a dud).
70後
Hall of Fame
I was watching the junior final. Which was the less good match, men's final or women's final?
Aussie Darcy
Bionic Poster
PDJ
G.O.A.T.
Both women you mention are among the few big hitters that can go toe to toe with Williams. Both are/was extremely flaky.
I know people bang on that Muguruza is a big match player and only really shows up at the majors...... why then isn't her record better?
disgruntledamsel
Professional
Garbine gave an interview way back - I can’t quote the words - but it implied not being able to get up for the lesser events. I think Sloane used to suffer from that in some respects. Of course, it’s hard to just turn it on when you really want to if you haven’t put the hard yards in for the lesser events.
PDJ
G.O.A.T.
Muguruza has played 23 majors and reached the QF, or better, just 7 times.
She may want to reconsider her priorities
disgruntledamsel
Professional
Considering the lack of consistency in the women’s tour, she’s not doing too badly. When she’s on, she’s a threat. She is moody. Sometimes I think she loses to spite her coach. The WTA is erratic. E.g., Kvitova, when she’s at her peak, no one can beat her. When she’s off, she looks like she’s top 100. I’ve always thought Giorgi would be a top ten player if she could put it all together - Puig is another one. Giorgi has the best fast twitch muscles I’ve ever seen - problem is she often plays like a chicken with its head cut off. Her game would benefit from some discipline.
PDJ
G.O.A.T.
I thought the Women's final made for fascinating viewing - given it featured two players I don't especially like, I watched it with an impartial view. Although, as stated, I thought it was important, for women's tennis, that Kerber won rather than an out of shape, unfit former champion rocking up and taking the trophy. Plus Kerber had to play some better players to reach the final.
Whilst the match lacked drama after the early stages of each set I thought Kerber really stepped up on important points.
I firmly believe she took the match to her illustrious opponent. And deserved her win.
boredone3456
G.O.A.T.
Well for 3 of those 4 that statement is true. Stephens is sort of all over the place. Won the US Open, Crashed at the AO, Finals of the French, crashed at Wimbledon. Outside the majors she has had horrible slumps over the last year as well. Her ranking is very much helped by the 2 major runs. Yes those were both very impressive and yes, her ranking is very much deserved thanks to those 2 really good tournaments, but at the same time...she is the most inconsistent of the top 4. She has a fair amount of points to defend this summer, so lets wait and see what the top 4 looks like after the US Open.
70後
Hall of Fame
Sloane also won Miami PM and that was nearly as good as the French final so she had at least three very good big tournaments. That was what I was referring to, though she had lots of losses, I wouldn't just go on two slam runs.
boredone3456
G.O.A.T.
Well her ranking is basically based on 1 and 1/2 months of playing well out of a 12 month year...thats the point I was making. Look at Elena Vesnina, she won IW and was in like, the top 15 for pretty much a year despite being horrible outside of IW pretty much the entire time. Big tournaments like that can hyper inflate your ranking. Or Pennetta, who retired after winning the US Open stayed in seed range for majors all the next year after she retired ranking wise because of the US Open win. Sloane has 3 really amazing tournament results that are the result of playing fantastic at the right time. However outside of that her delivery has been...questionable. Post winning the US Open she really has done well at what...2 events? Not that thats bad, but its not exactly consistent either.
