2019 Italian Open - WTA Thread

[NaomiKonjuhPotapova]

Bertens to pull 2013 Serena winning Madrid, Rome and French!

@I Am Finnish How's the Dutch reception to the magnificent Dutchess Bertens?

 

[I Am Finnish]

Bertens to pull 2013 Serena winning Madrid, Rome and French!

@I Am Finnish How's the Dutch reception to the magnificent Dutchess Bertens?

The Dutch media are hyping her ofcourse

She can be #2 if she reachs the finals unless Pliskova wins the title

 

[Red Rick]

The Dutch media are hyping her ofcourse

She can be #2 if she reachs the finals unless Pliskova wins the title

Honestly think the hype is super underwhelming.

 

[I Am Finnish]

Honestly think the hype is super underwhelming.

Lol i thought you were @Federer and Del Potro

 

[Red Rick]

Lol i thought you were @Federer and Del Potro

We are many.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

Konta who has never won a main draw match at the French Open and is known for being pretty average on clay is a game away from the Rome final... Ok then.

 

[romeo8880]

Hard to imagine anyone but Bertens winning the title. Really didn’t see these semis coming.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

In saying that, despite her poor showing at the French and also Madrid during her career, Konta hasn't been terrible in Rome.

Made the 3R each time she's played (2016 she beat then top 10 Vinci, 2017 she had a bye and beat Poots and took a set off Venus, 2018 she beat Rybarikova and Hsieh and took a set off Ostapenko)

 

[Aussie Darcy]

Jo Konta does it.

Knocks out Madrid champ and #3 Bertens to make the Rome final.

Her first Premier 5 final. She's previously made the Premier Mandatory 2016 Beijing final and won the 2017 Miami Open.

 

[NaomiKonjuhPotapova]

Really Konta out of all people in this draw.

 

[PDJ]

Well done Jo. Amazing

 

[Ronaldo]

Really Konta out of all people in this draw.

It's all those big topspin groundies

 

[ScentOfDefeat]

*step step - hiccup - step step*

 

[I Am Finnish]

Konta has really improved on clay
No way she is gonna lose in the 1e round in Paris again

 

[PDJ]

I've always thought that Konta is hampered by being much brighter than the average tennis player. And that's why I like her.

 

[Mainad]

Jo Konta does it.

Knocks out Madrid champ and #3 Bertens to make the Rome final.

First British woman to make the final in Rome since Wade back in 1971 (d. Masthoff) so she's broken yet another drought for British tennis.

Her first Premier 5 final. She's previously made the Premier Mandatory 2016 Beijing final and won the 2017 Miami Open.

Always get confused with the designated level of WTA events. Are not Premier Mandatory and Premier 5 basically the same thing, both equivalent to Masters 1000s?

 

[Deleted member 293577]

Rain came at a good time for Pliskova.

 

[helixx]

so happy for konta haha its funny she earned this tourney more points than in her whole previous clay court career all together

 

[Harry_Wild]

Looks like Pliskova might get into the finals of a tournament today! I still think Konta will win Rome however!

 

[Harry_Wild]

Kliskova does it; into the finals and faces Konta! Konta has been playing over her skill level of 7.2!

 

[NaomiKonjuhPotapova]

First British woman to make the final in Rome since Wade back in 1971 (d. Masthoff) so she's broken yet another drought for British tennis.



Always get confused with the designated level of WTA events. Are not Premier Mandatory and Premier 5 basically the same thing, both equivalent to Masters 1000s?

No, Mandatory offer more money, 1000 ranking points and as the name suggest, it's mandatory for top 10 and race to Singapore.

Premier 5 offer 900 ranking points and top 10 can choose 4 out of 5 events to attend that's why most players skip Dubai/Doha. That's also how the race works. It must have 4 GS + 4 PM + 4 P5 and 5 best points on others event.

 

[Harry_Wild]

Konta has really improved on clay
No way she is gonna lose in the 1e round in Paris again

Konta might be pretty tire! Plus, the saying “win tournament, loose 1st round”

 

[spystud]

Vika/Barty v. Groenefeld/Schuurs in the doubles final.

 

[Latetothegame]

Konta might be pretty tire! Plus, the saying “win tournament, loose 1st round”

She we be seeded now at RG which will help, anyway let's see if she can win Rome tom, will she be considered a contender for RG if she does?

 

[Aussie Darcy]

Vika/Barty v. Groenefeld/Schuurs in the doubles final.

Last years champs Barty/Schuurs facing off against each other for the title.

 

[Mark-Touch]

Very pleased with the match results today!
Was cheering for both Konta and Pliskova.
It will be difficult to choose between the two tomorrow for preference,
but slight nod in pref. for Konta.

Fave current players:
Osaka
Andreescu
Anisimova
Kvitova
Bencic
Gorges
Mertens
Hsieh
Collins
Konta
Vondrousova
Pliskova

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Very pleased with the match results today!
Was cheering for both Konta and Pliskova.
It will be difficult to choose between the two tomorrow for preference,
but slight nod in pref. for Konta.

Fave current players:
Osaka
Andreescu
Anisimova
Kvitova
Bencic
Gorges
Mertens
Hsieh
Collins
Konta
Vondrousova
Pliskova

Was going to give you a thumbs up... But no love for Halep???

 

[tennis4me]

One of my fav players is Halep. @SystemicAnomaly please give me a thumbs up.

 

[Mainad]

No, Mandatory offer more money, 1000 ranking points and as the name suggest, it's mandatory for top 10 and race to Singapore.

Premier 5 offer 900 ranking points and top 10 can choose 4 out of 5 events to attend that's why most players skip Dubai/Doha. That's also how the race works. It must have 4 GS + 4 PM + 4 P5 and 5 best points on others event.

Only 100 ranking points between a Premier Mandatory and a Premier 5? That hardly seems worth it. Why not just make them the same level?

 

[Mark-Touch]

Was going to give you a thumbs up... But no love for Halep???

She's a funny character for me.
I admire her grit and tenacity and all around game, but I guess something in her character is off-putting for me.
I look at the whole package.
She's certainly got the talent part of it.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Only 100 ranking points between a Premier Mandatory and a Premier 5? That hardly seems worth it. Why not just make them the same level?

The prize money for PM is more than double the money for P5. And all 4 PM events are required by the top players. With the 5 P5 events, they can chose.

The singles main draw size for PM is usually 96 or 64 (but China might only be 60). The draw size for P5 is normally only 32 to 56.

 

[NaomiKonjuhPotapova]

Only 100 ranking points between a Premier Mandatory and a Premier 5? That hardly seems worth it. Why not just make them the same level?

I think it's okay. IW and Miami are the same level as rest of masters especially Monte Carlo is ridiculous in ATP.

The main difference is the money not the ranking points.

 

[NaomiKonjuhPotapova]

She's a funny character for me.
I admire her grit and tenacity and all around game, but I guess something in her character is off-putting for me.
I look at the whole package.
She's certainly got the talent part of it.

What's the package?
Bertens has more package than most of player you mentioned.

 

[ScentOfDefeat]

How can anyone who notices her *step step* madness remain a Konta fan?

 

[Aussie Darcy]

Pliskova double faults at 30-30 when serving for the first set.

Break point Konta..

 

[Aussie Darcy]

Jo just completely blew that break point.. Deuce.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

Pliskova closes the first set 6-3. Konta had her shot to get it back on serve but clipped the net.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

Karolina Pliskova gets it done 6-3 6-4 over Jo Konta.

Wins her biggest career title on clay. Nice momentum ahead of the French Open.

She leaves Rome as the world #2.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

Great year so far for Karolina, wasn't looking the best on clay but really turned it round this week.

Brisbane champ
Aus Open SF
Dubai QF
Indian Wells QF
Miami Final
Stuttgart 2R (had a bye)
Madrid 3R
Rome champ

 

[tennis4me]

Karolina got 0% vote to win this tournament. Congrats.

 

[Harry_Wild]

Pliskova has done! She must be very please!

 

[Aussie Darcy]

Azarenka/Barty come from a set down to win the Italian Open doubles title 4-6 6-0 10-3.

It’s Ash’s 10th doubles title, Vika’s 8th and their first doubles title together.

 

[Harry_Wild]

Go Rafa! LOL!

 

[Mark-Touch]

What's the package?
Bertens has more package than most of player you mentioned.

Looks.

 

[Mainad]

Pliskova has done! She must be very please!

Now let's see if she can carry that form over into Paris.

 

[FakeEmpire]

Once again, I couldn't watch many Rome matches (hated seeing Bencic losing to Mlady, though). So, for those of you who watched both Madrid and Rome, who seem to be the frontrunners for FO? Hopefully, I'll be able to watch some matches/replays by then...

 

[fundrazer]

Once again, I couldn't watch many Rome matches (hated seeing Bencic losing to Mlady, though). So, for those of you who watched both Madrid and Rome, who seem to be the frontrunners for FO? Hopefully, I'll be able to watch some matches/replays by then...

On paper it's probably something like Halep, Bertens, Kvitova (I don't think she's a serious threat, but I don't think it's smart to ignore her). Maybe add Pliskova to the list or ahead of Kvitova, but I think she'd choke towards the end. Svitolina seems to be dealing with injury. Not sure about Osaka on clay. Think there are player who could frustrate her enough. For other players like Sloane or Mugu it depends which version shows up.

I want to believe in the Mug...

 

[I Am Finnish]

Now let's see if she can carry that form over into Paris.

Funny she has better results in Paris than london

I think she will doing fine

 

[NaomiKonjuhPotapova]

Once again, I couldn't watch many Rome matches (hated seeing Bencic losing to Mlady, though). So, for those of you who watched both Madrid and Rome, who seem to be the frontrunners for FO? Hopefully, I'll be able to watch some matches/replays by then...

Front runner: Bertens, Halep, Pliskova.
Not Surprising if they win: Serena, Kvitova, Bencic, Osaka.
Sleeper: Vondrousova, Sloane, Azarenka, Muguruza.

 

[FakeEmpire]

Thanks for the replies, @fundrazer and @NaomiKonjuhPotapova. I'd love to see Bencic winning it, but I still don't fully believe she's able to get through the finish line. At times, she gives me a Radwanska vibe, in the sense that she can be overpowered and frustrated by some bigger hitters, even though she can generate more pace than Aga. Not to mention the fact she's yet to reach a SF, let alone win a slam.
Bertens and Halep seem to be the "safer" choices then, but I was a little surprised to see Halep go down against Vondrousova. Again, I haven't seen Vondrousova play lately and I didn't watch that particular match, but it came out as a big surprise to me and made me doubt about Halep's prospects a bit (and to top of that, it's the first time she's defending a slam title).