2021 WTA Madrid Open - WTA 1000

Who will win Madrid?

  • Total voters
    15
  • Poll closed .
Harry_Wild said:
Poor Jessica gotten beaten down with Sabalenka's power!
Click to expand...
A moment of silence for Pegula.







She looked hopeless out there, but she really did try her best. She's no fool. She knew what Sabalenka could and would try to do. Sabalenka did just that. The only way to fight flat, hard power like Sabalenka's current display is with flat, hard power of your own or reflected flat, hard power. Knowing this, the reel shows that Pegula tried to flatten her shots out and go for more.

Obviously, it didn't pan out. That's Part 2 of the flat-shot issue. Though flat strokes are better in most cases than topspin strokes, it's easily harder to hit the ideal flat drive. You have to hit the ball in just the exact plow motion, with as little upwards rotation as safely feasible, to get that ball accelerating as fast as you can without jumping into the opponent's strike zone. Pegula couldn't manage this. She tried for too much, and she went long. She tried to play it safe, and her drives ended up short.

You'll notice that Pegula hit her usual topspin swings more often in her previous match to this one. I won't get into the difference in footwork, but it's sufficed to say that if you aren't used to attacking to the level Sabalenka is, you'll have a bad time coping when you try to switch your style and hit shots that miss the mark or get teed on, prompting you to gradually drift back towards that lesser topspin. The only difference is by then, you'll already be on your way out of the match.

On the reverse, I love seeing Sabalenka playing this aggressive, ruthless brand of tennis. She'll stomp her way forward. It's up to her if she keep the groove going when she runs into someone who can handle her pace and dish it back- be it here or at the French.

It reminds me a bit of Majoli in '97. In those days, Majoli wasn't hitting anything impressive-like. She was a Top 10 player for sure, but she wasn't of the highest echelon. Then, Super Majoli appeared in the final of the Roland Garros and never again resurfaced. Having practiced with (and lost to) Hingis and knowing she was injured, Majoli knew this was probably her best chance to win a Slam, and some mysterious power invigorated her for that one match. Her brand of tennis exploded from an above-average grinder to the exact same kind of attacking tennis we're seeing from Sabalenka, only more accurate and more powerful if we're to account for the changes in technology.

The only active players who could've defeated this Super Majoli- who was currently virus-stricken and cold sweating- were a healthy Hingis and Pierce at her best. Getting a peaked version of Pierce was like playing Russian Roulette, hence Seles' wiping away Pierce before being toyed with by the unhealthy Hingis. But if we'd gotten that Pierce through the tournament, just maybe she could've stood up to Majoli's unreasonable power. Instead, we got the unhealthy Hingis whose knee was still slightly cracking, and who'd worn herself out between toying extra long with Seles two days before, and who'd played a brutal three-setter in doubles with ASV the day after (losing, thanks to ASV).

You might call this 'cocky,' considering there was a potential final coming up, but she'd nothing to fear from the marginal Majoli that she'd been beating ever since she started to get serious. But then, she wasn't expecting Majoli to hit 80+ MPH, 45-degree angled forehand winners from 7 feet behind the baseline. So, she gave herself no time for a break- but she was the #1 player for a reason and she battled the hell out of Majoli for a set. Her knee and, worse, the tiredness from too many matches wore at her stamina, though, which was significantly less than it was as Martinka, that earlier January.

But unlike Pegula, the injured Hingis knew how to move at the top level and hit top-level flat shots. Hingis, no longer smiling, gained a quick game on Majoli, and they split the next two. Didn't mean anything: Majoli suddenly became a freak of nature and teed on every shot Hingis hit. Hingis couldn't move much faster for the reasons I said- it's worth it to note this was the '97 Hingis' weakest level at a slam final, but look at these stats from Set 1:

1st Serve %: 72/56
Ace: 0/2
DF: 2/1
Winner: 13/15
UE: 17/17
Breaks: 0-0/1-9
Click to expand...

What do those numbers tell you? Barely anything, other than Hingis defended her serve like a master and couldn't break Majoli for her life. She played a losing match from the start, yet she grit her teeth and didn't let go.

The moral of this is: when someone plays their aggressive perfection, it's nigh-impossible to chase them down. Hingis at that level could've taken just about anyone, but the level of flat hitting varies like a mountain trail. Pegula's attempt was more like Hingis'. Obviously far worse, because Hingis was in worse condition and did better against a better opponent, but Pegula had the same mindset of "attack, attack, attack".

For the most part. This just goes to show you that when you play a foreign style like attacking tennis, you should expect results like what Pegula got, even if the opponent's inferior to Sabalenka. What Pegula needs to do is not get discouraged. If she keeps this up, she's bound to get better results. She just needs to train herself to find a new groove for the approach she tried in this round. Being a few years younger wouldn't hurt either, but 'medicine and technology' and all that optimism.
 
Jason Swerve said:
A moment of silence for Pegula.







She looked hopeless out there, but she really did try her best. She's no fool. She knew what Sabalenka could and would try to do. Sabalenka did just that. The only way to fight flat, hard power like Sabalenka's current display is with flat, hard power of your own or reflected flat, hard power. Knowing this, the reel shows that Pegula tried to flatten her shots out and go for more.

Obviously, it didn't pan out. That's Part 2 of the flat-shot issue. Though flat strokes are better in most cases than topspin strokes, it's easily harder to hit the ideal flat drive. You have to hit the ball in just the exact plow motion, with as little upwards rotation as safely feasible, to get that ball accelerating as fast as you can without jumping into the opponent's strike zone. Pegula couldn't manage this. She tried for too much, and she went long. She tried to play it safe, and her drives ended up short.

You'll notice that Pegula hit her usual topspin swings more often in her previous match to this one. I won't get into the difference in footwork, but it's sufficed to say that if you aren't used to attacking to the level Sabalenka is, you'll have a bad time coping when you try to switch your style and hit shots that miss the mark or get teed on, prompting you to gradually drift back towards that lesser topspin. The only difference is by then, you'll already be on your way out of the match.

On the reverse, I love seeing Sabalenka playing this aggressive, ruthless brand of tennis. She'll stomp her way forward. It's up to her if she keep the groove going when she runs into someone who can handle her pace and dish it back- be it here or at the French.

It reminds me a bit of Majoli in '97. In those days, Majoli wasn't hitting anything impressive-like. She was a Top 10 player for sure, but she wasn't of the highest echelon. Then, Super Majoli appeared in the final of the Roland Garros and never again resurfaced. Having practiced with (and lost to) Hingis and knowing she was injured, Majoli knew this was probably her best chance to win a Slam, and some mysterious power invigorated her for that one match. Her brand of tennis exploded from an above-average grinder to the exact same kind of attacking tennis we're seeing from Sabalenka, only more accurate and more powerful if we're to account for the changes in technology.

The only active players who could've defeated this Super Majoli- who was currently virus-stricken and cold sweating- were a healthy Hingis and Pierce at her best. Getting a peaked version of Pierce was like playing Russian Roulette, hence Seles' wiping away Pierce before being toyed with by the unhealthy Hingis. But if we'd gotten that Pierce through the tournament, just maybe she could've stood up to Majoli's unreasonable power. Instead, we got the unhealthy Hingis whose knee was still slightly cracking, and who'd worn herself out between toying extra long with Seles two days before, and who'd played a brutal three-setter in doubles with ASV the day after (losing, thanks to ASV).

You might call this 'cocky,' considering there was a potential final coming up, but she'd nothing to fear from the marginal Majoli that she'd been beating ever since she started to get serious. But then, she wasn't expecting Majoli to hit 80+ MPH, 45-degree angled forehand winners from 7 feet behind the baseline. So, she gave herself no time for a break- but she was the #1 player for a reason and she battled the hell out of Majoli for a set. Her knee and, worse, the tiredness from too many matches wore at her stamina, though, which was significantly less than it was as Martinka, that earlier January.

But unlike Pegula, the injured Hingis knew how to move at the top level and hit top-level flat shots. Hingis, no longer smiling, gained a quick game on Majoli, and they split the next two. Didn't mean anything: Majoli suddenly became a freak of nature and teed on every shot Hingis hit. Hingis couldn't move much faster for the reasons I said- it's worth it to note this was the '97 Hingis' weakest level at a slam final, but look at these stats from Set 1:



What do those numbers tell you? Barely anything, other than Hingis defended her serve like a master and couldn't break Majoli for her life. She played a losing match from the start, yet she grit her teeth and didn't let go.

The moral of this is: when someone plays their aggressive perfection, it's nigh-impossible to chase them down. Hingis at that level could've taken just about anyone, but the level of flat hitting varies like a mountain trail. Pegula's attempt was more like Hingis'. Obviously far worse, because Hingis was in worse condition and did better against a better opponent, but Pegula had the same mindset of "attack, attack, attack".

For the most part. This just goes to show you that when you play a foreign style like attacking tennis, you should expect results like what Pegula got, even if the opponent's inferior to Sabalenka. What Pegula needs to do is not get discouraged. If she keeps this up, she's bound to get better results. She just needs to train herself to find a new groove for the approach she tried in this round. Being a few years younger wouldn't hurt either, but 'medicine and technology' and all that optimism.
Click to expand...
Like for determination.
Did you try writing a book?
 
Barty's defended her QF points from 2019. Meanwhile Osaka has lost 150 points, Halep has lost 530 points.

Barty now leads Osaka by 2005 points and Halep by 3135 points. Even if Barty loses her first match in Rome she'll only lose 5 points, Osaka would lose 190.

Essentially, Barty has the #1 ranking locked up til after the French Open even after losing all of her 2019 RG points.
 
Barty seals it 6-1.

A set away from leveling the h2h against Kvitova.

Kvitova won the first 4 meetings, Barty the next 4. Kvitova beat Barty in the Doha SF last year. Leads 5-4 but here we are.
 
NaomiKonjuhPotapova said:
Barty win this to give bad sour taste to everyone that questioning her rank.

I still don't put her as French Open fave somehow tho.
Click to expand...
I had Swiatek or Halep as the favourite but seeing how Barty is playing, she's the definite favourite now.

Barty has now won 15 straight European clay matches.

She is 24-3 in 2021 with a W/L % of 88.8%, 3 titles.

She is 11-0 against top 20 players this year and 6-0 against top 10 players.

She's defeated:
2x slam champ & 2020 AO runner up Muguruza
2017 RG champ Ostapenko
2x slam champ & 2020 USO runner up Azarenka
Top 10 Sabalenka x2
2018 WTA YEC champ Svitolina x2
2019 US Open champ Andreescu
Top 10 Pliskova
2020 RG champ Swiatek
2x slam champ Kvitova

Defeated 6 slam champions in barely 5 months.
 
#1 Barty is 24-3 in 2021 with 3 titles.
#2 Osaka is 13-2 in 2021 with 1 title.
#3 Halep is 11-4.
#4 Kenin is 7-7.
#5 Svitolina is 15-8.
#6 Sabalenka is 22-6 with 1 title.

And for players leading the way in the race:

#12 Muguruza (who's #3 in the race) is 21-6 with 1 title
#13 Brady (who's #5 in the race) is 11-7.
#14 Mertens (who's #6 in the race) is 20-6 with 1 title.
 
Osaka's no threat on clay.
Halep is rusty at the moment.
Sabalenka usually chokes at the slams but is in great form.
Svitolina doesn't have Barty's number having lost their last 3 matches.
Kenin is in poor form having lost her last 3 matches.
Muguruza is injured having missed Madrid.
We haven't seen Serena Williams since the Aus Open.

And then there's defending champ Swiatek who just lost quite easily to Barty and is 4-3 since winning Adelaide.
 
W,OWw I was just told Barty lost to this nobody Bardosa or whatever last time they played on green clay............... LOL... Did Barty just tank it ?
 
Aussie Darcy said:
#1 Barty is 24-3 in 2021 with 3 titles.
#2 Osaka is 13-2 in 2021 with 1 title.
#3 Halep is 11-4.
#4 Kenin is 7-7.
#5 Svitolina is 15-8.
#6 Sabalenka is 22-6 with 1 title.

And for players leading the way in the race:

#12 Muguruza (who's #3 in the race) is 21-6 with 1 title
#13 Brady (who's #5 in the race) is 11-7.
#14 Mertens (who's #6 in the race) is 20-6 with 1 title.
Click to expand...
Ash is definitely the form WTA player and for those who questioned the validity of her no. 1 ranking, I hope she has silenced her critics.

My worry is that she may have peaked too early and that the amount of matches she's playing as she goes deep into every tournament may leave her gassed for RG and Wimbledon. Hopefully she'll drop doubles from her schedule moving forward to lighten the load.
 
Aussie Darcy said:
Osaka's no threat on clay.
Halep is rusty at the moment.
Sabalenka usually chokes at the slams but is in great form.
Svitolina doesn't have Barty's number having lost their last 3 matches.
Kenin is in poor form having lost her last 3 matches.
Muguruza is injured having missed Madrid.
We haven't seen Serena Williams since the Aus Open.

And then there's defending champ Swiatek who just lost quite easily to Barty and is 4-3 since winning Adelaide.
Click to expand...
Osaka will remain no threat on clay until she starts playing more - she's hardly played this year when you compare her matches to Barty's numbers. Are her team just doing footwork drills with her on some random clay practice court? She should have played one of the events in Charleston at least, or entered Stuttgart as at this stage she will do well to get 2-3 clay matches per tournament.
 
elkwood said:
Osaka to busy hauling money to the bank right now to worry about tennis !!!
Click to expand...
She was raking in bags of cash last year and she still went ahead and won the USO and AO back to back, so I think she's obviously focussed when she needs to be, but it's just a little odd that there's been discussion around her abilities on clay, and she's said she's trying to improve, but she's only entered the big tournaments on clay. As a clay courter, she probably isn't even ranked in the top 20 so she really should be playing a few lower tier clay events too.
 
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