2024 WTA Indian Wells

Which lady will win?

  • Total voters
    27
  • Poll closed .
Only half kidding because Seles was in the stands for the earlier SF ... is it too late for Gauff to switch to a 2-handed FH?

edit - ugh, she might as well learn to serve left-handed from Seles while she's at it.
 
People blame Iga for being the weakest #1. Watching this match I agree to some extend, but's not her fault. Those of Sabalenka's and Rybakina's never stepped up. I still think only Ashley could have provided a real challenge to her, duel. The rest is just so mediocre.
 
pcplum said:
Oh but they do have a plan but as one much smarter guy than you once said: "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth".

Oh I've seen Steffi play and she absolutely wouldn't be able to handle Świątek's pace and topspin on clay. Her bh slice would be blown to pieces. We already established that nothing be left of Pam and surely your comment about Hingis bullying Świątek must be a trolling attempt.
Your "understanding" of tennis is unfortunately strongly influenced by the strong case of rosy retrospect bordering on nostalgia. As long as the dial stays more on the rosy retrospect side of things it's ok - apparently it helps with the sense of wellbeing.
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Is that first sentence a joke? If English isn’t your first language, I’ll give you a pass. Otherwise, you have some serious introspection on your hands.

As for the rest, if you think Iga’s power and spin could trouble Graf on clay, you are completely clueless. If you think Iga could consistently run around digging Graf’s slice out of the dirt, you are completely clueless.
Bill Lobsalot said:
Why does Iga hold up her racquet so often when receiving? Nervous tic? Server controls pace.
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Because she pulls all the dirty tricks. Waving her arms around on an opponent’s put away. Hitting her racquet on the ground to distract opponents…
 
Big lead again, against a truly dismal version of Gauff. Sakkari's been the better player for the most part but can she see it through? Not sure, no idea, don't care, checking out.
 
volleyandfun said:
People blame Iga for being the weakest #1. Watching this match I agree to some extend, but's not her fault. Those of Sabalenka's and Rybakina's never stepped up. I still think only Ashley could have provided a real challenge to her, duel. The rest is just so mediocre.
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I agree with this. It’s not totally her fault the level is so low. But people shouldn’t be posting her numbers as if they are some sort of grand achievement.
 
robyrolfo said:
Is that first sentence a joke? If English isn’t your first language, I’ll give you a pass. Otherwise, you have some serious introspection on your hands.

As for the rest, if you think Iga’s power and spin could trouble Graf on clay, you are completely clueless. If you think Iga could consistently run around digging Graf’s slice out of the dirt, you are completely clueless.

Because she pulls all the dirty tricks. Waving her arms around on an opponent’s put away. Hitting her racquet on the ground to distract opponents…
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robyrolfo said:
I agree with this. It’s not totally her fault the level is so low. But people shouldn’t be posting her numbers as if they are some sort of grand achievement.
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Acctually she is. She is still only 22 and having won 4GS, many 1000, being #1 for so many weeks/months, pleases explain your definition her not being an achiever. Would you like to wait another 2 years? Say she wins 2 or more GS's?
 
robyrolfo said:
if you think Iga’s power and spin could trouble Graf on clay, you are completely clueless. If you think Iga could consistently run around digging Graf’s slice out of the dirt, you are completely clueless.
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If you think Graf could hit any kind of semi decent bh slice off of Świątek's topspin you live in a fantasyland. You might have seen a tennis court on a telly but certainly you never stood on one. Certainly not on clay. I mean you're the guy who claims Pam Shriver would bully Świątek, it's just too funny to read.
 
volleyandfun said:
Acctually she is. She is still only 22 and having won 4GS, many 1000, being #1 for so many weeks/months, pleases explain your definition her not being an achiever. Would you like to wait another 2 years? Say she wins 2 or more GS's?
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She could win another 10 GS's and he'd claim it doesn't count because the field is "weak". I mean imagine telling someone not to post how many GS's a player won or any of their statistics because of a "weak" field: "Stop posting their numbers!!" It's so funny.
We'd have to remove half of Steffi's GS's because of the field made of Pam Shrivers lol

Pathological case of rosy retrospection.
 
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I mean let's be realistic here. Graff's slice is one of a kind, there has never been or is anything like that. I once by chance happened to stumble on Graff practicing in Las Vegas, years after she retired, and the sound of her backhand slice was like a cannon.
That being said dimishing Świątek achievements is just silly. You may or may not like her but her results are something not seen in years. You can't say the current WTA field is weak and at the same time say that 'oh, Barty was better'. Barty played against pretty much the same competition, if anything a bit weaker since all players were younger, and yet her results are just not comparable to Świątek's at this point. @robyrolfo just has some weird issues with Świątek and can't admit Świątek is really really good. Is she Graff or Serena Level - of course not, no one is.
 
Watching the replay of coco Maria. I wonder how much of Maria’s resurgence is from the general coaching change or David Witt’s specific tactics to play coco. I thought coco might bring her level up but she did pretty well to make it this far with the kind of week she’s had. Well done ladies. Probably won’t watch iga smoke Maria in the final.
 
jmnk said:
@robyrolfo just has some weird issues with Świątek and can't admit Świątek is really really good. Is she Graff or Serena Level - of course not, no one is.
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He mentioned he doesn't like her looks. For him Graf is "perhaps the greatest human being". It's unhealthy to say the least.
 
robyrolfo said:
Barty herself wasn't so special
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Amen. I'm going to be honest, I never really thought Barty was that good. Some would say she is partly to blame for Emma having a grand slam. I mean come on, you are the world number one in the middle of your prime and you lose to ...Shelby Rogers. French Open that same year still number one and loses to Magda Linette.

Alas some people still act like if Barty hadn't retired she would be dominating the wta scene, winning slam after slam.
 
Sakkari putting it together mentally? What is happening to the world? Love it. Always been a fan of her tremendous work ethic. Let's hope for a different result than expected in the final. Maybe she can grit that one out, too.
 
Sakkari made me cashout my bet for 800 USD. She was up a set and double break 5-2 then collapsed and lost set 2, and then went down a break in third, so I cashed out. Of course she came back and won down a break in 3rd but couldn’t win when she was up double break in second set. Everything happens just enough to make me cash out and lose. **** this garbage.
 
Swiatek v Sakkari is a fun final and not at all what was expected even though it’s a final between two top 10 players.

i will assume Swiatek romps home (perhaps another double bagel in a Masters final like Pliskova got??), but hey let’s see what Maria can do.
 
Aussie Darcy said:
Swiatek v Sakkari is a fun final and not at all what was expected even though it’s a final between two top 10 players.

i will assume Swiatek romps home (perhaps another double bagel in a Masters final like Pliskova got??), but hey let’s see what Maria can do.
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Repeat of the 2022 final and Sakkari leads the H2H, although I'm not sure how many times they've played in the past 18 months exactly. I'd like to see Sakkari win this one to bulk up her resume a bit... 2 titles to her name is a travesty.
 
D-Lite said:
Repeat of the 2022 final and Sakkari leads the H2H, although I'm not sure how many times they've played in the past 18 months exactly. I'd like to see Sakkari win this one to bulk up her resume a bit... 2 titles to her name is a travesty.
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Damn, had forgot Sakkari was in the final here 2 years back and that she also leads the H2H, hope tomorrow is more interesting than I think it will be!
 
Winners or Errors said:
Sakkari putting it together mentally? What is happening to the world? Love it. Always been a fan of her tremendous work ethic. Let's hope for a different result than expected in the final. Maybe she can grit that one out, too.
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Same here, she seems to have everything and then just folds kind of like Jabeur. One day they look like GS champ material and next day Challenger level.
 
tennis24x7 said:
Same here, she seems to have everything and then just folds kind of like Jabeur. One day they look like GS champ material and next day Challenger level.
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Well, here's to hoping the new coach continues to be a positive influence. She made some comments about them being opposites, her the neurotic one and him laid back. Maybe that's just what she needed. I can see how that approach may have been tough with Pegula, who I don't see as particularly high strung like Sakkari.
 
pcplum said:
If you think Graf could hit any kind of semi decent bh slice off of Świątek's topspin you live in a fantasyland. You might have seen a tennis court on a telly but certainly you never stood on one. Certainly not on clay. I mean you're the guy who claims Pam Shriver would bully Świątek, it's just too funny to read.
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Ha, what? You think Swiatek's forehand would really bother Steffi (on either of her wings)? Dude, Swiatek hits a nice, modern, "ATP style" forehand, but it's not THAT amazing. Especially because she doesn't have amazing control with it. If Steffi could deal with greats like Seles and Hingis hitting hard AND accurate, she would have no issues with Swiatek. Heck, a breaking down (physically) Graf even handled young Serena's power without issue. You keep questioning the greatest backhand in the history of the women's game, and I have no idea why.

pcplum said:
She could win another 10 GS's and he'd claim it doesn't count because the field is "weak". I mean imagine telling someone not to post how many GS's a player won or any of their statistics because of a "weak" field: "Stop posting their numbers!!" It's so funny.
We'd have to remove half of Steffi's GS's because of the field made of Pam Shrivers lol
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You can post her numbers, and blab on about "bakery" nonsense all you want, but when you imply it is some sign of all time greatness, you are showing that you don't understand the current state of affairs. Did you not see her semi-final last night? We are talking about a Masters 1000 semi-final, and Kostyuk put out the performance that she did. People talking about Graf's era being weak, and the point is that this is no better. So let's see Swiatek make a push for over 20 slams by the age of 30, shall we?

jmnk said:
I mean let's be realistic here. Graff's slice is one of a kind, there has never been or is anything like that. I once by chance happened to stumble on Graff practicing in Las Vegas, years after she retired, and the sound of her backhand slice was like a cannon.
That being said dimishing Świątek achievements is just silly. You may or may not like her but her results are something not seen in years. You can't say the current WTA field is weak and at the same time say that 'oh, Barty was better'. Barty played against pretty much the same competition, if anything a bit weaker since all players were younger, and yet her results are just not comparable to Świątek's at this point. @robyrolfo just has some weird issues with Świątek and can't admit Świątek is really really good. Is she Graff or Serena Level - of course not, no one is.
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First off, I'm not saying Barty was better in terms of overall greatness. She was better than Iga, but that's about it. The field was weak for Barty as well. Barty was good, but not great. Barty playing in the '80's or '90's would have gotten pushed around by Graf and Navratilova just like pretty much everyone else.

As for the bolded part, what are you talking about? Calling a tennis player overrated on a tennis forum is a "weird issue"? Huh?

ktx said:
Watching the replay of coco Maria. I wonder how much of Maria’s resurgence is from the general coaching change or David Witt’s specific tactics to play coco. I thought coco might bring her level up but she did pretty well to make it this far with the kind of week she’s had. Well done ladies. Probably won’t watch iga smoke Maria in the final.
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Kind of week Coco's had? How about kind of season? She's had some super easy draws, during which time she has won a lot of matches in very unimpressive style, and she has consistently failed to beat anyone that puts up a decent performance against her, including Siniakova. Her best win was probably very early on in Aukland, where she held off a pretty strong Svitolina in the final.

pcplum said:
He mentioned he doesn't like her looks. For him Graf is "perhaps the greatest human being". It's unhealthy to say the least.
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Huh? When did I say I didn't like her looks? There are other players I think are more attractive, but I never implied Swiatek is unattractive. She's fine. Very pleasant looking. Yes, Graf was a fantastic human specimen. You think that's unhealthy? Well then you have to level that accusation at a LOT of people, because that was the general consensus in her playing days.

Z.Qinwen is my hero said:
Amen. I'm going to be honest, I never really thought Barty was that good. Some would say she is partly to blame for Emma having a grand slam. I mean come on, you are the world number one in the middle of your prime and you lose to ...Shelby Rogers. French Open that same year still number one and loses to Magda Linette.
Alas some people still act like if Barty hadn't retired she would be dominating the wta scene, winning slam after slam.
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Exactly. Barty really wasn't that good, and yet she still won plenty and was a regular world #1 (despite some breaks from the game and an obvious dislike for the grind of the tour). And yes, you could blame her for Emma Raducanu winning a slam, and you can also look at Raducanu winning a slam and take it as a sign that the WTA is quite weak lately.

Winners or Errors said:
Sakkari putting it together mentally? What is happening to the world? Love it. Always been a fan of her tremendous work ethic. Let's hope for a different result than expected in the final. Maybe she can grit that one out, too.
Click to expand...
Thing is, she didn't put it together mentally. She was up 5-2 in the 2nd set, with two chances to serve it out. On the first one, she played an awful game, essentially giving it away to Gauff. On the second attempt, she was a little better, but still blew multiple match points, a few of them on silly mistakes (that were a sign of nerves). She was just that much better than Gauff overall that she worked it back to 5-2 again in the third, and this time got over the line.
 
robyrolfo said:
Ha, what? You think Swiatek's forehand would really bother Steffi (on either of her wings)? Dude, Swiatek hits a nice, modern, "ATP style" forehand, but it's not THAT amazing. Especially because she doesn't have amazing control with it. If Steffi could deal with greats like Seles and Hingis hitting hard AND accurate, she would have no issues with Swiatek. Heck, a breaking down (physically) Graf even handled young Serena's power without issue. You keep questioning the greatest backhand in the history of the women's game, and I have no idea why.


You can post her numbers, and blab on about "bakery" nonsense all you want, but when you imply it is some sign of all time greatness, you are showing that you don't understand the current state of affairs. Did you not see her semi-final last night? We are talking about a Masters 1000 semi-final, and Kostyuk put out the performance that she did. People talking about Graf's era being weak, and the point is that this is no better. So let's see Swiatek make a push for over 20 slams by the age of 30, shall we?


First off, I'm not saying Barty was better in terms of overall greatness. She was better than Iga, but that's about it. The field was weak for Barty as well. Barty was good, but not great. Barty playing in the '80's or '90's would have gotten pushed around by Graf and Navratilova just like pretty much everyone else.

As for the bolded part, what are you talking about? Calling a tennis player overrated on a tennis forum is a "weird issue"? Huh?


Kind of week Coco's had? How about kind of season? She's had some super easy draws, during which time she has won a lot of matches in very unimpressive style, and she has consistently failed to beat anyone that puts up a decent performance against her, including Siniakova. Her best win was probably very early on in Aukland, where she held off a pretty strong Svitolina in the final.


Huh? When did I say I didn't like her looks? There are other players I think are more attractive, but I never implied Swiatek is unattractive. She's fine. Very pleasant looking. Yes, Graf was a fantastic human specimen. You think that's unhealthy? Well then you have to level that accusation at a LOT of people, because that was the general consensus in her playing days.


Exactly. Barty really wasn't that good, and yet she still won plenty and was a regular world #1 (despite some breaks from the game and an obvious dislike for the grind of the tour). And yes, you could blame her for Emma Raducanu winning a slam, and you can also look at Raducanu winning a slam and take it as a sign that the WTA is quite weak lately.


Thing is, she didn't put it together mentally. She was up 5-2 in the 2nd set, with two chances to serve it out. On the first one, she played an awful game, essentially giving it away to Gauff. On the second attempt, she was a little better, but still blew multiple match points, a few of them on silly mistakes (that were a sign of nerves). She was just that much better than Gauff overall that she worked it back to 5-2 again in the third, and this time got over the line.
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WOW! Some essay.
Do you ever get to eat or sleep?
 
BenC said:
Only half kidding because Seles was in the stands for the earlier SF ... is it too late for Gauff to switch to a 2-handed FH?

edit - ugh, she might as well learn to serve left-handed from Seles while she's at it.
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How come no one ever tried to emulate Seles and her forehand? Of course it was odd. But it worked. I know you were just being funny but something like that could probably work for someone like Gauff who moves so well. Kind of an interesting topic.
 
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