How does Sabalenka bounce back from such a tough loss at the US Open?

Needs to play a little smarter ( throttle back on the mph, play % better) and be able to relax more in pressure moments. Can't double fault 2 times when serving to stay in the match.
 
I don't get the tough loss thing.

She was up one break in the first set, but eventually lost it in in a breaker. Second set was back and forth until she won it in the end. The third set, she was down a break, but fought back to tie it at 4-4, then played a poor last couple games to let LAF walk away with the win.

It's not like Sabalenka had a massive lead or match points that she couldn't close out. It was a close match against a player on a hot streak that has beaten players better than her the past week.

Besides, this tournament was just the second semifinal in singles that she's had in her career. Before this year, her deepest run was a 4th round in 2018.

Sabalenka has talent and hits a big ball. However, she is also high risk and doesn't have much of a plan B when she's nervous or missing. Kinda' like Madison Keys.
 
LAF played super tough but I thought the match really was on Sab's racket. She was the only top player left in the draw so all the pressure was on her and it clearly got to her. DF's and bad errors on second serve returns really cost her.
Hopefully she can learn from this loss and get better but this one's gotta sting. Will sting less if LAF wins the Open and becomes a top tier player.
 
Some positives- FAA did not get slaughtered. He seems to be engaged.
 
Sabalenka, Muguruza, Osaka, Azarenka, Bencic, in fact all of the top women excepting Halep, are all too big, and therefore too slow. They all wanted to imitate Serena, the best of the last 2 decades. It definitely went way too far. In the next few years, they all will have to slim down.

Emma and Leylah showed how sterile and boring women's tennis had become in the last 15 years.
 
I remarked to my wife during the match that it often seems that women play not to lose rather than play to win. Both faltered after earning a lead. Both seemed to right the ship once the lead was relinquished.
 
Jack the Hack said:
I don't get the tough loss thing.

She was up one break in the first set, but eventually lost it in in a breaker. Second set was back and forth until she won it in the end. The third set, she was down a break, but fought back to tie it at 4-4, then played a poor last couple games to let LAF walk away with the win.

It's not like Sabalenka had a massive lead or match points that she couldn't close out. It was a close match against a player on a hot streak that has beaten players better than her the past week.

Besides, this tournament was just the second semifinal in singles that she's had in her career. Before this year, her deepest run was a 4th round in 2018.

Sabalenka has talent and hits a big ball. However, she is also high risk and doesn't have much of a plan B when she's nervous or missing. Kinda' like Madison Keys.
Click to expand...

It is a tough loss since this is probably her last best chance of a slam. She isn't that good, and there are already younger players who are better than her coming up. She had a wide open chance with a crap remaining draw full of nobodies and still blew it.
 
Jack the Hack said:
I don't get the tough loss thing.

She was up one break in the first set, but eventually lost it in in a breaker. Second set was back and forth until she won it in the end. The third set, she was down a break, but fought back to tie it at 4-4, then played a poor last couple games to let LAF walk away with the win.

It's not like Sabalenka had a massive lead or match points that she couldn't close out. It was a close match against a player on a hot streak that has beaten players better than her the past week.

Besides, this tournament was just the second semifinal in singles that she's had in her career. Before this year, her deepest run was a 4th round in 2018.

Sabalenka has talent and hits a big ball. However, she is also high risk and doesn't have much of a plan B when she's nervous or missing. Kinda' like Madison Keys.
Click to expand...
You're describing Mary Pierce. If we're talking a player who is in their "Prime," the Prime years of Pierce saw her hit the ball much cleaner than Sabalenka ever has since the beginnings of her career. Sabalenka's best is no better than the doldrums of the old age, and nothing will change about this while her peers weakly linger alongside her, unless some newcomers whip her and the other strugglers into shape, lest they turn these new kids into Graf and Seles and become their pigeons in yet another disappointing era of the sport.
 
She is one of my least favorite players TBH. But I think she'll win a slam. Probably more than one. It's just a matter of time. She played the Semifinals of Wimbledon and USO this year, and only lost in 3 close sets. She has won big Masters like Madrid or Wuhan. I have no doubt she'll win at least 1.
 
Nate7-5 said:
She announced she's taking some time away from tennis......






Just kidding, she realized she's not going to win every match and got paid like $600K for hitting a f'ing ball around, so she's going home to get ready for the next tournament.
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Yes, must be harrowing. Getting paid $600K for losing a tennis match.
 
martinezownsclay said:
It is a tough loss since this is probably her last best chance of a slam. She isn't that good, and there are already younger players who are better than her coming up. She had a wide open chance with a crap remaining draw full of nobodies and still blew it.
Click to expand...

I'd buy the "last best chance" thing if she were 29 or 30 years old and she was in a semifinal out of the blue at that age, but Sabalenka is only 23 and just made her second slam semifinal in a row, so I think she'll have another chance, especially as wide open as the women's game is. Plus, if she was so much better than LAF, she would have won. But after all the players that LAF beat in this tournament, was getting past Sabalenka in 3 close sets really that big of a surprise or upset? It wasn't to me.
 
Jason Swerve said:
You're describing Mary Pierce. If we're talking a player who is in their "Prime," the Prime years of Pierce saw her hit the ball much cleaner than Sabalenka ever has since the beginnings of her career. Sabalenka's best is no better than the doldrums of the old age, and nothing will change about this while her peers weakly linger alongside her, unless some newcomers whip her and the other strugglers into shape, lest they turn these new kids into Graf and Seles and become their pigeons in yet another disappointing era of the sport.
Click to expand...

I actually got to hit with Mary Pierce once back in the mid-90s, but that's off track for this discussion. Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you are saying, but I don't see a lot of similarities between Sabalenka and Pierce. Pierce was a big hitter, but she was shorter than Sabalenka and much more consistant. Clay was Pierce's best surface, and she made the French singles final 3 times, winning once. She also made the Australian finals twice, winning once, back when it was played on Rebound Ace, which was a slower hard court. She also made the finals of the US Open, but the grass at Wimbledon was her worst surface. Conversely, the faster surfaces are more ideal for Sabalenka, where as clay is her worst surface, opposite of Pierce.

Right now, I'll stick with Sabalenka reminding me of Madison Keys in game style, strengths, and weaknesses. If she can avoid injuries, become more consistant, and gain some self belief, I could see her game morphing into something like Lindsay Davenport, who was a tall girl with a big serve and flat strokes that learned to balance risk with patience and win some big titles.
 
She’s gotta realise by now that her one dimensional ball bashing isn’t good enough. Has to add more things and maybe sacrifice a bit of that power for better movement. She’s like Maria but lesser in every aspect.
 
Tennisfan339 said:
She is one of my least favorite players TBH. But I think she'll win a slam. Probably more than one. It's just a matter of time. She played the Semifinals of Wimbledon and USO this year, and only lost in 3 close sets. She has won big Masters like Madrid or Wuhan. I have no doubt she'll win at least 1.
Click to expand...
She certainly will but then again everyone thought pliskova also will win atleast one in her career but keeps disappointing
 
gadge said:
She’s gotta realise by now that her one dimensional ball bashing isn’t good enough. Has to add more things and maybe sacrifice a bit of that power for better movement. She’s like Maria but lesser in every aspect.
Click to expand...

Similar game style, but Maria is a beast-mode competitor mentally. Sharapova wouldn't have lost the last two games at 4-4 in the 3rd set like Sabalenka did.
 
Jack the Hack said:
I actually got to hit with Mary Pierce once back in the mid-90s, but that's off track for this discussion. Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you are saying, but I don't see a lot of similarities between Sabalenka and Pierce. Pierce was a big hitter, but she was shorter than Sabalenka and much more consistant. Clay was Pierce's best surface, and she made the French singles final 3 times, winning once. She also made the Australian finals twice, winning once, back when it was played on Rebound Ace, which was a slower hard court. She also made the finals of the US Open, but the grass at Wimbledon was her worst surface. Conversely, the faster surfaces are more ideal for Sabalenka, where as clay is her worst surface, opposite of Pierce.

Right now, I'll stick with Sabalenka reminding me of Madison Keys in game style, strengths, and weaknesses. If she can avoid injuries, become more consistant, and gain some self belief, I could see her game morphing into something like Lindsay Davenport, who was a tall girl with a big serve and flat strokes that learned to balance risk with patience and win some big titles.
Click to expand...
The similarities aren't there, but what you described for Sabalenka is Mary Pierce's game. Hitting hard and harder, with little forethought. That's exactly how Bollettieri taught her to play. Only, Pierce did it better. Sabalenka's superior to Keys, but most of these players play the same nowadays anyhow, and Pierce is the pinnacle of this play style as far as any current WTA basher should be concerned.
 
Jason Swerve said:
The similarities aren't there, but what you described for Sabalenka is Mary Pierce's game. Hitting hard and harder, with little forethought. That's exactly how Bollettieri taught her to play. Only, Pierce did it better. Sabalenka's superior to Keys, but most of these players play the same nowadays anyhow, and Pierce is the pinnacle of this play style as far as any current WTA basher should be concerned.
Click to expand...
But pierce was good at keeping the ball in
 
gadge said:
But pierce was good at keeping the ball in
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She had better natural technique, and Bollettieri bettered her groundstrokes. That was her general strategy when she played with Bollettieri. Bollettieri dumbed down many promising players' games and taught them to smack the ball in as much as possible, with little regard for the dimensions of the court or the atmosphere of the point. Even so, Pierce was more talented and better-guided than these new women.
 
Jack the Hack said:
I'd buy the "last best chance" thing if she were 29 or 30 years old and she was in a semifinal out of the blue at that age, but Sabalenka is only 23 and just made her second slam semifinal in a row, so I think she'll have another chance, especially as wide open as the women's game is. Plus, if she was so much better than LAF, she would have won. But after all the players that LAF beat in this tournament, was getting past Sabalenka in 3 close sets really that big of a surprise or upset? It wasn't to me.
Click to expand...

You just prove my point. Someone like LAF is WAY younger than her and is already better than her as you just said. And numerous like her coming up, so if she can't win with a super easy opportunity like this she never will. Basically Sabalenka had a crap draw of nobodies and/or unproven up and comers, and was the massive bookies favorite over the others enterting the semis (I follow bookies so I know this for a fact, it isn't debateable) and still couldn't do it. That is what makes it a tough loss, as the writing is on the wall for her. I look forward to bragging to you in 7 years when I was right.
 
ollinger said:
People make a big deal out of nothing. Ivan Lendl lost his first four slam finals, then went on to win 8 slams. People are resilient, they can bounce back.
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You right. I thought she handled her post-match presser very well considering the way she imploded on court. Sh*t happens. She'll be OK and she'll be back. She gets that. Good for her.
 
SonnyT said:
Sabalenka, Muguruza, Osaka, Azarenka, Bencic, in fact all of the top women excepting Halep, are all too big, and therefore too slow. They all wanted to imitate Serena, the best of the last 2 decades. It definitely went way too far. In the next few years, they all will have to slim down.

Emma and Leylah showed how sterile and boring women's tennis had become in the last 15 years.
Click to expand...
I would not put Bencic in that grouping.
 
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