Round 1: Williams vs. Tan

Aussie Darcy said:
Serena had never lost 1R at Wimbledon (in a completed match) in her entire career. Even without a year on tour, it’s still an upset. Especially against a French unknown.
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It’s cool.

i just don’t think there’s a lot to expect from her at 40, in her shape, with zero matches in ages.

So I don’t think it’s really an upset.

Just dramatic.
 
Federev said:
It’s cool.

i just don’t think there’s a lot to expect from her at 40, in her shape, with zero matches in ages.

So I don’t think it’s really an upset.

Just dramatic.
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I mean I do agree to an extent. On paper, not an upset. But betting odds had Harmony at $5 to Serena’s $1.25. And I don’t think many had her losing 1R. And she actually looked like she should have won the match. She was up 3-1 in the third set. She served for the match at 5-4. And she led 4-0 in the tiebreaker.
 
Aussie Darcy said:
Serena had never lost 1R at Wimbledon (in a completed match) in her entire career. Even without a year on tour, it’s still an upset. Especially against a French unknown.
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But she has not played for a year, I know her record an all that, but it rather makes a mockery of the tour if she can turn up that unprepared and win , give the women on the tour some credit, even the unknowns, for participation and moving up the rankings ,( HT was not a wild card in the tournament,) and being match fit
 
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Aussie Darcy said:
I mean I do agree to an extent. On paper, not an upset. But betting odds had Harmony at $5 to Serena’s $1.25. And I don’t think many had her losing 1R. And she actually looked like she should have won the match. She was up 3-1 in the third set. She served for the match at 5-4. And she led 4-0 in the tiebreaker.
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...but she showed some clear rust and hasn't played in a year. I think this match was encouraging. Maybe she'll try to play a few tournaments and get herself back into some semblance of form.
 
I never really saw a woman tennis match and I also did not see this one.. but what would you suggest are Serenas top quality matches? I mean with a good opponent? Top 3?
 
Tbh if Serena wants to be competitive again, she needs to get more fit and match ready (i.e. actually playing more matches). Her movement was terrible (has been for many years), she hesitated on many shots leading to a ton of errors and even her trusty serve couldn't bail her out
 
ACE of Hearts said:
41 out of shape come on man. She has been out of shape for years. Been saying it. She should retire.
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I'd agree. I'd felt the same way for that long. If she was more slender like Venus, without all the extra ---, maybe she might still have chances now. Plus been way too part-time in the last two years.
 
Entername said:
Tbh if Serena wants to be competitive again, she needs to get more fit and match ready (i.e. actually playing more matches). Her movement was terrible (has been for many years), she hesitated on many shots leading to a ton of errors and even her trusty serve couldn't bail her out
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Mouratoglu found SW evasive for months about when he could expect her to do some serious training. She kept putting it off. Finally he went to see her in person and told her she'd have to show up by some set date, and if she didn't, he'd sever connection with her.
She didn't show.
He punched out of her life.
She took the consequences of playing without preparation, relying only on her serve and shotmaking.
 
Winners or Errors said:
...but she showed some clear rust and hasn't played in a year. I think this match was encouraging. Maybe she'll try to play a few tournaments and get herself back into some semblance of form.
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Do you think so? In planning her return, SW might have had her eye on Wimby as at least some chance of that 24th, because Barty and Osaka wouldn't be there, even if Swiatek probably would be. It was a humiliating defeat.
I'm not sure she wants to risk another defeat in NY, and she doesn't like to put in the training effort.
I'm half convinced we've seen the last of her on court.
 
Winners or Errors said:
...but she showed some clear rust and hasn't played in a year. I think this match was encouraging.
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definitely encouraging to any future Serena opponents

she played an opponent ranked outside the top 100, on the surface that allows her to shorten points and hide her terrible movement the most, and that opponent beat her by keeping some mediocre slices and dropshots within the lines and hitting 70-80 mph serves

Serena's serve has lost significant pace, her movement has to be in the bottom 5 of women ranked in the top 200, and I'm not even sure what her strategy to beat a top player would be anymore (hope they're intimidated by her pace and hand her unforced errors on second and third balls every point?)

any woman in the top 300 should be licking her lips to get an opportunity to play her, especially on clay or hard

an amazing career, but it's pretty clear that the days of competing for GS titles are over
 
Anyone know if Serena is sticking around for the doubles?
She could conceivably do well there (cough cough).
Maybe wheelchair doubles?
 
zaph said:
Tan came out with a great game plan. Instead of the usual brainless WTA ball bashing, she has decided to use actual skill. Serena is not enjoying all these dropshots, side spin shots and low bouncing slices coming her way.

Ultimately Tan is a lightweight trying to fight a heavyweight, so despite her greater skill, I suspect she will lose. Still there is a lesson for the rest of the WTA is how to beat monster power players.
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Nailed it.
 
I have no idea if this would work for her but Ronaldo is known to reduce his body fat every ear. He’s now below 7% compared to the male player average of 11%. All to make up for his loss in speed and movement.

If Serena is serious about a great run, she of course needs to be on tour but also get into a shape she’s never been in. I doubt however she is that obsessed with another slam like many pretend to know she is
 
ScottleeSV said:
As a Federer fan, I hope this isn't what I can expect 12 months from now - Fed losing gallantly in 5 sets to Johnny Nobody and it's somehow one of his most impressive achievements ever.
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Not to diss Serena who fought hard despite having no match form whatsoever, but I think Federer takes tennis in general and preparation for tournaments more seriously than she does. Yes, he was a bit half-cocked upon his return in 2021, but it was nothing close to this degree of half-cocked. He showed that he could still play although his body couldn't quite keep up in the end. But it's clear to me that Federer would never show up to a Major like this. Not at 40. Not at 50.
 
slipgrip93 said:
I'd agree. I'd felt the same way for that long. If she was more slender like Venus, without all the extra ---, maybe she might still have chances now. Plus been way too part-time in the last two years.
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See my reply below re her

DutchUncle said:
Do you think so? In planning her return, SW might have had her eye on Wimby as at least some chance of that 24th, because Barty and Osaka wouldn't be there, even if Swiatek probably would be. It was a humiliating defeat.
I'm not sure she wants to risk another defeat in NY, and she doesn't like to put in the training effort.
I'm half convinced we've seen the last of her on court.
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Osaka wouldn't necessarily have been any better, she skipped Wimbledon for a reason (it wasn't the points). She is the WTA Medvedev, best on hard courts

prosperned said:
I have no idea if this would work for her but Ronaldo is known to reduce his body fat every ear. He’s now below 7% compared to the male player average of 11%. All to make up for his loss in speed and movement.

If Serena is serious about a great run, she of course needs to be on tour but also get into a shape she’s never been in. I doubt however she is that obsessed with another slam like many pretend to know she is
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Lots of talk about how fat she is and how she needs to get more serious. But no mention of the fact that she had a kid, which absolutely wrecks your core strength. That's why she's having issues moving AND putting the sting on her shots. Her arms and legs are having to do all the work.
 
Rosstour said:
See my reply below re her



Osaka wouldn't necessarily have been any better, she skipped Wimbledon for a reason (it wasn't the points). She is the WTA Medvedev, best on hard courts



Lots of talk about how fat she is and how she needs to get more serious. But no mention of the fact that she had a kid, which absolutely wrecks your core strength. That's why she's having issues moving AND putting the sting on her shots. Her arms and legs are having to do all the work.
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Evert knows she had a kid. We ALL know she had a kid. OK, enough. Ready for some spicy Radu comments tomorrow. Ciao.
 
Good news and bad news for Serena.

First the bad news:

- She lost the match.
- She lost to a nobody.

Now the good news:

- She got to go out with a nail-biter of a close match instead of being trounced 6-1, 6-0 etc.
- She got to kick her leg up above her head in celebration of a mediocre point.
- There's always next year. :)
 
The old Serena would not get broken serving for the match at 5-4 in the 3rd set. Tan held her nerve quite well and even though she didn't have the power to match Serena, played well and hit some absolute clutch forehands and backhands down the line.
 
DutchUncle said:
She's out of the doubles, after narrowly winning a first-rounder. She teamed with Jabeur, who withdrew due to an injury (the kind that doesn't keep you from playing singles).
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That was Eastbourne ...she is not entered in the doubles at Wimbledon, in fact I think she would struggle to get an entry unless a really good doubles player took the hit to pair with her
 
Bhagi Katbamna said:
The old Serena would not get broken serving for the match at 5-4 in the 3rd set. Tan held her nerve quite well and even though she didn't have the power to match Serena, played well and hit some absolute clutch forehands and backhands down the line.
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Yeah because she has been playing on the tour, and has skills that she thinks can win matches , that how it works,
I like Serena, but it was really a bit to far to imagine she could have made a comeback here, and I get the hype but it was really getting on my nerves at one point, like she won one doubles match at Eastbourne,...
I am glad she is out, can’t bear to listen to the hype anymore ,sometimes a graceful exit is the best, and perhaps that is what Serena felt she achieved
 
ScottleeSV said:
As a Federer fan, I hope this isn't what I can expect 12 months from now - Fed losing gallantly in 5 sets to Johnny Nobody and it's somehow one of his most impressive achievements ever.
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Its going to happen sooner than later; only the likes of Nadal and Djokovic will endure into 2023 as the top pick to win majors.

Regarding Serena--as noted in the Ladies match thread, I have vivid memories of King, Navaratilova, McEnroe and so many other players sticking around long past the reach or limits of their abilities, but they tried to continue because their minds told them they knew the game better than anyone else, and how to win, yet their form--their bodies were no longer up to the task.

Serena has enjoyed one of the most successful and significant careers in sports history--she has nothing else to prove in the "best of the rest" category she leads.
 
zvelf said:
Serena Williams can sometimes beat tennis odds, but she can't beat the laws of physics, which is what she needed to do with the extra weight she was carrying around.
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Every since she had a baby she hasn’t done her part in trying to shed that weight. She has the money to get someone to get her into shape. She would have won a couple of more slams i feel had she done that.
 
Rosstour said:
See my reply below re her



Osaka wouldn't necessarily have been any better, she skipped Wimbledon for a reason (it wasn't the points). She is the WTA Medvedev, best on hard courts



Lots of talk about how fat she is and how she needs to get more serious. But no mention of the fact that she had a kid, which absolutely wrecks your core strength. That's why she's having issues moving AND putting the sting on her shots. Her arms and legs are having to do all the work.
Click to expand...

Man it’s possible with good training to get back into shape. She never did.
 
Entername said:
Tbh if Serena wants to be competitive again, she needs to get more fit and match ready (i.e. actually playing more matches). Her movement was terrible (has been for many years), she hesitated on many shots leading to a ton of errors and even her trusty serve couldn't bail her out
Click to expand...
She needs to be 20 again
 
All due respect to Tan (who put up a great fight) but Serena really should have won that match after going up 6-1 in the 2nd set and then racing to a 4-0 lead in the deciding tie-break! :unsure:
 
Mainad said:
All due respect to Tan (who put up a great fight) but Serena really should have won that match after going up 6-1 in the 2nd set and then racing to a 4-0 lead in the deciding tie-break! :unsure:
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Should've. But she got badly outplayed in the tie-break from the 4-1 point onwards.
 
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