Tennis_dude101
Professional
Daria is through, will be attending the semis tomorrow in person! 
WTA week of 1/8; Adelaide 500 & Hobart 250
- Thread starter spystud
- Start date
D-Lite
Hall of Fame
She is winning in straight sets though and probably feels she needs some momentum. Likely means she's not on the practice court so much unlike other players. I do find it slightly odd but I think she will be fine.
D-Lite
Hall of Fame
Yeah this is a joke, which also happens in the singles the week before a major. Norrie and Siegemund have withdrawn today, haven't checked for other withdrawals yet. Perhaps these events the week before a major need to be over and done with by the Thursday. Start the event on the Saturday before maybe and anyone else still in the latter rounds of the tournaments the week before well tough luck. Either that or don't have events the week before a major as so many players like to just play at 80% to get some match play or withdraw before the QF/SF.
spystud
Talk Tennis Guru
D-Lite
Hall of Fame
Or losing in straights, as with today's result...
tennis24x7
Hall of Fame
I sincerely hope you are right. But if she gets 3 or 4 matches with 3 sets in the AO heat, don't think will bode well for her.
tennis24x7
Hall of Fame
Also see that she is playing Pliskova first round. Need to save her energy.
robyrolfo
Hall of Fame
Lucky you. I'm sure she is even cuter in person, and her tennis is great to watch. Enjoy it.Daria is through, will be attending the semis tomorrow in person!
My defining moment as a tennis fan always revolves around a warm-up tournament for the US Open. It was called The Bronx Open, played only one year and then taken off the schedule, played in the middle of a public park in the Bronx. I didn't even know it was taking place until some fellow Camila Giorgi fan mentioned it on her website, so I (almost) literally ran out of my office, hopped on the subway, and was there in less than an hour to see her first round match.
Long story short (because it's really a long story), she plays her hear out to reach the finals, including two epic three set matches in extreme heat (I'm a fit person, and I was feeling faint in the stands at one point). She put absolutely everything on the line for an unimportant, unhistoric WTA 250 warm-up event, where the winner's prize money was less than half that of a first round loser at the US Open (so forget about her runner's up check), and I think I was only a small part of the reason why (I'm kidding but I'm not kidding). Then, of course, she draws Maria Sakkari in the first round of the US Open and gets beaten pretty routinely in straights. But you know what? I think she was still happy with the way things went.
Point is, set up a tournament and somebody (usually multiple somebodies) will really want to win it, even if it seems illogical to everyone else. These tournaments still have their place.
Aussie Darcy
Bionic Poster
Haddad Maia/Townsend win in straight sets over Garcia/Mladenovic to be the Adelaide champs.
Townsend just so good at doubles, her 3rd Adelaide doubles title. In the last 12 months she has 4 titles with 4 different partners, 3 were 500 level and one is a 1000. Additionally, with a 5th partner (Fernandez), they were the runner ups at the French Open and Miami Open.
2023 Adelaide champ with Muhammed
2023 Adelaide (2) champ with Stefani
2023 Cincinnati champ with Parks
2024 Adelaide champ with Haddad Maia
Townsend just so good at doubles, her 3rd Adelaide doubles title. In the last 12 months she has 4 titles with 4 different partners, 3 were 500 level and one is a 1000. Additionally, with a 5th partner (Fernandez), they were the runner ups at the French Open and Miami Open.
2023 Adelaide champ with Muhammed
2023 Adelaide (2) champ with Stefani
2023 Cincinnati champ with Parks
2024 Adelaide champ with Haddad Maia
Aussie Darcy
Bionic Poster
Always hate when a player withdraws from a tournament mid way through just 2 days before a slam starts. Hope JPeg loses early in Melbourne now.
Good luck and kudos to Ostapenko and Kasatkina. Both deserving of the Adelaide title.
Good luck and kudos to Ostapenko and Kasatkina. Both deserving of the Adelaide title.
D-Lite
Hall of Fame
2 walkovers in a row benefitting (arguably?) Kasatkina.Always hate when a player withdraws from a tournament mid way through just 2 days before a slam starts. Hope JPeg loses early in Melbourne now.
Good luck and kudos to Ostapenko and Kasatkina. Both deserving of the Adelaide title.
I mean there's always a chance it's genuine but it's the week before a slam so you have to assume it's about getting to Melbourne before the weekend.
coolcamden
Hall of Fame
Chances are many of us possess one of Ben’s credit cards. I know I do. He also owns the rights to the Charleston Open.
Still not as rich as Pegula tho…
robyrolfo
Hall of Fame
Interesting, as I don't think any of those players are known for their doubles prowess, aside from maybe Stefani (whom I don't really know). Townsend is indeed a really good doubles player, and so it seems pretty clear she carried all those random partners to those titles.
I think if she teamed up with Pegula they would be super strong, and if she was with another specialist like Krejeickova (spelling?) or even Mertens, she would be unstoppable. Seeing her play with Hsieh would also be awesome.
Yeah, really bad, especially with some generic excuse like a stomach bug (so she doesn't have to get questions at the AO press conference about some phantom injury).Always hate when a player withdraws from a tournament mid way through just 2 days before a slam starts. Hope JPeg loses early in Melbourne now.
Funny thing is that JPeg has obviously never won a slam, and never even been a serious contender in the latter stages of one. So can she really be such a snob about a 500 level event? Especially someone like her, who toiled away outside the top 100 for a long time, and who a few years ago would have been over the moon to play the semis of a 500. I too hope she gets bounced early in Melbourne.
Yeah, see above. Chances of them being genuine are, I'd say, extremely low. Not a great look.
Why not just go out there and play super high risk tennis? Go for a winner on every 2nd or 3rd shot, and see what happens. I mean, that's basically how Ostapenko plays all the time. I'm not surprised that she hangs around in these events because if you watch her play, she really doesn't exert herself that much. The vast majority of her points are short, and most rallies involve her standing there smacking the ball while her opponent runs from side to side.
She is on quite a streak right now, which is good to see. I like her attitude and her tennis, and she's also nice to look at. But I didn't know about the stuff written below...
Kind of a shame about Emma. I also had no idea, and it always leaves a slightly bad taste in the mouth.
That said, I see she was an NCAA champ as a freshman, so I think she has more natural ability than Pegula, and a higher ceiling, so she probably would have made it this far without any special help.
BjornBored
New User
Predict JO for the win in straight sets. With her fairly consistent fire power and possibly a cold Daria from sitting around getting gifted into the finals, DK will be scrambling from corner to corner. A gritty comeback in the semis by JO to win the 2nd set. Think she still has plenty of gas in the tank to seal this title. At the end, I expect a warm hug from the friends at the net.
Aussie Darcy
Bionic Poster
Oh WTA, 6 consecutive breaks of serve in set 2 of this final.
Navarro had 6 break points to make it 7 consecutive breaks but Mertens held.
Elisa on serve up 6-5 in the 2nd set after losing the first in a breadstick.
Navarro had 6 break points to make it 7 consecutive breaks but Mertens held.
Elisa on serve up 6-5 in the 2nd set after losing the first in a breadstick.
robyrolfo
Hall of Fame
Thanks for the spoilers. That was a lot of fun. Really feel bad for Mertens, but also really happy for Navarro. I would have been happy with either result, and Mertens shouldn't feel too bad. Navarro is really on the ascendency, and I expect at least a QF from her at the AO, if not better. I expect her to finish the year as the second highest ranked American woman, nipping at Gauff's heels.
