WTA week of 12/31; Brisbane 500 & Auckland 250

robyrolfo

Hall of Fame
Ostapenko shouting at the chair umpire, I never want you on my match ever again. You have ruined my match.
She really has become the female Danil Medvedev, at least in my eyes. She can be funny and charming in interviews, and seems nice off the court. On the court, however, her behavior is absolutely terrible. I don't mind watching her play, and sometimes I even want to root for her, but she makes it close to impossible.

And while I don't think the automatic line calling is perfect or 100% error free, I haven't seen a single player (WTA or ATP) complain about it as much as she does.
... 4-1 by Parry serving better. But she stops here. 5-4 Wang after returning aggressively. 6-4 Wang, more consistent in the last 2 sets, wins tight match.
I didn't know she had the lead like that, and I'm sorry to see her lose. She could use the points, and we can use a one-handed backhand player on the regular tour (not sure what Golubic's ranking is right now).
5 & 3 for the 19-year old.
Well, it was bound to happen. I hyper her up too much, and she made me pay for it. Seriously, though, it looks like immaturity is still an issue for her (which is fine, as she is so young). Better mental strength and decision making will make her a monster.
Aryna/DasKa underway to end the action in Brisbane.
This shouldn’t take long.
Seriously. I like Kasatkina, but against the bigger hitters (Sabs, Rabykina, Swiatek, Penko...) it seems like she has absolutely no chance.
The top 4 has been playing outstanding tennis so far, very promising sight just before the AO.
Let's see how Gauff looks against Navarro. Her previous opponents have been pretty weak, and easy matchups for her, but Navarro seems to be picking up where she left off late last year. And I like Navarro's attitude: she seems like a fighter that isn't afraid of anyone.
 

coolcamden

Hall of Fame
Navarro is no slouch. And ES is pretty well known for getting tight in semis, no?
I wanted to root for Emma, especially at and shortly after her Dad’s tournament last year (Charleston) but she kept breaking my heart. No mas mi amore. ES clams tight like a vise against big named players, like the embarrassing semi at the USO against SW, but against lesser names she normally has no problems. We will see. I know I won’t watch her tho.
 

robyrolfo

Hall of Fame
looks like Coco has put on a few pounds of muscle in the brief off-season
Yep, it's quite noticeable. Wonder what she did.

Noticeable thicker in the core. Arms and legs. Looking like a young Serena from the back.
Crazy to see how Serena looked when young, and how she looked later in her career. Pretty much identical to the body development of one Barry Bonds. Read into it what you like...

3 & 1 for Coco, easy day.
Her serve was huge. Overall they were pretty evenly matches, with Navarro making a few errors in places, but also dominating some rallies. But Gauff's serve was excellent and bailed her out a few times.

She is an incredible athlete. Her Dad was a solid Baseball player and I’m wondering if her Mum has a pro sports background? Her Mum is astonishingly young looking, too.
See above. If he was part of the baseball scene in Florida, let's hope that Coco is legit from gym work, otherwise...
Ugly matching kits for both ladies in my opinion.
Needs to be a rule against this.

What is this WTA? We get 1 v 2 in both cities? Unreal.
Yes, strange for the WTA indeed. That said, the Auckland field was super weak. They mentioned how last year Gauff beat Kovinic in the Semis and Massarova in the finals, and her run to the final this year was similarly simple.
 

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
Sabalenka on a 15 match winning streak in Australia after winning Adelaide and the Aus Open last year and now the run to the final in Brisbane.
 

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
Jesus, this just shows Sabalenka’s attitude to this match. Point wasn’t even done and she started walking to the chair assuming Elena was going to hit the winner but instead hits it long. So it’s 40-15 instead of game done.

Anyway, Rybakina goes on to hold. It’s 6-0 1-0 now.
 
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