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

[spystud]

Parrizas Diaz beat Dart to win a 125 in Canberra.

 

[D-Lite]

Parrizas Diaz beat Dart to win a 125 in Canberra.

Yeah I saw this result. Great to see Dart in a 125K final as I believe it's her first. Shame about the result as a Brit, but some good match play before the AO qualies can't be frowned at.

 

[Winners or Errors]

Even though Gauff has just won a title, I think the top 2 will be desperate to get the Gauff half rather than the Rybakina half.

I don't know about that. Coco Gauff with a forehand that isn't an error machine is a tough customer and she seems to have gotten there at some point last summer with no signs of reverting.

 

[ScottleeSV]

I don't know about that. Coco Gauff with a forehand that isn't an error machine is a tough customer and she seems to have gotten there at some point last summer with no signs of reverting.

Gauff is absolutely a powerhouse of the sport right now, no doubt. I just think both Swiatek and Sabalenka are in an absolute mess with the match up against Rybakina.

 

[ScottleeSV]

Rybakina still lagging behind in her career finals record. Sabalenka's record is a bit dicey too. Rybakina and Sabalenka combined are only 19-21 in finals, remarkable given how they blow a lot of players away quite routinely.

Swiatek (17-4)
Sabalenka (13-12)
Gauff (7-1)
Rybakina (6-9)

 

[robyrolfo]

Even though Gauff has just won a title, I think the top 2 will be desperate to get the Gauff half rather than the Rybakina half.

I agree with you, although we seem to disagree on why. See below...

I don't know about that. Coco Gauff with a forehand that isn't an error machine is a tough customer and she seems to have gotten there at some point last summer with no signs of reverting.

Um, did you watch the Auckland final? Her forehand completely fell apart late in the first set, which happened to be the first time all tournament that she encountered the slightest semblance of pressure. And if you didn't see it, just go back and watch the first set tiebreak. Her serve, which had been huge for her all week, also broke down at that point.

From that point in the match onward, it was an fairly even match with a pretty clear dichotomy: backhand to backhand rallies favored Guaff heavily, while forehand to forehand favored Svitolina heavily. In the end it was probably Gauf's fitness that made the difference, and Svitolina seemed to be having a problem with her foot and made some sloppy errors to get broken (and just barely missed break back point at 3-5 in the third).

So yeah, Gauff won, but if anything it was an encouraging match for her competition. The first time she played a serious opponent, she completely reverted back to her old self and old issues, prior to the Brad Gilbert miracle cure. Brad wasn't there this week, but he will be back at the AO, so let's see if that makes the difference. As it is right now, I don't give her much of a chance against Sabalenka, Swiatek, Rybakina, or the various Ostapenko's of the world if they are on their game.

Rybakina still lagging behind in her career finals record. Sabalenka's record is a bit dicey too. Rybakina and Sabalenka combined are only 19-21 in finals, remarkable given how they blow a lot of players away quite routinely.

Swiatek (17-4)
Sabalenka (13-12)
Gauff (7-1)
Rybakina (6-9)

Look at last years US Open final. It was completely in Sabalenka's hands, and she straight up choked it away. And that was after she already won a slam and supposedly got the monkey off her back. Her problems are mainly between the ears, and they are still there.