WTA week of 2/10; St. Petersburg (Premier) & Thailand

[spystud]

Bet this thread will be jumpin'. 60 ladies on hard courts before Dubai.


St. Petersburg draw

Bencic/Bertens/Kvitova/Konta are top 4 with R1 byes; Kiki & Petra won last 2 years. Sakkari v. Diatchenko will be easy on the eyes.


Hua Hin draw

Svitolina/Martic/Wang Q./Zheng are top 4, no byes. Genie out with a left wrist injury.

 

[James P]

Sakkari dodged a big bullet.

 

[spystud]

Had a feeling that would be a tricky match, home crowd coming out of qualies.

 

[TagUrIt]

I was there in person for that match, Sakkari stepped up and Diatchenko couldn’t close out the match. She (Vitalia) was up 5-2 in the third, she starting double faulting and I think the pressure got to her. The match went to a tiebreaker and Maria put it all out there. Very exiting to watch, especially when I thought it was over at 5-2.

BTW Sakkari is very ripped!

 

[elkwood]

Yea that was a hell of a comeback !! I like watching Diatchenko play ! Hope she can get into more main draws this year !

 

[Aussie Darcy]

Real big chance for Svitolina in Thailand this week to win her first title since the 2018 WTA Finals(!).

Crazy that she didn't win a single title in 2019 despite staying in the top 10 for the whole year. In fact she only made one final all year and that came in her last tournament of the year, at the 2019 WTA Finals.

 

[Harry_Wild]

BTW Sakkari is very ripped!

I could tell by her legs and arms. She sort of looks like Amelie Mauresmo body!

 

[spystud]

Sevastova was scheduled to play Garcia, pulled out after Fed Cup, Ferro gets the LL & beats Garcia in 3.

 

[TagUrIt]

Something else about the matches in Saint Petersburg I wanted to share with everyone. I was there for the second day of qualifiers and day one of the first round. Women’s Tennis in Russia is NOT VERY POPULAR my wife and I got court side seats for both days for about $25. Also it’s VERY QUIET, hardly anyone says anything. Don’t get me wrong I know there shouldn’t be any talking, noises, during points, but after a point there was little to no applause. The energy in the arena is dead. I know players feed off the energy sometimes, but with this, there was nothing to feed off of. Even the Russian players didn’t get the support they should have gotten.

I dunno, maybe because it was the first few days of the tournament and as it gets closer to the final, the attendance and atmosphere will change.

 

[spystud]

Women’s tennis isn’t very popular, period. It’s comical seeing the stands at most WTA tourneys. Fortunately we have a hardy few around here that dig it.

 

[elkwood]

Have lots of stuff going on in the change overs. I liked the dancers and what not!

 

[TagUrIt]

Have lots of stuff going on in the change overs. I liked the dancers and what not!

Yeah, they were nice eye candy to look at.

 

[spystud]

There were four Wangs in the Hua Hin draw, here’s two of them.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1227229540709257217

https://twitter.com/x/status/1227245725882429440

I’m down with the pink & blue, but plenty of good seats still available.

 

[ScentOfDefeat]

Beats the Australian Open champion in the Fed Cup, loses in the first round of St. Petersburg to Cornet (6-1 6-2).
Sigh.

 

[Harry_Wild]

Corona virus threat might cause tennis fans to stay away!

 

[spystud]

3 & 4 for Miss Oceane Dodin over Konta, haven’t seen that name in awhile.

 

[Mark-Touch]

A case of Ostapenko being inconsistent/hot/cold or Cornet just being the better player?
6-1, 6-2 win for Cornet.
Ostapenko took out Kenin just a few days ago.

 

[spystud]

Petra just got breadstick’d after winning the first in a breaker. She may be done.

 

[spystud]

And I don’t mean done as in this tourney, I mean reality. It’s sad, but she’s done.

 

[spystud]

And of course she closes out @ 2 after my post.

 

[TagUrIt]

And of course she closes out @ 2 after my post.

She’s a lioness out there on the courts!!!

 

[elkwood]

Van Uytvanck was playing pretty well. That is a match worth watching the
high lights on !!

Kvitova plays so hot and cold, its amazing at times to see her go from crushing to be
being crushed.

 

[NaomiKonjuhPotapova]

My favorite Wang goes into QF in Huahin yeay.

 

[NaomiKonjuhPotapova]

A case of Ostapenko being inconsistent/hot/cold or Cornet just being the better player?
6-1, 6-2 win for Cornet.
Ostapenko took out Kenin just a few days ago.

Bear in mind she might be tired with the travels. She play 3 matches on Fed Cup plus travel time.

She is hot and cold but recently seems surge on form.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

Svitolina getting her ass handed to her by Hibino.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

The **** is Svitolina doing. This is bad. Broken to love, Hibino serving for the bagel.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

Svitolina finally managed to find a winner but pretty sure it's too late. Least she gets on the board in the 2nd set and gets a break back. Hibino still up 6-4 5-1.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

That was uh... some performance from Svitolina.

Hibino through 6-4 6-2.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

Perhaps Elina found out late that Coronavirus had spread to Thailand (hence the mammoth withdrawals from the tournament in the last 2 weeks including the defending champ) and decided she wanted out now.

 

[spystud]

Speaking of illness, Petra out of St. Petersburg with an unspecified one. Alexandrova gets the walkover.

 

[spystud]

Great point to give Kiki 4 MPs in the second set breaker.

 

[spystud]

The Dutchess is safely through.

 

[spystud]

Sakkari beat Bencic earlier, so we get these SFs...

Sakkari v. Rybakina
Alexandrova v. Bertens

 

[NaomiKonjuhPotapova]

The lifeless Rybakina is here to stay. I wonder what kind of reception she will get as she used to play for Russia.

 

[spystud]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1228741733887832065

Plays Linette in the final.

 

[James P]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1228741733887832065

Plays Linette in the final.

I'm surprised there's been next to no talk about this on here. Impressive run by the teen.

 

[TagUrIt]

I'm surprised there's been next to no talk about this on here. Impressive run by the teen.

I didn’t know who she was until I watched the highlights. Amazing talent, she will do well in the future.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

Arina Rodionova has finally broken her duck in WTA titles. She wins her first doubles title partnering Storm Sanders in Hua Hin.

Arina had been 0-6 in doubles finals dating back to February 2010.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

The singles final will be up soon and gee it's a real good one...... Leonie Kung v Magda Linette....

I can't believe Svitolina somehow failed to vulture this title. Still remains without a title since winning the 2018 YEC. She is currently #4 in the world without a single title. Crazy.

 

[chicagodude]

Strong performance by Kiki in St Petersburg, defends her title with easy 6-1 6-3 win over Rybakina, who already played her third final of 2020

so far her coaching change is working out. She also made the sensible choice of withdrawing from Dubai

 

[elkwood]

Kiki played lights out !!!