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Post by acre on Jun 27, 2011 22:01:59 GMT
I think mostly inju-ies, but you neve- know how she would've done if healthy. I guess I also think she's not going to be back at the top of he- game again, but as above, still good enough to be a facto- in the women's game.
Did they say this is 29 st-aight 1/4 finals at Slams fo- Fed? That's just nuts, and again goes to show how impo-tant (and lucky) it is to stay healthy. Y'all know my opinion on who's the GOAT, but with even 1 o- 2 inju-ies/timeouts, Fed wouldn't have the reco-d he does. Also helps that he's the best damn playe- eve-, but y'know ....
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Post by falafaclese on Jun 27, 2011 23:40:01 GMT
Clearly she's not at the height of her powers, but it's hard to discern how close she can get to it. I don't think she'll be circa early 2000's Venus, but 80-90% Venus is still a step above most if not all of the field. It has actually been more than a year since she won a title, but the other side of that argument is twofold. First, at this time last year she was ranked number 2 in the world behind Serena, and shared the number 1 doubles ranking with her. Also, since last year's Wimbledon, she only played 2 tournaments before coming back at Eastbourne, and had to drop out of one (the Aussie) with what appears to have been a pretty serious injury. In the other one (the US Open), she was within a few points of beating the eventual winner in the semifinals. Before last year's Wimby she had made 2 wins, 2 finals (Miami and Madrid) and 2 quarterfinal finishes. Her worst finish was the round of 16 at Roland Garros. Like I said, it's not golden age Venus, but it's damn good. I think the jury is still out about whether she can get back there, but I'm leaning toward yes, and if she does, that should still make her at least top four against the current field.
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lt
Semi Finals
Posts: 3,223
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Post by lt on Jun 28, 2011 2:04:58 GMT
We missed loads of drama today, that's for sure, but so worth it. I want to meet everybody now. . .
(and oops, I flew back north--perfect timing, hitting the express lanes before rush hour begins.)
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lb
1st Round
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Post by lb on Jun 28, 2011 13:45:23 GMT
I was watching the coverage and it's funny to me that the commentators can't sustain a conversation about the women without it turning into a discussion about the men. All of them were talking about the Williams and what to make of their futures (not surprisingly the best commentator was some guy I didn't know named Tom who is a multi-sport commentator). And suddenly it's about the men and everyone perks up. I know the WTA isn't at it's peak but if they looked for it, there are some good stories there non-ATP and non-Williams related. And for all the griping that men's tennis is too predictable, I would think they'd be happy with how unpredictable women's tennis is.
Speaking of men's tennis, I don't like how much they're insinuating that a certain player faked an injury at an opportune time yesterday. What's opportune about getting injured at one's own set point and losing the next few rallies? He got lucky in the tiebreak - had he lost the set, though, I doubt anyone would make a big deal. No one's making a big deal about Del Po taking MTO in the middle of another's service game, another thing that I didn't see to be an issue.
Maybe it's that I generally don't have a problem with players taking MTOs if they're allowed, esp. if they are injury-prone players who know when to freak out if something doesn't feel right. They're the ones playing; not me. They know their limits. Better to give the benefit of the doubt.
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lt
Semi Finals
Posts: 3,223
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Post by lt on Jun 28, 2011 14:03:17 GMT
I can't believe I'm going to miss the end of this Lisicki/Bartoli match on TV because of stupid NBC. I'm currently in the central time zone which means I hit a dead hour before they start. NEVERMIND! ESPN2 is going to stay with this match until the end! YEAH! It cracks me up that the British crowd is backing Bartoli so strongly when she can't get that love at home.
Was someone else besides PMac saying that Rafa has become a bit of a hypochondriac? I love how shocked Fowler, Mary Jo and Brad looked when PMac said that. The thing is, he has a bit of a point--I don't think Rafa is hypochondriac but he isn't trusting his body right now and every time something twinges, he panics. I hope it doesn't become a pattern going forward because, as PMac pointed out, Rafa's opponents are going to get pissed off if he has the timeout for "a broken foot" and then he "runs like a gazelle" around the court.
eta: man, I wish all the women played like this all the time. Lots of switching stuff up instead of power hitting but not a lot of double faults (well, except when Lisicki was serving for the match) or moonball shots. Chris Evert drives me bonkers with her "women's game is in a good place! It's fine!" stuff. Admitting there is a problem is the first step in getting a solution.
eta2: Nevermind, Bartoli has lost it and the match has gotten boring.
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Post by oopssorry on Jun 28, 2011 14:46:00 GMT
Chicago seems like an amenable place when that happens, lt! Super glad you had a good shot at getting back to all the work. And I'm trusting you got our friend good and liquored up before the next marathon leg of her ride. ;/
The middle set of this match was something. Sorry the wheels have come off for Bartoli.
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lb
1st Round
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Post by lb on Jun 28, 2011 14:49:04 GMT
If he was thinking about retiring, I'm not sure if he was actually just panicking for the sake of panicking. I think it must have really felt like he broke something. That's the only reason I can't agree with PMac's sentiments yesterday. The boy looked scared on court and I don't think he's that good of an actor. As he played, I guess he started realizing it wasn't as bad as he thought.
But I agree with you that he really shouldn't make it a pattern. As much as I'm okay with people taking MTOs if they think they need it, I also can understand the opponent's viewpoint of how it breaks up the flow of the game. If he keeps doing it, he deserves the reputation.
I'm sad for Bartoli - to have such a big win yesterday and a few days before and then not be able to sustain the momentum. The 2nd set was a set of beauty though. Congrats to Lisicki though.
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Post by falafaclese on Jun 28, 2011 14:58:42 GMT
It seems like it was a good match. I didn't get to see a lot of it, but I saw the end of the second set. Bartoli looked exhausted during that tiebreak. I suspect she just didn't have anything left in the third set after fighting off those match points and taking the breaker.
I feel like there have been more entertaining matches on the women's side than the men, am I crazy? It seems like the quality has been pretty good, and there have been some tough fights. With the men there has been good quality, but not a lot of close fights. Maybe I'm wrong, sometimes I feel like I may be compensating for all the criticism (some deserved, some not) of the women's tour.
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lt
Semi Finals
Posts: 3,223
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Post by lt on Jun 28, 2011 16:12:03 GMT
I don't think he's panicking to panic--I think he doesn't trust his own body right now so he panics when he feels something go off.
Heh, that would be me. . .
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Post by acre on Jun 28, 2011 16:41:54 GMT
Yeah, I think "a little panicky" is fine, implying he's faking is not. I kinda do think he panics a bit, but I neve- think he's faking. Hell, I don't even think Djok(past) o- Henin(gah) we-e faking. Totally lame, yes.
I will say that when Nadal has an MTO o- is supposedly exhausted, upset, etc - no way, I still count him fo- the win, the next match, how many times has he done that? Has also had to not play, but I don't expect that until he specifically says so and is out. He can win even when not in a-one shape, has shown that many times, including big occasions.
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Post by mooncreek on Jun 28, 2011 16:52:26 GMT
I feel like there have been more entertaining matches on the women's side than the men, am I crazy? It seems like the quality has been pretty good, and there have been some tough fights. With the men there has been good quality, but not a lot of close fights. Maybe I'm wrong, sometimes I feel like I may be compensating for all the criticism (some deserved, some not) of the women's tour. I am one who normally hasn't been entertained by the ladies' matches much lately but I do agree that they've been more entertaining this Wimbledon. The only men's matches I've seen that compare so far are Nadal/del Potro and Soderling/Hewitt (and I'd guess the Kubot/Lopez match was full of drama though haven't seen any of that). |
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Post by falafaclese on Jun 28, 2011 16:56:52 GMT
That statement wasn't meant to be directed at you specifically at all, lt. I do believe that the women's game has some problems. What bothers me is when you hear journos and commentators at one point arguing that there's no depth in the women's game because all the top players always win, and then at another point arguing that the top players aren't strong enough because they lose to lower ranked players from time to time.
And BTW, I was being totally sincere when I mentioned that thought I might be overcompensating.
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lt
Semi Finals
Posts: 3,223
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Post by lt on Jun 28, 2011 17:06:40 GMT
Well, this match sure isn't helping. *yawn* Someone (Kvitova please) win already. I didn't get to see any of Sharapova but that wasn't a barn burner either, was it?
Kvitova is really the only one left in the bottom that I'd like to win so I'd really like for her to get through this and then through the semi because I'm fine with either Maria or Sabine (but really, Maria).
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lb
1st Round
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Post by lb on Jun 28, 2011 17:27:46 GMT
Yay I'm not alone in rooting for Maria. I don't always like Shrieky but she's grown on me. I like how determined she's been this year.
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lt
Semi Finals
Posts: 3,223
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Post by lt on Jun 28, 2011 17:42:57 GMT
Oh yeah, I'm rooting big time for Maria.
Sad for Jer, sad for me tomorrow: Roger vs. Tsonga and Djokovic vs. Tomic are on at the same time tomorrow so Jer will most likely be stuck looking for a stream to watch his man and Andy vs. Feli and Fish vs. Rafa are second so, depending on the play, I could be stuck watching Andy/Feli on a live stream since there is no way ESPN2/NBC won't be showing "the last American in the main draw."
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