Apart from the odd match at Wimbledon I haven't seen many of our girls play so would be very grateful if anyone could enlighten me on how some of our girls play.
I had hoped to go to Edinburgh this week since it's only an hour away by train, so I could see some for myself, but alas I have an exam on saturday and have had to stay here and revise.
If you name some players i'll see if i can tell you anything.
Basically most british girls are right-handed(bar the obvious), big serve and pund the ball of the basline. Most are two-handed on backhand. Broady being the biggest exception.
Emily Webley-Smith is a little different. She has a big serve but then mixes up her play duiring the points. Slices, dropshots, come to the net, forehand is her biggest weapon afetr serve.
Jade Curtis basically takes the ball early and hits it really hard going for her shots, shes changed her game a lon in the time i saw her, she used to be more of a counter punsher but would go for her shots if needed. It may explain her up and down results over the past year or so.
Here's some info on who I've watched: these will be in a bit of a random order, sorry !
Anna Fitzpatrick: You can tell that Fitzpatrick trains on clay, she has a very extreme forehand grip and hits with a lot of topspin off that side. The forehand is probably her biggest weakness, at times in her matches she loses focus for a short while, that shot goes slightly awry and she starts hitting it wide and long. Her two-handed backhand is very solid and a great shot, she can hit some stunning winners off that wing. She's not so much a power player, she really works the rallies using angles, different lengths to try and open the court up or give her an opportunity to step up the court and attack. The clay-court training in Monte Carlo really does show through her forehand and the tactical side of her game. Her serve is a definate weapon, she gets a lot in and gets a lot of service winners and a fair few aces. She regularly look to get into the net to finish off points and can hit some classy volleys but this area of her game is still very much a work in progress.
Melissa Berry: Mel has a decent serve, places it well, that and her forehand are her main weapons. However, the backhand is her big weakness, she tends to make a lot of errors off that side. Quite a good volleyer, she could probably come to the net a lot more than she does...like lots of the lower ranked Brits she can be prone to missing some easy short/midcourt balls
Jess Jackson: I haven't seen that much of her play so can't tell u what her real strengths and weaknesses are...however, she's a hard hitter and is very solid from the baseline. In 10ks, you'll rarely see her get hammered, even by top 600 players because she is so solid. She's very straight up-and-down though and the pace she gives opponents is a bit one-dimensional...needs more variety to really move up into top 600 and higher....however, I definately think she has the ability to get to 600-700ish.
Anna Smith: Anna is a real power hitter, she can absolutely rip the ball of both wings, has a double-handed backhand. Hits very flat and can simply blow opponents off the court on fast surfaces, hope she gets a wc into Wimbledon qualifying as she could cause some upsets there. She also has a good serve, but as for most of the British players, she needs to get a higher percentage in, when she gets it in, she gets quite a few cheap points. Her weaker wing is probably the forehand, she tends to miss a little more off that side and can get a little carried away at times with the hitting. As well as being great on the offence Anna has also got a great defense game, she can really return fire with fire when on the run.
Natasha Khan: Natasha is a really promising player. Her serve is a big weapon, probably the best of Brits ranked outside top 300. She has the power, placement and gets a lot in. She can hit really big shots off both forehand and backhand and covers the court well. The area where she needs to work on is up at the net, she can hit some great volleys but sometimes can be too tentative. I spoke to Nigel Sears during her win over Vedy at Sutton in Jan and he said he was very impressed by Natasha, apparently he's been encouraging her to come forwards more and he was really pleased with the way that she was doing that nd taking the ball out of the air to finish off points.
think i might be watching different players to you Sheddie.
On Mel Berry i've always thought her backhand was her best shot, it may be less consistant but in the matches i've seen her play its her backhand that wins her the points. Maybe it was just a different day.
Also on Anna F i thought she had a very flat forehand but agree with the not so much a poweer player thing. She does seem to get some amazing angles from her forehand from nowhere in a rally.
Her serve is very good. On the deuce side she mixes it up so well, slicing ou wide or the big one down the middle.
Agree with Tasha Khan and Anna Smith, both are very promising, both should be inside the top 300, or near abouts this year.
