Weeks 3-4: Australian Open Women's Doubles

wolf · Tennis legend

RE: Weeks 3-4: Australian Open Women's Doubles

wolf · Tennis legend

Pennetta broken to love and Sarah holds to 30:

Sarah/Raquel 4-3*

Smidster · Challenger level

Sadly Sarah lost 7-5 6-2

Good win for Laura

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

Fabulous win for Laura and Sally.

They will face an unseeded pair in the third round: either Agnes Szavay & Roberta Vinci (HUN/ITA) or Vera Dushevina & Anastasia Rodionova (RUS/AUS - fine old Aussie name there! disbelief

), who put out the Russo-Australian fifth seeds (Nadia Petrova & Sam Stosur) in the first round. That encounter will be the first match on Court 8 tonight.

RBBOT · Futures qualifying

Another superb win for Laura and Sally. I make that a doubles ranking of approx #150 for Laura, which with Anne's AO points from last year to come off will make Laura our #2 doubles player.

If they make it through the next round, the likely QF opponents are No.3 seeds, Nuria Vives/Maria Sanchez. If they won that, Laura would overtake Sarah!

DUSTY DICK · Club Coach

Wow thats terrific stuff for Laura and what an opportunity to go further still. Well done.

Maza1987 · Challenger level

RBBOT wrote:

Another superb win for Laura and Sally. I make that a doubles ranking of approx #150 for Laura, which with Anne's AO points from last year to come off will make Laura our #2 doubles player.

If they make it through the next round, the likely QF opponents are No.3 seeds, Nuria Vives/Maria Sanchez. If they won that, Laura would overtake Sarah!

Two wins and you're british number two.
*giggles*

indiana · Tennis legend

Even once Laura's points for her Q1 win in the Australian Open are added she will still only be GB no 8 singles player. So basically she is pretty crap at singles compared to doubles and I would therefore suggest that she retires forthwith from singles competition and devotes all her energies to doubles wink

Bolt · Lower Club Player

Laura & Sally played really really well yesterday After coming back from 0-40 in the opening game five 1st serves a couple of volly winners from Peers and they were on the scoreboard, Peers is very lively at the net and although on the small side has a good first serve and often through in a kicker as her 2nd offering which gave Laura some easy volly winners. Chuang didn't seem to be able to handle Laura's lefty serve at all apart from the first game I can't really remember Laura losing a point to her but I guess she must have but hardly any. Laura looked good at the net and put away a number of volly winners along with 2 crushing return winners DTL.
An Australian sitting in front of me yelled at one point "These kids are really good" and they were. Dushevina & Rodionova won in 3 this morning

philwrig · Hall of fame

Laura third up on MCA 24/1 so should be live feed available.

philwrig · Hall of fame

Bally and partner being given lesson.
0-6 2-4

philwrig · Hall of fame

Interesting Robbo article I spotted from Sunday Times.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/tennis/article6999734.ece

indiana · Tennis legend

Thanks for that link, philwrig, interesting article.

I see Laura's plan is to concentrate really on juniors in the earlier part of this year :

"Because I am still very restricted by the amount of WTA Tour events I can play, I think I will stick with just the junior events over the next few months and work at my game and my fitness"

That seems to me to make good sense to do this, and then more group the WTA events she can do later in the year.

That said, I did hear that she apparently wants to get her ranking up high enough to get direst entry to French Open qualifying, so looks as if she means business when she does appear in any WTA event before May smile

I also thought her comments on her learning experience from coming so close to qualifying for last year's US Open were interesting. the FQR was a real toughie at the time when she got so close and really was hugely effected by nerves. She really does seem much more composed recently in tense situations.

-- Edited by indiana on Saturday 23rd of January 2010 11:58:27 PM

philwrig · Hall of fame

I think her coaching team have tried to get her to relax more and forget about winning/losing and just enjoy it more. Hence this year she seems a much more happier person on court and is playing better tennis because of it. Her doubles play really does show what she is capable of and I am much more optimistic for this forthcoming year. Her performance in qualifying is all the more respectable given that although Krajicek was beaten in the FQR in a tight 3 setter her conqueror Kerber went onto have a very good tournament only going down in another 3 setter against Kuznetsova in the third round.

kundalini · Specialist Reporter + Intermediate Club Player

Laura and Sally win 6-3 6-3