meh, laura was on top anyway.
medina garigues, who comfortably beat laura a few weeks ago, is most likely to be next.

Laura was awful. Couldn't toss the ball up correctly, must have caught it at least 15 times and the rest of her game wasn't much better. First groundstroke after her serve produced far too many errors. Some of her misses were truly horrible: easy volley into the net, forehand into the open court from 4 yards into the net. Yet she won the first set, with the help of a rather fortunate touch off the net that redirected a shot down the line into the court when it was headed out. Drive volleys were impressive and when she found her range, she made it looks easy.

Please play better in the next round.

-- Edited by kundalini on Monday 29th of August 2011 06:28:34 PM

kundalini wrote:

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Laura was awful. Couldn't toss the ball up correctly, must have caught it at least 15 times and the rest of her game wasn't much better. Some of her misses were truly horrible: easy volley into the net, forehand into the open court from 4 yards into the net. Yet she won the first set, with the help of a rather fortunate touch off the net that redirected a shot down the line into the court when it was headed out.

Please play better in the next round.

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True, Laura had problems with her serve. But I think it was telling in her last service game, even though she got broken, she got all 6 1st serves in.  It's her 1st US open match, so I'll let her off with nerves at the srart ( I know, it's a generous shout!)  The volley she missed, she should have made it, but it was a dipping ball. The forehand into an open court was a shocker, no excuse for that.  She also hit a couple of great winners down the line off both sides, and when the 1st serve did work it didnt come back all that often

 

I certainly dont think this was the best match Laura has played, but at the end of the day she won the 1st set.  Take the positives, go with them, and hope to eliminate the errors   

Feels a bit strange watching Laura win by retirement, as a win against a top 50 opponent in a grand slam should be massive but feels a bit underwhelming in the circumstances. Still it counts as a win and we can look forward to seeing her in the next round.

As for the match, Laura wasn't as her best - her first serve % was poor and she made quite a few errors, but she also hit some brilliant winners and is getting better at winning points from behind in the rally. I think it's very impressive that Laura can win sets against top 50 players without being at her best as it shows how much potential she has.

Also I was impressed by Laura's mental strength again today. I doubt a few months ago she would have had the composure to recover from 2-4 or 5-6 but now she seems to be able to put bad games behind her and bounce back.

I don'ty think Morita had any injury problems in the first set or she would have called the trainer at the end of the set rather than wait till 0-30 in the first game of set 2.

Ah thats for clearing that up Steven.

I for one think Laura played amazing. This time last year Morita's solid consistancy would have beaten Laura I am sure. Instead Laura was making plenty of balls and hitting stunning winners. Catching the odd serve and making the odd error is expected, look at Venus Williams! PS. Lauras mentality and on court demeanor has improved almost as much as her movement.

philwrig wrote:

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How can you say she was awful, when she was able to beat a player ranked 130 spots higher, yes she was far from perfect and the ball toss issues don't go away but she was brilliant at times and stayed in alot of long rallies which she hasn't been able to do in the past.

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 Laura, like Andy, is a superb player, unlike any of the other british players. They are perfectly capable of being competitive in matches, and indeed winning them, while playing shocking tennis. It was obvious within the first 10 points played that Laura would determine who won the match. Her ball striking on a fast court is simply too good for most opponents; it is simply a question of whether she can hit her targets. If Laura had been playing reasonably well, she would have destroyed Morita. It's not as though Morita has a huge serve to get her out of trouble.

-- Edited by kundalini on Monday 29th of August 2011 06:50:24 PM