Week 3 - Australian Open (women's)

steven · Tennis legend

Week 3 - Australian Open (women's)

blob · All-time great

Winnable R1's at least. possible points improvements for both there.

Possibly Kvitova for Laura in r2. petra's in poor form (fed cup aside) so could be worse.
Sloane looms as a r3 possible - quick chance to right the hobart result i guess.

Hev gets barthel as the probable r2. They played an ugly ill tempered match in NA last year somewhere - Quebec? Could be some scores to settle if it happens.
Aga Rad in R3 though looks pretty insurmountable as little's really changed for each of them since Aga smashed Hev up at Wimby last year.

korriban · Challenger level

Assuming Heather's elbow has recovered, I don't think she'll be too troubled much by her first round opponent, but Bartel will provide stiff opposition - higher ranked and on cracking form (now into the final of Hobart, and striking the ball with much more power and accuracy than I've seen her manage before). Not sure what the best gameplan would be, but she'll need a few cheap points to stay in games, so I hope her serve is at its best. Bartel must be favourite, but if Heather wins, I think Aga simply has too much for her in R3 at this point.

Laura is quite interesting. I watched some of the highlights of the Sloane Stephens match and it was actually very close (closer than a straight sets loss might imply). Laura's speed around the court and footwork to achieve the ideal position for shotmaking was, frankly, no better than I remember it in early 2012 - often late on the ball or too close to the ball at the hit point. I thought I would see an improvement, but it was very poor. But what killed her was an inability (or refusal) to allow herself any margin for error on the final winner shot, which is all the more bizarre given exceptionally unpredictable and windy conditions. In short, she was in control of many points with strong serving, superb ball striking and excellent placement, but was let down by the final put away. I'd say she lost, rather than SS won. Her coach should be able to sort this decision-making out, and there should be less wind in Melbourne. So for me, assuming this happens I am certain she'll beat Oudin in R1. Given Kvitova/Schiavone poor form, she would have a 50/50 chance in R2. And I'd still make her 50/50 in R3 against Stephens, and 50/50 against Petrova (or better against the rest in her section) in R4. At Serena, all hope fades!

Positive thinking!

-- Edited by korriban on Friday 11th of January 2013 03:52:04 PM

steven · Tennis legend

Hev will play on Monday, Laura on Tuesday.

RainDelay · Pro player

Hope Hev's elbow is ok, if it is then I can see her winning. Unsure as to whether either match warrants being on a televised court so might not see them til round 2.

tony_orient · ATP qualifying

Looks to be an ideal draw for Heather, very winnable R1 followed by the lowest seed in R2. Hev has had very polarised draws so far in Grand Slams either getting a very beatable opponent or one of the top players, so luckily it's gone her way this time.

Laura also has a nice first round draw, Oudin is probably playing a bit better than last year, but Laura had basically no training coming into that match and still won so she should be confident here. Kvitova potentially in R2 which would be an interesting match and one that would probably depend on how Kvitova played more than Laura.

Overall, every reason to be hopeful of progress to at least R2 for both.

RBBOT · Futures qualifying

Just seen a tweet that Laura is playing doubles with Timea Babos.

Peter too · Tennis legend

Laura played Oudin twice at junior level in 2008, losing in 3 in the Roehampton Final and then beating her easily in 2 on the way to winning the Wimbledon Junior title.

Maza1987 · Challenger level

Should win round 1 at least, and that's already an improvement for both in terms points.
Barthel is playing really well (and so is pervak), Aga will only be beaten by any of the 3 above her in the rankings.

Kvitova is really out of sorts but could get hot. Schiavone would be a good draw on this surface.

philwrig · Hall of fame

Oudin has appeared to be a good matchup for Laura in the past so shoulddddd come through that.
Cadantu is arguably one of the worst players in the top 100 and Hev was at a low ebb when they met last year so very hopeful even with the elbow problem that she would come through that.

tony_orient · ATP qualifying

Cadantu is on a 9 match losing streak stretching back to September as well, so another reason to feel good about Heather's draw.

Oudin has a few more recent wins under her belt, but at ITF level and a 6-2 6-2 defeat to Cabeza Candela in Sydney doesn't suggest great form.

steven · Tennis legend

Heather is 3rd (after midnight GMT) on Court 13, so probably 3 or 4 am

kundalini · Specialist Reporter + Intermediate Club Player

daisy wrote:
Does anyone know which courts are televised?

Bet365 have streams from Rod Laver, Hisense, Margaret Court, Show court 2, Show court 3, court 6 and court 8. The other courts aren't available on Bet365 so seem unlikely to be televised. Heather's court (13) is not listed among those with streams.

-- Edited by kundalini on Sunday 13th of January 2013 01:10:55 PM

daisy · County player

Does anyone know which courts are televised?

Maza1987 · Challenger level

well, looks like I will have to hope for good news when I wake up.