Week 18 - WTA $235K - Oeiras, Portugal Clay

kundalini · Specialist Reporter + Intermediate Club Player

Week 18 - WTA $235K - Oeiras, Portugal Clay

korriban · Challenger level

Again I wish we could have watched it, but 10 DFs in 10 service games, and more than 1 DF in every 3 second serve attempts is never going to get the job done against decent opposition, and probably not against average opposition either. The fact that DFs are never evenly distributed across games means that there must games with 2 or 3 DFs in - those, by definition, are very tough to ever hold. Sounds like that happened towards the end of the match after some strong serving leading up to it, which is a real shame, but which just makes the problem more urgent to solve.

I'd also point out the fact that Laura's opponent is not known to have a big serve (and she's not very tall), so the fact that Laura generated so few break points during the match, and I believe none at all in the second set, is another big question mark. Second set clearly better than the first, but no pressure whatsoever on Morita.

What's wrong, Laura?

Edit: I agree with Phil on this - something has to change, as playing through the problem clearly hasn't worked (as it can for many players), and indeed her recent performances on clay and prior to that have been increasingly poor (by her late 2012 excellent standards). A break from her schedule may help, but only if she is training with a team who can solve her issues. From the outside in, as I've said previously, it would appear that her coaching team has presided over a spectacular collapse in her form which began shortly after he took over (yes he was there at the US Open, but this was just days after he got the job), which seems to be getting worse, rather than turning the corner. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see her part company pre-Wimbledon.

-- Edited by korriban on Monday 29th of April 2013 04:02:39 PM

korriban · Challenger level

steven wrote:
There were reports on Twitter earlier that it was very windy, so maybe it was very windy at times during the match and Laura continued to go for it (the dfs maybe coinciding with the windiest periods), while Morita was better at playing safe when she needed to.

Maybe, but that would point to Laura either not having a gameplan agreed with her coach which factored in some safety given the wind (if true, appalling), or that she was unwilling to/unable to stick to said plan (probably more likely). The wind is a factor for both players, of course.

Morita had ZERO DFs by the way - so I don't this can be a reasonable explanation on this particular day.

-- Edited by korriban on Monday 29th of April 2013 04:25:36 PM

blob · All-time great

Laura now on court... not the best start....
0-1*

blob · All-time great

Laura won just 1 of the first 11 points, and none on her first 7 service points, to face 3 BP's to go down a double break.
She managed to fight them all off though, and more - five in that game, to hold.
I feel queasy already!

1-2*

PaulM · Tennis legend

Awful

PaulM · Tennis legend

Omg. Just handing it on a plate :(

Must be a nerves thing?

PaulM · Tennis legend

Well at least it's over.

blob · All-time great

tony_orient · ATP qualifying

Laura has had a few matches recently where she has been quite unlucky to lose them, but it looks like Morita was the better player for most the match today. Laura is clearly low on confidence at the moment and I think she will find it hard to turn her form around on her worst surface. She certainly can't afford to keep serving this many double faults - Morita only won 4 points other off Laura's serve in the second set.

philwrig · Hall of fame

Not sure what to say, but serve is letting her down at the crucial times in matches eventhough she served much better in the 2nd set.

Match report suggests that it was a poor quality match, no surprise there.

I don't like to be critical, but her schedule this year looks to me, like she's playing too many tournaments. Can't be easy losing early, and then basically moving onto the next tournament straightaway( long flights and long days spent at the tournamnet site and in hotels is going to wear you down if your not winning ). A few weeks off away, from the match court to work on her game and to recharge mentally would be the way I would go. Her schedule for the next several weeks is Madrid, Rome, Strasbourg, RG, Birmingham, Eastbourne and then Wimby ( basically no weeks off ) You feel that there maybe a tipping point soon when either she takes some time off, she parts with her coach or she can somehow turn her form around. Doing so well at the US open only raised the expectations to for now an unmanageable level. She's only going to receive more criticism from the pundits and she will have to deal with that.

Saying that she's far too big a talent for this to be a long term problem, but turning it around in the short term is going to take a mighty effort.

steven · Tennis legend

Hardly a match many of us would have been that confident of Laura winning on clay, and nothing like what happened to her doubles partner this week, who apparently just lost 11 games in a row from 3-1 up in the 1st

steven · Tennis legend

There were reports on Twitter earlier that it was very windy, so maybe it was very windy at times during the match and Laura continued to go for it (the dfs maybe coinciding with the windiest periods), while Morita was better at playing safe when she needed to.

PaulM · Tennis legend

I'd withdraw from Strasbourg and have an extra week in Paris.

She won't make second week of Roland Garros so should have time to prepare for Brum.

philwrig · Hall of fame

I would as well, she seemingly didn't originally enter Strasbourg but then subsequently received a WC. As a junior she was limited to the number of tournaments she could play, so it seems now that she wants to just play as many tournaments as possible, playing Katowice was a prime example.