Week 42 - WTA ($235K) - Luxembourg (BGL BNP Paribas), Luxembourg - Hard

indiana · Tennis legend

RE: Week 42 - WTA ($235K) - Luxembourg (BGL BNP Paribas), Luxembourg - Hard

Jaggy1876 · Grand Slam Champion

Ah that's good I thought she had another 60 points to defend for some reason. So not so bad after all. A good break for a while then come back in the new year. She might end up a better player for it. Sometimes you learn more from losing than winning after all.

PaulM · Tennis legend

Nik gets down on herself a bit too quickly on court I think. Plays very well, defends excellently, lovely touches, but then she misses a ball or a first few serves her head drops and her game goes off the boil for a bit until she gets it back together.

I thought it was more solid than last week, you can tell they are starting to have more of an idea what each other is going to do which is a big help.

They could be a very nice team, but they need some momentum and confidence. I think they are playing the high challengers so hope they can get a win or two.

-- Edited by PaulM on Wednesday 16th of October 2013 12:31:52 PM

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

The Brit threesome (and Dabrowski) are now playing their doubles

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

mel and Nik were 4-1 up in the first and then lost 5 games to lose the set.

were 3-0 up in the second but now back on serve. 3-2*

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Well, it sounds mean but that was the second very poor match from Nik Slater (or at least, the parts that I saw were). So many UEs and DFs . . . 6-4 7-5 to Hev/Dab

daisy · County player

... and in other news from Luxembourg!

biggrin

http://www.tennisforum.com/showpost.php?p=34709553&postcount=22

To say the thread has gone yonderly is a serious understatement!!!

philwrig · Hall of fame

daisy wrote:
... and in other news from Luxembourg!
http://www.tennisforum.com/showpost.php?p=34709553&postcount=22
To say the thread has gone yonderly is a serious understatement!!!

Haha, so true. If you've got a spare 1/2 hour treat yourselves to an over the top discussion on Sloane's new boyfriend, well no just racism.

I saw that photo on Fitzy's instagram account, but how it gives a clear indication that it is anything other than 2 friends just having a relaxing time together I don't know. However it is of course entirely possible that Fitzy has found himself a nice girl, good on him if he has.

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

No great surprise, but even so... cry

QF: (1) Nadia Petrova & Katarina Srebotnik (RUS/SLO) CR 7 defeated Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN) & Heather Watson CR 225 by 1 & 4

-- Edited by Stircrazy on Thursday 17th of October 2013 09:45:46 PM

korriban · Challenger level

Very interested in Sloane Stephens progress this week, given this bizarre record (like Laura and Caroline Garcia) of simply NOT winning tournaments despite hundreds of go's (well apart from 1 each, in Laura's case 5 years ago!)

She has got to the QF. All good, as she has found ways to lose early on in other tournaments this year. Really she ought to waltz to the Final, given her draw having opened up completely. And then she would probably face Lisicki (lower ranked) or Wozniacki (higher ranked but passive) in the Final - a really good chance.

But she's been in this position so many times, and if I'm right she'll find a way not to win. Perhaps even today against Voegele: no gimme, but someone who she ought to be beating comfortably, given their respective rankings & GS records.

BTW another player who has a reputation as a selective trainer (again where do these reputations come from), sometimes 100% committed, sometimes not.

LordBrownof · Futures level

Maybe they'll get married and she'll become GB.

I"M KIDDING.

korriban · Challenger level

korriban wrote:
Very interested in Sloane Stephens progress this week, given this bizarre record (like Laura and Caroline Garcia) of simply NOT winning tournaments despite hundreds of go's (well apart from 1 each, in Laura's case 5 years ago!)
She has got to the QF. All good, as she has found ways to lose early on in other tournaments this year. Really she ought to waltz to the Final, given her draw having opened up completely. And then she would probably face Lisicki (lower ranked) or Wozniacki (higher ranked but passive) in the Final - a really good chance.
But she's been in this position so many times, and if I'm right she'll find a way not to win. Perhaps even today against Voegele: no gimme, but someone who she ought to be beating comfortably, given their respective rankings & GS records.
BTW another player who has a reputation as a selective trainer (again where do these reputations come from), sometimes 100% committed, sometimes not.

And so it came to pass. Again.

Today she served so badly she didn't hold once for a set and a half. Then steadied the ship and blew Voegele off the court for a set.

Then from a break up in the final set, playing lights out tennis with all the momentum........lost. Winner plays Annika Beck in the SF!!!!

Even the commentators were discussing it in the exact same almost baffled tones with which they discuss Laura.....how can someone this good, who can make everything look so easy one minute, play this badly just minutes later.

philwrig · Hall of fame

Poor old Fitzy, came on gave the 'Fergie hair dryer treatment' to Sloane after a shocking start to the match, some of the worst body language I've seen from a player, she then turns it around only to go back to her original poor form and lose badly in final set.

Hence Fitzy's post match tweet 'stressful' !!

As Korriban says Sloane a bit like Laura seems to struggle in the smaller events. Pavs the Russian player does the opposite, she is shocking in the big events but I know what I'd rather have a player do. Of course I'd rather have them play well week in week out !

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

Am I right in thinking that she was 5-2 up in the 3rd set against Voegele last week as well before losing 7-5.

Poor old Fitzy. Must be tearing his hair out.

korriban · Challenger level

philwrig wrote:
Poor old Fitzy, came on gave the 'Fergie hair dryer treatment' to Sloane after a shocking start to the match, some of the worst body language I've seen from a player, she then turns it around only to go back to her original poor form and lose badly in final set.

Hence Fitzy's post match tweet 'stressful' !!

As Korriban says Sloane a bit like Laura seems to struggle in the smaller events. Pavs the Russian player does the opposite, she is shocking in the big events but I know what I'd rather have a player do. Of course I'd rather have them play well week in week out !

You are absolutely right, Phil, her set 1 body language was simply awful. The commentators were simply baffled. I guess the question is why?

My feeling is that tennis is not the be all and end all for her (unlike many of the other big players, who probably have a fraction of the talent). Perhaps she has trained with less intensity at times (because it's all too easy for her) so when her autopilot goes wrong in matches, there's not a nuts and bolts B game to fall back on. And when she is having a bad patch, she struggles to simply win ugly. It's almost as though when she isn't firing, pride won't let her go back to basics.