Week 39 - WTA Premier ($2.4M) - Wuhan, China - Hard

Julia Carrot · All-time great

RE: Week 39 - WTA Premier ($2.4M) - Wuhan, China - Hard

Julia Carrot · All-time great

But Errani does the same.

Think I'm going back to sleep.......

Julia Carrot · All-time great

Errani took Ist set 7 - 5 , but seems to have imploded in the 2nd so far, heather winning
the first 12 points.

insomniacfolder · Challenger level

Stay awake!
First set was close, but Errani just edged it.
Heather's come thundering back though.
5-7 *4-0

Julia Carrot · All-time great

Oh, but now it's 4 - 3

insomniacfolder · Challenger level

Had a point to go up 5-7 *5-0
Was playing beautifully - serving well, moving Errani around, won the first 12 points of the set, all on merit.
And then, worryingly just like in her last match, form fell off a cliff. Has started playing very very quickly, and serve has disintegrated.
Errani has just gratefully accepted the presents, just keeping the ball in play. and has won 4 very quick games indeed.
Must hold here.
5-7 *4-4

insomniacfolder · Challenger level

Oh dear!
5-7 4-5*

Julia Carrot · All-time great

Thanks for commentary anyway ISF. Much appreciated.

-- Edited by Julia Carrot on Monday 22nd of September 2014 04:44:55 AM

insomniacfolder · Challenger level

L56: (Alt) Heather Watson WR 46 lost to (11) Sara Errani (ITA) WR 12 5-7 4-6

Overall, served poorly and far too many unforced errors - standard rally balls under no pressure dumped in the net or wide.
Though Errani served high (88%), that abbreviated action is just a rally starter, and Heather consistently made errors trying to overplay it.

She could have won this, even with the scratchy game, she was right there. Until the bizarre and troubling end when she just disappeared completely.
Not sure where her next match is, but a third match in a row where her game just dissolves would be serious cause for concern.

Edit: corrected score declaration error in light of The Optimist's note below

-- Edited by insomniacfolder on Monday 22nd of September 2014 06:57:11 AM

PaulM · Tennis legend

This is the third match in a row thays happened Insomniac. Disappointed with how that turned out, especially the second set considering she was *4-0 40-15

-- Edited by PaulM on Monday 22nd of September 2014 10:36:56 AM

The Optimist · ATP qualifying

Assume you meant Sara defeated Heather......

just wondering whether the after effects of GF are catching up with her. She has played a lot of matches this year. It seems all of a sudden, that if she feels she is not going to win them quickly she goes into total panic mode. Maybe just needs a rest?

-- Edited by The Optimist on Monday 22nd of September 2014 06:50:13 AM

insomniacfolder · Challenger level

The Optimist wrote:
Assume you meant Sara defeated Heather......

Oops! Yes. Now corrected, thank you. Out of practice.

PaulM wrote:
This is the third match in a row thays happened Insomniac. ...

Certainly the match against Gibbs in Korea seemed similar.
I think the match previous to that was against Sori in US Open(?). That match seemed, to me, to have a different characteristic. The fall off not being so sudden or absolute. I felt in that match that it was more of a general inability to get going.
Certainly it could be argued that they are branches from the same trunk.

PaulM · Tennis legend

I thought the second set vs Cirstea was juat a mess. The first she was just outplayed.

Odd to be disappointed with a 5 and 4 loss against a top 20 player but its more the manner of defeat rather than the defeat itself.

I think Heather should call it a season after this part of the Asian swing. She's played so many matches has a good ranking and I don't swe that tagging on events like Luxembourg is all that necessary.

indiana · Tennis legend

Yes, maybe should end her season after the Asian swing. Get good rest and then productive close season rather than maybe get further exasperated and lose confidence.

Her game has been in a very good place just a few months ago. So, as long as there isn't any particular ongoing physical problem, a time out for reflection, refocus and then preparation for next season should hopefully have her primed and ready to go for 2015 in a better place than she is now.

philwrig · Hall of fame

Just watched the whole match and Hev I thought played at her best at times ( much better than she did at the US open and in Seoul ), but when Errani upped her level just a tad, she fell apart. It was especially evident at 4-0, 40-15 when Errani could have just given that set away, she played 2 of her best points of the match, which rattled Hev and sadly the rest is history.

One of my theories is that maybe because of the recovery from GF she didn't have quite as hard an offseason last year as she might have done normally, and now it's having an effect. You could hear her breathing heavily when her coach came on to offer advice during a couple of the changeovers. Also players usually have midseason mini training blocks as well, so whether thats an issue we don't know.

Regarding the rest of the season, I think it would be helpful to get a few wins under her belt, going into the offseason.