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Post Info TOPIC: Fed Cup 2016 - Europe/Africa Group 1
SMC1809


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RE: Fed Cup 2016 - Europe/Africa Group 1
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wimdledont wrote:

I think Freya would have been the better pick, for this year, for this task - play up to 6 singles matches in 3 days. All of which boil down to fitness issues...

1. Stamina. Katie had a couple of ITF main tour singles matches last year in which I suspect she probably lost (in 3 sets, having won the first), because her mid-20s opponents simply outlasted her.

2. Strength. The one time I've seen Katie play main tour singles, she was hit off the court by Pironkova.

3. Shoulder. If she's got a problem that kept her from playing AO juniors, where she could withdraw entirely at her own cost at any point, if it became a serious issue, I don't think she should be put in a position where I think she would feel obligated to play on through the pain barrier, to avoid letting the side down, at the possible risk of doing herself serious long term damage.

I'd be delighted to be proved wrong on all of these, especially, of course, the last. But I think that Freya would have been a safer pair of hands to play second fiddle - certainly seems to be fit as a fiddle - even if Katie would seem more likely to finish up as a future virtuoso.

(Potentially) 6 singles matches in 3 days is twice the usual physical ask of the ITF circuit - quadruple the frequency of matches at the Slams. If Katie looks the best pick on Thursday morning, she might not by Saturday afternoon.

Katie may have had a problem with her shoulder in 2015, but it wasn't this that kept her from playing the AO juniors.

 



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paulisi


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I thought it was a stomach/abdominal issue rather than shoulder anyway..

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SMC1809


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paulisi wrote:

I thought it was a stomach/abdominal issue rather than shoulder anyway..

 It was to have a training block to prevent issues that affected her in 2015 recurring.



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wimdledont


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Better abs than shoulder, but I still think that Freya is the fitter of the pair, at this point.

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indiana


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Katie has had issues with "particularly with her abs and shoulder" last year according to Grandslam in the Australian Open juniors thread.

But re the Australian Open the training block was evidently planned for January and otherwise suited that month, and as SMC1809 says this was largely to seek to avoid ongoing issues. Latterly she appeared to be in fairly public view training and practicing while the Australian Open was on ( before obviously this week ) so evidently no current issues.

I'd say thar the better player at this point in time appears to be Katie and Katie has been picked.



-- Edited by indiana on Tuesday 2nd of February 2016 05:24:49 PM

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wimdledont


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Georgia beat South Africa 2-0.

In pool D, Belgium and Bulgaria both won 2-0.

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Scouseandy


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Does anybody know yet who the nominated players are from SA and Georgia that we will be facing in all 3 rubbers? A breakdown would be appreciated!

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wimdledont


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Le Roux, Simmons, Shapatava and Gorgodze.

I see they are still playing the dead rubbers in doubles.

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brendan


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The number of rubbers won acts as a tiebreaker if they end up with equal points so there aren't dead rubbers in the league format



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wolf


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They are not dead rubbers. If teams are level in the group it comes down to rubbers won, sets won etc so they could still be crucial.

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Miriambee


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http://fedcup.tennis-live-scores.com/scoreboard.html

 

link to live scoreboard.



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christ


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Miriambee wrote:

http://fedcup.tennis-live-scores.com/scoreboard.html

 

link to live scoreboard.

 Wow. That is quite bright.



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WavenNarsam


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Georgia ended up winning the tie 3-0, however looking at the match stats for each round of singles, each player with the exception of Gorgodze didn't have particularly good service stats. The doubles was pretty even throughout with not many break opportunities taken, but maybe the nine DFs let South Africa down in the end.

It certainly looks like Georgia will be the tougher of the two teams to beat.

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insomniacfolder


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WavenNarsam wrote:

It certainly looks like Georgia will be the tougher of the two teams to beat.

Since Scheepers retired, to coach Alison Riske, South Africa are very much weaker.
We really should be aiming at 3-0.

For Georgia, Kalashnikova is a very decent player.
Recently she's concentrated more on doubles on the full WTA tour, with success (two titles and a $125K). Her singles ranking would only rarely have qualified her even for qualies at these events though, and so consequently, she has not been able to also play singles, and so her singles ranking has fallen off.
Though Kalashnikova herself is ranked higher in doubles at WR60 (CH 47) than even Joss or Anna, she can't win a tie or even a doubles rubber on her own, and thankfully her back up is patchy.
Shapatava is, in some respects, a bit like Tara Moore, plenty talent, underperformed to date; seemed set to break through, and then, for various reasons, didn't. She hasn't yet demonstrated a potential as great as Tara's though. Shapatava only has one top 100 win, and that was back in 2009; she's fared better at earning wins against WR140-200.
We should aim for 2-1 at a minimum, and if Joss and Anna play anything like potential - as a team - then it really ought to be 3-0 too.

No pressure then



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wimdledont


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One huge benefit from the team selection- as soon as Katie has hit a first serve, she is beyond the grasping clutches of the USTA.

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