Week 35 - US Open Main Draw Hard

jb288 · Satellite level

Week 35 - US Open Main Draw Hard

markymc1983 · Club Coach

Wakey wrote:
markymc1983 wrote:
Laura complaining that Broady is taking too much time between serves...
If Broady can complain about aborted serves then Robson seems in her right to complain about Broady taking a drink after points

I think we established that Broady wasn't complaining at the ball toss but by being rushed by the umpire??

But yes I think Broady does employ gamesmanship which is primarily why i was routing for Laura.

Helen40 · Grand Slam Champion

I thought it was a shame that the level dropped off when they got closer to the finish line. People from other countries don't seem to do that, so our girls need to win it, not rely on others to lose it.

indiana · Tennis legend

My heart may have been with Laura, but well done Naomi and both have certainly something to take out of this US Open.

Naomi's in R2 but Laura's continued resurgence is great to see.

murray_2k9 · Challenger qualifying

Naomi played well - I was hoping for Laura to make a run here but very positive signs all in all. Not sure why there was attitude between the two - didnt seem as friendly as I'd expected

indiana · Tennis legend

Helen40 wrote:
I thought it was a shame that the level dropped off when they got closer to the finish line. People from other countries don't seem to do that, so our girls need to win it, not rely on others to lose it.

Not sure how much the general comment is true, though I must admit I have a thing about British players supposedly more inclined to this and that.

But in this case, yes I haven't seen it but did gather that the first set was the best quality ?

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

murray_2k9 wrote:
Naomi played well - I was hoping for Laura to make a run here but very positive signs all in all. Not sure why there was attitude between the two - didnt seem as friendly as I'd expected

I didn't see it, and honestly didn't mind who won, but I'm not at all surprised that there's no love lost between the two.

Well done to Naomi though - second round in a slam, great stuff.

And, obviously, that's the best week Laura's had in donkeys' years.... so well done to her too.

jb288 · Satellite level

markymc1983 wrote:
Wakey wrote:
markymc1983 wrote:
Laura complaining that Broady is taking too much time between serves...
If Broady can complain about aborted serves then Robson seems in her right to complain about Broady taking a drink after points
I think we established that Broady wasn't complaining at the ball toss but by being rushed by the umpire??
But yes I think Broady does employ gamesmanship which is primarily why i was routing for Laura.

Oh she definitely complained about the toss! The context was 'rushing to serve', but I didn't see any evidence of the umpire telling Broady to speed up.

I think it was legitimate to complain.....BUT then to be taking drinks between points I think is worse - no 'tennis' excuse for that really.

Regardless, I like both players a lot, and they're both old enough and wise enough not to let such things bother them.

-- Edited by jb288 on Tuesday 30th of August 2016 10:02:23 PM

AliBlahBlah · All-time great

Well done Naomi - just her second GS MD win.
Played much better today than we had seen from her since before Roland Garros.
The extra $34K will really make a difference for her, as she continues to consolidate her financial security.
A chance to beat Aga (probably), get a new CH, and claim GB #2 all at once.

For Laura, there's a very timely sequence of high value ITF's coming up throughout September which presents multiple options for her to continue on, and in this sort of form, she looks well set to do so.

theemptyvessel · Club Coach

Glad that Naomi won to be honest although I see from Steven's poll that the majority were in Laura's corner. In terms of this specific event and where they are right now I think getting into the MD through qualifying was a satisfactory result for Laura whereas Naomi really needed to kick on and get past the 1st round to feel this was a success. Makes both of them winners in my eyes.

In broader terms, I like Naomi and I personally feel she has done a fantastic job of slogging her way into the top 100 the hard way with little or no support. When we moan all the time about our over pampered juniors packing it in as soon as they get a dose of reality on the pro tour I think Naomi is a fantastic example of someone who has done everything the hard way and made the most of the talent that she has and so I am always going to cheer for her and have had no difficulty in warming to her whatsoever.

AliBlahBlah · All-time great

Court 13 is again Brit Central tomorrow, accommodating both Kyle & Johanna.
Kyle first ater 16:00 UK, Johanna to follow immediately after. Tea time treats!

kundalini · Specialist Reporter + Intermediate Club Player

The better player won. Naomi performed well for large chunks of the match though her bad spells were awful. Fantastic serving to save all those bps in the opening set though Laura rather wasted 2 bp chances in the final set. I expected Laura to play better than that given her recent run. She came up with the occasional good shot but far too many careless errors. The Robson serve was a mess, rarely seemed to have much penetration, never mind all the ball toss issues. Some of Laura's play towards the end of the match was wretched.

Personally, the disappointing aspect is that Laura looks a long way off being a decent player once more. Anyway, she is improving so hopefully will get there eventually.

Far better performance than Naomi has managed in the other slams in 2016. Great for Naomi's chances of prolonging her stay inside the top 100 with so many points to defend in the autumn and the first few months of next year.

tony_orient · ATP qualifying

Good match and Naomi deserved the win for being more consistent over the whole match.

Laura played great the second half of the first set, but she lost rhythm halfway through the second set and never recovered really. In the third set she had lost a lot of timing both on serves and groundstrokes, but to her credit she battled hard to make it close (and gave Naomi a chance to crack under pressure). Naomi found big serves at break point down time and time again (I would say Naomi saved 8 out of 9 break points rather than Laura only converting one). Then Naomi's pressure on Laura's serve finally paid off.

I think we saw a realistic view of where Laura's game is at, not far at all off tour level but not quite there yet. If she can go back to ITFs and continue to maintain her current level at least she should be in a good position to really kick on next year. Top 200 by the end of the year is a realistic aim, and it's a shame for her that she missed out on getting those points in one match here.

I saw more from Naomi than I have seen in a grand slam match in the past - determination throughout, great serving under pressure and looking confident even when she dropped the first set and Laura was playing well. I'm sure she will struggle against Radwanska but it will be interesting to watch to see how Aga deals with Naomi's serve.

Helen40 · Grand Slam Champion

indiana wrote:
Helen40 wrote:
I thought it was a shame that the level dropped off when they got closer to the finish line. People from other countries don't seem to do that, so our girls need to win it, not rely on others to lose it.
Not sure how much the general comment is true, though I must admit I have a thing about British players supposedly more inclined to this and that.
But in this case, yes I haven't seen it but did gather that the first set was the best quality ?

I heard it on the radio. It might just have been the commies, but if you look at the stats over the three sets, they will back it up too.

I think Jo is the main one of our girls that has got that together since her mental coach. Hev did for a while, but it looks like her problems are also physical right now.

I only really follow Andy closely on the men's side, so can't comment. Kyle seems to not follow that pattern though. I was impressed he didn't bottle it against (albeit and underplaying) Gasquet.

Helen40 · Grand Slam Champion

theemptyvessel wrote:
Glad that Naomi won to be honest although I see from Steven's poll that the majority were in Laura's corner. In terms of this specific event and where they are right now I think getting into the MD through qualifying was a satisfactory result for Laura whereas Naomi really needed to kick on and get past the 1st round to feel this was a success. Makes both of them winners in my eyes.

In broader terms, I like Naomi and I personally feel she has done a fantastic job of slogging her way into the top 100 the hard way with little or no support. When we moan all the time about our over pampered juniors packing it in as soon as they get a dose of reality on the pro tour I think Naomi is a fantastic example of someone who has done everything the hard way and made the most of the talent that she has and so I am always going to cheer for her and have had no difficulty in warming to her whatsoever.
She's got WCs hasn't she? That would have given her precious money and points.