Week 19 - WTA Premier ($6.7M) - Madrid, Spain - Clay

Michael D · All-time great

RE: Week 19 - WTA Premier ($6.7M) - Madrid, Spain - Clay

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Seems like a good plan to me.

blob · All-time great

It does to me too.
That said, I'm not sure it addresses the underlying problems entirely.
The rot set in with mental exhaustion after grass season, and lasted for 6 months under Fissette.
Sure, Joyce has shown nothing to indicate he can implement a turnaround, or any improvement or restoration to any part of Johanna's game thus far, and so, along with his insipid input gleaned from his on-court moments, I certainly am of the opinion that he's not helping.
Something deeper is rotten in the state of Johanna. Heaven will direct it, Horatio (?)

Michael D · All-time great

The fact that Fitzy left too, so soon after Joyce joined... if I have the timelines correct, also suggests that Fitzy decided early that he and Joyce would not be compatible.

One thing about Horatio, and those other great generals - include Wellington and Napoleon in that - is that their strategic planning went beyond a Plan A, boom, boom, bash, head on assault!

Jaffa · Challenger level

FWIW as bad as Jo was yesterday (24 UEs in set one alone) I thought Pera was excellent.

Julia Carrot · All-time great

Not so long ago we all thought Jo was back to her old self........... Fed Cup - played superbly, beat Osaka very convincingly........ ?????

blob · All-time great

She was good against Osaka. She was great - really great - against Mertens in Miami.
The following match after each of those was pretty much unmitigated dross, which suggests to me that it might happen on any day, but Johanna has precious little control right now of whether it does, or to what extent. You just roll the dice and hope; not the most confidence-building method. Sure, there's natural variation in form, but the current default is very bad, and maybe a set or one match where things click. I also don't see any evidence that things are clicking, more often, or for longer, or more reliably.

She plays again much later today, in the doubles.

scottie1 · Futures level

the addict wrote:
brittak - you have just stated what others on this forum have been thinking for a while. I for one am in complete agreement with you. Jo seems to be getting more and more bogged down with the same game plan. It isn't going to work on clay - and I doubt whether it is going to work on grass either this year.

Konta was the new kid on the block 18/24 months ago and she over=powered her opponents but as you say there is no plan B when the power doesn't work.

ROSAMUND · Futures level

blob wrote:
She was good against Osaka. She was great - really great - against Mertens in Miami.
The following match after each of those was pretty much unmitigated dross which suggests to me that it might happen on any day, but Johanna has precious little control right now of whether it does, or to what extent. You just roll the dice and hope; not the most confidence-building method. Sure, there's natural variation in form, but the current default is very bad, and maybe a set or one match where things click. I also don't see any evidence that things are clicking, more often, or for longer, or more reliably.

She plays again much later today, in the doubles.

Re match after Osaka she did win her next match as this was against Rybarikova who is like Jo not at her best on clay courts. I exclude the Venus Williams match as the other 2 defeats were on clay courts of which Jo only has 5 career wins in main draws. Blame Mike Joyce, but on clay against Friedsam in 2016 she only won 6 games and against Goerges in Paris 5 games and that was in Carril's time. Clay courts and British female tennis players just doesn't mix.

Michael D · All-time great

ROSAMUND wrote:
blob wrote:
She was good against Osaka. She was great - really great - against Mertens in Miami.
The following match after each of those was pretty much unmitigated dross which suggests to me that it might happen on any day, but Johanna has precious little control right now of whether it does, or to what extent. You just roll the dice and hope; not the most confidence-building method. Sure, there's natural variation in form, but the current default is very bad, and maybe a set or one match where things click. I also don't see any evidence that things are clicking, more often, or for longer, or more reliably.

She plays again much later today, in the doubles.
Re match after Osaka she did win her next match as this was against Rybarikova who is like Jo not at her best on clay courts. I exclude the Venus Williams match as the other 2 defeats were on clay courts of which Jo only has 5 career wins in main draws. Blame Mike Joyce, but on clay against Friedsam in 2016 she only won 6 games and against Goerges in Paris 5 games and that was in Carril's time. Clay courts and British female tennis players just doesn't mix.

Yes, you're right Rosamund, but this is what a coach is for. Jo has been aspiring to be a steady top 10 player.... so a) you'd expect her game to improve somewhat on the surface from season to season as she learns more about it, and b) you'd expect her game strategies to develop some more variation to them. Her game is now LESS varied than it was with Carril.

And yes, she's had the occasional good result when all her shots go in, but one has no faith in her ability to go deep in any kind of tournament at the moment. It would be lovely if she blows everyone away on grass, including us, but with that lack of variation in her game strategy...?

blob · All-time great

Match after Osakak: I was thinking of the doubles rubber.

JonH · All-time great

Jo's doubles has just started

Julia Carrot · All-time great

Somehow they managed to win after losing the second set and being way behind in the MTB most of the time. Well done girls !!

blob · All-time great

Julia Carrot wrote:
Somehow they managed to win after losing the second set and being way behind in the MTB most of the time. Well done girls !!

Completely out-of-the-blue, that is a bewilderingly fantastic result!
Probably Jo's best ever doubles match result. (?)

R16: Johanna KONTA/Shuai ZHANG (GBR/CHN) 275 defeated Gabriela DABROWSKI/Yifan XU (CAN/CHN) [4] 25 6-3 1-6 [13-11]

QF: Johanna KONTA/Shuai ZHANG (GBR/CHN) 275 v. Andreja KLEPAC/María José MARTÍNEZ SÁNCHEZ (SLO/ESP) [7] 34

paulisi · Tennis legend

Jo needs to develop another director her game. Big power on a fast court will only get her so far.