Weeks 3 & 4 - Australian Open, Melbourne, Main Draw - Hard

Michael D · All-time great

Weeks 3 & 4 - Australian Open, Melbourne, Main Draw - Hard

Michael D · All-time great

Well done and good luck Harriet. 40 points banked already smile

R128: Harriet DART (GBR) [Q] 132 vs Maria SHARAPOVA (RUS) [30] 30 (CH:1 AUg 05)

The Optimist · ATP qualifying

What sort of improvement are the 40 points likely to make to Harriet's ranking

Michael D · All-time great

The Optimist wrote:
What sort of improvement are the 40 points likely to make to Harriet's ranking

Currently she is LR 121 post AO but with obviously all the MD results to come. If Harriet was to beat Sharapova it would likely put her in or near the top 110.

the addict · Tennis legend

OER show a forecast of WR111 for 28/01/19, but that obviously depends a lot on other players, so I would guess not quite that high.

Michael D · All-time great

the addict wrote:
OER show a forecast of WR111 for 28/01/19, but that obviously depends a lot on other players, so I would guess not quite that high.

Yes, I only looked at 21/01/19... ie with both points deductions and additions to be made post AO.

indiana · Tennis legend

Super to see Harriet added in and an interesting match for her to be sure.

She will be within a R1 win of potentially overtaking Heather in the rankings for provisional GB 3. But of course I hope Heather wins too. Indeed all the best to them all !

RedSquirrel · Satellite level

OOP for days 1 & 2 out

All our girls are scheduled to be the first match on their courts, so all start at midnight.

On Monday, Harriet is on Rod Laver, Katie on court 12 and Heather on Court 14
On Tuesday, Jo is on court 3

Michael D · All-time great

RedSquirrel wrote:
OOP for days 1 & 2 out

All our girls are scheduled to be the first match on their courts, so all start at midnight.

On Monday, Harriet is on Rod Laver, Katie on court 12 and Heather on Court 14
On Tuesday, Jo is on court 3

Meaning that Harriet (with Sharapova) is opening the tournament on the main court!!

Julia Carrot · All-time great

Michael D wrote:
RedSquirrel wrote:
OOP for days 1 & 2 out

All our girls are scheduled to be the first match on their courts, so all start at midnight.

On Monday, Harriet is on Rod Laver, Katie on court 12 and Heather on Court 14
On Tuesday, Jo is on court 3

Meaning that Harriet (with Sharapova) is opening the tournament on the main court!!

That is pretty scary for Harriet but at least she had some big court experience at Wimbledon last year.

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

Julia Carrot wrote:
Michael D wrote:
RedSquirrel wrote:
OOP for days 1 & 2 out

All our girls are scheduled to be the first match on their courts, so all start at midnight.

On Monday, Harriet is on Rod Laver, Katie on court 12 and Heather on Court 14
On Tuesday, Jo is on court 3

Meaning that Harriet (with Sharapova) is opening the tournament on the main court!!
That is pretty scary for Harriet but at least she had some big court experience at Wimbledon last year.

Although not really in single's. Should have had a bigger court than 12 last year against a recent former #1. While, I'm a big fan of Maria and would normally have liked her to have a run here, while it sounds awful, hopefully she still has some effects from Shenzhen and it levels the playing field a bit.

the addict · Tennis legend

Whatever the result, it's going to be great experience for Harriet. This time last year she was mainly playing 25k's, and now has moved on to WTA events via Internationals and qualifying. She's had a great start to the season, and may it continue.

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

the addict wrote:
Whatever the result, it's going to be great experience for Harriet. This time last year she was mainly playing 25k's, and now has moved on to WTA events via Internationals and qualifying. She's had a great start to the season, and may it continue.

Unbelievable contrast. Exactly a year ago she'd either be in Egypt or just about to set off to start her season in a 15k, ranked outside the top 300. A year on, she's on the fringes of the top 100, won 7 of her 8 2019 matches and kicks off the first grand slam of the year against one of the most famous competitors in the world.

the addict · Tennis legend

Yes, seeded 3 in Sharm 15th Jan 2018 behind Potapova (now WR90) and Rodanovic (now WR209). Lost in QF to Kolar.
And a vast difference to when I first saw her play at Chiswick in 2015.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Well, I'm sitting quite pretty, and when she breaks into the top 100, Harriet will kindly fund a whole load of decidedly more dodgy punts

From Surbiton, in 2015, I was a fan but thought her defence was slow:

"Harriet was in control the whole time, taking the ball early, taking it on, and against an opponent who looked rather disinterested..... (H lacks a yard of speed, and the defence isn't great, all a bit Robson-esque, but Harriet's got some real strengths, and a great physique for tennis)"

It's great to see how she's really worked on that defence aspect and now people note it as one of her strengths, as well as the aggression, which - seemingly, from The O, I believe - didn't come very naturally to her as a real youngster. The comparison to Laura R is still quite relevant and, again, interesting to see how much better Harriet's footwork is now. She seemed to stall for a year of so, which isn't that unusual, but may have been health-related or training set-up related. But has kicked on so well since joining up with the Turkish lot and now her new coach. I sometimes think her serve could be more of a weapon, given her physique, but may well be wrong ....