Week 20 - WTA 250 - Belgrade, Serbia

the addict · Tennis legend

RE: Week 20 - WTA 250 - Belgrade, Serbia

PaulM · Tennis legend

Twice served for it but played an excellent tiebreak. A poor game to start the second though, then failed to take a deuce point to level it back up and this is heading to a MTB

7-6(1) 1-4*

PaulM · Tennis legend

Got back to *5-5 40-0 and broken

Had all the momentum at that point.

5-6*

-- Edited by PaulM on Tuesday 18th of May 2021 02:32:38 PM

PaulM · Tennis legend

Set gone. Argh, what an opportunity that was (although Kato had been serving the better of their opponents).

Flip a coin for this one now.

7-6(1) 5-7 *0-0

PaulM · Tennis legend

Lose it 10-5. It wasn't particularly competitive in the MTB to be honest, Kato/Voracova looked very comfortable throughout it and were very clean.

Such a shame. They worked so hard to get back into the second and if only they had closed the game at *5-5...

Gutted, it's so nearly there but she just can't quite get it over the line in these big point matches. Would have made such a difference with the last of the Obdios points dropping off on Monday too. I wonder who she will try to play the grass with. Raina is top 100 still after her Melbourne exploits - maybe worth a try?

-- Edited by PaulM on Tuesday 18th of May 2021 04:46:39 PM

wolf · Tennis legend

I'd have thought teaming up with one of the Brits would give her a better shot on wild cards?

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

This event has been a bit of a disaster unfortunately, which is such a shame with it being it's first edition. Play suspended for the day a couple of hours ago, and it needs to be a Saturday final. Fernandez/Tomova haven't even started their R2 match yet, so presumably the possibility for 4 matches in two days for one of those. Not sure how they'll schedule it - next couple of days are meant to be OK weather-wise, so the fairest way would probably be to finish the 2 R16 matches tomorrow, as well as the 4 QFs, and then have both semi finals running alongside each other on Saturday morning, and the final later in the day.

HarryGem · Club Coach

Ace Ventura wrote:
This event has been a bit of a disaster unfortunately, which is such a shame with it being it's first edition. Play suspended for the day a couple of hours ago, and it needs to be a Saturday final. Fernandez/Tomova haven't even started their R2 match yet, so presumably the possibility for 4 matches in two days for one of those. Not sure how they'll schedule it - next couple of days are meant to be OK weather-wise, so the fairest way would probably be to finish the 2 R16 matches tomorrow, as well as the 4 QFs, and then have both semi finals running alongside each other on Saturday morning, and the final later in the day.

Agree. Actually quite hard to see how they can finish the tournament in a fair way. Are they able to change the rules half way through and say drop the 3rd set in favour of a tie break?

Have to say the way the weather is shaping up in the UK right now with the medium term forecast looking a bit uncertain for the first week of June let's hope the grass court season isn't cut short by the rain.

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

It looks like they are hoping to have the remaining L16 matches played today as well as the 4 QFs (and all the doubles), as those are just the matches on the schedule, and then presumably both SFs and F tomorrow. Konjuh and Podoroska are currently playing their QF match now while poor Fernandez and Tomova are still waiting for a match to finish so they can get their L16 match underway, which doesn't really sit right at all, especially if there was another rain delay.

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

They comfortably got through their planned schedule today, so it should be completed tomorrow, as the weather is supposed to be fine.

I like the semi final line up - Konjuh vs Osorio Serrano is a nice match up. Ana keeping fit, and rising back up the rankings is a feel good story, and young MCOS's fight and desire is admirable, and she's been doing so well at 250 level these past couple of months.

I'm well and truly on the Badosa bangwagon, and she has a great chance to make her first ever WTA final, after losing 3 SFs in 2021, against LL Tomova. I hope it doesn't happen, but there's a chance that a final qualifying round match of Konjuh vs Tomova could end up being the main final. I doubt that will happen too many times - you occasionally get instant repeats in the main draw, like Harriet vs Sharma the other month, and Hsieh vs Zidansek in Madrid, but the actual final, not so much.

I don't love the fact that the SFs are being played after each other on Centre Court though. With the final later in the day, both SFs being played simultaneously would have been much fairer, but I guess TV dictates.