Week 33 - WTA1000 - Cincinnati, USA Hard

jb288 · Satellite level

Week 33 - WTA1000 - Cincinnati, USA Hard

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

jb288 wrote:
I saw the first set and Pegula was just better; she is lovely to watch, so neat and efficient. As above, I thought Emma served well and there were some signs of the deeper hitting we saw last year - but Pegula is so consistent and deep, and Emma didn't really have a solution for that.

What was weird was the pro-Emma commentary on Prime; they had decided 'Emma is back' and were interpreting everything through that lens as a way to praise her. Interestingly, Hantuchova was praising the added topspin shape on Emma's forehand....

Yes, I got that angle from Prime as well - the male commentator even said at one stage "Emma is back, this is her time of year" or something like that.

I watched that opening set as well and then fell asleep, but saw it exactly as you did above

Julia Carrot · All-time great

What was good was that she didnt fall away, didnt call a trainer on, and did her best in what was not a good day at the office.

kundalini · Specialist Reporter + Intermediate Club Player

Coup Droit wrote:

Someone said in the Azarenka match that Emma's serve was miles better.....which surprised me as her serve has been the one thing that, imo, has been pretty decent all along, this year

I agree with Someone.

The various injuries: blisters, back issues, muscle strains etc, appear to have restricted Emma's choice of first serve, making it a lot easier for her opponents to get returns deep.

Emma served well in Stuttgart up to Kostyuk match in Madrid. The blasted serve out wide from advantage side (ace that won US Open) featured prominently.

Washington to Toronto a lot of dfs against Osorio and Samsonova, weird serving pattern against Giorgi opting for medium paced serves into Camila's hitting zone rather than going for the inner or outer corners of the box.

Throughout the season, lots of matches in which percentage of points won behind first and second is almost the same; not a problem if it's 76/75 as against Serena but 59/57 in loss to Siniakova, 54/52 in loss to Martic, 53/45 Sasnovich, 42/44 Giorgi.

kundalini · Specialist Reporter + Intermediate Club Player

Emma's post match press conference is interesting regarding playing style: she's tired of pushing the ball around, tried it for a year, doesn't feel it works at this level, and wants to go for her shots more.

https://www.wtatennis.com/news/2749192/despite-loss-raducanu-learning-to-play-with-freedom-again

-- Edited by kundalini on Friday 19th of August 2022 03:35:56 PM

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Halleluyah

Peter too · Tennis legend

I wonder why she switched from the free hitting style we saw at the US Open to "pushing the ball around". Was it something she decided, to try to add something to her game, or did the idea come from someone else? I could imagine the topspin forehand coming from the Clay court events, particularly if she had been studying Nadal.

-- Edited by Peter too on Friday 19th of August 2022 10:57:32 PM

flamingowings · All-time great

In the final, Petra Kvitova meets (Q) Caroline Garcia. Garcia is apparently the first qualifier to make a WTA1000 final.

markymc1983 · Club Coach

I liked Petra's oncourt comment of 'I don't care about the rankings, they mean nothing in women's tennis'. Pretty apt

foobarbaz · Strong Club Player

markymc1983 wrote:
I liked Petra's oncourt comment of 'I don't care about the rankings, they mean nothing in women's tennis'. Pretty apt

It's maybe ok for Kvitova to say this, being as she's sitting pretty in the top 100, and having access to WTA tournaments awarding high ranking points.

It's a bit of a gravy train for those in the top 100, with especially large earnings even for those not doing an awful lot, and chances to extend top 100 status with a few wins here and there.

Quite a different story for those just below the WTA tour level.

If, as she says, the ranking position doesn't really reflect the relative difference in quality of tennis between the players, then to me, that suggests the ranking scheme is not fit for purpose.

Instead, a much more fluid, and equitable, system is needed, and sharpish too, before a generation of talented players are beyond their best years.

indiana · Tennis legend

I think it's much more about the women in general being so inconsistent that ranking 'shocks' happen so often rather than anything fundamental regarding the rankings. Maybe indeed what Petra meant in that players can play so much above or below their general level?

It would be happening on any rankings scale and while maybe not perfect ( most of us would tinker with different things a bit ) I actually think the ATP and WTA rankings are generally fit for purpose. Reasonably understandable, especially now that we are just about back to 12 month rankings, and pretty fair really.

Those that are pretty good will get there and I've yet to see anything fundamentally different suggested that to me is any better, and some complicated suggestions I feel are worse for no clear compensating benefit.

the addict · Tennis legend

I think that Petra's comment is being taken out of content. It was in reply to a question about whether she was hoping to get back to the top of the rankings, and she was more concerned about titles than ranking.

Congratulations to Caro for winning the title, and indeed as the first qualifier to win a 1000 event. Looks as though Emma may have started a trend !

markymc1983 · Club Coach

Petra's comments were definitely about the inconsistency of the higher ranked players and how the rankings do not reflect who is in form/can win titles

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

markymc1983 wrote:
Petra's comments were definitely about the inconsistency of the higher ranked players and how the rankings do not reflect who is in form/can win titles

And it is a correct point to make , regardless

Jaggy1876 · Grand Slam Champion

Dont to where to put this but looks as though Azarenka, Venus and Kerber may all be about to announce retirement. End of an era indeed.