emmsie69 wrote:

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Coup Droit wrote:

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Julia Carrot wrote:

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I've backed Garcia ages ago (e/w) but right now I am concerned that Ons may give her trouble, especially as she gets more nervous as the rounds progress. Fingers crossed, not that I don't like Ons either.

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 Well done, you - you'll have got way better odds than me

And, yes, Caro v Ons is a really exciting semi

I saw Ons' match last night against Aijla and thought she played a phenomenal match, not just good tennis but good tennis when it really mattered too

I like Ons a lot - so wouldn't be sad if she won

I don't care at all between Sabalenka and Pliskova 

I hope Iga v Pegula is a good match, for the crowd, as much as anything

(NB Does anyone think it's relevant that Pegula's family is worth $7 billion? In either sense? Does it detract because she's had all the help that money can buy, and zero worry about not making the hotel bills or whatever - or does it make it MORE amazing that she's prepared to put in all the hard graft when she really doesn't need to?) 

 

 

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 It's no more and no less a fantastic achievement than someone without money to make it to the top of a game like Tennis.  Every player that succeeds has that extra something that quite frankly money can't buy.  It's the same thing that makes business people continue to grow their business regardless of how successful they already are.

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Unfortunately I don't believe this for a minute. The Williams sisters (for example) made it because of the near miraculous alignment of ability and drive in their father and themselves: does anyone believe that they would have been able to succeed in the same way if they had been born to a different family in Compton? Ms Pegula (along with countless other rich kids) appears to have been able to replace the drive of a parent with money: poor people don't have this option, and therefore can't succeed so easily. Money means that ability is much, much more easily discovered. I agree that the player must have that drive, but money definitely eases the path (to clubs, coaching, travel, etc.)

I would say that there is a significantly different challenge, perhaps no lesser, for someone that is doing it for fun and their own personal fulfilment rather than to escape poverty. This difference can often be seen in the same person as their career progresses: I have no conception of what keeps Mr Murray (A) going nowadays, but it is surely a different set of challenges and goals than it was twenty years ago.

Occasional flashes but largely error strewn and poor serving from Garcia. Ons took it 6 - 1 6-3 with superb play. Well done her.

Sabalenka was defeated for the 3rd time in a  GS singles semi final. Swiatek is the first Polish womens  singles finalist at the US Championships/Open  since 1937. Jabeur is the first woman from the African continent to reach US Championship/Open singles final.

 

 

PaulM wrote:

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A good final in prospect. Would love to see Ons do it.

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 Agreed. I wanted Ons to win at Wimbledon. Would love to see her win now in New York.

Hope iga does just that, the wta desperately needs someone that racle up a good few slams. A final between two top players has been a long time coming too.

Iga Switek seemed to have Ons Jabeur in her pocket in the first 3 games. Unbelievable accuracy. Not what I was expecting at all. Then out of nowhere OJ finds her form wins the next 2, but she can't keep it up, unforced errors creep in, and the player who I was expecting to start to dominate the women's game like Martina Navratilova did, she's getting outplayed here. 6-2.

-- Edited by Neil Gee on Saturday 10th of September 2022 08:48:26 PM

-- Edited by Neil Gee on Saturday 10th of September 2022 08:48:43 PM

OJ goes 3-0 down in set two before she holds serve. It's the same pattern as the first set as OJ breaks to go 2-3 but she isn't playing like she did when she broke in set one. So many points lost as the ball thuds into the net. For those 2 games in set one she was unplayable. It's all double faults and no aces. Can she take a third game this time? Swiatek's level has dipped slightly so it's looking possible. It goes to deuce but the Pole prevails for 4-2. If it gets to a third set this could be interesting because IS is not playing like she was but she saves two breaks points then is broken after all. Is the tide turning? OJ holds and it's 4 all. It's getting fascinating in a gritty below par kind of way. Now IS is making glaring unforced errors now. Martina says something about IS hitting the ball without conviction 'for the first time'. She makes her second double fault. Break point. Saved. IS holds. 5-5.