Yes, it seems to me that our doubles profile in the women looks very good
And hardly any doubles teams in the BJK are regular partnerships so I don't really see that as the issue - yes, the Italians are lucky to have one, but they only just scraped a win against a completely scratch team, and scanning down, I can't see any other regular top doubles team in the list
An awful lot comes down to captaincy in BJK - it used to be what makes both singles and doubles so different from the normal tour. Now that on-court coaching is more the norm it's less of an issue but the question is who is giving the coaching?
I didn't see Louis Cayre - was he there? If not, why not? Anne was by her own admission a pretty useless doubles player. (I'm not a great fan of Anne's approach in general - and after all, if she'd got Katie over the line, which was absolutely 50:50 in that last set, none of the doubles would matter)
To be fair to Hruncakova's doubles abilities, WR 159 just now clearly doesn't reflect her anywhere near her best. She does have a CH 27 from 2021 and was a US Open SFist in 2019 ( if lost that SF 0-6 1-6 ). She does look a very good doubles player when in the groove.
I could see the final going to the doubles and if so I certainly wouldn't discount the Slovaks in the doubles against Errani & Paolini. Though I see the betting odds for the final are: Italy 1/4 vs Slovakia 11/4.
-- Edited by indiana on Wednesday 20th of November 2024 10:26:40 AM
To be fair to Hruncakova's doubles abilities, WR 159 just now clearly doesn't reflect her anywhere near her best. She does have a CH 27 from 2021 and was a US Open SFist in 2019 ( if lost that SF 0-6 1-6 ). She does look a very good doubles player when in the groove.
I could see the final going to the doubles and if so I certainly wouldn't discount the Slovaks in the doubles against Errani & Paolini. Though I see the betting odds for the final are: Italy 1/4 vs Slovakia 11/4.
-- Edited by indiana on Wednesday 20th of November 2024 10:26:40 AM
If I'm being honest, I think the match was entirely on Hruncakova's racket.
I've never seen Liv play before, she's great at the net but seems to lack much power or depth in her groundies or serve. Is that others assessment?
Yes, it seems to me that our doubles profile in the women looks very good
And hardly any doubles teams in the BJK are regular partnerships so I don't really see that as the issue - yes, the Italians are lucky to have one, but they only just scraped a win against a completely scratch team, and scanning down, I can't see any other regular top doubles team in the list
An awful lot comes down to captaincy in BJK - it used to be what makes both singles and doubles so different from the normal tour. Now that on-court coaching is more the norm it's less of an issue but the question is who is giving the coaching?
I didn't see Louis Cayre - was he there? If not, why not? Anne was by her own admission a pretty useless doubles player. (I'm not a great fan of Anne's approach in general - and after all, if she'd got Katie over the line, which was absolutely 50:50 in that last set, none of the doubles would matter)
Interesting points CD. Out of interest, what aspects of Anne's approach aren't you a fan of?
From the outside, I find her a bit hard to warm to as a pundit/BJK captain - she always comes across a bit prickly, even at the best of times. But that being said, she seems to have done well in bringing the players together and quelling any potentially awkward rivalries.
To be fair to Hruncakova's doubles abilities, WR 159 just now clearly doesn't reflect her anywhere near her best. She does have a CH 27 from 2021 and was a US Open SFist in 2019 ( if lost that SF 0-6 1-6 ). She does look a very good doubles player when in the groove.
I could see the final going to the doubles and if so I certainly wouldn't discount the Slovaks in the doubles against Errani & Paolini. Though I see the betting odds for the final are: Italy 1/4 vs Slovakia 11/4.
-- Edited by indiana on Wednesday 20th of November 2024 10:26:40 AM
If I'm being honest, I think the match was entirely on Hruncakova's racket.
I've never seen Liv play before, she's great at the net but seems to lack much power or depth in her groundies or serve. Is that others assessment?
Yeah that was what I felt too. Heather was too inconsistent and while Liv produced some outstanding volleys, she seemed a bit underpowered at times.
Liv wasn't up to her usual standards, and her ground strokes and serves weren't her usual level. I've watched quite a lot of her recent matches and playing with Tereza they have had some excellent results against some of the top doubles pairs. I do tink some of it boils down to Heather's inconsistency resulting in them both trying a bit too hard to find winners.
Liv wasn't up to her usual standards, and her ground strokes and serves weren't her usual level. I've watched quite a lot of her recent matches and playing with Tereza they have had some excellent results against some of the top doubles pairs. I do tink some of it boils down to Heather's inconsistency resulting in them both trying a bit too hard to find winners.
Yes, but the question really is why? i.e. why was Liv not up to her normal standard? and why was Heather inconsistent? And why did Katie lose? I know tennis is an unpredictable sport but for those at the LTA doing the report this morning you can't just say 'it was one of those things'
My beef with Anne, Sheddie, is not specifically BJK based. It's mainly in her role on the Board of the AELTC. I feel that she has never been bold, she toes the party line way too easily, is very corporate, she doesn't push for the less high profile players, and it's HER job (IMO) to do that - she's a player rep. basically. So maybe it's a little unfair as regards BJK but ....
And I'd again ask the question about Louis Cayre
Katie was 20 places or so higher ranked than her opponent, on a surface that suited, and didn't get over the line - whereas the Slovak coach managed to do so for his player
And the Slovak team was quite daring in their doubles - they played a pretty unconventional style, based obviously around VH's style of play
Whereas our great doubles specialist was nowhere to be seen, and Lord, the girls could have done with it.
Yes, some were giving the backup team real credit for GB reaching the SF ( maybe rather too much? ), so they at least can't then discount that team for SF issues.
And it can certainly be argued that the backuo team, especially if it has the right make up, would quite likely have more influence on the doubles than Emma and Katie in singles.
I'd like to add that Mihalikova and Hruncakova have played together several times before.
Notably three grass court tournaments in 2023
W100 Surbiton
Beat Freya Christie and Ali Collins. Lost to Emily Appleton and Julia Lohoff
WTA250 s'Hertogenbosch Lost in final
Wimbledon. Beat Harriet and Heather in second round. Lost to Maia and Naiktha in third round
Liv and Heather have played together occasionally before, notably the W100 in Dubai in December 2023 when they were runners up, and beat Hrucakova+ in the semifinal.
When they say Katie who was ranked roughly 20 places above Sramkova should have beaten her, remember at Wimbledon that Harriet who was ranked 100 beat Katie who was ranked 29 at the time.
When they say Katie who was ranked roughly 20 places above Sramkova should have beaten her, remember at Wimbledon that Harriet who was ranked 100 beat Katie who was ranked 29 at the time.
"They" should be wary of the official rankings based on the last 12 months, especially here bearing in mind Sramkova's recent form.
Yes, Katie's own recent form has been pretty good but Sramkova has found a whole new personal level.
When they say Katie who was ranked roughly 20 places above Sramkova should have beaten her, remember at Wimbledon that Harriet who was ranked 100 beat Katie who was ranked 29 at the time.
"They" should be wary of the official rankings based on the last 12 months, especially here bearing in mind Sramkova's recent form.
Yes, Katie's own recent form has been pretty good but Sramkova has found a whole new personal level.
Yeah, Sramkova has won a 250k and made 2 other 250 finals (notably losing to Kartal), plus she qualified and made round 3 in China. She's 17-4 since the US Open, by comparison Katie is 9-5.
When they say Katie who was ranked roughly 20 places above Sramkova should have beaten her, remember at Wimbledon that Harriet who was ranked 100 beat Katie who was ranked 29 at the time.
It's not really a question of Katie 'should' have beaten her
After all, from the fact you've given, Anne 'should' have played Harriet, and not Katie
Of course Katie has some losses to lower ranked players - but so does Sramkova - she lost to Sijia Wei ranked WTA 145 only a couple of weeks ago !!! And lost to Sonay, of course, ranked miles below her recently too.
Assuming a neutral surface, the ranking is the ranking - taking all those losses and wins into account. The question is how to get the best out of the players at the key moment, to get one of those unexpected wins when it matters. And that's down to the player, but also very much the coach/team.