seagull wrote:

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Harriet on second tomorrow. Presumably she would be one of the front runners for a LL place if all goes wrong?

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 Yes Harriet would be in the mix as a lucky loser. Hibino her opponent has been a lucky loser on a couple occasions in the past.

Harriet holds to 30 after Hibino fails to punish a slow, short 2nd serve 1-0*

NH deep 2nd unreturned 15-0, Hibino f winner after good 1st 30-0, rubbish b slice from Dart into the bottom of the net 40-0, df 40-15, good sustained attacking play from Harriet, eventually forces Hibino into attempted lob that lands long 40-30, unreturned 2nd (?) 1-1

Super combination of forehands from Harriet, f dtl winner 15-0, Nao f cc error wide 30-0, injection of pace from Dart that NH can't cope with 40-0, ace out wide for love hold - impressive hold 2-1*

missed it 0-15, NH attempts fast T 2nd but just misses for df 0-30, impressive play from Nao finishing with volley winner 15-30, decent return that NH can't handle 15-40, poor return error from Harriet after 2nd (I think), Dart takes on b dtl but just misses 40-40, Harriet runs around b to attempt inside out f but gets it all wrong A-, deep 2nd unreturned - chance wasted that game 2-2

Harriet pulls f cc well wide 0-15, df 0-30, df 0-40, decent wide 1st unreturned 15-40, poor error from NH on 2nd serve return 30-40, NH good play, aggressive f followed by surprise dash to net to volley that Harriet can't keep in play - just one 1st serve that game 2-3*

Harriet deep b that NH fails to deal with 0-15, deep 1st unreturned  15-15, Harriet f dtl just wide 30-15, Hibino agg b just long 30-30, ordinary 1st unreturned 40-30, deep return that NH hits in the net 40-40, brilliant b cc winner from Harriet after rally 40-A, another rally Harriet eventually agg f cc that NH can't get over the net, for the break 3-3

NH goes for agg b dtl but just wide 15-0, good play from Harriet finishing with confident volley winner 30-0, NH b cc miles wide 40-0, Dart f dtl just wide 40-15, Dart agg f 4-3*

Routine b from NH just long 0-15, agg b after 1st 15-15, Hibino deep f after 2nd 30-15, rubbish f error long from Dart 40-15, super f cc winner from Hibino 4-4

Hibino agg return after 2nd 0-15, Dart agg f after 1st 15-15, df 15-30, ordinary 1st unreturned 30-30, rally ends with tame f error net from HD 30-40, Hibino fails to punish 2nd 40-40, Harriet defends but  ultimately b error net 40-A, super b cc winner from Hibino for the break - dreadful game from Harriet, offered almost nothing 4-5*

Harriet careless f just long 15-0, Dart b cc error wide 30-0, good deep return 30-15, Harriet in control puts f just wide 40-15, unreturned 1st 4-6

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Erratic 1st set from Harriet. At times impressive, other spells seemingly woefully out of form. The Dart 2nd serve looks so vulnerable in comparison to the Hibino 2nd. 

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Crazy rally ends with Dart b dtl winner 15-0, unreturned 30-0, Hibino agg b cc 30-15, Hibino attempts a repeat but gets it horribly wrong 40-15, deep return off a 2nd 40-30, Hibino super f pass from deep position 40-40, Harriet copes well with short, low return, striking f winner into open space A-, confident b winner after 1st 1-0*

Dart f winner 0-15, good b cc winner from HD 0-30, super play from NH finishing with f winner into space 15-30, deep f after 2nd 30-30, Harriet poor return error wide after 2nd 40-30, Harriet attacks impressively until woeful forehand drive volley miles long 1-1

Good f attack from Dart 15-0, Hibino f error long after rally 30-0, rubbish f error long from Harriet 30-15, ace T 40-15, careless f error long from Nao 2-1*

Missed most of the game, busy getting my washing out of tumble dryer. Saw Harriet good attacking play, finishing with f cc winner into open space for the break. Apparently a Dart f winner, a df and a Hibino error earlier in the game. NH saved one bp with an ace. *3-1

Harriet b just long - does her usual disbelief that decision went against her 0-15, NH takes on b dtl but misses wide 15-15, missed it 30-15, subtle drop shot from Nao that Harriet reaches but can't get over the net 30-30, long baseline rally finishes with careless error long from Hibino 40-30, looks like Hibino attempted another drop shot but no chance of it getting over the net 4-1*

Dart careless b cc error long 15-0, Hibino aggressive (I think) 30-0, Super f dtl winner from Harriet 30-15, good serve followed by poor approach that gave Harriet a chance which she failed to take, ultimately Hibino volley winner 40-15, Hibino f winner after 1st *4-2

Dart fairly agg b cc that Hibino puts in net 15-0, Harriet poor f error net after blocked return off a 1st 15-15, Nao defensive shot clips net to cause Harriet problems 15-30, ace T 30-30, fairly agg f cc from Harriet followed by Hibino f error long 40-30, Hibino punishes a 2nd 40-40, Harriet strange shot selection b dtl off almost half-volley ends in net 40-A, super b cc from Hibino for the break - think last 3 points were all 2nd serves 4-3*

Lovely rally finishes with Dart f pass winner 0-15, Dart return forces Hibino wide and her b cc is wide 0-30, Hibino slightly off balance goes for f dtl after 1st but it is wide 0-40, another 1st serve, another Hibino error seemingly a bit rushed, for the break *5-3

Harriet f error net after Hibino b slice 0-15, Hibino defends well but opportunity for Dart f dtl that she slightly carelessly hits just wide 0-30, brilliant b dtl winner after 1st from Harriet 15-30, this time Harriet is able to land her f inside the lines for a winner 30-30, Hibino deep return off a 1st followed by impressive b cc winner 30-40, super b dtl winner from Harriet to save bp 40-40, Harriet just reaches Hibino drop shot but her f pass is narrowly wide 40-A, Harriet benefits from her b clipping the net that causes NH to error long 40-40, Harriet forces Hibino on the defensive but can't cope with low ball 40-A. Hibino attempts ambitious b slice dtl but carelessly wide 40-40, Dart volley winner after Hibino underwhelming pass A- chance for b dtl after 1st but Harriet puts it wide 40-40, Harriet wins another crazy rally - one player will attack then mid rally give away the advantage with a tame shot, then the other does likewise A-, Hibino aggressive 40-40, Harriet defends well early on but Hibino f cc winner 40-A, Harriet f winner after good T 40-40, Harriet b dtl into net, could have done more earlier in the rally 40-A, Hibino f error wide - Harriet's shot might have been deep ? 40-40, good sustained attack from Harriet despite high quality defence from NH A-, Hibino volley winner after agg f 40-40, poor b error net after 1st from Harriet 40-A, awful b error net from Dart for the break 5-4*

Unreturned 15-0, Hibino aggressive 30-0, Hibino f error long 30-15, Hibino drop winner 40-15, deep 2nd unreturned 5-5

Terrible f error long from Dart 0-15, rushed Dart attempts b dtl after serve but lands in the net 0-30, Harriet imploding another error after 1st 0-40, super f winner after blocked return 15-40, Dart careful f drive volley 30-40, Harriet lands aggressive b dtl after serve despite appearing rushed by Hibino's return, that she missed earlier in the game 40-40, df 40-A, Harriet goes for f dtl but hits top of net for the break 5-6*

Hibino f dtl error just wide 0-15, Harriet tries to attack but poor f error net 15-15, scream from Dart after return lands long 30-15, careless b error long from HD 40-15, Hibino goes for big f after 1st but puts it wide 40-30, unreturned 1st 5-7

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While Harriet had some good spells, she simply wasn't able to sustain a high level for long enough in either set. Hibino defended well and seemed more talented; adopting slices, drop shots, good use of angles. I thought Harriet was poor mentally in this match. Her frustration led to yet more errors, especially towards the end of both sets. 

It looked to me as though playing competent attacking tennis was the best approach against this opponent in these conditions but this isn't Harriet's natural game and her painfully slow 2nd serve almost inevitably forces her onto the defensive. On the 3 set points, Harriet had a chance to land backhand down the line immediately after her serve but couldn't take it. The other two points felt (on one viewing) as though Hibino had control after her return. 

PaulM wrote:

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That's really disappointing

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 Unless she can improve on her second serve its hard to see how she can really get much higher in the rankings. Im sure its something her team would be working on 

RJH1962 wrote:

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PaulM wrote:

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That's really disappointing

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 Unless she can improve on her second serve its hard to see how she can really get much higher in the rankings. I'm sure its something her team would be working on 

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 At this point I doubt there is much that can be done. I did wonder though if there is such a thing as a specialised serving coach.  When you look at American sports teams there is a coach for pretty much every position now.