Li broken from 40-0 up and if the following game was anything to go by that was the very last of her resistance.
― lex pretend, Saturday, 29 March 2014 18:50 (ten years ago) link
wonderful performance by Nole. Nice to see him use the backhand slice so well, that' a shot I think he should use a little more vs. rafa.
― Matt Armstrong, Monday, 31 March 2014 00:24 (ten years ago) link
it really was impressive - I liked that he upped the aggression rather than trying to out-grind Rafa, but the biggest surprise for me was his net play. It was actually terrific! Still botched one terrible overhead though, some things never change.
IW/Miami double is a great achievement, really weird to think Nole doesn't hold a Slam at the moment despite the quality of his past month, and if RG or Wim were to be played tomorrow I don't even think I'd call him the outright favourite. Nice to see men's tennis in some sort of flux again!
― lex pretend, Monday, 31 March 2014 10:55 (ten years ago) link
As for Rafa I was sort of surprised to see his fight dissipate somewhat in the second set. It wasn't as total a collapse as Li's but it was a bit of a capitulation.
― lex pretend, Monday, 31 March 2014 10:56 (ten years ago) link
(This week the Charleston draw is so open, literally every non-Williams seed is in mediocre-to-woeful form. Hoping for a Bencic breakthrough!)
― lex pretend, Monday, 31 March 2014 10:58 (ten years ago) link
Serena swinging for everything and barely moving against Cepelova, set and a break down. thigh injury? trainer on court now
― cerealbar, Wednesday, 2 April 2014 00:08 (ten years ago) link
oooo. didn't know much about Cepelova before now, she played really well. i'm going to sleep now
― cerealbar, Wednesday, 2 April 2014 00:45 (ten years ago) link
wow, what a loss. From the highlights it looked like Serena was exhausted and had her thigh strapped. Cepelova drop-shotted her a million times and kept her nerve. Cepelova is younger than Stephens and has also now beaten an injured Serena, I wonder whether she will get Sloane-esque hype!
I was impressed by Bencic dispatching Kirilenko on Monday - clinical at first, as expected with Kirilenko rusty, but she toughed out the second set. Bencic's groundstrokes and angles are so lovely.
Mrs. Krumm beat top seed Pennetta in Monterrey, amazing.
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 2 April 2014 09:38 (ten years ago) link
yeah i watched that Bencic match actually, she looked good. hit a couple of great running BH winners. her second serve is pretty feeble though
― cerealbar, Wednesday, 2 April 2014 13:01 (ten years ago) link
Stephens' BH has started this match doing whatever the opposite of peaking is :x
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 2 April 2014 14:17 (ten years ago) link
Svitolina is really good at setting up points she can finish off at the net. Unfortunately she can't volley to save her life
Stephens' attitude is not her problem. She fought hard in the first set, she's fighting hard now. You don't have to be shrieking or hysterical to fight.
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 2 April 2014 15:26 (ten years ago) link
Svitolina's BH is excellent (some of the angles she got with it were sick). Stephens' BH is still a weak, harmless and unimproved mess. THAT is the primary reason for this result.
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 2 April 2014 15:39 (ten years ago) link
Keys is playing so badly right now. Her defensive game has somehow gotten worse (from barely existent to non-existent) and her second serve is so much more attackable than I remember. There is no point in having amazing natural power on your groundstrokes if you're never close enough to the ball to use it...Peng just has to move her around.
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 2 April 2014 17:17 (ten years ago) link
Bencic into the QF over Svitolina? So impressive.
― lex pretend, Friday, 4 April 2014 06:36 (ten years ago) link
First time I've heard Anne Keothavong commentating. She's really good!
― oh, boy, .GIF! That's where I'm a Viking! (edwardo), Friday, 4 April 2014 19:58 (ten years ago) link
Janowicz is in a downward spiral, but still a very impressive win for the 17 year old Coric.
― Matt Armstrong, Friday, 4 April 2014 23:12 (ten years ago) link
Bencic into the semis!
― Matt Armstrong, Friday, 4 April 2014 23:51 (ten years ago) link
Omg that's so awesome although NOT if it leads to Hantuchova winning the title or something. That is what we do not need. But, POINTS, and lots of them for Bencic!
― oh, boy, .GIF! That's where I'm a Viking! (edwardo), Friday, 4 April 2014 23:55 (ten years ago) link
lol at a tournament whose top four seeds were Serena, Jankovic, Errani and Stephens giving us SFists of Cepelova, Bouchard, Bencic and Petkovic. Petko's BH looked so so so good today so I'm hoping she can take out Bouchard as well and get that RG seeding bedded down now.
― oh, boy, .GIF! That's where I'm a Viking! (edwardo), Saturday, 5 April 2014 01:56 (ten years ago) link
Errani's slumping but that's still such an impressive win for any 17yo. Bencic into the top 100 now I think.
That's a really exciting sf line up
― lex pretend, Saturday, 5 April 2014 10:41 (ten years ago) link
Yeah, when I say lol, I'm more "lol at tournament organisers probably hating it" when it's more, hey, genuinely exciting for the future of the game - amazing young talent in Bencic and possibly underrated ascendant in Cepelova, plus the WTA's glamour girl with one of the game's most endearingly outsized personalities (maybe second only to Li in that regard) who really sells her slightly stiff game with humour and passion and love. So, three girls who deserve the exposure and the points at the moment, and one who has plenty but has a chance to really solidify her movement towards the top with a Premier win, which in itself would be good even though she's a bit overexposed, because it would bring the achievements in line with the hype. Really, no bad outcomes here.
― oh, boy, .GIF! That's where I'm a Viking! (edwardo), Saturday, 5 April 2014 13:37 (ten years ago) link
tough loss for Bencic, but well earned by Cepelova. She was a wall.
― Matt Armstrong, Saturday, 5 April 2014 22:33 (ten years ago) link
Well, that was fairly horrific from Murray. And Fed/Stan lost their doubles yesterday so dream GBR-SUI semi is now potentially ITA-KAZ.
Stan is having a real post-AO dip, isn't he?
― Michael Jones, Sunday, 6 April 2014 12:09 (ten years ago) link
Italy away was always gonna be a massive ask.seemed like they cut to Pennetta in the crowd loads of times and nobody acknowledged who she was. unless i missed it? down with that sort of thing anyway
― cerealbar, Sunday, 6 April 2014 12:28 (ten years ago) link
wow, going down to the wire. go Italy!
― charlie h, Sunday, 6 April 2014 12:34 (ten years ago) link
Sure enough, Stan has lost the first set vs Kukushkin.
Ward was extraordinary in the last round vs Querrey but I don't expect him to take more than a set off Seppi.
― Michael Jones, Sunday, 6 April 2014 12:42 (ten years ago) link
To be fair, I think ITA/SUI is the real dream SF and we've got it. (Some bias due to desire to see if court can withstand combined hottttness of Wawrinka and Fognini, suspect it may not.)
― oh, boy, .GIF! That's where I'm a Viking! (edwardo), Sunday, 6 April 2014 20:55 (ten years ago) link
Lovely to see Petkovic win her biggest title after everything she'd been through. Experience decided it, for a spell in the first set Cepelova was all over her but once Petko toughed out the set, Cepelova's mental and physical reserves seemed empty apart from the somewhat predictable finishing line wobble/fight. Really a breakthrough week for Cepelova though, she'd broken the top 100 without much hype but even aside from the Serena win, her results this week were a huge step up. Funny to think that last week she lost in an ITF SF (albeit to top seed Erakovic, who isn't a pushover).
― lex pretend, Monday, 7 April 2014 08:04 (ten years ago) link
Cepelova played in that tournament with zero people in her entourage, no guests no coach no trainer.
Looking back it seems like she missed a ton of time last year with injury? Only her second tourney this year.
― Matt Armstrong, Monday, 7 April 2014 11:03 (ten years ago) link
Yeah apparently her coach flew home after Miami to save on expenses.
She was on the Tour fringes last year though didn't miss any time as far as I can tell. Broke through at Wimbledon 2012 (qualified, made R3), ended the year just outside the top 100. 2013 was consolidation mostly, only one Tour QF (Florianopolis) but stayed in the top 100 thanks to a few Slam wins and ITF runs. Charleston was her eighth tournament of 2014 (she already reached the QF in Shenzhen).
I can't believe the Bogota event is still going, it was The Worst WTA Tournament every year for so long, I remember the days when there'd barely be enough top 100 players to fill the seeds. And now, after 16 years, they finally get two top 20 players in Jankovic and Stephens.
― lex pretend, Monday, 7 April 2014 13:37 (ten years ago) link
Yulia Putintseva and Michelle Larcher de Brito are playing each other RIGHT NOW in the QF of a US $25K challenger. And it's not being streamed ;_; ;_; ;_; ;_;
― lex pretend, Friday, 11 April 2014 15:38 (ten years ago) link
Giorgi beats CSN to reach the Katowice final, cool. Pretty consistently good year she's having. Has started playing with slightly more control and it has made a huge difference
― cerealbar, Saturday, 12 April 2014 18:15 (ten years ago) link
Lol
― Matt Armstrong, Sunday, 13 April 2014 00:08 (ten years ago) link
Only saw the last few games of Cornet v Giorgi, they were hilarious enough for the contrast between Cornet's theatrics versus the most expressionless player on tour. So typical of Cornet to win a title having gotten bagelled twice en route (and WTF @ Aga losing that SF)
― lex pretend, Sunday, 13 April 2014 16:47 (ten years ago) link
missed return on MP was pretty heartbreaking. entertaining match though
― cerealbar, Sunday, 13 April 2014 17:08 (ten years ago) link
I see Garcia beat JaJa in Bogota! Truly the week of...one over-achieving and one under-achieving Frenchwoman
― lex pretend, Sunday, 13 April 2014 18:13 (ten years ago) link
Fognini is just the kind of player to bring out Tsonga's inner moron on clay, his touch is so wonderful
― lex pretend, Thursday, 17 April 2014 09:53 (ten years ago) link
Fognini in full rant mode <3 Unfortunately in Italian.
― lex pretend, Thursday, 17 April 2014 10:17 (ten years ago) link
meanwhile in KL, Cagla Buyukakcay has become the first Turkish woman to make a WTA QF. Hilarious moonballing by Majeric in the closing two games to attempt to stave off defeat.
― lex pretend, Thursday, 17 April 2014 10:31 (ten years ago) link
lol, and I turn back to Fognini/Tsonga to find Fognini tanking and getting booed in the third set
― lex pretend, Thursday, 17 April 2014 10:33 (ten years ago) link
great win for ferrer but a pretty awful match
― groovemaaan, Friday, 18 April 2014 12:54 (ten years ago) link
First set of Stan v Raonic was pretty good until halfway through the tie-break in the first when Raonic decided just to hand Stan the set. Rafa v Ferrer was hilariously entertainingly unforced-error central.
― ailsa, Friday, 18 April 2014 13:30 (ten years ago) link
what's up with Djokovic? Fed winning his first Monte Carlo title at 32 would be kind of cool
― cerealbar, Friday, 18 April 2014 17:19 (ten years ago) link
yay all swiss final
― cerealbar, Saturday, 19 April 2014 15:08 (ten years ago) link
Djoker's dealing with a wrist injury. Probably shouldn't have played. Didn't seem to affect him in the first set tho.
― Matt Armstrong, Saturday, 19 April 2014 15:53 (ten years ago) link
he was barely competitive in the second set, astonishing that the first set was as high quality as it was given how serious it looked
not really here for Olderer nostalgia
v excited that at 17, Donna Vekic has now made three WTA finals! please win this one, it'll be an uphill battle vs Domi though.
― lex pretend, Saturday, 19 April 2014 16:23 (ten years ago) link
LOL what PR advisor is telling Bouchard that being an awful person will win her fans https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh-game/genie-bouchard-gives-opposing-slovak-fed-cup-bulletin-022356714.html
― lex pretend, Saturday, 19 April 2014 16:40 (ten years ago) link
that is pretty annoying.I like Cirstea's attempt at a mean face here:https://24.media.tumblr.com/29b51e5f0cf1e886422dadcf3c0d3ca5/tumblr_n49jblLeGz1sllw2oo2_500.png
― cerealbar, Saturday, 19 April 2014 17:05 (ten years ago) link
I guess Bouchard is just weird. Better than being fake I guess.
― Matt Armstrong, Saturday, 19 April 2014 17:07 (ten years ago) link
it seems fake to me, never heard of her doing it before and it's just the sort of thing some clueless PR would tell her to do - "be MEAN and BAD-ASS like Sharapova and Serena!" or something. Except obv a terrible way to do that.
― lex pretend, Saturday, 19 April 2014 17:10 (ten years ago) link