The five best players of the year (as of the points race) Caroline Wozniacki, Petra Kvitova, Li Na, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka are all capable of great hard court tennis and Wozniacki, Sharapova and Azarenka all had a successful US Open Series last year.
The recently returning Serena and Venus Williams as well as the soon-to-return Kim Clijsters are three of the four greatest players of their generation and all can produce breath taking tennis, the only question will be, can they return to form sooner rather than later? The three women have won eight US Open titles and will be out to prove that they can all still produce their best tennis.
Last years US Open finalist Vera Zvonerava is also capable of producing great tennis on hard courts but also needs to find her form that took her to two grand slam finals last year. Having her best year on tour, Marion Bartoli is also able to play on hard courts, and has had some great results this year.
Up and comers Andrea Petkovic, Shuai Peng, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Julia Goerges, Yanina Wickmayer, Dominika Dibulkova, Sabine Lisicki and Jarmila Gajdosova all have had some solid performances this year and last and have good solid all court games, which should no doubt lead to some potential upsets.
More experienced players desperate for deep runs and consistent results Svetlana Kuznetsova, Jelena Jankovic, Agnieszka Radwanska, Ana Ivanovic and Sam Stosur have all preformed well on hard courts in the past and will be hungry to post solid wins and gain some confidence and consistency.
The ever dangerous Daniela Hantuchova has played great recently and will be looming in the draws holding the potential to gain some early round upsets.
How will young rising American star Christina McHale be able to perform? Will she strive after the backing of a home crowd or crack under the pressure?
This US Open hard court season promises so much, I just hope it can deliver!
5 comments:
I'll give my breakdown:
McHale did pretty well in S.C. Charleston, she went through the qualifiers, and reached QF which she lost easily to JJ. I don't think she will crack under the home crowd pressure.
Not sold on Petkovic I think she is way overrated. Didn't I say that already? :P
Peng can make some noise, she quietly reached the QF in Indian Wells, and 4th round at AO 11 and Miami. She has done well on hard courts we can expect more.
The Big Stuffed Bunny, I have to agree with the Captain this hard court season will be her down fall.
Kuznetsova I think she's done, her disinterest is showing every where she plays.
Not sure a bout Vera, the long break may help this WTA head case resident. She is still going deep into tournaments but the way she loses makes you wonder. She did well earlier in the year in hard courts, so it can help her to get back in the swing of things. This indicates that she is only a one surface player: hard court.
Cibulkova will be a dangerous player but not against the ball bashers, see Wimbledon 11 against Divapova.
The Fist Pumping Imbecile, well she is an imbecile haha. :P
Stosur, we no longer are in clay season I expect her to be a non factor in the big tournaments. One deep run, no titles, and an early exit in USO 11.
I'm expecting more from Licki Bean. My expectations are high. Remember when high expectations are not met the bigger the disappointment. Ms. Bean is a player who can give more than a fit to the ball bashers.
The hard court season will be dominated by two players Ostrich and Divapova. I think Serena will peak at the USO so we can have Divapova/Serena/Ostrich reaching the USO 11 semifinals.
WickiWickiWicki and Jarmilla, can have decent runs I don't see them winning titles but they will be tough to beat. My favorite type of players.
JJ sadly I think she is coming to the end of her career.
Pavly can make a name for herself in this hard court season. I want to see if her potential translates into success.
Julia G. had a horrible hard court season earlier in the year. I think her game is more apt for clay. Caps321 am I wrong in saying she is like Stosur, just a clay court player?
Angry Bird puzzles me, will she be healthy enough to be around or will she retire from tournaments as is at times customary.
Venus: too old, I think is sad to say it but I don't think she has it anymore.
Li Na, she seems to play well only in grand slams. Did she get her sense of humor back after the early loss at Wimbledon?
Julia G. had a horrible hard court season earlier in the year. I think her game is more apt for clay. Caps321 am I wrong in saying she is like Stosur, just a clay court player?
To tell ya the truth -- I've never thought about who plays well on what surface. (Besides Schiavone and clay.) In other words, I think 'good players' can adapt and win against lower ranked players on any surface if they have more than one bag of tricks/game plan.
Concerning the Stosur/Julia comparison:
Julia has already matched Sam's TOTAL WTA tour singles titles with 2.
W/L record this year - Sam 24-15 / Julia 26-13.
Carlos I agree with nearly all of your points! Time for a mini break down by me :P
Peng could make deep runs in Toronto and Cincy and I think QF at USO.
I was shocked that Bunny is only playing 3 lead up tournaments! Ill wait and see how this 'injury' holds up against top players.
This is like Kuznestova's last chance to prove her self.
Vera was dissapointing at Wimbledon but a long break will do her a world of good.
I agree with your points on Stosur, she peeked last year at RG and will continue her downfall.
Every one has high expectations on Licki Bean now, her USO odds are 12/1...
Jarka and Wicki will be able to stir things up and I see them both getting to the 2nd week of USO (draws depending)
JJ's head is somewhere else, since her RG loss to her fist match on hard courts (Toronto) she would have played once in 10 weeks (1R Wimbledon)
I hope Pav can back up her RG run on hard courts after an early loss at Wimby, perhaps she can crack top 10.
Julia made 4th round at AO, could make a couple of deep runs.
Venus will make some deep runs next year then retire.
Caps, I agree with you, good players should be able to do well on any surface, it just shows Stosur is just an over rated one time final fluke wonder. Julia will have a much for successful career.
I'm not impressed Wiki at all.. She seems to have a pretty good game but loses confidence and folds up like a cheap tent more often than not.
Here are the stats on WickiWickiWicki:
2011 record: 29-15
First round loses: 3
AO: 2nd round
Indian Wells: SF
Miami: 1st round
RG: 3rd round
Wimbledon: 4th round (got spanked by Ostrich)
Titles: 3
Career record 241-110
Age: 21
Rank: 19
Goerges:
Record: 26-13
First round loses: 3
AO: 3rd round
Indian Wells: 3rd round
Miami: 1st round
RG: 3rd round
Wimbledon: 3rd round
Titles: 2
Career record: 214-126
Age: 22
Ranked: 16
Goerges and WickiWickiWicki are pretty much similar. Except Wicki has higher expections.
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