The new Blue or "Smurf" clay courts in Madrid have caused a mixed reactions from tennis players and commentators. The first to vent their dislike was Rafael Nadal way back last year when the switch was announced, admittedly he is probably getting paid to not like due to him being sponsored by the rival company to the one which endorsed the change to blue clay. And without having seen the courts play, played on the courts or witnessed the courts at all I will give my own expert insight.
Serena called it "ridiculous" and stated that "no one likes it" as a member of the Player Council Serena also made mentioned that they all voted against it. Venus sees as more of a "fashion statement" because "bright colours are in". Djokovic and Stosur both agree with Serena and Rafa, Stosur said it "pointless" and then went onto criticize the courts a great deal.
The general feedback seems like its very slippery and has a low bounce, so its basically a slippery hard court.
The slippery hard courts have already provided a couple of upsets with Petra Cetkosvka handily defeating world number ten Vera Zvonareva 6-2 6-2. Indicating that Zvonareva is nowhere yet down with slumping just yet and my inside sources inform me that she has a reoccurring injury, believed to hip that she's not letting on about - which would explain her sudden inability to be able to consistently hit through her shots.
Marion Bartoli also joined the seeds casualty list falling in three sets to Romanian Sorana Cirstea, Venus Williams also won in three sets over Romanian Simona Halep, while vocal critic of the courts, Stosur, narrowly survived Petra Martic edging out a 7-5 4-6 7-6 victory in what seemed to be a high quality match featuring only two service breaks. In the second round Stosur will face Christina McHale who defeated Sofia Arvidsson in straight sets.
Last years semi finalist and form clay player, Julia Goerges as defeated by compatriot Mona Barthel 4-6 1-6 in her first match.Which is a far cry from the position she was in after last years clay court season, tipped a certainty for the top 10 and a dark horse leading into Roland Garros, the German has failed to impress since her dream clay run.
38 comments:
I lost my last comment on the previous post.
I guess somebody saw the Boise State's blue astro turf football field and decided to copy them. Is known that ducks confuse the field and plunge to their deaths. Watch out.
Brief recap Vesnina chocked her match ended when she double faulted giving the match and title to Errani. Third title foor Errani all on clay.
Kanepi won the title in a tough three setter.
To me Serena doesn't have a say when it comes to clay, the last time she won a title on this surface was a decade ago. Stuttgart is well known to be slippery my girl Naughty Desdemona wrote back to me answering a question of mine, she added that Stuttgart's clay was ”slippery”. The commentators were saying it during matches, so why emphasize the blue turf for being slippery? To quote Jerry McGuire, ”Just shut the hell up and play the game”. Ball bounces low whe it rains on red clay, why the commotion now?
I said that Ball Bashers were going to have a tough time, so far Venus had a three setter. Lets see about the rest.
Wicki won in straights whlie Bunny's match is going to a third set she won the first 9-7 in the tie break lost the second 4-6.
I lost two post...Testing.
Carlos I saw your original posted refreshed page and it had gone. I think there are some technical difficulties going as blogspot re-images itself. The dashboard and post creator/editor are changing back and forth between the old and new and I keep losing comments and posts. Contemplating switching to a new host website
Captain, thank you for the input. I downloaded a different Web browser for my phone, I'm trying it out hope it works. If you decide to change Web host please let us know. What did you think about my original comment?
From what I can recall from it I agree! I think the player only like two kinds of change 1) shorter schedule. 2) more money! I can understand their anger to some extent as the only gauge for RG now being Rome and how they want all clay court to play like clay courts etc. I think its just trying to make a big deal over nothing!
I will inform of any change that happens!
I also remember a question you asked in a previous post about time for outfit changes on runways? It really depends on how many models and whatever I remember one show I did and we were all overjoyed because we got I think it was 15 minutes for clothing changes! So its normally very very quick
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MADRID — Former No 1 Caroline Wozniacki rolled an ankle but battled on to post a 7-6 (9/7), 3-6, 6-4 opening win over Ksenia Pervak of Kazakhstan in the Madrid Masters yesterday.
The sixth-seeded Dane struggled on with her handicap to take victory in a match lasting more than three hours, saving an amazing 14 of the 22 break point she faced.
http://tinyurl.com/7h2c9pu
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Too bad Mona won't be able to beat the Bunny's tail without her claiming some sorta gimpy ankle. That said, of course I didn't actually see the 'injury' since there has been no coverage. I expected Mona to play tomorrow and figured I got shortchanged! However, she's not on the OOP.
05:00 Vesnina - S. Williams
07:00 Erakovic - Kvitova
13:00 Stosur - McHale
14:30 Kerber - V. Williams
Thank you for answering my question Captain! :)
Caps I agree with you, is more than certain Naughty Desdemona will trounce the Bunnster. I can hear Bunny's press conference, ”Well, I have a bad ankle but I wouldn't blame my loss because of it”.
Tomorrow I'll take:
Serena over Vesnina...Vesnina is a chocker her final's match against Errani is one proof out of many.
Ostrich over Erakovic...Big bad Ostrich is always big and bad in the early rounds.
Stosur over Bambi...It won't be easy for Stosur if Bambi has improved as I think she did, than expect a three hard fought sets lasting about two and a half hours. I'm rooting for Bambi of course.
Kirby defeating Venus in easy two dry.
Caps, your last comment in the previous post had a link to an article rating how the top fifteen were going to do in RG basing on their current level of play. Here is my take:
Mrs. Angry Bird: She is the top candidate to win RG if she keeps lising in the finals or semis that will make her angrier and more hungrier to win the big prize. If she keeps winning it will give her more confidence. She is the type of person that anger motivates her.
Divapova: She looked great demolishing her opponent in the first round in the blue turf. Her win at Stuttgart may signal that she is no longer a brainless Ball Basher, but I'm not so sure she can handle the elements. Playing indoors is like playing in a ”bubble” and mother nature is tricky in Paris. Last year she benefited from the dry weather and lost in windy conditions against Na in the QF; will she have the same run in a wet weather? No!
Aggie: there is a reason last year on this blog the Captain said, ”Aggie is the Duchess only on clay season”. She has the stuff, the ”bag of tricks” to be the perennial Queen of clay. The obstacles that she faces are Mrs. Angry and the mentality for not punking out.
Ostrich: I don't see her winning RG 12. Watch out for her on grass and this summer hard court season.
Stosur: She is apt for a big run, QF, at best semis but depending on the draw.
Bunny: No shot. She no longer benefits from easy draws like she did when she was number one.
Sponge Bart: The wheels seems to be coming off at the seems. French players don't know how handle home pressure Square Pants is one of them.
Na: At thirty I say the gas tank is low and she hasn't been the same since winning RG 11.
Serena: no chance! She hasn't won a title in red clay in a decade the streak will continue.
Vera: injury or not she is done.
Furby: too old and the gas tank needle is nearing E.
Fist Pumping Imbecile: Again she can't defeat top opponents much less back to back.
Errani: capable for a second week run QF, no further depending on the draw.
Kirby: capable for a semis run as long as she doesn't lose her head and put up more of a fight unlike in Stuttgart against Ostrich.
My dark horse: who else but Naughty Desdemona.
Captain I did this entire post from my cell, hope this new phone web browser works.
I lost another post from my cell! :(
As of May 7, 2012
Radwanska, Agnieszka 3 (4)
Kvitova, Petra 4 (3)
Vinci, Roberta 20 (23)
Pennetta, Flavia 21 (24)
Peng, Shuai 22 (25)
Errani, Sara 24 (27)
Pavlyuchenkova, Anastasia 25 (22)
Kanepi, Kaia 26 (34)
Goerges, Julia 27 (20)
Medina Garrigues, Anabel 30 (32)
Petrova, Nadia 31 (35)
Barthel, Mona 35 (31)
Erakovic, Marina 39 (45)
Voskoboeva, Galina 42 (49)
Suarez Navarro, Carla 45 (58)
Martic, Petra 49 (51)
Benesova, Iveta 50 (44)
Wozniak, Aleksandra 54 (57)
Vesnina, Elena 68 (78)
Tatishvili, Anna 69 (81)
Radwanska, Urszula 93 (96)
Brianti, Alberta 97 (104)
Mayr-Achleitner, Patricia 99 (101)
Mattek-sands, Bethanie 148 (102)
Oudin, Melanie 270 (278)
Chakvetadze, Anna 367 (369)
As of May 7, 2012 - Winning percentage YTD
01 - Azarenka - 94%
02 - Sharapova - 85%
03 - Radwanska - 85%
04 - Kvitova - 74%
05 - Stosur - 67%
06 - Wozniacki - 69%
07 - Bartoli - 68%
08 - Li - 71%
09 - Williams - 89%
10 - Zvonareva - 54%
11 - Schiavone - 40%
12 - Petkovic - 50%
13 - Lisicki - 53%
14 - Kerber - 76%
15 - Ivanovic - 61%
16 - Cibulkova - 52%
17 - Hantuchova - 69%
18 - Jankovic - 61%
19 - Kirilenko - 65%
20 - Vinci - 58%
21 - Pennetta - 62%
22 - Peng - 44%
23 - Safarova - 57%
24 - Errani - 77%
25 - Pavlyuchenkova - 21%
26 - Kanepi - 76%
27 - Goerges - 57%
28 - Kuznetsova - 59%
29 - Cetkovska - 53%
30 - Medina Garrigues - 47%
31 - Petrova - 53%
32 - Wickmayer - 64%
33 - Zheng - 63%
34 - Niculescu - 44%
35 - Barthel - 74%
36 - McHale - 67%
Looks like the McHale/Stosur and Kerber/Venus matches got pushed back big time. Its 1:26pm and both are waiting on mens matches to complete that JUST started.
I'll start the Monday Mayhem by saying:
WISHING THE LOVELY LUCINDA A SPEEDY RECOVERY!!!!!!! :)
Question of the week:
What does a man do standing up, a woman sitting down, and a dog on three legs?
Answer at the bottom of the post.*
Movie quote of the week: "Just shut the hell up and the play the game" from Jerry McGuire.
Pfft another Blah Day.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7863933@N04/7005623943/
Ya talkin' to me?:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/da_belkin/6959182932/
Am I patriotic enough?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tenisuniversal/6826688411/
The right way to channel Angry Big Mac:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wearetennis/6892079466/
Things that are bugging me: I keep losing posts in this website from the computer and my cell phone. In Madrid is the scheduling, my girl Naughty Desdemona has two days off and Bunny only one? Venus had a day off and Kirby didn't? :? And Clefairy's health!
http://www.hulu.com/watch/116576/saturday-night-live-what-up-with-that-mike-tyson
Stock Talk:
The Belly Dancer: she keeps skipping big tournaments and her poor results in the smaller ones have the stock double red flagged.
Looks like we are having an Aggie vs Errani match. I say Aggie wins in three sets. Errani is undefeated on clay with three titles but she hasn't faced a top ten opponent in this clay season. Aggie ends the unbeaten streak of the Italian.
For the third time: I'll post my run down of RG 12.
Furby: too old and the gas needle is nearing E.
Vera: injury or not she is done.
Serena: no titles on clay in a decade, she has noooooo shot.
Na: at thirty, like Furby the tank is nearing E and she hasn't been the same since she won RG 11.
Sponge Bart: the wheels of her wagon are coming at the seams.
Bunny: not a chance, she no longer benefits from having easy draws. Now that she is facing better competition she is exposed.
Stosur: I easily see her as a QF, but a top player or someone that gets hot will take her down in the second week.
Ostrich: I don't see her winning but she can it to another semis. Watch for on grass and the summer hard court season.
Aggie: she has the 'bag of tricks' to be queen of clay; last year the Captain said, "She is the Duchess only in clay season". The obstacles for Aggie are Mrs. Angry, nerves, and the 'Grrrrr Factor' to take the title.
Divapova: with her win at Stuttgart and the first victory in Madrid she showed she is no longer a "Cow on ice" nor a brainless Ball Basher. What I see is that she is vulnerable to the elements, winning in a shelter environment is not the same as battling mother nature. Last year she benefited from a dry season and lost to Na in windy conditions in the QF. The bubble title in Stuttgart will be put to test. She has been playing at Divapova's tennis standard, is she a complete clay court player? No, but with the right conditions she completes the 'Diva Slam'.
Now website said that my post was too long I'm cutting it and continuing in the next comment.
Mrs. Angry Bird: she is the one to take the crown. The lost in Stuttgart to Divapova is fueling her anger, she is one of those people that anger her motivates her. If she keeps loses Madrid and Rome she will be "pissed off" about it and will try to make an statement at RG. I don't see her confidence suffering, again, angers fuel hers. If she keeps wins Madrid and Rome it will serve her as a red carpet to RG title. I still don't like her but I still love her game.
Dark Horses:
Kirby is capable to make it to the semis. What I worry is her mental fragility at times it seems that she is about to lose it out there. Her lack of grand slam final experience can doomed her if she gets there. She has game, I see her into the second week, QF.
Naughty Desdemona: I'm biased! Depends on the draw. She is one opponent that no one wants to see in their side of the bracket. Imagine if Divapova faces Desdemona in fourth round she faces Stosur next or vice versa, it is a killer. My girl can flat out play, experience and nerves are against her, if she keeps Zen clam she can make a name for herself.
*Answer to the question: Shake hands!
Caps just saw your research on winning percentages, nice work! Nasti Pav's record stands out at a miserable 21%. Lisicki and Dimutive barely .500. Peng under .500 for the year. With this stats you can easily tell who's stock is up or down.
I used to run a blog on blogsome.com. It had a spam filter and would put some posts in a holding bin and completely discard others. Perhaps Emily/Lucinda can check to see if something your posting is triggering this action.
For instance, too many blank lines/links and/or unless they have a blacklist of terms that automatically mark posts as spam.
Of course it could just be maintenance issues and blogspot doesn't care if posts get lost when their doing things to the system.
Lucinda, sorry to hear about your injury. But, can you post a photo for proof? I've been hanging out with Ms. Angry Bird for too long and can't tell if the injury is legit or not!
Thanks for the tips Caps, I sometimes think that I leave too many blank spaces but I do this because I don't like things to be lump up together and when I change from one topic to the next. Ironically I haven't lost a post with a link. Monday is the day that I give a variety of links to lighten up the day since most people don't like Mondays because is the start of the work week. Today I gave extra links trying to put a smile on Clefairy for the obvious -hope it worked.
Caps, out of curiosity what was the topic of the blog that you ran?
Clefairy, how exactly did you break your leg, did someone push you into the pole underneath the net?
I used to be interested in cable news and my favorite blog admin decided to quit. So, I started a new one that lasted for several months until he decided to start his back up again. It was mainly done to keep the 'community of commenters' connected. I'm having trouble remembering the year though but it was either before twitter or I didn't use it yet.
It basically covered the news about cable news. Not really the topics covered but behind the scenes stuff and links to profile pieces and such.
Sorta the same thing as when I post links here. But, I didn't offer any commentary about them because I really don't like political hacks from the right & left who make EVERYTHING political!
Bad news ALERT - Someone told me earlier WTA isn't streaming until the 3rd round Wednesday. Well, they were about half right. I saw part of Ostrich's match this morning. Saw the schedule for tomorrow, two ***early*** WTA matches and that's it.
You heard me, NO MONA! Only Sharapova & Bird's single matches.
I will say, if Mona loses and I don't get to see her at all this tournament it will be a very sucky week!
Thanks for answering my question Caps.
If there is no coverage of Naughty Desdemona I'll be one very angry customer. Her swinging of her hips relaxes me into a Zen mode. :P
Caps here is the Bambi's complete breakdown.
I'll start with her record of beat down loses which started in 2011 after the USO:
Toray Pan Pacific lost to Peng 0-6, 3-6.
China Open lost to Sponge Bart 2-6, 1-6.
HP Japan Women's Open Tennis lost to Tanasugarn 3-6, 5-7 (bad loss she shouldn't be losing to this type of player).
2012 beat downs:
ASB Classic lost to Kuznetsova 1-6, 1-6.
Australian open lost to JJ 2-6, 0-6.
Qatar Ladies Open lost to Aggie 1-6,1-6.
All of this loses were in two sets. Now I'll breakdown her three setter loses starting from last year.
Australian Open lost Carla S.N. 6-4, 3-6, 4-6.
Indian Wells lost Petrova 6-3, 4-6, 2-6.
RG lost to Errani 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-9.
AEGOn Classic lost to Errani 6-7(5), 6-4, 2-6.
Bank Of The West Classic lost to Diminutive 4-6, 6-2, 3-6.
This year three setter loses:
Indian Wells lost to Kirby 6-3, 3-6, 6-7(4).
Miami lost to Cetkovska 6-0, 5-7, 1-6.
Family Circle lost to Wozniak 5-7, 7-5, 6-4.
Madrid lost to Kuznetsova 6-2,6-4, 0-6.
Three set victories 2011; 6 and 2012: 3 so far.
What is worrying is what Cetkovska said after she defeated Bambi in Miami. She said she switched her shots, a different strategy if you will and Bambi couldn't figure her out. She lacks a plan B and can't out think her opponents. Two of those three sets victories were against Peng and Peer in Qatar the other one against Erakovicin AO, those matches should had never gone to three sets to begin with. The combination of beat downs and three sets loses this year are not looking hot for Bambi. If Bambi is kicking butt all her opponent has to do is to change strategy and will turn the match around. Does she have a coach? Cause she needs one or if she has one, she needs a coaching change. Last year all her opponents had to do was out hit Bambi, she couldn't handle the big pops. She improved in this area still needs a bit of work but that was a foot forward. Out thinking her opponent must come from her, it comes with experience and 'tennis smarts'. Having a plan B is coaching and scouting. The bright side is that Bambi is a fast learner and it looks like a late bloomer, think Naughty Desdemona.
Leaving less lines blanks. :P
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60 seconds with Petra Kvitova, the Wimbledon champion and world No 4.
http://tinyurl.com/d3xf5nb
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Will Azarenka get back on track?
http://tinyurl.com/cwryjkn
(scroll down below annoying video)
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Bambi trains at the USTA tennis center... Not sure if one of those guys travels with her or not. My guess is no.
Clefairy, how exactly did you break your leg, did someone push you into the pole underneath the net?
This is probably foreign as I don't think Netball is big anywhere outside of Australia & New Zealand but I play Goal Attack and I jumped for the ball the same time the Goal Defense for the opposition did, she is 6'2 BTW I landed badly on my leg and then she awkwardly fell on my leg I believe and I'm not sure quite which one did the major damage
Thanks for the links Caps.
I see Katherine Heigl playing Ostrich.
I scan the second article, too much speculation did Mrs. Angry injury cause her to play not to her potential. My mind is set that she faked or exaggerated that injury, she got her booty kicked and got "pissed off'. This week will be an indicator how Mrs. Angry and Divapova are on clay. BTW none of those writers mentioned that Stuttgart was a bubble/indoor tournament.
Clefairy: Indeed it was the first time that I heard of Netball, I had to look it up on Wikipedia and watch a few minutes on YouTube to get a notion. However I asked the question jokingly, note to self: write emoticons. I was debating weather to ask you that question or if someone landed on you, no joke. Now I have more questions, you mention the person that landed on you was 6'2, was it Louise? I'm not going to make friends with the next question, if it wasn't Louise was it someone that Al Bundy would call, "A fat woman"? The next time that you see this person are you going to punch her or "remind her of her mother"? Did you had a chance to let her know your "true feelings about her" when she landed on you? About your cast, back in the day casts were white in color only, now you have a variety of colors, is your cast pink in color and does it make your mood brighter? :P
WTF, Mona loses.. Was up 6-5 in second set ended up getting punked out in the tie breaker. 6-4, 7-6.
Anyway, guess I'll get some joy out of Serena beating Woz assuming that happens!
My week is officially ruin! Now I'm disappointed, I'm keeping my comment rated R, I'm keeping my comment rated R...Damn you Bunny from hell! I wish that you get a yeast infection or something! Dam you! XP
Saw the second set of Aggie/Errani match, Aggie demolished Errani 6-0, 6-1. It was a combination of Aggie playing too good and Errani missing her opportunities. Errani was 0-8 in break points in the first set. She was quickly broken at the start of the second set to go down 0-1, from there Aggie blitzed to a 5-0 lead. Finally Errani won a game, raising her arms into the air like saying, ”Finally”. I'm not surprised Errani getting blown out she had not faced a top ten player in her three titles run, only two top 20 players.
I saw the second set of Aggie/Errani match. Aggie demolished Errani 6-0, 6-1, it was a combination of Aggie playing excellent tennis and Errani missing her chances. Errani was 0-8 in break points in the first set. She was quickly broken at the beginning of the second set to go down 0-1, from there Aggie blitzed her to go up 5-0. Errani won the sixth game, she raised her arms into the air like saying, "Finally". I'm not surprised that Errani lost in this manner on her three title runs she didn't face a player in the top ten, only two players in the top 20 Julia G. and Diminutive in Barcelona.
Wicki got blown too by Vinci 6-1, 6-2. Wicki Woes is more like it.
The court Kerber/Na Li are playing on is like night & day compared to Aga's.
I think Aga was on the main court, and this is court 1 -- not sure of the name.
It appears to grip well unlike the main court. But, there is a major shadow on this court and its covering 1/3 of playing field closest to the camera!
Mona says:
9.5.: It is always difficult to play your best tennis against Caroline Wozniacki. She is playing so consistently and I didn't keep my concentration during the match. I am a little bit dissapointed, that I wasn't able to play better. Nevertheless I think that the whole tournament was successfull for me.
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Mona, you just had an off day -- Bunny is ripe for the picking!
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*n98 q Lucie Hradecka CZE d n3 s3 Petra Kvitova CZE 6-4, 6-3
n4 s4 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d n27 Sara Errani ITA 6-0, 6-1
*n39 Ekaterina Makarova RUS d n19 s16 Maria Kirilenko RUS 6-4, 6-4
n23 Roberta Vinci ITA d n29 Yanina Wickmayer BEL 6-1, 6-2
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Let's pay attention to the girls, please
http://tinyurl.com/cttflry
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Defending champ Kvitova crashes out in Madrid
http://tinyurl.com/cs6tpao
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Sania Mirza battles against all odds to qualify to Olympics
http://tinyurl.com/czb68gv
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If I read the above article correctly, Vesnina has been playing with a Russian and that's why Mirza isn't her partner right now. Wait, Vesnina hasn't been playing with a Russian, at least not in the last tournament! I forgot who it was, but that's the first thing I looked for as an explanation.
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Varvara Lepchenko’s successful season continues in Madrid
http://tinyurl.com/cr3hqtk
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Elena Baltacha: how I cope with my liver condition
http://tinyurl.com/cn32zft
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Special delivery for Carlos:
http://tinyurl.com/75623ql
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Found that photo on Mona's site but of course can't hot link to it there because of the lame photo section.
Article 1:
I agree 100% percent with this article. I was critical of the coverage in Miami, there were many story lines and no one got to see them. The WTA lost its chance to bargain when the men's game was lame and the women's game had drama. This was about the time at the end of Sampras's era and the beginning of Serena, Venus, Hingis, Kournikova, Belgians. Just to think there was no coverage of a top ten player against a rising star, Bunny/Mona match. On court coaching has to go! Coaches wearing mics may be good for theatrics but if I were a coach I wouldn't want the world to know what I'm telling my player. Do coaches tone it down for not wanting to sound like big jerks? What if a player gets motivated only when coaches are jerks? Would people get the wrong idea about the coach? I'm traditional so get rid of the whole thing, I wonder if Cetkovska would have defeated Bambi in Miami without coaching help?
Article2:
Nice round up. Ostrich like Na haven't been the same after winning their maiden slams. Imbecile out? Yeah!! I disagree with the article and agree with Caps, Makarena's victory over the Princess was not an upset. Naughty Desdemona may the attention, but Makarena is as dangerous as my girl. Here is a question to everyone on this blog, who is better at this moment Makarena or Naughty Desdemona? and who will have a brighter future?
Article3:
I don't like Sania but she deserves to be in the Olympics. She is the top player in the country with the most population. She can rake ratings and attention equaling cash for her, her Olympic federation, and the Olympics organization; which is what the Olympics is all about.
Thanks for the special delivery Caps! Already in my collection.
I'll get to the rest of the articles later on.
who is better at this moment Makarena or Naughty Desdemona? and who will have a brighter future?
Mona has the brighter future and is better right now.
Makarova can't get much better and plays (mechanically) just like Zvonareva but with less game. IMO, she lacks fitness/strength but isn't out of shape.
She'll be 25 in October, has one title (Premier - Eastborne 2010) over Azarenka. And her lifetime winning percentage is just 60%. Plus her highest year end ranking was 48 in 2008.
That said, I think Makarova is a solid top 40 or 50 player.
Lastly, I think she needs a fitness and regular coach upgrade big time to maximize her game.
Sorry about that.
Thanks you for your input Caps.
Article 3:
Varvara Lepchenko's success might have come a little late but seeing how Li Na and Furby were very late bloomers Lepchenko could have greater battles ahead. Unlike Divapova she decided to become a U.S. citizen which is good IMO.
Article 2:
It is always nice that to see a person in her position to bring light a topic that otherwise would be obscure to the public. I did call the British Fed Cup team 'Jokers' which included Baltacha, but my criticism are towards on court results, outside the tennis grounds I may have a different opinion about player (except for a handful). She has over a million in prize money not counting endorsements so she can handle payments for her life time treatment for her disease unlike say an ordinary person. She is of Ukrainian decent raised in England comes from a family rich in sports background.
On Naughty Desdemona hair:
Love her hair! I wonder how long it is knowing that she is 6'1 tall and her is about mid back, like the Captain's.
More on on court coaching:
The light bulb on my head went off and I realized the players benefiting from on court coaching are the ones who can afford one. Lets take this scenario: a very low ranked player goes through the qualifying rounds and makes to the main draw. In the first round meets Bunny, and the qualifier is giving her hell even taking the first set, Bunny has Sven and daddy to help her out, what if the other player doesn't have a coach due to the lack of cash. Is that fair? That is a big NO, one more reason to get rid of on court coaching.
Carlos, good point about some players not being able to 'afford' on court coaching.
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Veteran coach Ricardo Sanchez says that Serena Williams and Venus Williams have essentially lost their interest in tennis and are more concerned with outside pursuits. Sanchez, who is now coaching Nadia Petrova, has also coached Jelena Jankovic and Caroline Wozniacki.
"The thing about Venus and Serena is they do not want to play [tennis]," he told El Pais. "They compete now just to make the London Games. They are more into celebrity and fashion. If Serena [played consistently] she would be the best in the world. The Williams are like sprinters—they cannot stand the long rallies, and if you get four balls back, they can’t play. When you go from there, they die."
Sanchez also added that Victoria Azarenka's No. 1 spot is in danger even though she has improved her forehand, and that No. 2 Maria Sharapova "hasn't improved anything in the last five years." He also said that he likes No. 3 Petra Kvitova's forehand and serve, but that her backhand is weak and that on clay, she has mobility problems because of her size.
http://tinyurl.com/7q252q2
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The company told him that his clients can expect to continue receiving their rackets as part of their deals, but did not mention whether endorsement fees would continue to be paid. Top doubles player Bob and Mike Bryan, as well as their father Wayne, are part of Tobias stable and are listed as Prince creditors.
Other notable players are listed as creditors include Daniela Hantuchova, Mona Barthel , Shahar Peer, Lisa Raymond, Gael Monfils, Viktor Troicki, Alex Bogomolov and Juan Carlos Ferrero.
http://tinyurl.com/7zfyj82
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Guess Lucie Safarova has some sorta illness. The match that took its place is Makarova/Hradecka.
Thanks for the links Caps.
Article 1:
Ricardo Sanchez always been blunt with comments. This guy should be a T.V. commentator. A couple of years ago he said that Lickitongue, "Has great on court ethics but off court she is a disaster." Right now I would agree with the Williams comment but lets remember that Venus is ill and Serena has been affected by the injury bug due to IMO 'tennis old age'. I'm waiting what Sanchez will say about Bunny.
Article 2:
I have a conspiracy theory: I smell inside trading form Divapova's camp. She bails on a life time contract with ease and no fear of repercussions. Her excuse "that the frame she was using was causing pain in her surgically repaired right shoulder" doesn't convince me. I thought she opted out somewhere in 2011 not 2010 as the article points out. Lets say I'm wrong and the article is right, someone must had obtained information about the financial woes of Prince and pass it on to Divapova's camp, advised Divapova to bail, since Prince were heading south she wouldn't have any legal problems. Of course Divapova acted on what her "advisors told her" but how her advisors came with that information I wonder. Unless if Prince's stocks were plummeting and no one paid attention except Divapova's camp then everyone clear.
Caps,did Lucie made it into your exclusive "Stable"?
Off Topic Rafael Nadal:
I read he was complaining about his loss to Fernando Verdasco. Nadal blamed the blue clay surface for his loss and he threatened not to comeback and play again if the blue surface wasn't changed. What a sissy! Pardon my language.
I'm undecided on Lucie at this point.
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Kanepi Forced to Miss WTA Tournament in Rome
http://tinyurl.com/7xqs82v
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Daniela Hantuchova on beating Martina Hingis, her love for tennis and partying with Roger Federer
http://tinyurl.com/7bqn7sx
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Na Li wins the first set against Bird then chokes out on the next two.
Thanks for links.
Article 1:
Hopefully Kanepi doesn't have a tear on her Achilles tendon.
Article 2:
This was a fluff piece, "veterans dominating the game", Come on! AO 12, Indian Wells, and Miami have been won by youngsters not veterans. Two youngsters are in the Madrid semis. Kissing up to Dani.
Serena spanked Divapova in straight sets.
Naughty Desdemona had two days off and had a off day when she faced Bunny. Divapova had a walkover in the previous round and lost. Did the extra day off made them sluggish?
I ended up watching the second set of Hradecka vs Stosur because the score was close. Lucie Hradecka won 7-6 (8), 7-6 (6) and hit 19 aces and 4 double faults.
I think the Hradecka/Serena match will be good if she still has energy.
Also, no breaks of serve in this match.
Hradecka beat the following in qualis: FERRER SUAREZ, KUDRYAVTSEVA.
And in the main draw: Peng, Kvitova, Makarova, Stosur.
In Aga's match tomorrow I expect she will either 1)fold up like a cheap tent, 2) feign an injury (for payback), 3) change her game in order to beat Bird or at least make it close.
That is one hell of a run for the Czech. If she scalps Serena it would be the icing of the cake for her because there is no way she would have energy for the final.
Speaking of cakes...
SPECIAL MESSAGE TO THE CAPTAIN:
Thursday I showed a picture of super model Candice Swanepoel and a picture of yours to my sister (she didn't know who Candice was). I asked her, 'Which one is prettier?' She took a look at both photos and in a second pointed at your picture and said, "She is prettier". So there you go.
Carlos thats a nice not for me to start my weekend on! Thank your sister for that :P I disagree though, hahaa but thanks anyway!
*note
Captain, I agree with my sister! Accept the fact.
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