2014 women's tennis thread

[shivfan]

Brisbane

Serena vs Azarenka in the final....

I wonder how many times we'll be saying that sentence over the course of this year.

[shivfan]

Serena wins round one of this rivalry...takes home the Brisbane title.
  

[lydian]

Be interesting to see how Vika gets on with having a new physical conditioner in her camp through 2014...and dropping that idiot of a boyfriend who probably wasn't the best fitness advocate.

Serena hasn't win AO since 2010...the longest she has gone at any slam...2014 could be time for an update there. She needs to win 3/4 slams this year to have any shot at the slam record as time is surely catching up on her at some point.

[JuliusHMarx]

Not looking good for Robbo - still having wrist problems
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/25620167

[slashermcguirk]

rivalry???? that is a joke right. Serena absolutely owns Azarenka, just like she does Sharapova.

Oh how I miss Justine Henin........the only player in the past 10 years that didnt fear Serena and also had a great game to watch. This current era of womens tennis is so uncompetitive. Expected more from Kvitova after she won wimbledon and she has fallen away. Na is too inconsistent and dont even get me started with the likes of Ivanovic, Wozniacki and co.

Mind you, there is something very watchable about Ivanovic

[The Special Juan]

Not looking good for Robbo - still having wrist problems
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/25620167

It's sad. I hope it doesn't develop into something chronic as joint injuries are a nightmare. She should probably skip the Aussie Open and take all the time necessary to get fit. She's only defending R2 points anyway (isn't she?)

[LuvSports!]

Hey SJ, are you planning to do the v2 tour event again?

[The Special Juan]

I want to LS but unfortunately don't have the time which is a bit of a shame as I started using a new system at the end which allowed me to tot up the points tally many, many times quicker than previously.

[LuvSports!]

Ahh sorry to hear that bud. Hope you had a gd xmas and ny!

[The Special Juan]

Thanks, you too!!

[shivfan]

Here's the draw for the Australian Open....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/22713816

Serena vs Barty, Azarenka vs Larssen, Sharapova vs Mattek-Sands (if fit), and Li Na vs qualifier.

Matches of the round to watch:

Robson vs Flipkins (18)

Venus vs Makarova (22)

Anything else?

[The Special Juan]

Goerges v Errani first round looks like it could be a good match as could Stephens v Shvedova.

On another non-Australian note, it appears the grass court season has come early as grass court master Tsvetana Pironkova has won a title after coming through qualifying and beating 3 top 10 players on the way. She lost only 1 set which was during her final qualifying match.

[Guest]

Laura Robson turns 20 this month (21 Jan) ... where she will be reaching her physical prime.  At Laura's age Wozniacki was No 1 in the world. Laura has 1 ITF tournament win and zero WTA tournament wins. She has made one wta final back in 2012.

An interesting player that turned twenty in October is Garbiñe Muguruza Blanco - she has just won her first singles WTA tournament the Moorilla Hobart International in Tasmania.  She is ranked 58 in the world.

[shivfan]

Watson will play Hantuchova in the first round...ouch!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/25690137

[Guest]

I wasn't convinced that Watson would be able to make it through qualifiers but she has so that's pretty good and suggests she should be making it back into the top 100 sometime this year.  She should have a good chance against the No 31 seed given that she has warmed up to the conditions.

Unfortunately  because she did well at the Australian Open last year she will drop down to 162 in the rankings if she loses in the first round.   She has to get to the third round otherwise she will lose ranking position.  

This means she is unlikely to be able to get into WTA tournaments automatically for a little while so will have to be spending time on the ITF tour coupled with WTA qualifiers. Noises coming from her camp suggests she is easily demotivated and might end up retiring if she can't get back quickly into the top 60 -50.

Dan Evans - Britain's second ranked male player - said last year after some minor success that he expected to get into the top 100 by this time - but his rankings stagnated and he is currently ranked at 149 and he got knocked out in the second round of qualifying.  The legacy of Roger Draper is dreadful and is a million miles away from what he promised with his various three-year, five year, ten year plans - wasting millions of pounds on his own salary and multi-millions of pounds in a national tennis centre placed in the absolutely wrong part of the country.

[The Special Juan]

I think Watson will give Hantuchova a good game and maybe even beat her. I've never really rated Daniela that highly and she's getting on in years. Hopefully Hev's settled into the conditions and can come out firing. As for Robbo, there are worse draws than Flipkens who's on seeded that highly because of her fluke run to the Wimbledon semis. Of course, you can only beat who's in front of you and she did beat Kvitova but still, she's not great. I'll still tip her to win though because of doubts over Robbo's fitness.

[Guest]

Laura's loss drops her out of the top 50 to a predicted 58 ranking.  It is said she just wasn't match fit, with her movement and serving being very poor (the two major weaknesses in her game).

Watson is playing well.  Although she is likely to be beaten (losing the first round 7-5) its a promising performance for the near future.

[JuliusHMarx]

Robson was poor overall - including return of serve and groundies. Probably just down to the wrist injury, but she could barely string 2 shots together.

Didn't see Watson, but a pity she couldn't get through.

[shivfan]

Venus lost in three sets to Makarova, so she's out too...but her sister Serena wins her match is straight sets.

[shivfan]

rivalry???? that is a joke right. Serena absolutely owns Azarenka, just like she does Sharapova.

Oh how I miss Justine Henin........the only player in the past 10 years that didnt fear Serena and also had a great game to watch. This current era of womens tennis is so uncompetitive. Expected more from Kvitova after she won wimbledon and she has fallen away. Na is too inconsistent and dont even get me started with the likes of Ivanovic, Wozniacki and co.

Mind you, there is something very watchable about Ivanovic

So much for THAT theory....
  
Ivanovic knocks Serena out of the Australian Open. This current era of women's tennis is not so uncompetitive now. Who's the favourite for the Australian now?

[LuvSports!]

One match win against an injured Serena doesn't change that point. Serena owns everyone!

[The Special Juan]

Argh again the Grand Slam is thwarted by injury! Azarenka wins by default for the 3rd year running I guess.

[Born Slippy]

Things do tend to go wrong for Serena in Australia. Ivanovic played very well though. Genuine threat for the title I would say.

[The Special Juan]

She's got Bouchard next who beat her (Ana) at Wimbledon pretty easily but if she negotiates that then she'll have most likely have Li Na in the semi-final. That one could be a superb match or a terrible one filled with UEs.

[shivfan]

Yes, it's true that Serena went into the match with a back injury, a fact that was well-known in journalistic circles prior to the start of the match. After all, she didn't practice at all on the day before the Ivanovic match. Serena was unusually subdued throughout the match, and uncharacteristically missed a number of shots she would usually have made, such as overheads. Her power was way down, too. She was knocking in serves at a mere 88ks.

But, as Agassi always said, injuries are a part of tennis, and you have to deal with it. Serena is getting older, and therefore getting more susceptible to injuries. Graf's career was cut short by a back injury when she was still capable of winning Slams. Could the same happen to Serena?

[lydian]

Serena was shocking in the match...clearly nowhere near 100%.
The matches are ALWAYS on Serena's racquet...Ana got lucky.

[The Special Juan]

I'm a bit disappointed but not at all suprised to see no article on the women's final. I missed the first set but Li Na was superb in the second set, teeing off on some shots. Her winner's speech wasn't bad either

[kingraf]

I'm so happy right now... Go team Lithium Sodium!!

[shivfan]

I'm a bit disappointed but not at all suprised to see no article on the women's final.  I missed the first set but Li Na was superb in the second set, teeing off on some shots.  Her winner's speech wasn't bad either

Li always gives the best speeches ever....
  

[Silver]

I'm so happy right now... Go team Lithium Sodium!!

Loving this

Delighted for Li Na, so glad she's won it. She's a truly excellent player on her day.

[Guest]

GB are out of the Fed Cup but I am surprised the BBC didn't flag up the fact that they were heavy underdogs to reach the qualifying stage given the Romanian team had the worlds ranked No 10, No 23, No 54 players in their side. One wonders why Romania are not in the next tier - they shouldn't be in this tier given the players they have.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/26093480

[shivfan]

In Dubai, Cornet knocks out Serena in the semis, but sister Venus makes it to the final by beating C-Woz in straight sets....

[shivfan]

Venus beat Cornet at three and love in the final...the old girl's still got it!
  

[shivfan]

Serena beat Li Na 7-5, 6-1 to win the Miami title....
  

[kingraf]

Well that was bad - hopefully li will bounce back from this. She's clearly got a huge mental block playing Serena, and therefore absolutely cannot afford to lose the first set

[The Special Juan]

Hingis wins the Miami doubles title with Lisicki!

[kingraf]

Dammit!! Can't believe they won... I really thought about putting some dosh on it - but I decided against it...

[JuliusHMarx]

Robbo out til after Wimby   

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/27072843

[lags72]

That's a shame, but hopefully she will come back stronger and show improved consistency.

It's a fair while since I had a little bet with myself that she would be inside the top 20 at her current age ........

[The Special Juan]

I think she'd be on the cusp if it wasn't for the injuries. Alas, she may be one of the unfortunate ones like DelPo. It's typical that our best player for a generation is so injury prone!!

[shivfan]

Congrats to Serena for retaining her title in Rome...that victory speech in Italian was a nice touch too.
  

[The Special Juan]

Robson's now been ruled out of the US Open. I hate to say it but I don't see her coming back from this.

[shivfan]

Serena beats Ivanovic at four and one in the final at Cincinnati....
  

[shivfan]

The 34-year-old Venus Williams wins a hard-fought battle of the veteran oldsters against the 43-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm 2-6,6-3-6-3....

[shivfan]

The rematch...Serena Williams vs Simona Halep in the WTA Tour final - I can't wait!

[The Special Juan]

I don't think it's possible for Serena to play worse than she did but Halep can play better too. I think the Romanian has this in 3 provided the thigh injury she has isn't giving her too much grief.

[shivfan]

Serena takes the first set at three....

[shivfan]

Revenge is a dish best served cold...6-3,6-0!

[Guest]

Hi Shivfan,

which Shiv does your name refer to? Chanderpaul?



emancipator

[Guest]

Fed Cup Final today. Kvitova and Petkovic on court.

No Lisicki for the Germans

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