Women's Game Good Now?

After watching Kvitova play better than Sharapova yesterday, I think the women's game is now stronger than it has been for a while now. Ok, the Williams sisters, Li Na and Kim Clijsters won't be around for much longer (Kim is retiring at the end of the year or so she says) but there is a good bunch of players about just now:

Kvitova (I expect great things from her_
Sharapova (She needs to fix that serve before she becomes great again)
Lisicki (from what I've seen)
Ivanovic (with the right coaching)
Robson (in a few years, she reminds me of Shazza except quieter)
Wozniacki (World Number 1 but not for much longer)
Azarenka (I can't see her becoming a "great" player)
Pavlyuchenkova (Sorry for the spelling)

What does everyone else think? Competitive or going to be steam rolled by Kvitova?

Lisicki looks very promising to me and Kvitova clearly more so. Both have very attractive games, powerful and with variety. And without the shrieking.

Sharapova to me is old-school. Limited.

They're all very good, however I do think that it is a bit difficult to make stars of them as I don't see a particular 2 or 3 of them being completely dominant I can see them all dipping and coming back...

And for me Sharapova just is a bit too inconsistent but really gives it 110%

TSC think the likes of the Williams sisters and Li Na will be around for a couple more years so can't be discounted. Clijsters looks like a spent force and Schiavone may not have much longer to go either.

Kvitova and Azerenka are the future along with the likes of Lisicki, Petovic.
Bartoli will remain a thorn in everyone's side (her game does grow on you though). Sharapova simply can't serve well enough to win another slam (OK she may prove sucxh doubters wrong), Ivanovic and Jankovic won't contest further slam finals and Wozniacki will soon need to realise her game is also too limited at present.

Robson? Still too early to say. Has the shots though and could learn from watching Kvitova (not impossible for her to construct a very similar game).
Watson also can't be discounted - she has a great attitude and fiercer determination.

NO !

I don't really rate Schiavone except on a clay court. I doubt think she has much of a chance on the other two surfaces. I'm a fan of Li Na, it's just a shame it's taken China so long to let her play singles. Shazza's movement lets her down. You could say the same of Serena but she dictates rallies and doesn't need to move. Serena will be around for a while yet but Venus isn't the player she was.

GTG
I think it's slightly harsh on the new generation of Eastern Europeans to tar them with the brush of being 'clones'.

Kvitova may have the power ground strokes of the other recent slam winners, but she also has a very good serve (plus being lefty) and has the ability to play touch shots that has been lacking from the previous generation of players. Hopefully she and some of her contemporaries will begin to re-establish the WTA as a serious tour and pull it out of the doldrums that have been present since Henin retired for the first time.

graf_the_greatest wrote:One swallow does not a summer make

True, and also true that there are some young players who seem to be a hibrid of Sharapova (power, shrieking) and Wozniacki (consistency from the baseline).

However, it is encouraging that many of the slams over the last couple of years have been competed for by players with more variation in their game - Schiavone at RG being more about the touch and courtcraft, Li Na being a solid all-rounder and now Kvitova also looking to develop and improve her all round game.

It has been a bit sad watching all the ball bashers dominate for so long - I happened to see some highlights of the Graf v Novotna final the other day. What a difference there has been over the years - hardly anyone would adopt Novotna's largely serve-volley game, and even Fraulein Forehand had a much more rounded game than most of the current women, being an effective server and a very under-rated volleyer (and contrary to the myth, Steffi also had a brilliant backhand, she just chose not to use the topspin one very much especially with the quick grass making her slice so vicious).

I agree, there should be a rule that the number one ranking has to go to the highest ranked player with a GS, so the current number 1 should be Clijsters. Wozniacki's only redeeming quality is her looks. And Zvonareva? Don't get me started on her. She lacks absolutely everything and therefore wasn't on my original list.

As for rivalries, everyone is too nice nowadays. Maybe we'll see something between Kvitova and Lisicki if she stays fit. I reckon those two could contest a few finals in years to come.

And sorry for forgetting Watson earlier, I knew I had forgotten someone.