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Post by Iorix on Jul 4, 2011 6:18:42 GMT -5
Corswandt, at the beginning of the fortnight you thought Kvitty was going down to Alexa Glatch. Seriously, unlike other risky players, she apparently has some of the intangibles required for grand slam success. Of course she could pull a BAG et al. and get into a tailspin, but it's worth being optimistic. I was terrified/shaken by the horror show at the Eastbourne final. And I didn't even get to watch the worst of it. Intangibles - yes, she's always had them. Genuinely enjoys playing the big matches on the big stage, believes every single match is entirely on her racquet, and is aware that she has very good technique that won't let her down when it matters and/or when she needs to go for her shots. But I still see her as a fast surface specialist. Madrid was an anomaly - nobody else gave a shit about it as usual, but she was fully committed as it was the only big clay event she was playing this year. Like I said on Twitter, she's a contender for every big title now, sure, but she'll only be the favourite on ultrafast surfaces like Paris GDF, Eastbourne, English Open, or the (indoor) YEC if the court is fast enough. With the WTA in disarray and nearly everyone playing the same (bad) slow hardcourt tennis everywhere, there's a big window of opportunity for surface specialists. Schiavone already took advantage of it, now it was Kvitty's turn.
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Post by lexpretend on Jul 4, 2011 6:46:10 GMT -5
Erratic Eastbourne play = wind. Worse than usual this year. It's a miracle we've had so many great matches at that tournament over the years, with the conditions.
I hope SEWTA doesn't go the way of surface specialists, even ones I love (Fran, Kvitty). Those were the worst years of the ATP.
But I disagree anyway. Petra was three games away from beating the eventual RG champ (and if she'd done so, would have been favoured to at least make the final), her first ever Slam breakthrough came at RG, her AO run showed how effective she can be on slow hard courts. Winning Madrid is in addition to all of that, so it's by definition not an anomaly. The big question mark is how she reacts to suddenly being a Slam champion, so a mini-slump might be expected (but in the long run can be forgiven, I can't see her doing a BAG either).
You could argue that SEWTA's disarray is what opens the window for Kvitova on slower surfaces, and you might be right, but whatever the reason...the window is not just open in places she's already proved herself.
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Post by Traveling Man on Jul 4, 2011 10:39:44 GMT -5
I see her going the way of Sharapova - or so I fear anyway. Remember how everyone went on and on about Maria and how fearless she was and what a great game she had that didn't crack under pressure?
She will have some bad losses (like all top players have - big match losses that hurt) - how will she react? A mini-slump like the one Masha had after winning Wimbledon would be expected right now.
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Post by Old Hag on Jul 4, 2011 10:48:39 GMT -5
Kvitty will have bad losses to everyone. I've seen enough of her, when she goes off, it's bad. Even worse than Demented bad. I hope the expectations don't get to Petra, because she WILL have losses to like Vesna Dolonts.
I think Petra ends up like a Sweta type, except not nearly as stupid. And she'll get to #1 because good players don't exist anymore.
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