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Day 14
Jun 9, 2012 12:36:44 GMT -5
Post by Edna Krabappel on Jun 9, 2012 12:36:44 GMT -5
I don't consider 2005 as a missed opportunity for Justine. She was obviously finished after RG and was never going to win it that year. 2006... that's where she had it. I think the AO debacle also played a part there - I'd never seen Mauresmo that determined and steely. I didn't see the second week of Wimbledon, so I can't comment on that. But yeah, 1-6 3rd set to Bartoli. Lolz.
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Day 14
Jun 9, 2012 12:39:17 GMT -5
Post by Edna Krabappel on Jun 9, 2012 12:39:17 GMT -5
As for Monica, I think 1991 was her biggest chance - although it does sound almost absurd considering she didn't even play it. But I don't think anyone else was too hot that year, unlike in 1992. The '92 final is mostly remembered for the grunting controversy, but Steffi played a very, very good match there.
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Day 14
Jun 9, 2012 12:44:45 GMT -5
Post by Traveling Man on Jun 9, 2012 12:44:45 GMT -5
I'm the new cat because I was rooting for Sharapova to win? Oh. You're starting to get it! Rephrase the obvious just like that! Are you and Dawn Marie taking the same meds because you're beginning to sound an awful lot like her.
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Day 14
Jun 9, 2012 12:46:04 GMT -5
Post by Edna Krabappel on Jun 9, 2012 12:46:04 GMT -5
That's something the cat would never say!
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Day 14
Jun 9, 2012 12:51:01 GMT -5
Post by Traveling Man on Jun 9, 2012 12:51:01 GMT -5
I said some terrible things to the cat. If you're reading this cat, I'm sorry. As for the other almosts, Monica could've won a Wimbledon if she'd played it more often in the early years and if Steffi had a freak early round loss. Justine had bad luck there but also has herself to blame. 2001, obviously too new + Venus. 2002, slump. 2003, hand injury + Serena. 2004, mono. 2005, real missed opportunity. 2006, wtf happened to her serve in that second set? she was running away with it until then and had beaten Amelie on grass the last two times they'd played. 2007, mental midgetness. 3 years of missed chances. Martina, 97 - should've done more. 98 lolwut, how'd she lose to Monica? 99 mental breakdown obv. 00, Peak Pierce? 01 lost too easily to Capriati, what happened there? 02, time for retirement obv. Monica's best chances for a Wimbledon title were '93, '94 and '98 possibly if there hadn't been a stabbing. '93 was a hot finals day with a sub-par Graf and choking Novotna. '94 Steffi lost early. '98 Novotna-Tauziat final. Lulz. And Monica was in the easier half too. Justine was never going to beat a Williams at Wimbledon early in her career so that takes care of 2001-2003. 2004 she was ill and skipped. 2005 I think she'd have lost to Venus eventually anyway. Ditto for 2007. 2006 was her big chance - she really should not have lost that match to Amelie. Martina was coming off the injury/surgery in '97 and was rusty that entire tournament (dropping sets to Pizzichini and nearly losing to Seles in the SF), '98 was a real missed opportunity but Monica was on fire, '99 again just choked being up a set and a break, '00 was Peak Pierce but Tina was starting to slip a bit (she saved a mp to win the second set but lost the decider 6-2?). By '01 Hingis was a shadow of her former self and played a horrible match against Capriati - only reason she got to the SF was her soft draw (Schiavone in the QF). '97-'00 were her four chances but she blew all of them.
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Day 14
Jun 9, 2012 12:53:54 GMT -5
Post by Traveling Man on Jun 9, 2012 12:53:54 GMT -5
As for Monica, I think 1991 was her biggest chance - although it does sound almost absurd considering she didn't even play it. But I don't think anyone else was too hot that year, unlike in 1992. The '92 final is mostly remembered for the grunting controversy, but Steffi played a very, very good match there. I understand where you're coming from considering how Steffi struggled with Gaby in 1991 but swatted away Gaby & Monica in '92. It was also a hot sunny day for the '91 finals which would've helped Monica, but I don't think she would have won in '91. Her serve hadn't developed enough into the weapon it had become by '93. '92 Steffi was too good - no one stood a chance. That's something the cat would never say!
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Day 14
Jun 9, 2012 12:56:57 GMT -5
Post by Old Hag on Jun 9, 2012 12:56:57 GMT -5
Congratulations to the Russian Maria Sharapova for winning the French Roland Garros!
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Day 14
Jun 9, 2012 13:47:12 GMT -5
Post by DBBN on Jun 9, 2012 13:47:12 GMT -5
I think '98 was probably Martina's biggest missed chance at RG. '97 she was coming off injury, '99...she never mastered Steffi anyway. That was hardly PEAK PIERCE in '98. You're mixing years, right? 1998 was a rough loss to her bitch Seles, and then ASV in the final, extremely winnable. 2000...Pierce did kind of blow her away. Get through that, Martinez. The thing with Hingis is she could have feasibly won all FOUR in that time frame, and ended with ZERO, which is why I don't feel that bad for her and/or think "if only she was that age now." Every single year - ALL HER FAULT.
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Day 14
Jun 9, 2012 14:12:52 GMT -5
Post by lexpretend on Jun 9, 2012 14:12:52 GMT -5
I mixed years, yes!
She should definitely not have lost to Seles in '98 and I don't think Pierce in '00 was actually PEAK PIERCE; bottom line is, those two were players Hingis owned 90% of the time.
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Day 14
Jun 9, 2012 14:20:56 GMT -5
Post by DBBN on Jun 9, 2012 14:20:56 GMT -5
Yes. With the exception of Graf, she has no excuse. And she has no excuse for that Graf match. She did it all to herself.
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Day 14
Jun 9, 2012 14:43:45 GMT -5
Post by janie on Jun 9, 2012 14:43:45 GMT -5
Boo. Lousy end to the tournament. But looking at the big picture, Kvitty did better than I expected her to, Serena choked and lost right away, and Sara Errani won a title. Could have been way worse. Leena's right that the womens' tennis profile is so low that even though Sharapova Saved The World, basically, NOC. Not having watched the Final helped a lot.
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Day 14
Jun 9, 2012 16:59:56 GMT -5
Post by Maeby Fünke on Jun 9, 2012 16:59:56 GMT -5
Very little of this thread is about the final. Which lasted about 25 minutes longer than I expected. One time I took an autism test and got a borderline score, I think it was 16 when a normal score was 4 or 5. My mum and her mum were both completely barmy. I didn't think the cat was autistic though, I just thought he was like 103 or something.
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Day 14
Jun 9, 2012 17:01:39 GMT -5
Post by Maeby Fünke on Jun 9, 2012 17:01:39 GMT -5
Also Monica would have won Bimbledon if she'd played from 1990-95.
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Day 14
Jun 10, 2012 0:40:07 GMT -5
Post by Grarliner on Jun 10, 2012 0:40:07 GMT -5
I don't consider 2005 as a missed opportunity for Justine. She was obviously finished after RG and was never going to win it that year. 2006... that's where she had it. I think the AO debacle also played a part there - I'd never seen Mauresmo that determined and steely. I didn't see the second week of Wimbledon, so I can't comment on that. But yeah, 1-6 3rd set to Bartoli. Lolz. I think you're right. 2005 she was exhausted after RG. That was clear. She gave an interview that was posted to the RG site where she stated that losing to Mauresmo in the Wimbledon final is her biggest regret in tennis. She said she wished she "had the strength" to finish that match. Whatever that means to her ... Justine's English was always a little odd. Or maybe it's the site's translation. But I see her point. She really was better than Amelie. Only slightly, but better. On the other hand, I never thought the first set was as one-sided as the score. Justine ran off a few points at fortuitous moments and it just worked out that way. But we should give Amelie some credit - for once she knuckled down and didn't choke. She put together a tremendous effort in the last two sets and deserved the victory. And really, 2007 was just weird. Bartoli caught fire. Her missed opportunity was her FUCKING RETIREMENT if you ask me.
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Day 14
Jun 10, 2012 1:09:13 GMT -5
Post by Traveling Man on Jun 10, 2012 1:09:13 GMT -5
Also Monica would have won Bimbledon if she'd played from 1990-95. Yes. I think '98 was probably Martina's biggest missed chance at RG. '97 she was coming off injury, '99...she never mastered Steffi anyway. That was hardly PEAK PIERCE in '98. You're mixing years, right? 1998 was a rough loss to her bitch Seles, and then ASV in the final, extremely winnable. 2000...Pierce did kind of blow her away. Get through that, Martinez. The thing with Hingis is she could have feasibly won all FOUR in that time frame, and ended with ZERO, which is why I don't feel that bad for her and/or think "if only she was that age now." Every single year - ALL HER FAULT. Yes. Although, we should note that she never scored a win over Martinez on red clay (losing in straights in Berlin in 2000 and skipping Rome). But it was Martinez in a GS final who was scared to death so... 1998 I'm mixed about, not just because it's Seles but because she was so much fitter at that point than she'd ever been in their prior matches in '96-'97 while Hingis at that point thought the title was her after beating Queen Vee in the quarters. Seles simply ripped her apart. I don't consider 2005 as a missed opportunity for Justine. She was obviously finished after RG and was never going to win it that year. 2006... that's where she had it. I think the AO debacle also played a part there - I'd never seen Mauresmo that determined and steely. I didn't see the second week of Wimbledon, so I can't comment on that. But yeah, 1-6 3rd set to Bartoli. Lolz. I think you're right. 2005 she was exhausted after RG. That was clear. She gave an interview that was posted to the RG site where she stated that losing to Mauresmo in the Wimbledon final is her biggest regret in tennis. She said she wished she "had the strength" to finish that match. Whatever that means to her ... Justine's English was always a little odd. Or maybe it's the site's translation. But I see her point. She really was better than Amelie. Only slightly, but better. On the other hand, I never thought the first set was as one-sided as the score. Justine ran off a few points at fortuitous moments and it just worked out that way. But we should give Amelie some credit - for once she knuckled down and didn't choke. She put together a tremendous effort in the last two sets and deserved the victory. And really, 2007 was just weird. Bartoli caught fire. Her missed opportunity was her FUCKING RETIREMENT if you ask me. 2006 jumps out as the only big opportunity to me. In 2007, even if she'd defeated Bartoli she was always going to lose the final to Venus. Her retirement had no impact on whether she'd have won Wimbledon or not since 2008-2009 were all-Williams finals and she's not getting through both. Also she'd physically died by 2008 so I doubt she keeps it up. 2010 was when Serena last won and immediately Kvitova took over so I don't see any room for Justine to sneak in a title besides 2006.
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Day 14
Jun 10, 2012 19:05:37 GMT -5
Post by Old Hag on Jun 10, 2012 19:05:37 GMT -5
2007 wasn't vintage Vee. It would have been tough, but Justine could have won that. And remember she beat Serena that year. 2006 was obviously the biggest chance, though. I always remember that MP where Amelie was on the brink of massive choking and Justine couldn't keep the ball in the court.
And Seles definitely would have won Bimbledon. 91 or 94. It's not like she sucked on grass.
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Day 14
Jun 11, 2012 0:36:21 GMT -5
Post by Grarliner on Jun 11, 2012 0:36:21 GMT -5
2007 wasn't vintage Vee. It would have been tough, but Justine could have won that. And remember she beat Serena that year. 2006 was obviously the biggest chance, though. I always remember that MP where Amelie was on the brink of massive choking and Justine couldn't keep the ball in the court. And Seles definitely would have won Bimbledon. 91 or 94. It's not like she sucked on grass. I agree. Justine could have beaten the Williams sisters at Wimbledon. Hello? 2007? She beat them all the damn time!
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Day 14
Jun 11, 2012 3:21:58 GMT -5
Post by lexpretend on Jun 11, 2012 3:21:58 GMT -5
I don't know why Justine, Justine's camp and Justine's fans were all so scared of the Williamses. One of the biggest regrest I have about her career (along with all the 9483392 others) is that she never got more shots at Venus after she became a Slam champ. Their lop-sided H2H is one of the most misleading in existence, yet one of the most trotted out to "prove" a point. So glad that USO SF happened, because that was Vee in great form and a terrific match, and Justine won in straight sets.
And yes, she could have done it on grass. Baby Justine in her first ever Slam final got a set off Peak Vee. Of course she could have won.
I wonder if it's different for players who were expected to complete the Career Slam...when Hingis, Justine and Vee were upset at Slams during their prime, most people were quite blasé about it...like, in 1997 it was whatever, we all knew Martina would win it one day, right? Ditto with Vee even as late as 2002. So they don't complete the set for reasons that seem temporary or flukey in their prime...and then before you know it, it's A Thing they have to contend with, and their prime is shorter than they think. Sharapova never had to deal with those expectations because until 2011 the idea of her winning the Career Slam would have been laughable, until it became clear just how awful this clay generation is.
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Day 14
Jun 11, 2012 12:20:37 GMT -5
Post by Old Hag on Jun 11, 2012 12:20:37 GMT -5
I can't think of a player where those Career Slam expectations hampered them, however. Maybe Justine, but she didn't choke any of those Wimbly losses. Hingis imploded for reasons I'll never understand, she was winning.
I don't think of the Career Slam as much today. It never meant much in the women's game. And with Bimbledon basically being a fast hardcourt now, the vast difference between RG/Wim is gone. For example, if the grass was always like it is now, Lendl certainly would have won there.
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Day 14
Jun 11, 2012 14:18:41 GMT -5
Post by Lady on Jun 11, 2012 14:18:41 GMT -5
So yeah, we took our aweet sweet time looking for the sports bar that was showing Rafa vs Novak, so when we finally got there it was 4-3. Needless to say we enjoyed Rafa's win, however we never expected a double fault at the match point. I actually close my eyes on that point, cause I was sure Rafa would miss a return. So thanks Novak and very very happy for Rafa's win.
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Day 14
Jun 11, 2012 15:05:22 GMT -5
Post by The Chloe on Jun 11, 2012 15:05:22 GMT -5
I wasn't a fan of the doublefault. Lame ending.
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