|
Post by Brinyi on Sept 5, 2005 18:33:22 GMT -5
50 double faults for ED in her first four matches, but who's counting?
|
|
|
Post by janie on Sept 8, 2005 18:33:12 GMT -5
50 double faults for ED in her first four matches, but who's counting? Perhaps her beaten opponents are counting. :ass: ED & Pennetta reached the doubles Final, whoopeee!!!!
|
|
|
Post by Brinyi on Sept 8, 2005 18:46:01 GMT -5
And the singles final awaits! Show them who is the hotter blonde!
|
|
|
Post by janie on Sept 8, 2005 19:43:17 GMT -5
Well if ED does reach the Final for the 2nd year in a row, I will be rooting for her loud and strong!! (in my sleep) Allez ED in singles and doubles! She's a true renaissance woman!
|
|
|
Post by Brinyi on Oct 7, 2005 11:25:42 GMT -5
ED shows Kimmie the door, 63 36 62. ;D
|
|
|
Post by Lee on Oct 14, 2005 2:13:43 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by vaiva on Feb 5, 2006 8:01:55 GMT -5
That was an impressive performance by ED against Hingis. I think she hit as many lobs in the final as she had in the entire 2005 ;D And I loved her sincerety: "I have never had a 6-0 second set, only against me, but I think the match was closer than the score. I only have one good day every week -- otherwise I would be number one already."
|
|
|
Post by Brinyi on Feb 5, 2006 9:00:52 GMT -5
Tina agrees:
"If you play like that all the time, you would have won a Grand Slam already."
|
|
|
Post by janie on Feb 5, 2006 19:29:48 GMT -5
"I only have one good day every week -- otherwise I would be number one already" Aww, ED! You're truly one of a kind! :lust:
|
|
|
Post by janie on Oct 14, 2007 16:29:43 GMT -5
a rare FUN article from Bodo:
Bummed out with the 'new' Elena by: Peter Bodo, TENNIS.com posted: Friday, October 12, 2007
Elena Dementieva is slashing her way through the Kremlin Cup with her serve. Now that you've snorted coffee all over your keyboard, let me point out that we are still in the Tennis Twilight Zone, otherwise known as the fall indoor season, during which all kinds of strange things happen -- like Virginie Razzano winning two tournaments in a row, counting coup on Venus Williams in one of those finals.
Some of those strange things are welcome, like Dementieva's play in the Kremlin Cup. How can you not love Dementieva, the blonde, pony-tailed lass whose serving misadventures have entertained, enthralled and made us cringe for years now? This is the girl who has ranked as high as No. 4, been a semifinalist at multiple Grand Slams and a U.S. Open finalist despite putting up as many as 19 double faults in a match, and routinely lobbing 50 mph serves (first as well as second) at her opponent.
The other day, in upsetting Patty Schnyder, Elena D kept her double-fault count to a piddling six and blazed two aces past her disbelieving opponent. And the match before, she unloaded five aces, put 63 percent of her first serves into play and won 80 percent of her second-serve points. Plus, she threw in just two double-faults (for purely sentimental reasons, I suspect). So in WTA circles, Elena's current antics would stop the presses.
Dementieva has always been one of my favorite players, not in spite of her service woes but because of them. Watching her finish in the year-end top 10 (No. 6 in 2006) for four years in a row has been akin to seeing a guy who runs a 6.2 40 lead the NFL in rushing yardage, or watching a 5-9 NBA center bully Shaq. Because of that serve, no Dementieva match was ever over until it was over -- the opposite of snoring through an entire second set after Serena Williams served her way to a 6-1 lead.
The serve is the foundational stroke in tennis. Players who serve poorly simply don't win -- not on hard courts, not on clay, not on peanut butter. Why hasn't Shahar Peer been more of a force at Grand Slams? Every pundit will tell you it's because of her serve -- a serve that is a mere, oh, 10 times better than Dementieva's.
Go figure. Elena D reminds me of the toe-painter guy in that movie "My Left Foot." If you want to appreciate how difficult it is to win tennis matches without having a reliable serve, check out Maria Sharapova's recent results. But you won't catch Elena whining about fate, and she doesn't have any serve guru on her speed dial (she is coached by her mom, Vera). Elena wins with superb athleticism and a fighting spirit so powerful that it is unbroken by her serving horrors. Why couldn't every pro be so determined?
I've grown so accustomed to secretly pulling for Dementieva while she's spraying serves all over the place that the "new" Elena bums me out. Come on back, all is forgiven.
|
|
Viktymize
Full Member
I <3 Nicola.
Posts: 127
|
Post by Viktymize on Sept 4, 2008 7:49:27 GMT -5
USO Champion + World No.1?
Yes, please.
|
|