Talk About Tennis 2.0

and there goes #3 Pegula..came apart completely at the end..surprising

So now 60% sabalenka, 30% Rybakina, 10% the field..

but, having seem the youtube higlights of some previous matches, I must give Vekic a reasonable chance of beating Sabalenka - her speed around the court, ability to return balls, and astonishing servce return - mean she has at least a 30% chance, if not more.

With two semis secured:
Indeed, Sabalenka is the "favorite". But with her penchant for self destruction, that comes with caveats.
Rybakina's "hit or miss" game at second? I wonder how that holds against a very good defender like Azarenka.
Pliskova? That lack of movement is so problematic, but this is not a fast court. If she serves very, very well, she can do it.

To me:
Sabalenka: 40%
Rybakina and Azarenka: 25%
Pliskova 10%

BTW. The OTHER brigade did well. 6 of the 8 Quarterfinalists were there.
I like this parity (I have said it before)

I don't see why Rybakina is 'hit or miss'..anyway, she is a higher class player than Pegula, Pliskova et al .Vika is an established champion, but I would expect Rybakina to beat her, just as she beat Halep at Wimbledon...we shall see..

Pegula is another very fine player who lacks the extra something to win a major..a bit over-hyped because she is American?

BTW. The OTHER brigade did well. 6 of the 8 Quarterfinalists were there.

But can any of them WIN the title? It was never about reaching the quarters .

Rybakina was in the OTHER brigade at Wimby.
Remember I said that DOING WELL was reaching the QF. So many players have never done that.
Very well? Semis. Excellent? The finals.
Winning is SLAM CHAMPION. It is a simple metric.

rybakina was not other for me. I had named her early in the year.
To reach the quarters is possible with some luck and a good draw... look at Pliskova for instance..

Indeed, Rybakina shouldn't have been among "others" anymore.

Overall, thus far, am most puzzled by the poor performance of Garcia and Kudermetova...was K unwell? Kasatkina too..the ones whose good performance has surprised me are Linette and Vekic..never knew Vekic was so good!

Not surprised at Pegula - she did almost exactly as I expected her to..good but not great. Coco and Samsonova were a bit below what I expected...

Pegula's made the quarters at 4 of the last 5 Slams.
In the 8 WTA1000 last year she won 1, lost in final of 1, lost in semis of 2, lost in quarters of 2, lost in 3R of 2, and 2R of 1.

That's pretty consistent. She hasn't made past quarters of slam yet but also hasn't been up and down. This is her 5th year of regularly playing slams - she's getting there.

Suliso wrote: ↑Wed Jan 25, 2023 6:44 am Indeed, Rybakina shouldn't have been among "others" anymore.

She won't be anymore. Although her performances are still a bit wobbly (her early loss at the USO was a surprise) she is showing up for the big matches.
In my defense, choosing which of the top 10 to NOT put in a poll is becoming very hard, and which of the lower players to put in also. The final four says it: Linette and Azarenka came truly out of nowhere (despite Vika being a two time former champion).

Horrendous serving by Rybakina when it mattered the most .couldn't get a single first serve in for a long stretch to the end of the first set..only some equally shoddy play by Vika saved her..Rybakina's coach really needs to learn to be more positive!

At the start of the AO. I had named 6 women contenders..you may remember the challenge you offered me @ponchi..
Two of those 6 are in the finals. Time to retire your theory about 'orher'.