ATP M1000 WTA 1000 Rome 5/9 - 5/21 2023

[mick1303]

If Medvedev will continue to play this far back, Tsitsipas will have a field day with him.

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

Coric and Tsitsipas taking arriving to an almost full house on center court at 9:08p

[ti-amie]

The team of Bouzkova/Mattek-Sands won their doubles vs Ostapenko/Kichenok.

[ti-amie]

Friday, May 19, 2023 Day 12

Center Court Starts At 1:00 Pm

SF
Hugo Nys/Jan Zielinski VS Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos
Not Before 3:30 PM
(11) Veronika Kudermetova VS (30) Anhelina Kalinina
Not Before 7:00 PM
(7) Elena Rybakina VS (20) Jelena Ostapenko
Followed By
SF
(1) Wesley Koolhof/Neal Skupski VS Robin Haase/Botic van de Zandschulp

[ponchi101]

If Medvedev will continue to play this far back, Tsitsipas will have a field day with him.

Problem is that Tsitsipas has never had a field day Vs Medvedev. H2H 4-7 Medvedev, and they have split their two clay matches.
And it is not as if Medvedev started receiving serve from the parking lot at this tournament.

[jazzyg]

I don't know who will win the Rybakina-Ostapenko match--I watched all of Ostapenko's quarterfinal and none of Rybakina-Swiatek--but I do believe this. Discounting movement, competitiveness and all kinds of factors that determine tennis greatness, Ostapenko is the purest ball striker in the history of women's tennis. When she is set for a shot and confident, there has never been anyone like her in ability to change direction and be accurate while absolutely crushing the ball.

The X-factor tomorrow will be Rybakina's serve, which can put Ostapenko on the defense right away. Badosa could not ever put Ostapenko on defense and watched her clock 49 beautiful winners. Having said all that, it felt like a 6-2, 6-2 destruction while watching the match, but it went to 6-3 in the third and Badosa was compromised by a balky back at the end. I'd like to believe Ostapenko can dominate Rybakina in the baseline rallies just like she did Badosa, but it will depend on Rybakina's serving and Ostapenko's mental toughness. The difference between the two in that latter department can be the size of the Grand Canyon.

[mick1303]

If Medvedev will continue to play this far back, Tsitsipas will have a field day with him.

Problem is that Tsitsipas has never had a field day Vs Medvedev. H2H 4-7 Medvedev, and they have split their two clay matches.
And it is not as if Medvedev started receiving serve from the parking lot at this tournament.

Medvedev accumulated the bulk of those victories mostly against immature Tsitsipas. Lately Tsitsipas turned the tables on him, exploiting this return position with timely volleys.

[nelslus]

I don't know who will win the Rybakina-Ostapenko match--I watched all of Ostapenko's quarterfinal and none of Rybakina-Swiatek--but I do believe this. Discounting movement, competitiveness and all kinds of factors that determine tennis greatness, Ostapenko is the purest ball striker in the history of women's tennis. When she is set for a shot and confident, there has never been anyone like her in ability to change direction and be accurate while absolutely crushing the ball.

The X-factor tomorrow will be Rybakina's serve, which can put Ostapenko on the defense right away. Badosa could not ever put Ostapenko on defense and watched her clock 49 beautiful winners. Having said all that, it felt like a 6-2, 6-2 destruction while watching the match, but it went to 6-3 in the third and Badosa was compromised by a balky back at the end. I'd like to believe Ostapenko can dominate Rybakina in the baseline rallies just like she did Badosa, but it will depend on Rybakina's serving and Ostapenko's mental toughness. The difference between the two in that latter department can be the size of the Grand Canyon.

NO true snark mean towards you. But....this reminds me of when, on a match broadcast, Davenport once stated (with, of course, no bias to be seen here) that, the way Keys hits the ball so hard- if she is playing her absolute best- no one can beat her.

Similarly- and, while there is no way that Ostapenko is the purest ball striker in history BTW- I mean, Serena, Steffi, Monica- she is indeed a glorious ball striker- at her best. (Like Keys can really make the ball go boom-boom at her best). The huge problem is- Ostapenko and Keys have tons of really, REALLY!!!! bad losses in their careers. Plus, Ostapenko remains out of shape (not sure why that is- who knows what is going on with any player). I've seen many matches where Ostapenko looks unbeatable. Until she, yet again, finds a way to lose. If you don't have excellent Plans B, C, etc. within your game options- your best level becomes irrelevant. So, IMO, it really doesn't matter how beautifully you can hit the ball, if you, too often, hit the ball beautifully out.

PS: AS for who will win this SF- damned if I know. I don't trust Rybakina's clay game, for now.

[nelslus]

If Medvedev will continue to play this far back, Tsitsipas will have a field day with him.

Problem is that Tsitsipas has never had a field day Vs Medvedev. H2H 4-7 Medvedev, and they have split their two clay matches.
And it is not as if Medvedev started receiving serve from the parking lot at this tournament.

Medvedev accumulated the bulk of those victories mostly against immature Tsitsipas. Lately Tsitsipas turned the tables on him, exploiting this return position with timely volleys.

Not necessarily disagreeing with you. HOWEVER- especially as of late, Tsitsipas just too many times finds ways to lose- especially during pressure matches. Certainly, you'd think he'll beat Medvedev here. However.....

[ponchi101]

I don't know who will win the Rybakina-Ostapenko match--I watched all of Ostapenko's quarterfinal and none of Rybakina-Swiatek--but I do believe this. Discounting movement, competitiveness and all kinds of factors that determine tennis greatness, Ostapenko is the purest ball striker in the history of women's tennis. When she is set for a shot and confident, there has never been anyone like her in ability to change direction and be accurate while absolutely crushing the ball.

The X-factor tomorrow will be Rybakina's serve, which can put Ostapenko on the defense right away. Badosa could not ever put Ostapenko on defense and watched her clock 49 beautiful winners. Having said all that, it felt like a 6-2, 6-2 destruction while watching the match, but it went to 6-3 in the third and Badosa was compromised by a balky back at the end. I'd like to believe Ostapenko can dominate Rybakina in the baseline rallies just like she did Badosa, but it will depend on Rybakina's serving and Ostapenko's mental toughness. The difference between the two in that latter department can be the size of the Grand Canyon.

I watched both matches, entirely.
The score for Iga/Elena is a bit misleading. The first set was 6-2, but all first four games went to deuce; it could have easily been 2-2. Iga hit several glorious shots into the corners, which was the slight difference.
Rybakina's BH was as solid as can be; she was going crosscourt with depth and pace. In short, they were bashing the ball and Elena was more than able to stay in the match until she broke back and Iga blinked.
So, who wins? No idea; just like you say. But I say it will hinge on Ostapenko. If she can keep hitting the ball as cleanly as she was against Badosa, we may be in for a glorious match. If she is hitting them a bit out, it could be quick.

[mick1303]

Problem is that Tsitsipas has never had a field day Vs Medvedev. H2H 4-7 Medvedev, and they have split their two clay matches.
And it is not as if Medvedev started receiving serve from the parking lot at this tournament.

Medvedev accumulated the bulk of those victories mostly against immature Tsitsipas. Lately Tsitsipas turned the tables on him, exploiting this return position with timely volleys.

Not necessarily disagreeing with you. HOWEVER- especially as of late, Tsitsipas just too many times finds ways to lose- especially during pressure matches. Certainly, you'd think he'll beat Medvedev here. However.....

I have no doubt that Medvedev is stronger mentally. But technically and tactically his game has flaws that are exploitable. And on clay Tsitsipas is still more comfortable.

[jazzyg]

I stand by the greatest ball striker in tennis history* comment.

Ostapenko's biggest problem is being out of shape, which exacerbates her mental instability. The highlights they showed of her win over Halep in the Roland Garros final illustrated the dramatic difference from then and now. Yet, she is 3-0 against Swiatek and has proven she can beat anyone while having a lousy serve for the most part, poor shot selection at times and subpar movement. Go back and watch the way Seles hit the ball and compare her again to Ostapenko. The game has changed. They actually have similar games but Ostapenko hits much harder. Graf had a big forehand and a slice backhand. Keys actually hits harder than Ostapenko but is nowhere near as accurate. Serena was a clean ball striker, but it was her movement and her serve that made all the difference.

*i will pretend Ostapenko's 6-2, 6-0 loss to Samsonova in Madrid did not happen.

[meganfernandez]

Ostapenko's biggest problem is being out of shape, which exacerbates her mental instability.

Thank god someone finally mentioned it. She is overweight, and it must inhibit her in some way. Does anyone ever run her side to side and try to make her winded or at least force her to hit when she is out of position? I get that she is still in decent shape - she's winning matches at the highest level - but surely she would do even better with optimum fitness. I don't understand why a professional athlete would let their fitness slip so much. It's one think they can totally control.