Talk About Tennis 2.0

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 3:44 pm I am not surprised one bit that Martina I is the leader and by that much, but I am surprised that Martina II is not even in the list.
Steffi: 625 weeks. And of those, 377 were as #1. I bet if you add weeks at # 2 it is easily over 500.

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 5:21 pm Shriver was a very consistent semi finalist at any tournament she went to. Then, of course, she bumped into either Martina or Chris, depending on her side of the draw.
One time, after losing to Martina, she voiced out that she was very frequently in Martina's half, and that she would like to land in Chris' half more often as "she would have a better chance". Chris heard it and she was furious. The next time they met she trashed Pam mercilessly.
Pam was one of those "unlucky" players. She spent her entire career trapped between the Martina/Chris/Mandlikova supremacy and then, being younger than the three, Steffi came up.

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 3:44 pm I am not surprised one bit that Martina I is the leader and by that much, but I am surprised that Martina II is not even in the list.
Steffi: 625 weeks. And of those, 377 were as #1. I bet if you add weeks at # 2 it is easily over 500.

Deuce wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 1:02 am Shriver and Sabatini were the main surprises for me. And maybe Conchita.
Sabatini because I didn't think she was that level of good for that long...
And Shriver because she easily had the ugliest, most awkward looking game of any female player in the history of the sport. It made Roddick's game appear smooth as silk in comparison. But, hey - it's not what it looks like that counts, it's the results. And her results were obviously good - surprising as it was.

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 2:34 pm

Deuce wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 1:02 am Shriver and Sabatini were the main surprises for me. And maybe Conchita.
Sabatini because I didn't think she was that level of good for that long...
And Shriver because she easily had the ugliest, most awkward looking game of any female player in the history of the sport. It made Roddick's game appear smooth as silk in comparison. But, hey - it's not what it looks like that counts, it's the results. And her results were obviously good - surprising as it was.

I suspect that Conchita was there for that long because she played week in and week out. Different era, when taking a break meant, in the words of Henri Laconte, "not picking up a racquet for two days".
Grant you that Shriver's game was unorthodox, but her net game was solid. Her slice backhand was only second to Kathy Jordan's in term of weirdness (remember? Jordan used to hit her BH with a forehand western grip, basically impossible). But yes, point for artistry and beauty she never got.

Suliso wrote: ↑Tue Jun 22, 2021 5:13 pm Pliskova held on a bit longer than I expected,