Talk About Tennis 2.0

ashkor87 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 09, 2024 2:37 am Coco's defeat was a shock to me, I thought she was in good form. apparently her forehand continues to be shaky? didnt see the match - anyone who did?

Grass is her weakest surface and I suppose for a good reason (same for Iga).

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 09, 2024 12:27 am Especially because grass is not her favorite surface.
Ouch. Although true.
But I would not want to face Iga in clay anymore if I were Alona.

Ostapenko is not a nice person. And it is putting it mildly. But the notion that she would afraid or even be concerned about the opponent being fired up against her makes me lough. If she was concerned about these things she would pick her wording more carefully rather than saying things like "she is not in my class" about Iga. Maybe not exact words, but she said something like that after last time beating her.

ashkor87 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 09, 2024 1:58 am That was a surprising loss for Collins..I was on a plane, couldn't see it..what happened? Anyone see it?

Another injury issue during the match.

mick1303 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 09, 2024 8:15 am

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 09, 2024 12:27 am Especially because grass is not her favorite surface.
Ouch. Although true.
But I would not want to face Iga in clay anymore if I were Alona.

Ostapenko is not a nice person. And it is putting it mildly. But the notion that she would afraid or even be concerned about the opponent being fired up against her makes me lough. If she was concerned about these things she would pick her wording more carefully rather than saying things like "she is not in my class" about Iga. Maybe not exact words, but she said something like that after last time beating her.

You are not reading my posts properly. I said "I would not want" to face Iga again on clay. I know Alona is insane enough to never care about who she is facing.

I knew before W began that Paolini would be a force here..you have to see her game, not her record

ashkor87 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 09, 2024 5:59 pm I knew before W began that Paolini would be a force here..you have to see her game, not her record

Then why didn't you include her in any of your odds projections? You could have given a 5%, a 2%. You did not.
Why the discrepancy?

I said she would be a force, not that she would win the title..I still don't think she will.

Interesting exchange between Gilbert and McEnroe..M was saying Coco didn't get enough first serves in, Gilbert demurred, saying he would rather she didn't hold back - he wants her to go for a big one, even if the percentage is lower- it is percent of points won that counts, he said.
I suppose it depends on the player's psyche - if you tell Gauff to be cautious, she will only get confused?

I noticed two changes to Coco's game after Gilbert took over - she hits the first serve harder (see discussion above) and, on the forehand, she is looping it deeper rather than trying to hit it hard..maybe that cuts down errors.. but her opponents will start coming to the net against it if she keeps doing it..presents the volleyer with a nice high volley

ashkor87 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 10, 2024 11:12 am Interesting exchange between Gilbert and McEnroe..M was saying Coco didn't get enough first serves in, Gilbert demurred, saying he would rather she didn't hold back - he wants her to go for a big one, even if the percentage is lower- it is percent of points won that counts, he said.
I suppose it depends on the player's psyche - if you tell Gauff to be cautious, she will only get confused?

Also depends on the score, but ideally you figure out how to make a high percentage of those hard first serves. It's doable. I agree she should go for a big first serve. You get a second one! "Yeah, but you might double fault" -- of course, but a pro has to have a reliable second serve. (Come to think of it, is the second serve the most unheralded shot in tennis? No one talks about it, like who has a remarkably good SECOND serve.)

Everybody talks about it. As in "you are only as good as your second serve" comments, or our constant comments about players having weak second serves that can be attacked.
What would you say about a player that consistently hit 70% of her first serves in, and won 70% of those serves? We would all say "that is a very good sever". Yet that player would be winning "only" 56% of the points played on her first serve.
Also. By definition, the serve is a shot that landed short. It lands inside the service box, which, if it were a groundstroke, would be criticized by everybody. Any serve landing there at less than 100 MPH will be creamed by the opponent.
If you are winning 50% of your second serves, you are serving well. But we like to believe that that is a bad stat.

Stich once said McEnroe is the best server in the world, because his second serve is so good..he didnt say first

I once heard Peter Fleming say he didn't believe in hitting second serves..he just hit two first serves