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Roland Garros - The 2014 French Open (May 25th - June 8)
- Thread starter Smellycat
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dietertong
Member
Go Genie! She's battled back in this set. Can't believe she was down 5-2 and is battling back so well.
#GenieArmy
#GenieArmy
perfectchaos007
Member
Sugarpova has won her last 2 matches in 3 sets. She usually plays her best tennis in the 3rd set, so Bouchard will have to step it up a notch as well if she wants to win
perfectchaos007
Member
Genie down 1-4 in the 3rd. Sugarpova in beast mode
perfectchaos007
Member
She'll beat Halep in 3 I believe
perfectchaos007
Member
I've been a believer since last summer. She won like 2 or 3 tournaments in a row and has played at a championship level ever since.
Yeah I think she won 6 titles last year? Wish she had played a little stronger when I saw her in Cincinnati. If I remember right she got bageled by Serena in the first set. No shame in that though I guess. I think the other one was closer.
Rafa=FedKilla
Banned
She truly is a fully realized Clijsters........
perfectchaos007
Member
If Clijsters had a breast reduction?
Rafa=FedKilla
Banned
Playing style brah. When Kim wasn't so defensive....
perfectchaos007
Member
Halep is going to make womens tennis bigger than gymnastics in her home country. At least I hope she will.
That's interesting... Clijsters always gave Sharapova huge problems back in those days.
Although Sharapova beat Halep a month ago in 3 sets.
In a style similar to her three-setters here, but I have no doub it will be harder this time.
Lone_Prodigy
Member
Too bad Bouchard lost, but a second straight semifinal appearance is nothing to sneeze at.
Damn. I was hoping Petko would pull out that second set at least. Oh, well, both she and Halep are great players and class acts, and it's impressive enough that Petko made the semis given her last year or so.
Also, it just seems right that Halep is in the final here.
Speaking of which, I honestly won't be surprised by anything in the final -- Halep in two easy sets, Sharapova in two easy sets, Halep in three tough ones, Sharapova in three tough ones...
The most interesting thing to follow, obviously, will be Halep's reaction to being in a GS final for the first time, esp. considering her GS career before this tournament was pretty disappointing.
Also, it just seems right that Halep is in the final here.
Speaking of which, I honestly won't be surprised by anything in the final -- Halep in two easy sets, Sharapova in two easy sets, Halep in three tough ones, Sharapova in three tough ones...
The most interesting thing to follow, obviously, will be Halep's reaction to being in a GS final for the first time, esp. considering her GS career before this tournament was pretty disappointing.
I think it really comes down to nerves like you allude to. I think she is going to manage though. Just a feeling, but I think this match is going to be very similar to the 2011 Wimbledon final between Sharapova and Kvitova where it ended up being a surprisingly straightforward match. Same result I think. Halep is going to win this tourney without dropping a set. Sharapova has just been starting too slowly. Yeah, she's managed to come back and win, but those other opponents were much worse than Halep imo. Just feels like one of those moments.
That very well could happen. I definitely think Halep is going to need to win in it two, if she's going to win it. And I think Sharapova is going to want to not have a slow start this time around.
That said, it's not always wise to believe that players will continue their pre-final form in a GS final. I've watched too many GS tourneys over the years where someone stormed to the final without dropping a set (or just dropping one set), only to get bamboozled in the final, and I've also seen the opposite -- where someone struggles to reach the final, only to win it with relative ease.
Also, to respond to your comment about Halep being better than all Sharapova's opponents so far: well, the same is true in the reverse, isn't it? I mean, I'd hardly put Kuzie or Petko (as much as I love both ladies) up there with Sharapova. So, in the end, both women are going to be facing an opponent who is leagues better than the ones they've faced so far.
Anyway, I'm not predicting anything here, as I honestly have no idea who is going to win or lose. About the best I can come up with is that if Halep wins the first set convincingly (say, 6-1 or 6-2), I think she'll take it in two. Anything aside from that, though, and I think the winner is completely up in the air.
John Dunbar
correct about everything
as if it wasn't certain enough that gulbis will lose, i put some money on him. that should seal the deal.
Fair points, particularly on the competition, though I would say that overall their respective routes were about even, maybe slightly tougher on Sharapova's end. One thing that also has to be kept in mind is that although they get a day of rest, Sharapova's three setters certainly could become an issue, just in terms of overall fatigue caused by time on court. Short matches are really invaluable.
That being said, Sharapova is obviously here for a reason, 3 straight finals is very, very impressive, and I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't shake it off. I wouldn't be surprised if it did go three, but just have a feeling it's going to be surprisingly routine, though I can't see any of the sets being as lopsided as 6-1 6-2. Something like 7-5 6-3 or the reverse sounds right. Or Sharapova could win easily in a beatdown, what do I know
I'm so torn on this one. On the one hand, I absolutely hate Gulbis and basically never want him to win against anyone, yet on the other, I kind of would like to see Gulbis beat Djokovic, just to see what it would look like.
Fair points, particularly on the competition, though I would say that overall their respective routes were about even, maybe slightly tougher on Sharapova's end. One thing that also has to be kept in mind is that although they get a day of rest, Sharapova's three setters certainly could become an issue, just in terms of overall fatigue caused by time on court. Short matches are really invaluable.
That being said, Sharapova is obviously here for a reason, 3 straight finals is very, very impressive, and I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't shake it off. I wouldn't be surprised if it did go three, but just have a feeling it's going to be surprisingly routine, though I can't see any of the sets being as lopsided as 6-1 6-2. Something like 7-5 6-3 or the reverse sounds right. Or Sharapova could win easily in a beatdown, what do I know
Eh, I very rarely believe three-setters are all that tough on top players who are fit. If they're out of shape and/or rarely make it to the later stages of a tourney? Yes, then it def. can be an issue. Sharapova, though, is pretty used to all of this, and I'll be very surprised if fatigue is at all a factor in the final.
BTW, I'm betting (not really) that this one ends in two simply based on the fact that ALL of Sharapova's GS finals have ended that way so far. Which of course means it's going to end in three, now that I've said that
(This reminds me of whenever I see it mentioned on TV that, say, Nadal is 45-1 when he's won the first set--and then goes on to lose a match after winning the first set.)Finally, I really do think the match could have any possible score. That's just me personally. 6-1, 6-2 for Halep? Sure, why not--she just won a 6-1 set against Maria a few weeks ago, so why not here? 6-3, 6-2 for Maria? Sure, why not--she's clearly able to pull off such a score when she's really rolling.
That said, I really hope that won't be the case and that the sets will at least be competitive for both players (6-4, 7-5 or 7-6) and that it's clean enough, error-wise, to be an enjoyable match for viewers. Both ladies deserve all the praise that can be heaped on them, so I think it's great that they found a way to get to the final
Well, Halep's pretty young still, right? 22, I think? These days, it takes some time for young players to develop into real threats/winners (unlike the days of Graf, Seles, Capriati, Hingis et al). Also, how long has she been w/ Clijsters' former coach? I have to imagine he's responsible for some of her new-found-ish aggression.
I think she hired Fissette at the beginning of this year. Lisicki fired him last autumn. :lol
Well, there you go. Totally makes sense, too, as although I thought she was an OK player last year, she looks much more impressive (e.g., aggressive) to me this year. It's amazing what she's been able to accomplish so far, as it's not easy to "make yourself" aggressive/assertive if that kind of thing doesn't come naturally to you.
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