2016 Australian Open Final: S. Williams vs. Kerber

[Fiero425]

So many making such a big deal of Serena being away for 4 months; what about Clijster, Henin, and Hingis? They were gone for a HELL of a lot longer and performed well! STOP IT! lol! ;-) :ras:

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

I wouldn't worry about Serena. She is very rarely being blown off the court by anyone. Even in her losses to Vinci and Kerber they were tight and a few points here and there made the difference. If there is one area I would pick that is really costing her these tight matches, it would be her net play. That volley :/. Patrick would be smart to really work on that aspect of her game that volley should always be made. Her serve could have been better, but I feel like it wasn't terrible. Her return of serve and all those second serve gifts she missed out on attacking though...

 

[Fiero425]

I wouldn't worry about Serena. She is very rarely being blown off the court by anyone. Even in her losses to Vinci and Kerber they were tight and a few points here and there made the difference. If there is one area I would pick that is really costing her these tight matches, it would be her net play. That volley :/. Patrick would be smart to really work on that aspect of her game that volley should always be made. Her serve could have been better, but I feel like it wasn't terrible. Her return of serve and all those second serve gifts she missed out on attacking though...

The volleying of both Williams' has been suspect since their rookie days! It's an all or nothing type play being performed, with low balls their Achilles heel! If the ball is floating or high, they'll just swipe at it like a groundstroke; that ain't volleying IMO! Any low ball gives them trouble and it's almost embarrassing to see how bad their technique is after all these years! :cover uzzled :nono :angel:

 

[tossip]

Serena was very slow ...her footwork did her in.I think its okay she lost to someone like Kerber who is not the media favorite.I think her game has become a bit predictable and every player is looking to defeat her...and the errors were too many...she didnt seem to have a game plan.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Don't know whether anyone mentioned it.

Congrats to Hoergren for being the lone person correctly picking Angie to win.

 

[Fiero425]

Serena was very slow ...her footwork did her in.I think its okay she lost to someone like Kerber who is not the media favorite.I think her game has become a bit predictable and every player is looking to defeat her...and the errors were too many...she didnt seem to have a game plan.

When has Serena ever had a game plan? Davenporte is giving her too much credit in Williams figuring out patterns and taking advantage of weaknesses! With both Williams' it's about blowing the other woman off the court; period, end of story! The only thing strategic about it is getting off the court sooner rather than later if all is clicking well in hitting with abandon and mindless aggression! uzzled :nono :angel: :dodgy: :cover Is that too much honesty? Sorry! :ras:

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Did Kerbie lose a lot of weight recently?

 

[Fiero425]

Did Kerbie lose a lot of weight recently?

I don't watch women's tennis to be sure, but she may have lost a little; just isn't as thick in the legs! She looked quite fit! She had little trouble tracking down the best Serena had to offer! :angel: :dodgy: :ras: :cover

 

[Hoergren]

Don't know whether anyone mentioned it.

Congrats to Hoergren for being the lone person correctly picking Angie to win.

Thanks - it was a great match, a great win and great speaches from both players. Fun to watch:clap

 

[tented]

Don't know whether anyone mentioned it.

Congrats to Hoergren for being the lone person correctly picking Angie to win.

I congratulated him here, right after the match ended, but given what he did, it's worth mentioning twice.

 

[Front242]

Did Kerbie lose a lot of weight recently?

I don't watch women's tennis to be sure, but she may have lost a little; just isn't as thick in the legs! She looked quite fit! She had little trouble tracking down the best Serena had to offer! :angel: :dodgy: :ras: :cover

Agreed. She definitely has slimmed her thighs and quads down a lot and is moving better.

 

[MashaFan]

And once again all the predictions (except for hoergren's) went awry - Congratulations Angie Kerber - Well done!!

Yeah yeah I know - 18 losses in a row blahblahblah - And although I respect and admire Serena as the best WTA player of her time it's always such fun to read all the disappointed reactions from Serena fanatics (especially tossip's *lol*) on this forum after a Serena loss in a slam tournament - Never sell the skin before the bear is shot *winks*

 

[Front242]

I think Serena's fans will get over it. She only has 21 slams after all.

 

[sk310]

Did Kerbie lose a lot of weight recently?

She's always been one of the fit players but I actually noticed that too. She looks to be SUPER fit coming into this season.

 

[sk310]

A lot of commentators will probably say Kerber's win came out of nowhere but it kind of didn't. She had a really big slump going back from 2014 until Miami 2015. Beating Keys in Charleston really reinvigorated her. She hadn't won a title since 2013. Then suddenly the tide turned and she was back to winning tournaments. They may have been smaller but I think it built her confidence up. It was a nice steady build to the Australian Open. I really think she had a game plan to get herself into position to win here.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

I don't know that there was a game plan so much as there was just a stronger commitment to getting in shape and just working at things as she always has. I mean lets be real she lost rather handily to Azarenka in Brisbane granted she rectified it in Australia, but sometimes you just keep working at it and things happen.

 

[10isfan]

Kerber lost several pounds in the last year. Her most recent string of success started when she rehired her old coach. She is now ranked two. Congrats to her.

Serena needs a net game. I have been saying this for the last three years since I started following tennis closely. Bringing her to net is the best tactic to beating her albeit not an easy one to execute. This is why Pova finally added the drop shot to her toolbox. Her coach must be quite disappointed she didn't use it during the quarterfinal. Thus the lop-sided score.

Serena's backswing on the FH is waaaay too big, and will cause the stroke to break down under pressure. Impossible to change at her age, but someone should have addressed that ages ago. I do agree not being tested in the early rounds hurt her chances in the final. Hoping she wins FO.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

No, she will most probably not win the FO. But, she will win at least one, if not both, of W and USO.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

Serena was very slow ...her footwork did her in.I think its okay she lost to someone like Kerber who is not the media favorite.I think her game has become a bit predictable and every player is looking to defeat her...and the errors were too many...she didnt seem to have a game plan.

When has Serena ever had a game plan? Davenporte is giving her too much credit in Williams figuring out patterns and taking advantage of weaknesses! With both Williams' it's about blowing the other woman off the court; period, end of story! The only thing strategic about it is getting off the court sooner rather than later if all is clicking well in hitting with abandon and mindless aggression! uzzled :nono :angel: :dodgy: :cover Is that too much honesty? Sorry! :ras:

I strongly disagree with this assessment. I think lumping them together is disingenuous. If they are one in the same about how they play, then why does Serena have triple the number of slams to her sister? Now, do I think Serena is a strategist and works things out like a Martina Hingis, no. I think Serena is a lot smarter often than not in how she serves and when to go for it and when to play it safe. I think she has had the nuances and the smarts all the time, but some portions of her career have been more obvious in displaying it than others. I think under Patrick we have seen a far more controlled aggression in which she has held off on that trigger until mostly the right moments. Her return of serve has been more dialed back at times in an attempt to make more returns. I remember a time where Serena was trigger happy and would win or lose matches in ugly fashion with 80+ errors. Now you rarely see that from her because she has gotten smarter about how to use her weapons.

 

[tossip]

I am happy that she was happy for Kerber...for Kerber to win her first slam at 28yrs is wonderful .I am glad she didnt lose to pova or zenga...at least Angie is classy.
Vika made a derogatory remark about germans after beating Kerber,that they are predictable and steady...she pretty much insinuated that they are basic to say the least.
I am glad Kerber gave her a sucker punch in the qtrs..