Well. When I saw Kuznetsova looming for Sloane I figured it wouldn't go well. But I hoped for another battle. But having watched the match, Sloane's confidence is clearly just completely shot. As it should be. She hasn't been able to get herself going all year. It's strange. Because you know she's better than this. Even if I now accept a bit more that, with her game style, and the way she chooses to play, despite the fact that she could probably play differently (more powerful), she'll never be a dominant force. I'm not sure she wants it enough. Compare her with someone like Halep. Sloane will fall out of the top 10 after this week and possibly be seeded lower than 12 at the US Open. And she deserves that because she's been well below her best and well below a top 30 level of play all year. But someone like Halep. She's diminutive. And people have talked for years about her struggling mentally at the slams. But even before she got to number 1 or got the RG win last year, she was always winning tournaments and going late in tournaments. She always had the mental fortitude to fight in every match. And Sloane approaches all of life differently. I'll give her that. I think she thinks she needs to keep a level head at all times. That if she gets too fired up that just leads to the let down when you inevitably come down from your high (whether it be high on anger or excitement or whatever). But while her game is slightly bigger than Halep's and can be just as consistent and probably has more variety, it rarely is as consistent because she's never been able to match the focus of Halep. It's Sloane who struggles mentally. She has 6 titles while Halep has 19. Furthermore, Halep has lost 17 finals, to Sloane's 3 losses in finals. Sloane Stephens, a grand slam champion, at 26, has made less than 9 tournament finals in her entire career. That is baffling. Baffling.
But moving on. Her confidence is clearly gone. She doesn't trust herself at all. And that means she struggles to do what she needs to do in matches to get the confidence back. Her footwork is nowhere to be found. She'll never be a top server. But she could serve better. She's basically just rolled it in all year long. That in particular is driving me NUTS. She's impatient. She's not constructing points. She's reacting. She's only aggressive once she's already got her back against the wall. And after a point or two, her opponent adjusts and finishes her off.
She'll be lucky to make the 3rd round at the US Open. I wouldn't be surprised to see her fall in the first round. A no good, all around waste of a season.
Good for Kuznetsova today though. Glad she's healthy and back. Glad to see her getting some wins even if it's at the expense of Sloane.
,she has been off the tour with injury,she is of the purest athletes on the women's tour,even though she is in the late stages of her career,wonderful ball striker and sweeps Sloane off the court 61 62.Sveta received a wild card into the tournament.
