Premier 5: Toray Pan Pacific Open, WTA Tokyo 2013

[Correspondent Kiu]

Rain interrupted play, only 6 matches were completed.

Scores:

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

THIRD ROUND
Lucie Safarova (CZE) d [12] Samantha Stosur (AUS) | 6 - 4 | 6 - 4 |
[4] Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) | 6 - 1 | 6 - 1 |
[5] Angelique Kerber (GER) d [11] Ana Ivanovic (SRB) | 6 - 4 | 6 - 2 |
[2] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d [16] Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) | 6 - 3 | 6 - 4 |
Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) d [6] Jelena Jankovic (SRB) | 7 - 5 | 6 - 2 |
Venus Williams (USA) d [13] Simona Halep (ROU) | 4 - 6 | 7 - 5 | 6 - 3 |

---

Genie evens her record with JJ, now 1-1 lifetime.

here is the order of play:
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2013

CENTER COURT

10:30 - MADISON KEYS (USA) V [7] PETRA KVITOVA (CZE)
13:00 - VENUS WILLIAMS (USA) V EUGENIE BOUCHARD (CAN)
15:00 - LUCIE SAFAROVA (CZE) V [4] CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (DEN)
17:00 - (winner of Keys/Kvitova) V (winner of Svetana/Sorana)
19:00 - [5] ANGELIQUE KERBER (GER) V [2] AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA (POL)

COURT 1

11:00 - SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA (RUS) V [15] SORANA CIRSTEA (ROU)

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

Yes, you're right. But There is still the fact that Venus still

has her power, experience, and skill. Her illness is the problem.

She is not sharp and plays sloppily because she cannot play

and train properly. But on days that the illness is at held at bay

and the nsaids do their job then the past becomes very relevant

She can make any opponent remember who she was on those days

I just wish there were more days like that.

Obviously Venus has her problems (not just the illness, but the back injury). Everyone knows that. That's why she's ranked where she is.

You had people giving it big in here though who clearly hadn't even watched the match. Venus didn't actually play that well (she was a lot better in R1). The main reason she won was because of her serve. Off the ground she was flashy, but in general was in trouble in the majority of the long rallies (something which didn't hinder today against Halep either).

Azarenka was trying to go big very quick, which of course you are going to do when you are not really moving. This was an impossible ask vs Venus' serve though, it's too big to just be slapping big returns and hope to win that way, and in the end that is what won Venus the match.

Venus was miles from her best in this match, but unfortunately you are unlikely to ever see her best anymore. As you say she can't train hard, so even in days where her illness effects are dampened, she's not going to be in prime condition anymore is she.

I hadn't watched the match at that time, but it still doesn't diminish what I said earlier. Vika went through Cinci and USO playing scratchy uneven tennis until the finals. No one made her pay for the poor serving, DF's, ill-advised dropshots and otherwise inconsistent play. While Venus didn't play her best level as you mention, she served and played well enough to get the job done on a day that Vika didn't bring her "A" game for whatever reason.

I applaud her effort for playing the match, but you and I both know that Vika wouldn't have played if she didn't feel she had a chance to win the match. There's a good possibility that other opponents would have still lost against a sub-par Victoria.

Well as a top player, Victoria should always feels she has a chance against anyone even when not at her best. That is why you still see Venus competing because despite her illness she still believes she can win a match against anyone. Serena is the same way. We saw it in Doha and Cincy where she played despite not feeling 100%. Top players will play despite not feeling it because more often than not they can play and win without their best. Plus, Azarenka didn't want to be penalized for not playing I would imagine. She has made reference in the past to not wanting to be penalized for withdrawing.

 

[Correspondent Kiu]

The winner of Svetlana vs. Sorana gets to play the winner of Petra vs. Madison, the two winners get to play twice the same day.
It will be grueling!

 

[RJD11]

Yes, you're right. But There is still the fact that Venus still

has her power, experience, and skill. Her illness is the problem.

She is not sharp and plays sloppily because she cannot play

and train properly. But on days that the illness is at held at bay

and the nsaids do their job then the past becomes very relevant

She can make any opponent remember who she was on those days

I just wish there were more days like that.

Obviously Venus has her problems (not just the illness, but the back injury). Everyone knows that. That's why she's ranked where she is.

You had people giving it big in here though who clearly hadn't even watched the match. Venus didn't actually play that well (she was a lot better in R1). The main reason she won was because of her serve. Off the ground she was flashy, but in general was in trouble in the majority of the long rallies (something which didn't hinder today against Halep either).

Azarenka was trying to go big very quick, which of course you are going to do when you are not really moving. This was an impossible ask vs Venus' serve though, it's too big to just be slapping big returns and hope to win that way, and in the end that is what won Venus the match.

Venus was miles from her best in this match, but unfortunately you are unlikely to ever see her best anymore. As you say she can't train hard, so even in days where her illness effects are dampened, she's not going to be in prime condition anymore is she.

I hadn't watched the match at that time, but it still doesn't diminish what I said earlier. Vika went through Cinci and USO playing scratchy uneven tennis until the finals. No one made her pay for the poor serving, DF's, ill-advised dropshots and otherwise inconsistent play. While Venus didn't play her best level as you mention, she served and played well enough to get the job done on a day that Vika didn't bring her "A" game for whatever reason.

I applaud her effort for playing the match, but you and I both know that Vika wouldn't have played if she didn't feel she had a chance to win the match. There's a good possibility that other opponents would have still lost against a sub-par Victoria.

Well as a top player, Victoria should always feels she has a chance against anyone even when not at her best. That is why you still see Venus competing because despite her illness she still believes she can win a match against anyone. Serena is the same way. We saw it in Doha and Cincy where she played despite not feeling 100%. Top players will play despite not feeling it because more often than not they can play and win without their best. Plus, Azarenka didn't want to be penalized for not playing I would imagine. She has made reference in the past to not wanting to be penalized for withdrawing.

Don't know if we'll ever see her best anymore.

Venus can get better care than you or I ever could

and with that care and smart management She may

get to control the illness somewhat. The better she

controls it the more She can practice and play and

the better she gets. Don't know if we'll see her best

again but we'll see the best Shes got. It may be enough.

 

[ozza]

I would rather have Jankovic at Instabul than Stephens...Janky has more personality and is a lot of fun.Sloane will bring her negativity and boring ass..

It's important for the future of tennis for USA to have a player to get behind. Stephens will create a number of interesting stories at Istanbul.

Anyway Jankovic has a big edge in the race over Stephens now.

I think Kvitova will almost certainly get one spot, Jankovic is then favourite right now to get the 8th spot. Then you have the Maria Sharapova situation, nobody knows if she will play. This spot feels between Wozniacki, Kerber and Stephens. In my opinion Stephens had the edge before Tokyo, but Tokyo was a big blow to her hopes. I think as it stands, Wozniacki would have the edge for this spot, but she has to win tomorrow.

 

[ozza]

I hadn't watched the match at that time, but it still doesn't diminish what I said earlier. Vika went through Cinci and USO playing scratchy uneven tennis until the finals. No one made her pay for the poor serving, DF's, ill-advised dropshots and otherwise inconsistent play. While Venus didn't play her best level as you mention, she served and played well enough to get the job done on a day that Vika didn't bring her "A" game for whatever reason.

I applaud her effort for playing the match, but you and I both know that Vika wouldn't have played if she didn't feel she had a chance to win the match. There's a good possibility that other opponents would have still lost against a sub-par Victoria.

I agree with your last point. I don't think Vika was out there just to lose. She definitely thought she could win, and I also agree with your point on I think she still would have beaten a number of players in the draw. She got one of the worst R2 matches possible, vs a lot of opponents she would have been able to just stand and hit returns (which is what she was trying to do vs Venus), and probably scrape to a win.

I do think there is another side to why she played though. She stood to lose quite a lot by not playing. Firstly in fines and loss of bonus pool money, it would have cost her around $175k, another zero pointer on her ranking (though this doesn't actually matter because she doesn't play 16 tournaments anyway). Secondly there is a lot of pressure as number 1 seed to play. It was the marquee match of the day, with an illness you aren't really going to know if you are fit to play until the day of the event. If she just withdrew a couple of hours before the match I imagine she would come in for a lot of criticism.

The side for me why I think she played is there is a nothing to lose aspect. It's not an injury, so by playing she's not risking making it worse. And the good side is there is a chance you can bluff your way into the draw and then in a couple of days be feeling better.

 

[ozza]

Don't know if we'll ever see her best anymore.

Venus can get better care than you or I ever could

and with that care and smart management She may

get to control the illness somewhat. The better she

controls it the more She can practice and play and

the better she gets. Don't know if we'll see her best

again but we'll see the best Shes got. It may be enough.

I think Venus has 3 main problems with regards to playing her best, and why it is unlikely she'll ever get back to playing her best.

Firstly the Sjogren's syndrome appears to hinder her in a lot of 3 set matches.

Secondly the back injury she often has clearly affected her serve majorly at times. This is pretty bad for one of the most devastating serves in the game when she was at her best.

Thirdly she's lost at least a step of pace. I don't if this is because of Sjogren's, age, lack of training, lack of sharpness. Probably a mixture of all of those. Her footwork once upon a time was one of the best in the game, but you can expose it now. This results in more unforced errors because you are not in as good position to hit the ball.

 

[tossip]

I would rather have Jankovic at Instabul than Stephens...Janky has more personality and is a lot of fun.Sloane will bring her negativity and boring ass..

It's important for the future of tennis for USA to have a player to get behind. Stephens will create a number of interesting stories at Istanbul.

Anyway Jankovic has a big edge in the race over Stephens now.

I think Kvitova will almost certainly get one spot, Jankovic is then favourite right now to get the 8th spot. Then you have the Maria Sharapova situation, nobody knows if she will play. This spot feels between Wozniacki, Kerber and Stephens. In my opinion Stephens had the edge before Tokyo, but Tokyo was a big blow to her hopes. I think as it stands, Wozniacki would have the edge for this spot, but she has to win tomorrow.

Sloane is not the only youngsters to support amongst the upcoming players.I dont feel any connection with Sloane...I like the personable down to earth Duval and like Townsend too.Keys is kinda boring to me because she seems not to have personality..Sloane has a boring on court persona and nothing that comes out of her mouth is positive.I like Jankovic because she is spicy and fun..

 

[ozza]

Sloane is not the only youngsters to support amongst the upcoming players.I dont feel any connection with Sloane...I like the personable down to earth Duval and like Townsend too.Keys is kinda boring to me because she seems not to have personality..Sloane has a boring on court persona and nothing that comes out of her mouth is positive.I like Jankovic because she is spicy and fun..

Sloane has stories though that can be sold at Istanbul. She has stories with all of the top 3 for starters, that is good for news writers and good PR for the event. Journalists will be hoping she makes it.

 

[tossip]

Sloane is not the only youngsters to support amongst the upcoming players.I dont feel any connection with Sloane...I like the personable down to earth Duval and like Townsend too.Keys is kinda boring to me because she seems not to have personality..Sloane has a boring on court persona and nothing that comes out of her mouth is positive.I like Jankovic because she is spicy and fun..

Sloane has stories though that can be sold at Istanbul. She has stories with all of the top 3 for starters, that is good for news writers and good PR for the event. Journalists will be hoping she makes it.

no one in Instabul knows her:laydownlaughing...Kerber Woz and Janky have the best chance of making the top nine...dont want her non winning ass in Instabul.

 

[Correspondent Kiu]

Petra surrendered 5 break points in the first game but Madison could not take advantage, it was clear sailing from there for Petra, not allowing another break chance.
6-2 6-2 was the final score.

Svetlana and Sorana are still at it, Lana took the first set via tie-breaker, the winner gets Petra later today.

Bring on Genie and Venus...

 

[honey1269]

honestly I am growing weary of Venus' "cuse me" caught ball tosses...many
and of her making players and officials wait for her to mosey up to the net for the coin flip.
She is not the Diva she once was and it is disrespectful to act snooty.

 

[tossip]

honestly I am growing weary of Venus' "cuse me" caught ball tosses...many
and of her making players and officials wait for her to mosey up to the net for the coin flip.
She is not the Diva she once was and it is disrespectful to act snooty.

:laydownlaughing...get over it...Venus is the Queen baby..:snigger

 

[RJD11]

Venus takes 1st set 6 - 3

Playing well so far.

Both are hitting the hell out the ball

They are giving meaning to power Tennis.

 

[tossip]

Vee is playing vintage Venus tennis...

 

[tossip]

Venus takes 1st set 6 - 3

Playing well so far.

she is...been a long time:clap

 

[rubydo]

Eugenie took the 2nd 7-6(4) and now 1-1 in the third. This is one of the best matches I have witnessed this tennis season.:clap

 

[ozza]

no one in Instabul knows her:laydownlaughing...Kerber Woz and Janky have the best chance of making the top nine...dont want her non winning ass in Instabul.

You do a very poor job of hiding your bias against players. Neither Kerber or Wozniacki have a won a title this year either. Winning titles as a stand alone doesn't mean a lot in the context of Istanbul, it depends what you won. Kvitova is in the best shape of anyone to make the top 9 in my opinion. Kerber and Wozniacki have to build a lead in Istanbul qualifying positions after Beijing, because they play 1 less event than everyone else bar Vinci.

 

[tossip]

Genie took a shady potty break...

 

[tossip]

back on track my Vee! 5-2 in 3rd set..