Western & Southern Open - Cincinnati (Women)

[Kirijax]

Is Vika's injury her leg or foot?

Just saw this pic of Azarenka. She looks huge in this pic. :eyepop Is she really getting this big? This could be part of her problem.

 

[tossip]

Azarenka is doing what Janky tried to do after USA Open08...bulking up to compete with Serena.She is langy and thats her natural body and when she tries all Serena s exercises like throwing the football all the time is not natural.She will end up with injuries...Serena s big arms and serve were given by her creator..
Serena will defend her Cincy title for sure..

 

[Kirijax]

The USO will be really fun to watch if Halep can pull off an upset here and then just drop out of Connecticut to rest up for the USO. If she goes all out at the Connecticut Open and then goes out early in NY with an injury or fatigue, It'll be hard for me to root for her for a while. Gotta be smart when you're the No. 2 player in the world.

 

[kskate2]

Over-playing becomes habitual for players like Woz, Petra, Aga and Simona. You would think after one flameout at a slam they would get the message, but unfortunately most don't. :nono

 

[the AntiPusher]

The USO will be really fun to watch if Halep can pull off an upset here and then just drop out of Connecticut to rest up for the USO. If she goes all out at the Connecticut Open and then goes out early in NY with an injury or fatigue, It'll be hard for me to root for her for a while. Gotta be smart when you're the No. 2 player in the world.

I hope she does repeat but I really don't like the way that she is moving her feet. Serena footwork hasn't been good this week in Cincinnati. I had an opportunity to attend a couple of her practice session with Patrick and the hitting coach/partner Robbie. Really focused sessions that empathizes power hitting and catching the ball extremely early. Halep sessions were similar. Halep obviously have a lower center of gravity and her court position when she squares up to hit the ball is very perfect very similar to Federer. This will be the perfect test for both players and again, this Will be the US Open final if all whole true the next two- three weeks in NY.

 

[kskate2]

It's surprising that her footwork is so bad this week. Mackie is there so you'd think he'd be correcting it after each match.

 

[the AntiPusher]

KS, I really believe it's just that she is really 34 soon and she just isn't able to recover as quickly as she did when she was younger. The US Open will provide days off instead of the 4-5 straight days in a row of the format of the Cincinnati event. Serena will move better in NY, no worries.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

Well as has been mentioned nerves play a part in what we are seeing out of Serena.

On the Azarenka front, while I do think she is carrying a touch more weight than she should especially given her foot/leg injury tendencies, I would also like to point out that Azarenka rarely looks good in any of her outfits as Nike makes some pretty atrocious outfits for her.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

I will say Serena has handled her emotions and bad play when it has happened far better this week than she did last week.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Is Vika's injury her leg or foot?

Vika injury appears to be in the hamstring area. It's a darn shameful because she playing at the elite level again these days.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Ouch for Sharapova, but if I am being honest, then I expect an early flame out from her. Halep might flame out early too if she is a moron and plays New Haven. Interesting, question marks are Sharapova, Azarenka, Bencic. I think if you are Patrick that you at least point this out to Serena despite her record against them because the nerves will be bigger there. She aside from Halep and I would throw in Kerber are the only summer battle ready ladies going into the Open. Everyone else has been wildly inconsistent. Serena for all of her nerves and wildly inconsistent play has so far made the semis and final of two Premier tournies.

No way Halep is going to play the entire New Haven tournament, she may show up to collect an appearance fee but not have the endurance to last the entire week.

 

[10isfan]

If Serena plays the final in her current form and Halep is not hampered by that leg, I pick Halep. She had better withdraw from NH or risk early exit.

I enjoy watching Vika play, and hope she gets healthy for USO. She is naturally prone to injuries, but that inclination is compounded by her time away from court when inactivity caused muscular atrophy and weight gain. I would love to see her win more majors, just not until Serena wins two more.

Flying out to watch USO. Will post if I see anything particularly interesting.

 

[kskate2]

Slow start again and Simona leads 2-0

 

[tented]

Let's see if Serena can break back here.

 

[kskate2]

nope. 3-1

 

[tented]

Patrick is busily taking notes.

 

[Kirijax]

The USO will be a lot more interesting if Halep can take the title today. But until she's down a set and 2 service breaks, I'm not going to worry about Serena. I worry more about Simona breaking down.

 

[kskate2]

Patrick is noting her footwork on the groundstrokes, the variation of her serving spots and what shot/side the opponent is favoring. He seems very methodical.

 

[tented]

Nice ROS winner. 15-30

 

[tented]

What a beautiful lob! :clap