Who will win Madrid?

[Correspondent Kiu]

This is a warm-up poll! Just to get you all warmed-up!

There will be other polls for Rome and FO as well! Who will help me post threads?

I skipped Kerber, I don't think she has a shot.
I will only list 8 ladies for this one.
:shy:

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

I will go with Serena to repeat. She seems to be in a good place with her game at the moment. The other big contenders are Li and Sharapova. I think Azarenka will be too rusty to take it and be dealt her first loss of the season.

 

[HawkEye]

I picked Li Na. I'm not convinced though. Actually I'm not convinced by anybody right now. Hopefully Petra will be able to get into form then.

 

[Correspondent Kiu]

I understand that Serena is the default choice these days but I really do not think she will repeat.
Why?
The crystal ball tells me.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

Well, I picked her because I think she is extra motivated to do well this season on clay. Not to mention if she is going to win on clay somewhere I think it will be here rather than Rome. However, I am thinking Li is going to make a strong clay run this season. If not Serena, I am thinking Li.

 

[tossip]

I understand that Serena is the default choice these days but I really do not think she will repeat.
Why?
The crystal ball tells me.

you are always quick to dismiss Serena,everytime you seem negative about her.We all know she is not your favorite and you are more worried about your favorites chances when Serena is in the draw.

 

[tented]

I voted for Li Na. She's the first name which comes to mind, followed by Serena, but I wouldn't bet on either of them.

Madrid is such a kooky surface, too. A guy on one of the old sites, Fedfan, nicknamed it "clard" -- a combination of "clay" and "hard" which is about right. That's what makes it hard to pick a winner. It isn't a true clay court, like in Rome and Roland Garros, but it certainly isn't a hard court, either.

Do you remember the "blue clay" from last year? That won't be there this year, but it gives you an idea of how odd this tournament is.

 

[jhar26]

Hard to say, but I would be surprised if it would be someone other than Serena, Maria or Li Na.

 

[Correspondent Kiu]

No one is giving Vika a chance?
She was finalist last year, has 700 points to defend.
I am not underestimating her chances in Madrid.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

Vika is coming back from injury and clay isn't her favorite surface, so I would reduce her chances quite a bit especially versus Sharapova and Li who are much happier on clay. Serena would probably be her best bet to meet as even Serena has her doubts on clay, but even then I tip the odds in Serena's favor as Serena has the match play under her belt.

 

[jhar26]

No one is giving Vika a chance?
She was finalist last year, has 700 points to defend.
I am not underestimating her chances in Madrid.

I'm giving her a chance, albeit a minor one. Like the previous poster said, she's coming back from injury plus it will be on red clay this time which is not her best surface, although it may really be "clard."

 

[Calvy]

I voted for Li Na. She's the first name which comes to mind, followed by Serena, but I wouldn't bet on either of them.

Madrid is such a kooky surface, too. A guy on one of the old sites, Fedfan, nicknamed it "clard" -- a combination of "clay" and "hard" which is about right. That's what makes it hard to pick a winner. It isn't a true clay court, like in Rome and Roland Garros, but it certainly isn't a hard court, either.

Do you remember the "blue clay" from last year? That won't be there this year, but it gives you an idea of how odd this tournament is.

This is why I'd give Serena the advantage, it has the hard court element. Remember, it's the same surface from last year, just a different color.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

We will see, but Vika doesn't strike me as the type of player who can come from nowhere and outright win a tournament after being away like Serena. She seems to be a player who feeds off rhythm and habit.

---

Here is a link to the article about the courts and what they had to do to them. It was problems with drainage and not the color that caused the problems with the courts. So, Nadal and Djoker can just suck it ! Bring back the blue !

http://www.madrid-open.com/en/noticias-mutua/las-mejores-pistas-de-tierra-batida-del-mundo/

 

[Correspondent Kiu]

I voted for Li Na. She's the first name which comes to mind, followed by Serena, but I wouldn't bet on either of them.

Madrid is such a kooky surface, too. A guy on one of the old sites, Fedfan, nicknamed it "clard" -- a combination of "clay" and "hard" which is about right. That's what makes it hard to pick a winner. It isn't a true clay court, like in Rome and Roland Garros, but it certainly isn't a hard court, either.

Do you remember the "blue clay" from last year? That won't be there this year, but it gives you an idea of how odd this tournament is.

This is why I'd give Serena the advantage, it has the hard court element. Remember, it's the same surface from last year, just a different color.

I loved the blue clay too.

But the players insisted the blue clay was much more slippery than red clay.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

But again, it was because the drainage system was bad not because of the color of it! However, there is no going back Nadal and Djokovic would flip their kibble over it.

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Also, I might add not one person got injured from those blue courts, but there certainly were a lot of red clay injuries if I recall correctly last year.

 

[tossip]

Azarenka doesnt play well on clay and if they slowed the courts it could be anyone,since its on high altitude I will give the edge to those players that play well on fast surfaces.

 

[kskate2]

It's between Serena, Vika, Maria (in that order) if Vika even shows. She might still be injured and play one match and withdraw the next so as not to take a zero.

 

[Correspondent Kiu]

4 days since this thread has been posted, a week before Madrid starts.
Here are the votes to date.

Serena 8 57.14%
Maria 1 7.14%
Vihka 3 21.43%
Aga 0 0%
Li Na 2 14.29%
Sara 0 0%
Petra 0 0%
Samantha 0 0%

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Surprised Maria only got one vote.

Keep them votes coming.

 

[colleen66]

Serena seems to like this surface since it plays like a hard court. I'm interested in seeing how she plays in the early rounds. I would love for the big three to be in the semi-finals since I believe that this will set the tone for the rest of the tennis spring and summer season.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

Serena will want to establish the tone with Maria and Azarenka early to let them know I am not going anywhere. You want a title you are going to have to take it from me. Focus, focus, focus and patience, patience, patience!