Will Maria reach 10 Slams? More?

[MashaFan]

Of course one can only speculate and my guess is as good as any but..

Masha's has only won slams in even years (2004, 2006, 2008 and 2012)
2010 was a wasted year for her due to her struggle to make a come back else she could have won the FO then already
Masha also has won her slams in order that is Wimbledon first then the USO, the AO and finally the FO

If she follows that pattern and if she can be free from serious injuries then she should win Wimbledon next year again and start a new cycle. That is the USO in 2016, the AO in 2018 and the FO in 2020
She'll be 33 year by then. Maybe it's far fetched but not impossible. Anyone who knows a little about Masha's career should know by now that she's achieved remarkable things in remarkable ways.

If however Masha succeeds to win a slam this year then she has broken her pattern and anything can happen. Winning one slam per year over a period of 5 years isn't an unreachable goal for her

Someone on this forum has predicted Masha's demise time after time and he's been right in maybe 10% of all his Masha predictions. His credibility is therefor close to zero and I really shouldn't put so much trust in his predictions that Masha would "fade away" somehow or that she will retire at 29
I also find the references to Serena reasonable but Vika? Come on!! Their H2H is 7-5 in Vika's favor which hardly makes Vika that superior over Masha. If the 2 would meet in a final I would say that the chances are 50-50 for either one to win

 

[jhar26]

Of course one can only speculate and my guess is as good as any but..

Masha's has only won slams in even years (2004, 2006, 2008 and 2012)
2010 was a wasted year for her due to her struggle to make a come back else she could have won the FO then already
Masha also has won her slams in order that is Wimbledon first then the USO, the AO and finally the FO

If she follows that pattern and if she can be free from serious injuries then she should win Wimbledon next year again and start a new cycle. That is the USO in 2016, the AO in 2018 and the FO in 2020
She'll be 33 year by then. Maybe it's far fetched but not impossible. Anyone who knows a little about Masha's career should know by now that she's achieved remarkable things in remarkable ways.

If however Masha succeeds to win a slam this year then she has broken her pattern and anything can happen. Winning one slam per year over a period of 5 years isn't an unreachable goal for her

Someone on this forum has predicted Masha's demise time after time and he's been right in maybe 10% of all his Masha predictions. His credibility is therefor close to zero and I really shouldn't put so much trust in his predictions that Masha would "fade away" somehow or that she will retire at 29
I also find the references to Serena reasonable but Vika? Come on!! Their H2H is 7-5 in Vika's favor which hardly makes Vika that superior over Masha. If the 2 would meet in a final I would say that the chances are 50-50 for either one to win

Well, the good news for Maria and her supporters is that in the last few years she seemed to have improved a little bit each year compared to the year before that. I agree about the Vika vs Maria rivalry. A h2h of 7-5 doesn't suggest that one has the upperhand over the other by a huge margin. It basically means that whoever plays the best ball on the day will win, and that isn't always the same player. When it comes to Serena I think it's fair to say that Vika has recently given her more problems than Maria. But Maria gave her a good match as well in Miami and even at last years YEC I think that Maria played a pretty good match. There's still a considerable gap between them, but it's now come to the point that Maria can at least make a match out of it when they play each other, and that's progress.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

Like I said in my earlier statement, Vika and Maria are a bit more even than most people would have you believe, but the problem with Maria is she does so well to reach the end of the tournaments and then she more often than not bombs out.

 

[Calvy]

Anything is possible, but, I just don't think she's athletic enough to win 6 more slams with the current crop of players. I believe one of the things that have held her back from having won more at this point is her athleticism or lack of, yet she, like Davenport, has done more than usually for someone lacking in the athletic dept.

Also, as a tennis players there is no growth in her game. I mean she's winning, and winning a lot, but she should be learning angles, slice and how to volley. Evert strenghten her serve when Martina took, Serena has learned patience and how use angles more effectively. Martina N learned to use her forehand more effectively. In each case, it extended there slam lives.

Again, I think it's possible Maria could win 10 slams, but, I don't foresee it happening.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

I think another player you can compare her to is Venus minus the natural athleticism. Venus hasn't done anything to improve her game. It shows with her overall results too. Losing as many times as she did to Serena in those slam finals certainly didn't propel her to say hey wait a minute what can I do differently. At this stage in the game for Maria, it might almost be the case of being too late to change or improve your game without potentially losing time to win slams as tinkering can either come naturally or totally throw you off the rest of your game. In the case of Maria, she finally got her game back to a decent playing level again venturing out of her comfort zone to add new things might cause it to go off again. I mean there are very, very few players recently who have the ability to change a losing game into a winning game at the drop of a hat. The only two recent players that come to mind are Henin and Serena. These are the recent slam winners who had/have a plan B, C and D.

 

[Calvy]

I think another player you can compare her to is Venus minus the natural athleticism. Venus hasn't done anything to improve her game. It shows with her overall results too. Losing as many times as she did to Serena in those slam finals certainly didn't propel her to say hey wait a minute what can I do differently. At this stage in the game for Maria, it might almost be the case of being too late to change or improve your game without potentially losing time to win slams as tinkering can either come naturally or totally throw you off the rest of your game. In the case of Maria, she finally got her game back to a decent playing level again venturing out of her comfort zone to add new things might cause it to go off again. I mean there are very, very few players recently who have the ability to change a losing game into a winning game at the drop of a hat. The only two recent players that come to mind are Henin and Serena. These are the recent slam winners who had/have a plan B, C and D.

Ya, but, all due respect to Venus, if it were not for her sister, she'd be over 10 slams in, and her athleticism has gotten her over may occasions where Maria doesn't have that. Also, tinkering with your game may affect it initially, but, it may pan out in the end. Take Nadal for example, he rev up his serve and learned to flatten out his forehand to make it a weapon. Amongst women in recent history, Natalie Tauziat comes to mind. She went from a baseliner to an accomplished serve and volleyer and as a result made the Wimby final. Not that I'm suggesting Maria go to that extreme. But, adding here and there could help.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

Oh I didn't say Maria couldn't see even better results by changing things, but for some, changing your game might be easy and come naturally and then again it might not. From what I have seen from Maria, change is not something that comes easily or naturally for her. She had to rework her toss after shoulder surgery as we saw just within the past year her serve has finally gotten fixed for the most part minus the minor double fault pile up hiccup here and there. As I said, Maria is like Venus minus the natural athleticism. Yes my point, Venus didn't change anything after those first 2-3 losses to Serena in those slam finals. She could have had more than 10 slams, but she didn't change a losing game against Serena. Serena has never been afraid to get outside help and improve where need be to get those slams and numbers. I admire the dedication some players have to their teams, but there comes a point when you have learned all you can and have to either move on or add someone new to the team.

 

[MashaFan]

Calvy!!!

Anything is possible, but, I just don't think she's athletic enough to win 6 more slams with the current crop of players.

Please define athleticism - Does Masha lack muscles or what? :huh:

but she should be learning angles, slice and how to volley.

Once you complained about her movement and/or footwork back in 2011 when she lost the IW final - Today tennis commentators comment about her improvements in that department all the time - This year she has won IW for a second time and as far as I know she's the only IW champ who has won the IW title twice without dropping a set
I also have seen Masha volley - do drop shots and find angels many times and she comes to the net more often these days - I'm sure that she and her coach Thomas work on her flaws and weaknesses all the time - baby steps for sure but improving all the time - Maybe her improvements and changes are to subtle for you to notice but others constantly speak of the improvements she's made and state that she has never been better compared to the pre-surgery Masha
I'm not saying that Masha will be able to win 10 slam titles before her retirement - All I'm saying is that it sure won't be because she isn't "athletic" enough or because she isn't trying to improve her weaknesses all the time

 

[kskate2]

Of course one can only speculate and my guess is as good as any but..

Masha's has only won slams in even years (2004, 2006, 2008 and 2012)
2010 was a wasted year for her due to her struggle to make a come back else she could have won the FO then already
Masha also has won her slams in order that is Wimbledon first then the USO, the AO and finally the FO

If she follows that pattern and if she can be free from serious injuries then she should win Wimbledon next year again and start a new cycle. That is the USO in 2016, the AO in 2018 and the FO in 2020
She'll be 33 year by then. Maybe it's far fetched but not impossible. Anyone who knows a little about Masha's career should know by now that she's achieved remarkable things in remarkable ways.

If however Masha succeeds to win a slam this year then she has broken her pattern and anything can happen. Winning one slam per year over a period of 5 years isn't an unreachable goal for her

Someone on this forum has predicted Masha's demise time after time and he's been right in maybe 10% of all his Masha predictions. His credibility is therefor close to zero and I really shouldn't put so much trust in his predictions that Masha would "fade away" somehow or that she will retire at 29
I also find the references to Serena reasonable but Vika? Come on!! Their H2H is 7-5 in Vika's favor which hardly makes Vika that superior over Masha. If the 2 would meet in a final I would say that the chances are 50-50 for either one to win

I stand by what I said. When Serena retires, Maria will have a younger Vika to contend with. Vika is a tough out for Maria. It's hard for Maria to hit through her and Maria has to be at her best to take down Vika (ref WTA Champs or Stuttgart last year).

 

[jhar26]

I stand by what I said. When Serena retires, Maria will have a younger Vika to contend with. Vika is a tough out for Maria. It's hard for Maria to hit through her and Maria has to be at her best to take down Vika (ref WTA Champs or Stuttgart last year).

I don't think that Serena will retire anytime soon though. I think she will continue to be a presence throughout Maria's prime years. Maybe she'll retire by the time Maria is thirty or something. But barring serious injuries I think that Maria's place as one of the top contenders at all the big events is pretty secure at this point. The current "big three" could stay at the top of the game for the next couple of years and divide most of the majors, premier mandatorys/premier5 and YEC titles amongst themselves with Li, Radwanska and (if she gets her act together) Kvitova as dangerous outsiders. In fact, the jury is still out on Li as far as I'm concerned. If she continues to be as consistent as she has been since Rodriguez became her coach she does perhaps deserve the status of the fourth member of a womens version of "the big four."

Anyway, I don't think that Maria ever will dominate the tour in Court/Evert/Navratilova/Graf/Serena-like fashion, but if she can continue to still be be around at the tail end of tournaments she's going to win some of them. That's perhaps a somewhat conservative comment, but the other girls mentionned are no pushovers and they will do their share of winning as well. What will happen, say, three years from now is anyone's guess. Things can change very quickly in sports and by that time some of the now up and coming players may start making their own claim to greatness.

 

[MashaFan]

Calvy

I'm not knocking Maria, although you tend to take it that way.

Not at all - I'm discussing - Did I tell you that I was glad to see you here? - I've dropped you a couple of links @ Tennis.com

You state you've seen her volley - my mom can volley

I bet that you've a wonder mom but she is not the #2 in the world so I'm sorry but in my humble opinion Masha is the way better volleyer than your mom - yes - she's better than most even if she doesn't do it that often

You stated you've seen her use angles. The only time Maria uses angles is when she hits the balls late and/or it's a mishit.

Really? - I assume that you only have seen only one terrible Masha match in your whole life because I've seen many great angled shots coming from her backhand

You've stated you've seen her hit a dropshot, ya, and she's terrible at

Again - she doesn't do it often but she can and TV-commentators have complimented her for it - You're always so "objective" and one eyed when you criticize other players who's names are not Serena Williams

Now, if she could improve on those other things I wrote

Of course Masha can improve her skills - Some of them more - some of them less and I'm sure she and her coach are working on them every day

I just wonder if there will be a day when you comment on all the improvements Masha actually has made since her come back and bring forward all her good qualities - You speak of her like she's a newbie who has a lot to learn instead of the current #2 - Clearly she must have some good qualities since she's back in the top 5 and currently the #2 - Yet whenever you comment Masha it is never in a positive way - You always find stuff to criticize - I wonder why - but hey knocking Masha is not your style - right? - right!!

Now, as far as "athleticism" think Steffi Graf, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert.

Is that supposed to be your definition about athleticism? To me it looks like a list of some current and former tennis players

 

[tented]

Calvy!!!

Anything is possible, but, I just don't think she's athletic enough to win 6 more slams with the current crop of players.

Please define athleticism - Does Masha lack muscles or what? :huh:

but she should be learning angles, slice and how to volley.

Once you complained about her movement and/or footwork back in 2011 when she lost the IW final - Today tennis commentators comment about her improvements in that department all the time - This year she has won IW for a second time and as far as I know she's the only IW champ who has won the IW title twice without dropping a set
I also have seen Masha volley - do drop shots and find angels many times and she comes to the net more often these days - I'm sure that she and her coach Thomas work on her flaws and weaknesses all the time - baby steps for sure but improving all the time - Maybe her improvements and changes are to subtle for you to notice but others constantly speak of the improvements she's made and state that she has never been better compared to the pre-surgery Masha
I'm not saying that Masha will be able to win 10 slam titles before her retirement - All I'm saying is that it sure won't be because she isn't "athletic" enough or because she isn't trying to improve her weaknesses all the time

I'm not knocking Maria, although you tend to take it that way. I'm just saying making her herself more well-rounded could open up the possibility that she could win 6 or more slams. within the next 5 years.

You state you've seen her volley - my mom can volley - doesn't mean she's very good at it and couldn't find improvement. You stated you've seen her use angles. The only time Maria uses angles is when she hits the balls late and/or it's a mishit. You've stated you've seen her hit a dropshot, ya, and she's terrible at, more room for improvement.

You mentioned what I wrote about her movement a couple years ago, and how now she's improved that movement. Thank you for validating what I wrote back then was correct, better movement, better play.

Now, if she could improve on those other things I wrote, who knows....

Now, as far as "athleticism" think Steffi Graf, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert. Sorry, those are great ATHLETES! People whom you could see winning slams into their late 20's, early 30's.

I like Maria a lot, but I have to agree with all of this, except for the last bit. I do think she's very fit, and quite an athlete, so she could keep playing for a long time.

The other observations are quite fair and valid. Maria is relatively one-dimensional, as I've written before. Her game is enough to get her far, including beating most of the field, but it's not good enough to take on Azarenka or Serena on a regular basis. Their games are more varied, and present several problems for Maria, whereas her game is relatively easy for them to handle.

As you also suggest, if she could improve in these areas, she would be a more formidable opponent, and almost certainly win more Slams.

 

[Billie]

I don't know how many slams Maria will win in future, but if she remains healthy and motivated, I am sure she will win more.

She is a very determined young woman with considerable tennis skills so I wouldn't underestimate her chances. After her come back from shoulder injury, she mostly stayed injury free and played a very reasonable schedule and got back to the top of tennis. And she tries to add more to her game (her backhand and movement included). All she needs to do is one big win vs the other top 2 so that she believes she can do it. Tennis is also a mental game and no matter how tough a player seems it is not easy to break out of the habit. I certainly hope she will do it and start winning more titles soon.

 

[Calvy]

Calvy

I'm not knocking Maria, although you tend to take it that way.

Not at all - I'm discussing - Did I tell you that I was glad to see you here? - I've dropped you a couple of links @ Tennis.com

You state you've seen her volley - my mom can volley

I bet that you've a wonder mom but she is not the #2 in the world so I'm sorry but in my humble opinion Masha is the way better volleyer than your mom - yes - she's better than most even if she doesn't do it that often

You stated you've seen her use angles. The only time Maria uses angles is when she hits the balls late and/or it's a mishit.

Really? - I assume that you only have seen only one terrible Masha match in your whole life because I've seen many great angled shots coming from her backhand

You've stated you've seen her hit a dropshot, ya, and she's terrible at

Again - she doesn't do it often but she can and TV-commentators have complimented her for it - You're always so "objective" and one eyed when you criticize other players who's names are not Serena Williams

Now, if she could improve on those other things I wrote

Of course Masha can improve her skills - Some of them more - some of them less and I'm sure she and her coach are working on them every day

I just wonder if there will be a day when you comment on all the improvements Masha actually has made since her come back and bring forward all her good qualities - You speak of her like she's a newbie who has a lot to learn instead of the current #2 - Clearly she must have some good qualities since she's back in the top 5 and currently the #2 - Yet whenever you comment Masha it is never in a positive way - You always find stuff to criticize - I wonder why - but hey knocking Masha is not your style - right? - right!!

Now, as far as "athleticism" think Steffi Graf, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert.

Is that supposed to be your definition about athleticism? To me it looks like a list of some current and former tennis players

I stand by everything I wrote...nuff said!

 

[Correspondent Kiu]

Well, up to now, we have 14 nays and 1 yay

 

[jhar26]

Well, up to now, we have 14 nays and 1 yay

Well, perhaps you should have made it a multiple choice poll. "Will she win six, eight , ten, or will she win no more", something like that. You just put the bar too high when ten is the only option.

 

[colleen66]

I stand by what I said. When Serena retires, Maria will have a younger Vika to contend with. Vika is a tough out for Maria. It's hard for Maria to hit through her and Maria has to be at her best to take down Vika (ref WTA Champs or Stuttgart last year).

I don't think that Serena will retire anytime soon though. I think she will continue to be a presence throughout Maria's prime years. Maybe she'll retire by the time Maria is thirty or something. But barring serious injuries I think that Maria's place as one of the top contenders at all the big events is pretty secure at this point. The current "big three" could stay at the top of the game for the next couple of years and divide most of the majors, premier mandatorys/premier5 and YEC titles amongst themselves with Li, Radwanska and (if she gets her act together) Kvitova as dangerous outsiders. In fact, the jury is still out on Li as far as I'm concerned. If she continues to be as consistent as she has been since Rodriguez became her coach she does perhaps deserve the status of the fourth member of a womens version of "the big four."

Anyway, I don't think that Maria ever will dominate the tour in Court/Evert/Navratilova/Graf/Serena-like fashion, but if she can continue to still be be around at the tail end of tournaments she's going to win some of them. That's perhaps a somewhat conservative comment, but the other girls mentionned are no pushovers and they will do their share of winning as well. What will happen, say, three years from now is anyone's guess. Things can change very quickly in sports and by that time some of the now up and coming players may start making their own claim to greatness.

Love Na LI, but her age (30) and her sometimes fragile mental state in during tight matches conspire against her. Although she is in excellent physical shape, she is running out of "tennis years". I don't see her over-coming her fragility in tight matches. If the stars align and the big three are out, she may win one more major.
Maria is mentally one of the toughest players around. That mental fortitude has won her many matches and has gotten her to many finals. I never count her out even when she is down 2 breaks of service in the third set. Her record after losing the first set is second only to Serena.

 

[MashaFan]

Here are some video clips which proof Calvy wrong - No way his mom can volley as good as Masha - I do not only see Masha volley - She plays also well at the net - she does great drop shots - find angles and has variety when needed - You name it and Masha does it and does it well - You don't defeat all the greats or her time in QFs - SFs and finals with "one-dimensional" play - Name one champion she has played since 2004 whom she hasn't defeated at least once in significant matches - Masha being only a ball basher who only can hit hard - or harder is a myth and here is the proof - But I assume that Calvy - for some unknown reason never can admit that - 'cause his eyes are only on one player - talking about biased

I'm not saying that Masha will win si or so many slams before she retires - I'm just saying that there is nothing wrong with her game - You don't become a top player year after year with a "one dimensional game" - Of course things can still be improved but Masha masters all the shots and other tennis techniques - even left handed forehand shots - better that most of the top 10 players

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEMw8XK6Jao[/video]

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3mGbbHkKMs[/video]

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSKSnijWewY[/video]

 

[MashaFan]

Seriously, in a 12 years career, that's all the footage of good volleying and angles you could find?

Funny thing, ya, my mom is still a better volleyer.

:sleepy::sleepy:

Lemme see - Did I see any clips of how your mom volley - or any other valid proof for your ungrounded statements? - What? - Shall we just believe your "expertise"? - Come on - don't be daft

Those clips clearly show that you either have no knowledge about tennis at all and that you were just babbling nonsense or that you actually was dissing Masha for your own reasons - Not cool Calvy!!!

 

[jhar26]

Maria is one of the best players of the last ten years, so I don't see any urgent need to change her game. She should just focus on trying to be the best Maria Sharapova type player that Maria Sharapova can be, and she's doing a very good job of that.