And we don't need a whole lot of bitchy posts about it being boring because the Williams aren't there! :rolleyes: roflmao

I think Sharapova, but want either Dementieva or Henin-Hardenne to win :)

Yeah I voted for Maria too but I want Dementieva or Martina to win! :P

:tsk: :ban:

I voted for Justine she has winning records against all the players there except Martina and is also most capable of beatin them all due to her adaptable game. If she's healthy and got over that injury she seems the likely victor as I feel she will be very hungry after recent losses and out to prove something.

:blink:

C'mon people, get voting!

I'm afraid you're wrong there Serena. Henin and Mauresmo are 5-5 in their head-to-head. The only players that I like out of those 8 are Martina and Kim, so I;ll vote Martina.

Thanks for your vote but as I said it's not really a poll of who you like, it's who you think is going to win

Well I think Martina then :D I am optomistic.

Well it looks like you wrong SF as you voted for who you wanted to win rather than who had the best chance :tsk:

I was aware of the fact that Amelie and Justine were tied but its as good as a winning record as one of those wins came in the Wimbledon choke and another in the AO retirement. Besides I was generalising, Justine does only have a losing record to only one player there, so there's no need to be picky. :shrug:

My analysis is still valid; if Justine is fit and healthy and seeing as she'll have the motivation...I see no reason why she isn't the favourite to win this...

For once i didnt vote for the person you expected me to ;)

The YEC Queen will win it for the third time B)

Hingis still needs to defend her 2000 title :D

I would like Kuzy to show how good she is at this tourny, and really compete for that title.

No one has faith in Momo then? :shrug:

Amelie will be third seed and one without lots of match practice..so she is hardly the favourite to defend her title...

I still hope she does well though.

I never thought she was gonna beat Mary in last years final, but she did :(

Keep voting people!
Only 13 have so far! :D

Who voted for Dementieva? :blink: roflmao

(Then again, she's so unpredictable that she could just play some amazing tennis for the week :unsure: )

That would be me :P

I wonder why? :lol:

Hey, nothing wrong with voting for Elena! :)
You never know!
Didnt think Amelie would have won it last year to be honest!

I voted for Elena becuase I think she needs to win this and do an 'Amelie'. Hopefully she'll finally win a GS then

Well after seeing her in Philadelphia I knew she had a good chance...

Didn't expect her to beat Mary though!

Justine Henin-Hardenne
Why she will win –
The best competitor out there and probably the player of the year despite her slam final losses
Has beaten all of the other competitors at least once this year
Will want to win this in order to make up for those slam final losses & it will ensure she takes the number 1 spot
Why she won’t win –
That fragile body has held her back this year and it could do again
Her lack at match sharpness may hold her back – they’ll be no easy early matches to get her used to competition again

Maria Sharapova
Why she will win –
The form player of the moment on a 16 match winning streak
Confidence at a high after ending her slam drought and beating all of her trickier opponents (Henin, Mauresmo & Clijsters)
When on form her groundstrokes can over power nearly everyone
Why she won’t win –
Tiredness? She has played a lot recently and it may catch up with her.
She remains vulnerable to players that can mix up their play.

Amelie Mauresmo
Why she will win –
Having taken two grand slams this year she’s bound to be confident
Will want to defend her title here especially since it was the start of her big year
Her aggressive style of play will go far in this surface
Why she won’t win –
Despite her slam wins has never looked dominant this year – recent bagels underline that point
Shoulder injury may hinder her play especially her serve which was a key component in her slam wins this year
Has a horrible tendency to lapse into a more passive style of play which leaves her vulnerable to stronger players

Svetlana Kuznetsova
Why she will win -
At times this year has played incredible tennis and looked capable of beating anyone
Has really regained form & confidence after her dire 2005 and will be looking to prove herself
Why she won’t win –
Though she has played some great tennis her form has been very patchy at points
Has rarely shown her best form indoors
Seems to have a real problem against Henin-Hardenne

Nadia Petrova
Why she will win -
The form player of the clay season & looked very impressive indoors – her serve in particular
Has broken through to winning titles in spectacular fashion and now looks capable of challenging for the big titles
Why she won’t win –
Has played well but doesn’t always play her best when it really matters (see Linz final)
Her record against most of the other players here isn’t anything special & beating 4 or 5 top players in one event may be a bit much for her.

Elena Dementieva
Why she will win –
At her best can beat anyone with her wonderful movement and fantastic ground strokes
Why she won’t win –
Hugely inconsistent and capable of losing to anyone
Hasn’t won a match at this event since 2000
That serve

Martina Hingis
Why she will win –
The best tactician out there – her smart style of game can beat anyone
Why she won’t win –
Hasn’t looked as good recently as she did early on in the season (is the strain of a full season for the first time since 2002 getting to her?)
Remains vulnerable to being out hit – she can take any one player down but 4 or 5 of them?

Kim Clijsters
Why she will win –
Loves this event having won it twice
Plays extremely well indoors
After some time out of the game should be fired up and motivated to make the best of her limited time left in the game.
Why she won’t win –
Injuries – sometimes she makes Henin-Hardenn look like a model of fitness!
Her game can fall apart sometimes especially that forehand
Henin-Hardenne (can she beat her?)

So all in all I reckon Henin & Sharapova are the favourites with the others a bit behind in the pack. Dementieva is probably the least likely to win it. Then again this time last year we thought Clijsters was a sure thing and she didn’t even make it past the group stage. Another surprise is definitely a possibility.

An excellent analysis! :bow:

EW!

I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU CAKESNIFFERS THINK JUSTINE COULD WIN! roflmao

I agree :clap:

I think by logic and by the votes Justine is defintiely the clever favourite to win this. Even if Maria is the bookies' :D

roflmao

She's going out in the group me thinks. B)

Great analysis GS :clap:

I don't have anything to add!

Great analysis GS

But one problem, they all choke, everyone of those girls have choked.

Except Mauresmo, that is why she will win! :yahoo: :yahoo:

Mauresmo's never choked?

roflmao

No! she hasn't! ;)

roflmao

My head says Sharpie will win.