So, who will win RG?

Justine was very solid in her win against Serena, though I don't think she reached top gear at any point during the match. She was much more consistent and mixed it up well. Serena never managed to maintain a high level of play, despite some good serving, and unfortunately the encounter wasn't as closely fought as we would've hoped.

Jelena was clinical in defeating Vaidisova, who did well to defend most of her points considering her long injury lay-off. The Serb is a mentally stronger player than in 2006, and a couple of big wins here have surely given her a confidence boost heading into the semis. She knows that she can beat Justine, despite the lopsided H2H, but in Paris you've got to favour the Queen of Clay.

Ivanovic played a flawless first set against Kuznetsova, and was pretty good in the third too, though a lot had to do with Svetlana self-destructing. It'll be interesting to see how she handles herself in her maiden Slam semi-final.

Sharapova is also in her first RG semi, but she's had more experience at this stage and that could give her an edge over Ana. That said, I think that if Ana can deal with the pressure and keep her nerves under control she has a great chance to reach the final.

I'll go with Justine to win the event, though I'm finding it difficult to choose who she'll beat in the final :lol:

I'm picking Justine. The most impressive mover left in the draw now on clay. Its a very intangible quality on clay, but the movement is half the battle won if you can master it, and Justine has been moving superbly.

Also Justine has been serving well, very varied and great depth on the second serve which has been giving her such freedom in her service games. Her groundstrokes have been getting progressively beter since the first week, patriculary the forehand which seems to be reeking in precision at the moment. She's just the most natural clay-courter left in the draw. Also mentally leagues above everyone, even sharapova. I cant see jankovic able to penetrate the Henin game either, especially with Justine varying the game so well.

The most intruiging player left in the draw to me is Ivanovic. Has been serving and moving superbly this week. Serve has been so good, regulary throwing in 116+ bombs in and great first strikes have been causing players so much trouble. Ivanovic's key gameplan this tourny has been hit and move forward. Easy points on offer when she plays that well. I feel if the margin is there, Sharapova could be on the end of some punishment. In the abscence of Serena and Venus, Ivanovic is the hardest hitter left in the draw and could well move maria around the court if the forehand is on target.

My take, its either going to be a Justine romp, or a Ivanovic fairytale ;)

Any one of these women can win it. Yes, even Sharapova. But it will be Henin.

Nevertheless my mouse hovered over the options for a long time before I clicked the radio button by Jankovic's name despite myself. :P

If forced to outline final scenarios in rock-paper-scissors manner:

Henin d Ivanovic
Henin d Sharapova
Sharapova d Jankovic
Jankovic d Ivanovic / Ivanovic d Jankovic

But I really think it will just be another effortless Henin victory for the third year running and I'm ready for the grass now suddenly. Heh.

I think Jankovic is the only woman left that has a shot at beating Henin here. TBH i am surprised, but happy, that Sharapova is still in the draw and would like to see her against Jankovic in the final. However, i still predict Henin to win

I voted Ivanovic as I want her to win, now we have one vote for each :lol:

Hopfully someone can take a set off Henin anyway, just to stop it being a complete borefest.

Bring on the grass I say though ;)

henin will deliver the goods on saturday ;)

Henin will win.

i don't believe Henin will win, have said this from quite a way back and am not inclined to change it just because she has come through her SUPPOSED "biggest challenge" ( :rolleyes: ) today. I think Jankovic is looking really hot and may well take Justine out. And although I never thought i'd hear myself say this, I think Sharapova will make the final (Just cos I can't see Ivanovic doing so), and being the tigress she is she may well present a huge battle to whoever comes through the Henin-Jankovic semi...

I'd love it if you were right mate!

I mean, obviously head should say Henin roflmao

I just don't know...

Sharapova's draw has really opened up after she got past Patty, she may have a knackered shoulder but she's such a battler...

no doubt you'll be wanting her to win to get yourself a new pic of her with a trophy mate! :D

If only I were a crab on that beach... or even better a grain of sand...

I'm not sure you two are thinking with your heads! :P

roflmao

What sort of head do you mean? roflmao

hey in fairness i've fancied the girl in your picture from the start for the tournament...

I really hope so! :pray:

As Bruce Lee once said... don't think........feeeeeeeeeel....

Or as woody allen once said...

"Masterbation is better than sex as it's sex with someone you know..."

roflmao

Some of his quotes are just insane!

:ill:

not a fan of woody allens then? Don't worry, barely know anyone that is roflmao

Well done Sam for misquoting Woody Allen.. :rolleyes:

And yet again turns into the usual 'who do I fancy and therefore want to win' ? Yawn.

Of course JH is favourite, has been right from the beginning of the tournament.

The semi between JH and JJ should determine who wins the final imo.. I just don't think that the quality has been there in the lower half of the draw, quite frankly.

Maria hasn't played a very good clay courter yet, and when I mean good, I'm thinking of the sort that will expose her lack of movement and not give her a look in with her famed competitive spirit.. Justine would beat her comfortably if they were to meet, and I'd say that Jelena would beat her too.

Ivanovic v Sharpie? Depends who turns up, really :shrug:

I hope that Ivanovic gets to the final, as it would add that factor of unpredictability to things, as she really is more of an unknown quantity on this surface, less of a 'cow on ice'. I actually liked Maria for that comment, very endearing :)

Now now, I voted Henin. :P :P

Even if I like Maria, I don't think she will win. It would be nice, but i think the winner will come from the Henin/Jankovic semi, which will be Henin although I can see Jankovic giving her more of a battle than Serena did.

It's not a misquote! Or at least the sentiment is the same, haven't looked it up just remember it!

Have a proper look at the threads i've been in Petalp - you'll find i've been pulling for Jankovic for the french open.

Maria has done a fine job getting to the semis with half a shoulder though. And how many "genuine clay courters" ar there in the womens game? Not many, sad indictment of the lack of variety on the women's side again i'm afraid...

Or the fact that women don't specialise on clay as they are brought up to be all court players :shrug:

In fact I find the fact that players like Thomas Muster have got to number one based primarily on results on clay, a sad indictment of the men's game imo, where surface specialists rule supreme....

The player who shoudl win and deserves to win is Justine. Best all court player in the game and best on clay by miles. However, i do have a slight worry about Jankovic - she seems to be beleiving in herself and is very relaxed on the big stage right now, so Justine needs to watch out. Jelena will put up a better effort than Serena, that is for sure. I think the winner will be whoever wins that match.

Sharapova to beat Ivanovic purely because she has the experience and seems to be really battling out there now, although she hasn't had a great challenge yet. Justine will thrash Shara in the final, assuming she gets there. Let's hope it's a good thrashing, because frankly I really don't think Maria should have got this far on this surface. She's fought alright been a little lucky in the draw if you ask me. I guess Ivanovic might beat her, but only if she gets in the zone quickly and moves Maria around a lot with her huge groundstrokes. What worries me with Ivanovic is that she is prone to makign a lot of ugly errors when she's off with her hitting, and if that goes to pot she'll be waving goodbye very quickly.

It would seem odd to me if both the Serbs made the final, and if they did God knows who would win as both have no experince at that level. I'd back Jonkovic in that case. Oh and Jankovic to beat Marai in the final if she makes it.

Agreed, I prefer the all rounders - unless it's grass of course :D

Justine's all court game is a true credit to tennis across both genders' games. :clap: And the fact that she manages to be the master fo clay BUt not a specialist is something I like. Her game on the caly has much more variety in it than your typical male clay court specialist form South America or whatever.

I agree with Justine having the best all-round game but I personally prefere Mauresmo's game when it is in full flight.....and prefer by far her attitude on the court, than Justine.


.....Unfortunately, she is not in the last four.

My preference:

1 - Jankovic
2 - Justine
3 - Ivanovic
4 - Not sure who is the fourth player. (It's called selective memory!)

Well actually, I think it was a real strength of the men's game at the time that it was so competetive that Muster could collect most of his points on clay and be top dog just as a result of that - obviously a host of players were better than him on other surfaces, but kept knocking lumps out of each other! roflmao

I think Henin will do it again this year, but she will not sweep aside Jankovic.

I think Sharapova is the very marginal favourite to win the other S-F based on greater experience, although we must remember what she herself did to Serena that famous day in 2004....

I was looking up the various players on the WTA website, and I was amazed at Ivanovic's stats. For all her elegance and good looks she is a very well-built girl - 6' and 11.4 stone (73kgs). That makes her of above-average height and probably around average weight for most men. A combination of that physical size & strength, talent, and a will to win is likely to take her a very long way if she stays with it and keeps injury free.

Well to be honest how many genuine "clay courters only" are at the top of the men's game now? Robredo is one I suppose, but obviously Nadal has more strings to his bow than just clay, someone like your favourite Nalbandian ( roflmao ) can also play on anything :)

73 Kgs is not massively heavy though BarryStar... :whistle:

I don't have a clue how these are going to go, not even the slightest inkling. However, I do think that the final will either be an all-Serb affair or a Maria vs Henin affair. I can't see Jankovic vs Maria or Ana vs Justine for some reason.

Ideally, I want an all-Serb final - I really like both Jankovic and Ivanovic, and I believe Ana can definitely win that. She leads 3-1 in the H2H, including a victory on clay earlier this year.

Unfortunately, negative vibes are aplenty and I'm sensing Henin will beat Jelena, just because she always does, and Maria will beat Ana. There's something about the way she's got this far, for example the Schynder victory, that makes me think she's destined to reach the final. Of course, Henin would beat Sharapova without too much difficulty in the final.

I don't agree - Ivanovic is the heaviest player in the women's top 10 by 12kg's.

If Sharapova gets to the final, even against Justine, I don't think you can count her out. She is not bad against the odds! :D

:yikes:

That's almost as heavy as I am, although she has a height advantage.

I've heard a lot of jibes about her being fat, which of course are complete garbage, but do you think she could do with losing a little bit of weight in order to maximise her potential as a tennis player?

Crikey! they're all light! roflmao

Have to say though I don't believe Serena is less than ten stone... :rolleyes:

I am no physiological expert so I don't know whether a bit of extra weight, provided it is muscle, is helpful or not. Obviously there has to be a balance between movement and strength. I would have thought that Ana has to find her natural weight and work within whatever advantages/disadvantages that brings.

On another point, I am full of admiration for how Henin has managed to extract so much power from her relatively tiny frame to throw in the mix with her superb technique and movement. There are players whose attitude I find more attractive, but I would like to see her get a Wimbledon before she finishes, I think it would be good for tennis to see that the bashers don't get it all their own way. Much the same went for Hingis in her heyday.

EDIT - ps, whose that in your signature Sam?

My favourite Nalbandian! roflmao Bring your sleeping bags out when he plays, and a good DVD if you have one. :D

I know what you mean, more players that appear to be clay courters are developing skills on other surfaces and becoming reasonable all rounders. I think though that they are not as accomplished as it seems. The bg one that some clay courters used to duck out of early or miss was Wimbledon. Changes to the grass surface have made it more accessible to those who are not grass specialists, so it is easier for them to play on if you ask me. That does annoy me because clay doesn't get easier for the grass courters.

Anyway, although Nalbandian can play on anything, he hasn't won on anything either, unlike Henin, so I don't think he can be compared. The biggest and best all rounder is obviously Federer, supreme on grass and hard, and it woudl appear number 2 on clay at the moment. People seem to write him off as if he's useless on clay, but he does have the small matter of Nadal in front of him adn he did make the final last year, and may do this year too. Nadal has reached a Wimby final but he's not done as well on hard. I knwo he is more than a strict clay courter, but on results so far eh stands out as beign far better on clay than any other surface.

I agree Sam. They are all light for their heights, which is more worrying when you consider that they are muscular and muscle is heavier than fat. 11 stone whatever it was for 6ft is quite a healthy weight and if she were to weigh at least a stone more it would still be a healthy BMI for a 6 foot tall woman.

Do you believe in those weights? They ofetn get the heighth wrong, so I am sure the weight is completely outdated too. They usually put those numbers at the beginning of the career but don'y bother changing them afterwards (which is understandable as it would require a ridiculous amount of work for an unappreciable result).

Agree Tenez, most of the weights have been the same for the last 5 years or so, as far as I can remember, they don't bother changing them.....

Tenez roflmao

;) :P

How do you like the crowd this year Serena? ;)