ORDER OF PLAY

Friday, November 9, 2007

From 18.00hrs CET

1. Jankovic vs. Bartoli
2. Ivanovic vs. Sharapova (NB 20.00hrs)
3. Kuznetsova vs. Hantuchova

Wow, what an interesting set of matches....

Ivanonic and Sharapova face off for the right to avoid Henin in the semi finals, while all the others are out of it...

Maybe Jankovic should retire. She clearly wants to but her coach is telling her to carry on and try winning the match with her serve :unsure: She clearly is having problems with movement and breathing, she even cried at the last change of ends. Why is she still playing?

What happened in the end? I just switched on Eurosport and they are repeating Kuzzy versus Shazza.... did Jankovic retire or end up losing?

i left it after the first game of second set, but im convicnced she must have retired, she looked pretty awful. I hope she never forced herself on during a dead rubber so to speak......

anyway headline match up next. CMON MARIA :yahoo: :yahoo:

She's 3-0 up with a double break over Ivanovic..... :yahoo: :yahoo:

IF she can play like this consistently maybe she is a threat to Henin :pray: :pray: Although I doubt it....

6-1 first set to Maria :yikes: :yahoo: :yahoo:

Oy Vay! Pova in 2006 USO Final Mode :unsure: :runs:

Makes a change from 2007 Aussie Open Final mode!!!! :)

I dunno Gav .... I think she just might be

:lmaao:

BTW I'm not Pam Shriver :) If you notice she said exactly the same thing I said after I posted it re; Maria being in USO Final mode :o

I wish I had her money though :P

I'd love to see Maria win it.... but I think with the form and consistency that Justine has shown this year and because of the beautiful game that she plays the "tennis fan" in me wants Justine to win this thing....it just seems right for her to end the year with this win. But the "Maria fan" in me wants her to win this tournament. :yep:

But saying that Maria could collapse here...you never know.. :blink:

As you know I'm also an Ana fan as well as a Justine fan (Justine first of course), but I really don't think Maria will fold - she's too mentally tough!

I'm sorry to say but ............ THE CHEA... MARIA IS BAAAAAAAAAAACK <img src='http://www.invision.smileyville.net/smilies/sad (6).gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'><img src='http://www.invision.smileyville.net/smilies/sad (6).gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'><img src='http://www.invision.smileyville.net/smilies/sad (6).gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>


Blimey, Pam Shriver just said that Justine is the best of this generation :yikes: What about Sou..... Sourpu .... Serena? :shrug:

Of course I agree with Pam wholeheartedly :)

I think the best player of this generation is pretty much neck and neck between Serena and Justine, but Venus has a shout in there too maybe. I think in the next couple of years one will prove themselves to be THE best of this generation once and for all by winning a few more slams to take them clear...and at the moment there is one player who is odds on to do that....but you never know what is going to happen!

I do think Shriver is a little ahead of herself though!

Sharapova now 4-1 up with a break :yahoo:

I just noticed that Ivanovic looks a bit facially like Milla Jovovich now she has shed a little weight....

I like Sveta, but really from this match, you can truly tell that Maria should be the world no. 2! My reason is because she hasn't played properly since the USO and got drubbed there and in Moscow and she comes back and plays like this. Truly world class :bow:

She should be world no. 2 where she belongs.

c'mon Maria :P

Yeh you're right! She really is a lovely looking girl.

Do you think if she loses today, which seems very likely, it might knock her confidence for her match against Justine? :hmm:

Please say :yep: roflmao

Well, she needs to improve her consistency to play like this more and also get through this nasty shoulder injury that has been bothering her to get back into the top 3 or so, where I think she does belong. :yep:

It would be great to have Juju, Maria, Serena and Venus all on great form again to battle in out next year.... and for Ivanovic and Jankovic and possibly Kuznetsova to improve to challenge that lot... through a rejuvenated Lindsay into that lot and the WTA could be really exciting next year!

To be honest... I don't think it will matter how Ivanovic plays tomorrow against Justine. Justine will win I think no matter what.

Maria with three match points!!!!

....and what a shot to win the match...

6-1 6-2 a crushing win! :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

Is Maria back to her best?!?!?!?! I really hope so!

Congrats Maria ........ well done!

:phew: thank god it was a dead rubber B)

That was awesome from Maria. She's shut a fair few people up there, and it'd be great for women's tennis if she can get back to playing like that. It was an almost exact replica of the RG semi-final earlier this year, where one player was just on fire and didn't let the other into it.

That said, if she was ever going to play like that against Ana, I'm glad it was in a match that is ultimately irrelevant. Yes, Ana will now have to play Henin one round earlier, but she'd have had to play her in the final anyway. I still think she could cause Henin problems, but hopefully that defeat won't have demoralised her. Meanwhile, Maria is certainly capable of giving Justine a match in the final, so we have an interesting tournament on our hands in my opinion.

Btw, QJ, can I ask what you thought of Henin double bagelling Bartoli last night?

Did you see the Justine -v- Bartoli match?

I of course loved it! Revenge yes, but Justine showed her exhibition tennis there. She was showing off and that's why I think Carlos wasn't impressed! There were no facial expressions at all from him. I've seen him like that before and he's said it's because he gets annoyed when she shows off ! roflmao

I personally loved it that she showed off :wub:

For me this match and the USO 07 SF and USO SF 03 were the best matches she has ever played.

Yesterday was an absolutely flawless performance.

I hope she hasn't peaked too soon :whistle:

What did you think of it - if you saw it that is?

EDIT: BTW, I think it sent out a message to people who beat her i.e. "beat me and look what you get - you'll never do it again" roflmao

Nah, I didn't see it unfortunately.

This might sound strange, but I was wondering if that win, amazing as it was, might have annoyed you a bit. It really highlighted just how much of a nightmare the Wimbledon semi-final was for Justine... Bartoli gets too much stick, but still, that was a match Henin should never have lost. Double bagelling her a few months later just seems to rub that in a bit.

Do you think Justine can win Wimbledon one year? I'd like to see her do it, but I do wonder if she's destined not to. She lost to an inferior player in the 2006 final from a set up, and then Bartoli this year. It'd be a shame if that turned out to be the case, cos I feel she really deserves it.

If she doesn't play Eastbourne (which I think and hope she won't in 2008) then she CAN definitely win it! She just gets too knackered playing RG and Eastbourne (getting to the finals and winning both) and then getting to either the SF or Final of Wimby. That's a lot of matches in a very short period. Haven't known any other player do it!

I think and hope next year she won't play Eastbourne (even though I go there every year to see her) so that she can at least be a little bit fresher for Wimby.

She will eventually win it because she wants it and when she REALLY wants something, she'll go and get it - just like she wanted to double-bagel Bartoli yesterday (she said it in a pre-match interview for a Belgian TV station yesterday - she was laughing when she said "I want to double-bagel her for revenge and she laughed), but look what happened roflmao

Last year at the YEC, she hadn't played since the USO (she played a couple of Fed Cup matches but was injured with a bad knee). She came to the YEC and said that she wanted to win it - now, she hadn't played for a couple of months and look what happened! She even said herself, when she sets her mind to get something, she'll get it no matter what :bow:

So in answer to your question, even though it was a long way around, no I'm not upset that she lost to Bartoli and Wimby, I was at the time, but look what it has taught her, she hasn't lost a match since that loss and has played a full final season :bow: These losses always teach her something, that's why I think her losses are getting less and less - she had what, 6 losses last year and so far she's had 4 this year.

I personally would like her to win Wimbledon in her last year of playing - that would make a statement wouldn't it? :whistle:

What a bizarre week. Two retirements, and bagels and breadsticks all over the place (four of each!). And you know Chakvetadze will crumple before Sharapova right on schedule and Ivanovic will freeze up against Henin again after having her confidence shattered today.

A rejuvenated Sharapova wasn't quite the storyline I expected going into the YEC, although it was certainly a possibility. I don't think even on this form she can stop Henin but maybe we'll have a respectable final now.

So basically, lets hand the trophy to Justine roflmao

She ALWAYS, ALWAyS does... :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Except against Venus :angry: roflmao

but you just know against The Cheat, Anna just has no belief she can beat her... :rolleyes: :shrug:

She really should have more belief too.......... she has tools to beat Maria. Just lacks self-esteem on the big occasion :shrug:

To be honest I think there is more chance of an upset in the other semi final than this one... :shrug:

I know

I think Justine will be fine, I just think Anna has a mental block when it comes to The Cheat... :(

Justine..

Anna C
Maria S
Ana I


JH really ought to win with some to spare, esp if she maintains her form.

Shame that neither Venus nor Serena could challenge her.

Maybe one of the other 3 players could raise their game and give her a good contest?

Out of the three Maria is the one threatening to step up and challenge Henin, especially after her thrashing off Ivanovic and the way in which she played. The thing is she isn't Miss Consistent this year and may well turn into a turkey for the rest of the tournament.

I can't see Ivanovic troubling Henin today to be honest.

Yip, on current form, Sharpie is the one most likely to give her a contest. A final of 3 sets with a tight 3rd set would be good

tbh though, I'd be surprised if anyone takes a set off JH.. as the sporting cliche goes, first there;s JH, and then there's plenty of daylight between her and the others..

but then again, I would have said the same about her SW19 SF earlier this year, so who knows?? Has already been a tourney of surprises..