She took Sharapova apart at times in style. :ok:

I am so glad Amelie won, she has proved she can keep it together and is at last in a Wimbledon final that she so thoroughly deserves.

She played some sublime tennis, and despite her second set dip, came back and got the job done She outwitted Sharapova, using patience and intelligence to rattle the Russian taking pace of the ball, adding slice and was superior at the net. I am so pleased that skill has won the day over ugly power. And it has set up the final the real tennis fans all wanted to see with JHH Can't wait for that! :D

Credit to Sharapova for taking a set, and mounting a few fightbacks, but really she was truly outclassed on the day and had no plan B except to try and serve volley, which she is clearly inept at. How the hell people had her down as the favourite for the title, and this match is beyond belief. Well it did not fool me, and my money was on Amelie and JHH, and whoever wins once again I am smiling - there is even enough to cover the small loss on Venus :D

Good luck for the final Amelie, I'm also a fan of JHH so all I can say is may the best woman win but I would prefer Amelie to shake off her nearly woman tag. And of Sharapova, not a case of try HARDER next time, but play SMARTER. Class will win out at the end of the day, and it just did!

:yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

Great GRASS COURT final ahead guys! :cheers:

I don't know why Maria was the fave either to be honest, haven't seen the match as i've been at Alton Towers all day (:D), but it sounds as if Amelie deserved it!

Maria seems to be streaky more than anything - at her best she is unplayable, but sadly she is unable to maintain it for long enough :(

I'm hoping Amelie goes on to take the crown on Saturday - she has won the tough half of the draw!

I agree Sam, totally. Shame to see no interest whatsoever in Amelie's victory. Where is BC? :D

SB, I tried to reply to your post on the beeb, but the board closed down just as I was about to post! :( Ah, glad that you posted here too..:)

Watched the 3rd set of this match. Amelie played so well, and showed a great deal of intelligence, skill and focus in holding off Maria's fightback..

I remember throwing an 'Amelie' for Wimbledon?' pitch on the beeb board just after the FO to thunderous indifference, and am now so glad that she has made the final. For me, she just looks the part as an athletic grass court player, and certainly with the game to boot. Most definitely a long overdue apppearance in the final :)

Agreed 100% SB re: Sharapova having to develop a more rounded game. Street fighting without street smarts isn't enough when there is a player on the other side of the net who will make you play that one extra-special shot to get past her.

I loved Amelie's celebration too!! She looked great! B)


Hopefully both players will binrg their best games to the final.. They'd better bring their sublime backhands, for starters!! :bow:

'Today at Wimbledon' decided to highlight Maria's net woes with 3 horrible conventional volleys, including the one set point down! She really doesn't look comfortable; she doesn't possess natural feel, unlike Amelie. That said, Maria's drive volleys are excellent, and those actually gave her a higher winning percentage at the net than Amelie!

Maria's volleys :doh:

I know!

I am upset Maria lost - I fear she is streaky and no more, that she has the ability to beat anyone at anytime but can't sustain it!

However hopefully Amelie will become a popular champion on Saturday - she won the tough half of the draw!

She has to learn to volley properly for me though - the drive volley, unless you're Federer, is a shot that just asks to go wrong!

Definitely - you can't consistently drive volley balls below the height of the net, for example.

I don't like the shot, never have, never will. A conventinal volley is so much more difficult to return anyway!
If you hit the drive volley in the direction of the reciever they have decent fist still for me!

Hmm, I'm a fan of the drive volley - though to be honest, I prefer a cleanly hit conventional volley. :)

The good thing about a conventional volley is that you can vary the placement a lot more, e.g. drop volleys, slicing the ball into the corner, keeping it low, etc. However, with a drive volley, you really only have one option; hit it hard into the open space. Or you could risk going behind your opponent.

that second set was the most agonising watch i have ever seen. just like henners at his worst. but i'm so glad that amelie came through in the end.

a real tennis player should beat a 1 dimensional forehand merchant every day of the week. masha looked like a total muppet whenever momo got to the net and hit a volley. allez amelie! :)

Erm... Maria's backhand is better than her forehand


Well done Amelie....I almost cried today because both of my fav players lost!! I think I swore at the tv more than I have ever before in my whole life...


The positives for Maria is that although her volleys are still average or below she is trying to improve them which at least proves she wants to learn.....

Now I hope Amelie can win the final but i don't think it will happen...

a firmly hit proper volley is always the easier option, problem is now is that with the grips they have conventional volleys are more difficult!

Why is everyone talking about Amelie?

Why is no one talking about Justine and the match she played? :cry:

Yes, she played an awful match, but come on folks, this woman is on her way to a career grand slam 1 grand slam on each surface, has not dropped a set in 2 Grand Slams so far - none at the French and so far none at Wimby, hope and prays it continues. Has played what 45 matches and only lost 5 this year. H.as played 3 Grand Slams this year and has got to the finals in all of them.

I feel she deserves a bit of support and cheer also ... I mean, come on, she's a brilliant player.

Perhaps I'm the only one that thinks this? :shrug:

Superbrat, I am a real tennis fan, and I wanted to see Kim vs Amelie. Does thatmean that wvwryone that was going for Justine and Maria are not "real" tennis fans?

And Sam, how has Maria ever been "unplayable"? I fail to see.

I'm not! :D

I think it's been a great achievement of hers to get to the final, although in fairness she has benefitted from the better half of the draw for my money.

It's gonna be a tough final to call - a lot rides on Amelie's nerves, if she keeps it together we'll have a close final, if not Justine will walk it!

You watch her when in full flight, she can spray winners all over the court against anyone. She did it virtually for two sets in the 04 final at wimbers, however since then she's found it tough to sustain such a level for long enough in the big matches.

Mayeb that is where experience comes in...

I dont think Maria is unplayable, there are far better players than maria on form, especially Justine and the Williams sisters, especially venus who can mix power and athleticsm. Sharapova played well at wimbledon 04, but i still think Serena at her best would've won, considering how well she plays at her best.

That's a bit negative TQJ. I thought Justine played very well - ok she got broken a few times but she stepped it up when she needed to and hit some great winners. Her winners to unforced error ratio has been positive every match I think.

I think there's more attention on Amelie because most of us expected Justine to win but Amelie was more of a suprise and it was nice to see her get over her Wimbledon semi final jinx.

Allez Justine for the title & the career slam!

Hi petalp, yes I agree and they had BETTER brign those backhands or there will eb trouble! :D

I agree. I tis handy, but i am sure that she tried to do at least one in that match and as a result made a stupid error. Now if she has had the ability, she woudl have done a drop shot across court instead, or even just a volley with less pace.

Not at all Qj, I agree with you. I think Justine is fabulous, and I am glad she made the final as she was the best in her draw by far. You knwo I am mor eof an Amelie fan and so I am rooting fo rher hard, but if it were Sharapova who go tthrough then I'd root for Justine. I think both deserve to win the final, buat alas there can onyl eb one winner. May the best woman win, and it will eb special for whoever does win. :ok:

It's personal preference Sf, as you know I am not a huge fan of Kim's game and prefer JHH's by a long chalk.

The angles maria generates are better than anybody's when she's on a streak!

You obviously havent seen a Hingis or Seles in full flow :P

yeah but maria gets them complete with blast! :D

I don't feel so bad about Maria going out this year - I really did want Amelie to win wimbledon one day, she's a wonderful throwback to past times with her style on grass!

Are we getting protractors out dl? roflmao

Sharapova isnt the master of angles at all, especially with her technique. if anything players like martinez, hingis, capriati, Seles are much better at constructing the angles. Also Davenport with her backhand.

from flat she does do some extraordinary stuff sometimes IMO...

mind angles or not it didn't help against amelie! roflmao