Might as well 'fess up. I want Venus to win. I've got my fingers crossed. But Serena hasn't dropped a set, and Lindsay, last year's #1, was the only one to push her. Looks grim. Unless you're Richard or Orecene.
Here's the matchup of SF stats. The fact that one a 3 set and one's a 2 set is irrelevant. Serena has a positive winner/UE ratio, Venus has a negative one. Every serving statistic favors Serena.
Code:
Venus Serena
winners 26 34
UEs 43 30
aces 3 13
DFs 10 2
1st Serve % 61% 68%
Win% on 1st 71% 79%
Win% on 2nd 38% 38%
To Net 32 9
Venus's one real hope is that she got to net easily against Mauresmo. She may be able to take Serena from the net. I no longer believe Serena can be beaten from the baseline.
All I'm really asking is that this final be a little better than the WB final. And that Venus win it.
Great stats however you have ommitted the fact tha Amelie is playing better than Lindsay now so that is a factor I think. If Serena had played Amelie, maybe Serena would have lost more games. Venus beat Lin-C 7-5, 6-0 2 weeks ago in New Haven so why not compare those two scores. Serena bear her 6-3, 7-5 so Serena lost 3 more game so does this mean Venus is in fact playing better. Serena before Lin-C did not play any top players so she had an easy draw but now it is time for Venus to CRUSH SERENA!!! And did anybody record Venus-amelie? I did not watch the whole match.
Might as well 'fess up. I want Venus to win. I've got my fingers crossed. But Serena hasn't dropped a set, and Lindsay, last year's #1, was the only one to push her. Looks grim. Unless you're Richard or Orecene.
.....
Venus's one real hope is that she got to net easily against Mauresmo. She may be able to take Serena from the net. I no longer believe Serena can be beaten from the baseline.
All I'm really asking is that this final be a little better than the WB final. And that Venus win it.
My sentiments exactly. I hope venus wins it but, if she served like today (minus the last game) and her hand is still bothering her, her chances are pretty slim. I also liked how she came to the net a lot and, as you wrote above, that might be the key to beating serena.
This is their biggest final yet. Not only is a slam title on the line, but the #1 ranking. The winner of this match will be #1.
As for the semis, I don't think they have much direct bearing on the final. For one, Serena faced someone who hits a flatter ball (which both sisters prefer) and is less mobile. (And off a recent injury absence.) It's not wholly unlike Venus's quarterfinal round with Monica.
Conversely, Venus faced someone who could mix spins, run down a lot of balls, and do a good job at the net. For the second time in the tourney. With similar results. This disruption of Venus's rhythm caused her subsequent loss of confidence in her shots. She didn't really come out playing any differently than she did in the matches she won handily. It's just that she wasn't given the straight hard shots that she prefers. Serena's shots will be more to her liking. (Serena's serves might not, however.)
I think Venus will somehow win this. Much like at RG, when Venus wanted it, but Serena WANTED it, so it is this time, only in the reverse.
And they are going into this year's match off of much more exciting semis.
Brian Stewart - Serena has imporved so fast in the past twelve months I don't beleive there's anything she can't do. However, learning to play the game that Mauresmo and Rubin threw at Venus takes time to learn. Hopefully, Serena won't be able to learn it over night. With consistent hard pace, Venus may be able to find her rhythm, and thus her serve.
The diffrence will be the serve. Not even serena can pop out a 126 mph serve like venus did. and when she played badly against chanda (give credit to chanda though) she played flawlessly against monica. I think the same will happen
It's Serena's to lose, although I hope she wins because it will end those excuses I read at after Wimbledon that Venus was 'learning to cope with little sister' or 'didn't serve well.'
Of course, if Venus can beat Serena when Serena's playing well, it will speak volumes for her already spectacular tennis ability.
I don't know how Venus is going to do it, but if she does beat Serena, then it will be a great match. Hope Venus comes to the net more, I think she'll be better off than being run side to side on the baseline by Mama Smash.
Venus covers the baseline better than Serena, and Venus can hit a winner from literally anywhere. There are places you can hit the ball to Serena that you'll never get an attempt at a winner back. This year, those small advantages have been overwhelmed by Serena aggression and consistency. But if Venus can extend the rallies, she gives Serena more chances to make errors.