I'm so glad to see that Caro is playing Brussels! I've been such a neglectful fan recently but I'm looking forward to cheering her on here. Hope she can get a couple of wins on clay under her belt before FO:yeah:
Well,let's hope that the Belgian weather is more reliable than the army--There were a couple rainouts yesterday but Brussels is almost on schedule...would rather not see Caroline doubling or tripling up to play make-up matches
No matter what the weather, she should play every match seriously, or as mentally focused as possible. She already has a 4 match losing streak. With grass coming, wins are rare now
I don't really get what Brussels are doing tbh. They have got 5 rounds to play, they need to at least get Round 1 done today, otherwise it will involve people having to double up. The problem with that is it's meant to rain all week.
I know they have TV and sponsor commitments, but the end of the tournament is far more important than the beginning.
When it rained in Malaysia, I thought it was bad that Caro was there. She had just played well in Dubai, and IW was coming.
Now its different. She hasnt won a match in over a month. She just lost to one of the weakest players around this year, who had lost 8 matches in a row then only won 2 games after beating Caro.
Caroline has stopped competing. She needs to get some fight in her, or she's finished as a top tennis player
Well they are not going indoors today, which almost certainly benefits Caro, given her opponent will now be scheduled to play 2 matches tomorrow probably. It's a terrible decision from the organisers though.
This talk of rain reminds me of the good old days when Caro won her until then biggest title in Montreal 2010. Played both semifinal and final monday evening (the SF had been interrupted after two games Saturday, if I'm not mistaken). Then hurried to New Haven, CT, for another title!
This talk of rain reminds me of the good old days when Caro until then biggest title in Montreal 2010. Played both semifinal and final monday evening (the SF had been interrupted after two games Saturday, if I'm not mistaken). Then hurried to New Haven, CT, for another title!
I remember that. Rogers Cup final was Monday. That tournament really propelled her to a great run.
I'm still hopeful she can catch fire on hardcourt this fall.
But that fire is missing. She used to be a great competitor
And we don't want Caro to be tired at the start of the FO. That could happen if she goes all the way and ends up having to play two matches a day at the end of the week.
There are 10 R1 matches left to be played. If none get played today, which is looking reasonably likely, that leaves 18 matches to be played tomorrow. They have no floodlights, it is meant to rain again tomorrow and they have either 3 or 4 outdoor courts. From a tournament perspective it looks utter stupidity to have not moved indoors today. It's not like this is a tournament with scope on their finish day, they absolutely have to finish on Saturday.
Tbh it's another ridiculous decision to have Caro's opponent play 2 matches tomorrow as well. That match should have been one of the priorities today. A cynic would say they are trying to help their top seeds make the latter stages (same is true for Vinci's opponent as well), and when you look at the matches they are trying to play today it really does look like they are.
Seriously,when they create the MD on Friday,don't you think that RG might accommodate the Brussels QF-ists by putting all of them on the side of the draw that plays next Tuesday??Even simpler,if the Brussels final were played on Sunday,the two finalists could simply be given a travel day on Monday regardless of their original place in the MD.That would be kind of anal of the French(insert joke here_____)to play hardball;it's not as though those two players would ruin the entire OOP
You can't rig certain players on to a certain side of the draw, there would be mass uproar. In the scheme of things the French Open don't care about about any of the players in Brussels, it's not like any of them are a great draw in Paris. They didn't help Gasquet a couple of years ago when he won Nice and then drew Murray in R1 to play on Monday, there is no chance they help anyone in Brussels.
These are parting thoughts cuz I'm heading to work,but it really is pathetic that the Brusells heads didn't make use of any indoor facilities.It's almost as if they were saying,'We're getting downgraded to piss-ant Int. status,so why should WE care?' Frankly,they were lucky to even get a slumping Caro with THIS sort of assclown operation.If this is how incomptetently they run the tourney,then perhaps the WTA should just cancel the event after this year and not 2014......Then again,this is the Allaster No-accountability outfit we're talking about,so this event is par for the course,isn't it?
These kinds of tournaments, like New Haven, they have to get these matches played. One of Caroline's New Haven finals was indoors.
Having a bye this week is a big advantage, but the tournament director has to get these matches played.
There arent any FO contenders there this year, so they're lucky that way. A contender would have to leave Brussels early
These kinds of tournaments, like New Haven, they have to get these matches played. One of Caroline's New Haven finals was indoors.
Having a bye this week is a big advantage, but the tournament director has to get these matches played.
There aren't any FO contenders there this year, so they're lucky that way. A contender would have to leave Brussels early
I just don't get what they were thinking today. They now have 4 days to effectively play their entire 5 round tournament (4 R1 matches have been completed). Anyone who looked at the weather forecast knew there was a high chance there would be no play today. They have the ability to play 2 matches indoors at a time. Tuesday R1 is pretty minor with regards to TV, sponsors etc., they had to get those matches played today. Now they will just ruin their own tournament, because you will probably get a lot of crap matches as a result.
They now have to schedule 18 matches tomorrow (on to 3 courts I think), and that's not even counting doubles (no idea what they will do with that tbh, probably move it indoors), they are pretty much screwed if there are any delays tomorrow at all.
I guess this will work out well for Caroline if she actually wants to be here though. Firstly she's supremely fit, secondly a lot of the fields motivation will probably be highly questionable now.
They sold tickets, so they want to play outdoors if possible. Thats a financial thing. The weather is costing them a lot of money.
It comes down to weather. They might have to play early round matches indoors, but they want to keep ticket money if possible
Indoors has at least some seating for fans. Someone asked this on twitter earlier, and they said anyone with tickets would be able to get in to the indoors facility. Given there was probably like 100 people on site yesterday, I doubt there was many more expected today.
If anything this is a reason why they should have moved indoors today, because they now have to refund all the tickets for today.
This is just damaging the reputation of the tournament. This event is already struggling to attract players. This debacle is hardly making anyone want to come here next year.
Ironically this will work out very good for Caro if she actually wants it (debatable on recent performances). She has a bye and will probably be facing a bunch of tired opponents. It could be the best chance of a title she will get for the rest of the year.
Still Goerges and Stephens and some other good players in it.
I would be satisfied if she gives a full effort. She just lost to a player who cant beat anyone else, and that was at a Tier I and coming off 3 straight losses.
As long as Caroline's forehand is a mixture of short balls & unforced errors, I dont see many titles coming. I dont know what the endgame of this forehand change was supposed to be, but it could be a career killer. Hard to tell now.