A couple highly-flawed arguments I've been seeing:
1.Because Caro didn't get overpowered very often,that somehow proves that it was nearly impossible to do;quite frankly,that's absurd b--lshit! It's true that she was/is talented,and that made it DIFFICULT for BB opponents,but it was FAR from 'nearly impossible'.It didn't happen that much in part because of Caro's skill...and also b/c BBs,by their nature,tend to be erratic,impatient and inconsistent.The problem was when they WEREN'T exhibiting those negative traits,Caroline had no recourse or way to counterattack.
2.To paraphrase,Petra was so flawless the day she destroyed Caroline that she would have beaten ANYone the same way....More B--lshit!People here are trying to rationalize Caro's helplessness by pretending that Petra was some unstoppable cyborg,as if a mere mortal were fighting hand-to-hand with the Terminator character.Now I'M a Petra fan who celebrates her successes,but it's ridiculous to assert that she would've won with the same scoreline vs. Graf,Henin,Court,Evert or one of the WS.Not only would the match have been closer,PETRA MIGHT NOT HAVE WON,PERIOD!These greats I listed knew how to use a power-hitter's pace against her,and it's no wild speculation that one of them could have demoralized Petra by withstanding her best shots and counterattacking.Caro simply lacked the capability to do that
3.The final B.S.: Because it didn't happen too frequently,there was an almost flukish element to the wipeouts vs. BBs,so it didn't require any adjustments.Comparing those losses to,let's say,Serena's loss to Razzano,is a poor analogy.Serena lost largely b/c she just didn't play very well that day(and we'll give Razzano credit for playing decently,too);it WASN'T due to any specific flaw in her style of play.It's asinine to suggest that Caroline shouldn't have worked on her inability to counterattack merely b/c she wasn't exploited that much.Compare her style to a car that's easy to rob....like many Nissans,for example.The reality that they are easy to steal is an unavoidable,negative aspect of those cars;if you're fortunate enough that you NEVER have to park in an area where car theft is common or a risk,THAT'S GREAT!...but that does nothing to change the truth that the car likely WILL get stolen if you DO have to park in an urban area or any place where theft is more common.It's a design flaw in the car,and it doesn't disappear or diminish one iota just because you were lucky enough to NOT get the car stolen over,say,a 6-month period.
In closing,I'll agree again with everyone who asserts that Caroline's defensive level has dropped off...and that she shouldn't have neglected her defensive prowess just to get more aggressive.That was poor training/preparation on her part.However,I'm not going to play Revisionist History and pretend that the old flaws didn't exist merely because her remedy was so poorly implemented.There's no reason WHATSOEVER to suggest that,w/o tweaking in a few needed elements,Caroline would've broken thru at a Slam any more than Dinara did.In fact,Caro had LESS success than Dinara at Slams despite being a more mentally stable character...and,of course,I'm referring to Caro's peak period with the previous style of play