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OPPA GANGNAM STYLE! - Asian Hardcourt Swing Cheering Thread

25K views 222 replies 25 participants last post by  Wasabi. 
#1 · (Edited)







Laura's schedule:



GRC Bank Guangzhou International Women's Open
Guangzhou, China
(Sep 16-21)



Toray Pancific Open
Tokyo, Japan
(Sep 22-28)


China Open
Beijing, China
(Sep 28- Oct 6)

HP Open
Osaka, Japan
(Oct 07 - Oct 13)
 
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#81 ·
So Vania King standing a forbidding 5'5" beat Zheng, an almost equally towering 5'4". Both had first serves above 70% in court which is where Laura should be by now. Even if she can't manage 70% in all matches, she should at least be able to make 70% in some, whereas 50% 1st serve is becoming the norm with anything around 60% gratefully cheered as improvement.

At 5'11" with extra arm length as well, Laura has a larger angle to aim into so her timing on serve must be way out compared to the women that are beating her.
 
#82 ·
I'm more concerned with her mentality and return game than her serve at the minute. The serving woes are nowhere near as bad as they were in February-April time. And her first serve is so much bigger than Zheng and King's so we cannot expect such a high percentage.

Morita in Tokyo... Urgh, I sense another heart attack coming on :sobbing: But I'm hoping she pulls through to have another crack at Jankovic. I still don't understand how she is ranked so high :scratch:
 
#85 ·
That scoreline was awful, clearly she had a bad attitude out there. I'm actually worried for her right now. We're coming up to the end of the season where all her stupid losses from earlier this year should help and motivate her to play some amazing tennis and she's back to where she was again. Rock bottom. She's seems to have reverted to her typical weak mentality and given up when the going gets tough. Back to not fighting unless it's a Top player. Great thinking Laura. :facepalm:

The sad thing is Morita hasn't played since New Haven. It makes this loss even more embarrassing. She may have had the home crowd support but that should not have been a problem. Laura's come off some match play and she should have won this.

She should be out of the Top 40 next week, and it's justified. What an awful finish to a disappointing season. Getting some good wins in Asia would have made up for this physically and mentally draining season she's provided for us all. I don't see how it's going to change in Beijing, even bigger field. She may aswell call it a season and come back hopefully stronger next year.

She clearly still has a problem being hunted, she still can't deal with beating who she's suppose to beat like others can. Still a work in progress, pick it up for next season.

It'd be a shame if she doesn't get to the next level, she's got amazing talent. There's just so many other things needed to take it to the elite level and she hasn't got them yet. It's still mystery if she will ever get there. :sobbing:
 
#86 ·
Feels like a real backwards step right now, almost like we're back in Feb/March/April time, losing matches she should be winning, wanting to be anywhere but the court. It picked up a bit in the summer, but feels like we're right back where we started really. To win 1 TB all year..........ouch.
 
#87 ·
Feels like a real backwards step right now, almost like we're back in Feb/March/April time, losing matches she should be winning, wanting to be anywhere but the court. It picked up a bit in the summer, but feels like we're right back where we started really. To win 1 TB all year..........ouch.
Yep. I honestly don't know where she can go from here. I'm starting to wonder if Krajan was really right about what he said, not being mature and not being motivated enough. He also mentioned her tendency to lose focus on the smaller courts which he was spot on about.

Miles' approach seems too laid back. I wonder if he's actually separated coaching from friendship... there needs to be a balance and he seems to let Laura get away with losing these matches.

Krajan would at least lecture her, not sure what Miles is doing.
 
#88 ·
I think Miles looked a bit pissed off with her when he came on after the first set - he was trying to gee her up and she just seemed to be whining about Morita playing too quickly.

Today was just a horrible attitude from her - she gave the match up by not bothering in the first few games of the second set.
 
#89 ·
Laura actually won 3 more points than Morita. Maybe she doesn't have the matchplayer's instincts - some points are more important than others. If you get to 30 or 40 on your opponent's serve, they are the ones under pressure and you need to really dig in and not give them an out with loose shots.

Just look at Laura's BP conversion, not just the last few matches but over the season.
 
#91 ·
I'm not really more worried than before. Although she hasn't progressed much in terms of play, her ranking's still higher. It felt more like a survival year and she has gained a lot of experience. Like before i'm just really worried about movement though. I feel like that is the only thing holding her back in tennis but not sure if its something she can improve much. If she had a bit more time a lot of rushed shots with arms stretched would become bombs!
 
#96 ·
Laura is nearly 20 years old and the way she is playing, she won't hang on to the 'highest ranked teenager' until her birthday. She has 1 minor WTA final to her name and not a single tournament win. Ignoring the exceptional top girls such as Serena & Maria who won big tournaments as young teenagers, even the second rank players like Wozniaki, Ivanovic & Safina (remember her?) were way ahead of Laura in WTA performances at 20 (ish).

Obviously to make it past the QF of a slam Laura needs to make major improvements all round but for the relatively minor tournaments such as Guangzhou (especially with such a weak entry this year), Laura's best or nearly best game should be good enough to win. Unfortunately, to win even a minor tournament you have to play good tennis for 5 matches in a row and Laura can't even manage 4 good performances in a row, hence my assertion a while ago that Laura never seems to play well and lose. Against the top players you can be forgiven for appearing to play badly because they will be dominating and tear your game apart but Laura even manages to play badly against opponents ranked 50 - 100 places below her.

A worrying trend to appear is that when Laura plays someone for the second time, they seem to do better, win more easily or reverse an earlier defeat. Having been surprised by Laura's type of game in the first meeting, they (or the coach) spot Laura's weaknesses and play on them from the start. Even matches when Laura's game seems to disintegrate after a good start could be due not to Laura suddenly being unable to hit the ball in the centre of the racquet but the opponent making her play more of the shots she is poor at, such as wide down the wings.

As well as a get out of gaol (jail) shot when stretched, she needs to develop some high percentage and low risk defence to work her way back into the rallies when under pressure. Without this, no matter how much she practices her attacking shots, decent opponents will always find a way to work the ball onto her areas of weakness.
 
#98 ·
But that seeding was largely based on her results from the end of last year. Without those points, she's out of the top 50. And are her wins over Kvitova and Kirilenko this year more impressive than her wins over Clijsters and Li last year? I don't think so.
 
#102 ·
I just wanted to state that I didn't say I wasn't worried. Just not anymore so than before. I believe she has improved mentally (although not physically) and a match like this cannot be the deciding factor on her fighting spirit.

Also I do believe she can improve movement and I really want her to. Not just moving but also ROS and positioning when her own serve is returned to her. Everything to do with speed really! I state that in practically every post about Laura lol because it feels to me like the main thing she needs to get all the parts in place.
In my previous post I just mentioned that I don't know if its something she can improve much. Meaning drastic improvement. Not like Stephens or anything but just be average/bit above average. It could be that it takes her much more work to be slightly fitter/faster than it does others. I actually hope she isn't a good mover because she doesn't work hard much more than because she isn't able to or it is too hard for her.
E.g. Taylor Townsend looks much more unfit than Laura who actually looks quite healthy. Even then from watching her, she looks faster than Robson.

Totally agree with people finding out Laura's weaknesses and winning more easily though. Something else to think about unfortunately. Mainly backhand and movement is the target. Only reason backhand is exposed is because of movement. When it comes to forehand she can still produce shots on the run but its much harder for her with the backhand.

Also I'm not completely sure on this one but I don't think she's using the lefty serve for all its worth. Watching Kerber, she doesn't put as much pace it seems but really gets the swing out wide taking the opponent out of court and being there ready to deliver the return (if it is returned) to the other side of the court for a winner. This is a really useful play for Robson in my opinion and so badly want her to use it more.
 
#103 ·
She's 19. It's ridiculous to be nay-saying at this stage in her career, panicking that Bouchard is going to be ranked higher than her. Whether or not she was fortunate to be seeded at a slam doesn't matter - she still had to earn the points, and it's *still* a milestone. Imagine her coach saying that? "Oh yeah that doesn't count Laura because a couple of people withdrew" - give me a break.

Anyway, you can say that she was only seeded because of her strong end to last year, but she wasn't seeded for the other slams this year. She still had to earn the extra points throughout the year, and even if Clijsters and Li are better wins than her wins this year (Clijsters no, Li yes), she's still added to her collection of scalps.

I don't think Laura is ever going to be consistent in the way Azarenka is. I see her more as a Kvitova - she has the game to win slams, but can also be atrocious. And if she ever wins a slam, she'll be an extraordinarily successful tennis player.
 
#104 ·
I don't think Laura is ever going to be consistent in the way Azarenka is. I see her more as a Kvitova - she has the game to win slams, but can also be atrocious. And if she ever wins a slam, she'll be an extraordinarily successful tennis player.
the problem is she is not as consistent as Azarenka,and she is not as powerful as Kvitova.
she is kind of in a awkward situation.i thought she is British Kvitova or Ivanovic before,but she has showed us that she isn't as determined as those ballbasher,neither as skillful as aga,genie.
i'm really worring for her
 
#105 ·
i still don't know why you guys think she has been improved mentally this.i think she easily become nervous when she is up,easily become frustrated when her opponent fight back.
how to explain those 3rd set collapse?how to explain that lose against Ivanovic in Madrid when she is 5-2 up in the 3rd set?how to explain that in almost morita's serve game,when the score is 30-30,then she usually lose the next two point?
unlike stephens,svitolina,bouchard,she don't know how to seize the change to push herself into a whole new level.i still think if she seize that chance in madrid beating Ivanovic,she then should beat Kerber into SF,i think it will make a hugh difference of her career.the same situation is the 3rd set in Guangzhou final last year.
 
#107 ·
"That's if she cares" - give me a break. It is important that she's 19, because she has a hell of a lot of time to grow and develop her game - including the mental side. You can't expect her to be perfect when she's only played two full years on tour. Just because other people of her age are developing differently, doesn't necessarily mean Laura is being left behind. You're all such a bunch of nay-sayers... taking the worst out of everything. Good job none of you are her coach.
 
#109 ·
"That's if she cares" - give me a break. It is important that she's 19, because she has a hell of a lot of time to grow and develop her game - including the mental side. You can't expect her to be perfect when she's only played two full years on tour. Just because other people of her age are developing differently, doesn't necessarily mean Laura is being left behind. You're all such a bunch of nay-sayers... taking the worst out of everything. Good job none of you are her coach.
What? She's shown nothing that she cares about winning outside of the slams. Her on court attitude is awful outiside slams. She's just not mature enough, similar to what Krajan has been saying, she has no intensity in the non slam events or playing someone lower ranked/close in rank to her.

The ranking distribution has been changed for 2014. So performance in smaller tournaments will be more crucial for a good rank.

It's all fact. Laura needs to wake up fairly soon. It would be a shame if she doesn't put her talent to good use.
 
#108 ·
And when Laura's on, she plays tennis at a level above Bouchard, Keys, Svitolina and even Stephens. Laura's game is what marks her out - it's massive. If she catches fire, she can take it to anyone. Mentality, consistency, fitness etc. they can be improved upon, you can grow them, but Laura's game can't be taught. She's nowhere near the peak of her power, either. Have a bit of faith, for goodness' sake. If I wanted to see unrelenting, hyperbolic criticism of Laura, I'd go to GM.
 
#110 ·
All I'm saying is that you're acting like Laura has had some sort of horrific year and made no progress, when that just isn't true. That she reached a career high ranking is indicative of progress in itself. I refuse to look at only the negatives, as you all seem to be doing, and further to that, temper my immediate expectations. Health willing, she has got plenty of time left to achieve what we want her to achieve.

As for bringing more intensity to slams than the rest of the tour... well dur. Most players do. Sloane is lauded as the leader of the next generation, and that's essentially her modus operandi. I'm entirely confident that an improvement in this attitude will come with age and maturity. I don't care if you don't like me mentioning her age, because it is extremely relevant - she has plenty of time to mature in the way you want her to, and I refuse to condemn her for not yet being the finished product.
 
#111 ·
I understand where you're coming from, I don't criticise Laura for not being a finished product. She has a long way to go. But reverting back to her grumpy "I don't care anymore" attitude isn't needed right now. She's had a few matches where she's dug deep and got the win this year (Rybarikova in Madrid, Morita in Carlsbad) there was no need to give up in that match on Monday.

It just felt like a complete U turn. In my opinion.
 
#113 ·
It's just a lack of mettle and confidence at the moment. Really sad to watch, because you just know how good she can be, how talented she is, if only she just had more belief in her abilities.

She's just so much better than the players she's lost to like Zheng Jie and Ayumi Morita, she shouldn't be afraid because she's the favorite, she should cherish the opportunity to go to town on those two in the way players like Serena and Azarenka do.

I am confident this is all just a small blip in her career, I just think she's too talented for it not to be, and she's shown us all just enough mettle in the big matches against big players for us to believe that she can have a very successful career.
 
#114 ·
did she ask a wildcard to osaka?
 
#115 ·
Can't understand why she would want to stay out in the far east when there is a nice indoor tournament at Linz going on. Indoors with no wind, perfect bounce and no humid sweaty matches.

Apart from photos with local youngsters, for a 1 week tournament I don't think there is much compensation in cultural encounters out there and not many cuddly encounters like the Koala bears & kangaroos in Oz either.
 
#117 ·
Happy she decided to take a WC at all, whichever tournament it is. Although this year hasn't lived up to expectations it's not been a disaster. The one thing I think we all thought was that she'd win her maiden title.

Who knows it could still happen in Osaka which would then be rechristened the BRITISH OPEN :drool:. Seems unlikely given Laura's form though. Definitely redeem her year completely if she did especially with Sofia on the cards then. Guess I can keep dreaming....
 
#118 ·
I hope Laura has good draws to close out the season. Her season was derailed somewhat by that injury. But that doesn't totally excuse her lack of progress. Genie is the anti-Laura in terms of how their careers have been managed. And that's reflected in their results and their attitudes.

I blame the UK media for creating the appetite for a big result without emphasizing that its the day-to-day consistency and foundational work that makes it possible.
 
#120 ·
I think she can beat Zakopalova & Think she has a good chance beating Kerber if she on her A game
 
#121 ·
Interesting form line, as they say in the sport of kings

R1 Laura lost to Morita
R2 Morita lost to Jankovic
R3 Jankovic lost to Bouchard
R4 Bouchard lost to Williams
R5 Williams lost to Kvitova


Oh and Kerber, Laura's 'potential' 2nd round opponent in Beijing just beat Wozniaki, who twice gave Laura a bit of a hiding a couple of months ago.

If tennis were handicapped on form like horse racing, Kerber would be carrying about 20kg on her back if she plays Laura. :lol:

Whether that would even it up is another matter :)
 
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