[doomsday]

Originally Posted by MashaFan01

So here is my theory and analysis about Masha and her surprising losses in finals this year - and I'm sure lotsa people won't agree with me - On what is Masha's game build on? - Yes - her ground strokes and fantastic returns but most of all it's build on her serve - Masha once said that after her surgery - she lost the "feel" for her serve - I've also read somewhere that if Masha's serve doesn't work well - she loses confidence and her whole game falls apart

During 2009 until the end of 2011 - she lost matches because of her serve and people have been mocking her for all her DFs - In 2009 and 2010 many "experts" doubted that she would ever make it back to the top 10 - she ended 2010 ranked #18 - In 2011 she ended the year as #4 - but then people were questioning if she ever would win another slam - which is exactly what she did this year - mainly because her serve has been working well most of the time

Masha is however still not comfy with her serve and under pressure - like playing a top player like Victoria and Serena - she has to focus to much on serving well and that maybe is the main reason why the rest of her game deteriorate - ie loads of unforced errors - According to what I've read about a rotator cuff operation in the shoulder - it's a wonder that she plays tennis on such a high level at all - 'cause one loses strength in that shoulder which never can be rebuild again - Masha once said that returning to tennis was like starting all over again and we've seen how slow her come back has been - It took her from 2009 until this year to have some decent results - Her FO 2012 victory this year was mainly because she served well through the whole tournament - So many people - "experts" included - have all sorta well meant advices today - like she needs a plan B whatever that means - Trust me - Masha doesn't need a plan B - she needs to be comfy with her serve - All the pieces in Masha's game are in place except for a "natural coming" serve - I'm sure she's working hard on it - and my hope is that she'll get that "feel" back someday - so that she suddenly just knows that her timing and her hits in the serving moment come natural again and that she doesn't need to think about it that much during a match against a top player and that can trust her serve again - Until that happens - I fear that all Masha can hope for is to be a top 5 player - the #3 at best

BTW - I reviewed the AO QF from 2008 vs Justine Henin the other day and I was amazed by how confident her whole body language was through the entire match - She looks different today when she enters the court to face Victoria or Serena

Frankly I didn't feel like Maria's confidence was shattered when she entered in the court to play Vika in Stuttgart final, au contraire she was quite pumped up there are just surfaces where you know you're confident and clearly playing on clay lately bring a fierce Maria(the way she cameback from 6-4 4-0 against Na li in Rome final I just don't see this happening on HC times have clearly changed) on HC it's a whole different situation she still has doubts.
Look the first major that she won happened to be on clay it's not a coincidence, Maria's confidence and game is great on clay; on HC she is for now a mess when it matters.

[cautiouslip]

It's not that her game isn't good enough, its just that she loses all of her confidence in finals. Look at her attitude in her 3 slam wins before the surgery there is a huge difference, and that is belief. She can still play an amazing game on hard courts, just look at the match against Kerber.

[Fighterpova]

Originally Posted by serbian_siren

That scene

[CareerSlamPova]

Originally Posted by Reptilia

I wonder if he has got laid yet his posts just reek of sexual frustration.

And Sickfalsetto your sig

[Stonerpova]

Originally Posted by cautiouslip

It's not that her game isn't good enough, its just that she loses all of her confidence in finals. Look at her attitude in her 3 slam wins before the surgery there is a huge difference, and that is belief. She can still play an amazing game on hard courts, just look at the match against Kerber.

Yep.

[MM_1257]

Originally Posted by MashaFan01

[I've read about a rotator cuff operation in the shoulder - it's a wonder that she plays tennis on such a high level at all - 'cause one loses strength in that shoulder which never can be rebuild again

MashaFan01, in general I agree with what you wrote. It is a confidence issue. Like I said in my previous post, I still think she is fragile in a way.
In the quoted part of your post- I disagree. There are many articles (medical) that describe patients returning to the previous level of performance after a rotator cuff surgery.
Those who don't rebuild the strength ever again, are usually those who have a full thickness tear, which, thanks God, I think Masha didn't have. Unless they haven't told us the whole truth.

Originally Posted by HipsterPova

I agree MashaFan01. It's all about her confidence. Also I always wondered, if she's ambidextrous, why not just ditch that bum right shoulder and play lefty? I mean...we know she can do it, it'd just be learning how to serve again

that train is gone, she cannot play lefty on pro tour... But she could use the underarm serve.

Originally Posted by cautiouslip

It's not that her game isn't good enough, its just that she loses all of her confidence in finals. Look at her attitude in her 3 slam wins before the surgery there is a huge difference, and that is belief. She can still play an amazing game on hard courts, just look at the match against Kerber.

Yup! I totally agree. When she feels confident, she can do amazing things with the ball (all those winners ), with her A game. But when she doubts. Huh.. She is frozen then, and mainly stuck in one place (her footwork betrays her) and she is too passive and playing to the middle too much, not moving the opponent at all. Besides, Vichka will always outrun her.


Besides what can one expect when you see her this tight when the match hasn't started yet --- https://d3j5vwomefv46c.cloudfront.ne...iirvpQqqDB4wY_
It's like Roger vs. Nadal, so pale, so tight...

I am trying to gather courage to watch the Beijing final... Should I do it?

[Cosmic Voices]

Is the underarm serve even legal these days?

[MM_1257]

Originally Posted by serbian_siren

Is the underarm serve even legal these days?

No idea.

[Wonderwall.]

Originally Posted by serbian_siren

Is the underarm serve even legal these days?

Pretty sure it is, like it's always been.
How amazing would it be if someone randomly decided to serve underarm a la Hingis RG '99 final.

[Cosmic Voices]

Originally Posted by Wonderwall.

Pretty sure it is, like it's always been.
How amazing would it be if someone randomly decided to serve underarm a la Hingis RG '99 final.

I don't know which year it was, but I'm sure a girl did it mid-match at Wimbledon, probably in the juniors. I was watching and everyone in the crowd was like "did that bitch really just do that"

[Shafanovic.]

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[Asherahpova]

I was watching AO highlights too, the reason Maria was so successful there was because she had implemented the spins and the angles on her shots. I think we have to appreciate that Maria started from scratch to go from zero to number 1 in the world in 3 years is pretty amazing. How many juniors do that? And that's what Maria just coming back could almost be compared to.

The main thing that she needs to work on is her serve which she will continue to do that. It is the catalyst for her game. She really needs to get a natural feel for it because that's what gives the variety and she doesn't have that at the minute. If she can get that fully back then her HC tennis will likely comeback, even though Maria in 2005/2006 was all out flat bashing and it was amazing, it led to very erratic performances which is why her spins and angles could be a good thing in the long run. I mean look at some of the shockers she's game us this year, imagine if she was trying to bash every ball (in fact many shocker have been because of that).

Yeah, she needs her confidence back again, that killer unshakable belief but realistically even the toughest don't have unlimited strength. The past couple of years will have taken a lot out of her but seasons like this one should go a long way to getting that back. I know it's frustrating to see her lose to players like Vika/Aga who an AO 2008 Maria would have bagelled and breadsticked but it's a process. She's came leaps and bounds these past two season, the time for worrying will be if we're still here this time next year.

[JoPova]

Have I already said that I want a Radwanska rematch at the YEC? Maria needs to beat her as soon as possible! She has to!

[domon17th]

Originally Posted by Jechijo

Have I already said that I want a Radwanska rematch at the YEC? Maria needs to beat her as soon as possible! She has to!

I'm not sure if I'd like to see her lose to Aga if her game isn't there yet.

But otherwise, give it your all, Maria. Withdraw from all your exhos

[JoPova]

Originally Posted by domon17th

I'm not sure if I'd like to see her lose to Aga if her game isn't there yet.

But otherwise, give it your all, Maria. Withdraw from all your exhos

So true! Another loss to Radwanska would be too much to handle!