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networthy · Nov 30th, 2012, 03:26 AM

I thought it was time to migrate from Mirjana's "2012 American summer" thread...

kfh_9118 · Nov 30th, 2012, 04:57 AM

Good luck for the new season, Miki

networthy · Nov 30th, 2012, 08:36 AM

For the past two years, Mirjana's ranking has been stuck in a relatively narrow range of ~85-130 and mostly ~100-120.

She'll have an excellent opportunity to improve her ranking early next year. During the first two and a half months, she's defending only 40 points (at the AO). Will she take advantage of it?

xcrtbckhnd · Dec 1st, 2012, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by networthy

For the past two years, Mirjana's ranking has been stuck in a relatively narrow range of ~85-130 and mostly ~100-120.

She'll have an excellent opportunity to improve her ranking early next year. During the first two and a half months, she's defending only 40 points (at the AO). Will she take advantage of it?

I would so love to see her do well!!!

MLF · Dec 2nd, 2012, 11:28 AM

I'm glad she made the main draw of the Open automatically. It's such a long trip that you really need the main draw prize money to cover it. Hopefully she'll get her warm up matches in via the qualies of the WTA warm events and make a couple of main draws that way.

tennismaster8820 · Dec 2nd, 2012, 12:23 PM

Mirjana never started the year well.
Can that change?
I would so love it to happen.
Good luck!

MLF · Dec 2nd, 2012, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tennismaster8820

Mirjana never started the year well.
Can that change?
I would so love it to happen.
Good luck!

She's definitely a player who needs a heap of matches to find her game. Lots of practice matches required in her December training I'd say

ajmo! · Dec 7th, 2012, 11:17 AM

She's already working hard for 2013!

tennismaster8820 · Dec 7th, 2012, 05:27 PM

Legs looking strong!

jaylucic · Dec 8th, 2012, 10:22 AM

does anyone know which tournaments is Miki playing before the Australian open?

jaylucic · Dec 9th, 2012, 02:04 PM

Is Mirjana working with Prpic now?

ajmo! · Dec 9th, 2012, 03:23 PM

mikireturns · Dec 9th, 2012, 04:15 PM

Well, she's certainly looking as fit as she has ever looked in her comeback; possibly fitter than ever. She looks stronger, more toned.

No one can say she has not been committed to working extremely hard.

Hopefully, this hard work will translate to that extra bit of confidence she needs to take that handful of key matches that would put her close to the Top 50 or Top 60, where (in my opinion) her big game has really belonged, at least based on hard work and raw talent.

Working on the mental side of things is her biggest need, but it's mainly a confidence trick.

She simply has to win more matches -- not even against big stars, but against the questionable players ranked below her. If she can eliminate the ugly losses to players like Larriere and Larcher de Brito, her confidence will skyrocket and we could see her break out of this 100-130 ranking plateau.

Also, she needs to suck it up and play more high-end Challengers early next season, and play them with hunger for points. Getting that ranking up around 70-80 before the start of the Euro clay season is so so so "do-able" for her. Even if she has to sacrifice a few WTA qually events and play ITF draws. Better to get QF or SF points at $50-100K ITFs than snuff-out in WTA qually rounds, where the work is twice as hard and the rewards minimal.

Draw gods? She'll get good draws and lousy ones, as usual. She has not exactly taken advantage of cakewalk draws, so I don't think draw worries get anything accomplished. If only she can live up to her seeding consistently (in ITF events and WTA quallies) she would see a significant leap up the charts.

Best of luck to her, and especially at the Grand Slams, for a change. If she can win just one round at each of the majors this year, PRESTO!

mic12 · Dec 9th, 2012, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikireturns

Working on the mental side of things is her biggest need, but it's mainly a confidence trick.

Exactly! I think it's so great to see her working so hard on the physical end of things, and hopefully that will pay off.
But I hope she is working just as hard on the mental side of things which has been her downfall.

ajmo! · Dec 9th, 2012, 04:51 PM

I don't think much will change in her schedule. She'll probably go to Australia and play Brisbane and Sydney Q and AOpen MD. After that challenger in Midland, WTA Memphis and IW and Miami.
But it would maybe be interesting to go to clay earlier this year, even skip IW and Miami(yes, I know she won't do it, but she could). There is a WTA tournament in Cali(125k) and in Bogota, those always have extremely weak draws. and maybe to back those up with a challenger or two in USA and Charleston and fly to Europe after it.
She's better on clay than on hard in last year, in her career also( Rome SF, two WTA titles) so it could be good idea.
And in Europe she should play Estoril, Fes and such a tournaments if she's all about points, Yes, glamour is in Stuttgart and Madrid, but when you're around 100th in rankings, points and success are in Colombia, Morocco, Portgual...