[pling]

I really don't see this event as a problem. Many of Petra's competitors will be playing in similar offseason events, like the Milan thing and the top 3 now at the Brazilian shaving exhibition (). Petra is close to home, so has no loss of time to travelling. She's been training for a few weeks now, so no reason why she shouldn't be in good enough shape.

[ShiftyFella]

Originally Posted by Excelscior

Well, according to our resident reporter and record compiler--Petronius, Petra's not doing and mountain or beach boot camp type training this year.

You're not in Kansas anymore New coach has his own methods and she doesn't have to go to mountains, it's not like she's in Rocky movie

Originally Posted by Excelscior

Petronius seems to regard Extraliga as a big deal though. Last year he seemed really excited that Lucie H. beat Petra and gave it/her all relevance, pomp & ceremony, and kudos here. I on the other hand and some others (with all respect to the Czech posse), couldn't care less, cause we could see the bigger picture and goals for Petra.

Good thing you didn't read Petra's comment about going for the title Actually, it's kinda big event, on women's side there would be a lot of famous players outside of Czech gang

Originally Posted by pling

I really don't see this event as a problem. Many of Petra's competitors will be playing in similar offseason events, like the Milan thing and the top 3 now at the Brazilian shaving exhibition (). Petra is close to home, so has no loss of time to travelling. She's been training for a few weeks now, so no reason why she shouldn't be in good enough shape.

Problem that this is not a exho, extraliga treated like a serious event but Petra around that time not really psychically ready to play 100% tennis, last year she pushed herself beyond what should be during preparations before tennis seasons and basically screwed her whole 2012 season because of that. If she stays in bounds not pushing herself too far, i guess everything would be ok. Winning title could be one more confidence push to play good in 2013 but Petra should put her health first by avoiding last year mistake

[honzaneumannn]

Originally Posted by ShiftyFella

You're not in Kansas anymore New coach has his own methods and she doesn't have to go to mountains, it's not like she's in Rocky movie


Good thing you didn't read Petra's comment about going for the title Actually, it's kinda big event, on women's side there would be a lot of famous players outside of Czech gang


Problem that this is not a exho, extraliga treated like a serious event but Petra around that time not really psychically ready to play 100% tennis, last year she pushed herself beyond what should be during preparations before tennis seasons and basically screwed her whole 2012 season because of that. If she stays in bounds not pushing herself too far, i guess everything would be ok. Winning title could be one more confidence push to play good in 2013 but Petra should put her health first by avoiding last year mistake

Yes, you are right. Last year's problems with her foots after the Czech extra-league final affected her playing in Australia despite having relatively solid, but not extra persuasive wins in AUS - let's remember her "so-so-matches" with Dulgheru and Carla Suarez Navarro (she was 0:2, 0:30 in the 3rd set 2nd round in AO against CSN but still winning). Hope, the same scenario will not be repated at the beginning of the new 2013 season...

[Excelscior]

PS: Shifty, guys: I meant to say "Paulmara" earlier, on our "resident Reporter and record compiler" statement on Petra's Physio preparation.

I think when Paulmara answered that (and who ever referred to it first), mean that there would be no serious training or extended training to start the new season, as usual. I don't know.

Hey Shifty: You summarized the issue with Extraliga very well. Nothing else to say.

[bruce goose]

Originally Posted by Excelscior

It's because:

1) It's a Cernosenk event

2) He REALLY wants her to play it.

3) Petra's too nice and gracious; while Cernosenk is too greedy and myopic (i.e. short term, short sighted view and viewpoints).

4) Once playing, Petra's competitive spirit and National pride come into the mix (like last years finals vs Hrdecka where she got hurt).

5) Based off of what I hear from some of the Czech Brethren here, it's really not THAT big of a deal per se (though it could be to a scrub like Lucie H., playing someone like Kvitova in a final there). However, even if it was, its still PRE PRE Season in the Czech Republic and therefore should be treated like practice (unless you're already in good physical condition and tennis shape for further exertion) for a "top player" like Petra.

Last year Lucie was farther along in her tennis playing at the time than Petra and Kvitova--unfortunately got caught up in the moment, and hurt. This is one of the several reasons why Petra's association with the Cernosenk Cabal is an ass backwards relationship, as far as I'm concerned. Too much control/hands in the cookie jar.

Petronius seems to regard Extraliga as a big deal though. Last year he seemed really excited that Lucie H. beat Petra and gave it/her all relevance, pomp & ceremony, and kudos here. I on the other hand and some others (with all respect to the Czech posse), couldn't care less, cause we could see the bigger picture and goals for Petra.

Note: I apologize to the Czech Posse for any incorrect spellings.

Well,as outsiders,it's hard for us to have a clear perspective on how big it is(or ISN'T).Even our swell fellow Petronius might not be giving us a totally accurate picture;i.e.,it might be big to HIM...to the point where he might exaggerate just a bit.I could cite examples of some American soccer geeks who swore up and down how huge the sport was supposedly becoming in their country and,if you didn't know any better,you'd be inclined to believe them based on their ardor

Navrat and Lendl are both proud Czechs(well,you could call Martina half-gringa almost,really);I wonder what THEY would advise Petra to do......maybe I'll send one of them an e-mail,actually

[Raiden]

Originally Posted by Excelscior

..........I on the other hand and some others (with all respect to the Czech posse), couldn't care less, cause we could see the bigger picture and goals for Petra.

Note: I apologize to the Czech Posse for any incorrect spellings.

How much of a posse is that anyway? Everyone with the Czechoslovakian flag? I don't think so (I.luv.kvitty's clearly British).

[bruce goose]

We'll have to find out which U.S. city has the strongest Czech community,and then we'll let Petra serve as honorary cheerleader for one of the NFL games there....This assumes that it's not some dead-end place like Allentown,PA that has the tightest Czech community

[TimeyWimey]

Originally Posted by bruce goose

We'll have to find out which U.S. city has the strongest Czech community,and then we'll let Petra serve as honorary cheerleader for one of the NFL games there....This assumes that it's not some dead-end place like Allentown,PA that has the tightest Czech community

Amanda Seyfried

[Petronius]

Originally Posted by honzaneumannn

Yes, you are right. Last year's problems with her foots after the Czech extra-league final affected her playing in Australia despite having relatively solid, but not extra persuasive wins in AUS - let's remember her "so-so-matches" with Dulgheru and Carla Suarez Navarro (she was 0:2, 0:30 in the 3rd set 2nd round in AO against CSN but still winning). Hope, the same scenario will not be repated at the beginning of the new 2013 season...

I actually think that Petra is not being pushed very hard to play the Extraliga, she simply wants to play it. It's a decision made by a grown-up woman.

Tennis is an individual and selfish sport. This is a very rare opportunity to enjoy team spirit. While this event may not matter much to fans, it may be unforgettable experience for players.

'And I also have amazing memories of Prostějov. I won the Extraliga title twice with them. I always loved team competitions.'

(http://sport.idnes.cz/hingisovou-bol...1157_tenis_bur)

No-one was forcing Martina to say it, yet she did.

[honzaneumannn]

Originally Posted by Petronius

I actually think that Petra is not being pushed very hard to play the Extraliga, she simply wants to play it. It's a decision made by a grown-up woman.

Tennis is an individual and selfish sport. This is a very rare opportunity to enjoy team spirit. While this event may not matter much to fans, it may be unforgettable experience for players.

'And I also have amazing memories of Prostějov. I won the Extraliga title twice with them. I always loved team competitions.'

(http://sport.idnes.cz/hingisovou-bol...1157_tenis_bur)

No-one was forcing Martina to say it, yet she did.

Yes, you might be right, she actually wants it without being forced that much. In CZ there is a big tradition of team competitions - something which we know from socialism, where the team/collective were always the base - thats why we could get a lot of information about the team competitions in the socialism (Davis Cup and Fed Cup) or general events (Olympics) but none about the single tennis competitions because it was a part of the general propaganda here in CZ (collective/team was all, while tennis singles not that interesting to be televised or advertised).

Great example here:

US Open 1986 finals: "Martina Navratilova defeated Helena Suková" 6–3, 6–2 and "Ivan Lendl defeated Miloslav Mečíř 6–4, 6–2, 6–0" - all of them were Czechs or "original Czechs", but the 2 disciplined of them (Sukova, Mecir) were clearly supposed to lose, so nobody informed about it on TV that time although it was really a big success of the Czech tennis school. If the same had happened in a team competition at that time, it would have surely been televised with all the proper fame (Fed Cup final in Prague, where Martina spoke her legendary words to Czech crowd while being followed by the communistic secret police).

As I know Petra's family, her father is a proud Czech who always likes to see her being a part of the CZ team (if generally possible and Petra's health is OK). Considering Petra was educated and led that way, no wonder that she always wants to join the Prostejov's team in that Czech league final competition. As I told, the roots of this can be found somewhere else - perhaps somewhere in the the past.

I dont think, Maria, Vika or Serena would be that much interested to play some national league final if they were called on to join their team. They simply prefer the individual competitions while Petra likes both of them...

[Petronius]

Originally Posted by honzaneumannn

Yes, you might be right, she actually wants it without being forced that much. In CZ there is a big tradition of team competitions - something which we know from socialism, where the team/collective were always the base - thats why we could get a lot of information about the team competitions in the socialism (Davis Cup and Fed Cup) or general events (Olympics) but none about the single tennis competitions because it was a part of the general propaganda here in CZ (collective/team was all, while tennis singles not that interesting to be televised or advertised).

Great example here:

US Open 1986 finals: "Martina Navratilova defeated Helena Suková" 6–3, 6–2 and "Ivan Lendl defeated Miloslav Mečíř 6–4, 6–2, 6–0" - all of them were Czechs or "original Czechs", but the 2 disciplined of them (Sukova, Mecir) were clearly supposed to lose, so nobody informed about it on TV that time although it was really a big success of the Czech tennis school. If the same had happened in a team competition at that time, it would have surely been televised with all the proper fame (Fed Cup final in Prague, where Martina spoke her legendary words to Czech crowd while being followed by the communistic secret police).

As I know Petra's family, her father is a proud Czech who always likes to see her being a part of the CZ team (if generally possible and Petra's health is OK). Considering Petra was educated and led that way, no wonder that she always wants to join the Prostejov's team in that Czech league final competition. As I told, the roots of this can be found somewhere else - perhaps somewhere in the the past.

I dont think, Maria, Vika or Serena would be that much interested to play some national league final if they were called on to join their team. They simply prefer the individual competitions while Petra likes both of them...

Great insight and example, yeah that's how things were before 1989.

Your example with Navratilova reminded me of one issue we discussed here in the past: top Czech players, Petra included, sometimes struggle with their compatriots despite being the clear favourite to win the match. For example Petra's straight-set loss to Hradecka in Madrid and the loss to the same player in the Extraliga finals (despite being ranked much higher) or the struggle with BZS at the 2011 Paris Indoors (Petra had to save a matchpoint).

Now look at this funny past example which concerns Martina (take it as an off-season speculation on tennis history ):

In 1983, Hana Mandlíková defeated Martina Navratilova in three sets in the final at Oakland, California, ending Navratilova's 54 match winning streak, two short of tying the record held by Evert at the time. Navratilova then embarked on a 74 match winning streak, a record that still stands.

So, if Navratilova was not defeated by a fellow Czech player (product of the same system), she could have been on a 128-match winning streak!

To make it even more amazing, who did snap Martina's 74-match winning streak in 1984? Yes, another fellow Czech player, Helena Suková (and denied Martina from calendar grand slam)!

Considering that in 1984 Martina had a 82-2 record, if it were not for fellow Czechs Hana and Helena, she could have been on sth like a 150, 160 or even 170-match winning streak.



Conclusion: Petra better learn from the Martina example and watch out when playing fellow Czech girls, they have no respect and can deny you from a calendar grand slam or snap the best winning streak ever

[honzaneumannn]

Originally Posted by Petronius

Great insight and example, yeah that's how things were before 1989.

Your example with Navratilova reminded me of one issue we discussed here in the past: top Czech players, Petra included, sometimes struggle with their compatriots despite being the clear favourite to win the match. For example Petra's straight-set loss to Hradecka in Madrid and the loss to the same player in the Extraliga finals (despite being ranked much higher) or the struggle with BZS at the 2011 Paris Indoors (Petra had to save a matchpoint).

Now look at this funny past example which concerns Martina (take it as an off-season speculation on tennis history ):

In 1983, Hana Mandlíková defeated Martina Navratilova in three sets in the final at Oakland, California, ending Navratilova's 54 match winning streak, two short of tying the record held by Evert at the time. Navratilova then embarked on a 74 match winning streak, a record that still stands.

So, if Navratilova was not defeated by a fellow Czech player (product of the same system), she could have been on a 128-match winning streak!

To make it even more amazing, who did snap Martina's 74-match winning streak in 1984? Yes, another fellow Czech player, Helena Suková (and denied Martina from calendar grand slam)!

Considering that in 1984 Martina had a 82-2 record, if it were not for fellow Czechs Hana and Helena, she could have been on sth like a 150, 160 or even 170-match winning streak.



Conclusion: Petra better learn from the Martina example and watch out when playing fellow Czech girls, they have no respect and can deny you from a calendar grand slam or snap the best winning streak ever

...which we could see in that Czech league match final where Kvitova was surprisingly def. by Hradecka 7:6, 6:7, 5:7. We could also see it in other matches when Petra had to face her Czech compatriots. Hradecka ended Petra's 2011 indoor winning streak (some 27 matches with no loss and then this streak was broken by Lucie Hradecka..ha, ha) despite not considered as an official match.

The Czech women tennis players like to play for their teams and also connections between them (despite their playing for several teams) appear to be very good (considering the always great Fed Cup mood = something the Russians or Serbians can only dream of).

So Petra, you can surely play the Czech league final if you want but show to all other Czech girls who the real boss is !!! (as you showed to Lucie Safarova shortly before your leaving to Istanbul in Prostejov's training hall where you demolished our nice Lucie 6:1, 6:0 in an uncompromising manner !!!

[Petronius]

Originally Posted by honzaneumannn

So Petra, you can surely play the Czech league final if you want but show to all other Czech girls who the real boss is !!! (as you showed to Lucie Safarova shortly before your leaving to Istanbul in Prostejov's training hall where you demolished our nice Lucie 6:1, 6:0 in an uncompromising manner !!!

But please don't get injured while doing so.

[honzaneumannn]

Originally Posted by Petronius

But please don't get injured while doing so.

I am another one to join that alerting club !!!

[bruce goose]

Originally Posted by TimeyWimey

Amanda Seyfried

Though I don't imagine Petra as a dream gf or anything,I actually prefer the athletic type to actresses.Both models and actresses often don't look NEARLY as good with their makeup off(and I've seen this first-hand from dating one)...plus they freely use coke and heroin and often don't age very well,emotionally OR physically....An added bonus is that sports teach women how to be tough and overcome challenges,so many female athletes are psychologically stronger than their more sedentary female counterparts.........Let's hope that Petra always lives up to those positive stereotypes,huh?