[Lesborah]

Originally Posted by mreiter

Lord, watching Kvitova play now against Cibulkova is so depressing . I think it's safe to say that we shouldn't fear a match against her at the AO like we did last year. Although their matches have all been really competitive so who knows. It's just so sad watching these promising players fail to maintain a high level

Kvitova = Ivanovic 2.0 ?? ok that is reaching.

You guys how can you want Vika AND Serena in a row?! I want Maria to beat one of them but not the two of them because I don't believe she can do it, sadly.

[Mexicola]

The tougher the draw for Maria, the better. She's had enough time off and she needs matchups that get her attention and focus quickly. If she wants to be a factor and continue to be ranked in the top 3, she needs to take on and beat all comers. I don't want her avoiding anyone. And I want to see if that off-season work has paid off. Give me Lisicki or Svetlana in the first round. Serena is her same dominant self and Vika, when she did play, looked really good as well. So let's see what Maria is made of.

As for Kvitova, she's totally lost right now. I don't see the mental toughness, desire, and commitment to be the best in a demanding sport. I'm sure her people have tried to motivate her time and time again about her conditioning, but I see no improvement. That gut of hers isn't getting any smaller. It's totally up to her and right now she doesn't seem to be interested in being a great tennis player. There's still time for her to get serious, as we saw with Lindsay Davenport, but early results suggest 2013 won't be much different than 2012.

[Maria Croft]

So, it looks like the first and third round could turn out to be really difficult depending on who she draws.
I don't really care that much about the draw to be honest, but I do hope she gets an easy first round, it's always best to get that first match of the season out of the way with a quick win.

[domon17th]

Challenging draw but not insane would be great.

[Chrissie-fan]

I hope her draw isn't too challenging in the first couple of rounds at least. She won't have any matches under her belt like everyone else and it's better that she can build up some confidence first before running into any tough players, although I suppose that virtually every player is dangerous when she's on and Maria is not.

[Angelpova]

7 days to go

[NiMaria]

I can't wait any longer...

I hope she makes semis at least

[WowWow]

Originally Posted by mreiter

Lord, watching Kvitova play now against Cibulkova is so depressing . I think it's safe to say that we shouldn't fear a match against her at the AO like we did last year. Although their matches have all been really competitive so who knows. It's just so sad watching these promising players fail to maintain a high level

She continues to suck?
I haven't seen her play in a while.

[Serfpova]

I don't mind a tough draw but I do want a cake for the first round or maybe even the second as well. Simply because she hasn't played in a while.

[WowWow]

Originally Posted by Asherahpova

I don't mind a tough draw but I do want a cake for the first round or maybe even the second as well. Simple because she hasn't played in a while.

I agree. She needs to get some matches under her belt first.
It's been a while since she last played.

[dsanders06]

Originally Posted by debby

Kvitova = Ivanovic 2.0 ?? ok that is reaching.

You guys how can you want Vika AND Serena in a row?! I want Maria to beat one of them but not the two of them because I don't believe she can do it, sadly.

Beating Azarenka and Serena would make it the most impressive run to a Slam title in terms of names beaten of anyone in recent years

[Serfpova]

Maria beating Serena isn't likely at this stage although it's the start of a new season, anyway even if it did happen I would crawl up and die, actually leave the forum, if she beat Serena and then flopped to Vika in the Final.

IDK, I'm interested to see how Vika does here. As many have pointed out she's never claim close to defending any of her more important titles but she's just too consistent to lose to the lower ranked players. The only way she's losing is if a BBB has a rare on day or she just plays shit.

[dsanders06]

Originally Posted by Asherahpova

Maria beating Serena isn't likely at this stage although it's the start of a new season, anyway even if it did happen I would crawl up and die, actually leave the forum, if she beat Serena and then flopped to Vika in the Final.

IDK, I'm interested to see how Vika does here. As many have pointed out she's never claim close to defending any of her more important titles but she's just too consistent to lose to the lower ranked players. The only way she's losing is if a BBB has a rare on day or she just plays shit.

This would be typical Maria

Honestly, personally I don't read too much into the Vika never defending a title stat....I mean she showed last year that she isn't really the type who gets affected by pressure, so to me that stat is just a coincidence I think. I really don't see her losing to anyone but Serena or Maria here; MAYBE an on-fire Li at a push.

[Serfpova]

Yeah that's what I mean about the lower ranked players not getting past her for the foreseeable future. I could actually see Kerber taking her out though.Her deluded stans like to think she just plays shit against her despite the fact their last two matches are actually very high quality.

Vika is just a good match-up for Kerber. She's quicker than Vika by a long margin, plus Vika gives her the sort of ball she loves. Not anywhere near enough to overpower her like Maria/Serena but enough that she can use the pace given. Plus her killer shot FH DTL is the one a lefty needs to use against Vika. Just like a right hander needs to use the BH DTL.

[Fighterpova]

When does the draw come out? I can barely wait another day So pumped up for AO