[hellas719]

I like Olympiakos but I meant Greek national teams/Olympic sports

Dont even get me started. Mens basketball national team should've won medals in 2004,2008,2012 and didn't
and in 2006 WC they beat USA's Dream Team in SF and got killed by Spain in the final

And Olympiakos history in European competitions for football

And the only reason we won Euro 2004 was because we had no pressure or expectations

Womens water polo team won gold last WC, 4th the previous one, 2nd in the last 2 Euros, world league medals, etc. but didn't qualify for London

Can we stop talking about this stuff because I could go on for days complaining about how we choke so much

[hellas719]

^Seeing this post just reminded me of how much we choke in every single damn sport . Athens 2004 was so bad. Greece vs. USA men's volleyball QF was probably the biggest choke of all-time in the Olympics for any country in any sport

Anyways, Ralu was featured on the WTA's new (and shitty) website


http://www.wtatennis.com/news/articl...lip-the-script

OLARU HOPING TO FLIP THE SCRIPT

She was one of the brightest young stars on the WTA, but after a few tough seasons she finds herself fighting her way back up the rankings - it has been a long road for Raluca Olaru.
Published December 29, 2012 12:00




BUCHAREST, Romania - A few years ago she was one of the brightest young stars on the WTA, but after a few tough seasons she finds herself fighting her way back up the rankings - it has been a long road for Raluca Olaru, but the Romanian, still just 23, is looking up. Here she is...

On her best years from 2007 to 2009, where she reached*her first WTA final at Bad Gastein, two more semifinals and another six quarterfinals, and was a Top 100 fixture...
"2007 was an amazing year for me! I was really young, only 18, and I started the year ranked around No.300. I got to my first WTA semifinal in Memphis in February then another one in Fès in April; and then, in May, I passed three rounds of qualies and got to the third round of the French Open, my dream tournament growing up as a child! I was the first female Romanian player to get to the Top 100 since Ruxandra Dragomir and Irina Spirlea back in 1997, and I think that was the opener for many other Romanian tennis players, as you can see from the years since then. I finished 2007 ranked around No.65. In January 2008 I got seriously injured in my left wrist, which gave me trouble the whole year - but 2009 was another good year, starting around No.125 and reaching quarterfinals in Bogotá and Warsaw before winning a $100,000 ITF title in Marseille and reeaching my first WTA final in Bad Gastein. That got me to my personal best ranking so far - No.53 in the world."

On the last few years, which have seen her fall to her current ranking, No.216...
"Indeed, the last few years were not that great for me, but I have to say I've learned and improved a lot during this time! I've had some difficult periods, whether it's being without a coach or getting injured once every few months, and obviously there were some times when I lost my confidence. But I kept going, kept looking for solutions and worked hard to get better again. And right now I have to say I feel good about where I'm at. I've improved a lot, especially over the last six months, and I am excited to keep getting better. You know what they say: "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

On her off-season preparation for 2013...
"I was in Romania at home, having a five week off-season preparation. I am happy with the team I have around me now and as I said, excited to work on my game!*My main goal for 2013 is to develop my game. I know I can play Top 100 level again, and I know that if I have the right attitude and work on the right things, there are many chances that I will achieve that. The other goals - playing more WTA tournaments, getting in the main draw of Grand Slams and going up in the rankings - are secondary."

On her overall career goals, given she's still so young...
"It's a good question! Indeed, I have enough years in front of me and right now I feel that I have the abilities to achieve even more than I have so far in my tennis career. And I'm not just talking about the numbers here, but also about enjoying the process!"

[Curcubeu]

All in all, I would still not dismiss Raluca already.

If she can get her game and head together for once, she can reach the Top 100 easily. She has so much game for someone being ranked so low and she looks very positive on this interview.

Maybe she can qualify for the Australian Open, why not?

[Tennis Fool]

Currently on the EL for AO qualies.

[Curcubeu]

Australian Open, Q-draw:

(8)Karin Knapp (ITA) vs. (wc)Jessica Moore (AUS)
Corinna Dentoni (ITA) vs. Raluca Olaru (ROU)
Aleksandra Krunic (SRB) vs. Maria Elena Camerin (ITA)
Alison Riske (USA) vs. (17)Zheng Saisai (CHN)

Walking bye in QR1.

Her chance to show the progress she promised in the interview with WTA.

[Ollie_R]

Raluca should definitely beat Corinna, but she is so inconsistent..

I think she has a good chance to qualify if she plays well actually...Knapp/Moore are beatable and we'll see after that!

[Djezonfly]

QR1 and QR2 are winnable

[Curcubeu]

Dentoni def. Olaru 6-2 6-3

Pathetic.

[Pebbles]

she needs to start playing more HC tournaments this year. She can't exist to play on only clay.

[$uricate]

And I picked her 2-0 in TT

Maybe it was just deluded hope

[Curcubeu]

Originally Posted by Pebbles

she needs to start playing more HC tournaments this year. She can't exist to play on only clay.

Sure, but neither did Dentoni in preparation to the AO and she was in much worse form at the end of last year than Raluca. I don't even know when Dentoni won against any noticeable player on this surface for the last time, embarrassing loss, especially the scoreline and after the proud statements in that interview, it makes her come across as completely delusional.

[Ollie_R]

I think I jinxed her.

I didn't think Corinna was good on any surface besides clay....

Poor Raluca

[$uricate]

Originally Posted by Curcubeu

Sure, but neither did Dentoni in preparation to the AO and she was in much worse form at the end of last year than Raluca. I don't even know when Dentoni won against any noticeable player on this surface for the last time, embarrassing loss, especially the scoreline and after the proud statements in that interview, it makes her come across as completely delusional.

ITFanovic

[$uricate]

In fact that's going in my sig

[hellas719]