[MaSharp]

It's just Serena and the rest. Vika and Masha are at the same level. On clay is much better Maria on HC and grass is Vika a little better (not always). Aga is behind these 3.

But have Vika in the same level with Serena??? Some really don't know what to do/say...

[coolfish1103]

Originally Posted by tennisbum79

Top 2 - Have a win against each other within 13 months, not lost to Aga
Vika
Maria


Aga - has lost to the above 3 within last 13 months

Such a bum to forget that Radwanska sends Sharapova home in Miami 2012 F in straight sets.

[Patrick345]

It´s exactly like the results and the ranking says:

Clear #1 Serena
Clear #2 Azarenka
Clear #3 Sharapova
Clear #4 Radwanska
Clear #5 Na Li
Clear #6-9999 the rest

The ranking has the clarity it lacked for a very long time and reflects the actual balance of power very well.

[Flavia P.]

I won't say it's Serena and the rest per se, although Serena is clearly in a complete different league. Vika is in a different league than Maria and Aga and she's broken from the rest of the pack the past 1 1/2 years. Vika is competitive in matches with Serena and beats everyone else. Outside of Serena and Vika, then it's everyone else. Maria is definitely not on the level of Serena or Vika, and Aga is a pretender until proven otherwise.

[Brad[le]y.]

Originally Posted by tennisbum79

Top 2 - Have a win against each other within 13 months, not lost to Aga
Vika
Maria

Miami last year.

[Shvedbarilescu]

Originally Posted by Patrick345

It´s exactly like the results and the ranking says:

Clear #1 Serena
Clear #2 Azarenka
Clear #3 Sharapova
Clear #4 Radwanska
Clear #5 Na Li
Clear #6-9999 the rest

The ranking has the clarity it lacked for a very long time and reflects the actual balance of power very well.

Yeah. There is a big divide between the number 1 and the number 2. There is a big divide between the numbers 1 and 2 and the number 3. There is a big divide between the top 3 and the number 4 and there is a big divide between the top 4 and the number 5. And there is even a big divide between the top 5 and everyone else. Where ever you look there is clear blue sea.

[doomsday]

Originally Posted by Shvedbarilescu

Yeah. There is a big divide between the number 1 and the number 2. There is a big divide between the numbers 1 and 2 and the number 3. There is a big divide between the top 3 and the number 4 and there is a big divide between the top 4 and the number 5. And there is even a big divide between the top 5 and everyone else. Where ever you look there is clear blue sea.

There isn't. But agree with the rest of your post.

[Shvedbarilescu]

Originally Posted by doomsday

There isn't. But agree with the rest of your post.

Well on clay one can make a case that Sharapova is the best player of the lot right now. But off of the clay, there really is a huge gap between Azarenka and Sharapova. In the last three years Azarenka has won 11 non-clay titles. Sharapova? Just one. Even Radwanska has won 7 non-clay titles in that time.

So yeah, if we had red clay rankings Sharapova would lead them by a healthy margin right now. But of off the clay she is far below either of the top 2 and whether she is ahead of Radwanska is debatable.

[SilverPersian]

Well, people have talked about "the big four" in the men's game for quite a long time now, but there's rarely (never) been a period in which Roger/Rafa/Novak/Andy were equally matched.

Even though I agree there is a gap between Serena, Vika and Masha, I'd still say that anyone else winning a slam outside of those three would be a surprise at present, and in that sense I think talking about a "big three" is reasonable.

[Shvedbarilescu]

Originally Posted by SilverPersian

Well, people have talked about "the big four" in the men's game for quite a long time now, but there's rarely (never) been a period in which Roger/Rafa/Novak/Andy were equally matched.

Even though I agree there is a gap between Serena, Vika and Masha, I'd still say that anyone else winning a slam outside of those three would be a surprise at present, and in that sense I think talking about a "big three" is reasonable.

Yeah, that's probably a fair statement in that at the Australian, US and Wimbledon Serena and Azarenka are very strong favourites and at RG Sharapova is actually quite a strong favourite all by herself.

It is actually interesting to note that over the last 9 years, Serena, Azarenka and Radwanska have not gone past the quarterfinal stage of RG whereas Sharapova has a win and two semifinal spots and she has been easily the most successful of the current top 4 in this slam in recent years.

Still, the manner Sharapova has been beaten in recent years by the other top players off of the clay, especially in finals, makes it hard to imagine her winning another AO, US Open or Wimbledon title in the near future.

[doomsday]

Originally Posted by Shvedbarilescu

Well on clay one can make a case that Sharapova is the best player of the lot right now. But off of the clay, there really is a huge gap between Azarenka and Sharapova. In the last three years Azarenka has won 11 non-clay titles. Sharapova? Just one. Even Radwanska has won 7 non-clay titles in that time.

So yeah, if we had red clay rankings Sharapova would lead them by a healthy margin right now. But of off the clay she is far below either of the top 2 and whether she is ahead of Radwanska is debatable.

Yeah but I think she is closing the gap because she is also reaching big finals on HC while Vika and Aga aren't doing much on clay. Vika's best result last year was a final in Stuttgart and that's it (I won't even mention blue clay for obvious reasons).

That's why I think the gap can't be that big, Vika is winnig on HC but Maria is going far on the surface. Maria is winning on clay while Vika isn't going that far on clay and the very fact that they're so close in the rankings confirms what I'm saying, Maria could even pass Vika in the rankings if she bothered to play a lil more but she won't, she will skip Dubai next week

[Shvedbarilescu]

Originally Posted by doomsday

Yeah but I think she is closing the gap because she is also reaching big finals on HC while Vika and Aga aren't doing much on clay. Vika's best result last year was a final in Stuttgart and that's it (I won't even mention blue clay for obvious reasons).

That's why I think the gap can't be that big, Vika is winnig on HC but Maria is going far on the surface. Maria is winning on clay while Vika isn't going that far on clay and the very fact that they're so close in the rankings confirms what I'm saying, Maria could even pass Vika in the rankings if she bothered top play a lil more but she won't, she will skip Dubai next week

Perhaps you are right, the fact that she is substantially ahead of the other three on red clay over the last year does count for quite a bit. And that is reflected in the rankings where Sharapova is as you say, very close to Azarenka. That said, there is going to be a lot of pressure during the clay season for her to repeat last year's success if she wishes to remain amongst the top 3.

[Sgt.Timmykinz]

Basically Sharapova only wins on the wta's weakest, and most boring surface.

[doomsday]

Originally Posted by Shvedbarilescu

Perhaps you are right, the fact that she is substantially ahead of the other three on red clay over the last year does count for quite a bit. And that is reflected in the rankings where Sharapova is as you say, very close to Azarenka. That said, there is going to be a lot of pressure during the clay season for her to repeat last year's success if she wishes to remain amongst the top 3.

If she is healthy she will be fine. She already confirmed her good status on the surface after a good season on red clay in 2011. She is ahead of the field on red clay, Stosur and Na can trouble her more than the others that being said.

[L'Enfant Sauvage]

Thank you Vika

Originally Posted by doomsday

Yeah but I think she is closing the gap because she is also reaching big finals on HC while Vika and Aga aren't doing much on clay. Vika's best result last year was a final in Stuttgart and that's it (I won't even mention blue clay for obvious reasons).

That's why I think the gap can't be that big, Vika is winnig on HC but Maria is going far on the surface. Maria is winning on clay while Vika isn't going that far on clay and the very fact that they're so close in the rankings confirms what I'm saying, Maria could even pass Vika in the rankings if she bothered to play a lil more but she won't, she will skip Dubai next week

Another viewpoint to look at though, is that a hardcourt specialist >>> a claycourt specialist in today's game. HC is where ~70% of the big events are played, there are 2 slams, the YEC, and OG (on most olympic years) played on hard, while a claycourt specialist only has one opportunity a year to win a big one. So even conceding that Maria performs better on her second best surface than Vika does, Vika having by far the better surface to excel on means Sharapova will have a tougher time than you think to close the gap. Just losing in semis and finals of hardcourt tourneys won't be enough, she has to win them... And if she doesn't win IW or Miami it will 2 full years since she's done it, as her next chance won't be until the USO lead-ups.

And skipping Dubai is pretty good strategic scheduling Why kill herself out there in back to back weeks just to lose in semis (not being overconfident, just thinking based on probability. I for one don't take any of Serena's or Vika's wins for granted). It's pretty smart to let Vika and Serena kill themselves on court risking injury/overplaying, and then come in fresh at IW where she knows the cat will be away