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Danish Delight - Caroline Wozniacki thread - vol 5

355K views 5K replies 85 participants last post by  James 
#1 ·
The last volume has passed 5000 posts, time to start a new one. It's not the most positive of times with Caro just losing the #1 ranking and firing her coach, but while there isn't much we can do about that we can at least try to keep a civil tone here, even if we're somewhat frustrated about the way Caro's career is going right now. Ok?



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#2 ·
The ending of that last thread was... dramatic. :lol: It's weird when DIAH is the most positive person out of that conversation.

It's hard to say what caused Team Caro to split from Ricardo so soon. Judging from the article from the Interviews and Articles thread, it seemed like things didn't mesh well. Chemistry is an important part of a coach/player relationship so if it wasn't working out then it best to cut it off now before things get too deep.

I'm just taking the wait and see approach.
 
#4 ·
There was articles suggesting Sanchez would be evaluated post AO. I personally expressed scepticism, but it must have been correct. If you know something isn't working, it's best to acknowledge this and act accordingly.

That other 'observers' will cry 'knee jerk reaction' and 'panic' etc etc shouldn't bare any weight. If Caroline didn't feel it was working, as she had hoped, no point in continuing.

If Caroline can find her form from 2nd half 2010, 1st half 2011, I'd personally be pleased.

Many posters and 'experts' want Caroline to severe ties with her father. It's not up to any of us though. It's up to Caroline and just because most of us don't live in a similarly tightly knit family, it doesn't mean the Wozniackis cannot have good family relations.

It's her life. It's her family. It's her business. Not ours.
 
#5 ·
When a parent is coach, a new coach has to get along with that parent. He has her ear every day. Her parents are 2 people Caroline trusts.
Anyway, lets see how she plays now. Last year she only lost 1 match from AO loss to Miami loss, all titles & a final in between
 
#33 ·
I agree. I think Sanchez had unrealistic expectations about their cooperation. How could he expect that Piotr would just let him make changes and step aside after all the years he spent working with Caroline?! With no practical experience with tennis he's turned her to a top-class player. I think it is understandable that he was very concerned about her future and not prepared to let a new face in the team take over everything from one day to another.

I get the impression that Sanchez came to their team with an outlook to change things, he doesn't sound like he had a lot of belief in their approach and wasn't prepared to build on that. I think that a good coach would not try to force them work differently since the start of cooperation but would take things slowly and more carefully AND strive to create a good working relationship with her father.
 
#6 ·
Am a huge supporter of the family bonds from which Caroline draws strength;however,it seems pretty silly....am using a 'nice' word here....to quit on a new strategy after less than 1 month...and only TWO tourneys.It's somewhat similar to my people who take English classes for two weeks and then quit cuz "it's too difficult".Honestly,if Caroline is THAT omniscient such that she can know something would never work after such a short time,then she's so wise that she doesn't need coaching at all.

Caro has proven that she's not a lazy fraud like one other gal who's become a joke with her coaching carousel....she's willing to put in the work.Therefore,it's natural to at least speculate that Piotr disapproved and talked Caro out of the coaching relationship
 
#8 ·
Even if she does not perform optimally the next six months, there is a good chance she'll still stay in top 5. There is a pretty big gap between #4 and #5. The #1 position is far, far away at this point.
There is a very good chance Vika will jump into a huge lead over everyone else (like Woz had when she was at 10k points) and keep it until the US hardcourt season.
 
#11 ·
Viktoria does have an all court game, grass arguably being her weakest surface, so she could build up quite a lead. Petra did win Paris last year but otherwise she had a rough run last February/March so she could gain quite a few points if she does well this year. Maria appears to be skipping Doha and Dubai, Caroline would be doing herself a huge favour with deep runs at either or both of them.

I'm hoping that Caroline's clay schedule this year is not quite as hectic as it was in 2011.
 
#9 ·
On the subject of BH Slice. Any opinions on how effective it is against the the more extreme BB's out their? IIRC Caro mixed in some BH CC Slice at the USO vs Maria, and they were either beaten DTL for a winner or completely threw Maria and forced a shot straight in the net from a controlling position.

I'm sort of hoping she keeps on developing the shot as part of her arsenal.
 
#12 ·
I'm glad she is moving away from that ugly looking two handed backhand slice. I can not recall the Sharapova match but I'm definitely hoping she develops the confidence and ability to use "new" shots when she really needs them. We have often seen her try new things against very low ranked opponents, with varying degrees of success, but not so often when she gets deep into tournaments.
 
#16 ·
All of them, Vika, Maria, Petra, have a lot less to defend.
A year ago this was when Caroline was playing great every tournament.
So the best she can do this year is stay close in the race. As long as she's right there in 2012 points, it will be a meaningful 2nd half of the year.

Besides ranking, the other issue is majors. She has to be more consistent match to match.
Li broke her 6 of 7 times after Caro was 1 point from a win. She was 2 points from beating Cibulkova.
The losses to Dani & Kim she started down 06 14, and 36 25.

She needs 7 good matches, start to finish. There's no magic to it. Be consistent for a full tournament
 
#19 ·
Let just Hope and Wish For the Best I Hope she find another Coach and Get rid of her Dad as a Coach.
 
#23 ·
There might come a time when she separates with her dad. Sharapova did it around 21. Dementieva always kept her mom around.
Its important that she's comfortable with the situation, because the sport is very mental and she has to feel ready and eager to play with her coaching situation.
You can never totally evaluate it from the outside.
 
#30 ·
If there is a new coach at some point, Piotr needs to not be part of the coaching process in order for it to work. :shrug:

After Wimbledon last year it sounded like she wanted to move on from Piotr as her coach.
 
#27 ·
In 2010 Caro played Fran in the FO QF, and Fran won that title.
Losing to Hantuchova was a bad result.
I still think she can compete for the FO title. She beat Fran in Brussels, played okay in Rome, Stuttgart.

Maybe the heavy workouts were a mistake. But ultimately Caroline cannot start down 16 14 to anyone on clay, especially a noncontender. And Caro missed an easy shortball on game point early in set 2.
She has to be sharp each round at a major. She won 18 titles, play well every match at majors.
 
#28 ·
At a very minimum,Piotr bears--not 'bares';)--some blame for the lousy scheduling;it's hard for me to believe that he couldn't persuade Caro to cut back a bit...and,as an ex-pro athlete,there's less excuse for him to be ignorant of the potential fatigue factor on Caroline.

It's kind of stupidly obvious to say that 'it's her life';who else's would it be:lol:?Though I'm very pleased that Caroline has a loving,stable family,I wouldn't seeing Pop step back somewhat if he can't plan her tour calendar any better
 
#31 ·
The next major is not until late May. For now, I want to see Caroline have a few deep runs at some of these premiers, and stay near the top in 2012 points.
New Haven is the only final she's played since June. Thats a long time ago
 
#37 ·
In re the 1st paragraph above,I'm surprised that your pessimism didn't smack you in the face;the odds on Caro's making a clean coaching break,as you described it,seem pretty remote at this point
 
#41 ·
All we can do is engage in wild speculation (which I am happy to do).:lol:

Whatever problems/differences there were in the beginning probably appeared to be small but as time went on and Caroline started to play actual matches those problems/differences likely became much bigger and impossible to overcome.

Many people, myself included, are placing the blame on Piotr's shoulders but there are only a very small number of people (Caroline and Ricardo and almost certainly Piotr) who know the truth. Maybe Caroline was unhappy with Ricardo and overruled Piotr? We will probably never know what happened but from the outside looking in things appear to be a bit chaotic. Hopefully things will stabilise and Caroline can focus on her tennis.
 
#42 ·
Heard a rumor that Rory won some sort of Laureus Award(they're an irrelevant,non-entity for North American sports fans),so I suppose that there's happy news SOMEwhere in the Caro camp:)
 
#45 ·
Don't feel too qualified to assign primary blame here,but this situation between Sanchez and Caro didn't appear to be worked out too clearly,for both sides,in advance.Seems like it was doomed to fail before it ever started
 
#46 ·
I'm not a believer that a coach is that important after 18,19 years old.
By 20 a player has her style, and needs someone to help plan a good schedule to keep her healthy. And to help set up practice schedules, hitting partners, and the other daily stuff that tennis players have to deal with.

Far more important is money management. Thats clear from these stories of Arantxa Sanchez Vacario, who claims she's in debt after her parents mismanaged $60 million.

Caro needs to keep an eye on her investments, because a lot of other people know she has money, and you have to have qualified investment people and have accountants check on what you're investment people are doing
 
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