I am not arguing she is a power players like the of the top 3, but usually her shots have more zip or punch than what I saw today.
She played like someone who had a long, tiring match in previous round and did not get enough rest.
Li Na played well but I was surprised at Agnieszka she didn`t play well ON THE BIG POINTS. And that was the shock! Agnienzka had so many leads in the first set and blew it! She had a 3-2 lead could not consolidate, then she had a 5-4 lead serving for the first set and gets broken at love! Li Na played okay, but Agnieszka didn`t bring it today she needed to play a more aggressive form of tennis. I felt like Agnieszka thought Li was just going to spray balls and did somewhat. But I believe Agnieszka blew her chances that`s why she lost she wasn`t aggressive enough. This is so disappointing four time an Australian Open quarterfinalst this result is a huge disappointment!
I wonder when she has the serve and ability to serve out the set when encountering a power baseliner... Aga is too passive today and nervous, at the end she gave up. That's all.
Remember she played just one more 60 60 match than Li...
good point - and I kinda wondered about her playing in and winning 2 tourneys leading up to the AO-maybe a littl tired - she probably should have skipped one.
I think it has a lot to do with how consistently deep Li Na's rally ball was, very few players on tour are capable of that, another notable example being Azarenka who can also make Radwanska look helpless. It probably messes with the timing of her strokes.
I don't deny Li Na played well; in fact she has played better in the past than today. But Aga was just pitful.
We all know she can't compete with power, but even her reflexes, anticipation, ability to keep the ball in play when in difficulty, her midcourt game, all deserted her. LI Na did not have to force the issue.
It would be interesting to see how she answers the question "What happened out there to day?" in the press room
I don't know if she was tired; in fact I don't think she was. I think she was very nervous and it took quite a bit of energy and accuracy from her. She also lacked her usual concentration. I think she feels pressure to win a slam.
Worst I've seen her play for a while, she was incredibly poor, seemed lost, footwork wasn't right and the errors were sloppy.
Hopefully she bounces back though, it's definitely not her normal standard as some are saying, she didn't get the Wimbledon final because of a fluke, and going 13 matches unbeaten at the start of this year is no fluke either.
Radwanska is never a powerful player, but she's very good at reflecting opponents' strokes, the faster and stronger she receives the ball, the faster and stronger it goes back too. Li Na realised it after first two games and reduced her usual stroking power, only used full strength on killer shots, that's probably why Aga looked more puffy and made more errors today than usual.
You see the movies "The Avengers"? It's what Phil Coulson said to Loki.
"You lack commitment."
She lacks commitment. Bring it to her at all, and she goes into her shell. It happens that her level of skill is so high, it takes a lot to intimidate her, but once you do, she's over.
Na were making her run and hit it pretty flat ,so its deep and Radwanska can't keep bending her knee,
The ball were pretty slow, didn't you see Na didn't hit it as hard too? She can generate pace,but that play into Na's hand, she knows it too. So she try to bait out the error. Radwanska is not a natural power player, she can only hit the shoulder height balls ,when she's in position to be the aggressor ,gradually now her serve improve, it take more toll physically. But today it didn't matter what she did. Na was too good
Radwanska struggles everytime she gets outplayed on a match. She is unable to fight back, try to find new solutions on her game, come up with a backup plan. Once she starts getting outplayed by her opponent, she collapses and loses interest on the match.
I don't even recall any good comeback win from Radwanska. A single one!
Radwanska struggles everytime she gets outplayed on a match. She is unable to fight back, try to find new solutions on her game, come up with a backup plan. Once she starts getting outplayed by her opponent, she collapses and loses interest on the match.
I don't even recall any good comeback win from Radwanska. A single one!
The only one I can think of off-hand is one against Jankovic, who chokes against all and sundry :lol:
I guess that Wimbledon QF, where she was 2 points away from defeat, was reasonably impressive from a mental-strength standpoint. Then again, that match was against....Kirilenko.
Must have been the titanic slugfest she engaged in with Anci in the previous round. :shrug:
:lol:
I jest. Beating Li last week was the worst thing that could have happened to her. Li was flat then but Rad came in feeling ocnfident, expecting her to crash and burn all on her own. Didn't happen, she dropped her aggressive play from mid-match unceremoniously and got beaten.
Maybe people are correct Agnieszka played too much tennis prior to the Australian Open? She only needed to play Auckland or Sydney she didn`t need to play both events. I think she over did it.
Again, as someone already pointed out, the "overplaying" excuse just doesn't wash, because Na played the same number of matches ahead of the tournament, and her matches were generally longer/tougher than Radwanska's too :shrug:
I really wanted to know why such a drop in her physical performance between her preivous rounds and today, especially she beat Ana comfortably
I wouldn't think that is the same as looking for an excuse.
I get where people are coming from but Li is in better shape and stronger than Aga. I mean even last year she had like what 3? really good results post Miami, Wimbledon, Tokyo and YEC.
With her gamestyle she just can't hold up as long. It doesn't really matter anyway, Li played a smart match for once and even vs PEAK Aga it's still on Li's racquet. I definitely think today was subpar from Aga though.
Actually I forgot the fact she played also Shenzen before AO, but probably even if Na's matches were longer, they weren't exhausting as Radwanska's ones always defending and playing long points?
To me she was weak mentally, not physically. She just didn't have the guts today.. She started being outplayed and gave up....
Plus, lots of bad decisions - why come to the net completely unprepared? Suicidal!
Na deserves full marks for her exellent play today and Aga just looked 'lost' and confused as to how to regroup, I just started watching at 5-4 with Aga leading but it was all downhill from that point on...she did have a break to start the 2nd set 2-0 but that quickly evaporated but Na just had more winners especially her backhand and even though she wobbled a bit on her last service game did manage to come through...Coach Rodiques is giving her more confidence bottom line.
Barmaid
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