Thread Tools

Shvedbarilescu · Oct 23rd, 2011, 04:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OoohBarracuda

I'm a new fan of hers

I knew of her and had heard about her slice forehand and I got the chance to see some of her at the US Open this year and I was impressed. Got to see her play again in Beijing in her match against Petkovic and there were some moments of great tennis from her. Just a shame she couldn't keep it up but the scoreline wasn't reflective of the match I thought. I became a fan on that slice of hers alone, it's amazing!

I'm really happy for her getting to the final. I don't imagine her winning it but getting there is what matters and that should give her confidence for next year. Hope she can improve and hope to see her a lot more playing against the bigger players and having a better chance at winning

Thank you for this wonderful post.

Keadz · Oct 23rd, 2011, 04:55 AM

Look forward to seeing her play again tonight

One tight set would equal a good performance for me.

Can't believe she is in the top 30. Such a great end to the year, if she is able to sustain even a fraction of this form going into 2012, she has a very good chance of going a fair bit higher.

Curcubeu · Oct 23rd, 2011, 08:41 AM

^Welcome!

Dorien. · Oct 23rd, 2011, 10:49 AM

Welcome everybody

Curcubeu · Oct 23rd, 2011, 12:09 PM

Quote:

"I was really dead but I used all my powers to stay out there and play one more point," Niculescu said. "It was an unbelievable match. The crowd was behind me and there were so many Romanians behind me. It was an unbelievable feeling. I've had a great year and I'm so happy I'm in the final in Luxembourg."

Quote:

"I hope I can recover," Niculescu said. "It has been a heck of a week. I've played so many hours on the court, so much tennis. I hope I can do a good final."

Arise from the death, today!

Elenarulez · Oct 23rd, 2011, 01:49 PM

I am a new fan of her too. I really love her forehand slice, although today she seems to have no chance.

Curcubeu · Oct 23rd, 2011, 02:34 PM

Lost the final against Azarenka as expected 2-6 2-6

But she can only learn from matches against such strong opponents and to consider that she has already spent 12 hours on court this week, 4 games are quite ok!

Of course she withdrew from Poitiers next week and now should enjoy some rest and then come back to full cruising mode in 2012!

She hasn't that much to defend at the beginning of 2012 apart from her R3 showing at the AO, although she will be seeded and therefore has a big chance to defend those points as well!

WTA says Auckland will be her first stop!

Dorien. · Oct 23rd, 2011, 04:57 PM

Great week Monica

Curcubeu · Oct 24th, 2011, 10:55 AM

Quote:

"I was surprised a little bit that I reached my first final indoors! But I'm very happy I could end the season like this," Niculescu said. "Azarenka is just an unbelievable player. I tried my best today and only won four games. But it was a good week. I'm really amazed at the progress I made here. I watched each of my matches on CDs and I improved a lot. I'm really excited about next year."

Me too!

OoohBarracuda · Oct 24th, 2011, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Curcubeu

Lost the final against Azarenka as expected 2-6 2-6

But she can only learn from matches against such strong opponents and to consider that she has already spent 12 hours on court this week, 4 games are quite ok!

Of course she withdrew from Poitiers next week and now should enjoy some rest and then come back to full cruising mode in 2012!

She hasn't that much to defend at the beginning of 2012 apart from her R3 showing at the AO, although she will be seeded and therefore has a big chance to defend those points as well!

WTA says Auckland will be her first stop!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeyOnNple4M&t=1m10s

Hopefully she can gain a lot of points at the beginning of next year. I never got a chance to see her final but I heard she had break point opportunities, and she made it quite difficult for Petkovic to hold serve in their match in Beijing, so it seems to me she makes her opponents work harder to win their serve. Of course, I've not had the opportunity to see her play that much, but I do get that impression from what I've seen so far. But I also think she may struggle a bit on her own serve, but maybe that's just because she's been playing some tougher players. Anyway, I'm sure whatever her weak points, they can be improved on so she can kick some butt

thadeuss · Oct 25th, 2011, 10:38 AM

Monica will participate in a sports talk show at 13:00 CET. The show can be seen live here -> http://live.prosport.ro/ or here http://www.sport.ro/live/ibu1.html

Shvedbarilescu · Oct 25th, 2011, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thadeuss

Monica will participate in a sports talk show at 13:00 CET. The show can be seen live here -> http://live.prosport.ro/ or here http://www.sport.ro/live/ibu1.html

Cool. I just watched the interview....even if I didn't understand a word.

But Monica seemed in very good spirits and was full of energy and enthusiasm. There were lots of smiles. It was clear she was very happy and proud of what she has accomplished these last couple of months. And she looked great too.

Having said all that, I would love to know what she actually said.

EDIT: Oooooh it's still going on....

thadeuss · Oct 25th, 2011, 11:59 AM

she talked about her current form - being 29 in the world gives her a lot more confidence then before, she's mentally stronger now. She loved playing in Beijing, and that match against Li Na boost her confidence alot and hopes to play in London.

At AO she will play doubles with Begu. She talked about injuries - she had a abdominal strain when she played against Safarova. Current season is over for her.

P.S. she also talked about Azarenka - she's the only romanian to take a set from Azarenka but hopes to beat her in the near future (Monica thinks Azarenka will win in Istambul)... and would love to play against Serena Williams.

Shvedbarilescu · Oct 25th, 2011, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thadeuss

she talked about her current form - being 29 in the world gives her a lot more confidence then before, she's mentally stronger now. She loved playing in Beijing, and that match against Li Na boost her confidence alot and hopes to play in London.

At AO she will play doubles with Begu. She talked about injuries - she had a abdominal strain when she played against Safarova. Current season is over for her.

Thanks so much.

With Begu? Cool. That could work very well. Begu did pretty well in doubles last year. I would like to see Monica settle down with one primary doubles partner for the whole year. I think it would be a good thing for her as a doubles player at this stage of her career.

Did she say anything about being Romanian number 1? And did she say anything about any other players? And did she say anything about her plans for the off season?

thadeuss · Oct 25th, 2011, 12:13 PM

Quote:

And did she say anything about her plans for the off season?

Moni will take 2 weeks off (she will do absolutely nothing during this time

) and then will prepare for 2012. She will play 2 tournaments before AO - one in NZ, didn't specify the other one.

Quote:

And did she say anything about any other players?

Talked about Azarenka - he's a fantastic player, very solid, but hopes to beat her soon. In her opinion she's the favourite to win in Istambul. She considers Serene to be the best in the world and would love to play against her (she played against her in doubles and loved it)

Quote:

Did she say anything about being Romanian number 1?

Nope. She only said that she gets along very well outside the court with all the other romanian players.