[Fighterpova]

Originally Posted by 18majors

The post count on this thread is way down from 2012 RG thread even though Maria is no less dominant.

Either fans have grown used to Maria's successes, or are aprehensive about a potential loss to Serena in the final.

2012 RG was Maria's magnum opus

[doomsday]

Deep down, it doesn't really matter if we're scared of Serena, or to another loss in a major final.
What matters is that Maria will do her very best to reach the final wether Serena is there or not and if she loses to her she will suck it up and come back stronger to finally defeat her.

Yes it's frustrating to see her losing to Serena again and again but if only Serena can stop Maria, Maria won't let that chance to play her go away.

[effedcamel]

Originally Posted by doomsday

Deep down, it doesn't really matter if we're scared of Serena, or to another loss in a major final.
What matters is that Maria will do her very best to reach the final wether Serena is there or not and if she loses to her she will suck it up and come back stronger to finally defeat her.

Yes it's frustrating to see her losing to Serena again and again but if only Serena can stop Maria, Maria won't let that chance to play her go away.

This. I'd never want Maria to show signs of being a quitter and true push over by avoiding meeting Serena. It's a much more damning thing for her legacy to avoid Serena knowing she'll lose than if she continues to hunt opportunities for that one instance where she may take her down again.

It's the difference between someone who is a tenacious, resilient champion and while those losses will sting us, she will be remembered as someone who gave her all in the face of bad odds rather than someone who jsut folds.

Although that OG match and her tearing up will blight that

[Fiercepova]

I don't care of Serena at all right now. I mean I just want Maria to win the semi against Li and get to that final stage first. It really doesn't matter if she may get another beatdown or whatever, going to the final and getting the runner-up trophy is much better than losing in a semi. Truth is I tried to tell myself before Maria's semi against Vika last year that, even if she lost, at least I could be happy that Maria wouldn't have another beatdown to Serena in the final, but hell no, I was angry and depressed as fuck after that semi loss.

I'm sure that Maria herself really wants to have another go at Serena (and many more to come) until she finally gets that long wait win.

[Trih]

Originally Posted by 18majors

The post count on this thread is way down from 2012 RG thread even though Maria is no less dominant.

Either fans have grown used to Maria's successes, or are aprehensive about a potential loss to Serena in the final.

It's just because we posted so much in it after the victory

[gociku]

She was so average today. She needs to up her game a few notches if she wants to go further. And this reminds me of some slams where she played lights out tennis in the first few rounds and then her level dropped as the tournament progressed. This might be the case again
As for which loss is better, I'd choose the one to Serena. I never consider losses to Serena are embarrassment simply because Serena is the better player. But I'm still fuming about her losses to Kvitova, Azarenka, Wozniacki...Those losses were beyond embarrassing.

[18majors]

I'm glad that even though 2013 AO is down to no more than 2 matches for Maria, that all top players will gather again to play Qatar Total Open, a P5 event, in Doha starting February 11.

[Fighterpova]

Originally Posted by 18majors

I'm glad that even though 2013 AO is down to no more than 2 matches for Maria, that all top players will gather again to play Qatar Total Open, a P5 event, in Doha starting February 11.

Maria and Serena probably wont play

[Fighterpova]

Though I'd love to see them, that would make the best edition of Doha ever

[TrollPova]

Originally Posted by 18majors

The post count on this thread is way down from 2012 RG thread even though Maria is no less dominant.

Either fans have grown used to Maria's successes, or are aprehensive about a potential loss to Serena in the final.

It's weird...maybe because the French Open came at a time after Maria suffered some tough losses leading up to it to the likes of Azarenka/Serena/Radwanska so the stakes felt higher and the desperation was greater. It was also the one she hadn't won yet so we were all really excited about that finally happening and the history she made by doing so.

This tournament also seems to be flying by so fast (no thanks to Maria ) and we're more used to Maria achieving consistent SF/Final results

[18majors]

Originally Posted by Fighterpova

Maria and Serena probably wont play

Don't know about Serena but Maria probably will play, otherwise she will carry another 0 pointer all through 2013.

[Kitten63]

Originally Posted by mreiter

It's weird...maybe because the French Open came at a time after Maria suffered some tough losses leading up to it to the likes of Azarenka/Serena/Radwanska so the stakes felt higher and the desperation was greater. It was also the one she hadn't won yet so we were all really excited about that finally happening and the history she made by doing so.

This tournament also seems to be flying by so fast (no thanks to Maria ) and we're more used to Maria achieving consistent SF/Final results

Yep. RG was the longest two weeks of my life.

[Pops Maellard]

Originally Posted by Fighterpova

Yes, I'm serious I'm tired of her losing so many finals and we know she obviously has no chance vs Serena. It must be frustrating if you try hard, practice hard and give it your all plus you're playing your best and still can't have a chance at winning a set vs a player even though you're 2nd on the WTA list!

This. Put me also in the "I'd rather she lost in the semis" camp . The possibility of a near-repeat of AO '07, AO '12 or Olympics '12 is too painful to think about. It could also be more damaging to Maria's confidence than losing in the semi.

I get the other way of thinking too but yeah...

[gc-spurs]

Originally Posted by 18majors

The post count on this thread is way down from 2012 RG thread even though Maria is no less dominant.

Either fans have grown used to Maria's successes, or are aprehensive about a potential loss to Serena in the final.

There is an AO Chat thread for non-Maria related matches, we probably spammed the FO with other matches.

[Asherahpova]

Originally Posted by gc-spurs

There is an AO Chat thread for non-Maria related matches, we probably spammed the FO with other matches.

True it's at around 100 posts. I think the Euro swing is busier anyway, not as disruptive to the Europeans and a lot of people are off on study leave by the time RG comes around. Plus people just love clay/grass as we look at hard courts for the rest of the year.