[LefandePatty]

I don't know why but I feel confident about the SF

[Setsuna.]

10.1.: Happy to be in the semifinal. It's difficult to get your rhythm against Tsvetana. She is mixing it up very well. But in the important moments I played some good shots

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[Tecumseh]

Originally Posted by Hisagi.

Flipkens will be much tougher for sure. She is a smart player and can play all around tennis. Her slice will trouble Mona probably. She has a better FH than Mona too so she probably will win most of FH to FH rallies (unless Mona is on fire).

Flipkens has a good but also predictable forehand. So if we are talking about consistency she might be better on that wing. But when it comes to dangerousness and power Mona's forehand is way better. And dont forget that Mona's backhand is in a different league.

As i mentioned above if Mona plays 70% tomorrow like today its going to be a clear victory.

[Tecumseh]

Originally Posted by Hisagi.

I think exactly the same. There is still so much room for improvment in her game (Her FH, footwork, defence and her intensity/competitiveness on court). I feel she can improve in all these aspects I mentioned and I hope she does in the next 2/3 years. Let's give her time.

However, I can't see her improving much without a coach. That's for sure. I think when Mona gets enough money, she will get a coach hopefully. Let's not forget she was sleeping in tents 2/3 years a go.

I also think that one part of Mona's coaching problem is about money. All the losses during the second half of the season might have reduced her financial reserves dramatically and maybe that was the reason why she forebeared to travel with her tourcoach at that time. She surely won a lot of prize money until the end of April but lets not forget that even at that time she had a lot of costs (taxes, travel costs etc.) to cover so that her net earnings might not have been as high as many people believe.

And i am also very convinced that Mona knows that she can only unfold her full potential with a good coach. Thats why she started to work with Alexander Flock last year and i suspect that she will travel again with him during the european summer. At least i still see him named as her tourcoach on her website whereas you can also see there that she broke up with her management at the same time.

Lets hope for a good development and that we will get to know Peak Mona in two years.

[HowardH]

Like Hisagi, I also see the semi as a pretty tough match, I'd put Mona as favourite but I think it could be awkward. One key factor here is Flipkens' serve. Don't underestimate her ability to hit serves that are very difficult to return even without possessing the kind of pace the biggest servers have. I'm not sure if Flipkens will be able to serve well enough to neutralise Mona's ridiculous talent for aggressive returns, but if she is able to do that Mona could be quite troubled.

Another key aspect will be whether Mona can deal with Flipper's slice bh well enough. If Mona hits good hard deep shots against that slice then Flipkens will be in trouble. It's very difficult to slice against a deep ball, the slice doesn't half-volley well and usually has to back off against depth or switch to a topspin half volley.

Kirsten is a very opportunistic player, quite often she'll be defending for a whole point and then get one opportunity to attack which she takes. Whereas Mona is a player who imposes power from the backcourt consistently throughout the entire point, Kirsten (by virtue of her bh) has to wait for opportunities to suddenly strike. So if Mona is able to maintain good depth and pace she might be able to deny Kirsten many chances.

I wouldn't underestimate Flipkens' tactical savvy either. Mona has more ability but Kirsten will be using all her know-how to try to steal the win. I think the battle between Kirsten's above average serve and Mona's big return might be the biggest key. Kirsten needs to find a way to get damage from her first serve and to survive the second serve points in order to give herself a chance.

[Tecumseh]

Originally Posted by HowardH

Like Hisagi, I also see the semi as a pretty tough match, I'd put Mona as favourite but I think it could be awkward. One key factor here is Flipkens' serve. Don't underestimate her ability to hit serves that are very difficult to return even without possessing the kind of pace the biggest servers have. I'm not sure if Flipkens will be able to serve well enough to neutralise Mona's ridiculous talent for aggressive returns, but if she is able to do that Mona could be quite troubled.

Another key aspect will be whether Mona can deal with Flipper's slice bh well enough. If Mona hits good hard deep shots against that slice then Flipkens will be in trouble. It's very difficult to slice against a deep ball, the slice doesn't half-volley well and usually has to back off against depth or switch to a topspin half volley.

Kirsten is a very opportunistic player, quite often she'll be defending for a whole point and then get one opportunity to attack which she takes. Whereas Mona is a player who imposes power from the backcourt consistently throughout the entire point, Kirsten (by virtue of her bh) has to wait for opportunities to suddenly strike. So if Mona is able to maintain good depth and pace she might be able to deny Kirsten many chances.

I wouldn't underestimate Flipkens' tactical savvy either. Mona has more ability but Kirsten will be using all her know-how to try to steal the win. I think the battle between Kirsten's above average serve and Mona's big return might be the biggest key. Kirsten needs to find a way to get damage from her first serve and to survive the second serve points in order to give herself a chance.

I can follow your well-considered arguments quite well. Kirsten is some sort of a Brad Gilbert of the WTA-Tour and this match could turn out to be a tricky one. But under normal circumstances and with a lot of confidence on Mona's side she should be in a leading position.

[boomerangkid]

Was a really good match of Mona! At least a nice outfit
Only girls like her (Dani,Ana..) can wear this dress, should maintain it!
She definitely gets better and more confident in her game with every win, even played strong in defense last night. I never had the impression she could lose it! Like this she is a joy to watch!

Nice schedule (morning CET) for her Flipper match... looking forward to see if she can make it to the final

[rucolo]

Mona into Hobart SF !

Nach Radio B5 aktuell hat Mona Svetlana Pironkova bezwungen

[Raiden]

Originally Posted by Tecumseh

I can follow your well-considered arguments quite well. Kirsten is some sort of a Brad Gilbert of the WTA-Tour and this match could turn out to be a tricky one. But under normal circumstances and with a lot of confidence on Mona's side she should be in a leading position.

What on earth are you talking about? What does Kirsten got to do with the Wozniacki of ATP?

I'm pretty sure Kirsten is second only to Vinci as the best S&V player of the current WTA lineup. Her game is as far away from Brad Gilbert's game is as Pova's height is from Cibulkova's ass.