Thread Tools

auntie janie · Mar 24th, 2003, 09:21 PM

The stunning loss today of the Anna - Elena D. doubles team today made me think of this question. I think we can rule out those two players immediately in this discussion (feel free to disagree, but please provide evidence to the contrary if you do!)

I have not seen the youngest players play yet, so it will be hard for me to judge their mental strength at this time. But Vera Douchevina seems to me to be the strongest mentally so far of the 15 & 16 year old group. It will be interesting to see how she does as she continues to ease into the WTA.

Among the older players, the fact that they have won singles titles immediately places Elena L., Elena B., Svetlana, and Anastasia into a higher category than ED or AK -- it generally takes some mental strength to close out a tournament. But look what happened to these players this week!

Only Elena L. did not perform well below expectations.

So right now my pick would be the unlikely Tatiana Panova. This is a player who makes the most of what she's got. Maybe she can't beat the top players very often, but she doesn't lose to them because of crumbling mentally, and occasionally she does beat some of them. She never seems to consider herself out of the match before even stepping on the court; in other words, she does not beat herself.

I don't know why Tatiana does not have a singles title yet; it puzzles me! But even so, I think she is currently the #1 Russian player in mental strength.

SO! WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK? I want to know!

Gowza · Mar 24th, 2003, 09:35 PM

to me fight backs are a sign of mental strength. i think you a very right in putting panova up there but i'm also thinking that elena b could be up there with her. elena b made a few good fight backs at the oz open. but i think panova is definately the top girl mentally for the russians.

dementieva has been quite good this year but has dropped off as of late.

myskina did make some nice comebacks at the oz open.

i think the young players are mentally strong until they get ahead. sharapova, safina, bovina and dementieva all have this problem.

douchevina was strong in her match against henin up until justine broke her. and then it took douchevina a while to get things back together. but it is hard to compare douchevina with safina and sharapova because she has only played in one wta maindraw and the others have played a lot more.

the cat · Mar 25th, 2003, 03:19 PM

Alisa Kleibanova

auntie janie · Mar 26th, 2003, 01:14 AM

So far, so good with Alisa, cat!

But so many Russians, maybe all of them, were top-notch juniors. The problems come later!

It is a just TINY bit too early to know anything abut Alisa's mentality yet!

Leena · Mar 26th, 2003, 01:20 AM

Hey, we had this thread in General...

I did my usual rant on Lena.

She's arguably the best fighter on tour... but she's braindead when her game goes off.

Sammm · Mar 26th, 2003, 02:53 PM

Good choice, Janie.
Miss Panova is very strong mentally, and I can't understand why she hasn't won a title. I'm sure she'll do it this year!!

auntie janie · Apr 7th, 2003, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeanpierre

i always like Myskina she is so tough on court

jeanpierre, you are right! I should not have downgraded Nastya because of one bad outing. She is really impressive and she is really piling up the titles now.

Leena · Apr 7th, 2003, 12:22 AM

Well... looks like Lena will have to win 2 titles now to catch Nastya... no biggie.

Sammm · Apr 7th, 2003, 02:20 PM

Who will be the first to get a big title though??

Warsaw and Sarasota aren't exactly huge are they??

tenn_ace · Apr 21st, 2003, 04:16 AM

janie, would you like to change your mind? on your first post?

bubble · Apr 21st, 2003, 05:09 AM

Yeah, we have an outright winner...

Maori · Apr 23rd, 2003, 09:39 AM

Panova???Of course she is ,noone else.
From the latest"Australian Tennis"Magazine:"Tanya may be small and stocky by past tennis standards,but she is one player who certainly used everything she has to her potential.At 154cm and 52kg,the Russian is dwarfed by most of her rivals but what she lacks in height she more than makes up for with DETERMINATION."
I think it does make sense.And it's absolutely clearly she's got the strongest mentality probably within not only Russian players........

auntie janie · Apr 23rd, 2003, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tenn_ace

janie, would you like to change your mind? on your first post?

Yes, I WOULD like to change my mind! ! I am thrilled to discover how wrong I was about Elena.

Leena · Apr 23rd, 2003, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by janie

Yes, I WOULD like to change my mind! ! I am thrilled to discover how wrong I was about Elena.

It's easy not to have mental problems when you're game is on fire for the entire week.

It will be a test again when Alyona's game is off.

And still, her serve still has some mental demons in it... she doesn't trust her 2nd serve at all.

Yak · Apr 23rd, 2003, 10:53 PM

Yes, don't jump to conclusion with Elena D! She's just won a title and I'm very happy for her, but the next couple of tournament she's plays will determine if she is the top mentally. Panova is right now!