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St Petersburg SF Bencic def Kasatkina 6:4 6:3

5K views 29 replies 22 participants last post by  Luca Van Diesel 
#1 ·
Too bad Daria had to play the doubles yesterday. She should have withdrawn, becase they did not stand a chance against Santina anyway and the match took place after midnight. If she was not tired we could have had a very good match today. Lovely exchange at the net though. Daria has a new fan, she plays nice tennis and I like how composed she is on the court. Compared to Belinda.:wink2: Anyway, win it all Beli. :p
 
#2 ·
She won this, Vinci has nothing to hurt her.
 
#6 ·
Only 1 of 10 BPs converted by Daria ... or was it more a case of Belinda saving them?

Kasatkina looks promising! Nice hug at the net :hug:

Belinda :inlove:

Rough start but she started to play better and better as the match went on.
Belinda will have passed on whatever bug she has. :scared:
 
#4 ·
Bencic was so tight, as could be expected given the situation, and she was a bit lucky Dasha played so poorly, especially on BPs. Still very proud of her for making Top 10 :)

The difference between Dasha's FH and BH is startling. Under pressure her BH is just so bad (those BPs :tape:). She doesn't accelerate and she just gives her opponent so many opportunities. She was clearly fatigued and frustrated at times, but a missed opportunity here, especially in the 1st :hug: She has so much potential though, with that FH, the angles and her smart court play :dance:

Very nice final :drool:
 
#5 ·
Belly has matured much more than Kasatkina since they last met 2013 it seems. She's the one for the future.
1st final in 2016, may she reach many more this season !

BIG CONGRATS FOR REACHING THE TOP 10. Was about time :lol:

KEEP IT UPWARDS !!!!!!!!!!!
 
#7 · (Edited)
Belinda showed it again.She has an amazing ability to win the most important points even when playing poorly.And today was the prime example of this.Dont know why but she has been making way too many UEs this tournament,very unusual for her. But most importantly :worship: TOP 10 :worship: Hope you stay in there forever :hearts:

Daria is an amazing defender and her forehand is just such a killer.If she keeps improving she is the top player of the future.I just hope she does not turn into one of those "choker" players cause she seems to be up and down a lot.Yes she is still young but she wont be getting so many opportunities as she had today and yesterday against Dominika.Daria needs to play much more aggressively and learn how to be in charge :wavey:
 
#8 ·
So many missed chances for Dasha :sad:
 
#9 ·
the hug at the end was lovely:yeah:

belinda:hearts: top10:hearts: fix that serve though. honestly belinda found herself in hot water in pretty much all of her service games, it was her clutch play and kasatkina slightly choking that saved those bp's. the difference between these two despite being the same age is obvious though. belinda plays the big points big and manages to finish it in 2 sets while playing below her level.
 
#11 ·
Bencic is almost an exception in today's game. No one 18 now is doing anything close, but this was a normal young player career arc, 15 years ago.
It will be interesting to see if she stays hungry and keeps her mental focus
 
#12 ·
Another title on the way!:cheer: And top 10:hearts:

Daria :hug:
 
#13 ·
While we're all so busy discussing the Slam chances of every single player under the sun, Bencic at 18 y.o. is already displaying the sort of consistency throughout the season that even veteran Slam contenders would find difficult to emulate.

Don't know if she'll win big, what she'll win big and when she'll win big. But I'm beginning to think that Bencic will at least be part of the future whether we believe in it or not and whether we agree with it or not.
 
#16 ·
it really looks like that her way to the very top is painted already. she's clearly improving on almost every part of her game on a consistent basis and even is able to show the true grit of the big champs by staying all so clutch on big points in flashes most recently, resembling the class and quality of the former and current slam winners when they used to be at or near her age.
she def is destined for here to stay it seems... :)
 
#17 ·
Lets not get ahead of ourselves. Belinda is a great player but today and against Pav there were large parts of the match she played downright sloppy and her serve was erratic (I do like the slice serve out wide).
She was the highest ranked player this tournament so no chance to meet a real top player (although I admit that gives tension in itself). She was really good at the important moments though, aggressive and forward.

Finally saw Kasatkina play and she's good but she's definitely not quite there yet, especially fitness wise. Her BH cross is beautiful though.
 
#18 ·
Main difference here was one of them beating Serena last summer, while the other beat Venus in Auckland.

She looked frustrated, tired all week. Pushing, using nonsense tactics opposite coaching advice, backing from winning situations. DarKa has to grow into her game and tour, just like BB did when barely a year ago she was toasted by someone like Woz or Keys. This was a great learning experience if she can use it. Top50 already when she barely got into USO draw 5 months ago.
A bit she reminds me of Patty.

Posters will misunderstand this, but I believe Bencic is boring as hell. I mean she is the full package a hardcore WTA fan probably dreams about. It seems she has all the technique, brain, willpower, some athletism and pretty looks, the media sweatheart personality but also the fire when needs, the legacy with Hingis/Molitor. But no visible flaws. Where are the flaws???
I hope she makes to the very top, looks very deserving, still doesnt seems exciting because she basically cant fail. It is like your bad superhero movie when you know even if she gets hurt, at the end she wins.
(Kvitova was somewhat close to this but the crowd-off-putting game and eastern 'uropean beer-lady caricature made it different.)
 
#19 ·
Main difference here was one of them beating Serena last summer, while the other beat Venus in Auckland.

She looked frustrated, tired all week. Pushing, using nonsense tactics opposite coaching advice, backing from winning situations. DarKa has to grow into her game and tour, just like BB did when barely a year ago she was toasted by someone like Woz or Keys. This was a great learning experience if she can use it. Top50 already when she barely got into USO draw 5 months ago.
A bit she reminds me of Patty.

Posters will misunderstand this, but I believe Bencic is boring as hell. I mean she is the full package a hardcore WTA fan probably dreams about. It seems she has all the technique, brain, willpower, some athletism and pretty looks, the media sweatheart personality but also the fire when needs, the legacy with Hingis/Molitor. But no visible flaws. Where are the flaws???
I hope she makes to the very top, looks very deserving, still doesnt seems exciting because she basically cant fail. It is like your bad superhero movie when you know even if she gets hurt, at the end she wins.

(Kvitova was somewhat close to this but the crowd-off-putting game and eastern 'uropean beer-lady caricature made it different.)
said no one but a masha stan of all people. :spit:
 
#27 ·
Bencic has the tendency to fall back on passive play and defense, but can summon good stuff when the going gets tough. Although it doesn't always work out.

I remember during her Eastbourne and Canada runs in particular her defense looked to be pretty sharp, as was her movement. Not a mover like Jankovic, but she seemed to know where the ball was going.

After watching her play Sharapova in Melbourne, she seems heavier, also regarding her weight, slower, and nowhere near as sharp. It's not easy to hit winners past Sharapova, but I found her play to be absolutely listless and dire, and from what I've seen in St. Petersburg not much has changed, except the opposition is nowhere near that of Sharapova's level. She can get by against most opposition.

I root for Bencic to win, but generally speaking her play does not seem all that inspired. Is it even possible for that anymore in today's game? Mental tenacity can only count for so much. I just hope she gets trimmer and can work on some aspects of her game, because I really wouldn't mind if she became much better. She has the ability to do so, but I'm afraid she'll get complacent like most of the rising girls do.
 
#28 ·
After watching her play Sharapova in Melbourne, she seems heavier, also regarding her weight, slower, and nowhere near as sharp. It's not easy to hit winners past Sharapova, but I found her play to be absolutely listless and dire, and from what I've seen in St. Petersburg not much has changed, except the opposition is nowhere near that of Sharapova's level. She can get by against most opposition.
Thats true.She just had too much respect against Pova and was too passive.And still,Pova had to ace the shit out of it to beat Belinda.You could clearly see that was the Povas game plan to pressure her on the service and it worked.I believe,Belinda is already a better player than Pova in terms of the skills though.

But,take a look at the results this year.She only lost to the fluke Crawford and Pova (both 75 75 results) (withdraw against Puig being sick) In fact she is already showing the consistency to be the top contender.And her level of play was really just average by her standards.And she beat Kerber and Petkovic in two very good matches.Compared to the beginning of the last year she is doing extremely well.

Personally,in 2-3 years time,I see Belinda winning Slams and Premiers on regular basis,just judging from what i see today.If she stays healthy she is going to be huge.
 
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