BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells, California, United States, 06 - 19 March 2023) Discussion Thread
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I've been gone most of the day, any Emma news? Seems like there was a scene or something on this thread, lol.
Thanks for the mature post @tennislife98 👍
Caught parts of several sports today, over continents. Of the tennis, again the mens SFs were both fun matches. Tiafoe created some great excitement when he took it to Medvedev in the 2nd set, got the stadium rocking with some great play, he's such a great character, especially in front of a home crowd. Daniil did win in two.
Carlos played a great match against Sinner, the parts i saw. Sinner could have taken 1st set, 2nd set was less close, some great rallies and plays. The almost full stadium enjoyed both matches.
Missed the Ladies doubles, will catch that on replay. Watching the Men's doubles now, Skupski team (top seed) lost 1st set, but are now up 3-0 in 2nd.
Looking forward to both singles finals, both of which have the current two best players from each tour imo. I'll be cheering for Elena and Carlitos, but mainly just hoping for two great matches.
Thanks for the mature post @tennislife98 👍
Caught parts of several sports today, over continents. Of the tennis, again the mens SFs were both fun matches. Tiafoe created some great excitement when he took it to Medvedev in the 2nd set, got the stadium rocking with some great play, he's such a great character, especially in front of a home crowd. Daniil did win in two.
Carlos played a great match against Sinner, the parts i saw. Sinner could have taken 1st set, 2nd set was less close, some great rallies and plays. The almost full stadium enjoyed both matches.
Missed the Ladies doubles, will catch that on replay. Watching the Men's doubles now, Skupski team (top seed) lost 1st set, but are now up 3-0 in 2nd.
Looking forward to both singles finals, both of which have the current two best players from each tour imo. I'll be cheering for Elena and Carlitos, but mainly just hoping for two great matches.
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No!, but we have the final of the two best playing girls since January this year.
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if there was a days rest and the match wasnt so late.... i think emma could have done to iga what elena did... i fear peak elena or sabs rather than iga. iga is beatable with her 2nd serve and extreme fh grip. call me crazy but i expected emma to upset her... but then the conditions were just so terrible for emma. i think she does better in the heat.... hopefully miami is more to her liking....
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I think you may be being a tad optimistic (never a bad thing) to suggest Emma would have rolled over Iga, the way Elena did, if things had been different, but we can probably all agree that if the match had been played during the heat of the day, or perhaps even if Emma had had some practice playing night matches on that court, the way that Iga had, Emma would have done better than 3 & 1. But one thing we know is that Emma will have learnt from her match against Iga, and when they next meet, she and Seb will go over that match tape with a fine tooth comb, looking for weaknesses, solutions and answers. Every player on the tour (or, at least, their coaches) will be studying Elena's two matches against Iga and trying to find ways to adapt the way Cutiepie played against Iga to their own play. Laura and Annabel touched on the reverberations the Elena/Iga match will have on the tour when one of them said something like 'I'm just wondering how this will be greeted in the locker-room.' and the other replied 'I know! I was just thinking the same thing!' Let's just say that the result, and the manner of the defeat, will have not gone unnoticed by the other players.
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Things we’ve learnt about Emma (or, had reinforced) during IW:
Emma is capable of beating players ranked in the 10-20 ranking band (approximately).
Emma is generally as cool as a cucumber dipped in liquid nitrogen.
Emma feels she is only about 35% of the finished article, in tennis terms. (And readily accepts there is a long way to go.)
Emma believes that, ultimately, her physical condition is going to be one of her standout characteristics.
Emma is extremely resilient and extremely committed to her tennis.
Emma really does bounce right back up again when she’s knocked down.
Emma has tinkered with her forehand as is now hitting it harder that she ever has before.
Emma’s forehand is now (at least) as big a weapon as her backhand.
Emma's wrists don't seem to be an overriding concern.
Emma is still very happy with her team of Seb, Will, Chris and Jez.
Emma and her team have made some amazing progress in a very short time.
Emma is not at all superstitious about sticking to winning outfits. *
Emma always looks amazing on the tennis court.
Emma always looks amazing off the tennis court.
Emma likes driving Porsches.
* Unless… unless, after the first round, something happened to the outfit she wore, and so she was forced to change it, then, she won her second match, and Emma thought: ‘OMG! I’ve just realized that I’ve worn different outfits in each round and won them both! This means I’m gonna have to wear a new outfit for every round! Damn! (Or, another swearword Emma has been known to utter from time to time) I hope I brought enough outfits with me!’ (In which case, Emma is very superstitious, about her match outfit.)
Emma is capable of beating players ranked in the 10-20 ranking band (approximately).
Emma is generally as cool as a cucumber dipped in liquid nitrogen.
Emma feels she is only about 35% of the finished article, in tennis terms. (And readily accepts there is a long way to go.)
Emma believes that, ultimately, her physical condition is going to be one of her standout characteristics.
Emma is extremely resilient and extremely committed to her tennis.
Emma really does bounce right back up again when she’s knocked down.
Emma has tinkered with her forehand as is now hitting it harder that she ever has before.
Emma’s forehand is now (at least) as big a weapon as her backhand.
Emma's wrists don't seem to be an overriding concern.
Emma is still very happy with her team of Seb, Will, Chris and Jez.
Emma and her team have made some amazing progress in a very short time.
Emma is not at all superstitious about sticking to winning outfits. *
Emma always looks amazing on the tennis court.
Emma always looks amazing off the tennis court.
Emma likes driving Porsches.
* Unless… unless, after the first round, something happened to the outfit she wore, and so she was forced to change it, then, she won her second match, and Emma thought: ‘OMG! I’ve just realized that I’ve worn different outfits in each round and won them both! This means I’m gonna have to wear a new outfit for every round! Damn! (Or, another swearword Emma has been known to utter from time to time) I hope I brought enough outfits with me!’ (In which case, Emma is very superstitious, about her match outfit.)
Spray Queens: Samsonova Rybakina Yastremska | Baby Spray Queens: VJK, Krueger
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I got hold of the full match replay from a polish YouTube channel, very nice guy and unbiased, I think he knew it was over after 3-0. So crazy stats Rybakina was hitting 70 percent of her winners as cross courts forehands but the backhand was working too in the first set, they weren't rockets but the angles were really putting Iga on Ice.
That's two matches and an exhibition now and Lena was making her look light weight on her strokes, can't put the finger on it, but I don't want this rematch until Iga in perfect health, she really needs her legs for this match-up or perhaps take some risk and come forward, Rybakina is loving her hanging back there.
But Lindsay Davenport I think was the last person to beat a #1 at AO and also IW (30ish years ago) and she was 23 as well. She was calling the match.
That's two matches and an exhibition now and Lena was making her look light weight on her strokes, can't put the finger on it, but I don't want this rematch until Iga in perfect health, she really needs her legs for this match-up or perhaps take some risk and come forward, Rybakina is loving her hanging back there.
But Lindsay Davenport I think was the last person to beat a #1 at AO and also IW (30ish years ago) and she was 23 as well. She was calling the match.
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Is his channel called "Trener Olek"?
Spray Queens: Samsonova Rybakina Yastremska | Baby Spray Queens: VJK, Krueger
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It's bestmuclecevideo, kind of weird I think its a Chanel dedicated to women bodybuilders, but he loves Iga and covers a lot of her tennis and news.
Spray Queens: Samsonova Rybakina Yastremska | Baby Spray Queens: VJK, Krueger
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I expect Rybakina to win a set, but it's hard to know if she will win two. Sabalenka is scary when she is not double faulting. She double faulted her way to the YEC final. Interesting on these court, Saba is the variable, Lena can sustain rallies this week for some reason.
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I love watching Carlos play. Pity the final will be after my bedtime tonight 😢
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My take away from your post is that she wants to win Stuttgart badly...
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Was the spectator of Emma vs Iga, visible at 2-2 in set 1, at 35:43(-46) of the video, her father Ian, rarely seen at any of her matches ?
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So for the second straight big tournament, it's an Elena-Aryna final. Ominous for the rest of the tour.
Regarding the SF, I do believe Iga was injured, and that it effected her response to Elena. Having said that, I think Elena playing like that would have won anyway, if by a smaller margin. And Elena knows that too, she's been playing with confidence this year. She said her final at the AO was an affirmation for her of her abilities.
Regarding what Laura Robson said, I think what the players in the locker room will have learned is that Iga is beatable by some players, especially when not at 100%, but that BBB players Elena and Aryna are playing at yet another level atm, and when playing like this they can beat anyone. And instead of there being one largely unbeatable player at the top, there are now 3. So not good news, you now have to hope that you don't meet either of those 3 in the early rounds, lol.
A poster in GM said on that match thread that all the players have to do is play like Elena to beat Iga. Lol, easier said than done. Obviously Elena, and Aryna, have physical attributes that make playing like them impossible for most players, they're just physically incapable of hitting balls at that pace and depth, let alone also with that accuracy. And if they try they will hit a boatload of UEs and injure themselves.
But while they may not be able to match BBBs for pace, I think for players like Emma can try other things like ball placement in the corners and lines, and be quicker about the court, disrupt the opponent's rhythm by mixing it up and cast doubt into their heads, a similar approach to what Krejcikova has, then I think they can be competitive with them. Emma is smart enough to figure out a way.
They can also maintain hope knowing that a player cannot play their best level every match. Elena said that SF match was maybe the best of her career. So she won't be playing that well every match.
But they have been dominant at IW: Babs was the only player to take Sabs to 3 sets at this IW. Muchova was the only player to take Elena to 3 sets, I did not see either match, but I've watched Babs beat Iga twice over the last 6 months.
It's going to be very interesting to see how young players, like Emma and Coco, respond, or if we're heading into the era of the Big 3 (Aryna, Elena, Iga) in the WTA, with Babs a 4th to worry about? I liked Emma's comments after her match, recognizing that she has a lot of work to do in trying to get to Iga's level of fitness but that with work she can become one of the best athletes on tour. That she recognizes this gives me great hope, and we know she has the smarts to figure things out in her tennis. Assuming Emma can stay healthy, it's going to be fun watching her develop and following her journey! Go Emma!
Regarding the SF, I do believe Iga was injured, and that it effected her response to Elena. Having said that, I think Elena playing like that would have won anyway, if by a smaller margin. And Elena knows that too, she's been playing with confidence this year. She said her final at the AO was an affirmation for her of her abilities.
Regarding what Laura Robson said, I think what the players in the locker room will have learned is that Iga is beatable by some players, especially when not at 100%, but that BBB players Elena and Aryna are playing at yet another level atm, and when playing like this they can beat anyone. And instead of there being one largely unbeatable player at the top, there are now 3. So not good news, you now have to hope that you don't meet either of those 3 in the early rounds, lol.
A poster in GM said on that match thread that all the players have to do is play like Elena to beat Iga. Lol, easier said than done. Obviously Elena, and Aryna, have physical attributes that make playing like them impossible for most players, they're just physically incapable of hitting balls at that pace and depth, let alone also with that accuracy. And if they try they will hit a boatload of UEs and injure themselves.
But while they may not be able to match BBBs for pace, I think for players like Emma can try other things like ball placement in the corners and lines, and be quicker about the court, disrupt the opponent's rhythm by mixing it up and cast doubt into their heads, a similar approach to what Krejcikova has, then I think they can be competitive with them. Emma is smart enough to figure out a way.
They can also maintain hope knowing that a player cannot play their best level every match. Elena said that SF match was maybe the best of her career. So she won't be playing that well every match.
But they have been dominant at IW: Babs was the only player to take Sabs to 3 sets at this IW. Muchova was the only player to take Elena to 3 sets, I did not see either match, but I've watched Babs beat Iga twice over the last 6 months.
It's going to be very interesting to see how young players, like Emma and Coco, respond, or if we're heading into the era of the Big 3 (Aryna, Elena, Iga) in the WTA, with Babs a 4th to worry about? I liked Emma's comments after her match, recognizing that she has a lot of work to do in trying to get to Iga's level of fitness but that with work she can become one of the best athletes on tour. That she recognizes this gives me great hope, and we know she has the smarts to figure things out in her tennis. Assuming Emma can stay healthy, it's going to be fun watching her develop and following her journey! Go Emma!
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I believe so. Welcome to the EE forum. You have a really lovely picture and username.
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