[Arsenic]

Well done Naomi! I expected a much closer match (first set was pretty close until Naomi broke at 5-4)

I hope that back holds up.

 

[bjurra]

Do they sell brains in the local bazaar? Or would that be Dubai?

 

[Potapovian]

Siniakova what a hopeless case, it was extremly even until 5-4 and then Siniakova started randomly playing some weird shots... Weird girl.

 

[klr]

Siniakova what a hopeless case, it was extremly even until 5-4 and then Siniakova started randomly playing some weird shots... Weird girl.

Koukalova always had the facial expression of someone suffering from an existential crisis, but Katka sometimes actually plays like she's having one :bigcry:

 

[HistoryOfBanana]

The moment Katka started whining and behaving like a spoiled child the result was NID. As much as I love her, she needs to get her shit together.

 

[king vulture]

Siniakova is an utter joke, I will never understand this girl

 

[STRONG-ERA]

Naomi :yeah: Katka needs a sports psychologist ASAP.

 

[Cindy and Kate]

Naomi was so good at times. It's great to watch her (the few) times she plays like this, when she's trying to play with more marging instead of robotically hitting herself out of court. The second set was a downright demolition.Some great serves on the deuce side despite the injury.

I know some people think KS is the best thing since sliced bread, but I am still not sold on her wonky technique and meltdowns. Only her BH really stands out atm, but hey, she's young and for sure she will keep on improving.

 

[Thewtaoath97]

I really like what I saw from Nao since the beginning of the year.

You can clearly see what she worked on and what she wants to do on court:

The most important aspect is really her mindset.She used to get frustrated very quickly and now she's trying to stay positive and focusing on the next point.It's really what made the difference with Kate who lost her composure at the end of the 3rd set.

On her game plan,she tries to be more consistent waiting for the right ball without overhitting,the fact that she's fit help for that.

The only bad thing is that She had a medical time out again for her back problem .:sad:

 

[MuguRena]

Did anybody catch Naomi's on-court interview? I was dying. The interviewer was unintentionally shady. He enthusiastically asked something along the lines of *We are all amazed! Tell us! How did you do it? Your back was injured and then after that you won game after game after game.* Naomi started stuttering- she was surprised by him pressing so much for an explanation lol. It was funny to watch someone ask a player about a sudden mid-match injury in such a naive straight to the point way.

 

[Spirited Away]

Naomi was so good at times. It's great to watch her (the few) times she plays like this, when she's trying to play with more marging instead of robotically hitting herself out of court. The second set was a downright demolition.Some great serves on the deuce side despite the injury.

I know some people think KS is the best thing since sliced bread, but I am still not sold on her wonky technique and meltdowns. Only her BH really stands out atm, but hey, she's young and for sure she will keep on improving.

Serve and net game are pretty good too, but yeah, don't see the unbelievable potential some others believe she has - maybe top-10 if everything goes right, but not much more than that. Osaka has much higher ceiling imo, very raw still, but she can be a diamond. Siniakova is a zircon at best.

 

[STRONG-ERA]

Serve and net game are pretty good too, but yeah, don't see the unbelievable potential some others believe she has - maybe top-10 if everything goes right, but not much more than that. Osaka has much higher ceiling imo, very raw still, but she can be a diamond. Siniakova is a zircon at best.

It's the BH, for sure. At her best, that backhand is one of the best on tour. She completely controls rallies, can change direction, and the angles she gets on it are sometimes jaw-dropping. There's also the fact that she's a very fiery on court presence, and she has a lot more tools in her repertoire than others her age, as you mentioned.

But, I agree. Her ceiling is Top 10 atm, and I don't know if she'll get there, with all the tears that she cries on court.

 

[Cindy and Kate]

Serve and net game are pretty good too, but yeah, don't see the unbelievable potential some others believe she has - maybe top-10 if everything goes right, but not much more than that. Osaka has much higher ceiling imo, very raw still, but she can be a diamond. Siniakova is a zircon at best.

That's true, especially these days, when I swear coaches don't even bother to pratice volleys with young players anymore, so one who does it reasonably well stands out much more.

I haven't watched Siniakova so much anyway. Maybe it's the combination of bad/weird technique and immaturity, but so far my impression is that it all kind of unravels alarmingly easy and fast, even when she seems to be playing well.

 

[Azula]

Naomi is truly a diamond in the rough. Hopefully this new team/coach keeps polishing things up.

I’m excited to watch her mature as a player.

 

[HatersGoToHell]

Koukalova always had the facial expression of someone suffering from an existential crisis, but Katka sometimes actually plays like she's having one :bigcry:

Yeah, Siniakova reminds me of Koukalova so much. She has maybe more potential, but I fear their careers will be similar.

 

[ytsejam]

Isn't Osaka just reminding you of a young Serena?

Siniakova needs to learn to control her emotions, otherwise she will be like Crybaby Lisicki.

 

[Paullow]

My BT Sport recording cut off at 5-4 30-0* with Osaka having injury concerns (should have recorded the next programme but wasn't expecting it to go past 12 hours). Certainly didn't expect her to win 7 games straight from that point.

Very good start to the year for Osaka though and long may it continue.

 

[Spirited Away]

It's the BH, for sure. At her best, that backhand is one of the best on tour. She completely controls rallies, can change direction, and the angles she gets on it are sometimes jaw-dropping. There's also the fact that she's a very fiery on court presence, and she has a lot more tools in her repertoire than others her age, as you mentioned.

But, I agree. Her ceiling is Top 10 atm, and I don't know if she'll get there, with all the tears that she cries on court.

That's true, especially these days, when I swear coaches don't even bother to pratice volleys with young players anymore, so one who does it reasonably well stands out much more.

I haven't watched Siniakova so much anyway. Maybe it's the combination of bad/weird technique and immaturity, but so far my impression is that it all kind of unravels alarmingly easy and fast, even when she seems to be playing well.

Her crazy meltdowns remind me of peak Zvonareva - esp. the crying/screaming/facepalming combo - but without the same clean technique. I think she'd be very very lucky if she could achieve as much as Vera tbh.

 

[Shvedbarilescu]

For the record, I'm not sure if anyone has noted this yet, qualifiers went 5 for 5 today. Pretty much every one of them produced a very good performance as well.

 

[Balveda]

Damn, Osaka can really smack the ball... if she develops in the right direction over the next 5 years...