How does the height difference rank...

height by itself, does not matter, unless the elements associated with the height come in play
The two that come to mind are net play/coverage, kick serve

How does the short player deal with a good kick server?
I don't know how often Maria, if at all uses kick good serve as part of her arsenal
But watching today's match, it seem like Errani was weather the storm when she decided to wait for the server inside the baseline and take the ball on the rise.

How will Errani fare passing Maria at the net?
I don't know, but Maria does not come to the net that match. So it is hard to say.

ys said:

Are there any really good kick serves in WTA this side of Serena? I can't think of any.

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Stosur does have a consistently effective kick serve.
Errani found a way to neutralize it today.

madmax said:

you must be joking, right?:lol:
Have you watched any of Maria's clay matches for the past two years?

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Besides Serena, I have seen Stosur kick serve take opponents completely out of her Stosur service game.

I have not seen Maria do that.
ys mentioned Petrova, but I still think Stosur kick serve is more of a weapon