[silverwhite]

1st Round - Bye
2nd Round - def Eleni Daniilidou 6-1 7-6
3rd Round - def Arantxa Para Santonja 6-0 6-3
QF - def Vera Zvonareva 4-6 6-3 6-3
SF - def Elena Dementieva 6-3 7-6
F - lost to Lindsay Davenport 1-6 3-6

Cakewalk draw, say some, but we'll have to see.

 

[OxNoj]

 

[Stefwhit]

As Serena would say, "one match at a time"....

(I'm feelin' good...)

 

[bandabou]

One match at a time indeed....there ain´t no easy draws these days.

 

[Stefwhit]

If Serena plays in the evening tomorrow I'll be sure to give you a play by play report of the match- I'm planning on going tommorow but I can only make the evening match. I'm excited, I love to see Serena play. To this point, I've only see her play live three times:
-I seen her beat Jelena at the Stapples Center
-The next day she defeated Jen in a three set thriller (YEC)
-Then I seen her lose to Kim the very next day (YEC)

....so she's won over 60 percent of the mathes I've seen her play. Although everytime I've intended to see her at this event she either didn't play or got out before the QFs each year I've went.

 

[silverwhite]

Go Serena! Win the title! :bounce:

 

[bandabou]

one more to go....let´s make this happen, babygirl!! :yeah:

 

[OxNoj]

I enjoyed the QF - def Vera Zvonareva 4-6 6-3 6-3 match. I am disappointed that Serena lost against Lindsay, not so much that she lost against Lindsay but more or less what was going on in Serena's own game.

I can honestly say that above all, I really do not like the negative body language Serena has when she gets down or when do not work the way she wants them. It's something I'm not used that and it almost always foretells of a loss. She guided too many balls, and while she's known for power, I rarely saw balls that were zingers across the court - her foot work obviously was a direct cause.

Having said that, I did enjoy the fan appreciation and backing Serena received throughout the whole tournament. It was nice seeing a wonderful mixture in the crowd and it should be the norm all around.

 

[Stefwhit]

It's only natural to want to see your favorites performing to the best of their abilities- win or lose. The losses are difficult, but what's most difficult to watch is Serena struggle against herself. This isn't the main boards so I can say we all know the match would have had a much different complexion had Serena showed up. Sometimes when you want something really bad you put too much pressure on yourself, which might explain why Serena looked so rushed from start to finish. I could feel how tense she was after the first couple of games. The only time she actually looked relaxed was after the match (trophy presentation).

As bad as 'other' fans can be, I think that sometimes us as (Serena) fans can actually be more harsh- but it's just because we know the pottential is conflicting with the results.

Let's not forget about Serena's year so far:
-Hasn't played and lost before the QFs all year
-In her last 4 events has only lost once before the Semi-Finals (two consecutive Finals)
-Has won 10 out of her last 11 hardcourt matches this year
-She has a winning record against the current top 10 (wta ranked) players she's faced this year, winning 6 out of 10 of those meetings this year.
-Has played 2 grandslams reaching the QFs of her first (in over 6 months) and the Finals of Wimby beating the highest ranked player in her draw
-Depending on how she fares at the US Open, she could potentially have the best 3 consecutive Grand Slam record this year....QF, F, ?
-She's only lost to the best players of the year, no losses to anyone ranked below 20 on the Porshce Race Standings and only once to a player ranked outside of the top 10 (Petrova)
-Has only lost to two players ranked below her on the current Race standings

 

[bandabou]

Yeah Stef.....sometimes I find myself guilty of overreacting after losses by Serena, but when I see your post, I think: Hey Serena ain´t doing that bad....only thing missing are the titles, but two F in a row, no losses to non top-20 players. Life could be worse!

 

[silverwhite]

That's how I feel too, Stefwhit. It's upsetting not seeing them fulfil their potential. Hopefully, they can turn it around by next year.

 

[Stefwhit]

I wouldn't totally count Serena out for this year. We still have two big events and although the Open is the biggest one, I'm most anxious for the YEC. I can't wait to see Serena battle the likes of Lindz, Sharapova, MoMo, Justine, and Jenn...