[Volcana]

What's your opinion? She isn't playing as well as she was this winter.The loss to Sandrine Testud at Sanex was unexpected. Jen was ill, but this still means she'll start the season having not won in six months.

Perhaps she should play a little less?<br />Or has her conditioning slipped?<br />Is she nursing any chronic injuries?

Her forehand is still the best in the game right

She's a knife that has lost it's finest edge. It still cuts and cuts well. But not so well as it could.

What does Jenn need to do to 'sharpen' herself?

 

[veryborednow]

I agree that she needs to do something, but apart from doing this year what she did last. ie. Improve her fitness again, I don't know what. She's definately not as fit as she was earlier in the year, and she's just THAT bit slower as well which means she isn't hitting the ball like she did during some points.

I am convinced that there was something going on in Munich that they (Jen and her family) kept quiet about, and rightly so. I'm not saying they lied, she looked ill against Testud, but it was as if she didn't care, back to her "old" self a bit maybe?

 

[Shane54]

Players have slumps all the time. I just hope that Jennifer doesnt become the Jenn of 99 and 2000 again where she makes it to a semi and final here and there...it could be that she is just drained from all the emotion.....I think she will be really fired up for Australia. Another thing, traditionally Jennifer has never really done that well in the indoor season at the end. I think she may have made the Championships quarters like once but never the semis.....

 

[Snuffkin]

One thing that we have to remember is that this year has seen such a sudden increase in everything Jennifer has had to do. She has played more tough matches, played more matches anyway, gone deeper into tournaments, played against the big players more often, etc...

Perhaps Jennifer's conditioning was not worked out according to her playing so many matches this year. She is tired right now, no doubt about it. Perhaps her virus got her so badly becasue she is so run down. But this year has seen her required to do so much more. She will learn from this and what is required of her. Never would she have expected to play so much big match tennis. Mentally and physically, she has looked like needing a long rest since Wimbledon.

This year has been too much too soon, I think. Give her a rest, let her get her breath back and see what happens next year. Remember that Lindsay had a couple of months off during the year and may be fresher than Jennifer who has played throughout the year.

The rest of the top 4 have been there before for a while. They know what is needed to stay at this level. Jennifer is still learning.

 

[Shane54]

Very well said Snuffkin!! <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

 

[Anna]

I think it's as Jen said during the interview after the Testud loss: It's been a long year for her, in the end she's run out of petrol a bit.

I agree, it was hard for me to see that after the French Open final it seemed as if her tennis slipped away more and more. Wimbledon wasn't bad and the US Open weren't either, nevertheless I got that impression. In nearly every tournament she played before / after the US Open she didn't go further than to the QFs (sometimes a SF or F, that was it -> oops, I'm getting immodest <img src="wink.gif" border="0"> ) I don't make any reproach to anyone, that's just a fact. It's clear that it's impossible to hold the incredible high standard of tennis she showed e.g. at the Aussie Open. The tennis year is long, the travelling is fatiguing, everyone wants to see Jennifer winning each tournament she enters. There IS pressure, even if Jennifer doesn't want to confess it.

I think the upcoming rest is the very best thing that can happen to Jennifer - she needs a break. She'll regroup, find her strengh again and will (hopefully!) work on her weak points. Her serve already causes so much problems, it could become even more serious if she doesn't work on it. There are also other points which need to be changed - you certainly know which one I mean.

I was really disappointed when it was clear that Jennifer would end the year "only" as the #2. Now I see that with other eyes: I know, that Jennifer is eager to end the year 2002 in the top position and will work hard to get there. I'm sure we'll see the "Old Jen" soon.

Anna