[Rollo]

Don't get me wrong-I love the #1 eye-candy of the WTA, but it's time to ask:Will Anna EVER learn to do what it takes to be real top ten woman, let alone win slams?

The reason I ask is all these damn exhibitions she's playing. Is an exhibition in Denver good for the males of that city? Yep. Good for Anna's pocketbook? Second Yep. Great for her endorsements? Sure.

Good for her tennis? Hell no <img src="frown.gif" border="0"> The most famous NON-winner of a SINGLE event in WTA history has loads of talent and variety, so why hasn't she had success? Maybe a lot of reasons, but common sense<br />tells most of us that when we aren't getting where we want to go, we need to change.

Change coaches-(maybe ditch momma Olla)<br />Reduce all the commercials, talk shows, etc.

Ok, I MAY be wrong on the first two, but without doubt reduce all the pointless "hit and giggle and collect the cash" one night exhibitions that she does this time every year. All they do is make her richer(like she needs the cash) and cut into time she could be training . DON'T TELL me Anna trains "hard". I know that. She probably OVERTRAINS like a student cramming for an exam they forgot to study until the night before.

I just wish Kournikova would learn from Capriati's example. Use the winter break wisely. New tactics, new serve, something new for god's sake. The old routine will just leave her one year older still looking for respect.

 

[marshmellow]

you make some good points rollo...

<br />i agree she needs a coach....she loses focus so easily during matches

..and a strategy would help her out more than anything right now, since she's gonna have to fight her way back to the top of the rankings.....hopefully, she ends the year inside the top 20

Originally posted by Rollo:<br /><strong>Ok, I MAY be wrong on the first two, but without doubt reduce all the pointless "hit and giggle and collect the cash" one night exhibitions that she does this time every year. All they do is make her richer(like she needs the cash) and cut into time she could be training . DON'T TELL me Anna trains "hard". I know that. She probably OVERTRAINS like a student cramming for an exam they forgot to study until the night before. </strong><hr></blockquote>

however, i disagree that these exhibitions are pointless. since coming back from her foot injury, anna had tough early round losses until she played in luxembourg...which was the last professional tournament she played in the tennis season...the three exhibition matches in south africa provided her the opportunity to continue getting the much needed match experience. she won two matches

, both three setters....and we saw her come back from being down in these two matches to win it in the third. if she didn't go to south africa, she would have missed the chance to get the feel on the court again...since practicing on your own and playing a match infront of a crowd are two different things

...

it's not even about the money anymore...sure, her endorsers were happy, and so were the fans in south africa, but all that aside, i still think it was a good move tenniswise

...

now there seem to be another couple of exhibitions she's gonna play. since it's the off-season, i think these won't hurt

. if she would have been playing these exhibitions in the same week when there are other tournaments (like in hongkong early this year....yeeesh...) i would think otherwise.

Originally posted by Rollo:<br /><strong><br />I just wish Kournikova would learn from Capriati's example. Use the winter break wisely. New tactics, new serve, something new for god's sake. The old routine will just leave her one year older still looking for respect.</strong><hr></blockquote>

i agree with your last statements....anna needs a change....

if these exhibitions/endorsements,etc. don't crash with her schedule during the tennis season, i don't mind...she would have been practicing on the courts anyway..

if you still think these exhibitions are a no-no, then just think that we've been anna deprived for most parts of the year, and that we would like to see her....correction....we would like to see her playing tennis....

--------------------<br />Go Russians!!!

<br />Go Anna!!!

 

[the cat]

Everyone knows I adore Anna. But she is too stubborn for her own good. So, I don't see her ever learning how to significantly improve her game. Let's hope she can stay healthy the next couple of years, so we can see her play some good tennis again. Udachi Anna!

 

[Volcana]

Maybe Anna is making the perfectly reasonable decision that since people are throwing money at her, she might as well take it.

Given a choice between making half a million dollars this year, and focusing on tennis, or making 20 million dollars this year, and having a lot of distractions, which one would I pick?

Also, Anna is known to have a good work ethic with tennis. She hasn't been ignoring it. What if Anna's tennis career is about the same as Conchi's? Very, verygood. But nowhere near good enough to make Anna all themoney she's making now. What if the Anna we have seen is as good as Ana ever is? Tennis can't guarantee it will ever give Anna more than it's helping her get right now.

Think about it. This is a professional tennis player. Who has never won a tournament. Who could retire right now, and never work, at anything, for another day for the rest of her life. And if she's injured and can't play tennis for a while, she makes MORE money, because there's more time for endorsements.

Anna didn't start out rich. She moved to a foreign country at a young age, has been treated like a star all her life, and while she has endorsement potential, she can make money hand over fist.

Anna may never win a tournament. But she's going to end up with more money than all but a very few GS winners in history. Maybe we need to shut up and let her run her own life. She's old enough, and what she's doing has worked all right so far.

 

[Brian Stewart]

I'm not a fan of Anna's, but I recognize the incredible talent she has. She's got every shot in the book. She just doesn't know how to put them together. Remember a couple of years ago, when she'd beat everyone outside of the top 15 (not named Farina), but lose most of her matches against the top players? It was her strategy that got her in trouble. Against the lower-ranked players, she could compensate with her incredible speed. But the top players, with their shots being slightly better (even if it's just a tiny percentage), were able to capitalize.

Never mind "B", Anna needs a plan "A". A good plan "A", not a Bolletteiri plan "A". I've have no problem with the idea of her playing exhibitions. But if she wants to return to the top 10, and advance further, she should put them to better use. I agree that she shouldn't take a "hit and giggle" aproach to them. She doesn't have to be Wimbledon final serious, but she should use these exos wisely. Try different strategies until she finds one that works. (If she's that determined not to hire a coach to teach her.) And she should stick with them. Don't abandon a strategy because your opponent is winning. Sometimes even good strategies aren't successful. Her best bet is to take a plan into each exo, and stick with it throughout. Make note of where she had success and where she didn't. Perhaps she'll stumble across it by herself.

 

[Rollo]

Cute Marshmellows Marshmellow <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

Point taken Volcana. I'm not sure any of us not from the Eastern Bloc can understand their mentality towards money. If making more money now suits her interests-then all the exhos are a good thing. But IF she wants to win-she has to change. She says she wants to win. As rich as she is now, just imagine how wealthy a Wimbledon would make her. Beyond that, half her endorsement contracts have bonus clauses if she gets into the top ten, wins a slam, etc.

<br /> Marshmellow,I didn't just post because Anna was in South Africa. After that, she's playing them almost nonstop thru December. Anna here, Anna there, Anna Anna everywhere. I'm not against exhibitions, just exhibitions to excess.

I think Brian is right about Anna trying different things til something works. The problem I see with that is her exhibition opponents aren't taking these "matches" seriously. They aren't called "hit and giggles" for nothing.

As long as she's playing them though, his advice is sound. I'd go farther than that and say she needs to experiment in tournament play.

Good luck and god bless Miss Anna K, but I'm still asking if she's ever going to get smart about winning.

 

[Meesh]

I didn't realize how many exhibitions she plays until I saw the ad for the one in Tampa. She is playing Capriati on a Friday night then will play Coezter again in Detroit the next day. <br />I think she needs to let go of mama and hire an entire coaching staff (good coach, fitness trainer, nutritionist, sports shrink, yoga guru...just kidd'n on the last 3) it's not like she can't afford it. She has a lot of talent. I really hope she is using these expos to her advantage and comes in strong for 2002. I don't think she will hire a new coaching staff until she has hit rock bottom. Rock bottom meaning: She has used up all her wild cards and still can't get into a main draw. I think the WTA would change the wild card rules if she couldn't get in to a main draw. I'm thinking of going to the one in Tampa, I hopefully will be reporting back to y'all that she is READY for a great 2002.

 

[Martian Martin]

I agree with what Volcana says in that if Anna's getting money thrown at her, then why should she say no I don't want it.

With the exhibitions I do agree that it's too much, the one I don't understand is the one against Amanda, I would have thought she would be fed up playing Amanda!!. Having said that though, if it had been this time last year and she had played all these exhibitions after playing 25 tournaments or something, then she should be rightly slated for playing it, because it's pointless. But this time, there is a purpose behind it, and that purpose is she needs matches against top level players, because she needs to build up her match fitness and practice, she basically went into these tournaments at the end of last year without practicing first. <br />So that's why these exhibitions are important to Anna.

Anna does need a coach, but it's a case of choosing the right coach, because Van Harpen (her last coach) wasn't good for Anna, and it was no surprise that when he left, Anna's results suddenly got so much better. Before that though Slozil did a good job, and she shouldn't have parted company with him, but I'm sure she'll get a coach soon.

<img src="graemlins/wavey.gif" border="0" alt="[Wavey]" /> Marshmellow!!!!!. No don't worry I'm not stalking you, hehe <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

 

[marshmellow]

lol martin.....but are you sure?! hmmm....i'll take your word for it....

i like it here, i get to use these cute errr....marshmellows...

....

--------------------<br />Go Russians!!!

<br />Go Anna!!!

 

[apoet29]

I think it is a matter of Anna taking control of her career. Often times, she seems to be complecent. Any time the issue of a tournament win comes up; Anna's pat response is generally "With hard work and time, I will eventually win." While I can understand her having a standard answer to this persistant question, I really wonder if Anna truly believes it. After 5 years on the tour, 87 tournaments and several major injuries, it doesn't appear that Anna is willing to change anything and she appears to be happy with status quo. Case in point, Anna insists on keeping her parents as her coaches. While her parents are good people, Anna needs a professional coach to help her. To me, it seems that Anna does not want to cut the apron strings just yet. Her parents are not only her coaches, but they are also her nutritionist, her workout partners and her business managers. I honestly think that if Anna would take complete control of her career and move away from her parents, as Dokic, Henin, the Williams sisters, and Clijsters have done, then she may find the oncourt success she is desperately seeking. Don't get me wrong. I don't think she should stop having contact with them or stop traveling with them. However, she needs to have a coach and trainer who will work out with her in order to prevent injuries and give her oncourt game a much needed shot in the arm. It's up to Anna. Nick Bollieterari (SP?) put it best when he said that Anna has to make a choice. Will she be happy with millions in the bank and some doubles wins? Or will she push herself to win to prove that she is a champion?

BTW, Great points here guys. I can understand Anna playing exhibitions after missing 75% of the year, but I think her time may have been spent more wisely on the practice court working on her game with a real coach and working on her fitness and stamina to prevent injury.

 

[Dawn Marie]

Imho Anna has loads of talent but guess what? So do alot of other pro tennis players. In fact some more than Anna. Anna has no weapons to beat the top ten with on a consistant basis soon the top 20. Imho Anna should dump the expos and focus on fitness and suriving injury.

 

[Scotso]

I like Anna <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

But I really just wanted to comment on how cute the marshmellows are <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

 

[Rollo]

Poetically put apoet29 <img src="graemlins/bounce.gif" border="0" alt="[Bounce]" />

82 events in 5 years? <img src="eek.gif" border="0">

Good luck to Anna in 2002!

 

[the cat]

Good points, Dawn. But I don't think Anna will drop the exhibitions. They are just too lucrative too turn down. Even though she doesn't need the money.

 

[Martian Martin]

Hehe, yeah honestly Marshmellow!!. If you look at the member number you'll see I was here long before you, so maybe it's you that's stalking me <img src="tongue.gif" border="0">

The marshmallows are really cute, and as great as the smilies on here are, the marshmallows are a lot cuter <img src="smile.gif" border="0">