Wimbledon | Round Q1: K. Wörle [GER] beats K. Barrois [GER] _ 4:6, 7:5, 6:4
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Saw this match from beginning to end. It was without question the highlight of the day for me. Quite possibly the most enjoyable match I have ever seen at Roehampton. Both girls played lovely grasscourt tennis with lots of slicing, many forays into the net, plentiful dropshots and lots of very flat groundies that just grazed the net and hardly bounced on landing. This was true old school grass tennis and both really did mirror each other in terms of their gamestyles. There was very little between them throughout but in the tightest moments Kristina did very slightly look the more dependable player for the 1st two and a half sets.
But from 1-3 down in the 3rd set Kathrin just cut out virtually all her unforced errors and played some absolutely inspired tennis. Some of her passing shots during the last 20 minutes of the match were simply phenomenal.
This match really had it all for me, two players I greatly admire with gamestyles I have always enjoyed watching, a hugely competitive match which was never in the bag for either player until the last shot, and finally an inspiring beautiful comeback from one of my very favourite players. This was easily the best I have ever seen Kathrin play and the fighting spirit she showed and the beauty and grace of her shotmaking made me feel so pleased to be a fan of hers. Any tennis fan will know the pleasure of seeing a fave of theirs totally surpass any expectations they have of them and simply amaze. That's what this match was for me. It was a privilege to watch.
Spoke briefly to Annika and Dinah afterwards, they had both watched the lionshare of this match too, and they also agreed this was the kind of beautiful tennis one just doesn't see much anymore.
Congrats to Kathrin, she should feel awfully proud of that performance. Very sad too for Kristina and it is a real shame that either of these girls should have lost this match really but Kristina didn't do anything wrong in the end, Kathrin just turned it up a gear.
Next up for Kathrin is Coco Vandeweghe and judging from how easily she won today and considering her great performance in the 1st Nottingham ITF a couple of weeks ago that is going to be a very very difficult match against an entirely different kind of opponent. Instead of Kristina's slices Kathrin is going to have to cope with Coco's huge power hitting. Obviously Kathrin will go into that match as a huge underdog. I just hope she can give a good account of herself. But if she can play anything like as well as she did today she will.
But from 1-3 down in the 3rd set Kathrin just cut out virtually all her unforced errors and played some absolutely inspired tennis. Some of her passing shots during the last 20 minutes of the match were simply phenomenal.
This match really had it all for me, two players I greatly admire with gamestyles I have always enjoyed watching, a hugely competitive match which was never in the bag for either player until the last shot, and finally an inspiring beautiful comeback from one of my very favourite players. This was easily the best I have ever seen Kathrin play and the fighting spirit she showed and the beauty and grace of her shotmaking made me feel so pleased to be a fan of hers. Any tennis fan will know the pleasure of seeing a fave of theirs totally surpass any expectations they have of them and simply amaze. That's what this match was for me. It was a privilege to watch.
Spoke briefly to Annika and Dinah afterwards, they had both watched the lionshare of this match too, and they also agreed this was the kind of beautiful tennis one just doesn't see much anymore.
Congrats to Kathrin, she should feel awfully proud of that performance. Very sad too for Kristina and it is a real shame that either of these girls should have lost this match really but Kristina didn't do anything wrong in the end, Kathrin just turned it up a gear.
Next up for Kathrin is Coco Vandeweghe and judging from how easily she won today and considering her great performance in the 1st Nottingham ITF a couple of weeks ago that is going to be a very very difficult match against an entirely different kind of opponent. Instead of Kristina's slices Kathrin is going to have to cope with Coco's huge power hitting. Obviously Kathrin will go into that match as a huge underdog. I just hope she can give a good account of herself. But if she can play anything like as well as she did today she will.
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I notice there hasn't been one other response to this thread. Slightly disappointing but I suppose not too many posters on this board are big Woerle or Barrois fans. Fair enough. :shrug:
Perhaps also my passionate hyperbole might also have contributed to that. So maybe I ought to just clarify a couple of things. I don't make any claims this was one of the great matches of all time. It probably wasn't even, in terms of competitive contemporary tennis, one of the highest standard matches of the day, in that I am sure there were plenty of players today won would have beaten both Kathrin and Kristina today had they played against either of them. I know that.
I'm not suggesting this was Serena vs Henin. To be honest I don't suppose many folks would have enjoyed this match as much as I did. That's not to say it wasn't a very well played, entertaining match either, because it was but I know, I'm weird. And just as some of my alltime favourite records are discs that might not have sold more than 3 or 4 thousand copies, if that, sometimes matches by tennis's lower ranked ITF players can capture my imagination and thrill me in a way that a match between two top 10ers wouldn't. I don't suggest that what I like is better, just that I tend to like things a little off the beaten path.
It's okay that for most of the posters, hey, let's be honest, virtually all the posters, on this forum this was just one of 48 1st round qualifying matches played today, no more significant than any other and for many I suppose one of the less interesting of today's matches. But for me it was pretty damned special.
I suppose what I'm trying, maybe not too successfully, to say is that we are all different and one of the things that makes us all unique is that different things make us click. Hopefully there is some weird match out there that you loved and thrilled you that might not have meant much to anyone else and then perhaps you will understand what I am on about.
Perhaps also my passionate hyperbole might also have contributed to that. So maybe I ought to just clarify a couple of things. I don't make any claims this was one of the great matches of all time. It probably wasn't even, in terms of competitive contemporary tennis, one of the highest standard matches of the day, in that I am sure there were plenty of players today won would have beaten both Kathrin and Kristina today had they played against either of them. I know that.
I'm not suggesting this was Serena vs Henin. To be honest I don't suppose many folks would have enjoyed this match as much as I did. That's not to say it wasn't a very well played, entertaining match either, because it was but I know, I'm weird. And just as some of my alltime favourite records are discs that might not have sold more than 3 or 4 thousand copies, if that, sometimes matches by tennis's lower ranked ITF players can capture my imagination and thrill me in a way that a match between two top 10ers wouldn't. I don't suggest that what I like is better, just that I tend to like things a little off the beaten path.
It's okay that for most of the posters, hey, let's be honest, virtually all the posters, on this forum this was just one of 48 1st round qualifying matches played today, no more significant than any other and for many I suppose one of the less interesting of today's matches. But for me it was pretty damned special.
I suppose what I'm trying, maybe not too successfully, to say is that we are all different and one of the things that makes us all unique is that different things make us click. Hopefully there is some weird match out there that you loved and thrilled you that might not have meant much to anyone else and then perhaps you will understand what I am on about.
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