Close, but no cigar.
In one of the best matches of the tournament, Maria and Serena probably should have ordered to double up on ball changes, as they both came out ripping the cover off the ball.
Masha is back. She was going to need to come out fearless. Check. She was going to have to work the big forehand. Check. She was going to have to stay away from key double faults. Not so check. Make no mistake, Serena played amazingly, but Masha essentially gave the match away at key points. A double fault at 9-all in the first set tiebreak gave Serena a set point, which she took with an ace. Maria also double faulted twice in a row on her serve in the second set at 15-all, gifting two break points. Champions don’t waste those oppurtunities. That was the match.
Not that Serena didn’t play well. She saved several set points in the first set tiebreak, was destroying second serves, and moving incredibly well. Even if those double faults didn’t happen, she still likely would have found a way to win. It’s just too bad it went down the way it did.
Serena gets Nails next round, who crushed A-Rad and has been quietly having a fantastic grass season. She beat Maria in the Birmingham final, so in theory she should give Serena a test. Expect a fight.
Are you serious? You thought Serena played well? She did what she had to do. She was flubbing returns of serve into the bottom of the net. Contrast that to her previous rounds where she was ripping the cover off the ball for winners on the return. Sharapova played very well. She had to. She had no choice but to go big. If she was even 1/10th of what she was today she would have been creamed.
Is she back? I dont know if she will ever reach 2008 heights. She is trying but her movement is still suspect. Every time there was a rally for more than 4 strokes, Serena won it. Just kept moving her off the court with so many angles that had her stretching. Desperation approaches to the net did not help her cause, neither was her inability to hit an effective drop shot. How many times should commentators say it, do not drop shot Serena or Venus as they are that fast.
It was a very good match though and as a Serena fan I was happy with the result. I expect Na to give her a tough battle, but hopefully she will be able to get by that. I would like her to retain her title, but if not her, Venus for the win.
You’ve got to keep in mind that the pace coming from the other side of the net is way higher from Masha than a Domi or Burrito. I don’t care who you are, if you can play Masha and only drop serve once, and win in straights, you’re probably playing well. She was especially huge in that tiebreak and played the big points well. Maybe not perfect, no, but to get the win.
OK, I get it. I was not actually thinking about the quality of the opposition. I have to say that Sharapova has never been one of my favourite players, but I have great respect for her, especially seeing her come through all the injury woes. Maximum respect and admiration.
That being said, if Tracy Austin continues to call her matches I will most assuredly stop admiring her. The woman is a one woman commentating fan girl. She was calling the match on my tv and when Serena won the first set, there was dead silence from her. When Serena broke, dead silence and when Serena won the match, I doubt if she was in the booth any more.
Commentators have to learn to put their feelings aside (hear that Carillo and Mary Jo) and try their very best to be objective. That is how fans who admire players start losing respect for said players.
Talk about intertainment! It was THE match of the torunament for me so far. Too bad Masha lost, but at least it was to Serena.
I think she’ll be killer at the USO…