Grass Court Swing

[sk310]

Anyone know the top 10 player's schedule for pre-wimbledon?

Any of the top 3 playing a tune up?

I always wished there was more time between RG and Wimbledon so we could see some more higher quality grass tournaments as a lead up to Wimbledon. So many people enjoy watching grass play. It's so different and beautiful to watch.

 

[Hoergren]

It's not neccessary for the top 3 to be in any tournaments before Wimbledon - just look at the new top 10 - they are way ahead:

1 Williams, Serena 13615
2 Azarenka, Victoria 9625
3 Sharapova, Maria 9415
4 Radwanska, Agnieszka 6465
5 Errani, Sara 5335
6 Li, Na 5155
7 Kerber, Angelique 4915
8 Kvitova, Petra 4435
9 Wozniacki, Caroline 3565
10 Kirilenko, Maria 3436

No it's the minors battles and they can be intersting enough - well more than the women final in Paris - I must admit I stopped looking when Masha was behind again in second set. Ballbashing is not my kind of game. No the possibillity for better matches is far bigger in tournaments like Birmingham or Eastbourne. Nice intelligently played tennis with specials in between. I join this thread because I see no Big Brother this time - thank you for that. Must admit it's a boring row of threads we've - or should i better say I've seen through FO. Hope you return to the good old days IMHO

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

I am not sure we would see too many of the top women playing a long string of grass tournaments. I know Serena doesn't like to play tournaments before Wimbledon because she says she never gets a proper rhythm as they all played very differently when she did play them. She usually practices on hard courts and then makes it over to Wimbledon.

 

[toshiroh]

It's not neccessary for the top 3 to be in any tournaments before Wimbledon - just look at the new top 10 - they are way ahead:

1 Williams, Serena 13615
2 Azarenka, Victoria 9625
3 Sharapova, Maria 9415
4 Radwanska, Agnieszka 6465
5 Errani, Sara 5335
6 Li, Na 5155
7 Kerber, Angelique 4915
8 Kvitova, Petra 4435
9 Wozniacki, Caroline 3565
10 Kirilenko, Maria 3436

No it's the minors battles and they can be intersting enough - well more than the women final in Paris - I must admit I stopped looking when Masha was behind again in second set. Ballbashing is not my kind of game. No the possibillity for better matches is far bigger in tournaments like Birmingham or Eastbourne. Nice intelligently played tennis with specials in between. I join this thread because I see no Big Brother this time - thank you for that. Must admit it's a boring row of threads we've - or should i better say I've seen through FO. Hope you return to the good old days IMHO

Your response sounds a bit bitter and mean-spirited. Are you saying that the big three are ball bashers that aren't capable of producing high quality intelligent tennis. I guess maybe they should retrieve all day and wait for an opponents error, because that's intelligent playing, right?

 

[Calvy]

It's not neccessary for the top 3 to be in any tournaments before Wimbledon - just look at the new top 10 - they are way ahead:

1 Williams, Serena 13615
2 Azarenka, Victoria 9625
3 Sharapova, Maria 9415
4 Radwanska, Agnieszka 6465
5 Errani, Sara 5335
6 Li, Na 5155
7 Kerber, Angelique 4915
8 Kvitova, Petra 4435
9 Wozniacki, Caroline 3565
10 Kirilenko, Maria 3436

No it's the minors battles and they can be intersting enough - well more than the women final in Paris - I must admit I stopped looking when Masha was behind again in second set. Ballbashing is not my kind of game. No the possibillity for better matches is far bigger in tournaments like Birmingham or Eastbourne. Nice intelligently played tennis with specials in between. I join this thread because I see no Big Brother this time - thank you for that. Must admit it's a boring row of threads we've - or should i better say I've seen through FO. Hope you return to the good old days IMHO

Your response sounds a bit bitter and mean-spirited. Are you saying that the big three are ball bashers that aren't capable of producing high quality intelligent tennis. I guess maybe they should retrieve all day and wait for an opponents error, because that's intelligent playing, right?

Exactly, thank you for writing what I was thinking.

There is a reason the current number 1 in the world doesn't have to defend her ranking.

 

[Hoergren]

Your response sounds a bit bitter and mean-spirited. Are you saying that the big three are ball bashers that aren't capable of producing high quality intelligent tennis. I guess maybe they should retrieve all day and wait for an opponents error, because that's intelligent playing, right?

I don't think I wrote that but you're of course free to interpret that - the point I'm at is that that type of matches are BORING. And if you follow other forums - like e.g. Tennisforum - you'll see several comments telling that people switched off even before I did. That's why it's good they are NOT in Eastbourne so we can have things like I mentioned.

By the way America’s rising star Sloane Stephens and Kazakhstani’s Yaroslava Shvedova have withdrawn because of injury from competing in Eastbourne’s 2013 AEGON International.

I forgot - mean spirited - come on - not compared to some others in this forum and previous forums we've joined. I'm normally quite positive about it all but that final was too much.

 

[ozza]

The grass court swing will get way better in 2015 when Wimbledon moves back a week, it's too compact right now. I mean as a top player you basically have to play the week before Wimbledon or not at all. Eastbourne also tends not to be the best preparation because of the high winds. When Birmingham becomes premier (next year) it will improve, albeit Birmingham has its own problems that the facilities are inadequate really for a premier level tournament.

Anyway here is Eastbourne Entry List:

#1 Radwanska
#2 Errani
#3 Li
#4 Kerber
#5 Kvitova
#6 Wozniacki
#7 Kirilenko
#8 Ivanovic
Petrova
Bartoli
Stosur
Zakopalova
Makarova
Safarova
Cirstea
Lepchenko
Paszek
Cornet
Vesnina
Wickmayer
Hsieh
Kuznetsova
Robson
Jovanovski
Watson
Pennetta

There are still some wildcards to be dished out I think, they will go to British players unless one of the top 3 requests one (which they almost certainly won't).

No it's the minors battles and they can be intersting enough - well more than the women final in Paris - I must admit I stopped looking when Masha was behind again in second set. Ballbashing is not my kind of game. No the possibillity for better matches is far bigger in tournaments like Birmingham or Eastbourne. Nice intelligently played tennis with specials in between. I join this thread because I see no Big Brother this time - thank you for that. Must admit it's a boring row of threads we've - or should i better say I've seen through FO. Hope you return to the good old days IMHO

Players like Li and Kvitova are far bigger ball bashers than the top 3 though, and it's far more hit and miss. Or is this another way of saying you want to see more competitive tournaments where others have a chance of winning?

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

Anyone know the top 10 player's schedule for pre-wimbledon?

Any of the top 3 playing a tune up?

I always wished there was more time between RG and Wimbledon so we could see some more higher quality grass tournaments as a lead up to Wimbledon. So many people enjoy watching grass play. It's so different and beautiful to watch.

I think if you want a grass court season, then a lot of tournaments would have to be reconfigured. Even though Wimbledon pushed back a week starting in 2015, I think either the French Open would have to move up a week or the US Open would have to move back a week or two to accommodate a proper grass court season, not to mention I think some tournaments would have to double up that week or be downgraded to make it work. It certainly is doable, and I think it should be done to perhaps lessen the burden hard courts can bear on the body.

 

[tossip]

@hoegren... Caro has one of the most boring games on tour,she defends and defends all day long.Tennis isnt just about hitting the ball only,there has to be compelling personalities.The tour needs drama to keep fans interested and certain players bring drama to spice things up..like Julia Goerges vs Rus at RG 2012.

 

[ozza]

Errani out of Eastbourne. Replaced by Niculescu.

To answer OP's question none of Serena, Azarenka, Sharapova and now Errani are playing a grass warm up event before Wimbledon.

 

[tossip]

I think a lot of top players are exhausted and a lot will lose early at Wimbledon...pova is already training in London...po thang.

 

[colleen66]

I watched the ENTIRE match and there was a lot of ball-bashing, but there were also net play, lobs, slice backhands (my Maria no less), drop-shots and wicked angles. There was drama, tension and excitement. The men's match by comparison was flat and lacked excitement. Nadal owned the court and made some wonderful shots, but there was no drama or tension. For every person who switched off, scores stayed and watched the ladies final. It's great seeing future legends play before time passes them by.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

Well not only that but the bounces are so different from grass court to grass court that I know some of the top players hate that as they feel they don't get a true rhythm before Wimbledon.

 

[Correspondent Kiu]

What about this new stop in Holland?
A new grass tourny!

I like it!!

---

Errani out of Eastbourne. Replaced by Niculescu.

To answer OP's question none of Serena, Azarenka, Sharapova and now Errani are playing a grass warm up event before Wimbledon.

Not Good!
Without early tune-up, one of them will lose early, me thinks!

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

Not necessarily, Serena rarely plays warm ups before Wimbledon anyway. We shall see what happens in a couple weeks.

 

[Correspondent Kiu]

Serena is fine but what about Vika? Or Sara?

Without early preparation and match play, they don't have much of a shot.

 

[Calvy]

Serena is fine but what about Vika? Or Sara?

Without early preparation and match play, they don't have much of a shot.

Vika made the semi's of Wimbledon last year, and gave Serena a battle in the semi's, so, she doesn't need a warm-up tourney to have a shot. Errani on the other hand maybe could use a warm up.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

I would say Vika heading into the French Open without prep would be a dicey choice, but Serena, Maria and Vika are probably the only players that could get away with not having warm ups before a grand slam tournament.

 

[ozza]

What about this new stop in Holland?
A new grass tourny!

I like it!!

---

Errani out of Eastbourne. Replaced by Niculescu.

To answer OP's question none of Serena, Azarenka, Sharapova and now Errani are playing a grass warm up event before Wimbledon.

Not Good!
Without early tune-up, one of them will lose early, me thinks!

---

I don't know why so many of you think the top players will struggle because they are not playing a warm up. The top players rarely play a warm up to Wimbledon these days, they simply don't need to, they'd rather rake the time off to rest after French Open. None of them played a grass warm up event last year either.

There is also an argument they are better off practicing than going to Eastbourne with heavy winds making the conditions nothing like Wimbledon. Eastbourne isn't great preparation for Wimbledon really, it tends to turn into a battle against the conditions.

I would be shocked if at least 2 of the 3 don't make the semi's, and we will probably end up with all 3 in the semi's again.

Of course Errani will be prone to losing early at Wimbledon, but that would have been true regardless of whether she had played Eastbourne or not, grass doesn't suit her game whatsoever. You'd have to presume she is injured also to have withdrawn from Eastbourne.

That event in s'Hertogenbosch has been around for years. Nadia Petrova beat Urszula Radwanska in the final last year.

 

[Correspondent Kiu]

Somehow, I had the notion that it was different surface last year, my BAD!

Vika was #1 last year and playing like it, this year? I don't know!

Sara?
As good and as improved that she is this year, I doubt she has a shot on grass, she knows it too, pulling out of...

I wouldn't be surprised if Masha or Serena fall early, this is WTA after-all!

Serena has the best shot, for obvious reasons.