Saturday, May 19, 2012
Errani and Vinci advance to Rome final
3rd seeds Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, the 2012 Madrid champions, have advanced to the final in Rome. Errani and Vinci defeated top seeds Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond 6-1, 6-3 in the semifinals. Also victorious in semifinal play were Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, who defeated Jamie Hampton and Anna Tatishvili 6-3, 6-3.
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6 comments:
ugh...rain delay...
One of the craziest matches in recent memory.
Li Na totally let her off the hook repeatedly. And then Sharapova, being Sharapova, took advantage.
Li Na hasn't been the same since she lost that match to Clijsters in Australia. She like seizes up when she has the lead. I hope she uses this as motivation for the French Open.
I think she decelerates on her forehand when she's under pressure...and the different swing causes unforced errors...and then the rest of her game kind of goes. She's gotta continue to swing!
I agree, Eric--she backs off of the forehand when she's anxious. It's a shame because when she hits straight through, that thing is lethal.
There's just something about Li's game...when it's on, it's just so beautiful...the movement (all the little steps!!), the ball-striking, THE WINNERS...and it's always just a little risky...you never know if she's going to clip the tape or miss a line...it all gives it a compelling nature.
But then, her mental side is just SO erratic.
I watched Li in 2004 when she first came on the scene versus Kuznetsova in Beijing and I was like, she is going to be something! And then I noticed how fragile she was, but she slowly began to improve...and then injury after injury...I all about gave up on her.
That was why in 2010 and the early part of 2011, it was so good to see her play her beautiful game AND to play tough mentally. I hope she finds that form again.
I just want to see that quality of tennis. It's just so smooth. The other players seem so jerky compared to her. (altho, Anna Chakvetadze's backhand motion rivals in smoothness.)
I really like to watch Li's movement, too--it can be quite impressive. I always liked watching Chak--I'm sorry she's not really in the mix anymore. The other backhand that was a pleasure to watch was Agnes Szavay's. She's gone, too.
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