Bad news: Andrea Petkovic injured her knee--yes, that knee--in the first round of Hopman Cup play. Petkovic retired against Ashleigh Barty.
Caroline Wozniacki is wearing a diamond ring on her "engagement ring" finger, and the rumor--certainly not unfounded--is that she and Rory McIlroy will be married.
Li Na defeated Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 2-6. 10-7 in exhibition play in Thailand. Redfoo was with Azarenka in Hua Hin.
Petra Kvitova just keeps popping up in cute and amusing photos. Here's her first column for the Courier Mail.
Flavia Pennetta, who had wrist surgery in August, will wait until after the Australian Open to return to the tour.
Sloane Stephens talks with ESPN W.
I'm hoping all these recent photos of a smiling Petra portend good things in '13.
ReplyDeleteIndeed!
ReplyDeleteOf course, I fear the opposite is the case w/ Petkovic's tears. :(
ReplyDeleteKindly remember that Petra has the most complete game seen since the two Martinas. Many are tough on Petra. Recall that she was ill five or six times and that she sustained four or five injuries this year, but nonetheless managed to make two semis, a quarter-final in the majors and to win two finals. She's the real deal. She is the only player capable of beating Serena consistently (at Wimbledon, the second set v Serena showed her in command most of the way). It will happen sooner or later. She's hard at work on her fitness and health. That is the rivalry of the future. Go Petra!
ReplyDeleteForgive my ignorance, but are RedFoo and Vika dating?
ReplyDeleteMark, Vika did break up with her boyfriend recently, so I guess it's possible that she and Redfoo have taken their friendship to a different level. Don't know.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Diane. Hope it is a very good one. Long life, health and happiness to you and yours.
ReplyDeleteI am sick and tired of people talking about Petra having a complete game. A complete game includes being fit and mentally focused. Petra is not. Every single time last night in her match against Pavs, she is up a break and proceeds to lose it in the next service game. Worst, she was huffing and puffing during long rallies, and even worse, she is still carrying around that paunch.
The only big difference that I have seen is that she did not seem to be calling her coach down courtside.
As to a rivalry with Serena? Petra should not be looking to have a rivalry with Serena. Serena is 31 years old and from another generation. Petra should be building a rivalry with her age group, i.e. Woz, Vika, Aga etc.
I am also tired of people talking about her challenging Serena, in much the same way as they talk about the Maria/Serena rivalry. These do not exist. For all Petra's game, she has still not beaten Serena in much the same way that Maria has yet to beat Serena since 2004. Enough already
Thanks, Karen. Best wishes to you, also!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that fitness and mental strength are important factors, and therefore you are correct about Kvitova. So many of us know what she's capable of, though, that I think it's hard for us to accept that she hasn't played to her potential for a while.
I really hope that her second round loss in Brisbane doesn't linger in her head. The season is very young.
Tennis Ace, point taken. What is usually mean when we refer to Kvitova's complete game does leave out the fitness part. We refer to her strokes. She has ALL of them, including terrific hands at net... when she's healthy, fit and focused. She has a lot of work to do. But, I still maintain that nobody has had overall ball-striking ability except Serena, who has a better serve and far more experience. Note that at Wimbledon, in 2011, Kvitova's groundies were timed as faster on average than those of Nole and Rafa. Nobody on the women's tour hits as well as Kvitova from so many different positions on the court, be it baseline, no-man's land or at the net. The sad truth is that there are fitness issues and most likely confidence issues, plus not being able to handle the intense media and corporate pressures that come with winning the way that she did in 2011. And a note on Serena: she is a fantastic retriever, something not usually noticed. Her footwork is half-assed on balls hit at her, but her terrific hands get the ball back anyway. She's the best now and maybe will continue to be, but if anybody can unseat her, it will be Kvitova, not Azarenka. The evidence is there in the 2010 and 2012 matches between Kvitova and Williams. We'll see.
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