It wasn't enough for Bethanie Mattek-Sands to take Sara Errani out of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix; today, she did away with Sabine Lisicki, too. That means that Angelique Kerber is the only German standing. Kerber defeated Yaroslava Shvedova in the quarterfinals. And it took three sets, but defending champion Maria Sharapova to put Ana Ivanovic out of the competition.
If ever there were two top players who were a mess, it would be Petra Kvitova and Li Na. Both are very talented, and both are apt to "go off" without warning. Today, it was Kvitova who really went off; Li defeated her 6-3, 7-5. But Li took a difficult path to victory. She had to serve for the match three times, and the third set score went from 5-2 to 5-all, once Kvitova got going. It wasn't enough, though, and Li will now play Mattek-Sands in the semifinals.
Both Mattek-Sands and Kerber have their work cut out for them. As good a defender as Kerber is, her serve will really have to be on for her to beat Sharapova.
Question: Does Kvitova lack a "warrior instinct"? Discuss.
Imo, the question would be interesting had Kvitova's situation not reached such a dramatic stage. It has, alas, and Kvitova now seems beyond the point where she could, in a meaningful and efficient manner, truly "compete" with the player across the net.
ReplyDeleteWe could discuss for hours the deterioration in every single aspect of Kvitova's tennis game as well as at the physical, mental and emotionnal levels over far too long a period of time, bottom line would always be the same, imo: Kvitova is in URGENT need of a competent coach.
Personally extremely sad that relevant tennis people like Navratilova, for ex.,(who must surely realize how great a tennis player Kvitova is), have not yet worked out some means to get Kotyza out of Kvitova's professional tennis life.
Have a look at Tignor's piece on Kvitova a couple of days ago, for ex. His underlying assumption: Kvitova is a "nutcase". Most favourable element for Kvotiva in his widely respected tennis pundit's opinion: Kotyza is a great coach. Hopeless.
quid
I wasn't surprised by Kvitova today because I saw her play the young Beck and Goerges. This was the first time I had seen Li play this tournament. I thought Li was going to do something, something well but the attempt at serving out the match was atrocious. I had always wanted players like Li and Kvitova to complement other players. I like the agressiveness and certainty that such a game requires. I guess Li disappointed me the most because I saw something there today that couldn't be fleshed out.
ReplyDeleteKvitova's fighting instinct? I said to my husband,"she should be getting better over time". But this is not happening. Whatever is going on with her coach, she should take control and realize that something new is needed i.e. a new coach. But when I see him in the stands, he is not there. He should be showing something to her-support, let's go, you can do it-type of looks. He sometimes looks as lost as her.
I thought she had a killer instinct in 2011 especially when she played for the Tour championships. But something is lacking. She is not maturing emotionally or in her tennis. I don't think it is about a killer instinct, it is about taking responsibility for your own future and I don't feel like she is in control or the emotional wherewithal to guide her own future.
I read Tignor's piece and got nothing about Kotyza except that Kvitova is inclined to listen to him.
ReplyDeleteAs to Kotyza. At Wimbledon last year, when Petra reached a set point and looked his way, he did not look back at her. He just ran his hands over his face. At that moment, he should have nodded approval. She looked troubled. Serena served a good one down the middle that Petra barely got to. The ball hit the top of the net and fell back. As to Serena, Petra is inching closer. She took a set in Doha and was generally the one in charge. Serena expressed surprise that she had managed to win it. Experience did it. Maybe a victory over Serena is required for Petra to bloom.
ReplyDeleteI think having a coach who isn't openly contemptuous of females would help, but that sort of thing doesn't appear to matter to women anymore.
ReplyDeletePetra is getting closer to beating Serena. 2010 - a first set tiebreak and having been up a break. 2011 - A set point. 2012 - a set won, and up a break in the third. That is steady improvement.
ReplyDeleteDoug, it is not only Serena that Petra has to play. She usually has to play a whole host of other players before she can get to the Serena's of the WTA.
ReplyDeleteAs I posted elsewhere on this site, I think that Petra's coach has a Svengali like hold over her. Whenever she plays tournaments without him, she does exceptionally well. The minute he is in the stands, she goes right back to looking at him as if she was in distress. It is the same looks that Justine, a player that we can all agree had exceptional talent, who looked at Carlos as if he was her lifeguard and she was on the Titanic sinking.
I really do hate to see players looking to their boxes as if they have no clue what to do. I can understand when you are gesturing to your box in frustration when something is not working, but what irritates me is the look of "see coach, I am doing well" and then the coach sits in the stands and applauds. The worst offender of this is Ivanovic. It is grating and is a huge turn off for me when I watch her play
Karen, I agree completely with every word that you've written. Nevertheless, I believe that if and when Petra beats Serena, she might become herself, even to the point of firing Kotyza.
ReplyDeleteIf it is one thing Serena hates it is to have player's careers defined because they have beaten her. For whatever reason, a player these days is defined not by their talent but because they have beaten Serena. When did that happen? Petra is a great player, so is Vika, Maria, Li and a whole host of others. They may not have the career of Serena, but they are exceptionally talented women. Serena's game and talent is a cut above all of the other women on Tour, in the same way that Martina was a cut above everyone when she played.
ReplyDeleteThe highlight of Petra's career should not be because she beat Serena, it should be because she can beat anyone that stands across the net from her. I don't know whether beating Serena is even a good thing. We saw what has happened to Sharapova since she won Wimbledon in 2004 beating Serena. She has got to 1 Wimbledon final since then and she has never beaten Serena since 2004.
Part 2 - Petra is a very young talented athlete with lots of potential. As far as I can see she is not paying attention to those aspects of her game that can help to make her better. There are pictures floating around the internet showing this young woman with a gut the size of a beer belly. If she does not work on that aspect of her game, she is going to end up like Sabine Lisicki, a player with exceptional talent who seems to get injured at the drop of a hat for the simple reason that she is not fit.
ReplyDeleteSerena is 31 years old and has the body of a 17 year old and the foot speed to match. Most of what Serena does now has to do with maintaining a well toned athletic body. While most of today's players do not have her talent level, perhaps they should pay heed to her approach to the game of tennis.
Karen, I do not define a player by who they beat. I merely said that winning one against Serena would do wonders for Petra, in my estimation. It took Agassi four or five tries to beat Lendl and it was a big confidence booster. Serena is the only top player not beaten yet by Kvitova. Petra admires Serena, as she should, but that should not enter a player's mind on court.
ReplyDeleteCorrection: ...by whom they beat...
ReplyDeleteI merely see a win over Serena as a confidence booster, not a defining thing. After all, Petra will likely face Serena any number of times again, and we know what that means. It could be a terrific rivalry. As I see it, no other player has a real chance against Serena on a good day. Petra does. That does not mean that Kvitova will win or dominate or whatever. It would be good for tennis were Kvitova to get herself in shape (as I have discussed on this blog in the past) and get a better coach, for a number of reasons, both technical and psychological. Agreed?
Doug, from what I understand around the blogosphere, Petra is quite happy with where she is right now. She is happy with her coach, her fitness and everything else. If she is quite happy with the status quo there is no reason for her to change is it? I understand that she does not work as hard as the other women when it comes to hitting the practice courts etc. She is a young woman from a small village that was thrust upon the world's stage. I don't think she enjoys the limelight and I think this has a lot to do with her approach to the game.
ReplyDeleteShe wants to win titles but she does not strike me as the kind of woman who wants to be the face of tennis, in the way that perhaps the top 3 or even 4 want to be the face of women's tennis. Petra is quite happy to be in the background doing what she does best. The minute the spotlight is on her and her game she regresses. She won Wimbledon and the Tour Championships because no one was watching her. Now the whole world knows who she is and of what she is capable. That puts a lot of pressure on someone who really does not want or need it.
It does not help when folks think that she has the game to beat someone like Serena. Frankly, as much as we would like it to happen, a Petra/Serena rivalry is just not going to happen. Serena has a few more years on the Tour before she calls it quits. Petra should be laying the groundwork to be the Serena of Generation Next
Agreed on all points. Thanks, Karen.
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