Friday, May 17, 2013

Azarenka and Errani advance to Rome semifinals

Looking at today's Rome match stats, it's easy to see how Samantha Stosur finally beat Victoria Azarenka. Oh wait--she didn't. Talk about doing it with mirrors. With a 14/34 winners/unforced errors ratio (Stosur's was 36/38), Azarenka's 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 victory came about mostly because--in the final set--Stosur ceased her aggression. How many times have we seen this? The 3rd seed is now 8-0 against Stosur.

(Did anyone else think Azarenka looked kind of heavy? Today was the first time I'd seen her play in Rome.)

Top seed Serena Williams made quick work of Carla Suarez Navarro, beating her 6-2, 6-0 in under an hour. Maria Sharapova, who is sick with a viral illness, gave Sara Errani a walkover. Errani and Azarenka will compete for a spot in the final against the winner of Williams vs. Halep.

8 comments:

  1. Diane, funny you mentioned Vika's heaviness because I noticed it as well. I thought she looked like she had added muscle and her shots seem to have more pop to them than before. In addition, her thighs don't look as sleek and toned like they used to. Maybe she has added muscle to her frame. Not sure if that is a good thing because we have seen what happened to players who depended on their movement to win matches and what happened to them when they gained muscle. They are just never the same.

    I watched the Stosur/JJ match from start to finish and I agree about Stosur's aggression. I also think that Vika just wore her down. Sam was playing the best she has played since the 2011 USO, but the match up for her with Vika is just too strong. Vika's movement gets to Stosur's weaker side and Stosur's topspin just stopped being as deadly in the 3rd as it was in the 2nd set.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, not as toned in the thigh area, and I thought she looked thicker in the torso.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I didn't see any difference from Madrid. Maybe some lack of movement during the healing of her foot/ankle. There have been other times in her career that I noticed that she goes up and down. I do notice that the extra shirt and leggings don't help the situation.

    ReplyDelete
  4. There may not have been any difference--maybe I only just noticed it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. She's heavier all around. It's the restaurants, not the gym. I noticed it in Madrid... slower off the mark...slower reflexes. If it were the gym she'd be harder-, not softer-looking.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I never said there wasn't a difference, I just said I noticed it in Madrid. In fact I noticed it at the AO.
    So now that we have trashed Vika's "heaviness" or "softness", who should we go after next.....NOT.

    ReplyDelete
  7. No, I meant there may not have been a difference between Madrid and Rome--perhaps I wasn't paying attention in Madrid.

    To me (no matter when it was first manifest), it's significant, just as it is with Kvitova. Probably temporary, though.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is not 'trashing' Vika. It is merely observing that she has put on some weight.

    ReplyDelete