peibeck
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(((Serena))) Hard to see her limping around at the end of the second set, but she never stopped fighting.
Love, Balls and Courting: Tennis V
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Lacey
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We live outside of Philly, and the temperature was 94 and with the humidity had an index of 104--I am quite sure NYC was worse. Pam was quietly encouraging Serena to towel off on a towel and not on her skirt, or I even think I heard Pam say on her hands. But why didn't she take off the sleeves, all of that polyester must have been stifling. The commentators were talking about an ankle injury. But I think her poor play was due to the heat. It was the worst I have seen Serena ever play, and she was miserably sweating and exhausted.
Sorry to see Serena lose. But whether she breaks Steffi Graf's grandslam tally or not is almost irrelevant. She's still arguably the greatest ladies tennis player of all time. I'm also sure she'll be back next year very strong. The fact that she's playing so well nearly 2 decades after her debut is just incredible.
Maofan7
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Congratulations Karolina Pliskova on defeating Serena Williams. First grand slam final where she will play the new world number 1, Angie Kerber
I've been impressed by Pliskova this tournament. She's had the game to compete with the top players for a while but had underperformed at the Slams until now. Playing against both Williams sisters on Ashe could not have been easy but she kept it together. Should be an entertaining final (hopefully!). I hope Serena is ok, she did not look well by the end.
Serena was so obviously injured at the end of that match. Whether her limited schedule had an effect or not, it was hard to watch. She could barely get her legs up to serve, and she was still able to take it to a tie break. Impressive.
I like Pliskova's game a lot. She pretty much out-Serena'd Serena with that serve.
Still, Serena tying Graf with 22 Grand Slams and 186 consecutive weeks at #1 at the age of 34 is just incredible. I agree with the the Nike commercial, forget greatest female athlete, greatest athlete is more like it.
I've been wavering back and forth as to how Serena should manage her schedule next year.
2016 = 8 tournaments (4 majors, 3 WTA Premier 5/Mandatory, Rio Olympics). Don't expect to see her at WTA Finals, Wuhan or Beijing.
I can't see her adding that much more next year - maybe Toronto/Cincinnati and Madrid, but that's it.
peibeck
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On the US Open website it said Serena has a left knee injury but no further detail on when exactly it happened. Apparently she snarked at the reports who just questioned if she was too fatigued from her match the previous day to play by telling them, if she couldn't play from one day to the next she should retire. Anyway, I guess she's officially done for the rest of this year? I will say Pliskova's calm, cool mental strength was as impressive as her serve. I don't think she moves so well, but she's young enough to really keep developing.
And congrats to Angelique, the new number one and who had a nice win to make the final. Glad to see Caroline W have such a good run up to the semis though. She and Serena are good friends, so they can commiserate together.
My predictions for this tourney have been so off, I won't even speculate about the men's matches tonight.
And congrats to Angelique, the new number one and who had a nice win to make the final. Glad to see Caroline W have such a good run up to the semis though. She and Serena are good friends, so they can commiserate together.
My predictions for this tourney have been so off, I won't even speculate about the men's matches tonight.
Rottie
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So far, this men's semifinal is one of the weirdest matches ever. Monfils didn't seem to be mentally there for two sets, and then Djokovic went away for a set.
Love the wins by Pliskova and Kerber. Nice to see change.
Good luck to Stan in the final. I think he'll have a tough road. It's not just having to play Nole, but a very fresh Nole with just a few hours on the court. I was really hoping for Rafa or DelPo to be here, but not to be. If Stan can bring his A game, this should be a good one.
Good luck to Stan in the final. I think he'll have a tough road. It's not just having to play Nole, but a very fresh Nole with just a few hours on the court. I was really hoping for Rafa or DelPo to be here, but not to be. If Stan can bring his A game, this should be a good one.
Maofan7
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Angie Kerber - U.S. Open champion, official No 1, and THE best player in the world!!!
Rottie
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Congratulations, Angela Kerber! Nice to see her backing up one Grand Slam win with another, and be No. 1 to boot!
oleada
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That was an enjoyable match. Kerber's down the line shots were awesome, and I was also impressed by Pliskova today.
Lorac
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Congrats to Angelique - winning her 2nd GS of the year and taking the number 1 slot as well. Mind you she had to fight for it as Karolina was a break up in that 3rd set after winning the 2nd. I thought Angelique was on the ropes but she really showed her strength.
Now onto the men's where I would love to see Stan win but Novak has to be favourite due to the fact he has had much less time on court this torney.
Now onto the men's where I would love to see Stan win but Novak has to be favourite due to the fact he has had much less time on court this torney.
Sylvia
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Congratulations to "Stan the Man" on winning his third Grand Slam & first U.S. Open title! 
And kudos to Novak Djokovic for battling through his infirmities today and showing good sportsmanship in defeat.
And kudos to Novak Djokovic for battling through his infirmities today and showing good sportsmanship in defeat.
Lorac
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Congratulations to Stan for winning his 3rd Grand Slam. Novak isn't as invincible as he was a year ago. That can only be good for the sport IMHO as it is better to have competition at the top.
Fiero425
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What has happened to this tourney? Last year Radwanska came back from the dead with 1 RR win to take it, now Cibulkova finishes strong saving MP's along the way! Poor Kerber; this really would have been a nice ending to a fabulous year! Now look at it!
Maofan7
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Lorac
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Congrats to him - he has been really consistent this year and this is thoroughly deserved
Fed Cup Final.
Czech Republic def. France 3-2
Pliskova def. Mladenovic
Garcia def. Kvitova
Garcia def. Pliskova
Strycova def. Cornet
Strycova/Pliskova def. Garcia/Mladenovic
Interesting to hear in a podcast where Barbora Strycova (Top 20 in singles and doubles, Olympic bronze in doubles, won final 2 matches to clinch Fed Cup for Czech Rep.) dabbled with skating up until her early teens.
Czech Republic def. France 3-2
Pliskova def. Mladenovic
Garcia def. Kvitova
Garcia def. Pliskova
Strycova def. Cornet
Strycova/Pliskova def. Garcia/Mladenovic
Interesting to hear in a podcast where Barbora Strycova (Top 20 in singles and doubles, Olympic bronze in doubles, won final 2 matches to clinch Fed Cup for Czech Rep.) dabbled with skating up until her early teens.
Fiero425
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It's a little late for that; winning a few majors is one thing and taking over #1 is another! That's always been Stan's problem; his lack of consistency! One day he's a world beater; the next, he's losing in the 1st round of a 250 event to some nobody!
It's a little late for that; winning a few majors is one thing and taking over #1 is another! That's always been Stan's problem; his lack of consistency! One day he's a world beater; the next, he's losing in the 1st round of a 250 event to some nobody!
A friend of mine once told me that there was a player on the ladies tour in the 80s who was also sort of like that. Her name is Hana Mandlikova and she apparently was ridiculously talented but was inconsistent beyond belief. When she was on, she was stunning but when she was off, it could get ugly.
Fiero425
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Truly the only player that drew any kind of "fear" from Martina was Hana! You just never knew how she'd come out and play; lights out with winners sprayed all over the place one day, while the next it looked like she needed a remedial course in stroke production! She had a great serve and a forehand that rivaled the best! She could get unbelievable speed on her shots when others couldn't before the new tech of rackets! Martina could serve into that forehand and it would come back faster! She could beat Martina on grass and Evert on clay! She was a legitimate #3 in the world, but like Murray or Stan, should have done a lot more with the talent she had! One of the most fantastic matches ever have been between Martina and Hana with brilliant shot-making and spectacular power tennis that makes today's players look like amateurs! There was style and grace with them; unlike the mindless aggression of today where half the time I don't think the players know where the shot is going!
- - http://fiero4251.blogspot.com/2016/08/fan-page-novak-nole-djokovic.html - -
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Truly the only player that drew any kind of "fear" from Martina was Hana! You just never knew how she'd come out and play; lights out with winners sprayed all over the place one day, while the next it looked like she needed a remedial course in stroke production! She had a great serve and a forehand that rivaled the best! She could get unbelievable speed on her shots when others couldn't before the new tech of rackets! Martina could serve into that forehand and it would come back faster! She could beat Martina on grass and Evert on clay! She was a legitimate #3 in the world, but like Murray or Stan, should have done a lot more with the talent she had! One of the most fantastic matches ever have been between Martina and Hana with brilliant shot-making and spectacular power tennis that makes today's players look like amateurs! There was style and grace with them; unlike the mindless aggression of today where half the time I don't think the players know where the shot is going!
It's too bad that Mandlikova couldn't be more of a consistent challenge to Evert and Navratilova. After Austin and Jaeger fell of the map due to injuries, she was only a sporadic threat to their dominance until Steffi Graf came onto the scene.
I wish I had watched her live. I'll need to find some youtube videos.
Very close match today between Murray and Nishikori. If Kei had a better serve and could depend on it more, he might pose as a more consistent threat to the top players. But since his serve is almost a liability, he's probably going to remain just outside of their periphery.
There was the brief period around 1981 where the consensus was that Hana Mandlikova (still only 19) would actually have the better overall career than Martina Navratilova (stalling at 24), as Hana had already matched Martina's 2 majors at that point, plus Hana had reached 4 consecutive major finals (1980 US Open through to 1981 Wimbledon).
