Wimbledon Day 10, Thursday 11th July

CC:

Svitolina v. Halep

Williams S v. Strycova


Plus: Both Men's Doubles SF's - Ever since his run at Queens all those years ago I have liked Mahut, who is playing with fellow Frenchman Roger-Vasselin

Mixed Doubles QF's - Merena were taken out yesterday by Jamie Murray's doubles partner, Soares.


I reckon we'll see Halep v. Williams S in the final, and Williams S will win, but Strycova has been hugely entertaining this Wimbledon and I'd love to see her do well, Svitolina has also played well.  Williams had to dig very deep vs. Riske, and played a great game hence she is my favourite.

Womens semi-finals day.

bogbrush wrote:Womens semi-finals day.

Give it a rest, BB.
We all know men's game is better but old gals are not too shabby either.
Keep an eye on Stryc, I hope she' starts out of the blocks not be nervous like against Konta.
Just had a look at their H2H, Serena leads 3:0, Stryc was coming closer every time.

A three setter would be great.

Not giving Stryc a lot of chance, maybe 15-20%, still, she is a feisty character, so you never know...

I posted 1hr and 50 mins after the Op and was the only poster. My comment was to that end.

Keep your eye on the facts, though I do think this thread will be short unless it starts discussing the mens game.

noleisthebest wrote:

bogbrush wrote:Womens semi-finals day.

Give it a rest, BB.
We all know men's game is better but old gals are not too shabby either.
Keep an eye on Stryc, I hope she' starts out of the blocks not be nervous like against Konta.
Just had a look at their H2H, Serena leads 3:0, Stryc was coming closer every time.

A three setter would be great.

Not giving Stryc a lot of chance, maybe 15-20%, still, she is a feisty character, so you never know...

The women's tournament has been head and shoulders above the men's this year, and frankly I am not expecting a great deal from the Fedal encounter on Friday.  Even if it is another classic it's only the SF and I expect the winner to be throttled effectively, but not particularly beautifully, on Sunday by Djoko.  If that's the case, at best the men's draw will have unfolded predictably on a slow surface producing two exciting matches with no 'stories' about up-and-coming youngsters, or a comeback, or an interesting battle for supremacy over the men's game, or any changes to the rankings.  I think that the lack of interest in the women's draw on here says more about us than it does about the current respective merits of the women's vs. the men's game.  I think that the women's game is becoming interesting as Serena Williams is slowly loosening her grip on the supreme prizes and a generation is coming through who can beat her so that if someone other than her wins they have genuine kudos, rather than the less glamorous status of first among also-rans who took advantage of her absence through injury &c.  Sure, players like Kerber, Muguruza, Osaka, have yet to show consistency, but it's a damn sight more interesting to watch them battling it out than to see the #nextgen falling about to see if one of them will have the honour to be bridesmaid as one of the Big 3 (and usually not the right one any more ) picks up yet another Slam without having been pressed outside the Big 3.  As others have observed, often as not the #nextgen fail at an early hurdle so we see journeymen battling through to the final rounds instead.  Another good thing about the women's game is that the ranking is more honest than it used to be - because the Williams sisters played so seldom their rankings did not reflect their true status, so there were 'imposters' who could never win a slam at #1 - we do not see that any more.  Maybe we've had a golden age for the men, but I'm done with it now (and yes, I'm honest enough to accept that my interest is waning in direct proportion to my perception of Fed's lessening ability to compete with Nadal and Djoko - if he wins Wimbledon I may be able to sustain my interest for a bit more.... ).

Is that Le Monf in Svitoina's box?

I never thought I'd say this, but I miss Sharapova.

Halep reminded me of her with her intensity and grunting, but a pale version of the real thing.

Clijstres has such cute, sedating voice...I'm on the verge of dropping off...

Halep outplays her 'mini-me' Svitolina and advances to her 5th slam final (she's on 1-4 in finals at present).  I don't think she can beat Williams, so it's down to Strycova - but I don't really think she can either if Williams brings anything like her 'A' game.

Are they going to allow Naste to watch his girl in the final?

barrystar wrote:Halep outplays her 'mini-me' Svitolina and advances to her 5th slam final (she's on 1-4 in finals at present).  I don't think she can beat Williams, so it's down to Strycova - but I don't really think she can either if Williams brings anything like her 'A' game.

I've never watched Svitolina before, but expected a better player, she was heavy on her feet.

noleisthebest wrote:Is that Le Monf in Svitoina's box?

Yes, they have been dating for a while now. Also last year it was funny as they were recording a video together on their phone and Federer came behind them and "photobom"-ed it 

barrystar wrote:Halep outplays her 'mini-me' Svitolina and advances to her 5th slam final (she's on 1-4 in finals at present).  I don't think she can beat Williams, so it's down to Strycova - but I don't really think she can either if Williams brings anything like her 'A' game.

Halep v. SW would just mean WB is effectively playing like RG. Then the Fedal SF will be tough for Fed...

Pro-Serena, almost worshipping commentating from Navratilova, Austin, Baker (or is it the BBC lezo) & co is such a turn-off.

Svitolina doing her bit supporting the "black dicks for white chicks" movement 

Jahu wrote:Svitolina doing her bit supporting the "black dicks for white chicks" movement 

What about Serena’s hubby?

Stryc is such a cute and likeable player

noleisthebest wrote:

Jahu wrote:Svitolina doing her bit supporting the "black dicks for white chicks" movement 

What about Serena’s hubby?

While Monfs seems a proper man and will choke Svitolina nicely in bed, that Serenas boy toy is a joke.

I bet the baby is with Mourtogolou, that kid hubby Serena got, got no power to fertilize Serena.

Let's keep it on the tennis please.

Yes please, no chitty chat bedroom rumors.

Come on Stryc, get this settt

Think we're done here, so Serena vs Halep final, should be good one.

Navratilova not a good commentator for some reason.

Jahu wrote:Think we're done here, so Serena vs Halep final, should be good one.

With any luck.  The SF's were both disappointingly one-sided.

Halep is a fighter, but her game is not naturally suited to grass and Williams may be too good for her by such a margin that it is an uneven final.  Riske showed how to play Williams, but even she was overwhelmed when Williams upped her level.  I think that day, a tough match v. Riske followed by the Mixed Doubles when she was the best player of the quartet was very important for Williams; she realised she could once more up her game to play to the level required.

True but not much is needed to screw up Serena mentally and get her out of her zone.

I won't be cheering for either of them.