christo85efc Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Re: Australian Open, Women Sharapova should have too much for her in straight sets. I'd like to see it again but did you notice Hantuchova doesn't actually shake hands with Ivanovic? She was certainly was narky and then the way she stormed out of there ... you wouldn't want to be in the locker room after that, I'd imagine. I would!!! :loon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Intensity Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Re: Australian Open, Women Sharapova should have too much for her in straight sets. I'd like to see it again but did you notice Hantuchova doesn't actually shake hands with Ivanovic? She was certainly was narky and then the way she stormed out of there ... you wouldn't want to be in the locker room after that, I'd imagine. MELBOURNE (Reuters) - A disappointed Daniela Hantuchova accused Ana Ivanovic of gamesmanship after losing 0-6 6-3 6-4 to the Serbian in the Australian Open semi-finals on Thursday. The Slovakian ninth seed led 6-0 2-0 but her hopes of a first grand slam final were ended by a superb fightback from fourth seed Ivanovic, who will play Russian Maria Sharapova in the final. Hantuchova was disappointed at her defeat but also hit out at Ivanovic, saying the way she shuffled her feet before the server hits the ball, which results in loud squeaking, was off-putting and unfair. "That was ridiculous, I think," Hantuchova told reporters. "I was really surprised with that. I think it's unfair. It's a distraction to the server. We played before and she never did it." Hantuchova said she had complained to umpire Alison Lang. "In the first or second service game (she told the umpire), but she didn't do anything about it. I don't think that (the squeaking) was very nice." Hantuchova gave Ivanovic little more than a cursory handshake at the end, having thought the Serbian had not got to the ball on the first bounce on the point that gave the fourth seed the vital break in the final set. But the Slovakian, appearing in her first grand slam semi-final, said she was just disappointed with her defeat. "It's just tough, tough to accept that you lose. So I just wanted to get off the court as soon as possible. "I thought it was a double bounce, but maybe it was just my mistake. I should have played the point anyway." Despite the defeat, Hantuchova said her run to the last four promised much for the rest of the year. "In the days to come, I think I will go back and look at the tournament as a very positive thing," she said. "I proved once again, to myself, that if I play my game I can beat anybody. It's just a matter of doing it for the whole match." Can't say I remember the double bounce, probably checking out the ass as she ran forward:unsure:unsure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashtee Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Re: Australian Open, Women I don't remember it either. It's sounding a lot like most here are viewing the final pants off. :ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Intensity Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Re: Australian Open, Women BONDARENKO/BONDARENKO @ 2.5 Pinnacle. Having a go on the sisters in the final, think this is a good price. They've had some great results so far beating the best team in the world Black/Huber, Garrigues/Pascual and Peng/Sun. It's strange that last year they played together and did pretty much nothing but something seems to have clicked. Azarenka/Peer have also had some good results this tournament beating a couple of higher seeded pairs including a big comeback against Yan/Zheng. They've just started playing together this year, with Azarenka in particular getting some good doubles results last year with various partners. I think they are the more accomplished pair, but I'm still rating this match pretty evenly given how the Bondarenkos have played thus far. Plus, I really like Alona. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Intensity Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Re: Australian Open, Women Big comeback but the lovely sisters get the job done:ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kojic2003 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Re: Australian Open, Women Ivanovic stands no chance against Sharapova whatsoever. That's quite ridiculous statement with no any strong arguments! Ivanovic's in form of her life, the World Number 2 from next week and the fact that she reached 2 Finals and 1 Semis in the last 4 Grand Slams speaks for itself!Playing a big matches like this one became a routine for Ivanovic now, so she's not gonna be nervous like before(f.e. vs.Justin Henin in RG, when she was unable to build on a fantastic start, terrific tennis, early break and 40:0 in the next one!She just got nervous at that moment)! Just because she had to come from behind against Hantuchova doesn't mean she's gonna be smashed today!Coincidence?Yeah, right!In the Finals of WTA Tournament in Luxembourg, Hantuchova was in the commanding position against Ivanovic for most of the match.She took the first set(6:3) and was leading 3:0(or 4:0) in 2nd!The match was pretty much over, but all of sudden Ivanovic raised her game and won the match!Something similar happened here, so nothing new!Two-three levels above Hantuchova when it comes to mental strength! Ivanovic has improved her mental strength a lot, she never gives up these days and one of the best examples is the match against Vaidisova in Wimbledon.Vaidisova was 5:3 up in 3rd, with two consecutive match points(40:15), but Ivanovic saved everything with some terrific points and won the match! Also, Ivanovic's fitness is drastically improved.She was much fater last year, but now after some harder trainings she moves better than ever(pretty obvious and more than visible), runs for every ball(something she never did before) and she managed to overpower Venus Williams quite easily(even Venus, who smashed Ivanovic in Wimbledon, has admited that Ivanovic looks much stronger than last year, on a higher level)! Ivanovic surely has what it takes to beat Sharapova today: great serve and some heavy balls from her forehand should lead to many easy points!The surface is much slower this year which should also give Ivanovic some advantage! One should know that Sharapova's win over Jankovic is quite misleading!Jankovic's struggling to overcome some serious injury problems for a very long time!Jankovic was forced to retire in 3 matches in Hopman Cup this year, she was taking a number of medical threatmans in all double matches(with Djokovic) in the same tournament, she was struggling throughout the whole torunament here in Melbourn(it's truly amazing that she reached the semis at all) and also she needed 4 injections(pain killers) !? before the match, just to take a part in the semis against Sharapova! Yes, Sharapova's win over Justin Henin was impressive, but Justin is no machine either!She was on a 33-match winning sterak before this clash, so the tiredness and the lack of concentration was obvious for a while!She struggled big time in Sydney a couple of weeks ago(some lucky wins over Kuznetsova nd Ivanovic) and she also wasn't impressive here in Melbourne, having faced some major problems in some matches(especially against Schiavone who pushed her all the way).It was the black-out similar to the one against Bartoli in Wimbledon, when she failed to kill the match, despite a very comfortable lead(6:1, 4:1).She just got tired and surprisingly lacked any ideas and even confidence!Bartoli played nothing special, but Justin was just unable to hit anything! Keep in mind, Sharapova was playing some very poor tennis just before the AO!She was humiliated by Venus Williams!Of course, it can't be compared to this big tournament, but certainly shows that Sharapova isn't as untouchable as looks like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Intensity Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Re: Australian Open, Women Ivanovic has improved her mental strength a lot, she never gives up these days and one of the best examples is the match against Vaidisova in Wimbledon.Vaidisova was 5:3 up in 3rd, with two consecutive match points(40:15), but Ivanovic saved everything with some terrific points and won the match! Don't remind me, lost a fortune on that match:puke So you going for Ivanovic Kojic? I'm thinking of the +5.5 games, think it'll be pretty close:unsure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christiano Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 Re: Australian Open, Women I would say that Sharapova is in form of her life...not Ivanovic. :) But at these odds it's not worth to back her.About 1.20 is a joke imo in the final of a grand slam...Their last match was at about evens odds... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kojic2003 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Re: Australian Open, Women So you going for Ivanovic Kojic? I'm thinking of the +5.5 games, think it'll be pretty close:unsure Well, at 5.00, definitely... :) Sharapova's gameplan is pretty much similar to the one of Venus Williams(hit the ball as hard as possible and hope something positive will happen), so can't see a walkover for the Russian girl as Ivanovic has already shown she's able to handle this sort of game(however, it's WTA, so the sh*t happens all the time :) )! The big comebacks in tennis like this one of Ivanovic against Hantuchova are mostly a big PLUS, very rarely MINUS!Just take a look at David Ferrer in men's tennis, his match against David Nalbandian in the US Open!He was one step away from defeat in 2nd(or 3rd) round, being 1:2 and a break or two down in 4th set!He saved everything and somehow pulled off this fourth set in the tie-break, then he was 1:4 down in 5th set.He made another comeback, just to give Nalbandian the match point at 4:5, but Nalby missed a pure sitter(match point) on the net.Ferrer made a break immediatally and won the match.He made his best result ever after that, having reached the semis and also his highest ATP Ranking! Could be the same with Ivanovic, though she's already on the top and will make a step forward(as mentioned, No2 from next week).There will be no big pressure on her and this comeback against Hantuchova could be more positive rather than negative!She's undoubtedly getting closer and closer to her first Grand Slam title and after watching some of her tennis here in Melbourne, including her approach to every match and also some classy stuffs against Justin Henin in Sydney a couple of weeks ago, it's hard to accept Sharapova as a red hot favourite here!Ivanovic's comments in the Serbian newspapers are also looking different lately and it seems she's taking this game more professionally now!Ivanovic was struggling so long to break into the Top 10, she looked very shaky at the start of 2007, but after a big run in Berlin and also in Roland Garros a couple of weeks later, everything's changed and there's no doubt she's getting better and better! Everyone expected to see Sharapova going all the way in the US Open as she, after some poor form, played some of her best tennis of the year just before this tournament, but she got crashed against Radwanska!Sharapova has never been the most consistent player around, so although I rate her as a favourite against Ivanovic, she should never be expected to make tonight's match being one-sided!As mentioned, the surface in Melbourne is slower, which should keep most of the points in the ralies and Ivanovic has shown by humilating Sharapova in the Ronald Garros that she's much stronger when it comes to this sort of game! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulenos Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Re: Australian Open, Women @ kojic2003 - could you. please, quote at least the whole sentence the next time;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashtee Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Re: Australian Open, Women For that first set against Hantuchova, Ivanovic seemed caught complacent off the euphoria of the Williams victory. A problem she does have - mental for the full match, although she's learnt to get it going and fight, for sure. I just feel Sharapova is in world No. 1 form right at the minute and looks greatly more purposeful and focussed than her efforts in '07. So well is Sharapova going, I've taken the 1.67 straight sets, but of course Ivanovic's odds can't be ignored if they drift out too far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Intensity Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Re: Australian Open, Women IVANOVIC +5.5 games WillHill. Not sure what to say about this one, just think it will be close. Obivously Sharapova is playing extremely well and is a clear favourite, but this being a final, don't think it will be as straightforward as the odds suggest. Ivanovic too has been playing well, great win over Venus and a great comeback against Hantuchova who was playing really well. Ivanovic had a bad experience in the final of the French last year, and I expect her to be stronger in this one. H2H is 2-2 with the last two meeting being really one-sided which doesn't bode well, but I still say this one is close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
master Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Re: Australian Open, Women For tonight I play corect score Sharapova v Ivanovic 2:1@5 and Sharapova v Ivanovic 1:2@4. I think that can be worth while. Come on ANA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Intensity Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Re: Australian Open, Women It's sounding a lot like most here are viewing the final pants off. :ok In bed, lights off, everybody ready?:loon:dude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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