The final slam is on the horizon where are they...

[Sundaymorningguy]

at with their game?

Serena-probably the hungriest and most eager to end the year on an even better note than her Wimbledon flame out. She will have to find a way to be more aggressive without over hitting.

Vika-who knows how she will return from injury or whether she will be match ready

Maria-well she should be hungriest as she is the only one of the top 3 to not win a slam this year.

Li Na-will she finally push through at the US Open with Carlos by her side

Sabine and Maid Marion-can they back up their Wimbledon showing with a good showing here.


I suspect of the names I mentioned Serena and Maria will be the ones most anxious to do some damage here and erase the memories of a terrible Wimbledon. Vika too if her health allows.

 

[the AntiPusher]

at with their game?

Serena-probably the hungriest and most eager to end the year on an even better note than her Wimbledon flame out. She will have to find a way to be more aggressive without over hitting.

Vika-who knows how she will return from injury or whether she will be match ready

Maria-well she should be hungriest as she is the only one of the top 3 to not win a slam this year.

Li Na-will she finally push through at the US Open with Carlos by her side

Sabine and Maid Marion-can they back up their Wimbledon showing with a good showing here.


I suspect of the names I mentioned Serena and Maria will be the ones most anxious to do some damage here and erase the memories of a terrible Wimbledon. Vika too if her health allows.

Serena just needs to spend the time focus on her tennis game and less about Exes and current events unless she is going to get involved in world social issues.

 

[Correspondent Kiu]

Oh, it's a long way to US open.

First we have to go through these:

Collector Swedish Open
Jul 15 - Jul 21, 2013
Bastad, Sweden

NURNBERGER Gastein Ladies
Jul 15 - Jul 21, 2013
Bad Gastein, Austria

Baku Cup
Jul 22 - Jul 28, 2013
Baku, Azerbaijan

Bank of the West Classic
Jul 22 - Jul 28, 2013
Stanford, USA

Citi Open
Jul 29 - Aug 04, 2013
Usa

Southern California Open
Jul 29 - Aug 04, 2013
Carlsbad, Usa


Rogers Cup
Aug 05 - Aug 11, 2013
Toronto, Canada

SUZHOU, CHINA
Aug 05 - Aug 10, 2013
China

Western & Southern Open
Aug 12 - Aug 18, 2013
Cincinnati, Usa

New Haven Open at Yale
Aug 18 - Aug 24, 2013
New Haven, Usa

---

some of the above are worth a lot of points.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

I know it is a long way to the US Open, but I thought it was a fair question to ask before we head into the season given the Wimbledon meltdown of players.

 

[Calvy]

at with their game?

Serena-probably the hungriest and most eager to end the year on an even better note than her Wimbledon flame out. She will have to find a way to be more aggressive without over hitting.

Vika-who knows how she will return from injury or whether she will be match ready

Maria-well she should be hungriest as she is the only one of the top 3 to not win a slam this year.

Li Na-will she finally push through at the US Open with Carlos by her side

Sabine and Maid Marion-can they back up their Wimbledon showing with a good showing here.


I suspect of the names I mentioned Serena and Maria will be the ones most anxious to do some damage here and erase the memories of a terrible Wimbledon. Vika too if her health allows.

Serena just needs to spend the time focus on her tennis game and less about Exes and current events unless she is going to get involved in world social issues.

Seeing as she's won 6 events this year, including a slam, I think she will be able to handle exes and current events.

---

Oh, it's a long way to US open.

---

some of the above are worth a lot of points.

---

It's six weeks, and it'll be here before you know it, and those points were making a big difference regarding the "big three" and their rankings.

 

[Correspondent Kiu]

This has been an odd year, period.
When was the last time someone repeated winning a slam? It happened this year in Aussie Open.
When was the last time Serena won French Open? A decade ago?? She won it this year.
When was the last time Bartoli won anything worth some points? She was having a terrible year, changing coaches, losing early... Then out of nowhere, she wins Wimby!

I expect the year will continue as it has been.
My crystal ball says the top three will not win US Open.

 

[ozza]

It's six weeks, and it'll be here before you know it, and those points were making a big difference regarding the "big three" and their rankings.

The big three all defend next to nothing. They basically didn't play the hard court warm ups last year/didn't care about them because of the Olympics.

Realistically it's hard to see them not dominating the hard court season this year. Hard court is where they dominate the most, they are a combined 53/2 against the rest of the tour on hard courts this year.

Schedules:
Williams - Bastad, Toronto, Cincinnati
Sharapova - Stanford, Toronto, Cincinnati
Azarenka - Carlsbad, Toronto, Cincinnati
Radwanska - Stanford, Carlsbad, Toronto, Cincinnati
Errani - Palermo, Toronto, Cincinnati, New Haven
Li - Toronto, Cincinnati
Bartoli - Stanford, Carlsbad, Toronto, Cincinnati, New Haven
Kvitova - Carlsbad, Toronto, Cincinnati, New Haven
Lisicki - Toronto, Cincinnati, New Haven
Stephens - Washington, Toronto, Cincinnati
Jankovic - Carlsbad, Toronto, Cincinnati
Flipkens - Stanford, Carlsbad, Toronto, Cincinnati
Kerber - Toronto, Cincinnati, New Haven
Kirilenko - Toronto, Cincinnati
Wozniacki - Toronto, Cincinnati, New Haven
Vinci - Palermo, Carlsbad, Toronto, Cincinnati, New Haven

 

[Moxie]

^ Thanks for that breakdown of commitments, ozza. Given the shake-up at Wimbledon, I think there'll be a lot of jockeying for position this summer, perhaps even making the quieter tournaments more interesting. I don't mind that folks want to talk about the next Slam, especially the ones that are close together, but I think we'll have to see how the next 6 weeks shake out.

 

[kskate2]

Four is too many tourneys for Aga and Petra. Petra did the same thing last year and she peaked before the USO losing to Bartoli. Four tourneys means you are literally playing every week. That's too much. Three is more than enough.

 

[sk310]

I agree 4 is too many.

It's nice to see Vika playing the long game. Meaning she realizes now that she has a few slams under her belt the most important thing is to come back to the tour when she's fully healed and even then take it light. Im hoping she recovers fully for the USO. It's pretty clear she will end the year number 3 at this point.

 

[ozza]

Four is too many tourneys for Aga and Petra. Petra did the same thing last year and she peaked before the USO losing to Bartoli. Four tourneys means you are literally playing every week. That's too much. Three is more than enough.

Given these two made the exact same mistake last year you'd think they would learn, but seemingly they haven't. Kvitova's schedule is just absolute madness, she is playing 6 weeks in a row if she has any ambition to win US Open.

At the end of the day it comes down to what are they prioritising. Winning any title? The USO series? Ranking (specifically Istanbul in Kvitova's case)? Winning US Open? I suppose at least Radwanska has given herself a week off before USO, but I always think playing New Haven is a bad idea if you want to win the US Open, it means you have to play 5 weeks in a row.

---

^ Thanks for that breakdown of commitments, ozza. Given the shake-up at Wimbledon, I think there'll be a lot of jockeying for position this summer, perhaps even making the quieter tournaments more interesting. I don't mind that folks want to talk about the next Slam, especially the ones that are close together, but I think we'll have to see how the next 6 weeks shake out.

There was a number of players who benefited last year from the top players not playing in these events, who will now have to defend huge point totals against tougher fields. Li and Kvitova the first two that instantly come to mind. Cibulkova also won Carlsbad against a field that was far weaker than the field this year. The Olympics last year allowed others to take advantage in these events.

 

[tossip]

This has been an odd year, period.
When was the last time someone repeated winning a slam? It happened this year in Aussie Open.
When was the last time Serena won French Open? A decade ago?? She won it this year.
When was the last time Bartoli won anything worth some points? She was having a terrible year, changing coaches, losing early... Then out of nowhere, she wins Wimby!

I expect the year will continue as it has been.
My crystal ball says the top three will not win US Open.

you need to wash the crystal ball...Azarenka might not make it because of injury...pova might be hungry and Serena can make a run for it...

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

Well Kiu, it is kind of like Lisicki where she plays crappy most of the year and Wimbledon she hits her stride. Bartoli is usually good for a good patch of tennis before she loses her focus. There are just some players that hit their stride during certain points of the year. Like Kim Clijsters at the US Open. I was kind of doing a before the hard court season, and I am sure we will do a hey who do we think is going to win after the 6 weeks has taken place. I think the player most in need is Maria for a slam, but again she never wins in odd years. I think the player who will want to win is Serena to send a message that she may have flamed out in Wimbledon, but you are going to have to work hard to take it from me. Though, all of Serena's losses this year went to 3 sets, so it isn't like she is getting beaten badly. Azarenka is a big question mark in terms of health and playing just 2 tournaments before the Open. Granted if she is healthy, I am sure she can ask for a wild card to any tournament she wants. I am not really expecting a lot from Li, Kvitova or Radwanska.

 

[Calvy]

This has been an odd year, period.
When was the last time someone repeated winning a slam? It happened this year in Aussie Open.
When was the last time Serena won French Open? A decade ago?? She won it this year.
When was the last time Bartoli won anything worth some points? She was having a terrible year, changing coaches, losing early... Then out of nowhere, she wins Wimby!

I expect the year will continue as it has been.
My crystal ball says the top three will not win US Open.

I think the only odd thing this year has been Wimbledon, otherwise everything else has been consistent and on form.

Azarenka defending her Aussie Open wasn't odd being as she was only one of three legitimate favorites. Nor was Serena winning the French, especially considering she was THE overwhelming favorite.

 

[ozza]

Updated players full tournament schedules to the US Open now that the entry list to New Haven is out. See post #8 for player schedules between now and the US Open.

---

Well Kiu, it is kind of like Lisicki where she plays crappy most of the year and Wimbledon she hits her stride. Bartoli is usually good for a good patch of tennis before she loses her focus. There are just some players that hit their stride during certain points of the year. Like Kim Clijsters at the US Open. I was kind of doing a before the hard court season, and I am sure we will do a hey who do we think is going to win after the 6 weeks has taken place. I think the player most in need is Maria for a slam, but again she never wins in odd years. I think the player who will want to win is Serena to send a message that she may have flamed out in Wimbledon, but you are going to have to work hard to take it from me. Though, all of Serena's losses this year went to 3 sets, so it isn't like she is getting beaten badly. Azarenka is a big question mark in terms of health and playing just 2 tournaments before the Open. Granted if she is healthy, I am sure she can ask for a wild card to any tournament she wants. I am not really expecting a lot from Li, Kvitova or Radwanska.

(On Azarenka) Playing 2 tournaments before the US Open is the perfect schedule imo. If she wanted to play more she would have entered Toronto. Serena is also effectively only playing 2 USO warm ups. (Bastad isn't a USO warm up). If I was an advisor to a player who wanted to win the US Open, I would be advising them to only play 2 warm up tournaments.

 

[sk310]

I don't think a lot of players in the top 8 PLAN on winning the US Open. Much like I believe Davydenko or something like that said a few years ago they make their money (i.e. their living) going deeper in masters tournaments and below. I kind of get where Aga is coming from especially considering she had a bad patch after the AO.

 

[Calvy]

I don't think a lot of players in the top 8 PLAN on winning the US Open. Much like I believe Davydenko or something like that said a few years ago they make their money (i.e. their living) going deeper in masters tournaments and below. I kind of get where Aga is coming from especially considering she had a bad patch after the AO.

And the way she blew great opportunity at Wimbledon. Aga know's the window might have closed big time. So, she might as make a lot of money.

 

[ozza]

Azarenka and Bartoli take wildcards to Rogers Cup, Toronto (http://www.rogerscup.com/women/english/playerList.php).

Is Marion seriously going to play 5 weeks in a row going into the US Open?

 

[Calvy]

Azarenka and Bartoli take wildcards to Rogers Cup, Toronto (http://www.rogerscup.com/women/english/playerList.php).

Is Marion seriously going to play 5 weeks in a row going into the US Open?

I'm assuming her appearance fees has gone up since she became Wimbledon champ.

 

[kskate2]

Azarenka and Bartoli take wildcards to Rogers Cup, Toronto (http://www.rogerscup.com/women/english/playerList.php).

Is Marion seriously going to play 5 weeks in a row going into the US Open?

Looks that way. I could see them withdrawing from the last one after playing a match depending on the results of the first 2 tourneys.