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Sports: Tennis Thread
Member Since: 2/6/2012
Posts: 29,767
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Quote:
Originally posted by Phoenix83
You kidding me?
The field now in the women's game is pretty poor. I concede that it was very strong in the early part of Serena's career (late 90s - around 2006) though.
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Based on what verifiable evidence do you determine that the field is poor exactly?
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Member Since: 10/14/2011
Posts: 3,934
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If Steffi didn't need to surpass Margaret Court's slam count to be called GOAT, then Serena certainly doesn't need to surpass Steffi's.
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Member Since: 9/1/2013
Posts: 1,648
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poor Caro  all that running
to think that at the beginning of USO we were calculating how soon should Serena lose for Halep or Kvitova to snatch that #1
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Member Since: 2/6/2012
Posts: 29,767
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Quote:
Originally posted by Marla Singer
If Steffi didn't need to surpass Margaret Court's slam count to be called GOAT, then Serena certainly doesn't need to surpass Steffi's.
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Exactly.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 2,104
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Wow I can't believe the first time I ever watched tennis was the ICONIC 2007 Australian Open final, Serena my baby you've come so far
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Member Since: 1/4/2014
Posts: 3,221
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Quote:
Originally posted by Phoenix83
You kidding me?
The field now in the women's game is pretty poor. I concede that it was very strong in the early part of Serena's career (late 90s - around 2006) though.
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Im only basing that on matches I've seen from back in the day. Women in general today hit and serve the ball much faster it seems? I could be wrong.
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Member Since: 2/6/2012
Posts: 29,767
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Quote:
Originally posted by dayydreaam
Wow I can't believe the first time I ever watched tennis was the ICONIC 2007 Australian Open final, Serena my baby you've come so far |
The first Tennis match I remember was the Serena/Sharapova Wimbledon final, though I probably watched a few before that as well.
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Member Since: 4/28/2012
Posts: 1,659
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Quote:
Originally posted by Waffles O'Brien
Based on what verifiable evidence do you determine that the field is poor exactly?
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If you look at the early period of Serena's career, you had the likes of herself, Venus, Clijsters, Henin, Hingis, Davenport, Capriati, Mauresmo, Pierce, early Sharapova, etc. all challenging for slams. That was one hell of a field.
Today you have Serena, inconsistent Sharapova, headcases like Kvitova and Li, injured Azarenka, and no one else who is in the same league as those I mentioned above.
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Member Since: 10/31/2011
Posts: 16,937
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The first match I saw even a part of was Fiona/Venus USO '05. I dunno how I kept watching the sport after that.
I got really into it that indoor European season (Filderstadt/Moscow/Zurich are iconic and so missed). Dementieva/Fiona Filderstadt, and Sharapova/Linetskaya Moscow I remember.
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Member Since: 4/28/2012
Posts: 1,659
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Quote:
Originally posted by Marla Singer
If Steffi didn't need to surpass Margaret Court's slam count to be called GOAT, then Serena certainly doesn't need to surpass Steffi's.
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Court won a lot of her slams in the pre-Open Era and at the Australian, where few other top competitors travelled to in those days. She also "only" won Wimbledon three times.
I rank several Open Era greats including Graf, Navratilova, Serena and Evert ahead of Court. And Billie Jean King isn't far behind Court either.
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Member Since: 8/19/2011
Posts: 8,761
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The first match I ever saw was Serena/Capriati at the 2001 Wimbledon QFs. Serena was having diarrhea problems 
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Member Since: 8/3/2010
Posts: 71,871
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Quote:
Originally posted by Phoenix83
If you look at the early period of Serena's career, you had the likes of herself, Venus, Clijsters, Henin, Hingis, Davenport, Capriati, Mauresmo, Pierce, early Sharapova, etc. all challenging for slams. That was one hell of a field.
Today you have Serena, inconsistent Sharapova, headcases like Kvitova and Li, injured Azarenka, and no one else who is in the same league as those I mentioned above.
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Sharapova is a 5 time slam champion (Career Grand Slam, silver medal, YEC)
Kvitova is a two time Wimbledon Champ (also won the YEC)
Li is a 2x Slam Champ at the AO + FO
Azarenka is a 2x AO champ
So no, Serena's competition right now is very difficult too. Sure it's not as competitive as her early career (you'd be delusional to say otherwise) but to argue she's in a weak era is nonsense. I mean hell, Peak Sharapova alone was nearly unmatched
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Member Since: 2/6/2012
Posts: 29,767
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Quote:
Originally posted by Phoenix83
If you look at the early period of Serena's career, you had the likes of herself, Venus, Clijsters, Henin, Hingis, Davenport, Capriati, Mauresmo, Pierce, early Sharapova, etc. all challenging for slams. That was one hell of a field.
Today you have Serena, inconsistent Sharapova, headcases like Kvitova and Li, injured Azarenka, and no one else who is in the same league as those I mentioned above.
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So you don't like the field today. That isn't evidence.
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Member Since: 8/16/2010
Posts: 15,137
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I didn't see it but it doesn't look like it had any drama.
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Member Since: 8/16/2010
Posts: 15,137
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Can someone make this an icon?
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Member Since: 11/20/2011
Posts: 3,275
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Quote:
Originally posted by RatedG²
Sharapova is a 5 time slam champion (Career Grand Slam, silver medal, YEC)
Kvitova is a two time Wimbledon Champ (also won the YEC)
Li is a 2x Slam Champ at the AO + FO
Azarenka is a 2x AO champ
So no, Serena's competition right now is very difficult too. Sure it's not as competitive as her early career (you'd be delusional to say otherwise) but to argue she's in a weak era is nonsense. I mean hell, Peak Sharapova alone was nearly unmatched
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I think this is contradictory. If you can admit that Serena's competition is not as strong, then it's not a stretch to suggest that the current field is weak. I think the only one out of the lot who comes anywhere close to challenging Serena is a healthy Azarenka. People made the same arguments about Roger Federer, back in the day, when he would win nearly every slam he played in (except the French). Then Nadal rose to the occasion, as did Djokovic, then Murray. Del Potro snuck in his little USO win. The field got stronger, and Roger didn't win as often. The reverse has happened with the women's game. It's not like the player that eliminates Serena in a slam usually goes on to win the title. Azarenka, Li, and Kvitova are hardly Djoko, Nadal, and Murray in terms of stats and consistency, and other than Serena, Shara's the only one of that group to win three different slams. The field IS weaker. Still, Serena is awesome!
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Member Since: 8/16/2011
Posts: 4,850
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There is still so many people here hours later,good.
Probably more than during tomorrow final 
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Member Since: 2/6/2012
Posts: 29,767
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I don't agree at all that there is any way to tell if the field is weak or not.
There is a ton of depth right now, which means that there are a lot more people competing for slams than before. Not to mention how physical the game is now and makes its hard to stay injury free.
There are numerous ways to look at it.
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Member Since: 3/14/2013
Posts: 30,547
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Quote:
Originally posted by Benzene
Can someone make this an icon?
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Chrissie looks hot in those dress 
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Member Since: 9/1/2013
Posts: 1,648
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Queen Halep decided to quit tennis after the USO Series, devoting herself to fishing
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