Quote:
Originally posted by gabeee.
 solid match from Simona with an error prone Genie 6-2 6-3
important victory for her as Genie beat her in Wimbledon SF 7-6 6-2 but... Halep was injured after all.  |
True but misleading.
I would never pick Princess Halep over Genie on grass, it's a poor surface to play Bouchard on for her. After examining 3 matches they've played against each other, it has become apparent that it relies on two factors: confidence and execution.
With confidence, it's self explanatory. Both girls need it or else their game falls apart quicker than a composition book without a string. Halep on a confidence high is extremely tough to beat, you need a Serena, a Venus, a Maria, or a Petra to beat her as her scrambling abilities and redirections are second to none on tour. Bouchard on a confidence high controls the middle of the court about as good as any other top 10 player. So given that, they would be evenly matched on a neutral hard surface with confidence.
However execution is a different story. If Bouchard cannot execute her shots, she'll need errors to help her out, something Simona won't give her. Bouchard wins by taking time away from her opponent and controlling the middle court, something she did well at Wimbly and would've done regardless of Halep's injuries. The sleek grass and attacking Genie is too much on a low bouncing surface for Simona to do what she does best, redirect and get her opponents out of position with penetration. On a hard court they are even in most aspects, look at IW this year for example, Halep was playing the best stretch of tennis outside of clay all year long and she barely beat Bouchard.
Halep may have won this time but it was only because of Bouchard not being there. Had she executed right, the winner would've been flipped with the same score line.
If Serena's smart and breaks down Ana's non-existent backhand, then it'll be a clinical mess.
But her game today was embarrassing so she deserves it. 
