Quarter-Finals
Women’s Singles
Alison Riske USA vs Serena Williams USA [11]
I had my lede for this game all planned out. I was going to talk about Serena throwing shade on Ash Barty’s ascent to world no.1 by either not be aware it had happened or doing a very good job of acting surprised by the news. Some have leapt to Serena’s defence, saying she is a busy Woman what with combining Tennis playing with motherhood, so wouldn’t have had a chance to keep up with the Tour news. Others have accused her of condescension and arrogance. As per the USWNT discussion, yes, this is arrogance from Serena. She has a lot to be arrogant about. Maybe this manifests itself in not giving a hoot what the ranking list currently says, and regarding whoever happens to top it at the moment as only the steward whilst the true monarch (herself) is in exile. Well, is she wrong there?
But then Barty’s winning run was ended by Alison Riske denying us the anticipated confrontation, and we have an all-American tie. An entire planned out intro junked. Pah! Bloody Riske. Instead of Serena, the current Queen of grass court Tennis playing her heir apparent, we have her against one of the more minor Princesses who is finally getting a day of her own in the spotlight. It’s not quite the same, but it’s still potentially an interesting match. If Riske can deliver of her best, that is. This is the big issue of course. It’s the biggest match of Ali Riske’s life, by a considerable margin. A Centre Court Wimbledon Quarter-Final against Serena. It’s something she will have daydreamed about. Her grass court ability has always made it a possibility, but time was beginning to run out on a day like this until this year’s breakthrough (Riske is now 29).
One interesting wrinkle is these two players have never met before. And there is a lot to get used to about each other’s games. Both take time away from their opponent, but in very different manners. Serena blasts the ball past people with a consistent pace and weight that few if any of the other female players can match. Riske has to get her feet moving quickly enough to get to balls. However, if she can, then her own short backswings, punchy forehand and well constructed leant on backhand can redirect the opponents power whilst they are still recovering from their own swing. She is also itching to get forward to take advantage of an opponent caught out by how soon the ball has reappeared on her side of the court. Riske is then comfortable volleying it away for the winner. All of that is why Riske succeeds on grass.
However, the key word above is ‘if’. Because if Riske can’t get to the balls as they whistle past here, then she is a goner. And I think she won’t be quick enough. She also has an issue with serve. If she can’t get Serena’s delivery back, how will she break? And if Serena gets a read on Riske’s decent, clever but not huge deliveries and whales on them, then it’s a constant firefight for Ali. And that is exactly what she will do, leaving fans like me disappointed but proud in their girl’s run.
Serena in two.
Barbora Strycova Cze vs Johanna Konta GBr [19]
When Jo Konta first raced up the rankings and made the world’s top 10 she did so by overpowering players who tried to fight her fire with their own. However there was a fly in the ointment back then which was she didn’t cope anything like as well with what one might term ice, i.e. the funky sorts of players, the Hsieh Su-wei’s and Anastasija Sevastova’s of this world. These types knocked Jo out of a number of events when she had looked to be flying.
Barbora Strycova is one of these slice and dice merchants. The Czech won’t try and blast through Konta, because she doesn’t have the power for that. She will try and discombobulate her into defeat. And of the players who play that way, Strycova is one of the stronger exponents of the game on a grass court. This is her second Grand Slam Quarter-Final, and also her second at Wimbledon (l to Kvitova in 2014). She has also been in grass court finals at Birmingham on a couple of occasions. Grass is her preferred surface as it takes her slices and rewards her comfort at the net (she is one of the top doubles players).
However, in the last year or two Konta seems to have worked out how to generate her own power whilst keeping control of the shot. She is no longer reliant on pace in to find pace back out. And she hits a very big ball. Strycova is a good defender, but Konta has blown even better ones away such as Sloane Stephens, repeatedly.
Being in the QF is obviously a huge chance for both players. For Konta it’s at home against a player she would be expected to beat. There is a return to the Wimbledon semis that she last made two years ago shimmering in front of her. Whether she gets through that is a thought for another day, because one match at a time. However, this is her fifth Slam QF so she has experience of the stage, and also of winning on it. Her record previously is a handy 3-1, with the ‘1’ being against Serena so completely excusable. It’s a big deal for Jo, but not a one off or likely her last ever chance. That isn’t the case for Strycova. The Czech is 33 and has talked of retiring after this season. She will never have a better opportunity, and that adds stress.
That last point may be important. Strycova has mellowed with age, but she was once known for having an extremely negative on-court demeanour. She demanded vastly high standards of herself and would rage against the world and its sister if she wasn’t managing to meet them. Why did she think she should be winning every match? Well, she was an exceptional Junior back in the day. She predates the combined rankings now used in the U18s, but that didn’t matter. She topped both the girls singles and doubles lists, wininng two singles crowns and three doubles. Very big things were expected of her in the Seniors, not least by herself, but it never quite materialised as she has always been underpowered. And in the end that is the crux of this. The same reason why Strycova hasn’t won a slam is why Konta wins today. She can hit through her opponent, and the same isn’t true from the other end.
Konta in two.
Women’s Singles
Alison Riske USA vs Serena Williams USA [11]
I had my lede for this game all planned out. I was going to talk about Serena throwing shade on Ash Barty’s ascent to world no.1 by either not be aware it had happened or doing a very good job of acting surprised by the news. Some have leapt to Serena’s defence, saying she is a busy Woman what with combining Tennis playing with motherhood, so wouldn’t have had a chance to keep up with the Tour news. Others have accused her of condescension and arrogance. As per the USWNT discussion, yes, this is arrogance from Serena. She has a lot to be arrogant about. Maybe this manifests itself in not giving a hoot what the ranking list currently says, and regarding whoever happens to top it at the moment as only the steward whilst the true monarch (herself) is in exile. Well, is she wrong there?
But then Barty’s winning run was ended by Alison Riske denying us the anticipated confrontation, and we have an all-American tie. An entire planned out intro junked. Pah! Bloody Riske. Instead of Serena, the current Queen of grass court Tennis playing her heir apparent, we have her against one of the more minor Princesses who is finally getting a day of her own in the spotlight. It’s not quite the same, but it’s still potentially an interesting match. If Riske can deliver of her best, that is. This is the big issue of course. It’s the biggest match of Ali Riske’s life, by a considerable margin. A Centre Court Wimbledon Quarter-Final against Serena. It’s something she will have daydreamed about. Her grass court ability has always made it a possibility, but time was beginning to run out on a day like this until this year’s breakthrough (Riske is now 29).
One interesting wrinkle is these two players have never met before. And there is a lot to get used to about each other’s games. Both take time away from their opponent, but in very different manners. Serena blasts the ball past people with a consistent pace and weight that few if any of the other female players can match. Riske has to get her feet moving quickly enough to get to balls. However, if she can, then her own short backswings, punchy forehand and well constructed leant on backhand can redirect the opponents power whilst they are still recovering from their own swing. She is also itching to get forward to take advantage of an opponent caught out by how soon the ball has reappeared on her side of the court. Riske is then comfortable volleying it away for the winner. All of that is why Riske succeeds on grass.
However, the key word above is ‘if’. Because if Riske can’t get to the balls as they whistle past here, then she is a goner. And I think she won’t be quick enough. She also has an issue with serve. If she can’t get Serena’s delivery back, how will she break? And if Serena gets a read on Riske’s decent, clever but not huge deliveries and whales on them, then it’s a constant firefight for Ali. And that is exactly what she will do, leaving fans like me disappointed but proud in their girl’s run.
Serena in two.
Barbora Strycova Cze vs Johanna Konta GBr [19]
When Jo Konta first raced up the rankings and made the world’s top 10 she did so by overpowering players who tried to fight her fire with their own. However there was a fly in the ointment back then which was she didn’t cope anything like as well with what one might term ice, i.e. the funky sorts of players, the Hsieh Su-wei’s and Anastasija Sevastova’s of this world. These types knocked Jo out of a number of events when she had looked to be flying.
Barbora Strycova is one of these slice and dice merchants. The Czech won’t try and blast through Konta, because she doesn’t have the power for that. She will try and discombobulate her into defeat. And of the players who play that way, Strycova is one of the stronger exponents of the game on a grass court. This is her second Grand Slam Quarter-Final, and also her second at Wimbledon (l to Kvitova in 2014). She has also been in grass court finals at Birmingham on a couple of occasions. Grass is her preferred surface as it takes her slices and rewards her comfort at the net (she is one of the top doubles players).
However, in the last year or two Konta seems to have worked out how to generate her own power whilst keeping control of the shot. She is no longer reliant on pace in to find pace back out. And she hits a very big ball. Strycova is a good defender, but Konta has blown even better ones away such as Sloane Stephens, repeatedly.
Being in the QF is obviously a huge chance for both players. For Konta it’s at home against a player she would be expected to beat. There is a return to the Wimbledon semis that she last made two years ago shimmering in front of her. Whether she gets through that is a thought for another day, because one match at a time. However, this is her fifth Slam QF so she has experience of the stage, and also of winning on it. Her record previously is a handy 3-1, with the ‘1’ being against Serena so completely excusable. It’s a big deal for Jo, but not a one off or likely her last ever chance. That isn’t the case for Strycova. The Czech is 33 and has talked of retiring after this season. She will never have a better opportunity, and that adds stress.
That last point may be important. Strycova has mellowed with age, but she was once known for having an extremely negative on-court demeanour. She demanded vastly high standards of herself and would rage against the world and its sister if she wasn’t managing to meet them. Why did she think she should be winning every match? Well, she was an exceptional Junior back in the day. She predates the combined rankings now used in the U18s, but that didn’t matter. She topped both the girls singles and doubles lists, wininng two singles crowns and three doubles. Very big things were expected of her in the Seniors, not least by herself, but it never quite materialised as she has always been underpowered. And in the end that is the crux of this. The same reason why Strycova hasn’t won a slam is why Konta wins today. She can hit through her opponent, and the same isn’t true from the other end.
Konta in two.
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