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Tennis: Australian Open 2016 II

kihei

kihei

McEnroe: The older I get, the better I used to be.
Jun 14, 2006
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Such a marvelous match. Kerber did so many things right and consistently over a long period: blunting Serena's power; returning serve so well; hanging in the long rallies; keeping calm and focused; coming up with clutch shots time and time again. She fully deserved to win this great match.
 
Cole Caulifield

Cole Caulifield

Registered User
Apr 22, 2004
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kihei said:
Such a marvelous match. Kerber did so many things right and consistently over a long period: blunting Serena's power; returning serve so well; hanging in the long rallies; keeping calm and focused; coming up with clutch shots time and time again. She fully deserved to win this great match.
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Such an amazing match. So glad I got up early to watch it.
 
Sports Enthusiast

Sports Enthusiast

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Sep 19, 2010
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I haven't seen Kerber much before tonight but I'm impressed. Complete game. I wonder why she hasn't made a couple more big runs? I wonder if she will get back? She's a blast to watch.
 
kihei

kihei

McEnroe: The older I get, the better I used to be.
Jun 14, 2006
42,993
10,456
Toronto
Evil Speaker said:
Still..in order to beat Serena, she needs to beat herself a little bit.
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In the first set, sure. But I didn't see a whole lot of that in the deciding set, though. Certainly no more than would be normal for any player. That was a great, well played set, and the best player won it. Either would have earned it; it's just that Kerber did. That was a magnificent performance.
 
kihei

kihei

McEnroe: The older I get, the better I used to be.
Jun 14, 2006
42,993
10,456
Toronto
Sports Enthusiast said:
I haven't seen Kerber much before tonight but I'm impressed. Complete game. I wonder why she hasn't made a couple more big runs? I wonder if she will get back? She's a blast to watch.
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Here's the really funny thing about that. Until fairly recently, she was a poor closer, especially in big matches.
 
Know Your Enemy

Know Your Enemy

Registered
Jul 18, 2004
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North Vancouver
kihei said:
In the first set, sure. But I didn't see a whole lot of that in the deciding set, though. Certainly no more than would be normal for any player. That was a great, well played set, and the best player won it. Either would have earned it; it's just that Kerber did. That was a magnificent performance.
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Yeah, I guess I cant disagree with that. Kerber deserved the win and i'm very happy for her.
 
BSHH

BSHH

HSVer & Rotflügel
Apr 12, 2009
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Hamburg
Des Louise said:
So happy for Kerber. Great display of sportsmanship by Williams to go hug her !
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That's exactly what I thought as well. I'm very happy for fellow Northern German Kerber, but equally impressed by Williams' class.

Gruß,
BSHH
 
Sports Enthusiast

Sports Enthusiast

Not Here To Be Liked
Sep 19, 2010
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kihei said:
In the first set, sure. But I didn't see a whole lot of that in the deciding set, though. Certainly no more than would be normal for any player. That was a great, well played set, and the best player won it. Either would have earned it; it's just that Kerber did. That was a magnificent performance.
Click to expand...

Serena had almost 20 unforced errors in the final set. Including the match point.
 
Fighter

Fighter

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Jan 1, 2004
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I've never seen a more gracious loser than Serena today. I mean, she is all smiles, maybe she feels relieved the pressure is off of her for this year? Some people should learn a thing or two from her. Major props :handclap:
 
kihei

kihei

McEnroe: The older I get, the better I used to be.
Jun 14, 2006
42,993
10,456
Toronto
Sports Enthusiast said:
Serena had almost 20 unforced errors in the final set. Including the match point.
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She had 18 unforced errors to be accurate. In the first set against Sharapova, she had 16 unforced errors. How in doubt did that set seem?

There are unforced errors and there are unforced errors. First, it's the nature of the beast that in tight matches power hitters are almost always going to have more unforced errors than counterpunchers/retrievers. Power hitters go for more because they want to end points; counterpunchers go for less because they want to keep the ball in play. That fact accounts for a lot of the errors that you saw in the third set last night.

Point two, not all unforced errors are created equal. Plopping a soft second serve into the net when you are under pressure is one kind of error; catching the tape on a relatively easy shot at the end of a long, exhausting rally is another type of error. In the third set, Serena had far more of the latter than of the former.

Ask yourself this: look at Serena's play in the third set in its entirety. Given that level of play, do you actually think she would have lost if she were playing anybody else, Sharapova, Radwanska, Muguruza, et al? That third set was not just great theatre, it was great tennis. Serena didn't give Kerber the championship, Kerber won it by defeating Serena.
 
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