The Tennis Thread
Discussion
Bright Halo said:
That was quite amazing by Norrie.
We all know he has great talent but where did he find that aggression and will to win.
His game plan at the moment seems to be to wear the other guy down into going for winners. Kind of like the pressing game in footy. His opponent was responding to that pretty well in the first 2 sets, going for winners and getting them, but the pressure of having to keep doing that wore him down in the third. We all know he has great talent but where did he find that aggression and will to win.
Norrie seems to have gained a lot of fitness in the last few months. If he can just keep getting it back like he is that's a great base to be working off. All he needs to do is fine-tune the rest of his game to the same level as his fitness. His heavy topspin shots land quite short but still pin the opponent to the baseline. He looks older than his years but he's only 26, an exciting prospect.
The fitness aspect is something that AM and those around him have always talked about; I remember a few years ago when it was pointed out to a young Dan Evans that he needed to get fitter that it was questioned but it was undoubtedly true and I think there were rumblings for quite a few years that the reason so many of the promising young ladies didn't fully reach their potential was fitness.
rjfp1962 said:
Congratulations to Cam Norrie - Great win 
Indeed. What struck me was his mental resilience - let's face it up to the start of the second set, it looked very much like a foregone conclusion, ie the wrong one for him. I know he is a pro and has had all the support he needs from a mental point of view but still, many players would at least have been a bit rattled by the other guys' relentless onslaught. Cam didn't seem to mind, really inspiring. Heather Watson lost again last week - her sixth loss in a row; Dan Evans lost today in Vienna while Murray had a great win over World Number 10 Hurkacz who had beaten him in straight sets just a few weeks ago, and Raducanu plays her second match since the US Open final in Romania tomorrow after a first round loss in San Diego a few weeks ago.
ETA: Norrie opened today in Vienna and after being 3-0 down in the first won in straight sets against a hard-hitting and very well supported opponent. ER plays later today in Romania.
ETAA: Watching ER now and she is completely unconvincing and likely to lose in straight sets - there is a huge feeling of her spending nowhere near enough time on the practice court without a coach to say, 'No, keep going, no, not good enough'. Long shots, wide shots, net shots and double faults aplenty - as well as struggling with her physicality against an eager opponent.
ETA: Norrie opened today in Vienna and after being 3-0 down in the first won in straight sets against a hard-hitting and very well supported opponent. ER plays later today in Romania.
ETAA: Watching ER now and she is completely unconvincing and likely to lose in straight sets - there is a huge feeling of her spending nowhere near enough time on the practice court without a coach to say, 'No, keep going, no, not good enough'. Long shots, wide shots, net shots and double faults aplenty - as well as struggling with her physicality against an eager opponent.
Edited by McGee_22 on Tuesday 26th October 18:30
There is no doubt she is hugely talented but I said before that I thought she was going so well in the US Open was in part due to the onslaught of court time that the repetition of games against a gradually increasing quality of opponents brought, and perhaps were the key to her success in New York.
Since then her court time has been very, very limited and I think it showed today in those two old sayings;
1. There is fit, and there is match fit, and
2. You don't practice until you get something right, you practice until you can't do it wrong.
I genuinely hope she continues to improve in this competition but at the end of the match there was sheer relief on her face instead of the joy of winning - she needs a coach, at this stage maybe any coach, to get her back training hard if she hopes in any way to repeat her amazing success. She has got to this point by massive amounts of hard work but I would ask her to ask any of the top mens or womens players in the world what it takes to stay at the top? The answer, even more hard work.
The just rewards are coming her way now and over the next few years she will mentally find her way to setting herself some real goals - whether that is more Grand Slams and a legacy of being the finest British Ladies Tennis Player in the last 50 years...
...or that fabulous young woman that once won a grand slam...
...is up to her decision on the hard work that will be needed.
Since then her court time has been very, very limited and I think it showed today in those two old sayings;
1. There is fit, and there is match fit, and
2. You don't practice until you get something right, you practice until you can't do it wrong.
I genuinely hope she continues to improve in this competition but at the end of the match there was sheer relief on her face instead of the joy of winning - she needs a coach, at this stage maybe any coach, to get her back training hard if she hopes in any way to repeat her amazing success. She has got to this point by massive amounts of hard work but I would ask her to ask any of the top mens or womens players in the world what it takes to stay at the top? The answer, even more hard work.
The just rewards are coming her way now and over the next few years she will mentally find her way to setting herself some real goals - whether that is more Grand Slams and a legacy of being the finest British Ladies Tennis Player in the last 50 years...
...or that fabulous young woman that once won a grand slam...
...is up to her decision on the hard work that will be needed.
Jesus Christ, what a load of sanctimonious twaddle. You have to work hard to win at elite sports? Ffs. It’s been a mental rollercoaster, just look at her demeanour in the second set.
This was the first time I’ve seen Radu seriously challenged and then actually come back to win, and not in straight sets. I’m not going to say this tournament is a done deal by any stretch, but that was a pretty significant come back, game changing almost.
This was the first time I’ve seen Radu seriously challenged and then actually come back to win, and not in straight sets. I’m not going to say this tournament is a done deal by any stretch, but that was a pretty significant come back, game changing almost.
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