Weeks 12 & 13 - WTA1000 - Miami, USA - Hard

Var · Satellite level

Weeks 12 & 13 - WTA1000 - Miami, USA - Hard

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

Hopefully Emma can use this past weeks experience and success to help push onwards over the clay.

My hope is for the grass, though. We know she can play on the green stuff. Will follow with added interest over the next few months.

Priesty · Challenger level

I had to get up just before 3am to answer the call of nature so switched on and she was serving at 1-2 in the decider. She saved one break point but on the next one she hit the top of the net, the ball bounced high and landed invitingly for Pegula to whack a forehand winner away which she duly did. Bit unlucky there, was Emma. I went back to bed after that but clearly there must have been no way back.

Great tournament she's had though. Just start doing it a bit more often!

wales1994 · County player

Great week, and the stats look impressive for this match - both with positive winner/UE counts. Hope she can build on this over the next few months, if she can play like this regularly, I don't see why it wouldn't be possible!

Jan · Hall of fame

Thanks for the reports. Such an encouraging tournament for Emma. So great to see her playing well and enjoying herself. Let's hope she can stay injury-free and push on from here.
Oh, and more input from Mark Petchey please!

indiana · Tennis legend

Ah, what a pity but great tournament by Emma and sounds another really good display last night when she was fit and well.

Such talent, may she herself and those around her make the right moves that help it be fulfilled on a more ongoing longterm basis.

Yes, for now get checked out. But hopefully be fit and ready to go for the BJK Cup the week after next, for which she will remain GB #2, assuming she's not playing next week ( she would have overtaken Katie in the rankings if she had won last night ).

Helen40 · Grand Slam Champion

Emma's a momentum player, so hoping that this will propel her forward, but PLEASE sort your coaching out!!!

kundalini · Specialist Reporter + Intermediate Club Player

2nd set was a good, though not perfect, performance from Emma, super spell to recover from 0-2 in the tiebreak. Didn't like her passivity in the opening set, far too easy for Jessica to dominate. Third set was untidy, tons of errors and poor choices.

At the moment, she is playing a more competent version of Cavaday tennis, rather than US Open 2021/Cirstea + Vondrousova at Wimbledon 2021/Kostyuk Madrid and few other peak performances. The problem with Cavaday tennis is that it is heavily reliant on her opponent making more errors than winners.

In Miami, she has shown glimpses of her potential but been unwilling to sustain attacking play for long spells.

Peter too · Tennis legend

The next tournament she has entered for is the WTA250 in Rouen as the start of her campaign on clay leading up, I assume, to the French Open.

Andy Parker · Club Coach

Like others have posted; she ran out of steam in the 3rd set. The dizziness episode was clearly real, but I don't think it probably was due to any long term health condition.

Playing top level sport in any warm conditions can bring that on - not only have you got the physical aspect, but in a close match, you will use a huge amount of competitive nervous energy up.

Overall the match went pretty much how I was expecting - in that I thought she would probably lose, but would also probably take it to three sets and for it to be competitive.

I think that means a big thumbs up to Emma and perhaps the biggest thing, is that she now looks to have been able to put the stalker incidents behind her and move on with her life.

Her results here would suggest that she is back on track, and I think the biggest reason for her poor start to the season was the stalker.

On that subject, it was worrying to hear that Swiatek has been suffering from the same thing and that a stalker was heckling her during her match against Eala - a match she was very much expected to win, and it would not be unreasonable to conclude that it disrupted her enough to make her lose that match.

Something needs to be done to protect top sportspeople from stalkers - a ban from every tournament perhaps. I feel sad that both Emma and Iga had to suffer this.

Sheddie · administrator

kundalini wrote:
2nd set was a good, though not perfect, performance from Emma, super spell to recover from 0-2 in the tiebreak. Didn't like her passivity in the opening set, far too easy for Jessica to dominate. Third set was untidy, tons of errors and poor choices.

At the moment, she is playing a more competent version of Cavaday tennis, rather than US Open 2021/Cirstea + Vondrousova at Wimbledon 2021/Kostyuk Madrid and few other peak performances. The problem with Cavaday tennis is that it is heavily reliant on her opponent making more errors than winners.

In Miami, she has shown glimpses of her potential but been unwilling to sustain attacking play for long spells.

The interesting thing though is that even with slightly more competent 'Cavaday tennis', Emma is probably good enough to make it back into the top 20, if she stays fit and plays a full calendar. She can beat the majority of girls with her returning, retrieving, and the ability to find serves on big points.

To win a 1000, make another slam final or get back in the top 10, she probably does need to step up the attacking side of her game, but just with the 'Cavaday tennis' alone, she's capable of going a lot further.

GAMEOVER · Satellite level

Emma has won 12 tie breaks in a row. The last one she lost was to Iga at Stuttgart last year.

Var · Satellite level

Sheddie wrote:
kundalini wrote:
2nd set was a good, though not perfect, performance from Emma, super spell to recover from 0-2 in the tiebreak. Didn't like her passivity in the opening set, far too easy for Jessica to dominate. Third set was untidy, tons of errors and poor choices.

At the moment, she is playing a more competent version of Cavaday tennis, rather than US Open 2021/Cirstea + Vondrousova at Wimbledon 2021/Kostyuk Madrid and few other peak performances. The problem with Cavaday tennis is that it is heavily reliant on her opponent making more errors than winners.

In Miami, she has shown glimpses of her potential but been unwilling to sustain attacking play for long spells.
The interesting thing though is that even with slightly more competent 'Cavaday tennis', Emma is probably good enough to make it back into the top 20, if she stays fit and plays a full calendar. She can beat the majority of girls with her returning, retrieving, and the ability to find serves on big points.

To win a 1000, make another slam final or get back in the top 10, she probably does need to step up the attacking side of her game, but just with the 'Cavaday tennis' alone, she's capable of going a lot further.

I think before slamming Cavaday you have to contextualise when he took over working with Emma, her then ranking and situation with injuries and recovery. I still think he did a sterling job getting her mindset right and supporting her through a very tricky period. Without his help it could have gone terribly wrong. Now granted she does needs a fresh pair of eyes, but I for one, I think he did a very good job at the time. Another tough driven coach could have finished her off.

B00thy · Lower Club Player

Var wrote:
Sheddie wrote:
kundalini wrote:
2nd set was a good, though not perfect, performance from Emma, super spell to recover from 0-2 in the tiebreak. Didn't like her passivity in the opening set, far too easy for Jessica to dominate. Third set was untidy, tons of errors and poor choices.

At the moment, she is playing a more competent version of Cavaday tennis, rather than US Open 2021/Cirstea + Vondrousova at Wimbledon 2021/Kostyuk Madrid and few other peak performances. The problem with Cavaday tennis is that it is heavily reliant on her opponent making more errors than winners.

In Miami, she has shown glimpses of her potential but been unwilling to sustain attacking play for long spells.
The interesting thing though is that even with slightly more competent 'Cavaday tennis', Emma is probably good enough to make it back into the top 20, if she stays fit and plays a full calendar. She can beat the majority of girls with her returning, retrieving, and the ability to find serves on big points.

To win a 1000, make another slam final or get back in the top 10, she probably does need to step up the attacking side of her game, but just with the 'Cavaday tennis' alone, she's capable of going a lot further.

I think before slamming Cavaday you have to contextualise when he took over working with Emma, her then ranking and situation with injuries and recovery. I still think he did a sterling job getting her mindset right and supporting her through a very tricky period. Without his help it could have gone terribly wrong. Now granted she does needs a fresh pair of eyes, but I for one, I think he did a very good job at the time. Another tough driven coach could have finished her off.

`well said!

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Var wrote:
Sheddie wrote:
kundalini wrote:
2nd set was a good, though not perfect, performance from Emma, super spell to recover from 0-2 in the tiebreak. Didn't like her passivity in the opening set, far too easy for Jessica to dominate. Third set was untidy, tons of errors and poor choices.

At the moment, she is playing a more competent version of Cavaday tennis, rather than US Open 2021/Cirstea + Vondrousova at Wimbledon 2021/Kostyuk Madrid and few other peak performances. The problem with Cavaday tennis is that it is heavily reliant on her opponent making more errors than winners.

In Miami, she has shown glimpses of her potential but been unwilling to sustain attacking play for long spells.
The interesting thing though is that even with slightly more competent 'Cavaday tennis', Emma is probably good enough to make it back into the top 20, if she stays fit and plays a full calendar. She can beat the majority of girls with her returning, retrieving, and the ability to find serves on big points.

To win a 1000, make another slam final or get back in the top 10, she probably does need to step up the attacking side of her game, but just with the 'Cavaday tennis' alone, she's capable of going a lot further.

I think before slamming Cavaday you have to contextualise when he took over working with Emma, her then ranking and situation with injuries and recovery. I still think he did a sterling job getting her mindset right and supporting her through a very tricky period. Without his help it could have gone terribly wrong. Now granted she does needs a fresh pair of eyes, but I for one, I think he did a very good job at the time. Another tough driven coach could have finished her off.

I didn't read it that Sheddie was 'slamming' Cavaday at all