British Tennis Forum - Celebrating 20 Years!

indiana · Tennis legend

Week 31 & 32 - WTA1000 Montreal, Canada - Hard

Peter too · Tennis legend

indiana wrote:
wolf wrote:
indiana wrote:
Does anyone know for sure whether we are going to have a rankings update before Cincinnati, in particular a rankings update that is going to be relevant re the Cinci seeds? OER indicates that the WTA rankings will not be until 11/08 ( she is live ranked 37 for then, taking off Washington 2024 and adding Cinci 2025 ).

With Emma currently official WR 33 at 28/07, if these are the rankings for the seedings then she would no doubt be seeded with at least Zheng not playing. So the schedule change would definitely benefit her with her Washington QF points from last year not yet off.
Main draw Cinci starts on the same day as Toronto ends so I doubt they'll be one in time?
Certainly not if that's the case ( I can't see them producing a draw without full seedings, so Canada wouldn't count at all, just as it didn't count in previous years ). I guess there was an option of Monday 04/08 rankings without Montreal points but it doesn't look as if that's going to happen, leaving Emma with both QF and SF points from Washington.

In that case with Zheng and Badosa out that leaves Emma as 31st seed.

HarryGem · Club Coach

9vicman wrote:
Surely Emma shouldn't be losing to anyone 2/1 if playing well. Even if Amanda is playing lights out, it suggests that Emma's game doesn't trouble Amanda. Does she have the ability to mix things up when the score not going her way?

I think the bit in bold is the real question that is starting to emerge. There has been a lot of good things this year from Emma but there are times when the gap between her and the very top players looks even wider than the ranking would suggest.

Over time there have been some very bad losses to Swiatek, Rybakina, Gauff and now Anisimova. Seems to me that she can be, basically, hit off court at times. Of course this happens to a lot of players but she and her team need to able to develop a plan B. She doesn't have the power that some of the other women have so needs to try and work out how to play them.

Right now she's competing and beating players around her in the rankings, which is great and encouraging, and I'd say a ranking of around 30-40 is about right. To make the step up to the top 20 say or definitely the top 10 there needs to be more to her game.

Can she and het team develop her game remains the big question right now. But we are in a miles better place than 12 months ago.

Peter too · Tennis legend

There's a new kid on the block, 18 year old WC, Victoria Mboko WR 85, defeated Coco Gauff 6-1 6-4.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Peter too wrote:
There's a new kid on the block, 18 year old WC, Victoria Mboko WR 85, defeated Coco Gauff 6-1 6-4.

She has a LOT of fans from people who followed her at Wimbledon this year

Really classy, lovely to watch, saw a lot of all three of her matches in qualis - real pleasure

And a lovely hug between the two girls at the end smile

Pierrot · Junior player

Peter too · Tennis legend

She is certainly not wasting her time, ranked 350 at the end of last year to beating the world number 2 eight months later, just in time for the US Open.

GAMEOVER · Satellite level

Not a stellar tournament for the top of the womens game. Of the top 10 women 2 did not play , 7 failed to reach the quarter finals and Madison Keys the only one left saved match points against Muchova. Anisimova well beaten in the next round after beating Emma. However Clara Tauson who was a rival of Emma's before her US Open win beat Swiatek and has reached a live career high in the top 20.

9vicman · Futures qualifying

It looks like Anisimova was ill against Svitolina, so difficult to assess.

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

Really interesting womens final here, Mboko v Osaka. Mboko going to be one to follow at the US.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

JonH comes home wrote:
Really interesting womens final here, Mboko v Osaka. Mboko going to be one to follow at the US.

Bargain £15 to watch three of her matches in June biggrin

(well, didn't watch every minute of all three, of course smile but most of the last one, and some of the others)

A real buzz in the tennis community there - they knew it was special

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

Coup Droit wrote:
JonH comes home wrote:
Really interesting womens final here, Mboko v Osaka. Mboko going to be one to follow at the US.
Bargain £15 to watch three of her matches in June
(well, didn't watch every minute of all three, of course but most of the last one, and some of the others)
A real buzz in the tennis community there - they knew it was special

was that Wimbledon qualies? I didnt know her name at all then, did she end up qualifying (sorry, I know I could go back and check but Im being lazy!). Certainly seems the break out name of the year, mens or womens.

DF · Tennis legend

I watched her FQR against Priscilla Hon which she lost and then got a Lucky Loser spot into Wimbledon and won.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

JonH comes home wrote:
Coup Droit wrote:
JonH comes home wrote:
Really interesting womens final here, Mboko v Osaka. Mboko going to be one to follow at the US.
Bargain £15 to watch three of her matches in June
(well, didn't watch every minute of all three, of course but most of the last one, and some of the others)
A real buzz in the tennis community there - they knew it was special
was that Wimbledon qualies? I didnt know her name at all then, did she end up qualifying (sorry, I know I could go back and check but Im being lazy!). Certainly seems the break out name of the year, mens or womens.

Yes

And, no, she didn't, in that she lost her FQR match, despite having 5 (?) MPs, in an amazing match against Hon - superb tennis from both

BUT she got a LL spot - and the rest is main draw smile

Peter too · Tennis legend

Mboko is amazing at chasing down and getting every ball back. Towards the end Mboko had been pushed back, she returned a ball just over the net, Osaka tapped it just over the net and started to walk away as she had clearly won the point. Mboko had other ideas, she carried on running hurled herself towards the ball falling full length, just got her racket under the ball and didn't just scrape the ball back but hit it, she then lost her racket. Osaka glanced back only to see the ball sail past her, landing three quarters of the way down the court to win the point. Osaka looked fed up, she had been playing well but Mboko kept winning points that she seemingly had no right to win.
Mboko won 2-6 6-4 6-1