[CLL Dodge]

Originally Posted by barracuda91

Glad for Laura and Andy. Surprised Stepanek wasn't called out for the foot-faulting.

I'm sorry to rant again about the scheduling but they have pitted the two women's semi-finals against one another, which I find extremely unfair if people want to see both of them. Even if people don't, I still think semi-finals should always start one after the other.

Azarenka, Williams & Kirilenko all have doubles matches on later.

[barracuda91]

Originally Posted by CLL Dodge

Azarenka, Williams & Kirilenko all have doubles matches on later.

That shouldn't matter as they obviously don't mind that they have scheduled Murray's doubles' match after his singles match. They could've put the Sharapova-Kirilenko match first on Court 1 to minimalise any overlapping of the two semis.

[Irishguy123]

Originally Posted by Erica Cartman

You are entitled to disagree of course, but I stand by all of my points. The question asked was why she was so disliked, I simply pointed out the reasons so many people dislike her.

You're standing by all your points despite the fact I highlighted how comprehensively flawed each and every one of them was?

[petertard]

I expect a Sharapova-Serena final, and I know at present people will think Serena should massacre Maria, possibly her desire to humiliate her might backfire, handing the match to Sharapova. (I read that Serena does not like the apparent monopoly on endorsements Maria seems to have.)

[footygirl]

Semi finals are as follows

Roger Federer v Juan Martin del Potro
Andy Murray v Novak Djokovic

Maria Kirilenko v Maria Sharapova
Serena Williams v Victoria Azarenka

Bryan/Bryan v Benneteau/Gasquet
Tsonga/LLodra v Ferrer/Lopez

Huber/Raymond v Hradecka/Hlavackova
Kirilenko/Petrova v Williams/Williams

Quarter finals

Azarenka/Myrni v Mirza/Paes
Raymond/Bryan v Dulko /Del Potro
Robson/Murray v Stosur/Hewitt
Vinci/Bracciali v Lisicki/Kas

[CLL Dodge]

Originally Posted by footygirl

Semi finals are as follows

Victoria Azarenka v Maria Sharapova
Serena Williams v Maria Kirilenko

The 2 Marias play each other.

[Irishguy123]

Originally Posted by petertard

Will Maria get to the final ?

I would be extremely surprised if she didn't. I expect a very scrappy, three set match though.

[footygirl]

edited

[Mystical123]

Originally Posted by petertard

I expect a Sharapova-Serena final, and I know at present people will think Serena should massacre Maria, possibly her desire to humiliate her might backfire, handing the match to Sharapova. (I read that Serena does not like the apparent monopoly on endorsements Maria seems to have.)

I also expect a Sharapova/Serena final, but unless Maria plays about 10 times better than she did when I saw her play Robson the other day, then Serena will win easily. I didn't see her match today as I only have Freeview, but Maria's serve was abysmal the other day, and Serena doesn't need an invitation like that to break someone's serve!

[Irishguy123]

Originally Posted by Irishguy123

I would be extremely surprised if she didn't. I expect a very scrappy, three set match though.

Btw I meant her semi-final against Kirilenko, not her probable final against Serena.

[RepublicOfYorks]

Originally Posted by Irishguy123

Her attitude is terrible. Also her grunt (which doesn't bother me) annoys a lot of people, and she remains completely indignant about it.

She's fiercely competitive, she plays a powerful game with little finesse... bang bang bang, some people like it, others don't... and it's said she doesn't shriek during practice, so why do it in matches? But it doesn't bother me when watching.

Also, from what I see and read of her off court, I think she has a nice personality, and I think she takes her responsibility, as one of the top players, to involve fans and get them interested seriously. She genuinely seems to love the game, as opposed to Serena 'I don't really like sports' Williams.

I think she's great. I'm sure she'll win more Slams, Wimbledon included - then maybe British audiences will make more of an effort to find out about her and maybe like what they see.

[Erica Cartman]

Originally Posted by Irishguy123

You're standing by all your points despite the fact I highlighted how comprehensively flawed each and every one of them was?

You didn't point out any flaws, only your subjective view of them. All of the points still stand. They are the reason she is disliked by a huge portion of tennis fans.

[RepublicOfYorks]

Originally Posted by footygirl

Bryan/Bryan v Benneteau/Gasquet
Tsonga/LLodra v Ferrer/Lopez

I would love to see an all-French final, and I would love to see Gasquet win a gold medal. I love his balletic style, I was stood a few feet away on court 14 last year when he played Bolelli, and thought that if I could play tennis, I would want to play exactly like that, especially with that dramatic backhand.

[RepublicOfYorks]

Originally Posted by Erica Cartman

You didn't point out any flaws, only your subjective view of them. All of the points still stand.

It's all subjective. Irishguy doesn't like Vika, I do, you hate Wozniacki, Irishguy doesn't mind her, I'm completely indifferent. But it's good that the women's game is getting people talking again, with different personalities having a genuine claim to number one.

I think maybe Wozniacki getting to number one without winning a Grand Slam annoyed people too, not her fault, but to see her seeded one at GS tournaments a while back was a joke.
Most people doubt she'll ever win one, I imagine.

[CLL Dodge]

Originally Posted by Erica Cartman

You didn't point out any flaws, only your subjective view of them. All of the points still stand. They are the reason she is disliked by a huge portion of tennis fans.

A huge portion of posters on the tennis forum, maybe.

[Erica Cartman]

Originally Posted by RepublicOfYorks

It's all subjective. Irishguy doesn't like Vika, I do, you hate Wozniacki, Irishguy doesn't mind her, I'm completely indifferent. But it's good that the women's game is getting people talking again, with different personalities having a genuine claim to number one.

I think maybe Wozniacki getting to number one without winning a Grand Slam annoyed people too, not her fault, but to see her seeded one at GS tournaments a while back was a joke.
Most people doubt she'll ever win one, I imagine.

Originally Posted by CLL Dodge

A huge portion of posters on the tennis forum, maybe.

I understand what you're saying, but the question was asked why is she so disliked, I simply gave the most common examples that are given whenever discussions about her come up. Obviously not everyone is going to agree, but the animosity towards her clearly didn't appear out of thin air, and is not entirely unjustified in my opinion. That's all

[Erica Cartman]

Originally Posted by RepublicOfYorks

She's fiercely competitive, she plays a powerful game with little finesse... bang bang bang, some people like it, others don't... and it's said she doesn't shriek during practice, so why do it in matches? But it doesn't bother me when watching.

Also, from what I see and read of her off court, I think she has a nice personality, and I think she takes her responsibility, as one of the top players, to involve fans and get them interested seriously. She genuinely seems to love the game, as opposed to Serena 'I don't really like sports' Williams.

I think she's great. I'm sure she'll win more Slams, Wimbledon included - then maybe British audiences will make more of an effort to find out about her and maybe like what they see.

I think she is always going to be polarising throughout her career. She has a nice off-court personality but not everyone sees that, they only see the game face.

[RepublicOfYorks]

Originally Posted by Erica Cartman

I understand what you're saying, but the question was asked why is she so disliked, I simply gave the most common examples that are given whenever discussions about her come up. Obviously not everyone is going to agree, but the animosity towards her clearly didn't appear out of thin air, and is not entirely unjustified in my opinion. That's all

I think you missed a big factor in the number one thing... she was seen by many as a 'fake' number one, a symbol of the decline of the women's game. Safina had a similar problem, but she isn't in the game anymore AFAIK.

[Erica Cartman]

Originally Posted by RepublicOfYorks

I think you missed a big factor in the number one thing... she was seen by many as a 'fake' number one, a symbol of the decline of the women's game. Safina had a similar problem, but she isn't in the game anymore AFAIK.

That's true but I meant why she is disliked now, rather than when she was number 1.

Safina at least made mutiple slam finals when she was number 1. It's a shame she had to stop playing at such a young age.

[alexgr]

Originally Posted by barracuda91

That shouldn't matter as they obviously don't mind that they have scheduled Murray's doubles' match after his singles match. They could've put the Sharapova-Kirilenko match first on Court 1 to minimalise any overlapping of the two semis.

Kirilenko plays Serena in her doubles match - if Kirilenko was first on court 1, she'd have more rest before the doubles than Serena.

[Irishguy123]

Originally Posted by RepublicOfYorks

It's all subjective. Irishguy doesn't like Vika, I do, you hate Wozniacki, Irishguy doesn't mind her, I'm completely indifferent. But it's good that the women's game is getting people talking again, with different personalities having a genuine claim to number one.

I think maybe Wozniacki getting to number one without winning a Grand Slam annoyed people too, not her fault, but to see her seeded one at GS tournaments a while back was a joke.
Most people doubt she'll ever win one, I imagine.

I do like her! I was just presenting my interpretation of why she seems to be particularly unpopular with fans.

[Irishguy123]

Originally Posted by Erica Cartman

You didn't point out any flaws, only your subjective view of them. All of the points still stand. They are the reason she is disliked by a huge portion of tennis fans.

No they don't. Because, they are simply untrue. They aren't an opinion, or based on subjectivity, they are completely false. You said she lacks talent. A ridiculous thing to say. She's a professional tennis player who has won 18 titles. That cannot be achieved without talent. Do you understand that?

You said that she always cheers an opponents mistake. Every single player does this during a match. Does Wozniacki do it more than others, or to the point where it is rude/insulting/possible hindrance? No, she does not. In fact, I cannot recall a single occasion where she has noticeably cheered an opponents mistake

You mentioned she always disputes line calls. Again, that was false. Not based on subjectivity, that statement was simply untrue.

You said she is "complicit in shoving Rory down our throats". Again, another statement which is false. Wozniacki is always making the news, 99% of the time it is for her tennis/decline/failure to win slams. Not because she is shoving Rory down our throats.

And calling her a fame whore? If you genuinley think she is a fame whore, then you clearly don't understand what the word means, or behaviour associated with it.

[RepublicOfYorks]

Originally Posted by Irishguy123

I do like her! I was just presenting my interpretation of why she seems to be particularly unpopular with fans.

Apols, devil's advocate etc. Well I'm glad it's not just me then!

TBF, when men watch women's tennis, an initial impression is always going to be made if the man watching finds the woman playing particularly attractive

But then in order to keep the interest going, from a tennis fan's point of view, said player has to a) play good or at least exciting tennis and b) have an attractive personality. Anna Kournikova, for instance, fell down on both, which is why her male fan appeal was short lived.

Vika can play extremely high quality power tennis which could trouble anybody - even Serena tomorrow, although it's difficult to see her winning - and she's keeping interest going with good performances in major tournaments, and letting those who are interested see her fun side, on websites and twitter and what have you.

Women's tennis needs this, because for so long it has been so devoid of interest.. so, players like Vika, the German pair, Kvitova, our two young Brits on the way up... this generation on the rise I think has so much more to offer in tennis as entertainment than the top players of the last decade, of whom only Clijsters has been particularly engaging, so it can only be good.

Men's tennis over the last six or seven years has been going through its most exciting period since the early to mid 80s, so the women need to catch up!

I bet in five years' time - when Vika has won at least one Wimbledon - the demanding British fans will start to appreciate her

[RepublicOfYorks]

Originally Posted by Irishguy123

You said she is "complicit in shoving Rory down our throats". Again, another statement which is false. Wozniacki is always making the news, 99% of the time it is for her tennis/decline/failure to win slams. Not because she is shoving Rory down our throats.

And calling her a fame whore? If you genuinley think she is a fame whore, then you clearly don't understand what the word means, or behaviour associated with it.

Agree with Irishguy on this point... a fame whore would be someone like the mystifyingly popular Chantelle Houghton... who was in a reality series most people have forgotten, and now doesn't actually 'do' anything useful to deserve her fame... she just seems to live off being photographed and giving 'exclusive interviews' about nothing.

Wozniacki may make the magazines for non-tennis reasons, but at least we know why she is famous, and if she quit tennis tomorrow, I doubt she'd be encouraging celeb magazines to still write stuff about her.

I don't know anything about golf, yet I recognise Rory McIlroy's name and face and know he is a leading player, but I don't think his relationship with CW is that intrusive in coverage of tennis... try Chantelle and Alex Reid, or Cheryl and Ashley Cole, these are people who really shove their relationships down our throats!

[RepublicOfYorks]

Originally Posted by Erica Cartman

I think she is always going to be polarising throughout her career. She has a nice off-court personality but not everyone sees that, they only see the game face.

Yes, and in a way that's sad about tennis. There's so much at stake now, you're never going to see another Jimmy Connors or Henri Leconte, cracking jokes around the court whilst winning matches. But people who criticise a player for a miserable attitude on court aren't being fair... will they go around laughing and joking all through their working day?

And with the internet, at least some players like Vika are using it to let people know what they're like off court. If spectators aren't interested enough to go onto a player's personal website, or follow them on Twitter, it's not the player's fault.