I know she is not competing in the Stanford Tournament but,......He doesn't even mention 18 year old Ana Ivanovic. She is another player with a huge serve and forehand (and ranked inside the top 20). Another reporter apparently on IMG's payroll :(
Lol, right on. I noticed that too--and was like hmm, maybe I'm wrong and Ana is actually a bit older? But then I checked on wtatour.com and was like--WTF?
I heard Ana Ivanovic hired Alicia Molik's old coach, David Taylor. I believe he's the one who helped Alicia get into the top 10. I was watching Ana play Amelie at Wimbledon this year, and not to be mean or anything, but the contrast in body shapes/figures was telling. Amelie is a lean, mean fighting machine, especially since the very beginning of this year, starting from Australia itself. Ana looked a little pregnant in her Adidas dress LOL. The same one Martina Hingis looked great in! If Ana can get a little more in shape, cut out some of the "baby fat," and work on HARNESSING her extraordinary power (I mean, she's just awesome when she's on and AWFUL when she's off --UFE machine lol), then she can definitely make it into the top 10. She's even got decent volleying skills! I was impressed watching her at the net at Wimbledon.
Momofan.....Point well taken I would also agree that as Ana's conditioning level gets better she is bound to be in top 10 or even higher. One thing I will point out when considering body types. Amelie Mauresmo is 27 years old and by that age and maturity level elite athletes have a much better gauge on how their body adapts to certain foods, training, etc.......Don't be surprised if you start hearing and seeing more on Ms. Ivanovic. I would like to see her and Vaidisova play each other then maybe after Ivanovic wipes the court with her ESPN and others would stop proclaiming Vaidisova to be the next coming of Christ.
Tom: Good point. Guess what? Ivanovic wiped the floor with Vaidisova last year in Miami 4th round. Vaidisova's got skills, I agree, but I'm not proclaiming her as the next *anything*, not even the next Sharapova, until she can be more consistent. I mean, it's awesome that she made the SF of RG (and she really should have beaten Kuzzie in that SF), but I still say, if it were anywhere else except for Paris, Amelie would have down the floor wiping with Nicole (like she did in Melbourne, 1&1 baby!) and the Venus who showed up in the QF was, unfortunately, the "I wanna be a firefighter so I'll spray my forehand all over the place" 2006 version of Venus Williams. Let's hope Ana's new coach can help her get herself "together" a bit more.
That Nicole is not the same Nicole!!!! Trust me, she would not get wiped by Ana. Her backhand is so much better, you can't play it like before. It use to loop into the court, not any more!!! She rarely beats herself, Ana on the otherhand does quite a beat. Nicole doesn't want to be the next anyone, except- Nicole Vaidisova!
Nicole is the best of them. She has all the weapons to be Number One. She just needs to execute well her shots and nobody can beat her. Her next step is to attack more the net after a good approach shot. If she serves well and becomes more aggresive at the net, she will be Number One!
Nicole is ahead of them. She has the biggest game, and surprisingly great dropshots!
Posted by: Dana | July 26, 2006 at 08:30 PM
I know she is not competing in the Stanford Tournament but,......He doesn't even mention 18 year old Ana Ivanovic. She is another player with a huge serve and forehand (and ranked inside the top 20). Another reporter apparently on IMG's payroll :(
Posted by: Tom | July 27, 2006 at 09:07 AM
Lol, right on. I noticed that too--and was like hmm, maybe I'm wrong and Ana is actually a bit older? But then I checked on wtatour.com and was like--WTF?
Posted by: federated | July 27, 2006 at 11:30 AM
I heard Ana Ivanovic hired Alicia Molik's old coach, David Taylor. I believe he's the one who helped Alicia get into the top 10. I was watching Ana play Amelie at Wimbledon this year, and not to be mean or anything, but the contrast in body shapes/figures was telling. Amelie is a lean, mean fighting machine, especially since the very beginning of this year, starting from Australia itself. Ana looked a little pregnant in her Adidas dress LOL. The same one Martina Hingis looked great in! If Ana can get a little more in shape, cut out some of the "baby fat," and work on HARNESSING her extraordinary power (I mean, she's just awesome when she's on and AWFUL when she's off --UFE machine lol), then she can definitely make it into the top 10. She's even got decent volleying skills! I was impressed watching her at the net at Wimbledon.
Posted by: momofan | July 27, 2006 at 05:08 PM
Momofan.....Point well taken I would also agree that as Ana's conditioning level gets better she is bound to be in top 10 or even higher. One thing I will point out when considering body types. Amelie Mauresmo is 27 years old and by that age and maturity level elite athletes have a much better gauge on how their body adapts to certain foods, training, etc.......Don't be surprised if you start hearing and seeing more on Ms. Ivanovic. I would like to see her and Vaidisova play each other then maybe after Ivanovic wipes the court with her ESPN and others would stop proclaiming Vaidisova to be the next coming of Christ.
Posted by: Tom | July 27, 2006 at 10:22 PM
Tom: Good point. Guess what? Ivanovic wiped the floor with Vaidisova last year in Miami 4th round. Vaidisova's got skills, I agree, but I'm not proclaiming her as the next *anything*, not even the next Sharapova, until she can be more consistent. I mean, it's awesome that she made the SF of RG (and she really should have beaten Kuzzie in that SF), but I still say, if it were anywhere else except for Paris, Amelie would have down the floor wiping with Nicole (like she did in Melbourne, 1&1 baby!) and the Venus who showed up in the QF was, unfortunately, the "I wanna be a firefighter so I'll spray my forehand all over the place" 2006 version of Venus Williams. Let's hope Ana's new coach can help her get herself "together" a bit more.
Posted by: Momofan | July 28, 2006 at 12:16 AM
That Nicole is not the same Nicole!!!! Trust me, she would not get wiped by Ana. Her backhand is so much better, you can't play it like before. It use to loop into the court, not any more!!! She rarely beats herself, Ana on the otherhand does quite a beat. Nicole doesn't want to be the next anyone, except- Nicole Vaidisova!
Posted by: Tom | July 28, 2006 at 03:17 AM
Nicole is the best of them. She has all the weapons to be Number One. She just needs to execute well her shots and nobody can beat her. Her next step is to attack more the net after a good approach shot. If she serves well and becomes more aggresive at the net, she will be Number One!
Posted by: Luis | July 30, 2006 at 12:33 PM