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Category Archives: Istanbul

Quotable Quotes: Li Na’s interesting take on grunting

Leave a Comment Posted by on October 28, 2011

We all know that Li Na’s brain works in strange and mysterious ways. It shows on court when she is capable of both sheer brilliance and mind-numbing stupidity simultaneously, and it’s also a similar story off-court.

Example? The question of the week in the Istanbul press room has been on grunting and whether it should be stopped. Wozniacki was controversial in her response;

“I think there are some players who do it [grunting] on purpose. They don’t do it in practice and then they come into the match and they grunt. I understand if they do it in practice and in matches, that’s different. I think they [the officials] could definitely cut it. “If you grunt really loudly, your opponent cannot hear how you hit the ball. Because you think the grunt is so loud, you think the ball is coming fast and suddenly it just goes slowly.”

On the other hand, Sam Stosur was much less controversial, noting that she’s rarely even aware of it.

“I don’t notice ‑‑ I think when you hear it every single time, it kinda ‑‑ you become unaware of it almost. But I don’t know. I guess it’s one of those things. Some players feel the need to do it and some don’t.”

And Li? Well, you be the judge.

Istanbul, Na Li

Quotable Quotes: Vika Strikes Back..

1 Comment Posted by on October 26, 2011

You’d think that people would know by now not to get Victoria Azarenka angry, right? And yet apparently they don’t. After her 6-2 6-2 victory over Stosur the subject quickly veered into the age-old subject of grunting.

Q. I know this has come up before, but Caroline Wozniacki has said a few things about the noise that people like yourself and Maria make. She says that some players do it deliberately, and she wishes they would stop. Has the tour mentioned this to you, anyone from seniority spoken to you about this issue?

“No, and Caroline never spoke to me about that, either. It’s not — I don’t really have a comment actually about that. I’m the way that I play since I was actually eight years old, and it’s becme the part of my movement, part of my game. So I cannot change it and I’m not gonna.

This was strike one.

Q. But what if an opponent made a complaint, which they are within their rights to do? Then what would be your attitude to that?

“I would just say, mind your own business, I guess. I hope you can beat me. That’s it. (Smiling.)

Strike two.

Q. If you had to stop doing it, could you do it?
“No.”

Q. Really?
“Really. That’s what I have been trying to tell you, but you keep asking me the same question, just trying to turn it around. And you’re not going to get another answer.”

Aaand strike three.

Unsurprisingly, that last sentence closed off the presser. I wasn’t present, but I imagine half the press room was trying to suppress laughter while those british journalists responsible for the questions sat mortified at Azarenka’s retort, and rightly so. I highly doubt they will dare to ask her another grunting question for a long time. And if they do? Then I’m sure she’ll be bringing out the heavy artillery.

Istanbul, Victoria Azarenka

The WTA Race for Year-end number one is BACK ON.

1 Comment Posted by on October 7, 2011

Moments ago, Flavia Pennetta landed a memorable victory over Caroline Wozniacki. The match itself was exciting, dramatic and made absolutely zero sense, but perhaps what’s even more interesting is that – after looking done and dusted with Sharapova’s retirement in Tokyo last week and withdrawal from Beijing this week – the race to number one is still on.

With both Wozniacki and Sharapova not scheduled to play any tournament between now and the WTA Championships in Istanbul, it will all come down to that final tournament between the 8 players who have amassed the most points this year. The scenarios are as follows;

If Karolina reaches the final with more than one Round Robin victory, then she will secure the number one spot.
If Karolina reaches the final with only one RR victory, Maria can only secure #1 by winning title unbeaten.
If Karolina wins three matches in RR*, Maria can only secure #1 by winning title unbeaten.
If Karolina wins two matches in RR*, Maria can secure #1 by winning title and losing one match in RR.
If Karolina wins one match in RR*, Maria can secure #1 by winning title with only one RR victory.
If Karolina loses all RR matches, Maria can secure #1 by reaching final unbeaten or taking title with only one RR victory.

*presuming she doesn’t reach the final.

So there you go. It’s hard to say what will be the likely scenario come Istanbul in three weeks. Certainly there is a big possibility of Wozniacki fizzling out quickly, taking into account her recent form and the fact that the only top tenners she has beaten all year are Jankovic and Schiavone. ‘Nuff said.

But on the other hand, will Sharapova’s ankle be 100% by Istanbul? Will she have enough intense practice beforehand to be a threat there? Will the courts prove too quick for her? I don’t think even Sharapova knows the answers to any of those questions right now. However, it’s food for thought and there’s still a chance that this could prove a pretty electric end to the season.

And after an inconsistent year filled mostly with injuries, illnesses and retirements from the greatest active players, an intriguing battle for the top spot would be a much-needed spectacle to close off 2011.

Caroline Wozniacki, Istanbul, Maria Sharapova

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