by vanjabarsa » 03 Sep 2011, 13:34
Originally Posted by Matt Cronin
ANA IVANOVIC VS SLOANE STEPHENS
Sloane Stephens is a very talented teenager who is fast, has power off both wings, owns an improving serve and appears to love the big stage. She is full of life and should be a fine addition to US women's tennis over the next decade. Now here’s the “but.” Sometimes after huge wins, like Stephens pulled off over the seeded Shahar Peer, younger players have a natural letdown and that’s what I'm expecting here. It’s not that I don't think that the 18-year-old can't play with Ivanovic, because I do. It’s true the former No. 1 has not had a great year, but she as working very hard on improving daily and has far more experience on the big stage.
What Stephens has to do is hang in the match and hope that Ivanovic gets the yips on her serve. She also must be very aware of Ivanovic's forehand, one of the biggest and most effective on tour. She cannot overplay to that side, but she also can't allow Ivanovic to get a read on her game plan and camp in the lefthand corner and blast away.
That's easier said than done, as Ivanovic knows how to maneuver herself into positive positions on the court and still has top-10 stuff as long as she doesn’t get too anxious. This should be a highly entertaining match between one of the tour's most interesting and established personalities (Ivanovic), and one of its newest and most endearing ones. Ivanovic will come though in three hard fought sets.
