Indian Wells 3rd round: Stosur vs Petrova

Good evening everyone,

It has been quite a long time since I have watched a match. One of the main reasons is that TV channels do not broadcast tennis very often. But this week, I have a chance to watch the Indian Wells tournament. I can watch a few matches in the evenings played in this tournament which is organized in California. 

 

This evening, Australian player Sam Stosur plays against her Russian opponent Nadia Petrova in the 3^rd round of women’s tennis. I don’t know Petrova’s game. Stosur is one of my favorite female players, but her performance declined after she won a Grand Slam, and I think she is still not in good shape. I could not watch the second set as I turned on the TV during the second set. I need to say that Stosur is a brave player indeed. That is to say, while her opponent served, she played in such a calm mood that she managed to break her opponent’s serve, and took her own game to carry the match to a tiebreak. It is not very easy to do that. The match is neither very exciting nor rhythmical; there are no such long rallies. There are no super classy shots or solid serves. I think the players have a mediocre game also due to heat. Stosur took the second set in tiebreak and extended the match. But she still could not find her rhythm, whereas Petrova is quite confident in her service games. She had good serves, but she is also nervous at the moment. Unfortunately this match is not one of those matches that you can comment on; I can say that both players play in the same way any good player can play in a mediocre manner. The match continues in a calm atmosphere. I can say that the two players, who play as they are about to faint due to heat, also bored me to death. I wish that any player breaks serve to quickly carry this match, which exceeded two hours, to the final set. Meanwhile, in this tournament, the players withdraw from the tournament due to stomach disorders. 5 players have withdrawn from the tournament so far.

First Stosur broke the serve and made the score 3-2. Just when I thought she took control of the match, Petrova broke her serve and leveled the match. From the game so far, we cannot mention a high quality game. However, Russian player is more dominant in terms of ambition, so I think she will win the match. In the 3^rd set, Petrova leads 5-4 and Stosur will serve to stay in the match. I will see soon how Stosur will respond to this pressure, but Petrova also gives good signals in terms of her body language. Meanwhile, the commentator on TV says that we are watching an enjoyable match. :) I think this match is such a yawner; the ball doesn't even get off the ground. Stosur started her service game with a double fault. This is not a good sign as Stosur's second serves are not that brilliant either. In fact, Sam is a player who is able to easily change the course of the game, but I could not see this side of her here as she plays a mediocre game. Therefore, she gives a chance to her opponent who plays in a mediocre but more ambitious manner. Both players mainly play in the middle; no long balls are shot in the opposite corners or no calls are shot in parallel to the side lines. The games are played intermittently, the balls bounce off the net, so the players slow down the match.

Stosur did not make a good start in her service game. She was even about to lose the match, but didn’t give up, and made it 5-5. Petrova is quite good and consistent in her serves. She makes easy points; since she serves well and does not tire herself out, she gives her energy in a better way during her opponent’s serve. Sam Stosur took a point with a passing shot for the first time in the match. From what I have seen so far, Petrova got tense, and she is in trouble with her serve right now. With her calm attitude, Stosur broke the serve, and will serve to win the match due to the big errors by Petrova. I can say that the match has become interesting for the first time. After letting her serve get broken by her own errors just now, Petrova made good defense. She made the right shots at the right time. She also broke her opponent's serve and carried the match to a tiebreak. Nadia Petrova started the tiebreak with an ace which was the 15^th one in the match. This is quite a good figure for a female player. Petrova often makes backhand errors. She shoots many balls that bounce off the net which we call an unforced error. In fact, if she cuts down these errors, she can be much better with her powerful serve. Playing aggressive tennis, Petrova made it 5-2 in tiebreak. What I have observed in Petrova’s game is that she panics towards the end of the final and continuously makes horrible errors. She plays very well and consistently throughout the match, but she makes unbelievable errors in critical moments. She failed to take one point and made it 6-5, but in the end, she managed to win the match. Petrova beat Stosur with the set scores of 6-1, 6-7, 7-6, and managed to make it through to the 4^th round.