Originally Posted by Barrera
You’re very right about her legs.
Also look out for how low she sets herself for some of her shots from the baseline, this is textbook technique but not easy to do.
Most players don’t want to make the effort involved in bending the knees, they take the easy way out and hit from an upright position whereas she generates tremendous power from having that lower base.
She also has a remarkable attribute in being able to return shots that look as though they’ve gone past her, like when a great keeper claws away a shot that’s actually gone past him, she does this regularly and you can hear her racket scraping the ground because she’s at the absolute limit.
Her biggest asset seems to be the ability to throw the kitchen sink at even the most powerful shots played at her, she never flinched whatever the pressure.
I’ve just watched some of her playing Fernandez at junior Wimbledon three years ago when she was 15, she wiped the floor with her, if I’d seen the quality of her play then I’d have tipped her to win majors.
I can’t think why Laura Robson is still trying to make a comeback from injury, nice player but that’s the problem, typically English “nice”.
If you can’t hit the ball like Emma and move like her and have so few unforced errors then you need to follow the other losers like Annabel Croft into the commentary box.
I used to call on Siviter Sports in Brierley Hill.
Phil Siviter the owner was a terrific local player and made it to Wimbledon in around 73.
His son Mark was a good junior player and at 14-15 he wanted to go to Nick Bolliterri’s acadamy in the USA where Agassi went as a youth.
Phil was worth millions and could afford it but he told me that he had to be hard with his son and tell him that no matter how much money he threw at his tennis he was never going to make it!
We need more of that sense in our sport, talent like Emma’s and that of Jude Bellingham ( another I forecast for stardom after his debut at 16 for Blues! ) we need to stop supporting mediocrity and focus on obvious quality.
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