It's probably just as well I didn't get to see the match as the stats and reports don't make great reading, although she had no luck with netcords. When you need a bit of luck, you don't get any. I wonder how different the match could have been if these had gone her way. If Daniela was confident and in form she'd be able to overcome adversity like that, but when these are low, bad luck will have much more of a negative impact on performance.
It's a bit depressing and I can't look forward to the Australian Open with a lot of optimism as Daniela's form and confidence is pretty low right. Hopefully she can get a good draw and build a bit of confidence in the tournament because she won't be going in with much and she's got the pressure of a lot of points to defend. Still, Daniela's usually done well in Melbourne and she has to start playing well sometime.

If we're looking at past years, she lost her first match of the year last year and in the second round in Sydney before getting to the semi-final at the AO. That's being positive. Daniela's 2007 & 2008 mirrored her 2002 and 2003, so if 2009 is anything like 2004, then an early exit in Melbourne, a good tournament in February then nothing until the grass season. Roll on Rosmalen.

As much as I am disappointed in the result, this match was certainly one that Daniela lost, instead of Radwanska winning. Daniela basically beat herself with her unforced errors. Had she kept that count low, I am almost certain she would have won the match in 2 clean sets. Unfortunately, there was just too many errors today.

Some of my thoughts after watching the match today:
- Daniela really should have won both sets. She was unlucky with the net cords on 2 BIG points: the first would have given her a break in the first set, and the second would have saved a break point against her. BOO to those netcords!
- Daniela was really aggressive today. You could tell she was aiming to get the first strike in most rallies and often she did. Her groundstrokes were for the most part cleanly hit.
- She wasn't netting a lot of the balls, but was spraying them wide and long, so I think that's where the spin should come into play. I felt the longer the rally went, the more impatient she got, and she would go for the winner too often, instead of constructing the point.
- She had a couple of bad misses on the smash, and I remember she had a couple of points where she was in the winning position, but just over cooked the next shot, resulting in some huge unforced error.

If Daniela can cut down on those errors and be more consistent, I think she's on her way to finally winning some consecutive matches. Like I said, Radwanska didn't really do anything to win; it was more Daniela beating herself.

The most positive thing I got from this match was that Daniela was fighting for it. She didn't cave in after losing the first set, like she's done in the latter half of last year. She fought for it and really played some excellent points with some great winners. A little more of that and a little less unforced errors, and I believe she can get back to her winning ways.
Oh, and I feel her movement has improved as well. She got to a lot of dropshots, and I remember she was moving really well on one of those match points.

Anyway, on to the Aus Open, and here's hoping for a kind draw and a relentless, inspired and improved Daniela.

- Daniela was really aggressive today. You could tell she was aiming to get the first strike in most rallies and often she did. Her groundstrokes were for the most part cleanly hit.

...

The most positive thing I got from this match was that Daniela was fighting for it. She didn't cave in after losing the first set, like she's done in the latter half of last year.


at least a good sign. And the result isn't as bad as most of them last year.

I had the impression that Daniela has been a bit scared on court in the last months and didn't dare to play agressive. Great that it may have changed.

Well i expected a lot from this match... and it was a real desaster.

Danka: oh my god, those UE's... Well sometimes there was the AO 08 Danka, but sometimes she played just horrible. Sometimes she made 3 consecutive horrible UE's and then she made some good strokes. Danka's still far away from her best.
"If she can cut down those errors" well it's not that easy as it sounds. I think the best for Danka is to play some International Events. She has to gain her confidence and her real game back. As more matches she plays, her game will improve. I really think it's better than lose early in every big event.

As for Radwanska, i'm pretty disappointed with her. When i saw her the first time, i thought wow she's so smart, she's not like everyone, she's special. But her "tennis" gets annoying. She seems to play like a club player. Her service is just nothing, and she's unable to hit some real winners. She can just hit stops and some "lucky shots" but not more than that. She's moving well but nothing more. That's why womens tennis seems to be so ridiculous. How can a player like her be in Top 10? And a player like Wozniacki ranked 12th?

I'm sad with the match, Radwanska is annoying and Danka played just bad. Her on-court attitude was very bad, after every UE she was angry. After i saw this i'm happy she lost. She would have blown away by the hands of Dementieva.

There's still a lot to do. I hope she has a good draw for AO.

Well, on the brightside, watching anymore livescores probably would have given me cancer.

After that Daniela lost a lot of patience, started to bash the ball and made many errors.

- She wasn't netting a lot of the balls, but was spraying them wide and long, so I think that's where the spin should come into play. I felt the longer the rally went, the more impatient she got, and she would go for the winner too often, instead of constructing the point.

Very often daniela presents this childish illness.

If we're looking at past years, she lost her first match of the year last year and in the second round in Sydney before getting to the semi-final at the AO. That's being positive. Daniela's 2007 & 2008 mirrored her 2002 and 2003.
i pray for this.

so if 2009 is anything like 2004, then an early exit in Melbourne, a good tournament in February then nothing until the grass season. Roll on Rosmalen.

scary scenario,i dont want even to think
Oh, and I feel her movement has improved as well. She got to a lot of dropshots, and I remember she was moving really well on one of those match points.

very nice to hear this

Well from what I saw, it wasn't like she was sulking around the court after every point she lost, nor did she give up the match that easily. She really lost this match because of her unforced errors. Those net cords and missed smash opportunities would have led to her winning the important points, but the key to why she lost this match was the unforced errors.

If you say she was fighting .... hmm .... I wonder a lot about this. So passe.
From what I saw, she wasn't exactly giving up either. She was fist pumping after the end of points she won, and she was maintaining her aggression. She didn't necessarily execute well, but she definitely did not sulk around and give a 'half-glass empty' performance. She broke at 5-4 down in the second set and continued to fight for points. Sure, the match was not the result she or any of us wanted, but she didn't roll over and give up the set after the first set loss, like she's done previously in the latter half of last season.

well I pretty much agree with everything said already. The serve, the errors, comments about Aga etc.

Another thing I noticed while watching - and none here has pointed it out so maybe it is just me - but she seemed weak to me. I know she has never been a hard-hitter as such (as Serena, Venus, Davenport etc), but I felt she wasn't hitting harder than Aga. In certain rallies she could have won the point if she had played the ball harder. This is my main concerned right now. She got to number 7 a year ago with the same service as now, playing aggressively so with a lot of winners and UEs, but also hitting a bit harder than today.