Bondarenko vs. Schnyder wager

[eoghater]

A lot of guys have this game sticking out for them for tomorrow's 3rd round action. 24th seed Alyona Bondarenko will be facing 15th seed Patty Schnyder in one of the grave-yard courts of Wimbledon, Court 18. This is a plus for the young Bondarenko as she hasn't dealt with the pressure of playing on Center Court or Court 1. She dealt with her opponent Agnes Szavay rather easily on Court 19 6-2 6-1, and she's improving her grass court game as she matures. Her only losses on the grass court have come to Jankovic, which is excusable. Bondarenko features a very dangerous back court game that will give Schnyder trouble.

The crafty veteran Patty Schnyder is #15 at Wimbledon, thanks to her performances on the hard and clay courts. She can't stand being on grass, and she pretended that the surface was clay when she was down 5-1 in the third set of her first round match. Schynder also escaped defeat with a 3-set win over Vinci, where a lot of people thought she'd get upset there. With the conditions being far away from any crazy media hype on Court 18, this match is right there for Bondarenko to take advantage of to get into the 4th round. The girl has shown guts so far and a very sharp form on the grass court, but the only question is of a choke. With the match far away from any hoopla, I'm hoping Bondarenko will seal the deal and move on to the fourth round for the first time in her short career.

I wagered on Bondarenko -125 @ bodog to win 4 units. Good Luck tomorrow morning.

I'm also looking hard at Nalbandian for Saturday.

 

[GreenDoberman]

Have bet against Patty in both matches so far, and will be on Alona as well.
I'm not a big fan of Bondarenko as she typically disappoints from her potential. Impressive the way she handled the young Agnes though.
I will be fading Schnyder again.

 

[eoghater]

I was also tempted in taking Vinci the previous round, but I had no idea what her background really was. This match is there for Bondarenko, so let's see if she can capitalize, or burn a hole in our pockets.

 

[Railbird]

Alona does have some chokey poo to her, but she could go wire to wire here.

 

[eoghater]

and that's exactly what she did being up 4-1 in the third set. Inexperience factored in today. Damn.

 

[BetIt]

yup chokey-poo is just about right

 

[Hope1]

she showed great resolve saving two break points at 4-4 in the 3rd, held. The longer the match went tho, the greater the pendulum would swing to the veteran

kudos to Patty, no doubt. Alona should be better for the experience

 

[eoghater]

The loss stings though, correlated with the Yankees last night. FYI guys, the weather is going to be terrible this weekend for tennis so be hesitant on putting your bets in early. Forget about tradition, the director needs to seriously look into covering these courts.

 

[Railbird]

nothing to do with experience, she choked. Its is genetics, most players from E.Euro and Russia have it.

 

[rhinooooo]

It's got nothing to do with genetics.

 

[eoghater]

The only reason why those eastern europeans and russians love to choke is because their parents are very demanding on the children mentally and physically. Yuri Sharapov has found a balance, but you can see that players like Dokic and Lucic just couldn't handle it period. A lot of these girls are playing because they're coming from a poor background, so the parents will be adding on more pressure for their kids give themselves a better life.

 

[Hope1]

good post eoghater. Of course genetics has nothing to do with it.

Dokic's father was borderline insane. Jelena finally had the strength to break away-- that must have taken alot of courage. My understanding is that she still speaks with her mother. Her story is not an isolated case.

btw all--there was NO CHOKE by Alona in this match. She was UP ONLY ONE BREAK, 4-1 in the 3rd. She never served for the match or had match points. 4-1 in the 3rd is FAR from over. If anyone wants to see what a 'choke' is in tennis (and i'm sure various posters can chime in numerous classic examples), by mine is Coria Vs Gaudio French Open final. He won the first two sets with ease, then Coria got so tight that it actually affected him PHYSICALLY--he started cramping in only the 3rd set. He is the only player in over 50 yrs at RG to not win the title when he had match point.

 

[eoghater]

The fact of the matter is that she didn't serve well enough to beat Schnyder, and even though she was up 4-1, she wasn't holding her serve with ease. But, her response to the break is what labels it a choke, where she stops being aggressive on Schnyder's serve like she was the whole match. You'll notice Schnyder started holding serve on 40-0 40-15 games, while Alona always went to deuce. The girl needs to develop mental endurance, which isn't a genetic impairment.

 

[Hope1]

we don't see eye to eye on the definition of a choke, eoghater, that's okay.

I do agree, she is young and must mature mentally (that's why I stated in an above post that hopefully she will be better for the experience). Daniella Hantuchova was a mess a few yrs back--great talent, no mental strength, pissing matches away when things got tight--look where she is now.

 

[eoghater]

the coria choke is probably one of the worst ones in the history of the sport. #1 Coria, #2 Novotna, and then Hingis in the french.

But, very often you see chokes on the women's circuit, but they're not all dramatic as Coria's was in the French. I do agree with your understanding of a choke, but Coria's loss is only an example of what can happen every day in sport, just not of the same importance since his was a final.