Originally Posted by: Brebis

Originally Posted by: Philli

I agree with all of you...it was a great match. Na Li knows how to play Maria and proved that by beating her in the Final in Birmingham a few years ago. Know who was her coach back then? Thomas.

But, you know what I see of all this wonderful success that is now coming Maria's way. Her playing hasn't changed, not really. What has changed and this is, in my opinion, the most crucial thing, is that she now has a Plan B. She goes out on court, plays a few lousy games, gets behind, and Thomas comes on, tells her what she is doing wrong and what she needs to change, then, newly programmed with Plan B, she goes out and starts pulling back the games. This never happened in the past with Michael Joyce. She either won or lost...and usually lost.

So, in my opinion, Thomas is the man behind her success. Without him she would be what she has always been, a pretty dumb tennis player in terms of tactics and game plans.

Your turn Val.

I tought for a moment that you were in the middle of a depression ! It's quit something , Maria has won 2 tournaments in 4 weeks. You need to find a way to cope with this. But here you are, back on the forum. Yes, all credits to Thomas but at the end of the day the match was won by her and not Thomas.

I think the success of Masha at this tournament is the result of Masha's team. 

Masha&her team worked efficiently. Masha needs a team who understands her trouble and solves quickly her trouble on the court. I think she found this team because she had a good result. 

The next dual will be between Serena and Masha so they should find a new strategy to defeat Serena. 

We have to congratulate Masha because she realized her&our dream. 

Originally Posted by: Brebis

Originally Posted by: Philli

I agree with all of you...it was a great match. Na Li knows how to play Maria and proved that by beating her in the Final in Birmingham a few years ago. Know who was her coach back then? Thomas.

But, you know what I see of all this wonderful success that is now coming Maria's way. Her playing hasn't changed, not really. What has changed and this is, in my opinion, the most crucial thing, is that she now has a Plan B. She goes out on court, plays a few lousy games, gets behind, and Thomas comes on, tells her what she is doing wrong and what she needs to change, then, newly programmed with Plan B, she goes out and starts pulling back the games. This never happened in the past with Michael Joyce. She either won or lost...and usually lost.

So, in my opinion, Thomas is the man behind her success. Without him she would be what she has always been, a pretty dumb tennis player in terms of tactics and game plans.

Your turn Val.

I tought for a moment that you were in the middle of a depression ! It's quit something , Maria has won 2 tournaments in 4 weeks. You need to find a way to cope with this. But here you are, back on the forum. Yes, all credits to Thomas but at the end of the day the match was won by her and not Thomas.

Philli actually gave credit to Maria and said it was a great match!  She just noted that the big difference for Maria's success is her new coach. And it is true. Thomas really shaped and fine tuned Maria. I really doubt myself if she stayed with Joyce if she would be where she is now. In fact I am pretty sure she wouldnt. And Maria herself knew that, that is why she changed her coach.

Thomas's influence was apparent from last year. How many times did we see Thomas's pep talk make Maria win matches? Dont forget Maria is 19-1 since last year in 3 setters! This is an amazing statistic. I think Thomas's knows which buttons to press to make Maria improve her game and get her going when things are looking bad. Look at how much she improved her movement not just on clay but all surfaces! Maria has reached 2 finals in the last 3 GS and this year she has reached 5 finals in 7 tournaments, winning 2 of them. All that since Thomas took over.

Ofcourse without Maria's will and fighting spirit nothing would have worked either. Thomas just knows how to exploit Maria's strengths and improve the areas she needs improvement, in order for her to become a better player. 

Originally Posted by: Valkyre

Originally Posted by: Brebis

Originally Posted by: Philli

I agree with all of you...it was a great match. Na Li knows how to play Maria and proved that by beating her in the Final in Birmingham a few years ago. Know who was her coach back then? Thomas.

But, you know what I see of all this wonderful success that is now coming Maria's way. Her playing hasn't changed, not really. What has changed and this is, in my opinion, the most crucial thing, is that she now has a Plan B. She goes out on court, plays a few lousy games, gets behind, and Thomas comes on, tells her what she is doing wrong and what she needs to change, then, newly programmed with Plan B, she goes out and starts pulling back the games. This never happened in the past with Michael Joyce. She either won or lost...and usually lost.

So, in my opinion, Thomas is the man behind her success. Without him she would be what she has always been, a pretty dumb tennis player in terms of tactics and game plans.

Your turn Val.

I tought for a moment that you were in the middle of a depression ! It's quit something , Maria has won 2 tournaments in 4 weeks. You need to find a way to cope with this. But here you are, back on the forum. Yes, all credits to Thomas but at the end of the day the match was won by her and not Thomas.

Philli actually gave credit to Maria and said it was a great match!  She just noted that the big difference for Maria's success is her new coach. And it is true. Thomas really shaped and fine tuned Maria. I really doubt myself if she stayed with Joyce if she would be where she is now. In fact I am pretty sure she wouldnt. And Maria herself knew that, that is why she changed her coach.

Thomas's influence was apparent from last year. How many times did we see Thomas's pep talk make Maria win matches? Dont forget Maria is 19-1 since last year in 3 setters! This is an amazing statistic. I think Thomas's knows which buttons to press to make Maria improve her game and get her going when things are looking bad. Look at how much she improved her movement not just on clay but all surfaces! Maria has reached 2 finals in the last 3 GS and this year she has reached 5 finals in 7 tournaments, winning 2 of them. All that since Thomas took over.

Ofcourse without Maria's will and fighting spirit nothing would have worked either. Thomas just knows how to exploit Maria's strengths and improve the areas she needs improvement, in order for her to become a better player. 

More on Thomas

I think the main reason for success is that he's very blunt with her. He gets to the point, knows what works and what doesn't. I mean when he came on after the first set he goes to Maria "If it gets to 3-1, Li will crack" and that's when she took the opportunity and won the set from 4-0 down. He has 100% belief in her. Not saying that Joyce was a bad coach, far from it actually, but he'd been working with her for so long, that she definitely needed a new perspective on things, because it just wasnt cutting it anymore.

Originally Posted by: maashafan

does anybody has a clue about her diet.she seems to have a very string body lately...

I don't think that Masha has a special diet when you play pro tennis, you work a lot physically and you lose on weight during tournaments&training. That is why you think that Masha seems to have a very string body.  

But A tennis player should have good muscles. 

Originally Posted by: sarahmassimo

Fantastic Maria, Congratulations, special victory in Rome, it's very hard to win a title in the same town for two consecutive years!!!

Like I wrote in my previous posts all Italian spectators supported Maria in final, she's the "Regina di Roma" (Queen of Rome).

Great Victory Masha!!!

Wow I didn't expect that...tbh wouldn't have been that suprised if she'd lost to venus. But again she showed a tough straak that I thought had deserted her. She is by no means 'dominant' in the women's game, but is holding her own now! Just a word of warning...she avoided having to play 'she-man' williams in the final....that may have been a step too far. But...WELL DONE MARIA...AGAIN!!!