Why the silence around Watson?

Loads of posts praising the new British no. 1 Laura Robson and why not?

On the other hand Heather Watson beats Lisicki |(no mean feat) then pushes Sharapova all the way in a three set epic out in Tokyo. The reaction? Indifference on this forum it would seem. Now don't get me wrong, Laura had deserved all the praise she's been getting but what does Heather need to do to generate some of her own?

She's a very gutsy player

I liker her attitude.

reach a final or get to round 4 of a grand slam. Robson is more exciting to watch than Watson anyway

She was superb against Lisicki, and nearly beat Sharapova!

I see Watson being top 10 in the future.

Gutsy? What's that mean?
How is Heather gutsy but Laura not?

Excellent player, good attitude. She has a bright future.

lydian wrote:Gutsy? What's that mean?

Interesting question.

lydian wrote:
How is Heather gutsy but Laura not?

When did I say Laura was not?

ToftheC you're missing the point I think.

She was already the first British player in heaven knows how long to make the 2nd round of the French after qualifying and that seemed to be quickly overlooked.

I would also suggest beating Lisicki then scaring the hell (I imagine) out of Sharapova after qualifying in Tokyo ain't that far removed from Robson's exploits last week in reaching her final (look at the comparative strength of the draws if you don't believe me ).

Yes Laura has usurped her in reaching the 4th round of a slam beating someone (Li Na) who'd previously seen off Heather but Watson looks like she's not going to take that lying down so credit where credit is deserved.

It's great what both of them are doing, and I agree that Watson perhaps deserved a bit more noise for beating Lisicki and pushing Sharapova.

However, Robson beat 2 grand slam champions and pushed a third in getting to the 4th round on New York, better than any British female in years and years. And then got to a tour final, the first by a Brit in years and years.

Watson is on her coat tails, which is great.... But Robson's achievements this summer are significantly bigger in terms of British tennis, and therefore will be talked about more.

Don't forget it was Heather that did better at Wimbledon, and she was the one being talked about by everyone. Laura pushed a slam winner there in the first round, which was largely forgotten in 'Watson-mania'. Swings and roundabouts as they say.

When you say 'loads of posts' surrounding the whole Robson thing, you actually mean one thread that accrued a number of posts praising Robson.

If you had created a thread to praise Watson after her win against Lisicki or after the performance against Sharapova, I'm sure that would have got a number of posts praising her performances too.

Even this whine thread has managed to get her a few positive posts after less than an hour. It's not all a conspiracy.

I was thinking about writing a thread about Watson. Had she beaten Sharapova I most certainly would have done so. Ultimately I think Robson's achievements have spurred her on, which is great, and hopefully we're not too far away from having two Brits in the top 50 for the first time in donkey's years.

Ultimately, as other posters point out, Robson's achievements this summer top Watson's. She had two massive wins, back-to-back, in a slam no less. I also think she's the more exciting player, and better prospect, which could explain why people are getting more excited.

I just don't think that there are a lot of posters online interested in women's tennis. Some are but there seems to be much more interest online in the men's game. Or that those interested in the women's game don't seem to post as much. I was completely unaware that these two players weren't the same person. I knew there was a good young british female player I didn't know there was two of them. Seriously, the WTA is just not on my radar at all. And that seems to be the prevalent attitude on most sites.

The biggest tennis forum in the world is a women's tennis only forum.

I find it strange too. And I'm not referring to the lack of interest here on 606v2. No big fanfare when she won junior US Open. Always overlooked when it comes to looking for a mixed doubles partner for Murray. Something must have been going on beneath the general public radar at the Olympics as she was upset enough about it to go public about it. I definitely get the sense that she is not in the "in" crowd of British tennis. And from what escapes from the back biting, stab in the back, know your place of what passes for the in crowd of British tennis perhaps that is not a good place to be.

hawkeye wrote:I find it strange too. And I'm not referring to the lack of interest here on 606v2. No big fanfare when she won junior US Open. Always overlooked when it comes to looking for a mixed doubles partner for Murray. Something must have been going on beneath the general public radar at the Olympics as she was upset enough about it to go public about it. I definitely get the sense that she is not in the "in" crowd of British tennis. And from what escapes from the back biting, stab in the back, know your place of what passes for the in crowd of British tennis perhaps that is not a good place to be.

Hmmm. You wouldn't yet again be trying to twist things to cast a certain Dunblane born player in a bad light would you Hawkeye?

Why do I bother? You will never change, it is almost endearing (but not quite)

hawkeye for once I concur.

Posters should bear in mind she was the no. 1 British player coming in to the Olympics but team Murray were quick to overlook her in favour of Laura. Nothing that wrong in that I hasten to add but it certainly didn't seem to go down well with Watson.

Conspiracy theories? I wouldn't go that far but I do honestly think her achievements merit her being given more fanfare that currently seems to be the case.

If (as dj suggested) that means I'm ' "whining" then guilty as charged but, just because she lost to Sharapova rather than beating her in a three match marathon, doesn't mean she's not worth talking about on this forum.

I repeat, Laura Robson got one whole thread.

She's clearly the better player too, but that seems to be besides the point, both in terms of the 'fanfare' and the Olympics decision.

The Olympic decision was the logical one. Murray / Robson were a tried and tested doubles partnership who had had success previously at the Hopman Cup. If Watson had been selected it may have worked just as well but it would be more of a risk and many would be asking why he ditched Robson. The Olympics is not really the time to try something out.

The conspiracy talk is utter nonsense.

Back to the OP. I am just happy that they are both doing well. Bodes well for British Womens tennis.

There are many factors that might contribute to what you would deem a muted response from the forum.

1) The tennis season for some is effectively because all the Slams have been contested and for 5 weeks there are no Masters events.

2) Robson best results have come from a Slam and also reaching a WTA final recently.

3) Watson's tournament wasn't covered well here in the UK in terms of coverage.

No-one is denying how well Watson played, but when it has come so near to the end of the season some posters might just feel meh.

legendkillarV2 wrote:There are many factors that might contribute to what you would deem a muted response from the forum.

1) The tennis season for some is effectively because all the Slams have been contested and for 5 weeks there are no Masters events.

2) Robson best results have come from a Slam and also reaching a WTA final recently.

3) Watson's tournament wasn't covered well here in the UK in terms of coverage.

No-one is denying how well Watson played, but when it has come so near to the end of the season some posters might just feel meh.

There is definitely an element of that. Before this article I was considering writing something about Watson but hadn't got around to it through work commitments and a bit of end of season lethargy

Well I certainly feel a sense of lethargy at the moment given that the results at the Slams this year has certainly contested new debates and also new views. 4 different Slam winners on the mens side for the first time since 2003.

legendkillarV2 wrote:There are many factors that might contribute to what you would deem a muted response from the forum.

1) The tennis season for some is effectively because all the Slams have been contested and for 5 weeks there are no Masters events.

2) Robson best results have come from a Slam and also reaching a WTA final recently.

3) Watson's tournament wasn't covered well here in the UK in terms of coverage.

No-one is denying how well Watson played, but when it has come so near to the end of the season some posters might just feel meh.

sorry to be so unoriginal carrie , but just wanted to highlight legend's post like you because I agree with it too. I think also that Robson has long been heralded as having more potent weapons than Watson, greater potential in terms of raw talent while Heather has been saluted for professionalism and really gritty play. Laura's greater firepower and potential is the reason that she was recognised and chosen by the Murray's to partner AM at the Olympics over the then No 1, Watson.

I didn't see but understand that Watson played very well indeed and you're right that it is a shame that we didn't all immediately recognise that on these boards. I think the feeling is probably that out of the two it is Robson who has the tools to be a top 20 and therefore her progress at the USO was very thrilling, watching her come of age.

This is a forum that doesn't get very excited about the WTA so it takes a fairly historic or groundbreaking match to buck the trend - we should make an exception for the British girls though probably.

I think if Watson starts to progress through the early rounds of Slams will have a positive effect on the coverage of the WTA and not merely be relegated to British Eurosport and online feeds. It always annoys me that Eastbourne never makes the BBC!

I think it did one year when Serena was back after injury and limped out early - or perhaps I dreamed that one up?

agree with you legend that it is indefensible that Eastbourne isn't covered by the beeb!

Eastbourne has never made the BBC coverage unless it has been highlights. It seems that tennis is very taboo with broadcasters. I mean how on earth snooker gets more terrestial coverage than tennis is mind boggling! ITV covering the French Open was some what of a triumph. All it needs now is the Australian Open to get some much deserved coverage!

I will say that the performances in beating Lisicki and pushing Sharapova so close have me reconsidering Watson's potential in the medium term.

Up to now, to my eyes she was essentially an inferior version of Radwanska or Wozniacki - excellent athletic ability and consistent with her shot-making but lacking a bit of fire power. Made her quite capable of beating lesser players on a fairly consistent absis but there was no evidence that she could handle the big pace and power of the top women. Indeed, the scorelines when she was drawn against top 10 players were often quite one-sided (unlike with Robson, who had shown the ability to compete against this level of player) - these two matches give me some optimism that Watson may prove a level better than I previously thought (I was expecting her to be a solid top 50 player, but not top 20 material).

I see Watson as the female Ferrer. She doesn't possess any great weapon but has a great attitude and good speed. Unfortunately, she just gets swatted off the court by the top power players such as Azarenka, Sharapova etc. I don't think she'll make it at the top but hopefully Robson and Watson can push each other on to great heights.

Can we not splice them, and combine Laura's hitting with Heathers movement and defence?

Then we'd be talking about a potential number 1 player.

newballs wrote:Loads of posts praising the new British no. 1 Laura Robson and why not?

On the other hand Heather Watson beats Lisicki |(no mean feat) then pushes Sharapova all the way in a three set epic out in Tokyo. The reaction? Indifference on this forum it would seem. Now don't get me wrong, Laura had deserved all the praise she's been getting but what does Heather need to do to generate some of her own?

Excellent article. My thoughts entirely. I anticipate (without reading the thread) that numerous posters will be citing that she has no chance, using the 'no power' argument

Which of course carries no weight!!

IMHO when I watch the two play Heather looks the most skilled...