Junior Player Reviews. Installment #2 - Polona Hercog

Part 2 of my junior player reviews. Next up:



Polona Hercog (Slo) Junior Career Ranking High of No. 8
WTA Career High Ranking of No. 204

Just one match seen of Hercog, against Romana Tabakova in the Quarter Finals of the Wimbledon Junior event in 2008. Did see one or two doubles match of her too, though. I was thoroughly underwhelmed, however. There had been a small amount of hype surrounding Hercog on forums around the net, but she definitely failed to live up to expectations.


The positives to start with. She's certainly the most varied junior I watched at this years Championship. She has something resembling a mid-court/transition game; can play a biting backhand slice and has a textbook technique on serve. That's where my praise ends.


Her overall groundstroke game is pretty much useless. So much so, that Tabakova was put under little pressure from the back of the court and Hercog could barely exploit the obvious weaknesses in her game. She can't control baseline exchanges and isin't quite pugnacious enough in defence to be an effective counter puncher.


She's another Euro youngster bogged down by a loopy, ineffective topspin forehand. Struggles immensely to hit outright winners from the baseline, meaning she usually has to hit about 4 or 5 extra shots to finally end a point, even against an average defender like Tabakova. Her tactical play on the forehand, is usually to hit three quarter length depth cross-court continually until she gets a short ball, which she can attack or move into the net on, for an easy put-away. Problem for her is, she'll probably get overpowered before she has any chance of executing anything of the sort. She completely shanked a heap forehands due to her mildly extreme grip.


Avoids hitting a drive backhand like the plague. She'll run around it as much a possible, and often ends up playing the slice, mainly because her backhand, which ironically is probably a cleaner hit that her forehand, just isin't up to scratch for tour level. The game plan off the backhand is usually to hit a short angled slice cross-court, in the hope of getting a short easy put-away forehand in the service box. It is probably her best play.


Her return-of-serve is poor(yet again). Tabakova's serve, despite it's ugliness/technical flaws is a very good serve for junior level, but it's nowhere near as good as it appeared in this match. Hercog didn't even get a sniff of a break point. She has terrible reaction times, even worse than Kerkhove and more often than not, her reluctance to hit a backhand gets her in deep trouble, as her footwork just isin't good enough to let her play forehands, time after time on return. Shanked (horribly) dozens of Tabakova's flat 1st serves in the deuce court. Even her block return is a total shambles.


Her serve is textbook, but is somewhat predictable. Her most used serve is a out-wide semi-slider to the deuce court. Even though you know it's going there however, it's tough to do anything about it as it's supremely well placed. Flattens her 1st serve out alot more in the Ad court, again predominantly out-wide. 2nd serve kicker is so-so. Most often goes into the backhand of a right-hander and doesn't get it particularly deep, meaning it can be something of a sitting duck occasionally, meaning when she starts getting punished off it, she starts taking more risks = double faults.


She has a nice transition game, with decent technique on her volleys. She possesses terrible passing shots though; rarely made Tabakova play a volley in her guerrilla warfare attacks on the net.


Bottom line on Hercog;


Maybe one could argue that it was just a bad day at the office for Hercog but that doesn't explain her useless, loopy topspin forehand, or the fact that she has no real backhand drive. Certainly her potential is limited. I'm unsure of what kind of player she will develop herself to be. Seems destined for clay court lower Tiers, where she can probably hack it out with other loopy forehand scrubs. I'm guessing the top 100 is somewhat attainable with more work, but I doubt much else.