Birthday Boy: Roger Federer

Roger Federer celebrated his birthday today as he spent most of his tennis career, winning. He beat David Ferrer in Toronto to book his spot in the semifinals (his 8th SF or better result in 11 matches this year). He's actually the only top 4 seed through and the only member of the Big Four still around. Not bad for someone who just turned 33 years old.

Relative to his tough 2013, 2014 has been practically rosy. He's already won two titles and reached the finals of 3 big tournaments including Wimbledon where he lost to Djokovic in five sets. He's solidly ranked number 3 behind Djokovic and Nadal and still one of the most beloved players on tour. Oh yeah and he became a father of four earlier this summer when his wife delivered a set of twin boys to go with their twin girls from a couple years ago.

Happy Birthday Roger!

Thoughts on Australian Open 2014

The last time I blogged about tennis was probably right before last year's French Open which meant I didn't get to talk about the craziest Wimbledon in the history of ever or the US Open that was plagued yet again by rain. But it's a new year and the results at this year's Australian Open compelled me to put a few words together.

Close Call for Victorious Li Na

Li Na was down a match point in her third round match against Lucie Safarova, but the latter woman's backhand down the line on match point missed by just an inch enabling Li to right the ship for the rest of the match and cruising her way to victory. Defeating first-time Grand Slam finalist Dominika Cibulkova, Li avenged her two prior final losses at Melbourne for her first Australian Open title and second overall. She always seemed to me to be the kind of player who should have more than one Grand Slam title and now that she has two, I'm hoping it leads to many more. Certainly with two, she's already a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame, and her superb personality is sure to catapult her to even bigger levels of fame off court.

Small Dominika Cibulkova Upsets Big Seeds

Even though she couldn't quite win her maiden slam against fourth seed Li Na, Dominika Cibulkova had a breakthrough tournament beating third ranked Maria Sharapova and fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska (who beat defending champion Victoria Azarenka) and also becoming the first Slovak to reach a Grand Slam final. It's worth noting that for the last six major tournaments, she'd done no better than reach the 3rd round. It's also worth noting that she's only 5'3". Small frame, but huge game and huge tournament for her.

Stan Wawrinka Finally Comes Out on Top

After he beat defending champion Novak Djokovic in yet another 5-set thriller in the quarterfinal, it seemed like that was the best Stan Wawrinka could hope for. It would have been a fantastic result for him, finally beating Djokovic after losing to the Serb twice last year (once at the Australian Open) in 5-set matches and reaching the semifinals at Melbourne for the first time. And yet he kept winning, winning two of three tiebreaks in a four-set win against Tomas Berdych to reach his very first Grand Slam final. With his H2H 0-12 against top seed Rafael Nadal, he was seen as the big underdog in the final. But he handled Nadal's balls better than his compatriot a round before and was also helped that Nadal wasn't 100% physically. Didn't really matter though as Wawrinka won his maiden Slam in his first slam final (like fellow champions Martina Hingis and that Roger guy did before him). He moves up to a career high no. 3 in the rankings and more notably, takes over the Swiss no. 1 ranking.

History Slightly Delayed for Rafael Nadal

Top seed Rafael Nadal wasn't able to compete at last year's tournament so reaching the final this year, tying Pete Sampras for number of times in GS finals, was a monumental result. To do this with a nasty blister on one of his hands which everyone couldn't stop talking about also added an extra layer to his tournament. So it wasn't really surprising that in the three matches leading to the final, he didn't exactly cruise getting pushed to play five tiebreaks. He won them all, of course, including the one to win the opening set against his rival Roger Federer in the semifinals erasing any hope early for the Swiss to win his first match against the Spaniard in 7 years. In the final, he met another Swiss man who hadn't won a single set off of him in the past. With a win, Nadal would've been the only male player in the modern era to win each of the Grand Slams at least twice and solidifying his case for Greatest of All Time. He didn't win and he might have injured himself in the process, but doing this well at his worst Slam? That should tell you what's left for him this year.

Now What for Roger Federer?

This may sound weird, but I think Roger Federer had a good tournament. Coming from a hardcore fan, that may sound completely delusional. After all, he lost yet again to his rival Nadal, falls down to number 8 in the rankings, and loses the top Swiss rank to his friend Wawrinka. But after his tough 2013 and his somewhat challenging draw, it's hopeful he was able to reach the top 4 beating a couple of top 10 seeds in the process including Andy Murray. I mean he literally was down and out and people were questioning his ability to win slams and there he was just a match away from another final. One can't help but wonder what if he had made the finals. He would've been the favorite to win against his countryman (though who knows?) which would've meant slam number 18. He also came close to winning a smaller title this year, losing to Lleyton Hewitt in the final. Will 2014 be a year of too close for Federer? He has a new bigger racket and a new coach. We'll see.

Tennis is Still Unpredictable

Wawrinka beating Djokovic and Nadal might be the result of the tournament, but there were a bunch of results that were just as surprising: Ana Ivanovic defeating Serena Williams and Sam Stosur, Juan Martin Del Potro losing to 62nd ranked Roberto Bautista Agut, and first round losses of Petra Kvitova, John Isner, Tommy Haas, and Sara Errani. In the midst of all of this, a couple of new names came to the forefront: Canadian teenager and Justin Bieber fan Eugenie Bouchard reached the semis while Grigor Dimitrov made a name for himself other being Sharapova's boyfriend or "Baby Fed" by taking a set off Nadal in his first ever Grand Slam quarters. This is why they play.

Finally, the Heat

The heat. That was the unfortunate star of the tournament during the first week as Melbourne was gripped with an extreme heatwave with temperatures reaching to 120 degrees or more most days. It contributed to a few of those early upsets as a large number of players retired, withdrew, or were just negatively affected early on due to the heat. Fans also stayed away that first week making the Happy Slam more like the Empty Slam. Thankfully the extreme heat subsided during the first weekend and stayed that way making room for some much better tennis for everyone overall.

Birthday Boy: Roger Federer

Today is Roger Federer's 32nd birthday and I think this is the year that him and many of his fans would like to forget. Unlike last year, where he was pretty much on top of the world, 2013 has been a tough year.

It started out solidly enough with him losing to Andy Murray at the Australian Open semifinals in five sets, but it wasn't until mid-May in Rome when he reached his first final of the year, losing to rival Rafael Nadal. That gave some hope that he'd make another good showing at the French Open, but he instead lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarters in straight sets. He did win his first title at Halle, Germany a couple of weeks after that again showing optimistic signs that at least in grass Federer is still the king. And then... the world fell apart.

This year's Wimbledon is already one of strangest tournaments I've ever witness with so many top players upset in the first week including past champions Maria Sharapova, Nadal, and of course 7-time champion Federer, losing in the 2nd round to 116th ranked Sergiy Stakhovsky. That loss snapped Federer's unbelievable streak of 36 straight quarterfinal appearances in majors, probably the greatest streak in all of tennis. Worse yet, that loss doesn't seem to be an anomaly with Federer losing to lower ranked players in the two smaller clay tournaments he has played since.

This week he's in Cincinnati preparing to defend the title he won last year instead of playing with the other top players in Canada. He has a good chunk of points to defend through the fall, but nothing too insurmountable. For all we know, he could go on a streak like he did a couple of years ago and perhaps even winning his 18th Grand Slam trophy at the US Open in a few weeks. But then again, I'm also an eternal optimist when it comes to the old man.

Happy Birthday Roger!

French Open: Quarterfinal Preview

I still go back and forth regarding my sporadic blogging about tennis, but I guess waiting until the late stages of a slam to start posting is a temporary solution. With that said, the first 10 days of the French Open has come and gone and after we're left with the last 8 men and women of the tournament. Among them are many of the usual suspects including 5 former champions, but a few surprises as well like a couple of Tommys over 30 years old.

N. Djokovic [1] vs. T. Haas [12]
R. Nadal [3] vs. S. Wawrinka [9]
D. Ferrer [4] vs. T. Robredo [32]
R. Federer [2] vs. J. Tsonga [6]

Yes, Rafael Nadal is going for his 8th French Open title. Yes, top seed Novak Djokovic is looking to improve his results last year by winning and achieving a career Grand Slam. And yes, Roger Federer is attempting not only his second French Open title, but also his first title of the year. But can we just talk about 35 year-old Tommy Haas and 31st year-old Tommy Robredo? By this time last year Haas was ranked outside the top 100 while Robredo, beset with injuries, was ranked in the high 400s. Since then, they've played well enough to get seeded here and their performance is nothing by inspiring. Robredo actually becomes the first man since 1927 to come back two sets down in three consecutive matches while Haas is the first German to reach the Roland Garros quarterfinals and the oldest major quarter-finalists since Andre Agassi at the 2005 US Open. Haas' 3rd round match with Isner has been dubbed by many as the match of the tournament so far with the German edging out the tall American 10-8 in the fifth set.

Both men will be underdogs in their next matches as Haas will face a rusty, but still solid Djokovic while Robredo will go up against relentless David Ferrer. Nadal, who had uncharacteristically slow starts in his first few matches, is the obvious favorite against Stan Wawrinka, who had to come back down 0-2 sets in his latest match versus perennial major non-quarterfinalist Richard Gasquet. The most intriguing quarterfinal match of the lot will be between Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga since despite Federer's 9-3 record H2H against the Frenchman, Federer was pushed to 5 sets in his last match while Tsonga hasn't even lost a set the entire tournament.

S. Williams [1] vs. S. Kuznetsova
A. Radwanska [4] vs. S. Errani [5]
V. Azarenka [3] vs. M. Kirilenko [12]
M. Sharapova [2] vs. J. Jankovic [18]

First and foremost, this is Serena Williams' tournament to lose. This is true even though she hasn't won the French Open in more than a decade and had only played ONE match total in Roland Garros the past two years! Of course anything can happen (see her first round loss last year), but she hasn't lost on clay this year and in terms of pure power and talent, there is no one left that should trouble her. She'll have to face former French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova who hasn't had a great year since her quarterfinal result at this year's Australian Open and came into this tournament unseeded. On the same side of the draw is 4th seed Agnieszka Radwanska who beat former champion Ana Ivanovic in the fourth round to reach her first French Open quarterfinals. She'll meet last year's "surprise" finalist Sara Errani who is so far backing up last year's result. That's probably the one match that could go either way.

Defending champion Maria Sharapova is playing like the defending champion and she can certainly repeat provided Serena isn't her opponent at the finals. First she'll have to get through Jelena Jankovic who has had mixed results this year, but seems to be finding some form here. Sharapova should still win based on form. On the same side, Victoria Azarenka took out former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone to reach another major quartefinal (her 7th in her past nine slams). She should be seen as the favorite against Maria Kirilenko who was blessed with an easy (hasn't faced anyone ranked above 50).

Australian Open: Men Semifinalists

Yesterday I talked about the women's semifinalist and today it's the men's turn. Of course the first semifinal match already happened, but that's neither here nor there.

For the past few years, the top four men have dominated tennis, with last year as the best example of this with all four men splitting the major titles. With Rafael Nadal still out of the game, however, countryman David Ferrer takes his spot amongst the top four and has done extremely well to live up to his high seed. His biggest obstacle prior to the semifinals was another Spaniard, 10th seed Nicolas Almagro, who won the first two sets during their quarterfinal match. But Ferrer hung in there just as Almagro was imploding within having had three opportunities to serve out the match and failing each time. Ferrer's reward of course is to face two-time defending champion and world no. 1 Novak Dkojovic who had a similar scare of his own earlier in the tournament. His fourth round match with 15th seed Stan Wawrinka was the longest of the tournament at more than 5 hours ending 12-10 in the fifth set. The final result spoke greatly to Djokovic's ability to dig deep and win like the champion that he is, but the entire match also became a showcase for Wawrinka's under-appreciated tenacity and talent.

Last year was the breakthrough year for Andy Murray, reaching the Wimbledon finals, winning Olympic gold, and winning his first Grand Slam title at the US Open. So it's no surprise that he seems to have carried over his great form last year to the beginning of this year as the only player left in the tournament to not drop a set. Granted, he has also be extremely lucky in not facing more seeded players in his quarters especially 6th seed Juan Martin Del Potro and 12th seed Marin Cilic who both went out in five sets to Jeremy Chardy and Andreas Seppi respectively. Skill and luck are both needed to win one of tennis' greatest prize and he's just one match away from reaching his third consecutive Grand Slam final. His semifinal opponent is 4-time Australian Open champion Roger Federer who has been impressively on cruise control for his first few match amidst very dangerous players, but through the fourth round he hadn't even dropped serve! That all changed during his last match, a 5-set thriller with 7th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga that pushed the 17-time major champion to up his level. Winning the match meant that Federer reached his 10th consecutive Australian Open semifinals (on top of his ridiculous streak of 35 consecutive major quarterfinals).

Djokovic and Ferrer already had their match and the defending champion easily demolished the last Spaniard standing in straight sets. I think everyone predicted Djokovic to win, including myself, but I think we were all surprised at how much of a beat down it really was. Federer-Murray is a bit more of a toss-up, however, with their H2H 10-9 in the Brit's favor, but Federer has usually gotten the best of Murray during slams with a 3-0 record. And yet who can forget last year's straight set victory of Murray at the Olympics? I'm rooting for Federer, obviously, but to say I'm predicting him to win would just feel like inviting a jinx so I won't say anything!

US Open Report: Recapping the Week and Weekend Preview

Today is Ladies Day at the US Open with both semifinals on the schedule. Three of this year's Grand Slam champions are represented as well as French Open finalist Sara Errani who is having just a stellar year. Errani, who took out friend and doubles partner Roberta Vinci in the quarterfinals, will play against Serena Williams who made quick work of 12th seed Ana Ivanovic. In the other match, top seed Victoria Azarenka will face 3rd seed Maria Sharapova. Azarenka is actually playing for the first time since she beat defending champion Samantha Stosur on Tuesday while Sharapova had to come back the next day to gut out a win against the always tricky 11th seed Marion Bartoli. I think Sharapova actually saved set and/or match points or something.

No surprise, but my early tournament predictions were pretty off especially since I overestimated Kim Clijsters' chances and didn't even think about how well the Italians would do. With that said, I'm impressed by my Ivanovic pick to make the quarterfinals and I still think my finalists are the favorites to actually reach that round. Azarenka, however, cannot be counted out. No matter who she meets in the finals though, I just can't see this Serena Williams losing tomorrow night.

As for the men, they get a much-needed break today after some intense and emotional matches the past couple of days. First and foremost, Andy Roddick played his final match losing to 7th seed Juan Martin Del Potro in four sets. Roddick actually won the first set after winning the tiebreak which was delayed overnight due to rain. Del Potro hung in there and stole the second set and it was all she wrote after that. An emotional and teary Roddick addressed the thousands of people in Ashe and millions of tennis fans watching for the last time as a professional tennis player. Del Potro then had the unenviable task of playing the next day against defending champion Novak Djokovic, who won the day before by virtue of Stan Wawrinka retiring. Despite Del Potro's amazing play, Djokovic was just a little better and won in three very entertaining and intense sets.

Not to be outdone, however, was the quarterfinal match between 4th seed David Ferrer and 8th seed Janko Tipsarevic that lasted more than 4.5 hours. I didn't see most of the match, but I heard it had everything including the kitchen sink. The match of course came down to a fifth-set tiebreaker where the Serbian was ahead early only to go down a break and never recover giving Ferrer only his second semifinals appearance at the US Open. Third seed Andy Murray meanwhile had his own drama by getting down a set and two breaks to 12th seed Marin Cilic in the quarterfinals. And yet that was all Murray needed to break Cilic's spirit and winning the odd match in four sets. More shocking was the loss of 5-time US Open champion and top seed Roger Federer to 6th seed Tomas Berdych whose forehand gave the Swiss all he could handle. Berdych was also helped by the rare serving off day for Federer. After the match, it was evident how disappointed Federer was, but it's important to remember for him and his fans alike that this has already been a year full of AWESOME with his 17th Grand Slam at Wimbledon and re-taking the number 1 ranking which he will keep no matter what happens the rest of the tournament.

And so the semifinals are set with Djokovic going against Ferrer and Murray versus Berdych. Pretty insane to think only one Grand Slam champion has made it in. Even crazier to think that this is the first time since the 2004 French Open that neither Federer nor Rafael Nadal have made the semifinals. Prediction-wise I didn't do well at all despite getting five of the eight quarterfinals spot correct. Yes, I predicted Federer to win, but was that so insane especially taking into account his history here and his most recent performances? Djokovic should surely reach the final and be the favorite to win the whole thing while Murray-Berdych is a bit trickier with the Czech leading their H2H and Murray not exactly playing gold-medal tennis out there.

US Open Report: Labor Day Weekend

While rain has wreaked havoc with today's schedule, the weather cooperated just enough over this past Labor Day weekend to complete every match scheduled.

Of course the big story still was the parallel farewell tours of former US Open champions Kim Clijsters and Andy Roddick. Clijsters effectively had her final match last Saturday losing in the second round of Mixed Doubles playing with Bob Bryan and against Ekaterina Makarova and Bruno Soares. For Roddick, the dream continues as he won a hard-fought third round match against Fabio Fognini. I ended up seeing the match live and the pervading sense of love and support Roddick was getting from the crowd really was something else. Roddick's next opponent is former US Open champion and 7th seed Juan Martin Del Potro. As I write this, their match has just started on TV.

Fittingly enough Roddick is the last American man in the tournament with 27th seed Sam Querrey losing to 6th seed Tomas Berdych and 9th seed John Isner upset by 19th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber in a thrilling 5-set match that ended after 2:30am. The only other American man to reach the 4th round other than Roddick is 23rd seed Mardy Fish who unfortunately had to withdraw from his match with top seed Roger Federer due to health reasons. This is after Fish upset 16th seed Gilles Simon in another late-night thriller. Fish's withdrawal also meant that Federer reaches his 34 consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals.

Unsurprisingly, Serena Williams is the lone American woman still in the draw and she has been dominant losing only 4 games in her last two matches including a 6-0 6-0 rout of Andrea Hlavackova in the fourth round. Top seed Victoria Azarenka also easily moves through as well as 12th seed Ana Ivanovic who reaches the QF for the first time since she won the 2008 French Open. Defending champion Sam Stosur ends Laura Robson's dream run while Maria Sharapova survives Nadia Petrova after being down a break in the third set. Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, who are still in the womens doubles draw as a team, move through to the quarterfinals after upsetting 6th seed Angelique Kerber and 2nd seed Agnieska Radwanska (the highest seed to lose so far). Finally, 5th seed Petra Kvitova loses a weird match to 11th seed Marion Bartoli 6-1, 2-6, 0-6.

Other notable results include 3rd seed Andy Murray winning a tight match against Feliciano Lopez in the third round and an easier-than-expected fourth round match against 15th seed Milos Raonic while 4th seed David Ferrer beats former champion Lleyton Hewitt in four sets. Other seeds through include 2nd seed Novak Djokovic, 8th seed Janko Tipsarevic, 12th seed Marin Cilic, 13th seed Richard Gasquet, and 18th seed Stan Wawrinka.

US Open Report: Days 4 and 5

Just a quick update on days 4 and 5 of the US Open before the start of a hopefully beautiful holiday weekend of tennis.

The big story of course was Andy Roddick sudden announcement that he will retire after this tournament. He made the announcement on his 30th birthday and a day before he played his second round match against Bernard Tomic. That match, which was played last night was a blow out as Roddick feeding off from the appreciative crowd and perhaps playing free from pressure dominated the young Aussie feeding him a bagel for the third set to win. It was another story when it came to another Aussie as Lleyton Hewitt outlasted Gilles Muller to win in five sets. Veteran James Blake also found success upsetting 24th seed Marcel Granollers.

Speaking of upsets, the biggest one of the tournament so far has been Jo-Wilfred Tsonga's 4-set defeat in the hands of Martin Klizan of Slovakia. For the women, Olympic silver medalist Laura Robson took out another big name in 9th seed Li Na after beating Kim Clijsters the round before. Next match for Robson will be against defending champion Sam Stosur. As for Clijsters, she is still around albeit playing in doubles. She lost in the first round of women's doubles, but won a match in mixed with Bob Bryan.

Venus Williams was defeated by 6th seed Angelique Kerber in the tournament's most competitive night match on Ashe so far this year. Venus, however, is still alive in doubles with sister Serena Williams who, along with many of the top contenders including Roger Federer, Victoria Azarenka, Novak Djokovic, Maria Sharapova, David Ferrer, Petra Kvitova, and Tomas Berdych, easily moved into the next round with very little problems.

Along with Roddick, Blake, and Serena, the American presence is significant. Top American men John Isner, Sam Querrey, and Mardy Fish moved on with the latter becoming the 10th man in the tournament to come back from being down 2 sets, a US Open record.  Newcomers Steve Johnson, Sloane Stephens, and Jack Sock also won their matches. It wasn't all good news however as Varvara Lepchenko and Mallory Burdette were denied getting to their first ever major fourth round while Comeback Kid Brian Baker's progress was halted by 8th seed Janko Tipsarevic. Meanwhile, Ryan Harrison was beaten by 7th seed Juan Martin Del Potro.

Other notable results include 18th seed Stan Wawrinka, 19th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber, and 30th seed Feliciano Lopez surviving their grueling five-set matches, 15th seed Lucie Safarova losing to 19th seed Nadia Petrova, and 14th seed Alexander Dolgopolov winning in 4 sets against Marcos Baghdatis. Perhaps the most surprising result so far are the lack of retirements (not including the career kinds) especially with the hot and humid conditions. There also hasn't been a single drop of... wait, I should stop now before I jinx it, right?

US Open Report: First Three Days

Like last year, the weather made an early impact at this year's US Open as a deluge of rain interrupted play for two hours on the first day of play. Thankfully, that was pretty much it for rain delays and the weather has been perfectly cooperative since through the first three days of the tournament. I actually ended up going to the opening night session on Monday to see Kim Clijsters and Roger Federer play. It was my first evening session and first time back at the tennis center for at least a couple years and it was glorious. Onwards to some of the stories of the first three days...

Kim Clijsters Bids Farewell

Three-time US Open champion Kim Clijsters called it a singles career after losing two tiebreak sets to Laura Robson during her second round match. Despite the loss, Clijsters was able to show glimpses of her champion's mettle throughout the match fighting off two match points and even doing some of her trademark splits to the delight of the adoring crowd who gave her a standing ovation. One of the friendliest tennis players you'll ever meet, Clijsters was admired for her affable personality as much as her titles. She ends her career with 41 singles titles including 4 Grand Slam titles, three of which she got after coming back from her first retirement. Today's match is not her final goodbye, however, as she is still slated to play doubles and mixed doubles. After those, the sky is the limit for her. I'm just really got I got to see her play live one last time.

Five-Set Comebacks for Everyone

In honor of Clijsters who has one of the best comeback stories in tennis, it's interesting to note that through the first round this year, nine men have come back from a 0-2 set deficit to win the match. This matches a US Open record and again it's still the first round. Among the winners are 8th seed Janko Tipsarevic and 12th seed Marin Cilic. Among those who let a 2-0 set lead get away from them are 10th seed Juan Monaco, 21st seed Tommy Haas, and the perennially unlucky Nicholas Mahut. Not sure if this adds anything to the ongoing debate of the necessity of five-set matches that's been the go-to topic since the Olympics, but it's definitely something to note.

Americans Find Hope in Hometown Slam

And continuing with the theme of comebacks, Brian Baker, the tennis comeback story of the year, leads a slew of Americans out of the first round. For Baker, his first round match was his first win here since 2005! He is joined by male newcomers Jack Sock, Dennis Novikov, Steve Johnson, and Bradley Kahn into the second round. And even though they are far from their prime Andy Roddick and James Blake also win their first round matches. As for the American women, sisters Venus and Serena Williams moved through easily taking down younger American players while Mallory Burdette and Varvara Lepchenko shock with third round entries.

Germany's Troubles and Other Seeds Fall

Not everything is an inspiring story as a handful of seeds fall early including 8th seed Caroline Wozniacki who was getting over a knee injury. Already mentioned are 23rd seed Clijsters, 10th seed Monaco, and 21st seed Haas. Haas is one of five high-profile Germans who tumbled early. The others are 16th seed Sabine Lisicki, 18th seed Julia Goerges, 22nd seed Florian Mayer, and last year's quarterfinalist Andrea Petkovic. Other notable seeds to fall early include 17th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 21st seed Christina McHale, 22nd seed Francesca Schiavone, 28th seed Mikhail Youzhny, and 29th seed Victor Troiki.

Night Session Blow Outs

On the other end of the spectrum, the traditional night sessions of the US Open has seem the past three nights to be a little more than exhibition matches where the top seeds school their outmatched opponent. As I said previously, I got to see Federer and Clijsters win in straight sets that first night. The next night Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams lost four games between the two of them against their opponents while tonight Maria Sharapova and Andy Murray were business as usual. In fact, other top seeds have moved easily through the first round which should bode well for the later rounds.

I'm looking forward to going back one more day this year, specifically during the upcoming Labor Day weekend, but even though I've only been forced to watch the matches at home, it's been a pretty great experience mostly because of ESPN2's comprehensive coverage as well as the wonderful livestreaming video at the USOpen.org website enabling me to watch matches from six courts in great quality. Yay tennis!

US Open Preview

My tennis blogging this year has been quite abysmal compared to previous years. Perhaps I was channeling the players this year as they had to get through a particularly challenging summer with the Olympics messing up the schedule for all. But with the final Grand Slam of the year upon us, I need to really get back into this especially since it's taking place right where I live. So just a quick preview of what's to come and what to look out for...

Unlike last year, defending champion Novak Djokovic isn't heading into this year's tournament as the odds-on favorite especially since he has failed to replicate his epic results last year. With that said, he is still one of three guys that is likely to win the title. He should be able to get through his first week easily, but then things get tougher in the 4th round against either 14th seed Alexandr Dolgopolov or 18th seed Stan Wawrinka. While he'll likely win those matches, a couple of former US Open champions might await him with 7th seed Juan Martin Del Potro or 20th seed Andy Roddick as his quarterfinal foe. Del Potro recently took Djokovic out during the Bronze Medal match at the Olympics, but Djokovic defeated a slightly injured Del Potro in Toronto.

If seeds go according to plan, Djokovic could meet 4th seed David Ferrer in the semifinals, the Spaniard that lucked out in seeding after his fellow countryman and 2010 US Open champion Rafael Nadal was forced to withdraw. With that said, there are plenty of people in Ferrer's quarter that could end up in the semifinals in his place such as a resurgent unseeded Lleyton Hewitt or 21st seed Tommy Haas who he can meet in the third and fourth round respectively. Even more likely contenders are his potential quarterfinal opponents 8th seed Janko Tipsarevic and 9th seed John Isner. The latter is currently in the final of the final tournament before the Us Open. American comeback story Brian Baker is also in this section.

Top seed and 5-time US Open champion Roger Federer will look to get his first US Open championship in four years. He had a fantastic summer collecting hardware in Wimbledon, the Olympics, and Cincinnati so his confidence is certainly high. His first match is against struggling American Donald Young. It's cruise control until the fourth round where he could meet another struggling American in 23rd seed Mardy Fish or 16th seed Gilles Simon. More likely he'll reach his 34th consecutive major quarterfinal (insane!) facing a tough test from 6th seed Tomas Berdych or 27th seed Sam Querrey, both of which are carrying winning form into the tournament.

We can then have a re-match of the Golden Medal match at the Olympics (which was a re-match of this year's Wimbledon final) if Federer meets 3rd seed and former finalist Andy Murray in the semifinals. Murray, perhaps suffering from an Olympic hangover, has lacked hardcourt play this summer, but he should still be able to make a dent. He does have a tricky first match with unpredictable Alex Bogomolov Jr. and a funny-on-paper match with 30th seed Feliciano Lopez in the third round, but Murray should be able to reach the second week easily. There he might have to battle it out with 15th seed Milos Raonic. In the quarters, possible opponents include 5th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 12th seed Marin Cilic, and 32nd seed Jeremy Chardy (who recently took Murray out of Toronto).

Quarterfinals
R. Federer d. S. Querrey
A. Murray d. J. Tsonga
J. Isner d. D. Ferrer
N. Djokovic d. J. Del Potro

Semifinals
R. Federer d. A. Murray
N. Djokovic d. J. Isner

Finals
R. Federer d. N. Djokovic

Seventh seed and defending champion Sam Stosur has unfortunately not done anything since she won the title last year that would hint of a repeat performance. It doesn't help her at all that she has also been placed in the most stacked quarter of the tournament which is headlined by top seed Victoria Azarenka. This quarter also includes 9th seed Na Li and 3-time US Open champion and 23rd seed Kim Clijsters who will be playing in her last US Open match ever. Both of these women can potentially clash in the third round for one blockbuster of a match. Similarly, 16th seed Sabine Lisicki and 18th seed Julia Goerges are also set to battle in the third round. Who will get out of this quarter? I have no idea.


Whoever does get out of that quarter will most likely meet 3rd seed and former champion Maria Sharapova. If her serve holds, she should make the second week without even breaking a sweat with 15th seed Lucie Safarova as the highest seed before the quarters for her. Once in the final eight though, she could face off against 5th seed Petra Kvitova who shocked Sharapova in last year's Wimbledon final. Sharapova has since righted the ship winning all three matches against Kvitova this year including two at Grand Slams. 11th seed Marion Bartoli and 17th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova also linger here as well as last year's quarterfinalist Andrea Petkovic who is coming back from injuries.

On the other side, the woman to beat yet again is 4th seed Serena Williams who is coming off a magnificent summer in London winning her 14th Grand Slam and first Olympic singles gold. While her performance in the recent tune ups haven't been encouraging, it's just difficult to pick against her. She has a tricky first round match with fellow American Coco Vandeweghe, but I don't see anyone challenging her until maybe the fourth round where 14th seed Maria Kirinlenko or 24th seed Klara Zakopalova awaits. In the quarterfinals, it's more of the same as 8th seed Caroline Wozniacki, 12th seed Ana Ivanovic, and 22nd seed Francesca Schiavone should pose little trouble for Serena if playing at her usual level. Unlike those others though, Wozniacki still needs to prove herself as a Grand Slam winner. Unfortunately, I just don't see it happening this year.

After a pretty damn good year leading up to her first ever Grand Slam final at this year's Wimbledon, 2nd seed Agnieszka Radwanska hasn't done much. She crashed out early at the Olympics and lost twice to Na Li in the lead-up tournaments. She can still recapture her early-year magic especially with a relatively good draw. A possible third round match with former finalist and 30th seed Jelena Jankovic isn't that difficult compared to what it would've been a couple years ago and her possible fourth round match with 13th seed Dominika Cibulkova should also be straightforward. The keyword here is "should" and you never really know with Radwanska. Her real test will come in the quarterfinal where she can meet 6th seed Angelique Kerber, 10th seed Sara Errani, or unseeded Venus Williams. Kerber, who has been on fire recently, could meet Venus in the second round! Suffice to say, underestimate the elder Williams sister at your peril.

Quarterfinals
K. Clijsters d. V. Azarenka
M. Sharapova d. P. Kvitova
S. Williams d. A. Ivanovic
A. Kerber d. D. Cibulkova

Semifinals
M. Sharapova d. K. Clijsters
S. Williams d. A. Kerber

Finals
S. Williams d. M. Sharapova

FINAL WORD: Yes, my predictions are INCREDIBLY boring. Federer, Serena, Djokovic, and Sharapova? But how do you pick against them after the past few months they have had? Yes, Murray is a threat. So are a lot of people and ANYTHING can happen. It is New York after all. And yes, I know form-wise Clijsters making the final four is ridiculous, but I really want her to do well in her last tournament!

Birthday Boy Roger Federer and Olympic Thoughts

Roger Federer celebrates his 31st birthday today and for the world no. 1 it has certainly been a great year indeed. Despite playing third wheel to the Novak Djokovic-Rafael Nadal show for most of 2011, he was able to come back with a vengeance notching a 76-10 match record and winning 8 titles since his last birthday, a tour's best. Part of that impressive run included a 17-match win streak after last year's US Open which led to his 6th year-end championship, his milestone 800th win last November, and his 7th Wimbledon a few weeks ago (his record 17th Grand Slam title). That Wimbledon win over Andy Murray catapulted him back to the no. 1 ranking over Djokovic and Nadal enabling him to tie the record of weeks spent with the top ranking with Pete Sampras at 286 weeks. Just three days ago, Federer lost to Murray in the gold-medal match at the London Olympics which still meant Federer walked away with his first Olympic singles medal albeit a silver medal.

I was very, very lucky enough to watch Federer at the Olympics this year in London more specifically his second round match with Julien Benneteau and his third round match with Denis Istomin. He won them quite handily and let me just say that the experience to watch Federer at Wimbledon is something I will never ever forget. His semifinal match with Juan Martin Del Potro, which I saw at an outdoor screening in Hyde Park, was incredible with Federer winning 19-17 in the third set. It was the longest Olympic tennis match ever. Was I disappointed to see him lose to Murray in the final? Yes, most definitely, especially as he didn't seem to put up a fight, but considering all he has already accomplished silver feels a lot like gold. And since I'm already talking about the Olympics, quick shout out to Serena Williams who won her first ever singles Olympic gold medal in dominant fashion while also partnering up with sister Venus Williams for their third doubles gold medal. I got to see one of their doubles match at the Olympics and the combination of Serena serving with Venus at net was hilariously intimidating.

But back to the birthday boy, yes, the best years are behind him but he has shown during the past year that fighting and winning doesn't end at 30. At age 31 Federer is as fit and as dangerous as ever. Of course Murray has momentum, Del Potro is almost fully recovered, and Djokovic and Nadal will most likely come back strong at the US Open... but Federer is peerless as he is ageless. Hell, right after his match with Murray at the Olympics, he actually started talking about the Olympics in Rio... Federer would be 34. Sure, why not?

Wimbledon: The Finale

Here I am slacking again since it's been a week since Wimbledon ended and nary a word from me (in this blog at least) on the results. Suffice it to say I was very, very happy with them and like the French Open, two of the sport's greats made history with their wins and made their many, many fans a cause to celebrate.

The king of tennis is back as Roger Federer won his 7th Wimbledon title last Sunday tying him with Pete Sampras and extending his all-time Grand Slam tally at 17 trophies. His win over 4th seed Andy Murray, who was seeking to be the first British man to win a Grand Slam singles title in 70+ years, also catapulted Federer back to the no. 1 ranking also tying him of Sampras' record of holding the top ranking for 286 total weeks. Federer is assured of breaking the record next week. For my part, I always knew Federer had another Slam or two in him, but the way Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have dominated the game in the past couple of years I was almost certain Federer would never be back as world number one. He proved everyone wrong the same way his finals opponent Murray proved everyone wrong when he handled the great pressure of reaching his first Wimbledon finals surprisingly well. In fact, Murray started off flawlessly winning the first set and continuing to be aggressive in the second set. It was Federer however who lifted up his game just in time, breaking late in the second set to win just before the rain forced the tournament to close the roof for the very first indoors Wimbledon Men's finals. Once the roof was closed, Federer was able to play more aggressively with his serves, with his forehands, and more interestingly with his net play. A 20-minute 10-deuce game on Murray's serve in the middle of the third set where Murray fell a couple time and Federer broke serve set the tone. Before you knew it, Federer was lifting the trophy while Murray tearfully and endearingly expressed his immense appreciation for the support he has received. To be continued at the Olympics?

Of course Serena Williams would beat third seed Agnieszka Radwanska at the Wimbledon finals to claim her 5th Wimbledon title (and 14th overall), tying her with her sister Venus Williams. After all, in the past 12 years, one of the Williams sisters have won Wimbledon 10 times. To make it sweeter, both sisters went on to win their 5th Ladies' Doubles title last weekend as well. Serena's superb serve (106 aces for the tournament's best including the men) and under-appreciated court smarts carried her through the final, but Radwanska also didn't give up. While Radwanska must have been overwhelmed by the huge occasion of her first Grand Slam final, losing the first give games of the match, she hung in there especially in the second set as Serena's level dipped a bit. Radwanska's Hingis-esque game helped her squeak out the tight second set, but Serena would recover and just the way the match started, would win the five straight games to win. Certainly the drive to win was great for Serena who had to overcome many health concerns during the past couple of years. With the Olympics looming, do not count out either Williams sisters to claim yet another gold medal. As a final tribute to Serena and Roger, it must be noted that both are over 30 years old which in tennis terms is close to retirement, but both of them have proven time and time again that age is just a number. Certainly Nike must be ecstatic this summer as four of their marquee players--Maria Sharapova, Nadal, Serena, and Federer--won Grand Slams and in historic and impressive fashion to boot!

In doubles, joining the Williams sisters who took out sixth seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, are wildcards Frederik Nielsen and Jonathan Marray who beat fifth seeds Robert Linstedt and Horia Tecau for the Men's Doubles title. Marray thus becomes the first British man to win a Grand Slam title giving the county some much needed emotional boost. In Mixed, Americans and second seeds Mike Bryan and Lisa Raymond defeated fourth seeds Leander Paes and Elena Vesnina. Again, with the Olympics being held at the All-England Lawn and Tennis Club in a couple weeks, we'll be seeing the same people in the same setting but this time playing for gold. And I will be there to watch it live! Exciting times to be a tennis fan!

Wimbledon Finals Preview

After nearly a fortnight of rain, royalty, and unbelievable upsets, a former champion reaches the final in hopes to match their past successes while going up against a first-time finalist with overwhelming pressure to succeed. I just described both the men and women's final match-ups at this years Wimbledon Championships which will be contested this weekend.

For the women, 4-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams blitzed past the defending champion (Petra Kvitova) and the world no. 2 player (Victoria Azarenka) for a chance to tie her older sister Venus with 5 Wimbledon championships. Just as an aside, Serena and Venus are also in the Women's Doubles Final with a chance to win their 5th Wimbledon title there as well. Third seed Agnieszka Radwanska will be Serena's opponent reaching not only her first Wimbledon final, but her first Grand Slam final ever. In fact she's celebrating a lot of first by also reaching her first slam semifinals after outlasting Maria Kirilenko in the quarter-finals and then deftly handling the hard-hitting German Angelique Kerber in the semifinals. Many have remarked her easy draw, but credit her for staying focus to give herself a chance to win her first major title which would also vault her to the number one ranking. Unfortunately, she seems to be suffering from a respiratory illness oh and also facing the best serve in women's tennis.

History will be made on the men's side no matter who wins. Six-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer can recapture the number one ranking by winning his 7th Wimbledon title on Sunday which will also put him in a tie with Pete Sampras in number of Wimbledon titles and help him surpass Sampras at total weeks at number one. A few people predicted Federer at the beginning of the tournament especially with the kind of relatively easy draw he received and that belief got stronger with Rafael Nadal's shock early exit. He certainly cruised for the most part with the exception of having to come back down 0-2 sets to Julien Benneteau, but after that scare Federer found new life dismissing Mikhail Youzhny in the quarter-finals and more impressive taking out world number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic. Federer's final opponent will be none other than the lone British hope Andy Murray who reaches his first Wimbledon final ending that particular drought. Were he to win the title, he would be the first British man since Fred Perry to win Wimbledon. With the London Olympics in a few weeks, this is an opportunity of a lifetime for Murray. Can he handle the pressure? He certainly showed great composure in getting through the toughest draw of the top 4 taking out Ivo Karlovic, Marin Cilic, David Ferrer, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Predictions: Radwanska was overmatched even before she got sick and if Serena continues to serve like she has been, she will be unbeatable. Then again might playing too much tennis (doubles) mean it'll be closer than we all expect especially with Radwanska's Hingis-esque game that could prove useful. As for the men, the pressure will be huge on Murray and while he leads his H2H with Federer, I think the occassion and his past slam finals history will play with his mind especially against a champion as experienced as Federer. Then again what better storyline for Great Britain for a homegrown champion right before they host the Olympics? With all of that said, I'm going to go with the tried and true and pick Serena and Federer for their 14th and 17th Grand Slam titles respectively.

French Open 2012 So Far

The second Grand Slam tournament of the year has been going on for ten days. Interestingly enough, that's also how long I lasted in the suicide pool being taken out by Andy Murray's lost today. Neither here nor there! Now with the tennis world focused on the red clays of Roland Garros, here are just some of the storylines of the tournament...

Ups and Downs for American Women

Through their first 10 matches, American women went 10-0 including some impressive wins from young players against seeded layers. Of course, it also set up the improbable upset of Serena Williams in the first round, her earliest lost ever from a Grand Slam. With all of this said, there's a handful of women who was looking to do well to qualify for the Olympics including Venus Williams. Will be interested to see where all of that settles.

Top Women Struggle

Along with Serena, former champions fail to reach the latter stages including Francescha Schiavone, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ana Ivanovic, and defending champion Li Na. World no. 1 Victoria Azarenka also crashed early as well as Agnieszka Radwanska, Marion Bartoli, Jelena Jankovic and Caroline Wozkiacki.

Newcomers and Comebacks

Here are just a few names making their presence known by making it as far as they did. There's David Goffin who took out Radek Stepanek in the first round and played his childhood idol Federer hard in the fourth round. There are Sloane Stephens and Varvara Lepchenko, the two Americans to make it furthest in the draw, 4th Round, losing to eventual semifinalists. Or how about Yaroslava Shvedova, ranked 142, making it all the way to the QF and Nicolas Mahut getting some nice revenge on Americans in a big stage by taking out Andy Roddick in the first round? Finally there's Brian Baker, who came back to the game just last year and after a few weeks of non-stop winning including his run through qualifying and the 2nd round of the French Open, he's never been higher.

The Final Eight and Predictions

So after ten days, out of the 256 men and women 8 remain, the final four guys and the final four women. The final four guys are no strangers. Top seed Novak Djokovic is looking to complete a career Grand Slam while second seed and clay king Rafael Nadal is trying to get his record 7th French Open crown. Former champ Roger Federer is looking to win his first major since 2010 Australian Open and David Ferrer is celebrating reaching his first French Open SF. In the women's side Maria Sharapova, like Djokovic, is looking to complete a career Grand Slam (and recapture the #1 ranking) while Petra Kvitova and Sam Stosur want to get back on top after lackluster results post their Grand Slam results last year. Finally, Sara Errani took out two previous French Open champions and now reaches her first ever major semifinals. All eyes will be on Sharapova-Kvitova and Djokovic-Federer since they look to be the blockbuster match-up the tournament has been waiting for. The winner of that woman's match should be seen as the favorite to win the whole thing while Nadal WILL win regardless of who he is facing. That's just the truth.

Azarenka & Federer Win at Indian Wells

Through sickness and streaks, two of the hottest players in tennis right now continued their excellent 2012 by winning the first Masters title of the year in Indian Wells. One has been solidifying her reign as the top woman player in the world while the other has been providing the old adage that age really is just a number.


Victoria Azarenka and Roger Federer both won their 4th and 3rd title of the year respectively at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells this weekend. Both were unsure coming into the tournament afflicted with viruses that seemed to have impacted many players these past few days, but they powered through and recovered just in time. For Azarenka, she withdrew from doubles and had a difficult time putting away her second round opponent only to dominate the rest of the tournament included routing Maria Sharapova for the fourth straight time in a final. Their final match-up, other than being a re-match of this year's Australian Open final, was also special in that it was a rare battle between the WTA's no. 1 and no. 2. Win the win, Azarenka extends her amazing unbeaten streak this year to 23-0. Up next for her and most of the other players is Miami where she is the defending champion. Sharapova, who had another solid showing especially taking out a resurgent Ana Ivanovic, will hope to avenge her loss there. It won't be easy though as Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams are all in the draw.


For Federer, he was clearly under the weather early in the tournament having to play from behind in his matches against up and comers Milos Raonic and Tomas Belluci. He found his mojo just in time in the quarters where he once again halted Juan Martin Del Potro's run (fourth time this year!). Amidst tricky weather conditions he then played a flawless match against his great rival Rafael Nadal to notch his 10th win over the Spaniard to make the finals where newly top ten ranked John Isner awaited him. The big and tall American kept his composure early on, but once Federer eked out the first set in a tight tiebreak, it was cruise control for the Swiss who ended up breaking Isner twice in the second set. This marks Federer's 73 title, a record fourth Indian Wells title. It also ties with Nadal with 19 Masters 1000 titles. It's also worth noting that in a span of less than 24 hours, Federer was able to avenge his only two losses this year (Australian Open SF to Nadal and Davis Cup to Isner). Finally, Federer now leads in ranking points accrued since the beginning of this year making his quest to retake the #1 ranking all the more reachable.

For his part, Nadal did lift a trophy this week when he won the Men's Doubles title with partner Mark Lopez. They beat Isner and Sam Querrey. Isner, who sufficed to say had a phenomenal tournament, had the unenviable task of playing Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal in a span of 24 hours. Top ranked Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond won the Women's Doubles title.

Tennis Update: Federer Keeps Winning

It's been a little over a month since I talked about anything tennis related, which is usually par for the course since things start to quiet down right after the Australian Open. We're just a few days away from the next couple of big tournaments, Indian Wells and Miami, but of course other tournaments have been won and lost in the interim. A few players who have done well this stretch include the unbeaten Victoria Azarenka, David Ferrer, Juan Martin Del Potro, and Agnieszka Radwanska. And then of course there's Roger Federer.


Winning the big tournaments aka the Grand Slams will get progressively difficult for the 16-time champion, but Federer these past few months since his lost at the US Open to Novak Djokovic has shown that anyone counting him out would be very foolish. Consider that after that game against Djokovic, where he was a point away from winning, Federer seemingly brushed it all off and went on a 17-0 undefeated run winning three titles, including the year-end championships. This year he lost in the semifinals of the Australian Open to Rafael Nadal and suffered a shock first round loss in Davis Cup to American John Isner, but has since won 10 straight matches grabbing two titles in Rotterdam and Dubai defeating top players Del Potro and Andy Murray in the finals. In other words, since turning 30 (August 8th, 2011), Federer has notched an impressive 41-5 match record winning his last 5 finals! Out of the top four, Federer has acquired more ranking points since the US Open.

In his latest match in Dubai, he claimed his 72nd title overall and 2nd of the year on his 102nd career final. It was also his 50th hard court title, a record. He also equaled Pete Sampras' record of 12 ATP 500 tournament titles. Finally, with this win, he has officially won at least two ATP titles for 11 years in a row. What all of this means to those bigger tournaments against Djokovic and/or Nadal, is a whole other set of questions. But it's clear that Federer is not done playing. In fact he is in New York City RIGHT NOW playing an exhibition match with Andy Roddick along with Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki.

Australian Open Report: Quarterfinals

Australian tennis fans are in for a double treat today as not only are they celebrating a national holiday (Australia Day of course), but the tennis lineup is just ridiculously awesome as both women semifinal matches will be played as well as an epic blockbuster of a men's semifinal match at night, but before that let's quickly rundown what happened in the quarters...


Roger Federer d. Juan Martin Del Potro 6-4 6-3 6-2

Federer has only lost to two players in Grand Slam finals and Del Potro is one of them, so Federer has a lot of respect for the Argentine's game. It clearly showed when Federer put on a masterclass and wowed not only the crowd, but himself on his great play. Not to say Del Potro played badly, but Federer was just on another level. He is the only player left in the draw not to drop a set. He'll take this momentum and use it to his advantage when he next faces a very familiar foe...

Rafael Nadal d. Tomas Berdych 6-7(5) 7-6(5) 6-4 6-2

Two days earlier, Berdych made headlines when he refused to shake Almagro's hands at the end of his fourth round match garnering a ton of bad press. Many thought that would color the match between Berdych and another Spaniard Nadal. I don't think it did, especially since both already have a contentious history. With that said, Berdych played Nadal tough in the first few sets seemingly fearless. But Nadal stepped it up and took care of business in the fourth to setup a tantalizing match-up with Federer.

Novak Djokovic d. David Ferrer 6-4 7-6(4) 6-1

Defending champion Djokovic has been in cruise control all tournament long until he met up with Hewitt a round before where he lost his first set. Indefatigable Ferrer would seem like a bigger obstacle for him, but Djokovic was able to take advantage of Ferrer's non-threatening serve, especially in that crucial second-set tie break to jump ahead. Djokovic has won 19th straight Grand Slam matches and will try to make it 20 games to reach the final. But before that, he'll have to play in a rematch of last year's final with...

Andy Murray d. Kei Nishikori 6-3 6-3 6-1

It's obvious that Murray is the lone non-Slam winning member of the Big Four, but reaching nine major semifinals and three finals deserves credit. In this tournament, Murray has been blessed by the draw gods with his most dangerous opponents losing before they get to him. It was in this way that he faced Nishikori instead of Tsonga. The scoreline may seem overtly one-sided, but Nishikori played pretty Murray quite closely especially in those first two sets making Murray work hard. In the end, Murray was just too much.


Kim Clijsters d. Caroline Wozniacki 6-3 7-6(4)

This was a do or die situation for both players. If Wozniacki lost to Clijsters, she would relinquishes her no. 1 ranking. If she had won, she would be Clijsters final Australian Open opponent. Clijsters, still tentative especially with the ankle injury she sustained a match prior, really took it to Wozniacki in the first set. It was closer and more nervy, from both, in the second, but Clijsters finally came out on top in the tiebreak. She next faces...

Victoria Azarenka d. Agnieszka Radwanska 6-7(0) 6-0 6-2

Azarenka must have been super frustrated at herself after losing the first set tiebreak at love, but she took a break and came back a different player. That and she also got some help from Radwanska would couldn't string together points after winning the first set. This match has actually been very similar to many of their matches with Radwanska winning the first then losing composure for the last two. It's pretty bad since Radwanska is also the highest ranked women's player to never reach a Grand Slam semifinals.

Maria Sharapova d. Ekaterina Makarova 6-2 6-3

If you ask around, it seems that everyone is calling Sharapova the favorite to win the tournament. It's certainly a sound prediction especially with the way she has been in cruise control all tournament long. She continued her great form against an outpowered and outshrieked Makarova. But she'll have to get by another 'ova in the next round and this one has been on a roll...

Petra Kvitova d. Sara Errani 6-4 6-4

Kvitova is probably the best player in the women's game at the moment, but she really needs to live up to her seeding and reach the finals and possibly win to solidify this. Her match against Errani wasn't as straightforward as the straight-sets scoreline indicate. She was actually down a couple of break points in the second before reeling off five straight games to win the match. It's that fighting spirit she will need when she goes up against Sharapova.

Final Note: The semifinal stage is seriously stacked. Not only do we have the top 4 men, but also 3 of the top 4 women along with Clijsters. Both of the defending champions are still alive and amongst all of them, they have 38 Grand Slam titles. There's not one match that isn't intriguing, but I do admit that there is one match that is the MOST intriguing and that is Nadal-Federer XXVII. I will be up until the break of dawn for that one.

Australian Open Preview

Another year and another tennis season begins. There have already been title winners and injury withdrawals and in that sense it's as if the tennis season didn't even have an off-season. And so it goes as the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam event of the season, begins in a few hours. Here's a preview of the the men and women's draw and its top contenders...


Last year's champion and world no. 1 Novak Djokovic begins his daunting task of defending the massive amount of points he earned last year going undefeated for the first half of the season. Winning Doha a couple of weeks ago, he seems fit and ready to go. His toughest "test" will be from a couple of North Americans in the fourth round where he'll either face American Andy Roddick or Canadian Milos Raonic. It's worth noting that Lleyton Hewitt has a potential second round clash with Roddick. The quarters are a bit more dangerous with a potential match-up with 5th seed David Ferrer or 9th seed Janko Tipsarevic.

On the same side of the draw as Djokovic and his likely semifinal opponent, world no. 4 and two-time Australian Open finalist Andy Murray will try to win his first Grand Slam trophy. It won't be easy. His first round match with Ryan Harrison will probably be straightforward, but it's something to watch as is his possible third round clash with Alex Bogomolov Jr. Victor Troiki or Gael Monfils are his potential fourth round opponents and should give him some trouble. Troiki himself has a very tricky first round with Juan Carlos Ferrero. The biggest obstacle for Murray to reach his third Australian final in a row however will be 6th seed and also former finalist Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, his likely quarterfinal foe.

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are on the same side of the draw for the first time since 2005 and it's easy to pencil them both in for the semifinals. For world no. 2 Nadal, it's less about his opponents and more about his physical condition. He had shoulder problems late last season so we'll see. His first real test will be big-serving John Isner in the fourth round though we'll also see how John deals with not only the Australian heat, but also a possible second round match-up with David Nalbandian. Even in the quarterfinals, Nadal should be favored over 7th seed Tomas Berdych, 10th seed Nicolas Almagro, or Stan Wawrinka. The latter could meet former finalist Marcos Baghdatis in the 2nd round.

Three-time champion and world no. 3 Federer should be okay in the early rounds which will be good for him after retiring from Doha a couple weeks ago with a bad back. Before that, he was on a 20-match win streak going back to his phenomenal fall season last year. His fourth round opponent include Alexandr Dolgopolov or Fernando Verdasco. The latter will have to contend with the highest ranked non-seeded player in the draw Bernard Tomic in the first round. Eight seed Mardy Fish and 11th seed Juan Martin Del Potro await Federer in the quarterfinal with the latter being a lot more dangerous.

Quarterfinals
Novak Djokovic d. David Ferrer
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga d. Andy Murray
Roger Federer d. Juan-Martin Del Potro
Rafael Nadal d. Tomas Berdych

Semifinals
Novak Djokovic d. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Roger Federer d. Rafael Nadal

Finals
Novak Djokovic d. Roger Federer



Defending champion Kim Clijsters thrilled many by winning last year's Australian Open title, but she was out with injury for most of the year and is just returning to the game. She also admitted this was most likely her last year playing. She can meet and should win her third round match with Daniela Hantuchova, but the draw gods were mean and her fourth round clash with 5th seed Li Na will be a rematch of their final from last year. Whoever wins that should be favored for the semifinals since world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki and 13th seed Jelena Jankovic await them in the quarters.

Third seed Victoria Azarenka heads up a pretty easy quarter giving her a real good chance to make it all the way. Potential fourth round opponents include Shuai Peng and Flavia Pennetta. The quarters will be a little trickier, but still doable with 10th seed Francesca Schiavone and 8th seed Agnieszka Radwanska as her biggest threat.

Second seed Petra Kvitova and defacto "best player on tour right now" will try to get her second Grand Slam event victory after capturing last year's Wimbledon. She should be able to handle the early rounds including possible fourth round match-ups with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or Ana Ivanonic. Sixth seed Samantha Stosur will be her biggest obstacle in the quarterfinals especially since she won last year's US Open and is playing in her home country (though latter could be more a curse than a blessing sometimes). Also on this side is the always unpredictable and should never be underestimated 9th seed Marion Bartoli.

Finally, fourth seed and former champion Maria Sharapova will have to get through a very tricky draw starting with her first round match with Gisela Dulko. The third round could see her meet up with Angelique Kerber and then the fourth round could bring either Sabine Lisicki or Svetlana Kuznetsova. If she gets through all of that, 7th seed Vera Zvonareva and more notably 12th seed Serena Williams await in the quarterfinals. The latter is also trying to make her comeback, but Serena is Serena.

Quarterfinals
Kim Clijsters d. Caroline Wozniacki
Victoria Azarenka d. Julia Georges
Serena Williams d. Sabine Lisicki
Petra Kvitova d. Samantha Stosur

Semifinals
Kim Clijsters d. Victoria Azarenka
Serena Williams d. Petra Kvitova

Finals
Serena Williams d. Kim Clijsters

FINAL WORD: I'm looking at my Women Predictions and just shaking my head. Do I honestly believe these results? My heart and head says no, but here they are anyways. As for the men, I'm probably less off since the top men are THAT consistent, but Federer in the final isn't as automatic as it once was. Then again I'm predicting Serena to win, so I honestly don't know.

Brief Tennis Year-In-Review

Happy New Year to all, but especially fellow tennis fans who will be glad to have new tennis matches already underway to obsess over. Of course, the tennis offseason is notoriously short to nonexistent, but before we dive headlong to the new year, let's take a quick look back at the year that was via a couple of its most notable players...

Novak Djokovic - He went on a historic and undefeated run for most of the year and compiled an unreal 10-1 record against Nadal and Federer. He won 10 titles including 3 Grand Slams and earned more money than any tennis player ever. He faded a bit in the end, but

Petra Kvitova - She ended the year as the player to beat, rising to #2 and beating the best at the year-end championship as well as leading her Czech team to a Fed Cup win. On top of all of that, she also won her first major at Wimbledon.

Kim Clijsters - Started out the year very well winning her first non-US Open Grand Slam at Melbourne then reaches the top ranking soon after becoming the first mother to ever hold the top spot. She dropped off the rest of th year skipping Wimbledon and playing her last match in Toronto.

Rafael Nadal - Won his sixth French Open title and made the finals in two others, but the big story this year for him was his inability to beat Djokovic in every surface including his beloved clay. He went out on top though by leading Spain for their 5th win.

Roger Federer - He didn't win a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2002, but he was the only person to defeat a fully healthy Djokovic and ended his year on a great note going on a 17-match run winning his 6th year-end championship for his 70th title in 100 career ATP finals.

Li Na - Not only did she become the first Asian player to reach a Grand Slam singles final (at the Australian Open), but she became the first Asian Grand Slam champion at Roland Garros after taking out defending champion Francesca Schiavone.

Caroline Wozniacki - She ended the year at no. 1 two years in a row and while she won the most matches and tied with Kvitova for the most titles won, she was still slam-less. She didn't even reach a Grand Slam final all year.

Sam Stosur - She won only one title last year, but it was for her first Grand Slam championship at the US Open taking out Serena.

Andy Murray - Won the second most titles on the ATP and reached the Australian Open final for the second time, but still slam-less and still ended the year ranked as #4.

Serena Williams - Out for most of the year due to illness and injury, she won Toronto and reached the US Open final only to lose to Stosur on 9/11.

Venus Williams - Like her sister, she was out of the year due to illness and injury and was eventually diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease.

What will 2012 bring to all of these players? It's an Olympic year, of course, so all of them will have that on the back of their heads for most of the year especially since it'll be held at Wimbledon. Kvitova and Federer are hoping their late-season momentum continues through the new year while Djokovic and Wozniacki hope to play well enough to keep their top ranking. But simply they all just want to win. We won't have to wait very long to see how they all handle the big tournaments. The Australian Open begins on January 16th!