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.

French Open: Final Preview

Let's just say the two favorites pre-tournament are still the overwhelming favorite heading into championship weekend. Let's start with the women...

Serena Williams [1] vs. Maria Sharapova [2]

Why it's taken so long for Serena Williams to win her second French Open title is up for debate, but she's certainly making a concerted effort this year to do just that. She's been absolutely unbelievable the whole tournament including her demolition of last year's finalist Sara Errani in the semifinals. The only person standing in her way is last year's champion Maria Sharapova who she has a dominant 12-3 H2H record against. They've already played three times this year and Serena has won them all, but if anything Sharapova can take it to heart that nothing is set in stone--Serena could have a bad day, Sharapova could start zoning. Weirder things have happened after all.

Prediction: Serena in 2 sets.

Rafael Nadal [3] vs. David Ferrer [4]

Rafael Nadal has won his 8th French Open title! Oh wait, he didn't yet? Well, after his semifinal clash with top seed Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, he really should've just gotten the trophy, right? Their up and down match lived up to the hype as Djokovic found another gear later in the match to push Nadal to a rare fifth set at Roland Garros. In the end, the king of clay withstood Djokovic's stand and Nadal is just one match away from his 8th French Open title, the most of any man in any major. He'll face a familiar foe in countryman David Ferrer who dismissed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets the round before. Like Serena to Sharapova, Nadal has a dominant H2H record against his opponent 19-4, but Ferrer is entering the final in fantastic form as the only player to not have lost a set. It's also his first Grand Slam final, so perhaps luck is just on his side? Or maybe not, since Nadal is the one on the other side.

Prediction: Nadal in 3 sets.

French Open: Semifinal Preview

If there's something to be said with regards to the players who made it to this stage, it's that it's been a very formful tournament.All four of last year's finalists are still around and the lowest seed is sixth, which all just means that we're in for some epic showdowns.

N. Djokovic [1] vs. R. Nadal [3]
D. Ferrer [4] vs. J. Tsonga [6]

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga played the spoiler here by convincingly knocking out 2nd seed Roger Federer in a straight set beating that saw the former French Open champion unable to do much of anything against the Frenchman who got even more support from the home crowd. The rest of the line-up is made up of last year's semifinalists which includes Tsonga's next opponent, the indefatigable David Ferrer who easily handled the inevitably exhausted Tommy Robredo the round prior. Both man are trying to reach their first ever French Open final.

It's the other match-up though that everyone has been waiting for ever since the draw came out. Last year's finalists Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will meet for the 35th time in what many are calling the de-facto final. Djokovic pushed Nadal to four sets last year, but his form heading to this tournament is not what it was last year. Similarly, Nadal has blitzed through the clay season as per usual, but is he 100% physically? Nadal and Djokovic won in straight sets their previous round against Stan Wawrinka and Tommy Haas with the latter capping off his terrific tournament with the most spirited performance among the losing quarter-finalists.

My prediction for the finals? Nadal vs. Tsonga.

S. Williams [1] vs. S. Errani [5]
M. Sharapova [2] vs. V. Azarenka [3]

Last year's winner Maria Sharapova was bageled in the first set in her quarterfinal match against Jelena Jankovic, but was able to grit her way to a win. She's going to need that same attitude against Victoria Azarenka who reaches the semifinals at the French Open for the first time in her career by winning in straights against Maria Kirinlenko. Azarenka leads their H2H 7-5, but Sharapova has won at the two clay tournaments they've played. Should be an interesting match to watch and certainly it's the match whose result is not certain.

Unlike the other semifinal match between favorite Serena Williams and last year's finalist Sara Errani. Every sports stat will say this is a slam-dunk win for Serena who has just been on top form this tournament, but she did hit her first bump the prior round losing a set to former French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. But her focus to capture only her second French Open title is at an all-time high and at this point she is her own worst enemy. As for Errani, she has certainly backed up her surprise results from last year including a convincing straight sets win against Agnieszka Radwanska, but beating Serena will be a big ask especially since Errani is also still alive in Women's Doubles!

My prediction for the finals? Serena vs. Sharapova.

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: Women Semifinalists

It's somehow appropriate that my last tennis post on this blog was entitled "Tennis is Over, Now What?" back in early September right after the US Open since I haven't talked about tennis at all since then, not even my usual year-end review. Which is odd really since 2012 was probably the most fascinating tennis year in recent years with the Olympics being held at Wimbledon, the top 4 men dominating in the slams, Serena making a comeback, and a couple of high-profile retirements (Clijsters and Roddick). My love for the sport hasn't waned really, but perhaps my need to post about it on this blog is coming to an end. I'm still not sure though which is why even though I haven't at all talked about the Australian Open which is winding down in a few days, I'm going to start now by talking about the women's tournament and the four semifinalists.

Everyone knew that an American was going to make the final four, but those people were betting that it would be Serena Williams to be not only the sole American standing, but the woman to beat. It wasn't such a wild idea considering what she had accomplished last year and a win here would've meant re-capturing that #1 ranking. Instead, she fell to American teenager Sloane Stephens in the quarterfinals who to her credit stay focused on her game as Serena became hampered with an injury in the middle of the match. Stephens was seeded 29th, but will be safely entrenched in the top 20 after the tournament. She could move up as high as #11 if she were to win, but she would have to get through defending champion and world no. 1 Victoria Azarenka. Azarenka has been in cruise control all tournament with the exception of a third-round brawl against Jamie Hampton, another young American. Most recently, Azarenka took out 2-time slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova who came into the tournament unseeded due to missing play for most of the year in 2012 due to a knee injury. Kuznetsova exceeded expectations to reach the final 8 and beating 10th seed Caroline Wozniacki.

The woman of the tournament, however, is second seed Maria Sharapova who has lost only 9 games through 5 matches including doling out an impressive two double-bagel matches to begin the tournament. She also took out 7-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams in brutal fashion with many thinking it was going to be a much closer match-up. Her semifinal foe will be none other than Na Li playing her "hometown" slam. While hardly consistent, Li seems to really bring her A-game during the slams, especially the first two of the year. Her straight set victories over 18th seed Julia Goerges and especially 4th seed Agnieszka Radwanska spoke volume. The latter is unfortunately still looking for her first major breakthrough. As far as predictions go, I'm banking on a 1 vs. 2 battle between Azarenka and Sharapova though I'm rooting for one or both of the underdogs to surprise.

And finally, I can't talk about the woman's tournament this year without mentioning 100th-ranked Kimiko Date-Krumm who defied her age yet again by reaching the third round of both the singles and the doubles draw taking out 12th seed Nadia Petrova in the first round and outlasting the 2nd seed doubles team of Hlavacka-Hradecka with partner Arantxa Parra Santonja in the 2nd round of doubles.

US Open: The Finale

It ended up being a golden summer for Serena Williams and Andy Murray as they both captured not only the gold medal at this year's Olympics, but also the US Open title. For her it was her 4th US Open title and 15th overall. For him, it was his very first Grand Slam title. Winning, however, didn't come easy for either one.

Serena came into the match against top seed Victoria Azarenka as the overwhelming favorite having led their H2H 9-1 and the first set signaled a routine rout after Serena won 6-2. Serena was perhaps thinking about lost opportunities and unnecessary drama that cost her the title the past couple years as she remained focused and more importantly her serve remained dialed in. Azarenka, however, started hitting harder and taking more chances in the second set. Coupled with Serena's serve and footwork going walkabout Azarenka managed to win the next set with an identical 6-2. This was when the match went from great to classic as this became the first 3-set women's final since 1995! Also both players had excellent 3-set records (Serena was 5-0 in 3-set slam finals and Azarenka was 12-0 in 3-set matches this year). The third set was certainly more competitive with Azarenka taking the lead by breaking Serena in the 7th game to go up 4-3 then holding serve for 5-3, just one game away from her first US Open title. Unfortunately that was one game too many. After Serena held for 5-4, Azarenka tightened serving for the match going down Love-40 and eventually lost her serve to bring the score to 5-5. Serena held again for 6-5 putting the pressure right back at Azarenka who was a point away from the tiebreak, but was pushed to a few deuces by a relentless Serena. A couple of errors later from Azarenka and Serena has won the US Open title to go along with her singles and doubles trophies from Wimbledon and golden medals from the Olympics. Her ranking of 4 will remain unchanged after the tournament, but is there any doubt who the best female player right now?

It has been a long time coming for Murray to lift the championship trophy. Prior to this year's US Open, Murray had an abysmal slam final record of 0-4 (1-12 in sets) and it's been a longer wait for Britain who has been waiting for a homegrown slam champion since Fred Perry in 1936. But finally all the waiting can stop as Murray impressively won his maiden slam in a five-set epic thriller against defending champion Novak Djokovic. The setting and conditions could not have been any more dramatic. The men had to play a Monday final for the fifth straight year and in windy and cold conditions to boot. Both players started off slow, perhaps getting used to it all, but eventually the first set came down to a tie-break that ended up being a nice summation of the match as a whole. There were momentum shifts, 30+ shot rallies, and high drama. Murray finally edged out Djokovic 12-10 giving himself huge momentum (winner of the first set in matches between these two have went on to win the match every time). Murray carried that momentum in the second set going up a double break for 4-0 as he took advantage of a frustrated Djokovic. Refusing to go without a fight, Djokovic did just that storming back into the set and bringing it back on serve 5-5. But Murray would win that second set 7-5 making his dream that much closer. That's when Djokovic would take over as the Serb took the 3rd and 4th set easily most likely due to Murray tightening up and Djokovic himself serving and hitting better. One set to determine the champion and this time Murray grabbed the moment. He broke Djokovic twice early going up 3-0. Djokovic would break back and hold serve for 3-2, but Murray would win the next two games for 5-2, a game away from history. Djokovic took a timeout at that moment to get the trainer and so Murray waited just a little bit longer. Murray stormed to a 40-Love lead giving him triple match point. At 40-15, Murray served and Djokovic blasted a forehand that unlike last year's Miracle Shot went out giving the Scot his first ever Grand Slam title. The match tied for being the longest US Open Men's Final at 4 hours and 54 minutes. But I think Murray and the rest of Britain would agree that went quickly compared to how long they had to wait for this special moment.

Bob and Mike Bryan won their 12th Grand Slam title, a record, by beating 5th seeds Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek while Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci captured the Women's Doubles title by defeating 3rd seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka. Meanwhile the shotgun team that beat Kim Clijsters at her final match at the Us Open, Ekaterina Makarova and Bruno Soares, won the Mixed Doubles title taking out 4th seeds Kveta Peschke and Marcin Matkowski. And with that, we say goodbye to New York until next year!

US Open Report: Semifinals Recaps and Finals Predictions

It took two days, rain delays, and a tornado warning, but the Men's Semifinals have finally been completed just in time for the Men's Final to take place on Monday for the fifth consecutive year.

A deluge of rain and a tornado warning greeted players and fans on Saturday delaying the start of the men's semifinals. When the skies finally cleared, the first match between Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych began and it was clear that the swirling wind made it difficult for both players. Berdych handled it a little better in the first set and won it on a tiebreak, but Murray adjusted winning the next two sets quickly. Berdych put up a fight in the fourth set and when it looked like the match might go to a fifth set, Murray won it in another tiebreak to book himself a place in the finals, his second Grand Slam final this year. He is still looking to get that maiden slam as he is 0-4 in major finals, but after his Gold Medal win at this year's Olympics, things seemed to have changed. It certainly helps that he did not have to get through either Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal to get through the finals, but getting an extra day of rest compared to his opponent should also be advantageous. Speaking of...

The second match came on court right after the first one as quickly as I've ever seen it. It was between defending champion Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer and the wind was still a major factor. Ferrer stood firm against the wind while Djokovic flailed going down 2-5 in the first set before the higher-ups declared the match suspended and for the tennis center to be evacuated with the threat of extreme weather imminent. No tennis would be played the rest of the day including the Women's Finals. The next day Ferrer managed to hold serve once to win the first set, but it was Djokovic who flourished with the picture perfect weather taking the next three sets easily to reach his third consecutive US Open finals.

Predictions: Along with Federer and Nadal, Djokovic and Murray have dominated the big events this past year. These two finalists have won big titles (Australian Open, London Olympics) and made the finals at others (French Open and Wimbledon). Neither of them have the top ranking, but you better believe that they both think they are number one. For Djokovic, this would put him back to dominant form that alluded him during the grass season. For Murray, this would be his most precious breakthrough for his first slam. Either player could also solidify their claim for Player of the Year with this win. So with all of that said, pressure is high. Djokovic leads their H2H 8-6, but only 6-5 on hard courts. This year alone they are 2-2 including Djokovic's fifth-set win at this year's Australian Open. Murray will be the better-rested player and will certainly be hungrier. It's a coin-flip for me and I certainly don't have any rooting interest. I'll predict Andy Murray.

As for the women, they played and completed their semifinal matches on Friday albeit that's all they really had in common. The first match, between Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova, was an instant classic with both splitting the first two sets and testing out their cumulative 23-0 record in their matches this year that have gone through three sets. The volume and drama were ramped up high throughout the match especially in the third set where Azarenka really made Sharapova worked hard to hold each and every one of her service games. It was only a matter of time then before Sharapova finally cracked in the 10th game to give Azarenka the break and the win for a chance to win her first US Open title (and her second Grand Slam title of the year).

Azarenka's opponent will be Serena Williams who absolutely dominated Sara Errani in their semifinal match. Williams overpowered the crafty Italian who has been having the year and tournament of a lifetime (she just won the Women's Doubles title with partner Roberta Vinci). In the match, Errani only managed 6 winners and 0 aces compared to Williams' 38 winners and 9 aces and those pretty much tell you everything you needed to know about the lopsided match. It really is a testament to Errani that the match lasted more than an hour, if just barely.

Predictions: Williams and Azarenka are set to clash in a couple of hours from now and history says that Williams is the odds-on favorite leading their H2H 9-1 including their last match at the Olympics where Azarenka only won 3 measly games. With that said everyone said pretty much the same thing when Williams went up against Stosur in last year's final and we all know what happened then. Plus Azarenka is a better all-around player than Stosur and has been amazing on hard courts this year. With that said, this is match against the world no. 1 versus the Olympic gold medalist, the Australian Open champion versus the Wimbledon champion. I'm going with Serena Williams, but just hoping it's a three-set classic.

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.

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.