2018 US OPEN: Women's Semifinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's semifinals at the US Open for 2018. Last year I correctly predicted 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals, correctly predicted 2 of 4 men's quarterfinals, 2 of 2 men's semifinals and 1 of 2 women's semifinals.  This year I have correctly predicted 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals. I will also have  a prediction for the men's semifinals.

Serena Williams (USA) [17] vs. Anastasja Sevastova (LAT) [19] Sloane Stephens (USA) [3]. I thought that this semifinal would be an all-American affair, with defending champion Sloane Stephens prevailing over Sevastova and Serena Williams enacting revenge on Karolina Pliskova. My second prediction came true,  but Sloane did not  fulfill her side of the bargain. Last year Sevastova and Stephens had played a wild match, with the American coming from down a break in the 3rd set to eventually win. It was expected that with her increased confidence, Stephens would win more easily. Sevastova upended that narrative early, using all her spin and slices to confuse and frustrate Stephens and took the first set 6-1. Sloane came back in the second set but ultimately lost that one 6-4. She is the type of player who can frustrate Serena if she is not playing well, but if Serena's power game components (serve, deep groundstrokes and facile movement) are intact then she should be able to weather the storm. A player with excessive guile like Sevastova uses the opponents power against them, but can still be blasted off the court by a combination of power and accuracy. I suspect that will happen today, but not as easily as some would think. The two have never played before, so Serena may not really take the threat seriously, but you don't get to a major semifinal by luck, and Sevastova always plays her best tennis in New York. However, one can't underestimate the mental aspect of the occasion. Sevastova is playing in her first major semifinal, while Serena is playing in her 12th in New York and 36th in her career (4th all-time).  PREDICTION: Williams.

Naomi Osaka (JPN) [20] vs. Madison Keys (USA) [15].  This should be the more interesting semifinal. Madison Keys is in her second consecutive US Open final, and everyone expects her to win a major sooner rather than later. In fact, some of us that she would win last year when she played "her best friend on tour" (Sloane Stephens) in the final but was overwhelmed mentally by the occasion and the more mature and nuanced play of her opponent. Keys wants another chance to reach a final and actually show that she can play her best tennis in a major occasion. Meanwhile, Naomi Osaka is in her first major semifinal at 20 years old (Keys was still 19 when she made the semifinals of the 2015 Australian Open) and is playing the best tennis of her career. She demolished her quarterfinal opponent by only losing 2 games. In fact, Osaka has only lost 22 games in 5 rounds to get here, by far the lowest of all the semifinalists. As I have said before, individual match results often come down to matchups and here Keys has the edge, having beaten Osaka all 3 times they have played, including an infamous win in 2016 when she was down 1-5 in the 3rd set and came back to snatch the victory in a 3rd set tiebreak. Both players have that match in their minds as they approach this one. I think this will probably also be a 3-set classic, but not as dramatic as that one. PREDICTION: Keys. 

2018 US OPEN: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at the US Open for 2018. Last year I correctly predicted 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals and correctly predicted 2 of 4 men's quarterfinals.  I also have  a prediction for the men's quarterfinals.

Serena Williams (USA) [17] Simona Halep (ROU) [1] vs. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) [8]. First I would like to recognize Kaia Kanepi, the hard-hitting veteran Estonian who took out my pick for the 2018 US Open title and played a nerveless, entertaining match against Serena Williams in the 4th round on Sunday despite losing the first set 6-0 in under 19 minutes. I believe that was exactly the match Serena needed to prepare her for this showdown with Karolina Pliskova who last beat her on this court just two years ago, in the 2016 US Open semifinals, just a few rounds after beating Venus Williams. last meeting in Stuttgart this year and they also split their 2 hard court matches. I saw Pliskova overwhelm Ash Barty the round before and she actually moves better than I expected (she's no Lindsay Davenport!) But Serena hates to lose to players in consecutive matches so she will be well prepared for this match. In some sense, her tough draw may actually have helped her raise the level of her game, which is approaching the level she was at pre-pregnancy. It's somewhat surprising these two have only played twice, so Serena has not really been active on the WTA tour as Pliskova became World #1 (briefly) and remains ensconced in the Top 10. As others have noted, one blaring hole in Serena's comeback to the tour this year has been her inability to win against Top 10 players this year and Pliskova will be her first she will be facing in New York. Despite that, I think Serena will find a way to reach yet another semifinal in New York.  PREDICTION: Williams.

 Anastasja Sevastova (LAT) [16] Elina Svitolina (UKR) [4] vs. Sloane Stephens (USA) [3]. This is a rematch of last year's quarterfinal which was quite a barnburner. Stephens had to come back from 1-3 down in the final set. Sevastova clearly plays her best tennis in New York and is completely unafraid of big stages. I saw her demolish the #7 seed Elina Svitolina in the relative obscurity of the Grandstand court on Saturday (winning 6-0 in the final set). We are no longer surprised by Stephens success in big matches, as her World #3 ranking and 2 major finals in the last 12 months have demonstrated. How the defending champ takes care of someone who gave her so much trouble last year will tell us a lot about whether Stephens will be able to defend her title as she most likely will face the ultimate test in Serena Williams. I believe she will beat Sevastova, but I don't think it's going to be easy. PREDICTION: Stephens.

Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) [30] Maria Sharapova (RUS) [22] vs. Madison Keys (USA) [15].  It's a quirk  of fate that Suárez Navarro's birthday falls in early September, so she has often had to play very important matches in her career on this date. 5 years ago when she turned 25 she famously lost to Serena Williams without winning a single game. Things did not look good when she was scheduled to play Maria Sharapova at night in Arthur Ashe stadium, where the 5-time major champion was 23-0. However, Suárez Navarro  was undeterred and although it was not a pretty match (both players were serving horrendously) it was quite entertaining. The Spaniard is mostly known for her clay court prowess but she has reached multiple quarterfinals at all the slams but Wimbledon. She has a one-handed backhand and is a great mover. The result was that she was able to end Sharapova's streak and dismiss the Russian in straight sets. Her opponent will be another big hitting, big serving player who moves a bit better: Madison Keys. Keys continued her domination of Dominika Cibulkova who looked a bit tired after her upset of Angie Kerber on Saturday in three sets. The fact that Keys is undefeated against Cibulkova is mysterious; the Slovak is too good a mover to be blasted off the court, but typically this is what happens in their matches, because Cibulkova likes to do that to her opponents, and with Keys she faces someone who goes for broke even earlier than she does. Keys is 3-0 against each of the players she could face to reach her second consecutive US Open final: Suárez Navarro, Osaka or Tsurenko. Will she do better dealing with the mental expectations of success this year than last year? I hope so. PREDICTION: Keys. 

Naomi Osaka (JPN) [20] vs. Lesia Tsurenko (UKR). It looks like 2018 may finally be the year for the breakout by the biracial 20-year-old Naomi Osaka into the big leagues of women's tennis. She won Indian Wells in a battle of the youngsters by defeating Daria Kasatkina (and a bevy of Top 10 players). However the rest of her season has been pretty quiet until reaching New York where she has been making a lot of noise by cutting through the draw like a scythe, losing only 7 games in the first three rounds. In the 4th round she faced a fellow youngster, 20-year-old Aryna Sabalenka who has been the hottest player on tour for most of the American summer hard court season. The two played a see-saw match which involved multiple breaks of serve and swings of momentum in the deciding set and ended on a double fault. (Happily I was in the stands at Louis Armstrong watching with delight.) The tennis was tension-filled because both players knew that they would have to face an unseeded player in their quarterfinal to reach the 2018 US Open semifinal. It looked that opponent would be 19-year-old lefty Marketa Vondrousova from Czech Republic but somehow 30-year-old Lesia Tsurenko was able to battle back and survive the brutal sun and humidity yesterday on the Grandstand court to deny the youngster. I don't think she'll be able to do that again.  PREDICTION: Osaka. 

2018 AUS OPEN: Women's Semifinals Preview and Predictions

Here are my predictions for the women's semifinals at the 2018 Australian Open. Last year I did not predict the quarterfinals but correctly predicted 1 of 2 men's semifinals and 2 of 2 women's semifinals. This year I predicted correctly 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 2 of 4 men's quarterfinals. I have also predicted the men's semifinals.

Simona Halep (ROU) [1] vs. Angelique Kerber [21] (GER). Halep has already played the match of the tournament by surviving a 3 hours 44 minute tussle with American Lauren Davis in the third round, while Kerber is looking like she has been able to capture the form that allowed her to beat Serena Williams in the final here two years ago. They both got here by dispatching two tall, hard-hitting opponents. Halep went down 0-3 (and breakpoint) against Karolina Pliskova in the quarterfinal but then won 12 of the next 14 games to sweep the Czech player 6-3 6-2. Halep was even more dominant against 2017 US Open finalist Madison Keys with a 6-1 6-2 win. These two have a head-to-head tied at 4-all but they did not meet at all in 2017 where Halep had her #1 ranking performance. They met 5 times in 2016 when Kerber was winning 2 majors and ended the year #1 and Kerber won 4 of those matches. This will almost certainly not be a straight sets sweep by one player; if it is not a 3-set, 3-hour war of attrition of shotmaking and indefatigable ball retrieving many will be quite disappointed. I think this is basically a tossup but I think I will go with Halep because I think the fact that she is ranked World #1 now and has already saved match point(s) in this tournament will give her the confidence to persevere even when things get tight and grim. PREDICTION: Halep.

Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) [2] vs. Elise Mertens (BEL) [16] Elina Svitolina (UKR) [4].   Elina Svitolina again showed she has some steps to go before her success on the WTA tour translates to meaningful success in the biggest stages of the game, in the majors. She has previously easily beaten Elise Mertens in a clay court final last year, but in a major quarterfinal in Melbourne she managed to win only 4 games and suffered a 2nd set bagel. Bizarrely, her opponent in the semifinal, Caroline Wozniacki started by giving her quarterfinal opponent, Carla Suarez Navarro a bagel in the first set and blew a matchpoint in the second set which she lost in a tiebreak. Most other players that might signal a meltdown in the third set but the Wozniacki just got back to work and easily won the deciding set 6-2. Wozniacki has only ever reached major finals in New York City but I believe that is about to change as she rides the confidence of surviving matchpoint down in the 2nd round and the absence of Serena Williams from the women's game to (perhaps) win her first major title. PREDICTION: Wozniacki. 

2018 AUS OPEN: Women's Quarterfinals Preview and Predictions

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at the 2018 Australian Open. Last year I did not predict the quarterfinals. This year I have also predicted the men's quarterfinals.

Simona Halep (ROU) [1] vs. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) [6]. The current World #1 appears to have recovered from her epic (15-13 in the 3rd!) win over American Lauren Davis from the 3rd round when she dispatched hard-hitting Naomi Osaka with dispatch in the 4th round.  Pliskova is a former #1 and has reached a hard court final in New York  in 2016. However she has never advanced past the quarterfinal in Melbourne, and she lost in this round against Mirjana Lucic-Baroni at this stage last year. Although Pliskova can pummel the ball, she is very limited in her movement, which is Halep's great strength. This has been the case in their first 6 matches, 5 of which have been handily won by Halep. I don't think this match will deviate very much from this trend. PREDICTION: Halep.

Angelique Kerber [21] (GER) Garbine Muguruza (ESP) [3] vs. Madison Keys (USA) [17] Caroline Garcia (FRA) [8]. Although technically the expected match-up in this quarter was a showdown between the #3 and #8 seeds, no one is that surprised to see the 2016 Australian Open champion and the 2017 US Open finalist fighting each other for this semifinal slot. Muguruza was dispatched by the amazing Su-Wei Hsieh who also eliminated Aggie Radwanska and came within a handful of points at eliminating Kerber in the last round. Keys has been bludgeoning her way through the draw, and has not even come very close to losing a set (after being down 3-5 in her first round match Keys closed out that match by winning the final 4 games). The head-to-head between Keys and Kerber is not good for the young American, with the German former World #1 leading 6-1. Kerber is an expert at blunting power and Keys has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to switch to another game plan when her power hitting game fails to blast through her opponent. Will 2018 be the year Keys figures out how to win matches against the world's best counterpunchers? I don't think she's there yet.  PREDICTION: Kerber.

Elin Mertens (BEL) [16] Venus Williams (USA) [5] vs. Elina Svitolina (UKR) [4].  Svitolina is one of the most winningest players on the women's tour but she is yet to match her ranking at a major. (You could call her the Sascha Zverev of the women's tour!) Despite being World #4, Svitolina has only reached the quarterfinals twice in her career, both times at Roland Garros on clay. This is very strange, because she is a hard-hitting player who moves well and is very consistent. That being said, I believe she will finally reach her first major semifinal by winning this match against her talented (but overmatched) opponent. PREDICTION: Svitolina. 

Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) [2] vs. Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) [7]. Wozniacki is living on borrowed time after she came back from an astonishing 1-5 down in the 2nd round, saving multiple match points along the way. Since that freeing escape Caroline has not even come close to losing a set in the tournament and after winning her biggest title of her career by beating Venus in the WTA Year-End Championship in Singapore I believe she has the confidence to go all the way and finally end her reputation as "the best player to be ranked #1 and never win a slam." Suarez Navarro is a tricky player, but she is exactly the kind of player that Wozniacki has to be able to get past in order to reach her goal of becoming a major champion.  PREDICTION: Wozniacki. 

2016 US OPEN: Schedule of Play For My Labor Day Visit

I will be returning to the U.S. Open today.  Yesterday was amazing so I hope today is even better! I have courtside tickets in Louis Armstrong Stadium. I never buy tickets to Ashe because there is never anything reasonably affordable where you can actually see the players well. (And by affordable, I mean less than a round trip plane ticket from Los Angeles to New York!) Venus and Serena Williams will be playing their fourth round matches in Ashe at the same time, against Karolina Pliskova and Yaroslav Shvedova, respectively.

Here's what I'm scheduled to see today:

WOMEN'S SINGLES - R4

Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) [11]

vs.

Simona Halep (ROU) [5]

MEN'S SINGLES - R4

Illya Marchenko (UKR)

vs.

Stan Wawrinka (SUI) [3]

MEN'S SINGLES - R4

Not Before: 3:00 PM

Kei Nishikori (JPN) [6]

vs.

Ivo Karlovic (CRO) [21]

MIXED DOUBLES - QF

Barbora Krejcikova (CZE)Marin Draganja (CRO)

vs.

Coco Vandeweghe (USA) [7]Rajeev Ram (USA) [7]

It should be fun!! Happy Labor Day!

2016 WIMBLEDON: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at the Wimbledon Championships for 2016. Last year I correctly predicted 4 of 4 men's quarterfinals and correctly predicted 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals. I will also predict this year's men's quarterfinals.

Serena Williams (USA) [1]  vs. Coco Vandeweghe (USA) [30] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) [23]. After getting past a surprisingly stuff challenge from fellow American Christina McHale in last Friday's 2nd round match, Serena's play has significantly improved and she was at near her peak effectiveness during the last set of her previous round demolition of the only remaining Slam champion in the draw not named Williams. She won the last 9 games against Svetlana Kuznetsova and her reward is a quarterfinal, not with another hard-hitting American who plays some of her best tennis on grass (Coco Vandeweghe), but a counter-punching Russian with questionable fitness. In order to maintain her lock on the World #1 ranking despite whatever happens next in the tournament, Serena just has to win this next match. I'd say that's pretty much a lock, too. PREDICTION: Serena.

Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) [19] Agnieska Radwanska (POL) [3] vs. Elena Vesnina RUS. This should be the ugliest match of the quarterfinals. Both winners had to play long 3-set match (each winning the deciding set 9-7). Vesnina played against her friend and doubles partner, Ekaterina Makarova and defeated her to reach her first-ever major quarterfinal. In the fourth round Cibulkova played the best match of the tournament (and Pam Shriver, perhaps prematurely, called it the best women's match of the year) to defeat #2 seed Aga Radwanska, providing a display of nerveless, hard-hitting tennis that successfully made it through the creative, magical defense of the Polish star.  The 2014 Australian Open finalist is again playing some of her best tennis, and now leads the WTA tour with most wins in 2016. She won Eastbourne and is brimming with confidence. A blockbuster semifinal meeting may be in her future, or of not, she can go ahead with her wedding, which is scheduled for Saturday, the day of the women's final.  Somehow, I think if she wins this match, the wedding may be postponed. PREDICTION: Cibulkova.

Simona Halep (ROU) [5] vs. Angelique Kerber (GER) [4].  This should be the best match of the quarterfinals. These two are fighting for the #2 position (behind Serena) in women's tennis and a win here by the 2016 Australian Open champion could keep Kerber's chances of becoming #1 this summer alive. In fact, if Serena somehow fails to reach the semifinals here and Kerber wins the championship, we could have a new World #1. Standing in Angie's way is Simona Halep, who has not been living up to her seeding in several of the last majors she played, although she was a 2014 Wimbledon semifinalist. Halep has previously dominated their first three meetings, but Kerber demolished her on clay (Halep's best surface) when the two played Fed Cup earlier this season. Halep has a lot more to prove than Kerber does here, and I think the German just has a little bit more game than the Romanian. I expect this to be a long, drama-filled affair, and we can only hope it will be as high quality as this year's Cibulkova-Radwanska instant classic in the Wimbledon 4th round. PREDICTION: Kerber.

Venus Williams (USA) [8] vs. Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP) [2]. The 5-time Wimbledon champion is 36 years old and is in her first major quarterfinal here in six years but this result should not be surprising; she is back in the ETA Top 10, seeded #8 here and this is her 3rd major quarterfinal in the last two years. Happily for Venus she was able to win her last match against Carla Suarez Navarro in straight sets despite starting badly and losing the first three games. The biggest question with predicting Venus' results in the majors is the uncertainty around her stamina. She has never played her opponent before, but Shvedova is well known to the Williams family, she played a tight three setter against Serena about 5 or 6  years ago here at Wimbledon and she is a good grass court player. She dismissed 2014 Wimbledon semifinalist Lucie Safarova in the previous round so you know she's dangerous. Venus should be very glad that she is not facing last year's Wimbledon finalist (and 2016 French Open champion) Garbine Muguruza or the results would be very different. PREDICTION: Venus.

2016 FRENCH OPEN: Women's Quarterfinals Preview, Part 2

Here are my predictions for the 2016 women's quarterfinals and remaining Round of 16 matches at the French Open. Last year I correctly predicted 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals and correctly predicted 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals. This year I have correctly predicted 2 of 4 women's round of 16 matches and 2 of 2 women's quarterfinals completed so far. 

Serena Williams [1] vs Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) [12] Yulia Putintseva (KAZ).  I expected that Serena would be facing the talented Spaniard instead of the 21-year-old fireplug from Kazakhstan. Serena is playing in her 10th quarterfinal at Roland Garros while Putintseva, 13 years her junior, is playing in her first. The two have met twice before, and although clay is the youngster's best surface she has yet to win a set against the World #1 and it is doubtful that will have changed after their match on Thursday. Mad Professah's Pick: S. Williams.

Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) [8] vs Madison Keys (USA) [15] Kiki Bertens (NED). This was another surprise match up because I expected the big hitting Keys to be able to dismiss the white-hot Bertens. Despite my affection and respect for Venus Williams I  didn't really think she  had very much of a chance of coming out as a victor against the higher ranked Bacsinszky and I was correct. Bacsinszky was able to reach the semifinal here last year, and this is a very winnable match for the Swiss player to defend those points. In fact, Bacsinszky played Serena very tough in last year's semifinal, and this year she is playing even better, and is yet to lose a set at this year's French Open. I expect she will relish the challenge to face Serena in another high stakes meeting. Mad Professah's pick: Bacsinszky.

 

2016 AUS OPEN: Women's Semifinals Preview

The women's semifinals are now set at the 2016 Australian Open. Last year, I correctly predicted 2 of 2 men's semifinals, 2 of 2 women's semifinals, 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals. This year, I predicted 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly. I have also written a preview of the 2016 Australian Open Men's semifinals.

Serena Williams (USA) [1]  vs Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [4]. As expected, Serena continued her dominance over Maria Sharapova, despite a poor beginning which saw her down 0-2 but she quickly recovered for a routine 6-4 6-1 win, her 18th consecutive victory over her putative rival. Radwanska was similarly efficient against Carla Suarez Navarro in the other quarterfinal played two days ago, also winning in straight sets. Serena has never lost to the Polish player in 8 meetings and there's no reason why that should change now. But after Serena's heartbreaking (and puzzling) loss to Roberta Vinci we now know anything is possible, and Radwanska can replicate those low-bouncing slice backhands that gave Serena so much trouble in New York. However, now that there are no other major champions in the tournament, Williams can surely see her history-making 22nd major in her future, as well as her chance to possibly replicate Steffi Graf's Golden Slam of 1988 twenty-eight years later. Serena will take Radwanska seriously (Radwanska has won the most matches on tour in the last major tournament but Serena was M.I.A for that period) but her record speaks for itself. This is her 30th major semifinal (25-4) and she has never lost an Australian Open semifinal (or final). Mad Professah's Pick: Williams in 2 sets.

 Angelique Kerber (GER) [7] vs Johanna Konta (GBR) Venus Williams (USA) [8]. This was the match-up I did not expect to see, since I picked both of their opponents to win. I was convinced that Azarenka would continue her dominance of Kerber, but the German dug deep and came back from a double-break deficit in the second set to win the last five games of that set and the match. It was a streaky match at time from both players (Kerber had raced out to a 4-0 lead in the first set before Azarenka settled down and made the first set close). I'm happy for her and believe that she deserve to be a major finalist and a Top 5 stalwart. I guess there's magic in that #BackTheBrits hashtag after all. They have three British players in the 2016 Australian Open semifinals (Men's singles, Men's Doubles and Women's singles). I thought the qualifier from China would prevail since she was more mach tough and had played higher ranked opponents but Konta is fearless. Imagine is Venus Williams had not lost their first round encounter. Would the American be competing for a second all-Williams Australian Open final? Konta has a chance but I think the player with more experience will come through in the end. Mad Professah's pick: Kerber in 3 sets.

2016 AUS OPEN: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

The women's quarterfinals are now set at the 2016 Australian Open. Last year, I predicted 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals correctly and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly. I have also written a preview the 2016 Australian Open Men's quarterfinals.

Serena Williams (USA) [1]  vs Maria Sharapova (RUS) [5]. I'm convinced that someday Serena's win streak against Sharapova is going to end while the two are actively on the tour. It is currently at 17 matches in a row over 11 years. However, I think it is exceedingly unlikely that the streak will end at a major tournament. Serena is just too emotionally invested in maintaining her dominance over the highest paid female athlete in the world and cementing her historical legacy to allow anything untoward happen at a major tournament. So far in this year's Australian Open, Sharapova has been serving really well, while Serena has not been doing so. In fact, Sharapova has twice as many aces (52) than Serena (25) over the first four rounds, even if the Russian has a lower overall first-serve percentage (57% to 61%). While I am firmly convinced that Serena's win streak is going to end sometime, but I do not think that it will be today. Mad Professah's Pick: Williams in 2 sets.

Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [4] vs Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) [10]. The Polish ninja is slicing through the draw in her typical noiseless but deadly fashion. Despite being the #4 seed and her surprising victory at the WTA Year End Championships in Singapore no on seems to be thinking about the #4 seed as a potential winner of this tournament. Of course, this is probably because whoever wins this quarterfinal will be facing a multiple-time major champion in the semifinals and will be a prohibitive underdog. Radwanska almost got taken out of the tournament in the round before when she was down 5-2 in the third set against Anna-Lena Friedsam but was able to take advantage when the younger player started cramping and put up increasingly less resistance as Friedlam lost the last five games of the match. Her opponent got bageled in her previous round against the local favorite Daria Gavrilova but managed to come back and win the last two sets relatively easily as the young Aussie crumbled emotionally under the hopes of the host nation. This match should be emotionally resonant match as both players would love to reach their very first Australian Open semifinal. Radwanska has a slight 2-1 head-to-head lead over CSN but the Spaniard beat Radwanska on her way to the final of the Miami tournament last year (where she lost to Serena). However, this Radwanska is much better than the impostor who was haunting the tour last Spring. This Radwnska is on a double-digit winning streak, which I expect to continue. Mad Professah's pick: Radwanska in 3 sets.

 Angelique Kerber (GER) [7] vs Victoria Azarenka (BLR) [14]. Kerber was down match point in her very first match of the tournament and managed to come through that test with more resolve that has brought her to her first ever quarterfinal at the Australian Open. Unfortunately for Angie, she will be facing a resurgent Vika Azarenka who is a 2-time Australian Open champion (2012 and 2013) who sports a 6-0 head-to-head undefeated record against her, including a win in the Brisbane final just two weeks ago. Whoever does win this match is almost guaranteed a ticket to the 2016 Australian Open women's final since they will be facing an unseeded(!) player. I would really like to see Kerber reach her first major final, but I suspect Azarenka will announce her return to the upper echelon of women's tennis by reaching the final. Mad Professah's pick: Azarenka in 3 sets.

Simona Halep (ROU) [2] Johanna Konta (GBR) vs Venus Williams (USA) [8] Shuai Zhang (CHN).  This is the battle of the upset queens. One of these unseeded players will reach their first major semifinal, earning more money in one tournament than they have in their entire career to date. Interestingly, both Konta and Zhang have followed up on stunning upsets in the first round, taking out #2 seed Simona Halep and #8 seed Venus Williams to win three more matches over other opponents who they were not expected to beat. Zhang took out 2015 Australian Open semifinalist Madison Keys after the American's mobility was hampered with an upper thigh injury occurred in the second set, while Konta took out Ekaterina Makarova who often plays her best tennis in Melbourne.  Konta has become the first British woman to reach a major quarterfinal since 1984. Zhang is a qualifier but I think because she has had to get through a tougher draw I will give her the edge to continue her dreamlike run Down Under. Mad Professah's pick: Zhang in 3 sets.

WTA TOUR FINALS 2015: Kvitova and Radwanska Reach Improbable Final

Much to my surprise, the two winners of the semifinals of the WTA Tour Finals in Singapore were not the two players in 3 round-robin matches, Maria Sharapova and Garbiñe Muguruza  but their 1-2 opponents, Petra Kvitova and Aggie Radwanska! These were quite surprising results, because Radwanska outlasted her opponent in a 2.5 hour marathon, getting her first win in 6 matches she played against Muguruza this year. In the other match, P3tra did not live up to her name, coming back from 1-5 down in the second set (after winning the first one) to force a tiebreaker, which she won, overcoming a 3-6 head-to-head deficit with the 4-time major champion. Muguruza apparently just ran out of gas against Radwanska, but, then amazingly was able to get to the Doubles final with her partner Carla Suarez Navarro. It's incredible that the 20-year-old was able to qualify in both singles and doubles (so did Lucie Safarova) but that she made the semifinals in both is quite a feat.
That being said, the Spaniards have almost no chance in winning the title against the best doubles team in the world, Martina Hingis  and Sania Mirza.

Kvitova won this title along with her first major in 2011 while Radwanska has never won one of the five biggest titles in tennis. Kvitova has a significant 6-2 head-to-head advantage over Radwanska, but those two losses have both come at this tournament, the last one coming last year on the very same court!

I like both players so I will be happy with whatever the result is. I do think that the "better" player is Kvitova, and that she deserves the title more, but my game and my heart are leaning towards Radwanska, because I would like to see her perhaps repeat Amelie Mauresmo's history and become the second player to win the WTA year-ending championship without having won a slam and then go on to win a slam the very next year.

It's not that often that I miss calling the results of both semifinals in a big tournament (although the 2015 U.S. Open is a painful recent reminder that it can and does happen!) but that doesnt stop me from making a prediction in the final.

MadProfessah's pick: Kvitova.

TENNIS TUESDAY: U.S. Open Draw Devastated By Exit Of 13 Seeded Players (10 Female, 3 Male)

The Women's Draw at the 2015 U.S. Open has been devastated by the loss of 10 seeds in the first two days: Maria Sharapova(3) (withdrew with injury before playing), Lucie Safarova(6), Ana Ivanovic(7), Karolina Pliskova(8), Carla Suarez Navarro(10), Timea Bascinsky(14), Jelena Jankovic(21), Alize Cornet(27), Irina-Camelia Begu(28), Sloane Stephens(29) and Svetlana Kuznetsova(30)!

On the men's side there have only been three upsets: Kei Nishikori(4) by Benoit Paire of France, Gael Monfils(16) (forced to retire due to an injury) and Gilles Simon(11) by American Donald Young (coming back from 2-6 4-6 0-3 to win in 5 sets!)

2015 US OPEN Day 1: Seeds Fall Like Rain! Nishikori(4), Ivanovic(7), Pliskova(8), CSN (10) Are Out!

Wowsa! After one day my U.S. Open bracket is already busted! (You can see my WTA and ATP picks here and here.)  THREE Top 10 seeds (all in 3-time defending champion Serena Williams half of the draw) fell in the first round. And this was after the news came late last night that #3 seed Maria Sharapova (also in Serena's half) was withdrawing from the tournament with a leg injury! Ana Ivanovic(7), Karolina Pliskova(8), Carla Suarez Navarro(10) all fell to lower ranked opponents, thus clearing the path for Serena to win her 7th major title. Other notable losses were Sloane Stephens (losing to fellow American Coco Vandeweghe), 2-time major champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and former World #1 Jelena Jankovic. Venus Williams barely escaped being included in the carnage when she blew two match points in the 3nd set tiebreaker but thanks to an early break in the 3rd set, she was able to keep her nose in front and get a 6-4 6-7(7) 6-3 win over Monica Puig.

The biggest upset was on the men's side with #4 seed (and 2014 US Open finalist) Kei Nishikori falling to talented Frenchman Benoit Paire after failing to win two match points in the 4th set and then losing a tight 5th set. The other finalist, defending champion Marin Cilic won his first round match rather easily, and World #1 Novak Djokovic put on a frightening display by dispatching Joao Sousa of Brasil in 71 minutes while losing only 3 games in the process.

2015 WIMBLEDON: Venus Serves Up Double Bagel; #1 and #2 seeds Win 1R

The first day of play at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships is over and the Top 2 seeds in the men and women's draw have not dropped a set. #1 seed (and defending champion) Novak Djokovic faced the toughest resistance, against Philipp Kohlschreiber but still won 6-4 6-4 6-4. #2 seed Roger Federer won his match in straight sets (6-1 6-3 6-3).

On the women's side #1 seed Serena Williams started off very slowly against Margarita Gasparyan and found herself down 1-3 early on. She got back on track against a spirited opponent and ended up winning 6-4 6-1. #2 seed (and defending champion) Petra Kvitova dominated her opponent with a 6-1 6-0 win (in 35 minutes!)

Other notable victories include 5-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams 6-0 6-0 win over fellow American Madison Brengle in 42 minutes Interestingly, there have been two other "double bagels" so far in the women's draw: Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic also won their matches without losing a game.

The only major upsets so far is #9 seed Carla Suarez Navarro who lost 6-2 6-0.