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.

2015 AUS OPEN: Women's Semifinals Preview

The women's semifinals are now set at the 2015 Australian Open. Last year, I predicted 1 of 2 women's semifinals correctly and 1 of 2 men's quarterfinals correctly. This year I correctly predicted 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals (blogger ate the post!).

Serena Williams (USA) [1] vs Madison Keys (USA) Venus Williams (USA) [18] Petra Kvitova (CZE) [4]. Madison Keys is the breakout teenage female star of this year's Australian Open. The question is, following similar star-making turns by fellow teenagers in 2013 (Sloane Stephens) and 2014 (Eugene Bouchard), whose career path will she follow, the American or the Canadian? Hopefully, it will be the latter's not the former's. Keys impressed me with her mental and physical fortitude to gut out a win against her idol Venus Williams in the quarterfinal, despite repeatedly falling behind a break in the deciding set. This demonstrates why someone like Lindsey Davenport agreed to work with Keys and why her name has been bandied about as a future multiple slam winner for years. However, beating Venus at this stage in her career is one thing, taking out her 18-time major champion sister is quite another. Especially since Serena looks like she has righted the ship and demolished last year's finalist Dominika Cibulkova like it was a first week warm-up match, not a quarterfinal. Serena has won this thing 5 times before, usually in odd years, and has never not won the tournament when she reaches the semifinal. Then there's the extra wrinkle that Keys definitely injured herself in her win over Venus, things do not look well for a teenage finalist. Only seven players have ever defeated both Williams sister at the same tournament, and the people who did it at a major are multiple slam winners: Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin and Martina Hingis. Does Madison Keys belong on this list? We'll know soon! Mad Professah's pick: Williams in 2 sets.

Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) [10] vs Maria Sharapova (RUS) [2]. Makarova did well to dismiss a surprisingly uncombative Simona Halep in the quarterfinals, giving up only four games. As other observers have pointed out, the lefty Russian is "sneaky good" and is peaking somewhat late in her career by reaching two consecutive semifinal runs at majors. However no one, perhaps even Makarova herself, believes that she can actually win a major. Maria Sharapova definitely believes she can win any major, and has been playing the best tennis at this one of anyone at the top of the women's game and may be rewarded with the #1 ranking again. She put on a master class against Eugene Bouchard (a.k.a. Sharapova 2.0), making a not-very-subtle statement to the heir apparent that Masha is not ready to leave the big stage and that others need to wait their turn. The question is, is she really ready to finally turn around a decade-long losing streak to Serena Williams in the final? That will definitely indicate mental toughness. Mad Professah's pick: Sharapova in 2 sets.

2015 AUS OPEN: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

The women's quarterfinals are now set at the 2015 Australian Open. Last year, I predicted 1 of 4 women's quarterfinals correctly and 1 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly. I will also preview the 2015 Australian Open men's quarterfinals.

Serena Williams (USA) [1]  vs Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) [11].mSerena Williams got revenge on Gabine Muguruza in a hard-fought 2-6 6-3 6-2 win that was a lot closer than the score indicates. Cibulkova, last year's surprise finalist here, played what most observers are calling the best match of the tournament to date in her win over 2-time Australian Open champion Vika Azarenka, coming down from a break in the final set to prevail, 6-2 3-6 6-3. Interestingly, it was Cibulkova who took more risks and went for more when the stakes were raised in that contest, which served her well when her main weapon, the forehand down the line, spanking the line. . Serena has never lost to the hard-hitting pint-sized dynamo, and after being forced to raise her game against Muguruza, I'm confident she will be ready to dispatch the Slovak. Mad Professah's Pick: Williams in 2 sets.

Venus Williams (USA) [18] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [6] vs Madison Keys (USA) Petra Kvitova (CZE) [4]. Venus Williams has made a believer out of a lot of observers who have been quietly (and some not so quietly) calling for her retirement. She not only survived a near death experience when Camila Giorgi served for the match in the 3rd round, against Radwanska, Venus was boken in the ver first game of the third set. However both final sets ended with the same dominating score: 6-1. This demonstrates that the 34-year-old American still has what it takes to close out a hard-fought match deep in to a major tournament. Madison Keys is finally having the breakthrough that her athletic prowess has been indicating that she should have been having. She dismissed current Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the third round, outhitting one of the top Big Babes of Tennis. Can Madison really dispatch someone she has looked up to and idolized since she was 4-years-old and is the reason she is a professional tennis player? She can, but somehow I don't think she will, at least not this time. Besides, I think Venus will use her superior movement to exploit Madison's deficiency in this area, something she often did to Madison's coach, Lindsey Davenport.Mad Professah's pick: Williams in 3 sets.

Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) [10] vs Simona Halep (ROU) [3]. Makarova always playes her best tennis in Ausatralia, having earned a lot of big scalps down under (as both Williams sisters know).In the last year, Makarova has been starting to make her presence felt at the other majors as well, with a semifinal berth at the 2014 US Open. Her lefty spin and excellent movement can be a devastating combination, now that she has the belief that she can hang out there with the elite of the game. Her mental toughness will be tested in the extreme against the resiliency of Simona Halep, however, who generally wins the matches she is supposed to win and rarely loses to people lower ranked than she is. Mad Professah's pick: Halep in 3 sets.

Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) [7] vs Maria Sharapova (RUS) [2].  Again, this match-up between the two closest ranked opponents in the Final 8 should make for the most compelling tennis but when you look at their head-to-head record Sharapova has won all three meetings, although their semifinal match at the 2014 French Open was one that really could have gone either way, and Bouchard is well aware of that. Sharapova knows that she is playing with house money having survived 2 match points in the 2nd round against unheralded Russian Alexandra Panova while Bouchard has let the pressure of expectations lead to complications when she was closing out huge leads against players she would be expected to beat. Mad Professah's pick: Sharapova in 3 sets.

2015 AUS OPEN Day 8 Preview: Serena vs Muguruza, Venus vs Radwanska, Vika vs Cibulkova

The Australian Open heats up today with the rest of the quarterfinal field being decided. Currently, Genie Bouchard(7), Maria Sharapova(2), Ekaterina Makarova(10) and Simona Halep(3) are already in the quarterfinals.

The four matches to be completed today are Aga Radwanska versus Venus Williams, Serena Williams versus Garbine Muguruza, Vika Azarenka versus Dominika Cibulkova and, lastly, Americans Madison Keys versus Madison Brengle.

The male quarterfinalists are Andy Murray(6) who will face Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios, and Rafael Nadal(3) who will face Tomas Berdych(7).

2014 US OPEN: Women's Final Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's final at the 2014 US Open. This year I have correctly predicted 2 of 2 women's semifinals, 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals, 0 of 2 men's semifinals and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals at the U.S. Open. Last year I correctly predicted Serena Williams would defeat Victoria Azarenka in the 2013 U.S. Open women's final.

WHAT HAPPENED: Women's Semifinal Review

Serena Williams (USA) [1] d. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) [17] 6-1 6-3. Serena Williams got revenge for her loss to Makarova in the doubles draw by opening up a can of whoops a** in their singles match. Serena had lost to the lefty Russian in a major before so she took this match very serious and was never in any danger of losing, enjoying hefty leads in both sets. Serena ended the match with 24 winners to only 15 unforced errors.

Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) [10] d. Shuai Peng (CHN) 7-6(1) 4-3 (ret.). As expected, Wozniacki was able to reach her second career major final by outlasting Peng Shuai. However, what was unexpected was the near-farcical manner in which the match concluded when Peng collapsed on the court due to heat exhaustion after leaving the court for 10 minutes prior where she was assessed and treated by medical professionals. The match ended with a retirement from Peng and soon after she was removed from the court in wheelchair!

WHAT WILL HAPPEN: Women's Final Preview

Serena Williams (USA) [1] vs Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) [10].  Serena boasts an 8-1 head-to-head over her gal pal Caro and has to be highly favored to finally win the 18th major title of her career. The main problem for Wozniacki is that she has no weapon that  Serena has to fear. Wozniacki's best chance to win the match (which certainly is possible) is if she is able to absorb and redirect her opponent's power and ultimately frustrate Serena into making too many unforced errors. 
This is unlikely to happen because Serena does not have to bring out her overwhelming weaponry to overpower Caroline. 

It is significant that the two have met twice in the last three weeks and both matches were tight, tough 3-set affairs decided late in the 3rd set. It is also true, that mentally, more pressure will be on Serena, because she will be expected to win this match. For Wozniacki no one ever thought she would reach another major final, so just by reaching the final she has exceeded expectations. However, as Billie Jean King says, "Pressure is a privilege" and I'm confident Serena will get through the pressure situation to win her 3rd consecutive title in New York, and record 18th overall, tying the mark of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. PREDICTION: Williams.

2014 US OPEN: Women's Semifinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's semifinals at the US Open for 2014. Last year I correctly predicted  4 of 4 women's quarterfinals, 2 of 2 women's semifinals, 2 of 2 men's semifinals and 2 of 4 men's quarterfinals. This year I have correctly predicted 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals at the U.S. Open.

Serena Williams (USA) [1] vs Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) [17] Victoria Azarenka (BLR) [16].  17-time major champion Serena Williams is only 2 matches away from her long-awaited 18th major title, and 3rd consecutive in New York City. Standing in her way is the lefty Russian who was on the other side of the net when Serena's run in the doubles with her sister Venus Williams came to an end on Tuesday in the quarterfinals. Serena boasts a clear 3-1 head-to-head lead on Makarova. However, that one win came in a grand slam (2012 Australian Open) so Serena knows better than to take this match-up lightly. Makarova is playing some of the best tennis of her life, having reached her first major semifinal of her career.  However, there are only four people who have more than win against Serena Williams in a major (Venus, Jennifer Capriati, Justine Henin and Samantha Stosur). Does anyone think that Ekaterina Makarova is going to be added to this list? PREDICTION: Williams.

Shuai Peng (CHN) vs Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) [10]. Both players are playing some of the best tennis of their lives. Peng still has not dropped a set through 5 rounds of play here and has been one of the best doubles players in the world for the last year. Wozniacki's resurgence has been well-documented and clearly came to fruition with her gutsy 3-set win over Sharapova in the fourth round and her ruthless demolition of Sara Errani in the quarterfinal (giving up only one game!) The Great Dane has a 5-1 head-to-head advantage over Peng, but more than that she wants to get into a major final, especially against her good friend Serena Williams, whom she knows she can win at least one set against, after all she has done it twice in the last month.  PREDICTION: Wozniacki. 

2014 US OPEN: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at the US Open for 2014. Last year I correctly predicted 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals and correctly predicted 2 of 4 men's quarterfinals.

Serena Williams (USA) [1] vs Flavia Pennetta (ITA) [11].  For the second time in three years one quarter of the U.S. Open quarterfinalists are from Italy. The last time it happened the two Italians faced each other and for the last two years there has been an Italian semifinalist at the U.S. Open. However, I doubt that it will happen a third year in a row. Flavia Penetta has had her best results here in New York, and reached the semifinals last year (losing to Azarenka in two very ugly, error-prone sets). Unfortunately for Flavia, instead of being drawn to face Vika again, she has to play Serena, who, now that she is in the business end of a major for the first time in 2014 is more determined than ever to finally capture Major #18, especially since she is the only member of the WTA Top 10 left remaining in the draw.  PREDICTION: Williams.

Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) [17] Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) [7] vs. Victoria Azarenka (BLR) [16]. day For the first time in a major all year, the quarterfinals will not be graced with the presence of Genie Bouchard of Canada. Instead the powerful Russian lefty reached the final 8 of her second consecutive major tournament as well as her second consecutive U.S. open quarters here in New York  She did so by controlling her nerves and her shots while the most improved player of the year started wilting in the heat and humidity of Flushing Meadows. This will be Makarova's 5th major quarterfinal but she is 0-4 so far. She'll play Vika Azarenka who is gunning to reach her 3rd consecutive final and return to her place of prominence in women's tennis. Fortunately for Vika, she leads Makarova 3-2 in their career head-to-head including 2 wins on hard courts. PREDICTION: Azarenka.

Shuai Peng (CHN) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [4] vs Jelena Jankovic (SRB) [9] Belinda Bencic (SUI). Peng is having a career-best performance in New York. She has already dismissed #4 seed Agnieska Radwanska, #14 Lucie Safarova and #28 Roberta Vinci to reach this far, so surely she won't falter against the unseeded teen sensation that is Belinda Bencic of Switzerland? Bencic, 17, is playing in her very first major quarterfinal, having surprised #9 Jelena Jankovic in a match only she and her coach Martina Hingis thought she could win. But Bencic won decisively. In some sense the Swiss player has had the more impressive road to get to this point, having dismissed two top 10 players (Jankovic and #6 Angelique Kerber). This match means so much to the players that it will almost certainly result in horrible tennis, and in the end it is very unlikely the victor will win their next match to reach their first career final. PREDICTION: Bencic. 

Sara Errani (ITA) [13] vs. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) [10] Maria Sharapova (RUS) [5]. Wozniacki played one of the best matches of her life to absorb and redirect Maria Sharapova's powerful groundstrokes to outlast the 5-time major champion and earn a stunning (and rare) victory over one of the Big Babes of women's tennis. After seeing her ex-fiance' Rory Mcilroy go on to win two major golf championships after ending their relationship, Wozniacki has been playing with increased intensity and verve all summer long, with good results to show for it (like taking Serna Williams to 3 sets in both Montreal and Cincinnati) . With the upset of multiple top seeds from her half of the draw, the Dane is now the highest rated player in her half of the draw and she has always been an expert in beating players she is supposed to beat while coming up short against players with more power and stature than she has. Surprisingly, these two players have only met three times on tour and although Wozniacki leads 2-1 she hasn't played La Grande Sara since the Italian became ensconced in the Top 10 of women's tennis. No matter, this is a golden opportunity for Wozniacki and I would be shocked if she didn't take advantage of it to reach her 2nd major final and a chance to (finally) win her first major title. PREDICTION: Wozniacki. 

2014 ROGERS CUP: Venus-Serena XXV Goes To Big Sis, Venus Will Face Aggie In Final

Surprsingly, Venus Williams beat her younger sister Serena Williams, the World #1, in the semifinals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Canada on Sunday. It was the 34-year-old American's first win in 6 meetings with her 32-year-old sister, with their overall head-to-head now standing at 14-11 in Serena's favor.

Venus won 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-3, her first win over a reigning World #1 since her 2009 win over Dinara Safina in the Wimbledon semifinals. Venus will face Agnieska Radwanska in her 3rd final of 2014. Venus leads their head-to-head 5-3 but has lost the last two meetings to the popular Polish player. The two have no played since 2012 and clear the 2014 edition of Venus is a player that Radwanska has not met.

MadProfessah's pick: Venus!

2014 ROGERS CUP: Semifinals are Serena-Venus XXV, Makarova-Radwanska

In Montreal, Canada at the Rogers Cup, both Venus Williams and Serena Williams had to survive tough 3-set matches to reach a semifinal showdown against each other, their record 25th meeting on the WTA Tour. (Serena leads 14-10, having won their last 5 meetings.) Serena had to overcome a slow start against Caroline Wozniacki to win 4-6 7-5 7-5 while Venus followed up her epic win against Angelique Kerber on Thursday with a gutsy win against Carla Suarez Navarro despite blowing a 2nd set lead.

In the other semifinals Ekaterina Makarova will face Agnieska Radwanska.

MadProfessah's pick: S. Williams vs A. Radwanska final.

2014 WIMBLEDON: Women's Semifinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's semifinals at the Wimbledon Championships for 2014. Last year I correctly predicted 2 of 2 men's semifinals and correctly predicted 2 of 2 women's semifinals. Because of rain delays, the two women's quarterfinals will be played along with all four men's quarterfinals. This year I correctly predicted 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals.

Serena Williams (USA) [1] Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) [13] vs. Simona Halep (ROU) [3]. For the 3rd straight major, World #1 Serena Williams has failed to make it to the second week, and not coincidentally Genie Bouchard is in her 3rd consecutive major semifinal.

The 20-year-old Canadian is not in the Top 10 yet but her results in the majors have been reminiscent of a Top 5 veteran. 22-year-old Halep is another player enjoying a meteoric rise in the rankings, now firmly ensconced at World #3 she has been improving her performance in the slams in the last year, reaching her first major final in Paris last month and surely feels it is her destiny to win a major this year. What happens when an immovable object meets an irresistible force? I think we are going to find out. The two have only met once before, on hard courts this year in Indian Wells, and Halep was a winner of a 6-4 third set. Almost certainly this match will rival the other two best matches of the fortnight (Venus Williams versus Petra Kvitova in the 3rd round and Angelique Kerber versus Maria Sharapova in the 4th round) for excitement, drama and quality; I can't wait! In the round before I thought Sabine "I Love Wimbledon" Lisicki would play her power tennis to find her ways past Halep and that was an unforced error on my part. After all Lisicki had defeated the reigning French Open champion in her last 4 Wimbledon campaigns, but after going down 1-4 in the first set, the Romanian rolled off 11 games to win as the German's game collapsed into spraying balls all over the court. Bouchard had a relatively routine victory over Kerber, still glowing in her amazing win over Sharapova the round before. I'm not going to make the mistake of betting against Halep again! PREDICTION: Halep.

Lucie Safarova (CZE) [23]  vs. Petra Kvitova (CZE) [6]. This should be a straightforward win by the 2011 Wimbledon champion, playing in her sixth major semifinal against a countrywoman playing in her first. However, Kvitova made her match against the 3rd Czech quarterfinalist Barbara Zahlavova Strycova much more complicated than it needed to be while Safarova demolished her Russian opponent, Ekaterina Makarova so this is unlikely to be an easy win. Kvitova has never lost to Safarova in five career meetings, but they met just days before Wimbledon started and the result was as close as can be: a 3rd set tiebreak. I still think Kvitova will find a way to win this match and reach her second major final, where she won her first major title a mere three years ago. One thing we know for sure is that a lefty Czech will be in the final, which should make Martina Navratilova happy. Lefties often hate playing against each other but I suspect that will be a bigger problem for Safarova than for Kvitova; after all there's a reason Lucie has never beaten Petra. Kvitova has been dominating on her serve and has the power to put most opponents on their heels. Safarova is not known for her mental toughness throughout the years but it is pretty amazing that she has made it through five rounds of Wimbledon without losing a single set. That streak will almost certainly not survive Thursday's match. PREDICTION: Kvitova. 

2014 WIMBLEDON: Women's Quarterfinals Preview (Part 1)

Here are my predictions for the first half of the women's quarterfinals at the Wimbledon Championships for 2014. Last year I correctly predicted 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals and correctly predicted 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals. Because of rain delays, only two quarterfinals will be played along with two round of 16 matches on Tuesday. Then, hopefully all the men's quarterfinals and the two remaining  women's quarterfinals will be played on Wednesday.

FOURTH ROUND MATCHES

Angelique Kerber (GER) [9] vs. Maria Sharapova (RUS) [5]. Sharapova leads their head-to-head 4-1 but the two have never met on grass. On paper Sharapova should win this match but for some reason I think Kerber is going to make this one very tough. If it is played indoors under the roof I give a decided edge to the Russian but if it is played in muggy, outdoor conditions I think the German can make things interesting. With Serena Wiliams suddenly out of the tournament Sharapova must realize that she has an amazing opportunity to win another major, and that pressure could complicate things as well. If anyone can put pressure on Sharapova it is Kerber. I am still predicting Sharapova to come through and win this match, but would not be surprised (or displeased) if Kerber did instead. PREDICTION: Sharapova.

Simona Halep (ROU) [3] vs. Zarina Diyas (KAZ) . I follow both women's and men's tennis pretty closely and I have never even heard of Zarina Diyas before. Halep has had very difficulty getting through her three previous round and should be full of confidence as the highest remaining seed in the tournament for the second consecutive major. Diyas dispatched 2-time major finalists Vera Zvonareva in 3 sets in theround before so she must have some game. But still, expect Halep to continue to play to her seeding heree. PREDICTION: Halep.

QUARTERFINALS

Lucie Safarova (CZE) [23]  vs. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [4] Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) [22]. This should be an insanely tight match, most likely very ugly. The two are even in their head-to-head. They are both leftys and leftys hate playing other leftys. This is the farthest either has ever reached in a major tournament, although both players have delivered major upsets in major tournaments, with Makrova having beaten both Williams sisters in Australia (in different years). Safarova is well-known as a bit of a wild card, while Makarova is considered a strong, solid player who can be dangerous to higher ranked opponents if they are having abad day. Safarova is always dangerous, but if you weather the storm she usually flames out. In this contest, I think slow and steady will win the race. PREDICTION: Makarova. 

Petra Kvitova (CZE) [6] vs. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) [16] Barbara Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) .  Kvitova has already played the best match of the tournament so far in her 3rd round win over 5-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams. The 2011 Wimbledon champion has  won 19 of her last 21 matches played at this tournament. Happily for her, she is facing one of her three countrywomen who are in the final eight remaining players in the tournament, a player whom she has only lost to once before in four meetings, and should not have much trouble defeating again,on her best surface. I saw Strycova play close up in person at Indian Wells and she is a very good ballstriker so her upset of Wozniacki was not a surprise to me. But there's a reason why she is in her first major quarterfinal and her opponent has reached five consecutive quarterfinals at this tournament.  PREDICTION: Kvitova. 

2014 AUS OPEN Day 1: Kvitova[6],Errani[7], Haas[12], Venus Upset

Day 1 of the 2014 Australian Open is complete and already some significant upsets have occurred. The most significant to me (personally) is technically not an upset since the higher ranked player won. 7-time major champion Venus Williams lost to Ekaterina Makarova[23] 2-6 6-4 6-4 in the 1st round.

Other notable first round losses were Petra Kvitova[6], Sara Errani[7] and Tommy Haas[12].

However, Serena Williams[1], Victoria Azarenka[2], Li Na[4] all won. Other notable wins on the women's side of the draw were by Samantha Stosur[17], Ana Ivanovic[14], Simona Halep[11], Caroline Wozniacki[10], Angelique Kerber[9] and Jelena Jankovic[8].

Novak Djokovic[2], David Ferrer[3], Roger Federer[6],Tomas Berdych[7],Richard Gasquet[8], Stanislas Wawrinka[9], Jo-Wilfried Tsonga[10] and Milos Raonic[11] all won. John Isner[12] retired after losing the first two sets with a bad ankle against lefty Martin Klizan.

2013 US OPEN: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at the US Open for 2013. Last year I correctly predicted 4 of 4 men's quarterfinals and correctly predicted 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals.

Serena Williams (USA) [1] vs. Angelique Kerber (GER) [8] Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) [18]. Defending  champion Serena Williams looks like a woman on a mission again and it is unlikely that the crafty lefty will be able to stop the 16-time champion from her ultimate goal of reaching her 7th US Open final. The Spaniard has only been past the 4th round at a major twice before, at the 2009 Australian Open and 2008 French Open very early in her career. She had a big breakthrough on Sunday outlasting World #8 Angelique Kerber by playing fearless aggressive tennis to reach her first quarterfinal in New York. I was lucky enough to see this entire match from my seat in Louis Armstrong Stadium and came away very impressed with Suarez Navarro's beautiful and powerful one-handed backhand. However, Serena has beaten her in their two previous meetings, including on her way to defending her Rome title earlier this year. There's no reason why she won't do so again on the hard courts of New York. PREDICTION:Williams.

Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [3] Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) [24] vs Na Li (CHN) [5].This should have been another tight meeting between the #3 seed Aggie Radwanska and 2011 French Open champion Li Na but surprisingly, it was the Polish player who faltered. Credit should be given to Makarova, who is no stranger to upsetting top seeds at the majors, having done so to Serena Williams at the 2012 Australian Open 4th round. Li is a powerful hard court player and has had great success on the hard courts in Melbourne but not so much on the hard courts of New York. That may be changing this year if she can win this very winnable match to reach her very first semifinal in New York.  PREDICTION: Li.

Roberta Vinci (ITA) [10] vs Simona Halep (ROU) [21] Flavia Pennetta (ITA). This is a very curious match up between two Italian players for a semifinal berth at the US Open, the second consecutive year where this has happened. Last year the two compatriots were World #4 Sara Errani and her doubles partner Roberta Vinci. This year, however the two Italians are Vinci and the "grande dame"of Italian tennis Flavia Pennetta, who has always played some of her best tennis in New York.  It is interesting to note that the Italian player who is playing in her second consecutive US Open quarterfinal is the unheralded Vinci, not the World #4 Errani. However it will most likely be Pennetta who will win her 4th U.S. Open quarterfinal and  reach her very first career major semifinal. PREDICTION: Pennetta. 

Victoria Azarenka (BLR) [2] or Ana Ivanovic (SRB) [13] vs. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK). Because of the torrential rain that fell on Monday, the fourth round match between Victoria Azarenka and Ana Ivanovic was eventually cancelled. This means that the participants in this final quarterfinal are not known at this time. However, Azarenka has a very good head to head record against Ivanovic so I believe that she will win this match and reach her second career quarterfinal in New York. Against her potential quarterfinal opponent Hantuchova she only has a 2-2 record, but I still think that Azarenka will find a way to reach her second career consecutive final. PREDICTION: Azarenka.