2016 US OPEN: Kerber Beats Pliskova To Win 2nd Major

As I predicted, the new women's World #1 tennis player Angie Kerber won her 2nd major title (of 2016!) by defeating Karolina Pliskova in a high-quality women's final at the 2016 US Open 6-3 4-6 6-4.  Kerber has reached 3 major finals in 2016, winning two of them and with a silver medal at the Rio Oympics she cements her place at the top of women's tennis.

Pliskova started surprisingly nervously and lost serve in her opening game. Kerber was able to grab hold of this lead and despite facing multiple breakpoints and the less powerful serve, she was never broken in the first set and broke again the final game to win the first set 6-3. The second set was a different affair when Pliskova changed tactics and started coming to net repeatedly, quite successfully and served better. Pliskva never faced a breakpoint in the second set and this freed up her to go after Kerber's weakness, her second serve and eventually she broke her and served out the set 6-4. In the third set, Pliskova got up an early break in the third set and held serve to go up 3-1. Things looked bad for eh new #1 but she remained positive and eventually she was able to break back in the 6t game to eve ]n the score at 3-a;; and hold serve to go up 4-3. Pliskova struggled but eventually she held serve. At this point the match was nearly 2 hors long and Pliskova looked exhausted. Kerber held serve at 4-all to go up 5-4 and then broke Pliskova at 0-40 (winning 8 consecutive points) to win he third set and the match.

2016 US OPEN: Women's Final Preview (and Semifinals Review)

Angelique Kerber (GER) [2] vs Karolina Pliskova (CZE) [10]

Here are my predictions for the women's final at the US Open for 2016. Last year I correctly predicted Flavia Pennetta would beat Roberta Vinci. So far this year, I have correctly predicted 1 of 2 men's semifinals, 1 of 2 women's semifinals, 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals and 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals.

Women's Semifinals Review

Karolina Pliskova (CZE) [10] d. Serena Williams (USA) [1] 6-2 7-6(5). For the second year in a row, Serena has had her hopes dashed in the US Open semifinal. However, this time, the result was less about her losing the match than her opponent winning it. Last year, Serena let the mental and emotional pressure of closing out the last two matches to achieve the calendar grand slam to affect her play so that she lost to a wily but feeble opponent. In this year's match Serena faced in Karolina Pliskova a 6-foot-1 powerhouse who out-aced and out-played Serena for significant stretches of the relatively short encounter. The first set was a blur, with Pliskova winning 86% of her first serve points and not facing a break point. Serena on the otherhand looked sluggish--slow to move to the ball and was broken twice despite the fact that Pliskova is not a great mover on the court. In the second set, Pliskova continued with her excellent play and was soon up a break again. However, Serena was able to break back (after earning her sole breakpoint of the match) and even nose ahead (on serve) to 4-3. But at this point it became very clear that Serena was injured, as she repeatedly was grabbing her leg and was making errors where she was off the mark by feet (not inches) or hitting balls into the bottom of the net (not the top of the tape). Although she did well to reach a tiebreak. I was fairly confident that even if she found a way to win the tiebreak, there is no way she would have won a third set. However, Serena obviated that concern by donating multiple points with unforced errors and double faults, including on match point (which she didn't even challenge). 

Angelique Kerber (GER) [2] d. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 6-4 6-3.  As I suspected, everything Wozniacki can do, Kerber can do better. The Dane is known for her amazing ability to retrieve balls from anywhere and to be a human backboard. But Kerber also has incredible movement, and what has fueled her ascent to the World #1 ranking is the German's addition of offense and attacking tennis to her game. It's a deadly combination when you possess the power to track down balls all day and can turn defense into offense with the flick of a wrist. This was almost certainly Wozniacki's best (and last?) chance to win her first major title but again she came up short, despite playing in the venue where she has previously had the most success. I do think that she is legitimately a top 10 contender, but that means there are a lot of things that have to go right in an improbable sequence for her to win a major. She should learn from Kerber's example and use her impressive timing to be more aggressive on court.

Women's Final Preview

The mental stakes for this match are very different for the two players. Pliskova is playing in her very first major final, while Kerber is playing in her third of the year (2016 Australian Open and 2016 Wimbledon). Having already achieved the World #1 ranking, for Kerber this title is basically icing on the cake, but she may have greater ambitions, like snagging the year-end #1 ranking. This is a possibility (if Serena sits out the rest of 2016, like she did last year) but not really under her control. By becoming the first woman to reach multiple majors in the same year (other than Serena) since Henin did it in 2008, Kerber would start writing her name in the record books. Pliskova already has her place in history assured as she becomes the first active player (4th all time) to beat both Venus and Serena) in a major tournament. Pliskova has been known as a dangerous player for years but she has never had any success at a major until the 2016 US Open. Mentally, she is very tough but she is not as athletically gifted as Kerber.

Head-to-head Kerber has a slight edge 4-3 and the two have played their last three meetings in finals, with Kerber coming out ahead 2-1. However, with the World #1 ranking on the line 3 weeks ago, Kerber blinked and Pliskova beat her relatively easily in the finals of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati 6-3 6-1. It is very unlikely that this match will not be that one sided. Pliskova is on an 11-match winning streak (she also beat Garbine Muguruza and Svetlana Kuznetsova in Cincy) and has admitted that beating Serena was even more important to her than reaching her first major final.

The key to the match will be if Pliskova can continue serving as effectively as she has been. Because Serena was physically impaired (and unfamiliar with Pliskova) she was very ineffective at returning the Czech player's serve, who can hit all four corners of the service box with the same toss. Kerber will almost certainly do a better job of dealing with Pliskova's biggest weapon than Serena did. Once the two start a rally, Kerber is a prohibitive favorite to win the point. Can Pliskova maintain her composure and continue to hit unreturnable serves after Kerber gets some lucky balls back into play? I think she can. I suspect this match will resemble a men's match (i.e. like an Isner-Nishikori), with few breaks of serve. If that happens, it will be a key advantage to Pliskova. If there are multiple exchanges of breaks that will mean that Kerber is being effective at returning serves into play and getting into Pliskova's head. It is rare that great serving outplays a great player (c.f. Roddick-Federer) and I don't think that will happen here.

MadProfessah's prediction: Kerber.

2016 US OPEN: Men's and Women's Draw Released and Analyzed

The 2016 US OPEN draw has been released. 2015 US Open champion Flavia Pennetta has retired so she will not be defending her title. However, defending champion Novak Djokovic is seeded #1 this year as well. The draw has been released and the potential men's quarterfinal match ups are:

• [1] Novak Djokovic versus [7] Marin Cilic
• [4] Rafael Nadal versus [5] Milos Raonic
• [3] Stan Wawrinka versus [8] Dominic Thiem 
• [2] Andy Murray versus [6] Kei Nishikori

On the Women's side, the potential women's quarterfinal matches are:

• [1] Serena Williams versus [5] Simona Halep
• [4] Agnieska Radwanska versus [6] Venus Williams
• [3] Garbine Muguruza versus [8] Madison Keys  
• [2] Angelique Kerber versus [7] Roberta Vinci

Last year at this time Serena had won the last 4 majors in a row (i.e, the Serena Slam!) and was attempting to win her 22nd major and complete the first calendar year Grand Slam since 1988. In one of the great historic upsets in sports, she lost in the semifinals to Roberta Vinci, setting up an all-Italian major final with first-time major finalists that was won by Pennetta.

As usual, there are always some exciting first round matches. Here are the notable ones to look out for this year:

• Serena Williams versus Ekaterina Makarova
• Camilla Giorgi versus Sam Stosur
• Taylor Townsend versus Caroline Wozniacki
• Yulia Putintseva versus Sabine Lisicki
• Sara Errani versus Shelby Rogers

• John Isner versus Frances Tiafoe
• Stan Wawrinka versus Fernando Verdasco
• Gael Monfils versus Gilles Muller
• Jack Sock versus Taylor Fritz
• Janko Tipsarevic versus Sam Querrey
• Fernando Lopez versus Borna Coric

I plan to attend the tournament myself next weekend!

2016 FRENCH OPEN: Muguruza Wins 1st Major, Denies Serena Her 22nd

In not that surprising an upset 22-year-old Garbine Muguruza of Spain defeated 34-year-old Serena Williams 7-5 6-4 in the 2016 Roland Garros women's final to win her very first major title. Any time anyone wins their first major title history has been made, and for the third consecutive major there has been a first-time winner: Flavia Pennetta (2015 US Open), Angelique Kerber (2016 Australian Open) and Garbine Muguruza (2016 French Open). This was after Serena had won 4 consecutive majors in a row. However, by winning this match, Muguruza will rise to World #2 in the WTA rankings and now has beaten Serena twice in two meetings at the clay court major (and their head-to-head is now 3-2 in Serena's favor.) With her loss, Serena is again denied her 22nd major title which leaves her one behind the all-time leader Steffi Graf and she falls to 21W-6L  record in major finals.
Muguruza becomes the second player (after Petra Kvitova) born in the 1990s to win a major title. Who will be next?

WOMEN'S FINAL REVIEW

The match was generally of a very high quality, despite Muguruza's multiple double faults and Serena's clearly limited movement. The two often traded hard-hitting ground strokes, with the young Spaniard able to generate and match firepower with Serena. In the end, the first set was won after Serena was broken (by double faulting on triple break point at 2-all) and Muguruza eventually served out the set. This happened after Serena was basically a break down for most of the set but was able to finally break back to even the match at 5-all. It was a very close set, with the Spaniard winning 42 points to Serena's 41.Things did not get much better for Serena in the second set, with Muguruza getting an early break and holding on. In the 9th game, Serena saved four break points which were also championship points to force the youngster to serve for the match at 5-4, which Muguruza did without losing a point!

The important stats were:

Serena finished with seven aces to four double-faults, hitting 23 winners to 22 unforced errors. But she was just two for eight on break points. Muguruza hit four aces to nine double-faults, hitting 18 winners to 25 unforced errors, and going four for 10 on break points.

This indicates that Muguruza played the big points better, and it was clear for most observers that she was often outhitting Serena from the back of the court. Serena's serve was not as big a weapon as it usually is. I still believe that the day will come when Serena will play her best tennis in a major and win her 22nd title.

2016 AUS OPEN: Kerber Shocks Serena To Win 1st Major Title

Defying my predictions and confounding history, Angelique Kerber outlasted Serena Williams 6-4 3-6 6-4 to win her first major title, at the 2016 Australian Open. Serena was aiming to match Steffi Graf's career total of 22 major titles while Kerber was aiming to become the first German player since Graf to win a major title. Serena was 21-4 in major finals and had only ever lost to three women in major finals (Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova and Samantha Stosur). Kerber was match point down in the very first round of the tournament but after coming through that she was able to play her very best tennis calmly and effectively and after getting a dream draw was able to come back from a huge deficit against Victoria Azarenka and continue that momentum to reach her first major final against Serena and win it! Now that's two consecutive majors where we have had first time slam winners. First Flavia Pennetta did it in New York last September and now 28-year-old Kerber is the champion in Melbourne.

How The Match Was Won
Serena had not dropped a set going into her 7th Australian Open final, the first time she had ever done that, and since she had won all previous six finals in Melbourne this was viewed as a positive omen. However, what happened when the final began was that Serena started nervously and was broken quickly. This was a slight surprise, but since it had also happened against Maria Sharapova most fans didn't worry and fully expected Serena to right the ship quickly. She did come back and evened the set at 3-all. Then surprisingly, Serena got broken again and Kerber's improved serve was able to carry her to take the first set in the face of  nearly two dozen unforced errors from her opponent and (ominously) no aces.

Surprisingly, we then discovered that Serena has only won 2 of 6 grand slam finals where she loses the first set, although she had never previously lost a 3-set major final (8-0). So, the key thing to do is win the first set when playing Serena in a final (because it usually means that she is having a very bad day and may actually go down in straight sets).

Serena finally started serving a bit better in the second set, but she never really punished Kerber's second serve like it deserved. However, she was able to get a break early and rushed out to a 4-1 lead, which she was able to maintain to take the middle set 6-3. (Kerber did well to hold after being down 2-5, 30-all to force Serena to serve out the second set and earn the right to serve first in the 3rd.)

The third set was one of the most compelling sets of tennis on the women's game in a really, really long time. Kerber hit 12 winners and only 3 unforced errors while Serena hit 19 winners and 18 unforced errors. Serena fell down 0-2 but was able to battle back to even the score at 2-all and after Kerber held the two played an intense 10-minute, 5-deuce game that Serena lost to go down 2-4 in the final set. Kerber was again able to hold despite not serving well (she was 56% first serves in for the match and won 60% of first serves points and 58% of second serve points, all stats in which she surpassed Serena today.)

Amazingly, despite being down 2-5 in the final set, Serena was able to come back and get back on serve, and she had a game point serving at 4-5, 40-30 but she missed that first serve and hit a very weak second serve which Kerber pummeled down the line for a winner to get to deuce. After a long rally, Serena went for a crosscourt winner but hit the top of the tape and set up championship point. Serena lost this point on a volley error (it was an easy volley that sailed well over the baseline).

Overall, a really great match. Serena was nervous, and frankly had the wrong game plan to come to net in an attempt to win points. Kerber was too fast and her lefty spin makes volleying difficult and it showed with Serena only making 15 of 32 net points. However, I'm happy to see Serena so fot so early in the year and I'm confident that if she stays healthy all year Serena will still reach Steffi's total of 22 titles this year (and probably end her career with 24 or 25). It takes the pressure off the rest of her year, so she should be extra motivated to get 22 in either Paris, Wimbledon (more likely) or New York (in addition to more Gold in Rio).

Kerber will move up to World #2 when the rankings come out on Monday, bumping down Simona Halep to #3 and elbowing out Sharapova out of the Top 5 as Radwanska and Muguruza round out the top 5. Amusingly, Pennetta is still in the Top 10 at #7 even though she retired at the end of 2015! I think it will be tough to end the year at #2 but I do expect her to remain in the Top 5 and to see Azarenka return to the Top 5 by the end of the year.

WTA TOUR FINALS 2015: Sharapova, Muguruza Undefeated; Kvitova, Radwanska Also Qualify

The Round Robin portion of the 2015 WTA Tour Finals in Singapore is complete and in her first appearance 2015 Wimbledon finalist Garbine Muguruza has gone undefeated, beating the three lefties in her group to reach the semifinals. By qualifying at the top of her group she will meet the second qualifier in the other group. In that group (as I expected) Maria Sharapova parlayed her strong head-to-head record against the rest of the field to go undefeated while somehow top seed Simona Halep failed to qualify when ninja Aggie Radwanska beat her without losing a set, thus insuring that all 3 players not named Sharapova would end with 1 win and 2 losses. But since Radwanska had won a set against Sharapova in her very first match, she advanced and Halep and Flavia Pennetta did not. Pennetta's career is now over but 2015 was by far her very best year on tour, which is an amazing way to go out on top!

There was still drama because after Muguruz outlasted Petra Kvitova 6-4 4-6 7-5 in their first ever meeting all Angelique Kerber had to do was win a set and she would qualify instead of the 2-time Wimbledon champ. But somehow Lucie Safarova was able to take out the indomitable German in straight sets, thus handing her Czech compatriot the second semifinalist spot.

These results mean that Kvitova will face Sharapova and Muguruza will face Radwanska. The latter met in a crucial Wimbledon semifinal earlier this year, which was won by Muguruza as she got up to a big lead (up a set and a break) which she then lost but was able to recover and win her first major semifinal and the right to face Serena Williams. Muguruza has now won the last 4 meetings with the Polish "ninja" (all of which came in 2015). Can Aggie get revenge? (I doubt it.)

The more compelling match is the showdown between Sharapova and Kvitova. P3tra beat Maria in straight sets at the 2014 WTA Tour Finals in the round robin stage the last time the two played but then neither player advanced to the semifinal stage last year. The Russian holds a 6-3 head-to-head lead against Kvitova, I think mostly for mental toughness. Kvitova is not playing her best tennis but maybe getting to the semifinal will relax her and she will hit freely (and not wildly). It's possible that Kvitova could dominate Sharapova or Kvitiva could be wild and flame out in straight sets, or we could have a nailbiting, 3-set thriller between two of the hardest hitters on tour. I hope its the latter, but I still give Sharapova the edge.

MadProfessah's pick: Sharapova-Muguruza final.

WTA TOUR FINALS 2015: Sharapova Reaches SF Round In 15 of 16 Scenarios

The second round of the Red Group has been played and Maria Sharapova defeated top seed Simona Halep in straight sets, while Flavia Pennetta handed Aggie Radwanska her second defeat.

This means that it is very likely that Maria Sharapova will reach the semifinal elimination round in almost every scenario. The only way she doesn't make it is if she loses to Pennetta in straight sets and Halep beat Radwanska in straight sets.

WTA FINALS: Red (Halep, Sharapova, Radwanska, Pennetta) White (Muguruza, Kvitova, Kerber, Safarova)

The final tournament of 2015 is happening on the WTA Tour this week, the "BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore Presented by SC Gobal." In one half of the draw lies the two top contenders Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep along with Aggie Radwanska and Flavia Pennetta. In the other half of the draw is Garbine Muguruza and three lefties: Angelique Kerber, Petra Kvitova and Lucie Safarova.

Despite the absence of Serena Williams there should be some compelling matches, but as this infographic demonstrates, the tournament is Sharapova's to lose, or a moment for Halep to step up and prove why she really is the #2 player in the world behind Serena. Sharapova has a combined 19-5 against the members of her group. (Bizarrely, the only player she has a negative record against is Pennetta! But's it only 2-3.)

Matchups I am looking forward to are Kvitova-Safarova, Sharapova-Halep and Kerber-Kvitova.

TENNIS TUESDAY: Davis Cup Final of GBR vs BEL Set For Clay; Jo Wins 3rd Metz; Aga Wins 2nd Pan-Pacific

DAVIS CUP FINAL BETWEEN BELGIUM AND GREAT BRITAIN SET FOR INDOOR CLAY NOVEMBER 27-29 IN GHENT
As expected when it became clear that the final two teams this year would be Great Britain led by 2-time major champion Andy Murray and Belgium led by Top 20 stalwart David Goffin, it was announced on September 23rd that the tie would be held on indoor clay, Murray's worst surface (and Goffin's best). Murray had initially said that he might skip the most lucrative and prestigious event of the year, the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals held at the O2 Arena in London, in order to prepare for winning the Davis Cup for Great Britain, but is now reconsidering that idea.

JO-WILFRIED TSONGA WINS ALL-FRENCH BATTLE WITH GILLES SIMON TO CLAIM THIRD MOSELLE OPEN TITLE IN FIVE YEARS
The Moselle Open in Metz, France has been very good to French players. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has made the final there four out of the last five years. Last year David Goffin of Belgium beat Joao Sousa of Portugal. This year Tsonga faced Gilles Simon and he prevailed in three sets, 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-2 to win his 3rd title in Metz and his twelfth career title overall. This was his first title since his bravura performance last year in Montreal to win his 2nd ATP Masters title by defeating four Top 10 players (including Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray).

AGGIE RADWANSKA BEAT BELINDA BENCIC TO WIN THE PAN-PACIFIC OPEN AND RETURN TO THE WTA TOP 10
Aggie Radwanska of Poland defeated Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in the finals of the Pan-Pacific Open 6-2 6-2 to win her first title of 2015. Radwanska got revenge for a loss earlier in the season in the finals of Eastbourne against the teen phenom, who would have reached the Top 10 for the first time if she had won. Instead, with this win Radwanska returns to the Top 10 instead.

FLAVIA PENNETTA REACHES WORLD #6  DESPITE NOT PLAYING SINCE WINNING US OPEN
Things just keep on getting better and better for Flavia Pennetta. After fulfilling her dreams by winning a major title in New York City Pennetta returned to the Top 10, landing at #7. This week she rises one spot to #6 thanks to Caroline Wozniacki falling one spot. If she gets to the Top 5 she will join just two other Italian players, Sara Errani (who reached #5) and Francesca Schiavone (who reached world #4), who have ever been ranked that highly.

2015 US OPEN: Pennetta Wins 1st Major (And Announces She'll Retire By End of 2015!)

In the first ever all-Italian major women singles final, Flavia Pennetta defeated Roberta Vinci 7-6(4) 6-2 (as I predicted) to win the 2015 U.S. Open. The #26 seed completed her fairy tale run at the last major tournament of the year by beating one of her best friends and compatriots just one day after Vinci had achieved the biggest upset in tennis history by ending Serena Williams' streak of grand slam matches won at 33. Pennetta had to beat the #2 seed Simona Halep in the semifinals, #5 seed Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals and 2011 U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur in the 4th round. Her opponent in the final was one of her best friends, someone she has known since they were both 10 years old and were roommates for four years in Rome. Their camaraderie could be seen after the match in the warm embrace at the net and their interaction during the trophy presentation.

Pennetta stunned the tennis world by announcing her retirement during the trophy ceremony, by saying that she had "made a big decision a month ago" and that "this is how I say goodbye to tennis."
She later clarified in  post-match press conference that this was her last U.S. Open but that she would continue playing until the end of the year. She became the oldest first-time Grand Slam winner ever, and also the person who played the most major tournaments (49) before capturing a title. (The previous record holder was Marion Bartoli who had played 47 majors before winning Wimbledon in 2013; she decided to retire within  a month of that victory.)

By winning this match, Pennetta will receive $3.3 million, almost 30% of her previous career total of $10.5 million. In the stands was not only the Prime Minister of Italy who flew from Italy through the night, but also Pennetta's fiance' Fabio Fognini (ATP player currently ranked #32 who made a big splash at the tournament himself by eliminating Rafael Nadal in the 3rd round.)

Pennetta will move to World #8 in the rankings on Monday and could possibly qualify for the year-end championships in Singapore. Even though Serena's bid for the first calendar-year Grand Slam ended yesterday against Vinci, she tweeted out her support for Flavia's win and reaction to the retirement news.

2015 US OPEN: Women's Final Preview (and Semifinals Review)

Roberta Vinci (ITA) vs. Flavia Pennetta (ITA) [26] 

Here are my predictions for the women's final at the US Open for 2015. Last year I correctly predicted Serena Williams would defeat Caroline Wozniacki. This year I correctly predicted 0 of 2 women's semifinals, 2 of 2 men's semifinals, 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals.

Women's Semifinals Review: How They Got Here

Roberta Vinci (ITA) d. Serena Williams (USA) [1] 2-6 6-4 6-4. Once the other two grand slam champions (Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka) were removed from the tournament in the quarterfinals, the chances of Serena's eventual victory skyrocketed. The three remaining semifinalists possessed one win over Serena in 19 matches played so in theory the American should have been able to achieve the calendar grand slam with much less than her "A" game. However, inexplicably and quite surprisingly, somehow this did not happen. Despite winning the first set 6-2 in 36 minutes, Serena was broken in the second set and was unable to break her Italian opponent's serve, despite its relative weakness. (This was punctuated by Vinci hitting a bizarre 83 mph ace in the 8th game of the second set.)  Serena was clearly nervous and stopped moving her feet and going for 100 percent on her shots. This allowed Vinci to go for her shots and play well within herself and sneak out the last two sets and complete the most stunning upset in tennis of the century, if not ever.

Flavia Pennetta (ITA) [26] d. Simona Halep (ROU) [2] 6-1 6-3.  Pennetta played some of the best tennis of her life to dismiss Halep, who never seemed to find her best tennis despite playing in this incredibly important match that would determine who gets to play in a major final. The 33-year-old Italian was able to win 15 points in a row at one point, even after the 23-year-old Romanian had finally managed to earn a 3-1 lead in the second set, only to see it disappear quickly. Pennetta ended up winning the last five games in a row, punctuated by a blistering forehand winner on mach point which barely clipped the baseline as it zoomed past the hapless Halep.  

Women's Final Preview: Who Will Win
Who would have thought that there would (ever) be an Italian women's final at a major? Pennetta was a 150-to-1 bet to reach the final while Vinci was a 300-to-1 bet to get there. And yet these two players will face off for the 2015 U.S. Open women's singles title. Pennetta has more power and leads their head-to-head 5-4, but surprisingly the two have not played since 2013. Can Vinci really get over winning the most incredible match of her and play her first major final less than 24 hours later and play her best tennis? Somehow I doubt it. MadProfessah's pick: Pennetta.

2015 US OPEN: Women's Semifinals Postponed Due To Rain

Due to rain, the women's semifinals at the U.S. Open are being moved to the day session (11am EDT/8am PDT) on Friday with the men's semifinals starting at 5pm EDT/2pm PDT).

Here is the order of play:

2015 US OPEN: Women's Semifinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at the US Open for 2015. Last year I correctly predicted 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals and correctly predicted 3 of 4 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] vs Roberta Vinci (ITA) [16]. As I said before when I was predicting the women's quarterfinals, this semifinal was going to be irrelevant. The more interesting topic to discuss is the fact that for the second time in this tournament, Serena lost a set. The fact that it was against her sister Venus is not surprising, and to be sure, it never really looked like the defending champion was in danger of losing this match. Vinci did well to win a match I did not expect her to win by gutting out a 3-set win over Kiki Mladenovic. However, as an Italian journalist admitted in a press conference today, "Even in Italy we think [Vinci] has no chance." Despite the fact that she has never lost a set in 4 meetings to Vinci, Serena refuses to take anything for granted and said "She's in the semifinals for a reason." Amazingly, Vinci is one of three different Italian women to be in the semifinals of the U.S. Open in the last four years (Sara Errani in 2012, Pennetta in 2013, Vinci and Pennetta in 2015). Things did not work out too well for the Italians before and I doubt it will this year. PREDICTION: Williams.

Petra Kvitova (CZE) [5] Flavia Pennetta (ITA) [26] vs. Simona Halep (ROU) [2].  Pennetta surprised many people by taking out the 2-time Wimbledon champion in three tough sets. She was down a set and a break when P3tra started losing the range on her shots and allowed the Italian to escape with a 4-6 7-5 6-4 win. Halep's win was even more dramatic. She was playing another 2-time major champion in Victoria Azarenka, someone whom she had never beaten before. Things started off well for Halep, who won the first set by earning an early break and holding to take it 6-3, but then it was mostly one-way traffic in Vika's favor until the clouds grew grey and stormy. Just before play was suspended in the third set, Halep was able to get the break back despite being down 0-2 and ended up winning the final set 6-4. Major semifinals are incredibly important matches, as the winner gets to make history by apperaning in a major final. Halep is 1-1 in major semifinals to date while Pennetta is 0-1. Pennetta may actually think that she has more pressure on her because she has a 3-1 head-to-head advantage over Halep. However, that one win came earlier this year in Miami on hard courts while the losses occurred before Halep became the player she is today. PREDICTION: Halep. 

TENNIS TUESDAY: Fed Cup Final Set; Djokovic Amasses Huge Lead For #1

Fed Cup Final Set Between Czech Republic and Russia
Czech Republic with Petra Kvitova was able to easily dismiss France while Russia was able to get past Germany despite the absence of World #2 Maria Sharapova by winning the doubles rubber. The Fed Cup final will be held between Russia and Czech Republic in November in Russia. This will be the fourth year in the last five the Czech team has been in the final (they lost in the semifinals in 2013 to Italy).

United States Fails To Make World Group Despite Serena Playing 3 Matches
Serena Williams made a rare appearance in Fed Cup this weekend against Italy on clay and despite winning both her single matches (against Sara Errani and Camila Giorgi) the USA failed to secure a victory. Serena teamed up with Ali Riske in the deciding doubles rubber but the Americans could not withstand the pressure from Flavia Pennetta and Errani and lost the tie 2-3. Venus Williams and Madison Keys did not participate in the tie for unspecified reasons.

Djokovic On 17-Match Winning Streak
World #1 Novak Djokovic is on a 17-match winning streak (35-2 for 2015) which has provided him with three consecutive ATP Masters series titles: Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo. This is the first time anyone has won the first three Masters tournaments of the year and this result has the Serbian with a staggering lead over World #2 Roger Federer.

2015 INDIAN WELLS: Raonic Knocks Out Nadal; Serena Withdraws With Knee Injury

In one of the biggest upsets of the year to date, World #6 Milos Raonic won his first match in six meeting against World #3 Rafael Nadal 4-6 7-6(10) 7-5, saving three match points in the process, to reach a semifinal against Roger Federer, who dispatched Tomas Berdych 6-4 6-0. Raonic has one match in 9 meetings with Federer. The other men's semifinal will feature Djokovic-Murray XXV.

The women's side of the draw was stunned when Serena Williams withdrew from the tournament prior to her semifinal match with Simona Halep, citing a knee injury. This was somewhat ironic, because it was her sister Venus Williams withdrawal in their scheduled semifinal 14 years ago and the crowd's reaction that led to the absence of the Williams sisters from the Indian Wells tournament since 2001. Serena's return to the tournament is one of the big tennis stories of the year so far and hopefully this knee injury will not dampen her prospects for the rest of the year. Serena was playing in only her second tournament of the year and presumably will now skip the Miami tournament, but she has a week before she would play her first match at the tournament located within a 30 minutes of her main residence.

Halep will face a resurgent Jelena Jankovic who dispatched Sabine Lisicki in the only women's semifinal match. Lisicki had beaten last year's champion Flavia Pennetta in one of the most dramatic matches of the year (6-4 6-7(5) 7-6(4) and was unable to sustain the mental energy for two consecutive nights, losing after being up a set and a break.

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 INDIAN WELLS: Pennetta and Djokovic Earn Surprise Wins

Despite my predictions to the contrary, Novak Djokovic and Flavia Pennetta won the 2014 Indian Wells titles. The 33rd meeting between Roger Federer and Djokovic was a squeaker, with the younger player pulling out the victory in a 3rd set tiebreak, 3-6 6-3 7-6(3), after being easily outmatched in the first set. Federer's 11-match winning streak came to an end with his loss but he still leads his overall head-to-head with Djokovic 17-16.

The women's final was disappointing because a clearly injured Agnieska Radwanska was not able to put up much resistance to allow Pennetta to win the biggest title of her career. Djokovic won his 42nd career ATP Tour title and 17th ATP Masters shield.

Pennetta will rise to #12 in the rankings and Federer will return to #5.

2014 INDIAN WELLS: Finals are Pennetta-Radwanska, Federer-Djokovic XXXIII

The finals of Indian Wells 2014 are set and almost all the big names on the women's side have departed, with the final to be contested between Agnieska Radwanska and Flavia Pennetta. Pennetta had one of the biggest upsets of the year when she beat top seed Li Na in straight sets.
Both semifinals results were surprising, with Radwanska getting revenge on her loss to Simona Halep in Doha. Interestingly, Radwanska leads Pennetta 4-2 in their head-to-head but the Italian beat the Pole in Dubai in straight sets. So, in order to win the title at Indian Wells Radwanska would have to reverse a second recent defeat. I believe she will do so. MadProfessah's pick: Radwanska.

On the men's side, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer will face off in their thirty-third match of their careers and second time in 2014. Federer currently leads the head-to-head 17-15 and beat Djokovic a few weeks ago in the semifinals of the Dubai tournament. Federer has won the tournament four times and Djokovic has won the tournament twice. Their match on Sunday should be very close but I'll give a slight edge to a resurgent Federer, who is playing some of his best tennis, against his higher ranked opponent who is not.
MadProfessah's pick: Federer.

2014 DUBAI: Cornet Beats Serena, Faces Venus In Final

Sadly, a 25th meeting between Venus Williams and Serena Williams will not happen because Serena was bounced 6-4 6-4 from the WTA tournament in Dubai by Alize Cornet. Venus, who won this title in 2009 and 2010 but has not played here in the intervening years, is on a 14-match winning streak in the Arab emirate. She dismissed former World #1 Caroline Wozniacki 6-3 6-2, following up wins over Flavia Pennetta and Ana Ivanovic.

I like Venus' chances to win her 3rd title in Dubai. Can Alize Cornet really become one of the rare players to beat Venus and Serena in the same tournament and win it? I doubt it. Go Venus!