2019 FRENCH OPEN: Women's Semifinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's semifinals at the 2019 French Open.  I will also predict the men's semifinals. This year I predicted 0 of 4 women's quarterfinals correctly and 4 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly. Last year I predicted 2 of 2 men's semifinals correctly and 2 of 2 women's semifinals correctly. 

Simona Halep (ROU) [3] Ananda Anisimova (USA) vs. Ashleigh Barty (AUS) [8]. 17-year-old American phenom Amanda Anisimova, who Matt Roberts of the Tennis Podcast says "has the best backhand in women's tennis" pulled off the biggest upset of an already surprising women's tournament at Roland Garros. She defeated last year's French Open champion and the prohibitive favorite Simona Halep in straight sets. In fact, Anisimova has won all 10 sets of tennis she has played at Roland Garros this year!  She will face Ash Barty who is the only player to be ranked in the Top 10 of both singles and doubles simultaneously on either side of the draw. Barty has been playing excellent tennis all year, having won her biggest title in Miami by defeating World #2 Karolina Pliskova. Barty was able to blunt the power of last year's semifinalist Madison Keys to reach her first major semifinal. Barty is now the highest rated player remaining in the draw, and has an excellent chance of winning her first Grand Slam singles title (she has two Grand Slam doubles titles). She has never played Anisimova before but her game is difficult for anyone to handle, with lots of spins and fearlessness at the net. Who will feel more nerves, the 23-year-old favorite or the 17-year-old upstart? Anisimova showed (almost) no nerves in her dismissal of Halep, so I suspect it will be Barty, but I think the Aussie's game will get her to the finish line. PREDICTION: Barty.

Sloane Stephens (USA) [7] Johanna Konta (GBR) [26] vs Marketa Vondrousova (CZE).  What is it about the French Open that so many players win their first (and perhaps only) major title here? Jelena Ostapenko (2017), Francesca Schiavone (2011)  and Anastaasia Myskina (2004) are just a few that come to mind. Can Johanna Konta join this list? She had never won a main draw match at Roland Garros yet when she defeated last year's finalist Sloane Stephens in straight sets Chris Evert said it was one of the best clay court performances she had ever seen. I definitely did not expect that to happen! Her opponent in her first major semifinal will be the 18-year-old Czech lefty Marketa Vondrousova who has reached the quarterfinals (or better) in every tournament she has played this year.  She already has demonstrated that she has made a quantum improvement in her game by defeating Petra Martic in the quarterfinals, a player she had lost 4 consecutive matches to  (including a clay court final this year). The two have  a 1-1 head-to-head record but Konta beat Vondrousova on her way to reaching the final in Rome just a few weeks ago (where she lost to Pliskova, who is no longer in the tournament). Konta has only one style of play while Vondrousova's game is much more creative and stylish, thus she can find multiple ways to win, and I think she will. PREDICTION: Vondrousova. 

TENNIS TUESDAY: Coric Wins 1st Title; Federer Iffy On Paris; Sharapova Returns; Schiavone!

ROGER FEDERER IS STILL UNSURE HE WILL PLAY 2017 FRENCH OPEN
After completing his 3rd sunshine double as part of a 19-1 blistering start to 2017 which has included his 18th major title in Australia and 91st tour title overall. Federer is now ranked World #4 but, conscious that he needs to nurture his body at age 35, he is skipping all the clay court warmups and may even skip the clay court major in Paris as well. He told CNN Sport that "I don't think I will skip it, but I will have to see in, say, four or five weeks how I feel when I get on the clay, how my mood is." Since he also missed the 2016 French Open, he has no points to lose, but doing well there would be a golden opportunity to pick up ranking points if he really wants to challenge for the year end #1.

MARIA SHARAPOVA RETURNS TO WTA TOUR NEXT WEEK AS 18-MONTH DOPING BAN ENDS
5-time major champion Maria Sharapova will return to the WTA Tour for the first time in nearly two years when her 18-month ban for using the banned substance meldonium for over a decade runs out on April 26th. Somewhat oddly, Sharapova was given a wild card into the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, which will be underway at that time, so she will be able to resume playing on the tour immediately, despite having literally no ranking points. She has since received wild card entries into Madrid

CORIC, 20, WINS FIRST ATP TITLE IN STYLE, SAVING 5 MP AGAINST KOHLSCHREIBER
20-year-old Borna Coric of Croatia, one of the photogenic up-and-coming #NextGen stars of the ATP won his first tour title this week in dramatic fashion, saving 5 match points  in the second set against veteran Phillipp Kohlschreiber in Marrakech. Coric was also down a break 2-4 in the deciding set, but won the match 5-7 7-6(5) 7-5.

2011 FRENCH OPEN CHAMPION FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE WINS 600TH MATCH AND FIRST TITLE IN NEARLY 2 YEARS
"Nothing is Impossible" said the t-shirts when Francesca Schiavone won her French Open title (d. Sam Stosur) in 2010 at the age of 29. The veteran is playing her last year in the tour and has been in danger of not qualifying to play her favourite tournament. However, thanks to an amazing performance in Colombia, the 36-year-old is now almost in the Top 100 (ranked #104)and should be able to get into the Roland Garros main draw. I wonder what Francesca will say if Sharapova gets a wild card into the French??

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.

2013 US OPEN: (Women's Draw Analyzed) Azarenka-Serena Final Likely

Serena Williams is the World #1, the #1 seed and the defending champion as the 2013 US Open approaches. The last time Serena defended a major title was in 2010, when she did it at Wimbledon and the Australian Open. Neither time was she the #1 player in the world. The last (first, and only) time she defended a title while being World #1 was in 2003 when she defended her 2002 Wimbledon title (beating sister Venus in both final matches).

So, although she is the prohibitive favorite to win in New York on Sunday September 8th, there is a fairly good chance that she won't. In terms of hard court records this year, 2013 Australian Open champion and #2 seed Victoria Azarenka has the better win-loss percentage, with 25-1, while Serena is at 29-3 (with two of those losses coming to Vika, in tough 3-setters in the finals of Doha and Cincinnati and the third loss coming to Sloane Stephens in the Australian Open quarterfinals). The only player to beat the Belarussian on  a hard court this year is 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur, who did it in Carlsbad.

Vika and Serena and a reprise of last year's final is the generally expected result. However, if form holds, the draw indicates that the quarterfinal match-ups would be: Williams versus Angelique Kerber, Agnieska Radwanska versus Li Na, Caroline Wozniacki versus Sara Errani and Petra Kvitova versus Azarenka. However, Williams starts off her title defense playing a fellow grand slam champion in Francesca Schiavone and could also face Magdalena Rybarikova in the 3rd round and Stephens in the 4th. If she gets through those contests I think she will most definitely make it to the final for the 3rd consecutive year.

Azarenka, on the other hand, has a much easier draw and really only has to worry about either Kvitova or Stosur in her quarter and  in the unlikely event that Wozniacki or Errani make it that far, her semifinal should be relatively easy. The only other potential big hitter that could have caused her trouble is Maria Sharapova, who withdrew with a shoulder injury. That section of the draw will almost certainly have a surprise semifinalist, who should end up being dismissed by Azarenka.

First round matches to watch: Heather Watson versus red-hot Simona Halep, Madison Keys versus Jelena Jankovic, Monica Puig versus Alisa Kleybanova, Sabine Lisicki versus Vera Dushevina, and Kirsten Flipkens versus 7-time major champion Venus Williams.

2013 AUS OPEN: Women's Final Preview

Victoria Azarenka (BLR) [1] vs. Li Na (CHN) [6]. 

Here is my prediction for the 2013 Australian Open women's final. I previously correctly predicted 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 1 of 2 women's semifinals this year. On the men's side of the draw, I correctly predicted 4 of 4 men's quarterfinals and 2 of 2 men's semifinals this year. Last year I incorrectly predicted the winner of the women's final.

How Did They Get Here? 
 Na Li (CHN) [6] d. M. Sharapova (RUS) [2] 6-2 6-2.
Sharapova had run through the first 5 rounds of competition by making a mockery of the word by losing a mere 9 games in the 10 sets played. Li Na had "upset" higher ranked (and hitherto unbeaten in 2013) Agnieska Radwanska in two relatively nervy sets the round before. Most people (yours truly included) expected a scoreline that ended this semifinal, but we expected the Russian to be on top, not the Chinese player! However, despite having a 4-8 career head-to-head deficit and having lost to Sharapova in 3 consecutive meetings in 2012, Li was able to put all that aside and come out firing from the very first ball and outhit and outserved the 4-time major champion. The book on Li Na is was that she has a world-class backhand and a very powerful forehand which eventually would breakdown if you picked on it. But Li's forehand remained rock-solid and it was Sharapova's groundstrokes which started to breakdown as the score deficit increased and she was forced to go for ill-advised winners that became unforced errors.  By the end of the match Li had hit 3 more winners than errors (21 winners, 18 errors) compared to her opponent who had (17 winners but 32 errors). This was not the same Li Na who Sharapova had beaten repeatedly in 2012 and she never found a way to solve the 2013 edition of Li Na.

V. Azarenka (BLR) [1] d. S. Stephens, 6-1 6-4.
Despite the score, this was actually quite a tight match, with the result in doubt until the last two games or so. In fact, there is now a significant controversy about the end of the match because after failing to convert 5 match points in the second set, Azarenka inexplicably took a medical time out and left the court for 10 minutes. This was one game after Azarenka had failed to convert 5 match points during Sloane's service game at 3-5. When she returned to the court she was able to break Stephens' serve and win the match. However, when asked about what happened while on court immediately after her win Azarenka said "I just felt a little bit overwhelmed realizing that I’m one step from the final and nerves got into me for sure." The problem with this response is that it doesn't appear to include a legitimate reason for an injury time out. And an injury time-out is supposed to last 5 minutes, not 10 so the official word is that she took two consecutive injury time-outs, 1 for her back and 1 for her rib. Many commentators note that Azarenka has often had difficulty dealing with the head and this was a day match played in temperatures approaching 100 degrees. The injury time-out(s) allowed Vika to sit in an air conditioned room for 10 minutes while she was "evaluated" and "treated" off the court. Regardless of the burgeoning controversy and Azarenka's shifting (and shifty) explanations, the match itself (especially the second set!) was very exciting. Stephens was down an early break and looked out of it but was able to use her preternatural defensive skills to frustrate Azarenka and get the set back on serve. In fact, in the game before the injury time out Stephens had numerous chances to break which she was not able to capitalize on. Many observers (including yours truly) felt that if Sloane had been able to break Vika and hold serve to win the 2nd set the match would have become very complicated for Vika. But, thanks to Azarenka's shenanigans after holding serve, we can only wonder what could have been.

Who Will Win?
As with most grand slam finals, the result will settle a number of important issues. Azarenka's #1 WTA tour ranking is not at stake; by reaching the final (like she did last year) she retains has the opportunity to retain the top spot. Unless she repeats as champion she will cede #1 to Serena Williams. However, since she started last year by remaining undefeated until the Miami tournament she has a lot of points to defend and it is very likely that Serena may still be able to unseat her at the top spot sometime this spring. Azarenka has a slight 5-4 lead in their career head-to-head and has won the last four matches the two have contested, including three they played in 2012. But, as her surprising win over Sharapova proved, Li Na is a new player with her new coach Carlos Rodrigues, so it is doubtful that their past matches will be any predictor of their future matches. For both players, this is their third major final, with Azarenka winning the first one she played here last year (over Sharapova) and losing her 2nd in the most recently concluded major tournament in New York (despite being up 5-3 in the 3rd set!) Li Na reached her first final here two years ago, losing to the now-retired Kim Clijsters in 3 sets and then surprisingly reached the final of the very next major on her worst surface and won that one in straight sets over Francesca Schiavone.

So really the deciding factor should be who is playing better right now, in this tournament, and who will handle the pressure of the moment better. On mental toughness, one has to give the edge to Azarenka, but on the question of who is playing better right now, Li Na's results show that she wins that comparison. Li Na has not lost a set in 6 rounds of play, and despite the fact that they have both hit 128 winners in the tournament I still give the edge to the Chinese player. Li is also serving significantly better, with the same number of aces and double faults while Azarenka only has 12 aces in the tournament compared to twenty-eight double faults. The one significant edge Azarenka has on Li is that she is more than seven years younger, so that Li may be overwhelmed by the occasion if she really does get close to winning her second major tournament. However, I trust that her coach will have prepared her for this moment and the local crowd support should help her over the finish line ahead.

Mad Professah's pick: Li Na.

2012 FRENCH OPEN: Women's Final Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's finals at Roland Garros for 2012. This year, I correctly predicted 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 1 of 2 women's semifinals. I also correctly predicted 2 of 2 men's semifinals and 4 of 4 men's quarterfinals this year. Last year I correctly predicted that Li Na would win the 2011  women's final.


Sara Errani ITA (21) vs. Maria Sharapova RUS (2). Maria Sharapova is playing in her 3rd major final in the last year and the seventh of her career (3-3 record). Her opponent is a much lower ranked player playing in her first major final. One would think this is a clear advantage for Sharapova, but the last two major finals that the Russian has lost have been to players playing in the first major final (2011 Wimbledon final to Petra Kvitova and 2012 Australian Open final to Victoria Azarenka). Those players will almost certainly go on to reach (and win) other major finals. Will Sara Errani?

The French Open is paradoxically one of the hardest tournaments to win, but also the one most likely to be won by someone who will win it but no other major (c.f. Iva Majoli, Francesca Schiavone and Ana Ivanovic). It favors players who have grown up on the surface, and who instinctively know how to move on the surface and construct patient, tactical points.

However, in a contest between power and guile, I'll take power. Especially if that power is combined with determination and mental fortitude. The only real weakness in Sharapova's game is her merely average ability to move on this surface and the tendency of her serve to go off in times of stress and/or tough weather conditions (like, bizarrely, bright sun or heavy winds). But Sharapova's weakest serve will still be better than Errani's best serve. There's also no question that Sharapova has a much better return game than the Italian. I would not be surprised if Errani holds serve less times than she is broken, and almost definitely will hold serve fewer times than she will be able to break Sharapova's serve. In that case, the sheer mathematics of tennis scoring (every game you don't hold belongs to your opponent) would dictate that the new World #1 will also be the newest Grand Slam champion.

MadProfessah's pick: Sharapova.

2012 FRENCH OPEN Day 12: The Dream Continues

Sara Errani had never beaten a Top 10 player before her win over Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. After today's 7-5 1-6 6-3 win against #6 seed champion Samantha Stosur, Errani will become a Top 10 player herself on Monday. The crafty Italian followed in the footsteps of her countrywoman Francesca Schiavone to use her superior movement and guile to outwit, outlast and outplay a strongly favored opponent in Sam Stosur. Stosur had never lost to Errani in 5 meetings, but the Australian appears to prefer to play her best tennis when she is an underdog, like when she won her first major final against Serena Williams at the 2011 US Open. Stosur is now a shocking 6-36 when she loses the first set in a grand slam match. Errani saw her opportunity and seized it, shocking the tennis world (and yours truly) to continue her dream 2012 and reach her first major final. Errani is also the first player since Kim Clijsters in 2003 to reach both the singles and doubles final in the same year here. (Mary Pierce was the last player to win the singles and doubles at Roland Garros in the same year in 2000.)

In the other semifinal,(as I predicted) results followed the rankings as World #2 Maria Sharapova beat her rival World #4 Petra Kvitova 6-3 6-3 to return to the pinnacle of women's tennis, cementing the World #1 ranking regardless of what happens in Saturday's final match. It was a very windy day, and for some reason the hard-hitting Czech was unable to take advantage of any wobbles on the Russian's serve and was also surprisingly ineffective in her own service games. Sharapova now has a 4-2 career head-to-head lead on Kvitova and has won the last three matches these two have played since the Czech shocked Sharapova in the 2011 Wimbledon final. Kvitova has yet to beat a Top 10 player in 2012. Now, Sharapova's dream of completing the career Grand Slam requires one more match win over a player who will be playing in her first major final.

Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi won the mixed doubles title. Serena Williams and Bob Bryan lost in the 1st round.

2012 FRENCH OPEN Day 7: Lepchenko Upsets Schiavone

Varvara Lepchenko, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Uzbekistan (who I saw close up play a tough set against Aggie Radwanska at the Madrid Open which I attended while on vacation last month), eliminated 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone in the best match of Day 7 at Roland Garros 6-3 3-6 8-6 in 3 hours, 2 minutes. Some people called it an upset, but I totally expected Varvara to win this match. Other winners on Day 7 were Maria Sharapova, Kaia Kanepi (over former #1 Carolina Wozniacki), 2011 French Open champion Li Na and 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. The last two players dropped a set but easily won the deciding set against their less experienced opponents. Lepchenko plays Kvitova in the 4th round and it should be a tough match since lefties also do not like playing each other (since it happens so rarely). Lepchenko and Sloane Stephens are the two remaining American players in the tournament (male or female).

On the men's side the best match of the day was the very fit Juan Monaco's win over future phenom Milos Raonic 6-7(5) 6-3 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4 in nearly 5 hours. Monaco's prize will be a 4th round appointment with the King of Clay Rafael Nadal who made short work of attractive Eduardo Schwank. Other contenders to win today were Janko Tipsarevic, David Ferrer, Richard Gasquet (demolishing Tommy Haas 6-7(3) 6-3 6-0 6-0) and Nicolas Almagro.

Best (Women's) Tennis Matches of 2011

Here are my picks for the "best" (or most memorable) tennis matches by women in 2011. These are basically the matches that had the most impact on me while they were occurring, feature some of the best play or most amazing shots, had the most impact on the rest of the tennis season or are matches that I would most likely to watch again in the future. You can see my previous lists: Best Men's Tennis Matches of 2011, Best Men's Tennis Matches of 2010, Best Men's Tennis Matches of 2009 and Best Men's Tennis Matches of 2006. (There were no men's lists in 2007 and in 2008 I was too busy with post-Proposition 8 activities to compile Men or Women.) I have also compiled lists of the Best Women's Tennis Matches for 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010. These can all be accessed at my MadProfessah.com Tennis tab which also contains my coverage of the four major tournaments.

1. F. Schiavone ITA d. S. Kuznetsova RUS, 6-4 1-6 16-14, 2011 Australian Open 4th Round, Melbourne.

Less than one year after the longest men's match of all time enthralled the entire world (and not just fans of tennis or sports) the longest women's grand slam match of all time occurred in the 4th round of Asia-Pacific's major tournament to very little acclaim or notice (by anyone but hardcore tennis fans). 2-time major champion Svetlana Kuznetsova faced the reigning French Open champion Francesca Schiavone in a mind-boggling battle of wills and fitness which lasted 4 hours and 44 minutes. Schiavone saved 6 match points in the 3-hour long final set and needed 3 match points of her own before finally prevailing to win 6-4 1-6 16-14. Kuznetsova was coming off one of her most satisfying wins by defeating her bete noire Justine Henin the round before, setting events in motion which would lead to that 7-time major champion announcing her (second) retirement soon afterwards. Anyway, back to the best women's match of 2011. The tennis (especially the last 80 minutes or so) was of an extremely high quality, with both players refusing to give an inch and pushing their bodies to their physical limits as they battled on and on and on for nearly 5 hours. Kuznetsova served for the match twice and repeatedly broke Schiavone when the Italian was serving for the match in the seemingly interminable 3rd set and although the 6 match points the Russian lost would seem to confirm her reputation for mental frailty, the reality is that the majority of these points were on Schiavone's serve and the Italian played some of her gutsiest tennis when she had her back against the wall. After multiple opportunities were squandered, the 30-year-old was able to come back from 0-30 down in the final game and execute a surprise serve-and-volley tactic to win the last point of this emotionally taut contest at the net with a crisp volley into the open court, demolishing her good friend Kuznetsova's hope for a good start to the year.

2. N. Li CHN d. F. Schiavone ITA, 6-4 7-6(0), 2011 French Open final, Paris.

The fact that a woman from a country with over 1 billion citizens was able to indelibly add her name to the tennis history books by winning her first major title is the single most important thing to happen this year that will impact the future of the sport. Amazingly, Li Na was appearing in her second consecutive major final, and ended up being the only player who was able to reach two major finals in 2011. Faced with the wily defending champion from Italy, the hard-hitting player from China was able to harness her power and control her emotions as she played the match of her life with the hopes and dreams of tens of millions of people hanging on every swing of her racquet. Schiavone showed that her win over the much-vaunted Australian Samantha Stosur the year before was no fluke by nearly repeating that feat this year. However this time Schiavone faced a player who used the experience gained from losing one major final to avoid repeating that result and instead successfully reached her goal while playing excellent, exciting tennis. Li played a tactically flawless match until she was about 2 games away from winning her first major and then she got a little nervous and let Schiavone back in the match. A controversial line call almost led to a set point for Schiavone, but instead she found herself in a tiebreak where her game completely unraveled against the Chinese barrage of pin-point accurate groundstrokes and she relinquished her major title with grace and style.

3. P. Kvitova CZE d. M. Sharapova RUS, 6-3 6-4, 2011 Wimbledon final, London.

Kvitova had been on the list of up-and-coming players to watch for quite awhile, having become the lowest ranked player (#143) ever to beat Venus Williams way back in 2008 and breaking through to lose a surprisingly taut 2-set semifinal encounter with eventual champion Serena Williams at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships. Just one year later, Kvitova demolished the 3-time major champion Maria Sharapova relatively easily in the young Czech's very first major final appearance. It was a glittering performance, surprising to some, but not to anyone like myself who had been closely following the trajectories of thew two players through the tournament. Sharapova was constantly having serving issues throughout the tournament, usually winning matches with double fault totals in the double digits. Kvitova, on the other hand, was playing her brand of high-stakes, go-for-broke style of tennis regardless of the score and was allowing her lefty serve and penetrating groundstrokes to sweep her opponents off the court. Sharapova was just her latest, but not her last, victim. 

4. M. Bartoli FRA d. S. Williams USA, 6-3 7-6(3), 2011 Wimbledon 4th round, London.

 The 2007 Wimbledon finalist was facing the 4-time Wimbledon champion in only Serena's 3rd event back after a nearly year-long hiatus from the sport in which she nearly died due to a freak illness. Bartoli is known as one of the most unconventional players on the tour, hitting her groundstrokes with two-hands on both sides and what can only be described as a curious service motion concocted by her coach and father. However, in this showdown with the most powerful player on tour Bartoli produced flawless tennis from every aspect of her game, repeatedly out-hitting the 13-time major champion on both the forehand and backhand sides. But it was the Frenchwoman's serve that was the true weapon. She had made the decision early on to go for both her first and second serves and it paid off. Her service percentage was incredibly high and her surprisingly powerful second serve was very effective. This match was one of the rare occasions when Serena Williams was on the court but the outcome of the match was not really dependent on the American's level of play, but would be decided by the Frenchwoman continuing to play some of the best tennis of the year until she won the last point of the match. 

5. S. Stosur AUS d. S. Williams USA, 6-2 6-3, 2011 U.S. Open Final, New York.

This result was one of the most surprising in a major final in the last decade. Serena Williams had won 18 consecutive hard court matches in a row, racking up two titles, including one won over this very opponent during that streak. Stosur was clearly playing some of her best tennis during the tournament, displaying surprising mental toughness by surviving grueling 3-set matches with Maria Kirilenko (which featured the longest tie-breaker in women's grand slam tennis) and Nadia Petrova (which featured the most number of games in a women's match at the US Open). Stosur had learned from the experience of famously losing the 2010 French Open final to Schiavone despite being heavily favored to win. This time Stosur was not favored to win this match and I believe this freed her up to play some of the best tennis of her career. Serena obviously was not playing some of her best tennis, her total of 5 games in a Grand Slam match is her lowest total in her entire career. The reason for this performance is still unexplained and remains a mystery. Personally, I think it is because Serena re-injured her foot during her semifinal beatdown of World #1 Caroline Wozniacki the night before. Regardless of what the cause for her listless play was, the match is now famous for another reason: the ridiculous decision by the umpire to dock Serena a point (and thus a game, since the incident occurred on a break point) for a verbal outburst during play which allegedly hindered her opponent. Even without that exciting (and controversial) moment this match would be memorable for the rare result of Serena Williams losing a major final and the very popular Sam Stosur finally actualizing her talent to win a major.

6. P. Kvitova CZE d. V. Azarenka BLR, 7-5 4-6 6-3, 2011 WTA Championships, Istanbul.

The very last competitive match on tour at the year end championships is often on the list of most memorable matches of the year because by definition the winner of that match is most likely to have an impact on the following year's tennis results. This year, Petra Kvitova, the most improved player on tour this year (zooming from #34 at the end of 2010 to #2 at the end of 2011) won the year-end championship by culminating her astonishing 18-match indoor winning streak with a hard-fought 3-set win over Victoria Azarenka of Belarus. The match was also one of the more exciting encounters on tour all year long. The Czech powerhouse rolled to a quick 5-0 lead in the first set, blasting powerful winners into all four corners of the court. Then, surprisingly, Azarenka was able to slowly crawl her way back into the match as Kvitova's balls started having difficulty landing in the court. Eventually Azarenka was able to even the first set at 5-all by winning five games in a row but then ended up losing the set as Kvitova was able to rein in her errors at precisely the right moment. In the second set, Azarenka got pretty lucky when she went for broke on her first set point and painted the sideline for a winner, evening the match at 1 set each. After saving two breakpoints in the first game of the third set and eventually holding serve, Kvitova never looked back and eventually wracked up an insurmountable lead which she maintained easily to win her second million-dollar plus payday of the year, but it is very likely there will be many more such days in her future. Kvitova is "the real deal," joining Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova as one of the rare players to win the year-end championships in her debut at the tournament. Azarenka, too, should be pleased with her performance in Istanbul because she was finally able to reach the final of a very important tournament, and this should bode well for her goal of becoming a major champion in 2011.

7. S. Lisicki GER d. N. Li CHN, 3-6 6-4 8-6, 2011 Wimbledon 3rd Round, London.

This match featured some of the most dramatic moments and best tennis at Wimbledon this year. Lisicki had won one of the grass-court warm-up tournaments and received a wild card entry into Wimbledon by the All-England Lawn Tennis Club's seeding committee after she handwrote a personal plea to the committee because her ranking had plummeted due to a serious injury. Li was a newly crowned Grand Slam champion and has often had good results on this surface as well. She won the first set relatively easily and had 2 match points on Lisicki's serve at 4-5 in the third set when an astonishing thing happened: the German player served 4 consecutive service winners (including two aces) to hold serve and completely even the match at 5-all. It was one of the gutsiest serving performances of the year and immediately hurtled this match into the top tier for the year. Wimbledon, famously, does not have a tie-break in the deciding set and so the match would have to end after a service break. What followed was a tense contest of will and nerve which Li lost when she lost her serve and Lisicki was able to call upon her excellent nerves (and serves) again to serve out the match and eventually reach the semifinals (where she would lose to Sharapova).

8. S. Williams USA d. V. Azarenka BLR, 6-1 7-6(5), 2011 U.S. Open 3rd Round, New York. 

When the draw for the 2011 US Open came out this showdown between the recovering 13-time major champion and the World's #4 ranked player was quickly identified as likely to be one of the best matches of the tournament. Surprisingly, the actual contest easily matched (and perhaps surpassed) these mouth-watering expectations. What resulted was a clinic on "Big Babe" tennis as both players pounded the balls into the far reaches of the court and demonstrated their spectacular defensive and offensive skills to produce extended rallies. In the first set there was really not much that Vika could do to get the ball past Serena and she was actually pretty lucky to win the one game she did. In the second set it was pretty much a lot of the same, with Serena managing to break in the seventh game and hold in the 8th to go up 6-1 5-3 when suddenly things started to get verrry interesting. Azarenka was able to hold her serve in that game despite looking straight into the jaws of defeat at triple match point at 0-40, forcing Serena to try to serve out the match at 5-4. Amazingly, despite having a match point on her own serve, Serena was broken and suddenly the 2nd set was completely even and the momentum had completely shifted to the higher ranked player. Despite needing 3 deuces, Azarenka was able to hold her service game, pushing her nose ahead in the set for the first time to 6-5. A quick hold by Serena resulted in a tiebreaker which was a must win for Azarenka. Unfortunately for her, Serena was able to reach her 5th match point at 6-5 in the tiebreak and win the match due to one more error by her opponent.

9. K. Clijsters BEL d. N. Li CHN, 3-6 6-3 6-3, 2011 Australian Open final, Melbourne.

Kim Clijsters had won three U.S. Open titles (2005, 2009 and 2010) and appeared in 4 other major finals but had never been able to actually win the title at any other major except for in New York. This was always somewhat surprising since she is almost universally loved in Australia due to her longtime (ended) relationship with Lleyton Hewitt where the locals have taken to calling her "Aussie Kim." With defending champion Serena Williams unable to defend her 2010 title due to illness, Clijsters was the favorite to finally claim her first Australian Open title, despite her #3 seeding. Li, on the other hand, was finally able to break through to her first Grand Slam final after reaching four quarterfinals and one semifinal in her illustrious career to date. She had had to get past the #1 ranked player in the world to do so, and she did it in a tough 3-set match while saving a match point. No one really gave the Chinese player much of a chance in this final  even though she had beaten Clijsters a few weeks before in Sydney (by coming back from a 0-5 deficit). So it was quite surprising when Li won the first set relatively easily and stayed even for the early part of he second set by trading service breaks. Clijsters calmed down in the last two sets and dug in, determined to get as much balls back in the court as possible and reduced her unforced errors, eventually leading to her first win in Australia. Unfortunately for her, Aussie Kim's brilliant start to the year was the best part of her 2011 as she did not win any other tournaments for the rest of the year and ended up skipping Wimbledon and the U.S. Open completely.

10. S. Kuznetsova RUS d  J. Henin BEL, 6-4 7-6(8), 2011 Australian Open 3rd Round, Melbourne.

The 2-time major champion from Russia had always had difficulty winning matches against the 7-time major champion from Belgium; Henin lead their career head-to-head rivalry 16 to 2 when they met in the 2011 Australian Open 3rd round where Henin had reached the final the year before. It was the first time the two  had met since Henin had "unretired" and in the interim Kuznetsova had picked up her second major title (the 2009 French Open). Henin did not play her best tennis in this encounter, but Henin had beaten Kuznetsova over a dozen times without always playing her best tennis so I'm sure she very much expected to win this match. Kuznetsova came out strong early and secured the break in the first set and nursed it to take the set without much complication. In the second set, Kuznetsova served for the match (twice!) but was broken both times and was forced to save multiple set points in the tiebreaker, which was one of nerviest and drama-filled affairs of the year. Losing this match was a huge contributing factor to  Henin announcing her second (and presumably last) retirement from competitive tennis. The departure of the 7-time major champion and the absence of the 13-time major champion Serena Williams led to the occurrence of four individual winners of the four majors this year.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

A. Petkovic GER d. C. Wozniacki DEN, 7-5 3-6 6-3, 2011 Sony Erisson Open 4th Round, Miami.
N. Li CHN d. C. Wozniacki DEN, 3-6 7-5 6-3, 2011 Australian Open semifinal, Melbourne.
K.Clijsters BEL d. A. Ivanovic SRB, 7-6(4) 3-6 7-6(5), 2011 Sony Ericssno Open 4th Round.

M. Sharapova RUS d. A. Dulgheru ROU, 3-6 7-6(6) 7-6(5), 2011 Sony Ericsson Open quarterfinal.

F. Schiavone ITA d. A. Pavlyuchenkova RUS, 1-6 7-5 7-5, 2011 French Open quarterfinal, Paris.

S. Stosur AUS d. N. Petrova RUS, 7-6(5) 6-7(5) 7-5, 2011 U.S. Open 3rd Round, New York

S. Stosur AUS d. M. Kirilenko RUS, 6-2 6-7(15) 6-3, 2011 U.S. Open 4th Round, New York.

C. Wozniacki DEN d. S. Kuznetsova RUS, 6-7(6) 7-5 6-1, U.S. Open 4th Round, New York.

M. Bartoli FRA d. V. Azarenka BLR, 5-7 6-4 6-4 , WTA Championships, Istanbul.

E. Makarova RUS  d  A. Ivanovic SRB, 3-6 6-4 10-8, 2011 Australian Open 1st Round, Melbourne.

K. Clijsters BEL d  D. Safina RUS, 6-0 6-0, 2011 Australian Open 1st Round, Melbourne.
M. Sharapova RUS d  J. Georges GER, 4-6 6-4 6-4, 2011 Australian Open 3rd Round, Melbourne.
A. Petkovic GER d  V. Williams USA, 1-0 (retired), 2011 Australian Open 3rd Round, Melbourne.
C. Wozniacki DEN d  F. Schiavone ITA, 3-6 6-3 6-3, 2011 Australian Open quarterfinal, Melbourne.
N. Li CHN d. K. Clijsters BEL, 7-6(3) 6-3, 2011 Sydney final, Sydney.

A. Petkovic GER d  M. Sharapova RUS, 6-3 6-2, 2011 Australian Open 4th Round, Melbourne.

P. Kvitova CZE d  S. Stosur AUS, 7-6(5) 6-3, 2011 Australian Open 3rd Round, Melbourne.

US OPEN 2011: Stosur Outplays Serena To Win 1st Major

Defying nearly universal predictions of defeat Samantha Stosur of Australia, 27, played the match of her life to defeat a listless, unusually slow Serena Williams and win her first major title at the 2011 U.S. Open 6-2 6-3.

Although Serena started the match with an ace it became clear very soon that she was not moving well and not serving well. If she was playing at 80% to win against Caroline Wozniacki on Saturday night, Sunday afternoon she was at around 50%. I don't know if it was something physical or not, but she as clearly the same player who had shown up for the first 5 rounds of the tournament.

Regardless, Samantha Stosur took a page out of Francesca Schiavone's book and played the smartest match of her life, maximizing her chances and optimizing her talent. She served well, volleyed well and was aggressive with her best shot, the forehand, especially in the return of service. Since Serena's serve was surprisingly slow, Stosur repeatedly hit it back for a clean winner, something Serena usually does to her opponents.

The oddest moment of the match came in the first game of the second set, when Serena was serving at 30-40. She served, got a weak return and hit a blistering forehand into Stosur's backhand corner and screamed  "Come on!" a split second before Stosur, scrambling to her left, managed to get her racquet on the ball. Immediately, the commentator John McEnroe said "Well, they have to play a let now." Instead, bizarrely, the umpire claimed that instead of winning the points she was awarding it to Stosur, due to the "verbal hindrance." Since it was a breakpoint, this meant that Serena not only lost the point, she lost the game. Serena was obviously displeased by this turn of events and asked the umpire "Aren't you the one who screwed me no this court a few years ago? That's not cool." The incident managed to completely turn the crowd in Serena's favor (and against Stosur) and they cheered vociferously until Serena won the next 3 points on Stosur's serve to get triple breakpoint, eventually breaking back on her 3rd chance. After a few games the crowd settled down and Serena's game returned to her listless level, unable ot move her feet to get tothe ball, while Stosur continued to hit the ball sharply and cleanly into the corners.Eventually Serena was broken and Stosur consolidated the break and on the next service game, down 2-6, 3-5 Serena faced double breakpoint which was also double championship point. She was able to save one of them, but on the second one Stosur hit a clean inside-out cross-court forehand winner, winning the point, set and match.

Overall, it was an excellent result for Stosur, who became the first Australian player since Patrick Rafter in 1998 to win a major championship (also the U.S. Open). Regardless of the "hindrance incident" Stosur was the better player on the day and deserved to win the match. It also brings to a close an interesting year for the slams on the women's side where three of the four winners were brand new: Li Na in Paris, Petra Kvitova in London and Samantha Stosur in New York.It should be interesting to see which of these three wins another one first. I would put my money on the Czech lefty.

WIMBLEDON 2011: Venus, Rafa, Vera, Schiavone Win 1st Round

Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

Venus Williams  was the first on on Court 3 and finished her first round match 6-3 6-1 before the rain came and suspended all play on all the courts but Centre Court. Before that happened, Rafael Nadal 2008 and 2010 Wimbledon champion dismissed American Michael Russell 6-4 6-2 6-2.

With the roof down 2011 French Open finalist Francesca Schiavone was able to pull through a first-round win over Jelena Dokic 6-4 1-6 6-3. Last year's Wimbledon finalist Vera Zvonareva won her first round match over talented American youngster Alison Riske 6-0 3-6 6-3.


All eyes are on tomorrow's repeat clash between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut, who last year played the longest match of all time in the 1st round of Wimbledon, the most memorable match of the year.

Other first round winners were 2010 Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych, Gael Monfils, Richard Gasquet, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Stanislas Wawrinka. 

2011 FRENCH OPEN: Li Na Wins Historic 1st Major

AFP

AFP

Getty

AFP

Li Na of China made history on Saturday in Paris by becoming the first tennis player (male or female) from the most populous country in the world to win a major title. Li defeated defending champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-4 7-6(0)  by hitting through the court on both wings, ending with 28 groundstroke winners and only 24 errors.

Li served extremely well, with 3 aces and a stellar 77% of first serves in the box. In the first set, she hit the ball extremely hard and deep on both sides and just needed one break of serve to take the set without facing a breakpoint herself. In the second set, Li broke early again and held to go up 3-1. Li had points for 4-1 and 5-2 to put the match out of reach but blinked both times, allowing the wily 30-year-old veteran to seize the opportunity to get back into the match when Schiavone broke back and held to reach 5-4. Li was barely able to hold her next service game but she was clearly tightening up with only her net play keeping her in the set as the depth of her shot lessened considerably. At 5-6, deuce with Li serving she hit a forehand cross-court deep into the corner which was called out but the umpire checked the mark and despite Schiavone's protests called the ball good, denying the Italian her chance for a set point. Schiavone lost the next point and the game, resulting in a tiebreaker where she failed to win a point, giving Li the set and match.

Li will be #4 in the World on Monday, and has played in both major finals this year. The 29-year-old's game is best suited to the fast hard courts and she has good success on grass. Her ranking should only go up for the rest of the year. How high can she go?

2011 FRENCH OPEN: Women's Final Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's finals at Roland Garros for 2011. This year, I correctly predicted 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 1 of 2 women's semifinals. I also correctly predicted 1 of 2 men's semifinals and  2 of 3 men's quarterfinals this year.

Francesca Schiavone ITA (5) vs. Na Li CHN (6). This should be an excellent match. Last year, Schiavone stunned the world by playing the match of her life to win her first major title just weeks before her 30th birthday over heavily favored Samantha Stosur. Schiavone had never been past the quarterfinal of any major despite playing in 35. Since then, after losing in the first round at Wimbledon, she has been in two consecutive major  quarterfinals and has not won a tour title since. That being said, she has returned to a second consecutive final appearance here in Paris, outlasting, outwitting and outplaying several hard-hitting players like Anastasia Pavlyunchenkova in the quarters and Marion Bartoli in the semis. Her opponent is Li Na, a hard-hitting player who dispatched 3-time major champion Maria Sharapova in the semifinals and Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals in straight sets by blasting winners into every corner of the court. Li is playing in her second major final of 2011, again becoming the first Chinese player (male or female) to play for a major title in Paris.


Head-to-head Schiavone and Li are tied at 2 wins apiece with the flashy Italian winning their one meeting on clay, at this tournament last year, relatively easily 6-4 6-2. However, 2011 is a completely different scenario for Schiavone than 2010. Last year, almost no one expected her to win so she faced almost no pressure, and was able to marshal all aspects of her all-court game and deploy all her crafty spins and slices to give the hard-hitting but mentally fragile Stosur fits. This year she is the defending champion, and she is expected to repeat her win here by many people. The more compelling storyline is owned by Li, who is aiming to be the first person from the most populous nation on earth to win a major title. As I said earlier, clay rewards excellent movement, and since both Schiavone and Li are excellent movers Schiavone's edge over most hard-hitters is muted. If Li can remain patient and not got frustrated by the variety of ball coming her way, she'll become a Grand Slam champion. PREDICTION: Li.

2011 FRENCH OPEN: Women's Semifinals Preview

AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau

Here are my predictions for the women's semifinals at Roland Garros for 2011. This year, I correctly predicted 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 2 of 3 men's quarterfinals. Last year I was correct in 2 of 2 2010 French Open women's semifinal predictions.

Marion Bartoli FRA (11) vs. Francesca Schiavone ITA (5).  The 2010 French Open defending champion made an astonishing escape to win her quarterfinal match with hard-hitting Anastasia Pavlyunchenkova. The Italian was down 1-6 1-4 but came back to lead 5-2 in the final set and gutted out the win 7-5 in the 3rd after the youngster stormed back to even the match at 5-all in the 3rd. Bartoli is in the semifinal of her country's major, a significant feat that 2-time major champion and former World #1 Amelie Mauresmo was unable to accomplish. Bartoli's dream is to play in and win the final in Roland Garros, but that will not be happening this year.

The Frenchwoman did well while Svetlana Kuznetsova committed one of her patented meltdowns to ruin my potential 100% accuracy rate in quarterfinal predictions.

Bartoli hits two-handed on both wings with impressive power and has increased her fitness level so that she can survive long rallies but her movement is suspect and Schiavone has the shot variety to expose the gaping weaknesses in Bartoli's unorthodox game.

The two have never met on clay, which is Schiavone's best surface, but the Italian still leads the career head-to-head 6-1, including a win on Bartoli's best surface, grass. Even though the two have not played each other in over two years I suspect even the new and improved Bartoli will be no match for the new and improved Schiavone who truly believes "nothing is impossible." PREDICTION: Schiavone in 2 sets.

Maria Sharapova RUS (7) vs. Na Li CHN (6). This should be an excellent match, with the winner most likely going on to win the title. Who would have thought the only woman on the tour to be in two major semifinals this year would be Li Na from China? Head-to-head Sharapova leads 5-2 but Li has won the last two times the two have played (which were both on the relatively slow grass of Birmingham in 2009 and 2010). The one time they played on clay was in Paris two years ago and Sharapova eked out a truly bizarre 6-4 0-6 6-4 victory. Sharapova is playing the clay as if it is a hard court, blasting serves and hitting groundstrokes even harder. She demolished Andrea Petkovic 6-0 6-3, a player who took her out in the year's first major tournament to reach this point. Li was able to dismiss heavy favorite World #4 Viktoria Azarenka 7-5 6-2 to reach her first major semifinal in Paris.

However, clay rewards great movement and there's no question Li is the superior mover between the two. Sharapova does hit the ball hard, but Li also has her own firepower, with one of the best backhands in the women's game. Sharapova, however, has 3 major titles and has been in 10 major semifinals. Li has been in one major semifinal, but it was this year--Sharapova's last major semifinal was 3 years ago in Australia when she won the entire tournament in 2008. Sharapova is on a clay court winning streak, having won the Madrid title two weeks before Paris over 2010 Roland Garros finalist Samantha Stosur. If Sharapova serves well and is accurate off the ground she should win the match, but if Li is able to withstand the onslaught Sharapova's penchant for painting the lines will become a liability as those shots slowly turn into errors and Li will be in her second major final. The mental edge should favor Sharapova since she is undefeated against both Schiavone and Bartoli. For Sharapova, this match is the final, and she would desperately love to be in the panoply of great women players who have completed the career slam (like Navratilova, Evert, Graf, S.Williams, King and Court) . For Li, she makes history every time she steps on the court and may be satisfied by being the most successful Chinese player ever. PREDICTION: Sharapova in 2 sets OR Li in 3 sets.