Venus Beats Wozniacki for 49th Career Title; Aga Beats Serena In Hopman Cup Final

Wow! Venus Williams, now 34, has started off her 2015 season with a bang, winning her 49th career title  at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand by beating 2014 US Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki in three sets 2-6 6-3 6-3.  Williams is ranked in the Top 20 and looks fit and ready to make an impact at the first grand slam of the year in Melbourne, the Australian Open, which starts on Monday January 19. Last year Venus lost in the ASB Classic final to Ana Ivanovic in 3-sets.

Serena Williams was denied her chance to hold the Hopman Cup for the third time when she lost to  Aga Radwanska in 3-sets 6-4 6-7(3) 6-1 and together with John Isner lost their mixed-doubles match against Radwanska and Jerzy Janowicz.

TENNIS TUESDAY: Dimitrov Enters ATP Top 20, Berdych Reaches #5

Grigor Dimitrov won his second career ATP title by defeating Kevin Anderson in a tough 3-set match  in Acapulco on Sunday. Both players were rewarded with berths in the Top 20, with Dimitrov reaching a career high #16. At 22, he is the youngest player in the Top 20,although Milos Raonic (#11) and Jerzy Janowicz (#20) are not much older. Dimitrov won his first tour title last October in Stockholm.

Despite winning his biggest title in 18 months, Roger Federer did not improve in the rankings, so  he is still stuck at World #8. In fact, his opponent Tomas Berdych whom he beat in the Dubai final reached World #5 thanks to a tumble by Juan Martin del Potro from #5 to #7. Federer is less than 600 points from surpassing World #4 David Ferrer however, as the slots #4-#8 are very closely grouped together in point totals.

2013 US OPEN Day 3: Murray Wins, Venus Loses, Blake Ends Career

By the end of Day 3 of the US Open, the entirety of Round 1 of the men's draw is finally completed. Although 10 of the Top 32 seeds were eliminated, none of them were in the top 10. However some big names (and players I like to watch) departed the last major of the year early: Kei Nishikori, Jerzy Janowicz, Fabio Fognini, Nicolas Almagro, Grigor Dimitrov and Fernando Verdasco. Andy Murray playing his first match at a major tournament where he is the defending champion, looked very sharp with only 5 unforced errors in his dismissal of Michael Llodra in straight sets.
The highlight of Day 3 was James Blake's heartbreaking loss in a 5th set tiebreaker after being up 2-sets against Ivo Karlovic. It was the 33-year-old American's last professional match, since Blake had announced earlier that the US Open would be his last tournament.

On the women's side of the draw, the seeds are not falling as rapidly, with the biggest names to exit being 2-time champion Venus Williams and 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur. Stosur lost a 3-set match to unheralded American Victoria Duval while Venus lost a 3rd set tiebreak to Zheng Jie after a marathon match that lasted three hours and three minutes. Sloane Stephens has reached the third round and will face fellow American Jamie Hampton. The winner could face defending champion Serena Williams who will play her rain-delayed 2nd round match today.

Fognini Wins 1st ATP Title in Stuttgart

Fabio Fognini has finally won his first ATP title, by defeating Philip Kohlschreiber 5-7 6-4 6-4 at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart. Fognini, 26, is ranked #25 on the ATP World Tour and had been one of the highest ranked players not to have won a title. That distinction now falls to Jerzy Janowicz, who is at #17 after having recently reached the semifinals of Wimbledon.

This weekend 31-year-old Nicolas Mahut replaced John Isner as the champion of the grass court tournament in Newport, Rhode Island by coming back from to defeat Lleyton Hewitt. Mahut also won the doubles title, with Edouard Roger-Vasselin, becoming the first ATP player to win both singles and doubles title at an ATP tournament since Mikhail Youzhny did it in February 2012 in Zagreb.

2013 WIMBLEDON: Men's Final Preview

Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] vs. Andy Murray (GBR) [2]

The players are set for the 2013 men's final at the Wimbledon Championships. Last year I correctly predicted Serena Williams would defeat Agnieska Radwanska in the Women's Final and I also correctly predicted Roger Federer would defeat Andy Murray in the Men's Final. This year I correctly predicted 2 of 2 women's semifinals and 2 of 2 men's semifinals. 

However, this year I incorrectly predicted that Sabine Lisicki would defeat Marion Bartoli.  What follows is my analysis of this year's men's final between Novak Djokovic and Andy  Murray and a review of the recently completed Men's semifinals.

How They Got Here: Men's Semifinals Review
Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] d. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) [8] 7-5 4-6 7-6(2) 6-7(6) 6-3.
Surprisingly, this was simply one of the all-time grass court matches, and almost certainly the best Wimbledon men's semifinal ever. It broke the record for the longest Wimbledon semifinal, lasting 4 hours 43 minutes. Only two other matches come to mind that obviously surpass it, namely the 2008 Wimbledon final between Federer and Nadal and the 2009 Wimbledon final between Federer and Andy Roddick. But those two are also some of the greatest matches of all-time. This result was a surprise, because 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro had never played his best tennis on grass before, even though he had given hints of the brilliance that could come in his straight-sets dismissal of David Ferrer in the quarterfinals. Both Djokovic and Del Potro had both not lost a setup to this point in the tournament. That quickly changed when Djokovic was able to sneak out the first set. But Del Potro came back and broke Djokovic and then easily held serve to take the second set. In the third set, the two held serve until the tiebreak (with Djokovic failing to convert multiple breakpoints) and then simply outplayed the Argentine to win the 3rd. Following a break relatively early in the fourth set the match seemed like it would be soon over. But Del Potro had other ideas and broke back. Even though he again fell behind in the tie-break, Djokovic was able to save two match points and then grab his first set point in the tiebreak to force a fifth set very close to the 4th hour of the match. However, Djokovic was able to eventually break serve and despite facing a breakpoint n the final game was able to serve it out to reach his 9th major final in the last 12 played.

Andy Murray (GBR) [2] d. Jerzy Janowicz (POL) [24] 6-7(2) 6-4 6-4 6-3. Murray continued the long tradition of torturing his countrymen by losing the first set in a tie-break again the young Pole, who became the first player to get this deep in only their fifth major tournament since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the 2008 Australian Open. Murray fought back to win the second set and then fell down to 1-4 in the third set before the crowd got involved and powered their countryman to five consecutive games to win the 3rd set. At this point the Club made the curious decision to close the roof, completely stopping Murray's momentum. But Murray's hard-eared experience at the top levels of profesional tennis help him to maintain his focus on holding his service games (even out-acing the 6-foot-8 Janowicz who hit serves as high as 140 mph) and eventually he broke Janowicz early. Murray constantly applied pressure which led to a reduction in Janowicz's  service percentage so that and then in the 8th game he faced a breakpoint that was a match point and served a puff second serve that was returned for a clear winner by Murray to end the match.

Who Will Win: Men's Final Preview

Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] vs. Andy Murray (GBR) [2]. This is another major final (their fourth) played between these two men who were born a week apart in 1987 and are now the current World #1 and World #2. Head-to-head Djokovic still leads 11 to 7 including 2-1 in major finals but Murray leads 1-0 on grass, having beaten Djokovic in the semifinals of the London Olympics tennis tournament played last year at the All-England Lawn Tennis Club. Interestingly, the two are tied 4-all in tour finals and they each have won three tournaments this year. Djokovic beat Murray in this year's Australian Open final in four sets while Murray beat Djokovic at last year's US Open final in 5 sets.

Suffice it to say that there is not a lot of differences between these two players that will determine who will win the match. To get to this stage of the tournament Djokovic had had the tougher field, which included Tommy Haas, 2010 Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych, and Del Potro, losing only 2 sets to the latter. Murray dropped 2 sets against an inspired Fernando Verdasco in the quarters and another one against Janowicz in the semis. Murray has hit 249 winners to 102 unforced errors in the first 6 rounds, an average of 25 more winners than errors, while Djokovic has hit 275 winners to 112 unforced errors, and average of 27 more winners than errors per match. Djokovic has hit 76 aces to 7 double faults, while Murray has hit 80 aces to 11 double faults. 

Djokovic has to be considered the more experienced player, having played in 10 major finals, with an impressive 6-4 record. Murray very famously lost his first 4 major finals, finally winning his 5th and then losing in the 6th, for an overall record of 1-5. But honestly, one needs to separate Murray into the pre-Lendl Murray (0-4) and the post-Lendl Murray. In that case, the post-Lendl Murray is 1-2 in major finals and has won the Gold Medal match over Roger Federer, on grass. 

The surface is another important aspect of the match. I think that Murray is a better grass court player than Djokovic, as evinced by his win over him in the one time they have played here (even though that was a 3-set match) and by Murray's quick success at an early age as opposed to Djokovic's.

However, mentally I have to give a slight edge to Djokovic because of his overall record in major finals and his head-to-head over Murray. And physically I have to give Djokovic another slight edge as well, as evinced by his 6-hour marathon win over Nadal in the 2012 Australian Open final and his outlasting of Murray this January in Melbourne. 

But I believe the intangibles will determine who wins this match. Playing the Wimbledon final in front of an almost completely partisan crowd will be an extremely important factor that Murray has already demonstrated that he knows how to use to his advantage. The crowd could become a motivating factor for Djokovic as well; he as used hostile crowd in New York to his advantage when playing Roger Federer in the US Open semifinals to come back from match point down to win the match on two occasions. So, the crowd support could be a double edged sword for Murray in the end. But I suspect he will use it to give him the extra edge he needs to finally get over the finish line at his country's major tournament, which just happens to be the most prestigious title in tennis. 

PREDICTION: Murray.

2013 WIMBLEDON: Men's Semifinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the men's semifinals at the Wimbledon Championships for 2013. Last year I correctly predicted 2 of 2 men's semifinals and correctly predicted 2 of 2 women's semifinals. This year I have correctly predicted 2 of 2 women's semifinals and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals.

Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] vs. David Ferrer (ESP) [4] Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) [8]. The inexorable march to a final between the two best players in the world continues. This match is between the two players in the tournament who through five rounds of play are the only two to win 15 sets each without losing any. This is the 12 professional meeting between Del Potro and Djokovic and although Djokovic has a healthy 8-3 lead the most important match the two have played, the Bronze Medal match from last year's year's London Olympics, was won by the 6'6" Argentine. I think it is very significant that Del Potro was able to win that match, since it was on grass and played at the same venue as Wimbledon.

These facts provide Del Potro with a reasonable source for the belief that he can win this match, as does his straight set demolition of David Ferrer, an opponent whom he now only has lifetime 3-6 deficit against. However, Del Potro is playing in his first Wimbledon semifinal while Djokovic is playing his 6th which is also his 3rd Wimbledon semifinal in the last 3 years--a period which includes his run to the title in 2011.  However, there's a reason Djokovic is the world #1 and is approaching the prime of what appears to be a career which could potentially rival Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal (Djokovic has now made 17 major quarterfinals in a row and 13 major semifinals in a row. To put it simply, Del Potro is a very good player, but it is becoming increasingly clear that Djokovic is a great one. Nevertheless, I am quite confident that del Potro will take at least one set from Djokovic but I'm finding it hard to imagine how he will win three in the same match. PREDICTION: Djokovic.

Roger Federer (SUI) [3] Jerzy Janowicz (POL) [24] vs. Andy Murray (GBR) [2].  The great hope of Great Britain to win its home slam tournament has now reached the semifinals for the last 5 years in a row. Last year was the first time he was able to win a Wimbledon semifinal, defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Previously he had lost to Nadal twice (2010 and 2011) and Andy Roddick once (2009). Jerzy Janowicz is by the far a much lower ranked played than Murray could have imagined he would be facing to reach his second Wimbledon final. After all, both Nadal and Federer were in his haf of the draw, but neither of the Greats made it past the first Wednesday of the tournament!

Janowicz is the first Polish male player to reach a major semifinal, having won relatively easily the first quarterfinal between men from the same country at Wimbledon since 2000. He is a full-fledged phenom: 22-years-old, 6-foot-8 and moves like a much shorter man but serves like someone even taller! He announced his arrival in the upper echelon of tennis last November when he beat Murray in 3 tough sets on an indoor hard court at the Paris Masters. That win should give the youngster the idea that it is possible that he could thrill Poland while dashing the hopes of England by winning on Friday. Murray clearly did not play his best tennis on Wednesday, dropping the first two sets to Fernando Verdasco before coming back for only the 7th time in his professional career to win a 5-set match from a 0-2 set deficit. However, those were the only two sets that Murray has lost all tournament long. I suspect the Brit will right the ship pretty quickly and give us the Djokovic-Murray major final we have seen at the 2012 US Open (won by Muray) and the 2013 Australian Open (won by Djokovic). PREDICTION: Murray. 

2013 WIMBLEDON: Men's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the men's quarterfinals at the Wimbledon Championships for 2013. Last year I correctly predicted 4 of 4 men's quarterfinals and correctly predicted 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals. This year I have correctly predicted 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals.

Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] vs.  Tomas Berdych (CZE) [7]. The World #1's march to another seemingly inevitable final showdown with his friend and World #2 Andy Murray continues. Standing in his way is the imposing form of the 6'5" player from the Czech Republic who has beaten Djokovic on this court before, in this very round, a mere three years ago. However, in their 15 career meetings, Berdych has only managed one other win, giving the Serb a confident 13-2 edge. But in Berdych's head, Wimbledon must be the place where he has the best chance to beat the current World #1, and I'm sure he will try his best, to no avail. PREDICTION: Djokovic.

David Ferrer (ESP) [4] vs. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) [8]. The height differential between these two combatants makes this appear as if this match-up must be a mismatch. In some sense it is, but it may surprise you to discover that there is a 6-2 head-to-head edge in favor of  the 5'9" David Ferrer over the 6'6" Juan Martin del Potro. In fact, Ferrer eliminated del Potro from imbledon last year in the Round of 16, and has never lost to the Argentine on grass. There's no question that del Potro is playing some of his best tennis and Ferrer is not (The Argentine has won all 12 sets he has played this year while the Spaniard has (of course) also won 12 sets but he's also lost five sets in four rounds. I am quite confident that del Potro will win at least set against Ferrer but I'm also pretty sure that he will not win three. PREDICTION: Ferrer.

Rafael Nadal (ESP) [5] Lukasz Kubot (POL)  vs. Roger Federer (SUI) [3] Jerzy Janowicz (POL) [24]. This is an historic meeting between two Polish men in the quarterfinal of a grand slam tournament, assuring that there will be a Polish semifinalist at Wimbledon for the first time.  It jus goes to show what kind of possibilities can open up when the two greatest players of the last decade, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are both eliminated from the draw early, something which has not happened in more than 36 grand slam tournament. Janowicz has already made a name for himself as a big-serving, excessively talented 22-year-old who at 6'8" moves incredibly well for a guy his size. He has already reached the final of an ATP Master series tournament and has had a meteoric rise up the rankings, from well outside the Top 100 a year ago, to a  near-certain Top 20 appearance at the end of this tournament. PREDICTION: Janowicz. 

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) [6] Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs. Andy Murray (GBR) [2].  It's good to see the hard-working Fernando Verdasco having some success on big tennis stages again after a too-long hiatus. This is only his 4th major quarterfinal after 10 fourth-round losses in majors so the Spaniard may feel he has already had more success here than he deserves (or expected). Andy Murray is not going to be satisfied until he wins this title, which he knows he can do since he has faced the best player of his generation on this surface and come away the victor. But that was the Olympics and this is the Wimbledon Championships. Murray has a strong 8-1 head-to-head edge over Verdasco but surprisingly, the two have not played in over 4 years. Regardless, Murray is a man on a mission, which will not be completed until the final Sunday. PREDICTION: Murray. 

MADRID 2013: Dimitrov Stuns Djokovic in 3-set Upset!

Grigor Dimitrov, one of only a handful of players to win a set from Rafael Nadal on clay in Monte Carlo in the last decade, and possibly more well-known for his good looks and rumored to be dating Maria Sharapova, actualized his on-court talent with a stunning 7-6(6) 6-7(8) 6-3 win over world #1 Noval Djokovic in the 2nd round of the ATP Madrid Masters. The win was the biggest of the 21-year-old's career and was the longest 3-set match of the year n the ATP tour. It was especially impressive considering that Dimitrov started cramping in the 2nd(!) set but still managed to get an early break in the 3rd set and was able to nurse that 2-0 lead to gut out the win against the best player in the world.

Most observers said that Djokovic was not at his best, but it was still an important psychological win for the World #28, widely expected to become one of the best players in the next generation of players currently under-22 that includes Milos Raonic, Bernard Tomic and Jerzy Jankowicz. Dimitrov has yet to win an ATP Tour title, something Tomic and Raonic have done. Despite winning Monte Carlo over Nadal a few weeks ago, Djokovic has suffered some shock defeats this year, such as against Juan Martin del Potro in Indian Wells and Tommy Haas in Miami.

In other happenings in Madrid, 2012 defending champion Roger Federer won his first match in over 8 weeks when he defeated Radek Stepanek 6-3 6-3. Andy Murray won his 400th career ATP Tour match with a gripping 7-6(11) 7-6(3) win over Florian Mayer.