TENNIS TUESDAY: A Short Photo Essay On My Labor Day Trip To The U.S. Open

Fourth Round match between Kevin Anderson and Andy Murray

This shot is taken from Section 111 (right next to the ESPN commentators booth). I arrived during the middle set of the Halep-Lisicki match and basically every seat in the stadium (including the one I had paid for!) was taken. I waited until Halep won the second set and then kicked the person out of my seat. Then I proceeded to sit there through the last set of the women's match (which Halep won 6-7 7-5 6-2) and the first  three sets of the Murray-Anderson match (which took well over three-and-a-half hours). The tennis was excellent, and I was quite impressed with Anderson's two-handed backhand and his ability to move for a 6-foot-8 guy. I was also impressed by Halep's grit fighting through physical difficulties herself even as Lisicki started cramping at 2-all in the final set. He is much more than just a huge serve and  a big forehand; moves about as well as Del Potro. Like the Argentinean, Anderson can crush the ball. The forehand winner he hit at 6-5 in the first set tiebreak was clocked at 108 miles per hour!

Shot of Section 111 (where I sat  for the Murray-Anderson match)
showing how empty the stadium was for the Berdych-Gasquet
match

I left the court at the end of the third set tiebreak (which Murray won) to give my aching bladder some relief and to try, recharge my iPhone at the American Express lounge (they have portable mophie chargers for cardmembers) and see if I could see some of the Federer match on the big screen. Every screen was showing the last set of the Murray-Anderson match so I saw the last few games and the tiebreak on the 60" TV screen in the Amex Cardmembers upstairs lounge.

Courtside shot of Richard Gasquet in his 4th Round
match against Tomas Berdych

I went and got some food and a drink and by this time the Federer match was on the big screens outside (it was 9pm so the lounge was closed). After Federer won the first set (curiously by the same score that Anderson won his tiebreak less than 30 minutes before--7-0) I went back to Louis Armstrong, which was like a ghost town. Berdych had won the first set 6-2 but the second set was starting. There were announcements that only Day session reserved seat holders were being let in but no one checked my ticket and I walked in and in a few minutes was sitting courtside near the right-hand baseline (from the perspective of the umpire). It was a great perspective to see the amazing talent and skill of both Gasquet and Berdych. I saw the second and third sets of the Berdych-Gasquet match and then around 11:15pm I had had enough tennis and left the courts. While on the 7 train back to Manhattan I got notification on my phone that Gasquet and Federer had closed out their matches.

It was a great experience, it will be interesting to see how next year is different since they are changing the Louis Armsrong stadum and moving Grandstand to over by Court 17, to make two "small show courts" and two "large show courts" (Ashe and Armstrong).

2015 US OPEN: Women's Quarterfinals 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.

Serena Williams (USA) [1] vs Venus Williams (USA) [23]. The most incredible story in tennis, and possibly in the entirety of women's sports, enters its fifteenth year as these two African-American siblings continue to battle near the pinnacle of the game that they have devoted their professional sports lives to. This meeting will be their 27th (Serena leads their overall head-to-head 15-11) and it is on the 14th anniversary of the first time the two played in grand slam final (when Venus won the 2001 U.S. Open). This is the second consecutive major tournament where they have  had to face each other. Serena won their 4th round meeting at Wimbledon this year relatively easily in two decisive sets, but lost their previous meeting in the semifinals of the Canadian tournament last year. (Serena leads 8-5 in major tournament play.) Although Venus has been playing extremely well (especially considering her 23 seeding, it would be a surprise if she could make this match even competitive. There's no question that she is the person on earth who knows Serena's game the most but will that experience actually improve her chances of dashing her sister's hopes for tennis immortality? This will probably be Serena's most emotionally tough match of the fortnight, but she should be a lock to reach her 5 consecutive major final and actually play for the possibility of the calendar grand slam, something Martina Navratilova did as well (she lost that match to Hana Mandlikova in 1985). PREDICTION: Serena.

Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) [13] vs Roberta Vinci (ITA) [16]. This is the accidental quarterfinal. Kiki did well to upset the solid #13 seed Makarova in the previous round and Vinci is here (again!) because Eugenie Bouchard got a concussion after her Friday match and had to default her fourth round match against the Italian. I'll put my money on the Frenchwoman to get through but noone from this quarter is going to be playing in the final on Saturday night. PREDICTION: Mladenovic.

Petra Kvitova (CZE) [5] vs Samantha Stosur (AUS) [22] Flavia Pennetta (ITA) [26].  For some reason the Italian plays her best tennis in New York; she's reached five of her six major quarterfinals at the U.S. open, leading to her 2013 semifinal appearance. Kvitova has never played her best tennis in New York, but she has won the New Haven tournament  (played the week before the last major of the year) for three consecutive years. This is her first major quarterfinal in New York, completing her career set. With her power it is hard to see why she has not had more success on the hard courts in North America but perhaps all that changes this year. Kvitova should be the overwhelming favorite but Pennetta is feisty and fearless and she should find a way to pose the Czech lefty some serious questions. PREDICTION: Kvitova. 

Victoria Azarenka (BLR) [20] vs. Simona Halep (ROU) [2]. The top half of the draw is dominated by the Williams sisters, with an almost certainty being that one of them will be in the final on Saturday. In the bottom half of the draw any one of the four remaining players is a legitimate major finalist and two of them are multiple slam winners (Azarenka and Kvitova). Azarenka plays her best tennis on hard courts while Halep is clearly excellent on all surfaces--there's a reason she is clearly the #2 player in the world behind Serena. However, the player who people feel is Serena's most serious challenger (the one who has the most belief, and who held a match point against her earlier this year in Spain) is the former World #1 Belarussian. This match should actually be the most high quality match of the four and is the most difficult to predict. Azarenka is 2-0 against Halep but hasn't played her since 2012, when Halep simply was not the player she is today (and Azarenka was a better player than she is today). I think Halep will show how much she has improved, and demonstrate how much more Azarenka has to do to get back to the top of the women's game, but it won't be easy. PREDICTION: Halep. 

TUESDAY TENNIS: Stephens Wins 1st Title; Venus Bageled In TO; Kei Gets Revenge; Kerber Streak Continues

Sloane Breaks Through With Maiden Title At D.C. Hard Court Tournament
American Sloane Stephens was the only player in the WTA Top 40 (currently ranked #29) not to have reached a tour final. That is no longer true because not only did Stephens reach her first WTA final at the Citi Open in Washington, DC by defeating Samantha Stosur in the semifinal, she was cool and calm in a straightforward 6-1 6-2 win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the final the next day.

Kerber Continues Streak With 4th Title Of The Year By Winning in Stanford
Angelique Kerber began 2015 with more losses than wins until March but since winning in Charleston on (green) clay she has won 30 of her 35 matches, and notched up three more titles, on three different surfaces (Stuttgart on red clay, Birmingham on grass and Stanford on outdoor hard courts). Kerber played one of the best matches of the year in the Bank of the West quarterfinals by outlasting Aggie Radwanska 6-4 4-6 6-4 and K3rb3r won the title match over Karolina Pliskova in another 3-set match. The German has now won all 4 finals she has reached in 2015 after going 0-4 in finals last year.

Venus Plays First Set Since Wimbledon, Gets Bageled And Loses
Since losing to her sister Serena Williams in the 3rd round of Wimbledon, Venus Williams has not played a WTA tour-level match. She returned to the court after 10pm in Toronto on Monday to face Sabine Lisicki following a near 9-hour rain delay and promptly lost the first 6 games in 24 minutes. Things got a little better after that but Venus still lost 6-0 6-3 to the hard-hitting German. Since she had reached the final at the Canadian tournament last year (beating Serena in the semifinals) her ranking will plummet to the mid-20s and if she doesn't do well in Cincinnati she might not be seeded for the 2015 U.S. Open.

Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic Face Each Other On U.S. Hard Court With Different Result
Last year Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic played the first grand slam final in over a decade that did not include a former Grand Slam champion at the 2014 U.S. Open. Cilic won that match but in Washington, D.C. the two met in the semifinals of the Citi Open but this time Nishikori was the victor 3-6 6-1 6-4. The Japanese player went on to defeat John Isner 4-6 6-4 6-4 to win the title.

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 WIMBLEDON: Women's Final Preview

Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) [13] vs Petra Kvitova (CZE) [6]

The players for the 2014 Wimbledon women's final are set. 20-year-old Canadian Genie Bouchard will face 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, 24-year-old Czech lefty. Last year I incorrectly predicted that Sabine Lisicki would defeat Marion Bartoli.  This year I correctly predicted 1 of 2 women's semifinals, 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals, 2 of 2 men's semifinals, and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals. Below is my preview and prediction post for the women's final.

WHAT HAPPENED: Women's Semifinal Review
Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) [13] d. Simona Halep (ROU) [3] 7-6(5) 6-2. Bouchard becomes the first Canadian woman to reach a major final by being incredibly aggressive on her return position, refusing to receive serve behind the baseline. At one point during the tournament her contact point on service return was 100% within the court. This brought her great success against the talented Halep who got up an early break but then immediately relinquished it. When they got to the tiebreak, Halep was leading 3-2 when play was delayed for 5 minutes to deal with an injured fan in the stands. Halep won the next point to take a 4-2 lead but then only won one other point to lose the breaker and the set. Then the fourth set was just a disaster for people like myself who expected the Romanian to rally, as Bouchard broke at will, running up a 5-2 double break lead and after some small wobbles on match point, the young Canadian was able to serve it out.

Petra Kvitova (CZE) [6] d. Lucie Safarova (CZE) [23] 7-6(6) 6-1. The two semifinals were eerily similar, with one break for each player in the first set followed by a nail-biter of a tiebreak. This was an excellent result for Safarova who had barely ever managed to hold pace with her countrywoman. She was able to reach 6-all in the tiebreak and simply played a bad point that allowed Kvitova to gain  a set point on her serve, which she won with a patented 1-2 play (serve out wide and then hit the return for a winner in to the open court). After that she opened her shoulders and just overpowered Safarova in the next set. Bizarrely, 3 of the 6 opponents that Kvitova beat to reach her 2nd Wimbledon final were fellow Czech players. I wonder if this will impact how they will view her on the Czech Fed Cup team?


WHAT WILL HAPPEN: Women's Final Preview

Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) [13] vs Petra Kvitova (CZE) [6]. The two have played once before, with Kvitova winning on the home turf of her opponent on the hard courts of Montreal last summer, 6-3 6-2 in 86 minutes. The match was much closer than the score indicates, with long points and multiple deuce games. This is good news for Bouchard because she has made a quantum leap since then, reaching 3 consecutive major semifinals, showing a resolve and consistency that her opponent here has really only shown once (in her 6-3 6-4 demolition of Maria Sharapova in 2011, where I was one of the rare people who predicted that result in advance.) That being said, Bouchard is 20-years-old and playing in her first major final. Few players win their first appearance in a major final, and there have been a lot of first time finalists in the last year: Halep lost in Paris, Dominika Cibulkova lost in Melbourne, Sabine Lisicki certainly did not do it in last year's Wimbledon final. Will Bouchard break this string? I think it is very possible that she will. It is fair to note here that Kvitova did do it in her first final, and it is clear that grass is her best surface at this point.

The match-up is interesting. Kvitova's lefty serving and go for broke power versus Bouchard's naked aggression and unbridled hungry, coupled with calmness under pressure. Bouchard has had her path to the final made much easier by Serena Williams upset by Alize Cornet and Angelique Kerbers clutch win over Sharapova. But there's no pressure like the pressure in a major final and Kvitova is more familiar with these moments. In fact, she was two points away from losing her 3rd round match against 5-time champion Venus Williams and came through that test with flying colors. Somehow I think she will repeat this feat tomorrow and win her 2nd major title. MadProfessah's pick: Kvitova.

2014 WIMBLEDON: Women's Semifinals Preview

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

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

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

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

2014 WIMBLEDON: Women's Quarterfinals Preview (part 2)

Here are my predictions for the last two women's quarterfinals at the Wimbledon Championships for 2014. Last year I correctly predicted 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals and correctly predicted 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals. Because of rain delays, the two women's quarterfinals will be played along with all four men's quarterfinals. This year I correctly predicted 1 of 2 women's quarterfinals so far.

Serena Williams (USA) [1] Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) [13] vs. Maria Sharapova (RUS) [5] Angelique Kerber (GER) [9]. For the 3rd straight major, World #1 Serena Williams has failed to make it to the second week, gifting a huge opportunity to Maria Sharapova to win another major, just weeks after the Russian who has lost her last 15 meetings to the 17-time major champion won her 2nd French Open. However, as I suspected, Sharapova  was hampered by the fact that the Wimbledon title was now her to lose. Bouchard is the only player to reach two major semifinals and a quarterfinal this year and the youngster is impatient for even more success at the top of women's tennis. This Canadian youngster will not be unnerved by the prospect of winning her first major, she embraces it. Bouchard destroyed Kerber in their last meeting at the French Open Round of 16 a few weeks ago (giving up only 3 games). I do not think this meeting will be that lopsided but I do think Kerber will have a harder time shaking her epic win over Sharapova and be emotionally spent. PREDICTION: Bouchard.

Simona Halep (ROU) [3] vs. Sabine Lisicki (GER) [19]. The German often always plays her best tennis of the year at Wimbledon and this year is another example of that. She is facing the 2014 French Open finalist from Romania, the most improved player of the last year. Halep was ranked 32 at last year's Wimbledon and is now the highest remaining seed at #3. Lisicki is trying to redeem herself after her painful (and pitiful) showing in last year's Wimbledon final. Halep is the more complete player but Lisicki is by far the more powerful. In battles between offense and defense,  I usually go with offense, especially on a grass court. PREDICTION: Lisicki.

Best Women's Tennis Matches of 2013

Here are my picks for the "best" (or most memorable) tennis matches played by women in 2013. These are basically the matches that had the most impact on me while they were occurring, feature some of the best play or the most amazing shots, had the biggest impact on the rest of the tennis season or are matches that I would most likely to watch again in the future. 
I have previously compiled lists of the Best Women's Tennis Matches for 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010, and 2011, skipping last year. I have also compiled lists of the Best Men's Tennis Matches for 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2006. These lists can all be accessed at my MadProfessah.com under the Tennis tab which also contains my coverage of the four major tournaments.

1.  S. Williams USA d. V. Azarenka BLR, 7-5 6-7(1) 6-1, U.S. Open final, New York City.

Exactly one year after they met in the finals of the US Open the two top players in the world faced off again. In the 2012 final, Azarenka had led 5-3 in the deciding 3rd set and looked like she was going to become the first person since Arantxa Sanchez Vicario to lose the first set of the US Open final and win the title. It was also the first time since 1995 that the women's final was extended to three sets. Amazingly, for the second year in a row the women's championship match was three sets long although during the match itself it didn't seem like that was going to happen. After all, Serena had dominated the tour to that point, only losing four matches all year, but two of those were to Azarenka, on hard courts no less. This made the match-up between these two on this important stage a matter of great interest and import.

The first set was a difficult, nervy affair with extremely windy conditions that negatively impacted play. Serena was able to sneak out the first set with a surprising break in the 11th game and served out the set. Serena was up 4-1 and 5-3 in the second set when, amazingly, Azarenka was able to come back and force a tiebreak, which she won easily as a distressed Serena sprayed the ball and made repeated errors in the face of the Belarussian's powerful defense. Most people expected a hard-fought third set reminiscent of the 2012 final but instead Azarenka was only able to manage one service hold and was routed relatively quickly. This time when Serena was up 4-1 she maintained her focus and earned the insurance break but was also able to hold her own nerve and serve out the match to claim her 17th major title. It was the longest women's final (165 minutes) in 34 years, even though for the last 25 minutes or so the result was not really in doubt.

2.  V. Azarenka BLR d. N. Li CHN, 4-6 6-4 6-3, Australian Open final, Melbourne.
This was one of the strangest championship matches in recent history. It featured not one but two freak occurrences when Li Na injured herself by twisting her ankle (twice!). Li, who after the match said she could not remember if she had ever fallen to the court in a competitive match fell to the court twice during this, match, her 3rd career major final. For most of the match the Chinese player was the better player but the the defending champion's steadiness and mental toughness saw her through to the finish line. Without a doubt it was one of the most dramatic matches of the year and most memorable, even if the quality of play was not always at its best. There were definitely moments, particularly in the first set, where the tennis was simply sublime.

3.  S. Lisicki GER d. S. Williams USA, 6-2 1-6 6-4, Wimbledon 4th Round, London.
Serena Williams is a 5-time Wimbledon champion and has appeared in the final 8 times since 2002. She and her sister Venus are clearly the best grass court players of their generation. However, Sabine "Boom Boom" Lisicki loves the grass court major and has always played her best tennis at SW19. With a huge serve and heavy forehand, she is a formidable opponent on this surface which rewards power. In fact, by winning this match Lisicki achieved the curious result of having defeated four consecutive reigning French Open champions in her last four appearances at Wimbledon: defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2009,  Li Na in 2011, Maria Sharapova in 2012 and  Serena Williams in 2013. (Lisicki did not play Wimbledon in 2010.) This was a curious match because Serena had won 34 matches in a row at this point and had looked very sharp during the tournament. After easily winning the first set and looking awful in the second set, Serena was up 3-0 in the final set (only one break) but clearly got surprisingly tight when it mattered, playing fearfully instead of fearlessly. Lisicki never lost her belief that she could win the match, and eventually, that's exactly what she did.

4.  V. Azarenka BLR d. S. Williams USA, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(6), Western & Southern Open final, Cincinnati.
This match was played on August 19, the last day in 2013 that Serena lost despite playing a record 82 matches on tour this year, her most ever. This final was an important clash between the two best hard court players on the tour and was thought to be a key indicator of who would win the final major of the year in New York City. Serena started strong and easily won the first set, but then Vika showed why she has won the last two Australian Opens, easily winning the second set. Azarenka demonstrated her ability to match Serena's power with her own mobility and defense. The third set was a closely fought affair ending in Serena's only deciding set tiebreak she played all year long. Despite falling behind early 2-4 in the tiebreak Serena was able to go up 5-4 but then inexplicably played tentatively to lose the next three points and the match. It was this result which led many to believe that if the two met again at the US Open the result would be exciting and perhaps surprising.

5.  S. Williams USA d. N. Li CHN, 2-6 6-3 6-0, WTA Year End Championships final, Istanbul.
At the end of the longest tennis season of her career somehow Serena Williams was able to pull out one more win despite nursing an injury sustained in her 6-4 2-6 6-4 win over Jelena Jankovic the day before. For the first 45 minutes of this match Li Na was clearly the better player on the court, with the important exception of the serve. Despite winning the first set, Li Na was only serving at under 40% and as the match went on, Serena's groundstrokes became more accurate. The second set included multiple changes in momentum as Serena won 3 consecutive games, then lost 3 in a row but then she ended the match by winning 9 games in a row. She ended the season with an amazing 78-4 record, 11 titles and over $12 million in prize money.

6.  S. Williams USA d. M. Sharapova RUS, 4-6 6-3 6-0, Sony Open Tennis final, Miami.
Sharapova was playing some of her best tennis and was riding high after demolishing her least favorite person on tour (Jelena Jankovic) 6-2 6-1 the day before and having won the Indian Wells title by dismissing Caroline Wozniacki 6-2 6-2. However, ever since she lost twice to Sharapova in 2004, Serena has made it a mission never to lose to the world's most highly-paid female athlete ever again, racking up a string of ten consecutive wins in a row. Regardless, Sharapova simply outplayed Serena for a full set and a half, moving better than I have ever seen her move on a tennis court, winning points with her defensive skills. Serena was clearly not playing her best but after falling behind a set and a break, she just started smacking the ball and simply willed herself to refuse to miss. Sharapova became nervous and lost confidence; the result was that Sharapova lost the last ten games of the match and her best chance to end the streak of defeats to Serena. Their head-to-head is now 2-14 and I would not be that surprised if Sharapova never wins another match against Serena, although all streaks come to an end at some point.

7.  S. Williams USA d. S. Errani ITA, 6-0 6-1, Roland Garros semifinal, Paris.
Some would say that such a lopsided result should not be on the list of best matches of the year but I would argue that any major semifinal where Serena has 40 winners compared to 12 unforced errors in a 46 minute win over a World Top 5 player is notable. I'm pretty sure that Sara Errani will not forget it and I'm sure that it was a clear message was sent to both Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova in the other semifinal that if they weren't careful the same thing could happen to them. Either in the final or in some other match in the future.

8.  S. Lisicki GER d. A. Radwanska POL, 6-4 2-6 9-7, Wimbledon semifinal, London.
This match is pretty much on the list because of the epic third set. It lasted well over an hour and was a mini-match in of itself. Amazingly, Lisicki started off down 0-3 in the set but somehow managed to battle back to even the score. One of the compelling aspects of the match was the contrasting styles of the powerful serve and groundstrokes of the German versus the wily shotmaking of the popular Pole. Radwanska must have realized this was her best chance to win that elusive major title, since she was undefeated against her potential championship opponent (7-0 against  Marion Bartoli and 2-0 against Kirsten Flipkens). All she had to do was figure out a way to get past Boom Boom on Centre Court. Unfortunately for Aggie, the German considers that court one of the places she is most comfortable and has facilitated her peak performances. After all, she had come back from 0-3 down in the third set to beat Serena Williams at Wimbledon so surely she could repeat that feat against Agnieska Radwanska. And so she did, and then, devastatingly was unable to perform at all against Bartoli in the championship match.

9.  S. Stephens USA d. S. Williams, 3-6 7-5 6-4, Australian Open quarterfinal, Melbourne.
Since there were only four times all year that Serena lost, each occasion was notable in of itself, but this match between two Americans was also significant because it indicated that the 19-year-old Sloane Stephens was a force to reckon with. The match was very close and filled with drama, primarily because Serena was hobbled with a serious injury sustained in a hard-fought doubles loss to the top-ranked Italian duo of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci. Serena fought desperately to win the match while not playing her best tennis, but Sloane was able to hold her nerve and pull out the victory. It's clear that Sloane is going to be the future of American women's tennis, and she ended at #12 in the world for 2013. Almost certainly she will take up residence in the Top 10 for most of 2014, perhaps while being coached by Roger Federer's former coach Paul Annacone.

10. C. Suarez Navarro ESP d. A. Kerber GER, 4-6 6-3 7-6(3), U.S. Open 4th Round, New York City.

This match is on the list because it was the most thrilling women's match I was able to see in person this year. The match took place in Louis Armstrong Stadium on Sunday September 7 and I was in the fourth row with a great view of the action. I had never been a fan of Carla Suarez-Navarro but was impressed with her one-handed backhand. Angelique Kerber also impressed me with her movement and defensive skills. In this match, it was clear that the Spanish clay-court specialist was the aggressor against the hard-hitting lefty. This must have been due to the game plan of her coach, Conchita Martinez, because this was not Suarez Navarro's usual playing style.
The feeling in the stadium was electric, as momentum shifted numerous times, and it seemed fitting that the result should come down to a third set tiebreak.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

M. Bartoli FRA d. S. Lisicki GER, 6-1 6-4, Wimbledon final, London.
S. Williams USA d. M. Sharapova RUS, 6-4 6-4, Roland Garros final, Paris.
M. Sharapova RUS d. J. Jankovic SRB, 0-6 6-4 6-3, Roland Garros quarterfinal, Paris.
V. Azarenka BLR d. S. Williams USA, 7-6(6) 2-6 6-3, Qatar Total Open, Doha.
S. Williams USA d. C. Suarez Navarro ESP, 6-0 6-0, U.S. Open quarterfinal, New York City.

U. Radwanska POL d. V. Williams USA, 7-6(5) 6-7(4) 6-4, French Open 1st Round, Paris.

S. Williams USA d. S. Kuznetsova RUS, 6-1 3-6 6-3, Roland Garros quarterfinal, Paris.
V. Azarenka BLR d. A. Ivanovic SRB, 4-6 6-3 6-4, U.S. Open 4th Round, New York City.
C. Wozniacki DEN d. S. Kuznetsova RUS, 6-2 2-6 7-5, Australia Open 4th Round, Melbourne.
S. Williams USA d. P. Kvitova, 3-6 6-3 7-5, Qatar Total Open quarterfinal, Doha.
P. Kvitova CZE d. A. Kerber, 6-2 0-6 6-3, Pan Pacific Open final, Tokyo.
A. Kerber GER d. A. Ivanovic SRB, 7-6(6) 6-4, Generali Ladies Open final, Linz.
P. Kvitova CZE d. V. Williams USA, 3-6 6-3 7-6(2), Pan Pacific Open semifinal, Tokyo.
M. Bartoli FRA d. O. Gorgotsova BLR, 7-6(8) 4-6 7-5, French Open 1st Round, Paris.
V. Duval USA d. S. Stosur AUS, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, US Open 1st Round, New York City.
J. Zheng CHN d. V. Williams USA, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(5), US Open 2nd Round, New York City.
K. Kanepi EST d. A. Kerber GER, 3-6 7-6(6) 6-3, Wimbledon 2nd Round, London.

TENNIS TUESDAY: Serena Ends 2013 Season 78-4, With 11 Titles, $12.3M

Serena Williams ended her 2013 season with her 78th win, the first time in her illustrious career she has won more than 62 matches in the same year. Compared to only four losses (to Victoria Azarenka in Doha and Cincinnati, Sabine Lisicki at Wimbledon and Sloane Stephens in Melbourne), that gives her a winning percentage of .951, 9th on the all-time list.

Serena defeated the new World #3 player in the world, Li Na in a tough 3-set final where she was outplayed for the first 30 minutes but ended it in complete control, winning the last 9 consecutive games, 2-6 6-3 6-0. By winning, Serena won her 11th WTA tour title of the year and amassed over $12.3 million in prize money, the 3rd largest annual haul by any player, shattering by more than $4 million the previous record set by Azarenka. It is also Serena's 57th career title and 632nd career win (10th all-time).

Tennis Tuesday: Serena Clinches Year End #1 for 3rd Time

If it's Tuesday that means we're talking about tennis. The big news today is that both tours are in the midst of their swing through Asia, with both men and women competing in China. World #1 Serena Williams is there and is in the quarterfinals having dispatched Francesca Schiavone in a scratchy performance on Tuesday. Her sister Venus lost to Sabine Lisicki while Victoria Azarenka lost badly in  the first round to Andrea Petkovic. On the men's side defending champion Novak Djokovic could lose the World #1 ranking if World #2 reaches the final of the tournament here, or if Djokovic fails to defend his title.

 Last week it was revealed that regardless of what happens in the last four weeks of play this season Serena Williams will end the year at #1 on the WTA Tour for the third time in her career. She was previously #1 in 2002 and 2009.

Williams has had an absolutely phenomenal season so far, putting together a 67-4 record and capturing nine WTA titles, including two Grand Slams (the French Open and US Open), six Premier-level titles (Brisbane, Miami, Charleston, Madrid, Rome and Toronto) and one International-level title (Bastad - her first International-level title). She returned to No.1 on February 18, becoming the oldest player ever to be No.1, and she has collected $9,077,322 in prize money on the season so far, blowing past the previous record of $7,923,920 that Victoria Azarenka set last year (with a month to go too). 

[...] 

Williams is the seventh player since the inception of computer rankings in 1975 to finish three or more seasons at No.1, joining Steffi Graf (eight times), Martina Navratilova (seven times), Chris Evert (five times), Lindsay Davenport (four times), Justine Henin (three times) and Martina Hingis (three times).

Congrats to Serena!

WTA ROGERS CUP 2013: Serena v Aggie, Li Na v Sorana

Serena Williams has already won 7 tournaments this year and is hoping to win an 8th at the WTA Rogers Cup in Toronto this week. In order to do this, she will need to get through Agnieska Radwanska in the semifinals and then either Sorana Cirstea or Li Na in the final. Defending Rogers Cup champion Petra Kvitova lost to Cirstea in a tough 3-set match, while last year's finalist Li Na beat Dominika Cibulkova. Serena followed up her win over Kirsten Flipkens by dispatching  Magdalena Rybarikova. Flipkens had beaten Serena's sister Venus on Tuesday in 3-sets but could not repeat that result against the World #1. Serena has lost a total of 10 games in 3 rounds (6 sets) of play this week and looks as sharp as she has all year. She has only lost 3 times all year (to Sloane Stephens in Melbourne, to Victoria Azarenka in Doha and to Sabine Lisicki at Wimbledon).

2013 WIMBLEDON: Tournament Review

After spending a few days reflecting I think I am finally ready to put down my thoughts about the 2013 Wimbledon. Andy Murray winning Wimbledon, becoming the first British man to do so in 77 years is simply a great story. Additionally, that Marion Bartoli, the ultimate outsider, was able to seize her opportunity to join the exclusive club of major title winners is also a great story.

The Top 5 things I will remember from this year's Wimbledon are:

1. Andy Murray winning Wimbledon, establishing himself as multiple slam winner and ending Britain's 77-year drought of a male British champion at Wimbledon. He is now the current holder of 2 of the 4 major tournaments and has to be the favorite to defend his US Open title.

2. Roger Federer losing in the second round of the major tournament that he has won seven times to unheralded, serving-and-volleying Sergiy Stakhovsky, thus bringing to end one of the most remarkable streaks in sports, his consecutive streak of 36 major quarterfinals appearances. It should be remembered the great Steffi Graf  lost in the first round (to Lori McNeil) as a 5-time champion in 1994 and won multiple majors afterwards.

3. Right behind Federer's shocking exit in the 2nd round is Rafael Nadal's exit in the first round to Steve Darcis. It's hard to say which exit is more shocking, but as a Federer fan, I place his exit first. After all, Nadal has only won Wimbledon twice and had lost in the 2nd round here last year to Lukas Rosol. These two results just cement the fact that the era of men's tennis being dominated by the Federer-Nadal rivalry is well and truly over, and that the Djokovic-Murray rivalry is now the most important in tennis.

4. Marion Bartoli's amazing title win, not dropping a set, only the 6th player to ever do so, without facing a player in the Top 15. This was a result of the draw opening up after numerous stunning upsets of major champions, many executed by her opponent in the final, Sabine Lisicki who beat 5-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams, Samantha Stosur and Agnieska Radwanska en route to her first major final. Bartoli is only the 3rd French woman to ever Wimbledon and the first to win her first championship after playing in as many as 47 major tournaments.

5. Doubles often gets short shrift but the Bryan Brothers won their 15th major title and are now the reigning champion in all four majors and they won the Olympics Gold last year, thus accomplishing their own Golden Bryan Slam. If they win the 2013 US Open doubles title they will be the first men's doubles team to win a calendar Grand Slam in the Open Era.

Now let me discuss the Men's Final because I have already published my thoughts on the Women's Final.

Men's Final Review
The straightforward match score 6-4 7-5 6-4 does not match the sheer drama of the final. Although it was not the best match of the tournament in terms of high-quality tennis by both players (that honor would go to the semifinal between Juan Martin del Potro and Novak Djokovic that lasted nearly 5 hours and ended in the 5th set), it was the most emotional and tension-filled.

Murray played some of his best tennis, while Djokovic (perhaps tired or negatively impacted by his long semifinal) did not. Even so, one never felt that Djokovic was out of the match. Murray won the first set despite blowing four break points in the very first game, but managed to capitalize on his chances later in the set after the two had traded breaks. Once Murray got his second break he was able to serve out the set on an ace. Djokovic started the second set with an early break and was up 4-2 when Murray was able to break back and even the match at 4-all. In the eleventh game, Murray returned Djokovic's serve well to force two errors and to go up 0-30. The two played some exhausting rallies and Murray and they each win one, but that means Murray has two breakpoints. Could Murray actually win a set against Djokovic after being down 1-4? The answer is yes, and again Murray serves out the set easily to go up 2-sets to love!

Murray extended his momentum at the beginning of the third set to go up 2-0 and just when you thought Djokovic would fade away and Murray would jog to the finish line, Djokovic not only broke back but was able to reel off a string of four games in a row and doubt rippled through the British public watching the match in unprecedented numbers. Could Djokovic really come back from 2-sets down to dash the home country's hopes at Wimbledon? But Murray was able to break back and again hold serve to even the set at 4-all despite being down a break earlier. It was then that Djokovic blinked for the last time, getting broken and then Murray was up 5-4 and serving for the championship!

The final game was absolutely excruciating. Murray went up quickly to 40-love on two Djokovic return errors and a Murray forehand winner. Triple championship point. From that point on Murray could not make a first serve and Djokovic came back to deuce with some very strong service returns and deep groundstrokes. Eventually, Murray had to save three(!) breakpoints after having blown three Wimbledon championship points, a mentally tough performance that very few players could ever manage. I believe that if Djokovic had been able to break for the third time in that 3rd set, he would have won it. And he almost certainly would have used that momentum and Murray's despair at having squandered 3 opportunities to win the title to get an unsurmountable lead in the 4th set. Then who knows what would have happened in the 5th set, but I think most people would bet money on Djokovic coming out on top. However, none of that happened and finally on his 4th match Murray served a very strong serve into the corner, which Djokovic returned well and then when Murray hit his forehand deep into Djokovic's backhand corner, the Serb missed his attempted backhand down-the-line into the top of the net. Game, set and match, Murray!

It was the first time in 80 grand slam matches that Djokovic had failed to win a set (which last happened in the 2010 Wimbledon semifinal against Tomas Berdych) and it was his 3rd loss in the last four major finals he had contested (l. 2012 French Open to Nadal, l. 2013 U.S. Open to Murray, l. 2013 Wimbledon to Murray). Murray on the other hand has reached the final in the last 4 majors he has entered winning 2 of them. It should be noted that prior to Murray's emergence Djokovic had won 4 of 6 major finals and is currently on a 16-major quarterfinal appearance streak. The future is bright for both these great champions.

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.