2013 AUS OPEN Day 3: Venus, Nole Win, Stosur Chokes

Day 3 of the Australian Open went by with an epic choke from a hometown favorite, significant breakthroughs from young up-and-comers and most of the other major contenders moving on without much trouble.

The choke was from 2011 US Open champion Sam Stosur who has the same problem playing her best tennis in her home slam in Australia like her fellow Sapphic tennis star Amelie Mauremo had playing in her home slam in France. Mauresmo never made it past a quarterfinal in Roland Garros, despite winning the 2006 Australian Open and 2006 Wimbledon. Stosur blew a 5-2 lead in the 3rd set against Zie Jheng (who also beat her last week in Sydney) to continue her troubles at the Australian Open.

The wins by the youngsters inluded Jerky Janowicz of Poland winning a tough 5-setter after losing the first two sets, 17-year-old American phenom Madison Keys dismissing Top 30 Tamira Paszek in straight sets and British #1 Heather Watson survived a tough 3-set match, saving 3 match points along the way.

Novak Djokovic, Venus Williams, Li Na, David Ferrer, Tomas Berdych, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Maria Sharapova, Agbnieska Radwanska and Angelique Kerber all advanced.

The next round will feature some interesting clashes, the most mouthwatering being 7-time major champion Venus Williams against 4 time major champion Maria Sharapova. Also fun to watch will be Ana Ivanovic versus Jelena Jankovic, Ferrer versus Marcos Baghdatis and Stanislas Wawrinka versus Sam Querrey.

2012 Wimbledon: Women's Semifinals Preview

AP

Here are my predictions for the women's semifinals at the Wimbledon Championships for 2012. Last year I correctly predicted 2 of 2 men's semifinals and correctly predicted 2 of 2 women's semifinals. This year I correctly predicted 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 4 of 4 men's quarterfinals.

Agnieszka Radwanska POL (3) vs. Angelique Kerber GER (8). These two players are the most consistent winners on the WTA this year, with 45 wins for the German and 43 for the Pole but none of these matches in 2012 have been against each other. Kerber faced her countrywoman Sabine Lisicki in her quarterfinal and despite blowing multiple match points and a 3-0 lead in the second set, the mature lefty was able to come back from 3-5 down in the third set and win the match after Boom Boom started to misfire. Radwanska had her ticket to her very first major semifinal on her racket in the second set and tightened up and lost the middle set to Maria Kirilenko on an emotionally challenging day with multiple rain delays. Eventually the match was moved from an outside court yo under the roof on Centre Court and the nearly 3 hour long affair ended with a Radwanska victory. Their career head-to-head is tied at 2-all with Kerber defeating the higher ranked Radwanka during her dream run to the 2011 US Open semifinals and the Pole getting revenge a few weeks later in Japan. The fact that these two players are competing for a historic place in a Wimbledon final will most likely lead to a low-quality, nervy match won by the player who can control her emotions in order to keep control of her game. I suspect that person will be the one who has the reputation of being a 2.0 version of Martina Hingis. PREDICTION: Radwanska.

Serena Williams USA (6) vs.  Victoria Azarenka BLR (2). This showdown between the 2012 Australian Open champion and the 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010 Australian Open champion should be the last great women's match of this year's championships. Serena Williams has only lost to Victoria Azarenka once in 8 meetings (2009 Sony Ericsson Open final in Miami), and was clearly hampered in her movement in that match. As she amply demonstrated in her straight sets dismissal of the defending Wimbledon champion, her serve is still the biggest weapon in women's tennis and her movement is at or very near the level which has brought her to 6 finals here, winning 4 titles. Azarenka played well to get past the hottest player on grass this year, Tamira Paszek, in two tights sets. However, Serena is no Tamira Paszek. The only thing which could stop Serena reaching her 7th final (and winning her 5th Wimbledon championship) this year would be if she at age 30 she is suddenly afflicted with nerves which prevents her from playing her best tennis. Serena's puzzling loss to Samantha Stosur in the 2011 US Open final still has never really been explained to my satisfaction. Another factor could Azarenka realizing that she has never matched up well against Serena and thus playing fearless tennis, akin to what she did after dropping the first 3 games in the Australian Open final against Maria Sharapova this year. One needs to remember that this is only Azarenka's 3rd major semifinal, and she is also going to be nervous. It's very possible that the match could be very close, but it is hard to imagine a scenario where Serena is not raising the Venus Rosewater dish above her head on Saturday. PREDICTION: Williams.

2012 Wimbledon: 2010 Champ Beats 2011 Champ!

As I predicted yesterday, the 2010 Wimbledon champion eliminated the defending 2011 Wimbledon champion, as Serena Williams beat Petra Kvitova 6-3 7-5 by never losing her serve and breaking her Czech opponent's serve twice.The 13-time major champion raised the level of her play significantly, and the two players traded powerful, accurate groundstrokes, repeatedly painting the lines in a very high quality match. Serena had 27 winners (including 13 aces and no double faults) to 10 unforced errors compared to Kvitova's 21 winners (3 aces but 2 double faults) to 14 unforced errors. Serena converted 2 of 4 breakpoints and saved the one breakpoint she faced in the 10th game of the second set (which also happened to be a  set point), Serena then used that momentum to break Kvitova's serve in the very next game and then continued her excellent serving by blasting two aces and an unreturnable serve to win the final game of the match.

Serena will play the winner of the Victoria Azarenka-Tamira Paszek quarterfinal. Against either player Serena will be the prohibitive favorite to reach her 7th final at Wimbledon on Saturday and join her sister Venus in winning the title 5 times in her career.

2012 Wimbledon: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

AP

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at the Wimbledon Championships for 2012. Last year I  correctly predicted 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals and correctly predicted 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals.

Maria Sharapova RUS (1)  Sabine Lisicki GER (15) vs. Kim Clijsters BEL Angelique Kerber GER (8). Instead of this all-German match I had expected a quarterfinal meeting between two 4-time major champions, but instead they both lost their fourth round matches. One of these results was an upset, while the others was just  upsetting. Sabine Lisicki was able to learn from her 2011 Wimbledon semifinal loss to Sharapova to realize that she had to go for broke and seize every possible opportunity this year. Most impressively, she was able to execute her plan to perfection and dismiss the betting favorite for this year's championship. Kerber upset most of the tennis world with her straight set drubbing of fan favorite Kim Clijsters in her last Wimbledon appearance. Kerber has played her countrywoman 4 times on tour and has never lost to her. When asked about this, Lisicki quickly responded that she had never beaten Sharapova in 3 attempts before today with the obvious implication that she could overcome a losing head-to-head record. It's true that Boom Boom has a massive serve and a strong return game, but she doesn't move better than the crafty lefty who has won an astonishing 44 matches on tour this year, the most of any player. One year ago, Kerber was an unknown but after surprising everyone to reach her first major semifinal at the 2011 US Open, in the last three majors Kerber has only lost to players who have reached the final. I think that streak will continue to four grand slam tournaments in a row. PREDICTION: Kerber.

Agnieszka Radwanska POL (3) vs. Maria Kirilenko RUS (17). Aggie Radwanska is one of two players who has a chance to reach the World #1 ranking now that the current #1 was dismissed by Sabine Lisicki in the 4th round. Her frenemy Victoria Azarenka is the other player who has a chance to reach the top spot as long as she wins more matches than Radwanska.  Interestingly, the two are in opposite halves of the draw because Vika has beaten Aggie in 7 consecutive matches this year. Radwanska would be an even more controversial #1 player than former #1 Caroline Wozniacki because she has never been to the semifinal of any major. It may seem surprising to some, because Radwanska, like Wozniacki, has no obvious weapon or shot that opponents fear. She is really a player more in the mold of a Martina Hingis, where her most dangerous weapon is her court sense and ability to cause her opponent difficulties by placing the ball with pinpoint accuracy in the position that causes the most damage. She has used this skill to deadly effect in 2012, having won 42 matches this year, just a few behind Angelique Kerber's gaudy total. Regardless, she has, however, been to 5 major quarterfinals, which is 4 more than her Russian opponent. In fact, Radwanska has a clear 5-2 head-to-head edge against Kirilenko and is dead-even against both of her potential semifinal opponents. I suspect that she will be playing in her first major final on Saturday. PREDICTION: Radwanska.

Tamira Paszek AUT  vs.  Victoria Azarenka BLR (2). Azarenka embarrassed  former World #1 Ana Ivanovic in the previous round by conceding a single game in a rout on Centre Court. The win ensures that the 2012 Australian Open champion will have more ranking points than current #1 Maria Sharapova at the end of the tournament. There has not been much chatter about Azarenka's chances of winning this title, probablybecause Serena Williams is still in the tournament and although Azarenka had a 26-match winning streak earlier this year, her record at major tournaments is not very impressive. She has only ever been to two major semifinals, and the first of those was at the 2011 Wimbledon. In fact, who was the opponent she beat to reach her first major semifinal? Tamira Paszek. Last year, Azarenka easily won in straight sets but this year Paszek is undefeated on grass, having won 9 matches in a row on the surface, which includes winning the Eastbourne warm-up tournament. But it's not just the fact that Paszek is playing well on grass that gives her an excellent chance for the upset against Azarenka, it is her mental toughness. In those 9 grass court matches this year she has faced match points down in three of them (against Marion Bartoli and Angelique Kerber at Eastbourne and against Wozniacki in the 1st round here). I really believe that Paszek feels like she can not lose. Unfortunately for her she will probably learn what Azarenka learned earlier this year: no streak lasts forever. PREDICTION: Azarenka. 

Serena Williams USA (6) vs.  Petra Kvitova CZE (4). This showdown between the 2011 Wimbledon champion and the 2010 Wimbledon champion is the marquee match of the tournament, not just of the quarterfinal round. Serena has never lost to Petra, having played her in the last two major tournaments she has won (2010 Australian Open in the 3rd round and in the 2010 Wimbledon semifinals). Kvitova has the power to out-hit almost any player off the court, but it is extremely doubtful that she can do that to the 13-time major champion. Serena has not been playing her best tennis, but she has been displaying her mental toughness by gutting out two consecutive three-set matches (6-7(5) 6-2 9-7 in the 3rd round and 6-1 2-6 7-5 in the 4th) with clutch serving and excellent defense powered by her superior grass-court movement. semifinals. Kvitova has been having an easier time of it, only having dropped one set, in her previous round against 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone. The Czech player is currently higher ranked, but no-one really thinks that seeding alone will determine who wins this match. I believe the most important factor is who wants it more,and at this point in her career that player is the older player. Regardless, the player who wins this match will almost certainly be the prohibitive favorite to win the title against anyone from the top half of the draw. PREDICTION: Williams.

2012 Wimbledon Day 8: Magical Day Marred By Rain

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The second Monday at Wimbledon is widely regarded as the best day in tennis all year long. All 32 players left in the draw at this halfway point in the tournament are scheduled to play their 4th round matches on this day, 8 men's matches and 8 women's matches. The winners are rewarded with quarterfinal berths at the most prestigious tournament in the world.

Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate to allow all the matches to be completed today. Happily, all the women's matches were able to be completed, with Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka(2), Aggie Radwanska(3), Petra Kvitova(4), Angelique Kerber(8) and Maria Kirilenko(17) to win as expected. However, the #1 seed and 2011 Wimbledon finalist Maria Sharapova(1) was upset by Sabine Lisicki(15).

On the men's side only 3 matches were able to be completed, in the top half of the draw: Novak Djokovic(1) dismissed countryman Victor Troicki, Roger Federer(3) was able to survive an injury scare to extend his winning streak over Xavier Malisse to 10 in a row to reach his 33rd consecutive major quarterfinal. Federer's opponent will be Mikhail Youzhny(26) who survived a 5-set showdown with Dennis Istomin of Uzebkistan to reach his first Wimbledon quarterfinal after losing 6 4th round encounters.

Match of the Day: S. Lisicki GER (15) d. M. Sharapova RUS (1) 6-4 6-3.

2012 Wimbledon Day 6: Multiple Marathon Day

Getty

AP

Day 6 of 2012 Wimbledon was pretty much upset free, with 2011 Champion Petra Kvitova(4) demolishing fellow lefty Varvara Lepchenko, Serena Williams(6) finding a way to win against a tough Chinese opponent (former Wimbledon semifinalist Zheng Jie) and Victoria Azarenka(2) winning easily. Other notable winners of third round matches to reach the second week were Tamira Paszek, Ana Ivanovic, Francesca Schiavone and Yaroslava Shvedova.

On the men's side 3-time finalist Andy Roddick lost to David Ferrer in 4 sets while Jo-Wilfried Tsonga(5), Juan Martin del Potro(9), Marin Cilic(16) and two Americans, Mardy Fish(10) and unseeded Brian Baker, advanced to the round of 16 on Monday. The astonishing Lukas Roso who defeated World #2 Rafael Nadal in stunning fashion on Thursday lost pretty meekly to Phillip Kohlschreiber.

Meanwhile, Andy Murray(4) was able to get past Marcos Baghdatis 7-5 3-6 7-5 6-1  a few minutes after Wimbledon's curfew at 11pm local time which should have forced the cessation of the match.

Match of the Day: 
S. Williams USA (6) d. J. Zheng CHN (25) 6-7(5) 6-2 9-7. Serena Williams blasted a career-high 23 aces but was unable to overpower her opponent with groundstrokes. When the rallies went beyond four strokes Zheng won the majority of the points. In fact, despite not having a very powerful serve, Zheng was able to hold serve very easily for the entirety of the first set, with Serena continually failing to impose her will on her opponent's service games. The result was a tiebreaker in which Zheng had one set point and capitalized on her opportunity. In the second set Serena started connecting on her groundstrokes and finally broke Zheng twice to win the set easily. In the 3rd set Serena continued her serving clinic and took a long time to get into Zheng's service games. Luckily for her, there's no tiebreak in the final set at Wimbledon so, in her longest grand slam match in a very long time, Serena was able to break and then serve it out to win.

M. Cilic CRO (16) d. S. Querrey USA 7-6(6) 6-4 6-7(2) 6-7(3) 17-15. The second longest match in Wimbledon history (5 hours 31 minutes) featured two 6'6" hard-hitting, big-serving players with pretty similar games. It was high quality tennis throughout, but Cilic had many more chances, including serving for the match at 6-5 in the 4th set and was only 2 for 6 on break points in the 5th set and 5 of 16 for the entire match. Cilic-Querrey was less than half as long as the Isner-Mahut 11 hour, 5 minutes of play over 3 days.

Celebrity Friday: Gilles Simon Is An A**!

*sigh* #11 Seed (World #13) Gilles Simon of France is making waves at Wimbledon this week by wading into the mostly settled dispute about equal prize money for men and women at the Grand Slam tournaments. The Frenchman, who was recently elected to a 2-year term on the ATP Players Council, told the press on Wednesday that he does not support equal prize money for women at the major tournaments:

Simon told reporters at Wimbledon in French that he thinks "men's tennis is ahead of women's tennis" and "men spend twice as long on court as women do at Grand Slams."

He also said men "provide a more attractive show" in their matches.

All four Grand Slam tournaments pay equal prize money to men and women, something Simon said he doesn't think "works in sports."

World #3 Roger Federer was asked about Simon's remarks and diplomatically replied:

"I hope it doesn't become a big issue during Wimbledon. It's obviously a debate that's out there ever since, I guess, the Slams have made equal prize money. There's nothing you can do, anyway, about it," Federer replied. 

"It's just a matter of who believes what, and then that is an endless debate. So whatever you believe," he continued.

One person who is not surprised that Simon would be unafraid to reveal himself as a sexist idiot is 19-year-old American Sloane Stephens, who when asked about Simon's remarks said:

"I don't care what he says about anything. He hit me with a ball the first time I was a ballkid. He hit me in the chest, because he lost a point and lost the set. He turned around and slammed the ball with his racket and hit me ... and I've never spoken to him since then."

Wimbledon was the last of the four major tournament to pay women and men equally back in 2007, a year after Roland Garros started doing it. The argument against equal pay, ostensibly, is that men play best-of-five sets while women play best-of-three sets at the grand slams. But, honestly, I question whether the grand slams could even schedule all the women's matches and men's matches in two weeks if they had a 128-person draw and 5-set matches for everyone. I think that the first week (maybe up to and including the fourth round) should be best-of-three for everyone and then everyone shift to best-of-five for the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. Then there would be no question that men and women are getting paid equal money for an equal amount of time on court. Federer has won his first two best-of-five matches in little under 150 minutes while the 1st round best-of-three slugfest between Tamira Paszek and Caroline Wozniacki took 192 minutes and was probably the most exciting match of the tournament in the first 3 days of play.


I suspect the impetus for the call to not have equal pay for women is really a manifestation of the belief that men and women should not be equal, and is really a sexist impulse. Thus Simon's subjective remark that men provide a "more attractive show" than women. There's no way to empirically prove or disprove the truth value of this statement. I doubt there are many straight guys would agree that a 5-set match between Radek Stepanek and Florian Mayer would be "more attractive" than a 3-set match between Arantxa Rus and Ana Ivanovic.


What do you think? (Not whether Simon is an a**, that's a given, but how should tennis respond to the notion that men and women do not work equally at the slams). 


Happily, the day after Simon made his discriminatory remarks at Wimbledon, he was eliminated from the tournament by Xavier Malisse.

2012 Wimbledon Day 3: Stosur(5),Wozniacki(7) Lose

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After a pretty uneventful Day 2 at the Wimbledon Championships, Day 3 turned out to be a bloodbath for some of the top seeds in the women's draw.  Reigning U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur, the #5 seed, lost a very strange and streaky match versus Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands, 6-2 0-6 6-4 despite saving two match points! Stosur won 2 games, then lost 6 games, then won 6 games, was down 2-5 and managed to crawl back to on-serve at 4-5, 40-15 when she suddenly lost 3 points in a row and her place in the tournament.

Match of the Day: T. Paszek AUT d.  C. Wozniacki DEN (7) 5-7 7-6(4) 6-4.
But this was just an appetizer for what turned out to be the match of the day between Eastbourne winner Tamira Paszek and former World #1 (and current #7 seed) Caroline Wozniacki, a 1st round encounter that was carried over from Day 2. Paszek served for the 1st set at 5-4 but was broken and eventually lost the set 7-5. In the second set Wozniacki had double match point with Paszek serving 5-6, 15-40 but the Austrian player was fearless, dismissing both match points with screaming backhand down-the-line winners a
few centimeters from the lines. Paszek ended up winning the 2nd set in a tie-break. Wozniacki got the early break in the first game of the 3rd set and went up 2-0 but Paszek fought back to even up the set at 3-all. After holding serve to go up 4-3 in the final set on serve, Paszek broke Wozniacki and tried to serve out the match but was broken by good play from the Dane. However, when Wozniacki tried to hold serve she faced a single break point which was also match point and after a long stirring rally (one of many) Paszek won the match with another one of her 53 clear winners.

Amongst all this #11 seed Li Na was dismissed in straight sets. Kim Clijsters, Aggie Radwanska, Vera Zvonareva and Sabine Lisicki all won. Youngsters Sloane Stephens and Heather Watson also both reached the 3rd round. Maria Sharapova was unable to complete her match against Tsevetana Pironkova.

There were basically no upsets on the men's side, with Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, David Ferrer, Milos Raonic and Janko Tipsarevic all won, with Andy Roddick completing his 1st round win.