TENNIS TUESDAY: Federer Returns To #1; Venus Turns 38, Murray Is Back; Bartoli Retires (Again)

FEDERER RETURNS TO #1 WHILE WINNING 98TH CAREER TITLE
Roger Federer won his 98th career ATP tour title in Stuttgart by defeating Milos Raonic in straight sets. Federer is now the oldest player in the Top 100 on the ATP tour, and he is at #1! However, he has to win Halley for a record 10th time (defending his 2017 title win here) in order to remain #1 although one would think that Federer with his 8 titles will be seeded #1 at Wimbledon over Nadal with his 2 titles despite whatever the ranking order is at the time.

MURRAY RETURNS TO ATP TOUR IN QUEEN CLUB TO FACE KYRGIOS ROUND ONE
Former World #1 Andy Murray makes his return to the ATP tour after a 342-day absence in which he had hip surgery and approximately 6 months of rehab. His last match was a quarterfinal loss at Wimbledon to Sam Querrey; his first match back will also be on grass. It is at Queen's Club where he is a 5-time champion. UPDATE: Murray lost to Nick Kyrgios in a tough 3-set match 2-6 7-6(4) 7-5 and to my eyes looked like he was limping for part of the match.

VENUS TURNED 38 ON JUNE  17
7-time major champion Venus Williams turned 38 on Sunday. The current World #9 has not indicated that she intends to leave the WTA tour any time soon even though she has been playing tennis professionally since age 14(!)

BARTOLI GIVES UP ON RETURN TO WTA TOUR
The 2013 Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli has retired from the WTA Tour for the second time. After returning a few weeks after winning her first and only major title in 2013, Bartoli attempted a comeback to the tour last year, but struggled with injuries almost immediately and did not make into the main draw of any of the major tournaments.

2017 WIMBLEDON: Women's Final Preview (and Semifinals Review)

Here are my predictions for the women's final at the Wimbledon Championships for 2017. Last year I correctly predicted Serena Williams would beat Angie Kerber in the women's final and Andy Murray would beat Milos Raonic. This year I correctly predicted 2 of 2 men's semifinals, 2 of 2 women's semifinals, 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 2 of 4 men's quarterfinals.

Women's Semifinals Review

Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP) [14] d. Magadalena Rybarikova (RUS) 6-1 6-1. This match ended up being more of a mismatch, as Muguruza was ruthlessly aggressive, repeatedly approaching the net to control the outcome of the point. The result of the match was also negatively impacted by the fact that Rybarikova was a bit overwhelmed by the occasion of playing in her first major semifinal and thus was unable to take advantage of her excellent return game. It was over in under an hour.

Venus Williams (USA) [10] d. Johanna Konta (GBR) [6] 6-4 6-2. This was expected to be a hard-fought, high-quality match with an uncertain outcome. For the first set it lived up to that billing, with Venus sneaking out the set after boldly saving two breakpoints (one with a 106 mph second unreturnable serve!) and an untimely Konta wobble.  Although Venus had one one ace (compared to Konta's 9) she won far more points by using well-timed body serves that Konta could not seem to handle at all. Some people said it was Venus's most impressive match of the tournament (I would argue that her straight sets dismissal of the reigning French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the quarterfinal was even more significant.) Venus is still hitting winners from every part of the court, but her error count was strikingly low, which demonstrates how well she is playing.

Women's Final Preview

The Williams sisters have won the Wimbledon title 12 of the last 17 years with only Petra Kvitova, Maria Sharapova, Amelie Mauresmo and Marion Bartoli breaking up their dominance. However, Venus has not been here since 2009, while Muguruza last played in the Wimbledon final in 2015. Head-to-head, Venus leads 3-1 but lost the last time they played, on clay in Rome. This was the first match that they played after Muguruza had become a major champion in her own right. 

Most people think that this is a very hard match to predict and I agree that I believe it will be close but I still think the person who is playing in their 16th career major final  (7W-8L) has an edge over the person playing in their 3rd career major final (1W-1L record). It is true that the last time there was such a sentimental favorite playing in a surprise Wimbledon final was 1994. That was Martina Navratilova against Conchita Martinez. In a shock, the Spanish clay courter beat the 9-time Wimbledon champion, denying Martina her 19th major title. Interestingly, Martinez is now coaching Garbine as she tries to deny a 5-time Wimbledon champion her 8th major title.

Looking at the x's and o's Venus is simply playing better tennis than Garbine. She is hitting more winners and aces than her opponent in the first six rounds and her forehand, which used to be a liability is now her weapon. Look out!

MadProfessah's prediction: Venus.

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

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

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

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

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

2014 WIMBLEDON: Kvitova Dominates Bouchard To Win 2nd Major Title

As I predicted yesterday, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic won her second major title by defeating Genie Bouchard in the 2014 Wimbledon final. However, what was unexpected was the lopsided nature of the match: 6-3 6-0 (the fewest amount of games lost by the champion since Steffi Graf beat Monica Seles in the Wimbledon final in 1992). Kvitova just dominated her opponent in all aspects of the game: 28 winners to just 12 unforced winners in 15 games played and winning 6 of 13 breakpoints while serving at 68%. Bouchard hit 8 winners to just 4 unforced winners but the outcome of the match was not really in her hands due to Kvitova's stellar performance.

Kvitova will now be ranked #4 in the World on Monday while Bouchard will be World #7. By winning her second major final, Kvitova joins others like Lindsay Davenport, Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati who won their first two major finals played. Kvitova clearly plays her best tennis at Wimbledon: in the last 5 years she has won 2 titles here (reaching the quarterfinals or better) and lost two Serena Williams in 2010 and 2012 when the American won the title instead.

Interestingly, the toughest match that Kvitova had in the entire two weeks this year was her amazing 3-set match against 5-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams where she won 5-7 7-7(5) 7-5. For Bouchard, this year in every last major tournament she has lost to the eventual winner, which is a very good sign for the 20-year old, especially considering she has only played six major tournaments in her career and just two years ago she won the Junior Wimbledon title.

It will be very interesting to see how the rest of their years will go. With something not right with Serena, there is an opening at the top of women's tennis right now. Will one of these players occupy the void?

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.

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.

2013 WIMBLEDON: Bartoli Overwhelms Lisicki To Win 1st Major

Unexpectedly, 28-year-old Marion Bartoli of France defeated an overwhelmed 23-year-old Sabine Lisicki to win the 2013 Wimbledon Women's singles title 6-1 6-4 in 81 minutes. Bartoli became only the third Frenchwoman in history, and the first to do so since Amelie Mauresmo won in 2006. Bartoli was playing in her 47th grand slam tournament, the most number of tournaments anyone has ever taken to win their first major.

Lisicki was widely considered the favorite to win this match, having played 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone, Elena Vesnina, 2011 US Open Champion Samantha Stosur(14), 16-time major champion Serena Williams(1), Kaia Kanepi and 2012 Wimbledon finalist Agnieska Radwanska(4) to reach the final. Lisicki ended Serena's winning streak by coming back from 0-3 down when Serena became surprisingly tentative during the high pressure moments of their 4th round match. Amazingly, Lisicki came back again from a 0-3 deficit in her semifinal match against the wily Radwanska. In the end, the ask for her to play her best tennis in one more match was one ask too many.

Bartoli on the other hand took advantage of one of the wackiest Wimbledons of all time, when four former WTA #1's including the reigning World #3 Maria Sharapova and World #2 Victoria Azarenka went out in the same day the 2007 finalist realized she had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reach another Wimbledon final. She did so without facing a Top 10 opponent, demolishing her semifinal opponent Kirsten Flipkens 6-1 6-2. Her toughest test came against fast-rising American phenom Sloane Stephens whom she outlasted 6-4 7-5 the round before. Bartoli became the first player to win the tournament without dropping a set since Serena did it in 2010.

Women's Final Review
Bartoli confidently began the match by winning the toss and choosing to serve. Although she served two double faults in the first service game, she saved two breakpoints by continuing to go for her serve the entire game, even though she lost it. Lisicki returned the favor by easily losing her serve the next game and Bartoli held easily as Lisicki started to spray balls. The nerves became apparent on Lisicki's side of the net quickly as she failed to hold serve in the first set, hitting only 2 aces (and 2 doublefaults) with only a 54% of first serves in.

She righted the ship in the first set, beginning with an ace, and although her ground strokes were still a bit wobbly, especially the backhand side, she held serve again. But then history repeated itself as Bartoli continued to go for her shots, displaying her improved movement and fitness by getting to lots of drop shots and being able to go for her laser-like bakhand crosscourt.

The key moment in the match was the 2nd game of the 2nd set where Bartoli saved 3 break points with clutch serves and ground strokes deep into the corners of the court. Once Lisicki failed to capitalize on her opportunities and win that long service game of Bartoli's the match was essentially over because the German's level of play returned to her first set's level and she found herself down 1-6 1-5 15-40. However, magically her serve reappeared and with an ace and a couple unreturnables she was able to hold serve (dismissing three Championship points in the process) and in the very next game was able to break Bartoli when she understandable got nervous and started missing serves while trying to closeout the match and win Wimbledon. Lisick finally broke serve and then went on to hold her own service game again. This was a rare string of three games in a row won by Lisicki an it looked like things might be turning around.

At 6-1 5-4, Bartoli was serving for the championship again and this time she won the first two points displaying her improved fitness, winning both on Lisicki errors after long rallies. The third point was a weak return then sailed wide and Bartoli held Triple Championship Point. She hit a serve out wide in the corner to Lisicki's backhand and it was untouched by the German. Game, set and match, Miss Bartoli!

It will be interesting to see how Bartoli takes this win going forward. She is now embraced by the French federation and this could be the beginning of a good patch in her career. At age 28 she has the mental toughness to hang with anyone on tour and she can hit the ball as hard as the the elites at the top of the game. Her mobility can only get better, and if it does, it would not be unreasonable to think she could win another major. If so, she would do something none of the recent brand new major champions (Li Na, Petra Kvitova, Stosur, or Schiavone) have been able to do.

We shall see!

2013 WIMBLEDON: Women's Final Preview

Sabine Lisicki (GER) [23] vs. Marion Bartoli (FRA) [15]

The players are set for the 2013 women'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 Mens Final. This year I correctly predicted 2 of 2 women's semifinals and and the 2 of 2 men's semifinals. What follows is my analysis of this year's women's final between Sabine Lisicki and Marion Bartoli.

How They Got Here: Women's Semifinals Review

Sabine Lisicki (GER) [23] d. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [4] 6-4 2-6 9-7. Somewhat surprisingly, this was the best match of the tournament so far, which is something I didn't think we would be saying after Lisicki's astonishing 6-2 1-6 6-4 termination of Serena William's winning streak in the Round of 16. Many people expected that Radwanska's "bag of tricks" would be too much for the somewhat one-dimensional "Big Babe" playing style of Lisicki, who is known as Boom-Boom for her big serve and forehand. Radwanska doesn't force a win in her matches, she forces her opponents to go for too much so that they lose the match. This is a brilliant strategy in a game which is built around the mathematics of the zero sum: every point your opponent loses is a point that you win. No one embodies that central rule of tennis into their game like the World #4. Lisicki loves to play on grass and on Centre Court especially. All of her best results (really, all of her major results) have occurred at Wimbledon. But Radwanska loves this tournament too, since she reached her first major final here last year. 

The book on Lisicki is that she can play strongly for periods of time, but that eventually she will go off and that's where your opponent has their chance. Serena thought that's what had happened when she was up 3-0 in the third set and surely Radwanska must have thought the same thing when she was in the same position. The only person at Wimbledon who thought that Lisicki would be able to complete another comeback from such a deficit was Lisicki herself, and she did it. But then Radwanska refused to buckle and the two went deep into the deciding set, past 4-all, to 5-all, 6-all and even 7-all. Radwanska was then broken in the 15th game of the third set after some hard hitting returns and a volley error by the Pole. Boom-Boom did a better job of serving for the match on her second opportunity (she had done so at 5-4 but was only one point on serve that time), going up quickly to 40-0 to triple match point and after blowing one she was able to finish it off with a clear winner on the return of service return. She becomes the first German player to reach a grand slam final since Fraulein Forehand herself, Stefanie Graf did, in 1999. (It should be noted, Graf lost that final to Lindsay Davenport).

Marion Bartoli (FRA) [15] d. Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) [20] 6-1 6-2. This match turned out to more of a mismatch, as Bartoli came out with a determined game plan to absolutely crunch ever service return and Flipkens' backhand slice did not prevent the Frenchwoman from pounding the ball into the corners on both wings. Clearly the Belgian did not play her best tennis, seemingly a bit overwhelmed by the occasion, but Bartoli saw her opportunity, grabbed it by the throat and throttled it viciously, reaching only her 2nd major final in 6 years, the longest gap since her countrywoman (and part-time "advisor") Amelie Mauresmo took 7 years between reaching the Australian Open finals in 1999 (l. Martina Hingis) and 2006 (d. Justin Henin). Could the second time be as charmed for this Frenchwoman?

What Will Happen: Women's Final Preview

Sabine Lisicki (GER) [23] vs. Marion Bartoli (FRA) [15]. Mentally you have to give the edge to Bartoli because she has reached the final of Wimbledon before and she has to be less mentally tired having a much easier run to the final (the Frenchwoman has not dropped a set!) compared to Lisicki who had two emotionally draining victories against Serena in the 4th round and Radwanska in the 6th round. I think Bartoli's apparently large mental edge is countered somewhat by the Lisicki's inherent belief that she is destined to win Wimbledon. From the beginning of the tournament she has been telling the press that she knows it takes seven matches to win the tournament, even though she embraces her reputation as a Giantkiller who can put together a great match against any one in the draw. Clearly the bookmakers agree, since they have made the German the betting favorite ever since she eliminated the defending champion from the draw. 

Physically you have to give the edge to Lisicki, primarily because she is in better shape than Bartoli and because she is a better mover, especially on grass. Bartoli plays with two hands on both sides, a la Monica Seles which gives her balanced power on both sides at the expense of reach. She also has surprisingly good hands and can generate spins whenever she wants, which is something Lisicki is not known for. The German is fond of her drop shots, and I expect she will be deploying that fairly often to exploit the deficits in movement of her opponent. But Bartoli is in much better shape than she was when she got to the final in 2007 and is faster than she looks. On the forehand side, Lisicki is clearly superior but on the backhand side Bartoli has the edge, and her edge on the backhand side is bigger than Lisicki's on the forehand side. The serve you have to also give to Lisicki, both  her first and second serve are better than Bartoli, but "The Genius" has shown us that she can produce brilliant serving before, most notably when she took out the defending Wimbledon champion Serena Williams in 2011. (It should be noted that the very next round she played Lisicki and lost a tough 3-set quarterfinal, getting blown out in the 3rd set.) 

In their career head-to-head Lisicki leads 3-1, although the two have split their two meeting here at Wimbledon on grass, with Lisicki winning their last meeting in 2011 and Bartoli winning their first in 2008 when both players were very different players. This is a pretty hard match to call, but just as the Li-Radwanska and Lisicki-Radwanska matches, I have to go with the power over control, with the better athlete. (I was wrong in the first example, but vindicated in the second.) I have been told that it is likely that this match will be first-strike tennis, with lots of short points. If this does happen, it would greatly favor Bartoli, and she could win in two lopsided sets (especially if Lisicki is overwhelmed by the occasion.) But I think that Lisicki can scramble enough to complicate things for Bartoli fairly often, and with good serving on Lisiki's end, more of the scoreboard pressure will be on Bartoli, who may also have more pressure because she wants it too much. At age 28 she knows how rare these opportunities arise in a career. That being said, it is a great day for women's tennis when a new Grand Slam champion is crowned and regardless of who wins tomorrow will be a great day.

PREDICTION: Lisicki. 

2013 WIMBLEDON: Women's Semifinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals 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 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals.

Sabine Lisicki (GER) [23] vs. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [4]. This is the third meeting between these two players, but the first time this year and their first ever meeting on grass. The two have split their previous matches and there's no clear favorite. Lisicki has already achieved the rare feat of defeating the World #1 and defending champion in Serena Williams. But even more impressive is that she followed up that momentous upset with another win to reach her 2nd Wimbledon semifinal in 3 years. The woman she is playing reached the final here last year and is the World #4 player. Radwanska is known as The Swiss Army Knife because of the variety of shots she is able to play. This was shown to great effect in her quarterfinal win over Li Na. Despite being overmatched by the powerful Chinese player, she used her superior defense to cause Li to lose the match (despite needing 8 match points to do so). Generally in a battle between power and control I usually take the side of power. Lisicki will be the player dictating play and the result of the match will be under her control. If she plays at the level she played in her two previous rounds then I expect her to win this match. PREDICTION: Lisicki.

Marion Bartoli (FRA) [15] v. Petra Kvitova (CZE) [8] Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) [20]. This is the first time these two have played on the WTA Tour. However, this result is most definitely not as hard to predict as the other semifinal. In fact, a friend of mine (and reader of this blog!) picked Bartoli to reach the semifinals (against Kvitova) from before the tournament started. I tend not to make predictions before the tournament begins, preferring to see how play is proceeding before prognosticating. The Belgian must be ecstatic just to be in her first career major semifinal, especially two days after defeating a former Wimbledon champion who happened to be struggling with some kind of virus. Flipkens just one year ago was ranked so low (#262) that she was low to even enter the Wimbledon qualifying tournament, and now she has a chance to make the final. True, it is not much of a chance, since she is playing a powerful, wily veteran. However, Flipkens was given almost no chance to win against the powerful Kvitova and managed to use her good hands and comfort on grass to  do so despite her short stature. It's possible some off -the-court assistance from her best friend Kim Clijsters may have been helpful producing this tournament's breakthrough result. On the other hand, Bartoli truly feels like she should be a Grand Slam champion already while Flipkens almost certainly feels like she is just lucky to be there. And, honestly, she is. PREDICTION: Bartoli. 

2013 Wimbledon: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women'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.

Serena Williams (USA) [1] Sabine Lisicki (GER) [23] vs. Laura Robson (GBR) Kaia Kanepi (EST). In a Wimbledon full of shocking upsets, the shock defeat in the fourth round of the 1:4 favorite (the 5-time Wimbledon champion and reigning French Open champion) must clearly be considered one of the very biggest surprises of the tournament. The fact is that it was only Serena's 3rd loss of the year is enough to let you know what an unusual result Sabine Lisicki's victory was. In England, an even bigger story was the ouster of British hope Laura Robson from the tournament by a resurgent Kaia Kanepi. Kanepi was two points from defeat in the second round against last year's semifinalist Angelique Kerber so she must feel that she is playing with "house money." This match should be a nice example of "Big Babe" tennis, where the winner is usually determined by the player with the better mobility and/or the person with more consistent and powerful serve. The German has the edge in both these categories and should win relatively easily to reach her second career Wimbledon semifinal in three years. PREDICTION: Lisicki.

Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [4] vs. Na Li (CHN) [6]. This meeting should be the highlight of this round. The Chinese player leads their head-to-head 6-4 but the Polish player has a 2-1 lead in their grass curt meetings. However, Li won their last meeting relatively easily, which was in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open earlier this year. Radwanska has actually been in 8 major quarterfinals compared to Li's 7, but Li has had far more success in those matches, winning four of them while Radwanska has only been tasted success at Wimbledon. Radwanska is clearly the more consistent player, while Li is the more powerful. Radwanska is crafty, while Li is often mentally fragile at key moments. All of these different factors to combine to make this a very hard match to predict what will happen. PREDICTION: Li in 2 sets, Radwanska in 3 sets.

Sloane Stephens (USA) [17]  vs. Maria Sharapova (RUS) [3] Marion Bartoli (FRA) [15]. This is another intriguing match-up reminiscent of the tussle between Radwanska and Li. The two have only met once before, in a meeting on hard courts at the New Haven tournament which was won by Bartoli in three see-saw sets. Stephens has nowhere to go but up in her career, playing in her very first Wimbledon quarterfinal, while Bartoli is now 28 years old and knows all-too well how rare these opportunities come along, having only played in two semifinals her career. Stephens moves better than Bartoli and has to be pleased that she is facing the quirky Frenchwoman instead of the #2 seed Maria Sharapova. Bartoli's main chance to win this match is if she can overpower Stephens and overwhelm her with accuracy to compensate for her inferior ability to move around the court. Stephens is actually not playing that well (she has more unforced errors than winners for the tournament) but she is competing well and that has been enough to get her through to the quarterfinals. But it may not be enough to get her any further in the draw. It should also be noted that Bartoli has had great success in the past winning matches she was not expected (or supposed) to win, such as her 2007 Wimbledon semifinal win against Justine Henin and her 2011 Wimbledon straight set win over Serena Williams in the Round of 16. One key question is will Bartoli's experience outmatch Stephens' youth and confidence? PREDICTION: Bartoli in 2 sets, Stephens in 3 sets. 

Petra Kvitova (CZE) [8] vs. Victoria Azarenka (BLR) [2] Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) [20].  Flipkens is a good grass court player (she lost in the final of one of the warm-up grass-court tournaments) and even though she is playing in the very first major quarterfinal of her career, she has a reasonable chance to win this match. She actually has a 2-1 head-to-head lead against her quarterfinal opponent Petra Kvitova, and has even beaten her this year. However, Kvitova has won this tournament, just two short years ago, lost last year in the quarterfinal to the eventual champion and the year before in the semifinals to the eventual champion. If Kvitova is on then there is no reason to think that she won't reach her 2nd career Wimbledon final.PREDICTION: Kvitova.