AUS OPEN 2011: Women's Semifinals Review

Li Na CHN (9) d. Caroline Wozniacki DEN (1)  3-6 7-5 6-3. Li Na reached her first Australian Open final by continuing to go for her shots despite being a set and a break down. She got in that predicament by repeatedly misfiring on her powerful forehand, making many more errors than winners on that wing.  Wozniacki had a match point on her serve at 5-4, 40-30 but Li dismissed it with forehand down-the-line winner. She followed that up by winning a 20-plus stroke rally to earn a breakpoint which she won with a cross-court winner. Li held her serve at love and when Wozniacki served at 5-6 to earn a tiebreaker she lost her serve and the second set by double faulting on Li's second set point. In the third set Li was broken in the third game but broke back at love immediately and held serve easily to go up 3-2. The two then traded breaks and when Wozniacki served at 3-4 she used her last challenge a winner by Li that ave the Chinese player a break point. The two then played a very long point which ended with a Wozniacki error into the net, giving Li the break and the chance to serve out the match. Li wins the first two points of the game and then loses the next two on bad errors to reach 30-all. Li wins the next rally with and on her first match point Wozniacki hits the ball wide at the end of a rally to lose the match. Li makes history as the first woman or man from Asia to reach a Grand Slam final!

 Kim Clijsters BEL (3) d. Vera Zvonareva RUS (2) 6-3 6-3. Two words is all it takes to describe Clijsters play in this match: "brutally efficient." Zvonareva did not play badly, but Clijsters has the fire power to overwhelm Zvonareva's excellent defensive skills and did so by using patience and controlled aggression. Zvonareva started the match with a break of Clijsters serve but once Clijsters immediately broke back in the second game she was never in any real danger of losing.

AUS OPEN 2011: Men's Semifinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the 2011 Australian Open men's semifinals. I had previously correctly predicted 2 of 4 men's quarterfinals. You can also see my predictions for the women's semifinals and women's quarterfinals (3 of 4 right).

Rafael Nadal ESP (1)  David Ferrer ESP (7) vs. Andy Murray GBR (5). Everyone expected a Murray-Nadal semifinal, and many many tennis fans were salivating at the prospect of seeing a match of the same caliber as their superlative ATP World Tour Championships semifinal in London. Murray did his piece first, by dispatching the extremely talented Aleksandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine who had eliminated Robin Soderling and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 5-set matches by coming from behind to win those contests. Dolgopolov plays in an unorthodox fashion, with quick, whip-like strokes, but this generates tremendous (and surprising) power on both wings; he also has a truly unusual serve which allows him to get several free points, even from someone as good at returning serve as Andy Murray. In the first set the younger player had 12 aces to Murray's two and was hitting winners into both corners of the court. Essentially, he was "out-Murraying" Murray. Unfortunately for Dolgopolov his quirky style is sometimes combined with an almost laissez-faire approach to finishing a point which resulted in errors instead of winners on balls that MadProfessah could have put away. These lapses enabled Murray to eke out the first set 7-5 (after blowing a 4-1 lead). The second set featured tremendous serving from Murray, losing only two points on his serve for a 6-3 win. The third set Murray should have closed out the match, but Dogopolov was able to climb back to win the 3rd in a tiebreaker 7-3 after horrendous play by Murray in the decider. The final set was never much in doubt with Murray winning the first fourteen points and the Dogopolov errors accumulating until he was at a total of 77 for the match compared to a showy 57 winners. Murray had a more sedate 33 winners and 34 errors and won the final set 6-3. The drama of the Murray-Dolgopolov quarterfinal was quickly eclipsed when the two Spaniards took the court. After a quick service hold by Ferrer to start the match, Nadal's first service game lasted 17 minutes and consisted of 22 points with 7 deuces. Ferrer was playing very aggressively, especially with his forehand and service return; he was running down shots which would have been winners against almost anyone else. Eventually Ferrer was able to get the break, which he then immediately gave back through strong play by Nadal. On the changeover it became clear something was very wrong with Nadal, and he left the court to  take an injury time out and receive treatment. It looked very much like he would retire at various points in the first set after that. Amazingly he had retired in a math played exactly a year before, in the men's quarterfinal of 2010 against Murray, also played on Australia Day, January 26. However, Nadal soldiered on and Ferrer continued his style of aggressive play, taking advantage of Nadal's clearly limited movement to his forehand side (Nadal's left thigh was heavily strapped) and maintained his composure to complete the stunning 6-4 6-2 6-3 straight sets win over the defending Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open champion. Rafa's quest to be the first man in a generation (or two) to simultaneously hold all 4 major titles was over. The reason I have spent so much time reviewing the quarterfinal matches instead of previewing the semifinal match is because there is not much to say. Head-to-head Ferrer and Murray have met 5 times, (never in a Grand Slam) with Murray winning all their hard court matches relatively easily and Ferrer winning the clay court matches. Murray was able to reach the final last year, and he is playing even better one year later. Ferrer is also playing better, but, barring an injury, the result of their next hard court match will not be any different from the other three they have played before. PREDICTION: Murray in 4 sets. 

Roger Federer SUI (2). vs. Novak Djokovic SRB (3). This semifinal match-up is a reprise of the four celebrated grand slam semifinals these two have competed: the 2010 US Open semifinal won by Djokovic after saving two match points in the 5th set; the 2009 US Open semifinal won by Federer which featured the amazing tweener shot by the Swiss great on the penultimate point of the match; the 2008 US Open semifinal won in straight sets by Federer despite trailing in the first two; and the 2008 Australian Open semifinal won by Djokovic on his way to winning his first major title.  So, despite Federer's impressive 13-6 head-to-head edge overall, the two have actually split the four hard-court major semifinals they have played in their careers. Bizarrely, they have never played at Wimbledon or at Roland Garros. It should be noted that Federer has won the last three times they have played, and has apparently taken energy from his defeat in New York last year. Djokovic is also playing inspired tennis, having achieved one of his career goals by anchoring his country to a Davis Cup title (something Federer has not done despite having someone as talented as Stan Wawrinka on his team). Of the four players left remaining in the tournament, Djokovic and Murray have both only dropped one tie-break set each. Djokovic in particular has looked the most impressive, taking out the #6 (Tomas Berdych), #14(Nicolas Almagro) and #29 seeds. 
The highest seed that Federer has had to face was Wawrinka at #19 but Gilles Simon in the first round was playing like a Top 10 player when he stretched the World #2 to 5 sets. To determine my pick, I'm going to try an do some math. There are three possibilities, which I will assume are equally likely to occur (3-set, 4-set and 5-set match with 33% probabilities). If only 3 sets of tennis are played I give Federer a 25-8 edge. In a 4-set match I give Djokovic a 17-16 edge. In a 5-set match I give Djokovic a 25-8 edge. So overall, Djokovic has a 50-49 edge. I split the last point equally and this gets Djokovic slightly ahead to reach his second Australian Open final, and second consecutive major final.  PREDICTION: Djokovic (has a 50.5% chance to win). 

AUS OPEN 2011: Women's Semifinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's semifinals at the Australian Open this year. I correctly predicted 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals.

Caroline Wozniacki DEN (1) vs. Li Na CHN (9). Wozniacki is the #1 ranked player in the world despite not having reached a single major final in 2010 and only once in her brief career (2009 US Open). The nubile, flaxen-haired 20-year-old from Denmark is sometimes called the "Golden Retriever" by some tennis observers due to her style of play resembling a human backboard. Wozniacki is in her first Australian Open semifinal while her opponent has reached this far in the tournament for the second consecutive year. In fact Li has won the first 10 matches she has played in 2011 and is surfing  a wave of confidence while Wozniacki is hearing an increasingly louder chorus of whispers doubting her ability to ever win a major title. Li on the other hand is hearing the call of history: can she become the first player from China to compete for (and win) a major title, especially the grand slam of Asia/Pacific, the Australian Open? I say, yes, and probably this  week. The match-up between the two players is interesting: Li has great power on both wings and is also an excellent mover; Wozniacki has the ability to frustrate her opponents by forcing them to "win" a point several times through relentless defense. Head-to-head Li leads 2-1 and beat Wozniacki in the fourth round here last year in straight sets as well as a few weeks before in Sydney. A year later I see no reason why the result should be any different. PREDICTION: Li.

Vera Zvonareva RUS (2) Petra Kvitova CZE (25) vs. Kim Clijsters BEL (3). I expected Kvitova to come through this match just like she had against #5 Samantha Stosur whom she dismissed easily in straight sets in front of a hometown crowd. However, Zvonareva showed incredible defense and consistency to eliminate the Czech lefty 6-2 6-4. Zvonareva has always been one of my favorite players to watch and her rise to the #2 ranking in the world via two consecutive major final finishes is a delight. Clijsters has been the clear favorite to win this year's title since Serena Willliams announced she would not be defending her 2010 Australian Open title. She is the only player of the final four remaining in the tournament who has won a major title; Clijsters has 3 US Open titles (2005, 2009, 2010). With Elena Dementieva's retirement Zvonareva is probably the best player on tour not to have won a major. Head-to-head Clijsters leads 6-3 but 5 of these wins were before Clijsters' "retirement" in May 2007. The two played 4 times in 2010 and Zvonareva won 3 of those matches, losing the most important one in a rout: the 2010 US Open women's final (6-1 6-2). None of those matches were finals, where the mental pressure is a larger factor and this poses a disadvantage to the more mentally fragile player. In a semifinal the mental pressure is less which should help Vera play some of her best tennis. It is also true that Clijsters does have a tendency to go through bad patches which complicates what should be easy wins. I suspect something like that will happen in this match as well, but in the end, Clijsters will find a way to prevail. PREDICTION: Clijsters.

Justine Henin Retires From Tennis (Again)

On Wednesday, 7-time major champion Justine Henin announced her retirement from tennis for the second time. Henin had previously retired on May 14, 2008 but announced the end of her retirement 18 months later on Septermber 22, 2009. Suspicious tennis fans noted that the duration of her "retirement" closely matched the duration of a fine would receive for a doping violation. That being said, Justine has never failed a drug test as far as I know.

From USA Today:

"The past few weeks, there was a little bit more pain every day, but I thought my willpower would prevail. Today, the tests and my doctors are adamant," Henin said.

She was ranked No. 1 when she abruptly announced her retirement in 2008, only to return 20 months later and reach last year's Australian Open final. She partially tore a ligament in the elbow in a tumble at Wimbledon last year and hasn't been the same since.

"It is clear now that I have to accept that my career ends for good," said Henin, currently ranked No. 13. "Even if it is hard, very hard, at a time when I came back with enormous fighting spirit."

Somehow I think that her Belgian compatriot will not be following her example. Wouldn't it be something if Kim Clijsters could match Justine's 7 majors before her retirement next year?

AUS OPEN 2011: Nadal Eliminated By Ferrer!

World #1 Rafael Nadal's quest for the "Rafa slam" is over; he was bounced from the 2011 Australian Open by David Ferrer 6-4 6-2 6-3 in the men's quarterfinals exactly one year to the day he retired from the 2010 Australian Open against Andy Murray.

During Nadal's first service game, which lasted 17 minutes and consisted of 22 points, Nadal injured himself (on the way to being broken) and although he broke back immediately he called for the trainer and left the court at 1-2.

Remaining in the tournament are defending champion Roger Federer who faces 2010 US Open finalist Novak Djokovic on Thursday and 2010 Australian Open finalist Andy Murray who will face Ferrer on Friday.

POLL: Majority of Maryland Voters Support Marriage Equality

The Washington Post reports on a new poll which increases the likelihood that Maryland will become the next state to enact marriage equality:

In the poll, 51 percent of voters say they would favor a law in Maryland allowing same-sex couples to marry, while 44 percent opposed such a law and 5 percent gave no response.

If the legislature passes a same-sex marriage bill, it is likely to be petitioned to the ballot for a statewide vote in 2012. 

[...] 

The Gonzales poll of 802 registered voters who vote regularly was conducted Jan. 13 to Jan. 19. It is said to have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

 What will be very important in determining whether Maryland has marriage equality in 2013 is whether the bill that enacts marriage equality goes into effect well before the November 2012 election. One of the main reasons Proposition 8 passed in November 2008 was that marriage equality had only been in effect for 173 days and most Californians had not had enough time to realize that one couple's (gay) marriage has no impact on anyone else's life, let alone their marriage.

I would also caution observers to notice that 51 percent does not mean that an actual majority of Maryland voters supports marriage equality, the margin of error could put the real number as low as 47.5%. However, it does indicate that the trend is moving in the right direction. I'm sure there will be many more polls before the proposed marriage bill goes into effect.

OSCARS 2011: Nominations Announced

The 83rd Academy Award nominations were announced this morning. The King's Speech leads with 12, followed by True Grit with 10 and The Social Network and Inception with 8 and The Fighter with 7. More analysis later on. but for now here are the top 8 categories:

Best Picture
“Black Swan”
“The Fighter”
“Inception”
“The Kids Are All Right ”
“The King’s Speech”
“127 Hours”
“The Social Network”
“Toy Story 3″
“True Grit”
“Winter’s Bone”

Best Direction
Darren Aronofsky for “Black Swan”
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for “True Grit”
David Fincher for “The Social Network”
Tom Hooper for “The King’s Speech”
David O. Russell for “The Fighter”

Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem in “Biutiful”
Jeff Bridges in “True Grit”
Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network”
James Franco in “127 Hours”
Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech”

Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right”
Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole”
Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter’s Bone”
Natalie Portman in “Black Swan”
Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”

Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale in “The Fighter”
John Hawkes in “Winter’s Bone”
Jeremy Renner in “The Town”
Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right”
Geoffrey Rush in “The King’s Speech”

Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams in “The Fighter”
Helena Bonham Carter in “The King’s Speech”
Melissa Leo in “The Fighter”
Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”
Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”

Adapted Screenplay
Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy for “127 Hours”
Aaron Sorkin for “The Social Network”
Michael Arndt, story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich for “Toy Story 3″
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for “True Grit”
Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini for “Winter’s Bone”

Original Screenplay
Mike Leigh for “Another Year”
Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson. Story by Keith Dorrington and Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson for “The Fighter”
Christopher Nolan for “Inception”
Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg for “The Kids Are All Right”
David Seidler for “The King’s Speech”

AUS OPEN 2011: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at the Australian Open this year.

Caroline Wozniacki DEN (1) vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (23) Francesca Schiavone ITA (6). After the historic marathon match between Svetlana Kuznetsova and Francesca Schivaone, most observers expected the quarterfinal involving the "winner" to be scheduled last in order to increase the likelihood of a competitive match. Unfortunately, the powers that be have decided that the World #1's quarterfinal would not be a featured night match, opting for a women's doubles quarterfinal instead. There are very few men's 5-set matches that have lasted the 4-hours and 44 minutes of "Franlana." After the titanic first round match between David Nalbandian and Lleyton Hewitt was won by the Argentine, it resulted in the "winner" retiring meekly after playing about a set and a half of tennis 48 hours later. Schiavone finished her match around 8:05pm on Sunday and is scheduled to play her match against Wozniacki on Rod Laver Arena following the all-Swiss Federer-Wawrinka quarterfinal which will not be before 12:30pm on Tuesday. That is much less than 48 hours of recovery time. I know that the Italian has already proved that "Impossible is Nothing" with her incredible 2010 French Open win but I think that asking her to be 100% (even 50%) for her match with Wozniacki less than 48 hours after playing the longest women's grand slam match in history is a hill too high for even this dynamic athlete to climb. PREDICTION: Wozniacki in 2 sets.

Maria Sharapova RUS (14) Andrea Petkovic GER (30) vs Li Na CHN (9) Victoria Azarenka BLR (8). I really like the play of the veteran Chinese player (so much so I named my dog after her!) and am very excited that she is playing even better than last year, where she reached the semifinals of this tournament, losing to the eventual winner Serena Williams. Li Na has been a trailblazing icon of Chinese tennis; she is the first Chinese player to reach the Top 50, Top 40, Top 30, Top 20, Top 10 and to win a Tier 1 title (when she defeated Kim Clijsters in Brisbane earlier this year). She dismissed what some people thought was a legitimate contender to win the title in Victoria Azarenka in straight sets. Li has excellent power on both wings and is currently brimming with confidence since she is undefeated so far in 2011. Petkovic is no slouch and has improved upon her best result in a major (4th Round at the 2010 U.S. Open) at this year's 2011 Australian Open. I think it is highly unlikely she will prevent Li Na from attempting to improve her best result in a major and become the first Chinese player to reach a major final. PREDICTION: Li in 2 sets.

Agnieszka Radwanska POL (12) vs. Kim Clijsters BEL (3).  Kim Clijsters is simply the best player on hard courts still left in the tournament, as evidenced by her three consecutive US Open titles. She does have a tendency to go off sometimes, and can get frustrated by counter-punchers. She had a surprisingly tight match with the diminutive Alize Cornet of France in the third round. Aggie Radwanska is the epitome of the kind of player who could give Clijsters fits, since she plays a game resembling the late, little lamented Martina Hingis. Clijsters had a pretty good record against Hingis and the one time she played Radwanska (more than 5 years ago) she won that match as well. I suspect this match will either be a 2-set blowout or a seesaw 3-setter where none of the individual sets are very close. PREDICTION: Clijsters in 3 sets.

Samantha Stosur AUS (5) Petra Kvitova CZE (25) vs. Vera Zvonareva RUS (2).  Petra Kvitova is the most dangerous player in the draw. She is a very confident, powerful lefty with tremendous power on both wings and she's an excellent mover with a good serve. She's also undefeated for 2011; in fact she's only lost one set all tournament, to the hard-hitting and crafty Italian Flavia Pennetta. Kvitova dismissed the  host country's great hope Samantha Stosur in straight sets with no regard for the audience.Vera Zvonareva has defeated every player she has faced in her half of the draw in the last two majors she has played (Wimbledon 2010 and US Open 2010) and has done an admirable job of turning around her reputation as "head case" by embodying consistency. But when consistency meets power, I usually put my money on power. Zvonareva has also lost only one set so far in the tournament (to hard-hitting young Serb Bojana Jovanovski)  and almost lost another one to the hard-hitting lefty Lucie Safarova from the Czech Republic. I'm pretty sure that streak will end when she faces an even harder hitting lefty Czech player. PREDICTION: Kvitova in 3 sets. 

AUS OPEN 2011: Men's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the men's quarterfinals at the 2011 Australian Open.

Rafael Nadal ESP (1) Marin Cilic CRO (15) vs. Milos Raonic CAN David Ferrer ESP (7). I thought that the 6'6" 2010 Australian Open semifinalist from Croatia would have followed up on his 5-set win over John Isner with a better showing against Rafael Nadal. However, the World #1 came out with a strong game plan since Cilic had beaten him in their one meeting in October 2009 and dismantled the Croatian in straight sets 6-2 6-4 6-3.  David Ferrer has been called the best service returner in the world by both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and he demonstrated that ability against the huge serving 20-year-old, 6-foot-5-inch Canadian. Ferrer is only 5'9" but has optimized the amount of tennis success a male player can extract from such a slight frame. He is also one of the fittest players on tour and very speedy. The problem is, everything he can do, Nadal can do better, and Nadal is a lefty. Head-to-head the two have played 14 times with the more celebrated Spaniard winning all but 3 of their meetings. Ferrer does have a notable win over Nadal in the 2007 US Open quarterfinals, but unfortunately he will be playing the vastly improved 2011 version. The difference will be very clear. PREDICTION: Nadal in 3 sets.

Robin Soderling SWE (4) Alexandr Dolgopolov UKR  vs. Andy Murray GBR (5). The only unseeded player in the final 8 is the 22-year-old counterpuncher from Ukraine. From the way World #4 Robin Soderling was dismissing his opponents and hitting the ball in first three rounds I had expected him to have few problems getting past Dolgopolov but Soderling has never done well at the Australian Open and also doesn't like to play in windy conditions. That being said, the biggest problem he had on court was not the weather but the phenomenal defense and gigantic serving of the Ukrainian. Soderling was not playing his best tennis and ran into an opponent who could take advantage of this opportunity to reach his first major quarterfinal. Andy Murray has been playing some of the sharpest tennis of any of the legitimate contenders. He demolished  crafty lefty Jurgen Melzer and has yet to lose more than 3 games in a set through four rounds! Melzer at #11 and Guiullermo-Garcia at #32 are the only seeded players the Brit has faced on his way to an inevitable showdown with World #1 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, whom he was on track to dismiss in the quarterfinals last year when Nadal retired. Of course the Spaniard went on to win every other Grand Slam for the rest of 2010, but I think that Murray does not fear Nadal on a hard-court. Will we see a reprise of the 2010 Australian Open final between Murray and Federer or a reprise of the 2009 Australian Open final between Nadal and Federer or something else? Only time will tell. PREDICTION: Murray in 3 sets. 

Tomas Berdych CZE (6) vs. Novak Djokovic SRB (3). This should be the best battle of the quarterfinal round, a showdown between the 2010 Wimbledon finalist and the 2010 US Open finalist. Djokovic has won this title before (over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2008) although the Frenchman was able to get revenge last year in this round. Head-to-head Berdych has only beaten Djokovic once, but it was a blowout in the 2010 Wimbledon semifinals. Since then, the Serbian has had multiple breakthroughs, including an epic 2010 US Open semifinal win over Roger Federer and anchoring his country to their first ever Davis Cup title. Berdych played near-perfect tennis in a tremendous 3-set dismissal of Fernando Verdasco in the 4th round (featuring a final set where the Czech was crushing the ball and had either 1 or 2 unforced errors). If Berdych plays like that, even a prodigiously talented ball-striker and mellifluously mobile player as Djokovic will have trouble surviving the onslaught. Another factor is that Djokovic's results are often sensitive to the weather conditions; if this match is played during the day then even a 3-set win will be unlikely for the Serb. PREDICTION:  Djokovic in 3 sets or Berdych in 4 or 5 sets.

Stanislas Wawrinka SUI (19) vs. Roger Federer SUI (2). These two are best friends and share a lot in common: they come from the same country, are both young fathers and are both undefeated in 2011 so far. Together they won the Gold medal in men's doubles at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Head-to-head the two have played 7 times, with Wawrinka winning once on clay. They have only played once in a grand slam, with Federer winning that as well. Wawrinka has come up with some good upsets in the last two Slams (defeating Andy Roddick and Gael Monfils in this tournament and Andy Murray and Sam Querrey in the 2010 US Open) but I doubt that storyline will continue with the defending champion. This match should feature some exquisite one-handed backhands: my favorite shot! PREDICTION: Federer in 4 sets.

2011 Oscars: Nominations Predictions

On Tuesday January 25th, the nominations for the 83rd Academy Awards will be announced. Last year, The Hurt Locker beat out Avatar for Best Picture and a total of four Oscars, making history as the first woman won the Best Director Oscar.

This year the main battle for the Best Picture Oscar is expected to be The Social Network versus Black Swan. The picture at the top of my Top 10 list of movies for 2010  was Inception. 

Best Picture 

127 Hours
Black Swan

The Fighter

Inception

The Kids Are All Right

The King's Speech

The Social Network

Toy Story 3

True Grit

Winter's Bone 

Best Director

• Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
• David Fincher, The Social Network
• Tom Hooper, The King's Speech
• Christopher Nolan, Inception
• David O. Russell, The Fighter

Best Actress

• Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
• Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
• Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
• Natalie Portman, Black Swan
• Hilary Swank, Conviction

Best Actor

• Javier Bardem, Biutiful
• Jeff Bridges, True Grit
• Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
• Colin Firth, The King's Speech
• James Franco, 127 Hours

Best Supporting Actress

• Amy Adams, The Fighter
• Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech
• Melissa Leo, The Fighter
  
• Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
• Jackie Weaver, Animal Kingdom

Best Supporting Actor

• Christian Bale, The Fighter
• Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
• Jeremy Renner, The Town
• Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
• Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech

Best Original Screenplay

• Stuart Blumberg and Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right
• Andres Heinz, Mark Heyman and John J. McLaughlin, Black Swan
• Christopher Nolan, Inception
• Eric Johnson, Scott Silver, and Paul Tamasy, The Fighter
• Dave Seidler, The King's Speech

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Michael Arndt, Toy Story 3
• Simon Beaufoy and Danny Boyle, 127 Hours
• Joel & Ethan Coen, True Grit
• Debra Granik and Anne Rosselini, Winter's Bone
• Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network

Total Nominations

1. The Social Network, 11
2. Black Swan, 10
3. The King's Speech, 9
   
4. Inception, The Fighter 7

Eye Candy: Deric Mickens (Again!)

Today Deric Mickens becomes the first model to be featured 3 times at MadProfessah.com. He has previously been Eye Candy on October 11, 2010 and February 9, 2010.

Mickens is a 23-year-old, 6', 175-pound model and actor who lives in New York City. Lots more pictures available on his MySpace page.

AUS OPEN 2011: Day 7 (Raja, Li, Woz, Djoke Win; Andy, Maria Lose)

AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama

Day 7 of the 2011 Australian Open is now over and half of the quarterfinalists are known. Roger Federer has now reached his 27th consecutive major quarterfinal (beating Tommy Robredo for the tenth consecutive time despite some scratchy play), tying Jimmy Connors (who despite reaching so many quarterfinals did not previously have the record for consecutive semifinals: that was Ivan Lendl with 10). Joining him in the quarterfinals is his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka (who will face the World #2 after dismissing Andy Roddick in straight sets), Tomas Berdych (who dismissed Fernando Verdasco by only hitting 8 unforced errors in 3 sets) and Novak Djokovic (who easily beat Nicolas Almagro).

On the women's side, 2010 Australian Open semifinalist Li Na dismissed hard-hitting Victoria Azarenka 6-3 6-3 by simply "playing better," and her reward will be to play German Andrea Petkovic, who became the first woman from her country to defeat Maria Sharapova in a grand slam match, easily winning 6-2 6-3.

World #1 Caroline Wozniacki easily reached her first Australian Open quarterfinal and will face the "winner" of the nearly 5-hour historic Schiavone-Kuznetsova match, Francesca Schiavone.

AUS OPEN 2011: Schiavone-Kuznetsova Play Longest Match Ever

Svetlana Kuznetsova and Francesca Schiavone played the longest women's Grand Slam match in history in the 4th round of the 2011 Australian Open, lasting 4 hours and 44 minutes (featuring a 3 hour third set), with the Italian outlasting the Russian 6-4 1-6 16-14. The match was an instant classic: clutch volleys, blazing winners, deft drop shots and cat-and-mouse at the net. Schiavone saved an incredible 6 match points (she was serving second so most breakpoints she faced in the final set were match points) and Kuznetsova saved two before succumbing. The Russian had more winners than errors for the match, with an equal number of winners and errors (44) in the deciding 3rd set, with Schiavone hitting more errors (33) than winners (31).
The momentum swapped back and forth, at one point there were four consecutive breaks of serve. The tennis was excellent throughout most of the third set; and the drama and tension was some of the most intense I have ever seen on a tennis court. Once the historical nature of "Franlana" as the longest women's match in Grand Slam tennis became apparent, there were immediate allusions to the drama of last year's Best Men's Tennis Match, the Isner-Mahut marathon, since that was the longest men's match ever played. In many ways, Schiavone-Kuznetsova was a more compelling experience.