The third match hopefully would provide a better contest than those so far - Ana Ivanovic, finalist here in 2008, won in Auckland just before coming here, so was extremely confident as the 14th seed. Her opponent from the Netherlands, Kiki Bertens, had been as high as 41 in the world but now sat at 94 - her preparation was qualifying in both Brisbane and Sydney where she failed to make either main draw.
Her play today belied that form. The match was even from the start with both players prepared to attack, mainly from the back of the court, but where the opportunity presented itself take the net position. Her inability to win enough points on first serve was costly in the fourth game for Kiki as she was broken to trail 3-1 and it looked as though the more experienced player at this level would take control.
Ana did hold for 4-1, but Kiki wasn't done with just yet. Her accommodation in Melbourne was for more than one night and she proceeded to play some tennis far more suited to someone in the top twenty. Hitting some clean winners that Ana would be pleased to call her own, Kiki not only held her serve, but broke Ana - not literally thank goodness - and the match was alive. More alive than many of the spectators who were beginning to wilt under the heat.
Holding serve was becoming a rarity and soon Ana was serving for the set at 5-3. Again Kiki fought back, and she gave herself the chance to level at 5-5.
Steadier under the pressure of a Grand Slam tournament, Ana broke the Dutch serve to take the entertaining first set 6-4 and earn first serving rights in the second.
If serving was meant to give one an advantage in the game of tennis then the two girls on court sure made a meal of that theory. For six straight games, it was Kiki Bertens breaking the Ana Ivanovic serve only to hand the chance of consolidation immediately back. Three times Ana had offered the chance - would she go a fourth? You bet she would. So at 4-3 and serving Kiki tried again. After trading forehand winners and untidy errors, it was 30-30. Then Kiki folded with a backhand far too long and a pointless (well for her but not for Ana) double fault to bring us to 4-4.
Ana decided against all that had happened to hit an ace and a service winner in the next game and service was held for the first time since the sixth game of the first set. Hallelujahs were exchanged everywhere but the Netherlands. Of course at 4-5 the set was officially still with serve, but Kiki was at the line and her confidence wasn't at its highest.
Having been convinced not to serve underarm (that didn't happen - her confidence wasn't completely shot really) a wonderful backhand volley by Kiki brought the game score to 30-30 and an error from Ana made it 40-30. Almost with a sense of déjà vu a double fault entered the stadium followed dutifully by a clumsy forehand and the match was over 6-4 6-4 to Serbia's and many Australians delight.
Ana was through to the second round with quite some room for improvement. Still an entertaining first round encounter.
Monday, 13 January 2014
A practice hit for Li Na
Li Na sensationally ended 2013 at number 3 in the world and she began that year by finishing in the final here at Melbourne Park. There is little to say she won't do something similar again, except maybe Serena Williams, but her form cannot be faulted winning her home title prior to flying in to Melbourne.
Round one is usually a standard fare straight sets win for Li Na and a qualifier from Croatia who only turned 16 last month didn't pose much of a threat to the Chinese player almost twice her age. However the credentials for the youngster were impressive. Ana Konjuh won both the junior singles and doubles titles at the 2013 Australian Open so does have a liking for these surroundings.
The less said about the first few games the better because it was just a preponderance of unforced errors. Hardly a winner hit to gain a point and the qualifier actually led 2-1. Ana was hitting the ball with power and no fear, and Li Na had yet to settle into her rhythm.
After a massive forehand to reach 30-30 on the Li Na serve, the crowd had a real interest in the capacity of the teenager to achieve, but the capacity that began to show itself was off the racquet of the third seed as Li Na worked all parts of the court, not content with trading blows from the baseline which was the clear preference of Konjuh.
Li annoyed Ana by cutting off potentially gorgeous groundstrokes with nifty forays to the net finished off with deft touch or certainty of power with the volley that had decided to join her as one of her most potent weapons.
2-2 quickly became 3-2 and not in Ana's favour thanks in large measure to a couple of double faults - Li Na had begun to place so much pressure on the first serve that the second effort was vulnerable.
The next break of serve featured three straight out winners from the Li Na racquet and the match had turned into a high school lesson for Ana who by now was wishing she had gone shopping with her friends or to the beach where she could enjoy the sun.
The rest of the match was Li Na tidying up for the loss of no more games which is what a top player does when she has her opponent down for the count. Take no prisoners, show no mercy, and smile when you shake hands at the end.
Li Na was impressive when she had to be and won this match 6-2 6-0, but enough signs were given by Ana Konjuh to suggest that a bright future in tennis awaits her.
What awaits Li Na is probably a semi final with Serena Williams. Nothing that happened here leads me to think otherwise.
Round one is usually a standard fare straight sets win for Li Na and a qualifier from Croatia who only turned 16 last month didn't pose much of a threat to the Chinese player almost twice her age. However the credentials for the youngster were impressive. Ana Konjuh won both the junior singles and doubles titles at the 2013 Australian Open so does have a liking for these surroundings.
The less said about the first few games the better because it was just a preponderance of unforced errors. Hardly a winner hit to gain a point and the qualifier actually led 2-1. Ana was hitting the ball with power and no fear, and Li Na had yet to settle into her rhythm.
After a massive forehand to reach 30-30 on the Li Na serve, the crowd had a real interest in the capacity of the teenager to achieve, but the capacity that began to show itself was off the racquet of the third seed as Li Na worked all parts of the court, not content with trading blows from the baseline which was the clear preference of Konjuh.
Li annoyed Ana by cutting off potentially gorgeous groundstrokes with nifty forays to the net finished off with deft touch or certainty of power with the volley that had decided to join her as one of her most potent weapons.
2-2 quickly became 3-2 and not in Ana's favour thanks in large measure to a couple of double faults - Li Na had begun to place so much pressure on the first serve that the second effort was vulnerable.
The next break of serve featured three straight out winners from the Li Na racquet and the match had turned into a high school lesson for Ana who by now was wishing she had gone shopping with her friends or to the beach where she could enjoy the sun.
The rest of the match was Li Na tidying up for the loss of no more games which is what a top player does when she has her opponent down for the count. Take no prisoners, show no mercy, and smile when you shake hands at the end.
Li Na was impressive when she had to be and won this match 6-2 6-0, but enough signs were given by Ana Konjuh to suggest that a bright future in tennis awaits her.
What awaits Li Na is probably a semi final with Serena Williams. Nothing that happened here leads me to think otherwise.
Stan's the Man
Another year had passed and Hisense Arena was still here to entertain us with tennis on Day One of the Australian Open - the 2014 version.
I mistakenly was organised and arrived early and found my seat in time to catch the finalities of practice on the court and to survive the panic of no internet connection, the latter which I solved due to my extensive technical savvy and the ability to shut my iPad down down before rebooting.
The first course of my extensive meal of tennis over the next fortnight consisted on the one hand of a Swiss concoction known as the Wawrinka - seeded for extra bite and highly ranked amongst the world's delicacies.
Matching it with the Wawrinka would be a dish with a taste not so immediately discernible to the eating public - the lesser known Andrey Golubev is a favourite of Kazakhstan and has been for a number of years, but not as internationally popular on the dining circuit.
Stanislas Wawrinka will be remembered fondly by Australians for his wonderful five set matches against Novak Djokovic in 2013, here in the fourth round where he took eventual champ Djokovic to 12-10 in the decider, and in the US Open semis where Stan actually led 2 sets to one before falling achingly short.
The first 3 games gave us nothing more than a continuation of the warm up with no imagination shown by either player and I remember applauding about 3 or 4 shots. Wawrinka certainly did not appear to have the sharpness of a number 8 seed as he consistently allowed Golbev to stay in rallies. Mistakes often determined points.
Stan upped the ante in the fourth game as his lethargy fell away revealing a purposeful player. A forehand cross court winner and a forehand put away off an excellent serve highlighted the new approach from the Swiss star.
While Stan began to find his touch, Andrey began finding the net - repeatedly. So much so that it brought up the first break points of the match in the fifth game, one of which Wawrinka used to his benefit to take a 3-2 lead and the mental edge, says me with my wealth of inexperience in the area of psychoanalysis.
Stan rolled on, varying his game and not staying stuck at the baseline as he was in the early stages, and this frustrated Andrey who could not effect a sequence of shots to hurt Wawrinka. Another service break brought the predicable medical time out for the Kazakhstan world number 84 who needed a momentum breaker more than anything else, and perhaps the medico may have had an idea or two for Andrey to employ once the massage was complete.
Well as it often does, the break served Golubev well. Serving for the set at 5-2 Stan's backhand suddenly had more holes than a slice of his nation's cheese. The loose game and resultant break of serve revitalised Golubev who added another dimension to his game with a couple of down the line forehand winners to close up the set to 4-5.
Wawrinka steadied and serving to win the set for a second time managed to do it without the loss of a point and showed how his backhand can work when employed properly.
The second set began scrappily as to mirror the one before, and maintaining the symmetry Andrey won the opening game - to be more accurate, Stan donated the first game in a fit of generosity, dispensing of a load of unforced errors for which he had no future use.
Next we saw the best of the eighth seed as he served masterfully, volleyed with aplomb, and levelled the set, once more surrendering no points on his delivery. Not content with displaying skills on service, the returning prowess came to the fore with a forehand catching Andrey completely by surprise as he came towards the net for the first time I believe since the toss, and then with a delightful down the line pass to bring us to break point, subsequently converted.
Golubev was done and dusted now, and despite fighting hard in the fifth game saving three break points, he couldn't stop the flood from breaking the levee and at 4-6 1-4 he surrendered the match due to injury.
Disappointment for Andrey Golubev in that he had an injury, but he was never going to win this match with so many less lethal weapons in his armoury than the Swiss Guard. Given the oppressive heat predicted to play a part in this years event, Stan will have been pleased to be off the court and into round two with just under two sets of sweat leaving his body.
I mistakenly was organised and arrived early and found my seat in time to catch the finalities of practice on the court and to survive the panic of no internet connection, the latter which I solved due to my extensive technical savvy and the ability to shut my iPad down down before rebooting.
The first course of my extensive meal of tennis over the next fortnight consisted on the one hand of a Swiss concoction known as the Wawrinka - seeded for extra bite and highly ranked amongst the world's delicacies.
Matching it with the Wawrinka would be a dish with a taste not so immediately discernible to the eating public - the lesser known Andrey Golubev is a favourite of Kazakhstan and has been for a number of years, but not as internationally popular on the dining circuit.
Stanislas Wawrinka will be remembered fondly by Australians for his wonderful five set matches against Novak Djokovic in 2013, here in the fourth round where he took eventual champ Djokovic to 12-10 in the decider, and in the US Open semis where Stan actually led 2 sets to one before falling achingly short.
The first 3 games gave us nothing more than a continuation of the warm up with no imagination shown by either player and I remember applauding about 3 or 4 shots. Wawrinka certainly did not appear to have the sharpness of a number 8 seed as he consistently allowed Golbev to stay in rallies. Mistakes often determined points.
Stan upped the ante in the fourth game as his lethargy fell away revealing a purposeful player. A forehand cross court winner and a forehand put away off an excellent serve highlighted the new approach from the Swiss star.
While Stan began to find his touch, Andrey began finding the net - repeatedly. So much so that it brought up the first break points of the match in the fifth game, one of which Wawrinka used to his benefit to take a 3-2 lead and the mental edge, says me with my wealth of inexperience in the area of psychoanalysis.
Stan rolled on, varying his game and not staying stuck at the baseline as he was in the early stages, and this frustrated Andrey who could not effect a sequence of shots to hurt Wawrinka. Another service break brought the predicable medical time out for the Kazakhstan world number 84 who needed a momentum breaker more than anything else, and perhaps the medico may have had an idea or two for Andrey to employ once the massage was complete.
Well as it often does, the break served Golubev well. Serving for the set at 5-2 Stan's backhand suddenly had more holes than a slice of his nation's cheese. The loose game and resultant break of serve revitalised Golubev who added another dimension to his game with a couple of down the line forehand winners to close up the set to 4-5.
Wawrinka steadied and serving to win the set for a second time managed to do it without the loss of a point and showed how his backhand can work when employed properly.
The second set began scrappily as to mirror the one before, and maintaining the symmetry Andrey won the opening game - to be more accurate, Stan donated the first game in a fit of generosity, dispensing of a load of unforced errors for which he had no future use.
Next we saw the best of the eighth seed as he served masterfully, volleyed with aplomb, and levelled the set, once more surrendering no points on his delivery. Not content with displaying skills on service, the returning prowess came to the fore with a forehand catching Andrey completely by surprise as he came towards the net for the first time I believe since the toss, and then with a delightful down the line pass to bring us to break point, subsequently converted.
Golubev was done and dusted now, and despite fighting hard in the fifth game saving three break points, he couldn't stop the flood from breaking the levee and at 4-6 1-4 he surrendered the match due to injury.
Disappointment for Andrey Golubev in that he had an injury, but he was never going to win this match with so many less lethal weapons in his armoury than the Swiss Guard. Given the oppressive heat predicted to play a part in this years event, Stan will have been pleased to be off the court and into round two with just under two sets of sweat leaving his body.
Sunday, 12 January 2014
Rafa v Novak - can this final be denied?
So here we are on the Eve of another Australian Open, and people are waiting still for my predictions on who will prevail in the Doubles Events.
Well to be honest I don't know that the partners in some of the teams have had the good fortune to be introduced to each other yet or even are aware that they will be partnered.
So I will resort to some inane chatter about the second tier Men's Singles. World number one Rafa Nadal has not fared well in parts of the draw, but let's deal with the miserable lot of the Australians first.
Tomic, we knew, could face a seed in the opening round, but to throw him Nadal was savage in the extreme. Bernie is talented, but talent doesn't grow - working with it improves a player, and insufficient effort has been made to this point to develop that talent to a point to seriously worry Rafa. True the Spanish star may have enjoyed a simpler road to the second round, but a high profile Tomic workout will end up being a good thing.
James Duckworth has Roger Federer in round one, but a loss was the expected result even if the opponent was several rungs below Roger, so pointless crying over that. Of more concern is the initial opposition for our other top ranked players Hewitt and Matosevic. Lleyton has Seppi, the 24th seed, and will actually start favourite when considering the respective form sheets. Marinko has Nishikori, fresh from success in the Kooyong Exhibition event, and the 16th seed will hold serious problems for the inconsistent Aussie, although Matosevic is in reasonable touch himself, having reached quarters in Sydney and Brisbane.
Back to Rafa and the top half of the draw. None of the players in the early part of his draw have played or beaten him, except for Gael Monfils, the French number 25 seed and third round prospective barrier. The second and last time Monfils prevailed was two years ago in the Doha semis, and the pair met again there this year but in the final, which Rafa won but for the cost of a set.
Monfils is a difficult player to counter with his mercurial style and unpredictability. Rafa should find a path through the hardship and set up a fourth round clash with either Nishikori or Hewitt if my predictions are correct.
Hewitt defeated Nishikori in Brisbane and has the means to repeat the dose and manufacture a night match against Rafa for the second Monday in which tournament organisers would delight.
Rafa's quarter final will in my forecasting require him to lock horns with 5th seed Juan Martin Del Potro, another ridiculous result of a stupid random method of allocating seeded players to the draw. Why the top seed should have to play the highest ranked of the players ranked 5-8 is unfathomable, just as is the reason why the highest of the 5-8 should play anyone but seed number 4 in the quarters.
Del Potro will successfully navigate his way through talented Canadian Raonic, with Lu from Taipai the one unseeded player in that area who may cause an upset or two.
A five setter between Rafa and Del Potro with the Spanish bull through to the semis.
Roger Federer will stroll through to a fourth round clash with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, although Stakhovsky is hanging around there and we know what he did to Roger at Wimbledon last year - not gonna happen here! By the way Jo-Wilfried will not be as friendly as he was the other night for Roger Federer and Friends.
Andy Murray has not had the best lead up to an Aus Open that he would want, but still looks the goods to reach a quarterfinal with I am thinking Tsonga. Federer gone on the second Monday is a big call but going on my record Roger must be breathing a sigh of relief at the selection. Murray will need to bring a better game to the court than the one currently being produced or Isner will do him over, having just won in Auckland. However Isner has an appalling Grand Slam record, including at Melbourne Park where he has made the final 16 only once in five attempts.
Nadal will play Tsonga in a replay of the 2008 semi but with Rafa proving the better on this occasion.
The bottom of the draw sees a smooth run for the three time defending champion Novak Djokovic, and none of his opponents or possible opponents for the first three rounds offer credible resistance to the world number two. He has either not lost to or not played any of them. If he plays Fognini in the fourth round as the seedlings suggest, he will know that the Italian triumphed over him once. It was their first meeting in Qualifying in 2006. The three times they met last year - all in Masters series events - were resounding wins for Novak. Stanislas Wawrinka looms large as Novak's quarter final opponent, and only Richard Gasquet appears capable of preventing that meeting. Already the Chennai champ this year, Stan will be itching to avenge the five set defeat suffered at the hands of Djokovic in last year's Open, 12-10 in the fifth.
I believe that Novak is primed to take enough of what Stan can throw and win through again - whether it is against third seed David Ferrer in the semis is the difficult question.
Ferrer began 2013 winning anything on which he laid his hands, whereas this year he has lost in the second round in Doha and the semis in Auckland, both to players outside the world top 50.
I believe he will be better focused come Melbourne Park and should be too accomplished even for the seeds in his section, Youzhny, Janowicz and Chardy. His problems commence with Tomas Berdych in the quarter final - Berdych has too many guns for each of his prospective opponents including Tommy Haas.
Ferrer has been the more consistent at Grand Slam level and once more he will participate in a semi final at Melbourne Park, only to be denied by Novak Djokovic.
We will see another final at the highest level between the two best in the game. If it comes anywhere close to what they gave us in 2012 then fasten your seat belts for part two of the ride of your life. This one is seriously a coin toss. I cannot predict a winner pre-tournament. I hope it is Novak, and I can make a case for him winning, but equally I know where he is vulnerable to Rafa.
Force me and I pick Djokovic.
Well to be honest I don't know that the partners in some of the teams have had the good fortune to be introduced to each other yet or even are aware that they will be partnered.
So I will resort to some inane chatter about the second tier Men's Singles. World number one Rafa Nadal has not fared well in parts of the draw, but let's deal with the miserable lot of the Australians first.
Tomic, we knew, could face a seed in the opening round, but to throw him Nadal was savage in the extreme. Bernie is talented, but talent doesn't grow - working with it improves a player, and insufficient effort has been made to this point to develop that talent to a point to seriously worry Rafa. True the Spanish star may have enjoyed a simpler road to the second round, but a high profile Tomic workout will end up being a good thing.
James Duckworth has Roger Federer in round one, but a loss was the expected result even if the opponent was several rungs below Roger, so pointless crying over that. Of more concern is the initial opposition for our other top ranked players Hewitt and Matosevic. Lleyton has Seppi, the 24th seed, and will actually start favourite when considering the respective form sheets. Marinko has Nishikori, fresh from success in the Kooyong Exhibition event, and the 16th seed will hold serious problems for the inconsistent Aussie, although Matosevic is in reasonable touch himself, having reached quarters in Sydney and Brisbane.
Back to Rafa and the top half of the draw. None of the players in the early part of his draw have played or beaten him, except for Gael Monfils, the French number 25 seed and third round prospective barrier. The second and last time Monfils prevailed was two years ago in the Doha semis, and the pair met again there this year but in the final, which Rafa won but for the cost of a set.
Monfils is a difficult player to counter with his mercurial style and unpredictability. Rafa should find a path through the hardship and set up a fourth round clash with either Nishikori or Hewitt if my predictions are correct.
Hewitt defeated Nishikori in Brisbane and has the means to repeat the dose and manufacture a night match against Rafa for the second Monday in which tournament organisers would delight.
Rafa's quarter final will in my forecasting require him to lock horns with 5th seed Juan Martin Del Potro, another ridiculous result of a stupid random method of allocating seeded players to the draw. Why the top seed should have to play the highest ranked of the players ranked 5-8 is unfathomable, just as is the reason why the highest of the 5-8 should play anyone but seed number 4 in the quarters.
Del Potro will successfully navigate his way through talented Canadian Raonic, with Lu from Taipai the one unseeded player in that area who may cause an upset or two.
A five setter between Rafa and Del Potro with the Spanish bull through to the semis.
Roger Federer will stroll through to a fourth round clash with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, although Stakhovsky is hanging around there and we know what he did to Roger at Wimbledon last year - not gonna happen here! By the way Jo-Wilfried will not be as friendly as he was the other night for Roger Federer and Friends.
Andy Murray has not had the best lead up to an Aus Open that he would want, but still looks the goods to reach a quarterfinal with I am thinking Tsonga. Federer gone on the second Monday is a big call but going on my record Roger must be breathing a sigh of relief at the selection. Murray will need to bring a better game to the court than the one currently being produced or Isner will do him over, having just won in Auckland. However Isner has an appalling Grand Slam record, including at Melbourne Park where he has made the final 16 only once in five attempts.
Nadal will play Tsonga in a replay of the 2008 semi but with Rafa proving the better on this occasion.
The bottom of the draw sees a smooth run for the three time defending champion Novak Djokovic, and none of his opponents or possible opponents for the first three rounds offer credible resistance to the world number two. He has either not lost to or not played any of them. If he plays Fognini in the fourth round as the seedlings suggest, he will know that the Italian triumphed over him once. It was their first meeting in Qualifying in 2006. The three times they met last year - all in Masters series events - were resounding wins for Novak. Stanislas Wawrinka looms large as Novak's quarter final opponent, and only Richard Gasquet appears capable of preventing that meeting. Already the Chennai champ this year, Stan will be itching to avenge the five set defeat suffered at the hands of Djokovic in last year's Open, 12-10 in the fifth.
I believe that Novak is primed to take enough of what Stan can throw and win through again - whether it is against third seed David Ferrer in the semis is the difficult question.
Ferrer began 2013 winning anything on which he laid his hands, whereas this year he has lost in the second round in Doha and the semis in Auckland, both to players outside the world top 50.
I believe he will be better focused come Melbourne Park and should be too accomplished even for the seeds in his section, Youzhny, Janowicz and Chardy. His problems commence with Tomas Berdych in the quarter final - Berdych has too many guns for each of his prospective opponents including Tommy Haas.
Ferrer has been the more consistent at Grand Slam level and once more he will participate in a semi final at Melbourne Park, only to be denied by Novak Djokovic.
We will see another final at the highest level between the two best in the game. If it comes anywhere close to what they gave us in 2012 then fasten your seat belts for part two of the ride of your life. This one is seriously a coin toss. I cannot predict a winner pre-tournament. I hope it is Novak, and I can make a case for him winning, but equally I know where he is vulnerable to Rafa.
Force me and I pick Djokovic.
Saturday, 11 January 2014
Aus Open Draw has Serena smiling
While Australian players are left wondering how many mirrors they must have broken and how many ladders they must have walked under in the past 12 months in order to receive such a walloping in the Australian Open Draw Ceremony (home Grand Slam event advantage - that's a laugh), the seeded players have spent their first nights post-Draw pondering the possible paths left them en route to glory or disaster.
Let us have a clinical look at some of the match ups, should things go according to rankings, or in a few cases according to our hearts.
Ladies first - Starting at the top, Serena Williams is in what I will call the quieter half of the draw, and her first round opponent is Australia's Ash Barty who is claiming (using all the spin of a wily politician) that she is excited by the prospect of a match with the best. The prospect of course is defeat, and the young and extremely talented teenager clearly would have loved the clash with Serena to have been somewhat later in the Open.
The top seed was none to pleased that her compatriot and upstart Sloane Stephens removed her from proceedings in the quarter final last year, so to see the young American on the bottom (noisier) side of the draw puts paid to a repeat of that nonsense at least until the final.
Serena is seeded to play Hantuchova in the third round and Ana Ivanovic in the fourth round. However, Australians want Samantha Stosur to be that round of sixteen opponent. It becomes messy here, because Sam first needs to win her opening match, a task often proved to be difficult here. Stosur just lost to her first round opponent, Klara Zakopalova, in Hobart's semis in straight sets and even if she manages to reverse that result in Melbourne, her second round opponent will likely be the winner of the just completed Sydney event, Tsvetana Pironkova - Pironkova defeated Errani, Kvitova and Kerber to win that title. Ana Ivanovic won in Auckland last week so all of the form in the first three rounds is against Samantha.
Why am I even talking about this though? Serena Williams will be playing whoever happens to win through all of that drama and end the tournament for that person there and then.
Sara Errani is drawn to be the quarter final "threat" to Serena's assault on Aus Open number 6, and at her best she hasn't sufficient weapons to pose a concern. Making it worse for Sara is her form coming into Melbourne which hasn't inspired one bit.
The fun is deciding the Williams semi final opponent, and the money would have to be for 4th seed Li Na, who impressed so much at the end of 2013 and is already a winner this year. She has drawn Kvitova or Kerber in her quarter final, but may first have to sneak past Venus Williams who is the dangerous unseeded player looming as a fourth round fly in the ointment for the 2011 and 2013 runner up. The Auckland form of the older sister is reason enough to watch her progress with interest.
From the top (quieter) section of the draw, my prediction is a semi final according to the seedings, with Serena Williams perhaps taking 3 sets to overcome Li Na.
Now to the noisier part of the draw. The top half of the bottom half is the Sharapova quarter. We know that the number 3 seed has a great record over many years at the Aus Open. winning in 2008, twice a finalist and three times semi finalist.
Her hardest match in the first week is probably her first round clash with in form American Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Other than that 16th seed Carla Suarez Navarro in the fourth round will pose more problems for the scoreboard than for Maria as the Russian screams into another quarter final. Her Brisbane form was surprising, considering the length of time out of the game, and her hunger must be as great as ever.
Meeting Maria in the quarters is scheduled to be 8th seed Jelena Jankovic, my favourite player, and naturally my heart wants that match-up to occur. On paper, it is a reasonably friendly draw for the Serbian former semi finalist here (that was 2008 and never past the 4th round apart from that) but Simona Halep is the probable fourth round opponent, and Halep had a huge 2013, winning multiple tournaments. Also lurking in this part of the draw is unseeded former top ten player Andrea Petkovic whose match against Serena in Brisbane suggested that her best tennis could cause some seeded players plenty of worry.
Ultimately I believe that Maria Sharapova will cruise into the semi final, probably by defeating Jankovic, though I hope I lose my money on this one.
The bottom half of the bottom half features the number 2 seed Vika Azarenka, and she is in the sort of form that enabled her to win the past 2 Australian Opens. Her draw is one of the reasons you can see her smiling wherever she is spotted in Melbourne at the moment.
Nothing is troubling her until a likely fourth round clash with Sloane Stephens, and many of us remember last year's semi final clash between the two where Vika became very much the "bad girl" following her controversial medical timeout which appeared to change the momentum of the second set.
Should they meet, Stephens will no doubt win the hearts of the crowd again, but that will be all she wins.
Azarenka will play either Radwanska or Wozniacki in the quarters because I honestly believe that section of the draw to be very soft, and barring big upsets, Aga and Caro should waltz through to their 10th meeting - Caro leads 5-4 but has lost the past 3.
As with the top half of the draw, I am predicting the seedings to play out, with this semi final featuring a record attempt on the decibels reached in a match between 2 players. Vika and Maria to slug it out and Vika to rule. They have a decent rivalry building - 13 times they have met with Azarenka ahead 7-6. Maria has won the past two, but importantly the only time they've played at the Australian Open was the 2012 final which Vika won in a canter.
Basically I can only see the result of this Australian Open being the first leg of a possible calendar Grand Slam for Serena Williams, and further proof that while Vika is clearly the second best player on this planet, Serena is the dominant player in the known universe.
Let us have a clinical look at some of the match ups, should things go according to rankings, or in a few cases according to our hearts.
Ladies first - Starting at the top, Serena Williams is in what I will call the quieter half of the draw, and her first round opponent is Australia's Ash Barty who is claiming (using all the spin of a wily politician) that she is excited by the prospect of a match with the best. The prospect of course is defeat, and the young and extremely talented teenager clearly would have loved the clash with Serena to have been somewhat later in the Open.
The top seed was none to pleased that her compatriot and upstart Sloane Stephens removed her from proceedings in the quarter final last year, so to see the young American on the bottom (noisier) side of the draw puts paid to a repeat of that nonsense at least until the final.
Serena is seeded to play Hantuchova in the third round and Ana Ivanovic in the fourth round. However, Australians want Samantha Stosur to be that round of sixteen opponent. It becomes messy here, because Sam first needs to win her opening match, a task often proved to be difficult here. Stosur just lost to her first round opponent, Klara Zakopalova, in Hobart's semis in straight sets and even if she manages to reverse that result in Melbourne, her second round opponent will likely be the winner of the just completed Sydney event, Tsvetana Pironkova - Pironkova defeated Errani, Kvitova and Kerber to win that title. Ana Ivanovic won in Auckland last week so all of the form in the first three rounds is against Samantha.
Why am I even talking about this though? Serena Williams will be playing whoever happens to win through all of that drama and end the tournament for that person there and then.
Sara Errani is drawn to be the quarter final "threat" to Serena's assault on Aus Open number 6, and at her best she hasn't sufficient weapons to pose a concern. Making it worse for Sara is her form coming into Melbourne which hasn't inspired one bit.
The fun is deciding the Williams semi final opponent, and the money would have to be for 4th seed Li Na, who impressed so much at the end of 2013 and is already a winner this year. She has drawn Kvitova or Kerber in her quarter final, but may first have to sneak past Venus Williams who is the dangerous unseeded player looming as a fourth round fly in the ointment for the 2011 and 2013 runner up. The Auckland form of the older sister is reason enough to watch her progress with interest.
From the top (quieter) section of the draw, my prediction is a semi final according to the seedings, with Serena Williams perhaps taking 3 sets to overcome Li Na.
Now to the noisier part of the draw. The top half of the bottom half is the Sharapova quarter. We know that the number 3 seed has a great record over many years at the Aus Open. winning in 2008, twice a finalist and three times semi finalist.
Her hardest match in the first week is probably her first round clash with in form American Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Other than that 16th seed Carla Suarez Navarro in the fourth round will pose more problems for the scoreboard than for Maria as the Russian screams into another quarter final. Her Brisbane form was surprising, considering the length of time out of the game, and her hunger must be as great as ever.
Meeting Maria in the quarters is scheduled to be 8th seed Jelena Jankovic, my favourite player, and naturally my heart wants that match-up to occur. On paper, it is a reasonably friendly draw for the Serbian former semi finalist here (that was 2008 and never past the 4th round apart from that) but Simona Halep is the probable fourth round opponent, and Halep had a huge 2013, winning multiple tournaments. Also lurking in this part of the draw is unseeded former top ten player Andrea Petkovic whose match against Serena in Brisbane suggested that her best tennis could cause some seeded players plenty of worry.
Ultimately I believe that Maria Sharapova will cruise into the semi final, probably by defeating Jankovic, though I hope I lose my money on this one.
The bottom half of the bottom half features the number 2 seed Vika Azarenka, and she is in the sort of form that enabled her to win the past 2 Australian Opens. Her draw is one of the reasons you can see her smiling wherever she is spotted in Melbourne at the moment.
Nothing is troubling her until a likely fourth round clash with Sloane Stephens, and many of us remember last year's semi final clash between the two where Vika became very much the "bad girl" following her controversial medical timeout which appeared to change the momentum of the second set.
Should they meet, Stephens will no doubt win the hearts of the crowd again, but that will be all she wins.
Azarenka will play either Radwanska or Wozniacki in the quarters because I honestly believe that section of the draw to be very soft, and barring big upsets, Aga and Caro should waltz through to their 10th meeting - Caro leads 5-4 but has lost the past 3.
As with the top half of the draw, I am predicting the seedings to play out, with this semi final featuring a record attempt on the decibels reached in a match between 2 players. Vika and Maria to slug it out and Vika to rule. They have a decent rivalry building - 13 times they have met with Azarenka ahead 7-6. Maria has won the past two, but importantly the only time they've played at the Australian Open was the 2012 final which Vika won in a canter.
Basically I can only see the result of this Australian Open being the first leg of a possible calendar Grand Slam for Serena Williams, and further proof that while Vika is clearly the second best player on this planet, Serena is the dominant player in the known universe.
Friday, 10 January 2014
Petra Kvitova - time to fulfil your potential
Where is Petra Kvitova in terms of her career? The talented left hander from the Czech republic was two years ago approaching the Australian Open as the number two player in the world having just won the season ending WTA Tour Championships and earlier her first Grand Slam title on Wimbledon's grass in 2011.
People had drawn some comparisons to another Czech born left hander who won her first major at Wimbledon and proceeded to win another 8 at the same place. Martina herself predicted a stellar future for Kvitova.
Petra appeared to have the game and the desire to be the biggest name in women's tennis for a significant period to come. However, despite Kvitova making the semis at both the Aus Open and Roland Garros in 2012, it was the Aus Open champ - Vika Azarenka - who in 2012 realised her potential and took the big step up to now be the best in the world when Serena chooses to be doing something else.
Kvitova can win tournaments, defeat any opponent when her game is switched on, and could be a serious contender for the top 2 in the singles rankings. Consistency of performance, though has dragged her back and although she ranks constantly in the top ten, that is not total fulfilment of potential and not befitting of the player I saw prevail over Sharapova at Wimbledon in 2011.
2013 was a year of lost opportunities, especially at the 4 majors. Petra only made it to the second round in Melbourne, third round in both Paris and New York, and the quarters at Wimbledon. The disappointment of losing exits such as those is compounded by knowing that the defeats were to players ranked 53, 54, 20 and 81 in the world. Kvitova suffered the ignominy of further losses in the season to players ranked 71, 87 and 131.
The end of the year was better, with a final in Tokyo and semis in Beijing and the WTA Tour Championships - her only losses to fellow top ten players.
This year, after her Hopman Cup appearance, Petra survived the glut of upsets in the Sydney event only to fall to Pironkova in the semi final. Still a good lead-in effort to the Australian Open, and maybe, just maybe a 2014 full of consistent high standard tennis from a racquet capable of propelling Petra Kvitova from a regular top ten performer into one of the top two or three, and number one should Serena ever finish.
People had drawn some comparisons to another Czech born left hander who won her first major at Wimbledon and proceeded to win another 8 at the same place. Martina herself predicted a stellar future for Kvitova.
Petra appeared to have the game and the desire to be the biggest name in women's tennis for a significant period to come. However, despite Kvitova making the semis at both the Aus Open and Roland Garros in 2012, it was the Aus Open champ - Vika Azarenka - who in 2012 realised her potential and took the big step up to now be the best in the world when Serena chooses to be doing something else.
Kvitova can win tournaments, defeat any opponent when her game is switched on, and could be a serious contender for the top 2 in the singles rankings. Consistency of performance, though has dragged her back and although she ranks constantly in the top ten, that is not total fulfilment of potential and not befitting of the player I saw prevail over Sharapova at Wimbledon in 2011.
2013 was a year of lost opportunities, especially at the 4 majors. Petra only made it to the second round in Melbourne, third round in both Paris and New York, and the quarters at Wimbledon. The disappointment of losing exits such as those is compounded by knowing that the defeats were to players ranked 53, 54, 20 and 81 in the world. Kvitova suffered the ignominy of further losses in the season to players ranked 71, 87 and 131.
The end of the year was better, with a final in Tokyo and semis in Beijing and the WTA Tour Championships - her only losses to fellow top ten players.
This year, after her Hopman Cup appearance, Petra survived the glut of upsets in the Sydney event only to fall to Pironkova in the semi final. Still a good lead-in effort to the Australian Open, and maybe, just maybe a 2014 full of consistent high standard tennis from a racquet capable of propelling Petra Kvitova from a regular top ten performer into one of the top two or three, and number one should Serena ever finish.
Thursday, 9 January 2014
What have the top ranked men been up to ?
After the draw is announced I will make my usually ill advised predictions for the Australian Open this year. Until then it is best just to observe and comment on the build up to what promises to be another fabulous fortnight of competition.
To borrow car racing terminology, Serena Williams has set the fastest lap in qualifying to take provisional pole in the Women's Singles race, and will not go out again, convinced that the performance will hold up, and saving tyres for the long haul in the process.
Of the prominent male singles players Rafa won as expected in Doha, although most matches went the distance, a fact not displeasing in hindsight for the world number one as it provided valuable court time at match level pressure. He did lose a match, but only an exhibition against Ferrer in Abu Dhabi. Of course in a proper tournament the Spaniards will never repeat a result such as this.
Djokovic will enter Melbourne Park in his defence of his defence of his defence of the 2011 Australian Open crown on the back of no official tournaments, a ploy which he hopes will work well. It certainly did for Federer some years ago when he used to win these events.
Roger has had a match on Rod Laver Arena this year already and that exhibition - we are witnessing plenty of those this year - was a three setter against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to raise funds for the Federer Foundation and to raise the profile of the barely noticed Swiss player.
Another Swiss player, one could fairly argue the top player from that nation at present, won the recent event in Chennai. Stanislas Wawrinka had a breakout year in 2013 and may be a contender for even bigger honours this time around. He seriously challenged eventual champion Djokovic in the fourth round here last year and each of the top 4 seeds will be hoping not to draw Stan as a potential quarter final opponent.
Del Potro also holds some fears come the second week due to some more consistency in his output in 2013. He has cemented the number 5 ranking and depending on Andy Murray's fitness and form, the latter which is none too inspiring and the former which is not all that convincing, the tall Argentine could easily slip into the top four. Remember Andy has 1200 points to defend as runner up, and Rafa is back this time to make the defence of those points extra tough.
For locals, we are relying as for many years on Lleyton Hewitt, and he is in good shape to fly the flag manfully. The win in Brisbane brought about a change in mind - he now won't play the Kooyong Exhibition - too hard on the body - instead he will prepare in other ways (probably helping Bec with the kids) and then hit some balls with Andy Murray in another of those exhibitions, because Andy refused an offer to play in a proper tournament in Auckland and so was at a loss for something to do.
The ATP Tour has begun, and players are sorting themselves out either in tour sanctioned events or exhibitions, or just practising in earnest. However, we are now only 4 days way from the first day of
play in the Australian Open, and qualifying is underway, and many of those competing, or aspiring to compete in the men's singles are in Melbourne now.
Draw tomorrow and Day One Schedule on Sunday night - can hardly wait.
To borrow car racing terminology, Serena Williams has set the fastest lap in qualifying to take provisional pole in the Women's Singles race, and will not go out again, convinced that the performance will hold up, and saving tyres for the long haul in the process.
Of the prominent male singles players Rafa won as expected in Doha, although most matches went the distance, a fact not displeasing in hindsight for the world number one as it provided valuable court time at match level pressure. He did lose a match, but only an exhibition against Ferrer in Abu Dhabi. Of course in a proper tournament the Spaniards will never repeat a result such as this.
Djokovic will enter Melbourne Park in his defence of his defence of his defence of the 2011 Australian Open crown on the back of no official tournaments, a ploy which he hopes will work well. It certainly did for Federer some years ago when he used to win these events.
Roger has had a match on Rod Laver Arena this year already and that exhibition - we are witnessing plenty of those this year - was a three setter against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to raise funds for the Federer Foundation and to raise the profile of the barely noticed Swiss player.
Another Swiss player, one could fairly argue the top player from that nation at present, won the recent event in Chennai. Stanislas Wawrinka had a breakout year in 2013 and may be a contender for even bigger honours this time around. He seriously challenged eventual champion Djokovic in the fourth round here last year and each of the top 4 seeds will be hoping not to draw Stan as a potential quarter final opponent.
Del Potro also holds some fears come the second week due to some more consistency in his output in 2013. He has cemented the number 5 ranking and depending on Andy Murray's fitness and form, the latter which is none too inspiring and the former which is not all that convincing, the tall Argentine could easily slip into the top four. Remember Andy has 1200 points to defend as runner up, and Rafa is back this time to make the defence of those points extra tough.
For locals, we are relying as for many years on Lleyton Hewitt, and he is in good shape to fly the flag manfully. The win in Brisbane brought about a change in mind - he now won't play the Kooyong Exhibition - too hard on the body - instead he will prepare in other ways (probably helping Bec with the kids) and then hit some balls with Andy Murray in another of those exhibitions, because Andy refused an offer to play in a proper tournament in Auckland and so was at a loss for something to do.
The ATP Tour has begun, and players are sorting themselves out either in tour sanctioned events or exhibitions, or just practising in earnest. However, we are now only 4 days way from the first day of
play in the Australian Open, and qualifying is underway, and many of those competing, or aspiring to compete in the men's singles are in Melbourne now.
Draw tomorrow and Day One Schedule on Sunday night - can hardly wait.
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