Sharapova tested - for a couple of games

The final day match, effectively to determine Li Na's semi final opponent pitted second seed Maria Sharapova against compatriot Ekaterina Makarova.  Maria had spent less time on court than anyone to be paid more money than most, and Makarova could make things a little more complicated if she actually did something different from the three previous victims.  One thought is to take the word competitor just a tiny bit literally.

What Ekaterina did from the outset is use her serve to place Sharapova in situations that she was less comfortable than she had been to date in the tournament.  Accordingly Maria failed to break serve and Ekaterina led 1-0.  Sharapova had no trouble evening the situation and handing the pressure back to Makarova though I hardly think the pressure placement moved from Makarova from the time she knew that Maria was today's assignment.

With a couple of well directed double faults Makarova was able to assist Sharapova in achieving the first break of serve for the match in the third game and memory drifted back a long 48 hours to when Kirsten Flipkens won the first game and then lost the remaining twelve to Maria.  One hoped that the same fate would not befall Ekaterina.

Far from it in fact, with history being made in the fourth game.  The hitherto untouchable Sharapova serve was broken by Makarova and games now were at 2-2, a concept which the scoreboard took some time to digest, having been programmed to affix a zero in the games column of any of the Sharapova opponents in the early rounds.

The honeymoon period for Makarova lasted for the full fourth game before Sharapova took stock of her plight.  Then with tennis shots glorious to view and less pleasant to hear, Maria went on a roll, taking apart the Makarova game until it resembled nothing more than a rough idea, and parcelling up the set 6-2.

Maria strangely lowered her scream a few octaves in the second set, proving that not only does she have wonderful variety of stroke play but great vocal range to boot.  All the while Ekaterina became more confused and her original plan to combat the Sharapova all court game was now in its fifth edition, severely edited from the original.

Sharapova hit a stack of winners as she raced through yet another set dropping only two games to a disappointing Makarova. The match was won 6-2 6-2.

Maria would now play in the semi final against a level of opponent who should test her beyond the first few minutes.  Li Na won the 2011 French Open and her vanquished semi final opponent on the road to that success was none other than Maria.

Spanish Duel in the Melbourne Sun

This would not be the first time that two Spanish men had saddled up for battle in the 2013 Aus Open, but today the stakes were the highest they had been for 4th seed David Ferrer and 10th seed Nicolas Almagro.  Ferrer, an old hand at quarter finals played at this level began the favourite over Almagro who while impressive to this point had been assisted by injury to Janko Tipsarevic in the fourth round.  Never had Nicolas progressed beyond a Grand Slam tournament quarter final so a win today would be career defining.

Base line tennis was the order of the day and we had two of the best exponents to bring it to us. Ferrer had hit peak form at the right time entering this match and his accuracy surprised no one, especially not Almagro who had seen his opponent's abilities from up close over many years.  Almagro is a claycourter with a difference and the single handed backhand sets him apart from almost all professionals on tour today.

The opening set went to script for the better part, with hard hitting ground strokes from on or around the  base line, lots of spin which shocked neither player, but with a lousy first serve percentage from Almagro which Ferrer was not able to exploit.
The seventh game sponsored the only break point for the set and it came courtesy of the David Ferrer serve.  A forcing shot from Almagro, as if any of his shots deserved an alternative description, rendered a Ferrer backhand obsolete and in he process his service game broken.  Almagro led 4-3 and he led with various other scorelines until he was finally content with the one that read 6-4.  It fitted him well and he wore it into the start of Set 2.

More of the same in the second set with the players making ground to balls that had no physical right to be reached and not only that for the racquet to be prepared in such a way for the replies to be just as elusive when they landed across the other side of the net.  Again no hint of drama on serve until Ferrer located trouble when traversing through the fifth game.  It was a break point sneakily hidden by Almagro and designed to cause irreparable damage when converted, which conversion Nicolas duly undertook.

Trailing 2-3, Ferrer kept pace with Almagro to trail 3-4 and then set about retrieving the situation by investing in 15-40 on the Almagro serve in the eight game.  Nicolas had been tipped off, though, and used 2 big serves to block the break points away and move to the safety of 5-3.
David did as instructed while the remaining two games were completed and allowed Almagro to build his lead to 6-4 6-4.

Now things could really begin because Ferrer was hungry for a five setter.

Nicolas had problems with his first serve once more in Set 3 and yet again David could not take advantage.  The accuracy and weight of shot continued to define the long and far from boring rallies as the two warriors battled on.  Nicolas broke the Ferrer serve to lead 4-3 and for the first time seriously have talk circulating re the possibility of the 4th seed exit.

The break was consolidated and when the time came at 5-4 for Almagro to serve for a semi final berth, the best of David Ferrer emerged from its hiding place.

He barely missed a shot in the entire game, and that coupled with the inability of Almagro to put enough first serves into play conspired to break the serve and level the set at 5-5.

Ferrer thrived on the momentum shift as if were his own adrenalin, and he became unstoppable, taking the next two games and stealing the set from under the eyes of his mate 7-5.

The fourth set included the standard fare of powerfully hit rallies and lots of running, but the big difference came on the scoreboard where the serve was finally affected and significantly.  Many break points were created by both players and several converted, beginning with Ferrer losing his serve in the third game and lag behind 1-2.

In a case of  "any serve you can drop I can drop too" Almagro mimicked Ferrer in the very next game for 2-2.  The two played around like this in games seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven and twelve, with Almagro serving for the match in both the tenth and twelfth.

The fact that Nicolas had now failed with three attempts at serving out the match did not augur well for his chances in the tie break which was the only way to decide the fourth set since the players were obviously too intent on breaking each others serves to have worked it out beforehand.

Ferrer did win the tie break and accordingly the right to contest the fifth set which Almagro needed like a leg cramp, and it seemed he was about to inherit one of those too.

The fifth set did fall the expected way with Ferrer the more solid of the two as the match developed and the Almagro mental scars grew.  If Ferrer gives you that many chances in a match and none of them are taken then eventually it will sting you in the cruellest manner.

Ferrer into yet another semi and eyeing his first ever Grand Slam tournament final
4-6 4-6 7-5 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Aga and Li replay Sydney

The winner of today's first match would become this year's first semi finalist so much hinged on how both 4th seed Agnieszka Radwanska and 6th seed Li Na handled the early stages of their quarter final.  Li has been through to a final here but Aga more recently has made the final at Wimbledon.
Aga defeated Li for the first time in their last four meetings at the Sydney International, going on to win that tournament as part of her dominant summer so far, also winning in Auckland.

Li has also been one of the form tour players with a tournament win in China immediately to her name in 2013.

Li Na served and took forever to convince the scorer to put a "1" beside her name, deuce being the most popular call by the chair umpire.  The serve was held, with two break points saved, and a billion or so hearts moved from mouths back to chests in China.

Aga Radwanska acted upon Li Na's recommendation and chose deuce as a destination in her first crack at the serve, and happily for Poland the service hold did not require as much nerve management.
For the people who missed the start of the match and had to wait 3 games before finding their seats it proved a long wait, exacerbated by Li Na's insistence that her second service game follow the deuce pattern with break points again incorporated.  Her tactic did not pay off entirely because one of the break points was actually converted, presenting Radwanska with a 2-1 lead.

The world number 4 failed to capitalise on the break and Li Na bounced back directly with one of her own.

The match had Li Na attacking more than in Sydney, with many winners struck as a result, and the errors kept reasonably in check.  The serve added no value for which ever of the players was fortunate to be using it at the time.

Breaks occurred in games five and six before Li Na stopped the bleeding and we had 3-3.

This became 4-4 and then a service break delivered by a doctor conveniently in the crowd to a proud mum in Aga had the place rocking.
Serving too soon after the delivery, Aga made some simple mistakes and Li Na benefited.

Li Na took the reins of the first set and galloped away on it, leaving Aga and her mount at the barriers.
7-5.

Apart from the first game of Set 2, where a selection of Li Na errors were as sweet as Lindt chocolates to Aga's palate,  things were pretty much the same for the fourth seed as in Set One.
Li Na in most rallies was too strong and would end up pushing Aga off balance or out of court with her forcing forehands or backhands.  Her net tactics were smarter today also, and while not greeting the net on a Stepanek scale, whenever she did it usually was behind a suitably weighted approach shot.

The break back occurred in the fourth game and the defining moment in the sixth where a winning Li Na backhand sealed a second break and a 4-2 lead.

The Chinese star shone brightly which admittedly was odd given the blue sky and sunny conditions, but she had no worries reaching 5-3 and service to come for the win.

Aga gave one last yelp, setting up two break points, but as had been the trend all match Li Na played the big points the better and saved those and went on to victory 7-5 6-3.

Huge disappointment for Agnieszka Radwanska, still without an Aus Open Semi Final on her CV, but another example of why Li Na loves Australia.  Beware Maria Sharapova or Ekaterina Makarova.  The winner of that match will be playing a super confident Li Na who is mentally tougher than most.

Federer manages Raonic power

For the third successive match Roger Federer had the Melbourne evening as the back drop against which to produce his work.  The protagonist chosen for his recreation this time was Candadian Milos Raonic, he with such a consistently fast serve that our sadness felt with Roddicks' retirement will evaporate that much quicker.

To be able to trouble Federer, Raonic, seeded 13 and certainly a future top ten prospect, possibly higher, would need to bring to the court some other tricks;  once Roger is able to return a big serve, he virtually controls the rally in most instances, so ground stroke development and patience need constant development in order for the transition of Raonic to elite level to eventuate.

Tonight Federer won the right to serve first, and began a set of pretty solid serving, knowing that any lapse could effectively be set gone, that potent is the Raonic delivery.
Pretty solid is an understatement for it was the Federer serve that could not be touched, Milos helpless to score even off Federer's second serves.

Federer continued his run of competent returning by at least displaying an ability to lay the full face of his racquet on serves measured as swift as 220kph+. ( I think I saw 233 kph as the quickest)
The sixth game concerned the Canadian and he alleviated the worry of break points by going to his strength - an ace and powerful ground strokes.

Federer, like Djokovic, often catches his rivals napping at the end of close sets, and he grabbed Raonic by surprise tonight when the Canadian was serving at 4-5 to stay with the second seed.  Yes Milos contributed to his own downfall but the Federer pressure of holding serve so convincingly finally appeared to have had its effect with unforced errors coming at the most inopportune time.
Federer broke Raonic to win the opening set 6-4.

Set 2 was Servers Paradise.  Federer again was unstoppable when asked to serve, and Raonic gave Federer more trouble with the Canadian missiles just as fast as ever but including a touch more angle to deceive the returner.

It made for exciting viewing, perhaps at the slight expense of rallies, but we were allowed the experience of some of Federer's best forehands as a quality sideshow.
No one looked in danger on serve and so the tie break that we had to have arrived and minds wound back to the Tomic scenario and how that match swung so heavily on a second set breaker.

Here, Federer did not slip behind as he had with Tomic - he took the initiative once Raonic slipped up early, and maintained the edge through until 6 points to 3.  Raonic saved a set point but could not deny Federer who won the next and now had the two set lead he had sought. 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Again in similar vein to the Tomic match, Federer's opponent suffered a major let down after losing a key tie break.  For a serve so impregnable, it was difficult to watch Raonic fall behind 0-4 in the third set.  As the standard of tennis from Milos fell so too did the intensity of Federer who, while still in command of his game, was not required to use his "A" game any longer to deal with the Raonic challenge.

The match certainly did not have the finish of the previous night but we can't be lucky twice in a row.

Federer won comfortably 6-4 7-6 6-2

For two sets Federer played extremely well, the brand of tennis which could quite possibly see him in the final.  Raonic, with further development to other parts of his game, could become as potentially dangerous as Safin was at his peak - his service weapon is already frightening. 

Serena arranges Kirilenko exit plan

Serena Williams can sometimes be a little slow out of the gates and if players have any notions of success against her this is the time to act on them.  14th seed Maria Kirilenko had just that chance tonight.  In her fourth round match with the American, she won the first three points of the opening Williams service game to leave her 3 break points.
Serena nonchalantly saved all three, the third with  an ace, and from that moment, Kirilenko enjoyed nothing of the match.

Williams presented her opponent with a glorious serving exhibition, hardly missing with her first attempts, and not allowing Kirilenko any more points for the remainder of the set when she received the third seed rockets.

That sort of limitation makes a difficult proposition even harder to contemplate, and Maria did well to maintain concentration and hold serve initially.  With Serena hitting her forehand with such purity and power, and returning the Russian serve so efficiently,  the break in the fourth game was met with surprise only that it took this long to achieve.

The 3-1 lead extended to 4-2, with more credit due to the 14th seed for resisting the temptation to drop her bundle and surrender to the irresistible force that Serena generated tonight.

At 2-5 however, Williams deemed proceedings to have gone sufficiently overtime and organised the cessation to first set frivolities.  The two agreed on service break terms with a comfortable settlement for Maria in return giving the game to Serena and the first set 6-2.

Serena's second set of tennis was no less dominant than the first with Maria's serve being monstered at every opportunity.  The court coverage impressed, as did just about all other parts of the Williams game, as she did just enough to guarantee that this set would come at a cost of points and not games.

Often it could have been a junior who had become lost and wandered onto the wrong court, so far out of her depth did Kirilenko appear.  Sure Maria played below her potential but much of this was deternined by the unwillingness of Serena to allow her to produce the tennis of which she is capable and has previously demonstrated.

Serena Williams into a quarter final 6-2 6-0.

French Duo in friendly fire

In one of the best matches of the Aus Open so far, on paper at least, Richard Gasquet, ninth seed, had obligations to finalise the day program on Rod Laver Arena against long time friend and fellow Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
The prize for the winner would be a quarter final clash with either Roger Federer or Milos Raonic.

The promise of good things from the pairing in the first set came to fruition as the crowd were given a terrific spectacle of quality tennis with dash and colour.  Plenty of winners were struck with textbook execution but also occasions demanded that risks be taken to exact that additional edge.  Sometimes these can result in tears, but for the most part today, certainly in Set 1, the pay off was well worth the effort, both in points won and for crowd delight.

Richard Gasquet's backhand is regarded by some as an art treasure, and he put it on display for patrons today.  There is a chance that an exhibition of his best backhands over the years will go on tour following the Aus Open, beginning with Federation Square.  However, as good as that shot may be, it alone could not prevent Jo-Wilfried from using his all court game to advantage and break the Gasquet serve in game one.

For the rest of the set, or the next seven games I should say, the tennis was very watchable, and that is handy for any line judges who may be thinking of turning away from time to time.  Any more break points created, and Jo-Wilfried did all the making, in this period were swept away until we had reached 5-4 with Tsonga to serve for the set.  At this moment Richard became busy in the break point manufacturing industry, building three modern looking structures for Tsonga to consider.  Jo-Wilfried decided against investing in them at this time, preferring to hold onto his serve which would return him a handy dividend - Set 1 at the going rate 6-4.

Gasquet made amends for his failure in Set 1 by beating Tsonga in a race to collect the sole service break for the second set.  The tennis maintained its high level of quality, though perhaps a floor or two lower than the penthouse of set one, and once the set had been safely claimed it was back to level pegging.

Jo-Wilfried asserted himself in the third set, claiming the early break and ensuring his serve was never threatened.  Gasquet was diligent without anything special to overwhelm Tsonga.  He contributed his role to perfection, that of the supporting cast.  Tsonga tightened his grip on proceedings leading two sets to one.

The fourth set was more of the same from a consistently impressive Tsonga who may yet become Federer's biggest obstacle to glory here.  Gasquet played good tennis but struggled to maintain the pace of the first set throughout the match and faded toward the end.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga prevailed 6-4 3-6 6-4 6-2.

Vesnina latest Vika victim

A number of parallels exist when comparing today's mismatch between top seed Victoria Azarenka and Russian Elena Vesnina, and yesterday's practice hit that Sharapova had with someone in the guise of a fourth round encounter.
The winners are the finalists from last year's Aus Open.  Both victors spend more energy vocalising than hitting tennis balls.  Both Vika and Maria send more demoralised losing players into therapy than any other tour professionals.

Today Elena Vesnina, fresh from her first WTA victory in Hobart in the lead up to the Aus Open, must have harboured thoughts of a creditable performance against the top seed in the fourth round.  She had after all defeated the 21st and 16th seeds en route to this occasion.  Those scalps are meaningful to Elena and to some others, but of course they don't mean a thing to Vika who has players ranked anywhere outside the top ten for breakfast.

So the only thing of importance to the Belarusian was that Elena had a racquet with which to defend herself, because what ever else they might say about Azarenka she does fight fair.

Once the bell rang for the first round, Vika belted Elena into submission and she went for the towel.  Not quite the white towel at this stage, but she had her serve broken, and a quick check thankfully found that no bones had been similarly fractured.

Vika continued by serving it up to her already clearly rattled opponent and the judges all had her ahead on points after two rounds.  The scoring punches were mainly from the forehand and they were indeed powerful blows.

Vika returned again and again with purpose and luckily Elena moved her body in time to avoid the blows which she mainly took on the racquet, but still the scoring shots landed.  Vesnina landed one of her own but trailed on the card 1-4 before a flurry of exchanges saw Vika once again pass through the Russian's defence forcing a weak response.  The first phase of the fight was awarded to the Belarusian 6-1 and she sat down in her corner very contented.

The second phase of this bout opened with the first round and a series of blows from Elena saw the champion fall behind 0-1.  That infuriated Vika who threw back everything and the kitchen sink to score off both backhand and forehand to gain the advantage and stretch it to 5-1 before serving up a big one to take the bout 6-1 6-1.

Vika will return to fight in the quarter final against renowned pugilist Svetlana Kuznetsova while Elena Vesnina goes back into serious training.