Quote For The Day

by Craig Hickman


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"She's like a ball machine. She hits a lot of balls back, hits them hard and deep.

"I mean, I'd say I should have done a much better job on her serve, because her serve is definitely one of her weaker parts of the game, but… "

--Maria Sharapova, after her loss to Zheng Jie at Indian Wells yesterday.

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Women's Singles - Third Round
(2) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. (32) Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 60 63
(4) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) 64 62
(5) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. (31) Gisela Dulko (ARG) 61 60
(18) Zheng Jie (CHN) d. (10) Maria Sharapova (RUS) 63 26 63
(11) Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. Jill Craybas (USA) 62 60
(16) Nadia Petrova (RUS) d. Peng Shuai (CHN) 61 75
(19) Aravane Rezai (FRA) d. (15) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 67(4) 76(2) 64
(WC) Alicia Molik (AUS) d. (Q) Elena Baltacha (GBR) 60 62

Women's Doubles - Second Round
(2) Llagostera Vives/Martínez Sánchez (ESP/ESP) d. Dulko/Pennetta (ARG/ITA) 75 76(4)
Benesova/Zahlavova Strycova (CZE/CZE) d. (5) Kleybanova/Schiavone (RUS/ITA) 57 75 10-1
(6) Mattek-Sands/Yan (USA/CHN) d. (WC) Garbin/Jankovic (ITA/SRB) 64 46 10-5

Singles - Third Round
[29] V Troicki (SRB) d [5] N Davydenko (RUS) w/o (broken left wrist)

Men's Singles - Second Round
[1] R Federer (SUI) d V Hanescu (ROU) 63 67(5) 61
[4] A Murray (GBR) d A Seppi (ITA) 64 64
[6] R Soderling (SWE) d E Korolev (KAZ) 62 64
[7] A Roddick (USA) d [Q] Y Lu (TPE) 64 64
[9] J Tsonga (FRA) d [Q] M Matosevic (AUS) 61 63
S Greul (GER) d [12] G Monfils (FRA) 16 62 63
J Blake (USA) d [13] D Ferrer (ESP) 61 64
D Sela (ISR) d [14] R Stepanek (CZE) 64 16 62
[18] T Robredo (ESP) d S Stakhovsky (UKR) 36 63 75
[22] J Melzer (AUT) d [WC] D Nalbandian (ARG) 64 61
N Almagro (ESP) d [23] I Karlovic (CRO) 75 76(5)
[24] A Montanes (ESP) d [Q] R Mello (BRA) 36 64 64
[27] M Baghdatis (CYP) d A Clement (FRA) 76(7) 61
[28] F Lopez (ESP) d P Mathieu (FRA) 36 63 64
T de Bakker (NED) d [30] J Tipsarevic (SRB) 32 ret. (abdominal strain)
M Russell (USA) d [32] I Andreev (RUS) 46 63 62

Men's Doubles - Second Round
M Llodra (FRA) / A Ram (ISR) d J Tipsarevic (SRB) / V Troicki (SRB) w/o (Tipsarevic - abdominal strain)

Men's Doubles - First Round
[1] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d E Butorac (USA) / R Ram (USA) 63 64
T Berdych (CZE) / P Kohlschreiber (GER) d [2] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) 76(4) 75
[WC] M Lopez (ESP) / R Nadal (ESP) d [3] L Dlouhy (CZE) / L Paes (IND) 64 36 10-6
[6] S Aspelin (SWE) / P Hanley (AUS) d J Kerr (AUS) / F Polasek (SVK) 75 63
F Lopez (ESP) / F Verdasco (ESP) d [WC] M Ancic (CRO) / M Fish (USA) 76(9) 63

Australian Open 2010 Awards

by Craig Hickman

The Uluru/Ayers Rock Award
For the player who emerged almost out of nowhere and glowed red at sunset



Nicolas Almagro for his late-match, red-hot surge against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the fourth round.

The Red Kangaroo Award
For the player who made the biggest leap



Marin Cilic finally jumped over Juan Martín del Potro at a Slam and landed in his first major semifinal. Too bad all his five-setters caught up with him after winning the first set against Andy Murray.

The Twelve Apostles Award
For the player who rose up to produce the most rock solid game amidst the imminent threat of being washed away



Serena Williams for yet another ledge-end-ary comeback Down Under against Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals.

The Koala Award
For the player you just wanted to pick up and hug



Zheng Jie after being stampeded by her idol in the semifinals.

The Great Barrier Reef Award
For the player who created the largest tectonic uplift in the draw



Nadia Petrova for severely eroding Kim Clijsters in the third round.

The Aboriginal Award
For the veteran player who achieved the most success with his native talents



Roger Federer's movement throughout this fortnight was surprisingly efficient. Wasn't that long ago I thought he'd lost a step. If his training regimen doesn't include some combination of ballet, tango/mambo, waltz, tap or Tai Chi, I'd be shocked.

The Tasmanian Devil Award
For the player who delivered the best nocturnal performance



Jo-Wilfried Tsonga against Tommy Haas in the third round.

The Outback Award
For the wildest match of the fortnight



Li Na def. Venus Williams 2-6, 7-6(4), 7-5, Quarterfinals

Venus opened as though she'd run through the match like a river. But the last set and a half was one exhausting expanse of barren terrain. How many times did you think it might never end? Arguably the ugliest televised match of the fortnight, it becomes an early frontrunner for worst match of the year.

The Three Dingoes Award
For the players who fell prey to their own hunting



Igor Andreev and Nikolay Davydenko for their gigantic chokes against Roger Federer in the first round and quarterfinals, respectively, and Alisa Kleybanova for her total collapse against Justine Henin.

And for a few of our more traditional awards:

Best Dressed
Lleyton Hewitt and Samantha Stosur, Australia

Reuters

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Best WTA Match
Serena Williams def. Justine Henin 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, Final

Reuters

I didn't realize how riveting was this tug of war between two of the tour's most decorated champions till watching it a second time.

Best ATP Match (Tie)
Juan Martín del Potro def. James Blake 6-4, 6-7(3), 5-7 6-3 10-8, Second Round

Reuters

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Nicolas Almagro, 6-3 6-4 4-6 6-7(6) 9-7, Round of 16


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Both featured one tiebreak and went into overtime in the fifth set. Both featured surprisingly exquisite performances from the losing warriors. Both could have continued for another hour. The electrifying tennis sticks in my memory like good preaching.

Speaking of preaching.
I need a day of rest.
At least.

See you when I see you.

Faces Of The Day

Reuters

Men's Singles - Semifinals
[5] A Murray (GBR) d [14] M Cilic (CRO) 36 64 64 62

Men's Doubles - Semifinals
[1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) d M Kohlmann (GER) / J Nieminen (FIN) 61 64
[2] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d I Karlovic (CRO) / D Vemic (SRB) 64 64


Reuters

Women's Singles - Semifinals
(1) Serena Williams (USA) d. (16) Li Na (CHN) 76(4) 76(1)
(WC) Justine Henin (BEL) d. Zheng Jie (CHN) 61 60

Women's Doubles - Semifinals
(1) Black/Huber (ZIM/USA) d. (15) Kirilenko/A.Radwanska (RUS/POL) 61 16 63
(2) Williams/Williams (USA/USA) d. (6) Raymond/Stubbs (USA/AUS) 63 76(6)

Australian Open 2010 Day 11 Open Thread

Getty

Andy Murray of Great Britain signs autographs for fans after a practice session during day ten of the 2010 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 27, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia.

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Some call her the Fierce Stomping Diva. I call her Serena the Great. Whatever you call her, there's no question that she's the queen of comebacks Down Under. Last night, when ESPN flashed a graphic listing all of Serena's great come-from-behind wins at the Australian Open, I saw in one shot why I fell for the never-say-die champion.

After falling behind a set and 4-0 to Victoria Azarenka, I didn't believe she had another one in her. But she clicked in, Azarenka blinked, and that was all she wrote.

One of Serena's most irrational Internet critics once called Serena pure evil. He holds an interesting theory that she plans such comebacks on purpose in order to crush the spirit of the opponent and to maintain a mental advantage over said opponent moving forward.

Even I don't give Serena that much credit. I mean, really. If Serena is that calculating, if she has that much confidence in her abilities to execute such a calculation, then she's a badder bitch than I could have ever imagined falling for.

Here's hoping she won't need to pull off any more great escapes at this event. Once advancing past the quarterfinals in Melbourne, she has always won the event. I'm picking her over Li Na in straight sets.

As much as I'm happy to see two Chinese players in the final four of a Slam for the first time, and at the Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific, no less, I'm going to give Zheng Jie a 10% chance to overcome the cheating Justine Henin, who'll blast returns by Zheng and advance in straight sets.

As for the men, I'm thinking Marin Cilic is finally going to make Andy Murray play more than three sets Down Under. And I think the cerebral giant is going to win and advance to his first Grand Slam final.

Mad Professah's picks are here and here.

Who you got?

Order Of Play For Thursday, 28 January 2010

Rod Laver Arena 11:00 Start Time

1. Men's Doubles - Semifinals
Ivo Karlovic(CRO)/Dusan Vemic(SRB) v. Daniel Nestor(CAN)[2]/Nenad Zimonjic(SRB)[2]

Not Before:13:30*

2. Women's Singles - Semifinals
Serena Williams (USA)[1] v. Na Li (CHN)[16]
3. Women's Singles - Semifinals
Justine Henin (BEL) v. Jie Zheng (CHN)

Rod Laver Arena 19:30 Start Time

1. Men's Singles - Semifinals
Marin Cilic (CRO)[14] v. Andy Murray (GBR)[5]

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*(Before folks go off on the order of the women's semifinals, Serena has a doubles match to play later in the day, so she has to play first. Even with the shorter turnaround, it's the right schedule.)

Australian Open 2010: Women's Semifinals Preview

by Mad Professah

Previously, I predicted the results of 3 of the 4 the men's quarterfinals correctly but only 1 of 4 of the women's quarterfinals correctly. Here is my women's semifinals preview:

Serena Williams USA (1) vs. Na Li CHN (16) Venus Williams USA (6). Yesterday was a pretty rough day for fans of the Williams sisters. Older sister Venus somehow managed to lose a match despite being up a set and a break. She served for the match (in the sun) at 6-2, 5-4! In the deciding third set there were 9 breaks of serve through 12 games. I mildly disagree with people who are saying it is destined to be "the ugliest match of the year" although it must be said it was hard to watch. It was doubly disappointing because if Venus had won the match she could have been ranked as high as World #3 on Monday. Anyway, congratulations to Li Na for winning her first major quarterfinal 2-6, 7-6(4) 7-5. The Chinese player has now beaten the 7-time major champion twice on huge stages (the first victory was at the Beijing Olympics). After the drama of Venus' loss it was doubly distressing to see Serena down 4-6, 0-4 before she finally started serving properly. The World #1 player had not been broken in 4 matches in Melbourne and was broken 5 times in her 5th. Her comeback to win this match was a truly remarkable achievement because Serena made her opponent absolutely irrelevant. After winning 5 games in a row it was crystal clear that the winner of the match would be decided by what Serena Williams did with her racket, not what Azarenka did. Serena started serving well and in response to the Belorussian's increasingly piercing shrieks quietly pulverized the ball into the corners of the court to seal a 4-6, 7-6(4) 6-2 win. I set up my preview of the women's semifinal with a review of what the two combatants experienced the round before in order to place this semifinal in context. It will be contested between two players who have stared defeat in the face and come through with a victory. This should free up both players to play their best tennis, but if Serena plays her best tennis, there's no one who is going to beat her, even if her mobility is limited. She desperately wants to defend her Australian title and match the Grand Slam singles total of one her idols, Billie Jean King, at twelve. This match will take her one step closer to that goal.
MadProfessah's pick: Serena in 2 sets.

Justine Henin BEL vs. Jie Zheng CHN. Two semifinalists at the same Grand Slam from one country is a significant achievement for any nation and the fact that the Williams family has achieved it so many times (8, at my count) should be acknowledged. However, today the future of tennis is here with two Chinese players in the semifinals of a major. Sadly, they are on opposite sides of the draw so it is not a certainty that a Chinese player will compete for tennis's highest prize, in fact it is highly improbable. The 7-time major champion from Belgium will dismiss the 2-time major semifinalist from China without much drama or complications, setting up a mouthwatering final tennis fans have been waiting five years to see: Justine Henin versus Serena Williams playing well at the same time in a Grand Slam final. MadProfessah's pick: Henin in 2 sets.

Day 9: Wounded

Reuters

Rafael Nadal of Spain receives medical treatment as he plays Andy Murray of Britain during their quarter-final match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne January 26, 2010.


Reuters

Russia's Maria Kirilenko is tended to by a trainer during her quarterfinal match against Zheng Jie of China at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne January 26, 2010.


Reuters

Andy Roddick of the United States of America recieves medical attention between games in his quarterfinal match against Marin Cilic of Croatia during day nine of the 2010 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 26, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia.

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Singles - Quarterfinals
[5] A Murray (GBR) d [2] R Nadal (ESP) 63 76(2) 30 ret. (right knee)
[14] M Cilic (CRO) d [7] A Roddick (USA) 76(4) 63 36 26 63

Doubles - Quarter-finals
[1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) d E Butorac (USA) / R Ram (USA) 75 46 76(2)
M Kohlmann (GER) / J Nieminen (FIN) d F Gonzalez (CHI) / I Ljubicic (CRO) 46 61 20 ret. (Ljubicic - right thigh)

Doubles - Third Round
I Karlovic (CRO) / D Vemic (SRB) d [5] L Kubot (POL) / O Marach (AUT) 26 76(11) 76(4)

Women's Singles - Quarterfinals
(WC) Justine Henin (BEL) d. (19) Nadia Petrova (RUS) 76(3) 75
Zheng Jie (CHN) d. Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 61 63

Doubles - Quarterfinals
(2) Williams/Williams (USA/USA) d. (8) Mattek-Sands/Yan (USA/CHN) 64 46 64
(6) Raymond/Stubbs (USA/AUS) d. (13) Dulko/Pennetta (ARG/ITA) 46 62 62

Doubles - Third Round
(1) Black/Huber (ZIM/USA) d. Azarenka/Kuznetsova (BLR/RUS) 63 63

Australian Open 2010 Day 9 Open Thread

Source

It's Australia Day, the day Aussies celebrate the landing of the First Fleet with Captain Phillip and the convicts.

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We have arrived at the quarterfinals. MadProfessah's picks are here and here.

For today's bottom half matchups, I'm going with Rafael Nadal in four, Marin Cilic in four, Justine Henin in three, and Zheng Jie in three.

For Roddick to avoid the upset, he's going to have to block out his knee pain and hope that his experience can carry him through if Cilic tightens up at the end of sets as he did against Juan Martin del Potro.

If Murray is to have a chance of dismissing a man determined to defend his title.... Scratch that. He has no chance. Oh, he'll make it interesting and give Rafa's fans a few strokes, but he has no chance.

Miss Nadia will have to win in straights -- which I believe she can, here's hoping she does, too -- and MariaK's going to have to believe she belongs in the final four of a Slam.

Who you got?

Order Of Play For Tuesday, 26 January 2010

Rod Laver Arena 11:00 Start Time

1. Women's Singles - Quarterfinals
Justine Henin (BEL) v. Nadia Petrova (RUS)[19]
2. Women's Singles - Quarterfinals
Jie Zheng (CHN) v. Maria Kirilenko (RUS)
3. Men's Singles - Quarterfinals
Andy Roddick (USA)[7] v. Marin Cilic (CRO)[14]

Rod Laver Arena 19:30 Start Time
1. Men's Singles - Quarterfinals
Andy Murray (GBR)[5] v. Rafael Nadal (ESP)[2]

Australian Open 2010: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

by Mad Professah

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

Serena Williams USA (1) vs. Victoria Azarenka BLR (7). Serena is playing like a woman on a mission. Her performance against 13 seed Samantha Stosur in the round before was, in a word, scary. Pam Shriver called it the best serving she had seen by a female player, ever. Although at the start of the tournament I did not predict Serena to win this title, mostly because she has only defended a title once in ten attempts and I was also entranced by the odd-year symmetry of her wins down under, after seeing what she did to the Aussie's No. 1 player, I think the rest of the field should be afraid, very afraid. Interestingly, one of the few players who is not afraid of playing Serena is the feisty No. 7 seed from Belarus, who almost derailed Serena here last year, leading by a set and a break before she was overwhelmed by the heat and retired ignominiously. Azarenka did get her revenge by dispatching a clearly injured Serena in straight sets to win the "fifth major" in Miami later that year so I am confident that Serena will take this match very seriously. Azarenka finished off her last match by inflicting a bagel on Vera Zvonareva in the third set, a not uncommon occurrence. What is an uncommon occurrence in this tournament is Serena in trouble on her serve. She is the only player, male or female, who has not had her service broken, and eliminated the three breakpoints she faced yesterday with three aces. An incredible performance indeed. The only question for Serena is whether she is peaking too early, or whether she is going to continue to play at this high-level for the rest of the tournament. If the latter is indeed, true, then Serena Williams be the 2010 Australian Open women singles champion, regardless of what happens in the rest of the draw. PREDICTION: Serena in 3 sets.

Na Li CHN (16) vs Venus Williams USA (6). I really like the play of the veteran Chinese player (so much so I named my dog after her!) and except for the hiccup against Francesca Schiavone in the previous round, Venus has been playing pretty good, if not overwhelmingly aggressive, tennis. With her natural power and athletic ability that is enough to get the older Williams sister through most matches by simply overwhelming most opponents and the relatively diminutive Li Na will most likely be no exception. PREDICTION: Venus in 2 sets.

Elena Dementieva RUS (5) Justine Henin BEL vs. Kim Clijsters BEL (15). Nadia Petrova RUS (19). I really expected to see Elena Dementieva and/or Kim Clijsters in this quarter of the draw, but it looks like the hard-hitting and extremely talented Petrova may have finally quieted the doubting voices in her head and is simply letting her tennis do the speaking for her. She has the game to beat just about anyone when she is playing her best and is one of the prototypical "big babes." Henin is playing in her first major tournament in two years, and is trying to repeat (or overshadow) her Belgian compatriot Clijsters who was able to win a grand slam within a few weeks of her return to the tour from retirement. Henin has looked to be about 80-90% as effective as she was before she left, and I have no doubt that she will be a threat to win any major she enters this year, and a lock in Paris. However, her wins have become increasingly labored with every successive round. This match is the hardest of the four to predict the result (and most likely will be the hardest to watch, as well). PREDICTION: Petrova in 2 sets or Henin in 3.

Jelena Jankovic SRB (8) Jie Zheng CHN vs. Maria Sharapova RUS (14) Maria Kirilenko RUS. The surprise quarterfinalists! I definitely expected a different Maria from Russia to be occupying this quarterfinal berth, but good job for "the Other Maria" to finally break out of the shadow of her best friend on the tour and not only eliminate Sharapova in the first round but continue all the way to the final eight. The second Chinese player in the quarterfinal represents the first time two Chinese players have made it this far simultaneously in a major tournament, with Zheng also having played in the 2008 Wimbledon ladies semifinal. I believe this match will be determined by who wants it more, not by the tennis of the two players. In that case, I prefer to go with the person who has not been here before. Either way, I have serious doubts the person from this quarter will be making it to the final. PREDICTION: Kirilenko in 3 sets.