AUS OPEN 2011: Day 1 and Day 2 Highlights

Nalbandian celebrates his marathon win over Hewitt

The first two days of the 2011 Australian Open are over and the entire first round has been played.

MEN
All of the favorites on the men's side have made it through to the second round: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Robin Soderling, John Isner. Other highlights of the first round include 2009 US Open winner Juan Martin Del Potro winning in straight sets over  Dudi Sela, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga came back from 2-sets down to win in 5-sets, as did his countryman Gael Monfils. The only important player to lose was Sam Querrey who lost a tough 5-setter to Lukasc Kubot.

The match of the tournament so far was David Nalbandian's 4 hour, 48-minute win 3-6 6-4 6-3 7-6(1) 9-7 thrilling win over 2-time major champion Lleyton Hewitt.

WOMEN
On the women's side Caroline Wozniacki, Kim Clijsters, Samantha Stosur, Venus Williams, Justine Henin, Victoria Azarenka have all advanced to the 2nd round. The first round highlights were Clijsters 6-0 6-0 drubbing of former #1 Dinara Safina and former World #1 Ana Ivanovic finally succumbed 4-6 6-4 10-8 after saving 5 match points against Ekaterina Makarova in probably the most drama-filled match of the day.

Best (Women's) Tennis Matches of 2010

Here are my picks for the "best" (most memorable) tennis matches by women in 2010. These are basically the matches that had the most impact on me while they were occurring, feature some of the best play, had the most impact on the rest of the year or would be ones that I would most likely to watch again in the future. You can see my previous lists: Best Women's Tennis Matches of 2009 ,Best Women's Tennis Matches of 2007, and  Best Women's Tennis Matches of 2006.

1. S. Williams USA d. J. Henin BEL, 6-4 3-6 6-2, 2010 Australian Open final, Melbourne.

The finals of the 2010 Grand Slam tournaments (Australian, French, Wimbledon, U.S.) are often contenders for the most memorable matches of the year, due to the historic and reputational stakes at play depending on the result which sometimes (but not often) leads to high-quality tennis. The set up for this match was Justine Henin's return to professional tennis after a "retirement" of just over 18 months. The two had never been friendly and Henin had beaten Serena Williams in three consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals the last year they had met in 2007. Williams had won this tournament 4 times before (always in an odd year) and had never been able to successfully defend an Australian Open title. She had also had a near-death experience on her way to the final against Vika Azarenka; it was unclear if this would strengthen or weaken her confidence. What resulted was a match for the ages; Henin (inexplicably) decided to radically modify her game and go for broke on her return-of-serve and basically hit the ball as hard as she could whenever she had the opportunity. She also repeatedly rushed the net. Williams was placed into the unusual position for her of facing someone who was being even more aggressive on court. It was a high-stakes gamble for Henin which in one 10 minute period towards the end of the second set appeared to be paying dividends when the Belgian was able to win 4 games in a row (barely losing a point). However, in the third set Williams steadied her game and Henin's match inexperience with her own new service motion led to her downfall as the double faults and missed serves began to pile up, allowing Serena to win her 5th Australian Open title and 12th major title overall.

2. S. Stosur AUS d. S. Williams USA, 6-2 6-7(2) 8-6, 2010 French Open quarterfinal, Paris.

This was the match that decided the 2010 Roland Garros title. I am absolutely convinced that if Serena Williams had won this match she would have gone on to win her second French Open title. Amazingly, Williams actually possessed a match point late in the third set but hit an attempted winner down-the-line (instead of cross-court!) an inch or two long. Samantha Stosur had been widely regarded as a very talented doubles player but not really much of a singles threat at a major prior to this tournament. In fact, Williams had easily beaten Stosur in straight sets in Australia earlier in the year. However, in the 2010 clay court season Stosur had the most match wins of anyone on tour and her universally respected serve had become more of a weapon as her confidence increased in direct proportion to her match-win total. Always an excellent mover and possessing a great top-spin forehand as well as a both a slice and two-handed backhand, Stosur's Achilles heel had been her mental toughness. However, after beating Justine Henin, the 4-time French Open champion in the round before, Stosur showed that she had made significant progress towards erasing those doubts and took the rightful place her talent indicated in the Top 5 of Women's Tennis and a perennial threat to win major titles in the future.

3. K. Clijsters BEL d. V. Williams, 4-6 7-6(2) 6-4, 2010 U.S. Open semifinal, New York City.

A major tournament is always diminished by the absence of the #1 player in the world, even if they are not the defending champion. Serena Williams' absence at the 2010 US Open loomed over the tournament like the very dark stormclouds which disturbed play in the later rounds. Serena's absence led to speculation that it could help her sister Venus Williams to her best performance at a non-Wimbledon major tournament since 2003. Venus was not at her best physically but had a dream draw until she ran into defending champion Kim Clijsters after winning 5 matches relatively easily. The result was another curious showdown between Venus and Kim (but not as curious as 2009's 6-0 0-6 6-4 quarterfinal result) where the Belgian was able to come out on top by simply playing the big points better even though Venus basically dictated play for most of the match. Venus failed to respond to the call of history when the big moments showed up (2nd set tiebreak and 4-all in the third). Clijsters went on to win her 3rd US Open title in three tries and has a remarkable winning streak in New York dating back to 2005. Hopefully she can broaden her success to the other majors before she leaves the tour again in 2012.

4. K. Clijsters BEL d. J. Henin BEL, 6-3 4-6 7-6(6), Brisbane International final, Brisbane.

This was the first match that I saw in 2010 that I knew would end up on this list of the most memorable of the year. Despite their public protestations to the contrary, it is clear the "Belgian sisters" Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin do not like each other and that became blindingly clear in as this match progressed. Henin was playing in one of her first matches back on the tour, and Clijsters was coming off her 2009 US Open win. Clijsters easily won the first set and was cruising up 4-1 in the second when suddenly the wheels fell off and she couldn't buy a first serve or keep the ball in play. Henin, always one to take advantage when seeing an opponent in distress, easily won the 2nd set and was up a break in the third when Kim woke up from her "walkabout" and resumed playing high-quality tennis. In fact, the third set contained some of the best tennis played by any two women on tour all year. Clijsters came back from down a break (twice!) at 3-1 and 5-3 but fought back to take the match to a third-set tie-break. Henin was not done, saving 3 match points in the tie-break before finally succumbing. The length of the rallies, brilliant shot-making, and impossible defense were breathtaking and made this tennis fan very happy that both of these great champions had un-retired and returned to the Tour.

5. F. Schiavone ITA d. S. Stosur AUS, 6-4 7-6(2), 2010 French Open final, Paris.

No Italian woman had ever been in the Top 10 of the women's tour and certainly never in the final of a major championship. At nearly 30 years old, who would have expected Francesca Schiavone to lose the first set she played at the 2010 Roland Garros tournament and then never lose another, eventually holding the Coupe de Suzanne Lenglen after outplaying a stronger, bigger (and arguably more talented) player in the final? But that's exactly what happened and the tennis world was the better for it. By winning Schiavone again demonstrated why we watch sports: you never know what could happen; impossible dreams can come true. Schiavone ended the year at World #7.

6. V. Zvonareva RUS d. K. Clijsters BEL, 3-6 6-4 6-2, 2010 Wimbledon quarterfinal, London.
This year's Wimbledon was an odd tournament for me because I was actually in London for the final 5 days of the tournament (but only had tickets to the men's final). Anyway, because of this I actually saw much less of the latter round matches than usual (but still predicted the winners with better than average accuracy). Vera Zvonareva had her great breakthrough in 2010 at last, when her other, more famous Russian contemporaries (Dinara Safina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Maria Sharapova, Elena Dementieva) either flamed out, wimped out or limped away from the court. That Zvonareva was talented was never in doubt; she's an excellent mover, has a world-class two-handed backhand and great hands at the net. Similar to Samantha Stosur, it was her emotional fortitude that had been tested and found wanting (her 2009 meltdown to Flavia Pennetta is legendary). Somehow, this year, on the grass of Wimbledon, trading backhand after backhand with Kim Clijsters, Vera found a way to play through the mental tumult by realizing the game of tennis is actually quite simple: just hit the ball into the court more times than your opponent. Surprisingly, it was the 2-time major champion who wilted first, handing the Russian just her second major semifinal berth of her career. Vera did not squander this opportunity and made it all the way to her first major final where she ran into an unstoppable force named Serena Williams. It's not clear that this tournament's winner was ever in doubt when both Williams sisters were in the draw, but this match at Wimbledon was a crucial turning point for women's tennis for 2010 when Zvonareva proved that she had reached the very pinnacle of women's tennis, ending the year at World #2.

7. S. Williams USA d. V. Azarenka BLR, 4-6 7-6(4) 6-2, Australian Open quarterfinal, Melbourne.

Serena Williams was down 6-4, 4-0 against the hard-hitting Victoria Azarenka when suddenly both players realized that Serena Williams, the 4-time defending Australian Open champion could lose this match. This realization had immediate and opposite impacts on both players. Azarenka started playing more tentatively (and was probably impacted by the fact that it was almost exactly a year before that she had had Serena in a similar position on this same court after easily winning the first set when Vika was forced to retire from the match due to the extreme heat). Serena on the other hand was enraged with herself and basically willed herself not to lose, slowly but surely making up the huge deficit against Azarenka point by point and game by game. Everyone watching the match was pretty convinced that the 2nd set tie-breaker would be determinative. If Vika won, the match would be over (obviously) but if Serena could come back to even the match score the mental and physical advantage would be hers. The tie-break was a taught, nervy affair but Serena was the more aggressive player and won the tie-break and went on to win the match. She was never really in much danger of not defending her title after that moment.

8. S. Stosur AUS d. E. Dementieva RUS, 6-3 2-6 7-6(2), 2010 US Open 4th Round, New York City.

The latest finish of any professional women's match of all time was an incredible slugfest between two great players who have never won a major title. This match was what Pam Shriver calls a "barn burner." On both sides of the net one saw world-class ground-strokes, excellent net play, incredible movement and mental anguish. Both players became tentative on their serve and both players blew leads which should have been insurmountable. This was really Dementieva's match to win. She broke Stosur impressive serve four consecutive times in the second set and in the third had a match point at 5-3 on her own serve as well as three more on Stosur's serve in the next game. Amazingly, almost all of these match points were decided by winners by Stosur who kept on going for her shots, despite being pummeled by powerful ground-strokes from the Russian. After that excitement it was only fitting that it came down to a 3rd set tiebreak, where surprisingly, it Dementieva's game which broke down first and she lost the match on a series of forehand errors at 1:36am.

9. E. Dementieva RUS d. L. Safarova CZE, 6-7(5) 6-1 6-4, Open Gaz de France Suez final.

In a curious twist of fate, Elena Dementieva won what was her last career tour title in front of Amelie Mauresmo, who had won this final hometown title the year prior to retiring at the end of 2009. This year it was Dementieva's turn for one last hurrah as she faced a determined Lucia Safarova who played "out of her head," aiming for the corners and regularly connecting to send winners screaming to the baseline out of reach of the Russian. There were some incredible, hard-hitting baseline rallies until finally Safarova's inconsistency caught up with her and she succumbed to the greatest player never to have won a major championship. I wonder who Dementieva will be watching win this title from the stands in 2011?

10. S. Williams USA d. V. Zvonareva, 6-3 6-2, 2010 Wimbledon final, London.

It's not very often that the Wimbledon final is not one of the top 5 most memorable matches in the final but that's exactly what happened this year. The reason why this match is even on this list because it was the very last match Serena Williams played in 2010, and it demonstrated how dismissive she could be of the player who ended the year ranked World #2 and had an envious second half of the year, with two consecutive Grand Slam final appearances, something no woman has done since Serena in 2008. There was never really any doubt who would win this match, or the 2010 Wimbledon title. Hopefully, Serena will return early enough in 2011 to make another impressive mark on the majors next year.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

S. Williams USA d N. Li CHN, 7-6(4) 7-6(1), 2010 Australian Open semifinal, Melbourne.

K. Clijsters BEL d. C. Wozniacki DEN, 6-3 5-7 6-3, WTA Championships final.

S. Kuznetsova RUS d. A. Radwanska POL, 6-4 6-7(7) 6-3, Southern California Open final.

V. Zvonareva RUS d. C. Wozniacki DEN, 6-4 6-3, 2010 U.S. Open semifinal.

C. Wozniacki  DEN d. M. Sharapova RUS, 6-3 6-4, 2010 U.S. Open 4th Round.
K. Clijsters BEL d. S. Stosur AUS, 6-4 5-7 6-3, 2010 U.S. Open quarterfinal.

J. Jankovic SRB d. S. Williams USA, 4-6 6-3 7-6(5), Rome semifinal.

J. Jankovic SRB d. V. Williams USA, 6-0 6-1, Rome quarterfinal.
K. Clijsters BEL d. J. Henin BEL, 2-6 6-2 6-3, 2010 Wimbledon Championships 4th round.

S. Stosur AUS d. J. Henin BEL, 2-6 6-1 6-4, 2010 Roland Garros 4th Round.

K. Clijsters BEL d. V. Williams USA, 6-1 6-2, Sony Ericsson Championship final.

P. Kvitova CZE d. K. Kanepi EST 4-6 7-6(8) 8-6, 2010 Wimbledon Championships quarterfinal.

J. Henin BEL d. E. Dementieva RUS, 7-5 7-6(6), 2010 Australian Open 2nd Round.

Clijsters Beats Wozniacki To Win WTA Tour Championships

2009 and 2010 US Open Champion Kim Clijsters of Belgium beat World #1 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 6-3 5-7 6-3 in Goha, Qatar to win the season-ending WTA Championships on Sunday. Clijsters won her 3rd tour championship in 2 hours, 20 minutes, following up on wins in 2002 and 2003, by coming back after blowing a 4-1 lead in the second set.

Altough she will end 2010 ranked World #1, Wozniacki still has not won a major championship and still has not beaten Clijsters, losing in straight sets the only other time they have played on tour, in the 2009 US Open final.

Clijsters was happy to win, saying:

"I felt like it was never going to end," said the Belgian. "It was a really tough battle with some great shots, great tennis and great fitness. I'm glad that I won, obviously it's disappointing for Caroline but I don't know how many more years I'm going to keep doing this. She has a great future ahead of her."

Clijsters ends the year at World #3, just behind 2010 Wimbledon and US Open finalist Vera Zvonareva and ahead of 2010 Australian Open and 2010 Wimbledon champion Serena Williams at #4 and Venus Williams at #5. In 2009, Serena beat Venus to win the tour championships and ended the year ranked #1.

WTA Tour Championships Semifinals Set

The Womens Tennis Association has chosen a new logo (depicted above) and revealed it at the Tour championships in Doha this week.

The semifinals have now been set, as well as the year-end #1 and #2 positions (Caroline Wozniacki and Vera Zvonareva) who ill face off against each other, while Kim Clijsters and Samantha Stosur will face off in the other semifinal. 

Celebrity Friday: Caroline Wozniacki

Caroline Wozniacki will become the new World #1 tennis player in the world on Monday, dethroning Serena Williams, who has had the top spot for the last 49 weeks. Wozniacki has won 5 titles this year and reached the final of the US Open in 2009 and has never won a major title, while Serena won the 2010 Australian Open and 2010 Wimbledon  titles and did not play the US Open this year.

Wozniacki, like Jelena Jankovic and Dinara Safina are just two recent top-ranked players who have yet to win a major title. It should be noted that Kim Clijsters became ranked  World #1 without winning  a major title, but has since won 3 US Open crowns. The question for the 20-year-old Dane is will she be like Jankovic and Safina, or like Clijsters? Or possibly, like Ivanovic, who won her sole major title in 2008 at the French Open and was ranked #1, only to see her rating plummet precipitously afterwards.

Serena, by the way, is returning to the tour on Monday, at the tournament in Linz, Austria. Venus Williams says she will not compete again in 2010.

US OPEN 2010: Men's and Women's Review

For the first time in a grand slam, MadProfessah has predicted correctly the last 3 rounds (7 matches) on both the men's and women's side: that is 14 of 14 correct calls from the (men's and women's) quarterfinals, (men's and women's) semifinals and (men's and women's) finals.

To put that in perspective, there's a 1/2 chance of getting any particular call correct. So, the expected value of correct calls when making 14 would be 7. The probability of getting 14 of 14 correct is like tossing a fair coin and have it come up heads 14 times in a row. The probability of this event is (0.5)¹⁴=0.000006104, which is a pretty small number (0.006 %).

BIGGEST WINNER (Men)
Rafael Nadal was the biggest winner on the men's side, being able to achieve the career grand slam by finally winning the US Open. He was clearly the most dominating player in the draw, refusing to cede a set until the final and saving a ridiculous number of break points against his serve during the tournament.
Runner-up: Novak Djokovic for finally being able to break through in a major again by defeating Roger Federer in a major semifinal to show that he has a legitimate claim as the #2 player in the world.

BIGGEST LOSER (Men)
Andy Murray was the biggest loser on the men's side, having lost in the 3rd round to Stanislas Wawrinka, when expectations had been raised because Murray had won a summer hard-court Master's title and had previously made two hard-court major finals. The talented Brit had a bad day at the office and showed that even players at the top of rankings can lose to anyone in the Top 20 if the lower-ranked player plays with belief and heart.


BIGGEST WINNER (Women)
Kim Clijsters was the biggest winner on women's side, by becoming the first champion to defend her title in New York since her vanquished semifinal opponent Venus Williams did it in 2001. Clijsters lost one set in the entire tournament, a tie-break set to Venus and there really was never much doubt that if she made it to the final that she would be able to defeat whoever emerged from the Top half of the draw.
Runner-Up: Vera Zvonareva was the second biggest winner on the women's side by reaching her second consecutive major final, where (unfortunately) she was unable to demonstrate her best tennis.


BIGGEST LOSER (Women)
Maria Sharapova was the biggest loser on the women's side. She had the potential to reach furthest in the draw but ended up losing in the 4th round to top seed Caroline Wozniacki. Sharapova did not play well in that match, and Wozniacki dismissed her in straight sets.

US OPEN 2010: Clijsters Wins 3rd US Open over Zvonareva

Kim Clijsters defeated Vera Zvonareva in just under an hour 6-2 6-1 to win her 3rd major title, the 2010 US Open, collecting a purse of $2.2 million. Clijsters has now won 21 consecutive matches in New York dating back to 2005 (she was injured in 2006 and retired from the WTA tour in 2007 and 2008).

US OPEN 2010: Women's Final Preview

Kim Clijsters BEL (2) vs Vera Zvonareva RUS (7). For the second consecutive major championship this summer Vera Zvonareva will be playing in a Grand Slam final which she has almost no chance of winning. At Wimbledon in London it was a final against the defending champion Serena Williams, at the US Open in New York she will be playing against the defending champion Kim Clijsters.Vera has defied expectations before, particularly taking out last year's finalist and this year's top-seeded player, Caroline Wozniacki. The Great Dane's dismissal was a surprise to some, but not to yours truly, who watched some of Vera's early matches and realized that she had the weapons to dismiss the young counter-puncher.

Clijsters leads Zvonareva head-to-head 5-2, but surprisingly the two victories by the Russian have occurred in the last two matches the two have contested, including a 3-set win at Montreal en route to the final where she had lost to Wozniacki. Clijsters played an excellent, tough-minded match (one of the best of the tournament) to defeat 2-time U.S. Open champion Venus Williams in 3-sets. Clijsters lost the first set, and was up a break in the second set, lost that lead but still managed to win the set when Venus played an awful tiebreak (4 double faults!). However, at 4-all in the third set, Clijsters played an amazing topspin lob winner on breakpoint and coolly served to hold serve and collect the W. There's not much to stop her from doing so again, and becoming the first person since Venus to defend her US Open title.

MadProfessah's prediction: Clijsters in 2 sets.

US OPEN 2010: Women's Semifinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's semifinals at the 2010 US Open. I previously predicted 4 of 4 women's quarterfnals correctly.

Caroline Wozniacki DEN (1) vs. Vera Zvonareva RUS (7). Interestingly, these two have a tied career head-to-head (2 and 2, 1 on 1 on hard courts), with Wozniacki winning the last time these two played in the final of the Rogers Cup 6-3 6-2 in Montreal during the Dane's great run through the US Open Series this summer. They have both been in one major final (Wozniacki US Open 2009, Zvonareva Wimbledon 2010) with Zvonareva being in 3 major semifinals to Wozniacki's 2. Can Zvonareva play real big babe tennis more consistently than Maria Sharapova was able to? I say yes. There's a reason why Zvonareva is ranked #8 in the world.. Then again Wozniacki is ranked #2 in the world and is the top seed here, thanks to the absence of World #1 Serena Williams. Even though I was convinced by her performance against Sharapova that Wozniacki is "for real" I still have a feeling that Vera will not go away quietly. Regardless, I think the eventual titleholder of this year's event will not come from this semifinal. PREDICTION: Zvonareva in 3 sets.    

Venus Williams USA (3) vs.  Kim Clijsters BEL (2). Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters have played each other twelve times and their career head-to-head is tied at 6-all. However, on hard courts Clijsters leads 4-3 with Clijsters winning every hard court match the two have contested since 2005. Additionally, Clijsters has won 19 matches in a row at the US Open dating back to 2005 (she did not play the event in the years 2006 through 2008). Venus has not really been tested (despite 2010 French Open champ Francesca Schiavone's best efforts), and has somehow managed to make it to the semifinals of the US Open (for the first time since 2007, when Justine Henin took out both Serena and Venus to win the title over Svetlana Kuznetsova) without losing a set. That will almost certainly change on Friday, especially since Venus' mobility is clearly sub-optimal. These two played one of the most bizarrely lopsided matches of all time (6-0, 0-6, 6-4) won by Clijsters on the way to the title. It is very likely Clijsters will become the first player in 9 years (since her opponent did it in 2001) to defend her US Open title. PREDICTION: Clijsters in 3 sets. 

US OPEN 2010: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at the 2010 US Open.

Caroline Wozniacki DEN (1) Maria Sharapova RUS (14) vs Dominika Cibulkova SVK Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (11). The top seed and last year's US Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki had never won a big match against a "Big Babe" like Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Venus Williams or Kim Clijsters and I doubted that she would even win 5 games against the 2006 US Open champion. But Wozniacki showed that she is not just an incredible retriever but has the consistency of a backboard. Sharapova didn't help her cause by throwing in 10 double faults. That being said, Wozniacki has made a believer out of me by dismissing Sharapova 6-3 6-4. The tall Russian was pounding away, shrieking as she pounded the ball nto the corners but almost every rally over 10 strokes was won by Wozniacki as eventually, Sharapova went for too much and committed an error to concede the point. I still believe that a "Big Babe" who is actually comfortable at the net would still be able to overpower Wozniacki, but it is doubtful that she will face someone who matches that description before the top seed reaches the final for the second consecutive year. However, I still don't see how the Danish youngster wins that final against someone with more power from the bottom half of the draw. PREDICTION: Wozniacki in 2 sets.

Vera Zvonareva (7) RUS  vs. Kaia Kanepi EST (31) Yanina Wickmayer BEL (15). It's odd how the 2010 Wimbledon finalist is silently making her way through the draw, even though she has reached the quarterfinals without dropping a set. The hard-hitting Kanepi is in her second consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal and will presumably manage the occasion better than her meltdown in London. Especially since she managed to win a match where she was down a bagel set and a break against last year's semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer. Zvonareva's birthday is Tuesday and she has been playing a more mature brand of tennis which will take her deep into the draw. PREDICTION: Zvonareva in 3 sets.  

Venus Williams USA (3) vs.  Francesca Schiavone ITA (6). Venus Williams has only lost 3 sets in the 7 matches she has played against the 2010 French Open champion, and never lost to her. However, after Schiavone became the first Italian woman to win a major title ever, she has made the phrase "Impossible is Nothing" seem like reality. Venus has not dropped a set in the tournament yet, but she should have lost one to a determined Shahar Peer in the fourth round, and if anyone can exploit what is her obviously sub-optimal mobility, it is Schiavone with her clay-court toughness and European flair. Happily, Venus' unreported injury is making her more aggressive and more likely to approach the net in order to shorten the points. That, and a decidedly gentle draw should give her a fighting chance to reach a non-Wimbledon final, her first since the 2003 Australian Open. I do think that the thought that she will not have to face her sister in order to win the tournament should give Venus some extra motivation and confidence to try to do so. PREDICTION: Williams in 3 sets.

Kim Clijsters BEL (2) vs. Samantha Stosur AUS (5). Clijsters is on an 18-match winning streak at the US Open, having last lost a match in New York in the 2003 final(!) to Justine Henin. She is absolutely devouring the draw and she has to be considered the favorite to repeat as Champion here. However, the very talented Sam Stosur, who played one of the best women's matches of the year to eliminate Elena Dementieva in the 4th round stands in the Belgian's way. Stosur has finally broke through into the top of women's tennis and is a legitimate Top 5 player. I sort of think of her as the female Robin Soderling, since none of the players ranked above her will be very pleased that they picked the short straw and have to face her in order to reach the final. That being said, Stosur till has not quite made the leap to actually winning a major title, and I suspect it will be that lack (and Clijsters' preternatural defensive skills plus her offensive artillery) that will result in Clijsters victory. It could be a scorcher of a match though, in the words of Jim Courier "a real popcorn match." PREDICTION: Clijsters in 2 sets.

US OPEN 2010: Men's and Women's Draws Preview

The 2010 US Open starts on Monday, so the men's and women's draws have been released. Savannah at Craig Hickman's Tennis Blog posted them and an online discussion is beginning.

The Men
The top seed is Rafael Nadal, who is trying to complete his career slam after winning Wimbledon and Roland Garros this year. A 14-match Grand Slam winning streak is nothing to sneeze at. However, Nadal has never even played a final in New York, although he has steadily improved his results every year he has played the event. In 2009, Juan Martin del Potro, the eventual champion, demolished him 6-2 6-2 6-2 in the semifinals. Looking at his draw, I doubt Rafa will get that far this year but he has a clear path to the quarterfinals. David Nalbandian is in his quarter, but the resurgent Argentine would have to get past Fernando Verdasco in the 3rd round. It's possible either Verdasco or Nalbandian could take Nadal out relatively early. If not, he would be facing whoever emerges from the bottom of the top half of the draw in the semifinal: Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych, Sam Querrey or John Isner. I don't see Rafa getting out of that match-up alive. Since the defending champion is injured, World #2 Roger Federer has a good chance to reach his 8th consecutive US Open final. I do think that in a Federer-Nadal 2010 US Open final, Nadal would be favored because of his head-to-head lead against the Swiss player and his previous demonstration in Melbourne that he can beat Federer in hard court finals as well as clay. Federer's path to the final is slightly more dangerous than Nadal's, but I think he has a greater likelihood of making it. His only obstacles are Robin Soderling in the quarterfinal and either Andy Roddick, Novak Djokovic or Nikolay Davydenko. I don't see Federer losing a US Open semifinal to any of these players, but he could lose in the quarterfinal to Soderling. Nadal has a small probability of losing in the quarterfinal but a much greater probability of losing in the semifinal. My prediction: Murray v Federer final.

The Women
The first response is to say that with World #1 Serena Williams out of the draw with injury do we really care what happens this year? Well World #2 and #1 seed Caroline Wozniacki would beg to differ. Although she made the final last year as a teenager and she won the 2010 US Open Series I seriously doubt her ability to repeat her achievement from 2009. Looking at her draw, Wozniacki has a potential 3rd round encounter with Lucie Safarova and a 4th round match with Maria Sharapova and a quarterfinal match with either Svetlana Kuznetsova or Li Na. The bottom half of the top part of the draw should feature a Jelena Jankovic-Vera Zvonareva quarterfinal. In the top of the bottom half of the draw if Venus Williams is any kind of shape, she should have a stroll to the semifinals (notwithstanding a 3rd round re-match with Tsvetlana Pironkova who took her out at Wimbledon). In the bottom of the bottom half of the draw defending champion Kim Clijsters will need to get through Marion Bartoli and Elena Dementieva. My prediction: Clijsters v Sharapova final.


Of course I reserve the right to revise these predictions when I see how people are actually playing during the tournament!

US OPEN 2010: Serena Williams Withdraws

Serena Williams announced that she will not be playing at the 2010 US Open, due to an injured right foot. Her sister Venus Williams, who has not played since Wimbledon due to a knee injury is still entered. Defending champion US Open Kim Clijsters has played one tournament (and won it) and is yet to lose on the US Open Series.

Clijsters Defeats Sharapova In Cincinnati

Kim Clijsters survived a rain-delayed, see-saw match to win the Cincinnati Open title over Maria Sharapova 2-6 7-6(4) 6-2. It was Clijsters third title of the year (after Brisbane and Miami) and 38th overall.

Federer v Murray and Clijsters v Sharapova in Finals

Roger Federer defeated Novak Djokovic 6-1 3-6 7-5 to regain his World #2 ranking and defending champion Andy Murray defeated World #1 Rafael Nadal to retain his World #4 ranking in today's semifinals at the Toronto Masters.

Federer followed up his clutch win over Tomas Berdych (despite being down 2-5 in the deciding set!) to improve to 10-5 against the Serbian. The Swiss player was up 6-1 2-0 and was two points away from a second break when after holding Djokovic smiled and relaxed and reduced his error count considerably while Federer continued to struggle on break points and ended up losing the set. In the third set, Federer took a commanding 4-1 lead and had multiple opportunities for a 5-2 lead. Instead, he got broken and the next game was a titantic 15-minute struggle (9 deuces!) which Djokovic won to even the match at 4-all in the 3rd. Federer fell behind 15-40 on his very next service game but served three consecutive huge first serves to get himself out of trouble and nosed ahead 5-4. The match looked like it was going to a deciding set tie-break with Djokovic up 40-15 on his serve at 5-6 but Federer fought back to deuce and won the match on his first match point after another backhand and forehand error by the former World #2.

The first semifinal between Murray and Nadal was relatively uneventful, with ineffectual serving from the World #1 which eventually led to a deciding break in the first set. In the second set, Murray had an early break which he relinquished to even the match and then surprisingly Nadal lost the 9th game of the match on his serve through some excellent returns from Murray, who then coolly served out the set to win the match.

Tomorrow's final should be a reprise of this year's Australian Open men's final which was won by Federer. Murray, however leads their head-to-head 6-5 but Federer has won their three match-ups in finals (2008 US Open final, 2010 Australian Open final and the Thailand Open).

I expect a barn-burner tomorrow with Federer pulling it out in 3-sets.

On the women's side Kim Clijsters will face Maria Sharapova. Sharapova has won the last 3 times they have played, but Clijsters leads their head-to-head 4-3. I like the defending 2009 US Open champion versus the 3-time major champ.

WIMBLEDON 2010: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at the Wimbledon Championships for 2010.

Serena Williams USA (1) vs Na Li CHN (9). The only year this century that there has not been a Williams sister in the Wimbledon final was 2006 (Mauresmo beat Henin) and that fluke will not be repeated in 2010. Li Na is one of my favorite players (my dog is named after her!) and is an excellent grass-court tennis player. She won the warm-up tournament in Birmingham this year (defeating Maria Sharapova) and is the first Chinese player in the world's top 10. These two players met in the Australian Open semifinals this year, after Li had beaten Venus Williams in the quarterfinals and Serena beat Li in a very tight match (in two tiebreak sets) despite not playing her best tennis and experiencing movement difficulties. Serena looks 100% at Wimbledon right now and is serving like a woman on a mission. She has yet to drop a set in this year's tournament and is unlikely to do so on her way to the final. PREDICTION: Serena in 2 sets.

Caroline Wozniacki DEN (3) Petra Kvitova CZE vs. Kaia Kanepi EST. This is the "anonymous" quarterfinal which will probably not get any television coverage. However, it should be a barn burner. Kvitova has ended her last two matches by bagelling her opponents, World #3 Caroline Wozniacki and former Top 10 Victoria Azarenka. The only person she has lost a set to is last year's semifinalist Zheng Jie. Kaia Kanepi is no joke either, and has long been regarded as a player to watch. Both players simply crush the ball on both wings. However, they are both in uncharted territory playing in their first Grand Slam quarterfinal with a chance to reach a major semifinal for the first time (where they are likely to face defending champion Serena Williams). I believe Kvitova is ready to reach that level. PREDICTION: Kvitova in 3 sets.

Kim Clijsters BEL (8) vs. Vera Zvonareva RUS (21) Jelena Jankovic SRB (4). Many, many commentators were salivating over the 4th round clash between the "Belgian sisters"--their first meeting in a major since they both un-retired. Before that sabbatical, Clijsters had a very unremarkable 2-5 record against Henin and only had won one major (and did not face her nemesis) t her rival's seven. Since their return Clijsters has won another major and has beaten Justine all three times they met. It appears as if the 18-month gap of parenthood and maturity have done wonders for Clijsters' mental toughness. Mental toughness are NOT two words one associates with Vera Zvonareva. She was in the process of demolishing World #4 Jelena Jankovic when the Serbian fell on the court and retired from their 4th round match soon after. Zvonareva has great weapons, but as Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dinara Safina have repeatedly demonstrated, the most important weapon in a player's arsenal is not one that can be developed in the gym or the practice court. PREDICTION: Clijsters in 2 sets.

Venus Williams USA (2) vs. Tsvetana Pironkova BUL Marion Bartoli FRA (11). Mademoiselle Marion Bartoli did not hold up her half of the bargain to have this quarterfinal be a repeat of the 2007 Women's final by losing in two tight sets to Pironkova. Venus was relatively lucky herself to slip past hard-hitting Aussie Jarmila Groth in two very close sets. Pironkova and Venus have played before, most notably at the 2006 Australian Open where the Bulgarian bounced the American out of the tournament in the 2nd round, winning 9-7 in the third set. I'd be shocked if Venus allows Pironkova to win 9 games in the entire match this time. PREDICTION: Venus in 2 sets.

WIMBLEDON 2010: Serena and Venus Into 4th Round

Venus Williams and Serena Williams are both into the fourth round of the Ladies' Singles and in the quarterfinals of the Ladies' Doubles at Wimbledon. Serena will play Maria Sharapova in the round of 16, a reprise of the 2004 Women's final won by the 17-year-old Russian 6-1 6-4. Venus faces Australian Jarmila Groth and has a reasonably clear path until the semifinal, where she will likely face the winner of the Kim Clijsters/Justine Henin 4th round match (or possibly Jelena Jankovic). Once Serena gets past Sharapova, she has an easier path to her 3rd consecutive women's final, where, for the 9th time in 11 years, a Williams sister will win the title again.

Clijsters Stops Venus' Winning Streak

Kim Clijsters beat Venus Williams 6-2,6-1 in less than an hour to win the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, stopping the American's winning streak at 15.

Venus v. Bartoli, All-Belgian Duel in Miami Semis

In a remake of the 2007 Wimbledon final, Venus Williams will face Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli in one semifinal while Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin will battle in the other at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

Henin leads their career head-to-head rivalry 12-11 but Clijsters beat Henin in a nailbiting 3rd set tiebreaker in Brisbane earlier this year.

Venus and Bartoli have only ever played twice, with Maid Marion earning revenge for her Wimbledon loss on the hard courts of Stanford last year by beating Venus in a 3-set final.

I predict a Venus-Henin final...

Serena Williams Wins Record 3rd Laureus Award

Serena Williams won her 3rd career Laureus World Sports Award in Dubai on Wednesday after she was named Laureus Sportswoman of the Year for 2009, 7 years after she won her first. In 2007, she won the Laureus Comeback Award, bringing her total to three, the most won by a female. Only Roger Federer, who has four, has won more. Federer was up for Sportsman of the Year for 2009 but lost to Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who won his second Laureus Award. Kim Clijsters won the Laureus Comeback Award.

Serena said:

"I am just so delighted to win this Award, but very disappointed I cannot be in Abu Dhabi to say thank you in person. It's my third Laureus Award which is amazing and I would like to say thank you to all the Academy Members who voted for me and to the world's media who nominated me. Last year had its ups and downs, so to get this support is fantastic.

"As a tennis player you look at the amazing names of the Academy Members - like John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Boris Becker and Monica Seles - who have won so many Grand Slams and they know what it takes to do that. There is nothing better in sport than being acknowledged by the people that you looked up to when you were a young player.

"The Laureus Awards have been a constant reflection of my career, winning in 2003 and 2007, and I think I was also nominated four more times. I know only Roger Federer has more Awards, so it would be cool to catch him up.

"I've had a few injury problems over the years, so it's been great to get back to the top and be World No 1 again. It's going to be an interesting year with Justine Henin back, but I'm playing well and it was great to win in Australia, and I still want to win every tournament I play. It's going to be a very exciting 2010."

Congratulations, Serena!

Venus Beats Sveta & Kim To Win Billie Jean Cup Exo

Venus Williams continued her winning ways by winning the Billie Jean Cup and $400,000 by defeating Kim Clijsters 6-4 3-6 7-5 on Monday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Ana Ivanovic replaced Serena Williams who had pulled out recently despite beating Venus at this same exact event last year.

Hat/tip to Women's Tennis Blog.