Wimbledon 2011: Women's Final Preview

by Mad Professah, contributing writer 

This year I correctly predicted 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals, 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals, 1 of 2 men's semifinals and 2 of 2 women's semifinals. 

Here are my predictions for the women's final at the Wimbledon Championships for 2011.

Maria Sharapova RUS (5) vs. Petra Kvitova CZE (8). For the first time since 2006 there will not be a Williams playing the final women's match at Wimbledon. Instead we have the now-veteran Maria Sharapova, at 24, seeking her 2nd Wimbledon crown and 4th major title overall. After she broke through as a teenage phenom to win Wimbledon in 2004 by blasting Serena Williams off the court in straight sets many hailed the blonde, blue-eyed Russian as the new Ice Princess of Tennis and her face quickly became the most photographed countenance in all of women's sports, leading to untold riches off the court in the endorsement jackpot. However, since those heady days, Sharapova has only won 3 major titles, like clock work, every even year: 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 U.S. Open and 2008 Australian Open. This put her in the company of past champions like Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati and Kim Clijsters and not legends of the game like Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert or Serena Williams. Sharapova's metronomic Grand Slam winning pattern was interrupted by an October 2008 shoulder surgery after which she suffered the indignities of failing to get past the Round of 8 in any major for two full calendar years due to intermittent serving difficulties.

However, now it's 2011 and  for the last month or so Sharapova has gotten back to doing what she does best: hitting the bejeezus out of the little yellow ball into the corners of the court followed by an ear-shattering "grunt." She came very close to completing the career slam in Paris but was outlasted by a steadier player, Li Na who went on to win the title.  

Her opponent is a 21-year-old first-time finalist from the Czech Republic, the same age the great Martina Navratilova was when she won her first of 9 Wimbledon singles titles. Whether Petra Kvitova will go on to as storied  a career as her fellow countrywoman is something we can not know now, but the two have a lot of similarities in their games. They both are big-serving lefties, with hard-hitting ground strokes on both wings and a willingness to approach the net. Martina was the consummate serve and volleyer, the dominant strategy of her era, while Kvitova is the epitome of the modern game, able to blast winners from any position in the court.

Sharapova has not dropped a set on her way to the final and hasn't had to play anyone very troublesome along the way, except for wild card Sabine Lisicki. The German had been playing some of the best grass court tennis of the year, dispatching Marion Bartoli (who had dismissed 2-time defending champion Serena Williams) and Li Na in two very exciting matches. The mouthwatering "Mean Girls" quarterfinal with Sharapova and "World #1" Caroline Wozniacki never materialized because Pocket Rocket Dominika Cibulkova dismissed the new It girl in the 4th round and was rewarded by being demolished by Sharapova in the quarterfinals. Hometown favorite Laura Robson was able to ride the crowd's enthusiasm to a first-set tiebreaker in the second round but Sharapova hasn't even faced a set point for the entire tournament.

Kvitova, on the other hand, has had to play 3 tough sets to go through World #5 Victoria Azarenka and had another tight 3-set match with Tsevetana Pironkova, the woman who dismissed Venus Williams, the best female grass-court player of her generation from Wimbledon, in two consecutive years by the same exact score!

Head-to-head the two have played only once with Sharapova winning easily (on clay before Kvitova made her breakthrough by reaching the semifinals of Wimbledon last year). The intangibles definitely favor Sharapova; she has won before, this is her 5th major final, it is Kvitova's first. However, if you look at their style of play you see that Sharapova has had 11 more double faults than aces (32 to 21) while Kvitova has 22 more aces than double faults (35 to 13). Summary: Kvitova's serve is a weapon, while Sharapova's is a liability.  Generally, on grass, the person with the better serve wins, unless the other person has better movement and better returning. Sharapova does have a better return than Kvitova: she will go for a direct winner on both first and second serves. Is Sharapova a better mover than Kvitova? Doubtful, though quite honestly neither of them are superb in this category. All-in-all, Kvitova has the game to win the title, and I believe she will.

MadProfessah's PREDICTION: Kvitova. 

Wimbledon 2011: Women's Semifinals Preview

by Mad Professah, contributing writer 

Here are my predictions for the women's semifinals at the Wimbledon Championships for 2011. I predicted 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals correctly and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly. Last year I predicted 2 of 2 women's semifinals correctly.  

Maria Sharapova RUS (5) vs Sabine Lisicki GER . Sharapova appears to be returning to the form that has led her to win 3 major tournaments (2008 Australian Open, 2006 US Open and 2004 Wimbledon) so far after surgery in 2009 really deteriorated her game. Lisicki is a wild card has put on two amazing performances on Wimbledon Centre Court this year, dismissing 2011 French Open champion Li Na in the 3rd round and eliminating 2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli in the quarterfinals. With both Williams sisters gone from the tournament (this was Serena's half) this is the most wide open Wimbledon in over a decade. If  you start to match up the two player's games Lisicki has the better serve, while Sharapova has the better return. 

Sharapova has the better second serve, or at least she goes for more, but this also makes it less reliable. Sharapova has 19 aces but also 19 double faults over 5 matches so far. Lisicki has 44 aces and only 13 double faults. Sharapova has a total of 126 winners while Liscki has 157, including an incredible 52 winners in the round before in her 3-set win over Bartoli. Lisicki is probably the better mover but Sharapova is faster than she appears and can do more with the ball when she gets there. Analyzing their groundstrokes you have to give a big advantage to Sharapova, especially on the backhand side, with the forehand side being a bit closer. On grass you have to give the edge to the better server (Lisicki) but all the intangibles (been in this position before, mental toughness) go to Sharapova.I would be delighted if Lisicki wins, but I think it's more likely she will falter than Sharapova will. I was very surprised that Lisicki had to play a 3rd set against Bartoli, after having 3 match points in the second set, but she shook that off to win 6-1. If she gives that opportunity to Sharapova to come back, the Russian will reach her 2nd Wimbledon final. PREDICTION: Who I think will win: Sharapova, Who I want to win: Lisicki.

Victoria Azarenka BLR (4) vs. Petra Kvitova CZE (8). This should be the more interesting match of the two because the higher ranked player is the one with the less experience being in the semifinals of Wimbledon. However, I'm sure in her own mind Azarenka feels like she should have won a major already. Azarenka is like a young Novak Djokovic in that early in his career the Serbian retired in a number of important matches and Azarenka is (in)famous for her withdrawals from multiple matches, especially this year.

They are both incredibly talented players and you totally expect them to win multiple majors. Djokovic has met (and possibly even exceeded) expectations but Azarenka is still waiting for her big breakthrough. If you look at each of the semifinalists' records to this point Azarenka has only had 10 aces to 9 double faults in 5 rounds. Kvitova has had 26 aces to 11 double faults. Interestingly, when you match up their games you see that Kvitova has the better serve and the better ground strokes. Azarenka is by far the better mover and I think the intangibles are pretty even. Kvitova disappointed me when she lost a 2nd set tie-break to Tsevetana "Venus-killer" Pironkova with some bad misses on attempted winners. Then again, like Lisicki, she won the deciding set pretty easily. This second match should be closer than the first semifinal with Kvitova, another left-handed female player born in Czechoslovakia like the great Martina Navratiilova, reaching her first (but probably not her last) Wimbledon final. PREDICTION: Who I think will win: Kvitova, Who I want to win: Kvitova.

Roland Garros 2011: Women's Final Preview

by Mad Professah, contributing writer

Here are my predictions for the women's finals at Roland Garros for 2011. This year, I correctly predicted 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 1 of 2 women's semifinals. I also correctly predicted 1 of 2 men's semifinals and 2 of 3 men's quarterfinals this year.

Francesca Schiavone ITA (5) vs. Na Li CHN (6). This should be an excellent match. Last year, Schiavone stunned the world by playing the match of her life to win her first major title just weeks before her 30th birthday over heavily favored Samantha Stosur. Schiavone had never been past the quarterfinal of any major despite playing in 35. Since then, after losing in the first round at Wimbledon, she has been in two consecutive major quarterfinals and has not won a tour title since. That being said, she has returned to a second consecutive final appearance here in Paris, outlasting, outwitting and outplaying several hard-hitting players like Anastasia Pavlyunchenkova in the quarters and Marion Bartoli in the semis. Her opponent is Li Na, a hard-hitting player who dispatched 3-time major champion Maria Sharapova in the semifinals and Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals in straight sets by blasting winners into every corner of the court. Li is playing in her second major final of 2011, again becoming the first Chinese player (male or female) to play for a major title in Paris.

Head-to-head Schiavone and Li are tied at 2 wins apiece with the flashy Italian winning their one meeting on clay, at this tournament last year, relatively easily 6-4 6-2. However, 2011 is a completely different scenario for Schiavone than 2010. Last year, almost no one expected her to win so she faced almost no pressure, and was able to marshal all aspects of her all-court game and deploy all her crafty spins and slices to give the hard-hitting but mentally fragile Stosur fits. This year she is the defending champion, and she is expected to repeat her win here by many people. The more compelling storyline is owned by Li, who is aiming to be the first person from the most populous nation on earth to win a major title. As I said earlier, clay rewards excellent movement, and since both Schiavone and Li are excellent movers Schiavone's edge over most hard-hitters is muted. If Li can remain patient and not got frustrated by the variety of ball coming her way, she'll become a Grand Slam champion. PREDICTION: Li.

Roland Garros 2011: Women's Semifinals Preview

by Mad Professah, contributing writer

Here are my predictions for the women's semifinals at the 2011 French Open. Last year I was correct in 2 of 2 2010 French Open women's semifinal predictions.

Marion Bartoli FRA (11) vs. Francesca Schiavone ITA (5). The 2010 French Open defending champion made an astonishing escape to win her quarterfinal match with hard-hitting Anastasia Pavlyunchenkova. The Italian was down 1-6 1-4 but came back to lead 5-2 in the final set and gutted out the win 7-5 in the 3rd after the youngster stormed back to even the match at 5-all in the 3rd. Bartoli is in the semifinal of her country's major, a significant feat that 2-time major champion and former World #1 Amelie Mauresmo was unable to accomplish. Bartoli's dream is to play in and win the final in Roland Garros, but that will not be happening this year.

The Frenchwoman did well while Svetlana Kuznetsova committed one of her patented meltdowns to ruin my potential 100% accuracy rate in quarterfinal predictions.

Bartoli hits two-handed on both wings with impressive power and has increased her fitness level so that she can survive long rallies but her movement is suspect and Schiavone has the shot variety to expose the gaping weaknesses in Bartoli's unorthodox game.

The two have never met on clay, which is Schiavone's best surface, but the Italian still leads the career head-to-head 6-1, including a win on Bartoli's best surface, grass. Even though the two have not played each other in over two years I suspect even the new and improved Bartoli will be no match for the new and improved Schiavone who truly believes "nothing is impossible." PREDICTION: Schiavone in 2 sets.

Maria Sharapova RUS (7) vs. Na Li CHN (6). This should be an excellent match, with the winner most likely going on to win the title. Who would have thought the only woman on the tour to be in two major semifinals this year would be Li Na from China? Head-to-head Sharapova leads 5-2 but Li has won the last two times the two have played (which were both on the relatively slow grass of Birmingham in 2009 and 2010). The one time they played on clay was in Paris two years ago and Sharapova eked out a truly bizarre 6-4 0-6 6-4 victory. Sharapova is playing the clay as if it is a hard court, blasting serves and hitting groundstrokes even harder. She demolished Andrea Petkovic 6-0 6-3, a player who took her out in the year's first major tournament to reach this point. Li was able to dismiss heavy favorite World #4 Viktoria Azarenka 7-5 6-2 to reach her first major semifinal in Paris.

However, clay rewards great movement and there's no question Li is the superior mover between the two. Sharapova does hit the ball hard, but Li also has her own firepower, with one of the best backhands in the women's game. Sharapova, however, has 3 major titles and has been in 10 major semifinals. Li has been in one major semifinal, but it was this year--Sharapova's last major semifinal was 3 years ago in Australia when she won the entire tournament in 2008. Sharapova is on a clay court winning streak, having won the Rome title two weeks before Paris over 2010 Roland Garros finalist Samantha Stosur. If Sharapova serves well and is accurate off the ground she should win the match, but if Li is able to withstand the onslaught Sharapova's penchant for painting the lines will become a liability as those shots slowly turn into errors and Li will be in her second major final. The mental edge should favor Sharapova since she is undefeated against both Schiavone and Bartoli. For Sharapova, this match is the final, and she would desperately love to be in the panoply of great women players who have completed the career slam (like Navratilova, Evert, Graf, S.Williams, King and Court) . For Li, she makes history every time she steps on the court and may be satisfied by being the most successful Chinese player ever. PREDICTION: Sharapova in 2 sets OR Li in 3 sets.

Roland Garros 2011: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

by Mad Professah, contributing writer

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at Roland Garros this year. Last year, I was correct in 2 of 4 2010 French Open women's quarterfinal predictions.

Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (13) vs. Marion Bartoli FRA (11). The 2007 Wimbledon finalist has reached her first quarterfinal at her country's major tournament for the first time. She will face Kuznetsova, one of only two women left in the tournament who have won the entire event (the other, of course is Francesca Schiavone who won last year). In fact, Kuznetsova lost the final in 2006 and won the final in 2009. While Bartoli won her match when Gisela Dulko retired in the second set, Kuznetsova won a hard-fought 3-set affair with Daniela Hantuchova who had easily dismissed World #1 and top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki the round before. This could be a very ugly affair, with both players trying to lose the match, I believe that Kutnetsova's prodigious talent will be the deciding factor. PREDICTION: Kuznetsova in 3 sets.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS (14) vs. Francesca Schiavone ITA (5).  The 2010 French Open defending champion made it through to this quarterfinal by winning a marathon 2 hour, 40-minute battle with 3-time French Open semifinalist (and former World #1)  Jelena Jankovic which featured over 30 breakpoints combined. The passionate Italian faces the talented Russian youngster who took out the last remaining top seed in World #3 Vera Zvonareva to reach her first career major quarterfinal. Pavlyuchenkova hits the ball hard and flat on both wings, while Schiavone rarely hits the ball the same way twice, and actually wants to move forward to show off her sterling net play. Plus Schiavone has the benefit of knowing that her style of play can be rewarded on the red clay courts of Paris from last year.   PREDICTION: Schiavone in 2 sets.

Petra Kvitova CZE (9) Na Li CHN (6) vs. Victoria Azarenka BLR (4). The hard-hitting lefty Petra Kvitova was my call to win the entire tournament before it began. But, 2011 Australian Open finalist Li is also one of my favorite players. Kvitova was up 3-0 in the deciding set but then collapsed completely to lose 6 consecutive games and the match. Li continues to make history, becoming the first Chinese player, male or female, to reach the quarterfinals at the French Open. Azarenka is one of the hottest players on the women's tour, and despite never having won a quarterfinal at any major is the betting favorite to win the tournament, primarily due to her position as the top remaining seed in the draw at #4. Head-to-head Li actually leads Azarenka 3-1, including a straight set beating in the Round of 16 in Melbourne this year, but the two have never met on clay. Azarenka should use this opportunity to make her breakthrough at a major, but will the pressure of being the favorite get to her head? Li has the advantage of already making her breakthrough in a grand slam earlier this year. This match should be decided by who wants it more and should be a high quality affair. PREDICTION: Li in 3 sets.

Maria Sharapova RUS (7) vs. Andrea Petkovic GER (15). Could this really be Sharapova's year to win the French Open? If so, she needs to get through matches like this next one. In Petkovic she is playing a player who beat her in the previous major played this year and is unafraid of the 3-time major champion's firepower. Sharapova was able to get revenge a few months later in Miami and leads their career head-to-head 2-1, all played on hard courts. The two have never played on hard courts, but this match will be played on clay which us Sharapova's worst surface. Both players have won clay court titles this year. I have seen all of Sharapova's matches played at Roland Garros this year but none of Petkovic's. I suspect that the fact that Sharapova is in her 14th major quarterfinal (only her 2nd in the last two years) while Petkovic is in her second quarterfinal of her career despite the two being born in the same year will be the ultimate deciding factor. PREDICTION: Sharapova in 3 sets.

Car Wreck

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Thank goodness for Marion Bartoli. She actually gave us a big event final to watch in the Californian desert two weeks ago tomorrow against the reigning World No. 1. I found myself wishing the Indian Wells runner up was on the court across the net from Victoria Azarenka in today's championship match in Miami. Instead, I chose to put up with Maria Sharapova spraying balls like a garden hose in a drought. I didn't have to, mind you. But the match had the lure of a car wreck. I simply couldn't look away.

The WTA has to (well, maybe it doesn't have to, but the hero campaign is banal and outdated) update its marketing campaigns for the remainder of 2011 against the backdrop of this fact: The runner up at the calendar's "fifth Slam" held her serve exactly once in a 6-1, 6-4 drubbing at the hands of a player who's never even contested a Slam semifinal, neither of whom participated in what might have been the most dramatic women's match of the tournament, which wasn't televised anywhere on the planet.

I'm going to say that again: The runner up at the calendar's "fifth Slam" held her serve exactly once in a 6-1, 6-4 drubbing at the hands of a player who's never even contested a Slam semifinal, neither of whom participated in what might have been the most dramatic women's match of the tournament, which wasn't televised anywhere on the planet.

That's all.

Desert Champions

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Novak Djokovic of Serbia poses with the trophy following his victory over Rafael Nadal of Spain 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the finals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, on March 20, 2011. Djokovic is now 20-0 in 2011.


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Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark poses with her trophy after defeating Marion Bartoli of France 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 in the final of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, on March 20, 2011. Wozniacki remains the computer's top-ranked player.

Indian Wells 2011 Finals Preview

It's the computer's World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki against the unconventional No. 15 seed Marion Bartoli in the women's final. The Frenchwoman has kicked the Dane in her teeth before. And vice versa. You would expect the steady pusher to simply outlast the flat hitter who doesn't get around the court so well in straight sets with the loss of just a few games. But never underestimate a flat hitter on a hardcourt who takes the ball earlier than anyone on the tour. If Bartoli plays as well as she did to dismantle Yanina Wickmayer in the semifinals, she can win the title. Will she?

On the men's side, it's Nadjoke XXIV. The World No. 1 vs. the Undefeated One. The way Rafael Nadal turned around his semifinal against Juan Martin del Potro was nothing short of stunning. The way Novak Djokovic defended the court against Roger Federer was nothing short of riveting. Rafa has the head-to-head advantage, Djoke has the most confidence right now. The slow sometimes windy conditions work for both. Rafa's got the vicious topspin, Djoke's got the compact strokes. Will the World No. 1 show who's boss, or will the new World No. 2 remain without loss?

I may not get to watch either match live for I'm in Miami. More about that later.

Enjoy the finals.

Confessions

Savannah has the story on the recently-retired former world No. 1 who admitted she, well, cheated on the grandest stages of tennis.

Miami Semifinals Open Thread

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The women's final is set. Venus Williams trounced Marion Bartoli and Kim Clijsters edged Justine Henin. Saw some of the second match, none of the first. Will Clijsters ever learn that her matches with Justine are always on her racquet? Will Justine ever regain enough of her core strength, if she ever had core strength to begin with, to close out a kill when she smells blood? Their matches are a car wreck I can't seem to look away from.

Today, the top half of the men's draw features a match-up between two power merchants that I've always wanted to see. Tomas Berdych impressed with his follow-up victory over Fernando Verdasco in a match apparently as ugly as the one between the Belgians. I missed all of it. And here is Robin Söderling deep in another big event. When one can use the word consistent to describe the lumbering Swede....

Andy Roddick and Rafael Nadal will face off in the other semi, making the organizers and fans alike ecstatic, I've no doubt. The two former No. 1's, who could use a long vacation with each other to share woes, unwind, and help each other remember how to win, could play a match that goes on forever if one of them doesn't just step up and close out the thing. Both may have losing to Ivan Ljubicic last event on their minds. I'll watch, but I'll probably have my eyes closed most of the time.

Who's going to win?

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Women's Singles - Semifinals
(3) Venus Williams (USA) d. (13) Marion Bartoli (FRA) 63 64
(14) Kim Clijsters (BEL) d. (WC) Justine Henin (BEL) 62 67(3) 76(6)

Men's Singles - Quarterfinals
[5] R Soderling (SWE) d [13] M Youzhny (RUS) 61 64
[16] T Berdych (CZE) d [10] F Verdasco (ESP) 46 76(5) 64

Men's Doubles - Semifinals
[3] L Dlouhy (CZE) / L Paes (IND) d N Almagro (ESP) / T Robredo (ESP) 63 60

Men's Doubles - Quarterfinals
[4] M Bhupathi (IND) / M Mirnyi (BLR) d A Clement (FRA) / J Tsonga (FRA) 64 67(5) 10-4

Quote For The Day II

Reuters

Marion Bartoli of France wipes her face during her match against China's Zheng Jie at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne January 22, 2010. Zheng won 5-7, 6-3, 6-0.

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"I am number 11 and I have no sponsors. I buy all my sport clothes. As 11th in the world I go and buy my clothes myself. Sometimes when I am in Switzerland where I live people are surprised to cross me in the stores and see me buying my sport clothes myself! This is sponsor’s strategy, they give out 15 million dollars sponsoring on [Maria] Sharapova who lost by the way in Wimbledon against [Gisela] Dulko, in US Open against [Melanie] Oudin and in [Australian Open] against [Maria] Kirilenko. But this is not my business. I don't think I am going to buy the wedding dress of Sharapova because I have enough personality to wear what she wears, and to shout less than she does!"--Marion Bartoli

From The Brink

Reuters

What is it about staring down the barrel of match point or two, surviving, and ultimately winning the whole shebang? Some effort from Marion Bartoli to beat Venus Williams in a third set, the Frenchwoman's third three-set victory in a row.

Who saw that coming?

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Reuters

Sam Querrey overcame a second set lapse against Carsten Ball (too bad his first name isn't Wilson) to secure his second career title. Back-to-back-to-back finals with a victory on the third try in the third set. Not bad at all.

Will he be this summer's Juan Martin del Potro?

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AP

Nikolay Davydenko wins back-to-back titles. Juan Carlos Ferrero was this week's victim. He looks beyond thrilled. Clay in August oughtta be against the law.

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Reuters

Vera Dushevina lifts her trophy after beating Lucie Hradecka at the Istanbul Cup.

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AP

Thomas Belucci won his maiden title over Andreas Beck. Good for him.

Catching Up

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When was the last time Serena Williams won an event between Wimbledon and the US Open?

Damned if I know.

Haven't been able to watch more than four or five games of tennis since summer arrived in Maine. I check the score when I get around to it and post the results if time allows.

I tried watching the veterans duke it out in LA. But when Marat Safin gave Tommy Haas the break right back with consecutive double faults and stopped fighting his opponent, I stopped fighting sleep.

As for Serena. I would imagine she had all sorts of trouble breaking Samantha Stosur's serve. The Roland Garros semifinalist who held match points against Serena in Melbourne earlier this year, has the second best set of serves on the tour and enjoys playing the best Slam performer in the world. I was a bit surprised of the third-set score, but Sam finally got that out of her system.

Better not happen again.

I see Miss EleVen, on another one of her home courts, tore through Miss 100%, Miss Legs is right where she usually is, and Maid Marion still can't lose to Miss Melodrama.

Now who's going to win the title?

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Bank Of The West Classic

Singles - Quarterfinals
Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. (1) Serena Williams (USA) 62 36 62
(2) Venus Williams (USA) d. Maria Sharapova (RUS) 62 62
(3) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 62 64
(8) Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. (4) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 36 76(3) 63

Doubles - Quarterfinals
Chan/Niculescu (TPE/ROU) d. (1) Black/Huber (ZIM/USA) 75 63

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LA Tennis Open

Singles - Quarterfinals
[1] T Haas (GER) d [8] M Safin (RUS) 76(3) 62
L Mayer (ARG) d [2] M Fish (USA) walkover (abdominal strain)
[6] S Querrey (USA) d [4] D Sela (ISR) 63 75
[Q] C Ball (AUS) d J Isner (USA) 64 64

Doubles - Semifinals
[1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) d M Melo (BRA) / A Sa (BRA) 62 64

Doubles - Quarterfinals
B Becker (GER) / F Moser (GER) d Y Lu (TPE) / D Vemic (SRB) 64 26 10-8

Eastbourne Quarterfinals

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With so much activity on the farm, having to hold it all down while my other half was in the Netherlands for a week, I missed a few days of scoreboarding. Had no idea the draw drain in Eastbourne was so thorough.

When I finally turned on the television this morning after completing round one of chores, I expected to see Amélie Mauresmo or Nadia Petrova or Svetlana Kuznetsova on the order of play. Instead, there's Caroline Wozniacki, the highest seed remaining at No. 6, playing Ekaterina Makarova and Virginie Razzano against No. 8 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, Marion Bartoli against Anabel Medina Garrigues, and most shocking of all, Vera Dushevina against Alexsandra Wozniak.

With such a depleted field remaining, I'd imagine Radwanska and Bartoli are the favorites to win the title but they would face off in the semifinals if they both win today.

French Fried

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Marion Bartoli, one of my favorites, sums up the anguish that seems to undo so many French players on the terre battue of Roland Garros.

Q. You said you have experience, but you were stressed. Is there a particular reason?

MARION BARTOLI: There's a little reason. First, we are in France. Second, we are in the French Open. Third, we have ‑‑ my results in the French Open haven't been great. Then I also played against a French player, and also, it's clay. So all of this sums it up.

If it had been a green surface on Centre Court in Wimbledon, it would have been different.

Q. You say it's France. It's the French Open. Can you say more about it? When you are a French player playing on center court here, what is the feeling you have?

MARION BARTOLI: I think when you ‑‑ when we are French,we dream of winning the French Open. Since we are kids, we want to be, on Saturday, the last Saturday for girls and the last Sunday for boys, holding this trophy when we are able to play the French Open. It's already a great performance, and we put pressure on ourselves, on our own, because we believe that if we are here, we have to give it our best shot, and we get stressed, and every match is so difficult mentally and for our nerves.

It's because there is a culture of the French Open in France. It's so important for us tennis players that when we are here, we want to give all we have. For some players it's tough. Others are able to play.

Q. You're afraid the crowd will turn against you if you don't play well?

MARION BARTOLI: Yes. People support you when they feel there are long rallies and you are giving the best you have. That was the case in the end of the second set and the third set. We played good rallies.

People were appreciating. But when we make unforced errors on four second serves, I made mistakes, and then people don't support you. So then you start thinking, what are they going to think about me, you become more and more stressed. So it's more difficult for us.

Of course, some players like to play here,but for me, it's very difficult emotionally.

Full interview

(Thanks, Pamela)

Maid Marion Makes Mark in Monterrey

Rafael Vélez

Marion Bartoli wins her first title in three years in Mexico with a straight set victory of Li Na.

"I feel really good about how I played the whole week," Bartoli said. "I had some tough matches, not just today but also in the semifinals. They were both two sets but tough. I hit some great shots at the right moment. I'm happy about my level."

Bartoli came away with her fourth career singles title on the Tour, having won in Auckland, Tokyo and Québec City in 2006. She had done a lot since then, like reaching her first Grand Slam final and making it into the Top 10, but no titles.

"My first three titles came in 2006 when I was younger and not really expecting to win. So it's understandable why those ones were more emotional. But it's always nice to win titles, and this is a great one. Now I'm hoping to start winning bigger tournaments, and I hope I can keep playing like this in Indian Wells and Miami.

I hope she can win a big tournament as well. I enjoy her game, her fight, and her unpredictable ability to stun those who underestimate her.

Women's Semifinal Preview

By Mad Professah

The 2009 Australian Open Women's semifinals are now set. Unfortunately, Mad Professah has been busy with other things so I have not been able to produce my typical predictions during the last three rounds of the major slams. I have been watching the tournament (mostly the men) but have seen all of Serena's matches.

Vera Zvonareva RUS (7) vs. Dinara Safina RUS (3). "Marat's little sister" no more, Dinara Safina is well on her way to becoming a fixture in the very top tier of women's tennis. Her career changing moment occured last Spring in Berlin when she beat 7-time Grand Slam champion Justine Henin in her very last tour match (to date!) Safina also defeated fellow 2009 Australian Open semifinalists Serena and Elena Dementieva on her way to winning that title and followed up that amazing performance by remaining the hottest player on the Tour for most of the rest of the year, although she failed to win any of the major tournaments, she did reach her first Grand Slam final in Paris, losing to Ana Ivanovic.

She will be facing fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva who is notorious for her hot and cold streaks on the court. Miss Vera has been serving up bagels at this year's Australian Open, delivering no less than five in the first five rounds of the tournament, including a double bagel against the hapless Edina Gallovits in the third round and a bagel in her quarterfinal drubbing of 2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli, who unceremonialy bounced World #1 Jelena Jankovic from the tournament. The matches between Russians are often not very pretty.

Safina has a 5-4 career head-to-head against her lower ranked countrywoman, but the last three times they played (including during Safina's hot phase in 2008) Zvonareva came away the victor. It's doubtful that this will happen in 2009, but it won't be pretty.

PREDICTION: Safina in 3 sets.

Elena Dementieva RUS (4) vs. Serena Williams USA (2). The winner of this semifinal will be the 2009 Australian Open Women's champion. This is truly an example of what happens when an immovable object matches up against an irresistible force. Dementieva has won every one of the first 16 matches she has played in 2009, picking up two WTA Tour titles along the way (Auckland and Sydney), her 12th and 13th of her career. The Russian who has long had the reputation of having the Tour's best groundstrokes and most embarassing serve has previously been to two major finals and last year won the Olympic Gold medal in Beijing (over Safina). However, Dementieva is facing a living legend, the woman who holds the most Grand Slam titles of any active player (9!) and who not only won the last Grand Slam played in 2008, but has won this major tournament with metronomic regularity every other year since 2003.

Interestingly, Dementieva has beaten Serena the last three times they played (on Elena's hometown court in the Moscow final in October 2007, in the Quarterfinals of the Olympics last year and last week in Sydney--that last one in straight sets!) although Serena won the first four times they two met on the court.

Well, that is history, this is now. Who will win?

I would love to see Elena Dementieva win a major title but, sadly, it will not be the 2009 Australian Open. I do think she will reach a major final in 2009, though.

PREDICTION: Williams in 2 sets.

World No. 1?

Marion Bartoli says bring her on. With her brutal defeat of Jelena Jankovic in straight sets, Maid Marion has now defeated two different world No. 1's in Slams. The first was Justine Henin in the 2007 Wimbledon semifinals.

The Frenchwoman has dropped some kilos and is moving as well on hardcourts now as she does on grass. With the top half of the draw lacking in major major threats, she could find herself in another Slam final.

Look at her focused intent in the photo.

As for Jelena, she better go out and buy a serve. That thing she possesses right now is a joke that Marion laughed at the entire match.

Who's That Girl?

Her name is Aleksandra Wozniak. She's 20-years-old, hails from Canada where she's to top player, is ranked No. 85 in the world and won her first WTA in her first final as a qualifier at Bank of the West. Along the way, she notched wins over Francesca Schiavone, Sybille Bammer, Samantha Stosur, an injured Serena Williams, and Marion Bartoli.

She's the first Canadian to win a WTA title in 20 years, and only the fifth in history.

Raise your hand if you thought Wozniak would win a Tier II title before Nicole Vaidisova even made a Tier II final.



Gilles Simon battled his way to his first US hardcourt title in his first appearance at the Indianapolis Tennis Championships with a convincing straight-set dismissal of defending champ Dmitry Tursunov.

All the Frenchman wanted to do was play some matches in the grueling heat and humidity. And he takes the title. Fancy that.

It was supposed to be an All-American final. Or so the networks hoped. But James Blake has no confidence, and Sam Querrey still isn't ready to make his first.


Fernando Verdasco, Croatia Open Champion


Juan Martin del Potro, Austrian Open champion


Alberto Montanes, Dutch Open Champion

Photos of the Day

Marion Bartoli visits Children's Hospital in Stanford earlier this week. Hat tip to rabbit.