2013 Australian Open Part 7: Feathers and title defences

Right well this is the last of my Australian Open 2013 posts which will cover the men's and the ladies finals, both of which had their fare share of dramas, so let's have a look at em.

Starting with the ladies final, we had Victoria Azarenka take on Li Na for the right to retain her title and also her No.1 world ranking.  The match itself was a real dramatic topsy turvey affair with neither player playing their best at the same time.  And it was Li Na that made the stronger start, not to mention she had most of the crowd behind her, who were mostly against Victoria because of her controversial medical timeout from her semi final match, where she was accused of gamesmanship.  In the first set there were breaks aplenty, but it was Li Na that held on to clinch the set, as Vika was clearly jittery with the crowd against her.  In the 2nd set however, it was Li Na's turn to get jittery as she went a break down, and she also to make matters worse fell down on the court, spraining her ankle, she had to take a medical timeout herself, after which Vika eventually went on to close out the set.  And in the 3rd we had more drama as Li Na sprained her ankle again and also hit her head on the court as she fell, which lead to another timeout.  However once play resumed Vika used all her mental strength and focus to finally close out the match and to secure her 2nd consecutive Australian open title with a drama filled 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win.

While it wasn't the highest quality match, it definitely was an intruiging one, and it was a really good match up having these two in the final together, as it would be way better than having Maria Shriekapova there, as it would twice as loud!  Li Na having endeared herself to the Aussie crowd a couple of years ago in her final loss to Kim Clijsters, had most of the audience on her side, and despite her injury scare she did well to battle on through it even though it was a tough loss for her in the end.  But Victoria Azarenka, all controversy aside, I think really deserved to win the title, especially as she had to deal with a crowd that were mostly against her, which I thought was really unfair.  In fact I was a bit disgusted with the Aussie crowd in that match, but they did at least show her a bit more respect during the trophy presentation, as by then surely they must have realised just how much emotionally and physically she had to go through to win that match.

So well done to Vika for coming through that one, and she has also proved that she still is very much the world no.1, in Serena Williams absence, and I'm sure she will win many more majors in the future.  And I thought it was a bit of an ambitious statement that Serena Williams said anyway that she would go for a calendar slam this season, and I knew that it wouldn't be quite possible for her.  And if Vika raises her game against Serena in the future then I'm sure she can go on to dominate the game, even if she isn't the most popular world no.1, she might gain more respect as she carries on in her career.  And its a pity in a way she isn't as popular, as off the court she is a really nice affable person, so much more so than the ice cool Maria Sharapova (sorry I know I'm bashing her a bit!) can be.  But anyway all the best Vika and well done again.

Right so now I go on to the men's final, which was between Novak Djokovic, the defending champion and the British No.1, Andy Murray, which promised to be an epic tussle.  But did it live up to expectations????  Well not quite, but it did provide some really entertaining points and great rallies from both men.  And at the start of the match it was Andy that was the stronger player, as he bossed the points and moved Djokovic around, who struggled with his forehand, and the 1st set concluded with a breaker, which Andy won comprehensively.  In the 2nd set both men served well and it went to a tiebreak again, but this time at 2-2, Andy was distracted by a feather on court, which he flicked away and he ended up double faulting to lose the point, which let Djoko back in to the match by winning the tie break to level the match.  In the 3rd set it went by serve until 3-3, with Andy serving to go 4-3, when we started to see Andy struggle physically as he had blisters on his feet, and he was broken by Nole who went on to close the set and take a 2-1 set lead.  Andy also had to take a medical timeout for the blisters on his feet, and afterward his movement was really hampered also by a pulled hamstring.  And before we knew it, Nole broke Andy twice, leaving Andy with no way back.  Despite one last service hold, it was Djokovic who at 5-2, was serving for the championship, and after going 0-30 down, he soon clawed it back and served out the match to clinch 3rd straight Australian Open title, making a bit of history in the progress, with a 6(2)-7, 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-2 victory.

For the first two sets and a bit, this was a pretty good final, however it was disappointing the way that it ended up for Andy, as for the first two sets he did look the stronger player.  But you can never ever write off or underestimate Novak Djokovic, as where there is a will there is without a doubt a way.  And it has to be said the main deciding factor in the match was Andy's movement, as once his blisters started to hurt, there was no way he could have beaten Djokovic, as one of the main keys to beating Djokovic is by movement, and physically we saw Andy struggle more as the 4th set went on, and he had also pulled the hamstring in one of his legs as well, so by the end of the match we saw that he was physically hurting, even during the trophy presentation.  And at least Andy can take solace in the fact that he has won the best grand slam final they have played together last year at the US Open, which was a far tighter closer match than the two Melbourne finals put together.   

Also rather unfortunately for Andy, he only had one full day between the final to recover, and his gruelling match with Federer no doubt wouldn't have helped.  Djokovic also had the upper hand in that he had two full days rest between the final and he spent so little time on court during his semi final with David Ferrer so physically he was in peak condition.  Although Andy later said in his press conference that the blister didn't overly hamper his movement, he just felt that Novak made his move and returned that bit better making the difference, which he did as he went for his shots more in the 3rd and 4th sets.  But I do have to say what was with the bloody feather on the court????  It certainly did distract Andy enough to have to move it, and in the end it cost him the point, and in a bizarre way maybe also the match, as he could have gained a 2 sets to love lead if he had maintained his serve in that tiebreak, and it would have kept him alive longer in the match, if nothing else.

But regardless of another disappointing loss in Melbourne, Andy put in a brave effort in the final and for the most part he played a really good match against the world no.1, and he showed again in this tournament that he is improving all the time, especially now that he was claimed his first grand slam match win over Roger Federer (which was easily one of the best matches of the tournament).  I was also quite impressed with Andy during the trophy presentation as he looked more relaxed and content than before, and he gave a gracious speech, congratulating Novak and thanking his team and the crowd.  And even when he was getting his pics taken with his runner up dish next to Nole, he looked a bit more at peace with himself and happier, as clearly getting that major monkey off his back was a big emotional lift for him.  And even though he lost, Andy also proved for the most part of the match, that he remains a real threat to Djokovic, and I think these two guys, if Rafa doesn't make a strong return, will dominate the game this year.  And fear not, I'm sure in the major winning department, that we haven't seen the last of Andy Murray yet, and I really do think that Wimbledon might just be his this year.

But for now Andy will be taking time out from the tour (I sound like his biographer!) as he will prep for the American hard court swing coming up, starting with the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, which for many is considered the 5th grand slam (it also has seven rounds, as does the Sony Ericsson Open).  Andy hasn't done very well there in the last few years as he has gone out in his first match the last two years running, and he has said in the press that he is determined to do better this year, in order to maintain his ranking and improve his points to keep up with Nole and Roger.  And after winning his first major last year, Andy can now re-focus on the ATP tour events, in which he has had mixed success in, as he had always been so focused on trying to do well in the majors.  However its not going to be easy for him to win the Masters titles this year with Novak Djokovic standing in his way, and with three straight defeats already to the Serb, Andy will need to work very hard to keep up with him, but I'm sure he will find a way.     

And as for Novak, well he deserves a big congratulations for winning the title for a 4th time, and I think this is becoming his French open, as he has gained a real ownership of the Australian open in the last couple of years, and I'm sure he will continue to win a few more times before he retires.  Novak also secured a piece of history by winnning it three times in a row in the Open era, which has never been done before.  So that's six majors and counting, and he does have a bit more to go before he can reach Rafa or Roger's count, but I'm sure plenty more will follow in the forthcoming years.  And his ongoing rivalry with Andy Murray continues to excite and fascinate so it will be very intruiging to see where it goes from here.  And next up for Nole is the Davis cup later this week as he will play for Serbia, along with his compatriots possibly in hope that they can once again win the title for their country, which is still a tough task but with the World No.1 on their side they have a good chance.  

Right so that's it for now, the Australian open has come to an end for another year, and it was a really entertaining tournament, although it wasn't one of the best that we have seen from Melbourne, as last year's was for more enthralling, but it definitely had its moments.

So more tennis posts will follow fairly soon, although I will probably cover morely the WTA Premier/Premier 5/Premier Mandatory events, and the ATP 500 and 1000 Masters events up until the next slam, the French open in May.  And no doubt there is plenty of exciting tennis ahead of us in 2013.

Until the next post, bye for now.   

  

2013 Australian Open Part 6.2: Roger and Andy

Well well well the first grand slam of the tennis is just about to draw to a close as today we saw the last of the men's semi finals played out in front of a jam packed crowd on Rod Laver arena, so let's not waste anymore time and get talking about it!

As well all know the match was between Roger Federer, former four time champion, and Andy Murray, the former two time finalist, so to say it was the most anticipated match up of the tournament was an understatement, and the match had alot to live up to.  And thankfully it did just that as Roger and Andy from the get go played some explosive tennis in front of the full capacity Rod Laver arena crowd.  And it was Andy that got off to the stronger start as he broke Federer early on in the 1st to seal the deal.  In the 2nd set Andy continued to boss the points against Federer, but he managed to hang in and pushed the set to a tiebreaker, and with his imperious record in breakers, it was Federer came out on top and levelled the match at a set all.  In the 3rd set, Andy raised his game once more as he broke Fed to soon go on and take a 2 sets to one lead, which in a major saw him break new ground alone there.

In the 4th set it was Federer who got the better start as he broke Andy to go 4-1 up, but Andy fought back and broke back and soon things got back on serve, and they played a scrappy, yet very high quality 4th set.  Andy also had his chance to serve out for the match at 6-5 in the 4th, however Roger was not done yet and he used his skills to break back once again and push the set into another breaker, which he dominated to level the match and it went to a decider.  In the 5th, despite Federer having the momentum going into it, it was Andy that rose to the occassion as he raised his game and broke Federer twice, which saw Federer struggle on his last service game, as he mis-timed a forehand, Andy secured his first ever win over his old rival in a grand slam, after a four hour epic, with the scoreline of 6-4, 6-7, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2.

This match promised much and much to everyone's delight it certainly delivered, and its easily the best match Roger and Andy have ever played in a grand slam to date.  This time of course we saw a new Andy Murray, who was no longer standing passively, trading from the back of the court and waiting for Federer to make mistakes, this time he made it all happen, as he took it on and stuck it to Rog in a way we have not seen before.  Andy's match with Roger at Wimbledon was an indicator of course to what he was capable of producing against the Swiss maestro, but here he finally did it and pulled off what has to be one of the most significant victories in his career.  Of course it had to be said that Andy had the superior fitness of the two of them on court, and its not that Federer couldn't keep up, far from it in fact.  However physically after his match with Tsonga, Federer was struggling with his back, and apparently he had to get into a hot bath to sooth his back for an hour or so before doing the press conference for that match (and we also saw him wear a vest underneath his t-shirt for added support) so it does show that age is starting to catch up with him.

Regardless of that Roger will no doubt make a comeback at some point in the majors, as I'm sure he has one more in him somewhere (although perhaps next time Roger you should skip the pink shoe laces!).  But for me while Djokovic's match with Stan Wawrinka was a real epic and a great match, this one for me was the most entertaining match of the tournament, along side Federer's match with Tsonga.  And it makes you hope that Andy and Roger will continue to play more high quality matches like this in future grand slams, as both men have great variety, which it has to be said is something that Djokovic is lacking in a little bit by comparison.  But when these two get together and play their best it makes for scintillating viewing, and I hope Andy and Rog's next clash is a great one.  

As for Andy well he really is maturing as a player, as he no longer goes on court and berates himself (well he does a bit now and then, but not as much!) and looks up at his box for help, he now looks more sharp and focused than ever before.  It also shows just how well his partnership with Ivan Lendl has panned out as well, as the iron man really has helped Andy with the mental side of the game, and he proved that last year with Andy's Olympic gold and US Open wins.  And here today he did the same as when Federer levelled the match at 2 sets all, it would have been easy for Andy to have gone away from the match, to let Fed take over, just like Tsonga did in their quarter final match, but it didn't happen this time with Andy.  And with this win, Andy has really started emerge as a real force in the men's game, as he has proven he has got what it takes to not only stay with the best, but to also beat them as well in the biggest matches on the biggest events.
    
So this sets up a dream final between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, and while Andy is ranked No.3 just now, I really think he is the world no.2, as there is no doubt that he and Novak are the two best players in the world just now.  And I'm sure their final on Sunday will be (hopefully!) another epic clash and they will both test each other to the mental and physical limit in what is sure to be a marathon match, if their 2012 semi final is anything to go by then it will be just that, and then some.

And here is the 64 million dollar question, who is going to win the title???????  Well its not an easy one to answer as I think it will be a really tightly contested match.  On one hand Nole will be the fresher of the two having had two full days rest between the final, and also having spent so little time on court after having demolished David Ferrer in the semis.  But on the other hand, while Andy has just finished an intense 4 hour match against Roger, this was his only big test in the tournament so far, as prior to this match he had not spent more than two hours on court per match, so perhaps in terms of time spent on court it will pretty much have been evened out (give or take an hour).  But all that aside I really think this is going to be really close to call and it might just come down to a few points here and there, that might make all the difference.

So going by his record so far in Melbourne, I would have to say that Nole would be the favourite to win it on Sunday, and I think he might just edge it.  On the other hand however if there is one man that can beat Djokovic in any tournament on any surface, then its Andy Murray, and given the fact he has already beaten Nole in a major final last year in New York, he knows what it takes to win and mentally and physically he can last with Novak, so I won't say that Andy hasn't got a chance, as he definitely does have one here.  But overall I think Novak will just have that slight advantage over Andy to clinch it, but you never know, we will just have to wait and see.  However it would be terrific if Andy could win on Sunday, and so far he has shown tremendous mental resiliance throughout these two weeks and especially today, which proves he does have what it takes to win another major, and he might just do it.  But time will tell all. 

And even if Andy doesn't win another major this weekend, then he has proven beyond a doubt he will win more than one in the future, and I would still pick him as my favourite to win Wimbledon this year.  And let's face it, he is bound to win more grand slams as you don't reach six grand slam finals by accident, Andy is more than good enough to back up his first with a few more, and no doubt he will. 

Right so that's it for now, the men's final is set and promises to be a great one, and tomorrow we have the ladies final, which is between Victoria Azarenka and Li Na.  How do I see that one going????  Again its hard to say, and it will in part depend on Vika's fitness given the concerns over her breathing and her medical timeouts from the other day.  So in terms of fitness and overall form I would have to say Li Na would be my favourite to win the title, and I know for a fact the Aussies would just love that! (as they aren't so keen on Vika!).

Anyway that's all for now, I will report back once we know the identity of the winner of the ladies singles final tomorrow.

Till then bye for now!  

2013 Australian Open Part 6.1: Timeouts and demolition derby

OK so now we are getting deeper and closer to the end of the Australian open as most of the semi final matches were played today, all for the ladies and one of the men, so let's take the microscope and look at em closer...

So ladies first, the opening semi final of the day was between Victoria Azarenka, the defending champion and the 29th seed, Sloane Stephens.  In the first set, Vika dominated play by breaking the American youngster twice, to go on and close out the set.  In the 2nd however things got tougher for Victoria as Stephens clawed her way back into the match and it went by serve until Vika broke to go 4-3 up, and at 5-3 with Vika serving for the match, she got tight and her opponent Stephens staved off 5 match points to break back to make it 5-4.  But then Azarenka went off court for a medical timeout as she appeared to be suffering issues with her back and her neck, and she didn't re-appear until 10 minutes later to resume play.  However Stephens resistance broke down in the last game as Victoria broke to win the match and secure her place in her 2nd Australian open final with a 6-1, 6-4 victory.

This was not too bad a match and certainly it picked up in the 2nd set, although the most interesting talking point was not the match itself, but the medical timeout Vika took for injury, which turned out to be stress related, as Vika seemed to be succumbing to the intense heat on the court.  And the rules of the sport state that medical timeouts are purely for physical reasons and not mental ones, however Azarenka later defended her timeout as she said had a blocked rib which made it difficult for her to breath.  Regardless when she came back on court she didn't look too fazed and she managed to close out the match with ease, much to the dismay of the crowd I believe!  And in her post match interview there was a stony silence from the audience, which shows she isn't that popular down under, but I'm sure Azarenka regardless will be relieved that she got through to the final.

But I have to say Victoria does have some off putting moments in her career when she does things like this, although if it was a blocked rib that's understandable.  But she did also take a timeout last year when she played in Doha against Agnieszka Radwanska for what appeared to be an ankle injury, but it looked fine and again it looked more like a psychological thing than anything else, and Radwanska herself since has been somewhat distant towards Vika as she doubted the injury.  So this in a way has put me off wanting her to win the title again, but if she does fair play and good on her, but these moments in her career certainly don't endear her to the crowd.  Another of which was when Vika deliberately conserved her energy in a dead rubber match in Istabnul two years ago against Marion Bartoli, as she basically let Bartoli win in the 3rd set.  And when she does things like that it does show a lack of respect to her opponent and the game itself.  Regardless of all that we'll see how she get's on on Saturday and how she will hold up physically.

Now onto the 2nd ladies semi final which was between Maria Sharapova and Li Na, in what looked like a real battle in prospect.  But again the match turned out to be anything but, and despite her red hot form in Melbourne so far, Maria could do little against an in form Li Na, who broke her twice in both sets to claim a straight forward 6-2, 6-2 victory to reach her 2nd Melbourne final as well.  It seemed ironic that Maria would play so well throughout the tournament that she would be beaten so emphatically in the semi finals, as she had dropped only 9 games on her way to this point.  But Maria did struggle on her serve, which ultimately is her downfall in big matches when things goes pear shaped.  However I'm really pleased for Li Na and she thoroughly deserves her place in the final on Saturday where she will have a really good chance to win her 2nd grand slam title.

So that begs the question who will win on Saturday??????  Well for me I would have to go with Li Na, as she has been in the best form throughout the tournament, and to take down Sharapova in straight sets, given the Russian's form, that is even more impressive.  I also feel that there are now fitness issues surrounding Azarenka after her match with Sloane Stephens, where she had issues with her ankle and her breathing caused by a blocked rib, so that might play a big factor in deciding this match.  As for my prediction on the score well I think if Li Na wins it, it will be in straight sets, whereas if Vika wins it there's a good chance she will do it 3 sets.  Anyway it promises to be a good one, and let's hope so as the ladies tournament has been a bit underwhelming this year, and I think it deserves a really good final to finish it off.

Right now onto the men's first semi final which saw the World No.1, Novak Djokovic take on David Ferrer, the 4th seed for a place in the final.  Last year Ferrer while he was beaten in straight sets by Nole, he did give Novak a pretty good match, so we could expect the same this time.  But this match proved to be anything but as Nole was in the form of his life, and he didn't just beat Ferrer, he absolutely trounced him in a stellar performance of the likes we haven't seen in quite a while.  Right from the start Nole was the boss in this match and to Ferrer's credit, he tried the best he could, but the Serb was just on fire, as he broke Ferrer twice in the first two sets to take a 2 set lead.  And any hopes of a fight back in the 3rd were quickly denied for Ferrer, and Nole went to break Ferrer three times to close out a remarkable victory, with an emphatic 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 drubbing.

It was a pity this match was so easy for Nole and yet so tough for Ferrer, who had nowhere to go and could do nothing against the might of the Djokster, as he was outplayed, out manoevered, and outdone in every concievable way.  It also shows after his 5 set epic in the 4th round against Stan Wawrinka, that Djokovic has bounced back brilliantly and given that he has managed to keep his time on court down to a minimum since that match, and now have two full days to recover for the final, he surely will be a totally formidable opponent. 

And as for David Ferrer, well you can't but help feel sorry for him as he clearly was trying in this match, but he was totally outclassed by Djokovic.  And a slightly troubling thing for Ferrer is in press conferences he has always said he knows the top four are better than him, and whilst it is true, it also shows Ferrer has a somewhat defeatist attitude to playing these guys at times, especially in this match.  Ferrer said prior to the match said the same thing again, and to me it made me think he went into that match with no belief that he could win, as if he did he might have taken it on more.  Regardless Ferrer did really well once again in reaching another grand slam semi final, and its a pity he didn't have more to give in the match, as even last year Ferrer played a far more competitive match against Nole.  So I wish him the best of luck for the rest of the season and if he comes up against the top four again let's hope he can take it to them more in future contests. 

So for me I think we will be witnessing a piece of history on Sunday with Nole winning three consecutive Australian open titles (and his 4th overall) which has never been done before in the history of tennis.  In fact the winner of this slam will be a three-way history horse, as if its Nole as I've said already, he will be the first man to win three Aussie open titles in a row.  If Andy wins he will be the first man to win his maiden major title and his 2nd successive one, back to back, which no player has done either(!) and if Roger wins well he extends his record to 18 titles (which pretty much puts his record even further out of reach!).

Which brings me quickly onto the next semi final, which will be on tomorrow, which is of course, bar the final, the most eagerly anticipated match of the tournament between Roger Federer and Andy Murray.  How that one will turn out is anyone's guess, but here's hoping it will be a real belter and is far more competitive (not to mention longer!) and thrilling.  And despite the fact Andy has never beaten Roger in a grand slam tournament, he has never played him in a major when he was a grand slam champion, and now he is.  So this might tip the odds slightly as now that Andy knows what it takes to win the big matches in the biggest events, this might see him take an advantage over his old rival.  On the other hand Roger has won 17 majors already and he knows a thing or two about winning them, and his faultless record against Andy in the slams could serve him really well tomorrow (pardon the pun!).

So who will win????????  Well as much as I would like to see Andy win, I would have to go with Roger given his record against Andy in the big matches, and if Andy goes a set or 2 sets down, then it will be very hard for him to claw his way back in, as Andy has always struggled against Federer when he gets ahead in a match.  However that can't last forever and it is possible that tomorrow Andy will score his first win over Roger in a major tournament, so we will just have to wait and see, but if he is to win then he must maintain his lead over Federer and not let him claw his way back into the match, or he could be in for some more major heartache.  But I do think regardless of the outcome that it will be a very close match and hopefully one of the best of the tournament (or it might be just a big letdown, but I think not!).  So prediction wise I would have to say it maybe Roger in 4 sets, either that or Andy in 3 or 5 sets.

Well that's it for now, I will report back with the winner of the men's second semi final tomorrow.

So with baited breath I shall say bye for now! 

2013 Australian Open Part 5.2: Upsetting the odds and the big four showdown....

So we are getting closer to the end of the Australian Open, the first major of the season from Melbourne park, and today saw the quarter final matches wrap up to set up the semi final line up for the ladies and the men.  So let's gie a closer look at em....

OK to begin with the ladies, we had first up Victoria Azarenka, the current World No.1 take on the recently back on form Svetlana Kuznetsova.  And the match itself for the first set turned into a real test for Vika as she went a double break down 4-1 against Kuzy who played some great stuff.  However Vika soon enough managed to battle her way back into the match and soon levelled the scores at 5-5 and went on to break Svetlana to close out the set after an hour and 17 minutes.  In the 2nd set things were much easier for Vika as she raced to victory and broke Svetlana twice to sprint to the finishing line with a 7-5, 6-1 win.  There was no real doubt of course that Victoria would have come through this match no matter what opposition she faced from Kuznetsova, as she is the world number 1 after all.  And with the change in circumstances which I will talk about in my next parapgraph, this could very well see Vika defend her title in Melbourne, but a bit more on that in a bit....

So onto the second match of the day which was a very much anticipated match up between Serena Williams, and the new hot talented American player, Sloane Stephens, which promised to quite an interesting encounter.  And it turned out to be a bit more than that as Stephens really took it to Serena in the match, and things took a surprise turn when Serena injured herself on court, suffering a back spasm in the 2nd set, she was forced to take a medical timeout.  After play resumed Serena was broken by Stephens at 5-5, who went on to take the 2nd set.  And in the decider Serena was clearly hampered by her injury, as well as her sprained ankle which she suffered in her first round match, which in part let Stephens pull off the upset of the tournament by beating Serena in the 3rd to reach her first ever grand slam semi final with a remarkable 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory.  This was as much a surprise as anything we might have seen in the sport, but with Serena suffering from injury it seemed very likely that she would have been beaten.  However you can't take away anything from Sloane Stephens terrific efforts and she thoroughly deserves her place in her first major semi final, where she will play Victoria Azarenka for a place in the final.

So who will it be in the final in the ladies???????  Well out of the two matches, for me the favourite from Li Na and Maria Sharapova, would have to be Maria as her form has just been unbelievable so far, and while I think Li Na is playing great also, Maria's determination (and loud shreiking) will see her through (personally I'd rather Li Na won).  As for the other match between Victoria Azarenka and Sloane Stephens I would have to say that Azarenka is undoubtedly the favourite and I think she will win it to reach her 2nd Melbourne final.  And now that Serena is out of the equation I think Vika is in an excellent position to defend her title, which I think is a great thing as it would be really good to see a new player in the ladies game win more than one major, so this is Vika's best chance.

Now onto the men's quarter finals, starting with Andy Murray who was up first against the talented Frenchman, Jeremy Chardy, who had actually beaten Andy in their last match in Cincinnati last year, so this promised to be a real tough test for the British No.1.  But Andy managed to put any fears of a potential upset to bed as he played easily his best match of the tournament so far, and dominated Chardy aggressively from the first point.  Chardy showed a brief glimour of hope in the 1st set after he broke back Andy's serve, but Andy shut the door on him to close it out.  In the 2nd and 3rd sets, Chardy was nowhere to be seen, and Andy went on to serve it out with great ease to reach his 4th consecutive Melbourne semi final.  This was a bit of a surprise as given Chardy's form coming into the match I thought it would be a tight contest, but I guess that Andy realised that was a possibility and ensured he played the best match he could, and he did just that.

So this sees Andy into the semi finals of the Australian Open once again, and he is yet to drop a set, which is very impressive in itself, however if you look at his draw, he has had a pretty easy time of it so far, as he hasn't played anyone in the top 10 yet, as Chardy was the highest ranked player, at 36 in the world.  And that does give way for some concern as Andy hasn't really been tested yet, so its tough to know how well his tennis will stand up to scrutiny against some one in the top 10 or 5.  On the other hand its great that Andy has spent less time on court, which will leave him feeling far more fresh for the tougher opponents that lie ahead. 

Which brings me onto the final match of the day, which was one of the best matches of the tournament so far, which was between Roger Federer, and the World No.8, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.  So far Roger hadn't really been tested in the tournament so far, but that all changed when he played an inspired Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who came out firing, and with his big serve and tremendous power he has the tennis to upset the Swiss fella.  But Roger being Roger, despite playing some poor tennis here and there, dug deep and played his best when he needed, as he took the 1st on a tiebreak.  In the 2nd set however Tsonga fought back to break Fed and level the match, and in the 3rd it went by serve again where Federer once again won the tiebreak to take the lead.  But Tsonga was not done yet as he fought back again to break Roger in the 4th, which he went on to clinch to push the match into a decider.  In the 5th however, it was Roger that found the extra gear and he cranked it up to break Tsonga for the last time and he closed a great hard fought battle with an overhead smash, to finish the scoreline as 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3 in just over 3 hours and 30 minutes.

While I have to say the Australian open this year has been lacking overall a quota of great matches, its great to say that this was one of them.  And it was also great to see two big names on the court produce a fine match for the capacity Rod Laver arena crowd.  Tsonga throughout played a great match and it shows that when he is on his game, he is very dangerous, as he proved at the Wimbledon 2011 quarter finals when he beat Roger there, and he came pretty close again here.  But its also sheer testament to how good a player Roger Federer is that he can come through these sorts of matches and just find that little bit extra to get him over the line when he needs to. 

Which sets up a potentially very exciting semi final showdown between Roger Federer and Andy Murray, and it will be very interesting to see who will come out on top of that one, and it will also be new territory for Andy Murray as this time he now has the experience of having won a grand slam behind him, and will that tip things in his favour? Possibly, but then again possibly not, as Andy will be playing a guy who has already won 17 of them!  But in his favour Andy now has the experience of having won a major, so mentally he knows how to deal with those situations better than before.  Anyway whatever happens on Friday, let's hope it will be a cracking match.

So for now I will say a bit about tomorrow's schedule which looks pretty mouth watering, and I've already mentioned the ladies semi finals matches, and there is also the men's first semi final match between Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer.  This promises to be a really good match as well, but it has to be said that Djokovic is the favourite to win it, as Ferrer has not beaten Djokovic in their last few meetings, the last being the semis of the US Open last year.  But it should be a really entertaining match, and while Ferrer hasn't got the weapons to beat Djokovic, he does have the speed and athletic ability to run Nole ragged for a few hours, and he is also one of the best returners in the game, and when it comes to playing from the baseline, Ferrer is one of the few players than stay with the top 3.  However as my prediction I think Novak will win this one in straight sets , but I think it will be pretty tight (maybe 6-4, 7-6, 6-4 to Nole), either that or it will be in 4 loose sets (i.e. maybe 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 or something like that).  Time will tell on that one but I think will be a really good match, but I'm sure Nole will emerge victorious no matter what Ferrer throws at him.

And that's it for now, I will report back once the semi finals are over tomorrow.

Till then bye the nooow!  

2013 Australian Open Part 5.1: Quarter finals day uno

So now I thought I would do some split posts for a change about the men's and ladies quarter finals matches, as this post will focus on the matches from Day 9, which saw the first leg of QFs get under way, so let's have a closer look at them....

OK so ladies first, starting with Agnieszka Radwanska, the world no.4, who took on the world no.6, Li Na, in a duel to reach the last four.  Aga came into this match on a 13 match winning streak, in which she has not even dropped a set this year either!  However this all changed when she played the Chinese No.1, as Li Na took a very tight first set, and in the 2nd, Li Na continued to dominate the proceedings by breaking Aga twice to win the match in 7-5, 6-3 to land her second semi final in Melbourne.  This was quite an impressive result for Li Na, who has really been on form this year so far, with the help of her new coach (her former one was her husband, whom apparently got dogs abuse from her!) Carlos Rodriguez, who was the former coach of Justine Henin.  And Li Na will be set to take on her next opponent, who I will cover in the next paragrarph...

The next match was between two Ruskies, Maria Sharapova (well she's American really isn't she???) and Ekaterina Makarova, which looked like a potentially interesting encounter.  However Maria continued her incredible form by blasting her way past the Russian in just over an hour, and breaking Makarova twice in each set to make what must rank as her easiest ever passage to the semi finals of a grand slam ever (or of all time!) with a crushing 6-2, 6-2 win.  This was quite a performance from Maria who has now only conceeded a mere nine games to reach the semis, and she never looked threatened at all during the match, despite Makarova showing a few signs of promise in the first few games. 

However and I hate to sound like I'm bashing her, but I do have to say I am a bit put off by Sharapova these days, as I just can't quite go her snooty arrogance, and she is very much a cold fish in the press, as she has said some quite arrogant things at times.  I also think in all honesty her game isn't that exciting to watch either as she just basically hits the ball as hard as she can, and it either goes in or not, and all we pretty much get from Sharapova is baseline rallies and blasting winners of any kind she can get and that's about it, there's no plan B, not to mention the 100db shreiking she does on court all the time (I'm surprised she event has a voice left!).  But despite the disappointment of how massively one sided her matches have been so far in Melbourne, her next match promises to be her first big test as she will play Li Na, who gave her a really tight close match in Rome last year, so expect this to be a tough one, but I can still see Sharapova win it to reach her 2nd consecutive final.

Anyway so onto the men, starting with what was the match of the day between two Spaniards David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro, who fought it out for a place in the men's last four.  While the match was a bit erratic on quality it was definitely one of the matches of the tournament so far, and it saw Almagro, who had never beaten Ferrer in their previous meetings, with a great chance of beating his fellow Spaniard, as he took a two sets to love lead.  And in the 3rd set, Almagro went a break up to serve for the match at 5-4, but he couldn't take his chances as Ferrer broke back, who went on to break and win the 3rd set.  In the 4th set it was more see-saw play and Almagro had his chances to close out the match again going up a break at 5-4, with Ferrer breaking back to make it 5-5, and breaking Ferrer again to make 6-5.  But Ferrer's tenacity was unnerving as he fought to make it to a tiebreak, where Ferrer finally stamped his authority by levelling the match at 2 sets all.  After this unfortunately for Almagro, who started suffering from cramp, Ferrer dominated the 5th and broke twice to seal his place in his 2nd semi final in Melbourne, with a score of 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-2.

Although I haven't seen it properly this was quite a match from both men and it once again shows just how good a player David Ferrer really is, and why he is in the top 5 in the sport just now.  It was a pity for Almagro though who had several chances to close out the match in the 3rd and 4th sets, but in the end it was Ferrer who had that bit more belief and determination to see it through.  As for Ferrer well he will go on to face one of the two men in the next match I'll discuss...

Which was between the World No.1, Novak Djokovic and World No.6, Tomas Berdych, and with Djokovic having been out on court for over 5 hours in that his epic 4th round match with Stan Wawrinka, Berdych might have had a good chance here to cause an upset.  However Nole turned out to be in fine form and looked fresh as a daisy as he moved quickly to take the first set.  In the 2nd set Berdych fought back and broke to level the match at a set all, but again in the 3rd, Novak seized the initiative quickly and went a double break up to take a 2 sets to 1 lead.  And in the 4th Nole wasted little time in breaking Berdy, and despite some resistance at 5-4 from Berdych, Novak served it out to seal his semi final place with a scoreline of 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. 

This was a pretty easy victory for Novak after having endured such a war of attrition against Wawrinka, his win here was just what he would have ordered from his local pharmacist.  The match itself was nothing too much to write home about, and Berdych for the most part was outplayed by Nole, although there were some good moments here and there.  And next for Nole will be Ferrer who he will be meeting in their second consecutive grand slam semi final as they met at the US Open semis last year as well.  And while I'm sure Ferrer will give Novak the runaround for a while, I can see Novak reach his third consecutive Melbourne final with realtive ease, in what might be a tight 3 or 4 set victory. 

So that's it for the first leg of the quarter final matches, more will follow tomorrow once the vote is in on the next lot.  As tomorrow we will have starting with the ladies, Victoria Azarenka take on Svetlana Kuznetsova, followed by Serena Williams who will play the talented and upcoming young American, Sloane Stephens.  So both of these promise to be good matches, and I'm particularly looking forward to Serena's match up with Stephens, as it will be interesting to see how the young American get's on with the mighty Williams. 

And for the men we have two very intruiging matches, first up Andy Murray will take on the in form Frenchman, Jeremy Chardy, who beat Andy in their previous meeting last year, so it will be a real test for Andy, but hopefully one he will pass.  And in what could be the match of the day, and is the night match, we will have Roger Federer taking on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and depending how it goes we might just see an upset, or even maybe two if Chardy plays his cards right!  However if there is one upset I hope its Roger's as I would much rather see Andy get through any day, and that way he will have a good chance of reaching the final with a possible showdown with Novak.  How good would that be?????  But first things first, we'll see how the matches go.

Right that's it for now.  More coming up at you soon!

2013 Australian Open Part 4: Cake walking it

Ok so now we are into the second leg of the 4th round matches which sees the completion of the set up for the mens and ladies quarter finals.  So let's have a look at them....

Starting with the ladies we had Caroline Wozniacki up first batting against Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, who has returned to form lately, and she won their previous meeting in Sydney earlier this year (well ok two weeks ago!).  And unfortunately for Caroline the result was the same as the Russian had found just enough in the end to win through, although it was by far the most competitive match of the day in the ladies draw, as the two of them battled it out for nearly 2 hours and 30 minutes.  But I have to say I was really disapponted that Caroline lost the match, as I was really hoping to see her reach the quarter finals and play Victoria Azarenka, which I thought would have been a really good match up, but it wasn't to be unfortunately.  Which brings me onto Azarenka's match which was with another Russian, Elena Vesnina, but Vika had little trouble is getting past her, as she powered past Vesnina with an emphatic straight set victory of 6-1, 6-1, and despite having blip in her match with Jamie Hampton, Victoria has been in pretty good form so far.

Now onto Serena Williams who was up against Maria Kirilenko, and this could have been Serena's first test of the tournament, however once again I was proved wrong, as Kirilenko had no answer whatsoever for Serena's game.  Serena powered her way past Kirilenko in the first set breaking twice, and in the 2nd set Kirilenko was nowhere to be seen on the scoreboard, as Serena raced to the finish line with yet another massively one sided win with a score of 6-2, 6-0.  I really do have to say that while she is one of the great players in the game, there is nothing more boring than watching Serena Williams demolish an opponent in a tennis match, and it happens all too often, as more often than not you wish someone could give just give her a match.  However her next opponent might just be capable of that who is Sloane Stephens who has made her first grand slam quarter final, after beating Bojana Jovanovski from Serbia in 3 sets.  Sloane also gave Serena a decent match in their previous meeting in Brisbane this year and it might be possible that she can do the same this time, so let's hope its a good one, as it has to be said alot of the ladies matches have been pretty underwhelming so far.  But that might all change as we progress into the quarter finals as things are bound to get that bit tougher, well perhaps not for Serena, but we'll see!

So now onto the men's matches, and we'll start off with an all French clash between Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet, which looked like a real tough un.  Tsonga was the better player though and drop only one set to reach his third quarter final at the Australian open in 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, and so far he is looking in very good form, so he will be tough to stop.  Next up was Jeremy Chardy another French man (they have done well this year!) who was pitted against the Italian and 25th seed, Andreas Seppi.  And after losing the first set, Chardy took control of the match and dismissed Seppi in 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to reach his first grand slam quarter final, and he is looking in dangerous form.

Which brings me onto Andy Murray, who so far in the tournament has yet to drop a set, and he played Gilles Simon, who was physically struggling after his long match against Gael Monfils in the 3rd round.  And right enough it turned out that Simon was no match for Andy in his weak state, and he frequently called for the trainer throughout the match, and Andy had him on the move to keep the points short, and in just over 1 hour and 30 minutes, Andy reached the quarter finals with a straight forward 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 win.  This was not really much of a match and it was a pity for Simon that he couldn't get into it a bit more, as he was struggling with his movement.  But at least for Andy he is into another quarter final (his 9th consecutive one I think!) of a major, despite the fact he wasn't at his best today.  However things don't get any easier from here and he will be up against Jeremy Chardy next, who beat him last year in Cincinnati, so Andy will need to up his game to reach the semi final.  Hopefully however Andy can use his more extensive experience in the latter stages of the majors to come through this one in 4 or 5 sets, and hopefully he will, but Chardy will be a threat, so Andy will need to be on form to get past him, especially as Chardy has already beaten 3 seeded players, one of them being Del Potro.  So fingers crossed! 

And the final match of the day on Rod Laver arena was Roger Federer who up against Milos Raonic, the huge serving Canadian who had given Roger some really tight close matches in their previous meetings.  But this time Roger came more prepared as Raonic despite getting off to a solid start on serve, soon dropped serve at 4-5 to lose the opening set.  In the 2nd, things went by serve as Raonic pushed Federer to a tiebreak, but in the breaker Federer took control again and took the 2 set lead.  And in the 3rd Roger made short work of the young Canadian who he broke twice, and saw Federer serve out with ease to reach his 35th grand slam quarter final (not bad at all!) in 6-4, 7-6, 6-2.

It was a bit of a letdown this match as I was hoping Raonic would at least push it to a 4th set, but apart from his serve, there wasn't a great deal else to the Canadian's game, as he wasn't the best returner, and each rally couldn't have been more than 8 or 10 shots, with Federer winning the majority of them, and the big lad had to keep serving well to stay in the match.  So while Raonic is a top player if he wants to reach the top 10 or 5, for me he would really need to work on his return game and add a few more dimensions to his game.  As for Roger well there is no doubt that he is in top form and also is yet to drop a set at the tournament and I think it would be fair to say that he can reach the final in Melbourne, unless Andy can find something special if they meet in the semis.  But that lies ahead of us.  Up next for Roger is Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who took out Richard Gasquet, and that will be Roger's first big test, as I'm sure Tsonga will make life difficult for him.  Although in their last meeting in a major, Federer whitewashed Tsonga at the US Open two years ago, but let's not forget that Tsonga also beat Roger in 5 sets at Wimbledon that year as well, so Tsonga still remains a big threat to him, and he has the firepower and the game to take out anyone.  So it promises to be quite a match. 

So that's it for the 4th round matches, it was a pretty underwhelming day all round to be honest, and it has to be said the Australian open has been a bit hit and miss so far this year.  But hopefully the matches will improve in quality and competitiveness as we reach the latter stages of the first major of the season.  And tomorrow on the ladies we will have Sharapova up against her compatriot Ekaterina Makarova (who I could swear sounds Asian and instead of Russian!) and Agnieszka Radwanska will be playing Li Na, so hopefully they will be good.  And in the men's we have Novak Djokovic take on Tomas Berdych, which could be a cracker, that's assuming Novak has enough in the tank to win, but you can never underestimate Nole and I do think he will win.  Also in the men's there will be an all Spanish clash between David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro, but Almagro has never beaten Ferrer, so we will see how that pans out.

Right so that's it for now.  More to follow on the quarter finals later on. 

2013 Australian Open Part 3: Keeping the dream alive....

Right so now I thought I would do the first leg of the 4th round matches at the Australian open for the men's and ladies, as there was plenty of excitement on Rod Laver arena today (or tomorrow night if you are in Melbourne).  So let's gie it a look.

Starting with as usual the ladies, we saw Angelique Kerber, the fifth seed take on the in form Russian player Ekaterina Makarova for a place in the quarter finals, and naturally Kerber was the favourite here.  However things proved to be quite different as Makarova put in a fine effor to derail Kerber from reaching her first Australian open quarter final with a straight sets win of 7-5, 6-3.  This sees Makarova make her second consecutive quarter final in Melbourne, where she will next face the woman I will discuss next.

And that lady is Maria Sharapova, who so far has been in absolutely formidable form, and has shown a form that has even put Serena Williams to shame!  Maria's 4th round opponent was Kirsten Flipkens, the Belguim player, and just like in her previous rounds, Maria showed no mercy as she absolutely hammered the Belgian, conceding just one game as she steamrolled her way to a 6-1, 6-0 drubbing.  This shows further evidence of just how scarily good Maria's form has been in this tournament, and so far she has only dropped a mere 5 games on her way to the quarter finals, which is just staggering.  Maria as I said will next face Makarova for a place in the semis, and I predict that she might do the same Makarova as well, but we will wait and see.  Whatever happens, Maria is going to be mighty mighty hard to stop in this form.

In other ladies matches we had Agnieszka Radwanska, who was up against Ana Ivanovic, in what promised to be a competitive match.  But Ana just made too many unforced errors, and Aga as she usually does, hardly made any at all, with her steady and unbelievably consistent level that she has shown over the last 12 months or so.  Aga also continues her winning streak, as she remains unbeaten in 2013 with a perfect 13-0 record so far, and she has yet to even drop a set this year!  However she might start dropping one when she plays Li Na next in the quarter finals, who made it through in straight sets against Julia Goerges with a 7-6. 6-1 win.

In fact its going to be quite interesting who is going to be in the last four as I think that the top four all have an excellent chance of making it there, and I think from thereon in we might just be treated to some great tennis.  And let's hope so as it has to be said most of the ladies matches so far have been won quite easily, especially by the top seeds, so let's hope they are put to the test and we see some tighter contests in the next few days.

So moving onto the men first off we had David Ferrer on court playing Kei Nishikori of Japan, and surprisingly Nishikori lead their head to head 2-1 coming into this match, so it promised to be a tight one.  But it proved to be anything but as Ferrer made short work of Nishikori by dispatching him in three easy straight sets, with an emphatic score of 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.  Ferrer will go on to face his compatriot Nicolas Almagro, who won his match after Janko Tipsarevic retired from their match, which will see Almagro advance to his first Aussie open quarter final, so that promises to be a pretty good match, but I see Ferrer coming through.  Next up we we had Tomas Berdych who so far has been in really good form in the tournament, but he faced his first potential threat with the big Kevin Anderson, who had a serve big enough to challenge Berdych's.  The first two sets went to Berdych easily enough, but in the 3rd they shared a mammoth tiebreak, which eventually saw Berdych seal the win to reach the quarter finals in 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(13).  And Berdych will go on to face the winner of the next match I will discuss...

Which was between the World No.1 Novak Djokovic, and Stan Wawrinka, the world no.17, in what was a potentially intruiging encounter, which might have seen Nole been given a bit of test.  However the words a bit of a test turned out to be something of an understatement as the Swiss No.2 came with his A game in full swing against Novak.  And for Stan, starting off so good, winning the first set and going 5-2 up in the 2nd, Novak had no answer whatsoever for the Swiss player, who was just on absolute fire.  However Nole fought back in the 2nd set to level 5-5, and he went on to break Stan to level the match.  In the 3rd set, Stan went a break down, which let Nole serve out for a 2 sets to 1 lead.  However in the 4th set we were treated to some electrifying tennis as neither man gave an inch on their serve, and they played a pulsating tiebreak, which Stan won to take the match into a decider.  And the 5th was an epic in itself and both players were locked in a battle of the wills as they kept holding onto their serve (at times tentatively).  That is until 11-10, which Stan serving to make it 11-11, Djokovic seized his chance, needing three match points, he took the initiative and played a terrific backhand cross court to close an unbelievable match in just over 5 hours, with an exhaustive scoreline of 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6(5)-7, 12-10.

This was without a doubt so far the match of the tournament and both players couldn't have put anymore into that match than they did.  Novak once again in this match, even when he looked seriously down and out at a set and 5-2 down in the 2nd, dug deep from his bottomless well of belief and somehow got the job done.  And even after 5 hours of play, Novak while undoubtedly tired, still looked relatively fresh, and throughout the match he didn't call for a trainer once, which makes you appreciate just how fit the guy really is!  And for me I think its safe to say that he can still win this tournament, as so far he has defied the physical odds that were stacked against him, just like he did last year when he beat Rafa in that exhaustive epic 6 hour final.  So despite the fact he has another tough match ahead of him with Tomas Berdych, I really do think he can come through it, as he said so himself in his press conference afterwards, and that's why he is the best player in the world.

As for Stan Wawrinka well he too deserves a great deal of credit for his amazing performance in this match, as he played what must have been the match of his career, and its a great shame that he lost it, as he had several break point chances to beat Novak, but somehow the Serb just kept hanging in.  But I'm sure the Swiss player will take great heart from this match as it shows he does have what it takes to stay with the best, and when he is on form, it takes one hell of an effort to beat him.

So that's it for now, I will report back once the second leg of quarter finals are over, which sees an exciting set up on both the mens and ladies.  On the ladies, Victoria Azarenka is up against Elena Vesnina of Russia for a place in the quarter finals, which could be intruiging (or just a doddle).  Serena Williams will also have a potentially tricky opponent in Maria Kirilenko (again Russian) who has been on form in recent months.  Sloane Stephens, who knocked out Laura Robson, is also in action against the Serb player, Bojana Jovanovski.  And finally in what could be the ladies match of the day, Caroline Wozniacki will take on Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russian again!) for a place in the quarter finals, which will be really tough, and I hope Caroline wins it.

As for the men, Andy Murray will be in action against the Frenchman, Gilles Simon, who has been struggling physically after his epic 5 set match with Gael Monfils on Saturday there.  Simon could however, if he has recovered well enough, still pose a threat to Andy, however the Muzza has been in good form so far, despite a dip in performance in the 3rd round, he's still to drop a set in the tournament, so we'll see how it goes.  In all French clash and what could be a terrific match we also have Jo-Wilfried Tsonga take on Richard Gasquet, for a place in the quarter finals, and that could be a really good one!  Another in form Frenchman, Jeremy Chardy will also be in action with the Italian player, Andreas Seppi, so the winner of that will be a possible quarter final opponent for Andy Murray.  And finally in what could be the match of the day, Roger Federer will take on Milos Raonic, and they have always had close matches in their previous encounters, but Roger has won all of them, so we can expect the Swiss maestro to come through it, but hopefully it will be a great one.

So that's it for now, more to follow soon! 

2013 Australian Open Part 2.2: Playing catch up with the guys

So onto the men's tennis at the Australian open, which I will cover the 2nd and 3rd round matches so far at the first major of the season.  So let's move on...

Starting with the top seed, Novak Djokovic, who is looking to win a hat trick of Melbourne titles, and on the form he has shown so far, he just might do it.  In the 2nd round Nole had a potentially difficult opponent in the talented American youngster, Ryan Harrison, as they played a fairly close match at Wimbledon last year.  However this time, Harrison proved to be no such threat and Nole thoroughly outclassed and out-manoevered the American and went on to win a very easy straight set win, with the scoreline of 6-1, 6-2, 6-3.  In the 3rd round however Nole had a trickier time against the Davis cup hero last year, Radek Stepanek, who proved to be quite a test for him, in what was a very entertaining match.  Stepanek throughout used his doubles skills at the net and played an array of classy and entertaining points, which knocked Novak off his rythym, and saw the Czeck make a lot of funny gestures on court such as pretending to shoot with his racquet.  But being the World No.1, Nole managed to get it done in straight sets, albeit in three difficult ones, with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 win.  Next up for Novak will be the Swiss No.2, Stan Wawrinka, who is playing well just now, so we expect that to be quite a tricky encounter.

Next up we have Roger Federer, the No.2 seed, who so far has had a fairly easy time of it, and in the 2nd round he played Nikolai Davydenko, and despite a decent effort from the Russian, Fed outclassed him once again, and went to win in 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.  In the 3rd round Roger was up against a potentially tough opponent as he played the home favourite, Bernard Tomic, who came into the match unbeaten in 2013.  However Rog was intent on ending that, and after two competitive sets, he did just that in the 3rd as he broke the young Aussie twice to shut him down with a 6-4, 7-6, 6-1 victory in just under two hours.  But things don't get any easier for Roger as in the 4th round he will face the big serving Canadian, Milos Raonic, who he has had some very close matches with so far, so we can expect a real tough one for the Fedster here, and hopefully it will be a cracker.  However Roger so far has been in very impressive form and I think it will be very tough to knock him off his perch.

And now we go onto Andy Murray, the British No.1 and US Open champion.  After getting the major monkey off his back, Andy so far has been in good form in Melbourne, and in the 2nd round he continued his form, as he took out Joaoa Sousa in straight sets with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win.  In the 3rd round however, Andy faced his first test against the talented Ricardes Berankis, whom is a regular hitting partner with Andy on the tour.  And Berankis for the most part rose to the challenge with Andy, who struggled on serve against the young Lithuanian, who knocked off Andy off his rhythym throughout.  Despite all that, Andy managed to close out the match in straight sets, after being broken in the 3rd at 5-4 by Berankis to level at 5-5, Andy broke once again to win the match in 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.  Andy next up will go on to face the talented Frenchman and 14th seed Gilles Simon, who has completed an epic battle against fellow countryman, Gael Monfils in 5 sets, 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 1-6, 8-6.   Andy also has a very good head to head against Simon, who has only beaten him once, and with Simon no doubt being exhausted after his lengthy epic against Monfils, then surely Andy has to be favourite, but we'll see. 

In other matches starting with David Ferrer, the Spaniard has been making good progress so far, although he did face a tricky opponent in the 2nd round Tim Symczek, where he dropped his first set of the tournament.  How Ferrer soon fought back after losing the 3rd set, he went on to win the match in the 4th with a scoreline of 6-0, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.  Next up Ferrer played Marcos Baghdatis, and despite any fear that he would be in for a long night, Ferrer put that to bed as he dismissed the Cypriot in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.  Ferrer will next up play a possibly tough encounter with the Japenese No.1, Kei Nishikori.  Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, and former finalist in Melbourne, also is in good form so far, and in the 2nd round he got past the talented Japenese player, Go Soeda in 6-3, 7-6, 6-3.  In the 3rd round Tsonga continued his impressive form having beaten Blaz Kavcic, the Slovenian player, in 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.  This sets a potentially really good clash with his fellow Frenchman, Richard Gasquet in the 4th round, which promises to be a fine match.

Tomas Berdych, the big Czeck so far has also been making good progress, and in the 2nd round dismissed Gilluamme Rufin of France with straight settie win of 6-2, 6-2, 6-4.  And despite a possible testing 3rd round with Jurgen Melzer, the Austrian player, Berdy had no probs in getting past him with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 scoreline.  This however sets up Berdych biggest test yet where he will play the big South African (6ft 8 to be exact!) Kevin Anderson, who has also been in good form, so that should be a really good un.  Janko Tipsarevic so far has had a tougher time of it, as in the 2nd round he was up against it with the Slovak player, Lukas Lacko, who battled back from 2 sets to love down to square the match, to take it into the 5th, where Janko just edged him, to win in 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-5.  And in the 3rd round Tipsy had another testing encounter with the French player, Julienne Benneteau, which again went the distance, where the Serb finally won in 2-6, 6-4, 2-6, 4-6, 6-3 to reach the 4th round for the first time in his career.  In the 4th round Tipsy will face Nicolas Almagro of Spain, who beat Tipsy quite easily last year, so this might prove to be a really tough encounter for him, but we'll see.

And finally to end up with a bit of bad news, Juan Martin Del Potro, who was one of the possible contenders for the title, went out in the shock less to the dangerous French player (yep there's alot of them!) Jeremy Chardy.  Chardy himself impressively came from through after going to 2 sets to love up and Delpo squared the match, but the French player won in the 5th, where he has reached the 4th round of the Aussie open for the first time, with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-7, 3-6, 6-3 victory.  This was a bit of a surprise but at the same time Chardy has shown in the past that he has game to knock any player off when he is on his game.  And this could prove to be a real danger for Andy Murray, as Chardy could be a possible quarter final opponent for him, and Andy lost to the French man last year in Cincinnati, so he will need to be on his game to win.  However first things first to Chardy, who will play Andreis Seppi of Italy in the 4th round, so we will see how that pans out.

So that's it for now for the men's, I will post up more once the 4th round matches have been completed for both the gals and the guys.

Till then bye for now!   

2013 Austrlian Open Part 2.1: Catch up with the lasses

OK so now I'm finally onto the second part of my entries on the Australian Open, the first major of the tennis season from Melbourne park.  So I have a bit to catch up on, so I've decided to split these posts into two parts, one for ladies and the other for the men's.  So let's get to it! 

Ladies first starting with Victoria Azarenka, the defending champion who in the 2nd round faced her opponent from Greece, Eleni Daniilidou, who she made very short work of as she blasted her way past the Greek player, conceding only one game, and racing to a 6-1, 6-0 win.  In the 3rd round however, Vika met her first challenge of the tournament as she was up against the very talented American player, Jamie Hampton, who played some very aggressive points against Vika and went for her shots, breaking twice in the 1st set, before double faulting to hand over the set to Azarenka.  In the 2nd set, Vika showed more signs of fragility as she went a break down, and this time Jame went on to level the match, but in the decider after going a break down, Vika raced to victory, reeling of 5 games in a row, to reach the 4th round in 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.  Next up Victoria will face Elena Vesnina of Russia in the 4th round.

Serena Williams on the other hand little trouble in her 2nd round and 3rd round matches, as despite an injury scare in the 2nd, she pummelled her opponent Garbine Muguruza of Spain in 6-2, 6-0.  In the 3rd round Serena met little more resistance as she beat Ayumi Morita of Japan in 6-1, 6-3 to reach the 4th round, having conceded only 6 games in the process.  Agnieszka Radwanska, the world no.4, also has had a fairly easy time of it so far, and in her 2nd round she beat Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania in 6-3, 6-3.  Next Aga faced the British No.1, Heather Watson, who made it into the 2nd round after battling past Ksenia Pervak in 3 sets.  But Aga was just too good for Heather, who despite all that put up a decent fight in the process, and even had several break point opportunities, but she was unable to take them, as the Pole outclassed the Brit in 6-3, 6-1.  Next up for Aga will be a sterner challenge as she faces the Serbian No.1, Ana Ivanovic in the 4th round.

Maria Sharapova, the World No.2, so far has proved to be in near unbeatable form, as she destroyed her first two round opponents in 6-0, 6-0, and in the 3rd round we expected quite a competitive match against Venus Williams.  However Maria once again made short work of the former No.1, by racing past her in an emphatic straight set win of 6-1, 6-3.  This more impressively than Serena, means that Maria has only dropped just four games on her way to the 4th round, now that is some going!  Next up Maria will face Kirsten Flipkens, so you can expect another massively one-sided scoreline.  Angelique Kerber, the World No.5, also has been in impressive form so far, as she hasn't dropped set, and in the 2nd round she dismissed Lucie Hdrecka of the Czeck Republic in 6-3, 6-1, and in the 3rd round she had more competitve match with the American, Madison Keys as she beat her 6-2, 7-5 to reach the 4th round.  In the 4th round Kerber will face Ekaterina Makarova of Russia, which could promised to be a really good match, as Makarova has improved as player, and she took out Marion Bartoli in the 3rd round.

In other ladies matches, Li Na has been in similarly impressive form, and is also so far yet to drop a set, and in the 2nd round she beat Olga Govortsova in 6-2, 7-5.  And in the 3rd round Li Na dismissed Sorana Cirstea of Romania (popular country for tennis players!) in 6-4, 6-1, which sees Li Na faced her first big potential threat with Julia Goerges of Germany, who is dangerous big bitter with a big forehand (and a nice jiggle, sorry, being a perv!).  Caroline Wozniacki so far has made impressive progress in Melbourne, as she beat Donna Vekic, the 16 year old from Croatia in 6-1, 6-4 in the 2nd round.  In the 3rd round Caroline went on to beat Lseia Tsurenko of the Ukraine in 6-4, 6-3, which will set up for her first big challenge of the tournament, as she will play Svetlana Kuznetsova, and the Russian beat her in their previous meeting.  But I hope Caroline get's through as it could set up a potential clash with Victoria Azarenka, which I would really like to see, as that would be a real belter, but first things first.

In the not so fortunate side of the ladies match, the British interest in the ladies players have both suffered losses.  I've already mentioned Heather Watson, who fell to the Pole, Agnieszka Radwanska in 6-3, 6-1, in a match that actually betrayed the scoreline, as they both had some tight duece games, and it showed Heather's promise against the top players, but she made a few too many unforced errors and couldn't capitalise on several break point opportunities, but I'm sure Heather will continue to improve in the future.

And as for Laura Robson, she also has made impressive progress and in her 2nd round match so claimed another big scalp, as she took out an ailing Petra Kvitova in a real battle, after going a set and a break down, Laura battled back to level the match.  And in the decider they played an epic set, where both players fought hard on serve, with Petra going a break up early on, only to squander it to let Laura back into the match.  After that it went by serve until 9-9 when Laura made the decisive break, and finally went on to serve out the match, with a final scoreline of 2-6, 6-3, 11-9.  This was an achievement for Laura, in taking out the former Wimbledon champion, however the match was mixed in quality, and both players faltered badly on serve, with Petra serving as bad as she ever has, making 18 double faults, with Laura not far behind at 14.  Regardless it saw Laura make impressive strides in her effort against the big names and it proves she has what it takes to beat them.  However in her next round match, Laura was not so lucky, as she played the American teenager, Sloane Stephens, and Laura was hampered by a shoulder injury, which she received a medical timeout for.  Laura however managed despite going 4-1 down in the opening to set to level at 5-5, but Stephens broke again to close the set.  And in the 3rd set, Laura couldn't keep up, as Sloane broke again to win the match in 7-5, 6-3.

So regardless of the both girls in the first slam of the season, they are showing real signs of progress in reaching the 3rd round of a major, and I'm sure throughout the year we will see them improve even more.

And that's it for the ladies, next up is the men.

Bye for now.   

2013 Aussie Open Part 1: Getting under way....

Right ok so its time for my post of the Australian Open, the first grand slam of the tennis season from Melbourne Park, where the world's best tennis players compete to win one of tennis's most craved trophies.  This post will cover the 1st round matches as play go underway on Monday there so let's get to it and I'll start with the lasses...

OK so ladies first, starting with Day 1, out on court first we had Maria Sharapova who wasted precious time on the court, as she smashed her opponent, Olga Puchkova without even dropping a single game, with a brutal 6-0, 6-0 bludgeoning.  Despite the fact that Maria had not played a competitive match this year leading up to Melbourne, she quickly shrugged off any fears of her rustiness with this performance.  So next up for Maria will be Misaki Doi of Japan in the 2nd round.  After that we had Sam Stosur who took on Chang Kai-Chen of Taiwan, who had defeated the Aussie No.1 last year in Osaka, and there were concerns that Sam would make another first round exit like she did at Melbourne last year.  However these fears were quickly dispelled as Sam battled her way through the first set, which she took on the tiebreak, and then went on to secure the break in the 2nd to close out her first win in Melbourne for a while in 7-6, 6-3.  It was good to see Sam win through as she had already gone out twice in the Australian warm up events in her first match, so hopefully this will give her more confidence to carry on in the event.  Next up we had Li Na who had little trouble in making it past her opponent Sesil Karantantcheva with a straight forward 6-1, 6-3 win.  Agnieszka Radwanska also managed to breeze past the Aussie player, Bojana Bobusic, after a tight first set, her opponent had no answer for her whatsoever, with the World No.4 winning in 7-5, 6-0.  Venus Williams also showed a very impressive and dominant performance who trounced Galina Voskoboeva, only dropping a single game on her way to the 2nd round with a 6-0, 6-1 victory.

So onto day 2 of the ladies, which saw more of the top seeds in battle, and we saw a couple of early exit shockers, with first up the biggest one being, the 7th seed, Sara Errani, and quarter finalist last year, go out to the Spanish player, Carla Suarez Navarro in straight sets 6-4, 6-4.  Nadia Petrova also went out, the 12th seed, to Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan, who thrashed the former world no.3 in 6-2, 6-0.  As for the top seeds, Serena Williams, despite having an injury scare, having twisted her ankle on court, had little trouble getting past her opponent Edina Gallovits Hall witha bruising 6-0, 6-0 win, which shows you just how Serena is even with an injury!

Victoria Azarenka, the defending champion had a slightly trickier time against Monica Niculescu of Romania, after winning the first set, she went 3-0 down in the 2nd set, but Vika quickly regained momentum and won the match in 6-1, 6-4.  Petra Kvitova on the other hand had a much tougher passage into the 2nd round as she battled past Francesca Schiavone, after a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 win.  And the 10th seed, Caroline Wozniacki also had a test in front of her, who played Sabine Lisicki of Gemany, after dropping the opening set, Caroline battled back in the 2nd set and went on to take the 3rd to seal her place in the 2nd round with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory.  It was good to see Caroline get past her first hurdle as Lisicki is a tough player to beat, but on hard court Caroline would be the favourite and with it she managed to avoid another early exit in a major, after her last two 1st round exits last year at Wimbledon and the US Open.  Angelique Kerber also made is safely into the 2nd round against her opponent Elina Svitolina in 6-2, 6-4.  And finally Marion Bartoli the French No.1, who did have a tough time getting through to the 2nd round as she beat Anabel Medina Garrigues in straight sets, despite the 6-2, 6-4 scoreline it was a tough match.  

As for the British interest on the ladies front, Heather Watson on day 1 had a tough time on court as she faced Alexandra Cadantu of Romania, having dropped the opening set and looking rather weary on court.  In the 2nd set Heather took a long medical time out for cramp and after that she made an impressive comeback, by fighting her way to win the 2nd set, and she broke twice in the 3rd to seal out the match in 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.  Laura Robson on the other hand had no such trouble in her first match as she powered her way past Melanie Oudin in 6-2, 6-3, but she will go on to face Petra Kvitova, so she will have her work cut out for her there, but it promises to be a good match.

So now onto the men starting with Novak Djokovic, the defending champion on Day 1 who was up against the Frenchman, Paul Henrei Mathieu, who despite a spirited fight from the Mathieu in the 2nd and 3rd sets, managed to win comfortably in the end in 6-2, 6-4, 7-5.  This sees Nole getting his title defence off to a strong start as he put in a fine performance against the Frenchman, and he was impressive on serve and his return game.  Although Nole's next opponent might prove to be quite a tough one as he will play the very talented young American, Ryan Harrison.  David Ferrer up next also had a pretty easy time of it, as he breezed past Olivier Rochus in 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to seal his 2nd round match with Tim Smyczek.  In a high profile match and a much anticipated one Lleyton Hewitt, the former World No.1, and Melbourne finalist, took on Janko Tipsarevic of Sebria, the World No.9.  And despite a spirited fight from the Aussie, it was Tipsy who went on to close out the match after 3 hours with a straight sets win of 7-6, 7-5, 6-3.

In other men's matches Tomas Berdych won comfortably against the American player, Michael Russell with a 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 result.  Fernando Verdasco saw off a very gutsy fight from the young baby faced Belgian, David Goffin, who I saw last year at the Davis cup tie in Braehead (he won the tie for Belgium) and Verdasco battled through in 5 sets with a 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win.  And Kei Nishikori of Japan, managed to get past Victor Hansecu of Romania (popular contry!) with a 6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 scoreline.

So onto Day 2 for the men, starting with the British No.1 and reigning US Open champion, Andy Murray, who was up against the Dutch player, Robin Haase.  In their last meeting, Andy had a very narrow scrape with the Dutchman, who pushed Andy to 5 sets before the Muzza managed to pull off the win, from two sets to love down.  However this match couldn't have been more different as Andy had little trouble with Haase, as he made a very impressive start in Melbounre, and he swept Haase aside in straight sets with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 win.  This was a really good start from Andy and just what the doctor ordered, as the Crocodile Dunblane (a joke made up in the press from pics of Andy's face superimposed on Crocodile Dundee's face!) made his presence known in Melbounre, sending a strong message to his rivals that he is in this to win it.  Also on court we had Roger Federer, who despite having not played a match since last year's ATP world tour finals, got off to an impressive start, and dismissed Benoit Paire of France in 6-2, 6-4, 6-1.  Throughout Roger played some amazing shots, not to mention some lovely net skils and nuianced drop shots that the Frenchman had no answer for, and it makes you think that after all this time, Fed is still very much in the mix (well he isn't the World No.2 for nothing!).

In other matches on Day 2 for the men we had Juan Martin Del Potro who also had little trouble in beating the Frenchman, Adrian Mannarino in 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 (even more impressive than Roger and Andy games wise!).  Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had a slightly tougher time against his compatriot, Michael Llodra, but still made a safe passage into the 2nd round after beating him 6-4, 7-5, 6-2.  And Jo's fellow Frenchman, who is steadily catching up on him in the rankings, Richard Gasquet, also made a fine start in beating Albert Montanes of Spain in 7-5, 6-2, 6-1.  Milos Raonic, the 13th seed however had a tougher time in his first round match in beating his opponent, the Czeck 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 7-6.  Gilles Simon of France also had a tricky time of it in reaching the 2nd round as he defeated Filippo Volandri in 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.  And finally the young upstart that is Bernard Tomic, who despite all his bravado (or bullshit if you like!) made a very good start as he beat Leonardo Mayer of Argentina in 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 to the delight of the home crowd, and he could be a very much anticipated 3rd round opponent for Federer, but whether or not he can topple the mighty Fed is another matter altogether.

Sooooooooooooooooooo that's it for now, more to follow in a couple of days once the 2nd round matches are over with.

Until then bye for now! 

2013 Australian Open: The Draw

Ok so the draw for the first grand slam of the 2013 tennis season is now out, and so I thought I would put up a few thoughts on some of the favourites and who they will face on both the men and ladies side of the net.  So let's go, and I've gone to the added trouble of sourcing some pics of the top seeds just for a change, spared no expense here!! (and they are all smiley ones too!). ;-) 

Sooooo starting with the ladies:

Serena Williams 

Serena is the hot favourite to win the title however she will face one or two tricky obstacles in her path, such as Maria Kirilenko, the Russian No.2, and Peng Shuai of China (also the No.2 in China).  And later on in the draw Serena will face as a potential quarter final opponent either Petra Kvitova, although she has struggled of late, and Nadia Petrova, who has made a resurgance lately back on the scene, especially as she won her biggest title last year in Tokyo.  But Serena's main rival will be Victoria Azarenka, and they are set to met in the semi finals, which promises to be one heck of a match, but Serena I'm sure will come out on top.  Its just a pity they are both drawn on the side same together as we could have had another great final, but I'm sure whatever way it goes Serena will be in that final.  And Serena has also said she plans on going for the calendar slam this season, and trying to win all four majors, and if there is one player that can do it, its her. (that's a pic of Serena holding her 2013 Brisbane International trophy).

Victoria Azarenka 

Vika, who is the defending champion also has one or two testing opponents in her way, but she has tendency to blast her way past her opponents earlier on in the draw.  Nonetheless there are one or two dangers lurking for Vika such as potentially Sara Errani should they meet, possibly in the quarter finals, and there is also Caroline Wozniacki who could also be a possible quater final opponent.  Now for me that would be the pick of the lot, as I'd would love to see the two of them play each other again.  But Victoria's main obstacle will be Serena Williams, who she is set to meet in the semi finals.  Can she beat Serena this time after getting so close in the US Open????  Possibly, but it will be one big test of her character and her ability to do so.  Personally I think Victoria can make the semis but I'd have to say Serena would be the favourite in their match.  Regardless Vika is the world no.1 for a reason, and she is improving all the time, so she could yet defend her title (that's a pic of her at an Aussie open press conference).  

Maria Sharapova 

Maria is the world No.2, and she has the power to easily to bludgeon her way past most of her rivals, but she too will have a few toughies in her way.  For starters Maria could face Venus Williams, and should they meet that would promise to be one hell of a match, but whether or not it would live up to the billing or not, who knows??  Should could also face the pint sized Dominika Cibulkova, who has had a good run this week in the Sydney Apia International, despite getting trounced by Agnieszka Radwanska there in the final.  Maria also could face Marion Bartoli and Angelique Kerber in the latter stages as well, with Radwanska being a possible semi finalist, which could make for a really dangerous path for her before she would have a possible line up with Serena in the final.  However Maria is mentally one of the toughest players in the game, as well as one of the great warriors as well, so she will be hard to stop and she has a very good chance at going deep and possibly reaching the final. (pic of Maria holding her French Open trophy from last year, having completed her career slam).  

Agnieszka Radwanska 

So onto Aga, who has gotten off to the perfect start in 2013 so far, as she has just won two titles back to back in Auckland and Sydney, without even dropping a set so far this year!  So this bodes extremely for her in Melbourne as if she can keep this record up then she will be nigh impossible to stop.  However Radwanska may have some tough customers in her draw one of which being Ana Ivanovic, who has shown drastic improvements over the last year or so in her game.  Radwanska could also potentially face either Li Na or Sam Stosur in the quarter finals before setting up a semi final clash with Maria Sharapova for a place in the final.  Can Aga win the title???? Not entirely sure, she has the game and the finesse but she lacks the raw power of the big hitters, so I'd have to say she might make the semis or even the final, but I don't quite see her winning, but you never know, this might yet still be her year. (Pic of Aga holding her Sydney Apia International trophy this year). 

Other seeds I will quickly mention are....

Sam Stosur  

Sam made a shock first round exit last year in Melbourne, but she will hope to turn it around this year and here's hoping she does, as it would be a great pity for her to go out early on again.  But Stosur does have a tough draw in front of her as she will face a few potential opponents from the East, starting with Chang Kai-chen, who defeated Stosur last year in Osaka.  Then Stosur could face the Chinese player, Zheng Jie, who could prove to be really dangerous as well, as well as Li Na as a possible fourth round opponent, and Ana Ivanovic and Agnieszka Radwanska as possible quarter finalists, so its a tough draw, but you never know.  Which means she could have a possible showdown with Maria Sharapova in the semis, and it would be a US Open final re-match with Serena.  Sam has the weapons to down Serena as she showed in their final, but she lacks the overall confidence to keep winning in the big matches.  But we shall see, anyway let's hope Sam survives the first round and that will hopefully give her some confidence to keep going.  

Caroline Wozniacki 

The former world no.1, has arguably an even tougher draw ahead of her as she will face Sabine Lisicki from Germany, in her first round match, which will prove to be a real test.  Caroline could then face Sara Errani as a possible 4th round opponent and a possible mouth watering clash with Victoria Azarenka in the quarter finals.  Caroline could then have a possible semi final battle with Serena, and it would be a final most likely with Mara Sharapova.  So it will be a real uphill battle for Caroline but let's hope she can get to the quarters at least, but I can't see her negotiating her way past the big hitters, especially Maria and Serena, it will be tough no doubt, but stranger things have happened.  However with Caroline she will just have to take it one match at a time, and Lisicki will be a really tough first hurdle to get by.   

Li Na  

And finally Li Na who has had an excellent start to the year so far, having won a title in China and reaching the semis in Sydney.  Li Na is also a former finalist in Melbourne so she has had some great results here in the past, although Kim Clijsters stopped her in the last two years from advancing further, as Kim put her out in the 4th round last year.  Li however also has a tough section too as she could be up against Sorana Cirstea or Roumania, Julia Goerges of Germany, and possibly Sam Stosur in the 4th round, and a possible quarter final with Agnieszka Radwanska, followed with Sharapova in the semis possibly, and either a Serena or Azarenka final.  So its a tough one but Li has a big game, and on form she will be very dangerous, and she has a very good chance to go deep this year so we will see how it goes for her.

So now onto the men:

Novak Djokovic 

Starting with the top dog, Nole has a potentially difficult draw ahead of him, and even though Melbourne has proved to be his tournament so far, there will be alot of work ahead of him in order to defend that title.  For starters in his draw Novak will face the talented Frenchman, Paul Henri-Mathieu, but he should still get past him with fair ease.  But as Nole's draw carries on it gets tougher as he could face Sam Querrey, who defeated him in Paris last year, as well as Stan Wawrinka, the Swiss No.2.  Novak might also go on to face players such as Juan Monaco, Fernando Verdasco, and as strong possible quarter final opponent, Tomas Berdych, who if he plays really well, will be a big test.  And in the semis Novak could be up against the dogged David Ferrer, although he did beat the Spaniard with relative ease in their last encounter at the US Open last year, but I'm sure the little beast will give him a real workout.  And after this, Nole could set up a dream final with either Roger Federer or Andy Murray, with the latter being my preference and let's hope it is!  Can Nole defend the title????  For sure.  Will he??? Wait and see.  All we can hope for is another great 5 set epic match between two out of the three best players in the world right now, and let's hope it is Nole and Andy, but I'd even still take Roger and Novak if it happens.  (And in the pic here's Nole, rather aptly holding his 2012 trophy for his 3rd Australian Open title).  

Roger Federer  

Roger equally has a rather unkind draw and he may have to face one or two difficult opponents before he can get anywhere near that 5th Aussie Open title.  For starters Roger may have to face Nikolai Davykeno early on as a possible 2nd round opponent, after that he could go on to Bernard Tomic, who has improved his game lately, although I don't see the Aussie toppling the GOAT.  And one of Roger's toughest potential opponents could be the big Canadian Milos Raonic, with whom he has had some really tight close matches with, but he has come out on top in every one, just.  As for a quarter final opponent Federer may have to the top two frenchmen, Richard Gasquet (No.2) or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (No.1) and if he faces either of them in top form, then he could be in for a long night.  And let's not forget Roger's semi final opponent could be some fella called Andy Murray, which could promise to be a real cracker.  And if Andy is beaten by Del Potro enroute to the semis, then Roger could be looking at a semi final exit to the big Argentine, who poses a big threat to him, especially as Delpo has beaten him already in a major final.  Which begs the question: can Roger win and reach the final????  Very possibly, as his Murray match will be 50/50, or 60/40, depending on who get's the lead.  However I don't quite see Roger lifting the title, if Andy fails, Nole will succeed I think.  But you can never write Fed off and you never know how things will pan out. (That's a pic of Roger holding his 7th Wimbleon title aloft). 

Andy Murray  

So onto the British No.1, Andy Murray (OBE).  Andy actually hasn't got too bad a section leading up before the quarter finals.  However his first round opponent could prove to be a real test, as he will face the Dutch player, Robin Haase, who very nearly took out Andy at the US Open two years ago, in a very close 5 set battle.  However Andy is a different and much better player now than he was then, so I think he will get past Haase in 4 sets tops.  As for the rest of his draw, its looking not too torturous for the next few rounds as he could face the likes of Gilles Simon, whom he has a great record against (beaten only once), Gael Monfils who could prove tricky, but should be beatable, and also Alexandr Dolgopolov, who despite their first tight meeting at Melbourne two years ago, Andy has beaten him with ease since, but he could still pose a threat.  However things get way tougher at the quarter finals when Andy could confront Juan Martin Del Potro, who with his big serve and monster forehand could cause big problems for him, but he does have a good head to head against Delpo so hopefully he can use that.  And in the semis its a possible showdown against Roger Federer, and well that one depends purely on how well he plays on the night (well he needs to find his first serve for starters!).  So if its a tantalising final with Andy and Nole, can Andy beat in their 3rd possible major final again????  Yes he can, but it will be exceptionally tough for him to dethrone Nole, and if he is to do it, hopefully it will be another epic match, so time will reveall all!  (the picture is of course Andy with his US Open trophy from last year, looking suitably chuffed at the press conference). 

As for some of the other men's seeds we have.....

David Ferrer 

David Ferrer, the fourth seed in Melbourne, who is on the verge of overtaking an absent Rafa in the rankings, has just triumphed in Auckland for his 4th title there, and he already has a very impressive tally of 19 titles to his name, and his game seems to be improving all the time.  Ferrer has quite a tough draw ahead of him though, as he will player Olivier Rochus in the 1st round and could encounter big Ivo Karlovich in the 2nd, and to follow Ferrer could also be up against Marcos Baghdatis in the 3rd round and Kei Nishikori in the 4th.  And we could have a US Open quarter final re-match in the quarters with Ferrer possibly taking on Janko Tipsarevic, and its some fella by the name of Novak Djokovic in the semis (two Serbs for the price of one!).  Ferrer for me however, despite being at the top of his game just now doesn't have the weapons to take down the big three so I think while he can go deep I don't think Ferrer will be taking the title, as his lack of experience in reaching the final stage of the slams is something that has always eluded him, but who knows? 

Juan Martin Del Potro 

The big 6ft 6 inch Argentine, who is already a former US Open champion, and he has a fairly tough draw also, as he might come up against the likes of Andreas Seppi of Italy and Marin Cilic of Croatia in his section as possible 3rd and 4th round opponents.  Delpo would then face a titanic challenge in the quarters with a possible clash with Andy Murray, which could be a real belter, but we will have to wait and see, and if he wins, then it will be another match up with Roger Federer, which could work in Delpo's favour should he get there, given that he has won their last two meetings, suggesting Delpo has worked out how to get Federer's number.  However Delpo while he might have a chance of reaching the final, I can't quite see him winning against Nole, who is by far the faster and more agile of the two of them, but time will tell and with one major title behind him, Delpo does know what it takes to win one.  

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 

And finally I'll look at the former 2008 finalist in Melbourne, and French No.1, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who has been a bit up and down of late, having recently worked with a new coach.  However Tsonga has the game and the firepower to down anyone when he is on form, and if he were to play his absolute best he would a fairly strong chance of winning.  However Tsonga has a tough draw as well, as he will play Michael Llorda, fellow Frenchman in the opening round, and possibly Thomas Bellucci of Brazil in the 3rd round, and in the 4th round maybe even his other native player, Richard Gasquet, who is creeping up on Tsonga, and will be looking to take his place as the French No.1.  And in the quarter finals we could see Jo face off against Federer, which could promise to be a burnburner should he get that far.  And if he beats Federer then that could be good news for Andy if they should meet in the semis.  However Jo is as I said very up and down and depending on his frame of mind he might only get so far before he exits the tournament, as last year he went out to Kei Nishikori in the 4th round, but we'll see. 

So I will leave it there, more updates will follow from me throughout the next two weeks of what promises to be one of the best Australian Open championships (hopefully!).

Bye for now!