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!
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