Right OK so the men's top 10 has been done now its time for the ladies and this will see my pick of the best matches from the ladies set of net. Its not easy to compile this but its alot of fun all the same, so here goes...
10. French open quarter finals, Sara Errani d. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4, 7-6(6)
In this day and age of tennis it has to be said that it can be all a bit too one dimensional, however this is an accusation that could never be raised at this match in which two counterpunchers tried to outfox one another much to the pleasure of the Parisian crowd in this very entertaining quarter final clash of Sara Errani and Agnieszka Radwanska. Errani was last year's finalist so she came into the French in fine form again but she was up against some stern resistance against Radwanska who is every inch as tenacious and wily as Errani is and the match produced some wonderful rallies of great variety which included slices, lobs, drop shots, vollies, you name it. Errani took the first set by a break but in the 2nd set it was a very close contest and there breaks of serve aplenty until the deciding tiebreak which featured the point of the match from Radwanska, but it was Errani that went on to shut down the Pole and seal her place in the semi finals. While neither player has much in the way of raw firepower, they proved you don't need it to produce an entertaining match and in fact Errani and Radwanska's variety is nothing but a breath of fresh air to the game and to see them play such tennis together in a match such as this was a real treat so it deserves it place in here.
9. Porsche Grand Prix Tennis Stuttgart semi final, Maria Sharapova d. Angelique Kerber, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5.
At number 9 we have another very entertaining clay court match except this time its between the battle of the big hitters, well one big hitter and a strong hitter (i.e. Kerber is the strong hitter, but more of an aggressive counterpuncher than anything else). And this being on German soil, Kerber naturally got alot of home support as she tried to dethrone the defending champion, Maria Sharapova in a real tussle which saw some terrific rallies from both players and Kerber showing she was more than up for this scrap against one of the game's ultimate warriors. Sharapova took the opening set as Kerber double faulted to hand it over but Kerber fought back in the 2nd set by grabbing a double break to push it to a decider. In the decider we got a thrilling contest between the two women as Kerber went a break down she battled back to level terms until 6-5 where she suffered a final lapse and handed Sharaova three match points, which Maria gladly took to reach her second final in Stuttgart. This was an excellent high quality match from the beginning and it featured some terrific points and it was a pity for Kerber that she wasn't quite able to win but she was up against one of the biggest fighters in the ladies game and in the end it was Maria that pulled out the win. Great stuff indeed.
8. KDB Korea Open Seoul final, Agnieszka Radwanska d. Anastasia Pavyluchenkova, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4.
This high quality final clash at the Korea open in Seoul was between Radwanska and the Russian No.3 player Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (cool name!) which proved to be quite an epic lengthy battle between the power hitter in Anastasia and the tenacious counterpuncher in Aga. And from the outset there was some great hitting on display in this match with Aga taking an early break, however Pavly was not to be outdone as she eventually broke back and pushed the first to a tiebreak which she won to grab the 1st set. The 2nd set saw a fightback from Aga who broke Pavly's serve and went on to level the proceedings. In the decider both players played wonderful tennis and there were plenty of tight deuce games and it was simply a case of who would blink first, and as it happens it was Pavyluchenkova that did just that to let Aga win her 13th career title. It is no wonder people draw to see Agnieszka Radwanska play as she is delightful to watch in a match as the tennis she can produce is at times almost magical as her creativity and ability to construct points on court is incredible. Pavlyuchenkova showed her grit in this match as she pushed Aga all the way but in the end it was the wily Pole that wore the Russian down, but bother players played their part here and give it their all in this very entertaining match.
7. US Open 4th round, Carla Suarez Navarro d. Angelique Kerber, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6.
There is no doubt this match is one of the most purely entertaining and thrilling contests of the year which was between Angelique Kerber and the Spanish player, Carla Suarez Navarro. This superb clash took place in the sweltering heat in New York and both players gave it their absolute all throughout. Kerber in the first set got off to the better start as she broke Navarro and went on to nab the opening set. However Navarro is well known to be a very tough player to put away as she proved here and she fought back to level the match at a set all. And in the 3rd set there were twists and turns aplenty as Kerber twice had the opportunity to serve for the match but she blew both of them as play went to a tiebreak it was Navarro that made her move to clinch the match and her first quarter final at the US Open. This was a terrific encounter and each rally had to be at least 20+ shots as both players pushed themselves to the limit here with some incredible lung bursting exchanges. Kerber had her chances and its a pity in a way she lost the match and it continued to show her dip in form that she had struggled with in 2013. However Carla proved to have a never say die attitude and she deserved to win this terrific clash, its just a pity she went on to face Serena Williams in the next round who handed her a double bagel for her troubles. But hey ho that's tennis.
6. Wimbledon championships semi final, Sabine Lisicki d. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4, 2-6, 9-7.
2013 was one of the strangest years in the history of the Wimbledon championships as so many top players exited really early on in both the men and ladies side of the net. On the ladies side we had Sharapova and Azarenka both dumped out early who both succumb to injury having slipped badly on the courts among many other plays who complained of the same thing. So this left some fairly unlikely names in the business end of the draw, two of which included Sabine Lisicki, who stunned Serena Williams in their 4th round match, and well ok Radwanska was last year's finalist so she had a real opportunity here. The match itself was a titanic struggle as both women knew what was at steak here and they put it all on the line and played some terrific tennis for an enthralled crowd. After both players levelled the match at a set apiece the final set was a tense affair and it was Lisicki that took the first crucial break at 5-4 to serve for the match, but Radwanska soon broke back. Play went by serve until 7-7 when Lisicki broke again and this time she held on after a tense final game she served out to secure her first Wimbledon final. This was a great encounter with plenty of drama throughout and I'm sure Aga must have been fuming after losing it as she gave Lisicki a pretty frosty quick handshake just after the match wrapped up and she probably knew that was her best shot to win Wimbledon gone. As for Lisicki she did a terrific job in holding her nerve to reach her first Wimbledon final, and many people tipped her to be the favourite to win the title, however Marion Bartoli, the other finalist had other ideas, but that's a whole other story.
5. Australian Open 2nd round, Laura Robson d. Petra Kvitova, 2-6, 6-3, 11-9.
In 2012 Laura Robson started to make a name for herself as she made her breakthrough in beating some top players in the game, particularly Kim Clijsters who's career she ended at the US Open last year and followed that win up with a victory over Li Na. So this year promised much for Laura and while 2013 didn't quite go all the way she wanted it to, Laura did get off to a fine start here as she upset the former Wimbledon champion and semi finalist from last year, Petra Kvitova in an immense battle on the Rod Laver arena in an intense night match that lasted well over three hours. After a slow start in the first set, Laura started her comeback in the 2nd set as she broke Kvitova to go on and level the scores at one set all. And in the 3rd set was a big battle as both players slugged it out in an erratic but nonetheless engrossing set which finally saw Laura do the unthinkable in breaking Petra at 9-9 and she went on to serve out the match and in doing so taking another big scalp to add to her growing collection of big names to reach the 3rd round in Melbourne. While the quality of the match was up and down at times this was still an enthralling encounter which kept the audience guessing which way it would swing and it was testament again to Laura's talent and growing belief as a player that she came through this one. 2013 however didn't quite turn out the way Laura wanted it to, this match did signal that she is very much still a player to watch in the future.
4. 2013 Qatar Total Open Doha final, Victoria Azarenka d. Serena Williams, 7-6, 2-6, 6-3.
OK I have to admit the last few posts will actually cover matches between Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka and the reason why is simply because they have sparked something that is much needed in the women's game, and that is a proper rivalry. So why not go with this one for starters which was a simply superb and thrilling encounter out in Doha where Vika who won the final last year came back to defend her title. However one woman stoood in her way and that was Serena Williams and with only one win her favour against the mighty American, things looked sort of bleak for Vika in finding a way past her rival. But this proved to be the exception to the rule as Vika proved once again that she is just about the only player that can live with Serena's powerhouse game out on the court and she took the first tight set on a breaker. In the 2nd set Serena nabbed a double break to take the match to a decider where it was a tense affair but Serena was not serving her best and ended up getting broken by Vika. And Vika did the almost unthinkable in beating her rival and serving out for the title to claim only her 2nd win against Serena Williams in a remarkable match. Despite a few ups and downs the level of play in this match was terrific and Victoria deserved tremendous credit for her fighting spirit in dealing with whatever Serena threw at her and she proved she is just about the only person that can get into her head. So in all this was a great encounter and for me one of the best matches of the year.
3. US Open final, Serena Williams d. Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-7, 6-1.
In what was the last grand slam of the season the US Open final hope to provide an incredible finale for the ladies tournament. And in the end they got just that as the world's two best players went toe to toe once again for the second year running with Serena and Vika battling it out for the title. The match itself was a bit erratic in quality which was mainly down to the wild and windy conditions on the court as Serena in particular struggled to play through the gusty wind and she started off horribly going a break down. However as Vika looked confident in serving out for the set it wasn't long before Serena broke straight back and she went on to manufacture a break of her own to claim the opening set. The second set had more breaks as it was Vika's turn to go a break down but she also managed to turn it around and the crowd by then were treated to a thrilling display from both women as the 2nd set was pushed to a tiebreak, which Vika won to take the match the distance. In the final set after a confident start Vika soon lost her way on serve and before she knew she was a double break down, and despite a last ditch effort, Serena served out the title with fair ease to claim her 4th US Open title. There is no doubt this was a riveting match for the most part and it was a great finale to the grand slam season with neither player giving an inch for the first two sets. It was just a pity that it got away from Victoria in the end however as she failed to hold onto her serve in the last set as it could have been even better. But regardless of that it was still a great one.
2. BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells semi final, Caroline Wozniacki d. Angelique Kerber 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.
This match provides a welcome gap between the Serena and Vika clashes that I will cover, which are great of course, but so was this match up between Caroline Wozniacki and Angelique Kerber who engaged in a riveting battle. The match up between Caroline and Angie wasn't too kind to Caroline of late as she had lost her last three meetings to the German. And things looked to be the same here as Kerber got off to a strong start by breaking Caroline twice, although she showed some resistance as Kerber tried to close out the first set. In the 2nd set Caroline fought back but her serve was under constant threat by Kerber and at 3-3 both players were locked into a thrilling mini battle, which saw Caroline stave off 5 break points in a hard fought game that lasted 17 minutes. After this Caroline managed to get a break and served it out for the 2nd set pushing the match into a decider. In the final set both players battled it out with Caroline grabbing the break to move ahead, but Kerber was not to be outdone as she soon broke again to level. And at 6-5 with Kerber serving to take it into a final set tiebreak, Wozniacki seized her chance to break for the last time and she sealed her place in her second Indian wells final. The level of play throughout this match was top notch and both women slugged it out as hard as they could. The match also marked an impressive win for Caroline who had struggled badly against top 10 players of late and she took advantage of Kerber's difficulty to cope with high balls (or moon balls) which was quite funny as there were some rallies were they played nothing but moon balls! So overall this was a superb encounter and it saw Caroline reach the biggest final of her career since the same tournament two years ago, just a pity that she had to face Maria Sharapova in the final, but well that's for another post.
1. Western and Southern Open Cincinnati final, Victoria Azarenka d. Serena Williams 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(6).
Well this match for me was by far the best ladies tennis match of 2013 as it had everything and it saw the world's two best players, Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka hammer it out on the centre court in Cincy. This match actually eclipsed all their encounters this season as the level of play from both women was just aboslutely staggering and while Vika got off to a poor start, once she got motoring the belief she showed was nothing short of remarkable as no one else but her could have pulled off this one. So once the match went a set all in the 3rd set we were treated to some absolutely riveting stuff and both women were going toe to toe with virtually not much in it. And the match finally culminated with a spectacular tiebreak which took twists and turns, with Serena continually threatening to gain the upper hand, but in the end it was Vika that caused another upset after playing a superb drop volley to bring up championship point, Serena netted the next one to allow Vika to clinch her first title in Cincy and second win of the year over her rival. There is no doubt this was an absolutely terrific encounter and its a perfect example of just how good Serena and Vika's rivalry has become in 2013 alone. And if it carries on like this we are sure to be provided more classics in the future and here's to that as this definitely one to watch. It also showed that Serena finally has a proper rival in the game as Vika is just about literally the only other player that can live with her on a tennis court and trade with her blow for blow. And that in itself is why this match is at the top of the tree.
So that's it for my look at the ladies best tennis matches of 2013, it was tough to compile but it was good fun and hopefully it will make for a good selection that represents the season.
And with that I shall say goobye fer now.
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