Round 1 to Djokovic
Round 2 to Murray
Round 3?
Archive | March, 2012
Sony Ericsson/Miami Sharapova vs. Radwanska Prediction
31 MarA contentious match between the two in 2007
Sony Ericsson Final
Maria Sharapova vs. Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwanska could certainly win this match. She is the more steady player of the two. Outside of Caroline Wozniacki, Radwanska is probably the most steady player in the WTA top 10. If Maria has a poor serving day, I expect Radwanska will win. If Maria fails to dictate play, I expect Radwanska to win. However, Sharapova is number two in the rankings for a reason. She was a finalist at both the Australian Open and Indian Wells. Maria needs this win to demonstrate that 2012 is off to a great start and is not a year of near misses. I think Sharapova will dictate play and that the match will be won or lost depending on her level of play. I think Sharapova wins in a tight match.
Predicted Winner: Maria Sharapova
Sony Ericsson/Miami Predictions for 3-30-2012
30 MarPredicted winner in BOLD
C = Correct Pick, X = Incorrect Pick
Semifinals
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Juan Monaco (21) – Monaco has had a dream run. Nole has not played his A+ game to this point. Still, Novak will advance. His return of serve alone makes it hard for Monaco to win this match. C
Rafael Nadal (2) vs. Andy Murray (4) – Murray has a chance to say Indian Wells was just a bad day, buy that there is now a new dynamic on tour. Murray needs this win more than Rafa does. Murray has a coach who improved his strategy versus Novak. I think Ivan Lendl will have some subtle changes that help Murray. N/A – Murray advances, but I won’t claim this as a correct pick as no match took place.
Daily Total: Correct – 1, Incorrect – 0
Tournament Total: Correct – 79, Incorrect – 36
Sony Ericsson/Miami Predictions 3-29-2012
29 MarPredicted Winners in BOLD
C = Correct, X = Incorrect
SemifinalsDashboard
Maria Sharapova (2) vs. Caroline Wozniacki (4) – This is a big test for Caro. Did she just beat a rusty Serena Williams or can she beat two more powerful players back-to-back. I think Maria Sharapova is playing well enough in 2012 to take this event and build momentum. C This match was a little closer than I was expecting, but it should be a tight match when two top five players collide.
Agnieszka Radwanska (5) vs. Marion Bartoli (7) – Bartoli can win, but I think Radwanska will extend points and feast on errors. Bartoli also may have a let down after hanging a loss on the world number one. C
Quarterfinals
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. David Ferrer (5) – Too much Nole C
Mardy Fish (8) vs. Juan Monaco (21) – Outside of Davis Cup, Fish has had a down year. That can all change today. X
Daily Total: Correct 3, Incorrect 1
Tournament Total: Correct 78, Incorrect 36
Sony Ericsson/Miami Picks 3-28-2012
28 MarLet’s see if I can do a little better than yesterday. Predicted winners in BOLD.
C = Correct, X = Incorrect
Quarterfinals
Agnieszka Radwanska (5) vs. Venus Williams – Radwanksa will feast on a lot of errors and advance. C 6-4, 6-1 is about what I expected. In 3-6 months, it could be a different story, but Venus is too rusty at the moment to beat such a steady player.
Victoria Azarenka (1) vs. Marion Bartoli (7) – Vika should keep winning. X This was a surprise, but Bartoli has a unique style of play that allows her to win when on paper it looks like she can’t possibly win.
Rafael Nadal (2) vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (6) – Tsonga has the weapons to beat Nadal and I have had bad luck picking against French players at this event, but Rafa is going to be too much for Tsonga on this surface. C
Andy Murray (4) vs. Janko Tipsarevic (9) – I like Murray to set up a massive semifinal with Rafael Nadal. C 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 was much closer than I expected, but Murray has a chance to cement a strong start to 2012 with another win or two in Miami.
Daily Totals: Correct – 3, Incorrect – 1
Tournament Totals: Correct 75, Incorrect 35
Miami: DelPo to Meet Cilic, Some Other Guy Wins
27 Mar
Del Potro d. Cilic, 6-3 7-6
He has such a strangely elegant service motion. It's all in the left hand.
Both Cilic and DelPo got sassy with the umpire during the match. Cilic, because DelPo took eons to challenge on a serve (the crowd was boo-ing DelPo after the time he took), and DelPo, because the umpire couldn't always see what was happening on the court (due to the sunlight).
Sony Ericsson/Miami Predictions for 3-27-2012
27 MarPredicted Winner in BOLD
C = Correct X = Incorrect
Quarterfinals
Maria Sharapova (2) vs. Na Li (8) – Maria is playing well and should advance in a tough match. C
Caroline Wozniacki (4) vs. Serena Williams (10) – I could see this going either way as Serena is not match tough as of yet, but I think the player with more weapons will win out in this showdown. X
Fourth Round
Janko Tipsarevic (9) vs. Grigor Dimitrov – I am tempted to pick Dimitrov. So tempted that I just changed my mind and picked him to advance. X Always trust your first answer.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Richard Gasquet (17) – This time I am confident that my strategy of picking against Gasquet works. C
Rafael Nadal (2) vs. Kei Nishikori (16) – I like Rafa to advance. C
Andy Murray (4) vs. Gilles Simon (13) – These two play a similar game, but Murray should win. C
David Ferrer (5) vs. Juan Martin del Potro (11) – Ferrer is always a tough out, but I think JMDP is on the verge of returning to the top tiers of the sport. X
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (6) vs. Florian Mayer (19) – I have to stop picking against French players as they outperformed my picks the last two days. Tsonga wins. C
Mardy Fish (8) vs. Nicolas Almagro (12) – I think Almagro takes this match, but if Fish can impose his style he will advance. X
Juan Monaco (21) vs. Andy Roddick (31) – Roddick should win this match. Monaco is a tough player, but Andy has the wind at his back right now. X
Daily Total – Correct 5, Incorrect 5 Bad Day at the Office
Tournament Total – Correct 72, Incorrect 34
Sony Ericsson/Miami Predictions for 3-26-2012
26 MarPredicted winners in BOLD
C = Correct, X = Incorrect
Fourth Round
Maria Sharapova (2) vs. Ekaterina Makarova – I like Maria to advance. C
Agnieszka Radwanska (5) vs. Garbine Muguruza Blanco C
Ana Ivanovic (15) vs. Venus Williams – Based on conditioning I think Ivanovic keeps her feel good story going whereas Venus’ feel good story has a chapter come to an end. X
Victoria Azarenka (1) vs. Dominika Cibulkova (16) – Vika keeps winning. C
Caroline Wozniacki (4) vs. Yanina Wickmayer (23) – Wickmayer already pulled an upset so she could win, but I think Caro advances. C
Samantha Stosur (6) vs. Serena Williams (10) – Revenge? C
Marion Bartoli (7) vs. Maria Kirilenko (22) – I like Kirilenko’s game. X I got this one very wrong.
Na Li (8) vs. Sabine Lisicki (12) – Lisicki is tough enough to pull the upset. X
Third Round
Richard Gasquet (17) vs. Albert Ramos – I can’t pick Gasquet. X
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Viktor Troicki (27) – Nole over his countrymen. C
Roger Federer (3) vs. Andy Roddick (31) – Federer should win, but he has had some trouble with Roddick in Miami. X Roger falls to Roddick? Well, it happened.
David Ferrer (5) vs. Julien Benneteau (30) – Ferrer is too steady. C
Mardy Fish (8) vs. Kevin Anderson (28) – I am tempted to pick Anderson as Fish ha struggled lately, but I think Fish has a mini-resurgence before the clay season. C
Juan Martin del Potro (11) vs. Marin Cilic (23) – JMDP wins in what looked like a promising rivalry circa 2009. C
Nicolas Almagro (12) vs. Fernando Verdasco (20) – Good match, but Almagro is playing better in 2012. C
Gael Monfils (14) vs. Juan Monaco (21) – This is a 50-50 type match, but I had picked a lot of favorites to this point so I went with Monaco in a coin flip. C
Daily Total: Correct – 11, Incorrect – 5
Tournament Total: Correct – 67, Incorrect – 29
FEDERER AND THE NEW TENNIS GENERATION
25 Mar
Miami (United States) - After defeating American Ryan Harrison 6-2, 7-6(3) on Saturday, Roger Federer was given the opportunity to talk about the new tennis generation. The Swiss Maestro made a few comparison between the upcoming tennis stars.
A great Post Regarding Federer's Take on the Emerging Stars on Tour
