Interesting Potential Early Matches Kim Clijsters vs. Li Na could be a great re-match in the round of 16. Maria Sharapova could have a nice match with Serena Williams, but I don’t think Sharapova will get there without having a reliable serve. My gut says Sabine Lisicki clips Sharapova. Final 8 Picks 1 Caroline Wozniacki…
Category: Australian Open
Happy New Year and Links to My 2012 Predictions
Tennis Abides Community, I’d like to wish all of you a happy new year and a great start to 2012. I am looking forward to the Australian Open starting soon. Big news with Andy Murray hiring Ivan Lendl. I am not sure what to make of it, but it is an interesting hire. Here are…
Johan Kriek Making a Difference: Past Australian Open Champions Part 1
Past Australian Open Champions Part 1 – Johan Kriek Note: Leading up to the 2012 Australian Open, I am going to take a look back and some of the Australian Open champions from previous eras and report anything interesting that I find. South Africa’s Johan Kriek may be one of the most anonymous tennis players…
Youtube Tennis for the Week of 12-4-11 through 12-10-11
4 Good Tennis Videos In honor of Davis Cup, it will be all Spanish and Argentine players featured this week. 1. Rafael Nadal vs. Juan Martin del Potro Davis Cup 2011 2. David Ferrer vs. Rafael Nadal Australian Open 2011 3. Guillermo Vilas winning the 1977 French Open 4. David Nalbandian vs. Andy Roddick 2006…
Lendl and Sampras’ Impact on Federer’s 6 Year End Championships
A Major Accomplishment Winning 6 Masters/ATP World Championships/Masters Cups/World Tour Finals (Year End Championships hereafter)* is not an accomplishment on the same level as winning 16 Grand Slams. It is however no small task. To win a tournament that is only comprised of elite players is difficult. To win a tournament in which one has…
Federer Sweeps and Tsonga Advances
Roger Federer d. Mardy Fish 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 Roger did not play his best tennis in completing a 3-0 sweep of his pool. Even in the one-sided 1st set Roger faced a lot of challenges while serving. Still, Roger brushed back Fish in the 3rd set after Fish found his range in an impressive 2nd…
The Big 4 Play Risk
Global Domination With the top 4 players in the world sweeping all 4 Grand Slam titles and all 9 Masters 1000 events, it is clear that a gap exists between the top 4 and the rest of the tour. In fact, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and David Ferrer were the only 2 players outside of the big…
Federer since 2008
2004-2007 Roger Federer’s results from 2004-2007 are the most remarkable 4 year period any male player has compiled. The accomplishments for these 4 years are too numerous to name in a single column, but 3 top highlights are Federer winning 11 Grand Slam titles, 3 Year End Championships and 41 total tournament titles. This…
Youtube Tennis 11-7-2011 through 11-12-2011
4 Good Tennis Videos 1. Basel Final Highlights – Federer picks up title #68 2. Valencia Final Highlights – Marcel Granollers wins vs. Juan Monaco 3. Lleyton Hewitt’s Come On! – Hewitt’s Run to the 2005 Australian Open Final. Rusty had a few tough encounters on this run. One gets the feeling Hewitt and Argentina…
2011 Was a Good Year for the WTA
The Sky is Falling? Those who follow tennis have often made complaining about the admittedly convoluted leadership structures in professional tennis into an art from. Beyond that, the ATP Tour has enjoyed a lot of continuity among top contenders since 2004. This continuity has allowed for Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to be…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 