Hey, let’s do this again in 2017 Championship Match: Serena Williams vs. Venus Williams Venus Williams holds 7 major singles titles and an 8th would be a great capstone for a career that shines.  Serena Williams is seeking sole possession of the all-time singles major total in the Open Era.  One way or another the…

Rafael Nadal vs. Grigor Dimitrov https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-YT72lDVi4 Grigor Dimitrov is riding a 10 match winning streak, is 6’3″, has a big serve, is a shot-maker, and beat Rafael Nadal in their most recent meeting.  That all bodes well for the Bulgarian.  What does not bode well are his 6 losses to Nadal, the 3 of 5…

ROD LAVER ARENA [13] Venus Williams (USA) vs CoCo Vandeweghe (USA) Each player enters this semifinal with a head of steam.  I think CoCo has played a tougher slate of opponents to reach the semifinal round.  Venus has an experience edge and has been in many major semifinals.  Therefore, we could be looking at a 50-50 match.  Venus…

ROD LAVER ARENA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnLGnRwOOiA Partying like it is 1999 [2] Serena Williams (USA) vs Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO) It is a great story to see Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in her second career major semifinal spanning July 1999 to January 2017.  It also speaks to Serena and Venus Williams’ longevity. Venus reached her first major final in September 1997 and…

ROD LAVER ARENA (11 a.m. start) [11] David Goffin (BEL) vs [15] Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) – I think Goffin is less likely to have a bad outing.  Otherwise this seems to be a 50-50 match.  There are multiple reasons to pick either player to win, but Goffin’s return and consistency seem less likely to breakdown. Expect a…

Predicted Winners in BOLD ROD LAVER ARENA (11 a.m. start) [5] Karolina Pliskova (CZE) vs Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO) – Pliskova has now won 10 of her previous 11 matches at majors.  Her serve should help her to dictate play.  ML-B’s comeback has been fueled by wins Halep and now Radwanska.  Pliskova is not that style of player….

Roger Federer has reached the Australian Open semifinal every year from 2004-2016 except for 2015.  I expect another semifinal appearance for Federer is close at hand. ROD LAVER ARENA [4] Stan Wawrinka (SUI) vs [12] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) – Stan should win this match, but these two players each impose their will on an opponent through blunt…

Predicted Winners in BOLD [13] Venus Williams (USA) vs. [24] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) – Venus is playing at a high level.  She could lose here, but her momentum is all quite positive.  Could an 8th major be on its way? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diIWggMbj2U [7] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP) vs Coco Vandeweghe (USA) – If Coco can beat Kerber who won 2 majors in 2016,…