Women’s Final: Victoria Azarenka vs. Maria Sharapova I refuse to make any jokes about how noisy this match is likely to be. Azarenka has cleared a number of mental hurdles at this event. She played admirably well at the 2011 Year End Championships. Beating Kim Clijsters after being rolled in the second set speaks well…
Category: Roger Federer
Australian Open Quarterfinal Predictions
Men’s Picks (Winner’s Name in Bold) 1 Novak Djokovic vs. 5 David Ferrer – Djokovic should win, but Ferrer is going to be tougher than Hewitt was. My guess is Nole raises his game and wins in 3 or 4 sets. 4 Andy Murray vs. 24 Kei Nishikori – I think Murray calmly makes another…
Australian Open Sweet 16: Men’s Predictions
As much as I love the early rounds of Grand Slams, the matches that lay ahead of us all look to be of a high quality. Grand Slam events are set up a lot like the NCAA college basketball tournament. Rather than wait for a sweet 16 in March, we have one in January. …
2012 Australian Open Day 5: Tomic d. Dolgopolov & US Washout
6 Quick Hits Roger Federer winning the 1st set vs. Ivo Karlovic made his match fairly simple. Playing from behind against a huge server can cause some anxiety. Jelena Jankovic sets up a match against Caroline Wozniacki. To hammer an obvious point, both players need some validation at majors. Juan Martin del Potro vs. Phillip…
2012 Australian Open Day 3: Nalbandian & the Challenge System
6 Quick Hits Caroline Wozniacki did not look sharp yesterday. She was lucky to not go 3 sets. Rafael Nadal looks healthy; he also looked healthy in round 1 Donald Young is not as far along as some hoped Sam Querrey has to feel good about winning a round and taking a set off of…
We’re Not in Australia Anymore or Are We?
Rafael Nadal Nearly Forfeits? On the same day that news breaks that Rafael Nadal expressed disdain for Roger Federer’s approach to dealing with the ATP on scheduling issues, Nadal also maintains that he nearly forfeited his first round Australian Open match due to knee issues. Earlier this week Nadal said that he was finally healthy…
Who Will Win the 2012 Men’s Australian Open? (Poll)
I made my picks – your turn.
Previewing the Men’s Australian Open
Interesting Potential Early Matches 8 Mardy Fish vs. Gilles Muller 1st Round 4 Andy Murray vs. Ryan Harrison 1st Round Andy Roddick vs. Robin Hasse 1st Round Andy Roddick vs. Lleyton Hewitt 2nd Round Andy Roddick vs. Milos Raonic 3rd Round (If the first two don’t get Andy, I think Raonic will) Juan Monaco vs….
Milos Raonic Leads a New Wave
Historical Waves Tennis players tend to arrive in waves. Pete Sampras was so dominant that his generation, including Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Sergi Bruguera, Goran Ivanisevic, Thomas Muster, Michael Chang, and Richard Krajicek, more or less eclipsed the next group of promising players. To be sure, Gustavo Kuerten, Patrick Rafter and Yevgeny Kafelnikov made marks…
How Roger Federer avoided the Eddie Felson Trap
The Huslter chronicles a pool player named “Fast” Eddie Felson who seeks to play pool at a level never before reached, but whose personal failings and poor judgment in terms of associations contributed to his banishment from the game he plays like no one ever has. This scene and abbreviated quote below demonstrate Fast Eddie’s…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 