Semifinals Victoria Azarenka (1) vs. Maria Sharapova (3) – Sharapova reversed her career troubles vs. Vika on clay this year. AA Sharapova win would not shock me; especially if Vika is drained either emotionally or physically from her quarterfinal match. Nevertheless, Vika dominated Sharapova on hard courts in big occasions twice this year. Serena Williams…
Category: Victoria Azarenka
US Open Day 9 Men’s and Women’s Picks
Projected Winners in BOLD Quarterfinals Victoria Azarenka (1) vs. Samantha Stosur (7) – Stosur has played well to get this far after a somewhat shaky post French Open stretch. Still, the #1 seed should beat the defending champion in a close 2 set match. Maria Sharapova (3) vs. Marion Bartoli (11) – Bartoli can beat…
10 Olympic Takeaways
Serena Williams adds to her sublime legacy with decisive gold medals in singles and doubles. Serena has career Golden Slams in singles and doubles now. Fodder for a GOAT debate? Speed Kills – Andy Murray took a huge step by winning 5 straight sets over Djokovic and Federer en route to a gold medal in…
Olympic Tennis Review 2008: The Best to This Point
In my review of Olympic tennis events, one trend emerged from 1988-2004: The Women’s Event Was Better than the Men’s. In 2000, a streaking Venus Williams went 3 tight sets in a semifinal tilt with the veteran Monica Seles. In 1988, Steffi Graf beat Gabriela Sabatini . The 1992, 1996 and 2004 games all delivered…
Serena Williams Nears Perfection in Gold Medal Win
Serena Shines in 6-0, 6-1 Win Serena Williams demolished Maria Sharapova. There really is not much else to say about today’s match. Both players like to dictate play and take control of a point early. Serena was better at dictating play and that made Sharapova a defensive player. Maria Sharapova is not a defensive player. …
Wimbledon 2012 Ladies’ Semifinal Predictions
Predicted Winner in BOLD SEMIFINAL MATCH-UPS [6] SERENA WILLIAMS (USA #6) vs. [2] VICTORIA AZARENKA (BLR #2) Williams leads 7-1 I think Serena has made it past a couple of dangerous matches already. Vika is capable of winning this match. Her tough loss to Serena at the 2011 US Open propelled Vika to her great…
Wimbledon Ladies’ Quarterfinal Predictions
Predicted Winner in BOLD QUARTERFINAL MATCH-UPS (Listed in order of seeds) TAMIRA PASZEK (AUT #37) vs. [2] VICTORIA AZARENKA (BLR #2) Azarenka leads 2-0 I like Vika to win this match and maybe the tournament. Off of clay, Vika has been the most consistent player on the WTA Tour this year. [3] AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA (POL #3)…
Wimbledon Ladies’ Round of 16 Predictions
My Projected Winner will be placed in BOLD ROUND OF 16 MATCH-UPS (Listed in order of seeds) [1] MARIA SHARAPOVA (RUS #1) vs. [15] SABINE LISICKI (GER #15) Sharapova leads 3-0 Lisicki is capable of winning, but Sharapova is on a great roll and should win this match. [14] ANA IVANOVIC (SRB #14) vs. [2]…
WTA Benefiting from Continuity
I wrote last year that 2011 was a good year for the WTA. I felt this way because Petra Kvitova looked like she would be a contender for multiple years, Na Li helped tennis expand into a market of over 1 billion people, Sam Stosur added a Grand Slam champion to the great Aussie tradition,…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 