Australian Open 2016: Day 3 Women’s Predictions

Predicted Winners in BOLD I need to do a little better than I did yesterday [5] Maria Sharapova (RUS) vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR) – I think Maria should be fine. [1] Serena Williams (USA) vs Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) – Serena avoids the upset train. [4] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) vs. Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) – I think Aga’s…

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The Aussie Open on a ground pass

Originally posted on kazblah:
Having a kid changes the way you watch live tennis. Pre-progeny, I’d hunker down in Rod Laver Arena all day, working those neck muscles left, right for hours on end, me and 15,000 people getting into the soporific rhythm of summer tennis. You’d have time to study the nuances of the…

Tennis Match Fixing Part 1 – Lack of Effort

When is Lack of Effort Okay? When is it not Okay? The breaking story about match fixing in tennis has me thinking.  There is not enough known on this story for me to say much yet, but it does have me thinking about how deep a player should dig in a given situation.  NPR’s story…

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My Memories of Lleyton Hewitt

Originally posted on Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life:
I first heard of Lleyton Hewitt when reading sports capsules about Australian Open tune-up events in 1998.  A hometown kid named Lleyton Hewitt upset Andre Agassi who was launching his comeback from a poor 1997 campaign.  I thought either this kid is really good…

Australian Open 2016: Day 2 Women’s Predictions

Anett Kontaveit (EST) vs. Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP) [3] – I like Garbine here, but the 3rd seed seems a little high for her even if there is no arguing with computers. Venus Williams (USA) [8] vs. Johanna Konta (GBR) – Venus ended 2015 on a strong note. Victoria Azarenka (BLR) [14] vs. Alison Van Uytvanck (BEL) – I am…

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Australian Open 2016: Day 2 Men’s Predictions

We’d be lucky to get a repeat performance Predicted Winners in BOLD Alexander Zverev (GER) vs. [2] Andy Murray (GBR) – Murray is highly favored here. Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) vs. [4] Stan Wawrinka (SUI) – Stan should win, but Tursunov is always fun. [5] Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Fernando Verdasco (ESP) – Their 2009 clash…

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Australian Open 2016: Day 1 Women’s Predictions

Predicted Winners in BOLD [6] Petra Kvitova (CZE) vs Luksika Kumkhum (THA) – I like Petra, but her tune-up absence might be a cause for concern. [1] Serena Williams (USA) vs. Camila Giorgi (ITA) – Serena gets the top ranked unseeded  player for her first match since losing in the US Open semifinal. [25] Samantha…

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Australian Open 2016: Day 1 Men’s Predictions

Predicted Winners in BOLD So many great matches especially for the seeded players in round 1 [1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. Hyeon Chung (KOR) – Novak is a pretty solid favorite to win the whole thing so he is certainly a heavy favorite in this match. [3] Roger Federer (SUI) vs. Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) – I…

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