Brisbane update: Quarter & Semi's

Hi everyone,
It's been a lovely couple of days with lots of tennis to report about!

First: the quarter finals at Brisbane!

- Kim Clijsters v Iveta Benesova (6-3, 6-2) = Kim stormed to 5-0 in the first set before getting broken back to 5-3 by some great passing shots of Benesova. The lefty Czech played good but was still overpowered by Clijsters: 6-3. In the second set, an early break made it impossible for Benesova to keep following the high leveled tennis of Clijsters. Between another break of serve, hawk eye totally failed epically by showing a previous ball instead of the one asked. Of course this print was two meters away from any line so the crowd started laughing while the players tried their best to stop smiling. I can’t even remember if the call was overturned or not, just not important anymore! A second break for Clijsters kind of sealed the deal to 6-2. For a nice clip of the highlights: click here

- Petkovic lost to Kanepi, not totally surprised, the Estonian player has a fast and winner-driven game. I didn’t see the match (bit of a shame because the second set seemed nerve wrecking) but what actualy was surprinsing is het clip with the highlights where Petkovic seems to win almost all the points!: check it out. Score: 1-6, (7)6-7.

Weird photo, my question is: what are they both doing exactly?

(Inner monologue: Kanepi - looking at the score board - 'I defeated you just in two sets?', Petkovic 'That's right, no Petko-Dance for me today', Kanepi = And where do all these Estonian fans keep coming from?)

- Schiavone v Jankovic (5-7, 7-6(2), 6-3) = totally fabulous match but what do you otherwise expect from these two top entertainers? A lot of points at the net gave the crowd exactly what they wanted. Of the matches I saw, I have to vote this as the best match of the tournament so far. Just watch and enjoy: click here 

Hantuchova got a walkover because of Serena Williams's injury, so fast forwarding to the semifinals:

- Kim Clijsters v Hantuchova = a convincing start from Hantuchova forced Clijsters to step up and fight back a 1-4 deficit. But Kim was confident, at one point even thinking she had the game already but actually facing deuce on her own service, you can imagine the two points following went easily to her. It eventually took a while to get back on track (with Hantuchova even serving for the set at 5-3). A break at the right moment made the match level at 5-5. The crowd at this point was completely convinced Kim would just bulldozer over her opponent but Hantuchova saved like 5 break points to hold her serve. Clean and easy with a love game, Clijsters forced a tiebreak which went her way 7-4 after an hour of tennis. A false start in the second set meant trailing again for Kim. After a medical time out for her left hip and 1-3 behind, Clijsters retired from her match. Hantuchova was obviously upset and stated she absolutely didn’t want to win this way (certainly because she also had a walkover the previous round and maybe is gonna lack match rhythm in the final). Here are the highlights: click here

Yes, there’s a lot of injury already in the first week. Serena Williams twisted her ankle resulting in a withdraw in Brisbane. In a recent tweet she stated it's going much better without definitely promising she’ll be able to compete in the Australian Open. Next is one of my favorites: Sabine Lisicki who retired against Angelique Kerber trailing 4-6, 3-4 with a back injury in the ASB Bank Classic tournament in Auckland, New Zealand. To update you on that tournament at the same time: the final will be played tomorrow at 1pm local time between Flavia Pennetta and Jie Zhing, who surprisingly knocked Kuznetsova out of the tournament.

- Kanepi – Schiavone = It was a fast game of winners and serves coming from Kanepi. Schiavone couldn't really play her own game with the Estonian dictating the match. In the beginning of the second set, Schiavone forced the points too much while Kanepi stayed calm to take the break. The crowd was cheering for Schiavone but nothing helped against the powergame of Kanepi. When Schiavone asked for a medical time out, I was afraid she was gonna give up like Kim but it seemed she just wasn't feeling good. 55 minutes of play and a coldhearted 6-3, 6-0 appeared on the score board. There was just nothing to begin against that great Estonian serve! To watch the highlights: click here.

So it’s going to be quite a shocking final tomorrow: Hantuchova v Kanepi. I’m just not gonna predict anymore, I’ll just watch and comment after, stay tuned!