Update: Fourth Round & Quarterfinal - AO Melbourne

Hi everyone,

We're moving into the second week of the Australian Open, so all the big matches between seeded players are coming up!

Generally the law of the WTA rankings prevailed in the fourth round. Only Kerber lost to a lower ranked player, falling to Makarova (seeded 19th): 5-7, 4-6. The Russian claimed an early break in the first set and clung on for dear life to serve it out. In the second set, Kerber was hammering on the Makarova service games, but couldn't break through. Makarova sealed her place in the quarterfinals against another Russian: Sharapova. I'm grateful to her, she left Belgian Flipkens a game (the opening game). That's all I got as a favor, because the next twelve games went her way: 6-1, 6-0.

 

Radwanska was the more consistent player in her match against Ivanovic. Sometimes there would be some amazing points, but at the more important stages of the match, Ivanovic made too much errors: 6-2, 6-4. The Pole meets Na Li in her quarterfinal after the Chinese wondergirl toughed it out against Goerges after a very close first set: 7-6(6), 6-1.

 

 

 

Serena and Azarenka cruised through their fourth round with both losing just two games to Kirilenko and Vesnina respectively. Their opponents (Stephens for Serena and Kuznetsova against Azarenka) both needed three sets to claim their quarterfinal spot. Stephens made an impressive recovery against Jovanovski: 6-1, 2-6, 7-5, while Kuznetsova downed Wozniacki: 6-2, 2-6, 7-5. I'm happy for Kuznetsova, who is finally bouncing back from a period littered with injuries.

 

 

 

The quarterfinals were all about: something's gotta give. Radwanska was on a perfect roll from Auckland on, Sharapova is blasting every opponent off the court in this Australian Open, Azarenka is having an amazing year being on that number one spot and Serena... is just Serena. Taking Wimbledon, the US Open, two golden medals, the Year End Championships and roughly 7 million in price money in 2012. Someone has to crack in this tournament because there will be just one winner.

 

The first one was Radwanska. In a sloppy performance against Na Li (21 unforced errors for the Pole and many service breaks!), she lost the first two sets of this year: 7-5, 6-3.

 

 

But she's human after all and a quarterfinal run (for three straight years in the Australian Open) isn't bad at all! It's very worthy of a number four and hopefully she'll be as succesful in the next few tournaments. In the end it's Na Li's turf in Australia (as Asian Grand Slam marked too and always performing really well here). Funny thing: because of the sun, Na Li hit a serve right into the crowd, this is her response:

 

 

Gotta love her on-court interviews! In the end she says: Carlos [her coach], we gotta practice on the serve, in case you missed that!

 

The next shocking quarterfinal experience was this:

 

 

Oh yes, Serena was stunned by Stephens, who saw that coming?! Anyway, she's still capable of smashing a racquet like a man though.

The match was incredible, Serena seemed to have the win in her pocket, claiming the first set: 6-3 and leading with a break in the second. Stephens just showed some amazing defense and when Serena hurt her back when hitting a volley, the match turned around completely for the young American.

 

 

The shocked look and the on-court interview after said everything, this is an amazing accomplishment! We're gonna see more of that 19 year old girl, that's for certain. I'm betting Azarenka is very grateful to her...

 

 

The number one on her part started off way too passive against Kuznetsova in the first set but with a fortunate break in the first set at 5-5, Azarenka turned the match around to win: 7-5, 6-1. Sharapova undisturbed blasted forth, beating Makarova: 6-2, 6-2. She at least won the same number of games as Venus, that's may be some comfort.

 

 

 

So two caved, two head on strong to the semifinals. The number one battle is still not fought, either Serena, Azarenka or Sharapova is still in the running. Azarenka needs to take the Australian Open title, Sharapova just needs to get in the final or Serena gets the number one spot. I'm going for the Russian, but I'm not sure who is winning that title! Keep posted for the Azarenka - Stephens and Sharapova - Na Li semifinals!

Update: Third Round - AO Melbourne

Hi everyone,

The third round of the Australian Open was a real icebreaker.

First up, Sharapova lost her FIRST few games in this Grand Slam against Venus Williams, but the number two still showed who was boss: 6-1, 6-3.

 

Little sister Serena is searching to take the record of fastest serve in a main draw of a Grand Slam away from Venus (by the way, the fastest serve of all times was hit by a qualifier in this Australian Open at 210 km/h). Meanwhile Serena casually served twice a 207 km/h already (giving cause for a little smile) and is two kilometers per hour away from the record. It's so gonna be in the match against Azarenka! Oh yes, she's through to the fourth round naturally, who the hell is gonna stop a 207 km/h serving Serena!

 

That same Azarenka is the first top player to lose a set at this Australian Open against Hampton: 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 while Bartoli is the highest ranked victim of the third round, falling to Makarova: 7-6(4), 3-6, 4-6. Laura Robson couldn't extend her great run in the Australian Open after beating Kvitova in the previous round, losing against Stephens: 7-5, 6-3. She's definitely forgiven, playing for over three hours in the last round in the excruciating Aussie heat can get everybody tired.

 

Meanwhile, Wozniacki, Na Li, Radwanska and Ivanovic all advanced without much icebreaking in straight sets. And in a strange way Stosur got her sweet revenge on Zheng with her doubles partner Goerges taking her out: 6-3, 1-6, 7-5. Unfortunately they didn't survive the second round in doubles!

 

The Australian fans were more than eager to sing happy birthday for Kerber after winning solidly against Keys: 6-2, 7-5.

 

That leaves us with this fourth round matches to look forward to:

- Azarenka vs. Vesnina = definitely going to see some fabulous tennis with these two big-hitting players

- Wozniacki vs. Kuznetsova = is the Russian ready to pull off an upset?

- Serena vs. Kirilenko = normally shouldn't be a problem for Williams

- Stephens vs. Jovanovski = great opportunity for both players to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal!

- Na Li vs. Goerges = a great test for Na Li in hitting even more impressive forehand winners than her opponent

- Radwanska vs. Ivanovic = definitely interesting, just wondering who the Aussie crowd is going to cheer on more, they're both so loveable!

- Kerber vs Makarova = I'm going for the birthdaygirl with her solid game this tournament

- Flipkens vs. Sharapova = have mercy on the Belgian Sharapova, I beg you!

 

Keep posted!

Update: Second Round - AO Melbourne

Hi everyone,

Well, that spectacular second round of the Australian Open flew by, let's take a look at who didn't survive it!

 

Despite being 5-2 up in the third set, Stosur lost against Zheng: 4-6, 6-1, 5-7. It looked so promising for Sammy, but shaky service games made her lose her precious lead. It's a damn shame Stosur can't preform better in Australia, but it's bye bye Australian Open for her! Also Cibulkova didn't survive the second round, but after a difficult first round match, it was kind of expected she would fall early in this Grand Slam.

 

 

 

Another second round victim was Kvitova. She also had a 3-0 lead in the deciding set after two fickle sets with ups and downs from the Czech and Laura Robson. The British teenager (with Australian parents, that could explain the tremendous cheer for the underdog!) crawled her way back into the match and forced the eight seed to play beyond 6-6 (no third set tiebreak here!). From that point on, it was just a nailbiting battle with some lovely points. It was Robson who served it out (on the second try after having a 6-5 break earlier): 2-6, 6-3, 11-9. And that amazing British girl is just 18 (birthyear: 1994, can you believe that?!). She'll be facing another teenage wondergirl Stephens in the third round.

 

 

Well Serena didn't get beaten by her opponent in the second round, that's for sure. She confirmed it: 'the only one to beat Serena, is Serena herself!' when accidentely hitting herself in the face during a point. Her press conference was to die for, she herself thought the situation was hilarious, check it out: here (under interviews) and for the actual mouth smashing:

 

 

The other seeded players didn't have much problem getting to the next round like Kerber, Bartoli, Wozniacki, Na Li and Azarenka. In this incredible heat (over 100F or 40°), it's important to get it over with quickly. And while Radwanska still hasn't lost a set this year, Sharapova has yet to lose a GAME this Australian Open, overcoming Doi: 6-0, 6-0 again.

 

 

 

I'm cursed, I can only think about pudding when watching those white-yellow outfits!

Another surprise story is the 42 year old Japanese Date-Krumm who keeps winning this Australian Open after playing this Grand Slam for the 19th time!

 

 

The third round features some great mash-ups, not the least a Sharapova vs. Venus encounter! Other interesting matches: Wozniacki vs. Tsurenko (she downed Pavlyuchenkova in the first round and had a great run as lucky loser in Brisbane!), Watson vs. Radwanska and Ivanovic vs. Jankovic. Keep posted!

Update: Fashion do's and don'ts - AO Melbourne

Hi everyone,

With the first round all over in Melbourne, we can finally gossip about all the outfits we've seen so far to pick out the do's and don'ts of the Australian Open.

 

Let's start off with the number one: Azarenka. I was hoping for another tough-looking short ensemble, but instead they put her into some soft yellow dress to immediately vaporize every fearsomeness she still had! Still, it's definitely not the worst, the purple headband is certainly great!

Why can't she just play in her training outfits, they are way cooler!

Okay, maybe without the ridiculous cap though.
Nike's take on this year is definitely going for yellow, and it contrasts well against the blue courts in Australia, but then again, Lisicki's and Wozniacki's outfit just unearths my craving for pudding (and trust me, you don't wanna do that!)

It's Adidas who nailed the yellow and gray outfits with Kerber.

Needs more boldness for Radwanska, either a darker red or something else than the white!

As long as it's not too many colors, Kvitova's outfit is just ... dazzling, but not in a good way. I would suggest just keeping it to the purple and orange and scratch the rest.

This time I'm not such a fan of Venus's outfit but it's possible that's just my faux-pas in fashion.

So my top three consists of Ivanovic (sorry Kerber, Ivanovic just rocks the oufit more, but I'm still not convinced of the grey in combination with the yellow though), than Na Li (it may be quite ordinary, but I just love purple and it suits her so well!) and firmly at the number one spot: Serena! It's just nicely balanced and the African-themed headband is a marvelous touch. I'm betting we'll be enjoying that outfit well into the second week of the Australian Open.

To read more about the Australian Open fashion, click through: Hits & Misses
Keep posted!

Update: First Round - AO Melbourne

Hi everyone,

While it is currently snowing throughout Europe (10 cm where I live!), Australia is been having quite nice summer temperatures to play the first round of the Happy Slam.

 

On day 1 the top players didn't allow any major upsets. Cibulkova lost the first set to Australian teenager Barty, but battled back in style: 3-6, 6-0, 6-1. Radwanska faced Bobusic who was surprisingly serving for the first set. The real opponent for the number four was the wind and eventually she pulled through by winning eight consecutive games: 7-5, 6-0.

 

 

No troubles for Na Li, Kerber and Bartoli who all cruised through the first round. Sharapova even demonstrated a double bagel against Puchkova, definitely setting an example of her Grand Slam desire! Venus also left nothing standing of Voskoboeva: 6-1, 6-0.

 

 

 

The only real trouble was for Stosur in the first round. She faced numerous breaks down at the hands of Chang, but the Taiwanese never really could finish it off. The Aussie favorite calmed a bit down after winning the first set tiebreak to push through to the second round (the first win for Stosur on Aussie soil this year!): 7-6(3), 6-3.

Day two was more spectacular for the top half of the draw. Seventh seed Errani was sent home by Spanish Suarez Navarro: 4-6, 4-6. The Italian didn't achieve much victories on hardcourt, but she did reach last year's quarterfinal, so it will be quite a loss in points at the beginning of the year. Petrova is also out against Japanse (and oldest winner of a single's match at the Australian Open at 42 for the moment) Date-Krumm: 2-6, 0-6.

That photo just confuses me, is she wearing a bra ... at all?
As I predicted, both Kvitova and Wozniacki needed that bit more in their first match, being pushed to three sets. Kvitova overcame Schiavone: 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 while Wozniacki faced a real scare when facing a 0-3 deficit in the third set to eventually take the 6 following games because of Lisicki's unforced errors: 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Azarenka passed the first round test with flying colors against Niculesco: 6-1, 6-4. But the biggest news was Serena's! How can you do this (very bad ankle twist!):

And still win 6-0, 6-0! Hopefully that ankle is going to be fine, because I finally want to see that first Azarenka - Serena battle of 2013! Hey, she'll probably even beat her hopping on just one leg, right? ... It's Serena!

The second round has some great matches to look forward to: Stosur vs. Zheng (wo defeated the Aussia at Sydney!) and Kvitova vs. Robson, so be sure to keep posted!
Also to see stuff like this from the amazing Aussie crowd:

 

Update: Fun on court - AO Melbourne

Hi everyone,

Some pics of the Kids Day at the Australian Open. Gotta love being Spongebob, Patrick or Dora (I would so choose Patrick!). The kids had fun and I'm guessing the tennis players did too (Roger Federer, Victoria Azarenka, Novak Djokovic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Serena Williams and Ana Ivanovic)!

 

And by the way, Team Spongebob so kicked Team Dora butt! Keep posted!

Introducing & Draw Analysis: Australian Open - Melbourne

Hi everyone,

Really, the Happy Slam doesn't need much introduction anymore. It's the Grand Slam of the crazy fans, outrageous temperatures and number one battles! Oh yes, that number one spot is up for grabs, pretty much winner takes it all. It'll be between Azarenka, Serena (making her the oldest number one to date!) or Sharapova.

But that's for later in the tournament, Australia is also known for putting all kind of sweet or scary animals in tennis players' hands!

 

 

 

 

The last two photos are my favorite, so funny!

Ok sure no animals, but equally cute! (Sharapova promoting her candy brand Sugarpova)

Let's get to business with the draw now:
- Top quarterhalf = Azarenka (no real hurdles until the fourth round), Wozniacki, Pavlyuchenkova (seeded because of her great run in Brisbane!) and Errani.
- Middle-up quaterhalf = Serena (oh yes in Azarenka's half, thank you tennisgods!), Kvitova and Petrova (my pick if Kvitova exits early).
- Middle-down quarterhalf = Na Li, Stosur, Ivanovic, Radwanska (all sub-toppers in this part of the draw and my two favorites Stosur and Radwanska!).
- Bottom quaterhalf = Kerber, Bartoli, Cibulkova, Venus, Sharapova.

- Early round meets (possibly dangerous upset) = Wozniacki vs. Lisicki (quite a test for the Dane who isn't performing all that well), Kvitova vs. Schiavone (same story with Kvitova but I'm not sure if Schiavone is the one who is gonna knock her out of the tournament, if it was on gravel, I would be more decisive in Schiavone's skills).

Last year winner was number one Azarenka so the good people of Australia decided to stuck her on a boat with Djokovic (seat for the gigantic trophee please!)

If I have to predict the quarterfinal mash-ups: Azarenka vs. Pavlyuchenkova (amazing run at Brisbane), Serena (definitely!) vs. Kvitova or Petrova, Radwanska vs. Na Li or Stosur (come on Sammy, prove yourself to the home crowd!), Kerber vs. Sharapova (fiesty!).

Keep posted, the Australian Open always serves us with spectacle and fun on and off the court!