Esther Vergeer

Congratulations to Esther Vergeer on her bazillionth wheelchair singles win in a row (ok not really that much…you can read more about her titles here: Esther Vergeer Feature at the 2012 Australian Open). Esther added the 2012 Australian Open Women’s Wheelchair trophy to her list of accolades. Not only did she win, she emphatically and completely torched 2nd seed Aniek Van Koot, 6-0 6-0.

Esther Vergeer, Sharon Walraven

Esther also teamed with Sharon Walraven to defeat Aniek Van Koot and Marjolein Buis, 4-6 6-2 6-4. I applaude all the men and women participating in the wheelchair division. So many of us are handcuffed by the things we don’t believe we can do. These players won’t let doubt stop them from pursuing their dreams.

ESTHER VERGEER

with Aniek Van Koot

with wheelchair and Junior winners, including American Taylor Townsend

Victoria Azarenka

Coming into 2012, there was a feeling that world #1 Caroline Wozniacki was not the true #1; that Petra Kvitova, 2011 Player of the Year, Wimbledon and Tour Championship winner was on top of the women’s tennis world. One month into the 2012 season, it has been proven that there is a new queen of tennis, but her name is Victoria Azarenka. Vika crushed Maria Sharapova in the 2012 Australian Open final, bordering on embarrassing Masha, 6-3 6-0. Sharapova is the name more known to the casual sports fan, but to hardcore tennis fans, it’s no surprise Azarenka won this title. She looked dominant earlier this month taking the crown in Sydney. She’s also owned Masha in recent meetings. Even when Vika lost to Sharapova due to retiring in Rome, she was up a set. What was surprising is how complete and lopsided this victory was, even dropping the dreaded bagel on Masha in the second set. A straight set win for Azarenka is understandable, but winning 12 of the final 13 games of the match? It seems the real final was the rollercoaster semifinal three setter between Vika and Kim Clijsters. Azarenka is the new world #1. Nobody should be arguing that right now.

Azarenka moves to 12-0 on the year, and it’s easy to see why. Even against great opponents like Clijsters and Sharapova, Vika is not giving them anything cheaply. She is making players work and work and work on nearly every rally without giving them any holes to exploit. And she has power to back up that consistency. The way she’s playing right now is going to be a nightmare for anybody challenging her. She has the consistency of Caroline Wozniacki combined with the attack game of Clijsters. That’s scary.

Vika absolutely deserves her #1 ranking and more importantly, wears that ranking with a Major win. However, there are challengers aplenty on her heels. The new rankings following the Australian Open are:

1. Victoria Azarenka

2. Petra Kvitova

3. Maria Sharapova

4. Caroline Wozniacki

5. Samantha Stosur

I have some quibbles with the computer over those rankings. 1 and 2 are fine. I still think I would put Caroline ahead of Maria right now. Samantha Stosur won the 2011 US Open, but she has been way off her game to start 2012, with more losses than wins so far. That said, as well as Vika played to win Sydney and Melbourne, Clijsters had many chances in the semifinal match to get important breaks of serve against Azarenka which Kimmie did not capitalize on. And the ones she did capitalize on, she gave right back on her serve. Also, just as Vika seems to have Masha’s number I think Kvitova matches up better with Vika. As I’ve said here before, styles make fights as the boxing saying goes. Masha’s game gives Vika no problems. Kvitova’s does. But Kvitova needs to tighten up mentally. Petra lost in Sydney to Li Na in a match she should have won. Petra had chances and probably should have beaten Masha in the Australian Open semis. But Kvitova gets these lapses sometimes. If you take everybody in the top 5 and ask me who I think is best IF they play their best game, I would say Petra Kvitova. However, she occassionally has these periods where she will let matches get away from her. Vika is much tighter at this moment. I also think Caroline Wozniacki’s style can give Vika problems. She has losing records against both Kvitova and Wozniacki. Right now, Vika is letting opponents beat themselves with errors. Wozniacki at her best won’t give you a lot of errors. Vika will have to go for more against Caroline. But it’s a long season and there might be lots of musical chairs for the #1 spot this year. For today, it belongs to Vika.

Singles – Final
(3) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. (4) Maria Sharapova (RUS) 63 60

VICTORIA AZARENKA

with Martina Hingis

MARIA SHARAPOVA

with Martina Hingis

Esther Vergeer

If you need an example of dominance in sports, look no further than wheelchair tennis champion Esther Vergeer. She is the world’s #1 ranked wheelchair player…and has been since April 6, 1999. As of this post, she has not lost a singles match since 2003. Not one. She entered the 2012 Australian Open with 19 Singles Majors, 20 Doubles Majors, 14 year end Masters singles titles, 9 Masters doubles titles, 3 Paralympic Games singles Gold Medals and 2 Paralympic Games doubles gold medals. She has advanced to the final of the 2012 Australian Open where she will take on #2 seed Aniek Van Koot. Can Van Koot end Vergeer’s 434 match singles winning streak?

Esther explains the rules of wheelchair tennis:

pics from the 2012 Australian Open:

Maria Sharapova

In life, when opportunity knocks you have to be ready to answer. Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka both enter the 2012 Australian Open Women’s Singles Final with an opportunity to claim the world #1 ranking. We will see who answers the call. Maria Sharapova seized the moment in her semifinal with 2011 WTA Player of the Year Petra Kvitova by maximizing her chances. While Masha was 5 for 5 on her break point opportunities, Petra Kvitova was 4 for 13. Kvitova had Sharapova in trouble on serve many times, but the 2008 Australian Open winner Masha escaped often enough to post a 6-2 3-6 6-4 victory.

Victoria Azarenka overwhelmed after defeating Kim Clijsters

Like Petra Kvitova, Kim Clijsters did not capitalize  on break chances, four in one game she squandered early in the match. But let me give all credit to Victoria Azarenka. She was clearly the better, sharper player on this day. Yes, Kimmie made a comeback in the second set, but she was aided by 16 unforced errors by Vika. When Vika cleaned up her errors, she was outplaying Kim. As a Kimmie fan, it was difficult to watch her last Australian Open end before the final but on this day Vika deserved the win.

The head-to-head between Vika and Masha is a bit misleading at 3-3. The 2011 Rome win for Sharapova was due to Vika retiring. Vika won the first set. Some of the older matches are a bit sketchy too, as Azarenka wasn’t what she is now. Still, It seems even when Masha won, she was stretched by Vika. Sharapova will have to serve well. If she gives away points on double faults or has to rely on second serves, she won’t win. On the other hand, Vika needs to avoid letting Masha into the match at all. For all of her great play in the semifinals, Clijsters had a chance to escape. If Vika allows Masha to gain confidence and get on a roll, the pressure of a final might get to Azarenka.

Singles – Semifinals
(4) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. (2) Petra Kvitova (CZE) 62 36 64
(3) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. (11) Kim Clijsters (BEL) 64 16 63

MARIA SHARAPOVA

VICTORIA AZARENKA

PETRA KVITOVA

KIM CLIJSTERS

Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova joined Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka in the final four of the 2012 Australian Open. Like Azarenka, Masha and Petra are playing for both a spot in the Australian Open final and a chance to ascend to the world #1 ranking, relinquished by Caroline Wozniacki with her loss to Clijsters in the quarterfinals. Masha was in total control against Ekaterina Makarova, winning 6-2 6-3. Coming off her upset of Serena Williams, Makarova did not get the truckload of free points on errors from Masha that she did from Serena. Still, Ekaterina is a player to keep an eye on this year. She has a lot of potential.

Petra Kvitova

Masha will have her hands full in the semifinals with Petra Kvitova, a winner over Sara Errani, 6-4 6-4. This is a rematch of the 2011 Wimbledon final, won in straight sets by Petra. Sharapova must serve reasonably well to win. If she has service yips in this match, Petra will beat her again. However, if Masha is focused and playing well Petra must avoid those mental lapses that still creep into her game during matches or Sharapova will win. It’s a tough one to call. Petra at her best is probably a step better than Masha at this moment. But Masha looks so hungry to win another Major, it’s tough to pick against her.

Singles – Quarterfinals
(2) Petra Kvitova (CZE) d. Sara Errani (ITA) 64 64
(4) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 62 63

MARIA SHARAPOVA

PETRA KVITOVA

SARA ERRANI

EKATERINA MAKAROVA

Can’t wait for the LPGA season to start. Until then, here’s a little bit of Sandra Gal for SuperFlex Bands. Of course, there are lots of people, not just golfers, who can benefit from exercises with these bands.

Kim Clijsters

With all due respect to Caroline Wozniacki, a supremely talented player, I wonder if Kim Clijsters or Serena Williams had not been injured or part-time players over the last year or so would Caroline’s reign as the world #1 have ended sooner. As it is, Kim Clijsters showed no signs of discomfort from her injured ankle to oust Caroline from the 2012 Australian Open, 6-4 7-6 (4). With the loss, Wozniacki will lose her #1 ranking at the end of the Australian Open. As of this blog post, that could mean either Petra Kvitova, Maria Sharapova or Victoria Azarenka could ascend to the #1 ranking. But don’t think this means Caroline is permanently dismissed from the #1 ranking. She lost the top spot for one week last year to Kim Clijsters before coming back to immediately regain it.

Victoria Azarenka

Kim will take on potential #1 Victoria Azarenka in the semifinals, who overcame a first set tiebreak whitewash to overwhelm Agnieszka Radwanska over the final two sets, 6-7 (0) 6-0 6-2. Victoria has been white hot to start 2012, winning in Sydney and advancing with relative ease to the semifinals here. Although Kim has a 4-2 career record against Vika, most of those matches were before Azarenka was what she is now. The last time these two played, in Miami 2011-a tournament Vika won, Azarenka beat Clijsters in straight sets. I think Vika goes in as the favorite this time, despite Kim’s career record. Right now, Azarenka is the hotter player. That said, if Kim can play the way she did in the first set against Caroline, and not so much the way she did coming down the stretch of the second set, she can beat anybody.

Singles – Quarterfinals
(11) Kim Clijsters (BEL) d. (1) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 63 76(4)
(3) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. (8) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 67(0) 60 62

KIM CLIJSTERS

VICTORIA AZARENKA

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI

AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA

Maria Sharapova

Don’t look now, but Maria Sharapova’s path to a possible 2nd Australian Open title just became a wee bit smoother than she might have thought. Masha outdueled the game Sabine Lisicki in the fourth round, 3-6 6-2 6-3. What that was suppose to do, when the draw was made over a week ago, was presumably set up a showdown with Serena Williams. But this is sports and anything can, and often does, happen. Instead of Serena, Masha will face streaky lefty Ekaterina Makarova, who upset the 5-time Australian Open champion Williams. Now, we cannot just assume Masha will win. She will be the favorite, for sure. However, Sharapova has a history of having service yips. If she serves reasonably well, she should win. If not, Makarova could score her third straight upset, after having taken out Vera Zvonareva and then Serena.

Serena Williams

Speaking of Serena, she was the last American standing. Now, there are none in the men’s or women’s singles draws. I can’t say if this was the worst I’ve ever seen Serena or not, as Chris Evert said it was. But I know that she just looked physically listless from the first game of the match on. It looked like she started the match physically and emotionally drained. It didn’t seem that her ankle was that much of a factor, although obviously I am in no position to say. It just appeared ok. She just had a look like she would rather be anywhere but on the court. Maybe, she’s just on the other side of 30 now and had a bad day. Maybe, she’s at an age where she can’t just show up with minimal match play and expect to win a Major, as she has done in the past.

Singles – Fourth Round
(2) Petra Kvitova (CZE) d. (21) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) 62 76(2)
(4) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. (14) Sabine Lisicki (GER) 36 62 63
Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) d. (12) Serena Williams (USA) 62 63
Sara Errani (ITA) d. Zheng Jie (CHN) 62 61

MARIA SHARAPOVA

PETRA KVITOVA

ANA IVANOVIC

EKATERINA MAKAROVA

SARA ERRANI

SABINE LISICKI

Kim Clijsters

There is a commercial that spawned the oft-satirized phrase, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” In the 2012 Australian Open round of 16 against a spirited and on her game Li Na, Kim Clijsters rolled her ankle at 3-3 in the first set, taking a tumble to scorching Plexicushion Presige court surface. Not only was she physically down briefly, bouncing back up to finish the point, more importantly for the next set and a half as she clearly had trouble moving to her right, not even making plays on balls for which she would normally stretch, she was down mentally, later admitting that the thought of retiring from the match did cross her mind. But Kimmie got up. Physically, at first. Then mentally and emotionally. Boy, did she get up.

Li Na is a player that has recently given Kim problems, even when Clijsters is at full strength. Styles make fights, as the boxing expression goes, and Li’s game is very similar to Kim’s. With Kim not moving well to her right, and also not being able to get any spring on her serve, Li had Kim on the precipice of defeat, winning the first set 6-4 and with the game score 6-6 in the second up 6-2 in the tiebreak. That’s four match points for the tournament’s 5th seed. But then, when all looked lost, a clear demonstration of what separates Li and Clijsters was on display. Instead of attacking, Li seemed to be waiting for Clijsters to make a mistake. And Clijsters did. But a tentative Li Na didn’t capitalize. Kim fought off the first three match points, but on the fourth had a lapse in judgement hitting a drop shot from the baseline than sat up nearly midcourt for Li. That’s the ball Li Na has to crush and end the match. She did not. She inexplicably hit a soft shot right back to Clijsters, who like a champion hit the correct shot, beautifully lobbing Li to erase all four match points.

Li Na had her chance

Suddenly, a burst of emotion I’ve never seen from Kim at this point of a match erupted. She quickly won the next two points of the tie-break to even the match a one set each. Clearly deflated, Li Na did the opposite of Kim, mentally going away at the beginning of the third set, resulting in Kim being able to go up two breaks at 4-0. Ah, but these Clijsters-Li matches always seem to have extra drama. Li seemed to get revitalized, winning 4 of the next 5 games to close to 5-4 Clijsters from 4-0. Might we see the tremendous second set comeback from Clijsters trumped by a third set comeback from Li? Not on this day. Clijsters pulled it together to finish off Li 6-4 in the final set to cap a tremendous comeback from the edge of disaster.

I don’t want to rain on Kim’s parade today. She showed guts fighting back. But Caroline Wozniacki, Kim’s next opponent, plays a far different style than Li. As I said, styles make fights. You can be a little hobbled and come back against a high risk player like Li Na who can mentally go away at times. Against Caroline, who is a human backboard, Kim will have to hit a lot of shots and chase down a lot of balls. You can bet that right now Caroline and her father have already decided to run Kim all over the court and test that ankle. If Kim, who has never lost to Caroline, can’t move well she won’t be able to defeat Caroline. If she can move well, Clijsters can win. It all comes down to that ankle and how close it is to recovered. As a final thought, while I am thrilled by Kim’s comeback against Li, the Chinese star is also one of my favorite players. This one really hurt. I definitely feel for her. I hope she can recover mentally from this. It will hurt for some time, though.

Singles – Fourth Round
(1) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. (13) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 60 75
(3) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. Iveta Benesova (CZE) 62 62
(11) Kim Clijsters (BEL) d. (5) Li Na (CHN) 46 76(6) 64
(8) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. (22) Julia Goerges (GER) 61 61

KIM CLIJSTERS

LI NA

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI

VICTORIA AZARENKA

AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA

Ana Ivanovic

Much like the Jelena Jankovic victory over Christina McHale in round three of the 2012 Australian Open, the win by Ana Ivanovic over Vania King, 6-3 6-4, left me conflicted. Ana, like Jelena, is one of my favorite players, but I was rooting for the American Vania as well. With the win, Ana earns a date with 2011 Player of the Year Petra Kvitova. Ana has a 3-0 record against Petra, but you can throw those results out. Those were matches from 2008 and 2009, when Ana was at the top of her game and Petra was far short of what she is now.  I think this match will turn on what Kvitova shows up, the player that blows through opponents or the one that self-destructs with errors. Can’t wait to see this one.

Sabine Lisicki

Another fourth round match I’m excited to see is Maria Sharapova vs Sabine Lisicki. Masha dismissed Angelique Kerber 1 and 2 while Sabine fought back to take out Svetlana Kuznetsova, 2-6 6-4 6-2. Masha leads Sabine 2-0 in career match-ups, both wins occuring in 2011, including the semifinals of Wimbledon. But the win in Miami on hardcourt, where Masha torched Sabine 2 and love, really raises my eyebrow. I hope Sabine can play well this time. She has the physical tools. But where she can have some drama is mentally. She was lucky against Svetlana that she was playing someone who can get down on herself as much as Svetlana can at times. That won’t happen against Masha. The former world #1 is one of the most mentally focused players on tour.

Singles – Third Round
(2) Petra Kvitova (CZE) d. (27) Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 60 10 ret. (left leg muscle injury)
(4) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. (30) Angelique Kerber (GER) 61 62
Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) d. (7) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) 76(7) 61
Zheng Jie (CHN) d. (9) Marion Bartoli (FRA) 63 63
(12) Serena Williams (USA) d. Greta Arn (HUN) 61 61
(14) Sabine Lisicki (GER) d. (18) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 26 64 62
(21) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) d. Vania King (USA) 63 64
Sara Errani (ITA) d. Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 67(6) 60 62

PETRA KVITOVA

MARIA SHARAPOVA

EKATERINA MAKAROVA

ZHENG JIE

SERENA WILLIAMS

SABINE LISICKI

ANA IVANOVIC

SARA ERRANI

VANIA KING

VERA ZVONAREVA

MARION BARTOLI