On Saturday night in prime time, Number Three seed, Victoria Azarenka will take on Number Four seed, Maria Sharapova in the 2012 Australian Open Women’s Singles Final.  In head to head matches, the players are tied at three wins apiece although Sharapova’s lone win since 2009 came when Azarenka retired mid-match last year while Azarenka won their last two hard court matches in 2010 and 2011.  Sharapova will be aiming to win her second Australian Open title, fourth Grand Slam title and first since 2008.  Azarenka will be playing in her first Grand Slam singles final.  The Number One ranking will also go to the winner of the title.

We present our analysis of the players below:

                     Victoria Azarenka                       Maria Sharapova

Form             Impressive “down under”             Solid, but serve can slip

Fitness          Seems fit                                     In good shape

Experience    First Grand Slam final                  Has been “here” before

Pressure        Wants it very badly                      Only from within

Intangible     If she manages “the moment”       Her serve is key to her winning

Posted by TC at 11:37 PM |

How lucky can we be in men’s pro tennis to have the top four men who are currently dominating men’s tennis?  Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray own 30 Grand Slam titles between them covering all four Slams.   There is a lot at

Continue reading "Blockbuster Big Four in Australian Open Semis: Nadal Versus Federer, Djokovic Versus Murray" »

Posted by TC at 09:50 PM |

In a year when no American man reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open for the first time since 1973, rising Japanese tennis star, twenty-one year old, Kei Nishikori, reached the quarters for the first time at a Grand Slam.  Shuzo Matsuoka was the last

Continue reading "Kei Nishikori Reaches Australian Open Quarters" »

Posted by TC at 11:19 PM |

With all the efforts to keep the sport of tennis “clean” from betting on matches, it’s quite strange in a way to have betting on matches promoted so actively around the Australian Open.  The TV telecasts in Australia regularly list the odds on the various players and 

Continue reading "Betting on the 2012 Australian Open" »

Posted by TC at 05:24 PM |

As befits the start of a new (tennis) year, as well as, for the so-called “happy Slam”, the tennis outfits are bright and colorful at the 2012 Australian Open.  This style trend is certainly easy on the eyes, but it is also a little surprising how many tennis clothing

Continue reading "2012 Australian Open Fashion Revue" »

Posted by TC at 06:44 PM |