I have gone into massive detail on my WTA preview of the Australian Open so here is a slightly shorter preview for the ATP! Novak Djokovic QUARTER 1 Novak Djokovic is the number one seed and opens his title defence against the Italian, Paolo Lorenzi. After an incredible year, Djokovic has an almighty task to…
Victoria Azarenka Victoria Azarenka and Mona Barthel won the warm-up tournaments for the Australian Open in Sydney and Hobart respectively. Azarenka beat Li Na, 6-2 1-6 6-3 in an intriguing, yet error-strewn contest. Azarenka was the more consistent player in the final set as Li produced far too many errors. It was a competitive final…
The first Grand Slam of the season is finally upon us 🙂 This year’s women’s draw looks very open and here is my extensive preview with all the predictions for the two weeks of action ahead in Australia… QUARTER 1 Kim Clijsters Caroline Wozniacki is the number one seed for the 6th consecutive Grand Slam…
Li Na Li Na will play Victoria Azarenka in the final of the Apia International in Sydney after both players came from behind to upset their semi-final opponents in three set clashes. Li Na was first up and she defeated Petra Kvitova in a gritty display, 1-6 7-5 6-2. Li’s win also meant that Caroline…
Agnieszka Radwanska Agnieszka Radwanska came from a set down to beat the world number one, Caroline Wozniacki for the first time in six attempts, 3-6 7-5 6-2. Unfortunately the main talking point at the end of the match will be that Wozniacki picked up a wrist injury, which saw what had been a very competitive…
Caroline Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki will have been wary about facing off against Dominika Cibulkova after being knocked out of the Apia International last year by the Slovakian. Wozniacki somehow managed to find a way past Cibulkova this time round rallying from a 4-0 deficit in the third set to win 7-5 2-6 6-4. Wozniacki started…
Vera Zvonareva Two of the seeds fell on the second day of action at the Apia International in Sydney. Sam Stosur was out-of-sorts as she was defeated by Francesca Schiavone, 6-2 6-4. There were some exciting points in the match (see highlights below) and Schiavone continued her solid start to the 2012 season. It was…
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga The ATP tour kicked off with three tournaments this week in Doha, Brisbane and Chennai. In Doha, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga came away with the title without playing his best tennis as he beat Gael Monfils in the final, 7-5 6-3. Tsonga benefited from Roger Federer‘s withdrawal in the semi-finals, which was only the second…
Lucie Safarova Last night, I was already regretting my prediction of Ana Ivanovic reaching the final in Sydney. I was right to have second thoughts about this prediction as she crashed out in the first round of action at the Apia International in Sydney. Ivanovic was beaten in straight sets by the dangerous leftie, Lucie…
Zheng Jie rounded off a stunning week in Auckland with victory over the number 4 seed, Flavia Pennetta in the final. Unfortunately, Pennetta had to retire at the start of the third set because of a back injury trailing at 2-6 6-3 2-0 down. This was Zheng’s fourth title on the WTA tour, but her…
Moo's Tennis Blog 