Australian Open Women’s Draw: Quarter by Quarter

First Quarter (Williams’ Quarter)

Projected Quarterfinal: (1) Williams vs. (8) Wozniacki
Nightmare Section: Wozniacki section

• The Dane could face Azarenka in Round 2, (25) Zahlavova Strycova (who she lost to in Sydney) in Round 3, and either (11) Cibulkova or (19) Cornet in Round of 16

Popcorn First Round Match: Sloane Stephens vs. Victoria Azarenka

• In 2012, these two played in a controversial semifinal. However, after an injury-filled 2014 for both, they now meet in the opening round.

Young Guns to Watch: (24 ) Garbine Muguruza, (26) Elina Svitolina, Taylor Townsend

Three Things to Consider

1. How will Serena Williams rebound after a shaky performance at the Hopman Cup
2. How will  Caroline Wozniacki’s wrist fair after retiring from her match in Sydney?
3. Will Victoria Azarenka be a serious threat for the title?

Quarterfinal Prediction: Williams vs. Wozniacki
Semifinalist: Williams

Second Quarter (Kvitova’s Quarter)

Projected Quarterfinal: (4) Petra Kvitova vs. (6) Agnieszka Radwanska

Young Guns to Watch: Coco Vandeweghe, Madison Keys, Shelby Rogers

Popcorn First Round Match: (12) Flavia Pennetta vs. Camila Giorgi

Riper with Age: (18) Venus Williams

• After Wililams was diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome in 2011, it appeared that her tennis career would be coming to an end. However, at 34 years of age, the veteran American is playing some inspired tennis. After capturing the title in Auckland just one week ago, Wiliams seems poised to make a deep run in Melbourne.

Three Things to Consider

1. Can Kvitova maintain her impressive form? (Fell in 1^st round in 2014)
2. Can Venus reach the second week of a major for the first time since 2011?
3. Can Radwanska make her breakthrough at a major with Navratilova in her box?

Quarterfinal Prediction: Kvitova vs. Williams

Semifinalist: Kvitova

Third Quarter (Halep’s Quarter)

Projected Quarterfinal: (3) Simona Halep vs. (5) Ana Ivanovic

Young Guns to Watch: (22) Karolina Pliskova, (32) Belinda Bencic

Popcorn Fourth Round Match: (5) Ana Ivanovic vs. (10) Ekaterina Makarova

Three Things to Consider

1. Can Ivanovic finally make another deep run at a major?
2. Will Makarova make her fourth consecutive Aussie Open quarterfinal?
3. Will Halep continue her impressive run at the majors?

Quarterfinal Prediction: (10) Ekaterina Makarova vs. (3) Simona Halep

Semifinalist: Makarova

Fourth Quarter (Sharapova’s Quarter)

Projected Quarterfinal: (2) Maria Sharapova vs. (7) Eugiene Bouchard

Young Guns to Watch: Caroline Garcia, Ana Konjuh, (31) Zarina Diyas

Huge Expectations: Eugiene Bouchard

• After a breakout 2014, which began at last year’s Australian Open, Bouchard will be under enormous pressure to emulate her success at the majors. The 20-year-old finished last season with a terrible showing at the WTA Finals, where she won only 11 games in three matches. Expectation has always reeked havoc on the minds of young tennis stars, it will be interesting to see how Bouchard handles it during the fortnight.

Three Things to Consider

1. Can Bouchard rekindle the success she had last year?
2. Can Sharapova maneuver through what is arguably the weakest quarter of the draw?
3. Can Angelique Kerber set up another blockbuster encounter with Maria Sharapova?

Quarterfinal Prediction: (2) Maria Sharapova vs. (9) Angelique Kerber

Semifinalist: Sharapova

Semifinals: Williams def. Kvitova; Sharapova def. Makarova

Final: Williams def. Sharapova

This Week In Tennis

Venus Queen of Auckland

Venus Williams began the year in impressive fashion this week, capturing the title in Auckland. The title marks the 46^th WTA victory for the 34-year-old American. After falling one win short of the title in 2014, Williams looked determined from the opening round to ensure she was the one lifting the trophy in this edition of the ABS Classic. The American used her booming serve and penetrating groundstrokes to power through her opponents. En-route to the title, Williams dropped only one set, which was to Wozniacki in the final. After falling behind a quick set and a break, Williams picked up her game, taking this next two sets 6-3 6-3. The title marks Williams’ first victory since Dubai last February.   

Sharapova Closes in on Number One

Maria Sharapova entered 2015 with a chance to overtake Serena Williams as the number one player in the world. The 27-year-old Russian improved her chance of regaining the top ranking this week with a dominant showing at the Brisbane International. Similar to Williams in Auckland, Sharapova breezed through the draw, not dropping a set en-route to the final. Proceedings proved much more difficult for the Russian in the championship match against fellow top-five player, Ana Ivanovic. World number five Ivanovic captured a hard-fought opening set in a tiebreak 7-6(4). With her back against the wall, Sharapova proved to tennis fans once again why she is one of the game’s greatest competitors. After hitting seven double-faults in the first set, Sharapova would only hit two in the final two sets, which she prevailed 6-3 6-3. With the win, Maria Sharapova is now only 681 points behind World No. 1 Serena Williams. The Russian can overtake Williams as early as the Australian Open, which begins next week.  

Halep Shines in Shenzhen

Simona Halep began 2015 right where she left open, winning the title at the Shenzhen Open. After a shaky first round encounter against Germany’s Annika Beck, the world number three breezed through the next four rounds, never losing more than three games in a set. Halep is coming off a career best year, where she made her first career Grand Slam final (French Open), reached a career high No. 2 in the rankings and won the biggest title of her career, the Premier 5 event in Doha. The 23-year-old Romanian is definitely a player you want to keep your eye on heading into the Australian Open and throughout 2015.

Team Poland Wins the Hopman Cup

Team Poland, made up of Agnieszka Radwanska and Jerzy Janowicz, captured the nation’s first title at the mixed-team event. In the final, Poland upset the heavily-favored United States team made up of John Isner and top-ranked Serena Williams. The most shocking result of the final was Radwanska’s three set victory over Williams. In their previous eight encounters, Radwanska was winless against the 18-time grand slam champion; winning only one set in those eight matches. Williams appeared out of sorts throughout the week-long competition, where she went 2-2 in her singles matches. Heading into the Australian Open next week, Radwanska will be riding a wave of confidence; whereas Williams will have a lot of questions to answer when it comes to her current form.     

Tournament Results

Venus Williams def. Caroline Wozniacki 2-6 6-3 6-3

Maria Sharapova def. Ana Ivanovic 6-7(4) 6-3 6-3

Simona Halep def. Timea Bacsinszky 6-2 6-2

Team Poland def. Team United States 2-1 (Hopman Cup)

Notable Results

Karolina Pliskova def. Victoria Azarenka 4-6 7-6(7) 6-4

Madison Keys def. Dominika Cibulkova 7-5 6-2

Timea Bacsinszky def. Petra Kvitova 6-4 6-4

Agnieszka Radwanska def Serena Williams 6-4 6-7(3) 6-1

Next Week: Australian Open Women's Draw: Quarter by Quarter

Top 5 Questions For The 2015 Season

The 2015 tennis season begins this week Down Under. Here are the five burning questions on most tennis fans’ minds, as well as my predictions to these questions.

  1. How many majors will Serena win?

After a historic 2013 season, which saw Serena Williams capture 11 WTA titles, including two majors, the world number one looked to continue her dominance in 2014. However, an up and down 2014 season resulted in Williams capturing only one major title. Now that Williams has tied Evert and Navratilova with 18 grand slam titles, the 33-year-old has only Steffi Graf ahead of her with 22 majors. The question of how many majors will Serena Williams win this year comes down to two factors: (1) whether she can remain injury-free; and (2) whether she can deal with the overwhelming pressure from both tennis fans and herself. If Williams can do both of these things, the American is poised to narrow the gap between her and Graf by the end of 2015

Prediction: 2 Majors

  2. Will Radwanska breakthrough at a major?

Agnieszka Radwanska finalized a huge addition to her coaching box this offseason. The world number six hired tennis legend Martina Navratilova to work along long-time coach Tomasz Wiktorowski. Navratilova now joins Hall of Famers Michael Chang, Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker in the coaching ring. If Navratilova is to improve any part of Radwanska’s game, it will most likely be strategically. The Pole, who stands at 5’8”, is at a sizable disadvantage when playing the bigger hitters in women’s tennis. Furthermore, Navratilova will focus more of the X’s an O’s in order to compensate for this weakness. I have always believed that Radwanska has the potential to win a major. With the addition of Navratilova in her coaching box, this might just be the lift she needs to capture her first major.    

Prediction: No

  3. Who will be the next breakout star(s)?

The 2014 season saw several breakout stars on the WTA. Youngsters Eugiene Bouchard, Garbiñe Muguruza, and Simona Halep all made huge statements at the grand slams last year. Muguruza made the quarterfinals at the French Open, while Halep and Bouchard made their maiden major final at the French Open and Wimbledon respectively. As the WTA continues to go through a transition period, 2015 is destined to have another breakout star. Here is a shortlist of players to keep your eye on: (1) Belinda Bencic; (2) Taylor Townsend; (3) Ana Konjuh  

Prediction: Taylor Townsend

  4. Can the 2014 breakout stars (Halep, Bouchard, Muguruza) continue their impressive form in 2015?

Consistent results by top players over an extended period of time are hard to come by unless your last name is Williams or Sharapova. Over the past five years, women’s tennis has seen a rotating carousel of players, who have a breakout season where they crack the Top 10, but are unable to sustain their level of play. Andrea Petkovic, Roberta Vinci, Maria Kirilenko are just three recent examples of players who struggled after reaching the games’ elite. In regards to 2014’s breakout stars, all three must be able to handle the increased expectation to perform at the bigger WTA events. All three of these women have the game to compete for major titles. However, if they can’t handle what happens between the ears, their success will be short-lived.  

Prediction: Yes

  5. How will Azarenka bounce back from a forgettable 2014?

The 2014 season was one to forget for former world number one, Victoria Azarenka. After a strong start in Brisbane, where she made the final, injuries sidelined the Belarusian for a majority of the year. In fact, Azarenka only played nine events the entire season. Furthermore, the Belarusian’s ranking fell from No. 2 at the start of the 2014, to No. 32 by season’s end. There is no question whether the former world number one can bounce back from a forgettable 2014. Azarenka has proven throughout her career that she is one of women’s tennis’ fiercest competitors. However, it is uncertain whether Azarenka can go deep in tournaments and remain injury-free.     

(Update): Victoria Azarenka fell to Karolina Pliskova in the 1R of Brisbane 4-6, 7-6 (7), 4-6. With the loss, the Belarusian will not be seeded for the Australian Open. Talk about a dangerous floater. 

Prediction: Yes