Reviewing the Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro

COVID-19 has created massive problems throughout the world, including the cancellation of tennis through July 13th (currently). The Mutua Madrid Open decided that, instead of cancelling the tournament altogether, they would hold a virtual tournament instead of the regular in-person clay court event.

While not ideal by any means, with the surge in popularity of esports, this seemed like a good way for tennis to enter into the gaming sphere. The tournament decided that Tennis World Tour would be the video game of choice and playstation to be the game console used.

With 150,000 euros at stake (with at least some of that total expected to go to a donation) and 50,000 additional euros set aside exclusively for donations, the stakes were high for the 32 players participating.

The tournament was still gender-separated with 16 ATP players and 16 WTA players parsed into groups of 4 for dueling round robin tournaments. In the round robin stage, the players played to 3, with at tiebreak at 3-3. There was also a charity tournament occurring simultaneously.

For the main tournaments, after the round robin, there would be a traditional quarterfinal, knock out-style setup. In the knock out stages of the tournament, a full set of virtual tennis was played to determine a winner. Kiki Bertens and Andy Murray ended up winning the WTA and ATP virtual titles, respectively.

So, how successful was the tournament? Could we see a wave of similar tournaments, even when the regular tours return? Let's dive in.

Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro Review

The tournament started off on the wrong foot with the withdrawal of Gael Monfils (whose spot was taken by Benoit Paire) due to an issue with the rights to stream his virtual matches.

Tennis journalist Matthew Willis made the point that the virtual tournament was exclusive to Facebook and Monfils was affiliated with Twitch, another streaming platform. The streaming on Facebook part is weird to Willis, who has showcased how much more popular Twitch is for streaming.

There were more withdrawals during the tournament too. The game itself was a laggy disaster (more on that later), and during the round robin stage of the men's tournament, Dominic Thiem and Karen Khachanov withdrew because of technical issues, giving opponents 3-0 wins.

Even in the charity tournament taking place alongside the main tournament, technical issues for Rafael Nadal and Donna Vekic forced the cancellation of that match.

If Tennis World Tour is the best video game that tennis has, then the future of video game play in the sport is in huge trouble. Willis showcased the glitchy, terrible graphics that almost certainly turned viewers off from the game.

Then, in the men's semifinals, when Andy Murray took on Diego Schwartzman, it was as tennis journalist Stuart Fraser reported Murray saying, "...a disaster." Technical difficulties marred the match and the players ultimately decided that Murray should advance to the final.

It was almost comical how poorly the tournament was working out. In the semifinals of a virtual tournament, the players can barely even play due to technical issues. If I'm being frank, it was a total embarrassment for the tournament and reflected poorly on the sport's ability to put together a solid virtual tournament.

Personally, when I was watching the quarterfinal matchup between Bianca Andreescu and Sorana Cirstea, a match which Cirstea eventually won in a tiebreak, there was at least one occasion that I can remember where a player served a let, but was inexplicably given the point. With as seriously as the virtual tournament was taking itself, even such a seemingly minor problem during play de-legitimizes the competition.

That's not to say that the organizers weren't trying their hardest. It was clear that Madrid tournament director Feliciano Lopez and the rest of the team at Madrid were trying their best to put on the best event possible.

The problem for the Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro was that the the game itself felt deficient in someway. The graphics felt like they were from 10 or 15 years ago, as opposed to the modern day video games we are used to.

Tennis as sport might also just not be very well-suited to video games in general, at least serious video games trying to realistically replicate the action on the court. Watching the Virtual Pro, it felt like so much was missing. The cool angles and spins that players put on the ball, the trick shots, even the interaction between players and their boxes. All gone.

Instead, we got a glitchy, laggy, bland version of tennis that was a massive disappointment. The fun of NHL, FIFA, NBA2K, and Madden was replaced with this lame game.

A charity tournament featuring the Serena Williams Naomi Osaka, and Maria Sharapova (along with other tennis players and celebrities) is using Mario Tennis Aces as their game of choice. While that tournament, officially named the "Stay at Home Slam", is also using Facebook to stream,  there is a key difference. The video game of choice is much better suited for a virtual tennis event meant to draw in fans.

Mario games are more about having fun than having serious, realistic competition. And perhaps that was the Virtual Pro's problem, they were so intent on having pros in the game itself that they forgot that a less serious video game like Mario Tennis Aces would actually be more fun to play and watch.

Let's be honest, no video game is going to realistically mimic the Nadal topspin forehand on clay.

However, a word of caution for the "Stay at Home Slam": the tournament is using John McEnroe along with Justine Ezarik for commentary. I believe that having official commentary was a very poor choice for the Virtual Pro. The commentary was unnecessary and took away from the players' own commentary. Yet another way the tournament was taking itself too seriously.

I don't mean for this to be a post where I just crap all over the virtual tournament. However, if we are to have video game tennis tournaments in the future, it's important to learn from past mistakes and try to provide the best viewer experience possible.

I appreciate the Mutua Madrid Open stepping up to the plate and essentially being the guinea pig for quarantine virtual content. Future tournaments can take what happened at the Virtual Pro and hopefully put together a better product.

Next Season's Major Predictions

Since we have entered the WTA and ATP off-season, with the exception of the ITF Women's Tour and ITF Future's tournaments, I thought this would be a good time to look to next season for my predictions of which men and women will win the four majors. Of course, this is completely speculative (especially because the players I have playing in the Final could be on the same side of the draw), and I will probably look foolish later, but here are my picks to win the majors next season.

Australian Open
Women's Final: Sloane Stephens defeats Aryna Sabalenka in three sets
There are so many players I feel that have a shot at the title. However, I was very impressed with what I saw from Sloane Stephens last year, for the most part, and feel like she, along with Serena, were the best players last year without a major. Sloane's game adapts very well to hard courts, and bigger hitters will have a hard time hitting through her and will be frustrated in the heat of Australia. Aryna Sabalenka has made huge strides in 2018, and given her performance to end the year, seems primed to have a spectacular 2018. At number 13 in the rankings, expect this Final appearance to push her into the Top 10. However, I think Stephens has a little too much defense for Sabalenka, and Sloane will win in three sets.

Men's Final: Novak Djokovic defeats Marin Cilic in four sets
Djokovic was so good to end the season. After his tight loss to Cecchinato at the French Open, Novak barely lost for the rest of the season. He had one of the wins of the season over Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon, which proved to the rest of the world that he is back, and he beat Kevin Anderson in the Final. His US Open victory was thoroughly dominant too, barely being threatened and getting another major. Djokovic beat Federer a couple times too, including the Paris Masters Semifinals in another fantastic. I expect Djokovic to use the momentum of 2018 to get him an Australian Open victory, where he has won the tournament six times and is ultra-comfortable at the tournament. In regards to Cilic, I think his Davis Cup Final wins will help alleviate the mental block that seemed to haunt him for much of 2018 when he was winning in a match. Marin will also have confidence from being a set away from the title this year, but Djokovic will force Cilic into too many errors, and Novak will win the title.

French Open
Women's Final: Simona Halep defeats Garbine Muguruza in three sets
For me, Halep is the clear favorite to win the French Open. Her pedigree on clay is extremely good, and she is able to defend very well, and put her opponents in uncomfortable positions on the court. She has made the Final twice, coming within a set of the title against Sharapova and Ostapenko, and last year she finally broke through for the win against Sloane Stephens. I know that Darren Cahill is not coaching Simona next season, but I still expect Halep to have a great season and to win the French Open. As I was trying to decide who to have Halep beat in the Final, I eventually decided upon Garbine Muguruza. For me, she showed some signs of her true level towards the end of the season, despite a mostly rough 2018, and she still is the 2015 champion at Roland Garros. Her ability to hit through the court is superb, and I expect her to face Halep in the Final, where Simona's endurance and ability to make Garbine play a lot of extra balls will be the difference.

Men's Final: Rafael Nadal defeats Dominic Thiem in four sets
I know this is not an exciting prediction, given that almost the exact same result happened last year, but I have to call it as I see it. Nadal is an absolutely incredible player on clay, having won the French Open 11 times, and it is extremely difficult for players to take a set off of him on clay, let alone beat him. Nadal, essentially, plays all aspects of tennis at a very high level on clay. However, he is getting older, and injuries are concerning for him, and because I also think Thiem is going to take a step forward next year by not hitting as many unforced errors as in the past, I believe that Thiem will take a set off of Rafa at the French Open last year. But Nadal's amazing defense, along with his ability to hit winners from ridiculous places around the court, are still going to be too strong for Dominic to handle.

Wimbledon
Women's Final: Serena Williams defeats Naomi Osaka in two sets
I think that Serena would have won Wimbledon last year, but her ground game was not at the level that her serve was at. Serena has a spectacular serve, and when he groundstrokes are firing, then it is nearly impossible to beat her. Serena plays great at Wimbledon, winning the title seven times. This year, unlike against Kerber last year, I think that Serena's groundstrokes won't be rusty and her groundstrokes will match her serve in its effectiveness. Osaka had an amazing 2018, winning Indian Wells and the US Open, but when Serena is serving well and hitting her groundstrokes cleanly on grass, she can take the racquet out of Osaka's hands. Osaka will be overpowered by Serena on the grass, and I have feeling Serena will be extra-motivated to beat Osaka given that she lost to her twice last year.

Men's Final: Roger Federer defeats Novak Djokovic in five sets
I think that Federer has one more major in him, and I think it will come this year at Wimbledon. Federer won the Australian Open last year, but struggled, relatively, throughout much of the season, starting with his loss to Juan Martin del Potro in the Final at Indian Wells. Federer, I believe, will structure his season around winning Wimbledon, and will serve well throughout the Final. I think that he will come to the net a lot, pressuring Djokovic to make extremely difficult passing shots, and so he isn't worn down by Djokovic. Djokovic, as he showed once again last year, and through his four Wimbledon titles total, is extremely good on grass. But, in a match that I think will be very tight, the crowd support and Federer's will to extend his major lead is going to will him to a very close win over Djokovic.

US Open
Women's Final: Serena Williams defeats Aryna Sabalenka in three sets
Serena, as I have talked about before, is an incredible player. She has shown very often that her combination of power and accuracy is extremely hard to beat. The crowd support at the US Open is also very helpful for Serena. Serena does very well at the US Open, winning the title six times. As I mentioned previously, I am very high on Sabalenka. She hits the ball extremely hard, but has great margin on her shots too. However, I think that Serena has a little more power on her groundstrokes than Sabalenka and serves better, so she should win a tight title in three sets.

Men's Final: Karen Khachanov defeats Kevin Anderson in four sets
I have a feeling that the men's singles bracket at the US Open will provide a lot of surprises. Khachanov was so impressive in winning the Paris Masters event. His defeat of Djokovic in the Final showed that he can hit through amazing defending accurately and he showed very little signs of the moment being too big for him. Next year, I believe he will continue to work on his game, and will put everything together in winning the US Open.Anderson has continued to impress, since his breakthrough Final of the US Open in 2017. Anderson made the Final of Wimbledon this year, and proved he was going to be a top player for a long time. However, I think that Khachanov's game is less-prone to break down than Anderson's game, and I think he wins in four tight sets against Kevin.

So, what do y'all think of my predictions? Please let me know your thoughts on who is going to win the majors next year?

Serena Williams Lacks Maturity in US Open Final Loss

By now, everyone has heard about it. In Serena Williams' 6-2, 6-4 loss to Naomi Osaka in the US Open Final, Serena completely lost control of her emotions. But, before we get to that, let me stop to praise Naomi Osaka on an amazing tournament. It was quite apparent, after beating Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-0, 6-0 in the Third Round before taking out the in-form Aryna Sablenka in the Fourth Round that Osaka had completely reversed her prior poor US Open Series results.

In the Final, Osaka played magnificently. She completely dominated the first set, breaking Serena in two of her first three service games, and serving out the set. And she didn't let getting down a break in the second set, 3-1, phase her either. Osaka immediately broke back before breaking again. And with intense pressure serving for the tournament at *5-4 in the second set, Osaka played a very good game to win the tournament. Osaka was absolutely incredible and thoroughly deserved her victory. So, congrats to her on becoming a major champion!

Now, let's turn our attention to the issues between Serena Williams and the chair umpire for the match, Carlos Ramos. I will give a short rundown of what happened, but since by now, you probably know what happened already, I'll keep this section of the article brief. Serena's coach, Patrick Mouratoglu, was caught coaching in the stands by Ramos, seemingly urging Serena to push forward towards the net. Serena was upset with Ramos' insinuation that she was cheating and said her coach was only giving her a thumbs' up.

After getting broken-back in the second set, Serena smashed her racquet, which was a point penalty. Then, a little later, Serena got called for a game penalty after pointing at the umpire, and in an angry tirade, calling him both a "thief" and a "liar". The match's trophy ceremony was filled with boos, until Serena stepped in and calmed things down. Serena, during the course of the match, accused the chair umpire of sexism, demanded an apology from Ramos, and mentioned her daughter in regards to her not being a cheater.

So, let's unpack this situation, because there is a lot to talk about. I believe that all three penalties were completely warranted. The first penalty, Patrick admitted to in an interview with Pam Shriver after the match, but justified it by saying that everyone does it. That doesn't make it, not-against the rules, though, and the chair umpire has full-discretion to call coaching if she/he sees it. And it doesn't matter if Serena even saw the coaching, the fact that Mouratoglu was making that gesture with his hands is enough for a warning, whether Serena wanted the coaching, and/or saw the coaching, or not.

So, Serena shouldn't have gotten so offended when called for the coaching warning, as the warning had nothing to do with her actions. The coaching had everything to do with her coach's actions. And Mouratoglu can claim that others coach, as well, that doesn't matter. The fact is, it is against the rules, and he got caught, end of story. Instead of apologizing to Serena in the post-match interview, he made excuses, even after admitting fault.

But, where Serena went wrong was taking the warning so personally, even though it was just that, a warning, and it would take something else for her to get penalized. But, by becoming so emotionally charged following the warning, she was giving herself a greater chance of a second penalty, because her emotions were so high.

And sure enough, she smashed her racquet after getting broken back to *2-3 in the second set, which is an automatic warning. And the second warning is a point penalty. I don't know if Serena thought that Ramos had rescinded the first warning, but her reaction to the point penalty was absolutely ridiculous. Obviously smashing a racquet is a warning, that's about the easiest call for umpires in tennis. And it was clear that Mouratoglu was attempting to coach Serena, even if Serena only felt like he was giving her a thumbs' up. So, I'm not sure where the confusion is with Serena. An umpire is obviously not going to reverse a coaching penalty, even if he acknowledges that you didn't cheat.

Because a coach giving a hand signal doesn't mean the player is cheating anyways. Getting a coaching violation doesn't mean the player was cheating, so the coaching warning can still stand, even if the umpire confirms with the player that she wasn't cheating. This could have been where Serena's confusion was. Or maybe it was a lack of understanding of the rules. Maybe Serena didn't realize a second warning was a point penalty? This seems less likely.

Serena went on an angry tirade against Ramos, calling him a "liar" and a "thief" in the process. It certainly felt like a personal attack on Ramos' character, and Ramos was completely in the right for issuing a third warning, which is equivalent to a game penalty. This put Osaka up *5-3 anyways. As a side note, notice that Osaka was up a set and a break anyways when the penalty occurred, so we can say with confidence that Osaka was in a great position to win before the game penalty.

Serena called the umpire sexist and gave a spiel after the match about her battle for the rights of women, which just seems to be taking the situation way out of context. Serena's argument was that men get away with what she got penalized for all of the time. First off, Serena gave no evidence for her claim that men get away what she got penalized, it just seemed like a generalized claim to stir the pot. Sure, I see men and other women tennis players getting a warning for breaking the rules, but the reason we see very few game penalties is because most players know they can't act out much after their first warning, as it would hurt their chances of winning the match.

Second, by calling the umpire "liar" and "thief", she personalized the attack against the umpire. I would argue even cursing isn't so bad, so long as it isn't a personal attack on the umpire. But, as soon as you make the attack personal against the umpire, it makes what you're saying much worse, whether you are using profanity or not.

Serena needed to accept her coaching penalty with grace, but perhaps bothered with the way the match was going, decided to fight back. And after the racquet smash, possibly still bothered by the course of the match, she decided to get personal with the umpire, questioning his integrity. And to question the integrity of someone with as much integrity as Carlos Ramos is extremely insulting. I'm confident that Ramos was extremely hurt by what Serena said, and was right in calling for her third violation.

I think that claiming sexism in this case trivializes actual sexism, and this is upsetting to me. Because there is real sexism occurring in our society that needs to stop, but when Serena just randomly claims sexism in this case, it kind of makes sexism seem like a trivial thing in society, a way of justifying someone's bad behavior as opposed to the reality of it being an injustice that needs to change. So, personally, that hurts me.

So, to be quite honest, I think Serena Williams needs to mature a little. Her reactions to getting penalized in the US Open Final were, quite frankly, shocking, and completely derailed her chance for another US Open crown. Yes, Patrick shouldn't have gave the hand signal and should not have claimed that everyone does it after the match, but Serena has to react to the situation better than she did.

As Epictetus said, "It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters." And for Serena Williams, she reacted to the situation in a very immature manner.

And, at the end of the day, it was Naomi Osaka, not Serena Williams, holding the winner's trophy.

Three Bold Predictions and Draw Projections for Wimbledon Women

On Friday, the Wimbledon men and women's draw came out, allowing every tennis pundit the opportunity to make predictions and projections that will look laughable in two weeks.  But, part of the fun of the draw is making these prognostications, being that pundit who "called" the big upset.  I will do my best to make my readers proud, with a goal of one bold prediction coming through.  So, what do I expect to happen for the women in London?

Three Bold Predictions

 - Camila Giorgi will make the Quarterfinals.  Yes, this does sound crazy given Giorgi's form, or lack thereof.  Giorgi had to pull out of the Ricoh Open in the Netherlands, a title she was defending, and lost her opening matches in both Birmingham and Eastbourne.  She is under a lot of pressure to pick up a decent haul of points at Wimbledon due to the rankings drop that came with losing those Rosmalen points.  And, given Giorgi disastrous Third Round against Wozniacki last year, is she Giorgi not good enough for the biggest stages of tennis?

Giorgi's draw initially seems as if it wouldn't help her cause but I see reason for hope.  Her opening round against Muguruza will be a huge moment for Garbine, as well.  This will be only the second match for Muguruza following her win at Roland Garros, and her first major.  Not only that, but as the defending Finalist, she has a ton of points to defend, in addition to the new pressures on her shoulders.  It's also important to note that Camila leads the H2H 2-1.  I believe Giorgi's powerful game with overwhelm a stunned Muguruza and that she will advance.  Although she had a good run in Mallorca, Mariana Duque-Marino is a clay courter and should not present problems for Camila in the Second Round (based upon my projections).  In the Third Round I have Giorgi playing Lucie Safarova, and although she has had success here in the past, Safarova's poor recent form suggests that Giorgi could send Lucie packing, as well.  In the Round of 16, I believe Camila will take on equally-as-erratic Sabine Lisicki, a former Wimbledon Finalist.  I think a confident Giorgi goes toe-to-toe with Lisicki in a wild match, winning it in three sets.  Then, in the Quarterfinals, Giorgi will lose to Venus Williams.

- Tsetvana Pironkova will make the Semifinals.  Normally, drawing the seven seed is a recipe for a First Round exit, but given Bencic's recent absence on tour, the confidence Pironkova got from her run in Paris, and her history at Wimbledon, and all of a sudden, it seems as if the fortnight will be good to Tsetvana.  As I mentioned earlier, Bencic has just returned from injury, and I watched much of her run to the Ricoh Open semis, and was not impressed by her game.  It seems as if Belinda has lost some of the punch on her groundstrokes.  From there, I think Pironkova easily dismisses Andrea Petkovic, who's counterpuncher style is not the best for grass.

From there, I foresee Pironkova taking on Petra Kvitova, two-time Champion, and Agnieszka Radwanska, former Wimbledon Finalist.  In regards to the Kvitova match, last year's loss to Jankovic, when Petra looked to be in red-hot form showed me that Kvitova on any given day can just play disastrously.  I also think that Kvitova has lost a lot of the confidence she gained from that 2014 title, and has gone off the rails a bit lately.  Pironkova will win that match in what, like for Lisicki-Giorgi, should be a wild affair.  Radwanska has not impressed me with her grass court play this season.  She looked lethargic in her loss to Coco Vandeweghe in Birmingham, and collapsed from a set-and-a-break up against Dominka Cibulkova in Eastbourne.  Radwanska seems to have even loss some of the touch that she is famous for.  Pironkova will surprise again and win that match to reach the Semifinals, before ultimately losing to Serena Williams.

- The Final will be contested between the Williams sisters.  Yes, we will get another Final between Venus and Serena Williams.  For Serena to get to number 22, she will have to go through her sister, who will be desperate for another major to help cap off a brilliant career.  The drama, the storylines, and the high level of play will help make this an extraordinary Wimbledon Final.  The two have played 27 times, with the head-to-head very tight, Serena leading 16-11.  And while Serena won easily at Wimbledon last year, the two played a very tight match the US Open last year, Serena taking it in three sets.

As a tennis fan, this is the type of match you want to see.  And I believe we will see it on one of the biggest stages of tennis, two weeks from today.  A five-time Wimbledon champion, with seven majors, battling a six-time Wimbledon champion, with 21 majors.  So yes, I predict this match will be the Final, and it will surely be a treat to watch.

Draw Projections

 - Quarterfinals:
Serena Williams defeats Coco Vendeweghe in two sets
Tsetvana Pironkova defeats Agnieszka Radwanska in three sets
Angelique Kerber defeats Madison Keys in three sets
Venus Williams defeats Camila Giorgi in two sets

- Semifinals
Serena Williams defeats Tsetvana Pironkova in three sets
Venus Williams defeats Angelique Kerber in three sets

- Final
Serena Williams defeats Venus Williams in three sets.

The Current, and Future, State of the WTA: Parity or Lack of Star Power?

Does a seed even mean anything anymore?  That's the question that many tennis fans must surely be asking themselves over much of 2016, but especially the past two weeks in Madrid, and now Rome.  And it's becoming reality that top seeds will fall in what seems like huge upsets weekly and pandemonium quickly spreading throughout the draw.  So, what should we make of the current state of the WTA?

Before answering that question, it's important note that a huge reason for why it feels like there has been more crazy draw sheets this year, as opposed to years past, is because Serena Williams has been out for much of the year and thus, while in years past there might have been a lot of drama with seeds, it was shielded by a constant presence on top of the women's game.  One always knew that Serena would be there at the end of the tournament and that, through all of the noise, consistency would reign at the top of the game.

And, ultimately, I think that the dominant presence of Serena was good for the game, as tennis fans knew that Serena would play well and exemplify the quality of tennis to be expected from the top of the women's game.  This year, Serena's age (24 years old) looks to be effecting her play and injury/illness concerns have also hampered her game, so the flaws in other WTA top players are more visible.  But, with Serena's retirement not too far in the future, it's important to look at how the tour will be without her.

To help look at this issue further, let's look at examples of what I have been discussing, first showing how the seeds did in Madrid, and are currently performing in Rome.  In Madrid, at the end of the First Round, five seeds were out, but these included both the number one and two seeds, Agnieska Radwanska and Angelique Kerber, respectively.  But, the seeds continued to fall in the Second Round, as six more seeds were sent packing (or in Safarova's case, withdrew) including the three seed, Garbine Muguruza.  It got to the point where by the Quarterfinals, the only seed remaining was sixth-seeded Simona Halep.

And while you can make the argument that much of this "craziness" was negated by Halep being the eventual winner of the tournament, I just find it impossible to get past that out of the 16 players seeded in this tournament on the women's side, only one could manage to win three matches in a row.  And while some of the losses are understandable, Cibulkova has given Aga problems ever since she double-bageled Dominka in Australia in Sydney in 2013, other losses, such as Muguruza flaming out to Irina-Camelia Begu were unacceptable for a player of her ability.

And so far, for the WTA in Rome this week, the same general pattern has continued, besides Serena finally bringing a level of calmness to the top of the draw.  While in the First Round of Rome there weren't many upsets, with only three seeded players falling, it is important to note that this could be due to the fact that the top eight seeds had byes into the Second Round.  So, when put into that light, 3/8 seeded players who actually played in the First Round losing actually is worse than it initially seems.  However, in the Second Round, eight more seeds were lost, meaning that 12/16 seeds were gone before the Round of 16, and of the 12 seeds in the Second Round, 2/3 were dismissed.  And these seeds included the number two seed, Angie Kerber, the four seed, Victoria Azarenka, fifth seed Petra Kvitova, and Madrid champion (and sixth seed) Simona Halep.  It's safe to say that today was disastrous for seeded players in Rome.  This means that the Round of 16 will feature only one matchup of seeded players on the WTA side, with Suarez Navarro and Bacsinszky playing each other tomorrow.

There are two different main arguments that can be debated regarding the wild results from this season, and specifically in Madrid/Rome.  The first possibility that could possibly be deliberated is that the results are a direct consequence of the parity of the of WTA.  By parity, I mean that because the level of a top player (with, personally, the exception of Azarenka on hard courts and Serena on any surface) and lower ranked players are not that huge, so that when a player lower in the rankings upsets a seeded player, it really isn't very surprising at all.  Pundits making this argument would say that, for instance, Eugenie Bouchard  is only slightly worse than Angelique Kerber, despite the 44 places separating them in the live rankings.  Therefore, it would be completely understandable to these people that Bouchard dispatched Kerber today.  However, doesn't this "parity argument" merely seem like an excuse for players who lose early, as opposed to a legitimate reason for the results?  Because, in reality, the players at the top are there for a reason: they earned the most points.  So, if we throw aside the possibilities of players being ranked low due to injury and that a player might obtain more points from playing more tournaments, the players with more points should be better than those below them.

The opposite side of the coin here would be that the wave of upsets that has hit the WTA Tour this year is due to a lack of star power, where a group of players can just take over the tour and will constantly be battling in the later stages of tournaments, week after week.  On the men's side, this would be the equivalent of the Big Four (Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray,  Roger Federer, and RafaelNadal).  Obviously, there are some flaws with this line of thinking.  First off, Serena and Venus Williams are still on tour, so despite Maria Sharapova being out on suspension, these are two big names who have won many, many majors between them.  The counter to this opposing viewpoint would be that Venus is obviously finished as top tennis player (due to her age and Sjogren's Syndrome) and so while she might have a big name, it is unrelated to the argument at hand.  And with Serena's issues this season, as previously mentioned, this fails to address what will happen when she retires, along with the results when she was gone this season.  And, one could say that Victoria Azarenka has dominated the spring hard court season this year, winning Indian Wells and Miami.  However, as Madrid showed us, who wins the tournament is less related to this topic as opposed to how seeds on the whole are doing.

However, if we are to take this argument at face value, we would be led to believe that because there is not a group of "commanding players" on tour (besides Serena), it is no surprise that upsets are so frequent nowadays on the WTA.  Because there is this "feeling" that the playing field is equal, whether one is ranked number two or number 46 psychologically doesn't matter because players like Radwanska and Kerber do not have the mindset of typical top players.  And perhaps this is a direct result of Serena winning so many majors over the past few years, that she hinders other players from reaching stardom, and the mindset that comes with it.  I mean, if anything, Kerber winning a major has worsened her results, and while this may be because she is struggling with media attention that a major winner attracts, it is certainly not something that would be expected of the number two player in the world.

So, ultimately, is there a clear-cut answer to whether parity or a lack of star power is producing the current results on the WTA Tour?  I don't think so.  Throwing aside the obvious possibility of confounding factors not considered in this article, I think that it's probably a combination of the two sides that lead to the present state of the WTA.  Despite my earlier, big spiel on ranking points, perhaps women's tennis, with, for the most part, a lack of big weapons, lends itself to closer matches and more parity.  However, at the same time, it's very valid to say that because there hasn't been consistent winners on the WTA Tour recently, especially in majors, this definitely diminishes the star power of everyone but Serena, so when Serena is not playing well or is off the tour for some reason, it almost feels as if the WTA is an uninteresting free-for-all.  And, from a financial perspective, this is definitely not a good thing.  Because, a lack of stars means a lack of attendance at WTA matches (and non-joint events, in general).

However, I don't want to say that the future of tennis is bleak.  It's also important to remember that when Serena leaves the tour, all players, but especially the top ones, will have a much better shot at winning majors, and eventually more WTA players will win three, four, five, etc. majors and find consistency in their games.  And, inevitably this will lead to stardom, and the WTA will be perfectly fine.  However, currently, with Serena not being as dominant as she once was (at least currently) and many other players high in the ranking unable to fulfill the void this has left, the current and immediate future of the WTA is not a pretty sight.  However, I urge tennis fans and members of the tennis media not to panic, and to see the big picture on this issue.  Everything will be fine.

And, anyways, if Serena wins the French Open, all of these problems will disappear from sight, put on the backburner for another time.

Vasek Pospisil, Clay Courts, and Fitness

Vasek Pospisil, by all accounts, has had a very successful career.  On the singles side, he has gotten as high as number 25 in the world, has been a finalist of an ATP World Tour 500-level tournament (Washington), and even made the Quarterfinals of Wimbledon last year.  In doubles, Pospisil has won six titles with his doubles partner Jack Sock, He won the Wimbledon doubles title with Jack Sock, including a Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells.  However, Vasek's biggest doubles achievement was a Wimbledon doubles title, something that definitely provided a bump in results for his singles career too.

And as great of a career as this has been for Vasek, looking at his results, they definitely leave something to be desired.  Because, for all his great results on grass, and to a lesser extent hard courts, his clay court prowess, in regards to his singles career, has been pathetic.  Yes, I said it, pathetic.  Vasek Pospisil, 25 years old, and currently the world number 46 in the live rankings, has never won a main draw ATP clay court match in his life.  And as much as this shows how well he must have done on other surfaces, it's deeply disturbing to see this level of ineptitude on the second most common surface on the ATP World Tour.  In fact, in the best-of-five format, Pospisil has only forced a fifth once, losing to Horacio Zeballos in five sets in 2013.

But, it's not for a lack of trying, at least during matches.  Unlike another top 50 tennis player, Bernard Tomic, when watching Pospisil on clay, you can see that despite it not being a surface he is even decent on, he is still giving his all and is mentally engaged in the match.  Against Radek Stepanek in the First Round of Madrid earlier this week, Pospisil was trying to fire himself up upon winning the second set and one could tell that he was desperately searching for answers on how to solve the puzzle that is clay court tennis.  And I commend him for having this attitude, there is nothing worse than the attitude of Bernard Tomic, where because his game might not naturally suit clay, he just doesn't give a shit (excuse my language).  And for Vasek, it's not like he can't win a set on clay.  In the past two years, in a best-of-three format, he has won a set in an ATP-level match three different times, but always fell in the third set.

So, now that we've established that Pospisil is giving his all on the court, and has had successes on other surfaces, what could be the major obstacle stopping Pospisil from success on clay and how can he jump this hurdle?  And upon watching and following Vasek's career enough, I have come to the conclusion that the major problem with Pospisil on clay has nothing to do with his tennis game itself.  Rather, Vasek is so unbelievably unfit, that he physically cannot win a match against decent competition on this surface.

You see, clay is unlike other surfaces in that the surface itself doesn't allow players to merely out-serve and outhit their opposition, which is much of what has made Pospisil successful on the main tour.  Point construction is a must, and one's baseline skills must be fine-tuned in order to be successful on the surface.  What all of this means is that points are going to last longer and be much more physically taxing than on, say, a grass court.  And if a player is not in tip-top shape, then said will struggle massively on the surface.  And, upon watching Vasek on clay and seeing his results, I think it's safe to say that his fitness level is deplorable, which means that his successes on clay will be very minimal.

I like to think of myself as someone who has been involved with fitness for quite some time, and someone who recognizes the importance of fitness as something that is crucial to the life of everyone, but should be especially crucial in the prime years of their life, such as Vasek.  And I believe that the problem with Pospisil's fitness, and a lot of tennis players in general, is that tennis training focuses too much on short bursts of speed/intervals.  And while this is definitely the most practical fitness application to tennis, I think that long-distance running gets short-changed, and for someone who might not naturally be a "runner" like Pospisil, this can severely affect his results.

You know, it seemed like people all throughout the tennis world were collectively wondering what Caroline Wozniacki was doing when she decided to run that marathon at the tail end of 2014, however, it was amazing to see her results spike when she was training for that marathon.  During the second half of 2014, she was able to consistently challenge Serena Williams and even got to the US Open Final.  I definitely think that there was a correlation between her marathon training her results.  And, while I'm not saying that Vasek needs to run a marathon, some distance running would definitely do some good for not only his clay results, but for every match he plays.

So, for as hard as it seems Pospisil is during matches, it is clear that he either is not working hard off of the court, or is not training in a proper fashion.  And maybe, at least partially, the environment he is putting himself in is to blame.  Or, in other words, since Sock seems to be having issues being able to physically last in matches too, perhaps this doubles combination creates a horrible environment for fitness, as one's poor training rubs off on the other's training too.  And, again, this is just speculation, however it is curious to me how two of the people with the worst fitness on tour just so happen to be doubles partners.

Vasek Pospisil has a decision to make.  He is absolutely a talented tennis player.  Now, he must decide whether he wants to put in the work, and the right type of work, in order to reach his full potential.

Media Credentials and What Makes a Tennis Journalist?

Prior to the BNP Paribas Showdown at Madison Square Garden, just before Indian Wells, a "press conference" ensued for the four players involved: Caroline Wozniacki, Gael Monfils, Serena Williams, Stanislas Wawrinka.  As I checked Twitter during that press conference, seemingly every tweet from "tennis twitter" were regarding the terrible questioning and, overall, lack of real journalism in the room.  And this is about when I asked myself, "If these 'journalists' can get media credentials to a high profile tennis event, can just about anyone?"

And so, with this in my mind, I embarked on a long-term project to try to see if I could get media credentials to an ATP World Tour tournament, with just this blog as my claim to be a tennis "journalist".  I had to first decide upon a a tournament to attempt to get media credentials at.  I ultimately decided upon the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships as a relatively small ATP 250 Tournament and one that I thought I legitimately could get credentialed at, even with just this All About Tennis Blog, and it's inconsistent article-publishing schedule and lack of recognition in the greater tennis community.

I then went on the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships website, filled in my media outlet as the "All About Tennis Blog", and with that, started my media credential application!  I then wrote in all of the boring stuff, my name, address, etc., and among other things, checked the box saying that I was (certainly) not a member of the ITWA.  After this, I uploaded a picture of myself from earlier this year, and then wrote a short comment that was something along the lines that I was a student looking for a journalism opportunity.  After writing this, I sent it, and it was all in the hands of the folks in Houston.  Does some random blogger online have the standing to get credentialed at an ATP event, or would his request be denied?

Well, I waited, and waited even longer.  At one point, I thought Houston might not even send me a reply at all about media credential request, which would obviously mean that I didn't get credentialed.  However, right at the end of March, I received a small package from ATP Houston.  Upon seeing who it was from, I tore into it, eager to see the results of my project.  And sure enough, in the package was a letter and a media credential with my picture on it!  I was initially in jubilation, as it is really cool to see that your hard work has paid off, and that an ATP tennis tournament is recognizing this with a credential.  However, the excitement wore off when I realized that I would not be actually going to the tournament, and that this was all part of a long-term project for me.

And so, with that, I shifted my focus to what I really wanted to get at with this entire process, which originally started weeks back during a quick Twitter check.  If I, a unknown blogger who has certainly not posted regularly on his blog over the years, can get media credentialed to an ATP World Tour event, then, for starters, how easy is it to be credentialed to a couple exhibition matches, such as the BNP Paribas Showdown?

I'm guessing, like for ATP Houston, it doesn't take much to be credentialed.  Perhaps only a blog, like me, or a fancy job title would do the the trick.  But, is taking in people like that really good for tennis fans looking for real information about tennis?  There are two sides of the coin to this question.  On one side, opportunities like this do give writers like me valuable experience and a chance to work on our craft.  However, on the other side of this, it does not portray the sport in the best light.  The press conference in New York City was a huge time in the tennis world.  Everyone had just heard about Maria Sharapova, and so hearing the reaction to this news at the press conference was a big deal.  And when, with the spotlight on this press conference, the questioning is absolutely terrible, I'm fairly confident I was not the only one appalled by the level of professionalism shown by the journalists there.  And, while I think I would actually ask some insightful questions at this press conference, just the randomness of some random guy with a tennis blog being there would also call into question the seriousness of such a press conference.

However, I did not mean this article to be a rip on the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships at all.  I really do appreciate them credentialing me and validating the writing on my blog, in a way.  And I didn't mean to "trick" them into credentialing me upon working on this project of mine.  Perhaps, by (presumably) reading my blog, they saw the level of seriousness to my writing that I put into my blog and were impressed by it.  They might have wanted to give me experience, as a student, too.  At least I certainly hope that is all the reasoning and that I wasn't just credentialed because I just had some random tennis blog.

The main question behind all of this talk is really, What makes a tennis journalist?  Is it quality of work, quantity of work, level of professionalism in one's work, or perhaps one's accolades?  And, unfortunately, I don't even have an answer to that question, because in reality, it depends.  Different tournaments might differ on what qualifies as a tennis journalist worthy of credentialing, just as tennis fans might also have completely different ideas of what the phrase "tennis journalist" means to them.

And I don't think anyone could really be wrong in their answer, it's really up to the individual (or the tournament).  However, to ensure journalistic standards, I do think, before requesting media credentials, potential media members should definitely have to take a "Basic Tennis Knowledge" quiz to ensure that those who get credentialed are not hoaxing their way into the position.  And I have no doubt that I would pass such a quiz, but would the journalists at the BNP Paribas Showdown?  Questionable.

This entire project (and process) of attempting to get credentialed, getting the credential, and the questions that have followed, has been a long, winding process.  However, I think questions raised from such a project could, ultimately, help tennis journalism by raising even more questions.  Should this "Basic Tennis Knowledge" quiz be implemented?  Should journalists be kicked out of a press conference for asking a ridiculous question?  Does a media credential even mean anything anymore?

I can't, universally, come to a conclusion about those questions.  These are for each individual, internally, to answer.

Should Maria Sharapova Be Praised For Personally Announcing Illegal Meldonium Use? I Don't Think So.

On Monday, Maria Sharapova had a big announcement.  There was speculation about retirement, surgery, and just about anything you could think of.  But, about the one thing I didn't hear people talking about was a failed drug test.  And a failed drug test was exactly what Maria Sharapova announced had occurred at her press conference.

If we are to believe Maria, she was taking the now-banned substance named meldonium for the previous ten years.  She claims that her family doctor had recommended this medicine, if we are to call it that, to her because she was getting flu often, had an irregular EKG, and also has diabetes, along with the all-important family history of diabetes.

Now, I'm not going to get into the speculation about how long Sharapova actually needed to take it, how it wasn't FDA approved, nor whether her true intentions of taking the substance were good enough.  The ITF will do their investigation, and as of now, Sharapova is intentions are innocent until proven guilty in my mind, and this is coming from a huge Serena fan.  I trust that Maria wouldn't blatantly disrespect the rules and that she would realize that she can beat the vast majority of the tour without trying to artificially enhance her performance.  And maybe this is naive of me, but Maria does not seem like someone who would purposefully disrespect the game in this manner.

With that said, let me get to the brunt of my argument.  I recently saw on Twitter that talked about how Maria had "guts"for holding a press conference to admit she failed a drug test.  And someone else on Twitter reminded me that I read yesterday that in Serena Williams' press conference yesterday, she essentially said that Maria was very courageous for coming out and admitting that she was using meldonium.  Now, do I think that Serena really believes that?  Of course not, but I have to take her word for it and believe what she says and analyze based on her words alone.

But, let's be honest here, with all due respect to Serena, Sharapova's press conference was anything but courageous.  At the end of the day, she broke the rules, and that's all that matters.  As Sharapova stated, she was sent something linking to a list of banned substances.  However, as she stated, no one on her team even bothered to look at this list, knowing full-and-well she was taking this meldonium medicine.  If you are putting any sort of supplement or medicine in your body, even if you think it's approved, it would still be a good idea to check the new banned substances list.  And so, I don't think her negligence should be excused just because she holds a press conference on short notice for herself.

But, beyond that, let's just take a look at how Sharapova benefits from holding a press conference to say she tested positive for meldonium.  First off, Sharapova gets to spin the narrative in her direction by holding this "courageous" press conference to announce her illegal drug use.  Before anything else gets out into the media, Sharapova can insert words and phrases such as "family doctor", "diabetes", "legal until this year", and "taking full responsibility" into our mind to try to put her in the best light and lessen the damage done to her image by getting out ahead of the ITF's announcement.

And I'm not saying this was a stupid thing for her to do.  She has, effectively I may add, made it almost seem like she is a victim of the ITF's covert effort to trick players into taking drugs that were snuck onto the banned list.  However, I think this was a necessity for her and not an act of courage or something worthy of praise.  Maria Sharapova broke the rules out of negligence and put something in her body that shouldn't have been there.  There is no way around this fact.

I'd expect any athlete who broke the rules to own up to it.  And whether or not Sharapova called a press conference for herself or not should have any effect on how she is treated because it shouldn't matter that Maria has the resources surrounding her to be able to hold a press conference for herself, a video or a statement released the day before would have been fine, and it wouldn't have caused so much unnecessary speculation.  Even a conference call with reporters on Sunday, giving them the ability to ask questions, would have been perfectly fine.

Look, I understand why Maria Sharapova got ahead of the curve and personally announced that she had taken meldonium.  However, to call her "courageous", or say that she has "guts" for doing it, is a slap in the face to everyone who has actually been courageous or had guts over their lifetimes.  You want courageous?  A fireman rushing into a burning building is courageous.  You want guts?  Dr. Martin Luther King's efforts to stop segregation took guts.

So, should Maria Sharapova be praised for personally announcing her illegal meldonium use?  I don't think so.

Remembering Serena Williams' Close Calls At Majors This Season

With Serena Williams completing the "Serena Slam" and moving on to the US Open for the "Calendar Year Slam", it is safe to say she is having one of the greatest seasons of all time.  But, it hasn't always been easy for Serena at tennis' major championships.  There have been ten separate times this season when Williams has been either down a set point in the first set, down at least one break in the third set, or down a set (and possibly a break).  Let's take a look back at Serena's greatest escapes at majors this season.


Australian Open

vs. Vera Zvonareva (R2): Broken in two of her first four service game in the match, Serena Williams struggling greatly on serve during the first set of her Second Round encounter with Vera Zvonareva, a former world number 2 in the world.  However, even as she took the break lead against Serena, it was more due to Williams playing poorly than Zvonareva conjuring even near what she once was.  Vera eventually took a 5-3 lead in the match and had three set points on Serena's serve, all of which were missed opportunities.  She then, in the 5-4 game, got to 30-0 on her own serve, but lost four straight points to not only lose the game, but in hindsight, the match.  For Zvonareva didn't win a single game from 5-3 up (losing 7-5, 6-0).  However, for quite some time in the first set, Vera Zvonareva had Serena Williams in deep trouble.

vs. Elina Svitolina (R3): This was a match no one saw coming.  Broken in three of her first four service games, Serena Williams was lifeless in a 6-4 opening set to young riser Elina Svitolina.  Svitolina was even up 0-30 on Serena's serve in the first game of the second set, but at that point, something clicked and Serena made the turnaround that the world would know much better in the coming months.  Williams only dropped serve one additional time in the rest of match, losing only two games total, and beat Elina Svitolina 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 to get to the Australian Open Round of 16.

vs. Garbine Muguruza (R4; apologies for the lack of accents): This match was Serena's toughest match of the tournament, and considering how she won only four games in her previous match with Muguruza, the stakes for this match were even higher.  While the first four games of the match went on-serve, Serena was broken in the fifth game of the match and was subsequently broken in the seventh game of the match, as well.  The glaring stat in the first set for Serena was that she was 0/6 on break chance opportunities in the first set, while Muguruza was 2/3.  She had more chances, but just couldn't break Muguruza's hard, body serves.  What did this all mean?  Serena lost yet another set to Garbine 6-2.  And while Williams' game rose in the second set, she still couldn't break away from Muguruza until the eighth game of the set, where Serena broke to 15 and held her next service game to win the set.  In the third set, with Muguruza up 1-0, Serena had to save six break points in order to hold.  And from there, Williams imposed her game, taking five of the last games of the match to win the match 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.

French Open

vs. Anna-Lena Friedsam (R2): In a "here we go again" match for Serena fans, Williams struggled again in an early round of the French Open.  She held in only 50% of her service games, being broken three times to lose the first to Anna-Lena in what was looking like it could be the shock of the tournament.  But, like any match when Serena is losing, Williams' game was lackluster and not close to how she played to win the Australian Open and Miami earlier in the season.  Friedsam even had two break points in the first game of the second set, but couldn't convert.  Even then, Serena just couldn't seem to break Anna-Lena's spirit.  The second set was on serve even at 4-3 in the second set, with Friedsam to serve.  That's when Serena pounced, winning a tough break of serve and serving out the set to 30.  The third set was all but inevitable, with Serena breaking in the first game of the set.  And when Anna-Lena did not convert her two break points in the second game of the set, the match was essentially over.  Down 3-5, Friedsam was broken once more to lose the match 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.

vs. Viktoria Azarenka (R3): This match was the closest-call of the tournament, not only because of how the scoreline looked at one point, but because of how Serena was playing.  This was a match where Serena was playing pretty well, but yet still was a couple games away from losing.  Azarenka served the ball beautifully in the first set, only being broken once, and going 2/2 in break point opportunities to take the first set 6-3 against Serena.  Playing well would not be good enough for Williams, she would need to raise her level even higher.  And for much of the second set, that just didn't happen.  Serena was broken in the third game of the second set, and Vika even got the scoreline up to 6-3, 4-2, needing just two holds to win the match.  However, a break to 30 got the match back on serve, and Serena broke again in Vika's next service game to win the second set 6-4.  But, Azarenka did not waver, breaking Williams in the first game of the third set and holding to love to go up 2-0.  From 2-0 on, Serena raised her game to an un-playable level, only losing four points in her final three return games, and coupled with a rise in the level of her service games, won six straight games (beating Azarenka 3-6, 6-4, 6-2).

vs. Sloane Stephens (R4): This match was another very close-call for Serena, as she was one game away from losing it.  Williams was lifeless in the first set, not even coming close to breaking Stephens, and dropping three of her first four service games.  The first set of this match was the worst Serena played all tournament, and it seemed for a little while as if Williams was a bit disinterested in the match.  And when Stephens held to take a 6-1. 5-4 lead, there were questions in my mind as to whether Serena would be able to hold in that tenth game.  Williams came through, however, holding a tense game to 30, and then only losing two points in her next two games to take the second set 7-5.  And when Serena saved two break points down 0-1 in the third set, the end seemed near for Sloane.  Stephens was broken a couple service games later, and then once more to end the match.  The final score: Williams wins 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.

vs. Timea Bacsinzky (SF; to be referred to solely as Timea in this post): Fighting a terrible illness, Williams had a very tough time with Timea in this scintillating semifinal matchup.  After a few holds to start the match, Williams was broken to 40 in a tense game to go down 3-2.  And while Serena would get another chance to break down 4-5 in the first set, she could not convert and Timea took the opening set by a score of 6-4.  With how sick Serena looked, there were questions in my mind, at least, as to whether or not she would continue.  And when Williams was broken in a long deuce game to go down 3-2 in the second set, the end seemed all but inevitable.  However, perhaps being so far down and sick allowed Serena to really hit out and not worry about the pressure of winning a grand slam anymore, as Williams did not lose another game in the match.  Serena won 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.

vs. Lucie Safarova (F): A still-sick Serena Williams played a tense Final against Lucie Safarova.  Williams broke Safarova quickly to take a 3-1 lead and did not give the break back for the rest of the set, winning it 6-3.  And when Serena got the double break lead in the second set to lead 4-1, her 20th grand slam was seemingly in hand.  But, nerves got the best of Williams for the moment and Safarova broke twice (and was not broken) to take a 5-4 lead in the second set.  Even when Serena broke Lucie's serve once more to take a 6-5 lead in the second set, she could not grab the opportunity and lost the second set in a tiebreak, 7-6(2).  And when Safarova broke Serena's serve in the first game of the third set and easily hold the game after, it seemed for a moment as if Lucie would be the one holding the trophy a little while later.  However, Williams would not be denied, breaking the Safarova serve in every return game for the rest of the match (going 3/4 on break points) and not facing a break point herself to win the match 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-2 and capture her 21st major championship.

Wimbledon

vs. Heather Watson (3R): Like the Safarova match at the French Open, this match seemed to be in hand for Williams until things got interesting in the second and third sets.  In the first set, Serena only lost three points on serve and broke Watson two times to take a very easy, straight-forward set 6-2.  And for the first two games of the second set, she had no serving problems either, only losing a couple points in the two games she served.  However, she couldn't break Watson and was promptly broken herself in her third service game of the set to 40.  And while she broke Watson right back, Serena never looked comfortable on the court, allowing the raucous crowd to get to her head.  She struggled to serve in her next service game, and a couple games after that, was broken to 30.  This gave Watson a 5-4 lead, which she made good on, winning the set in a tense final game.  Watson used that momentum to take a 3-0 lead in the second sets, which put her three games up on Serena.  However, upon blowing two game points in the fourth game of the set to give Serena one break back, the ending seemed inevitable for Watson.  She eventually went down 4-3, and the crowd seemed dejected.  However, out of nowhere, Serena lost her next game on serve to love, and Heather even got within two points of the match on two different occasions (both 40-40), but could not hold on to her serve, as Serena broke in one of the tensest games I have ever witnessed as a tennis fan/blogger.  From there, Serena would not be denied as she closed out the match with a hold and a break.  Serena Williams wins, 6-2, 4-6,  7-5.

vs. Viktoria Azarenka (QF): If Serena Williams thought she was in the clear after the win against Watson, she would be mistaken, as Viktoria Azarenka had other plans.  In the first set, the margins were super thin, as Azarenka was playing some of the best tennis of her life to break Serena in the fourth game of the set and then manage to hold on to that break lead for the entirety of the set and win 6-3.  Serena Williams was playing good tennis, but good wouldn't be enough to take down a fired-up Vika.  So, Serena had to dig deep for the rest of the match, because even as she raised her level, Azarenka's level refused to dip.  On serve in game five of the second set, Vika had a break point at 30-40, but just couldn't manage to break, as Williams barely escaped.  And that game certainly was on Vika's mind for a little while longer, as she couldn't manage a hold for the rest of the set and lost it 6-2.  And after being broken for a 2-0 lead in the third set, it seemed as if Azarenka's run at Wimbledon was basically over.  But, Vika still fought.  Viktoria Azarenka was not broken for the rest of the match, and despite incredible serving from Williams still had a break point down 3-5 in the final set.  She couldn't convert it, however, and after a couple more incredible serves by Serena, the match was over.  Serena won it 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.


Serena Williams has had an unbelievable season.  She is more than doubling up the point total of number two in the world, Maria Sharapova, and playing at a level of tennis previously unheard of so late in her career.  But, there were many times this season where the "Serena Slam" (and chance for the "Calendar Year Slam") could have easily been stopped, and this post shows just how deep Serena Williams had to dig to accomplish all that she has this season.

The Power of Twitter in Relation to Tennis

As someone who has on twitter for over three years now, I know twitter very well and love it dearly.  I love sending out irrational, angry tweets to my 100+ followers who could probably care less what I have to say.  But, as some random, unimportant dude who's tweets really mean nothing in the grand scheme of things.  I've made tweets that, if I had any sort of stature in society, would get me ridiculed with sponsors pulling any support of me they previously had.

But, the good news?  I don't have to worry about that because, as I said before, I am essentially Joe Schmo.  However, for players on the WTA and ATP Tours, one is constantly in the spotlight.  As a professional tennis player, whatever you say will be twisted, convoluted, and you will be blasted for something that you totally did not mean to say.  But, in the case of some players on tour, no twisting is needed and what players say on twitter is quite powerful.

Perhaps the biggest example of someone who probably needs to censor themselves more on Twitter is Ivo Karlovic.  We all surely remember Ivo Karlovic's passive-aggressive tweet following Serena William's 19th Grand Slam victory in Melbourne.  When Serena closed out Maria Sharapova in straight sets to win the tournament, in showing her excitement, Williams started jumping up and down and hopped over to her Player's Box.  Karlovic, upon seeing Serena's celebration, sent out a nasty tweet that said "Earthquake in Melbourne #jumping".  The implication here certainly seems to be that Serena is overweight and her jumping is causing the ground to shake.

So, what were the implications of such a tweet?  Well, of the direct responses to the tweet, some of them thought it was funny (but did not necessarily agree with what Ivo had to say) while many others ripped into Ivo and thought it was anything but amusing.  In addition, tennis website tennis.com considered it a lowpoint and the tweet generated A LOT  of discussion on the popular women's tennis forum tennisforum.com, in which, based on the first couple of pages that I read for writing this post, were not favorable.  In any case, it was very inappropriate of Karlovic to (whether intentional or not) deflect the spotlight from Serena and onto himself.

This was not the only case of Karlovic making a spectacle of himself with jabs on twitter.  Just last Sunday, Ivo lashed out in a tweet against Roger Federer, saying, "Roger said its dark so it's dark".  What Karlovic completely ignored is the fact that it was cloudy out, and therefore would get darker earlier than usual, and also that Monfils could have probably used the rest, given that the world later learned he was sick for that match with Roger.  So, while Karlovic had been trying to take a swipe at Federer, he ended up looking pretty stupid himself.  Karlovic also has had many more cases in which he has written rude tweets, so he certainly has a track record with abusing his twitter account for the sake of putting down others.

So, why am I bringing up athletes and twitter today?  This is because, today, I read a very rude and disrespectful tweet from Tara Moore, who is also on the WTA Tour (but is lightyears behind Serena in terms of quality of play, and I now know, in terms of quality of individual).  It was learned before the match that Serena was very sick for her Semifinals match against Timea Bacsinszky at the French Open.  Serena was very down on court, and was clearly suffering even more so than during the Australian Open this year.  However, Moore was not convinced about Serena's performance and sent out a tweet in which she said, "Not only is serena one of the best women players of all time, she's also one of the best actresses #suckitup #learnhowtolose #pathetic".  In my opinion, the hashtags at the end of the tweet are where Moore really crossed over the line and made a rude tweet into a disrespectful one.

So, how did this tweet go over for Moore?  Well, almost every reply was negatively directed towards Tara, with Moore later even tweeting that death threats were coming her way.  Moore tweet also got coverage at theguardian because of her tweet, which also reported that even injured tennis player Laura Robson sent out a tweet dismissing Moore's "#pathetic".  All of this controversy over the 395th ranked women's player in the world in the live rankings!  This should really not be happening and the amount of attention payed to Moore is certainly not proportional to the amount of attention she has received (almost entirely negative) due to this tweet.

So, a player like Moore should be desperately working to make her way up the rankings in order to really try to make it on the tour.  Instead of sending out a nasty tweet about, arguably, the best women's tennis player of all time, she should be making sure the spotlight is off of her, so that she has no distractions on her quest to be the best that she can be.  And the same can be said for Karlovic, as well.  Since winning Delray Beach in February, Ivo has won a total of three matches.  In the entire clay court season, he won a total of one match.  And, when he sent out the tweet regarding Serena and an earthquake, he had made a Second Round exit in the Australian Open.  Again, like Moore, instead of drawing attention to himself, Karlovic should be wanting to deflect all of the attention off oh himself and really focus in on his tennis.

I must say, though, I give a little more leeway to Moore regarding this issue (as of now) than I do to Karlovic.  This is because Karlovic (as previously mentioned) definitely has a long history with sending out rude and hurtful tweets, where, as far as I can tell, Moore seems to be a "first time offender".  And while she is an adult, and thus is totally responsible for whatever decisions she makes, perhaps she didn't quite realize just how bad her tweet had and the subsequent impact it would have, while Karlovic seems to tweet nasty things all of the time without batting an eyebrow.  However, both Karlovic and Moore should feel ashamed about how they have presented themselves on their twitter account.

In any case, the main lesson here is that, for professional tennis players, twitter is very powerful.  For players those who tweet with class and grace it can be a great way to connect with their fans.  But, for those who do not conduct themselves in that manner on twitter, perhaps it's time to shut the account down.  Maybe Ivo Karlovic and Tara Moore's twitter accounts need to be deactivated.

What Has Happened To Madison Keys?

When a player is ready to be great, the breakthrough becomes the norm.  When a player is ready to be great, the results meet the expectations  When a player is ready to be great, surprise turns into a steady focus.  Madison Keys is not quite ready to be great yet.

Madison looked spectacular in Australian Open run in January.  She made the Semifinals, beating great players such Petra Kvitova (in straight sets) and Venus Williams along the way.  In fact, Keys only lost two sets en-route to the Semifinals and was within a two point swing of taking the first set from Serena Williams in an extremely tight first set.  I remember sitting on my couch watching Madison rocket aces past Serena and thinking to myself, "This girl is unbelievable".  Even though she lost that semifinal match against Serena, the world now knew Madison Keys' name, the breakthrough was complete.

However, the next step of the process is turning the breakthrough into the norm, which entails dealing the new pressures to succeed, dealing with the increased media presence (and outside distractions) surrounding you, and trying to stay humble.  Obviously, this step is extremely hard to take,and it seems like Madison is having a very hard time taking this next step.

Following her great run in Melbourne, Keys went on to lose in her second match to a struggling (at the time) Jelena Jankovic at Indian Wells, and in her first match to Sloane Stephens in Miami to go a measly 1-2 in the spring American hard court swing.  Gone was the jubilation of the run in Melbourne, replaced instead by the realization that the WTA tour (and the ATP tour for that matter) moves on with or without you.

Perhaps this was a wake-up call for Madison, because she performed quite well on the green clay in Charleston.  I suspect, however, that this was more due to weak competition than anything else, as the strongest player Madison faced was Lauren Davis before the Final.  However, I'm sure that these easier matches boosted Keys' confidence and allowed her to forget about her failures in Indian Wells and Miami.  In the Final, though, Madison was leading 4-1 in the third set before collapsing and losing the third set 7-5, thus giving Angelique Kerber the tournament win.  It took a lot of mental strength to make the semis in Melbourne (especially her tough win over Venus in the Quarterfinals), but it seems as if that mental strength did not transfer over to Charleston.

And Madison has not seemed to recover from that Charleston loss, losing in her first match in Madrid, in straight sets to Kaia Kanepi, and losing in her second match at Rome to Bojana Jovanovski, for another 1-2 record at big tournaments on the European clay court swing.  At the small event in Strasbourg (currently going on this week), Keys won her first two matches, including a TOUGH match over Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, before withdrawing with an injury, unable to gain any real momentum heading towards the French Open.

So, what do I think has happened to Madison Keys?  I think she is overwhelmed right now.  Overwhelmed by the pressure to succeed within the game and the new pressures around her outside of the game.  Her confidence from the Australian Open also seems to be gone too, so Lindsey Davenport will really have to work with Madison regarding her confidence too.  Lindsey will also have to try to get Madison to focus in on tennis itself, and not worry about what's going outside of the game.

At the end of the day, I still see a great future for Madison.  It just might not come as soon as many predicted.

Can Sloane Stephens Beat Serena Williams?

With Serena Williams' straight set victory over Maria Kirlenko, no slouch of an opponent, and Sloane Stephens' three set winner of Bojana Jovanovski, it set up an American duel for a spot in the Semifinals.  The question is, now, can Stephens win?

I knew Sloane Stephens was going to be good, have good tournament, maybe the Third Round, Round of 16 if she was lucky, but I couldn't have imagined that she would be making a Quarterfinals appearance.  Sloane Stephens is  right now, in my opinion, the second best women's tennis player in the United States.  Stephens has a lot of potential to be great.  She has had a fantastic tournament, but so has Serena Williams.

Serena Williams, in her Round of 16 match, gave up two games, zero in the the second set.  This is yet another set where Serena Williams hasn't gave up a game, four for the tournament.  In fact, the most games Serena has given up in a game this tournament is three.  These matches have not been close.  Can Sloane Stephens make things a little more uncomfortable for Serena Williams?  Can she, actually, win the match?

I just don't think Sloane can make this a match.  Serena Williams is on another level right now.  In fact, it really feels like there is Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, and Serena Williams just miles above the rest of the competition.  Stephens has had a great tournament, she played Serena close at Brisbane, and she is set for the future, but in a major championship, Sloane doesn't stand a chance.

Prediction: Serena Williams wins 6-3, 6-1

Serena Williams Suffers Scare, Demolishes Gallovits-Hall. Can She Still Win it?

Serena Williams had an eventful afternoon in Australia yesterday, to say the least.  The gigantic favorite to win the tournament stepped on the court for her First Round match against an unknown opponent, Edina Gallovits-Hall.

It was not surprising that Serena raced out to a 4-0 lead in the first set, another yawner for the best player in the world right now.  She was totally dominant in every aspect of the game.

And let me just put it out there, Gallovits-Hall was bad, real bad.  Honestly, I have watched many tennis matches in my lifetime, and she was, by far, the worst tennis player I have ever seen.  Maybe she was having an off day, possibly nervous out there, but still, she was a disaster.  Put a blindfold on Serena and she would have a good match against Gallovits-Hall.  Why do I say that?  Because, up 4-0, she probably wished all she had to do was put on a blindfold with what happened next.

Serena, hitting a forehand, got her foot in an awkward position on the court, hurting her ankle in the process.  She was in obvious pain, and the audience knew it, for she was barely moving before the trainers attended to her.  After re-taping the ankle, however, Serena was able to continue on with the match.

The very next point was a winner for Serena, and let's be honest, it didn't get much better for Gallovits-Hall from there.  She was blown off the court, losing 6-0, 6-0 in the most lopsided match I have ever seen.

So, now the question remains: Can Serena Williams still win the tournament?  And you know what, I still think she can.  There is no doubt in my mind that she can fight through this injury, the determination radiating off from her, and win this thing.  Because if Serena Williams really wants to do something, then she will do it.

Australian Open Predictions

Now that we have went through the draws, it is time for pick who I think will make the Semifinals and ultimately win the tournament, in both men and women.  Now, just because someone might have an easier draw it doesn't mean that they will necessarily mean they will make a run to the Finals, but they just might.  Let's get started!

What Will the Women's Semifinals Match be?

Victoria Azarenka vs. Serena Williams
Li Na vs. Maria Sharapova

The first matchup is no surprise to anybody.  These two players are clearly the cream of the crop of women's tennis at this time, as evidence by their epic Finals match at the 2012 US Open.  With the way these two are playing, I really don't see anybody outside of the other one even getting a set off these two.

The other Semifinals matchup might surprise you, at least half of it.  I believe Sharapova's hard-hitting game will help her get past tough opponents Venus Williams and Angelique Kerber.  For Li Na, I believe she will get warmed up from early easy competition and then proceed to rip through opponents such as Samantha Stosur and Aga Radwanska, thus setting up a matchup with Sharapova.

What Will the Women's Finals Match be?

Serena Williams vs. Maria Sharapova

Serena Williams is playing at a very high level right now, a level I am not sure even Victoria Azarenka can match.  I believe Azarenka will keep it close both sets, but Williams will just too much firepower for her to handle.

In the other Semifinal, I think that Li's inconsistent game will catch up to her, with Li trying to do too much to stay on the court with Sharapova.  Maria wins easily.

Who Will Win the Women's Final?

Serena Williams

Serena Williams matches up extremely well with Sharapova, as evidence by her superb record against Maria.  This was brought to the forefront during Williams' walloping of Sharapova in the women's Finals of the Olympics, with Sharapova hardly capable of winning a game.  Serena won't win in that fashion, but she will take it in fairly-easy straight sets.  I will continue to pick her until someone else in the field can show me they can beat her at the level she is playing at, on the biggest stage.

Who Will the Men's Semifinals Matches be?

Novak Djokovic vs. David Ferrer
Andy Murray vs. Roger Federer

Novak Djokovic, guided by a very easy draw, will have no problem navigating himself through the draw.  David Ferrer, unlike Djokovic, is very much in the background for this tournament.  No one really talks about Ferrer, even though he has proven to be a very good player.  I think he will, silently, make it into the Semifinals, ready to prove to the world that this is his time for a breakthrough.

Andy Murray, buoyed by his Olympic and US Open performance, will sail into the Semifinals, relatively unchallenged.  At the bottom of the bracket, Roger Federer will, once again, prove to never go down without a fight.  Federer, engrossed in at least one four set match, and a five setter too, will battle his way into the Semifinals, eager to prove that his Olympic Finals against Murray was not a sign of what's to come.

What Will the Men's Finals Match be?

David Ferrer vs. Roger Federer

Yes, Ferrer will shock Djokovic in the Semifinals.  His getting every ball back will frustrate Djokovic so much so, that he will begin hitting error after error, allowing Ferrer to take the match in four sets.  In the other semifinal, Federer, driven by his spanking at the Olympics, will best Murray in five hard-fought sets.  Federer wants another major, badly.

Who Will Win the Men's Final?

Roger Federer

Federer, his vast amount of experience propelling him, will be patient enough to wait for his opportunities against Ferrer, and take advantage of them.  It might not be easy, but Roger Federer will win the 2013 Australian Open in three tough sets, his 18th major championship.

Yes, you heard it from me.  Serena Williams and Roger Federer will win the 2013 Australian Open championships.  This one will be fun.

Wozniacki Racist?

As you might have heard, Caroline Wozniacki has made a controversial imitation of Serena Williams during a recent match.  She "enlarged" her boobs and pranced around the court.  Not a huge deal.  Out of nowhere, however, racism was brought to the center stage as many cried that Wozniacki was a racist due to the impersonation.  So do I think Wozniacki is racist?  Absolutely not.

Let me start off by saying it was a poor choice for Wozniacki to have done this in the first place.  In a day in age where just about anything can be called racist, impersonating Serena Williams, one of the most famous African American athletes of all time, was not a smart choice.  Wozniacki defintiely should have thought before she acted.  And while it definitely did not have malicious intent, you could possibly perceive it was an act of frustration that Williams always wins.  Okay, I can understand.

But, that doesn't necessarily mean I agree with all of the racist cries.  I think this is yet another case of, with easy access to technology and the media, the easiness to over analyze the most simple of things.  I mean, we could watch, and re-watch it,  over and over again until one could form some sort of obscure argument regarding Wozniacki's "vicious" intent.

I also think this is a case of over sensitivity.  I am vehemently against racism and discrimination in general, however, I believe that these terms are greatly overused.  We, tennis fans, but also people in this world, cannot even take a joke anymore.  Obviously, Wozniacki was trying to entertain the crowd, almost thanking them for attending the match.  The fact that even a light-hearted attempt for entertainment can draw this much rage is something that, for me, is unthinkable.  Not to mention the fact that Williams, herself, wasn't even phased.

Caroline Wozniacki probably should have thought a little harder before deciding to impersonate Serena Williams.  However, claims of racism by Wozniacki are ridiculous.

Wrapping Up the Women's Tennis Season

There have been many story lines from the year in women's tennis.  Although there are still some minor tournaments to come, the next time tennis will be a huge deal will be the 2013 Australian Open.  Let's look at some of the key points of the year.

The first thing I want to talk about is Victoria Azarenka's emergence.  She leaped onto the scene this year beating Maria Sharapova in the 2012 Australian Open Finals, which showed that she was ready to take the leap of stardom.  She did not rest on her achievement, however.  She gained the number one ranking in the world, which is a huge achievement.  Then, she went to the Olympics and performed well there too.  She won a bronze medal for her country Belarus to further her fantastic year.  Then, in the US Open Finals, she battled Serena Williams till the very end, showing she would be a major factor in the years to come.  Awesome job, Victoria.

Maria Sharapova really excelled this year.  After challenging Azarenka at the Australian Open, she finally mastered that pesky clay and rolled through the competition, beating surprise finalist Sara Errani in the Finals.  This was an especially important major for Sharapova to win as it gave her the career grand slam.  Sharapova also won a silver medal for her country, Russia.  This year truly solidified Sharapova's place as one of the best women's tennis players of all time.

Perhaps the player who had the best year, however, was Serena Williams.  After losing in the First Round of the French Open, Williams exploded.  She aced her way to a Wimbledon crown, her first major championship since her terrifying blood clot.   And by the way, she won the doubles title too with her sister Venus Williams.  She steamrolled her way to the Olympic gold, never being taken to three sets, and only losing one game in the final match.  She also won the women's doubles gold with Venus again.  Then, she went to the final major of the year, the US Open, and won there.  For a year that started so disappointing, not making past the Round of 16 in either of the first two majors of the year, this was an amazing finish.  Based partly on the latter part of this year, I believe we might be watching the great women's tennis player of all time.

We cannot also forget the player who beat Serena Williams in that epic First Round match at Rolland Garros: Virginie Razzano.  This women needs to be commended for such an impressive showing against such an impressive player.  The way she battled back from one set down, the way she battled as Serena Williams made one last push to save her tournament with that seemingly-forever deuce game when Razzano was up 5-3, was impressive.  This was an upset for the ages, and we, as tennis fans should be appreciative of such a spectacular performance.

After such a great year in women's tennis, we can only hope that 2013 brings us such great memories.

Serena Williams Wins Again; A Step Above Everyone Else

She won singles and doubles at Wimbledon, she singles won at Stanford, then she won two golds at the Olympics, and now she has won singles at the US Open.  It has truly been a spectacular second half of the year for Serena Williams.  She is truly a step above everyone else.

Wimbledon, it seemed, was Serena's last hope.  If she did not find someway to win at Wimbledon, she might not ever win anything again after that devastating loss to Virginie Razzano.  She had some tough matches too, notably against Zheng Jie in the Third Round and Yaroslava Shvedova in the Round of 16, but ultimately she just was too good for the competition.  In the singles Finals, just like at the US Open, Serena dominated the first set before dropping the second and then finding a way in the third.  That time it was to Aga Radwanksa, this time to Victoria Azarenka.  Not to mention shw won the doubles title too.

After winning at Stanford, Serena Williams went to the Olympics.  It seemed at that time Williams peaked.  She was absolutely dominate commonly winning matches 6-0, 6-1, and never really giving the opponent a chance to win.  To sum up just how dominate Williams was, she dropped only one game in beating Maria Sharapova in the Finals.  Although things were not as easy against Azarenka, both matches prove that Williams is the real number one player in the world.  And did I mention she won the doubles gold with her sister Venus Williams too?

She proceeded to lose her only match this summer in the Quarterfinals of the Western and Southern Open to Angelique Kerber, a tournament where she looked flat all the way through, much like the second set and much of the third set in the final match of the US Open against Azarenka.  Everyone knew, however, that this loss was merely an abberation.  And boy were they right. 

Up until the Finals of the US Open, Serena Williams had not dropped a set.  Then, she took the first set 6-2 and it looked as if Williams would just skip her way to the championship.  That, however, was not the case.  Serena looked lost and defeated in her second set loss in the Finals against Azarenka.  Like her mind was elsewhere.  We knew, though, that Serena would eventually find her way.  When she came out like she did in the second set in the third, proceeding to go down 5-3, I thought it might be over for her.  Serena found her game just in time.  She won four straight games and finally, after an exhausting apporximately two and a half hours, beat Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.

So, what did we learn about Serena Williams by that final match against Azarenka?  We learned that she has incredible resolve.  Even on the brink of defeat Serena will never ever give in to her opponent.  We also saw that she was a step above everyone else.  Yes, Azarenka challenged her tonight, but when it all comes down to it, Williams still won.  In fact, it certainly seems like Serena Williams wins everything she sets out to win.

Thoughts on the First Three Rounds for the Women at the US Open and a Look Ahead

The US Open first three rounds came to a close yesterday for the women, so this is a good time for me to give my thoughts on the women during this opening stretch.  Who impressed?  Who disappointed?  Check it out below, along with a look ahead to the rest of the tournament.

One of the player who really impressed me with how well she has played is Victoria Azarenka.  All of the attention is on how Serena Williams is just going to waltz right into winning the championship here.  And even though she totally deserves it we have totally forgot about the number one seed!  She has dropped six games, and beat Zheng Jie 6-0, 6-1.  Zheng Jie has made two major semifinals and took Serena Williams to 9-7 in the third at Wimbledon.  So, I was expecting a really competitive match, which was not the case.  Looking at the draw ahead, I foresee her facing Maria Sharapova in the Semifinals, which is the other women who impressed me.

Maria Sharapova has been totally dominate during the US Open this year.  She has only dropped seven games so far this tournament, and has not dropped more than two games since the First Round.  She crushed the young Mallory Burdette 6-1, 6-1.  Her powerful groundstrokes have been an ever-so-present part of her game.  As mentioned earlier, I fully expect her to reach the Semifinals to face Victoria Azarenka, but her path is much harder as she has to play two ranked opponents, possibly five seed Petra Kvitova in the Quarterfinals.  With the way she is playing, however, I believe nobody can stop her until the Semifinals.

So, who has disappointed me?  Well, who else could it be other than Caroline Wozniacki?  This is the second major in a row that she has gone out in the First Round, however this one was different.  When she lost to Tamira Paszek at Wimbledon, she took a set and then went out fighting 6-4 in the third.  This time, against an unkown opponent Begu, she went out meekly.  She lost 6-2, 6-2 in a disappointing loss for the former number one.  For Wozniacki, now the long wait for the Australian Open ensues.

So, now it is prediction time.  I have already stated who will make it to the Semifinals in the top half of the bracket, but what about the bottom half?  The obvious semifinalist is Serena Williams, but the other one will be Angelique Kerber, who will just edge out Aga Radwanska in the Quarterfinals.  Sharapova will beat Azarenka in three sets, and Serena Williams, out for revenge against Angelique Kerber, will beat her in two sets.

So, the Finals will be Maria Sharapova against Serena Williams.  This is a rematch of the 2012 Olympic final.  Serena Williams won 6-0, 6-1 there, and I do not expect a much different result here either.  Serena Williams will beat Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-1 to win the US Open.