Serena Williams eases past Hantuchova - Australian Open

Serena Williams means only business and she showed that in her match today against Daniela Hantuchova. Serena Williams was 8-1 against Hantuchova when she walked onto the Rod Laver Arena today. However, Serena's lone loss came in the very same tournament back in 2006.

Hantuchova had said in a press conference yesterday that her grand slam career has been kind of destroyed by the Williams sisters. Serena once again defeated the Slovakian player, ensuring she does not advance beyond the third round.

The first set was a competitive set of tennis, the major difference being the break point conversion rate. Serena created and converted only one break point. Hantuchova created 5 break point chances but failed to convert a single one. Serena won the first set 6-3

Hantuchova finally converted a break point in the second set to break Williams serve, but that was the only thing Hantuchova could take from Serena. Serena converted 3 of the 6 break points she created in the second set to seal victory in 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Serena Williams now awaits the winner of Ana Ivanovic vs Samantha Stosur. The two play at night in the Rod Laver Arena.

Quotable Quotes - Australian Open Day three

Day three saw players moving into the third round. Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Li Na all winning their matches and making it to the third round. The quote of the day award, however, goes to the Canadian Young gun, Eugenie Bouchard.

Let us take a look at the extracts of what some of the players said

Eugenie Bouchard

“No, I just thought because she was French they do the kissy thing.  I thought she maybe kind of wanted to.  I was hesitating.  I just kind of went for it (laughter).” – when asked that she was warm during hand shake at net.

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic

“That's a good question. But for me it's important to always know where I come from, be grateful for the life that I have, of course cherish and nurture every moment spent on the court.” When asked what is the best thing about being Novak Djokovic

Serena Williams

“I never look at the draw ever, ever, ever.” – when asked does she look at the draw.

Li Na

“Don't try to ask that, okay?  (Laughter.) Both players pretty good, really “– when asked whether Ana Konjuh is better player or Belinda Bencic

“On that moment I'm not think about retired, because is not about how is the ball I hit on the court.  It's about so many thing off the court, you know.” – when asked if she would have retired had she not performed better at Wimbledon.

“I think I answered before.” when asked about comments regarding hot weather in Melbourne.

Belinda Bencic

“I don't know.  Go shopping (smiling)?” – when asked what she will do with her prize money.

Stanislas Wawrinka

Stanislas Wawrinka

“I'm not going to win the tournament, so we're not there yet. I can go skydiving without winning the tournament.  It's not a problem for me.” – when asked if he would go skydiving if he wins the tournament.

Ana Ivanovic

“I just feel happy competing.  I find strength and I enjoy having long points, long rallies, long games, and tough matches.  That's what I was lacking in the past.” – when asked if she has to be positive on the court.

“I really tried to also listen to lot of people's advices.  It wasn't always the right choice.” – when asked about her coaching changes since 2008.

“Actually I've been not reading that much last few days.  I've been reading this book by Jeffrey Archer.  It's trilogy.  I'm on the third book “– when asked what she is reading these days

Wozniacki, Kerber, Kvitova and Kuznetsova make the quarter-finals of Tokyo

Caroline Wozniacki is back to her winning ways, as she moved to the quarter-finals of the Tokyo with an impressive win over Magdalena Rybarikova bread-sticking her opponent in both sets. Awaiting Wozniacki in the quarter-finals is Lucie Safarova who defeated Samantha Stosur. Wozniacki won the match 61 61. Wozniacki is also making a late push towards Istanbul and with other hopefuls (Stephens, Jankovic, Vinci, Halep) out, she can make up some ground with some solid results here. Safarova and Wozniacki have split their 4 prior meetings.

Angelique Kerber, like Wozniacki is trying to make a late push towards Istanbul, as she got her first career win over Ana Ivanovic. She beat Ivanovic 64 62. Awaiting Kerber in the quarter-finals is the highest seed standing in the draw, Agnieszka Radwanska who defeated Cibulkova for a spot in quarter-finals. Kerber has a tougher task at hand if she is to make a push towards Istanbul.

Petra Kvitova and Svetlana Kuznetsova's 3rd round matches were postponed owing to rain yesterday, but both players won their matches earlier in the day today to book the only quarter-finals spot left in the draw. Kvitova defeated American youngster Madison Keys 62 62. Kuznetsova was down 4-1 when the play was stopped yesterday, but regrouped when the match was resumed today to win the first set in the tie-break and then breeze through the second set against Sorana Cristea, winning the match 76(3) 61. Kuznetsova and Kvitova are scheduled to play later tomorrow for a spot in the semi-finals.

Ivanovic to meet Kerber in Tokyo third round - Tokyo 2013

Ana Ivanovic breezed through the second round, defeating Elina Svitolina 6-3 6-0 to book a spot in the third round and a meeting with Angelique Kerber.

Interestingly, Ivanovic served at just 43% and despite that lost just 3 games. Ivanovic was broken only once and that came in the first set. She saved all the four break points she faced in the second set. Svitolina's serve completely fell apart in the second set as she won a total of 4 points on her serve. She failed to win a single point on her second serve in the second set.

Ivanovic leads the head to head against Kerber 3-0 with two of those 3 wins coming this year, one in the quarter-finals of Madrid, and the other in the Fed-cup semi-finals.

Ivanovic should be the favourite walking into the match, however, she will have to improve her serve against a player of the Kerber's caliber if she wants to win the match and make the quarter-final of Tokyo.

U.S Open 2013 Draw Analysis - WTA

U.S Open draw was unveiled yesterday. Serena Williams, the top seed and the defending champion, has Agnieszka Radwanska and Li Na drawn in her half. The good thing for Serena is she will have to face one of them, not that it matters to Serena, since both Radwanska and Li have a combined total of 1 win against SerenaWilliams.

Second seed and last year’s finalist Victoria Azarenka has Sara Errani and Petra Kvitova drawn in her half of the draw. In fact, Kvitova is in Azarenka’s quarter. The two have not played since their epic clash in the final of World Tour Finals in 2011, which Kvitova won in 3 sets. Their careers have taken opposite paths since that clash. Azarenka has won 2 majors and made a final since then, whereas Kvitova has failed to make a grand slam final since then.

Let us now break-down each quarter:

First Quarter:

For full first quarter of draw, please click here. 

Serena Williams is the favourite to make the quarter-final, however, she has a tough opener in the former Roland Garros Champion and former U.S Open quarter-finalist Franchesca Schiavone. Players are prone in their openers, especially the top players. However, given Serena’s form, she should not be troubled.

The spicy thing in this quarter is the potential 4^th round meeting between Serena Williams and Sloane Stephens. Sloane Stephens defeated Serena Williams in the quarter-finals of Australian Open this year in 3 sets.

Angelique Kerber is at the bottom of the quarter and has been in a slump. She went 4-3 in the U.S Open series and given her draw I don’t see her making the quarter-final unless she steps it up.

Youngsters under the radar:

- Eugenie Bouchard – She has a potential second round encounter with Kerber

- Lauren Davis – She plays Carla Saurez Navaro in her opener

- Urszula Radwanska – She plays Irina Camelia Begu in her opener, with a potential second round encounter against Sloane Stephens

Americans in the quarter:

- Serena Williams – She has lost only 4 matches this year. However, important to note is that two of those losses were at majors and the other two losses were at the hands of the player she can only face in the final, - Victoria Azarenka. Serena’s conqueror at Australian Open, Sloane Stephens is in for a potential 4^th round encounter with the defending champion.

- Jamie Hampton – She pushed Azarenka to three sets in the Australian Open. If she is not feeling the back pain and swinging freely, she can upset anyone on a given day. She has potential 3^rd round encounter with Sloane Stepehens.

- Sloane Stephens – She has a good draw and should be favoured to make the 3^rd round at the very least. She has been performing well at majors this year and should be motivated enough to making a noise at her home grand slam.

- Venus Williams – The two time former U.S Open champion (2000-01) plays Kristen Flipkens in her opener and is well motivated to go deep in the draw. The biggest question will be if her body holds up and cooperates with her or not.

- Lauren Davis – She plays Spanish crafty player Navaro in the first round

- Vania King – The diminutive American is former doubles U.S Open winner and plays Kanepi in the first round.

Serena d. Kanepi  (I would have picked Kerber, but she is in a slump, Kanpei is a very brave pick, but its just a draw analysis, so....)

Second Quarter

For full second quarter of the draw, please click here.

Agnieszka Radwanska is the top seed in this quarter and opens against Silvia Soler-Espinosa. The first seeded player she could play is Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in what could be a tough potential third round for her. Radwanska is the only player to make the quarter-final or better at all the grand slams of the year so far. However, she has never progressed beyond the 4^th round of U.S Open. Will this be the year?

Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Liscki is also in this part of the draw and has a potential 4^th round encounter against former Wimbledon runner-up, Radwanska. Radwanska will be keen on taking revenge of her loss at the hands of Liscki in the semi-finals of Wimbledon this year, should the two meet in the 4^th round.

Li Na, this year’s Australian Open runner-up is sitting at the bottom of the quarter and opens against Olga Govortsova. An interesting potential 3^rd round clash awaits Li in the form of Laura Robson. Robson made noise last year when she sent Kim Clijsters into retirement in the second round of U.S Open and then defeated Li Na in the 3^rd round to make the second week of a slam for the first time.

Youngsters under the radar:

- Ashleigh Barty – She plays Estrella Cabeza Candela in the first round which is winnable for the youngster. A second round potential meeting with Pavlyuchenkova awaits.

- Monia Puig – She made the 4^th round at Roland Garros and the 4th round at Wimbledon this year. She makes her U.S Open debut against the comeback player, Alisa Kleybanova,

- Laura Robson – The British player has been making some noise at the grand slams lately. It will be interesting to see what she has in store for this year’s U.S Open.

Americans in this quarter:

- Bethanie Mattek-Sands : She opens against Mathilde Johansson and has a potential second round encounter against Ekaterina Makarova. She should make the 3^rd round.

- Madison Keys – She has a powerful game and she has the potential to beat anyone on a given day. She plays former no. 1 and former U.S Open finalist Jelena Jankovic in the first round.

- Shelby Rogers – She opens against talented French youngster Caroline Garcia.

Also here

- Kimiko Date-Krumm – She is the oldest player in the draw and opens against Paula Ormaechea in what should be a winnable match for the veteran Kimiko.

- Sorana Cristea – Remember Cistea? She made the final of Toronto beating 3 top 10 players and a former world no. 1 starting with Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Jankovic,  Petra Kvitova and Li Na. She has a potential 3^rd round encounter with Jankovic and a potential 4^th round clash against Li Na.

- Jelena Jankovic – The former world no.1 made the semi-finals of Cincinati falling at the hands of eventual champion Victoria Azarenka in three hard fought sets.

Li Na d. Agnieszka Radwanska (The pick is too predictable and given the unpredictable Li, you never know, but I can't help it, I have to give nod to Li)

Third Quarter

For full third quarter, please click here.

This is by far the most open quarter of the draw with Sara Errani sitting at the bottom of the draw as the no. 4 seed and Caroline Wozniacki sitting at the top as the no.6 seed. Wozniacki is finally rounding into form in New Heaven. She is playing semi-finals today. Caroline Wozniacki is one of the two players in the top 8 seeds who is yet to make a grand slam quarter-final this year, the other player being Angelique Kerber. Wozniacki opens against a qualifier.

Sara Errani made the semi-finals last year before bowing out to eventual champion Serena Williams. She opens against Ayumi Mortia in what could be a tricky opener for her. A potential second round meeting with country woman Flavia Pennetta aso sounds scary for the Italian. As if this was not enough, a potential third round encounter against former U.S Open champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova could also be in store.

Yes, Kuznetsova, anyone remember Kuznetsova? There is a big question mark over Kuznetsova. She has gone 2-3 since her quarter-final run in Roland Garros. However, the good news for Kuznetsova fans is that she has performed well at majors this year making the quarter-finals of both majors she has played and losing to the eventual champion at each (Azarenka at Australian Open and Serena at Roland Garros). If Kuznetsova steps it up this could be the ideal draw for her to make the semi-finals, but if she does not, she might be going home in the first round.

Youngsters under radar:

Annika Beck – She opens against Russian Elena Vesnina.

Dona Vekic – She opens against Mariana Duque Marino, in what should be a winnable match for the teenager.

Heather Watson – She has a tough first round assignment in the form of red hot Simona Halep.

Americans in this quarter:

There are 6 Americans in the first quarter, 3 Americans in the second quarter and only two in the third quarter.

-Malloy Burdette. She opens against Svetlana Kuznetsova in what could be a good or a bad thing for her depending on which Kuznetsova shows up.

- Nicole Gibbs – The teenager opens against former top 10 player Flavia Pennetta.

Svetlana Kuznetsova d. Caroline Wozniacki (Again wishful thinking and brave picks. You have to get used to it. You can replace them with Saran Errani and Roberta Vinci, if you like)

Fourth Quarter

For full fourth quarter, please click here.

Victoria Azarenka and Petra Kvitova round off the fourth quarter of the draw. Kvitova opens against Misaki Doi and has tricky potential second and third round encounters with Andrea Petkovic and Mona Barthel respectively.

Azarenka opens against Dinah Pfizenmaier and has a potential third round encounter against Alize Cornet, the woman who pushed her to three sets in Roland Garros. Azarenka comes on the heels of her win over Serena Williams in the final of Cincinnati. Williams has lost only 4 matches this year, with two of them coming at the hands of Azarenka. Azarenka has won one slam this season and must be motivated to make a statement and win another.

Youngsters under the radar:

- Ana Tatishvili: She made the 4th round here last year, but has been unable to win matches this year. She opens against Ana Ivanovic.

- Elina Svitolina - She opens against Dominika Cibulkova and will attempt to win her first match at U.S Open in her second attempt.

Americans in this quarter:

- Alison Riske - She opens against grass lover Tsetana Pironkova.

- Sachia Vickery – She opens against a qualifier

- Maria Sanchez – She opens against former world no.4 Daniela Hantuchova.

- Varvara Lepchenko – She opens against Alexendra Dulgheru, and has a potential second round meeting with Ana Ivanovic.

- Christina McHale – She has a winnable first round match against slumping Julia Goerges and a tricky second round against the hard hitting diminutive Dominka Cibulkova.

Also here:

- 2011 champion, Samantha Stosur, opens against a qualifier. She has a potential 4^th round meeting with Petra Kvitova. An interesting fact to note is that Stosur has not lost before the quarter-finals of U.S Open for the last 3 years.

- Ana Ivanovic – The former world no.1 and former Roland Garros champion has a potential 4^th round encounter with Azarenka. She made the quarter-finals here last year in what was her first grand slam quarter-final since her grand slam triumph at Roland Garros in 2008.

Stosur d. Azarenka (I know Stosur has not had success against Kvitova, whom she is seeded to meet in the 4th round, and Azarenka but U.S Open brings out the best in her as we have been seeing in her last 3 appearances here. That said, this again is a very bold and brave pick. What fun would it be guessing Azarenka to make it all the way to the final)

Semi-Finals :

Li d. Serena

Stosur d. Kuznetsova/Errani

Championship

Stosur d. Li (You can replace Serena with Li and Azarenka with Stosur, and reverse the result)

What are your thoughts after the draw?

U.S Open 2013 Draw - WTA

With the withdrawal of Maria Sharapova, Sara Errani got the 4th seed, the highest she has ever been seeded at a grand slam.

Serena Williams, the top seed and the defending champion has a tough opener in Franchesca Schiavone. However, once through the opener, she should have smooth sailing till the fourth round where she may get a chance to avenge her Australian Open Quater-final loss at the hands of Sloane Stephens. Sister Venus Williams is also in this quarter and may face Serena Williams in the quarter-finals if both make it that far.

Radwanska heads the second quarter, with Li Na being the second seed in the quarter. Li is set for a potential re-match of last year's 3rd round encounter with Laura Robson, where Robson stunned Li in 3 sets.

The 3rd quarter of the draw is the most open of all and many will be willing to take advantage of the draw. Caroline Wozniacki, former world no. 1 and U.S Open finalist finds herself as the second highest seed of the quarter.

Victoria Azarenka, the second seed has Petra Kvitova as the highest seed in her quarter. Ana Ivanovic and 2011 U.S Open winner Samantha Stosur are also lurking in this quarter of the draw.

Potential Quarter-finals are as follows:

Serena - Kerber

Radwanska - Li

Errani - Wozniacki

Azarenka - Kvitova

Two time grand slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova is seeded 27th and has a potential 3rd round encounter with Sara Errani. Kuznetsova has not been playing well lately but she has been stepping it up in grand slams this year, falling to eventual champion Azarenka in the quarter-finals of Australian Open, and eventual champion Serena Williams in the quarter-finals of Roland Garros.

I will be doing an analysis of the draw. Stay tuned :)

Quotable Quotes Australian Open - Day 5

Agnieszka Radwanska

13 is unlucky number in Poland

Q.  Is this your best winning streak of your career?

AR:  I think so.  I think I never win 12 matches in a row, no.

 

Q.  Is 13 an unlucky number in Poland?

AR:  There is.  I didn't say that. 

Ana Ivanovic

She definitely knows how to keep things funny

Q.  What happened in the first set?

AI:  What do you mean? 

 

Q.  At the service, I mean.  You was 5 2. 

AI:  Okay, well, the same way I got to 5 2 I got to 5 All.  Didn't happen much.  

Li Na

We knew that Li Na not only fights her opponents on court, but herself as well

"You know, I always try to play my game on the court, so, yeah.  But sometimes I was fighting against myself.  I always waste a lot of energy on the court."

Novak Djokovic

Reporters definitely try to get out everything from you, but Djokovic knows how much to give

"I won't answer what is the game to beat me, that's for sure (smiling)"

Kei Nishikori

Hoping, his ankle holds up in his next match

Q.  You had a medical timeout for your ankle.  Is it okay?

KN:  Yeah, it's good.

Venus Williams

She definitely knows how to handle and answer the questions. Check her responses to the questions.

Q.  On a non tennis note, did you watch any of Oprah's interview with Lance Armstrong?

VW:  No, I didn't.

Q.  Is it something that players are talking about, his confession to doping?

VW:  I think everyone is pretty much focused on the tennis.  Maybe other players are talking about it.  I have no idea.

Q.  Do you have any reaction?

VW:  I can't talk about anything I don't know anything about, so I'm just going to keep my mouth shut.  I'm not an expert on that stuff.  That's all I can say.

Maria Sharapova

Now we all know that Sharapova wanted to win this match:

"Since the draw came out, I was really looking forward to that match-up"

Beautifully handled by Sharapova. See her response to the question.

Q.  You are thinking about the next match, but you beat Venus today.  How do you think about the performance of Serena Williams to win this title?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:  She's on the other side of the draw and other players are on the other side of the draw as well.  Until you get to that stage, and if you do, if you're facing each other, that's the point when you're thinking about that particular opponent.

Stanilsas Wawrinka

A stupid question, but a spot on answer from Wawrinka.

 Were you aware that was the last American in the tournament?

SW:  You know, it's not my first problem.  I play at US Open and it was always the last American.  It's not the first time I play when it's the last American in a Grand Slam.

David Ferrer

Q.  Do you feel more pressure being the top Spaniard without Rafa here?

DF:  No, of course I'm not.  I don't mind I am the No. 1 of Spain or not.  I am only focused with myself and with my tennis, of course.

Rafael, no, is very important for us.  Is a good friend for me.  He's recovering soon, no?

That is all from today. Hope to bring to you some good collection for tomorrow as well. Enjoy the up-coming 6th day of the Australian Open 2013