WIMBLEDON 2011: Venus, Rafa, Vera, Schiavone Win 1st Round

Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

Venus Williams  was the first on on Court 3 and finished her first round match 6-3 6-1 before the rain came and suspended all play on all the courts but Centre Court. Before that happened, Rafael Nadal 2008 and 2010 Wimbledon champion dismissed American Michael Russell 6-4 6-2 6-2.

With the roof down 2011 French Open finalist Francesca Schiavone was able to pull through a first-round win over Jelena Dokic 6-4 1-6 6-3. Last year's Wimbledon finalist Vera Zvonareva won her first round match over talented American youngster Alison Riske 6-0 3-6 6-3.


All eyes are on tomorrow's repeat clash between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut, who last year played the longest match of all time in the 1st round of Wimbledon, the most memorable match of the year.

Other first round winners were 2010 Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych, Gael Monfils, Richard Gasquet, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Stanislas Wawrinka. 

2011 FRENCH OPEN: Li Na Wins Historic 1st Major

AFP

AFP

Getty

AFP

Li Na of China made history on Saturday in Paris by becoming the first tennis player (male or female) from the most populous country in the world to win a major title. Li defeated defending champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-4 7-6(0)  by hitting through the court on both wings, ending with 28 groundstroke winners and only 24 errors.

Li served extremely well, with 3 aces and a stellar 77% of first serves in the box. In the first set, she hit the ball extremely hard and deep on both sides and just needed one break of serve to take the set without facing a breakpoint herself. In the second set, Li broke early again and held to go up 3-1. Li had points for 4-1 and 5-2 to put the match out of reach but blinked both times, allowing the wily 30-year-old veteran to seize the opportunity to get back into the match when Schiavone broke back and held to reach 5-4. Li was barely able to hold her next service game but she was clearly tightening up with only her net play keeping her in the set as the depth of her shot lessened considerably. At 5-6, deuce with Li serving she hit a forehand cross-court deep into the corner which was called out but the umpire checked the mark and despite Schiavone's protests called the ball good, denying the Italian her chance for a set point. Schiavone lost the next point and the game, resulting in a tiebreaker where she failed to win a point, giving Li the set and match.

Li will be #4 in the World on Monday, and has played in both major finals this year. The 29-year-old's game is best suited to the fast hard courts and she has good success on grass. Her ranking should only go up for the rest of the year. How high can she go?

2011 FRENCH OPEN: Women's Final Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's finals at Roland Garros for 2011. This year, I correctly predicted 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 1 of 2 women's semifinals. I also correctly predicted 1 of 2 men's semifinals and  2 of 3 men's quarterfinals this year.

Francesca Schiavone ITA (5) vs. Na Li CHN (6). This should be an excellent match. Last year, Schiavone stunned the world by playing the match of her life to win her first major title just weeks before her 30th birthday over heavily favored Samantha Stosur. Schiavone had never been past the quarterfinal of any major despite playing in 35. Since then, after losing in the first round at Wimbledon, she has been in two consecutive major  quarterfinals and has not won a tour title since. That being said, she has returned to a second consecutive final appearance here in Paris, outlasting, outwitting and outplaying several hard-hitting players like Anastasia Pavlyunchenkova in the quarters and Marion Bartoli in the semis. Her opponent is Li Na, a hard-hitting player who dispatched 3-time major champion Maria Sharapova in the semifinals and Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals in straight sets by blasting winners into every corner of the court. Li is playing in her second major final of 2011, again becoming the first Chinese player (male or female) to play for a major title in Paris.


Head-to-head Schiavone and Li are tied at 2 wins apiece with the flashy Italian winning their one meeting on clay, at this tournament last year, relatively easily 6-4 6-2. However, 2011 is a completely different scenario for Schiavone than 2010. Last year, almost no one expected her to win so she faced almost no pressure, and was able to marshal all aspects of her all-court game and deploy all her crafty spins and slices to give the hard-hitting but mentally fragile Stosur fits. This year she is the defending champion, and she is expected to repeat her win here by many people. The more compelling storyline is owned by Li, who is aiming to be the first person from the most populous nation on earth to win a major title. As I said earlier, clay rewards excellent movement, and since both Schiavone and Li are excellent movers Schiavone's edge over most hard-hitters is muted. If Li can remain patient and not got frustrated by the variety of ball coming her way, she'll become a Grand Slam champion. PREDICTION: Li.

2011 FRENCH OPEN: Women's Semifinals Preview

AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau

Here are my predictions for the women's semifinals at Roland Garros for 2011. This year, I correctly predicted 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 2 of 3 men's quarterfinals. Last year I was correct in 2 of 2 2010 French Open women's semifinal predictions.

Marion Bartoli FRA (11) vs. Francesca Schiavone ITA (5).  The 2010 French Open defending champion made an astonishing escape to win her quarterfinal match with hard-hitting Anastasia Pavlyunchenkova. The Italian was down 1-6 1-4 but came back to lead 5-2 in the final set and gutted out the win 7-5 in the 3rd after the youngster stormed back to even the match at 5-all in the 3rd. Bartoli is in the semifinal of her country's major, a significant feat that 2-time major champion and former World #1 Amelie Mauresmo was unable to accomplish. Bartoli's dream is to play in and win the final in Roland Garros, but that will not be happening this year.

The Frenchwoman did well while Svetlana Kuznetsova committed one of her patented meltdowns to ruin my potential 100% accuracy rate in quarterfinal predictions.

Bartoli hits two-handed on both wings with impressive power and has increased her fitness level so that she can survive long rallies but her movement is suspect and Schiavone has the shot variety to expose the gaping weaknesses in Bartoli's unorthodox game.

The two have never met on clay, which is Schiavone's best surface, but the Italian still leads the career head-to-head 6-1, including a win on Bartoli's best surface, grass. Even though the two have not played each other in over two years I suspect even the new and improved Bartoli will be no match for the new and improved Schiavone who truly believes "nothing is impossible." PREDICTION: Schiavone in 2 sets.

Maria Sharapova RUS (7) vs. Na Li CHN (6). This should be an excellent match, with the winner most likely going on to win the title. Who would have thought the only woman on the tour to be in two major semifinals this year would be Li Na from China? Head-to-head Sharapova leads 5-2 but Li has won the last two times the two have played (which were both on the relatively slow grass of Birmingham in 2009 and 2010). The one time they played on clay was in Paris two years ago and Sharapova eked out a truly bizarre 6-4 0-6 6-4 victory. Sharapova is playing the clay as if it is a hard court, blasting serves and hitting groundstrokes even harder. She demolished Andrea Petkovic 6-0 6-3, a player who took her out in the year's first major tournament to reach this point. Li was able to dismiss heavy favorite World #4 Viktoria Azarenka 7-5 6-2 to reach her first major semifinal in Paris.

However, clay rewards great movement and there's no question Li is the superior mover between the two. Sharapova does hit the ball hard, but Li also has her own firepower, with one of the best backhands in the women's game. Sharapova, however, has 3 major titles and has been in 10 major semifinals. Li has been in one major semifinal, but it was this year--Sharapova's last major semifinal was 3 years ago in Australia when she won the entire tournament in 2008. Sharapova is on a clay court winning streak, having won the Madrid title two weeks before Paris over 2010 Roland Garros finalist Samantha Stosur. If Sharapova serves well and is accurate off the ground she should win the match, but if Li is able to withstand the onslaught Sharapova's penchant for painting the lines will become a liability as those shots slowly turn into errors and Li will be in her second major final. The mental edge should favor Sharapova since she is undefeated against both Schiavone and Bartoli. For Sharapova, this match is the final, and she would desperately love to be in the panoply of great women players who have completed the career slam (like Navratilova, Evert, Graf, S.Williams, King and Court) . For Li, she makes history every time she steps on the court and may be satisfied by being the most successful Chinese player ever. PREDICTION: Sharapova in 2 sets OR Li in 3 sets.

2011 FRENCH OPEN: Federer, Schiavone, Bartoli in Semifinals

Getty

As I predicted yesterday, Roger Federer reached his 26th major semifinal in 28 majors by defeating Gael Monfils at the French Open for the 3rd time in 4 years on Tuesday. The Swiss Great beat the Frenchman in front of his hometown crowd 6-4 6-3 7-6(3) despite some truly atrocious play early on in the first set, probably due to the very difficult windy conditions.

In other matches completed, Andy Murray reached the quarterfinals by coming back from 2-5 in the 5th set to win 7-5. He will face Juan Ignaco Chela for the right to face the winner of tomorrow's blockbuster quarterfinal between Rafael Nadal and Robin Soderling. Francescha Schiavone came back from 1-6 1-4 down to against youngster Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to win 1-6 7-5 7-5 in an astonishing result for the defending champion. Schiavone will face Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli who defied my predictions and bounced 2009 French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova from the tournament 7-6(4) 6-4. Schiavone is very likely to reach her second consecutive French Open final.

2011 FRENCH OPEN: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

Viktoria Azarenka is the favorite to capture the
 Roland Garros title this year, or is she?

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at Roland Garros this year. Last year, I was correct in 2 of 4 2010 French Open women's quarterfinal predictions.

Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (13) vs. Marion Bartoli FRA (11). The 2007 Wimbledon finalist has reached her first quarterfinal at her country's major tournament for the first time. She will face Kuznetsova, one of only two women left in the tournament who have won the entire event (the other, of course is Francesca Schiavone who won last year). In fact, Kuznetsova lost the final in 2006 and won the final in 2009. While Bartoli won her match when Gisela Dulko retired in the second set, Kuznetsova won a hard-fought 3-set affair with Daniela Hantuchova who had easily dismissed World #1 and top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki the round before. This could be a very ugly affair, with both players trying to lose the match, but I believe that Kutnetsova's prodigious talent will be the deciding factor. PREDICTION: Kuznetsova in 3 sets.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS (14) vs. Francesca Schiavone ITA (5).  The 2010 French Open defending champion made it through to this quarterfinal by winning a marathon 2 hour, 40-minute battle with 3-time French Open semifinalist (and former World #1)  Jelena Jankovic which featured over 30 breakpoints combined. The passionate Italian faces the talented Russian youngster who took out the last remaining top seed in World #3 Vera Zvonareva to reach her first career major quarterfinal. Pavlyuchenkova hits the ball hard and flat on both wings, while Schiavone rarely hits the ball the same way twice, and actually wants to move forward to show off her sterling net play. Plus Schiavone has the benefit of knowing that her style of play can be rewarded on the red clay courts of Paris from last year. PREDICTION: Schiavone in 2 sets.

Petra Kvitova CZE (9) Na Li CHN (6) vs. Victoria Azarenka BLR (4). The hard-hitting lefty Petra Kvitova was my call to win the entire tournament before it began. But, 2011 Australian Open finalist Li is also one of my favorite players. Kvitova was up 3-0 in the deciding set but then collapsed completely to lose 6 consecutive games and the match. Li continues to make history, becoming the first Chinese player, male or female, to reach the quarterfinals at the French Open. Azarenka is one of the hottest players on the women's tour, and despite never having won a quarterfinal at any major is the betting favorite to win the tournament, primarily due to her position as the top remaining seed in the draw at #4. Head-to-head Li actually leads Azarenka 3-1, including a straight set beating in the Round of 16 in Melbourne this year, but the two have never met on clay. Azarenka should use this opportunity to make her breakthrough at a major, but will the pressure of being the favorite get to her head? Li has the advantage of already making her breakthrough in a grand slam earlier this year. This match should be decided by who wants it more and should be a high quality affair. PREDICTION: Li in 3 sets.

Maria Sharapova RUS (7) vs. Andrea Petkovic GER (15). Could this really be Sharapova's year to win the French Open? If so, she needs to get through matches like this next one. In Petkovic she is playing a player who beat her in the previous major played this year and is unafraid of the 3-time major champion's firepower. Sharapova was able to get revenge a few months later in Miami and leads their career head-to-head 2-1, all played on hard courts. The two have never played on hard courts, but this match will be played on clay which us Sharapova's worst surface. Both players have won clay court titles this year. I have seen all of Sharapova's matches played at Roland Garros this year but none of Petkovic's. I suspect that the fact that Sharapova is in her 14th major quarterfinal (only her 2nd in the last two years) while Petkovic is in her second quarterfinal of her career despite the two being born in the same year will be the ultimate deciding factor. PREDICTION: Sharapova in 3 sets.

2011 FRENCH OPEN: Djokovic, Federer, Stosur, Wozniacki Win

The 2011 French Open has begun. #2 seed Novak Djokovic won his 38th consecutive tour match in a row (the record is John McEnroe's 42 in 1984) to reach the second round by dismissing talented youngster Thiemo de Bakker in straight sets 6-2 6-1 6-3. Other first round winners were Roger Federer over Francisco Lopez, Caroline Wozniacki, 2010 Roland Garros defending champion Francesca Schiavone and Samantha Stosur.

2010 Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych lost 1st round 9-7 in the fifth after winning the first two sets.

AUS OPEN 2011: Women's Semifinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's semifinals at the Australian Open this year. I correctly predicted 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals.

Caroline Wozniacki DEN (1) vs. Li Na CHN (9). Wozniacki is the #1 ranked player in the world despite not having reached a single major final in 2010 and only once in her brief career (2009 US Open). The nubile, flaxen-haired 20-year-old from Denmark is sometimes called the "Golden Retriever" by some tennis observers due to her style of play resembling a human backboard. Wozniacki is in her first Australian Open semifinal while her opponent has reached this far in the tournament for the second consecutive year. In fact Li has won the first 10 matches she has played in 2011 and is surfing  a wave of confidence while Wozniacki is hearing an increasingly louder chorus of whispers doubting her ability to ever win a major title. Li on the other hand is hearing the call of history: can she become the first player from China to compete for (and win) a major title, especially the grand slam of Asia/Pacific, the Australian Open? I say, yes, and probably this  week. The match-up between the two players is interesting: Li has great power on both wings and is also an excellent mover; Wozniacki has the ability to frustrate her opponents by forcing them to "win" a point several times through relentless defense. Head-to-head Li leads 2-1 and beat Wozniacki in the fourth round here last year in straight sets as well as a few weeks before in Sydney. A year later I see no reason why the result should be any different. PREDICTION: Li.

Vera Zvonareva RUS (2) Petra Kvitova CZE (25) vs. Kim Clijsters BEL (3). I expected Kvitova to come through this match just like she had against #5 Samantha Stosur whom she dismissed easily in straight sets in front of a hometown crowd. However, Zvonareva showed incredible defense and consistency to eliminate the Czech lefty 6-2 6-4. Zvonareva has always been one of my favorite players to watch and her rise to the #2 ranking in the world via two consecutive major final finishes is a delight. Clijsters has been the clear favorite to win this year's title since Serena Willliams announced she would not be defending her 2010 Australian Open title. She is the only player of the final four remaining in the tournament who has won a major title; Clijsters has 3 US Open titles (2005, 2009, 2010). With Elena Dementieva's retirement Zvonareva is probably the best player on tour not to have won a major. Head-to-head Clijsters leads 6-3 but 5 of these wins were before Clijsters' "retirement" in May 2007. The two played 4 times in 2010 and Zvonareva won 3 of those matches, losing the most important one in a rout: the 2010 US Open women's final (6-1 6-2). None of those matches were finals, where the mental pressure is a larger factor and this poses a disadvantage to the more mentally fragile player. In a semifinal the mental pressure is less which should help Vera play some of her best tennis. It is also true that Clijsters does have a tendency to go through bad patches which complicates what should be easy wins. I suspect something like that will happen in this match as well, but in the end, Clijsters will find a way to prevail. PREDICTION: Clijsters.

AUS OPEN 2011: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at the Australian Open this year.

Caroline Wozniacki DEN (1) vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (23) Francesca Schiavone ITA (6). After the historic marathon match between Svetlana Kuznetsova and Francesca Schivaone, most observers expected the quarterfinal involving the "winner" to be scheduled last in order to increase the likelihood of a competitive match. Unfortunately, the powers that be have decided that the World #1's quarterfinal would not be a featured night match, opting for a women's doubles quarterfinal instead. There are very few men's 5-set matches that have lasted the 4-hours and 44 minutes of "Franlana." After the titanic first round match between David Nalbandian and Lleyton Hewitt was won by the Argentine, it resulted in the "winner" retiring meekly after playing about a set and a half of tennis 48 hours later. Schiavone finished her match around 8:05pm on Sunday and is scheduled to play her match against Wozniacki on Rod Laver Arena following the all-Swiss Federer-Wawrinka quarterfinal which will not be before 12:30pm on Tuesday. That is much less than 48 hours of recovery time. I know that the Italian has already proved that "Impossible is Nothing" with her incredible 2010 French Open win but I think that asking her to be 100% (even 50%) for her match with Wozniacki less than 48 hours after playing the longest women's grand slam match in history is a hill too high for even this dynamic athlete to climb. PREDICTION: Wozniacki in 2 sets.

Maria Sharapova RUS (14) Andrea Petkovic GER (30) vs Li Na CHN (9) Victoria Azarenka BLR (8). I really like the play of the veteran Chinese player (so much so I named my dog after her!) and am very excited that she is playing even better than last year, where she reached the semifinals of this tournament, losing to the eventual winner Serena Williams. Li Na has been a trailblazing icon of Chinese tennis; she is the first Chinese player to reach the Top 50, Top 40, Top 30, Top 20, Top 10 and to win a Tier 1 title (when she defeated Kim Clijsters in Brisbane earlier this year). She dismissed what some people thought was a legitimate contender to win the title in Victoria Azarenka in straight sets. Li has excellent power on both wings and is currently brimming with confidence since she is undefeated so far in 2011. Petkovic is no slouch and has improved upon her best result in a major (4th Round at the 2010 U.S. Open) at this year's 2011 Australian Open. I think it is highly unlikely she will prevent Li Na from attempting to improve her best result in a major and become the first Chinese player to reach a major final. PREDICTION: Li in 2 sets.

Agnieszka Radwanska POL (12) vs. Kim Clijsters BEL (3).  Kim Clijsters is simply the best player on hard courts still left in the tournament, as evidenced by her three consecutive US Open titles. She does have a tendency to go off sometimes, and can get frustrated by counter-punchers. She had a surprisingly tight match with the diminutive Alize Cornet of France in the third round. Aggie Radwanska is the epitome of the kind of player who could give Clijsters fits, since she plays a game resembling the late, little lamented Martina Hingis. Clijsters had a pretty good record against Hingis and the one time she played Radwanska (more than 5 years ago) she won that match as well. I suspect this match will either be a 2-set blowout or a seesaw 3-setter where none of the individual sets are very close. PREDICTION: Clijsters in 3 sets.

Samantha Stosur AUS (5) Petra Kvitova CZE (25) vs. Vera Zvonareva RUS (2).  Petra Kvitova is the most dangerous player in the draw. She is a very confident, powerful lefty with tremendous power on both wings and she's an excellent mover with a good serve. She's also undefeated for 2011; in fact she's only lost one set all tournament, to the hard-hitting and crafty Italian Flavia Pennetta. Kvitova dismissed the  host country's great hope Samantha Stosur in straight sets with no regard for the audience.Vera Zvonareva has defeated every player she has faced in her half of the draw in the last two majors she has played (Wimbledon 2010 and US Open 2010) and has done an admirable job of turning around her reputation as "head case" by embodying consistency. But when consistency meets power, I usually put my money on power. Zvonareva has also lost only one set so far in the tournament (to hard-hitting young Serb Bojana Jovanovski)  and almost lost another one to the hard-hitting lefty Lucie Safarova from the Czech Republic. I'm pretty sure that streak will end when she faces an even harder hitting lefty Czech player. PREDICTION: Kvitova in 3 sets.