The Aussie Open is at the quarterfinals and semi-finals stage and it’s starting to get really exciting. Let’s have a look at the men’s and the women’s draw once again.
Men’s Draw
In the men’s draw the Top4 still seem ahead of the rest of the field with Nadal and Federer already set to play the semi-finals against each other. Djokovic and Murray still have their quarterfinals matches ahead of them today.
Let’s have a quick look at the upcoming match-ups and how well I think everyone is playing.
Quarterfinals:
Djokovic vs. Ferrer
Novak has lost only one set so far this year and he seems to be playing just as well as last year. He moves extremely well, he is serving big and hitting huge forehands and backhands. Even though David Ferrer is playing well I don’t think he can really challenge Djokovic here.
Djokovic vs. Hewitt: Djokovic Is Playing Great Tennis!
In this form Novak Djokovic remains my favourite to win the tournament!
Quarterfinals:
Murray vs. Nishikori
Andy Murray is also playing quite well and so far has had a pretty easy tournament. It even appears as if he is standing a little closer to the baseline these days, trying to put more pressure on his opponents, which I believe is exactly what he needs to do to take his game to the next level.
Nishikori surprised me by taking out Tsonga in the last round. He has a lot of potential though and it appears that working with Brad Gilbert throughout the last year has taken him to another level with his game.
For those of you that haven’t seen Nishikori play too much, here you can watch some highlights of him playing Djokovic last year in Basel:
Nishikori is obviously playing well at the moment but I believe that Murray is too confident at the moment though and this challenge will be a little too big for Nishikori!
Nevertheless, I don’t think Murray has improved enough to beat Djokovic in a possible Grand Slam semi-final!
Semi-Finals:
Nadal vs. Federer
The stage is set once again for another epic battle between these two great rivals! Federer beat Del Potro 6:4 6:3 6:2 in convincing fashion. Federer seems to be in very good form and his forehand was on fire against Del Potro!
Nadal had a tougher match against Tomas Berdych. Berdych was up a set and had set point in the second but Nadal once again showed his great fighting spirit and turned the match around to win it in 4 sets.
Nadal did not play well at all in the first two sets. His forehands were not going through the court, he was hitting a lot of balls short and was on defense most of the time. It will be interesting to see whether or not he can find a more offensive game against Federer because that is what he will need for sure.
Picking a winner in this upcoming match is very difficult. Nadal has obviously dominated the rivalry between these two. For more information check out my article on it: Federer Nadal Rivalry
Usually I would always pick Nadal over Federer because he has a huge mental edge in this rivalry. Nevertheless, Federer seems to be playing amazing Tennis and Nadal does not appear to be in his best form. Therefore, I expect Roger to win this one!
Women’s Draw
There have not been that many surprises to me in the women’s draw so far. Serena Williams was knocked out in the Round of 16 by Ekaterina Makarova, which surprised me a little bit but it is almost impossible to have a good idea of what form Serena is in before such a tournament, since she doesn’t usually play much before the big tournaments.
Clijsters, Sharapova, and Kvitova are the other women that I favoured to win the tournament and they are all still in the draw. Clijsters beat Wozniacki in straight sets to end Wozniacki’s hope of winning a Grand Slam once again. There are still too many weaknesses in Caroline’s game at this point.
Here You Can Watch The 2nd Set Tiebreak Between Clijsters And Wozniacki
Let’s have a look at the upcoming matches:
Semi-finals:
Clijsters vs. Azarenka
The semi-final match-up is set in the top half of the draw and Kim Clijsters will take on world number 3, Victoria Azarenka. Many experts see Azarenka as one of the tournament favourites but I remain a bit sceptical. She didn’t look that convincing in her win against Radwanska and I believe that if Clijsters is still fit and healthy she will beat Azarenka.
Quarterfinals:
Makarova vs. Sharapova
Sharapova played a good match against Sabine Lisicki in the last round and I think she is playing really well from the baseline at this point. If she can continue to serve with decent consistency then she definitely has a chance to win another Grand Slam title here!
Check Out Maria In Her Win Against Lisicki!
Makarova is an upcoming player with some serious game. She hits a phenomenal backhand and I believe she will rise up in the rankings in the near future. I expect her to play well against Sharapova but in the end I think Maria’s offensive game and experience will be too much to handle!
Quarterfinals:
Kvitova vs. Errani
Many experts see Petra Kvitova as the favourite to win the title at this tournament and generally I agree with that. Her game is simply phenomenal and on a good day she can dominate even against some of the best players in the world. Nevertheless, it remains unsure whether or not she has the mental toughness necessary to win many Grand Slam titles.
I definitely expect her to be too strong for Errani but the possible semi-finals match-up with Maria Sharpaova is a 50:50 kind of match for me!
Allright. So much for my update on the Australian Open. As always let me know your comments below this post and I hope you enjoy watching the tournament as much as I do!
