AO Day 8 Preview: Welcome to the Second Week

Hey All.

I was watching LOTR, the extended box set trilogy, the other day. I think in some ways Federer right now is like the Elves leaving on the ship. He has strength still to hold back the forces of evil, but his power is waning and the time of the Elves will soon be over. Soon Federer will sail away to the West where his legacy will endure. Anyway... let us proceed, friends.

Women's Singles - 4th Round RLA (ROD LAVER ARENA) UPSET ALERT

Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) [10] V Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)

There will come a day when Kuznetsova hangs up her racket and finally says enough is enough, but it is not this day. There will come a day when that forehand and that backhand finally crumbles, but it is not this day. And there will come a day when Svetlana's walls come crumbling down and the age of Russia ends, but it is not this day. This day, she stands and she fights. She has a lot of power off both wings. A good serve and lots of finesse, and she is pretty good at the net, too. She has good instincts and her defense is truly world class. Why, then, has she fallen so low? Firstly, injury. Secondly, she has bad days. Very Very bad days and she almost has too many shots to choose from.

Movement-9/10
Serve-7.5/10
Forehand-9/10
Backhand-9/10
Volleys-8/10
Mental-4/10
Returning-7.5/10

We know all about Caroline "Moonball" Wozniacki. She can't seem to keep a coach for more than five minutes, unless it's her father Piotr. She is a good counterpuncher who has fallen on hard times. She is going down the Jankovic path. Her body, too, is slowly starting to show some signs of wear and tear. She is not washed up, but merely in an extended slump. She was seeded first at this event last year. Now she is clinging onto tenth in the rankings. She has fallen not too far, but you wouldn't want to fall 9 spots every year. Kuznetsova (part from a second set hiccup to Navarro) has dropped no sets and won her first two matches with the loss of just 6 games. She looks great and got to the QF of Sydney, too (beating the Dane in the process). Wozniacki lost in Brisbane earlier to sub-standard opposition -- I watched the match on a couch in Sydney -- and has struggled a little with lower ranked opponents despite a fantastic come from behind win against Lisicki.

Movement-9/10
Serve-6.5/10
Forehand-7/10
Backhand-9/10
Volleys-7/10
Mental-8/10
Returning-9/10

OK -- in debatably the most interesting fourth round match -- Kuznetsova wins in two or three depending on which Sveta turns up.

Women's Singles - 4th Round RLA

Victoria Azarenka (BLR) [1] V Elena Vesnina (RUS)

Vesnina upset Vinci in three, toughing it out in a lengthy match with the Italian vet. She also beat Garcia in three and thrashed Lepchenko, too. She is a very good player, has been as high as 22 before and has been to a few slam fourth rounds. She is a very talented doubles player, too. Slam and premier finals there. She was 0-6 in finals heading into 2013. However, she beat Barthel comfortably in Hobart this year to win her first title. She dropped just one set in doing so and she is in form. She can hit big and she can cause upsets. She was part of the second wave of the Russian revolution on the WTA. She was also -- I think -- involved in some kind of altercation in a recent doubles semi or final here at the Aussie Open with Huber/Raymond. Todd would know more about that than I. I don't know her game quite well enough to rate the different aspects of it.

Azarenka put away tricky Nicelescu 1 and 4 in the first round. She thrashed Greek vet Eleni D (I'm not typing out another long and weirdly spelt name in this section) winning 1 and 0. She suffered a near meltdown against Hampton. I haven't seen her that close to losing control in a long while, but then again I don’t watch all her matches. She was annoyed at herself, but Hampton played very well indeed.

Movement-9/10
Serve-8.5/10
Forehand-8/10
Backhand-9.5/10
Volleys-8/10
Mental-7/10
Returning-8/10

There may be some long rallies and there will be net play, too. In the end though, look for Vika to win in two.

Women's Singles - 4th Round RLA

Serena Williams (USA) [3] Maria Kirilenko (RUS) [14]

This will be a bit like Frodo challenging Sauron to a fist fight. Yes, Kiri will land a few punches and she has a formidable pair of fists, but she is facing Sauron, lord of the black lands, etc.,etc. I like Kirilenko's improvements to her game. She comes to net -- she is a capable doubles player -- and she has a decent serve, too. She can hit her forehand and backhand well, too. She turns 26 on the 25th of January actually. Will Serena give her an early birthday prezzie? I think not, somehow. She has been to either the fourth round or the quarters at every slam. She has won titles on Clay, Carpet and Hard courts. She is currently 5-6 in finals but has never been to a grass final. She also won the longest tiebreaker in the history of the WTA, points wise, but lost the match anyway.

Movement-8.5/10
Serve-7.5/10
Forehand-7.5/10
Backhand-8/10
Volleys-8.5/10
Mental-7/10
Returning-6.5/10

I'll preview Serena if you wish.

Movement-9/10
Serve-10/10
Forehand-10/10
Backhand-9/10
Volleys-9.5/10
Mental-10/10
Return-9/10

Yep. She has 15 Slams. She has 15 slams. She won four slams in a row 10 years ago. She has won at least four titles on every surface including carpet. She is the greatest player ever to play the game (maybe not statistics wise, but she is) and the only thing which has prevented her from complete dominion over all WTA is injuries and a last alliance of Russians, Belgians and Americans taking her on on the slopes of Mount Doom and knocking the ring of power of her hand. But now she is back and none can stop her. The power of the Russians is waning and the Belgians are gone completely. Who can stand before the mighty Lady of the dark ladies? One Russian remains in the top ten...but she has not the power to resist Williams. A new challenger arises in the East (of Europe) and there Williams is focusing all her will and all her power. Anyway, I got a bit off topic there but make no mistake about this match. Kirilenko, part of the fading Russinas, stands before her. Can she wield her Sword/Racket and challenge Williams, or will the mighty lady Sweep all before her once more. I say she marches on relentlessly. She will win in straight sets but one of them may be close. (She is as powerful as Sauron, but she is not as evil).

Women's Singles - 4th Round HSA UPSET ALERT

Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) V Sloane Stephens (USA) [29]

Perhaps when Serena leaves Mordor (former occupants include Evert, Navratilova, Graf, Hingis and Venus), Stephens will take her place. I am a huge fan of Stephens. She will win her maiden title this year for sure. She has a great attitude, is hilarious in interviews and is extremely athletic, too. I like her a lot but have only seen her play once or twice. I can't comment really on this. Stephens has not lost a set. She demolished Halep and had no troubles against Mladenovic. She then survived a tricky test against another teenager, Laura Robson. She took a tight opening set and then the next one was much easier. She is the youngest player in the top forty. She has been to a fourth round before. She lost to Sam Stosur at the 2012 French Open in that fourth round clash. She will be around 20-25 at least if she wins this match because she only has second round points to defend.

I know nothing about Bojana except that she is extremely talented. I also don't know enough about these two to really rate their games. She has never been to a third round before at a slam. She will rise because of this fourth round to within the top 50. She is at 56 now. She has dropped just one set. That was to Torro Flor of Spain in the first round. Since then she has beaten Safarova and Krumm in straight sets. Well, I think Stephens has to be the pick here. I'm not sure about how the sets will workout though.

Men's Singles - 4th Round RLA UPSET ALERT

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) [7] V Richard Gasquet (FRA) [9]

Ahh, the French. They are like the Russians were on the Women's side 7 or 8 years ago. They do not have any slams, unfortunately. If I could have any player's game outside of the top five in the world, I would have Gasquet's. He has so much talent it is ridiculous. He doesn't use it, though, or rather he doesn't apply it. He has a reliable, if predictable, serve. He has one of the best one-handed backhands in the game. His forehand is not great. He can spin it in nicely, though. He is too passive on returns and stands way too far behind the baseline, which really sets him back and leaves him vulnerable to the dropshot, too. He is in fantastic form and is in the top five of the YTD rankings. It looks likely his ranking will rise, but it will rise higher if he can win this match. He has been fantastic thus far and against tough opposition, too. He is one of four Frenchman who made the fourth round. They are all in the bottom half. He put Montanes to the sword and outdid Falla before surviving a tricky encounter with Dodig.

Movement-9/10
Serve-7/10
Forehand-6.5/10
Backhand-9.5/10
Volleys-8/10
Mental-5/10
Returning-8/10

Tsonga has a big serve and a big forehand. He can hit his backhand with authority, too. He has been to a semi at the Aussie and Wimbledon. Two at both, in fact, winning one but losing the final. That was to the Djoker in 2008 in four. Gasquet has been in 18 finals to Tsonga's 16. Gasquet has won titles on all surfaces including carpet. Tsonga is 9-6 in Hard Court titles. He is 0-1 in Grass court finals. He hasn't won a title for a while though. Here ,though, Tsonga has not dropped a set and he has barely dropped any points on serve. He literally has been in dominating form. I want Gasquet to win this. I think, though, I have to say what I honestly think -- Tsonga in four.

Men's Singles - 4th Round RLA UPSET ALERT

Milos Raonic (CAN) [13] V Roger Federer (SUI) [2]

The Canuck is close to beating Federer. They have played four tiebreaks. It is 2-2 in those breakers. Raonic has a big game. He has played in no slam quarterfinals but has played in 6 hard court finals. He has played at least one tiebreaker in every single one of those finals. It is only a matter of time before he wins a 500. He has been in 3 finals and won none of them, but he has won three 250's. He has a big forehand which he uses to bully Fed's backhand and a colossal serve. He needs to develop other areas of his game a little bit more, but overall he is excellent. He will be top ten before the year is out. He may -- with a kind draw -- make the quarters of the US Open in September, although, of course, the men's finals end up being played in November usually. Get a roof US Open, or I will shake my fist in your general direction. Grr. Raonic dropped one set but since then he has been very impressive. He is 3-0 in breakers at this event.

Movement-7/10
Serve-10/10
Forehand-9/10
Backhand-7/10
Volleys-7/10
Mental-7/10
Returning-6.5/10

OK I don't need to introduce Roger Federer but here are his stats.

Movement-10/10
Serve-9/10
Forehand-10/10
Backhand-8.5/10
Volleys-9.5/10
Mental-10/10
Returning-7.5

Fed has brushed aside three of the most talented players of the past ten years in the past three rounds. Paire, Davydenko and Tomic. He hasn't looked close to losing. He has been awesome. He wil beat Raonic in four with a few tiebreakers, too.

Men's Singles - 4th Round HSA UPSET ALERT

Jeremy Chardy (FRA) V Andreas Seppi (ITA) [21]

These two dirtballers are here because of upsets. Actually that's not fair. Chardy is decent on hard courts, too, as is Seppi. They have never met. I like Chardy because he has style and because he is French. He has a good serve and forehand. He upset Delpo in five epic sets and also won two tight four setters earlier.

Movement-7/10
Serve-8/10
Forehand-9/10
Backhand-8.5/10
Volleys-9.5/10
Mental-7/10
Returning-7/10

Seppi is a player discovering new life. He is playing excellent tennis and played decently at the Hopman Cup and at Sydney, too. The winner of this gets what could be their only slam quarterfinal. He beat Istomin in five and Cilic in five. He also pasted Zeballos.

Movement-9/10
Serve-6.5/10
Forehand-8.5/10
Backhand-8.5/10
Volleys-7/10
Mental-6.5/10
Returning-7.5/10

I will go for Chardy in five epic sets.

Men's Singles - 4th Round HSA

Gilles Simon (FRA) [14] V Andy Murray (GBR) [3]

If I end up in hell, my punishment will be me being forced to watch Murray play Simon on a very slow clay court for 1000000 years. I cannot imagine anything worse. Seriously. This will be dull and full of looooooooooooong rallies. It will be a grind fest. Neither man really has a big weapon except for Murray's backhand occasionally and sometimes his first serve. This will be painful watching. Simon outlasted La Monf! in five epic sets in the third round. He won 8-6 in the final set. That included a rally with more than 70 shots in it. He also beat Volandri and Levine in four. He will be exhausted.

Movement-9/10
Serve-7.5/10
Forehand-7.5/10
Backhand-7.5/10
Volleys-7/10
Mental-7.5/10
Returning-8/10

Murray has played nobody inside the top 100 except Haase at 53. He has had a good start for this reason. I don't know how well he is playing. He thrashed Sousa and beat Berankis eventually. His thrash of Haase was particularly impressive. He does look quite good but he won't get a real test until the semis now.

Movement-10/10
Serve-7/10
Forehand-7/10
Backhand-9/10
Volleys-8/10
Mental-6/10
Returning 9.5/10

I will take Murray in three straight sets, but it may still be a long match.

Right, I'm exhausted guys. Have a nice day.....and visit WTABACKSPIN.

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