Grand Finale!

The swim season ended in style as my team finished first in the boys, girls, and combined divisions in our league debut! My medley relay set a new league record, while the free relay also garnered a first place finish. I finished 5th in the 100 IM and 2nd in the 50 back in a very close finish. 

In tennis, I finished 4th in the double elimination tournament. I was suffering from a stomachache and didn't play my best in my last match. I fought back from 0-3 0-40 double break down to level it at 3-3, but I eventually lost in a tiebreaker.

I will preview the Citi Open in Washington D.C and the Southern Californian Open in Carlsbad this week. I have not decided whether or not to preview the bet-at-home Cup in Kitzbuhel.

Championships Week and Tennis Tournament! :)

This week is the week of our swimming league's championships, which is the last meet of the year! After a league meet on Saturday and AllStars on Sunday, championships will be held on Friday and Saturday. I will only be going on Friday since I am participating in a tennis tournament on Saturday! Don't expect updates this week since I will be really busy, but hopefully I will get back to regular blogging duties next week.

THIS WEEK'S RECAP: Fabio Fognini picked up his second title in as many weeks over qualifier Federico Delbonis saving match points in Hamburg. Ivo Karlovic continued his successful return from viral meningitis following up a quarterfinal appearance in Newport with a title in Bogota over home favorite Alejandro Falla. Serena Williams won her first International level title over another home favorite Johanna Larsson which continued her unbeaten streak on clay this year. Yvonne Meusburger completed a dream week taking home the Bad Gastein title in front of her home crowd over Andrea Hlavackova.

ON TAP NEXT WEEK: Three ATP tournaments will be held in: Umag, Gstaad, and Atlanta. Two WTA tournaments will be held in Stanford and Baku. Richard Gasquet headlines the ATP 250 in Umag, as well as Fabio Fognini who won his first two ATP titles in the last two weeks. ATP 250 Gstaad is highlighted by Roger Federer who is trying to find some matches before the US Open series. Fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka will be the second seed in his home country. The ATP 250 in Atlanta is highlighted by the return of former top 10 player Mardy Fish and top seed John Isner. Agnieszka Radwanska and Samantha Stosur headline the field in Stanford. Many new faces and unknown names as well as a heap of withdrawals headline the tournament in Baku with Bojana Jovanovski back to defend her title.

WTA Bastad+Bad Gastein and ATP Hamburg+Bogota Predictions and Recap!

Qualifier Federico Delbonis is into the semifinals of ATP 500 Hamburg.

Hamburg: Roger Federer's new racquet seems to be working, as the top seed is into the semifinals after scraping through home favorite Florian Mayer 7-6(7-4), 3-6, 7-5 in their first clay court meeting. Qualifier Federico Delbonis (above) will be Federer's semifinal opponent after stunning former top 10 player and recent Wimbledon quarterfinalist Fernando Verdasco 6-7(5-7), 7-6(10-8), 6-4 saving two match points. 3rd seed Nicolas Almagro lived up to his seeding reaching his third straight Hamburg semifinal by avenging last year's loss to defending champion Juan Monaco 4-6, 6-0, 6-3. He will face Fabio Fognini who took out Hamburg native Tommy Haas for the second straight week 6-2, 6-4.

Predictions
(1)Federer over (Q)Delbonis in 2 tight sets
Federer has too much experience for Delbonis in my opinion. Delbonis will have nothing to lose, and he will be dangerous just like a certain Sergiy Stakhovksy...
(12)Fognini over (3)Almagro in 2 tight sets
Fognini has been on a hot streak, winning his first ATP title in Stuttgart last week and breezing through his first three matches here in Hamburg. However, Almagro is always dangerous with his underrated serve and huge groundstrokes. If anyone is to stop Fognini, why not Almagro?

Bogota: Second seed Kevin Anderson set up a big-serving semifinal with Ivo Karlovic beating home up Santiago Giraldo 6-3, 6-3. Karlovic edged Adrian Mannarino in two tiebreaks (predictably) to reach his first semifinal of the year following a quarterfinal appearance at Newport. Top seed Janko Tipsarevic will face off against the last remaining Columbian Alejandro Falla, while Matteo Viola and Vasek Pospisil will meet for the last semifinal spot.

Predictions
(2)Anderson over Karlovic in 3 tight sets 
This is probably going to be service dominated. Expect a lot of tiebreaks. Karlovic headed the right way on the comeback trail but I think Anderson will be more match-tough.

Bastad: Serena Williams continued outclassing the field with a dominating 6-1, 6-1 win over veteran Lourdes Dominguez Lino. Her semifinal opponent will be the hard-hitting Klara Zakopalova who also outclassed qualifier Richel Hogenkamp 6-2, 6-3. Home hope Johanna Larsson will be facing a player on the comeback Flavia Pennetta over they sweeped through Mathilde Johansson and Virginie Razzano for the combined loss of 7 games.

Predictions
(1)Williams over (3)Zakopalova in 3 sets
I think this will be Williams' first real test of the week as Zakopalova, when she is on, has the weapons to beat anybody (similar to several players like Kvitova, Goerges). But she lacks consistency and Williams' 17 Grand Slams titles' worth of experience will probably be too much for Zakopalova. Zakopalova has a win over Williams though on clay.
(8)Larsson over Pennetta in 2 tricky sets
I think Larsson will end Pennetta's run here. Pennetta is coming back from injury, and has been pushed in her first two matches. Larsson has dropped 10 GAMES in 3 matches. The home crowd will be backing Larsson. Don't count out the former top 10 player though who has a wealth of experience.

Bad Gastein: The picturesque Bad Gastein is not producing picturesque results for the seeded players. 8th seed Karin Knapp is the only seed remaining in the semifinals, after she defeated the only other seed in the quarterfinals in 2nd seed Annika Beck 6-0, 6-1. Knapp will meet another in-form player in home favorite Yvonne Meusburger who beat Arantxa Rus 6-1, 7-6(7-1). Meusburger reached the final of Budapest last week and has never lost before the quarterfinals here in Bad Gastein. Rus had just snapped a 18 match WTA losing streak in the first round here and reached her first WTA quarterfinal since 2010 in Estoril I believe. Andrea Hlavackova will face Elina Svitolina in the other semifinal after they both beat Austrian wildcards Lisa-Maria Moser and Patricia Mayr-Achleitner respectively. There will be a first time titlist here.

Predictions
Hlavackova over Svitolina in 3 sets
The 18 year old Svitolina is making her mark on the WTA. Both players are into their first WTA semifinal (Svitolina also first quarterfinal). I think Hlavackova's experience on tour will pull her through.
Meusburger over (8)Knapp in 2 tight sets
The upset bug was abound this week in Bad Gastein, and I think that will continue with the last seed falling. Both players have been in good form: Meusburger reached the final of Budapest last week, while Knapp reached the fourth round of Wimbledon. Meusburger will have the home crowd behind her...

ATP Hamburg 3rd Round Predictions and more...

Roger Federer is testing out a slightly larger racquet this week.

Roger Federer is testing out a 98" racquet head size model this week in Hamburg, compared to his previous 90" racquet head. He was pushed to 3 sets against Daniel Brands today, but found his rhythm in the last 2 sets to win 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 . Seven seeds went out in their first match in the second round: Andreas Seppi, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Jeremy Chardy, Tommy Robredo, Mikhail Youzhny, Ernests Gulbis, and Martin Klizan who have all been in shaky form.

Carlos Berlocq ARG vs (2)Tommy Haas GER

With all the upsets in the second round, Haas will certainly be on his toes with recent Bastad champion Berlocq being his third round opponent. They have never met before. Haas looks to bounce back from a recent upset to Fabio Fognini in Stuttgart last week, while Berlocq looks to continue his momentum from his Bastad run. Haas is the far more experienced player, and with the home crowd from his birthplace in Hamburg cheering him on, he is my bet to win.

Prediction: Haas in 3 sets

ATP Hamburg 3rd Round
(1)Roger Federer over (Q)Jan Hajek in 2 tight sets
Florian Mayer over (11)Feliciano Lopez in 3 sets
(Q)Federico Delbonis over Dmitry Tursunov in 3 sets
(5)Juan Monaco over (9)Benoit Paire in 3 sets
(3)Nicolas Almagro over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in 2 tight sets
(12)Fabio Fognini over Marcel Granollers in 2 tricky sets

WTA Bad Gastein 2nd Round
(WC)Patricia Mayr-Achleitner over Petra Martic in 3 sets
(6)Chanelle Scheepers over Elina Svitolina in 2 tight sets
Estrella Cabeza Candela over Arantxa Rus in 3 sets (really want Rus to win though...)
Yvonne Meusburger over (3)Irina-Camelia Begu in 2 sets
(2)Annika Beck over Mandy Minella in 3 sets

ATP Bogota 2nd Round
(1)Janko Tipsarevic over Rubin Bemelmans in 3 sets
Alejandro Falla over Matthew Ebden in 2 tight sets
Vasek Pospisil over James Duckworth in 3 sets
(5)Adrian Mannarino over (Q)Victor Estrella in 2 tricky sets
Ivo Karlovic over (3)Igor Sijsling in 2 tight sets
(6)Santiago Giraldo over (Q)Chris Guccione in 2 sets (1 easy, 1 tight)
(2)Kevin Anderson over (Q)Emilio Gomez in 2 sets

WTA Bastad 2nd Round
(1)Serena Williams over Anna Tatishvili in 2 sets
(6)Lesia Tsurenko over (Q)Richel Hogenkamp in 3 sets
Mathilde Johansson over (Q)Andrea Gamiz in 2 tricky sets
(2)Simona Halep over Flavia Pennetta in 3 sets

Bet-At-Home Open German Tennis Championships - Preview

Bet-At-Home Open German Tennis Championships - Singles by zziptennislife

Qualifiers will be updated as they win, and possibly the predictions as well.

Gastein Ladies - Preview

Gastein Ladies - Singles by zziptennislife

Qualifiers will be updated as they win, and possibly the predictions as well.

Claro Open Columbia - Preview

Claro Open Colombia - Singles by zziptennislife

Qualifiers will be updated as they win, and possibly the predictions as well.

Collector Swedish Open - Preview

Collector Swedish Open - Women's Singles by zziptennislife

Qualifiers will be updated as they win, and possibly the predictions as well.

Undefeated Season Continues!

My swim team is now 6-0 on the season! I also swam my first ever 500 freestyle, and not being a distance swimmer, I actually did pretty decently! Simona Halep, Roberta Vinci, Fabio Fognini, and Carlos Berlocq all won titles when I was away. The Newport final is to be decided between Nicolas Mahut and Lleyton Hewitt. With more meets coming up, I will most likely do previews on and off as I normally do during the swim season. Meets on Tuesday, Saturday, Sunday, and Friday will finish off the season. Then I will play a tennis tournament on Saturday! :)

Skistar Swedish Open - Semifinals

5th seed Grigor Dimitrov is looking for his second ATP tour final.

The remaining two seeds, 5th seed Grigor Dimitrov and 8th seed Fernando Verdasco will clash in one semifinal, while two surprise semifinalists Thiemo de Bakker and Carlos Berlocq will fight it out for the other final berth. Dimitrov was pushed to three sets in his first two matches, but looked clinical in dispatching 3rd seed Juan Monaco 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinals. 8th seed Fernando Verdasco showed his quarterfinal run at Wimbledon was no fluke, reaching the semifinals of Bastad, including an upset win over 2nd seed Nicolas Almagro. de Bakker caused two big upsets over 6th seed Viktor Troicki and top seed Tomas Berdych. Berlocq defeated 7th seed Horacio Zeballos in the first round.

As usual, this part of this season wreaks havoc on my predictions as I only correctly predicted 1 semifinalist. I did say that upsets would be abound, though I didn't pick nearly enough and not the right ones. However, I did correctly pick 5 quarterfinalists in my predictions for Bastad. 

Thiemo de Bakker NED vs Carlos Berlocq ARG

With de Bakker's comeback accelerating, clay specialist Berlocq will need to come up with a special performance to knock off de Bakker. Berlocq's year is highlighted by a quarterfinal and a a semifinal, and now another ATP semifinal all coming on clay. de Bakker knocked off former top 20 player Viktor Troicki and world no.6 Tomas Berdych to reach the semifinals. 

Prediction: de Bakker in 3 sets

Elsewhere...
(5)Grigor Dimitrov over (8)Fernando Verdasco in 3 sets

Budapest Grand Prix - Semifinals

6th seed Chanelle Scheepers is into her second WTA semifinal of 2013.

It has been an upset-filled week in Budapest, with 5 seeds falling before the quarterfinals including the #1 and #2 seeds in the first round. Lucie Safarova managed one game against 190th ranked Valeria Solovyeva in an ugly 1-6, 0-6 loss in the first round. Second seed Alize Cornet also fell in straight sets to Andrea Hlavackova 4-6, 2-6. 5th seed Johanna Larsson, 7th seed Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor, and 8th seed Anna Tatishvili all fell at the second hurdle. The new Austrian #1 Yvonne Meusburger reached her first WTA semifinal outside of Bad Gastein by routing 4th seed Annika Beck 6-4, 6-1. 6th seed Chanelle Scheepers needed a third set tiebreak to defeat Danka Kovinic 4-6, 6-0, 7-6(7-5) who is the first tennis player from Montenegro to reach a tour level quarterfinal. Romanians Simona Halep and Alexandra Cadantu advanced in straight sets and set a clash in the semifinals. Halep is now into her 4th straight WTA semifinal outside of the Grand Slams.

My predictions for Budapest went awry as 3 of my 4 semifinalists went out in the first round. However, I did correctly predict 4 of 8 quarterfinalists. However, in this crazy part of the season, it is expected to get a lot of wrong predictions as there are a lot of unknown names making the cut off for the main draw.

(6)Chanelle Scheepers RSA vs Yvonne Meusburger AUT

Scheepers has had a so-so year, but has had some decent results in some smaller tournaments. Meusburger has mostly been playing on the ITF tour this year, and jumped Tamira Paszek in the rankings for the #1 Austrian. Truthfully, I know nothing about either players style of play though I know they have had decent results before. However, I think Meusburger is picking up speed as she picked off two seeds on her way to the quarterfinals and there is no reason why Scheepers can't be the 3rd straight... Scheepers will be tired after barely surviving Danka Kovinic in the quarterfinals.

Prediction: Meusburger in 2 tight sets

(3)Simona Halep ROU vs Alexandra Cadantu ROU

Halep has been on an absolute hot streak as of late, reaching the semifinals of a Premier 5 event in Rome in May and winning her first two WTA titles in June. Her only losses in the last 6 tournaments were to top 20 players in Serena Williams, Carla Suarez Navarro, and Li Na. She has not dropped a set all week, and faces fellow Romanian Cadantu, who is into her second WTA semifinal of the year. Cadantu took advantage of the upsets on her side of the draw, as well as a retirement in the second round to reach the semifinals. Halep knocked off two Hungarians, and will probably not be the crowd favorite in this semifinal. However, Halep's great run of form will be enough to see of Cadantu.

Prediction: Halep in 2 sets (1 easy, 1 tight)

XXVI Internazionali WTA di Sicilia - Preview

XXVI Internazionali WTA di Sicilia - Singles by zziptennislife

Qualifiers will be updated as they win, and possibly the predictions as well.

Budapest Grand Prix - Preview

Budapest Grand Prix - Singles by zziptennislife

Qualifiers will be updated as they win, and possibly the predictions as well.

Skistar Swedish Open - Preview

Skistar Swedish Open - Singles by zziptennislife

Qualifiers will be updated as they win, and possibly the predictions as well.

MercedesCup - Preview

MercedesCup - Singles by zziptennislife

Qualifiers will be updated as they win, and possibly the predictions as well.

First Quarter: (1)Tommy Haas vs (5)Fabio Fognini
This week I have gone with mostly seeds and few upsets. I picked top seed Tommy Haas to win the title despite having probably the toughest draw. A potential second round matchup against Latvian firecracker Ernests Gulbis and the flashy 5th seed Fabio Fognini in the quarterfinals may prove Haas' undoing. 
Second Quarter: (3)Jeremy Chardy vs (8)Martin Klizan
In the second quarter, I went with a surprise pick in Albert Montanes who has been racking up the results lately. His first round opponent is 8th seed Martin Klizan who is having a disappointing year after being named Newcomer of the Year by the ATP last year. The projected quarterfinal opponent is 3rd seed Jeremy Chardy, who after reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals has been in a slump. 
Third Quarter: (7)Lukas Rosol vs (4)Benoit Paire
Nadal slayer Lukas Rosol and the talented Frenchman Benoit Paire are the 7th and 4th seeds respectively in this quarter. Rosol has had the ups and downs of a big game this year, winning his first ATP title in Bucharest and losing in the first round of Wimbledon to a qualifier. Paire is my pick for the final after a disappointing loss at Wimbledon. He has the shots and the game, but will need to get past a potential second round matchup with former world no.3 Nikolay Davydenko.
Fourth Quarter: (6/WC)Florian Mayer vs (2)Phillip Kohlschreiber
Four Germans headline this quarter, including funky 6th seed Florian Mayer and second seed Phillip Kohlschreiber. I see Kohlschreiber into the semifinals because the rest of his quarter lacks the consistency, though they have the potential for an upset. For example, former top 10 player Gael Monfils has been finding some form after injury, but withdrew from Wimbledon with personal reasons. Florian Mayer is a former Wimbledon quarterfinalist and former top 20 player, but just doesn't have the consistency to make a big move up the rankings. 

Final: (1)Tommy Haas over (4)Benoit Paire 

Hall of Fame Tennis Championship - Preview

Ms Newport by zziptennislife

Qualifiers will be updated as they win, and possibly the predictions as well.

On Tap - Newport, Stuttgart, Bastad, Budapest, Palermo

Newport hosts an ATP 250 event on grass.

Stuttgart hosts an ATP 250 event on clay.

Bastad host an ATP 250 event on clay.

Budapest hosts a WTA international event on clay.

Palermo host a WTA international event on clay.

I wasn't sure about doing a preview for these small transition tournaments between the grass and hard court seasons. But since there are five tournaments going on, I might as well. I don't know which round I will start previewing, but I will most likely preview. I will make my brackets and pick my winners, but I think I will start previewing from the semifinals.On the ATP tour, Sam Querrey and John Isner highlight a lackluster draw on the grass of Newport, with Isner as the defending champion. The main draw cutoff is 140, and it is possible we could see a surprise champion here. The MercedesCup drew a stronger field with Germans Tommy Haas and Phillip Kohlschreiber highlighting their home event in Stuttgart. Janko Tipsarevic will not be defending his title, leaving the draw open for a new champion. The Skistar Swedish Open in Bastad is headlined by Tomas Berdych, the only top 10 player in the draw. Defending champion David Ferrer is out of Bastad with an ankle injury. On the WTA tour, the Budapest Grand Prix in Budapest was hampered by recent flooding, as the last direct acceptance into the main draw (no qualifying) is ranked 645. However, Budapest still managed to draw two former top 20 player Lucie Safarova and Alize Cornet. In Palermo, the XXVI Internazionali WTA di Sicilia in Palermo is headlined by home hopes Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci. Errani is the defending champion in both Budapest and Palermo, but chose to attempt a defense in Palermo. I always like this part of the season because we usually get to see some new champions crowned at these smaller, low cut-off events, especially on the WTA.

Andy Murray ends British drought in rollercoaster win over Novak Djokovic!

Andy Murray looks like he is becoming a regular Grand Slam contender. He has reached the final in the last 3 Grand Slams, and finally ended the 77 year drought for a homegrown winner at Wimbledon on 7/7 in his 7th Grand Slam final. Lucky 7! His opponent Novak Djokovic through the whole sink at Murray, but Djokovic admitted that Murray was the better player today. Having been unable to break Djokovic's serve at the Australian Open final earlier this year, Djokovic was broken 7 times (again with the 7s...) by Murray, while Murray was broken only thrice. In the opening set, neither player was able to convert their break point chances, until Murray finally broke to lead 2-1, before Djokovic broke right back to even the match up at 2-2. However, an uncharacteristic error at 3-3 gave the pivotal break to Murray for a 4-3 lead. The set went with serve and Murray served it out at love to win the first set 6-4. Djokovic then brought back memories of last year's final as he went up 4-1 in the second set. But the momentum swung quickly back into the Brit's favor as he won 8 of the next 9 games to take a 6-4, 7-5, 2-0 lead over Djokovic. But as soon as he looked out of the championship, Djokovic showed why he is world no.1 as he roared back to take 4 straight games and a 4-2 lead in the third set. However, one final momentum swing proved final for the Serbian as Murray won 4 straight games to take the Wimbledon title with a 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 victory in 3 hours and 9 minutes. The last game was a match in itself, as Murray needed four match points (he was up 40-0 before losing it) and saved 3 break points before finally winning a historic final.

Bryan bros make history, Bencic, Hsieh-Peng, among other winners!

The Bryan brothers completed the Golden Slam.

Hsieh and Peng lifted their first Grand Slam title.

Bencic won her second junior Grand Slam.

Su-wei Hsieh became the first Taiwanese person ever to win a Grand Slam, partnering Peng Shuai as the 8th seeds to defeat 12th seeds Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua 7-6(1), 6-1. Mike Bryan and Bob Bryan completed a non-calendar year "Golden Slam" defeating Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. They now hold all four Grand Slam titles and the Olympic gold medal. Belinda Bencic continued her junior dominance with a second straight Grand Slam title over Taylor Townsend 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Bencic completed the French-Wimbledon double.

Baking in the Sun...

An unbelievable 115 degrees under the sun today at an outdoor swim meet. I did well, but unfortunately the pool is 5 feet deep at the deep end which is where we dive. Shockingly, the biggest meet of the season will also be in this bug-infested, murky, lukewarm, boiling, humid place. Not to mention it is a meter pool...

Sorry about not posting predictions! I was at the above-mentioned swim meet.

Marion Bartoli steamrolls overwhelmed Sabine Lisicki for Wimbledon title!

The proceedings started normally, with Sabine Lisicki smiling walking on court. Warm-ups past uneventfully. When Lisicki broke Marion Bartoli in the very first game off of two Bartoli doubles faults, you never would have expected the rest. Lisicki was completely overwhelmed by the unorthodox Frenchwoman, falling behind 6-1, 5-1 15-40 on Lisicki's serve. At one point in the second set, Lisicki was overcome by tears as she was unable to play her game to her frantic nerves, which she admitted in a post-match interview. But then Lisicki mounted an unprecedented comeback saving three match points and holding serve twice (a first for Lisicki in this match) to get back to 6-1, 5-4 on Bartoli's serve. But then Bartoli clicked, and fired 4 winners to hold at love. She finished with an ace and fell to the ground in disbelief. Bartoli broke the record for most Grand Slams participated before winning one as this was her 47th try (Jana Novotna held the previous record at 45). Bartoli also did not drop a set the entire tournament, joining the likes of Martina Navratilova and Serena Williams who did that at Wimbledon.

Wimbledon Day 11 - Djokovic-del Potro, Janowicz-Murray on Centre Court

del Potro, Murray, Djokovic, and Janowicz (left to right) will fight in the semifinals.

I correctly predicted 3 of the 4 semifinalists: Juan Martin del Potro, Andy Murray, and Novak Djokovic. Jerzy Janowicz came through the Federer-Nadal quarter with a historic win over fellow Pole Lukasz Kubot. Djokovic and del Potro will clash first on Centre Court, before home raised Murray faces Janowicz last.

(1)Novak Djokovic SRB vs (8)Juan Martin del Potro ARG

Djokovic and del Potro both have not dropped a set on their way to their semifinal clash. Djokovic swept by Berdych 7-6(7-5), 6-4, 6-3, while del Potro overcame injury to romp Ferrer 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(7-5). Djokovic leads the head-to-head 8-3, but del Potro won their last meeting at Indian Wells and their only meeting on grass at the Olympics last year (for the bronze medal). However, del Potro is probably not fully fit after injuring his knee twice this tournament, but if he hits like he did against Ferrer in the quarterfinals, he could definitely push Djokovic's defenses. If del Potro is indeed fully fit, then this match is a completely different match. However, the world no.1 has looked untroubled thus far, and I think this will be his first test. Djokovic will be too consistent for the big-hitting del Potro.

Prediction: Djokovic in 5 sets

(24)Jerzy Janowicz POL vs (2)Andy Murray GBR

Janowicz is into his first ever Grand Slam semifinal (and quarterfinal and fourth round) and is up against home favorite Murray (US Open champ, Olympic gold medalist, etc., etc.). Not taking in account the intangibles, Janowicz has the game to silence the home crowd and overpower Murray. With serves consistently over 130mph, he also had a killer forehand, a solid backhand, solid net skills, and arguably the best drop shot in the game. The question is: Can Janowicz put it together consistenly to trouble Murray? Murray has some of the best defensive skills in the game, and is a natural mover on the grass. What makes him no.2 in the world is his ability to turn offense to defense and defense to offense. The head-to-head series is 1-1, but Janowicz has a win in 2012 at Bercy saving match points against Murray on his way to the final. I think Murray will be too consistent for the flashy Janowicz.

Prediction: Murray in 5 sets

Tell me your predictions! Either way it is going to be a thrilling Friday!

Wimbledon Day 10 - Lisicki and Bartoli into unexpected Wimbledon final!

Sabine Lisicki (top) and Marion Bartoli (bottom) showed tears of joy as they reached the Wimbledon final in very contrasting fashions. Bartoli was first on Centre Court, and needed only 63 minutes to destroy first time Grand Slam semifinalist Kirsten Flipkens 6-1, 6-2 to advance to her second Wimbledon final. Flipkens was never really in the match, as Bartoli's powerful double-fisted groundstrokes blew Flipkens off the court as I predicted. The second semifinal was a much, MUCH closer affair as Lisicki was two points from defeat, but came back to win it 6-4, 2-6, 9-7 in over two hours. After taking the first set, Lisicki's game fell apart as the errors piled up. Similar to her upset over Serena, she fell 0-3 down in the final set to the crafty, patient Radwanska. Lisicki found her range again, and served for the match at 5-4. But Radwanska showed her underrated fighting spirit to break back. The two women continued holding in dramatic games to 7-7, before Radwanska faltered with some easy unforced errors allowing Lisicki to again serve for the match at 8-7. Lisicki got to 40-0, and converted on her second match point, dropping to the ground in joy.  

Wimbledon Day 10 - Bartoli-Flipkens up first, Lisicki-Radwanska to finish

Defending finalist Radwanska is into the semis again.

(23)Sabine Lisicki GER

Lisicki is into her second Wimbledon semifinal.

VS

(4)Agnieszka Radwanska POL

Agnieszka Radwanska survived a high-quality clash against Li Na, in a match she really should have lost 6-4, 6-4. She is now into the semifinals for a second straight year and will face Wimbledon-loving Sabine Lisicki. Lisicki knocked off Serena Williams in the fourth round, and backed it up with a straight sets 6-3, 6-3 win over Kaia Kanepi to reach her second Wimbledon semifinal. On a good day, Lisicki has the game to beat anyone as shown by her win over Serena. But Radwanska's constant retrieving and stunning defense put an in-form Li out of the tournament. I think Radwanska is one of the most constantly underrated, underwatched players, and I think it is her time to claim Grand Slam glory.

Prediction: Radwanska in 3 sets

Flipkens is into her first Grand Slam semifinal.

(15)Marion Bartoli FRA

VS

2007 finalist Bartoli rekindles the magic to reach the semis.

(20)Kirsten Flipkens BEL

2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli faces a newbie to this stage, Kirsten Flipkens. Bartoli knocked off the last American Sloane Stephens 6-4, 7-5 in a up-and-down encounter featuring many breaks of serve. She is the only player in the semifinals not to have dropped a set. Flipkens showed great poise against Petra Kvitova, knocking out the 2011 champ 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 without any sign of nerves in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. Flipkens' craftiness and all-court game has seen a sensational comeback from blood clots. Last year, she was ranked 262 and couldn't get into Wimbledon qualifying. Now she is into the semifinals. Bartoli's run came out of nowhere as she was having a terrible year on her standards. I think Bartoli's train will keep rolling on with her powerful double-fisted groundstrokes blowing Flipkens off the court.

Prediction: Bartoli in 2 tight sets

Wimbledon Day 9 - Djokovic-del Potro, Janowicz-Murray for a Spot in the Wimbledon Final!

Novak Djokovic overcame a tight first set to sweep past Tomas Berdych 7-6(7-5), 6-4, 6-3. I believe this is Djokovic's 13th straight Grand Slam semifinal! Finishing just 10 seconds before Djokovic, was Juan Martin del Potro who overcame an injury scare and David Ferrer 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(7-5). del Potro took a fall while chasing a volley in the fifth point in the match. Jerzy Janowicz and Lukasz Kubot made Polish history by facing off in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, but it was Janowicz who prevailed in 3 sets 7-5, 6-4, 6-4. Janowicz dropped to the ground in shock of what he had achieved, as he couldn't even afford a trip to the Australian Open in 2012. Finally, Britain's hope Andy Murray was forced to dig deep to defeat Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-5. It was Murray's 7th(?) time rallying from 2 sets to 0 down. With the semifinals set, many people are looking forward to a Djokovic-Murray final, but del Potro and Janowicz are no pushovers. del Potro defeated Djokovic at the Olympics on grass at Wimbledon last year to win the bronze medal, while Janowicz saved match points to shock Murray at Bercy as a qualifier. 

Wimbledon Day 9 - Abridged Predictions

Djokovic over Berdych in 4 sets (Djokovic looking for revenge.)

del Potro over Ferrer in 4 sets (Don't bet on this one.)

Janowicz over Kubot in 4 sets (I can't see Kubot in a semifinal, but who knows?)

Murray over Verdasco in 4 sets (Murray has the weight of Great Britain on his shoulders.)

Wimbledon Day 8 - Lisicki-Radwanska and Bartoli-Flipkens Semifinals Set!

Defending finalist Radwanska is into the semis again.

(23)Sabine Lisicki GER

Lisicki is into her second Wimbledon semifinal.

VS

(4)Agnieszka Radwanska POL

Flipkens is into her first Grand Slam semifinal.

2007 finalist Bartoli rekindles the magic to reach the semis.

(15)Marion Bartoli FRA

VS

(20)Kirsten Flipkens BEL

Wow...Who predicted these semifinal matchups? Some people probably picked Agnieszka Radwanska to make it through, but Sabine Lisicki, Marion Bartoli, and Kirsten Flipkens? 

Lisicki was the first to make it through to the semifinals, defeating Kaia Kanepi relatively easily to back up her big win over Serena in the last round. Lisicki was never really troubled in a 6-3, 6-3 win and Kanepi looked very mentally drained after reaching the quarterfinals with some big wins of her own. There was one brief moment in the second set where Lisicki dropped serve on the basis of two double faults, but recovered to win four straight games and take the match.

Radwanska defeated Li Na in a very high quality encounter that fluctuated as much as the rain delays. Li looked to have the first set in the bag serving at 5-4, but wasted 4 set points. At one point, there was an "out" call on a serve on set point for Li, but she didn't challenge. Later, TV replays on Hawkeye showed it was in! Instead, Radwanska fought pack to take the set in a tiebreak. After dropping an erratic second set 4-6, Radwanska raced to a 5-1 lead in the final set under the roof. After saving a match point to hold for 5-2, Li staved off match point after match point with gutsy plays, but finally fell on the eighth match point. Game, set, match, Miss Radwanska! 7-6(7-5), 4-6, 6-2.

Bartoli followed into the semifinals against the last American standing, Sloane Stephens. Play was suspended at deuce at 4-5 on Stephens' serve. Bartoli was the one who recovered better and broke to take the set and race to a 2-0 lead in the second. Breaks were traded back and forth, until finally Stephens held for 5-5. But Bartoli then closed it out quickly, taking the last two games and the match 6-4, 7-5.

Flipkens continued her dream run, knocking out 2011 champ Petra Kvitova to reach the semifinals. Last Wimbledon, Flipkens was ranked 262 and did not even get a spot in the qualifying draw. One year later and a titanic rise up the rankings, Flipkens is now into the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the first time. Kvitova played her customary up and down tennis from this year, taking the first set 6-4, and losing the second 3-6. Flipkens didn't crack though and held her nerve at 4-4 40-15 down in the final set. She rallied to take that game to serve for the match. She looked as calm as ever to reach triple match point on her service. The first two were saved by blistering Kvitova winners. Then BOOM, her seventh ace flew by Kvitova and a shocked Flipkens was into the Wimbledon semifinals.

So a new Grand Slam champion will be crowned at this year's Wimbledon. Who do you think will win?

Wimbledon Day 7 - Serena OUT and Day 8 Predictions!

Lisicki continued her giant-killing at Wimbledon.

The reigning French Open champion, 2 losses on the year, defending Wimbledon champion, 34 match win streak, 5-time Wimbledon champion, 16-time Grand Slam champion, and current world #1. Just some of the achievements of Serena Williams. But that didn't matter to Wimbledon-loving, big hitter Sabine Lisicki. A gutsy and inconsistent performance saw Lisicki steamroll Serena in the first set 6-2, and go up 1-0 in the second. Then she lost 9 straight games to go down 0-3 in the third. Everybody had written off Lisicki by then, but then she pulled a stunning comeback taking out Serena 6-2, 1-6, 6-4. After winning 9 straight games, Serena seemed to lose concentration, unable to make decisions and making uncharacteristic errors, including a missed overhead that came Lisicki the decisive break at 4-all in the 3rd set. Despite Serena's 34 match win streak, this upset didn't surprise me that much as Lisicki as taken out the reigning French Open champ in her 3 previous appearances (Kuznetsova 2009, Li 2011, Sharapova 2012, and now Serena 2013; she was out with an ankle injury in 2010). Her quarterfinal opponent will be a similarly big-hitting, big-serving player, Kaia Kanepi who knocked out the last Brit in the women's draw, Laura Robson. Coming back from injury, Kanepi gutted out a tough straight-setter needing 5 match points to close it out 7-6(8-6), 7-5. In the only quarterfinal that stayed with the seeds, 4th seed Agnieszka Radwanska will take on 6th seed Li Na for a second consecutive Wimbledon semifinal. Radwanska need 3 sets to tough out the grass court specialist Tsvetana Pironkova while Li swatted aside fellow 30-something Roberta Vinci 6-2, 6-0. Sloane Stephens also needed 3 sets to end the fairytale run of Monica Puig 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. She will face Marion Bartoli, who along with Kirsten Flipkens, have not dropped a set the entire tournament. Flipkens will face former champ Petra Kvitova who edged Carla Suarez Navarro 7-6(7-5), 6-3.

(23)Sabine Lisicki GER vs Kaia Kanepi EST: Lisicki in 3 sets
Can Lisicki back up the upset of Serena Williams? The other giant killers have not and Kanepi is a very solid opponent. But something about Lisicki and Wimbledon just say Lisicki in 3 up-and-down sets
(4)Agnieszka Radwanska POL vs (6)Li Na CHN: Radwanska in 2 sets
There is absolutely no pattern in the rivalry between Radwanska and Li, which Li leads 6-4. So I picked Radwanska solely on the fact that she is the defending finalist and the higher seed. However, don't bet on it!
(17)Sloane Stephens USA vs (15)Marion Bartoli FRA: Bartoli in 3 sets
Both have navigated matchups against tricky unseeded opponents, though Bartoli has not dropped a set while Stephens has been pushed to 3 sets in 3 matches. I am a big fan of Stephens, but she has been quite lucky to get this far with those lapses in her game. Bartoli is a former Wimbledon finalist and will battle it out with Stephens for a spot in the top 10. 50-50 for me.
(8)Petra Kvitova CZE vs (20)Kirsten Flipkens BEL: Kvitova in 2 sets
With the unpredictability of Kvitova, this is a mighty hard one to choose. She can dish out a double bagel or get double bageled at any time. Flipkens has not dropped a set and upset Kvitova on hardcourts this year. However, Kvitova has not lost to anyone but Serena Williams in Wimbledon since 2010 and is my pick for another Wimbledon title.