The Australian Open Status Report: Cilic, Serena and Henin by Nadya Vlassoff
Leading up to The 2010 Australian Open, fans of
the tennis world were certainly looking forward
to the start of a new season. Although a new crop
of tennis stars have been climbing the ranks,
past champions were back for a bid to regain former
glory. One of the biggest names of the past decade,
Justine Henin, returned to Australia and the WTA
tour after a two-year hiatus and now has a place
in the Aussie semi-finals after defeating Russia's
Nadia Petrova on Monday. Henin will now face China's
Zheng Jie as she makes her remarkable comeback.
Early in the Open, Maria Sharapova took to the Aussie court after a year that
saw the Russian superstar plagued by injury.
Both Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal returned
to Melbourne ready to defend their titles while
Roger Federer flew into Australia looking to
show the world he's still the dominant male
force in tennis, now on his way forward after
beating Layton Hewitt on Monday in straight
sets. Week 1 of The Australian Open proved that
the biggest names in tennis were more than ready
to silence critics. Week 2, however, is where
the big names walk the walk.
Like any grand slam, however, this year's Australian Open was full of shocking upsets in the first week, especially in the opening rounds. Maria Sharapova was ousted in the first round by friend and Russian compatriot, Maria Kirilenko. The fourth seeded Dane (and one of the breakout stars of 2009), Caroline Wozniacki went down in defeat on Sunday in straight sets at the hands of China's Li Na. It was one of the biggest wins for Li who advanced to the quarter-finals of the Aussie Open for the first time in her career and did so in brilliant fashion.
On the men's side, the big-serving Ivo Karlovic made it all the way to the fourth round after beating Radek Stepanek in the first round and Ivan Ljubicic in the third round only to be ousted by Rafael Nadal. Aside from Karlovic's impressive run, Marin Cilic set the Melbourne courts ablaze on Sunday after one of the biggest wins of his career when the young Cilic defeated Juan Martin del Potro in the fourth round. Two of the tallest men on tour went head-to-head (literally, since Cilic and del Porto are the only two tall enough to stare each other down) but it was Cilic who prevailed. Although Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic coasted through their first week in Melbourne, Andy Roddick faced little opposition in his 2010 Australian Open bid, except for the chair umpire. However, Andy Roddick couldn't stop Marian Cilic who took out Roddick in a five set victory.
Aside
from Cilic's blazing run on the men's side,
no other player has been more dominant than
Serena Williams. The younger Williams steamrolled
the competition as Serena advanced easily into
the quarter-finals after her fourth round match
against Australia's Samantha Stousr. Serena
has yet to drop serve in four matches as she
looks to knock off Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
As the top seeds begin to fall, no one else
on the WTA tour looks strong enough to take
out the defending champion. Even Serena's sister
and doubles partner, Venus, who has played well
throughout the tournament to avenge her shocking
third round loss in 2009, may not be able to
derail the Serena Steamroller.
Although defending Aussie champion, Rafael Nadal hasn't been on the same roll as Serena Williams, Nadal has certainly proven that he's returned to the form that helped give the Spaniard first Australian Open title in 2009. After suffering a heartbreaking loss in the fourth round at the French Open last year and plagued by nagging injuries that caused him to pull out of Wimbledon, Rafael Nadal is back in on-court business as one of the tennis elite. After regaining his #2 ranking behind Roger Federer, Nadal is certainly one of the biggest threats to take the first grand slam of the season who now faces Andy Murray in one of the most anticipated matches.
The final week of the Aussie Open in Melbourne has already begun with some of the marquee names poised to advance into the final rounds but big questions are only beginning to formulate thanks in large part, to the play throughout January. Nikolay Davydenko is still the dark horse as he now takes on Roger Federer, but after a grueling five-setter against Fernando Verdasco in the fourth round, can the resurgent Russian beat the odds, and the favourites, to finally claim his first grand slam title? Can Justine Henin defy the odds like Kim Clijsters did at Flushing Meadows last September and win her first grand slam since her return to the tour? Will anyone be able to defeat the dynamic doubles duo of Venus and Serena Williams? Once again, the same yearly question is in play: Will Aussie tennis fans see Venus and Serena square off in the semi-final?
Leading up to The 2010 Australian Open, fans of
the tennis world were certainly looking forward
to the start of a new season. Although a new crop
of tennis stars have been climbing the ranks,
past champions were back for a bid to regain former
glory. One of the biggest names of the past decade,
Justine Henin, returned to Australia and the WTA
tour after a two-year hiatus and now has a place
in the Aussie semi-finals after defeating Russia's
Nadia Petrova on Monday. Henin will now face China's
Zheng Jie as she makes her remarkable comeback.
Aside
from Cilic's blazing run on the men's side,
no other player has been more dominant than
Serena Williams. The younger Williams steamrolled
the competition as Serena advanced easily into
the quarter-finals after her fourth round match
against Australia's Samantha Stousr. Serena
has yet to drop serve in four matches as she
looks to knock off Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
As the top seeds begin to fall, no one else
on the WTA tour looks strong enough to take
out the defending champion. Even Serena's sister
and doubles partner, Venus, who has played well
throughout the tournament to avenge her shocking
third round loss in 2009, may not be able to
derail the Serena Steamroller.