WOMEN'S - 2010 Australian Open

Who will win the 2010 Women's Australian Open Championship?

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    108
  • Poll closed .
Not a good start to the year for Safina. And I still thought she may make it deep in this tournament considering her straight set victories over her opponents so far!

Safina,Kuznetsova,Dementieva,Pennetta,Clijsters,Wickmayer,Sharapova,Ivanovic and Jankovic are all out.

The only REAL contenders left are Serena,Venus and Henin.
 
FuriousYellow said:
Azarenka's been quietly moving through the draw, but she's been mowing down her opponents. Three matches and a bagel set in each of them.
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I've noticed that Az always mows down the early round opponents in slams, so that is nothing new. Once she gets to a seed however, that sort of scoreline usually ends.
 
Its funny how the women's quarterfinal draw always have one half consisting of not-so-high ranked players/wildcards/unseeded ones,and the other half consisting of highly ranked contenders.

Henin vs Petrova and Zheng vs Kirilenko in the bottom quarterfinal draw. Can you believe that either MaKiri or Zheng is going to be a semifinalist? Whereas the top quarterhalf consists of Serena,Venus,Wozniacki,Zvonareva and Azarenka,the only 5 top 10 players remaining in the draw. Freaky.
 
YouJaySoup said:
Its funny how the women's quarterfinal draw always have one half consisting of not-so-high ranked players/wildcards/unseeded ones,and the other half consisting of highly ranked contenders.

Henin vs Petrova and Zheng vs Kirilenko in the bottom quarterfinal draw. Can you believe that either MaKiri or Zheng is going to be a semifinalist? Whereas the top quarterhalf consists of Serena,Venus,Wozniacki,Zvonareva and Azarenka,the only 5 top 10 players remaining in the draw. Freaky.
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Zheng made Wimby SF in 2008, so I guess that run wasn't a fluke.
 
Darn it! Safina's going to lose a whole lot of ground trying to catch Serena. I think she loses 1100 pts with this result. With her back or thigh being a problem, she's likely to lose some more points before clay season though (it's a good thing she didn't do much post AO through Miami).

But it irks me tha Serena will be #1 for a while since she doesn't give a care about 80% of the events she plays in, even when she is healthy. Kuznetsova went out early as well so barring Wozniacki/Azarenka/Wickmayer taking it to a whole new level this year or Serena getting injured, we're doomed to having Serena being #1 for the whole year....
 
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Well, if Serena loses to Stosur and Wozniacki wins the AO, Wozniacki will be the new #1..... I'd want to puke at that thought even though I detest Serena....
 
YouJaySoup said:
The only REAL contenders left are Serena,Venus and Henin.
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Henin is playing like sh1t although she might make the final inspite of it only due to her joke draw these final rounds (so much for poor Henin having a killer draw, LOL), and Venus has pretty much no shot of beating Serena on this kind of slow surface which she isnt even that strong on anymore (she is having a hard time beating Serena even on her favorite surfaces). I think it would be a miracle seeing who is left and how they are playing if Serena doesnt win. I actually think Petrova is the biggest threat to beat Serena maybe on her current form if she can get to here, but I am already seeing her serving for the match vs a visibly off form Henin and still choking it away, or just bowing down to Henin due to their history inspite of how poor Henin is playing this whole tournament. Who knows, maybe determination could cause Venus in the semis or Henin in the final to come up with a really strong performance that belies their play here so far, but I doubt it.
 
soyizgood said:
Darn it! Safina's going to lose a whole lot of ground trying to catch Serena. I think she loses 1100 pts with this result. With her back or thigh being a problem, she's likely to lose some more points before clay season though (it's a good thing she didn't do much post AO through Miami).

But it irks me tha Serena will be #1 for a while since she doesn't give a care about 80% of the events she plays in, even when she is healthy. Kuznetsova went out early as well so barring Wozniacki/Azarenka/Wickmayer taking it to a whole new level this year or Serena getting injured, we're doomed to having Serena being #1 for the whole year....
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So you'd rather have slamless headcase Safina at #1 than Serena? We already saw what a debacle Safina was at #1, losing to players ranked 70-100 spots lower than her...nothing against the girl, but I don't know why anyone would be hoping for her to return to #1 unless she wins a slam. Or unless you really hate Serena, which you state that you do. :rolleyes:
 
jamesblakefan#1 said:
So you'd rather have slamless headcase Safina at #1 than Serena? We already saw what a debacle Safina was at #1, losing to players ranked 70-100 spots lower than her...nothing against the girl, but I don't know why anyone would be hoping for her to return to #1 unless she wins a slam.
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I dont want Safina at #1 either. She isnt #1 material. Clijsters wont play enough to be competitive for #1 even if she wins slams. Venus is in the twilight of her career clearly. Henin is the only other one besides Serena I could see reasonably being #1 in the near future, and I am going to wait until I see her return to top form on something other than clay (even now I still fully expect her to dominate the weak womens clay court field as usual this year) before forecasting that. Her tennis so far here isnt #1 ranked caliber either.
 
soyizgood said:
Well, if Serena loses to Stosur and Wozniacki wins the AO, Wozniacki will be the new #1..... I'd want to puke at that thought even though I detest Serena....
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Your distaste for Wozniacki is getting old fast. Surely if she wins the AO she has deserved whatever ranking she will get, even if it is the top spot. To be the the runner-up at one GS and to follow it up by winning the next... this would make you want to puke? We will see...
 
JankovicFan said:
Kirilenko is dangerous now because she gets a rest with the short match with Safina. She feels good enough to play doubles in the background. I would include her in any list of whose chances to take seriously.
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Really? She had a gutsy win against Sharapova (in which Sharapova helped her out quite a bit), but other than that...she's been very lucky. I don't mean to downplay her accomplishments here, but among the remaining players, she is the darkest of dark horses. Even her next opponent, Zheng, has experience going this deep in a GS draw.

davey25 said:
Henin is playing like sh1t although she might make the final inspite of it only due to her joke draw these final rounds (so much for poor Henin having a killer draw, LOL), and Venus has pretty much no shot of beating Serena on this kind of slow surface which she isnt even that strong on anymore (she is having a hard time beating Serena even on her favorite surfaces). I think it would be a miracle seeing who is left and how they are playing if Serena doesnt win. I actually think Petrova is the biggest threat to beat Serena maybe on her current form if she can get to here, but I am already seeing her serving for the match vs a visibly off form Henin and still choking it away, or just bowing down to Henin due to their history inspite of how poor Henin is playing this whole tournament. Who knows, maybe determination could cause Venus in the semis or Henin in the final to come up with a really strong performance that belies their play here so far, but I doubt it.
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Henin is playing like crap? Really? Are you watching the same matches the rest of us are? *scratching head*
 
soyizgood said:
But it irks me tha Serena will be #1 for a while since she doesn't give a care about 80% of the events she plays in, even when she is healthy. Kuznetsova went out early as well so barring Wozniacki/Azarenka/Wickmayer taking it to a whole new level this year or Serena getting injured, we're doomed to having Serena being #1 for the whole year....
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Whoever ends up #1 only gets it one way...by earning it.
 
Topaz said:
Henin is playing like crap? Really? Are you watching the same matches the rest of us are? *scratching head*
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Actually you are one of the first ones who disageed with me on that. Yes I have seen her matches here and she is playing awful, struggling with players the Henin of 2003-2007 would have slammed silly (eg- her last 2 opponents). Her serve sucks right now, and she is struggling to gain either power or consistency on her shots. Her concentration is patchy. If she reaches the final and plays Serena, as I still think she will, Serena will probably expose just how poorly she is playing and how much she lucked out with the draw here (apart from a tough early round with Dementieva) with Clijsters going out, the more probable semifinal opponents going out, and both Williams on the other half. If she beats Serena in the final or even impresses in defeat I will eat my words, but right now I am not impressed.
 
I see a Henin who serves and charges the net on important points, with a beefed up FH that she's cracking crosscourt, and of course, the beautiful BH and impeccable movement.

If that's playing like crap, where do I sign up?!?
 
Topaz said:
I see a Henin who serves and charges the net on important points, with a beefed up FH that she's cracking crosscourt, and of course, the beautiful BH and impeccable movement.

If that's playing like crap, where do I sign up?!?
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She serves every point she isnt returning. That is what everyone who plays tennis does. Since she is serving and playing poorly naturally she is having to face alot of important points on her serve, thus she serves on important points (and yes once in awhile follows it into the net mostly due to how much she is struggling to find her game off the ground this fortnight). Her serve is certainly not good right now though, the worst it has ever been. A beefed up FH!?! What are you smoking. Her forehand in 2007 was the best in the womens game, she was even demolishing Serena off that side when they played that year. Here it has made errors all over the place and been outdone by journeywomen or little proven up and coming opponents. Yeah her BH is pretty good still. She is playing the big points well and determined, which is to be expected of a 7 slam champion regardless her form, and has allowed to eke by far much inferior opposition who she would roll in form despite playing so poorly, and stay in the draw.

As I said if she beats Serena in the final or even puts on a good show if she loses I will eat my words and you can quote me on that. Right now I just see a player who has a long way to go to return to top form who might make the final only due to a dream 2nd week draw.
 
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What are *you* smoking?? Her FH broke down a ton in the past. Her serve is allowing her to charge the net, and you can't do that successfully behind a bad serve (and she is quite successful with it). I'm pretty sure you know what I meant by 'important points'...you know, BP, MP, etc...but you just want to be right, right, right, and not give her any credit. Whatever.
 
Like I said if she beats Serena in the final or even performs well in defeat in the final then get back to me as I already admited I will eat my words in that case. Until then feel free to continue to be amazed by Henin playing mediocre tennis several levels below her old form and struggling hard to barely beat the likes of Klebyanova and Wickmayer who she would most times beat in under an hour in her prime years, but dont try and sell me any of it. I wont argue with you anymore though, think what you want to think. I dont think we will be seeing an Australian Open trophy on Saturday, and if she is playing on Saturday at all it will mostly due to her dream 2nd week draw IMO (what was the whining from Henintards of her oh so tough draw, now that looks accurate now doesnt it, LOL!).
 
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jamesblakefan#1 said:
So you'd rather have slamless headcase Safina at #1 than Serena? We already saw what a debacle Safina was at #1, losing to players ranked 70-100 spots lower than her...nothing against the girl, but I don't know why anyone would be hoping for her to return to #1 unless she wins a slam. Or unless you really hate Serena, which you state that you do. :rolleyes:
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You do realize Serena as #1 last year lost 4 straight matches, ate breadsticks in her first 5 losses (indcluding to Zakopalova and Schnyder), lost to #95 Zakopalova in the process, and she gave Dementieva a walk-over in Paris (Tier-II). Serena's care-free nonchalant attitude about being #1 will just further make being at the top a joke. It's a joke that no woman won more than 3 events in 2009 after 2008 when nobody won more than 4.

BTW, it took Clijsters and Mauresmo over two years after they first reached #1 to win a slam. They still did well to go deep at key events until their moment for a slam came. I don't like Serena, but she's the best player until someone comes around and takes it from her. With all the mental midgets out there and others past their peak years, Serena can basically play part-time and still hold #1. That by itself is sad.
 
There is no worthy #1 in the WTA now. That is why womens tennis is in such bad shape. Serena would be of course if she cared about the rest of the tour and not just the slams. The others just arent good enough. Hopefully Henin can get her game back together and be that player. Not pleased with her tennis here so much, but I kind of expected it in her first event back. I still think she could turn it on in the final few matches and win maybe though.
 
soyizgood said:
You do realize Serena as #1 last year lost 4 straight matches, ate breadsticks in her first 5 losses (indcluding to Zakopalova and Schnyder), lost to #95 Zakopalova in the process, and she gave Dementieva a walk-over in Paris (Tier-II). Serena's care-free nonchalant attitude about being #1 will just further make being at the top a joke. It's a joke that no woman won more than 3 events in 2009 after 2008 when nobody won more than 4.

BTW, it took Clijsters and Mauresmo over two years after they first reached #1 to win a slam. They still did well to go deep at key events until their moment for a slam came. I don't like Serena, but she's the best player until someone comes around and takes it from her. With all the mental midgets out there and others past their peak years, Serena can basically play part-time and still hold #1. That by itself is sad.
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You're really putting Safina in Clijsters and Mauresmo's class? OK....:rolleyes:
 
anointedone said:
There is no worthy #1 in the WTA now. That is why womens tennis is in such bad shape. Serena would be of course if she cared about the rest of the tour and not just the slams. The others just arent good enough. Hopefully Henin can get her game back together and be that player. Not pleased with her tennis here so much, but I kind of expected it in her first event back. I still think she could turn it on in the final few matches and win maybe though.
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Henin can definitely get to the final. Petrova on paper is the favorite although Henin now has a golden oppurtunity to capatilize on the open draw before her. If she can find her A game (which she has not come close to yet this fortnight), she should have no problem sweeping aside Petrova and whomever comes out of the Jheng/Kirilenko match. Hoping that the top half which has pretty much held to form bludgeons each other down a bit, and she could take this. But seeing as how she has been no where near consistant in her last two matches if she does that against Petrova who for once seems to be playing really well and capatilizing on opponent mistakes, well Petrova may just suprise us all. Whomever wins between Petrova & Henin will be in the final next weekend though, I don't think Kirilenko or Jheng could beat either of them.
 
Wow.. Woz being out-Wozed right now... :shock: She's the one making the mindless errors.

Woz's problem is when her pushing doesn't work, she lacks an extra gear to turn the tables. Right now she's at Li's mercy and Li is just hitting patient, yet effective shots.
 
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