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Serena 7-5, 6-0 
She is saving the real fight for later rounds...  |
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Three to See: Day 4 Australian Open PreviewsWednesday, January 21, 2015 /by Steve Tignor
Caroline Wozniacki will likely have the edge on a recovering Vika Azarenka on Day 4 Down Under. (AP Photo)
Each day during the Australian Open, Steve Tignor will look ahead to three of the most compelling matches in each draw.
*****
Victoria Azarenka vs. Caroline WozniackiThursday's showcase match has ended up on Margaret Court Arena at night, a fact that generated so much outrage in my Twitter feed last night that I thought the scandal might begin to trend worldwide. I can understand the disappointment, but I can also understand how Sam Stosur’s match would be in Rod Laver instead. And while MCA isn’t the bigger court, it is the better one for spectators.
Those spectators will get an early-round treat from this match, which, by the end of 2015, could be a Grand Slam final. Both women are former No. 1s, and in completed head-head matches, they’re 3-3 (technically, Wozniacki leads 4-3). Azarenka is a two-time champ here, but Wozniacki is farther along in her rebuilding process. Winner: Wozniacki
Gael Monfils vs. Jerzy JanowiczThe night time is the right time for this trip through the tennis looking glass. The Pole and the Frenchman are towering athletes who are as gifted in self-sabotage as they are in shot-making. A match featuring one of them is unpredictable enough; put them together and you can only expect the unexpected. Monfils won their sole meeting, in fairly quiet fashion it seems, 6-3, 6-4 last year in Metz. Gael probably won’t settle for anything that dull in Hisense tonight. Winner: Monfils
Serena Williams vs. Vera ZvonarevaThese two faced each other in the 2010 Wimbledon final—it seems so long ago, doesn't it? Can you guess who won? But while Serena has the upper hand in their head-to-head, she hasn't always dominated. Zvonareva has won three of their 10 matches, and two of five on hard courts. The Russian is 31 now and, after some time away, ranked No. 203. But this isn’t your everyday second-round match, and Serena won’t treat it that way. Winner: S. Williams
Milos Raonic vs. Donald YoungOn the surface, this appears to be blowout city. Raonic is in the Top 10 and is a legitimate threat to win the tournament; Young is ranked 56th, he gives up six inches on Raonic, and has no weapons that can remotely compete with the Canadian’s serve. Yet the last time they played, indoors in Basel last fall, Young took it to a final-set tiebreaker before succumbing. Winner: Raonic
Madison Keys vs. Casey DellacquaThe new Keys-Davenport team moves into its second round, and up a step in class. The Aussie and the American, ranked 29 and 35 respectively, should be evenly matched. Winner: Keys
Sam Stosur vs. CoCo VandewegheIt will be tension time in Rod Laver Arena tonight, as Stosur tries once again to shake her home-country nerves. Vandeweghe may not be the best opponent for that. The big-serving American has improved over the last year, and her improvement included a three-set win over Stosur in Miami last March. Still, she’ll be nervous for a night match, too. Winner: Vandeweghe
Honorable Mention: Venus Williams vs. Lauren Davis. Here we have the long and the short of it. Venus is 6’1”, Davis is 5’2”. They’ve played once, two weeks ago in Auckland, and Venus won easily. Can it be as easy this time?
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Djokovic: Serena's coffee "opens up a new chapter of rules"
Novak Djokovic says that unlike Serena Williams, he wouldn't order a coffee on court, and also doesn't care for Chinese food or beer. Williams drank a coffee during the Hopman Cup two weeks ago after she had just arrived in Perth and was very tired.
"The Chinese [food] and a beer and the coffee... I'm not a fan of those three things," Djokovic. "But I guess, judging by what she did, it opens up a new chapter of rules I guess on the tennis court. Maybe we need to explore more and see what you're able and what you're not able to order. Maybe you can order some delivery service, as you mentioned. I don't know. Something that comes to your mind.
"But it's understandable. Some people can't live without coffee in the morning. It keeps them going. I guess that helped her in that match. It wouldn't help me because I'm not a fan of coffee."
Djokovic didn't need a pick-me-up in his opening match at the Australian Open, winning in straight sets over Aljaz Bedene.
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UCanNotBeSerious 5ptsFeatured
31 minutes agoSure, Serena likes her coffee. And what is the perfect compliment to a cup of steaming mocha java?
Well, after 58 grueling minutes against a still very viable Vera Zvonareva in the first set of their second round contest (7-5 Williams), Seena reached for one of her favorite "munchies"... Hey, what's more fitting on a warm Aussie afternoon in Melbourne than a piping hot bagel in the final set of the match.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Williams Bakery is open for business in Oz. Go Venus.
-------
funny comment 
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tak sabar nak tgk Federer-Kyrgios...  |
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ptg ni tgk dulu Azarenka vs Wozniacki
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"I want to congratulate Tim. He's a real gentleman. Not a lot of people will do this at 6-5 in the fifth." -Rafa on Smyczek. |
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Nadal says the lack of match play recently and the humidity got to him, started feeling cramps after 1st set |
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Tim Smyczek on Nadal: "That was his C or D game and he found a way to win. Hats off to him. That's why he's one of the best" |
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Rafa was serving at 6-5 ,30-0 in final set.. Someone shouted as he tossed the ball. Tim insisted to replay that point... applauded every good point from Rafa. #Respect for the sportsmanship
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In regard to Rafa's drama (as claimed by some people);
Going to have to respectfully disagree with you regarding Rafa intentionally creating drama. Take the injury, lack of play, and possible illness out of it and look at the core of Rafa. He is probably the fiercest competitor on tour. Guys like that don't intentionally lose to anyone. They want to win, and win quickly. Like Vince Lombardi said, "winning is a habit, but unfortunately so is losing". A guy like Rafa is not dropping a set, game, or point intentionally to anyone....it's not in his character. I'm a big Fed fan, but I love Rafa's ability to compete. Rafa was genuinely struggling agains a player who played the best match of his life. Once again, Rafa finds a way to win!!!
Drama ker camni? Tgk dia punya lega bila menang.
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Serena Williams v Vera Zvonareva highlights (2R)
The bright yellow dress that has already become a talking point of Australian Open 2015 is just the right shade of sunny for Serena Williams.
Having declared that 2015 will be the year in which she just “enjoys her tennis” it aptly reflects her new mood for the new season.
And why shouldn’t Serena, at age 33, enjoy her tennis? With 18 Grand Slam titles collected, over 200 weeks spent at world No.1 (the past 100 of those weeks consecutively) and a handy $US 65.5 million prize money banked, any extra on-court feats are arguably a mere bonus now.
It’s an attitude partly gleaned from old sister Venus, who has long been a role model in Serena’s career. “She's in a good place. She talks about how she feels … She's like, ‘Yeah, if I win it'll be great. If not, I'm not going to worry about it’,” Serena explained.
“I think that's a great attitude because it takes a lot of pressure off of you. She's done so much in her career. She doesn't have to win another match. The same thing for me. As long as we can kind of look at it that way, then we both will do really well."
Not that the absence of such pressure makes Serena any less hungry to keep adding to her achievements. As top seed and world No.1, the five-time Australian Open has called on her famous will to win so many times that it’s simply instinct now.
It needed to be as she faced Vera Zvonareva in the second round on Thursday, a far more dangerous opponent than her world No.203 ranking suggested. While her recent years have been decimated by injury, the Russian is a former world No.2 who was runner-up at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2010.
She is also a two-time Australian Open semifinalist, and there were many reminders of those credentials early in Thursday’s match, Zvonareva not shy to be aggressive as she broke Serena’s serve in the third game. Despite surrendering the break in the next game, the Russian edged ahead as she broke again and then consolidated to take a 5-3 lead.
Zvonareva held a trio of break points – and therefore set points – as the world No.1 struggled with her serve in the ninth game. But it was then that Serena reminded herself of her new positive approach to 2015.
“Things really clicked,” said Serena, who smacked a pair of forehand winners and one of five aces for the match to navigate her way out of trouble. “I had no other option but for things to click … I just had to start playing better.”
From there, it was in fact all better for Serena, who reeled off 10 consecutive games to claim a 7-5 6-0 win in an hour and 25 minutes, her 32 winners helping cancel out 24 unforced errors – the same number of errors that Zvonareva amassed.
Now through to an Australian Open third round for the 14th time in 15th appearances, where she’ll face the 26th seed Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine, Serena is delighted to continue progress at one of her favourite events, having spoken earlier in the tournament about what it would mean to win again in Australia.
“It would be really great. I've been going for number six for a number of years now. It would be really special for me. I would be really happy,” said Serena, while noting that she’s not taking that possibility lightly.
“I want it I think more than anyone else here. But that doesn’t mean I'm going to get it, so I'll have to fight hard to get it.”
And that statement, just like her progression against Zvonareva, sums up what’s long been most notable when it comes to Serena – much as she’s out to simply enjoy her tennis in 2015, she might well be her happiest when she’s fighting her hardest to keep winning at it.
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yup... harap sempat recover... esok pun lawan last...
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Monfils vs Janowicz ni macam fight. Memasing dah amik 1 set sorang. |
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Vika is leading comfortably. 3rd AO ker mek ni?
Menang la kat GS lain lak.
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Haluuuuuu!! Takde org ke arini?
Goerges dah advance eh... kalahkan Hradecka yg kalahkan Ana itu hari...
Lama dah tak tgk pic dier
lawa pic ni
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Post time 22-1-2015 10:44 AM
Author
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