Australian Open Draw and 1st round Preview

Here it is ! The first Grand Slam of the year and I love the Australian Open ! I love those blue courts, those players who are eager to play well and to do well in the beginning of the year. I love grand slams, especially on women's side as you really never know what's gonna happen. Of course, I love making Predictions, so I'll publish the draw and put in red, the name of the winner to me before trying to go further in the analysis and why not to give some details about interesting

THE MAIN DRAW

[1] WOZNIACKI, Caroline DEN v RODIONOVA, Anastasia AUS
[WC] BARTY, Ashleigh AUS v TATISHVILI, Anna GEO
PARMENTIER, Pauline FRA v KUDRYAVTSEVA, Alla RUS
CORNET, Alize FRA v [31] NICULESCU, Monica ROU

[24] SAFAROVA, Lucie CZE v MCHALE, Christina USA
[Q] QUALIFIER v ERAKOVIC, Marina NZL
[Q] QUALIFIER v MARTIC, Petra CRO
[Q] QUALIFIER v [13] JANKOVIC, Jelena SRB

[11] CLIJSTERS, Kim BEL v [Q] QUALIFIER
FORETZ GACON, Stephanie FRA v BALTACHA, Elena GBR
RUS, Arantxa NED v TSURENKO, Lesia UKR
[Q] QUALIFIER v [20] HANTUCHOVA, Daniela SVK

[26] MEDINA GARRIGUES, Anabel ESP v BIRNEROVA, Eva CZE
MAYR-ACHLEITNER, Patricia AUT v GOVORTSOVA, Olga BLR
ARVIDSSON, Sofia SWE v [WC] ROGOWSKA, Olivia AUS
PERVAK, Ksenia KAZ v [5] LI, Na CHN


[3] AZARENKA, Victoria BLR v WATSON, Heather GBR
[WC] DELLACQUA, Casey AUS v JOVANOVSKI, Bojana SRB
KEOTHAVONG, Anne GBR v BARTHEL, Mona GER
MORITA, Ayumi JPN v [32] CETKOVSKA, Petra CZE

[19] PENNETTA, Flavia ITA v [Q] QUALIFIER
BRIANTI, Alberta ITA v FALCONI, Irina USA
BENESOVA, Iveta CZE v JOHANSSON, Mathilde FRA
[WC] REZAI, Aravane FRA v [16] PENG, Shuai CHN

[10] SCHIAVONE, Francesca ITA v POUS-TIO, Laura ESP
YAKIMOVA, Anastasiya BLR v OPRANDI, Romina ITA
DATE-KRUMM, Kimiko JPN v DANIILIDOU, Eleni GRE
HERCOG, Polona SLO v [22] GOERGES, Julia GER

[28] WICKMAYER, Yanina BEL v VOSKOBOEVA, Galina KAZ
PIRONKOVA, Tsvetana BUL v MIRZA, Sania IND
[Q] QUALIFIER v HALEP, Simona ROU
MATTEK-SANDS, Bethanie USA v [8] RADWANSKA, Agnieszka POL


[7] ZVONAREVA, Vera RUS v DULGHERU, Alexandra ROU
RODINA, Evgeniya RUS v HRADECKA, Lucie CZE
MAKAROVA, Ekaterina RUS v TANASUGARN, Tamarine THA
LARSSON, Johanna SWE v [25] KANEPI, Kaia EST

[17] CIBULKOVA, Dominika SVK v RYBARIKOVA, Magdalena SVK
MARINO, Rebecca CAN v ARN, Greta HUN
BREMOND, Iryna FRA v ZAHLAVOVA STRYCOVA, Barbora CZE
PASZEK, Tamira AUT v [12] WILLIAMS, Serena USA

[14] LISICKI, Sabine GER v [Q] QUALIFIER
PEER, Shahar ISR v [WC] HOLLAND, Isabella AUS
STEPHENS, Sloane USA v SOLER-ESPINOSA, Silvia ESP
SCHEEPERS, Chanelle RSA v [18] KUZNETSOVA, Svetlana RUS

[30] KERBER, Angelique GER v [WC] BOBUSIC, Bojana AUS
DUBOIS, Stephanie CAN v VESNINA, Elena RUS
MINELLA, Mandy LUX v [Q] QUALIFIER
DULKO, Gisela ARG v [4] SHARAPOVA, Maria RUS


[6] STOSUR, Samantha AUS v CIRSTEA, Sorana ROU
[Q] QUALIFIER v RADWANSKA, Urszula POL
[Q] QUALIFIER v ERRANI, Sara ITA
[Q] QUALIFIER v [29] PETROVA, Nadia RUS

[23] VINCI, Roberta ITA v CADANTU, Alexandra ROU
[WC] KEYS, Madison USA v ZHENG, Jie CHN
DOKIC, Jelena AUS v [SR] CHAKVETADZE, Anna RUS
RAZZANO, Virginie FRA v [9] BARTOLI, Marion FRA

[15] PAVLYUCHENKOVA, Anastasia RUS v ZAKOPALOVA, Klara CZE
BONDARENKO, Kateryna UKR v KING, Vania USA
BARROIS, Kristina GER v KRAJICEK, Michaella NED
DOMINGUEZ LINO, Lourdes ESP v [21] IVANOVIC, Ana SRB

[27] KIRILENKO, Maria RUS v GAJDOSOVA, Jarmila AUS
[WC] ZHANG, Shuai CHN v WOZNIAK, Aleksandra CAN
BEGU, Irina-Camelia ROU v SUAREZ NAVARRO, Carla ESP
DUSHEVINA, Vera RUS v [2] KVITOVA, Petra CZE

Interesting First-rounds match ups : 

Lucie Safarova's terrific forehand, a great weapon (Sydney, Australia).

 [24] SAFAROVA, Lucie CZE v MCHALE, Christina USA

 Interesting but tough 1st round for Lucie Safarova. The czech player is know to be one of the most talented on the tour but also to be one of the most erratic sometimes. She actually will have to find quickly her tennis in order to beat one of the best hopes in United States. Sure McHale will challenge her, she's proven  that she's able to beat top players like she did this summer against Caroline Wozniacki. Sure Lucie will have a tough time but her experience and her tennis should let her prevail in three sets. 

Li Na's forehand stays her more reliable shot (Sydney, Australia)

PERVAK, Ksenia KAZ v [5] LI, Na CHN

Pervak is the kind of player, who, when she's on, could really make Li Na run for her money. The chinese fifth seed will have to stay steady and consistant enough in order to handle an in form Ksenia. The former russian, who's now playing for Kazakhstan, is actually the one who will make this match look or good, depending on how she shows up. Even though, Li Na's got the experience on her side and a way more consistant game (even it collapses sometimes) and she should prevail in two tight sets. Whatever, if Pervak decides to play good, she'd be a great test to show where Li is exactly in her tennis.

Casey Dellacqua, a good player at both offense and defense (Australia)

 [WC] DELLACQUA, Casey AUS v JOVANOVSKI, Bojana SRB

This is an interesting match since it comes to an opposition between Casey Dellacqua, a player who's got experience and had some trouble back with injuries. She's back since last year when she won a lot of ITF events; and on the other side, we got Bojana Jovanovski, the serbian hope who, last year, took a set off Vera Zvonareva.  The thing is, Bojana is still very up and down while Casey Dellacqua is the kind of player who strikes the ball well and is really steady and regular from the baseline. In addition, Dellacqua is the kind of player who loves to shine in front of home crowd in Australia, just like she did few years ago against Amélie Mauresmo.  She should prevail in a tough 3 setter.

When on, Rezai can hit anyone off the court  (Auckland, New Zealand)

[WC] REZAI, Aravane FRA v [16] PENG, Shuai CHN

What a match between the former rising french champion and the young promising chinese player ! It's been a long time since Shuai Peng did not compete due to injuries and seeing her playing lately during the Australian Open Series showed that she was still unable to produce her best tennis and the thing is when she's not at her best physically, she becomes really less effective. On the other side, Aravane showed quite encouraging signs in Auckland and if she's done with her family issues, if she plays freely, then she could do some damage in the draw and I expect her to pull this upset in three sets thanks to her quality of striking ball. Don't forget that Aravane lost last week to Peng Shuai and that she's a fighter who hates losing twice in a row to the same oppenent... 

Mirza's fire power is able to handle anyone when is on (Melbourne, Australia)

PIRONKOVA, Tsvetana BUL v MIRZA, Sania IND

Interesting first round match for both girls. In fact, they are both looking for some confidence and in search of their best tennis. The thing is, Tsvetana Pironkova, when she's off, is very easy to hit off the court, she's not the kind of player who will struggle until the very end while Mirza is precisely ! In addition, Sania Mirza got this powerful game which could really hurt an out form Pironkova on those surfaces. If Pironkova could somehow find her tennis back, like she did for two years in a row in the Championship Wimbledon, thus she could make this challenging. But I just don't think it's gonna happen. An ugly win in three sets for Mirza who should prevail

Even if she made her game more offensive lately, her defense game is still here (Sydney, Australia)

 MATTEK-SANDS, Bethanie USA v [8] RADWANSKA, Agnieszka POL

A tough first round for Agniezska Radwanska. Even the polish reached the semi-finals in Sydney last week and has been producing great tennis since she dropped out her father from coaching team, Agnieszka is becoming more and more one of those players who are missing a little thing in order to win a slam. This match against Mattek-Sands won't be able to handle since the totally crazy american player has a strong game and a solid mental which can lead her to cause big upsets. When she's on, she can cause some troubles to best players in the world, like she did against Caroline Wozniacki, in Hopman Cup, sooner this year. Even though, Agnieszka knows to do everything slightly better than Mattek-Sands and seems

 to be more intelligent on court. She could been taken to a three setter

Vera's all will in this backhand (Syndey, Australia)

 [7] ZVONAREVA, Vera RUS v DULGHERU, Alexandra ROU

A tricky first round for the Russian who's been upset last week by her compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova and did not get the occasion to practise more during tournaments. Alexandra Dulgheru on her side played a good tournament in Sydney beating Sofia Arvidsson and taking a set off the "IN" girl of last times, Petra Kvitova. However, Vera's experience at Grand Slams and her all round game should be enough to handle Dulgheru. Don't get me wrong, the Romanian is able to make Vera run for her money if she's on but I can't see her playing that good to pull the upset. Vera in 3 sets or 2 tight sets 

Serena Williams is still the biggest threat on courts (Brisbane, Australia)

PASZEK, Tamira AUT v [12] WILLIAMS, Serena USA

 A tough first round for Serena Williams who could be rusty after she's got her ankle injuried at the Brisbane International. The American said she'd be okay for the Aussie Open and by the way she's used to those diplomatic injuries... She's gonna face a talented player tough in the person of Tamira Pasek who made it to the quarter-finals last year at the Championships Wimbledon. The Austrian player has a great backhand that's tricky to deal with. Serena got the firepower to deal with this indeed but it'll be interesting to see how she will do so in order to see how well she enters the tournaments. Serena should prevail in two sets

Maria Sharapova training at Melbourne Park (Melbourne, Australia)

DULKO, Gisela ARG v [4] SHARAPOVA, Maria RUS

A tough first round for Maria Sharapova who did not play a single match on tour since the Year Ending Season Championship (Istanbul) , but Gisela Dulko has barely won a match since Roland Garros back in 2011 so we don't know how she'll show up. Even thoug, Dulko is one of those players who likes to do well against big names on big courts, she's a "giant killer" and she'd be a great test to see how Maria can go in this tournament if she somehow regroup and find her tennis back. Maria should win this in three sets if Dulko plays fire, in two if Dulko shows up erratic. The main thing in this match will be to see how Maria is serving and hitting her forehand to see if she can be a pretendant to the title (which I strongly believe) ! 

One of the greatest ball striking, Dokic (Syndey, Australia)

 DOKIC, Jelena AUS v [SR] CHAKVETADZE, Anna RUS

An interesting first round for both girls and a remake of the 2009 Australian Open. Anna Chakvetadze played an interesting tennis in Hobart before retiring, she seems a bit unhealthy though while Jelena Dokic played a solid match in Sydney against her compatriot Holland. Dokic should prevail because she's mor physically ready to handle a tennis match and the hot temperatures that are going to warm up Melbourne courts. Jelena Dokic should be too powerful and eager to do well in front of the Australian crowd who has proven her so many times that she was loved and adored. Dokic should prevail in three sets and in a beautiful match.

Marion Bartoli and her steady tennis could do some damages (Sydney, Australia)

RAZZANO, Virginie FRA v [9] BARTOLI, Marion FRA

Playing a compatriot is always tricky and it's even trickier when it's in a Grand Slam first round and when it's somesone you don't specially like. In fact, Virginie Razzano and Marion Bartoli are far from being the best friends on the tour but they do respect each other and their matches has always been full of drama in Eastbourne and US Open for instance. Marion is playing such a good tennis that seeing Razzano beating her would be a huge upset, especially when you know that the french woman did not play her best tennis... Bartoli should win this in two.

Kirilenko, one of the most talented girl on tour but lacks consistency (Sydney, Australia)

 
[27] KIRILENKO, Maria RUS v GAJDOSOVA, Jarmila AUS

An interesting and tricky first round for both. The final result will really depend on how well will both girls play and how they will show up. Jarmila has not playing that good recently, she lost in fact 6/0 6/0 to Marion Bartoli during Hopman Cup while we did not get the occasion to see Maria Kirilenko playing. I've chosen the russian barbie girl to win this basing my choice on their "average" level but a Gajdosova in front of her crowd could play her best and win. Tough one to call

 

What to expect from the Youngsters this year ?

In nowadays WTA, we usually seperate youngsters from old stars of the tour and I wanted to do short articles to see what we can expect from those youngsters this year in a first article and the a second upcoming article about those great lions that are going across the tour for years. I've chosen 5 youngsters and 5 veterans.
When I talk about youngsters, I'm not talking about the likes of Laura Robson, Michelle Larcher de Brito or Heather Watson, which are not yet big players or threat in Slams and so on, but here are my 3 Picks of "youngsters". Be also aware that I won't put Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka or Petra Kvitova in that category because they are already confirmed top 10 players.

Sabine Lisicki, surrendering to Angelique Kerber (Auckland, New Zeland)

1- Sabine Lisicki (GER)
The german player did a great come-back last year after a one year out of tennis due to ankle injury, winning at Birmingham and reaching semi-finals in Wimbledon, losing to Maria Sharapova in two sets. Her game and her regularity allowed her to finish the year at the 15th spot, clinching the title at Dallas, in USA. Assuming that until Birmingham, she's got more or less, no points to defend until Birmingham and if she keeps injury free and playing good tennis, I can definitely see her breaking the top 10 for the first time.
But Sabine Lisicki had to withdraw this week from the Apia International in Sydney due to injury. Was it just a precaution or is it really serious, we still don't know about it ...
Sabine Lisicki has that attractive game based on a great firepower and a great first seve. Although, she can sometimes mentally collapse like she did in the 2nd round at Roland Garros, losing to Vera Zvonareva having match points and a great lead in the deciding set.

Julia Goerges' determination in that backhand (Sydney, Australia)

2- Julia Goerges (GER)
This year, Julia Goerges switched racquet from Wilson to Babolat, we still have to see what it brings to her game, but, whatever, Julia played some solid tennis in 2011 beating Caroline Wozniacki twice in a row on clay and won at Porshe Tennis Grand Prix, in Stuttgart. The thing is Julia has still to find some consistency in her game and to be mentally tough enough in order to reach another stage of her career. If she does so, I can see her reaching the Top 15 and why not the Top 10. Now that she is a confirmed player, she's got to do a big thing in Grand Slam, why not at Roland Garros ?
2012 will be a deciding her for Julia, she'll either confirm her good predispositions and find a way to be more consistant and to become why not a top player, or she can also drop in her level and become one of those great talents that can't win because of lack of work.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Brisbane, Australia)

3- Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)
One of the most talented player of her generation with no doubt, Anasatsia Pavlyuchenkova got great skills in order to shine in the tennis planet. In fact, she's able to hit hard from both wings and has a quite good hand at volleying and producing drop shots. But she still lacks agility and speed on court because of physical issues. Also, Anastasia has sometimes tough times in closing up matches, for istance, she had all the ways to win against Fransesca Schiavone in Roland Garros and was not able to handle the preassure mentally before eventually losing.
But, this year beginning was not good. In fact, she suffered early exits in both Brisbane and Sydney events and did not seem to want to change in order to reach greatness. A player to follow, though