Saturday, December 31, 2011

Tweets of the Year


Laura while watching the Australian Open Quarterfinals between Rafa and David Ferrer.


Serena announces she got her boot off in mid-Febuary.


If you haven't seen this video from after the Armada advanced to the Davis Cup Semis. You should.


I hope this is still on. 

Passing Shots

Andy rides down the Brisbane River.

Friday, December 30, 2011

ATP Wish List


Rafa Nadal:

  • Win a hardcourt title
  • Win a Slam
  • Finish on the Olympic Podium


Andy Murrary:

  • Win a set in a Slam final (baby steps) then we can talk about actually winning the Slam. 


Andy Roddick:

  • Make it back to the top-10
  • Win a title
  • Reach a Slam Semi

Passing Shots

Sam speaks to the media


Thursday, December 29, 2011

WTA Wish List Part Two

The Wimbledon Champions Past and Present:



Serena Williams: What to expect from the younger Williams is always the unexpected. After her tearful return at Wimbledon where after a year out of tennis she reached the fourth round. She then started the Summer of Serena which ended with an appearance in the US Open final which turned out to be the last match of her season. I fully expect Serena to reenter the top 10 at sometime in the first half of the season seeing as she can only gain points for the first half of the year. I expect her to win a Slam if she is back to her dominating best.


Maria Sharapova: A ankle injury kept her from making a serious charge towards the year end number one ranking in 2010, she put the start of her 2012 on hold a week for some additional rest. When she does start her season I expect her to maintain her top five ranking. I also expect second week runs at the Slams although I would be surprised to see a repeat of her clay successes from a year ago.


Petra Kvitova: After a strong finish to 2011 by winning the Year End Championships she starts her 2012 participating in the Hopman Cup (please don't get hurt) instead of defending her Brisbane title. A strong run through the Australian Summer could see he rise to the number one ranking early in the season. She has the game to constantly make strong runs in the second week of Slams. I expect to see her in at least one Slam final this year. Although the key to any prolonged success is to find the constancy she sometimes lacked last year.

And Vika:

Victoria Azerenka: Last year I wished that she make at least one Slam semifinal, something she had never done before, this year I wish she make a Slam final. In 2010 from Indian Wells to Wimbledon the player who defeated her went on to win the title except for Miami and Marbella where she won the titles herself. She lost to Serena twice on the US hard courts over the summer then finished the year strong with a title in Luxembourg and a finals appearance at the Year End Championships. Hoping for a strong and healthy 2012.

WTA Wish List: Part 1

The Germans: As a group I hope they win the Fed Cup.

Sabine Lisicki: Her year end ranking was 15 after a semifinal run at Wimbledon and titles in Birmingham and Dallas. She has minimal points to defend until the American hard court season this spring losing in the round of 16 of Auckland and falling in qualifying for the Australian Open last year. Would like to see her reach the top ten and the second week at the Slams. Most important is for her to stay healthy after battling injuries.

Andrea Petkovic: After a 2011 that landed her in the top ten she should hope to start the year strong to back up her Australian accomplishments of a year ago which included making the final in Brisbane losing to Kvitova. Then following it up with a quarter final appearance at the Australian Open upsetting Sharapova in the fourth round before losing to eventual finalist Li Na. I expect her to live up to her seeding in bigger events and possibly win two or more smaller events. 


Julia Goerges: To call Julia's 2011 to be a roller coaster would be putting it lightly. After a relatively slow start of the year she really hit the peak of her season on the Clay defeating Wozniack in the finals of Stuttgart for her only title and reaching the semi-finals in Madrid. But she then failed to make a semi final until her last event in Luxembourg. Ranked at 21 to end the year, breaking into the top 20 and becoming more constant. 


And a Brit:


Laura Robson: Last year started with a lot of promise as she was to play Hopman Cup with Andy Murray then attempt to qualify for the Australian Open. But after suffering a leg/hip injury that sidelined her for two months during Hopman Cup the start of her season was put on hold. Upon her return to the ITF circuit but once again suffered a injury that needed a three week recovery time. So her season really began on the grass of 's-Hertogenbosch and Wimbledon. She next took on the American hard courts where she qualified for the US Open. My wishes for Laura is that she is doesn't suffer anymore injuries so that she can gain a constancy to break the top-100 by mid year. 

Passing Shots

Pasty Petko Preps for Brisbane.
  • Top 20 Gifs of 2011- 20,19,3,2,1 are my favorites
  • Rafa says he is going to take February to rest. The BBC and other media freak out. Even though he first said this at the World Tour Finals. 
  • OMG more freaking about about Febuary. Rafa is not going to play Dubai. But I didn't think he was ever going to play it so, moving on. 
  • Brisbane Qualifying Draw including- Ash Barty (2011 Jr.Wimbledon Champ playing her first pro match) , Vania King, Sloane Stevens
  • Murray is in Brisbane with his groin intact. 

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

You mean 2008 Champion Right?

Yes because you are just gonna show up at the Olympics after not winning a team title since Beijing and win. It could happen but I still believe it's a two country race between the United States and Russia. Unless they start trading gymnasts like they trade tennis players lately.


Passing Shots

These are the articles I read out of my reader that I would like to share.


Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Bring It 2012.

Olympic Years are the best years in Sports. With London hosting the games for a historic third time I hope this year is better then ever. Also the Australian Summer of Tennis is about the start which means my sleep is about to stop. Enjoy these promos as a pump up for the coming year and welcome to the blog.

Promo featuring reigning Women's All Around Champion Nastia Lukin for the rebranded NBC Sports Network.

Australian Open 2012 promo

Are you excited?