Having reviewed the semifinal between Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova, our guest poster Omair is now moving on to the analysis of Victoria Azarenka's 6-4 1-6 6-3 win over Kim Clijsters to reach her first Grand Slam final.

Everyone had been criticizing the top players for their inconsistency and inability to dig deep through the tournament draws, but with the three of the top four seeds making it to the Australian Open final, along with Kim Clijsters, nobody can doubt the consistency of the top players now.

None of us could have asked for a better semifinal line-up, and the semifinals lived up to their expectations, both the matches producing some jaw-dropping tennis, intense rallies, seemingly impossible shots from players. There were momentum swings in both matches, but overall the quality of tennis was very high and they were worth watching.

Azarenka and Clijsters were the first to walk on to the Rod Laver Arena today to begin the battle for a spot in the championship match. Azarenka moved Clijsters all over the court testing her ankle in the first set, while taking the set 6-4. Clijsters could not find a way into Azarenka's game and by the end of the first set when she got into Azarenka's game it was too late since Azarenka took the set. Read more »

Semifinals are set at the Australian Open and the first one on schedule is Victoria Azarenka vs. Kim Clijsters. Our favorite stats analyst, Omair, was so grateful to provide us with his previews of both the semifinal encounters. Let's  start with the Azarenka vs. Clijsters one.

Azarenka comes into this match knowing that she is one of the two players who have beaten Clijsters twice since she came out of retirement, the other player being Vera Zvonareva, if I am not wrong. Azarenka comes into this match knowing that she won her last match against Clijsters, in straight sets. She comes into this match knowing that the top spot is up for grabs and she will have a huge chance if she stops Clijsters – after all there will be no better way to justify her top spot (if she attains it) than by beating Clijsters in the semis, and then either Maria Sharapova or Petra Kvitova in the finals.

Clijsters comes into this match knowing that this is the last Australian Open of her career, and she intends to go out in style which she showed in her match against Li Na and then against Caroline Wozniacki. Read more »

Yesterday our loyal contributor Omair did a statistical analysis of the Australian Open quarterfinal between Kim Clijsters and Caroline Wozniacki, and the numbers spoke in Wozniacki's favor. Despite that, gut feeling told Omair that the Dane was more likely to lose and that's what happened. Now, let's see Omair's post-match review of the 6-3 7-6(4) match.

Going into today's match Wozniacki had a lot on the line, she had a lot of questions to answer, a lot of critics who she wanted to silence by winning this match. Wozniacki's No.1 ranking was on the line, her status as No.1 WTA player was under question, her ability to win a major was what she was seeking answer to when she took the Rod Laver Arena to face Kim Clijsters for a spot in the semifinals. She wanted a revenge, for it was Clijsters who had denied Wozniacki her first major in the 2009 US Open final, it was Clijsters who denied Wozniacki her first year-end Championships when she beat the Dane in the final in 2010, it was Clijsters who dethroned Wozniacki from the top spot for a week in 2011.

Wozniacki had a lot of reasons to be confident when she entered the Rod Laver Arena. There were questions surrounding Clijsters' ankle, which she twisted badly in her previous match, her performance so far at the Aussie Open was cleaner as compared to Clijsters' as per the stats, she had not lost a set while entering into the match, as against Clijsters who lost a set in her previous match to Li Na. Clijsters had never beaten a reigning No.1 at a Grand Slam in her previous five encounters at Grand Slams with the then reigning No.1s. But it all could not help Wozniacki and it all could not stop Clijsters from crushing the world No.1 to book a semifinal spot.

Going into today's match Clijsters was on a mission, since she had already announced that this would be the last Australian Open of her career. She wanted to end it in style, and yes she did it in style to book herself a semifinal spot against the on-fire Victoria Azarenka. She got her first win over a reigning No.1 in a Grand Slam, and did that in authoratative way by defeating Wozniacki in straight sets. What did Clijsters do to emerge as the winner, when the numbers were in Wozniacki's favour? Let us compare the stats of their quarterfinal encounter with the stats of their previous four matches that earned them the quarterfinal spot.

Wozniacki entered the match as the cleaner player, but Clijsters came out of the match as a winner and a cleaner player. Here is a comparison of Wozniacki's stats of the first four matches and her quarterfinal encounter:

Wozniacki's first serve percentage dropped dramatically as compared to her first four matches, as did her winning percentage on those first serves. She entered the match with a positive differential of winners and unforced errors, but she left the match with a whopping negative 13 differential. I think the table speaks in itself as to why Wozniacki lost. Read more »

Dear readers, our now already famous stats expert Omair couldn't resist the urge and found time in his busy schedule to analyse the upcoming Australian Open quarterfinal between Kim Clijsters and Caroline Wozniacki. Numbers speak in Wozniacki's favor, but is everything in numbers? Let's see if we can conclude something.

There are so many things you plan on doing, but you you never get to complete them. That is what happened with me, when I had planned on making a probability analysis for the Australian Open 2012, it never got complete and then I got heck of busy. Being an audit trainee no doubt has its perks of excessive late sittings and no weekends, but I just could not resist my urge to analyse the Australian Open quarterfinals, using the performance of the quarterfinalists so far in the tournament. I will be using the stats to look into the quarterfinal showing, as to who has a better shot at making the semis. Let's first analyse Kim Clijsters and Caroline Wozniacki.

Kim got her ankle twisted in her fourth round epic battle against Li Na. Wozniacki won't get a better chance than this to avenge her previous losses to the former world No. 1, after all it was Clijsters who denied Wozniacki the taste of her first major when she beat the Dane in the US Open final in 2009.

Wozniacki has yet to lose a set in this tournament, while Clijsters has already lost one to Li, and was on the brink of defeat in straight sets but turned it around to emerge as a winner. Thousand dollar questions are: Will Clijsters' ankle hold to let her complete in the last Australian Open of her career? Will Clijsters have enough in tank to battle past Wozniacki who has no doubt the best defensive skills at the moment?

Clijsters is 2-0 against Wozniacki, but their last meeting at the year-end Championships in 2010 went the distance. Let us have a look at what the numbers say when we see each player's first four matches at the Aussie Open 2012:

Wozniacki has +8% advantage in the first serves, but what is important is that although Wozniacki has higher 1st serve percentage, Clijsters' 1st serve winning percentage is much higher than Wozniacki's, but so are her double faults. Clijsters has been serving 4+ double faults on average in each match so far, which means losing her serve at least once in each match by only double faults.

What is more worrying is Clijsters' ratio of winners and unforced errors. If you look at the number of winners, Wozniacki is not far behind, but if you look at the number of unforced errors Wozniacki comes out as a cleaner one by a huge margin. Clijsters has a differential of negative 24, whereas Wozniacki has a positive differential of 4. Break point conversion rate, receiving points won percentage again go in Wozniacki's favour. The department where Wozniacki lags is the points won at net. While Clijsters has lost only one point out of her 18 net trips (95%), Wozniacki managed to win only 68% of her net trips. Read more »

The fourth round of the Australian Open feautred a rematch of last year's final and the outcome was the same – Kim Clijsters defeated Li Na. The score 4-6 7-6(6) 6-4 took the Belgian to the quarterfinals, but within those numbers hide four match points, a painful ankle injury at 3-3 in the first set and a gruelling fight of both players.

With her foot thickly wrapped and 2-6 in the second set tiebreak, Clijsters started her big comeback by winning six points in a row to take the match to the third set, which she opened with a 4-0 lead. Li then slowly recovered to 5-4 down, but it was Clijsters who closed out the match to her advantage.

After the victory, the Belgian winner of four Grand Slam titles said that it was one of her best comebacks, while the disappointed Li can live off the number of matches she won in January, a great improvement from her horrible second half of 2011.  Read more »

Besides doing yearly fashion retrospections for specific WTA players, Women's Tennis Blog is famous for reviewing outfits for every Grand Slam. The Australian Open is entering its second week and the time is just right for us to have a closer look at what the players are wearing. Last year Venus Williams grabbed all the attention with her EleVen designs, but the American is sadly absent this time. In 2012 the spotlight is more evenly distributed and brands such as Nike, Adidas and Fila are leading the pack.

Caroline Wozniacki’s love life is booming, at least its online representation suggests that, and her fashion designer Stella McCartney opted for the color of passion for the world No.1’s Australian Open. Wozniacki accessorized the red dress with a heart-shaped Danish flag pendant that her boyfriend Rory McIlroy gave her for Christmas.

Adidas Adizero used a shade of red for their predominantly peach dress worn by Ana Ivanovic, Daniela Hantuchova and Sorana Cirstea.

Serena Williams is wearing a blue Nike dress with wide tank straps and pleated bottom.

Read more »

The 2012 has gained its full swing with the Australian Open, and our loyal contributor and reader John Bolan would like to share his predictions of how the Top 10 rankings will look like at the end of the season. Don't forget to share your Top 10 picks in the comments, as John will send the person whose predictions turn out to be the closest to the actual 2012 year-end Top 10 a picture with an autograph of a Top 10 player. Nice incentive!

Once again, it is time to pick the Top 10 players in the order they will finish on December 31, 2012. We have had a few weeks to observe which players have played well this year. Logic, injuries and where the players finished for 2011 are the main criteria used to make these picks.

My pick for number 1 in 2012 is Victoria Azarenka (I also picked Victoria for number 1 in 2011). She squeaked by Maria Sharapova for third place last year, but is definitely a rising young star whose time has come. Maria is my pick for the runner-up spot – number 2. Let’s hope she stays healthy for the remainder of the year.

Three players who have already been injured this year are Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams and Andrea Petkovic. Do we take a chance and put any of them in the Top 10? Kim is my #3 pick and Serena #4. Although Andrea is the most sensational player in women’s tennis, she is seriously injured and will miss months on the tour in 2012. Read more »

Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Jankovic, Li Na, Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka and Agnieszka Radwanska all advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open and only Azarenka lost more than four games in a set.

Wozniacki and Jankovic will meet in the fourth round, after Wozniacki moved on with a commanding victory over Monica Niculescu 6-2 6-2 and Jankovic cruised past Christina McHale 6-2 6-0, playing well in crucial moments and saving ten break points. Even though Jankovic lost her last three meetings with Wozniacki, the Serb said it was in her overall bad period, and now her motivation and confidence are much greater.

A rematch of the last year's final is also awaiting in the fourth round as Clijsters faces Li. Clijsters beat Daniela Hantuchova 6-3 6-2 in her third match of the tournament, while Li advanced when Anabel Medina Garrigues retired with an ankle sprain after only three games. In the 2011 title match Clijsters defeated Li 3-6 6-3 6-3, in what was a positive experience for both players and the two are excited to repeat the challenge.

Victoria Azarenka, who will play Iveta Benesova in the fourth round, faced a fresh first-time WTA titlist Mona Barthel and won the first set against her in just 31 minutes, hitting only three unforced errors. Barthel brought more resistance in the second set, but after four match points Azarenka defeated her 6-2 6-4.

Julia Goerges moved into the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time after overcoming Romina Oprandi 3-6 6-3 6-1, the Italian who upset tenth seed Francesca Schiavone in the second round. Next for Goerges is Agnieszka Radwanska, the 6-2 6-2 winner over Galina Voskoboeva.

The second set of third round matches awaits! (photo: Tidalist)

Dear readers, professional tennis instructor Florian Meier from OnlineTennisInstruction.com is back with another guest post, this time presenting his take on the Australian Open women's draw. Florian's previous contributions to Women's Tennis Blog included in-depth analysis of Sabine Lisicki's game and US Open predictions. Enjoy Florian's preview!

Hey everyone. The Australian Open is about to start and this year the field seems to be wide open without clear favorites. Also many of the top players are struggling with injuries and Andrea Petkovic already had to withdraw from the event because of a back injury. In this article I want to give you my view on who has the best chances to win the tournament.

I decided to pick out four players who I believe have the biggest chance to win this year’s Australian Open title.

1. PETRA KVITOVA

Petra Kvitova is currently in a close battle with Caroline Wozniacki for the world number 1 ranking. She had her breakthrough winning Wimbledon last year and I think she has very good chances to become the most successful player in 2012.

Her game is big, she played well in the warm up matches to the tournament, and she seems to have the confidence and belief now.

CHECK OUT HOW WELL KVITOVA IS PLAYING IN THIS VIDEO

2. KIM CLIJSTERS

Clijsters is the defending champion and in my opinion always a threat at any Grand Slam. She had a tough second half of the season in 2011, where she did not play much at all because of several injuries.

Having had such a long preparation could be an advantage for her because she is probably in great shape right now. At the warm-up tournament in Brisbane she seemed to be in strong form but had to pull out because of a hip injury. The latest reports are saying that she is practicing at 100% though and therefore I think she is one of the favourites to win the title.

3. SERENA WILLIAMS

As usual it is difficult to assess what kind of form Serena Williams is in for the Australian Open. She has not played much before the tournament but she obviously likes the tournament, having won it five times in the past.

In a recent interview I heard Brad Gilbert, famous coach and expert, talk about how hard Serena was preparing and how well she looked out on the practice courts. An ankle injury forced her to pull out of Brisbane but she has also been seen practicing hard on site in Melbourne. She has not played many tournament matches in a while so it will be crucial for her to get through the first couple of rounds.

If she gets through the first couple of rounds and stays healthy she will definitely be one of the top favourites for the title. Read more »

Playing her first tournament since a four-month abdominal injury lay-off, Kim Clijsters had to give up her Brisbane International semifinal against Daniela Hantuchova because of a left hip injury, thus handing the Slovak her second straight uncompleted victory, as Serena Williams gave her a walkover in their quarterfinal due to an ankle problem.

Clijsters won the tiebreak 7-4 and already in that first set she felt stiffening, which was getting worse. She didn't want to risk and cause a complete spasm and muscle tear, so she stopped while trailing 3-1 in the second set.

Australian Open title defense is just a week and a half away for Clijsters. Tomorrow she will have an MRI to check the seriousness of the injury, but she's not blindly optimistic: "I don't doubt that there will be a problem once I start in Melbourne".

Hantuchova's opponent in the final will be Kaia Kanepi, who defeated Francesca Schiavone 6-3 6-0 in the semifinals.

Additional info: The 2012 season has barely started, and it seems that my New Year's wishes are not coming true – injuries are already piling up. Besides Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters, Sabine Lisicki is having a left abdominal muscle injury, Ksenia Pervak migrane, Polona Hercog low back injury, and not to mention Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova who have delayed their beginning of the season due to illness and injury. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)