Three top players, Petra Kvitova, Li Na, and Vera Zvonareva, have announced withdrawals for the $2,000,000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, while Serena Williams will skip the Whirlpool Monterrey Open.

World No.3 Kvitova announced on her Facebook page that she had pulled out of Dubai due to illness. The reason for Li's withdrawal is a low back injury, while Zvonareva continues to suffer from her left hip injury which caused her retirements at Pattaya and Doha.

Kaia Kanepi will also not play Dubai, due to a right shoulder injury, and Andrea Petkovic is staying away from the tennis courts because of a low back stress fracture.

You know that world No.1 Victoria Azarenka sustained an ankle injury in her Doha semifinal, and even though the ill effects were not noticeable en route to her title win, we'll see how her leg will react in Dubai.

As for the Monterrey Open, Serena Williams has pulled out due to the ankle she hurt during a recent practice. Nevertheless, Serena was capable of entertaining the Monterrey crowd with an on-water exhibition hitting with Gisela Dulko. (photos © Neal Trousdale, Monterrey Open)

Omair, our favorite and most productive guest poster this Australian Open, is not slowing down and now he followed up his pre-match analysis of the semifinal between Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova with a post-match review of Sharapova's 6-2 3-6 6-4 victory.

Both Kvitova and Sharapova took the Rod Laver Arena today knowing that they both had a lot on the line: the No.1 ranking and a spot in the championship match. Kvitova had an edge coming into the match, for it was Kvitova who beat Sharapova on Center Court at Wimbledon in the title match last year in straight sets. Sharapova had revenge on her mind, and revenge was what she got at the end, along with a chance to grab the top spot and a chance to earn her second Australian Open trophy and fourth Grand Slam title.

Sharapova started the match on fire, walking away with the first set 6-2, and it seemed that Kvitova would bow out in straight sets. But we have seen that Kvitova is a fighter and she comes back to win matches. It was Kvitova's turn to show why she is world No.2 as she took the second set to send the match to a decisive third set. Again, it was Kvitova who looked sharper and on a roll, but Sharapova hung in there long enough to let the nerves get the better of Kvitova. Kvitova had a lot of chances to move ahead in the third set, but she just could not capitalise on them. In the end nerves got the better of Kvitova as her forehand sailed long to hand Sharapova the game, set and match. Both played some jaw-dropping tennis throughout the match. Read more »

Our busy tennis fan and loyal contributor Omair has already provided us with a preview of the first Australian Open semifinal on the schedule, the one between Victoria Azarenka and Kim Clijsters, and now let's see Omair's preview of the semifinal clash between Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova.

When Kvitova and Sharapova meet for their semifinal, a lot of things will be out there on the line. They are both aware that whoever emerges victorious out of this encounter will keep alive her hope of attaining the top spot. Whoever wins the Australian Open other than Kim Clijsters will be the world No.1 when the rankings are released on Monday.

Sharapova has so far made it to the semifinals of the Australian Open four times (excluding this year's result), and has gone to the final twice. The two times she lost in the semis it was in three sets: in 2005 to eventual champion Serena Williams and in 2006 to Justine Henin. Will she make it to the finals this time and keep her hopes of regaining the top spot alive or will she bow out to the Czech power tower Kvitova?

As for Kvitova, this is her third Grand Slam semifinal and her first at the Australian Open. How will she fare in Melbourne? She obviously has the experience of playing and winning at the biggest stages of tennis, so she will not be fazed by the stage tomorrow. Read more »

Petra Kvitova defeated Sara Errani 6-4 6-4 in the Australian Open quarterfinals, but before previewing her semi against Maria Sharapova, our stats pro Omair is giving us a closer look at the numbers behind her victory in the final eight. As an introduction, you can check out our yesterday's quarterfinal preview.

Kvitova took the Rod Laver Arena today knowing that she must get to the semifinals in order to have a shot at the top spot, since her rival Victoria Azarenka had already moved to the semifinals. I guess, that was what motivated Kvitova to come out of the 4-1 deficit and defeat Errani in straight sets.

Errani entered the Rod Laver Arena today knowing well that if she gets past Kvitova today, she will not only end Kvitova's dream of attaining the top spot and winning another major but will also become the first Italian ever to reach the Australian Open semifinals.

Errani fought well, but by the end Kvitova's fire was more than Errani could handle. Her brave play, aided by Kvitova's errors, saw her move ahead to 4-1 in the second set, but only for Kvitova to regroup and win five straight games from there on to put an end to Errani's dream of being the first ever Italian to reach Aussie Open semis. Read more »

We already have one Australian Open semifinal set – Victoria Azarenka vs. Kim Clijsters – and our stats lover Omair has looked back on their quarterfinal matches. Let's now see what the numbers and Omair are telling us for the upcoming quarterfinal between Petra Kvitova and Sara Errani.

Who would have thought after Kvitova's run to the quarterfinals of the Aussie Open last year that she would be here again next year fighting for her second Grand Slam and the top spot in women's tennis. At least I was not the one, though I was impressed by her game and I rooted for her when she took the court.

Kvitova has shown us so far that she can have bad patches during her matches, but what has been more important is that she can overcome them and storm back to win. After all that is what she did in her second round match against Carla Suarez Navarro, when she was down a break in the third set and she came back to win the match. Almost similar thing happended to her against Ana Ivanovic in her fourth rounder, when she failed to serve out the match in the second set but regrouped to win it in the tiebreak. 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 »

Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova didn't sweat much in their third round victories at the Australian Open.

Serena's opponent Greta Arn was the closest to challenging the American in the beginning of the first set, when she had a break point in the opening game, but that was all from the Hungarian who was quickly overpowered 6-1 6-1. Despite that, Serena claims that she's nowhere near her desired form and is just playing through the rust.

Sharapova was also quick, losing just three games to Angelique Kerber to reach the fourth round 6-1 6-2. The Russian has actually lost just five games so far at the tournament. 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 »

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 »

Saying "It’s sport" on her Facebook page, Petra Kvitova consoled herself after a 1-6 7-5 6-2 loss to Li Na in the semifinals of the Apia International Sydney. As you know, Kvitova could have become No.1 ahead of the Australian Open had she won the title in Sydney.

Defending champion Li seemed to be free falling towards defeat when Kvitova won the first set by giving up only one game and broke in the beginning of the following set to lead 3-1. However, the French Open champion Li fearlessly clawed back into the match and scored her fourth victory of the week, after wins over Ekatarina Makarova, Chanelle Scheepers and Lucie Safarova. Remember that in the entire post-French Open part of last season, i.e. since June, Li won a total of only seven matches.

Li’s opponent in the final will be Victoria Azarenka, who also overcame a 6-1 deficit to beat Agnieszka Radwanska 1-6 6-3 6-2, the conqueror of No.1 Caroline Wozniacki in the previous round. Li is 4-2 in career meetings with Azarenka, but it was Azarenka who handily won their last clash 6-2 6-2 at the WTA Championships at the end of 2011. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)