Best of January 2012:

The Australian Open: 2 fantastic weeks of tennis.

Esther Vergeer‘s winning streak continues: she notched her 444th consecutive win, defeating Aniek Van Koot 6-0, 6-0 to capture the Women’s Wheelchair singles title.

Victoria Azarenka claims her first Grand Slam title and becomes the new WTA number 1.

Novak Djokovic has now won 4 or the last 5 Grand Slams.

Andy Murray hires tennis legend Ivan Lendl as his new coach, wins his first title of the year in Brisbane, and reaches the Australian Open semifinals. And there’s even more: he seemed to have fun on court!

Bernard Tomic: winner in Kooyong, semifinalist in Brisbane, he reached the fourth round of the Australian Open. He’s perhaps the real after all…

Lleyton Hewitt‘s incredible run, and Nadal’s nice words about the Australian veteran.

I always liked him, his spirit of competition. Today he is an example to follow for a lot people. He deserves all the respect of the people who love this sport and respect and admiration of everyone

January tournament winners: Kaia Kanepi (Brisbane), Andy Murray (Brisbane), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Doha), Milos Raonic (Chennai), Zheng Jie (Auckland), David Ferrer (Auckland), Victoria Azarenka (Sydney), Jarkko Nieminen (Sydney), Mona Barthel (Hobart)

2 blogs to follow: The Grand Slam Gal and I have a tennis addiction

Worst of January 2012:

Margaret Court‘s well-known homophobia has reached new heights. Read more about it here: A disappointing irony behind Court’s comments. I mean, they really should rename the Margaret Court Arena into Evonne Goolagong Arena, it would sound so much better, no?

Caroline Wozniacki. No need to add more. At least, she’s not the number one anymore, a really good news for the WTA.

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Day 8:

Upset of the day: Elena Makarova defeats Serena Williams
Seriously, who saw that coming? Makarova stunned 5-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams 6-2 6-3.

Match of the day: Novak Djokovic (1) vs Lleyton Hewitt

Day 8 results:
Elena Makarova def Serena Williams (12)
Maria Sharapova (4) def Sabine Lisicki (14) 3-6 6-2 6-3
Sara Errani def Jie Zheng 6-2 6-1
Petra Kvitova (2) def Ana Ivanovic (21) 6-2 7-6
Novak Djokovic (1) vs Lleyton Hewitt
David Ferrer (5) def Richard Gasquet (17) 6-4 6-4 6-1
Andy Murray (4) vs Mikhail Kukushkin
Kei Nishikori (24) def Jo-Wifried Tsonga (6) 2-6 6-2 6-1 3-6 6-3
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Day 7:

Match of the day: Kim Clijsters defeats Li Na
In a rematch of last year’s final, Kim Clijsters saved four match points before beating Li Na 4-6 7-6 6-4.

Stat of the day – 1: 50
The number of Jankovic‘s unforced errors in her 0-6 5-7 loss to Wozniacki. I feel really sorry for the spectators who had to endure this.

Stat of the day – 2: 31
Roger Federer is in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the 31st consecutive time. Last player to beat him before the QFs was Gustavo Kuerten at Roland Garros in 2004.

Day 7 results:
Caroline Wozniacki (1) def Jelena Jankovic (13) 6-0 7-5
Kim Clijsters (11) def Na Li (5) 4-6 7-6 6-4
Victoria Azarenka (3) def Iveta Benesova 6-2 6-2
Agnieszka Radwanska (8) def Julia Goerges (22) 6-1 6-1
Juan Martin Del Potro (11) def Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4 6-2 6-1
Roger Federer (3) def Bernard Tomic 6-4 6-2 6-2
Tomas Berdych (7) vs Nicolas Almagro (10) 4-6 7-6(5) 7-6(3) 7-6(2)
Rafael Nadal (2) def Feliciano Lopez (18) 6-4 6-4 6-2
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Day 6:

Match of the day: Lleyton Hewitt defeats Milos Raonic
Love him or hate him, you’ve got to admit Hewitt always plays with the heart on his sleeve. And today he gave a big lesson of will and determination to big server Raonic.

Upset of the day: Mikhail Kukushkin defeats Gael Monfils
One day he beats Nadal and one day he loses to Kukushkin, ranked 92. Gael Monfils, King of inconsistency and missed opportunities.

The tournament really begins tomorrow with the fourth round matches:

Women’s singles:
Caroline Wozniacki (1) vs Jelena Jankovic (13)
Kim Clijsters (11) vs Na Li (5)
Victoria Azarenka (3) vs Iveta Benesova
Julia Goerges (22) vs Agnieszka Radwanska (8)
Ekaterina Makarova vs Serena Williams (12)
Sabine Lisicki (14) vs Maria Sharapova (4)
Sara Errani vs Jie Zheng
Ana Ivanovic (21) vs Petra Kvitova (2)

Men’s singles:
Novak Djokovic (1) vs Lleyton Hewitt
Richard Gasquet (17) vs David Ferrer (5)
Andy Murray (4) vs Mikhail Kukushkin
Kei Nishikori (24) vs Jo-Wifried Tsonga (6)
Philipp Kohlschreiber vs Juan Martin Del Potro (11)
Bernard Tomic vs Roger Federer (3)
Tomas Berdych (7) vs Nicolas Almagro (10)
Feliciano Lopez (18) vs Rafael Nadal (2)
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Day 5:

Match of the day: Bernard Tomic defeats Alexandr Dogolopolov 4-6 7-6(0) 7-6(6) 2-6 6-3
It was all about Tomic at Melbourne Park today… again. Next opponent for the 19 years old Aussie: his idol, Roger Federer.

Stat of the day: 0
It’s the first time since 1973 that no U.S. men have reached round of 16 at the Australian Open.

Video of the day: Bernard Tomic: realising the potential

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Every year, hundreds of players who gather Down Under agree the atmosphere at the Australian Open defines the tournament. However, in recent times the home crowd has had little to put their fanatical support behind.

The Woodies of Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde have provided some doubles pleasantries but since Chris O’Neil claimed the women’s title in 1978, the closest they’ve come to a home singles champion is Kim Clijsters’ triumph last year as the Belgian’s ‘Aussie Kim’ nickname finally meant more than just her dating past with Lleyton Hewitt.

Hewitt almost ended the barren spell for a nation which has produced legendary names such as Rod Laver and Margaret Court in 2005. Marat Safin claimed the title from a set down and no one has come close since. That could be set to change though.

Sam Stosur became the first Australian Grand Slam winner since Hewitt at Wimbledon in 2002 when she claimed the US Open crown four months ago. At 27, she has less time to make more history but encouraging signs have emerged indicating the next generation of Aussie talent can succeed where Hewitt couldn’t.
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Lleyton Hewitt wins his first ATP singles title as a 16-year old wild card ranked 550 in the world, defeating fellow Australian Jason Stoltenberg 3-6 6-3 7-6 in his hometown of Adelaide.
At the age of 16 years and 11 months, Hewitt becomes the youngest player to win an ATP singles title since Michael Chang, at the age of 16 years and 8 months, wins the title in San Francisco in 1988.

Says Stoltenberg after the match:

He just played like a 16-year old. You do what comes naturally rather than thinking what you should do.

Source: On this day in tennis history by Randy Walker

The 2012 edition will mark Lleyton Hewitt‘s 16th attempt to win his national title. Love him or hate him, he always tried his hardest whatever the draw or whether recovering from illness or injury.
Yet he has reached the final only once (in 2005) and otherwise never passed the fourth round.

In 2005, Hewitt looked like a man with a mission. He genuinely believed he could go all the way, and set about doing so with guts and determination. Among the opponents he swept aside were Rafael Nadal, David Nalbandian and Andy Roddick.

Marat Safin was just as convinced it was his year. The big Russian had saved a match point in beating Roger Federer in a marathon semifinal, and thought the gods were on his side. He won 1-6 6-3 6-4 6-4.

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Grand Slam Tennis 2 will include a host of gameplay features including:

• All-New Total Racquet Control: Control every shot with the right analog stick, smashing forehands, backhands, overheads and volleys with precision, accuracy and power. Utilize this innovative control system to take your game to the top! But if you prefer the old school button controls, those are still available!

• Become a Champion: Become a true Grand Slam tournament champion by capturing all four major championships in succession. The prestige of some of the most historic events in tennis come alive like never before, including the Australian Open, French Open, U.S. Open and exclusive to EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis franchise – Wimbledon.
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