Roland Garros 2013 Bracket Breakdown - The Women

After a few years in the wilderness, women's tennis has re-emerged with a cache of compelling storylines and its own big three: Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka, the queen bees dominating the current era of the game.  The question going into this major is pretty much the same as it has been for the last two years.  Will Serena Williams win the title...or beat herself so someone else can do it?

For the 2013 French Open men's bracket breakdown, click here

2012 US Open Women's Bracket Breakdown

Out of chaos, the women's tour suddenly seems amazingly orderly...ish  Three of the top four women: Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams are reigning major champions, while the fourth, Agnieszka Radwanska was the losing Wimbledon finalist.  Will the year's final major be a chance for Radwanska to get on the board; for Azarenka to burnish her bona fides as a hardcourt champion; for Serena or Sharapova to build their brands; for Kim Clijsters to ride off into the sunset in style or for some other woman to make her name?

Who will claim the year's final major prize?  Also, what are the matches worth watching in the first few days of the Open?  Well, check out our 2012 US Open women's draw preview to find out...

2012 Wimbledon Ladies Semifinal Previews & Predictions

After a week and a half of tennis, we're at the business end of this year's Wimbledon.  In the ladies' event, AKA the Run for the Rosewater, our four semifinalists are Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber, Agnieszka Radwanska and Serena Williams.  Two of these players have been World No. 1, hoisted major tournament trophies and played Wimbledon semifinals before.  Naturally, those two will play each other in the semifinals. The other two are (relatively) new entrants to the highest echelon of women's tennis, first time Wimbledon semifinalists and will vie against each other for their career-defining first major final.  How do we expect these ladies' semifinals to pan out?  Read on tennis lovers:

Wimbledon 2012 Women's Bracket Breakdown

With Wimbledon about to kick off, once again, we find ourselves with less time than we'd like to handicap the ladies' draw of a major, but our picks are both thought-through and binding nonetheless.  What follows is our take on the 2012 Wimbledon ladies' brackets, the matches worth catching ESPN3 for and your next Wimbledon champion.  The BLT take on the Wimbledon ladies' draw commences after the jump.

Holy Sunday!

Alert: The Perrier supply at Roland Garros needs to be tested.  There was obviously something in the water today at Roland Garros and whatever it was, it was toxic to the top seeds.  For a heady couple of hours, the tennis galaxy of the Twittersphere was abuzz that perhaps the biggest day of upsets in the history of Grand Slam tennis could be upon us.  The seed-pocalypse that began with the fall of World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka threatened to fell Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer simultaneously on Phillipe Chatrier and Suzanne Lenglen, respectively.  Had those seismic events happened, they would have left a hole big enough in the top half of the draw for Juan Martin del Potro to walk through...or Tomas Berdych, same difference.  All three superstars (Azarenka, Djokovic and Federer) walked onto the court today heavy favorites.  All three walked off the court having faced far stiffer challenges than any of them (or us) could have imagined.  In the end, despite a trio of underdogs bringing the drama, it was only the highest seeded of them, 15th seeded Dominika Cibulkova, who finished the job.  She helped Azarenka book a ticket back to Minsk, with a surprising victory.  Here are my three thoughts from a wild and wooly day at Roland Garros.

Roland Garros Day 2 (3 Thoughts)

All The Yankee Ladies: American tennis has been dead to rites time after time, but eventually someone starts putting up results and the narrative changes.  While it would be quite early to say an American tennis renaissance is underway, there are unmistakable signs of life from the women's draw.  Youngsters Christina McHale, Lauren Davis and Sloane Stephens joined veterans Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Varvara Lepchenko and Vania King in advancing to the second round at Roland Garros today.  Rather unexpectedly, there are ten American women (including Alexa Glatch, Melanie Oudin, Irina Falconi and some player named Venus Williams who won yesterday) in the second round of the claycourt major.  Oh, plus Serena Williams and Jamie Hampton have yet to take the court.  You have to think, somewhere Billie Jean King is grinning ear to ear.  What's behind the Parisian push for the Yankee ladies?

Madrid 5/9: Three Thoughts

Viva La Vida: "I used to roll the dice, feel the fear in my enemy's eyes / Listen as the crowd would sing 'Now the old king is dead, long live the king.' / One minute I held the key, next the walls were closed on me / And I discovered that my castles stand on pillars of sand, pillars of sand"  

When the house DJ dropped Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" on a changeover deep in the third set of Roger Federer's epic three set tussle with Milos Raonic, the lyrics seemed as if Chris Martin had specifically written them about the 16-time major champion.  Well, Federer staved on an extraordinary effort from Milos Raonic to continue his Madrid Open with a 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4) win over the towering Canadian.  Looks like the old king isn't quite ready to pack up his things and move along.

L'Autoroute A Roland Garros

After swings in the Middle East, Latin America and the United States the tennis world is reconvening on Europe's outdoor clay courts for L'Autoroute A Roland Garros (The Highway to Roland Garros).  While all eyes will eventually be on the famed terre battue of the French capital, before we reach the end of the highway there are cash and tradition rich events scheduled in Monte Carlo, Stuttgart, Madrid and Rome among other locales.  Here is our look at the ten most important players to keep an eye on as the dirtball, err clay court season unfolds.

The Sunday Line - BNP Paribas Open Finals

  

The year's second big tournament, the BNP Paribas Open, comes to a close with two unexpected finals. The WTA are fielding their first final between the top two ranked players in the world in the last four years, with World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka taking on a former No. 1 in Maria Sharapova.  On the other side, Rafael Nadal came into Saturday looking for another shot at Novak Djokovic in a Masters final...neither will hoist the trophy.  Newly minted top ten American John Isner will instead face longtime World No. 1 Roger Federer in what's likely to be a crowd-pleasing men's final in the California desert.  

But you knew that already.

How will Sunday's Indian Wells finals play out?  Well, we've got a pretty good idea about that one.

Life In The Desert

Every fall there's a fair bit of hand-wringing about the tennis offseason, or lack thereof.  That mythical period between early December and New Year's Eve where the sport presumably disappears.  Given the fact that most of the Western World is engrossed in (not to mention engorged during) the winter holidays, I guess the question is "If the world is too busy to notice that a tournament isn't happening, was there an offseason after all?"

Short answer: No.

To the players, those few weeks are largely an extended weekend or so of relaxation and then a few weeks of training to prep for the Australian summer circuit.  I would counter that the offseason, perhaps more accurately penned as "off-season," kicks off the day after the players leave Melbourne.  Yes, there are Davis and Fed Cup ties, the appearance fee-rich tournaments on the Arabian peninsula, the remnants (ruins?) of the Euro winter indoor circuit, Latin America's "Golden Swing" and even a bit of home cooking for the Americans; but in a sport that's truly a 24/7/365 enterprise, the post-Australian swing is more of a swoon.  Then there's Indian Wells.

Step Right Up, Vikarenka

So take pretty much everything I've written about Petra Kvitova since last year's Wimbledon and do me a favor, scratch out that name and pencil in Victoria Azarenka.  I'm not alone there, there are plenty of other bloggers and writers who could say the same thing given how the Bella Belarussian has started her 2012 campaign a sterling 17-0.  I'm also not selling my stock in Kvitova.  The Czech player has remained impressive since claiming her first major last July, but Azarenka has shown us something a notch above what Kvitova has thus far.  It's about time we start paying attention.

BLT February 2012 Power Rankings

Australia's over but the 2012 tennis year has really just become.  Who came out of Oz on fire and who needs a jumpstart?  Time for a round of Power Rankings.  

1. Novak Djokovic (SRB) Last Month: (2)

Is it me or is 2012 beginning to look a lot like last year?  It is for Novak Djokovic at least.  He came into this Australian swing with some legitimate question marks about his fitness and his state of mind; he left the land Down Under back on top.  Djokovic captured his fifth major and a seventh consecutive win over World No. 2 Rafael Nadal, albeit in a near six hour epic that showed the two players may be on closer terms than they seemed a year prior.  Just seven matches from the Nole Slam in Paris you have to think, wouldn't that be an interesting feather in the Serb's cap?  Federer could be the greatest ever, Nadal could be the greatest clay-courter ever and Djokovic could be the only one of the three to win four majors in a row.  You want to talk Greatest Generation?  Only seven men have captured the career grand slam and Djokovic could be the third to do it in four years...all while beating TWO of the others to get there. Why are we getting ahead of ourselves?  Djokovic beat Nadal on clay twice last year, just saying.  In any event, the next few months are on hardcourts. Djokovic has won the last three majors on the hard stuff...up next, defending the Indian Wells-Key Biscayne double.

They'll Be Back - 2012 Australian Open Finals Recap

One tough thing about being a writer is that sometimes the words just don't flow.  Well, there's certainly no writer's block on the back of this year's Australian Open and particularly finals weekend.  The matches couldn't have been more different.  Newly crowned World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka subdued 2008 champ Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-0; while defending champion Novak Djokovic found his way past 2009 champ Rafael Nadal in five lengthy, byzantine sets 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5) 7-5.  As disparate as the scorelines were, is as similar the compelling storylines were both coming into and going out of the first leg of tennis' fabled Grand Slam.  Without further ado, here's how Blacklabel Tennis looks back on the 2012 Australian Open singles championships.

Australian Open - Day 1, 3 Thoughts

We knew somehow, someway, we would be discussing Bernard Tomic after his 1st round match with Fernando Verdasco.  We dubbed the tilt our Super Fan Special in that section of the draw, figuring it was going to be a barnburner.  There were some shaky moments, but the 19 year old certainly made sure the boisterous crowd got their money's worth on Rod Laver Arena.  Tomic edged past the 22nd seeded Verdasco 4-6 6-7 (3) 6-4 6-2 7-5 in  more than four hours to get this Aussie Open off to a rip-roaring start.  It was a tough draw for Verdasco, ranked 24 himself playing the World No. 38 who narrowly missed being seeded himself.  Add to that, he was playing the No. 1 Aussie on Rod Laver Arena in the opening match of the tournament and it was a recipe for disaster for the Spaniard...until it wasn't.  

2012 Australian Open Predictions: The Women

It's hard to believe that it's already been a year since Kim Clijsters solidified her hardcourt bonafides with her fourth major title, as the 2011 Australian Open champion.  "Aussie Kim," the Belgian with an American husband, will contend for her fifth major when the Australian Open kicks off on Monday.  To win, Clijsters will have to face down the usual top tier foes like 2008 champ Maria Sharapova, 5-time Aussie winner Serena Williams and home favorite Samantha Stosur.  Not to mention the young gunnettes of generation next who are threatening to make their move in 2012, namely Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova, embattled WTA No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki and longtime next big thing Victoria Azarenka. Which of the women will clutch the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Trophy two Sundays from now?   Here's your 2012 Australian Open Women's Bracket Breakdown.

Bloggers' Bar Volume I: 2012 Tennis Predictions

Even though the pro tours flit from Melbourne to London and virtually every spot in between over the course of a year; the tennis world remains a relatively small community.  When I started (officially) working on Blacklabel Tennis last summer, I also started reading a lot more tennis writing and interacting with some of the talented people behind it.  We might be spread out across the world, but when Sharapova's yips rear their unpretty head deep in the third set or Nadal hits a shot that seems a repudiation of the laws of physics, these are people with whom I'm virtually sharing that WTF moment.  While we tweet and e-mail, we never get the opportunity to really spend much time shooting the shit about tennis.

Thus, the Bloggers' Bar.

This is the first in a series of posts where some of my favorite tennis writers/bloggers and I will share our thoughts, ideas and delusions on what we deem to be the important tennis topics of the day.

2011 Year End Power Rankings

Sometimes the hot cool down, sometimes the cool heat up.  Check out who makes Blacklabel Tennis' 2011 Year End Power Rankings.

1. Petra Kvitova (CZE) Last Month: (3)

Novak Djokovic certainly had the best year in 2011, but the hottest player going into 2012 has to be Petra Kvitova.  She began her march to the top of the WTA with an upset win over Kim Clijsters in the Paris final back in February (Clijsters was World No. 1; Kvitova, No. 18 at the time).  Then she simply outslugged Maria Sharapova, to become the unanimous pick as the most likely to succeed of this year's first time major winners.  She may have started the year ranked 34th, but after winning a major, the WTA Tour Championships and five other tour titles, the 20 year old Czech finished within a hair of the year end No. 1 ranking.  Then for good measure, she led the Czech Republic to the Fed Cup title.  There is simply no one we're more interested in watching start their 2012 campaign than Kvitova.

Blacklabel Tennis November 2011 Power Rankings

Who's as hot as they come this fall?  Who's in absolute freefall?  Here's our take after the last month of tennis.  We call it the Blacklabel Tennis Power Rankings, enjoy.

1. Novak Djokovic (SRB) Last Month: (1)

The man is still the man.  A back injury may have truncated his planned fall campaign, it may lessen his credentials in the "best season ever" discussion;  but yeah, ho hum, who cares?  The Serbian superstar, aka Robo-Nole, is still the man to beat whenever he takes the court.  In part, because he's got that locker room intimidation factor that's worth a nervous break even if his game isn't completely firing.  He doesn't even need to show up the rest of 2011 to be the favorite in Australia.  Then again, there's nowhere to go from here, but down.  Well, at least, Nadal, Murray, Federer and err, every other man playing ATP level tennis hope that's the case.  

WTA Championships Year-End Oddsmaking

Seriously, did Sasha Vujacic dress Maria for the photo shoot?

Eight women have flown into Istanbul with a chance to win the 2011 WTA Year-End Championships, the very last prize of this women's tennis season.  For the most part, the women have been quite a generous bunch, sharing this year's major tournaments with Kim Clijsters (who did not qualify for the YEC), Na Li/Li Na, Petra Kvitova and Samantha Stosur each taking home one major this year.  They also spread the wealth with regard to WTA tour titles, with World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki leading the tally with six, followed by Petra Kvitova (five) and Agnieszka Radwanska (three).  What's all this sharing mean?  You almost stop thinking about who is best suited to win this event (head-to-heads, surface, streaks, etc.) and start thinking whose turn is it to come good?  It's damn near impossible to handicap the field going into this event.  That won't stop us from trying though.

Blacklabel Tennis Power Rankings - July 2011

Welcome to the first edition of the Blacklabel Tennis Power Rankings.  The idea's pretty simple, we'll tell you who the top ten players are RIGHT NOW every month, why they're hot, why they're cold and why you need to pay attention going forward.  Agree? Disagree?  Leave it in the comments.

Anyone want to take a wild guess who's at the top?

1. Novak Djokovic (SRB)
What's left to say?  Australian Open champion, Wimbledon champion, World 
No. 1 ranking, long term lease in the head of one, Rafael Nadal.  The man who single-handedly destroyed the gluten industry.  Oh, and one more thing, he's going into his favorite part of the year, the American hardcourt swing.  Right now, only two things can derail Djokovic, injury or complacency.  I don't think the latter is a possibility.  There's still a lot he wants to win and his next order of business will be claiming that US Open trophy from a guy he's beaten five times in a row.