Good morning folks. I hope you all survived Day 3 of the Australian Open. Spin did not do so badly yesterday. She had a little over 68% success rate. She is especially overjoyed this morning because she predicted another double bagel by Sharapova against Misaki Doi of Japan. I am not sure that is something that any fan of women's tennis should be proud of.
Below are the results of yesterday's Day 3. Spin's picks for Day 4 will be posted later today.
Below are the results of yesterday's Day 3. Spin's picks for Day 4 will be posted later today.
PLAYER A
|
PLAYER B
|
SPIN’S PICKS
|
RESULTS
|
Na Li
|
Olga Govortsova
|
Li – these 2
players are as error prone as you can get, but I expect Li to have too much
firepower for her opponent
|
Li
|
Kristyna Pliskova
|
Sorana Cirstea
|
Cirstea – this is
the steadier of the 2 players (which is not saying a lot)
|
Cirstea
|
Julia Georges
|
Romina Oprandi
|
Oprandi – both ladies
had tough first round matches (tougher than they should be) but Oprandi is
less error prone than her opponent
|
Georges
|
Jie Zheng
|
Samantha Stosur
|
Stosur – winning a
round at your home Slam can do wonders. I expect Stosur to continue on with a
straights set win over Zheng
|
Zheng
|
Ana Ivanovic
|
Yung-Jan Chan
|
Chan – the steadiness
of Chan should come through against Ivanovic
|
Ivanovic
|
Maria Joao Koehler
|
Jelena Jankovic
|
Jankovic – a pick
em if I have ever seen one. I did not
see JJ’s first round match, and neither have I seen Koehler play, but
experience should get JJ by (which is not saying much)
|
Jankovic
|
Ksenia Pervak
|
Heather Watson
|
Pervak – to continue on
her upswing Down Under
|
Watson
|
Irina-Camelia Begu
|
Agnieszka Radwanska
|
Radwanska – to
outsteady the error prone youngster
|
Radwanska
|
Angelique Kerber
|
Lucie Hradecka
|
Kerber – Kerber is
the steadier of the 2, plus Hradecka for all her big game is too error prone
|
Kerber
|
Madison Keys
|
Tamira Paszek
|
Keys – too much
firepower by the youngster and will overcome Paszek. Has to try and not get into long rallies by
Paszek
|
Keys
|
Ekaterina Makarova
|
Stefanie Foretz
Garcon
|
Makarova – Makarova
plays very well Down Under. Look for her to continue to the 3rd
round
|
Makarova
|
Vesna Dolonc
|
Marion Bartoli
|
Bartoli – Bartoli
shocked me by actually making it out of the first round. Maybe too much to ask to see if she can go
further
|
Bartoli
|
Dominika Cibulkova
|
Valeria Savinykh
|
Cibulkova – to continue
her winning ways Down Under
|
Savinykh
|
Kirsten Flipkens
|
Klara Zakopalova
|
Flipkens –
Belgium’s resurgent player to overpower the steadier opponent
|
Flipkens
|
Venus Williams
|
Alize Cornet
|
Williams –
sentimental pick Venus. Will have to
ensure that she does not get into long drawn out rallies with Cornet. Has to continue to come to net and use her
big game to win this
|
Williams
|
Misaki Doi
|
Maria Sharapova
|
Sharapova – too
much firepower for her opponent.
Possibly another double bagel here
|
Sharapova
|
The match of the day for me was that between Madison Keys and Tamira Paszek. As predicted above, I felt that Keys would have a little too much firepower for Paszek. I am a bit disappointed as to how far Paszek seems to have regressed after her brilliant season in 2012. I am hoping that she will be able to turn it around as the season progresses.
I did not get to watch much tennis last night as I am still battling the last vestiges of the flu, but from my Twitter timeline (and you can follow me @bridgepea) it seems as if there were some great matches last night. Hopefully they are all on the AO website and I can view them at my leisure.