05/01/08 Full Card
WTA Gold Coast: Viktoria Azarenka (BLR) vs Na Li (CHN) - Today, 01:30 GMT
The very talented Viktoria Azarenka reaches another WTA tournament final, this time in a Tier III. She has lost the two finals she has played until now (Estoril and Tashkent), in two matches where she was the big favorite to win. The pressure took control of her and she couldn't play something similar to her best tennis. But the situation is different in here. First of all, she knows she isn't the big favorite to win in here. I'm not saying she thinks Na Li is the big favorite to win in here, as her winning mentality will always make her think that she is favorite, but she knows this is going to be a tough match, unlike what she was predicting for her other two WTA tournament finals. There is also another factor that makes me think this is going to be different this one. Another season has passed and the young Azarenka is now more mature. Her coach is a very smart person and they will be capable of analyzing what went wrong in the other two finals to correct them, to make Azarenka win her first WTA title today. About her performances in here, they were just amazing. She has dropped one set this week and she has faced three tough opponents (Sugiyama, Cibulkova and Peer). Her 6:4 6:2 semi final win over the Top 20 player Shahar Peer shows how well she is playing right now and how much she has progressed in the off season. She plans to be into the Top 20 at the end of the season and I wouldn't be surprised if she reaches an even higher place in the rankings than that.
Na Li has made an amazing comeback after a six month injury lay-off, but she had to work way more than Azarenka to reach this final. The Chinese had a very tough semi final match against Patty Schnyder, that only ended when Na Li won the third set by 7:5. She has also defeated Nicole Vaidisova and Sybille Bammer during the week, which is quite impressive, but it must have taken lots of energy from her, especially when she wasn't playing for so long. She is quite error-prone, when she is tired and she isn't exactly a player that is capable of handle the pressure very well. The matchup is an interesting one, as both players are capable of hitting a good number of powerful winners, but Azarenka's nice defensive game will always obligate Na Li to hit another shot and as the Chinese player is pretty unstable, I can see Azarenka getting a good number of free points from Na Li's unforced errors.
Azarenka is a future multiple Grand Slam winner and I think her win over Maria Sharapova in Moscow in her last tournament last season has given her the boost she needed to fulfill her potential in the tour. She is playing extremely well this one and I don't think she should be the underdog in here. Na Li is also very talented, but Azarenka has a little bit more options than the Chinese player on a hardcourt surface. Take the Belorussian to get her first title in here.
Play 1* unit on Viktoria Azarenka to win @ +102
ATP Adelaide: Michael Llodra (FRA) vs Joseph Sirianni (AUS) - Today, 02:30 GMT
Michael Llodra is having a wonderful run in here. He had three very tough games already this week and he didn't drop a single set until now. Also he has won the three tie-breaks he has played this week, something amazing for him, as he is known as the "tie-break loser". The French player is serving quite well and he made an average of 15,5 aces in his last two games in here. He has only got broken once this week and it was an early break in the 1st set of the 1st round against the world class returner Gilles Simon. With the service working so well, Llodra is confident and he shows that in the other parts of the game also. He has been capable of winning an average of 35.3% of his return points, which is an amazing number, especially when he is just needing one break to win a set this week. His serve & volley game is working pretty well and the new fast surface of Adelaide is helping him. He has saved 13 of the 14 break points his opponents had on his service games this week, showing that he has been capable of handling the pressure and to raise his game when it is really necessary to do it.
Joseph Sirianni is having a career tournament in here, but his matches have been too long to have a good chance in this one. Sirianni is averaging 113 minutes per round this week, while Llodra has only stayed an average of 93 minutes per round. That's even worse for Sirianni, as the Australian isn't used to play so many matches at such high level, while Llodra has a good numbers of years playing almost every week in the main tour. Sirianni has been capable of outgrinding his opponents this week, but he is due to a letdown in here. He is running a lot per game and he must be out of energy right now after playing so many hours at such high temperatures. The crowd will support him a lot, but something that isn't enough, especially when the difference of ability and energy is so different between two players.
Llodra is playing very well this week and he will play his 7th ATP semi final of his career, while Sirianni will play his first. The French player won't give the Australian many chances to break him, so the tired Australian will have to keep holding serve until a tie-break, which will be hard for him, as Llodra is experienced and Sirianni will commit more unforced errors today, due to his tiredness. Take Llodra minus the games in here.
Play 1* unit on Michael Llodra (-2 Games) @ -125
ATP Adelaide: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) vs Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) - Today, 04:00 GMT
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga literally owned Lleyton Hewitt on his hometown. Hewitt was looking for revenge for his Queen's defeat at the hands of Tsonga and all he got was an even bigger beatdown. The French is another player that likes to serve & volley and just like Llodra, he has been doing quite well this week doing it. He likes to play left handed players, as you can see for his Wimbledon win over Feliciano Lopez and his almost unbreakable serve makes him be able to take risks on the return games, which ends up giving him at least one break per set most of the times. If all of this wasn't enough, he is almost mentally very strong and he has a success rate of 71% in tie-breaks in the last twelve months.
Jarkko Nieminen had a very long match against Vince Spadea that certainly made him tired. Nieminen just won by 7:6 6:7 7:6 and he took almost three hours to get the win. In a match that had a lot of running and long points, Nieminen won't be at 100% with less than 18 hours to recover from yesterday's game, something terrible for him, as Tsonga hits the ball with a lot of power, which will obligate the Finnish player to run a lot, on a match that will be played with very high temperatures. Nieminen is a good returner, but Tsonga won't give a lot of chances to break, while Nieminen's serve is attackable and Tsonga will be all over Nieminen's second serves and even some first serves.
Tsonga must be confident after destroyed Hewitt 6:4 6:2 on his hometown, while Nieminen will be tired after playing the max games the match allowed against Spadea. The Finnish was a break down in the third set and he had to run a lot at the end of the game, something that left him really tired. So, I've no other option than go with Tsonga in here. GAME OF THE WEEK!
Play 2* units on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win @ -125
Good luck!
WTA Gold Coast: Viktoria Azarenka (BLR) vs Na Li (CHN) - Today, 01:30 GMT
The very talented Viktoria Azarenka reaches another WTA tournament final, this time in a Tier III. She has lost the two finals she has played until now (Estoril and Tashkent), in two matches where she was the big favorite to win. The pressure took control of her and she couldn't play something similar to her best tennis. But the situation is different in here. First of all, she knows she isn't the big favorite to win in here. I'm not saying she thinks Na Li is the big favorite to win in here, as her winning mentality will always make her think that she is favorite, but she knows this is going to be a tough match, unlike what she was predicting for her other two WTA tournament finals. There is also another factor that makes me think this is going to be different this one. Another season has passed and the young Azarenka is now more mature. Her coach is a very smart person and they will be capable of analyzing what went wrong in the other two finals to correct them, to make Azarenka win her first WTA title today. About her performances in here, they were just amazing. She has dropped one set this week and she has faced three tough opponents (Sugiyama, Cibulkova and Peer). Her 6:4 6:2 semi final win over the Top 20 player Shahar Peer shows how well she is playing right now and how much she has progressed in the off season. She plans to be into the Top 20 at the end of the season and I wouldn't be surprised if she reaches an even higher place in the rankings than that.
Na Li has made an amazing comeback after a six month injury lay-off, but she had to work way more than Azarenka to reach this final. The Chinese had a very tough semi final match against Patty Schnyder, that only ended when Na Li won the third set by 7:5. She has also defeated Nicole Vaidisova and Sybille Bammer during the week, which is quite impressive, but it must have taken lots of energy from her, especially when she wasn't playing for so long. She is quite error-prone, when she is tired and she isn't exactly a player that is capable of handle the pressure very well. The matchup is an interesting one, as both players are capable of hitting a good number of powerful winners, but Azarenka's nice defensive game will always obligate Na Li to hit another shot and as the Chinese player is pretty unstable, I can see Azarenka getting a good number of free points from Na Li's unforced errors.
Azarenka is a future multiple Grand Slam winner and I think her win over Maria Sharapova in Moscow in her last tournament last season has given her the boost she needed to fulfill her potential in the tour. She is playing extremely well this one and I don't think she should be the underdog in here. Na Li is also very talented, but Azarenka has a little bit more options than the Chinese player on a hardcourt surface. Take the Belorussian to get her first title in here.
Play 1* unit on Viktoria Azarenka to win @ +102
ATP Adelaide: Michael Llodra (FRA) vs Joseph Sirianni (AUS) - Today, 02:30 GMT
Michael Llodra is having a wonderful run in here. He had three very tough games already this week and he didn't drop a single set until now. Also he has won the three tie-breaks he has played this week, something amazing for him, as he is known as the "tie-break loser". The French player is serving quite well and he made an average of 15,5 aces in his last two games in here. He has only got broken once this week and it was an early break in the 1st set of the 1st round against the world class returner Gilles Simon. With the service working so well, Llodra is confident and he shows that in the other parts of the game also. He has been capable of winning an average of 35.3% of his return points, which is an amazing number, especially when he is just needing one break to win a set this week. His serve & volley game is working pretty well and the new fast surface of Adelaide is helping him. He has saved 13 of the 14 break points his opponents had on his service games this week, showing that he has been capable of handling the pressure and to raise his game when it is really necessary to do it.
Joseph Sirianni is having a career tournament in here, but his matches have been too long to have a good chance in this one. Sirianni is averaging 113 minutes per round this week, while Llodra has only stayed an average of 93 minutes per round. That's even worse for Sirianni, as the Australian isn't used to play so many matches at such high level, while Llodra has a good numbers of years playing almost every week in the main tour. Sirianni has been capable of outgrinding his opponents this week, but he is due to a letdown in here. He is running a lot per game and he must be out of energy right now after playing so many hours at such high temperatures. The crowd will support him a lot, but something that isn't enough, especially when the difference of ability and energy is so different between two players.
Llodra is playing very well this week and he will play his 7th ATP semi final of his career, while Sirianni will play his first. The French player won't give the Australian many chances to break him, so the tired Australian will have to keep holding serve until a tie-break, which will be hard for him, as Llodra is experienced and Sirianni will commit more unforced errors today, due to his tiredness. Take Llodra minus the games in here.
Play 1* unit on Michael Llodra (-2 Games) @ -125
ATP Adelaide: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) vs Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) - Today, 04:00 GMT
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga literally owned Lleyton Hewitt on his hometown. Hewitt was looking for revenge for his Queen's defeat at the hands of Tsonga and all he got was an even bigger beatdown. The French is another player that likes to serve & volley and just like Llodra, he has been doing quite well this week doing it. He likes to play left handed players, as you can see for his Wimbledon win over Feliciano Lopez and his almost unbreakable serve makes him be able to take risks on the return games, which ends up giving him at least one break per set most of the times. If all of this wasn't enough, he is almost mentally very strong and he has a success rate of 71% in tie-breaks in the last twelve months.
Jarkko Nieminen had a very long match against Vince Spadea that certainly made him tired. Nieminen just won by 7:6 6:7 7:6 and he took almost three hours to get the win. In a match that had a lot of running and long points, Nieminen won't be at 100% with less than 18 hours to recover from yesterday's game, something terrible for him, as Tsonga hits the ball with a lot of power, which will obligate the Finnish player to run a lot, on a match that will be played with very high temperatures. Nieminen is a good returner, but Tsonga won't give a lot of chances to break, while Nieminen's serve is attackable and Tsonga will be all over Nieminen's second serves and even some first serves.
Tsonga must be confident after destroyed Hewitt 6:4 6:2 on his hometown, while Nieminen will be tired after playing the max games the match allowed against Spadea. The Finnish was a break down in the third set and he had to run a lot at the end of the game, something that left him really tired. So, I've no other option than go with Tsonga in here. GAME OF THE WEEK!
Play 2* units on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win @ -125
Good luck!