Aussie Open- Women's Semi Finals

The Australian Open women's draw has been full of surprises and tight matches and after almost two weeks of action we are down to just four players. If you read the newspapers or you watched all the tv coverage of the women's draw before this tournament started then you would have got the impression that all Serena had to do was show up. She was heavily fancied by so many for title. Many, including myself, didn't feel Maria was up to the task. Many thought Laura Robson was the young gun to watch. Names like Kvitova, Stosur, Kerber were all thrown about as dark horses. The beauty of the women's game is that it is unpredictable. Serena was beaten by a teenager. The same teenager crushed Robson. Sharapova has barely lost a game all tournament and none of the dark horses have survived to the semi finals.
          In the first semi final tomorrow we have Maria Sharapova and Na Li in a game where something has to give. Neither player has lost a set yet and both have looked in great form. All the signs indicate that this will be a high quality match. Sharapova has cruised through to this point with some incredible demolitions of top players. She is now the favourite for the title and heavily fancied to at least reach the final. I don't think she can afford to look past Li though. Sharapova may have cruised through but being realistic she wasn't tested. It's no secret that the Sharapova second serve is suspect to the yips and she hasn't been under any pressure on her serve yet. Li Na is the type of player who can trouble Maria. She is playing some great tennis and she is a much better mover than Maria. Sharapova has been winning a good percentage of points of her opponents service games but Li has got a good enough second serve to keep Sharapova from being too aggressive and getting the first big hit into the rally. Na Li was able to beat Radwanska by hitting aggressively and hitting a large number of winners. That style is what will be successful against Maria. I think this one will go the distance and I'm giving a slight edge to Li. Maria has been at such a high level that it will be tough for her to go up another gear straight away when she is pressured. Li has been tested and she's passed with flying colours.
           The second semi final contains the world number one Victoria Azarenka and teen sensation Sloane Stephens. Everyone was anticipating the Vika-Serena semi final but 19 year old Stephens had other ideas. It wasn't too big a shock to me that she was able to beat Williams. She had a confidence about her in her interviews beforehand and even dismissed her loss to Williams in Brisbane saying her nerves were gone now so she can focus on her game. She was always going to make her mark on the game and the chance to beat her idol Serena at a major gave her the boost she needed. She struggled to finish out the match but nerves are always going to be there at the end of a match. The disappointing part of this match was Serena's injury. She only seemed to have the injury in between points and when she was winning in the third there was no evidence of the injury. It wasn't nice to see and reminds me of Andy Murray's 'injury' at Roland Garros last year. Stephens is the most promising young player in the game, as she showed when cruising past Laura Robson despite a shoulder injury but Azarenka will be a different prospect.
          She faces a challenge here that she won't be used to. Azarenka is not only as good a mover as Sloane but she is a better mover and so Stephens won't get as many cheap points through grinding as she normally does. She will have to rely on hitting her way to victory. The good news for her is that Vika was pushed hard by Jamie Hampton who came out firing but couldn't sustain the challenge. Stephens will have watched that game over and over to try and learn something. Azarenka hasn't served well on second serve this tournament and that might be an area for Sloane to target. Azarenka was my pick before the tournament and with Serena gone she will have received a major boost. She knows she can match Serena and won't have feared the American but the fact she doesn't have to face her is an added bonus. The stage will be new to Stephens in her first major semi final and by the time she settles I think she could facing the exit. Azarenka is a fast starter and the three set matches will take their toll on the young American. The future is bright for American tennis but it's Azarenka who's light will shine brightest at the end of this semi final.