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Five thoughts on the women's semifinals at the Australian Open, where Victoria Azarenka (6-1, 6-4 over Sloane Stephens) nd Li Na (6-2, 6-2 over Maria Sharapova) advanced to Saturday's final. ...
1. Azarenka's antics. First, a bit of credit. Placed in a potentially dangerous situation -- facing a young opponent, fat with confidence and attention, playing with house money -- Azarenka smothered Stephens, never letting her take control of the match despite a late comeback. She smacked Stephens' second serve as if were propped on a tee. She ran Stephens ragged.
She not only neutralized whatever game plan Stephens brought but also killed her spirit. She won the first set in barely half an hour. (And Azarenka has won her last 60 matches when...
Quick, name a sport, any sport. Tennis? Good. Yup, ESPN does whatever it takes — spends a ton of money, too — to wreck tennis, too. What ESPN is again doing to the Australian Open is right out of... more »
Five thoughts from Day 5 of the Australian Open … 1. Maria Sharapova sends a warning shot: She may have completed the career Grand Slam and finished No. 2 in 2012, but somehow Sharapova became the woman on the outside... more »
Serena Williams wasn’t giving herself any lip as she beat Garbine Muguruza, a 19-year-old Spaniard, 6-2, 6-0, in the second round of the Australian Open on Thursday — she was just hitting it. You have to produce a very... more »
The year’s first Grand Slam tennis tournament is already taking a toll, even in a year when the temperature at the Australian Open has rarely spiked to levels that call for a Legionnaire’s cap. You could see it as... more »
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