by eric on April 26, 2012 updated April 26, 2012
Victoria Azarenka brightened up her prospects for the US Open by winning in Australia
My, how things change. The last time I sat down to write about contenders at the 2012 US Open, the name Samantha Stosur was at the top of the list. Now Stosur is sitting at #5 and Victoria Azarenka has now assumed the mantle of the #1 player in Women’s Tennis. That kind of caught me off guard so let’s take a look at what Azarenka has done to suddenly hit my spotlight.
Well to begin with, the Belarusian won the 2012 Australian Open so there’s that. To reach that title Azarenka had to knock off none other than Maria Sharapova, the current #2 player. Moving on to the Qatar Open Azarenka topped Stosur in her first tennis tournament as the top player. An ankle injury derailed her appearance in Dubai, but she came back in the BNP Paribas Open and once again knocked off Sharapova.
The Women’s side of the 2012 US Open could be just as, or even more, entertaining than the men’s side. Since my last article the rankings have done a flip-flop and new names are coming to the top. I wouldn’t be surprised to see things change drastically again before we take another look at the top contenders for the 2012 US Open.
by eric on April 26, 2012 updated April 26, 2012
Rafael Nadal will be staring down opponents on the hard courts of the US Open in 2012.
In the newest installment of our look at players you might see with US Open tickets, we turn our attention to Rafael Nadal. Currently, Nadal is in at the Barcelona Open where he is defending his title there and he began with a win over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. What we’re looking for is some evidence that Nadal can contend for a title at the US Open scheduled for August 27th to Sept. 9th.
Being known as “The King of Clay” means that Nadal may not be at his best when he’s playing at a US Open. he’s been dominant on the clay court, winning the French Open a total of six times, the last coming in 2011 against Roger Federer. Before you discount his abilities on the hard court though, you have to remember that Nadal has been very successful at the US Open, having won there in 2011 over current #1 Novak Djokovic. he’s also been successful on grass, having twice won Wimbledon. So despite the obvious aptitude on clay courts, Nadal can’t be counted out regardless of surface.
So far in 2012 Rafael Nadal has been playing well and may be hitting his stride when the US Open comes around. He reached the finals of the Australian Open this year before falling to Djokovic. Nadal got some revenge in the Rolex Open, topping Nadal in the finals there. This is going to be an interesting year for the tennis world, as we watch how the Olympics play out. I fully anticipate that Rafael Nadal will gather some steam in the French Open before moving on to Wimbledon and the Olympics and be in top form when the US Open begins.
