Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova are set for a final battle with nothing more on the line than the Australian Open Title, and the World No. 1 ranking. In one semifinal, the No. 4 seed, Sharapova, showing a remarkable comeback after shoulder surgery, defeated the No. 2 seed, Petra Kvitova in a close contest, 6-2,
No. 3 seed, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, won a hard-fought semifinal match over No. 11 seed, Kim Clijsters of Belgium, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, to advance to her first ever major final at the 2012 Australian Open. Azarenka won the first set 6-4, then fell apart to lose the 2nd set 1-6. Clijsters was broken early
In a close match, Kim Clijsters of Belgium has effectively knocked Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark from her perch as World No. 1. In the Quarterfinals of the Australian Open, Clijsters defeated Wozniacki in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6(7-4). Wozniacki will now be usurped by either Victoria Azarenka, Petra Kvitova, or Maria Sharapova, all three of whom
In a stunning upset, No. 56 ranked Ekaterina Makarova of Russia defeated No. 12 seed, Serena Williams of the USA in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3 in round 4 of the Australian Open. Williams had seven double faults, several to set up break points, to allow Makarova to earn one of the biggest wins of her
No. 5 seed, Kim Clijsters of Belgium survived a 3-set thriller against No. 5 seed, Na Li of China 4-6, 7-6(8-6), 6-4, in a repeat of last year's Australian Open Final. Clijsters twisted an ankle badly in the seventh game. After taking an injury time out to have it taped, she lost the first set
No. 38 Zheng Jie of China pulled a major upset over No. 9 seed Marion Bartoli of France, posting a 6-3, 6-3 win in round 3 of the 2012 Australian Open. It took just under an hour and a half for Zheng to get the job done. She raced out to a 4-0 lead before
In an all Russian match, No. 56 ranked Ekaterina Makarova stunned No. 7 seed, Vera Zvonareva in straight sets, 7-6(7), 6-1 in the 3rd round of the Australian Open. The first set was hard fought and very competitive, coming down to Makarova pulling out a hard-fought tie-break. The 2nd set was all Makarova, with Zvonareva
Caroline Wozniacki cruised into the 4th round of the 2012 Australian Open with a straight sets win over Monica Niculescu. World No. 1 Wozniacki had little trouble against No. 32 ranked Niculescu, closing out the match 6-2, 6-2. Niculescu broke serve when Wozniacki was serving for the match at 5-1, but it was too little
Petra Kvitova, world No. 2 of the Czech Republic, narrowly escaped in a close match over No. 58 ranked Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 on Thursday to advance to the 3rd round of the 2012 Australian Open. The reigning Wimbledon champion, Kvitova, won the first set easily but became visibly frustrated as
No. 4 seed, former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova of Russia completely crushed No. 144 ranked Jamie Hampton of the USA on Thursday in Melbourne, to advance to round three of the 2012 Australian Open. The match lasted just 64 minutes, and Sharapova allowed Hampton only one game, taking the match 6-0, 6-1. It was
