Australian Open 2011 Men’s Singles: Past Champions

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Al Woods

The 2011 Australian Open Men’s singles main draw begins on Monday 17 January and concludes with the Men’s Singles Final on Sunday 30 January. Roger Federer is the defending champion and is striving to win his 5th Australian Open crown. Rafael Nadal is going for his fourth consecutive Grand Slam to complete a *SuperRafa Slam.

Juan Martin del Potro, Novak Djokovic, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt are all Grand Slam singles champions who are entered into the 2011 tournament. Del Potro who won the 2009 US Open title used his protected ranking to gain entry into the main draw after being injured for almost the entire 2010 season. In fact, every man who is ranked in the Top 100 is entered to compete in the 2011 event making it the strongest possible field.

The men’s singles trophy is called the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup. 25 different men have won the Singles title during the past 41 years in the Open-era, which began in 1969. The most recent Australian to win this title was Mark Edmondson in 1976. This January will make that 35 years ago, a record which Australians would not be proud of.

Can anyone become a first-time Grand Slam champion in January? Absolutely yes! There a many players who have the ability to be a potential winner. One of the really interesting things to watch will be whether any of these potential winners has made any significant progress into learning how to maximise their likelihood of success in a Grand Slam.

The last man to win the his very first Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open was Novak Djokovic pictured above just after making contact with the ball during his service motion. Djokovic was the runner-up at the last Grand Slam tournament – the 2010 US Open.

For more details about the 2011 Australian Open, the prize money and ranking points awarded for each round and the schedule of play for the entire tournament click

The highest ranked men at the end of 2010 who have not won a Grand Slam singles title are:

World No.4 Andy Murray (twice a runner-up including Australian Open 2010)
No.5 Robin Soderling (twice a runner-up including Roland Garros 2010)
No.6 Tomas Berdych (runner-up at Wimbledon 2010)
No.7 David Ferrer, No.9 Fernando Verdasco, No.10 Mikhail Youzhny, No.11 Jurgen Melzer, No.12 Gael Monfils who have all made it to the semi finals before; and
No.13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (a runner-up at the 2008 Australian Open).

The following is the list of Open-era men’s singles champions at the Australian Open:

2011 Who do YOU think will win?
2010 Roger Federer
2009 Rafael Nadal
2008 Novak Djokovic
2007 Roger Federer
2006 Roger Federer
2005 Marat Safin
2004 Roger Federer
2003 Andre Agassi
2002 Thomas Johansson
2001 Andre Agassi
2000 Andre Agassi
1999 Yevgeny Kafelnikov
1998 Petr Korda
1997 Pete Sampras
1996 Boris Becker
1995 Andre Agassi
1994 Pete Sampras
1993 Jim Courier
1992 Jim Courier
1991 Boris Becker
1990 Ivan Lendl
1989 Ivan Lendl
1988 Mats Wilander
1987 January Stefan Edberg
1986 Not held
1985 November Stefan Edberg
1984 Mats Wilander
1983 Mats Wilander
1982 Johan Kriek
1981 Johan Kriek
1980 Brian Teacher
1979 Guillermo Vilas
1978 Guillermo Vilas
1977 December Vitas Gerulaitis
1977 January Roscoe Tanner
1976 Mark Edmondson
1975 John Newcombe
1974 Jimmy Connors
1973 John Newcombe
1972 Ken Rosewell
1971 Ken Rosewall
1970 Arthur Ashe
1969 Rod Laver

*SuperRafa Slam is the name first given to the possible non-calendar Grand Slam by Rafael Nadal by www.OnCourtAdvantage.com.

Stay tuned to this tennis website for full coverage of every Grand Slam tournament and every major women’s and men’s tennis tournament on the WTA Tour and ATP Tours. Click this link for further details about the Australian Open 2011: January 12-30.

© OnCourtAdvantage.com 2010

photo credit: mbevis

TENNIS: OnCourtAdvantage.com

Australian Open 2011 Women’s Singles: Past Champions

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Al Woods

The 2011 Australian Open Women’s singles main draw begins on Monday 17 January and concludes with the Women’s Singles Final on Saturday 29 January. Serena Williams is the defending champion and was going for 3 straight Australian Open victory. Serena has won 5 of the past 8 Australian Open singles titles but officially withdrew from the 2011 event on November 25 due to a second operation on her foot.

Of the Top 100 world ranked women, Serena Williams is joined by Agnes Szavay as the only 2 players unable to compete for the title. This means that the excitement factor should increase and the ferociousness of the competition by the players should be very high, making for a great women’s event. Only Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova have won the Australian Open before from the 2011 field.

The last woman to win the her very first Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open was Amelie Mauresmo in 2006 pictured above just after making contact with the ball with her single handed backhand return of serve. Mauresmo achieved the World No.1 ranking and won Wimbledon as well before retiring. The following women will be leading the pack to win their first Grand Slam singles title at the 2011 Australian Open:

World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki (runner-up 2009 US Open),
No.2 Vera Zvonareva (twice a runner-up 2010 Wimbledon and 2010 US Open),
No.6 Samantha Stosur (runner-up 2010 Roland Garros) and
No.8 Jelena Jankovic (runner-up 2008 US Open).

The above 4 women will have plenty of competition with Grand Slam singles champions Kim Clijsters, Venus Williams, Francesca Schiavone, Justine Henin, Ana Ivanovic, Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova all looking to add to their Grand Slam collections.

The women’s singles trophy is called the Daphne Ackhurst Memorial Cup. Only 19 different women have won the singles title during the past 41 years in the Open-era, which began in 1969. The most recent Australian to win this title was Chris O’Neil in 1978. This January will make that 33 years ago, a record which Australians would not be proud of.

For more details about the 2011 Australian Open, the prize money and ranking points awarded for each round and the schedule of play for the entire tournament click here.

The following is the list of Open-era women’s singles champions at the Australian Open:

2011 Who do YOU think will it be???
2010 Serena Williams
2009 Serena Williams
2008 Maria Sharapova
2007 Serena Williams
2006 Amelie Mauresmo
2005 Serena Williams
2004 Justine Henin
2003 Serena Williams
2002 Jennifer Capriati
2001 Jennifer Capriati
2000 Lindsay Davenport
1999 Martina Hingis
1998 Martina Hingis
1997 Martina Hingis
1996 Monica Seles
1995 Mary Pierce
1994 Steffi Graf
1993 Monica Seles
1992 Monica Seles
1991 Monica Seles
1990 Steffi Graf
1989 Steffi Graf
1988 Steffi Graf
1987 Hana Mandlikova
1986 Not held
1985 Martina Navratilova
1984 Chris Evert
1983 Martina Navratilova
1982 Chris Evert
1981 Martina Navratilova
1980 Hana Mandlikova
1979 Barbara Jordan
1978 Chris O’Neil
1977 December Evonne Goolagong
1977 January Kerry Melville
1976 Evonne Goolagong
1975 Evonne Goolagong
1974 Evonne Goolagong
1973 Margaret Court
1972 Virginia Wade
1971 Margaret Court
1970 Margaret Court
1969 Margaret Court

© OnCourtAdvantage.com 2010

photo credit: brewz

TENNIS: OnCourtAdvantage.com

San Diego’s Matt Dorr, right, drives past the defense of San Diego State’s Chase Tapley, l…

Posted on December 12, 2010 by Al Woods

San Diego’s Matt Dorr, right, drives past the defense of San Diego State’s Chase Tapley, left, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010 in San Diego.(via Yahoo!)

Mid-Majority 360

Ware’s 21 leads Georgia past Tech

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Al Woods

It wasn’t Georgia’s best showing on either end of the court, but a 7-of-9 night behind the arc from junior point guard Dustin Ware gave the Dawgs just enough to secure a 73-72 win on the road at Georgia Tech Tuesday night. Ware’s final three-pointer came with just 15 seconds left and broke a 70-70 tie, providing Georgia’s final points in a game that surprised no one by coming down to the wire.

A sluggish start meant that Georgia played catch-up for most of the night. Travis Leslie spent most of the first half on the bench with two fouls, and the Bulldog inside game was generally ineffective early on. Thompkins, Price, and Barnes combined for just eight first half points, leaving the guards – minus Leslie – to take up the load. Ware and Robinson were up to the task, and Georgia reduced a double-digit deficit to a manageable six points at halftime.

Tech was able to keep Georgia at arms’ length for the first part of the second half, but the Dawgs finally drew even at 43 on a pair of Trey Thompkins free throws. The sizable Georgia contingent had been pretty subdued to that point, but erasing Tech’s lead brought them to their feet. Georgia soon went ahead for the first time on a pair of Sherrard Brantley three-pointers, and a 13-5 Bulldog run established a six-point Georgia lead inside of eight minutes left.

Georgia missed an opportunity to extend the lead to eight when a Price layup fell short, and a three-pointer on the other end got the hosts right back in the game. Tech went on a late 10-0 run to turn a five-point Georgia lead into a 70-65 Yellow Jacket advantage as the Dawgs went cold on offense. Thompkins picked Georgia up with a huge three-point play, and Ware’s final jumper with 15 seconds left capped an 8-0 run by the Bulldogs to win the game. Tech had a final chance to win after Gerald Robinson missed two free throws, but a long pass was intercepted, and Georgia held on as the clock ran out.

It’s always great to beat Tech, but as I said it wasn’t a terribly good showing – it was much like the football game in that respect. Georgia’s a better team, and it would have been an upset to lose. Despite having a stronger inside presence with Thompkins, Barnes, and Price, Georgia was outrebounded 43-30 and only had two more points in the paint. Thompkins eventually heated up in the second half with 15 points in the final 20 minutes, but Barnes and Price never found much success on offense. Another thing keeping Tech in the game was Georgia’s free throw shooting. The Dawgs were a wretched 7-of-15 from the stripe, and Robinson’s missed pair at the end opened the door for Tech to win.

Neither team was especially strong on perimeter defense. Georgia, led by Ware, shot an amazing 55% from behind the arc. The Dogs were well over 50% from outside but only 44% overall and 46% from the free throw line. Tech wasn’t much worse from outside at 40%. They cooled off though only hitting 33% of their three-pointers in the second half, and that helped to fuel Georgia’s comeback.

The win is Georgia’s second in Atlanta since the series left the Omni for the respective campuses in the 1995-1996 season. Georgia’s last road victory against Tech came in 2000 when another Bulldog guard, D.A. Layne, dropped 28 points on the Yellow Jackets. Meanwhile, Tech has yet to win in Athens since the series went home-and-home. Thanks to those two road wins, Georgia enjoys a 10-6 advantage over Tech in the post-Omni era.

The Bulldogs are a respectable 6-2 now and will be off for the next ten days during exams. Chances are good that the Dawgs will be at 11-2 when SEC play begins. There are four winnable games in Athens during the latter half of December, and a December 23rd game at Mercer in Macon is the only road game left before the conference schedule.

DawgsOnline

McCarthy Talks About Tauscher’s Career In Past Tense

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Al Woods

Green Bay Packers tackle Mark Tauscher was put on injured reserve last week after the Packers decided he wouldn’t be able to fully recover from a shoulder injury. Tauscher has been out since the injury occurred in week four and although he’s been progressing, he would have had to play with a harness if he [...]

Total Packers

Past 20 Yrs: 4% Of NFLers Played Over 3 Seasons

Posted on October 23, 2010 by Al Woods

If you’ve ever been around a major college football program, you know there are two absolute truths:

(Astonishing? Yes. Unbelievable? No.)

1) Every player who ever signed with such a program thought he had a legitimate chance to make it to the NFL.
2) Coaches at those programs use the false lure of the NFL as a primary recruiting pitch.

But the really scary part, at least according to two NFL officials who spoke to USC football players in L.A. this week, is the mindblowing number of players who, after making NFL teams, actually enjoy a football career over 36 months.

From a blog post on the official USC football website this week: (more…)

Gentry Estes, who has covered Alabama football for the Press-Register over the past three seasons…

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Al Woods

Adiosgentry

Gentry Estes, who has covered Alabama football for the Press-Register over the past three seasons is leaving the paper to head off for the wonderful world of online sports journalism. He’ll cover the Tide through season opener and then start his new gig in Athens covering the Georgia Bulldogs. The paper is in the process of hiring a new Alabama football beat reporter, he says.

Roll ‘Bama Roll

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