An inspired Ekaterina Makarova walked onto Rod Laver Arena against the most dominate player ever at Melbourne Park. The Russian told Renee Stubbs before the match "You better be nice to me during the interview" Stubbsy said she wasn't doing pre-match interviews and the confident Makarova responded with "I meant for the post match interview"
Ekaterina was booming with self confidence and that's all she needed to send shock waves through Melbourne Park with the upset of Serena Williams. A passive 13 time major winner hampered by injury was unable to match the consistency of her opponent today.
Arguably the biggest win of Ekaterina Makarova's career sees her advance to her first ever quarter final at a slam. The the last eight she will duel against fellow Russian Maria Sharapova who took three sets to defeat German Sabine Lisicki.
The serve that Serena Williams has been able t rely on through out her career was left in her hotel room as she served 7 aces and around 50% of her first serves in.
And the worse part of it all that my predictions are now nearly as bad as Emily's.
Also its 2am. Don't blame me if this makes no sense.
38 comments:
Repost from other thread:
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Thanks for the link, Carlos. I hadn't seen that one.
Tell me something. Is there anything better than waking up and watching my DVR recording in HD of Serena Williams getting spanked by the lovely Ms. Makarova?
Right. Serena sorta beat herself with crap serving and unforced errors. But, Makarova has been on my radar for sometime and she isn't that bad of a player. IMO, she is way more consistent than Goerges who is ranked #23 and Makarova is #56. And beating Vera/Serena isn't a bad run at the AO. Now, will she get past Sharapova? Probably not.
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Guess I overlooked Makarova also beat Kanepi.
19:00 Begu / Niculescu - Kuznetsova / Zvonareva (Margaret Court Arena)
20:00 Azarenka - Radwanska (Rod Laver Arena)
20:30 Kudryavtseva / Makarova - Errani / Vinci (Show Court 2)
22:00 Wozniacki - Clijsters (Rod Laver Arena)
22:00 King / Shvedova - Hlavackova / Hradecka (Show Court 2)
23:30 Mirza / Vesnina - Huber / Raymond (Margaret Court Arena)
23:30 Vinci / Bracciali - Date-Krumm / Nishikori (Show Court 2)
01:00 Mattek-Sands / Tecau - Shvedova / Ram(Show Court 2)
Of course, I'd like for Aggie to beat Bird but I'm afraid she's just too powerful for her. Unless of course Aggie pulls out her bag of tricks from the start..
And last but not least, this is surely Bunny's best chance to win a major with Serena Williams out of the picture.
Rest assured, when Bunny starts crying on court tonight and loses.. The writers will start talking about how Bunny really blew it without Serena in the draw. Of course they'd be spot on. Bunny will need a lot more luck than just not having to face Serena in order to bring home the bacon!
Caps I DVRed the football game of my G-Men and Niners on HD. I kept an eye on the scoreboard though. The thing is I'm used to seeing sporting events live.
Mrs. Angry and Kookie Monster to the semis.
If Makaruchi doesn't punk out in the next round she will take out Divapova. Her shoulder was never tested until Licki Bean and I still think Divapova can not win tough fights back to back.
You are Caps, Serena did shoot herself on both feet. My theory is that Serena couldn't handle the heat like the time when she was saved when the roof wad clised against Kuznetsova.
Clefairy: rumor has it you were in church instead of AO, the Devil wants to have a word with you young lady. :P
Carlos, I was reading a Makarova quote earlier and she doesn't like it when people call her 'Macaroni' from the stands! hahaha Some other name I forget too. What does Makaruchi mean?
The trick to watching DVR sports is not to check facebook, twitter or your stash of RSS feeds and/or tennis websites before watching it. That said, I only DVR when its on in the middle of the night and I'm sleeping. Otherwise I like to do it live!
tennis.com gave some lovin' to Aggie:
http://blogs.tennis.com/tennisworld/2012/01/gig-em-aggie.html
Aggie takes the first set and bagels Bird in the tie breaker!
Currently watching the "Break Match"...I mean Caps' woman Aggie and my "wife" Mrs. Angry.
Aggie is absorbing the Mrs. power quite well.
The Mrs. is playing like crap.
First set to Aggie 7-6 (7-0)
Bird is well, Angry.
Caps when I was little I watched a cartoon show who had a character named "Makaruchi". The name stuck is my head but can't remember what it looked like. It was an obvious nickname for Makarova. I don't like "Macaroni" either.
I try not to check the scores, but I can tell you stories how family members have told me results of sporting events while trying my best to avoid news. Yesterday I couldn't resist so I kept checking the score every 15 minutes or so. I DVRed it and I said if Giants win I'll watch the game if they lose I'll delete the recording.
Guess what? I just saw Clefairy in the stands while the camera took a shot of the crowd! She was picking her nose! Hahaha
Mrs. Angry just blew Aggie in the second set 6-0.
Believe it or not I'm rooting for Aggie but I the Mrs. will take the match.
Yeah, I expected Bird to win but I think Aggie's latest leg wrap/injury played a part. But, I'm not willing to use it as an excuse.
Will be interesting to see how well Kimmie is playing vs. Bunny. I have no doubt she'll win but playing Vika and then Petra for the title will be tough especially with a 50% ankle but that's just a guess. Haven't seen anything on twitter or facebook from Kim on her status.
Btw, just saw Kim walking down the hallway and she seems to be 100%! Bunny is in big trouble.
I can't wait to see how high she goes in the rankings after losing #1 and still being slamless. Hopefully her golfer boyfriend will give her the boot now for the triple whammy.
no #1 + no grandslam title + no boyfriend = ranking of 30!
Plus, if her ranking goes high I don't think she'll be playing so much.. Then her points won't matter as much.
Aggie went toe to toe with the Mrs. trying to match shot by shot. Bird over powered Aggie. I was disappointed that Aggie didn't go for her bag of tricks in the third set.
If the Bunny gets the "triple whammy" her ranking will fall to 60. Twenty spots for each whammy.
Time for Kookie Monster to munch down of some Bunny. BTW on trip to El Salvador I went to a restaurant and on the menu had rabbit, obviously I order it. It was good! Buen Provecho Kookie Monster!
Why does the Bunny puts ice bags "there"? XP
Caps I Googled "Makaruchi" to refresh my memory. It was the cartoon Jet Marte (not be confuse with Astro Boy). Jet Marte was a robot and he had a little brother named Melchi who was a baby robot. Melchi couldn't speak but he would say "Makaruchi".
Here is a clip, is in Spanish but clearly you can hear the baby robot say "Makaruchi" at :55-:59 and from 1:30 to 1:45.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnisZPjbITc
KIMMIE WINS!!!
Bunny is now mathematically eliminated from being #1 after the AO ends.
Finally, been waiting on this day for a while!
Of course the second set Kim lost her game for quite a while. But, what's new?
Kookie Monster boiled the Bunny! Hahaha.
Is worry some how K. Monster chokes. She was up 5-2 in the second, but she won which was important.
After the Fist Pumping Imbecile, JJ, and the Big Stuffed Bunny, is now time to get a respectable number one.
Why does Petra have a wrap on her inside left leg?
So did the Princess and Aggie. What's up with your women Caps?
I take Ostrich but rooting for my new fav. Errani.
Rooting for Makaruchi but I think the Diva with her arrogant attitude will win.
Petra is just practicing out here... wins the first set 6-4.
Not sure about the leg wraps.
Ostrich's game has left town! She's down 1-4 in the second set but I'm not worried yet.
Ostrich didn't play well in the first set and still won. I don't see Errani winning this match even though she leads in the second set.
Ostrich wins!
She needs to cut down on the unforced errors.
Errani didn't roll over but choked, it had to do mostly by Ostrich raising her level of play.
I read Bunny's after loss transcript and other articles about her losing the #1 spot.
Not once did I hear someone ask about the fact that no coaching is allowed in the majors and this is a factor in her inability to break through. (Although playing someone like Kim, she COULD have coaching and it wouldn't matter.)
Ostrich is down right dangerous when her game is working!
Diva/Makarova on ESPN2.
Bunny will fall to the number four spot automatically.
Divapova spanking Makaruchi.
Very excited about the semi-final matches tonight! Really, its a win-win for me, seeing there is no chance Kimmie AND/OR Ostrich won't make it to the final.
I bet a lot of the WTA women will be watching Kimmie tonight to see how she plays Azarenka. And of course Ostrich vs Diva should also be good. However, Maria is just a basher and not much of a real 'tennis player' so watching how Ostrich dismantles her won't be much of a learning experience but will be fun!
Coverage starts at 9:30pm Eastern on ESPN2.
Lost my post damn tool bar.
The Choker match "My Wife" vs Kookie Monster
I'm still taking Mrs. Angry to take the title however she tends to choke in the big stages, example: her last match. Kookie clearly been choking except she played against a bigger choker (Na) and a dimwit (Bunny) so here she is in the semis. The Mrs. won't keep her cool and that is an advantage for K. Monster, since the game plan goes like this, the Mrs. begins to choke, plays like crap, gets angry, throws a fit,and loses the match. The advantage that "my wife" has is that K. Monster chokes too. I think right now she is a better player than Na and Bunny so she will take the match.
Caps I agree with you, Ostrich is much better player than Divapova. Ostrich savviness and finesse on court is far superior than Divapova. The Diva is a one dimensional player, she will bash you to a bloody pulp and she does an excellent job. Looks like her shoulder has healed and she is back but she hasn't been tested with back to back tough opponents. The way to beat to beat Divapova is by power and finesse which the Ostrich has; having said that I'm taking Divapova over the Ostrich due to the poor performances of the Ostrich's last matches. She has been sluggish, committing a lot of unforced errors; playing against the Diva she won't have the luxury of committing tons of errors and getting away with it. Precision is the word of this match and Divapova has clearly the advantage.
Your picks are missing Clefairy. :P
Did blogspot change the fonts on the comments section here? I keep raising and lowering the text but it doesn't seem right.. Seems like the line feeds are missing when the text is about right!
Realistically, how much longer do y'all see Serena playing? I know her ego is gigantic and I can see her playing for longer than another year if she keeps losing?
38 minutes until Kimmie time!
I noticed the font change since Monday.
I see her playing this year and the next.
3 minutes to showtime!
On to the third set..
I think Angry Bird played a good match but Kim helped her along plenty.
Now, I guess its up to Ostrich to carry the caps321 mantle into the final!
Worst case scenario, if Diva beats Ostrich I will root for Angry Bird.
There is a method to my madness!
I want to wish my favorite Aussies a happy Australian Day!
Butt kissing over haha XP
Both semifinals had it moments and faults. I wouldn't call them classic either, I'm a hard critic.
The choker match set 1: It was played at a high level, clearly Mrs. Angry Bird out played Kookie Monster. I never got the feeling that the Mrs. would lose the first set. Set 2: Mrs. Angry laid an egg, enough said. Set 3: I agree with Caps, K. Monster helped Mrs. Angry to win the set specially in last game.
Divapova/Ostrich set one: Divapova spanked the Ostrich who was sluggish, I would say that sluggishness cost the Ostrich the match. Divapova looked faster, sharper, and hungrier than the Ostrich. Set 2: Was the reverse of set one, finally the Ostrich played at the high level that I expect her to play in every set, game, and point. Divapova couldn't hang with the Ostrich, it was like the Ostrich double slapping Divapova silly. Set 3: The "nerve set" whomever had the more nerves in check had the accuracy. At 4-4 I said to myself, 'who wins this game wins the match' it was the Diva who came up with the game and on the last game Ostrich looked defeated and gave the game and match to Divapova. BTW I rooting for Ostrich and after the match my sister said, "How did you know that the winner of that game would win the match? Since when did you become an expert?" Hahaha.
Mr. Caps321 can you please explain in detail the method to your madness.
This slam finals features two women that I hate but love their game. Yeah I know repeating myself for the 100th time. :P
Pressed record on the DVR last night and my recording ended with Diva/Ostrich tied at 2-2 in the third set!
Well, the unspeakable has happened and BOTH my women are currently taking a cold shower...
The method:
1) I'm rooting against Serena & Bunny unless they play each other and then I'd go for Serena.
2) I'm rooting for Diva if she's playing Serena or Bunny. Otherwise I'm rooting against her.
Mr. Caps that was a very logical explanation no madness there, which leads to this conclusion: A top of your black list is The Bunny 2)Serena 3)Divapova.
I'm taking the Italian doubles team over the Russian doubles team in the final.
Not spoil your day (more than it already is) but in game 9 in the third set, Divapova serving, Ostrich was up 15-40 failed to convert. BTW I was rooting for the Ostrich.
I would rather Diva or Bird take over the #1 spot than that unworthy Bunny.. And one of 'em will!
Btw, what did you think of Aggie ripping on Diva for grunting but acting as if Bird's noise' is cool? Sounds sorta like a conflict of interest to me...
I'm looking forward to watching the grunt fest on DVR because it doesn't bother me one bit.. And I sorta think its funny especially when these two play each other.
There must me some sorta mistake! I was just voting for some actresses on this "Help Select Maxim's 2012 Hot 100" and Bunny's name is a choice.... Needless to say, she sure didn't get my vote.
http://maximonline.com/hot100vote/
Caps you posted part of an article that said Bunny was complaining about the loud grunts. Mrs. Angry objected to that.
Aggie is talking on both sides on her mouth, she is bothered by everyone else's grunt but not by the grunts of her "good friend"?...Hypocritical.
In the all scream final I'm still taking the "wife". I think she has to approach this match like a clay court match. She has to pull out her bag of tricks or she will pummel if she decides to go toe to toe in power shots with the Diva. All Divapova has to do bring the same game that she has playing all throughout the tournament.
WTA Tour Screamers: Divapova, Venus, Angry Bird, Serena, and some others.
BTW does anyone remember what an ex-boyfriend of the Diva said about her grunting?
Doubles final Russians over Italians. Italians were to quote the "wife" pissed off at each other.
Dudes final: Same prediction as before: a lot of women will need to change their underwear after the match.
Bird spanks Diva!
Carlos, how does it feel to be famous? I heard Bird mention her BOYFRIEND in her after match speech!
I'm very happy Bird won and took over the #1 spot. Finally, there is some respectability to the WTA rankings.
Alright, I've had a little time to digest Birds' victory at the AO2012.
I bet Bunny is a wee bit jealous because Bird is a grand slam champion. Well, lets be honest.. She's green with envy because she's still a slam less #1!
Another thing not mentioned in the Clijsters as a slam less #1 when compared to the others (JJ, Safina, Bunny) would be -- Clijsters was a much better player AND had stiffer competition as well.
Was watching Clijsters vs. Venus at the 2005 US Open on YouTube the other day. That was some high quality tennis for the first 2 sets until Kimmie wore down Venus and steamrolled her in the third set.
Once again I agree with your comments Caps321.
I tried to watch the match from my cell but the stream was horrible! It was like seeing a couple of snap shots per point, I did hear the not so colorful commentators from Eurosport quite well. I have watched the highlights and by the looks of it the Mrs. took my advice (I didn't know she read this blog hahaha). In all seriuosness she got my plan telepathically. :P
Caps I DVRed the match I'll watch it tomorrow I didn't hear my "wife" Angry Bird talking about her boyfriend in the speech, I did hear my "wife" mentioning her grandmother. If she did mentioned her boyfriend it means my "wife" is cheating on me and she let the whole world know about it. That is why I'm hanging with the lovely Ms. Lickie Bean.
I think the Bunny was all alone in her room quietly rooting for Divapova.
Clijsters had won Miami and Indian Wells twice when she reached the number one "slamless" spot. In other words she already had two Rings Of Hell before taking over the top spot, Bunny, Dinara, JJ, none. K. Monster was a better quality player when she reached the top spot than all the rest of these slamless number ones and K. Monster now has the slam titles to prove it. JJ, Dinara, have no shot at a slam title now, Bunny maybe with a lot of luck.
Serena is not injured. It's a pity play and bad excuse. Furthermore, no proof was ever seen of her 'hematoma or her embolism'. My take is that she knew that the US Open crowd would be tough on her, so she had to avoid the 2010 event after what she did to the linesperson the year before. So, she needed to come up with some pity toward her: hence the fake illness and fake foot injury (Hell, she was out dancing all night with the 'injury'.) Pity in place and then the big comeback that was spoiled by Sam. The fraud almost played out as planned. But not quite. And then, to hammer the point home, Ekaterina took her out too at the next major. I suspect that Serena is a sociopath - no conscience whatever; pure narcissism at work.
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