Australian Open 2013: Women's draw analysis

After an eventful year in grand slams last year, 2013 starts with the ‘Happy Slam’ i.e. the Australian Open on the 14th of Jan. While a lot of focus has been on the men’s draw, the announcement and subsequent withdrawal of Rafael Nadal from the tournament, the women’s side of the draw has some interesting things to look forward to as well. While Serena Williams seems like the undisputed favorite, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova, the no.1 and no.2 seeds respectively, have the possibility of beating the mighty American, provided the draw favors them. Here’s a look at the draw in detail:

Starting with the top half of the draw, which has the defending champ Victoria Azarenka; there are some good players in here such as former world no.1 Caroline Wozniacki, the powerhouse Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova and the breakout start from last year and no.7 seed Sara Errani.

Matches to look forward to:

1st round between Wozniacki and Sabine LisickiPotential 3rd round: Kuznetsova vs Sara Errani and Wozniacki vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

I think Azarenka should be able to navigate herself safely through this draw. Her real challenge would be against Kuznetsova if she manages to get past the Italain Errani.

Winner from this draw: Victoria Azarenka

The next half of the draw has Serena Williams and former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. We also see rising British star Laura Robson in this half of the draw along with talented Russians Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova. The path for Serena up until the quarters is pretty straightforward. All she needs to do is show up. Kvitova on the other hand has a very tricky draw and given how inconsistent she has been, there is a great chance for players like Sloane Stephens and Robson to cause an upset.

Matches to look forward to:

1st round: Petra Kvitova vs Francesca Schiavone, Robson vs Melanie OudinPotential 3rd round: Yanina Wickmayer vs Maria KirilenkoPotential 4th round: Kvitova vs Petrova

Winner from this draw: Serena Williams

Agnieska Radwanska features in perhaps the most open draw of the tournament. Her real challenge could be in the quarters against the feisty Chinese no.6 seed Li Na, provided Li Na overcomes the experienced and local favorite Sam Stosur. Although the two Serbs, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic also feature in this draw, the former is still somewhat struggling with the right strategy for her and the latter has simply faded away.

Matches to look forward to:

Potential 2nd round: Julia Goerges vs Tsvetana Pironkova and Daniela Hantuchova vs Ana IvanocicPotential 4td round: Li Na vs Sam Stosur

Winner from this draw: Agnieska Radwanska or Li Na (this one is a close call)The bottom half of the draw features world no.2 Maria Sharapova. One look at the draw and it would be easy to say, the stars are in the Russian’s favor. On the other hand, Angelique Kerber, the no.5 seed also has a relatively easy draw until the fourth round where she could face Marion Bartoli.

Matches to look forward to:

Potential 3rd round: Sharapova vs Venus WilliamsPotential 3rd round: Marion Bartoli vs Anabel Medina

Unless something goes terribly wrong, this one is easy to call.

Winner from this draw: Maria Sharapova

This means potential semi finals between the top four of the women’s draw. How’s that for some competition with the men’s? But I digress. As much as I would like for Agnieska Radwanska to win, I feel that she needs to become more aggressive in her play to overcome the three other powerhouse hitters.

Semifinals:

Serena Williams vs Victoria Azarenka : This one should be a treat to watch. Given how well contested the US Open finals was, this could very well be Azarenka’s shot at improving that miserable win-loss stat of 1-11. Azarenka is also the defending champion here, so perhaps that could serve as a confidence boost. Serena has been in sublime form winning the recently concluded Brisbane International. Azarenka actually pulled out of the semi final there. This one should be a high quality and high decibel match up. It would be foolish to bet against Serena though and I think she will come through in three sets.

Maria Sharapova vs Agnieska Radwanska : I am personally a fan of Radwanska’s style of play. That coupled with the fact that she has won two tournaments already this year; Auckland and the Sydney International defeating quality opponents in the finals at both the events, gives me hope that she can defeat the Russian. Sharapova has not played any tournaments yet this year, so it is difficult to say what form she is in but she had a good run last year in most tournaments and she is a big occasion player as well. I am going to go out on a limb though and predict a Radwanska win here.

Finals:

Serena Williams vs Agnieska Radwanska: On paper this looks like a David and Goliath match up, but if last year’s Wimbledon finals are any indication, Radwanska can cause trouble for Serena. The thing though is that, everything more or less depends on how Serena plays and reacts. She is just too powerful a player and personality right now for anyone to upset her. This match could be one sided but if Serena gives Radwanska the slightest of opportunities and if Radwanska is able to serve well, I think it could be competitive. If I had to bet though, I would play safe and put my money on Serena Williams. In all possibility she will win her 16th grand slam singles title at Melbourne Park.