Best shots for 2012 (according to Bess)

Posted by Bess: I'm overdue making my predictions for 2012. And some of you may find it sketchy that I'm making my predictions with the 2012 tennis season underway. Rest assured that I have avoided reading any other bloggers' or writers' tennis predictions (even Dave's!). And while I've seen some tennis news through Twitter, I have yet to actually watch any of the action.

Thank goodness I'll be able to read about and watch tennis now without any guilt!

Prediction #1: 2012 men's grand slam winners. I predict we will see a more even distribution of the grand slam "wealth" this year (and for the sake of the argument, I'm viewing the Olympics as a fifth slam).

My rationale: 2010 was the year of Nadal. 2011 was Nole's year. And many of the years before that were Federer's. But I don't think Djokovic can maintain the same level of play throughout 2012 as he did in 2011. I don't think Nadal can be as consistently great as we've seen him, either. I *do* think Roger has at least another win in him (this was reinforced when I saw him play in London in November--more on that in my next post.)

But there are also a number of talented players waiting to pounce. And with the Olympics thrown into the mix, I think different players are going to try to peak at different times, and preparations during the relatively short window that will encompass the French Open, Wimbledon, the Olympics and the U.S. Open will be mighty interesting.

Prediction #2: 2012 women's grand slam winners. Much tougher category, this. I'll only say that, much as we saw in 2011, I expect a number of players in the mix. Who? Sheesh. I don't know. I'd love to see Clijsters, Sharapova, Zvonareva, Li Na and Wozniacki have great seasons. I'd like to see Ivanovic cobble together a string of wins. I'd kind of like to see Azarenka do well just to drum up all the debate about screeching again. Because that didn't get old. And I'd really like Sam Stosur to get a win she can savor just a little bit more (i.e. not tainted by the shenanigans of her opponent.) This feels like a prediction-less prediction. But so be it.

Prediction #3: Olympic champions. I'm going to go out on a huge, ridiculous limb here and pick two Olympic gold medalists. Although it's most likely to only cause me grief later when my picks are woefully mistaken and Dave won't let me forget it.

Men's Olympic gold medalist: Roger Federer. I know. But this has got to be TOPS on Roger's list this year. It's just about the only thing in tennis he hasn't won. (Yes, he has an Olympic doubles title, but let's get real--he wants a gold in singles badly.) He's expressed interest for several years. And the Olympic tennis matches will be played on the grass at Wimbledon where Roger is more than comfortable. ... Many things working in his favor. Plus, I would just like to see him cap off his remarkable career in that way. It would be one Roger win that wouldn't feel simply like "another win."

Women's Olympic gold medalist: And this? This is the "ridiculous limb" part of the prediction. Who can really say?! Yes, it could be Serena, but I'm feeling a little iffy about her 2012 season for some reason. And if she's indeed playing mixed doubles with Roddick, perhaps she'll be a bit distracted? (Unless it just means she's in even better shape. Yikes!) Hmmm... For no really strategic reason other than I'd like to see it happen, I'll pick Sharapova. I believe she deserves some kind of medal for the long, slow battle she's waged to come back from her shoulder injury. Might as well be Olympic gold.

Prediction #4: Agassi in the mix. Likely just wishful thinking on my part, but I predict Andre Agassi will offer some sort of surprise this year, putting him more in the mix again. Not as a player (talk about ridiculous limbs...) but... somehow. Just hopefully not a second Tell-All. ;-) (Don't get me wrong, it was a fantastic book. But I don't think we need any more shocking revelations or swipes at Sampras.) Is it so wrong to want more Agassi!?

Prediction #5: The year of Dave. Here's a self-involved prediction if I ever saw one. But I predict Dave will be the grand slam (+Olympics) overall winner when it comes to our 2012 bracket challenges. I can only hope he picks good places for me to buy his victory meals.

Prediction #6: Retirements. Might James Blake bow out? Might Venus Williams be forced to retire due to her medical issues? Will Clijsters call it quits after the Olympics or one final U.S. Open? Time will tell. But I predict we'll see a few retirements this year that will tug at my heartstrings and add to the ever-increasing amount of evidence that I am old.

There you have it. Let's reconvene here in December and break down my prediction-making skillz.

Live blogging for Bess (and anyone else who cares)

Posted by DAVE: Poor Bess can't get streaming to work on her home computer. So she's asked me to live blog. Here we go:

Stosur up 5-3, 30-0 in the third, over Kirilenko.

Kirilenko serving. Weakly, I might add.

Stosur rips a second serve return up the middle. Kirilenko hits into the net.

Match point. Stosur nets a slice backhand return. :(

Kirelenko hanging in there. Serving 30-40, second match point (of this game) for Stosur.

Kirelenko sends a backhand sailing wide. Stosur wins, 6-3 in the third.

Post-match interview with Stosur. Announcer mentions she blew five match points in the second set tiebreaker. (Whoopsy!)

Interview ends.

Can't decide whether to live blog Zvonareva match for Bess or not. I mean, does anyone really care whether she wins?

I'm looking ahead to Week 2, too

As some of you may know, Wimbledon is unique in that there are no matches played on the middle Sunday. So today is a quiet day.

Frankly, I'm happy for the reprieve. Gives us time to rest and regroup a bit before the so-called Best Day in Tennis ^{(R) (TM) (SM) (C)}! It's earned that moniker because after a day off on Sunday, all 16 players left in the men's and women's draws will play on the same day. Tremendous!

Here's who I'm especially interested in seeing:

• Nadal v. Del Potro - Delpo's on his way back after a long-healing injury. But aside from Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, he's the only male player to win a major since early 2005(!). In other words, he's no slouch. So it should be a good match.

• Fish v. Berdych - I picked Berdych to win this one, because I think he may overpower Fish, but Mardy's been playing some pretty impressive tennis, so we. shall. see. I wouldn't mind Fish proving me wrong.

• Ferrer v. Tsonga - Ferrer has been playing great, and Jo-Wili is a little unpredictable, but he's an entertaining player with great heart. He showed off his sportsmanship this week (here and here), as well, so I'm all in with Tsonga. (Even though I picked Ferrer to beat him.)

• Tomic v. Malisse - I picked Soderling to beat Tomic in the previous round, so I've got nothing riding on this one, but Tomic is a true up-and-comer, as Dave said. I'm interested in seeing how deep a run he can make. On an unrelated and unimportant note, I wish his first name began with an A, so I could refer to him as Atomic. What were his parents thinking?

And as for the women:

• Sharapova v. Peng - I've taken Sharapova all the way to the title so I'm interested in every match she plays! She should get through this one, but Peng, who I know nothing about, is seeded 20th, so it's not like it's a walk in the park.

• Lisicki v. Cetkovska - If the hard-hitting and impressive, yet somehow never-before-noticed-by-me, Lisicki wins this, she'll most likely take on Serena in the quarterfinals. And as successful as Serena has been so far, it would be good to see her up against another power server.

• Azarenka v. Petrova - I've got Azarenka through to the final, so I'm hoping she beats Petrova. Not sure what Petrova's been up to lately (I didn't pick her past the second round) so I'm unsure what to expect.

• Venus v. Pironkova - Not only did Pironkova take Venus out at last year's Wimbledon, she also took her out of the 2006 Australian Open. So Venus is likely going to come out guns blazing, in her own Venus-like way, which may mean she seems lethargic at first and then turns the power up when it really matters. This is as far as I've taken Venus in the draw, because I thought she'd be playing Zvonareva (who lost last round after hurting her ankle). So... while my heart roots for Venus to get some redemption, my bracket roots for Venus to lose.

Oh! And before we go - here are the bracket standings after the third round:

Bess
Men: 84/112
Women: 68/112
Total: 152/224

Dave
Men: 70/112
Women: 65/112
Total: 135/224

The pressure's definitely on as far as the women are concerned.