Moorilla Hobart International - TIER IV - HARD - Quarterfinal

Well sad to see that both Bondarenko's have lost but on the other hand Flavia Pennetta has a strong chance to get to the finals. She will have to take out Sania Mirza in the quarterfinals which will be tough but I am sure that Flavia can do that. Victoria Azarenka retired which is a bad sign before the Australian Open. However it's good that Ashley Harkleroad is really starting to show her best getting further in tournaments. Sadly this tournament has been shrouded with retirements, I don't know if they just want to rest for the Australian Open or if they're really injured seriously but this week has definitely seen a lot of retirements. It's dissapointing that Kirilenko, Dulko and Azarenka from this tournament and Li, Mauresmo and Safarova have retired this week.

Medibank International - TIER II - HARD - Quatrefinal

Well how sad that Na Li and Amelie Mauresmo had to retire I wonder if they will be fine for the Australian Open, hopefully Na Li will be able to get back because I think if she goes she'll do better than Amelie would. Anyway Justine hasn't had a match yet and she will face Kaia Kanepi, being her first match of the tournament and season. Elena Dementieva was schokingly defeated by Sofia Arvidsson so thinking ahead I would put little hopes on Elena Dementieva coming back to her best form in the near future.
Ana Ivanovic had a scare against Virginie Razzano whilst a player that has amazed me this year is Katarina Srebotnik who seems to be doing quite well so she may be a giantkiller in the Australian Open. As I expected Nadia Petrova lost and I don't think she will get far next week if she enters, I think Nadia's career is in jeopardy so is Elena Dementieva's and Amelie Mauresmo's thinking that most of them had performed their best tennis before their demise. As I expected the tussle against Safina had did enough to tire Daniela Hantuchova, not saying Nicole couldn't have won but she would have an easier task. She would face Jelena Jankovic who I have to say I thought would have a much tougher match against Tatiana Golovin but she is definitely not in her top form so I think I would put this as a fifty fifty match.
It's sad that Na Li couldn't play as everytime Kuznetsova and Li have played its been tough. Well it allowed Marion an easy pass though she was unable to sink Francesca Schiavone. I think Justine will play Ivanovic in the semifinals but Ivanaovic winning hangs only by a thread here because I personally think Katarina Srebotnik is in better form that Virginie Razzano. I'm being risky here but I think Nicole Vaidisova will play Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semis, I just really don't believe Jelena will get to the semis!

Chennai Open - INTERNATIONAL SERIES - HARD - Review

I am so amazed by Mikhail Youzhny beating Rafael Nadal not only because he won but he thrashed Nadal 6-0,6-1, Nadal basically had no chance. Though Mikhail didn't have extremely tough opponents leading up to the final he beat Rafael so badly that it makes up for anything. I'm also amazed how long it took Nadal to to beat Moya showing that Nadal isn't at his best and I wouldn't put money on him getting to the finals in the Australian Open, it would be so great if this year neither Federer nor Nadal got to the final! I truly believe Nadal has hit an injury point in his career and it will probably take a few months to recover to his best form. Overall this is one of the best moments in tennis for me in the past two years and I have to say it trumps Murray winning his fourth title.

Qatar Open - INTERNATIONAL SERIES - HARD - Review

This is a great moment for Andy Murray and I'm happy for him winning his fourth title.
I'm ecstatic by Andy beating Nikolay in straight sets, though I knew Nikolay was inconsistent I thought it would be tougher, Well done to Dmitry Tursunov for pushing Nikolay in the first set. The match between Ljubicic and Wawrinka was unexpected to me as I thought that Wawrinka hadn't had the toughest of opposition yet so him getting to the quarters is quite expected but him in the final really amazed me, anyway Andy Murray won brilliantly and I hope he achieves similar success in his next tournament.

Heineken Open - INTERNATIONAL SERIES - HARD

I'm kind of interested in why David Ferrer chose this Open instead of the Medibank International being the strongest ranked player in both draws!?! but anyway rank wise he is far ahead of anyone else but will he win it? All I have to say is the player I'm cheering for is Mario Ancic, a player that has been through so much difficulty. I'm also interested who Jose (rubin) Statham is mainly because he has a name in brackets!

Medibank International - INTERNATIONAL SERIES - HARD

Richard Gasquet is No.1 seed here, Let's hope he wins it. Though I would like to see Dmitry Tursunov do well here aswell. Peter Luczak however I'm sure made some upsets last year so we will have to see where he gets to now. Blake has my full support in the second quartet of the draw whilst Lleyton Hewitt also for the third and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga for the fourth. I am not going to predict this draw as I think it is quite a tough one and it will be hard to predict.

Moorilla Hobart International - TIER IV - HARD

This event looks quite strong to me with a lot of possible winners dotted throughout the draw.
Alona Bondarenko heads the seeds and she looks likely to get to the semis if she can stay together, it would be interesting if Kateryna could play Alona (sisterly affair). But we never know a Marina Erakovic may happen here.
I'm so happy that Flavia is playing but her first match is tough and I don't want to jinx her in anyway by saying what I think the eventual outcome may be. Sania Mirza will probably play against the winner there.
Victoria Azarenka looks really strong at the moment and I won't put her out of a possibilty of winning this tournament. Both Gisela and Maria are in this draw and I hope they do well.
The last quartet looks weaker so Vera will probably get through here but Shuai Peng could pull off an unexpected win!
I'm not going to predict this tournament instead I'm going to list my most supported players in this draw.
Alona Bondarenko
Kateryna Bondarenko
Agnieszka Radwanska
Flavia Pennetta
Victoria Azarenka
Gisela Dulko
Maria Kirilenko
Shuai Peng
I wish they were the eight seeds!

Medibank International - TIER II - HARD

This is the first major tournament of the WTA year and the seeds have come out in force. Justine will lead the pack of seeds which contain 7 of the top 10. This event is so popular even the Qualifying looked like a tough affair.
In the first quartet Justine will probably have to face off against Lucie Safarova, this would be a good start to her first tournament this year. Though Lucie is tough and well known for beating Amelie Mauresmo in major tournament I think Justine should feel fine after this match. Her possible opponents after Lucie are lead by Amelie and Elena. Amelie looked strong in the Mondial Hardcourts but she definitely isn't at her best so it would be interesting if she gets to play Elena or Justine.
Ana Ivanovic heads the second quartet and to be honest it looks like a shadow of the first quartet. Firstly it looks like that there wouldn't be overly strong opposition for either Ivanovic or Chakvetadze, this is becayse Razzano compared to Safarova I think there is a big gap and Razzano should be easy for Ivanovic to dispatch. Nadia seems to still be in her injury state whilst Srebotnik didn't do to well in the ASB and Sybille will lead the attack against Anna. But I have to say both Ana and Anna aren't the most consistent of players as they are young so they may fall to an unexpected opponent. Considering Chakvetadze beat Ivanaoiv in the JB Group Classic I'm not sure who will win if they face each other.
Personally I think Nicole has been handed a good draw this is one of the first times I've been happy with Nicole drawn near Jelena. Hopefully Daniela and Dinara will wear each other out in there first match for the fresh Nicole to succesfully beat one of them, it's so unlucky that Nicole was out of a seeding by just one rank but I guess she may have had to deal with Justine if she got a seed. Jelena is also seemingly injured from the looks of the Hopman Cup (congrats to Serena for helping USA to win) this will therefore make her possible match against Tatiana Golovin a difficult one, looking at that match we will see where Jelena is in terms of form.
Considering Na Li's recent form I think Marion will have little chance of running away with this match. Shahar Peer will be tough for Svetlana so it would be interesting to see what happens.
The Doubles also looks interesting so I may discuss it further on in the tournament.
Expected Quarterfinal Lineup
Justine Henin Vs. Amelie Mauresmo (she looks slightly stronger than Elena at the moment)
Ana Ivanovic Vs. Anna Chakvetadze
Nicole Vaidisova (she should be OK) Vs. Tatiana Golovin (this is a risky prediction for me)
Na Li Vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova

ASB Classic - TIER IV - HARD - Review

Hoe wrong was I on the predictions, only Lindsay Davenport made it through! Though I always had trust that Lindsay would get to the Semis. Erakovic has definitely amazed me, though her opponent haven't been top of the world I really didn't expect her to make the Semifinals. From previous matches I though Katarina Srebotnik was on top form but I guess I guessed wrong with Aravane Rezai beating her 6-1,6-3. I never doubted Lindsay capabilties to get to the semis against Sara Errani, if she didn't that would have been the biggest shock for me in WTA this week. Whilst I wished that Maria Kirilenko would have had a stronger match against Tamira Paszek. I the Lindsay Davenport capt the week of with an amazing final match obliterating the opponent through a 6-2,6-2 score. Though I also thought Lindsay lead the game in this tournament I would like to see her return to the top tournaments and see how she fairs against some of her strongest rivals.

Mondial Australian Womens' Hardcourts - TIER III - HARD - Review

So since my last post Na Li successfully captured her first title back from injury, Bravo to her! She did amazingly against Nicole though I would have wanted to see a more promising match from Nicole. Patty defeated Amelie and personally I thought Amelie would have got to the Semis as I though she was back at some of her best tennis but she did not. Peer defeated Safina in a tight game whilst Victoria Azarenka went through a three set match with Dominika Cibulkova. The Na Li Vs. Patty Schnyder match was too close for my liking whilst congratulations to Victoria for beating Shahar in straight sets. Though in the end Victoria couldn't land a title win and this week marks a return of one of my favourite players!

Qatar Open - INTERNATIONAL SERIES - HARD - Quarterfinal

Well as I expected Davydenko has dominated his matches and will square off againt Dmitry Tursunov. I really want Dmitry to do well but I think Davydenko will beat him. I am so happy that Murray is through to the quarters and with some good teenis he should be able to dispatch Johansson, hopefully he'll get to the semis and beat his opponent (probably Davydenko). The bottom half isn't too interesting to me. All I have to say about that is I hope the winner comes from the top half of the draw.

ASB Classic - TIER IV - HARD - Quarterfinal

I didn't do a prediction for this tournament I don't think but it would have been difficult as the players seem all quite well versed. I didn't expect Marina Erakovic to get to the Quarters as I don't actually know who she is and I'm slightly dissapointed that Ashley was beaten but she put on a tough match. Vera should easily take her apart looking at her form.
Katarina has also had it easy and Aravane Rezai will be her opponent. I never expected Eleni to get to the quarters of any tournament anyway so Aravane has proven my point. I think Katarina should be able to dispatch of Aravane considering she has only lost one game in two matches.
I never doubted Lindsay Davenport in this draw and I would continue to trust her to beat Sara Errani who took out Michaella Krajicek sadly. But Michaella wasn't in a great state so I hope she gets back on a winning start. I expected Tamira and Maria to get to the quarters so no upsets their but I am really confused on who will get to the semis. At the moment I'm leaning towards Maria but I think Tamira has got that something to get to the semis.
Predictions for Semis
Vera Vs. Katarina
Lindsay Vs. Maria (I hope Maria wins the tournament)

Mondial Australian Womens' Hardcourts - TIER III - HARD - Quarterfinal

We're already at the quarterfinal stage at Gold Coast and generally my predictions were correct.
Both Nicole and Li has a difficult first round match but went steadily through to the quarters their quarterfinal match is one of the most interesting in my opinion.
Both Patty Schnyder and Amelie have had a relatively easy task in getting to the quarters and in this showdown I think Amelie will be poised to take it away from Patty and finally get back to her winning ways.
Shahar had it easy as Julia Schruff retired though she was leading 6-0. Dinara has had two three set matches and good for Flavia to take her to three sets. Personally I think Dinara should get to te semis though on form both are level pegging.
The last quarter is where my predictions went haywire. I didn't expect a first round defeat for Agnes and i'm utterly shocked but when she left I did expect Victoria Azarenka to fill in for her as she has done so and very easily too. I guess Nadia is still in her recovery stages so she is not fully back, so in the next tournament she plays in I will keep that in mind. I think Victoria is in form and a stronger player than Dominika Cibulkova is so I think she will end up playing either Shahar or Dinara in the semis.
So it's 6/8 for me at the moment
my predictions for the semis are
Nicole Vs Amelie
Dinara Vs. Victoria