The men's quarterfinals at the Australian Open are loaded with talent and interesting story lines. And the women's quarterfinals might be even better.
Here are some story lines from what should be a delightful second week of the Australian Open.
The peaking women's game
by Bill Connelly
Serena Williams (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
The Australian Open has had plenty of fantastic women's quarterfinals through the years. The 2014 tournament had eight seeded players, Ivanovic-Bouchard, and a wild Radwanska-Azarenka match. 2013 had Sloane Stephens against Serena Williams and Li-Radwanska. 2012 had Clijsters-Wozniacki and another wild Azarenka-Radwanska match. 2010 had Serena-Azarenka, Li-Venus, and the return of Justine Henin.
But you have to go back to maybe 2001 to find a set of quarterfinals this complete, this loaded with both high-caliber tennis and epic storylines. That year gave us Martina Hingis vs. Serena Williams (Hingis won 8-6 in the third set), Venus Williams vs. Amanda Coetzer (Venus won 8-6 in the third), Jennifer Capriati vs. Monica Seles (Capriati pulled an upset, 6-3 in the third), and Lindsay Davenport vs. Anna Kournikova (Davenport won in straight sets). This year, we've got the names; we'll see if the actual matches live up to the standard 2002 set.
These are boom times for women's tennis fans. First, the Williams sisters are still proving dangerous -- Serena is still No. 1 in the WTA rankings at age 33, and Venus is damn near back in the top 10 at 34. Beyond that, however, Maria Sharapova is showing that her top form is about as good as ever, players like Petra Kvitova, Ana Ivanovic, and Caroline Wozniacki have rebounded, and veterans like Agnieszka Radwanska, Angelique Kerber, and Dominika Cibulkova continue to play at a top 10 level.
Then you've got a definable, interesting next wave of stars, led by Simona Halep, Eugenie Bouchard, Garbine Muguruza, and young American Madison Keys. The depth that appeared to be building over the last year or so has indeed bloomed.
Better yet, the contrast in each player's game -- Serena's power, Sharapova's steeliness, Halep's angles, Radwanska's and Wozniacki's defense, et cetera -- makes for countless interesting matchups. And then there is the pure anti-social power of today's personalities. Venus and Serena, you know. And you're probably used to Sharapova's "model off the court, tough mudder on it" game. But Halep and Cibulkova have power that is belied by their short stature. Kvitova is aggressive on the court and almost shy off of it. Andrea Petkovic is the most personable Twitter athlete in the world. Bouchard is a mini-Sharapova on the court and a 20-year old off of it. Keys is a goofy teen with a nuclear forehand. Just about every major women's star forces you to ignore your preconceptions.
I never thought I'd be saying this two to three years ago, but women's tennis is as or more entertaining than the men's game right now. There is still plenty of intrigue on the men's side, but it has grown almost homogenous. That is rarely a problem on the women's side, but pure depth and consistency have been. And those who have been paying attention will now be rewarded with a superfecta of awesome quarterfinal battles: Serena Williams vs. Dominika Cibulkova, Venus Williams vs. Madison Keys, Simona Halep vs. Ekaterina Makarova, and Maria Sharapova vs. Eugenie Bouchard. Venus-Keys will justifiably suck up a lot of the oxygen in the room -- a rising star versus her crafty idol -- but Sharapova-Bouchard will fill that same niche, Makarova and Halep have surged in the last year (Makarova made the U.S. Open semis, while Halep made the Wimbledon semis and French Open final), and Cibulkova has won 10 of her last 11 matches in Melbourne. Rising stars, risen stars, and peaking performers: this is going to be fantastic.
(The men's side isn't exactly chopped liver, either.)
But seriously, watch Keys-Williams
by Griffin Kurzius
Madison Keys (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Madison Keys put her incredible power on full display in a win over fellow American Madison Brengle, ranked No. 64 in the world, 6-2, 6-4.
The 19-year-old dominated play with her heavy ground strokes, hitting 38 winners compared to Brengle’s three. Keys also ripped six aces and made 63 percent of her first serves, topping out at 119 mph. Her raw power compares favorably to top WTA players like Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.
Keys can already blast most top players off the court. Once the 5’10 teenager improves her consistency and composure, she has an excellent chance of becoming a top-5 player and a slam contender.
But she will have her chance to prove herself in a teacher-versus-pupil battle in the quarterfinals. Keys faces No. 18 seed Venus Williams, who looked like her old self late in a three-set win over Agnieszka Radwanska, who had looked nearly unstoppable through three rounds.
Kei is close to making the Big 4 a Big 5
by Griffin Kurzius
Kei Nishikori (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
After reaching his first Grand Slam final in the 2014 U.S. Open, Kei Nishikori has picked up right where he left off. The No. 5 seed Nishikori dispatched No. 9 seed David Ferrer, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
The 25-year-old Nishikori hit 43 winners to Ferrer’s 13, while both had 44 unforced errors. Overall, the native of Japan won 116 points to 88 for the Spaniard.
In the year’s first Slam, Nishikori has continued to play aggressively from the baseline. He has always been one of the ATP’s fastest players, but often looked timid in big points. But on Monday, he meticulously overpowered and out-grinded Ferrer, the Tour’s best grinder in recent years.
While Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are getting all the headlines, Nishikori is quietly playing the best tennis of his career. In the quarterfinals, he will play the No. 4 seed and defending Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka.
Djokovic's top gear is still ridiculous
by Bill Connelly
Novak Djokovic (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Gilles Muller played some of the best tennis of his career in Melbourne. He took down No. 13 seed Roberto Bautista Agut in four sets (6-1 in the fourth) in the second round, then knocked out No. 19 seed John Isner in straight sets in the third. Against Novak Djokovic in the fourth round, he hit 37 winners, fired seven aces to zero double faults, and won 73 percent of his first-serve points against one of the best return men in tennis history.
He also lost, 6-4, 7-5, 7-5.
Nole is still Nole. With Muller firing at a high level, Djokovic not only put balls back into play, he hit winners from impossible angles. His defensive backhands stabs are more dangerous than some players' all-the-time-in-the-world forehands. And he was mostly error free. In three sets, he not only hit 47 winners; he also committed just 16 unforced errors. Muller gave it everything he had, and when winning time came around in each set, he just had no chance. He stretched Djokovic ... but Djokovic stretches better than just about anybody on tour.
Djokovic is not alone in his fantastic form. Seven of the top eight seeds reached the men's quarterfinal, with Roger Federer's loss to Andreas Seppi the only glitch. But even Fed's loss created some intrigue -- it allowed Aussie teen Nick Kyrgios a spot in the quarters. He survived Seppi, 5-7, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 8-6, creating a set of quarterfinalsalmost as awesome as the women's: Djokovic vs. Milos Raonic, Wawrinka vs. Nishikori (each set in this match will last an hour and a half), Tomas Berdych vs. Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray (who survived Grigor Dimitrov) vs. Kyrgios.
This is going to be fun.
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