Sports Then and Now

Caroline Wozniacki is flying high so far at the 2011 Australian Open.

There are clear favorites in each of the Australian Open women’s quarterfinals. It is hard to make strong winning cases for any of the underdogs and punters should be confident in backing the top three seeds to reach the last four, as they did in the last slam at the US Open.

Caroline Wozniacki and Kim Clijsters were two of those three who progressed into the semifinals at Flushing Meadows and they are deservedly strong favorites against Francesca Schiavone and Agnieszka Radwanksa.

Schiavone surely left too much on court in her record-breaking win over Svetlana Kuznetsova in round four, especially as Wozniacki has gradually improved in this event. She peaked too early in New York but seems to be coping with the pressure of top seeding better in Melbourne.

Clijsters was not at her dominant best against Ekaterina Makarova in round four, making 15 unforced errors in a first set that was decided by a tie break. Her inexperienced opponent fell away in the second set, but the number three seed is vulnerable against the top players if she delivers the same level of performance in the latter rounds. Read the rest of this entry →