Well now.... The shock continues as Kvitova and Na Li are both out leaving us with four 'brand' new faces. Among the four players left (Sabine, Radwanska, Flipkens and and Bartoli), I probably would have gone for a Sabine V Radwanska final but seeing as they are in the same draw, which means they face eachother for a place in the final. The interesting thing about the Quartet is that none of them is yet to win a Grand Slam (Bartoli and Radwanska have both been in the finals before) and that means we are going to witness a first-time Grand Slam winner which makes each player's run in the championship very remarkable.
In my earlier post, I mentioned how unimpressed i was with Radwanska's style of Tennis which at best is very defensive but her performance against Na Li whom i thought her power would be too much for Radwanska, was very solid. That is why i see the Sabine V Radwanska match as that between two players of contrasting style. Unlike in the game against Serena in which Sabine fed off the power of her opponent's shots, Radwanska would play her shots low with plenty of spin to take off the pace from Sabine's balls. This means Sabine would have to generate the power herself and in doing so could be vulnerable to some wild shots and unforced errors. While Sabine does the attacking, Radwanska would prefer to defend and force her opponent into long rallies which suits her style of play. Power players don't like long rallies and this is where the match could be decided..... ie how patient Sabine is, taking her time to build the point rather than trying to bully her opponent.
Verdict: This one is hard to call but i see the match going 3-sets.
As for the other Semi, clearly Bartoli would fancy her chances against the surprise of the tournament, Flipkens, who has already over-achieved by getting this far.(Her ranking wasn't even good enough to get her into the main draw last year). However, despite her enormous talent and experience, Bartoli's style of play takes so much out of her physically. I like her a lot but her serve, which is one of the worst among the players in the Top20, often lets her down... Wayward and too weak. (Serena's 2nd serve is faster than her first serve). Another factor that's denied her success at the top also is that she's double-handed.....and this requires her to cover more miles in matches than her opponents. No forehand, no backhand, all her balls are played double-handed.
Verdict: I still fancy Bartoli winning in 2 sets but if it gets to 3 sets, then Flipkens could nick it......that is if she's able to overcome her nerves and go all out afterall she's got nothing to lose, ..