Australian Open 2015: Day 14 Schedule, Matchup Prediction for Melbourne Bracket
The best weapon in tennis is Serena Williams' serve. She smacks the ball with devastating ferocity and boasts peerless placement, creating a weapon that buckles opponents and prevents them from setting up any sort of offense.
So it's of little surprise, that on Saturday evening at the 2015 Australian Open in Melbourne, Williams' 18th ace of a straight-sets win over No. 2 Maria Sharapova delivered her a 19th Grand Slam title.
Williams is now second only to Steffi Graf (22 titles) for major wins in the Open Era. She passed both Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova on the Grand Slam list with that blistering ace—which came right after a let, no less—and is now 6-0 all-time in Australian Open finals.
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Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star Telegram thinks it's high time we bestow Williams with another, unofficial, title:
Sharapova—now 2-17 in her career against Williams, winless since 2004—fought bravely in the second set, but she was unable to overcome her dominant opponent, succumbing 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).
Truth be told, the match felt like a foregone conclusion from the moment Williams came back from a minor rain delay to smack an ace for the first points after play resumed at 3-2 (30-30) in the first set. When Williams is on her game, she's simply undeniable.
There is just one match left in the 2015 Australian Open. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic takes on No. 6 Andy Murray in the men's championship final on Day 14. This could be a classic Big Four matchup, with both men playing easily the best tennis of the tournament. Here is a look at the schedule for the men's final, followed by a quick match preview and prediction.
2015 Australian Open Day 14 Schedule: Men's Final
Date: Sunday, Feb. 1
Location: Centre Court at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia
Matchup: No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 6 Andy Murray
Time: Not before 3:30 a.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Will a Rejuvenated Murray Defeat Djokovic?
If the Big Four's stranglehold on the summit of men's tennis is indeed slipping, one might have to wonder if a Murray loss here will lead some to revise history and whittle tennis' elite club to a Big Three of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Djokovic.
Murray is 11-12 all time against Federer, 5-15 versus Nadal and 8-15 against his upcoming opponent Djokovic. He's won just two Grand Slam titles, 2012 U.S. Open and 2013 Wimbledon, far fewer than the elite company he's often mentioned with.
He also had a disastrous (by his standards) year in 2014, faltering in the quarterfinals in three of the four Slams and winning 75 percent of his matches, his lowest rate since 2010.
Grantland's Brian Phillips noted his background could have something to do with his celebrity in the world of tennis:
"And Murray — well, Murray has won only two majors, and if it weren’t for his British-male-Wimbledon-winner auto-celebrity, he might seem more closely aligned with the Cilic-Wawrinka camp than with the superstars in the former Big Three."
Murray is playing for some sort of validation here, but it's too bad he's running into an in-form Djoker in this final.
Djokovic, the sliding, defensive-minded tennis tormentor, had a fantastic 2014. He won Wimbledon and the ATP Tour Finals, reached the final of the French Open—lost to Nadal, big surprise—and picked up four ATP Masters 1000 titles to boot.
The swinging Serbian pretty much glided through the Aussie Open. He dispatched opponents with perfunctory ease, hardly breaking a sweat and not dropping a set until his semifinal five-set win over defending champion Stan Wawrinka.
Djoker admitted he wasn't at his best in the semifinal.
"There were parts of the match where I stepped in and played a game I needed to play, but parts where I played too defensive and allowed him to dictate the play from the baseline," he said, via BBC's Piers Newbery.
Still, it will be his fifth Aussie Open final, which puts him in rare company, per ESPN Stats & Info:
Djokovic is going for a perfect five-for-five in Australian Open finals and experience here could be a fctor, but Murray might finally be in the right shape and frame of mind to snag a victory.
Murray has dropped just two sets in six matches in this tournament, looks completely healthy and is possibly benefiting from a new coach in Amelie Mauresmo, who could provide a psychological boost to the famously angsty Scotsman, per BBC Sport analyst John Lloyd:
"
Mauresmo is a two-time Slam winner so she has been there and experienced major finals. Of course Murray has too, but she will say a couple of things the night before the final, or on the day, that help him. She might talk about his thought patterns or say 'when you're in this position, you will feel like this'.He may have doubts against Djokovic because the Serb has - at the moment - a reputation that when he is playing well he is unbeatable.
Amelie will be reinforcing to Andy that he has beaten him before, going over the game-plan and keeping him relaxed.
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Murray is going to need to keep his wits about him if he's going to come away with what could be a career-defining victory in Melbourne. When Djokovic is at the top of his game, which he certainly appears to be, matches against even the toughest opponents tend to have an aura of inevitable conquest, much like in-form Williams.
It's tough to deal with Djokovic's full gamut of shots and excellent composure on long rallies, but Murray has a healthy back to carry the chip on his shoulder and should win a potentially classic match.
Prediction: Murray in five
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