Rafael Nadal Loses: Grading the Top 10 Men and Women at the 2011 Australian Open
After Rafael Nadal went down in straight sets to David Ferrer, the semifinal pictures in both the Men's and Women's tournaments were complete.
The Australian Open has just six games left before the two biggest titles are decided, so lets take a look at how the fields have fared thus far.
Normally, the top players make it through to this stage, but with a ninth seed in the Women's semis and a seventh seed and fifth seed in the Men's semis, the chalk has not held up this year.
Read on to see what grade each player ranked in the top 10 by either the ATP or WTA receives.
Men's No. 10: Mikhail Youzhny
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Mikhail Youzhny, the No. 10 ranked player in the world on the Men's side, won his first match with ease but then proceeded to struggle in his next two attempts at advancing.
The first round match against Marsel Ilhan lasted just three sets and Youzhny appeared to be in good form despite going to a tiebreaker in the third and final set.
Blaz Kavcic gave the Russian some trouble in the second round, winning both the third and fourth sets to force the match to go the distance.
Then the up and coming Milos Raonic, he of the ridiculously powerful serve, knocked Youzhny out of the tournament, needing just four sets to do so.
Grade: C
Women's No. 10: Elena Dementieva
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After losing to Francesca Schiavone in the WTA Tour Championships while dealing with an ankle injury, Elena Dementieva decided to call it quits.
Despite her retirement and obvious lack of entry in the 2011 Australian Open, Dementieva remains the No. 10 ranked woman in the world, which means that she has to have a spot on this list.
Grade: Incomplete
Men's No. 9: Fernando Verdasco
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Fernando Verdasco had been struggling to recover from a left ankle injury for quite some time going into the tournament at Melbourne Park.
It didn't appear to bother him at all in the first round match against Rainer Schuettler, winning in straight sets 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.
Then in round two, the Spaniard struggled slightly more, needing to win the final three sets in order to advance past Janko Tipsarevic. The 6-0 fifth set win would give him the confidence and momentum necessary to win the next match.
Kei Nishikori was next, but the Japanese player fell in straight sets to the far-superior Spanish player.
However, that was the last bright spot for Verdasco, whose ankle appeared to bother him quite a bit in his fourth round loss to Tomas Berdych. Verdasco appeared lost and immobile in the three sets it took him to fall to Berdych.
Grade: B-
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Women's No. 9: Victoria Azarenka
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Although she's ranked ninth by the WTA, Victoria Azarenka was the eighth seed in the 2011 Australian Open.
That wasn't enough to help her even make the quarterfinals though.
Azarenka played four matches in Melbourne, yet somehow only played eight sets.
In the first round, she blew past Kathlin Koerle 6-0, 6-2. Similarly, Azarenka took down Andrea Hlavackova 6-4, 6-4 in the second round but struggled a bit in the process.
The 21-year-old from Belarus then beat Chanelle Scheepers in straight sets, winning both 6-3. However, her fourth round match against Na Li saw the tables turn on her as she fell in straight sets herself, playing her way to the exact opposite score that she beat Scheepers by.
Grade: B-
Men's No. 8: Andy Roddick
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The look says it all.
Andy Roddick appeared to be in good form after beating Jan Hajek and Igor Kunitsyn in straight sets to breeze on to the third round.
He lost his first set of the tournament to Robin Hease, but then won the next three to win his way into the fourth round.
Then he ran into the Sanislas Wawrinka buzzsaw and lost all three sets of the match. This made the 2011 Australian Open just the latest Grand Slam disappointment for the American.
Grade: C+
Women's No. 8: Jelena Jankovic
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Jelena Jankovic has to be considered one of the biggest disappointments in the tournament.
The Serbian won her first round match, but struggled to do so. Jankovic took the first set without dropping a game but then had to win a tiebreaker to take the second set and the match against Alla Kudryavtseva, the No. 66 player in the world.
Shuai Peng was next up and almost everyone expected yet another victory, most likely in straight sets.
Well, there was a victory and it was in straight sets, but Peng was the winner.
Grade: F
Men's No. 7: David Ferrer
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Don't worry about the fact that he dropped a set in the first round against Jarkko Nieminen, the No. 40 player in the world.
Don't worry about the fact that Milos Raonic made him look vulnerable at times with his booming serve.
The only thing that matters is that Ferrer knocked out Rafael Nadal in straight sets and advanced to the semifinals, where he awaits Andy Murray.
Grade: A+
Women's No. 7: Francesca Schiavone
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It might actually be a good thing that Francesca Schiavone lost to Caroline Wozniacki in the quartefinals because now she actually gets a chance to rest.
Schiavone played three sets in all but one of her five singles matches. In those matches, she or her opponent had a seven (or a higher number) present in the score of a set five times.
For example, she beat Rebecca Marino 9-7 in the third set of the second round. Then in the fourth round, she beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 16-14 in the final set.
No wonder she lost to Wozniacki in the quarters. I'm just surprised she was even able to take a set.
Grade: B+
Men's No. 6: Tomas Berdych
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For the No. 6 player in the world on the men's side, the 2011 Australian Open unfolded pretty much as expected.
Tomas Berdych swept through the first four rounds of the tournament. He first beat Marco Crugnola in three sets, then Phillip Kohlschreiber in four sets, then Richard Gasquet in straight sets, and finally had a great straight-set win against an injured Fernando Verdasco.
But then Berdych met up with Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals and failed to win a single set. In fact, the 25-year-old from the Czech Republic only won a combined seven games, six of which came in the second set, which he lost in a tiebreaker.
Berdych played great tennis in Melbourne but had the misfortune of running into Djokovic while the Serbian was paying at an incredibly high level.
Grade: B+
Women's No. 6: Samantha Stosur
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The hometown favorite breezed through the first two matches she played in Melbourne, but then struggled mightily in the third.
Samantha Stosur opened her quest for a title with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 win over Lauren Davis in the first round, then beat Vera Dushevina 6-3, 6-2 in the subsequent second round.
But in the third round, Stosur was matched up with the 25th seed, Petra Kvitova, and lost in straight sets.
She had to be hoping to do better in her home country.
Grade: C+
Men's No. 5: Andy Murray
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Andy Murray really hasn't been pushed yet in the Australian Open, despite the fact that he's already advanced to the quarterfinals.
First, Murray took the first two sets of the opening round and won the match when Karol Beck retired in the third set while Murray was leading 4-2.
Next, Ilya Marchenko won a total of seven games, one more than Murray won in each of the three sets played.
The Scotsman was even more dominant in the next match, beating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 and barely even breaking a sweat.
Jurgen Melzer was the next to fall to Murray, watching from across the net as the No. 5 player in the world beat him 6-3, 6-1, 6-1.
In the quarterfinals, Murray lost a set for the first time in the 2011 Australian Open but still managed to advance in just four sets. Now a showdown with David Ferrer looms.
Grade: A+
Women's No. 5: Venus Williams
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The 2011 Australian Open will no doubt be remembered as disappointing by this American.
Venus Williams won in the first round 6-3, 6-2 against Sara Errani and then prevailed in three sets against Sandra Zahlavova in the second.
Then down just 0-1 in the first set of her third round match against Andrea Petkovic, WIlliams had to retire for the first time in her Grand Slam career.
Williams had injured her pelvic muscle in the Zahlavova match and just couldn't play through the pain against Petkovic.
Grade: Incomplete
Men's No. 4: Robin Soderling
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Robin Soderling advanced past the second round for the first time in his Australian Open career, but he still has to be left with a bitter taste in his mouth after he was eliminated in the fourth round.
The Swede cruised through the first three rounds, beating Potito Starace, Giles Muller and Jan Hemych, all in straight sets.
A fourth round match against 46th-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov didn't appear as though it would cause any problems in Soderling's bid to make it to the quarterfinals, especially after he easily won the first set 6-1.
But then the struggles started and at the end of a five-set match, the underdog had taken down Soderling.
Grade: C
Women's No. 4: Serena Williams
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If you're wondering why I included a picture of Serene Williams wearing something that obviously doesn't qualify as tennis attire, it's because she never stepped onto a court in Melbourne Park. Well actually, with one of the Williams sisters, you never know if they might end up wearing something like this to play in.
Still dealing with a lingering foot injury, Williams couldn't enter the 2011 Australian Open. Her quest for a 14th Grand Slam singles title will have to wait a while longer.
Grade: Incomplete
Men's No. 3: Novak Djokovic
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Novak Djokovic has now made it to or past the quarterfinals at the Australian Open for four straight years.
He'll soon face Roger Federer in the semifinals and continue his quest to add the 2011 trophy to his shelf alongside his 2008 one.
Djokovic has been in top form throughout the tournament and appears to be fresh and ready for his upcoming match with the Federer Express.
First, he beat Marcel Granollers in straight sets then took four sets to beat Ivan Dodig. The Djoker got a nice rest in the third round as Viktor Troicki retired from the tournament after falling 6-2 in the first set.
The Serbian followed that up with two straight-set victories. First was a dominant 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 win over 14th-seeded Nicolas Almagro. Then he advanced past the quarterfinals by taking out sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych 6-1, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1.
Beating Federer won't be as easy but Djokovic has a shot.
Grade: A+
Women's No. 3: Kim Clijsters
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Advancing to the semifinals hasn't been a problem at all for Kim Clijsters, who is most assuredly not pregnant.
She has yet to drop a set, beating Dinara Safina, Carla Suarez Navarro, Alize Cornet, Ekaterina Makarova and Agnieszka Radwanska in that order.
Clijsters has also provided the most humorous moment of the tournament when she jokingly accosted a reporter for texting a friend that he thought she was pregnant.
WIth her winning personality and strong game, Clijsters has to be considered the favorite in her upcoming semifinal matchup with Vera Zvonareva.
Grade: A+
Men's No. 2: Roger Federer
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Roger Federer has struggled slightly more than would be expected of one of the greatest players of all time, but the important thing is that he's in the semifinals and appears to be in top form after easily dispatching Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarterfinals.
Federer won his first round match in dominant fashion, beating Lukas Lacko 6-1, 6-1, 6-3. Then he avoided Giles Simon's upset bid in the second round by winning the fifth set 6-3 after losing both the third and fourth sets.
Xavier Malisse stood no chance in the third round, falling in straight sets to the Swiss Maestro. Federer dispatched Tommy Robredo in the fourth round, needing four sets to do so.
In his most recent match, Federer made sure that Wawrinka would advance no further than the quarterfinals after a 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 win.
Now he will play Novak Djokovic for the right to advance to the final match in Melbourne for the sixth time in his storied career.
Grade: A
Women's No. 2: Vera Zvonareva
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Vera Zvonareva advanced the semifinals of the 2009 Australian Open but couldn't make it past the fourth round last year.
Now she's back into the semis where she'll face a very tough opponent in Kim Clijsters.
Zvonareva has actually lost just one set so far in Melbourne. After beating Sybile Bammer 6-1, 6-2 in the opening round, the Russian did take three sets to dispatch Bojana Jovanovski in the second.
She then beat Lucie Safarova 6-3, 7-6 (11-9), Iveta Benesova 6-4, 6-1, and Petra Kvitova 6-2, 6-4.
Her quarterfinal matchup with Clijsters will not be that easy though.
Grade: A+
Men's No. 1: Rafael Nadal
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It doesn't matter what Rafael Nadal did in the first few matches of the 2011 Australian Open.
He'd won the past three Grand Slam events and was seeking this title to complete the Rafa Slam and hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time.
Although he refused to make excuses after the match, it was Nadal's left hamstring that did him in. The No. 1 ranked player in the world pulled the muscle in the second game of his quarterfinal match against fellow Spaniard David Ferrer and eventually fell in straight sets.
Nadal's 25-match winning streak in Grand Slam events came to a screeching halt as a result.
No matter what circumstances surrounded the loss, Nadal's first chance at winning a Grand Slam in 2011 will be regarded as a failure.
Grade: F
Women's No. 1: Caroline Wozniacki
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Despite many media members and fans saying that she didn't deserve the No. 1 ranking and would never win a Grand Slam, Caroline Wozniacki has risen above the negativity and advanced to the semifinals of the 2011 Australian Open, dropping just one set in the process.
The 20-year old from Denmark beat Gisela Dulko, Vania King, Dominika Cibulkova and Anastasija Sevastova in straight sets to advance to the quarterfinals.
Once she took the court in that match, things got slightly tougher. Francesca Schiavone took the first set, but Wozniacki recovered and won each of the final two sets 6-3.
Now she awaits Na Li, the woman against whom she'll play for the right to advance to her second career Grand Slam final.
Grade: A+
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