Australian Open- Who were the wonder women?

The 2012 Australian Open has just come to the end, and with that, one of the most entertaining and competitive grand slams closes, but what are the main talking points coming out of Melbourne Park?

Firstly, and most importantly , the WTA has a new number one, and new grand slam champ in the shape of Victoria Azarenka. At 22, Azarenka can be considered somewhat of a late bloomer, but has built on the sucess of last year (Wimbledon Semi's) and bludgeoned her way to the title, with a consistent hard hitting display, beating the likes of Wozniacki, Clijsters and Sharapova.
Whilst previous first time slam winners (Li, Ivanovic, Kvitova) have struggled to back up their good results straight away, Azarenka's extra experience should stand her in good stead to cope with the rigours of being the new face of womens tennis!

The women she conquered in the final Maria Sharapova faces a much more uncertain future. Admittedly, Sharapova has done well to return to top 5 form after debilitating shoulder problems, but this is her second tough grand final loss in under a year, (and both to first time finalists) losses that will hit her confidence hard, and by now it is fair to question whether Maria will ever get back to her pre-shoulder best.

Kvitova, many peoples favourite going in, looked good early on but seemed to wane as the tournament progressed, as she struggled to manage her at times erratic game on a slow neutral hardcourt. Kvitova never looked like she wanted it in the same way as an Azarenka or Sharapova. The way she threw away the last couple of games in her semi-final although not catastrophic sends a message to the other women, that if the match is kept tight, she might just crumble in the big moment.

In what looks like her last Australian Open, Clijsters was an unlikely semi-finalist and showed great guts and determination in getting that far, despite a combination of rust and injury. While props must go to the Italian Sara Errani, who finally made a slam quarter-final, proving that a grinding counterpunching game can still reap rewards!

The biggest disappointments in the draw may well have been Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki. After her 'I don't love Tennis' comments in Brisbane, many expected Serena to prove once again that she doesn't need matches to win, and romp to the second week. The reality this time was a tough straight sets loss to an inspired Makarova in Round 4, but no doubt will be the catalyst Williams needs to come roaring back in time for the lawns of SW19 in the early summer.

As for Wozniacki, her early tournament form, suggested that she might finally have been ready to take that next step, and strike her forehand all the way to a maiden Australian title. A gutsy Clijsters soon put paid to that idea in a straight sets quarter final, which saw Caroline retreat again into a defensive rallying game, one that was always going to benefit the powerful consistency of the Belgium. Whilst many fans and critics have judged her on the lack of a major, the loss of the top ranking could motivate and relieve her enough to push forward and work on a more attacking game that will WIN her back the ranking and a slam, rather than a game that relied on defending her position in more ways than one.

The attention now switches to the spring hard court season, and there are many questions to be asked. How will Sharapova respond to another final defeat? Will Serena play the tour events up until the next major? How far will Azerenka's winning run stretch?

If there's one thing that following women's tennis has taught me, is to never discount the unexpected. Let's see what happens :) !!!



DJT