Andy Murray may be disappointed to have lost to Novak Djokovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-7(4), 6-1, 7-5 in Friday's Australian Open semifinal, but he has to be quite happy with his performance, as he played much better than ever before against a top player in a major event.  Andy has always been extremely quick on defense, but he was rarely as aggressive as he needed to be.  Against Novak, he hit much harder than in his past, especially on the forehand, and created incredible angles that made Novak use all of his also extraordinary quickness. Roger Federer has fewer reasons to be happy about his performance in the other semifinal, but he does have at least one.  Rafael Nadal increased his edge over Roger in majors, taking him out 6-7(5), 6-2, 7-6(5), 6-4, but as it had in the final at Roland Garros last year, Roger's backhand held up against Rafa's immense topspin much better than in earlier encounters.  It was Roger's forehand that let him down. Under pressure, he tends to aim it too low and hit it into the net;  that's what cost him the US Open semifinal last year against Djokovic.  Roger may be aiming low so that he can hit with more pace and put the ball out of reach of the amazingly speedy Rafa (or Novak), but he'd do better to use more topspin so that he can hit with the same pace, but with safer clearance--as do Rafa and Novak.  Given how much Roger has improved his backhand in the last year, he should be able to improve the topspin on his forehand too. Photo Stroke Studies

• Andy Murray
• Roger Federer's Forehand
• Roger Federer's Backhand

Victoria Azarenka's exceptional power and solid athleticism have long promised to get her to a major final, and with crucial help from her improved mental toughness, they fulfilled that promise on Thursday, as she defeated defending champion Kim Clijsters 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.   On Saturday, she will meet Maria Sharapova, whose ticket to the final was a tough 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Petra Kvitova.

Victoria's set scores against Kim reveal one of the keys to her chances against Maria. She'll almost certainly hit at least one wild patch like her second set against Kim; if it's brief and singular, she'll have a good chance; otherwise, the steelier Maria will take advantage too well.  Maria can be streaky, but she rarely goes off as badly or as long as the other huge power hitters on the WTA Tour, three of whom were the other semi-finalists.  Maria shouldn't make as many unforced errors as Victoria, but she also can't defend as well, so Victoria may have more winners.  A key for both women will be the first serve percentage; a key for Victoria especially will be controlling her nerves.

Photo Studies

Victoria Azarenka's Strokes

Maria Sharapova's Strokes

Roger Federer played his third outstanding match in row as he defeated Juan Martin Del Potro 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 in Tuesday's quarterfinal.  After his incredibly error-free performance against Ivo Karlovic last Friday, then the comprehensive array of shots he displayed on Sunday that left Bernard Tomic shaking his head in wonder, Roger's comfortable handling of Juan Martin's unrivaled power was no less impressive.  Roger hasn't lost a match since the US Open last year, in part because his backhand is better than ever before, and he has continued to cultivate his biggest weapons, his forehand and serve.  On the backhand, Roger is driving topspins down the line with better power and accuracy, hitting more on the rise, and using a short, low, skidding slice to force opponents to reach low and forward uncomfortably enough to yield an easy ball he can put away.  One the forehand, Roger has improved the angle on his inside-out stroke and the reliability of the often difficult inside-in.  Roger continues to refine the exceptional accuracy of his serve; his isn't the most powerful serve, but it's one of the most effective because he places it so well and so cleverly.

Rafael Nadal had a tougher time in his quarterfinal, coming one point from dropping the first two sets to Tomas Berdych before prevailing 6-7(5), 7-6(6), 6-4, 6-3.  Berdych hits almost as hard as Del Potro, but with more versatility, and he made Rafa come up with some amazing shots, especially passing shots hit with power and pinpoint accuracy from a stretched position that would limit most players to barely chipping the ball back.  Rafa has looked sharp in this Australian Open, apparently not hindered by the knee pain that gave him a scare as the tournament was starting.  Against Berdych, Rafa was clearly in his flatter, deeper groundstroke mode, instead of the higher, heavier topspins that were his early signature and that continue to make him the dominant player on clay.  With Rafa, flatter is a highly relative term, as his average topspin is still greater than almost anyone's.

In Roger's favor in Thursday's semifinal will be his improved backhand, the stroke Rafa attacks most often by far, and the cooler temperatures that will help keep the ball lower, where Roger likes it more and Rafa likes it less.  In Rafa's favor will be the better depth he's been getting on his groundstrokes and his favorable record with Roger head-to-head.  It will be especially interesting to see whether Rafa focuses on his usual  strategy against Roger, topspinning the ball high to Roger's backhand, despite the cooler conditions and lower bounces.

Photo Stroke Studies:

• Roger Federer's Forehand
  
• Roger Federer's Backhand
• Rafael Nadal's Forehand
• Rafael Nadal's Backhand
• Juan Martin Del Potro's Strokes
• Tomas Berdych's Strokes

Caroline Wozniacki will have to continue waiting for her first major title, as Kim Clijsters defeated her 6-3, 7-6(4) in Tuesday's quarterfinal.  Kim showed no signs of ankle problems after turning it in her previous match against Li Na, and when healthy, Kim covers the court as well as anyone.  She also has much more firepower than Caroline, and she used it to keep Caroline scrambling to hit defensively.  Caroline is one of the better defenders in women's tennis, but too many of her shots fell short, giving Kim easy openings to step in and hit winners.  Caroline also made her task more difficult by playing most of the match too far back, thus having to run farther to get to Kim's angles and giving Kim more time to get to each ball.

When Caroline got a short ball from Kim, she often did surprisingly little with it, several times hitting it back to Kim instead of using the open court.  Hitting down the middle on a short ball can be a good tactic if your opponent tends to guess and take off one way or the other, but Kim anticipates so well, she'd just stay put and take the ball handed back to her.  Caroline moved farther forward toward the end of the match and fared better, but she also made more unforced errors than usual, ending up with 26 to only 13 winners.  Kim's ratio was much more even, 40 unforced errors to 39 winners.

Photo Studies:

Kim Clijsters's Strokes

Caroline Wozniacki's Strokes