Didn't you get the memo? It's 2006.by Kait O'Callahan
A dandelion is floats towards me in the humid Melbourne air. There's barely a breeze, but it drifts softly, never threatening to fall. I carefully pluck it out and cradle it in my hands. Between its soft, white hairs lie tangled green fibres. I make a wish and let it drift away.
Agnieska Radwanska moves well, defends well, and counter-punches with the best of them. But until she develops a serve and an ability to follow balls in, she'll always run into a player having a better day than her. That player today is Victoria Azarenka, although the first set doesn't fall that way. Azarenka's forehand is errant, and her serve is exposed as a real weakness as she collapses in the first set tiebreak. It's her only real lapse of the tournament so far. Yet as she's now famed for, she recovers mentally between sets superbly. She dictates play the rest of the match, doesn't allow herself to get too far behind the baseline, and hits her forehand with authority. She looks positively thrilled to be in the semi-finals.
The seats in Rod Laver begin to fill. Spoiled for choice corporates trickle in for a glimpse of Kim Clijsters. She's doing what everyone expected her to do against Caroline Wozniacki: win. The first set is wrapped up in no time, despite Clijsters getting tight near the end. Wozniacki's forehand, which has been much improved this fortnight, has reverted back to its loopy self. She misses uncharacteristic backhands, and comes to net on seemingly arbitrary shots. If Wozniacki is to win a Slam, not only does she need to become less of a pusher and more of a counter-puncher, but her shot selection also requires much work. She makes more of a match of it in the second, and forces a tiebreak, but comes up short. Clijsters pumps her fist as she dethrones the world number one. It never felt like it was going to be any other way.
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Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 11:35AM 
