WTA Pick 'Em (BOTP) - London Olympics 2012: Deadline 11:30am Sat 28 July

[super8]

Hello

Well, BOTP started out at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 - so thought that it might be fun to do one for the London Olympics too.

My apologies for the lack of notice with this - have been somewhat busy.

Predictions form is attached..

[Helen40]

London 2012 Olympics - WTA Pick 'Em - Battle of the Posters: Ladies' Singles Draw

Insert a 'W' in the cell to the right of the predicted winner in each match Entries Outstanding: 0 Predictions Completed!

64 32 16 Quarter Final Semi Final Final Winner
1 AZARENKA Victoria (1) BLR w

1 AZARENKA Victoria (1) BLR w
79 BEGU Irina-Camelia ROU

1 AZARENKA Victoria (1) BLR w
90 MARTINEZ SANCHEZ Maria Jose ESP

62 HERCOG Polona SLO
62 HERCOG Polona SLO w

1 AZARENKA Victoria (1) BLR w
84 TATISHVILI Anna (ITF) GEO w

84 TATISHVILI Anna (ITF) GEO
233 VOGT Stephanie (TPC) LIE

25 ZHENG Jie CHN
25 ZHENG Jie CHN w

25 ZHENG Jie CHN w
19 PETROVA Nadia (16) RUS

1 AZARENKA Victoria (1) BLR
9 ERRANI Sara (9) ITA

69 WILLIAMS Venus USA w
69 WILLIAMS Venus USA w

69 WILLIAMS Venus USA
46 ERAKOVIC Marina NZL w

46 ERAKOVIC Marina NZL
54 WOZNIAK Aleksandra CAN

7 KERBER Angelique (7) GER
58 VOSKOBOEVA Galina KAZ

66 BABOS Timea HUN
66 BABOS Timea HUN w

7 KERBER Angelique (7) GER w
32 CETKOVSKA Petra CZE

7 KERBER Angelique (7) GER w
7 KERBER Angelique (7) GER w

4 WILLIAMS Serena (4) USA w
4 WILLIAMS Serena (4) USA w

4 WILLIAMS Serena (4) USA w
20 JANKOVIC Jelena SRB

4 WILLIAMS Serena (4) USA w
38 BARTHEL Mona GER w

38 BARTHEL Mona GER
44 RADWANSKA Urszula POL

4 WILLIAMS Serena (4) USA w
22 SCHIAVONE Francesca ITA w

22 SCHIAVONE Francesca ITA w
30 ZAKOPALOVA Klara CZE

22 SCHIAVONE Francesca ITA
51 ARVIDSSON Sofia SWE

14 ZVONAREVA Vera (13) RUS
14 ZVONAREVA Vera (13) RUS w

4 WILLIAMS Serena (4) USA w
11 LI Na (10) CHN w

11 LI Na (10) CHN w
33 HANTUCHOVA Daniela SVK

11 LI Na (10) CHN w
48 CORNET Alize (ITF) FRA w

48 CORNET Alize (ITF) FRA
37 PASZEK Tamira AUT

11 LI Na (10) CHN
35 MEDINA GARRIGUES Anabel ESP

31 WICKMAYER Yanina BEL
31 WICKMAYER Yanina BEL w

8 WOZNIACKI Caroline (8) DEN
76 KEOTHAVONG Anne (ITF) GBR

8 WOZNIACKI Caroline (8) DEN w
8 WOZNIACKI Caroline (8) DEN w

4 WILLIAMS Serena (4) USA
5 STOSUR Samantha (5) AUS w

5 STOSUR Samantha (5) AUS
45 SUAREZ NAVARRO Carla ESP

36 CLIJSTERS Kim BEL w
36 CLIJSTERS Kim BEL w

36 CLIJSTERS Kim BEL w
27 VINCI Roberta ITA

36 CLIJSTERS Kim BEL
SZAVAY Agnes HUN

102 BALTACHA Elena (ITF) GBR
102 BALTACHA Elena (ITF) GBR w

12 IVANOVIC Ana (11) SRB
26 McHALE Christina USA

12 IVANOVIC Ana (11) SRB w
12 IVANOVIC Ana (11) SRB w

3 SHARAPOVA Maria (3) RUS w
17 LISICKI Sabine (15) GER w

17 LISICKI Sabine (15) GER w
297 JABEUR Ons (ITF) TUN

17 LISICKI Sabine (15) GER
50 HALEP Simona ROU

47 SHVEDOVA Yaroslava KAZ
47 SHVEDOVA Yaroslava KAZ w

3 SHARAPOVA Maria (3) RUS w
53 MARTIC Petra CRO

23 SAFAROVA Lucie CZE
23 SAFAROVA Lucie CZE w

3 SHARAPOVA Maria (3) RUS w
49 PEER Shahar ISR

3 SHARAPOVA Maria (3) RUS w
3 SHARAPOVA Maria (3) RUS w

3 SHARAPOVA Maria (3) RUS
6 KVITOVA Petra (6) CZE w

6 KVITOVA Petra (6) CZE w
94 BONDARENKO Kateryna UKR

6 KVITOVA Petra (6) CZE w
55 HSIEH Su-Wei TPE

29 PENG Shuai CHN
29 PENG Shuai CHN w

6 KVITOVA Petra (6) CZE w
39 CIRSTEA Sorana ROU

21 PENNETTA Flavia ITA
21 PENNETTA Flavia ITA w

13 CIBULKOVA Dominika (12) SVK
57 PIRONKOVA Tsvetana BUL

13 CIBULKOVA Dominika (12) SVK w
13 CIBULKOVA Dominika (12) SVK w

6 KVITOVA Petra (6) CZE
15 KIRILENKO Maria (14) RUS w

15 KIRILENKO Maria (14) RUS w
117 DUQUE-MARINO Mariana (ITF) COL

15 KIRILENKO Maria (14) RUS
63 SOLER ESPINOSA Silvia ESP

67 WATSON Heather (ALT) GBR
67 WATSON Heather (ALT) GBR w

2 RADWANSKA Agnieszka (2) POL
41 LEPCHENKO Varvara USA w

41 LEPCHENKO Varvara USA
188 CEPEDE ROYG Veronica (TPC) PAR

2 RADWANSKA Agnieszka (2) POL w
24 GOERGES Julia GER

2 RADWANSKA Agnieszka (2) POL w
2 RADWANSKA Agnieszka (2) POL w

[super8]

Hi Helen - have sent you a pm - I think that you have maybe copied the information from the wrong worksheet.

Let me know if my pm makes sense, and if any further input from me would help.

[DaveArneRiise]

Thanks Super 8 , sent my predictions via e-mail

[super8]

Thanks Super 8 , sent my predictions via e-mail

Hi - only have limited access to my email right now - but it looks as if you sent 2 emails - one for WTA and the other for ATP.

Will email again later today of there are any issues.

[Linda]

I have also sent two emails, one with my ATP entry and one with my WTA entry.

[Lizzim]

Was too lazy to go over to CC this time...I assume that picking Martic will equal a pick for Laura Robson?

Winner o/s
0
1 AZARENKA Victoria (1) BLR 1
62 HERCOG Polona SLO 1
84 TATISHVILI Anna (ITF) GEO 1
19 PETROVA Nadia (16) RUS 1
9 ERRANI Sara (9) ITA 1
46 ERAKOVIC Marina NZL 1
58 VOSKOBOEVA Galina KAZ 1
7 KERBER Angelique (7) GER 1
4 WILLIAMS Serena (4) USA 1
38 BARTHEL Mona GER 1
22 SCHIAVONE Francesca ITA 1
14 ZVONAREVA Vera (13) RUS 1
11 LI Na (10) CHN 1
37 PASZEK Tamira AUT 1
31 WICKMAYER Yanina BEL 1
8 WOZNIACKI Caroline (8) DEN 1
5 STOSUR Samantha (5) AUS 1
36 CLIJSTERS Kim BEL 1
102 BALTACHA Elena (ITF) GBR 1
12 IVANOVIC Ana (11) SRB 1
17 LISICKI Sabine (15) GER 1
47 SHVEDOVA Yaroslava KAZ 1
53 MARTIC Petra CRO 1
3 SHARAPOVA Maria (3) RUS 1
6 KVITOVA Petra (6) CZE 1
29 PENG Shuai CHN 1
21 PENNETTA Flavia ITA 1
13 CIBULKOVA Dominika (12) SVK 1
15 KIRILENKO Maria (14) RUS 1
67 WATSON Heather (ALT) GBR 1
41 LEPCHENKO Varvara USA 1
2 RADWANSKA Agnieszka (2) POL 1
1 AZARENKA Victoria (1) BLR 2
19 PETROVA Nadia (16) RUS 2
9 ERRANI Sara (9) ITA 2
7 KERBER Angelique (7) GER 2
4 WILLIAMS Serena (4) USA 2
22 SCHIAVONE Francesca ITA 2
37 PASZEK Tamira AUT 2
8 WOZNIACKI Caroline (8) DEN 2
36 CLIJSTERS Kim BEL 2
12 IVANOVIC Ana (11) SRB 2
17 LISICKI Sabine (15) GER 2
3 SHARAPOVA Maria (3) RUS 2
6 KVITOVA Petra (6) CZE 2
13 CIBULKOVA Dominika (12) SVK 2
15 KIRILENKO Maria (14) RUS 2
2 RADWANSKA Agnieszka (2) POL 2
1 AZARENKA Victoria (1) BLR 3
7 KERBER Angelique (7) GER 3
4 WILLIAMS Serena (4) USA 3
8 WOZNIACKI Caroline (8) DEN 3
36 CLIJSTERS Kim BEL 3
3 SHARAPOVA Maria (3) RUS 3
6 KVITOVA Petra (6) CZE 3
2 RADWANSKA Agnieszka (2) POL 3
1 AZARENKA Victoria (1) BLR 4
4 WILLIAMS Serena (4) USA 4
36 CLIJSTERS Kim BEL 4
2 RADWANSKA Agnieszka (2) POL 4
4 WILLIAMS Serena (4) USA 5
36 CLIJSTERS Kim BEL 5
36 CLIJSTERS Kim BEL 6

o/s 0

[Sallydaisy]

LADIES SINGLES DRAW

R1
Azarenka (BLR)
Hercog (SLO)
Tatishvili (GEO)
Petrova (RUS)
Williams, V. (USA)
Erakovic (NZL
Babos (HUN)
Kerber (GER)

Williams, S. (USA)
Radwanska, U. (POL)
Schiavone (ITA)
Zvonareva (RUS)
Li (CHN)
Paszek (AUT)
Wickmayer (BEL)
Wozniacki (DEN)

Stosur (AUS)
Vinci (ITA)
Baltacha (GBR)
Ivanovic (SRB)
Lisicki (GER)
Shvedova (KZa)
Robson (GBR)
Sharapova (RUS)

Kvitova (CZE)
Peng (CHN)
Cirstea (ROM)
Cibulkova (SLK)
Kirilenko (RUS)
Watson (GBR)
Lepchenko (USA)
Radwanska (POL)

[Sallydaisy]

R2 winners
Azarenka (BLR)
Petrova (RUS)
Williams, V. (USA)
Kerber (GER)

Williams, S. (USA)
Zvonareva (RUS)
Paszek (AUT)
Wozniacki (DEN)

Stosur (AUS)
Baltacha (GBR)
Lisicki (GER)
Sharapova (RUS)

Peng (CHN)
Cibulkova (SLK)
Watson (GBR)
Radwanska (POL)

R3 winners
Azarenka (BLR)
Kerber (GER)
Williams, S. (USA)
Wozniacki (DEN)

Stosur (AUS)
Sharapova (RUS)
Peng (CHN)
Watson (GBR)

QF winners
Kerber (GER)
Wozniacki (DEN)
Sharapova (RUS)
Watson (GBR)

Finalists
Wozniacki (DEN)
Sharapova (RUS)

Winner
Sharapova (RUS)

[super8]

Well, we have a Baker's dozen - BOTPers on the WTA side are as follows:

Big Al
Cazza99
DaveArneRiise
James4578
fah51
Liam Valid
Linda
lizzim
Mojoworking
nevets
Northernlight/ Super8
SallyDaisy
VivaHate


Let me know if I have missed anyone!

There is another potential BOTPer in Helen40 on AM.com - but until I get a reply from her, I can't add her predictions - so, 13 for now..

[super8]

Here are everyone's predictions on the WTA side - due to memory restrictions on attachments, I've made it a file for download.

[super8]

BOTP Results – Day 01

(4) Serena Williams (USA) d. Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 63 61 (100-0)
(6) Petra Kvitova (CZE) d. Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) 64 57 64 (100-0)
(8) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. Anne Keothavong (GBR) 46 63 62 (100-0)

(13) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) 76(3) 64 (92-8)
Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) d. Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) 62 46 75 (92-8)
Kim Clijsters (BEL) d. Roberta Vinci (ITA) 61 64 (92-8)
(11) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) d. Christina McHale (USA) 64 75 (92-8)
Elena Baltacha (GBR) d. Agnes Szavay (HUN) 63 63 (92-8)

Francesca Schiavone (ITA) d. Klara Zakopalova (CZE) 63 36 64 (77-23)
Peng Shuai (CHN) d. Hsieh Su-Wei (TPE) 63 67(3) 75 (77-23)
Flavia Pennetta (ITA) d. Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 62 46 62 (62-38)
Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) d. (12) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) 76(4) 62 (38-62)

Urszula Radwanska (POL) d. Mona Barthel (GER) 64 63 (23-77)
Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) d. (10) Li Na (CHN) 62 36 63 (8-92)
Alizé Cornet (FRA) d. Tamira Paszek (AUT) 76(4) 64 (8-92)

Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) d. (5) Samantha Stosur (AUS) 36 75 108 (0-100)

Day 01 Roundup

Well, it was a bit of a mixed day for BOTP folk, with the Olympics already providing its customary share of shock results. However – if you pick any of the surprise results, then it proves to be very handy. This was the case today for James4578, who, by being the only person to pick Hantuchova to beat Li and one of 23% to pick Radwanska Minor’s win over out of form Barthel, already opened up a 2 point lead with an excellent 14 correct picks out of 16.

Cazza99 was also one of the few to pick the U-Rad win, nudging her into second place. Kudos to Linda for being the only person to pick the Cornet win over Paszek.

The only match that caught everyone out was CSN’s epic win over Stosur. Stosur had beaten CSN 6-1, 6-3 in double-quick time at SW19 a few weeks ago.

So – early days – but already we have a front runner..

[super8]

BOTP WTA Results: Day 02

(3) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. Shahar Peer (ISR) 62 60 (100-0)
Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) d. Simona Halep (ROU) 64 62 (100-0)
Anna Tatishvili (GEO) d. Stephanie Vogt (LIE) 62 60 (92-8)
Timea Babos (HUN) d. Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ) 64 62 (54-46)
Julia Goerges (GER) d. (2) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 75 67(5) 64 (0-100)

BOTP Roundup: Day 02

Well, on a severely rain-affected day, only 5 of the scheduled 16 matches were completed, leaving precious little to write about, really! However, rather than have 4 picks that nearly everyone got and a 50:50 match, as in the ATP side, there was one major shock where Goerges beat Wimby finalist Aga Rad for the first time. It could so easily have gone Aga’s way, had she converted break points at 4-4 in the decider – but it was not to be.

That result meant that 92% of BOTP folk lost their predicted quarter finalist, and 46% of BOTP folk lost one of their predicted semi finalists – and 7% lost one of their finalists, so it could have ramifications in terms of how BOTP pans out.

So, everyone got either 3 or 4 correct picks out of 5, depending on whether they picked Babos to beat Voskoboeva. Oddly, all of the BOTPers in the bottom 5 picked Timea to win, resulting in table becoming quite packed. 9 of the 13 folk taking part are in 3rd place!! Apart from the bottom 5, Cazza99 was the only other BOTPer to pick Timea, so whilst remaining in 2nd place, cut James4578’s lead down to just the 1 point.

But, as mentioned in the ATP report, just 21 points out of the 120 have been decided. If the weather holds up then there could well be another 20+ points decided on day 03 alone.

[super8]

Hello again,

Here are the WTA scores on the doors after day 03.

As with the ATP BOTP, a wee roundup will follow later this evening.

[super8]

BOTP WTA Results: Day 03

Singles - First Round
(1) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU) 61 36 61 (100-0)
(7) Angelique Kerber (GER) d. Petra Cetkovska (CZE) 61 30 ret. (right ankle injury) (100-0)
(14) Maria Kirilenko (RUS) d. Mariana Duque-Mariño (COL) 60 11 ret. (right knee injury) (100-0)
(15) Sabine Lisicki (GER) d. Ons Jabeur (TUN) 46 60 75 (100-0)
Varvara Lepchenko (USA) d. Verónica Cepede Royg (PAR) 75 67(6) 62 (100-0)
Heather Watson (GBR) d. SÃ*lvia Soler-Espinosa (ESP) 62 62 (100-0)
Venus Williams (USA) d. (9) Sara Errani (ITA) 63 61 (69-31)
(16) Nadia Petrova (RUS) d. Zheng Jie (CHN) 64 76(7) (62-38)
Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) d. Marina Erakovic (NZL) 62 61 (38-62)
Laura Robson (GBR) d. Lucie Safarova (CZE) 76(4) 64 (38-62)
MarÃ*a José MartÃ*nez Sánchez (ESP) d. Polona Hercog (SLO) 62 64 (23-77)


Singles - Second Round
(4) Serena Williams (USA) d. Urszula Radwanska (POL) 62 63 (100-0)
(6) Petra Kvitova (CZE) d. Peng Shuai (CHN) 75 26 61 (92-8)
(8) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 64 36 63 (85-15)
(11) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) d. Elena Baltacha (GBR) 64 76(5) (85-8)
Kim Clijsters (BEL) d. Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) 63 63 (69-0)
(13) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 63 63 (38-46)
Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) d. Alizé Cornet (FRA) 63 60 (8-0)
Flavia Pennetta (ITA) d. Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) 75 61 (0-38)

BOTP WTA Roundup: Day 03

Well, of the 11 remaining round 1 matches, the BOTP crowd had 6 100% correct picks – already a handy start! 2 of those were retirals, which thankfully have been thin on the ground, given that players have had their fair share of slips and falls.

However, the other 5 matches had a much more even split. Vee v Errani and Nad v Jie had 60:40 splits, Aleks v Marina and Laura c Luciesaf were vice-versa. Pepa’s win over big-hitting Hercog caught most people out with just a 23% pick rate.

Kudos to Laura Robson, who replaced Petra Martic and had a fabulous win over Lucie Safarova. Also excellent to see Heather Watson make round 02 – although all of us had predicted that!!

AS with the ATP side of things, all 5 of the seeded players in the 8 round 02 matches progressed, as well as Kim Clijsters who arguably is a de facto seeded player. All of these matches were either 100%ers or big majority picks.

However, Bepa’s win over Franny was one that probably had many BOTP folk in 2 minds. Only 38% of BOTPers picked the Russian, whereas 46% had gone for the Italian.

Only 1 BOTPer had points riding on the Dani v Alize match – and that was James4578, who reaped more benefits of his round 1 pick by seeing Dani reach round 03. Bravo James! The rest of us went for Paszek (61%) or Na Li (31%).

Finally, Flavia Pennetta tore up the form book in terms of her past performances on grass (she’s usually sub-par) by beating her polar opposite in Tsveti Pironkova. Flavia served us a BOTP bagel – no-one picked her to win this. Tsveti had 38% BOTP backing, and 62% went for little Dom Cibulkova.

Overall, the swings and roundabouts of 100%ers and zeroes resulted in a group pick rate of 66.1% for the day – almost exactly the pick rate for the tournament so far.

James4578’s inspired pick of Dani helped him to extend his lead over the chasing pack at the top of the table to 3 points. James top-scored for the day, along with big al and Vivahate with 20 out of 27 points. big al and viva both joined cazza99 in second place.

At the other end of the table, it wasn’t a good day for Sally and Linda who got just 15 points out of the 27 on offer, and both tumbled 8 places towards the BOTP basement – which is currently occupied by DaveArneRiise. With just 4 points separating the BOTP basement from the giddy(ish) heights of 4th, there will no doubt be more motoring up/ parachuting down the table to come..!

[super8]

...and here are everyone's BOTP picks by percentage..

[super8]

Hello again,

Here are the results and tables after day 04:

Singles - Second Round
(1) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. MarÃ*a José MartÃ*nez Sánchez (ESP) 61 62 (100-0)
(3) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. Laura Robson (GBR) 76(5) 63 (100-0)
(7) Angelique Kerber (GER) d. Timea Babos (HUN) 61 61 (92-8)
(15) Sabine Lisicki (GER) d. Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) 46 63 75 (92-8)
(14) Maria Kirilenko (RUS) d. Heather Watson (GBR) 63 62 (85-15)
Venus Williams (USA) d. Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) 61 63 (69-0)
(16) Nadia Petrova (RUS) d. Anna Tatishvili (GEO) 63 67(5) 62 (62-0)
Julia Goerges (GER) d. Varvara Lepchenko (USA) 63 75 (0-0)

AS with ATP, I don't have time to write a report for today - special mention however to the Brits, who fought so well and gave their Russian opponents a good run for their money.. Kudos also to Lisicki v Yaro - hard-fought match, where Sabine saved a match point. Double BOTP bagel in Goerges' win as a result of Aga Rad's early exit was the only real blip in BOTP predictions - most people got 6-7 correct picks out of the 8 played!

Update: I mentioned the problems with Helen40's predictions earlier in this thread - well Helen has e-mailed her completed predictions, and I've included them in the table. Welcome Helen! Looks as if you're already in mid-table respectability in 7th place.. The stats from now on will also include her picks..

[super8]

BOTP Results/ Statistics: Day 05

Singles - Third Round
(1) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. (16) Nadia Petrova (RUS) 76(6) 64 (100-0)
(3) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. (15) Sabine Lisicki (GER) 67(8) 64 63 (100-0)
(4) Serena Williams (USA) d. (13) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) 61 60 (100-0)
(6) Petra Kvitova (CZE) d. Flavia Pennetta (ITA) 63 60 (79-0)
(7) Angelique Kerber (GER) d. Venus Williams (USA) 76(5) 76(5) (79-7)
(8) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 64 62 (50-0)
Kim Clijsters (BEL) d. (11) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) 63 64 (57-14)
(14) Maria Kirilenko (RUS) d. Julia Goerges (GER) 76(5) 63 (0-0)

BOTP Roundup: Day 05

Well, it was a pretty good day for most folk, with an average of of just under 6 picks out of 8 correct for the BOTP crowd!

If, however, you picked either Wozniacki or Clijsters to reach the last 8, then it was a likely to be a good day for you. There were actually 4 folk who managed to pick 7 of the 8 quarter finalists – these were James4578, Big Al, fah51 and lizzim who also happened to occupy the top 4 places in the table!

The 2 BOTPers with the lowest number of quarter finalists left in the draw were vivahate and DAR, who have just 4 left each – which, had it been one of the more recent, unpredictable slams, wouldn’t have been bad going!

But oddly, it has been a relatively predictable slam, in the main. The BOTP double bagel of princess Kirilenko beating Jools Goerges is of course as a result of 92% of folk picking Aga Rad to progress in that section – the remaining 8% was patriotic in its backing of Heather Watson.

So, the field is starting to stretch a little, with 7 points separating the top 6. Will this change after the quarter finals, I wonder?

[super8]

BOTP Results/Statistics: Day 06

Singles – Quarterfinals
(3) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. Kim Clijsters (BEL) 62 75 (93-7)
(4) Serena Williams (USA) d. (8) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 60 63 (93-7)
(1) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. (7) Angelique Kerber (GER)Ê64 75 (86-14)
(14) Maria Kirilenko (RUS) d. (6) Petra Kvitova (CZE) 76(3) 63 (0-50)


BOTP Roundup: Day 06

Once again, the WTA side of things was similar to ATP, in that 3 of the top 4 all made the semi finals, and were pretty much predicted by everyone!

The only exceptions to this were lizzim who picked Clijsters (and also the first to lose her BOTP winner) , SallyDaisy who picked Wozniacki – and Sally (again) and nevets who picked Angie Kerber.

The remaining quarter final match was meant to have been a pick between Kvitova (50%), Aga Rad (42%) and Watson (8%) – Heather was the pick of Sally to make the semis. However, those picking Kvitova missed out on the opportunity of a valuable points due to Kirilenko continuing the trend of Russians doing well at the WTA Olympics – which no-one foresaw. BOTP Bagel for us in that match, then.

With Sharpie and princess Kirilenko in the semis, Russia are therefore guaranteed a medal – but not a clean sweep that they achieved in 2008.

Again, as with the ATP side, all but 3 BOTPers successfully picked 3 of the 4 semi finalists. The exceptions were lizzim and nevets with 2 picks from 4 –both took a wee tumble – and SallyDaisy, who, with just 1 pick from 4, moved into the BOTP basement as a result.

Otherwise, not much movement in the BOTP table. 3 matches to go, and still time for things to change on that front..

[super8]

BOTP Results, Stats & Roundup: Day 07

Singles – Semifinals
(4) Serena Williams (USA) d. (1) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) 61 62 (86-7)
(3) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. (14) Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 62 63 (86-0)

Well, this must be a BOTP ‘first’ – a whopping 86% of folk successfully predicting both finalists!! Given that the Olympics usually has the capacity for being quite unpredictable, this bucks the (admittedly limited) trend categorically – and also in marked contrast to recent slams!

It’s almost worth mentioning those that didn’t pick the 2 finalists. The sole BOTPer opting for Vika was VivaHate. The only other person not picking Serena for the final was SallyDaisy.

The only BOTPers not predicting Sharpie as a finalist were cazza99 who opted for Aga Rad, and lizzim who picked Kim Clijsters.

So.. onto the final. Sharpie v Serena. A first ‘Golden Career Slam’ beckons – very high stakes! Am I right in thinking that only Steffi Graf has done this since tennis was brought back into the games in 1988?

We have BOTP folk backing both Serena and Maria – further changes in the BOTP table are guaranteed. By the way – I never thought about including the bronze medal match for this!! I suspect that most would have picked Vika, Aga or Kvitova for that.

[Helen40]

Hi super8, any chance of the 'final' results of this?

[super8]

Hi super8, any chance of the 'final' results of this?

Yip - I mentioned it in the ATP thread - final results will be posted this evening - apologies for the delay..

[super8]

BOTP Report: Final Result and Roundup

Hello again,

Well, just the 1 result to go in this pick ‘em! Women’s final result was as follows:

Singles - Gold Medal Match
(4) Serena Williams (USA) d. (3) Maria Sharapova (RUS) 60 61 (79-14)

Singles - Bronze Medal Match
(1) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. (14) Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 63 64 (n/a)

So it was Serena who won the golden carerer slam, prevailing in a very one-sided slam. In winning her first singles gold, Serena beat 4 former number ones in her 6 matches.

It was also a good games for both Vika and Makiri, with Vika winning bronze and gold – and Makiri winning a bronze with Nadia Petrova in the women’s doubles.

So, with the whopping 79% pick for the Serena win, it is almost a case of stating who didn’t pick Serena! 14% went for Maria – SallyDaisy and VivaHate – and 7% went for Kim Clijsters, i.e. lizzim.

As a result, there was very little movement in the BOTP table, with all of the top 8 unchanged. This meant a gold medal for James4578, who won the contest by 3 points. Just as Serena won both Wimbledon and the Olympics, so did James. Just as Serena won convincingly, so did James, top-scoring in every round, and an impressive 50 correct picks out of 63 – a whopping 81% pick rate. Bravo!!

We had the tightest of ties for silver and bronze medal. fah51 and big al not only finished with the same points overall, they also scored the same points in every round, and therefore the same number of correct picks. How to separate the two then? Well, this was decided by their most successful incorrect pick. fah51’s incorrect semi finalist of Petra Kvitova was a closer pick than Big Al’s pick of Aga Rad, so it was silver for fah51 and bronze for Big Al. I hope that this made sense? Well done to both of you!!

Propping up the table and claiming residency of the WTA BOTP basement by some distance was SallyDaisy. Sally’s pick rate of 54% would have been enough for a mid-table finish in other competitions. However, this BOTP had a pretty high pick-rate – everyone generally did really well – in the spirit of the Olympics, everyone pretty much raised their game.

So, that wraps up the 2012 WTA Olympics BOTP. Many thanks to all of you for taking part. Hopefully see you for the next WTA BOTP at the US Open in less than 3 weeks’ time!!

[JAMES4578]

Thanks for running this for the Olympics Super8! A bit surprised I struck gold again, of course fortunes may change in the last one of the year! Wasn't surprised by too many of the results other than Radwanska's early exit and Kvitova failing to medal,though she was struggling early in the tournament. Whilst Serena took the title as I was expected, didn't think she would have so many routs. Disappointing that both Vika and Maria collected so few games. I was at Wimbledon a few times in the early stages and the WTA match which certainly stood out was Wozniacki v Wickmayer which was a lengthy affair with quite a few thrilling rallies.