A pair of former No. 1s, including the Australian Open defending champion, face two of the WTA’s hottest rising stars.

The Rematch: Victoria Azarenka vs. Sloane Stephens

It is not uncommon to hype a match that features a promising young upstart against one of the established elite.  It is somewhat rarer to hype a match based on a lone previous meeting.  Yet it is more for the second reason than the first that the match between Victoria Azarenka and Sloane Stephens is being billed as “must-see” tennis. 

It is unlikely that fans have forgotten the only time these two have met.  It was in the semifinals at this very event last year.  After winning the first set of that encounter 6-1, Azarenka looked well on her way to completing a routine win to book a place in her second consecutive Australian Open final.  Nothing could have been further from the truth.  Stephens was serving to stay in the match, having already saved five match points, before Azarenka took an ill-timed medical timeout. 

The break lasted 10 minutes, and when she returned, Azarenka broke Stephens to win the match and advance to the final.  But what should have been a joyous moment for the Belarusian turned sour.  Azarenka did a poor job explaining the reasoning behind her medical timeout, which compounded her problems.  Legitimate or not, the crowd was having none of it.  They booed her at the conclusion of her semifinal win, and they were there to boo again in the final.

A year has passed since that ugly incident, but it will be first and foremost on the minds of many.  The crux of the matter is whether or not it will be on the minds of the players because that could be the difference maker in this clash.  From the baseline, they are relatively even.  Both have excellent strokes off the ground, though Azarenka shows a bit more overall consistency as well as skill in changing the direction of the ball.  Stephens holds the edge in the movement department, but it is Azarenka who has far more experience playing the latter-round matches in the big events.  With little to separate them off the ground, it could very well be the effect (if any) that those memories of 2013 have on their respective games. 

Stephens is insistent that what transpired last year is a non-factor.  “Last year has nothing to do with this year,” she has said.  “It’s a totally different year.”  That is the right mindset to have, but it is easy for Stephens to take that approach.  She had already exceeded her expectations by reaching the semifinals last year.  She was the darling of the Australian Open, and as many saw her as the victim of foul play in that semifinal, she became an even greater sympathetic figure.  She can go into this match knowing that there will be plenty of fans in her corner.

Contrast that with Azarenka.  The crowd’s response to her at the conclusion of that infamous semifinal and then in the final had to be gut-wrenching and intimidating.  She knows that she will likely be cast as the villain in her match with Stephens.  She also knows that she may very well have to once again defend her actions of a year ago.  Furthermore, she may feel added pressure to beat Stephens to somehow prove that she is more than capable of defeating the American without the arguable use of gamesmanship.  In short, this will be the first real test of Azarenka’s resolve, for there may be more at stake for her than just a spot in the quarterfinals.

Odds favor Azarenka as the higher ranked and more consistent, experienced player, but so much of tennis is mental, so who knows?  Contrary to what Stephens says, what happened here in 2013 may aid her in 2014. 

Onwards and Upwards: Jelena Jankovic vs. Simona Halep

We are now at the midway point of the Australian Open, yet Jelena Jankovic might argue differently.  At the end of Week 1, the Serb joked that she was not playing the Australian Open but rather the Japanese Open, a comment that stemmed from her having to defeat three consecutive Japanese players to earn a berth in the round of 16.  But she will not be facing a fourth player from Japan in her next match.  She will instead face Simona Halep, a Romanian player who will surely pose a major threat in her bid to advance to the quarterfinals.  Then again, Jankovic should present an equally dangerous threat to Halep.

The battle of Jankovic versus Halep could very well turn into a full-out war of attrition because there is very little to choose between these two accomplished baseliners.  Their rankings alone are a strong indication of this.  Jankovic, a former No. 1, currently sits slightly higher than the Romanian at No. 8, but Halep is only a mere three paces behind at her present career-high ranking of No. 11.  How they came to be at these rankings also illustrates how similar they are.

For Jankovic, it has been a long road back to the top 10.  She has steadily improved her ranking by winning her first title in three years at Bogotá last season, along with a number of other deep tournament runs.  She started her 2014 campaign in similarly promising fashion by reaching the semifinals of Brisbane just a few weeks ago.  And, just as Jankovic has rebuilt her ranking by virtue of strong results, so has Simona Halep helped her own cause. 

Despite her opening-round loss in Sydney, Halep has been playing the best tennis of her career recently.  She owns six WTA titles, all of which came in 2013.  That remarkable feat not only saw her jump up to the 11th-ranked player in the world, but it earned her the honor of being named the WTA’s Most Improved Player. 

The similarities in their results and rankings are not the only indications that this match is likely going to be tight, however.  All three of their encounters have gone the full three sets. While Halep holds the edge in their head-to-head 2-1, it was Jankovic who won their only meeting at a slam, which was at the 2010 US Open.  Thus, their fourth meeting is apt to come down to just a handful of crucial points. 

Even their past results at the Australian Open leave few clues as to who we can expect to emerge victorious.  Jankovic has played the event far more often than her younger opponent, but she has only reached the second week a handful of times and only once gone beyond the fourth round.  For Halep, this is her first outing in Week 2 of the Australian Open, but she has been to one other fourth round at a major thanks to her run last season in Flushing Meadows.

Halep may be the more aggressive of the two, but superb defense by Jankovic at the right moment could be just what the doctor ordered.  In the end, it all comes down to who is able to find the right blend of offense and defense, and most importantly in such evenly balanced matches, who handles the handful of big points best.