Miami 2012 Tennis: Can Djokovic and Serena stop Federer and Azarenka?

The Sony Ericsson Open, one of the biggest tennis tournaments outside of the Grand Slams is starting this week in Miami, Florida. The best players in the ATP and WTA tennis tours have made the trek to the Sunshine State to vie for the title. The favorites for the men's title are the usual suspects, the top three tennis players - #1 Novak Djokovic, #2 Rafael Nadal, and #3 Roger Federer. On the women's side, the story of the year is the perfect 23-0 record of world #1 Victoria Azarenka. She will be laying this record down when she tackles on a field that includes #2 Maria Sharapova, two-time champion Kim Clijsters and the Williams sisters who combined to win eight Miami titles over an eleven year period between 1998 and 2011.

Will David Nalbandian duplicate his recent Indian Wells quarterfinal showing at the Miami 2012 tennis tournament? No. The Argentine former Wimbledon finalist reached the quarterfinal of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells by scoring wins over three seeded players including top 10 players Janko Tipsarevic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga before losing to Rafael Nadal. He is again drawn to face Tipsaveric in the second round in Miami if he goes past his first match. Look for Tipsaveric to beat Nalbandian this time around.

How far will Mona Barthel reach? The better question is, who is Mona Barthel? The tall 21-year old German won her first WTA title this year as a qualifier in Hobart Australia and then followed that up with a third round finish at the Australian Open before falling to eventual champion Victoria Azarenka in the third round. She has a 20-6 singles record for this year. At Indian Wells, Barthel proved to be Azarenka's toughest opponent taking the world #1 into a third set tiebreak. She is drawn to meet struggling #13-seed Jelena Jankovic in the second round. Barthel will beat the former #1 and will make it all the way to the fourth round at least, where she will give #2 Maria Sharapova a run for her money.

Which of the lower ranked American ATP players will reach the furthest stage? Up and coming American players Donald Young, Ryan Sweeting and Ryan Harrison along with veterans James Blake and Sam Querrey are hoping to get motivated by the partisan support and advance far in the draw. Alas, Harrison, the most promising of the batch drew Roger Federer as his second round opponent. Based on their opponents, Sam Querrey may make it farthest, with a good chance of toppling Delray Beach champion Kevin Anderson in the second round.

Which young American WTA player will upset a seeded player? At the Indian Wells tournament, young American players Jamie Hampton, Vania King, and Christina McHale all beat seeded and higher ranked opponents to move forward in the draw. In Miami 2012, McHale is drawn to play #29 seed Petra Cetkovska, Sloane Stephens will be going up against #30 Sara Errani, Vania King will play #15 Ana Ivanovic, and qualifier Madison Keys is slotted to go up against #5 Radwanska. While McHale has shown promise in beating Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova at Indian Wells, she will have trouble beating Kvitova's namesake and country woman. Instead, look for Sloane Stephens to provide the American upset for a third round date with #2 Maria Sharapova.

Will John Isner overtake Mardy Fish as the top-ranked American after the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open? Yes. Right now, whoever finishes better in this year's Miami 2012 tennis tournament will emerge as the top-ranked American. Both Isner and Fish have a good chance to reach the quarterfinals where they will meet Nadal and Federer respectively. Isner has played more consistently in recent tournaments and will be America's top dog when this tournament is over.

Who will win the battle of Wimbledon champions between #3 Petra Kvitova and wild card Venus Williams? It is hard to see Kvitova losing to another lower ranked American opponent for the second straight major tournament. However, she will be facing off with a future Hall of Famer with an achievement list that includes being a former #1 player, 5-time Wimbledon champion, and a 3-time Miami champion. The match will most likely be a featured night match and the crowd will most likely spur Venus to a gritty three set victory.

Which players outside the top 10 will make it to the semifinal stage? In the women's singles draw, the Williams sisters are contenders to reach the last four. World #11 Serena will have to beat US Open champion Sam Stosur and potentially the winner of the Kim Clijsters - Caroline Wozniacki fourth round match-up to reach the semis. Venus, currently ranked outside the top 100, may have an easier path as she is in the quadrant of slumping Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova and persistent #5 Agnieszka Radwanska. Venus and Serena have won the Miami tennis tournament three and five times, respectively. On the men's singles draw, #26 Milos Raonic has the potential of beating Andy Murray in the Scot's quadrant of the draw but a motivated Murray will fight like no other to contend in his last tournament before the clay court season begins.

Who will reach the final from the lower half of the draw - Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray? 2009 Miami champion Murray will play unbelievable and inconsistent tennis to oust Nadal but will lose to the winner of the Djokovic-Federer semifinal. There's something in the Miami air that prevents Nadal from winning the title here.

Can Serena Williams stop Victoria Azarenka's perfect season? Azarenka's first significant title was in the 2009 Miami tennis tournament where she beat Serena, then the #1 ranked player and reigning Australian Open champion. Its three years hence and the story of the year so far is Azarenka's winning streak. Both players are in opposite sides of the draw and will not meet until the finals. If that happens, Azarenka would then be riding a 28-match winning streak and will be aiming for her fifth title of the year; a considerable start of the season that not even the accomplished Serena can claim in her resume. Still, Serena has come from months of inactivity and won big tournaments plus she holds a distinct 6-1 advantage in their career head-to-head including straight set wins over Azarenka in last summer's Toronto and US Open tournaments. Then again, Azarenka would be going into such a final with tremendous confidence and will edge out the American for her 13th career title.

Will Novak Djokovic get out of his mini-"slump" and stop the red-hot Roger Federer? For most ATP players, winning a Grand Slam and then reaching the semifinals of the next two tennis tournaments is a success - for world #1 Novak Djokovic, it is a bit of a letdown. Compared to last year where Djokovic won seven straight tournaments to start the year, the Serb was beaten in the semifinal stage in his last two tournaments in Dubai and Indian Wells. Instead, it's Federer's sixth win in eight tournaments which make him the man to beat in the ATP tour at the moment. Federer has already won three titles this year and is aiming for his third Sony Ericsson title after winning in 2005 and 2006. Both players are seeded to meet in a highly anticipated semifinal showdown. Federer has been playing consistently enough to favor him slightly in this match-up, unless Djokovic will yet again save match points and beat Federer. Federer in three sets.