#FUF: It’s the Final Countdown

We’ve reached the final stage of the Australian Open. Who will be crowned King and Queen Down Under? Our weekly round up of all the social happenings during the first slam of the season is here – just in time for the victory ceremony.

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Plíšková’s Twitter Debut

Let’s start off with something a little less serious, shall we? Hard-hitting Czech, Karolina Plíšková has already made an impression this season. She pulled off an incredible upset, beating comeback kid Victoria Azarenka in Brisbane, and had her best run Down Under, falling to eventual semifinalist, Ekaterina Makarova, in the third round.

Naturally, on court success garners a serious fan following. So Karolina did what all modern players do and set up an official twitter account, following the steps of both Samantha Stosur (@bambamsam30) and Jarmila Gajdosova (@tennis_jarkag).

https://twitter.com/theoverrule/status/559329021679648768

She’s already been showing her support on social media, congratulating the women’s doubles champions and fellow Czech Lucie Safarova and partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands. TTI urges you to show this promising young player some love and hit the follow button.

Martina’s Renaissance

Who would’ve thought that Swiss Miss Martina Hingis would be back competing in another Grand Slam final?

Well, not in singles at least.

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Hingis has quickly become an accomplished doubles and mixed doubles specialist, and the Australian Open is her most successful slam. So it’s little wonder why, sixteen years on from her singles successes, she’s back to her best ready to claim her second mixed doubles title.

Hingis last claimed the Aussie mixed title in 2006, partnering Mahesh Bhupathi in 2006, and owns four women’s doubles crowns earned between 1997-2002 with Natasha Zvereva, Mirjana Lučić and her dream teammate Anna Kournikova.

Will Hingis shine again in Sunday’s final?

Marena XIX

So it’s official. The top two ranked women in the world will face off in tomorrow’s final. The Australian Open has had to wait over a decade for the seeds to align – not since 2004 when No. 1 ranked Justine Henin beat No. 2 Kim Clijsters, has the final featured the top two players in the draw.

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There’s a lot at stake. Williams will be contesting in her 23rd Grand Slam final, Sharapova her 10th. If the American were to win, she’d surpass Evert and Navratilova’s totals and earn a nineteenth major title. If Maria were to win she’d finally win a Slam in an odd year, and surpass Martina Hingis for a slam tally with 6.

Now, the enormous shadow lingering overhead. That 16-2 H2H in favour of Williams. We could be in for a blow out final, which is likely. But Sharapova has been in fine form so far in 2015, and is still undefeated. If Sharapova maintains her momentum, we could be in for a surprise. But if Serena’s serve is firing on all cylinders, it’ll be one way traffic.

Who do you think will reign victorious at tomorrow’s final? Sound off in the comments below.

Take heed of these truly inspirational words from the two heading into tomorrow’s final…

The last really competitive match between the two was when Sharapova held multiple match points in their 2005 Australian Open semifinal encounter.

That’s a decade ago, people.

The WTA bypassed 2007’s massacre final for the 2005 battle of the brave, marketing Marena XIX the way all their matches should’ve been played out.

Oh and just a few fun facts…

https://twitter.com/AhmedMagdyTW/status/561162642552000512 https://twitter.com/livetennis/status/561159189368557568 https://twitter.com/AhmedMagdyTW/status/561162056955854849

A Scot and a Serb

To the men’s final, a repeat of 2013’s. While most were placing world No. 1, Novak Djokovic as a firm favorite, sixth-ranked Andy Murray changed proceedings, coming out victorious from a tricky bottom half of the draw anchored by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Murray’s no stranger to the big stage Down Under; he’s made the final three times (2010, 2011 and 2013), coming up short in all, including two losses to Djokovic. Like Sharapova, Murray will have to fight his demons. Thankfully for the Scot, his record against the Serb is a slightly more favorable than than his WTA counterpart. Murray has been somewhat of a dark horse all tournament, overcoming both Grigor Dimitrov and, most recently, Tomas Berdych, in four sets to reach the final. Djokovic meanwhile, had to contest a five set thriller against defending champion, Stan Wawrinka in the semifinals.

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Djokovic will be contesting for his eighth grand slam title (his fifth Australian Open), Murray, his third. Both men are close friends off-court, and know each other’s games down to the last slice. This could be an unforgettable final.

Who do you think will be crowned the King of the 2015 Australian Open?

And what did the Serb have to say leading into Sunday’s final showdown?

Pressure is a Privilege

To cap off this week’s #FUF is the iconic Billie Jean King. She’s been very active these past few weeks during the Australian Open, sharing her support, namely for the Williams sisters – Venus in particular, and other American hopefuls on her twitter page.

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It’s thanks to King that the WTA even exists, and it’s absolutely paramount that all continue to support the sensational matches, dramatic rivalries, fashion face-offs, emotional breakdowns and altogether utter hilarity that the WTA brings.

 

What was your social media moment of the week? Sound off in the comments!

Correction (January 30, 2015): An earlier version of this post stated that Novak Djokovic owns six major titles. He owns seven.

It’s also been edited to note further emphasis on the tongue-in-cheek nature of calling his semifinal win over Wawrinka a “thriller.”