So that's day 9 at Wimbledon over as is the men's singles quarter finals matches, which saw the top 4 seeds take on their opponents so I will go into more detail about them just now.
First up Muzza faced off the Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, who we all thought would be a very tough opponent but in the end Andy made short work of Lopez and defeated him in straight sets winning in 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Andy did everything right on this occassion, serving well, reading Lopez's serve well, hitting incredible returns and basically blootering the guy off the court. Over his last two matches Andy has improved his performance dramatically and if he can maintain his level for his next match then he will give his next opponent a real run for his money!
Second up saw Djokovic who played a surprisingly tough match against his fellow hitting partner Bernard Tomic from the land of Oz, who made it to his first grand slam quarter final. Tomic managed to push the Serb to 4 sets, although I think he was also helped along the way by some dreadful tennis from Djokovic in the 2nd set, but in the end Djoko managed to fight his was into the match again and take it in 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
In the third match Rafa was up against the US No.1 Mardy Fish who made his first Wimbledon quarter final here, and Fish put in a strong performance too as he fought against the World No.1 and forced him to drop the 3rd set, but Rafa being who he is fought back into the match and sealed it in 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. This is the 2nd set Rafa and Djokovic have dropped at this tournament, considering their level this is impressive but it also shows definite vulnerability in their game so just maybe its something that can be exploited later.
In the fourth match of the lot, we saw the tournament's biggest upset as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga put out the mighty Roger Federer in an epic 5 set battle. Roger who up until this match has never lost a match from 2 sets to love up suffered his first 2 sets to love up defeat in his career when Tsonga fought back in the 3rd and 4th sets to level the match. After that Roger didn't really have an answer to Tsonga's almost impenetrable serve as he beat the former World No.1 in 3-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. This really shows how remarkable Tsonga's ability as a player is, grass is definitely his best surface and in the space of about 3 weeks he's knocked out Roger and Rafa in two different tournaments. It just makes me think what if Andy can defeat Rafa in the semis and Tsonga beats Djokovic in the semis too, it would make for a Queens final rematchm and if its the same result well, Britian will have had its first British grand slam champion in 75 years, but we can dream, but you never know it might come a reality!
Which brings me onto that ongoing question, can Andy win this title???? Actually yes he can, his performance at Wimblydon has been very impressive, his last two matches in particular have seen him play some of his best tennis in recent memory. But it really does depend on maintaining that level and lifting it even higher for when he faces Rafa in the semis on Friday, and if he can do it, he's in with a strong chance. But I am still inclined to be cynical and maybe say that no he probably won't get past Rafa on Friday, but I would love him to, in fact we all would! But I will be really frustrated if Andy gets handed another straight set defeat on Friday, and to make that more frustrating, there are lower ranked players that have pushed Rafa further and taken a set off him already at SW19. Surely to God a player that's as highly ranked as Andy can pushed Nadal all the way. And this time I hope he does, especially if he fails, I want to see a real fight. Whichever way it goes it will promise to be a great match, I just hope it is and that its way better than their French Open semi final, which was ruined by windy conditions on court. But if Andy can beat Rafa and get to the final, I think the title will be his, especially if it is Tsonga he faces.
But at this stage its another pipe dream, but I do think Andy is edging that bit closer to his goal and he is getting better each year as a player and a person, and as they say the better a person you are the better a player you will be.
Anyway that's enough for now, the ladies semi finals matches are on tomorrow on Thursday so really look forward to them, as we have Sharapova vs Lisicki and Azarenka vs Kvitova. Predictions for those two: Sharapova in straight sets maybe 6-4, 7-5, and possibly Kvitova in 7-6, 6-4. But we will soon find oot.
OK that it.
Thursday 30 June 2011
Monday 27 June 2011
SW19 Part 4 - Upsets galore and then some
So today at Wimbledon - day 7 was highly entertaining as we saw the tournament progress into its second week and the fourth round for the mens and ladies singles matches. And as expected the players met up against some very tough resistance.
Starting with the ladies there were two massive upsets, as the Williams sisters have both been put out of Wimbledon, and it marks the first time in, well years since neither of them have won in the final. Serena Williams was the first casualty as she tried to battle against a very much on form Marion Bartoli, who raced her way through the first set in 6-3 and then took the 2nd in a tiebreaker 7-6(3), this marks the 2nd time that the French woman has managed to advance to the quarter finals, so I was really pleased to see her get through. Also Venus suffered an even bigger shock loss as she was defeated in straight sets by Tsetvana Pironkova, who defeated her last year too, but to go out in 6-2, 6-3 was a real shock. So that's us in a Williams-less quarter finals, which actually makes the game more exciting and that bit more unpredictable. Although I still predict Maria Sharapova to be a firm favourite to win the title as she has been really on form once again.
But I was disappointed to see Caroline Wozniacki go out early in another Grand Slam again as she was beaten by the pint size Dominika Cibulkova in 6-1, 5-7, 5-7, it was a better result than the French Open but it does raise the question of her ranking once again. Caroline seems to be more the World No.1 on paper and points than in achievement, her next best shot is the US Open and even there she will be up against the likes of Kim Clijsters and Li Na, so its probably going to take a while before she can achieve her main goal. Ironically Marion Bartoli who said after her defeat to Caroline at Indian Wells that she knew that Caroline's main goal was to win a grand slam and she was sure she will win one soon, yet Bartoli has done so much better at the slams this year than Caroline has! Marion is already in the quarter finals at Wimbledon and reached the semi finals at Roland Garros, so it seems more likely that Marion Bartoli could win one before the Wozzer can!
So tomorrow we see the ladies quarter final matches take place, so there will be plenty of good stuff to look forward to there, and the men are lucky as they get a day off tomorrow and will be in play on Wednesday. On the womans quarter finals here's a wee summary of them with my predictions just to variate the massive paragraphs I keep typing up!
Dominika Cibulkova vs Maria Sharapova - Sharapova in straight sets maybe 6-4, 6-4, or maybe 3 sets who knows??
Sabine Lisicki vs Marion Bartoli - tough one to call, possibly Bartoli in 3 sets, but Lisicki's athletism might edge it.
Tamira Paszek vs Victoria Azarenka - more inclined to say Azarenka maybe in 2 or 3 sets, not sure, there will be plenty of girly grunting though!
Petra Kvitova vs Tsvetana Pironkova - very very tough to call, both really good players, most likely 3 sets, definitely could go either way, possibly Kvitova could edge it.
Onto the mens tennis today we saw Rafa take on Del Potro in a terrific 4 set battle, where Rafa played his toughest match yet at SW19 with the big un making life difficult for Rafa with his mammoth serve. It took till the 4th set before Rafa could finally break Del Potro after that he sealed out the match in 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. It was good to see Rafa go through but it was also a terrific performance from Delpo as he showed tremendous grit being out there so long, in fact it makes you wish that Andy could play Rafa like that at Wimbledon as he is yet to! In their previous 2 meetings Rafa has beaten Andy in straight sets (albeit tight ones) but it would be great to see Andy battle Rafa more on the grass and take it to 4 or 5 sets should they meet in the final. Speaking of Andy's match, despite a much expected tough match up with Richard Gasquet, he ended easing his way past the Frenchman after a tight first set tiebreak which Andy won, he secured the break early in the 2nd and after that it was easy street, as he won in 7-6, 6-3, 6-2. It was good to see Andy secure a straight sets win as it will leave him more refreshed for the quarter finals when he faces Feliciano Lopez, the unseeded Spaniard, who took out Andy Roddick and beat a qualifier today. Lopez is going to be a trickier customer I think cos he has a big serve and also serves up many aces, so it will take a really good performance from Andy to get past him.
Other matches today saw Federer who also had a bit of a scare against the Russian Mikhail Youzhny, who pushed Roger to 4 sets, after losing the first set in a tiebreak, he then took control and won in 7-6, 6-3, 6-3,6-3. However Djoko had no such problem against Michel Llorda whom displayed some entertaining serve and volley, but he ended up making too many mistakes, making things very easy for Djoko who won in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. So all the top 3 seeds have now dropped a set each (and Andy 2) from here things should get tougher.
Anyway that's enough tennis blabbing fer now, its exhausting all this sitting around and watching Wimbledon you know!
Fin, end.
Starting with the ladies there were two massive upsets, as the Williams sisters have both been put out of Wimbledon, and it marks the first time in, well years since neither of them have won in the final. Serena Williams was the first casualty as she tried to battle against a very much on form Marion Bartoli, who raced her way through the first set in 6-3 and then took the 2nd in a tiebreaker 7-6(3), this marks the 2nd time that the French woman has managed to advance to the quarter finals, so I was really pleased to see her get through. Also Venus suffered an even bigger shock loss as she was defeated in straight sets by Tsetvana Pironkova, who defeated her last year too, but to go out in 6-2, 6-3 was a real shock. So that's us in a Williams-less quarter finals, which actually makes the game more exciting and that bit more unpredictable. Although I still predict Maria Sharapova to be a firm favourite to win the title as she has been really on form once again.
But I was disappointed to see Caroline Wozniacki go out early in another Grand Slam again as she was beaten by the pint size Dominika Cibulkova in 6-1, 5-7, 5-7, it was a better result than the French Open but it does raise the question of her ranking once again. Caroline seems to be more the World No.1 on paper and points than in achievement, her next best shot is the US Open and even there she will be up against the likes of Kim Clijsters and Li Na, so its probably going to take a while before she can achieve her main goal. Ironically Marion Bartoli who said after her defeat to Caroline at Indian Wells that she knew that Caroline's main goal was to win a grand slam and she was sure she will win one soon, yet Bartoli has done so much better at the slams this year than Caroline has! Marion is already in the quarter finals at Wimbledon and reached the semi finals at Roland Garros, so it seems more likely that Marion Bartoli could win one before the Wozzer can!
So tomorrow we see the ladies quarter final matches take place, so there will be plenty of good stuff to look forward to there, and the men are lucky as they get a day off tomorrow and will be in play on Wednesday. On the womans quarter finals here's a wee summary of them with my predictions just to variate the massive paragraphs I keep typing up!
Dominika Cibulkova vs Maria Sharapova - Sharapova in straight sets maybe 6-4, 6-4, or maybe 3 sets who knows??
Sabine Lisicki vs Marion Bartoli - tough one to call, possibly Bartoli in 3 sets, but Lisicki's athletism might edge it.
Tamira Paszek vs Victoria Azarenka - more inclined to say Azarenka maybe in 2 or 3 sets, not sure, there will be plenty of girly grunting though!
Petra Kvitova vs Tsvetana Pironkova - very very tough to call, both really good players, most likely 3 sets, definitely could go either way, possibly Kvitova could edge it.
Onto the mens tennis today we saw Rafa take on Del Potro in a terrific 4 set battle, where Rafa played his toughest match yet at SW19 with the big un making life difficult for Rafa with his mammoth serve. It took till the 4th set before Rafa could finally break Del Potro after that he sealed out the match in 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. It was good to see Rafa go through but it was also a terrific performance from Delpo as he showed tremendous grit being out there so long, in fact it makes you wish that Andy could play Rafa like that at Wimbledon as he is yet to! In their previous 2 meetings Rafa has beaten Andy in straight sets (albeit tight ones) but it would be great to see Andy battle Rafa more on the grass and take it to 4 or 5 sets should they meet in the final. Speaking of Andy's match, despite a much expected tough match up with Richard Gasquet, he ended easing his way past the Frenchman after a tight first set tiebreak which Andy won, he secured the break early in the 2nd and after that it was easy street, as he won in 7-6, 6-3, 6-2. It was good to see Andy secure a straight sets win as it will leave him more refreshed for the quarter finals when he faces Feliciano Lopez, the unseeded Spaniard, who took out Andy Roddick and beat a qualifier today. Lopez is going to be a trickier customer I think cos he has a big serve and also serves up many aces, so it will take a really good performance from Andy to get past him.
Other matches today saw Federer who also had a bit of a scare against the Russian Mikhail Youzhny, who pushed Roger to 4 sets, after losing the first set in a tiebreak, he then took control and won in 7-6, 6-3, 6-3,6-3. However Djoko had no such problem against Michel Llorda whom displayed some entertaining serve and volley, but he ended up making too many mistakes, making things very easy for Djoko who won in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. So all the top 3 seeds have now dropped a set each (and Andy 2) from here things should get tougher.
Anyway that's enough tennis blabbing fer now, its exhausting all this sitting around and watching Wimbledon you know!
Fin, end.
Sunday 26 June 2011
Do the French love their children?????
Episode 8 of The Apprentice was another entertaining episode with the two teams Venture and Logic being given the task of taking British products over to Paris and try to sell them to the French.
Team Venture went for a popular choice, a backpack that turns into a booster seat and can be used to hold electronic items in such as iPods. However their somewhat dimwitted team leader kept asking stupid questions while enquiring about the cultural differences of the French and British which lead to her asking her team ridiculous questions such as "Do they French love their children? Do the French drive?". Yes Susan, the French are normal human beings who live normal lives and do all the things that British people do, in fact no they sit in the hills and live like hermits and eat tripe and drink milk and go haw-hee haw-hee haw! What a daft lassie!
Meanwhile team logic went for a lamp that was in the shape of a teapot, despite their team leader Tom's misgivings about the choice of item, the team decided to go ahead with the item. Also to complicate things teammate Melody decided to lead the team on her own when she travelled to Paris with her spare part Leon who just did whatever Melody asked. Melody of course isn't what I'd called a team player, because she just went ahead and made her appointments without really consulting Tom or any of the other team members, she did make sales though, but she did also keep knocking back the suggested products that Tom made to her without her even seeing them!
So in the boardroom it was Venture that came through and won the task as they secured the most amount of money as they managed to pull in a very impressive 250000 euros, most of those sales were secured by Helen, who has been on the winning team eight times now, that's quite a winning streak, she's almost like the female Djokovic of the candidates! Surely Helen must be a strong favourite to become Lord Sugar's business partner. However Logic who lost out by only selling a poor 11000 Euros saw Tom, Melody and Leon in the firing line, but since Tom and Melody made a good defence for themselves, it was Leon who had to go, as all he managed to do was make the feeble excuse that he couldn't speak French and couldn't therefore contribute to the task, but then again most of other teams couldn't either yet they managed to! So I have to say that Lord Sugar made the right call with Leon, he's looking for a business partner after all, not someone who says they can't do this or that. Although I did like Leon's response to Lord Sugar's question to Tom as to why he didn't sell anything and Leon said "because he can't sell?".
But I do have to say I have some concerns over Lord Sugar's attitude towards Melody as he said "she will step over anyone and chew them up and spit them out, that's what I like about her". That's not exactly very good business ethics is it Lord Sugar!!! Surely he should want someone who is tough but is also ethical, not someone who will shit over other people at any given opportunity, but then again it is his business and its up to him who he wants to go into partnership with. Perhaps later on in the series they can look at Melody's character traits and see how they stack up next to the other strong candidates.
So that's anoother episode done, and another post.
Team Venture went for a popular choice, a backpack that turns into a booster seat and can be used to hold electronic items in such as iPods. However their somewhat dimwitted team leader kept asking stupid questions while enquiring about the cultural differences of the French and British which lead to her asking her team ridiculous questions such as "Do they French love their children? Do the French drive?". Yes Susan, the French are normal human beings who live normal lives and do all the things that British people do, in fact no they sit in the hills and live like hermits and eat tripe and drink milk and go haw-hee haw-hee haw! What a daft lassie!
Meanwhile team logic went for a lamp that was in the shape of a teapot, despite their team leader Tom's misgivings about the choice of item, the team decided to go ahead with the item. Also to complicate things teammate Melody decided to lead the team on her own when she travelled to Paris with her spare part Leon who just did whatever Melody asked. Melody of course isn't what I'd called a team player, because she just went ahead and made her appointments without really consulting Tom or any of the other team members, she did make sales though, but she did also keep knocking back the suggested products that Tom made to her without her even seeing them!
So in the boardroom it was Venture that came through and won the task as they secured the most amount of money as they managed to pull in a very impressive 250000 euros, most of those sales were secured by Helen, who has been on the winning team eight times now, that's quite a winning streak, she's almost like the female Djokovic of the candidates! Surely Helen must be a strong favourite to become Lord Sugar's business partner. However Logic who lost out by only selling a poor 11000 Euros saw Tom, Melody and Leon in the firing line, but since Tom and Melody made a good defence for themselves, it was Leon who had to go, as all he managed to do was make the feeble excuse that he couldn't speak French and couldn't therefore contribute to the task, but then again most of other teams couldn't either yet they managed to! So I have to say that Lord Sugar made the right call with Leon, he's looking for a business partner after all, not someone who says they can't do this or that. Although I did like Leon's response to Lord Sugar's question to Tom as to why he didn't sell anything and Leon said "because he can't sell?".
But I do have to say I have some concerns over Lord Sugar's attitude towards Melody as he said "she will step over anyone and chew them up and spit them out, that's what I like about her". That's not exactly very good business ethics is it Lord Sugar!!! Surely he should want someone who is tough but is also ethical, not someone who will shit over other people at any given opportunity, but then again it is his business and its up to him who he wants to go into partnership with. Perhaps later on in the series they can look at Melody's character traits and see how they stack up next to the other strong candidates.
So that's anoother episode done, and another post.
SW19 Part 3 - It gets bumpy from here!
So that's the first week of Wimbledon out the way with the players that are through now awaiting a stern second week as we are about to progress into the 4th round, and what a first week its been.
On Friday we saw Andy Murray given his sternest test yet as he faced the Croat baldy giant (sorry Ivan!) Ivan Ljubicic and was pushed to 4 sets as it took a 4th set tiebreak to decide the match, with Andy winning in the end with 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4). To be honest Andy's performance was once again a bit erratic and he could have closed out the match potentially in 3 sets if he didn't drop his serve right at the start of the 2nd set. Also he could have served for the match in the 4th set at 5-4 but he did meet a fightback from Luby at that point, but he did get the win in the crucial tiebreak so that's what counts I guess. Next up for Andy is indeed Richard Gasquet, which no doubt will prove to be his toughest match yet, as they have had very close matches in the past, with Andy winning the previous two encounters. So here's hoping he can do the same tomorrow, its going to be a hell of a match methinks.
Onto Nadal who hadn't the same trouble, but he did face a tough opponent in Gilles Muller from Luxembourg, the first two sets didnt allow any chance for Nadal to break Muller's serve, but in the 3rd Nadal got the break right away and then it was plain sailing in 7-6, 7-6, 6-0. Federer also breezed past David Nalbandian in straight sets too in 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 (I think!) so he and Rafa are yet to drop a set, so they are both looking very impressive. In fact I strongly feel they will both meet in the final.
Onto Djokovic who however didn't have an easy time either as he met Marcos Baghdatis and it took him 4 sets to get past the tricky and flashy Cypriot in 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. It was a very entertaining, crowd pleasing match with Baghdatis showing off his skills and doing keepy uppies and getting the crowd on his side. In the 2nd set Baghdatis really got under Djoko's skin as he was a break down and hit a return long which saw him smash his raquet into the ground. This is the first time I've seen Djokovic break a raquet this year so it is starting to show the cracks in his game and he is no longer as invincible as he was, and I do think he won't get past Federer in the semis, but who knows? We shall see. But overall it was a really good match, and I did feel a bit sorry for Djokovic when he was put on the spot about his outburst and he admitted he did lose it for a bit, its only natural though, players do lose the rag now and then and you have to get it out somehow.
Also in regards to the British ladies matches on Friday I have to say a few things as we had two excellent matches with the British No.1 and No.3 with Elena Baltacha playing against Peng Shuai of China and Laura Robson only taking the former World No.1 Maria Sharapova. Elena put in a gutsy performance against the Chinese No.2 as she fought hard over 3 sets to try and stay in the tournament, unfortunately though she couldn't push to a 3rd set tie break and fell in 7-5 in the last set. Its a shame Elena can't seem to progress further forward than she has in the bigger tournaments in the grand slams and the WTA tour, as she has beaten some of the top players in the past including the two French champions Li Na and Francesca Schiavone. But moving onto Laura Robson's match who took on Maria Sharapova, I was really surprised just how well the young Brit fought against the mighty Russian as she pushed her to a 1st tiebreak but lost in 7-6(5), in the 2nd set though Sharapova took control, but Robson did still manage to break back before losing in 6-3. It was a really gutsy performance from Laura Robson and she definitely looks to be one of the most promising players in the future of the ladies game.
So tomorrow will see some more very promising matches on both mens and ladies, with the Williams sisters facing two very stern tests as Venus is to face Tvsetvana Pironkova, who defeated her last year, and Serena to face an on form Marion Bartoli, they are going to be belters. And on the mens, as I said Andy faces Richard Gasquet, so he better watch he doesn't blow one (a gasket that is!!), and Rafa faces maybe his toughest test yet in Del Potro, should be a cracker. Another very promising match will be David Ferrer who takes on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, so that also should be a cracker, bother players a very tough and talented, so expect a very tough battle. I hope Ferrer wins because he hasn't gotten past the 4th round so far at Wimblydon so it would be great for him to progress into the quarter finals. Tomas Berdych also faces current American No.1 Mardy Fish, who has been doing well, but out of the two I'd rather see Berdych win, which he most likely will because he has yet to drop a set at the tournament. Djokovic will next play Michael Llodra, who could be another sticky customer, who is also a great grass player with a big serve, so the road for Djoko could also be quite bumpy from hereon in, unless he recovers his best form for tomorrow.
So that'll do for now, very much looking forward to tomorrow's festivities, its going to be quite a day at SW19.
On Friday we saw Andy Murray given his sternest test yet as he faced the Croat baldy giant (sorry Ivan!) Ivan Ljubicic and was pushed to 4 sets as it took a 4th set tiebreak to decide the match, with Andy winning in the end with 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4). To be honest Andy's performance was once again a bit erratic and he could have closed out the match potentially in 3 sets if he didn't drop his serve right at the start of the 2nd set. Also he could have served for the match in the 4th set at 5-4 but he did meet a fightback from Luby at that point, but he did get the win in the crucial tiebreak so that's what counts I guess. Next up for Andy is indeed Richard Gasquet, which no doubt will prove to be his toughest match yet, as they have had very close matches in the past, with Andy winning the previous two encounters. So here's hoping he can do the same tomorrow, its going to be a hell of a match methinks.
Onto Nadal who hadn't the same trouble, but he did face a tough opponent in Gilles Muller from Luxembourg, the first two sets didnt allow any chance for Nadal to break Muller's serve, but in the 3rd Nadal got the break right away and then it was plain sailing in 7-6, 7-6, 6-0. Federer also breezed past David Nalbandian in straight sets too in 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 (I think!) so he and Rafa are yet to drop a set, so they are both looking very impressive. In fact I strongly feel they will both meet in the final.
Onto Djokovic who however didn't have an easy time either as he met Marcos Baghdatis and it took him 4 sets to get past the tricky and flashy Cypriot in 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. It was a very entertaining, crowd pleasing match with Baghdatis showing off his skills and doing keepy uppies and getting the crowd on his side. In the 2nd set Baghdatis really got under Djoko's skin as he was a break down and hit a return long which saw him smash his raquet into the ground. This is the first time I've seen Djokovic break a raquet this year so it is starting to show the cracks in his game and he is no longer as invincible as he was, and I do think he won't get past Federer in the semis, but who knows? We shall see. But overall it was a really good match, and I did feel a bit sorry for Djokovic when he was put on the spot about his outburst and he admitted he did lose it for a bit, its only natural though, players do lose the rag now and then and you have to get it out somehow.
Also in regards to the British ladies matches on Friday I have to say a few things as we had two excellent matches with the British No.1 and No.3 with Elena Baltacha playing against Peng Shuai of China and Laura Robson only taking the former World No.1 Maria Sharapova. Elena put in a gutsy performance against the Chinese No.2 as she fought hard over 3 sets to try and stay in the tournament, unfortunately though she couldn't push to a 3rd set tie break and fell in 7-5 in the last set. Its a shame Elena can't seem to progress further forward than she has in the bigger tournaments in the grand slams and the WTA tour, as she has beaten some of the top players in the past including the two French champions Li Na and Francesca Schiavone. But moving onto Laura Robson's match who took on Maria Sharapova, I was really surprised just how well the young Brit fought against the mighty Russian as she pushed her to a 1st tiebreak but lost in 7-6(5), in the 2nd set though Sharapova took control, but Robson did still manage to break back before losing in 6-3. It was a really gutsy performance from Laura Robson and she definitely looks to be one of the most promising players in the future of the ladies game.
So tomorrow will see some more very promising matches on both mens and ladies, with the Williams sisters facing two very stern tests as Venus is to face Tvsetvana Pironkova, who defeated her last year, and Serena to face an on form Marion Bartoli, they are going to be belters. And on the mens, as I said Andy faces Richard Gasquet, so he better watch he doesn't blow one (a gasket that is!!), and Rafa faces maybe his toughest test yet in Del Potro, should be a cracker. Another very promising match will be David Ferrer who takes on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, so that also should be a cracker, bother players a very tough and talented, so expect a very tough battle. I hope Ferrer wins because he hasn't gotten past the 4th round so far at Wimblydon so it would be great for him to progress into the quarter finals. Tomas Berdych also faces current American No.1 Mardy Fish, who has been doing well, but out of the two I'd rather see Berdych win, which he most likely will because he has yet to drop a set at the tournament. Djokovic will next play Michael Llodra, who could be another sticky customer, who is also a great grass player with a big serve, so the road for Djoko could also be quite bumpy from hereon in, unless he recovers his best form for tomorrow.
So that'll do for now, very much looking forward to tomorrow's festivities, its going to be quite a day at SW19.
Wednesday 22 June 2011
SW19 Part 2 - Sowing the seeds
Ok so we are now into day 3 of Wimbledon and its been an entertaining tournament so far with quite a few good matches. And today and yesterday saw the top seeds get into action, Rafa and Andy already had on Day 1, but Day 2 saw Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic go out on court and start their campaign for glory.
Starting with Day 2, Roger started off quite strongly with his first match against the Uzbekistanian opponent Khkushkin, who actually came out quite strong in the first set and pushed Federer to a tiebreak, but Roger held his nerve and took the first set, after that he continued to dominate the match and won in 7-6, 6-4, 6-2. While it wasn't Federer at his best it didn't really need to be as he maintained a good level and it was a big improvement over his first match last year which was a 5 set scare at Wimbledon. But this year Federer definitely looks like he is in a better place, and so far his level appears to be almost as good as it was at the French Open, and if that is the case, Djokovic will seriously struggle to get past him this time too.
Which brings me on to Djokovic who had no such troubles with his campaign as he played against the French opponent Michael Chardy who he dismissed quite easily in straight sets 6-4, 6-1, 6-1. It certainly looks a very convincing start for Djoker and we will see how he goes throughout the tournament, sooner or later though he will meet tougher opponents, but he has been able to wipe them out too, so can the Djoker win the title? He has a chance but I'm inclined to say no, because Federer could still beat him, as he is now on grass and Federer is the lawnmower. Also Rafa after winning at Roland Garros looks very much back on form and he will be inspired to win again.
Anyway onto Day 3, which saw Andies Roddick and Murray out on court again, although I'm not sure why Roddick went out again as he played yesterday also in his 1st round match. Regardless of that Roddick went out and played Victor Hanescu and defeated him in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, it shows Roddick is looking convincing so far, but he was trounced by Murray at Queens so we will see if his form has improved since then. And onto Murray who played the German Tomas Kamke who he defeated also in straight sets in 6-3, 6-3, 7-5, it was a fairly good performance from Andy but it was again a bit erratic as he did make a few unforced errors and was unable to convert as many break points as he could have against Kamke, but in the end he did get the breaks when it counted. However a straight sets win is always a good thing so Andy is safely through to the 3rd round, but from here it gets tougher as he will face Ivan Ljubicic so that will be a test, and after that he could face Richard Gasquet in the 4th round, so it doesn't get easier, and possibly Roddick in the quarter finals. But I'm sure the Muzza will raise his level and rise to the ocassion. Also Ljubicic hasn't got that good a record at Wimbledon having never made it passed the 3rd round, so hopefully that will be the same this time, although they have played each other before with a 3-3 win-loss ratio both ways, so it still won't be easy.
Other news on the courts, we see Rafa go through safely in straight sets as well against Ryan Sweeting in 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, Rafa again looks pretty convincing today and so I'm sure he will be ready for his next opponent. Del Potro was still play out his match against Oliver Rochus as they got to the end of the first set then Delpo had a bit of a tantrum apparently because he lost the first set to his opponent in the tiebreak, and he stormed over to the umpire and demanded they stop, after which he took off his shoes and threw them away. Temper temper. On the ladies side, Venus Williams came through a real battle after an epic match with the oldest woman on tour Kimiko Date-Krum from Japan, after a high quality first set, Krum took it in the tiebreaker, Venus then took the second, and in the third it went to another pulsating decider, where Venus won two games clear in 6(6)-7, 6-3, 8-6, definitely one of the best matches of the tournament yet and one of the best ladies matches of the year no doubt. The cynics prior to the match called it the zimmer match due to the age of both Krum and Williams, but their stamina, energy and athletism totally proved that wrong, and it was a great achievement from Krum. If she played Caroline Wozniacki at Wimbledon, Krum would have thrashed her.
Andrea Petkovic is through also in 3 sets against her opponent Dubois from Canada , Vera Zvonareva got past her Russian compatriot Elena Vesnina in straight sets 6-1, 7-6. Although I was hoping to see the Schiavone match as she plays the hysertic prone Barbara Strycova but due to timing it will tomorrow I think. It was also good to see the young British girl Lauren Robson get through to the second round, although she does face Maria Sharapova tomorrow, no biggie there. ;-) It was also sad to see Heather Watson the British No.2 go out today in 3 sets against her opponent, as she was hampered by a shoulder injury as well, and after the match she was really cut up about it, but chin up, Heather, you've done great so far and you will get there one day.
So that's another day over at SW19, tomorrow we see Federer and Djokovic back in action in their respective matches, so should be fun. In fact a quick update regarding that, both the No.2 and No.3 went through with great ease in both their matches as Rog and Nov won in straight sets. Next up though for the dynamic duo could be a tougher test, as Roger faces David Nalbandian and the Djoker faces Baghdatis. But then again Djokovic has been making so much short work of every player that he may win it in straight sets once again.
But one thing I must comment on is Serena Williams petty complaints about being scheduled to play on Court 2 yesterday instead of Centre Court, which really seems ridiculous. I guess to a 5 time Wimbledon champion it means that bit more, but at the same time a court is a court, just go out and play tennis and get on with it!! But that's what the Williams sisters are like, and in that regard I'm not so keen on them, and it would be great to see someone else win Wimbledon this year instead. However in regards to the men's tennis in spite it all, I would actually still quite like to see Federer win it again. I only really say this because despite the fact I would love to see Andy Murray win the title more than the others, mainly of course because he's never won one, and its on his home ground, I don't think he will be able to get past the top 3 just yet. I would love to be proved wrong and get that plate of words ready and get a knife and fork to eat them, well OK I wouldn't, but you know what I mean. But the way I look at it, out the top 3, Djokovic has won quite enough this year, Nadal has won the French and Wimbledon twice already, so I think its time Federer won the title again. But without a doubt I'd rather see Andy win it any day of the week, twice on Sunday, and then the following Sunday, as between the top 3, they have won quite enough. But first things first, next up for Andy is Ivan Ljubicic, it will be a test but hopefully one he will pass.
That's eet for now....
Starting with Day 2, Roger started off quite strongly with his first match against the Uzbekistanian opponent Khkushkin, who actually came out quite strong in the first set and pushed Federer to a tiebreak, but Roger held his nerve and took the first set, after that he continued to dominate the match and won in 7-6, 6-4, 6-2. While it wasn't Federer at his best it didn't really need to be as he maintained a good level and it was a big improvement over his first match last year which was a 5 set scare at Wimbledon. But this year Federer definitely looks like he is in a better place, and so far his level appears to be almost as good as it was at the French Open, and if that is the case, Djokovic will seriously struggle to get past him this time too.
Which brings me on to Djokovic who had no such troubles with his campaign as he played against the French opponent Michael Chardy who he dismissed quite easily in straight sets 6-4, 6-1, 6-1. It certainly looks a very convincing start for Djoker and we will see how he goes throughout the tournament, sooner or later though he will meet tougher opponents, but he has been able to wipe them out too, so can the Djoker win the title? He has a chance but I'm inclined to say no, because Federer could still beat him, as he is now on grass and Federer is the lawnmower. Also Rafa after winning at Roland Garros looks very much back on form and he will be inspired to win again.
Anyway onto Day 3, which saw Andies Roddick and Murray out on court again, although I'm not sure why Roddick went out again as he played yesterday also in his 1st round match. Regardless of that Roddick went out and played Victor Hanescu and defeated him in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, it shows Roddick is looking convincing so far, but he was trounced by Murray at Queens so we will see if his form has improved since then. And onto Murray who played the German Tomas Kamke who he defeated also in straight sets in 6-3, 6-3, 7-5, it was a fairly good performance from Andy but it was again a bit erratic as he did make a few unforced errors and was unable to convert as many break points as he could have against Kamke, but in the end he did get the breaks when it counted. However a straight sets win is always a good thing so Andy is safely through to the 3rd round, but from here it gets tougher as he will face Ivan Ljubicic so that will be a test, and after that he could face Richard Gasquet in the 4th round, so it doesn't get easier, and possibly Roddick in the quarter finals. But I'm sure the Muzza will raise his level and rise to the ocassion. Also Ljubicic hasn't got that good a record at Wimbledon having never made it passed the 3rd round, so hopefully that will be the same this time, although they have played each other before with a 3-3 win-loss ratio both ways, so it still won't be easy.
Other news on the courts, we see Rafa go through safely in straight sets as well against Ryan Sweeting in 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, Rafa again looks pretty convincing today and so I'm sure he will be ready for his next opponent. Del Potro was still play out his match against Oliver Rochus as they got to the end of the first set then Delpo had a bit of a tantrum apparently because he lost the first set to his opponent in the tiebreak, and he stormed over to the umpire and demanded they stop, after which he took off his shoes and threw them away. Temper temper. On the ladies side, Venus Williams came through a real battle after an epic match with the oldest woman on tour Kimiko Date-Krum from Japan, after a high quality first set, Krum took it in the tiebreaker, Venus then took the second, and in the third it went to another pulsating decider, where Venus won two games clear in 6(6)-7, 6-3, 8-6, definitely one of the best matches of the tournament yet and one of the best ladies matches of the year no doubt. The cynics prior to the match called it the zimmer match due to the age of both Krum and Williams, but their stamina, energy and athletism totally proved that wrong, and it was a great achievement from Krum. If she played Caroline Wozniacki at Wimbledon, Krum would have thrashed her.
Andrea Petkovic is through also in 3 sets against her opponent Dubois from Canada , Vera Zvonareva got past her Russian compatriot Elena Vesnina in straight sets 6-1, 7-6. Although I was hoping to see the Schiavone match as she plays the hysertic prone Barbara Strycova but due to timing it will tomorrow I think. It was also good to see the young British girl Lauren Robson get through to the second round, although she does face Maria Sharapova tomorrow, no biggie there. ;-) It was also sad to see Heather Watson the British No.2 go out today in 3 sets against her opponent, as she was hampered by a shoulder injury as well, and after the match she was really cut up about it, but chin up, Heather, you've done great so far and you will get there one day.
So that's another day over at SW19, tomorrow we see Federer and Djokovic back in action in their respective matches, so should be fun. In fact a quick update regarding that, both the No.2 and No.3 went through with great ease in both their matches as Rog and Nov won in straight sets. Next up though for the dynamic duo could be a tougher test, as Roger faces David Nalbandian and the Djoker faces Baghdatis. But then again Djokovic has been making so much short work of every player that he may win it in straight sets once again.
But one thing I must comment on is Serena Williams petty complaints about being scheduled to play on Court 2 yesterday instead of Centre Court, which really seems ridiculous. I guess to a 5 time Wimbledon champion it means that bit more, but at the same time a court is a court, just go out and play tennis and get on with it!! But that's what the Williams sisters are like, and in that regard I'm not so keen on them, and it would be great to see someone else win Wimbledon this year instead. However in regards to the men's tennis in spite it all, I would actually still quite like to see Federer win it again. I only really say this because despite the fact I would love to see Andy Murray win the title more than the others, mainly of course because he's never won one, and its on his home ground, I don't think he will be able to get past the top 3 just yet. I would love to be proved wrong and get that plate of words ready and get a knife and fork to eat them, well OK I wouldn't, but you know what I mean. But the way I look at it, out the top 3, Djokovic has won quite enough this year, Nadal has won the French and Wimbledon twice already, so I think its time Federer won the title again. But without a doubt I'd rather see Andy win it any day of the week, twice on Sunday, and then the following Sunday, as between the top 3, they have won quite enough. But first things first, next up for Andy is Ivan Ljubicic, it will be a test but hopefully one he will pass.
That's eet for now....
Monday 20 June 2011
SW19 Part 1 - Rainy start
So that's the first day of Wimbledon over, and unfortunately for a lot of the players play was rained off during the late afternoon which will lead to alot of match delays. However no one who played on Centre court had the same trouble thanks to that retractable roof.
Today also saw the start of Rafa and Andy's campaigns. Starting with Rafa he faced off against yank Michael Russell who put in an entertaining display, and despite Rafa double faulting in the first set to hand Russell a break, Rafa broke back immediately and after that it was pretty much plain sailing, as he defeated the American quite easily in 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. It was quite a convincing display from Rafa and it does show he is definitely in a better place after having won the French Open, so we could be looking at a 3rd Wimbledon title for the Spaniard but we'll see.
Onto Andy's match, which was a much sterner test as he faced a surprisingly tough first opponent in Daniel Guimeo-Traver (who actually doesn't look that Spanish!) the World No.56. Despite having had a bad year so far, Traver did produce a very solid display in the first and second sets, especially as Andy dropped his serve at 4-5 to hand Traver the first set. However in the second despite a strong start Andy secured the break at 5-3 and never looked back, after that the match changed completely and Andy crushed the Spaniard and handed him a double bagel for the 3rd and 4th sets, with the final result 4-6, 6-3, 6-0, 6-0 in just over 2 hours. It was an entertaining match although the easier it got for Andy I felt sorry for Traver who just lost his way entirely, I think he was also nursing a knee injury as he called out the trainer at one point in the 3rd set, and after that his once pulverising forehands just fell away. Again Muzza's attitude on court was very good, even when he was a set down he didn't get angry with himself, he held his cool, and its starting to show the Andy Murray we want to see, he's starting to mature as a player and a person, so I hope he keeps it up as it will stand him in good stead for the rest of the tournament.
So that's the start of the men's campaigns on the ladies side, we had Vera Zvonareva who came through a tough test also against the American Alison Riske (appropriate name!) in 3 sets in 6-0, 3-6, 6-3. Francesca Schiavone also came through a tough match too against an old rival Jelena Dokic also in 3 sets 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, which marked the first time she was able to beat Dokic in their previous meetings. However Venus Williams came through her match in straight sets against her Uzbekistanian opponent Akgul Amanmuradova in 6-3, 6-1.
Tomorrow will see the other top seeds out on play, Federer and Djokovic as they take on their first round opponents. It will be especially interesting to see how Federer plays at Wimbledon this year, as he was on fire at the French Open, but there is the concern that he might have peaked too soon. Because if he isn't on form he won't stand a chance this time against Djokovic whom I sure will be out to get even for last time at Roland Garros. But its all waiting to happen and its going to be very entertaining to see how it unravels.
So here's hoping that tomorrow the rain has gone and the brollies are not needed. Until then tara.
Today also saw the start of Rafa and Andy's campaigns. Starting with Rafa he faced off against yank Michael Russell who put in an entertaining display, and despite Rafa double faulting in the first set to hand Russell a break, Rafa broke back immediately and after that it was pretty much plain sailing, as he defeated the American quite easily in 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. It was quite a convincing display from Rafa and it does show he is definitely in a better place after having won the French Open, so we could be looking at a 3rd Wimbledon title for the Spaniard but we'll see.
Onto Andy's match, which was a much sterner test as he faced a surprisingly tough first opponent in Daniel Guimeo-Traver (who actually doesn't look that Spanish!) the World No.56. Despite having had a bad year so far, Traver did produce a very solid display in the first and second sets, especially as Andy dropped his serve at 4-5 to hand Traver the first set. However in the second despite a strong start Andy secured the break at 5-3 and never looked back, after that the match changed completely and Andy crushed the Spaniard and handed him a double bagel for the 3rd and 4th sets, with the final result 4-6, 6-3, 6-0, 6-0 in just over 2 hours. It was an entertaining match although the easier it got for Andy I felt sorry for Traver who just lost his way entirely, I think he was also nursing a knee injury as he called out the trainer at one point in the 3rd set, and after that his once pulverising forehands just fell away. Again Muzza's attitude on court was very good, even when he was a set down he didn't get angry with himself, he held his cool, and its starting to show the Andy Murray we want to see, he's starting to mature as a player and a person, so I hope he keeps it up as it will stand him in good stead for the rest of the tournament.
So that's the start of the men's campaigns on the ladies side, we had Vera Zvonareva who came through a tough test also against the American Alison Riske (appropriate name!) in 3 sets in 6-0, 3-6, 6-3. Francesca Schiavone also came through a tough match too against an old rival Jelena Dokic also in 3 sets 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, which marked the first time she was able to beat Dokic in their previous meetings. However Venus Williams came through her match in straight sets against her Uzbekistanian opponent Akgul Amanmuradova in 6-3, 6-1.
Tomorrow will see the other top seeds out on play, Federer and Djokovic as they take on their first round opponents. It will be especially interesting to see how Federer plays at Wimbledon this year, as he was on fire at the French Open, but there is the concern that he might have peaked too soon. Because if he isn't on form he won't stand a chance this time against Djokovic whom I sure will be out to get even for last time at Roland Garros. But its all waiting to happen and its going to be very entertaining to see how it unravels.
So here's hoping that tomorrow the rain has gone and the brollies are not needed. Until then tara.
Evolution not revolution.... or is it the other way round???
Just seen X-Men: First Class at the pics and I quite enjoyed it, and I always quite like these explanations of the X-Men's origins movies. So this film explains how Charles Xavier (played by James McAvoy) and Erik Lensherr aka Magneto (played by Michael Fassbender) met and how they formed the X-Men, as well as how they ultimately split and went their own ways.
So as usual the film introduces some new unseen characters and some familiar ones, one of the main ones being Raven (aka Mystique, played by the foxy Jennifer Lawrence) who is Charles Xavier's childhood friend who grew up together, but Raven likes to hide her true appearace, as the blue skinned red eyed mutant (with some nicely covered up naps) through shape shifting and taking the form of anyone. We also get the real badass villain of the piece, Sebastian Shaw (played by Kevin Bacon) who is set on taking over the world and the unique ability of being able to absorb any energy such as gunfire, fire, explosions and fire them back at anyone. Shaw of course is also responsible for killing Erik's mother as a young boy back during World War II and Erik spends most of the film looking for revenge. But Xavier tries to be Erik's saviour and rescue him from his own anger and desire for vengeance, however it all goes pear shaped and the rest is history.
I really liked how the story unwrapped and how these characters met up. James McAvoy is surprisingly good in the role of Charles Xavier as he shows his compassion and understanding, and in a way he shows more personality than Patrick Stewart's Xavier did. Michael Fassbender is also very good as Magneto (or Erik) and shows him very much to be a wounded man who is out for revenge and while there is some good in him, he chooses to go down that dark path. Jennifer Lawrence is also good as Mystique, although she doesn't quite wear that sexy blue make-up quite as well as Rebecca Romjin did in the earlier X-Men films. Also another thing that doesn't quite gel or make sense is that Mystique is clearly dedicated to being part of the X-Men but then she decides to go over to Magneto and the baddies, as she is also clearly for the most part a goodie so it appears to be an uneven shift. Also when FBI agent Moira McTaggart (Rose Byrne) near the end gets in the way of a crazed Magneto who is about to destroy some submarines who were ordered to attack the island with missiles and hurls missiles back at them, she accidentally shoots Xavier in the back. This ultimately leads to him being paralysed from the waist down and wheelchair bound for the rest of his life, but he wasn't too pissed off about it afterwards with Moira, it shows he is quite understanding!!! You shot me in the back, I can't walk, but I forgive you, although to be fair it was accidental and Magneto started it.
Matthew Vaughan does a fine job directing First Class and keeping it in check with the same tone as the other films. Its also good to see Vaughan direct another comic book film, unlike Kick Ass, which had a very uncomfortable mix of humour and brutal violence. He also provides some moments of humour, the best one being a cameo of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine who is approached by Xavier and Erik as they try to recruit mutants, but he simply tells them to go fuck themselves!
Anyways X-Men First Class continues to keep the franchise on track and in a good direction, so it will be good to see what comes next.
So as usual the film introduces some new unseen characters and some familiar ones, one of the main ones being Raven (aka Mystique, played by the foxy Jennifer Lawrence) who is Charles Xavier's childhood friend who grew up together, but Raven likes to hide her true appearace, as the blue skinned red eyed mutant (with some nicely covered up naps) through shape shifting and taking the form of anyone. We also get the real badass villain of the piece, Sebastian Shaw (played by Kevin Bacon) who is set on taking over the world and the unique ability of being able to absorb any energy such as gunfire, fire, explosions and fire them back at anyone. Shaw of course is also responsible for killing Erik's mother as a young boy back during World War II and Erik spends most of the film looking for revenge. But Xavier tries to be Erik's saviour and rescue him from his own anger and desire for vengeance, however it all goes pear shaped and the rest is history.
I really liked how the story unwrapped and how these characters met up. James McAvoy is surprisingly good in the role of Charles Xavier as he shows his compassion and understanding, and in a way he shows more personality than Patrick Stewart's Xavier did. Michael Fassbender is also very good as Magneto (or Erik) and shows him very much to be a wounded man who is out for revenge and while there is some good in him, he chooses to go down that dark path. Jennifer Lawrence is also good as Mystique, although she doesn't quite wear that sexy blue make-up quite as well as Rebecca Romjin did in the earlier X-Men films. Also another thing that doesn't quite gel or make sense is that Mystique is clearly dedicated to being part of the X-Men but then she decides to go over to Magneto and the baddies, as she is also clearly for the most part a goodie so it appears to be an uneven shift. Also when FBI agent Moira McTaggart (Rose Byrne) near the end gets in the way of a crazed Magneto who is about to destroy some submarines who were ordered to attack the island with missiles and hurls missiles back at them, she accidentally shoots Xavier in the back. This ultimately leads to him being paralysed from the waist down and wheelchair bound for the rest of his life, but he wasn't too pissed off about it afterwards with Moira, it shows he is quite understanding!!! You shot me in the back, I can't walk, but I forgive you, although to be fair it was accidental and Magneto started it.
Matthew Vaughan does a fine job directing First Class and keeping it in check with the same tone as the other films. Its also good to see Vaughan direct another comic book film, unlike Kick Ass, which had a very uncomfortable mix of humour and brutal violence. He also provides some moments of humour, the best one being a cameo of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine who is approached by Xavier and Erik as they try to recruit mutants, but he simply tells them to go fuck themselves!
Anyways X-Men First Class continues to keep the franchise on track and in a good direction, so it will be good to see what comes next.
Wednesday 15 June 2011
Blow your loads
Tonight's episode of the Apprentice was very entertaining which started to show some flaring up between some of the candidates.
Tonight's task saw the two teams having to come with an idea for a free premier magazine. So team Venture headed up by Jim thought of a magazine that would appeal to older people which was called Hip Replacement, which was a play on words, saying out with the old in the new, but of course the name was ridiculous and didn't send out the right signal to people it was aimed at! Basically they were implying your hip is ancient get a new one!! I could see what they were getting the idea is to show that older people don't like to be classed into a stereotype and to show they can be more "hip" than what is percieved. But when they pitched it to the advertising companies they just didn't take to it at all and were thoroughly bemused by the title.
Team Logic managed by Natasha focused on going for a lads magazine for young guys who work in business and it was to do with the whole work hard, play hard theme, they called the mag Covered. To be fair I quite liked the cover, which maybe had something to do with the busty chick with the phone with the worker's helmet. However the mag's headline on the front cover "How to blow your load" did sound a bit too close to well... blowing your load while looking at one of these magazines! So again it did send out the wrong signals to their customer base and it seemed to be a lame throwback to the 1990s magazines such as Loaded.
Nonetheless in the boardroom it was down to the sales figures that the ad companies were willing to give out to for both magazines and in the end team Logic lead by Natasha were the winners, with much more sales than the other team. In the boardroom, team leader Jim showed his true colours by partonisingly calling his team weak and cowardly, and resorted to calling young Susan a little mouse. I just felt Jim was really out of order in the boardroom, and all he tried to do as Nick so rightly said was to cover his own arse, and he picked on Susan and Glenn who he brought back into the boardroom for his own shortcomings. Susan did manage to save herself well by making an impassioned defence to Lord Sugar by saying she had started a business of her own at a young age while Jim and Glenn haven't, although she did use the young card a bit too much as an excuse for her lack of opportunity in speaking up for herself, but she did well in the boardroom, where it counts. However Glenn didn't do well enough in that department and he ended up going. But again I think Lord Sugar made the wrong decision as I really felt that Jim should have went, as he showed what a sneaky snidey git he is. He also claims to be a bit of a charmer but he has all the charm of a plank of wood and he never ever smiles! Yeah he's a real charmer, his only real charm is how he miraculously escaped the firing line in the boardroom, and I don't think he even came across well there either! And the bit where he said he lead a task and a team whom loved him that failed, come on please, there's nothing loveable about you mate.
Regardless that's another episode over and that leaves 8 candidates. Who will win? Well not Jim for sure, he's too much of a self covering twonk, perhaps Helen stands a very good chance, in fact she has been on the winning team 7 times in a row. This makes Helen themost successful candidate ever on the programme, she's also a bit of a honey, so she certainly would make for a good winner. Perhaps also maybe Tom or Leon from the guys would be decent candidates also, and maybe Natasha although she might prove to have more of a fine line in talk, although she has to her credit got stuck in over the last few weeks. Which reminds me of one of Lord Sugar's best lines from tonight's episode where he says to Jim "I've forgotten about bullshit you've haven't even learnt yet!".
Anyway I'll look forward to the next episode where the candidates travel to France for their next task. One of the clips was really funny as Susan in a panel room asks "Do the French like their children?". Class.
So that's it for now.
Tonight's task saw the two teams having to come with an idea for a free premier magazine. So team Venture headed up by Jim thought of a magazine that would appeal to older people which was called Hip Replacement, which was a play on words, saying out with the old in the new, but of course the name was ridiculous and didn't send out the right signal to people it was aimed at! Basically they were implying your hip is ancient get a new one!! I could see what they were getting the idea is to show that older people don't like to be classed into a stereotype and to show they can be more "hip" than what is percieved. But when they pitched it to the advertising companies they just didn't take to it at all and were thoroughly bemused by the title.
Team Logic managed by Natasha focused on going for a lads magazine for young guys who work in business and it was to do with the whole work hard, play hard theme, they called the mag Covered. To be fair I quite liked the cover, which maybe had something to do with the busty chick with the phone with the worker's helmet. However the mag's headline on the front cover "How to blow your load" did sound a bit too close to well... blowing your load while looking at one of these magazines! So again it did send out the wrong signals to their customer base and it seemed to be a lame throwback to the 1990s magazines such as Loaded.
Nonetheless in the boardroom it was down to the sales figures that the ad companies were willing to give out to for both magazines and in the end team Logic lead by Natasha were the winners, with much more sales than the other team. In the boardroom, team leader Jim showed his true colours by partonisingly calling his team weak and cowardly, and resorted to calling young Susan a little mouse. I just felt Jim was really out of order in the boardroom, and all he tried to do as Nick so rightly said was to cover his own arse, and he picked on Susan and Glenn who he brought back into the boardroom for his own shortcomings. Susan did manage to save herself well by making an impassioned defence to Lord Sugar by saying she had started a business of her own at a young age while Jim and Glenn haven't, although she did use the young card a bit too much as an excuse for her lack of opportunity in speaking up for herself, but she did well in the boardroom, where it counts. However Glenn didn't do well enough in that department and he ended up going. But again I think Lord Sugar made the wrong decision as I really felt that Jim should have went, as he showed what a sneaky snidey git he is. He also claims to be a bit of a charmer but he has all the charm of a plank of wood and he never ever smiles! Yeah he's a real charmer, his only real charm is how he miraculously escaped the firing line in the boardroom, and I don't think he even came across well there either! And the bit where he said he lead a task and a team whom loved him that failed, come on please, there's nothing loveable about you mate.
Regardless that's another episode over and that leaves 8 candidates. Who will win? Well not Jim for sure, he's too much of a self covering twonk, perhaps Helen stands a very good chance, in fact she has been on the winning team 7 times in a row. This makes Helen themost successful candidate ever on the programme, she's also a bit of a honey, so she certainly would make for a good winner. Perhaps also maybe Tom or Leon from the guys would be decent candidates also, and maybe Natasha although she might prove to have more of a fine line in talk, although she has to her credit got stuck in over the last few weeks. Which reminds me of one of Lord Sugar's best lines from tonight's episode where he says to Jim "I've forgotten about bullshit you've haven't even learnt yet!".
Anyway I'll look forward to the next episode where the candidates travel to France for their next task. One of the clips was really funny as Susan in a panel room asks "Do the French like their children?". Class.
So that's it for now.
Monday 13 June 2011
The King at Queens
Its great to start off a post with some good news as I was watching the final of the AEGON Championships at Queen's Club between British No.1 Andy Murray and the French 5th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. And it was great to see Andy pull through after a real battle against the very talented French player Tsonga, to clinch his 2nd title at Queens and his 17th title overall, in fact it neatly pegs him equal with Caroline Wozniacki who has 17 titles as well now too having won in Copenhagen the other day.
From the get go I could tell we were in for a tough and very entertaining match as Tsonga, who I'd already seen last week beat Rafa in a close match, was a great player with a lot of talent. Between the two players, they enthralled the audience with a variety of different shots and Tsonga himself pulled off a series of diving shots where he successfully won a point every time except in a crucial game in the 3rd set when Andy had the break 4-3 and was serving for the game to make it 5-3, when he played a between the legs trickshot, which was hilarious and quite cheeky as well! After that Tsonga held his service game to make it 5-4 to Andy, but in the end the Briton sealed the title with a love service game, winning overall in 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-4.
It never ceases to amaze me just how much Andy seems to like doing things the hard way, as at one or two moments in the match he was close to losing it, but he still managed to come through, especially in the 2nd set when he just managed to push it to a tiebreak which he won quite easily. It is testament to his talent and ability and sheer determination to come through it when he really needs to. It was also good to see how happy he was when he won, as in the past he has had the tendancy to be a bit sour faced (Andy??? Nah!!). But it was a really good match and a great win, and no doubt it will give him a tremendous boost of confidence going into Wimbledon. He is also the first British player to win the title more than once in over 85 years. So again he's broken another record. Its a shame Norris McWhirter isn't still round! I mean 3 grand slam finals, the first player to reach the semi finals in Rome in donkeys years, and the first man to reach the semi final at Roland Garros since Tim Henman. Surely one day he can pull off that major miracle.
Which of course begs the old question, can he win Wimbledon this time???? Well to be honest I still think no, because he is up against those top 3 players and he's bound to face one of them in the semi-final and unless he can raise his level to the highest it can go, then he won't be in with a chance. But it would be terrific if he can, and one thing I have noticed is his attitude is definitely improving, yeah ok he still does mutter to himself and whinge a bit, but I could see he was smiling that bit more and holding his composure better than he has in the past. Perhaps this is a new Muzza we are seeing?? In fact if you follow his comments on Facebook via his Twitter account it does reveal Andy's lighter and humourous side, it really is a contrast to his somewhat serious demeanour on court. And I think a bit of levity helps take the pressure off himself quite a bit, perhaps that is his part time coaching advisor Darren Cahill's influence. So if he can go out on court and just enjoy himself that bit more, its definitely a step in the right direction, but I can see Andy is improving as a player, and yeah ok he has been a bit inconsistent throughout the year, but he's already had a great clay court season and this is the perfect start to his grass season as well. Whether or not he can claim that ultimate prize at Wimblydon remains to be seen. But he deserved his title win today, so big well done Andy, lad, and keep up the good work as they say.
In the meantime there is more tennis action from the WTA/ATP at Eastbourne, which sees all the top seeds return to the action, except Wozniacki, as well as the Williams sisters, and its a joint tournament as the men are out to play too, with Tsonga being the No.1 seed, so surely he will have a chance to win a title here, best of luck to him.
Anyway, thett's eeet for nowww.
From the get go I could tell we were in for a tough and very entertaining match as Tsonga, who I'd already seen last week beat Rafa in a close match, was a great player with a lot of talent. Between the two players, they enthralled the audience with a variety of different shots and Tsonga himself pulled off a series of diving shots where he successfully won a point every time except in a crucial game in the 3rd set when Andy had the break 4-3 and was serving for the game to make it 5-3, when he played a between the legs trickshot, which was hilarious and quite cheeky as well! After that Tsonga held his service game to make it 5-4 to Andy, but in the end the Briton sealed the title with a love service game, winning overall in 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-4.
It never ceases to amaze me just how much Andy seems to like doing things the hard way, as at one or two moments in the match he was close to losing it, but he still managed to come through, especially in the 2nd set when he just managed to push it to a tiebreak which he won quite easily. It is testament to his talent and ability and sheer determination to come through it when he really needs to. It was also good to see how happy he was when he won, as in the past he has had the tendancy to be a bit sour faced (Andy??? Nah!!). But it was a really good match and a great win, and no doubt it will give him a tremendous boost of confidence going into Wimbledon. He is also the first British player to win the title more than once in over 85 years. So again he's broken another record. Its a shame Norris McWhirter isn't still round! I mean 3 grand slam finals, the first player to reach the semi finals in Rome in donkeys years, and the first man to reach the semi final at Roland Garros since Tim Henman. Surely one day he can pull off that major miracle.
Which of course begs the old question, can he win Wimbledon this time???? Well to be honest I still think no, because he is up against those top 3 players and he's bound to face one of them in the semi-final and unless he can raise his level to the highest it can go, then he won't be in with a chance. But it would be terrific if he can, and one thing I have noticed is his attitude is definitely improving, yeah ok he still does mutter to himself and whinge a bit, but I could see he was smiling that bit more and holding his composure better than he has in the past. Perhaps this is a new Muzza we are seeing?? In fact if you follow his comments on Facebook via his Twitter account it does reveal Andy's lighter and humourous side, it really is a contrast to his somewhat serious demeanour on court. And I think a bit of levity helps take the pressure off himself quite a bit, perhaps that is his part time coaching advisor Darren Cahill's influence. So if he can go out on court and just enjoy himself that bit more, its definitely a step in the right direction, but I can see Andy is improving as a player, and yeah ok he has been a bit inconsistent throughout the year, but he's already had a great clay court season and this is the perfect start to his grass season as well. Whether or not he can claim that ultimate prize at Wimblydon remains to be seen. But he deserved his title win today, so big well done Andy, lad, and keep up the good work as they say.
In the meantime there is more tennis action from the WTA/ATP at Eastbourne, which sees all the top seeds return to the action, except Wozniacki, as well as the Williams sisters, and its a joint tournament as the men are out to play too, with Tsonga being the No.1 seed, so surely he will have a chance to win a title here, best of luck to him.
Anyway, thett's eeet for nowww.
Saturday 11 June 2011
Back to the drawing board
Ahh welly well, that's my apprenticeship program over with the firm Whitebox Digital. The program lasted 6 months and that's it done and dusted, and unfortunately despite the promise of placements to gain work experience, it hasn't worked out once again as the staff started looking for the placements too late.
The Whitebox staff had actually started the placement search about 8 weeks before the end of the course, which frankly wasn't enough time to secure amy placements for people. Although they were successful in placing some people in business placements they were not so lucky in the IT front as there were very few companies that would take people on. Again it made me annoyed at the lack of organisation in the company as surely they must have known if they wanted to secure placements for the apprentices then they should have started much earlier back in January or February for example. But as usual this wasn't taken into account, perhaps in their offices setup in England they don't have the same problem in recruitment and placing people, as there are more jobs down that way than there are here.
So that's me back to square one looking for jobs and back on the dole, which isn't a very good prospect, but its one that'll have to do for now. Hopefully I can't something if not soon then not before too long. Although the other day while I was on the phone to the dole making a new claim I received another call from an agency regarding an IT job applied for, but I couldn't hang up on the dole call so I had to tell the agency to call me back, but they didn't bother, so that scuppered that one. These people really know how to phone at the most inopportune moments!! But anyway not too bothered, these posts are usually oversubscribed with people so I didn't rate my chances. The bottom line with IT posts is the employers always look for people with experience, none of them can actually be bothered to take the time to train them, perhaps on a voluntary basis it would be possible to gain work experience, so that's definitely an avenue I should look into.
But hey ho I could see this coming far enough, to be fair Whitebox did keep me in employment for 6 months and allowed me to update my qualifications and refresh my IT knowledge, so it wasn't a complete waste of time. However they have left me without the crucial work experience, so its back to the easel to do some sketching.
And on that rather disappointing note I'll leave it there.
The Whitebox staff had actually started the placement search about 8 weeks before the end of the course, which frankly wasn't enough time to secure amy placements for people. Although they were successful in placing some people in business placements they were not so lucky in the IT front as there were very few companies that would take people on. Again it made me annoyed at the lack of organisation in the company as surely they must have known if they wanted to secure placements for the apprentices then they should have started much earlier back in January or February for example. But as usual this wasn't taken into account, perhaps in their offices setup in England they don't have the same problem in recruitment and placing people, as there are more jobs down that way than there are here.
So that's me back to square one looking for jobs and back on the dole, which isn't a very good prospect, but its one that'll have to do for now. Hopefully I can't something if not soon then not before too long. Although the other day while I was on the phone to the dole making a new claim I received another call from an agency regarding an IT job applied for, but I couldn't hang up on the dole call so I had to tell the agency to call me back, but they didn't bother, so that scuppered that one. These people really know how to phone at the most inopportune moments!! But anyway not too bothered, these posts are usually oversubscribed with people so I didn't rate my chances. The bottom line with IT posts is the employers always look for people with experience, none of them can actually be bothered to take the time to train them, perhaps on a voluntary basis it would be possible to gain work experience, so that's definitely an avenue I should look into.
But hey ho I could see this coming far enough, to be fair Whitebox did keep me in employment for 6 months and allowed me to update my qualifications and refresh my IT knowledge, so it wasn't a complete waste of time. However they have left me without the crucial work experience, so its back to the easel to do some sketching.
And on that rather disappointing note I'll leave it there.
Friday 10 June 2011
Wimbly common and the Queen's club
OK so we are nearing that time where the most prestigious grand slam in the game of tennis is just around the corner, yep its nearly Wimbledon time!
So its going to be another 2 weeks of enthralling, exciting tennis, lovely sunshine interspersed with cloudy spells and rain showers, with the staff quickly covering the courts in lightning speed, not to mention the spectators enjoying glasses of Pimms (which I personally don't like).
And all this of course begs the question? Who is going to win Wimbledon this year? Well the home crowd will of course be expecting a great deal from the British No.1 Andy Murray (heard of him???) as he tries once again break his duck and grab that maiden and highly elusive grand slam. Unfortunately for Andy he is up against three other guys who are just that bit better than he is, two of which are two of the greatest players that have ever played the game. Can Andy beat them and finally claim that crown on his own soil??? To be honest no, I've actually given up my expectations of Andy winning at Wimbledon, as Roger and Rafa have been so dominant there over the last 7 or 8 years, and I'm sure Roger will endeavour to play his best tennis here once again, especially given his form at the French Open. So I'm willing to wager that Federer might win it this year, its his main title, the one that means the most to him, for Rafa its the French Open, but Roger's is definitely the grass. However lets not discount Novak Djokovic, who up until the French Open semi final was unbeaten this year, but again Roger's best surface overall is grass, and I think Djoko will really struggle against him to win again, I could be wrong but we will see.
But let's not entirely discount Andy from winning at Wimbledon, one day he might still do it, but I'm quite convinced it won't be this year. Hopefully he might reach the semi finals again this year, but if he does he will doubtless meet Rafa again, who in their previous two meetings at Wimbledon saw Rafa beat Andy in straight sets. I'm hoping Andy can at least go one better this year and push Rafa that bit further and take him to 4 sets at least, but Rafa has usually found away to break the Muzza down. But if Andy is to win, he's going to have to take his chances more often, play aggressive and get those pesky 1st serves in. However I am resigned to the fact its not going to happen for Andy just yet. Can he win a grand slam??? Actually yes. Will he??? I think so one day. His next best chance is the US Open, but again Djokovic has been pretty dominant so far this year on the hard court, and unless he plays the tennis of his life, he will be denied once more.
Anyway that's all yet to come, in the meantime the AEGON Championships from Queens club in London is still on just now, with the top seeds Andy, Rafa and Andy Roddick still in play. Today they play Cilic, Tsonga and Verdacsco respectively, its going to be tough for them, so we'll see how it goes. In fact it would be great to see Andy win this title again like he did in 2009, he deserves to win one, as the other two have won titles already this year, so I think its high time Andy got one under his belt! But I would wager money on either Roddick or Rafa winning this one, but again its all to play. Its been a great tournament so far, with Andy playing pretty solidly over his last two matches, as has Roddick, although Rafa did survive a scare yesterday against Radek Stepanek who put in a spirited fightback and took the 2nd set from Rafa in 7-5. But Rafa recovered well and rattled through the 3rd set and sealed the victory with 6-3, 5-7, 6-1.
So on the British tennis front, there's been good news as James Ward, the British No.2 has beaten the defending champion Sam Querrey in 3 sets to reach the quarter finals at Queens for the first time. Also Muzza's opponent Marin Cilic has withdrawn due to injury, which gives Andy a walkover into the semi finals where he will play Andy Roddick. So the two Andies will be together again, I think their last encounter was at the Wimbledon 2009 semi final, which Roddick won in a tight 4 set match, so we should expect a belter this time round. Roddick also appears to be in top form once again so could it be Roddick that prevails once again? Not so sure, but it could be, whatever way it goes, I'm sure it will promise to be another great re-match between these two.
On a shock note Rafa has been beaten by Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in 3 sets, Tsonga winning in 6-7, 6-4, 6-1. I think though Rafa has been pretty fatigued after having played so many matches this year, so that doesn't help, however playing at Queens will have helped him get used to the grass, so its a good thing for Rafa as he can rest up and get back into shape for Wimbledon a week on Monday.
Also more news on the Murray vs Roddick match as Andy Murray won the match by crushing Roddick in straight sets 6-3, 6-1, it was quite an incredible display from the Muzza as he just effortlessly breezed through the match in just under an hour. I was really quite surprised as I expected a much tougher test from Roddick, but Andy secured an early break and he never looked back after that. Now if only he could play like that every time in the grand slams then he would be lifting that trophy by now! So its now confirmed that Andy will play Jo-Wilfred Tsonga who defeated the British No.2 James Ward in straight sets in 6-3, 7-6(6). It was a tight match by Tsonga, who was down a break in the 2nd set but he managed to break back and take it to a tiebreak, and unfortunately for Ward he couldn't close it out. But James Ward should be proud of his week's achievements, as he was only the second British player to reach the AEGON Championship's semi finals in many years, and even if the Muzza doesn't play the Davis Cup this year, I'll still pay money to see James play as I'm sure he can tackle the Luxembourg No.1 himself! So big well done to James, its a highly impressive run which will see him break into the top 200 for the first time.
So Andy faces Tsonga tomorrow in the final and no doubt this will be a tough match for him this time, but I think Andy can still win especially after his imperious performance today, but let's not discount Tsonga either, who has defeated the World No.1 this week already. And if Andy wins, not only will it be his 2nd Queens title, could it signal a potential win at Wimbledon??? Hmmmmm to be honest I'm still sceptical, but its still all to play for. However due to the heavy wind and rain down in London, it turns out the Queens final has had to be delayed until Monday 13 June, so hopefully by then the rain will have cleared away and play will resume.
Right well that'll do it the now.
So its going to be another 2 weeks of enthralling, exciting tennis, lovely sunshine interspersed with cloudy spells and rain showers, with the staff quickly covering the courts in lightning speed, not to mention the spectators enjoying glasses of Pimms (which I personally don't like).
And all this of course begs the question? Who is going to win Wimbledon this year? Well the home crowd will of course be expecting a great deal from the British No.1 Andy Murray (heard of him???) as he tries once again break his duck and grab that maiden and highly elusive grand slam. Unfortunately for Andy he is up against three other guys who are just that bit better than he is, two of which are two of the greatest players that have ever played the game. Can Andy beat them and finally claim that crown on his own soil??? To be honest no, I've actually given up my expectations of Andy winning at Wimbledon, as Roger and Rafa have been so dominant there over the last 7 or 8 years, and I'm sure Roger will endeavour to play his best tennis here once again, especially given his form at the French Open. So I'm willing to wager that Federer might win it this year, its his main title, the one that means the most to him, for Rafa its the French Open, but Roger's is definitely the grass. However lets not discount Novak Djokovic, who up until the French Open semi final was unbeaten this year, but again Roger's best surface overall is grass, and I think Djoko will really struggle against him to win again, I could be wrong but we will see.
But let's not entirely discount Andy from winning at Wimbledon, one day he might still do it, but I'm quite convinced it won't be this year. Hopefully he might reach the semi finals again this year, but if he does he will doubtless meet Rafa again, who in their previous two meetings at Wimbledon saw Rafa beat Andy in straight sets. I'm hoping Andy can at least go one better this year and push Rafa that bit further and take him to 4 sets at least, but Rafa has usually found away to break the Muzza down. But if Andy is to win, he's going to have to take his chances more often, play aggressive and get those pesky 1st serves in. However I am resigned to the fact its not going to happen for Andy just yet. Can he win a grand slam??? Actually yes. Will he??? I think so one day. His next best chance is the US Open, but again Djokovic has been pretty dominant so far this year on the hard court, and unless he plays the tennis of his life, he will be denied once more.
Anyway that's all yet to come, in the meantime the AEGON Championships from Queens club in London is still on just now, with the top seeds Andy, Rafa and Andy Roddick still in play. Today they play Cilic, Tsonga and Verdacsco respectively, its going to be tough for them, so we'll see how it goes. In fact it would be great to see Andy win this title again like he did in 2009, he deserves to win one, as the other two have won titles already this year, so I think its high time Andy got one under his belt! But I would wager money on either Roddick or Rafa winning this one, but again its all to play. Its been a great tournament so far, with Andy playing pretty solidly over his last two matches, as has Roddick, although Rafa did survive a scare yesterday against Radek Stepanek who put in a spirited fightback and took the 2nd set from Rafa in 7-5. But Rafa recovered well and rattled through the 3rd set and sealed the victory with 6-3, 5-7, 6-1.
So on the British tennis front, there's been good news as James Ward, the British No.2 has beaten the defending champion Sam Querrey in 3 sets to reach the quarter finals at Queens for the first time. Also Muzza's opponent Marin Cilic has withdrawn due to injury, which gives Andy a walkover into the semi finals where he will play Andy Roddick. So the two Andies will be together again, I think their last encounter was at the Wimbledon 2009 semi final, which Roddick won in a tight 4 set match, so we should expect a belter this time round. Roddick also appears to be in top form once again so could it be Roddick that prevails once again? Not so sure, but it could be, whatever way it goes, I'm sure it will promise to be another great re-match between these two.
On a shock note Rafa has been beaten by Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in 3 sets, Tsonga winning in 6-7, 6-4, 6-1. I think though Rafa has been pretty fatigued after having played so many matches this year, so that doesn't help, however playing at Queens will have helped him get used to the grass, so its a good thing for Rafa as he can rest up and get back into shape for Wimbledon a week on Monday.
Also more news on the Murray vs Roddick match as Andy Murray won the match by crushing Roddick in straight sets 6-3, 6-1, it was quite an incredible display from the Muzza as he just effortlessly breezed through the match in just under an hour. I was really quite surprised as I expected a much tougher test from Roddick, but Andy secured an early break and he never looked back after that. Now if only he could play like that every time in the grand slams then he would be lifting that trophy by now! So its now confirmed that Andy will play Jo-Wilfred Tsonga who defeated the British No.2 James Ward in straight sets in 6-3, 7-6(6). It was a tight match by Tsonga, who was down a break in the 2nd set but he managed to break back and take it to a tiebreak, and unfortunately for Ward he couldn't close it out. But James Ward should be proud of his week's achievements, as he was only the second British player to reach the AEGON Championship's semi finals in many years, and even if the Muzza doesn't play the Davis Cup this year, I'll still pay money to see James play as I'm sure he can tackle the Luxembourg No.1 himself! So big well done to James, its a highly impressive run which will see him break into the top 200 for the first time.
So Andy faces Tsonga tomorrow in the final and no doubt this will be a tough match for him this time, but I think Andy can still win especially after his imperious performance today, but let's not discount Tsonga either, who has defeated the World No.1 this week already. And if Andy wins, not only will it be his 2nd Queens title, could it signal a potential win at Wimbledon??? Hmmmmm to be honest I'm still sceptical, but its still all to play for. However due to the heavy wind and rain down in London, it turns out the Queens final has had to be delayed until Monday 13 June, so hopefully by then the rain will have cleared away and play will resume.
Right well that'll do it the now.
Thursday 9 June 2011
Spoilers!
So that is the end of the first part of the sixth series of Doctor Who and its been rather twisty and turny to say the least. If I'm being honest I don't think I've enjoyed this series quite as much as the last one, but there is still much to like about it, despite its infuriating lack of sense.
The most impressive episodes so far of the series have been the two parter "The Rebel Flesh" and "The Almost People" with the Doctor, Amy and Rory coming across a group of humans in the future who have cloned themselves, but the clones have mutated flesh and they have been outcast. So the clones (or gangers as they are called) and humans both are out to fight each other, but of course the Doctor gets involved and it all gets more sticky and weird. This story also featured one of the more surprisingly creepy and scary monsters in the show so far, as one of the gangers mutates into a monster and chases them through the corridors. The gangers themselves also will prove quite frightening for kids, and this series certainly has seen some more creepy monsters than in the previous season.
But I do have to say Matt Smith really has grown into his role as the Doctor very well indeed. He is also starting to show more of the Doctor's vulnerability, little moments of emotion creeping in nicely to his performance. And despite his dancing and rattling off his dialogue, he has nailed the Doctor's compassion, quick temper and humour without actually overdoing too much. Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill have also nicely adapted to their roles. Karen as Amy Pond brings a level of complexity to her character as we know there is always something going on with her, and Arthur Darvill's Rory is no longer the stuff of weasels, he shows himself to be quite a strong character in the face of danger (well ok he is still a bit weasly, but he shows he has some baws! Well not literally!).
So to recap the very good finale mid-season episode, A Good Man Goes to War, it sees the Doctor trying to rescue Amy, who is pregnant and has been captured by Madame Kovarian who want Amy's baby for some reason or other. In order to help rescue Amy, the Doctor recruits, a female Sherlock Holmesian Silurian (who is Scottish no less!) and her friend Jenny, also a Sontaran nurse (yep that's right a nurse, that's not Jenny by the way), and a black marketeer (a big blue guy!). But there are further complications afoot and as the episode progresses we learn what they are.
So to cap it off at the end we learn River Song's true identity, and yes ok it certainly isn't one I was expecting, so get this.... River Song is Amy's daughter. Yep. Weird one. But of course its Doctor Who and its all about time travel so it makes sense, also of course the Doctor and River also are romantically involved which is pretty obvious anyway, with her "sweetie" "my love" etc, not to mention her wenching him earlier in the series! But that's all waiting to happen. The romantic element though to Doctor Who has been recurring throughout the new series so far, it does add a new element to the show, the Doctor obviously in the past having been a grandfather must have had a family of his own, a wife and kids. But its a part of his life that has been buried, and perhaps with River they can dig it up again, but its all waiting to happen again.
So with that bombshell, its going to be intruiging to see how the next part of the sixth season turns out. It will be September I think before the second part begins, so until then keep the breath baited, or better yet invent a time machine and skip forward to September and find out.
And on that thingy I will say adieu.
The most impressive episodes so far of the series have been the two parter "The Rebel Flesh" and "The Almost People" with the Doctor, Amy and Rory coming across a group of humans in the future who have cloned themselves, but the clones have mutated flesh and they have been outcast. So the clones (or gangers as they are called) and humans both are out to fight each other, but of course the Doctor gets involved and it all gets more sticky and weird. This story also featured one of the more surprisingly creepy and scary monsters in the show so far, as one of the gangers mutates into a monster and chases them through the corridors. The gangers themselves also will prove quite frightening for kids, and this series certainly has seen some more creepy monsters than in the previous season.
But I do have to say Matt Smith really has grown into his role as the Doctor very well indeed. He is also starting to show more of the Doctor's vulnerability, little moments of emotion creeping in nicely to his performance. And despite his dancing and rattling off his dialogue, he has nailed the Doctor's compassion, quick temper and humour without actually overdoing too much. Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill have also nicely adapted to their roles. Karen as Amy Pond brings a level of complexity to her character as we know there is always something going on with her, and Arthur Darvill's Rory is no longer the stuff of weasels, he shows himself to be quite a strong character in the face of danger (well ok he is still a bit weasly, but he shows he has some baws! Well not literally!).
So to recap the very good finale mid-season episode, A Good Man Goes to War, it sees the Doctor trying to rescue Amy, who is pregnant and has been captured by Madame Kovarian who want Amy's baby for some reason or other. In order to help rescue Amy, the Doctor recruits, a female Sherlock Holmesian Silurian (who is Scottish no less!) and her friend Jenny, also a Sontaran nurse (yep that's right a nurse, that's not Jenny by the way), and a black marketeer (a big blue guy!). But there are further complications afoot and as the episode progresses we learn what they are.
So to cap it off at the end we learn River Song's true identity, and yes ok it certainly isn't one I was expecting, so get this.... River Song is Amy's daughter. Yep. Weird one. But of course its Doctor Who and its all about time travel so it makes sense, also of course the Doctor and River also are romantically involved which is pretty obvious anyway, with her "sweetie" "my love" etc, not to mention her wenching him earlier in the series! But that's all waiting to happen. The romantic element though to Doctor Who has been recurring throughout the new series so far, it does add a new element to the show, the Doctor obviously in the past having been a grandfather must have had a family of his own, a wife and kids. But its a part of his life that has been buried, and perhaps with River they can dig it up again, but its all waiting to happen again.
So with that bombshell, its going to be intruiging to see how the next part of the sixth season turns out. It will be September I think before the second part begins, so until then keep the breath baited, or better yet invent a time machine and skip forward to September and find out.
And on that thingy I will say adieu.
Monday 6 June 2011
City of Lights Part 11 (The final!): The king lives to see another day
So that's the French Open over for another year, the men's final saw the duel of the titans between Rafa and Roger who battled it out to gain the fancy Parisian silveware, and in the end there was only one victor of course. And well that man was.... well Rafael Nadal. Who else???
The stage was set for a dramatic match between the two greatest players in the world just now and to a certain extent it lived up to its promise. But overall I felt somewhat disappointed by the match mainly because Federer in particular made too many unforced errors, he played some tremendous shots but there were alot of mistakes in there too. Federer started the first set very promisingly as he instantly broke Nadal's serve and ended up securing a 5-2 lead, but then he played a drop shot at set point that just went over the line, and in that moment Nadal got back into the match and rattled off the next 5 games to take the opening set 7-5. The second set was a tighter affair as both men played to a tiebreak, but again Federer made too many errors and it cost him too as Nadal took it 7-6(3). However things did turn round in the 3rd set as after being a break down Federer broke back and then broke Nadal's serve at 5-5, to make it 6-5, so Federer successfully served for the 3rd set at 7-5. But in the 4th set, Nadal regained control and proved too strong for Federer as he closed out the match in 6-1, guaranteeing his 6th title at Roland Garros.
There definitely was some really good match play mixed into the final, but overall I felt it wasn't consistent enough in quality to keep me thrilled throughout. Quite often it felt like a stalled car, you try to get it going and then it stops again. Federer who was absolutely on fire throughout the tournament, especially in his amazing match against Djokovic, just seemed to fizzle out toward the end, he did put up a good fight but it just felt underwhelming to watch in the end. During the commentary for the match Andrew Castle for the BBC said that Federer used to be invincible till he met Nadal, and its same for Nadal with Djokovic. This shows the irony of it all, as Federer can beat Djokovic, Nadal can beat Federer, yet Nadal can't beat Djokovic! But it was great for Rafa to get this win, as it means he can hold onto the No. 1 ranking and while winning the other slams is great, the French Open is always the one that means the most to him.
But that's it over with, and I was pleased for Rafa that he won, so that's his 10th grand slam, now into the double figures, another 6 and he'll equal Roger. However Roger based on this tournament is definitely starting to play some of his best tennis again. He'll never get back to his glory days but I think if he maintains this level this summer he can win Wimbledon, and I think that's his main goal for the year. Given his performance at the French Open, this definitely could give Federer the opportunity to claim the grassy silver trophy once more. So it will be interesting to see how it goes.
So that's the red dirt season over with, now onto the grass, Wimbledon is just two weeks away now, in the meantime there are a few grass tournaments for the men and women, in Eastbourne and at Queens in London, as well as the Gerry Weber Open in Halle Germany where Roger usually plays this time of year. And the AEGON Queens Club Championship starts tomorrow, which is of course the men's tournament prior to Wimbledon. While its not a grand slam by any means, Queens is quite a prestigious title, and its also a great precursor to Wimbledon as well as training run for the grand slam. So among the Queens lineup will feature Rafa, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick, Del Potro, Stan Wawrinka, Marin Cilic and quite a few others. It will be on the BBC all week so I will definitely be following that. Andy won it back in 2009 so it would be nice if he managed a repeat win of it this year, probably not, but you never know. Sam Querrey the defending champion from last year will be playing again, although Mardy Fish, the runner up who had a run in with Andy last year during their 3rd round match, won't be taking part due to an injury.
So there is more to follow on the sport, so bring on the green grass and get the whites on.
The stage was set for a dramatic match between the two greatest players in the world just now and to a certain extent it lived up to its promise. But overall I felt somewhat disappointed by the match mainly because Federer in particular made too many unforced errors, he played some tremendous shots but there were alot of mistakes in there too. Federer started the first set very promisingly as he instantly broke Nadal's serve and ended up securing a 5-2 lead, but then he played a drop shot at set point that just went over the line, and in that moment Nadal got back into the match and rattled off the next 5 games to take the opening set 7-5. The second set was a tighter affair as both men played to a tiebreak, but again Federer made too many errors and it cost him too as Nadal took it 7-6(3). However things did turn round in the 3rd set as after being a break down Federer broke back and then broke Nadal's serve at 5-5, to make it 6-5, so Federer successfully served for the 3rd set at 7-5. But in the 4th set, Nadal regained control and proved too strong for Federer as he closed out the match in 6-1, guaranteeing his 6th title at Roland Garros.
There definitely was some really good match play mixed into the final, but overall I felt it wasn't consistent enough in quality to keep me thrilled throughout. Quite often it felt like a stalled car, you try to get it going and then it stops again. Federer who was absolutely on fire throughout the tournament, especially in his amazing match against Djokovic, just seemed to fizzle out toward the end, he did put up a good fight but it just felt underwhelming to watch in the end. During the commentary for the match Andrew Castle for the BBC said that Federer used to be invincible till he met Nadal, and its same for Nadal with Djokovic. This shows the irony of it all, as Federer can beat Djokovic, Nadal can beat Federer, yet Nadal can't beat Djokovic! But it was great for Rafa to get this win, as it means he can hold onto the No. 1 ranking and while winning the other slams is great, the French Open is always the one that means the most to him.
But that's it over with, and I was pleased for Rafa that he won, so that's his 10th grand slam, now into the double figures, another 6 and he'll equal Roger. However Roger based on this tournament is definitely starting to play some of his best tennis again. He'll never get back to his glory days but I think if he maintains this level this summer he can win Wimbledon, and I think that's his main goal for the year. Given his performance at the French Open, this definitely could give Federer the opportunity to claim the grassy silver trophy once more. So it will be interesting to see how it goes.
So that's the red dirt season over with, now onto the grass, Wimbledon is just two weeks away now, in the meantime there are a few grass tournaments for the men and women, in Eastbourne and at Queens in London, as well as the Gerry Weber Open in Halle Germany where Roger usually plays this time of year. And the AEGON Queens Club Championship starts tomorrow, which is of course the men's tournament prior to Wimbledon. While its not a grand slam by any means, Queens is quite a prestigious title, and its also a great precursor to Wimbledon as well as training run for the grand slam. So among the Queens lineup will feature Rafa, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick, Del Potro, Stan Wawrinka, Marin Cilic and quite a few others. It will be on the BBC all week so I will definitely be following that. Andy won it back in 2009 so it would be nice if he managed a repeat win of it this year, probably not, but you never know. Sam Querrey the defending champion from last year will be playing again, although Mardy Fish, the runner up who had a run in with Andy last year during their 3rd round match, won't be taking part due to an injury.
So there is more to follow on the sport, so bring on the green grass and get the whites on.
Saturday 4 June 2011
City of Lights Part 10: We have a new champion!
So that's the ladies singles final at the French Open over, and unfortunately for last year's champion Francesca Schiavone, she was unable to hold onto her title as she met her match (excuse the pun again!) in the Chinese No.1 Li Na.
Li Na like she did with Maria Sharapova the other day dominated the play right from the start, securing an early break in the 1st set, although Schiavone did respond well as she held her serve being a break down, but Li Na closed out the first set 6-4. However after securing another break early on in the 2nd set Li Na faced a fightback from Schiavone who broke her way back into the match at 4-4 and almost broke Li Na 6-5 to take the 2nd set, but Li Na held her nerve and took it to a tiebreak, where Francesca lost her way completely and Li Na sealed the championship with 7 match points, winning in 6-4, 7-6(0).
Overall it was actually a very good match and quite a worthy final, but it wasn't quite a classic but it was a very entertaining 2 set scrap, but it was a shame in a way Schiavone couldn't have pushed it to a deciding set. But nonetheless both players brought some high quality tennis to the match and it made for an enjoyable final. Li Na deserves full credit for her performance throughout the tournament, as she held her nerve and kept her composure even when under pressure, and for someone who doesn't like clay courts that much, she didn't half do alright!! I'm sure she has changed her attitude toward the red dirt now! I really admired Li Na's play today as she hit the ball so clean and her groundstrokes were impeccable, making it difficult for Schiavone to return most of the time. It was also great to see a player like Li Na who plays without making ridiculous grunting noises, like Francesca Schiavone's "WAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!" every time she hits the ball, but I must admit I quite like Schiavone's grunt as its totally unique from other players. I also loved the way Schiavone's fans chanted the White Stripes's "Seven Nation Army" song every time she hit a great shot or got back into the match, it was priceless.
Li Na also said after her last grand slam final defeat at the Australian Open she felt she had learned from her mistakes and maybe she could do better and she certainly did. Its a shame in a way Andy Murray can't take the same approach, but that's one thing I noticed that Li Na had and that is crucial in winning slams, she had a good first serve. That's also how Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open as he worked on his serve, its the key to winning and until then Andy might never win one. Francesca had the same problem as Andy today too, as her serve started to crumble badly, in fact throughout the WTA tour her serve was decidedly poor and today I think also cost her the match, well that and the amount of unforced errors she made.
But again Li Na was too good, she came out strong and despite a few wobbles near the end, she maintained her level and closed out the match to take the title. Its a great achievement for not only herself but also for China, who have never before now had a player win a grand slam title. So there you go, in fact Li Na and Schiavone were both 29 when they won their first grand slam, so just maybe Andy if you keep on playing until then, just maybe you might yet win one! That's also an attitude Elena Baltacha is thinking of too, she is 27 just now so she has another two years to reach her peak and just maybe she can do the same too. So with Wimbledon round the corner and one grand slam already under her belt, I think everyone should watch out for Li Na and come the US Open too, watch out Kim!! :-)
So that's the woman's French Open tennis come to an end. Tomorrow we'll see the men's final which will be hugely anticipated by the world over, as its the classic showdown between Roger and Rafa. Who's going to win???? Hard to call, possibly Rafa will edge it, but the way Roger has been playing it could go the other way. Its going to be fun to find out, and I think we are in for a real treat.
So the concluding part of the City of Lights saga will come tomorrow, once we know who's fallen flat on their back in the clay, then lifted that trophy.
Li Na like she did with Maria Sharapova the other day dominated the play right from the start, securing an early break in the 1st set, although Schiavone did respond well as she held her serve being a break down, but Li Na closed out the first set 6-4. However after securing another break early on in the 2nd set Li Na faced a fightback from Schiavone who broke her way back into the match at 4-4 and almost broke Li Na 6-5 to take the 2nd set, but Li Na held her nerve and took it to a tiebreak, where Francesca lost her way completely and Li Na sealed the championship with 7 match points, winning in 6-4, 7-6(0).
Overall it was actually a very good match and quite a worthy final, but it wasn't quite a classic but it was a very entertaining 2 set scrap, but it was a shame in a way Schiavone couldn't have pushed it to a deciding set. But nonetheless both players brought some high quality tennis to the match and it made for an enjoyable final. Li Na deserves full credit for her performance throughout the tournament, as she held her nerve and kept her composure even when under pressure, and for someone who doesn't like clay courts that much, she didn't half do alright!! I'm sure she has changed her attitude toward the red dirt now! I really admired Li Na's play today as she hit the ball so clean and her groundstrokes were impeccable, making it difficult for Schiavone to return most of the time. It was also great to see a player like Li Na who plays without making ridiculous grunting noises, like Francesca Schiavone's "WAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!" every time she hits the ball, but I must admit I quite like Schiavone's grunt as its totally unique from other players. I also loved the way Schiavone's fans chanted the White Stripes's "Seven Nation Army" song every time she hit a great shot or got back into the match, it was priceless.
Li Na also said after her last grand slam final defeat at the Australian Open she felt she had learned from her mistakes and maybe she could do better and she certainly did. Its a shame in a way Andy Murray can't take the same approach, but that's one thing I noticed that Li Na had and that is crucial in winning slams, she had a good first serve. That's also how Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open as he worked on his serve, its the key to winning and until then Andy might never win one. Francesca had the same problem as Andy today too, as her serve started to crumble badly, in fact throughout the WTA tour her serve was decidedly poor and today I think also cost her the match, well that and the amount of unforced errors she made.
But again Li Na was too good, she came out strong and despite a few wobbles near the end, she maintained her level and closed out the match to take the title. Its a great achievement for not only herself but also for China, who have never before now had a player win a grand slam title. So there you go, in fact Li Na and Schiavone were both 29 when they won their first grand slam, so just maybe Andy if you keep on playing until then, just maybe you might yet win one! That's also an attitude Elena Baltacha is thinking of too, she is 27 just now so she has another two years to reach her peak and just maybe she can do the same too. So with Wimbledon round the corner and one grand slam already under her belt, I think everyone should watch out for Li Na and come the US Open too, watch out Kim!! :-)
So that's the woman's French Open tennis come to an end. Tomorrow we'll see the men's final which will be hugely anticipated by the world over, as its the classic showdown between Roger and Rafa. Who's going to win???? Hard to call, possibly Rafa will edge it, but the way Roger has been playing it could go the other way. Its going to be fun to find out, and I think we are in for a real treat.
So the concluding part of the City of Lights saga will come tomorrow, once we know who's fallen flat on their back in the clay, then lifted that trophy.
City of Lights Part 9: All good things must come to an end....
There are some reasons that I must admit I am quite eager to get back home to get on my nerdy blog and yak on about for my own private fun and today has given me one of them.
Yep of course I am referring to the French Open men's singles semi final matches between Andy Murray vs Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer vs Novak Djokovic. These matches naturally deserve their own paragraphs so that's what I'll do.
Starting with the Rafa vs Muzza match, on paper it sounded exciting and as we know Andy had already taken a set off Rafa at Monte-Carlo back in April, however this is a slam and its quite different. Nonethless we expected a great match, but did we get one??? Well sort of. To say it was great was going a bit too far, but overall the quality of match far outstripped for the quality of the ladies singles semis matches. For the first two sets Andy and Rafa both gave a fine high quality display of tennis for the Parisian crowds, but of course this being Rafa's backyard meant he had advantage straight off and Andy having never played Rafa at Roland Garros before was immediately at a disadvantage. So to cut a long story short Rafa defeated Andy in straight sets in 6-4, 7-5, 6-4, but the match was far from what the scoreline would suggest as being a straight set victory. Rafa did have to scrap with Andy to get the win as they battled it out over 3 hours and 18 minutes, however it has to be said Andy had his share of break points but he just didn't convert them, and again in those moments Andy just doesn't take his chances. To be fair he did at the start of the match play really well, but his serve dissolved rather badly as it went on and that again aided in costing him the match. But I wasn't for one minute expecting Andy to defeat the king of clay on his own surface, just to give him a match, and he did succeed in doing that. Even Rafa in his pre-match press conference said he felt Andy was a special player who's talent is difficult to compare to alot of other players, and he's absolutely right. When Andy plays the other top players he definitely has a special edge over the others that they don't have, I mean who else on the tour this year apart from Federer came within two points of beating Djokovic? No one else came close, but he did. Mats Wilander also said he felt Andy has the tennis, he has it in him to win the slams, but he just hasn't quite shown it yet, he will one day hopefully.
One thing I will definitely give Andy credit for was his attitude on court which was really good, he held it together well, showed alot more self control and maturity than he normally does. This time he kept his historinics to the minimum and in a way that was the most impressive thing about the match. If he can maintain that attitude then he is sure to do well in future matches, but his maturity is something that will come in time and will take some work. Anyway overall I think Andy did a good job today, he acquitted himself well and no one can expect to defeat the king at his own game in his backyard in one go. Andy has also had the best clay season of his career so far this year too, as he managed to reach three semi-finals in Monte-Carlo, Rome and at Roland Garros. No mean feat.
So onto the next match which was the more anticipated of the two I'd imagine between the greatest player that has ever played the game Roger Federer and the greatest player of the moment Novak Djokovic, who has had an unbeaten winning streak all year. And it has to be said that this match stood head over shoulders above Rafa and Muzzas in quality, as it saw both players hammer it out, which left the Parisian crowds shouting and baying for more, as they continually stood to their feet with rapturous applause. Without a doubt this match was one of the best if not the best match of year so far in 2011, as Djokovic truly met his match (no pun intended!) in Federer who pushed Djoko all the way and succeeded where no one else did in... get this.... ENDING his winning streak!! Yup that's right! Roger Federer who was the very man who last defeated Novak before his incredible winning streak took place, was also the man who ended it tonight!! Poetic justice I'd say. But I have to give both players full credit for this match as it was an utterly superb display of physical fitness and incredible shot making, as they both went at it full tilt. The first set was without a doubt one of the highest quality sets you will ever see where each player shared breaks until they made it 6-6 all, and in the tiebreak Roger sealed the first set, in the second Roger steamrolled over Djoko in 6-3, and in the 3rd Roger let his level dip to allow Djoko back in the match who took the set in 6-3. But in the 4th set it went to a nerve biting tiebreak once again where Roger finally prevailed, the final score reading 7-6(5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5). And when it comes to tiebreaks, Roger rarely loses.
So that's the end of Novak Djokovic's winning streak, all it took was 43 matches, and it wasn't as we thought initially Rafa who would end it, it was in fact the man who everyone's eyes was temporarily taken off, Roger Federer. But Federer's level throughout this whole tournament was so sublime you could almost see it coming, he hadn't dropped a set the whole tournament, and Djokovic did well to take him to that level himself considering. In fact I almost felt a bit sorry for Djokovic when he went off court, he does take loss very well, and he showed much humility when he went off. It was an incredible feat and a great run, but I think when it really came down to it, when he really felt the pressure in the slams with the No.1 ranking almost in his grasp he did bottle it a bit and lost his nerve somewhat. And its a testement to Federer's incredible agility, stamina and phenomenal ability as a player that lead him to snap the Djoker's unceasing run, and it was a performance that was nothing short of magnificent. I also think it will teach Djokovic a good lesson in humility too, as I can imagine when you win so much you forget what its like to lose, and he did need a good reminder and at the end of the day, when it comes to the slams there are players who can handle that pressure just that bit better. Not to sound nasty but I am glad Djokovic's winning run is over as it just went on so long and it shows while he is one of the best players in the world, he is also vulnerable too, and of course he'll just have to start all over again! But for now John McEnroe's 42 match record in one year is safe, as Djoko missed it by one. He might put together another streak, but I don't think it will be anywhere near as long, that's a once in a lifetime thing really. To quote Hal Holbrook who said to Charlie Sheen in the film Wall Street "You're on a roll, kid, enjoy it while it lasts, cos it never does!". Very true indeed.
Well I think Federer has handed Rafa the best birthday present he ever could have done, putting Djokovic out of the tournament, surely Rafa will be jumping for joy over that one! But Rafa does face Federer in the form of his life, so he's probably swapped one nightmare for another one! But I can still imagine Rafa is the favourite to win the title on Sunday, he certainly has the best chance now and surely he still wants to hang on to that No.1 ranking, and he is the ultimate clay court player and he will also equal Bjorn Borg's record of 6 titles if he does win. However with Federer's current form it could be him lifting that trophy tomorrow! But without a doubt its going to be a great match and one which I'm sure everyone will want to see. The Parisians will once again be wetting themselves!
So that's all fer now, tomorrow sees the woman's final between the defending champion Francesca Schiavone and the Chinese No.1 Li Na, who is in her 2nd consecutive grand slam final this year. They are both really good players, great athletes that move well round the court and have an array of great shots, so its going to be really interesting who will emerge as the winner. And I'm sure it should be a 3 set battle, overall its hard to pick the winner, but I think Schiavone will edge it.
And that's it. More to follow!!
Yep of course I am referring to the French Open men's singles semi final matches between Andy Murray vs Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer vs Novak Djokovic. These matches naturally deserve their own paragraphs so that's what I'll do.
Starting with the Rafa vs Muzza match, on paper it sounded exciting and as we know Andy had already taken a set off Rafa at Monte-Carlo back in April, however this is a slam and its quite different. Nonethless we expected a great match, but did we get one??? Well sort of. To say it was great was going a bit too far, but overall the quality of match far outstripped for the quality of the ladies singles semis matches. For the first two sets Andy and Rafa both gave a fine high quality display of tennis for the Parisian crowds, but of course this being Rafa's backyard meant he had advantage straight off and Andy having never played Rafa at Roland Garros before was immediately at a disadvantage. So to cut a long story short Rafa defeated Andy in straight sets in 6-4, 7-5, 6-4, but the match was far from what the scoreline would suggest as being a straight set victory. Rafa did have to scrap with Andy to get the win as they battled it out over 3 hours and 18 minutes, however it has to be said Andy had his share of break points but he just didn't convert them, and again in those moments Andy just doesn't take his chances. To be fair he did at the start of the match play really well, but his serve dissolved rather badly as it went on and that again aided in costing him the match. But I wasn't for one minute expecting Andy to defeat the king of clay on his own surface, just to give him a match, and he did succeed in doing that. Even Rafa in his pre-match press conference said he felt Andy was a special player who's talent is difficult to compare to alot of other players, and he's absolutely right. When Andy plays the other top players he definitely has a special edge over the others that they don't have, I mean who else on the tour this year apart from Federer came within two points of beating Djokovic? No one else came close, but he did. Mats Wilander also said he felt Andy has the tennis, he has it in him to win the slams, but he just hasn't quite shown it yet, he will one day hopefully.
One thing I will definitely give Andy credit for was his attitude on court which was really good, he held it together well, showed alot more self control and maturity than he normally does. This time he kept his historinics to the minimum and in a way that was the most impressive thing about the match. If he can maintain that attitude then he is sure to do well in future matches, but his maturity is something that will come in time and will take some work. Anyway overall I think Andy did a good job today, he acquitted himself well and no one can expect to defeat the king at his own game in his backyard in one go. Andy has also had the best clay season of his career so far this year too, as he managed to reach three semi-finals in Monte-Carlo, Rome and at Roland Garros. No mean feat.
So onto the next match which was the more anticipated of the two I'd imagine between the greatest player that has ever played the game Roger Federer and the greatest player of the moment Novak Djokovic, who has had an unbeaten winning streak all year. And it has to be said that this match stood head over shoulders above Rafa and Muzzas in quality, as it saw both players hammer it out, which left the Parisian crowds shouting and baying for more, as they continually stood to their feet with rapturous applause. Without a doubt this match was one of the best if not the best match of year so far in 2011, as Djokovic truly met his match (no pun intended!) in Federer who pushed Djoko all the way and succeeded where no one else did in... get this.... ENDING his winning streak!! Yup that's right! Roger Federer who was the very man who last defeated Novak before his incredible winning streak took place, was also the man who ended it tonight!! Poetic justice I'd say. But I have to give both players full credit for this match as it was an utterly superb display of physical fitness and incredible shot making, as they both went at it full tilt. The first set was without a doubt one of the highest quality sets you will ever see where each player shared breaks until they made it 6-6 all, and in the tiebreak Roger sealed the first set, in the second Roger steamrolled over Djoko in 6-3, and in the 3rd Roger let his level dip to allow Djoko back in the match who took the set in 6-3. But in the 4th set it went to a nerve biting tiebreak once again where Roger finally prevailed, the final score reading 7-6(5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5). And when it comes to tiebreaks, Roger rarely loses.
So that's the end of Novak Djokovic's winning streak, all it took was 43 matches, and it wasn't as we thought initially Rafa who would end it, it was in fact the man who everyone's eyes was temporarily taken off, Roger Federer. But Federer's level throughout this whole tournament was so sublime you could almost see it coming, he hadn't dropped a set the whole tournament, and Djokovic did well to take him to that level himself considering. In fact I almost felt a bit sorry for Djokovic when he went off court, he does take loss very well, and he showed much humility when he went off. It was an incredible feat and a great run, but I think when it really came down to it, when he really felt the pressure in the slams with the No.1 ranking almost in his grasp he did bottle it a bit and lost his nerve somewhat. And its a testement to Federer's incredible agility, stamina and phenomenal ability as a player that lead him to snap the Djoker's unceasing run, and it was a performance that was nothing short of magnificent. I also think it will teach Djokovic a good lesson in humility too, as I can imagine when you win so much you forget what its like to lose, and he did need a good reminder and at the end of the day, when it comes to the slams there are players who can handle that pressure just that bit better. Not to sound nasty but I am glad Djokovic's winning run is over as it just went on so long and it shows while he is one of the best players in the world, he is also vulnerable too, and of course he'll just have to start all over again! But for now John McEnroe's 42 match record in one year is safe, as Djoko missed it by one. He might put together another streak, but I don't think it will be anywhere near as long, that's a once in a lifetime thing really. To quote Hal Holbrook who said to Charlie Sheen in the film Wall Street "You're on a roll, kid, enjoy it while it lasts, cos it never does!". Very true indeed.
Well I think Federer has handed Rafa the best birthday present he ever could have done, putting Djokovic out of the tournament, surely Rafa will be jumping for joy over that one! But Rafa does face Federer in the form of his life, so he's probably swapped one nightmare for another one! But I can still imagine Rafa is the favourite to win the title on Sunday, he certainly has the best chance now and surely he still wants to hang on to that No.1 ranking, and he is the ultimate clay court player and he will also equal Bjorn Borg's record of 6 titles if he does win. However with Federer's current form it could be him lifting that trophy tomorrow! But without a doubt its going to be a great match and one which I'm sure everyone will want to see. The Parisians will once again be wetting themselves!
So that's all fer now, tomorrow sees the woman's final between the defending champion Francesca Schiavone and the Chinese No.1 Li Na, who is in her 2nd consecutive grand slam final this year. They are both really good players, great athletes that move well round the court and have an array of great shots, so its going to be really interesting who will emerge as the winner. And I'm sure it should be a 3 set battle, overall its hard to pick the winner, but I think Schiavone will edge it.
And that's it. More to follow!!
Thursday 2 June 2011
City of Lights Part 8: Don't you just HATE the wind?????
Well today was the woman's semi finals at the French Open and the two matches were very much anticipated to be great classics in the making. However the wind played a big factor in taking the oommphh factor out of the play.
So to start with the Sharapova vs Li Na match, I really was honestly expecting Sharapova to come through this one, but I was very surprised by Li Na, who was in full control right from the beginning as she hit through the ball so much better. Meanwhile Sharapova's serve crumbled under pressure not only that but I think the wind totally took the sails out of Sharapova's play, it affected Li Na's as well but not to the same extent. And at the end I felt so disappointed for Sharapova because her match ended on a double fault which saw Li Na move into the final winning 6-4, 7-5. And I think she had 10 double faults througout the match, which is pretty bad. So that's Li Na into her second consecutive grand slam final this year, whether or not she can win on Saturday we'll soon find out.
So onto the second match of the day, Francesca Schiavone vs Marion Bartoli, which promised again to deliver a great deal. And to be fair it started off great, the first set was a pretty tight affair with some great shots from both players, although it was Schiavone that drew first blood and broke Bartoli's serve to take the set in 6-3. In the second set Marion took the advantage straight off and got the early break, however with the wind playing up once again, Bartoli's serve faltered badly and the unforced errors crept in letting Schiavone to break back. Once it was 3-3 all, Schiavone seized the initative again and broke Bartoli, and after that it was plain sailing for the Italian. I think the quality of the Barty and Schiavone match was better overall, but if it wasn't for the wind they could have been out there so much longer. But in the end Schiavone was the better player and a much fitter athlete, who moves very well round the court and Bartoli just didn't have the legs to keep up.
So its Li Na vs Schiavone for the final on Saturday, it should be a good one, they are both fit athletes with contrasting styles of play, Schiavone is firey and passionate while Li Na is calm, composed and methodical. So we will see how the state of play goes, I think Schiavone will edge it and will use the crowd to her advantage, plus she has won there last year so I think she will draw on her previous win to claim her second title. However I was wrong about Sharapova winning and moving through to the final today, so just maybe China might have their first ever grand slam champion. We'll see!!!
But I do have to say that I am really disappointed in Caroline Wozniacki's performance at the French Open this year, she start well playing a woman twice her age, but then after that her playing got shaky in the 2nd round and by the 3rd it was rubbish. To go in the 3rd round of a grand slam and be the World No.1 really isn't a good result, which is why I think Caz isn't really living up to her ranking just now. Another thing I noticed is during the WTA tour she continually brings her dad Piotr on who is her coach and in the slams the ladies players can't bring on their coaches, so I could see her struggling to work things out without her dad's help. Which means she really needs to try and be more independant of her dad when playing in the tour, as it will help her work things out for herself, so when it comes to the slams she will be more mentally prepared.
So the men's semi finals setup is on ramorra, with Andy vs Rafa, and Federer vs Djokovic. However I just hope the wind doesn't knock the sails out of both matches again, especially Andy's match as it could really knock him off and let Rafa rip right into him, but we'll see. But I have to say without getting into it too much that Rafa will win, and Djokovic I think will the be favourite to win, but you never know, it might Roger and Andy in that final!! And everyone usually has such low expectations of Andy in the slams in the latter stages that we overlook the possible fact he might just do it. But I have to agree with the sceptics, I don't see Andy winning this one, but I think he will try his best and raise his game tomorrow, he'll have to, otherwise it'll be a straight set drubbing.
So predictions for ramorra: Rafa win in 4 sets (at best 5, at worst 3 if Andy goes tits up. Don't Andy!). Djokovic in 5 sets. Its gonna be a belter, so a word of warning to the wind: don't mess it up, alright??????????!!!!!
Later.
So to start with the Sharapova vs Li Na match, I really was honestly expecting Sharapova to come through this one, but I was very surprised by Li Na, who was in full control right from the beginning as she hit through the ball so much better. Meanwhile Sharapova's serve crumbled under pressure not only that but I think the wind totally took the sails out of Sharapova's play, it affected Li Na's as well but not to the same extent. And at the end I felt so disappointed for Sharapova because her match ended on a double fault which saw Li Na move into the final winning 6-4, 7-5. And I think she had 10 double faults througout the match, which is pretty bad. So that's Li Na into her second consecutive grand slam final this year, whether or not she can win on Saturday we'll soon find out.
So onto the second match of the day, Francesca Schiavone vs Marion Bartoli, which promised again to deliver a great deal. And to be fair it started off great, the first set was a pretty tight affair with some great shots from both players, although it was Schiavone that drew first blood and broke Bartoli's serve to take the set in 6-3. In the second set Marion took the advantage straight off and got the early break, however with the wind playing up once again, Bartoli's serve faltered badly and the unforced errors crept in letting Schiavone to break back. Once it was 3-3 all, Schiavone seized the initative again and broke Bartoli, and after that it was plain sailing for the Italian. I think the quality of the Barty and Schiavone match was better overall, but if it wasn't for the wind they could have been out there so much longer. But in the end Schiavone was the better player and a much fitter athlete, who moves very well round the court and Bartoli just didn't have the legs to keep up.
So its Li Na vs Schiavone for the final on Saturday, it should be a good one, they are both fit athletes with contrasting styles of play, Schiavone is firey and passionate while Li Na is calm, composed and methodical. So we will see how the state of play goes, I think Schiavone will edge it and will use the crowd to her advantage, plus she has won there last year so I think she will draw on her previous win to claim her second title. However I was wrong about Sharapova winning and moving through to the final today, so just maybe China might have their first ever grand slam champion. We'll see!!!
But I do have to say that I am really disappointed in Caroline Wozniacki's performance at the French Open this year, she start well playing a woman twice her age, but then after that her playing got shaky in the 2nd round and by the 3rd it was rubbish. To go in the 3rd round of a grand slam and be the World No.1 really isn't a good result, which is why I think Caz isn't really living up to her ranking just now. Another thing I noticed is during the WTA tour she continually brings her dad Piotr on who is her coach and in the slams the ladies players can't bring on their coaches, so I could see her struggling to work things out without her dad's help. Which means she really needs to try and be more independant of her dad when playing in the tour, as it will help her work things out for herself, so when it comes to the slams she will be more mentally prepared.
So the men's semi finals setup is on ramorra, with Andy vs Rafa, and Federer vs Djokovic. However I just hope the wind doesn't knock the sails out of both matches again, especially Andy's match as it could really knock him off and let Rafa rip right into him, but we'll see. But I have to say without getting into it too much that Rafa will win, and Djokovic I think will the be favourite to win, but you never know, it might Roger and Andy in that final!! And everyone usually has such low expectations of Andy in the slams in the latter stages that we overlook the possible fact he might just do it. But I have to agree with the sceptics, I don't see Andy winning this one, but I think he will try his best and raise his game tomorrow, he'll have to, otherwise it'll be a straight set drubbing.
So predictions for ramorra: Rafa win in 4 sets (at best 5, at worst 3 if Andy goes tits up. Don't Andy!). Djokovic in 5 sets. Its gonna be a belter, so a word of warning to the wind: don't mess it up, alright??????????!!!!!
Later.
Wednesday 1 June 2011
City of Lights Part 7: Now its mouth waterrrrrrrring!
Phew what a day it has been for the quarter finals at Roland Garros, which saw both the men and ladies slog it out for a place in the semi finals.
First up Maria Sharapova took on the rising German star Andrea Petkovic, and I thought myself it would have been a tougher match, but Sharapova just blootered her off the court. Sharapova demolished Petkovic in the first set 6-0 and despite a mini break back from Petko, Maria resumed normal service and ended the match 6-3. I think its a safe bet to say that Sharapova will win the French Open title, she is playing her best tennis again and she has been demolishing players left right and centre and today what she did was incredible, if she doesn't come through I'd be very surprised. Tomorrow she faces Li Na, so we will see how that goes but I firmly predict a Sharapova win.
Next up Li Na as I just mentioned also had a straight set victory over Victoria Azarenka, which was kind of surprising as Li Na came through in 7-5 6-2. So it just shows you, you never can tell, I thought Vika would be the favourite to win that one, but that's tennis, hard to predict sometimes.
Now for the men's quarter finals, starting with Nadal who took on Robin Soderling, which promised to be quite a battle but in the end Rafa brought his game to the match and defeated Robin in straight sets. However it wasn't quite as straightforward as despite a 6-4, 6-1 lead, Robin started playing better and pushed Nadal to a 3rd set tiebreak, but it was Nadal who took the upper hand and won it 7-6(3). Rafa also looked much more confident out there today as he much more spring in his step as well as upping his game very well indeed.
Which brings us to arguably the match of the day, well one of them with Andy Murray taking on the Argentine Juan Inglio Chela. Andy has had a pretty good match record against Chela as he has beaten him every time they play, so you can't get better than that. But of course it still wasn't the easiest of encounters as Andy started off poorly once again, dragging 1-4 down, however after that he rattled off the next four games to make it 5-5 all, and then took the first set in a tiebreaker. In the second set Andy started out strong with a break of serve but then dropped his own serve to again level it at 5-5 all, Andy broke again to serve for the set. In the third set after a slightly shaky start Andy broke and rattled off 4 more games to win the match in 7-6, 7-5, 6-2. This seals his place in the semi finals with none other than the king of clay himself, Rafael Nadal.
So its safe to say a mountain challenge awaits him as he attempts to dethrone the king of clay in a grand slam semi final. This is the first time Andy has reached the semi finals at Roland Garros, and despite some rather ropey moments it has been the most impressive achievement of his clay season bar none. Whether or not Andy can dig out a win against Rafa on Friday is very uncertain and seems very doubtful. But then again this man has come through some real setbacks this week and won inspite of the odds that have been stacked against him. Could he pull off another miracle this Friday? Hmmmmmm. As much as I would like to believe that I remain sceptacle. But what I will say is if Andy can beat Nadal on Friday, I think for sure the title is his. To beat the red dirt king at his own game would give any player a mountain of confidence especially in a grand slam, and at the point you can say to hell with Djokovic or Federer as I can't beat anyone now!! He already has outwith the slams, I think its high time he did it in them. If only once.
But the thing with Andy is he does let his emotions get in the way of his game too often, and Rafa will use that to win the big points, but then again that could help knock Rafa off his game, but I can more often see Andy dropping serve and hitting that net at crucial points, he has been known to do it. So it is a big ask and from here I still can't see it, but I think we are all living in hope of that day he proves us all wrong. It might be this Friday or Sunday, but something tells me Britain's 75 year wait for a grand slam singles men's champion will have to carry on waiting. My own prediction for the match is Rafa winning in 4 sets or at a real stretch 5 sets, I think Andy can trouble him enough to drop a set, but probably not beyond that. But then again they have played each other so often and over the last two times Andy posed a real threat to Rafa, but those two occasions weren't in slams and this is. But Friday will reveal all.
Regardless that's two mouth watering semi finals coming up on Friday for the men and tomorrow two more exciting semi finals await for the woman. For the women it will be Schiavone vs Bartoli and Li Na and Sharapova, so I think we are all in for a real treat over the next two days.
Cannae wait!! Stay tuned.
First up Maria Sharapova took on the rising German star Andrea Petkovic, and I thought myself it would have been a tougher match, but Sharapova just blootered her off the court. Sharapova demolished Petkovic in the first set 6-0 and despite a mini break back from Petko, Maria resumed normal service and ended the match 6-3. I think its a safe bet to say that Sharapova will win the French Open title, she is playing her best tennis again and she has been demolishing players left right and centre and today what she did was incredible, if she doesn't come through I'd be very surprised. Tomorrow she faces Li Na, so we will see how that goes but I firmly predict a Sharapova win.
Next up Li Na as I just mentioned also had a straight set victory over Victoria Azarenka, which was kind of surprising as Li Na came through in 7-5 6-2. So it just shows you, you never can tell, I thought Vika would be the favourite to win that one, but that's tennis, hard to predict sometimes.
Now for the men's quarter finals, starting with Nadal who took on Robin Soderling, which promised to be quite a battle but in the end Rafa brought his game to the match and defeated Robin in straight sets. However it wasn't quite as straightforward as despite a 6-4, 6-1 lead, Robin started playing better and pushed Nadal to a 3rd set tiebreak, but it was Nadal who took the upper hand and won it 7-6(3). Rafa also looked much more confident out there today as he much more spring in his step as well as upping his game very well indeed.
Which brings us to arguably the match of the day, well one of them with Andy Murray taking on the Argentine Juan Inglio Chela. Andy has had a pretty good match record against Chela as he has beaten him every time they play, so you can't get better than that. But of course it still wasn't the easiest of encounters as Andy started off poorly once again, dragging 1-4 down, however after that he rattled off the next four games to make it 5-5 all, and then took the first set in a tiebreaker. In the second set Andy started out strong with a break of serve but then dropped his own serve to again level it at 5-5 all, Andy broke again to serve for the set. In the third set after a slightly shaky start Andy broke and rattled off 4 more games to win the match in 7-6, 7-5, 6-2. This seals his place in the semi finals with none other than the king of clay himself, Rafael Nadal.
So its safe to say a mountain challenge awaits him as he attempts to dethrone the king of clay in a grand slam semi final. This is the first time Andy has reached the semi finals at Roland Garros, and despite some rather ropey moments it has been the most impressive achievement of his clay season bar none. Whether or not Andy can dig out a win against Rafa on Friday is very uncertain and seems very doubtful. But then again this man has come through some real setbacks this week and won inspite of the odds that have been stacked against him. Could he pull off another miracle this Friday? Hmmmmmm. As much as I would like to believe that I remain sceptacle. But what I will say is if Andy can beat Nadal on Friday, I think for sure the title is his. To beat the red dirt king at his own game would give any player a mountain of confidence especially in a grand slam, and at the point you can say to hell with Djokovic or Federer as I can't beat anyone now!! He already has outwith the slams, I think its high time he did it in them. If only once.
But the thing with Andy is he does let his emotions get in the way of his game too often, and Rafa will use that to win the big points, but then again that could help knock Rafa off his game, but I can more often see Andy dropping serve and hitting that net at crucial points, he has been known to do it. So it is a big ask and from here I still can't see it, but I think we are all living in hope of that day he proves us all wrong. It might be this Friday or Sunday, but something tells me Britain's 75 year wait for a grand slam singles men's champion will have to carry on waiting. My own prediction for the match is Rafa winning in 4 sets or at a real stretch 5 sets, I think Andy can trouble him enough to drop a set, but probably not beyond that. But then again they have played each other so often and over the last two times Andy posed a real threat to Rafa, but those two occasions weren't in slams and this is. But Friday will reveal all.
Regardless that's two mouth watering semi finals coming up on Friday for the men and tomorrow two more exciting semi finals await for the woman. For the women it will be Schiavone vs Bartoli and Li Na and Sharapova, so I think we are all in for a real treat over the next two days.
Cannae wait!! Stay tuned.
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