Ok finally after taking a good break of 5 posts that have had nothing at all to do with tennis I thought I would get back to it and post up something about the Sony Ericsson Open tournament in Miami, which started last week there. So far we are into the 3rd round, with the 4th round just (pardon the pun) round the corner, so here's a quick catch up.
On the men's side of the net, Federer got through his 2nd match against the American lad Ryan Harrison, who gave him a bit of tough time in the 2nd set, before closing it out in a tiebreak, winning 6-2, 7-6. This will set up a potentially exciting encounter with Andy Roddick, whom Roger will play tonight, so it might be either be a doddle or a very interesting contest, we will soon find out. Rafa also comfortably made his passage into the 4th round, after defeating Santiago Giraldo and Radek Stepanek easily in straight sets, although next up he will face Kei Nishikori, who has been fast rising up, so it could be his first test. Andy Murray also made it through with ease against his first round opponent, Alejandro Falla, in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, despite having a mini wobble in the 2nd set, dropping his serve, he broke back and closed it out no probs. Andy after receiving a 3rd round walkover, will next face Gilles Simon, the Frenchman in the 4th, whom he has a very good record against, although they have had some tough matches in the past, but it should be a good one, and the Muzza should get through. And Djokovic also made safe entry into the 3rd round, although he had a tougher match against Marcos Baghdatis, and faced a few break points in the 2nd set, but Djoko came through and won in 6-4, 6-4. Next up for Djoko is his fellow Serb, Viktor Troicki, so that should be an interesting one, but I'd imagine it will be a straight set win for the Djokster.
Now onto the ladies, which so far has been very interesting, and has seen a few underdogs come through, who have toppled out some of the seeded players. One of those particular players in the wee British player, Heather Watson, who undoubtedly is worth keeping an eye. In her first match, Heather played against Simone Cirstea of Romania, and was at one point 0-5 down in the 3rd set, but she made an amazing comeback and rattled off the next 5 games to draw level, and she went on to win the tiebreak and the match. This was quite a comeback for the young British player, and in the 2nd round she was even more impressive, when she faced the Czeck player Lucie Safarova, who is ranked in the top 30, and despite that ranking, Heather crushed her in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1. However in her 3rd round match, Heather was given a no-win scenario against the World No.1, Victoria Azarenka, and right enough it proved to be just that, as the Belursian flattened the spirited Guernsey lass in 6-0, 6-2, ouch. To be honest we couldn't have expected anything less from Victoria who has been utterly unstoppable so far this year, and has now raked up 25 match wins in 2012 and counting. And for Heather it was unfortunate that she wasn't able to produce her best tennis against the best player in the world, but she simply wasn't able to or allowed to, so that's that. But Heather should definitely take heart in what has been a very impressive effort at a Premier Mandatory level event on the WTA tour.
Moving onto other ladies matches, the Williams sisters returned to the game in Miami, and they have both so far managed to make it into the 3rd round, with Serena today having a US Open final re-match today against Sam Stosur. This promises to be a really good match, but I have to say I think Serena will win this one this time. And despite the fact I'm not a big fan of hers, I hope Serena does win because it will give her a chance of advancing into later rounds and just maybe she could set up a final with Azarenka, now that would be a real mouth watering prospect. As Serena is probably just about the only player on the tour just now that could possibly beat Victoria, but if they were to meet I would still favour Vika as the favourite to win, simply because of her extensive match play and confidence and believe levels are through the roof, but more on that in a tick.
Venus Williams also made a very impressive comeback to the game after being out with Sjorgen's Syndrome, an auto-immune disorder than causes chronic fatigue. Venus in the 2nd round defeated the reigning Wimbledon champion, Petra Kvitova in 6-4, 4-6, 6-0, and went on to defeat a very tricky opponent, the Canadian Alexsandra Wozniak in a very close match, which was a real see-saw battle, which Venus eventually won in a tiebreak, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6. This sets up a 4th round encounter with the former World No.1 and saucy Serb, Ana Inanovic, who just knocked out Daniela Hantuchova in the 3rd just there. And in other matches, Caroline Wozniacki defeated Petra Cetkovska, in a tight straight setter, 6-3, 7-5, as they shared a few breaks in the 2nd set. Caroline will next face Yanina Wickmayer, who upset Kim Clijsters, in straight sets, where again they traded breaks, but Yanina won the match in the 2nd set tiebreak, 6-4, 7-6. So I'm hoping Caroline will win this one, but given her current dip in form of late, Yanina could be the favourite here. Meanwhile Agnieszka Radwanska, who has been sky rocketing up the rankings lately, and just made the World No.4 spot, had no trouble at all getting past her 3rd round opponent Soler Espinosa in 6-1, 6-2.
As for Victoria Azarenka and her current run of form, here's a bit more about that, which I have to say so far has been really impressive. I quite like Victoria as well, off court she comes across a nice person, who is quite easy going and enjoys a laugh, on court she definitely has that aggressive demeanour, that may alienate her from certain people, not to mention her ridiculous grunting, but I can forgive that to be honest. And so far she remains unbeaten with a perfect 25-0 record this year so far, and it looks like it is in no danger of ending soon, or is it??? With the Williams sisters back in the picture in Miami, it makes things a bit more interesting and exciting, and despite the odd match or two, Azarenka has rarely been tested this year. So if she were to meet with both sisters, and she is in the same half of the draw as Venus, so if Venus wins her match against Ana Ivanovic, then they are almost certain to play each other. And if Serena makes her way to the final, which she could well do, then it could be a very exciting final, and pretty much the best we can hope for. And without the Williams sisters in Miami, and if they are knocked out early, then I can't see anyone else in the draw who can stay with Azarenka in a match. The only other possible players that could give her a match are Marion Bartoli, and Caroline Wozniacki, particularly Caroline. I say this because they have a close head to head, which Caroline leads 4-2 in her favour, although given her current dip in form, Victoria could potentially beat her easily. But for me Caroline is like to Victoria, what Andy Murray is to Novak Djokovic, a potential nemesis, and I look forward to their next meeting, which I hope isn't too far away.
Right that's it for now, more soon on round 4.
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