OK so here's Part 4 of the updates for the ATP and WTA tournaments from Barcelona and Stuttgart respectively.
Starting with the men quickly, the two semi finals took place on Saturday and were between David Ferrer and Milos Raonic, and Rafa Nadal and Fernando Verdasco. First up was Ferrer who play against the talented, giant serving Canadian Milos Raonic, who took out Andy Murray the other day. In this match however, things were a bit more tightly contested, as neither player got a break of serve in either set, and it took a tiebreak to separate them both. However with a head to head of 3-0 in Ferrer's favour, he was able to utilise his clay court skills and dig out another win against the big Canadian, to reach his 4th Barcelona Open final in 7-6(2), 7-6(5). And in the next match, Rafa took on his fellow Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco, however their match was something of a cakewalk in comparison, as Rafa ruthlessly dominated in the 1st set, handing Verdasco a clay bagel, but in the 2nd set, Verdasco did a little better to hold, faltering once to hand the crucial break to Rafa, which saw Rafa storm into the final with a crushing 6-0, 6-4 victory.
So this sets up a potentially very good final, which deservedly is between the two best clay court players in the game just now (excluding Djokovic and Federer as they aren't traditional clay courters) and this will be their 4th final together. But asking who is going to win this one, really is a no brainer, and it has to be Ferrer, ahem! Sorry the other guy! ;-) Yes there's no doubt at all that Rafa will be the winner this time as well, as he has already won the event six times, as Ferrer has never won it, and it would take a mighty special performance from the gutsy 5ft 9" Spaniard to do it. But you have to look at the stats and Rafa has not even yet dropped a single set on clay this year, which is a very scary fact, and I'd be surprsied if he even dropped one today. However I just hope Ferrer gives Rafa a good match today and that they play a worthy final.
Right now onto the ladies matches in Stuttgart at the Porsche Grand Prix Tennis event, which saw the top four players in the world go at it for a place in the final. First off we had the No.1 Victoria Azarenka take on the No.4 player, Agnieszka Radwanska in what turned out to be a very one-sided match, with Victoria ruthelessly dominating the play in the 1st set, breaking her opponent twice. In the 2nd set things got a little more competitive from Radwanska, who suffered only the one break of serve, and did her best, with a back injury (which she had a medical timeout for). But it was a case of too little too late, as Azarenka closed the barn door on the Pole for the 5th time this year, securing her first final in Stuttgart with an emphatic 6-1, 6-3 victory.
I could just tell right from the get go that this would be a one sided match, as Vika has already ruthlessly brushed past Radwanska in their previous meetings, and I didn't see why this would be different. I have to admit, although while at times I'm not her biggest fan, I did feel a bit sorry for Radwanska, as she really cut a forlorn figure on the court, as she almost looked resigned to the fact that she was going to get beat, and in the end she was powerless to do anything about it. But I find it bizarre that the 4th best player in the world struggles so much to even take more than 4 or 5 games off the World No.1, whereas a player such as Barthel can push her all the way. It seems like Azarenka is the one player who can get into Radwanska's head, and the only to have done so this year so far. I just wish in a way that Azarenka would play someone else in the semis like Caroline Wozniacki, where you know she will give her opponent a match, but that's the reality of it so far. However Victoria once again did show why she is the best player in the world just now, and she deserves to be in the final.
Next up we had Maria Sharapova take on last year's Wimbledon Champion, Petra Kvitova, who Sharapova had defeated in their last meeting in the Australian Open semis. And unlike the previous Vika and Aga match, this one was far more competitive and entertaining as Maria and Petra really went at it on the red clay. The first set went to Maria securing a crucial break, and in the first set Petra kept going for too many winners off Maria's 1st and 2nd serve. The 2nd set however was far more tight, and despite getting a break at 6-5, with Maria serving for the match, Petra broke back to take it into a tiebreak, where Maria once again dominated and sealed her place in the final, winning 6-4, 7-6(3).
Well well well, there is no doubt it that in this match Maria was the better player, and she rightfully so far has proved to be 2nd best player in the world, as she has managed to defeat everyone else except Azarenka (well and Radwanska, so maybe Radwanska should be No.2! ;-)). And this match was further evidence of Maria's terrific competitiveness and determination. I'm also really surprised at just how well Maria has improved her movement as she has become much faster around the court, and surprisingly enough her game is well suited to clay, which you wouldn't expect, as she is very much a hard court player. Maria also showed a touch more deftness in her shot making, coming into the net playing a few vollies, rather than just blasting the ball from the back of the court, which is really good, as she needs to inject a bit more variety into her game, which could help her in the next match.
So who will win the Stuttgart final? Or more to the point, who will win the fancy Porsche sports car they have on display in the court???? Well once again I have to say Victoria will win the match, as she really is the best player in the world just now, and her wins over Maria this year alone have been pretty emphatic, having crushed her in the Aussie final 6-3, 6-0, and in Indian Wells 6-2, 6-3. Which is why I get disappointed every single time they play in a final, as its just way too easy for Azarenka, and that's one of things I don't like watching about Victoria's finals in general, they are just too one-sided in her favour, so it could be just more one-way traffic, which could make for a rather tedious final. However Maria has said that she will try and look at her mistakes from last time and try to work on them, and I hope she does, because I don't see her winning today but all you can hope for is she turns it into a more competitive match, but whichever way it goes, I'm still looking forward to it.
Rrrright that's eeeeet for the now. More to follow after the finals.
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