Best ATP/slam tour grass court matches of 2012

Ok so here is yet another post that is to do with my review of some of the best matches from the grass court season this year, and while the season is still actually ongoing as the Olympics is held at Wimbledon just now, I will probably add any further matches from that if any are deemed worthy enough. ;-)  So without a further ado here it goes...

5. 2012 Olympic Games, semi final, Andy Murray d. Novak Djokovic, 7-5, 7-5.

Starting with this very entertaining match, we saw Andy Murray, the GB hope who was going for his first Olympic medal, but one man that stood in his way from reaching the final was Novak Djokovic.  And on paper Djokovic was the natural favourite to win the match, however it proved to be quite the opposite, as Andy was on absolute fire in this tournament and he came out firing on all cylinders as he took it to Nole.  This match saw Andy and Novak's fledgling rivalry that was blossoming throughout 2012 carry on in fine style, and in the match both men traded some exciting rallies, but it was Andy that came out on top of most of them, and he also managed to hold onto his serve in the crucial moments, avoiding break points on several occassions, as didn't let Nole into the match.  And it was Andy that managed to get the key break in each set, which after the 2nd set, he sank to his knees in delight, as the crowd on Wimbledon centre court erupted in delight at their home favourite reaching the final to play Roger Federer.  But this was definitely one of the most enjoyable matches of the grass court season.

4. Wimbledon championships, semi final, Andy Murray d. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5

This match couldn't really not be in this list because it ranks as one of the most memorable and above all historic matches in recent years, particularly in grand slam history, as Andy Murray was bidding to become the first British singles player to reach the Wimbledon final since Bunny Austin in 1938.  In the match itself, Andy for the first two sets, probably played the best match of his career, serving and returning magnificently to take a 2 set lead.  However in the 3rd set Andy's level dropped as he lost serve to let Tsonga find his way into the match after being on the receiving end of the Muzza, and Tsonga went on to win the 3rd set.  The 4th set however must rank as one of the most nerve shredding sets of tennis ever played, as Andy knew what was at steak he battled with Tsonga, breaking at one point, but only to have Tsonga break back, and both men held serve until 6-5, with Tsonga serving to take the match into a tiebreak, Andy managed to get the most crucial break of his career to take him into his first ever Wimbledon final.  You could almost say this was a match of two halves, with Andy in firm control for the first two sets, and in the 2nd two sets, we got a real battle, as both men knew what was at steak  But in the end it was Andy's day and he became the first British man to reach the Wimbledon final in 74 years, and his 4th slam final overall, just a pity he came second best in that one.

3. Wimbledon championships, quarter final, Andy Murray d. David Ferrer, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 7-6

When you watch Andy Murray's matches, there are several different varieties, and there are matches that are bad for your nerves to watch, and then some, and this is probably is the single most nerve wracking match of Andy Murray's career.  The main reason for this is because of the form of David Ferrer in the tournament was formidable, who played superbly in the tournament, and had previously beaten Andy in their two meetings, most recently at the French, and there were moments in this match where it could have been the same.  After dropping the first set, and taking the 2nd set to a tiebreak, Andy was a mini break down, but managed to play the vital points to level match.  After winning the 3rd set, it was even Steven in the 4th set, with Ferrer staying close with Andy, with the play going to another tiebreak, but this time Andy found a break, and went on to seal the win with an ace down the T, ending an exhaustive, brutal match.  This really was one of those matches I could scarcely watch at times because it was so utterly intense throughout, and it really could have gone Ferrer's way, but Andy deserves nothing but credit for his tenacity and improved ability to play under high pressure, which couldn't have been more intense than it was here.  And both players played some of their best tennis throughout the match as well, which must have kept the audiences off the edge of their seats, in fact they must have fallen off onto the floor!  But after this match you kind of knew Andy had already done the hard work in order to reach the final, Ferrer was the real hurdle, and he made it

2. Wimbledon championships, Final, Roger Federer d. Andy Murray, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.

Well this was the match many people had been waiting for, for quite a while and it was one match I'm sure that Andy Murray was waiting his life for, to reach the Wimbledon final.  However his opponent was only the 6 time champion, Roger Federer, who played some of his best tennis in the previous two matches, so it was a tall order to beat him.  And after 3 successive slam final defeats, Andy hoped to turn that around, and he got off to a strong start as he managed to win his first ever set in a major final, and he also managed to maintain his intensity level in the 2nd set, with a few break point chances against Fed.  But Roger being Roger, managed to pull out a few genius shots to break Andy to grab the 2nd set, and at the start of the 3rd the cruel fate of the Gods saw the rain come on, which meant one thing, closing the roof.  And given Roger's incredible record for winning indoor matches, and with no outside elements to deal with, Fed went on to take control of the match, winning the 3rd set, and breaking in the 4th to seal his 7th Wimbledon title.

After the previous disappointment of the last two Wimbledon finals of 2010 and 2011, this final more than made up for that, as both players played some high quality tennis for the energised crowd.  And for once in a grand slam final, Andy Murray showed up, and after suffering the inglorious defeat last year at the hands of Djokovic, winning a mere 9 games, this time Andy doubled his luck, winning 18 games.  In this match we also saw Andy play some aggressive tennis that showed the progress he really has been making since Ivan Lendl took over the coaching duties.  But it was Roger that provided the moments of genius that ensured the title was his, and at 30, he is still the greatest player of all time, and with 17 slams who could argue with that.  And despite Andy's loss, his heartfelt speech during the award ceremony, saw him win over the British public and the nation realised just how much he cares for the sport, as well as his terrific gutsy effort in the final.  And that for me stands out more than Roger's victory here, as Roger may have won the tournament, but it was Andy that won over the crowd and the public.  Great stuff as I often say.  

1. 2012 Olympic Games, semi final, Roger Federer d. Juan Martin Del Potro, 3-6, 7-6(7-5), 19-17.

Well if the Tsonga vs Roanic match broke new ground with being the longest match in the Olympic tennis history up until that point, well Roger and Delpo decided to go one better here as they played an incredible and exhaustive epic of a match in front of the Wimbledon centre court.  And for the most part of the season, Delpo had been beaten quite easily by Roger, up until the French Open, where Roger prevailed after 5 sets, with Delpo being injured his challenge dwindled toward the end of that match.  However this match couldn't have been different as Del Potro came out swinging straight away, and broke Federer to take the opening set.  And in the 2nd set Roger struggled to break the big Argentine's serve and it took a tiebreak to separate the two men, with Rog levelling the match to take the 2nd.  But the 3rd set was a massive encounter with both men playing some very high level tennis, and for the most part neither player was able to break, however Roger had his chances to serve it out at 11-10, but Delpo seized the initiative to break back again.  And after more play Roger finally secured the crucial break at 17-17 all, and finally served it out to secure his first Olympic games final.  This really was quite a match and it would have been impossible for either player to have put in anymore, and at 4 hours and 25 minutes, it is the longest match in Olympic game history.  And at the end it was a pity there had to be loser, and Delpo himself looked inconsolable as he walked off court, with Federer filled with emotion also at reaching the final.  But for once in the final, the man who has it all, came up short, but that's another story.  

So that's it for now, and yup all these matches were from Wimbledon, but where else will you get the best matches on grass.

And that's eeeet.

2012 Olympics Tennis Part 1: Doing for it Great Britain

Right well I thought I might as well get my Summer Olympics posts for the tennis under way, as the games kicked off yesterday for all events, not just the grass courts, and here's a look at some of the matches from Day 1 of Olympics tennis from Wimbledon.

OK so starting with the ladies (the usual tradition) we had one or British players up in the singles, starting with Elena Baltacha, who was handed probably the easiest player that the singles Brit players have had, with Agnes Szavay of Hungary.  Elena came through the match with little trouble and she impressively broke once in each set to claim a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 victory.  Although her next opponent will be a much sterner one, which is Ana Ivanovic who came through a tough test yesterday against the American, Christina McHale, in 6-4, 7-5.  Anne Keothavong however was less successful as she faced a much tougher opponent in the former World No.1, Caroline Wozniacki, and despite getting off to a strong start, taking the first set, Anne was unable to maintain her form once Caz got going, who took the second set, and in the 3rd the former No.1 broke Anne twice to land her place in the 2nd round, which marked her first victory ever since losing in the 3rd round at Roland Garros.  Serena Williams however had no trouble whatsoever in getting past Jelena Jankovic, who she more than comfortably ass-whipped in a convincing 6-3, 6-1 win.  Its a shame for Jankovic as she clearly is showing the signs of a player who is now past her best, but let's hope she does better in the future, and on the bright side she will play in the Fed cup finals for Serbia later this year.  Petra Kvitova however had a tough test as well against Kateryna Bodarenko who took her the distance, but ultimately the former Wimbledon champion came through in 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.  And finally Kim Clijsters, breezed past the Italian player, Roberta Vinci, in straigh sets 6-1, 6-4.

On the men's singles we had Roger Federer, the current World No.1 out on court playing against the talented big hitting Colombian, Alejandro Falla, who gave Fed a big scare two years ago in the first round at Wimbledon (funnily enough).  And this time it threatened to look the same, as Federer despite being a break up in the 2nd set, suffered a minor wobble, dropped serve to let Falla back in the door, who went on to break to take the 2nd set.  In the decider however, despite letting Falla break back again to level 3-3, Falla had no real answer for the mighty Fed after that, and the maestro went onto to win in 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.  The other top seeds mostly have a good day as well, as the giant John Isner for starters, closed out a straight sets victory against the pint sized Belgian player, Olivier Rochus in 7-6, 6-4.  I didn't see them shake hands at the net but I bet it looked mighty funny!  Gilles Simon also come through in a straight set win against Mikhail Kukushkin with an easy peasy 6-4, 6-2 victory, as did Juan Martin Del Petro against the Croat player, Ivan Dodig in 6-4, 6-1.

However the upset of the day was Tomas Berdych, who once again suffered the cruel fate he had at the Wimbledon championships, as he lost to the unseeded Steven Darcis of Belgium in 6-4, 6-4.  This was a bit of shocker, but I guess Berdych might have been haunted by his loss four weeks back at Wimbledon, and he appeared to be struggling with slipperiness of the court, as did a few of the players.  Perhaps that is something that he organisers should have looked into, as I recall even Andy Murray took one or two bad tumbles during the Championships a few weeks back in his match against Baghdatis.  However I am actually relieved that Berdych is out, as he was in Andy's section of the draw, and would have been a very dangerous quarter final opponent should he have got there, especially as he leads their head to head 4-2.
 
So that brings onto the Brits doubles teams who were playing today, well three of them, starting the Murray brothers, who took on an Austrian team in Jurgen Melzer (former Wimbledon doubles champion) and Alexander Peya.  Overall it was a very tight close match and the Murrays had their chances to win as they were up a break a couple of times in the 3rd set, but in the end the Austrians tenacity proved to be that bit too good for the Brits, as they won a close match in 5-7, 7-6, 7-5.  Also in action were the top ranked doubles Brits, Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins, who unfortunately also fell to the Frenchmen Richard Gasquet and Julien Bennetau in straight sets 7-5, 6-3.  And finally Heather Watson and Laura Robson took on the German pairing of Sabine Lisicki and Angelique Kerber, and despite getting off to a great start winning the first set in 6-1, the two Germans found their form and went onto win the match in 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Well it was a rather sad day for the Brits, particularly for the doubles teams, which leaves only one team left, who are Anne Keothavong and Elena Baltacha, who are scheduled to play today Ekaterina Makarova and Maria Kirilenko, and frankly I don't fancy their chances either, especially as the two Russians are the 6th seeds, so it could be yet another downer waiting for the Brits, but you never know.  And Laura Robson and Heather Watson are both in action today in singles, but Laura hasn't got it easy by any means as she will play Lucie Safarova of the Czeck republic, although Heather does have a more evenly matched opponent as she plays the Spaniard Silvia Soler Espinosa, so here's hoping one of them gets through.

But one man who hopefully will come through today for the Brits in the singles will be Andy Murray, but he faces a stern test in his first opponent as he will play the Swiss No.2, Stan Wawrinka, and although Andy leads their head to head 6-4, it will no doubt be a tough match, but hopefully win Andy can win.  And if the Muzza keeps up his form that he showed at Wimbledon then there's no reason that he should lose, but you never know!  But nah, he should get through, and all the best to him.

Right well that's it for now, I'll baaaaaack hopefully with some good news for the Brits, but we shall see.  Also today we have more of the top seeds on either side of the gender net in action, with Novak Djokovic, David Ferrer and Jo-Wilfried Tsong in action on the guys, and Agnieszka Radwanska, Sara Errani (who plays Venus Williams), Angelique Kerber, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova, so its alllll good! 

So that is that. 

Best ATP/Grand slam clay court matches of 2012

Well the 2012 tennis season is far from over however the clay court is over for another year so I thought I would post up my thoughts on some of the best men's matches on the ATP tour on the red dirt, so here's my pick of the bunch.

5. BNL Internazionali Italia Rome Masters 2nd round, Andy Murray d. David Nalbandian, 6-1, 4-6, 7-5.

This match was noteworthy partly because it took place on Andy Murray's 25th birthday, but it also because it was a very high quality match from both players.  After dominating the first set, Andy was on the receiving end of a fightback from Nalbandian, who battled his way to win the 2nd set, despite Andy having been a break up at one point.  In the 3rd, the two men went at it again, although this time Andy dropped his serve to let Nalby get ahead for the first in the match, but with some great tenacity, the Muzza broke back again to level and at 5-5, Andy got the vital break on a net cord, and he went on to close out his birthday match that could go have gone either way.  This was a very entertaining match, and it featured some of the two players best tennis, particularly from Nalbandian who looked very much out of it in that first set, but as it turned around it became an enthralling contest.

4. Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid Masters final, Roger Federer d. Tomas Berdych, 3-6, 7-5, 7-5.

This match was the final to one of the most controversial tournaments in recent years, mainly because of the organisers decision to dye the clay blue, as a result alot of players were up in arms about it, especially Nadal and Djokovic, who complained bitterly about the surface.  And in the end it was ironic that neither of the world's top two players made it to the final, and instead we were treated to a feast from the then World No.3 Roger Federer and the world no.6 Tomas Berdych, who had it out on the blue dirt.  In the first set though it was Berdych that came out strong, breaking Fed's serve and going on to close out the first set, however in the 2nd set, the two men traded breaks, but it was Berdy that handed Roger a gift by double faulting to level the match.  In the 3rd more breaks were traded and Berdych once again had chances to win the title, but he faltered on the big points, and in the end it was the Fedster who won his 20th Masters title.  It was great to see such a fine match be played on such a difficult surface, and both men played their part in this match, with Berdych's powerful hitting and Federer's finesse.  But it was Federer as ever who came up with the goods and played the pressure points far better than Berdych could, and this win was also testament to Federer's champion qualities that he was able to adapt to such a difficult surface and win on it, which almost to their shame is something Djokovic and the king of clay Rafa couldn't do.

3. French Open 4th round, Roger Federer d. David Goffin, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4.

This was quite a remarkable match as it saw the arrival of a fresh new talent who is without a doubt one to watch, and that talent is the 21 year old from Belgium, David Goffin.  I had already seen David Goffin in action at the Davis cup back in April there, when he won the decisive rubber for Belgium against Great Britain, and even there I could see what an impressive player he was.  But his first real impression was made here in this match against the greatest of all time in Roger Federer, as the young Belgium went toe to toe with the Swiss maestro, as he throw everything he had at him, and even managed to succeed in taking the first set.  However it wasn't before long that Federer's pedigree started to shine through (not his dog!) as he cranked up the gears and put the plucky Goffin in his place.  But Goffin showed a great deal of courage and promise in his performance, and after the match he was even interviewed on the Philipp Chartrier court with Roger, as the two men shared a hug and acknowledged the quality match they had just played for the Parisian crowd.  Terrific stuff.

2. French Open final, Rafael Nadal d. Novak Djokovic, 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5.

In the 2012 French Open final there was so much at stake on either side for both players, with Rafa he was going for his 7th Roland Garros title, whereas Nole was going for his first ever French Open title, and also a chance to complete his career slam and to hold all four majors at once.  However taking on Rafa in any form on clay is a mighty big ask, but his form at the French Open this year was frighteningly good, even by his own high standards, he really surpassed himself this year.  At the French Open this year in reaching the final he never dropped a single set, only conceded 35 games, and with the exception of Nicolas Almagro, no other player was able to give him anything resembling a match, as he annihilated players such as Juan Monaco and David Ferrer.  But in the final there was so much more at stake, and I'm sure nerves were on both sides, but it was Rafa that came out firing, whereas Djokovic struggled to find consistency in the first two sets.  However in the 3rd set, after a rain delay, Djokovic found his form and he proceeded to do something that no other player has done against Rafa at the French Open, which was to reel off 8 games in a row to secure his first ever set against Rafa at the French Open, and in the 4th set Djokovic got an early break.  However rain interrupted play for the night and it was resumed the next day, but momentum was with Rafa again as Djokovic squandered his break, but kept level until 6-5, with Djoko serving to take it into a tiebreak, Rafa got a break point, which would clinch the title.  And here Djokovic suffered the cruellest of fates in that he double faulted to hand Rafa his record breaking 7th French Open title.  For the most part this was an excellent match, especially in the last two sets when Djokovic found his range, but I'm sure that final point will haunt him for quite a while, it also saw his winning slam streak come to an end, after 27 consecutive match wins.  But it was Rafa that deserved all the credit for winning his historic title, that put him above Borg in the record books (who had 6 RG titles to his name) and it was the cherry on the top of what had to be his most magnificent clay court season.

1. 2011 French Open quarter final, Novak Djokovic d. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-1, 5-7, 5-7, 7-6, 6-1.

With the nation's best player, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga trying to be the first Frenchman to reach the semi finals at Roland Garros in many years, there was so much at steak (again, it was that kind of tournament!) for him, especially as he was up against the World No.1 in Nole.  And after being outplayed in the 1st set, Tsonga drastically turned it around in the 2nd and turned the match from thereon into a thrilling contest, which had the Parisian crowd cheering and cheering, as he took the 2nd and 3rd sets.  And in the 4th set, Tsonga had four match points against Djokovic, which unfortunately for him, he was unable to take, which saw the daredevil in Djoko come out to play, and as the match went into its pulsating 4th set tiebreak, Djokovic closed the door to take it into a 5th.  Unfortunately in the 5th set however, Tsonga's spirit seemed to have been broken by the Serbian, who proved to be just too good once again, and he went on to seal the match and his place in the semi final.  You could almost say that the first and last set of this match were like bookends and the match itself was in between in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th sets, which were absolutely superb, and Tsonga showed off his skills around the court and the net, with his monstrous big hitting and power.  In the end though you would have to have a heart of stone to not feel for Tsonga after his defeat, as he slumped down in his chair, sobbing, and who could blame the guy.  And despite it being a big downer for Tsonga in the end, it was a terrific match.  

So that's it for now, more to follow on the Olympics and my fav matches from the grass court season! :-)

Going for the Gold

Right well as the 2012 Summer Olympics is looming as it starts next Friday, I thought I would say something about the tennis which is due to start on 28 July.

Well for starters I might as well say something about the surprising news that Rafa Nadal will not be playing at the Olympics, as he has been forced to withdraw due to tendonitis in his knee.  This might also have reflected why he lost out early in Wimbledon this year, as perhaps it was attributed to this, but it is a pity that he won't be able to play, and here's hoping Rafa will be ready for the hard court season.

So with Rafa out of the Olympics, that means that our British Numero, Andy Murray, uno has another shout at reaching another final, at Wimbledon.  But that all depends on how well Andy will play throughout the tournament, and with the matches being the best of three sets, up until the final (which is the best of five) that leaves less margin for error, so Andy will need to play consistently well throughout.  Thankfully for him his form at Wimbledon was terrific, and he will be really motivated once again to do really well at the Olympics, and with Ivan Lendl in his corner he will hopefully be able to be more mentally prepared this time round.  So while Andy will have his chances to win a medal, it will still be a really tough road to walk, and doubtless he will have to face either Roger or Novak in the final, should he get there.  And I'm hoping this time that Andy will face Djokovic, as he stands a better chance of winning against him then Federer, who seems to always Andy's number just now (and everyone elses!).  And over the best of 3 set matches anything can happen, and there maybe a few upsets on the way, but I hope that Andy isn't one of them.  And if he does face Federer in the final here's hoping he can upset the odds and be the one to lift the prize this time. 

And back in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics, Andy had little time to prepare for the games, as he had a mere 3 days in between winning his first Masters title in Cincinnati that year and going to Beijing, which saw him go out in the first round.  And since then Andy has said he has sworn to make amends for his loss back then, which I'm sure he will, especially as he will once again be playing for the home crowd.  But whatever way it will go its not going to be easy by any means, but whatever happens I do hope that Andy wins a medal, the gold would be terrific, but the silver and bronze aren't to be sniffed at either.

As for Roger, well you could say that he is the hot favourite to win the gold medal, given that its back at Wimbledon, and his form during the grass court major was for the most part superb.  But it is the best of 3 sets, and anything can happen, and there is a slight chance that Federer could even lose en route, but given his current form it probably seems doubtful.  But I also think that probably Roger is more concerned with winning the majors, so even if he loses I don't think its something he will be too disappointed by (but I could be wrong!).  But if it is to be a repeat final from Wimbledon two weeks ago, I would much rather see Andy trade places with Roger on this one, and that way Andy will have achieved something that Roger hasn't in winning the gold medal.  But with Roger having regained the World No.1 ranking, you would be mad to write him off in his chances of taking the top prize. 

But if there is one man that can defeat Rog then it is Novak Djokovic, who's form has dipped off a little since his incredible last year, that saw him rise to the World No.1 spot.  But Djokovic will be more than motivated to try and win the Olympic gold, and he has said all year that it was one of his main priorities in 2012, the other to win the French Open, which he lost to Nadal.  But I'm certain that Djokovic will be utterly determined to ensure that he doesn't lose this one, and he could very well win it, but time will tell all.  Djokovic himself suffered a heart breaking defeat to Rafa back at the 2008 Olympic games in the semi finals, but he went on to secure the bronze medal, by defeating the US player, James Blake.  So I'm sure that Djokovic will be able to learn his past experience and do his best to improve on it this time round.

So that's it for my pre-Olympic games thoughts on the tennis, as for the overall event, well we will see how it pans out, as the organisation of the event hasn't exactly been that smooth.  This of course is due to G4S, who were to oversee the security for the event, screw up on the training front, with nowhere near enough staff being properly trained to handle the security for the events.  This has left the military to sort things out and ensure the Olympic games will be properly policed.  Ah good old Britain, eh???  We can't do anything the right way, and its almost like as Ben Elton once said, that in Britain we prefer things to be just a bit crap, so that way we know where we stand.  Coh!   

Riggghhttt well that's it!!

Go Heather!!

OK right well I'm back to my other blog noow, yup which is now more focused purely on tennis, hence the new title! ;-)  So this time it isn't quite about a tournament but more about a certain player in the British ladies tour, who is fast rising and just maybe the ray of hope that British tennis desparately needs, and that player is Heather Watson.

From early this year we really saw Heather improve, and as early as the Fed Cup we saw how well she played against teams such as Israel, where she played her part in Great Britain team's success.  From there she went on to produce some more impressive results, one of them was reaching the 3rd round of the WTA Premier Mandatory event, where unfortunately she eventually succumb to the World No.1, Victoria Azarenka.  And even more impressively she soon also went on to reach the 3rd of Wimbledon, and she was the first player to do so since Elena Baltacha, back in 2002.  And in recent weeks, in fact just last week, Heather finally managed to win her maiden WTA title, in the doubles at The Bank of the West Classic tournament in Stanford, with her partner Marina Erakovic.  This in itself is hugely impressive as neither any of the other British players on tour have won a single WTA event in either singles and doubles, and its actually the first time any British player has had a win on the WTA tour since 1992!  That's a 20 year drought finally been ended!  But its great Heather was the one to end it. 

Heather however has suffered a couple of losses this week at the Mercury Insurance Open in Carlsbad, California, as she was defeated in singles by Chan Yung-Jan in straight sets 3-6, 6-7, and in the doubles, so I guess she can't win them all.  Regardless of her most recent loss, Heather now being the British No.1, can try and improve her game for the future, and it will be a work in progress.  And out of all the British players, Heather is by far the best and has made the most progress out of any of them this year.  Its also strange to think though how she has been relegated to playing the doubles at the Olympics this year, when I think she should really play in the singles, but I think it boils down to the time when the wildcards were handed out to the British team.  But either way I think Heather can make a big impression in either singles or doubles, and I'm sure with Laura Robson, the two of them will make a great team for Great Britain.

But in retrospect, it is a pity that Heather wasn't picked for the singles, as Elena Baltacha and Anne Keothavong have been picked instead, and unfortunately for them, they have both struggled badly this year.  Elena has struggled with a foot injury, which has restricted her in winning matches, and Anne sadly has had a poor track record this year, as she has a tendency to start off her matches well but ends up always losing to lower ranked players than herself.  So from the singles point of view, it doesn't bode well for the GB team, but we will see.

As for Heather however, I really think, to forgive the cliche, that a new star is born in British tennis, and it looks like she is finally filling the gap of a much needed top British player in the ladies game.  And if she can go on and build on her impressive form this year, then I think it won't be long before she will start winning many singles titles on the WTA tour, and she hopefully can have the equivalent success that Andy Murray has had so far.  It will take her some time to reach that level but if she carries on in the way she has been, then its only a matter of time. 

Buttttttt for now we shall see how Heather progresses, but things are looking pretty bright for the new British No.1, and its a position she thoroughly deserves. 

So that is that for the now.

SW19 2012 Part 11: That bit closer but still no cigar and double heaven

OK so that's another Wimbledon come to a close tonight as the 2012 championships came to an end with Roger Federer taking on the British No.1, Andy Murray in the singles, so here's alot more on that.

Righty so the men's final was a hugely anticipated one, and it had a lot of stake on both sides of the net, with Roger Federer looking to get his 7th Wimbledon title, as well as grab back the No.1 ranking, and Andy Murray who was looking to finally break his major cherry.  The match itself was actually quite a close tight an very entertaining encounter and it was surprisingly Andy that got off to the better start, as he broke Roger's serve straight off.  However soon after Roger broke back, until 4-4 where Andy made the move to break Roger, and in doing so he moved on to take his first ever set in a grand slam final.  In the 2nd it was a tight contest again, with Andy putting more pressure on Federer's serve, but at 6-5, with Andy serving to go into a tiebreak, Federer seized the moment to grab a couple of break points to level the match at a set all.  After this there was a rain delay, where they shut the roof so play could continue, and since Roger loves playing indoors, naturally you would assume it would benefit him more, and it did.  After the roof closed play resumed, and Federer at 2-2 on Andy's serve got a break to move ahead, and he went on to take the 3rd set.  And in the 4th set, Federer started applying pressure to Andy's serve, and with Andy serving to make it 3-3, he battled to hold onto his serve for nearly 20 minutes, but ultimately capitulated, handing the vital break Fedora needed.  After this it wasn't long before the inevitable happened with Federer closing out the match and grabbing his 7th Wimbledon title, after a hard fought 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 victory.

Well for starters in regards to the match, the last two Wimbledon finals prior to this have been big letdowns, with Nadal beating Tomas Berdych easily in 2010 and Djokovic beating Rafa quite easily in 2011.  However this match was a far more entertaining and competitive one than either of those two put together, and right from the get go, you saw how determined Andy was to get into it, and for once in a grand slam final he looked like someone who had transformed.  No longer did we see the moaning, whinging, fretting Andy Murray we even saw from the Australian Open final last year, this time we saw a guy who had come ready to fight, and fight he did.  The first two sets were both excellent from Andy, as he actually pushed Federer around and put so much pressure on his serve, and he played with controlled aggression.

However after the roof was closed due to the rain, that's when the match turned in Federer's favour, who is pretty much the king of indoor tournaments, so he instantly took the advantage of this.  Not that the quality of the match dipped from Andy, we just saw Federer take control of the match, and all credit to Andy, he did his best not to get affected by the change.  But ultimately we had to accept that Andy was playing the world's greatest player and at some point he would take a stranglehold on the match, not only that, but Andy was playing Federer on his best surface, so you had to expect he would be the favourite to win.

But it really has to be said though that despite the fact that Andy lost the match, it does show that he is moving in the right direction, as he gave the world's greatest player a real run for his money, and he played a much better match against Fed than Djokovic did.  And there is no disgrace losing to the world's greatest player ever in the manner in which he did.  It was easily the best performance that Andy has made in a grand slam final so far as well, and there are so many positives he can take away from the match, especially that he took his first ever set in a slam final, after three attempts!  And overall in this tournament he had transformed himself as a player, from being a defensive player who was at times being too passive, into an aggressive player who is willing to take chances and step it up.  And it was a stark contrast to his underwhelming performance at Melbourne last year where he was gubbed by an inspired Djokovic in his worst straight set loss, where he won only 9 games, but this time he doubled it to 18. 

And while I'm sure Andy will be really hurt and disappointed just now, I'm sure he will realise the progress he has made, and at this rate, that grand slam title might not be too far away after all.  And it also shows that the work he has done with Ivan Lendl has started to pay off, as he really is taking it to his opponents now, and that's what we want to see.  And given a bit more time, just maybe Andy can continue this form at the US Open at the end of August, and you never know maybe there he could finally make that major breakthrough.  God alone knows he deserves it, as he has worked so hard over the years to try and prise one of these bloomin trophies from those other three guys hands! 

And come the US Open I think if Andy keeps up this form consistently then he will have a strong chance of winning the title, especially as hard court is his best surface.  He will of course have to face at least one of the top 3 guys at the semis or in the final, but if he keeps up the good work, takes the all the positives out of his performance from Wimbledon, and builds on that, then I can't see why he won't be a grand slam champion by the end of the year.  Although that does of course all depend on the other three, but we shall leave that one for another day.  

So regarding his post match interview with Sue Barker, Andy really showed just how much the game meant to him, as he tried to fight back the tears, and expressed how he felt to the nation and he thanked them for all their support.  Andy even managed to joke about Roger's age, being 30, and that it might be his best chance to win, and that he himself was getting closer.  But clearly the poor guy was overcome with emotion, feeling the disappointment of losing yet another final, to the same opponent for the 3rd time.  But the whole nation was behind him and afterwards he received floods of texts and kind messges of support from celebrities and the public over the globe. 

So to sum up, yes it was a great disappointment that Andy couldn't win the title, but once again, he made an important bit of history in being the first British man to reach the final of Wimbledon in 74 years, and that in itself was a terrific achievement.  And his performance in the Wimbledon final was excellent, and it shows he is moving in the right direction, he's looking sharper, faster, fitter and taking more chances and being more aggressive in his game.  The only area that still appears to let him down is that dreaded first serve, but maybe in time he can remedy it, we shall see, as there were times in the tournament where he served brilliantly like we had never seen before.

But in the meantime I'm sure Andy will take a truly well earned break after an exhaustive and emotional two week campaign at SW19, and recover in time for the Olympics were he will try and do it all over again for Britain.  Twice in one summer??!  They don't half demand much! ;-)  And with the Olympics being back at Wimbledon at the end of July, maybe if its the finals day, they can try and leave the roof open for Andy, should he get there, to see if it will help him more, if Federer is in the final with him. ;-)   And what an achievement it would be if he was awarded that gold medal, as that's something even Federer hasn't done, although I think the Swiss maestro just might have something to say about that, now that's he the World No.1 again!

So a big well done to you Andy, you did a great job, even if you lost, you did yourself and your nation proud.

NOW FOR THE LADIES FINAL UPDATE

And.... here is an update on the ladies final, which took place on Saturday there, which was between Serena Williams and the current world no.3, Agnieszka Radwanska.  It was very much a one-sided start with Serena dominating Radwanska, who clearly must have felt the nerves of the occassion, as she dropped her serve twice, but she eventually held to make it 5-1, with Serena closing out the set with ease.  In the 2nd however, Radwanska got more into the match, settling down, she started using her craft and ingenuity in winning points against Serena, and despite going a break down, Aga broke back to make it 4-4.  After this we saw the first cracks in Serena's game as at 6-5, with Serena serving to take it into a tiebreak, Aga broke her serve to take the match into a deciding set.  In the 3rd set it was even pegged until 2-2, but then Serena made the decisive break to push ahead, and secured a double break, and before we knew it, Serena served it out to clinch her 5th Wimbledon title, after a tough three set, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 victory.

Most of the recent ladies grand slam finals have all been way too short in length, and mostly in straight sets, so it was a breath of fresh air to see this one go the distance, and Radwanska definitely deserves credit (I keep using that word!) for her fighting spirit here.  The match had plenty of highlights in the 2nd and 3rd sets where the two players traded some great rallies, and Aga particularly wowed the crowd with her guile and ingenuity in constructing clever points against the mighty Serena serve.  But in the end, you knew there would be only one winner, and Serena simply had too much firepower for the young Pole to deal with, especially as Aga's first serve is so slow and punishable, which Serena blasted winners off more than once.

So well done to Serena for winning her first grand slam title since coming back from ill health last year, and not only that, she went on to win the ladies doubles with her sister Venus as well, so it was a good day at the office all round for the Williams sisters.  This now sees Serena's ranking shoot up to the No.4 spot, and Radwanska's go up to the World No.2, with Victoria Azarenka now back to No.1, however I think it won't be too long before Serena is right back at the top.

Well that's it for the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, it has been a thoroughly entertaining, and highly dramatic event this year, with quite a few upsets, and with a bit of history being made with Andy Murray reaching the final, and Roger winning his record 17th slam title.  More will follow soon no doubt for the Fedster, but it does also show that Andy Murray is moving confidently in the right direction, and his own maiden slam might yet not be too far away.

And on that note I will leave it there for now.   

SW19 2012 Part 10: Bunny and Andy

Welly welly welly well, its been quite a day at the Wimbledon championships as the two men's semi final matches got underway to see who would make it into the final so let's get to it.

In the first match we had the World No.1, Novak Djokovic take on the former 6 time champion, Roger Federer in what promised to be a real battle of the wits.  However with the roof closed, it gave Federer the advantage of it being an indoor event, and well the mighty Fedora's indoor court record is remarkable to say the least.  So as the match went it was Federer who got off to a strong start, breaking Djokovic in the 1st set to take it, however in the 2nd set, Djokovic managed to secure an immediate break and went to take it, with the first two sets adding to a mere 50 minutes!  In the 3rd however being that Djokovic is the world No.1 and everything, I expected him to take control of the match, however the opposite happened as Federer broke Djoko at 5-4 to take a 2 sets to 1 lead.  And in the 4oth set, Djokovic struggled on serve, only to be broken yet again by Federer, who went on to close out the match to secure his place in his record breaking 8th Wimbledon final, with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win.

This was quite a performance from Federer and for the most part he really took it to Novak, who frankly was well under par in this match, as he continually struggled to find his serve, it was almost like the old Novak was on court.  Djokovic did show some flashes of brilliance here and there, but as he was the defending champion his performance in this match was disappointing and it was like he just didn't show up today, and it also marks the 5th title from last year he has failed to defend, and his 7th loss of the year (one more than last year put together!).  Regardless of that though Roger has once again shown that he is the king of grass and he will go into the final as the hot favourite to win.  And should Roger win on Sunday, then he will return to the No.1 spot, which will see Djokovic be relegated to the No.2 spot, so he has quite a bit of work to do in getting it back. 

Which brings me onto the 2nd semi final of the day which was between the British No.1, Andy Murray and the French No.1, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, both men had a lot at stake in this match as they were both playing for a place in their first ever Wimbledon final.  In the first two sets, Andy Murray probably played some of the greatest tennis he has ever played on a tennis court, and served magnificently, with Tsonga struggling to keep up and he was clearly showing signs of nerves at the start of the match.  However in the 3rd set, Andy's bubble burst somewhat as he dropped his serve for the first time to let Tsonga into the match, who soon picked up his game, and found his powerful serve as he swatted down some brutal winners against Andy, and went on to take the set.  Into the 4th however we were treated (or subjected to, depending on your point of view!) to an absolutely nerve shredding display as both men battled it out, and yet again Andy showed his mettle in saving break points on his serve, as Tsonga continued his forehand onslaught at the Murray serve. 

However at 6-5, with Tsonga serving to take the match into a 4th set tiebreak, the big Frenchman made a couple of costly errors, which lead to a match point for Andy, who returned a stunning cross court forehand, although the left edge of the court was obscured by sunlight, Andy challenged to ensure that his shot was in fact in, which it was!  After which an understandably emotional Muzza embraced Tsonga at the net, and the whole crowd went wild as it was the first time that a British player had ever reached the Wimbledon final since Bunny Austin in 1938, and the Muzza sealed his historic (and yes dramatic!) victory with a 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 scoreline. 

Well this definitely will rank as one of the most memorable matches in the history of the Wimbledon championships, and Andy Murray yet again broke a record in being the first British player to reach the final of the All England Club in 74 years!  And when you think that he has already reached three grand slam finals, to be the first British player to reach the Wimbledon men's singles final is quite an achievement.  And throughout these two weeks there was a sense of inevitability that Andy would achieve this moment in his career, especially with Rafa being knocked out of Wimbledon, it was Andy's best chance to reach the final, and he took it.  And the fact that he was able to pull off such a historic win on the most famous and prestiguous court in the sport, under the most extreme pressue imaginable was truly remarkable. 

Soooo this sets a mouth watering final where Andy will face Roger Federer, for the third time in a grand slam final.  So far Andy has had no success against the mighty Fed as he has lost the previous two finals in straight sets.  And the question has to be asked, can he win this time??????  Well its possible, but its hard to look past Roger who is arguably the greatest player to have ever played the game, with 16 major titles to his name, the odds are firmly and snugly in his favour, so its going to be a mighty mighty mighty mighty mighty tough task. 

However no matter how daunting and brutally difficult the task may appear, it isn't impossible, and Andy has shown great resilience throughout these two weeks, and it really does appear that his working relationship with Ivan Lendl has started to pay off, as he might not have got this far without him.  But Andy's next match will be one of the most important, if not the most important of his career, and to get past Federer he will have to play the greatest match of his career in order to do it.  And it definitely seems like it is his time this year, he has reached the final, he has Lendl on his side, and on Sunday we will truly see just where his working relationship with Lendl is at, when he has to face the greatest adversity of all. 

But we also can't forget that throughout these championships, Andy has reached his peak, and played some of the best tennis we have ever seen from him.  His first serve percentage overall his improved considerably as it was over 60% throughout the tournament so far, and he has also improved points won on his second, with 65%.  Whichever way it goes it will be one hell of an intruiging final and just maybe one of the most historic and important matches in the history of the sport, atlhough it would have to go some way for it to reach the dizzying heights of the Wimbledon 2008 final.  So as a prediction I would have to say Roger will win in maybe 4 sets (maybe even 3!), but if Andy does pull off that major miracle than it will be in 5 sets, as you couldn't dethrone the king in any other possible way.  So it could be a real thriller or it could just a straight sets blow out for Andy, but we shall see (I hope not!!).

But for me Andy has already done the really tough part in getting to the final, as the weight of expectation was just so enormous, but yet he did it, so from hereon in the pressure is more on Federer than Andy.  Federer has alot more at stake as well as he is looking to return to No.1 ranking and match Pete Sampras's record of 7 Wimbledon titles.  But Roger Federer is no stranger to pressure and he excels at playing under it, so its still a ginormous task ahead of Britain's best player. 

However the more I think of it, Andy just might have a chance, and it is possible that he can do it, no matter how tough it will be, and if he can come through, it would rank as one of the greatest achievements in sporting history.  Throughout the tournament he has shown champion qualities, and the old whinging Andy Murray has barely been in sight, he has dealt brilliantly with the pressure and the expectations of making it this far, so why can't he make that final step.  One thing I do know is when after his victory against Tsonga, he pointed his fingers aloft to the sky, full of emotion.  It was clear there and then just how much it meant to him, and in that moment he looked like a champion, and he showed something that we have never truly seen from him before when he reached a major final: real belief. 

But let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet, time will tell all, and I think I've droned on enough about it all, so either delight or massive disappointment await for Andy Murray on Sunday.  All the signs point towards Federer winning the title, and the odds couldn't be stacked higher against Andy, but as I said nothing is impossible, but its in the hands of the gods and the two guys who will play out there on centre court on Sunday. 

Rrrrrright well that's it for now, and so it leaves me to say a big congratulations to Andy Murray for reaching his maiden Wimbledon final, and I wish him the very best of luck on Sunday.  He already has got one monkey off his back in reaching his home slam's final, and in doing so he has defied alot of cynics and naysayers who said it could never be done, so it only remains for him to get the other monkey off his back in winning that elusive first major title.  Oh and he's not the only British player into the finals of Wimbledon as the British doubles player, Johnathan Marray, has reached his first ever grand slam men's doubles final with his Danish partner Freddie Nielsen, which will be played on the Satuday, so the very best of luck to him also.  So its either Murray or Marray that could triumph this weekend.

And finally, the ladies final is on tomorrow between Serena Williams, and the world no.3, Agnieszka Radwanska, who today has raised fears of her involvement in the final as she apparently was suffering from a respitory illness.  However Aga has since said she will be well enough to play in the final on Saturday, which I hope she does as it would be a great shame if she didn't.

Soooooooooooooooooo that's finally it, its going to be quite an exciting weekend, and I will report back once its alllllllllllllllll over. 

Till then I will bid yee farewell with sweaty palms and a heart in my mouth.

Byeeee. 

SW19 2012 Part 9: The Pole and the Yank

Right well now we are onto Day 10 of Wimbledon and now we really are getting down to the nitty gritty of the tournament, as today the last four ladies played out their two semi final matches.

So starting with the first one, which was between the World No.3, Agnieszka Radwanska and the world no.8, Angelique Kerber.  On paper this match sounded like an intruiging match and a potential battle for both players.  However it turned out to be quite reverse as Keber was for the most part outplayed by Radwanska, who put in another solid and consistent performance, with very unforced errors.  Keber at times was able to get into the rallies and blast some winners past Radwanksa, but it ultimately short lived as Aga closed the barn door after breaking early in the 2nd set, as she served it out for a place in her first grand slam final, with an emphatic 6-3, 6-4 victory in just over an hour.

It has to be said that this match was a bit of a disappointment as Kerber clearly wasn't really up to the task of taking on Radwanska, even though in the first set, Keber got an early break, however after Aga broke back it was all about her.  And overall it was a very impressive performance from Radwanska, and it shows just how consistent a player she has become, and her meteoric rise has been quite considerable since the beginning of this year.  Although I have to say that I found her reaction to her win was very muted, as she mildly jumped up and down with a faint smile on her face.  And yet Aga had just won the most important match of her career so far, so you would at least expect a bit more emotion from her!  It was more like she had just received a nice bit of news like she had got a nice gift for her birthday, but this is a far bigger deal.  But I guess that's how Aga is on court, as she has always had an icy cool demeanour and doesn't give away very much.  Regardless of her apparent lack of enthusiasm (or outward enthusiasm at least!) Agnieszka has done exceptionally well at Wimbledon and she has certainly earned her place in the final where she awaits her next opponent.  As for Kerber it was a pity she wasn't able to play her game against Radwanska, and it made for a rather short-lived semi final for her, but she will take solace in the fact that she reached another grand semi final, and her career is definitely moving in the right direction.

So onto the next match which was between Serena Williams, the four time Wimbledon champion, and the World No.2, Victoria Azarenka.  And unlike the first semi final match, this one was far more competitive as Serena faced a determined Azarenka, who put up a good fight.  However in the first, Serena put in a sublime serving performance, as she fired down ace after ace, and she broke Azarenka to take the first set.  In the 2nd set, it went by service until Serena got an early break, however Vika soon fought back to level the scores, and play after that went on serve until the tiebreak, which was a tense affair, but at 6-6, Azarenka payed the penalty of hitting a forehand into the net. After this it was Serena to serve, and she made no mistake and fired down her 24th ace of the match to reach her fifth Wimbledon final, with the score finally reading 6-3 7-6(6).

After the first lacklustre semi final match, this one was definitely the better of the two, and both players provided some great entertainment for the crowd, with some great rallies and points.  Vika also did really well to get herself back into the match, especially after being broken early on in the 2nd set, however she did struggle on her own serve, and her double faults really cost her in some of the key points.  But Serena was the boss for pretty much most of the match, and she served unbelievably well throughout and its safe to say that her serve is probably one of the best in ladies game, and it really saw her through today.

So this sets up a very intruiging final between Serena William and Agnieszka Radwanksa, which will be a nice contrast in styles, the aggressor against the counterpuncher, or the ultimate server verses the ultimate thinker.  So how do I think it will turn out????  Its really had to say, as both players have different strengths, with Serena she has one of the best serves in the history of the game, and a very powerful big game, whereas Agnieszka has a great deal of guile and ingenuity to her game and is one of the most consistent players on the tour.  But if I had to pick a favourite then I would have to pick Serena, especially as she will be able to punish Radwanska's second serve, which is slow and vulnerable, and she also lacks power in her shots.  However I think it will be a fairly tight match and hopefully for once we can have a 3 set final in the ladies slams this year.

And so this brings me quickly onto the men's semi final matches tomorrow, which will be a mouth watering prospect to the eyes and ears.  The first match will be Novak Djokovic, the defending champion who takes on Roger Federer, former 6 time Wimbledon champion.  There's no two ways about it, that this will be one of the most anticipated matches of the season, especially as the two men have never played each other at Wimbledon, so it really promises to be a real treat.  However I personally think Djokovic can come through this one, but its not beyond the realms of possibility that Federer can win it, so whichever way it goes, its going to be a belter.  But I think it will be Djokovic in either 4 or 5 sets.  And as for the next match between Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, its also going to be a tough to decide, but Andy leads their head to head 5-1, and I would love to see Andy reach the final for the first time.  And there is no question that this is his best chance to reach the Wimbledon final, but it will be far from easy as Tsonga will prove a very tough test, but I can see Andy coming through in 4 or 5 sets.  I might be wrong, but I sincerely hope I am right!

Sooooooooooooo that is it for now, I will report back tomorrow, and here's hoping we get the result we all want.  And there is no doubt I will be a bag of nerves tomorrow and it might be time to break out the valium during the Murray match!  Whatever happens no doubt there will be some real Murray-drama on the go tomorrow, but hopefully it will come good for him in what could very well be a defining moment in his career.

So Andy I will wish you the very very very best of luck for tomorrow, as you totally deserve to win this match and reach the final, especially as you have worked so hard to get this far, and you can do it.

And on that sweaty palm inducing note I shall leave it there!

SW19 2012 Part 8: Making it happen....

Jeeeeeeezz well that's day 9 over with for the Wimbledon championships as the four men's quarter finals matches got underway and it sees the final four set up for the Friday so here's more about that.

OK so starting with Roger Federer who took on Mikhail Youzhny, the Russian player, who was right from the start, no match for the mighty Fed whatsoever.  In each set Federer displayed quite a few reasons just why is the greatest player of all time as he dazzled the crowd with some amazing shots, and not letting Youzhny into the match at all.  And the match itself was no longer than 1 hour and 30 minutes as Federer raced to victory with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 win.  This match was in my opinion just a bit too easy for my liking for Federer as he has been quite lucky with his side of the draw, and the only top 10 players in his side of the draw have been himself, Djokovic and Tipsarevic.  So it really wasn't much of a test for Federer, and while his display was impressive, there really wasn't a great deal that Youhzny could do.

Djokovic however had a slightly more testing match as he took on the flashy and very talented Florian Mayer, who gave Djoko a bit of a headache in the opening set, and he also had to save three break points at 4-4, however he saved the break points with great aplomb and went on to break Mayer to take the opening set.  In the 2nd set, Djokovic stepped up and blasted past the German player, breaking twice to take a 2 set lead.  In the 3rd things were even pegged until Djokovic broke, and he went to close out a fairly comfortable win in 6-4, 6-1, 6-4.  This was actually quite an entertaining match as Mayer entertained the crowd with his unorthodox style of play (his forehand looks weird!) and Djokovic once again looked superb out on court, and despite one or two micro wobbles, he never looked under threat, which sees him set up a very tough semi final encounter with a certain Roger Federer, but more on that later.

Next up we had Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who faced another German player, Philipp Kolschreiber, who proved to be quite a testing encounter for the Frenchman.  And it took four sets for Tsonga to see off Kolschreiber as the two of them battled it out on Court 1 for nearly 3 hours, with Tsonga eventually prevailing after a 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 win.

And the winner of that match will play the last match of the day, which was between Andy Murray and the very much in form David Ferrer, the World No.5.  In terms of rankings there were very little in this, but Ferrer actually looked to be the more likely as he got off to a superb start, breaking Andy to go 5-2 up, however when he served for the set, Andy broke back and soon levelled the score to make it 5-5, and soon the set went to a tiebreak, which Ferrer won to close out the 1st set.  Andy's ropey form continued into the 2nd set as he was broken at 4-4, but again he was able to break back to level and the match went to another tiebreak, which was quite a tense one, with Andy being 3-0 down at one point, but he managed to fight on and level the match by winning the breaker.  In the 3rd set Andy got the decisive break to go 2 sets to one up, but in the 4th it went by serve again, despite Andy having a scare at 15-40 on his serve at 3-4, he saved it.  Pretty soon the match went into another nailbiting tiebreak, but this time Andy took charge and bolted the barn door shut to ensure his place in his fourth consecutive Wimbledon semi final with a winning score of 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 7-6.

I expected this to be a really tough match and it proved to be just that, and the fact that Ferrer was playing so well throughout, and at times was the better player, yet Andy still came through which made it all the more remarkable.  The match itself was one of the highlights of the tournament so far, as both men traded some amazing rallies from the baseline, coming into the net, displaying a variety of shots.  Andy himself played pretty much some of the finest tennis of his career to battle past Ferrer, who was in such great form, and while his serving started off poorly at just over 50%, it got alot better as it went on, and ended up at 61% which is not bad at all.  And more importantly throughout the match, Andy kept his cool and composure as he played on centre court under the most extreme pressure, and I think that is in part due to the work that Andy has done with Ivan Lendl, and just maybe their relationship is starting to pay off.  But I can't leave out David Ferrer's incredible contribution to the match as well, and he has drastically raised his level this year, playing the best tennis of his career, and his form throughout Wimbledon was superb.  Its a pity for Ferrer that he lost but he is a consumate professional and as Andy rightly says, Ferrer doesn't get enough credit, which he more than deserves, and he's been a top 10 player for several years with good reason.

Soooo anyway that's the men's semi finals complete, with Djokovic and Federer, and Murray and Tsonga.  Whio's my pick out of those two??????  Well for me I have to go with Djokovic for the Federer match, although this is the first time they have played each other in the semi finals strangely enough, so it will make for quite an exciting encounter no doubt. Federer has shown some great form at the tournament, but there have been issues with his back this week, so it makes you question if he can live with Novak out there on Friday, but I guess we will soon find out.

As for the Murray vs Tsonga match I'm going to go with Andy Murray as he looks ready to me, and I think the work he has been doing with Ivan Lendl is starting to show out on court.  Some of the tennis he has played at Wimbledon is up there with the standard that he played at Melbourne, and there have been times where he has served the best I have ever seen him in any tournament.  However he still has his moments of inconsistency, but thankfully for Andy so will Tsonga, and Tsonga also doesn't have a coach and may have a few more moments of mental fragility than Andy will on court.  Plus Andy leads their head to head 5-1, which already makes him the favourite to win the match, but you can't go by head to heads alone, its still going to be a really tough one. 

However for me I really am starting to believe that Andy will make the final, and there were times for sure throughout the tournament so far that I have had my doubts, especially given how tough his draw has been that he would have made this far.  But in doing so Andy has shown great tenacity and guts, and I do believe that one way or another he will reach that final on Sunday.  But make no mistake his Tsonga match will be very very tough indeed, but I do believe he has a good chance of winning, and I sincerely hope he does.

And after winning against Ferrer it has shown that Andy has been able to deal with adversity so much better than he did last year.  And throughout the tournament, Andy has been building on his performance and with each match he is getting better and better, despite one or two erratic moments, and you feel at last that he is peaking just at the right time, and what a better time to do then at his home grand slam.  But there is always the danger he could fold under the pressue of expectations of the nation in trying to reach the final, but so far in this tournament he has dealt with the pressure so much better than before.  And let's not forget that he already has reached 3 grand slam finals so he is no stranger in knowing how to play to reach a major final.  And I have said already I just think there is an inevitability about Andy this year at Wimbledon that he is going to reach the final, he might not win it of course, but he's definitely got a chance. 

Rrrrrright well so exciting times are ahead and the ladies semi finals take place tomorrow as Serena Williams will face Victoria Azarenka, and Agnieszka Radwanska will take on Angelique Kerber.  Both matches promise to be absolutely belters, so here's hoping they live up to their expectations.

And on that rather exciting note I shall leave it there!

SW19 2012 Part 7: Tying up loose ends

Well we really are starting to get to the nitty gritty of the Wimbledon championships now as we approach the quarters final for the men and on Day 8 we had the ladies quarter final matches on, so here is more on that and the men's remaining 4th round matches.

So starting off with Serena Williams who took the defending champion, Petra Kvitova, and it promised to be quite a tough encounter, however despite a few tough moments in the 2nd set, Serena pretty much made short work of Petra, as she broke her in the 1st set, and in the 2nd made the decisive break at 6-5 to close out for a place in the semi finals, with a 6-3, 7-5 win.  The match itself didn't get going here until the 2nd set, but when it did there were some great shots from both players, but it was Serena who proved too good in the end, and you always knew she would come through, and she is well on course for reaching another Wimbledon final.

In the 2nd match of the day we had the two German girls, Angelique Kerber, the current World No.8 and Sabine Lisicki, the 15th seed.  This promised to be quite an encounter and it turned out to be just that, with both girls battling it out on court, and after losing the first set, Lisicki fought her way back into the match, taking the 2nd set on a tiebreak.  In the 3rd set the two ladies shared breaks of serve, but it was Kerber who made the decisive move and managed to break to finish out the match, after a real scrap in 6-3, 6-7, 7-5.  As Angelique Kerber had never even reached beyond the first round at Wimbledon last year (who was defeated by Laura Robson no less last year!) she really has made up for it this year, and she continues her incredible rise towards the top of the rankings, although whether or not she wins the title or not is still doubtful, as there are few other ladies in play too.

And going on to the third match of the day between the former World No.1, Victoria Azarenka and the in-form Eastbourne champion, Tamira Paszek.  This was a rematch of their quarter final match from last year, but this time it was a much tighter affair, as after being broken once in the 1st set by Azarenkna, Paszek fought back to push the match to a 2nd set tiebreak.  However in the tiebreak, despite being an immediate minibreak up, Tamira squandered her lead, and let Vika back in who sealed the victory with a 6-3, 7-6(4) score.  So this will be Azarenka's second semi final at Wimbledon, however she will face Serena Williams in the next round, so it remains doubtful whether or not she can get past the four time champion or not, but it promises to be quite a match.

And finally on the ladies matches we had Agnieszka Radwanska who up against the Russian, Maria Kirilenko.  And for Aga it was easy street up until this match, but this one was far from easy and it was by far the toughest match of Radwanska's campaign so far, as Kirilenko went toe to toe with the Pole.  Throughout the match, the two players shared breaks, and after Kirilenko levelled the match in the 2nd set, in the third it was even pegged again until 6-5, (popular score today!), where Radwanska made the key break and put out Kirilenko after nearly three hours with a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 win.  This match was actually suspended after rain delays on Court 1, however most of the match did take place on Court 1, but once Vika and Tamira's match finished, they resumed play on centre court, where Aga won it.  As for Radwanska well her chances of getting to the final are fairly good, as she will next face Angelique Keber, however her games lacks power, but what she lacks in power she makes up for in guile and ingenuity.  So even if Kerber can hit Radwanska off the court, and blast winners past her, Radwanska can still out-think her opponent on the court, so it will be an intruiging match to watch, so we will see who comes out on top.  Its also Radwanska's first grand slam semi final, so we will see if she can make it through to the final.

So now onto the men's matches briefly as played was carried on from yesterday after the rain delays.  Starting with Andy Murray who had to finish off his match with Marin Cilic, and he picked up right where he left off, after going a set and a break up, Andy went on to break Cilic again to go to a 2 sets to love up lead.  After another rain delay, the two men went back out on court, and in the 3rd set, Cilic had no answer for an impressive and aggressive Murray, who fired winners left and right, and even served brilliantly, as well drawing errors from Cilic.  And before we knew it Andy wrapped up the match in the nick of time before anymore rain delays, in a very convincing fashion with a 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 win.  After the setback in form of his Baghdatis match, this saw Andy get back on track as after he overcame a cagy first set, he produced a terrific performance for the crowd, and again he found his first serve!!  In fact Andy managed to get his first serve percentage up to 68%, which was really impressive, but he will need to keep it at that for the remaining time he has in the event.

Which brings me on to David Ferrer and Juan Martin Del Potro match that was held on centre court, and on paper it sounded like a tough one, but it turned out to be a real walk in the park (or court) for Ferrer, who just totally outplayed Del Potro throughout.  Ferrer played with terrific pace and while his shots didn't have the outright power of Del Potro's, Ferrer was able to run rings around Delpo and take advantage of his lack of mobility.  And it wasn't before long that Ferrer raced past a sub-par Del Potro in just about two hours with a very convincing 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 victory.  This really is a scarily good result from Ferrer and it makes you think that his next upcoming opponent, Andy Murray will have quite a bit to think about, but more on that in a bit.

As for other men's matches, with rain delays affecting the outer courts, the other men's 4th round matches eventually managed to get complete.  Starting with Tsonga who played Mardy Fish, and despite losing the first set to Fish, Tsonga was the stronger of the two players, as he won the next three sets to secure his place in the quarters, after a 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 win.  Florian Mayer also upset Richard Gasquet, both men were looking to get to their first quarter final at Wimbledon, but it was the German who made it through with a 6-3, 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory, and Mayer will now face Djokovic in the quarters.

So that is the men's quarter finals matches all set up for Day 9, which will see Roger Federer take to centre court first against Mikhail Youhzny, followed by Andy Murray and David Ferrer.  On Court 1 for a change, Novak Djokovic will play Florian Mayer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will play Philipp Kolschreibber.

And naturally the pick of the day out of that lot for me is Murray and Ferrer, who will face each other for the 2nd time this year in a grand slam.  Last time Ferrer emerged victorious at the French Open, a surface, which Andy had never beaten Ferrer on, so he wasn't expected to win it.  However this is quite a different kettle of fish (or grass really!) and the two players have never played each other on grass.  And given Andy's form at Wimbledon I think that he might possibly have the edge to beat Ferrer this time round, as Andy's game is also better suited to grass then Ferrerr's is.  However Ferrer has been playing great at Wimbledon so far, so to write him off would be mad, and if any one could upset Andy before reaching the semis, it would be Ferrer.  But I sincerely hope that Andy does win his match against Ferrer, as I would rather see him with a shout of getting to the final any day over Ferrer.  And Andy will have the home crowd support behind him as well, and I think with Rafa out, he is more hungry than ever before for victory at his home slam, so I might be wrong but I don't quite see Ferrer beating him.  So if I were to make a guess on the outcome of the match I think Andy will win it in 4 or 5 sets.  However given Ferrer's form so far, I could also see a possible upset on the cards, so Andy will have to play very well to get past him.

Failing that if Andy doesn't get through, I hope one of my favourite players, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has a chance of reaching the final, as he's a terrific player, big game, big serve and also a very flashy player.  But he's also deservedly a world class player who really deserves his place in the Top 10, but we'll see how his match progresses today.  But I'd rather have the Muzza in the final any day, failing that though Tsonga would be my next choice, as he has the potential to really give Djokovic a match in the final.  

Right that's enough for one night, I will report back once Day 9's action is finished.

Byeeeeee the nowww.

SW19 2012 Part 6: Decisions decisions!

OK I'm not onto Day 7 of the Wimbledon championships posts, and today we had one or two interesting relevations but most of the play was held up by rain delay, which saw most of the play suspended for the day from 4pm onward.

Sooooo on the ladies side starting with Maria Sharapova, we had the upset of the day, as the World No.1 took on Sabine Lisicki of Germany (saucy!).  Last year they played each other in the semi finals and Sharapova gubbed Lisicki quite easily, but this time tables were turned as Lisicki came out firing and not many players can hit Sharapova off the court, but Lisicki on this occassion did!  Sharapova also throughout the match struggled with her serve with the windy conditions, and it was Lisicki who was the better player and in the 2nd set, Lisicki pulled off a big upset by serving an ace on her 2nd serve to put Sharapova out of Wimbledon in 6-4, 6-3.  Well this certainly was a bit of a shock result, especially given Sharapova's form coming into the championships from her triumph at the French Open.  However it has to be said that Sharapova really does struggle with blustery conditions and this certainly was the case today, which leaves the remaining players no doubt pleased they have one less top seed to beat.

In other ladies matches, Kim Clijsters was also upset by the German player and World No.9, Angelique Kerber, who flattened the Belgium with a straight sets 6-1, 6-1 victory.  However Petra Kvitova managed to come through her match against Francesca Schiavone, which was a real tough battle for the first two sets, with Fran taking the first and Petra the second (after a double fault from Fran).  But in the 3rd set, light rain was drizzling on the court, which made the grass damp, which Fran complained about, and played was briefly stopped, however play soon after resumed, and with this still in Francesca's mind, her play got steadily worse, letting Petra to break twice and close out the match in 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.  And in Petra's next match she will face Serena Williams, who battled past her opponent Yaroslava Shvedova in 6-1, 2-6, 7-5.  This promises to be a real cracker, although I would favour Serena to knock out Petra, given her form and determination, Serena is definitely back at Wimbledon.  And Victoria Azarenka had zero problem closing out her match against Ana Ivanovic as she ony conceded one game in securing her place to the quarter finals, with an emphatic 6-1, 6-0 win.  Vika definitely showed her form in this match and next up she will play her quarter final opponent from last year, Tamira Paszek, but this could promise to be a tougher test for the Belarusian.  

So onto the men's matches, most of which were cut short because of the rain delays, but the matches scheduled for centre court took place.  Starting with Roger Federer who played Xavier Malisse, who proved to be quite troublesome for Roger.  And Roger himself had back problems at one point during the 1st set as he had to walk off court to have his back looked at, and he came back on later, with the first set going to a tiebreak, which Federer won.  In the 2nd set, Fed found his range and started to cut Malisse down to size, breaking him twice, but in the 3rd, Roger dropped his level and let Malisse in the door to take the 3rd set.  And despite going a break down in 4th, Roger soon broke back and went on to break Malisse to secure his place in the quarter finals with a 7-6, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 win.  This match was in itself quite entertaining and Malisse played his part with some great shot making, but it does raise some fitness concerns with Federer and his back.  Federer should make it to the semi finals to face Djokovic, but how fit and well will he be when he get's there as it looks to he in doubt that he could win against him.

As for Djokovic well he had no such problems at all from his Serbain compatriot, Viktor Troicki, which he was scheduled to play on centre court last tonight.  The match itself was a walk in the park (or court) for Djokovic as Troicki barely made a dent on the World No.1 throughout, and despite one or two break point chances, Troicki wasn't able to convert any of them, and it took no more than 1 hour and 30 minutes to win out in 6-3, 6-1, 6-3.  Djokovic clearly had raised his level in this match and he looked in terrific form throughout as Troicki struggled to do anything with Djokovic's blistering returns and vollies.  And its safe to say that Djokovic is looking by far the sharpest of all the players in the event and I would be very surprised if he wasn't lifting the title by the end of the tournament (well he is the world No.1!).

Which brings me on to the last match of my post, which was between Andy Murray and Marin Cilic, however the match was suspended due to the rain as it took place out on court No.1, where there is no roof!  But as a summary of the match so far, both players got off to a slow tentative start, but it was Andy that made the decisive break to take the opening set, and he continued to boss the points in the 2nd set, breaking Cilic again at 3-1, but play was suspended before Andy could finish his service game, leaving the score so far at 7-5, 3-1.

Despite a poor start from Andy getting broken in his opening service game, he did well to pick up his game as he went on, and Cilic looked like a broken man by the time play was suspended.  However with the rain delay this could allow Cilic to get back into the game tomorrow, which could swing the pendulum in Cilic's favour, so Andy will need to be wary of his opponent when play resumes tomorrow.

Which brings me onto a bugbear about the scheduling of the matches today, as I think the organisers have made a real mess of it today, and they knew that rain was forecast for today, but yet they still neglected to put Andy's match on centre court, which its should have been!  Not only that, but when play was briefly suspended on centre court in Federer/Malisse match they decided to leave the roof open to see if the rain would go off, for what must have been at least half an hour!  Why didn't they just shut the roof straight away and allow play to get underway?????  Also later on when Djokovic had finished his match, it was just about 8pm, which easily left another 3 hours of play left on centre court.  But they decided not to bother rescheduling Andy's match to centre court, despite the fact they still had more than enough time left to get the match done!

And it makes you wonder just who is behind the scheduling as I think they need a good kick up the arse with all the time wasting they have created today.  And tomorrow Andy is scheduled to finish off the match on court 1 again, but again the weather doesn't look promising, which means he could have more delays!  So I really am not impressed with the Wimbledon organisers choices, not only that but I think they have really handed Andy a bum steer this year (that rhymed!) giving him such a tough draw, with 3 top 10 players left in his side of the draw in Ferrer, Tsonga and Del Potro, meanwhile Djokovic only has Federer to worry about, who's fitness it now seems is in question!  Its beggars belief lol!  Anyway I'm getting a bit carried away with myself.

But I have to say I really do hope that Andy does makes the final and Djokovic is there as it would be great to see the two of them do battle once again in a slam final, even if Andy loses, and if he does I hope he doesn't get a thrashing like he did last year, but again I'm getting ahead of myself, there are a few matches to go yet.  But if Andy does lose out early I think the Wimbledon organisers are in part to blame because of all the bad decisions they have made, in order to appear like they aren't guilty of favouritism.  But Andy is the British No.1, so he should be on centre court, and I think its a disgrace to be honest.  And they have also given Ferrer and Del Potro the centre court spot today so yet again I cannot get over how wrong their decisions are, and its like they don't even want Andy to win Wimbledon.  

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo that's all the news for today, and its not all quite what we could have hoped it would be as there are still plenty of matches to finish, with Tsonga and Fish still to finish their match too, and Ferrer and Delpo's match never even got underway, so still more to go.

So I will report back tomorrow once the results are in, so to speak, unless the rain halts everything again!

Till then bye!!

SW19 2012 Part 5: Race against the clock, and dodgy shoes and shorts!

Wellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Wimbledon has been known for its dramatic matches this week, and by heck have we had em, three of them in a row!  And last night's very nearly took the cherry pie, although I would still say Federer's was the most intense in terms of results, but I'll go onto all that in a minute.  Yup it was a highly dramatic day 6 at Wimbledon as the last of the 3rd round matches were completed to complete the 4th round line-up starting on Monday.

Sooooooooooooooooo starting with the ladies as the usual formality, Serena Williams was up first on centre court and she played against the Chinese No.2 (or 3???) Jie Zheng.  Naturally Serena was the hot favourite for this one, but Zheng was anything but a pushover, as she really pushed the 4 time Wimbledon champion to the absolute limit on centre court.  After losing the first set tiebreak, Serena fought back in the 2nd set, breaking Zheng twice, taking the match into a dramatic decider where it went by serve all the way until they were 7 games all, and then Serena finally made the killer move to break Zheng, and after a bit of a tussle in her service game, she came through after a real battle, winning in 6-7, 6-2, 9-7 in nearly 2 hours and 30 minutes.  Serena definitely was given quite a scare in this match but she once again showed her champion qualities to come through, combined with some superb serving, and full credit to Zheng for pushing her opponent as far as she could.

In other ladies matches we had by stark contrast Petra Kvitova absolutely scoosh her way through to the 4th round after gubbing Varvara Lepchenko, and conceding just one game, with a crushing 6-1, 6-0 win.  Victoria Azarenka also had pretty easy passage into the 4th round as well against her opponent Jene Cepelova as she beat her in 6-3, 6-3.  Francesca Schiavone, who has found some form again at Wimbledon also made it through to the 4th round as she beat Klara Zakopalova in convincing fashion with a 6-0, 6-4 win.  And in considerably tougher matches, Tamira Paszek continued her winning run by defeating Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium after dropping the first set (she seems to do that alot!) claimed the next two sets coming through a real battle in 2-6, 7-6-,7-5.  Tamira really has shown some great fighting qualities and next up she will play Robert Vinci, whom I think she will beat as well, after that thought it could get tougher, as she will play the winner of the Ana Ivanovic and Victoria Azarenka match.  Ivanovic herself had quite a tough match with Julia Goerges as she too had to fight from a set down to win against the big hitting German with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory.  However Sara Errani proved less successful in her 3rd round match as she lost emphatically to Yaroslava Shvedova in 6-0, 6-4, apparently Yaro's first set was perfect, or a golden set, as she did not concede one point on her serve!  No bad eh???  So that sets up some fine matches for tomorrow.

Now onto the men's matches, starting with Andy Roddick who took on David Ferrer on centre court, and naturally this was expected to be a real tough match, and that it was.  But it was Roddick who started out the stronger, as he blasted his way through Ferrer in the opening set, but in the 2nd after the two men shared breaks, it went to a tiebreak which after quite a struggle Ferrer claimed it to take the 2nd set.  After this Ferrer found his form and range and started to outplay Roddick with some superb returning and fine serving, winning the 3rd set and in the 4th set he broke to claim his victory with a 2-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 win.  This performance really does show that Ferrer is a threat now on grass as well and the rest of the draw should watch out, and it was a pity for Roddick who got off to such a good start, but Ferrer is a great competitor and he deserved his win.

So in other men's matches before I get to the very last one we had Mardy Fish take on the rising star, David Goffin from Belgium, but despite his best attempts, Goffin was unable to upset Fish, who was in good form and in the end the American's experience saw him get through with a 6-3, 7-6, 7-6 win.  Juan Martin Del Potro also had a fairly easy passage through to the 4th round playing against the Japanese No.1, Kei Nishikori, whom he defeated in straight sets 6-3, 7-6, 6-1.  And penultimately we had two giants take each other on with the big Croat, Marin Cilic, playing the big Yank, Sam Querrey.  After taking the first two sets, Cilic was on the receiving end of a real fightback from Querry who went onto take the 3rd and 4th, and in the 5th they playing an epic decider, which ended with Cilic finally breaking Querrey's serve to close out the second longest match in Wimbledon history with an exhaustive 7-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 17-15 score.  This match was quite long indeed and it clocked in at about 5 hours and 41 minutes, which was actually about half the length of the longest match in history between Mahut and Isner.  And no doubt Cilic would have slept like a lamb after that one!

Which brings me onto the last match of the night on centre court, and the last two nights at Wimbledon prior to this were real drama fests and this one proved to be no different, as Andy Murray took to the court against the Cypriot player Marcos Baghdatis.  Baghdatis is a dangerous player, and a former slam finalist at the Australian Open, so his game wasn't to be taken lightly, but it was Murray that managed to get off to the better start taking the first 7-5.  However in the 2nd set, Andy took a tumble and partially injured his knee, he also struggled to even hold onto his tennis balls, as they kept dropping out of his shorts!  This cost him a couple of points and pretty soon Baghdatis seized the initiative in taking a break of serve to win the 2nd set.  After this due to light, the roof was closed, and about 30 minutes later the players came back out on court to restart play, but Andy, now with taping on his knee, got off to a bad start in dropping serve to go 3-1 down.  However Andy soon found his form again and broke Baghdatis to level 4-4, after this he got back into the match pretty soon he broke Baghdatis to go 2 sets to 1 up.  In the 4th set more drama ensued, not so much in the play, but as play on the centre court can go on no later than 11pm, so this left Andy with a small window of opportunity to close out the match.  And against all odds Andy did exactly that as he raced to a 5-1 lead, and at 11pm on the dot, despite the supervisor coming onto the court to call play, Andy played a quickfire final game to win the match after a highly dramatic 3 hours in 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1.

Well if late night drama is what the crowd wanted that is exactly what they got in this match.  And after getting off to a strong start in the tournament, Andy showed the usual signs of frailty that creep into his game, in this match.  And the old demons came back to haunt, with his poor 1st serve percentage, dropping serve and so on, and at one point even his shorts let him down (although his shorts didn't fall down, that's not what I meant!).  It was almost like this match was another bad omen for Andy, and as we all know he can put his audience, his team and his family through the ringer in any given situation on court, but this really almost takes the biscuit tray.  However I have seen Andy in more dire situations score wise than in this match, particularly at the French and US Open last year when he was two sets down, one set all and a break down is and was recoverable.  In the end however, the dropping balls, so to speak, didn't hamper his chances, and he still won the match, so perhaps he needs a silly sign like this in each match to keep him going! ;-)

But Andy had his fair share of dramas to contend with in this match with his tumbles on the court, getting tape put on his knee, tennis balls dropping out his shorts, its like there has to be a real Murray dramathon in at least one of his matches!   But he did very well to recover from the break down, and as soon as we saw how pumped he was to get back into the match, you then knew that he would come through the match, and to do it just over the nick of time was also remarkable, with playing being curfewed at 11pm, Andy managed to finished off at 11:02pm.  And the atmosphere at the end of the match reached fever pitch as the whole crowd got behind Andy's incredible efforts to win, and while he put's you through an ordeal just watching him, you kind of know he will usually find a way.

Soooooooooooooo that's the 4th round set up complete for the men and the ladies, which starts tomorrow on Monday, as Sunday is a day off for the players (only at Wimbledon this happens!).  As for Andy Murray what are his chances of reaching that final now that Rafa has exited the tournament???????  Well it really isn't easy to tell, as Andy still has a tough draw to deal with, and Marin Cilic is up next tomorrow, however I can see Andy beating Cilic, especially as the big fella played such a long and exhaustive match, this might just work in Andy's favour, and he has a very good head to head 5-1 in his favour over the big Croatian.  But as he admitted himself he will need to play a whole lot better this week to have any chance of getting to the final, and with Rafa out, its a big opportunity for the rest of Andy's draw as well, as none of them have made the Wimbledon final.

So a lot is at stake this week for Andy Murray, and should he beat Cilic, next up he could face either Ferrer or Del Potro in the quarter finals, and maybe Tsonga or Fish in the semi finals, so it doesn't get any easier from here.  And looking at the head to head stats, Ferrer leads Del Potro by 4-2, whereas Murray leads Del Potro 5-1, but with Ferrer is an even 5-5.  But if Andy can raise his game and play to his ranking he will have a chance of reaching that Wimbledon final, and he has said himself in his BBC column that he will try to do everything possible to do that and win the title (if possible!).  And you sense there is almost an inevitability about Andy reaching the final this year, like it is his destiny to do so.

However when you do go out and see him have a sub par day like he did against Baghdatis, it still raises fears that he will come up short once again, or fall at an early hurdle before he even gets a sniff at the final.  But on the other hand, it is Wimbledon, his home slam, and yep Rafa is out, and he is the highest ranked player in his half of the draw, so the chances are there and he will be determined to take them, and he will need to.  

OK so that's it for week 1 of the 2012 Wimbledon championships and it must rank as one of the most dramatic weeks in the tournament's history.  And if week 1 was that dramatic, just how much more dramatic will the second week be?????  No doubt we shall soon see!

Till then ta ta the nooow.