Welllllllllllllllllllll its time to wrap up my posts on the 2012 US Open as this post will cover the two finals, the ladies and mens single finals, as Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka went at it in the ladies final, and Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray went at it in their final. So without further ado let's get doon to brass tacks.
OK well starting with the ladies final, Serena Williams, the former US Open champion was up against the current World No.1, Victoria Azarenka for the title. Up until the final Serena had life pretty easy, as she barely conceded more than six games in a match. However the final promised to be quite different and certainly was that as the world's two best players went at it, toe to toe in trying to win the title. In the first set, Serena took control breaking Vika twice, to take the opener, however in the 2nd, Vika fought back and broke Serena in a similar vein, i.e. twice, to take the 2nd set. But in the 3rd it was a more even contest, even though Victoria went up a break twice, she was broken back by Serena, and even with Vika having the 5-4 lead to serve it out for the title, she couldn't quite manage it, as the stubborness in Serena wouldn't let Vika slam the door shut (pardon the pun!) and she broke back to level 5-5. And from thereoin you could see that Serena was going to win this match and win it she did by breaking Azarenkna's serve for the last time to seal her 4th US Open crown with a hard fought 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 win.
After so many ridiculously short ladies finals, this one was a breath of fresh air, and the fact that it was a 3 set battle more than made up for the disappointments of previous US Open finals. And strangely enough this was actually the first ever US Open ladies final to go the distance, which sounds bizarre in itself! But both players put on an excellent high quality match for the crowd, and Victoria especially deserves credit for putting up such a great fight against the mighty Serena, who blitzed her way into the final and it feared to be the same result in the final, so that it ended a real fight was great.
As for Serena, well this sees her win her 15th grand slam title, and her 4th at Flushing Meadows and she shows no signs of stopping and I'm sure she will go onto win many more majors before she finally decides to put down her racquet. And for Victoria well it shows she can live with the best out on a tennis court, and already this year she has shown she is champion herself winning 26 matches in a row at the start of the year, that including her first grand slam title at the Australian Open, so the future is looking very bright for Vika, and just imagine how many more she could win if it wasn't for Serena!
Right so now onto the men's final, between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, which promised to be a real barnburner of a match, and boy did it live up to expectations, as the two best players in the world in action just now (Roger and Rafa aside) went at it for the right to win the US Open title. From the start we knew we would in for something a little special, despite the blustery conditions on court the two guys traded some incredible points, and one of which had a record 54 shot rally, which was the longest rally of the tournament! And the first set was concluded by an epic tiebreaker, which must rate as one of the best breakers of the year, and it was a real see-saw as you just didn't know what way it would go, but in the end Andy took it 12-10. In the 2nd set Andy went a double break uo, with Djokovic still struggling in the windy conditions, but he soon gained momentum and broke back twice to level the scores at 5-5, but at 6-5 with Djoko serving to go into the breaker, Andy broke to take the 2nd set. In the 3rd however, there was a sharp shift in momentum as Djokovic finally took the initiative by breaking Andy to go 2-0 up, and from there the 3rd set was his. In the 4th it more of the same, with Djokovic taking control with an early break, and despite a tough deuce game at 5-3, with Andy serving to stay in the set, Djokovic finally broke to level the match at 2 sets all.
But in the final set...... it was Andy who took the initiative straight off, finding new energy and clearly not wanting to go down in flames, broke Djokovic straight away to go a break up, and he even broke him again to go 3-0 up. However with a touch nerves Andy dropped his serve to hand one of the breaks back to Djokovic, but from hereoin Andy managed hold his nerve to stay in the match. Both players by now were starting to feel the fatigue of playing on court for over 4 and a half hours, and after Andy broke Djokovic again to make it 5-2, Djoko got the trainer on to treat cramp in his legs. And when it came to crunch time, with the weight of Britain's expectations on his shoulders, Andy...... held..... his..... serve.... to clinch the biggest title of his career, and his first ever grand slam title at the 2012 US Open, with a totally remarkable 7-6 (12-10), 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 triumph in just under 5 hours.
Well....... (phew!) what can you say about this victory??? It really showed just what a true champion Andy Murray has become and that he really has matured and blossomed into a truly great player. Throughout this match he showed true mental strength, and sheer utter grit and determination to finally claim what was righfully his. The match itself whilst it wasn't actually a classic, as the blustery conditions prevented both players from being at their absolute best and they seemed limited to mostly trading lengthy exchanges from the baseline, it did have some great moments, with the 1st set tiebreak, a fightback from Andy in the 4th, and the 5th set being real highlights. And the New York crowd once again played their part in this important and historical match, as Andy grew closer to victory, they cheered him on and on even more with every point, it was great. And it really does confirm at long last that Andy's relationship with Ivan Lendl really has paid off, and now that he has won his first grand slam he can now go on and win at least a few more.
And I can't leave the match without a saying a word or two for Novak Djokovic, who valiantly tried to hold onto his US Open title as long as he could, and he too played his part in this historic match. And the way in which Djokovic fought back into the match in 3rd and 4th sets, well we wouldn't expect anything less from the 5 time major champion. Novak was also very gracious at the trophy presentation and in his runner up speech where he congratulated Andy for his first grand slam and he absolutely deserved it, and it was nice moment when they shared a hug at the net, as there clearly is alot of mutual respect between these two childhood friends.
And in the back of my mind I knew all along that Andy would win a grand slam, it was just a matter of time, and after years of struggling, he finally pulled it out the bag, and he thoroughly deserves it. It also has to be said he also owes a fair bit of credit to Ivan Lendl for aiding him in reaching this stage, and we already knew that Andy had the tools to do the job, he just lacked that mental edge to see it through, and that's what the 8 time major champion did for him. And just a year ago Andy had shown promise that he could win in the majors, especially in the first set and a bit of his Wimbledon semi final against Nadal, before he missed one shot and blew it, but that mental resolve was what was missing, and now he has it.
But as a player throughout his career, Andy has broken records (here's my geeky stats bit!!) reaching his first grand slam final at the age of 21 at the 2008 US Open, and then his second at the Australian Open in 2010, by doing this he became the first British man to reach more than one grand slam final since Fred Perry. He also became the first British player in over 70 years to have won the Queens club championship back in 2009, which Tim Henman was a finalist in years before, and he broke that record again by winning it again in 2011, and the last man to have done that was Arthur Lowe back in 1913-14. He also most notably became the first British player to have reached the Wimbledon final in 74 years since Bunny Austin, and also he became the first British man to wind the Olympic gold in tennis since Osiah Richie over 100 years ago. And now at the age of 25, Andy Murray became the first British singles player to have won a grand slam since Fred Perry back in 1936, who by coincidence, Perry's last major title was in fact the US Open, so there's quite a nice symmetry there. So the stats speak for themselves, he is quite a player, and after 5 attempts he's gone and achieved his main goal, and this could only be the beginning.
Sooooooooooooooo that's it for my US Open posts, it was quite was a tournament, bit of a slow burner, but once it took off it became quite something, and it ended with two great finals, and one of the best possible results that Great Britain and Andy Murray could ever possibly wished for. So Andy old, son, a massive congratulations, this was your time and it was your destiny to win this title (ok bit wanky, but you know, give me a break ;-) and with it, it will give you the confidence to go on and win many more. And as not so much a prediction but more a good wish, I wished earlier this year for once that they would share out the four grand slams between the top four players, and that's exactly the way it worked out for 2012, and whether or not it has ever happened in a full season before in the past, God knows, but if it has its the first time in a long long long time!
Its also been a historical year for the four grand slams in 2012, as at the Australian Open, Rafa and Nole played the longest ever final just under six hours, and at the French Open, Rafa won his 7th title, surpassing Bjorn Borg's record of six in the process. At Wimbledon Roger won his 7th Wimbledon title, equalling Pete Sampras's record as well as getting back to the World No.1 spot, and at the US Open, Andy won his first ever grand slam title, and the first British player to do so for 76 years. So its been quite a year in the majors!
And with that very chripy note, I will say bye bye! :-))
Tuesday 11 September 2012
Sunday 9 September 2012
2012 Flushing Meadows Part 6: Here comes the showdown....
OK well....... its getting close to the end of my US Open posts, which sees the tournament getting closer to the end as I get to the nitty gritty of the semi final matches on both the mens and ladies. So let's get to it!
Right the first ladies match was between Victoria Azarenka, the current World No.1, and Maria Sharapova, and going on their previous hard court matches, it looked potentially like it could be one-way traffic for Azarenka, who thrashed Maria at the start of the year in Melbourne. However the match itself couldn't have been more different, as it turned into a real battle between the two players, with Maria coming out the stronger of the two, breaking Azarenka twice in the first set, although Vika broke back once, before Maria closed it out. In the 2nd set, Vika fought back to break Maria and went on to take the set to level the match, and in the 3rd set, the two did battle on serve, with Vika holding more convincingly while Maria had to struggle on her service games, until 5-4, with Maria serving to make it 5-5, Vika finally pushed through to reach her first US Open final after an exhaustive 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory. This was a great encounter between the two rivals, who have had their lop-sided matches in the past, but this time it was great to see the two of them go at it, right at the same time, and it stands as one of the highlights of the ladies tournament.
So onto the second ladies semi final match which was between Serena Williams, the former champion and the 10th seed, Sara Errani, the talented Italian player. On paper this match sounded like a breeze for Serena, and not surprisingly it turned out to be just that, as Errani had no answer whatsoever for Serena's mighty powerful serves and returns. It also wasn't helped that Errani's first serve isn't even 100mph, which let Serena crunch many winners off it, and with her 2nd serve being as low as 60mph, it would be like a kid in a candy for Serena. And suffice to say the 14 time slam champion blasted her way past Errani in just over an hour to reach another US Open final, with a crushing 6-1, 6-2 win. This match was no contest at all for Serena, and I have to say I don't like watching her matches when they are so one-sided as it becomes boring very quickly, which I'm sure this one did, because I didn't watch it.
And this sets up a very intruiging ladies final between Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka, who's match has been put back till Sunday afternoon. In their previous meeting at the Olympics, Serena destroyed Azarenka, conceding only 3 games in the match, so will it be the same this time???? Well it could be, as Serena has been in similar form throughout this tournament, as she has barely dropped more than 5 games per match! However Azarenka has got some fair amount of firepower to throw at Serena, but to have any chance she will have to serve well, and she has been known to serve badly in her previous matches with Serena, which cost her. Their US Open 3rd round match was very entertaining last year, and I hope this one is of a similar vein, but the last thing I want to see is another easy drubbing from Serena, so hopefully we will get a good fight from them both.
OK so now onto the men's semi finals, which were disrupted by the severe weather conditions on Saturday, and first up we had Andy Murray who took on Tomas Berdych, the 6th seed. Berdych came into this match on form, having defeated Roger Federer in the quarter finals, and he looked to be set to defeat Andy, given his 4-2 record against the Scot. However the match itself turned out to be anything but easy, as the two players had to not just battle each other, but the extremely windy conditions on court, which saw chairs being knocked over, and even Andy's cap flew off at one point, which caused a bit of a strop with Berdych, since Andy was awarded the point for it, but they replayed it anyway.
So in summary Berdych broke at 6-5 to take the first set, however in the 2nd set, Andy fought back and battled brilliantly in the windy conditions, and broke Berdy twice to take the set. In the 3rd Andy kept up his brilliant passage of play and gave the big Czeck a real thrashing, again breaking twice to clinch a 2 sets to 1 lead. In the 4th set, it looked to go the same way as Andy went 3-0 up, but after playing a sloppy service game, he lost his lead and let Berdych back in, who pushed the set to a tiebreak. And despite Berdych being 5-2 in the tiebreak, Andy fought back to level the score before getting a break point to make 8-7, and Berdych finally drew a final error as he fired a forehand long, which saw the British No.1 jump for joy having clinched victory and a place in his 2nd US Open final, after a very tough and windy 5-7, 6-2, 6-1, 7-6(7) victory.
This was nothing but a remarkable match from both players as they had to play through such tough, tricky conditions, and at times the two men had to roll in their first serves because the wind was so severe. And thankfully as I thought when it came to playing the important points it was Andy that came up with the goods, as Berdych floundered badly in the 2nd and 3rd sets. But Berdych does deserve some credit for fighting his way back into the 4th set, as Andy played a poor service game that let his rival back in the door.
However this match really showed just what an incredible competitor Andy Murray really is, that he even in extreme weather conditions can fight through to win a very big match. And for that reason, if for no other I really do believe that Andy can win the title, as he looks confident, poised and ready. He will have to face either Djokovic or Ferrer, but I think that is something he is well prepared for. I also think after reaching the Wimbledon final, and fighting as well as he did against Federer in the final despite the loss, that was the turning point in his career, and everything since has been a stepping stone in the right direction. And since then he has learned through Ivan Lendl how to cope with the pressure in the big matches, and if he wins in the US Open final on Monday then their relationship will truly have paid off. But anyway we will just have to wait and see how Andy get's on this Monday coming, as the bad weather has postponed the final till then.
As for the other semi final, we had Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer who went at it on Sunday in order to reach the US Open final, with Novak looking to reach his fourth and Ferrer looking to reach his first ever grand slam final. The match itself promised to be a cracker, and it started off for Ferrer on the Saturday evening being 5-2 up, and when played resumed on Sunday he took the opening set. However from the 2nd set onward, Ferrer's game disappeared as he failed to hold serve, with Djokovic dominating and Ferrer making a whole load of errors, which saw him broken twice for Nole to level the set. In the 3rd Ferrer went down a break, but broke back to get back on serve, however he struggled to hold on as Djokovic broke again to go 4-3 up, and after that he closed out the 3rd. And by the 4th Ferrer started looking for excuses for his game falling apart, blaming it on his racquets, which he switched at one point, but it did no good as he was simply outclassed by Djokovic's superior defensive skills, and eventually fell to the defending champion after a 4 set victory for Nole, reaching his 4th US Open final, with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win.
Overall this match was a bit disappointing and it had some real potential, especially after Ferrer won the first set, but after that he just couldn't keep up with Djokovic, who had all the answers, and the day's rest made all the difference, as the court conditions were much better, and it was a clear sunny day on court. And it just shows that in the big matches that Ferrer unfortunately just doesn't have the ability to come up with the goods against the top four players, and he may have great speed, agility and return game, but he also has now weapons in his game, which costs him, and on the day he just made too many unforced errors. As for Djokovic well it showed he really is in great form just now and he will make for quite an intimidating opponent in the final.
Whichhhhhh brings me to the final, which will be held on Monday afternoon 4pm, New York time (9pm our time) and its the final that we all want to see between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. And if its anything like their Australian Open semi final match, then we are in for a real treat and with the world's most electric crowd behind them, its going to be quite an atmosphere out there on that Arthur Ashe stadium. And it also sees both players going into the final on top form, and hopefully it will be a very competitive battle between the two men, as it sure promises to be. Andy also in a way has the edge as he beat Djokovic at the Olympics, however that was on grass, and this is hard court, which prefers Djokovic much more, but at the same time Andy has the game to beat Djokovic on any surface. But this will be a tough tough match no doubt, and they are both similar players, with aggressive baseline play and they are also the two best defenders in the game, so they know each others games very well.
But who will come out on top????? Well to be honest I have to say it will be 50/50 as there is no overall favourite here. I would love to see Andy win but it will incredibly tough to put away Djokovic, especially on his best surface, however if he maintains the best of his form at the tournament so far and the Olympics then he will give himself a good chance. However Andy cannot afford to make too many errors, and he has been a bit erratic at times throughout the tournament, and if he does that against Djokovic, then he could be in alot of trouble, so he has to play the best match he can to win. And Djokovic has been very consistent on hard courts, and he has not lost a hard court grand slam match since the US Open 2010 final against Rafa, so he clearly remains the favourite to win.
And can Djokovic beat Andy???? Absolutely, and given his form throughout the championships, he will be dangerous for sure, although it has to be said he has had the easier draw by far, despite his Del Potro match, Djokovic hasn't really been tested yet, but in the final that might all be about to change. So as for my prediction I think if Andy wins it will be in 4 or 5 sets, and if Djokovic wins it will be in 4 sets, or maybe it could be just a straight set blowout for Andy, or you never know maybe even for Djokovic! But I would hate to see Andy lose a 5th major final, and you really do think he has to do it this time around, but we shall see how it goes, only time will tell.
But what tells me that Andy could win it is the way he has coped with mental adversity throughout the tournament, as there have been several times where he looked in trouble but he got himself out of it. And just last year because of that, he probably would never have even reached the final, and that's the difference in him this year as a player, he's maturing and learning to deal with things a whole lot better than before. But whichever way it goes it promises to be a real cracking final, and as its on the biggest tennis stadium in the world, with over 24,000 screaming fans, its going to be one hell of an atmosphere for both guys, and no doubt they will both feed off the energy of the crowd as well. So let's hope its a classic final to round off the last major of the year.
So that's the men's final set up, its potentially a great match, and one to look forward to for sure, in the meantime I will report back once the ladies final is over.
Until then that's it for now.
Right the first ladies match was between Victoria Azarenka, the current World No.1, and Maria Sharapova, and going on their previous hard court matches, it looked potentially like it could be one-way traffic for Azarenka, who thrashed Maria at the start of the year in Melbourne. However the match itself couldn't have been more different, as it turned into a real battle between the two players, with Maria coming out the stronger of the two, breaking Azarenka twice in the first set, although Vika broke back once, before Maria closed it out. In the 2nd set, Vika fought back to break Maria and went on to take the set to level the match, and in the 3rd set, the two did battle on serve, with Vika holding more convincingly while Maria had to struggle on her service games, until 5-4, with Maria serving to make it 5-5, Vika finally pushed through to reach her first US Open final after an exhaustive 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory. This was a great encounter between the two rivals, who have had their lop-sided matches in the past, but this time it was great to see the two of them go at it, right at the same time, and it stands as one of the highlights of the ladies tournament.
So onto the second ladies semi final match which was between Serena Williams, the former champion and the 10th seed, Sara Errani, the talented Italian player. On paper this match sounded like a breeze for Serena, and not surprisingly it turned out to be just that, as Errani had no answer whatsoever for Serena's mighty powerful serves and returns. It also wasn't helped that Errani's first serve isn't even 100mph, which let Serena crunch many winners off it, and with her 2nd serve being as low as 60mph, it would be like a kid in a candy for Serena. And suffice to say the 14 time slam champion blasted her way past Errani in just over an hour to reach another US Open final, with a crushing 6-1, 6-2 win. This match was no contest at all for Serena, and I have to say I don't like watching her matches when they are so one-sided as it becomes boring very quickly, which I'm sure this one did, because I didn't watch it.
And this sets up a very intruiging ladies final between Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka, who's match has been put back till Sunday afternoon. In their previous meeting at the Olympics, Serena destroyed Azarenka, conceding only 3 games in the match, so will it be the same this time???? Well it could be, as Serena has been in similar form throughout this tournament, as she has barely dropped more than 5 games per match! However Azarenka has got some fair amount of firepower to throw at Serena, but to have any chance she will have to serve well, and she has been known to serve badly in her previous matches with Serena, which cost her. Their US Open 3rd round match was very entertaining last year, and I hope this one is of a similar vein, but the last thing I want to see is another easy drubbing from Serena, so hopefully we will get a good fight from them both.
OK so now onto the men's semi finals, which were disrupted by the severe weather conditions on Saturday, and first up we had Andy Murray who took on Tomas Berdych, the 6th seed. Berdych came into this match on form, having defeated Roger Federer in the quarter finals, and he looked to be set to defeat Andy, given his 4-2 record against the Scot. However the match itself turned out to be anything but easy, as the two players had to not just battle each other, but the extremely windy conditions on court, which saw chairs being knocked over, and even Andy's cap flew off at one point, which caused a bit of a strop with Berdych, since Andy was awarded the point for it, but they replayed it anyway.
So in summary Berdych broke at 6-5 to take the first set, however in the 2nd set, Andy fought back and battled brilliantly in the windy conditions, and broke Berdy twice to take the set. In the 3rd Andy kept up his brilliant passage of play and gave the big Czeck a real thrashing, again breaking twice to clinch a 2 sets to 1 lead. In the 4th set, it looked to go the same way as Andy went 3-0 up, but after playing a sloppy service game, he lost his lead and let Berdych back in, who pushed the set to a tiebreak. And despite Berdych being 5-2 in the tiebreak, Andy fought back to level the score before getting a break point to make 8-7, and Berdych finally drew a final error as he fired a forehand long, which saw the British No.1 jump for joy having clinched victory and a place in his 2nd US Open final, after a very tough and windy 5-7, 6-2, 6-1, 7-6(7) victory.
This was nothing but a remarkable match from both players as they had to play through such tough, tricky conditions, and at times the two men had to roll in their first serves because the wind was so severe. And thankfully as I thought when it came to playing the important points it was Andy that came up with the goods, as Berdych floundered badly in the 2nd and 3rd sets. But Berdych does deserve some credit for fighting his way back into the 4th set, as Andy played a poor service game that let his rival back in the door.
However this match really showed just what an incredible competitor Andy Murray really is, that he even in extreme weather conditions can fight through to win a very big match. And for that reason, if for no other I really do believe that Andy can win the title, as he looks confident, poised and ready. He will have to face either Djokovic or Ferrer, but I think that is something he is well prepared for. I also think after reaching the Wimbledon final, and fighting as well as he did against Federer in the final despite the loss, that was the turning point in his career, and everything since has been a stepping stone in the right direction. And since then he has learned through Ivan Lendl how to cope with the pressure in the big matches, and if he wins in the US Open final on Monday then their relationship will truly have paid off. But anyway we will just have to wait and see how Andy get's on this Monday coming, as the bad weather has postponed the final till then.
As for the other semi final, we had Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer who went at it on Sunday in order to reach the US Open final, with Novak looking to reach his fourth and Ferrer looking to reach his first ever grand slam final. The match itself promised to be a cracker, and it started off for Ferrer on the Saturday evening being 5-2 up, and when played resumed on Sunday he took the opening set. However from the 2nd set onward, Ferrer's game disappeared as he failed to hold serve, with Djokovic dominating and Ferrer making a whole load of errors, which saw him broken twice for Nole to level the set. In the 3rd Ferrer went down a break, but broke back to get back on serve, however he struggled to hold on as Djokovic broke again to go 4-3 up, and after that he closed out the 3rd. And by the 4th Ferrer started looking for excuses for his game falling apart, blaming it on his racquets, which he switched at one point, but it did no good as he was simply outclassed by Djokovic's superior defensive skills, and eventually fell to the defending champion after a 4 set victory for Nole, reaching his 4th US Open final, with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win.
Overall this match was a bit disappointing and it had some real potential, especially after Ferrer won the first set, but after that he just couldn't keep up with Djokovic, who had all the answers, and the day's rest made all the difference, as the court conditions were much better, and it was a clear sunny day on court. And it just shows that in the big matches that Ferrer unfortunately just doesn't have the ability to come up with the goods against the top four players, and he may have great speed, agility and return game, but he also has now weapons in his game, which costs him, and on the day he just made too many unforced errors. As for Djokovic well it showed he really is in great form just now and he will make for quite an intimidating opponent in the final.
Whichhhhhh brings me to the final, which will be held on Monday afternoon 4pm, New York time (9pm our time) and its the final that we all want to see between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. And if its anything like their Australian Open semi final match, then we are in for a real treat and with the world's most electric crowd behind them, its going to be quite an atmosphere out there on that Arthur Ashe stadium. And it also sees both players going into the final on top form, and hopefully it will be a very competitive battle between the two men, as it sure promises to be. Andy also in a way has the edge as he beat Djokovic at the Olympics, however that was on grass, and this is hard court, which prefers Djokovic much more, but at the same time Andy has the game to beat Djokovic on any surface. But this will be a tough tough match no doubt, and they are both similar players, with aggressive baseline play and they are also the two best defenders in the game, so they know each others games very well.
But who will come out on top????? Well to be honest I have to say it will be 50/50 as there is no overall favourite here. I would love to see Andy win but it will incredibly tough to put away Djokovic, especially on his best surface, however if he maintains the best of his form at the tournament so far and the Olympics then he will give himself a good chance. However Andy cannot afford to make too many errors, and he has been a bit erratic at times throughout the tournament, and if he does that against Djokovic, then he could be in alot of trouble, so he has to play the best match he can to win. And Djokovic has been very consistent on hard courts, and he has not lost a hard court grand slam match since the US Open 2010 final against Rafa, so he clearly remains the favourite to win.
And can Djokovic beat Andy???? Absolutely, and given his form throughout the championships, he will be dangerous for sure, although it has to be said he has had the easier draw by far, despite his Del Potro match, Djokovic hasn't really been tested yet, but in the final that might all be about to change. So as for my prediction I think if Andy wins it will be in 4 or 5 sets, and if Djokovic wins it will be in 4 sets, or maybe it could be just a straight set blowout for Andy, or you never know maybe even for Djokovic! But I would hate to see Andy lose a 5th major final, and you really do think he has to do it this time around, but we shall see how it goes, only time will tell.
But what tells me that Andy could win it is the way he has coped with mental adversity throughout the tournament, as there have been several times where he looked in trouble but he got himself out of it. And just last year because of that, he probably would never have even reached the final, and that's the difference in him this year as a player, he's maturing and learning to deal with things a whole lot better than before. But whichever way it goes it promises to be a real cracking final, and as its on the biggest tennis stadium in the world, with over 24,000 screaming fans, its going to be one hell of an atmosphere for both guys, and no doubt they will both feed off the energy of the crowd as well. So let's hope its a classic final to round off the last major of the year.
So that's the men's final set up, its potentially a great match, and one to look forward to for sure, in the meantime I will report back once the ladies final is over.
Until then that's it for now.
Thursday 6 September 2012
Flushing Meadows 2012 Part 5: Farewells and fightbacks
Rightttt well its time for the fifth part in my entries on the US Open, the 4th and final grand slam of the season, which sees the players getting down to the final 8 on either side of the sex net (i.e. men and ladies), so let's have a look at the quarter final matches.
OK to kick off with the ladies, Maria Sharapova was up first against Marion Bartoli, and their match was held up by rain on Day 9, which suspended play, so on Day 10, play was resumed, and Bartoli, who was 4-0 up in the 1st set prior to the rain delay, went on to take the first set 6-3. In the 2nd set however, Sharapova inevitably fought back and took the 2nd set, to force a decider, where there were breaks of serve aplenty, but it was Sharapova that made the final breakthrough in breaking Bartoli at 5-4, to close out her win to secure a semi final place in 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. While I didn't see the match from the scoreline and the stats I'm sure it was quite a match, and its great to see some terrific ladies matches put on Arthur Ashe stadium.
And the day before Victoria Azarenka played her quarter final match against Sam Stosur, the defending champion. Stosur had previously never taken a set against the Belarusian in their six prior meetings, but this time, after dropping the first set, mounted a fightback to take the 2nd set, and in the 3rd set, there were breaks all over the place, which pushed the match to a deciding tiebreak, which Azarenka eventually won to reach the semi finals of the US Open for the first time with a 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(5) scoreline. This match was one of the highlights of the tournament and I'm sure the crowd on Arthur Ashe stadium were exstatic at the play that both players put on. It was a pity that Sam didn't make it into the last four, as I would like to have seen her won. Nevertheless it was a great effort from both players, and it will see another showdown between Azarenka and Sharapova. However I can't say I'm too thrilled about this match, as every time Vika and Maria have played on hard court, Vika has always thrashed Sharapova, and their Australian Open final this year was one-way traffic from Azarenka. So I won't expect too much from it, as we can expect Sharapova make alot of errors and double faults will creep no doubt, however I could be wrong and it might turn out to be a terrific battle, but I kind of doubt it, but we'll see.
So quickly onto the other ladies quarter finals, first off we had the Italian players, Sara Errani and Robert Vinci play each other for a spot in the last four. Unfortunately the match itself was a bit of a bore, and due to the rain there was hardly a crowd there to support the players. So overall it was pretty flat, however Errani looked the more impressive of the two as she broke twice in the first set and once in the 2nd, which saw her win in 6-2, 6-4. And so Errani will next play the winner of the next match I'll talk about, which was between Serena Williams and Ana Ivanovic. Serena has been in great form throughout the tournament so far and Ana did nothing to stop her in her path, and she ended winning in a very convincing 6-1, 6-3 scoreline. So Serena will play Errani in the semis, although I have to say I think it will be another cakewalk for Serena as I can't really see Errani hurting her much out on the court, but regardless of that it will be an interesting match.
Right so onto the men's matches, starting with the 4th round match between two former US Open champions, Andy Roddick and Juan Martin Del Potro, which if Roddick were to lose, this would be the last match of his career. And the match itself was quite an entertaining and tight encounter, as both players played tautly in the first two sets, with Roddick winning the opener on a tiebreak and Delpo on the 2nd. However after the 2nd set, Delpo soon took control of the match, and went on to break Roddick twice in the 3rd set, and in the 4th Deplo broke again, although Roddick managed to keep it to the single break. However in the end Del Potro proved to be that bit too good for Roddick, as he served it out for a place in the quarter finals and also being the man who ended Andy Roddick's career with a 6-7, 7-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory.
This was a really good match for Roddick to bow out on, and he had the whole Arthur Ashe stadium right behind him throughout. But I just knew that Roddick wouldn't be able to defeat Del Potro, but it was inevitable that he would get beat sooner or later. And after the match Del Potro was very gracious to Andy as they both hugged at the net, and Delpo pointed his hand toward Roddick to direct the audience's applause. Roddick himself afterward gave an emotional speech to the 20,000 strong crowd, and said he will never forget the US Open and his memories there. So that's that for Andy Roddick, its a pity that he chose to retire, but I guess given that he is now 30, that physically he felt his body wasn't up to another full season of tennis, and no doubt it will take its toll. But I'm sure Andy will be proud of the very impressive career he has made for himself over the last 13 years or so, and I wish him the very best for the future in whatever he choses to do in his life after tennis.
Which brings me onto the other Andy, that is Murray, who played his quarter final match against the big Croat player, Marin Cilic. Cilic has only beaten Andy once, and that was at the US Open, three years ago, and from the start of the match you could swear it would have gone the same way, as Andy struggled on the Louis Armstrong court, with its speed and flight that the balls go at. Suffice to say Andy was broken in his first game, and he continued to hold serve, desite breaking back to make it 3-4, and level at 4-4, he double faulted to let Cilic break again, who took the opening set. In the 2nd things got steadily worse as Andy struggled to maintain any rhythym or even find a first serve, and he let Cilic break him twice, with things looking pretty grim for Andy. However at 5-2, Andy broke back and from there he pretty much didn't look back, as he dominated Cilic in the rallies and levelled the set to a tiebreak, which Andy won. And in the 3rd set, at 2-2, Andy went on to break again, which ultimately left Cilic in a perplexed state, wondering just how he went from playing so well to so bad. In the 4th set, Andy continued his rout on Cilic, who by then had given up the ghost, making all sorts of errors and double faulting, and he finally capitulated, with Andy handing Cilic a bagel set to finish off things, with Andy sealing his spot in the semis after a very sea-saw 3-6, 7-6, 6-2, 6-0 win.
It has to be said, just when I thought Andy was starting to look pretty convincing for the title, in this match he seemed to undo the good work he had done, to begin with anyway. But what was so impressive about Andy again in the match, was how he dealt with mental adversity, as he hung in there till he had his opportunities, and once he took them, Cilic was nowhere in the match. So it was a strong finish after a very erratic start for Andy, and it sees him into the semi final, although I think the Louis Armstrong stadium played its part in Andy's poor play early on, as its a court he has never been keen on, and it always takes time to adjust to the fast pace and conditions on it.
Anyway so quickly onto Roger Federer who played against the Czeck player, Tomas Berdych. Roger looked to be the easy favourite for this match, as he is now back at No.1, you would imagine while it would habve been a tough match, it would be one that he could win. However it proved to be quite the opposite, as he at times struggled against Berdych's incredible form, having lost the 1st set on a tiebreak, and the 2nd set with a break. Roger however seemed to manage to turn things around in the 3rd set as he broke Berdych to take it, but in th 4th set, Berdych refound his form and went on to break Roger and close the match with a 7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory.
This was a bit of shock result, as you would expect that Roger would have come out top on this one, but I guess it just wasn't to be, as Berdych really brought his A game to the match, and when the big guy is on form, there is hardly anyone he can't beat. And this could set off serious alarm bells for Andy Murray, as he is set to face Berdych next in the semi finals. So far Berdych leads their head to head 4-2, although in Andy's favour his 2nd win over Berdych did come earlier this year in Dubai, so its not like he hasn't a chance. But Berdych will be a big big threat for Andy in the semi finals, and there is every chance that he could defeat him, as he beat Andy in their previous grand slam encounter at the French Open two years ago, and he most recently beat Andy in Monte Carlo back in April there. And if there is one man that can deny Andy his chance of reaching his 2nd US Open final, its Tomas Berdych, and if Berdych goes out there and plays a great match on Saturday, then there will be no doubt that Andy will be leaving the tournament.
However Andy will have his chances too, and fortunately for him, Berdych can be a bit erratic in his play, and has a tendancy to get a bit tight when playing the big points, so mentally Andy could have the edge over him, as this is something Andy has learned to deal with thanks to Ivan Lendl. However if Andy is to have any chance against Berdych he will need to play a really good high level match to do it, and as he said himself he can't afford a poor start like he did against Cilic. And another good thing is that the semi final matches will be played on Arthur Ashe stadium, where Andy has played consistently well on over his campaign this year, so hopefully he can use the stadium to his advantage. And if Andy can beat Berdych to reach the final then I would have to say that he could possibly go on to win the title, although that will depend on the guy at the other side of the net, and who that might be, but we can worry about that some other time. Anyway Muzza and Berdy's match will be on Saturday and it promises to be a real belter, and hopefully Andy will win it, but we will just have to wait and see, personally I think both players have a 50/50 chance as either of them could win, it just depends how it will go, but fingers crossed!
Right so a quick update on the remaining quarter final matches, as David Ferrer and Janko Tipsarevic have finished doing battle on Arthur Ashe stadium as they played an epic 5 set match, which saw Ferrer eventually prevail in the 5th set tiebreak, which sees Ferrer into the semi finals of the US Open for the second time. I didn't catch much of the match but little I did see it looked mighty impressive with some incredible exchanges from both players. But it was Ferrer's sheer determination and grit that saw him through after a brutally exhaustive 6-3, 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 victory.
Which brings me onto the men's last quarter final match, which was between Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin Del Potro. Both of these men are US Open champions, with Delpo having won it back in 2009, so this promised to be quite a match. And for the most part it was exactly that, as after a one-sided first set, Delpo got into the match as he did battle with Djokovic in the 2nd set, as he went up a break, until 5-4, serving for the set, Djokovic broke back and went on to 6-5. With Delpo serving to take it into the tiebreaker he was forced to play a lenghty duece game, as he battled with the Serb for 17 minutes before holding serve, but in the tiebreaker, it was all Djokovic, as he took a two sets to love lead. In the 3rd set, Djoko broke Delpo's feeble serve and from there never looked back, but the big fella continued his brave fight till the last point. And this saw Djokovic close out the match after a hard fought three hours and five minutes to emerge with a 6-2, 7-6(3), 6-4 win.
The scoreline certainly betrays what the two men had on court, as they two of them really did battle hard out there for the thrilled crowd who lapped it all up, and they were all rooting for Del Potro, since he was the underdog. There were some terrific points as well, especially during the tiebreak where Delpo tried to make a return after an amazing rally only to give Djokovic 3 set points, and there was a near miraculous passing shot from Del Potro in the last game of the 3rd set, which saw him run on top of the stands with his arms held aloft in front of the cheering crowd. So he may not have won the match, but the big Argentine sure won over the crowd. Djokovic however most certainly did win the match and he looked mighty convincing for the most part throughout it, and it proved that his form leading into the quarter finals was just as good as it appeared to be, regardless of the lower ranked players he was facing. Nole did however have one or two lapses during the match but overall he was very impressive and played the big points very well when he needed to which made all the difference.
And next up for Nole will be David Ferrer, whom he has a fairly good head to head over 8-5, but it won't be an easy one, as Ferrer, while he doesn't have any big weapons to defeat Novak, he does have the speed and the return game to give him a big headache. But Ferrer also played a big epic match against Tipsarevic, which lasted 4 hours and 30 minutes, so it will also come down to how much he has left in the tank against the Serb. However my prediction will be that Djokovic will win this one in 3 sets, the first two might be tight and the 3rd possibly being over pretty quickly, but we'll see.
So that is the men's semis all good to go for Saturday, as its Murray vs Berdych, and Djokovic vs Ferrer, and they promise to be very good. So I will report back with them, and more on the ladies semi final matches too.
OK so after all that I will leave it there.
Bye!!!
OK to kick off with the ladies, Maria Sharapova was up first against Marion Bartoli, and their match was held up by rain on Day 9, which suspended play, so on Day 10, play was resumed, and Bartoli, who was 4-0 up in the 1st set prior to the rain delay, went on to take the first set 6-3. In the 2nd set however, Sharapova inevitably fought back and took the 2nd set, to force a decider, where there were breaks of serve aplenty, but it was Sharapova that made the final breakthrough in breaking Bartoli at 5-4, to close out her win to secure a semi final place in 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. While I didn't see the match from the scoreline and the stats I'm sure it was quite a match, and its great to see some terrific ladies matches put on Arthur Ashe stadium.
And the day before Victoria Azarenka played her quarter final match against Sam Stosur, the defending champion. Stosur had previously never taken a set against the Belarusian in their six prior meetings, but this time, after dropping the first set, mounted a fightback to take the 2nd set, and in the 3rd set, there were breaks all over the place, which pushed the match to a deciding tiebreak, which Azarenka eventually won to reach the semi finals of the US Open for the first time with a 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(5) scoreline. This match was one of the highlights of the tournament and I'm sure the crowd on Arthur Ashe stadium were exstatic at the play that both players put on. It was a pity that Sam didn't make it into the last four, as I would like to have seen her won. Nevertheless it was a great effort from both players, and it will see another showdown between Azarenka and Sharapova. However I can't say I'm too thrilled about this match, as every time Vika and Maria have played on hard court, Vika has always thrashed Sharapova, and their Australian Open final this year was one-way traffic from Azarenka. So I won't expect too much from it, as we can expect Sharapova make alot of errors and double faults will creep no doubt, however I could be wrong and it might turn out to be a terrific battle, but I kind of doubt it, but we'll see.
So quickly onto the other ladies quarter finals, first off we had the Italian players, Sara Errani and Robert Vinci play each other for a spot in the last four. Unfortunately the match itself was a bit of a bore, and due to the rain there was hardly a crowd there to support the players. So overall it was pretty flat, however Errani looked the more impressive of the two as she broke twice in the first set and once in the 2nd, which saw her win in 6-2, 6-4. And so Errani will next play the winner of the next match I'll talk about, which was between Serena Williams and Ana Ivanovic. Serena has been in great form throughout the tournament so far and Ana did nothing to stop her in her path, and she ended winning in a very convincing 6-1, 6-3 scoreline. So Serena will play Errani in the semis, although I have to say I think it will be another cakewalk for Serena as I can't really see Errani hurting her much out on the court, but regardless of that it will be an interesting match.
Right so onto the men's matches, starting with the 4th round match between two former US Open champions, Andy Roddick and Juan Martin Del Potro, which if Roddick were to lose, this would be the last match of his career. And the match itself was quite an entertaining and tight encounter, as both players played tautly in the first two sets, with Roddick winning the opener on a tiebreak and Delpo on the 2nd. However after the 2nd set, Delpo soon took control of the match, and went on to break Roddick twice in the 3rd set, and in the 4th Deplo broke again, although Roddick managed to keep it to the single break. However in the end Del Potro proved to be that bit too good for Roddick, as he served it out for a place in the quarter finals and also being the man who ended Andy Roddick's career with a 6-7, 7-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory.
This was a really good match for Roddick to bow out on, and he had the whole Arthur Ashe stadium right behind him throughout. But I just knew that Roddick wouldn't be able to defeat Del Potro, but it was inevitable that he would get beat sooner or later. And after the match Del Potro was very gracious to Andy as they both hugged at the net, and Delpo pointed his hand toward Roddick to direct the audience's applause. Roddick himself afterward gave an emotional speech to the 20,000 strong crowd, and said he will never forget the US Open and his memories there. So that's that for Andy Roddick, its a pity that he chose to retire, but I guess given that he is now 30, that physically he felt his body wasn't up to another full season of tennis, and no doubt it will take its toll. But I'm sure Andy will be proud of the very impressive career he has made for himself over the last 13 years or so, and I wish him the very best for the future in whatever he choses to do in his life after tennis.
Which brings me onto the other Andy, that is Murray, who played his quarter final match against the big Croat player, Marin Cilic. Cilic has only beaten Andy once, and that was at the US Open, three years ago, and from the start of the match you could swear it would have gone the same way, as Andy struggled on the Louis Armstrong court, with its speed and flight that the balls go at. Suffice to say Andy was broken in his first game, and he continued to hold serve, desite breaking back to make it 3-4, and level at 4-4, he double faulted to let Cilic break again, who took the opening set. In the 2nd things got steadily worse as Andy struggled to maintain any rhythym or even find a first serve, and he let Cilic break him twice, with things looking pretty grim for Andy. However at 5-2, Andy broke back and from there he pretty much didn't look back, as he dominated Cilic in the rallies and levelled the set to a tiebreak, which Andy won. And in the 3rd set, at 2-2, Andy went on to break again, which ultimately left Cilic in a perplexed state, wondering just how he went from playing so well to so bad. In the 4th set, Andy continued his rout on Cilic, who by then had given up the ghost, making all sorts of errors and double faulting, and he finally capitulated, with Andy handing Cilic a bagel set to finish off things, with Andy sealing his spot in the semis after a very sea-saw 3-6, 7-6, 6-2, 6-0 win.
It has to be said, just when I thought Andy was starting to look pretty convincing for the title, in this match he seemed to undo the good work he had done, to begin with anyway. But what was so impressive about Andy again in the match, was how he dealt with mental adversity, as he hung in there till he had his opportunities, and once he took them, Cilic was nowhere in the match. So it was a strong finish after a very erratic start for Andy, and it sees him into the semi final, although I think the Louis Armstrong stadium played its part in Andy's poor play early on, as its a court he has never been keen on, and it always takes time to adjust to the fast pace and conditions on it.
Anyway so quickly onto Roger Federer who played against the Czeck player, Tomas Berdych. Roger looked to be the easy favourite for this match, as he is now back at No.1, you would imagine while it would habve been a tough match, it would be one that he could win. However it proved to be quite the opposite, as he at times struggled against Berdych's incredible form, having lost the 1st set on a tiebreak, and the 2nd set with a break. Roger however seemed to manage to turn things around in the 3rd set as he broke Berdych to take it, but in th 4th set, Berdych refound his form and went on to break Roger and close the match with a 7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory.
This was a bit of shock result, as you would expect that Roger would have come out top on this one, but I guess it just wasn't to be, as Berdych really brought his A game to the match, and when the big guy is on form, there is hardly anyone he can't beat. And this could set off serious alarm bells for Andy Murray, as he is set to face Berdych next in the semi finals. So far Berdych leads their head to head 4-2, although in Andy's favour his 2nd win over Berdych did come earlier this year in Dubai, so its not like he hasn't a chance. But Berdych will be a big big threat for Andy in the semi finals, and there is every chance that he could defeat him, as he beat Andy in their previous grand slam encounter at the French Open two years ago, and he most recently beat Andy in Monte Carlo back in April there. And if there is one man that can deny Andy his chance of reaching his 2nd US Open final, its Tomas Berdych, and if Berdych goes out there and plays a great match on Saturday, then there will be no doubt that Andy will be leaving the tournament.
However Andy will have his chances too, and fortunately for him, Berdych can be a bit erratic in his play, and has a tendancy to get a bit tight when playing the big points, so mentally Andy could have the edge over him, as this is something Andy has learned to deal with thanks to Ivan Lendl. However if Andy is to have any chance against Berdych he will need to play a really good high level match to do it, and as he said himself he can't afford a poor start like he did against Cilic. And another good thing is that the semi final matches will be played on Arthur Ashe stadium, where Andy has played consistently well on over his campaign this year, so hopefully he can use the stadium to his advantage. And if Andy can beat Berdych to reach the final then I would have to say that he could possibly go on to win the title, although that will depend on the guy at the other side of the net, and who that might be, but we can worry about that some other time. Anyway Muzza and Berdy's match will be on Saturday and it promises to be a real belter, and hopefully Andy will win it, but we will just have to wait and see, personally I think both players have a 50/50 chance as either of them could win, it just depends how it will go, but fingers crossed!
Right so a quick update on the remaining quarter final matches, as David Ferrer and Janko Tipsarevic have finished doing battle on Arthur Ashe stadium as they played an epic 5 set match, which saw Ferrer eventually prevail in the 5th set tiebreak, which sees Ferrer into the semi finals of the US Open for the second time. I didn't catch much of the match but little I did see it looked mighty impressive with some incredible exchanges from both players. But it was Ferrer's sheer determination and grit that saw him through after a brutally exhaustive 6-3, 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 victory.
Which brings me onto the men's last quarter final match, which was between Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin Del Potro. Both of these men are US Open champions, with Delpo having won it back in 2009, so this promised to be quite a match. And for the most part it was exactly that, as after a one-sided first set, Delpo got into the match as he did battle with Djokovic in the 2nd set, as he went up a break, until 5-4, serving for the set, Djokovic broke back and went on to 6-5. With Delpo serving to take it into the tiebreaker he was forced to play a lenghty duece game, as he battled with the Serb for 17 minutes before holding serve, but in the tiebreaker, it was all Djokovic, as he took a two sets to love lead. In the 3rd set, Djoko broke Delpo's feeble serve and from there never looked back, but the big fella continued his brave fight till the last point. And this saw Djokovic close out the match after a hard fought three hours and five minutes to emerge with a 6-2, 7-6(3), 6-4 win.
The scoreline certainly betrays what the two men had on court, as they two of them really did battle hard out there for the thrilled crowd who lapped it all up, and they were all rooting for Del Potro, since he was the underdog. There were some terrific points as well, especially during the tiebreak where Delpo tried to make a return after an amazing rally only to give Djokovic 3 set points, and there was a near miraculous passing shot from Del Potro in the last game of the 3rd set, which saw him run on top of the stands with his arms held aloft in front of the cheering crowd. So he may not have won the match, but the big Argentine sure won over the crowd. Djokovic however most certainly did win the match and he looked mighty convincing for the most part throughout it, and it proved that his form leading into the quarter finals was just as good as it appeared to be, regardless of the lower ranked players he was facing. Nole did however have one or two lapses during the match but overall he was very impressive and played the big points very well when he needed to which made all the difference.
And next up for Nole will be David Ferrer, whom he has a fairly good head to head over 8-5, but it won't be an easy one, as Ferrer, while he doesn't have any big weapons to defeat Novak, he does have the speed and the return game to give him a big headache. But Ferrer also played a big epic match against Tipsarevic, which lasted 4 hours and 30 minutes, so it will also come down to how much he has left in the tank against the Serb. However my prediction will be that Djokovic will win this one in 3 sets, the first two might be tight and the 3rd possibly being over pretty quickly, but we'll see.
So that is the men's semis all good to go for Saturday, as its Murray vs Berdych, and Djokovic vs Ferrer, and they promise to be very good. So I will report back with them, and more on the ladies semi final matches too.
OK so after all that I will leave it there.
Bye!!!
Tuesday 4 September 2012
Flushing Meadows 2012 Part 4: Raining on the serve
Right so now onto Part 4 of my US Open posts which coves the ladies and men's 4th round matches from Flushing Meadows as the final grand slam of the season begins its second week.
So let's get to it, and to start with the ladies, we had Laura Robson take on the defending US Open champion, Sam Stosur, and Laura was looking to become the first British ladies singles player to reach the quarter final of a grand slam since Jo Durie over 20 years ago. As for the match itself, well Laura got off to a strong start in the first set, going up a break early, however it wasn't long before Stosur broke back, and at 5-4, with Laura serving to make it 5-5, she double faulted to hand the 1st set to Stosur. In the 2nd set, Laura went a break down, however she fought bravely and even broke back to make it 4-5, and after saving seven match points, Laura finally succumb to Stosur's professionalism and experience, as Sam closed it out after a hard fought 6-4, 6-4 win. This match saw Laura show great determination and guts as well as that she still had the chops to take on a top player and push her hard throughout the match. The US Open has also showed that Laura really has the makings of a great player, and that she has built on her success with Andy Murray at the Olympics, which I'm sure has fuelled her belief. And I think it won't be long before Laura makes that breakthrough on the WTA tour and starts winning titles, so for her I think this is just the beginning of what could be a great career.
Anyway onto other matches I was pleased to see that Marion Bartoli who took on Petra Kvitova in the 4th round, managed to fight her way past the Czeck from a set down, she stormed back to take the match in 1-6, 6-2, 6-0. This marks the first time Marion reached the US Open quarter finals in her career, and after a poor slam season so far, this more than makes up for it. Angelique Kerber, the world no.6 in her 4th round match faced the the World No.10, Sara Errani, whom both recently clashed at the French Open, with Errani coming out on top. This match proved to be a very entertaining one, with both players sharing breaks in the 1st set, which eventually went to a tiebreak, where Errani gained the upper hand and took it. In the 2nd set, Kerber got off a bad start dropping serve straight away, but she soon broke back to level at 3-3, however that's as far as Kerber got as her game fell apart and it left Errani to serve it out with no problem to secure her first US Open quarter final with a 7-6, 6-3 win. And her Italian counterpart and doubles partner, Roberta Vinci also followed suit as she reached her first ever grand slam quarter final by defeating an out of sorts looking Agnieszka Radwanska in 6-1, 6-4. So this means both Errani and Vinci will face each other for a place in the semis, now that will be interesting!
And in other matches, Serena Williams had zero problems getting past her opponent in the 4th round, Andrea Hlavackova with a golden match, handing her a double bagel 6-0, 6-0, ouch, setting up her quarter final match with Ana Ivanovic, who also coasted past Tsvetana Pironkova in 6-0 6-4. This could well be a potentially very good match between Ana and Serena, but I'm sure its one that should see Serena prevail in straight sets. And finally Maria Sharapova battled her way past her fellow Russian player, Nadia Petrova, who after winning the first set, rain interrupted play, with Nadia breaking in the 2nd to take the set, but Maria came through to win in the 3rd with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory. This will set her quarter final meeting with Marion Bartoli, whom she has a very good head to head record against, well she has never lost to her, so you can't fairer than that with a 5-0 lead. But the match promises to be hopefully be a good one.
As for the men's matches, well so far the 4th round matches have seen Roger Federer, who actually received a walkover into the quarter finals due to Mardy Fish, having to retire due to a recurring heart problem, as he had previously had surgery for, which saw his heartbeat really fast. This is quite worrying news and I hope Mardy recovers soon from his condition, which may require more surgery, so all the best to him for the future. Tomas Berdych however in the meantime managed to get past Nicolas Almagro with relative ease, as he beat the Spaniard in 7-6, 6-4, 6-1 to reach his first US Open quarter final, which sets up a mouth watering match with Roger Federer for a place in the semis, now that should be a good one!
So now we get onto Andy Murray who had his showdown with the big Canadian, Milos Raonic, which promised to be a real battle of the wits (and serves). However Andy came well prepared for Raonic's massive serve, and he was able to neutralise big youngster with some brilliant defensive play, as he played a variety of drop shots, passing shots and lobs to befuddle Raonic, and he broke the Canadian missile once in the first two sets. In the 3rd set, Andy broke again early on and after that made another decisive break and went on to serve out for the match which he had little trouble in doing so, and closed it out for a place in the quarter finals with a self assured 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win. This was a terrific result for Andy as he allayed any fears of a possible upset against Raonic, who looked to be a real threat going into this match. However Andy pretty much from the get go was in control of the proceedings and he did what needed being done, and he did it with style, as well as beating the rain just in time, as it rained down on the court just minutes after they walked off court!
So this sets up a quarter final clash for Andy with Marin Cilic, the 12th seed and Croatian player, and personally I can't really see Cilic upsetting Andy here, and he beat the Croat convincingly at Wimbledon during the summer this year. However you can't understimate anyone and Cilic could prove to be a dangerous opponent but I can see Andy coming through this one in either 3 or 4 sets, to set up a potential encounter with Roger Federer (or Tomas Berdych) but we shall leave that one for another day. However if Andy and Roger should meet on Friday or Saturday (weather permitting that is!) it will make for one mouth watering encounter, but we can get into that one should it arise.
So quickly onto the remaining men's 4th round matches, starting with David Ferrer who took on Richard Gasquet, the talented French player. And for the first two sets we had some very competitive and entertaining tennis from the two men, but it was Ferrer that played the crucial points better, and took a 2 sets to love lead. Play was halted briefly in the 3rd set by rain, but when play resumed at 4-3 going by serve, Ferrer broke again to close out the match, reaching his first US Open quarter final with a 7-5, 7-6, 6-3 win. This completes some very impressive results for Ferrer in terms of reaching grand slam stages, as he has now reached the quarter finals of all four majors, which is no mean feat. Next up for Ferrer will be Janko Tipsarevic, who defeated the German player, Philipp Kohlschreibber in 7-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach his second US Open quarter final, so this promises to be a good match. Andy Roddick's match is still in play at the mo, which I will update later on once its done, as he takes on Juan Martin Del Potro, and it stands at a set all, with Delpo currently a break up, but we all know that in tennis things can change fast. But this could however be Roddick's last ever match, so we will see how he does.
And finally Novak Djokovic took on the Swiss No.2, Stan Wawrinka, in what promised to be quite an entertaining encounter. And for the first set it was just that, as both men traded breaks, but Djokovic ultimately closed it out in 6-4. In the 2nd set however, Wawrinka started misfiring badly, making all sorts of unforced errors, which saw Djokovic break twice to take the set. And in the 3rd we saw that Wawrinka was clearly struggling physically as he appeared to be dizzy, and called on the doctor at the break after 2-1, and at 3-1, Stan retired from the match to hand Djokovic his place in the quarter finals, with a scoreline of 6-4, 6-1, 3-1 ret.
It was a pity that Stan was forced to retire from the match, as it had shown good potential in the 1st set, but I guess it wasn't long before he started to feel poorly on the court, so he couldn't continue. As for Djokovic, well I have to say that while he played pretty well, I'm still not fully convinced he will defend his title, as he made a series of unforced errors especially in the 1st set, and with Stan's level dropping off in the 2nd and the start of the 3rd, its hard to guage just where Djokovic's tennis is at right now. I say that because so far he has beaten some fairly easy opponents, and Stan was his first potential test but he wasn't playing his best and was forced to retire. So a question mark remains over Djokovic's head as to whether he can go on to win the title again. And next up for Nole will most possibly be Del Potro, who had beaten Djokovic at the Olympics, and Delpo has hit his stride at the US Open really well this year, and being a former champion that will also make him dangerous, so we shall see how it goes for Nole.
So till then, byee!
So let's get to it, and to start with the ladies, we had Laura Robson take on the defending US Open champion, Sam Stosur, and Laura was looking to become the first British ladies singles player to reach the quarter final of a grand slam since Jo Durie over 20 years ago. As for the match itself, well Laura got off to a strong start in the first set, going up a break early, however it wasn't long before Stosur broke back, and at 5-4, with Laura serving to make it 5-5, she double faulted to hand the 1st set to Stosur. In the 2nd set, Laura went a break down, however she fought bravely and even broke back to make it 4-5, and after saving seven match points, Laura finally succumb to Stosur's professionalism and experience, as Sam closed it out after a hard fought 6-4, 6-4 win. This match saw Laura show great determination and guts as well as that she still had the chops to take on a top player and push her hard throughout the match. The US Open has also showed that Laura really has the makings of a great player, and that she has built on her success with Andy Murray at the Olympics, which I'm sure has fuelled her belief. And I think it won't be long before Laura makes that breakthrough on the WTA tour and starts winning titles, so for her I think this is just the beginning of what could be a great career.
Anyway onto other matches I was pleased to see that Marion Bartoli who took on Petra Kvitova in the 4th round, managed to fight her way past the Czeck from a set down, she stormed back to take the match in 1-6, 6-2, 6-0. This marks the first time Marion reached the US Open quarter finals in her career, and after a poor slam season so far, this more than makes up for it. Angelique Kerber, the world no.6 in her 4th round match faced the the World No.10, Sara Errani, whom both recently clashed at the French Open, with Errani coming out on top. This match proved to be a very entertaining one, with both players sharing breaks in the 1st set, which eventually went to a tiebreak, where Errani gained the upper hand and took it. In the 2nd set, Kerber got off a bad start dropping serve straight away, but she soon broke back to level at 3-3, however that's as far as Kerber got as her game fell apart and it left Errani to serve it out with no problem to secure her first US Open quarter final with a 7-6, 6-3 win. And her Italian counterpart and doubles partner, Roberta Vinci also followed suit as she reached her first ever grand slam quarter final by defeating an out of sorts looking Agnieszka Radwanska in 6-1, 6-4. So this means both Errani and Vinci will face each other for a place in the semis, now that will be interesting!
And in other matches, Serena Williams had zero problems getting past her opponent in the 4th round, Andrea Hlavackova with a golden match, handing her a double bagel 6-0, 6-0, ouch, setting up her quarter final match with Ana Ivanovic, who also coasted past Tsvetana Pironkova in 6-0 6-4. This could well be a potentially very good match between Ana and Serena, but I'm sure its one that should see Serena prevail in straight sets. And finally Maria Sharapova battled her way past her fellow Russian player, Nadia Petrova, who after winning the first set, rain interrupted play, with Nadia breaking in the 2nd to take the set, but Maria came through to win in the 3rd with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory. This will set her quarter final meeting with Marion Bartoli, whom she has a very good head to head record against, well she has never lost to her, so you can't fairer than that with a 5-0 lead. But the match promises to be hopefully be a good one.
As for the men's matches, well so far the 4th round matches have seen Roger Federer, who actually received a walkover into the quarter finals due to Mardy Fish, having to retire due to a recurring heart problem, as he had previously had surgery for, which saw his heartbeat really fast. This is quite worrying news and I hope Mardy recovers soon from his condition, which may require more surgery, so all the best to him for the future. Tomas Berdych however in the meantime managed to get past Nicolas Almagro with relative ease, as he beat the Spaniard in 7-6, 6-4, 6-1 to reach his first US Open quarter final, which sets up a mouth watering match with Roger Federer for a place in the semis, now that should be a good one!
So now we get onto Andy Murray who had his showdown with the big Canadian, Milos Raonic, which promised to be a real battle of the wits (and serves). However Andy came well prepared for Raonic's massive serve, and he was able to neutralise big youngster with some brilliant defensive play, as he played a variety of drop shots, passing shots and lobs to befuddle Raonic, and he broke the Canadian missile once in the first two sets. In the 3rd set, Andy broke again early on and after that made another decisive break and went on to serve out for the match which he had little trouble in doing so, and closed it out for a place in the quarter finals with a self assured 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win. This was a terrific result for Andy as he allayed any fears of a possible upset against Raonic, who looked to be a real threat going into this match. However Andy pretty much from the get go was in control of the proceedings and he did what needed being done, and he did it with style, as well as beating the rain just in time, as it rained down on the court just minutes after they walked off court!
So this sets up a quarter final clash for Andy with Marin Cilic, the 12th seed and Croatian player, and personally I can't really see Cilic upsetting Andy here, and he beat the Croat convincingly at Wimbledon during the summer this year. However you can't understimate anyone and Cilic could prove to be a dangerous opponent but I can see Andy coming through this one in either 3 or 4 sets, to set up a potential encounter with Roger Federer (or Tomas Berdych) but we shall leave that one for another day. However if Andy and Roger should meet on Friday or Saturday (weather permitting that is!) it will make for one mouth watering encounter, but we can get into that one should it arise.
So quickly onto the remaining men's 4th round matches, starting with David Ferrer who took on Richard Gasquet, the talented French player. And for the first two sets we had some very competitive and entertaining tennis from the two men, but it was Ferrer that played the crucial points better, and took a 2 sets to love lead. Play was halted briefly in the 3rd set by rain, but when play resumed at 4-3 going by serve, Ferrer broke again to close out the match, reaching his first US Open quarter final with a 7-5, 7-6, 6-3 win. This completes some very impressive results for Ferrer in terms of reaching grand slam stages, as he has now reached the quarter finals of all four majors, which is no mean feat. Next up for Ferrer will be Janko Tipsarevic, who defeated the German player, Philipp Kohlschreibber in 7-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach his second US Open quarter final, so this promises to be a good match. Andy Roddick's match is still in play at the mo, which I will update later on once its done, as he takes on Juan Martin Del Potro, and it stands at a set all, with Delpo currently a break up, but we all know that in tennis things can change fast. But this could however be Roddick's last ever match, so we will see how he does.
And finally Novak Djokovic took on the Swiss No.2, Stan Wawrinka, in what promised to be quite an entertaining encounter. And for the first set it was just that, as both men traded breaks, but Djokovic ultimately closed it out in 6-4. In the 2nd set however, Wawrinka started misfiring badly, making all sorts of unforced errors, which saw Djokovic break twice to take the set. And in the 3rd we saw that Wawrinka was clearly struggling physically as he appeared to be dizzy, and called on the doctor at the break after 2-1, and at 3-1, Stan retired from the match to hand Djokovic his place in the quarter finals, with a scoreline of 6-4, 6-1, 3-1 ret.
It was a pity that Stan was forced to retire from the match, as it had shown good potential in the 1st set, but I guess it wasn't long before he started to feel poorly on the court, so he couldn't continue. As for Djokovic, well I have to say that while he played pretty well, I'm still not fully convinced he will defend his title, as he made a series of unforced errors especially in the 1st set, and with Stan's level dropping off in the 2nd and the start of the 3rd, its hard to guage just where Djokovic's tennis is at right now. I say that because so far he has beaten some fairly easy opponents, and Stan was his first potential test but he wasn't playing his best and was forced to retire. So a question mark remains over Djokovic's head as to whether he can go on to win the title again. And next up for Nole will most possibly be Del Potro, who had beaten Djokovic at the Olympics, and Delpo has hit his stride at the US Open really well this year, and being a former champion that will also make him dangerous, so we shall see how it goes for Nole.
So till then, byee!
Sunday 2 September 2012
Flushing Meadows 2012 Part 3: in the heat of the day
Right ok so its time fer part 3 of my coverage of the 2012 US Open, which saw some more intense match play on Days 6 and 7 in the men's and ladies match so let's have a look at em!
Right the ladies Serena Williams played against the Russian player, Ekaterina Makarova, who previously upset Serena at the Australian open earlier this year, however there was no shock exit this time as despite a tight first set, Serena breezed past the Russian with a 6-4, 6-0 victory. Agnieszka Radwanska (nearly always typer her name wrong!) faced Jelena Jankovic, in what promised to be quite an encounter, although it wasn't a classic encounter by any means, there were brakes of serve aplenty, but in the end it was Aga that came through in a scrappy straight sets 6-3, 7-5. Angelique Kerber had no trouble however against her opponent Olga Govortsova winning in 6-1, 6-2, who will go on to face Sara Errani in the 4th round. And finally Roberta Vinci overcame Dominika Cibulkova in 6-2, 7-5 to set up a meeting with Radwanska. More matches will folow on the ladies as Laura Robson will take on Sam Stosur, for her first ever place in the quarter finals of a grand slam. Victoria Azarenka, who has blasted her way through the draw so far, is in action as well, and what could potentially be a really good match is Petra Kvitova taking on Marion Bartoli, so expect plenty of big hitting there!
So onto the men's matches starting with Roger Federer who was up against Fernando Verdasco, a former top 10 player, but this time it was not much of a contest for Roger, who managed to come through quite comfortably in the end with a straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory. This will set up a tougher match in prospect however as Roger will next take on one of the home favourites, Mardy Fish next up in the 4th round, which promises to be a good one. Novak Djokovic also had it quite easy as he played the Frenchman, Julien Benneteau, whom he had little trouble getting past, after a promising start from Benny, he was broken and Djoko never looked back, and went to close out with a comfortable 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win. This sees Djokovic really is in great form just now, and there is still a strong chance that he could defend his title at the US Open, but it remains to be seen how he will get on.
In other men's matches there was Tomas Berdych, who had a tougher passage into the 4th round as he battled against another big server, Sam Querrey, as it took him 4 sets to get past the big Yank in 6-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. Nicolas Almagro also to tough it out but finished up strong against the American player, Jack Sock, with a tight 7-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-1 win, which will set up another clash with his best buddy Berdych (who refuse to shake his hand after the Melbourne match, but they have patched up since!). Juan Martin Del Potro however had a slightly more comfortable victory against his fellow countryman Leonardo Mayer 6-3, 7-5, 7-6(9). And David Ferrer also had a bit of a tussle getting into the 4th round as he took on the former champion, Lleyton Hewitt, but finished strong in the 4th set with the scoreline reading 7-6(9), 4-6, 6-3, 6-0. And the big Candian server, Milos Raonic wiped out the American player, James Blake, with a 6-3, 6-0, 7-6(3) win, thumping 29 aces down in the process, and looking very formidable.
And lastly, Andy Roddick played his part in a highly entertaining match on Arthur Ashe stadium, as he took on the crowd pleasing showboating Italian player, Fabio Fognini, who entertained the crowd with his flashy play, and he also gave Roddick a run for his money. After the first two sets, Roddick's level dipped in the 3rd as Fognini broke him to seal the 3rd set, but after squandering one break, Roddick managed to get another in the 4th set, after which he finally closed out the match to a delighted 20,000 strong cheering audience, with a 7-5, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 score. So that's Roddick into the last 16 where he will play Del Potro, which could well be his last match, but you never know, he just might win to extend his run before he retires, so I'll wish him the best of luck.
Which brings me to Andy Murray who in his 3rd round match took on Feliciano Lopez, whom had never beaten Andy in their previous six meetings, and most of them were in straight sets, so this looked to be a pretty routine match for the Muzza. However it proved to be anything but as Lopez brought his A game to the proceedings, serving brilliantly and coming up with an array of dazzling shots, he pushed Andy to two tiebreaks in 1st and 2nd sets but ultimately losing them. But in the baking hot sun, Andy's level started to dip as he went up a break twice against Lopez and squandered them both, and he dropped his own serve to let Lopez take the 3rd set. In the 4th set, Lopez's great form continued, and Andy looked worse for wear in the blazing sun, but he just manged to hold onto his serve to push the match to a 4th set tiebreak, which saw Andy finally make the breakthrough, with a terrific passing shot, he set up a match point, which saw Lopez slice a drop shot into the net, with saw Andy finally reach the 4th round after a brutal and epic 7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 win.
Well in the grand slams you are always ensured a Murray dramathon and this was it, or should I say this match was just the beginning as it had just about everything in it, and both players put on quite a show for the jam packed and enthralled crowd. Andy worryingly though did show signs of fatigue as he struggled in the 3rd set to hold serve as well as coping with the blazing heat, with the temps apparently soaring up to 100 degrees farenheit! (It wouldn't be me out there I tell you!). However depsite a somewhat ropey performance, Andy did produce some terrific tennis just when he needed it and he displayed that particularly in the three tiebreaks, where he played the big points so well, which made the difference. Lopez also deserves tremendous credit to what he brought to this match, as he easily played his best tennis against Andy, even though it wasn't quite enough, he certainly won over alot of fans as a result. But it was down to Andy's grit and tenacity that managed to see him through to the last 16 at Flushing Meadows.
And in his next match Andy will play the big Canadian, Milos Raonic, who makes for a very unenviable opponent, given his big powerful and accurate serve, he could serve up a whole lot of trouble for Andy tomorrow night. Raonic has already beaten Andy in their only previous meeting in Barcelona earlier this year, however that was in a smaller ATP tour event and not in a grand slam, and over the best of 5 sets I think Andy will have the mental edge on Raonic. However Andy will also need to serve better in this match to have any real chance, but fortunately for him, Raonic despite the usual accuracy of his serve, can be prone to making unforced errors from time to time, so Andy can pressure him with his return game, and that's where he might make the difference. But Raonic has a pretty good chance of pulling off an upset here, as he could easily hit Andy off the court if he has a great day, then it will be an early exit for the British No.1. However I am hoping this won't be the case, and the match itself promises to be a real belter, so let's hope it lives up to expectations, and I might be wrong but I think Andy will come through it in 4 or 5 sets, or the big Raoner might dump him out in 3 or 4 sets, but let's hope not! :-)
Right so that's it for now. More soon on the ladies 4th round matches, and the men's. Gulp!
Byeeee!
Right the ladies Serena Williams played against the Russian player, Ekaterina Makarova, who previously upset Serena at the Australian open earlier this year, however there was no shock exit this time as despite a tight first set, Serena breezed past the Russian with a 6-4, 6-0 victory. Agnieszka Radwanska (nearly always typer her name wrong!) faced Jelena Jankovic, in what promised to be quite an encounter, although it wasn't a classic encounter by any means, there were brakes of serve aplenty, but in the end it was Aga that came through in a scrappy straight sets 6-3, 7-5. Angelique Kerber had no trouble however against her opponent Olga Govortsova winning in 6-1, 6-2, who will go on to face Sara Errani in the 4th round. And finally Roberta Vinci overcame Dominika Cibulkova in 6-2, 7-5 to set up a meeting with Radwanska. More matches will folow on the ladies as Laura Robson will take on Sam Stosur, for her first ever place in the quarter finals of a grand slam. Victoria Azarenka, who has blasted her way through the draw so far, is in action as well, and what could potentially be a really good match is Petra Kvitova taking on Marion Bartoli, so expect plenty of big hitting there!
So onto the men's matches starting with Roger Federer who was up against Fernando Verdasco, a former top 10 player, but this time it was not much of a contest for Roger, who managed to come through quite comfortably in the end with a straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory. This will set up a tougher match in prospect however as Roger will next take on one of the home favourites, Mardy Fish next up in the 4th round, which promises to be a good one. Novak Djokovic also had it quite easy as he played the Frenchman, Julien Benneteau, whom he had little trouble getting past, after a promising start from Benny, he was broken and Djoko never looked back, and went to close out with a comfortable 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win. This sees Djokovic really is in great form just now, and there is still a strong chance that he could defend his title at the US Open, but it remains to be seen how he will get on.
In other men's matches there was Tomas Berdych, who had a tougher passage into the 4th round as he battled against another big server, Sam Querrey, as it took him 4 sets to get past the big Yank in 6-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. Nicolas Almagro also to tough it out but finished up strong against the American player, Jack Sock, with a tight 7-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-1 win, which will set up another clash with his best buddy Berdych (who refuse to shake his hand after the Melbourne match, but they have patched up since!). Juan Martin Del Potro however had a slightly more comfortable victory against his fellow countryman Leonardo Mayer 6-3, 7-5, 7-6(9). And David Ferrer also had a bit of a tussle getting into the 4th round as he took on the former champion, Lleyton Hewitt, but finished strong in the 4th set with the scoreline reading 7-6(9), 4-6, 6-3, 6-0. And the big Candian server, Milos Raonic wiped out the American player, James Blake, with a 6-3, 6-0, 7-6(3) win, thumping 29 aces down in the process, and looking very formidable.
And lastly, Andy Roddick played his part in a highly entertaining match on Arthur Ashe stadium, as he took on the crowd pleasing showboating Italian player, Fabio Fognini, who entertained the crowd with his flashy play, and he also gave Roddick a run for his money. After the first two sets, Roddick's level dipped in the 3rd as Fognini broke him to seal the 3rd set, but after squandering one break, Roddick managed to get another in the 4th set, after which he finally closed out the match to a delighted 20,000 strong cheering audience, with a 7-5, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 score. So that's Roddick into the last 16 where he will play Del Potro, which could well be his last match, but you never know, he just might win to extend his run before he retires, so I'll wish him the best of luck.
Which brings me to Andy Murray who in his 3rd round match took on Feliciano Lopez, whom had never beaten Andy in their previous six meetings, and most of them were in straight sets, so this looked to be a pretty routine match for the Muzza. However it proved to be anything but as Lopez brought his A game to the proceedings, serving brilliantly and coming up with an array of dazzling shots, he pushed Andy to two tiebreaks in 1st and 2nd sets but ultimately losing them. But in the baking hot sun, Andy's level started to dip as he went up a break twice against Lopez and squandered them both, and he dropped his own serve to let Lopez take the 3rd set. In the 4th set, Lopez's great form continued, and Andy looked worse for wear in the blazing sun, but he just manged to hold onto his serve to push the match to a 4th set tiebreak, which saw Andy finally make the breakthrough, with a terrific passing shot, he set up a match point, which saw Lopez slice a drop shot into the net, with saw Andy finally reach the 4th round after a brutal and epic 7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 win.
Well in the grand slams you are always ensured a Murray dramathon and this was it, or should I say this match was just the beginning as it had just about everything in it, and both players put on quite a show for the jam packed and enthralled crowd. Andy worryingly though did show signs of fatigue as he struggled in the 3rd set to hold serve as well as coping with the blazing heat, with the temps apparently soaring up to 100 degrees farenheit! (It wouldn't be me out there I tell you!). However depsite a somewhat ropey performance, Andy did produce some terrific tennis just when he needed it and he displayed that particularly in the three tiebreaks, where he played the big points so well, which made the difference. Lopez also deserves tremendous credit to what he brought to this match, as he easily played his best tennis against Andy, even though it wasn't quite enough, he certainly won over alot of fans as a result. But it was down to Andy's grit and tenacity that managed to see him through to the last 16 at Flushing Meadows.
And in his next match Andy will play the big Canadian, Milos Raonic, who makes for a very unenviable opponent, given his big powerful and accurate serve, he could serve up a whole lot of trouble for Andy tomorrow night. Raonic has already beaten Andy in their only previous meeting in Barcelona earlier this year, however that was in a smaller ATP tour event and not in a grand slam, and over the best of 5 sets I think Andy will have the mental edge on Raonic. However Andy will also need to serve better in this match to have any real chance, but fortunately for him, Raonic despite the usual accuracy of his serve, can be prone to making unforced errors from time to time, so Andy can pressure him with his return game, and that's where he might make the difference. But Raonic has a pretty good chance of pulling off an upset here, as he could easily hit Andy off the court if he has a great day, then it will be an early exit for the British No.1. However I am hoping this won't be the case, and the match itself promises to be a real belter, so let's hope it lives up to expectations, and I might be wrong but I think Andy will come through it in 4 or 5 sets, or the big Raoner might dump him out in 3 or 4 sets, but let's hope not! :-)
Right so that's it for now. More soon on the ladies 4th round matches, and the men's. Gulp!
Byeeee!
Saturday 1 September 2012
Flushing Meadows 2012 Part 2: Upsetting the odds...
OK time for part 2 of my posts on the US Open, and there has been plenty more developments with some real surprise results so let's have a look at em.
Right starting with the ladies, there was a couple of big upsets, and they came from the British No.2, Laura Robson, who in the 2nd played the former US Open champion, Kim Clijsters, who was set to retire her career after this tournament. And naturally Kim entered this match the favourite to win, however Laura showed some great resistance, and despite at one point in the 1st set going 4-1 down, she battled back to level the score and pushed the set to a tiebreak, which she won to take her first ever set against a former World No.1 player. In the second set things were more evenly pegged as the two players went at it, striking the ball big and deep, and Laura kept her own against the Belgium, pushing the match to a 2nd set tiebreak. And in the tiebreak Laura did the unthinkable in winning the match and knocking out an undefeated Kim Clijsters at the US Open (since 2005!) and ended the Belgian's illustrious career with a stunning 7-6(4), 7-6(5) victory. This was an excellent match and Laura's level of play throughout was superb, and despite her World No.89 ranking, she played very much like a top 10 player in defeating Kim Clijsters, who got a big ovation as she walked off court and rightly so. And in the 3rd round Laura's remarkable form continued as she defeated the former French Open champion Li Na in another great victory, winning in 6-4, 6-7, 6-2.
This marked the first time in 14 years that a British female player had reached the 4th round of a grand slam since Sam Smith back in 1998 at Wimbledon. And it also really shows that Laura is a talented to be reckoned with, and in time she could become a formidable player, that could even emulate Andy Murray's success in comparison, but for now Laura should be delighted with her wins. And next up for Laura is another grand slam champion, Sam Stosur, the defending US Open champion, but can she go for a hattrick to reach the quarter finals???? I hope so, but we will have to say, my money would be against that one, but you never know, so fingers crossed for her.
In other ladies matches the aforementioned Sam Stosur knocked out Varvara Lepchenko of the US, in straight sets, after a tight first set, Sam run away with the match to secure a 7-6, 6-2 win to set up her 4th place round with Laura Robson. Maria Sharapova on other hand had no trouble whatsoever in getting past the American qualifier, Mallory Burdette in a crushing 6-1, 6-1 win. Nadia Petrova had a tougher passage though against the Russian player, Nadia Petrova as she fought her way to victory in 6-4, 7-5. Marion Bartoli, who has had a disappointing slam season this year so far, however managed to pick up her form in beating fellow French player, Kristina Melandovic in 6-2, 6-4, which sets up a very intruiging 4th round with Petra Kvitova, who won her match against Pauline Parmentier of France in 6-4, 6-4. And finally Victoria Azarenka, the top seed and World No.1 blasted her way past Zheng Jie of China, dropping only one game, with a 6-0, 6-1 rout. Other 3rd round matches will follow today with Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic, Angelique Kerber, Maria Kirilenko, and what could promise to be that match of the day from the ladies, Agnieszka Radwanska and Jelena Jankovic. So it all looks good!
Now for the men's where we have had quite a number of comebacks from the players who were 2 sets to love down, in fact there have been at least 10 of them! Starting with Mardy Fish who battled back into his match with Nikolai Davydenko from 2 sets down to win in 4-6, 6-7, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2. Marin Cilic also did the same in his match in the 1st round against Marinko Matesovic with a 5-7, 2-6, and Alexandr Dolgopolov as well in his 1st round match against Jesse Levine in 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2. There was a big upset however in the men's with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga going out in the 2nd round against the Slovak player, Martin Klizan who won in 6-4, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3. James Blake on the other hand, had not much trouble at all in getting past the Spaniard, Marcel Granollers in 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. Milos Raonic, the fast improving big Candian, also made progress in a tougher match against the French player, Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-5, 6-4, 7-6, which sets up his 3rd round clash with Blake, which could prove to be a very good match. And Tomas Berdych blasted his way past Jurgen Zopp (cool name!) with a simple 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 victory, which sets up a very intruiging 3rd round with Sam Querrey. Juan Martin Del Potro had a tougher time playing the young American, Ryan Harrison, as it took him 4 sets to dismiss the plucky Yank in 6-2, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.
But as for the big guns well they so far have not had many troubles (the big three that is) as Roger Federer came through his 2nd round with ease against Bjorn Phau in 6-2, 6-3, 6-2, and Novak Djokovic breezed past the Brazilian player, Roger Dutra da Silva in 6-2, 6-1, 6-2. And finally out of the top 3, Andy Murray also breezed past the talented Croatian player, Ivan Dodig, whom we expected a potentially tough match against, but Andy established his authority early on and went to win in 6-2, 6-1, 6-3. This match was a big improvement from Andy, after such a ropey first round, he came out strong, and served fairly well (57% first serves is not too bad for him!) and put on an aggressive display to put away the Croatian with little bother. This sets up a 3rd round with Feliciano Lopez, with whom Andy has an excellent record against, as the Spaniard has never beaten him (much to the dismay of Judy Murray who fancies Lopez! ;-)).
However there was a surprise announcement from the men's tour as Andy Roddick has followed suit with Kim Clijsters as he announced he will retire from tennis after the US Open as well. Roddick decided that he felt that physically his body wouldn't really stand up to another full season and that it was time to throw in the towel. This is a greaty pity as Roddick has been a terrific player in the past, regardless in recent years he has struggled with his form, but this year he has refound it by winning two titles on Eastbourne on grass, and Atlanta on hard court, which proves the old dog still had something to give. However despite the news, Roddick can look back on what has been a very impressive career, having won the US Open back in 2003, being the finalist at Wimbledon three times (losing to Federer each time) and with 32 career titles to his name. Its alot to be proud of I'm sure and the tennis world will miss him no doubt, as he was quite a character on and off court too. And for now Roddick still remains in the US Open as he has secured his 3rd round place after beating Bernard Tomic with ease in 6-3, 6-4, 6-0, so we will see how far he can go, before he puts down that racquet.
Right well that's it for now, more to follow on the men's 3rd round and ladies 4th round matches as they progress.
Tarra!
Right starting with the ladies, there was a couple of big upsets, and they came from the British No.2, Laura Robson, who in the 2nd played the former US Open champion, Kim Clijsters, who was set to retire her career after this tournament. And naturally Kim entered this match the favourite to win, however Laura showed some great resistance, and despite at one point in the 1st set going 4-1 down, she battled back to level the score and pushed the set to a tiebreak, which she won to take her first ever set against a former World No.1 player. In the second set things were more evenly pegged as the two players went at it, striking the ball big and deep, and Laura kept her own against the Belgium, pushing the match to a 2nd set tiebreak. And in the tiebreak Laura did the unthinkable in winning the match and knocking out an undefeated Kim Clijsters at the US Open (since 2005!) and ended the Belgian's illustrious career with a stunning 7-6(4), 7-6(5) victory. This was an excellent match and Laura's level of play throughout was superb, and despite her World No.89 ranking, she played very much like a top 10 player in defeating Kim Clijsters, who got a big ovation as she walked off court and rightly so. And in the 3rd round Laura's remarkable form continued as she defeated the former French Open champion Li Na in another great victory, winning in 6-4, 6-7, 6-2.
This marked the first time in 14 years that a British female player had reached the 4th round of a grand slam since Sam Smith back in 1998 at Wimbledon. And it also really shows that Laura is a talented to be reckoned with, and in time she could become a formidable player, that could even emulate Andy Murray's success in comparison, but for now Laura should be delighted with her wins. And next up for Laura is another grand slam champion, Sam Stosur, the defending US Open champion, but can she go for a hattrick to reach the quarter finals???? I hope so, but we will have to say, my money would be against that one, but you never know, so fingers crossed for her.
In other ladies matches the aforementioned Sam Stosur knocked out Varvara Lepchenko of the US, in straight sets, after a tight first set, Sam run away with the match to secure a 7-6, 6-2 win to set up her 4th place round with Laura Robson. Maria Sharapova on other hand had no trouble whatsoever in getting past the American qualifier, Mallory Burdette in a crushing 6-1, 6-1 win. Nadia Petrova had a tougher passage though against the Russian player, Nadia Petrova as she fought her way to victory in 6-4, 7-5. Marion Bartoli, who has had a disappointing slam season this year so far, however managed to pick up her form in beating fellow French player, Kristina Melandovic in 6-2, 6-4, which sets up a very intruiging 4th round with Petra Kvitova, who won her match against Pauline Parmentier of France in 6-4, 6-4. And finally Victoria Azarenka, the top seed and World No.1 blasted her way past Zheng Jie of China, dropping only one game, with a 6-0, 6-1 rout. Other 3rd round matches will follow today with Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic, Angelique Kerber, Maria Kirilenko, and what could promise to be that match of the day from the ladies, Agnieszka Radwanska and Jelena Jankovic. So it all looks good!
Now for the men's where we have had quite a number of comebacks from the players who were 2 sets to love down, in fact there have been at least 10 of them! Starting with Mardy Fish who battled back into his match with Nikolai Davydenko from 2 sets down to win in 4-6, 6-7, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2. Marin Cilic also did the same in his match in the 1st round against Marinko Matesovic with a 5-7, 2-6, and Alexandr Dolgopolov as well in his 1st round match against Jesse Levine in 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2. There was a big upset however in the men's with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga going out in the 2nd round against the Slovak player, Martin Klizan who won in 6-4, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3. James Blake on the other hand, had not much trouble at all in getting past the Spaniard, Marcel Granollers in 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. Milos Raonic, the fast improving big Candian, also made progress in a tougher match against the French player, Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-5, 6-4, 7-6, which sets up his 3rd round clash with Blake, which could prove to be a very good match. And Tomas Berdych blasted his way past Jurgen Zopp (cool name!) with a simple 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 victory, which sets up a very intruiging 3rd round with Sam Querrey. Juan Martin Del Potro had a tougher time playing the young American, Ryan Harrison, as it took him 4 sets to dismiss the plucky Yank in 6-2, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.
But as for the big guns well they so far have not had many troubles (the big three that is) as Roger Federer came through his 2nd round with ease against Bjorn Phau in 6-2, 6-3, 6-2, and Novak Djokovic breezed past the Brazilian player, Roger Dutra da Silva in 6-2, 6-1, 6-2. And finally out of the top 3, Andy Murray also breezed past the talented Croatian player, Ivan Dodig, whom we expected a potentially tough match against, but Andy established his authority early on and went to win in 6-2, 6-1, 6-3. This match was a big improvement from Andy, after such a ropey first round, he came out strong, and served fairly well (57% first serves is not too bad for him!) and put on an aggressive display to put away the Croatian with little bother. This sets up a 3rd round with Feliciano Lopez, with whom Andy has an excellent record against, as the Spaniard has never beaten him (much to the dismay of Judy Murray who fancies Lopez! ;-)).
However there was a surprise announcement from the men's tour as Andy Roddick has followed suit with Kim Clijsters as he announced he will retire from tennis after the US Open as well. Roddick decided that he felt that physically his body wouldn't really stand up to another full season and that it was time to throw in the towel. This is a greaty pity as Roddick has been a terrific player in the past, regardless in recent years he has struggled with his form, but this year he has refound it by winning two titles on Eastbourne on grass, and Atlanta on hard court, which proves the old dog still had something to give. However despite the news, Roddick can look back on what has been a very impressive career, having won the US Open back in 2003, being the finalist at Wimbledon three times (losing to Federer each time) and with 32 career titles to his name. Its alot to be proud of I'm sure and the tennis world will miss him no doubt, as he was quite a character on and off court too. And for now Roddick still remains in the US Open as he has secured his 3rd round place after beating Bernard Tomic with ease in 6-3, 6-4, 6-0, so we will see how far he can go, before he puts down that racquet.
Right well that's it for now, more to follow on the men's 3rd round and ladies 4th round matches as they progress.
Tarra!
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