Welcome to my first post on the 2013 US Open, the final grand slam of the season, which is from Flushing Meadows in New York. Andy Murray and Serena Williams are both the defending champions in the singles events, so they will have quite alot on their plates over the next two weeks in order to hold onto their titles. But we've still got a long way to go before we get far enough to see how Serena and Andy both get on, so let's first off delve into the first round matches on the men's and ladies event.
Starting with the ladies on day 1 we had Agnieszka Radwanska open up proceedings on Arthur Ashe as she took on Silvia Soler Espinosa of Spain. And Aga had little trouble in getting past the Spaniard as she breezed to a 6-1, 6-2 victory, which sees her start off her US Open campaign in fine style, and its surprising to think Aga hasn't even got past the fourth round here, so here's hoping she can go a bit deeper this time. Serena Williams also wasted little time as she steamrolled her opponent, the former French Open champ, Francesca Schiavone who she beat in 6-0, 6-1. Venus Williams also joined her sister in the 2nd round as she upset the 12th seed, Kirsten Flipkens with a commanding performance, which despite the scoreline was quite tight in places, but it saw Venus close it out in style with a 6-1, 6-2 win. Li Na also made it into the 2nd round with great ease as she drubbed Olga Govortsova with a crushing 6-2, 6-2 victory. And finally Sloane Stephens, the American No.2, had to battle her way past Mandy Minella in a tight three set battle, which saw the American finally win in 6-4, 3-6, 7-6. And finally Laura Robson, the British No.1 made a great start as she beat her opponent Lourdes Dominguez Lino in straight sets with a 7-5, 6-0 scoreline.
Moving on to day 2 we had Caroline Wozniacki, the former World No.1 face a Chinese qualifier Duan Yingying (good name!) and despite taking the opening set with ease, she had to battle past the qualifier in the 2nd from a break down, Caroline came back to win the match in 6-2, 7-5. Petra Kvitova also had to fight her way past Misaki Doi of Japan with a three set win in 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, and Petra has been having alot of 3 set battles of late so she will probably need to pick up her pace a bit, but its good to see her get through. Victoria Azarenka and Sara Erannai however had no trouble whatsoever in their respective matches as they both dished out ruthless double bagel wins against Dinah Pfizenamier and Olivia Rogowska respectively both showing emphatic starts to their campaigns. Ana Ivanovic also made a great start to her US Open with a straight sets whipping Anna Tatishvilli just dropping two games with a 6-2, 6-0 victory. Christine McHale, the young American however had a tougher time against the German player, Julia Goerges as she overcame her in 6-4, 6-3.
And in the upset of the tourament so far on the ladies side the young American qualifier Victoria Duval who is just a mere 17 years old, stunned the 11th seed and former US Open champion, Sam Stosur with an incredible 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 win on a packed Arthur Ashe stadium. This shows another new face to watch out for in the ladies game and if Victoria Duval can knock out Stosur who knows how far she can go, so she definitely one of the most promising looking up and coming players on the ladies tour.
And finally on the ladies we had Heather Watson in her night match take on the in form Romanian player, Simona Halep who has won four titles this year already, on all three surfaces no less, which is very impressive in itself. And a straight sets drubbing was feared to be on the cards, however the match itself was anything but and it was Heather that got off to the better as she broke Halep twice, who broke back twice herself before Heather finally broke again to win the set. The second was more of the same as Heather looked to be the better player and she even had Halep so frustrated at one point she threw her racquet to the ground. But it wasn't long before Halep fashioned a break of her own and she went on to serve out the 2nd set to level, and from here there was only one winner as Heather's game withered under the strain and the Romanian sealed a double break and Heather's fate with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win. This was a really entertaining match with lots of high quality rallies from both players and for the first two sets Heather was the better player, however unfortunately in the end she succombed to nerves in the third set and after she lost the 2nd there was no way back for her. So let's hope Heather can regroup for the rest of the season.
So now onto the men's matches starting with Day 1 we had Rafa out on Arthur Ashe stadium against the young American player, Ryan Harrison. And from the get go Rafa looked in charge as he dominated the rallies from the baseline and in the strong winds he played some incredible shots, particular in the first game where he returned a massively curved winner down the line. Play was briefly interrupted during the 2nd set for rain but it didn't last long and as it resumed Rafa continued his dominance over Harrison and closed out the match with a comfortable straight set win in 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. This was a terrific start from Rafa who is now on a 16 match unbeaten winning streak on hard courts this season and in this form it looks like he is the favourite to win the title.
In other matches David Ferrer also got off to a solid start against Nick Kyrgios of Australia as he beat his opponent in 7-5, 6-3, 6-2. Richard Gasquet of France also made a strong start as he dismissed the American player, Michael Russell with a score of 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Bernard Tomic however had a much sterner test as he had to battle his way past the Spaniard Albert Ramos with a five set win in 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3. And in one of the upsets of the tournament so far on the men's side, Kei Nishikori was stunned by the young Brit, Dan Evans, who produced a superb performance to beat the 11th seed in straight sets with a remarkable 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win. This victory really shows that Dan Evans is a force to be reckoned with as a tennis player and he himself has said he has finally started to knuckle down and show more commitment to his game and training than before. And if he continues to show that discpline there can be reason that Dan can't work his way higher up the rankings as he is currently ranked inside the top 200, but right now he is playing well above that. Next up though for Dan will be Tomic so it will be a really tough so we will see how it goes.
Now onto Day 2 which saw Roger Federer finally get his match going as it cancelled the night before due to rain, and he faced Grega Zemlja of Slovenia. The match itself however was quite straight foward and there were no real surprises as Roger moved effortlessly through the gears to close out a comfortable straight set win in 6-3, 6-2, 7-5. Novak Djokovic, last year's finalist and World No.1 also put in a top drawer performance against Ricardis Berankis as he conceded just four games in the whole match and he breezed his way into round 2 with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 win. Nole clearly in this match wanted to show that he means business at the US Open and he certainly did that well here and no doubt he will be real tough to beat, although I don't quite rate him as the favourite to win, but I would peg him as equal second fav beside Andy Murray, so we will see how the Serb progresses.
In other men's matches on Day 2, we had Tomas Berdych continue his fine form in 2013 with a straight set win over Paolo Lorenzi winning his match in 6-1, 6-4, 6-1. John Isner, the current American No.1 also showed fine form, despite a knee complaint, he manged to beat Filippo Volandri in straights with a 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 scoreline. Milos Raonic of Canadian, the big server, also came through with fair ease in 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 against Thomas Fabbiano of Italy. And finally Sam Querrey fought his way past Guido Pella of Argentina in four sets with a 7-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 win.
As for Andy Murray well despite the fact he is the defending men singles champion he has to wait until Day 3 before he get's his title defence under way against the Frenchman, Michael Llodra. And it will be a night match on Arthur Ashe, however I think the US open organisers have really mucked Andy about with the scheduling as there is no way Andy should have been made to wait three days before he plays, as he should have been out playing on Day 1 the same as Serena did. However the US Open organisers insist on spreading the first round over three days, which makes no sense, especially as some of the ladies 2nd round matches will be completed on Day 3, which means they will already be into the 3rd round before Andy has even got on court and hit a ball!
And to make matters worse the weather forecast for today (which is Day 3 incidentally) is not great either in New York, as there are forecasts of thunder and rain, which will give way for spells of rain for the rest of the night. This means that Andy's first round match might be put back even further until day 4, which if it is will be an utter disgrace as there is no way he should be kept waiting this long and the organisers in my opinion need their asses kicked in order to ensure this doesn't happen in future. Further to that due to the delay Andy will also have to play back to back matches at some point, i.e. play his 2nd and 3rd round matches one day after the other, which in itself is not fair as he will have less time to conserve his energies before he can play in the 2nd week. But at this point I'm just speculating and we will need to see how the weather pans out, so in the meantime we'll have to wait...
Right that's it for now, more to follow once the remaining round 1 men's and round 2 matches get under way.
Bye for now!!
Wednesday 28 August 2013
Monday 19 August 2013
Cincinnati showdowns
Right ok its been a longgggg while since I've done a post on this blog but I thought I would do an update on the tennis from this week's Western and Southern Open from Cincinnati which is a joint tournament for the ATP/WTA tours. So I won't bother going too indepth on the results but I will cover some of them and there has been some terrific matches this week and its been a great tournament so let's have a look at some of the matches on both sides of the net....
Starting with the ladies, I thought would give Caroline Wozniacki who made good progress in Cincinnati as she managed to defeat Petra Kvitova for the first time in two years, and it saw her beat a top 10 player in quite a while. Her three set victory over the Czeck saw her set up a much anticipated match up with an old friend of hers and rival, Victoria Azarenka for the first time in two years since Indian Wells where Vika retired from injury. This time however it was Vika that took control of the match in the opening set, despite gamely play from Wozniacki, Victoria broke twice to take the opening set. The second set was far more competitive and it saw Caroline really dig deep and fight back after going a break down she broke back and continued fighting until she engineered a break of her own. But Caroline was unable to hold onto it as Vika wrestled the break back and play went to a tiebreak, which was a tight affair but in the end Vika sealed the deal after a hard fought 6-3, 7-6(5) win.
This was a very entertaining match with some great rallies, with one point in the first set at 4-2 to Azarenka which was quiet outstanding. It also shows that there is still pletny of life yet in Caroline Wozniacki who is far from done and while she still struggles for consistency she has shown this week that she is still a threat to the top players when her game is on.
So this brings me onto the ladies final which was between Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka as both of them had to fight their way into the final, with Serena beating Li Na after a ropey performance, and Vika also struggling past Jelena Jankovic. The final however was a real treat as while the level of play was a bit up and down in places it was a terrific match with some incredible points and so many twists and turns. And it was Serena that off to the better start as Victoria struggled badly on her serve, to let Serena break twice to take the opening set. In the 2nd set Victoria started her fightback as she went on to break Serena twice and she levelled up the match at a set all. In the 3rd set there were plenty of dramatic twists and turns as Vika went a break up to go 4-2, but then Serena broke back to go 4-4, and then Serena made a key break to serve for the title at 5-4, but then Vika broke back again! Play then went by serve into a tiebreak where we were treated to a thrilling contest which saw the momentum swing one way then the other, and despite Serena having two match points on her serve, it was Azarenka that finally managed to grab a championship point and she ran with it to clinch only her third win over Serena with a dramatic and thrilling 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 victory.
This was easily one of the best matches of the year from the ladies tour and there were so many amazing points and twists in the tail made it all the more entertaining and unpredictable, as it looked likely at times that Serena would win the match easily, particularly in the first set and when she was in a position to serve for it in the 3rd set at 5-4. But it was credit to Victoria Azarenka that she was able to dig deep and fight her way back into the match and to also break Serena in the 3rd set to go 5-5 and then from there push play into a tiebreak. And this match also sees them continue to develop a thrilling rivalry which the women's game desparately needs. And the great thing is that Vika is now getting closer to Serena and she is literally the only player than can live with her on a tennis court just now and its great for the ladies game that they are playing at this level and here's hoping they continue to do so.
Now onto the men's matches and we were treated to some great stuff there as well, which I will get to soon. However I thought I would say a bit about Andy Murray who played at Cincinnati this week, and he was keen to get some matches under his belt this week, which he did as he reached the quarter finals. However in the quarters he met Tomas Berdych who outplayed him as Andy struggled on serve, and he was broken once in both sets and Berdy went on to close out the match in two straight sets in 6-3, 6-4. This was a disappointing effort from Andy and I was hoping to see a better match as he showed good form in his previous two matches against Mikhail Youhzny and Julienne Bennetau. But I also wonder if Andy was holding back a little as it looked like he was wanting to conserve his energies for his US Open title defence, which begins in just a week's time. But I'm sure come the start of the US Open that Andy will give his all in trying to defend his title, which sure won't be easy, but we'll see how he get's on.
Now moving onto other matches of the men's and one of the best of the tournament was between two of the great rivals in the modern game, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Roger has suffered a poor run of form lately having tried to adjust to using a larger racquet for added power, he had an early exit in a previous tournament, so here he went back to using his old Wilson racquet. However Rafa on the other hand has been the asbolute opposite as he has been on fire ever since his return to the tour, with 8 titles behind already this season, six on clay and two on hard court.
And they have played some magnificent matches in their career together, but their last couple have been so-so. However their quarter final clash in Cincinnati was anything but as they both played a thriller in a late night match which saw Roger revitalised as he played some terrific attacking tennis like he did in the days of old, and he took the opening set. In the 2nd set Roger's form continued, but Rafa get plugging away and he finally engineered a break to take the set and even up the scores. In the 3rd set a still game Roger went a break down and Rafa moved ahead, but even at 5-3 with Rafa serving for the match, Roger kept fighting as he pushed Rafa to deuce and even gained a break point before Rafa staved off his old rival and won the match in 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. This was one of their best encounters in quite a while as they haven't played a match this good since their Australian open semi final last year, and it was great to see a reminder of just how great these two are on a tennis court when their games are both on. It also showed encouraging signs for Roger's game which will hopefully give him more confidence going into the US Open, so here's hoping he will avoid another early exit there.
In another match we were treated to a semi final thriller between two big serving giants with Juan Martin Del Potro taking on the American John Isner. Isner had never previously beaten Delpo in their last three meetings but here he battled hard and dug deep to dig out a terrific win over his Argentine rival with a 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 win. This saw Isner reach his 2nd 1000 Masters final which was a great result in itself and it also shows that Isner clearly is more than just a big serve he has some delicate net skills and deft touch too. Meanwhile Rafa had a tough match against Tomas Berdych in the other semi final match as the Czeck pushed Rafa hard on serve, but Rafa showed his fighting abilities to dig out another win which saw him reach yet another final in 2013, with a 7-5, 7-6 win.
Which brings me onto the men's final which was between Rafa and John Isner and the match itself was quite an entertaing one, and Rafa had to battle against Isner's serve, which he found impossible to break, and in the end it took a tense long tiebreak to set them apart with Rafa edging it 10-8. In the 2nd set it was more of the same as play went by serve with Rafa at one point having a sniff at Isner's serve at 5-4, but Isner managed to escape and he on to hold. And it went to another tiebreak, but this time Rafa shut the barn door alot quicker and he sealed the victory and he contined his record breaking Masters title collection, now up to 26, he nabbed it with a hard fought 7-6(8), 7-6(3) win.
I think its fair to say that Rafa is playing somewhere approximate to his very best just now and he now has won 9 titles in 2013 and it looks he is no mood to stop now. And I think its also safe to say that he goes into the US Open as the hot favourite to win given his unbeaten record on hard court this year now stands at 15 matches. Also with Rafa's absence from the tour last year he stands to rack up alot of points which could see him nab back the No.1 ranking as he has already as a result of winning this week risen to No.2 in the world, surpassing Andy Murray who will go back to the No.3 spot. And it won't be long at this rate before he get's the No.1 spot back, with winning the US Open it will take him even closer.
But one man could still stand in his way and that man is Andy Murray, who is the defending champion at the US Open, and Rafa has not played him in two years and I think he will find him a completely different player. And I personally cannot wait to see them play one another again and depending on how the US Open seeding goes we could be looking at a semi final clash or maybe even in the final should they both get there, but that's a wee way off yet. Another thing to consider though is the US Open seedings will be based on this week's rankings on 19 August so as Andy has moved down to No.3 he may end up playing Novak in the semi finals if they are drawn on the same side, which means he would need to reach the final before he'd play Rafa. But the draw will be announced this Thursday coming so all will be revealed who will be drawn with who.
So that's it for my look at Western and Southern open from Cincinnati which was a great tournament and it brings a step closer to the final big one of the year, the US Open, which starts a week today, so can't for that one, and I will do some more posts on that over the next few weeks.
Till then that's it for now.
Starting with the ladies, I thought would give Caroline Wozniacki who made good progress in Cincinnati as she managed to defeat Petra Kvitova for the first time in two years, and it saw her beat a top 10 player in quite a while. Her three set victory over the Czeck saw her set up a much anticipated match up with an old friend of hers and rival, Victoria Azarenka for the first time in two years since Indian Wells where Vika retired from injury. This time however it was Vika that took control of the match in the opening set, despite gamely play from Wozniacki, Victoria broke twice to take the opening set. The second set was far more competitive and it saw Caroline really dig deep and fight back after going a break down she broke back and continued fighting until she engineered a break of her own. But Caroline was unable to hold onto it as Vika wrestled the break back and play went to a tiebreak, which was a tight affair but in the end Vika sealed the deal after a hard fought 6-3, 7-6(5) win.
This was a very entertaining match with some great rallies, with one point in the first set at 4-2 to Azarenka which was quiet outstanding. It also shows that there is still pletny of life yet in Caroline Wozniacki who is far from done and while she still struggles for consistency she has shown this week that she is still a threat to the top players when her game is on.
So this brings me onto the ladies final which was between Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka as both of them had to fight their way into the final, with Serena beating Li Na after a ropey performance, and Vika also struggling past Jelena Jankovic. The final however was a real treat as while the level of play was a bit up and down in places it was a terrific match with some incredible points and so many twists and turns. And it was Serena that off to the better start as Victoria struggled badly on her serve, to let Serena break twice to take the opening set. In the 2nd set Victoria started her fightback as she went on to break Serena twice and she levelled up the match at a set all. In the 3rd set there were plenty of dramatic twists and turns as Vika went a break up to go 4-2, but then Serena broke back to go 4-4, and then Serena made a key break to serve for the title at 5-4, but then Vika broke back again! Play then went by serve into a tiebreak where we were treated to a thrilling contest which saw the momentum swing one way then the other, and despite Serena having two match points on her serve, it was Azarenka that finally managed to grab a championship point and she ran with it to clinch only her third win over Serena with a dramatic and thrilling 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 victory.
This was easily one of the best matches of the year from the ladies tour and there were so many amazing points and twists in the tail made it all the more entertaining and unpredictable, as it looked likely at times that Serena would win the match easily, particularly in the first set and when she was in a position to serve for it in the 3rd set at 5-4. But it was credit to Victoria Azarenka that she was able to dig deep and fight her way back into the match and to also break Serena in the 3rd set to go 5-5 and then from there push play into a tiebreak. And this match also sees them continue to develop a thrilling rivalry which the women's game desparately needs. And the great thing is that Vika is now getting closer to Serena and she is literally the only player than can live with her on a tennis court just now and its great for the ladies game that they are playing at this level and here's hoping they continue to do so.
Now onto the men's matches and we were treated to some great stuff there as well, which I will get to soon. However I thought I would say a bit about Andy Murray who played at Cincinnati this week, and he was keen to get some matches under his belt this week, which he did as he reached the quarter finals. However in the quarters he met Tomas Berdych who outplayed him as Andy struggled on serve, and he was broken once in both sets and Berdy went on to close out the match in two straight sets in 6-3, 6-4. This was a disappointing effort from Andy and I was hoping to see a better match as he showed good form in his previous two matches against Mikhail Youhzny and Julienne Bennetau. But I also wonder if Andy was holding back a little as it looked like he was wanting to conserve his energies for his US Open title defence, which begins in just a week's time. But I'm sure come the start of the US Open that Andy will give his all in trying to defend his title, which sure won't be easy, but we'll see how he get's on.
Now moving onto other matches of the men's and one of the best of the tournament was between two of the great rivals in the modern game, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Roger has suffered a poor run of form lately having tried to adjust to using a larger racquet for added power, he had an early exit in a previous tournament, so here he went back to using his old Wilson racquet. However Rafa on the other hand has been the asbolute opposite as he has been on fire ever since his return to the tour, with 8 titles behind already this season, six on clay and two on hard court.
And they have played some magnificent matches in their career together, but their last couple have been so-so. However their quarter final clash in Cincinnati was anything but as they both played a thriller in a late night match which saw Roger revitalised as he played some terrific attacking tennis like he did in the days of old, and he took the opening set. In the 2nd set Roger's form continued, but Rafa get plugging away and he finally engineered a break to take the set and even up the scores. In the 3rd set a still game Roger went a break down and Rafa moved ahead, but even at 5-3 with Rafa serving for the match, Roger kept fighting as he pushed Rafa to deuce and even gained a break point before Rafa staved off his old rival and won the match in 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. This was one of their best encounters in quite a while as they haven't played a match this good since their Australian open semi final last year, and it was great to see a reminder of just how great these two are on a tennis court when their games are both on. It also showed encouraging signs for Roger's game which will hopefully give him more confidence going into the US Open, so here's hoping he will avoid another early exit there.
In another match we were treated to a semi final thriller between two big serving giants with Juan Martin Del Potro taking on the American John Isner. Isner had never previously beaten Delpo in their last three meetings but here he battled hard and dug deep to dig out a terrific win over his Argentine rival with a 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 win. This saw Isner reach his 2nd 1000 Masters final which was a great result in itself and it also shows that Isner clearly is more than just a big serve he has some delicate net skills and deft touch too. Meanwhile Rafa had a tough match against Tomas Berdych in the other semi final match as the Czeck pushed Rafa hard on serve, but Rafa showed his fighting abilities to dig out another win which saw him reach yet another final in 2013, with a 7-5, 7-6 win.
Which brings me onto the men's final which was between Rafa and John Isner and the match itself was quite an entertaing one, and Rafa had to battle against Isner's serve, which he found impossible to break, and in the end it took a tense long tiebreak to set them apart with Rafa edging it 10-8. In the 2nd set it was more of the same as play went by serve with Rafa at one point having a sniff at Isner's serve at 5-4, but Isner managed to escape and he on to hold. And it went to another tiebreak, but this time Rafa shut the barn door alot quicker and he sealed the victory and he contined his record breaking Masters title collection, now up to 26, he nabbed it with a hard fought 7-6(8), 7-6(3) win.
I think its fair to say that Rafa is playing somewhere approximate to his very best just now and he now has won 9 titles in 2013 and it looks he is no mood to stop now. And I think its also safe to say that he goes into the US Open as the hot favourite to win given his unbeaten record on hard court this year now stands at 15 matches. Also with Rafa's absence from the tour last year he stands to rack up alot of points which could see him nab back the No.1 ranking as he has already as a result of winning this week risen to No.2 in the world, surpassing Andy Murray who will go back to the No.3 spot. And it won't be long at this rate before he get's the No.1 spot back, with winning the US Open it will take him even closer.
But one man could still stand in his way and that man is Andy Murray, who is the defending champion at the US Open, and Rafa has not played him in two years and I think he will find him a completely different player. And I personally cannot wait to see them play one another again and depending on how the US Open seeding goes we could be looking at a semi final clash or maybe even in the final should they both get there, but that's a wee way off yet. Another thing to consider though is the US Open seedings will be based on this week's rankings on 19 August so as Andy has moved down to No.3 he may end up playing Novak in the semi finals if they are drawn on the same side, which means he would need to reach the final before he'd play Rafa. But the draw will be announced this Thursday coming so all will be revealed who will be drawn with who.
So that's it for my look at Western and Southern open from Cincinnati which was a great tournament and it brings a step closer to the final big one of the year, the US Open, which starts a week today, so can't for that one, and I will do some more posts on that over the next few weeks.
Till then that's it for now.
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