OK just for a change I thought I would do a post on the Davis cup weekend which was just there and it saw the world group teams play out the semi final stages to see who would reach the final, and I will also cover the world group play offs, to see who would reach the world group.
So let's start with the world group semi final matches, and to begin the defending champions, the Czeck republic who were up against Argentina. In their first singles match, Radek Stepanek, the hero of the Czeck republic's triumph last year, took on Juan Monaco of Argentina, and it was Stepanek who impressed once again as he beat the Argentine in straight sets 7-6, 6-3, 6-2 to give his team a winning start. In the second singles rubber we had Tomas Berdych face Leo Mayer in a tight four set match which saw Berdych finally win through as he gave his team the 2-0 lead after a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. And in the decisive rubber, the doubles one, Stepanek and Berdych both teamed up and put on impressive show to dismiss the Argentine team of Carlos Berlocq and Horacio Zeballos in 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to seal their place in their second consecutive Davis cup final. This really shows just how impressive the Czeck republic team are, especially as they are really the combination of Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek, who both together won the title for the country last year. And on the evidence of their performance here, in the final they will be tough to stop.
However that might all change as in waiting for the Czeck republic would be the winner of the next tie, which was between Serbia and Canada. In the first match Novak Djokovic, the world no.1, who had just come off the receiving end of a stinging defeat in the US Open final, bounced back in fine style here as he dismissed Vasek Pospisil in straight sets, conceding only six games with a 6-2, 6-0, 6-4 victory. However in the 2nd rubber, things didn't quite go according to plan for Serbia as Janko Tipsarevic was defeated by Milos Raonic in a very tight battle, with Raonic just edging Tipsy in the 5th set to win the match 5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 10-8. And on the second day, the doubles rubber would give either team a pivotal lead, and the match itself was another epic battle as the Canadian team edged Serbia again as Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil won in 6-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7, 10-8 to give Canada a 2-1 lead. Going into the final day, things looked mighty precarious for Serbia, however Djokovic confidently levelled the scores as he beat Raonic in their singles rubber 7-6, 6-2, 6-2. And it was up to Janko Tipsarevic to try and win the tie for Serbia in the crucial final rubber, who did just that after a tight straight set win against Vasek Pospisil in 7-6, 6-2, 7-6, which saw the Serbs reach their second Davis cup final.
Well this sets up a very intruiging clash for the Davis cup final between the Czeck republic and Serbia, and no doubt it promises to be quite a cracker. But who will win it?????? Well I have to go with Serbia as they have Novak Djokovic, who will play a key part in both singles matches, although where the odds might tip in the Czeck team's favour is that Stepanek and Berdych have never lost a doubles match so far in Davis cup, and if Berdy or Stepanek can win two of the other singles rubbers then it might just see them come through. But however it goes I'm sure it promises to be one hell of a final and one to remember I'm sure, but my money is on Serbia for a possible 3-2 victory.
Right now let's get onto the world group play-offs, starting with Spain who were dumped out of the world group earlier this year, so this is where they were looking to fight their way back in and in their way stood the Ukraine. With Rafa being on top form this year in his comeback, his team were keen to get him back on their side, and despite concerns that Rafa might have skipped the Davis cup in order to recover from his tremendous efforts on the hard court swing, Rafa turned up to play. And in the first singles rubber, Rafa showed no trouble whatsoever in getting past Serigy Stakhovsky, as he looked a home on the clay (back on the Manolo Sonata stadium in Madrid) and raced to victory with a 6-0, 6-0, 6-4 win. Fernando Verdasco (sorry this was the second singles rubber!) played against the Ukraine No.1, Alexandr Dolgopolov in what was a tighter match but it eventually saw Verdasco win in 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2, which saw Spain take a decisive 2-0 lead on day one. On the second day in the key doubles rubber, the Spanish team made their move with doubles pairing of Rafa and Marc Lopez sealing their place back in the world group after a hard fought four set win in 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4. So that's Spain back in the big time again, and let's see who else would join them.
So other teams that came through to the world group included Switzerland, who featured Stan Wawrinka, the in form Swiss player, who filled in for Roger Federer, as he played his part leading his team to victory with a 4-1 result against Ecuador. Australia also managed to power through to the world group as they won 4-1 against Poland, with the help of Lleyton Hewitt and Bernard Tomic who won both their rubber singles matches, although the Aussies lost their doubles tie, the deal was clinched by Tomic on the final day as he took out Lukaz Kubot in straight sets. Japan had a much tighter tie on their hands as they managed to edge their way past Colombia, with Kei Nishikori doing his part to win both his singles rubbers, after the team lost one single and the doubles rubber, Go Soeda clinched the deal with a four set win against Allejandro Falla to reach the world group with a 3-2 result.
Which brings me onto the last tie I will mention which was Great Britain who took on Croatia in an away match on Croatian soil in Umag, on clay courts. It was a long road for Great Britain to get this far to the world group play-offs as they hadn't been there since 2008, so in order do do it they really need their best man, and thankfully for them he showed up, i.e. Andy Murray. So let's have a look at the tie, starting with on day one in the first singles rubber match, Andy Murray took on a 16 year old juinor player, Borna Coric, who had just won the US Open junior title. And despite it looking like a very one-sided maatch, Coric actually showed some very promising signs as he managed to push Andy fairly hard in the first set, before Andy closed it out with a break. However in the second set, Andy breezed through to hand Coric a bagel, and in the 3rd set, despite going a break down, Andy quickly pulled it back as he sped to victory to claim the first win for GB in 6-3, 6-0, 6-3.
In the 2nd rubber however fortunes changed for GB as Dan Evans, who has recently been on impressive form by reaching the 3rd round of the US Open, but he couldn't find a way past the Croatian No.2 (well No.1 in Marin Cilic's absence, who has been suspended due to failing a drug test) Ivan Dodig. Dodig who is by far the more experienced player (and five years Dan's senior at 28) sped to victory against Dan taking the match with a straight forward 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 win, which saw both teams level pegged 1-1 on day one. On day two, the pivotal doubles rubber proved to be the toughest match of the tie so far, which saw team GB's doubles partnership of Andy Murray and Colin Fleming face off Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic. Andy and Flemo got off to a strong start as they took a two set lead, and despite being a break up in the 3rd set, they surrendered the break and let the Croats back in and play went to a tiebreak, which saw the Croatians nabs the 3rd set, courtesy of a double fault from Flemo's racquet. In the 4th set however, normality was restored as the Brits broke the Croatian team twice and sped to victory to take the decisive 2-1 lead.
And on the final day, Andy Murray did his bit for GB as he played Ivan Dodig in what was to be the crucial singles rubber. The match itself was a very entertaining one, and Dodig put up a good fight but Andy in the end outclassed him and played the big points way better, and Andy also put in a surprisingly good serving performance as he landed in over 70% of his first serves in for the match, which is virtually unheard of! ;-) And after going two sets to love up, Andy broke early in the 3rd set to take a further lead, although there was a bit of drama in Andy's last service game when serving out for the tie at 5-4. This was when Dodig tried to make his move to break back and he hit a couple of cracking winners, and he hit what appeared to be another that would bring up a break point, but the umpire called it out. And with Dodig looking desparately at the umpire and disagreeing with the call, he had to relent as the point went to Andy, which gave him match point, and with a hostile booing crowd in the background Andy served out the match with no problems as Dodig went long with his return to give team GB their place in the world group with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 victory, giving Great Britain the decisive lead 3-1.
Although it looked to be quite a comfortable victory for Andy, the match itself was quite a competitive one, and Dodig deserves alot of credit for showing his fighting qualities on the court, but in the end Andy proved to be just too good for him. And it would be hard not to feel sorry for Dodig as that break point went begging, which could have got him back in the match. However the crowd didn't deserve much sympathy as they kept booing throughout the last point of the match as Andy was trying to serve it out, which was well out of line, and while you can appreciate their annoyance, its not right that they should continue to boo when the player is trying to serve! Regardless of that though this sees Great Britain back among the big boys, and they can now compete against the biggest teams in the world, but in order to do well they will need Andy Murray that's for sure, so he will need to try and make himself available when he can. This victory will also hopefully help Andy in getting over his Wimbledon comedown and maybe he can get back on form for the rest of the season, as he is set to start the Asian hard court swing in Thialand next week.
So that's it for now, more to follow soon on the Asian hard court swing for the men and the ladies tour in the next few weeks.
Bye for now!
Monday 16 September 2013
Tuesday 10 September 2013
2013 Flushing meadows Part 7.2: The King of New York
Right this is my final post on the 2013 US Open from Flushing Meadows in New York, which will cover the men's final, which was between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, in probably the most anticipated slam final of the year. So let's start by having a look at the match....
OK so the match had a lot riding on it as both men were looking to clinch their 2nd US Open title, and although both Nole and Rafa were in contention for the No.1 spot (i.e. Rafa gaining it and Nole keeping it!) this battle was decided when Nole reached the final as he defended his points from last year, it meant he could remain at No.1. However the match itself promised to be a real thrilling contest and just possibly one of all time great classics, just like their amazing 2011 final was at Flushing meadows. But did this match live up to those expectations????? Well to be honest not quite, the match itself was a very entertaining and gripping one, but it was clear from the very start that the better and more aggressive player was Rafa, who came out strong and broke Nole's serve twice to grab the first set with ease. In the 2nd set however Nole started his comeback and after an incredible 54 shot rally, Nole broke Nadal's serve for what was only the 2nd time in the whole tournament to go 4-2 up. However Novak ended up surrendering the break back to Rafa, but he was not yet done as he broke again to go 5-3 up and from here he managed to level the match at a set all. In the 3rd set the momentum at the beginning was firmly with Djokovic as he nabbed an early break as he raised his level and played some incredible shots against Rafa. But Rafa after a very tough and thrilling service game on to trail 2-1, Rafa managed to break back to go even on serve again at 3-3, and from here Rafa fashioned another break at 5-4 to grab a two sets to one lead. And in the 4th set we witnessed some of the most intense and ferocious play we have ever seen from Rafa on a tennis court as he ruthlessly overwhelmed the World No.1 to nab the double break and he served out the match with ease as he fell to the ground and wept with joy as he clinched his 2nd US Open title after a gritty 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory.
While it fell short of the mark of the classic we might have hoped for, the match nonetheless had plenty of terrific rallies and great points and it had the hugely enthusiastic New York crowd whooping and hollering all the way throughout. And without a doubt the most impressive thing about this match was Rafa himself and how he showed tremendous grit and determination and he played with about as much aggression and ferocity as I have ever seen him play with on a tennis court, and his venomous, blistering forehand consistently found its mark throughout the match. And what's even more remarkable is that Rafa even found a way to push back Nole when he was a break down in the 3rd set and he went to rentelessly pummel his rival into submission in the 4th. And there is no doubt that he is the best player in the world just now, and while Nole is ahead of him in the rankings for now at the No.1 spot, its only a matter of time before Rafa grabs it back for the first time in two years. Another scary thing about Rafa's stats in this tournament is that he only had his serve broken four times in total (and three of those were by Djokovic, one by Gasquet) and that shows just now that he is virtually invincible on serve.
Not only that given Rafa's absence from the tour this time last year, Rafa really has a golden opportunity to clean up even more here as with four tournaments ahead of him with the China Open, Shanghai Masters, Paris Masters and the ATP world tour finals in London, he is sure to finish as the world No.1 if here were to win all four of those titles. And if he does it will make for possibly the most successful season in the history of his career not to mention any player's career if he wins 14 titles in one season, surely that has to be a record! And as Rafa has shown sizzling form on the hard courts this year, and with the remainder of the season being on hard court, it would be tough to see him not win every event he will play for the rest of the season. But whether or not he is capable of that remains to be seen, but for now Rafa is looking unstoppable and he is showing no signs of slowing down.
Although after winning the title Rafa said that he felt tired and fatigued after the intensive rigours of winning so many matches over the last month in Montreal and Cincinnati as well. And Rafa also said that while he is committed this week to play at the Davis cup in Spain's tie against the Ukraine, he felt concerned about changing surfaces from hard court back to clay could disrupt his progress for the remainder of the hard court season (as the tie will be played in Madrid on clay courts). And Rafa's main concern is of course in trying to remain on course to win the year end championships and end the season as the world no.1 And akin to Andy Murray after his historic win at Wimbledon, who felt mentally drained in his efforts after winning the title, there is also the possibility that Rafa might be feeling the same way after putting so much effort into his hard court season and winning at the US Open. And if that's the case then Rafa will need to be careful that he doesn't suffer a comedown in the forthcoming weeks, otherwise his attempt to finish as No.1 in the world will be thwarted.
As for Djokovic well its hard not to sympathise with him, as he really struggled to find his best form in the final, even though he produced some terrific tennis at times in the match, he suffered badly due to making too many unforced errors (53 in all) and his best shot, the backhand down the line was just misfiring on the day, as was his serve. And it does show a slightly alarming dip in Djokovic's form this year, that ever since losing to Nadal in their epic semi final match at the French Open earlier this year, he has just looked a bit flat as a player. Novak has however still managed to produce some terrific tennis even when he wasn't playing his best as he proved against the likes of Del Potro at Wimbledon and Stan Wawrinka at the US Open, and that is what makes him a great champion.
However Novak has to be careful as he goes into the remainder of the season as he has a lot of points to defend as he is the champion in the three of the four events left in his calender on the tour, in China, Shanghai and the o2 in London. And a certain Rafael Nadal is coming right after him and unless Nole can really step up his level, he's going to find it hard just to cling onto these titles. However Novak has a way bouncing back after defeats, and that is something he did really well last year after the disappointment og losing in the French Open final, and losing his title defences at Wimbledon and the US Open. And if Rafa is going to take that No.1 spot, then I'm sure Nole is not going to give it up without a real fight and that's we will hope to see from him in the next couple of months.
And while Andy Murray has nothing really to do with this post I thought I would ask the question again: when is Rafa going to play him???? It has now been two years since they last played in Tokyo where Andy upset Rafa in the final of the Japan open, and it would be absolutely fascinating just to see how both men's games will stack up against one another. With Nadal and Djokovic we know firmly where they stand with one another just now game wise, but with Andy its completely different, as he is not the same player since they last played. And if there IS one man that could upset the odds against Rafa then that one man is Andy Murray and I simply cannot wait to see them play again, and its been a long time waiting but hopefully whenever they finally meet again, it will be well and truly worth the wait.
So that's it for my posts on the 2013 US Open, which has been a terrific tournament for both the men and ladies events and they both featured some terrific matches and two strong finals to finish up the slam season this year. Next up for the men will be the Davis cup, and this week Andy Murray will be back in action with the Great Britain team, as they will take on Croatia in a world group play-off for a chance to get back into the World Group. The tie is however away from home, which will prove to be quite tough for them, and with clay being Andy's weakest surface, this could leave them at a disadvantage. However I'm sure that team GB can hopefully pull off a win here and let's they do as it would be great to see them get through to the world group once again.
Rafa also may be in action this week at the Davis cup as well as the Spanish team wait to see if he will be ready to play in their tie against the Ukraine. And Djokovic will also be in action in the Davis cup as Serbia take on Canada in the semis final where he will most likely play against the giant serving Milos Raonic, which should make for a mouth watering clash. So the slams may be finished but there is still plenty of great tennis left to look forward to this week and in the forthcoming weeks.
So once again I shall say bye for now, and bye bye to the US Open, which has been great this year.
Until the next post, bye the now!
OK so the match had a lot riding on it as both men were looking to clinch their 2nd US Open title, and although both Nole and Rafa were in contention for the No.1 spot (i.e. Rafa gaining it and Nole keeping it!) this battle was decided when Nole reached the final as he defended his points from last year, it meant he could remain at No.1. However the match itself promised to be a real thrilling contest and just possibly one of all time great classics, just like their amazing 2011 final was at Flushing meadows. But did this match live up to those expectations????? Well to be honest not quite, the match itself was a very entertaining and gripping one, but it was clear from the very start that the better and more aggressive player was Rafa, who came out strong and broke Nole's serve twice to grab the first set with ease. In the 2nd set however Nole started his comeback and after an incredible 54 shot rally, Nole broke Nadal's serve for what was only the 2nd time in the whole tournament to go 4-2 up. However Novak ended up surrendering the break back to Rafa, but he was not yet done as he broke again to go 5-3 up and from here he managed to level the match at a set all. In the 3rd set the momentum at the beginning was firmly with Djokovic as he nabbed an early break as he raised his level and played some incredible shots against Rafa. But Rafa after a very tough and thrilling service game on to trail 2-1, Rafa managed to break back to go even on serve again at 3-3, and from here Rafa fashioned another break at 5-4 to grab a two sets to one lead. And in the 4th set we witnessed some of the most intense and ferocious play we have ever seen from Rafa on a tennis court as he ruthlessly overwhelmed the World No.1 to nab the double break and he served out the match with ease as he fell to the ground and wept with joy as he clinched his 2nd US Open title after a gritty 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory.
While it fell short of the mark of the classic we might have hoped for, the match nonetheless had plenty of terrific rallies and great points and it had the hugely enthusiastic New York crowd whooping and hollering all the way throughout. And without a doubt the most impressive thing about this match was Rafa himself and how he showed tremendous grit and determination and he played with about as much aggression and ferocity as I have ever seen him play with on a tennis court, and his venomous, blistering forehand consistently found its mark throughout the match. And what's even more remarkable is that Rafa even found a way to push back Nole when he was a break down in the 3rd set and he went to rentelessly pummel his rival into submission in the 4th. And there is no doubt that he is the best player in the world just now, and while Nole is ahead of him in the rankings for now at the No.1 spot, its only a matter of time before Rafa grabs it back for the first time in two years. Another scary thing about Rafa's stats in this tournament is that he only had his serve broken four times in total (and three of those were by Djokovic, one by Gasquet) and that shows just now that he is virtually invincible on serve.
Not only that given Rafa's absence from the tour this time last year, Rafa really has a golden opportunity to clean up even more here as with four tournaments ahead of him with the China Open, Shanghai Masters, Paris Masters and the ATP world tour finals in London, he is sure to finish as the world No.1 if here were to win all four of those titles. And if he does it will make for possibly the most successful season in the history of his career not to mention any player's career if he wins 14 titles in one season, surely that has to be a record! And as Rafa has shown sizzling form on the hard courts this year, and with the remainder of the season being on hard court, it would be tough to see him not win every event he will play for the rest of the season. But whether or not he is capable of that remains to be seen, but for now Rafa is looking unstoppable and he is showing no signs of slowing down.
Although after winning the title Rafa said that he felt tired and fatigued after the intensive rigours of winning so many matches over the last month in Montreal and Cincinnati as well. And Rafa also said that while he is committed this week to play at the Davis cup in Spain's tie against the Ukraine, he felt concerned about changing surfaces from hard court back to clay could disrupt his progress for the remainder of the hard court season (as the tie will be played in Madrid on clay courts). And Rafa's main concern is of course in trying to remain on course to win the year end championships and end the season as the world no.1 And akin to Andy Murray after his historic win at Wimbledon, who felt mentally drained in his efforts after winning the title, there is also the possibility that Rafa might be feeling the same way after putting so much effort into his hard court season and winning at the US Open. And if that's the case then Rafa will need to be careful that he doesn't suffer a comedown in the forthcoming weeks, otherwise his attempt to finish as No.1 in the world will be thwarted.
As for Djokovic well its hard not to sympathise with him, as he really struggled to find his best form in the final, even though he produced some terrific tennis at times in the match, he suffered badly due to making too many unforced errors (53 in all) and his best shot, the backhand down the line was just misfiring on the day, as was his serve. And it does show a slightly alarming dip in Djokovic's form this year, that ever since losing to Nadal in their epic semi final match at the French Open earlier this year, he has just looked a bit flat as a player. Novak has however still managed to produce some terrific tennis even when he wasn't playing his best as he proved against the likes of Del Potro at Wimbledon and Stan Wawrinka at the US Open, and that is what makes him a great champion.
However Novak has to be careful as he goes into the remainder of the season as he has a lot of points to defend as he is the champion in the three of the four events left in his calender on the tour, in China, Shanghai and the o2 in London. And a certain Rafael Nadal is coming right after him and unless Nole can really step up his level, he's going to find it hard just to cling onto these titles. However Novak has a way bouncing back after defeats, and that is something he did really well last year after the disappointment og losing in the French Open final, and losing his title defences at Wimbledon and the US Open. And if Rafa is going to take that No.1 spot, then I'm sure Nole is not going to give it up without a real fight and that's we will hope to see from him in the next couple of months.
And while Andy Murray has nothing really to do with this post I thought I would ask the question again: when is Rafa going to play him???? It has now been two years since they last played in Tokyo where Andy upset Rafa in the final of the Japan open, and it would be absolutely fascinating just to see how both men's games will stack up against one another. With Nadal and Djokovic we know firmly where they stand with one another just now game wise, but with Andy its completely different, as he is not the same player since they last played. And if there IS one man that could upset the odds against Rafa then that one man is Andy Murray and I simply cannot wait to see them play again, and its been a long time waiting but hopefully whenever they finally meet again, it will be well and truly worth the wait.
So that's it for my posts on the 2013 US Open, which has been a terrific tournament for both the men and ladies events and they both featured some terrific matches and two strong finals to finish up the slam season this year. Next up for the men will be the Davis cup, and this week Andy Murray will be back in action with the Great Britain team, as they will take on Croatia in a world group play-off for a chance to get back into the World Group. The tie is however away from home, which will prove to be quite tough for them, and with clay being Andy's weakest surface, this could leave them at a disadvantage. However I'm sure that team GB can hopefully pull off a win here and let's they do as it would be great to see them get through to the world group once again.
Rafa also may be in action this week at the Davis cup as well as the Spanish team wait to see if he will be ready to play in their tie against the Ukraine. And Djokovic will also be in action in the Davis cup as Serbia take on Canada in the semis final where he will most likely play against the giant serving Milos Raonic, which should make for a mouth watering clash. So the slams may be finished but there is still plenty of great tennis left to look forward to this week and in the forthcoming weeks.
So once again I shall say bye for now, and bye bye to the US Open, which has been great this year.
Until the next post, bye the now!
Monday 9 September 2013
2013 Flushing Meadows Part 7.1: Clash of the female titans
OK so this will be my penultimate post on the 2013 US Open as it draws to a close and the focus of this post will be on the ladies final, which was set to be an epic clash between the world's two best players, Serena Williams and Victoria Azarneka. So let's have a look at this match then......
Rrrrrrrrrright well the match itself was played in tough windy conditions, akin to the same conditions of the men's final last year, so play was bound to be error bound and scrappy. However both Serena and Vika with so much at stake in this final were more than up to the challenge, and it was actually Vika that got off to the more solid start as despite going a break down, she broke back and went on to hold more confidently than Serena did who's generally top class serve was going all over the place. However play went by serve until 5-5, and against all the odds it was Serena who broke Vika to move ahead 6-5 to then close out the first set. In the 2nd set the conditions played their part again (not to mention the wind kept blowing up Serena's skirt!) and there were breaks aplenty in what turned into an absoltely thrilling contest as Vika fought back from 4-1 down to push the set into a tiebreaker. The breaker itself was magnificent also as both players pushed themselves to the limit as their grunting grew more vociferous as each point was played, particularly at 6-5 for Vika and Serena levelled by hitting a ferocious winner to go 6-6. However it was Victoria that made the crucial minibreak and sealed the breaker 8-6 to level the match at a set all. The 3rd set promised to deliver more of the same and to an extent it did, however Vika's serve let her down badly as she served to try and go 2-2, she surrendered her serve and let Serena take the break, who confidently moved ahead. And Vika continued to struggle on her serve as she went down a double break, leaving Serena the golden opportunity to serve it out. However Serena did suffer a few minor jitters in doing so as Vika made a last stand by pushing her 40-30, but in the end Serena won the game, set and match to claim her 5th US Open title, with a superb 7-5, 6-7 (6-8), 6-1 victory.
There is no doubt this was one of the greatest ladies US Open finals for many years, and its also remarkable that prior to their previous terrific final last year, there hadn't been a ladies final at Flushing Meadows that went the distance for 16 years! So the fact that we managed to get another that was of such high quality was a real treat, and there is no doubt that the two best players in the world were out there last night slugging it out. And while the quality of play was mixed at times due to the wild and windy conditions, there was no doubt that it really was a thrilling contest, and both women played some magnificent points for the enthralled full capacity crowd at Flushing Meadows. And when you have a great final in New York, there is no better a crowd behind two players, as the noise is just unbelievable and the atmosphere nothing short of electrifying.
And while Serena once again showed her true fighting champion qualities, it was Victoria Azarenka that really announced her arrival to the world in this match as she put up such a tremendous fight against perhaps the greatest player to have played the game. And I think Vika deserves a great deal of credit for showing her fighting qualities and such great heart against a real thoroughbred champion. However it was a pity that she dropped her serve early on in the 3rd set as it really could become an even better contest if she hadn't, and in the end the double faults on Vika's serve cost her. But this match also continues to cement this thrilling and growing rivalry between Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka, and there is no doubt that the last four hard court matches they have played have all been classics. And this is something the women's game desparately needs and at last its great to say we have one as if carries on like this, Williams and Azarenka's rivalry could become one of the great modern rivalries in the ladies sport.
So once again the spoils go to Serena Williams, and there is no denying that deserves it as early on in the match she really struggled in the conditions and found it difficult to even get her serves in, but as the match progressed, like all great champions, she found a way to get it done. And as for Victoria Azarenka well she can take great heart in knowing she gave her opponent a real battle and she is literally the only player in the world that can give Serena a match and go toe to toe with her, and withstand her power and pace in long rallies. And I really think that one day Vika will get her chance to win against Serena in a major final as each time they play you see her get that bit better. And with the year end championships in Istanbul not too far off, which will be at the end of October, I'm sure these two will have a chance to compete again, and we will see how it goes there.
Right so that's it for now, and that's one final over with and it was some final, next up is the men's between the two former champions Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who both have a chance to claim their second title in New York. And there is no doubt this should be a real classic, but time will soon tell all, but if its anything near as good as their 2011 final, we are going to be in for a longggggg night. :-)
Anyway that's it for now and a big congrats once again to Serena Williams for winning her 5th US Open title and to Victoria Azarenka for putting up such a great fight. So I'll report back with the result of the men's final and who will lift the champions trophy.
Until the next one, bye the now!
Rrrrrrrrrright well the match itself was played in tough windy conditions, akin to the same conditions of the men's final last year, so play was bound to be error bound and scrappy. However both Serena and Vika with so much at stake in this final were more than up to the challenge, and it was actually Vika that got off to the more solid start as despite going a break down, she broke back and went on to hold more confidently than Serena did who's generally top class serve was going all over the place. However play went by serve until 5-5, and against all the odds it was Serena who broke Vika to move ahead 6-5 to then close out the first set. In the 2nd set the conditions played their part again (not to mention the wind kept blowing up Serena's skirt!) and there were breaks aplenty in what turned into an absoltely thrilling contest as Vika fought back from 4-1 down to push the set into a tiebreaker. The breaker itself was magnificent also as both players pushed themselves to the limit as their grunting grew more vociferous as each point was played, particularly at 6-5 for Vika and Serena levelled by hitting a ferocious winner to go 6-6. However it was Victoria that made the crucial minibreak and sealed the breaker 8-6 to level the match at a set all. The 3rd set promised to deliver more of the same and to an extent it did, however Vika's serve let her down badly as she served to try and go 2-2, she surrendered her serve and let Serena take the break, who confidently moved ahead. And Vika continued to struggle on her serve as she went down a double break, leaving Serena the golden opportunity to serve it out. However Serena did suffer a few minor jitters in doing so as Vika made a last stand by pushing her 40-30, but in the end Serena won the game, set and match to claim her 5th US Open title, with a superb 7-5, 6-7 (6-8), 6-1 victory.
There is no doubt this was one of the greatest ladies US Open finals for many years, and its also remarkable that prior to their previous terrific final last year, there hadn't been a ladies final at Flushing Meadows that went the distance for 16 years! So the fact that we managed to get another that was of such high quality was a real treat, and there is no doubt that the two best players in the world were out there last night slugging it out. And while the quality of play was mixed at times due to the wild and windy conditions, there was no doubt that it really was a thrilling contest, and both women played some magnificent points for the enthralled full capacity crowd at Flushing Meadows. And when you have a great final in New York, there is no better a crowd behind two players, as the noise is just unbelievable and the atmosphere nothing short of electrifying.
And while Serena once again showed her true fighting champion qualities, it was Victoria Azarenka that really announced her arrival to the world in this match as she put up such a tremendous fight against perhaps the greatest player to have played the game. And I think Vika deserves a great deal of credit for showing her fighting qualities and such great heart against a real thoroughbred champion. However it was a pity that she dropped her serve early on in the 3rd set as it really could become an even better contest if she hadn't, and in the end the double faults on Vika's serve cost her. But this match also continues to cement this thrilling and growing rivalry between Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka, and there is no doubt that the last four hard court matches they have played have all been classics. And this is something the women's game desparately needs and at last its great to say we have one as if carries on like this, Williams and Azarenka's rivalry could become one of the great modern rivalries in the ladies sport.
So once again the spoils go to Serena Williams, and there is no denying that deserves it as early on in the match she really struggled in the conditions and found it difficult to even get her serves in, but as the match progressed, like all great champions, she found a way to get it done. And as for Victoria Azarenka well she can take great heart in knowing she gave her opponent a real battle and she is literally the only player in the world that can give Serena a match and go toe to toe with her, and withstand her power and pace in long rallies. And I really think that one day Vika will get her chance to win against Serena in a major final as each time they play you see her get that bit better. And with the year end championships in Istanbul not too far off, which will be at the end of October, I'm sure these two will have a chance to compete again, and we will see how it goes there.
Right so that's it for now, and that's one final over with and it was some final, next up is the men's between the two former champions Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who both have a chance to claim their second title in New York. And there is no doubt this should be a real classic, but time will soon tell all, but if its anything near as good as their 2011 final, we are going to be in for a longggggg night. :-)
Anyway that's it for now and a big congrats once again to Serena Williams for winning her 5th US Open title and to Victoria Azarenka for putting up such a great fight. So I'll report back with the result of the men's final and who will lift the champions trophy.
Until the next one, bye the now!
Sunday 8 September 2013
2013 Flushing meadows Part 6: US Open rematches
Right well its time for another post on the US Open, which is getting really into the deep end now as I will cover the ladies and men's semi finals, which will see who will reach the final to have a chance to lift the champions trophy.
So to start as usual with the ladies we first up had Victoria Azarenk, last year's finalist, take on Flavia Pennetta, which turned out to be an error strewn but entertaining encounter, which had a real topsy turvey opening set with both players struggling on serve. However it was Vika that finally moved ahead to go 5-4 to then close out the first set, but in the 2nd Pennetta made too many errors, and she struggled to deal with Vika's searing baseline exchanges. And despite a last ditch effort at pushing Vika to 40-30 on her serve, Vika closed it out to reach her 2nd US Open final with a 6-4, 6-2 win. Vika's lack of form at the US Open it has to be said has been a bit troubling and in this match it continued as she really struggled on serve in this match, and that is something cannot afford to do against the likes of Serena Williams in the final. But we will just have to see how Azarenka will cope in the final and with two major titles already in the cabinet she is sure to raise her game. For Flavia Pennetta however despite her loss, she has had a great tournament and its great once again to see someone different in the last four in a slam in the ladies game, which is always a welcome change up, and her ranking will no doubt sky rocket after this.
Next up we had Serena Williams, the defending champion, who played against Li Na for a place in the final and this promise to be a cracker. However it wasn't really to be in the end and Serena was way too good for Li Na as she handed her a bagel in the first (she seems to have been doing that alot in this tournament!). In the 2nd set things started to look a bit more encouraging for Li Na as she managed to break Serena's serve early on, but ultimately it was to no avail as the American broke straight back and she went on to nab a break herself to go 4-2 up. And from here it was easy street with Serena closing it out with no real problems to reach yet another US Open final with a very convincing 6-0, 6-3 scoreline. Well there isn't a great deal to say about this match other than it highlights just how far ahead of the competition Serena is, and to say she isn't the favourite to lift the title on Sunday would be mad. As for Li Na well its a shame she was able to get more involved in the match as she is more than capable of it, but it just didn't materialise on the day.
So this sets up yet another mouth watering final against the world's two best players, Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka. And who will win it?????? Well its hard to bet against Serena, however Vika has managed score up two wins this year against her, both of them on hard courts and it would be silly to dismiss Vika's chances of causing an upset. Also Vika is the only player that can really go toe to toe with Serena just now as no one else is capable of it, and she is also the only player that can get into her head. However it also has to be said that Azarenka has not been serving that well in this tournament so far and she will need to against Serena otherwise the match will be over real fast. But given their past two matches and last year's final, I think this will be another belter and Azarenka will push Serena hard, and just maybe if she does serve well, she will have a chance to beat her rival and clinch her first US Open title. So despite Serena being overall favourite, and given their last two matches I'm going to be bold and go with Azarenka in three tough sets, but it will depend purely on how well she plays, if she doesn't well its going to be a straight set drubbing with Serena lifting the title once again. But whatever happens I think the match if its anything like their previous Cincinnati final then it will be a real classic and one of the great US open finals.
Right so onto the men's semis starting with the first one (and why not) which was a rematch of the Australian open 4th round match between Novak Djokovic and Stanislas Wawrinka, which was easily one of the best matches of the year, so this one had quite alot to live up to. And it sure did that as both men produced yet another thrilling epic battle, which saw Stan start off where he finished against Andy Murray, by playing some magnificent tennis against a very flustered World No.1 in Nole. The Swiss's power and precision once again left Djokovic speechless and without answers in the first set, which Stan took with a double break. In the 2nd set Stan continued his dominance over the Serb with another break, however the tide soon turned as Nole broke back and play went on serve into a tiebreak, which Nole take int 7-4 to level the match. In the 3rd set however, Stan was far from done as Nole once again played a sloppy service, allowing Stan to break and go 5-3 up and he went on to serve out for a two sets to one lead. In the 4th set however Nole was not done yet as he fought back and broke Stan to level the match at two sets all. And in the 5th we were treated to a thrilling contest, especially in an epic 21 minute game on Stan's serve, as he battled to hold onto his serve to go 2-1 up. But in the end against all the odds it was Djokovic that made the final break and managed to serve out the match with an ace to reach his 4th consecutive US Open final after a monumental epic 2-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory.
There is no doubt this was one of the best if not the best match of the tournament so far, and it was yet another epic clash between two great players, which saw Stan Wawrinka throw everything at the World No.1, yet he still came up short. And I think in the end it was testament to Djokovic's sheer belief, will, and incredible fitness that got him over the finish line. But Stan once again deserve tremendous credit for putting up yet another great fight against the world's best player, and there were several moments in the match where it looked like he had Nole's number. And his performance at this tournament has shown what a great player he has become and just maybe he himself could one day become a contender for a slam, not only that he will no replace Roger Federer in the rankings as the Swiss No.1. Now who would have thought that! Anyway so well done to Nole as he has shown once again that really is the world's best player, or at least for now he is, as there is one man who might just have his number...
And that man was in the second semi final, Rafael Nadal who took on the talented Frenchman, Richard Gasquet for a place in the final. This was only Gasquet's second major semi final (the last being at Wimbledon six years ago) and he had a mammoth task ahead of him in trying to beat Rafa, who he has never beaten in his professional career. And this match proved to be no different as Gasquet had real answer for Rafa in the first set as he went a break down straight away and before we knew Rafa served it out to take the lead. In the 2nd however, there were more glimmers of hope for Gasquet as he broke Rafa's serve for the first time in the whole tournament, after going a break down himself. And play in the 2nd set went to a tiebreak, but in the breaker, Rafa took full control again and Gasquet choked on serve to hand a two set lead to the Spaniard after serving a double fault. In the 3rd set Gasquet looked like a spent man and there was no way back for him against Rafa's might who took the break, and the match came to a tame end when Gasquet capitulated on serve with a double fault to hand Rafa a place in his 3rd US Open final, with a comfortable 6-4, 7-6, 6-2 victory.
Well this match doesn't really do Novak Djokovic any favours (who claimed after his match he would watch from his hotel room with a bowl of popcorn!) as it sees Rafa in unstoppable form, and while he had one minor blip on serve, he never looked in any danger at all from the Frenchman. Rafa's form in his comeback this year has be absolutely exceptional and so far with the exception of Wimbledon, he has reached the final of every tournament he has played in, having lost only two. And given those stats it would be hard not to see him as the favourite for the final. As for Gasquet, well he looked a spent man by the end of this match, however he also did really well in reaching the last four at the US Open, and he too this year has shown some great form, which should stead him well in the future.
Sooooo that's the US Open final set between yet again, like the ladies, the world's top two players, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. And the question must be asked: who will win the title?????? This one is really tough to call, as they have both played each other more times any other two players have on the tour (this being their 37th encounter) and they both know each others games so well. Rafa has the advantage of having spent less time on court than Nole (at least I think so!) and with a comfortable win over Gasquet he will far more left in the tank for the final on Monday. And just like Juan Martin Del Potro did against Nole at Wimbledon, he might have left Djokovic tired out enough for Rafa to deliver the knock out blow or at least slow him down enough to eventually overpower him. But if Djokovic's fitness and form at the Australian open last year was anything to go by this won't be a factor (and possibly not one at Wimbledon either) and he will try and give his all in this match. But for me I'd pick Rafa to win the title in five hard fought sets, and although I don't know if they can eclipse their amazing 2011 final, I think it will come real close to match it in quality, particularly if it goes to five, it could well be one of the all time great finals.
So that's it for now, we have two potentially great US Open finals ahead of us in the men's and ladies events, which are both rematches of previous finals, and I will report back once we know who the champions are.
Until then by for now!
So to start as usual with the ladies we first up had Victoria Azarenk, last year's finalist, take on Flavia Pennetta, which turned out to be an error strewn but entertaining encounter, which had a real topsy turvey opening set with both players struggling on serve. However it was Vika that finally moved ahead to go 5-4 to then close out the first set, but in the 2nd Pennetta made too many errors, and she struggled to deal with Vika's searing baseline exchanges. And despite a last ditch effort at pushing Vika to 40-30 on her serve, Vika closed it out to reach her 2nd US Open final with a 6-4, 6-2 win. Vika's lack of form at the US Open it has to be said has been a bit troubling and in this match it continued as she really struggled on serve in this match, and that is something cannot afford to do against the likes of Serena Williams in the final. But we will just have to see how Azarenka will cope in the final and with two major titles already in the cabinet she is sure to raise her game. For Flavia Pennetta however despite her loss, she has had a great tournament and its great once again to see someone different in the last four in a slam in the ladies game, which is always a welcome change up, and her ranking will no doubt sky rocket after this.
Next up we had Serena Williams, the defending champion, who played against Li Na for a place in the final and this promise to be a cracker. However it wasn't really to be in the end and Serena was way too good for Li Na as she handed her a bagel in the first (she seems to have been doing that alot in this tournament!). In the 2nd set things started to look a bit more encouraging for Li Na as she managed to break Serena's serve early on, but ultimately it was to no avail as the American broke straight back and she went on to nab a break herself to go 4-2 up. And from here it was easy street with Serena closing it out with no real problems to reach yet another US Open final with a very convincing 6-0, 6-3 scoreline. Well there isn't a great deal to say about this match other than it highlights just how far ahead of the competition Serena is, and to say she isn't the favourite to lift the title on Sunday would be mad. As for Li Na well its a shame she was able to get more involved in the match as she is more than capable of it, but it just didn't materialise on the day.
So this sets up yet another mouth watering final against the world's two best players, Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka. And who will win it?????? Well its hard to bet against Serena, however Vika has managed score up two wins this year against her, both of them on hard courts and it would be silly to dismiss Vika's chances of causing an upset. Also Vika is the only player that can really go toe to toe with Serena just now as no one else is capable of it, and she is also the only player that can get into her head. However it also has to be said that Azarenka has not been serving that well in this tournament so far and she will need to against Serena otherwise the match will be over real fast. But given their past two matches and last year's final, I think this will be another belter and Azarenka will push Serena hard, and just maybe if she does serve well, she will have a chance to beat her rival and clinch her first US Open title. So despite Serena being overall favourite, and given their last two matches I'm going to be bold and go with Azarenka in three tough sets, but it will depend purely on how well she plays, if she doesn't well its going to be a straight set drubbing with Serena lifting the title once again. But whatever happens I think the match if its anything like their previous Cincinnati final then it will be a real classic and one of the great US open finals.
Right so onto the men's semis starting with the first one (and why not) which was a rematch of the Australian open 4th round match between Novak Djokovic and Stanislas Wawrinka, which was easily one of the best matches of the year, so this one had quite alot to live up to. And it sure did that as both men produced yet another thrilling epic battle, which saw Stan start off where he finished against Andy Murray, by playing some magnificent tennis against a very flustered World No.1 in Nole. The Swiss's power and precision once again left Djokovic speechless and without answers in the first set, which Stan took with a double break. In the 2nd set Stan continued his dominance over the Serb with another break, however the tide soon turned as Nole broke back and play went on serve into a tiebreak, which Nole take int 7-4 to level the match. In the 3rd set however, Stan was far from done as Nole once again played a sloppy service, allowing Stan to break and go 5-3 up and he went on to serve out for a two sets to one lead. In the 4th set however Nole was not done yet as he fought back and broke Stan to level the match at two sets all. And in the 5th we were treated to a thrilling contest, especially in an epic 21 minute game on Stan's serve, as he battled to hold onto his serve to go 2-1 up. But in the end against all the odds it was Djokovic that made the final break and managed to serve out the match with an ace to reach his 4th consecutive US Open final after a monumental epic 2-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory.
There is no doubt this was one of the best if not the best match of the tournament so far, and it was yet another epic clash between two great players, which saw Stan Wawrinka throw everything at the World No.1, yet he still came up short. And I think in the end it was testament to Djokovic's sheer belief, will, and incredible fitness that got him over the finish line. But Stan once again deserve tremendous credit for putting up yet another great fight against the world's best player, and there were several moments in the match where it looked like he had Nole's number. And his performance at this tournament has shown what a great player he has become and just maybe he himself could one day become a contender for a slam, not only that he will no replace Roger Federer in the rankings as the Swiss No.1. Now who would have thought that! Anyway so well done to Nole as he has shown once again that really is the world's best player, or at least for now he is, as there is one man who might just have his number...
And that man was in the second semi final, Rafael Nadal who took on the talented Frenchman, Richard Gasquet for a place in the final. This was only Gasquet's second major semi final (the last being at Wimbledon six years ago) and he had a mammoth task ahead of him in trying to beat Rafa, who he has never beaten in his professional career. And this match proved to be no different as Gasquet had real answer for Rafa in the first set as he went a break down straight away and before we knew Rafa served it out to take the lead. In the 2nd however, there were more glimmers of hope for Gasquet as he broke Rafa's serve for the first time in the whole tournament, after going a break down himself. And play in the 2nd set went to a tiebreak, but in the breaker, Rafa took full control again and Gasquet choked on serve to hand a two set lead to the Spaniard after serving a double fault. In the 3rd set Gasquet looked like a spent man and there was no way back for him against Rafa's might who took the break, and the match came to a tame end when Gasquet capitulated on serve with a double fault to hand Rafa a place in his 3rd US Open final, with a comfortable 6-4, 7-6, 6-2 victory.
Well this match doesn't really do Novak Djokovic any favours (who claimed after his match he would watch from his hotel room with a bowl of popcorn!) as it sees Rafa in unstoppable form, and while he had one minor blip on serve, he never looked in any danger at all from the Frenchman. Rafa's form in his comeback this year has be absolutely exceptional and so far with the exception of Wimbledon, he has reached the final of every tournament he has played in, having lost only two. And given those stats it would be hard not to see him as the favourite for the final. As for Gasquet, well he looked a spent man by the end of this match, however he also did really well in reaching the last four at the US Open, and he too this year has shown some great form, which should stead him well in the future.
Sooooo that's the US Open final set between yet again, like the ladies, the world's top two players, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. And the question must be asked: who will win the title?????? This one is really tough to call, as they have both played each other more times any other two players have on the tour (this being their 37th encounter) and they both know each others games so well. Rafa has the advantage of having spent less time on court than Nole (at least I think so!) and with a comfortable win over Gasquet he will far more left in the tank for the final on Monday. And just like Juan Martin Del Potro did against Nole at Wimbledon, he might have left Djokovic tired out enough for Rafa to deliver the knock out blow or at least slow him down enough to eventually overpower him. But if Djokovic's fitness and form at the Australian open last year was anything to go by this won't be a factor (and possibly not one at Wimbledon either) and he will try and give his all in this match. But for me I'd pick Rafa to win the title in five hard fought sets, and although I don't know if they can eclipse their amazing 2011 final, I think it will come real close to match it in quality, particularly if it goes to five, it could well be one of the all time great finals.
So that's it for now, we have two potentially great US Open finals ahead of us in the men's and ladies events, which are both rematches of previous finals, and I will report back once we know who the champions are.
Until then by for now!
Friday 6 September 2013
2013 Flushing Meadows Part 5: Stan the man
Right ok now we go onto the next part of my posts on the 2013 US Open from Flushing Meadows Billie Jean King tennis complex in New York city. This post will cover the men's quarter final matches and the ladies remaining quarter finals also, so let's get started.
Right starting with Day 10 for the ladies quarter finals we had an all Italian clash first up between Flavia Pannetta, who has recently got back in form and Roberta Vinci. Despite Vinci being higher ranked player it was actually Flavia that took control of the match by breaking in the first set to take it and in the 2nd set she broke Vinci twice to win the match and seal her place in her first ever US Open semi final. Given that Pannetta had been out of the game for quite a while with a wrist injury she has come back strong and is now inside the top 40 and with her progress here she will go even higher before long. Next up we had Victoria Azarenka who had to come through two previous tough rounds to make it to the quarters, but in this match she was up against Daniella Hantuchova, and it proved to be a much easier encounter. And Vika found the form that has been missing so far in the latter stages as she broke Daniella twice in the first set and once in the second to close out an impressive win in 6-2, 6-3.
So this completes the ladies semi finals set up as we will have Victoria Azarenka take on Flavia Pennetta, which could promise to be quite a tough encounter given Pennett's form, but I can't quite see the Italian overcoming the former World No.1 and I think Vika will ultimately take this one in two tight sets to reach her 2nd consecutive US Open final. Next there will be a clash between Serena Williams and Li Na, which promises to be another tight match as despite Serena's emphatic lead in their head to head of 8-1, they still have had some tough scraps in the past, so I think this could be a possible three setter with Serena emerging victorious once again. This will also amazingly enough be Serena's first test in the tournament as she has steamrolled past everyone in her way so far, so it will make for an interesting one. But I think both matches will results in the match up we will expect of Serena vs Vika once more, although anything is possible so we will wait and see.
Now onto the men's quarter final matches on Day 10 starting with Rafa Nadal who played the night match on Arthur Ashe against Tommy Robredo who stunned Roger Federer in the previous round. However Robredo wasn't so lucky in this one as he has never beaten Rafa and this time he wasn't even close as Rafa dominated play right from the start as he made an amazing start by flattening his Spanish compatriot handing him a bagel set. In the 2nd and 3rd sets, Robredo at least managed to get on the scoreboard but again Rafa overwhelmed Robredo by a double break in both sets to nab his semi final place with great ease in an emphatic 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 thrashing. Well Rafa just goes from strength to strength this season and this match showed him get that bit even better which is a scary thought. Not only that Rafa has improved his serve as well as he still hasn't been broken on serve in the whole tournament (if only Andy Murray able to do that!). So knocking Rafa off will take one hell of an effort and there only probably one or two guys that can do that if at all.
So now we get onto the match of the day which was a very entertaining encounter between David Ferrer and Richard Gasquet, who were embroiled in a real battle on Arthur Ashe for a place in the semi final. And despite Ferrer's big lead in their head to head (i.e. Gasquet has only beaten him once going into this match!) it was Gasquet that made the more impressive start as he played some dazzling tennis for the crowd with his beautiful backhand he he fired off winners left, right and centre, which left Ferrer dazed and confused and two sets down. However Ferrer being who he is wasn't about to surrender as he fought back to level the match at two sets all taking the match into a decider. And despite Ferrer's record against Gasquet, it did nothing to prevent Gasquet from making the crucial break and he went on to hold his nerve and serve out the match to take his first semi final place in the US Open, and his second career semi final in the slams.
There is no doubt this was a very entertaining match and it was great to see Gasquet, who is a very talented player and great shotmaker reach his first grand slam semi final in six years. However Gasquet will his work cut out as next up he will face Rafa, whom he has never beaten in his professional career, and he joked on court after the match how he had only beaten when they were juniors and he was 13! But hopefully when they meet it will make for an entertaining semi final, but ultimately Rafa will win it I think in straight sets, although hopefully it will be tight.
So this brings me onto day 11 for the men's remaining quarter final matches, which in reverse order saw Novak Djokovic take on Mikhail Youzhny to reach the last four. This match was not one I expected to be much of a challenge for Djokovic, but in actual fact it turned out to be his first test of the tournament with Nole dropping his first set of the tournament, after taking a two set lead, the Russian fought back to grab the 3rd set, pushing it to a fourth. However in the fourth, Nole re-asserted himself and shut down the Russian as he sped to victory and handing Youzhny a bagel to finish off a tricky encounter in 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-0. Despite a dip in the 3rd set, Nole never really looked to be in trouble in this match and it sees him firmly on course for potentially winning his 2nd US Open title, but before he can he will need to first face his next opponent, which will be the winner of the next match I will cover.
And this next match maybe last but in its own way is certainly not least, not so much for its quality or intensity but morely because of the tremendous upset it caused. And this match featured the defending champ Andy Murray take on the in form Stanislas Wawrinka, so this promised to be a real mouth watering clash and it was one, which against all odds Andy was expected to win. However Stan had other ideas, as after a tight first set, with Stan constantly putting pressure on Andy's serve, he finally broke Andy at 5-4 after an epic game, which saw Stan seal it with a winner. And from here Stan didn't look back and he played the match of his career against Andy, who had no answers for the Swiss's power, precision who painted the lines with incredible backhand winners and with an impressive display serving put Andy in a world of trouble. And after going two sets to love down, while you think with Andy's impressive record at coming back from the dead in match situations like this, Stan was having none of it and Andy capitulated on serve twice, as he made a series of unforced errors to hand a double break to Stan. So with that Stan had no trouble in serving out the biggest win of his career so far as he beat the defending champion in an emphatic fashion with a huge upset score of 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.
Even though I was aware of Wawrinka's ability to upset Andy in this event I would never have predicted the manner in which it happened and that Stan could beat Andy so convincingly. However it has to be said that in this tournament Andy just hasn't looked sharp and in fact he was quite rusty especially in his previous round against Istomin as well in his 2nd match with Mayer. Andy after the match also admitted that he felt he was still feeling the effects of a comedown from his Wimbledon triumph and that he has found it difficult to fire himself up 100% after working so hard to achieve his dream of winning his home slam. But I was still surprised at how quickly Andy gave up the ghost in this match and as usual his serve proved to be the culprit in letting him down, and if it wasn't for that just maybe it could be him in the semi finals just now.
However such as it is the credit fully deserves to go to Wawrinka for putting in a spectacular performance to sweep aside Andy in order to reach his first grand slam semi final. And next up Stan will face Nole for a place in the final and if the match is anything like their phenomenal match earlier this year in Melbourne, then I think we are in for a real treat. And can Stan pull off an upset? It certainly is possible as Nole hasn't really been tested yet and he hasn't looked as match sharp since the French Open, and Stan is in the form of his life right now. However I still think the outcome will be the same as no matter what Stan will throw at the World No.1, I think Nole will still come through, but I think hopefully it will be another epic match and for me it has to be Nole in five, however I could be wrong, but we'll wait and see.
As for Andy Murray its probably just as well he has lost at this stage as he has been struggling for form since the beginning of the hard court swing and a break from the tour before the Shanghai masters will do him good. However first up he will have the Davis cup GB world group play off with Croatia next week in an away tie as they will fight it out with Croatia to seal a place back in the world group. And hopefully with Andy they can win the tie, although it is on clay, which is Andy's weakest surface and the Croatian team will have home advantage so it won't be easy that's for sure, so we will see what happens next. But I'm sure Andy will soon bounce back from his defeat at the US Open and he will be back on form before long. Oh and another thing that is long overdue is a match with Rafa and Andy, as it has now been two years since they last played! When will it happen????? Who knows?? But I hope it isn't too long and maybe they could meet in the Shanghai or Paris masters, or failing that it will be at the ATP world tour finals but that will depend on what team they are drawn in.
Anyway that's all a way off yet, so in the meantime that's me for now and I will report back with the results of the men's and ladies semi finals and who will reach the final, and I'm sure no doubt they will be an absolute treat.
So I will leave it there.
Right starting with Day 10 for the ladies quarter finals we had an all Italian clash first up between Flavia Pannetta, who has recently got back in form and Roberta Vinci. Despite Vinci being higher ranked player it was actually Flavia that took control of the match by breaking in the first set to take it and in the 2nd set she broke Vinci twice to win the match and seal her place in her first ever US Open semi final. Given that Pannetta had been out of the game for quite a while with a wrist injury she has come back strong and is now inside the top 40 and with her progress here she will go even higher before long. Next up we had Victoria Azarenka who had to come through two previous tough rounds to make it to the quarters, but in this match she was up against Daniella Hantuchova, and it proved to be a much easier encounter. And Vika found the form that has been missing so far in the latter stages as she broke Daniella twice in the first set and once in the second to close out an impressive win in 6-2, 6-3.
So this completes the ladies semi finals set up as we will have Victoria Azarenka take on Flavia Pennetta, which could promise to be quite a tough encounter given Pennett's form, but I can't quite see the Italian overcoming the former World No.1 and I think Vika will ultimately take this one in two tight sets to reach her 2nd consecutive US Open final. Next there will be a clash between Serena Williams and Li Na, which promises to be another tight match as despite Serena's emphatic lead in their head to head of 8-1, they still have had some tough scraps in the past, so I think this could be a possible three setter with Serena emerging victorious once again. This will also amazingly enough be Serena's first test in the tournament as she has steamrolled past everyone in her way so far, so it will make for an interesting one. But I think both matches will results in the match up we will expect of Serena vs Vika once more, although anything is possible so we will wait and see.
Now onto the men's quarter final matches on Day 10 starting with Rafa Nadal who played the night match on Arthur Ashe against Tommy Robredo who stunned Roger Federer in the previous round. However Robredo wasn't so lucky in this one as he has never beaten Rafa and this time he wasn't even close as Rafa dominated play right from the start as he made an amazing start by flattening his Spanish compatriot handing him a bagel set. In the 2nd and 3rd sets, Robredo at least managed to get on the scoreboard but again Rafa overwhelmed Robredo by a double break in both sets to nab his semi final place with great ease in an emphatic 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 thrashing. Well Rafa just goes from strength to strength this season and this match showed him get that bit even better which is a scary thought. Not only that Rafa has improved his serve as well as he still hasn't been broken on serve in the whole tournament (if only Andy Murray able to do that!). So knocking Rafa off will take one hell of an effort and there only probably one or two guys that can do that if at all.
So now we get onto the match of the day which was a very entertaining encounter between David Ferrer and Richard Gasquet, who were embroiled in a real battle on Arthur Ashe for a place in the semi final. And despite Ferrer's big lead in their head to head (i.e. Gasquet has only beaten him once going into this match!) it was Gasquet that made the more impressive start as he played some dazzling tennis for the crowd with his beautiful backhand he he fired off winners left, right and centre, which left Ferrer dazed and confused and two sets down. However Ferrer being who he is wasn't about to surrender as he fought back to level the match at two sets all taking the match into a decider. And despite Ferrer's record against Gasquet, it did nothing to prevent Gasquet from making the crucial break and he went on to hold his nerve and serve out the match to take his first semi final place in the US Open, and his second career semi final in the slams.
There is no doubt this was a very entertaining match and it was great to see Gasquet, who is a very talented player and great shotmaker reach his first grand slam semi final in six years. However Gasquet will his work cut out as next up he will face Rafa, whom he has never beaten in his professional career, and he joked on court after the match how he had only beaten when they were juniors and he was 13! But hopefully when they meet it will make for an entertaining semi final, but ultimately Rafa will win it I think in straight sets, although hopefully it will be tight.
So this brings me onto day 11 for the men's remaining quarter final matches, which in reverse order saw Novak Djokovic take on Mikhail Youzhny to reach the last four. This match was not one I expected to be much of a challenge for Djokovic, but in actual fact it turned out to be his first test of the tournament with Nole dropping his first set of the tournament, after taking a two set lead, the Russian fought back to grab the 3rd set, pushing it to a fourth. However in the fourth, Nole re-asserted himself and shut down the Russian as he sped to victory and handing Youzhny a bagel to finish off a tricky encounter in 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-0. Despite a dip in the 3rd set, Nole never really looked to be in trouble in this match and it sees him firmly on course for potentially winning his 2nd US Open title, but before he can he will need to first face his next opponent, which will be the winner of the next match I will cover.
And this next match maybe last but in its own way is certainly not least, not so much for its quality or intensity but morely because of the tremendous upset it caused. And this match featured the defending champ Andy Murray take on the in form Stanislas Wawrinka, so this promised to be a real mouth watering clash and it was one, which against all odds Andy was expected to win. However Stan had other ideas, as after a tight first set, with Stan constantly putting pressure on Andy's serve, he finally broke Andy at 5-4 after an epic game, which saw Stan seal it with a winner. And from here Stan didn't look back and he played the match of his career against Andy, who had no answers for the Swiss's power, precision who painted the lines with incredible backhand winners and with an impressive display serving put Andy in a world of trouble. And after going two sets to love down, while you think with Andy's impressive record at coming back from the dead in match situations like this, Stan was having none of it and Andy capitulated on serve twice, as he made a series of unforced errors to hand a double break to Stan. So with that Stan had no trouble in serving out the biggest win of his career so far as he beat the defending champion in an emphatic fashion with a huge upset score of 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.
Even though I was aware of Wawrinka's ability to upset Andy in this event I would never have predicted the manner in which it happened and that Stan could beat Andy so convincingly. However it has to be said that in this tournament Andy just hasn't looked sharp and in fact he was quite rusty especially in his previous round against Istomin as well in his 2nd match with Mayer. Andy after the match also admitted that he felt he was still feeling the effects of a comedown from his Wimbledon triumph and that he has found it difficult to fire himself up 100% after working so hard to achieve his dream of winning his home slam. But I was still surprised at how quickly Andy gave up the ghost in this match and as usual his serve proved to be the culprit in letting him down, and if it wasn't for that just maybe it could be him in the semi finals just now.
However such as it is the credit fully deserves to go to Wawrinka for putting in a spectacular performance to sweep aside Andy in order to reach his first grand slam semi final. And next up Stan will face Nole for a place in the final and if the match is anything like their phenomenal match earlier this year in Melbourne, then I think we are in for a real treat. And can Stan pull off an upset? It certainly is possible as Nole hasn't really been tested yet and he hasn't looked as match sharp since the French Open, and Stan is in the form of his life right now. However I still think the outcome will be the same as no matter what Stan will throw at the World No.1, I think Nole will still come through, but I think hopefully it will be another epic match and for me it has to be Nole in five, however I could be wrong, but we'll wait and see.
As for Andy Murray its probably just as well he has lost at this stage as he has been struggling for form since the beginning of the hard court swing and a break from the tour before the Shanghai masters will do him good. However first up he will have the Davis cup GB world group play off with Croatia next week in an away tie as they will fight it out with Croatia to seal a place back in the world group. And hopefully with Andy they can win the tie, although it is on clay, which is Andy's weakest surface and the Croatian team will have home advantage so it won't be easy that's for sure, so we will see what happens next. But I'm sure Andy will soon bounce back from his defeat at the US Open and he will be back on form before long. Oh and another thing that is long overdue is a match with Rafa and Andy, as it has now been two years since they last played! When will it happen????? Who knows?? But I hope it isn't too long and maybe they could meet in the Shanghai or Paris masters, or failing that it will be at the ATP world tour finals but that will depend on what team they are drawn in.
Anyway that's all a way off yet, so in the meantime that's me for now and I will report back with the results of the men's and ladies semi finals and who will reach the final, and I'm sure no doubt they will be an absolute treat.
So I will leave it there.
Wednesday 4 September 2013
2013 Flushing Meadows Part 4: Lobs, flukes, and so near.....
OK time for the 4th part of the 2013 US Open posts and this will cover the remaining men's 4th round matches and the start of the ladies quarter finals matches on Day 9. So let's get started....
Right ladies first, the opening match on Arthur Ashe was between Victoria Azarenka and Ana Ivanovic which turned out to be quite a battle as Ivanovic got off a great start as she hit Vika off the court (which isn't easy to do!) and she went on to take the 1st set. In the 2nd set however Vika started to fight back as she broke the Serb to go on and level a set apiece and in the 3rd there were more breaks, but it was Victoria that moved ahead and closed out a hard fought match to reach the quarter finals in 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. It has to be said that Vika's last two matches haven't yet seen her at her best and she will certainly need to raise her game should she get to the final where she will most likely face Serena Williams. But Vika did beat Serena in their previous two hard court matches this season so just maybe she might be able to pull off another win if she get's to the final.
Moving onto Serena Williams herself who was up against the Spaniard Carla Suaerz Navarro in a match that wasn't one at all as it was more just a warm up for Serena as she destroyed the Spaniard and handed her a creamy double bagel with an emphatic 6-0, 6-0 rout. Well if this match doesn't send a message then nothing much else will as Serena proved to be in as scarily as good a form as we could ever expect, and Navarro did not stand a chance at all. So at this rate it would be impossible to not see Serena reach the final, as time and time again in the majors she has been able to reach the latter stages dropping only a handful of games which shows that she is in totally different league fro anyone else, and that grand slam title number 17 isn't far off.
Li Na on the other hand a very tough match against Ekaterina Makarova in her quarter final match as they fought it out to see who would eventually come through to the semis and it was Li that eventually made it past the Russian after a tight 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 win. This was a great result for Li Na who has made it into her first US Open semi final, although her next opponent will of course be Serena Williams, and I can't quite see Li winning against her. However I do think that Li Na will give Serena her first proper test of the tournament, as she possess quite alot of firepower as well, but ultimately I think the World No.1 will come through in a tight straight set win.
So that's it for now for the ladies matches next up I'll go onto the men's matches on day 9 starting with what turned out to be the match of the day which was between two veterans, former champion Lleyton Hewitt and Mikhail Youzhny, the 2010 semi finalist. The match promised to be a cracker and it turned out to be just that, although it took a while to ignite as Hewitt himself got off to a slow start and it was Youzhny who took the first set. In the 2nd set however Hewitt started to shake off the cobwebs and he got himself going as he broke Youzhny and served out to square the scores at a set all. And from here Hewitt grabbed a two sets to one lead, and even though he was a break up in the 4th, Youzhny fought back and went on to nab the 4th set with another break. In the deciding set we were treated to some thrilling points and Hewitt once again took the initiative and broke Youhzny, but he couldn't maintain the break as the Russian broke back from 5-3 down, he reeled off the next four games to end Hewitt's chances of reaching his first grand slam quarter final in six years, with Youzhny pulling off a remarkable 6-3, 3-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-5 victory. There's no doubt this was a terrific match and both men displayed some great fighting qualities, however it has to be said that Hewitt did have several chances to close out the match in the 4th and 5th set but he just couldn't take them. On the other hand Youzhny deserves credit for his epic win and he will take hs place in the quarter finals with the winner of the next match....
And the next match was between Novak Djokovic and the Spaniard Marcel Granollers, which itself was no more than a warm up for Djokovic as Granollers didn't threaten Djokovic at all, and in fact he barely scratched him as Djokovic conceded only three games with a 6-3, 6-0, 6-0 drubbing of the Spaniard. As impressive as Djokovic has been so far though he is yet to be tested in the tournament as it has to be said he has had a rather easy draw so far, and with Youzhny next I can't see the Russian giving him a tough time either, which means he will be pretty fresh going into the semis. And it won't really be until the semis before Nole will be given a stern test either in the form of possibly Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych or Stan Wawrinka.
Which brings me onto the match between Tomas Berdych and Stan Wawrinka who have a close rivalry with one another and despite Berdy being the higher ranked player, its actually Wawrinka who leads their head to head 6-5 going into this match. Berdych as expected did get off to a strong start but it wasn't before long that Stan mounted his own fightback as he soon took a two sets to one lead and in the 4th set he broke Berdych twice to close out the match and reach his second US Open quarter final with a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-2 win. There is no doubt that Stan this year really has re-established his game and improved his form, which started back in January after his incredible five set epic battle against Djokovic in the Australian open, and he has since went on to win to reach the final in the Madrid Masters, the French Open quarter finals and now the US Open quarter final. And in this form it will be mighty tough for the winner of the next match to take him down...
And this match was between Andy Murray and the Uzbekistanian player Denis Istomin, which turned out to be a very entertaining and tricky encounter. In the first set both players traded breaks and Andy even had chances to serve for the match but he blew the lead and let Istomin back and play went on until a tiebreak where Andy served a double fault and let Istomin serve for the set which he took. In the 2nd set however Andy made an impressive comeback as he broke Istomin twice and nabbed the set to level. The 3rd set was a much tighter affair and Istomin at one point even had break points to move ahead in the match, but Andy managed to hold on and took the two sets to one lead, and he went on to break in the 4th to seal his place in the quarter finals after a tough 6-7, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 scrap.
While Andy was not at his best in this match he did produce the goods in the end and he got the win, and the match itself was very entertaining as both men traded some great rallies and points. Two points in particular included a lob that was played by Istomin who did a hotdog lob between his legs which went over Andy's head as he couldn't smash it in time, and Andy also mishit a fluke shot which went high into the air and took an age to come back down but it landed inside the baseline as Andy went on to win the point. And while it wasn't Andy's best performance of the tournament so far both men were playing in very windy conditions and given that they both played a very enjoyable match for the crowd.
So next up for Andy will be Stan Wawrinka who is an unenviable opponent for the defending champion who beat him in their previous match in Monte Carlo, however that was on clay which is Andy's weakest surface But what is more of a concern is that Stan also beat Andy at the US Open three years ago in the 3rd round, so there is the danger he could do it again this time round, but then again Andy isn't the same player he was back then. And what Andy will have in his favour is his big match experience and that he is now a two time slam champion he knows how to win in most situations in the majors. But on the other hand Stan is now a better player as well as he is back in the top 10 and looking very good and if his epic match against Djokovic is anything to go by, Andy will have his hands full on Thursday. And it really has to be said given Stan's form this year that he has a really good chance of upsetting the defending champion here, and if Andy plays a subpar match then he will for sure come out second best. However despite that I still think that Andy will win this one, but it will be very close and I think Andy will hopefully get it done in four very tight sets, or possibly five. But we will just have to wait and see how Andy get's on, but let's hope he wins.
So that's it for now, more to follow on the remaning ladies quarter finals and the men's quarter final matches which are coming up soon.
Until the next one, bye the now!
Right ladies first, the opening match on Arthur Ashe was between Victoria Azarenka and Ana Ivanovic which turned out to be quite a battle as Ivanovic got off a great start as she hit Vika off the court (which isn't easy to do!) and she went on to take the 1st set. In the 2nd set however Vika started to fight back as she broke the Serb to go on and level a set apiece and in the 3rd there were more breaks, but it was Victoria that moved ahead and closed out a hard fought match to reach the quarter finals in 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. It has to be said that Vika's last two matches haven't yet seen her at her best and she will certainly need to raise her game should she get to the final where she will most likely face Serena Williams. But Vika did beat Serena in their previous two hard court matches this season so just maybe she might be able to pull off another win if she get's to the final.
Moving onto Serena Williams herself who was up against the Spaniard Carla Suaerz Navarro in a match that wasn't one at all as it was more just a warm up for Serena as she destroyed the Spaniard and handed her a creamy double bagel with an emphatic 6-0, 6-0 rout. Well if this match doesn't send a message then nothing much else will as Serena proved to be in as scarily as good a form as we could ever expect, and Navarro did not stand a chance at all. So at this rate it would be impossible to not see Serena reach the final, as time and time again in the majors she has been able to reach the latter stages dropping only a handful of games which shows that she is in totally different league fro anyone else, and that grand slam title number 17 isn't far off.
Li Na on the other hand a very tough match against Ekaterina Makarova in her quarter final match as they fought it out to see who would eventually come through to the semis and it was Li that eventually made it past the Russian after a tight 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 win. This was a great result for Li Na who has made it into her first US Open semi final, although her next opponent will of course be Serena Williams, and I can't quite see Li winning against her. However I do think that Li Na will give Serena her first proper test of the tournament, as she possess quite alot of firepower as well, but ultimately I think the World No.1 will come through in a tight straight set win.
So that's it for now for the ladies matches next up I'll go onto the men's matches on day 9 starting with what turned out to be the match of the day which was between two veterans, former champion Lleyton Hewitt and Mikhail Youzhny, the 2010 semi finalist. The match promised to be a cracker and it turned out to be just that, although it took a while to ignite as Hewitt himself got off to a slow start and it was Youzhny who took the first set. In the 2nd set however Hewitt started to shake off the cobwebs and he got himself going as he broke Youzhny and served out to square the scores at a set all. And from here Hewitt grabbed a two sets to one lead, and even though he was a break up in the 4th, Youzhny fought back and went on to nab the 4th set with another break. In the deciding set we were treated to some thrilling points and Hewitt once again took the initiative and broke Youhzny, but he couldn't maintain the break as the Russian broke back from 5-3 down, he reeled off the next four games to end Hewitt's chances of reaching his first grand slam quarter final in six years, with Youzhny pulling off a remarkable 6-3, 3-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-5 victory. There's no doubt this was a terrific match and both men displayed some great fighting qualities, however it has to be said that Hewitt did have several chances to close out the match in the 4th and 5th set but he just couldn't take them. On the other hand Youzhny deserves credit for his epic win and he will take hs place in the quarter finals with the winner of the next match....
And the next match was between Novak Djokovic and the Spaniard Marcel Granollers, which itself was no more than a warm up for Djokovic as Granollers didn't threaten Djokovic at all, and in fact he barely scratched him as Djokovic conceded only three games with a 6-3, 6-0, 6-0 drubbing of the Spaniard. As impressive as Djokovic has been so far though he is yet to be tested in the tournament as it has to be said he has had a rather easy draw so far, and with Youzhny next I can't see the Russian giving him a tough time either, which means he will be pretty fresh going into the semis. And it won't really be until the semis before Nole will be given a stern test either in the form of possibly Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych or Stan Wawrinka.
Which brings me onto the match between Tomas Berdych and Stan Wawrinka who have a close rivalry with one another and despite Berdy being the higher ranked player, its actually Wawrinka who leads their head to head 6-5 going into this match. Berdych as expected did get off to a strong start but it wasn't before long that Stan mounted his own fightback as he soon took a two sets to one lead and in the 4th set he broke Berdych twice to close out the match and reach his second US Open quarter final with a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-2 win. There is no doubt that Stan this year really has re-established his game and improved his form, which started back in January after his incredible five set epic battle against Djokovic in the Australian open, and he has since went on to win to reach the final in the Madrid Masters, the French Open quarter finals and now the US Open quarter final. And in this form it will be mighty tough for the winner of the next match to take him down...
And this match was between Andy Murray and the Uzbekistanian player Denis Istomin, which turned out to be a very entertaining and tricky encounter. In the first set both players traded breaks and Andy even had chances to serve for the match but he blew the lead and let Istomin back and play went on until a tiebreak where Andy served a double fault and let Istomin serve for the set which he took. In the 2nd set however Andy made an impressive comeback as he broke Istomin twice and nabbed the set to level. The 3rd set was a much tighter affair and Istomin at one point even had break points to move ahead in the match, but Andy managed to hold on and took the two sets to one lead, and he went on to break in the 4th to seal his place in the quarter finals after a tough 6-7, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 scrap.
While Andy was not at his best in this match he did produce the goods in the end and he got the win, and the match itself was very entertaining as both men traded some great rallies and points. Two points in particular included a lob that was played by Istomin who did a hotdog lob between his legs which went over Andy's head as he couldn't smash it in time, and Andy also mishit a fluke shot which went high into the air and took an age to come back down but it landed inside the baseline as Andy went on to win the point. And while it wasn't Andy's best performance of the tournament so far both men were playing in very windy conditions and given that they both played a very enjoyable match for the crowd.
So next up for Andy will be Stan Wawrinka who is an unenviable opponent for the defending champion who beat him in their previous match in Monte Carlo, however that was on clay which is Andy's weakest surface But what is more of a concern is that Stan also beat Andy at the US Open three years ago in the 3rd round, so there is the danger he could do it again this time round, but then again Andy isn't the same player he was back then. And what Andy will have in his favour is his big match experience and that he is now a two time slam champion he knows how to win in most situations in the majors. But on the other hand Stan is now a better player as well as he is back in the top 10 and looking very good and if his epic match against Djokovic is anything to go by, Andy will have his hands full on Thursday. And it really has to be said given Stan's form this year that he has a really good chance of upsetting the defending champion here, and if Andy plays a subpar match then he will for sure come out second best. However despite that I still think that Andy will win this one, but it will be very close and I think Andy will hopefully get it done in four very tight sets, or possibly five. But we will just have to wait and see how Andy get's on, but let's hope he wins.
So that's it for now, more to follow on the remaning ladies quarter finals and the men's quarter final matches which are coming up soon.
Until the next one, bye the now!
Tuesday 3 September 2013
2013 Flushing meadows Part 3: Upsets galore, and the end of an era???
Soooo on we go with the third part of my posts on the US Open, the final grand slam of the season, and this post will cover the 3rd and 4th round matches that will see the top players fight their way through.
Right so in the usual tradition starting with the lasses (or ladies) on Day 7 we had first up Serena Williams take on her fellow American, Sloane Stephens in a lipsmacking encounter. However despite the hype the match itself was a bit of a letdown, and despite a tight first set with some impressive rallies from both players, Stephens serve eventually folded under pressure and she lost the set to Serena. And in the 2nd set, Serena seized full control of the match and she broke Stephens with great ease and race to a double break and victory over her young American rival in 6-4, 6-1. As far as anticipated matches go this one certainly did fall short of the expectations and Sloane despite a strong start was unable to keep up with the pace and relentless power from the world No.1. Despite that Sloane's progress this year has shown she is more than good enough to compete with the very best and no doubt with age she will get even better.
In other day 7 matches we had Li Na who took revenge on Jelena Jankovic for previous losses as she swept past the Serbian with a 6-3, 6-0 win. Agnieszka Radwanska, the 3rd seed faced Ekaterina Makarova of Russia in a match in which Radwanska was the clear favourite to win. However it was the Russian who pulled off the biggest upset of the ladies tournament so far as she defeated Aga in a tight straight set match with a 6-4, 6-4 to reach her first US Open quarter final. It is somewhat puzzling in a way that Radwanska has never made it past the 4th round at the US Open but at the same time perhaps its no surprise that she got the same result as before, and maybe as a slam its the one which she is yet to excel in, and I'm sure Aga will bounce back soon.
And now for the match of the day and one of the best ladies matches of the tournament so far which was between Angelique Kerber and Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain. The match was a terrific battle between two incredible athletes and virtually every point was an intense rally which was drawn out to almost breaking point for both of them. And after levelling at a set all, in the decider the momentum swung one way then another between Kerber and Navarro with Kerber even serving for the match at 6-5, before Navarro broke back yet again, pushing play into a tiebreak, which Navarro took control of and she fell on her back in delight as she reached her first US Open quarter final after an incredible 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 epic win. This was a tremendous match to watch which had the enthusiastic as ever American crowd whooping and hollering (quite rightly so!) and both players played some lungbursting rallies, which were a testament just how good both players are. It was a pity for Kerber who couldn't quite close it out as she gave it her all, but Navarro deserves nothing but credit for her gutsy fight and to win from a set down, it shows she really is a player to watch out for.
Now for Day 8 with the lasses, starting with Daniella Huntachova, who actually to my surprise was still in the tournament as she seemed to slip under the radar in reaching the 4th round as she played the American qualifier, Alison Riske. Hantuchova however did not have things easy as the plucky young American after dropping the first set, fought back to win the 2nd, but in the 3rd Daniella wrestled back control of the match and she went on to win in 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. Flavia Pannetta took on the in form Simona Halep who so far has won four titles this year and is the only female player this year to have won a title on all surfaces. Despite that though it was Pannetta who got off to a great start as she broke the young Romaina twice to nab the first set. In the 2nd set however there was a momentum shift as Halep grab the initiative and upper her game to break Pannetta. However despite having two set points, Halep was halted in her tracks by the rain which suddenly came on and delayed play for almost five hours. And on play resuming Halep failed to serve it out and Panetta broke back with play going into a tiebreak Panetta made her move and shut down the young Romanian and won the match in 6-2, 7-6. And lastly Roberta Vinci played against her fellow-ess compatriot, Camille Ciorgi whom Vinci sped past with a commanding straight set win of 6-4, 6-2.
So this brings us onto the men starting with Day 7 we had Andy Murray, the defending champ who was up against the tricky German player Florian Mayer for a place in the 4th round. However the conditions on court were brutally humid and amid the intense heat, Andy struggled to get much going on his serve as it hit woeful lows of 38% and he was reduced to a hangdog weary expression as Andy's energy was sapped by the weather. However it didn't stop Andy from taking the first set on a tiebreak, and in the 2nd set, after a comfort break, Andy came out more energised and proceeded to play some wonderful tennis for the crowd as he broke Mayer twice in sets two and three to close out the match with a straight set 7-6, 6-2, 6-2 win. Despite an understandably slow start due to the humidity, Andy put in a very impressive performance in this match and he did really well in closing it out in straight sets, especially as Mayer proved to be a tricky and entertaining player to watch. So hopefully in the 2nd week Andy can build on that as he is set to take on Denis Istomin of Uzbekhistan in the 4th round, but hopefully Andy will pull off another win in hopefully 3 or 4 sets.
Up next we had what turned out to be the match of the day which was a terrific encounter between Stanislas Wawrinka, the Swiss No.2 and Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus. This match had plenty of highly entertaining points and great rallies and as the match progressed in built up in atmosphere especially as after Baghdatis fought back to grab the 3rd set, in the 4th play went to a thrilling tiebreak, which eventually saw Wawrinka shut down Baghdatis's gutsy fighting spirit with a four set 6-3, 6-2, 6-7, 7-6 scoreline. This was a great result for Wawrinka who continues to show his great form in 2013, which was ignited after that amazing 4th round match against Novak Djokovic which he narrowly lost in 5 sets at the Australian open earlier this year. So this form will improve important in his 4th round match which will be the winner of the next match I'll talk about which was between Tomas Berdych and Julienne Benneteau. And throughout this match Berdych ruthlessly asserted his authority all over the Frenchman as he pounded him into the ground in 6-0, 6-3, 6-2. So this sets a potential classic clash between two big rivals Berdych and Wawrink and their head to head is very close and Stan leads it 6-5, so there is no real favourite here and it will be one to watch I'm sure.
Novak Djokovic, the world numero 1, was also in action against the qualifier Joao Sousa in what was actually an entertaining match despite the massively one-sided scoreline, Sousa fought hard and produced some fine points for the crowd. But Djokovic proved to be just too good in the end for Sousa and he easily shut him down, conceding only four games as he sped to a 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 win. This continues to show Nole's great form in the tournament, however the only slightly alarming thing is that he still hasn't been tested yet and that is what we are waiting to see in how will he respond to the players at the very top. However next up for Djokovic will a potentially easy opponent as he will take on Marcel Granollers of Spain, who has shown good form lately and he overcame Tim Smyczek in 5 sets to reach the 4th round, but I can't see the Spaniard push Nole that far and the Serb will come through in straight sets. And lastly for day 7, Lleyton Hewitt fought his way past the Russian qualifier Evgney Donskoy in a 4 set scrap winnning in 6-3, 7-6, 3-6, 6-1 to reach the last 16.
Which brings me onto day 8 for the men's starting with what turned out to be the biggest upset of the men's tournament so far in a match up with Roger Federer and Tommy Robredo. Robredo had never won a single match against Roger in their previous 10 meetings and only 3 sets in all of them, so beating Roger looked to a real daunting task. But Robredo was more than up to it this time round and he played an inspired first set, trading breaks with Roger, he had a chance to serve it out, but Roger broke back, and play went to a tiebreak, where Robredo did the unthinkable in taking the 1st set on the breaker 7-3. And in the 2nd set the unthinkable raised its head again as Federer started to make a rash of unforced errors which saw him hand the break to Robredo yet again who served out for a two sets to love lead. And in the 3rd the unthinkable actually happened as Fed capitulated on serve and Tommy Robredo pulled out one of the biggest wins of his career as he dumped out the five time champion in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Despite the fact it was quite a shock result, the match itself had some terrific points, particular the first set which was of the highest quality. However Roger's capitulation on serve and in the match was quite troubling as we never thought we would see him fall so early on in the tournament and to a player ranked in the top 20 it really does show that worrying signs that he is fading fast. Not only that this year has easily been Roger's worst season in well over 10 years and in the last two majors he has failed to even get to the quarter finals, which will no doubt further impact on his ranking. This may also impact on his chances to qualify for the year end championships at the o2 Arena in London and he could be in danger of losing out there for the first time in many a year. So the question has to be asked: is this the end of the road for Federer? Well its hard to say as you can never write him off no matter what he has been through in his career, but I personally think his slam winning days are probably over, and it would difficult for me to see him win another. So the next couple of months are going to be very important for Roger Federer and he has to try and work hard and hope that he can improve again in time for the year end championships and also keep himself in the top 10. So for now its all up in the air for the Swiss maestro but from here it looks very much like his best days are behind him.
Next up we had David Ferrer who faced Janko Tipsarevic who had a rematch of their quarter final clash last year, except this time it was in the 4th round and to grab a place in the quarter finals. The match itself turned out to be similar to last year in that it was a close hard fought encounter, except this time Ferrer managed to get it done in four tight sets as he sealed his quarter final win in 7-6, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6. After this we had Richard Gasquet, the Frenchman face off the big serving Canadian, Milos Raonic, and both men were looking for their first US Open quarter final. And after a five set pitch battle (or court battle even) it was Gasquet that eventually emerged victorious winning a very hard fought epic in 6-7, 7-6, 2-6, 7-6, 7-5.
And lastly Rafa Nadal played the German, Philippe Kohlschreiber in the 4th round for a place in the last eight, and up until now the invincible Spaniard has remained unfettered at the US open, having not even dropped a set. But Kohlschreiber changed all that as he pushed the 1st to a tiebreak and he won it 7-4, which saw Rafa's impeccable campaign take its first hit. However from here though Rafa cranked up the gears and remained unbreakable on serve as he grabbed the next three sets to seal his place in the last eight after a hard fought 6-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 win.
This match continues to show Rafa's indomitable form and to say he remains to be the top man to win the title is something of an understatement, as despite dropping the first set, he still remains unbroken on serve, which is incredible in itself. Next up though Rafa will take on Tommy Robredo who denied us a potential Roger vs Rafa clash in beating Federer, so Rafa will need to be stay on top of his game to ensure his safe passage into the semis, but no doubt I'm sure he will.
Right so that's me up to date with the tennis from the US Open. More to follow on the remaning 4th round matches including Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Berdych and Wawrinka.
Until the next un that's it!
Right so in the usual tradition starting with the lasses (or ladies) on Day 7 we had first up Serena Williams take on her fellow American, Sloane Stephens in a lipsmacking encounter. However despite the hype the match itself was a bit of a letdown, and despite a tight first set with some impressive rallies from both players, Stephens serve eventually folded under pressure and she lost the set to Serena. And in the 2nd set, Serena seized full control of the match and she broke Stephens with great ease and race to a double break and victory over her young American rival in 6-4, 6-1. As far as anticipated matches go this one certainly did fall short of the expectations and Sloane despite a strong start was unable to keep up with the pace and relentless power from the world No.1. Despite that Sloane's progress this year has shown she is more than good enough to compete with the very best and no doubt with age she will get even better.
In other day 7 matches we had Li Na who took revenge on Jelena Jankovic for previous losses as she swept past the Serbian with a 6-3, 6-0 win. Agnieszka Radwanska, the 3rd seed faced Ekaterina Makarova of Russia in a match in which Radwanska was the clear favourite to win. However it was the Russian who pulled off the biggest upset of the ladies tournament so far as she defeated Aga in a tight straight set match with a 6-4, 6-4 to reach her first US Open quarter final. It is somewhat puzzling in a way that Radwanska has never made it past the 4th round at the US Open but at the same time perhaps its no surprise that she got the same result as before, and maybe as a slam its the one which she is yet to excel in, and I'm sure Aga will bounce back soon.
And now for the match of the day and one of the best ladies matches of the tournament so far which was between Angelique Kerber and Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain. The match was a terrific battle between two incredible athletes and virtually every point was an intense rally which was drawn out to almost breaking point for both of them. And after levelling at a set all, in the decider the momentum swung one way then another between Kerber and Navarro with Kerber even serving for the match at 6-5, before Navarro broke back yet again, pushing play into a tiebreak, which Navarro took control of and she fell on her back in delight as she reached her first US Open quarter final after an incredible 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 epic win. This was a tremendous match to watch which had the enthusiastic as ever American crowd whooping and hollering (quite rightly so!) and both players played some lungbursting rallies, which were a testament just how good both players are. It was a pity for Kerber who couldn't quite close it out as she gave it her all, but Navarro deserves nothing but credit for her gutsy fight and to win from a set down, it shows she really is a player to watch out for.
Now for Day 8 with the lasses, starting with Daniella Huntachova, who actually to my surprise was still in the tournament as she seemed to slip under the radar in reaching the 4th round as she played the American qualifier, Alison Riske. Hantuchova however did not have things easy as the plucky young American after dropping the first set, fought back to win the 2nd, but in the 3rd Daniella wrestled back control of the match and she went on to win in 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. Flavia Pannetta took on the in form Simona Halep who so far has won four titles this year and is the only female player this year to have won a title on all surfaces. Despite that though it was Pannetta who got off to a great start as she broke the young Romaina twice to nab the first set. In the 2nd set however there was a momentum shift as Halep grab the initiative and upper her game to break Pannetta. However despite having two set points, Halep was halted in her tracks by the rain which suddenly came on and delayed play for almost five hours. And on play resuming Halep failed to serve it out and Panetta broke back with play going into a tiebreak Panetta made her move and shut down the young Romanian and won the match in 6-2, 7-6. And lastly Roberta Vinci played against her fellow-ess compatriot, Camille Ciorgi whom Vinci sped past with a commanding straight set win of 6-4, 6-2.
So this brings us onto the men starting with Day 7 we had Andy Murray, the defending champ who was up against the tricky German player Florian Mayer for a place in the 4th round. However the conditions on court were brutally humid and amid the intense heat, Andy struggled to get much going on his serve as it hit woeful lows of 38% and he was reduced to a hangdog weary expression as Andy's energy was sapped by the weather. However it didn't stop Andy from taking the first set on a tiebreak, and in the 2nd set, after a comfort break, Andy came out more energised and proceeded to play some wonderful tennis for the crowd as he broke Mayer twice in sets two and three to close out the match with a straight set 7-6, 6-2, 6-2 win. Despite an understandably slow start due to the humidity, Andy put in a very impressive performance in this match and he did really well in closing it out in straight sets, especially as Mayer proved to be a tricky and entertaining player to watch. So hopefully in the 2nd week Andy can build on that as he is set to take on Denis Istomin of Uzbekhistan in the 4th round, but hopefully Andy will pull off another win in hopefully 3 or 4 sets.
Up next we had what turned out to be the match of the day which was a terrific encounter between Stanislas Wawrinka, the Swiss No.2 and Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus. This match had plenty of highly entertaining points and great rallies and as the match progressed in built up in atmosphere especially as after Baghdatis fought back to grab the 3rd set, in the 4th play went to a thrilling tiebreak, which eventually saw Wawrinka shut down Baghdatis's gutsy fighting spirit with a four set 6-3, 6-2, 6-7, 7-6 scoreline. This was a great result for Wawrinka who continues to show his great form in 2013, which was ignited after that amazing 4th round match against Novak Djokovic which he narrowly lost in 5 sets at the Australian open earlier this year. So this form will improve important in his 4th round match which will be the winner of the next match I'll talk about which was between Tomas Berdych and Julienne Benneteau. And throughout this match Berdych ruthlessly asserted his authority all over the Frenchman as he pounded him into the ground in 6-0, 6-3, 6-2. So this sets a potential classic clash between two big rivals Berdych and Wawrink and their head to head is very close and Stan leads it 6-5, so there is no real favourite here and it will be one to watch I'm sure.
Novak Djokovic, the world numero 1, was also in action against the qualifier Joao Sousa in what was actually an entertaining match despite the massively one-sided scoreline, Sousa fought hard and produced some fine points for the crowd. But Djokovic proved to be just too good in the end for Sousa and he easily shut him down, conceding only four games as he sped to a 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 win. This continues to show Nole's great form in the tournament, however the only slightly alarming thing is that he still hasn't been tested yet and that is what we are waiting to see in how will he respond to the players at the very top. However next up for Djokovic will a potentially easy opponent as he will take on Marcel Granollers of Spain, who has shown good form lately and he overcame Tim Smyczek in 5 sets to reach the 4th round, but I can't see the Spaniard push Nole that far and the Serb will come through in straight sets. And lastly for day 7, Lleyton Hewitt fought his way past the Russian qualifier Evgney Donskoy in a 4 set scrap winnning in 6-3, 7-6, 3-6, 6-1 to reach the last 16.
Which brings me onto day 8 for the men's starting with what turned out to be the biggest upset of the men's tournament so far in a match up with Roger Federer and Tommy Robredo. Robredo had never won a single match against Roger in their previous 10 meetings and only 3 sets in all of them, so beating Roger looked to a real daunting task. But Robredo was more than up to it this time round and he played an inspired first set, trading breaks with Roger, he had a chance to serve it out, but Roger broke back, and play went to a tiebreak, where Robredo did the unthinkable in taking the 1st set on the breaker 7-3. And in the 2nd set the unthinkable raised its head again as Federer started to make a rash of unforced errors which saw him hand the break to Robredo yet again who served out for a two sets to love lead. And in the 3rd the unthinkable actually happened as Fed capitulated on serve and Tommy Robredo pulled out one of the biggest wins of his career as he dumped out the five time champion in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Despite the fact it was quite a shock result, the match itself had some terrific points, particular the first set which was of the highest quality. However Roger's capitulation on serve and in the match was quite troubling as we never thought we would see him fall so early on in the tournament and to a player ranked in the top 20 it really does show that worrying signs that he is fading fast. Not only that this year has easily been Roger's worst season in well over 10 years and in the last two majors he has failed to even get to the quarter finals, which will no doubt further impact on his ranking. This may also impact on his chances to qualify for the year end championships at the o2 Arena in London and he could be in danger of losing out there for the first time in many a year. So the question has to be asked: is this the end of the road for Federer? Well its hard to say as you can never write him off no matter what he has been through in his career, but I personally think his slam winning days are probably over, and it would difficult for me to see him win another. So the next couple of months are going to be very important for Roger Federer and he has to try and work hard and hope that he can improve again in time for the year end championships and also keep himself in the top 10. So for now its all up in the air for the Swiss maestro but from here it looks very much like his best days are behind him.
Next up we had David Ferrer who faced Janko Tipsarevic who had a rematch of their quarter final clash last year, except this time it was in the 4th round and to grab a place in the quarter finals. The match itself turned out to be similar to last year in that it was a close hard fought encounter, except this time Ferrer managed to get it done in four tight sets as he sealed his quarter final win in 7-6, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6. After this we had Richard Gasquet, the Frenchman face off the big serving Canadian, Milos Raonic, and both men were looking for their first US Open quarter final. And after a five set pitch battle (or court battle even) it was Gasquet that eventually emerged victorious winning a very hard fought epic in 6-7, 7-6, 2-6, 7-6, 7-5.
And lastly Rafa Nadal played the German, Philippe Kohlschreiber in the 4th round for a place in the last eight, and up until now the invincible Spaniard has remained unfettered at the US open, having not even dropped a set. But Kohlschreiber changed all that as he pushed the 1st to a tiebreak and he won it 7-4, which saw Rafa's impeccable campaign take its first hit. However from here though Rafa cranked up the gears and remained unbreakable on serve as he grabbed the next three sets to seal his place in the last eight after a hard fought 6-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 win.
This match continues to show Rafa's indomitable form and to say he remains to be the top man to win the title is something of an understatement, as despite dropping the first set, he still remains unbroken on serve, which is incredible in itself. Next up though Rafa will take on Tommy Robredo who denied us a potential Roger vs Rafa clash in beating Federer, so Rafa will need to be stay on top of his game to ensure his safe passage into the semis, but no doubt I'm sure he will.
Right so that's me up to date with the tennis from the US Open. More to follow on the remaning 4th round matches including Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Berdych and Wawrinka.
Until the next un that's it!
Sunday 1 September 2013
2013 Flushing meadows Part 2: The fairytale ends, and minor wobbles
Right now onto Part 2 of my posts on the US Open and theres a bit of catching so up to do as we are now nearly finished the first week of the tournament so let's carry on and have a look....
Right so start with the ladies quickly I will start with day 3 which saw Li Na finish off Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden in straight sets 6-2, 6-2. Sloane Stephens also whitewashed the younger sister of Agnieszka, Ursula Radwanska in straight sets with a 6-1, 6-1 win. Venus Williams however tumbled out in the 2nd round after a tight three set battle against the chinese player, Jie Zheng in 6-3, 2-6, 7-6. Due to the rain relays however the rest of the ladies matches on day 3 were cancelled so that will take me onto day 4.
So in day 4 we had one of the biggest upsets of the tournament so far as Sara Errani suffered an early defeat in an all Italian clash against Flavia Pannetta as she was dealt a heavy blow with Panetta winning in 6-3, 6-1. This was a surprising loss for Errani who later said she felt the pressure of being seeded so high in the tournament as being the 4th seed seemed to take its toll on her. But Errani also said she had been suffering in her game over the last few weeks, so it looks she is having an attack of nerves, which is a great shame, and let's hope she will pick it again soon. Caroline Wozniacki had no such problems against Chanelle Scheepers as she breezed past the South African player in 6-2, 6-2 to reach the 3rd round. Serena Williams, who's match was cancelled the night before was played against Galina Voskoboeva of Kazahkstan who she dismissed with ease and sealing her place confidently in the 3rd round with a 6-3, 6-0 win. Victoria Azarenka also managed to sweep past the Canadian player Alexandra Wozniack dropping just four games winning in 6-3, 6-1. Angelique Kerber however had to fight way her past another Canadian player, Eugenie Bouchard in a tight three setter but eventually prevailing with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 win. And finally Ana Ivanovic made short work of the Romanian player Alexander Dulgheru in just 6-2, 6-1.
Moving onto day 5 starting with Li Na who faced for the 2nd consecutive time in the 3rd round of the US Open, Laura Robson, who defeated her last year in a shock upset, so this time round Li was looking for some payback. And she sure got it, but it wasn't easy as despite taking the first set with a double break, Li had to fight from a break down in the 2nd to evetnually level and she went onto break to seal the match and complete her revenge with a 6-2, 7-5 victory. Sloane Stephens, the American No.2, continued her impressive form against her fellow American, Jamie Hampton as she drubbed her in 6-3, 6-1. Serena Williams in typical fashion hammered her 3rd round opponent Yaroslava Shevadova dropping just a mere four games in 6-3, 6-1. And lastly for day 5 I will mention Agnieszk Radwanska who didn't have it so easy against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia as she was pushed hard but came through in two tight sets, 6-4, 7-6.
And to bring us up to date at Day 6 starting with Ana Ivanovic who played the American, Christina McHale in what was a real battle for a place in the 4th round. And in the end it was Ivanovic who prevailed having come from a set down, she beat the young American in 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 to reach the last 16. Caroline Wozniacki wasn't so fortunate as she sustained a surprise 3rd round loss against the Italian qualifier Camilla Giorgi in a tight 3 set scrap as Giorgi won in 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. This completes Caroline's rather poor season in the grand slams and it was a surprise which shows she has a lot of work ahead of her in order to turn her game around. Victoria Azarenka was also made to work very hard against the French player Alize Cornet as the two of them engaged in a tight battle on Lois Armstrong stadium as she Vika had to come from a set down to beat Cornet in 6-7, 6-3, 6-2. Roberta Vinci who has favoured way better than her doubles partner Sara Errani also progressed into the 4th round as she beat her fellow Italian Karin Knapp in 6-4, 6-3. And finally the in form Romanian player, Simon Halep continued her impressive run as she demolished Maria Kirilenko in just 6-1, 6-0.
So that brings us up to speed with ladies, now we go onto the men starting with Day 3 we had Andy Murray finally play his first match after a three day wait and some rain delays, the defending champion finally made it into on the Arthur Ashe stadium court to play the Frenchman and doubles specialist, Michael Llodra. If Andy had any nerves or jitters in his first match as a defending grand slam champion he certainly didn't show them as he effortlessly moved past Llorda with a solid performance and a straight set win to get his campaign off to a solid start in 6-2, 6-4, 6-3. James Blake also played the final match of his career as he was due to retire after the US Open, but he went out in style against the giant serving giant Ivo Karlovic, as the big Croatian battled his way to victory in five sets in 6-7, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6. While it wasn't ideal for Blake to go out so early he put in a great fight and signalled the end of a fine career for a top player, so all the best to James Blake for the future.
Moving onto day 4 Roger Federer took on the loud grunting Argentine player, Carlos Berlocq who he dismissed in just 6-3, 6-2, 6-1. Rafa Nadal also did the exact same and he did it even more emphatically against the Brazillian player Rogeria Dutra Da Silva as he dropped just three games with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 gubbing. This continues to show Rafa's scarily good form and for me he still remains the top favourite to win the title and on this basis its going to be hard to see anyone else beat him. David Ferrer however had a far tougher time of it while playing his fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista-Agut as he needed four sets to get past his compatriot 6-3, 6-7, 6-1, 6-2. John Isner, the American No.1 took on the talented and flashy Gael Monfils in a very entertaining four set scrap which saw the big yank beat Monfils in a tight 7-5, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 win. And finally Milos Raonic, the big serving Canadian had little trouble in moving past Pablo Andujar of Spain in 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
So on we go to Day 5 which saw one of the big upsets of the tournament so far as Juan Martin Del Potro, the former 2009 US Open champion play against another former champion, Lleyton Hewitt. The match promised to be a cracker and it turned out to be just that as he had to fight past the big Argentine and eventually won the match after four hours with a 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 7-6, 6-1 victory. This is quite a significant win for Hewitt and still shows there is life in the old dog yet and that Hewitt is far from done, and he is also drawn on the same half as Novak Djokovic so it should be interesting to see how he get's on against him should they meet. Novak Djokovic next up came across his first stumbling block as he took on the German player, Benjamin Becker who proved to be quite a tricky customer in the first set as the German had some set point chances, however he was unable to close them out and as play went to a tiebreak, it was Djokovic that seized the initiative. And after the first set Djokovic put down the hammer and went right through the German as he reached the 3rd round with a 7-6, 6-2, 6-2 win. This was not Nole at his very best as he made some loose errors particularly in the first set, but he did more than enough to get himself through with a comfortable victory. Tomas Berdych however had to work much harder against the American player Denis Kudla, and after two very tight tiebreak sets with Berdych winning both, he went on to berak Kudla in the 3rd to close it out with a hard fought 7-6, 7-6, 6-3 scoreline.
Which brings me onto Andy Murray who in his 2nd round match faced the talented and tricky Argentine, Leo Mayer, who gave plenty of trouble with his big looping forehand and net skills. After a tight first set Andy took the lead and went on to go two sets to love up, but in the 3rd set he suffered a wobble and dropped his serve to let Mayer back into the match who went on to close out the 3rd to take the match into a 4th. However any fears or concerns that a big battle would ensure were quickly put to rest as Andy sped through the 4th set, breaking Mayer twice to land his place in the 3rd round after a tough 7-5, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 victory. Whilst it wasn't the best performance from Andy either, he did what he had to do in order to move on and he has often said himself the Lois Armstrong court, which he played on, has always been one where he has struggled in the past. But I'm sure Andy will pick up his game as the rounds progress, but next up will be another Mayer, Florian, the flash German player who might prove to be a test as well, but I'm sure Andy will come through their match hopefully in straight sets.
So this brings me onto Day 6 of the men's, starting with Rafa who played against the dangerous Ivan Dodig, who has a reputation of being a giant killer. However Dodig never really posed a big threat to Rafa who went on to secure a confident straight set win against the Croatian, as he won in 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. So this sees Rafa's amazing form continue and what's even more remarkable is that he is yet to not only drop a set but also drop his serve in the tournament which is incredible, so we will see how Rafa get's in his 4th round match against Philippe Kohlschreiber, who beat John Isner in four sets. Roger Federer also made serene progress as he swept past the French player, Adrian Mannarino, as he conceded only five games with a 6-3, 6-0, 6-2 score. David Ferrer however was pushed hard though against the Kazhak player, Mikhail Kukushikin as it took four sets to overcome Kuhky with a 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 slogathon. And Janko Tipsarevic, two time quarter finalist at the US Open also had a fight on his hands against the plucky American qualifier Jack Sock, as rallied from a set down to win in 3-6, 7-6, 6-1, 6-2.
And last but not least we had the British surprise of the tournament, Dan Evans who had previously beaten Kie Nishikori and Bernard Tomic in the 1st and 2nd rounds respectively take on the 19th seed, Tommy Robredo for a place in the 4th round and a showdown with Roger Federer. This match up seemed to be a tall order for Dan to live up to, however he battled tremendously well against the veteran player Robredo, who at times was struggling with cramp in his leg, as did Dan. And after going two sets down, Dan fought back brilliantly as he broke to take the 3rd set and keep the match alive. And in the 4th set Dan had his chances as he broke Robredo twice, but Robredo then broke back (twice!) to level the scores and at 6-5, with some loose errors Dan finally lost to the Spaniard after a tough battle and the Spaniard taking his 4th round place with a 7-6, 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 scoreline and ending Dan's fairy tale run in New York. This really was a terrific encounter and it showed once again just how good a player Dan Evans can be, and despite his loss he can take many positives from it and from his time in the US Open. And if he continues in this form then there is no reason that Dan cannot break into the top 100 in the near future, and he has said himself that he intends to keep knuckling down and if he does well the results will come and Dan could soon become a real player to be reckoned with.
Right so that's a pretty exhaustive post, but it brings us up to date, so I will have more once the 4th round matches are completed and then we will know who is going to be in the final 8 on the men's and ladies.
Until the next one, bye for now!
Right so start with the ladies quickly I will start with day 3 which saw Li Na finish off Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden in straight sets 6-2, 6-2. Sloane Stephens also whitewashed the younger sister of Agnieszka, Ursula Radwanska in straight sets with a 6-1, 6-1 win. Venus Williams however tumbled out in the 2nd round after a tight three set battle against the chinese player, Jie Zheng in 6-3, 2-6, 7-6. Due to the rain relays however the rest of the ladies matches on day 3 were cancelled so that will take me onto day 4.
So in day 4 we had one of the biggest upsets of the tournament so far as Sara Errani suffered an early defeat in an all Italian clash against Flavia Pannetta as she was dealt a heavy blow with Panetta winning in 6-3, 6-1. This was a surprising loss for Errani who later said she felt the pressure of being seeded so high in the tournament as being the 4th seed seemed to take its toll on her. But Errani also said she had been suffering in her game over the last few weeks, so it looks she is having an attack of nerves, which is a great shame, and let's hope she will pick it again soon. Caroline Wozniacki had no such problems against Chanelle Scheepers as she breezed past the South African player in 6-2, 6-2 to reach the 3rd round. Serena Williams, who's match was cancelled the night before was played against Galina Voskoboeva of Kazahkstan who she dismissed with ease and sealing her place confidently in the 3rd round with a 6-3, 6-0 win. Victoria Azarenka also managed to sweep past the Canadian player Alexandra Wozniack dropping just four games winning in 6-3, 6-1. Angelique Kerber however had to fight way her past another Canadian player, Eugenie Bouchard in a tight three setter but eventually prevailing with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 win. And finally Ana Ivanovic made short work of the Romanian player Alexander Dulgheru in just 6-2, 6-1.
Moving onto day 5 starting with Li Na who faced for the 2nd consecutive time in the 3rd round of the US Open, Laura Robson, who defeated her last year in a shock upset, so this time round Li was looking for some payback. And she sure got it, but it wasn't easy as despite taking the first set with a double break, Li had to fight from a break down in the 2nd to evetnually level and she went onto break to seal the match and complete her revenge with a 6-2, 7-5 victory. Sloane Stephens, the American No.2, continued her impressive form against her fellow American, Jamie Hampton as she drubbed her in 6-3, 6-1. Serena Williams in typical fashion hammered her 3rd round opponent Yaroslava Shevadova dropping just a mere four games in 6-3, 6-1. And lastly for day 5 I will mention Agnieszk Radwanska who didn't have it so easy against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia as she was pushed hard but came through in two tight sets, 6-4, 7-6.
And to bring us up to date at Day 6 starting with Ana Ivanovic who played the American, Christina McHale in what was a real battle for a place in the 4th round. And in the end it was Ivanovic who prevailed having come from a set down, she beat the young American in 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 to reach the last 16. Caroline Wozniacki wasn't so fortunate as she sustained a surprise 3rd round loss against the Italian qualifier Camilla Giorgi in a tight 3 set scrap as Giorgi won in 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. This completes Caroline's rather poor season in the grand slams and it was a surprise which shows she has a lot of work ahead of her in order to turn her game around. Victoria Azarenka was also made to work very hard against the French player Alize Cornet as the two of them engaged in a tight battle on Lois Armstrong stadium as she Vika had to come from a set down to beat Cornet in 6-7, 6-3, 6-2. Roberta Vinci who has favoured way better than her doubles partner Sara Errani also progressed into the 4th round as she beat her fellow Italian Karin Knapp in 6-4, 6-3. And finally the in form Romanian player, Simon Halep continued her impressive run as she demolished Maria Kirilenko in just 6-1, 6-0.
So that brings us up to speed with ladies, now we go onto the men starting with Day 3 we had Andy Murray finally play his first match after a three day wait and some rain delays, the defending champion finally made it into on the Arthur Ashe stadium court to play the Frenchman and doubles specialist, Michael Llodra. If Andy had any nerves or jitters in his first match as a defending grand slam champion he certainly didn't show them as he effortlessly moved past Llorda with a solid performance and a straight set win to get his campaign off to a solid start in 6-2, 6-4, 6-3. James Blake also played the final match of his career as he was due to retire after the US Open, but he went out in style against the giant serving giant Ivo Karlovic, as the big Croatian battled his way to victory in five sets in 6-7, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6. While it wasn't ideal for Blake to go out so early he put in a great fight and signalled the end of a fine career for a top player, so all the best to James Blake for the future.
Moving onto day 4 Roger Federer took on the loud grunting Argentine player, Carlos Berlocq who he dismissed in just 6-3, 6-2, 6-1. Rafa Nadal also did the exact same and he did it even more emphatically against the Brazillian player Rogeria Dutra Da Silva as he dropped just three games with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 gubbing. This continues to show Rafa's scarily good form and for me he still remains the top favourite to win the title and on this basis its going to be hard to see anyone else beat him. David Ferrer however had a far tougher time of it while playing his fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista-Agut as he needed four sets to get past his compatriot 6-3, 6-7, 6-1, 6-2. John Isner, the American No.1 took on the talented and flashy Gael Monfils in a very entertaining four set scrap which saw the big yank beat Monfils in a tight 7-5, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 win. And finally Milos Raonic, the big serving Canadian had little trouble in moving past Pablo Andujar of Spain in 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
So on we go to Day 5 which saw one of the big upsets of the tournament so far as Juan Martin Del Potro, the former 2009 US Open champion play against another former champion, Lleyton Hewitt. The match promised to be a cracker and it turned out to be just that as he had to fight past the big Argentine and eventually won the match after four hours with a 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 7-6, 6-1 victory. This is quite a significant win for Hewitt and still shows there is life in the old dog yet and that Hewitt is far from done, and he is also drawn on the same half as Novak Djokovic so it should be interesting to see how he get's on against him should they meet. Novak Djokovic next up came across his first stumbling block as he took on the German player, Benjamin Becker who proved to be quite a tricky customer in the first set as the German had some set point chances, however he was unable to close them out and as play went to a tiebreak, it was Djokovic that seized the initiative. And after the first set Djokovic put down the hammer and went right through the German as he reached the 3rd round with a 7-6, 6-2, 6-2 win. This was not Nole at his very best as he made some loose errors particularly in the first set, but he did more than enough to get himself through with a comfortable victory. Tomas Berdych however had to work much harder against the American player Denis Kudla, and after two very tight tiebreak sets with Berdych winning both, he went on to berak Kudla in the 3rd to close it out with a hard fought 7-6, 7-6, 6-3 scoreline.
Which brings me onto Andy Murray who in his 2nd round match faced the talented and tricky Argentine, Leo Mayer, who gave plenty of trouble with his big looping forehand and net skills. After a tight first set Andy took the lead and went on to go two sets to love up, but in the 3rd set he suffered a wobble and dropped his serve to let Mayer back into the match who went on to close out the 3rd to take the match into a 4th. However any fears or concerns that a big battle would ensure were quickly put to rest as Andy sped through the 4th set, breaking Mayer twice to land his place in the 3rd round after a tough 7-5, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 victory. Whilst it wasn't the best performance from Andy either, he did what he had to do in order to move on and he has often said himself the Lois Armstrong court, which he played on, has always been one where he has struggled in the past. But I'm sure Andy will pick up his game as the rounds progress, but next up will be another Mayer, Florian, the flash German player who might prove to be a test as well, but I'm sure Andy will come through their match hopefully in straight sets.
So this brings me onto Day 6 of the men's, starting with Rafa who played against the dangerous Ivan Dodig, who has a reputation of being a giant killer. However Dodig never really posed a big threat to Rafa who went on to secure a confident straight set win against the Croatian, as he won in 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. So this sees Rafa's amazing form continue and what's even more remarkable is that he is yet to not only drop a set but also drop his serve in the tournament which is incredible, so we will see how Rafa get's in his 4th round match against Philippe Kohlschreiber, who beat John Isner in four sets. Roger Federer also made serene progress as he swept past the French player, Adrian Mannarino, as he conceded only five games with a 6-3, 6-0, 6-2 score. David Ferrer however was pushed hard though against the Kazhak player, Mikhail Kukushikin as it took four sets to overcome Kuhky with a 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 slogathon. And Janko Tipsarevic, two time quarter finalist at the US Open also had a fight on his hands against the plucky American qualifier Jack Sock, as rallied from a set down to win in 3-6, 7-6, 6-1, 6-2.
And last but not least we had the British surprise of the tournament, Dan Evans who had previously beaten Kie Nishikori and Bernard Tomic in the 1st and 2nd rounds respectively take on the 19th seed, Tommy Robredo for a place in the 4th round and a showdown with Roger Federer. This match up seemed to be a tall order for Dan to live up to, however he battled tremendously well against the veteran player Robredo, who at times was struggling with cramp in his leg, as did Dan. And after going two sets down, Dan fought back brilliantly as he broke to take the 3rd set and keep the match alive. And in the 4th set Dan had his chances as he broke Robredo twice, but Robredo then broke back (twice!) to level the scores and at 6-5, with some loose errors Dan finally lost to the Spaniard after a tough battle and the Spaniard taking his 4th round place with a 7-6, 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 scoreline and ending Dan's fairy tale run in New York. This really was a terrific encounter and it showed once again just how good a player Dan Evans can be, and despite his loss he can take many positives from it and from his time in the US Open. And if he continues in this form then there is no reason that Dan cannot break into the top 100 in the near future, and he has said himself that he intends to keep knuckling down and if he does well the results will come and Dan could soon become a real player to be reckoned with.
Right so that's a pretty exhaustive post, but it brings us up to date, so I will have more once the 4th round matches are completed and then we will know who is going to be in the final 8 on the men's and ladies.
Until the next one, bye for now!
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