Right so just for a change back on the tennis blog I thought I would do a round up of what I think have been some of the best matches of 2014 so far on the men's tour, which will be a combination of the ATP tour and grand slam matches on the first part of the hard court season from January to the end of March. So let's get a move on and have a look at the top five....
5. ABN AMRO World tennis tournament Rotterdam, 2nd round - Andy Murray d. Dominic Thiem, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
OK so I thought I would put this match up first as it was a real cracker in its own right and it saw Andy Murray, having just recently returned to the tour from his back surgery last year, take on a rising star, the young Austrian player, Dominic Thiem, who really announced himself here in the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam. Early doors Andy got the break in the first set as Thiem looked nervous but it wasn't long before the plucky Austrian found his A game and started moving through the gears to test the British No.1's mettle and he broke back but Andy managed to close the first set out. In the 2nd set however, Thiem really asserted himself and broke Andy's serve and with it the 2nd set and in the 3rd set, it took all of Andy's experience to battle past Thiem to reach the quarter finals. This was a really entertaining contest from start to finish as the young Thiem (you could almost say he is a Thiemager, OK bad joke I know!) grew in confidence throughout to challenge Andy with his blistering backhand and he wonderful net game. And in this match we saw the emergence of an exciting new talent in the men's game and I'm sure Thiem will continue to be a threat in the future and is one to watch out for. So this place definitely deserves it place in the list.
4. Australian Open, quarter finals, Rafael Nadal d. Grigor Dimitrov, 3-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-2.
In this match we saw another emergence of the Bulgarian young gin, Grigor Dimitrov, who many people have tipped for big things and this match definitely showed the first signs of this as Dimitrov reached his first ever grand slam quarter final here. But Dimi was up against a big test against the World No.1, Rafa Nadal, but he proved to be up to the task as he made a bold start and broke Rafa to grab the first set. In the 2nd set, Rafa got an early break but Dimitrov fought back to break and play went to a tiebreak, which Rafa took 7-3. In the 3rd set the intensity of the play remained very high and we got another breaker and this time Dimitrov looked poised to take a two sets to one lead with set points, but they went begging and Rafa took the lead instead going into the 4th. And in the 4th set, Rafa finally wore down the gritty Dimitrov who eventually fell down a double break and Rafa finally reached the finish line after an intense four set scrap. In this match Dimitrov really showed he is a big match player and his mental strength has certainly grown and in the future I think he will be a major champion. However this match ultimately was all about Rafa who did what he always does and ground it out to wear down the plucky Dimitrov and the Spaniard also even overcame some nasty blisters on his hand to reach the last four in this high quality match which is worthy of being on the list.
3. Dubai tennis championships semi final, Roger Federer d. Novak Djokovic, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
In their first clash of the season, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic had a highly entertaining encounter with one another in Dubai, which saw the momentum swing to and fro throughout. In the first set it was Nole that came out sharp from the blocks and broke Roger, however the Swiss fella was not to be outdone as even at a break down he produced some wonderful tennis before dropping the opening set. In the 2nd set the momentum started to swing Roger's way and he got a break on Nole's serve and it saw the maestro take the set to level. In the 3rd set however Roger showed his class and rejuvenated form in 2014 as he went on two grab a double break against a fading Nole and sealed his place in the final after a wonderful three set win. This really was showboat tennis at its best and it showed Roger Federer bounce back wonderfully after having suffered the worst year of his career last year and there were plenty of great points throughout which had the full capacity crowed thrilled. Perhaps the last set could have been alot tighter but in the end it doesn't matter as Rog emerged the righful winner.
2. Australian Open quarter final, Stanislas Wawrinka d. Novak Djokovic, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 9-7
This was the repeat of one of the best tennis matches in recent years from last year against Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka who battled it out on Rod Laver arena and it eventually saw Novak prevail 12-10 in the final set. So could Nole do it a second time???? Well no, not quite as he was up against an even more improved Stan Wawrinka who refused to go away despite dropping the opening set, Stan went on to create a two sets to one lead. But Nole being who he is was not to be outdone and was determined to cling onto his title defence as he nabbed the 4th set with a double break to take things into a tense decider, which saw breaks aplenty as well as some thrilling level of play from both guys. But in the end the unthinkable happened at 7-8, as Nole played a couple of loose points to lose his title to the very man he beat the year before in their epic encounter, which saw Stan edge ever closer to his first major title and dethroning the Aussie king in the process. Despite not quite hitting the level of quality throughout that their epic encounter had, this was still an engrossing contest and the 5th set in particular featured some great quality and some really tense and dramatic moments. And it was full credit to Stan to finally pull off the biggest win of his career in defeating the Australian open defending champion and little did we know that he would go on to win the title himself. So all in all its was a great encounter for the most part and one of the real highlights of the Australian open.
1. BNP Paribas Open final, Novak Djokovic d. Roger Federer, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6.
There is no doubt this final deserves its place at the top of the list as it was another terrific contest between two legends in the game, Roger and Nole in the final at Indian Wells. And from the start Roger looked razor sharp with his serving and net play which kept Novak well off balance and he took the first set with a break looking like he was the man to beat. But it wasn't long before Nole started to find his feet as he grew into the match and finally managed to break Fed's serve to take the match to a deciding set. And in the final set Nole took the early advantage by breaking Federer who looked so much in control of the match up to this point. But Rog was not done yet as he went on to break Novak once more to go 5-5 to deny the Serb a chance to serve for the title and play went into a tiebreak, which finally went Novak's way and he won his first title of 2014 after an epic three set battle. This was a highly entertaining and gripping match from the start and you had to be impressed at Roger Federer's level throughout and it is testament to just how much he has improved this year. However you can never count out Novak Djokovic and he showed once again that he is toughest player to put away and once he works his way into a match he is mighty tough to beat, which shows us why is one of the best competitors in the game. And with that it remains one of the best matches of the year and one of the top ones if not the top one of the hard court swing so far.
Right so that's it for my first look at the best matches so far of the season, next up is the clay court season.
See you in a bit....
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