Right, well I didn't actually get around to doing any posts on this
year's US Open tennis tournament, which is of course the last major of
the season but I will do a post covering both the men and ladies finals.
So,
in tradition of things I will start with the ladies final and this is
quite an interesting and controversial one, so let's take a look at how
it all went...
LADIES FINAL - Serena Williams vs Naomi Osaka
Well,
the match itself was between first time finalist, Naomi Osaka, who was
the first female Japanese player to play in a grand slam final and of
course the legendary Serena Williams, who was looking for her 24th major
title and it was her 9th final in New York. So, on paper the odds were
hugely stacked again Noami coming into this match.
However...the
match itself had a few twists in its tail and in the first set, we saw
Serena Williams get outplayed by the young Japanese player Osaka, as she
broke Serena's serve twice to take the opening set. This sparked the
possibility of a big upset as Noami appeared to be unfazed by who she
was facing down the other end of the court.
In the
second set however, things got alot more interesting when Serena at the
start of the second game was handed a code violation by the match
umpire, Carlos Ramos, for allegedly receiving coaching from the stands
by her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, which Serena denied. Serena then went
on to break Naomi's serve to go 3-1 up however she then served two
double faults and Naomi broke back on the next point, which cause Serena
to smash her racquet in frustration, which got her another code warning
from Ramos. At this point, Ramos also docked Serena a point in the
match, which made her furious and she argued with the umpire and said
that he owes her an "apology" and further added to this "you will never
do another one of my matches!".
However the controversy
continued on after Naomi held to go 3-3 she went on to break Serena's
serve again to lead 4-3. Serena then carried on her verbal tirade at
Ramos as she yelled at him "you will never, ever be on another court of
mine as long as you live!!!" as well as call him a "liar!" and a
"thief!". This then lead to Ramos giving Serena a third code violation,
this time for verbal abuse and he docked her a game, which gave Noami
the 5-3 lead and just a game away from her first grand slam title.
Serena however managed to hold onto her next service game to force Naomi
to serve out the championship, which the young 20 year managed with
ease as she claimed her first grand slam title with an impressive 6-2,
6-4 victory.
THOUGHTS
Well, it
really has to be said for me (and probably quite a few others) that this
matched was remembered for all the wrong reasons. Here we have a great
new name in ladies tennis in Naomi Osaka, who here really showed that
she is a future star and has the potential to win more majors in years
to come. However, this was all totally overshadowed by the chaos caused
during the match by Serena when she argued with the umpire over code
violations, which ended the tournament in a real sour atmosphere that
saw the New York crowd booing throughout the trophy presentation. This
also even saw poor Naomi Osaka reduced to tears during the presentation
although to give Serena a little credit she did call for the crowd to
stop booing and congratulate Naomi.
And while maybe
Serena might have had a point in terms of disputing the code violation
handed out regarding alleged coaching between her and her coach, it
doesn't excuse her behaviour afterward where she continually berated the
umpire and called him names, which only inflamed the situation and made
things worse. And in doing so, Serena totally stole the limelight away
from Naomi Osaka, who on the night was the better player and right now
if anything, as the former tennis player, Greg Rusedski himself said,
she owes Naomi an apology for what happened that night. In the end the
match should have been remembered for Osaka's achievements and not
Serena Williams throwing a major strop (no-pun intended) that whipped up
a real frenzy and debate over the whole issue of sexism in ladies
tennis.
Now, there are of course some issues regarding
sexism in tennis I'm sure and even during the US Open tournament, the
French player, Alize Cornet, was handed a code violation for changing
her top as she had it on back to front, which would of course not been
an issue if it had been a man. However, I don't believe the umpire,
Carlos Ramos, can in all fairness be accused of being sexist towards
Serena Williams during the match as if anything he remained calm and
objective throughout even when Serena was screaming at him. In the end,
Serena on the night, was more like a kid throwing her toys out the pram
because she didn't get her way and surely it had nothing really to do
with sexism and victimisation at all. This may have been something she
has been a victim of throughout her life but if she thinks that's what
happened that night then I have to say she's dead wrong.
So,
for me this is a match that makes me angry as it sees one player
stealing the limelight from the other and in quite an unfair way. On the
night, Naomi Osaka was the better, more composed and above all more
MATURE player on court and its a great pity her achievements will be
sidelined by maelstrom that Serena Williams kicked up.
And
to add a bit more support to Naomi, I think she played a terrific match
and her composure throughout was very admirable and even in the trophy
presentation, holding back tears, she did her very best to keep things
together. So for me, Naomi deserves nothing but praise for her
performance in the match and indeed her whole attitude and demeanour
throughout. Infact it was easy to see the major potential that Naomi had
as a player as far back as Indian Wells this year when she won the
title there, which is one of the biggest titles on the tour outwith the
majors (and she even gave a really charming speech during the
presentation as she got flustered trying to remember who to thank!). So,
to see Naomi go on to win her first major, was no real surprise and
let's hope she will continue to win more in the future.
However,
its still a great shame that the aftermath of this match has really
more been about the whole debate of sexism in tennis and how it appears
that men are treated more fairly then the women. However, if you watch
enough tennis then you will know that men have also been handed out code
violations on a fairly regular basis during tennis matches. Not only
that but male players have been disqualified from matches in the past
such as John McEnroe at the Australian Open back in 1990 and David
Nalbandian at Queens club in London back in 2012. Not only that, Grigor
Dimitrov in 2016 was handed out two code violations for racquet abuse in
a final he lost to Diego Schwartzman and he went on to smash another
racquet at 5-0 to hand the match to his opponent. So, code violations
and disqualifications does happen in men's matches and not just ladies
ones, so to blame it all on sexism in this ladies final is frankly
nonsense.
SIGN OFF
Anyway
that's my tuppence thrown in over this ladies final match, which has
been a very interesting one but its a great pity that it will be
remembered for the wrong reasons rather than the right ones. Naomi Osaka
is the new US Open champion and that is a great achievement and she
deserves more attention for that alone than Serena Williams throwing a
strop during that match that kicked off a whole hoopla that will wage on
and on for some time to come.
So, that's it for now and I will be back fairly soon with my look at the men's final.
Till then its bye for now!
Friday, 14 September 2018
Tuesday, 17 July 2018
2018 Wimbledon Men's Final
Well, in this post I will take a look at the last match (sorry second last match) of the Wimbledon championships, which was of course the men's final, which was between Novak Djokovic and Kevin Anderson. So, let's see who came out on top.
MEN'S FINAL
Right, so as I said the final was between the three time former champ, Novak Djokovic and Kevin Anderson, who was into his first Wimbledon final but it was his second major final (having reached the US Open final last year). Both men had played five set epic matches to get to this stage as Kevin Anderson battled against the giant server, John Isner and Novak faced off against his old rival in Rafa. So, it was a rather intriguing final given that both men would not be feeling incredibly fresh from their repesctive battles in the semis.
However, the match itself proved not to be the competitive match up we had hoped for because Anderson was clearly still showing signs of heavy fatigue from his semi final against Isner and he lost the opening set on a double break to Novak. In the 2nd set, it was more of the same as Kevin failed to hold onto his serve and he found himself going down another double break and Novak obliged by confidently serving out the set to take the two sets to love lead.
The 3rd set however was thankfully far more competitive, as Kevin started to relax more into the match and found his rythym on serve. Anderson also even managed to carve up a few break point opportunities as he put Novak's serve under pressure at 5-4 and 6-5, however Nole managed to hold on and push play into a tiebreak. However in the tiebreak, Novak was by the far stronger of the two as the errors from few Anderson's racquet and with 3 match points, Novak served out to win his fourth Wimbledon title with a comfortable and convincing 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 victory.
THOUGHTS
Well, even though it wasn't the final we'd hope for, it was still not a bad match and it was a great effort from Kevin Anderson to try and get back into the match after he struggled badly in the first two sets. The 3rd set was definitely the highlight of the match and it was great to see Kevin try and make a match of it even though in the end, Novak was able to hold onto his neve and serve to close out the match. But I'm glad the match didn't start with a tiebreak and end 6-2 in defeat, so it was definitely better to see the match be closed out on a tiebreak. Also, I believe if Kevin hadn't been so fatigured there would have been a strong chance this match could easily have gone to four or maybe five sets.
As for Kevin Anderson it was a pity to see him defeated in his second major final but at the same time, he was up against a resurgent Novak, who had already beaten the current World No.1 in the previous round. Regardless of the loss though and given that Anderson was able to to reach another major final, it makes me think that he will have another chance and it wouldn't surprise me if he ended up winning a major before his career is over and I personally would definitely put him in the running for this year's US Open again.
As for Novak, well what can you say??? I think its safe to say that he is well and truly back now after beating Rafa in the semi finals, it was inevitable that he would go on to win the title and most likely it would have been the same for Rafa had he made it also. And now Novak sits with 13 majors (he's a teenager again!) there is no doubt that he can go on to win more and rebuild his success once again. Not only that, this run of form would suggest that Novak most likely will in the future be able to dominate the game again and take on Roger and Rafa for the top spot, which just goes to show that you can never write him off.
And from this I think its safe to say that Novak could very well go on and win the US Open aswell, which kicks off next month and his rivals will need to move over, as he continues to work his way back to the top.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and another Wimbledon has come to a close, so all that remains for me to say is congrats to Angelique Kerber and Novak Djokovic for their singles victories and commiserations to Serena Williams and Kevin Anderson for their losses. And no doubt, Wimbledon 2019 will have plenty of surprises in stall for us this time next year.
Right, so until the next post its bye for now!
MEN'S FINAL
Right, so as I said the final was between the three time former champ, Novak Djokovic and Kevin Anderson, who was into his first Wimbledon final but it was his second major final (having reached the US Open final last year). Both men had played five set epic matches to get to this stage as Kevin Anderson battled against the giant server, John Isner and Novak faced off against his old rival in Rafa. So, it was a rather intriguing final given that both men would not be feeling incredibly fresh from their repesctive battles in the semis.
However, the match itself proved not to be the competitive match up we had hoped for because Anderson was clearly still showing signs of heavy fatigue from his semi final against Isner and he lost the opening set on a double break to Novak. In the 2nd set, it was more of the same as Kevin failed to hold onto his serve and he found himself going down another double break and Novak obliged by confidently serving out the set to take the two sets to love lead.
The 3rd set however was thankfully far more competitive, as Kevin started to relax more into the match and found his rythym on serve. Anderson also even managed to carve up a few break point opportunities as he put Novak's serve under pressure at 5-4 and 6-5, however Nole managed to hold on and push play into a tiebreak. However in the tiebreak, Novak was by the far stronger of the two as the errors from few Anderson's racquet and with 3 match points, Novak served out to win his fourth Wimbledon title with a comfortable and convincing 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 victory.
THOUGHTS
Well, even though it wasn't the final we'd hope for, it was still not a bad match and it was a great effort from Kevin Anderson to try and get back into the match after he struggled badly in the first two sets. The 3rd set was definitely the highlight of the match and it was great to see Kevin try and make a match of it even though in the end, Novak was able to hold onto his neve and serve to close out the match. But I'm glad the match didn't start with a tiebreak and end 6-2 in defeat, so it was definitely better to see the match be closed out on a tiebreak. Also, I believe if Kevin hadn't been so fatigured there would have been a strong chance this match could easily have gone to four or maybe five sets.
As for Kevin Anderson it was a pity to see him defeated in his second major final but at the same time, he was up against a resurgent Novak, who had already beaten the current World No.1 in the previous round. Regardless of the loss though and given that Anderson was able to to reach another major final, it makes me think that he will have another chance and it wouldn't surprise me if he ended up winning a major before his career is over and I personally would definitely put him in the running for this year's US Open again.
As for Novak, well what can you say??? I think its safe to say that he is well and truly back now after beating Rafa in the semi finals, it was inevitable that he would go on to win the title and most likely it would have been the same for Rafa had he made it also. And now Novak sits with 13 majors (he's a teenager again!) there is no doubt that he can go on to win more and rebuild his success once again. Not only that, this run of form would suggest that Novak most likely will in the future be able to dominate the game again and take on Roger and Rafa for the top spot, which just goes to show that you can never write him off.
And from this I think its safe to say that Novak could very well go on and win the US Open aswell, which kicks off next month and his rivals will need to move over, as he continues to work his way back to the top.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and another Wimbledon has come to a close, so all that remains for me to say is congrats to Angelique Kerber and Novak Djokovic for their singles victories and commiserations to Serena Williams and Kevin Anderson for their losses. And no doubt, Wimbledon 2019 will have plenty of surprises in stall for us this time next year.
Right, so until the next post its bye for now!
Sunday, 15 July 2018
2018 Wimbledon Men's Semis and Final Preview
Right, now we get onto the men's event at the 2018 Wimbledon championships at SW19 in London, England, Great Britain (OK I'll shut it and move on!).
Anyway, sorry about that!
Yes, so here I will look at the men's semi final matches and look to the final and give my thoughts on that too.
MEN'S SEMI FINALS
Kevin Anderson vs John Isner
The first match up was a battle of the giants, as two of the tallest players on the men's tour faced off each other, the South African, 6ft 8" Kevin Anderson and the American, 6ft 10" John Isner and both these guys are pretty big servers, so this match if nothing else promised alot of BIG serving! And there were some that even said beforehand that this match sounded pretty dull on paper.
However...the actual match itself was anything but as both men brought their A games and played some spectacular tennis for the crowd on Centre Court in an epic match that lasted over six and a half hours! This was the longest Wimbledon semi final in history!
And the match started off on serve in the first set as you would expect as both men played a tiebreaker, which ended up going Anderson's way to take the opener. In the 2nd set however, Isner was not to be outdone as he fought back and pushed play to a tiebreak once again and this time, he took the initiative and grab the 2nd set to level the match. In the 3rd set it went to a tiebreak again, which was very tense and high on quality but it ended up going Isner's way again 11-9 as he was just one set away from his first Wimbledon final. However, Anderson refused to go away as he broke Isner's serve (which was unbroken going into this match!) again and he took the fourth set to force a decider.
And in the final set, the crowd were treated to a thrilling and lengthy battle as both men hammered it out and laid it all on the line as neither player gave an inch on their serve and we saw plenty of big serves come down but also some really entertaining rallies. And after so many break points chance came and gone, it finally came down to Anderson who after six and half hours, got the crucial break at 24-24. And with this, Anderson went on to hold his nerve and serve out an absolutely unforgettable epic match that saw the big South African reach his second grand slam final with a mammoth victory and scoreline of 7-6, 6-7, 6-7, 6-4, 26-24 in 6 hours and 35 minutes!
Well, this was undoubtedly the match of the tournament so far, as both men provided a stunning display for the crowd on centre court that had so many twists and turns over its epic run time and it was a great pity that one of them had to lose. And I'm sure it will be a heartbreaking loss for John Isner, who gave his absolute all in this contest and never let up as he is no stranger of course to playing five set epic matches and it really shows that, despite the loss, he is way more than just a big server and he is one of the best competitors in the game right now and a deserved American No.1. So hopefully on this basis, John can go on to enjoy a deep run at the US Open where he has already reached the quarter finals.
As for Kevin Anderson, this was a superb performance of tremendous grit and resilience as he had already put in a stunning effort to upset Roger Federer in the quarter finals, as he played another epic five setter, which Anderson won 13-11 in the decider and that the fact that he managed to do the same here was incredible. This is also a testament to the quality of Kevin Anderson as a player, as he had already reached one slam final at the US Open last year, but to reach two, shows that it was no accident that Anderson made it to another this year.
However it does call into question just how fit will Kevin be for the final on Sunday having played 11 hours of tennis in his previous two matches combined? Well, I guess we'll find out.
Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal
So, in the second men's semi final, there was a bit of a hold up given the big run time of the first match, so the second set of players had to wait quite some time to get on court and those two just happened to be Novak and Rafa. And boy was it worth the wait!
Yep, this match promised much and it delivered so much more as Rafa and Novak decided they didn't want to be outdone by Anderson and Isner, so they put on their own spectacular display of tennis for a thrilled centre court, who truly gotten their value for money on that day.
As for how the actual match went, it started off pretty even with very high quality from both men but it was Novak that got the decisive break and he sealed the opener. In the 2nd set however, there was a momentum shift and Rafa broke Novak to level the match at a set all. In the 3rd set, Rafa took a break against Novak and he looked to try and serve it out but couldn't take his chances, so Novak broke back and play went into a thrilling tiebreak that Novak edged 11-9 to claim a two sets to one lead. However, at this point, the 11pm curfew was set in place and play was suspended for the evening, which meant the match would need to continue the following day.
So, on the Saturday as play resumed, the level of quality from both men rose once again as they brought out the best in each other and this time Rafa managed to take the initiative and break Novak in the 4th set to level the match again at two sets all and force a decider. And in the 5th set, both men played an amazing decider that had the audience on the edges of their seats that saw shifts in momentum and both players having break point opportunities but they couldn't take them. However that was until play went deep into the 5th set, with no tiebreak in the decider, play went to 9-8 as Rafa served to make it 9-9. However it was this point, Rafa finally relented as he made a few costly errors that saw his old rival, Novak finally claim a very important win over him and it saw Novak reach his 5th Wimbledon final with an incredible 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 10-8 victory.
There is little doubt that this was one of the best matches of the year and very possibly the match of the tournament as both Novak and Rafa played some magnificent tennis for the centre court crowd in an epic semi final that lasted five hours and 16 minutes over the space of two days. And again like the match before it, both players barely gave the other an inch in a match that couldn't have been closer.
And if this match has taught us anything, its that Novak Djokovic is well and truly back after a two year hiatus and struggling with his form, he really has bounced back in spectacular form at Wimbledon this year. And I think it would be safe to say that Novak is an overwhelming favourite for the title match on Sunday and he will become a teenager again (i.e. this will be his 13th major title if he wins!).
As for Rafa, well this will be a big loss for him but I'm sure its one he will take on the chin and he has had a great grass court run at Wimbledon this year and it was the first time in seven years that he was able to do so! And it makes you wonder what was behind Rafa's previous poor run of form on grass? However, this year it certainly has clicked more into place for him and I'm sure that Rafa will be more than happy with the progress he has made this year at SW19.
THE MEN'S FINAL PREVIEW
So, this sets up a very intriguing match between Novak Djokovic and Kevin Anderson, who have faced each other six times so far on tour with Novak, not surprisingly leading their record 5-1. So, on this basis and on paper, it looks very much like it will be in Novak's favour to win the final on Sunday.
However, will the final result be so clear cut??? Well, maybe not, let's take a look at the facts so far...
Kevin Anderson has just come off two gruelling epic five set matches that in total were almost 11 hours and even though he has had a day off, he will no doubt be feeling the effects of these matches. Novak on the other hand has had a somewhat easier draw going into the semi final, as he had only dropped two sets in the tournament before his equally gruelling five set match against Rafa that last over five hours.
Now even though Novak is the heavy favourite for the final, Kevin Anderson can at least take solace from having had a day off in between the final, whereas Novak has had to play both Friday and Saturday and no doubt will be feeling some effects of fatigue going into the final. However, Anderson will be battling his own fatigue from his efforts over the last few days and its just how well both players manager their own physical and mental issues on the day.
PREDICTION
As for who will win???? Well, I really have to go with Novak on this one but it might be more competitive than we might think given that Novak has played a gruelling five hour match over the last two days, Kevin having had a day off in between, this might level the plane field a little. But if it comes down to who has more left in the tank, at this stage, it definitely has to be Novak as he has spent way less time on court that Kevin has so far and he has been known to have a reservoir of energy reserves to delve into just when he needs them whereas Kevin may not be so lucky in this respect.
So, if I had to pick a result, I would have to go with Novak winning this won in three or maybe at a pinch, four sets, because physical and mental fatigue will be an overriding factor here for one or both guys here and its more likely to be for Kevin than Novak at this stage. They did once play each other at Wimbledon three years ago, which was another epic five set match in which Novak had to battle back from two sets down to win against Kev but the circumstances are definitely different this time round, so I can't quite see the same result.
So, yeah I'll go with Novak winning in 3 or 4 sets. I don't want to write off Anderson's chances completely but its hard to bet against the 12 time major champion, but you never know.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back with another post covering the men's final.
Till then its bye for now!
Anyway, sorry about that!
Yes, so here I will look at the men's semi final matches and look to the final and give my thoughts on that too.
MEN'S SEMI FINALS
Kevin Anderson vs John Isner
The first match up was a battle of the giants, as two of the tallest players on the men's tour faced off each other, the South African, 6ft 8" Kevin Anderson and the American, 6ft 10" John Isner and both these guys are pretty big servers, so this match if nothing else promised alot of BIG serving! And there were some that even said beforehand that this match sounded pretty dull on paper.
However...the actual match itself was anything but as both men brought their A games and played some spectacular tennis for the crowd on Centre Court in an epic match that lasted over six and a half hours! This was the longest Wimbledon semi final in history!
And the match started off on serve in the first set as you would expect as both men played a tiebreaker, which ended up going Anderson's way to take the opener. In the 2nd set however, Isner was not to be outdone as he fought back and pushed play to a tiebreak once again and this time, he took the initiative and grab the 2nd set to level the match. In the 3rd set it went to a tiebreak again, which was very tense and high on quality but it ended up going Isner's way again 11-9 as he was just one set away from his first Wimbledon final. However, Anderson refused to go away as he broke Isner's serve (which was unbroken going into this match!) again and he took the fourth set to force a decider.
And in the final set, the crowd were treated to a thrilling and lengthy battle as both men hammered it out and laid it all on the line as neither player gave an inch on their serve and we saw plenty of big serves come down but also some really entertaining rallies. And after so many break points chance came and gone, it finally came down to Anderson who after six and half hours, got the crucial break at 24-24. And with this, Anderson went on to hold his nerve and serve out an absolutely unforgettable epic match that saw the big South African reach his second grand slam final with a mammoth victory and scoreline of 7-6, 6-7, 6-7, 6-4, 26-24 in 6 hours and 35 minutes!
Well, this was undoubtedly the match of the tournament so far, as both men provided a stunning display for the crowd on centre court that had so many twists and turns over its epic run time and it was a great pity that one of them had to lose. And I'm sure it will be a heartbreaking loss for John Isner, who gave his absolute all in this contest and never let up as he is no stranger of course to playing five set epic matches and it really shows that, despite the loss, he is way more than just a big server and he is one of the best competitors in the game right now and a deserved American No.1. So hopefully on this basis, John can go on to enjoy a deep run at the US Open where he has already reached the quarter finals.
As for Kevin Anderson, this was a superb performance of tremendous grit and resilience as he had already put in a stunning effort to upset Roger Federer in the quarter finals, as he played another epic five setter, which Anderson won 13-11 in the decider and that the fact that he managed to do the same here was incredible. This is also a testament to the quality of Kevin Anderson as a player, as he had already reached one slam final at the US Open last year, but to reach two, shows that it was no accident that Anderson made it to another this year.
However it does call into question just how fit will Kevin be for the final on Sunday having played 11 hours of tennis in his previous two matches combined? Well, I guess we'll find out.
Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal
So, in the second men's semi final, there was a bit of a hold up given the big run time of the first match, so the second set of players had to wait quite some time to get on court and those two just happened to be Novak and Rafa. And boy was it worth the wait!
Yep, this match promised much and it delivered so much more as Rafa and Novak decided they didn't want to be outdone by Anderson and Isner, so they put on their own spectacular display of tennis for a thrilled centre court, who truly gotten their value for money on that day.
As for how the actual match went, it started off pretty even with very high quality from both men but it was Novak that got the decisive break and he sealed the opener. In the 2nd set however, there was a momentum shift and Rafa broke Novak to level the match at a set all. In the 3rd set, Rafa took a break against Novak and he looked to try and serve it out but couldn't take his chances, so Novak broke back and play went into a thrilling tiebreak that Novak edged 11-9 to claim a two sets to one lead. However, at this point, the 11pm curfew was set in place and play was suspended for the evening, which meant the match would need to continue the following day.
So, on the Saturday as play resumed, the level of quality from both men rose once again as they brought out the best in each other and this time Rafa managed to take the initiative and break Novak in the 4th set to level the match again at two sets all and force a decider. And in the 5th set, both men played an amazing decider that had the audience on the edges of their seats that saw shifts in momentum and both players having break point opportunities but they couldn't take them. However that was until play went deep into the 5th set, with no tiebreak in the decider, play went to 9-8 as Rafa served to make it 9-9. However it was this point, Rafa finally relented as he made a few costly errors that saw his old rival, Novak finally claim a very important win over him and it saw Novak reach his 5th Wimbledon final with an incredible 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 10-8 victory.
There is little doubt that this was one of the best matches of the year and very possibly the match of the tournament as both Novak and Rafa played some magnificent tennis for the centre court crowd in an epic semi final that lasted five hours and 16 minutes over the space of two days. And again like the match before it, both players barely gave the other an inch in a match that couldn't have been closer.
And if this match has taught us anything, its that Novak Djokovic is well and truly back after a two year hiatus and struggling with his form, he really has bounced back in spectacular form at Wimbledon this year. And I think it would be safe to say that Novak is an overwhelming favourite for the title match on Sunday and he will become a teenager again (i.e. this will be his 13th major title if he wins!).
As for Rafa, well this will be a big loss for him but I'm sure its one he will take on the chin and he has had a great grass court run at Wimbledon this year and it was the first time in seven years that he was able to do so! And it makes you wonder what was behind Rafa's previous poor run of form on grass? However, this year it certainly has clicked more into place for him and I'm sure that Rafa will be more than happy with the progress he has made this year at SW19.
THE MEN'S FINAL PREVIEW
So, this sets up a very intriguing match between Novak Djokovic and Kevin Anderson, who have faced each other six times so far on tour with Novak, not surprisingly leading their record 5-1. So, on this basis and on paper, it looks very much like it will be in Novak's favour to win the final on Sunday.
However, will the final result be so clear cut??? Well, maybe not, let's take a look at the facts so far...
Kevin Anderson has just come off two gruelling epic five set matches that in total were almost 11 hours and even though he has had a day off, he will no doubt be feeling the effects of these matches. Novak on the other hand has had a somewhat easier draw going into the semi final, as he had only dropped two sets in the tournament before his equally gruelling five set match against Rafa that last over five hours.
Now even though Novak is the heavy favourite for the final, Kevin Anderson can at least take solace from having had a day off in between the final, whereas Novak has had to play both Friday and Saturday and no doubt will be feeling some effects of fatigue going into the final. However, Anderson will be battling his own fatigue from his efforts over the last few days and its just how well both players manager their own physical and mental issues on the day.
PREDICTION
As for who will win???? Well, I really have to go with Novak on this one but it might be more competitive than we might think given that Novak has played a gruelling five hour match over the last two days, Kevin having had a day off in between, this might level the plane field a little. But if it comes down to who has more left in the tank, at this stage, it definitely has to be Novak as he has spent way less time on court that Kevin has so far and he has been known to have a reservoir of energy reserves to delve into just when he needs them whereas Kevin may not be so lucky in this respect.
So, if I had to pick a result, I would have to go with Novak winning this won in three or maybe at a pinch, four sets, because physical and mental fatigue will be an overriding factor here for one or both guys here and its more likely to be for Kevin than Novak at this stage. They did once play each other at Wimbledon three years ago, which was another epic five set match in which Novak had to battle back from two sets down to win against Kev but the circumstances are definitely different this time round, so I can't quite see the same result.
So, yeah I'll go with Novak winning in 3 or 4 sets. I don't want to write off Anderson's chances completely but its hard to bet against the 12 time major champion, but you never know.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back with another post covering the men's final.
Till then its bye for now!
2018 Wimbledon Ladies Semi Finals and Final
Well, I have been very late with this look at the 2018 Wimbledon championships this year so far as the tournament ends tomorrow and what an event it has been! So, in this post I will cover the ladies semi finals and the final and see how it all went.
First up however here is a look at the big number of shocks that happened in the ladies event this year at SW19 as all top 10 seeds went out before the quarter finals!
SEEDS OUT
Well the biggest upsets of the tournament definitely came on the ladies side as there were a high number of casualties this year. Starting with the defending champion, Garbine Muguruza, who went out in the second round, Simona Halep, the current World No.1 and reigning French Open champion was defeated in the 3rd round. As for the other top 10 seeds, Caroline Wozniacki was stunned in the second round by the giant killer, Ekaterina Makarova and Sloane Stephens, Elina Svitolina, Caroline Garcia and Petra Kvitova ALL went out in the first round! Whereas Venus Williams and Madison Keys both went out in the 3rd round. And the last top 10 seed standing, Karolina Pliskova fell in the fourth round to Kiki Bertens that saw all the top 10 seeds eliminated before the quarter finals.
LADIES SEMI FINALS
As for the semi finals, well they were fairly intriguing on paper as Angelique Kerber took on the former French Open champion, Jelena Ostapenko and Serena Williams faced off against first time major semi finalist, Julia Goerges. So, let's take a quick look at these matches.
Angelique Kerber vs Jelena Ostapenko
This match promised to be the more competitive one given that both these women are major champions and both are pretty aggressive players, so much was promised here. However the match itself was a bit of a letdown as Ostapenko despite making a promising start, went on to make too many rash unforced errors and imploded on serve as she lost the first set. In the second set, things got worse for Ostapenko as Kerber took a decisive 5-1 lead, however Ostapenko did manage to recover one of the breaks back and made Kerber serve for it once more. However, Kerber had no issues on the second time of asking and she sealed the victory with a very straight forward 6-3, 6-3 victory in just over an hour.
Serena Williams vs Julia Goerges
The second ladies semi, saw Serena Williams, the seven time champion, take on the German player, Julia Goerges, in her first grand slam semi final, so the odds were already stacked heavily in Serena's favour.
As for the match itself, it was pretty much a routine one for Serena in the first for sure as Goerge's inexperience at this level really showed as she surrendered her serve twice to hand Serena the first set with a double break. In the second set it was more of the same from Goerges, however she did manage to break back toward the end of the match to get back on serve but in the end it was short lived, as Goerges capitulated on serve once more and she handed Serena her place in another Wimbledon final with a 6-2, 6-4 victory, again in just over an hour.
Its a shame that both matches were pretty non-competitive and very one-sided, particularly the one with Kerber and Ostapenko and both matches combined length where just over two hours and 10 minutes total! So, it really wasn't much of a day's tennis for the fans but hey ho, that's the way it can go at Wimbledon.
THE FINAL
Now we get onto the ladies final, which saw Serena Williams take on Angelique Kerber for the title with the German player, Kerber in her second Wimbledon final having lost to Serena two years ago at this stage, so she had her work cut out once again with the American, heavy favourite.
However, in the match, Kerber had ideas of her own as she managed to get the immediate break from Serena but it wasn't long before she broke back. However, Kerber was not to be outdone as she managed to go and break Serena once again and she closed out the set to take the lead and one step closer to her maiden Wimbledon title. And in the 2nd set, it was more of the same, as Serena's unforced errors continued and she ended her quest for an 8th title in defeat as she netted a backhand return of Kerber's serve that saw the German fall to the ground in delight, having won her first Wimbledon title with a 6-3, 6-3 victory.
Well, this match certainly didn't go the way alot of pundits would have expected as many people, myself included, saw Serena as the heavy favourite here to win. However, Kerber herself had won her first grand slam at the Australian open when she played Serena in the final and beat her in three sets, so in a way it wouldn't be surprising that she could do it again. Kerber also has won the US Open, so this now sees her with three out of the four slams with only the French Open alluding her to make it the career slam.
And you never know, Kerber might just do it as she has proven that she really is a great player, who emerged on the scene back in 2011 and has endured many successes and failures along the way but this is definitely a sign that she will go on to win more majors before she hangs up her racquet.
As for Serena, it was a pity that she wasn't able to get herself more into the match as Kerber's gameplan proved to effective and Serena made too many errors. However, it was still a mark of Serena's greatness that she was able to come back from childbirth and being a new mother, to getting herself into another major final on only her fourth tournament of the year. So, we all know that Serena has unfinished business in the slams and no doubt she will have her chances to add to her collection.
SIGN OFF
So, while it has to be said that the ladies tournament has been a bit of a letdown this year, given the lack of great competitive matches, particularly in the ladies semis and the final, it was still great to see a new champion emerge in Angelique Kerber and the return of Serena Williams no doubt would have been a great thrill for many tennis fans.
Right, well that's it for the ladies event at Wimbledon, let's move onto the mens...
See you soon!
First up however here is a look at the big number of shocks that happened in the ladies event this year at SW19 as all top 10 seeds went out before the quarter finals!
SEEDS OUT
Well the biggest upsets of the tournament definitely came on the ladies side as there were a high number of casualties this year. Starting with the defending champion, Garbine Muguruza, who went out in the second round, Simona Halep, the current World No.1 and reigning French Open champion was defeated in the 3rd round. As for the other top 10 seeds, Caroline Wozniacki was stunned in the second round by the giant killer, Ekaterina Makarova and Sloane Stephens, Elina Svitolina, Caroline Garcia and Petra Kvitova ALL went out in the first round! Whereas Venus Williams and Madison Keys both went out in the 3rd round. And the last top 10 seed standing, Karolina Pliskova fell in the fourth round to Kiki Bertens that saw all the top 10 seeds eliminated before the quarter finals.
LADIES SEMI FINALS
As for the semi finals, well they were fairly intriguing on paper as Angelique Kerber took on the former French Open champion, Jelena Ostapenko and Serena Williams faced off against first time major semi finalist, Julia Goerges. So, let's take a quick look at these matches.
Angelique Kerber vs Jelena Ostapenko
This match promised to be the more competitive one given that both these women are major champions and both are pretty aggressive players, so much was promised here. However the match itself was a bit of a letdown as Ostapenko despite making a promising start, went on to make too many rash unforced errors and imploded on serve as she lost the first set. In the second set, things got worse for Ostapenko as Kerber took a decisive 5-1 lead, however Ostapenko did manage to recover one of the breaks back and made Kerber serve for it once more. However, Kerber had no issues on the second time of asking and she sealed the victory with a very straight forward 6-3, 6-3 victory in just over an hour.
Serena Williams vs Julia Goerges
The second ladies semi, saw Serena Williams, the seven time champion, take on the German player, Julia Goerges, in her first grand slam semi final, so the odds were already stacked heavily in Serena's favour.
As for the match itself, it was pretty much a routine one for Serena in the first for sure as Goerge's inexperience at this level really showed as she surrendered her serve twice to hand Serena the first set with a double break. In the second set it was more of the same from Goerges, however she did manage to break back toward the end of the match to get back on serve but in the end it was short lived, as Goerges capitulated on serve once more and she handed Serena her place in another Wimbledon final with a 6-2, 6-4 victory, again in just over an hour.
Its a shame that both matches were pretty non-competitive and very one-sided, particularly the one with Kerber and Ostapenko and both matches combined length where just over two hours and 10 minutes total! So, it really wasn't much of a day's tennis for the fans but hey ho, that's the way it can go at Wimbledon.
THE FINAL
Now we get onto the ladies final, which saw Serena Williams take on Angelique Kerber for the title with the German player, Kerber in her second Wimbledon final having lost to Serena two years ago at this stage, so she had her work cut out once again with the American, heavy favourite.
However, in the match, Kerber had ideas of her own as she managed to get the immediate break from Serena but it wasn't long before she broke back. However, Kerber was not to be outdone as she managed to go and break Serena once again and she closed out the set to take the lead and one step closer to her maiden Wimbledon title. And in the 2nd set, it was more of the same, as Serena's unforced errors continued and she ended her quest for an 8th title in defeat as she netted a backhand return of Kerber's serve that saw the German fall to the ground in delight, having won her first Wimbledon title with a 6-3, 6-3 victory.
Well, this match certainly didn't go the way alot of pundits would have expected as many people, myself included, saw Serena as the heavy favourite here to win. However, Kerber herself had won her first grand slam at the Australian open when she played Serena in the final and beat her in three sets, so in a way it wouldn't be surprising that she could do it again. Kerber also has won the US Open, so this now sees her with three out of the four slams with only the French Open alluding her to make it the career slam.
And you never know, Kerber might just do it as she has proven that she really is a great player, who emerged on the scene back in 2011 and has endured many successes and failures along the way but this is definitely a sign that she will go on to win more majors before she hangs up her racquet.
As for Serena, it was a pity that she wasn't able to get herself more into the match as Kerber's gameplan proved to effective and Serena made too many errors. However, it was still a mark of Serena's greatness that she was able to come back from childbirth and being a new mother, to getting herself into another major final on only her fourth tournament of the year. So, we all know that Serena has unfinished business in the slams and no doubt she will have her chances to add to her collection.
SIGN OFF
So, while it has to be said that the ladies tournament has been a bit of a letdown this year, given the lack of great competitive matches, particularly in the ladies semis and the final, it was still great to see a new champion emerge in Angelique Kerber and the return of Serena Williams no doubt would have been a great thrill for many tennis fans.
Right, well that's it for the ladies event at Wimbledon, let's move onto the mens...
See you soon!
Monday, 14 May 2018
Andy Murray update - hanging in the balance
Well, its been ages since I did a post on here, so I figured it was high time I did another, which will cover the progress of Andy Murray's rehab from his hip surgery back in January this year.
And its safe to say that the last year or so has not been kind to Andy in tennis terms, as he has struggled with illness and injury and we all know that he has not played a competitive tour level match since his quarter final defeat at Wimbledon last year, which is now 10 months ago.
So, what will happen with Andy in the future and how will his rehab progress? Well, only he can answer that himself but let's take a look so far at what has happened.
THE INJURY
Well, Andy's injury as we all know happened as the result of the rigours of his campaign at the French Open, which ended in defeat to Stan Wawrinka in the semi finals. After this, Andy played the grass court season where he suffered a shock defeat to Jordan Thompson, who was the first Australian player to defeat him in an ATP tour match. And after this, Andy went on to play Wimbledon despite fears of reports of a lingering hip injury, he declared himself fit enough to play.
However, as the tournament wore on, it was evident that Andy's movement was less than perfect and he had been seen various times limping in between points on the court. And it all came to ahead against Sam Querrey in the quarter finals, where Andy managed to put himself in a winning position at two sets to one up. However, it was then apparent in the 4th set that things weren't going too well, as Andy was seen limping quite prominently between points and after Querrey levelled the match, he dominated Andy in the 5th set to end his title defence.
And we have seen Andy play on the ATP tour since, although he has since played a couple of exhibition matches, one against Roger Federer in Glasgow, where he showed encouraging signs in his movement and even managed to take a set off Roger before losing the match. However, Andy, while practising in Abu Dhabi, decided to participate in an exhibition match there against the Spaniard, Roberto Bautista-Agut, which ended in a straight sets defeat and throughout the match, Andy looked worse than ever with his movement being very sluggish and he won only four games before being beaten by Bautista-Agust.
SURGERY AND REHAB COMPLICATIONS
And in January 2018, after withdrawing from the Brisbane Open and the Australian Open and realising that his hip rehab wasn't working, he finally decided to go under the knive and have the hip surgery, he was up until this point, reluctant to undergo. The results were a success with Andy being in good spirits, he would undergo a period of 14 weeks rehab before he could get back on the practice courts with the hope of him being ready in time to play the grass court season.
However after the initial few months, things since then have been reported by different media sources that Andy's surgery rehab, has not been going as well as he would have hoped as there were talks that Andy would even try and make it back for one of two events on the ATP challegner tour in Glasgow last month and Loughborough next week. However since then, Andy has chosen to play neither of these events and continue with his rehab and there has been reports that he has not been seen on the practice courts for weeks now. This suggests that the rehab has suffered a setback and may even put Andy's return in time for the grass court season, in serious doubt.
SO WHERE DOES ANDY GO FROM HERE???
Well, this is a million dollar question, where will Andy go from here? And the answer is of course, I don't know, nor does anyone else except Andy himself. What we do know is that Andy has been playing his cards close to his chest and has not spoken publicly about his rehab for some time now with previous updates being more positive than recent media speculation.
What we also know is that Andy made the annoucement a little while back that he intends to make his return to the tour in Holland at the Libdema open on the grass courts and play at Queens club in London, a week after before gearing up for Wimbledon. However, as I said, this now appears to be in serious doubt but then again Andy has yet to give a real update on his current progress. But one thing I do know is, even if Andy choses not to play in Holland or at Queens in London, he will do all he can not to miss Wimbledon, which surely would be a real blow to him not to play at his favourite tournament.
SHOULD ANDY ADAPT HIS GAME STYLE???
Another thing that has been the subject of discussion is should Andy adapt his game style for when he returns? This reason being of course is that Andy's game style is built on defensive play, which inevtiably requires him to be fully fit and to have fast, superior movement in order to play long rallies. And given that Andy has had to undergo the knive on his hip means that his defensive style of play may cause more damage to it than good given the mileage required to play that type of game.
So, this may require Andy to remodel his game and find a way to play shorter rallies and end points quicker to save energy. The problem with this idea is that this late into Andy's career, it would be very tough for him to remodel his game completely. And not only that but Andy doesn't have the best 1st serve, as he often in the past has struggled to get his 1st serve percentage up over 60% and in some cases it has dropped as low as into the 40's, which is nowhere near good enough to take on the best players in the world. Roger Federer on the other hand can do it but he has a far better serve and a more attacking style, which if Andy could adapt to, would make things easier for him but his 1st serve still remains his main Achilles heel that would make this game style difficult for him to adopt.
SO WILL WE SEE ANDY RETURN TO THE TOUR???
Well, I can only hope the answer to this in the long term is yes, because Andy has had a very frustrating year and a half behind him already given that he reached the summit of the game to become World No.1, only to suffer from injury and illness, which lead to his downfall. And right now Andy's ranked inside the Top 50, so if and when he returns to the tour, he will be ranked even lower and perhaps drop down into the Top 100 or even 200.
And while Andy may very well receieve wildcards to enter events, he will still be at the mercy of the draw in tournaments and he could very well end up facing the likes of Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal in the 1st round! And it has to be said that Andy will definitely be up against it when he will take on players that he use to beat with ease that now will be in a different position as they will fancy their chances of beating him.
But we can only hope that Andy will make his return and when does that he can progressively rebuild his game again. It may take quite some time for this to happen and a string of early defeats may well be a strong possibility that Andy may have to endure at first but hopefully if all goes well, Andy can build himself up again and start competing again at the top of the game for the biggest tournaments.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and I will try and do some posts on here once the French Open get's under way, which is now just under two weeks away!
So, until then its bye fer now.
Tuesday, 30 January 2018
2018 Australian Open Men's Event Part 2 - Men's Final
Ok, so this will be the final part of my look at the 2018 Australian open as it has now finished (well it finished on Sunday, so I'm just getting round to doing this!) and I will look at how the men's final turned out in this post.
So, let's take a look....
MEN'S FINAL
Well, the men's final was of course between the defending champion, Roger Federer and Marin Cilic, the 6th seed, who was playing in his 1st Australian open final. And this was a re-match of their Wimbledon final last year where unforunately, Cilic sustained a foot injury that lead to a straight sets victory for Roger. However this time round, Cilic was fully fit, so we could expect a different contest than last year's at SW19.
And the match itself proved to be just that as we got a very competitive and entertaining one, which wasn't quite in the same league as the ladies final but it wasn't entirely far off. However, the match started with Roger being way too good for a rather nervous Cilic, which leads to the Croatian being broken twice and Rog grabbing the opening set in under 25 minutes. The 2nd set however was a much closer affair and Cilic then pushed play into a tiebreak, which despite going a mini-break down, Cilic fought back and levelled the match at a set all, as Roger dropped his first set of the tournament. In the 3rd set however, Roger re-established his dominance over Cilic and he broke his serve once more and efficiently closed it out to grab the two sets to one lead. And in the 4th set, Cilic went an immediate break down and it looked like it was as good as over for him but Cilic still wasn't done yet as he broke again and he then went on to raise his level and break Roger yet again to level the match at two sets all.
And at the start of the deciding 5th set, Cilic imposed himself on Rog once again as he gained a couple of break points but ultimately he was unable to capitalise on them as the defending champion held his nerve and serve. And from here, Cilic derailed himself as his serve broke down and it wasn't long before he found himself 5-1 down and from here there was no way back as Roger secured his sixth Australian open title and his 20th career major overall with a 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 victory.
THOUGHTS
Well there was little doubt that this was a very fine contest and a very solid end to the tournament, which saw once again that Roger Federer really is the GOAT (Greatest of all time) as he secured his 20th major title and if he get's one more, he will get the key to the door! And for Roger to do this in this era of the sport at the age of 36 is truly incredible and what's even more incredible is that he remains the only fully fit member out of the big four right now! And with none of his other competitors standing in his way right now, there is no reason that Roger can't go on to have yet another year like he did last year.
And you could clearly see at the end of the trophy presentation how much the game still means to Rog as he broke down in tears infront of the Rod Laver arena crowd, who applauded him warmly and we even saw the great man, Rod Laver in the crowd, taking a picture of Roger while it happened! And with this win you would again have to say that Roger is the overwhelming favourite to win Wimbledon once more this year and if Rafa were not fit to play the French open then just maybe it might be worth Roger considering to play that aswell. However we still don't know what Roger plans on doing when it comes to the clay court season, so we will just have to wait and see.
As for Marin Cilic, well it was a disappointing end to this campaign but he still put in a terrific effort in the final and really made a match of it as he pushed Roger all the way to a 5th set. And Cilic was not entirely far off breaking Roger at the start of the 5th in order to possibly get ahead himself and who knows what could have happened if he did? Ultimately though, I have to say even if Cilic did break Roger there would be the inevitable likelihood that Roger would have broken back and went on to secure the win anyway.
Regardless however of Cilic's loss, it still was a great effort to reach his 3rd major final and the tournament also sees him achieve a new career high ranking of No.3. And I would have to say that if Cilic can reach three major finals, having won one already, there is every chance he can go on to win a 2nd major title and I think it would be safe to say that he remains a strong favourite for the US Open later this year.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and the Australian open is now finished, with one down there are three more slams to go as the next one will of course be the French Open in Paris, which starts at the end of May. However there will be plenty of tennis to be had before then as the American hard court swing will start in March and the clay court season kicks off in April going into May before the French begins.
So, I'll finish by saying a congrats to Roger Federer for his 20th grand slam title and for Marin Cilic's great effort in reaching the men's final. And I will see you sometime in the future on this blog although not sure yet when but I will at some point do another post on here.
So, till then its bye for now!
So, let's take a look....
MEN'S FINAL
Well, the men's final was of course between the defending champion, Roger Federer and Marin Cilic, the 6th seed, who was playing in his 1st Australian open final. And this was a re-match of their Wimbledon final last year where unforunately, Cilic sustained a foot injury that lead to a straight sets victory for Roger. However this time round, Cilic was fully fit, so we could expect a different contest than last year's at SW19.
And the match itself proved to be just that as we got a very competitive and entertaining one, which wasn't quite in the same league as the ladies final but it wasn't entirely far off. However, the match started with Roger being way too good for a rather nervous Cilic, which leads to the Croatian being broken twice and Rog grabbing the opening set in under 25 minutes. The 2nd set however was a much closer affair and Cilic then pushed play into a tiebreak, which despite going a mini-break down, Cilic fought back and levelled the match at a set all, as Roger dropped his first set of the tournament. In the 3rd set however, Roger re-established his dominance over Cilic and he broke his serve once more and efficiently closed it out to grab the two sets to one lead. And in the 4th set, Cilic went an immediate break down and it looked like it was as good as over for him but Cilic still wasn't done yet as he broke again and he then went on to raise his level and break Roger yet again to level the match at two sets all.
And at the start of the deciding 5th set, Cilic imposed himself on Rog once again as he gained a couple of break points but ultimately he was unable to capitalise on them as the defending champion held his nerve and serve. And from here, Cilic derailed himself as his serve broke down and it wasn't long before he found himself 5-1 down and from here there was no way back as Roger secured his sixth Australian open title and his 20th career major overall with a 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 victory.
THOUGHTS
Well there was little doubt that this was a very fine contest and a very solid end to the tournament, which saw once again that Roger Federer really is the GOAT (Greatest of all time) as he secured his 20th major title and if he get's one more, he will get the key to the door! And for Roger to do this in this era of the sport at the age of 36 is truly incredible and what's even more incredible is that he remains the only fully fit member out of the big four right now! And with none of his other competitors standing in his way right now, there is no reason that Roger can't go on to have yet another year like he did last year.
And you could clearly see at the end of the trophy presentation how much the game still means to Rog as he broke down in tears infront of the Rod Laver arena crowd, who applauded him warmly and we even saw the great man, Rod Laver in the crowd, taking a picture of Roger while it happened! And with this win you would again have to say that Roger is the overwhelming favourite to win Wimbledon once more this year and if Rafa were not fit to play the French open then just maybe it might be worth Roger considering to play that aswell. However we still don't know what Roger plans on doing when it comes to the clay court season, so we will just have to wait and see.
As for Marin Cilic, well it was a disappointing end to this campaign but he still put in a terrific effort in the final and really made a match of it as he pushed Roger all the way to a 5th set. And Cilic was not entirely far off breaking Roger at the start of the 5th in order to possibly get ahead himself and who knows what could have happened if he did? Ultimately though, I have to say even if Cilic did break Roger there would be the inevitable likelihood that Roger would have broken back and went on to secure the win anyway.
Regardless however of Cilic's loss, it still was a great effort to reach his 3rd major final and the tournament also sees him achieve a new career high ranking of No.3. And I would have to say that if Cilic can reach three major finals, having won one already, there is every chance he can go on to win a 2nd major title and I think it would be safe to say that he remains a strong favourite for the US Open later this year.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and the Australian open is now finished, with one down there are three more slams to go as the next one will of course be the French Open in Paris, which starts at the end of May. However there will be plenty of tennis to be had before then as the American hard court swing will start in March and the clay court season kicks off in April going into May before the French begins.
So, I'll finish by saying a congrats to Roger Federer for his 20th grand slam title and for Marin Cilic's great effort in reaching the men's final. And I will see you sometime in the future on this blog although not sure yet when but I will at some point do another post on here.
So, till then its bye for now!
Sunday, 28 January 2018
2018 Australian Open Ladies Event Part 2: Ladies Final
So, this will be concluding part to my look at the ladies 2018 Australian Open as I look at the ladies final that took place just yesterday and it saw the world's top two players go at it for the title. So, let's take a closer look at how the final went.
THE FINAL
So, the final was of course between the World No.1, Simona Halep and the World No.2, Caroline Wozniacki as the two of them were battling it out not only to win their first grand slam title but also to secure the World No.1 ranking, as however would win would take the top spot. Both players had also come into this final having had to save match points in previous matches with Caroline having come back from 5-1 in the 3rd set of her 2nd round match and Simona having survived match points against Lauren Davis in the 3rd round and Angelique Kerber in the semis. So, there was plenty riding on this match for both ladies and it was a match that promised to deliver a great deal.
As for the match itself it definitely didn't disappoint, as Halep and Wozniacki, the World No's 1 and 2 provided an absolutely thrilling match for the Rod Laver arena crowd as both women were locked in a gripping contest. And in the 1st set, it was Caroline that made the better start as she broke Halep to go 3-0 up, however it was not long before Caroline suffered nerves as at 5-3 up serving for the set, she was broken back by Halep. This then pushed play into a tiebreak where Caroline manage to reassert her authority over Simona and dominated the breaker 7-2 to win her first ever set in a grand slam final.
The 2nd set however saw the heat go up in more ways than one, as the tennis got hotter from Halep but so did the temperature on court, which saw the officials invoke the heat policy and both women vacated the court for 10 minutes. Halep showing signs of struggling in the heat also took a medical timeout to have her blood pressure checked in the 2nd set. However after the break, this didn't deter Simona as she went on to break Caroline and despite showing visible signs of wavering physically, she still held her nerve to close out the 2nd set and level the match.
And in the 3rd and final set, the audience were treated to a thrilling and incredibly tense decider, which saw Caroline take an early break to go 2-0 up but Simona broke her back and as Caroline broke again, Simona once more broke back to even the scores at 3-3. At this point, Caroline was starting to feel the effects of the match and asked for a medical timeout during the 3-3 game that ultimately saw her broken by Halep, who went infront for the first time in the match 4-3. However, Caroline was still not done as she managed to break Halep once again to go 4-4 and she held her nerve to go 5-4 up. And as Simona was serving to stay in the match, a couple of unforced errors, let Caroline into the game and she played a stunning defensive point at 30-30 to set up a championship point. And from here, Simona made the final unforced error as she put a backhand into the net, it saw Caroline Wozniacki finally win her first ever grand slam title with an incredible 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 victory.
THOUGHTS
Well, there is little doubt that this was one of the best ladies major singles finals for quite some time and it was a tremendous match from start to finish as both women played some amazing tennis for the Rod Laver arena crowd. And we all knew that this was going to end up being a life changing match for one of the players and it just so happened to go Caroline Wozniacki's way in the end, which saw Simona Halep unfortunately come up just short for the 3rd time in her career in a major final.
However, being a fan of Caroline Wozniacki as a player, I was delighted to see her finally win a major after so many years of having been denied her chance by various big hitting players not to mention Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters, who both beaten her in her previous two slam finals at the US Open. And I think in a way the turning point for Caroline was when she won the WTA Finals tournament last year in Singapore, which at the time was her biggest title to date (and is directly below the slams in terms of prestige as a title). She also suffered one of her toughest losses in Melbourne aswell seven years ago when she was beaten by Li Na in the semi finals, so that she was able to make her breakthrough in Melbourne no doubt would make up for that.
Not only this, Caroline's victory will also see her return to being the World No.1, which she formerly was for 67 weeks out of her career, however she had not won a major at the time but now that she has, its safe to say she really will be a legitimate No.1 player. And now that she has been able to get over the finish line, there is little doubt that she can go on and potentially win more slams before she is done. And I've always kind of associated Caroline's career to Andy Murray's as he too for many years was a player, who had shown all the talent and potential to win a slam but never quite fulfilled it but once he hired Ivan Lendl as his coach, he made that breakthrough and its great to see Caroline finally do the same.
As for Simona Halep, well its a pity that she wasn't quite able to win as she even got herself in a winning position by going a break up 4-3 in the final set. However, I think the effort that Simona had made in getting to the final had taken its toll on her physically by this point and it certainly played a factor in her loss, as Caroline was just that bit fresher at the end. Despite the loss however, it has shown that Simona can still potentially win a major in the future, as she won a set in each of her three major finals so far, she really isn't that far off from winning an extra one to make the difference. And I'm sure most players that are able to reach three grand slam finals will have a chance to reach another and just maybe yet, Simona will get her chance.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for my look at the ladies Australian open final and it was a great way to finish off a great ladies tournament and all that remains for me to say is congratulations to Caroline Wozniacki on winning her first major title and becoming once again, the World No.1.
So, I will be back soon with my look at the men's final, which was between Roger Federer and Marin Cilic.
So, until then its bye for now.
THE FINAL
So, the final was of course between the World No.1, Simona Halep and the World No.2, Caroline Wozniacki as the two of them were battling it out not only to win their first grand slam title but also to secure the World No.1 ranking, as however would win would take the top spot. Both players had also come into this final having had to save match points in previous matches with Caroline having come back from 5-1 in the 3rd set of her 2nd round match and Simona having survived match points against Lauren Davis in the 3rd round and Angelique Kerber in the semis. So, there was plenty riding on this match for both ladies and it was a match that promised to deliver a great deal.
As for the match itself it definitely didn't disappoint, as Halep and Wozniacki, the World No's 1 and 2 provided an absolutely thrilling match for the Rod Laver arena crowd as both women were locked in a gripping contest. And in the 1st set, it was Caroline that made the better start as she broke Halep to go 3-0 up, however it was not long before Caroline suffered nerves as at 5-3 up serving for the set, she was broken back by Halep. This then pushed play into a tiebreak where Caroline manage to reassert her authority over Simona and dominated the breaker 7-2 to win her first ever set in a grand slam final.
The 2nd set however saw the heat go up in more ways than one, as the tennis got hotter from Halep but so did the temperature on court, which saw the officials invoke the heat policy and both women vacated the court for 10 minutes. Halep showing signs of struggling in the heat also took a medical timeout to have her blood pressure checked in the 2nd set. However after the break, this didn't deter Simona as she went on to break Caroline and despite showing visible signs of wavering physically, she still held her nerve to close out the 2nd set and level the match.
And in the 3rd and final set, the audience were treated to a thrilling and incredibly tense decider, which saw Caroline take an early break to go 2-0 up but Simona broke her back and as Caroline broke again, Simona once more broke back to even the scores at 3-3. At this point, Caroline was starting to feel the effects of the match and asked for a medical timeout during the 3-3 game that ultimately saw her broken by Halep, who went infront for the first time in the match 4-3. However, Caroline was still not done as she managed to break Halep once again to go 4-4 and she held her nerve to go 5-4 up. And as Simona was serving to stay in the match, a couple of unforced errors, let Caroline into the game and she played a stunning defensive point at 30-30 to set up a championship point. And from here, Simona made the final unforced error as she put a backhand into the net, it saw Caroline Wozniacki finally win her first ever grand slam title with an incredible 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 victory.
THOUGHTS
Well, there is little doubt that this was one of the best ladies major singles finals for quite some time and it was a tremendous match from start to finish as both women played some amazing tennis for the Rod Laver arena crowd. And we all knew that this was going to end up being a life changing match for one of the players and it just so happened to go Caroline Wozniacki's way in the end, which saw Simona Halep unfortunately come up just short for the 3rd time in her career in a major final.
However, being a fan of Caroline Wozniacki as a player, I was delighted to see her finally win a major after so many years of having been denied her chance by various big hitting players not to mention Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters, who both beaten her in her previous two slam finals at the US Open. And I think in a way the turning point for Caroline was when she won the WTA Finals tournament last year in Singapore, which at the time was her biggest title to date (and is directly below the slams in terms of prestige as a title). She also suffered one of her toughest losses in Melbourne aswell seven years ago when she was beaten by Li Na in the semi finals, so that she was able to make her breakthrough in Melbourne no doubt would make up for that.
Not only this, Caroline's victory will also see her return to being the World No.1, which she formerly was for 67 weeks out of her career, however she had not won a major at the time but now that she has, its safe to say she really will be a legitimate No.1 player. And now that she has been able to get over the finish line, there is little doubt that she can go on and potentially win more slams before she is done. And I've always kind of associated Caroline's career to Andy Murray's as he too for many years was a player, who had shown all the talent and potential to win a slam but never quite fulfilled it but once he hired Ivan Lendl as his coach, he made that breakthrough and its great to see Caroline finally do the same.
As for Simona Halep, well its a pity that she wasn't quite able to win as she even got herself in a winning position by going a break up 4-3 in the final set. However, I think the effort that Simona had made in getting to the final had taken its toll on her physically by this point and it certainly played a factor in her loss, as Caroline was just that bit fresher at the end. Despite the loss however, it has shown that Simona can still potentially win a major in the future, as she won a set in each of her three major finals so far, she really isn't that far off from winning an extra one to make the difference. And I'm sure most players that are able to reach three grand slam finals will have a chance to reach another and just maybe yet, Simona will get her chance.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for my look at the ladies Australian open final and it was a great way to finish off a great ladies tournament and all that remains for me to say is congratulations to Caroline Wozniacki on winning her first major title and becoming once again, the World No.1.
So, I will be back soon with my look at the men's final, which was between Roger Federer and Marin Cilic.
So, until then its bye for now.
2018 Australian Open Men's Event Part 1: Semi finals and final preview
Right, as the first major of the season is about to draw to a close, the Australian open in Melbourne, this post will take a look at the men's event so far (well the semis and the finals that is). So, let's see who has made it into the final four at Melbourne park.
MENS SEMI FINALS
Marin Cilic vs Kyle Edmund
First up was the semi final between the former US Open champion, Marin Cilic and a surprise first time grand slam semi finalist, Kyle Edmund, the British No.2, who had put in a great effort to reach the last four in Melbourne. Kyle had gained several impressive wins on his way to the semis as he defeated Kevin Anderson in the 1st round in 5 tough sets and then later went on to stun Grigor Dimitrov, the 3rd seed in the quarter finals in 4 sets. So, this saw Kyle within touching distance of reaching his first grand slam final but he would be up against the more experienced, Marin Cilic, a 2014 US Open champion and also Wimbledon finalist last year.
As for the match itself...well it went pretty much the way it you would have expected it to on paper as Cilic bossed Kyle right from the start of the match and he swiftly grabbed a double break to take the opening set. In the 2nd set however, it was more evenly contested as Kyle showed some good resistance and pushed the Croatian to a tiebreak but unfortunately he lose out in the breaker to go two sets to love down. And in the 3rd set, Kyle's conditioning and fitness started to let him down as he required a medical timeout for an apparent hip issue that let Cilic grab a double break once again and he sealed the match and his place in his first Australian open final with an impressive 6-2, 7-6, 6-2 victory.
Well, this match was always going to be in Cilic's favour as he was by far the more experienced player out of the two and it was no surprise in the end that he got through. However the match did promise to be fairly tight in the 2nd set as Kyle fought back but as the match went on and Kyle's fitness became an issue, it was clear that there would be only one winner. So, this is a very impressive victory for Cilic as he has now reached his 3rd grand slam final, having already won the 2014 US Open and being a finalist at Wimbledon last year.
As for Kyle Edmund, despite his loss, this was a terrific tournament for him as it really showed that once Andy Murray has hung his racquet, Kyle can confidently take over the mantle as the British No.1 (which he is only weeks away from becoming just given Andy being out recovering from hip surgery). Kyle has also shown that he is the very much the real deal as a fledgling top player and his ranking will be projected to shoot up as high 25 on Monday and there is little doubt that he can even climb higher as the year goes on.
Roger Federer vs Chung Hyeon
And the second semi final was between the GOAT and defending champion, Roger Federer and another surprise semi finalist, Chung Hyeon, young 21 year Korean player, who was the first man from his country to reach the semis of a major. And Chung came into this match having played exceptionally well and he even defeated his idol, Novak Djokovic in the 4th round enroute to this stage. Roger on the other hand had made serene progress so far going into the semis as he was yet to drop a set having comfortably beaten all the players before him. However, given Chung's hunger, defensive skills and athletic ability, this match had the potential to be a real danger for Roger to deal with.
However...the match itself was a real damp squib and it was very evident from the start that Roger was the master and Chung was very much the student, as he ruthlessly dismantled Chung's weak serve and he grabbed the opening set in just 34 minutes with a double break. In the 2nd set, it was more of the same from Roger but it became apparent very soon that Chung was carrying an injury as he took a timeout for a blister on his foot. However in the end, the injury proved too much for Chung to play through, so he admitted defeat to Rog in the 2nd set and retired, which saw the defending champion reach another final in Melbourne with a 6-1, 5-2 ret result.
Well, this was a real disappointing result as this match had some real potential to it had Chung been fully fit it could have been a very interesting contest. Unfortunately however, Chung's blistered foot proved too much for him to deal with and it prematurely ended what could have been a very fine match. Regardless of this though, Chung had put a valiant effort in getting himself into the semi finals and really showed his potential at the tournament and announced himself to the tennis world, especially after beating Djokovic, Chung is certainly a player audiences will watch out for.
THE MEN'S FINAL AND PREDICTION
So, this sets up the men's final between Roger Federer and Marin Cilic in what will be a rematch of last year's Wimbledon final, which saw an injured Cilic fall to Roger in straight sets, however this time hopefully we won't get the same result as Cilic appears fully fit. So, this time round hopefully we will get treated to a more even contest because Cilic certainly has the firepower to trouble Roger in a match as he proved in their epic Wimbledon quarter final two years ago and also when he demolished Roger at the US Open semis in 2014.
Soooo....this all begs the question....who will win??? Well, let's take a quick look at both players.
Well, so far Roger has been in sublime form throughout the tournament and is yet to drop a set going into this final, just like he did at Wimbledon last year also (which he went on to win without dropping a single set!). Roger's matches have also barely gone beyond 2 hours as he been able to cleanly and efficiently beat evey player he has come up against. So, on the basis of what we have seen so far in the tournament, it would be hard to argue with Roger being the favourite here to end his days as a teenager in terms of a grand slam trophy title number and reach number 20.
As for Cilic, well he has shown some great form in the tournament also, albeit not quite as impressive having dropped four sets enroute to the final but he still managed to grind down Rafael Nadal in the quarter finals, who was forced to retire from their match in the 5th set. Cilic also has proved that when he is on his game and when his serve is firing, there are very few players that can contend with him, as he is certainly capable of playing lights out tennis. And if Cilic is fully fit in the final then Roger knows he will need to watch out and that crushing defeat he suffered to Cilic at the US Open four years ago will still be prying on his mind.
As for my actual prediction as to who will win....well....I have to go with Roger here, simply based on the form he has shown in the tournament so far he has been outstanding and he comes into the AO this year fully fit, unlike last year where he still had a few physical niggles. Roger is also yet to drop a set and his tennis has been clinical and efficient as ever and his serving has been nigh impeccable, so Cilic would need to serve out of his mind to have any real chance against him. And its still scary to think that at the age of 36, Roger is still playing his best tennis and moving like he is only 25 years old!
So, I think Roger will be tested more this time round by Cilic than he was at Wimbledon last year, when Cilic was playing injured (and also had a blister on his foot like Chung did) and it should hopefully prove to be a more competitive match. Cilic also plays his best tennis on hard courts as well as grass courts, so the court here should suit his game but let's face it, it also suits Roger's too. And I think this match should go to four sets, especially if Cilic plays well, he will give Rog something to think about but in the end, I still think Roger will emerge the champion once again and successfully defend his title. So, I predict Rog will win in four and reach slam No.20.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back soon with my look at the result of the ladies singles final, which was between Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki, the top two seeds who battled it out for their first grand slam and the No.1 ranking. So, I will cover the match, the result and also a review of how it went and how things might go for the two ladies in the future.
So, until the next one, that's all for now.
MENS SEMI FINALS
Marin Cilic vs Kyle Edmund
First up was the semi final between the former US Open champion, Marin Cilic and a surprise first time grand slam semi finalist, Kyle Edmund, the British No.2, who had put in a great effort to reach the last four in Melbourne. Kyle had gained several impressive wins on his way to the semis as he defeated Kevin Anderson in the 1st round in 5 tough sets and then later went on to stun Grigor Dimitrov, the 3rd seed in the quarter finals in 4 sets. So, this saw Kyle within touching distance of reaching his first grand slam final but he would be up against the more experienced, Marin Cilic, a 2014 US Open champion and also Wimbledon finalist last year.
As for the match itself...well it went pretty much the way it you would have expected it to on paper as Cilic bossed Kyle right from the start of the match and he swiftly grabbed a double break to take the opening set. In the 2nd set however, it was more evenly contested as Kyle showed some good resistance and pushed the Croatian to a tiebreak but unfortunately he lose out in the breaker to go two sets to love down. And in the 3rd set, Kyle's conditioning and fitness started to let him down as he required a medical timeout for an apparent hip issue that let Cilic grab a double break once again and he sealed the match and his place in his first Australian open final with an impressive 6-2, 7-6, 6-2 victory.
Well, this match was always going to be in Cilic's favour as he was by far the more experienced player out of the two and it was no surprise in the end that he got through. However the match did promise to be fairly tight in the 2nd set as Kyle fought back but as the match went on and Kyle's fitness became an issue, it was clear that there would be only one winner. So, this is a very impressive victory for Cilic as he has now reached his 3rd grand slam final, having already won the 2014 US Open and being a finalist at Wimbledon last year.
As for Kyle Edmund, despite his loss, this was a terrific tournament for him as it really showed that once Andy Murray has hung his racquet, Kyle can confidently take over the mantle as the British No.1 (which he is only weeks away from becoming just given Andy being out recovering from hip surgery). Kyle has also shown that he is the very much the real deal as a fledgling top player and his ranking will be projected to shoot up as high 25 on Monday and there is little doubt that he can even climb higher as the year goes on.
Roger Federer vs Chung Hyeon
And the second semi final was between the GOAT and defending champion, Roger Federer and another surprise semi finalist, Chung Hyeon, young 21 year Korean player, who was the first man from his country to reach the semis of a major. And Chung came into this match having played exceptionally well and he even defeated his idol, Novak Djokovic in the 4th round enroute to this stage. Roger on the other hand had made serene progress so far going into the semis as he was yet to drop a set having comfortably beaten all the players before him. However, given Chung's hunger, defensive skills and athletic ability, this match had the potential to be a real danger for Roger to deal with.
However...the match itself was a real damp squib and it was very evident from the start that Roger was the master and Chung was very much the student, as he ruthlessly dismantled Chung's weak serve and he grabbed the opening set in just 34 minutes with a double break. In the 2nd set, it was more of the same from Roger but it became apparent very soon that Chung was carrying an injury as he took a timeout for a blister on his foot. However in the end, the injury proved too much for Chung to play through, so he admitted defeat to Rog in the 2nd set and retired, which saw the defending champion reach another final in Melbourne with a 6-1, 5-2 ret result.
Well, this was a real disappointing result as this match had some real potential to it had Chung been fully fit it could have been a very interesting contest. Unfortunately however, Chung's blistered foot proved too much for him to deal with and it prematurely ended what could have been a very fine match. Regardless of this though, Chung had put a valiant effort in getting himself into the semi finals and really showed his potential at the tournament and announced himself to the tennis world, especially after beating Djokovic, Chung is certainly a player audiences will watch out for.
THE MEN'S FINAL AND PREDICTION
So, this sets up the men's final between Roger Federer and Marin Cilic in what will be a rematch of last year's Wimbledon final, which saw an injured Cilic fall to Roger in straight sets, however this time hopefully we won't get the same result as Cilic appears fully fit. So, this time round hopefully we will get treated to a more even contest because Cilic certainly has the firepower to trouble Roger in a match as he proved in their epic Wimbledon quarter final two years ago and also when he demolished Roger at the US Open semis in 2014.
Soooo....this all begs the question....who will win??? Well, let's take a quick look at both players.
Well, so far Roger has been in sublime form throughout the tournament and is yet to drop a set going into this final, just like he did at Wimbledon last year also (which he went on to win without dropping a single set!). Roger's matches have also barely gone beyond 2 hours as he been able to cleanly and efficiently beat evey player he has come up against. So, on the basis of what we have seen so far in the tournament, it would be hard to argue with Roger being the favourite here to end his days as a teenager in terms of a grand slam trophy title number and reach number 20.
As for Cilic, well he has shown some great form in the tournament also, albeit not quite as impressive having dropped four sets enroute to the final but he still managed to grind down Rafael Nadal in the quarter finals, who was forced to retire from their match in the 5th set. Cilic also has proved that when he is on his game and when his serve is firing, there are very few players that can contend with him, as he is certainly capable of playing lights out tennis. And if Cilic is fully fit in the final then Roger knows he will need to watch out and that crushing defeat he suffered to Cilic at the US Open four years ago will still be prying on his mind.
As for my actual prediction as to who will win....well....I have to go with Roger here, simply based on the form he has shown in the tournament so far he has been outstanding and he comes into the AO this year fully fit, unlike last year where he still had a few physical niggles. Roger is also yet to drop a set and his tennis has been clinical and efficient as ever and his serving has been nigh impeccable, so Cilic would need to serve out of his mind to have any real chance against him. And its still scary to think that at the age of 36, Roger is still playing his best tennis and moving like he is only 25 years old!
So, I think Roger will be tested more this time round by Cilic than he was at Wimbledon last year, when Cilic was playing injured (and also had a blister on his foot like Chung did) and it should hopefully prove to be a more competitive match. Cilic also plays his best tennis on hard courts as well as grass courts, so the court here should suit his game but let's face it, it also suits Roger's too. And I think this match should go to four sets, especially if Cilic plays well, he will give Rog something to think about but in the end, I still think Roger will emerge the champion once again and successfully defend his title. So, I predict Rog will win in four and reach slam No.20.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back soon with my look at the result of the ladies singles final, which was between Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki, the top two seeds who battled it out for their first grand slam and the No.1 ranking. So, I will cover the match, the result and also a review of how it went and how things might go for the two ladies in the future.
So, until the next one, that's all for now.
Friday, 26 January 2018
2018 Australian Open - Ladies Event Part 1: Semi Finals and Final Preview
Well, I'm pretty late with my look at the first grand slam of the season, the Australian Open from Melbourne, as the tournament finishes on this Sunday and it would take me ages to go over the results in full up until now. So, instead what I will do is take a look at the ladies semi finals matches in this post and look at the men's in another post, then do a separate post for both the men's and ladies finals matches.
So, with that all said, let's take a look then at how the semi finals went.
LADIES SEMI FINALS
Caroline Wozniacki vs Elise Mertens
Right, so the first ladies semi final up was between the current World No.2 (and former No.1) Caroline Wozniacki and the unseeded Belgium player, Elise Mertens. Caroline was very fortunate still to be in the tournament especially after her 2nd round match where she was 5-1 down against Jana Fett and had to save two match points but she found her feet since going into this match. Mertens on the other hand had put together a very impressive run in reaching her first grand slam semi final as she had beaten Elina Svitolina in the quarter finals, the 4th seed.
As for the match itself, well it was pretty much in Caroline's favour in the 1st set as she broke Mertens to go ahead and claim in the 1st set. The 2nd however was a bit more tense as Caroline went to serve for the match at a break up 5-4, she got tight and let Mertens back into the game, who broke back and pushed play to a tiebreak. However in the breaker, it was Caroline's experience and confidence that made the difference as very efficiently won the breaker 7-2 to reach her 1st Australian open final and her third major final with a 6-3, 7-6 victory.
Well there is little doubt that this was an impressive win for Caroline, especially considering the run that Mertens had put together herself she looked to a very dangerous player, however Caroline was able to weather the storm nicely and her great experience in the majors made the difference. This now sees Caroline Wozniacki with a chance to win her first ever grand slam title once again but I will say more about this in a bit, but first let's look at the other ladies match.
Simona Halep vs Angelique Kerber
So, the second semi final was between the current World No.1, Simona Halep and the former World No.1 and 2016 Australian open champion, Angelique Kerber in what promised to be a real cracker of a match. And the match itself didn't disappoint as both women put in a tremendous effort as they battled it out on Rod Laver arena and played some incredible lungbusting rallies.
The first set however saw Halep take the lead as she broke Kerber to move ahead and take it but in the 2nd set, Kerber having gone down a break to Halep, managed to fight back and break back and then went on to grab a break of her own to seal the 2nd set to level. And in the 3rd set, the crowd were treated to a thrilling decider where both women went at it full tilt and with play going past 6-6, this meant there would be no tiebreak (as there is no tiebreak in the deciding set at all the majors except the US Open). And at 8-7 to Halep, with Kerber serving to make it 8-8, this is where Halep made her move and forced the decisive error from Kerber, which saw Simona reach her first Australian open final and third major final overall with an epic 6-4, 4-6, 9-7 win.
Well there was little doubt that this was the match of the ladies tournament so far as both players were on great form and it was a real war of attrition that saw Halep dig just that little bit deeper in the end to seal the victory. Kerber also showed that she was back to great form after her slump last year and was so close to also being in the final again but in the end she was just pipped to the post by Halep. But both ladies played their part in what was a very high quality match that will probably go down as one of the best matches of the year.
LADIES FINAL PREVIEW AND PREDICTION
Simona Halep vs Caroline Wozniacki
Right, so this has set up a very intriguing ladies final between the world's top two players, Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki, who have never won a grand slam and are both in their 3rd major final, so it will definitely be third time lucky for one of them. Not only that but if Caroline wins the title she will return to No.1 in the world whereas if Simona wins then she will stay at No.1, so this match is also the battle for No.1.
So this then begs the question....who will win??? Well, let's take a look.
First off with Simona Halep, she is the current World No.1 but she has yet to win a major final and her previous two finals have been both at the French Open, where she managed to win a set in both but ultimately lose out to Maria Sharapova and Jelena Ostapenko respectively. Halep had shown her grit in both matches, particularly in her first against Sharapova but she also showed signs of nerves and vulnerability as she had an early lead against Ostapenko in the deciding set of their French open final last year only to let it go and lose.
So, Halep has definitely shown signs of vulnerability and nerves will most likely play its part tomorrow for her plus she has also been trying to cope with an ankle injury in the event. However, Halep has been able to also show in this tournament so far that she can grind out tough matches as she beat Lauren Davis 15-13 in the final set in her 3rd round and 9-7 in her semi final with Kerber. So, if Halep shows that same level of grit tomorrow then its most likely that Simona can go on and win the match.
As for Caroline Wozniacki, she too has had a tough time progressing to the final, albeit not quite as tough as Halep has had it but she had to come back from the brink against the American qualifier, Jana Fett in the 2nd round from 5-1 down in the decider. Caroline had to also fight her way past Carla Suarez-Navarro in the quarter finals in three sets. However she definitely has had the easier route out of the two players to the final and hasn't been taken beyond 7-5 in a decisive set, so this will leave her with more in the tank than Halep has so far.
And this highlights another issue with Caroline is that she hasn't faced a player so far in the tournament that was ranked in the top 20, as the highest seeded player she has faced was Magdalena Rybarikova, the 19th seed (ranked 21). So, facing Halep will be a big step up for Caroline going from 19th seed right to the World No.1 and its one that could go against in that she hasn't faced off any top 5 or even top 10 players yet.
So who is going to win?????
Well.....I might be wrong but I'm going with Caroline Wozniacki on this one as I just think that even though she has not had to face any top 10 opponents so far in the tournament, she is bound to be the fresher of the two ladies going into this final. Not only that but Caroline leads her head to head with Halep 4-2 and she has won their last three meetings with the last being at the WTA finals, where Caroline thrashed Halep in straight sets. Caroline also has the slight edge over Simona in that she has won the WTA Finals, which is a bigger title than Simona has won in her career and this alone might give her the confidence and belief to take that next step to win her first slam.
However I do think that there will be very little in this match as both ladies games are very similar and both built on defence although Simona is slightly more aggressive than Caroline is but in terms of athletic ability there is nothing in it. So, this is a pretty level field here with both players having great defensive games, both athletic but also neither of them have a big weapon or a big serve, so there won't be a question of either one hitting each other off the court. There will doubtless be nerves on both sides here also as Simona has shown signs of getting tight in her previous major finals as has Caroline, so in the end it might come down to who holds their nerve better, either this or one player will simply outplay the other.
So, I think this one is just about 50/50 but I am going to give the slight edge to Caroline so maybe 51/49 in her favour and I definitely think this match could go to three sets. So, I might be wrong but I am going to go with Caroline in three sets and hopefully the match will be a great one to finish the tournament on. I'm also a fan of Caroline Wozniacki and I've been following her career over the last six or seven years, which has seen her hit many highs but also many lows where she often has been branded as not being good enough to win a grand slam as she had always been overpowered or outplayed by her opponents.
Don't get me wrong as I like Simona Halep too, who I think comes across as a kind, gracious person with a great attitude in both victory and defeat, so if she does win then she certainly deserves it and it would be a great way to back up her No.1 ranking. But for me I still think that Caroline might edge this one even though I do think there will be not much in it.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now I will be back soon with my look at the men's semi finals and a preview of the men's final.
So until then its bye for now!
So, with that all said, let's take a look then at how the semi finals went.
LADIES SEMI FINALS
Caroline Wozniacki vs Elise Mertens
Right, so the first ladies semi final up was between the current World No.2 (and former No.1) Caroline Wozniacki and the unseeded Belgium player, Elise Mertens. Caroline was very fortunate still to be in the tournament especially after her 2nd round match where she was 5-1 down against Jana Fett and had to save two match points but she found her feet since going into this match. Mertens on the other hand had put together a very impressive run in reaching her first grand slam semi final as she had beaten Elina Svitolina in the quarter finals, the 4th seed.
As for the match itself, well it was pretty much in Caroline's favour in the 1st set as she broke Mertens to go ahead and claim in the 1st set. The 2nd however was a bit more tense as Caroline went to serve for the match at a break up 5-4, she got tight and let Mertens back into the game, who broke back and pushed play to a tiebreak. However in the breaker, it was Caroline's experience and confidence that made the difference as very efficiently won the breaker 7-2 to reach her 1st Australian open final and her third major final with a 6-3, 7-6 victory.
Well there is little doubt that this was an impressive win for Caroline, especially considering the run that Mertens had put together herself she looked to a very dangerous player, however Caroline was able to weather the storm nicely and her great experience in the majors made the difference. This now sees Caroline Wozniacki with a chance to win her first ever grand slam title once again but I will say more about this in a bit, but first let's look at the other ladies match.
Simona Halep vs Angelique Kerber
So, the second semi final was between the current World No.1, Simona Halep and the former World No.1 and 2016 Australian open champion, Angelique Kerber in what promised to be a real cracker of a match. And the match itself didn't disappoint as both women put in a tremendous effort as they battled it out on Rod Laver arena and played some incredible lungbusting rallies.
The first set however saw Halep take the lead as she broke Kerber to move ahead and take it but in the 2nd set, Kerber having gone down a break to Halep, managed to fight back and break back and then went on to grab a break of her own to seal the 2nd set to level. And in the 3rd set, the crowd were treated to a thrilling decider where both women went at it full tilt and with play going past 6-6, this meant there would be no tiebreak (as there is no tiebreak in the deciding set at all the majors except the US Open). And at 8-7 to Halep, with Kerber serving to make it 8-8, this is where Halep made her move and forced the decisive error from Kerber, which saw Simona reach her first Australian open final and third major final overall with an epic 6-4, 4-6, 9-7 win.
Well there was little doubt that this was the match of the ladies tournament so far as both players were on great form and it was a real war of attrition that saw Halep dig just that little bit deeper in the end to seal the victory. Kerber also showed that she was back to great form after her slump last year and was so close to also being in the final again but in the end she was just pipped to the post by Halep. But both ladies played their part in what was a very high quality match that will probably go down as one of the best matches of the year.
LADIES FINAL PREVIEW AND PREDICTION
Simona Halep vs Caroline Wozniacki
Right, so this has set up a very intriguing ladies final between the world's top two players, Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki, who have never won a grand slam and are both in their 3rd major final, so it will definitely be third time lucky for one of them. Not only that but if Caroline wins the title she will return to No.1 in the world whereas if Simona wins then she will stay at No.1, so this match is also the battle for No.1.
So this then begs the question....who will win??? Well, let's take a look.
First off with Simona Halep, she is the current World No.1 but she has yet to win a major final and her previous two finals have been both at the French Open, where she managed to win a set in both but ultimately lose out to Maria Sharapova and Jelena Ostapenko respectively. Halep had shown her grit in both matches, particularly in her first against Sharapova but she also showed signs of nerves and vulnerability as she had an early lead against Ostapenko in the deciding set of their French open final last year only to let it go and lose.
So, Halep has definitely shown signs of vulnerability and nerves will most likely play its part tomorrow for her plus she has also been trying to cope with an ankle injury in the event. However, Halep has been able to also show in this tournament so far that she can grind out tough matches as she beat Lauren Davis 15-13 in the final set in her 3rd round and 9-7 in her semi final with Kerber. So, if Halep shows that same level of grit tomorrow then its most likely that Simona can go on and win the match.
As for Caroline Wozniacki, she too has had a tough time progressing to the final, albeit not quite as tough as Halep has had it but she had to come back from the brink against the American qualifier, Jana Fett in the 2nd round from 5-1 down in the decider. Caroline had to also fight her way past Carla Suarez-Navarro in the quarter finals in three sets. However she definitely has had the easier route out of the two players to the final and hasn't been taken beyond 7-5 in a decisive set, so this will leave her with more in the tank than Halep has so far.
And this highlights another issue with Caroline is that she hasn't faced a player so far in the tournament that was ranked in the top 20, as the highest seeded player she has faced was Magdalena Rybarikova, the 19th seed (ranked 21). So, facing Halep will be a big step up for Caroline going from 19th seed right to the World No.1 and its one that could go against in that she hasn't faced off any top 5 or even top 10 players yet.
So who is going to win?????
Well.....I might be wrong but I'm going with Caroline Wozniacki on this one as I just think that even though she has not had to face any top 10 opponents so far in the tournament, she is bound to be the fresher of the two ladies going into this final. Not only that but Caroline leads her head to head with Halep 4-2 and she has won their last three meetings with the last being at the WTA finals, where Caroline thrashed Halep in straight sets. Caroline also has the slight edge over Simona in that she has won the WTA Finals, which is a bigger title than Simona has won in her career and this alone might give her the confidence and belief to take that next step to win her first slam.
However I do think that there will be very little in this match as both ladies games are very similar and both built on defence although Simona is slightly more aggressive than Caroline is but in terms of athletic ability there is nothing in it. So, this is a pretty level field here with both players having great defensive games, both athletic but also neither of them have a big weapon or a big serve, so there won't be a question of either one hitting each other off the court. There will doubtless be nerves on both sides here also as Simona has shown signs of getting tight in her previous major finals as has Caroline, so in the end it might come down to who holds their nerve better, either this or one player will simply outplay the other.
So, I think this one is just about 50/50 but I am going to give the slight edge to Caroline so maybe 51/49 in her favour and I definitely think this match could go to three sets. So, I might be wrong but I am going to go with Caroline in three sets and hopefully the match will be a great one to finish the tournament on. I'm also a fan of Caroline Wozniacki and I've been following her career over the last six or seven years, which has seen her hit many highs but also many lows where she often has been branded as not being good enough to win a grand slam as she had always been overpowered or outplayed by her opponents.
Don't get me wrong as I like Simona Halep too, who I think comes across as a kind, gracious person with a great attitude in both victory and defeat, so if she does win then she certainly deserves it and it would be a great way to back up her No.1 ranking. But for me I still think that Caroline might edge this one even though I do think there will be not much in it.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now I will be back soon with my look at the men's semi finals and a preview of the men's final.
So until then its bye for now!
Thursday, 4 January 2018
Andy Murray update: Is this end???
Well, I'd like to start this post off on a positive note and wish everyone a Happy New Year and let's hope 2018 is a good one.
However, there is one man that could be in for a particualrly tough 2018 and that man is Andy Murray, the tennis world's former World No.1, who for the past six months has been struggling physically with a hip injury. So, far Andy has tried extensive rehab to try and get himself fit and well for the new tennis season but unfortunately so far the rehab hasn't worked out the way Andy would have liked.
So, this post will look at Andy's injury woes over the past six months and his possible options going ahead.
THE INJURY SO FAR
Well, the injury resulted after Andy's gruelling French open campaign where he put in a great run to the semi finals but he was ultimately defeated by the former champion, Stan Wawrinka in a five set thriller. After this, Andy struggled badly at the start of the grass court season as he was beaten in the 1st round at the AEGON Championships event at Queens club in London, which sparked fears that Andy wouldn't be fit enough to play Wimbledon. However, those fears were abated as Andy managed to play at Wimbledon and got himself to the quarter finals where unfortunately this was where his troubles really began as he literally limped to a five set loss at the hands of the American big server, Sam Querrey.
After this, Andy withdrew from the upcoming Masters events but tried to get himself fit to play the US Open as he travelled to New York. However, unfortunately Andy was unable to compete as yet again, his hip problet let him down and he was forced to withdraw a day after the US Open draw had been announced, much to the annoyance of some tennis fans, who had hoped for a Roger vs Rafa final but ended being in the same half of the draw.
Not long after this, Andy confirmed he would miss the Asian swing of the tour and "most likely" would miss the final tournaments of his schedule in Vienna and Paris (he didn't have enough points to qualify for the year end finals at the o2 Arena in London). Andy however did not officially confirm his withdrawal from Vienna and Paris but it was a foregone conclusion that he would miss them anyway, which he did.
Andy however did manage to play his exhibition match with Roger Federer at the Hydro in Glasgow where he did put in a really good performance against the GOAT and took a set off Roger for the first time in three years before he lost in a champions tiebreak. The performance was an encouraging one although it had to be said that Andy's movement was still less than perfect.
And at the end of 2017, Andy went to practise in Abu Dhabi where an exhibition event takes place every year and after Novak Djokovic confirmed his withdrawal from the event, Andy took his place and played a one-set exhibition against the Spaniard, Robert Bautista-Agut. However, the match really highlighted Andy's hip problem once again as there were many points where he fail to chase down balls, which he normally would have gotten to with ease in the past. It was a big step back from his performance in Glasgow and it raised more concerns.
However, despite any fears, Andy still was drawn in the Brisbane International event where he would be expected to play Ryan Harrison in his first official match on the tour since Wimbledon last year. However, Andy once again was left frustrated by his hip injury and he was forced again to withdraw from the tournament and not long after he wrote a heartfelt and emotional post on his Instagram account, expressing his sadness and disappointment at not being able to compete and now he is considering surgery as an option to resolve his hip problem.
Andy also said that he would wait a few days before making his decision wether or not to play in Melbourne for the first major of the year, the Australian open. However, Andy, a few days after, decided to withdraw rather than take any risks and he will now travel back home to seek further advice on how he can move forward with his hip injury.
SO WHAT ARE ANDY'S OPTIONS
So, from here this leaves Andy two options: one, continue with his rehab or two, undergo surgery to resolve the hip injury but there are complications involved with both options. First off with the rehab, Andy has undergone this for the past five months and so far, it has been to no avail, which suggests that rehab is no longer a viable solution to his injury. Andy could try more rehab for a few more months but it looks like inevitably he will be back at square one as soon as he tries to get back on the court.
So, this leaves his only real viable option left: surgery. Now according to what I've been reading, there are two types of surgery that Andy can undergo, one is a surgery that would replace the hip, which would effectively end his career as the recovery time would be too long. The other option is to undergo keyhole surgery, which would see Andy out of the game for at least 6 months. Now, this on paper would sound like the better option but it is still said that there are no 100% guarantees that this will correct the hip injury. However given all that Andy has been through, it would sound like that the keyhole surgery is a gamble that he should possibly consider if he wants to get back on the court sooner rather than later.
IS THIS THE END FOR ANDY???
Well, this is a question neither myself or anyone can really can't answer just now. Andy is not in a good place just now of course and he will want to do all he can to get himself back to full fitness again if he can. I sincerely hope as an Andy Murray fan myself, that Andy still has a few years left in him before he retires. However in order for him to do so, he must now seriously consider whether more rehab or surgery is the way forward and to be honest from what we've seen so far, rehab is not working for him, so surgery looks like his only real option left open to him.
So, I can only hope Andy has some life left in him yet on the tennis court but time will tell as he himself will make a decision on a way forward in the forthcoming weeks. But one thing we do know about Andy Murray is, that his desire to compete and play tennis remains strong as ever and I'm sure he will do all he can to get himself back out and play the sport he loves most.
SIGN OFF
Right, well that's it for now and I will be back again sometime on this blog soon with an update on the Australian open once it get's underway.
So, until then its bye for now!
However, there is one man that could be in for a particualrly tough 2018 and that man is Andy Murray, the tennis world's former World No.1, who for the past six months has been struggling physically with a hip injury. So, far Andy has tried extensive rehab to try and get himself fit and well for the new tennis season but unfortunately so far the rehab hasn't worked out the way Andy would have liked.
So, this post will look at Andy's injury woes over the past six months and his possible options going ahead.
THE INJURY SO FAR
Well, the injury resulted after Andy's gruelling French open campaign where he put in a great run to the semi finals but he was ultimately defeated by the former champion, Stan Wawrinka in a five set thriller. After this, Andy struggled badly at the start of the grass court season as he was beaten in the 1st round at the AEGON Championships event at Queens club in London, which sparked fears that Andy wouldn't be fit enough to play Wimbledon. However, those fears were abated as Andy managed to play at Wimbledon and got himself to the quarter finals where unfortunately this was where his troubles really began as he literally limped to a five set loss at the hands of the American big server, Sam Querrey.
After this, Andy withdrew from the upcoming Masters events but tried to get himself fit to play the US Open as he travelled to New York. However, unfortunately Andy was unable to compete as yet again, his hip problet let him down and he was forced to withdraw a day after the US Open draw had been announced, much to the annoyance of some tennis fans, who had hoped for a Roger vs Rafa final but ended being in the same half of the draw.
Not long after this, Andy confirmed he would miss the Asian swing of the tour and "most likely" would miss the final tournaments of his schedule in Vienna and Paris (he didn't have enough points to qualify for the year end finals at the o2 Arena in London). Andy however did not officially confirm his withdrawal from Vienna and Paris but it was a foregone conclusion that he would miss them anyway, which he did.
Andy however did manage to play his exhibition match with Roger Federer at the Hydro in Glasgow where he did put in a really good performance against the GOAT and took a set off Roger for the first time in three years before he lost in a champions tiebreak. The performance was an encouraging one although it had to be said that Andy's movement was still less than perfect.
And at the end of 2017, Andy went to practise in Abu Dhabi where an exhibition event takes place every year and after Novak Djokovic confirmed his withdrawal from the event, Andy took his place and played a one-set exhibition against the Spaniard, Robert Bautista-Agut. However, the match really highlighted Andy's hip problem once again as there were many points where he fail to chase down balls, which he normally would have gotten to with ease in the past. It was a big step back from his performance in Glasgow and it raised more concerns.
However, despite any fears, Andy still was drawn in the Brisbane International event where he would be expected to play Ryan Harrison in his first official match on the tour since Wimbledon last year. However, Andy once again was left frustrated by his hip injury and he was forced again to withdraw from the tournament and not long after he wrote a heartfelt and emotional post on his Instagram account, expressing his sadness and disappointment at not being able to compete and now he is considering surgery as an option to resolve his hip problem.
Andy also said that he would wait a few days before making his decision wether or not to play in Melbourne for the first major of the year, the Australian open. However, Andy, a few days after, decided to withdraw rather than take any risks and he will now travel back home to seek further advice on how he can move forward with his hip injury.
SO WHAT ARE ANDY'S OPTIONS
So, from here this leaves Andy two options: one, continue with his rehab or two, undergo surgery to resolve the hip injury but there are complications involved with both options. First off with the rehab, Andy has undergone this for the past five months and so far, it has been to no avail, which suggests that rehab is no longer a viable solution to his injury. Andy could try more rehab for a few more months but it looks like inevitably he will be back at square one as soon as he tries to get back on the court.
So, this leaves his only real viable option left: surgery. Now according to what I've been reading, there are two types of surgery that Andy can undergo, one is a surgery that would replace the hip, which would effectively end his career as the recovery time would be too long. The other option is to undergo keyhole surgery, which would see Andy out of the game for at least 6 months. Now, this on paper would sound like the better option but it is still said that there are no 100% guarantees that this will correct the hip injury. However given all that Andy has been through, it would sound like that the keyhole surgery is a gamble that he should possibly consider if he wants to get back on the court sooner rather than later.
IS THIS THE END FOR ANDY???
Well, this is a question neither myself or anyone can really can't answer just now. Andy is not in a good place just now of course and he will want to do all he can to get himself back to full fitness again if he can. I sincerely hope as an Andy Murray fan myself, that Andy still has a few years left in him before he retires. However in order for him to do so, he must now seriously consider whether more rehab or surgery is the way forward and to be honest from what we've seen so far, rehab is not working for him, so surgery looks like his only real option left open to him.
So, I can only hope Andy has some life left in him yet on the tennis court but time will tell as he himself will make a decision on a way forward in the forthcoming weeks. But one thing we do know about Andy Murray is, that his desire to compete and play tennis remains strong as ever and I'm sure he will do all he can to get himself back out and play the sport he loves most.
SIGN OFF
Right, well that's it for now and I will be back again sometime on this blog soon with an update on the Australian open once it get's underway.
So, until then its bye for now!
Sunday, 15 October 2017
Has 2017 been the worst year of tennis ever????????
Well, its been a while since I posted on here but I felt it was time to say something about this year's season in tennis as 2017 has had its share of ups and downs and has seen some of the elite players pull out with injuries. Not only but there are also some other issues to do with the quality of the grand slams this season and the current condition of a legendary rivalry.
So in this post I will ask the question: has 2017 been the worst tennis season ever?????
THE YEAR SO FAR - MURRAY, DJOKOVIC AND WAWRINKA OUT
Well, the year so far has been a pretty unforgiving one especially for three players, firstly the former World No.1, Andy Murray, who had reached the pinnacle of the sport around this time last year as he claimed the year end No.1 spot at the ATP World Tour Finals and remained at the top for almost 10 months.
So first up is Andy Murray, the former World No.1 who has endured a very turbulent year having seen him suffer a series of poor results in tournaments to players such as Borna Coric, Fabio Fognini and Sam Querrey, who are normally players you would expect Andy at the top of his game to defeat with relative ease. This however of course has been largely down to injury and illness as 2017 so far has seen Andy suffer a bout of shingles in February, an elbow injury in March/April, another bout of flu in May and of course a now lingering hip injury since his gruelling defeat to Stan Wawrinka at the French Open semi finals that has prematurely ended his tennis season since. Andy would then go on to lose his No.1 ranking to Rafa in August, which brought Andy's 41 week run at the top to an end.
And since then Andy has faced the prospect of either undergoing surgery to resolve his hip injury or undergo a lengthy period of rehab,which resulted in Andy chosing to the rehab route as after consulting various hip specialists it was believed that the surgery could prove more damaging in the long term. So, now Andy will try and recover in time for the start of the 2018 season next year as he targets to comeback in January at a tournament in Brisbane before heading to Melbourne for the first major of the year.
Novak Djokovic has also endured a pretty bad tennis season that has culminated with him withdrawing just before the US Open with a linger elbow injury. And due to mixed form, Novak has also suffered from surprising defeats most notably at the his most successful grand slam, the Australian Open, where he suffered a shock loss to Denis Istomin in five sets in the 2nd round, which was his earliest exit at a slam for almost 10 years.
Novak also even went as far as to dismiss his entire coaching team that included his long time coach, Marian Vajda and he went to hire former World No.1 and tennis superstar, Andre Agassi in a move that he would have hoped would revitalise his season and career. However not even Agassi was able to turn around some disappointing results for Novak as he suffered a stunning defeat to Dominic Thiem in straight sets, where Novak was handed a bagel set in the 3rd. And despite winning his first grass court warm-up title ever at Eastbourne, Novak then went on to lose to Tomas Berdych at Wimbledon in the quarter finals as he lost the first set then retired with his elbow injury, trailing in the 2nd. This was the same stage that Andy lost at Wimbledon also and since then neither player has played on the tour since.
Stan Wawrinka also has called it quits on his season, which has been pretty up and down also, although he did get off to a strong start at the Australian open where he reached the semi finals and pushed his Swiss compatriot and good friend, Roger Federer the distance in a five setter before he lost. Stan also then went on to enjoy a good run at the French Open as he beat Andy Murray in a thrilling five set match in the semis before he suffered a heavy loss to Rafa in the finals in straight sets. This was the first time that Stan had lost a grand slam final as he had previously a 3-0 record in major finals. Stan then went on to play Wimbledon where he fell at the first hurdle in the one slam that continues to elude his career as he was beaten by the rising star, Daniel Medvedev.
So by the time the US Open was to come around of which Stan was the defending champion, he announced that he would not play the tournament and also that he would end his season due to a lingering knee injury, which he would undergo surgery for.
So, this has seen three of the world's best players (all of whom are multiple grand slam champions) pull out, which really has played its part in hurting this year's season. And being of Andy Murray myself, it has to be said for me the tour just hasn't been the same without him this year as he has given so much to British tennis alone throughout his career. However these three guys withdrawal from the tennis season is just been the tip of the iceberg.
MAJOR(S) DISAPPOINTMENT
Another reason why this season has been a letdown has also come down to the deeply underwhelming grand slam tournaments that we have had in 2017 with the only real exception being the Australian Open final, which produced a thrilling finale between Roger and Rafa that saw these two legends go at it once again.
However, since then the three grand slam finals that proceeded this final have been a big letdown, which saw the French Open finale between Rafa and Stan Wawrinka (the former 2015 champ) square off in what could have been an epic encounter. However on the day, Stan seemed to be dealing with fatigue from his epic battle against Andy Murray in the semi finals and also an inspired Rafa, who played out his skin to demolish Stan in straight sets, who won just a mere six games.
The disappointment then continued in the Wimbledon final when again we were promised an intriguing battle between Roger Federer and Marin Cilic, who played one of the matches of the year last season as Roger came back from the brink of defeat from two sets down to defeat Cilic. However on the day it was not to be for Cilic, who seemed to be suffering from a foot injury that hampered his movement and anything less than 100% against an inspired Roger Federer playing near his very best is simply nowhere near good enough. The match itself reduced Cilic to tears at points as he was frustrated by his lack of ability to compete as he would have wanted and this saw Roger dismiss Cilic again in straight sets to claim his record 8th Wimbledon title.
And last of all is the US Open final, which to be fair was a fairly decent final between Rafa and Kevin Anderson, an unlikely finalist making his first appearance in a major. However the outcome would be inevitable as Anderson had only won a single set against Rafa in all of their previous meetings and this match proved to be no different a result than before as Rafa beat the big South African in straight sets. Despite this though, Anderson still put in a credible effort and did what he could as even though he was outplayed, he never fully wilted and give it his all. However it doesn't change the fact that the final itself was pretty underwhelming and far short of the mark of what it could have been.
So, that's another reason that 2017 has been a letdown although again to be fair, Roger and Rafa could only play who was infront of them and the results are what they are. Its just a shame that these finals couldn't have been that bit more competitive.
LEGENDARY RIVALRY GOING SOUR????
And the last reason why 2017 has been a letdown is of course Roger and Rafa themselves, not in term of their results and titles, which have been far from that but I mean of course their rivalry. After a terrific start to the season, which saw Roger and Rafa roll back the years in their epic Aussie Open final in which Roger came back from the brink of defeat in a decisive 5th set to win the title, their rivalry since has taken a real nose dive in terms of competitiveness. And since then, Roger has won all of their four meetings on hard courts in straight sets in which Rafa has failed to take more than four games off Rog in a whole set!
And this really has been in a way the biggest disappointment of 2017 as their once epic rivalry that saw them regularly pushed each to the limit has since disintegrated into a one horse race for Roger and a series of bruising results for Rafa. And its a real pity to see things go this way for these two legends (well actually I mean Rafa) because when they played their best back in their real heyday there was precious little between them in terms of the scores. Of course this could come down to Roger being the more comfortable on hard courts than Rafa and in quite a few of their previous meetings, Rafa had defeated Roger on clay courts that saw him up his head to head record.
However since that tremendous Aussie Open final this year, a great rivalry has since disappeared and I can only hope that it will come back, because if things carry on like this then Rafa will certainly lose his top spot to Roger by the end of the season.
CONCLUSION
So to conclude has 2017 been the worst tennis season ever???? Well, no not perhaps the worst ever but it certainly remains one of the most disappointing and I can only hope that 2018 will not only see the return of Andy, Novak and Stan but also the return to form of Roger and Rafa's rivalry.
Anyway so that's it for now and I will maybe do another post on here sometime soon.
So until then its bye for now.
So in this post I will ask the question: has 2017 been the worst tennis season ever?????
THE YEAR SO FAR - MURRAY, DJOKOVIC AND WAWRINKA OUT
Well, the year so far has been a pretty unforgiving one especially for three players, firstly the former World No.1, Andy Murray, who had reached the pinnacle of the sport around this time last year as he claimed the year end No.1 spot at the ATP World Tour Finals and remained at the top for almost 10 months.
So first up is Andy Murray, the former World No.1 who has endured a very turbulent year having seen him suffer a series of poor results in tournaments to players such as Borna Coric, Fabio Fognini and Sam Querrey, who are normally players you would expect Andy at the top of his game to defeat with relative ease. This however of course has been largely down to injury and illness as 2017 so far has seen Andy suffer a bout of shingles in February, an elbow injury in March/April, another bout of flu in May and of course a now lingering hip injury since his gruelling defeat to Stan Wawrinka at the French Open semi finals that has prematurely ended his tennis season since. Andy would then go on to lose his No.1 ranking to Rafa in August, which brought Andy's 41 week run at the top to an end.
And since then Andy has faced the prospect of either undergoing surgery to resolve his hip injury or undergo a lengthy period of rehab,which resulted in Andy chosing to the rehab route as after consulting various hip specialists it was believed that the surgery could prove more damaging in the long term. So, now Andy will try and recover in time for the start of the 2018 season next year as he targets to comeback in January at a tournament in Brisbane before heading to Melbourne for the first major of the year.
Novak Djokovic has also endured a pretty bad tennis season that has culminated with him withdrawing just before the US Open with a linger elbow injury. And due to mixed form, Novak has also suffered from surprising defeats most notably at the his most successful grand slam, the Australian Open, where he suffered a shock loss to Denis Istomin in five sets in the 2nd round, which was his earliest exit at a slam for almost 10 years.
Novak also even went as far as to dismiss his entire coaching team that included his long time coach, Marian Vajda and he went to hire former World No.1 and tennis superstar, Andre Agassi in a move that he would have hoped would revitalise his season and career. However not even Agassi was able to turn around some disappointing results for Novak as he suffered a stunning defeat to Dominic Thiem in straight sets, where Novak was handed a bagel set in the 3rd. And despite winning his first grass court warm-up title ever at Eastbourne, Novak then went on to lose to Tomas Berdych at Wimbledon in the quarter finals as he lost the first set then retired with his elbow injury, trailing in the 2nd. This was the same stage that Andy lost at Wimbledon also and since then neither player has played on the tour since.
Stan Wawrinka also has called it quits on his season, which has been pretty up and down also, although he did get off to a strong start at the Australian open where he reached the semi finals and pushed his Swiss compatriot and good friend, Roger Federer the distance in a five setter before he lost. Stan also then went on to enjoy a good run at the French Open as he beat Andy Murray in a thrilling five set match in the semis before he suffered a heavy loss to Rafa in the finals in straight sets. This was the first time that Stan had lost a grand slam final as he had previously a 3-0 record in major finals. Stan then went on to play Wimbledon where he fell at the first hurdle in the one slam that continues to elude his career as he was beaten by the rising star, Daniel Medvedev.
So by the time the US Open was to come around of which Stan was the defending champion, he announced that he would not play the tournament and also that he would end his season due to a lingering knee injury, which he would undergo surgery for.
So, this has seen three of the world's best players (all of whom are multiple grand slam champions) pull out, which really has played its part in hurting this year's season. And being of Andy Murray myself, it has to be said for me the tour just hasn't been the same without him this year as he has given so much to British tennis alone throughout his career. However these three guys withdrawal from the tennis season is just been the tip of the iceberg.
MAJOR(S) DISAPPOINTMENT
Another reason why this season has been a letdown has also come down to the deeply underwhelming grand slam tournaments that we have had in 2017 with the only real exception being the Australian Open final, which produced a thrilling finale between Roger and Rafa that saw these two legends go at it once again.
However, since then the three grand slam finals that proceeded this final have been a big letdown, which saw the French Open finale between Rafa and Stan Wawrinka (the former 2015 champ) square off in what could have been an epic encounter. However on the day, Stan seemed to be dealing with fatigue from his epic battle against Andy Murray in the semi finals and also an inspired Rafa, who played out his skin to demolish Stan in straight sets, who won just a mere six games.
The disappointment then continued in the Wimbledon final when again we were promised an intriguing battle between Roger Federer and Marin Cilic, who played one of the matches of the year last season as Roger came back from the brink of defeat from two sets down to defeat Cilic. However on the day it was not to be for Cilic, who seemed to be suffering from a foot injury that hampered his movement and anything less than 100% against an inspired Roger Federer playing near his very best is simply nowhere near good enough. The match itself reduced Cilic to tears at points as he was frustrated by his lack of ability to compete as he would have wanted and this saw Roger dismiss Cilic again in straight sets to claim his record 8th Wimbledon title.
And last of all is the US Open final, which to be fair was a fairly decent final between Rafa and Kevin Anderson, an unlikely finalist making his first appearance in a major. However the outcome would be inevitable as Anderson had only won a single set against Rafa in all of their previous meetings and this match proved to be no different a result than before as Rafa beat the big South African in straight sets. Despite this though, Anderson still put in a credible effort and did what he could as even though he was outplayed, he never fully wilted and give it his all. However it doesn't change the fact that the final itself was pretty underwhelming and far short of the mark of what it could have been.
So, that's another reason that 2017 has been a letdown although again to be fair, Roger and Rafa could only play who was infront of them and the results are what they are. Its just a shame that these finals couldn't have been that bit more competitive.
LEGENDARY RIVALRY GOING SOUR????
And the last reason why 2017 has been a letdown is of course Roger and Rafa themselves, not in term of their results and titles, which have been far from that but I mean of course their rivalry. After a terrific start to the season, which saw Roger and Rafa roll back the years in their epic Aussie Open final in which Roger came back from the brink of defeat in a decisive 5th set to win the title, their rivalry since has taken a real nose dive in terms of competitiveness. And since then, Roger has won all of their four meetings on hard courts in straight sets in which Rafa has failed to take more than four games off Rog in a whole set!
And this really has been in a way the biggest disappointment of 2017 as their once epic rivalry that saw them regularly pushed each to the limit has since disintegrated into a one horse race for Roger and a series of bruising results for Rafa. And its a real pity to see things go this way for these two legends (well actually I mean Rafa) because when they played their best back in their real heyday there was precious little between them in terms of the scores. Of course this could come down to Roger being the more comfortable on hard courts than Rafa and in quite a few of their previous meetings, Rafa had defeated Roger on clay courts that saw him up his head to head record.
However since that tremendous Aussie Open final this year, a great rivalry has since disappeared and I can only hope that it will come back, because if things carry on like this then Rafa will certainly lose his top spot to Roger by the end of the season.
CONCLUSION
So to conclude has 2017 been the worst tennis season ever???? Well, no not perhaps the worst ever but it certainly remains one of the most disappointing and I can only hope that 2018 will not only see the return of Andy, Novak and Stan but also the return to form of Roger and Rafa's rivalry.
Anyway so that's it for now and I will maybe do another post on here sometime soon.
So until then its bye for now.
Monday, 11 September 2017
2017 US Open Ladies and Mens finals
Right well the 2017 US Open has now finally drawn to a close and in this post I will look at both the ladies and men's singles finals and see who emerged triumphant in New York.
So we'll start with the ladies first....
LADIES FINAL
Right, well the ladies final saw two young American players, who were first time finalists in a major, Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens and they battled it out for their maiden grand slam title.
Or....rather they didn't quite so much as it was a more one-sided match than anyone could have predicted as both ladies have an aggressive playing style, so surely it was bound to a battle of big hitting. However it was Stephens that made the strong start as she broke an ailing Madison Keys, who seemed to be struggling with her movement as her thigh was heavily bandaged and it in part let Stephens take control and claim the 1st set. And in the 2nd set, Keys continued to struggle on her serve as she was broken early on by Stephens again, who by the times was growing fast with confidence and kept her composure as she went on to break Keys again for a double break. And at 5-0 with Keys looking to get a single game on the board, Keys finally capitulated on serve once more and it handed the match to Stephens and the title with it as she claimed her first major title with an emphatic 6-3, 6-0 victory.
Well, it has to be said this was a pretty disappointing final as it promised much with Keys and Stephens both excellent players and it was a pity for Keys that she wasn't able to compete as well as she could as her quad injury contributed to her downfall although Keys also felt nerves played a bigger part in the loss.
However at the same time, we can't take anything away from Sloane Stephens as this was a very impressive win for her, especially given that she had just come back from foot surgery on a protected ranking. And when Stephens first arrived on the scene she was always tipped to win majors and become the next big thing in American tennis after Serena Williams and with this title she has now proven them right. Stephens also deserves a shout out for providing one of the most entertaining post final press conferences where she was asked if the title would inspire her to win more and she said "Are you kidding me??! Of course! Did you see that cheque they handed me?! (3.7 million dollars!) If that doesn't inspire you I don't know what will!".
As for Madison Keys, there is no doubt that this was a tough loss but she has shown that she also the potential to win a grand slam in the future. And it was also nice to see the two women share a moment together after the match on court as they laughed and smiled with each other, chatting, prior to the trophy presentation. So, it was not just a match, it was also a match between two good friends and the respect on both sides was good to see.
MEN'S FINAl
Right, now we get onto the men's final, which was between Rafael Nadal, the two time champion and surprise finalist, the giant serving South African, Kevin Anderson, who was in his first major final. So, this match it had to be said didn't promise to be a class given that Rafa owns Anderson in their head to head with a 4-0 lead going into this match and with Anderson only having a set to his name out all those encounters.
As for the match itself, well it did indeed prove to be a somewhat one-sided encounter as Rafa set about to dominate Anderson from the start. However the first was quite a lengthy one that saw Anderson battle to hold onto his serve to go 3-3 but at 4-3, Anderson was finally broken to let Rafa go 5-3 and he confidently served out the 1st set. In the 2nd set, Rafa really started to boss the match and he broke Anderson once again to take the lead and he soon served out the 2nd set to take the lead even further. And in the 3rd set, Rafa broke Anderson once again at the start although Anderson did keep things close to the single break and even took Rafa to deuce when he served for the match. However it was short lived as Rafa soon confidently served his way out of trouble and with that, he claimed his 3rd US Open title and 16th slam overall as he won the tournament with a very convincing 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 win.
Well, it has to be said this was definitely a better and more competitive match than the ladies final and indeed the previous two men's slam finals but it was still not a classic by any means as it was still a pretty one-sided affair with Rafa bossing Anderson right from the get go. However it was good to see Anderson give it his all as he was never going to be the favourite to win this match and he did the best he could given the circumstances and Rafa's red hot form.
As for Rafa, well this match and indeed the tournament really did show that he is back to his best and he has cemented his No.1 ranking with this win and he should remain in the top spot for a good while longer or at least until the year end ATP World Tour Finals event at the o2 where Roger and Rafa will most likely contend to end the year as No.1. And with Rafa now just 3 slams behind Roger, there is every chance that the Spaniard could catch up Roger and equal his record next year if he plays well enough.
As for Anderson, well no doubt he will be disappointed with the result but he did give it his all in the final and played as well as he could and to even be able to have reached his first major final was a very impressive result in itself. And despite the one-sided scoreline, Anderson never really faded in the match and he tried to stick with Rafa as best he could for which he deserves alot of credit.
Alot of people will of course be disappointed that the final didn't feature Roger and Rafa together but the fact also remains that Roger was not 100% going into this tournament, so there was always the chance that he might not have even reached the final if he were in the opposite side of the draw to Rafa. The tournament itself was also something of a disappointment simply because it was missing three of the top players in Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka, all of whom could have offered a stronger finale than what we got. But in the end the tournament was what it was and Rafa or whoever won it could only play who was infront of them and I mean no disrespect to Kevin Anderson and indeed Rafa for their efforts.
SIGN OFF
Anyway so that's it for 2017's grand slam season and overall it was a bit of a letdown in some ways and its a pity we didn't get better slam finals than we did after the epic Australian open final between Roger and Rafa, which promised so much. Its also been a shame that Andy, Novak and Stan were forced out for the remainder of the season and their presence on court has been missed. But in the end that's the way things go and both Roger and Rafa this year did prove that they are still very much at the fore front of men's tennis and they are't going anywhere just yet as shared the majors together in 2017, which is why they are two greatest players in the men's game.
Anyway, so that's it for now and I will be back again sometime later this season although not sure when on this blog. So all that remains for me to say is congrats to Rafa and Sloane Stephens for their wins and let's hope the remainder of the 2017 season finishes on a strong note.
So, till the next one its bye for now!
So we'll start with the ladies first....
LADIES FINAL
Right, well the ladies final saw two young American players, who were first time finalists in a major, Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens and they battled it out for their maiden grand slam title.
Or....rather they didn't quite so much as it was a more one-sided match than anyone could have predicted as both ladies have an aggressive playing style, so surely it was bound to a battle of big hitting. However it was Stephens that made the strong start as she broke an ailing Madison Keys, who seemed to be struggling with her movement as her thigh was heavily bandaged and it in part let Stephens take control and claim the 1st set. And in the 2nd set, Keys continued to struggle on her serve as she was broken early on by Stephens again, who by the times was growing fast with confidence and kept her composure as she went on to break Keys again for a double break. And at 5-0 with Keys looking to get a single game on the board, Keys finally capitulated on serve once more and it handed the match to Stephens and the title with it as she claimed her first major title with an emphatic 6-3, 6-0 victory.
Well, it has to be said this was a pretty disappointing final as it promised much with Keys and Stephens both excellent players and it was a pity for Keys that she wasn't able to compete as well as she could as her quad injury contributed to her downfall although Keys also felt nerves played a bigger part in the loss.
However at the same time, we can't take anything away from Sloane Stephens as this was a very impressive win for her, especially given that she had just come back from foot surgery on a protected ranking. And when Stephens first arrived on the scene she was always tipped to win majors and become the next big thing in American tennis after Serena Williams and with this title she has now proven them right. Stephens also deserves a shout out for providing one of the most entertaining post final press conferences where she was asked if the title would inspire her to win more and she said "Are you kidding me??! Of course! Did you see that cheque they handed me?! (3.7 million dollars!) If that doesn't inspire you I don't know what will!".
As for Madison Keys, there is no doubt that this was a tough loss but she has shown that she also the potential to win a grand slam in the future. And it was also nice to see the two women share a moment together after the match on court as they laughed and smiled with each other, chatting, prior to the trophy presentation. So, it was not just a match, it was also a match between two good friends and the respect on both sides was good to see.
MEN'S FINAl
Right, now we get onto the men's final, which was between Rafael Nadal, the two time champion and surprise finalist, the giant serving South African, Kevin Anderson, who was in his first major final. So, this match it had to be said didn't promise to be a class given that Rafa owns Anderson in their head to head with a 4-0 lead going into this match and with Anderson only having a set to his name out all those encounters.
As for the match itself, well it did indeed prove to be a somewhat one-sided encounter as Rafa set about to dominate Anderson from the start. However the first was quite a lengthy one that saw Anderson battle to hold onto his serve to go 3-3 but at 4-3, Anderson was finally broken to let Rafa go 5-3 and he confidently served out the 1st set. In the 2nd set, Rafa really started to boss the match and he broke Anderson once again to take the lead and he soon served out the 2nd set to take the lead even further. And in the 3rd set, Rafa broke Anderson once again at the start although Anderson did keep things close to the single break and even took Rafa to deuce when he served for the match. However it was short lived as Rafa soon confidently served his way out of trouble and with that, he claimed his 3rd US Open title and 16th slam overall as he won the tournament with a very convincing 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 win.
Well, it has to be said this was definitely a better and more competitive match than the ladies final and indeed the previous two men's slam finals but it was still not a classic by any means as it was still a pretty one-sided affair with Rafa bossing Anderson right from the get go. However it was good to see Anderson give it his all as he was never going to be the favourite to win this match and he did the best he could given the circumstances and Rafa's red hot form.
As for Rafa, well this match and indeed the tournament really did show that he is back to his best and he has cemented his No.1 ranking with this win and he should remain in the top spot for a good while longer or at least until the year end ATP World Tour Finals event at the o2 where Roger and Rafa will most likely contend to end the year as No.1. And with Rafa now just 3 slams behind Roger, there is every chance that the Spaniard could catch up Roger and equal his record next year if he plays well enough.
As for Anderson, well no doubt he will be disappointed with the result but he did give it his all in the final and played as well as he could and to even be able to have reached his first major final was a very impressive result in itself. And despite the one-sided scoreline, Anderson never really faded in the match and he tried to stick with Rafa as best he could for which he deserves alot of credit.
Alot of people will of course be disappointed that the final didn't feature Roger and Rafa together but the fact also remains that Roger was not 100% going into this tournament, so there was always the chance that he might not have even reached the final if he were in the opposite side of the draw to Rafa. The tournament itself was also something of a disappointment simply because it was missing three of the top players in Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka, all of whom could have offered a stronger finale than what we got. But in the end the tournament was what it was and Rafa or whoever won it could only play who was infront of them and I mean no disrespect to Kevin Anderson and indeed Rafa for their efforts.
SIGN OFF
Anyway so that's it for 2017's grand slam season and overall it was a bit of a letdown in some ways and its a pity we didn't get better slam finals than we did after the epic Australian open final between Roger and Rafa, which promised so much. Its also been a shame that Andy, Novak and Stan were forced out for the remainder of the season and their presence on court has been missed. But in the end that's the way things go and both Roger and Rafa this year did prove that they are still very much at the fore front of men's tennis and they are't going anywhere just yet as shared the majors together in 2017, which is why they are two greatest players in the men's game.
Anyway, so that's it for now and I will be back again sometime later this season although not sure when on this blog. So all that remains for me to say is congrats to Rafa and Sloane Stephens for their wins and let's hope the remainder of the 2017 season finishes on a strong note.
So, till the next one its bye for now!
Sunday, 10 September 2017
2017 US Open Men's - everything so far up to the semi finals
Right, so now its time for my look at the men's tournament so far at this year's US Open, the final grand slam of the season. So without any further delay let's take a look and see how it has gone so far....
SEEDS WITHDRAWN
Right, to start off I thought I would make a mention of the top seeds that dropped out before the tournament began.
First off is Andy Murray, who withdrew due to a lingering hip injury as he even travelled to New York to try and be ready in time, however he announced just a day after the draw had been made that his hip was too sore to compete, so he decided to pull out. This left alot of people annoyed given that he withdrew after the draw was made, which meant Roger and Rafa would be seeded 1 and 3 instead of 1 and 2, meaning they would meet in the same half of the draw in the semis potentially. Andy has since then confirmed he will "most likely" miss out the rest of the season to recover from his hip injury, which pretty much means his 2017 tennis season is over and I would be very surprised if he were to play again this year.
As for the other seeds that withdrew, Novak Djokovic also announced prior to the tournament that he is out for the season due to an ongoing elbow injury that hampered his progress at Wimbledon as he was forced to retire in the quarter finals there and hasn't played a match since. Stan Wawrinka, the defending champion also confirmed his withdrawal for the rest of the season due to an ongoing knee injury. Kei Nishikori also similarly ended his season early prior to the US Open also due to injury as he had sustained a wrist injury that saw him pull out of Cincinnati and later he confirmed his season ending after that. And lastly, Milos Raonic pulled out of the US Open also with a wrist injury although he is yet to confirm if he will return to the tour or not later this season.
SEEDS OUT EARLY ON IN 1st WEEK
Next up I will be looking at the top seeds that have been upset and gone out early on in the tournament.
First up was Alexander Zverev, who was tipped as one of the favourites for the title given that he had already won his second Masters title in Montreal last month he looked to be in great form coming into New York. However, Zverev came undone against the young Croatian, Borna Coric, who stunned the 4th seed in four tight sets as Coric dropped the opening set and went on to win the next three tiebreak sets to stun Zverev with a 3-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6 win.
Next was Grigor Dimitrov who also was a strong favourite going into New York as he had won his maiden Masters title in Cincinnati and already had reached the semi finals of the Australian open earlier in the year. However, Dimitrov this time around was stunned by the Russian teenager, Andrey Rublev, who dominated Dimitrov in a straight set win 7-5, 7-6, 6-3.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also succumbed to an early defeat as he faced new kid on the block, Denis Shapovalov from Canada, who has made a name for himself this summer so far having defeated Rafa on his home soil in Monteral (Denis that is not Rafa's soil!). Shapovalov showed his class and new found confidence as he beat Tsonga in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, 7-6.
Tomas Berdych also fell early on in the 2nd round as he was beaten by the flamboyant, Alexandr Dolgopolov in a four set match that saw the "Dog" re-established some form after he had been questioned for match fixing in a previous tournament in Winston Salem. But here the "Dog" beat Berdych with a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-2 result.
Nick Kyrgios continued his poor form in the slams this season as he crashed out in the 1st round to fellow Aussie player, John Millman in four sets in a match that saw him struggle with a leg injury and ultimately it was his downfall as he lost to Millman who won in 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1. This poor run of form in the slams this year has seen Kyrgios fail to even get past the 2nd round in any of the majors.
John Isner also suffered an early(ish) exit in the 3rd round as he was beaten by Mischa Zverev who previously already defeated the big American and this time he went down in straight sets to Zverev who came through with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 win.
And last but not least is one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, Marin Cilic, the former 2014 champion, who was tipped to make a great run this year as he took place of Andy in the bottom half of the draw as he could have faced either Roger or Rafa in the final potentially. However, Cilic came undone against possibly the smallest player on the men's tour, Diego Schwartman, who stunned Cilic in four sets to win from a set down in 4-6 7-5, 7-5, 6-4.
MATCH OF THE TOURNAMENT SO FAR
Oh and a special mention I thought I would give a shout out to this stunning match, which has to be the best match of the tournament so far (and indeed maybe the whole event!) which was between Dominic Thiem and Juan Martin del Potro as they clashed in the 4th round.
This match started off with Thiem dominating an ill Delpo, who had been struggling with the flu and had to take medication during the match, which saw him trail two sets to love quickly. However, despite fears of del Potro retiring, he managed to battle on and he clawed his way back into the match as he broke Dom twice in the 3rd set. In the 4th set however, fatigued took hold of Delpo again as he went down a break but at 5-3, Thiem was unable to serve out the match and Delpo broke back and play then went on into a thrilling tiebreak where Delpo turned the set around and levelled the match. In the 5th set the racuous crowd (mainly comprising of Argentines!) were thrilled by a high level of tennis from both players that saw a tense and close set go down to the wire and it was only concluded by a cruel double fault on Thiem's serve at 4-5 to hand Delpo a stunning comeback win with a scoreline of 1-6, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-4.
Well, I think this match will be hard to top in the tournament so far and it really was quite a spectacle for the crowd and it once again showed what a real warrior, Del Potro really is when his back is against the wall. And the match was yet another reminder as to just why he is one of the most popular and likeable players on the tour. As for Thiem it was a real pity that the match had to end this way for him having been in a winning position only to lose it and double fault to lose the match, however he still played his part in an incredible and memorable encounter.
QUARTER FINAL OPPONENTS GONE OUT
Next I look at the quarter final opponents who went out in the last eight, starting with Andrey Rublev, who was beaten by a dominant looking Rafael Nadal who beat the inexperienced Russian teenager, who was into his first slam quarter final, with a convincing win of 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.
Sam Querrey next was also defeated at the hands of Kevin Anderson, the big South African in what was a real battle of the serves with both men reigning them down with three tiebreaks alone, all of which were pretty epic and intense. But in the end it was Anderson, who reigned better on serve as he won a very tight contest in 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 to reach his first slam semi final.
Diego Schwartzman also went out to the in form and very consistent Spaniard, Pablo Carreno-Busta, who proved too much for the dimunitive Argentine and he dispatched him in straight sets to reach his first slam semi final in straight sets with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 scoreline.
And last of all, we had the biggest upset so far of the tournament in the quarter finals as Roger Federer faced Juan Martin del Potro in a match that promised much and certainly delivered at times. Although the match was a bit up and down in quality, it was gripping nevertheless and big Delpo pulled out a stunning win over an admittedly ailing Federer, who was struggling with his back a little (as he had throughout the tournament) but in the end the big Argentine came through in four with a 7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 victory.
SEMI FINAL MATCHES
Well let's take a look at the men's semi final matches.
Kevin Anderson vs Pablo Carreno-Busta
First up is a semi final that featured two rather unlikely opponents, the big South African, Kevin Anderson and the in form Spaniard, Pablo Carreno-Busta, who had previously reached the French open quarter finals this year. Anderson however did have the advantage going into this match as he already had won their only previous two matches both in straight sets.
But it was Carreno-Busta that made the better start this time as he took his first set ever against Kevin Anderson in any of their meetings with Anderson looking a bit nervous at the start as he was broken to go down a set. In the 2nd set however, Anderson made a breakthrough on Busta's serve and he broke the Spaniard to go 3-1 but it was shortlived as Carreno-Busa broke back. But at 5-6, Anderson pounced once again and finally got the break and the set as he levelled the match with this being the first set that Carreno-Busta dropped all tournament. And from hereon in, Anderson bossed the match with his powerful serves and forehand and he went on to break in sets 3 and 4 to seal a place in his first grand slam final with an impressive 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Well this was quite an achievement for Kevin Anderson, who had only ever been in one slam quarter final prior to this tournament, which was at the US Open two years ago where he beat Andy Murray enroute to reach the quarter finals that year. So, its great to see someone new also make their breakthrough to the final of a slam rather than the usual suspects. As for Carreno-Busta despite the loss, he still played a great tournament and shows much promise for the future in the majors.
Rafael Nadal vs Juan Martin del Potro
And the second semi final was between Rafa and Delpo, as the two men faced off each other in what promised to be quite an epic clash, which saw Delpo actually deny the US Open crowd a chance to see Roger and Rafa face off each for the first time in the tournament's history.
As for the match itself, well it didn't quite live up to expectations as despite a strong start from Delpo, who broke Rafa to win the first set, after that it was pretty much all Rafa as Delpo was struggling physically after his efforts in his matches with Thiem and Federer. And in the 2nd set, Rafa went on to hand a bagel set to Delpo before he then went on to dominate sets 3 and 4 and he conceded only five more games before he reached his fourth US Open final with a convincing 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 win.
Well, this match was a bit of a letdown in the end but in a way it was no surprise that Rafa would boss it given that Delpo was so fatigued after the gruelling path he had in order to get to this stage, especially as he faced the exit door against Dominic Thiem in the 4th round being two sets to love down. However it did also show once again that Rafa is really getting back to his best and right now he is looking very convincing as the World No.1.
THE MEN'S FINAL PREDICTION
Right so this sets up the final between Rafa and Kevin Anderson and well...to be entirely honest their head to head is very much in Rafa's favour as he leads 4-0 and has only dropped a single set against the South African, so already it looks to be in Rafa's favour. However at the same time, Anderson has done incredibly well to get this far and he has shown great resilience in all his matches, rather than get down on himself when he was in a losing position, he fought his way back into every match to give himself a chance to be in this position.
But as to how the match itself will go...well I have to really side with Rafa on this one as their head to head speaks volumes, not only that, Rafa has far more experienced in playing slam finals than Anderson, as its a case of 23-1 in his favour! And if Anderson is to have any chance then he is going to have to hit outright winners from the start and ensure everything goes in. However as we have seen with the big hitters so far this year against Rafa, they always tend to go for too much on their shots and make errors that end up costing them, so I can potentially see Anderson do the same here.
So for my actual prediction I think Rafa will most likely win this one in straight sets, as I really can't see Anderson compete with Rafa to a high enough level to actually beat him in his current form. It is possible however that Anderson could nab a set here if he plays well enough but I really can't see him go beyond that. So, for me I think at the end of the match we will see Rafa clinch his 3rd US Open title and bring himself just three slams short of equalling Roger's record of 19.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it so far and I will be back soon with the results of both the ladies and men's singles finals from the US Open.
Until then its bye for now!
SEEDS WITHDRAWN
Right, to start off I thought I would make a mention of the top seeds that dropped out before the tournament began.
First off is Andy Murray, who withdrew due to a lingering hip injury as he even travelled to New York to try and be ready in time, however he announced just a day after the draw had been made that his hip was too sore to compete, so he decided to pull out. This left alot of people annoyed given that he withdrew after the draw was made, which meant Roger and Rafa would be seeded 1 and 3 instead of 1 and 2, meaning they would meet in the same half of the draw in the semis potentially. Andy has since then confirmed he will "most likely" miss out the rest of the season to recover from his hip injury, which pretty much means his 2017 tennis season is over and I would be very surprised if he were to play again this year.
As for the other seeds that withdrew, Novak Djokovic also announced prior to the tournament that he is out for the season due to an ongoing elbow injury that hampered his progress at Wimbledon as he was forced to retire in the quarter finals there and hasn't played a match since. Stan Wawrinka, the defending champion also confirmed his withdrawal for the rest of the season due to an ongoing knee injury. Kei Nishikori also similarly ended his season early prior to the US Open also due to injury as he had sustained a wrist injury that saw him pull out of Cincinnati and later he confirmed his season ending after that. And lastly, Milos Raonic pulled out of the US Open also with a wrist injury although he is yet to confirm if he will return to the tour or not later this season.
SEEDS OUT EARLY ON IN 1st WEEK
Next up I will be looking at the top seeds that have been upset and gone out early on in the tournament.
First up was Alexander Zverev, who was tipped as one of the favourites for the title given that he had already won his second Masters title in Montreal last month he looked to be in great form coming into New York. However, Zverev came undone against the young Croatian, Borna Coric, who stunned the 4th seed in four tight sets as Coric dropped the opening set and went on to win the next three tiebreak sets to stun Zverev with a 3-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6 win.
Next was Grigor Dimitrov who also was a strong favourite going into New York as he had won his maiden Masters title in Cincinnati and already had reached the semi finals of the Australian open earlier in the year. However, Dimitrov this time around was stunned by the Russian teenager, Andrey Rublev, who dominated Dimitrov in a straight set win 7-5, 7-6, 6-3.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also succumbed to an early defeat as he faced new kid on the block, Denis Shapovalov from Canada, who has made a name for himself this summer so far having defeated Rafa on his home soil in Monteral (Denis that is not Rafa's soil!). Shapovalov showed his class and new found confidence as he beat Tsonga in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, 7-6.
Tomas Berdych also fell early on in the 2nd round as he was beaten by the flamboyant, Alexandr Dolgopolov in a four set match that saw the "Dog" re-established some form after he had been questioned for match fixing in a previous tournament in Winston Salem. But here the "Dog" beat Berdych with a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-2 result.
Nick Kyrgios continued his poor form in the slams this season as he crashed out in the 1st round to fellow Aussie player, John Millman in four sets in a match that saw him struggle with a leg injury and ultimately it was his downfall as he lost to Millman who won in 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1. This poor run of form in the slams this year has seen Kyrgios fail to even get past the 2nd round in any of the majors.
John Isner also suffered an early(ish) exit in the 3rd round as he was beaten by Mischa Zverev who previously already defeated the big American and this time he went down in straight sets to Zverev who came through with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 win.
And last but not least is one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, Marin Cilic, the former 2014 champion, who was tipped to make a great run this year as he took place of Andy in the bottom half of the draw as he could have faced either Roger or Rafa in the final potentially. However, Cilic came undone against possibly the smallest player on the men's tour, Diego Schwartman, who stunned Cilic in four sets to win from a set down in 4-6 7-5, 7-5, 6-4.
MATCH OF THE TOURNAMENT SO FAR
Oh and a special mention I thought I would give a shout out to this stunning match, which has to be the best match of the tournament so far (and indeed maybe the whole event!) which was between Dominic Thiem and Juan Martin del Potro as they clashed in the 4th round.
This match started off with Thiem dominating an ill Delpo, who had been struggling with the flu and had to take medication during the match, which saw him trail two sets to love quickly. However, despite fears of del Potro retiring, he managed to battle on and he clawed his way back into the match as he broke Dom twice in the 3rd set. In the 4th set however, fatigued took hold of Delpo again as he went down a break but at 5-3, Thiem was unable to serve out the match and Delpo broke back and play then went on into a thrilling tiebreak where Delpo turned the set around and levelled the match. In the 5th set the racuous crowd (mainly comprising of Argentines!) were thrilled by a high level of tennis from both players that saw a tense and close set go down to the wire and it was only concluded by a cruel double fault on Thiem's serve at 4-5 to hand Delpo a stunning comeback win with a scoreline of 1-6, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-4.
Well, I think this match will be hard to top in the tournament so far and it really was quite a spectacle for the crowd and it once again showed what a real warrior, Del Potro really is when his back is against the wall. And the match was yet another reminder as to just why he is one of the most popular and likeable players on the tour. As for Thiem it was a real pity that the match had to end this way for him having been in a winning position only to lose it and double fault to lose the match, however he still played his part in an incredible and memorable encounter.
QUARTER FINAL OPPONENTS GONE OUT
Next I look at the quarter final opponents who went out in the last eight, starting with Andrey Rublev, who was beaten by a dominant looking Rafael Nadal who beat the inexperienced Russian teenager, who was into his first slam quarter final, with a convincing win of 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.
Sam Querrey next was also defeated at the hands of Kevin Anderson, the big South African in what was a real battle of the serves with both men reigning them down with three tiebreaks alone, all of which were pretty epic and intense. But in the end it was Anderson, who reigned better on serve as he won a very tight contest in 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 to reach his first slam semi final.
Diego Schwartzman also went out to the in form and very consistent Spaniard, Pablo Carreno-Busta, who proved too much for the dimunitive Argentine and he dispatched him in straight sets to reach his first slam semi final in straight sets with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 scoreline.
And last of all, we had the biggest upset so far of the tournament in the quarter finals as Roger Federer faced Juan Martin del Potro in a match that promised much and certainly delivered at times. Although the match was a bit up and down in quality, it was gripping nevertheless and big Delpo pulled out a stunning win over an admittedly ailing Federer, who was struggling with his back a little (as he had throughout the tournament) but in the end the big Argentine came through in four with a 7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 victory.
SEMI FINAL MATCHES
Well let's take a look at the men's semi final matches.
Kevin Anderson vs Pablo Carreno-Busta
First up is a semi final that featured two rather unlikely opponents, the big South African, Kevin Anderson and the in form Spaniard, Pablo Carreno-Busta, who had previously reached the French open quarter finals this year. Anderson however did have the advantage going into this match as he already had won their only previous two matches both in straight sets.
But it was Carreno-Busta that made the better start this time as he took his first set ever against Kevin Anderson in any of their meetings with Anderson looking a bit nervous at the start as he was broken to go down a set. In the 2nd set however, Anderson made a breakthrough on Busta's serve and he broke the Spaniard to go 3-1 but it was shortlived as Carreno-Busa broke back. But at 5-6, Anderson pounced once again and finally got the break and the set as he levelled the match with this being the first set that Carreno-Busta dropped all tournament. And from hereon in, Anderson bossed the match with his powerful serves and forehand and he went on to break in sets 3 and 4 to seal a place in his first grand slam final with an impressive 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Well this was quite an achievement for Kevin Anderson, who had only ever been in one slam quarter final prior to this tournament, which was at the US Open two years ago where he beat Andy Murray enroute to reach the quarter finals that year. So, its great to see someone new also make their breakthrough to the final of a slam rather than the usual suspects. As for Carreno-Busta despite the loss, he still played a great tournament and shows much promise for the future in the majors.
Rafael Nadal vs Juan Martin del Potro
And the second semi final was between Rafa and Delpo, as the two men faced off each other in what promised to be quite an epic clash, which saw Delpo actually deny the US Open crowd a chance to see Roger and Rafa face off each for the first time in the tournament's history.
As for the match itself, well it didn't quite live up to expectations as despite a strong start from Delpo, who broke Rafa to win the first set, after that it was pretty much all Rafa as Delpo was struggling physically after his efforts in his matches with Thiem and Federer. And in the 2nd set, Rafa went on to hand a bagel set to Delpo before he then went on to dominate sets 3 and 4 and he conceded only five more games before he reached his fourth US Open final with a convincing 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 win.
Well, this match was a bit of a letdown in the end but in a way it was no surprise that Rafa would boss it given that Delpo was so fatigued after the gruelling path he had in order to get to this stage, especially as he faced the exit door against Dominic Thiem in the 4th round being two sets to love down. However it did also show once again that Rafa is really getting back to his best and right now he is looking very convincing as the World No.1.
THE MEN'S FINAL PREDICTION
Right so this sets up the final between Rafa and Kevin Anderson and well...to be entirely honest their head to head is very much in Rafa's favour as he leads 4-0 and has only dropped a single set against the South African, so already it looks to be in Rafa's favour. However at the same time, Anderson has done incredibly well to get this far and he has shown great resilience in all his matches, rather than get down on himself when he was in a losing position, he fought his way back into every match to give himself a chance to be in this position.
But as to how the match itself will go...well I have to really side with Rafa on this one as their head to head speaks volumes, not only that, Rafa has far more experienced in playing slam finals than Anderson, as its a case of 23-1 in his favour! And if Anderson is to have any chance then he is going to have to hit outright winners from the start and ensure everything goes in. However as we have seen with the big hitters so far this year against Rafa, they always tend to go for too much on their shots and make errors that end up costing them, so I can potentially see Anderson do the same here.
So for my actual prediction I think Rafa will most likely win this one in straight sets, as I really can't see Anderson compete with Rafa to a high enough level to actually beat him in his current form. It is possible however that Anderson could nab a set here if he plays well enough but I really can't see him go beyond that. So, for me I think at the end of the match we will see Rafa clinch his 3rd US Open title and bring himself just three slams short of equalling Roger's record of 19.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it so far and I will be back soon with the results of both the ladies and men's singles finals from the US Open.
Until then its bye for now!
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