Tennis corner post: Is Djokovic ruining the men's game?????

Right just for a change I thought I would do a post of a different ilk than the usual review of the grand slams or Davis cup.  And this post will be about the dominance of the men's game by the current World No.1, Novak Djokovic. 

So the question begs to be asked????  Is Djokovic ruining the men's game???  We'll let's take a look at some of the facts and results and find out....

Well to start off its no mistake or delusion that Novak Djokovic is the world's best player and since last year he has become a truly dominant force in the sport.  Last year saw Djokovic have the best season of his career so far, topping even his incredible run in 2011 as he won 11 titles last year, as opposed to 10 in 2011. 

In 2015, Djokovic amassed three out of the four grand slams, and he reached all four slam finals only missing out at the French open where he was hotly tipped to win it after he defeated Rafa in the quarter finals but he ended up second best to Stan Wawrinka in the final.  Djokovic also a record six out of the nine 1000 Masters series titles in one season too, which was unheard of throughout one season and he also nabbed his 5th year end ATP World Tour Finals championship title.  Djokovic himself declared his best ever season especially he had become a father and was happily married also, life couldn't have been more complete for one player.

And 2016 looks to be shaping up in the same way as Novak started off strong by demolishing Rafa in the final of Doha before going on to claim his 6th Australian open title in Melbourne, defeating Andy Murray in straight sets (who was a record 5th time runner up at the event).  Novak also went on to pull off the back to back Masters title wins at Indian Wells and Miami, like he did the previous two years before.  And with his win in Miami this year, Djokovic has surpassed Rafa's record of 27 Masters titles and he now holds 28, which puts him right at the top of the record board.  And at this rate with the clay court season coming up, Novak will most likely continue his formidable form on the red dirt too.

Soooo with all this in mind it really does make you wonder if Novak's incredible dominant form is good for the current men's game????  Well yes and no.  Yes in that its great to see one player raise his game to new heights and raise the bar and set new standards that could ultimately see Novak even surpass Roger Federer's record of 17 grand slam titles.  And if he does that then Novak will undboutedly become the world's greatest player of all time. 

But on the other hand in keeping up this form, Novak is also killing off alot of the competition in the men's game at the top.  His form has proven just too good for everyone else to handle with only the odd rare defeat at the hands of Roger, Andy or even Stan Wawrinka being the only blips in his season, but everyone else just can't cope with his game.  And this could really threaten to turn off alot of fans from the sport as every big tournament now where Novak competes, just seems to be a formality, which inevitably ends with him lifting the trophy. 

And any tournament Novak enters, it just appears to be a one horse race with no other players in the mix to keep him from claiming yet another title.  So from that perspective it does suck the excitment out of the game as the men's game has just become too predictable and one-sided.  And from this perspective that certainly isn't good for the sport as tennis, or any sport for that matter, needs rivalries, it needs challengers to rise to the occassion against the best player(s) in the world and without that challenge it seems pointless to follow.

However even if Novak's 2016 turns out to be just as dominant as last year, you can hardly blame him for playing great tennis and its not his fault that he stands head and shoulders over everyone else, he's worked hard to get the top spot and to keep it, so he does deserve his success.  But in a way as Tim Henman once said his success at times seems to be at odds with his popularity as in the public eye, Novak was never given as much love and support as Roger or Rafa received and in a way he has become the victim of his own success.     

And in 2016 Novak has two specific challenges he wants to conquer, namely the French open and also the Olympic gold medal both of which elude him.  However it is a fairly safe bet that Novak can clinch both of these titles also not to mention that Serbia will take on the defending champions of the Davis cup, Great Britain, with the Serbian team playing from home and with Djokovic in their team, they are sure favourites to win that too.  And if he caps all three then surely this will be his best ever season.

Sooooo to answer the question again???  Is Novak ruining the men's game???  As it stands currently, no he isn't, but if one dominant player who plays ominpotently keeps dominating through and through then it could definitely hurt the appeal of the sport and it will turn alot of fans off it which would be a great pity given how exciting and competitive a sport tennis is.  And the only answer to this issue would be to see the new or current top players rise to the challenge of competing with Djokovic.  Its a mighty big ask but let's hope that in the future, tennis will continue to be exciting and competitive and see the world's best be given a challenge.

Right well that's it for now and I will be back on here sometime in the near future, maybe to do a French open preview of the top contenders for the men's title (guess who will be at the top of that list! ;-)).

So until the next one its bye fer now!            

    

2015 Australian Open men's and ladies finals: Upsets and 5th time's a charm????

Right well this will be my last post on the 2016 Australian open as the finals have now been played on both the men's and ladies side of the net so its time to find out who won the titles.

Ladies final 

So to start off we had the ladies which saw the world no.1, Serena Williams aiming for her 22nd grand slam title who took on Angelique Kerber of Germany, the 7th seed who was in her first ever grand slam final.  So on paper given that they had a 6-1 head to head in Serena's favour it looked to be a match that she was sure to win.  Or was it?

As for the match itself well it was a highly entertaining contest between the two players and Kerber came out firing, showing virtually no nerves in her first major final so much she was she able to break Serena to move ahead in the match and she served it to take the opening set.  In the 2nd set however the Serena comeback started as despite going down an early break, she wrestled it back and then went on to break Kerber herself to level the match at a set all.  And in the 3rd set Kerber took an early lead 2-0 to nudge her closer to her first major triumph against the world's best (and pretty much greatest) player.  And Kerber at 5-3 was serving for the title but then Serena wasn't quite done as she managed to break back again and things were back on serve.  However Kerber in the next game did the unthinkable and she managed to break Serena to seal her first grand slam title as she won the Australian open ladies singles title with a hard fought 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory.

Well there wasn't much doubt that this was an excellent final and one of the best matches of the tournament on the ladies side and it was an upset which I'm sure most people didn't see coming especially as Serena looked to be getting back into the match in the 3rd set only to let it go all of a sudden.  And Kerber showed great tenacity and belief on the court and despite it being her debut major final, she looked like a veteran out there who knew exactly how to play the big points and in the end it was a victory that was well deserved.

So Serena will need to carry on waiting to try and seal her 22nd grand slam title to level Stefi Graf's record and she will need two more after that to equal Margaret Court's record of 24.  But Serena to her credit was very gracious in her defeat and she showed her support to Kerber when they shared a hug at the net and she often has a good rapport with alot of the female players on the tour and despite any of her flaws, its great to see her offer that support.  And no doubt I'm sure Serena will be back again at the French open with a strong chance to equal Stefi Graff and if not surely at a later date this year.

As for Kerber well this was a terrific victory and it showed she really had arrived as a tennis player and I always thought that Kerber was capable of winning a slam and she had that something about her.  And this had been the case since she reached her maiden slam semi final at the US Open four years ago and she went on to burst onto the scene in 2013 to become a top 10 player where she beat various top players including Serena Williams.  And given this form there is no reason that Kerber can't go on to win more grand slams this season especially as she will now rise up to No.2 in the world rankings as of Monday.  So Angie, who is also one of the nicest players on the women's tour, deserves nothing but credit for her win and may it be the start of more.

Men's final

Rrrrrrright so this takes us onto the men's final which was the latest chapter in the epic rivalry that is Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.  Novak going into this match was looking to win his sixth Australian open title whereas Andy was looking to lift his first having reached five finals and lost the previous four (three of them to Novak).  So this was a match that had much riding on it for both players and promised to deliver much.

However the match itself was a bit of a mixed bag and wasn't quite the epic contest we could have hoped for as it started with Andy getting off to a terrible start against Novak as he made a catalogue of unforced errors and soon found himself down a double break in the first set which saw Novak close it out with ease in just 30 minutes.  The 2nd set however was more competitive as Andy started to find his game although he went a break down early in the set he broke back and pushed play to 5-5 but unfortunatley he was broken again by Novak who went on to grab the two sets to love lead.  And in the 3rd set it looked to be curtains for Andy as he went down an early break again 3-4 but he soon found the resolve and broke Novak again to get back on level terms.  And play then went to a tiebreak where unfortunately for Andy, Nole proved the stronger of the two as Andy missed two serves, Nole comfortably served out the title with an ace that saw him seal his sixth Australian title with a convincing 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) win.

Well while this was for the most part quite an entertaining and competitive match its outcome was pretty disappointing in the end (well for Andy certainly!) as Andy seemed to wilt badly in the match's decisive tiebreak.  The match got off to a puzzling start from the British No.1 also as he made a series of unforced errors that saw him practically give the match away to Novak there and then!  And I even wondered if nerves were playing a part on Andy in that opening set as he seemed unusually on edge given his experience in grand slam finals.

It might also have been due to do with the exertions of his previous match with Raonic not to mention the stresses he has had to deal with off court with his father in-law, Nigel Sears, collapsing during an Ana Ivanovic match (whom he coaches) the previous week.  In fact it was a situation that could well have forced Andy to pull out of the tournament.  However Andy did compete well in the 2nd and 3rd sets and the two men exchanged some excellent rallies that at times turned the match into an absorbing contest but it was just a pity that Andy couldn't maintain it.

As for Novak well this was an incredible result and a great victory that now sees him tie the record for six Australian open titles along side Roy Emerson (who sadly was unable to attend the final due to a family tragedy as his son, aged only 52 had passed away prior to the final).  And Novak now stands at 11 grand slams in total which brings on a par with Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg and the guy is showing no signs of slowing down!  And if Novak does keep this up then he will surely surpass Roger's record of 17 quite soon and will surely get the calendar slam if he wins the French open title, which would surely secure his name among the true greats of the game.

The only downside I see to Novak's dominance however is that it threatens to make the sport less compelling to watch because if one man is just going to dominate the sport then there is less appeal to watching the sport.  Sport needs rivalries and tennis is one sport that is famed for its great rivalries over the years and for quite a few years in tennis we have been treated to the "big four".  However with Djokovic now having asserted his supremacy in the tennis world it has seen him squash the resistance of his other three main rivals which means its no longer the big four and now only "the big one".  And if that continues and Djokovic has no worthy rivals coming his way then it will see the sport become a bore to watch and that is something that tennis should never be given how great a sport it is.  So let's just hope that while Djokovic undoubtedly deserves his success, that it doesn't overwhelm and cancel out other peoples interest in it as the game needs new rivals to emerge to keep things fresh and interesting.

As for Andy well its a shame he lost the match in the manner that he did as I predicted myself that he would at least win a set, and well he did come close to doing that in sets two and three but ultimately it was that slow start that really hurt him in that final as he has never in his career beaten Novak from a set down.  So once the first set went awol there never really was a chance for Andy to really win the match.  However despite being straight sets, Andy did at least succeed in keeping Novak on court a good half hour or so longer than Roger Federer did in their semi final so at least he did that and it felt closer and more competitive than Novak and Roger's match was.   

And losing five straight Australian open finals is a tough one to take for Andy no doubt and he was clearly quite emotional in his runner-up speech where he started off laughing saying "I feel like I've been here before" and ended emotionally by praising his wife Kim for her support.  However the fact that Andy has reached five finals down under is quite an achievement in itself and one that he no doubt would be proud of and from a results point of view its been his most consistent slam.  Its just a pity that he keeps coming up short to the man everyone else is coming up short to aswell!

But despite his loss Andy still has alot to look forward to this year as his wife Kim is expecting their baby next month and Great Britain will have their first tie as the defending champions at the Davis cup in March.  Andy will also be looking to defend his title at the Olympic games later this year in Rio where he will have another chance to win the medal again and this is something that neither Djokovic nor Federer have won as of yet so already he has an edge over them in that regard as even the best of players such as those two have found that it is much harder to win a title you haven't before.  And despite leaving Melbourne empty handed it still sees Andy as the world no.2 and it shows good signs for his career in 2016 and he may yet add to his tally of grand slams.  

Oh and before I forget on a more positive note for the Murray family one man that did win a grand slam title was Jamie Murray who won his first men's doubles title with his new partner, Bruno Soares as they defeated Daniel Nestor and Radek Stepanek in the final in three sets 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.  This was a great result for Jamie as he had lost two previous finals at Wimbledon and the US Open with his former partner, John Peers and it looks like his new partnership with Soares will be fruitful one that hopefully should see him get more success in the majors.  So a big well done to Jamie on breaking his duck in Melbourne and to Bruno Soares aswell who was the man who served it out to win the title.   

Anyway so that's it for my coverage of the 2016 Australian open which has now come to an end and its been a fun two weeks of tennis and its well done to Novak and Angelique Kerber for winning their titles and commiserations to Andy and Serena. 

And that's it for now and I might be back on this blog in March for the Davis cup weekend when Great Britain take on Japan in their first round tie but until I'll just be blogging on my review blog which can be found here to anyone that might be interested:

http://kennyf9111.blogspot.co.uk/

So until the next one its bye for now! 

2016 Australian Open Part 4: Men's semi finals

OK so now to move onto the men's semi finals from the Australian open and we will find out who made it through to the finale of the first grand slam of 2016.

So let's take a look.....

Right well the first match was a hotly anticipated one between two greats of the game, Novak Djokovic, the defending champion and World No.1 in what was sure to be something of a classic.  However.... the match itself was far from one of their classics as it started with Nole playing the best tennis you will ever likely to see and he made the 17 time grand slam champion looked ordinary as Novak whitewashed Roger in the first two sets by breaking him twice to grab a two set lead in just under an hour!  However just when you thought a straight set gubbing was in order, Roger somehow managed to wrestle his way back into the match and he managed to break Nole's serve in the 3rd set and he went on to serve it out to keep himself alive trailing two sets to one.  And in the 4th set, the early signs showed great promise as both playerrs played some great points particularly at 4-3 where Roger played a spectacular backhand pass to save a break point and go 30-30.  But it was short lived as Novak pounced on Roger's errors and he grabbed a 5-3 lead and confidently served out the match to reach his 6th Australian open final and recorded a very convincing four set victory in 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

Well it has to be said this match fell way short of expectations even though it had some entertaining points in the latter half of the match once Federer managed to get himself into it a bit.  But I also have to say I have never seen Novak play any better than he has so far in this tournament, especially in those first two sets where he played devastatingly good tennis that made Roger Federer look like a public park player!

And Roger no doubt will be disappointed with the result especially as he was going for a change of tactics in the first two sets but they just didn't work and in the end for large parts of the match he was totally outplayed.  And it also remains a problem for Roger as he continues to struggle against his Serb rival who just has too much game for him at the moment and while Roger is capable of winning another slam with Novak in the way its very doubtful that he will win one again.

As for Novak well the tennis he played approached God-like levels where he did just about everything right and his form reminded me of that during his final with Rafa at Doha earlier this month were Novak utterly destroyed the Spaniard in a similar fashion and Rafa had literally no answer for him.  And its this form that makes Novak look very ominous for the rest of the season but we will see how he get's on in the final first.

And so for the second semi final match which was between Andy Murray, the World No.2 and the big serving Canadian, Milos Raonic in what promised to be an interesting encounter.  And the match itself proved to be a terrific contest between both men and they both played some great tennis for the crowd on Rod Laver arena.

And the match itself started with Raonic getting a break of serve from Andy which allowed the Canadian to use his superior serving to nudge ahead and take the opening set.  In the 2nd set it was far more evenly pegged until 6-5 wher Raonic looked to head into a tiebreak but Andy made his move and broke the Canadian to level the match.  In the 3rd set play went by serve and with few break points available either side of the net it went to a tiebreak where Raonic took full advantage and got the minibreak and sealed it 7-4 to grab the two sets to one lead and put him within a set of his first major final.  However in the 4th set Raonic started having problems with his fitness as he went off court for a medical timeout and when he came back on Andy pounced on him and nabbed the break and secured the 4th to level the match and take it to a deciding 5th set.  And in the 5th set, Raonic's fitness levels dropped off as he struggled with a leg injury which let Andy grab a double break and he then served out the match to secure his 5th Australian open final after a thrilling five set battle winning in 4-6, 7-5, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2.

Well there is not much doubt that this was the match of the tournament so far as it was a thrilling contest for the most part before Raonic's level sadly dropped off due to injury in the 5th set.  However Raonic still managed to battle on and keep himself just in the match in the 5th set as he became injured.  But for the first three and a half sets of the match it has to be said that Raonic looked to be in his best form playing his best tennis at a grand slam level and if he hadn't gotten injured then there is every chance he might have won the match even in four sets.  So when Raonic lost out in the 5th set it was hard not to feel sorry for him as you could see how disappointed he was to lose the match and he later said in the press conference that it was the most heartbroken he had felt on the court.

However Raonic's level of tennis throughout the tournament was highly impressive and by reaching another grand slam semi final he showed that he is one player that could possibly win grand slams in the future.  And if Raonic does improve his fitness and strength over these long matches then surely one day he will be able to become a champion although he still got a way to go yet he is getting there.

As for Andy well overall it was an excellent performance and he showed his grit and determination very well in this match and more importantly he served well for most of the match too, which helped as he was up against one of the game's best servers.  And with that he has given himself another shot to win the grand slam title that continues to elude him.

And this brings me onto the final which is now set between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, the world's No.1 and No.2.  And this all begs the question: who will win it??????  Well.......I have to go with Novak as his form throughout last year was unbelievable and at the start of this year he has lived up to that promise by continuing to play tennis that is just out of this world.  And Novak's form in this tournament alone for the most part, the Gilles Simon match aside, has just been staggering and given how he has played I'd find it very hard not to bet on him winning his 6th title in Melbourne.

And last year there were actually a few seeds of doubt over Nole's form going into last year's final given that he struggled against Stan Wawrinka in their semi final while Andy looked very convincing against Tomas Berdych in his semi final.  So before the match I was fairly confident that Andy would win it but then the real Novak Djokovic showed up and after splitting the first two sets, Djokovic ran away with it.  But this year there are no doubts behind Novak's form and there are no questions that need to be raised about him so there is no reason for me to think that I will be duped into thinking that he won't win the final.  And for that reason alone he has to be the favourite to win the title.

However.... that's not to say that Andy won't have any chance as he certainly does have a shot at winning the title and there are still some factors could go in Andy's favour. 

1. For starters he won the Davis cup for Great Britain last year and no doubt that will give him confidence to do very well in the final on Sunday and maybe use it as a catalyst for having a great year in 2016 just like Novak did in 2011 after Serbia won the Davis cup in 2010.

2. Andy can also take a bit of heart from the fact he was one of only four men that managed to beat Novak last year when they met in the final of the Rogers cup in Montreal.  And this win should give him a bit of confidence as before that he lost eight straight matches to the Serb and it was like he was suffering a mental block in how to get past Novak but with that match he finally managed to do it and if he hadn't won that match then I would give him even less chance of winning so that match does show there is some hope that Andy can cause the upset.    

3. Also Andy is about to become a father with his wife Kim Sears waiting on the arrival of their baby, which is due in mid February and just maybe that could also inspire him to do well in the final (although he get's a call saying she is going into labour during the match that might put a spanner in the works for him!).

4. The pressure will also all be on Novak to win the title and virtually no one realistically expects Andy to win the final and that could give Andy a slight advantage as he can safely go in as the underdog with no real expectation at all on his shoulders.  However unfortunately for Andy, Novak is no stranger to dealing with pressure and he knows how to save break points and could even probably do it in his sleep! 

Although on a side note I have to say that Novak also has the upper hand in that he has had two full days of rest before the final as he played his semi final on Thursday whereas Andy played his on Friday so he only get's one day off in comparison.  And this is something I never really liked about the Australian open as it is the only grand slam event where the semi finals are split between Thursday and Friday and for all the other slams, the semi finals are played on the same day on a Friday (although I think at the US Open they are played on the final Saturday and final on the Monday).  So that way each player has the same time to rest and there are isn't another player that has had more time off than the other.  In any case Novak is sure to be the more refreshed player with more in the tank going into the final taking this into account.    

5. And lastly a positive factor that could also help Andy is that (update 30.01.16) his brother Jamie Murray finally won his first men's doubles grand slam title today in Melbourne which could also give Andy a confidence boost and some inspiration going into the final too.  Although it was worth noting that Andy stayed up and watched his brother win the match from the stands on Rod Laver arena at after 1am in the morning when as Jamie put it "shouldn't you be in bed??!".  Its just aswell the singles final is on at night time!    

So as for my prediction.....well I have to go for Novak as he is the best tennis player in the world right now, he is playing at the peak of his game and this is his favourite tournament and his record in Melbourne finals so far does not lie with an overwhelming 5-0 result.  Novak also just happens to do everything that bit better than Andy and while there is not much difference in the quality of their return game, Andy's serve just isn't consistent enough to really keep him level with Novak's current form over five sets.  So in conclusion it would be daft to bet against Novak and I think he will win this one in four sets (or if he plays in God mode again maybe even straight sets!) to claim his sixth Australian open title.

However....if Andy can take heart and inspiration from his brother's doubles victory then that might give him the boost he needs to win the title.  Its also worth noting that it took Andy five attempts to win his first grand slam where he eventually won at the US Open and this is now his fifth Australian open final, so just maybe that might be a good omen for him and hopefully one that might see him finally lift the title six years after his first final down under.

But for now I am sticking with my original prediction that Novak will win the title on Sunday and most likely it will be four sets although if he continues his God-like performance like he did against Federer then we could be looking at a straight sets defeat for the British No.1 (but let's hope not!).   

Anyway so that's it for now and I will be back once the results are in for the ladies and the men's finals and we will see who emerged as the champions down under.

Until the next one its bye for now!

2016 Australian Open Part 3: ladies semi finals

OK so its time to look at the ladies semi finals from the Australian open which will see two playrs advance to the final of the first grand slam of the year.  So let's get a move on and see what happened......

Sooo the first match saw Serena Williams take on Agnieszka Radwanska in a match up that heavily favourited Serena (well not many match-ups don't!) as she had never lost to Radwanska.  And the way this match went things didn't look to be about to change as Serena romped her way through the first set and clinched it with a bagel leaving her Polish opponent powerless to do anything.  In the 2nd set however things were a bit more competitive as Aga managed to keeps to a single break but ultimately she was not able to stop the World No.1 securing victory and reaching her 7th Australian open final with an emphatic 6-0, 6-4 win.

Well there really wasn't much doubt about the outcome of this match given that Aga had never beaten Serena in their previous seven meetings and right enough this one proved to be no different as she simply lacks the firepower to threaten Serena.  So this puts Serena in pole position for the final which kicks off on Saturday and I will look at who she might be facing next up in the second semi final.

And the 2nd semi final was between Angelique Kerber, the 7th seed and the surprise of the tournament, British No.1, Johanna Konta who had gone a superb run to reach her first ever grand slam semi final.  The match itself started with some nerves from both ladies as neither of them had progressed to the final of a grand slam although Kerber had already reached two semi finals previously at Wimbledon and the US Open.  So there were a couple of breaks of serve in the opening set but Kerber was the one who managed to break to win the opening set.  And in the 2nd set Kerber established her authority on the match as she went on to break Konta twice and she sealed the win to reach her first grand slasm final witha 7-5, 6-2 victory.

Well this was quite an intriguing match and both players were playing for the final and neither one had made it to this stage before so there were bound to be nerves.   And unfortuntately for Konta she wasn't able to complete her dream run in Melbourne but she still put up an impressive fight before Kerber overtook her in the 2nd set.  But Kerber deserves all the credit for how she played and composed herself during the match's tough moments especially in the first set before she re-asserted herself in the 2nd set to get the win.  Kerber has always shown the potential to be a grand slam champion and now she has just about fulfilled that potential so good on her for that and the win.

As for Jo Konta well this is the tournament that really announced her arrival on the tennis arena and it also proved that she was no flash in the pan given her good run at last year's US Open as Konta really is a player to watch out for in the future.  And given her impressive run to the semis it will see her world ranking shoot up to inside the top 30 where her new ranking will be 28 in the world come Monday.  And if Konta can continue her good form then there is no reason that one day she will go on to become a top 10 player.  So despite her loss Konta did great and she has had a terrific tournament and I'm sure we will see more of her this year.

So that's the final set up between Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber who will battle it out for the title, and it begs the question: who will win???  Well.....let's face it, its hard to bet against Serena on this one as she has looked superb yet again throughout the tournament and has not even dropped a set going into the final.  And given that Kerber has never played in a grand slam final before, it leaves her at a big disadvantage to play perhaps the greatest player to have played the ladies game.

However all hope is not necessarily lost for Kerber as she has managed to beat Serena once in Cincinnati four years so she has some idea of how to play her.  And all the pressure will be on Serena as well to tie Stefi Graff's record off 22 grand slams, which is something she will be desparate to do tomorrow and in those situations there is every chance she could get tight and be the one to beat herself, which is generally what is said about Serena is the only one that beats her is herself.

But.....to be honest I don't see Kerber necessarily threaten Serena much and there is a fair chance that she will be overawed by the occassion just like her counterpart German player, Sabine Lisicki who felt the nerves when she played in the Wimbledon final three years ago who lost to Marion Bartoli.  However we will just have to wait and see how things pan out for the German player but it would be great to see her upset the applecart if she can.

Which brings me onto my prediction....well I really have to go with Serena and I think it will be straight sets as I can possibly see Kerber get a bit jumpy and nervy in the first set to let Serena steamroll her way through it.  However its possible Kerber might settle down into the match and if she does then she might make it a close 2nd set or possibly even push it to a 3rd.  But for me I think it will be Serena in straight sets and my scoreline prediction will be 6-1, 7-6 (as usual for what its worth but I think 6-1 is generally considered to be a safe bet with Serena in any set!).

Right so that is it for the ladies and I will be back with the men's results soon.

See you's in a bit..........

2016 Australian Open Part 2: Men's semi finals preview and catch up

Right now we get onto the men's tournament at the Australian open of 2016 so without any further ado let's get a move on....

So start off might aswell begin with the defending champ, Novak Djokovic who has had a terrific 2015 season and so far he is in good form at Melbourne this year also.  Nole cruised through the first week however on starting the 2nd week he encountered his first real test of the tournament against the Frenchman, Gilles Simon who pushes Novak all the way to five sets before the World No.1 managed to finally close out a thrilling match in five sets, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.  However Novak re-established himself firmly in the quarter finals as he played Kei Nishikori who appeared to be struggling with a leg injury and Nole beat the Japanese player convincingly in straight sets 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the last four.

Up next is Andy Murray who so far has shown some very good form in the tournament but he still has had one or two up and down moments in play aswell.  Andy sailed through his first two matches though in straight sets but he then faced his first test against Jaoa Sousa of Portugal who pushed Andy by making him drop his first set of the event.  However Andy managed to reassert himself and he beat Sousa in four sets to reach the 4th round and win in 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.  In the 4th round Andy took on the Aussie No.1, Bernard Tomic who Andy managed to defeat in an entertaining and close straight set match which saw a good fight from Tomic before Andy downed him in the 3rd set and winning the match 6-4, 6-4, 7-6.  And in the quarter finals Andy faced the Spanish No.2, David Ferrer and the two of them were locked in a tough battle on Rod Laver arena which eventually saw Andy previal in four sets to reach his 6th semi final down under with a hard fought 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, 6-3 victory.

Then we have Roger Federer who so far has shown the best form of any player and he has looked pretty convincing and confident for a 18th major.  Roger had an easy time of it in the 1st week except for his match against Grigor Dimitrov in the 3rd round where Rog dropped his first (and only) set of the tournament so far but he won the match in four sets.  In the 4th round Roger was back on top form as he dismantled, the Belgian player, David Goffin in straight sets 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 and he went on to comfortably beat Tomas Berdych in straight sets in the quarters with a 7-6, 6-2, 6-4 result.  And this sets up another potentially thrilling clash between Roger and Novak in the semi finals and I will say more on that in a bit.

As for the other seeds well Stan Wawrinka, the former champion, showed some good form going into the second week and he looked good to have another strong run down under.  However Stan didn't count on the in form Canadian, Milos Raonic who in their 4th round match took a two set lead before Stan levelled the match at two sets all.  However Raonic kept his calm and held his nerve and served out the match with a break to put out the former champion, Stan with a five set win.

Rafael Nadal however despite showing good form of late, turned out to be the biggest and earliest casualty of the men's event as he took on his fellow Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco in what was an epic rematch of their previous epic in Melbourne seven years ago where Rafa got the better of him.  But... this time the tables were turned as Verdasco managed to take his revenge and despite going two sets to one down, he levelled the match and in the 5th set he broke Rafa twice, despite being a break down at the start of the set and he broke Rafa to win the match.  This defeat does raise a few question marks again over Rafa and it makes you wonder just how will he play for the rest of the year but time will soon tell on that.

As for the other seeds Tomas Berdych had a good run into the 2nd week however as mentioned above he came undone by Roger Federer in the quarter finals with a straight set loss.  Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the former finalist at Melbourne also went out as he suffered a 4th round defeat at the hands of Kei Nishikori who beat the Frenchman in straight sets.  And Kei Nishikori himself managed to reach the quarter finals but he was put out by Novak Djokovic also in straight sets.  John Isner also went out in the 4th round and he fell to the Spaniard (or "the wall" as he is nicknamed!) David Ferrer in straight sets despite Isner never having been broken in any of his previous matches at the event.  And David Ferrer also previously mentioned despite making it to the quarter finals fell to a defeat at the hands of the British No.1, Andy Murray who beat Ferrer in four sets.

And last of all Milos Raonic who had put in an impressive run at the Brisbane international event at the start of the month by defeating Roger Federer, also put another good run of form on in Melbourne.  And so far Raonic has managed to make it into the 2nd week by defeating Stan Wawrinka in five sets and then going on to play Gael Monfils in the quarter finals whom he defeated in four sets, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach his first semi final down under in Melbourne.  So far Raonic looks in dangerously good form as he has improved his movement and sharpened up his net game so he will be a serious threat and a contender for the title.

Which brings me onto the men's semi finals and first off I will look at the semi final between Andy Murray and Milos Raonic. 

These two men are tied at 3-3 in their head to head and Andy won the last two meetings however with Raonic having improved his form this makes this one a bit difficult to predict.  Raonic so far in the tournament has looked in very impressive form and Andy has also played very well but he has also suffered a few lapses of concentration on serve and has served an unusually high number of double faults so far, possibly as he looks to hit his 2nd serve harder than what he used to. 

And if Raonic goes into the semi final having a really good serving day and Andy doesn't then surely Andy will come out second best in this one so he has serve and return well to have a chance against Raonic.  However Raonic's lack of experience this deep in the slams could still go against him at this stage and this could be his undoing given that Andy has already reached four finals at the tournament.

So for my prediction I will still go with Andy on this one but I think we will be looking at a very close four set match or possibly five, but hopefully Andy will go on to reach his 5th final in Melbourne but an upset by Raonic is still a strong possibility and it wouldn't surprise me if he was to break his duck to reach the final.  So my scoreline prediction, for what its worth will be: 6-3, 6-7, 6-4, 7-5.

And last of all we have the most anticipated match of the tournament which is of course between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.  These two have no surprises between them and they have met 44 times on the tour and their head to head couldn't be closer as they share 22 wins apiece making this the most closely contended rivalry in the history of the sport.  

So going into this match up who do things stack up????  Well in terms of the grand slam matches for Roger, not so well, as so far he has only won one of their previous meetings in the last four years at the majors and that was back in Wimbledon 2012.  And to make matters worse for Roger is the fact that he has never beaten Novak in the semi finals at the Australian open and has lost to him in their previous meetings in 2008 and 2011 and both times Nole went on to win the title.  Plus to add further salt to the wound on this one for Roger, this remains Novak's most successful tournament.

However that's not to say that Roger doesn't have any hope of winning this one as he is one of the very few players that can really push Novak close to the edge and he will have his chances and if you look at his previous US Open final match he had 23 break points against Novak but converted only 4, which shows while Roger didn't take all those chances he did at least create them.  Roger so far has also looked to be in the best form out of anyone in the tournament and he could well build on that if he defeats Novak tomorrow.

But....I still have to say that I'm going with Novak on this one as it is his tournament and it is to him what the French Open was to Rafa and its one where he dominated over the last five years or so and he looks set to continue to do so.  So for me I think Novak will win this one but it will another close match that will go at least four maybe five sets although I'm still think Novak might get it done in four but it should be one hell of a match all the same.  So my scoreline prediction will be four sets: 6-4, 6-7, 7-5, 6-4 (which I'd be amazed if that were accurate!).

Right so that's it for now and I will be back once the results of the semi finals are in.

Until then its bye for now! 

2016 Australian Open Ladies Part 1: Semi finals preview and catch up

Rrrright well I am way behind in my coverage with the Australian open as the tournament now is in the business end as we are now at the semi finals stages of both the mens and ladies events.  So this will be a very quick catch up of what has happened over the last week and a half on the ladies side of the net and to look forward to the semi final matches and my thoughts on the possible winners. 

So let's get going and give this un a look.....

Soooo to save time on doing the usual day 1, day 2, day 3 approach I used to take with my coverage instead I'm going go by the main seeds progress and a few surprise players who have got their way deeper into the tournament. 

And to kick I thought I would look at how Serena Williams, the defending champion has done so far as she went into this tournament with some doubt due to leg injury however she soon dispelled any fears and announced she was fit to play.  So Serena's progress in the tournament so far has been fairly serene (sorry!) as she has managed to confidently make her way into the second week, which saw her take on her familiar rival, Maria Sharapova with Serena having won their last 18 meetings.  And this one was no different as she overpowered Sharapova in straight sets 6-4, 6-1 to reach another semi final down under.  So Maria looks to be well on course for reaching another final as she will next take on Agnieszka Radwanska for a place in the final and remains odds on favourite to win.

Next is Victoria Azarenka who was tipped to be one of the favourites to win the title and she started her tournament with a strong start and she blazed her way into the 2nd week without dropping a single set.  However Vika came up against an in form Angelique Kerber who had never previously beaten Azarenka in seven attempts.  However Kerber kicked Vika to the kerb (sorry another bad pun!) and defeated her Belarusian nemesis for the first time in her career to reach her first Aussie open semi final.
  
And the other seeds that have fallen in the tournament include Simona Halep who fell at the first hurdle to a surprise player, the Chinese, Zhang Shuai who went on to become one of the real surprises of the tournament who reached the 2nd week and her first major quarter final.  Petra Kvitova also suffered an early 2nd round loss at the hands of the newcomer and newly citizend Aussie, Daria Gavirolva who won the Hopman cup along Nick Kyrgios earlier this month.  Carolien Wozniacki the former World No.1 also went out in the first round to continue her miserable run at grand slams as she was beaten by Yulea Putintseva in three sets.  Sam Stosur the home favourite also went out early in the first round to the Czeck player Kristyna Pliskova in straight sets.  Venus Williams who had gotten herself back in the top 10 also fell at the first hurdle to Johanna Konta of Great Britain (and I will say more about Johanna in a bit!).

And the last few that are still in the tournament starting with Agnieszka Radwanska who had a great end to last year as she won the biggest title of her career at the WTA finals.  And Radwanska has continued her fine form at the Aussie open as she sailed into the 2nd week but had a tough 4th round match against the German Anna-Lena Friedsam but managed to come back from a break down to win the match in three sets.  Radwanska went on to beat the Spaniard, Carla Suarez-Navarro in the quarter finals to reach her 2nd semi final down under, setting up a clash with Serena Williams.

And last of all is one of the great surprises of the tournament, the British No.1, Johanna Konta who has put together a very impressive run in Melbourne and she got her campaign off to a good start after she beat Venus Williams in straight sets.  After this Konta grew in confidence and made her way into the 2nd week where she emulated her best effort at a slam in the 4th round last year at the US Open looking to go one step further against the Russian player, Ekaterina Makarova.  And much to everyone's surprise Konta did just that as she stunned the Russian in a gruelling and thrilling match that lasted just over 3 hours that saw Konta reach her first grand slam quarter final winning in 4-6, 6-4, 8-6.  And in the quarter finals Konta faced the other surprise player, Zhang Shuai but Konta proved to be too good for her and she took her impressive run a step further as she won the match in straight sets 6-4, 6-1 to reach the semi finals of the Australian open for the first time. 

Well this really is quite an amazing achievement by Johanna Konta as I looked at her first round opponent in Venus Williams and did not fancy her chances of getting past that opening match.  However Konta defied the odds and went from strength to strength throughout the tournament and with much determination and belief she has managed to get herself in a position where she just might reach the final.  Whether or not she does, well time will tell but one is for sure and that is Konta has now hit the big time.

So this brings me onto my look at the two ladies semi final matches.

First up Serena Williams will take on Agnieszka Radwanska for the final and this could be a very intriguing match as it could well be a bit of cat and mouse play involved.  Aga (Agnieszka's nickname!) has alot of guile and court craft and on her day she can give the very best of players a real headache.  However Radwanska lacks the raw firepower needed to really take down Serena and she also has a slow second serve which Serena will no doubt punish if Radwanska offers it up at any point, which no doubt she will.  So for me I have to go with Serena on this one but I think it could still be an entertaining match with some great points but it would be hard for me to see Serena drop a set here so I'm going with a straight set win for Serena and my scoreline prediction will be 7-6, 6-2.

And then we have the second semi final between Angelique Kerber and Johanna Konta in a match which will be hard to predict given that these two have never played before.  Going into this match Kerber has the edge though and more experience in reaching the latter stages of a grand slam, however she has never reached the final of a slam before herself and there will be plenty of pressure on her to deliver.  Konta meanwhile has nothing to lose going into this match and her fine run of form so far in Melbourne has proven she has got the tools and the belief to take the big scalps and Kerber could well be next on her list.  However for me I still have to go with Kerber for the match but I think it will be a very close contest but in the end the German player will edge it and my prediction will be Kerber in three sets: 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 (for what its worth!).

Right so that's it for now and I will be back soon with an update on the men's matches.

Back soon!