Andy Murray update - reuniting with an old friend.....

Right!  This is a bit of a special post on this blog which sees an exciting development in the Andy Murray came as it has been just announced that he will be teaming up again with his former coach, Ivan Lendl.

So what does this mean for Andy's prospects in future grand slams???  Well let's take a look, not only at that but also do a quick summary on his previous performances in the slams since Lendl left Andy's team.

ANDY'S POST LENDL SLAM RESULTS (you might want to skip this bit given it will be quite big!)

Well Lendl left Andy's team in 2014, citing originally that he wanted to take up playing on the men's senior tour again and concentrate on his tennis academy in America.  However it was soon revealed that this was just an excuse and the real reason Lendl later revealed was because he had grown tired of the constant travelling and he had felt after Andy won Wimbledon that he had helped Andy achieved his goals to win majors.

2014

Anyway as for Andy's post Lendl results in 2014, Andy reached the semi finals at the French open, where he announced that he would be working with Amelie Mauresmo after his defeat to Rafael Nadal in straight sets.  This caused a bit of an outcry in the media as Andy had chosen to go with a female coach but this was something Andy had to continually defend in the media and it later did yield good results as he reached two majors finals with her.

Then after this at Wimbledon, Andy reached the quarter finals where he played superb tennis going into this match in his first four rounds he looked every inch the Wimbledon champion.  However...things didn't go so well in the quarter final against Grigor Dimitrov where Andy had a spectacular capitulation and he didn't look right on the court at all and at one point even seemed to mutter something "5 minutes before the match!" as if there was behind the scenes argument within his camp, which later was revealed that Andy had tension between his team members Jez Green and Dani Velvardru.

At the US Open, Andy again managed to reach the quarter finals again where he took on Novak Djokovic, due to his fallen ranking to No.12 in the world he faced his rival at this stage.  And unfortunately against despite both men sharing the first two sets, Andy couldn't physically stick with his rival and lost in four sets.

2015 

In 2015 however, Andy's fitness after having his back surgery had improved dramatically as he was back to full strength and he made a very impressive run to the Australian open final where again he took on his nemesis, Novak Djokovic.  And again Andy came up second best after splitting the first two sets on tiebreaks, Andy couldn't keep his focus and seemingly being duped by Novak's on court behaviour of appearing injured one minute and then super spry the next, which saw him surrender to a bagel in the fourth set and the title chance with it.

At the French Open however, Andy made a stronger charge against Novak Djokovic in their semi final match, which lasted over two days.  Andy went two sets to love down but managed to battle his way back into the match and took the next two sets to level proceedings, however his serve went walkabout again in 5th and it saw him lose to his Serbian foe yet again except this time in five sets.

And at Wimbledon, Andy went into the event as the favourite after his very impressive run at Queens club where he won the title for a 4th time, equalling the record held by Boris Becker, John McEnroe and Andy Roddick.  Andy then went on a run again into the semis but unfortunately he came up against Roger Federer in red hot form who took Andy to the cleaners and demolished him in straight sets to deny him a chance at the final.

Then at the US Open, Andy made a shock earlier exit than usual in a grand slam as he reached the 4th round and met an in form, Kevin Anderson, the giant South African, who played Andy on his least favourite court there, the Louis Armstrong stadium.  And Andy despite fighting back from a two set deficit and taking the 3rd set on a breaker, play went to a 4th set tiebreak, which Anderson dominated to beat Andy for the 2nd time in his career, snapping Andy's 18 consecutive grand slam quarter final record.

2016 

Now onto 2016, Andy again looked in great form as he went into the Australian open seeded No.2 and yet again he made a great run into the final to once again play his old foe, Novak.  And yet again Andy came undone against the Serb and this time it was in straight sets after Andy dropped the first set with ease, the 2nd and 3rd sets were very close but in the end Andy couldn't push it to a 4th set and he lost out in his 5th Australian open final.

And finally to bring us up to date, Andy's most recent grand slam, the French open saw him reach a milestone in his career as he reached the final there for the first time and by doing so he managed to reach the finals of all four grand slams.  And unfortunately once again, despite making a strong start against the Serb by taking the first set, Andy could not find a way past Novak, who seemed to have erased the first set from his memory and started the match afresh and dominated the Scot to win the next three sets to complete his career grand slam and win his first Roland Garros title. 

SO WHAT NOW????

Well that is the big question isn't it?  With Lendl reunited with Andy what does this mean for his grand slam chances against his old foe???  Well your guess is as good as mine, it certainly can't hurt Andy's chances as Lendl did wonders for Andy's mental game as he finally managed to make his breakthrough in winning two slams with the former World No.1 as his coach.  So having Lendl back in Andy's team can only be a big bonus and it hopefully should help Andy bridge the ever widening gap between himself and Novak in the majors especially the Serb now leads 8-2 in their grand slam match head to head. 

WILL NOVAK BE NERVOUS????

This is another key question as Novak is currently on top of the world in tennis, he is the undisputed World No.1, he now holds all four majors (all at once too as he has achieved the non-calendar slam) and mentally he is as tough as nails.  So will he be nervous at this news?  In short, no.  From where Novak is right now, he is in such a confident position that any amount of news or threat from his rivals is not going to phase him, especially since he has completed the career slam, he will surely be feeling almost invincible.  Novak's fitness, game, defensive ability and all round athletism knows no boundaries and he continues to augment and improve every facet of his game.  So I'm sure this news, while it could yet prove significant in threatening Novak's dominant position, it won't intimidate him. 

HOW LONG WILL LENDL BE WILLING TO COMMIT TO ANDY????

Again this is all just speculation as the news has just broken and it has just been confirmed that Lendl will work with Andy for up to 20 weeks out of the year with him, which will of course include all four grand slams (so that's 12 weeks if you include the week before each slam) and maybe some of the masters events and also possibly the ATP World Tour Finals.  But what we don't know is how long this commitment will last before Lendl will decide to call it a day, it could be two years or maybe only one year, who knows?

Andy has also indicated that he would like to work with Lendl as long as he can but again it is a two way process and Lendl has to be willing to commit for a longer period of time rather than potentially turn around and leave him after only a few months, which would certainly not be beneficial for Andy.  
SO WILL LENDL HELP ANDY WIN ANOTHER GRAND SLAM???

Well this really is the key to everything of course, can Lendl help Andy win another major???  It really is hard to say at this stage.  Novak certainly won't be too intimidated given his current status in the tennis world, but that's not to say that he shouldn't be cautious.  Lendl as I mentioned before had improved Andy's mental game immeasurably and it lead to Andy being able to really hang tough in the crunch moments in the big matches, so from here Lendl can certainly instill that mental toughness again.

The main problem however for Andy and Ivan Lendl is that since their grand slam victories together, Novak has become a much better player and a much better all-rounder on every surface too so this really sees them have to deal with an uphill battle in order to get the best of the World No.1.  However it is one battle I still believe Andy can overcome and that he now has Lendl back in his team its one battle he might yet win.

And let's not forget, despite Novak having that current edge, Andy is almost every inch as good a player as Novak is and with the right coach and the right mental attitude, Andy can definitely challenge him seriously in the big matches again.  So far since he's only been able to manage at the most two sets against him, and in most of their slam meetings, Andy has only managed one, which is obviously not enough.

And if Andy does go two sets to one down from having taken the first set in a slam like he did against Novak in the French Open final and also as he did against him at the Australian open final three years ago, he needs to find a way to win that 4th set to get back on level terms.  And that is something he has to work on with Lendl, finding a way to fight back and win matches from a down position as too often Andy has surrendered or succumbed to the Serb once he has gotten ahead in a match.   

So while it remains a mighty tough task, I still think Lendl will help Andy win another major and find a way past his old rival, Novak once again.  It may take time again and it might not necessarily happen this year but if Lendl is willing to commit at least another two years to Andy then it should surely see him lift at least one more major title before the two of them are done again. 

SUM UP

So that's it for my thoughts on this news, which could potentially yield some great results for Andy and hopefully see him get his side of the scoreboard going more regularly against his rival, Novak Djokovic (as he has managed only two wins over Novak in the last three years!).  Will it pan out???  I don't know but let's hope it does.

Anyway so that's it for now and I will be back again on here with my Wimbledon preview, which with this new suddenly got that bit more interesting.  Not only that Wimbledon will also be really interesting for another reason this year as there will be four supercoaches at work, with Novak working with Boris Becker, Andy back with Lendl, Milos Raonic working with John McEnroe and last of all, Stan will work with Richard Krajicek (1996 Wimbledon champion) to help him with his grass court game.  So it will be a fascinating battle of the supercoaches and let's just see who the best coach will be! :-)  

So until the next un its bye for now.  

2016 French Open Part 5: Men's final - The career slam....

Right well its time for my look at the men's final at the French Open which was between the world's No.1 and 2, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.  So let's take a look and see how it went.....

THE FINAL RECAP

So the men's final this year had similarly to the ladies alot riding on it as both men were going for their first French Open title and Novak was looking to complete his career slam whereas Andy was looking to become the first British man to win the title since Fred Perry in 1935.  The match promised a great deal on paper and given their epic five set battle last year, this one promised to be more of the same.


However....the match itself didn't quite go that way although it did see Andy make a concerted effort in the first set as he overpowered Novak with a startling display of aggression as the No.1 seed looked nervous and tight, which saw Andy break to take the 1st set.  Andy at the start of the 2nd looked to push Novak again as he got a break point against the Serb but unfortunately for him he missed his chance and Novak went to hold serve.  And from here Andy started to make a catalogue of errors which saw Novak seize control as he broke Andy twice to level the match at a set all and he went to take the match by the scruff of the neck as he broke Andy twice again in the 3rd set to take the 2 sets to one lead.

And from here Andy's spirit appeared to broken with it as he surrendered his serve tamely at the start of the 4th which saw Novak make his final charge toward the finish line and he took another break to go 5-2 up with that career slam finally now in sight.  However Novak then got tight as he surrendered one of the breaks back to Andy who managed to hold serve to make the score 5-4 in Nole's favour.  And as Novak looked to serve it out again he got tight as play went to duece as the game resembled Andy's final game at Wimbledon three years earlier in the final, however he managed to hold onto his nerve this time and sealed the win of his career and dropped to the dirt as he completed his career slam by winning his first French Open title with a remarkable 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 victory.

THOUGHTS

Well after winning this title there is no doubt that this victory puts Novak Djokovic right among the true greats in the game now as he is the only the 3rd man in the history of the game to hold all four grand slams at once as he joins Rod Laver and Don Budge in achieving this.  And after Novak lost that first set there was an absolute inevitability that he would turn it around and he got an overwhelming amount of support from the crowd who played their part in the match so much that it felt like one giant Nole love-in! ;-)  Novak also even after the match celebrated by drawing a large love heart on the clay just like Gustavo Kuerten did, the former champion, who was in attendance and agreed to let Novak do that if he won.  And I must admit a small part of me was pleased to see Novak finally achieve his dream of winning the elusive major to complete his career slam as it is an absolutely remarkable achievement that he was able to pull it off.

And now that Novak has won the French, he can certainly go on and claim the calendar slam this season as he has already won Wimbledon and the US Open last year so there is nothing really to stop him from doing it this time around aswell.  However to do the calendar slam that in itself is one of the toughest things to do in the sport as Serena Williams herself found out last year after she completed the Serena Slam similar to Novak and she lost out at the US Open so Novak could suffer a similar fate but there is every chance he might not but I guess we can wait and find out.

As for Andy...well it was bitterly disappointing for him to lose this tournament as it looked like he really had a chance of winning it especially after he got off to such a strong start in the match but unfortunately he just wasn't able to sustain it or keep a fiercely hungry and determined Novak at bay.  Not only that Andy was also really up against a crowd who were so pro-Novak it was unreal although to be fair to Novak he has been the victim of not receiving as much love and support as he would have liked in the past especially when playing against Roger so I think its fair enough he got it in Paris.

And despite his loss, Andy should still be very proud of his achievements in Paris as he managed to succeed in reaching all four finals of the grand slams by getting to the final.  Andy was also quite gracious in defeat to Novak in his speech as he congratulated him on his achievement and he endeared the crowd with his honesty as he admitted "it sucked to lose" the match although he was proud to be a part of it.

However the down side for Andy is that he is now up against a player who is ever improving his game and now that Novak has completed the career slam there is almost nothing to stop him from claiming the calendar slam.  And despite Andy's best efforts so far he has failed to beat his old rival at a grand slam final for three years now as we all now his last victory over Novak was at the 2013 Wimbledon final.

And this also raises a potential concern for Andy that he may never win another grand slam again as his rivalry with Novak could well go the way that Roger Federer's did against Rafa Nadal as Roger only managed to beat Rafa twice in grand slams finals at Wimbledon in 2006 and 2007 but after that this he never managed to defeat him again so it could well be the same for Andy.  And this could well be even the case at Wimbledon if Andy meets Novak in the final, despite Andy's game being perfectly suited to grass, Novak could if he falls behind in the match, weave his way into it and get into Andy's head, which might see him lose out again. 

But I still believe that Andy's grand slam winning days aren't behind him just yet and I do think he does still have at least another major in him somewhere even if he doesn't win one this year I think he can still do it in the future.  And come Wimbledon, Andy will have a chance for revenge against his old rival, depending on if the draw works out well for him and that he doesn't come up against an on fire Roger Federer again!  Although given Roger's back injury it seems questionable if he can get that far although he is now back on the tour playing in Stuttgart on the grass courts this week.

Andy also has the Olympics games coming up this summer in Rio where he has a chance to defend his title there too and it could prove to be the last bastion of achievements for Novak to attain where he would have the chance to complete the golden career slam.  And there is a chance that Andy could even deny Novak a chance to win the title there too as it must remain next to the calendar slam, the toughest thing to do in the sport to win all four majors and the Olympic gold medal too.  However if there is one man that can do it, it is Novak. 

Anyway so that's it for my coverage of the French open, which hasn't been the best tournament overall given that there were so many rain delays throughout the event it really put a dampener on things at times.  However it was a great tournament for one Novak Djokovic and I'm sure its one that he will not forget in a hurry as its one that has seen him become one of the all time greats in the game.

So that's the clay court season over just like that and now it begs for the grass court season to kick off which it does this week in Nottingham and Stuttgart for the ladies and men respectively.  And Andy will be defending his title at Queens club in London next week where he has already won the title four times, equalling the record by John McEnroe, Boris Becker and Lleyton Hewit, so he will look to break the record and win it for a 5th time.  Although Andy has never won the title on the even years and always won it on the odd ones (i.e. 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015) so let's see if he can break that mould this year to break the record.     

So I will be back on here with maybe a review on the tennis from Queens club (maybe depending on how Andy does) and also do a Wimbledon preview where I will make my pick of the contenders for the title (and guess who will be the top of that list!) just before the tournament starts.

So until the next post its bye for now!
          

2016 French Open Part 4: Ladies final - a star is born

Right well now that the French Open its over its time I looked at the ladies final which saw Serena Williams take on the Spanish No.1, Garbine Muguruza for the 2nd slam of the year.  So let's see how it turned out......

THE FINAL MATCH RECAP

Well this match had alot riding on it for both players as Serena Williams was looking to equal Stefi Graff's record of 22 grand slam titles whereas Muguruza was looking to claim her maiden slam at Roland Garros.  And going into this match despite having a losing 1-2 record to Serena, Muguruza did have an edge over Serena on clay as she had previously already beaten Serena at the French two years ago quite convincingly in straight sets.  And Muguruza's form had been great throughout the tournament whereas Serena's form had been a little shaky especially in her previous two matches going into the final.

As for the match itself well it started with Serena having to deal with some real firepower from Muguruza who got off to an aggressive start as she broke the World No.1 to move ahead.  However it wasn't long before Serena broke back and play went by serve until 6-5 for Muguruza where Serena attempted to push play into a tiebreak but after making a series of errors, dropped the first set to the Spaniard.  The 2nd set again saw Serena make more errors and she went an immediate break down which saw Muguruza take the lead and she consolidated the break to go 5-3 where she threatened to break Serena yet again to claim the match as she got match points against the American but Serena managed to hold on and asked Muguruza the serve it out question.  But at 5-4, Muguruza held her nerve and didn't blink as she sealed her first grand slam title with an impressive lob, which she wasn't sure if it was in or not but as soon as discovered it was she fell to the ground in joy having secured her first major with a very impressive 7-5, 6-4 victory.

THOUGHTS ON MATCH

Well there is no doubt this was a very very impressive performance by Garbine Muguruza who took control early on in the match and despite a few jitters and serving 9 double faults, she somehow managed to come through in the end.  And normally if a player can reach more than one grand slam final its almost nearly ensured they are bound to win one and Muguruza was certainly destined to win this title given her clay court pedigree and also her victory over Serena at the French two years ago would have been a big help to her aswell. 

So Garbine deserves nothing but credit for her victory over Serena, which will now see her ranking go up to No.2 in the world and as she had already reached the Wimbledon final last year, its not too much to expect that she could win that aswell.  And there is no doubt that the world of women's tennis has seen a new star emerge as Garbine Muguruza is only 22 and there is no doubt in future she can go on to win many more grand slams and may one day soon replace Serena at the top of the rankings.   

As for Serena well unfortunately her mental barrier to winning her 22nd grand slam seems to still trouble her as that is the 3rd consecutive grand slam she has lost out on, having reached the semis at the US Open last year and losing in the final of the Australian open this year.  However Serena is such a great player that she will no doubt overcome that hurdle in the near future at some point and with Wimbledon coming up, which her game is perfectly suited to, surely she will have another chance to equal Graff's record.

CONCLUSION

So that's it for the ladies final and it was very entertaining match overall which had some incredible basline rallies from both players and it was great to see a new grand slam winner again in Muguruza as she really went toe to toe with the world's greatest player.  So this week now begins the grass court season where the world's best players will start competing in their warm up for Wimbledon.

So that's it for now and I will be back soon with my report of the men's final.

See you soon......  

2016 French Open Part 3: Men's semi finals - making history one way or another

Right! OK so now we get onto the men's semi finals action which saw two matches go on as the last four remaining players duked it out to try and reach the final.  So who did it?  Well let's find out.

SEMI FINAL MATCH - Djokovic vs Thiem 

OK so the first match up was between Novak Djokovic and the young rising star, Dominic Thiem from Austria, who has had a stellar run at the French Open this year by reaching his first major semi final.  Now this was a big ask on paper for the young Austrian to do anything against the dominant World No.1 and right enough the match itself proved to be the case as Nole bossed Thiem right from the get go.  In the first set Thiem only managed two games as Novak seized the double break to take the lead, the second set was more of the same as Thiem amassed only one game.  In the 3rd set however things got a bit more competitive as Thiem broke Djokovic to go 2-0 up but he was unable to hold onto the break as Nole broke back yet again and went on to secure another break to take the lead.  And from here there was no way back for Thiem as Djokovic sealed his place in his fourth French Open final with a convincing 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 win.

THOUGHTS ON MATCH 

There was little doubt that Novak would come through this one as he already had beaten Thiem in their previous two meetings so it was inevitable the result would be no different this time around either.  And despite having to play four days in a row, Novak has come through his matches admirably without expending too much energy physically although mentally it might have been a bit more taxing for him.  But with the withdrawal of Rafa from his side of the draw, the tournament couldn't so far have worked out better for him going into the final as he has made short work of his opponents so far (with the exception of Roberto Bautista-Agut who was the only man to take a set off Novak so far).  So this really sees Novak with a strong chance of completing that elusive career slam on Sunday, especially if he maintains this form.

SEMI FINAL MATCH - Murray vs Wawrinka 

Now for the second semi final match which was between Andy Murray and the defending champion, Stan Wawrinka.  And this was a match which I kind of feared for Andy as Stan has played incredibly well against Andy in their previous three meetings, having defeated Andy in all of them in straight sets, plus he has already won the French and was looking in good form coming into this match.  However Andy proved us all wrong as he went on to play the best clay court match of his career so far as he dominated the Swiss with a stunning display of power, precision and defense.

However there were early signs of nerves in Andy's first game where he came under pressue from Stan but he was able to eventually hold on after 10 minutes and after this Andy broke Stan to move ahead and claim the 1st set.  In the 2nd set, Andy continued his dominant play as he broke Stan twice to take the two sets to love lead.  In the 3rd set however, Stan served better and fought back to claim the 3rd set with a single break as Andy surrendered his serve with a poor game, which lifted the crowd into the match.  However in the 4th set, Andy wrestled back control as Stan played a poor service game at the start and from here Andy never looked back as he went to nab the double break and seal his place in his first ever French Open final with a very impressive 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 victory.

THOUGHTS ON MATCH 
 
Well there is no doubt this was one of the best matches that Andy has played in his career, particularly on clay as he really bossed Stan from the baseline and put on an incredible display, which stunned the Philipp Chatrier crowd into near silence.  And not only that it also marked another milestone in Andy's career as by reaching the final at Roland Garros, he has now reached the final of all four grand slams, which is an amazing achievement in itself and he is the first British man to reach this final since Bunny Austin back in 1937.

MEN'S FINAL ANALYSIS 

Soooo this sets up a mouth watering final between the world's two best players, the No.1 vs the No.2, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.  And it all begs the question: who is going to win?????  Well let's take a look at this one.

Well I think this will come down to who wants it more and one that basis it probably would be Novak as he has been desparate to win this title for five years now, ever since he made his mark on the tennis world.  However as we all know, Novak has felt the pressure in his previous three finals at the French and this has stopped him cold in getting over the finishing line and it is possible that those nerves and pressure might haunt him again.  But it does remain a fact that against Andy, Novak has taken a dominant lead over their head to head as he leads 23-10 going into this match and its hard to bet against a man who has such an advantage over one of his main rivals.

However on the other hand, Andy has improved his clay court game immeasurably over the last year or so as prior to his back surgery it has always been a surface he has struggled badly on, but after the surgery he has been able to turn his results around.  Not only that, Andy has managed to beat four of the biggest threats on that surface over the last year too as he has beaten Rafa twice in Madrid, Ferrer at the French last year, Novak once in Rome this year and now Stan at the Roland Garros, although curiously enough he has never met Federer on clay in his whole career so far.  So to dismiss his chances would be daft because let's not forget Andy will be up against the world's best player, but regardless of that, Novak has not won this event yet either, so it should be quite an even fight.

And there is also so much riding on this for both players as it is another historic match, which would see Novak complete his career slam and become the first man to hold all four majors at the same time since Rod Laver or see Andy become the first British player to win the title since Fred Perry in 1935.

PREDICTION

So as for my prediction.....well I know pretty much all the pundits are going to go with Novak on this one but I'm going to take the opposite view and I think Andy can win the title.  And the reason why is simply because Novak has felt the pressure of trying to win this event in the past and I think he might very well feel it again tomorrow, also not to mention that Andy has already gotten the better of him in Rome a few weeks ago and he is currently on a 11 match winning streak as a result.

So I really think, just like Stan last year, that most people really will underestimate Andy's chances this year, but don't forget neither player has won this title and in grand slam finals, Andy has already beaten Novak in two out of the four and Novak has only beaten Andy in the final of the Australian open, which most people who are rooting for Novak, might have probably forgotten.

So for my final prediction (and I could well be completely wrong about this!) I think Andy will win the title in four or five sets.  But the key to success for Andy is to win the first set, which he must do as he has never beaten Novak after losing the first set in any of their matches throughout his career.  And given that neither man has won this title, it should be a very close and even match and hopefully one to remember, whichever way it goes.

Anyway so that's it for me for now and I will be back with the results of the ladies final once its over, which is between Serena Williams and Garbine Muguruza, which should be a belter.

So until the next post, its bye for now.    

2016 French Open Part 2: Ladies' event - Semi finals and final preview

OK well I've neglected to cover the ladies event so far which I apologise for so to make up for that a bit I will dedicate this post to the ladies semi finals and make a quick mention of the other top seeds that went out along the way.

Oh and I decided to revamp the look of this blog so its be changed up to another template, which is still maybe a bit bland but I think its not too bad.

Anyway I digress, so let's get a move on and take a look....

LADIES TOURNAMET RECAP 

Right so to quickly recap the ladies event had quite a few upsets in the first week that saw many of the top seeds drop out such as Petra Kvitova who went out in the 3rd round go out in a shock exit to an American qualifier, Shelby Rogers.  Ana Ivanovic, the former champion, also went out in the 3rd
round to Elina Svitolina in straight sets.  And Angelique Kerber, the reigning Australian open champion was the first heavy casualty of the tournament as she was beaten by Kiki Bertens in three sets.

As for other upsets, Simona Halep, the former finalist two years ago also went out in the 4th round as she lost to Sam Stosur (also a former finalist) in straight sets following a day's delay of play due to rain, which has threatened the tournament quite alot this year.  And lastly Agnieszka Radwanska turned out to be another top seed casualty as despite leading a set and 3-0 in her match against Tvsetana Pironkova, their match was halted by the rain delays too and on the following day, Pironkova stunned the No.2 seed and went on to win the match in three sets.

SEMI FINAL MATCH - Muguruza vs Stosur 

Now onto the semi final matches and I will start with the semi final between Sam Stosur and Garbine Muguruza, which promised to be quite an interesting one.  However Garbine proved to be the stronger player and showed her confidence when she took the first set with a double break and she then went on to nab the second set with a single break, which let her reach her first ever French Open final with a commanding 6-2, 6-4 victory.

This was quite a victory for Garbine as she already has the experience of being in a slam final as she was a finalist at Wimbledon last year so the fact that she has been able to repeat this is quite impressive and it shows that she is sure to win a slam in the future if not this one.

SEMI FINAL MATCH - Williams vs Bertens 

And the second semi final was between Serena Williams, the defending champion and the unseeded Kiki Bertens, who has made a killer run into the last four.  Bertens however went into the match with a calf injury but it didn't really appear to effect her progress as she managed to break Serena in the first set and had a chance to serve it out at 5-4.  However Serena being Serena, broke Bertens back and play went by serve into a tense tiebreak which Serena eventually won 9-7.  In the 2nd set, Serena broke Bertens to take the lead but Bertens held on, making Serena serve it out, which she did as Berten's sent a shot long that ended their contest and saw Serena reach another French Open final with a hard fought 7-6, 6-4 win.

FINAL ANALYSIS 

So this sets up the ladies final which will see Serena Williams take on the young, plucky Garbine Muguruza and it promises to be quite a match.  In fact Muguruza has already enjoyed victory over Serena at the French open as she defeated her two years ago in the 2nd round but this being a grand slam final is a slightly different matter altogether of course!

Garbine has already faced Serena in a slam final too as she reached the Wimbledon final last year where she lost in straight sets however on clay, Garbine will be a dangerous proposition for Serena.  And for me I think Garbine has a chance here to claim her first major title as Serena has show signs of vulnerability in her last two grand slams as she lost out to Roberta Vinci at the US Open semi final last year and this year she lost to Angelique Kerber.  And given Muguruza's pedigree on clay I think its not within the realms of possibility that she will come through this one and get the win.

However we are of course talking about Serena Williams who is 21 time major champion and she is now just one slam away from equalling Stefi Graff's record and even if she wasn't to win this one then she can certainly go on to win another slam to equal that record.  So this is another big chance for Serena to grab that record equalling 22nd major and she just might end up getting it.

FINAL PREDICTION 

So as for my prediction.....well I'm actually going to go with Muguruza as she has been playing with alot of confidence throughout this tournament and there is still room for doubt where Serena is concerned.  It is however insane to dimiss Serena's chances of course but just looking at Muguruza in this tournament she really has come through very impressively and I think she is destined to win the French open if not this year then very soon.  So I think Muguruza will win this one in three sets to claim her first major title on her most preferred surface (but of course I might be wrong!).

Anyway so I will be back soon with my update on the men's semi finals and how they went.

Until the next one bye for now and see you soon..... 

2016 French Open Men's Part 1: Tournament recap up to the Semis

Right well I've pretty much not managed to do my usual write-ups for the French Open this year so in order to make up for that (well sort of!) I will do a quick recap of who's still in and who has gone out in the men's event so far.  Also I will do a preview of the men's semi final matches which have now been set, so without further ados let's give it a look....

RECAP SO FAR....

Ok so the first week in the men's event saw some upsets such as Marin Cilic who went out in the first round to a qualifier.  And other top seeds that tumbled out in the first included Gilles Simon who was beaten by Viktor Troicki, Nick Kyrgios went out in the 3rd round to Richard Gasquet.  And some of the other home favourites went out too such as Benoit Paire, Lucas Pouille and Jeremy Chardy also all in the first week.

Also further to that there has been a few withdrawals and/or retirements from the event too that started off with Roger Federer who pulled due to his back injury, which marks the first time he had withdrawn from a grand slam event since 1999.  Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on the other hand retired from the tournament during his third round match when he sustained a groin injury, leading Ernest Gulbis 5-2 in the opening set (Gael Monfils also pulled out just before the event began due to injury).

And the most notable withdrawal of all was Rafa Nadal who despite showing great form in his first two matches made a shock announcement that he had to withdraw because of a wrist injury.  This now brings up more concern over Rafa's fitness for his future in the sport as he said in his press conference how the wrist was not broken but if he carried on playing it would have broke.  So this will see Rafa out of the game for maybe quite some time while he recovers from his injury and if he requires surgery then he maybe out much longer.  But let's hope its not too long before we see Rafa on the court again and that things get better for him.

MEN'S QUARTER FINAL MATCHES

Right well to catch up I will start with the men's quarter final matches this week, which for starters saw Andy Murray take on the home favourite and last Frenchman standing, Richard Gasquet in what promised to be a real scrap.  And for more than half the match it proved to be just that as Andy had to battle back from a set down to level the match against Gasquet aswell as recover from a 3-2 deficit in the 2nd set tiebreak.  However after Andy levelled the scores he took full control of the match and dominated proceedings and beat the weary Frenchman in four sets 5-7, 7-6, 6-0, 6-2 to reach his fourth French open semi final.

After this we had the defending champ, Stan Wawrinka take on the surprise quarter finalist, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who had defeated Milos Raonic in the previous round.  However the Spaniard was no match for Stan's power and despite a valiant late charge in the 3rd set which went to a tiebreak, Stan ultimately won the match in straight sets to reach his second semi final in 6-2, 6-1, 7-6.

And following the rain delays on the Monday and Tuesday, Novak Djokovic, the World No.1 took on Tomas Berdych for his spot in the semis.  And the big Czeck ultimately had no answer for Novak's speed, defense and accuracy as despite another mini rain delay, which saw Berdych become very fractious with the umpire, play resumed and Novak put the match to bed and breezed into the semi finals with a 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 victory.

And lastly there was the match between the two maiden grand slam quarter finalists, Dominic Thiem and David Goffin, both looking to enter new territory but reaching the semis of a major.  And the match promised to be pretty close and for the most part it was as it opened with Goffin taking the first with a break but Thiem then went on to level the match after winning a tense tiebreak.  After this, Thiem went on to take control of the match as he nabbed a two sets to one lead and in 4th set, Goffin went off the boil completely as Thiem grabbed the set and the match by the scruff of the neck and he served it out for his biggest win with a 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-1 scoreline.

SEMI FINALS PREVIEW AND PREDICTION

So....... that's the men's semi finals set and its quite an intriguing line up that will see Andy Murray take on the defending champion, Stan Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic take on the fast rising young gun, Dominic Thiem.  So let's look at these match ups and see what might happen.....

Right so starting with the Djokovic vs Thiem match, well this one is quite interesting one given that neither player has met each other on clay and that is Thiem's strongest surface so this could be quite a scrappy match.

Nole however leads Thiem in their head to head 2-0 so the odds are firmly stacked against the young Austrian coming through this one.  However I think this will not be an entirely easy match for Novak as Thiem does possess some firepower and a pretty potent single handed backhand that almost has the power to match Stan Wawrinka's.  But in the end I think this is a match that Novak written all over it and he is determined to have another crack at winning the French open title and it will take more than a plucky young Austrian to do that.

So my prediction for this match is that Novak will win it in maybe three or four sets, Thiem has the talent and the game to nab one set but I don't think he can push it beyond that as the World No.1 will be too good in the end.

So this brings me onto the other semi final match between Andy Murray and the defending champion, Stan Wawrinka.  Now this one on paper doesn't really look that promising for Andy as he has lost his last three matches to Stan, all in straight sets and he has never beaten Stan on clay either for that matter.

However Andy has since their last meeting on clay improved his game on the dirt significantly and he does have a shot here and he has also shown great fighting qualities in this tournament even when he has looked down and out, which would make it difficult to dismiss his chances here.  Stan also has looked pretty vulnerable throughout the season despite showing good form in the French so far and having won a title in Geneva just the week before, Andy has played more consistently on the tour this year than Stan has.

But....on the face of things unfortunately I can't really argue with the stats and I just feel Andy at times has made life very difficult on court for himself at Roland Garros this year, having dropped five sets already (as opposed to Stan's three) and this could lead to him being defeated.  And with that being said I think that Stan will have the edge over Andy tomorrow as he is already the French open champion and on a slower clay court it gives Stan time to hit through the ball more and if Andy has a bad day on serve and Stan hits outright winners then its curtains for the British No.1.

Soooo as for my prediction I would have to go with Stan and I think depending on how Andy plays, it could either be an easy match or a very tough, drawn out one.  If Andy shows up and plays a good match he has a chance but if he doesn't and he suffers some of the lapses on serve that we have already seen in the tournament then he will surely come up second best.  So I think Stan will win this one in four sets to reach his 2nd French Open final (but as an Andy Murray fan I hope I'm wrong!).   

Right! So that's it for now and I will be back once the semi final matches have been played and we'll find out who's in the final.

Till the next one its bye for now!