Right so this is my last post on the 2014 French open will cover the mens final which was a highly anticipated clash between the world no.1 and 2, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. So would Rafa win his record breaking 9th Roland Garros title or would Nole complete his career slam with his first title in Paris? Let's have a look and find out....
OK so we've been there many times before, we know the story with these two guys, the two best players in the world no question and they have met more than any two players have in the history of the game as this was to be their 42nd career meeting with Rafa leading 22-19 in their very close head to head. So this match promised to be a classic, but what is it??? Well in all honesty no it wasn't one exactly, although it got off to a decent start with Djokovic imposing himself on Rafa as he broke the Spaniard's serve to claim the 1st set. In the 2nd set play went by serve until 6-5 with Nole serving to take it into a tiebreak, when he had a lapse in concentration and as someone called out in the crowd he double faulted to go 15-15 and Rafa went on to win the next three points to even the scores at a set all. In the 3rd Rafa now had the momentum and an increasingly weary looking Djokovic started to misfire and make alot of unforced errors which saw him hand a double break to Rafa who took the two sets to one lead. And in the 4th set, Nole continued looking worse for wear and at one point even spat out phlem on the court (yuk!) clearly suffering from fatigue and possibly also from a suspected virus (as hinted in the press). And during the 4th Nole was broken again by Rafa, which looked to spell the end, however Nole managed to break back once again to level 4-4. However.... the fate of the Gods was with Novak once again as at 4-5, serving to make it 5-5, Nole at 30-40, was distracted by someone calling out while he was about to serve, which prompted him to serve a double fault for the second time in his second French open final, which saw Rafa sink to his knees in tears of joy as he won his 9th French crown with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 victory.
Well as far as finals go, especially between these two men, this was pretty disappointing and the level of play was mixed throughout, with both men at different times feeling fatigued on the court. And it didn't even have the feel of a Djokovic-Nadal match, which are usually liberally peppered with wonderful baseline rallies and great exchanges, and if you were lucky there were probably three or four good rallies tops in the match! Instead the points were largely kept short as both men were trying to attack one another, probably because of the intense heat on the court, with the temps in Paris soaring around 30 degrees, so you can imagine the heat on the court being worse. So in terms of finals it came up way short on expectations of being a great final, especially given their 2012 final was a slow burner, but turned into an excellent contest as it carried on. Djokovic out of the two men it has to be said was definitely the more worse for wear especially as play went into 3rd and 4th sets, he looked like he just wanted a lie down. And it was a great pity that he suffered the same cruel fate two years ago when he double faulted to hand the title to Rafa once again and afterwards Djokovic clearly looked emotional as the crowd gave him a warm reception on the podium when he received his runner up dish. And I wonder if last year Novak missed his golden opportunity to win his first RG title last year as he squandered his break in the 5th set of his Rafa match last year in the semi finals, which if he'd held onto it could even have been a different story this year. But Nole might yet get his chance to win the title in Paris.
As for the Rafa well once again he has defied all odds and shown that he is the man to beat at Roland Garros and he now stands with an incredible 66-1 record in Paris, 9 titles, it is a record that will most likely never been equalled again in anyone's lifetime. This also now sees Rafa tied with Pete Sampras at 14 grand slam titles to his name and he is only three away from Roger Federer who holds the record for the men's at 17. And with Rafa having won at the French he now goes into Wimbledon as a heavy favourite next to Andy Murray, the defending champion (more on him in a tick or two!). And Rafa will be determined to make up for his early departures from SW19 in the last two years due to his knee injury, as even last year his knee wasn't holding up as well on the grass as he'd hoped and suffered his first round exit of a slam for many years against the journeyman player, Steve Darcis. And if Rafa wins at Wimbledon then I can see him go on to win the US Open as well this year too, which will see him continue to dominate the game and hold the world's top spot, which is safe just now for him after his triumph in Paris.
Now onto another tennis related subject which is Andy Murray's coach, as since his departure from Ivan Lendl, there has been much speculation as to who Andy would choose for his next coach and there have been different names thrown into the mix such as John McEnroe, Larry Stefanki (who coached Andy Roddick) and even Martina Navratilova. However in the end Andy has decided on the former Wimbledon ladies singles champion, Amelie Mauresmo, who won the title back in 2006. Mauresmo herself has already previously coached other players including Marion Bartoli, whom he she guided to her Wimbledon victory last year, and also Michael Llodra. So its an interesting choice and it could very well work out in Andy's favour as he said he chose her as he felt it was time for input from a new voice, and he already has been coached by his mother, Judy, years ago, so he is no stranger to a female coach. Andy also felt that Mauresmo would provide a calming influence for his camp and her playing style was to think out her opponents and try solve problems, similar to Andy's approach.
So as the Queens club tournament starts this week and the grass court season get's under way, Andy will start working Mauresmo straight away and we will see how they get on. Although if he doesn't do well at Queens or Wimbledon I wonder if he will decide to end their partnership, but only time will tell on that one (which may prompt patronising headlines such as "Never send a woman to do a man's job!" no doubt). However if their partnership does work out then it will see Andy as something of a pioneer in terms of coach selection, as he had Djokovic and Federer follow suit on recruiting former major champions to coach them, maybe other plays might consider a female coach as well. But again the gender of the coach doesn't really matter as long as Mauresmo can help Andy achieve his goals to win more majors then that's what counts and if he can defend his titles at Queens and Wimbledon this year, then she's got him off to the perfect start. So for now its an interesting time for Andy and we will wait and see how his new coaching partnership will pan out.
Right so that's it for now, I will be back soon and probably do cover something on Queens later in the week.
Till then bye for now.
Monday, 9 June 2014
Sunday, 8 June 2014
2014 Roland Garros Part 5 Ladies Final: The queen of clay
OK so this is my last post on the ladies 2014 French Open tournament which will cover the final which was between Maria Sharapova and the talented and in form Romanian and World No.4, Simona Halep. So let's give this one a closer look....
Right so the final in a way was a bit of unknown terrority as it was Simona Halep's first major final so it was hard to predict how it would pan out. However the final turned out to be one of the best grand slam ladies finals in quite some time, after so many routine straight set wins for the likes of players such as Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Li Na over the years this was a real battle to the very end. And in the first set Halep expressed her intent as she got a break on the Sharapova serve straight off, although the Russian typically battled back to break the Romanian and get on even terms. And play went by serve in the first set after that until 5-4, with Halep faltering to hand the first set to Sharapova. In the 2nd set Sharapova looked to be in full control as she broke Halep early on, however the plucky young Romanian was far from done as she broke back and continued to use her impressive court coverage and defensive skills to keep her in the match. And Halep even broke Sharapova twice at 5-4 and 6-5 to serve for the 2nd set, however Sharapova broke back both times and play went into a tense tiebreak, which saw momentum swing back and forth but Halep finally got the vital break and clinched the 2nd set to push play into a decider. In the decider things were close again as Sharapova got an early break but Halep yet broke back and showed her tenacity to go 4-4, but Sharapova once again showed her grit and broke yet again. And in the final game at 5-4, Sharapova held her nerves of steel and served it out to claim her second title at Roland Garros after an epic 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 victory.
There is no doubt this was an incredible and very worthy final to what has been an excellent ladies tournament at the French and it would difficult to imagine a better match than the one we got. Sharapova once again showed her incredible fighting spirit as she was taken the distance for the 4th time in a row in the tournament and as soon as Serena Williams exited the tournament you just knew that the Russian (should be Russian/American really!) was the favourite. So this sees Maria now hold the French open title for a second time and overall its her 5th major and out of all the surfaces Sharapova would have been expected to lift more than one slam on, you would least of all expect it to be clay. But Sharapova over the last few years has worked exceptionally hard on her clay court game and with the exception of Serena Williams, who can transcend any surface, Maria is now the best clay court player in the ladies game. And if Serena doesn't stand in her way next year I can see her winning it again and maybe a few more times before she is done.
As for Simona Halep well this was a terrific and gutsy effort for her first slam final and at no time in the match did she look flustered or overawed by the occassion. Halep also proved here beyond a doubt that she is a potential future grand slam winner and I'm sure before her career is over she will have plenty more opportunities to win a major and she will surely finish her career with at least one before she hangs up her racquet. And what was also so impressive about Halep at the tournament was the fact that she didn't even drop a single set going into the final, which was remarkable in itself and if she maintains that level for future slams then she is going to be mighty tough to stop.
So that's it for the ladies French open and it was quite a finale and it certainly announced the arrival of Simona Halep and it was also a testament to Mara Sharapova's fight qualities that she was able to claim her second RG title. Next up of course is Wimbledon and despite the fact that Serena Williams remains the favourite there, last year's tournament was very unpredictable which saw alot of upsets with Serena herself being stunned by the eventual finalist Sabine Lisicki. As for the defending champion, Marion Bartoli, well we all know that she retired not long after winning there, which was a shame as Marion was quite a player, but due to recurring injuries she felt it was time to "call it a career" as she put it herself. So whatever happens at Wimbledon this year it promises to be quite a tournament and I personally very much look forward to it.
Right well that's it for the ladies French Open in 2014 and overall it has been a better tournament to watch from the ladies perspective than the men's as the matches have been more exciting to watch. But next up is the men's final between Rafa and Djoko and it promises to be a great final, which should hopefully make up for what's been a rather underwhelming tournament on the men's side.
So until the next one its au revoir for now.
Right so the final in a way was a bit of unknown terrority as it was Simona Halep's first major final so it was hard to predict how it would pan out. However the final turned out to be one of the best grand slam ladies finals in quite some time, after so many routine straight set wins for the likes of players such as Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Li Na over the years this was a real battle to the very end. And in the first set Halep expressed her intent as she got a break on the Sharapova serve straight off, although the Russian typically battled back to break the Romanian and get on even terms. And play went by serve in the first set after that until 5-4, with Halep faltering to hand the first set to Sharapova. In the 2nd set Sharapova looked to be in full control as she broke Halep early on, however the plucky young Romanian was far from done as she broke back and continued to use her impressive court coverage and defensive skills to keep her in the match. And Halep even broke Sharapova twice at 5-4 and 6-5 to serve for the 2nd set, however Sharapova broke back both times and play went into a tense tiebreak, which saw momentum swing back and forth but Halep finally got the vital break and clinched the 2nd set to push play into a decider. In the decider things were close again as Sharapova got an early break but Halep yet broke back and showed her tenacity to go 4-4, but Sharapova once again showed her grit and broke yet again. And in the final game at 5-4, Sharapova held her nerves of steel and served it out to claim her second title at Roland Garros after an epic 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 victory.
There is no doubt this was an incredible and very worthy final to what has been an excellent ladies tournament at the French and it would difficult to imagine a better match than the one we got. Sharapova once again showed her incredible fighting spirit as she was taken the distance for the 4th time in a row in the tournament and as soon as Serena Williams exited the tournament you just knew that the Russian (should be Russian/American really!) was the favourite. So this sees Maria now hold the French open title for a second time and overall its her 5th major and out of all the surfaces Sharapova would have been expected to lift more than one slam on, you would least of all expect it to be clay. But Sharapova over the last few years has worked exceptionally hard on her clay court game and with the exception of Serena Williams, who can transcend any surface, Maria is now the best clay court player in the ladies game. And if Serena doesn't stand in her way next year I can see her winning it again and maybe a few more times before she is done.
As for Simona Halep well this was a terrific and gutsy effort for her first slam final and at no time in the match did she look flustered or overawed by the occassion. Halep also proved here beyond a doubt that she is a potential future grand slam winner and I'm sure before her career is over she will have plenty more opportunities to win a major and she will surely finish her career with at least one before she hangs up her racquet. And what was also so impressive about Halep at the tournament was the fact that she didn't even drop a single set going into the final, which was remarkable in itself and if she maintains that level for future slams then she is going to be mighty tough to stop.
So that's it for the ladies French open and it was quite a finale and it certainly announced the arrival of Simona Halep and it was also a testament to Mara Sharapova's fight qualities that she was able to claim her second RG title. Next up of course is Wimbledon and despite the fact that Serena Williams remains the favourite there, last year's tournament was very unpredictable which saw alot of upsets with Serena herself being stunned by the eventual finalist Sabine Lisicki. As for the defending champion, Marion Bartoli, well we all know that she retired not long after winning there, which was a shame as Marion was quite a player, but due to recurring injuries she felt it was time to "call it a career" as she put it herself. So whatever happens at Wimbledon this year it promises to be quite a tournament and I personally very much look forward to it.
Right well that's it for the ladies French Open in 2014 and overall it has been a better tournament to watch from the ladies perspective than the men's as the matches have been more exciting to watch. But next up is the men's final between Rafa and Djoko and it promises to be a great final, which should hopefully make up for what's been a rather underwhelming tournament on the men's side.
So until the next one its au revoir for now.
Friday, 6 June 2014
2014 Roland Garros Men's Part 5: 3-2-1 and the battle for World No.1
So this is my penulimate post on the men's French open of 2014 which will cover the men's semi finals matches which would feature three grand slam champions and one newcomer to the top of the game. So let's give the matches a look...
Right so for the first match we had Novak Djokovic, the 2012 finalist, taken on the rising star, Ernests Gulbis for a place in the final. The match on paper sounded like a bit of a classic and also a real test for Nole given Gulbis's form, however as we all know expectations can be difficult to live up to and the match itself wasn't a cracker even though the level of play at times was pretty good. Nole got off to the better start naturally as he moved and served great and left Gulbis quite often flat footed, who was feeling the pressue and Nole took a two set lead in just over an hour. However things changed in the 3rd set as Novak lost his concentration and let Gulbis in, who broke serve and went on to push the match further into a 4th set. In the 4th set Nole got an early break as Gulbis appeared to suffer with his back, but he left Gulby off the hook, who broke back again. In the end however Gulbis's comeback was shortlived as he dropped serve to let Nole go 5-3 up and the Serb didn't need anymore than that as he went on to seal the match and a place in his second final at the French open with a 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory.
Well this match in the end wasn't too bad but considering the billing it was a bit of a letdown and it had to be said that both players were struggling a little physically during the match, although it was surprising to see Novak was struggling a bit too in the 3rd and 4th sets. The temperatures on court were however pretty high as the temps were in the late 20s so obviously both players were literally feeling the heat. But despite all that its credit again to Novak who has so far played a pretty solid tournament and its second final at Roland Garros which is no mean feat and he will have another chance to complete his career slam and win the elusive title he wants most. As for Gulbis well he has had a great tournament and its sees his best career result so far in the slams by reaching his first semi final in Paris, and he will be sure to get inside the top 10 soon enough.
So this brings me onto the second semi final of the day which was between Rafael Nadal, the eight time champion at Roland Garros and the Wimbledon champion, Andy Murray. The prospect of this match was undeniably mouth watering especially given their previous match in Rome, which was the first they had played in nearly three years was one of the best matches of the year, so this one promised to be real special. But.... sadly it didn't turn out that way and despite a very positive first point of the match won by Andy on Rafa's serve, that was about as good as it got as after that Andy's game degenerated into a calamity of errors which Rafa capitalised on throughout. But things didn't look too grim in the first set as Rafa broke Andy only once and took the set, however after that things just went from bad to worse as Andy struggled horribly on his serve and it hit an all time low of 40% first serves in during the second set! And in the 3rd, Andy looked a beaten man and he did everything short of waving the white flag, which he pretty much did anyway. And at 5-1, Andy failed to even hold serve to force Rafa to serve it out, as the king of clay smashed away a final winning forehand to crush Andy's dreams of reaching his first French open final, which saw the Spaniard reaching his 9th final with a comprehensive 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 rout.
So to say this match didn't live up to expectations is a real understatement and I'm sure it was possibly one of the worst grand slam matches I have ever seen Andy Murray play, as well as one of the heaviest losses he has suffered in a major tournament. However it has been a pretty gruelling tournament physically for Andy having played two five set matches on his way to the semis and he seemed to complain about his legs again during play, which maybe suggests he was cramping again, although he didn't call for a trainer at any time so who knows? What was clear though was Andy just wasn't allowed to play his game as he was up against a near invincible opponent who was just unstoppable. And whoever Andy chooses as his next coach will really need to try and address his extremely problematic serve as I stated above at one point during his match, Andy's first serve percentage plummeted to 40% which is nowhere near good enough and he will never beat the big guys like Rafa with those types of figures. And given the slower surface of clay, Andy's flat serve doesn't travel so well on the surface, which probably results in his percentage going down further. Rafa on the other hand had the match in the palm of his hand after losing the first point, he never looked back and the conditions for play were perfect for him with a warm sunny day and a light wind, the ball travels fast through the air and the high bounce on clay let's Rafa get the perfect topspin he needs for his shots, which he executed to perfection today.
And the question remains, not just for Andy but for everyone else, just how do you beat a man who has won 65 matches at the same tournament and lost only once??? Its a near impossible task to pull off and the only man who managed it was Robin Soderling back in 2009 and since then Rafa has continued unbeaten on the clay, so when you think of that, it makes you realise the titanic challenge that lay ahead for Andy and unfortunately he just wasn't up to the task. Another troubling thing that has emerged from this match and Andy's previous match with Rafa is will the Spaniard continue to defeat Andy the way he used to in the past with the same regularity? Because if that is the case its going to be very difficult for Andy to make it into any slam finals again unless Rafa loses en route and he really has struggled with Rafa in the past in slams and it appears like he might continue to if he comes up against Rafa in that form. And if Andy faces Rafa in Wimbledon this year how will he respond to the man from Mallorca as another painful defeat could be awaiting him. Andy has already stated in the media that he would like to face Rafa again on grass with the intention of taking revenge over his emphatic defeat at the French open, can he???? Well you can but hope, last year if Rafa faced Andy I would almost certainly say that Andy would have beaten him at Wimbledon as he himself was unstoppable at that tournament. Andy is currently also the best grass court player in the world and he is currently on an 18 match winning streak on grass, but can he keep that form up this year??? Its really hard to say and the signs we have seen this year suggest its doubtful, but there is no doubt that when the British No.1 steps out on that centre court at Wimbledon he will be fired up and ready to go and if he is to go out to Rafa eventually then he will give his all before it happens.
So it was a very disappointing and heavy loss for Andy and I'm sure its one match he will want to forget, but on the bright side he reached the semi finals again at the French open, and having missed it last year, he will gain a valuable 720 ranking points, which sees his return to the top 5 in the world which is great to see. And it has to be said that Andy has played some of the most entertaining matches of the men's tournament this year, which overall has been it a bit of a letdown. And with the grass court season starting next week, it will see Andy back in his comfort zone again as grass is his favourite surface, having won five titles on grass already and being the defending Wimbledon champion and also at Queens club, which starts on Monday coming. However during the grass court season, Andy will have to play very well as he has alot of points to defend, with 250 at Queens and a whopping 2000 at Wimbledon, so if he goes out early at SW19, he will take a big hit on points there, which will affect his ranking again. But despite his tough French open loss, the signs are still looking pretty encouraging for Andy and we will see how he get's on next week at Queens. As for his next coach, well Andy said he would make an annoucement after the French open, which ends on Sunday, so does this mean he will announce whoever it is next week??? Perhaps not, as he still seems non-committal over the subject, but I guess we will have to wait and see.
So this sets up the French open final between the world No.1 and No.2, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in a rematch of their excellent 2012 final. So who will win this one?????? Well..... its a tough call but I would have to go with Rafa, who's form has been excellent throughout the tournament and he played a superb match against Andy, which showed every asepct of his game was on fire. Novak on the other hand has played very well throughout the tournament overall, but he also has suffered a few lapses on serve here and there, which he cannot afford to do in the final against Rafa. Nole has also said he felt a bit fatigued on the court during his match with Gulbis, which also leaves a bit of a question mark over his fitness and whether or not he can topple and dethrone the king of clay on Sunday. And Novak also had his golden chance least year to beat Rafa as he went a break up in the 5th set, but he squandered it by tripping into the net at a key point, which he later lost as a result. So this time Novak simply cannot have any slip-ups, literal or otherwise, or else he will come out second best. And here's hoping Djokovic doesn't have a repeat in his previous final two years ago where he double faulted on championship point for Rafa, which no doubt was a point that haunted him and left him a wounded man months after. However despite that Novak still has a decent chance of winning the title if he can find that extra gear and play a great match then he will left the trophy on Sunday. But for me personally I think Rafa will triumph again and win his record 9th title here, so I think Rafa will win it in either four or five sets, but whatever happens it promises to be quite a final.
But one thing I have noticed is that Novak has put up a photo of himself playing chess (on Sat 07.06) with Boris Becker, his head coach, and he is wearing a bandage on his arm! Now as Djokovic has had a prior wrist injury this doesn't look like a good sign and if his wrist has flared up again then his chances tomorrow are not good as he will need to be 100 percent to have any chance against Rafa. So it makes you wonder is there something wrong with Novak's wrist or is he is trying to use a bit of gamesmanship to lull Rafa into a false sense of security??? If its the latter then the French crowd will come down on him like a tonne of bricks and straight away Rafa has an advantage with the crowd supporting him instead. However Djokovic has aluded to not feeling his best on Friday and has suggested in his press conference that he had some undisclosed ailment, and if it is his wrist again or something else, then he could very well lose tomorrow, but we'll wait and see how it pans out. But it would be ironic if we were to have another injury laden slam final again like we did with Rafa back in the Australian open earlier this year and even Rafa's back has been playing up a little bit again at the French as well although he has downplayed it alot more and it certainly hasn't impeded his play. So again we will wait and see how tomorrow pans out but it promises to be interesting one way or another especially as the World No.1 ranking is on the line for both of them, as Nole could overtake Rafa in the rankings to the top spot if he wins and also complete his career slam, or if Nole loses Rafa will remain at the top of the rankings and claim a record 9th title at Roland Garros, so its going to be a very intruiging day.
Right so that's it for now and I will be back with the result of the ladies final and see who comes out on top in the final between Maria Sharapova and the very talented and in form Romanian player, Simona Halep, who has reached the first major final of her career in Paris.
And with that I shall leave yee there.
Right so for the first match we had Novak Djokovic, the 2012 finalist, taken on the rising star, Ernests Gulbis for a place in the final. The match on paper sounded like a bit of a classic and also a real test for Nole given Gulbis's form, however as we all know expectations can be difficult to live up to and the match itself wasn't a cracker even though the level of play at times was pretty good. Nole got off to the better start naturally as he moved and served great and left Gulbis quite often flat footed, who was feeling the pressue and Nole took a two set lead in just over an hour. However things changed in the 3rd set as Novak lost his concentration and let Gulbis in, who broke serve and went on to push the match further into a 4th set. In the 4th set Nole got an early break as Gulbis appeared to suffer with his back, but he left Gulby off the hook, who broke back again. In the end however Gulbis's comeback was shortlived as he dropped serve to let Nole go 5-3 up and the Serb didn't need anymore than that as he went on to seal the match and a place in his second final at the French open with a 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory.
Well this match in the end wasn't too bad but considering the billing it was a bit of a letdown and it had to be said that both players were struggling a little physically during the match, although it was surprising to see Novak was struggling a bit too in the 3rd and 4th sets. The temperatures on court were however pretty high as the temps were in the late 20s so obviously both players were literally feeling the heat. But despite all that its credit again to Novak who has so far played a pretty solid tournament and its second final at Roland Garros which is no mean feat and he will have another chance to complete his career slam and win the elusive title he wants most. As for Gulbis well he has had a great tournament and its sees his best career result so far in the slams by reaching his first semi final in Paris, and he will be sure to get inside the top 10 soon enough.
So this brings me onto the second semi final of the day which was between Rafael Nadal, the eight time champion at Roland Garros and the Wimbledon champion, Andy Murray. The prospect of this match was undeniably mouth watering especially given their previous match in Rome, which was the first they had played in nearly three years was one of the best matches of the year, so this one promised to be real special. But.... sadly it didn't turn out that way and despite a very positive first point of the match won by Andy on Rafa's serve, that was about as good as it got as after that Andy's game degenerated into a calamity of errors which Rafa capitalised on throughout. But things didn't look too grim in the first set as Rafa broke Andy only once and took the set, however after that things just went from bad to worse as Andy struggled horribly on his serve and it hit an all time low of 40% first serves in during the second set! And in the 3rd, Andy looked a beaten man and he did everything short of waving the white flag, which he pretty much did anyway. And at 5-1, Andy failed to even hold serve to force Rafa to serve it out, as the king of clay smashed away a final winning forehand to crush Andy's dreams of reaching his first French open final, which saw the Spaniard reaching his 9th final with a comprehensive 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 rout.
So to say this match didn't live up to expectations is a real understatement and I'm sure it was possibly one of the worst grand slam matches I have ever seen Andy Murray play, as well as one of the heaviest losses he has suffered in a major tournament. However it has been a pretty gruelling tournament physically for Andy having played two five set matches on his way to the semis and he seemed to complain about his legs again during play, which maybe suggests he was cramping again, although he didn't call for a trainer at any time so who knows? What was clear though was Andy just wasn't allowed to play his game as he was up against a near invincible opponent who was just unstoppable. And whoever Andy chooses as his next coach will really need to try and address his extremely problematic serve as I stated above at one point during his match, Andy's first serve percentage plummeted to 40% which is nowhere near good enough and he will never beat the big guys like Rafa with those types of figures. And given the slower surface of clay, Andy's flat serve doesn't travel so well on the surface, which probably results in his percentage going down further. Rafa on the other hand had the match in the palm of his hand after losing the first point, he never looked back and the conditions for play were perfect for him with a warm sunny day and a light wind, the ball travels fast through the air and the high bounce on clay let's Rafa get the perfect topspin he needs for his shots, which he executed to perfection today.
And the question remains, not just for Andy but for everyone else, just how do you beat a man who has won 65 matches at the same tournament and lost only once??? Its a near impossible task to pull off and the only man who managed it was Robin Soderling back in 2009 and since then Rafa has continued unbeaten on the clay, so when you think of that, it makes you realise the titanic challenge that lay ahead for Andy and unfortunately he just wasn't up to the task. Another troubling thing that has emerged from this match and Andy's previous match with Rafa is will the Spaniard continue to defeat Andy the way he used to in the past with the same regularity? Because if that is the case its going to be very difficult for Andy to make it into any slam finals again unless Rafa loses en route and he really has struggled with Rafa in the past in slams and it appears like he might continue to if he comes up against Rafa in that form. And if Andy faces Rafa in Wimbledon this year how will he respond to the man from Mallorca as another painful defeat could be awaiting him. Andy has already stated in the media that he would like to face Rafa again on grass with the intention of taking revenge over his emphatic defeat at the French open, can he???? Well you can but hope, last year if Rafa faced Andy I would almost certainly say that Andy would have beaten him at Wimbledon as he himself was unstoppable at that tournament. Andy is currently also the best grass court player in the world and he is currently on an 18 match winning streak on grass, but can he keep that form up this year??? Its really hard to say and the signs we have seen this year suggest its doubtful, but there is no doubt that when the British No.1 steps out on that centre court at Wimbledon he will be fired up and ready to go and if he is to go out to Rafa eventually then he will give his all before it happens.
So it was a very disappointing and heavy loss for Andy and I'm sure its one match he will want to forget, but on the bright side he reached the semi finals again at the French open, and having missed it last year, he will gain a valuable 720 ranking points, which sees his return to the top 5 in the world which is great to see. And it has to be said that Andy has played some of the most entertaining matches of the men's tournament this year, which overall has been it a bit of a letdown. And with the grass court season starting next week, it will see Andy back in his comfort zone again as grass is his favourite surface, having won five titles on grass already and being the defending Wimbledon champion and also at Queens club, which starts on Monday coming. However during the grass court season, Andy will have to play very well as he has alot of points to defend, with 250 at Queens and a whopping 2000 at Wimbledon, so if he goes out early at SW19, he will take a big hit on points there, which will affect his ranking again. But despite his tough French open loss, the signs are still looking pretty encouraging for Andy and we will see how he get's on next week at Queens. As for his next coach, well Andy said he would make an annoucement after the French open, which ends on Sunday, so does this mean he will announce whoever it is next week??? Perhaps not, as he still seems non-committal over the subject, but I guess we will have to wait and see.
So this sets up the French open final between the world No.1 and No.2, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in a rematch of their excellent 2012 final. So who will win this one?????? Well..... its a tough call but I would have to go with Rafa, who's form has been excellent throughout the tournament and he played a superb match against Andy, which showed every asepct of his game was on fire. Novak on the other hand has played very well throughout the tournament overall, but he also has suffered a few lapses on serve here and there, which he cannot afford to do in the final against Rafa. Nole has also said he felt a bit fatigued on the court during his match with Gulbis, which also leaves a bit of a question mark over his fitness and whether or not he can topple and dethrone the king of clay on Sunday. And Novak also had his golden chance least year to beat Rafa as he went a break up in the 5th set, but he squandered it by tripping into the net at a key point, which he later lost as a result. So this time Novak simply cannot have any slip-ups, literal or otherwise, or else he will come out second best. And here's hoping Djokovic doesn't have a repeat in his previous final two years ago where he double faulted on championship point for Rafa, which no doubt was a point that haunted him and left him a wounded man months after. However despite that Novak still has a decent chance of winning the title if he can find that extra gear and play a great match then he will left the trophy on Sunday. But for me personally I think Rafa will triumph again and win his record 9th title here, so I think Rafa will win it in either four or five sets, but whatever happens it promises to be quite a final.
But one thing I have noticed is that Novak has put up a photo of himself playing chess (on Sat 07.06) with Boris Becker, his head coach, and he is wearing a bandage on his arm! Now as Djokovic has had a prior wrist injury this doesn't look like a good sign and if his wrist has flared up again then his chances tomorrow are not good as he will need to be 100 percent to have any chance against Rafa. So it makes you wonder is there something wrong with Novak's wrist or is he is trying to use a bit of gamesmanship to lull Rafa into a false sense of security??? If its the latter then the French crowd will come down on him like a tonne of bricks and straight away Rafa has an advantage with the crowd supporting him instead. However Djokovic has aluded to not feeling his best on Friday and has suggested in his press conference that he had some undisclosed ailment, and if it is his wrist again or something else, then he could very well lose tomorrow, but we'll wait and see how it pans out. But it would be ironic if we were to have another injury laden slam final again like we did with Rafa back in the Australian open earlier this year and even Rafa's back has been playing up a little bit again at the French as well although he has downplayed it alot more and it certainly hasn't impeded his play. So again we will wait and see how tomorrow pans out but it promises to be interesting one way or another especially as the World No.1 ranking is on the line for both of them, as Nole could overtake Rafa in the rankings to the top spot if he wins and also complete his career slam, or if Nole loses Rafa will remain at the top of the rankings and claim a record 9th title at Roland Garros, so its going to be a very intruiging day.
Right so that's it for now and I will be back with the result of the ladies final and see who comes out on top in the final between Maria Sharapova and the very talented and in form Romanian player, Simona Halep, who has reached the first major final of her career in Paris.
And with that I shall leave yee there.
Thursday, 5 June 2014
2014 Roland Garros Men's Part 4: Heading toward the big showdown....
OK time for the men's remaining quarter finals and this is where we get down to business and I will cover the second round of quarter final matches, which feature some big names, so let's have a look....
Right so the first match up was between Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer, two of the biggest competitors on clay just now. Now given Rafa's incredible record over Ferrer, which stood at 21-6 in Rafa's favour you would see him as the overwhelming favourite to win. But the match itself didn't start that way and it had an unusual complexion to it as Rafa got off to a slow start and Ferrer got motoring and he ended up taking the first set, which was also the first ever set he won against Rafa at Roland Garros. In the 2nd set, Ferrer soon went down a break, but he kept on fighting but inevitably Rafa had started to raise his level and he took the set to level the match. However unfortunately for Ferrer in the 3rd set, his challenge started to fade badly and his self belief evaporated as Rafa started to race through the match and go through his fellow Spaniard and dished out a bagel set. In the 4th set things weren't much better for Ferrer as he continued his rash of unforced errors, although he had a slight glimmer of hope as he got a break back, but it did no good in the end as Rafa ruthlessly finished off Ferrer to make it into another semi final in Paris with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1 victory.
Given the high quality of the first two sets it was a shame this match didn't fully live up to expectations and the most surprising thing in the end was how Ferrer dwindled so badly from the match as it went on. And that remains a big problem for Ferrer as he has often admitted in the press that he isn't as good as the "big four" and that lack of confidence was clear in this match. And if Ferrer is ever to have a chance against Rafa and the others he has to start believing he can beat them and not be so humble in his expectations. And the funny thing is Ferrer has beaten Rafa already on clay this year in Monte Carlo, and if he had somehow managed to maintain his level from the 1st set it might be him in the semi finals just now instead of Rafa. But the bottom line is that Ferrer has always lacked the belief to beat Rafa in the big events and it was always going to be a tall order to defeat Rafa in his own back yard. As for Rafa well it just shows even when he isn't playing his best he will find a way to get the job done and he certainly did that here.
So now we get onto the second quarter final match of the day,reak Andy which was between Andy Murray and the last French man standing, Gael Monfils. This promised to be quite an entertaining match and it sure turned out to be that as while it was a bit of a slow burner with Andy starting off where he left against Verdasco as he served well, moved and defending superbly, he didn't let Monfils into the match at all and he soon took a swift two set lead. However that all changed in the 3rd set as Monfils started to settle down into a ryhthym and he began to feed off the energy of the Parisian (and Partisan!) crowd and he managed to break Andy at 5-4 to take the 3rd set and extend the match, which saw the French folk go wild. Monfils continued his comeback in the 4th set as well as Andy played some sloppy serve games and suffered a double break, which gave Monfils all he needed to level the scores at two sets all. And going into the decider with the crowd fully behind him, Monfils was the favourite and Andy's chances started to look grim. However Andy defied all odds and got off to a solid start by holding his serve, he then went on to demolish Monfils, who failed spectacularly to hold his serve or any points and in just 24 minutes, Andy raced to victory to reach his second semi final at the French open after a bizarre 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 1-6, 6-0 win.
Well so far Andy has played some of the most dramatic and entertaining matches of the tournament so far and this one was no exception and both men played some lovely points for the crowd as they both displayed their deft touch and power form the baseline. Monfils is a streaky player but when he's on he is very dangerous and after levelling at two sets all he looked the favourite to win this match, but then Monfils's level dropped spectacularly as if the prospect and the pressure of actually defeating a two time major champion took its toll on him. As for Andy well we know he likes to do things the hard way and he sure did it that way in this match but his resolve to finish off Monfils so quickly in fading light on Philipp Chatrier in front of thousands French fans was very impressive and it shows once again he really has learned that champion mentality so well from Ivan Lendl.
So this sets up one hell of a tantalising match in prospect between one Andy Murray and one Rafael Nadal and if its anything like their most recent encounter in Rome its gonna be one absolute cracker of a match. And after waiting nearly three years for Andy and Rafa to renew their rivalry its great to see them meet each other again for the second time in just the space of three weeks, which means they surely will have a few more meetings this year ahead of them. So who will win???????? Well........ I'm going to have to go with Rafa as he hasn't won eight titles at Roland Garros for nowt and no matter how much Andy will throw at him, which could be hell of a lot, I don't quite see Andy take Rafa out of the event. However I do think it could be a very close match and it promises to be a terrific encounter so let's hope it lives up to expectations. As for my prediction I think Rafa will win in four tough sets or at an absolute push maybe five, but we will just see how he performs on the day, it could even be a straight set rout for Andy, but given his impressive form at the French I sincerely doubt it. So however it ends up I think it just might be a classic (well let's hope so).
Right so that's it for now and I will be back with the results of the men's semis and the ladies final soon.
Till the next un bye for now!
Right so the first match up was between Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer, two of the biggest competitors on clay just now. Now given Rafa's incredible record over Ferrer, which stood at 21-6 in Rafa's favour you would see him as the overwhelming favourite to win. But the match itself didn't start that way and it had an unusual complexion to it as Rafa got off to a slow start and Ferrer got motoring and he ended up taking the first set, which was also the first ever set he won against Rafa at Roland Garros. In the 2nd set, Ferrer soon went down a break, but he kept on fighting but inevitably Rafa had started to raise his level and he took the set to level the match. However unfortunately for Ferrer in the 3rd set, his challenge started to fade badly and his self belief evaporated as Rafa started to race through the match and go through his fellow Spaniard and dished out a bagel set. In the 4th set things weren't much better for Ferrer as he continued his rash of unforced errors, although he had a slight glimmer of hope as he got a break back, but it did no good in the end as Rafa ruthlessly finished off Ferrer to make it into another semi final in Paris with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1 victory.
Given the high quality of the first two sets it was a shame this match didn't fully live up to expectations and the most surprising thing in the end was how Ferrer dwindled so badly from the match as it went on. And that remains a big problem for Ferrer as he has often admitted in the press that he isn't as good as the "big four" and that lack of confidence was clear in this match. And if Ferrer is ever to have a chance against Rafa and the others he has to start believing he can beat them and not be so humble in his expectations. And the funny thing is Ferrer has beaten Rafa already on clay this year in Monte Carlo, and if he had somehow managed to maintain his level from the 1st set it might be him in the semi finals just now instead of Rafa. But the bottom line is that Ferrer has always lacked the belief to beat Rafa in the big events and it was always going to be a tall order to defeat Rafa in his own back yard. As for Rafa well it just shows even when he isn't playing his best he will find a way to get the job done and he certainly did that here.
So now we get onto the second quarter final match of the day,reak Andy which was between Andy Murray and the last French man standing, Gael Monfils. This promised to be quite an entertaining match and it sure turned out to be that as while it was a bit of a slow burner with Andy starting off where he left against Verdasco as he served well, moved and defending superbly, he didn't let Monfils into the match at all and he soon took a swift two set lead. However that all changed in the 3rd set as Monfils started to settle down into a ryhthym and he began to feed off the energy of the Parisian (and Partisan!) crowd and he managed to break Andy at 5-4 to take the 3rd set and extend the match, which saw the French folk go wild. Monfils continued his comeback in the 4th set as well as Andy played some sloppy serve games and suffered a double break, which gave Monfils all he needed to level the scores at two sets all. And going into the decider with the crowd fully behind him, Monfils was the favourite and Andy's chances started to look grim. However Andy defied all odds and got off to a solid start by holding his serve, he then went on to demolish Monfils, who failed spectacularly to hold his serve or any points and in just 24 minutes, Andy raced to victory to reach his second semi final at the French open after a bizarre 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 1-6, 6-0 win.
Well so far Andy has played some of the most dramatic and entertaining matches of the tournament so far and this one was no exception and both men played some lovely points for the crowd as they both displayed their deft touch and power form the baseline. Monfils is a streaky player but when he's on he is very dangerous and after levelling at two sets all he looked the favourite to win this match, but then Monfils's level dropped spectacularly as if the prospect and the pressure of actually defeating a two time major champion took its toll on him. As for Andy well we know he likes to do things the hard way and he sure did it that way in this match but his resolve to finish off Monfils so quickly in fading light on Philipp Chatrier in front of thousands French fans was very impressive and it shows once again he really has learned that champion mentality so well from Ivan Lendl.
So this sets up one hell of a tantalising match in prospect between one Andy Murray and one Rafael Nadal and if its anything like their most recent encounter in Rome its gonna be one absolute cracker of a match. And after waiting nearly three years for Andy and Rafa to renew their rivalry its great to see them meet each other again for the second time in just the space of three weeks, which means they surely will have a few more meetings this year ahead of them. So who will win???????? Well........ I'm going to have to go with Rafa as he hasn't won eight titles at Roland Garros for nowt and no matter how much Andy will throw at him, which could be hell of a lot, I don't quite see Andy take Rafa out of the event. However I do think it could be a very close match and it promises to be a terrific encounter so let's hope it lives up to expectations. As for my prediction I think Rafa will win in four tough sets or at an absolute push maybe five, but we will just see how he performs on the day, it could even be a straight set rout for Andy, but given his impressive form at the French I sincerely doubt it. So however it ends up I think it just might be a classic (well let's hope so).
Right so that's it for now and I will be back with the results of the men's semis and the ladies final soon.
Till the next un bye for now!
2014 Roland Garros Ladies Part 4: Getting to the final two....
Right time for what will actually be my penultimate post on the ladies French Open tournament as I will cover the remaining quarter finals and semi final matches, which will reveal who has made it into the ladies final, so this will cover days 11 and 12.
So to begin with day 11 we had Andrea Petkovic who faced the former finalist, Sara Errani for a place in the semi finals. And right from the get go you would favour Errani as the favourite to win the match, however it was quite the opposite as Petkovic really asserted herself with a powerful display and she broke Errani twice in the first set and then twice in the second to seal her place in her first grand slam semi final with a very convincing 6-2, 6-2 win. And after that we had Simona Halep who took on the former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and given Kuzie's record on clay and at Roland Garros she looked the slight favourite here. Howeve yet again the odds were in favour of the diminutive Romanian, Halep, who just like Petkovic, dominated her opponent from the get go and the errors kept flying off Kuznetsova's racquet and with a double break in both sets, Halep went on to reach her first slam semi final as well to book a place with Andrea Petkovic in the semis.
So now we get on to day 12 which was semi finals day (i.e. today) and the match ups were potentially very exciting as we had Maria Sharapova take on the very talented new young gun, Eugenie Bouchard of Canada, who already had made the semis earlier this year in Melbourne. And this match promised to be quite tough on paper and it proved to be just that as from the start Bouchard came out the blocks and started to boss Sharapova (yep boss the boss!) and she managed to break Sharapova and take the first set. In the 2nd set Sharapova started her own fightback and she got a break, but Bouchard wasn't done by any means as she came back fro 5-2 down to level the scores, however in the end Sharapova did what she does best, dig in and a find a way to break serve and she did that and took the set to level the match. And in the 3rd set.... well it was Sharapova that did her usual, showed her grit and steely determination and broke the young Canadian. And at 5-2, with Bouchard looking to serve to stay in the match fo 5-3, she had to fight off a few break points from the mighty Pova, but in the end it was no good as she finally capitulated on serve and Maria screamed with delight as she reached her third consecutive final in Paris with a hard fought 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory.
This certainly was quite a battle from Sharapova and this is the 3rd time in a row she had to come from a set down to win the match as she previously did against Sam Stosur and Garbine Muguruza. But one thing is for sure and that is as soon as Serena Williams went out of the championships, Maria was automatically the big favourite to win the title and I think it will very difficult to predict another outcome come this Saturday, but that will all still depend on her next opponent, which I will get to in a minute. As for Bouchard well she has really announced herself this year as an incredible new talent and she showed plenty of grit as well as she put up huge resistance against the mighty Sharapova and I think its safe to say we could be looking at a future grand slam winner in Bouchard and the future at this rate is looking very bright indeed for the Canadian.
Now we get onto the second semi finals match of the day, which saw the highest seed left in the draw, No.4 in the world, Simona Halep, face off against the German player, Andrea Petkovic, who has just recently climbed her way back up the rankings and also has made it into her maiden semi fnal of a slam. But it was Halep, who's rock solid form, helped her make the better start and Petko looked nervous and made some errors to hand a double break over to Halep who took the opener with ease in just under 30 minutes. However Petkovic's nerves settled in the 2nd set as she settled into her ryhtym and got a break of serve as well against Halep, but she was not able to hold on and Halep soon broke back. From here however play went into a tiebreak and here Halep reasserted herself and Petko made a few costly errors, which helped Simona Halep seal the deal and reach her first ever grand slam final in 6-2, 7-6 (7-4).
So this now sets the ladies final, Maria Sharapova and Simon Halep and it promises to be quite a good one, especially as these two faced each other in the final of Madrid last month, with Sharapova coming out on top in three sets. So who will win it???? Well I think it has to be Sharapova, as she is already a four time major champion and she completed her career slam two years ago at the French open, not to mention she has already won two titles this year on clay in Stuttgart and Madrid. As for Halep, well she has been very impressive throughout the tournament and she hasn't even dropped a set yet so to dismiss her chances would be silly as she definitely has got a shot at taking down the mighty Maria given her own power and consistency. But in the end I think Maria's experience and warrior qualities will most likely see her come through this one in three sets and claim her 5th major title. However whatever way it goes it should be one to watch.
Right so that's it for the ladies next up is the men's as I will look at the remaining quarter finals.
So until then au revoir!
So to begin with day 11 we had Andrea Petkovic who faced the former finalist, Sara Errani for a place in the semi finals. And right from the get go you would favour Errani as the favourite to win the match, however it was quite the opposite as Petkovic really asserted herself with a powerful display and she broke Errani twice in the first set and then twice in the second to seal her place in her first grand slam semi final with a very convincing 6-2, 6-2 win. And after that we had Simona Halep who took on the former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and given Kuzie's record on clay and at Roland Garros she looked the slight favourite here. Howeve yet again the odds were in favour of the diminutive Romanian, Halep, who just like Petkovic, dominated her opponent from the get go and the errors kept flying off Kuznetsova's racquet and with a double break in both sets, Halep went on to reach her first slam semi final as well to book a place with Andrea Petkovic in the semis.
So now we get on to day 12 which was semi finals day (i.e. today) and the match ups were potentially very exciting as we had Maria Sharapova take on the very talented new young gun, Eugenie Bouchard of Canada, who already had made the semis earlier this year in Melbourne. And this match promised to be quite tough on paper and it proved to be just that as from the start Bouchard came out the blocks and started to boss Sharapova (yep boss the boss!) and she managed to break Sharapova and take the first set. In the 2nd set Sharapova started her own fightback and she got a break, but Bouchard wasn't done by any means as she came back fro 5-2 down to level the scores, however in the end Sharapova did what she does best, dig in and a find a way to break serve and she did that and took the set to level the match. And in the 3rd set.... well it was Sharapova that did her usual, showed her grit and steely determination and broke the young Canadian. And at 5-2, with Bouchard looking to serve to stay in the match fo 5-3, she had to fight off a few break points from the mighty Pova, but in the end it was no good as she finally capitulated on serve and Maria screamed with delight as she reached her third consecutive final in Paris with a hard fought 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory.
This certainly was quite a battle from Sharapova and this is the 3rd time in a row she had to come from a set down to win the match as she previously did against Sam Stosur and Garbine Muguruza. But one thing is for sure and that is as soon as Serena Williams went out of the championships, Maria was automatically the big favourite to win the title and I think it will very difficult to predict another outcome come this Saturday, but that will all still depend on her next opponent, which I will get to in a minute. As for Bouchard well she has really announced herself this year as an incredible new talent and she showed plenty of grit as well as she put up huge resistance against the mighty Sharapova and I think its safe to say we could be looking at a future grand slam winner in Bouchard and the future at this rate is looking very bright indeed for the Canadian.
Now we get onto the second semi finals match of the day, which saw the highest seed left in the draw, No.4 in the world, Simona Halep, face off against the German player, Andrea Petkovic, who has just recently climbed her way back up the rankings and also has made it into her maiden semi fnal of a slam. But it was Halep, who's rock solid form, helped her make the better start and Petko looked nervous and made some errors to hand a double break over to Halep who took the opener with ease in just under 30 minutes. However Petkovic's nerves settled in the 2nd set as she settled into her ryhtym and got a break of serve as well against Halep, but she was not able to hold on and Halep soon broke back. From here however play went into a tiebreak and here Halep reasserted herself and Petko made a few costly errors, which helped Simona Halep seal the deal and reach her first ever grand slam final in 6-2, 7-6 (7-4).
So this now sets the ladies final, Maria Sharapova and Simon Halep and it promises to be quite a good one, especially as these two faced each other in the final of Madrid last month, with Sharapova coming out on top in three sets. So who will win it???? Well I think it has to be Sharapova, as she is already a four time major champion and she completed her career slam two years ago at the French open, not to mention she has already won two titles this year on clay in Stuttgart and Madrid. As for Halep, well she has been very impressive throughout the tournament and she hasn't even dropped a set yet so to dismiss her chances would be silly as she definitely has got a shot at taking down the mighty Maria given her own power and consistency. But in the end I think Maria's experience and warrior qualities will most likely see her come through this one in three sets and claim her 5th major title. However whatever way it goes it should be one to watch.
Right so that's it for the ladies next up is the men's as I will look at the remaining quarter finals.
So until then au revoir!
Tuesday, 3 June 2014
2014 Roland Garros Men's Part 3: Finding form
Right so now for Part 3 of my look at the men's French open tournament which will cover days 9 and 10 and the remainder of the fourth round matches and the first quarter final matches. So let's give them a look.....
So to start with Day 9 Rafa Nadal started play as he took on the young upcoming Serbian, Dusan Lajovic, who debuted in making this far at the French Open in the 4th round. And the young Serb even asked his fellow native, Novak Djokovic for a few pointers on how to handle Rafa. However in the end they weren't much use as Dusan is no Djokovic and Rafa hammered the young Serb with no mercy and he sped to a very straightforward victory dropping just four games in 6-1, 6-2 6-1. Whether or not this really shows Rafa's form so far remains to be seen, as there is no doubt he has been playing well at the French this year, but he also hasn't really been tested yet and has had a pretty easy draw so far, however that will soon change of course.
And this could very well change with the winner of the next match, who will go on to face Rafa, and the match was between David Ferrer and the South African giant, Kevin Anderson. And for the most part Ferrer was in ful control of the match and took a two set lead in fairly quick time, however Anderson did fight back well in the 3rd set and pushed play to a tiebreak, which Ferrer lost, and was the first set he dropped in the tournament. However it was no more than a blip as Ferrer regained full control in the 4th and went on to race to the finish line and another quarter final in Paris with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-7, 6-1 win. So this sets up a big clash between two of the clay's biggest rivals Rafa and Ferrer who will win??? Well you have to go with Rafa, but it could potentially be a tight match, although last year Rafa thumped Ferrer quite convincingly so a straight set win could well be on the cards here. But it will act as a barometer of where Rafa's game is at just now in the French as this will be his first real test, but I still think he can come through this one in either three or four sets.
After this we had Gael Monfils take on the Spaniard, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in what could have been a real tight encounter. However it was Monfils that produced the goods and produced some of his typical moments of genius to take a quick two set lead, dropping only two games. The 3rd set was a tighter one but it was Monfils that finally pulled the trigger and smelled sweet victory with a 6-0, 6-2, 7-5. This sees Monfils back in the quarter finals again for the first time in three years, but can he go further??? Well that will depend on the winner of the next match.
And this match was between Andy Murray and Fernando Verdasco, and although Andy leads their head to head 9-1, this was to be their first meeting on clay, so in a way the result would be difficult to decide given Verdasco's calibre as a clay court player. However that didn't really matter as it was Andy that put in a top performance to keep Verdasco at bay and he soon took the first set with a break. In the second set, things went by serve until 5-5 and Andy managed to secure the break and after a tricky service game he held to take the two set lead. And in the 3rd set Andy got an early break, and he was intent on getting a second, but Verdasco held firm and kept it to a single one. And at 4-2, there was a controversial call from the umpire as Verdasco's serve was called out but it was on the line and it lead to a heated argument with the umpire, but Andy diffused the situation by conceding the point and game. However it served (no pun intended) as the catalyst for Verdasco to make a fightback and he broke Andy's serve to level the scores at 4-4 in the 3rd. And play continued on serve into a tiebreak, where Andy put down the finishing touches and outclassed Verdasco to seal it and his place in his 4th quarter final at the French open with a hard fought 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 scoreline.
This was a really entertaining match and it was easily the most impressive match from Andy yet in the tournament as he served well, and moved and defended superbly throughout and it showed that he is growing more comfortable on the red dirt. And for Andy to beat a clay court player such as Verdasco in straight sets is even more impressive, especially given Verdasco's firey fightback in the third set. And it also continues to show Andy's excellent consistency in the grand slams as he has now reached his 13th consecutive major quarter final, which is quite a feat in itself. So this now sees Andy set up a rematch of his 2006 French open match against Gael Monfils, which promises to be a very entertaining match, as both players have great variety. Who will win it???? Well not to sound too biased but I'd favour Andy, however Monfils will be a danger for him, especially as he will have the home crowd on his side and if he is inspired by them, then Monfils could very well pull off an upset here. So even though I'm going with Andy its by no means a given, as Monfils on his day can beat just about anyone (with the exception of Djokovic that is, who he's never beaten!) so he will have to watch out and play very well if he wants to make it to the semis. So I'd say Andy might make it through in four sets (or Monfils in four or five if he scores the upset, but hopefully Andy can win it).
Right now onto Day 10 which saw the men's quarter finals get underway, starting with the headline match of the day which was Novak Djokovic who faced the big serving Canadian, Milos Raonic. This was a much anticipated clash and promised to be a real test for Nole, especially after their last brutal encounter in Rome, which Novak scraped through. However in this match Novak was far more in control and in the first set as play went by serve, Nole managed to eventually secure a break of Raonic's serve to take the opening one. In the 2nd set however play went to a tiebreak, with Raonic now with a real chance to level the match, however Djokovic snuffed out his chances and took the two set lead with a 7-5 score. In the 3rd set Djokovic took the early break and moved ahead to go 5-2, but as he served it out he made a few errors to let Raonic get one of the breaks back and the big Canadian was given a stay of execution as he held to keep it to the single break at 5-4. But in the end Novak had no problem in serving it out a second time and reached the semi finals at the French for the fourth straight year running with a comfortable 7-5, 7-6, 6-4 result.
So that means that Nole would play the winner of the next match which was between Tomas Berdych, the No.6 seed and the in form Ernest Gulbis, who took out Roger Federer in his previous match. And Gulbis showed his impressive form once again here as he took an emphatic lead against Berdych and raced into a two set lead, and he went on to break early in the 3rd set with Berdych managed to keep it to the single break. However Gulbis had no trouble in serving it out and he reached his first ever grand slam semi final with a very impressive 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory. While I'm not a big fan of Gulbis I do appreciate this is a very impressive result for him and his next clash will be a potentially very good one with Novak Djokovic.
So who will win that one??????? Well I have to go with Djokovic as his confidence is pretty good just now and I think not even an in form Gulbis will be able to stop Nole in his quest to win his first maiden French title. However I think it promises to be a really good match and I'm sure Gulbis will give Novak a really tough match and it might even be one of the matches of the tournament, but I think the Serb will come through in four or five sets to reach his second final in Paris.
Right well that's it for now and I'll be back in a day or two with the results of the quarters and semis for the men's and ladies.
Till then au revoir!
So to start with Day 9 Rafa Nadal started play as he took on the young upcoming Serbian, Dusan Lajovic, who debuted in making this far at the French Open in the 4th round. And the young Serb even asked his fellow native, Novak Djokovic for a few pointers on how to handle Rafa. However in the end they weren't much use as Dusan is no Djokovic and Rafa hammered the young Serb with no mercy and he sped to a very straightforward victory dropping just four games in 6-1, 6-2 6-1. Whether or not this really shows Rafa's form so far remains to be seen, as there is no doubt he has been playing well at the French this year, but he also hasn't really been tested yet and has had a pretty easy draw so far, however that will soon change of course.
And this could very well change with the winner of the next match, who will go on to face Rafa, and the match was between David Ferrer and the South African giant, Kevin Anderson. And for the most part Ferrer was in ful control of the match and took a two set lead in fairly quick time, however Anderson did fight back well in the 3rd set and pushed play to a tiebreak, which Ferrer lost, and was the first set he dropped in the tournament. However it was no more than a blip as Ferrer regained full control in the 4th and went on to race to the finish line and another quarter final in Paris with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-7, 6-1 win. So this sets up a big clash between two of the clay's biggest rivals Rafa and Ferrer who will win??? Well you have to go with Rafa, but it could potentially be a tight match, although last year Rafa thumped Ferrer quite convincingly so a straight set win could well be on the cards here. But it will act as a barometer of where Rafa's game is at just now in the French as this will be his first real test, but I still think he can come through this one in either three or four sets.
After this we had Gael Monfils take on the Spaniard, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in what could have been a real tight encounter. However it was Monfils that produced the goods and produced some of his typical moments of genius to take a quick two set lead, dropping only two games. The 3rd set was a tighter one but it was Monfils that finally pulled the trigger and smelled sweet victory with a 6-0, 6-2, 7-5. This sees Monfils back in the quarter finals again for the first time in three years, but can he go further??? Well that will depend on the winner of the next match.
And this match was between Andy Murray and Fernando Verdasco, and although Andy leads their head to head 9-1, this was to be their first meeting on clay, so in a way the result would be difficult to decide given Verdasco's calibre as a clay court player. However that didn't really matter as it was Andy that put in a top performance to keep Verdasco at bay and he soon took the first set with a break. In the second set, things went by serve until 5-5 and Andy managed to secure the break and after a tricky service game he held to take the two set lead. And in the 3rd set Andy got an early break, and he was intent on getting a second, but Verdasco held firm and kept it to a single one. And at 4-2, there was a controversial call from the umpire as Verdasco's serve was called out but it was on the line and it lead to a heated argument with the umpire, but Andy diffused the situation by conceding the point and game. However it served (no pun intended) as the catalyst for Verdasco to make a fightback and he broke Andy's serve to level the scores at 4-4 in the 3rd. And play continued on serve into a tiebreak, where Andy put down the finishing touches and outclassed Verdasco to seal it and his place in his 4th quarter final at the French open with a hard fought 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 scoreline.
This was a really entertaining match and it was easily the most impressive match from Andy yet in the tournament as he served well, and moved and defended superbly throughout and it showed that he is growing more comfortable on the red dirt. And for Andy to beat a clay court player such as Verdasco in straight sets is even more impressive, especially given Verdasco's firey fightback in the third set. And it also continues to show Andy's excellent consistency in the grand slams as he has now reached his 13th consecutive major quarter final, which is quite a feat in itself. So this now sees Andy set up a rematch of his 2006 French open match against Gael Monfils, which promises to be a very entertaining match, as both players have great variety. Who will win it???? Well not to sound too biased but I'd favour Andy, however Monfils will be a danger for him, especially as he will have the home crowd on his side and if he is inspired by them, then Monfils could very well pull off an upset here. So even though I'm going with Andy its by no means a given, as Monfils on his day can beat just about anyone (with the exception of Djokovic that is, who he's never beaten!) so he will have to watch out and play very well if he wants to make it to the semis. So I'd say Andy might make it through in four sets (or Monfils in four or five if he scores the upset, but hopefully Andy can win it).
Right now onto Day 10 which saw the men's quarter finals get underway, starting with the headline match of the day which was Novak Djokovic who faced the big serving Canadian, Milos Raonic. This was a much anticipated clash and promised to be a real test for Nole, especially after their last brutal encounter in Rome, which Novak scraped through. However in this match Novak was far more in control and in the first set as play went by serve, Nole managed to eventually secure a break of Raonic's serve to take the opening one. In the 2nd set however play went to a tiebreak, with Raonic now with a real chance to level the match, however Djokovic snuffed out his chances and took the two set lead with a 7-5 score. In the 3rd set Djokovic took the early break and moved ahead to go 5-2, but as he served it out he made a few errors to let Raonic get one of the breaks back and the big Canadian was given a stay of execution as he held to keep it to the single break at 5-4. But in the end Novak had no problem in serving it out a second time and reached the semi finals at the French for the fourth straight year running with a comfortable 7-5, 7-6, 6-4 result.
So that means that Nole would play the winner of the next match which was between Tomas Berdych, the No.6 seed and the in form Ernest Gulbis, who took out Roger Federer in his previous match. And Gulbis showed his impressive form once again here as he took an emphatic lead against Berdych and raced into a two set lead, and he went on to break early in the 3rd set with Berdych managed to keep it to the single break. However Gulbis had no trouble in serving it out and he reached his first ever grand slam semi final with a very impressive 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory. While I'm not a big fan of Gulbis I do appreciate this is a very impressive result for him and his next clash will be a potentially very good one with Novak Djokovic.
So who will win that one??????? Well I have to go with Djokovic as his confidence is pretty good just now and I think not even an in form Gulbis will be able to stop Nole in his quest to win his first maiden French title. However I think it promises to be a really good match and I'm sure Gulbis will give Novak a really tough match and it might even be one of the matches of the tournament, but I think the Serb will come through in four or five sets to reach his second final in Paris.
Right well that's it for now and I'll be back in a day or two with the results of the quarters and semis for the men's and ladies.
Till then au revoir!
2014 Roland Garros Ladies Part 3: Digging deep on the dirt
Right time for the third part of my look at the ladies French Open which will cover days 9 and 10 and the remaning 4th round and first bout of quarter final matches of the ladies event. So let's get looking....
So beginning with day 9 we had Andrea Petkovic first on Philippe Chatrier court playing the talented Kiki Bertens from the Netherlands and the two of them had a real fight together but it eventually saw the resurging Petko win the match from a set down to reach the quarter finals of the French for the second time with a 1-6, 6-2, 7-5 win. Simona Halep also continued her impressive run and form this year by reaching the last eight as well by beating Sloane Stephens in straight sets with a 6-4, 6-3 victory, which saw reach her first French Open quarter final and sees the small Romanian still as a potential favourite for the title. Sara Errani the former finalist two years ago, had a tough and very entertaining match against Jelena Jankovic, which in the first set saw the momentum swing back and forth but eventually the diminutive Italian took it on the breaker. In the 2nd set it was an easier affair for Errani who broke an injured Jankovic, who's movement was hampered and she reached the quarter finals for a third straight year with a 7-6, 6-2 victory. And last of all Svetlana Kuznetsova took on the Czeck player Lucie Safarova, and despite some plucky stuff from Safarova, the former 2009 champion, Kuznetsova was too good for her in the end and she reached the quarter finals with a 6-3,6-4 scoreline.
Moving onto day 10 we first round of quarter final matches which started with a much anticipated match between Maria Sharapova and the surprise of the tournament, Garbine Muguruza of Spain, who took out Serena Williams earlier in round two. And in the first set it looked like Muguruza was going to stage another big upset as she bossed Sharapova (not a phrase that is often used!) around the court and she took the first set convincingly with a double break. In the 2nd set Sharapova went a break up but then Muguruza broke back and play went by serve to 5-4, with Sharapova teetering on the edge she managed to fight hard to stay in to make 5-5 and she went from there to manufacture a break of her to level the match at a set all. In the 3rd set however Muguruza's challenge finally started to fade as Sharapova started to assert herself in the match and she broke the young Spaniard twice to close out the match and seal her place in the semis with a 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory, and within two matches of a second French Open title.
And in the second quarter final match of the day we had the newcomer Eugenie Bouchard of Canada, who announced herself on the tour last year and this year even reached the last four in Melbourne, and she was up against Carla Suarez-Navarro of Spain, a clay court specialist. However it was Bouchard that looked like the expert at times as the two of them fought a close match, which saw a tight first set go to Bouchard on a tiebreak. In the 2nd set however Navarro fought back and broke the young Canadian twice to level the match with a set apiece, and in the 3rd, despite being 4-1 down, Bouchard managed to mentally stay tough and she broke back and battled on to create a break of her own which saw her serve it out to reach her second consecutive grand slam semi final with a hard fought 7-6, 2-6, 7-5 result.
So this sets up the first section of the semi finals for the ladies, which is looking very promising and will see Maria Sharapova take on the young gun in Eugenie Bouchard. So who will win it??? Well I have to go with Sharapova simply because of her ultimate warrior status and her experience in the slams is far greater so whatever Bouchard will throw at her, Sharapova will utlimately weather the storm. So I think Maria is in pole position for reaching another final at the French and I also think she will possibly take the title as well as despite the talented players that are left, she can outfight them all when it comes purely down to mental strength and inner belief, there are hardly any that can live with Sharapova. However we will see how it pans out and how the other quarter final matches go.
Right so that's it for now and I'll be back with the men's matches.
So beginning with day 9 we had Andrea Petkovic first on Philippe Chatrier court playing the talented Kiki Bertens from the Netherlands and the two of them had a real fight together but it eventually saw the resurging Petko win the match from a set down to reach the quarter finals of the French for the second time with a 1-6, 6-2, 7-5 win. Simona Halep also continued her impressive run and form this year by reaching the last eight as well by beating Sloane Stephens in straight sets with a 6-4, 6-3 victory, which saw reach her first French Open quarter final and sees the small Romanian still as a potential favourite for the title. Sara Errani the former finalist two years ago, had a tough and very entertaining match against Jelena Jankovic, which in the first set saw the momentum swing back and forth but eventually the diminutive Italian took it on the breaker. In the 2nd set it was an easier affair for Errani who broke an injured Jankovic, who's movement was hampered and she reached the quarter finals for a third straight year with a 7-6, 6-2 victory. And last of all Svetlana Kuznetsova took on the Czeck player Lucie Safarova, and despite some plucky stuff from Safarova, the former 2009 champion, Kuznetsova was too good for her in the end and she reached the quarter finals with a 6-3,6-4 scoreline.
Moving onto day 10 we first round of quarter final matches which started with a much anticipated match between Maria Sharapova and the surprise of the tournament, Garbine Muguruza of Spain, who took out Serena Williams earlier in round two. And in the first set it looked like Muguruza was going to stage another big upset as she bossed Sharapova (not a phrase that is often used!) around the court and she took the first set convincingly with a double break. In the 2nd set Sharapova went a break up but then Muguruza broke back and play went by serve to 5-4, with Sharapova teetering on the edge she managed to fight hard to stay in to make 5-5 and she went from there to manufacture a break of her to level the match at a set all. In the 3rd set however Muguruza's challenge finally started to fade as Sharapova started to assert herself in the match and she broke the young Spaniard twice to close out the match and seal her place in the semis with a 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory, and within two matches of a second French Open title.
And in the second quarter final match of the day we had the newcomer Eugenie Bouchard of Canada, who announced herself on the tour last year and this year even reached the last four in Melbourne, and she was up against Carla Suarez-Navarro of Spain, a clay court specialist. However it was Bouchard that looked like the expert at times as the two of them fought a close match, which saw a tight first set go to Bouchard on a tiebreak. In the 2nd set however Navarro fought back and broke the young Canadian twice to level the match with a set apiece, and in the 3rd, despite being 4-1 down, Bouchard managed to mentally stay tough and she broke back and battled on to create a break of her own which saw her serve it out to reach her second consecutive grand slam semi final with a hard fought 7-6, 2-6, 7-5 result.
So this sets up the first section of the semi finals for the ladies, which is looking very promising and will see Maria Sharapova take on the young gun in Eugenie Bouchard. So who will win it??? Well I have to go with Sharapova simply because of her ultimate warrior status and her experience in the slams is far greater so whatever Bouchard will throw at her, Sharapova will utlimately weather the storm. So I think Maria is in pole position for reaching another final at the French and I also think she will possibly take the title as well as despite the talented players that are left, she can outfight them all when it comes purely down to mental strength and inner belief, there are hardly any that can live with Sharapova. However we will see how it pans out and how the other quarter final matches go.
Right so that's it for now and I'll be back with the men's matches.
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