OK so this is my final post on the 2015 Australian Open which has been an interesting tournament and seen some dramatic upsets on both sides of the net and I will cover both the men's and ladies finals in this post together. So let's give them a look....
So ladies first as the final was between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova which was a clash of the titans even though Serena emphatically leads in their head to head 16-3 going into the match, with Maria never having beaten her for over 10 years so it was a tough task for Maria to try and pull out this win. But the match itself was a very entertaining and compelling one and Maria turned up for a fight and sure gave Serena one although Serena broke Maria to take the opening set. In the 2nd set it was far more tense affair and plenty of nip and tuck points as Maria had to battle hard and dig deep to save break points on her serve. And at 6-5 as Maria served for a tiebreak she gave two championship points to Serena but she managed to dig deep and save them to push the match into a tiebreak. And the tiebreak was a tense affair which saw the players exchange breaks of serve but it was Serena who brought down the final hammer as her first appeared to seal the deal but it turned out to be a let, but Serena closed it out on her second go with another ace to claim her 6th Australian open title and her 19th grand slam title overall with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) win.
Well this was a highly entertaining match and it was a fine battle between two great veterans in the ladies game. It was a big ask however for Maria to try and beat Serena given that she had lost their previous 16 matches and in the end Serena was yet again just too solid and too good on her serve and Maria (just like a certain other player I will soon mention!) just wasn't consistent enough on her own. And this also saw Serena overtake Martina Navitrilova in grand slam title wins as they were tied at 18 each but now Serena stands with 19 and she is just three more away from equalling Stefi Graff and five away from equalling the all time record of 24 held by Margaret Court (whom second biggest court at Melbourne park is named after). And I'm sure Serena will still want to keep on playing until she has either surpassed or equalled Margaret's record and if she plays long enough and injury free she will do just that. And another thing is that Serena has now since returning from her life threatening illness to the sport in 2011 at one or another won all four of the grand slams in that time since, which is remarkable in itself. So for the time being Serena remains the undisputed No.1 and while she keeps playing no one will be able to equal her.
As for Maria well she had a great tournament and she put up a great fight against Serena in the final and she also did really well as she nearly went out of the tournament in the 2nd round as she faced the tough Russian opponent Alexandra Panova there. But Maria has no doubt shown once again that she is one of the game's toughest competitors and she knows how to fight and bring it on court and in a way its a pity that for her Serena has become an unmovable object but that is the way the sport can go. However there is no doubt that Maria will be back again soon in the major of a final and she no doubt has a chance to win one again this year.
Right now we get onto the men's final which was a hugely anticipated clash between two of the world's best players right now, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. Nole was going for a record 5th Australian open title while Andy was looking to end his losing streak in Melbourne by trying to win his first title there. The match promised great things especially given Andy's strong form throughout the tournament and for once he went into the final being the slight favourite, especially after Novak played below par in his semi final against the then defending champion, Stan Wawrinka. However as for the match itself???? Well it was a match of two halves really and both players in the first set looked a bit tight, especially Andy as Nole made the stronger start and raced into a 4-1 lead. But soon the momentum swung back in Andy's favour as he broke back and after this both men traded breaks of serve which saw the match go into a tiebreak in which Andy had his chances at 4-2 and lost them as Novak took the breaker 7-5. In the 2nd set Andy went down a break again but he managed to dig deep and break back and from here both men played great tennis as it edged towards another tiebreak, which this time Andy seized the initiative and broke Djokovic to win the set and level. In the 3rd set Andy made a promising start as Novak started to show signs of cramping and fatigue as he wobbled about the court, which started to prove distracting for Andy so much so he shouted "he always does this!". And from here Andy dropped serve and let Nole back into the match and from here... well Novak didn't look back as he started to capitalise on Andy's mounting unforced errors and also his tame second serve getting punished, he lost the 3rd set, handing the initiative to the Serb. And in the 4th set it was curtains for Andy as he folded in spectacular fashion and the errors and poor serves and he handed the title to Djokovic who claimed his 5th win down under with a 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-0 result.
Well this was certainly not the result Andy would have wanted who it has to be said right from the start looked shaky and vulnerable particularly on serve as Novak sped to a 4-1 lead. But regardless of that Andy still did well to fight his way back into the first set and to even level the match in the 2nd before he completely lost his way toward the end of the 3rd and even squandered his own lead going a set all and a break up only to let Djokovic back in the door again. And the final showed a rather troubling picture of Andy Murray as he was able to hang tough for two sets and after that he just fell away from the match just like he did last at the US Open against Nole in their quarter final match. He also went back to his old ways of berating himself and giving his hangdog expression, getting down on himself and at the end of the match smashing his racquets a la Baghdatis style (who did the same during a match he had two years ago in Melbourne). Whilst his frustration is understandable it shows that Andy since Ivan Lendl's departure he isn't as mentally strong or as focussed as he once was back then. And in the New York last year, Andy physically couldn't stay with Novak but this time he could and the difference was that Novak won the battle on the mental side, which in tennis is the key to success.
However I also felt that Djokovic was a bit guilty of gamesmanship in the match particularly when he started to show signs of cramping and wobbly movement, which very much distracted Andy in the 3rd set and appeared to allow Novak back into the match. Yet somehow after Novak recovered the break in the 3rd set he suddenly went from having limp movement to jogging his way back to his seat as if there was nothing wrong with him! And its not the first time Novak did this sort of thing as he reportedly did the same thing during a Wimbledon match five years ago against Lleyton Hewitt after Novak complained of suffering a leg and ankle injury and he had a timeout and all of a sudden came back to beat Hewitt as if he had no injury whatsoever! So it does leave a question mark over Novak's behaviour on court in the final and if he was using some sneaky underhand tactics to get back into the match then that is inexcusable in itself and after the match Djokovic claimed he wasn't cramping but was having a "physical crsis for about 20 minutes" after the rigours of the first two sets (or so he says!). But I guess in the end the outcome wouldn't have been any different and overall it had to be said that Novak was by far the better player after those first two and a half sets there was no contest and it became one-way traffic but regardless of that I still don't like how he behaved during that 3rd set.
However I guess Novak deserves the credit and his title as the Australian open has now very much become his slam, just like the French open is Rafa's although of course winning the French will be Novak's next main aim and on his current form his might just do it, especially given Rafa's current ropey form. And with Novak having captured his 5th Australian open title that sees him break the record for holding the most Australian open titles in the open era which is remarkable in itself and he will look to emulate Roy Emerson's record of six Australian open titles next year (who won them all just prior to the beginning of the open era of tennis in 1968).
As for Andy the worrying signs however are still the same as Andy's serve again let him down badly and whilst he is able to get away with poor service games against lower ranked players he is not able to do the same against Novak, who remains one of the most consistent servers on the tour whereas Andy must have the worst serve of any of the top ranked players in the game just now. Andy also mentally seemed to collapse towards the end of the match as well particularly in the 4th set where he was dished out a bagel, which must have reminded him of the rout he suffered at the hands of Roger Federer last year at the ATP world tour finals in London. Another concern is that his rivalry with Novak has now become increasingly one-sided as he now trails 8-16 in their head to head and has lost their last five meetings and it makes you question if he will be able to beat Novak again in any event never mind a major. Personally I think he will get a win over Novak some time this year regardless of which tournament it might be and if they were to meet in the Wimbledon final he might just get his revenge (well you can but hope!) and while Novak is the better player overall, Andy is a superior grass court player to Novak. On the plus side however by reaching the final Andy has secured his return back to the top 4 and his ranking will rise up to No.4 again, which will help him throughout the year if he will meet the big three in the latter stages of the big tournaments and given his form it should hopefully see him win a few titles of his own this year. So we will just need to wait and see how Andy's year will pan out for him in 2015 but so far he's off to a pretty good start and I'm sure Andy will bounce back soon from his loss and he will be
back in action soon in Rotterdam in a week's time so hopefully he can do well there.
Right so that's it for now and that's the Australian open come to an end and it was interesting tournament even if it was a mixed bag and not always of the highest quality and it all ended in disappointment for Andy Murray and delight for Novak Djokovic but that's the way it goes in sport.
So I will probably be back sometime soon with some other tennis posts and in the meantime I will carry on doing some posts for my review blog (A Blogggggg Odyssey its called!).
So until the next one its bye for now.
Sunday, 1 February 2015
Saturday, 31 January 2015
2015 Australian Open Part 8 Men's semis: 4th time lucky????
OK time for my look at the men's semi finals matches at the Australian open which saw the last four guys go at it to try and get into the final. So let's have a look at them....
So the first semi final was between Andy Murray, three time finalist and Tomas Berdych, the 7th seed in what was to an intruiging clash partly because Andy's former assistant coach, Dani Vallverdu left his team to go and work with Tomas Berdych. As for the match itself it was a pretty tense affair and it started off with an edgy first set with both men unable to find their proper rhythym but Berdych broke first, however he was unable to consolidate as Andy broke back and play went into a tiebreak where momentum swung and it was Berdych that got the minibreak and the first set. In the 2nd set however Andy regrouped and used his disappointment of losing the first set to his advantage as Berdych came way off the boil and Andy ruthlessly dished out a bagel set to level the match. In the 3rd set Andy continued his dominance over Berdych as he broke again to go 5-3 up and he served out for two sets to one lead. In the 4th set things were more evenly contested but Andy started to show signs of pressure as he had stave off some break points at 3-2 to Berdych, however he himself went on to break Berdych to go 6-5. And from here Andy confidently served out the match to love and sealed it with an ace as he reached his 4th Australian open final with a convincing 6-7, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5 victory.
Well it has to be said that in this match and even throughout most of the tournament that I have never seen Andy play as well as this since the Wimbledon final two years ago and also the 2012 Olympics. In the match Andy was furious at himself for losing the first set but after that he totally regrouped and channelled his anger positively and used it to get himself back into the match and after that he never really looked back. So its great to see Andy reach yet another final in Melbourne and given his current form I would have to say he has a strong chance of winning the title if he maintains the form he has shown so far particularly in his matches with Nick Kygrios and Berdych. And at the end of the match we saw a look in Andy's eyes that has been missing since winning that Wimbledon final, which was a look of real hunger and the desire to win. And because of that I really think Andy has a shot on Sunday at lifting his maiden title in Melbourne and it will be quite an achievement if he does and it will also be the perfect validation of his working relationship with his coach, Amelie Mauresmo should he do just that. Although the one thing that overshadowed the match itself was the press attention toward Andy's fiance, Kim Sear, who apparently was caught on camera swearing at Berdych, which lead to a whole lot of silly headlines and also some twitter abuse for Kim, which is undeserved, but it does highlight with the cameras on you, you need to be careful with everything you do. Anyway hopefully the incident will not ruin Andy's chances of doing well on Sunday and given the amount of rubbish he's put up with in the media over the years this will be nothing in comparison.
So now we get onto what easily had to be the most anticipated men's match of the tournament, which was between Novak Djokovic, the four time champion and the defending champion, Stan Wawrinka, who have played three epic five setters in their previous slam matches, so we were all hoping this would be another. The match itself was a five setter but it wasn't quite of the quality of their previous two Melbourne clashes and the first set went to a tiebreak where Novak dominated proceedings to take the set. In the 2nd set Stan started his fightback as he started to go for his shots and his tennis started to flow and he broke Nole to take the 2nd set, which saw Novak drop his first set of the tournament! In the 3rd set it was Nole that reasserted himself and his broke Stan but Stan later broke back and yet again there was another break when Nole broke to take the two sets to one lead. But in the 4th set Stan was not yet done as he too kept on fighting and he finally managed to fashion a break of his own and served it out to level the match and take it into a deciding 5th set. And as the match went into its 5th set it looked like we were in for yet another classic like the previous two years but... that is when the wheels came off Stan's game as he appeared to run out of steam and his unforced errors started to mount up. And Novak watched the breaks go in his favour, not one, two but three breaks of serve and Stan gave up the ghost and his title defence with it as the World No.1 got his revenge and his place in the final with a topsy turvey 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 win.
This really was a strange match as both men struggled to find their rhythm and naturally there were some momentum swings throughout the first four sets and it certainly wasn't the classic we'd hoped for. Despite that though there was still some great rallies to be found and Stan delighted the crowd with some wonderful touch especially as at one point he played lovely drop shot close to the net, which just stayed within the line. But Stan curiously came off the boil drastically in that 5th set and I can only imagine it was down to fatigue that he started to make so many mistakes and once he lost his way in that set well that was that. Despite his loss though, Stan has played very well in the tournament and the fact that he made the last four was a very impressive effort as the defending champion it would put alot of pressure on any player in that position but Stan handled it very well and he showed that he is still a contender for future slams. As for Djokovic well he showed yet again his resiliance and that he is the world's best player and when it comes to competition he is second to none. And despite not even playing anywhere near his best he is still in the final and there he will look to pick up an unprecedented 5th Australian open title, which has not been done before in the history of the game. So I'm sure come the final Djokovic will do his best to refocus and start again from zero and just play his game in the match.
Sooooo this sets up quite a final yet again between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray as they will meet for the 5th time in their careers in a grand slam final and they stand at two apiece so far. So who will win the title is the question that begs to be asked, so who will win it????? Well normally I would go with Novak but this time I have to go with Andy as he really has come into his own again in this tournament and particularly in his last two matches we have seen him go from strength to strength and if he continues like that in the final then he will win regardless of what form Novak might be in. But then again you can never count out Novak out of anything and he has won this title four times already and he is very comfortable on Rod Laver arena as its almost like his back yard. So it would not surprise me at all if Novak were to work his way into the match and find a way to win as he usually does and a perfect example of that was three years in that epic final between Novak and Rafa where Rafa went 4-2 up in the 5th set and then he lost the break and later the match 7-5 in the 5th. But yet again if there is one man that can beat him and has done so already in slam finals, then it is Andy.
So my prediction (for what its worth!) is that Andy will win the title in five sets and I could very well be wrong as Novak could take this one himself in four or five sets but this time I really sense something different about Andy and I think to use a cliche, the stars are in alignment for him to take this one and might just have his name on it. His look at the end of the Berdych match spoke volumes as he roared to the crowd, confidently pointed to his camp and then sat down gave three passionate fist pumps (which I have to say was quite funny to watch!). It showed in that moment his hunger and desire to win a major title again and as one Eurosport commentator, Chris Bradnam said "Wimbledon is well and truly out of his system" which means he is ready to move on and win more grand slams and by what we've seen some from the last two weeks he might just do it on Sunday. Whatever happens though it should this time be a cracker, as the last Aussie open finals they played were just warm ups, this time it will promise to be the real deal.
Right so that's it for now and I will be back with my last post on the ladies and men's finals soon.
Until then I shall (with baited breath) bye for now!
So the first semi final was between Andy Murray, three time finalist and Tomas Berdych, the 7th seed in what was to an intruiging clash partly because Andy's former assistant coach, Dani Vallverdu left his team to go and work with Tomas Berdych. As for the match itself it was a pretty tense affair and it started off with an edgy first set with both men unable to find their proper rhythym but Berdych broke first, however he was unable to consolidate as Andy broke back and play went into a tiebreak where momentum swung and it was Berdych that got the minibreak and the first set. In the 2nd set however Andy regrouped and used his disappointment of losing the first set to his advantage as Berdych came way off the boil and Andy ruthlessly dished out a bagel set to level the match. In the 3rd set Andy continued his dominance over Berdych as he broke again to go 5-3 up and he served out for two sets to one lead. In the 4th set things were more evenly contested but Andy started to show signs of pressure as he had stave off some break points at 3-2 to Berdych, however he himself went on to break Berdych to go 6-5. And from here Andy confidently served out the match to love and sealed it with an ace as he reached his 4th Australian open final with a convincing 6-7, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5 victory.
Well it has to be said that in this match and even throughout most of the tournament that I have never seen Andy play as well as this since the Wimbledon final two years ago and also the 2012 Olympics. In the match Andy was furious at himself for losing the first set but after that he totally regrouped and channelled his anger positively and used it to get himself back into the match and after that he never really looked back. So its great to see Andy reach yet another final in Melbourne and given his current form I would have to say he has a strong chance of winning the title if he maintains the form he has shown so far particularly in his matches with Nick Kygrios and Berdych. And at the end of the match we saw a look in Andy's eyes that has been missing since winning that Wimbledon final, which was a look of real hunger and the desire to win. And because of that I really think Andy has a shot on Sunday at lifting his maiden title in Melbourne and it will be quite an achievement if he does and it will also be the perfect validation of his working relationship with his coach, Amelie Mauresmo should he do just that. Although the one thing that overshadowed the match itself was the press attention toward Andy's fiance, Kim Sear, who apparently was caught on camera swearing at Berdych, which lead to a whole lot of silly headlines and also some twitter abuse for Kim, which is undeserved, but it does highlight with the cameras on you, you need to be careful with everything you do. Anyway hopefully the incident will not ruin Andy's chances of doing well on Sunday and given the amount of rubbish he's put up with in the media over the years this will be nothing in comparison.
So now we get onto what easily had to be the most anticipated men's match of the tournament, which was between Novak Djokovic, the four time champion and the defending champion, Stan Wawrinka, who have played three epic five setters in their previous slam matches, so we were all hoping this would be another. The match itself was a five setter but it wasn't quite of the quality of their previous two Melbourne clashes and the first set went to a tiebreak where Novak dominated proceedings to take the set. In the 2nd set Stan started his fightback as he started to go for his shots and his tennis started to flow and he broke Nole to take the 2nd set, which saw Novak drop his first set of the tournament! In the 3rd set it was Nole that reasserted himself and his broke Stan but Stan later broke back and yet again there was another break when Nole broke to take the two sets to one lead. But in the 4th set Stan was not yet done as he too kept on fighting and he finally managed to fashion a break of his own and served it out to level the match and take it into a deciding 5th set. And as the match went into its 5th set it looked like we were in for yet another classic like the previous two years but... that is when the wheels came off Stan's game as he appeared to run out of steam and his unforced errors started to mount up. And Novak watched the breaks go in his favour, not one, two but three breaks of serve and Stan gave up the ghost and his title defence with it as the World No.1 got his revenge and his place in the final with a topsy turvey 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 win.
This really was a strange match as both men struggled to find their rhythm and naturally there were some momentum swings throughout the first four sets and it certainly wasn't the classic we'd hoped for. Despite that though there was still some great rallies to be found and Stan delighted the crowd with some wonderful touch especially as at one point he played lovely drop shot close to the net, which just stayed within the line. But Stan curiously came off the boil drastically in that 5th set and I can only imagine it was down to fatigue that he started to make so many mistakes and once he lost his way in that set well that was that. Despite his loss though, Stan has played very well in the tournament and the fact that he made the last four was a very impressive effort as the defending champion it would put alot of pressure on any player in that position but Stan handled it very well and he showed that he is still a contender for future slams. As for Djokovic well he showed yet again his resiliance and that he is the world's best player and when it comes to competition he is second to none. And despite not even playing anywhere near his best he is still in the final and there he will look to pick up an unprecedented 5th Australian open title, which has not been done before in the history of the game. So I'm sure come the final Djokovic will do his best to refocus and start again from zero and just play his game in the match.
Sooooo this sets up quite a final yet again between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray as they will meet for the 5th time in their careers in a grand slam final and they stand at two apiece so far. So who will win the title is the question that begs to be asked, so who will win it????? Well normally I would go with Novak but this time I have to go with Andy as he really has come into his own again in this tournament and particularly in his last two matches we have seen him go from strength to strength and if he continues like that in the final then he will win regardless of what form Novak might be in. But then again you can never count out Novak out of anything and he has won this title four times already and he is very comfortable on Rod Laver arena as its almost like his back yard. So it would not surprise me at all if Novak were to work his way into the match and find a way to win as he usually does and a perfect example of that was three years in that epic final between Novak and Rafa where Rafa went 4-2 up in the 5th set and then he lost the break and later the match 7-5 in the 5th. But yet again if there is one man that can beat him and has done so already in slam finals, then it is Andy.
So my prediction (for what its worth!) is that Andy will win the title in five sets and I could very well be wrong as Novak could take this one himself in four or five sets but this time I really sense something different about Andy and I think to use a cliche, the stars are in alignment for him to take this one and might just have his name on it. His look at the end of the Berdych match spoke volumes as he roared to the crowd, confidently pointed to his camp and then sat down gave three passionate fist pumps (which I have to say was quite funny to watch!). It showed in that moment his hunger and desire to win a major title again and as one Eurosport commentator, Chris Bradnam said "Wimbledon is well and truly out of his system" which means he is ready to move on and win more grand slams and by what we've seen some from the last two weeks he might just do it on Sunday. Whatever happens though it should this time be a cracker, as the last Aussie open finals they played were just warm ups, this time it will promise to be the real deal.
Right so that's it for now and I will be back with my last post on the ladies and men's finals soon.
Until then I shall (with baited breath) bye for now!
Friday, 30 January 2015
2015 Australian Open Part 7 Ladies semi finals
OK so now I'm getting to the real deep end of the Australian open tournament as this post will cover the semi finals of the ladies matches and we will see who made it into the final. And with that let's get on with it....
Right so the first semi final of the day was between Maria Sharapova and the unlikely Russian player, Ekaterina Makarova, who stunned Simona Halep, who was seen to be a real favourite for the title but it was not to be as the wily Makarova put her out. But Sharapova would prove to be a much sterner prospect for Makarova to try and upset as she had never beaten her in any of their previous matches and the match itself proved to be just that as Makarova found herself a break down straight away but she did manage to get herself back in to make 3-4. However it was short lived as Sharapova then broke Makarova once again and went on to take the set. In the 2nd set it was more of the same as Sharapova continued to dominate Makarova and before we knew she was up a double break and served it out for a place in her 4th Australian open final with a straight forward 6-3, 6-2 victory. Well there is no doubt this would be the outcome of the match given that Sharapova had never been beaten by Makarova and given that Maria is the ultimate warrior in the ladies game it would be hard to see anyone else contend with her, except for maybe one person....
And that one person would be the winner of the second semi final which was between Serena Williams and the American newcomer Madison Keys who reached her maiden semi in a slam in Melbourne. And the match itself was much hyped given Keys qualities as a player not to mention an exceptionally hard hitter of the ball (even more so than Serena or Maria!) and Keys certainly came out swinging as she went a break up 3-1. But it wasn't long before Serena got herself back in the set and play continued on serve into a tiebreak where things were tightly contested again but it was Serena who came through it 7-5 to claim the first set. In the 2nd set however it was more plain sailing for Serena, although she broke twice, Keys still showed some brave resistance as she saved nine match points before she fell to the mighty Serena who powered her way into another Melbourne final with a 7-6, 6-2 win.
This was a really good match and a brave effort from Madison Keys as she went toe to toe with Serena in the first set but unfortunately she ultimately came up short in the 2nd set. But Keys should also be applauded for her gutsy efforts and she also did brilliantly to get so deep into the tournament and she is certainly one player to watch out for in the future. Keys is also currently being coached by Lindsay Davenport, a former Australian open champion herself and no doubt she will improve Keys mindset to potentially go on and win a major someday. As for Serena well she was just too good in the end and that was the difference as the World No.1's experience shone through and now she is about to enter her 23rd career grand slam final.
Sooooo this sets up the ladies final between the No.1 and No.2 seeds, Serena and Maria, so who will win this un???? Well........... its a pretty safe bet that it will be Serena as Maria has failed to beat her in their last 16 meetings and to take that amount of beating from one player, not to mention the greatest player in the world must be tough to recover from. However that's not to say the match itself might not be a competitive one as Serena and Maria have still had their share of competitive matches over the years although most of them have been won in straight sets by Serena. But the problem for Maria generally in her game is that against Serena she tends to go for too much and ends up piling up the error count and the double faults and she doesn't really have a plan B to back that up as she relies on her power game and her sheer will to win to see her through matches, but this doesn't wash with Serena. So the best we can hope for is a good contest between these two warriors of the ladies game and its just a bit of a shame in a way they aren't a better match up for each other as their rivalry can be occassionally exciting but not enough overall. But as for my prediciton???? Welllll I think Serena will win this one in straight sets but I think it could be tight, or at least one set will be tight and one easy. But whatever happens I think we will see Serena claim her 19th grand slam career title and that is quite a feat in itself.
Anyway that's it for my look at the ladies matches and let's hope the final is a good one and just maybe Maria might get her way this time (but I doubt!).
So I will be back soon with the men's semi finals....
Right so the first semi final of the day was between Maria Sharapova and the unlikely Russian player, Ekaterina Makarova, who stunned Simona Halep, who was seen to be a real favourite for the title but it was not to be as the wily Makarova put her out. But Sharapova would prove to be a much sterner prospect for Makarova to try and upset as she had never beaten her in any of their previous matches and the match itself proved to be just that as Makarova found herself a break down straight away but she did manage to get herself back in to make 3-4. However it was short lived as Sharapova then broke Makarova once again and went on to take the set. In the 2nd set it was more of the same as Sharapova continued to dominate Makarova and before we knew she was up a double break and served it out for a place in her 4th Australian open final with a straight forward 6-3, 6-2 victory. Well there is no doubt this would be the outcome of the match given that Sharapova had never been beaten by Makarova and given that Maria is the ultimate warrior in the ladies game it would be hard to see anyone else contend with her, except for maybe one person....
And that one person would be the winner of the second semi final which was between Serena Williams and the American newcomer Madison Keys who reached her maiden semi in a slam in Melbourne. And the match itself was much hyped given Keys qualities as a player not to mention an exceptionally hard hitter of the ball (even more so than Serena or Maria!) and Keys certainly came out swinging as she went a break up 3-1. But it wasn't long before Serena got herself back in the set and play continued on serve into a tiebreak where things were tightly contested again but it was Serena who came through it 7-5 to claim the first set. In the 2nd set however it was more plain sailing for Serena, although she broke twice, Keys still showed some brave resistance as she saved nine match points before she fell to the mighty Serena who powered her way into another Melbourne final with a 7-6, 6-2 win.
This was a really good match and a brave effort from Madison Keys as she went toe to toe with Serena in the first set but unfortunately she ultimately came up short in the 2nd set. But Keys should also be applauded for her gutsy efforts and she also did brilliantly to get so deep into the tournament and she is certainly one player to watch out for in the future. Keys is also currently being coached by Lindsay Davenport, a former Australian open champion herself and no doubt she will improve Keys mindset to potentially go on and win a major someday. As for Serena well she was just too good in the end and that was the difference as the World No.1's experience shone through and now she is about to enter her 23rd career grand slam final.
Sooooo this sets up the ladies final between the No.1 and No.2 seeds, Serena and Maria, so who will win this un???? Well........... its a pretty safe bet that it will be Serena as Maria has failed to beat her in their last 16 meetings and to take that amount of beating from one player, not to mention the greatest player in the world must be tough to recover from. However that's not to say the match itself might not be a competitive one as Serena and Maria have still had their share of competitive matches over the years although most of them have been won in straight sets by Serena. But the problem for Maria generally in her game is that against Serena she tends to go for too much and ends up piling up the error count and the double faults and she doesn't really have a plan B to back that up as she relies on her power game and her sheer will to win to see her through matches, but this doesn't wash with Serena. So the best we can hope for is a good contest between these two warriors of the ladies game and its just a bit of a shame in a way they aren't a better match up for each other as their rivalry can be occassionally exciting but not enough overall. But as for my prediciton???? Welllll I think Serena will win this one in straight sets but I think it could be tight, or at least one set will be tight and one easy. But whatever happens I think we will see Serena claim her 19th grand slam career title and that is quite a feat in itself.
Anyway that's it for my look at the ladies matches and let's hope the final is a good one and just maybe Maria might get her way this time (but I doubt!).
So I will be back soon with the men's semi finals....
Wednesday, 28 January 2015
2015 Australian Open Part 6 Men's singles matches: Back on form and upsetting the odds
Right now its time to look at the men's action from days 9 and 10 at the Australian open which will cover the men's quarter final matches to see who made it into the last four. So let's give this a look....
So Day 9 started off with Rafa Nadal taking on Tomas Berdych for a place in the semis in what turned out to be a very surprising match. Going into this match Rafa was on a 17 match winning streak against Berdych so the odds were firmly against the big Czeck player. However... it was Rusty Rafa who turned up on the court in the match as he struggled to get anything going in the first set and he lost it to the Czeck with a double break. In the 2nd set Rafa struggled even more and the Czeck dished out the unthinkable in the form of a bagel set to a frustrated Rafa. The 3rd set however was more competitve and Rafa at last started to find some rythym and play was pushed to a tiebreak but again it turned out to be Berdych's day as he pulled off a big upset and took out the 3rd seed with a convincing 6-2, 6-0, 7-6 victory to reach the final four. This was quite a win for Berdych and no doubt will give him alot of confidence going ahead into the semi finals where he will face the winner of the next match I will come to just now.
And that match was perhaps the single most hotly anticipated match of the tournament, which was between Andy Murray and the home favourite and rising new star in Australian tennis, Nick Kygrios in what promised to be an epic battle. However it wasn't quite to be that as it was Andy who put the youngster in his place and he play some inspired tennis from the off to catch Kygrios off guard as he used all his variety and pace to outwit the young Aussie and this allowed Andy to nab the first set. In the 2nd set Kygrios started to find his game and make life difficult for Andy as play went by serve and Kygrios showed off some of his flair as he played outrageous shots which had the crowd whooping and hollering and it went into a tiebreak, where Kygrios went 4-2 up but Andy soon hit a great lob, which brought it back on serve and from here Andy edged the breaker to take the two set lead. And in the 3rd set Kygrios finally began to give up the ghost, despite getting a break back, it didn't last long as Andy broke again to make it 5-3 he served it out to make his 5th Australian open semi final with an impressive 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 win.
Well this had to be the best match in terms of quality Andy has played in the whole tournament so far as he took on the home favourite and a partisan crowd and dealt with them impeccably as he did just about everything well despite surrendering that one break in the 3rd set before he regained control again. And another impressive thing about the match from Andy and throughout most of the tournament is his serving which has been much improved as Andy has reverted back to his older style of serve, which has improved his 1st serve percentage drastically and even he realised that the changes he made to his serve last year were detrimental to his game and it had to be changed and this will be a big help for him in his next match in the semis and hopefully in the final should he get there. As for Nick Kygrios well he really has introduced himself as the next big thing in men's tennis and he has already reached his second grand slam quarter final (after Wimbledon last year) which shows he has got what it takes to go far and it will be really interesting to see how far he will go in the future and on this basis I think it is looking pretty bright for him.
Now we get onto day 10 which started off with the defending champion, Stan Wawrinka take on Kei Nishikori, who defeated Stan in their previous meeting at the US Open quarter final last year so Kei started off this match as being a slight favourite. However Stan proved them all wrong as he showed his confident form on Rod Laver arena, which over the last year has come like his second back yard and put in a fine display of great serving and powerful hitting that Kei couldn't handle on the day as Stan quickly took a two set lead. In the 3rd set however Kei started to show some resistance and pushed the match into a tiebreak and despite Stan being 6-1 up in the breaker, Nishikori fought back to level 6-6, but that was as far as Kei could get as Stan sealed the breaker to win 8-6 and the match to reach his 2nd semi final in Melbourne with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 result. This was quite an impressive result from Stan and so far he has played very well in Melbourne and it is also great to see how well he has coped with the expectations of being the defending champion as he could easily have faltered and lost early on in the tournament but instead he has shown his quality and confidence, which will stand him in good stead for what lies ahead as he will play the winner of the next match I will discuss.....
And the match was between the World No.1, Novak Djokovic and Milos Raonic, the big serving Canadian in their quarter final clash. Raonic however had never beaten Djokovic in their previous meetings and had only won a singlet against back when they played last year in Rome so it was a big ask for the big guy to try and beat Nole on his favourite court. And right it was indeed the case as despite a tight first set going to a tiebreak, Nole edged the breaker 7-5 to take the 1st set lead. And from here Novak never really looked back as Raonic struggled to cling onto his serve and Djokovic outmanoevered him with his sublime baseline game as Raonic was broken once in the 2nd set and twice in the 3rd set, which saw Novak confidently move into the semi finals with a comfortable 7-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory. Well this match shows that Novak is in incredible form once again and he goes into the semi finals without even having dropped a set which is remarkable in itself! As for Raonic well this match showed that he is still very much a player who is a work in progress and whilst he is showing signs of improvement in his game it will take him time before he can really be right at the top of the game. And the problem for Raonic is trying to add an extra dimension to his game as he relies heavily on his great serve to get him out of trouble and against the elite guys that on its own isn't quite enough. But Raonic still is working on these things as he is starting to employ a bit more serve and volley and improve his return game, but in the battle against the world no.1 he would always be on the losing side if he is to trade from the baseline. Regardless no doubt we will see more of Raonic in the latter stages of the slams in the future.
Sooooo that's the men's semi final matches set and they both promise to be crackers, especially as Stan and Nole are set for a rematch and no doubt Novak will be out for revenge after Stan defeated him last year in their five set epic match. So to start with Stan and Nole's match who will win this time????? We'll.... its very tough to call but I think I will go with Novak this time as I think he will be hugely motivated to try and beat Stan and give himself the best chance to regain the title. However Stan has lived up to the task of defending his title so far and he himself has said he feels very confident going into this match that he can win it and Stan remains one of the very few players that can actually beat Novak Djokovic on a hard court in a grand slam. So it is a tough one to call but given Novak's form so far in the tournament having not dropped a set he is definitely the sharper looking of the two overall (although Stan has only dropped one so far himself) but I fully expect it will be another epic battle and so I will go with Nole winning in five sets.
As for the Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych's semi final match.... well this is an interesting one mainly because Andy has recently changed his team after his former hitting partner and assistant coach, Dani Vallverdu left, who now happens to be Berdych's new coach. And as Dani knows Andy's game inside and out, it will give Berdych a huge tactical advantage in knowing what to expect from Andy and how it can be neutralised. Another factor involved here is the fact that Berdych has a winning head to head over Andy and leads theirs 6-4 and Berdych has won the last two matches they have played back in 2013 in Madrid and Cincinnati. Berdych will also have taken much confidence from having beaten Rafa so convincingly in the quarter finals aswell. However I do think Andy will actually relish this match-up and will look forward to seeing what Berdych can do against him with Dani's input. Also if this match comes down to a battle of wits then Andy is sure to win it as Berdych has always come up a bit short in these big occassions and he has often found himself get tight in the big matches. And a perfect example of this was when Berdych reached the final in Doha at the start of the year where he had chances to push the eventual champion, David Ferrer into a final set and he couldn't take them and if he does that here he is sure to come up second best.
Andy also won their previous slam encounter at the US Open semi final three years ago when Andy went on to triumph in the final and overall when it comes to the crunch he could have the mental edge on Berdych. But it may also come down to the court conditions as Andy did have a bit of help from blustery windy conditions that day in New York against Berdych and if the conditions are nice and dry tomorrow this could favour Berdych. Not only that it will of course also come down to the serve for Andy and so far he has served impressively in this event but he has also dropped serve in each of his matches at some point and Berdych himself is yet to drop a set (with Andy only having dropped one).
So there are all these factors to consider in their match tomorrow (or this evening if you are on Melbourne time!). But it has to be said that there is no clear favourite in the match and there is no doubt that Berdych can beat Andy and I wouldn't be at all surprised if he did especially given the insider coaching Dani will have given him on Andy's game plan. Regardless of that though I predict that Andy will beat Berdych tomorrow in four or five sets and reach the final as when push comes to shove in the big matches, Andy I think will have that edge on him, however I could be wrong! So whichever way it goes it promises to be quite a match and no doubt a real nailbiter!
And that's it for now and I will be back soon with the results of the ladies and mens semi finals matches and see who made it to the final.
Until the next time its bye for now! :-)
So Day 9 started off with Rafa Nadal taking on Tomas Berdych for a place in the semis in what turned out to be a very surprising match. Going into this match Rafa was on a 17 match winning streak against Berdych so the odds were firmly against the big Czeck player. However... it was Rusty Rafa who turned up on the court in the match as he struggled to get anything going in the first set and he lost it to the Czeck with a double break. In the 2nd set Rafa struggled even more and the Czeck dished out the unthinkable in the form of a bagel set to a frustrated Rafa. The 3rd set however was more competitve and Rafa at last started to find some rythym and play was pushed to a tiebreak but again it turned out to be Berdych's day as he pulled off a big upset and took out the 3rd seed with a convincing 6-2, 6-0, 7-6 victory to reach the final four. This was quite a win for Berdych and no doubt will give him alot of confidence going ahead into the semi finals where he will face the winner of the next match I will come to just now.
And that match was perhaps the single most hotly anticipated match of the tournament, which was between Andy Murray and the home favourite and rising new star in Australian tennis, Nick Kygrios in what promised to be an epic battle. However it wasn't quite to be that as it was Andy who put the youngster in his place and he play some inspired tennis from the off to catch Kygrios off guard as he used all his variety and pace to outwit the young Aussie and this allowed Andy to nab the first set. In the 2nd set Kygrios started to find his game and make life difficult for Andy as play went by serve and Kygrios showed off some of his flair as he played outrageous shots which had the crowd whooping and hollering and it went into a tiebreak, where Kygrios went 4-2 up but Andy soon hit a great lob, which brought it back on serve and from here Andy edged the breaker to take the two set lead. And in the 3rd set Kygrios finally began to give up the ghost, despite getting a break back, it didn't last long as Andy broke again to make it 5-3 he served it out to make his 5th Australian open semi final with an impressive 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 win.
Well this had to be the best match in terms of quality Andy has played in the whole tournament so far as he took on the home favourite and a partisan crowd and dealt with them impeccably as he did just about everything well despite surrendering that one break in the 3rd set before he regained control again. And another impressive thing about the match from Andy and throughout most of the tournament is his serving which has been much improved as Andy has reverted back to his older style of serve, which has improved his 1st serve percentage drastically and even he realised that the changes he made to his serve last year were detrimental to his game and it had to be changed and this will be a big help for him in his next match in the semis and hopefully in the final should he get there. As for Nick Kygrios well he really has introduced himself as the next big thing in men's tennis and he has already reached his second grand slam quarter final (after Wimbledon last year) which shows he has got what it takes to go far and it will be really interesting to see how far he will go in the future and on this basis I think it is looking pretty bright for him.
Now we get onto day 10 which started off with the defending champion, Stan Wawrinka take on Kei Nishikori, who defeated Stan in their previous meeting at the US Open quarter final last year so Kei started off this match as being a slight favourite. However Stan proved them all wrong as he showed his confident form on Rod Laver arena, which over the last year has come like his second back yard and put in a fine display of great serving and powerful hitting that Kei couldn't handle on the day as Stan quickly took a two set lead. In the 3rd set however Kei started to show some resistance and pushed the match into a tiebreak and despite Stan being 6-1 up in the breaker, Nishikori fought back to level 6-6, but that was as far as Kei could get as Stan sealed the breaker to win 8-6 and the match to reach his 2nd semi final in Melbourne with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 result. This was quite an impressive result from Stan and so far he has played very well in Melbourne and it is also great to see how well he has coped with the expectations of being the defending champion as he could easily have faltered and lost early on in the tournament but instead he has shown his quality and confidence, which will stand him in good stead for what lies ahead as he will play the winner of the next match I will discuss.....
And the match was between the World No.1, Novak Djokovic and Milos Raonic, the big serving Canadian in their quarter final clash. Raonic however had never beaten Djokovic in their previous meetings and had only won a singlet against back when they played last year in Rome so it was a big ask for the big guy to try and beat Nole on his favourite court. And right it was indeed the case as despite a tight first set going to a tiebreak, Nole edged the breaker 7-5 to take the 1st set lead. And from here Novak never really looked back as Raonic struggled to cling onto his serve and Djokovic outmanoevered him with his sublime baseline game as Raonic was broken once in the 2nd set and twice in the 3rd set, which saw Novak confidently move into the semi finals with a comfortable 7-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory. Well this match shows that Novak is in incredible form once again and he goes into the semi finals without even having dropped a set which is remarkable in itself! As for Raonic well this match showed that he is still very much a player who is a work in progress and whilst he is showing signs of improvement in his game it will take him time before he can really be right at the top of the game. And the problem for Raonic is trying to add an extra dimension to his game as he relies heavily on his great serve to get him out of trouble and against the elite guys that on its own isn't quite enough. But Raonic still is working on these things as he is starting to employ a bit more serve and volley and improve his return game, but in the battle against the world no.1 he would always be on the losing side if he is to trade from the baseline. Regardless no doubt we will see more of Raonic in the latter stages of the slams in the future.
Sooooo that's the men's semi final matches set and they both promise to be crackers, especially as Stan and Nole are set for a rematch and no doubt Novak will be out for revenge after Stan defeated him last year in their five set epic match. So to start with Stan and Nole's match who will win this time????? We'll.... its very tough to call but I think I will go with Novak this time as I think he will be hugely motivated to try and beat Stan and give himself the best chance to regain the title. However Stan has lived up to the task of defending his title so far and he himself has said he feels very confident going into this match that he can win it and Stan remains one of the very few players that can actually beat Novak Djokovic on a hard court in a grand slam. So it is a tough one to call but given Novak's form so far in the tournament having not dropped a set he is definitely the sharper looking of the two overall (although Stan has only dropped one so far himself) but I fully expect it will be another epic battle and so I will go with Nole winning in five sets.
As for the Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych's semi final match.... well this is an interesting one mainly because Andy has recently changed his team after his former hitting partner and assistant coach, Dani Vallverdu left, who now happens to be Berdych's new coach. And as Dani knows Andy's game inside and out, it will give Berdych a huge tactical advantage in knowing what to expect from Andy and how it can be neutralised. Another factor involved here is the fact that Berdych has a winning head to head over Andy and leads theirs 6-4 and Berdych has won the last two matches they have played back in 2013 in Madrid and Cincinnati. Berdych will also have taken much confidence from having beaten Rafa so convincingly in the quarter finals aswell. However I do think Andy will actually relish this match-up and will look forward to seeing what Berdych can do against him with Dani's input. Also if this match comes down to a battle of wits then Andy is sure to win it as Berdych has always come up a bit short in these big occassions and he has often found himself get tight in the big matches. And a perfect example of this was when Berdych reached the final in Doha at the start of the year where he had chances to push the eventual champion, David Ferrer into a final set and he couldn't take them and if he does that here he is sure to come up second best.
Andy also won their previous slam encounter at the US Open semi final three years ago when Andy went on to triumph in the final and overall when it comes to the crunch he could have the mental edge on Berdych. But it may also come down to the court conditions as Andy did have a bit of help from blustery windy conditions that day in New York against Berdych and if the conditions are nice and dry tomorrow this could favour Berdych. Not only that it will of course also come down to the serve for Andy and so far he has served impressively in this event but he has also dropped serve in each of his matches at some point and Berdych himself is yet to drop a set (with Andy only having dropped one).
So there are all these factors to consider in their match tomorrow (or this evening if you are on Melbourne time!). But it has to be said that there is no clear favourite in the match and there is no doubt that Berdych can beat Andy and I wouldn't be at all surprised if he did especially given the insider coaching Dani will have given him on Andy's game plan. Regardless of that though I predict that Andy will beat Berdych tomorrow in four or five sets and reach the final as when push comes to shove in the big matches, Andy I think will have that edge on him, however I could be wrong! So whichever way it goes it promises to be quite a match and no doubt a real nailbiter!
And that's it for now and I will be back soon with the results of the ladies and mens semi finals matches and see who made it to the final.
Until the next time its bye for now! :-)
2015 Australian Open Part 5 Ladies matches: More upsets and getting to the deep end
OK so we now I'm onto Part 5 of my look at the Australian open this year and I will cover days 9 and 10 of the ladies action in this post, so let's look at how the matches went as the ladies quarter finals got underway to decide the final four in Melbourne.
So starting with Day 9 we first up had Simona Halep, the No.3 seed take on the Russian player, Ekaterina Makarova, who has always been something of a dark horse in the slams and quite often slips underneath the radar and has also played very well in them over the last couple of years. Naturally going into this match however Halep was the top favourite to win it and one of the heavy favs for the title, but Makarova yet again showed her skills and form as a player as she took the opening set with a break. In the 2nd set however Makarova outplayed Halep as the Romanian had no answers to the Russian and before she knew it Makarova handed Halep a tasty bagel of a set and in doing sealed her place in his first semi final in Melbourne with an emphatic 6-4, 6-0 victory. This really was quite a surprise result given that Makarova is not a high profile player as the other top 10 players, perhaps this is because she is also a great doubles player aswell you don't immediately associate her with one or the other. Still Makarova has done great to get this far in Melbourne and she might stand a chance of going even further, but that would all depend on the her next opponent.
And this was Mara Sharapova who took on the Canadian rising star, Eugenie Bouchard in the second quarter final, which promised to be quite a tough encounter. However in the end it was experience over age that count as Maria dominated the young Canadian right from the start and broke her to take the opening set. And in the 2nd set there was little more resistance from Bouchard as the mighty Pova powered her way through the young Canadian to land her place in the semi finals with a 6-3, 6-2 win. Despite the billing there was no real doubt who would have won this match but it was a bit disappointing that it turned to be so one-sided in the end given that Bouchard is quite a tough competitor. But Sharapova is the ultimate warrior in ladies tennis and in the end she had all the answers and proved too strong for Bouchard and she looks to be pole position to reach final as she will next face Ekaterina Makarova for a place in the final. And Maria has never lost to Makarova so that straight away makes her the favourite to win this match unless Makarova can come up with something really special, so I think for me it will be Maria who will win and make it through to her 4th Australian open final.
Now we get onto day 10 which saw the remaining quarter final matches being played and the action kicked off with Venus Williams, who had made it into her first grand slam quarter final in five years, take on the young rising American star, Madison Keys. Venus made the better start as expected as she broke Keys to take the opening set, but Keys with her powerful ball striking fought her way back into the match and got her own break to level the match at a set all. And in the 3rd set despite Venus being a break up, Keys soon fought back to level and soon went on to pull off a big upset as the teenager beat Venus to land her first ever grand slam semi final with a remarkable 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory. This was quite a turnaround but in a way it was to be expected that one of the Williams sisters might be a casualty in one of these tournaments as it is very rare they tend to be play one another on the tour. As for Madison Keys well it was a hugely impressive effort for her to have reached the quarter finals and to make it to the last four is even more so. However Keys has one more stern opponent in her path who would be the winner of this next match.
And the second semi final was between Serena Williams and last year's finalist, Dominika Cibulkova and this was another match where the World No.1 started off the heavy favourite over Cibulkova as the pint sized Slovak player had never beaten Serena before. And this match turned out to be no different as right from the get go Serena was too good and too strong for Cibulkova who could do nothing against her powerful game and first class serve and she sped to victory in straight sets to the last four to win in 6-2, 6-2. Well now that Serena Williams is in the last four I really think she remains on course to be the top favourite to win the title on Saturday. But one feisty teenager still stands in her way in the semi finals, Madison Keys who will give Serena something to think about no doubt if she get can her powerful game into play. But despite Keys best efforts I think Serena's experience will see her through this one and I think that just maybe Keys might land a set but she won't able to beat Serena and no doubt the World No.1 should be in the final.
So that's the ladies semi finals set between Maria Sharapova and Ekaterina Makarova and Serena Williams and Madison Keys and they promise to be fun, but hopefully the Serena and Keys match will be the one to watch.
Right so I'll be back soon with the men's matches.
See you in a bit.
So starting with Day 9 we first up had Simona Halep, the No.3 seed take on the Russian player, Ekaterina Makarova, who has always been something of a dark horse in the slams and quite often slips underneath the radar and has also played very well in them over the last couple of years. Naturally going into this match however Halep was the top favourite to win it and one of the heavy favs for the title, but Makarova yet again showed her skills and form as a player as she took the opening set with a break. In the 2nd set however Makarova outplayed Halep as the Romanian had no answers to the Russian and before she knew it Makarova handed Halep a tasty bagel of a set and in doing sealed her place in his first semi final in Melbourne with an emphatic 6-4, 6-0 victory. This really was quite a surprise result given that Makarova is not a high profile player as the other top 10 players, perhaps this is because she is also a great doubles player aswell you don't immediately associate her with one or the other. Still Makarova has done great to get this far in Melbourne and she might stand a chance of going even further, but that would all depend on the her next opponent.
And this was Mara Sharapova who took on the Canadian rising star, Eugenie Bouchard in the second quarter final, which promised to be quite a tough encounter. However in the end it was experience over age that count as Maria dominated the young Canadian right from the start and broke her to take the opening set. And in the 2nd set there was little more resistance from Bouchard as the mighty Pova powered her way through the young Canadian to land her place in the semi finals with a 6-3, 6-2 win. Despite the billing there was no real doubt who would have won this match but it was a bit disappointing that it turned to be so one-sided in the end given that Bouchard is quite a tough competitor. But Sharapova is the ultimate warrior in ladies tennis and in the end she had all the answers and proved too strong for Bouchard and she looks to be pole position to reach final as she will next face Ekaterina Makarova for a place in the final. And Maria has never lost to Makarova so that straight away makes her the favourite to win this match unless Makarova can come up with something really special, so I think for me it will be Maria who will win and make it through to her 4th Australian open final.
Now we get onto day 10 which saw the remaining quarter final matches being played and the action kicked off with Venus Williams, who had made it into her first grand slam quarter final in five years, take on the young rising American star, Madison Keys. Venus made the better start as expected as she broke Keys to take the opening set, but Keys with her powerful ball striking fought her way back into the match and got her own break to level the match at a set all. And in the 3rd set despite Venus being a break up, Keys soon fought back to level and soon went on to pull off a big upset as the teenager beat Venus to land her first ever grand slam semi final with a remarkable 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory. This was quite a turnaround but in a way it was to be expected that one of the Williams sisters might be a casualty in one of these tournaments as it is very rare they tend to be play one another on the tour. As for Madison Keys well it was a hugely impressive effort for her to have reached the quarter finals and to make it to the last four is even more so. However Keys has one more stern opponent in her path who would be the winner of this next match.
And the second semi final was between Serena Williams and last year's finalist, Dominika Cibulkova and this was another match where the World No.1 started off the heavy favourite over Cibulkova as the pint sized Slovak player had never beaten Serena before. And this match turned out to be no different as right from the get go Serena was too good and too strong for Cibulkova who could do nothing against her powerful game and first class serve and she sped to victory in straight sets to the last four to win in 6-2, 6-2. Well now that Serena Williams is in the last four I really think she remains on course to be the top favourite to win the title on Saturday. But one feisty teenager still stands in her way in the semi finals, Madison Keys who will give Serena something to think about no doubt if she get can her powerful game into play. But despite Keys best efforts I think Serena's experience will see her through this one and I think that just maybe Keys might land a set but she won't able to beat Serena and no doubt the World No.1 should be in the final.
So that's the ladies semi finals set between Maria Sharapova and Ekaterina Makarova and Serena Williams and Madison Keys and they promise to be fun, but hopefully the Serena and Keys match will be the one to watch.
Right so I'll be back soon with the men's matches.
See you in a bit.
Monday, 26 January 2015
2015 Australian Open Part 4 men's matches: The rise of the Aussie
Right OK so now its time for a look at the men's action at the Australian open and I will cover days 7 and 8 which saw some fun and dramatic matches take place, so let's give them a look....
So to start with Day 7 we had first up Rafael Nadal take on the South giant, Kevin Anderson in a 4th round clash. Rafa had suffered a real scare in the 2nd round which he battled through against the American, Tim Smyczek, but since then has recovered his good form against Dudi Sela in the 3rd round. And in this match Rafa continued that form as despite a tight first set, Rafa broke to take the lead and after that he never really looked back as he broke the giant fella twice in the 2nd set and got the key break in the 3rd to close out the match with a straight forward straight set 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 win. At the start of the tournament Rafa (in his usual style) downplayed his chances in the tournament and did not see himself as one of the favourites and for once we had to agree with him given his rusty form at the very start of the season in Abu Dhabi and Doha. But here Rafa is really starting to hit his stride and is looking dangerous again and the grand slams often bring out the best in him and I think its safe to say that Rafa is now a top contender to win the title, so the rest of the draw should now beware as Rafa's back.
Next up we had Tomas Berdych who took on one of the home crowd favourites, Bernard Tomic who made the last 16 a few years back and made it here again. But Berdych proved to be too good for the young Aussie as Berdych's experience and powerful game saw him come through as he dismissed the Aussie in straight sets 6-2, 7-6, 6-2. However all was not lost for the Aussies just yet as the last man standing, Nick Kygrios went out to play Federer's conqueror, Andreas Seppi in what turned into a real epic tussle as both guys hammered it out on the Hisense Arena. But it was Seppi who made the better start and he took a two sets to love lead, leaving Kygrios sure to be on the end of a stinging defeat. But Nick had other ideas as he started to fight back in the 3rd set and he worked his way into the match and broke to take the 3rd set to push the match into a 4th and he went on to take it on a tiebreak. Nick then inspired and fired up by the crowed went on to break Seppi to go 4-1 up and looked sure to have the win in hand, but Seppi soon broke back and scores become level pegged until 7-6 when Seppi finally wilted on serve with three match points, Kygrios went flat on his back in delight after a line call had been confirmed as out and with that he had reached the quarter finals of his home slam after a dramatic 5-7, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 8-6 epic result. This result really proved that Nick Kygrios is one to watch out for and he is one dangerous player to take on in any tournament but especially in the slams where the young guy seems to already have a big match mentality and going into the quarter finals he will be tough to beat.
And Nick will go on to face the winner of the next match which was a highly anticipated match between Andy Murray and Grigor Dimitrov. Dimitrov pulled off a big upset last year at Wimbledon when he routed Andy in straight sets to end his title defence and there was some speculation as to how Andy had lost the match so badly. But this time there was no such danger as Andy from the get go showed his grit and determination as despite going a break down, he quickly wrestlted it back from Dimitrov and went on to take the first set with a break of his own. In the 2nd set Andy went a break up twice but squandered the lead both times at 3-2 and 6-5, which saw Dimitrov fight his way impressively into the match and he clinched the 2nd set on a tiebreak to level. In the 3rd set Andy regrouped and he managed to finally break Dimitrov again to go 5-3 and he served it out to take the two sets to one lead. However in the 4th set it was Dimitrov who stamped his authority early on as he broke Andy to move ahead until it was 5-2, where Andy was serving to make it 5-3 he had to save a set point and went on to save it to force Dimi to serve it out. From here Dimitrov was unable to do so and Andy broke again to get back on serve and from here, Andy reeled off the next couple of games as he broke Dimi again and finally served out the match from a 5-2 deficit and he sealed his place in the last eight after an exhaustive and epic 6-4, 6-7, 6-3, 7-5 result.
Well there was no doubt that this was one of the best matches of the tournament so far as both players played some high quality tennis for the crowd and they both played some great points that wowed the spectators. The match also had plenty of twists and turns with both men trading breaks of serve at different points and in the 4th set Dimitrov looked sure to push the match into a decider. However in his last few big matches in slams, Dimitrov has had chances to take a lead or level things against three of the big four (his match with Andy at Wimlbedon last year notwithstanding) and blown those chances. And this shows that Dimitrov is still a work in progress when it comes to his mental strength and stamina in the slams, which no doubt will improve over the time but he still has some way to go but regardless of that he was very impressive in this match. As for Andy well he really showed that in this match that he means business this year and he responded incredibly well to Dimitrov's stern resistance. It was also great to see Andy being tested in the tournament as his first three rounds were pretty comfortable wins overall so it was good that he faced Dimi at this stage and it will stand him in good stead for his next match against Nick Kygrios but more on that in a bit.
Now get onto Day 8 which kicked off with Kei Nishikori taking on David Ferrer in their much anticipated clash and their previous matches have been pretty close encounters all won by Nishikori. However Kei this time had little trouble in getting past Ferrer, which in itself was a real surprise as the Japanese No.1 and World No.5 dismissed the dogged Spaniard in straight sets with a convincing 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 win. Its good to see that Kei's good form from last year has continued into this season as his progress in the tournament so far has been pretty self assured and confident and no doubt he will be a serious danger to the other top guys left in the draw and he too can't be far away from winning his maiden major title. After that we had the defending champion, Stan Wawrinka face his first stern challenge of the tournament as he played his nemesis last year at the French open, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in his last 16 encounter as the Swiss player needed four tight sets to battle past the Spaniard but he eventually came through in 7-6, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6. This has been quite an impressive result so far for Stan, as a first time major champion he has handled the pressure and the expectations well that must come with being one but from here the challenges will only get tougher especially as Stan will next face Kei Nishikori in the quarter finals, who defeated him last year in a five set epic, so we will wait and see what happens this time.
Next up we had Milos Raonic, the big serving Canadian who took on Feliciano Lopez in what looked to be a very promising encounter as both men possess impressive serves. And the match itself was quite a battle as Raonic and Lopez really went at it in trying to get that win to reach the first quarter final at the Australian open. But in the end it was Raonic who made the final 8 as he made his 3rd grand slam quarter final by beating Lopez in five sets 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3. I must admit since Raonic came on the tour I've not been overly impressed with him as a player to watch as he only really possessed a great serve and not much else, but it has to be said that Raonic is now starting to develop his game and a few extra shots to it, as he is become a decent returner and volleyer and with that it will stand his game in good stead for the future.
And last of all we had Novak Djokovic, the four time champion in Melbourne take on a surprise opponent in the 4th round, Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. However as predicted despite a good and plucky effort from Muller, Djokovic never lost control of the match and he soon secured a break in each set, which was all he needed to eventually seal the deal and his place in the quarter finals with a comfortable 6-4, 7-5, 7-5 result. Well Nole so far has done exceptionally well in what is after all his best and most successful grand slam as he has got into the quarter finals without even dropping a set, which shows just how good and consistent a server he is, not to mention the rest of his game that goes with it. So Novak will next play Milos Raonic in what promises to be quite an encounter although their last slam meeting at the French Open last year was a pretty easy win for Djokovic in straight sets. But I think Raonic is definitely improving as a player and this could be a tight match, he won't win it but I think he can push Novak to a 4th set before he goes out.
So that's it for now and Day 9 lies ahead which will feature some more great tennis on play with Rafa taking on Tomas Berdych in their quarter final clash but the bad news for Tomas is that Rafa is on a 16 match winning streak against him and it is unlikely that Berdy is going to snap it tomorrow given Rafa has recovered his good form in the tournament. However I think it could still be quite a close and entertaing match and I will bet that Rafa will go through in four sets to the semi final. As for Andy Murray's match against Nick Kygrios its a bit harder to predict as although Andy has played Nick once on the tour and beat him convincingly last year in Toronto (6-2, 6-2) this is a grand slam match and its Kygrios's home soil and with that in mind the young Aussie will surely be fired up to try and win the match with the full crowd of the Rod Laver arena right behind him. But despite that I still think Andy will come through and win this one as he is the more experienced and fitter player of the two, but it won't be easy and I can see Kygrios push this match into a 4th set at least unless he is too fatigued from the effort of his previous matches but time will tell. So I think Andy will win this one in four or maybe five sets, or if Kygrios's win it will be in five, but I'll go with Andy and I could be wrong but we will soon find out!
Right so that's it for now and I will be back soon with more results once the quarter final matches on both sides of the net are done.
Bye for now.
So to start with Day 7 we had first up Rafael Nadal take on the South giant, Kevin Anderson in a 4th round clash. Rafa had suffered a real scare in the 2nd round which he battled through against the American, Tim Smyczek, but since then has recovered his good form against Dudi Sela in the 3rd round. And in this match Rafa continued that form as despite a tight first set, Rafa broke to take the lead and after that he never really looked back as he broke the giant fella twice in the 2nd set and got the key break in the 3rd to close out the match with a straight forward straight set 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 win. At the start of the tournament Rafa (in his usual style) downplayed his chances in the tournament and did not see himself as one of the favourites and for once we had to agree with him given his rusty form at the very start of the season in Abu Dhabi and Doha. But here Rafa is really starting to hit his stride and is looking dangerous again and the grand slams often bring out the best in him and I think its safe to say that Rafa is now a top contender to win the title, so the rest of the draw should now beware as Rafa's back.
Next up we had Tomas Berdych who took on one of the home crowd favourites, Bernard Tomic who made the last 16 a few years back and made it here again. But Berdych proved to be too good for the young Aussie as Berdych's experience and powerful game saw him come through as he dismissed the Aussie in straight sets 6-2, 7-6, 6-2. However all was not lost for the Aussies just yet as the last man standing, Nick Kygrios went out to play Federer's conqueror, Andreas Seppi in what turned into a real epic tussle as both guys hammered it out on the Hisense Arena. But it was Seppi who made the better start and he took a two sets to love lead, leaving Kygrios sure to be on the end of a stinging defeat. But Nick had other ideas as he started to fight back in the 3rd set and he worked his way into the match and broke to take the 3rd set to push the match into a 4th and he went on to take it on a tiebreak. Nick then inspired and fired up by the crowed went on to break Seppi to go 4-1 up and looked sure to have the win in hand, but Seppi soon broke back and scores become level pegged until 7-6 when Seppi finally wilted on serve with three match points, Kygrios went flat on his back in delight after a line call had been confirmed as out and with that he had reached the quarter finals of his home slam after a dramatic 5-7, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 8-6 epic result. This result really proved that Nick Kygrios is one to watch out for and he is one dangerous player to take on in any tournament but especially in the slams where the young guy seems to already have a big match mentality and going into the quarter finals he will be tough to beat.
And Nick will go on to face the winner of the next match which was a highly anticipated match between Andy Murray and Grigor Dimitrov. Dimitrov pulled off a big upset last year at Wimbledon when he routed Andy in straight sets to end his title defence and there was some speculation as to how Andy had lost the match so badly. But this time there was no such danger as Andy from the get go showed his grit and determination as despite going a break down, he quickly wrestlted it back from Dimitrov and went on to take the first set with a break of his own. In the 2nd set Andy went a break up twice but squandered the lead both times at 3-2 and 6-5, which saw Dimitrov fight his way impressively into the match and he clinched the 2nd set on a tiebreak to level. In the 3rd set Andy regrouped and he managed to finally break Dimitrov again to go 5-3 and he served it out to take the two sets to one lead. However in the 4th set it was Dimitrov who stamped his authority early on as he broke Andy to move ahead until it was 5-2, where Andy was serving to make it 5-3 he had to save a set point and went on to save it to force Dimi to serve it out. From here Dimitrov was unable to do so and Andy broke again to get back on serve and from here, Andy reeled off the next couple of games as he broke Dimi again and finally served out the match from a 5-2 deficit and he sealed his place in the last eight after an exhaustive and epic 6-4, 6-7, 6-3, 7-5 result.
Well there was no doubt that this was one of the best matches of the tournament so far as both players played some high quality tennis for the crowd and they both played some great points that wowed the spectators. The match also had plenty of twists and turns with both men trading breaks of serve at different points and in the 4th set Dimitrov looked sure to push the match into a decider. However in his last few big matches in slams, Dimitrov has had chances to take a lead or level things against three of the big four (his match with Andy at Wimlbedon last year notwithstanding) and blown those chances. And this shows that Dimitrov is still a work in progress when it comes to his mental strength and stamina in the slams, which no doubt will improve over the time but he still has some way to go but regardless of that he was very impressive in this match. As for Andy well he really showed that in this match that he means business this year and he responded incredibly well to Dimitrov's stern resistance. It was also great to see Andy being tested in the tournament as his first three rounds were pretty comfortable wins overall so it was good that he faced Dimi at this stage and it will stand him in good stead for his next match against Nick Kygrios but more on that in a bit.
Now get onto Day 8 which kicked off with Kei Nishikori taking on David Ferrer in their much anticipated clash and their previous matches have been pretty close encounters all won by Nishikori. However Kei this time had little trouble in getting past Ferrer, which in itself was a real surprise as the Japanese No.1 and World No.5 dismissed the dogged Spaniard in straight sets with a convincing 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 win. Its good to see that Kei's good form from last year has continued into this season as his progress in the tournament so far has been pretty self assured and confident and no doubt he will be a serious danger to the other top guys left in the draw and he too can't be far away from winning his maiden major title. After that we had the defending champion, Stan Wawrinka face his first stern challenge of the tournament as he played his nemesis last year at the French open, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in his last 16 encounter as the Swiss player needed four tight sets to battle past the Spaniard but he eventually came through in 7-6, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6. This has been quite an impressive result so far for Stan, as a first time major champion he has handled the pressure and the expectations well that must come with being one but from here the challenges will only get tougher especially as Stan will next face Kei Nishikori in the quarter finals, who defeated him last year in a five set epic, so we will wait and see what happens this time.
Next up we had Milos Raonic, the big serving Canadian who took on Feliciano Lopez in what looked to be a very promising encounter as both men possess impressive serves. And the match itself was quite a battle as Raonic and Lopez really went at it in trying to get that win to reach the first quarter final at the Australian open. But in the end it was Raonic who made the final 8 as he made his 3rd grand slam quarter final by beating Lopez in five sets 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3. I must admit since Raonic came on the tour I've not been overly impressed with him as a player to watch as he only really possessed a great serve and not much else, but it has to be said that Raonic is now starting to develop his game and a few extra shots to it, as he is become a decent returner and volleyer and with that it will stand his game in good stead for the future.
And last of all we had Novak Djokovic, the four time champion in Melbourne take on a surprise opponent in the 4th round, Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. However as predicted despite a good and plucky effort from Muller, Djokovic never lost control of the match and he soon secured a break in each set, which was all he needed to eventually seal the deal and his place in the quarter finals with a comfortable 6-4, 7-5, 7-5 result. Well Nole so far has done exceptionally well in what is after all his best and most successful grand slam as he has got into the quarter finals without even dropping a set, which shows just how good and consistent a server he is, not to mention the rest of his game that goes with it. So Novak will next play Milos Raonic in what promises to be quite an encounter although their last slam meeting at the French Open last year was a pretty easy win for Djokovic in straight sets. But I think Raonic is definitely improving as a player and this could be a tight match, he won't win it but I think he can push Novak to a 4th set before he goes out.
So that's it for now and Day 9 lies ahead which will feature some more great tennis on play with Rafa taking on Tomas Berdych in their quarter final clash but the bad news for Tomas is that Rafa is on a 16 match winning streak against him and it is unlikely that Berdy is going to snap it tomorrow given Rafa has recovered his good form in the tournament. However I think it could still be quite a close and entertaing match and I will bet that Rafa will go through in four sets to the semi final. As for Andy Murray's match against Nick Kygrios its a bit harder to predict as although Andy has played Nick once on the tour and beat him convincingly last year in Toronto (6-2, 6-2) this is a grand slam match and its Kygrios's home soil and with that in mind the young Aussie will surely be fired up to try and win the match with the full crowd of the Rod Laver arena right behind him. But despite that I still think Andy will come through and win this one as he is the more experienced and fitter player of the two, but it won't be easy and I can see Kygrios push this match into a 4th set at least unless he is too fatigued from the effort of his previous matches but time will tell. So I think Andy will win this one in four or maybe five sets, or if Kygrios's win it will be in five, but I'll go with Andy and I could be wrong but we will soon find out!
Right so that's it for now and I will be back soon with more results once the quarter final matches on both sides of the net are done.
Bye for now.
2015 Australian Open Part 3 Ladies matches: big sis (i.e. Venus) is back!
Right OK time for another post on my coverage of the 2015 Australian open which is now into its second week and things are hotting up nicely as the temperatures rise both on court and off the court in Melbourne as the first slam of the year has just gone past the half way mark. So I will cover days 7 and 8 here of the ladies so we will see what is what.
Right so starting with Day 7 we had the first bout of 4th round matches which kicked off with Eugenie Bouchard who took on Irina-Camelia Begu, who gave the Canadian rising star a real run for her money as Bouchard was pushed into a 3rd set after taking the opener, her Romanian opponent took the 2nd. In the 3rd set however Bouchard wrestled back control of the match and broke Begu twice to seal the deal and reach her second consecutive Australian open quarter final with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 win. After this was Maria Sharapova who had faced the tricky counterpuncher, Peng Shuai, who is now the Chinese No.1 singles player since Li Na retired last year. And the start of the match promised to be quite a competitive one as Peng took an early break but after that Sharapova fought back into the match and after that she didn't look back as she routed the Chinese player in straight sets 6-3, 6-0 to reach the last eight. Simona Halep up next also made short work of her opponent, Yanina Wickmayer, who prior to this meeting, Halep had never beaten her but Halep is now a very much improved player and she defeated Wickmayer with ease in 6-4, 6-2. And lastly Ekaterina Makarova played her match against the German player, Julia Goerges and the Russian, Marakrova who has enjoyed a good run of form in the slams lately continued that run as she beat Goerges with ease with a straight forward 6-3, 6-2 win.
So now we get onto day 8 which saw the remaining big guns go at it in their respective matches which saw the 4th round matches being rounded off to see who would make the quarter finals. So to start off we had last year's finalist, Dominika Cibulkova take on the two time former champion Victoria Azarenka who had made her comeback after sustaining a foot injury that left her out alot of last year. But it was Cibulkova who made the stronger start as she took the opening set, despite being broken initially by Vika (that's Victoria's nickname!) but Victoria was not yet done as she fought back to level the match at a set all. In the end however it was Cibulkova who caused the upset as she defeated the two time champion in the 3rd set with a break, which saw her reach the quarter finals after a tough 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win. This really saw Cibulkova step things up again like she did last year and she proved again she has got what it takes to potentially win a major of her own and just maybe she might yet.
After this we had Serena Williams take on Garbine Muguruza, the Spanish player who stunned Serena last year at the French open, so Serena no doubt would be out for revenge in this one. But Muguruza made life difficult for Serena once again as she broke the World No.1 to take the opening set. Serena however did what she usually does and fought back in the 2nd set to break Muguruza and before we knew it, we were into a 3rd set where Serena finally got her revenge on the Spaniard as she broke her twice to close out the match and seal her place in the final 8 with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 result. Well now that Serena has made it into the final eight I have to now see her as the top favourite to win the title as I don't think from this stage on there are any players in the draw that will beat her if she reaches the final, unless she get's upset on the way to it, but we will wait and see. Serena's next opponent however is Dominika Cibulkova so I can't quite see the dimunitive Slovak player get the better of Serena in a slam as Cibulkova has never beaten Serena, but then again there is always a first time for everything!
Next up was Agnieszka Radwanska who took on the other half of the Williams sisters, Venus, in their clash of the last 16. Radwanska actually went into this match as the favourite given Venus's fitness concerns over the last few years and also the fact that Aga (Radwanska's nickname) had never lost a set to her in their last three meetings. However that all changed in their match here as it was Venus that made a strong start and took the first set, but Radwanska soon fought back in the 2nd set to break Venus twice to level the match. And in the 3rd it was Venus that made her breakthrough as Radwanska started to crumble and Venus's power was too much for her, which saw the former World No.1 reach her first grand slam quarter final since 2010 with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 victory. Well this match really does signify the return of Venus to the big time as she is looking in really good form again after having suffered in recent years from Sjorgen's syndrome (an auto-immune disease) which left her in a state of chronic fatigue. But Venus is starting to really look like her old self and it looks likely that she could even deeper here in Melbourne.
And last of all we had the surprise of the tournament, the young American, Madison Keys who enroute caused a big upset as she stunned the 4th seed and current Wimbledon champion, Petra Kvitova in straight sets enroute to this point in the 4th round. And in the 4th round Keys faced another American, Madison Brengle who in the end was no match for the powerful big hitting Keys who blasted her opponent off the court with an impressive 6-2, 6-4 victory to see her reach her first ever grand slam quarteer final. Its great to see with these wins the emergence of fresh new talent in the ladies game as Keys now also joins the likes of Bouchard and Halep who have also made a strong impression in their short careers. Keys will next up face Venus Williams so I think that Keys might not make it into the last four but I'm pretty sure she can give Venus a match in the process.
Sooooo that's it for the ladies for now as the quarter finals are now set and they are pretty promising looking with some fresh new talent in their too which helps keep things fresh and there promises to be some really good matches ahead.
And with that I will be back soon with the men's matches.
See you in a bit.
Right so starting with Day 7 we had the first bout of 4th round matches which kicked off with Eugenie Bouchard who took on Irina-Camelia Begu, who gave the Canadian rising star a real run for her money as Bouchard was pushed into a 3rd set after taking the opener, her Romanian opponent took the 2nd. In the 3rd set however Bouchard wrestled back control of the match and broke Begu twice to seal the deal and reach her second consecutive Australian open quarter final with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 win. After this was Maria Sharapova who had faced the tricky counterpuncher, Peng Shuai, who is now the Chinese No.1 singles player since Li Na retired last year. And the start of the match promised to be quite a competitive one as Peng took an early break but after that Sharapova fought back into the match and after that she didn't look back as she routed the Chinese player in straight sets 6-3, 6-0 to reach the last eight. Simona Halep up next also made short work of her opponent, Yanina Wickmayer, who prior to this meeting, Halep had never beaten her but Halep is now a very much improved player and she defeated Wickmayer with ease in 6-4, 6-2. And lastly Ekaterina Makarova played her match against the German player, Julia Goerges and the Russian, Marakrova who has enjoyed a good run of form in the slams lately continued that run as she beat Goerges with ease with a straight forward 6-3, 6-2 win.
So now we get onto day 8 which saw the remaining big guns go at it in their respective matches which saw the 4th round matches being rounded off to see who would make the quarter finals. So to start off we had last year's finalist, Dominika Cibulkova take on the two time former champion Victoria Azarenka who had made her comeback after sustaining a foot injury that left her out alot of last year. But it was Cibulkova who made the stronger start as she took the opening set, despite being broken initially by Vika (that's Victoria's nickname!) but Victoria was not yet done as she fought back to level the match at a set all. In the end however it was Cibulkova who caused the upset as she defeated the two time champion in the 3rd set with a break, which saw her reach the quarter finals after a tough 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win. This really saw Cibulkova step things up again like she did last year and she proved again she has got what it takes to potentially win a major of her own and just maybe she might yet.
After this we had Serena Williams take on Garbine Muguruza, the Spanish player who stunned Serena last year at the French open, so Serena no doubt would be out for revenge in this one. But Muguruza made life difficult for Serena once again as she broke the World No.1 to take the opening set. Serena however did what she usually does and fought back in the 2nd set to break Muguruza and before we knew it, we were into a 3rd set where Serena finally got her revenge on the Spaniard as she broke her twice to close out the match and seal her place in the final 8 with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 result. Well now that Serena has made it into the final eight I have to now see her as the top favourite to win the title as I don't think from this stage on there are any players in the draw that will beat her if she reaches the final, unless she get's upset on the way to it, but we will wait and see. Serena's next opponent however is Dominika Cibulkova so I can't quite see the dimunitive Slovak player get the better of Serena in a slam as Cibulkova has never beaten Serena, but then again there is always a first time for everything!
Next up was Agnieszka Radwanska who took on the other half of the Williams sisters, Venus, in their clash of the last 16. Radwanska actually went into this match as the favourite given Venus's fitness concerns over the last few years and also the fact that Aga (Radwanska's nickname) had never lost a set to her in their last three meetings. However that all changed in their match here as it was Venus that made a strong start and took the first set, but Radwanska soon fought back in the 2nd set to break Venus twice to level the match. And in the 3rd it was Venus that made her breakthrough as Radwanska started to crumble and Venus's power was too much for her, which saw the former World No.1 reach her first grand slam quarter final since 2010 with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 victory. Well this match really does signify the return of Venus to the big time as she is looking in really good form again after having suffered in recent years from Sjorgen's syndrome (an auto-immune disease) which left her in a state of chronic fatigue. But Venus is starting to really look like her old self and it looks likely that she could even deeper here in Melbourne.
And last of all we had the surprise of the tournament, the young American, Madison Keys who enroute caused a big upset as she stunned the 4th seed and current Wimbledon champion, Petra Kvitova in straight sets enroute to this point in the 4th round. And in the 4th round Keys faced another American, Madison Brengle who in the end was no match for the powerful big hitting Keys who blasted her opponent off the court with an impressive 6-2, 6-4 victory to see her reach her first ever grand slam quarteer final. Its great to see with these wins the emergence of fresh new talent in the ladies game as Keys now also joins the likes of Bouchard and Halep who have also made a strong impression in their short careers. Keys will next up face Venus Williams so I think that Keys might not make it into the last four but I'm pretty sure she can give Venus a match in the process.
Sooooo that's it for the ladies for now as the quarter finals are now set and they are pretty promising looking with some fresh new talent in their too which helps keep things fresh and there promises to be some really good matches ahead.
And with that I will be back soon with the men's matches.
See you in a bit.
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