Right, OK so I am really late with my coverage of this year's Wimbledon championships coverage on this blog, so apologies for that, so this post will need to be a pretty quick update on the latest events in the tournament so far.
So, as usual with tradition, I will start with the ladies tournament....
WEEK 1 NOTABLE UPSETS AND ALL THINGS BRITISH....
Right, so in week 1 we had a number of upsets with the biggest one being the World No.3, Karolina Pliskova, who was deemed the favourite to win the title as she had just won a warm up grass court title in Eastbourn the week before. However, Pliskova didn't live up to the billing as she suffered a three set shock loss to the unseeded Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia, who had come into the event with a protected ranking. Rybarikova herself would then go on to enjoy a deep run into the tournament as she went on to reach the semi finals but more on that in a bit.
Petra Kvitova, who has just recently returned from her knife attack injury at the end of last year, despite being one of the favourites to lift the title, also went out early in the second round as she was beaten by the American player, Madison Brengle in three sets. This was also a surprise given that Kvitova had won a warm up tournament in Birmingham that set her up as a favourite going into SW19.
On the British front of things however there were mixed fortunes as Laura Robson, suffered a first round loss, as she has been out of form with various injuries through her troubled career so far and she went out to the Brazilian player, Beatriz Haddad Maia in straight sets.
On a slightly more positive note though however for the British ladies players, Heather Watson did make a good run of things in the first week as she reached the 3rd round where she took on Victoria Azarenka, who herself has returned recently to the sport after she had her baby last year. However despite a valiant battle from Heather, Azarenka was just a bit too solid for her and Heather's unforced errors took their toll in the 3rd and decisive set, which saw Azarenka reach the 4th round. Azarenka would however later fall in the 4th round to Simona Halep.
However on the brighter note, the British No.1, Jo Konta, made it through the first week with flying colours although she did have to battle pretty hard in her 2nd round match where she took on Donna Vekic in a epic contest on centre court. The match was one of the best of the ladies tournament and it was a real battle that could have went either way but ultimately it went Konta's as she closed out a very memorable win with a 7-6, 4-6, 10-8 scoreline.
WEEK 2 SEEDS GONE OUT AND PROGRESS TO THE SEMIS
Now we get onto the 2nd week, which saw a few more big upsets in the top seeds that included Angelique Kerber, the World No.1, who has been struggling for form this year but she had a pretty decent grass court season going into Wimbledon. And in the 4th round she took on the former French Open champion, Garbine Muguruza as the two of them were locked in a tough battle that eventually went the way of Muguruza who came from a set down to beat Kerber and won in 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Then we had Agnieszka Radwanska who went out also in the 4th round at the hands of the former French and US Open champion and 7th seed, Svetlana Kuznetsova, who overpowered Radwanska and put out 9th seed in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. Kuznetsova herself would then go on to be defeated in the quarter finals by Garbine Muguruza.
Caroline Wozniacki also suffered a 4th round defeat at the hands of the 24th seed, Coco Vandeweghe from the US, who is currently being coached by the former men's champion, Pat Cash. And Coco proved to have too much for Wozniacki, who has always struggled against the big hitters in the game and this match was no exception as Coco won it in straight sets, 7-6, 6-4. Coco herself however would then go on to face Magdalena Rybarikova, who stunned the 24th seed in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.
Simona Halep, who went into this tournament with a shot being No.1 by the end of it was up against Jo Konta in their quarter final match and if Halep won that match she would ensure that she would become the new World No.1. However, Konta had other ideas as she fought back from a set down to work her way into the match and into Halep's mind as the 2nd seed froze in the final set and was broken and Konta ended her dream and put Halep out with a 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 win. This win meant that Karolina Pliskova, despite her early loss, will become the new World No.1 as of next Monday when the rankings come out.
And lastly Jelena Ostapenko, this year's surprise French open ladies singles champion, took on the mighty Venus Williams for a place in the semi finals in their quarter final match. However despite the younster's ability to defy experience over youth at the French open, this time she was not able to defy Venus, who simply outclassed Ostapenko from the get-go and she swiftly went on to defeat the plucky Ostapenko in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5.
SEMI FINALS
Right now for a quick look at the ladies semi finals matches, which took place today.
Garbine Muguruza vs Magdalena Rybarikova
So up first was this match featuring the 2015 finalist, Garbine Muguruza and the surprise player of the ladies tournament, Magdalena Rybarikova. This match was an intriguing one as the two players had an even head to head 2-2 going into this match with Magda (just refer to her as Magda to save on typing!) winning that won two years on grass in Birmingham.
However the match itself was a total mis-match for Magda this time around as Muguruza was ruthless in her efficiency on the court as she dominated Magda right from the start as she bossed her in the rallies and passed her at every opportunity. This then saw Garbine take an emphatic victory as she demolished her Slovakian opponent in straight sets to reach her 2nd Wimbledon final with a 6-1, 6-1 win.
This match promised to be interesting but given how much Muguruza has improved since as a player from their last meeting, in a way its no surprise that Muguruza would emerge as the winner for this one. So, this really sees Garbine in with a strong chance to go one step further this time round and claim her first Wimbledon title on Saturday. However that will all depend on the winner of the next match.....
Venus Williams vs Jo Konta
And the next match was between the 5 time champion, Venus Williams and the British No.1, Jo Konta, who had made a very impressive run to the last four at SW19 for the first time in her career and the first time in 39 years since a British woman had done so (Virgina Wade being the last). Jo also lead Venus in their head to head going into this match 3-2, so this promised to be a very close match.
However despite a strong start from both ladies, particularly with Konta, who at 4-4 manage to garner two break points against Venus, that was about as far as she could get against the 5 time champion who saved them both and went on to hold and break Konta to nab the first set. And in the 2nd set, Konta's nerves clearly got the better of her as she made a number of forehand errors that saw her go down a double break. And at 5-2 with Konta serving to make it 5-3, Venus managed to break once more to end Konta's hopes of reaching her maiden slam final and Venus reached her 9th Wimbledon final with an impressive 6-4, 6-2 victory.
Well unfortunately for the Brits, this defeat for Konta marked the end of the line for British interest in the singles for the ladies and she would have to go on waiting for another year. However regardless of her defeat today, Konta deserves tremendous credit for her performance over the last two weeks and it really did show that she has got it in her to win a major one way.
As for Venus, will this match proves that you cannot write her off and in the absence of her sister, Serena (who is currently out of the game as she is pregnant) this will help Venus emerge from her sister's shadow and give her a chance to win another Wimbledon title. It would also be the perfect end to an upsetting fortnight for Venus, who had faced some difficult questions coming into the tournament due to her involvement in a car accident that saw the driver of the other car, later die from his injuries as a result.
THE FINAL
Right, so let's take a look ahead to the ladies final then....
So, the ladies final is now set between Venus Williams and Garbine Muguruza, both ladies are grand slam champions, so they are no stranger as to how to win one, so going into this final, you get the feeling this could be a pretty even match. Venus however actually has the lead in their head to head 3-1 although Muguruza did win their most recent match this year in Rome on clay, so this might give some slight advantage to Murguruza but this is their first meeting on grass.
So it all begs the question: who will win????? Well....even though, Muguruza won their last meeting, I really have to go with Venus here as she has really shown her class in this tournament so far and her experience in slam finals is what might get her over the finishing line here. Muguruza however will be no pushover that is for sure and this should still be a pretty competitive match, so I could easily see it go the distance.
As for my actual prediction.....well I will go with Venus winning this one in three sets and by doing so it will end her grand slam title drought with her little sis out the way, this will surely be her best ever time to win just maybe that one last more major before Serena takes over again.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back soon with my look at the mens' tournament so far at SW19.
See you soon....
No comments:
Post a Comment