So day 6 of the WTA/ATP tour promised to delivered alot and unfortunately in quite a few ways it failed to live up to the expectations of what it could have done, but it still provided some good stuff in between.
For a change the ladies first (chauvinist I know!!) as the WTA semi finals in Toronto started off really well with the Radwanska vs Stosur match. I had pegged Radwanska to be the favourite in this match, but Sam Stosur really came into this tournament very much in form and made life difficult quickly for the Pole in the first set taking it with fair ease. However Radwanska fought back in the 2nd set to take it as she broke back and broke Stosur's serve at 6-5. But it was normal service in the 3rd and Stosur broke early at 2-2 to close out the match in 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, to secure her place in the final. It was a very entertaining match with each player throwing about every shot in the book at each other for nearly two hours with the Aussie prevailing in the end. After that it was the more anticipated match between World No.4 Victoria Azarenka and 13 time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams. Unfortunately though the match failed to live up to the expectations of a great battle that it could have done, as Williams dismissed Azarenka quite easily in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 to secure her a place in her second final of the year. Williams afterwards also seemed cool as a cucumber and it looked like the match was just a warm up session for her! :-> So that's Serena Williams and Sam Stosur in the final, my money is firmly on Serena to win, most likely in straight sets, or at a push maybe 3 sets. I don't know if Stosur has the game to really threaten Serena but I guess we will find out, I just hope its a good final. It might be a good match up as Stosur also has a powerful build like Williams and a big serve and forehand, but she also seemed to be carrying a wrist injury yesterday so that might seriously impinge on her chances, but here's hoping its a good match for her, win or lose.
So onto the men's tennis, the first match between Mardy Fish and Janko Tipsarevic went as expected, as the Yank proved to be too good for the Serb and was defeated in straight sets in 6-3, 6-4. But the most anticipated match of the tournament between Djokovic and Tsonga ended in disappointment as Tsonga was forced to retire with an arm injury in the 2nd set, which saw Djoky ease through into the final in 6-4, 3-0 ret. So its a Djoko vs Fish final, and I think the filleting knife is about to be sharpened and readied as it might be a pretty quick final, as I really don't see Mardy troubling the World No.1 much at all. I could be wrong, Fish has definitely been improving and he does like the fast North American hard courts, so it could be a tough match, but I very much doubt it, so we will see. One thing is for sure I think title 27 is coming up for the man from Belgrade, but we can hope its an entertaining final.
Right that's enough the now.
Sunday, 14 August 2011
Saturday, 13 August 2011
Country in turmoil
Just was thinking of blogging something about the current troubles in England with the riots and violence that have been outbreaking all over the country. It seems all quite bizzare to me how one man's death would spark so much trouble, and it also shows the sheer ignorance of the people in that country that feel they want to jump on the same bandwagon, not because they want to support any protest, its just to see how much chaos they can cause and how much they can steal.
In a way it definitely mirrors the Los Angeles riots back in the early riots when Rodney King was assaulted by several policemen, after which the police officers acquittal in court caused chaos out on the streets. With the London riots it definitely gave the gangs and criminals and any other scumbags out there a licence to steal and burn stores and homes down. But when it spills out onto streets and affects peoples livelihoods it just frankly isn't on at all, why should innocent people suffer at the hands of some ignorant pricks who just want to wreak havoc???? But one man's death and a protest against it definitely gives enough cause for louts to get what they want and cause trouble. But the extent to which the riots spread starting with Tottenham in London, onto Croydon, then onto Brimingham, Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester and various other locations in the country seems totally unreal.
However I do think the riots were certainly motivated by more than just Mark Duggan's death, I think that was used to ignite the flames so to speak, in the past as the government have made cuts to student's loans, this also caused riots and choas, and there is no such thing as a peaceful protest anyway as you are bound to get a few trouble makers along the way! So England already was in turmoil before this in different ways, the Tory government certainly haven't helped with various cuts in budget, people's pensions, livelihoods, homes etc.
There was of course a comment on Facebook as well from one person who said lets start a riot in Glasgow, which thankfully whoever wrote that has since been arrested, the good thing about Glasgow is even if they tried to instigate a riot here and start fires the rain would put it out! But I am definitely glad that I do not live in England, and its a great shame for the decent folk that live there that have to endure such ignorant, violent and pointless behaviour. David Cameron also stated that potential measures that should be taken is that for one criminals who have been convicted should be banned from using social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter, as they could be used to plan riots and violence. This is in itself hardly practical, one way or another criminals will be able to get a hold of a mobile phone and use it to tweet or post an entry of Facebook whether David Cameron wishes it or not (or definitely not). Another one of the other measures he stated was one of the very rare things I totally agree with him on, is that criminals that have been convicted of taking part in the riots should have their benefits removed. While it may seem like a fiscal corporal punishment, if these people destroy other peoples livelihoods they do not deserve any money at all, in fact they should have someone follow them home and burn their house down and see how they like it!!
Anyhow that's my thoughts on the matter, I hope for the good people that live in England that things get better, but as the saying goes "it'll get worse before it get's better", let's hope not too worse.
OK, the end.
In a way it definitely mirrors the Los Angeles riots back in the early riots when Rodney King was assaulted by several policemen, after which the police officers acquittal in court caused chaos out on the streets. With the London riots it definitely gave the gangs and criminals and any other scumbags out there a licence to steal and burn stores and homes down. But when it spills out onto streets and affects peoples livelihoods it just frankly isn't on at all, why should innocent people suffer at the hands of some ignorant pricks who just want to wreak havoc???? But one man's death and a protest against it definitely gives enough cause for louts to get what they want and cause trouble. But the extent to which the riots spread starting with Tottenham in London, onto Croydon, then onto Brimingham, Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester and various other locations in the country seems totally unreal.
However I do think the riots were certainly motivated by more than just Mark Duggan's death, I think that was used to ignite the flames so to speak, in the past as the government have made cuts to student's loans, this also caused riots and choas, and there is no such thing as a peaceful protest anyway as you are bound to get a few trouble makers along the way! So England already was in turmoil before this in different ways, the Tory government certainly haven't helped with various cuts in budget, people's pensions, livelihoods, homes etc.
There was of course a comment on Facebook as well from one person who said lets start a riot in Glasgow, which thankfully whoever wrote that has since been arrested, the good thing about Glasgow is even if they tried to instigate a riot here and start fires the rain would put it out! But I am definitely glad that I do not live in England, and its a great shame for the decent folk that live there that have to endure such ignorant, violent and pointless behaviour. David Cameron also stated that potential measures that should be taken is that for one criminals who have been convicted should be banned from using social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter, as they could be used to plan riots and violence. This is in itself hardly practical, one way or another criminals will be able to get a hold of a mobile phone and use it to tweet or post an entry of Facebook whether David Cameron wishes it or not (or definitely not). Another one of the other measures he stated was one of the very rare things I totally agree with him on, is that criminals that have been convicted of taking part in the riots should have their benefits removed. While it may seem like a fiscal corporal punishment, if these people destroy other peoples livelihoods they do not deserve any money at all, in fact they should have someone follow them home and burn their house down and see how they like it!!
Anyhow that's my thoughts on the matter, I hope for the good people that live in England that things get better, but as the saying goes "it'll get worse before it get's better", let's hope not too worse.
OK, the end.
Montreal/Toronto Part 4: Itsss showdown time!! Well nearly.
Day5 of the WTA/ATP tour Rogers Cup saw some more interesting developments, no big upsets as such but plenty of good stuff to watch.
Once again starting with the men, the quarter finals first up saw Stan Wawrinka take on US No.1 Mardy Fish, whom the Swiss battled against for the first two sets, winning the 2nd before caving in when they reached the 3rd, which saw the yank go through to his first Rogers Cup semi final, in 6-3, 6-7(8), 6-0. Next up was Tomas Berdych who was playing against Mr Shades, Janko Tipsaveric, who surprisingly enough defeated big Czeck in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 to make it to his first Masters 1000 semi final. After that was the match up between the formidable Frenchman and giant killer Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who took on and defeated Nicholas Almagro in straight sets, again in 6-4, 6-4. And finally in what was a fairly anticipated match, French No.1 Gael Monfils took on the mighty Novak Djokovic, but unfortunately he wasn't up to the task at all, as the Serb gubbed Monfils easily in straight sets 6-2, 6-1, his easiest win of the tournament so far.
However now that Monfils is out of the picture, this sets up the semi final we all wanted to see, the clash between Tsonga and Djokovic. In my opinion, despite not being the top French player, I think Tsonga is a much better player than Monfils is. He's reached a grand slam final in Australia, won the Paris masters title, to top that off he's also beaten Roger twice this season and Rafa once (OK Rafa was fatigued from his French Open campaign) and he leads the head to head record surprisingly against Djoko, 5-3 in Tsonga's favour! But I really don't think tonight it will be 6-3, more likely it will be 5-4 as Tsonga was defeated by Djokovic in their previous meeting at Wimbledon, albeit in a very tough match. So tonight's match will be very anticipated and should be a belter, as Tsonga is playing really well just now, and so far Djokovic has yet to drop a set in Montreal but I think he will tonight. I could be wrong, but I think its going to be a real tough one and hopefully the match of the tournament. I also think if Tsonga has the type of match he had against Federer both in Wimbledon and Montreal, then the Serb hasn't got a prayer, cos if Tsonga serves that well and everything goes in, Djoko will be facing down the barrell of the gun on this one. I almost hope that is the case as it would be wonderful to see Tsonga make it through and have a shot at a second Masters title, but most likely not.
Now onto the wummin's tennis on the WTA (sorry I meant ladies!) in Toronto as the quarters final again saw some good stuff on display. Sam Stosur who has been on fine form at the Rogers Cup put in an assertive performance against the wildcard Roberta Vinci as she soundly beat her in 6-4, 6-0 to secure her place in the semis. After that Victoria Azarenka also breezed her way past the other wildcard Galina Voskoboeva (who took out Sharapova) defeating her in 6-1, 6-2. Next up was recently Top 10 player Andrea Petkovic who faced off a very much on form Agnieszka Radwanska who surprised everyone by defeating the German in straight sets 6-4, 6-3, which was a really good match with some lengthy lung bursting rallies. Radwanska afterwards joked when she commented on her current 9 match winning streak saying she would love to keep it going as long as Djokovic's streak went on! And finally Serena Williams who is very much on the comeback battled past the tricky Czeck Lucie Safarova to make into the semis in 3 sets, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
So that sets up a very intruiging and potentially very exciting semi final draw on both the mens and ladies tour. Fish vs Tipsy, Djokovic vs Tsonga on the men and Williams vs Azarenka and Stosur vs Radwanska, so it should be a really good one. My predictions for the finals: Djokovic and Fish in the mens, and maybe Williams and Radwanska in the ladies.
And that'll be on later, can't wait! Blog more soon.
Once again starting with the men, the quarter finals first up saw Stan Wawrinka take on US No.1 Mardy Fish, whom the Swiss battled against for the first two sets, winning the 2nd before caving in when they reached the 3rd, which saw the yank go through to his first Rogers Cup semi final, in 6-3, 6-7(8), 6-0. Next up was Tomas Berdych who was playing against Mr Shades, Janko Tipsaveric, who surprisingly enough defeated big Czeck in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 to make it to his first Masters 1000 semi final. After that was the match up between the formidable Frenchman and giant killer Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who took on and defeated Nicholas Almagro in straight sets, again in 6-4, 6-4. And finally in what was a fairly anticipated match, French No.1 Gael Monfils took on the mighty Novak Djokovic, but unfortunately he wasn't up to the task at all, as the Serb gubbed Monfils easily in straight sets 6-2, 6-1, his easiest win of the tournament so far.
However now that Monfils is out of the picture, this sets up the semi final we all wanted to see, the clash between Tsonga and Djokovic. In my opinion, despite not being the top French player, I think Tsonga is a much better player than Monfils is. He's reached a grand slam final in Australia, won the Paris masters title, to top that off he's also beaten Roger twice this season and Rafa once (OK Rafa was fatigued from his French Open campaign) and he leads the head to head record surprisingly against Djoko, 5-3 in Tsonga's favour! But I really don't think tonight it will be 6-3, more likely it will be 5-4 as Tsonga was defeated by Djokovic in their previous meeting at Wimbledon, albeit in a very tough match. So tonight's match will be very anticipated and should be a belter, as Tsonga is playing really well just now, and so far Djokovic has yet to drop a set in Montreal but I think he will tonight. I could be wrong, but I think its going to be a real tough one and hopefully the match of the tournament. I also think if Tsonga has the type of match he had against Federer both in Wimbledon and Montreal, then the Serb hasn't got a prayer, cos if Tsonga serves that well and everything goes in, Djoko will be facing down the barrell of the gun on this one. I almost hope that is the case as it would be wonderful to see Tsonga make it through and have a shot at a second Masters title, but most likely not.
Now onto the wummin's tennis on the WTA (sorry I meant ladies!) in Toronto as the quarters final again saw some good stuff on display. Sam Stosur who has been on fine form at the Rogers Cup put in an assertive performance against the wildcard Roberta Vinci as she soundly beat her in 6-4, 6-0 to secure her place in the semis. After that Victoria Azarenka also breezed her way past the other wildcard Galina Voskoboeva (who took out Sharapova) defeating her in 6-1, 6-2. Next up was recently Top 10 player Andrea Petkovic who faced off a very much on form Agnieszka Radwanska who surprised everyone by defeating the German in straight sets 6-4, 6-3, which was a really good match with some lengthy lung bursting rallies. Radwanska afterwards joked when she commented on her current 9 match winning streak saying she would love to keep it going as long as Djokovic's streak went on! And finally Serena Williams who is very much on the comeback battled past the tricky Czeck Lucie Safarova to make into the semis in 3 sets, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
So that sets up a very intruiging and potentially very exciting semi final draw on both the mens and ladies tour. Fish vs Tipsy, Djokovic vs Tsonga on the men and Williams vs Azarenka and Stosur vs Radwanska, so it should be a really good one. My predictions for the finals: Djokovic and Fish in the mens, and maybe Williams and Radwanska in the ladies.
And that'll be on later, can't wait! Blog more soon.
Friday, 12 August 2011
Montreal/Toronto Part 3: Its..... more KOs!!
So onto day four of the WTA/ATP Rogers Cup events, which more top seeds tumble on both sides of the men's and ladies tours in Canada.
Starting with the men, the biggest exit, but not entirely unexpected, was Roger Federer who was defeated for the second consecutive time by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 3 sets, as the Frenchman continued his record over him, this time winning in 7-6, 4-6, 6-1. Tsonga next up faces the Spaniard Nicholas Almagro, which should be a tough match, so I hope Tsonga wins so that way it will setup a potential Djokovic semi final which should be quite exciting. In fact in terms of dangerous players, I think Tsonga poses as much a threat to Djokovic as Federer and Murray do. He could well be one of few guys that could beat him, but I very much doubt he will. Next up Gael Monfils took on Djoky's fellow Serb and good friend Viktor Troicki as they battled it out for victory which saw Gael Monfils seal it after a very tough 3 set match, winning in 3-6, 7-6, 7-6. So Monfils will next face Djokovic, where I'm sure Djoko will have a chance to avenge his fellow Serb's defeat, it should be hopefully a good match, as they have had tough matches in the past, although it might be more straight forward this time. Also Tomas Berdych made it through against the giant Ivo Karlovich in straight sets 6-3, 7-6, and Mardy Fish now the US No.1 battled past Ernests Gublis from Latvia. Djokovic himself also secured his place in the quarter finals by defeating Croat Marin Cilic in a fairly straight forward match in 7-5, 6-2, Djoko once again had a tight first set but he found his feet easily and secured a double break in the 2nd to seal it. And finally Stan Wawrinka, the Swiss No.2 battled his way past the giant Kevin Anderson, who defeated Andy Murray so easily, but Stan needed 3 sets to make his way past the big un in 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
So this all makes for a very promising set of quarter finals matches, the most intruiging being of course Djokovic vs Monfils, to see if the Frenchman can push Djoko all the way, in his current omnipotent state I kind of doubt it, but it will be intruiging all the same. Also in the doubles the Murray bros continued to impress as they got past the Number 8 seeds in the draw to make it to the quarter finals in Montreal. Next up they face Tomas Berdych and Florian Mayer, can they pull off winnig the title?? They could well do, c'mon the Muzzas!! But time will tell.
On the WTA side in Toronto, there were a few more upsets, the main one being Maria Sharapova who exited, falling to the Kazakstan wildcard Galina Voskoboeva in 6-4, 7-5, at one point in the 2nd set Galina had the chance to close out the match at 5-4, but she double faulted twice, then went nuts (as you do). But the tantrum passed and she carried on by breaking Maria's serve and serving it out to ensure the biggest win of her career. Vera Zvonareva once again also was handed a defeat by the crafty, very talented Pole Agnieszka Radwanska, who really is coming on in leaps and bounds this year. Meanwhile 13 time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, who is starting to make a confident comeback also came through a tough match against the Chinese player in 3 sets, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Sam Stosur also confidently made it past the French Open champion Li Na in straigh sets 6-3, 6-4, as the Chinese No.1 struggled with Stosur's serve. Andrea Petkovic managed to get revenge on Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, as she Czeck failed to get anything going at all, as she battled against the windy conditions and her opponent who was on top form, with Petko winning in 6-1, 6-2, after which she did her cheesy Petko dance (this time a Mexican wave!). And finally the mad grunter Victoria Azarenka, the Belarusian No.1, breezed past Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez in straights 6-1, 6-2.
Again this makes for a very promising quarter finals setup, with four potentially great matches ahead, it will also be very interesting to see if Serena Williams can come out top again, its a fair chance she might. She may have been out of the game for a year, but her ability and skill are still very much at the forefront and it would insane to write her off winning not only this title but another Grand Slam, so everyone better watch out at the US Open, as Serena already has won at Stanford and she will look to build on that.
So that's my summary fer now, plenty of good tennis awaits both sides of the tours and cities.
Starting with the men, the biggest exit, but not entirely unexpected, was Roger Federer who was defeated for the second consecutive time by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 3 sets, as the Frenchman continued his record over him, this time winning in 7-6, 4-6, 6-1. Tsonga next up faces the Spaniard Nicholas Almagro, which should be a tough match, so I hope Tsonga wins so that way it will setup a potential Djokovic semi final which should be quite exciting. In fact in terms of dangerous players, I think Tsonga poses as much a threat to Djokovic as Federer and Murray do. He could well be one of few guys that could beat him, but I very much doubt he will. Next up Gael Monfils took on Djoky's fellow Serb and good friend Viktor Troicki as they battled it out for victory which saw Gael Monfils seal it after a very tough 3 set match, winning in 3-6, 7-6, 7-6. So Monfils will next face Djokovic, where I'm sure Djoko will have a chance to avenge his fellow Serb's defeat, it should be hopefully a good match, as they have had tough matches in the past, although it might be more straight forward this time. Also Tomas Berdych made it through against the giant Ivo Karlovich in straight sets 6-3, 7-6, and Mardy Fish now the US No.1 battled past Ernests Gublis from Latvia. Djokovic himself also secured his place in the quarter finals by defeating Croat Marin Cilic in a fairly straight forward match in 7-5, 6-2, Djoko once again had a tight first set but he found his feet easily and secured a double break in the 2nd to seal it. And finally Stan Wawrinka, the Swiss No.2 battled his way past the giant Kevin Anderson, who defeated Andy Murray so easily, but Stan needed 3 sets to make his way past the big un in 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
So this all makes for a very promising set of quarter finals matches, the most intruiging being of course Djokovic vs Monfils, to see if the Frenchman can push Djoko all the way, in his current omnipotent state I kind of doubt it, but it will be intruiging all the same. Also in the doubles the Murray bros continued to impress as they got past the Number 8 seeds in the draw to make it to the quarter finals in Montreal. Next up they face Tomas Berdych and Florian Mayer, can they pull off winnig the title?? They could well do, c'mon the Muzzas!! But time will tell.
On the WTA side in Toronto, there were a few more upsets, the main one being Maria Sharapova who exited, falling to the Kazakstan wildcard Galina Voskoboeva in 6-4, 7-5, at one point in the 2nd set Galina had the chance to close out the match at 5-4, but she double faulted twice, then went nuts (as you do). But the tantrum passed and she carried on by breaking Maria's serve and serving it out to ensure the biggest win of her career. Vera Zvonareva once again also was handed a defeat by the crafty, very talented Pole Agnieszka Radwanska, who really is coming on in leaps and bounds this year. Meanwhile 13 time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, who is starting to make a confident comeback also came through a tough match against the Chinese player in 3 sets, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Sam Stosur also confidently made it past the French Open champion Li Na in straigh sets 6-3, 6-4, as the Chinese No.1 struggled with Stosur's serve. Andrea Petkovic managed to get revenge on Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, as she Czeck failed to get anything going at all, as she battled against the windy conditions and her opponent who was on top form, with Petko winning in 6-1, 6-2, after which she did her cheesy Petko dance (this time a Mexican wave!). And finally the mad grunter Victoria Azarenka, the Belarusian No.1, breezed past Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez in straights 6-1, 6-2.
Again this makes for a very promising quarter finals setup, with four potentially great matches ahead, it will also be very interesting to see if Serena Williams can come out top again, its a fair chance she might. She may have been out of the game for a year, but her ability and skill are still very much at the forefront and it would insane to write her off winning not only this title but another Grand Slam, so everyone better watch out at the US Open, as Serena already has won at Stanford and she will look to build on that.
So that's my summary fer now, plenty of good tennis awaits both sides of the tours and cities.
Thursday, 11 August 2011
Montreal/Toronto Part 2: its knockout city!
Welll welll, day 3 at the Montreal Masters on the ATP men's tour saw another big upset as former World No.1 Rafael Nadal made an early shock exit to Croat player Ivan Dodig, who took the Spaniard the distance and defeated him in 1-6, 7-6, 7-6. Now this I don't think anyone was expecting at all, this was the earliest exit Rafa has made in over 3 years, the last time was at the Rome Masters, back when it was on hard court.
But that's another shock exit for a top player, and not only a top player but one of the greatest players who's played the game! Whit is going on????? Last year Rafa exited in the semi finals at the Rogers Cup to the Muzza, so perhaps this isn't his tournament, ok he did much better last year, but to go out so early is just unreal. Rafa certainly has had a rollercoaster of a year, and I do think now that the tables have turned and that he is no longer the top dog, that perhaps its knocked some of the stuffing out of him a bit. Perhaps though no longer being the world no.2 it might relieve a bit of pressure from Rafa as its something he no longer has to defend, but inevitably every time he will face Djokovic we know the expectation of defeat for him. But to go out in your first match is such as surprise, just imagine he played Ivan Dodig at the French Open instead of John Isner, he could well have gone out then!
So Rafa has now joined the Muzza in the shock exit stakes, however the other two guys in the top 3 are still very much in the game, as Federer made a fairly easy advance into the 3rd round after defeating Canadian player Vasek Pospisil. Djokovic also made it through a rather tense and ropey first set to breeze his way into the 3rd round in 7-5, 6-1 against Nikolai Davydenko. Up next for Djoko is the Croat giant Marin Cilic who knocked out Del Potro, and for Federer could be a real stiff challenge as he faces Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who defeated him at Wimbledon in a 5 set epic, so I'm sure Roger will be looking for revenge here, I hope he wins, so that way the chances of a Djokovic vs Federer semi final will be on the cards. And who knows, just maybe Federer if he makes it through to the semis could hand Djokovic another shock defeat.
Despite Andy's loss, he had good news in the doubles as he and Jamie made it past their Canadian opponents as they defeated them in 6-2, 2-6, 10-7, so they have another doubles match coming up today so best of luck to them, and wouldn't it be great if they could take home a Masters doubles title?? C'moon!!
On the WTA side we saw another shock exit as the World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki was handed a defeat by the Italian No.2 Roberta Vinci (who is also quite freckly!) in a straight set loss 6-4, 7-5. It makes you think what is it with these top players just now??? I think it boils down to a lack of match play to be honest, as the top players haven't been playing for a month, while the lower ranked players have been actively playing over the summer, which makes their game more sharper, while the top 10 players games can be a bit sluggish. Its also another blow to Caroline as she has been handed quite a few defeats of late, its also a shame in a way as leave another question mark over her head about her ranking. She is yet to win a grand slam and being ranked as No.1 you would have expected her to by now, meanwhile players such as Li Na and Petra Kvitova have gone on to win grand slams and have beaten Caroline also. Her next best bet is the US Open and hopefully by next week in Cincinatti she will have sharpened her game, so for the top seeds who have lost out, its back to the practice court.
OK enough for now.
But that's another shock exit for a top player, and not only a top player but one of the greatest players who's played the game! Whit is going on????? Last year Rafa exited in the semi finals at the Rogers Cup to the Muzza, so perhaps this isn't his tournament, ok he did much better last year, but to go out so early is just unreal. Rafa certainly has had a rollercoaster of a year, and I do think now that the tables have turned and that he is no longer the top dog, that perhaps its knocked some of the stuffing out of him a bit. Perhaps though no longer being the world no.2 it might relieve a bit of pressure from Rafa as its something he no longer has to defend, but inevitably every time he will face Djokovic we know the expectation of defeat for him. But to go out in your first match is such as surprise, just imagine he played Ivan Dodig at the French Open instead of John Isner, he could well have gone out then!
So Rafa has now joined the Muzza in the shock exit stakes, however the other two guys in the top 3 are still very much in the game, as Federer made a fairly easy advance into the 3rd round after defeating Canadian player Vasek Pospisil. Djokovic also made it through a rather tense and ropey first set to breeze his way into the 3rd round in 7-5, 6-1 against Nikolai Davydenko. Up next for Djoko is the Croat giant Marin Cilic who knocked out Del Potro, and for Federer could be a real stiff challenge as he faces Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who defeated him at Wimbledon in a 5 set epic, so I'm sure Roger will be looking for revenge here, I hope he wins, so that way the chances of a Djokovic vs Federer semi final will be on the cards. And who knows, just maybe Federer if he makes it through to the semis could hand Djokovic another shock defeat.
Despite Andy's loss, he had good news in the doubles as he and Jamie made it past their Canadian opponents as they defeated them in 6-2, 2-6, 10-7, so they have another doubles match coming up today so best of luck to them, and wouldn't it be great if they could take home a Masters doubles title?? C'moon!!
On the WTA side we saw another shock exit as the World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki was handed a defeat by the Italian No.2 Roberta Vinci (who is also quite freckly!) in a straight set loss 6-4, 7-5. It makes you think what is it with these top players just now??? I think it boils down to a lack of match play to be honest, as the top players haven't been playing for a month, while the lower ranked players have been actively playing over the summer, which makes their game more sharper, while the top 10 players games can be a bit sluggish. Its also another blow to Caroline as she has been handed quite a few defeats of late, its also a shame in a way as leave another question mark over her head about her ranking. She is yet to win a grand slam and being ranked as No.1 you would have expected her to by now, meanwhile players such as Li Na and Petra Kvitova have gone on to win grand slams and have beaten Caroline also. Her next best bet is the US Open and hopefully by next week in Cincinatti she will have sharpened her game, so for the top seeds who have lost out, its back to the practice court.
OK enough for now.
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
Montreal/Toronto Part 1: Here we go again!!
In tennis and all things in life, things can come in swings and roundabouts and once again poor fortune has favoured itself on Britain's No.1 Andy Murray, as the start of the second leg of his hard court season hasn't proved any better than the first. In short Andy went out in the Montreal Masters in his first match, for the fourth time this year, as he lost to the South African giant Kevin Anderson in straight sets 6-3. 6-1. Andy was the defending champion for the last two years running so to go out so early again is a real shock.
This was without a doubt the worst defeat he has suffered all year, and it really is totally baffling as to why Andy keeps going through these losing streaks. I guess it is tough to play consistently well throughout the year even if you are a top player, but its not like Andy has had a terrible record leading up to Montreal, far from it in fact. Its almost like being back on hard court is a bitter reminder of his loss at the Australian Open again, like a change of surface was just what Andy needed but now he is back on the hard stuff, its tougher for him to adjust to it. But perhaps maybe the lack of match play over the last few weeks has left Andy a little bit sluggish as he hasn't played a match in about a month since the Davis Cup victory against Great Britain. So perhaps all he needs is to play some more matches to get back into his rythym, he said himself post match he felt nothing was going on and he felt sluggish, so its all about getting into it once again. He rightly also has entered the doubles with Jamie, so hopefully that will help him sharpen his game up a bit more.
But it does leave the worrying feeling that we will see the recurring pattern once again that we saw earlier this year, with Andy going back to a puzzling losing streak. I don't know if the bitter sting of losing out in Wimbledon once again had got to him, but then again he did very well at the Davis Cup, so surely he would have been fired up after that. Another worry of course is with the US Open in just three weeks time, its not the best moment to go out and start losing matches early again and in the last two years Andy hasn't had the best record at the US Open either, so this won't do much to better his chances either.
However that aside, it is only one tournament, and he does have Cincinati to play in next week, so hopefully Andy can pull it together again, but if we see him exit early again, it frankly is going to be a real worry, cos the US Open will be a real short lived affair for him if he continues. But again looking at the WTA Rogers Cup side, Marion Bartoli for one has gone out in the first round also, as has Jelena Jankovic, well she hasn't had the best year either. But just maybe it was a lack of match play and also probably just a bad day at the office, so better luck next time Andy, and Marion and Jelena too for that matter. In fact reading Jelena's feedback on her loss to Julia Georges she also felt she was playing really sluggish and couldn't get anything going, so perhaps there is something in the air in Canada!
Onto other matches in Montreal, Djokovic will play Nikolai Davydenko in his first match, which should be no probs for the Serb, and big John Isner takes on Marcos Baghdatis. As for Rafa and Federer their matches must be on tomorrow so I will look forward to following them since the Muzza is now out the picture. There are also plenty of really good matches coming up for the WTA ladies Rogers Cup as Serena Williams is in action as is Kim Clijsters, and its really good to see Kim back in action too, it would be great if she can play really well from now on as she has had a terrible spot earlier this year too despite winning the Australian Open at the beginning of 2011. Caroline Wozniacki will also be in action today too as she faces Roberta Vinci, Caroline currently is also the defending champion of the WTA Rogers Cup, hopefully she can do better than Andy did. Although I'm not fully convinced that Caroline can defend her title this year, she could well do, but with Serena Williams in the draw and getting back to her best, she might struggle to beat her. But its part of the fun of the game, seeing which of the top players can emerge the winner, do either way it should be good.
Soooo that is it!!
This was without a doubt the worst defeat he has suffered all year, and it really is totally baffling as to why Andy keeps going through these losing streaks. I guess it is tough to play consistently well throughout the year even if you are a top player, but its not like Andy has had a terrible record leading up to Montreal, far from it in fact. Its almost like being back on hard court is a bitter reminder of his loss at the Australian Open again, like a change of surface was just what Andy needed but now he is back on the hard stuff, its tougher for him to adjust to it. But perhaps maybe the lack of match play over the last few weeks has left Andy a little bit sluggish as he hasn't played a match in about a month since the Davis Cup victory against Great Britain. So perhaps all he needs is to play some more matches to get back into his rythym, he said himself post match he felt nothing was going on and he felt sluggish, so its all about getting into it once again. He rightly also has entered the doubles with Jamie, so hopefully that will help him sharpen his game up a bit more.
But it does leave the worrying feeling that we will see the recurring pattern once again that we saw earlier this year, with Andy going back to a puzzling losing streak. I don't know if the bitter sting of losing out in Wimbledon once again had got to him, but then again he did very well at the Davis Cup, so surely he would have been fired up after that. Another worry of course is with the US Open in just three weeks time, its not the best moment to go out and start losing matches early again and in the last two years Andy hasn't had the best record at the US Open either, so this won't do much to better his chances either.
However that aside, it is only one tournament, and he does have Cincinati to play in next week, so hopefully Andy can pull it together again, but if we see him exit early again, it frankly is going to be a real worry, cos the US Open will be a real short lived affair for him if he continues. But again looking at the WTA Rogers Cup side, Marion Bartoli for one has gone out in the first round also, as has Jelena Jankovic, well she hasn't had the best year either. But just maybe it was a lack of match play and also probably just a bad day at the office, so better luck next time Andy, and Marion and Jelena too for that matter. In fact reading Jelena's feedback on her loss to Julia Georges she also felt she was playing really sluggish and couldn't get anything going, so perhaps there is something in the air in Canada!
Onto other matches in Montreal, Djokovic will play Nikolai Davydenko in his first match, which should be no probs for the Serb, and big John Isner takes on Marcos Baghdatis. As for Rafa and Federer their matches must be on tomorrow so I will look forward to following them since the Muzza is now out the picture. There are also plenty of really good matches coming up for the WTA ladies Rogers Cup as Serena Williams is in action as is Kim Clijsters, and its really good to see Kim back in action too, it would be great if she can play really well from now on as she has had a terrible spot earlier this year too despite winning the Australian Open at the beginning of 2011. Caroline Wozniacki will also be in action today too as she faces Roberta Vinci, Caroline currently is also the defending champion of the WTA Rogers Cup, hopefully she can do better than Andy did. Although I'm not fully convinced that Caroline can defend her title this year, she could well do, but with Serena Williams in the draw and getting back to her best, she might struggle to beat her. But its part of the fun of the game, seeing which of the top players can emerge the winner, do either way it should be good.
Soooo that is it!!
Friday, 5 August 2011
Title defence
OKKKKK its been a while since I've blogged, actually well over a week, and yes its coming back to that dreaded T word once again. The hard court season is starting to bubble up again in the land of tennis and next week sees the start of the ATP/WTA Rogers Cup in Canada. The two separate tournaments take place in different cities, this year the ladies is in Toronto and the men's are in Canada.
On the men's side the ATP, Britain's numero un is the defending champion, and has been for the last two years running, so the big question remains: can Andy defend his title this year???? I hope so, but there is one man (well two men really) that stand in his way, in Rafa and the Djoker, but who knows, just maybe Andy can pull it oot the bag and make a bit of history as if he does win, he will be the first man since Ivan Lendl to win in Canada three times running. But Djokovic seems the most likely winner as there is very little he hasn't won this year, with Federer handing him his only loss this year back at the French Open semi final. But as rivals go, Andy could well be defeated by Rafa and then Rafa could face Djokovic in the final once more and if they do I think it could be a very easy victory for Djokovic, I might be wrong but its waiting to happen. But so far this year Andy has had a pretty good year so far, the awful first leg of his hard court season not withstanding he's reached three Grand Slam semi finals (one final), won his 2nd Queens title, reached three clay court semi finals, and has won every single match of his Davis Cup tie. Now as the hard court season resumes for Andy we will see how he resorts back to his best surface.
Also the the US Open is just round the corner too as at the end of the month the fourth and final grand slam of the year will commence at Flushing Meadows in New York. But I really do tip Djokovic to win that one, there is practically no one that can stand in his way now. However there is another way you can look at that one, in terms of nemesis, Rafa is Federer's nemesis, Djokovic is Rafa's nemesis, and just maybe Andy could be Djokovic's nemesis. Can he steal the US Open title from him???? Hmmmmm, to be honest nah, however if he does win in Montreal then it could signal a good start. And so far Andy has played more consistently in the grand slams this year so if he can make it to another semi final this year then it would very impressive and even more so if he could take it two steps further. But it has to be said if Andy is going to hold onto his Rogers Cup title in Canada, then he's going to have a hell of a tough time doing so as he has a rather brutal draw. In the 2nd round he could face South African giant Kevin Anderson, who might not trouble him too much, but after that it gets much tougher as its possibly Stan Wawrinka (who defeated him at the US Open last year), then his nemesis Mardy Fish (who's leads there head to head 4-3 in Fish's favour), followed by Rafa and then the new World No.1 Djokovic. Its very tough ask but you never know, he might pull it oot the bag, he did it last year so who knows. But then Djoko isn't the same player as last year, so it could well be his.
So that's the men, for the woman on the WTA tour, Caroline Wozniacki is the defending champion for the Rogers Cup, although I recently heard that the Wozzer was out of the game with a shoulder injury but I'd imagine she will be back in to defend her title. I would quite like to see Caz defend her title too, it would also make for a nice symmetry if she went to win the US Open and so did Andy, both of them are counterpunchers in playing style. But in looking at the history of the game, most of the players that have gone on to win grand slams are aggressive players, not counterpunchers, and therefore take more chances. Regardless the Rogers Cup on both sides should make for a very entertaining and exciting tournament and doubtless I will be blogging away on that over the next few days doubtless of the outcomes. Caroline similarly has quite a tough draw to Andy, as she potentially faces Vera Zvonareva, Dominika Cibulkova, Andrea Petkovic and Li Na, all of whom have beaten her this year alone, as well as Sam Stosur and Agnieszka Radwanska.
On a slightly different note I had also recently read that the ladies British No.1 Elena Baltacha might be considering retirement new year after the 2012 Olympics, which would be a great shame for woman's tennis to see her go. Elena has had a many struggles with injuries over the years though and she did say herself that she felt she might not want to carry on only put her body through more pain, and your health has to come first. Elena also stated she would love the opportunity to play doubles with the Muzza at the Olympics and well it might yet happen. Speaking of which the next Davis Cup tie for Great Britain will take place again at the Braehead Arena next month from 16th-18th September, and I'm going on the 17th and 18th, so it will be terrific to see the British team once more as well as the Muzza. Andy already secured their victory against Luxembourg and if he continues to play in the Davis Cup he can ensure that Great Britain can go places in the event, so let's hope he carries on.
So that's enoughhhh for the tennis.... for the timebeing..........
On the men's side the ATP, Britain's numero un is the defending champion, and has been for the last two years running, so the big question remains: can Andy defend his title this year???? I hope so, but there is one man (well two men really) that stand in his way, in Rafa and the Djoker, but who knows, just maybe Andy can pull it oot the bag and make a bit of history as if he does win, he will be the first man since Ivan Lendl to win in Canada three times running. But Djokovic seems the most likely winner as there is very little he hasn't won this year, with Federer handing him his only loss this year back at the French Open semi final. But as rivals go, Andy could well be defeated by Rafa and then Rafa could face Djokovic in the final once more and if they do I think it could be a very easy victory for Djokovic, I might be wrong but its waiting to happen. But so far this year Andy has had a pretty good year so far, the awful first leg of his hard court season not withstanding he's reached three Grand Slam semi finals (one final), won his 2nd Queens title, reached three clay court semi finals, and has won every single match of his Davis Cup tie. Now as the hard court season resumes for Andy we will see how he resorts back to his best surface.
Also the the US Open is just round the corner too as at the end of the month the fourth and final grand slam of the year will commence at Flushing Meadows in New York. But I really do tip Djokovic to win that one, there is practically no one that can stand in his way now. However there is another way you can look at that one, in terms of nemesis, Rafa is Federer's nemesis, Djokovic is Rafa's nemesis, and just maybe Andy could be Djokovic's nemesis. Can he steal the US Open title from him???? Hmmmmm, to be honest nah, however if he does win in Montreal then it could signal a good start. And so far Andy has played more consistently in the grand slams this year so if he can make it to another semi final this year then it would very impressive and even more so if he could take it two steps further. But it has to be said if Andy is going to hold onto his Rogers Cup title in Canada, then he's going to have a hell of a tough time doing so as he has a rather brutal draw. In the 2nd round he could face South African giant Kevin Anderson, who might not trouble him too much, but after that it gets much tougher as its possibly Stan Wawrinka (who defeated him at the US Open last year), then his nemesis Mardy Fish (who's leads there head to head 4-3 in Fish's favour), followed by Rafa and then the new World No.1 Djokovic. Its very tough ask but you never know, he might pull it oot the bag, he did it last year so who knows. But then Djoko isn't the same player as last year, so it could well be his.
So that's the men, for the woman on the WTA tour, Caroline Wozniacki is the defending champion for the Rogers Cup, although I recently heard that the Wozzer was out of the game with a shoulder injury but I'd imagine she will be back in to defend her title. I would quite like to see Caz defend her title too, it would also make for a nice symmetry if she went to win the US Open and so did Andy, both of them are counterpunchers in playing style. But in looking at the history of the game, most of the players that have gone on to win grand slams are aggressive players, not counterpunchers, and therefore take more chances. Regardless the Rogers Cup on both sides should make for a very entertaining and exciting tournament and doubtless I will be blogging away on that over the next few days doubtless of the outcomes. Caroline similarly has quite a tough draw to Andy, as she potentially faces Vera Zvonareva, Dominika Cibulkova, Andrea Petkovic and Li Na, all of whom have beaten her this year alone, as well as Sam Stosur and Agnieszka Radwanska.
On a slightly different note I had also recently read that the ladies British No.1 Elena Baltacha might be considering retirement new year after the 2012 Olympics, which would be a great shame for woman's tennis to see her go. Elena has had a many struggles with injuries over the years though and she did say herself that she felt she might not want to carry on only put her body through more pain, and your health has to come first. Elena also stated she would love the opportunity to play doubles with the Muzza at the Olympics and well it might yet happen. Speaking of which the next Davis Cup tie for Great Britain will take place again at the Braehead Arena next month from 16th-18th September, and I'm going on the 17th and 18th, so it will be terrific to see the British team once more as well as the Muzza. Andy already secured their victory against Luxembourg and if he continues to play in the Davis Cup he can ensure that Great Britain can go places in the event, so let's hope he carries on.
So that's enoughhhh for the tennis.... for the timebeing..........
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