I went on saw The Rise of the Planet of the Apes there at the weekend and I actually thought it might be at first another clumsy semi remake just like the naff Tim Burton film was. But thankfully it turned out to be not bad at all, as these origin films actually tend to be quite good, as case in point Wolvering X-Men Origins was quite decent, X-Men First Class also pretty good.
SO PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!
So the plot basically follows how Government scientist Will Rodman (James Franco of the Spiderman films) is trying to discover a cure for Alzheimer's disease and tests it on chimpanzees. However one of the chimpanzees they test it on runs amok and is soon killed by one of the security guards, but it is later revealed that the chimp was protecting its new born son. When ordered to put down the other chimps, Will decides to secretly take home the new born chimp and names him Caesar. Then we cut to Caesar over the years developing and growing, as he too was born with the genes of his mother with the retrovirus, as he shows intelligence and problem solving capabilities. However years later Caesar one day attacks a neighbour who threatens Will's father (John Lithgow) who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease himself. As a result Caesar is taken away to a facility where other apes are held in captive and are also treated cruelly by one of the staff Dodge (played by Tom Felton, or Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter). In time though Caesar manages to escape the facility and go back to Will's house to steal the retrovirus which is held in canisters, and rolls them into the apes cells. After this the other apes show growing intelligence and after this they fight their way out of the facility and run amok through San Francisco in order to release their fellow apes from zoos so they can establish their own race, free from the humans.
The film does though have a bit of a slow start as it establishes how the apes are used for testing and how Caesar grows up etc, but it is quite entertaining and as the pace moves it gets better. The performances aren't too bad, James Franco, while not terrific in his part, is not bad as the compassionate scientist who takes his chimp away from facing death at the hands of a cold research facility. Brian Cox, who naturally is easily one of the best performers in the film, does quite well with his part, playing a man who isn't evil but is definitely thoughtless, although I think John Lithgow give the film's best performance, as Will's dad, a man who is tormented by a terrible disease that disintegrates his mind. I also quite liked Tom Felton as the nasty Dodge who takes great pleasure with sadistically mistreating the apes, and Frieda Pinto as James Franco's love interest is without a doubt quite the honey (sexist!). But of course they can't resist but put in dialogue that references the original film with Tom Felton at one point using the classic line "get your hands off me you damn dirty ape!!".
Special mention also deserves to go to Andy Serkis who performs the actions of Caesar, and this is certainly something he isn't in any way unfamiliar with, having done the movement for Gollum in LOTR and King Kong. On thing I would say about the film that did irk me a little is that the film is set over 10 years or so and James Franco and Frieda Pinto don't appear to age one bit!! I guess they just wanted to avoid using any unecessary makeup, but its almost like they never age! :-/ I also think the CGI in the film, while it isn't bad, doesn't work quite as well for all the apes, Caesar's CGI is very good though, but the orangutang in the film does look a bit daft!
Despite that The Rise of the Planet of the Apes (also quite a mouthful) is a worthy addition to the series and marks a big improvement over the duff Tim Burton flick from almost 10 years ago. So give it a watch if you get the chance.
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
Monday, 22 August 2011
Cincinnati Part 5: a win is a win
Well as a result of the mens singles final in Cincinnati it wasn't the one any of us was quite expecting as the much anticipated rematch of Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic ended with the Muzza defeating the World No.1 not through closing out the match but through the Serb's retiral, with the final score being 6-4, 3-0 ret. This saw Djokovic's second loss of the year, with his win-loss record of 2011 now standing at 57-2. Sheesh that is some record!
But I suppose after having played nearly 60 matches and won so many titles that fatigue is bound to set in sooner or later, and the searing heat on court combined with a shoulder injury did nothing to help Djokovic's game. In fact as soon as Novak came on court we could see how fatigued he looked, he was a former shadow of his imperious self, and I think his arm injury had been troubling him throughout the tournament and I wonder if he carried on playing his match against Berdych even he would have retired if Berdych wouldn't have first! So it does prove one thing at last that Djokovic is human after all, so I think it is also safe to say that his incredible winning streak of 43 matches will probably not be repeated again, well not this year at any rate (which let's face it, is a good thing for the rest of the players on tour!).
But as the title of the post says a win is a win, and I have to give full credit to Andy Murray for his performance throughout the tournament, while it was patchy in places, he really looked quite strong after that first set against David Nalbandian. He also managed to come through the tournament without even dropping a set, which was even more impressive, and out of all the players in Cincinnati he looked the strongest and fittest, who didn't succumb to the searing heat of the court. I also think he played a terrific set of tennis against Novak in the first set in the final, as he returned so well, served fairly well and looked strong from both the back of the court and at the net. Its just a shame that Novak had to retire, but it was going to happen sometime given the physical punishment he has put his body through this year, so I think submitting to defeat was the right thing for him to do. But I do think also think that Andy has posed enough of a threat to Djokovic to show that he really is a contender for beating him, and possibly being the Serb's own nemesis. And I really do have to say that Andy totally deserved to win this title, as he came through it very well and looked quite strong right from the get go, and its also great to see someone else win a big title for a change! But I also think that if Andy had lost that first set to Djokovic, and then Djoky conceeded the win to him in the 2nd, then Andy's victory would have looked hollow, but thankfully Andy did win that set and that made the win more deserving.
So its a big congrats to Andy as it always great to see the Briton win a title, regardless of the manner of the win, and it adds to his Masters 1000 series trophy cabinet also, as that's 7 in the bag now, so Novak, Andy is catching up on you!! :-) And once again it proves beyond any doubt as I said before that Andy Murray is the best British player to have come along since Fred Perry. As an example Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski have won only 1 Masters title each, Andy has won 7, and his record at the grand slams speaks for itself, not to take away from Greg and in particular Tim as they are both great players in their own right. Yeah ok Andy is still to win one and its hard to tell if he ever will, but New York will be the perfect place to start.
So onto the woman's WTA final between Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic, the match delievered more than the men's final to an extent, but the match was also a highly inconsistent affair as both players kept exchanging breaks of serve. Sharapova also served many double faults once again, but Jankovic also served up a ridiculous amount of unforced errors and handed as many opportunities for Sharapova to get ahead as Maria herself did, but in the end it was Jelena who handed the crucial break to Maria and after a long battle the American sounding Russian won the match in 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 to take the ladies title. But it has to be said while it was great to see Maria win again (although I am disappointed for Jelena, and for once Serbia lost all round!!) it wasn't the most convincing win. Which I have to say was the real difference between mens and ladies final here, Andy looked very convincing, but Maria certainly didn't, as she served a ludicrous amount of double faults (as she does!). But it is a testament to Maria's sheer determination that despite her erratic game, can still make it through and pull out a win, but can she win a grand slam again with that type of play??? Hmmm I'm not so sure, but she certainly is a strong contender for the US Open and she has had an excellent slam record this year, but its just in those crucial moments she might drop her own serve to throw it away like she did at Wimbledon or the French Open semi finals where she double faulted to hand Li Na her place in the final.
So that leads us to the US Open which is the fourth and final grand slam of the year (its amazing its nearly upon us already!) where the mens and ladies will again battle it out for the ultimate prize. And both the mens and ladies game are in a potentially unusual place as with the ladies, Serena has recently re-entered the game again which makes her a strong favourite for the title, but lets not forget other potential winners like Li Na, Kvitova, Azarenka, Wozniacki, Sharapova and why not (as Rob Curling said on Eurosport) Bartoli (well for a start Bartoli has had a much better grand slam season than Caroline Wozniacki!). But of course Caroline isn't looking too convincing at the moment and her No.1 ranking really is questionable just now. Earlier in the year though she did play like a No.1, and despite her loss at the Australian Open semi finals to Li Na, she picked herself up and went on to win some big titles in Dubai and Indian Wells, and there she crushed alot of players, it was almost like she was the female Djokovic for that time. But as the year has gone on things have gotten more difficult for her, but it is hopefully a minor slump and we would like to see Caroline get back on the horse (so to speak) in the US Open, she has to, hard court is her best surface and she needs to prove that.
But as for the men, the field is limited to the top 4 guys really, and with Rafa having hit something of a slump this year, it remains to be seen what form he will be in for the US Open. Roger could well have another slam in him yet, and he wants to prove he can still do it, Djokovic claims he should be fit for the US Open but again what if his injuries plague him during the tournament?? So this does leave Andy Murray, and having just won Cincinnati, its the perfect preparation for going into the last slam of the year. But can he win it???? Its always the ongoing question that can't be answered till we see it, the last two years Andy has had a poor record at the US Open, having went out to Marin Cilic and Stan Wawrinka in 4th and 3rd rounds respectively. However I do feel he is playing significantly better tennis this year, but its just holding that mental strength together over 5 sets. Can he do it??? Yes he can, but it does purely depend on the luck of his draw and his mental belief, and if he faces Rafa he really will have to be ready for him, and the same for Djokovic, permitting Djoky can come through injury free. If Djokovic doesn't come through then that will increase Andy's chances dramatically. In fact it would be great for example to see a Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs Muzza rematch in the US Open final, now if Andy doesn't win that dream matchup in the final, he never will win a slam, but that's just a theory of course.
One troubling fact about Andy though is that in the three grand slam finals he has been in, he hasn't won a single set, having been soundly beaten by Federer and Djokovic in all three. If he does get to the final, this time he will have to up his game to the highest it can go, he should try taking a leaf out of Del Potro's book for example, having reached the US Open final back in 2009, he seized the title with both hands and played the match of his life against Federer over an epic 5 set match. And this is the sort of tennis he has to play if he is to have his chance. Andy already has showed potential winning qualities against Rafa at Wimbledon for at least one set, we saw a glimpse of what he can do even though it wasn't enough, and also in Rome against Djokovic where he came within two points of defeating him. And I also remember John McEnroe's previous comment that Andy's grand slam breakthrough will be at the US Open this year, will it be the case???? We'll you can but live in hope, even if it is blind hope! ;-)
So after that rather exhaustive post I'll leave it there, so well done again to Maria and Andy for their wins in Cincinnati and for once Serbia lost out, whodda thought that????
The end.
But I suppose after having played nearly 60 matches and won so many titles that fatigue is bound to set in sooner or later, and the searing heat on court combined with a shoulder injury did nothing to help Djokovic's game. In fact as soon as Novak came on court we could see how fatigued he looked, he was a former shadow of his imperious self, and I think his arm injury had been troubling him throughout the tournament and I wonder if he carried on playing his match against Berdych even he would have retired if Berdych wouldn't have first! So it does prove one thing at last that Djokovic is human after all, so I think it is also safe to say that his incredible winning streak of 43 matches will probably not be repeated again, well not this year at any rate (which let's face it, is a good thing for the rest of the players on tour!).
But as the title of the post says a win is a win, and I have to give full credit to Andy Murray for his performance throughout the tournament, while it was patchy in places, he really looked quite strong after that first set against David Nalbandian. He also managed to come through the tournament without even dropping a set, which was even more impressive, and out of all the players in Cincinnati he looked the strongest and fittest, who didn't succumb to the searing heat of the court. I also think he played a terrific set of tennis against Novak in the first set in the final, as he returned so well, served fairly well and looked strong from both the back of the court and at the net. Its just a shame that Novak had to retire, but it was going to happen sometime given the physical punishment he has put his body through this year, so I think submitting to defeat was the right thing for him to do. But I do think also think that Andy has posed enough of a threat to Djokovic to show that he really is a contender for beating him, and possibly being the Serb's own nemesis. And I really do have to say that Andy totally deserved to win this title, as he came through it very well and looked quite strong right from the get go, and its also great to see someone else win a big title for a change! But I also think that if Andy had lost that first set to Djokovic, and then Djoky conceeded the win to him in the 2nd, then Andy's victory would have looked hollow, but thankfully Andy did win that set and that made the win more deserving.
So its a big congrats to Andy as it always great to see the Briton win a title, regardless of the manner of the win, and it adds to his Masters 1000 series trophy cabinet also, as that's 7 in the bag now, so Novak, Andy is catching up on you!! :-) And once again it proves beyond any doubt as I said before that Andy Murray is the best British player to have come along since Fred Perry. As an example Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski have won only 1 Masters title each, Andy has won 7, and his record at the grand slams speaks for itself, not to take away from Greg and in particular Tim as they are both great players in their own right. Yeah ok Andy is still to win one and its hard to tell if he ever will, but New York will be the perfect place to start.
So onto the woman's WTA final between Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic, the match delievered more than the men's final to an extent, but the match was also a highly inconsistent affair as both players kept exchanging breaks of serve. Sharapova also served many double faults once again, but Jankovic also served up a ridiculous amount of unforced errors and handed as many opportunities for Sharapova to get ahead as Maria herself did, but in the end it was Jelena who handed the crucial break to Maria and after a long battle the American sounding Russian won the match in 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 to take the ladies title. But it has to be said while it was great to see Maria win again (although I am disappointed for Jelena, and for once Serbia lost all round!!) it wasn't the most convincing win. Which I have to say was the real difference between mens and ladies final here, Andy looked very convincing, but Maria certainly didn't, as she served a ludicrous amount of double faults (as she does!). But it is a testament to Maria's sheer determination that despite her erratic game, can still make it through and pull out a win, but can she win a grand slam again with that type of play??? Hmmm I'm not so sure, but she certainly is a strong contender for the US Open and she has had an excellent slam record this year, but its just in those crucial moments she might drop her own serve to throw it away like she did at Wimbledon or the French Open semi finals where she double faulted to hand Li Na her place in the final.
So that leads us to the US Open which is the fourth and final grand slam of the year (its amazing its nearly upon us already!) where the mens and ladies will again battle it out for the ultimate prize. And both the mens and ladies game are in a potentially unusual place as with the ladies, Serena has recently re-entered the game again which makes her a strong favourite for the title, but lets not forget other potential winners like Li Na, Kvitova, Azarenka, Wozniacki, Sharapova and why not (as Rob Curling said on Eurosport) Bartoli (well for a start Bartoli has had a much better grand slam season than Caroline Wozniacki!). But of course Caroline isn't looking too convincing at the moment and her No.1 ranking really is questionable just now. Earlier in the year though she did play like a No.1, and despite her loss at the Australian Open semi finals to Li Na, she picked herself up and went on to win some big titles in Dubai and Indian Wells, and there she crushed alot of players, it was almost like she was the female Djokovic for that time. But as the year has gone on things have gotten more difficult for her, but it is hopefully a minor slump and we would like to see Caroline get back on the horse (so to speak) in the US Open, she has to, hard court is her best surface and she needs to prove that.
But as for the men, the field is limited to the top 4 guys really, and with Rafa having hit something of a slump this year, it remains to be seen what form he will be in for the US Open. Roger could well have another slam in him yet, and he wants to prove he can still do it, Djokovic claims he should be fit for the US Open but again what if his injuries plague him during the tournament?? So this does leave Andy Murray, and having just won Cincinnati, its the perfect preparation for going into the last slam of the year. But can he win it???? Its always the ongoing question that can't be answered till we see it, the last two years Andy has had a poor record at the US Open, having went out to Marin Cilic and Stan Wawrinka in 4th and 3rd rounds respectively. However I do feel he is playing significantly better tennis this year, but its just holding that mental strength together over 5 sets. Can he do it??? Yes he can, but it does purely depend on the luck of his draw and his mental belief, and if he faces Rafa he really will have to be ready for him, and the same for Djokovic, permitting Djoky can come through injury free. If Djokovic doesn't come through then that will increase Andy's chances dramatically. In fact it would be great for example to see a Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs Muzza rematch in the US Open final, now if Andy doesn't win that dream matchup in the final, he never will win a slam, but that's just a theory of course.
One troubling fact about Andy though is that in the three grand slam finals he has been in, he hasn't won a single set, having been soundly beaten by Federer and Djokovic in all three. If he does get to the final, this time he will have to up his game to the highest it can go, he should try taking a leaf out of Del Potro's book for example, having reached the US Open final back in 2009, he seized the title with both hands and played the match of his life against Federer over an epic 5 set match. And this is the sort of tennis he has to play if he is to have his chance. Andy already has showed potential winning qualities against Rafa at Wimbledon for at least one set, we saw a glimpse of what he can do even though it wasn't enough, and also in Rome against Djokovic where he came within two points of defeating him. And I also remember John McEnroe's previous comment that Andy's grand slam breakthrough will be at the US Open this year, will it be the case???? We'll you can but live in hope, even if it is blind hope! ;-)
So after that rather exhaustive post I'll leave it there, so well done again to Maria and Andy for their wins in Cincinnati and for once Serbia lost out, whodda thought that????
The end.
Saturday, 20 August 2011
Cincinnati Part 4: we're having a showdown!!!
Welly welly well, it just doesn't get anymore mouth watering than this for a prospective final on the ATP men's tour in the Cincinnati masters as Andy Murray is set to face the World No.1 Novak Djokovic tomorrow for the title.
So a bit more on the mens semi finals to begin with as the first match was between the Muzza and the American No.1 Mardy Fish who has really been on form lately and especially in this tournament, having defeated Nadal previously in the quarter finals. However what I actually expected to be another win for Mardy fish turned out to be quite the opposite as it was the first victory for Andy in their last four meetings. But as expected it was anything but easy, Andy edged the first set, breaking Fish's serve early on to take it 6-3, but in the second set it was a really topsy turvey affair (something that appears to have dominated this entire tournament!!) as both men shared breaks of serve, and it was very much a set of mixed quality, but the best was saved till the last with a nerve shredding tie-breaker. In the tiebreak Fish took the upper hand early on, until Andy broke back and at 7-8 it appeared Andy had match point but his return just went long by a gnats scrotum (so to speak!) but in the end Mardy couldn't close it out and sailed his return long after that with Andy finally sealing the win in 6-3, 7-6(8). In the other semi final between Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych, it promised much even in the first set Berydch was at one point 5-3 up until Djoko broke back to make it 5-5 and then win the set in 7-5. But unfortunately due to injury Berdych was forced to retire allowing Djokovic to make his 10th final of the year.
Now as we all know so far this season, Djokovic has had only one loss, which was to Roger Federer at the French open semi finals. But on hard court, he has had zero losses this year, none, nil, zip. So how do we reckon Andy's chances for tomorrow??? Hmmmmmmm, that's a big hmmmmmmmm, to be honest the Serb knows more than enough about how to win so I'm more than inclined to think that he will win this one. All we can hope for is that Andy gives Djokovic another thrilling match like he did in Rome, and not allow another trouncing like his defeat at the Australian Open. But I think Andy has also learned a few things since then, and there just might be that chance he could beat Djokovic and take that title. Andy's performance at this tournament has been mostly impressive but there has been some real dodgy stuff too, but to be fair Djokovic hasn't exactly played his best either, so that could even things out for them. It would be terrific to see Andy finally hand a loss to Djokovic, and its their third meeting this year, could third time be a charm for Andy?? We shall see.
He has also walked into this tournament with a similar attitude than he did at Queens club, where he was just looking to get a few grass court matches under his belt and then he went onto win title. Its the same here, Andy has gone in to get a few hard court matches for US Open prep, and he has played despite some poor stuff here and there, very well, so just maybe he could be in with a shout. Another thing about Djokovic is as I said, when he played in the Australian Open this year his performance was absolutely imperious, he only dropped one set that entire tournament, and when he played in Indian Wells and Miami he played with the same clinical precision, destroying players with great ease, and it took Nadal or Federer to break his serve, no one could come close. But he isn't quite playing at that level anymore, he is still playing a high high level but after so many matches, he certainly isn't as high flying as he was.
But today will let us see where not only Andy's tennis is but also Novak's. Another case in point was Andy's Wimbledon semi final this year against Rafa, he came out so strong in the first set and took it 7-5, but after he fired a forehand just long in the 2nd set at 2-2 break point on Rafa's serve, everything changed and Andy didn't recover. After that it became an embarrassing, painful match to watch, as Andy's mindset just caved in and he went for more aggressive shots and kept missing them. And that's what he really struggles with, its when making mistakes, its knowing how to recover mentally from them quickly. Or as Tim Henman said its having the mental adversity to deal with those mistakes, which Andy is lacking in, and this could also really hamper him today. He has been working on his compsure, and is slowly getting better at keeping his cool, but he does still have his moments, losing his temper, like he did against Mardy the other day when certain shots didn't work out. It wasn't as bad in the past but its still there to be seen, and Djokovic who used to do the same has greatly improved his attitude and adopted a far more composed attitude on court. And all it could take is that one point today if Andy gains momentum and drops the ball, it will be all over for him. But as Andy has won 6 Masters titles already, he might not feel the same pressure as he did in Melbourne, so it might not be as big an issue, but who knows.
But the Serb is overwhelming favourite without a doubt so we will have to wait for tomorrow, either way it should be a belter, or maybe just a straight set gubbing. Another factor that could work against Andy might be the searing heat on court, and yesterday it looked like he was having a little bit of bother with his hamstring, which doesn't bode well. Djokovic doesn't appear injured so he definitely could use that to close out the match quickly, I just hope for Andy's sake that it's not an issue.
But regardless of the outcome, Andy's in another final and that's his third this year and its a great achievement, win or lose regardless, and its also on hard court, so I think its fair to say his slump on this surface is over (well for now!!). Another thing also is that clearly Andy won't be expected to win this match, so hopefully that should let him go in and try and relax a bit more and try and play his best tennis regardless of the outcome. Andy has also said it will be a good gauge for him to work out where his tennis is and what he needs to work on going into the US Open. Already Andy is definitely showing that he is a better player than last year in 2010, when throughout that year he really struggled, Toronto and Shanghai being the exceptions, and reaching the Aussie Open final, Wimbledon semis and the ATP World Tour Finals semis.
On the WTA tour due to the time difference I was unfortunately not able to catch any of the woman's matches but I think they both looked pretty good, as Maria Sharapova took on Vera Zvonareva and Jelena Jankovic faced off Andrea Petkovic, so I would like to see the highlights. Maria after being a set down against Vera, fought her way back into the match and closed it out in 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 securing her place in the final. Meanwhile Jelena Jankovic who has had a run of bad form this year managed to redeem herself further by beating Andrea Petkovic in straight sets, after a tight first set, Jelena breezed through the 2nd set to secure her first final of the year, winning 7-6(4), 6-1. So that's the ladies final setup also, and it promises to be a really good one, although Sharapova is the firm favourite as she leads in their head to head 5-1 against Jankovic. But I am really pleased for Jelena that she has reached her first final of the year and its great to see her play good tennis again, so I hope she wins. And it could be yet another glorious day for Serbia, but us Scots deserve our day too!! So it would be great if it was a great day for the Serbs and the Scots, i.e. Andy wins the mens, and Jelena wins the womans!
So predictions, Sharapova in 3 sets for the ladies, and Djokovic in 3 sets for the men (unless Andy is really hampered by injury or simply by awful serve then 2 easy sets). But I hope to God that Andy wins the title, however playing against a man who has won every single final he has been in this year, its a big big big ask. But as General Melchett from Blackadder Goes Forth once said "if nothing else works, then a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through!". So its in the hands of the two men and which one will falter more, so excitement and jubilation, or total frustration and disappointment awaits.
Baited breath, that's it for now.
So a bit more on the mens semi finals to begin with as the first match was between the Muzza and the American No.1 Mardy Fish who has really been on form lately and especially in this tournament, having defeated Nadal previously in the quarter finals. However what I actually expected to be another win for Mardy fish turned out to be quite the opposite as it was the first victory for Andy in their last four meetings. But as expected it was anything but easy, Andy edged the first set, breaking Fish's serve early on to take it 6-3, but in the second set it was a really topsy turvey affair (something that appears to have dominated this entire tournament!!) as both men shared breaks of serve, and it was very much a set of mixed quality, but the best was saved till the last with a nerve shredding tie-breaker. In the tiebreak Fish took the upper hand early on, until Andy broke back and at 7-8 it appeared Andy had match point but his return just went long by a gnats scrotum (so to speak!) but in the end Mardy couldn't close it out and sailed his return long after that with Andy finally sealing the win in 6-3, 7-6(8). In the other semi final between Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych, it promised much even in the first set Berydch was at one point 5-3 up until Djoko broke back to make it 5-5 and then win the set in 7-5. But unfortunately due to injury Berdych was forced to retire allowing Djokovic to make his 10th final of the year.
Now as we all know so far this season, Djokovic has had only one loss, which was to Roger Federer at the French open semi finals. But on hard court, he has had zero losses this year, none, nil, zip. So how do we reckon Andy's chances for tomorrow??? Hmmmmmmm, that's a big hmmmmmmmm, to be honest the Serb knows more than enough about how to win so I'm more than inclined to think that he will win this one. All we can hope for is that Andy gives Djokovic another thrilling match like he did in Rome, and not allow another trouncing like his defeat at the Australian Open. But I think Andy has also learned a few things since then, and there just might be that chance he could beat Djokovic and take that title. Andy's performance at this tournament has been mostly impressive but there has been some real dodgy stuff too, but to be fair Djokovic hasn't exactly played his best either, so that could even things out for them. It would be terrific to see Andy finally hand a loss to Djokovic, and its their third meeting this year, could third time be a charm for Andy?? We shall see.
He has also walked into this tournament with a similar attitude than he did at Queens club, where he was just looking to get a few grass court matches under his belt and then he went onto win title. Its the same here, Andy has gone in to get a few hard court matches for US Open prep, and he has played despite some poor stuff here and there, very well, so just maybe he could be in with a shout. Another thing about Djokovic is as I said, when he played in the Australian Open this year his performance was absolutely imperious, he only dropped one set that entire tournament, and when he played in Indian Wells and Miami he played with the same clinical precision, destroying players with great ease, and it took Nadal or Federer to break his serve, no one could come close. But he isn't quite playing at that level anymore, he is still playing a high high level but after so many matches, he certainly isn't as high flying as he was.
But today will let us see where not only Andy's tennis is but also Novak's. Another case in point was Andy's Wimbledon semi final this year against Rafa, he came out so strong in the first set and took it 7-5, but after he fired a forehand just long in the 2nd set at 2-2 break point on Rafa's serve, everything changed and Andy didn't recover. After that it became an embarrassing, painful match to watch, as Andy's mindset just caved in and he went for more aggressive shots and kept missing them. And that's what he really struggles with, its when making mistakes, its knowing how to recover mentally from them quickly. Or as Tim Henman said its having the mental adversity to deal with those mistakes, which Andy is lacking in, and this could also really hamper him today. He has been working on his compsure, and is slowly getting better at keeping his cool, but he does still have his moments, losing his temper, like he did against Mardy the other day when certain shots didn't work out. It wasn't as bad in the past but its still there to be seen, and Djokovic who used to do the same has greatly improved his attitude and adopted a far more composed attitude on court. And all it could take is that one point today if Andy gains momentum and drops the ball, it will be all over for him. But as Andy has won 6 Masters titles already, he might not feel the same pressure as he did in Melbourne, so it might not be as big an issue, but who knows.
But the Serb is overwhelming favourite without a doubt so we will have to wait for tomorrow, either way it should be a belter, or maybe just a straight set gubbing. Another factor that could work against Andy might be the searing heat on court, and yesterday it looked like he was having a little bit of bother with his hamstring, which doesn't bode well. Djokovic doesn't appear injured so he definitely could use that to close out the match quickly, I just hope for Andy's sake that it's not an issue.
But regardless of the outcome, Andy's in another final and that's his third this year and its a great achievement, win or lose regardless, and its also on hard court, so I think its fair to say his slump on this surface is over (well for now!!). Another thing also is that clearly Andy won't be expected to win this match, so hopefully that should let him go in and try and relax a bit more and try and play his best tennis regardless of the outcome. Andy has also said it will be a good gauge for him to work out where his tennis is and what he needs to work on going into the US Open. Already Andy is definitely showing that he is a better player than last year in 2010, when throughout that year he really struggled, Toronto and Shanghai being the exceptions, and reaching the Aussie Open final, Wimbledon semis and the ATP World Tour Finals semis.
On the WTA tour due to the time difference I was unfortunately not able to catch any of the woman's matches but I think they both looked pretty good, as Maria Sharapova took on Vera Zvonareva and Jelena Jankovic faced off Andrea Petkovic, so I would like to see the highlights. Maria after being a set down against Vera, fought her way back into the match and closed it out in 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 securing her place in the final. Meanwhile Jelena Jankovic who has had a run of bad form this year managed to redeem herself further by beating Andrea Petkovic in straight sets, after a tight first set, Jelena breezed through the 2nd set to secure her first final of the year, winning 7-6(4), 6-1. So that's the ladies final setup also, and it promises to be a really good one, although Sharapova is the firm favourite as she leads in their head to head 5-1 against Jankovic. But I am really pleased for Jelena that she has reached her first final of the year and its great to see her play good tennis again, so I hope she wins. And it could be yet another glorious day for Serbia, but us Scots deserve our day too!! So it would be great if it was a great day for the Serbs and the Scots, i.e. Andy wins the mens, and Jelena wins the womans!
So predictions, Sharapova in 3 sets for the ladies, and Djokovic in 3 sets for the men (unless Andy is really hampered by injury or simply by awful serve then 2 easy sets). But I hope to God that Andy wins the title, however playing against a man who has won every single final he has been in this year, its a big big big ask. But as General Melchett from Blackadder Goes Forth once said "if nothing else works, then a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through!". So its in the hands of the two men and which one will falter more, so excitement and jubilation, or total frustration and disappointment awaits.
Baited breath, that's it for now.
Cincinnati Part 3: Third time lucky maybe???
So that's us into the semi finals now for the ATP/WTA Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati and things are to forgive the pun starting to really heat up (I say because its been 30C degrees plus out there!) with the remaining top seeds still in play.
Starting with the woman's tour, the quarter finals saw some intruiging line ups first off with Maria Sharapova who played against Sam Stosur. This match as I expected was a pushover for Sharapova as she has won all of their previous matches and this one was no exception, with the Russian putting in an almost clinical performance, blowing Stosur off the court in 6-3, 6-2. Stosur didn't help matters by simply playing really poor tennis, committing too many unforced errors, she looked beaten from the word go. However there are times where Sharapova can hand her opponents a gift horse through her poor serve record, as she can double fault badly through her matches, and toward the end of the match Stosur broke Sharapova's serve effectively to make it 5-2, but it was just too little too late. Following up from that match was a better somewhat tighter setup between Vera Zvonareva and Daniella Hantuchova, after a 6-3 first set to Vera, the second set proved much tighter as it went to a tiebreak, with Vera winning in 6-3, 7-6(6). The third woman's semi final was between Nadia Petrova and the current top 11 player, Andrea Petkovic who after a tough first set blasted Petrova off the court, winning in 7-5, 6-1. Jelena Jankovic was supposed to play Peng Shuai in her quarter final match, but Peng had to pull out an hour before play due to injury.
So that's the woman's semi final setup, its the battle o the Russians, Sharapova vs Zvonareva, I would favour Maria to win that one as she leads the head to head record against Vera, in fact I would favour Maria to win this title, but we will see. And in the other semi final setup we have Jelena Jankovic and Andrea Petkovic, Petko has the advantage of their last two meetings where she beat Jelena in two tight 3 set matches, so maybe (and here's the first reference to the title post of this blog entry!) its third time lucky for Jelena, I hope she wins as its good to see her playing well again, but I'd favour Petko to win really. Jelena I think has really struggled this year, so if she manages to get to the final it will definitely give her a boost in confidence which she badly needs, if she doesn't get there I hope she does well for the US Open.
So onto the men's tour, we saw a couple of upsets as the former World No.1s Rafa and Roger went out in their matches. First off Rafa played a very sub-par match against a very much in form Mardy Fish, who is now the World No.7. Rafa probably also after the fatigue of his lengthy battle against Verdasco the other day, had no answer to Mardy's incredible form and accurate serve, and went down in 6-3 6-4 to secure Fish's first win over Rafa in their 7 meetings. Rafa really has been struggling with his form of late, he appears to be having a similar year to what Federer had last year, winning only one slam and losing out so many matches, I think that's 9 losses he's had already this season. I also think his 5 defeats at the hands of Djokovic play a big part in that, as the Serb really has knocked Nadal off his perch. After winning the French Open it did give Nadal a boost, but when he lost again at Wimbledon I think it knocked him back down again. So Rafa will seriously have to regroup for the US Open, but if he faces the current No.1 I think we know who will win that one before it starts.
Onto other matches, Andy Murray who's had a fairly comfortable tournament so far, beat Frenchman Gilles Simon quite easily in straight sets 6-3, 6-3. Simon couldn't answer or respond to Andy's attack on his serve, and repeatedly drop shotted against him, even so much so that's how he won the match! After that Roger Federer took on one of his nemesis Tomas Berdych, who once again defeated him in straight sets 6-2, 7-6(3). Berdych appears to be in great form once again and he said he's been working on his serve so we will have to see how far he can go next. The next and final match was between Djokovic and the current French No.1 Gael Monfils, after last week's pummelling I think we all expected this to be a scoosh for Djoko, but it was anything but. Monfils appeared to have learned a thing or two from his previous defeat, and broke Djokovic straight away and then a second time to take the first set. Inevitably though after a tight contest at 4-4 in the 2nd, Djokovic broke and took the second set, and in the third Djoko managed to find the break and closed out another win in 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. I do think though Djokovic has been struggling with the fast conditions of the court in Cincinnati, and as I said he is no longer playing absolutely imperious tennis he was before, I guess the fatigue of playing so many matches is setting in somewhat, but it doesn't stop him winning though!!
And that is the semi finals setup for the men, it looks like a pretty good match up, with Andy vs Mardy and Novak vs Tomas. Andy will have a real battle on his hands though if he wants to win against Fish, as he is in real form just now, and I have to say I would favour Fish to win this one. But I would rather see Andy win any day. But having said that if Mardy does beat Andy (and it seems more likely) I think he could stand a pretty good chance of beating Djokovic in the final should they meet (again they most likely will!). As for Djokovic and Berdych, well no points for guessing who will win that one! But I think it could be a really tight match and Berdy is serving very well, it could also be a chance to avenge his loss at the Aussie Open, however the Serb knows a thing or two about winning (more so than anyone else!!).
OK so that's the setup for today, both the mens and ladies setups sound great, whether or not they are remains to be seen, but time will tell.
The end (for now).
Starting with the woman's tour, the quarter finals saw some intruiging line ups first off with Maria Sharapova who played against Sam Stosur. This match as I expected was a pushover for Sharapova as she has won all of their previous matches and this one was no exception, with the Russian putting in an almost clinical performance, blowing Stosur off the court in 6-3, 6-2. Stosur didn't help matters by simply playing really poor tennis, committing too many unforced errors, she looked beaten from the word go. However there are times where Sharapova can hand her opponents a gift horse through her poor serve record, as she can double fault badly through her matches, and toward the end of the match Stosur broke Sharapova's serve effectively to make it 5-2, but it was just too little too late. Following up from that match was a better somewhat tighter setup between Vera Zvonareva and Daniella Hantuchova, after a 6-3 first set to Vera, the second set proved much tighter as it went to a tiebreak, with Vera winning in 6-3, 7-6(6). The third woman's semi final was between Nadia Petrova and the current top 11 player, Andrea Petkovic who after a tough first set blasted Petrova off the court, winning in 7-5, 6-1. Jelena Jankovic was supposed to play Peng Shuai in her quarter final match, but Peng had to pull out an hour before play due to injury.
So that's the woman's semi final setup, its the battle o the Russians, Sharapova vs Zvonareva, I would favour Maria to win that one as she leads the head to head record against Vera, in fact I would favour Maria to win this title, but we will see. And in the other semi final setup we have Jelena Jankovic and Andrea Petkovic, Petko has the advantage of their last two meetings where she beat Jelena in two tight 3 set matches, so maybe (and here's the first reference to the title post of this blog entry!) its third time lucky for Jelena, I hope she wins as its good to see her playing well again, but I'd favour Petko to win really. Jelena I think has really struggled this year, so if she manages to get to the final it will definitely give her a boost in confidence which she badly needs, if she doesn't get there I hope she does well for the US Open.
So onto the men's tour, we saw a couple of upsets as the former World No.1s Rafa and Roger went out in their matches. First off Rafa played a very sub-par match against a very much in form Mardy Fish, who is now the World No.7. Rafa probably also after the fatigue of his lengthy battle against Verdasco the other day, had no answer to Mardy's incredible form and accurate serve, and went down in 6-3 6-4 to secure Fish's first win over Rafa in their 7 meetings. Rafa really has been struggling with his form of late, he appears to be having a similar year to what Federer had last year, winning only one slam and losing out so many matches, I think that's 9 losses he's had already this season. I also think his 5 defeats at the hands of Djokovic play a big part in that, as the Serb really has knocked Nadal off his perch. After winning the French Open it did give Nadal a boost, but when he lost again at Wimbledon I think it knocked him back down again. So Rafa will seriously have to regroup for the US Open, but if he faces the current No.1 I think we know who will win that one before it starts.
Onto other matches, Andy Murray who's had a fairly comfortable tournament so far, beat Frenchman Gilles Simon quite easily in straight sets 6-3, 6-3. Simon couldn't answer or respond to Andy's attack on his serve, and repeatedly drop shotted against him, even so much so that's how he won the match! After that Roger Federer took on one of his nemesis Tomas Berdych, who once again defeated him in straight sets 6-2, 7-6(3). Berdych appears to be in great form once again and he said he's been working on his serve so we will have to see how far he can go next. The next and final match was between Djokovic and the current French No.1 Gael Monfils, after last week's pummelling I think we all expected this to be a scoosh for Djoko, but it was anything but. Monfils appeared to have learned a thing or two from his previous defeat, and broke Djokovic straight away and then a second time to take the first set. Inevitably though after a tight contest at 4-4 in the 2nd, Djokovic broke and took the second set, and in the third Djoko managed to find the break and closed out another win in 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. I do think though Djokovic has been struggling with the fast conditions of the court in Cincinnati, and as I said he is no longer playing absolutely imperious tennis he was before, I guess the fatigue of playing so many matches is setting in somewhat, but it doesn't stop him winning though!!
And that is the semi finals setup for the men, it looks like a pretty good match up, with Andy vs Mardy and Novak vs Tomas. Andy will have a real battle on his hands though if he wants to win against Fish, as he is in real form just now, and I have to say I would favour Fish to win this one. But I would rather see Andy win any day. But having said that if Mardy does beat Andy (and it seems more likely) I think he could stand a pretty good chance of beating Djokovic in the final should they meet (again they most likely will!). As for Djokovic and Berdych, well no points for guessing who will win that one! But I think it could be a really tight match and Berdy is serving very well, it could also be a chance to avenge his loss at the Aussie Open, however the Serb knows a thing or two about winning (more so than anyone else!!).
OK so that's the setup for today, both the mens and ladies setups sound great, whether or not they are remains to be seen, but time will tell.
The end (for now).
Friday, 19 August 2011
Cincinnati Part 2: Scores settled
So onto day 2 for the Cincinnati Western and Southern Open from the ATP/WTA tour, which saw another mixture of interesting matches.
The main one of the day being an epic battle between the two Spaniards former World No.1 Rafa Nadal and Fernando Verdasco. They both had an amazing epic match two years ago at the Australian Open semi final and this match closely resembled that one, although perhaps not quite as high in quality. But what it lacked in consistent quality it made up for with intruige as it was a match that kept you guessing who might win. Rafa right from the get go wasn't playing his best tennis allowing Verdasco at certain moments to break his serve, but Rafa somehow stuck in there and broke back when he needed to. Rafa sealed the first set in a tight tiebreaker 7-6(5), but in the second he lost his chance for a break in the breaker and allowed Verdasco to take it in 6(4)-7(7). However after sharing breaks yet again in the 3rd and final set, Rafa and Verdasco slogged it out again in a gripping yet loose tiebreak which finally saw Rafa prevail in 7-6(9), the final score being 7-6(5), 6(4)-7(7), 7-6(9). It was quite an encounter and I felt bad in a way for Verdasco as this was his best chance of beating Nadal for the first time in their 12 meetings, and God knows he had plenty of chances, but in the end he couldn't take them. It just shows you that difference between one point here and there, and in the end its always Rafa who can get the crucial points when it matters, just like he did against Andy Murray last year in their amazing battle at the ATP Tour World Finals semi final in London.
In other matches Andy Murray was also successful in securing his revenge against Alex Bogomolov who defeated him earlier this year in Miami. This time Andy had no trouble stamping his authority early on in the match as he blew the American off the court to close the set in 6-2, but the second set saw Andy's level dip which let Boglymov back into the match to make it 5-5, squandering his earlier break at 2-0. But Andy managed to seize his chance to break the American once more at 6-5 and sealed it oot to win 6-2, 7-5. This was far more like it, clearly Andy wanted revenge for his loss and he sure got it, it also shows his vast improvement in his performance from his match with David Nalbandian the day before. Next up for the Muzza though is the talented Frenchman Gilles Simon, they have already met two times this year, so it should be an interesting match, and most likely a tough one, but hopefully Andy will win.
In other matches, Mardy Fish continued his fine form against Frenchman Richard Gasquet, who he defeated in two tight sets in 7-5, 7-5. Fish will tomorrow go on to meet Rafa, Fish is yet to win against the Spaniard, so it will be very interesting to see if Rafa after his 3 and a half hour epic match today has still enough left in the tank for tomorrow. If Fish does beat him we could well be looking at a Muzza semi final encounter, and for once I would have to put my money on Fish winning that one, also Fish won against Andy last year in the quarter finals in Cincinnati too. But perhaps Andy might have a chance for revenge there too, but inevitably he will face either Djokovic or Federer in the final if he gets that far.
Which brings me onto Djokovic's match against Radek Stepanek, whom has been a player that has shown good form of late, but unfortunately he wasn't able to bring any of that to their match as the Serb defeated him 6-3 6-3 in a very topsy turvey match. Djokovic however wasn't performing that well either, his 1st serve percentage was terrible enough to put Andy Murray's to shame, as he had about 47% 1st serves in. Djokovic certainly isn't playing the invincible tennis he was earlier in the year, where he crushed just about every player in his path, don't get me wrong he is still playing a very high standard, but its not up there like it was. But I guess that is impossible to keep up the level all the time, but Djokovic is still winning his matches without too much trouble, especially in the early stages. So Djokovic could well meet Gael Monfils like he did last week again, perhaps maybe it will give him a chance to shine again, but Djoko is struggling with the fast speed of the courts in Cincinnati so maybe it might give Monfils a chance to play better, probably not but we'll see. Federer has also soundly whipped yank James Blake in straight sets 6-4, 6-1, which sees Federer on fine form once again. Next up for Federer is Tomas Berdych, so I'm hoping he can beat him to set up another encounter with Djokovic, and this time I would still favour Federer to win. I say that because if Federer can maintain his form like he did then he's in with a strong shout, he also loves playing on fast courts, like he did in the French Open playing with faster balls, so we could be looking at Novak's second loss of the season, as Djokovic has been struggling a bit with the courts in Cincinnati. But then again probably not, we will soon find out, one way or another can't wait for that one.
On the WTA tour, Maria Sharapova is through to the quarter finals as she defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova quite convincingly in 6-2, 6-3. Sam Stosur also beat Li Na in a tough 3 set match in 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, it was first time in their 6 meetings that Li Na managed to even take a set off Stosur. So Stosur will go on to face Sharapova, who Stosur has never beaten neither, so I would expect Maria to win that one. Andrea Petkovic once again defeated a sub-par Petra Kvitova in 6-3, 6-3, which makes you just wonder what goes in these Grand Slam champion woman players minds???? Li Na and Petra have both struggled to win matches after their respective major title wins, it seems winning one doesn't do you any favours, unless your are Novak Djokovic!
Anyway that's it for now, more to follow soon....
The main one of the day being an epic battle between the two Spaniards former World No.1 Rafa Nadal and Fernando Verdasco. They both had an amazing epic match two years ago at the Australian Open semi final and this match closely resembled that one, although perhaps not quite as high in quality. But what it lacked in consistent quality it made up for with intruige as it was a match that kept you guessing who might win. Rafa right from the get go wasn't playing his best tennis allowing Verdasco at certain moments to break his serve, but Rafa somehow stuck in there and broke back when he needed to. Rafa sealed the first set in a tight tiebreaker 7-6(5), but in the second he lost his chance for a break in the breaker and allowed Verdasco to take it in 6(4)-7(7). However after sharing breaks yet again in the 3rd and final set, Rafa and Verdasco slogged it out again in a gripping yet loose tiebreak which finally saw Rafa prevail in 7-6(9), the final score being 7-6(5), 6(4)-7(7), 7-6(9). It was quite an encounter and I felt bad in a way for Verdasco as this was his best chance of beating Nadal for the first time in their 12 meetings, and God knows he had plenty of chances, but in the end he couldn't take them. It just shows you that difference between one point here and there, and in the end its always Rafa who can get the crucial points when it matters, just like he did against Andy Murray last year in their amazing battle at the ATP Tour World Finals semi final in London.
In other matches Andy Murray was also successful in securing his revenge against Alex Bogomolov who defeated him earlier this year in Miami. This time Andy had no trouble stamping his authority early on in the match as he blew the American off the court to close the set in 6-2, but the second set saw Andy's level dip which let Boglymov back into the match to make it 5-5, squandering his earlier break at 2-0. But Andy managed to seize his chance to break the American once more at 6-5 and sealed it oot to win 6-2, 7-5. This was far more like it, clearly Andy wanted revenge for his loss and he sure got it, it also shows his vast improvement in his performance from his match with David Nalbandian the day before. Next up for the Muzza though is the talented Frenchman Gilles Simon, they have already met two times this year, so it should be an interesting match, and most likely a tough one, but hopefully Andy will win.
In other matches, Mardy Fish continued his fine form against Frenchman Richard Gasquet, who he defeated in two tight sets in 7-5, 7-5. Fish will tomorrow go on to meet Rafa, Fish is yet to win against the Spaniard, so it will be very interesting to see if Rafa after his 3 and a half hour epic match today has still enough left in the tank for tomorrow. If Fish does beat him we could well be looking at a Muzza semi final encounter, and for once I would have to put my money on Fish winning that one, also Fish won against Andy last year in the quarter finals in Cincinnati too. But perhaps Andy might have a chance for revenge there too, but inevitably he will face either Djokovic or Federer in the final if he gets that far.
Which brings me onto Djokovic's match against Radek Stepanek, whom has been a player that has shown good form of late, but unfortunately he wasn't able to bring any of that to their match as the Serb defeated him 6-3 6-3 in a very topsy turvey match. Djokovic however wasn't performing that well either, his 1st serve percentage was terrible enough to put Andy Murray's to shame, as he had about 47% 1st serves in. Djokovic certainly isn't playing the invincible tennis he was earlier in the year, where he crushed just about every player in his path, don't get me wrong he is still playing a very high standard, but its not up there like it was. But I guess that is impossible to keep up the level all the time, but Djokovic is still winning his matches without too much trouble, especially in the early stages. So Djokovic could well meet Gael Monfils like he did last week again, perhaps maybe it will give him a chance to shine again, but Djoko is struggling with the fast speed of the courts in Cincinnati so maybe it might give Monfils a chance to play better, probably not but we'll see. Federer has also soundly whipped yank James Blake in straight sets 6-4, 6-1, which sees Federer on fine form once again. Next up for Federer is Tomas Berdych, so I'm hoping he can beat him to set up another encounter with Djokovic, and this time I would still favour Federer to win. I say that because if Federer can maintain his form like he did then he's in with a strong shout, he also loves playing on fast courts, like he did in the French Open playing with faster balls, so we could be looking at Novak's second loss of the season, as Djokovic has been struggling a bit with the courts in Cincinnati. But then again probably not, we will soon find out, one way or another can't wait for that one.
On the WTA tour, Maria Sharapova is through to the quarter finals as she defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova quite convincingly in 6-2, 6-3. Sam Stosur also beat Li Na in a tough 3 set match in 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, it was first time in their 6 meetings that Li Na managed to even take a set off Stosur. So Stosur will go on to face Sharapova, who Stosur has never beaten neither, so I would expect Maria to win that one. Andrea Petkovic once again defeated a sub-par Petra Kvitova in 6-3, 6-3, which makes you just wonder what goes in these Grand Slam champion woman players minds???? Li Na and Petra have both struggled to win matches after their respective major title wins, it seems winning one doesn't do you any favours, unless your are Novak Djokovic!
Anyway that's it for now, more to follow soon....
Thursday, 18 August 2011
Cincinnati Part 1: Scores to settle
OK now (yep this about tennis once again!) we are getting closer to the US Open as it starts a week on Monday in New York, and this week the ATP/WTA comes from Cincinnati with the Western and Southern Open. This is a ATP 1000 Masters and WTA Premier 5 title, so it is a biggie for both the men and ladies, all the top seeds are in doing their stuff, so I'll have a look at some of the matches.
On the men's side first, Andy Murray was back in action after his shock loss last week to Kevin Anderson in Montreal, this time he took on David Nalbandian. In the first set, Andy got off to a really shaky start, as he struggled to hold his serve, but fortunately for him Nalbandian wasn't much better, in fact there were times were it was hard to work out who was worse! But thankfully toward the end of the first set Andy picked up the pace and sealed it in 6-4, after which he found his rhythym and broke the former World No.3 early on and then he run away with the match winning in 6-4, 6-1. This in a way was a crucial win for Andy as he has lost every match he has played on the ATP hard court season up until now, so he really needed this. However next up is one of his nemesis from earlier in the year, Alex Bogomolov, who defeated him in straight sets in Miami back in March, so this is a chance for Andy to get revenge. Earlier this year Andy had hit a real slump so I'm hoping he will have sorted out his game today and show Boglymov why he is the World No.4, but there is that danger he could go out again, Bogomolov already has put out Tsonga, which in itself was a surprise (although Tsonga had an arm injury from last week). It was also good to see that Andy has continued to maintain his composure more during matches, he has been doing this of late ever since the French Open semi final match against Rafa this year, so it definitely shows a growing maturity in the Muzza, which is a good thing for sure.
Other matches in the ATP tour saw Rafa also make a strong comeback as he took on Julien Beneteau, and survived a slight scare towards the end of the second set where Beneteau broke Rafa's serve, but Rafa broke straight back and won the match in 6-4, 7-5. So Rafa next will face fellow Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco, who a couple of years ago took him all the way in the Australian Open 2009 semi final, but Verdasco hasn't been playing so well since, so it might be an easier match for Rafa this time, but we'll see. World No.1 Novak Djokovic also made a fairly strong start after he struggled with his serve initially on the lightning fast courts but ended up strong as he comfortably beat Ryan Harrison in 6-2, 6-3. Next up for Djoky is the current in form Radek Stepanek, who might prove troublesome for the Serb, but again he might not trouble him too much but we'll see, but it should be an intruiging one. David Ferrer also progressed through to the 3rd round as he defeated Grigor Dimitriov from Bulgari in a pretty tough 3 set match.
On the WTA side, we saw another early exit for the World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki who went out again in her first match, this time against US qualifier Christine McHale, who defeated her in straight sets 6-4, 7-5 (same score as last week!). This doesn't bode well at all for Caroline, as that's two early exits, and after such a strong first leg hard court season, the 2nd has gotten off to a really bad start, and with the US Open not far off, the Dane will really have to regroup for the next Grand Slam. I was also interested to see she is going out with the top golfer from Nothern Ireland, Rory McIlroy, but if you forgive the awful pun, Caroline was well under par today (and not in a good way like it is in golf!). Serena Williams also made an early exit, but this time it was due to injury as she pulled out of the tournament due to a injury to her toe, which deprived us of a rematch with Sam Stosur from last week. Instead Sam Stosur will face French Open champion Li Na, so it will be a tough one to call, because it remains to be seen what form Li Na is in, lately she hasn't been playing so great, but she had a good win against Lucie Safarova there on Tuesday, so it might be a good one today. Andrea Petkovic also made it through against Sofia Arviddson from Sweden, but I must say I wasn't so impressed with Petko's behaviour on Monday when she played Jamila Goudasova, as she was really rude to the towel girls yelling for a towel "TOWEL! TOWELL!!!". I guess in pressure situations players can get snappy, as it was a tough match for Petkovic, but she came out on top in the end. It was also good to Jelena Jankovic progress through as that's her won her first two matches in Cincinnati after a bad first round loss in Toronto last week. Also Francesca Schiavone had to really battle past the Russian Maria Kirilenko as she toughed it out to win in 7-5, 3-6, 6-4. And finally Maria Sharapova breezed past her opponent on Tuesday but today she faces Svetlana Kuznetsova, so that may prove a tougher test.
Right that's enough o that, more to follow soon.
P.S. I need more posts that aren't about tennis! Ha ha, will think of something.
On the men's side first, Andy Murray was back in action after his shock loss last week to Kevin Anderson in Montreal, this time he took on David Nalbandian. In the first set, Andy got off to a really shaky start, as he struggled to hold his serve, but fortunately for him Nalbandian wasn't much better, in fact there were times were it was hard to work out who was worse! But thankfully toward the end of the first set Andy picked up the pace and sealed it in 6-4, after which he found his rhythym and broke the former World No.3 early on and then he run away with the match winning in 6-4, 6-1. This in a way was a crucial win for Andy as he has lost every match he has played on the ATP hard court season up until now, so he really needed this. However next up is one of his nemesis from earlier in the year, Alex Bogomolov, who defeated him in straight sets in Miami back in March, so this is a chance for Andy to get revenge. Earlier this year Andy had hit a real slump so I'm hoping he will have sorted out his game today and show Boglymov why he is the World No.4, but there is that danger he could go out again, Bogomolov already has put out Tsonga, which in itself was a surprise (although Tsonga had an arm injury from last week). It was also good to see that Andy has continued to maintain his composure more during matches, he has been doing this of late ever since the French Open semi final match against Rafa this year, so it definitely shows a growing maturity in the Muzza, which is a good thing for sure.
Other matches in the ATP tour saw Rafa also make a strong comeback as he took on Julien Beneteau, and survived a slight scare towards the end of the second set where Beneteau broke Rafa's serve, but Rafa broke straight back and won the match in 6-4, 7-5. So Rafa next will face fellow Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco, who a couple of years ago took him all the way in the Australian Open 2009 semi final, but Verdasco hasn't been playing so well since, so it might be an easier match for Rafa this time, but we'll see. World No.1 Novak Djokovic also made a fairly strong start after he struggled with his serve initially on the lightning fast courts but ended up strong as he comfortably beat Ryan Harrison in 6-2, 6-3. Next up for Djoky is the current in form Radek Stepanek, who might prove troublesome for the Serb, but again he might not trouble him too much but we'll see, but it should be an intruiging one. David Ferrer also progressed through to the 3rd round as he defeated Grigor Dimitriov from Bulgari in a pretty tough 3 set match.
On the WTA side, we saw another early exit for the World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki who went out again in her first match, this time against US qualifier Christine McHale, who defeated her in straight sets 6-4, 7-5 (same score as last week!). This doesn't bode well at all for Caroline, as that's two early exits, and after such a strong first leg hard court season, the 2nd has gotten off to a really bad start, and with the US Open not far off, the Dane will really have to regroup for the next Grand Slam. I was also interested to see she is going out with the top golfer from Nothern Ireland, Rory McIlroy, but if you forgive the awful pun, Caroline was well under par today (and not in a good way like it is in golf!). Serena Williams also made an early exit, but this time it was due to injury as she pulled out of the tournament due to a injury to her toe, which deprived us of a rematch with Sam Stosur from last week. Instead Sam Stosur will face French Open champion Li Na, so it will be a tough one to call, because it remains to be seen what form Li Na is in, lately she hasn't been playing so great, but she had a good win against Lucie Safarova there on Tuesday, so it might be a good one today. Andrea Petkovic also made it through against Sofia Arviddson from Sweden, but I must say I wasn't so impressed with Petko's behaviour on Monday when she played Jamila Goudasova, as she was really rude to the towel girls yelling for a towel "TOWEL! TOWELL!!!". I guess in pressure situations players can get snappy, as it was a tough match for Petkovic, but she came out on top in the end. It was also good to Jelena Jankovic progress through as that's her won her first two matches in Cincinnati after a bad first round loss in Toronto last week. Also Francesca Schiavone had to really battle past the Russian Maria Kirilenko as she toughed it out to win in 7-5, 3-6, 6-4. And finally Maria Sharapova breezed past her opponent on Tuesday but today she faces Svetlana Kuznetsova, so that may prove a tougher test.
Right that's enough o that, more to follow soon.
P.S. I need more posts that aren't about tennis! Ha ha, will think of something.
Monday, 15 August 2011
Montreal/Toronto Part 6: guess who's gone and won another title??
So the finals day of the ATP/WTA Rogers Cup saw the finalists go at it to secure the Rogers Cup title in Toronto and Montreal.
Starting with the ladies, Serena Williams and Sam Stosur both played it out for the title there, but as predicted Serena proved to be too strong for Stosur, who came out strong in the first set but after being broken at 4-4 she never really got back into the match. So in the 2nd set Serena dominated the play with some very impressive shot making and Stosur had no answer for the 13 time grand slam champion, winning in 6-4 6-2. Overall it was not too bad a final but the end result was to be entirely expected, so much so I was even right with my own prediction of the scoreboard! But I must admit I'm not a big fan of Serena, over the years she has proved not to be such a popular champion with certain people, because of her attitude, and I do find her a bit smarmy, and if she wins she's all smiley and if she loses she its always moan moan moan. This I especially noticed in her pre match interview as she was very abrupt in her answers, while Sam Stour was very pleasant and polite in hers. Regardless though Serena has done incredibly well after coming back from a serious illness, and no doubt she is the best player in the world in the ladies game. Caroline Wozniacki maybe No.1 on the scoreboard but she has alot more to prove yet before she truly earns that mantel in achievement.
So that's the women, onto the men and what I expected to be a simple and easy final between Djokovic vs Mardy Fish turned out to be quite a tough encounter, as the World No.1 had to battle his way to grab his 27th title. The first set despite a few break point chances for Fish, Djokovic managed to hold on at 2-2 and broke Fish at 3-2 and eventually sealed it in 6-2, but in the second set Fish finally got the break and fought back to take the 2nd setin 6-3. But inevitably Djokovic managed to come back into the match and secured a break in the 3rd at 2-2, and closed it out after a tense final game, winning in 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. This win also marks a record as Djokovic has come the first player to win 5 ATP Masters 1000 titles in the same season, so no mean feat, its also his 9th title of the year, and I'm sure plenty more is to follow. But Djokovic really has worked hard to get to this stage in his career and he is a good ambassador for the sport, far more so I think than Serena Williams, as he comes across a nice guy and a good sportsman who respects his opponents and gives them credit, so he does deserve the titles without a doubt. And although I'm not his biggest fan, Mardy Fish also deserves alot of credit for giving such a good match in the final, and he also is playing some of his best tennis just now, so it will be interesting to see how he does in the future. I also laughed at a comment one interviewer made to Novak saying, why don't you do the other players on the tour a favour and take next week off in Cincinnati, and Djokovic laughed saying "well I'm not too sure about that, cos I want to play". Achhh well you can't blame the man for trying. ;-) Having said that, it is disheartening for the rest of the players on tour who try so hard to win a Masters title like Mardy Fish or even the select few top players who so badly want to win a grand slam, but are denied by that one player right at the top. Its certainly not Djokovic's fault, it boils down to hard work, a bit of luck, and above all confidence and self belief, which Djoko has in spades.
Anyway so next up for the ATP/WTA is the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati where the men and ladies will go at it again. No doubt the top seeds will bring their game to the proceedings, and I hope this time Andy, Roger and Rafa can put in better performances this time round, especially Andy, who needs to try and redeem himself after his early exit in the Rogers cup. In fact one fact I hadn't realised until last week was that Andy is yet to win not only a single match but also a single set in the ATP singles hard court season this year since after the Australian Open. This is definitely something he has to remedy in Cincinnati and hopefully he will, and his next opponent will be David Nalbandian the former World No.1 so he better be on his game for the Argentine. But if he does go out again in his first match most likely on Tuesday this week, then it does not bode well at all for the US Open round the corner. Perhaps though last year he did peak too soon in Toronto and then when it came to the US Open, he lost his way, but I just hope he doesn't make the same mistake this year, and Cincinnati has to be the starting point to make his way back into the winning circle. But we all know already who is going to win this title! ;-)
Right that's it for now.
Starting with the ladies, Serena Williams and Sam Stosur both played it out for the title there, but as predicted Serena proved to be too strong for Stosur, who came out strong in the first set but after being broken at 4-4 she never really got back into the match. So in the 2nd set Serena dominated the play with some very impressive shot making and Stosur had no answer for the 13 time grand slam champion, winning in 6-4 6-2. Overall it was not too bad a final but the end result was to be entirely expected, so much so I was even right with my own prediction of the scoreboard! But I must admit I'm not a big fan of Serena, over the years she has proved not to be such a popular champion with certain people, because of her attitude, and I do find her a bit smarmy, and if she wins she's all smiley and if she loses she its always moan moan moan. This I especially noticed in her pre match interview as she was very abrupt in her answers, while Sam Stour was very pleasant and polite in hers. Regardless though Serena has done incredibly well after coming back from a serious illness, and no doubt she is the best player in the world in the ladies game. Caroline Wozniacki maybe No.1 on the scoreboard but she has alot more to prove yet before she truly earns that mantel in achievement.
So that's the women, onto the men and what I expected to be a simple and easy final between Djokovic vs Mardy Fish turned out to be quite a tough encounter, as the World No.1 had to battle his way to grab his 27th title. The first set despite a few break point chances for Fish, Djokovic managed to hold on at 2-2 and broke Fish at 3-2 and eventually sealed it in 6-2, but in the second set Fish finally got the break and fought back to take the 2nd setin 6-3. But inevitably Djokovic managed to come back into the match and secured a break in the 3rd at 2-2, and closed it out after a tense final game, winning in 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. This win also marks a record as Djokovic has come the first player to win 5 ATP Masters 1000 titles in the same season, so no mean feat, its also his 9th title of the year, and I'm sure plenty more is to follow. But Djokovic really has worked hard to get to this stage in his career and he is a good ambassador for the sport, far more so I think than Serena Williams, as he comes across a nice guy and a good sportsman who respects his opponents and gives them credit, so he does deserve the titles without a doubt. And although I'm not his biggest fan, Mardy Fish also deserves alot of credit for giving such a good match in the final, and he also is playing some of his best tennis just now, so it will be interesting to see how he does in the future. I also laughed at a comment one interviewer made to Novak saying, why don't you do the other players on the tour a favour and take next week off in Cincinnati, and Djokovic laughed saying "well I'm not too sure about that, cos I want to play". Achhh well you can't blame the man for trying. ;-) Having said that, it is disheartening for the rest of the players on tour who try so hard to win a Masters title like Mardy Fish or even the select few top players who so badly want to win a grand slam, but are denied by that one player right at the top. Its certainly not Djokovic's fault, it boils down to hard work, a bit of luck, and above all confidence and self belief, which Djoko has in spades.
Anyway so next up for the ATP/WTA is the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati where the men and ladies will go at it again. No doubt the top seeds will bring their game to the proceedings, and I hope this time Andy, Roger and Rafa can put in better performances this time round, especially Andy, who needs to try and redeem himself after his early exit in the Rogers cup. In fact one fact I hadn't realised until last week was that Andy is yet to win not only a single match but also a single set in the ATP singles hard court season this year since after the Australian Open. This is definitely something he has to remedy in Cincinnati and hopefully he will, and his next opponent will be David Nalbandian the former World No.1 so he better be on his game for the Argentine. But if he does go out again in his first match most likely on Tuesday this week, then it does not bode well at all for the US Open round the corner. Perhaps though last year he did peak too soon in Toronto and then when it came to the US Open, he lost his way, but I just hope he doesn't make the same mistake this year, and Cincinnati has to be the starting point to make his way back into the winning circle. But we all know already who is going to win this title! ;-)
Right that's it for now.
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