After 2 full days of rain delay at Flushing Meadows in New York, the rain has finally abaited and the remaining matches that have need to be played have been mostly played and there were a few good ones in there I'm sure.
So Day 11 first off saw Rafa resume his match against the talented Luxmbourger Gilles Muller, who after an even pegged first set, saw Rafa run away with the match, as he closed it out in 7-6, 6-1, 6-2. Rafa of course in latter stage grand slam style is playing some of his best stuff again and will prove quite a threat for his following opponents. Andy Murray also resumed his match with the American wildcard Donald Young, who made a real upset earlier this year when he beat Andy in Indian Wells back in March. But this time Andy had no such trouble as he broke the young lad twice in the opening set to take it, and despite a few breaks of serve between each player, Andy still managed to close it out quite easily in 6-2, 6-3, 6-3. It was quite a comfortable win not to mention it saw him complete his revenge against Young and Bogomolov for his losses earlier this year.
So onto the other men's matches quickly, Andy Roddick who after a few rain delays, and also spotting a crack in the surface of the court behind the baseline on Louis Armstrong stadium, had to have his match moved to court 13 (unlucky maybe???). Understandably Roddick was pretty miffed, but it didn't affect his performance against David Ferrer, which was pretty impressive, and it saw him reach his first grand slam quarter final of the year as well as a return to form. Fellow yank giant John Isner also imperssed in his match against the Frenchman Gilles Simon, who he defeated in a tough 4 set match, which Isner took after a 3 tiebreaks, while dropping the 2nd set, he won in 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4). So that's the 2nd half of the mens quarter finals matches setup to go tomorrow, so they should be corkers, its Rafa vs Roddick (yah!), Muzza vs Isner (yeeeahhh!). Its gonna be tough for all four of them, although I have to say Rafa and Andy are the favourites to win both of them, but one thing is for sure, we should be in for a treat.
Onto the womans matches briefly also as I'm pleased to say that the current World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki defeated Andrea Petkovic to make her third US semi final, where she will face a no good player called Serena Williams. ;-) Speaking of which Serena eased her way to victory against the Russian Anastasia Pavyluchenkova in 7-5, 6-1. I was a bit frustrated watching Serena before hand as she is always a bit curt and truculent in her pre-match interviews, she did everything she could to get away from the interviewer. I do apperciate she is a terrific player but I just find her attitude very ignorant, as its all about her, and its funny how she is always so sour before her matches and so happy after them in interview. Regardless of that, we have a very exciting womans semi final match setup for what is now going to be on Saturday night, due to the rain delays. So the big question must be asked: can Caroline defeat Serena???? Based on her performance throughout the tournamenet I would have to probably say no, but they have both looked pretty convincing in their campaigns. Caroline has only dropped one set in one match, while Serena has breezed through despite a tight set against Pavly tonight and a fightback from Azarenka, she hasn't dropped one yet. But I think Caroline has the energy, stamina and ability to if not beat Serena but certainly go toe to toe with her, but if she does go down, I hope its a real battle.
Oh and Sam Stosur is also through to the semis as she defeated Vera Zvonareva easily in 6-3, 6-3, which saw her improve her record against Vera. In the other semi final match Sam will play wildcard Angeliq Kerbrer from Germany, who has surprised everyone by making her first grand slam semi final, after beating Flavia Pennetta.
Well that's the ladies now onto the men, tonight we saw what so far might possibly have been the match of the tournament, between the two Serbs Novak Djokovic and Janko Tipsarevic, as the battled it out for Serbia. I wasn't expecting too much from Tipsy in this match, but he really did surprise me as he played a brilliant match against Djokovic, for two sets it was even pegged as we were treated to two thrilling sets, and for the first time Djokovic dropped a set in the tournament. However the superb play was cut short as Tipsy started showing signs of tiredness aswell as a thigh injury, which forced him to retire (that I think brings the retiral record up 19!!). But I sometimes wonder if this all revolves around Djokovic winning the title, as he pays off Federer, Rafa to take a dive in the finals, semis or quarter finals, so he can win the tournament! Haw haw, I joke of course! As Fed himself once said "tennis is a crazy game". And that it sure is. Speaking of which Fedora also got his revenge on Tsonga as he defeated him in the quarter finals in a very impressive display in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. I have to say that Federer is looking pretty formidable again just like he did at French Open, and next up is Djokovic, and we all know what happened in their previous meeting. Will it be the same result this time? Can Federer hand Djokovic his third loss this year??? Well its all in the future waiting to unfold, but we will find out. One way or another this match promises to be the match of the tournament, so can't wait for it.
So things are heating up, its getting exciting, as we are getting down to the final 8 in the mens and the final 4 in the ladies at the US Open.
But for now that's enough.... Tara.
Friday, 9 September 2011
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Flushing Meadows Part 3.2: Thrills, tiebreaks, and the rain in New York mainly stays on the court!
OK as promised (well to myself and to whoever I haven't told about this blog which is everyone!!) here is part two of the epic 2 parts of Part 3 (this is getting very confusing!) of the US Open 2011.
Briefly before I go onto day 8 there was another extraordinary match on with the ladies matches, who let's face it so far this year have had the best ones at the US Open! This match I refer to was the one between Sam Stosur and Maria Kirilenko of Russia as they two of them battled it out in an extraordinary match for a place in the quarter finals. Their match was particularly noteworthy as it had the longest tiebreak in the history of the US Open, as in the second set Stosur and Kirilenko had it out, which saw Sam lose the 2nd set in the breaker by 15-17. However Sam managed to pick it up in the 3rd set and sealed the match and her place in the quarter finals for the second time at the US Open, winning the match in 6-4, 6-7(17), 6-3. Its great to see Sam reach the latter stage of a grand slam this year, as so far I think she has struggled to make it past 3rd round in the previous slams. And her next opponent will be Vera Zvonareva, whom Sam has a very good record against, so it could see her make way into US Open semi finals for the first time, but time will tell on that one.
So onto Day 8, which featured plenty of drama and entertainment, and plenty of fine matches. On the ladies side, there was quite a ding dong match between Francesca Schiavone and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova as they shared breaks of serve, but this time Pavly got her revenge for her loss at the French Open and won the match 5-7, 6-4,6-4. However her next opponent will be one Serena Williams who just happens to be playing some of her best stuff just now, despite a rather mixed match against Ana Ivanovic, so I don't rate young Pavly's chances there. But the match of the day for the ladies matches was the battle between Caroline Wozniacki the World No.1 and the former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, as they hammered it out for a place in the quarter finals. After 3 hours of tense play between the two players it was Caroline who came out top, after being a set a and double break down to reel off 10 games in a row (I think) to seal her place in the next round winning in 6-7(8), 7-5, 6-1. Its really good to see Caroline get to the quarter finals at the US Open as she has had a mixed year in terms of her grand slam performances so I hope she continues to do well. Her next opponent is Andrea Petkovic, who has broken into the top 10 this year and is currently seeded 11th, Petko has already defeated Caroline once so it will be quite a tough match, but its 1-1 in their head to head, either way it will be one to watch.
And so now we go onto the men's tennis and to start off with the American No.1 Mardy Fish had a real battle against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who he fell to after a 5 set match, which will setup another quarter final grand slam match with Roger Federer. Federer so far has been playing really good tennis at the US Open and he crushed Juan Monaco in his 4th round match, dropping only 3 games. But Tsonga will prove a much tougher challenege, and he has won the last two of their meetings, but will Federer be able to beat him this time round??? I hope so because I would love to see another Federer vs Djokovic semi final setup, perhaps the Fed can hand another defeat to the World No.1 but maybe not. Even if Tsonga gets to the semi final it should still be a really good match as he posed quite a threat to Djokovic at Wimbledon.
Which brings us onto the World No.1's 4th round match, which was with the very talented and tricky Ukranian Alexandr Dolgopolov, who proved to be more than a handful for Djokovic for about half the match. In the first set, which was undoubtedly one of the most entertaining sets you will ever see this year, Dolgopolov gave Djokovic a real run for his money, with his hugely varied game, firing all sorts of unpredictable winners at him. And the 1st set featured a simply sensational tiebreak as both players had the crowd on the edge of their seats and in such an uproar I could imagine half of Manhattan could hear them!! The tiebreak lasted nearly 25 minutes as the Djoker and the Dog kept trading set points and unforced errors, until Djokovic finally hit a winner of his serve that the Dog sent long at 16-14. Unfortunately for the Dog he lost his way a bit at the start of the 2nd set as he dropped his serve straight off, and after that he fell victim to his own unforced errors and highly erratic serve. By this time Djokovic had brought the out of this world tennis playing from Dogly back down to Earth to a level that Djokovic can overcome. Regardless for one set the Dog put on one hell of a show and he showed signs of promise in the 2nd set too, not only that he managed to successfully disrupt Djokovic's rythhym if only for an hour and 15 minutes, so in the end the result was 7-6(14), 6-4, 6-2.
So that's Djoko and Fedora into the quarter finals, and for once Federer breezed and Djoky struggled, but they are through. Djokovic will next face his fellow Serb Janko Tipsarevic in the quarter finals which should be an interesting match, but I think it will be straight sets again for Nole.
Unfortunately due to heavy rain showers the schedule for the remaining 4th round matches especially the Muzza's rematch with Donald Young has been cancelled and rescheduled for Day 10, which will be a jam packed day for sure as they will combine the first ladies and men's quarter finals matches as well. So it will be a feast tomorrow, weather permitting of course, as its supposed to rain tomorrow, in fact its forecast to rain for the rest of the week in New York, so I don't how or if they will be able to complete the tournament schedule on time! This is where having a contingency plan would be useful in providing in-door hard courts or better yet providing a roof for the Arthur Ashe stadium just like they did at Wimbledon centre court!
And to add a bit more of an update on Day 10, the weather hasn't been any better as Andy's Murray/Roddick and Rafa have all taken to the court earlier on only to have their play disrupted only minutes into their matches by more rain! Understandably there were scenes of displeasure from Rafa who was at this point 3-0 down to his opponent Gilles Muller, so we will wait and see how that one goes. Andy Murray a bit more even pegged as it was going by service, 2-1 to Young, and Roddick was 3-1 up against Ferrer.
But having read one of the comments on the BBC Sports website, someone rightly said it seems unfair that in the US Open that they split the draw in the 2nd week, also it leaves for whoever makes it to the final on Rafa and Andy's side, they have to play four matches in five days, assuming there are no more delays! I also think that Andy and Rafa always seem to get a bit of a bum steer in the grand slams while Roger and Nole get an extra day's rest in between matches as they go out first. A perfect case in point was the Australian Open final where Djokovic had two full days of rest before meeting Andy in the final, whereas Andy only had one to recover after his brutal match against David Ferrer. I'm not saying the outcome would have been different, in fact it most likely wouldn't, but I always think Djokovic had the advantage of more time, and that seemed a bit unfair in itself. But we will soon find out how the rest of the tournament pans out timewise.
And as a further update I've just heard that due to more heavy rain that the day 10 schedule has been cancelled again!! So that puts the schedule quite far behind, as there are four 4th round matches to go for the men, and the first leg of the ladies and mens quarter finals are still to be scheduled also. So clearly there is no way there are going to finish the tournament on schedule now as that's two full days of delay, so tomorrow they have to try and make some headway in getting the schedule underway here's hoping those clouds clear up and rain goes away! Although there has been talk of them trying to schedule the ladies quarter finals matches tonight, which in a way seems unfair to the mens 4th round matches, but I guess the woman's matches might end quicker, especially Serena's match surely it will be over before we know it, but then again we don't know that, as it depends on how tough a test Pavlyuchenkova proves to be.
So while I'm rambling I had a look at the weather forecast for the rest of the week in New York City, and tomorrow its thunderstorms followed by rain, Friday thunderstorms and rain, Saturday guess what??? Yep thunderstorms, and on Sunday, supposedly the men's finals day, ermm cloudy but dry! So the weather forecast is pretty grim for the bulk of what remains of the final grand slam of the season, surely to God they must come with some contingency plan, such as putting a massive marquee tent over the courts if possible. And as Boris Becker rightly says they need to put a roof on the Centre Court, Wimbledon have done it so its high time US Open followed their example! To be fair to the organisers of the tournament they can't control the weather and all they can try to do is their best to deal with the situation, but at this rate we could be looking at maybe a Tuesday finish, which could also have a knock on effect with the next round of the Davis Cup which starts next Friday!
Anywayyyy when there is more updates on the state of play, and if matches have taken place, I'll be sure to blog it up. More to follow......
.......
......
Honestly........
Trust me......
Really.......
OK that's it.
Briefly before I go onto day 8 there was another extraordinary match on with the ladies matches, who let's face it so far this year have had the best ones at the US Open! This match I refer to was the one between Sam Stosur and Maria Kirilenko of Russia as they two of them battled it out in an extraordinary match for a place in the quarter finals. Their match was particularly noteworthy as it had the longest tiebreak in the history of the US Open, as in the second set Stosur and Kirilenko had it out, which saw Sam lose the 2nd set in the breaker by 15-17. However Sam managed to pick it up in the 3rd set and sealed the match and her place in the quarter finals for the second time at the US Open, winning the match in 6-4, 6-7(17), 6-3. Its great to see Sam reach the latter stage of a grand slam this year, as so far I think she has struggled to make it past 3rd round in the previous slams. And her next opponent will be Vera Zvonareva, whom Sam has a very good record against, so it could see her make way into US Open semi finals for the first time, but time will tell on that one.
So onto Day 8, which featured plenty of drama and entertainment, and plenty of fine matches. On the ladies side, there was quite a ding dong match between Francesca Schiavone and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova as they shared breaks of serve, but this time Pavly got her revenge for her loss at the French Open and won the match 5-7, 6-4,6-4. However her next opponent will be one Serena Williams who just happens to be playing some of her best stuff just now, despite a rather mixed match against Ana Ivanovic, so I don't rate young Pavly's chances there. But the match of the day for the ladies matches was the battle between Caroline Wozniacki the World No.1 and the former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, as they hammered it out for a place in the quarter finals. After 3 hours of tense play between the two players it was Caroline who came out top, after being a set a and double break down to reel off 10 games in a row (I think) to seal her place in the next round winning in 6-7(8), 7-5, 6-1. Its really good to see Caroline get to the quarter finals at the US Open as she has had a mixed year in terms of her grand slam performances so I hope she continues to do well. Her next opponent is Andrea Petkovic, who has broken into the top 10 this year and is currently seeded 11th, Petko has already defeated Caroline once so it will be quite a tough match, but its 1-1 in their head to head, either way it will be one to watch.
And so now we go onto the men's tennis and to start off with the American No.1 Mardy Fish had a real battle against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who he fell to after a 5 set match, which will setup another quarter final grand slam match with Roger Federer. Federer so far has been playing really good tennis at the US Open and he crushed Juan Monaco in his 4th round match, dropping only 3 games. But Tsonga will prove a much tougher challenege, and he has won the last two of their meetings, but will Federer be able to beat him this time round??? I hope so because I would love to see another Federer vs Djokovic semi final setup, perhaps the Fed can hand another defeat to the World No.1 but maybe not. Even if Tsonga gets to the semi final it should still be a really good match as he posed quite a threat to Djokovic at Wimbledon.
Which brings us onto the World No.1's 4th round match, which was with the very talented and tricky Ukranian Alexandr Dolgopolov, who proved to be more than a handful for Djokovic for about half the match. In the first set, which was undoubtedly one of the most entertaining sets you will ever see this year, Dolgopolov gave Djokovic a real run for his money, with his hugely varied game, firing all sorts of unpredictable winners at him. And the 1st set featured a simply sensational tiebreak as both players had the crowd on the edge of their seats and in such an uproar I could imagine half of Manhattan could hear them!! The tiebreak lasted nearly 25 minutes as the Djoker and the Dog kept trading set points and unforced errors, until Djokovic finally hit a winner of his serve that the Dog sent long at 16-14. Unfortunately for the Dog he lost his way a bit at the start of the 2nd set as he dropped his serve straight off, and after that he fell victim to his own unforced errors and highly erratic serve. By this time Djokovic had brought the out of this world tennis playing from Dogly back down to Earth to a level that Djokovic can overcome. Regardless for one set the Dog put on one hell of a show and he showed signs of promise in the 2nd set too, not only that he managed to successfully disrupt Djokovic's rythhym if only for an hour and 15 minutes, so in the end the result was 7-6(14), 6-4, 6-2.
So that's Djoko and Fedora into the quarter finals, and for once Federer breezed and Djoky struggled, but they are through. Djokovic will next face his fellow Serb Janko Tipsarevic in the quarter finals which should be an interesting match, but I think it will be straight sets again for Nole.
Unfortunately due to heavy rain showers the schedule for the remaining 4th round matches especially the Muzza's rematch with Donald Young has been cancelled and rescheduled for Day 10, which will be a jam packed day for sure as they will combine the first ladies and men's quarter finals matches as well. So it will be a feast tomorrow, weather permitting of course, as its supposed to rain tomorrow, in fact its forecast to rain for the rest of the week in New York, so I don't how or if they will be able to complete the tournament schedule on time! This is where having a contingency plan would be useful in providing in-door hard courts or better yet providing a roof for the Arthur Ashe stadium just like they did at Wimbledon centre court!
And to add a bit more of an update on Day 10, the weather hasn't been any better as Andy's Murray/Roddick and Rafa have all taken to the court earlier on only to have their play disrupted only minutes into their matches by more rain! Understandably there were scenes of displeasure from Rafa who was at this point 3-0 down to his opponent Gilles Muller, so we will wait and see how that one goes. Andy Murray a bit more even pegged as it was going by service, 2-1 to Young, and Roddick was 3-1 up against Ferrer.
But having read one of the comments on the BBC Sports website, someone rightly said it seems unfair that in the US Open that they split the draw in the 2nd week, also it leaves for whoever makes it to the final on Rafa and Andy's side, they have to play four matches in five days, assuming there are no more delays! I also think that Andy and Rafa always seem to get a bit of a bum steer in the grand slams while Roger and Nole get an extra day's rest in between matches as they go out first. A perfect case in point was the Australian Open final where Djokovic had two full days of rest before meeting Andy in the final, whereas Andy only had one to recover after his brutal match against David Ferrer. I'm not saying the outcome would have been different, in fact it most likely wouldn't, but I always think Djokovic had the advantage of more time, and that seemed a bit unfair in itself. But we will soon find out how the rest of the tournament pans out timewise.
And as a further update I've just heard that due to more heavy rain that the day 10 schedule has been cancelled again!! So that puts the schedule quite far behind, as there are four 4th round matches to go for the men, and the first leg of the ladies and mens quarter finals are still to be scheduled also. So clearly there is no way there are going to finish the tournament on schedule now as that's two full days of delay, so tomorrow they have to try and make some headway in getting the schedule underway here's hoping those clouds clear up and rain goes away! Although there has been talk of them trying to schedule the ladies quarter finals matches tonight, which in a way seems unfair to the mens 4th round matches, but I guess the woman's matches might end quicker, especially Serena's match surely it will be over before we know it, but then again we don't know that, as it depends on how tough a test Pavlyuchenkova proves to be.
So while I'm rambling I had a look at the weather forecast for the rest of the week in New York City, and tomorrow its thunderstorms followed by rain, Friday thunderstorms and rain, Saturday guess what??? Yep thunderstorms, and on Sunday, supposedly the men's finals day, ermm cloudy but dry! So the weather forecast is pretty grim for the bulk of what remains of the final grand slam of the season, surely to God they must come with some contingency plan, such as putting a massive marquee tent over the courts if possible. And as Boris Becker rightly says they need to put a roof on the Centre Court, Wimbledon have done it so its high time US Open followed their example! To be fair to the organisers of the tournament they can't control the weather and all they can try to do is their best to deal with the situation, but at this rate we could be looking at maybe a Tuesday finish, which could also have a knock on effect with the next round of the Davis Cup which starts next Friday!
Anywayyyy when there is more updates on the state of play, and if matches have taken place, I'll be sure to blog it up. More to follow......
.......
......
Honestly........
Trust me......
Really.......
OK that's it.
Flushing Meadows Part 3.1: yep its all been happening!
Well so far the US Open has very much lived up to its expectations of being a terrific tournament with plenty of exciting matches and it has to be said the yank crowds really have aided in lifting the atmos for the players as they are easily the loudest most reactive audiences you will get.
So there is a lot to cover so I've split this post over two entries since its been a few days since my last blog on the fourth grand slam of the year. So to start with the ladies match on Saturday just there, Day 6, which saw some terrific stuff particularly the match between Francesca Schiavone who played the South African wildcard Chanelle Scheepers. After dropping the first set, Fran looked pretty drained and fatigued from the word go, however she dredged as much energy as she could manage to level the match by taking the 2nd in a tense tiebreak, and after that she secured a break in the third set winning in 5-7, 7-6, 6-3. Later on that night we were also treated to a really good match up between Serena Williams and the world no.4 Victoria Azarenka, on paper this match promised to be a belter and for the most part it did live up to its expectations. After a one-way demolition job in the first set where Serena blasted off the young Belarusian off the court, Azarenka fought back and saved match point on Serena's serve and made it 5-5. Azarenka then battled onto to take the set to a tiebreaker but ultimately Serena closed out the match in the breaker winning 6-1, 7-6(5). Victoria Azarenka definitely deserves credit for her fightback in the match and it also promised to deliver a very interesting future rivalry between these two players, as Azarenka given time could prove to be one of the few players that can really threaten Serena. So I look forward to their future matches together.
On Day 7, there were some more excellent ladies matches, the main being a gusty battle from Flavia Pennetta who faced the talented Chinese player Peng Shuai who gave the 26th seed a tough test. Pennetta came out confidently like she did against Sharapova, but she soon faced a fightback from Peng Shuai and Flavia had to really battle in order to close out the first set. In the 2nd set it was even more of a battle, as the two players shared breaks of serve and Flavia showed signs of fatigue and at one point she even wretched on court. She also faced dropping the 2nd set in the tiebreaker as she was 5-0 down at one point, but Pennetta held her nerve and managed to fight her way back in to win the match in 6-4, 7-6(6). I was really pleased to see Flavia get through, as this is her 3rd US Open quarter final so it will be great to see how she does in the quarter finals where she will face Angelique Kerber from Germany.
In another day 7 match on the men's side we saw the giant Juan Martin Del Potro take on the talented Frenchman Gilles Simon. This is their 2nd meeting this year and Del Potro lead the head to head 3-1 going into the match. Delpo from the first set definitely appeared to be in control as he broke the Frenchman at 4-4 all to make it 5-4, however in the 2nd Simon held serve to take it to a tiebreak which Simon won. In the 3rd set, Del Potro seemed to suffer from fatigue and a foot injury, so he lost the momentum which saw Simon win the set. However in the 4th set, it was back to an even pegged battle to a tiebreak, but again Delpo just couldn't deliver which saw Gilles Simon win the match in 4-6, 7-6, 6-2, 7-6, which marked the first time the Frenchman has made the 4th round. In another evening match between the yanks John Isner, and Alex Bogomolov Jr, Isner got off to a slow start but soon got going and won the match in straight sets 7-6, 6-4, 6-4. So John Isner will go onto face Gilles Simon, I quite like to see Isner get through to the quarter finals as it will be the first time he will have reached a grand slam quarter final match.
And in another day 7 match the young American upcomer David Young took on Juan Ignaio Chela and performed another upset as he took out the 25th seed in straight sets in 7-5, 6-4,6-3. Young certainly has had a good US Open tournament so far, as he has already upset Stan Wawrinka also and next up is a certain fella who he defeated earlier in the year back in Indian Wells.
Which brings us onto the final match of the post between the Muzza and the Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, which after Andy's poor form in the 2nd match might have proved a bit worrying. However Andy had no such trouble as against as he gave a performance that was night and day from his Friday near fiasco, as he dispatched Lopez easily in straight sets 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. This definitely was a big improvement from his last match, and saw Andy get right back on track, in fact his performance was so impressive that his 1st serve percentage was rated at 76%!! Now this is a stark contrast to what he has been serving at before, however the problem with Andy's serve and game in general is that its inconsistent and when he plays in the slams he needs to ensure he will play his best on the day, but that hasn't as we know always been the case. So next up Andy will face his past nemesis Donald Young in the 4th round and I hope this time Andy will beat him, hopefully he should. Back in March at Indian Wells, Andy was in a bad place and his mind just wasn't on his game, but things have since changed, so I'm hoping we will see the Muzza give Young a good what for and secure his place in the quarter finals, however with American crowd behind Young and his current form, this might wel prove to be a tough match. But I'm fairly sure the Muzza will prevail this time, well he better!!
Anyway more to follow in Part 3.2.......
So there is a lot to cover so I've split this post over two entries since its been a few days since my last blog on the fourth grand slam of the year. So to start with the ladies match on Saturday just there, Day 6, which saw some terrific stuff particularly the match between Francesca Schiavone who played the South African wildcard Chanelle Scheepers. After dropping the first set, Fran looked pretty drained and fatigued from the word go, however she dredged as much energy as she could manage to level the match by taking the 2nd in a tense tiebreak, and after that she secured a break in the third set winning in 5-7, 7-6, 6-3. Later on that night we were also treated to a really good match up between Serena Williams and the world no.4 Victoria Azarenka, on paper this match promised to be a belter and for the most part it did live up to its expectations. After a one-way demolition job in the first set where Serena blasted off the young Belarusian off the court, Azarenka fought back and saved match point on Serena's serve and made it 5-5. Azarenka then battled onto to take the set to a tiebreaker but ultimately Serena closed out the match in the breaker winning 6-1, 7-6(5). Victoria Azarenka definitely deserves credit for her fightback in the match and it also promised to deliver a very interesting future rivalry between these two players, as Azarenka given time could prove to be one of the few players that can really threaten Serena. So I look forward to their future matches together.
On Day 7, there were some more excellent ladies matches, the main being a gusty battle from Flavia Pennetta who faced the talented Chinese player Peng Shuai who gave the 26th seed a tough test. Pennetta came out confidently like she did against Sharapova, but she soon faced a fightback from Peng Shuai and Flavia had to really battle in order to close out the first set. In the 2nd set it was even more of a battle, as the two players shared breaks of serve and Flavia showed signs of fatigue and at one point she even wretched on court. She also faced dropping the 2nd set in the tiebreaker as she was 5-0 down at one point, but Pennetta held her nerve and managed to fight her way back in to win the match in 6-4, 7-6(6). I was really pleased to see Flavia get through, as this is her 3rd US Open quarter final so it will be great to see how she does in the quarter finals where she will face Angelique Kerber from Germany.
In another day 7 match on the men's side we saw the giant Juan Martin Del Potro take on the talented Frenchman Gilles Simon. This is their 2nd meeting this year and Del Potro lead the head to head 3-1 going into the match. Delpo from the first set definitely appeared to be in control as he broke the Frenchman at 4-4 all to make it 5-4, however in the 2nd Simon held serve to take it to a tiebreak which Simon won. In the 3rd set, Del Potro seemed to suffer from fatigue and a foot injury, so he lost the momentum which saw Simon win the set. However in the 4th set, it was back to an even pegged battle to a tiebreak, but again Delpo just couldn't deliver which saw Gilles Simon win the match in 4-6, 7-6, 6-2, 7-6, which marked the first time the Frenchman has made the 4th round. In another evening match between the yanks John Isner, and Alex Bogomolov Jr, Isner got off to a slow start but soon got going and won the match in straight sets 7-6, 6-4, 6-4. So John Isner will go onto face Gilles Simon, I quite like to see Isner get through to the quarter finals as it will be the first time he will have reached a grand slam quarter final match.
And in another day 7 match the young American upcomer David Young took on Juan Ignaio Chela and performed another upset as he took out the 25th seed in straight sets in 7-5, 6-4,6-3. Young certainly has had a good US Open tournament so far, as he has already upset Stan Wawrinka also and next up is a certain fella who he defeated earlier in the year back in Indian Wells.
Which brings us onto the final match of the post between the Muzza and the Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, which after Andy's poor form in the 2nd match might have proved a bit worrying. However Andy had no such trouble as against as he gave a performance that was night and day from his Friday near fiasco, as he dispatched Lopez easily in straight sets 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. This definitely was a big improvement from his last match, and saw Andy get right back on track, in fact his performance was so impressive that his 1st serve percentage was rated at 76%!! Now this is a stark contrast to what he has been serving at before, however the problem with Andy's serve and game in general is that its inconsistent and when he plays in the slams he needs to ensure he will play his best on the day, but that hasn't as we know always been the case. So next up Andy will face his past nemesis Donald Young in the 4th round and I hope this time Andy will beat him, hopefully he should. Back in March at Indian Wells, Andy was in a bad place and his mind just wasn't on his game, but things have since changed, so I'm hoping we will see the Muzza give Young a good what for and secure his place in the quarter finals, however with American crowd behind Young and his current form, this might wel prove to be a tough match. But I'm fairly sure the Muzza will prevail this time, well he better!!
Anyway more to follow in Part 3.2.......
Saturday, 3 September 2011
Flushing meadows Part 2: Close shaves
Well day 5 of the US Open was indeed a very eventful one which featured a couple of thrilling matches which I will go into more detail about in a bit.
But first a wee bit about Day 4, which saw on the ladies side unfortunately Elena Baltacha make an early exit as she faced off former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. Despite a strong start with a 3-0 lead against Svety, Bally started to succomb to Kuznetsova's impressive movement and accurate shot making, and after 1 hour and 22 minutes Elena fell in 6-4, 6-3. In retrospect Elena played quite well against Svetlana, but she was just unlucky that the Russian was on better form and was the better player. Also on other ladies matches, Serena Williams breezed past her opponent in 6-0, 6-1, which sees the previous world no.1 continue her commanding comeback, next up for Serena will be Victoria Azarenka, so that should be a really good one. Caroline Wozniacki also showed some great return to form as she crushed her opponent in 6-2, 6-0, which is really great to see her get back on her game and puts her in a strong position to do well in the latter stages.
In the men's tennis on day 4, Djokovic proved even further just why he is the No.1 men's player as he trounced his opponent Carlos Berlocq in 6-0, 6-0, 6-2. Djokovic spent no more than 77 minutes on court as he dismantled his opponent, he even admitted after he felt sorry for him as he tried to fight his way back into the match. Federer also had no troubles getting past Dudi Sela whom he swept past in 6-3, 6-3, 6-2. Although one of the first top seed upsets occured with Gael Monfils going out after an epic 5 set match against Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Onto Day 5, starting with the ladies, Vera Zvonareva made it through in straight sets as she took on Medina Garrigues, who put out Laura Robson in the previous round. And in a thrilling match, we saw the mighty Maria Sharapova fall to the Italian Flavia Pennetta (seeded No. 26) after a lenghty 3 set battle, which Flavia won in 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. This was a riveting match, and one which highlighted the great atmosphere of the US Open Arthur Ashe stadium, say what you want about the Americans, but when it comes to giving players an atmos and energy they are second to none. I was also pleased to see Flavia get through as she came out so strong early on and despite a real fightback from the Pova, she managed to make it through in the end. In the end Sharapova while she displayed the incredible fighting spirit that lead her to win her previous US Open title, also once again put in an incredibly erratic performance, as she served what must be a record breaking 12 double faults in the match and 60 unforced errors. With mistakes like that she's not likely to win another grand slam but we shall see. It also leaves the field that bit more open for the title to be taken, although Serena is still a hot favourite to win, but we will see how she does against Azarenka tomorrow.
So that brings us onto the other match of the day, which was an incredible and yet very frustrating one to watch, where Andy Murray took on Robin Haase, the very talented Dutch player who not only defeated Andy on their previous meeting, but also took Rafa to 5 sets last year in Wimbledon. And this time the match seemed to be of a similar nature and Andy himself was wary of his opponent, and rightly so as Haase come out with all guns blazing as he impressively held onto his serve in the first set, and broke Andy at one point who broke back, which saw the first go to a tiebreak which Haase won. In the second Andy worryingly went off the boil and lost it in 6-2, but in the third he regained his feet and took that set to keep himself in the match, and after easily taking the 4th set, and despite having a near 5-0 lead, he dropped his serve to let Haase back who found some inspiration to level the set until it was 4-4. But thankfully Andy managed to secure a break to make it 5-4 in the 5th set, and after a very tense final game which had the American crowd screaming for more, Andy finally won the match in 6-7, 2-6, 6-2, 6-0, 6-4.
This was quite a match, and it once again showed Andy's sheer determination and talent in turning a match around, as that's the sixth time he's won a match from two sets down in a grand slam. However it did also alarmingly raise just how poor his serve was, as he frequently dropped his serve and gave away too many free points to Haase. I think after losing the first set tiebreak that Andy really went off the boil, and it took him until the 3rd set to mentally come back into the match. And this leads us back to another concern and that's his mental strength in the face of adversity, as if that was Rafa he would have just gotten on the with match and put it behind him, and that's what Andy needs to do. Andy though to his credit was nothing but honest about his performance and he also said he needs to up his game when he faces his next opponent Feliciano Lopez or else he's going home. Another positive to take from the match was that we saw Andy in a rare moment where he broke into a big smile and jumped around with joy having won the match. It just shows that he has got that passion and that he wants to win and stay in the tournament, and it also shows he has got heart. In fact he did the same thing at the Davis Cup victory in Breaehead Arena. So it would be great to see some more of that from Muzza in future.
But in the meantime he really needs to work on his game and that serve of his as that was some of the worst playing I've seen from Andy in a while, and it makes him look far from convincing as a contender for the title. So we can hope Andy will try and sort himself out for Sunday when he plays Feliciano Lopez, whom he defeated previously Wimbledon so let's hope its a repeat performance. Another potential 4th round opponent for Andy should he get there, would be Donald Young who defeated him back in Indian Wells, so if Andy were to win that one, his revenge will be complete (as he already got his own back on his Miami nemesis Bogomolov in Cincinnati). And if Andy does make it to the quarter finals he could set up another very intruiging match with the former US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro, which would be very exciting, but again he will need to be on form and put his 2nd round display well behind him.
Also briefly Rafa managed to ease his way through his 2nd round encounter with Nicholas Mahut, who played that incredible longest 5 setter match in history against John Isner last year at Wimbledon. This time Mahut proved no such threat against Rafa who took him apart in the first two sets before Mahut had to retire from an abdominal injury at 6-2, 6-2 6-0 ret. So the top 3 all look quite healthy, but that top 4 guy needs to sort a few things out.
So Day 6 promises to be quite interesting as Djokovic will take on possibly his first test of the tournament in Nikolai Davydenko and Federer will take on Marin Cilic. To be honest Roger and Novak are both in pretty good form so I don't think either of them will have too much trouble, so I predict straight sets win for them both, but we'll see.
And that's all fer now.
But first a wee bit about Day 4, which saw on the ladies side unfortunately Elena Baltacha make an early exit as she faced off former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. Despite a strong start with a 3-0 lead against Svety, Bally started to succomb to Kuznetsova's impressive movement and accurate shot making, and after 1 hour and 22 minutes Elena fell in 6-4, 6-3. In retrospect Elena played quite well against Svetlana, but she was just unlucky that the Russian was on better form and was the better player. Also on other ladies matches, Serena Williams breezed past her opponent in 6-0, 6-1, which sees the previous world no.1 continue her commanding comeback, next up for Serena will be Victoria Azarenka, so that should be a really good one. Caroline Wozniacki also showed some great return to form as she crushed her opponent in 6-2, 6-0, which is really great to see her get back on her game and puts her in a strong position to do well in the latter stages.
In the men's tennis on day 4, Djokovic proved even further just why he is the No.1 men's player as he trounced his opponent Carlos Berlocq in 6-0, 6-0, 6-2. Djokovic spent no more than 77 minutes on court as he dismantled his opponent, he even admitted after he felt sorry for him as he tried to fight his way back into the match. Federer also had no troubles getting past Dudi Sela whom he swept past in 6-3, 6-3, 6-2. Although one of the first top seed upsets occured with Gael Monfils going out after an epic 5 set match against Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Onto Day 5, starting with the ladies, Vera Zvonareva made it through in straight sets as she took on Medina Garrigues, who put out Laura Robson in the previous round. And in a thrilling match, we saw the mighty Maria Sharapova fall to the Italian Flavia Pennetta (seeded No. 26) after a lenghty 3 set battle, which Flavia won in 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. This was a riveting match, and one which highlighted the great atmosphere of the US Open Arthur Ashe stadium, say what you want about the Americans, but when it comes to giving players an atmos and energy they are second to none. I was also pleased to see Flavia get through as she came out so strong early on and despite a real fightback from the Pova, she managed to make it through in the end. In the end Sharapova while she displayed the incredible fighting spirit that lead her to win her previous US Open title, also once again put in an incredibly erratic performance, as she served what must be a record breaking 12 double faults in the match and 60 unforced errors. With mistakes like that she's not likely to win another grand slam but we shall see. It also leaves the field that bit more open for the title to be taken, although Serena is still a hot favourite to win, but we will see how she does against Azarenka tomorrow.
So that brings us onto the other match of the day, which was an incredible and yet very frustrating one to watch, where Andy Murray took on Robin Haase, the very talented Dutch player who not only defeated Andy on their previous meeting, but also took Rafa to 5 sets last year in Wimbledon. And this time the match seemed to be of a similar nature and Andy himself was wary of his opponent, and rightly so as Haase come out with all guns blazing as he impressively held onto his serve in the first set, and broke Andy at one point who broke back, which saw the first go to a tiebreak which Haase won. In the second Andy worryingly went off the boil and lost it in 6-2, but in the third he regained his feet and took that set to keep himself in the match, and after easily taking the 4th set, and despite having a near 5-0 lead, he dropped his serve to let Haase back who found some inspiration to level the set until it was 4-4. But thankfully Andy managed to secure a break to make it 5-4 in the 5th set, and after a very tense final game which had the American crowd screaming for more, Andy finally won the match in 6-7, 2-6, 6-2, 6-0, 6-4.
This was quite a match, and it once again showed Andy's sheer determination and talent in turning a match around, as that's the sixth time he's won a match from two sets down in a grand slam. However it did also alarmingly raise just how poor his serve was, as he frequently dropped his serve and gave away too many free points to Haase. I think after losing the first set tiebreak that Andy really went off the boil, and it took him until the 3rd set to mentally come back into the match. And this leads us back to another concern and that's his mental strength in the face of adversity, as if that was Rafa he would have just gotten on the with match and put it behind him, and that's what Andy needs to do. Andy though to his credit was nothing but honest about his performance and he also said he needs to up his game when he faces his next opponent Feliciano Lopez or else he's going home. Another positive to take from the match was that we saw Andy in a rare moment where he broke into a big smile and jumped around with joy having won the match. It just shows that he has got that passion and that he wants to win and stay in the tournament, and it also shows he has got heart. In fact he did the same thing at the Davis Cup victory in Breaehead Arena. So it would be great to see some more of that from Muzza in future.
But in the meantime he really needs to work on his game and that serve of his as that was some of the worst playing I've seen from Andy in a while, and it makes him look far from convincing as a contender for the title. So we can hope Andy will try and sort himself out for Sunday when he plays Feliciano Lopez, whom he defeated previously Wimbledon so let's hope its a repeat performance. Another potential 4th round opponent for Andy should he get there, would be Donald Young who defeated him back in Indian Wells, so if Andy were to win that one, his revenge will be complete (as he already got his own back on his Miami nemesis Bogomolov in Cincinnati). And if Andy does make it to the quarter finals he could set up another very intruiging match with the former US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro, which would be very exciting, but again he will need to be on form and put his 2nd round display well behind him.
Also briefly Rafa managed to ease his way through his 2nd round encounter with Nicholas Mahut, who played that incredible longest 5 setter match in history against John Isner last year at Wimbledon. This time Mahut proved no such threat against Rafa who took him apart in the first two sets before Mahut had to retire from an abdominal injury at 6-2, 6-2 6-0 ret. So the top 3 all look quite healthy, but that top 4 guy needs to sort a few things out.
So Day 6 promises to be quite interesting as Djokovic will take on possibly his first test of the tournament in Nikolai Davydenko and Federer will take on Marin Cilic. To be honest Roger and Novak are both in pretty good form so I don't think either of them will have too much trouble, so I predict straight sets win for them both, but we'll see.
And that's all fer now.
Wednesday, 31 August 2011
Flushing Meadows Part 1: Ills and spills
So that's the final grand slam of the year well under way now, the US Open now in its 3rd day, we've already seen some pretty good tennis and some early upsets too.
Starting with the ladies there have been quite a few upsets, particularly on the first couple of days (well all three actually) as the first casualty was Petra Kvitova who went out in straight sets after a very poor performance against Alexandra Delgharu in 6-7, 3-6. And on day two Li Na followed suit after going out in 2-6, 5-7 against Siimona Halep. So this is two grand slam champions that have fallen at the first hurdle, and both of them have been playing poor tennis ever since they won their respective slams in Wimbledon and the French Open. It just makes you wonder what is going on in their minds? Naturally you think after playing great tennis to win a major that they will continue to play great tennis, but obviously it must be a case of the pressure and expectation gets to them after such a title win. I think Djokovic said the same thing after he won the Australian Open the first time 3 years ago, that he felt far more pressure and expectations put on him and he struggled to try and win one after that (until this year of course!). But I hope for Li Na and Petra's sakes that they pick up their tennis again and play better for the rest of the tour.
In other ladies matches, another top seed went out in another upset as Marion Bartoli was put out by American newcomer Christine McHale, who had already claimed a few scalps previously as she had defeated Caroline Wozniacki a few weeks back, as well as some other top players such as Ailsa Kleybanova (name right???) and Svetlana Kuznetsova. However some of the top seeds are still in as Vera Zvonareva is through in her 2nd round match, Andrea Petkovic and Julia Goerges also have advanced in their matches. And its also really good to see that Elena Baltacha is still in the draw also as she had a tough 1st round match against American Jamie Hampton who eventually had to retire near the end of their match. So Elena next up faces Svetlana Kuznetsova, which should be a real tough one but I hope Elena can come through as she could well do it and it would be great if she did. Although I was disappointed for Laura Robson who went out today in her 2nd round match against Medina Garrigues of Spain who outplayed and outpaced her winning in 6-2, 6-3. But of course the match of the tournament on the ladies so far has to have been the clash between Maria Sharapova and the British No.3 Heather Watson, who put on a gutsy display by taking the mighty Russian to a 3 set battle, which the mighty Pova won in 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. Heather deservedly got alot of credit after the match as she played a terrific game against one of the world's best players, although Sharapova herself didn't play her best, but take nothing away from Heather's achievement, as despite her loss she went and played a great match from start to finish.
Anyway onto the men so far no upsets on the top seed side of things, apart Robin Soderling who has had to pull out due to illness. To start off Federer got through his match in straight sets, Djokovic who was up against Irishman Conor Niland breezed past the man in 6-0, 5-1 after Niland had to retire due to food poisoning. This would be a blessing for Djokovic no doubt who would want to avoid a real match in order to preserve his shoulder, which he said was fine anyway, not that Conor could have bothered him much! Nadal though in a way not surprisingly had a much tougher against Andrev Gubolev who surprised the former World No.1 with some stunning shots, although he couldn't do enough in the end to beat Rafa, who managed to close out the match in straight sets, eventually winning in 6-3, 7-6, 7-5. Rafa actually did play quite well in the match although he did drop his serve quite a few times, but despite that Rafa did what he needed to do to get the straight sets win. But it still does show a few worrying signs for the Spaniard, but hopefully as he progresses he will get better.
So onto the other top seed, Andy Murray who took on the talented Indian Somdev Devvarman, who proved quite a test in the opening set, with the Muzza even dropping his serve in the first game! But Muzza broke back and soon they played a very even pegged first set, which the Muzza closed out in the tiebreak. After this Andy put on a powerful display of forehand hitting, which saw him pulversing his shots down the court which allowed him to hit many winners. It was quite an impressive display, but what I still found troubling was that his first serve percentage was still off, a point in case was when he had a chance to serve out for the match at 5-2, but then he double faulted to hand a break back to Devvarman. But fortunately for Somdev he couldn't do anything with the break and Andy seized the chance to win the match 7-6, 6-2, 6-3. Its great to see Andy play with more aggression and power on court, and it could be one of the keys to secure his first grand slam win at the US Open, but its a matter playing consistently well with that level of aggression. I just keep thinking of how he played against Rafa at Wimbledon, he hit like that for one set brilliantly and then it went south, and he didn't come back into the match. So if he can maintain that level over the next two weeks then this will stand him in good stead, but his 1st serve is still a big concern, and he might be able to get away with throwing away free points to lower ranked players but not against the top 3 guys.
However its a good solid start to Andy's campaign, a straight sets win is always good, his next opponent is Robin Haase though, who could prove to be very tricky, as he played Rafa last year and took him to 5 sets at Wimbledon, so it could be a stern test for the British No.1. But I'm sure Andy will prevail one way or another.
So I will leave it there. More to follow........
Starting with the ladies there have been quite a few upsets, particularly on the first couple of days (well all three actually) as the first casualty was Petra Kvitova who went out in straight sets after a very poor performance against Alexandra Delgharu in 6-7, 3-6. And on day two Li Na followed suit after going out in 2-6, 5-7 against Siimona Halep. So this is two grand slam champions that have fallen at the first hurdle, and both of them have been playing poor tennis ever since they won their respective slams in Wimbledon and the French Open. It just makes you wonder what is going on in their minds? Naturally you think after playing great tennis to win a major that they will continue to play great tennis, but obviously it must be a case of the pressure and expectation gets to them after such a title win. I think Djokovic said the same thing after he won the Australian Open the first time 3 years ago, that he felt far more pressure and expectations put on him and he struggled to try and win one after that (until this year of course!). But I hope for Li Na and Petra's sakes that they pick up their tennis again and play better for the rest of the tour.
In other ladies matches, another top seed went out in another upset as Marion Bartoli was put out by American newcomer Christine McHale, who had already claimed a few scalps previously as she had defeated Caroline Wozniacki a few weeks back, as well as some other top players such as Ailsa Kleybanova (name right???) and Svetlana Kuznetsova. However some of the top seeds are still in as Vera Zvonareva is through in her 2nd round match, Andrea Petkovic and Julia Goerges also have advanced in their matches. And its also really good to see that Elena Baltacha is still in the draw also as she had a tough 1st round match against American Jamie Hampton who eventually had to retire near the end of their match. So Elena next up faces Svetlana Kuznetsova, which should be a real tough one but I hope Elena can come through as she could well do it and it would be great if she did. Although I was disappointed for Laura Robson who went out today in her 2nd round match against Medina Garrigues of Spain who outplayed and outpaced her winning in 6-2, 6-3. But of course the match of the tournament on the ladies so far has to have been the clash between Maria Sharapova and the British No.3 Heather Watson, who put on a gutsy display by taking the mighty Russian to a 3 set battle, which the mighty Pova won in 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. Heather deservedly got alot of credit after the match as she played a terrific game against one of the world's best players, although Sharapova herself didn't play her best, but take nothing away from Heather's achievement, as despite her loss she went and played a great match from start to finish.
Anyway onto the men so far no upsets on the top seed side of things, apart Robin Soderling who has had to pull out due to illness. To start off Federer got through his match in straight sets, Djokovic who was up against Irishman Conor Niland breezed past the man in 6-0, 5-1 after Niland had to retire due to food poisoning. This would be a blessing for Djokovic no doubt who would want to avoid a real match in order to preserve his shoulder, which he said was fine anyway, not that Conor could have bothered him much! Nadal though in a way not surprisingly had a much tougher against Andrev Gubolev who surprised the former World No.1 with some stunning shots, although he couldn't do enough in the end to beat Rafa, who managed to close out the match in straight sets, eventually winning in 6-3, 7-6, 7-5. Rafa actually did play quite well in the match although he did drop his serve quite a few times, but despite that Rafa did what he needed to do to get the straight sets win. But it still does show a few worrying signs for the Spaniard, but hopefully as he progresses he will get better.
So onto the other top seed, Andy Murray who took on the talented Indian Somdev Devvarman, who proved quite a test in the opening set, with the Muzza even dropping his serve in the first game! But Muzza broke back and soon they played a very even pegged first set, which the Muzza closed out in the tiebreak. After this Andy put on a powerful display of forehand hitting, which saw him pulversing his shots down the court which allowed him to hit many winners. It was quite an impressive display, but what I still found troubling was that his first serve percentage was still off, a point in case was when he had a chance to serve out for the match at 5-2, but then he double faulted to hand a break back to Devvarman. But fortunately for Somdev he couldn't do anything with the break and Andy seized the chance to win the match 7-6, 6-2, 6-3. Its great to see Andy play with more aggression and power on court, and it could be one of the keys to secure his first grand slam win at the US Open, but its a matter playing consistently well with that level of aggression. I just keep thinking of how he played against Rafa at Wimbledon, he hit like that for one set brilliantly and then it went south, and he didn't come back into the match. So if he can maintain that level over the next two weeks then this will stand him in good stead, but his 1st serve is still a big concern, and he might be able to get away with throwing away free points to lower ranked players but not against the top 3 guys.
However its a good solid start to Andy's campaign, a straight sets win is always good, his next opponent is Robin Haase though, who could prove to be very tricky, as he played Rafa last year and took him to 5 sets at Wimbledon, so it could be a stern test for the British No.1. But I'm sure Andy will prevail one way or another.
So I will leave it there. More to follow........
Sunday, 28 August 2011
We are only one River
Saturday night saw the return of Doctor Who to our screens with the second half of the sixth series, with Matt Smith as the Doc.
The episode sort of takes off from where it left off before, with River Song (Alex Kingston) making the surprise revalation that she is in fact Amy's daughter. But in this episode Amy has a new character come in who is a friend of Amy's called Mels (played by the rather foxy Nina Toussaint-White), who holds the Doctor at gunpoint and insists they go back in time in the TARDIS to kill Hitler. The episode soon reveals that Amy and Mels were childhood friends and at school Mels got into serious trouble with her teachers, and later on after leaving school got into some fracases with the law. But Mels isn't all she appears to be after she is caught in the crossfire of a confused and rather disorientated Hitler who shoots her, and then after this, Mels suddenly bursts into a familiar looking ray of light that the time Time Lords tend to when they regenerate, and from there things get a bit more complex.
For a opener to the second half of the series Let's Kill Hitler is highly entertaining, and has quite a few amusing scenes especially the ones with the robots that threaten to kill Amy and Rory when they are unidentified on the spaceship containing miniaturised humans with the lines "you are not identified, you are no longer allowed to live" and "you have been identified, you're allowed to continue your existence". Its also good to see the continued development of the characters, particularly Rory, who throughout the series has grown to be more brave and resourceful, I mean at one point he even decks Hitler and locks him in a cupboard! Matt Smith continues his assured command of the role of the Doctor, and even in the face of death he appears to be one step ahead. Alex Kingston also keeps her role of River Song very much alive and interesting, as she is almost as big a conundrum as the Doctor is, and (PLOT SPOILER) she was as I figured a Time Lord, or was born with Time Lord DNA, as she helps save the Doctor by using up her regenerative energy. This leaves River no longer able to regenerate and she is stuck with her one remaining life. Amy also remains something of a complex character herself, as she clearly is another character which the universe seems to revolve around, one thing I will say about Karen Gillan though is, while she is lovely, she does have a rather pale complexion!
Steven Moffat, the creative head writer (and writer of this episode) continues to delight in confounding his audience, and what's great is he does it in the most entertaining and clever way. The Doctor is forever instrinsically linked to River and the characters of his latest regeneration, although once the Eleventh Doctor's time is up, we can expect to encounter a whole new assortment of characters, as of yet we have seen no sight of Rose, Donna or Martha, or Jack for that matter (although the first three do appear as projected images briefly in this episode!). Also another thing about the Doctor's relationship with River is that its so backward and complex I wonder if Steven Moffat himself knows where he is going with their story half of the time! Clearly when the Doctor in David Tennant's era first meets River, that is indeed the first time he has laid eyes on her, and this was the last time River laid eyes on him. So it does get to the point where you get mixed up about just when their relationship will meet at a certain plateau. Its almost as if Moffat used The Curious Case of Benjamin Button as his inspiration, with the Doctor's relationship with River running backwards, like Benjy's life was running in reverse, aging from old to young while his mind started as a child and got older as he grew physically younger, and while he met his childhood sweetheart when he was an old man, their relationship peaks when they are both in the middle of their lives. Similarly in the Doctor and River's case they must meet in the middle at some point where their relationship will really click and that's when they know each other the most, but the more the Doctor knows River, the less she knows him. So its a real heid fook.
The only negative thing I would probably say about the episode though was that the actor playing Hitler wasn't so great at playing the infamous dictator. The Fuhrer was reduced to simply a comical figure who made an all too brief appearance and was quickly forgotten about and put in the background. I was also half expecting the Nazi officer and Hitler to have a halfway decent German accent, but I think the actor in particular who played Hitler went for a half hearted German/English accent. I mean even Hitler in Red Dwarf's was museum episode was more convincing and a better Hitler to boot! (or uniform).
So it remains to be seen how the second half of the sixth series pans out, but Let's Kill Hitler makes for a really positive start, so here's hoping we get more good stuff in a similar vein. I'm sure we will so I'll blog up more for the remaining episodes when they come on.
The episode sort of takes off from where it left off before, with River Song (Alex Kingston) making the surprise revalation that she is in fact Amy's daughter. But in this episode Amy has a new character come in who is a friend of Amy's called Mels (played by the rather foxy Nina Toussaint-White), who holds the Doctor at gunpoint and insists they go back in time in the TARDIS to kill Hitler. The episode soon reveals that Amy and Mels were childhood friends and at school Mels got into serious trouble with her teachers, and later on after leaving school got into some fracases with the law. But Mels isn't all she appears to be after she is caught in the crossfire of a confused and rather disorientated Hitler who shoots her, and then after this, Mels suddenly bursts into a familiar looking ray of light that the time Time Lords tend to when they regenerate, and from there things get a bit more complex.
For a opener to the second half of the series Let's Kill Hitler is highly entertaining, and has quite a few amusing scenes especially the ones with the robots that threaten to kill Amy and Rory when they are unidentified on the spaceship containing miniaturised humans with the lines "you are not identified, you are no longer allowed to live" and "you have been identified, you're allowed to continue your existence". Its also good to see the continued development of the characters, particularly Rory, who throughout the series has grown to be more brave and resourceful, I mean at one point he even decks Hitler and locks him in a cupboard! Matt Smith continues his assured command of the role of the Doctor, and even in the face of death he appears to be one step ahead. Alex Kingston also keeps her role of River Song very much alive and interesting, as she is almost as big a conundrum as the Doctor is, and (PLOT SPOILER) she was as I figured a Time Lord, or was born with Time Lord DNA, as she helps save the Doctor by using up her regenerative energy. This leaves River no longer able to regenerate and she is stuck with her one remaining life. Amy also remains something of a complex character herself, as she clearly is another character which the universe seems to revolve around, one thing I will say about Karen Gillan though is, while she is lovely, she does have a rather pale complexion!
Steven Moffat, the creative head writer (and writer of this episode) continues to delight in confounding his audience, and what's great is he does it in the most entertaining and clever way. The Doctor is forever instrinsically linked to River and the characters of his latest regeneration, although once the Eleventh Doctor's time is up, we can expect to encounter a whole new assortment of characters, as of yet we have seen no sight of Rose, Donna or Martha, or Jack for that matter (although the first three do appear as projected images briefly in this episode!). Also another thing about the Doctor's relationship with River is that its so backward and complex I wonder if Steven Moffat himself knows where he is going with their story half of the time! Clearly when the Doctor in David Tennant's era first meets River, that is indeed the first time he has laid eyes on her, and this was the last time River laid eyes on him. So it does get to the point where you get mixed up about just when their relationship will meet at a certain plateau. Its almost as if Moffat used The Curious Case of Benjamin Button as his inspiration, with the Doctor's relationship with River running backwards, like Benjy's life was running in reverse, aging from old to young while his mind started as a child and got older as he grew physically younger, and while he met his childhood sweetheart when he was an old man, their relationship peaks when they are both in the middle of their lives. Similarly in the Doctor and River's case they must meet in the middle at some point where their relationship will really click and that's when they know each other the most, but the more the Doctor knows River, the less she knows him. So its a real heid fook.
The only negative thing I would probably say about the episode though was that the actor playing Hitler wasn't so great at playing the infamous dictator. The Fuhrer was reduced to simply a comical figure who made an all too brief appearance and was quickly forgotten about and put in the background. I was also half expecting the Nazi officer and Hitler to have a halfway decent German accent, but I think the actor in particular who played Hitler went for a half hearted German/English accent. I mean even Hitler in Red Dwarf's was museum episode was more convincing and a better Hitler to boot! (or uniform).
So it remains to be seen how the second half of the sixth series pans out, but Let's Kill Hitler makes for a really positive start, so here's hoping we get more good stuff in a similar vein. I'm sure we will so I'll blog up more for the remaining episodes when they come on.
Saturday, 27 August 2011
US Open 2011 pre-match preview
So on Monday the fourth and final grand slam of the year begins at Flushing Meadows in New York City, yep its the 2011 US Open. So here's some of my thoughts on who and what might go on and just who might get through to the final on both the mens and ladies draws.
So with ladies first, I was thinking of a few favourites, naturally right at the top will be Serena Williams who has just recently made her comeback, and has already won two titles since then at Stanford and in Toronto. Serena had serious injuries with two blood clots, so the fact she has managed to come back into the sport has been quite incredible so it would be just the perfect finish to her year to come in and win her home soil title once more. Other potential favourites could well be Victoria Azarenka, who has been playing some very good tennis of late, and is also quite an aggressive player as she really goes for her shots, and is seeded as the World No.5, however she has a tendancy to become injury prone so it remains to be seen how she will fare in New York. Maria Sharapova of course is another strong favourite as she has made quite a really good comeback also this year, having won two titles also in Rome and Cincinnati this year, and reached the Wimbledon final. But Maria's game is pretty erratic and she has been known to serve up double faults and unforced errors like an overloaded dessert tray, but her sheer determination and strength of character still make her a favourite.
Then of course there is the current World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, who has of yet never won a grand slam, but this would be a great place to start. But Caroline has had a dip in form lately as she went out early in both Toronto and Cincinnati, but she has made up for that since in New Haven last week as she won her 4th title in a row there (a record in its own) and her 18th overall. But can she win a grand slam here in New York???? Well with all these names its hard to tell, she certainly has the stamina and mental strength, but there are a few holes in her game, such as her weak forehand and she isn't the most natural vollier, which can leave her vulnerable to other player's shots. Last year she did very well in getting to the semi finals, but this year she hasn't fared so well in the slams, having reached only the 3rd round at the French Open and the 4th at Wimbledon. But hard court is her best surface so she must try her best to make an example of that, and having won in New Haven will give her a boost going into the US Open, and that's Caroline and Andy both tied at 18 titles each, so it would be great if they could win their first major in New York to make it 19 all, but we'll see.
So onto the mens side of the draw, well the top 4 seeds have to be the overwhelming favourites going into the US Open, but that of course doesn't mean someone else might not get in there as well. At Wimbledon for example Jo-Wilfried Tsonga put out Federer in the quarter finals and they are in the same side of the draw again, so there is that danger that Tsonga could do it again. Rafa also has looked pretty vulnerable since his Wimbledon defeat to Djokovic, and put in poor performances in Toronto and Cincinnati, but when it comes to the slams, I'm sure Rafa will regroup and get back to his best form or somewhere near to it. So I would definitely expect Roger and Rafa to be back on form at the US Open, upsets could happen and if they do for both of them it could dramatically increase the other two's chances.
Rafa however who does respect his opponents seems to have built up a bit animosity towards Djokovic this year, I'm sure its not on a personal level, but on a professional level, as he obviously feels dismayed at having lost to the Serb 5 times in a row. And I have to say if Rafa does make it to the final and faces Djokovic once more, I would have to put my money on Djokovic winning, its a safe bet, but I can't really say at this stage of course we will find out on September 11 (which also marks the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack on New York, not exactly the best day to play a final maybe). All we know for sure is that so far this year Djokovic has got the measure of Nadal's game, and this is a real problem for Rafa, and he has said since in press conferences that he needs to find a solution. I think Rafa will at some point beat Djokovic again, but it may not be anytime this year, so the Spaniard will need to bide his time and find that moment.
Which brings me onto Djokovic, who has apart from lost out in two tournaments, won every other title he has taken part in, 2 Grand Slams, 5 Masters, the Serbia Open and Dubai, make for a mighty impressive year so far, but can he keep it up in New York??? Well if he is fit and well there is no reason that he shouldn't win the US Open or at least be in with the strongest chance as he is the World No.1 so naturally he is right up there at the top. However Djokovic had sustained a shoulder injury in Cincinnati which saw him lose the Cincinnati title to Andy Murray, what if that injury reappears throughout the US Open??? Well it is possible, but I'm positive Djokovic will have done all the recovery preparation necessary to ensure he will be fine for this title, and its one he certainly won't want to miss. So naturally if Djokovic will be back to full fitness he will certainly be the overwhelming favourite.
Which brings us onto the last of the top four, and well we know a thing or two about him already this year, the British No.1 Andy Murray (never mentioned him before though!!). Andy so far as we all know, has never won a grand slam, he's been in three finals, but unfortunately for him he was up against formidable opponents in each one. However looking at those three finals, first off the US Open 2008 final, Andy was up against Federer who was still in his heyday and naturally you would expect him to take out the British Numero uno and did in 6-2, 7-5, 6-2. Next up again he played Federer in Melbourne last year and faired a bit better, but still was handed another defeat, which resulted in 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(11). And this year he faced Djokovic, who was on fire and went in all guns blazing and handed Andy probably his worst defeat in 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. However Andy has faired better since playing Djokovic in that final, having played a very close match in Rome earlier this year and beaten him in Cincinnati, albeit through Djoko's retiral due to injury. So if he does by some chance reach that final and faces Djokovic I do hope he is ready to give him yet another real match.
But I do have a better feeling about Andy Murray this year at the US Open, he's walking into the tournament in a much stronger position, having won in Cincinnati. He did the same in 2008, having won Cincinnati, again defeating Djokovic no less, and he reached the US Open final that year too. Can he do it this year and take it that step further???????? Well I've asked this question time and time again so I guess the only real way we will find out is to see if he is still there come Day 13, then we'll find out. But the sceptic in me again says he could fall to Nadal once more, I sincerely hope not, if I want Andy to repeat one thing from the 2008 US Open, its his defeat of Rafa, Andy's best surface is hard court, but Nadal is no slouch on that surface either. But this time we want Andy to prove he can do it, this is his best chance, and if he comes in strong to the tournament, conserves energy and dismisses his first four opponents or so in straight sets to leave more in the tank for the latter stages, then he's got a really good shout. He has a potentially tough draw of course, he faces Sondev Devarmann in his opening round, which hopefully won't give him too much trouble, but after that he could potentially face Robin Haase, then Feliciano Lopez, and then Stan Wawrinka. And it was Wawrinka that put out Andy last year, but I don't think the same thing will happen to him this year, as I'm sure he will be in it for the long haul, or at least till the semis where he most likely could face Rafa.
So I'm not saying Andy will win it, he certainly is capable of it, but its all down to him and those other three guys and who plays their best tennis on the day.
So that's it.
So with ladies first, I was thinking of a few favourites, naturally right at the top will be Serena Williams who has just recently made her comeback, and has already won two titles since then at Stanford and in Toronto. Serena had serious injuries with two blood clots, so the fact she has managed to come back into the sport has been quite incredible so it would be just the perfect finish to her year to come in and win her home soil title once more. Other potential favourites could well be Victoria Azarenka, who has been playing some very good tennis of late, and is also quite an aggressive player as she really goes for her shots, and is seeded as the World No.5, however she has a tendancy to become injury prone so it remains to be seen how she will fare in New York. Maria Sharapova of course is another strong favourite as she has made quite a really good comeback also this year, having won two titles also in Rome and Cincinnati this year, and reached the Wimbledon final. But Maria's game is pretty erratic and she has been known to serve up double faults and unforced errors like an overloaded dessert tray, but her sheer determination and strength of character still make her a favourite.
Then of course there is the current World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, who has of yet never won a grand slam, but this would be a great place to start. But Caroline has had a dip in form lately as she went out early in both Toronto and Cincinnati, but she has made up for that since in New Haven last week as she won her 4th title in a row there (a record in its own) and her 18th overall. But can she win a grand slam here in New York???? Well with all these names its hard to tell, she certainly has the stamina and mental strength, but there are a few holes in her game, such as her weak forehand and she isn't the most natural vollier, which can leave her vulnerable to other player's shots. Last year she did very well in getting to the semi finals, but this year she hasn't fared so well in the slams, having reached only the 3rd round at the French Open and the 4th at Wimbledon. But hard court is her best surface so she must try her best to make an example of that, and having won in New Haven will give her a boost going into the US Open, and that's Caroline and Andy both tied at 18 titles each, so it would be great if they could win their first major in New York to make it 19 all, but we'll see.
So onto the mens side of the draw, well the top 4 seeds have to be the overwhelming favourites going into the US Open, but that of course doesn't mean someone else might not get in there as well. At Wimbledon for example Jo-Wilfried Tsonga put out Federer in the quarter finals and they are in the same side of the draw again, so there is that danger that Tsonga could do it again. Rafa also has looked pretty vulnerable since his Wimbledon defeat to Djokovic, and put in poor performances in Toronto and Cincinnati, but when it comes to the slams, I'm sure Rafa will regroup and get back to his best form or somewhere near to it. So I would definitely expect Roger and Rafa to be back on form at the US Open, upsets could happen and if they do for both of them it could dramatically increase the other two's chances.
Rafa however who does respect his opponents seems to have built up a bit animosity towards Djokovic this year, I'm sure its not on a personal level, but on a professional level, as he obviously feels dismayed at having lost to the Serb 5 times in a row. And I have to say if Rafa does make it to the final and faces Djokovic once more, I would have to put my money on Djokovic winning, its a safe bet, but I can't really say at this stage of course we will find out on September 11 (which also marks the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack on New York, not exactly the best day to play a final maybe). All we know for sure is that so far this year Djokovic has got the measure of Nadal's game, and this is a real problem for Rafa, and he has said since in press conferences that he needs to find a solution. I think Rafa will at some point beat Djokovic again, but it may not be anytime this year, so the Spaniard will need to bide his time and find that moment.
Which brings me onto Djokovic, who has apart from lost out in two tournaments, won every other title he has taken part in, 2 Grand Slams, 5 Masters, the Serbia Open and Dubai, make for a mighty impressive year so far, but can he keep it up in New York??? Well if he is fit and well there is no reason that he shouldn't win the US Open or at least be in with the strongest chance as he is the World No.1 so naturally he is right up there at the top. However Djokovic had sustained a shoulder injury in Cincinnati which saw him lose the Cincinnati title to Andy Murray, what if that injury reappears throughout the US Open??? Well it is possible, but I'm positive Djokovic will have done all the recovery preparation necessary to ensure he will be fine for this title, and its one he certainly won't want to miss. So naturally if Djokovic will be back to full fitness he will certainly be the overwhelming favourite.
Which brings us onto the last of the top four, and well we know a thing or two about him already this year, the British No.1 Andy Murray (never mentioned him before though!!). Andy so far as we all know, has never won a grand slam, he's been in three finals, but unfortunately for him he was up against formidable opponents in each one. However looking at those three finals, first off the US Open 2008 final, Andy was up against Federer who was still in his heyday and naturally you would expect him to take out the British Numero uno and did in 6-2, 7-5, 6-2. Next up again he played Federer in Melbourne last year and faired a bit better, but still was handed another defeat, which resulted in 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(11). And this year he faced Djokovic, who was on fire and went in all guns blazing and handed Andy probably his worst defeat in 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. However Andy has faired better since playing Djokovic in that final, having played a very close match in Rome earlier this year and beaten him in Cincinnati, albeit through Djoko's retiral due to injury. So if he does by some chance reach that final and faces Djokovic I do hope he is ready to give him yet another real match.
But I do have a better feeling about Andy Murray this year at the US Open, he's walking into the tournament in a much stronger position, having won in Cincinnati. He did the same in 2008, having won Cincinnati, again defeating Djokovic no less, and he reached the US Open final that year too. Can he do it this year and take it that step further???????? Well I've asked this question time and time again so I guess the only real way we will find out is to see if he is still there come Day 13, then we'll find out. But the sceptic in me again says he could fall to Nadal once more, I sincerely hope not, if I want Andy to repeat one thing from the 2008 US Open, its his defeat of Rafa, Andy's best surface is hard court, but Nadal is no slouch on that surface either. But this time we want Andy to prove he can do it, this is his best chance, and if he comes in strong to the tournament, conserves energy and dismisses his first four opponents or so in straight sets to leave more in the tank for the latter stages, then he's got a really good shout. He has a potentially tough draw of course, he faces Sondev Devarmann in his opening round, which hopefully won't give him too much trouble, but after that he could potentially face Robin Haase, then Feliciano Lopez, and then Stan Wawrinka. And it was Wawrinka that put out Andy last year, but I don't think the same thing will happen to him this year, as I'm sure he will be in it for the long haul, or at least till the semis where he most likely could face Rafa.
So I'm not saying Andy will win it, he certainly is capable of it, but its all down to him and those other three guys and who plays their best tennis on the day.
So that's it.
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