So that's my tennis weekend at Braehead Arena over, as I went to see Great Britain again there who took on Hungary to win a place in Group I of the Africa/Europe Zone in the Davis Cup.
I went both on the Saturday and the Sunday, so I had an excellent opportunity to catch up with both the singles and the doubles, although the crucial rubber matches took place on Friday and Saturday. On Friday the first two singles matches were between James Ward and the Hungary No.2 Atilla Balazs and Andy Murray and Sebo Kiss. The first match was naturally the tougher of the two, as James Ward took Balazs who is ranked in the top 300, and the match also at one point was threatened when Wardy sprained his ankle, but thankfully despite being sick on court at one point in the 3rd set and dropping that set, he managed to come through and win the match in 4, winning 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. This was a gutsy effort from James Ward and it was also a crucial win for Great Britain to get that first match under their belt.
The second match proved to be also fairly tricky for Andy Murray who took on part time player Sebo Kiss, who has no ranking, and is currently studying law. And by the evidence of this match he made the wrong career choice, as Kiss, while he was outplayed in the first two sets, really found his feet in the 3rd and pushed Andy to a tiebreak, which the Muzza won to seal the match in 6-0, 6-2, 7-6(3). It was a really good performance from an unknown player such as Kiss, and surely it should encourage to carry on playing more tennis, so much so that Andy encouraged him by praising his efforts too.
In the doubles match on Saturday, the upcoming and very talented doubles partnership of Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins took on the Hungarian team Atilla Balazs and Kornel Bardoczky. This was a very entertaining tight match, which the two brits managed to seal in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Despite the scoreline it was a tough match and again credit has to be given to Balazs and Bardockzy who themselves are excellent players. It was also really good to see Colin and Ross play in the flesh as I had previously not seen them before on TV or anywhere else. But this match was the key one in securing Great Britain's victory and their move into Africa/Europe Group I.
On Sunday the last two matches were dead rubber matches, so it was the best of 3 sets, and the Muzza was given quite a test in the Hungarian Gyorgy Balazs (brother of Atilla I think!) who pushed him to a first set tiebreak, which Andy won, but in the 2nd set Andy got a break and closed out the match in 7-6(3), 6-3. This was another really good match and it was also good to finally see Andy in action in a real match, as last time when he played Laurent Bram it was just a straight set drubbing. I managed to take some halfway decent pics (not many though) and some shaky vids of the Muzza playing so they will be going up onto Facebook real soon. And onto the final match of the tie, which was between Colin Fleming and Sebo Kiss, who again provided a very entertaining and farily tight contest. Despite being a break down in the 2nd set, Colin managed to break back and take a break himself before winning the match and sealing Hungary's fate in 6-4, 6-3. Overall that's a 5-0 win to Great Britain.
Despite their loss though I really do have to say well done to Hungary as they were all really good talented players, who unfortunately were up against a stronger team in Great Britain. But they did show some real promise, and every match proved to be quite a contest, which made the tie all the more entertaining to watch. But well done to Great Britain, as that's them moving onwards and upwards, and as long as Andy plays with them, they can move further up the ranks, so here's hoping he continues to play.
So quickly to catch up with the other teams results in the Davis Cup world group, France has been defeated by Spain as Rafa lead the team to victory, defeating both Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets. However the defending champions Serbia, have unfortunately been knocked out by Argentina, as Novak Djokovic didn't participate in the Friday match, and Victor Troicki lost the match to Del Potro. The doubles team however did throw Serbia a lifeline as did Janko Tipsarevic in his match, but Djokovic who did play on the Sunday, due to his back injury he sustained during the US Open, was forced to retire again as he collapsed in great pain during the 2nd set, trailing 6-7, 0-3 ret. This match marks Djokovic's third loss of the season and second retiral.
Its a great shame for Djokovic who fought so hard to win the US Open only to have to play the Davis cup so soon after the event, he said himself in a press conference last week that he felt it was too much in too little time to play both events. And there is no doubt about the fact that Djokovic this year has played more matches than any other player, so the fatigue and physical strain have finally taken their toll on his body. In fact in his post match interview that he said that he felt the pain in his back even from the start of the US Open and it gradually grew throughout the tournament where it really manifested itself toward the end of the final, so in retrospect it was a miracle that he managed to come through and win the US Open without facing another retiral. So we will just have to wait and see how Djokovic is for the next few tournaments as its possible he may have to take time out from his tennis for now, next up for him is supposed to be the China Open in early October of which he is the defending champion, but it remains to be seen if he will be well enough to play. Anyway all the best to you Djoko, hope you recover soon, although the longer he is out, the more chance it gives other players to win the bigger titles! ;-)
But Spain deserve a big congrats for getting through to the final once again and Argentina also, and it has to be said that Rafa is without doubt the fittest athlete on the men's tour. Despite playing the brutally exhaustive final at the US Open, Rafa still went out on the clay and won both of his rubber round matches for Spain in straight sets no less. So it is sheer testament to his incredible stamina and fitness that he was able to come through both events. And Spain are the hot favourites to win the Davis cup now for sure, although Argentina might have the home advantage and they have in form Del Potro on their side, but on the other hand Spain has Rafa, so I would really have to go with Spain on this. It would also be a great end to the year for Rafa, having lost in 3 of the 4 slams this season, he will have the chance to reclaim the Davis Cup for his country.
Anyway that's enough tennis for now, there a few more tournaments to follow, Toyko and China, Shanghai for the men, also Toyko and Beijing for the ladies.
Till then tarra.
Sunday, 18 September 2011
Saturday, 17 September 2011
Who of old and new
Guess what?? This post has nothing to do with the T word. How good is that?? So any mention of it stops here.
Right, well I was catching up on Doctor Who last week with the latest episode The girl who waited which sees the Doc, Amy and Rory head off to a strange alien planet (as they do) and they meet some weird robots that kill with "kindness" and affects the population with two hearts or something (yep its very confusing) which basically a plague. Anyway to cut a long and rather complex story short, Amy is trapped on the planet, and somehow an older version of herself appears, while Rory comes looking for her, he encounters the old Amy, who has become bitter (not to mention wrinkly) and is pretty handy with a sword, as they cut their way through the bad robots. Meanwhile the Doctor is stranded onboard the TARDIS due to the virus and tries to find a way to save the young (and fit) Amy.
I quite liked this episode, the idea of the older Amy worked quite well, although she claimed she had spent 36 years of her life waiting of Rory and the Doctor to come and get her, but she seemed to hold on well to her marbles, after 36 years you think she would go mad! Karen Gillan's makeup was also pretty good as she looked fairly convincing all aged-up, in fact she might get a bit paranoid wondering if that's how she will look in 30 years time (not that she looked that bad!).
However again the plotlines are forever confounding in their complexity, everything is rattled off to quickly and in the 45 minute format of the show I think they always try to squeeze in too much plot. This again highlights the problem of the new show's format, as one part stories running at 45 minutes each, doesn't allow for much story development, it always has to be cram packed with too many ideas, and some of them don't make much sense. This isn't so much of a problem with the two part stories or the occassional three parters, but I also think at times the writers should take heed of how the original series structure worked and to learn from that, yeah ok they don't have money or time to make 26 episode series anymore, but its a bit annoying when everything in the show has to be rushed. Also with Steven Moffat who just insists on writing everything out of synch and in a backward fashion is also a tad annoying, I like Steven though as a writer as he is clever and has good ideas, and has definitely contributed a great deal to the new series.
But I guess I do miss the old format of the show and ultimately I am a fan more of the show from its old days than I am now. But I am pleased that the show has been brought back to the small screen (well not so small these days) and every week it does give us something that is worth a watch on a Saturday night other cack like the X-Factor, quiz shows and whatever else might be on. But I digress, so just to finish off on the latest Who episode, I quite enjoyed it, so I will look forward to the next episode.
Oh and the old Jon Pertwee classic story The Day of the Daleks is out on DVD already this week, so I've ordered that and will look forward to watching it once it arrives. The Day of the Daleks while not one of Pertwee's absolute best is a pretty good story, which features some fine performances, particularly from Aubrey Woods as the Controller of Earth in the future. It will also feature a remastered version with some new effects and the even more monotonous than usual dalek voices been redone by Nicholas Briggs, who will cut down on the inordinant time it took for the voice actors to deliver the dalek lines in the original! So that will be worth a watch in itself, if you are a Who geeka-phile.
Rrrrrighttt that's enough the now.
Right, well I was catching up on Doctor Who last week with the latest episode The girl who waited which sees the Doc, Amy and Rory head off to a strange alien planet (as they do) and they meet some weird robots that kill with "kindness" and affects the population with two hearts or something (yep its very confusing) which basically a plague. Anyway to cut a long and rather complex story short, Amy is trapped on the planet, and somehow an older version of herself appears, while Rory comes looking for her, he encounters the old Amy, who has become bitter (not to mention wrinkly) and is pretty handy with a sword, as they cut their way through the bad robots. Meanwhile the Doctor is stranded onboard the TARDIS due to the virus and tries to find a way to save the young (and fit) Amy.
I quite liked this episode, the idea of the older Amy worked quite well, although she claimed she had spent 36 years of her life waiting of Rory and the Doctor to come and get her, but she seemed to hold on well to her marbles, after 36 years you think she would go mad! Karen Gillan's makeup was also pretty good as she looked fairly convincing all aged-up, in fact she might get a bit paranoid wondering if that's how she will look in 30 years time (not that she looked that bad!).
However again the plotlines are forever confounding in their complexity, everything is rattled off to quickly and in the 45 minute format of the show I think they always try to squeeze in too much plot. This again highlights the problem of the new show's format, as one part stories running at 45 minutes each, doesn't allow for much story development, it always has to be cram packed with too many ideas, and some of them don't make much sense. This isn't so much of a problem with the two part stories or the occassional three parters, but I also think at times the writers should take heed of how the original series structure worked and to learn from that, yeah ok they don't have money or time to make 26 episode series anymore, but its a bit annoying when everything in the show has to be rushed. Also with Steven Moffat who just insists on writing everything out of synch and in a backward fashion is also a tad annoying, I like Steven though as a writer as he is clever and has good ideas, and has definitely contributed a great deal to the new series.
But I guess I do miss the old format of the show and ultimately I am a fan more of the show from its old days than I am now. But I am pleased that the show has been brought back to the small screen (well not so small these days) and every week it does give us something that is worth a watch on a Saturday night other cack like the X-Factor, quiz shows and whatever else might be on. But I digress, so just to finish off on the latest Who episode, I quite enjoyed it, so I will look forward to the next episode.
Oh and the old Jon Pertwee classic story The Day of the Daleks is out on DVD already this week, so I've ordered that and will look forward to watching it once it arrives. The Day of the Daleks while not one of Pertwee's absolute best is a pretty good story, which features some fine performances, particularly from Aubrey Woods as the Controller of Earth in the future. It will also feature a remastered version with some new effects and the even more monotonous than usual dalek voices been redone by Nicholas Briggs, who will cut down on the inordinant time it took for the voice actors to deliver the dalek lines in the original! So that will be worth a watch in itself, if you are a Who geeka-phile.
Rrrrrighttt that's enough the now.
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Flushing Meadows Part 7.2: Heavyweight champion tennis
Now onto the men's US Open singles final which was between the worlds two best tennis players, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal as they slugged it out for the title.
And slug was the right word indeed as these two went at it not so much hammer and tongs, but sledgehammer and battering rams in what was an absolute epic battle of immense proportions. This match was of unrivalled quality and was without a doubt the best match of 2011, as it even toppled the French Open semi final between Djokovic and Federer for quality. If there is a better match to come this year, its going to take some doing to outdo this one!
From the first game we could see we were going to be in for a treat as Rafa came onto court with great purpose and power and moved to break Djokovic 2-0, who after broke straight back, and much to Rafa's shock and surprise he rattled off the next 6 games to take the opening set. In the second the men traded breaks once again, with Rafa breaking Djokovic straight away again and then Djoky breaking straight back, until they were all even at 4-4, but on Rafa's serve Djokovic broke again and sealed out the set. In the third set it was a more evenly pegged contest, but again breaks of serve aplenty, but this time Rafa wasn't going to give up as he pushed it to a thrilling tiebeaker, which he won to seal the 3rd. However despite getting his trainer onto court at the start of the 4th set for back pain, Djokovic managed to fight the pain and exhaustion to produce an unbelievable effort, in breaking Rafa in half to close out his first grand slam US Open title, winning in 6-2, 6-4, 6-7(3-7), 6-1 in an exhaustive and punishing 4 hours and 10 minutes (which was four times longer than the ladies final!). It seems almost incredible in a way that Djokovic managed to win that 4th set and the title by fighting through his growing back problem, but I think going for his big shots from the back of the court, was enough to overpower Nadal at that point.
To say this match was amazing would be an understatement, right from the start you could see Rafa's intentions to boss Djokovic about and try and take the game to him. But Djokovic having already beaten Rafa 5 times in a row was not about to let him, and he fought back with some amazing play, both men also traded some of the greatest rallies you will ever see. In fact the rallies were so incredible, you thought at certain points that either man had hit the definite winner, but then they carried keeping the ball in play until the point was eventually won. And while the first two sets showed a pretty easy scoreline for Djokovic, they were anything but as both those sets were packed with long duece games before either man won the game or the break. Rafa also in this match produced an unbelievable effort, and out of all their matches this year, it was undoubtedly the best Rafa played against Djokovic this year, it was just a shame he wasn't able to push it to a deciding set after winning the 3rd, which must have been the hardest fought set of his entire career! Its a testament to Rafa's fighting spirit to carry and fight for every point and play until the last ball.
But I think Djokovic given his back strain wanted to try and close it out as fast as he could without taking it further, as maybe a retiral would have been on the cards. The match was also noteworthy not only for the amazing quality of play the two men displayed but also how hard they were hitting the ball, as the rallies grew more and more intense, it was tough to tell who was hitting the ball hardest or grunting the loudest. One thing for sure is that both men had the New York crowd in the palms of their hands, as they metaphorically blew the roof of the place (well Ashe stadium of course doesn't have a roof!) and I'm sure the audience made enough noise loud enough for people in New Jersey to have heard them!
Anyway so that's Djokovic now truly cemented his World No.1 ranking, as he has now defeated Rafa six times in a row, and two of them were at grand slam level. And despite my misgivings and wariness of his unending winning streak earlier this year, I really have to say that Djokovic totally earned his win in that match today, and he has spent the whole year earning that ranking, and he thoroughly deserves it. Its a shame for Rafa, as he now knows what it must feel like for Roger and Andy, having stepped into their shoes and faced a virtually invincible opponent. And its not like Djokovic is an infallible player, because he isn't and even throughout this tournament he showed signs of fatigue and struggle, and again he dropped four sets, as earlier this year at the Australian Open he dropped only one. But when Djokovic faces Rafa now, he just knows what to do and how to win against him. And this has definitely left Rafa confused, rattled and most probably irritated at how he can beat Djokovic, its something he will definitely have to work at, maybe next year he can get his own back, but for this year I think its all about the Djoker and we know it and so does he.
So that's the US Open over for another year and it has been quite a tournament for both the ladies and men's and it also sees two new champions. But of course there is plenty of tennis to follow with some more events on both the mens and ladies tournaments.
Until then that's enough for now. Next up I need to do some posts that have nothing to do with tennis, well until the Davis Cup and that's this weekend, it never ends!
Ta the now anyway.
And slug was the right word indeed as these two went at it not so much hammer and tongs, but sledgehammer and battering rams in what was an absolute epic battle of immense proportions. This match was of unrivalled quality and was without a doubt the best match of 2011, as it even toppled the French Open semi final between Djokovic and Federer for quality. If there is a better match to come this year, its going to take some doing to outdo this one!
From the first game we could see we were going to be in for a treat as Rafa came onto court with great purpose and power and moved to break Djokovic 2-0, who after broke straight back, and much to Rafa's shock and surprise he rattled off the next 6 games to take the opening set. In the second the men traded breaks once again, with Rafa breaking Djokovic straight away again and then Djoky breaking straight back, until they were all even at 4-4, but on Rafa's serve Djokovic broke again and sealed out the set. In the third set it was a more evenly pegged contest, but again breaks of serve aplenty, but this time Rafa wasn't going to give up as he pushed it to a thrilling tiebeaker, which he won to seal the 3rd. However despite getting his trainer onto court at the start of the 4th set for back pain, Djokovic managed to fight the pain and exhaustion to produce an unbelievable effort, in breaking Rafa in half to close out his first grand slam US Open title, winning in 6-2, 6-4, 6-7(3-7), 6-1 in an exhaustive and punishing 4 hours and 10 minutes (which was four times longer than the ladies final!). It seems almost incredible in a way that Djokovic managed to win that 4th set and the title by fighting through his growing back problem, but I think going for his big shots from the back of the court, was enough to overpower Nadal at that point.
To say this match was amazing would be an understatement, right from the start you could see Rafa's intentions to boss Djokovic about and try and take the game to him. But Djokovic having already beaten Rafa 5 times in a row was not about to let him, and he fought back with some amazing play, both men also traded some of the greatest rallies you will ever see. In fact the rallies were so incredible, you thought at certain points that either man had hit the definite winner, but then they carried keeping the ball in play until the point was eventually won. And while the first two sets showed a pretty easy scoreline for Djokovic, they were anything but as both those sets were packed with long duece games before either man won the game or the break. Rafa also in this match produced an unbelievable effort, and out of all their matches this year, it was undoubtedly the best Rafa played against Djokovic this year, it was just a shame he wasn't able to push it to a deciding set after winning the 3rd, which must have been the hardest fought set of his entire career! Its a testament to Rafa's fighting spirit to carry and fight for every point and play until the last ball.
But I think Djokovic given his back strain wanted to try and close it out as fast as he could without taking it further, as maybe a retiral would have been on the cards. The match was also noteworthy not only for the amazing quality of play the two men displayed but also how hard they were hitting the ball, as the rallies grew more and more intense, it was tough to tell who was hitting the ball hardest or grunting the loudest. One thing for sure is that both men had the New York crowd in the palms of their hands, as they metaphorically blew the roof of the place (well Ashe stadium of course doesn't have a roof!) and I'm sure the audience made enough noise loud enough for people in New Jersey to have heard them!
Anyway so that's Djokovic now truly cemented his World No.1 ranking, as he has now defeated Rafa six times in a row, and two of them were at grand slam level. And despite my misgivings and wariness of his unending winning streak earlier this year, I really have to say that Djokovic totally earned his win in that match today, and he has spent the whole year earning that ranking, and he thoroughly deserves it. Its a shame for Rafa, as he now knows what it must feel like for Roger and Andy, having stepped into their shoes and faced a virtually invincible opponent. And its not like Djokovic is an infallible player, because he isn't and even throughout this tournament he showed signs of fatigue and struggle, and again he dropped four sets, as earlier this year at the Australian Open he dropped only one. But when Djokovic faces Rafa now, he just knows what to do and how to win against him. And this has definitely left Rafa confused, rattled and most probably irritated at how he can beat Djokovic, its something he will definitely have to work at, maybe next year he can get his own back, but for this year I think its all about the Djoker and we know it and so does he.
So that's the US Open over for another year and it has been quite a tournament for both the ladies and men's and it also sees two new champions. But of course there is plenty of tennis to follow with some more events on both the mens and ladies tournaments.
Until then that's enough for now. Next up I need to do some posts that have nothing to do with tennis, well until the Davis Cup and that's this weekend, it never ends!
Ta the now anyway.
Flushing Meadows Part 7.1: Did not see that one coming!
Well in order to keep down the length of both posts to a reasonable size, and since these posts are purely about the US Open 2011 Ladies and Mens singles finals they both deserve their own entries, so here goes with the ladies first.
So the ladies final was setup between the former champion Serena Williams and the number 9 seed Sam Stosur. Naturally Serena went into this tournament and into the final as the hot favourite to win, and she herself had played some terrific tennis throughout the 2 weeks at Flushing Meadows to get to the final. However that all changed when she faced Sam Stosur, who was in the form of her life, and was firing on all cylinders, as she raced through the first set breaking Serena twice in the process and took the set in just under 30 minutes. In the second set, we expected a fightback from Serena who in the first game showed signs of form until she hit a winner in the middle of which she shouted "come on!!" before Stosur could get her racquet to it, which was a code violation. As a result the umpire Eva Esderaki awarded the point to Stosur which also gave her the game and the break, and then Serena went ballistic as she launched into a tirade against Eva saying such things as "don't even look at me, you are a hater and are unattractive inside!". Perhaps as a result of her angry outbursts, Serena's level didn't really improve, and Stosur broke her again at 3-4, and at 5-3, Sam secured her first grand slam title by hitting an incredible forehand winner down the right side of the court on Serena's serve, winning in 6-2, 6-3.
Although the match was short on length, it certainly didn't lack in drama, and in a way it was unfortunate that Serena's outburst threatened to overshadow Sam Stosur's terrific achievement. But Sam deserves nothing but credit for her win as she is a really nice girl, with a professional attitude, and she played outstanding tennis, hitting incredible forehands and all sorts of winners, and she hardly lost a point on her own serve, and she moved with tremendous speed and accuracy. In fact I am so glad that Serena didn't win as she didn't deserve to in my opinion with that outburst, and in general I'm not so keen on her attitude anyway. To be fair Serena was quite gracious to Sam afterwards and they shared a laugh and smile while they were having their picture taken. Anyway as a result Serena has gotten off lightly with a fine of $2000 for her tirade, which was an improvement on her ban back in 2009.
So that's another new grand slam champion, which has been one of the best things about this year in the ladies game, there is no dominant player, and it has left the woman's field wide open for someone to come in take a major. Serena Williams however was really surprising in that final, as she seemed sluggish right from the get go, which is strange considering the incredible tennis she played through the tournament. But Sam Stosur definitely has proved to herself to any critics how capable she is as a player, as she is already a grand slam doubles champion, and now she has proven it in the singles. The only trouble for Sam is like the other first time slam champions this year such as Li Na and Petra Kvitova, is can Sam maintain such a high level from now on??? So far Li Na and Petra have both seriously struggled with their careers ever since winning at the French Open and Wimbledon, in a few events they have went out in the first matches, and especially at the US Open they both went in the first round! So it could raise the same concern for Sam, will she fall foul to this trend as well? It remains to be seen, but I hope not, as it would be great to see a player rise above the pressure and expectations and deliver the goods so to speak.
But anyway that's another US Open ladies tournament over with for another year and what a 2 weeks it has been as there have been plenty of thrilling matches throughout.
And on that note, its now over to the men......
So the ladies final was setup between the former champion Serena Williams and the number 9 seed Sam Stosur. Naturally Serena went into this tournament and into the final as the hot favourite to win, and she herself had played some terrific tennis throughout the 2 weeks at Flushing Meadows to get to the final. However that all changed when she faced Sam Stosur, who was in the form of her life, and was firing on all cylinders, as she raced through the first set breaking Serena twice in the process and took the set in just under 30 minutes. In the second set, we expected a fightback from Serena who in the first game showed signs of form until she hit a winner in the middle of which she shouted "come on!!" before Stosur could get her racquet to it, which was a code violation. As a result the umpire Eva Esderaki awarded the point to Stosur which also gave her the game and the break, and then Serena went ballistic as she launched into a tirade against Eva saying such things as "don't even look at me, you are a hater and are unattractive inside!". Perhaps as a result of her angry outbursts, Serena's level didn't really improve, and Stosur broke her again at 3-4, and at 5-3, Sam secured her first grand slam title by hitting an incredible forehand winner down the right side of the court on Serena's serve, winning in 6-2, 6-3.
Although the match was short on length, it certainly didn't lack in drama, and in a way it was unfortunate that Serena's outburst threatened to overshadow Sam Stosur's terrific achievement. But Sam deserves nothing but credit for her win as she is a really nice girl, with a professional attitude, and she played outstanding tennis, hitting incredible forehands and all sorts of winners, and she hardly lost a point on her own serve, and she moved with tremendous speed and accuracy. In fact I am so glad that Serena didn't win as she didn't deserve to in my opinion with that outburst, and in general I'm not so keen on her attitude anyway. To be fair Serena was quite gracious to Sam afterwards and they shared a laugh and smile while they were having their picture taken. Anyway as a result Serena has gotten off lightly with a fine of $2000 for her tirade, which was an improvement on her ban back in 2009.
So that's another new grand slam champion, which has been one of the best things about this year in the ladies game, there is no dominant player, and it has left the woman's field wide open for someone to come in take a major. Serena Williams however was really surprising in that final, as she seemed sluggish right from the get go, which is strange considering the incredible tennis she played through the tournament. But Sam Stosur definitely has proved to herself to any critics how capable she is as a player, as she is already a grand slam doubles champion, and now she has proven it in the singles. The only trouble for Sam is like the other first time slam champions this year such as Li Na and Petra Kvitova, is can Sam maintain such a high level from now on??? So far Li Na and Petra have both seriously struggled with their careers ever since winning at the French Open and Wimbledon, in a few events they have went out in the first matches, and especially at the US Open they both went in the first round! So it could raise the same concern for Sam, will she fall foul to this trend as well? It remains to be seen, but I hope not, as it would be great to see a player rise above the pressure and expectations and deliver the goods so to speak.
But anyway that's another US Open ladies tournament over with for another year and what a 2 weeks it has been as there have been plenty of thrilling matches throughout.
And on that note, its now over to the men......
Sunday, 11 September 2011
Flushing Meadows Part 6.2: When it rains it pours
OK, so onto the men's semi finals which were altogether a tougher, lengthier more demanding affair, as the top four players in the world fought it out against each other.
The first match was certainly the more superior of the two as Djokovic and Federer promised to deliver an epic encounter and they didn't disappoint, as the two of them produce an amazing encounter, which stretched over 5 sets. At the start Federer definitely took the advantage after winning the first set tiebeaker, he broke early in the 2nd set, despite being broken back, Federer broke again to take the second set. However Djokovic inevitably fought back to even match to make it 2 sets all in the decider, despite Federer being a break up at 5-3 and being in a position to win the match, double faulted to hand the break back to Djokovic, and before we know it was 5-5 all and Djokovic secured a break of his own, which after nearly four hours, the World No.1 defeated Federer in 6(7)-7(9), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5. This was quite a match without a doubt and it marked the first time this year that Djokovic was taken the distance in a grand slam match. It really does say something about Djokovic's perseverance, talent and ability to pull a win out of the most seemingly impossibly tasks, but I have to say he really deserved the win, he certainly earnt it. Djokovic certainly isn't playing to the same invincible level he was earlier this year, fatigue and tiredness has gripped him over the past month or so after having played over 60 matches. But his ability to win a match under such pressure really is quite remarkable, and it has secured his 3rd US Open final.
So onto the next semi final encounter between Andy Murray and Rafa Nadal, Rafa naturally leads their head to head which was 12-4 to the Raf coming into this match. And while it was a match of mixed quality, it certainly had some excellent moments in it as well, especially in the latter half where a lacklustre Andy Murray suddenly decided to get involved in the match. Rafa looked to be in utterly formidable form coming into this match after he demolished Andy Roddick, and right enough he kept up that form in the match (I don't think there is a player who uses the passing shot more than Rafa!). After Rafa secured a break in the first set he took it, and in the 2nd set Andy's mindset when walkies as it does when he serves poorly and let Rafa take it with more ease. However in the 3rd set Andy fought back and broke Rafa's serve early on, only to have Rafa break back, but Andy battled to break again at 5-3 to take the set. In the 4th set despite a promising start especially a terrific game at 1-1 all on Rafa's serve, with Andy trying to convert another break point, which didn't come off. By then the toll of playing back to back matches in two days started to prove to be a bit too much as Andy struggled to hold his serve at 5-2 down, his back troubles emerged which started toward the end of his Isner match, as Rafa broke Muzza's service game to love to secure his place in his 2nd US Open final and the final scoreline reading 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
But overall the match belied its scoreline as it was quite an interesting and occassionally thrilling encounter especially in the 3rd and 4th sets, where Andy stopped playing naff tennis and started to produce some great rallies, vollies, passing shots and backhand winners to counteract Rafa's frequent brilliance. But I actualy thought it was a much better match than the Wimbledon semi-final which became more painful to watch as it went on, at least Andy mounted a fightback this time rather than start strong then go downhill as it went on. However it has to be said Andy intermittently produced some absolutely brilliant tennis as well as awful, its just that lack of consistency that plagues him that is the problem, as well as his insistance at whinging every time he hits a bad point or is broken. Andy has tried a bit more this year to hold his composure, but he sure struggled to do that in this match, as he kept yelling and muttering to himself, it certainly doesn't help him, although I do find his talking to himself quite amusing sometimes. But someone needs to give him a good talking to methinks! ;-)
Regardless of all that, Andy actually put up a good fight and for the most part played a good match against Rafa, especially considering he had previously played such a gruelling match the day before. And looking back I think while the main reason he lost the match was simply due to Rafa being the better player, but I also think it had a little in part to do with Andy having to play two gruelling matches back to back. I don't think Rafa would have envied playing John Isner the day before either as he found out at the French Open, and just maybe things might have been different if the tables were turned, but then again maybe not. But I think the poor scheduling of the US Open definitely didn't help matters, they couldn't have helped with the rain delays, but the way the draw works with Djokovic and Federer getting a day off between matches while the bottom half didn't in the second week, just wasn't fair. And to ask a player to play two tough matches back to back in a slam over two days is quite a lot. Inevitably Rafa had the easier match against Roddick and that gave him quite an advantage in expending less energy and time on court. But on the day I guess Andy struggled with his serve, himself and his back, its a great shame but to be expected.
Regardless Andy has finished his grand slam season having reached a final and three semi finals which is in itself quite an achievement. And there are plenty more tournaments coming up this season, particularly the Masters in Shanghai, which is Andy is defending champion of, and Paris, as well as the big finale the ATP World Finals in London, so Andy will have his chances there, in fact it would signal the best end to his year if he won in London, buttttttt that's a while and wayyy off yet, and he will still have to go through the top 3 to do it. Slam or no slam, Andy's efforts are always considerable and he is a great fighter no doubt, and 2011 ain't over yet, so we will see what else is up for him next.
So that sets us up another tasty final between the world's two best tennis players, Rafa and Djoko, who's going to win?????? My money is definitely on Djokovic, because if for no better reasons, he is the World No.1, he is currently the best player in the world, and he has beaten Rafa five times in a row, 4 in Masters and 1 at slam level, so that's good enough for me. However Rafa is back on form just now, and I think it will be a tighter match than the one at Wimbledon, but I do think Djokovic will prevail, as he has shown time and time again how to deal with adversity this year. So I'm guessing it will be Djokovic in 5, maybe a very tight 4.
Soooooooooooooooooooo that's the end........ more soon when the silveware lifters are revealed.
The first match was certainly the more superior of the two as Djokovic and Federer promised to deliver an epic encounter and they didn't disappoint, as the two of them produce an amazing encounter, which stretched over 5 sets. At the start Federer definitely took the advantage after winning the first set tiebeaker, he broke early in the 2nd set, despite being broken back, Federer broke again to take the second set. However Djokovic inevitably fought back to even match to make it 2 sets all in the decider, despite Federer being a break up at 5-3 and being in a position to win the match, double faulted to hand the break back to Djokovic, and before we know it was 5-5 all and Djokovic secured a break of his own, which after nearly four hours, the World No.1 defeated Federer in 6(7)-7(9), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5. This was quite a match without a doubt and it marked the first time this year that Djokovic was taken the distance in a grand slam match. It really does say something about Djokovic's perseverance, talent and ability to pull a win out of the most seemingly impossibly tasks, but I have to say he really deserved the win, he certainly earnt it. Djokovic certainly isn't playing to the same invincible level he was earlier this year, fatigue and tiredness has gripped him over the past month or so after having played over 60 matches. But his ability to win a match under such pressure really is quite remarkable, and it has secured his 3rd US Open final.
So onto the next semi final encounter between Andy Murray and Rafa Nadal, Rafa naturally leads their head to head which was 12-4 to the Raf coming into this match. And while it was a match of mixed quality, it certainly had some excellent moments in it as well, especially in the latter half where a lacklustre Andy Murray suddenly decided to get involved in the match. Rafa looked to be in utterly formidable form coming into this match after he demolished Andy Roddick, and right enough he kept up that form in the match (I don't think there is a player who uses the passing shot more than Rafa!). After Rafa secured a break in the first set he took it, and in the 2nd set Andy's mindset when walkies as it does when he serves poorly and let Rafa take it with more ease. However in the 3rd set Andy fought back and broke Rafa's serve early on, only to have Rafa break back, but Andy battled to break again at 5-3 to take the set. In the 4th set despite a promising start especially a terrific game at 1-1 all on Rafa's serve, with Andy trying to convert another break point, which didn't come off. By then the toll of playing back to back matches in two days started to prove to be a bit too much as Andy struggled to hold his serve at 5-2 down, his back troubles emerged which started toward the end of his Isner match, as Rafa broke Muzza's service game to love to secure his place in his 2nd US Open final and the final scoreline reading 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
But overall the match belied its scoreline as it was quite an interesting and occassionally thrilling encounter especially in the 3rd and 4th sets, where Andy stopped playing naff tennis and started to produce some great rallies, vollies, passing shots and backhand winners to counteract Rafa's frequent brilliance. But I actualy thought it was a much better match than the Wimbledon semi-final which became more painful to watch as it went on, at least Andy mounted a fightback this time rather than start strong then go downhill as it went on. However it has to be said Andy intermittently produced some absolutely brilliant tennis as well as awful, its just that lack of consistency that plagues him that is the problem, as well as his insistance at whinging every time he hits a bad point or is broken. Andy has tried a bit more this year to hold his composure, but he sure struggled to do that in this match, as he kept yelling and muttering to himself, it certainly doesn't help him, although I do find his talking to himself quite amusing sometimes. But someone needs to give him a good talking to methinks! ;-)
Regardless of all that, Andy actually put up a good fight and for the most part played a good match against Rafa, especially considering he had previously played such a gruelling match the day before. And looking back I think while the main reason he lost the match was simply due to Rafa being the better player, but I also think it had a little in part to do with Andy having to play two gruelling matches back to back. I don't think Rafa would have envied playing John Isner the day before either as he found out at the French Open, and just maybe things might have been different if the tables were turned, but then again maybe not. But I think the poor scheduling of the US Open definitely didn't help matters, they couldn't have helped with the rain delays, but the way the draw works with Djokovic and Federer getting a day off between matches while the bottom half didn't in the second week, just wasn't fair. And to ask a player to play two tough matches back to back in a slam over two days is quite a lot. Inevitably Rafa had the easier match against Roddick and that gave him quite an advantage in expending less energy and time on court. But on the day I guess Andy struggled with his serve, himself and his back, its a great shame but to be expected.
Regardless Andy has finished his grand slam season having reached a final and three semi finals which is in itself quite an achievement. And there are plenty more tournaments coming up this season, particularly the Masters in Shanghai, which is Andy is defending champion of, and Paris, as well as the big finale the ATP World Finals in London, so Andy will have his chances there, in fact it would signal the best end to his year if he won in London, buttttttt that's a while and wayyy off yet, and he will still have to go through the top 3 to do it. Slam or no slam, Andy's efforts are always considerable and he is a great fighter no doubt, and 2011 ain't over yet, so we will see what else is up for him next.
So that sets us up another tasty final between the world's two best tennis players, Rafa and Djoko, who's going to win?????? My money is definitely on Djokovic, because if for no better reasons, he is the World No.1, he is currently the best player in the world, and he has beaten Rafa five times in a row, 4 in Masters and 1 at slam level, so that's good enough for me. However Rafa is back on form just now, and I think it will be a tighter match than the one at Wimbledon, but I do think Djokovic will prevail, as he has shown time and time again how to deal with adversity this year. So I'm guessing it will be Djokovic in 5, maybe a very tight 4.
Soooooooooooooooooooo that's the end........ more soon when the silveware lifters are revealed.
Flushing Meadows Part 6.1: When it rains it pours
So that's another men's and ladies semi finals over at the US Open and we were treated pretty well with some fine tennis.
Starting with the ladies, a very much anticipated semi final between the current World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki and 13 time grand slam champion Serena Williams who's on the comeback. And right from the start you could tell who the better player on court was, and it wasn't Caroline, as Serena dominated the 21 year old from the very first point. In the first set Serena in typical fashion broke early on and took it in 6-2, in the second set Caroline did her best to fight back from a break down, but once again Serena proved to have too much for her and now she's in the final with a chance to win her 4th US Open title. I feel in a way that Caroline is almost like the female Andy Murray, well except more chirpy of course! I say that because in a way she is also very keen to win her first major, she puts in the hard graft, but she is up against other players who have pipped her to the post, so for every Caroline Wozniacki, there is a Kim Clijsters, Li Na or Serena Williams who get in her way first. So it must be tough to be the World no.1 and not have won a slam to back it up, Jelena Jankovic and Dinira Safina similarly were also No.1s who also never won a major, will know how it feels. But Caroline will also have other chances, although while Serena is still around she may not get one, but Serena may only have a couple more years in her before she retires.
In the other ladies match, Sam Stosur took on the wildcard Angeliq Kerber who amazingly pulled through to her first grand slam semi final. Keber put up a good fight against Stosur but it was the 7th seed who had the upper hand in the end and sealed the match after 3 sets in 6-3, 2-6, 6-2. I do feel a bit understandably annoyed for Sam Stosur though that her match got less publicity because she played on the Grandstand, instead of maybe the Louis Armstrong stadium, which had water damage. Again this was in part due to the organisers incompetence in refusing to provide covers for the courts simply because they don't look nice!! Excuse me, but if they help keep the court dry who gives a shit what they look like!! But the Grandstand is a good size stadium, and Sam definitely had a terrific crowd and a great atmosphere to back her.
So this will be Sam's second slam final, and her first US Open final, which is a great achievement in itself, but I don't envy the task that lies ahead of her to try and take out the former reigning 3 time champion. Can Sam win today????? Nahhhhh. Sadly not, I think Serena will have too much game for her, in fact I think it will be the same result as it was in their final in Toronto, 6-4, 6-2 to Serena. However I might be wrong, if Sam plays well enough she could push it to a decider, which would make for a better match, and Sam herself has a big serve and she is no stick insect as she has a powerful build, but she has to serve well to have any chance. But it won't make difference to the outcome as I think it will be Serena who will be lifting that silverware at the end of the day. Regardless of the outcome I think it will be worth a watch and I hope it isn't too bad a defeat for Sam, its also the last slam of the season, and so far the ladies slam finals have been excellent, so it would be great to see the season finish off with a great one.
So as this post is exceedingly long as it is, I'm splitting into two, now fer the men's tennis.....
Starting with the ladies, a very much anticipated semi final between the current World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki and 13 time grand slam champion Serena Williams who's on the comeback. And right from the start you could tell who the better player on court was, and it wasn't Caroline, as Serena dominated the 21 year old from the very first point. In the first set Serena in typical fashion broke early on and took it in 6-2, in the second set Caroline did her best to fight back from a break down, but once again Serena proved to have too much for her and now she's in the final with a chance to win her 4th US Open title. I feel in a way that Caroline is almost like the female Andy Murray, well except more chirpy of course! I say that because in a way she is also very keen to win her first major, she puts in the hard graft, but she is up against other players who have pipped her to the post, so for every Caroline Wozniacki, there is a Kim Clijsters, Li Na or Serena Williams who get in her way first. So it must be tough to be the World no.1 and not have won a slam to back it up, Jelena Jankovic and Dinira Safina similarly were also No.1s who also never won a major, will know how it feels. But Caroline will also have other chances, although while Serena is still around she may not get one, but Serena may only have a couple more years in her before she retires.
In the other ladies match, Sam Stosur took on the wildcard Angeliq Kerber who amazingly pulled through to her first grand slam semi final. Keber put up a good fight against Stosur but it was the 7th seed who had the upper hand in the end and sealed the match after 3 sets in 6-3, 2-6, 6-2. I do feel a bit understandably annoyed for Sam Stosur though that her match got less publicity because she played on the Grandstand, instead of maybe the Louis Armstrong stadium, which had water damage. Again this was in part due to the organisers incompetence in refusing to provide covers for the courts simply because they don't look nice!! Excuse me, but if they help keep the court dry who gives a shit what they look like!! But the Grandstand is a good size stadium, and Sam definitely had a terrific crowd and a great atmosphere to back her.
So this will be Sam's second slam final, and her first US Open final, which is a great achievement in itself, but I don't envy the task that lies ahead of her to try and take out the former reigning 3 time champion. Can Sam win today????? Nahhhhh. Sadly not, I think Serena will have too much game for her, in fact I think it will be the same result as it was in their final in Toronto, 6-4, 6-2 to Serena. However I might be wrong, if Sam plays well enough she could push it to a decider, which would make for a better match, and Sam herself has a big serve and she is no stick insect as she has a powerful build, but she has to serve well to have any chance. But it won't make difference to the outcome as I think it will be Serena who will be lifting that silverware at the end of the day. Regardless of the outcome I think it will be worth a watch and I hope it isn't too bad a defeat for Sam, its also the last slam of the season, and so far the ladies slam finals have been excellent, so it would be great to see the season finish off with a great one.
So as this post is exceedingly long as it is, I'm splitting into two, now fer the men's tennis.....
Friday, 9 September 2011
Flushing Meadows Part 5: The fab four!
So Day 12 of the US Open is pretty much stitched up which featured two very much anticipated quarter finals matches between Andy Murray and John Isner, and Rafa Nadal vs Andy Roddick, so its the remaining yanks against the Scot and the Spaniard. So who came out on top????
Well in the first QF match, the Muzza had to take on the giant serving giant John Isner, who made his first grand slam quarter final debut in this match. Isner had only played Andy once before this match at the Australian Open last year and the giant American got beat in straight sets, but this encounter was somewhat tougher. Andy early on in the match took a two set lead as he came out very strong and secured a break on Isner's serve at 5-5, and in the 2nd set Andy broke early to take it, however in the 3rd set Andy dropped his serve and then Isner rose his level and before we knew it, we were into a 4th set. The 4th set was a far more tense even pegged affair as the two men fought it out, with Andy surviving a scare at break point on his own serve at 4-4, they eventually went to a tiebreak. In the tiebreak I must confess I thought Isner would be the hot favourite to win it, but Andy served superbly in the breaker and quickly took a double mini break lead and the match in 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2). Overall it was a very good match with plenty of tense close points and I think John Isner definitely deserves credit for his excellent performance not only in this match but throughout the tournament.
So that's Andy through to his fourth consecutive grand slam semi final this year, the first time in his career he has managed to achieve that, which in itself is no mean feat. But can he take it those two steps further, get to the final and win???????? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, time will need to answer that one. So I will leave that down to the man upstairs and the four guys on court tomorrow and the two guys on court come Monday night. But so far despite a few wobbles I have to say Andy has had a very impressive US Open tournament, and he has definitely worked on improving his serve which is really good, but he still has struggled to keep it consistently high. However his 1st serve percentages in his Lopez match were 76% and his match with John Isner was 68%, which is pretty impressive, he also managed to keep his unforced errors down in those matches. But can he keep it up over the next two matches, that is the question.
One thing I do know for sure is that Andy will face Rafa in the semi final. And I have to say I do fear for Andy a bit, because so far Rafa has been formidable in this tournament, as he has just ruthlessly dismissed Andy Roddick in their match in straight sets, with a comprehensive win in 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 (of course Muzza did same to Roddick at Queens). Rafa hasn't dropped a set yet and looks superb, Andy has dropped three. Regardless of that though I don't necessarily think tomorrow will be a cakewalk for Rafa, in fact it could be quite the opposite, but I am not entirely convinced that Andy can beat him. However rather than make any assumptions (and make an ass of umption!) time will tell on this one, as I've watched too many matches this year to unrealistically get my hopes up. I just hope Andy can raise his game that bit higher than he did at Wimbledon, and if he does make a mistake then not to dwell on it and just get on with playing the next point. Another factor in Rafa's favour tomorrow could also be that he spent about only 2 hours on court, so he could be that bit more refreshed for the semis match tomorrow, than Andy is.
Achh well you never know, Andy has beaten Rafa in the semis at the US Open three years ago, but Rafa has moved on as a player on hard courts since then. But I do get frustrated for Andy when Rafa beats him in the slams, as I really do think he deserves to win a major as he trains and works so hard for them, and to be quite frank the other three have won quite enough between them. As an anology the situation with the top 3 and Andy is its like a few big boys who are all taking a big slice of the pie, while Andy is trying to desparately get a piece but they keep pushing him away, as in a way that's what tennis is like, its all about who's the hungriest.
So all we can hope for tomorrow is that Andy and Rafa give us the match of the tournament, or at least something close, and if they don't I'm positive Djokovic and Federer will. But its great to see the top four make it into the final four again, like they did at the French Open, its the dream semi final setup we all want to see, even if we suspect who might already be in that final!!
So with potential baited breath that's eeeeeeeetttttt!
Well in the first QF match, the Muzza had to take on the giant serving giant John Isner, who made his first grand slam quarter final debut in this match. Isner had only played Andy once before this match at the Australian Open last year and the giant American got beat in straight sets, but this encounter was somewhat tougher. Andy early on in the match took a two set lead as he came out very strong and secured a break on Isner's serve at 5-5, and in the 2nd set Andy broke early to take it, however in the 3rd set Andy dropped his serve and then Isner rose his level and before we knew it, we were into a 4th set. The 4th set was a far more tense even pegged affair as the two men fought it out, with Andy surviving a scare at break point on his own serve at 4-4, they eventually went to a tiebreak. In the tiebreak I must confess I thought Isner would be the hot favourite to win it, but Andy served superbly in the breaker and quickly took a double mini break lead and the match in 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2). Overall it was a very good match with plenty of tense close points and I think John Isner definitely deserves credit for his excellent performance not only in this match but throughout the tournament.
So that's Andy through to his fourth consecutive grand slam semi final this year, the first time in his career he has managed to achieve that, which in itself is no mean feat. But can he take it those two steps further, get to the final and win???????? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, time will need to answer that one. So I will leave that down to the man upstairs and the four guys on court tomorrow and the two guys on court come Monday night. But so far despite a few wobbles I have to say Andy has had a very impressive US Open tournament, and he has definitely worked on improving his serve which is really good, but he still has struggled to keep it consistently high. However his 1st serve percentages in his Lopez match were 76% and his match with John Isner was 68%, which is pretty impressive, he also managed to keep his unforced errors down in those matches. But can he keep it up over the next two matches, that is the question.
One thing I do know for sure is that Andy will face Rafa in the semi final. And I have to say I do fear for Andy a bit, because so far Rafa has been formidable in this tournament, as he has just ruthlessly dismissed Andy Roddick in their match in straight sets, with a comprehensive win in 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 (of course Muzza did same to Roddick at Queens). Rafa hasn't dropped a set yet and looks superb, Andy has dropped three. Regardless of that though I don't necessarily think tomorrow will be a cakewalk for Rafa, in fact it could be quite the opposite, but I am not entirely convinced that Andy can beat him. However rather than make any assumptions (and make an ass of umption!) time will tell on this one, as I've watched too many matches this year to unrealistically get my hopes up. I just hope Andy can raise his game that bit higher than he did at Wimbledon, and if he does make a mistake then not to dwell on it and just get on with playing the next point. Another factor in Rafa's favour tomorrow could also be that he spent about only 2 hours on court, so he could be that bit more refreshed for the semis match tomorrow, than Andy is.
Achh well you never know, Andy has beaten Rafa in the semis at the US Open three years ago, but Rafa has moved on as a player on hard courts since then. But I do get frustrated for Andy when Rafa beats him in the slams, as I really do think he deserves to win a major as he trains and works so hard for them, and to be quite frank the other three have won quite enough between them. As an anology the situation with the top 3 and Andy is its like a few big boys who are all taking a big slice of the pie, while Andy is trying to desparately get a piece but they keep pushing him away, as in a way that's what tennis is like, its all about who's the hungriest.
So all we can hope for tomorrow is that Andy and Rafa give us the match of the tournament, or at least something close, and if they don't I'm positive Djokovic and Federer will. But its great to see the top four make it into the final four again, like they did at the French Open, its the dream semi final setup we all want to see, even if we suspect who might already be in that final!!
So with potential baited breath that's eeeeeeeetttttt!
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