Well I haven't said too much on the ol blog for a bit, partly because I've been neglecting it a little bit, but also because I've been really busy with alot of studying. As at the end of August I started another IT course the Windows 7 Configuration course out at Routes to work south in Cambuslang, The exam involves the overall picture of configuring Windows 7 Enterprise, looking at things such as sharing resources, deploying windows, working with hard disks and partitions, faffing about with system settings, networking etc.
So this is the focus of what this post will be about, and today I sat the exam for it (70-680 exam as stated above) and for the first time in ages I failed an exam. So I'm a bit disappointed by it, but at the same time I'm not surprised as this course only lasts 14 weeks, and we have had to cover a great deal in such a short space of time. The exam itself was pretty difficult and again I found that it covered a lot of information that wasn't in our study materials, and it was full of a lot of command line parameters which I had no idea about. I also found that in the past with Microsoft, as I had previously sat the Microsoft Certified Professional for XP Pro 6 years ago, which I did pass but we were given some sample questions from one of the "brain dumps" websites. But if you use the official Microsoft study guides, you most likely will not pass, how about that??!
And this is a really frustrating thing with Microsoft's exams, quite often a fair bit of the course detail doesn't tally with what will be in the exam. Today I found myself largely stumped by the questions I was given and it really was a case of taking a wild stab in the dark, which isn't good. So I do think if we were given more time to revise for the exam there might have been a better chance of getting a pass, but the format of the course is too rushed. I was also annoyed at the Microsoft exam structure in that it gives you 2 hours overall, but that includes time taken to read their license agreement and do the survey, which leaves you less time for the actual exam, as I had only about 1 hour and 20 minutes left by the time I started the exam!!
Thankfully (well in a way) I wasn't the only person who failed the exam today, in fact only one of us passed it, so I'm relieved that it was just me. But overall the exam was very difficult and that's the thing with Microsoft, you can never guarantee you can get a pass based on the study books you use, you have to look further afield. Its different with the CompTIA exams, as you can read your study guides, materials, etc, and you will get a pass. But Microsoft in their benevolance quite often like to stump and baffle you with vague questions (not to mention difficult) which makes it that bit tougher to get a handle on.
But anyway, from here as a group we can discuss where it all went wrong and try and gear ourselves up for another resit soon (although hopefully not too soon!).
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Sunday, 16 October 2011
Yep, we have a new World No.3!
Soooooooo its the end of another interesting week of tennis on the ATP/WTA tour, which has seen some excellent matches from both sexes, with the men in Shanghai and the ladies in Osaka and Linz.
In fine tradition its ladies first, starting in Linz Germany, we were treated to some excellent matches, and it also saw the return to form of Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who dominated the play throughout the tournament. Although the highlight of the tournament was Petra's match with Jelena Jankovic, which from the get go was a terrific scrap, filled with some amazing points and great rallies. It was also good to see Jelena return to form, despite her loss to Petra, she put up some fight, as the Czeck edged past her in 4-6, 6-4,6-3. After this it was the final with Dominika Cibulkova, the pint sized Slovakian who after a tight first set, succombed to the very much on form Kvitova in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1. This marks a definitely much needed step in the right direction for Petra who after her win at Wimbledon, took a big dive in confidence and made early exits in quite a few tournaments, particularly at the US Open. But unlike Li Na, Petra has definitely bounced back and I definitely think she is a future contender for winning many grand slams, as she has a terrific game and as well as the calm composure that must be crucial to win the major silveware.
So briefly to Osaka which featured some of the top 10 seeds, particularly Sam Stosur, the US Open champion and Marion Bartoli, who faced each other in the Osaka final, but it was Marion who won this time, as she defeated Stosur with ease in 6-3, 6-1. Its funny how certain players can beat other players, as an example, Bartoli has taken Stosur apart the last two times they played, meanwhile Stosur can always beat Vera Zvonareva, but has never beaten Maria Sharapova. Regardless of the outcome, its another title for Marion Bartoli which is always a good thing, and she's definitely one of my favourite players on the WTA tour, with her unusual balletic serve, two handed forehand and backhand game, not to mention her ridiculous jumping up and down in between points. She's another character in woman's tennis which again is always something good, so well done lass.
Nowwwww onto the men's tennis, which this week was the Shanghai Masters, which saw the very much in form Andy Murray demolish his way through the opposition, (well apart from Stan Wawrinka in the 3rd round) to get to the final where played David Ferrer. Their previous meeting was a straight forward affair with the Muzza winning quite easy in 6-2, 6-3, this time however it was a bit tougher as Ferrer pushed Andy round the court, as they engaged in some great long rallies, with 30+ shots. But it was once again Andy that prevailed in another final, as he got past Ferrer in straight sets winning in 7-5, 6-4 in a very entertaining match lasting 1 hour and 45 minutes. I was hoping Ferrer would give Andy a match and thankfully for the most part he did just that, although I did feel a bit sorry for Ferrer that he lost out, but ultimately with those other 3 guys at the top out of commission just now, Andy is currently the world's best player. And who knows, just maybe he can maintain this form for the rest of the year, it would be great if he could. I certainly think having won 3 titles in a row, and having been christened as the new World No.3, will instill Andy with a great deal of confidence, and his game and even his serve has been very impressive of late.
So it really remains to be seen just how his game will stack up once Federer and Djokovic return to the scene, and even if Djokovic is still out by the time the ATP World Tour Finals arrives in London next month, then this increases Andy's chance of winning even more. And with Andy's current form, could this be the making of him as a player????? Well I sincerely hope so, its been quite a long time for Andy to make a breakthrough into winning a major, and if he wins the title at the o2 in London, it will signal not only the biggest win of his career, but also the perfect starting point to take it that step further. But even if Djokovic and Federer are still out by the time we hit London next month, there is still Rafa of course, and yes he has had a bad run of late, but I think its a safe bet he will do everything he can to ensure he is back on form by then, and then Andy's current form will really be put to the test.
But in the meantime well done, Andy lad, no doubt you deserve a rest after a long and very successful 3 weeks in Asia. 21 titles, 5 of them in 2011, and he has also won the second most this year also (just behind Djoko's 10). So its looking bright for the British No.1. Next up it may be Basel in Switzerland, Roger's hometown tournament (not sure if its his actual hometown!) and after that the Paris Masters. Andy hasn't stated which tournament he might play in next, but he did joke in his post match Sky Sports interview "I'll probably play in whichever tournament Sky Sports covers!". So it would be great if he could pull off another hattrick, with maybe Basel, Paris and London under his belt, buttttt that's all ahead of him.
That'll do her for now.
In fine tradition its ladies first, starting in Linz Germany, we were treated to some excellent matches, and it also saw the return to form of Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who dominated the play throughout the tournament. Although the highlight of the tournament was Petra's match with Jelena Jankovic, which from the get go was a terrific scrap, filled with some amazing points and great rallies. It was also good to see Jelena return to form, despite her loss to Petra, she put up some fight, as the Czeck edged past her in 4-6, 6-4,6-3. After this it was the final with Dominika Cibulkova, the pint sized Slovakian who after a tight first set, succombed to the very much on form Kvitova in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1. This marks a definitely much needed step in the right direction for Petra who after her win at Wimbledon, took a big dive in confidence and made early exits in quite a few tournaments, particularly at the US Open. But unlike Li Na, Petra has definitely bounced back and I definitely think she is a future contender for winning many grand slams, as she has a terrific game and as well as the calm composure that must be crucial to win the major silveware.
So briefly to Osaka which featured some of the top 10 seeds, particularly Sam Stosur, the US Open champion and Marion Bartoli, who faced each other in the Osaka final, but it was Marion who won this time, as she defeated Stosur with ease in 6-3, 6-1. Its funny how certain players can beat other players, as an example, Bartoli has taken Stosur apart the last two times they played, meanwhile Stosur can always beat Vera Zvonareva, but has never beaten Maria Sharapova. Regardless of the outcome, its another title for Marion Bartoli which is always a good thing, and she's definitely one of my favourite players on the WTA tour, with her unusual balletic serve, two handed forehand and backhand game, not to mention her ridiculous jumping up and down in between points. She's another character in woman's tennis which again is always something good, so well done lass.
Nowwwww onto the men's tennis, which this week was the Shanghai Masters, which saw the very much in form Andy Murray demolish his way through the opposition, (well apart from Stan Wawrinka in the 3rd round) to get to the final where played David Ferrer. Their previous meeting was a straight forward affair with the Muzza winning quite easy in 6-2, 6-3, this time however it was a bit tougher as Ferrer pushed Andy round the court, as they engaged in some great long rallies, with 30+ shots. But it was once again Andy that prevailed in another final, as he got past Ferrer in straight sets winning in 7-5, 6-4 in a very entertaining match lasting 1 hour and 45 minutes. I was hoping Ferrer would give Andy a match and thankfully for the most part he did just that, although I did feel a bit sorry for Ferrer that he lost out, but ultimately with those other 3 guys at the top out of commission just now, Andy is currently the world's best player. And who knows, just maybe he can maintain this form for the rest of the year, it would be great if he could. I certainly think having won 3 titles in a row, and having been christened as the new World No.3, will instill Andy with a great deal of confidence, and his game and even his serve has been very impressive of late.
So it really remains to be seen just how his game will stack up once Federer and Djokovic return to the scene, and even if Djokovic is still out by the time the ATP World Tour Finals arrives in London next month, then this increases Andy's chance of winning even more. And with Andy's current form, could this be the making of him as a player????? Well I sincerely hope so, its been quite a long time for Andy to make a breakthrough into winning a major, and if he wins the title at the o2 in London, it will signal not only the biggest win of his career, but also the perfect starting point to take it that step further. But even if Djokovic and Federer are still out by the time we hit London next month, there is still Rafa of course, and yes he has had a bad run of late, but I think its a safe bet he will do everything he can to ensure he is back on form by then, and then Andy's current form will really be put to the test.
But in the meantime well done, Andy lad, no doubt you deserve a rest after a long and very successful 3 weeks in Asia. 21 titles, 5 of them in 2011, and he has also won the second most this year also (just behind Djoko's 10). So its looking bright for the British No.1. Next up it may be Basel in Switzerland, Roger's hometown tournament (not sure if its his actual hometown!) and after that the Paris Masters. Andy hasn't stated which tournament he might play in next, but he did joke in his post match Sky Sports interview "I'll probably play in whichever tournament Sky Sports covers!". So it would be great if he could pull off another hattrick, with maybe Basel, Paris and London under his belt, buttttt that's all ahead of him.
That'll do her for now.
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Chasing No.3
So we are into another week of the men's ATP tour, which now takes us to the Shanghai Masters, where Andy Murray is the defending champion, but he can hold onto his title??? We will find out soon enough.
In the meantime, here are some results from the tournament so far this week, starting with Rafa who made a shock exit in the 3rd round as he took on the talented Florian Mayer, who defeated the former Wold No.1 in straight sets 7-6, 6-3. This was a real surprise as I'm sure most of us didn't expect that to happen, especially after playing a solid match the other day against Fernando Garcia-Lopez. But it definitely once again echoes the troubles that Rafa is having this year, and I think this all mainly boils down to one player, Novak Djokovic, who has knocked Rafa off his World No.1 spot having beaten him six times already this year, and with Andy soundly beating Rafa in the 3rd set 6-0 of the Tokyo final last week probably added salt to the wound. And this is the second time Rafa has made an early exit in a tournament this year as he did before in Cincinnati, so it is safe to say that 2011 hasn't been too kind to him. Despite all that though if you look at his stats he hasn't had a bad year, having won the French Open, and titles in Barcelona and Monte Carlo, but playing second fiddle to Djokovic certainly hasn't helped his confidence.
In other matches, Feliciano Lopez put in a really good performance against Tomas Berdych, whom he best in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. Also Gilles Simon was put out by the Australian wildcard Matthew Ebden who will now go on to face Andy in the quarter finals, as I don't know much about Ebden its hard to say how it could go, but it could be a tough one. In another match David Ferrer not only defeated Juan Carlos-Ferrero, but he also qualified for 5th place in the ATP World Tour Finals at the end of Novmeber in London O2 arena. Who qualifies next for it, is anybody's guess as Tsonga and Fish were both up for qualifying also but they have both been knocked out of Shanghai already, which might dent their chances a bit more, but we'll see.
So onto Muzza's match as he took on the Swiss Stan Wawrinka, who defeated Andy in their last meeting at the US Open last year, but this time Andy got revenge as he toughed it out to win in 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. This marks that he has won 22 out of the last 23 matches, and he maintains his perfect record so far in the Asian leg of the tour, so it remains to be seen if the Muzza can go all the way and seize that World No.3 ranking. And judging by his current form it is looking likely, and he is now the top seed in the tournament, not only that but he has been playing really well and to his ranking. But there are three matches to go before he can lift that trophy, but he is the odds on favourite, so we will see how his match with Matthew Ebden goes. But it would be great Andy could keep up this form going into the O2 Arena in London at the end of this year, but by then Djokovic will most likely be back in action, so we need to wait for that one.
Anyhoooowww that's it for now, more will follow soon.
In the meantime, here are some results from the tournament so far this week, starting with Rafa who made a shock exit in the 3rd round as he took on the talented Florian Mayer, who defeated the former Wold No.1 in straight sets 7-6, 6-3. This was a real surprise as I'm sure most of us didn't expect that to happen, especially after playing a solid match the other day against Fernando Garcia-Lopez. But it definitely once again echoes the troubles that Rafa is having this year, and I think this all mainly boils down to one player, Novak Djokovic, who has knocked Rafa off his World No.1 spot having beaten him six times already this year, and with Andy soundly beating Rafa in the 3rd set 6-0 of the Tokyo final last week probably added salt to the wound. And this is the second time Rafa has made an early exit in a tournament this year as he did before in Cincinnati, so it is safe to say that 2011 hasn't been too kind to him. Despite all that though if you look at his stats he hasn't had a bad year, having won the French Open, and titles in Barcelona and Monte Carlo, but playing second fiddle to Djokovic certainly hasn't helped his confidence.
In other matches, Feliciano Lopez put in a really good performance against Tomas Berdych, whom he best in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. Also Gilles Simon was put out by the Australian wildcard Matthew Ebden who will now go on to face Andy in the quarter finals, as I don't know much about Ebden its hard to say how it could go, but it could be a tough one. In another match David Ferrer not only defeated Juan Carlos-Ferrero, but he also qualified for 5th place in the ATP World Tour Finals at the end of Novmeber in London O2 arena. Who qualifies next for it, is anybody's guess as Tsonga and Fish were both up for qualifying also but they have both been knocked out of Shanghai already, which might dent their chances a bit more, but we'll see.
So onto Muzza's match as he took on the Swiss Stan Wawrinka, who defeated Andy in their last meeting at the US Open last year, but this time Andy got revenge as he toughed it out to win in 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. This marks that he has won 22 out of the last 23 matches, and he maintains his perfect record so far in the Asian leg of the tour, so it remains to be seen if the Muzza can go all the way and seize that World No.3 ranking. And judging by his current form it is looking likely, and he is now the top seed in the tournament, not only that but he has been playing really well and to his ranking. But there are three matches to go before he can lift that trophy, but he is the odds on favourite, so we will see how his match with Matthew Ebden goes. But it would be great Andy could keep up this form going into the O2 Arena in London at the end of this year, but by then Djokovic will most likely be back in action, so we need to wait for that one.
Anyhoooowww that's it for now, more will follow soon.
Sunday, 9 October 2011
A good couple of weeks at the office
So another week of tennis in the calendar of the ATP/WTA season has come to an end as the China Open and Tokyo Open championships concluded with some fine matches all round.
Once again I'll start with the ladies final at the China Open in Beijing, which saw the very much in form Agnieszka Radwanska take on the German Andrea Petkovic (who has also been in pretty good form too!). When it comes to final you, the viewer at home watching it, and the crowd there hope for a good match, and today we weren't disappointed as the two ladies put on a terrific display of superb tennis, with some thrilling rallies and long deuce games. Petkovic started off the match quite nervously as she was broken by Radwanska early on, but as the match progressed she held nerve and fought out in a terrific first set, but unfortunately for her Radwanska broke to win in 7-5. The second set however saw Petko come back in fine form as Radwanska struggled to find her game at all, and Andrea steamrolled her way through to the decider, where it was even pegged again. But it was Radwanska who got the crucial break and served it out to win her first Premier Mandatory title, with the scoreline reading 7-5, 0-6, 6-4.
There's no doubt about it that Radwanska as a player has arrived this year, as that's 3 titles under her skirt now ;-) and 2 titles back to back, both of them biggies as well. It was a great match from both women, and I think Petkovic deserves special credit also for her tremendous battle, and also fighting through a leg injury at one point, where she had to have a medical timeout, but after her leg was taped, she carried on and put in a great performance. It was also fun to see Andrea and Radwanska engage in a little version of the Petko dance for the Chinese crowd. And if Andrea Petkovic has done one thing for ladies tennis this year and in general, it is that she has injected a sense of fun into the sport, which is something that is much needed, especially as the woman players tend to be very business like in their approach to matches.
So this also sees Radwanska remerge into the top 10 and also it will guarantee her a place in the WTA Championships at the end of the season in Istanbul, where she could well be a hot favourite to win there too. If she does then I think its safe to say it could signal a new contender for a grand slam next year, and Radwanska's name could well be etched on the Australian Open trophy. One thing I noticed that the woman have which is rather good for them is that their tour calendar comes to an end at the end of the month, after that, that's them for the year! I bet the men wish they had that calendar!
Speaking of which onto the men's final in China and Tokyo, which first of all in China saw the Czeck and 2010 Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych take on the Croat Marin Cilic in the final. Despite being a set down against Cilic, who put in a solid display of hitting, Berdych held his nerve to fight his way back into the match and closed it out winning in 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. This was quite an impressive display from Berdych who has struggled to win a title since 2009 in Munich, and it should possibly stand him in good stead for his chances to win a place in the ATP World Tour Finals at the end of the year. Onto the next final at Tokyo which was the far more anticipated of the two which saw Andy Murray go head to head with Rafa Nadal, as the Muzza looked to dethrone Rafa of his Tokyo title from last year as well as to end his losing streak of 5 matches in a row. And I'm happy to say Andy managed to do just that, as he put in a mighty performance against Rafa, after being a set down, Andy fought back in the 2nd set, breaking Rafa twice to win it, and in the 3rd set, Rafa barely got a lookin as he won only four points, which saw Andy crush Rafa and hand him a rare set bagel to finish the match and clinch the championship winning in 3-6, 6-2, 6-0.
To say Andy's run of form in the Asia leg of the tour season has been impressive is definitely something of an understatement, as that's two titles he's won back to back. Not only that, its given Andy another 500 points and it taken him a step closer to upping his ranking to No.3 in the world. Up next is Shanghai and if Andy can maintain his impressive form, then I can't see why he will not end up winning the title and if he does he will be the World No.3 for sure. Although I feel a bit sorry for Rafa losing out in yet another final, I was definitely more pleased for Andy whom snapped his losing streak to Rafa, so their head to head now sits at 5-13 in Andy's favour (i.e. 5 wins for him). And that's now 20 singles titles in the bag (must be a pretty big tennis bag!), 4 of which he won this year, which is pretty damn good work, especially as Rafa has only won 3, and Federer only 1.
So Shanghai is up next for the men's tour, and there will be more to follow on that, in the meantime a big congrats to Andy so I hope enjoys his win tonight, and to top it off he also won the doubles title with Jamie in Tokyo too. This is also a bit of a landmark as he is the only player in 2011 to win both a singles and doubles title in the same tournament, so eat that Djoko! ;-)
Anyway that's enough the now.
Once again I'll start with the ladies final at the China Open in Beijing, which saw the very much in form Agnieszka Radwanska take on the German Andrea Petkovic (who has also been in pretty good form too!). When it comes to final you, the viewer at home watching it, and the crowd there hope for a good match, and today we weren't disappointed as the two ladies put on a terrific display of superb tennis, with some thrilling rallies and long deuce games. Petkovic started off the match quite nervously as she was broken by Radwanska early on, but as the match progressed she held nerve and fought out in a terrific first set, but unfortunately for her Radwanska broke to win in 7-5. The second set however saw Petko come back in fine form as Radwanska struggled to find her game at all, and Andrea steamrolled her way through to the decider, where it was even pegged again. But it was Radwanska who got the crucial break and served it out to win her first Premier Mandatory title, with the scoreline reading 7-5, 0-6, 6-4.
There's no doubt about it that Radwanska as a player has arrived this year, as that's 3 titles under her skirt now ;-) and 2 titles back to back, both of them biggies as well. It was a great match from both women, and I think Petkovic deserves special credit also for her tremendous battle, and also fighting through a leg injury at one point, where she had to have a medical timeout, but after her leg was taped, she carried on and put in a great performance. It was also fun to see Andrea and Radwanska engage in a little version of the Petko dance for the Chinese crowd. And if Andrea Petkovic has done one thing for ladies tennis this year and in general, it is that she has injected a sense of fun into the sport, which is something that is much needed, especially as the woman players tend to be very business like in their approach to matches.
So this also sees Radwanska remerge into the top 10 and also it will guarantee her a place in the WTA Championships at the end of the season in Istanbul, where she could well be a hot favourite to win there too. If she does then I think its safe to say it could signal a new contender for a grand slam next year, and Radwanska's name could well be etched on the Australian Open trophy. One thing I noticed that the woman have which is rather good for them is that their tour calendar comes to an end at the end of the month, after that, that's them for the year! I bet the men wish they had that calendar!
Speaking of which onto the men's final in China and Tokyo, which first of all in China saw the Czeck and 2010 Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych take on the Croat Marin Cilic in the final. Despite being a set down against Cilic, who put in a solid display of hitting, Berdych held his nerve to fight his way back into the match and closed it out winning in 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. This was quite an impressive display from Berdych who has struggled to win a title since 2009 in Munich, and it should possibly stand him in good stead for his chances to win a place in the ATP World Tour Finals at the end of the year. Onto the next final at Tokyo which was the far more anticipated of the two which saw Andy Murray go head to head with Rafa Nadal, as the Muzza looked to dethrone Rafa of his Tokyo title from last year as well as to end his losing streak of 5 matches in a row. And I'm happy to say Andy managed to do just that, as he put in a mighty performance against Rafa, after being a set down, Andy fought back in the 2nd set, breaking Rafa twice to win it, and in the 3rd set, Rafa barely got a lookin as he won only four points, which saw Andy crush Rafa and hand him a rare set bagel to finish the match and clinch the championship winning in 3-6, 6-2, 6-0.
To say Andy's run of form in the Asia leg of the tour season has been impressive is definitely something of an understatement, as that's two titles he's won back to back. Not only that, its given Andy another 500 points and it taken him a step closer to upping his ranking to No.3 in the world. Up next is Shanghai and if Andy can maintain his impressive form, then I can't see why he will not end up winning the title and if he does he will be the World No.3 for sure. Although I feel a bit sorry for Rafa losing out in yet another final, I was definitely more pleased for Andy whom snapped his losing streak to Rafa, so their head to head now sits at 5-13 in Andy's favour (i.e. 5 wins for him). And that's now 20 singles titles in the bag (must be a pretty big tennis bag!), 4 of which he won this year, which is pretty damn good work, especially as Rafa has only won 3, and Federer only 1.
So Shanghai is up next for the men's tour, and there will be more to follow on that, in the meantime a big congrats to Andy so I hope enjoys his win tonight, and to top it off he also won the doubles title with Jamie in Tokyo too. This is also a bit of a landmark as he is the only player in 2011 to win both a singles and doubles title in the same tournament, so eat that Djoko! ;-)
Anyway that's enough the now.
Friday, 7 October 2011
5th time lucky maybe?????
OK here's another update on the latest tennis stuff.
Starting with the WTA tour, the ladies this week have a biggie (that's what she said! OK shut up Michael Scott mode!) as its the China Open in Beijing, which is a Premier Mandatory title. And the current world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki was the defending champion from last year, however once again she has failed to hold onto her title defence as Caz fell in the quarter finals today at the hands of the Italian Flavia Penetta, who defeated her in 3 sets, 3-6, 6-0, 7-6(2). This marks the 3rd title that Caroline has failed to defend this year, and yeah ok she did better in getting to the quarter finals, but with every match she loses, Caroline is starting to look less than convincing as the current World No.1. I'm not sure what is wrong with Caroline, maybe things aren't going so smoothly on the Rory front, or maybe they are going too smoothly, or maybe she has an injury of some kind. But Caroline's serve let her down once again which is usually one of the stronger parts of her game, but not on this occassion. And despite a brave fightback from 5-3 down, Caroline levelled the match at 5-5 and it went to a tiebreak but there it all went wrong. Its a shame for Caroline but let's hope her best isn't already behind her as its a worrying trend that keeps showing up, but then again every player goes through a bad patch. Despite her loss, Caroline in the third set did really well to level things to a tiebreak, so even though she lost she showed great tenacity at the same time. I hope come the year end WTA Championships in Dubai that Caroline can finish off the year better.
On other WTA matches from Beijing, Agnieszka Radwanska continued her fine form as she won over Ana Ivanovic, who trailed a set down and in the 2nd she retired due to her a back injury, this could well see Radwanska winning another title this week, as she really has been in incredible form, and this would mark the biggest win of her career so far if she does. But first things first as Radwanska still has to play Flavia Pennetta in the semi finals, and will most likely be a tough match but I can still the Pole coming through it. The other match of the day saw Andrea Petkovic take on the Russian Anatasia Pavlyuchenkova, who put up an impressive struggle, pushing Petko to a 2nd tiebreak, which the German won, winning overall 6-3, 7-6. So Andrea will go on to face the wildcard Monica Niculescu, whom has beaten Petko the last two times they have met which was a few years back, but both of them are different players now, especially Petko, should be a good one anyway. And a quick update as Petko managed to show her pedigree and breezed past Niculescu in straight sets 6-2, 6-0 to make it into her first Premier Mandatory final. And Agnieszka Radwanska fired past Flavia Pennetta in straight sets, as the Italian had no answer to the Pole, who floundered toward the end and saw Radwanska win in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. So its a Petkovic vs Radwanska final on Sunday and I would have to place my money on Radwanska winning, however lets not underestimate Petko who has also been playing some terrific stuff, but for me the Pole is the favourite.
So onto the men's tour, as this week we have the China Open as well, where Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is the top seed, and will face Tomas Berdych in the semis, which should make for a very good match, as they are both tough players, but my money is still on Tsonga. Also Ivan Ljubicic takes on Marin Cilic for a place in the final as well, so it should make for anothe really match. I might be wrong but I would put good money on Tsonga winning this one as he's really come back on form of late especially after winning in Metz in France last month.
And onto the Tokyo where the men's semi finals have finished and I'm happy to say that its the final we all wanted as Rafa and Andy breezed past the opposition in their respective matches. Rafa as I knew he would, after a tight first set, closed out his match against Fish quite impressively in 7-5, 6-1, and Andy closed out against Ferrer that bit more impressively in 6-3, 6-2. This marks their 5th meeting this year (as the title refers to) and I can almost see Andy winning this title as well, although he faces Rafa in the final, but I think his form of late has been highly impressive, as he won the title in Bangkok last week, made it past a really tough Marcos Baghdatis en route to the semis, and his last three matches have been of a very good calibre. It would also be great to see Andy beat Rafa in a final for a change as he really does need to improve win loss ratio which stands at 13-4 in Rafa's favour. If he does win the title, it will also mean he is halfway closer to his goal of becoming World No.3, and Federer and Djokovic have both confirmed they are out of play for Shanghai, which leaves another door of opportunity open.
But there is no doubt about that Andy has played to his ranking this year, despite some inconsistent play here and there, his results have spoken for themselves, and here's to him that they continue to do so. Who knows? We could be looking at a new ATP World Finals champion this year, but we will see, as the way I see it, Andy's biggest barrier just now isn't Djokovic, its Rafa. Rafa certainly has got the edge on Andy just now and has done for quite a while, but it would be great to see Andy get the better of him this time and in Shanghai, its probably a bit much to ask for, but all the best to him and I hope he reaches his goal.
So more to follow once the mens and ladies semi finals are over.
Starting with the WTA tour, the ladies this week have a biggie (that's what she said! OK shut up Michael Scott mode!) as its the China Open in Beijing, which is a Premier Mandatory title. And the current world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki was the defending champion from last year, however once again she has failed to hold onto her title defence as Caz fell in the quarter finals today at the hands of the Italian Flavia Penetta, who defeated her in 3 sets, 3-6, 6-0, 7-6(2). This marks the 3rd title that Caroline has failed to defend this year, and yeah ok she did better in getting to the quarter finals, but with every match she loses, Caroline is starting to look less than convincing as the current World No.1. I'm not sure what is wrong with Caroline, maybe things aren't going so smoothly on the Rory front, or maybe they are going too smoothly, or maybe she has an injury of some kind. But Caroline's serve let her down once again which is usually one of the stronger parts of her game, but not on this occassion. And despite a brave fightback from 5-3 down, Caroline levelled the match at 5-5 and it went to a tiebreak but there it all went wrong. Its a shame for Caroline but let's hope her best isn't already behind her as its a worrying trend that keeps showing up, but then again every player goes through a bad patch. Despite her loss, Caroline in the third set did really well to level things to a tiebreak, so even though she lost she showed great tenacity at the same time. I hope come the year end WTA Championships in Dubai that Caroline can finish off the year better.
On other WTA matches from Beijing, Agnieszka Radwanska continued her fine form as she won over Ana Ivanovic, who trailed a set down and in the 2nd she retired due to her a back injury, this could well see Radwanska winning another title this week, as she really has been in incredible form, and this would mark the biggest win of her career so far if she does. But first things first as Radwanska still has to play Flavia Pennetta in the semi finals, and will most likely be a tough match but I can still the Pole coming through it. The other match of the day saw Andrea Petkovic take on the Russian Anatasia Pavlyuchenkova, who put up an impressive struggle, pushing Petko to a 2nd tiebreak, which the German won, winning overall 6-3, 7-6. So Andrea will go on to face the wildcard Monica Niculescu, whom has beaten Petko the last two times they have met which was a few years back, but both of them are different players now, especially Petko, should be a good one anyway. And a quick update as Petko managed to show her pedigree and breezed past Niculescu in straight sets 6-2, 6-0 to make it into her first Premier Mandatory final. And Agnieszka Radwanska fired past Flavia Pennetta in straight sets, as the Italian had no answer to the Pole, who floundered toward the end and saw Radwanska win in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. So its a Petkovic vs Radwanska final on Sunday and I would have to place my money on Radwanska winning, however lets not underestimate Petko who has also been playing some terrific stuff, but for me the Pole is the favourite.
So onto the men's tour, as this week we have the China Open as well, where Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is the top seed, and will face Tomas Berdych in the semis, which should make for a very good match, as they are both tough players, but my money is still on Tsonga. Also Ivan Ljubicic takes on Marin Cilic for a place in the final as well, so it should make for anothe really match. I might be wrong but I would put good money on Tsonga winning this one as he's really come back on form of late especially after winning in Metz in France last month.
And onto the Tokyo where the men's semi finals have finished and I'm happy to say that its the final we all wanted as Rafa and Andy breezed past the opposition in their respective matches. Rafa as I knew he would, after a tight first set, closed out his match against Fish quite impressively in 7-5, 6-1, and Andy closed out against Ferrer that bit more impressively in 6-3, 6-2. This marks their 5th meeting this year (as the title refers to) and I can almost see Andy winning this title as well, although he faces Rafa in the final, but I think his form of late has been highly impressive, as he won the title in Bangkok last week, made it past a really tough Marcos Baghdatis en route to the semis, and his last three matches have been of a very good calibre. It would also be great to see Andy beat Rafa in a final for a change as he really does need to improve win loss ratio which stands at 13-4 in Rafa's favour. If he does win the title, it will also mean he is halfway closer to his goal of becoming World No.3, and Federer and Djokovic have both confirmed they are out of play for Shanghai, which leaves another door of opportunity open.
But there is no doubt about that Andy has played to his ranking this year, despite some inconsistent play here and there, his results have spoken for themselves, and here's to him that they continue to do so. Who knows? We could be looking at a new ATP World Finals champion this year, but we will see, as the way I see it, Andy's biggest barrier just now isn't Djokovic, its Rafa. Rafa certainly has got the edge on Andy just now and has done for quite a while, but it would be great to see Andy get the better of him this time and in Shanghai, its probably a bit much to ask for, but all the best to him and I hope he reaches his goal.
So more to follow once the mens and ladies semi finals are over.
Monday, 3 October 2011
Chasing titles
Its been a wee while since I've done a tennis post so here goes, there has been few tournaments on of late for both the men and ladies. The men's titles were a few smaller ones but I will get to them soon enough but now for ladies, as the Pan Pacific Open took place last week in Toyko with most of the top seeds in play.
So starting with the Pan Pacific open, the defending champion Caroline Wozniacki, made another early exit as Kaia Kenepi defeated her in 3 sets. This is a worrying trend in Caz's year so far, the first half of the year was great for her, and she did very well at the US Open getting to the semis, but she has been losing out quite early on in a few tournaments, and this is another one which she was defending that she lost in. Its a shame for her in a way as it will keep bringing her No.1 ranking into question every time she loses and hasn't won a slam, maybe all the time she is spending with her beau Rory McIlroy is distracting her from her game, who knows?? Anyway with the China Open this week, let's hope Caroline plays better.
However onto the final of the Toyko WTA tournament, which was between Vera Zvonareva and the very much in form Agnieszka Radwanska, who put in an inspired performance throughout the week, defeating Angelique Kerber, Kaia Kenepi, Victoria Azarenka on her way to the final where she defeated the Russian in straight sets 6-3, 6-2, to clinch the biggest singles title of her career to date. Radwanska has definitely been showing signs of promise throughout the year, but in the last couple of months she really has come into her own, and has been dispatching some top seeds quite impressively. It makes me think that Radwanska could potentially take it even further and who knows just maybe she could become another contender to win a major. But we'll see, it definitely marks a very promising time in her career. Watching the award ceremony though when Vera accepted her runner up dish she seemed bizarrely emotional, as if she was half smiling and crying at the same time!
One player on the ladies tour who is going through a really bad patch just now is Li Na, the Chinese No.1 who only back in June won her first grand slam title at the French Open, but is now going out early in just about every tournament. At the US Open she went out in the first round and yesterday she went out in the first round again at the China Open, falling to Monica Niculescu in straight sets 6-4, 6-0. This is quite a worrying time for Li Na who said after the match that she felt her confidence had gone completely, but she hoped to take a break and prepare to get ready for next year. I guess the pressure and expectation of winning a slam is too much for some players to take on their shoulders and this certainly seems to be the case with Li Na, who has always had confidence issues at some point. However it was good to see Sam Stosur, fresh from winning the US Open, despite losing her first match in Tokyo last week, managed to win her first match in China against Tvsetana Pironkova winning in 6-4, 6-0, so it is great to see her rebound quickly.
So onto the men's briefly, out in the Thailand Open in Bangkokh, Andy Murray for the first time in 6 years came back to the event to try and seal a win for the first time after losing in the finals the last time against Federer. Andy naturally being the top seed, was the favourite to win the title, and largely along the way his progress was pretty smooth, despite a fairly tough match against the talented Frenchman Gilles Simon, he managed to breeze through the final against the young yank Donald Young who he trounced in 6-2, 6-0. This was Andy's 3rd title of the year and his 19th overall, which actually marks the start of Andy's mission to try and become the World No.3 by the end of the year. This is in part because Federer is taking time out which may let him get his nose ahead, assuming he can get by Rafa as they may be due to meet in Toyko and Shanghai which they are both playing in. With Djokovic still out the picture just now due to his back injury, this gives Andy the perfect time to try and win against the competition, but is his biggest barrier, and he even said himself he has to be a bit more realistic in his expectations. But it would be great if Andy could win Tokyo and Shanghai, as that would put right in the World No.3 seat, and from there who knows how things could pan out for him. But so far its been a very impressive start to the Eastern leg of the tour and long may it continue for the Muzza.
Also briefly I was pleased to see the Serb Janko Tipsarevic win his first ATP title out in Kuala Lumpar, as he defeated the Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets 6-4, 7-5, a great effort for Janko who has been improving his ranking as well as his play drastically lately, having hit the top 20. In fact next up for Tipsy will be Andy in Tokyo, so I don't know if I fancy his chances there but it should be a good match.
Anyway the China Open for WTA is on this week, and men's in Tokyo of course as well, so more to follow.
So that eeeet for now.
So starting with the Pan Pacific open, the defending champion Caroline Wozniacki, made another early exit as Kaia Kenepi defeated her in 3 sets. This is a worrying trend in Caz's year so far, the first half of the year was great for her, and she did very well at the US Open getting to the semis, but she has been losing out quite early on in a few tournaments, and this is another one which she was defending that she lost in. Its a shame for her in a way as it will keep bringing her No.1 ranking into question every time she loses and hasn't won a slam, maybe all the time she is spending with her beau Rory McIlroy is distracting her from her game, who knows?? Anyway with the China Open this week, let's hope Caroline plays better.
However onto the final of the Toyko WTA tournament, which was between Vera Zvonareva and the very much in form Agnieszka Radwanska, who put in an inspired performance throughout the week, defeating Angelique Kerber, Kaia Kenepi, Victoria Azarenka on her way to the final where she defeated the Russian in straight sets 6-3, 6-2, to clinch the biggest singles title of her career to date. Radwanska has definitely been showing signs of promise throughout the year, but in the last couple of months she really has come into her own, and has been dispatching some top seeds quite impressively. It makes me think that Radwanska could potentially take it even further and who knows just maybe she could become another contender to win a major. But we'll see, it definitely marks a very promising time in her career. Watching the award ceremony though when Vera accepted her runner up dish she seemed bizarrely emotional, as if she was half smiling and crying at the same time!
One player on the ladies tour who is going through a really bad patch just now is Li Na, the Chinese No.1 who only back in June won her first grand slam title at the French Open, but is now going out early in just about every tournament. At the US Open she went out in the first round and yesterday she went out in the first round again at the China Open, falling to Monica Niculescu in straight sets 6-4, 6-0. This is quite a worrying time for Li Na who said after the match that she felt her confidence had gone completely, but she hoped to take a break and prepare to get ready for next year. I guess the pressure and expectation of winning a slam is too much for some players to take on their shoulders and this certainly seems to be the case with Li Na, who has always had confidence issues at some point. However it was good to see Sam Stosur, fresh from winning the US Open, despite losing her first match in Tokyo last week, managed to win her first match in China against Tvsetana Pironkova winning in 6-4, 6-0, so it is great to see her rebound quickly.
So onto the men's briefly, out in the Thailand Open in Bangkokh, Andy Murray for the first time in 6 years came back to the event to try and seal a win for the first time after losing in the finals the last time against Federer. Andy naturally being the top seed, was the favourite to win the title, and largely along the way his progress was pretty smooth, despite a fairly tough match against the talented Frenchman Gilles Simon, he managed to breeze through the final against the young yank Donald Young who he trounced in 6-2, 6-0. This was Andy's 3rd title of the year and his 19th overall, which actually marks the start of Andy's mission to try and become the World No.3 by the end of the year. This is in part because Federer is taking time out which may let him get his nose ahead, assuming he can get by Rafa as they may be due to meet in Toyko and Shanghai which they are both playing in. With Djokovic still out the picture just now due to his back injury, this gives Andy the perfect time to try and win against the competition, but is his biggest barrier, and he even said himself he has to be a bit more realistic in his expectations. But it would be great if Andy could win Tokyo and Shanghai, as that would put right in the World No.3 seat, and from there who knows how things could pan out for him. But so far its been a very impressive start to the Eastern leg of the tour and long may it continue for the Muzza.
Also briefly I was pleased to see the Serb Janko Tipsarevic win his first ATP title out in Kuala Lumpar, as he defeated the Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets 6-4, 7-5, a great effort for Janko who has been improving his ranking as well as his play drastically lately, having hit the top 20. In fact next up for Tipsy will be Andy in Tokyo, so I don't know if I fancy his chances there but it should be a good match.
Anyway the China Open for WTA is on this week, and men's in Tokyo of course as well, so more to follow.
So that eeeet for now.
Sunday, 2 October 2011
The impossible man
Well just watched the end of the last episode of the sixth series of Doctor Who, with the dramatic conclusion of the Doctor's fate, 200 years into his future where he is killed by a figure in a spacesuit, and at least all comes clear as to who that was.
So as River Song herself says: spoilers! The Doctor realising that he is destined die at Lake Silencio in Utah USA, decides to do a bit of last minute visiting before his date with death to find his old blue pal Dorium Maldovar, who was killed in "A good man goes to war" who warns that his death has to happen as its a fixed point in time. We also learn of course that the figure in the spacesuit is in fact a younger version of River, who has been conditioned by the female baddie Kovarian to kill the Doctor. But River refuses to kill the Doctor and instead drains her suit of its weapons power to allow him to live, which then causes the fabric of time to begin to unravel. The Doctor afterwards is reunited with Amy, who now seems to be a ranked officer who leads an army of soldiers one of whom is Rory (first a Centurian now a Lieutenant!) but due to the altered timeline caused by the fabric in Amy's bedroom, Amy doesn't recognise Rory for who he is. But its all a big trap, as Kovarian has lured the Doctor so she can use the Silence (the creepy skull like faced baddies) to kill him and everyone else, but its the Doctor and if you think he's going down, well..... you know.
The wedding of River Song is a very entertaining finale to the sixth season, and there are plenty of good moments, and it was a good recovery after the naff episode prior to this one with James Corden and his baby who blows up the Cybermen "with love", cringe. So some of the good scenes in particular are the Doctor's scenes with Dorium, as Dorium provides the Doctor with some troubling facts. The idea of the altered timeline again is good as Amy (looking good with or without an eye patch) fails to recognise Rory who is her lieutenant, although Amy does appear to fail to recognise quite a lot when it comes to Rory! By now we pretty much know who River is, as she is Amy's daughter and looks very like the Doctor's future wife, and Alex Kingston again provides a very fine performance as the mysterious professor (and she looks pretty good in black!).
The only thing about the episode though and the whole series is once again Steven Moffat point blank refuses or is incapable or writing any story in a linear fashion which makes any sense! He is a clever and imaginative writer, but he does abuse the flashback and flash foward narrative more than anyone else, so much it makes even Quentin Tarantino look positively straight forward with his narratives! I also thought the end of the episode was a little bit of a copout with the Doctor confessing to Dorian that he faked his own death so he could keep a low profile and go back to his life as a travelling wanderer. It pretty much made the events of the season look like a big convoluted masquarade, which let's face it, it was. But with the Doctor we know he is always one step ahead of not just his enemies but everyone (and sometimes even himself!).
Anyhow that's the sixth season over with, overall I thought it was a bit of a mixed bag, some good episodes and some not so good ones, and it lacked the quality of Matt Smith's debut season. But Mr Smith has grown very well into his role as the Doctor, providing us with plenty of really good moments of humour, anger, vulnerability as well as a lot of ridiculous twirling!
Up next will be another Christmas special, usually the Xmas specials tend not to match the quality of the series episodes, but I'm sure it will prove to be entertaining enough.
So as River Song herself says: spoilers! The Doctor realising that he is destined die at Lake Silencio in Utah USA, decides to do a bit of last minute visiting before his date with death to find his old blue pal Dorium Maldovar, who was killed in "A good man goes to war" who warns that his death has to happen as its a fixed point in time. We also learn of course that the figure in the spacesuit is in fact a younger version of River, who has been conditioned by the female baddie Kovarian to kill the Doctor. But River refuses to kill the Doctor and instead drains her suit of its weapons power to allow him to live, which then causes the fabric of time to begin to unravel. The Doctor afterwards is reunited with Amy, who now seems to be a ranked officer who leads an army of soldiers one of whom is Rory (first a Centurian now a Lieutenant!) but due to the altered timeline caused by the fabric in Amy's bedroom, Amy doesn't recognise Rory for who he is. But its all a big trap, as Kovarian has lured the Doctor so she can use the Silence (the creepy skull like faced baddies) to kill him and everyone else, but its the Doctor and if you think he's going down, well..... you know.
The wedding of River Song is a very entertaining finale to the sixth season, and there are plenty of good moments, and it was a good recovery after the naff episode prior to this one with James Corden and his baby who blows up the Cybermen "with love", cringe. So some of the good scenes in particular are the Doctor's scenes with Dorium, as Dorium provides the Doctor with some troubling facts. The idea of the altered timeline again is good as Amy (looking good with or without an eye patch) fails to recognise Rory who is her lieutenant, although Amy does appear to fail to recognise quite a lot when it comes to Rory! By now we pretty much know who River is, as she is Amy's daughter and looks very like the Doctor's future wife, and Alex Kingston again provides a very fine performance as the mysterious professor (and she looks pretty good in black!).
The only thing about the episode though and the whole series is once again Steven Moffat point blank refuses or is incapable or writing any story in a linear fashion which makes any sense! He is a clever and imaginative writer, but he does abuse the flashback and flash foward narrative more than anyone else, so much it makes even Quentin Tarantino look positively straight forward with his narratives! I also thought the end of the episode was a little bit of a copout with the Doctor confessing to Dorian that he faked his own death so he could keep a low profile and go back to his life as a travelling wanderer. It pretty much made the events of the season look like a big convoluted masquarade, which let's face it, it was. But with the Doctor we know he is always one step ahead of not just his enemies but everyone (and sometimes even himself!).
Anyhow that's the sixth season over with, overall I thought it was a bit of a mixed bag, some good episodes and some not so good ones, and it lacked the quality of Matt Smith's debut season. But Mr Smith has grown very well into his role as the Doctor, providing us with plenty of really good moments of humour, anger, vulnerability as well as a lot of ridiculous twirling!
Up next will be another Christmas special, usually the Xmas specials tend not to match the quality of the series episodes, but I'm sure it will prove to be entertaining enough.
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