Right OK welcome to my first post on the 2013 Wimbledon championships which is already under as it started on Monday there, and what a dramatic start we've had so far to the tournament with quite a few big upsets, retirals and withdrawals. So let's have a closer look at what's been happening so far.
Right starting with Day 1 and the ladies we had Maria Sharapova on centre court first who played Kristina Mladenovic, and it was quite a tough first round for Sharapova who was pushed hard in the first set in a great set, which went to a tiebreak, which Maria won. In the 2nd set Maria got an early break which let her move on to win the match in 7-6, 6-3, which saw the former champion come through a tricky opener. Victoria Azarenka also came through her match despite having an injury scare as she was one of the first victims of the very slippery courts at SW19 as she fell and hurt her knee. Regardless Vika managed to go and win the match the win in convincing fashion against her opponent Maria Jao Koeheler in 6-1, 6-2. But after this match Victoria was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to her injury and she later expressed her concerns over the quality of the courts, and no doubt she wasn't she alone in that. In other Day 1 matches Ana Ivanovic came through against Virginia Razzanno, Serena Williams conqueror last year at the French Open, but the Serb had not so much trouble as she won 7-6, 6-0. Petra Kvitova however had to fight her way past the American player, Coco Vandewegh as she battled past her in 6-1, 5-7, 6-4. And one of the big upsets of the day for the ladies Sara Errani who fell at the first hurdle, clearly showing grass is her weakest surface as she went out against Monica Puig of Puerto Rica, who won comfortably in 6-3, 6-2.
Day 2 we had Serena Williams the defending champion win her first match against Mandy Minella in convincing fashion as you would expect with a 6-1, 6-3 victory. Serena naturally is the favourite to win the title and assuming she doesn't fall and injure herself like some of the other players, its going to be hard to see anyone stop her. Agnieszka Radwanska also came through her first round match in fine style with as she breezed past Yvonne Muesburger (cool name!) only conceding two games, in 6-1, 6-1. And after nearly all the British players being dumped out in the first round, there was good news for the Brit ladies, as Laura Robson made a great start by taking another big scalp in defeating the world No.10, Maria Kirilenko in 6-3, 6-4. This was a terrific result and saw Laura take another big name down to add to her growing list of top players she has defeated, and given her draw I think she has a chance to go fairly deep and maybe into the 2nd week, but we will just have to wait and see. Sabine Lisicki of Germany (very saucy) who is a naturally gifted grass court player came through easily against Francesca Schivaone in 6-1, 6-2.
Getting onto Day 3, this was easily the most dramatic day of the tournament so far as we saw quite a few big names fall to the way side on both the men and ladies side. Starting with the heaviest ladies casualty which was Maria Sharapova, who fell victim to the slippery courts, as she fell and twisted her leg as she did the splits. Maria was still able to play on but she was playing a very inspired and determined opponent in Michelle Larcher De Brito who pulled off a big upset by defeating the former champion in 6-3, 6-4. This loss was mostly like due to Sharapova's fall as she sustained quite a nasty one and had the trainer called out on court at one point, but again it raised more concerns about the slippiness of the surface out there. Caroline Wozniacki also went out early to Petra Cetkovska and she also suffered a fall in the first set and was broken twice in both sets by her Czeck opponent who won the match in 6-2, 6-2. Whether this loss was attributed purely to her fall or not it shows more concerns about Caroline's very poor record in the grand slams this year, having already suffered a 2nd round exit at the French Open. Ana Ivanovic also suffered a shock defeat at the hands of the Canadian player, Eugenie Bouchard who came through with a surprise 6-3, 6-3 win. Jelena Jankovic also suffered a 2nd round defeat against Vesna Dolonc who beat the Serb 7-5, 6-2. Petra Kvitova however made safe passage into the 3rd round as she received a walkover as her opponent Yaroslava Shvedova also withdrew with injury. And finally Flavia Pennetta also received a walkover as I already mentioned that Victoria Azarenka had also withdrawn with injury due to her fall from her 1st round match. So that was one helluva day for the ladies.
Now onto the men starting with day 1 as Roger Federer took on Victor Hanescu and he eased past with a straight set win of 6-3, 6-2, 6-0. Andy Murray also made a strong start to his Wimbledon campaign as he dismissed the German player, Benjamin Becker with a straight forward 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 win. Andy had one or two minor wobbles in the match but apart from that he is looking in very good form so far in the tournament, and he remains a strong favourite for the title.
As for Rafa well.... having had no grass court preparation at all coming into Wimbledon he was not in the best position to do well at the tournament, however being Rafa you would expect him to come through his first round match against Steven Darcis. However in Darcis, Rafa came up against an inspired opponent who refused to go away as he pushed Rafa hard right from the start, and he took the first two sets on tiebreaks. In the 3rd set Rafa had to start a comeback and fast, however straight off he was broken by the Belgian, who went on to hold serve and pull off an even bigger upset than last year as he dumped out the two time champion not only in the first round, but also in straight sets with a 7-6, 7-6, 6-4 victory. Well this easily ranks as one of the biggest upsets in the open era of tennis, and it even topples Lukas Rosol's efforts from last year, and even two years it would be unthinkable that Rafa would go out in the first round of a major tournament, but he has. This however again raises questions over Rafa's fitness, as there were certain points in the match where he wasn't up to chasing down balls like he would before. And now that the clay court season is over, Rafa will need to try and adapt to playing on hard court again, so he will need to plan his schedule carefully no doubt, and it wouldn't surprise if he had to pull out of a few tournaments again, and perhaps even the US Open. But we will just have to see how Rafa's fitness will be by then.
In other day 1 matches, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga came through a tight straight set win over the talented belgian, David Goffin, who he beat 7-6, 6-4, 6-3. Lleyton Hewitt, the former champion also came through against Stanislas Wawrinka with a straight set win of 6-4, 7-5, 6-3. And Queen's club runner-up Marin Cilic defeated Marcos Baghdatis in 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
Moving on to day 2 starting with the World No.1, Novak Djokovic who played against the tricky German player, Florian Mayer, but he managed to overcome him with a 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 scoreline. Well with this result Nole is off to a confident start and he is looking convincing so far and I don't think there will be any danger of him being upset before the final, but you never know (but I doubt it!). David Ferrer withstood a mid-match fightback from his opponent Martin Alund of Argentina and Ferrer had minor scare as he also fell foul to the slippy courts and fell twice. However Ferrer managed to fight on as he dropped the 2nd set to Alund, and was pushed hard in the 3rd, he managed to break Alund to take the two sets to one lead, and Ferrer went on to win the 4th after a tough 6-1, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 win. Juan Martin Del Potro also made it past his first round opponent, the Spaniard Albert Ramos with fair ease in a 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 scoreline. Tomas Berdych also put his first round exit woes at the French Open behind him as he beat Martin Klizan of the Slovak republic with a straight set 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory. Tommy Haas made it past his first round opponent Dimitry Tursinov of Russia with a straight set win of 6-3, 7-5, 7-5, and at the age of 35 it just shows you are never too old to play your best tennis! And finally Richard Gasquet fought his way into the 2nd round as he beat Marcel Granollers of Spain in a tight four setter, winning 6-7, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4.
Now onto Day 3 of the men's and for starters we had Andy Murray play the Taiwanese player Lu Yhen-Sun who proved to be quite a tricky player for Andy, who had also previously beat him in the Beijing Olympics back in 2008. However Andy was in great form and despite a mini wobble on serve at 2-2 in the first set, staving of break points, Andy confidently went to break his opponent to take the opening set, and he soon took a two sets to love lead. The 3rd set was more competitive as Lu played more aggressively, but at 6-5 with Lu was finally undone by Andy who claimed the win with a 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 scoreline. Andy looks be in excellent form so far in the tournament and he will next face the Spaniard, Tommy Robredo, which should prove to be tricky, however I think Andy will come through it in 3 or 4 sets.
In other matches of the day Lleyton Hewitt suffered an early exit at the hands of the German player, Dustin Brown as the German beat Hewitt in four sets with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 score. There was also another big casualty on the men's side as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga took a bad fall on the court as well and he was forced to retire from his match in the 3rd set against Ernest Gulbis trailing 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 ret. Marin Cilic also decided to withdraw from the tournament as he was due to play his match against Kenny De Schepper. Fernando Verdasco had better fortune as he knocked out Julienne Benneatau of France in straight sets winning 7-6, 7-6, 6-4.
However the biggest upset of the day and most likely of the tournament came from a most unlikely opponent in Roger Federer who played against an inspired Sergiy Stakhovsky, the talented Ukranian player. Roger throughout the match was put through his paces by Sergiy who has a natural grass court game, and kept serving and volleying against Roger which proved to be very effective. Roger did however manage to take the first set on the tiebreak, and he had his chances in the 2nd set for break points, however Sergiy hung tough and managed to take the 2nd set on a tiebreak. In the 3rd Roger seemed to let his concentration waver as Sergiy went on to break him to take a two sets to one lead. And in the 4th Sergiy got an early break, but at 3-2, Roger managed to break back to get things back on serve and play went to a tiebreak yet again where Sergiy pulled off the unthinkable by beating Roger in 4 sets with a remarkable 6-7, 7-6, 7-5, 7-6 triumphant victory.
Well upsets don't come bigger than this as Roger sustained his first loss in a grand slam before the quarter finals for nine years! But given Roger's recent form in a way an early exit in a major didn't seem quite so surprising as he has struggled somewhat this year, despite doing well and winning the title in Halle, his dip in form at the French Open against Tsonga was also a tell tale sign. However it is still a shock that he would sustain such as heavy loss at Wimbledon, where he was the defending champion, given the success he has had in the past, but I guess age has caught up with him and it can't last forever. And as both Roger and Rafa were on Andy's side of the draw, it has opened a big opportunity again for Andy to reach the final this year, although he still has some tough players to negotiate past in his side such as Tommy Robredo up next, then possibly Viktor Troicki or Mikhail Youzhny in the 4th round, and then possibly Juan Monaco, Fernando Verdasco or Ernest Gulbis in the quarter finals. So it all remains to be seen how it will all pan oot!
Right so that's it for a pretty exhaustive first post on Wimbledon 2013. And my next post will not be until well into next week as I will heading to London tonight and will be at Wimbledon for the day on Saturday, so I will be checking out the action on Court No.1, so can't wait for that!
And on that exciting note I will leave it there!
Thursday, 27 June 2013
Monday, 17 June 2013
Queens Part 2: The king at Queens again....
Right so now I'm onto my second and final part of my look at the Queens club tournament, the Aegon championships and the men's final.
So let's get started, the final was between Andy Murray and the defending champion Marin Cilic, and it promised to be quite a tough match and it sure turned out to be just that. In the first set it didn't look it at the start as Andy started off playing aggressive tennis against the big Croatian as he broke him to go 3-0 up. However at 4-2, Andy started to lose concentration on serve and he let Cilic back in as he broke back, and at 4-4 Andy suffered a brief scare as he lost his balance and fell on one knee and curled up in pain, however he soon managed to get up and carry on. However the fall started to shake Andy's concentration as at 5-5, Cilic broke Andy's serve and he soon went on to serve out the first set. In the 2nd set however Andy turned things around as he started to serve better and he started putting pressure on Cilic's service games and at 6-5 with Cilic serving to take it into a tiebreak, Andy made his move and broke the Croat's serve to level the match and take it into a decider. In the 3rd set, Andy soon took the momentum with an early break, but Cilic still game kept himself in the match, being a break down, but in the end Andy had no problem serving out the match and clinching his third title at Queens after a hard fought 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 win.
This was a really entertaining and gripping final and the crowd really couldn't have asked for a better one with both players playing some great tennis for the full house. And Andy really showed once again despite a few wobbles that he has really learned to utilise that champion mentality that he has earned under Ivan Lendl's coaching and ultimately that got him through. As for Marin Cilic he also played his part in this match and he did really well in staying with Andy and coming back from a break down in the first set to go on and take it, and he never really went away from the match as he hung tough as long as he could before the Scot cranked up the gears and surprassed him.
After the match they also had a really enteratining Rally for Cancer charity match, featuring Tim Henman, Ivan Lendl and Tomas Berdych along with Andy as they played a one set shootout. The match had some fun points and particularly the best shot of the match came when Andy hit a crouched forehand winner, which hit Lendl right in the elbow, which saw Andy jump and yell for joy, in a way which we have never seen! This in its own was one of the highlights of the day, and even Ivan Lendl showed his lighter side as he joked on the court with Andy and Tim, and at one point he said to the audience "I don't even know why you are applauding him, he's Scottish anyway!". Later on they had another celebrity match which featured two teams, team Murray and team Henman, and the celebs featured Jonathan Ross, Michael McIntyre, Jimmy Carr, Richard Branson and the mayor of London Boris Johnson (who showed up with an old fashion wooden racquet!). The match itself was short on quality but had quite a few laughs, especially from Michael McIntyre's on court antics as he wore a belt with tennis balls attached to it, and he grabbed a cluster of tennis balls to wipe his face with! Jonathan Ross also made a rude but funny comment in reponse to Andrew Castle about putting the ball into court by saying "put the bloody thing inside!" and Jonathan said "I haven't heard that since my wife said that to me on the night of our honeymoon!".
So all in all it was fun day at Queens and a great day for Andy Murray who triumphed with his third title there and it was his 27th career title overall, and here's hoping that Wimbledon just might be his 28th. However Andy has got a lot of work ahead of him before he can achieve that goal, and it has to be said he has had a few lapses on serve once again during the week and that is something he can't afford to do against the other top three guys otherwise he is bound to come out second best. However one thing we can be sure of his that Andy will do his best to try and win Wimbledon again this year, and despite those one or two lapses he is going into Wimbledon looking very good indeed, with his movement and the rest of his game as sharp as ever. And with winning Queens again Andy couldn't have asked for better preparation and there have been many Queens champions that have gone on to win Wimbledon such as Pete Sampras, Lleyton Hewitt and Rafa. So I will wish Andy the very best of luck for Wimbledon when it starts next week, and I will be there on Saturday 29 June for the day, so I can't wait!
And I shall leave it there for now, more to follow once Wimbledon get's under way.
Bye for noww!
So let's get started, the final was between Andy Murray and the defending champion Marin Cilic, and it promised to be quite a tough match and it sure turned out to be just that. In the first set it didn't look it at the start as Andy started off playing aggressive tennis against the big Croatian as he broke him to go 3-0 up. However at 4-2, Andy started to lose concentration on serve and he let Cilic back in as he broke back, and at 4-4 Andy suffered a brief scare as he lost his balance and fell on one knee and curled up in pain, however he soon managed to get up and carry on. However the fall started to shake Andy's concentration as at 5-5, Cilic broke Andy's serve and he soon went on to serve out the first set. In the 2nd set however Andy turned things around as he started to serve better and he started putting pressure on Cilic's service games and at 6-5 with Cilic serving to take it into a tiebreak, Andy made his move and broke the Croat's serve to level the match and take it into a decider. In the 3rd set, Andy soon took the momentum with an early break, but Cilic still game kept himself in the match, being a break down, but in the end Andy had no problem serving out the match and clinching his third title at Queens after a hard fought 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 win.
This was a really entertaining and gripping final and the crowd really couldn't have asked for a better one with both players playing some great tennis for the full house. And Andy really showed once again despite a few wobbles that he has really learned to utilise that champion mentality that he has earned under Ivan Lendl's coaching and ultimately that got him through. As for Marin Cilic he also played his part in this match and he did really well in staying with Andy and coming back from a break down in the first set to go on and take it, and he never really went away from the match as he hung tough as long as he could before the Scot cranked up the gears and surprassed him.
After the match they also had a really enteratining Rally for Cancer charity match, featuring Tim Henman, Ivan Lendl and Tomas Berdych along with Andy as they played a one set shootout. The match had some fun points and particularly the best shot of the match came when Andy hit a crouched forehand winner, which hit Lendl right in the elbow, which saw Andy jump and yell for joy, in a way which we have never seen! This in its own was one of the highlights of the day, and even Ivan Lendl showed his lighter side as he joked on the court with Andy and Tim, and at one point he said to the audience "I don't even know why you are applauding him, he's Scottish anyway!". Later on they had another celebrity match which featured two teams, team Murray and team Henman, and the celebs featured Jonathan Ross, Michael McIntyre, Jimmy Carr, Richard Branson and the mayor of London Boris Johnson (who showed up with an old fashion wooden racquet!). The match itself was short on quality but had quite a few laughs, especially from Michael McIntyre's on court antics as he wore a belt with tennis balls attached to it, and he grabbed a cluster of tennis balls to wipe his face with! Jonathan Ross also made a rude but funny comment in reponse to Andrew Castle about putting the ball into court by saying "put the bloody thing inside!" and Jonathan said "I haven't heard that since my wife said that to me on the night of our honeymoon!".
So all in all it was fun day at Queens and a great day for Andy Murray who triumphed with his third title there and it was his 27th career title overall, and here's hoping that Wimbledon just might be his 28th. However Andy has got a lot of work ahead of him before he can achieve that goal, and it has to be said he has had a few lapses on serve once again during the week and that is something he can't afford to do against the other top three guys otherwise he is bound to come out second best. However one thing we can be sure of his that Andy will do his best to try and win Wimbledon again this year, and despite those one or two lapses he is going into Wimbledon looking very good indeed, with his movement and the rest of his game as sharp as ever. And with winning Queens again Andy couldn't have asked for better preparation and there have been many Queens champions that have gone on to win Wimbledon such as Pete Sampras, Lleyton Hewitt and Rafa. So I will wish Andy the very best of luck for Wimbledon when it starts next week, and I will be there on Saturday 29 June for the day, so I can't wait!
And I shall leave it there for now, more to follow once Wimbledon get's under way.
Bye for noww!
Saturday, 15 June 2013
Queens Part 1: Back in form
Well its time for another tennis post and its now the start of the grass court season as the clay has been shuffled away for another year and I will look at the Queens club tournament where Andy Murray has made his return to the tour after taking time out from injury and missing the French Open.
So let's start with a recap of the some of the players who have been playing this week so far. Starting with Lleyton Hewitt who was a former four time champion here who had an impressive run here this week as he beat Grigor Dimitrov, Sam Querrey and Juan Martin Del Potro enroute to the semi finals. In the semi finals however Hewitt played the defending champion Marin Cilic, and the two of them engaged in a real battle which went the distance. The match itself was disrupted by the rain as they had to move it over from the centre court to the smaller Court 1, to allow for the other semi final match to played. But in the end it was Marin Cilic that came through in 3 sets with a hard fought 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 win. This was a great run for Hewitt and its a pity in a way it had to end, but it will set him up well for going into Wimbledon in a week's time. Other players that played included Tomas Berdych who made his first appearance here since 2005, and he made good progress into the quarter finals, where Marin Cilic, who ultimately beat him in a tight straight set win 7-5, 7-6. Juan Martin Del Potro made good progress in the tournament until he met Lleyton Hewitt in the quarter finals and he lost to the Aussie in 3 sets.
On the British front we also had Dan Evans play who made an impressive stamp on the event by beating players ranked much higher than him, starting with the Argentine Guido Pella who he dismissed in 6-3, 6-1, he then chalked up a very impressive win against Jarkko Nieminen in 6-4, 6-7, 6-4. However Dan came to a sticky end against another Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro who dismissed the Brummie lad in a mere 6-0, 6-3 win. Dan has however shown some really promising signs this week by defeating higher ranked players, although his lower rank of 277 in the world, means he will need to play the Wimbledon qualifying tournament next week in order to try and gain a place in the draw at SW19, so he has alot of work ahead of him. And that has been a criticism levelled at Evans in the past in that he hasn't shown the focus and commitment to his training that he should, but if he had he would be much higher ranked now than he is, as sure does have the talent to take on the big players, but whether or not he will continue to show that commitment remains to be seen.
Now onto Andy Murray, the World No.2 and British No.1, who made his comeback from injury this week, having been forced to withdraw from the French Open due to an ongoing problem with his lower back, which was excacerbated by the clay surface. But after nearly four weeks of recovery and training, Andy made a very impressive return to the tour here at Queens as he allayed any fears of his back injury by showing some great play, top movement and chalking up some impressive wins. Starting with the tricky opponent Nicolas Mahut, who beat him at Queens last year, he was pushed again by the Frenchman, but he made a better start by taking the first set, but was pushed to a tiebreak in the 2nd, which he went on to win after play was delayed to the following day, with a 6-3, 7-6 win. Next up Andy faced (on the same day no less due to the scheduling and the rain) the Australian player, Marinko Matosevic, who he had no trouble getting past as he sped to a 6-2, 6-2 win. In the quarter finals Andy had a tougher time against the German player, Benjamin Becker, as Andy suffered lapses of concentration on serve in the 1st and 2nd set (he took the first set) and in the 2nd, Becker went up a break but Andy broke back. The match went to a tiebreak in the 2nd set and here Andy reasserted his dominance and he sealed the win in straight sets with a 6-4, 7-6(3) win.
And this brings me onto one of the most entertaining matches of the tournament so far, which the semi final between Andy and the French No.1, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The first set went by serve with Andy precariously holding on until 4-4 where his ropey serve came under severe pressure from Tsonga who brought up a break point, and Andy double faulted to give the break to him, which saw Tsonga serve out the 1st set. In the 2nd set play went by serve, and both men played some enthralling points for the crowd, and Andy at 3-3 came under real pressure from Tsonga again as he faced a break point 30-40 on his serve, which could have been match points for Tsonga. However Andy dug deep and saved the break and went on to incredibly break Tsonga's own serve in the next game and soon nab the 2nd set to level. In the 3rd after a terrific game at 1-1, Andy broke Tsonga to go ahead for the first time in the match and from here Tsonga started to misfire and make mistakes a'la French Open semi final style from last week which let Andy race into a 4-1 lead. And in the end Andy had no trouble in serving out the match with an ace down the T to seal his place in the final after a hard fought 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.
Well with these two players you would expect a showboat match and we sure got it as there were plenty of thrilling points throughout, especially from Tsonga who dazzled the crowd as he likes to do with his showmanship. However Andy in the end despite serving poorly in the match, once again showed his champion qualities by digging deep in the key points and after he broke Tsonga in the 3rd set, he cranked it up a gear to close it out in style. So this now sees Andy go into his third Queens club final, where he will take on Marin Cilic, the current defending champion, and this promises to be a really good match and no doubt a tough one. But Andy has a great head to head against Cilic as he leads it 8-1 and I'm sure he will come through it in probably three sets, but we will just have to wait and see. And if Andy does win the title again, it will see him come one of the few players to have won the title three times, which includes Pete Sampras and Boris Becker, so it promises to be a pretty good final.
So I will leave it there for now and report back once the Queens club final is over with.
Byeeee for now.
So let's start with a recap of the some of the players who have been playing this week so far. Starting with Lleyton Hewitt who was a former four time champion here who had an impressive run here this week as he beat Grigor Dimitrov, Sam Querrey and Juan Martin Del Potro enroute to the semi finals. In the semi finals however Hewitt played the defending champion Marin Cilic, and the two of them engaged in a real battle which went the distance. The match itself was disrupted by the rain as they had to move it over from the centre court to the smaller Court 1, to allow for the other semi final match to played. But in the end it was Marin Cilic that came through in 3 sets with a hard fought 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 win. This was a great run for Hewitt and its a pity in a way it had to end, but it will set him up well for going into Wimbledon in a week's time. Other players that played included Tomas Berdych who made his first appearance here since 2005, and he made good progress into the quarter finals, where Marin Cilic, who ultimately beat him in a tight straight set win 7-5, 7-6. Juan Martin Del Potro made good progress in the tournament until he met Lleyton Hewitt in the quarter finals and he lost to the Aussie in 3 sets.
On the British front we also had Dan Evans play who made an impressive stamp on the event by beating players ranked much higher than him, starting with the Argentine Guido Pella who he dismissed in 6-3, 6-1, he then chalked up a very impressive win against Jarkko Nieminen in 6-4, 6-7, 6-4. However Dan came to a sticky end against another Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro who dismissed the Brummie lad in a mere 6-0, 6-3 win. Dan has however shown some really promising signs this week by defeating higher ranked players, although his lower rank of 277 in the world, means he will need to play the Wimbledon qualifying tournament next week in order to try and gain a place in the draw at SW19, so he has alot of work ahead of him. And that has been a criticism levelled at Evans in the past in that he hasn't shown the focus and commitment to his training that he should, but if he had he would be much higher ranked now than he is, as sure does have the talent to take on the big players, but whether or not he will continue to show that commitment remains to be seen.
Now onto Andy Murray, the World No.2 and British No.1, who made his comeback from injury this week, having been forced to withdraw from the French Open due to an ongoing problem with his lower back, which was excacerbated by the clay surface. But after nearly four weeks of recovery and training, Andy made a very impressive return to the tour here at Queens as he allayed any fears of his back injury by showing some great play, top movement and chalking up some impressive wins. Starting with the tricky opponent Nicolas Mahut, who beat him at Queens last year, he was pushed again by the Frenchman, but he made a better start by taking the first set, but was pushed to a tiebreak in the 2nd, which he went on to win after play was delayed to the following day, with a 6-3, 7-6 win. Next up Andy faced (on the same day no less due to the scheduling and the rain) the Australian player, Marinko Matosevic, who he had no trouble getting past as he sped to a 6-2, 6-2 win. In the quarter finals Andy had a tougher time against the German player, Benjamin Becker, as Andy suffered lapses of concentration on serve in the 1st and 2nd set (he took the first set) and in the 2nd, Becker went up a break but Andy broke back. The match went to a tiebreak in the 2nd set and here Andy reasserted his dominance and he sealed the win in straight sets with a 6-4, 7-6(3) win.
And this brings me onto one of the most entertaining matches of the tournament so far, which the semi final between Andy and the French No.1, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The first set went by serve with Andy precariously holding on until 4-4 where his ropey serve came under severe pressure from Tsonga who brought up a break point, and Andy double faulted to give the break to him, which saw Tsonga serve out the 1st set. In the 2nd set play went by serve, and both men played some enthralling points for the crowd, and Andy at 3-3 came under real pressure from Tsonga again as he faced a break point 30-40 on his serve, which could have been match points for Tsonga. However Andy dug deep and saved the break and went on to incredibly break Tsonga's own serve in the next game and soon nab the 2nd set to level. In the 3rd after a terrific game at 1-1, Andy broke Tsonga to go ahead for the first time in the match and from here Tsonga started to misfire and make mistakes a'la French Open semi final style from last week which let Andy race into a 4-1 lead. And in the end Andy had no trouble in serving out the match with an ace down the T to seal his place in the final after a hard fought 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.
Well with these two players you would expect a showboat match and we sure got it as there were plenty of thrilling points throughout, especially from Tsonga who dazzled the crowd as he likes to do with his showmanship. However Andy in the end despite serving poorly in the match, once again showed his champion qualities by digging deep in the key points and after he broke Tsonga in the 3rd set, he cranked it up a gear to close it out in style. So this now sees Andy go into his third Queens club final, where he will take on Marin Cilic, the current defending champion, and this promises to be a really good match and no doubt a tough one. But Andy has a great head to head against Cilic as he leads it 8-1 and I'm sure he will come through it in probably three sets, but we will just have to wait and see. And if Andy does win the title again, it will see him come one of the few players to have won the title three times, which includes Pete Sampras and Boris Becker, so it promises to be a pretty good final.
So I will leave it there for now and report back once the Queens club final is over with.
Byeeee for now.
Monday, 10 June 2013
Men's best clay court matches of 2013
OK now that the clay court season is over I thought I would do a review of my favourite matches from the clay court season of which there were plenty to choose from but here are the ones I've gone with, so let's have a look...
5. Mutua Madrid Open, Grigor Dimitrov d. Novak Djokovic, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3.
If there was ever a match that heralded the arrival of a special new talent to the game then it was this one as it brought the very promising Bulgarian, Grigor Dimitrov to the forefront. In Monte Carlo, Dimitrov already showed some great form against Rafa as he pushed him to three sets before falling to king of clay. But here Dimitrov was surely determined to go one better, as he battled it out against Djokovic for over three hours, and he started by taking the opening set on a tense tiebreak. In the 2nd set play went by serve again to another even more intense tiebreak which saw the world No.1 dig deep to grab the set and push play into a decider. However in the 3rd set it was Dimitrov who seized the moment and went on to serve out an incredible match with the win of his career against the world No.1 which saw Dimitrov really arrive on the scene after so much promise, here it started to really show.
4. French Open 1st round, Gael Monfils d. Tomas Berdych, 7-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 7-5.
This first round match at the French Open saw the resurgance of Gael Monfils back on the tour, and this was quite a remarkable match in itself. Monfils who has been plagued with injury throughout his career was up against the 5th seed, Tomas Berdych, who looked to be the hot favourite to win here. However Monfils came out firing and soon took a two sets to love lead, however it wasn't long before Berdych went on to mount his own comeback and he levelled play by taking the 3rd and 4th sets on a tiebreak. In the 5th set both players played some great points and despite Berdych being the odds on favourite having levelled, it was Monfils that made the crucial break at 5-5, he moved ahead and went on to serve out a terrific match in front of a rapturous home crowd. This was a great match and with the home crowd right behind Monfils it had a great atmosphere, and Monfils himself showed here what a great player he can be, and despite sustaining a 3rd round loss to Tommy Robredo in the French, Monfils has shown he is well back on track if he maintains the form he showed at the French Open.
3. French Open 4th round, Roger Federer d. Gilles Simon, 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
In another home hope encounter at Roland Garros, we had Roger Federer take on Gilles Simon in this memorable 4th round match which took place on Court Philippe Chatrier in front of an enthralled full capacity crowd. The match however didn't start off like much as Federer easily took a comfortable lead in winning in the opening set 6-1. But that all changed in the 2nd set after Federer took a fall on the court, although he wasn't injured, it knocked him off his game long enough for Simon to start playing his own, as the Frenchman started to really impose himself on the Swiss by taking a two sets to one lead. In the 4th set, Roger was staring down the barrell but he dug deep and broke Simon twice to level proceedings. In the 5th set Roger managed to get the early break and pushed Simon for another, but the Frenchman hung tough to keep it to the single break after a terrific and gutsy game at 3-1. And when Roger tried to serve out the match, he faced one last hurrah from Simon as Rog was forced to stave off two break points, before he finally closed out the match 6-3 in the 5th. This was a terrific match and one of the real highlights of the French open and the crowd on court Philippe Chatrier produced a great atmosphere as they got behind Roger and Simon in almost equal measure at times. They also rather nicely had an on court interview with both players afterwards with the plucky Simon getting a well earned cheer as he walked off, while Roger went on to his 36th consecutive grand slam quarter final. Not too bad eh??
2. French Open 4th round, Stanislas Wawrinka d. Richard Gasquet, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5, 8-6.
If you had to pick a match from the French open this year with the greatest atmosphere behind it, you would have to go for this one, which saw an all out epic battle take place on court Suzanne Lenglen between the French No.2, Richard Gasquet who looking to reach his first ever quarter final at the French, and Stan Wawrinka. And Gasquet made a strong start as he took a two sets to love lead, and it looked very likely he would reach the last eight, however Stan was not yet done as he managed to grab a break to take the 3rd set. And from here Stan made a very impressive comeback and went on to level the match and take it into a 5th, where play went by serve and both men produced some amazing tennis for the estatic crowd. However unfortunately for Gasquet, he started to feel the effects of cramp set in and at 6-7, fatigue started to hit as he finally fell to Stan who fired a forehand winner down the line to end Gasquet's campaign. There was no doubt that this match was one of the undisputed highlights of the French Open, and given that Gasquet had never reached the last eight at his home slam, its was a real shame that he was denied here. As for Stan well it was an incredible effort especially as he came from two sets to love down to win, which he did two years ago at the French Open to beat Tsonga in the 3rd round. So overall it was one of the best of the year.
1. French Open semi final, Rafael Nadal d. Novak Djokovic, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7, 9-7
Well this match really had to be at the top of the list as it was easily one of the greatest matches to have been played at Roland Garros in quite some time. And here Novak Djokovic was absolutely desparate to win the French Open and defeat Rafa for the first time in his career. And for quite a while it looked like Nole was going to do just that as he really took it Rafa throughout the match. The two men shared the first two sets, but Rafa took the 3rd to take a 2 sets to 1 lead, as Djokovic looked curiously out of sorts. In the 4th set, Nole regrouped and as he stared down the barrel having gone a break down at 5-6, he managed to find that bit extra and fought back to push the match into a 4th set tiebreak whic he won 7-3. And Nole took the initiative by breaking Rafa early on, and it looked like he was ready to do the unthinkable by beating the king of clay on his home turf. However Nole at 4-3 made the fatal mistake of trying to play an overhead smash when he lost his balance and tripped into the net which lost him the point by default, which brought up a break point, which soon saw Rafa break back to level 4-4. Play went by serve until Rafa had made it 8-7, and it was Nole's turn but here it was Rafa that made his move and held onto his crown by breaking serve to win an epic match in 4 hours and 37 minutes.
There was no doubt that this was the best clay court match of the season and one of the great classics at the French open and neither player could have put more into this one. And it would be tough not to feel sorry for Djokovic who was so desperate to win the title and beat Rafa in the process, and had they met in the final who knows what might have happened. However this match does indicate that Novak will have his chances to win again in the future as no other player has taken Rafa the distance (apart from John Isner) at the French and especially not at the business end of the tournament either. So we might just see Djokovic make that breakthrough at the French just like Rafa did against Roger at Wimbledon, so hopefully next year third time will be a charm. But until then Rafa proved that he is still undisputed king on the clay and it will take an almighty effort to knock off that spot.
So thats it for my look at my pick of the best clay court matches of 2013.
More to follow on the tour soon.
5. Mutua Madrid Open, Grigor Dimitrov d. Novak Djokovic, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3.
If there was ever a match that heralded the arrival of a special new talent to the game then it was this one as it brought the very promising Bulgarian, Grigor Dimitrov to the forefront. In Monte Carlo, Dimitrov already showed some great form against Rafa as he pushed him to three sets before falling to king of clay. But here Dimitrov was surely determined to go one better, as he battled it out against Djokovic for over three hours, and he started by taking the opening set on a tense tiebreak. In the 2nd set play went by serve again to another even more intense tiebreak which saw the world No.1 dig deep to grab the set and push play into a decider. However in the 3rd set it was Dimitrov who seized the moment and went on to serve out an incredible match with the win of his career against the world No.1 which saw Dimitrov really arrive on the scene after so much promise, here it started to really show.
4. French Open 1st round, Gael Monfils d. Tomas Berdych, 7-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 7-5.
This first round match at the French Open saw the resurgance of Gael Monfils back on the tour, and this was quite a remarkable match in itself. Monfils who has been plagued with injury throughout his career was up against the 5th seed, Tomas Berdych, who looked to be the hot favourite to win here. However Monfils came out firing and soon took a two sets to love lead, however it wasn't long before Berdych went on to mount his own comeback and he levelled play by taking the 3rd and 4th sets on a tiebreak. In the 5th set both players played some great points and despite Berdych being the odds on favourite having levelled, it was Monfils that made the crucial break at 5-5, he moved ahead and went on to serve out a terrific match in front of a rapturous home crowd. This was a great match and with the home crowd right behind Monfils it had a great atmosphere, and Monfils himself showed here what a great player he can be, and despite sustaining a 3rd round loss to Tommy Robredo in the French, Monfils has shown he is well back on track if he maintains the form he showed at the French Open.
3. French Open 4th round, Roger Federer d. Gilles Simon, 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
In another home hope encounter at Roland Garros, we had Roger Federer take on Gilles Simon in this memorable 4th round match which took place on Court Philippe Chatrier in front of an enthralled full capacity crowd. The match however didn't start off like much as Federer easily took a comfortable lead in winning in the opening set 6-1. But that all changed in the 2nd set after Federer took a fall on the court, although he wasn't injured, it knocked him off his game long enough for Simon to start playing his own, as the Frenchman started to really impose himself on the Swiss by taking a two sets to one lead. In the 4th set, Roger was staring down the barrell but he dug deep and broke Simon twice to level proceedings. In the 5th set Roger managed to get the early break and pushed Simon for another, but the Frenchman hung tough to keep it to the single break after a terrific and gutsy game at 3-1. And when Roger tried to serve out the match, he faced one last hurrah from Simon as Rog was forced to stave off two break points, before he finally closed out the match 6-3 in the 5th. This was a terrific match and one of the real highlights of the French open and the crowd on court Philippe Chatrier produced a great atmosphere as they got behind Roger and Simon in almost equal measure at times. They also rather nicely had an on court interview with both players afterwards with the plucky Simon getting a well earned cheer as he walked off, while Roger went on to his 36th consecutive grand slam quarter final. Not too bad eh??
2. French Open 4th round, Stanislas Wawrinka d. Richard Gasquet, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5, 8-6.
If you had to pick a match from the French open this year with the greatest atmosphere behind it, you would have to go for this one, which saw an all out epic battle take place on court Suzanne Lenglen between the French No.2, Richard Gasquet who looking to reach his first ever quarter final at the French, and Stan Wawrinka. And Gasquet made a strong start as he took a two sets to love lead, and it looked very likely he would reach the last eight, however Stan was not yet done as he managed to grab a break to take the 3rd set. And from here Stan made a very impressive comeback and went on to level the match and take it into a 5th, where play went by serve and both men produced some amazing tennis for the estatic crowd. However unfortunately for Gasquet, he started to feel the effects of cramp set in and at 6-7, fatigue started to hit as he finally fell to Stan who fired a forehand winner down the line to end Gasquet's campaign. There was no doubt that this match was one of the undisputed highlights of the French Open, and given that Gasquet had never reached the last eight at his home slam, its was a real shame that he was denied here. As for Stan well it was an incredible effort especially as he came from two sets to love down to win, which he did two years ago at the French Open to beat Tsonga in the 3rd round. So overall it was one of the best of the year.
1. French Open semi final, Rafael Nadal d. Novak Djokovic, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7, 9-7
Well this match really had to be at the top of the list as it was easily one of the greatest matches to have been played at Roland Garros in quite some time. And here Novak Djokovic was absolutely desparate to win the French Open and defeat Rafa for the first time in his career. And for quite a while it looked like Nole was going to do just that as he really took it Rafa throughout the match. The two men shared the first two sets, but Rafa took the 3rd to take a 2 sets to 1 lead, as Djokovic looked curiously out of sorts. In the 4th set, Nole regrouped and as he stared down the barrel having gone a break down at 5-6, he managed to find that bit extra and fought back to push the match into a 4th set tiebreak whic he won 7-3. And Nole took the initiative by breaking Rafa early on, and it looked like he was ready to do the unthinkable by beating the king of clay on his home turf. However Nole at 4-3 made the fatal mistake of trying to play an overhead smash when he lost his balance and tripped into the net which lost him the point by default, which brought up a break point, which soon saw Rafa break back to level 4-4. Play went by serve until Rafa had made it 8-7, and it was Nole's turn but here it was Rafa that made his move and held onto his crown by breaking serve to win an epic match in 4 hours and 37 minutes.
There was no doubt that this was the best clay court match of the season and one of the great classics at the French open and neither player could have put more into this one. And it would be tough not to feel sorry for Djokovic who was so desperate to win the title and beat Rafa in the process, and had they met in the final who knows what might have happened. However this match does indicate that Novak will have his chances to win again in the future as no other player has taken Rafa the distance (apart from John Isner) at the French and especially not at the business end of the tournament either. So we might just see Djokovic make that breakthrough at the French just like Rafa did against Roger at Wimbledon, so hopefully next year third time will be a charm. But until then Rafa proved that he is still undisputed king on the clay and it will take an almighty effort to knock off that spot.
So thats it for my look at my pick of the best clay court matches of 2013.
More to follow on the tour soon.
Sunday, 9 June 2013
2013 Roland Garros Part 7.2: Rafa calling Guinness again
Right so this is the final post on the French Open, the second major of the tennis season, and this post will be focusing on the men's final, which was a Spanish duel between Rafa Nadal and David Ferrer, so let's look at it a bit more closely.
Well the match up was a difficult one especially for Ferrer who was so far behind in the head to head it left him with little hope that he could win through as Rafa lead it 19-4. And from the first set you could see the tell tale signs that this was going to be a real uphill battle for Ferrer as he struggled to deal with the Rafa whirlwind. Regardless of that though Ferrer did show enough of his fighting qualities in the 1st set as he managed to break Rafa to make it 2-2, but it didn't last long as Rafa went a break up again, and after some scrappy moments he came through to win the first set. In the 2nd set the quality of play actually rose that bit more and both men traded some excellent rallies, despite the fact that Ferrer went a double break down, he managed to get one of the breaks back, but he ended up playing a horrible service game to hand the 2nd set to Rafa. In the 3rd set Rafa started off by breaking Ferrer, but when he went on to play a wretched service game of his own, allowing Ferrer back in. However from here Ferrer continued to struggle to string the points together, and after numerous break point chances they all pretty much went by him, and it wasn't long before Rafa served it out as he went flat on his back in delight having won his record breaking 8th French Open title with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 victory.
Overall this wasn't actually a bad final in itself and Ferrer despite the disappointment of losing, showed enough grit against his fellow compatriot and despite the scoreline he created plenty of break point chances and even took a few. However when it came to the crunch Ferrer just wasn't quite able to convert his chances when it really mattered, especially in the 3rd set when it was 3-3 and he had a break point against Rafa's serve, which would have allowed him to move ahead for the first time in the match. And that's probably where Ferrer stands away from the top four players as he just doesn't quite have the weapons to take them down and that in itself is why he wasn't able to defeat Rafa today. However it was great to see Ferrer do so well at Roland Garros this year and reach his maiden grand slam final, and even if he fails to do so again, at least its something he has achieved in his career, as its the least he deserves.
As for Rafa well this is quite an incredible achievement as he has once again made a bit of history today by becoming the first player to win the same grand slam title eight times, which has never been done before, and it was 12th major title overall. And it also sees Rafa win his 57th career title and the seventh of the year already so far, which is incredible in itself. Not only that but Rafa has reached the final of every tournament he has played in this year so far, and its a fair assumption that he will go on to reach the final of Wimbledon as well, although that is a wee bit far off so we will have to wait and see. However Rafa's return to this tour in 2013 has been nothing but emphatic and its a remarkable comeback which no doubt will carry on, and it will be fascinating to see how well he will stack up on the grass and hard court swings ahead.
So that's it for now and the clay court season is over for another year, and its farewell to the French Open which has been a terrific tournament. Next up is the grass court season, which begins this week at the Aegon championships at Queens club in London, where Andy Murray makes his return to the tour after recovering from his back injury that made him pull out of the French. So we will see how Andy will get on this week and let's hope his back will be ok, as no doubt we will soon find out.
And that's it for now.
Well the match up was a difficult one especially for Ferrer who was so far behind in the head to head it left him with little hope that he could win through as Rafa lead it 19-4. And from the first set you could see the tell tale signs that this was going to be a real uphill battle for Ferrer as he struggled to deal with the Rafa whirlwind. Regardless of that though Ferrer did show enough of his fighting qualities in the 1st set as he managed to break Rafa to make it 2-2, but it didn't last long as Rafa went a break up again, and after some scrappy moments he came through to win the first set. In the 2nd set the quality of play actually rose that bit more and both men traded some excellent rallies, despite the fact that Ferrer went a double break down, he managed to get one of the breaks back, but he ended up playing a horrible service game to hand the 2nd set to Rafa. In the 3rd set Rafa started off by breaking Ferrer, but when he went on to play a wretched service game of his own, allowing Ferrer back in. However from here Ferrer continued to struggle to string the points together, and after numerous break point chances they all pretty much went by him, and it wasn't long before Rafa served it out as he went flat on his back in delight having won his record breaking 8th French Open title with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 victory.
Overall this wasn't actually a bad final in itself and Ferrer despite the disappointment of losing, showed enough grit against his fellow compatriot and despite the scoreline he created plenty of break point chances and even took a few. However when it came to the crunch Ferrer just wasn't quite able to convert his chances when it really mattered, especially in the 3rd set when it was 3-3 and he had a break point against Rafa's serve, which would have allowed him to move ahead for the first time in the match. And that's probably where Ferrer stands away from the top four players as he just doesn't quite have the weapons to take them down and that in itself is why he wasn't able to defeat Rafa today. However it was great to see Ferrer do so well at Roland Garros this year and reach his maiden grand slam final, and even if he fails to do so again, at least its something he has achieved in his career, as its the least he deserves.
As for Rafa well this is quite an incredible achievement as he has once again made a bit of history today by becoming the first player to win the same grand slam title eight times, which has never been done before, and it was 12th major title overall. And it also sees Rafa win his 57th career title and the seventh of the year already so far, which is incredible in itself. Not only that but Rafa has reached the final of every tournament he has played in this year so far, and its a fair assumption that he will go on to reach the final of Wimbledon as well, although that is a wee bit far off so we will have to wait and see. However Rafa's return to this tour in 2013 has been nothing but emphatic and its a remarkable comeback which no doubt will carry on, and it will be fascinating to see how well he will stack up on the grass and hard court swings ahead.
So that's it for now and the clay court season is over for another year, and its farewell to the French Open which has been a terrific tournament. Next up is the grass court season, which begins this week at the Aegon championships at Queens club in London, where Andy Murray makes his return to the tour after recovering from his back injury that made him pull out of the French. So we will see how Andy will get on this week and let's hope his back will be ok, as no doubt we will soon find out.
And that's it for now.
Saturday, 8 June 2013
2013 Roland Garros Part 7.1: 16 and counting....
Right well this will be my penultimate post on the 2013 French Open as it will cover the ladies final which was between the World No.1 Serena Williams and the No.2 and defending champion Maria Sharapova. So let's have a look at the match...
OK go into this match Serena and Maria have actually had some competitive matches of late, particularly their match in Miami earlier this year, but given Serena's emphatic head to head lead over Maria coming into this match of 13-2 it seemed like we might be in for a bit of potential rout. However the match itself was actually quite a competitve one as at the start Maria came out very aggressive and bossed Serena around, and despite going 0-40 on her serve she battled to hold her serve, and broke Serena in the very next game to take a 2-0 lead. However Maria was unable to maintain it as Serena fought back and broke in the next game to get things back on serve and she engineered a break of her own to lead 3-2, then another twist came with Maria breaking back to go 4-4, before Serena broke again and went on to serve out the 1st set. In the 2nd set Maria battled early to hold onto her serve in the first game as she continued to struggle on her own serve, and it wasn't long before the inevitable happened and Serena nabbed the crucial break to move ahead and out one hand on the trophy. However Maria still stood firm and battled to hang on and keep things to the single break, forcing Serena to serve it out, who actually had no problems whatsoever in doing so and she clinched her 2nd French Open title with a 6-4, 6-4 victory in 1 hour and 46 minutes.
As far as ladies finals go and especially ones with Serena Williams in it, this was actually surprisingly good and very competitive with Serena facing some pretty stern resistance from Sharapova, and the two players traded some excellent points. And Maria actually deserved alot of credit for how she played in this match as she used all her battling qualities to try and stay alive in the match as long as she could. However in the end Maria's main downfall here was her serve as she struggled to keep up her 1st serve percentage which meandered round about 55 percent, which against Serena is simply not good enough. But this match in the end was all about Serena Williams who after getting off to a sluggish start, and facing some spirited fighting from Sharapova, was in control for most of the match and once she got ahead never really let go. And Serena's serve for the most of the match was terrific as she landed in an impressive 69 percent first serves in, and she even sealed the win with her 10th ace down the T, which saw her fall to her knees in delight.
So this now sees Serena Williams win her 16th grand slam title, and her 2nd at Roland Garros, and throughout the tournament there was a sense of inevitability that she was going to win the title. And I thought that once Serena got that first match in the bag she was already pretty much home free, and she went on to demolish the opposition and she only dropped 29 games throughout the whole tournament (and 18 of those games came from two matches, while the other 10 came from five combined!!), which is a scary fact in itself! It also sees Serena's winning streak carry on which is now up to 31 matches, and at this rate there is no stopping her and she probably go on to outdo even Djokovic's 41 match streak, as depending on which tournament Serena plays next before Wimbledon, or even if it is Wimbledon then she carry on that streak well into the hard court swing. And in the end the only person that can defeat her is herself, so this streak won't end anytime soon until Serena is ready to be beaten.
Unfortunately for Maria however as a result of her loss at the French Open she will now drop down the rankings to No.3 and Victoria Azarenka will overtake her to the No.2 spot. But I'm sure Maria being the ultimate warrior she is will bounce back fine in time for Wimbledon which is only two weeks away now.
Well that is the end of the French open for the ladies side of the tournament and well done to Serena Williams for her mighty impressive run at Roland Garros, which shows she is still very much the player to beat, and with 16 slams in the bag, it won't be long before she surpasses Roger Federer's record of 17, which she can do if she wins the next two slams at Wimbledon and the US Open. So its been a good tournament for the ladies game, and has featured some really good tennis, especially in the second week. Next up on the ladies tour will be in Birmingham and then followed by Eastbourne, but I don't think we will Serena or Maria play until Wimbledon, which should be great, oh and I'll be going there this year so can't wait!
And with that I shall leave it there and post back once the men's final is over.
OK go into this match Serena and Maria have actually had some competitive matches of late, particularly their match in Miami earlier this year, but given Serena's emphatic head to head lead over Maria coming into this match of 13-2 it seemed like we might be in for a bit of potential rout. However the match itself was actually quite a competitve one as at the start Maria came out very aggressive and bossed Serena around, and despite going 0-40 on her serve she battled to hold her serve, and broke Serena in the very next game to take a 2-0 lead. However Maria was unable to maintain it as Serena fought back and broke in the next game to get things back on serve and she engineered a break of her own to lead 3-2, then another twist came with Maria breaking back to go 4-4, before Serena broke again and went on to serve out the 1st set. In the 2nd set Maria battled early to hold onto her serve in the first game as she continued to struggle on her own serve, and it wasn't long before the inevitable happened and Serena nabbed the crucial break to move ahead and out one hand on the trophy. However Maria still stood firm and battled to hang on and keep things to the single break, forcing Serena to serve it out, who actually had no problems whatsoever in doing so and she clinched her 2nd French Open title with a 6-4, 6-4 victory in 1 hour and 46 minutes.
As far as ladies finals go and especially ones with Serena Williams in it, this was actually surprisingly good and very competitive with Serena facing some pretty stern resistance from Sharapova, and the two players traded some excellent points. And Maria actually deserved alot of credit for how she played in this match as she used all her battling qualities to try and stay alive in the match as long as she could. However in the end Maria's main downfall here was her serve as she struggled to keep up her 1st serve percentage which meandered round about 55 percent, which against Serena is simply not good enough. But this match in the end was all about Serena Williams who after getting off to a sluggish start, and facing some spirited fighting from Sharapova, was in control for most of the match and once she got ahead never really let go. And Serena's serve for the most of the match was terrific as she landed in an impressive 69 percent first serves in, and she even sealed the win with her 10th ace down the T, which saw her fall to her knees in delight.
So this now sees Serena Williams win her 16th grand slam title, and her 2nd at Roland Garros, and throughout the tournament there was a sense of inevitability that she was going to win the title. And I thought that once Serena got that first match in the bag she was already pretty much home free, and she went on to demolish the opposition and she only dropped 29 games throughout the whole tournament (and 18 of those games came from two matches, while the other 10 came from five combined!!), which is a scary fact in itself! It also sees Serena's winning streak carry on which is now up to 31 matches, and at this rate there is no stopping her and she probably go on to outdo even Djokovic's 41 match streak, as depending on which tournament Serena plays next before Wimbledon, or even if it is Wimbledon then she carry on that streak well into the hard court swing. And in the end the only person that can defeat her is herself, so this streak won't end anytime soon until Serena is ready to be beaten.
Unfortunately for Maria however as a result of her loss at the French Open she will now drop down the rankings to No.3 and Victoria Azarenka will overtake her to the No.2 spot. But I'm sure Maria being the ultimate warrior she is will bounce back fine in time for Wimbledon which is only two weeks away now.
Well that is the end of the French open for the ladies side of the tournament and well done to Serena Williams for her mighty impressive run at Roland Garros, which shows she is still very much the player to beat, and with 16 slams in the bag, it won't be long before she surpasses Roger Federer's record of 17, which she can do if she wins the next two slams at Wimbledon and the US Open. So its been a good tournament for the ladies game, and has featured some really good tennis, especially in the second week. Next up on the ladies tour will be in Birmingham and then followed by Eastbourne, but I don't think we will Serena or Maria play until Wimbledon, which should be great, oh and I'll be going there this year so can't wait!
And with that I shall leave it there and post back once the men's final is over.
Friday, 7 June 2013
2013 Roland Garros Part 6: Down to the last four....
OK so this will be my second last post (sort of!) on the French Open, which will cover the men's and ladies semi final matches, so let's go...
Right to start with the ladies first semi final we had Maria Sharapova, the defending champion take on Victoria Azarenka for a place in the final. The head to head between these two stands at 7-5 in Vika's favour, however Sharapova leads their clay head to head 2-0 coming into this match. And as for the match itself, well it was quite a competitive one as Sharapova after comfortably taking the first set, faced a fightback from Azarenka who broke Maria twice in the second set and then levelled the match at a set all. In the 3rd set it went by serve until Maria got the break to move ahead 3-2, but when she tried to serve it out going 5-2 up she double faulted on serving it out, letting Vika break back who went on to hold her own. However at the second time of asking Maria finally shut the barn door on Victoria and she sealed her place in the final with a hard fought 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 win. It was good to see this was a competitive match as Maria and Vika do have a really good rivalry when its on, but when its not it can be very one sided (depending on who wins) but they have had one or two matches where the battle is on, and this was one of them. So full credit for Maria for reaching her 2nd consecutive final in Paris, however her title defence will come under real threat from her next potential opponent...
And the second semi final of the day was between Serena Williams and the last year's finalist Sara Errani, and given the American's powerful physique, her incredible serve and brutal return game, it would be quite a tall order for the plucky small Italian to get by her. And it turned out to be totally the case as poor Errani had no answer whatsoever from the get go to Serena's brute force and her impenetrable serve, as the American raced through the first set to hand Errani a bagel. And in the 2nd set it was more of the same, except Errani managed to at least get one game on the scoreboard (which gave the French crowd something to cheer about) but it was either just a mircroblip or a bit of sympathy as Serena then got back in the steamroller and flattened the Italian to reach the final with a beyond emphatic 6-0, 6-1 rout.
Well it has to be said that this was not a match, and I don't think it even classed as a warm up, it was more like watching a world class professional take on someone like me in a public park, with Errani being made to look less than ordinary. And the frustrating thing about matches like this is that while they showcase what a formidable player Serena Williams is, it also makes an incredibly boring experience, and watching one-way traffic in any sport is never fun, and that certainly is the case when Serena get's motoring, especially when someone is that omnipotent in their game. Regardless of that though it shows how good Serena is, just like Steffi Graff, when she is on there is absolutely no one that can make a dent on her.
So this sets up the ladies final between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, so even though this is a stupid question in itself, who will win it???? Well for me it has to be Serena and she will win it in straight sets, because unless Maria can seriously mix up her usual game and throw Serena off, then I can only see another thrashing ahead. Although Maria has said in the press that she will try something different in the final tomorrow and let's face it she will need to in order to have any chance. But my prediction is for Serena to win with a 6-1, 6-3 scoreline.
So now onto the men's semis starting with what was the most anticipated match of the tournament, which was between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, in what was a re-match of last year's final. Everyone naturally was hoping this would be the final, but due to Rafa's ranking, he was unable to meet Nole in the final (also due to the fact that Andy Murray was not in the mix, caused the seedings to be out of synch) so they were drawn on the same side, hence the semi final match. But anyways the match promised loads, and thankfully it sure delivered and both men engaged in a truly epic battle on court Philippe Chatrier in front of an enthralled full capacity crowd. Rafa in the first set took the early initative and broke Nole to take it, however in the 2nd set, there was a momentum shift and Novak broke to level. In the 3rd set there was a shift in momentum again as Nole seemed to have trouble with his movement and he found himself a double break down, but managed to just save the bagel, before trailing two sets to one down. In the 4th set there were a couple of breaks, were Nole trailed but broke back, however despite Rafa serving for the match, Nole miraculously broke back, pushing the match in to a tiebreak, where Nole won it to take the match to a final set. And the 5th set was an epic battle which saw Novak take the early break, however Rafa broke back to make it 4-4, and play went by serve until 8-7, with Djokovic serving to make it 8-8, Rafa took his chances and pushed Novak into sending a forehand long, and he reached his 8th Roland Garros final. The final scoreline read an epic 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7, 9-7 with Rafa triumphant after a gruelling and incredible 4 hours and 37 minutes.
This was an amazing encounter from both players and its safe to say that this was the best clay court match these two have played, and in the match I was convinced that Djokovic was going to win it, especially as he got the break in the 5th set. And in that regard the match acutally mirrored the Australian open final from last year where Rafa also won the 4th set to level the match, and got an early break in the 5th before he surrendered it and went on to lose. And it would be tough not to feel sorry for Djokovic again, especially this time where he came so agonisingly close to beating Rafa at the one tournament he was so desperate to win, but I'm sure he will bounce back in time Wimbledon soon. As for Rafa well it shows his remarkable record at Roland Garros continue and he amazingly has reached his 9th consecutive final ever since coming back to the tour. And Rafa also has another unique opportunity ahead of him as he has a chance to win a record 8th Roland Garros title, which would also mark the most times any player has won the same major in history (Roger Federer and Peter Sampras are both tied at seven with Wimbledon). And given his amazing record its going to be very tough not to see him win another record breaking title this Sunday coming.
Which brings me onto the last match of the day which was between the home favourite, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and the Spanish No.2, David Ferrer. Naturally going into this match Tsonga had alot to live up to in trying to reach the final of his home slam, and it was a tremendous opportunity for him and his country. However Tsonga unfortunately went into the match rather like a pre-Lendl era Andy Murray as he kept fretting, muttering and berating himself whenever he missed a point (and he missed a fair few!). And Ferrer by comparison adopted his usual professional attitude who just dug deep and put in a solid performance by pushing Tsonga back and making him miss, and after he took a two set lead, there was no real way back for Tsonga who capitulated on serve in the 3rd and Ferrer went on to seal his first major final with a 6-1, 7-6, 6-2 victory.
There was no doubt that this was a very disappointing effort from Tsonga who I expected a whole lot more from in having the opportunity to reach the final of his home major. However I think that nerves also played a big part in the match and for all Tsonga's talent he is also a very erratic player who lacks consistency and mental fortitude when it comes to the big matches, and that is something in the future he will really need to work on. As for David Ferrer well he deserves nothing less than what he has achieved today in reaching his first ever grand slam final, as it is a terrific achievement for him and at the age of 30 its great to see him reach this stage, and no doubt he will be hoping to take it to the next level.
So this sets up an all Spanish final for the men's on Sunday, and again this may sound like a silly question, but who will win it??????? Hmmmm it is tough, but I will have to opt for Nadal as with seven French titles behind him its hard to look past that alone and Ferrer has not beaten Rafa in a clay match since about 2006! However that doesn't mean Ferrer can't give Rafa a match, as in their previous two meetings Ferrer played two very tight close matches where Ferrer had his chances, and being his first major final he will definitely try to rise to the occassion. But after their semi final last year at RG where Rafa thrashed Ferrer, there is a danger that history could repeat itself again, and it could be a straight set rout that lies ahed for Ferrer, but I hope not. However we will just have to wait and see, but what I do know is that Rafa will certainly win, but I just hope Ferrer can give him a match before he does, and it would be good to see a tight straight set win or at best a four setter.
So that's it for now, I will report back once the men's and ladies finals are done and we know who will lift the silverware (well I think we know already!).
So until the next one, bye for now!
Right to start with the ladies first semi final we had Maria Sharapova, the defending champion take on Victoria Azarenka for a place in the final. The head to head between these two stands at 7-5 in Vika's favour, however Sharapova leads their clay head to head 2-0 coming into this match. And as for the match itself, well it was quite a competitive one as Sharapova after comfortably taking the first set, faced a fightback from Azarenka who broke Maria twice in the second set and then levelled the match at a set all. In the 3rd set it went by serve until Maria got the break to move ahead 3-2, but when she tried to serve it out going 5-2 up she double faulted on serving it out, letting Vika break back who went on to hold her own. However at the second time of asking Maria finally shut the barn door on Victoria and she sealed her place in the final with a hard fought 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 win. It was good to see this was a competitive match as Maria and Vika do have a really good rivalry when its on, but when its not it can be very one sided (depending on who wins) but they have had one or two matches where the battle is on, and this was one of them. So full credit for Maria for reaching her 2nd consecutive final in Paris, however her title defence will come under real threat from her next potential opponent...
And the second semi final of the day was between Serena Williams and the last year's finalist Sara Errani, and given the American's powerful physique, her incredible serve and brutal return game, it would be quite a tall order for the plucky small Italian to get by her. And it turned out to be totally the case as poor Errani had no answer whatsoever from the get go to Serena's brute force and her impenetrable serve, as the American raced through the first set to hand Errani a bagel. And in the 2nd set it was more of the same, except Errani managed to at least get one game on the scoreboard (which gave the French crowd something to cheer about) but it was either just a mircroblip or a bit of sympathy as Serena then got back in the steamroller and flattened the Italian to reach the final with a beyond emphatic 6-0, 6-1 rout.
Well it has to be said that this was not a match, and I don't think it even classed as a warm up, it was more like watching a world class professional take on someone like me in a public park, with Errani being made to look less than ordinary. And the frustrating thing about matches like this is that while they showcase what a formidable player Serena Williams is, it also makes an incredibly boring experience, and watching one-way traffic in any sport is never fun, and that certainly is the case when Serena get's motoring, especially when someone is that omnipotent in their game. Regardless of that though it shows how good Serena is, just like Steffi Graff, when she is on there is absolutely no one that can make a dent on her.
So this sets up the ladies final between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, so even though this is a stupid question in itself, who will win it???? Well for me it has to be Serena and she will win it in straight sets, because unless Maria can seriously mix up her usual game and throw Serena off, then I can only see another thrashing ahead. Although Maria has said in the press that she will try something different in the final tomorrow and let's face it she will need to in order to have any chance. But my prediction is for Serena to win with a 6-1, 6-3 scoreline.
So now onto the men's semis starting with what was the most anticipated match of the tournament, which was between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, in what was a re-match of last year's final. Everyone naturally was hoping this would be the final, but due to Rafa's ranking, he was unable to meet Nole in the final (also due to the fact that Andy Murray was not in the mix, caused the seedings to be out of synch) so they were drawn on the same side, hence the semi final match. But anyways the match promised loads, and thankfully it sure delivered and both men engaged in a truly epic battle on court Philippe Chatrier in front of an enthralled full capacity crowd. Rafa in the first set took the early initative and broke Nole to take it, however in the 2nd set, there was a momentum shift and Novak broke to level. In the 3rd set there was a shift in momentum again as Nole seemed to have trouble with his movement and he found himself a double break down, but managed to just save the bagel, before trailing two sets to one down. In the 4th set there were a couple of breaks, were Nole trailed but broke back, however despite Rafa serving for the match, Nole miraculously broke back, pushing the match in to a tiebreak, where Nole won it to take the match to a final set. And the 5th set was an epic battle which saw Novak take the early break, however Rafa broke back to make it 4-4, and play went by serve until 8-7, with Djokovic serving to make it 8-8, Rafa took his chances and pushed Novak into sending a forehand long, and he reached his 8th Roland Garros final. The final scoreline read an epic 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7, 9-7 with Rafa triumphant after a gruelling and incredible 4 hours and 37 minutes.
This was an amazing encounter from both players and its safe to say that this was the best clay court match these two have played, and in the match I was convinced that Djokovic was going to win it, especially as he got the break in the 5th set. And in that regard the match acutally mirrored the Australian open final from last year where Rafa also won the 4th set to level the match, and got an early break in the 5th before he surrendered it and went on to lose. And it would be tough not to feel sorry for Djokovic again, especially this time where he came so agonisingly close to beating Rafa at the one tournament he was so desperate to win, but I'm sure he will bounce back in time Wimbledon soon. As for Rafa well it shows his remarkable record at Roland Garros continue and he amazingly has reached his 9th consecutive final ever since coming back to the tour. And Rafa also has another unique opportunity ahead of him as he has a chance to win a record 8th Roland Garros title, which would also mark the most times any player has won the same major in history (Roger Federer and Peter Sampras are both tied at seven with Wimbledon). And given his amazing record its going to be very tough not to see him win another record breaking title this Sunday coming.
Which brings me onto the last match of the day which was between the home favourite, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and the Spanish No.2, David Ferrer. Naturally going into this match Tsonga had alot to live up to in trying to reach the final of his home slam, and it was a tremendous opportunity for him and his country. However Tsonga unfortunately went into the match rather like a pre-Lendl era Andy Murray as he kept fretting, muttering and berating himself whenever he missed a point (and he missed a fair few!). And Ferrer by comparison adopted his usual professional attitude who just dug deep and put in a solid performance by pushing Tsonga back and making him miss, and after he took a two set lead, there was no real way back for Tsonga who capitulated on serve in the 3rd and Ferrer went on to seal his first major final with a 6-1, 7-6, 6-2 victory.
There was no doubt that this was a very disappointing effort from Tsonga who I expected a whole lot more from in having the opportunity to reach the final of his home major. However I think that nerves also played a big part in the match and for all Tsonga's talent he is also a very erratic player who lacks consistency and mental fortitude when it comes to the big matches, and that is something in the future he will really need to work on. As for David Ferrer well he deserves nothing less than what he has achieved today in reaching his first ever grand slam final, as it is a terrific achievement for him and at the age of 30 its great to see him reach this stage, and no doubt he will be hoping to take it to the next level.
So this sets up an all Spanish final for the men's on Sunday, and again this may sound like a silly question, but who will win it??????? Hmmmm it is tough, but I will have to opt for Nadal as with seven French titles behind him its hard to look past that alone and Ferrer has not beaten Rafa in a clay match since about 2006! However that doesn't mean Ferrer can't give Rafa a match, as in their previous two meetings Ferrer played two very tight close matches where Ferrer had his chances, and being his first major final he will definitely try to rise to the occassion. But after their semi final last year at RG where Rafa thrashed Ferrer, there is a danger that history could repeat itself again, and it could be a straight set rout that lies ahed for Ferrer, but I hope not. However we will just have to wait and see, but what I do know is that Rafa will certainly win, but I just hope Ferrer can give him a match before he does, and it would be good to see a tight straight set win or at best a four setter.
So that's it for now, I will report back once the men's and ladies finals are done and we know who will lift the silverware (well I think we know already!).
So until the next one, bye for now!
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