So that's the final grand slam of the year well under way now, the US Open now in its 3rd day, we've already seen some pretty good tennis and some early upsets too.
Starting with the ladies there have been quite a few upsets, particularly on the first couple of days (well all three actually) as the first casualty was Petra Kvitova who went out in straight sets after a very poor performance against Alexandra Delgharu in 6-7, 3-6. And on day two Li Na followed suit after going out in 2-6, 5-7 against Siimona Halep. So this is two grand slam champions that have fallen at the first hurdle, and both of them have been playing poor tennis ever since they won their respective slams in Wimbledon and the French Open. It just makes you wonder what is going on in their minds? Naturally you think after playing great tennis to win a major that they will continue to play great tennis, but obviously it must be a case of the pressure and expectation gets to them after such a title win. I think Djokovic said the same thing after he won the Australian Open the first time 3 years ago, that he felt far more pressure and expectations put on him and he struggled to try and win one after that (until this year of course!). But I hope for Li Na and Petra's sakes that they pick up their tennis again and play better for the rest of the tour.
In other ladies matches, another top seed went out in another upset as Marion Bartoli was put out by American newcomer Christine McHale, who had already claimed a few scalps previously as she had defeated Caroline Wozniacki a few weeks back, as well as some other top players such as Ailsa Kleybanova (name right???) and Svetlana Kuznetsova. However some of the top seeds are still in as Vera Zvonareva is through in her 2nd round match, Andrea Petkovic and Julia Goerges also have advanced in their matches. And its also really good to see that Elena Baltacha is still in the draw also as she had a tough 1st round match against American Jamie Hampton who eventually had to retire near the end of their match. So Elena next up faces Svetlana Kuznetsova, which should be a real tough one but I hope Elena can come through as she could well do it and it would be great if she did. Although I was disappointed for Laura Robson who went out today in her 2nd round match against Medina Garrigues of Spain who outplayed and outpaced her winning in 6-2, 6-3. But of course the match of the tournament on the ladies so far has to have been the clash between Maria Sharapova and the British No.3 Heather Watson, who put on a gutsy display by taking the mighty Russian to a 3 set battle, which the mighty Pova won in 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. Heather deservedly got alot of credit after the match as she played a terrific game against one of the world's best players, although Sharapova herself didn't play her best, but take nothing away from Heather's achievement, as despite her loss she went and played a great match from start to finish.
Anyway onto the men so far no upsets on the top seed side of things, apart Robin Soderling who has had to pull out due to illness. To start off Federer got through his match in straight sets, Djokovic who was up against Irishman Conor Niland breezed past the man in 6-0, 5-1 after Niland had to retire due to food poisoning. This would be a blessing for Djokovic no doubt who would want to avoid a real match in order to preserve his shoulder, which he said was fine anyway, not that Conor could have bothered him much! Nadal though in a way not surprisingly had a much tougher against Andrev Gubolev who surprised the former World No.1 with some stunning shots, although he couldn't do enough in the end to beat Rafa, who managed to close out the match in straight sets, eventually winning in 6-3, 7-6, 7-5. Rafa actually did play quite well in the match although he did drop his serve quite a few times, but despite that Rafa did what he needed to do to get the straight sets win. But it still does show a few worrying signs for the Spaniard, but hopefully as he progresses he will get better.
So onto the other top seed, Andy Murray who took on the talented Indian Somdev Devvarman, who proved quite a test in the opening set, with the Muzza even dropping his serve in the first game! But Muzza broke back and soon they played a very even pegged first set, which the Muzza closed out in the tiebreak. After this Andy put on a powerful display of forehand hitting, which saw him pulversing his shots down the court which allowed him to hit many winners. It was quite an impressive display, but what I still found troubling was that his first serve percentage was still off, a point in case was when he had a chance to serve out for the match at 5-2, but then he double faulted to hand a break back to Devvarman. But fortunately for Somdev he couldn't do anything with the break and Andy seized the chance to win the match 7-6, 6-2, 6-3. Its great to see Andy play with more aggression and power on court, and it could be one of the keys to secure his first grand slam win at the US Open, but its a matter playing consistently well with that level of aggression. I just keep thinking of how he played against Rafa at Wimbledon, he hit like that for one set brilliantly and then it went south, and he didn't come back into the match. So if he can maintain that level over the next two weeks then this will stand him in good stead, but his 1st serve is still a big concern, and he might be able to get away with throwing away free points to lower ranked players but not against the top 3 guys.
However its a good solid start to Andy's campaign, a straight sets win is always good, his next opponent is Robin Haase though, who could prove to be very tricky, as he played Rafa last year and took him to 5 sets at Wimbledon, so it could be a stern test for the British No.1. But I'm sure Andy will prevail one way or another.
So I will leave it there. More to follow........
Wednesday, 31 August 2011
Sunday, 28 August 2011
We are only one River
Saturday night saw the return of Doctor Who to our screens with the second half of the sixth series, with Matt Smith as the Doc.
The episode sort of takes off from where it left off before, with River Song (Alex Kingston) making the surprise revalation that she is in fact Amy's daughter. But in this episode Amy has a new character come in who is a friend of Amy's called Mels (played by the rather foxy Nina Toussaint-White), who holds the Doctor at gunpoint and insists they go back in time in the TARDIS to kill Hitler. The episode soon reveals that Amy and Mels were childhood friends and at school Mels got into serious trouble with her teachers, and later on after leaving school got into some fracases with the law. But Mels isn't all she appears to be after she is caught in the crossfire of a confused and rather disorientated Hitler who shoots her, and then after this, Mels suddenly bursts into a familiar looking ray of light that the time Time Lords tend to when they regenerate, and from there things get a bit more complex.
For a opener to the second half of the series Let's Kill Hitler is highly entertaining, and has quite a few amusing scenes especially the ones with the robots that threaten to kill Amy and Rory when they are unidentified on the spaceship containing miniaturised humans with the lines "you are not identified, you are no longer allowed to live" and "you have been identified, you're allowed to continue your existence". Its also good to see the continued development of the characters, particularly Rory, who throughout the series has grown to be more brave and resourceful, I mean at one point he even decks Hitler and locks him in a cupboard! Matt Smith continues his assured command of the role of the Doctor, and even in the face of death he appears to be one step ahead. Alex Kingston also keeps her role of River Song very much alive and interesting, as she is almost as big a conundrum as the Doctor is, and (PLOT SPOILER) she was as I figured a Time Lord, or was born with Time Lord DNA, as she helps save the Doctor by using up her regenerative energy. This leaves River no longer able to regenerate and she is stuck with her one remaining life. Amy also remains something of a complex character herself, as she clearly is another character which the universe seems to revolve around, one thing I will say about Karen Gillan though is, while she is lovely, she does have a rather pale complexion!
Steven Moffat, the creative head writer (and writer of this episode) continues to delight in confounding his audience, and what's great is he does it in the most entertaining and clever way. The Doctor is forever instrinsically linked to River and the characters of his latest regeneration, although once the Eleventh Doctor's time is up, we can expect to encounter a whole new assortment of characters, as of yet we have seen no sight of Rose, Donna or Martha, or Jack for that matter (although the first three do appear as projected images briefly in this episode!). Also another thing about the Doctor's relationship with River is that its so backward and complex I wonder if Steven Moffat himself knows where he is going with their story half of the time! Clearly when the Doctor in David Tennant's era first meets River, that is indeed the first time he has laid eyes on her, and this was the last time River laid eyes on him. So it does get to the point where you get mixed up about just when their relationship will meet at a certain plateau. Its almost as if Moffat used The Curious Case of Benjamin Button as his inspiration, with the Doctor's relationship with River running backwards, like Benjy's life was running in reverse, aging from old to young while his mind started as a child and got older as he grew physically younger, and while he met his childhood sweetheart when he was an old man, their relationship peaks when they are both in the middle of their lives. Similarly in the Doctor and River's case they must meet in the middle at some point where their relationship will really click and that's when they know each other the most, but the more the Doctor knows River, the less she knows him. So its a real heid fook.
The only negative thing I would probably say about the episode though was that the actor playing Hitler wasn't so great at playing the infamous dictator. The Fuhrer was reduced to simply a comical figure who made an all too brief appearance and was quickly forgotten about and put in the background. I was also half expecting the Nazi officer and Hitler to have a halfway decent German accent, but I think the actor in particular who played Hitler went for a half hearted German/English accent. I mean even Hitler in Red Dwarf's was museum episode was more convincing and a better Hitler to boot! (or uniform).
So it remains to be seen how the second half of the sixth series pans out, but Let's Kill Hitler makes for a really positive start, so here's hoping we get more good stuff in a similar vein. I'm sure we will so I'll blog up more for the remaining episodes when they come on.
The episode sort of takes off from where it left off before, with River Song (Alex Kingston) making the surprise revalation that she is in fact Amy's daughter. But in this episode Amy has a new character come in who is a friend of Amy's called Mels (played by the rather foxy Nina Toussaint-White), who holds the Doctor at gunpoint and insists they go back in time in the TARDIS to kill Hitler. The episode soon reveals that Amy and Mels were childhood friends and at school Mels got into serious trouble with her teachers, and later on after leaving school got into some fracases with the law. But Mels isn't all she appears to be after she is caught in the crossfire of a confused and rather disorientated Hitler who shoots her, and then after this, Mels suddenly bursts into a familiar looking ray of light that the time Time Lords tend to when they regenerate, and from there things get a bit more complex.
For a opener to the second half of the series Let's Kill Hitler is highly entertaining, and has quite a few amusing scenes especially the ones with the robots that threaten to kill Amy and Rory when they are unidentified on the spaceship containing miniaturised humans with the lines "you are not identified, you are no longer allowed to live" and "you have been identified, you're allowed to continue your existence". Its also good to see the continued development of the characters, particularly Rory, who throughout the series has grown to be more brave and resourceful, I mean at one point he even decks Hitler and locks him in a cupboard! Matt Smith continues his assured command of the role of the Doctor, and even in the face of death he appears to be one step ahead. Alex Kingston also keeps her role of River Song very much alive and interesting, as she is almost as big a conundrum as the Doctor is, and (PLOT SPOILER) she was as I figured a Time Lord, or was born with Time Lord DNA, as she helps save the Doctor by using up her regenerative energy. This leaves River no longer able to regenerate and she is stuck with her one remaining life. Amy also remains something of a complex character herself, as she clearly is another character which the universe seems to revolve around, one thing I will say about Karen Gillan though is, while she is lovely, she does have a rather pale complexion!
Steven Moffat, the creative head writer (and writer of this episode) continues to delight in confounding his audience, and what's great is he does it in the most entertaining and clever way. The Doctor is forever instrinsically linked to River and the characters of his latest regeneration, although once the Eleventh Doctor's time is up, we can expect to encounter a whole new assortment of characters, as of yet we have seen no sight of Rose, Donna or Martha, or Jack for that matter (although the first three do appear as projected images briefly in this episode!). Also another thing about the Doctor's relationship with River is that its so backward and complex I wonder if Steven Moffat himself knows where he is going with their story half of the time! Clearly when the Doctor in David Tennant's era first meets River, that is indeed the first time he has laid eyes on her, and this was the last time River laid eyes on him. So it does get to the point where you get mixed up about just when their relationship will meet at a certain plateau. Its almost as if Moffat used The Curious Case of Benjamin Button as his inspiration, with the Doctor's relationship with River running backwards, like Benjy's life was running in reverse, aging from old to young while his mind started as a child and got older as he grew physically younger, and while he met his childhood sweetheart when he was an old man, their relationship peaks when they are both in the middle of their lives. Similarly in the Doctor and River's case they must meet in the middle at some point where their relationship will really click and that's when they know each other the most, but the more the Doctor knows River, the less she knows him. So its a real heid fook.
The only negative thing I would probably say about the episode though was that the actor playing Hitler wasn't so great at playing the infamous dictator. The Fuhrer was reduced to simply a comical figure who made an all too brief appearance and was quickly forgotten about and put in the background. I was also half expecting the Nazi officer and Hitler to have a halfway decent German accent, but I think the actor in particular who played Hitler went for a half hearted German/English accent. I mean even Hitler in Red Dwarf's was museum episode was more convincing and a better Hitler to boot! (or uniform).
So it remains to be seen how the second half of the sixth series pans out, but Let's Kill Hitler makes for a really positive start, so here's hoping we get more good stuff in a similar vein. I'm sure we will so I'll blog up more for the remaining episodes when they come on.
Saturday, 27 August 2011
US Open 2011 pre-match preview
So on Monday the fourth and final grand slam of the year begins at Flushing Meadows in New York City, yep its the 2011 US Open. So here's some of my thoughts on who and what might go on and just who might get through to the final on both the mens and ladies draws.
So with ladies first, I was thinking of a few favourites, naturally right at the top will be Serena Williams who has just recently made her comeback, and has already won two titles since then at Stanford and in Toronto. Serena had serious injuries with two blood clots, so the fact she has managed to come back into the sport has been quite incredible so it would be just the perfect finish to her year to come in and win her home soil title once more. Other potential favourites could well be Victoria Azarenka, who has been playing some very good tennis of late, and is also quite an aggressive player as she really goes for her shots, and is seeded as the World No.5, however she has a tendancy to become injury prone so it remains to be seen how she will fare in New York. Maria Sharapova of course is another strong favourite as she has made quite a really good comeback also this year, having won two titles also in Rome and Cincinnati this year, and reached the Wimbledon final. But Maria's game is pretty erratic and she has been known to serve up double faults and unforced errors like an overloaded dessert tray, but her sheer determination and strength of character still make her a favourite.
Then of course there is the current World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, who has of yet never won a grand slam, but this would be a great place to start. But Caroline has had a dip in form lately as she went out early in both Toronto and Cincinnati, but she has made up for that since in New Haven last week as she won her 4th title in a row there (a record in its own) and her 18th overall. But can she win a grand slam here in New York???? Well with all these names its hard to tell, she certainly has the stamina and mental strength, but there are a few holes in her game, such as her weak forehand and she isn't the most natural vollier, which can leave her vulnerable to other player's shots. Last year she did very well in getting to the semi finals, but this year she hasn't fared so well in the slams, having reached only the 3rd round at the French Open and the 4th at Wimbledon. But hard court is her best surface so she must try her best to make an example of that, and having won in New Haven will give her a boost going into the US Open, and that's Caroline and Andy both tied at 18 titles each, so it would be great if they could win their first major in New York to make it 19 all, but we'll see.
So onto the mens side of the draw, well the top 4 seeds have to be the overwhelming favourites going into the US Open, but that of course doesn't mean someone else might not get in there as well. At Wimbledon for example Jo-Wilfried Tsonga put out Federer in the quarter finals and they are in the same side of the draw again, so there is that danger that Tsonga could do it again. Rafa also has looked pretty vulnerable since his Wimbledon defeat to Djokovic, and put in poor performances in Toronto and Cincinnati, but when it comes to the slams, I'm sure Rafa will regroup and get back to his best form or somewhere near to it. So I would definitely expect Roger and Rafa to be back on form at the US Open, upsets could happen and if they do for both of them it could dramatically increase the other two's chances.
Rafa however who does respect his opponents seems to have built up a bit animosity towards Djokovic this year, I'm sure its not on a personal level, but on a professional level, as he obviously feels dismayed at having lost to the Serb 5 times in a row. And I have to say if Rafa does make it to the final and faces Djokovic once more, I would have to put my money on Djokovic winning, its a safe bet, but I can't really say at this stage of course we will find out on September 11 (which also marks the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack on New York, not exactly the best day to play a final maybe). All we know for sure is that so far this year Djokovic has got the measure of Nadal's game, and this is a real problem for Rafa, and he has said since in press conferences that he needs to find a solution. I think Rafa will at some point beat Djokovic again, but it may not be anytime this year, so the Spaniard will need to bide his time and find that moment.
Which brings me onto Djokovic, who has apart from lost out in two tournaments, won every other title he has taken part in, 2 Grand Slams, 5 Masters, the Serbia Open and Dubai, make for a mighty impressive year so far, but can he keep it up in New York??? Well if he is fit and well there is no reason that he shouldn't win the US Open or at least be in with the strongest chance as he is the World No.1 so naturally he is right up there at the top. However Djokovic had sustained a shoulder injury in Cincinnati which saw him lose the Cincinnati title to Andy Murray, what if that injury reappears throughout the US Open??? Well it is possible, but I'm positive Djokovic will have done all the recovery preparation necessary to ensure he will be fine for this title, and its one he certainly won't want to miss. So naturally if Djokovic will be back to full fitness he will certainly be the overwhelming favourite.
Which brings us onto the last of the top four, and well we know a thing or two about him already this year, the British No.1 Andy Murray (never mentioned him before though!!). Andy so far as we all know, has never won a grand slam, he's been in three finals, but unfortunately for him he was up against formidable opponents in each one. However looking at those three finals, first off the US Open 2008 final, Andy was up against Federer who was still in his heyday and naturally you would expect him to take out the British Numero uno and did in 6-2, 7-5, 6-2. Next up again he played Federer in Melbourne last year and faired a bit better, but still was handed another defeat, which resulted in 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(11). And this year he faced Djokovic, who was on fire and went in all guns blazing and handed Andy probably his worst defeat in 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. However Andy has faired better since playing Djokovic in that final, having played a very close match in Rome earlier this year and beaten him in Cincinnati, albeit through Djoko's retiral due to injury. So if he does by some chance reach that final and faces Djokovic I do hope he is ready to give him yet another real match.
But I do have a better feeling about Andy Murray this year at the US Open, he's walking into the tournament in a much stronger position, having won in Cincinnati. He did the same in 2008, having won Cincinnati, again defeating Djokovic no less, and he reached the US Open final that year too. Can he do it this year and take it that step further???????? Well I've asked this question time and time again so I guess the only real way we will find out is to see if he is still there come Day 13, then we'll find out. But the sceptic in me again says he could fall to Nadal once more, I sincerely hope not, if I want Andy to repeat one thing from the 2008 US Open, its his defeat of Rafa, Andy's best surface is hard court, but Nadal is no slouch on that surface either. But this time we want Andy to prove he can do it, this is his best chance, and if he comes in strong to the tournament, conserves energy and dismisses his first four opponents or so in straight sets to leave more in the tank for the latter stages, then he's got a really good shout. He has a potentially tough draw of course, he faces Sondev Devarmann in his opening round, which hopefully won't give him too much trouble, but after that he could potentially face Robin Haase, then Feliciano Lopez, and then Stan Wawrinka. And it was Wawrinka that put out Andy last year, but I don't think the same thing will happen to him this year, as I'm sure he will be in it for the long haul, or at least till the semis where he most likely could face Rafa.
So I'm not saying Andy will win it, he certainly is capable of it, but its all down to him and those other three guys and who plays their best tennis on the day.
So that's it.
So with ladies first, I was thinking of a few favourites, naturally right at the top will be Serena Williams who has just recently made her comeback, and has already won two titles since then at Stanford and in Toronto. Serena had serious injuries with two blood clots, so the fact she has managed to come back into the sport has been quite incredible so it would be just the perfect finish to her year to come in and win her home soil title once more. Other potential favourites could well be Victoria Azarenka, who has been playing some very good tennis of late, and is also quite an aggressive player as she really goes for her shots, and is seeded as the World No.5, however she has a tendancy to become injury prone so it remains to be seen how she will fare in New York. Maria Sharapova of course is another strong favourite as she has made quite a really good comeback also this year, having won two titles also in Rome and Cincinnati this year, and reached the Wimbledon final. But Maria's game is pretty erratic and she has been known to serve up double faults and unforced errors like an overloaded dessert tray, but her sheer determination and strength of character still make her a favourite.
Then of course there is the current World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, who has of yet never won a grand slam, but this would be a great place to start. But Caroline has had a dip in form lately as she went out early in both Toronto and Cincinnati, but she has made up for that since in New Haven last week as she won her 4th title in a row there (a record in its own) and her 18th overall. But can she win a grand slam here in New York???? Well with all these names its hard to tell, she certainly has the stamina and mental strength, but there are a few holes in her game, such as her weak forehand and she isn't the most natural vollier, which can leave her vulnerable to other player's shots. Last year she did very well in getting to the semi finals, but this year she hasn't fared so well in the slams, having reached only the 3rd round at the French Open and the 4th at Wimbledon. But hard court is her best surface so she must try her best to make an example of that, and having won in New Haven will give her a boost going into the US Open, and that's Caroline and Andy both tied at 18 titles each, so it would be great if they could win their first major in New York to make it 19 all, but we'll see.
So onto the mens side of the draw, well the top 4 seeds have to be the overwhelming favourites going into the US Open, but that of course doesn't mean someone else might not get in there as well. At Wimbledon for example Jo-Wilfried Tsonga put out Federer in the quarter finals and they are in the same side of the draw again, so there is that danger that Tsonga could do it again. Rafa also has looked pretty vulnerable since his Wimbledon defeat to Djokovic, and put in poor performances in Toronto and Cincinnati, but when it comes to the slams, I'm sure Rafa will regroup and get back to his best form or somewhere near to it. So I would definitely expect Roger and Rafa to be back on form at the US Open, upsets could happen and if they do for both of them it could dramatically increase the other two's chances.
Rafa however who does respect his opponents seems to have built up a bit animosity towards Djokovic this year, I'm sure its not on a personal level, but on a professional level, as he obviously feels dismayed at having lost to the Serb 5 times in a row. And I have to say if Rafa does make it to the final and faces Djokovic once more, I would have to put my money on Djokovic winning, its a safe bet, but I can't really say at this stage of course we will find out on September 11 (which also marks the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack on New York, not exactly the best day to play a final maybe). All we know for sure is that so far this year Djokovic has got the measure of Nadal's game, and this is a real problem for Rafa, and he has said since in press conferences that he needs to find a solution. I think Rafa will at some point beat Djokovic again, but it may not be anytime this year, so the Spaniard will need to bide his time and find that moment.
Which brings me onto Djokovic, who has apart from lost out in two tournaments, won every other title he has taken part in, 2 Grand Slams, 5 Masters, the Serbia Open and Dubai, make for a mighty impressive year so far, but can he keep it up in New York??? Well if he is fit and well there is no reason that he shouldn't win the US Open or at least be in with the strongest chance as he is the World No.1 so naturally he is right up there at the top. However Djokovic had sustained a shoulder injury in Cincinnati which saw him lose the Cincinnati title to Andy Murray, what if that injury reappears throughout the US Open??? Well it is possible, but I'm positive Djokovic will have done all the recovery preparation necessary to ensure he will be fine for this title, and its one he certainly won't want to miss. So naturally if Djokovic will be back to full fitness he will certainly be the overwhelming favourite.
Which brings us onto the last of the top four, and well we know a thing or two about him already this year, the British No.1 Andy Murray (never mentioned him before though!!). Andy so far as we all know, has never won a grand slam, he's been in three finals, but unfortunately for him he was up against formidable opponents in each one. However looking at those three finals, first off the US Open 2008 final, Andy was up against Federer who was still in his heyday and naturally you would expect him to take out the British Numero uno and did in 6-2, 7-5, 6-2. Next up again he played Federer in Melbourne last year and faired a bit better, but still was handed another defeat, which resulted in 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(11). And this year he faced Djokovic, who was on fire and went in all guns blazing and handed Andy probably his worst defeat in 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. However Andy has faired better since playing Djokovic in that final, having played a very close match in Rome earlier this year and beaten him in Cincinnati, albeit through Djoko's retiral due to injury. So if he does by some chance reach that final and faces Djokovic I do hope he is ready to give him yet another real match.
But I do have a better feeling about Andy Murray this year at the US Open, he's walking into the tournament in a much stronger position, having won in Cincinnati. He did the same in 2008, having won Cincinnati, again defeating Djokovic no less, and he reached the US Open final that year too. Can he do it this year and take it that step further???????? Well I've asked this question time and time again so I guess the only real way we will find out is to see if he is still there come Day 13, then we'll find out. But the sceptic in me again says he could fall to Nadal once more, I sincerely hope not, if I want Andy to repeat one thing from the 2008 US Open, its his defeat of Rafa, Andy's best surface is hard court, but Nadal is no slouch on that surface either. But this time we want Andy to prove he can do it, this is his best chance, and if he comes in strong to the tournament, conserves energy and dismisses his first four opponents or so in straight sets to leave more in the tank for the latter stages, then he's got a really good shout. He has a potentially tough draw of course, he faces Sondev Devarmann in his opening round, which hopefully won't give him too much trouble, but after that he could potentially face Robin Haase, then Feliciano Lopez, and then Stan Wawrinka. And it was Wawrinka that put out Andy last year, but I don't think the same thing will happen to him this year, as I'm sure he will be in it for the long haul, or at least till the semis where he most likely could face Rafa.
So I'm not saying Andy will win it, he certainly is capable of it, but its all down to him and those other three guys and who plays their best tennis on the day.
So that's it.
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
Damn yous ta hell!!!!
I went on saw The Rise of the Planet of the Apes there at the weekend and I actually thought it might be at first another clumsy semi remake just like the naff Tim Burton film was. But thankfully it turned out to be not bad at all, as these origin films actually tend to be quite good, as case in point Wolvering X-Men Origins was quite decent, X-Men First Class also pretty good.
SO PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!
So the plot basically follows how Government scientist Will Rodman (James Franco of the Spiderman films) is trying to discover a cure for Alzheimer's disease and tests it on chimpanzees. However one of the chimpanzees they test it on runs amok and is soon killed by one of the security guards, but it is later revealed that the chimp was protecting its new born son. When ordered to put down the other chimps, Will decides to secretly take home the new born chimp and names him Caesar. Then we cut to Caesar over the years developing and growing, as he too was born with the genes of his mother with the retrovirus, as he shows intelligence and problem solving capabilities. However years later Caesar one day attacks a neighbour who threatens Will's father (John Lithgow) who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease himself. As a result Caesar is taken away to a facility where other apes are held in captive and are also treated cruelly by one of the staff Dodge (played by Tom Felton, or Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter). In time though Caesar manages to escape the facility and go back to Will's house to steal the retrovirus which is held in canisters, and rolls them into the apes cells. After this the other apes show growing intelligence and after this they fight their way out of the facility and run amok through San Francisco in order to release their fellow apes from zoos so they can establish their own race, free from the humans.
The film does though have a bit of a slow start as it establishes how the apes are used for testing and how Caesar grows up etc, but it is quite entertaining and as the pace moves it gets better. The performances aren't too bad, James Franco, while not terrific in his part, is not bad as the compassionate scientist who takes his chimp away from facing death at the hands of a cold research facility. Brian Cox, who naturally is easily one of the best performers in the film, does quite well with his part, playing a man who isn't evil but is definitely thoughtless, although I think John Lithgow give the film's best performance, as Will's dad, a man who is tormented by a terrible disease that disintegrates his mind. I also quite liked Tom Felton as the nasty Dodge who takes great pleasure with sadistically mistreating the apes, and Frieda Pinto as James Franco's love interest is without a doubt quite the honey (sexist!). But of course they can't resist but put in dialogue that references the original film with Tom Felton at one point using the classic line "get your hands off me you damn dirty ape!!".
Special mention also deserves to go to Andy Serkis who performs the actions of Caesar, and this is certainly something he isn't in any way unfamiliar with, having done the movement for Gollum in LOTR and King Kong. On thing I would say about the film that did irk me a little is that the film is set over 10 years or so and James Franco and Frieda Pinto don't appear to age one bit!! I guess they just wanted to avoid using any unecessary makeup, but its almost like they never age! :-/ I also think the CGI in the film, while it isn't bad, doesn't work quite as well for all the apes, Caesar's CGI is very good though, but the orangutang in the film does look a bit daft!
Despite that The Rise of the Planet of the Apes (also quite a mouthful) is a worthy addition to the series and marks a big improvement over the duff Tim Burton flick from almost 10 years ago. So give it a watch if you get the chance.
SO PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!
So the plot basically follows how Government scientist Will Rodman (James Franco of the Spiderman films) is trying to discover a cure for Alzheimer's disease and tests it on chimpanzees. However one of the chimpanzees they test it on runs amok and is soon killed by one of the security guards, but it is later revealed that the chimp was protecting its new born son. When ordered to put down the other chimps, Will decides to secretly take home the new born chimp and names him Caesar. Then we cut to Caesar over the years developing and growing, as he too was born with the genes of his mother with the retrovirus, as he shows intelligence and problem solving capabilities. However years later Caesar one day attacks a neighbour who threatens Will's father (John Lithgow) who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease himself. As a result Caesar is taken away to a facility where other apes are held in captive and are also treated cruelly by one of the staff Dodge (played by Tom Felton, or Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter). In time though Caesar manages to escape the facility and go back to Will's house to steal the retrovirus which is held in canisters, and rolls them into the apes cells. After this the other apes show growing intelligence and after this they fight their way out of the facility and run amok through San Francisco in order to release their fellow apes from zoos so they can establish their own race, free from the humans.
The film does though have a bit of a slow start as it establishes how the apes are used for testing and how Caesar grows up etc, but it is quite entertaining and as the pace moves it gets better. The performances aren't too bad, James Franco, while not terrific in his part, is not bad as the compassionate scientist who takes his chimp away from facing death at the hands of a cold research facility. Brian Cox, who naturally is easily one of the best performers in the film, does quite well with his part, playing a man who isn't evil but is definitely thoughtless, although I think John Lithgow give the film's best performance, as Will's dad, a man who is tormented by a terrible disease that disintegrates his mind. I also quite liked Tom Felton as the nasty Dodge who takes great pleasure with sadistically mistreating the apes, and Frieda Pinto as James Franco's love interest is without a doubt quite the honey (sexist!). But of course they can't resist but put in dialogue that references the original film with Tom Felton at one point using the classic line "get your hands off me you damn dirty ape!!".
Special mention also deserves to go to Andy Serkis who performs the actions of Caesar, and this is certainly something he isn't in any way unfamiliar with, having done the movement for Gollum in LOTR and King Kong. On thing I would say about the film that did irk me a little is that the film is set over 10 years or so and James Franco and Frieda Pinto don't appear to age one bit!! I guess they just wanted to avoid using any unecessary makeup, but its almost like they never age! :-/ I also think the CGI in the film, while it isn't bad, doesn't work quite as well for all the apes, Caesar's CGI is very good though, but the orangutang in the film does look a bit daft!
Despite that The Rise of the Planet of the Apes (also quite a mouthful) is a worthy addition to the series and marks a big improvement over the duff Tim Burton flick from almost 10 years ago. So give it a watch if you get the chance.
Monday, 22 August 2011
Cincinnati Part 5: a win is a win
Well as a result of the mens singles final in Cincinnati it wasn't the one any of us was quite expecting as the much anticipated rematch of Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic ended with the Muzza defeating the World No.1 not through closing out the match but through the Serb's retiral, with the final score being 6-4, 3-0 ret. This saw Djokovic's second loss of the year, with his win-loss record of 2011 now standing at 57-2. Sheesh that is some record!
But I suppose after having played nearly 60 matches and won so many titles that fatigue is bound to set in sooner or later, and the searing heat on court combined with a shoulder injury did nothing to help Djokovic's game. In fact as soon as Novak came on court we could see how fatigued he looked, he was a former shadow of his imperious self, and I think his arm injury had been troubling him throughout the tournament and I wonder if he carried on playing his match against Berdych even he would have retired if Berdych wouldn't have first! So it does prove one thing at last that Djokovic is human after all, so I think it is also safe to say that his incredible winning streak of 43 matches will probably not be repeated again, well not this year at any rate (which let's face it, is a good thing for the rest of the players on tour!).
But as the title of the post says a win is a win, and I have to give full credit to Andy Murray for his performance throughout the tournament, while it was patchy in places, he really looked quite strong after that first set against David Nalbandian. He also managed to come through the tournament without even dropping a set, which was even more impressive, and out of all the players in Cincinnati he looked the strongest and fittest, who didn't succumb to the searing heat of the court. I also think he played a terrific set of tennis against Novak in the first set in the final, as he returned so well, served fairly well and looked strong from both the back of the court and at the net. Its just a shame that Novak had to retire, but it was going to happen sometime given the physical punishment he has put his body through this year, so I think submitting to defeat was the right thing for him to do. But I do think also think that Andy has posed enough of a threat to Djokovic to show that he really is a contender for beating him, and possibly being the Serb's own nemesis. And I really do have to say that Andy totally deserved to win this title, as he came through it very well and looked quite strong right from the get go, and its also great to see someone else win a big title for a change! But I also think that if Andy had lost that first set to Djokovic, and then Djoky conceeded the win to him in the 2nd, then Andy's victory would have looked hollow, but thankfully Andy did win that set and that made the win more deserving.
So its a big congrats to Andy as it always great to see the Briton win a title, regardless of the manner of the win, and it adds to his Masters 1000 series trophy cabinet also, as that's 7 in the bag now, so Novak, Andy is catching up on you!! :-) And once again it proves beyond any doubt as I said before that Andy Murray is the best British player to have come along since Fred Perry. As an example Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski have won only 1 Masters title each, Andy has won 7, and his record at the grand slams speaks for itself, not to take away from Greg and in particular Tim as they are both great players in their own right. Yeah ok Andy is still to win one and its hard to tell if he ever will, but New York will be the perfect place to start.
So onto the woman's WTA final between Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic, the match delievered more than the men's final to an extent, but the match was also a highly inconsistent affair as both players kept exchanging breaks of serve. Sharapova also served many double faults once again, but Jankovic also served up a ridiculous amount of unforced errors and handed as many opportunities for Sharapova to get ahead as Maria herself did, but in the end it was Jelena who handed the crucial break to Maria and after a long battle the American sounding Russian won the match in 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 to take the ladies title. But it has to be said while it was great to see Maria win again (although I am disappointed for Jelena, and for once Serbia lost all round!!) it wasn't the most convincing win. Which I have to say was the real difference between mens and ladies final here, Andy looked very convincing, but Maria certainly didn't, as she served a ludicrous amount of double faults (as she does!). But it is a testament to Maria's sheer determination that despite her erratic game, can still make it through and pull out a win, but can she win a grand slam again with that type of play??? Hmmm I'm not so sure, but she certainly is a strong contender for the US Open and she has had an excellent slam record this year, but its just in those crucial moments she might drop her own serve to throw it away like she did at Wimbledon or the French Open semi finals where she double faulted to hand Li Na her place in the final.
So that leads us to the US Open which is the fourth and final grand slam of the year (its amazing its nearly upon us already!) where the mens and ladies will again battle it out for the ultimate prize. And both the mens and ladies game are in a potentially unusual place as with the ladies, Serena has recently re-entered the game again which makes her a strong favourite for the title, but lets not forget other potential winners like Li Na, Kvitova, Azarenka, Wozniacki, Sharapova and why not (as Rob Curling said on Eurosport) Bartoli (well for a start Bartoli has had a much better grand slam season than Caroline Wozniacki!). But of course Caroline isn't looking too convincing at the moment and her No.1 ranking really is questionable just now. Earlier in the year though she did play like a No.1, and despite her loss at the Australian Open semi finals to Li Na, she picked herself up and went on to win some big titles in Dubai and Indian Wells, and there she crushed alot of players, it was almost like she was the female Djokovic for that time. But as the year has gone on things have gotten more difficult for her, but it is hopefully a minor slump and we would like to see Caroline get back on the horse (so to speak) in the US Open, she has to, hard court is her best surface and she needs to prove that.
But as for the men, the field is limited to the top 4 guys really, and with Rafa having hit something of a slump this year, it remains to be seen what form he will be in for the US Open. Roger could well have another slam in him yet, and he wants to prove he can still do it, Djokovic claims he should be fit for the US Open but again what if his injuries plague him during the tournament?? So this does leave Andy Murray, and having just won Cincinnati, its the perfect preparation for going into the last slam of the year. But can he win it???? Its always the ongoing question that can't be answered till we see it, the last two years Andy has had a poor record at the US Open, having went out to Marin Cilic and Stan Wawrinka in 4th and 3rd rounds respectively. However I do feel he is playing significantly better tennis this year, but its just holding that mental strength together over 5 sets. Can he do it??? Yes he can, but it does purely depend on the luck of his draw and his mental belief, and if he faces Rafa he really will have to be ready for him, and the same for Djokovic, permitting Djoky can come through injury free. If Djokovic doesn't come through then that will increase Andy's chances dramatically. In fact it would be great for example to see a Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs Muzza rematch in the US Open final, now if Andy doesn't win that dream matchup in the final, he never will win a slam, but that's just a theory of course.
One troubling fact about Andy though is that in the three grand slam finals he has been in, he hasn't won a single set, having been soundly beaten by Federer and Djokovic in all three. If he does get to the final, this time he will have to up his game to the highest it can go, he should try taking a leaf out of Del Potro's book for example, having reached the US Open final back in 2009, he seized the title with both hands and played the match of his life against Federer over an epic 5 set match. And this is the sort of tennis he has to play if he is to have his chance. Andy already has showed potential winning qualities against Rafa at Wimbledon for at least one set, we saw a glimpse of what he can do even though it wasn't enough, and also in Rome against Djokovic where he came within two points of defeating him. And I also remember John McEnroe's previous comment that Andy's grand slam breakthrough will be at the US Open this year, will it be the case???? We'll you can but live in hope, even if it is blind hope! ;-)
So after that rather exhaustive post I'll leave it there, so well done again to Maria and Andy for their wins in Cincinnati and for once Serbia lost out, whodda thought that????
The end.
But I suppose after having played nearly 60 matches and won so many titles that fatigue is bound to set in sooner or later, and the searing heat on court combined with a shoulder injury did nothing to help Djokovic's game. In fact as soon as Novak came on court we could see how fatigued he looked, he was a former shadow of his imperious self, and I think his arm injury had been troubling him throughout the tournament and I wonder if he carried on playing his match against Berdych even he would have retired if Berdych wouldn't have first! So it does prove one thing at last that Djokovic is human after all, so I think it is also safe to say that his incredible winning streak of 43 matches will probably not be repeated again, well not this year at any rate (which let's face it, is a good thing for the rest of the players on tour!).
But as the title of the post says a win is a win, and I have to give full credit to Andy Murray for his performance throughout the tournament, while it was patchy in places, he really looked quite strong after that first set against David Nalbandian. He also managed to come through the tournament without even dropping a set, which was even more impressive, and out of all the players in Cincinnati he looked the strongest and fittest, who didn't succumb to the searing heat of the court. I also think he played a terrific set of tennis against Novak in the first set in the final, as he returned so well, served fairly well and looked strong from both the back of the court and at the net. Its just a shame that Novak had to retire, but it was going to happen sometime given the physical punishment he has put his body through this year, so I think submitting to defeat was the right thing for him to do. But I do think also think that Andy has posed enough of a threat to Djokovic to show that he really is a contender for beating him, and possibly being the Serb's own nemesis. And I really do have to say that Andy totally deserved to win this title, as he came through it very well and looked quite strong right from the get go, and its also great to see someone else win a big title for a change! But I also think that if Andy had lost that first set to Djokovic, and then Djoky conceeded the win to him in the 2nd, then Andy's victory would have looked hollow, but thankfully Andy did win that set and that made the win more deserving.
So its a big congrats to Andy as it always great to see the Briton win a title, regardless of the manner of the win, and it adds to his Masters 1000 series trophy cabinet also, as that's 7 in the bag now, so Novak, Andy is catching up on you!! :-) And once again it proves beyond any doubt as I said before that Andy Murray is the best British player to have come along since Fred Perry. As an example Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski have won only 1 Masters title each, Andy has won 7, and his record at the grand slams speaks for itself, not to take away from Greg and in particular Tim as they are both great players in their own right. Yeah ok Andy is still to win one and its hard to tell if he ever will, but New York will be the perfect place to start.
So onto the woman's WTA final between Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic, the match delievered more than the men's final to an extent, but the match was also a highly inconsistent affair as both players kept exchanging breaks of serve. Sharapova also served many double faults once again, but Jankovic also served up a ridiculous amount of unforced errors and handed as many opportunities for Sharapova to get ahead as Maria herself did, but in the end it was Jelena who handed the crucial break to Maria and after a long battle the American sounding Russian won the match in 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 to take the ladies title. But it has to be said while it was great to see Maria win again (although I am disappointed for Jelena, and for once Serbia lost all round!!) it wasn't the most convincing win. Which I have to say was the real difference between mens and ladies final here, Andy looked very convincing, but Maria certainly didn't, as she served a ludicrous amount of double faults (as she does!). But it is a testament to Maria's sheer determination that despite her erratic game, can still make it through and pull out a win, but can she win a grand slam again with that type of play??? Hmmm I'm not so sure, but she certainly is a strong contender for the US Open and she has had an excellent slam record this year, but its just in those crucial moments she might drop her own serve to throw it away like she did at Wimbledon or the French Open semi finals where she double faulted to hand Li Na her place in the final.
So that leads us to the US Open which is the fourth and final grand slam of the year (its amazing its nearly upon us already!) where the mens and ladies will again battle it out for the ultimate prize. And both the mens and ladies game are in a potentially unusual place as with the ladies, Serena has recently re-entered the game again which makes her a strong favourite for the title, but lets not forget other potential winners like Li Na, Kvitova, Azarenka, Wozniacki, Sharapova and why not (as Rob Curling said on Eurosport) Bartoli (well for a start Bartoli has had a much better grand slam season than Caroline Wozniacki!). But of course Caroline isn't looking too convincing at the moment and her No.1 ranking really is questionable just now. Earlier in the year though she did play like a No.1, and despite her loss at the Australian Open semi finals to Li Na, she picked herself up and went on to win some big titles in Dubai and Indian Wells, and there she crushed alot of players, it was almost like she was the female Djokovic for that time. But as the year has gone on things have gotten more difficult for her, but it is hopefully a minor slump and we would like to see Caroline get back on the horse (so to speak) in the US Open, she has to, hard court is her best surface and she needs to prove that.
But as for the men, the field is limited to the top 4 guys really, and with Rafa having hit something of a slump this year, it remains to be seen what form he will be in for the US Open. Roger could well have another slam in him yet, and he wants to prove he can still do it, Djokovic claims he should be fit for the US Open but again what if his injuries plague him during the tournament?? So this does leave Andy Murray, and having just won Cincinnati, its the perfect preparation for going into the last slam of the year. But can he win it???? Its always the ongoing question that can't be answered till we see it, the last two years Andy has had a poor record at the US Open, having went out to Marin Cilic and Stan Wawrinka in 4th and 3rd rounds respectively. However I do feel he is playing significantly better tennis this year, but its just holding that mental strength together over 5 sets. Can he do it??? Yes he can, but it does purely depend on the luck of his draw and his mental belief, and if he faces Rafa he really will have to be ready for him, and the same for Djokovic, permitting Djoky can come through injury free. If Djokovic doesn't come through then that will increase Andy's chances dramatically. In fact it would be great for example to see a Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs Muzza rematch in the US Open final, now if Andy doesn't win that dream matchup in the final, he never will win a slam, but that's just a theory of course.
One troubling fact about Andy though is that in the three grand slam finals he has been in, he hasn't won a single set, having been soundly beaten by Federer and Djokovic in all three. If he does get to the final, this time he will have to up his game to the highest it can go, he should try taking a leaf out of Del Potro's book for example, having reached the US Open final back in 2009, he seized the title with both hands and played the match of his life against Federer over an epic 5 set match. And this is the sort of tennis he has to play if he is to have his chance. Andy already has showed potential winning qualities against Rafa at Wimbledon for at least one set, we saw a glimpse of what he can do even though it wasn't enough, and also in Rome against Djokovic where he came within two points of defeating him. And I also remember John McEnroe's previous comment that Andy's grand slam breakthrough will be at the US Open this year, will it be the case???? We'll you can but live in hope, even if it is blind hope! ;-)
So after that rather exhaustive post I'll leave it there, so well done again to Maria and Andy for their wins in Cincinnati and for once Serbia lost out, whodda thought that????
The end.
Saturday, 20 August 2011
Cincinnati Part 4: we're having a showdown!!!
Welly welly well, it just doesn't get anymore mouth watering than this for a prospective final on the ATP men's tour in the Cincinnati masters as Andy Murray is set to face the World No.1 Novak Djokovic tomorrow for the title.
So a bit more on the mens semi finals to begin with as the first match was between the Muzza and the American No.1 Mardy Fish who has really been on form lately and especially in this tournament, having defeated Nadal previously in the quarter finals. However what I actually expected to be another win for Mardy fish turned out to be quite the opposite as it was the first victory for Andy in their last four meetings. But as expected it was anything but easy, Andy edged the first set, breaking Fish's serve early on to take it 6-3, but in the second set it was a really topsy turvey affair (something that appears to have dominated this entire tournament!!) as both men shared breaks of serve, and it was very much a set of mixed quality, but the best was saved till the last with a nerve shredding tie-breaker. In the tiebreak Fish took the upper hand early on, until Andy broke back and at 7-8 it appeared Andy had match point but his return just went long by a gnats scrotum (so to speak!) but in the end Mardy couldn't close it out and sailed his return long after that with Andy finally sealing the win in 6-3, 7-6(8). In the other semi final between Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych, it promised much even in the first set Berydch was at one point 5-3 up until Djoko broke back to make it 5-5 and then win the set in 7-5. But unfortunately due to injury Berdych was forced to retire allowing Djokovic to make his 10th final of the year.
Now as we all know so far this season, Djokovic has had only one loss, which was to Roger Federer at the French open semi finals. But on hard court, he has had zero losses this year, none, nil, zip. So how do we reckon Andy's chances for tomorrow??? Hmmmmmmm, that's a big hmmmmmmmm, to be honest the Serb knows more than enough about how to win so I'm more than inclined to think that he will win this one. All we can hope for is that Andy gives Djokovic another thrilling match like he did in Rome, and not allow another trouncing like his defeat at the Australian Open. But I think Andy has also learned a few things since then, and there just might be that chance he could beat Djokovic and take that title. Andy's performance at this tournament has been mostly impressive but there has been some real dodgy stuff too, but to be fair Djokovic hasn't exactly played his best either, so that could even things out for them. It would be terrific to see Andy finally hand a loss to Djokovic, and its their third meeting this year, could third time be a charm for Andy?? We shall see.
He has also walked into this tournament with a similar attitude than he did at Queens club, where he was just looking to get a few grass court matches under his belt and then he went onto win title. Its the same here, Andy has gone in to get a few hard court matches for US Open prep, and he has played despite some poor stuff here and there, very well, so just maybe he could be in with a shout. Another thing about Djokovic is as I said, when he played in the Australian Open this year his performance was absolutely imperious, he only dropped one set that entire tournament, and when he played in Indian Wells and Miami he played with the same clinical precision, destroying players with great ease, and it took Nadal or Federer to break his serve, no one could come close. But he isn't quite playing at that level anymore, he is still playing a high high level but after so many matches, he certainly isn't as high flying as he was.
But today will let us see where not only Andy's tennis is but also Novak's. Another case in point was Andy's Wimbledon semi final this year against Rafa, he came out so strong in the first set and took it 7-5, but after he fired a forehand just long in the 2nd set at 2-2 break point on Rafa's serve, everything changed and Andy didn't recover. After that it became an embarrassing, painful match to watch, as Andy's mindset just caved in and he went for more aggressive shots and kept missing them. And that's what he really struggles with, its when making mistakes, its knowing how to recover mentally from them quickly. Or as Tim Henman said its having the mental adversity to deal with those mistakes, which Andy is lacking in, and this could also really hamper him today. He has been working on his compsure, and is slowly getting better at keeping his cool, but he does still have his moments, losing his temper, like he did against Mardy the other day when certain shots didn't work out. It wasn't as bad in the past but its still there to be seen, and Djokovic who used to do the same has greatly improved his attitude and adopted a far more composed attitude on court. And all it could take is that one point today if Andy gains momentum and drops the ball, it will be all over for him. But as Andy has won 6 Masters titles already, he might not feel the same pressure as he did in Melbourne, so it might not be as big an issue, but who knows.
But the Serb is overwhelming favourite without a doubt so we will have to wait for tomorrow, either way it should be a belter, or maybe just a straight set gubbing. Another factor that could work against Andy might be the searing heat on court, and yesterday it looked like he was having a little bit of bother with his hamstring, which doesn't bode well. Djokovic doesn't appear injured so he definitely could use that to close out the match quickly, I just hope for Andy's sake that it's not an issue.
But regardless of the outcome, Andy's in another final and that's his third this year and its a great achievement, win or lose regardless, and its also on hard court, so I think its fair to say his slump on this surface is over (well for now!!). Another thing also is that clearly Andy won't be expected to win this match, so hopefully that should let him go in and try and relax a bit more and try and play his best tennis regardless of the outcome. Andy has also said it will be a good gauge for him to work out where his tennis is and what he needs to work on going into the US Open. Already Andy is definitely showing that he is a better player than last year in 2010, when throughout that year he really struggled, Toronto and Shanghai being the exceptions, and reaching the Aussie Open final, Wimbledon semis and the ATP World Tour Finals semis.
On the WTA tour due to the time difference I was unfortunately not able to catch any of the woman's matches but I think they both looked pretty good, as Maria Sharapova took on Vera Zvonareva and Jelena Jankovic faced off Andrea Petkovic, so I would like to see the highlights. Maria after being a set down against Vera, fought her way back into the match and closed it out in 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 securing her place in the final. Meanwhile Jelena Jankovic who has had a run of bad form this year managed to redeem herself further by beating Andrea Petkovic in straight sets, after a tight first set, Jelena breezed through the 2nd set to secure her first final of the year, winning 7-6(4), 6-1. So that's the ladies final setup also, and it promises to be a really good one, although Sharapova is the firm favourite as she leads in their head to head 5-1 against Jankovic. But I am really pleased for Jelena that she has reached her first final of the year and its great to see her play good tennis again, so I hope she wins. And it could be yet another glorious day for Serbia, but us Scots deserve our day too!! So it would be great if it was a great day for the Serbs and the Scots, i.e. Andy wins the mens, and Jelena wins the womans!
So predictions, Sharapova in 3 sets for the ladies, and Djokovic in 3 sets for the men (unless Andy is really hampered by injury or simply by awful serve then 2 easy sets). But I hope to God that Andy wins the title, however playing against a man who has won every single final he has been in this year, its a big big big ask. But as General Melchett from Blackadder Goes Forth once said "if nothing else works, then a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through!". So its in the hands of the two men and which one will falter more, so excitement and jubilation, or total frustration and disappointment awaits.
Baited breath, that's it for now.
So a bit more on the mens semi finals to begin with as the first match was between the Muzza and the American No.1 Mardy Fish who has really been on form lately and especially in this tournament, having defeated Nadal previously in the quarter finals. However what I actually expected to be another win for Mardy fish turned out to be quite the opposite as it was the first victory for Andy in their last four meetings. But as expected it was anything but easy, Andy edged the first set, breaking Fish's serve early on to take it 6-3, but in the second set it was a really topsy turvey affair (something that appears to have dominated this entire tournament!!) as both men shared breaks of serve, and it was very much a set of mixed quality, but the best was saved till the last with a nerve shredding tie-breaker. In the tiebreak Fish took the upper hand early on, until Andy broke back and at 7-8 it appeared Andy had match point but his return just went long by a gnats scrotum (so to speak!) but in the end Mardy couldn't close it out and sailed his return long after that with Andy finally sealing the win in 6-3, 7-6(8). In the other semi final between Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych, it promised much even in the first set Berydch was at one point 5-3 up until Djoko broke back to make it 5-5 and then win the set in 7-5. But unfortunately due to injury Berdych was forced to retire allowing Djokovic to make his 10th final of the year.
Now as we all know so far this season, Djokovic has had only one loss, which was to Roger Federer at the French open semi finals. But on hard court, he has had zero losses this year, none, nil, zip. So how do we reckon Andy's chances for tomorrow??? Hmmmmmmm, that's a big hmmmmmmmm, to be honest the Serb knows more than enough about how to win so I'm more than inclined to think that he will win this one. All we can hope for is that Andy gives Djokovic another thrilling match like he did in Rome, and not allow another trouncing like his defeat at the Australian Open. But I think Andy has also learned a few things since then, and there just might be that chance he could beat Djokovic and take that title. Andy's performance at this tournament has been mostly impressive but there has been some real dodgy stuff too, but to be fair Djokovic hasn't exactly played his best either, so that could even things out for them. It would be terrific to see Andy finally hand a loss to Djokovic, and its their third meeting this year, could third time be a charm for Andy?? We shall see.
He has also walked into this tournament with a similar attitude than he did at Queens club, where he was just looking to get a few grass court matches under his belt and then he went onto win title. Its the same here, Andy has gone in to get a few hard court matches for US Open prep, and he has played despite some poor stuff here and there, very well, so just maybe he could be in with a shout. Another thing about Djokovic is as I said, when he played in the Australian Open this year his performance was absolutely imperious, he only dropped one set that entire tournament, and when he played in Indian Wells and Miami he played with the same clinical precision, destroying players with great ease, and it took Nadal or Federer to break his serve, no one could come close. But he isn't quite playing at that level anymore, he is still playing a high high level but after so many matches, he certainly isn't as high flying as he was.
But today will let us see where not only Andy's tennis is but also Novak's. Another case in point was Andy's Wimbledon semi final this year against Rafa, he came out so strong in the first set and took it 7-5, but after he fired a forehand just long in the 2nd set at 2-2 break point on Rafa's serve, everything changed and Andy didn't recover. After that it became an embarrassing, painful match to watch, as Andy's mindset just caved in and he went for more aggressive shots and kept missing them. And that's what he really struggles with, its when making mistakes, its knowing how to recover mentally from them quickly. Or as Tim Henman said its having the mental adversity to deal with those mistakes, which Andy is lacking in, and this could also really hamper him today. He has been working on his compsure, and is slowly getting better at keeping his cool, but he does still have his moments, losing his temper, like he did against Mardy the other day when certain shots didn't work out. It wasn't as bad in the past but its still there to be seen, and Djokovic who used to do the same has greatly improved his attitude and adopted a far more composed attitude on court. And all it could take is that one point today if Andy gains momentum and drops the ball, it will be all over for him. But as Andy has won 6 Masters titles already, he might not feel the same pressure as he did in Melbourne, so it might not be as big an issue, but who knows.
But the Serb is overwhelming favourite without a doubt so we will have to wait for tomorrow, either way it should be a belter, or maybe just a straight set gubbing. Another factor that could work against Andy might be the searing heat on court, and yesterday it looked like he was having a little bit of bother with his hamstring, which doesn't bode well. Djokovic doesn't appear injured so he definitely could use that to close out the match quickly, I just hope for Andy's sake that it's not an issue.
But regardless of the outcome, Andy's in another final and that's his third this year and its a great achievement, win or lose regardless, and its also on hard court, so I think its fair to say his slump on this surface is over (well for now!!). Another thing also is that clearly Andy won't be expected to win this match, so hopefully that should let him go in and try and relax a bit more and try and play his best tennis regardless of the outcome. Andy has also said it will be a good gauge for him to work out where his tennis is and what he needs to work on going into the US Open. Already Andy is definitely showing that he is a better player than last year in 2010, when throughout that year he really struggled, Toronto and Shanghai being the exceptions, and reaching the Aussie Open final, Wimbledon semis and the ATP World Tour Finals semis.
On the WTA tour due to the time difference I was unfortunately not able to catch any of the woman's matches but I think they both looked pretty good, as Maria Sharapova took on Vera Zvonareva and Jelena Jankovic faced off Andrea Petkovic, so I would like to see the highlights. Maria after being a set down against Vera, fought her way back into the match and closed it out in 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 securing her place in the final. Meanwhile Jelena Jankovic who has had a run of bad form this year managed to redeem herself further by beating Andrea Petkovic in straight sets, after a tight first set, Jelena breezed through the 2nd set to secure her first final of the year, winning 7-6(4), 6-1. So that's the ladies final setup also, and it promises to be a really good one, although Sharapova is the firm favourite as she leads in their head to head 5-1 against Jankovic. But I am really pleased for Jelena that she has reached her first final of the year and its great to see her play good tennis again, so I hope she wins. And it could be yet another glorious day for Serbia, but us Scots deserve our day too!! So it would be great if it was a great day for the Serbs and the Scots, i.e. Andy wins the mens, and Jelena wins the womans!
So predictions, Sharapova in 3 sets for the ladies, and Djokovic in 3 sets for the men (unless Andy is really hampered by injury or simply by awful serve then 2 easy sets). But I hope to God that Andy wins the title, however playing against a man who has won every single final he has been in this year, its a big big big ask. But as General Melchett from Blackadder Goes Forth once said "if nothing else works, then a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through!". So its in the hands of the two men and which one will falter more, so excitement and jubilation, or total frustration and disappointment awaits.
Baited breath, that's it for now.
Cincinnati Part 3: Third time lucky maybe???
So that's us into the semi finals now for the ATP/WTA Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati and things are to forgive the pun starting to really heat up (I say because its been 30C degrees plus out there!) with the remaining top seeds still in play.
Starting with the woman's tour, the quarter finals saw some intruiging line ups first off with Maria Sharapova who played against Sam Stosur. This match as I expected was a pushover for Sharapova as she has won all of their previous matches and this one was no exception, with the Russian putting in an almost clinical performance, blowing Stosur off the court in 6-3, 6-2. Stosur didn't help matters by simply playing really poor tennis, committing too many unforced errors, she looked beaten from the word go. However there are times where Sharapova can hand her opponents a gift horse through her poor serve record, as she can double fault badly through her matches, and toward the end of the match Stosur broke Sharapova's serve effectively to make it 5-2, but it was just too little too late. Following up from that match was a better somewhat tighter setup between Vera Zvonareva and Daniella Hantuchova, after a 6-3 first set to Vera, the second set proved much tighter as it went to a tiebreak, with Vera winning in 6-3, 7-6(6). The third woman's semi final was between Nadia Petrova and the current top 11 player, Andrea Petkovic who after a tough first set blasted Petrova off the court, winning in 7-5, 6-1. Jelena Jankovic was supposed to play Peng Shuai in her quarter final match, but Peng had to pull out an hour before play due to injury.
So that's the woman's semi final setup, its the battle o the Russians, Sharapova vs Zvonareva, I would favour Maria to win that one as she leads the head to head record against Vera, in fact I would favour Maria to win this title, but we will see. And in the other semi final setup we have Jelena Jankovic and Andrea Petkovic, Petko has the advantage of their last two meetings where she beat Jelena in two tight 3 set matches, so maybe (and here's the first reference to the title post of this blog entry!) its third time lucky for Jelena, I hope she wins as its good to see her playing well again, but I'd favour Petko to win really. Jelena I think has really struggled this year, so if she manages to get to the final it will definitely give her a boost in confidence which she badly needs, if she doesn't get there I hope she does well for the US Open.
So onto the men's tour, we saw a couple of upsets as the former World No.1s Rafa and Roger went out in their matches. First off Rafa played a very sub-par match against a very much in form Mardy Fish, who is now the World No.7. Rafa probably also after the fatigue of his lengthy battle against Verdasco the other day, had no answer to Mardy's incredible form and accurate serve, and went down in 6-3 6-4 to secure Fish's first win over Rafa in their 7 meetings. Rafa really has been struggling with his form of late, he appears to be having a similar year to what Federer had last year, winning only one slam and losing out so many matches, I think that's 9 losses he's had already this season. I also think his 5 defeats at the hands of Djokovic play a big part in that, as the Serb really has knocked Nadal off his perch. After winning the French Open it did give Nadal a boost, but when he lost again at Wimbledon I think it knocked him back down again. So Rafa will seriously have to regroup for the US Open, but if he faces the current No.1 I think we know who will win that one before it starts.
Onto other matches, Andy Murray who's had a fairly comfortable tournament so far, beat Frenchman Gilles Simon quite easily in straight sets 6-3, 6-3. Simon couldn't answer or respond to Andy's attack on his serve, and repeatedly drop shotted against him, even so much so that's how he won the match! After that Roger Federer took on one of his nemesis Tomas Berdych, who once again defeated him in straight sets 6-2, 7-6(3). Berdych appears to be in great form once again and he said he's been working on his serve so we will have to see how far he can go next. The next and final match was between Djokovic and the current French No.1 Gael Monfils, after last week's pummelling I think we all expected this to be a scoosh for Djoko, but it was anything but. Monfils appeared to have learned a thing or two from his previous defeat, and broke Djokovic straight away and then a second time to take the first set. Inevitably though after a tight contest at 4-4 in the 2nd, Djokovic broke and took the second set, and in the third Djoko managed to find the break and closed out another win in 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. I do think though Djokovic has been struggling with the fast conditions of the court in Cincinnati, and as I said he is no longer playing absolutely imperious tennis he was before, I guess the fatigue of playing so many matches is setting in somewhat, but it doesn't stop him winning though!!
And that is the semi finals setup for the men, it looks like a pretty good match up, with Andy vs Mardy and Novak vs Tomas. Andy will have a real battle on his hands though if he wants to win against Fish, as he is in real form just now, and I have to say I would favour Fish to win this one. But I would rather see Andy win any day. But having said that if Mardy does beat Andy (and it seems more likely) I think he could stand a pretty good chance of beating Djokovic in the final should they meet (again they most likely will!). As for Djokovic and Berdych, well no points for guessing who will win that one! But I think it could be a really tight match and Berdy is serving very well, it could also be a chance to avenge his loss at the Aussie Open, however the Serb knows a thing or two about winning (more so than anyone else!!).
OK so that's the setup for today, both the mens and ladies setups sound great, whether or not they are remains to be seen, but time will tell.
The end (for now).
Starting with the woman's tour, the quarter finals saw some intruiging line ups first off with Maria Sharapova who played against Sam Stosur. This match as I expected was a pushover for Sharapova as she has won all of their previous matches and this one was no exception, with the Russian putting in an almost clinical performance, blowing Stosur off the court in 6-3, 6-2. Stosur didn't help matters by simply playing really poor tennis, committing too many unforced errors, she looked beaten from the word go. However there are times where Sharapova can hand her opponents a gift horse through her poor serve record, as she can double fault badly through her matches, and toward the end of the match Stosur broke Sharapova's serve effectively to make it 5-2, but it was just too little too late. Following up from that match was a better somewhat tighter setup between Vera Zvonareva and Daniella Hantuchova, after a 6-3 first set to Vera, the second set proved much tighter as it went to a tiebreak, with Vera winning in 6-3, 7-6(6). The third woman's semi final was between Nadia Petrova and the current top 11 player, Andrea Petkovic who after a tough first set blasted Petrova off the court, winning in 7-5, 6-1. Jelena Jankovic was supposed to play Peng Shuai in her quarter final match, but Peng had to pull out an hour before play due to injury.
So that's the woman's semi final setup, its the battle o the Russians, Sharapova vs Zvonareva, I would favour Maria to win that one as she leads the head to head record against Vera, in fact I would favour Maria to win this title, but we will see. And in the other semi final setup we have Jelena Jankovic and Andrea Petkovic, Petko has the advantage of their last two meetings where she beat Jelena in two tight 3 set matches, so maybe (and here's the first reference to the title post of this blog entry!) its third time lucky for Jelena, I hope she wins as its good to see her playing well again, but I'd favour Petko to win really. Jelena I think has really struggled this year, so if she manages to get to the final it will definitely give her a boost in confidence which she badly needs, if she doesn't get there I hope she does well for the US Open.
So onto the men's tour, we saw a couple of upsets as the former World No.1s Rafa and Roger went out in their matches. First off Rafa played a very sub-par match against a very much in form Mardy Fish, who is now the World No.7. Rafa probably also after the fatigue of his lengthy battle against Verdasco the other day, had no answer to Mardy's incredible form and accurate serve, and went down in 6-3 6-4 to secure Fish's first win over Rafa in their 7 meetings. Rafa really has been struggling with his form of late, he appears to be having a similar year to what Federer had last year, winning only one slam and losing out so many matches, I think that's 9 losses he's had already this season. I also think his 5 defeats at the hands of Djokovic play a big part in that, as the Serb really has knocked Nadal off his perch. After winning the French Open it did give Nadal a boost, but when he lost again at Wimbledon I think it knocked him back down again. So Rafa will seriously have to regroup for the US Open, but if he faces the current No.1 I think we know who will win that one before it starts.
Onto other matches, Andy Murray who's had a fairly comfortable tournament so far, beat Frenchman Gilles Simon quite easily in straight sets 6-3, 6-3. Simon couldn't answer or respond to Andy's attack on his serve, and repeatedly drop shotted against him, even so much so that's how he won the match! After that Roger Federer took on one of his nemesis Tomas Berdych, who once again defeated him in straight sets 6-2, 7-6(3). Berdych appears to be in great form once again and he said he's been working on his serve so we will have to see how far he can go next. The next and final match was between Djokovic and the current French No.1 Gael Monfils, after last week's pummelling I think we all expected this to be a scoosh for Djoko, but it was anything but. Monfils appeared to have learned a thing or two from his previous defeat, and broke Djokovic straight away and then a second time to take the first set. Inevitably though after a tight contest at 4-4 in the 2nd, Djokovic broke and took the second set, and in the third Djoko managed to find the break and closed out another win in 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. I do think though Djokovic has been struggling with the fast conditions of the court in Cincinnati, and as I said he is no longer playing absolutely imperious tennis he was before, I guess the fatigue of playing so many matches is setting in somewhat, but it doesn't stop him winning though!!
And that is the semi finals setup for the men, it looks like a pretty good match up, with Andy vs Mardy and Novak vs Tomas. Andy will have a real battle on his hands though if he wants to win against Fish, as he is in real form just now, and I have to say I would favour Fish to win this one. But I would rather see Andy win any day. But having said that if Mardy does beat Andy (and it seems more likely) I think he could stand a pretty good chance of beating Djokovic in the final should they meet (again they most likely will!). As for Djokovic and Berdych, well no points for guessing who will win that one! But I think it could be a really tight match and Berdy is serving very well, it could also be a chance to avenge his loss at the Aussie Open, however the Serb knows a thing or two about winning (more so than anyone else!!).
OK so that's the setup for today, both the mens and ladies setups sound great, whether or not they are remains to be seen, but time will tell.
The end (for now).
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