Ok, so this will be the final part of my look at the 2018 Australian open as it has now finished (well it finished on Sunday, so I'm just getting round to doing this!) and I will look at how the men's final turned out in this post.
So, let's take a look....
MEN'S FINAL
Well, the men's final was of course between the defending champion, Roger Federer and Marin Cilic, the 6th seed, who was playing in his 1st Australian open final. And this was a re-match of their Wimbledon final last year where unforunately, Cilic sustained a foot injury that lead to a straight sets victory for Roger. However this time round, Cilic was fully fit, so we could expect a different contest than last year's at SW19.
And the match itself proved to be just that as we got a very competitive and entertaining one, which wasn't quite in the same league as the ladies final but it wasn't entirely far off. However, the match started with Roger being way too good for a rather nervous Cilic, which leads to the Croatian being broken twice and Rog grabbing the opening set in under 25 minutes. The 2nd set however was a much closer affair and Cilic then pushed play into a tiebreak, which despite going a mini-break down, Cilic fought back and levelled the match at a set all, as Roger dropped his first set of the tournament. In the 3rd set however, Roger re-established his dominance over Cilic and he broke his serve once more and efficiently closed it out to grab the two sets to one lead. And in the 4th set, Cilic went an immediate break down and it looked like it was as good as over for him but Cilic still wasn't done yet as he broke again and he then went on to raise his level and break Roger yet again to level the match at two sets all.
And at the start of the deciding 5th set, Cilic imposed himself on Rog once again as he gained a couple of break points but ultimately he was unable to capitalise on them as the defending champion held his nerve and serve. And from here, Cilic derailed himself as his serve broke down and it wasn't long before he found himself 5-1 down and from here there was no way back as Roger secured his sixth Australian open title and his 20th career major overall with a 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 victory.
THOUGHTS
Well there was little doubt that this was a very fine contest and a very solid end to the tournament, which saw once again that Roger Federer really is the GOAT (Greatest of all time) as he secured his 20th major title and if he get's one more, he will get the key to the door! And for Roger to do this in this era of the sport at the age of 36 is truly incredible and what's even more incredible is that he remains the only fully fit member out of the big four right now! And with none of his other competitors standing in his way right now, there is no reason that Roger can't go on to have yet another year like he did last year.
And you could clearly see at the end of the trophy presentation how much the game still means to Rog as he broke down in tears infront of the Rod Laver arena crowd, who applauded him warmly and we even saw the great man, Rod Laver in the crowd, taking a picture of Roger while it happened! And with this win you would again have to say that Roger is the overwhelming favourite to win Wimbledon once more this year and if Rafa were not fit to play the French open then just maybe it might be worth Roger considering to play that aswell. However we still don't know what Roger plans on doing when it comes to the clay court season, so we will just have to wait and see.
As for Marin Cilic, well it was a disappointing end to this campaign but he still put in a terrific effort in the final and really made a match of it as he pushed Roger all the way to a 5th set. And Cilic was not entirely far off breaking Roger at the start of the 5th in order to possibly get ahead himself and who knows what could have happened if he did? Ultimately though, I have to say even if Cilic did break Roger there would be the inevitable likelihood that Roger would have broken back and went on to secure the win anyway.
Regardless however of Cilic's loss, it still was a great effort to reach his 3rd major final and the tournament also sees him achieve a new career high ranking of No.3. And I would have to say that if Cilic can reach three major finals, having won one already, there is every chance he can go on to win a 2nd major title and I think it would be safe to say that he remains a strong favourite for the US Open later this year.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and the Australian open is now finished, with one down there are three more slams to go as the next one will of course be the French Open in Paris, which starts at the end of May. However there will be plenty of tennis to be had before then as the American hard court swing will start in March and the clay court season kicks off in April going into May before the French begins.
So, I'll finish by saying a congrats to Roger Federer for his 20th grand slam title and for Marin Cilic's great effort in reaching the men's final. And I will see you sometime in the future on this blog although not sure yet when but I will at some point do another post on here.
So, till then its bye for now!
Tuesday, 30 January 2018
Sunday, 28 January 2018
2018 Australian Open Ladies Event Part 2: Ladies Final
So, this will be concluding part to my look at the ladies 2018 Australian Open as I look at the ladies final that took place just yesterday and it saw the world's top two players go at it for the title. So, let's take a closer look at how the final went.
THE FINAL
So, the final was of course between the World No.1, Simona Halep and the World No.2, Caroline Wozniacki as the two of them were battling it out not only to win their first grand slam title but also to secure the World No.1 ranking, as however would win would take the top spot. Both players had also come into this final having had to save match points in previous matches with Caroline having come back from 5-1 in the 3rd set of her 2nd round match and Simona having survived match points against Lauren Davis in the 3rd round and Angelique Kerber in the semis. So, there was plenty riding on this match for both ladies and it was a match that promised to deliver a great deal.
As for the match itself it definitely didn't disappoint, as Halep and Wozniacki, the World No's 1 and 2 provided an absolutely thrilling match for the Rod Laver arena crowd as both women were locked in a gripping contest. And in the 1st set, it was Caroline that made the better start as she broke Halep to go 3-0 up, however it was not long before Caroline suffered nerves as at 5-3 up serving for the set, she was broken back by Halep. This then pushed play into a tiebreak where Caroline manage to reassert her authority over Simona and dominated the breaker 7-2 to win her first ever set in a grand slam final.
The 2nd set however saw the heat go up in more ways than one, as the tennis got hotter from Halep but so did the temperature on court, which saw the officials invoke the heat policy and both women vacated the court for 10 minutes. Halep showing signs of struggling in the heat also took a medical timeout to have her blood pressure checked in the 2nd set. However after the break, this didn't deter Simona as she went on to break Caroline and despite showing visible signs of wavering physically, she still held her nerve to close out the 2nd set and level the match.
And in the 3rd and final set, the audience were treated to a thrilling and incredibly tense decider, which saw Caroline take an early break to go 2-0 up but Simona broke her back and as Caroline broke again, Simona once more broke back to even the scores at 3-3. At this point, Caroline was starting to feel the effects of the match and asked for a medical timeout during the 3-3 game that ultimately saw her broken by Halep, who went infront for the first time in the match 4-3. However, Caroline was still not done as she managed to break Halep once again to go 4-4 and she held her nerve to go 5-4 up. And as Simona was serving to stay in the match, a couple of unforced errors, let Caroline into the game and she played a stunning defensive point at 30-30 to set up a championship point. And from here, Simona made the final unforced error as she put a backhand into the net, it saw Caroline Wozniacki finally win her first ever grand slam title with an incredible 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 victory.
THOUGHTS
Well, there is little doubt that this was one of the best ladies major singles finals for quite some time and it was a tremendous match from start to finish as both women played some amazing tennis for the Rod Laver arena crowd. And we all knew that this was going to end up being a life changing match for one of the players and it just so happened to go Caroline Wozniacki's way in the end, which saw Simona Halep unfortunately come up just short for the 3rd time in her career in a major final.
However, being a fan of Caroline Wozniacki as a player, I was delighted to see her finally win a major after so many years of having been denied her chance by various big hitting players not to mention Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters, who both beaten her in her previous two slam finals at the US Open. And I think in a way the turning point for Caroline was when she won the WTA Finals tournament last year in Singapore, which at the time was her biggest title to date (and is directly below the slams in terms of prestige as a title). She also suffered one of her toughest losses in Melbourne aswell seven years ago when she was beaten by Li Na in the semi finals, so that she was able to make her breakthrough in Melbourne no doubt would make up for that.
Not only this, Caroline's victory will also see her return to being the World No.1, which she formerly was for 67 weeks out of her career, however she had not won a major at the time but now that she has, its safe to say she really will be a legitimate No.1 player. And now that she has been able to get over the finish line, there is little doubt that she can go on and potentially win more slams before she is done. And I've always kind of associated Caroline's career to Andy Murray's as he too for many years was a player, who had shown all the talent and potential to win a slam but never quite fulfilled it but once he hired Ivan Lendl as his coach, he made that breakthrough and its great to see Caroline finally do the same.
As for Simona Halep, well its a pity that she wasn't quite able to win as she even got herself in a winning position by going a break up 4-3 in the final set. However, I think the effort that Simona had made in getting to the final had taken its toll on her physically by this point and it certainly played a factor in her loss, as Caroline was just that bit fresher at the end. Despite the loss however, it has shown that Simona can still potentially win a major in the future, as she won a set in each of her three major finals so far, she really isn't that far off from winning an extra one to make the difference. And I'm sure most players that are able to reach three grand slam finals will have a chance to reach another and just maybe yet, Simona will get her chance.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for my look at the ladies Australian open final and it was a great way to finish off a great ladies tournament and all that remains for me to say is congratulations to Caroline Wozniacki on winning her first major title and becoming once again, the World No.1.
So, I will be back soon with my look at the men's final, which was between Roger Federer and Marin Cilic.
So, until then its bye for now.
THE FINAL
So, the final was of course between the World No.1, Simona Halep and the World No.2, Caroline Wozniacki as the two of them were battling it out not only to win their first grand slam title but also to secure the World No.1 ranking, as however would win would take the top spot. Both players had also come into this final having had to save match points in previous matches with Caroline having come back from 5-1 in the 3rd set of her 2nd round match and Simona having survived match points against Lauren Davis in the 3rd round and Angelique Kerber in the semis. So, there was plenty riding on this match for both ladies and it was a match that promised to deliver a great deal.
As for the match itself it definitely didn't disappoint, as Halep and Wozniacki, the World No's 1 and 2 provided an absolutely thrilling match for the Rod Laver arena crowd as both women were locked in a gripping contest. And in the 1st set, it was Caroline that made the better start as she broke Halep to go 3-0 up, however it was not long before Caroline suffered nerves as at 5-3 up serving for the set, she was broken back by Halep. This then pushed play into a tiebreak where Caroline manage to reassert her authority over Simona and dominated the breaker 7-2 to win her first ever set in a grand slam final.
The 2nd set however saw the heat go up in more ways than one, as the tennis got hotter from Halep but so did the temperature on court, which saw the officials invoke the heat policy and both women vacated the court for 10 minutes. Halep showing signs of struggling in the heat also took a medical timeout to have her blood pressure checked in the 2nd set. However after the break, this didn't deter Simona as she went on to break Caroline and despite showing visible signs of wavering physically, she still held her nerve to close out the 2nd set and level the match.
And in the 3rd and final set, the audience were treated to a thrilling and incredibly tense decider, which saw Caroline take an early break to go 2-0 up but Simona broke her back and as Caroline broke again, Simona once more broke back to even the scores at 3-3. At this point, Caroline was starting to feel the effects of the match and asked for a medical timeout during the 3-3 game that ultimately saw her broken by Halep, who went infront for the first time in the match 4-3. However, Caroline was still not done as she managed to break Halep once again to go 4-4 and she held her nerve to go 5-4 up. And as Simona was serving to stay in the match, a couple of unforced errors, let Caroline into the game and she played a stunning defensive point at 30-30 to set up a championship point. And from here, Simona made the final unforced error as she put a backhand into the net, it saw Caroline Wozniacki finally win her first ever grand slam title with an incredible 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 victory.
THOUGHTS
Well, there is little doubt that this was one of the best ladies major singles finals for quite some time and it was a tremendous match from start to finish as both women played some amazing tennis for the Rod Laver arena crowd. And we all knew that this was going to end up being a life changing match for one of the players and it just so happened to go Caroline Wozniacki's way in the end, which saw Simona Halep unfortunately come up just short for the 3rd time in her career in a major final.
However, being a fan of Caroline Wozniacki as a player, I was delighted to see her finally win a major after so many years of having been denied her chance by various big hitting players not to mention Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters, who both beaten her in her previous two slam finals at the US Open. And I think in a way the turning point for Caroline was when she won the WTA Finals tournament last year in Singapore, which at the time was her biggest title to date (and is directly below the slams in terms of prestige as a title). She also suffered one of her toughest losses in Melbourne aswell seven years ago when she was beaten by Li Na in the semi finals, so that she was able to make her breakthrough in Melbourne no doubt would make up for that.
Not only this, Caroline's victory will also see her return to being the World No.1, which she formerly was for 67 weeks out of her career, however she had not won a major at the time but now that she has, its safe to say she really will be a legitimate No.1 player. And now that she has been able to get over the finish line, there is little doubt that she can go on and potentially win more slams before she is done. And I've always kind of associated Caroline's career to Andy Murray's as he too for many years was a player, who had shown all the talent and potential to win a slam but never quite fulfilled it but once he hired Ivan Lendl as his coach, he made that breakthrough and its great to see Caroline finally do the same.
As for Simona Halep, well its a pity that she wasn't quite able to win as she even got herself in a winning position by going a break up 4-3 in the final set. However, I think the effort that Simona had made in getting to the final had taken its toll on her physically by this point and it certainly played a factor in her loss, as Caroline was just that bit fresher at the end. Despite the loss however, it has shown that Simona can still potentially win a major in the future, as she won a set in each of her three major finals so far, she really isn't that far off from winning an extra one to make the difference. And I'm sure most players that are able to reach three grand slam finals will have a chance to reach another and just maybe yet, Simona will get her chance.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for my look at the ladies Australian open final and it was a great way to finish off a great ladies tournament and all that remains for me to say is congratulations to Caroline Wozniacki on winning her first major title and becoming once again, the World No.1.
So, I will be back soon with my look at the men's final, which was between Roger Federer and Marin Cilic.
So, until then its bye for now.
2018 Australian Open Men's Event Part 1: Semi finals and final preview
Right, as the first major of the season is about to draw to a close, the Australian open in Melbourne, this post will take a look at the men's event so far (well the semis and the finals that is). So, let's see who has made it into the final four at Melbourne park.
MENS SEMI FINALS
Marin Cilic vs Kyle Edmund
First up was the semi final between the former US Open champion, Marin Cilic and a surprise first time grand slam semi finalist, Kyle Edmund, the British No.2, who had put in a great effort to reach the last four in Melbourne. Kyle had gained several impressive wins on his way to the semis as he defeated Kevin Anderson in the 1st round in 5 tough sets and then later went on to stun Grigor Dimitrov, the 3rd seed in the quarter finals in 4 sets. So, this saw Kyle within touching distance of reaching his first grand slam final but he would be up against the more experienced, Marin Cilic, a 2014 US Open champion and also Wimbledon finalist last year.
As for the match itself...well it went pretty much the way it you would have expected it to on paper as Cilic bossed Kyle right from the start of the match and he swiftly grabbed a double break to take the opening set. In the 2nd set however, it was more evenly contested as Kyle showed some good resistance and pushed the Croatian to a tiebreak but unfortunately he lose out in the breaker to go two sets to love down. And in the 3rd set, Kyle's conditioning and fitness started to let him down as he required a medical timeout for an apparent hip issue that let Cilic grab a double break once again and he sealed the match and his place in his first Australian open final with an impressive 6-2, 7-6, 6-2 victory.
Well, this match was always going to be in Cilic's favour as he was by far the more experienced player out of the two and it was no surprise in the end that he got through. However the match did promise to be fairly tight in the 2nd set as Kyle fought back but as the match went on and Kyle's fitness became an issue, it was clear that there would be only one winner. So, this is a very impressive victory for Cilic as he has now reached his 3rd grand slam final, having already won the 2014 US Open and being a finalist at Wimbledon last year.
As for Kyle Edmund, despite his loss, this was a terrific tournament for him as it really showed that once Andy Murray has hung his racquet, Kyle can confidently take over the mantle as the British No.1 (which he is only weeks away from becoming just given Andy being out recovering from hip surgery). Kyle has also shown that he is the very much the real deal as a fledgling top player and his ranking will be projected to shoot up as high 25 on Monday and there is little doubt that he can even climb higher as the year goes on.
Roger Federer vs Chung Hyeon
And the second semi final was between the GOAT and defending champion, Roger Federer and another surprise semi finalist, Chung Hyeon, young 21 year Korean player, who was the first man from his country to reach the semis of a major. And Chung came into this match having played exceptionally well and he even defeated his idol, Novak Djokovic in the 4th round enroute to this stage. Roger on the other hand had made serene progress so far going into the semis as he was yet to drop a set having comfortably beaten all the players before him. However, given Chung's hunger, defensive skills and athletic ability, this match had the potential to be a real danger for Roger to deal with.
However...the match itself was a real damp squib and it was very evident from the start that Roger was the master and Chung was very much the student, as he ruthlessly dismantled Chung's weak serve and he grabbed the opening set in just 34 minutes with a double break. In the 2nd set, it was more of the same from Roger but it became apparent very soon that Chung was carrying an injury as he took a timeout for a blister on his foot. However in the end, the injury proved too much for Chung to play through, so he admitted defeat to Rog in the 2nd set and retired, which saw the defending champion reach another final in Melbourne with a 6-1, 5-2 ret result.
Well, this was a real disappointing result as this match had some real potential to it had Chung been fully fit it could have been a very interesting contest. Unfortunately however, Chung's blistered foot proved too much for him to deal with and it prematurely ended what could have been a very fine match. Regardless of this though, Chung had put a valiant effort in getting himself into the semi finals and really showed his potential at the tournament and announced himself to the tennis world, especially after beating Djokovic, Chung is certainly a player audiences will watch out for.
THE MEN'S FINAL AND PREDICTION
So, this sets up the men's final between Roger Federer and Marin Cilic in what will be a rematch of last year's Wimbledon final, which saw an injured Cilic fall to Roger in straight sets, however this time hopefully we won't get the same result as Cilic appears fully fit. So, this time round hopefully we will get treated to a more even contest because Cilic certainly has the firepower to trouble Roger in a match as he proved in their epic Wimbledon quarter final two years ago and also when he demolished Roger at the US Open semis in 2014.
Soooo....this all begs the question....who will win??? Well, let's take a quick look at both players.
Well, so far Roger has been in sublime form throughout the tournament and is yet to drop a set going into this final, just like he did at Wimbledon last year also (which he went on to win without dropping a single set!). Roger's matches have also barely gone beyond 2 hours as he been able to cleanly and efficiently beat evey player he has come up against. So, on the basis of what we have seen so far in the tournament, it would be hard to argue with Roger being the favourite here to end his days as a teenager in terms of a grand slam trophy title number and reach number 20.
As for Cilic, well he has shown some great form in the tournament also, albeit not quite as impressive having dropped four sets enroute to the final but he still managed to grind down Rafael Nadal in the quarter finals, who was forced to retire from their match in the 5th set. Cilic also has proved that when he is on his game and when his serve is firing, there are very few players that can contend with him, as he is certainly capable of playing lights out tennis. And if Cilic is fully fit in the final then Roger knows he will need to watch out and that crushing defeat he suffered to Cilic at the US Open four years ago will still be prying on his mind.
As for my actual prediction as to who will win....well....I have to go with Roger here, simply based on the form he has shown in the tournament so far he has been outstanding and he comes into the AO this year fully fit, unlike last year where he still had a few physical niggles. Roger is also yet to drop a set and his tennis has been clinical and efficient as ever and his serving has been nigh impeccable, so Cilic would need to serve out of his mind to have any real chance against him. And its still scary to think that at the age of 36, Roger is still playing his best tennis and moving like he is only 25 years old!
So, I think Roger will be tested more this time round by Cilic than he was at Wimbledon last year, when Cilic was playing injured (and also had a blister on his foot like Chung did) and it should hopefully prove to be a more competitive match. Cilic also plays his best tennis on hard courts as well as grass courts, so the court here should suit his game but let's face it, it also suits Roger's too. And I think this match should go to four sets, especially if Cilic plays well, he will give Rog something to think about but in the end, I still think Roger will emerge the champion once again and successfully defend his title. So, I predict Rog will win in four and reach slam No.20.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back soon with my look at the result of the ladies singles final, which was between Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki, the top two seeds who battled it out for their first grand slam and the No.1 ranking. So, I will cover the match, the result and also a review of how it went and how things might go for the two ladies in the future.
So, until the next one, that's all for now.
MENS SEMI FINALS
Marin Cilic vs Kyle Edmund
First up was the semi final between the former US Open champion, Marin Cilic and a surprise first time grand slam semi finalist, Kyle Edmund, the British No.2, who had put in a great effort to reach the last four in Melbourne. Kyle had gained several impressive wins on his way to the semis as he defeated Kevin Anderson in the 1st round in 5 tough sets and then later went on to stun Grigor Dimitrov, the 3rd seed in the quarter finals in 4 sets. So, this saw Kyle within touching distance of reaching his first grand slam final but he would be up against the more experienced, Marin Cilic, a 2014 US Open champion and also Wimbledon finalist last year.
As for the match itself...well it went pretty much the way it you would have expected it to on paper as Cilic bossed Kyle right from the start of the match and he swiftly grabbed a double break to take the opening set. In the 2nd set however, it was more evenly contested as Kyle showed some good resistance and pushed the Croatian to a tiebreak but unfortunately he lose out in the breaker to go two sets to love down. And in the 3rd set, Kyle's conditioning and fitness started to let him down as he required a medical timeout for an apparent hip issue that let Cilic grab a double break once again and he sealed the match and his place in his first Australian open final with an impressive 6-2, 7-6, 6-2 victory.
Well, this match was always going to be in Cilic's favour as he was by far the more experienced player out of the two and it was no surprise in the end that he got through. However the match did promise to be fairly tight in the 2nd set as Kyle fought back but as the match went on and Kyle's fitness became an issue, it was clear that there would be only one winner. So, this is a very impressive victory for Cilic as he has now reached his 3rd grand slam final, having already won the 2014 US Open and being a finalist at Wimbledon last year.
As for Kyle Edmund, despite his loss, this was a terrific tournament for him as it really showed that once Andy Murray has hung his racquet, Kyle can confidently take over the mantle as the British No.1 (which he is only weeks away from becoming just given Andy being out recovering from hip surgery). Kyle has also shown that he is the very much the real deal as a fledgling top player and his ranking will be projected to shoot up as high 25 on Monday and there is little doubt that he can even climb higher as the year goes on.
Roger Federer vs Chung Hyeon
And the second semi final was between the GOAT and defending champion, Roger Federer and another surprise semi finalist, Chung Hyeon, young 21 year Korean player, who was the first man from his country to reach the semis of a major. And Chung came into this match having played exceptionally well and he even defeated his idol, Novak Djokovic in the 4th round enroute to this stage. Roger on the other hand had made serene progress so far going into the semis as he was yet to drop a set having comfortably beaten all the players before him. However, given Chung's hunger, defensive skills and athletic ability, this match had the potential to be a real danger for Roger to deal with.
However...the match itself was a real damp squib and it was very evident from the start that Roger was the master and Chung was very much the student, as he ruthlessly dismantled Chung's weak serve and he grabbed the opening set in just 34 minutes with a double break. In the 2nd set, it was more of the same from Roger but it became apparent very soon that Chung was carrying an injury as he took a timeout for a blister on his foot. However in the end, the injury proved too much for Chung to play through, so he admitted defeat to Rog in the 2nd set and retired, which saw the defending champion reach another final in Melbourne with a 6-1, 5-2 ret result.
Well, this was a real disappointing result as this match had some real potential to it had Chung been fully fit it could have been a very interesting contest. Unfortunately however, Chung's blistered foot proved too much for him to deal with and it prematurely ended what could have been a very fine match. Regardless of this though, Chung had put a valiant effort in getting himself into the semi finals and really showed his potential at the tournament and announced himself to the tennis world, especially after beating Djokovic, Chung is certainly a player audiences will watch out for.
THE MEN'S FINAL AND PREDICTION
So, this sets up the men's final between Roger Federer and Marin Cilic in what will be a rematch of last year's Wimbledon final, which saw an injured Cilic fall to Roger in straight sets, however this time hopefully we won't get the same result as Cilic appears fully fit. So, this time round hopefully we will get treated to a more even contest because Cilic certainly has the firepower to trouble Roger in a match as he proved in their epic Wimbledon quarter final two years ago and also when he demolished Roger at the US Open semis in 2014.
Soooo....this all begs the question....who will win??? Well, let's take a quick look at both players.
Well, so far Roger has been in sublime form throughout the tournament and is yet to drop a set going into this final, just like he did at Wimbledon last year also (which he went on to win without dropping a single set!). Roger's matches have also barely gone beyond 2 hours as he been able to cleanly and efficiently beat evey player he has come up against. So, on the basis of what we have seen so far in the tournament, it would be hard to argue with Roger being the favourite here to end his days as a teenager in terms of a grand slam trophy title number and reach number 20.
As for Cilic, well he has shown some great form in the tournament also, albeit not quite as impressive having dropped four sets enroute to the final but he still managed to grind down Rafael Nadal in the quarter finals, who was forced to retire from their match in the 5th set. Cilic also has proved that when he is on his game and when his serve is firing, there are very few players that can contend with him, as he is certainly capable of playing lights out tennis. And if Cilic is fully fit in the final then Roger knows he will need to watch out and that crushing defeat he suffered to Cilic at the US Open four years ago will still be prying on his mind.
As for my actual prediction as to who will win....well....I have to go with Roger here, simply based on the form he has shown in the tournament so far he has been outstanding and he comes into the AO this year fully fit, unlike last year where he still had a few physical niggles. Roger is also yet to drop a set and his tennis has been clinical and efficient as ever and his serving has been nigh impeccable, so Cilic would need to serve out of his mind to have any real chance against him. And its still scary to think that at the age of 36, Roger is still playing his best tennis and moving like he is only 25 years old!
So, I think Roger will be tested more this time round by Cilic than he was at Wimbledon last year, when Cilic was playing injured (and also had a blister on his foot like Chung did) and it should hopefully prove to be a more competitive match. Cilic also plays his best tennis on hard courts as well as grass courts, so the court here should suit his game but let's face it, it also suits Roger's too. And I think this match should go to four sets, especially if Cilic plays well, he will give Rog something to think about but in the end, I still think Roger will emerge the champion once again and successfully defend his title. So, I predict Rog will win in four and reach slam No.20.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back soon with my look at the result of the ladies singles final, which was between Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki, the top two seeds who battled it out for their first grand slam and the No.1 ranking. So, I will cover the match, the result and also a review of how it went and how things might go for the two ladies in the future.
So, until the next one, that's all for now.
Friday, 26 January 2018
2018 Australian Open - Ladies Event Part 1: Semi Finals and Final Preview
Well, I'm pretty late with my look at the first grand slam of the season, the Australian Open from Melbourne, as the tournament finishes on this Sunday and it would take me ages to go over the results in full up until now. So, instead what I will do is take a look at the ladies semi finals matches in this post and look at the men's in another post, then do a separate post for both the men's and ladies finals matches.
So, with that all said, let's take a look then at how the semi finals went.
LADIES SEMI FINALS
Caroline Wozniacki vs Elise Mertens
Right, so the first ladies semi final up was between the current World No.2 (and former No.1) Caroline Wozniacki and the unseeded Belgium player, Elise Mertens. Caroline was very fortunate still to be in the tournament especially after her 2nd round match where she was 5-1 down against Jana Fett and had to save two match points but she found her feet since going into this match. Mertens on the other hand had put together a very impressive run in reaching her first grand slam semi final as she had beaten Elina Svitolina in the quarter finals, the 4th seed.
As for the match itself, well it was pretty much in Caroline's favour in the 1st set as she broke Mertens to go ahead and claim in the 1st set. The 2nd however was a bit more tense as Caroline went to serve for the match at a break up 5-4, she got tight and let Mertens back into the game, who broke back and pushed play to a tiebreak. However in the breaker, it was Caroline's experience and confidence that made the difference as very efficiently won the breaker 7-2 to reach her 1st Australian open final and her third major final with a 6-3, 7-6 victory.
Well there is little doubt that this was an impressive win for Caroline, especially considering the run that Mertens had put together herself she looked to a very dangerous player, however Caroline was able to weather the storm nicely and her great experience in the majors made the difference. This now sees Caroline Wozniacki with a chance to win her first ever grand slam title once again but I will say more about this in a bit, but first let's look at the other ladies match.
Simona Halep vs Angelique Kerber
So, the second semi final was between the current World No.1, Simona Halep and the former World No.1 and 2016 Australian open champion, Angelique Kerber in what promised to be a real cracker of a match. And the match itself didn't disappoint as both women put in a tremendous effort as they battled it out on Rod Laver arena and played some incredible lungbusting rallies.
The first set however saw Halep take the lead as she broke Kerber to move ahead and take it but in the 2nd set, Kerber having gone down a break to Halep, managed to fight back and break back and then went on to grab a break of her own to seal the 2nd set to level. And in the 3rd set, the crowd were treated to a thrilling decider where both women went at it full tilt and with play going past 6-6, this meant there would be no tiebreak (as there is no tiebreak in the deciding set at all the majors except the US Open). And at 8-7 to Halep, with Kerber serving to make it 8-8, this is where Halep made her move and forced the decisive error from Kerber, which saw Simona reach her first Australian open final and third major final overall with an epic 6-4, 4-6, 9-7 win.
Well there was little doubt that this was the match of the ladies tournament so far as both players were on great form and it was a real war of attrition that saw Halep dig just that little bit deeper in the end to seal the victory. Kerber also showed that she was back to great form after her slump last year and was so close to also being in the final again but in the end she was just pipped to the post by Halep. But both ladies played their part in what was a very high quality match that will probably go down as one of the best matches of the year.
LADIES FINAL PREVIEW AND PREDICTION
Simona Halep vs Caroline Wozniacki
Right, so this has set up a very intriguing ladies final between the world's top two players, Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki, who have never won a grand slam and are both in their 3rd major final, so it will definitely be third time lucky for one of them. Not only that but if Caroline wins the title she will return to No.1 in the world whereas if Simona wins then she will stay at No.1, so this match is also the battle for No.1.
So this then begs the question....who will win??? Well, let's take a look.
First off with Simona Halep, she is the current World No.1 but she has yet to win a major final and her previous two finals have been both at the French Open, where she managed to win a set in both but ultimately lose out to Maria Sharapova and Jelena Ostapenko respectively. Halep had shown her grit in both matches, particularly in her first against Sharapova but she also showed signs of nerves and vulnerability as she had an early lead against Ostapenko in the deciding set of their French open final last year only to let it go and lose.
So, Halep has definitely shown signs of vulnerability and nerves will most likely play its part tomorrow for her plus she has also been trying to cope with an ankle injury in the event. However, Halep has been able to also show in this tournament so far that she can grind out tough matches as she beat Lauren Davis 15-13 in the final set in her 3rd round and 9-7 in her semi final with Kerber. So, if Halep shows that same level of grit tomorrow then its most likely that Simona can go on and win the match.
As for Caroline Wozniacki, she too has had a tough time progressing to the final, albeit not quite as tough as Halep has had it but she had to come back from the brink against the American qualifier, Jana Fett in the 2nd round from 5-1 down in the decider. Caroline had to also fight her way past Carla Suarez-Navarro in the quarter finals in three sets. However she definitely has had the easier route out of the two players to the final and hasn't been taken beyond 7-5 in a decisive set, so this will leave her with more in the tank than Halep has so far.
And this highlights another issue with Caroline is that she hasn't faced a player so far in the tournament that was ranked in the top 20, as the highest seeded player she has faced was Magdalena Rybarikova, the 19th seed (ranked 21). So, facing Halep will be a big step up for Caroline going from 19th seed right to the World No.1 and its one that could go against in that she hasn't faced off any top 5 or even top 10 players yet.
So who is going to win?????
Well.....I might be wrong but I'm going with Caroline Wozniacki on this one as I just think that even though she has not had to face any top 10 opponents so far in the tournament, she is bound to be the fresher of the two ladies going into this final. Not only that but Caroline leads her head to head with Halep 4-2 and she has won their last three meetings with the last being at the WTA finals, where Caroline thrashed Halep in straight sets. Caroline also has the slight edge over Simona in that she has won the WTA Finals, which is a bigger title than Simona has won in her career and this alone might give her the confidence and belief to take that next step to win her first slam.
However I do think that there will be very little in this match as both ladies games are very similar and both built on defence although Simona is slightly more aggressive than Caroline is but in terms of athletic ability there is nothing in it. So, this is a pretty level field here with both players having great defensive games, both athletic but also neither of them have a big weapon or a big serve, so there won't be a question of either one hitting each other off the court. There will doubtless be nerves on both sides here also as Simona has shown signs of getting tight in her previous major finals as has Caroline, so in the end it might come down to who holds their nerve better, either this or one player will simply outplay the other.
So, I think this one is just about 50/50 but I am going to give the slight edge to Caroline so maybe 51/49 in her favour and I definitely think this match could go to three sets. So, I might be wrong but I am going to go with Caroline in three sets and hopefully the match will be a great one to finish the tournament on. I'm also a fan of Caroline Wozniacki and I've been following her career over the last six or seven years, which has seen her hit many highs but also many lows where she often has been branded as not being good enough to win a grand slam as she had always been overpowered or outplayed by her opponents.
Don't get me wrong as I like Simona Halep too, who I think comes across as a kind, gracious person with a great attitude in both victory and defeat, so if she does win then she certainly deserves it and it would be a great way to back up her No.1 ranking. But for me I still think that Caroline might edge this one even though I do think there will be not much in it.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now I will be back soon with my look at the men's semi finals and a preview of the men's final.
So until then its bye for now!
So, with that all said, let's take a look then at how the semi finals went.
LADIES SEMI FINALS
Caroline Wozniacki vs Elise Mertens
Right, so the first ladies semi final up was between the current World No.2 (and former No.1) Caroline Wozniacki and the unseeded Belgium player, Elise Mertens. Caroline was very fortunate still to be in the tournament especially after her 2nd round match where she was 5-1 down against Jana Fett and had to save two match points but she found her feet since going into this match. Mertens on the other hand had put together a very impressive run in reaching her first grand slam semi final as she had beaten Elina Svitolina in the quarter finals, the 4th seed.
As for the match itself, well it was pretty much in Caroline's favour in the 1st set as she broke Mertens to go ahead and claim in the 1st set. The 2nd however was a bit more tense as Caroline went to serve for the match at a break up 5-4, she got tight and let Mertens back into the game, who broke back and pushed play to a tiebreak. However in the breaker, it was Caroline's experience and confidence that made the difference as very efficiently won the breaker 7-2 to reach her 1st Australian open final and her third major final with a 6-3, 7-6 victory.
Well there is little doubt that this was an impressive win for Caroline, especially considering the run that Mertens had put together herself she looked to a very dangerous player, however Caroline was able to weather the storm nicely and her great experience in the majors made the difference. This now sees Caroline Wozniacki with a chance to win her first ever grand slam title once again but I will say more about this in a bit, but first let's look at the other ladies match.
Simona Halep vs Angelique Kerber
So, the second semi final was between the current World No.1, Simona Halep and the former World No.1 and 2016 Australian open champion, Angelique Kerber in what promised to be a real cracker of a match. And the match itself didn't disappoint as both women put in a tremendous effort as they battled it out on Rod Laver arena and played some incredible lungbusting rallies.
The first set however saw Halep take the lead as she broke Kerber to move ahead and take it but in the 2nd set, Kerber having gone down a break to Halep, managed to fight back and break back and then went on to grab a break of her own to seal the 2nd set to level. And in the 3rd set, the crowd were treated to a thrilling decider where both women went at it full tilt and with play going past 6-6, this meant there would be no tiebreak (as there is no tiebreak in the deciding set at all the majors except the US Open). And at 8-7 to Halep, with Kerber serving to make it 8-8, this is where Halep made her move and forced the decisive error from Kerber, which saw Simona reach her first Australian open final and third major final overall with an epic 6-4, 4-6, 9-7 win.
Well there was little doubt that this was the match of the ladies tournament so far as both players were on great form and it was a real war of attrition that saw Halep dig just that little bit deeper in the end to seal the victory. Kerber also showed that she was back to great form after her slump last year and was so close to also being in the final again but in the end she was just pipped to the post by Halep. But both ladies played their part in what was a very high quality match that will probably go down as one of the best matches of the year.
LADIES FINAL PREVIEW AND PREDICTION
Simona Halep vs Caroline Wozniacki
Right, so this has set up a very intriguing ladies final between the world's top two players, Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki, who have never won a grand slam and are both in their 3rd major final, so it will definitely be third time lucky for one of them. Not only that but if Caroline wins the title she will return to No.1 in the world whereas if Simona wins then she will stay at No.1, so this match is also the battle for No.1.
So this then begs the question....who will win??? Well, let's take a look.
First off with Simona Halep, she is the current World No.1 but she has yet to win a major final and her previous two finals have been both at the French Open, where she managed to win a set in both but ultimately lose out to Maria Sharapova and Jelena Ostapenko respectively. Halep had shown her grit in both matches, particularly in her first against Sharapova but she also showed signs of nerves and vulnerability as she had an early lead against Ostapenko in the deciding set of their French open final last year only to let it go and lose.
So, Halep has definitely shown signs of vulnerability and nerves will most likely play its part tomorrow for her plus she has also been trying to cope with an ankle injury in the event. However, Halep has been able to also show in this tournament so far that she can grind out tough matches as she beat Lauren Davis 15-13 in the final set in her 3rd round and 9-7 in her semi final with Kerber. So, if Halep shows that same level of grit tomorrow then its most likely that Simona can go on and win the match.
As for Caroline Wozniacki, she too has had a tough time progressing to the final, albeit not quite as tough as Halep has had it but she had to come back from the brink against the American qualifier, Jana Fett in the 2nd round from 5-1 down in the decider. Caroline had to also fight her way past Carla Suarez-Navarro in the quarter finals in three sets. However she definitely has had the easier route out of the two players to the final and hasn't been taken beyond 7-5 in a decisive set, so this will leave her with more in the tank than Halep has so far.
And this highlights another issue with Caroline is that she hasn't faced a player so far in the tournament that was ranked in the top 20, as the highest seeded player she has faced was Magdalena Rybarikova, the 19th seed (ranked 21). So, facing Halep will be a big step up for Caroline going from 19th seed right to the World No.1 and its one that could go against in that she hasn't faced off any top 5 or even top 10 players yet.
So who is going to win?????
Well.....I might be wrong but I'm going with Caroline Wozniacki on this one as I just think that even though she has not had to face any top 10 opponents so far in the tournament, she is bound to be the fresher of the two ladies going into this final. Not only that but Caroline leads her head to head with Halep 4-2 and she has won their last three meetings with the last being at the WTA finals, where Caroline thrashed Halep in straight sets. Caroline also has the slight edge over Simona in that she has won the WTA Finals, which is a bigger title than Simona has won in her career and this alone might give her the confidence and belief to take that next step to win her first slam.
However I do think that there will be very little in this match as both ladies games are very similar and both built on defence although Simona is slightly more aggressive than Caroline is but in terms of athletic ability there is nothing in it. So, this is a pretty level field here with both players having great defensive games, both athletic but also neither of them have a big weapon or a big serve, so there won't be a question of either one hitting each other off the court. There will doubtless be nerves on both sides here also as Simona has shown signs of getting tight in her previous major finals as has Caroline, so in the end it might come down to who holds their nerve better, either this or one player will simply outplay the other.
So, I think this one is just about 50/50 but I am going to give the slight edge to Caroline so maybe 51/49 in her favour and I definitely think this match could go to three sets. So, I might be wrong but I am going to go with Caroline in three sets and hopefully the match will be a great one to finish the tournament on. I'm also a fan of Caroline Wozniacki and I've been following her career over the last six or seven years, which has seen her hit many highs but also many lows where she often has been branded as not being good enough to win a grand slam as she had always been overpowered or outplayed by her opponents.
Don't get me wrong as I like Simona Halep too, who I think comes across as a kind, gracious person with a great attitude in both victory and defeat, so if she does win then she certainly deserves it and it would be a great way to back up her No.1 ranking. But for me I still think that Caroline might edge this one even though I do think there will be not much in it.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now I will be back soon with my look at the men's semi finals and a preview of the men's final.
So until then its bye for now!
Thursday, 4 January 2018
Andy Murray update: Is this end???
Well, I'd like to start this post off on a positive note and wish everyone a Happy New Year and let's hope 2018 is a good one.
However, there is one man that could be in for a particualrly tough 2018 and that man is Andy Murray, the tennis world's former World No.1, who for the past six months has been struggling physically with a hip injury. So, far Andy has tried extensive rehab to try and get himself fit and well for the new tennis season but unfortunately so far the rehab hasn't worked out the way Andy would have liked.
So, this post will look at Andy's injury woes over the past six months and his possible options going ahead.
THE INJURY SO FAR
Well, the injury resulted after Andy's gruelling French open campaign where he put in a great run to the semi finals but he was ultimately defeated by the former champion, Stan Wawrinka in a five set thriller. After this, Andy struggled badly at the start of the grass court season as he was beaten in the 1st round at the AEGON Championships event at Queens club in London, which sparked fears that Andy wouldn't be fit enough to play Wimbledon. However, those fears were abated as Andy managed to play at Wimbledon and got himself to the quarter finals where unfortunately this was where his troubles really began as he literally limped to a five set loss at the hands of the American big server, Sam Querrey.
After this, Andy withdrew from the upcoming Masters events but tried to get himself fit to play the US Open as he travelled to New York. However, unfortunately Andy was unable to compete as yet again, his hip problet let him down and he was forced to withdraw a day after the US Open draw had been announced, much to the annoyance of some tennis fans, who had hoped for a Roger vs Rafa final but ended being in the same half of the draw.
Not long after this, Andy confirmed he would miss the Asian swing of the tour and "most likely" would miss the final tournaments of his schedule in Vienna and Paris (he didn't have enough points to qualify for the year end finals at the o2 Arena in London). Andy however did not officially confirm his withdrawal from Vienna and Paris but it was a foregone conclusion that he would miss them anyway, which he did.
Andy however did manage to play his exhibition match with Roger Federer at the Hydro in Glasgow where he did put in a really good performance against the GOAT and took a set off Roger for the first time in three years before he lost in a champions tiebreak. The performance was an encouraging one although it had to be said that Andy's movement was still less than perfect.
And at the end of 2017, Andy went to practise in Abu Dhabi where an exhibition event takes place every year and after Novak Djokovic confirmed his withdrawal from the event, Andy took his place and played a one-set exhibition against the Spaniard, Robert Bautista-Agut. However, the match really highlighted Andy's hip problem once again as there were many points where he fail to chase down balls, which he normally would have gotten to with ease in the past. It was a big step back from his performance in Glasgow and it raised more concerns.
However, despite any fears, Andy still was drawn in the Brisbane International event where he would be expected to play Ryan Harrison in his first official match on the tour since Wimbledon last year. However, Andy once again was left frustrated by his hip injury and he was forced again to withdraw from the tournament and not long after he wrote a heartfelt and emotional post on his Instagram account, expressing his sadness and disappointment at not being able to compete and now he is considering surgery as an option to resolve his hip problem.
Andy also said that he would wait a few days before making his decision wether or not to play in Melbourne for the first major of the year, the Australian open. However, Andy, a few days after, decided to withdraw rather than take any risks and he will now travel back home to seek further advice on how he can move forward with his hip injury.
SO WHAT ARE ANDY'S OPTIONS
So, from here this leaves Andy two options: one, continue with his rehab or two, undergo surgery to resolve the hip injury but there are complications involved with both options. First off with the rehab, Andy has undergone this for the past five months and so far, it has been to no avail, which suggests that rehab is no longer a viable solution to his injury. Andy could try more rehab for a few more months but it looks like inevitably he will be back at square one as soon as he tries to get back on the court.
So, this leaves his only real viable option left: surgery. Now according to what I've been reading, there are two types of surgery that Andy can undergo, one is a surgery that would replace the hip, which would effectively end his career as the recovery time would be too long. The other option is to undergo keyhole surgery, which would see Andy out of the game for at least 6 months. Now, this on paper would sound like the better option but it is still said that there are no 100% guarantees that this will correct the hip injury. However given all that Andy has been through, it would sound like that the keyhole surgery is a gamble that he should possibly consider if he wants to get back on the court sooner rather than later.
IS THIS THE END FOR ANDY???
Well, this is a question neither myself or anyone can really can't answer just now. Andy is not in a good place just now of course and he will want to do all he can to get himself back to full fitness again if he can. I sincerely hope as an Andy Murray fan myself, that Andy still has a few years left in him before he retires. However in order for him to do so, he must now seriously consider whether more rehab or surgery is the way forward and to be honest from what we've seen so far, rehab is not working for him, so surgery looks like his only real option left open to him.
So, I can only hope Andy has some life left in him yet on the tennis court but time will tell as he himself will make a decision on a way forward in the forthcoming weeks. But one thing we do know about Andy Murray is, that his desire to compete and play tennis remains strong as ever and I'm sure he will do all he can to get himself back out and play the sport he loves most.
SIGN OFF
Right, well that's it for now and I will be back again sometime on this blog soon with an update on the Australian open once it get's underway.
So, until then its bye for now!
However, there is one man that could be in for a particualrly tough 2018 and that man is Andy Murray, the tennis world's former World No.1, who for the past six months has been struggling physically with a hip injury. So, far Andy has tried extensive rehab to try and get himself fit and well for the new tennis season but unfortunately so far the rehab hasn't worked out the way Andy would have liked.
So, this post will look at Andy's injury woes over the past six months and his possible options going ahead.
THE INJURY SO FAR
Well, the injury resulted after Andy's gruelling French open campaign where he put in a great run to the semi finals but he was ultimately defeated by the former champion, Stan Wawrinka in a five set thriller. After this, Andy struggled badly at the start of the grass court season as he was beaten in the 1st round at the AEGON Championships event at Queens club in London, which sparked fears that Andy wouldn't be fit enough to play Wimbledon. However, those fears were abated as Andy managed to play at Wimbledon and got himself to the quarter finals where unfortunately this was where his troubles really began as he literally limped to a five set loss at the hands of the American big server, Sam Querrey.
After this, Andy withdrew from the upcoming Masters events but tried to get himself fit to play the US Open as he travelled to New York. However, unfortunately Andy was unable to compete as yet again, his hip problet let him down and he was forced to withdraw a day after the US Open draw had been announced, much to the annoyance of some tennis fans, who had hoped for a Roger vs Rafa final but ended being in the same half of the draw.
Not long after this, Andy confirmed he would miss the Asian swing of the tour and "most likely" would miss the final tournaments of his schedule in Vienna and Paris (he didn't have enough points to qualify for the year end finals at the o2 Arena in London). Andy however did not officially confirm his withdrawal from Vienna and Paris but it was a foregone conclusion that he would miss them anyway, which he did.
Andy however did manage to play his exhibition match with Roger Federer at the Hydro in Glasgow where he did put in a really good performance against the GOAT and took a set off Roger for the first time in three years before he lost in a champions tiebreak. The performance was an encouraging one although it had to be said that Andy's movement was still less than perfect.
And at the end of 2017, Andy went to practise in Abu Dhabi where an exhibition event takes place every year and after Novak Djokovic confirmed his withdrawal from the event, Andy took his place and played a one-set exhibition against the Spaniard, Robert Bautista-Agut. However, the match really highlighted Andy's hip problem once again as there were many points where he fail to chase down balls, which he normally would have gotten to with ease in the past. It was a big step back from his performance in Glasgow and it raised more concerns.
However, despite any fears, Andy still was drawn in the Brisbane International event where he would be expected to play Ryan Harrison in his first official match on the tour since Wimbledon last year. However, Andy once again was left frustrated by his hip injury and he was forced again to withdraw from the tournament and not long after he wrote a heartfelt and emotional post on his Instagram account, expressing his sadness and disappointment at not being able to compete and now he is considering surgery as an option to resolve his hip problem.
Andy also said that he would wait a few days before making his decision wether or not to play in Melbourne for the first major of the year, the Australian open. However, Andy, a few days after, decided to withdraw rather than take any risks and he will now travel back home to seek further advice on how he can move forward with his hip injury.
SO WHAT ARE ANDY'S OPTIONS
So, from here this leaves Andy two options: one, continue with his rehab or two, undergo surgery to resolve the hip injury but there are complications involved with both options. First off with the rehab, Andy has undergone this for the past five months and so far, it has been to no avail, which suggests that rehab is no longer a viable solution to his injury. Andy could try more rehab for a few more months but it looks like inevitably he will be back at square one as soon as he tries to get back on the court.
So, this leaves his only real viable option left: surgery. Now according to what I've been reading, there are two types of surgery that Andy can undergo, one is a surgery that would replace the hip, which would effectively end his career as the recovery time would be too long. The other option is to undergo keyhole surgery, which would see Andy out of the game for at least 6 months. Now, this on paper would sound like the better option but it is still said that there are no 100% guarantees that this will correct the hip injury. However given all that Andy has been through, it would sound like that the keyhole surgery is a gamble that he should possibly consider if he wants to get back on the court sooner rather than later.
IS THIS THE END FOR ANDY???
Well, this is a question neither myself or anyone can really can't answer just now. Andy is not in a good place just now of course and he will want to do all he can to get himself back to full fitness again if he can. I sincerely hope as an Andy Murray fan myself, that Andy still has a few years left in him before he retires. However in order for him to do so, he must now seriously consider whether more rehab or surgery is the way forward and to be honest from what we've seen so far, rehab is not working for him, so surgery looks like his only real option left open to him.
So, I can only hope Andy has some life left in him yet on the tennis court but time will tell as he himself will make a decision on a way forward in the forthcoming weeks. But one thing we do know about Andy Murray is, that his desire to compete and play tennis remains strong as ever and I'm sure he will do all he can to get himself back out and play the sport he loves most.
SIGN OFF
Right, well that's it for now and I will be back again sometime on this blog soon with an update on the Australian open once it get's underway.
So, until then its bye for now!
Sunday, 15 October 2017
Has 2017 been the worst year of tennis ever????????
Well, its been a while since I posted on here but I felt it was time to say something about this year's season in tennis as 2017 has had its share of ups and downs and has seen some of the elite players pull out with injuries. Not only but there are also some other issues to do with the quality of the grand slams this season and the current condition of a legendary rivalry.
So in this post I will ask the question: has 2017 been the worst tennis season ever?????
THE YEAR SO FAR - MURRAY, DJOKOVIC AND WAWRINKA OUT
Well, the year so far has been a pretty unforgiving one especially for three players, firstly the former World No.1, Andy Murray, who had reached the pinnacle of the sport around this time last year as he claimed the year end No.1 spot at the ATP World Tour Finals and remained at the top for almost 10 months.
So first up is Andy Murray, the former World No.1 who has endured a very turbulent year having seen him suffer a series of poor results in tournaments to players such as Borna Coric, Fabio Fognini and Sam Querrey, who are normally players you would expect Andy at the top of his game to defeat with relative ease. This however of course has been largely down to injury and illness as 2017 so far has seen Andy suffer a bout of shingles in February, an elbow injury in March/April, another bout of flu in May and of course a now lingering hip injury since his gruelling defeat to Stan Wawrinka at the French Open semi finals that has prematurely ended his tennis season since. Andy would then go on to lose his No.1 ranking to Rafa in August, which brought Andy's 41 week run at the top to an end.
And since then Andy has faced the prospect of either undergoing surgery to resolve his hip injury or undergo a lengthy period of rehab,which resulted in Andy chosing to the rehab route as after consulting various hip specialists it was believed that the surgery could prove more damaging in the long term. So, now Andy will try and recover in time for the start of the 2018 season next year as he targets to comeback in January at a tournament in Brisbane before heading to Melbourne for the first major of the year.
Novak Djokovic has also endured a pretty bad tennis season that has culminated with him withdrawing just before the US Open with a linger elbow injury. And due to mixed form, Novak has also suffered from surprising defeats most notably at the his most successful grand slam, the Australian Open, where he suffered a shock loss to Denis Istomin in five sets in the 2nd round, which was his earliest exit at a slam for almost 10 years.
Novak also even went as far as to dismiss his entire coaching team that included his long time coach, Marian Vajda and he went to hire former World No.1 and tennis superstar, Andre Agassi in a move that he would have hoped would revitalise his season and career. However not even Agassi was able to turn around some disappointing results for Novak as he suffered a stunning defeat to Dominic Thiem in straight sets, where Novak was handed a bagel set in the 3rd. And despite winning his first grass court warm-up title ever at Eastbourne, Novak then went on to lose to Tomas Berdych at Wimbledon in the quarter finals as he lost the first set then retired with his elbow injury, trailing in the 2nd. This was the same stage that Andy lost at Wimbledon also and since then neither player has played on the tour since.
Stan Wawrinka also has called it quits on his season, which has been pretty up and down also, although he did get off to a strong start at the Australian open where he reached the semi finals and pushed his Swiss compatriot and good friend, Roger Federer the distance in a five setter before he lost. Stan also then went on to enjoy a good run at the French Open as he beat Andy Murray in a thrilling five set match in the semis before he suffered a heavy loss to Rafa in the finals in straight sets. This was the first time that Stan had lost a grand slam final as he had previously a 3-0 record in major finals. Stan then went on to play Wimbledon where he fell at the first hurdle in the one slam that continues to elude his career as he was beaten by the rising star, Daniel Medvedev.
So by the time the US Open was to come around of which Stan was the defending champion, he announced that he would not play the tournament and also that he would end his season due to a lingering knee injury, which he would undergo surgery for.
So, this has seen three of the world's best players (all of whom are multiple grand slam champions) pull out, which really has played its part in hurting this year's season. And being of Andy Murray myself, it has to be said for me the tour just hasn't been the same without him this year as he has given so much to British tennis alone throughout his career. However these three guys withdrawal from the tennis season is just been the tip of the iceberg.
MAJOR(S) DISAPPOINTMENT
Another reason why this season has been a letdown has also come down to the deeply underwhelming grand slam tournaments that we have had in 2017 with the only real exception being the Australian Open final, which produced a thrilling finale between Roger and Rafa that saw these two legends go at it once again.
However, since then the three grand slam finals that proceeded this final have been a big letdown, which saw the French Open finale between Rafa and Stan Wawrinka (the former 2015 champ) square off in what could have been an epic encounter. However on the day, Stan seemed to be dealing with fatigue from his epic battle against Andy Murray in the semi finals and also an inspired Rafa, who played out his skin to demolish Stan in straight sets, who won just a mere six games.
The disappointment then continued in the Wimbledon final when again we were promised an intriguing battle between Roger Federer and Marin Cilic, who played one of the matches of the year last season as Roger came back from the brink of defeat from two sets down to defeat Cilic. However on the day it was not to be for Cilic, who seemed to be suffering from a foot injury that hampered his movement and anything less than 100% against an inspired Roger Federer playing near his very best is simply nowhere near good enough. The match itself reduced Cilic to tears at points as he was frustrated by his lack of ability to compete as he would have wanted and this saw Roger dismiss Cilic again in straight sets to claim his record 8th Wimbledon title.
And last of all is the US Open final, which to be fair was a fairly decent final between Rafa and Kevin Anderson, an unlikely finalist making his first appearance in a major. However the outcome would be inevitable as Anderson had only won a single set against Rafa in all of their previous meetings and this match proved to be no different a result than before as Rafa beat the big South African in straight sets. Despite this though, Anderson still put in a credible effort and did what he could as even though he was outplayed, he never fully wilted and give it his all. However it doesn't change the fact that the final itself was pretty underwhelming and far short of the mark of what it could have been.
So, that's another reason that 2017 has been a letdown although again to be fair, Roger and Rafa could only play who was infront of them and the results are what they are. Its just a shame that these finals couldn't have been that bit more competitive.
LEGENDARY RIVALRY GOING SOUR????
And the last reason why 2017 has been a letdown is of course Roger and Rafa themselves, not in term of their results and titles, which have been far from that but I mean of course their rivalry. After a terrific start to the season, which saw Roger and Rafa roll back the years in their epic Aussie Open final in which Roger came back from the brink of defeat in a decisive 5th set to win the title, their rivalry since has taken a real nose dive in terms of competitiveness. And since then, Roger has won all of their four meetings on hard courts in straight sets in which Rafa has failed to take more than four games off Rog in a whole set!
And this really has been in a way the biggest disappointment of 2017 as their once epic rivalry that saw them regularly pushed each to the limit has since disintegrated into a one horse race for Roger and a series of bruising results for Rafa. And its a real pity to see things go this way for these two legends (well actually I mean Rafa) because when they played their best back in their real heyday there was precious little between them in terms of the scores. Of course this could come down to Roger being the more comfortable on hard courts than Rafa and in quite a few of their previous meetings, Rafa had defeated Roger on clay courts that saw him up his head to head record.
However since that tremendous Aussie Open final this year, a great rivalry has since disappeared and I can only hope that it will come back, because if things carry on like this then Rafa will certainly lose his top spot to Roger by the end of the season.
CONCLUSION
So to conclude has 2017 been the worst tennis season ever???? Well, no not perhaps the worst ever but it certainly remains one of the most disappointing and I can only hope that 2018 will not only see the return of Andy, Novak and Stan but also the return to form of Roger and Rafa's rivalry.
Anyway so that's it for now and I will maybe do another post on here sometime soon.
So until then its bye for now.
So in this post I will ask the question: has 2017 been the worst tennis season ever?????
THE YEAR SO FAR - MURRAY, DJOKOVIC AND WAWRINKA OUT
Well, the year so far has been a pretty unforgiving one especially for three players, firstly the former World No.1, Andy Murray, who had reached the pinnacle of the sport around this time last year as he claimed the year end No.1 spot at the ATP World Tour Finals and remained at the top for almost 10 months.
So first up is Andy Murray, the former World No.1 who has endured a very turbulent year having seen him suffer a series of poor results in tournaments to players such as Borna Coric, Fabio Fognini and Sam Querrey, who are normally players you would expect Andy at the top of his game to defeat with relative ease. This however of course has been largely down to injury and illness as 2017 so far has seen Andy suffer a bout of shingles in February, an elbow injury in March/April, another bout of flu in May and of course a now lingering hip injury since his gruelling defeat to Stan Wawrinka at the French Open semi finals that has prematurely ended his tennis season since. Andy would then go on to lose his No.1 ranking to Rafa in August, which brought Andy's 41 week run at the top to an end.
And since then Andy has faced the prospect of either undergoing surgery to resolve his hip injury or undergo a lengthy period of rehab,which resulted in Andy chosing to the rehab route as after consulting various hip specialists it was believed that the surgery could prove more damaging in the long term. So, now Andy will try and recover in time for the start of the 2018 season next year as he targets to comeback in January at a tournament in Brisbane before heading to Melbourne for the first major of the year.
Novak Djokovic has also endured a pretty bad tennis season that has culminated with him withdrawing just before the US Open with a linger elbow injury. And due to mixed form, Novak has also suffered from surprising defeats most notably at the his most successful grand slam, the Australian Open, where he suffered a shock loss to Denis Istomin in five sets in the 2nd round, which was his earliest exit at a slam for almost 10 years.
Novak also even went as far as to dismiss his entire coaching team that included his long time coach, Marian Vajda and he went to hire former World No.1 and tennis superstar, Andre Agassi in a move that he would have hoped would revitalise his season and career. However not even Agassi was able to turn around some disappointing results for Novak as he suffered a stunning defeat to Dominic Thiem in straight sets, where Novak was handed a bagel set in the 3rd. And despite winning his first grass court warm-up title ever at Eastbourne, Novak then went on to lose to Tomas Berdych at Wimbledon in the quarter finals as he lost the first set then retired with his elbow injury, trailing in the 2nd. This was the same stage that Andy lost at Wimbledon also and since then neither player has played on the tour since.
Stan Wawrinka also has called it quits on his season, which has been pretty up and down also, although he did get off to a strong start at the Australian open where he reached the semi finals and pushed his Swiss compatriot and good friend, Roger Federer the distance in a five setter before he lost. Stan also then went on to enjoy a good run at the French Open as he beat Andy Murray in a thrilling five set match in the semis before he suffered a heavy loss to Rafa in the finals in straight sets. This was the first time that Stan had lost a grand slam final as he had previously a 3-0 record in major finals. Stan then went on to play Wimbledon where he fell at the first hurdle in the one slam that continues to elude his career as he was beaten by the rising star, Daniel Medvedev.
So by the time the US Open was to come around of which Stan was the defending champion, he announced that he would not play the tournament and also that he would end his season due to a lingering knee injury, which he would undergo surgery for.
So, this has seen three of the world's best players (all of whom are multiple grand slam champions) pull out, which really has played its part in hurting this year's season. And being of Andy Murray myself, it has to be said for me the tour just hasn't been the same without him this year as he has given so much to British tennis alone throughout his career. However these three guys withdrawal from the tennis season is just been the tip of the iceberg.
MAJOR(S) DISAPPOINTMENT
Another reason why this season has been a letdown has also come down to the deeply underwhelming grand slam tournaments that we have had in 2017 with the only real exception being the Australian Open final, which produced a thrilling finale between Roger and Rafa that saw these two legends go at it once again.
However, since then the three grand slam finals that proceeded this final have been a big letdown, which saw the French Open finale between Rafa and Stan Wawrinka (the former 2015 champ) square off in what could have been an epic encounter. However on the day, Stan seemed to be dealing with fatigue from his epic battle against Andy Murray in the semi finals and also an inspired Rafa, who played out his skin to demolish Stan in straight sets, who won just a mere six games.
The disappointment then continued in the Wimbledon final when again we were promised an intriguing battle between Roger Federer and Marin Cilic, who played one of the matches of the year last season as Roger came back from the brink of defeat from two sets down to defeat Cilic. However on the day it was not to be for Cilic, who seemed to be suffering from a foot injury that hampered his movement and anything less than 100% against an inspired Roger Federer playing near his very best is simply nowhere near good enough. The match itself reduced Cilic to tears at points as he was frustrated by his lack of ability to compete as he would have wanted and this saw Roger dismiss Cilic again in straight sets to claim his record 8th Wimbledon title.
And last of all is the US Open final, which to be fair was a fairly decent final between Rafa and Kevin Anderson, an unlikely finalist making his first appearance in a major. However the outcome would be inevitable as Anderson had only won a single set against Rafa in all of their previous meetings and this match proved to be no different a result than before as Rafa beat the big South African in straight sets. Despite this though, Anderson still put in a credible effort and did what he could as even though he was outplayed, he never fully wilted and give it his all. However it doesn't change the fact that the final itself was pretty underwhelming and far short of the mark of what it could have been.
So, that's another reason that 2017 has been a letdown although again to be fair, Roger and Rafa could only play who was infront of them and the results are what they are. Its just a shame that these finals couldn't have been that bit more competitive.
LEGENDARY RIVALRY GOING SOUR????
And the last reason why 2017 has been a letdown is of course Roger and Rafa themselves, not in term of their results and titles, which have been far from that but I mean of course their rivalry. After a terrific start to the season, which saw Roger and Rafa roll back the years in their epic Aussie Open final in which Roger came back from the brink of defeat in a decisive 5th set to win the title, their rivalry since has taken a real nose dive in terms of competitiveness. And since then, Roger has won all of their four meetings on hard courts in straight sets in which Rafa has failed to take more than four games off Rog in a whole set!
And this really has been in a way the biggest disappointment of 2017 as their once epic rivalry that saw them regularly pushed each to the limit has since disintegrated into a one horse race for Roger and a series of bruising results for Rafa. And its a real pity to see things go this way for these two legends (well actually I mean Rafa) because when they played their best back in their real heyday there was precious little between them in terms of the scores. Of course this could come down to Roger being the more comfortable on hard courts than Rafa and in quite a few of their previous meetings, Rafa had defeated Roger on clay courts that saw him up his head to head record.
However since that tremendous Aussie Open final this year, a great rivalry has since disappeared and I can only hope that it will come back, because if things carry on like this then Rafa will certainly lose his top spot to Roger by the end of the season.
CONCLUSION
So to conclude has 2017 been the worst tennis season ever???? Well, no not perhaps the worst ever but it certainly remains one of the most disappointing and I can only hope that 2018 will not only see the return of Andy, Novak and Stan but also the return to form of Roger and Rafa's rivalry.
Anyway so that's it for now and I will maybe do another post on here sometime soon.
So until then its bye for now.
Monday, 11 September 2017
2017 US Open Ladies and Mens finals
Right well the 2017 US Open has now finally drawn to a close and in this post I will look at both the ladies and men's singles finals and see who emerged triumphant in New York.
So we'll start with the ladies first....
LADIES FINAL
Right, well the ladies final saw two young American players, who were first time finalists in a major, Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens and they battled it out for their maiden grand slam title.
Or....rather they didn't quite so much as it was a more one-sided match than anyone could have predicted as both ladies have an aggressive playing style, so surely it was bound to a battle of big hitting. However it was Stephens that made the strong start as she broke an ailing Madison Keys, who seemed to be struggling with her movement as her thigh was heavily bandaged and it in part let Stephens take control and claim the 1st set. And in the 2nd set, Keys continued to struggle on her serve as she was broken early on by Stephens again, who by the times was growing fast with confidence and kept her composure as she went on to break Keys again for a double break. And at 5-0 with Keys looking to get a single game on the board, Keys finally capitulated on serve once more and it handed the match to Stephens and the title with it as she claimed her first major title with an emphatic 6-3, 6-0 victory.
Well, it has to be said this was a pretty disappointing final as it promised much with Keys and Stephens both excellent players and it was a pity for Keys that she wasn't able to compete as well as she could as her quad injury contributed to her downfall although Keys also felt nerves played a bigger part in the loss.
However at the same time, we can't take anything away from Sloane Stephens as this was a very impressive win for her, especially given that she had just come back from foot surgery on a protected ranking. And when Stephens first arrived on the scene she was always tipped to win majors and become the next big thing in American tennis after Serena Williams and with this title she has now proven them right. Stephens also deserves a shout out for providing one of the most entertaining post final press conferences where she was asked if the title would inspire her to win more and she said "Are you kidding me??! Of course! Did you see that cheque they handed me?! (3.7 million dollars!) If that doesn't inspire you I don't know what will!".
As for Madison Keys, there is no doubt that this was a tough loss but she has shown that she also the potential to win a grand slam in the future. And it was also nice to see the two women share a moment together after the match on court as they laughed and smiled with each other, chatting, prior to the trophy presentation. So, it was not just a match, it was also a match between two good friends and the respect on both sides was good to see.
MEN'S FINAl
Right, now we get onto the men's final, which was between Rafael Nadal, the two time champion and surprise finalist, the giant serving South African, Kevin Anderson, who was in his first major final. So, this match it had to be said didn't promise to be a class given that Rafa owns Anderson in their head to head with a 4-0 lead going into this match and with Anderson only having a set to his name out all those encounters.
As for the match itself, well it did indeed prove to be a somewhat one-sided encounter as Rafa set about to dominate Anderson from the start. However the first was quite a lengthy one that saw Anderson battle to hold onto his serve to go 3-3 but at 4-3, Anderson was finally broken to let Rafa go 5-3 and he confidently served out the 1st set. In the 2nd set, Rafa really started to boss the match and he broke Anderson once again to take the lead and he soon served out the 2nd set to take the lead even further. And in the 3rd set, Rafa broke Anderson once again at the start although Anderson did keep things close to the single break and even took Rafa to deuce when he served for the match. However it was short lived as Rafa soon confidently served his way out of trouble and with that, he claimed his 3rd US Open title and 16th slam overall as he won the tournament with a very convincing 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 win.
Well, it has to be said this was definitely a better and more competitive match than the ladies final and indeed the previous two men's slam finals but it was still not a classic by any means as it was still a pretty one-sided affair with Rafa bossing Anderson right from the get go. However it was good to see Anderson give it his all as he was never going to be the favourite to win this match and he did the best he could given the circumstances and Rafa's red hot form.
As for Rafa, well this match and indeed the tournament really did show that he is back to his best and he has cemented his No.1 ranking with this win and he should remain in the top spot for a good while longer or at least until the year end ATP World Tour Finals event at the o2 where Roger and Rafa will most likely contend to end the year as No.1. And with Rafa now just 3 slams behind Roger, there is every chance that the Spaniard could catch up Roger and equal his record next year if he plays well enough.
As for Anderson, well no doubt he will be disappointed with the result but he did give it his all in the final and played as well as he could and to even be able to have reached his first major final was a very impressive result in itself. And despite the one-sided scoreline, Anderson never really faded in the match and he tried to stick with Rafa as best he could for which he deserves alot of credit.
Alot of people will of course be disappointed that the final didn't feature Roger and Rafa together but the fact also remains that Roger was not 100% going into this tournament, so there was always the chance that he might not have even reached the final if he were in the opposite side of the draw to Rafa. The tournament itself was also something of a disappointment simply because it was missing three of the top players in Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka, all of whom could have offered a stronger finale than what we got. But in the end the tournament was what it was and Rafa or whoever won it could only play who was infront of them and I mean no disrespect to Kevin Anderson and indeed Rafa for their efforts.
SIGN OFF
Anyway so that's it for 2017's grand slam season and overall it was a bit of a letdown in some ways and its a pity we didn't get better slam finals than we did after the epic Australian open final between Roger and Rafa, which promised so much. Its also been a shame that Andy, Novak and Stan were forced out for the remainder of the season and their presence on court has been missed. But in the end that's the way things go and both Roger and Rafa this year did prove that they are still very much at the fore front of men's tennis and they are't going anywhere just yet as shared the majors together in 2017, which is why they are two greatest players in the men's game.
Anyway, so that's it for now and I will be back again sometime later this season although not sure when on this blog. So all that remains for me to say is congrats to Rafa and Sloane Stephens for their wins and let's hope the remainder of the 2017 season finishes on a strong note.
So, till the next one its bye for now!
So we'll start with the ladies first....
LADIES FINAL
Right, well the ladies final saw two young American players, who were first time finalists in a major, Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens and they battled it out for their maiden grand slam title.
Or....rather they didn't quite so much as it was a more one-sided match than anyone could have predicted as both ladies have an aggressive playing style, so surely it was bound to a battle of big hitting. However it was Stephens that made the strong start as she broke an ailing Madison Keys, who seemed to be struggling with her movement as her thigh was heavily bandaged and it in part let Stephens take control and claim the 1st set. And in the 2nd set, Keys continued to struggle on her serve as she was broken early on by Stephens again, who by the times was growing fast with confidence and kept her composure as she went on to break Keys again for a double break. And at 5-0 with Keys looking to get a single game on the board, Keys finally capitulated on serve once more and it handed the match to Stephens and the title with it as she claimed her first major title with an emphatic 6-3, 6-0 victory.
Well, it has to be said this was a pretty disappointing final as it promised much with Keys and Stephens both excellent players and it was a pity for Keys that she wasn't able to compete as well as she could as her quad injury contributed to her downfall although Keys also felt nerves played a bigger part in the loss.
However at the same time, we can't take anything away from Sloane Stephens as this was a very impressive win for her, especially given that she had just come back from foot surgery on a protected ranking. And when Stephens first arrived on the scene she was always tipped to win majors and become the next big thing in American tennis after Serena Williams and with this title she has now proven them right. Stephens also deserves a shout out for providing one of the most entertaining post final press conferences where she was asked if the title would inspire her to win more and she said "Are you kidding me??! Of course! Did you see that cheque they handed me?! (3.7 million dollars!) If that doesn't inspire you I don't know what will!".
As for Madison Keys, there is no doubt that this was a tough loss but she has shown that she also the potential to win a grand slam in the future. And it was also nice to see the two women share a moment together after the match on court as they laughed and smiled with each other, chatting, prior to the trophy presentation. So, it was not just a match, it was also a match between two good friends and the respect on both sides was good to see.
MEN'S FINAl
Right, now we get onto the men's final, which was between Rafael Nadal, the two time champion and surprise finalist, the giant serving South African, Kevin Anderson, who was in his first major final. So, this match it had to be said didn't promise to be a class given that Rafa owns Anderson in their head to head with a 4-0 lead going into this match and with Anderson only having a set to his name out all those encounters.
As for the match itself, well it did indeed prove to be a somewhat one-sided encounter as Rafa set about to dominate Anderson from the start. However the first was quite a lengthy one that saw Anderson battle to hold onto his serve to go 3-3 but at 4-3, Anderson was finally broken to let Rafa go 5-3 and he confidently served out the 1st set. In the 2nd set, Rafa really started to boss the match and he broke Anderson once again to take the lead and he soon served out the 2nd set to take the lead even further. And in the 3rd set, Rafa broke Anderson once again at the start although Anderson did keep things close to the single break and even took Rafa to deuce when he served for the match. However it was short lived as Rafa soon confidently served his way out of trouble and with that, he claimed his 3rd US Open title and 16th slam overall as he won the tournament with a very convincing 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 win.
Well, it has to be said this was definitely a better and more competitive match than the ladies final and indeed the previous two men's slam finals but it was still not a classic by any means as it was still a pretty one-sided affair with Rafa bossing Anderson right from the get go. However it was good to see Anderson give it his all as he was never going to be the favourite to win this match and he did the best he could given the circumstances and Rafa's red hot form.
As for Rafa, well this match and indeed the tournament really did show that he is back to his best and he has cemented his No.1 ranking with this win and he should remain in the top spot for a good while longer or at least until the year end ATP World Tour Finals event at the o2 where Roger and Rafa will most likely contend to end the year as No.1. And with Rafa now just 3 slams behind Roger, there is every chance that the Spaniard could catch up Roger and equal his record next year if he plays well enough.
As for Anderson, well no doubt he will be disappointed with the result but he did give it his all in the final and played as well as he could and to even be able to have reached his first major final was a very impressive result in itself. And despite the one-sided scoreline, Anderson never really faded in the match and he tried to stick with Rafa as best he could for which he deserves alot of credit.
Alot of people will of course be disappointed that the final didn't feature Roger and Rafa together but the fact also remains that Roger was not 100% going into this tournament, so there was always the chance that he might not have even reached the final if he were in the opposite side of the draw to Rafa. The tournament itself was also something of a disappointment simply because it was missing three of the top players in Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka, all of whom could have offered a stronger finale than what we got. But in the end the tournament was what it was and Rafa or whoever won it could only play who was infront of them and I mean no disrespect to Kevin Anderson and indeed Rafa for their efforts.
SIGN OFF
Anyway so that's it for 2017's grand slam season and overall it was a bit of a letdown in some ways and its a pity we didn't get better slam finals than we did after the epic Australian open final between Roger and Rafa, which promised so much. Its also been a shame that Andy, Novak and Stan were forced out for the remainder of the season and their presence on court has been missed. But in the end that's the way things go and both Roger and Rafa this year did prove that they are still very much at the fore front of men's tennis and they are't going anywhere just yet as shared the majors together in 2017, which is why they are two greatest players in the men's game.
Anyway, so that's it for now and I will be back again sometime later this season although not sure when on this blog. So all that remains for me to say is congrats to Rafa and Sloane Stephens for their wins and let's hope the remainder of the 2017 season finishes on a strong note.
So, till the next one its bye for now!
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