Champions League review - 25th/26th February 2014

In this weeks Champions League Olympiakos beat Manchester United by two goals to nil.

It probably the worse result I have seen for Man United and you do have to wonder if David Moyes will be the manager by the end of season. 

What was most surprising is that Man United lost this game with virtually a full strength team. 

I was not surprised that Robin Van Persie missed an absolute sitter as he did the same thing when he was playing for Arsenal in the Champions League. 

I suspect if David Moyes doesn't win the home leg of this tie. I think the pressure to sack him will be overwhelming. 

 

In another surprise result Chelsea drew one all with Galatasary. In a match that Chelsea expected to win. 

But at least they got an away goal so that should definitely help them in their home leg. 

It is also notable that Chelsea where the only British team to even score a goal. So they probably have a great chance of making it to the quarter finals. 

 

Premiership review - 22nd/ 23rd February 2014

The Premiership returned this weekend and Arsenal who had that dismal result against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, beat Sunderland by four goals to one. 

This was a great result for Arsenal and it was notable that Olivier Giroud who had been dropped to the bench for the previous games scored two of Arsenal four goals. 

Man City also beat Stoke City by a goal to nil and this keeps them third with a game in hand. 

Liverpool beat Swansea by four goals to three and this keeps them within touching distance of the top three. 

Norwich City pulled off a sensational result and beat Tottenham by a goal to nil. However this loss did not affect Tottenham standing in the league and they are still top five. 

Man United beat Crystal Palace by two goals to nil and this was by no means an easy match for Man United, who are still struggling to find some consistency this season. 

The league leaders Chelsea beat Everton by one goal to nil and this helped them to retain their position and Arsenal are second and just one point behind. 

Dubai Open - Day six

Day six and the final of the Dubai Open and Venus Williams beat Alize Cornet in straight sets. 

For Alize this was a horrible result as she had come into this match with very high expectations. 

It suddenly dawned on her in the middle of the first set that her dream was not going to be realised. 

However upon reflection I am sure Alize will realise that she did very well and there is no shame in losing to an inspired Venus Williams. 

For Venus this win would have given some much needed confidence and ranking points. 

It was a real joy to watch Venus strike ball like she used to and I sincerely hope this will be the first of many trophies in 2014. 

Dubai Open - day five

Day five of the Dubai Open and Alize Cornet beat Serena Williams in straight sets. 

 

Alize played well and came up with shots that Serena could not get. However Serena still does not look fully fit but all credit for Alize for get this amazing win. 

Venus Williams beat Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets. This was a surprise scoreline as I had expected Caroline to take this match to a third set. 

But Venus played like a champion and kept her unforced errors down to win the match and a place in the final. 

Dubai Open - day four

Day four of the Dubai Open and Serena Williams beat Jelena Jankovic in straight sets.

 It was a pretty straight forward match for Serena but for Jelena it really hurt to be comprehensively beaten. 

 

So towards the end of the match Jelena and Serena exchanged a few words.

 It was probably more to do with the frustration Jelena felt than Serena keeping her waiting. 

Elsewhere Venus Williams continued her remarkable comeback and beat Flavia Pennetta in straight sets. 

Alize Cornet beat Carla Suarez Navarro in  straight sets to make it to the semi finals where she will play Serena Williams. 

Champions League review

In Tuesday's Champions League games Barcelona beat ten man, Man City by two goals to nil. 

This was a bad result for Man City and if they have any hope of going through they need to be able to beat Barcelona at the Nou Camp and this is something few teams have been able to do. 

In yesterday's champions leagues games Bayern Munich beat ten men, Arsenal by two goals to nil. 

It was a rough night for Arsenal who missed penalty, then Kieran Gibbs got injured and that was shortly followed by the dismissal of the goalkeeper. 

Arsenal tried to hold on but it was no use and Bayern Munich played like the home team. 

If Arsenal are to go through they need to win by two clear goals in Germany and it does sound impossible but anything can happen in football. 

Dubai Open - Day three

Day three at the Dubai Open and Venus Williams beat Ana Ivanovic in straight sets. Venus really rolled back the years and played very well. 

So well that when she got her serve in she was very dominant. It was a surprise result because I thought that Ana would have at least taken it to three sets. 

 But Ana did not even get a real break point chance.

Elsewhere Flavia Penetta beat Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets. That was definitely the surprise result of the day. 

But at the same time I think that Agnisezka is really going to struggle this year as she does not have the weapons to put players away and she is now being found out. 

I think it will be hard for Agnieszka  to stay in the top five if she doesn't win a grand slam this year. 

 

Dubai Open - Day two

Day two of the Dubai Open and Serena Williams beat Ekaterina Makarova straight sets. 

Serena looked a little weary in the first set and but by the second set she was able to build a commanding lead and won the set and the match. 

 

Ekaterina played very well and Serena had to play well to beat her. Serena speed round court the was probably the key difference between them . 

Elsewhere Caroline Wozniacki beat Sabine Liscki in three sets. This was a very competitive match and I thought Sabine was going to win bit Caroline just seem to have a little more in the tank. 

Dubai Open - Day One

Day one of the Dubai Open and Lucie Safarova beat Sloane Stephens in straight sets.

 Sloane is just coming back from injury but at the same time she is not  playing the kind of tennis that got her to the top fifteen.

I am also not sure how motivated Sloane is for these smaller tournaments or to even win a Grand Slam. Only time will tell if she is good enough to crack the top ten and win Grand Slams.

Venus Williams beat Elena Vesnina in straight sets and it was really a good win for Venus against a player she has never beaten. 

For me that it was the best I have seen Venus play in about three years. She was putting winners away and looked energetic. 

But I was surprised by Elena's performance as she looked like she was low in confidence and never really looked like she was going to beat Venus. 

Midland, USA - Final review

For those of you who regularly follow my blog you will know that Britain's Heather Watson is one my favourite players. 

Last year was a very tough year for Heather and she went from being top fifty to being top one hundred and fifty. This was primarily due to the bout of glandular fever she suffered early 2013. 

This affected her confidence and she  kept getting knocked out in the first round of tournaments. This carried on for most of 2013. 

However in the Australian Open Heather  got knocked out in the first round but only after winning three tough qualifying matches. 

Heather did well in her Fed Cup matches and won all her singles matches. So her confidence was slowly coming back. 

Once Heather entered this  ITF Midland  tournament although I was rooting for her. I was waiting for her to at least reach the semi finals before I blogged.

But fortunately Heather did even better than I expected she reached the final and  beat Ksenia Pervak in straight sets.

Then about an hour later she played doubles with Anna Tatishvili and managed to win in three sets beating Maria Sanchez, Sharon Fichman. 

Both wins have improved Heather's singles and doubles ranking and the confidence and her fitness levels have returned which is great for Heather and for UK tennis. 

FA Cup review - 15/16 February 2014

The FA Cup fifth round matches took place over the weekend and Man City beat Chelsea by two goals to nil. 

This was a good win for Man City and keeps them on track to win four trophies. For Man City this win against Chelsea would have worried their domestic rivals about the ease in which they beat Chelsea. 

For Chelsea this would have been very disappointing. The fact they were unable to score any goals was very strange. 

However it means that they now focus on the titles they are chasing so it could end up being a blessing in the sky. 

On Sunday Arsenal beat Liverpool by two goals to one. This result comes after Liverpool beat Arsenal by five goals to one in the premiership last week. 

Arsenal played well and it was a surprise line up which included  Lukas Fabianski, Yaya Sanogo and the returning Mathieu Flamini. 

For large parts of the game Arsenal where in complete control but Liverpool played well and where robbed of a penalty which might have least given them a draw. 

Arsene Wenger's  gamble paid off as he rested at least four first team players. Which gave an opportunity for players like Yaya Sanago to come on and help to secure the win. 

For Liverpool this would have been a tough loss so soon after beating Arsenal so comprehensively last weekend. It also

means that they can focus on winning the premiership or at the very least a top four finish. 

Premiership review - 12 February 2014

In Wednesday's  premiership games Arsenal drew nil nil with Manchester United. It was a quite drab grame with both teams not really having killer instincts. 

For Manchester United I'm sure they where relieved that they did not concede or lose the match as they looked like a team who lacked in confidence. 

For Arsenal they would be disappointed but relieved they did not lose the match. Arsenal are seriously lacking a player with the kind of pace that Theo Walcott has. 

 This even more apparent when it is notable that Olivier Giroud does not have this kind of pace. 

So Arsenal are at the stage of season where the games will come thick and fast. They need to be able to respond or else it will be another trophy less season. 

Elsewhere Tottenham beat Newcastle United by four goals to nil and this again has helped them to shore up their fifth place. 

 

Liverpool beat Fulham by three goals to two in a nailbiliting but pulsating match. The third goal was scored by their skipper Steven Gerard. Steven is probably key to how successful Liverpool will be this season. 

Premiership review -11th February 2014

In yesterday's premiership games Chelsea drew one all to West Bromwich Albion.

This was definitely a surprise result as Chelsea had the opportunity to go four points clear.

For West Brom this was another good draw against a top team. The fact they scored in last minute must made getting draw the even sweeter. 

For Chelsea this draw would have been bitterly disappointing as it gives there three rivals to catch up or overtake them. 

So Arsenal, Manchester City or Liverpool have a real chance to capitalize on Chelsea's draw. 

Fed Cup Great Britain v Austria 9th February 2014

In the ninth place play off Tara Moore beat Tamira Paszek in straight sets. This was a good win for Tara as it was a first her first ever Fed Cup game and she beat a former top thirty player. 

Then Heather Watson beat Yvonne Meusberger in straight sets and this win rounded off a good week for Heather. As she was able to record this as a fourth straight singles win. 

So the GB's campaign ended on a positive note but there is a lot of work to be done before GB can return to the elite World Group.

Fed Cup Great Britain v Latvia 5th February 2014

The first day of the Fed Cup and Heather Watson beat Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets. 

This was a good but expected win for Heather as she has a higher ranking than Jelena. 

Johanna Konta beat Diana Marcinkevica in three sets. It was an enthralling match and at one point Johanna was several match points down but managed to come back and win. 

In the doubles match Diana Marcinkevica  and Jelena Ostapenko then beat Heather Watson and Jocelyn Rae in a close three set match. 

I had not heard of Jocelyn Rae before this Fed Cup so it looked like a strange pairing to me. But I was pleased that both Heather and Johanna got wins. This meant that GB won the tie 2 1.  

Fed Cup Great Britain v Romania 7th February 2014

Second round Robin match and Heather Watson beat Sorana Ciresta in three sets. This was a very good win for Heather as Sorana is a top thirty player. 

Simona Halep then beat Johanna Konta in straight sets. This would have been a very tough match for Johanna as Simona is a top ten player. 

Then in the doubles match Irina-Camela Begu and Monica Niculescu beat Jocelyn Rae and Heather Watson in straight sets. 

This was always going to be a tough tie to win. But it was good that Heather got that win against a top player like Sorana. 

Premiership review - 9th February 2014

In today's premiership games Tottenham beat Everton by one goal to nil. This was was a good win for Tottenham as they come closer to securing that European place. 

Manchester United drew two all with Fulham and this was a surprise result. Man United where playing at home so I thought that they where going to win comfortably. 

But Fulham got an early goal and held on to this lead for almost an one hour. That's when Man United came back into the game and they thought they had won the match and then Fulham got the ninety minute equaliser.

This was a bad draw for Manchester United with their title aspirations all but gone they are now fighting for a European place. 

This fight is probably proving more difficult than they imagined and to be fair they have not been in this position before. 

However United are a formidable team and I am sure they will get one of those European  spots. 

Premiership review - 8th February 2014

In yesterday's premiership games Liverpool beat Arsenal by five goals to one. This was definitely a surprise result but Liverpool came ready for battle. 

Whilst Arsenal started very slowly and before they knew it they where three nil down. 

For Arsenal this was a bad loss and it comes in a month where they have some very tough games. 

For Liverpool it was an unbelievably good win and the first time they have beaten Arsenal by that margin for fifty years.

Elsewhere Chelsea beat Newcastle by three goals to nil, I was surprised by this result as I thought Newcastle where going to get something out of this match. 

Manchester City and Norwich City was goalless this was a surprise result as Manchester City have been scoring lots of goals. 

This means that Chelsea are now top of the league but Arsenal are one point behind. 

Fed Cup - GB v Hungary 8th February 2014

In the second round Robin match Heather Watson beat Jani Reka-Luca in straight sets. This was a quite a routine win for Heather as Jani was ranked four hundred places below her. 

Timea Babos beat Johanna Konta in three sets and at one point in the Johanna had several match points but could not take them and end then lost the third set. 

Timea Babos and Jani Reka-Luca then beat Jocelyn Rae and Tara More in three sets. So Hungary won the tie two matches to one. 

It was a tough match for GB but I couldn't help but wonder if Judy Murray picked the strongest line up.  But on the positives Heather Watson got a good win. 

Premiership review - 2nd & 3rd February 2014

In the premiership on Sunday Liverpool drew one all with West Bromwich Albion. This was a surprise result for me as Liverpool have been getting good wins of late. 

So I thought a win at West Brom would have cemented there top four credentials.

Arsenal beat Crystal Palace by two goals to nil. It was a fairly routine win but Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and Carzola both played exceptionally well to create and score goals which helped to secure the win.

Yesterday Chelsea beat Manchester City by one goal to nil. It was a very good win for Chelsea who attacked and defended very well. Although Man City had a few chances they where unable to convert them.

 

This means that Arsenal stay top of the league but they have some very tough matches coming up.   

Davis Cup - USA v Great Britain - Day Three

Day three of the Davis Cup and Andy Murray beat Sam Querrey in four sets to win the tie. 

Sam Querrey played reasonable well but after winning the second the set on the tie break he was unable to build on it. 

Andy started off quite slowly and it wasn't till the third set that I thought he was going to win the match. 

This win broke two notable record it was first time that Great Britain had beaten USA since 1935. 

It was also first time that Great Britain have made it to the quarter finals since 1986. 

So hopefully this win against the USA team will  encourage the team to do even better in the quarter finals. 

Davis Cup - USA v Great Britain - Day Two

Day two of the Davis Cup between USA and Great Britain and it was all about the doubles. 

USA's Bob and Mike Bryan beat the Great Britain duo of Colin Fleming and Dom Inglot in four sets. 

Colin and Dom played well but the Bryan brothers are formidable paternership and they have won over fifteen grand slams. So Colin and Dom did well to at least get a set. 

Overall Great Britain is still leading two to one so the tie still very much in the balance. 

Premiership review - 01/02/2014

In yesterday premiership games Tottenham drew one all with Hull and this was not a good a result for Tottenham.

 As they are vying for a Champions League spot so this would have been as a vitally dropped points. 

Stoke City beat Man United by two goals to one and this was a shock result. Man United have added Juan Mata to their squad and both Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney where back from injury so I thought the worst of their problems was behind them. 

However they had a weakened defence with Rio Ferdinand injured and Nemanja Vidic suspended they where not at full strength but all credit to Stoke for pulling off this incredible result. 

Davis Cup - USA v Great Britain- Day One

Day one of the Davis Cup and Great Britain had a very good day. 

Andy Murray beat Donald Young in straight sets and this was a good win for Andy as the clay his least favourite surface. 

Donald Young did reasonably well at the recent Australian Open, however beating Andy would have been a real challenge and he is not there yet. 

James Ward beat Sam Querrey in five sets   and this was a huge and unexpected win for the Brit ranked 175. 

These two wins gave GB a good start to the Davis Cup now we just have to see if they can be repeat it in today's double match.