Premiership review - 29th/30th March 2014

In the weekend premiership games Manchester United beat Aston Villa by four goals to one. This was a huge win for Man United after getting beaten three goal nil by Manchester City. 

David Moyes was under a lot of  and more Man United fans where openly expressing their dissatisfaction with him. 

So the win against Aston Villa was very much needed and relieved a little bit of the pressure from David Moyes.

The shock result of the weekend was Crystal Palace beating Chelsea by a goal to nil. Chelsea had been leading the premiership and where widely expected to win this match. 

So the loss to Crystal Palace hit Chelsea chances of winning and gave even more hope to their rivals. 

 

Elsewhere Arsenal drew one all to Manchester City and this was not a bad result for Arsenal. 

The win for either team would have really enhanced her chances of winning the premiership. However Manchester City still have a real chance of winning the premiership. 

Arsenal can still win it but reastically  they are playing for a top four finish and are hoping to win the FA Cup. 

Liverpool beat Tottenham by four goals to nil and they are now the league leaders. This was a very good win for Liverpool and if they can win the remaining six games then they will be champions. 

Miami Open - WTA Final

In the final of the Miami Open and Serena Williams beat Li Na in straight sets. The first set was very competitive and at one point Serena was  2 - 5 down. But was able to pull it back and win the set and the match. 

This is the seventh time Serena has won this title and to be fair she was not playing what I would call her best tennis. 

However Serena's serve remained consistent and it never let her down and her serve holding up was key to her retaining her title. 

Li Na had a good tournament and I suspect if had been facing a player other than Serena the she probably would have won the title.

Right now Serena is making and breaking records and it is certainly makes it more interesting for me and I am sure it serves as additional motivation for Serena.  

Miami Open - Day nine and ten

Day nine at the Miami Open and Dominika Cibulkova beat Agnieszka Radwanska in three sets. This was a good result for Dominika and it moves her ranking to inside the top ten. 

For Aga this was a tough match and I think it will be a struggle to beat players like Dominika that go for winners and have few unforced errors. 

Ni La beat Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets and Caroline has had a very good tournament and with some good wins and she did better than I expected. 

Day ten and in the first semi final Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova in straight sets. Maria has not beaten Serena in ten years so it would have been more of a surprise if Maria had won. 

In the second semi - final Ni La beat Dominika Cibulkova in three sets and this was an excellent win for Ni La and this would be her first Miami Open final. 

Premiership review - 25th/26th March 2014

In the mid week premiership games Arsenal drew two all with Swansea City. Arsenal had a bad start and then scored two goals in quick sucession. 

By the ninetieth minute I thought that Arsenal secured three points but then lo and behold Arsenal's Matthieu Flamini went and scored an own goal.

That own goal really summed are weak performance. But Swansea fought tooth and nail to get something out of this match. Whilst Arsenal sat back and did not really push for that. 

But if things are bad for Arsenal they are even worse Manchester United. David Moyes is really under pressure after losing three nil to Manchester City. 

Man United fans are not used to being in this position. So I think David Moyes Champions League game against Bayern Munich will determine whether or not he has a future at the club.  

Liverpool beat Sunderland by two goals to one. This win has put them a point behind Chelsea and gives them a real opportunity to win the league. 

Miami Open - Day eight

Day eight at the Miami Open and Maria Sharapova beat Petra Kivitova in straight sets. 

This was a very good win for Maria and the first set was very competitive. But Maria was able to win the second set very comfortably and win the match. 

Serena Williams beat Angelique Kerber in straight sets. Serena was incredibly dominant and did not really give Angelique any opportunity to get into the match. 

The key to Serena 's dominance was her serve and she served at least eight aces and many serves she hit Angelique was unable to return it. 

Serena now plays Maria in the semi-finals and Maria has not beaten Serena for ten years so it should be a good match. 

Miami Open - Day seven

Day seven at the Miami Open and Maria Sharapova beat Kirsten Flipkens in three sets. 

This match should have been a little more comfortable for Maria than it was. It was only in the third set that Maria began to look a little more convincing and won the set and the match.

Dominika Cibulkova beat Venus Williams in three sets. Dominika has had a great start to 2014 and was a finalist at the Australian Open. Therefore she was the favourite to win the tie going into this match. 

Venus made a real match of it and fought tooth and nail for every point and in the end she was probably beaten by her own unforced errors. 

Serena Williams had a much more comfortable match and she beat Coco Vandeweghe in straight sets. 

The first set was competitive but in the second set Serena was able to get into grove and win the set and the match. 

Agnieszka Radwanska beat Elina Svitolina in three sets and in this match Aga struggled. Both the first and second set where very close.

 

 It was only in the third set that Aga was able to pull away and win the set and the match. 

Miami Open - Day six

TDay six at the Miami Open and Venus Williams beat Casey Dellacqua in three sets. 

This was a very good win for Venus and commentators have appointed out this was the kind of match that Venus would have lost this time last year.

 So Venus has made vast improvement this year and I  am hoping that she will be back in the top twenty. 

Caroline Wozniacki hammered Sloane Stephens in three sets. This was very bad result for Sloane and surprising that as I was expecting her to do a lot better. 

Agnieszka Radwanska beat Elena Vesnins in straight sets. This was a good win for Aga and hopefully she has put her previous injury problems behind her.

Miami Open - Day five

Day five in the Miami Open and Serena Willliams beat Caroline Garcia in a titanic three set victory. 

Serena had to dig really deep to put away twent year old Caroline. In the end I think Serena's experience at this stage is what probably helped her to close our the match and win.

Coco Vanderweghe beat Samantha Stosur in anther titanic three set match. This was a surprised as I thought Samantha was going to win this match. 

Coco played well at the key points and was able to win the games and the match.

Miami Open - Day four

Day four at the Miami Open and Venus Williams beat Anna Schmiedlova in straight sets. This was a very good second round victory as she continues to gain momentum. 

Elsewhere Agnieszka Radwanska beat  Romina Oprandi in straights to move the third round. This should mean that the injury that hampered her in the final of the Indian Wells is behind her.

Sloane Stephens beat Zarina Dyas in straight sets and this was quite a routine win for Sloane but tougher opponents await her. 

Caroline Wozniacki beat Monica Puig in three sets and a good run in this tournament and Caroline will be back in the top ten.

Premiership review - 22nd/23rd March 2014

In the weekend's premiership games Chelsea beat Arsenal by six goals to nil. This was one of the most humiliating losses I have watched. 

What surprised me the most was Arsenal's inability to at least score a consolation goal. 

 

The scoreline was not helped by Arsenal going down to ten men and the referee send off the wrong player. 

However Arsenal where already a couple goals down when the sending of Kieran Gibbs took place. 

On a positive note, however bad the scoreline was Arsenal still have a lot to play for. So the team needs to regroup as the games will be coming thick and fast. 

Elsewhere Liverpool beat Cardiff City by six goals to three and they came back from being two nil down. 

This win helped Liverpool to consolidate their second place and possibly win the premiership. 

Man City had even more compelling win they beat Fulham by five goals to nil. This win have also increased Man City chances winning the premiership. 

The fight for the European Cup intensified over the weekend as Everton, Manchester United and Tottenham Spurs all had good wins, so there is everything to play for. 

WTA Miami Open - Day three

Day three at the Miami Open and Serena Williams beat Yaroslava Shvedova in straight sets. However the first was very competitive and could have gone either way. 

But Serena asserted her authority in the second and it was really a one way traffic. It was a good test for Serena to have and will hopefully have prepared her for further tough matches.

 

Elsewhere Sabine Lisicki just about beat Nadia Petrova in three sets. Sabine needs to really pull together a good run and maybe a realistic chance to at least make  the final.

Maria Sharapova beat Kurumi Nara in straight sets and this wasa good first round match for Maria. As she knows that there will be much tougher matches to come.   

WTA Miami Open - Day two

Day two at the Miami Open and Virginie Razzano beat Heather Watson in straight sets. This was a bad loss for Heather who is desparately trying to climb the rankings. 

After the match she confirmed that she had been suffering from a shoulder injury. So this could take her out for a good few weeks. 

Madison Keys beat Anett Kontaveit in straight sets and this was a good win for Madison against Anett who was given a wild card to compete at this tournament. 

Kiki Bertens beat Victoria Duval in straight sets and to be honest Victoria very young. 

It is about getting the experience and hopefully at some point competing and winning at the highest level. 

Champion League - review 18/19 March 2014

In this weeks Champions League games Barcelona beat Manchester City by two goals to one on the night and overall by four goals to one. 

It was always going to be a tough ask for Manchester City to turn around a two goal deficit and going down to to ten made their mission impossible. 

However Man City can now focus all their efforts on winning the Premiership where they have a two game advantage.

Elsewhere Manchester United beat Olympiakos by three goals to nil and winning the tie by three goals to two. 

To be fair I would have been really shocked if Olympiakos had beaten Man United at Old Trafford. 

This win did ease the pressure on David Moyes as some fans don't believe that he will bring Man United silverware.

 So this win was a stay of execution for David Moyes the problem for him is the battle gets even tougher from here. 

Premiership review - 15th/16th March 2014

In the weekend premiership games Aston Villa beat Chelsea by a goal to nil. Chelsea pain was also compounded by finishing the game with nine men.  

Chelsea's loss was a real gift to Man City,  Liverpool and Arsenal. It's a match that Chelsea where expected to win and it would have consolidated their lead at the top.

Man City beat by Hull City by two goals to nil and having played two games less than the other top four teams. 

Man City are certainly sitting pretty and if they can win all their remaining games then the title will be there's. 

The shock of the weekend was Liverpool beating Manchester United by three goals to nil. 

It was an embarrassing loss as this game took place at Old Trafford. The win meant that Liverpool have now got a realistic chance to win the title.

Elsewhere Arsenal beat Tottenam by a goal to nil and this was not a pretty win. Tottenham had most of the possession and where probably tad unlucky not to get a draw.

But Arsenal did what they needed to do to win the match and it was certainly three much needed points and most importantly keeps Arsenal in the title race. 

Indian Wells - WTA Final

The final at Indian Wells and Flavia Pennetta beat Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets. 

Aga appeared to have both a knee and ankle injury but that should not take anything away from Flavia's win. 

Flavia is one of a growing number of players over the age of thirty that have been winning titles. 

Admittedly this was one title that once Aga reached the final and injury free she probably would have won it so Flavia's win came as a surprise to me. 

Although Aga was injured I still think she will struggle to win tier ones and Grand Slam titles. 

She does not have the power of a Serena, Maria or Victoria and prefers to go for placement instead of winners. 

It was a great win for Flavia and I am sure she is hoping this win will give her confidence to improve her win tally in future tier one's and Grand Slams tournaments. 

Indian Wells - Day eight and nine

Day eight at Indian Wells and Agnieszka Radwanska beat Jelena Jankovic in three  sets. 

Aga's game seems to be really coming together and now she has made it to the semi finals she has every chance of winning it. 

Day nine and Ni La beat Dominika Cibulkova in three sets and Dominika played well but in the third set Ni La was able to win the big points and the game. 

Flavia Pennetta beat Sloane Stephens in three sets. Sloane did not look 100% fit and was making some really basic errors. 

Flavia was very consistent and could have won the match in two sets but I guess her persistence and patience paid off in the end. 

Champions League - Review 11th/12th March 2014

Champions league returned this week and Arsenal drew one all on the night but lost the tie by three goals to one. 

Arsenal played reasonably well but to be fair it was always going to be an uphill task to beat Bayern Munich let alone with at least three first team players missing. 

All it means is that Arsenal now focus on hopefully winning the FA Cup and the Premiership and with a more realistic chance of winning the FA Cup. 

Elsewhere Barcelona beat Manchester City by two goals to one on the night but by four goals to one overall. 

Manchester City where a little bit unlucky to go out of the competition but it means they can focus all their energies on trying to win the Premiership.

Indian Wells - Day seven

Day seven at Indian Wells and Sloane Stephens beat Alisa Kleybanova in straight sets to make it to the quarter finals. 

Sloane is having a great tournament and has had some great wins. Now we are the business of the tournament where she has a every realistic chance of winning the tournament.

Simona Halep beat Eugenie Bouchard in three sets and this match would have been a great learning curve for Eugenie. 

It would give a better idea of where and how she needs to improve her game to become a top ten player. 

Also good win for the Australian finalist Dominika Cibulkova who beat Petra Kivitova in three sets. 

Dominkia has good tournament and I would not be surprised if she makes to the final. 

Indian Wells - Day six

Day six at Indian Wells and Sloane Stephens beat Ana Ivanovic in straight sets. This was very good win for Sloane against player like Ana who has been in good form 

It was good for Sloane as she is coming back from injury and has also been falling down the rankings. So a good run at this tournament could see her back in the top fifteen.

The shock of the day was the qualifier Camilia Giorgi beat the defending champion Maria Sharapova in three sets.

It was a very close match but somehow Camilia was able to find that next gear win the third set and the match. 

This would have been a tough loss for Maria as she had a lot of ranking points to defend. 

Maria probably hoping that this loss is a minor set back and she can regain the points and her form in forthcoming tournaments.

Indian Wells - Day Five

Day five at Indian Wells and Aga Radwanska beat Annika Beck in straight sets. This was a very good win for Aga who looked largely unimpressive in the previous round. 

Lauren Davis followed up her impressive win against Victoria Azarenka with a straights sets win over Vavara Lepchenko. 

But the big upset of the day was Eugenie Bouchard beating the ninth seed Sara Errani in straight sets. 

This was a very good win Eugenie and she is marching closer to being a top twenty player and I am sure by the end of the year she will be top ten.

Indian Wells - Day four

Day four at Indian Wells and Maria Sharapova  beat Julia Goerges in straight sets and this was a good win for the defending champion who also has lots of points to defend. 

 

Sloane Stephens also had a straights win against Ajla Tomljanovic and this was a good win for Sloane. 

She is just coming back from injury and has also slipped in the rankings so she needs to perform well to at least stay top twenty. 

 

Ni La also got a good straight sets win against Jie Zheng and Ni La has just won the Australian Open and is also coming back from injury. 

Winning this tournament would definitely help to cement her second place ranking. 

Indian Wells - Day three

Day three at Indian Wells and Aga Radwanska beat Heather Watson in straight sets. 

Whilst I was disappointed to see Heather lose she was up against Aga who is a top five player.

 

Heather was able to break Aga's serve on numerous occasions but was not able to consolidate any of those breaks. 

 

The shock of the day was Lauren Davis beaten Victoria Azarenka in straight sets. Albeit Victoria was not a 100% but a win is win. 

Roberta Vinci beat Madison Keys in straight sets and I would have expected Madison do a little better but I guess she still on a learning curve. 

 

Premiership review 8th/9th March 2014

Some Premiership games took place over the weekend and Manchester United beat West Brom by three goals to nil. 

This was a must win game for David Moyes as he is under a lot pressure due to previous poor results. 

But even though they got a good win, they are still sixth in the league and are five points behind Tottenham who are in fifth. 

Chelsea beat Tottenham by four goals to nil and this was an empahtic win for Chelsea and it confirmed their position at the top. 

Chelsea literally have one hand on the trophy with less than ten matches remaining they just need to keep on winning! 

For Tottenham this was disaster of a match and it was not helped by going down to ten men. They need to regroup as there they are at home to Arsenal in there next premiership game. 

FA Cup - quarter finals - 8th/9th March 2014

The quarter finals of the FA Cup took place over the weekend and Arsenal beat Everton by four goals to one. 

This was a tremendous result for Arsenal and it really made me feel optimistic for the remainder of the season.

Arsenal would have been expecting to play Manchester City in the quarter finals. However Wigan beat Manchester City by two goals to one to make to the semi-finals. 

Manchester City have been playing great football and have already one the League Cup. As this tie was played in Manchester I just did not see how Wigan could beat them. 

Some how they managed to pull off this remarkable victory and they now play Arsenal in the semi finals. 

Premiership review - 1st / 2nd March 2014

The Premiership games took place over the weekend and Stoke City beat Arsenal by one goal to nil. 

 

This was a bad loss for Arsenal and has put them four points behind the league leaders Chelsea and they are two point in front of Manchester City who have two game advantage. 

Arsenal can still win the league but it is going to take a monumental effort and sadly I don't believe Arsenal have the players who can win the league.

Chelsea beat Fulham by three goals to one and this win helped to cement their lead at the top of the league. 

Liverpool beat Southampton by three goals to nil and this win has put them second in the league.

Chelsea are top of the league but it remains very close with just a couple of points between the teams.