Wimbledon - Day four

Day four at Wimbledon and Serena Williams beat Chanelle Scheepers in straight sets. 

This was a routine win for Serena as she tries build momentum to win her eighteen grand slam and her sixth Wimbledon.

Maria Sharapova beat Timea Bacsinszky in straight sets and this was a routine win Maria and her serve seem to hold up better than in the previous round. 

Angelique Kerber beat Heather Watson in three sets and Heather played reasonably well but had too many unforced errors. 

Heather's serve seem let her down and she was unable to get the free points she would have normally gave gotten from her serve. 

However Heather will have many positives to take out of the match and most importantly the ranking points she would gained from making it to the second round. 

In the men's draw Rafael Nadal beat Lukas Rosol in four sets and Rafa really had to pull out all the stops to win this match.

Rafa played well and he kept his unforced errors down although I got the impression that he was quite nervous. 

Roger Federer beat Gilles Muller in straight sets and this was another routine win for Roger. 

Stan Wawrinka beat Yen Hsun Lu in four sets and this the first time in the tournament that Stan has been tested and he managed to dig deep and win the match. 

Wimbledon - Day three

Day three at Wimbledon and Venus Williams beat Kurumi Dara in straight sets    and this the best I have seen Venus play in quite while. 

Venus's serve was dominant but she backed it up with some powerful groundstrokes and she was a real joy to watch. 

Li Na beat Yvonne Meusburger in straight sets and this was a routine win for Li Na who quietly making her way through the draw. 

Agnieszka Radwanska beat Casey Dellacqua in straight sets and this a routine win for Aga who is also quietly making her way through the draw. 

In the men's draw Andy Murray beat Blaz Rola in straights and Andy wrapped up the win very quickly as he aims to retain the title he win last year. 

Novak Djokovic beat Radek Stepanek in four tough sets and this Novak had to dig deep to win this match which hopefully help him in the later rounds. 

Wimbledon - Day two

Day two at Wimbledon and Serena Williams beat Anna Tashivilli in straight sets and this was quite a routine win for Serena has adapted nicely to the grass. 

Maria Sharapova beat Samantha Murray in straight sets and although the score line would suggest that it was routine win. Maria really struggled with her serve committing three double faults in the first game. 

Maria was rather fortunate to be playing someone that was unable to take advantage of her serving problems and went on to win the second set and the match. 

Britain's Heather Watson beat Ajla Tomljanovic in straight sets and this was good win for Heather. Heather struggled on her serve and was holding on but managed to close it out in straight sets. 

The surprise of the day was Caroline Garcia beating Sara Errani in three sets. Caroline has had a good year but it's good to see that her game can be played well on all surfaces.

 

In the men 's draw Roger Federer beat Paolo Lorenzi in straight sets. This was a routine first round win for Roger as he aims to win his eighth Wimbledon title. 

Stan Wawrinka beat Joao Sousa in straight sets and it was a routine win for Stan who always seems have a bit more than Joao. 

World Cup - Day thirteen

Day thirteen of the World Cup and Uruguay beat Italy by two goals to one. This match had everything goals, a sending off and a biting incident. 

I was surprised when the Italians lost there previous group match because I thought that this match against the Uruguayans was going to be tough. 

The loss to Uruguay meant that the Italians where out of the tournament. but this match will not be remembered for the football but Luis Suarez biting the shoulder of the Italian defender. 

This is the third time in his footballing career that Luis Suarez has bitten an opponent hopefully FIFA will give him a long term ban.

 

England drew nil nil with Costa Rica and this ended there worst tournament in over fifty years. 

World Cup - Day twelve

Day twelve of the World Cup and Brazil beat Cameroon by four goals to one. This helped them to qualify top of the group. 

However Cameroon where poor and some of there defending was just embarrassing and as a nuetral watching the game. 

I was not entirely convinced that Cameroon wanted to at least get something out of the game before exiting the World Cup. 

So Brazil won the game relatively comfortably but they where not playing the free flowing football that we are accustomed to seeing them play. 

If they are to win this tournament then they need to up there game and play more attacking free flowing football that made them footballing giants. 

Elsewhere Mexico beat Croatia by three goals to one to qualify the the knock out stages. 

World Cup - Day eleven

Day eleven of the World Cup and USA drew two all with Portugual and this result was a cruel blow to the USA. 

As the USA were leading the matching by two goals to one and it was only in the last thirty seconds that Portugual got there gut wrenching equaliser. 

However both USA and Portugual can still qualify if both win their last games by high margins then this could both progress on to the knock out stages. 

Elsewhere Algeria beat South Korea by four goals to nil and this was an excellent victory for Algeria and they only need a point to qualify for the knock out stages. 

World Cup - Day ten

Day ten of the World Cup and  Germany and Ghana drew two all and this was a match that could have gone either way. 

However at two goals to one to Ghana Andre Ayew had the chance to square the ball and make it three one. But he selfishly decided to take a shot which was saved by the German goalkeeper. 

I think this selfish act was quite costly as soon as Germans went down the other end they scored the equaliser and by the end Ghana was literally holding on to the draw. 

But not many people expected Ghana to even get a point and so to get a draw exceeded many people expectation and was a good result. 

Nigeria beat Bosina- Hercegovina by two goals to one and this was a good win for Nigeria and they now only need a point to qualify for the knock out stages.

Argentina beat Iran by one goal to nil and they literally scored the winner in stoppage time. This was a cruel blow to Iran who had where looking to get at least a point out of the game. 

However Iran are not out and if they win there next game against Bosnia Hercegovina and this could still go through.  

Wimbledon - day one

Day one at Wimbledon and Venus Williams beat Maria-Teresa Torro Flo in three sets.  

Venus's serve was on point and she was served about eleven aces and most importantly had no double faults. 

Venus had a bit of a stutter in the second set but totally took control of the third set and the match.  

Elsewhere Maria Kirilenko beat Sloane Stephens in straight sets and Sloane had a poor match. 

She was always on the back foot and when she finally got a set point in the second set she was unable to take it. 

After this embarrasing loss Sloane needs to regroup as she will fall out of the top twenty and is going to need to work to get back into the top twenty and beyond. 

Li Na beat Paula Kania in straights sets and this good routine win for Li Na as she attempts to win her third grand slam and after her terrible first round loss in the French Open. 

In the men's draw the current men's champion Andy Murray beat David Goffin in straight sets. This was a good routine win for Andy who has quite a tough draw but will hoping to make at least the semi finals.

Novak Djokovic beat Andrey Golubev in straight sets and he will be happy to have had a nice routine and win will be hoping to win his second Wimbledon title. 

World Cup - Day nine

Day nine of the World Cup and France beat Switzerland by five goals to two. The French played total football and have now become my tournament favourite to win the World Cup. 

The French seems to have extra player for every position and I was particularly impressed with there player Karim Benzima. 

The shock of the day was Costa Rica beating Italy by one goal to nil. Italy seemed to be very relaxed and there finishing in the final third was woeful. 

I think this will be costly loss for the Italians as I think they will struggle to get a win against Uruguay which would take them into the knock out stages. 

World Cup - Day eight

Day eight of the World Cup and Uruguay beat England by two goals to one. England's defence were all over the place  and struggled with crosses and corners. 

I think the blame lies solely with Roy Hodgson as his selection for this World Cup was puzzling. As was his decision to leave experienced defensive players like Ashley Cole and John Terry. 

Elsewhere Colombia beat Ivory Coast by two goals to one and I was little suprised with this result because it was game that I was expected Ivory Coast win. 

It seemed that Colombia just seemed to have a little bit more in terms of defending and most importantly finishing. 

However Ivory Coast can still qualify with there last game whilst Colombia have now qualified for the knock out stages. 

  

Preview of Wimbledon 2014

So my favourite tournament starts today! And in the women's draw my personal favourite to win is Serena Williams. 

However Serena has had quite a few injuries this year and they seem to be occurring around the grandslams. 

I would say that barring injury then I  cannot see her losing in this tournament. I also think that Maria has a great chance of winning this tournament her confidence would be high after winning the French Open. 

Looking at the draw I would not be surprised if Venus Williams was able to string some results together and win this title.

Li Na is someone else I can imagine winning she has a good draw and will be difficult to beat. 

I am hoping that Britain's Heather Watson will follow up on her Eastbourne success and at least make it to the third round and this could see her getting  back into top fifty. 

In the men's draw my personal favourite to win would be Rafael Nadal. However he faces a stiff challenge from players like Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer or last year winner Andy Murray. 

The dark horse in the men's draw would be Stanislas Wawrinka he is the current Australian Men's champion and he has got a strong grass court game and will be tough beat. 

World Cup - day seven

Day seven at the World Cup and the Netherlands beat Australia by three goals to two. 

It was a good match and the Australians upped their game from there previous match. 

However in the end The Netherlands just seem to be have players with strength and depth to kill off the game. 

Chile beat Spain by two goals to nil and this effectively ended Spain's participation in the tournament and this was a shock result.

As many including myself thought that Spain would at least make it to the semi-finals. But to be fair Spain where below par for both of their group games. 

 

I think that Vincent Del Bosque should shoulder a large part of the blame as his team selection was a little strange. 

He left established players like  Santi Carzoa and Fabregas on the bench to play players like Diego Costa and this seem to affect there ability to play and win the match. 

So day seven was eventful and the holders going out of the competition was unexpected. 

World Cup - Day six

Day six of the World Cup and Brazil drew nil nil with Mexico and it was pretty lacklustre match. Brazil had few creative ideas and poor finishing. 

The Mexicans where little better had the same problems with a few ideas and poor finishing. 

This draw means that Brazil have four points and are on the cusp of qualifying for the knockout stages.

 

The Mexicans also have four points and our on the cusp of qualifying for the knock out stages.

Elsewhere Russia drew one all with Korea and the Russians probably thought this was going to be easy match.

 But Korea have a good record at the World Cup so this result was not such a big surprise to me. 

World Cup - Day five

Day five at the World Cup and USA beat Ghana by two goals to one and Ghana had an awful start as the USA scored in the first thirty seconds. 

Ghanaian team where on the back foot and finally equalised only for the USA to score from a corner four minutes later. 

For many Ghanaians this result would be hard to take and it is compounded by the fact that the team played well but could not win. 

The USA where very clinical and they did enough to win the match. They played exactly how there manager Jurgen Klinsman would them have wanted to play. 

Only the problem for the USA will be that they suffered injuries with key players and  this might affect them in their next game. 

Elsewhere Nigeria drew nil nil with Iran and it was a lacklustre match with both team not really going for it. 

However Iran will be very pleased with there one point and will be hoping they can build on this draw. 

World Cup - day four

Day four of the World Cup and Ivory Coast beat Japan by two goals to one. This was good win for the Ivorians and there is no reason why Ivory Coast do not progress to the knockout stages. 

One of the tournament favourites Argentina beat Bosnia-Hercegovina by two goals to one and to be fair it would have been more of a shock if Bosnia-Hercegovina had beaten Argentina. 

France beat Honduras by three goals to nil and Frances task was made slightly easier by playing ten men Honduran team for most of the match. 

The French are my outside favourites to win this cup as they have the talent and the experience in their squad so I am expecting them to make it to at least the quarter finals. 

World Cup - Day three

Day four at the World Cup and the stand out game today was Italy beating England by two goals to one.  However the scoreline does not really reflect the match. 

England had many chances and in attack they where excellent going forward and Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge both played very well. Contrary to popular opinion I thought Wayne Rooney played well. 

Where England lost the game was in defence and the goalkeeper. What was most surprising and frustrating about Roy Hodgson pick of these players is that three of four have only played domestic games last season and none of them won any silverware. 

A sign of a defence struggling is when they are backing off as opposed to putting in tackles. 

However despite this poor defence England will I think make it to the knock out stages but that is as far as they can go with this ineffective defence. 

Italy did what they needed to do to win the match and I got the impression that they where not fearful of losing to England and going as far as helping English players with cramp. 

So Italy where not tested in this game but I am sure they will make it through the knock stages and beyond.  

World Cup - Day two

Day two of the World Cup and Mexico beat Cameroon by a goal to nil. I was not too surprised as Cameroon do not have the players they once had. 

Mexico have been getting good results recently and plus they have a fantastic fan base which helped to keep them motivated and focused. 

The shock of the day was The Netherlands beating Spain by five goals to one. It was very embarrasing to wach Spain been humiliated on the world

stage.

On top of that they gave away some really bad goals due to poor defending and goalkeeping. What was most surprising is there manager Del Bosque did not play Santi Carzola at all.

I think this loss will hit Spain badly and it will be a real challenge to recover from this. The Netherlands where fantastic and there two stand out players where Robin Van Persie and Arren Roben. 

Elsewhere Chile beat Australia by three goals to one and I think that Australia where poor and too reliant on Tim Cahill. 

The Aussies seem to lack a little bit of pace and creativity. This was a surprise because four years ago they had a strong squad. 

Day two had it's suprises and I hope that teams watching of these matches realise that there is no hiding place and they need to step up. 

World Cup - Day One

The opening game of the World Cup and Brazil beat Croatia by three goals to one. However the scoreline did not reflect the game.

Croatia went ahead in the first ten minutes albeit by an own goal and then Brazil got an equaliser. Then somewhat controversially the refree awarded Brazil a penalty. 

In real time it did not look like a penalty and looking at the replay, Brazil where very fortunate to be given that penalty. 

Up until that point both sides where pretty even and once Brazil converted the penalty, Croatia did not really look like they where going to get an equaliser. 

Then in extra time to add salt to Croatia's wounds Brazil got the third goal and killed of the game. 

So Brazil got a rather fortunate win but Croatia did not really play their free flowing attacking football style that we are used to seeing from them.. 

World Cup preview

Ok I am a little late with my World Cup preview but it is better late than never..I haven't got World Cup fever yet but I am sure I will soon get it. 

The teams to watch this World Cup are Spain, Argentina, Italy, Germany and Brazil. Needless to say that they are all World Cup wiinners. 

These teams will be hard to beat with their experience of winning this plus some unbelievable players. 

Teams that I think have an outside chance of winning it our France and Portugual. France are former winners but I don't think they have the team to win it but I expect them to do reasonably well. 

I also think that realistically Ivory Coast might do reasonably well. I am hoping that both Ghana and England do well but it is going to be incredibly difficult for them. 

So it should a really interesting World Cup with lost of twists and turns, happiness and heartbreak and that is why it's called the beautiful game. 

Au revoir.... French Open 2014

This year French Open had some early surprises but ultimately the expected winners.

In the women's draw early losses of Li Na and Serena Williams was a shock. However meant that previously unknown players like Taylor Towsend Garbine Muguruza where able to flourish. 

 

The final between Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep with Maria as the winner was no real surprise. 

In the men's draw the early loss for Stanislas Wawrinka was a shock and it that players like Ernest Gulbis where able to step up and make a name for himself. 

The match between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal with Rafa as the winner was no real surprise but it was a fantastic final that really showcased men's tennis. 

So the French Open is over for another year we now have some new household names but the more established players like Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal did what they do best which is winning grand slams. 

French Open - Day fifteen

Day fifteen of the French Open and in the men's final Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic in four sets. It was a fantastic final which really could have gone either way. 

However Novak looked a little lethargic out there and was not really going for the big shots. 

Rafa started of badly but gradually reduced his unforced errors and increased his winner count. In a stark contrast to Novak, Rafa was full of running and was able to take it up to the next level to secure the win. 

Novak played well pretty much in the of the tournament but today he came up against Rafa who is clay court specialist and it seemed a little too much for him but I am sure he will bounce back at Wimbledon. 

This was Rafa ninth French Open title and his fourteenth grand slam and hopefully Rafa will win at least three more grand slams. 

French Open - Day fourteen

Day fourteen of the French Open and it was ladies finals day and Maria Sharapova beat Simona Halep in three close sets. 

The first set was key to the outcome of this match as I suspect if Simona had won the first set she would have gone into the second set with the belief that she is only a set away and do this. 

However this was not the case and losing the first would have been a bit of a body blow and as she has never been in a grand slam final she would have any relevant experience that she could really use. 

Whilst Maria has been in many grand slam finals so is experienced in winning these big matches and knows how to adapt when things are not going her way. 

Simona played reasonably well but if she really wants to challenge for grand slam titles then she needs to improve her serve because against players like Serena Williams, Li Na or Vitoria Azarenka she will struggle to get her serve how out of their hitting zone.  

So it was a very good win for Maria but I think Maria's experience of winning Grand Slams was huge in this match. She was able to adapt her game and win the big points and the match. 

French Open - Day thirteen

Day thirteen of the French Open and it's the men's semi-finals day and Novak Djokovic beat Ernest Gulbis in four sets. 

Novak was cruising in this match and then switched off in the third set and Ernest was able to win it however Novak refocused in the fourth set and won the set and the match. 

It would have been a surprise if Ernest had got this win especially as Novak has been very well. 

 

Rafael Nadal beat Andy Murray in straight sets and the match was a little one sided to the point Andy did not even get a break point chance in the entire match. 

But to be fair to Andy he played at least three five set matches and I don't think that would have helped his cause coming into match against Rafa so he was always going to be up against it. 

So the final will be between Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic and they have both in playing great tennis. 

I would  say Rafa the slight edge partly because I am a fan of his style of tennis and because he has won this title eight times. But that will not phase Novak who ready to step it up to try and dethrone Rafal. 

French Open - Day twelve

Day twelve at the French Open and it ladies semi-finals day and Maria Sharapova beat Eugenie Bouchard in three very close sets. 

Eugenie played incredibly well but at the end of the day Maria has been in semi-finals alot in her career and I think her experience and confidence definitely helped her to win this match. 

But I think Eugenie is one player that I think is going win a grand slam within the next five years.

Simona Halep beat Andrea Petkovic in straight sets and it was a reasonably close match but Simona never looked like she was going to lose this match. 

Simona's athleticism definitely help her to win this match in straight sets and she is now in her first grand slam final of where she faces Maria Sharapova. 

French Open - Day eleven

Day eleven at the French Open and Simona Halep beat Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets. 

This was a good win for Simona as Svetlana is a former Roland Garros champion. However Svetlana was carrying an injury so that probably helped Simona to get a more straight forward victory. 

Andrea Petkovic beat Sara Errani in straight sets and this was a good win for Andrea as Sara was definitely a contender for this year title. 

In the men's draw Rafael Nadal beat David Ferrer in four sets and this was an emphatic win for Rafa. 

He even managed to bagel David in the third set and David played well but simply could not deal with skill that Rafa presented to him. 

Andy Murray beat Gael Monfils in five sets and this was a strange match. Andy was crusing at two sets to love up and then took his foot of the pedal and was mighty fortunate to be able to complete the match today as the light was fading. 

French Open - Day ten

Day ten at the French Open and in the quarter finals Maria Sharapova beat  Garbine Muguruza in three sets. It would have more of a surprise if Garbine had won this match. 

Eugenie Bouchard beat Carla Suarez Navarro in three sets and this was a very good win as Carla is clay court specialist. 

In the men's draw Novak Djokovic beat Milos Raonic in straight sets and this was quite a tight three sets victory for Novak but importantly for him he  got the win. 

Ernest Gulbis beat Tomas Berdych in straight sets and Ernest has had some good wins but I still think he is an outside shot for winning this title. 

French Open - Day nine

Day nine of the French Open and Sara Errani beat Jelena Jankovic in straight sets and this was a big win for Sara and she must be one of the favourites for the title. 

Simona Halep beat Sloane Stephens in straight sets and Sloane played pretty poorly and committed too many unforced errors. 

Simona Halep played reasonably well and was able to win the big points and ultimately the match. 

In the men's draw Rafael Nadal beat Dusan Lajovic in straight sets and this was another comfortable win for Rafa and I am hoping he will be able to keep this form up. 

Andy Murray beat Fernando Verdasco in straight sets and this was an excellent win for Andy especially when you think how he struggled in the previous round. 

French Open - Day eight

Day eight at the French Open and Eugenie Bouchard beat Angelique Kerber in straight sets. This was an excellent win for Eugenie and it shows she will be a top ten player sooner than most people expected. 

Maria Sharapova beat Sam Stosur in three sets and this was a good win for Maria and she is getting more ruthless with each round. 

In the men's draw Novak Djokovic beat Jo Wilfred Tsonga in straight sets and this was good win for Novak as Jo Wilfred made it to the semi-finals last year. 

Andy Murray beat Phillip Kohlschreiber in five sets and it was a big win for Andy and he was struggling in the fifth set and no doubt the fact the last few games played over night helped Andy to recover and win the match. 

The shock of in the men's draw was Ernest Gulbis beat Roger Federer in five sets and it is going harder for Roger to win his 18th grand slam and his best bet is probably to win Wimbledon. 

French Open - Day seven

Day seven at the French Open and Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Petra Kivitova in three sets. The third set could have gone either but a few lose balls from Petra and it handed the game and the match to Svetlana. 

Sloane Stephens beat Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets and this was a good win for Sloane as Ekaterina strikes the ball well and it's hard to break her game down. 

The surprise result in the women draw was Lucie Safarova beating Ana Ivanovic in straight sets. I thought that Ana had a real chance of winning this title so it was  a surprise see her ousted so easily. 

Rafael Nadal beat Lenardo Mayer in straight sets and it was a straight forward win for Rafa. But to be fair I would have been surprised if Lenardo had been Rafa. 

David Ferrer beat Andreas Seppi in straight sets and it was straight forward win and David is quietly going through the draw he could be surprising winner of  this year French Open.  

Guillermo Garcia Lopez beat Donald Young in give sets and Guillermo won the first two sets then gave away set three and four then just about beat Donald in the fifth set. 

French Open - Day six

Day six of the French Open and Maria Sharapova double bagled Paula Ormaechea and as you can imagine it was totally a one-sided match. 

Maria was able to show superiority and totally embarrassed Paula who had to be done very well to reach the third round. 

Carla Suarez Narravo beat Taylor Towsend in straight sets and to be fair it was probably the right result. 

Carla is fantastic on the clay court and very difficult to beat whilst this is Taylor first senior grand slam so to make to the third round was a remarkable achievement. 

The shock of the day was Ajla Tomljanovic beating Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets. Ajla has had a great French Open whilst Aga has been grinding out results. 

So although on paper it is shock result the way that Ajla has been playing in this tournament makes it less surprising. 

In the men's draw Roger Federer beat Dmitry Tursunov in four sets. This was a tough match for Roger but he was able to use his experience to win the match. 

Novak Djokovic beat Marian Cilic in four sets and this was the first tough match that Novak had to dig deep and win the match.