US Open - Day six

Day six of the US Open and Serena Williams beat Vavara Lepchenko in straight sets and it was little more competitive than her previous round but I didn't ever see her losing this match. 

Eugenie Bouchard beat Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in three sets and this was a good win for Eugenie. 

There is a lot of hype around Eugenie but I think she does have the talent to break through and win.

At the the moment she is getting a lot of favourable draws this is really helping her cause. 

The shock of the day was Aleksandra Krunic beating Petra Kvitova in a straight sets. This was an embarrassing loss for Petra against someone I have never heard of. 

Especially now that Petra is a two time Wimbledon Grand Slam winner she should be doing a lot better. 

In the men's draw Andy Murray beat Andrey Kuznetsov in four sets and this was a good win for Andy but he definitely faces tougher opponents the later rounds. 

Jo Wilfred Tsonga beat Pablo Carreno Busta in straight sets and I would like to believe Jo Wilfred can mount a serious challenge for the title but when it comes to those big games he often found wanting. 

Milos Raonic beat Victor Estrella Burgos in three tight sets and he is quietly making is way through the draw and would not be so surprised if he ended up in the final.  

US Open - Day five

Day five at the US Open Jelena Jankovic beat Johanna Larsson in straight sets that included a bagel. 

Maria Sharapova beat Sabine Lisicki in straight sets and it was pretty much a routine and an expected win for Maria. 

But there were many shocks today, firstly Sara Errani beat Venus Williams in three sets. Sara played well when it mattered but for Venus these days winning a three set match is a real challenge and again I wonder how long she can carry on.

Mirjana Luicic Baroni beat Simona Halep in straight sets and this was an embarrassing defeat for Simona. 

As I have said in my previous blog, there seem to be a lot of hype around Simona and she does not seem to be living up to the hype.

She is a good player but she is well over ranked is more of a top twenty player than a top five player. 

Belinda Bencic beat Angelique Kerber in straight sets and this was another surprise result. Angelique has had a good summer so I was expecting her to make to at least the quarter finals. 

In the men's draw Roger Federer beat Sam Groth in straight sets and it was a pretty routine win for Roger. Roger should at the very least make to the final his side of draw of full of guys he has routinely beaten. 

Grigor Dimitrov beat Dudi Sela in straight sets and this was a good solid win and Grigor could have a very good run at this years US Open. 

US Open - Day four

Day four at the US Open and Serena Williams beat Vania King in straight sets and to be honest it was more of a practice match than a round two match. 

Serena seems to win this match by expanding little energy and made it all look very easy. 

Eugenie Bouchard beat Sorana Cirstea in three sets and it was not an easy match for Eugenie but importantly she got through it but their will be tougher matches ahead for her. 

The shock of the day for the women's draw was Karolina Pliskova beating Ana Ivanovic in straight sets. I was expecting Anna to do a lot better than this so I was surprised by this result. 

In the men's draw Novak Djokovic beat Paul-Henri Mathieu in straight set and it was a routine win for Novak who would have conserved his energy for the later rounds. 

Andy Murray beat Mattias Bachinger in straight sets and to be fair I have never heard of his opponent before but all the same it was a good strong win.

 

US Open - Day three

Day three at the US Open and Venus Williams beat Timea Bacsinszky in straight sets.

 It was a good routine win for Venus and to be fair Timea did not really pose much of the threat. So Venus did what she needed to do to win the match. 

Maria Sharapova struggled to beat Alexandra Dulgheru in three sets and  it was match that I thought Maria would breezed through so I was presently surprised when she dropped the first set. 

The shock of the day in the ladies draw was Shuai Peng beating Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets. 

Now I knew Aga was not going to win this title but I expected her to get to at least the quarter finals so this was a surprise defeat. 

However I say that it was a surprise defeat but at the same time the kind of tennis Aga plays makes it more likely that she will get beaten in the earlier rounds. 

Joanna Larsson beat Sloane Stephens in three sets and it  was a match that I expected Sloane to win. However her game is too predictable and she needs to change fast before she drops out of the top thirty. 

In the men's draw Stan Wawrinka beat Thomas Bellucci in four sets and it was a good win for Stan. 

I am surprised he dropped a set against a player that I have never heard of I hope for is sake it was a blip and not a sign of things to come. 

Grigor Dimitrov beat Ryan Harrison in straight sets and it was a good win for Grigor who should at least make it to the quarter finals and beyond. 

English Premiership - Week two

In week two Premiership games, Arsenal came back from two nil down to draw two all with Everton.

 To be fair was a good draw as last year Everton thumped Arsenal three nil at home. So I was relieved that we where at least able to come home with a point. 

What I am not so comfortable with is Arsene Wenger team selection as I think we look vulnerable at the back and a better team will be able to exploit that. 

Manchester City beat Liverpool by three goals to one and this was a surprise result. I thought the scoreline was going to be a lot closer as Liverpool have got a title challenging squad. 

However Manchester City have a very good team and were able to score the goals when it mattered to win the match.  

Chelsea beat Leicester City by two goals to nil and this season Chelsea have added some key players to their squad but I am not entirely convinced about their defence. 

Manchester United drew one all with Sunderland and their lean spell continue it could be very tough season for Man United fans. 

Tottenham beat Queens Park Rangers by four goals to nil and it could be the start of a great season for Spurs fans. 

US Open - day two

Day two of the US open and Petra Kivitova beat Kristina Mladenovic in straight sets. Petra is somewhat back to her best and does have a realistic chance  of winning it. 

Serena Williams beat Taylor Townsend in straight sets and it was always going to be a difficult match for Taylor who has only recently started playing at the main a Grand Slam tournaments. So long term this would have been good experience for Taylor. 

The shock of the day for me was Sorana Cirstea beating Heather Watson in straight sets. I was very disappointed for Heather as it was a real chance to win a match and a round against someone she has beaten twice. 

It was a painful result for Heather, hopefully she would have learnt her lesson from this embarrassing display.  

Eugenie Bouchard beat Olga Govortsova in straight sets and it was a routine win for Eugenie who will face much tougher oppositions in the later rounds.  

In the men's draw Roger Federer beat Marinko Matosevic in straight sets and it was a fairly routine win for Federer who vying for his eighteen grand slam. 

US Open - Day one

Day one at the US Open and Venus Williams beat Kimiko Date Krumm in three sets. 

It was a tough match for Venus and if I am totally honest these days I find Venus's games painful to watch because there is little chance of her actually winning the trophy. 

I think if Venus makes it to the quarter finals then would be a very successful tournament for her. 

Maria Sharapova beat Maria Kirilenko in straight sets and this was a routine win for Maria Sharapova against Maria Kirilenko who is a former top twenty player. 

Agnieszka Radwanska got off to a great start and beat Sharon Fichman in straight sets. Aga has not had a great year so the US Open maybe her opportunity to try and win the first Grand Slam. 

Simona Halep beat Danielle Collins in three sets and Simona had to work had to come back from one set down to win the match.

Now Simona has to live up to hype she will find it a real task to win her first Grand Slam will be tough. 

In the men's draw Stan Wawrinka beat Jiri Veslet in straight sets and it was a relatively routine win for Stan. 

Novak Djokovic beat Diego Schwartzman in three sets. It was a good routine win for Novak but tougher challenges lay ahead. 

Andy Murray got off to a great start when he beat Robin Haase in straights and hopefully Andy will string consecutive wins together and at least make the semi-final. 

Preview to the US Open 2014- my take

So the US Open starts today and it is the last Grand Slam of the year. In the men my favourite Rafael Nadal has pulled out due to injury. 

I was disappointed because his style of tennis makes the men's game exciting to watch. But now Rafa is out I think that Novak Djokovic is my firm favourite to win the title. 

I would like to see Andy Murray do well but I am not quite sure if he is hungry enough to win his second US Open title.  

I think that Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka are both dark horses to win this title and I suspect Roger will make it to at least the semi-finals. 

The women's draw is much more open but I would not bet against Serena Williams. 

She has not had a great grand slam year but this would be great way to end the year. 

Outside of Serena, Maria Sharapova could win her second grand slam of the year. I think Petra Kivitova has got a good draw and could do quite well. 

The dark horse to win women's title is Simona Halep and there is always a lot of hype around Simona interesting to see if she can live up to the hype. 

Another of my personal favourite is Britain's Heather Watson, Heather has never won round at senior level so hopefully this she will win a round and make it to at least the third round. 

Premier League - Opening Weekend!

So the Premiership returned this weekend and the shock of the weekend was Swansea City beating Manchester United by two goals to one. 

I do think that Manchester United will suffer at the back from the departure of both Vidic and Rio and it will take time for them to jell which could mean letting in a few more goals. 

Arsenal beat Crystal Palace by two goals to one but Arsenal where fortunate enough to get the winning goal in extra time. 

It wasn't Arsenal best performance but to be fair it was better than last year where Arsenal where beaten on the opening day. 

Manchester City beat Newcastle United by two goals to nil and this was good win for them.  

But to be fair it always going to depend on which Newcastle team will turned up. Some fans are desperate to get rid of Alan Pardew maybe the players now feel the same. 

Chelsea beat Burnley by three goals to one and it was a win that I expected Chelsea to get. Burnley are newly promoted team into the Premiership and it make take a few games to find their feet. 

Southern & Western Open - Cincinnati - Day seven

Day seven of the Southern and Western Open and in the final Serena Williams beat Ana Ivanovic in straight sets.

 The first set was pretty competitive but once Serena had won the first set, the second set was much more one sided affair. 

Serena was just in her zone and there are'nt many tennis players that can challenge her when she is in that zone. 

Serena's serve was very consistent and she served at least ten aces and there where also the unreturnable serves. 

Ana played reasonably well but simply did not have the power or the serve to realistically compete with Serena. 

So Serena won this title her fifth title of the season and she also won US Open series trophy and she could get four million dollars if we wins the US Open. 

Southern & Western Open - Cincinnati - Day six

Day six at of Southern & Western Open and in the first semi-final Serena Williams beat Caroline Wozniacki in three sets. Apart from the fact that Caroline is Serena new best friend. 

Caroline was dictating a large part of this match and Serena seemed a step slower and a little tired. 

However she increased her energy levels and cut down the rallies to finish off the points quicker and this lead to winning the set and the match. 

In the second semi final Ana Ivanovic beat Maria Sharapova in three sets. This match had controversial end when Ana took an injury time out in the last couple of games.

However Ana went on to win the game and this was a very good win for Ana and I knew it was going to be tough for Maria but I thought she would get through. 

So I was surprised that Ana won but she was a little more consistent than Maria who had a lot of unforced errors.

Southern & Western - Cincinnati - Day five

Day five at the Southern and Western Open and Serena Williams beat Jelena Jankovic in straight sets.

 It was a fairly routine win for Serena and this surprised me because I thought that the match was going to be a little but more competitive. 

It also at the stage of the competition that Serena gets into her zone and she is very difficult to beat.

Maria Sharapova beat Simona Halep in three sets and it was quite a controversial game with Maria's gamesmanship being questioned. 

If I am honest glad that Maria beat Simona as I have yet to be convinced that Simona is worthy of her world number two ranking. 

Simona is what I call a percentage player good at everything but outstanding at nothing. 

Ana Ivanovic beat Elina Svitolina in straight sets and this was a good win for Ana as Elina is slowly rising up the rankings and is an in-form player. 

Preview of English Premier League

The Premier League returns today....yes! So I thought I would share with you guys my expectations and predictions for this season. 

For the first time in about thirteen years I am actually excited about the Arsenal team. Arsene Wenger has spent some money and now Arsenal can realistically challenge for the title.

I say this but with a caveat I am still not sure about the defence and only time will tell if this defence is good enough. 

To be frank I have no idea whether Manchester United will even finish in the top four. The experience defenders like Rio and Vidic have gone and I am not entirely sure who they have been replaced with. 

It not enough to have a world class manager like Van Gaal you also need the players that can perform on the pitch. 

Liverpool will have an interesting season and now Luis Suarez has been sold to Barcelona this has reduced their fire power. 

Last season Liverpool where very close to winning the league but they did not have the distraction of European games so it will be interesting to see how they cope. 

Chelsea will always be favourites to win the title but to be fair they have not spent to much money this season. 

Last champions Manchester City should get a top four finish if they are consistent as they where last year. 

They where a bit fortunate to win last season but it was primarily down to their consistency which no other team had. 

Ok so with my analysis complete the following teams will finish in the top five:

1. Arsenal !!!

2. Chelsea 

3. Manchester City

4. Manchester United

5. Liverpool

Okay who is your top five? 

Southern & Western Open - Cincinnati - Day four

Day four of the Southern & Western Open and Agnieszka Radwanska beat Sabine Lisicki in straight sets.

 This was a good win for Agnieszka but I still don't believe she has the talent to get past Maria Sharapova or Serena Williams. 

Jelena Jankovic beat Sloane Stephens in straight sets and Sloane's summer just gets worse. She has been hardly able to string more than two wins together and if she is not careful she will be dropping out of the top thirty. 

Caroline Wozniacki beat Angelique Kerber in straight sets and this was a good win for Caroline and will be heading back to the top ten very soon. 

Serena Williams beat Flavia Pennetta in straight sets and for Serena she is hoping to win this Southern & Western title for the first time ever. 

Southern & Western Open - Cincinnati -Day three

Day three at the Southern & Western Open and Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Eugenie Bouchard in three sets.

 This was a good win for Svetlana whilst Eugenie is now realising that she has to live up to the hype that has formed around her and it will not be easy. 

Flavia Penetta beat Taylor Townsend in straight sets and this would have been a disappointing loss for Taylor. But at the same time she is young and building some valuable on-court experience. 

Serena Williams beat Samantha Stosur in straight sets but these sets were very close and Serena had to play very well to win both tie breaks to win. 

This was the first real test that Serena has had to face in this tournament and she came out of it with flying colours. 

Southern & Western - Cincinnati - Day Two

Day two of the Southern and Western Open and Maria Sharapova beat Madison Keys in three sets.

 I thought this match was going to be difficult for Maria but in the third set Maria showed her true championship quality. 

Lucie Safarova beat Venus Williams in three sets and whilst Lucie has improved her game. 

Venus simply ran out of energy and this would have been her third consecutive tournament which is probably too much when factor in the medical condition that she has got 

I hoping she will get lots of rest from now until the US Open and show some of the form that got her to the Montreal final. 

Sloane Stephens beat Andrea Petkovic in straight sets and this was a very good win for Sloane. 

Who has had a very indifferent summer and is hoping for a good run in this tournament. 

Southern & Western Open - Cincinnati - Day one

Day one of the Southern and Western Open and Taylor Townsend beat Klara Koukalova in straight sets and this was an excellent win for Taylor who is getting closer to being in the top one hundred . 

Taylor has a good summer and did especially at French Open and she is hoping to have a similar run at the US Open. 

Shuai Zhang beat Heather Watson in three sets and Heather did not play well for a lot of this match. 

She also looked very tired and was struggling with her serve. These days she she is able to get a lot of cheap points from her serve but today her serve let her down badly. 

Whilst it was a disappointing exit I think the rest will do Heather the world of good to prepare for the US Open. 

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat Dominika Cibulkova in straight sets and so far it's been a poor US Open serious for Dominika who should be doing alot better than going out in first and second rounds. 

She is hoping that her form will pick up before the US Open which starts in under two weeks time. 

Rogers Cup - Montreal - Day seven

Day seven of the Rogers Cup and in the final Agnieszka Radwanska beat Venus Williams in straight sets. Venus looked worn out and made over forty unforced errors. 

But credit where credit is due Agnieszka had a game plan excuted  it to perfection to win the match and the title. 

The positives for Venus are that she made the final which was probably beyond her own expectations and she banked some ranking points and she is now back into the top twenty. 

Rogers Cup - Montreal - Day six

Day six at the Rogers Cup and It's semi-finals day and Venus Williams beat her sister Serena Williams in three sets. 

It was a high quality match and to be fair I did not see how Venus was going to be able to get pass Serena. But some how she kept unforced errors down and was able to win the match. 

It is hard watching Venus and Serena play against each other because I want them both to win. 

So it's nice that they play each other but at the same time it's all rather bittersweet for me. 

Agnieszka Radwanska beat Ekaterina Makarova in three sets and this was a match that I was expecting Ekaterina to win so I was surprised that Agnieszka was able to win. 

Rogers Cup - Montreal - Day five

Day five at the Rogers Cup and Serena Wiliiams beat Caroline Wozniacki in three sets and it was tough match for Serena who scrapped through by the skin of her teeth against an in-form Caroline. 

Venus Williams beat Carla Suarez Navarro in three sets and this was an incredibly tough match for Venus who had to go up several levels to beat Carla. 

By the third set it more less looked like Venus was going to win and hopefully Venus will have enough energy left for a tough semi-final match against her sister Serena Williams. 

Agnieszka Radwanska beat Victoria Azarenka in straight sets and this was going to be a very tough match for Victoria so I was not surprised that Agnieszka won. 

Ekaterina Makarova beat Coco Vandeweghe in three sets and I thought this was going to be an easy win for Ekaterina but Coco is in great form and pushed Ekaterina all the way. 

Rogers Cup - Montreal - day four

Day four at the Rogers Cup and Venus Williams beat Angelique Kerber in three sets. It was pulsating match that could have gone either. 

Venus gave her everything in the match and it was just a few points that won her this match and put beyond doubt that Venus is back. 

Victoria Azarenka beat Heather Watson in straight sets and Heather was distinctly flat and looked completely overwhelmed by the occasion. 

Victoria is just returning from injury and it would have been good time for Heather to beat her. 

But Heather did not take her chance and proceeded to lose the match in straight sets. To be fair Heather did well to reach the third round and is still on a steep learning curve.

Serena Williams beat Lucie Safarova in straight sets and to be honest never looked like she was in danger of losing this match and stays on course for retaining her title. 

The shock result of the day was Carla Suarez Narravo beating Maria Sharapova in three sets. 

I did not see this result coming and I thought Maria would make it to at least the final so it was surprise result just go show that these days anything can happen in women's tennis. 

Agnieszka Radwanska beat Sabine Lisicki in three sets and this was a good for Agnieszka who has had quite a poor year winning no titles. 

Beating an in-form player like Sabine should give her much needed confidence  to progress in this tournament.  

Rogers Cup - Montreal - Day three

Day three of the Rogers Cup and Heather Watson beat Dominika Cibulkova in three sets. It was another up and down match for Heather she could have closed it out in two sets but threw away a three game advantage and had to win in a third set tie break.

I am hoping this is down to Heather's inexperience of tier one tennis and she will learn how to close out matches in straight sets. 

Venus Williams beat Yulia Putintseva in straight sets and it took a little while for Venus to handle Yulia "moon balls" but once Venus found her rhythm she was smacking the moons balls away and getting winners. 

Jelena Jankovic beat Sloane Stephens in three sets and Sloane had been playing reasonably well. But I think she lacks those killer instincts to win a tier one title.

Serena Williams beat Samantha Stosur in straight sets and it was a real demolition job by Serena who took apart Sam's game whilst in second gear. 

It was a little embarrasing to watching considering Sam only beat Serena in the US Open final three years ago. 

Angelique Kerber beat Caroline Garcia in straight sets and Anglique has been in some fine form and plays Venus Williams next. 

Rogers Cup - Montreal - Day two

Day two of the Rogers Cup and Venus Williams beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three sets. To be honest it was a match that could have gone either way and in the end Venus was able to break at the right time to win the set and the match. 

However Venus looked very tired so I am not sure how much she has got left in the tank to realistically even make the semi-finals but I am hoping that she will surprise me. 

Casey Dellacqua beat Kirsten Flipkens in three sets and this was a surprise result as Kirsten has been playing well so surprised to see her lose so early. 

But the big shock of the day was Shelby Rogers beat Eugenie Bouchard in three sets and that included two bagels.

This would have been extremely embarrassing for Eugenie as this is her home tournament so fans where expecting her to do well. 

To be fair she has not played match since Wimbledon so was probably a little rusty still no excuse for getting bageld twice in front of her home crowd. 

Rogers Cup - Montreal - Day one

Day one of the Rogers Cup and Sloane Stephens beat Aleksandra Wozniak in straight sets. 

This was a much needed win for Sloane who has not by own standards not had a good year and has been falling down the rankings. 

So hopefully this win will give her some much needed confidence and get her back up the rankings. 

Heather Watson beat Tereza Smitkova in three sets and this was one of the poorest matches I have seen Heather play but most importantly she won the match and some valuable ranking points. 

Sabine Lisicki beat Sara Errani in straight sets and this was a tough first round match for Sabine but came out of in flying colours. 

Citi Open - Washington - final

Day seven of the Citi Open and Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Kurumi Nara in three sets and it was an enthralling final which saw Svetlana win her first WTA tour title in four years! 

For Kurumi getting to the final was some achievement in itself and it was always going to be a big ask to beat someone like Svetlana but she did well and most importantly bagged some valuable ranking points. 

For Svetlana this win might give her the confidence to believe she can win the US Open title. 

She will be a contender for the title but I suspect once she is playing at a Grand Slam she challenge is great and I am not sure is she still has the fitness to win seven rounds. 

But she has done well to win this title I for one would not have imagined before this tournament that she would have been the winner. 

So Svetlana wins the Citi Open title and valuable ranking points. 

The Bank of West Classic - Day seven

Day seven of The Bank of West Classic and in the final Serena Williams beat Angelique Kerber in the straight sets. 

Shocking part of this win was that a Serena was five games to one in the first set down but still managed to win this set by seven games to five. 

To be fair Serena probably played the whole match in third gear and still managed to win with ease. 

Whilst Angelique played out of her skin to hang with Serena and didn't even manage to take set. 

However Angelique is having a good year and can take pride in the fact that she is the first German to reach the final in over twenty years. 

For Serena she has retained her title and hopefully it be a good start to a successful hard court season. 

The Bank of West Classic - Day six

Day six at The Bank of West Classic and it is semi-finals day and Serena Williams best Andrea Petkovic in straight sets.

The first set was reasonably competitive but the second set was all Serena and she completely bossed the game. 

Serena put on a real display and this should hopefully have silenced her critics for at least another day. 

The second semi-final Angelique Kerber Varvara Lepchenko in three sets. I was expecting Angelique to have a rather more routine win. 

It shows Vavara has really developed her game because this time last year she was getting knocked out in round one. 

Angelique has had a good year too has made it to finals of key tournaments and has now established herself as top ten player. 

The Bank of West Classic - Day five

Day five at The Bank of West Classic and Andrea Petkovic beat Venus Williams in three sets. Venus had several opportunities to win this match but she simply ran out of energy. 

Once her energy levels dropped she was   unable to compete at the highest level and this situation ultimately led to Andrea winning the third set and the match. 

Angelique Kerber beat Garbine Muguruza in straight sets and this was good win for Angelique and she is now hoping to be the First German to win this title in over twenty years. 

Serena Williams beat Ana Ivanovic in three sets. This was a good win for a Serena chance for her to retain her title. 

Varvara Lepchenko beat Sachia Vikoery in three sets and this was good experience for Sachia who can hopefully build on it. 

Citi Open - Washington - Day three

Day three at the Citi Open and Kristina Mladenovic beat Taylor Townsend in straight sets. Taylor had been having a good summer so I was half expecting her to win this match. 

But the reality is she probably needs to be a little more experienced on the tour before Taylor can really start making her mark on the tour. 

Bojana Jovanovski beat Sorana Cirstea in three sets and Sorana has been having a bad year she was once ranked as the top Romanian player but things are not going well for at the moment. 

The Bank of West Classic - Stanford - Day four

Day four of the Bank of West Classic and Venus Williams beat Victoria Azarenka in straight sets. This was a good solid win for Venus beating Victoria who is good player. 

This win will also help Venus to continue to rise back up the rankings and she should now be on the cusp of being a top twenty player again. 

I hoping she will become a top ten player by the US Open and then be eligible to play in the end of year tournament taking place in Singapore. 

Ana Ivanovic beat Carol Zhao in straight sets and this was another good win for Ana who faces tougher opposition when she plays Serena Williams in the next round. 

Angelique Kerber beat Coco Vanderweghe in three sets and this was a topsy turvy match in which Coco bagled Angelique in the second set but somehow managed to lose the third set. 

Bank of West Classic - Stanford - Day three

Day three at The Bank of West Classic and Andrea Petkovic beat Naomi Osaka in straight sets. As Naomi best Samantha Stosur in the first round I was expecting this match to be a little more competive. 

But it was not meant to be, Naomi is only sixteen years old and will hopefully have many more years on the tour to get the big wins. 

Sachia Vickery beat Monica Puig in three sets and this was a big win for Sachia who had to play three tough qualifiers to make it to the main draw. 

Sachia is still only a teenager so is gaining valuable experience with every round. 

The shock of the day was Vavara Lepchenko beating Agnieszka Radwanska in three sets. Before this match Vavara had only recorded one win against Agnieszka in there six meetings.

This was a bad loss for Agnieszka who has had a bad year and I don't think the year will get any better for her unless she changes her game strategy and plays a more attacking game. 

Serena Williams beat Karolina Pliskova in straight sets and this was Serena first match back since Wimbledon and it was a good solid win. 

I hoping that she can retain the title she won last year and this would be excellent preparation for the defence of her US Open title.  

Citi Open - Washington - Day four

Day three of the Citi Open and Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Kirsten Flipkens in straight sets. To be honest after Kirsten tough first round match with Heather Watson I wondered how much she would have left in the tank to compete in this competition. 

So I was not overly suprised that Kirsten lost in straight sets plus Svetlana is a Grand Slam winner and can beat anyone on a good day. 

Ekaterina Makarova beat Lauren Davis in straight sets and this was a good win for her as she is seeded second is somewhat favourite to in the title.