Premier league - 24/25th October 2015

So I haven't blogged for a little while but that does not mean I have not been following the action... First off Arsenal beat Everton by two goals to one and this win helped them to go joint top of the league. 

Arsenal have been playing well recently and Arsene Wenger seems to be using the same players. Now he plays Theo Walcott in a more attacking position than before. 

Manchester City and Manchester United had a nil nil draw which was a little surprising because normally it is a goals thriller. However the draw helped Manchester City to stay top of the league. 

The shock of the weekend was Chelsea losing by two goals to one to West Ham. It is early days but seeing Chelsea down in 15th is very strange but I am sure they will some good wins to see them climb back up the table. 

Premier league - 19/20 September

In this weekend fixitures Chelsea beat Arsenal by two goals to nil in a controversial match that saw two Arsenal players sent off! 

This was defintely a surprise result for me as Chelsea have not being getting the results and so I thought Arsenal would be able to take advantage and get a win against them but it was not meant to be. 

The sending off Gaberial definitely impacted on the game and Arsenal ability to get a goal. However I still think Arsenal defensive frailties will cost them a few matches this season and the realistic chance to win the league. 

Elsewhere Manchester United got a narrow victory against Southampton has they beat them by three goals to two and helped to keep them within two points of leaders Man City. 

Manchester City had an awful weekend as they lost at home to West Ham. West Ham beat them by two goals to one and this ended Manchester City unbeaten run. However they are still top the league by two points. 

Liverpool drew one all to Norwich as there indifferent season continues and I really think Liverpool will struggle this season as they don't see have too many world class players in their team.  

US Open - review 2015

So I didn't get to blog daily about the US Open, however I didn't miss a match! The first week of the US Open was eventful in the women draw at least three of the top ten seeds went out very early and I think that really set the tone for the championships. 

The British number one Heather Watson went out on day one and it was a very disappointing tournament for her. I think it was largely down to poor preparation and still lamenting about the loss to Serena at Wimbledon. 

However the British number two Johanna  Konta did very well and she made it to the fourth round before being knocked out by Petra Kivitova.

The men's first week was largerly uneventful the only real shock was the early exit of Rafael Nadal. Rafa is in a real slump and he threw away a two set lead in a match that he should have won comfortably. 

 

The second of US Open became more eventful in the semi-finals as Serena Williams who was expected to beat Roberta Vinci lost in three sets. 

Serena had looked very nervous and unsure of herself in previous rounds and rightly so Roberta pounced on Serena's uncertainty and was able to win the match and end Serena's bid to win four Grand Slams in a calendar year. 

The other semi final Flavia Panetta beat Simona Halep in straight sets and this too was largely unexpected but Flavia just proved too strong for Simona. 

The men's semi finals was more straight forward both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer recorded comfortable wins to reach the finals were it would be number one versus number two. 

The women's final was an all Italian affair and Flavia Panetta beat Roberta Vinci in straight sets and rightly so. Has been reasonably well in the last couple of years  so to me richly derseved this title. 

The Men's final Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer to win his 10th Grand Slam title. I think it's only the disgraceful behaviour of the fans that marred his victory. 

The fans where so desperate to see a Roger win that they were clapping a Novak errors which was not nice to see.. However Novak overcame the hostility from the crowd to claim his 10th Grand slam.

US Open - Preview 2015

The US Open starts today and as usual it promises to be the best ever.. In the Women's draw Serena Williams is going for the Grand Slam record and vying for her 22nd Grand Slam..

This is not going to be easy and she is up against history and the burden of expectation and only time will tell if she can overcome the pressure and burden of expectation to win this 22nd Grand Slam. 

Another challenge for the title would be Petra Kivitova and after winning the New Haven this weekend she is now fully fit and could contend for title. 

Simona Halep is another contender for the title and she is yet to win a Grand Slam so she may win her maiden title. 

Garbine Murgurza is another contender for the title and after getting to the final Wimbledon, I would not be surprised if she made it to this final 

From a British prespective I am really hoping that Heather Watson can at least make it third round of this would be great from ranking points of view as she has never been past the first round. Which is a surprise as she won junior US Open. 

Johanna Konta has also made the main draw and I think she can realistically make it to the second round. 

Laura Robson is also in the main draw but she has been out so long with injury and has not played any warm up tournaments so should be interesting to see how well she does. 

The men's draw is more competitive and any of the top four men can win the title. I am hoping that Rafa Nadal will get his act together and get back to his winning ways. 

Roger Federer would love to win his 18th title however I don't believe that these days he can consistently win five set matches. 

Novak Djokovic is the firm favourite to win his 10th Grand Slam title and I personally would not bet against him but anything can happen. 

From a British prespective Andy Murray has a real realistic opportunity of winning his second US Open title. Hopefully he will overcome his semi -final problems  to make it to the final and win. 

Premier League - 28th/29th August 2015

This weekends premiership was definitely eventful to say the least. It probably started the premiership holders Chelsea losing by two goals to one Crystal Palace. 

Chelsea have had a truly rotten start and they are not firing on all cylinders and it is a big surprise I thought with all there amazing players they would have no problems. But somehow they are not clicking together. 

Arsenal were fortunate enough to beat Newcastle by a goal to nil and Arsenal are also struggling and have not found there stride yet. 

Last week Arsenal managed a nil nil draw with Liverpool and they had a lot of chance and this week they managed to beat Newcastle by an own goal and their win was not convincing. 

Manchester City are doing well they beat Watford by two goals to nil and they continue the start of the season with 100% wins. 

One of the shocks of the weekend was Manchester United losing  by two goals to one to Swansea City. Manchester United  have been doing reasonably well so I did not see them losing to Swansea City. 

Another big shock was Liverpool losing by three goals to nil to West Ham. However although it was a shock result, I suspected that Liverpool would struggle as losing two key players would impact on them and in my opinion Brendan Rogers as not replaced them. 

Now there will be a break for the international break and it will be interesting to see how they could come back from this break. 

Premier League 14th/15th/16/17th August 2015

In this weekend fixtures Manchester United beat Aston Villa by a goal to nil and this was an expected win for Man U anything else would have been a little odd. 

Tottenham continued their poor start with a two all draw against Stoke City. I am think that Tottenham still have a holiday mindset. It's a little unusual to see them start to badly. 

Arsenal got their first win of the season and they had to work very hard to beat Crystal Palace by two goals one. 

I have to say I am little surprised by this struggle because the preseason games they played suggested that Arsenal would have a good season. 

Manchester City hammered Chelsea three goals to nil and Chelsea have also had a poor start to their season. As the holders of the title they should be doing a lot better.  But frankly I think they were very fortunate to win the title last season. 

Liverpool beat Bournemouth by a goal to nil to win their match. Liverpool have have done well in two games of the season. 

However it will be interesting to see how cope with tougher opposition and without their former captain Gerard. 

So it was a real mixed bag of results this weekend and the team that maybe struggling the most are last years winners Chelsea. 

Premier League - 8/9/10th August 2015

Yay the Premier league is back! Yes I missed it but the same time glad for the break.. Football can make or break a weekend it has been nice not worry about Arsenal!

Manchester United started the new season well they beat Tottenham by one goal to nil. I still think this will be another tough season for Man U were fans have unrealistic expectations of them winning everything. 

I think Tottenham will also struggle this season as they haven't really spent any money and I think they want a top four finish then they would have needed to spend more money. 

Chelsea drew two all with Swansea City in a match they would have been expected to win. This is not the kind of start the holders would have wanted but at least they got a point. 

Liverpool got off too a good start as they beat Stoke City by a goal to nil. I am not quite sure Liverpool will do this season now that both Steven Gerard and Raheem Stirling have moved on but I guess only time will tell..

The worst start of the new season goes to Arsenal who somehow managed to lose two goals to nil at home! Now if anybody asked me about Arsenal chances last week I would have said this the season that I am most optimistic. 

Then they season starts and Arsenal play exactly the same way they started last season. It is very frustating if Arsenal have any realistic chances of winning the league then they need to be consistent or it's going to be another top four finish. 

Wimbledon 2015 finals

In the women's finals Serena Williams beat Garbine Murguruza in straight sets. Garbine played well however she was up against an inform Serena Williams who was determined to get her 21st Grand Slam title. 

It was a good match and Garbine made Serena work hard for the victory but Serena serve and movement around the court was just a better than Garbine's serve and movement. 

So this win takes Serena to one Grand Slam title behind Steffi Graff and I think it is realistic possibility for Serena to win at least two or three more Grand Slams before retiring. 

In the men's final Novak Djokovi beat Roger Federer in four sets and despite the crowd and the media desparate attempts to get Roger to the win. Novak was just too good and proved why he is the world number one. 

Roger played well but Novak played the big points better and when Novak went two sets to one up both Roger and the crowd seem deflated. 

Novak looked like could have easily have gone to five sets and still won the match whilst Roger would have needed to win this match in four sets as he came across someone who did not have the energy for five sets. 

So Novak won his third Wimbledon title and his ninth Grand Slam title and if he wins in the US Open then he will be into double figures in Grand Slams which would be very impressive. 

Wimbledon - Semi finals 2015

In the women semi finals Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova in straights sets and it was a routine win for Serena against someone she had beaten seventeen time in a row. 

Maria did not have the demanour of someone who believed she could win the match and so it was little straightforward than most people expected. 

In the women's semi finals Garbine Murguruza beat Aga Radwanska in three sets and it was a very good win for Garbine and Aga could simply not cope with the power of Garbine's shots. 

Garbine had a little wobble in the second set which allowed Aga back into the match but she regrouped and was able to win the third set. 

So the women's final will between Serena Wiliiams and Garbine Murguruza and it should be very interesting to say the least. 

In the men's semi final Roger Federer beat Andy Murray in straight sets and to me Andy was way below par and was not very tactical so it was quite a routine win for Roger. 

In the other semi final Novak Djokovic beat Richard Gasquet in straight sets and this Novak easiest and most convincing and to be fair it would have been a surprise if Richard had won. 

So the men's final will be between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer and this a repeat of last year finals. With Novak hoping he can retain his title and Roger wanting to win his eighth Wimbledon title. 

Wimbledon 2015 quarter finals

In yesterday quarter finals match Serena Williams beat Victoria Azarenka in three sets and it was a pretty competitive match but I never really sensed that Serena was going to lose.  

Serena served well as she has done for most of this tournament and Vika played well and is now back to full fitness which help get her ranking up. 

Maria Sharapova beat Coco Vandeweghe in three sets and Maria really struggled with her serve against a player it should have been a straight forward match. 

Garbine Muguruza beat Timea Bacsinszky in three sets and this was good win for Garbine who is in her Wimbledon semi-final. 

Agnieszka Radwanska beat Madison Keys in three sets and Aga did will to beat Madison is learning and developing her game all the time. 

In the men's draw Andy Murray beat Vasek Pospisil in straight sets and this was a good routine win for Andy who is back in a Wimbledon semi final. 

Novak Djokovic beat Marin Cilic in straight sets and this was a good win for Novak. 

The shock of the quarter finals draw was Richard Gasquet beating Stanislas Wawrinka in five sets and this was big win for Richard as Stanislas has just won French Open. 

Roger Federer beat Gilles Simon in straight sets and this was nice routine win for Roger who has not be tested in this tournament. 

So the quarter final matches were good but I am expecting to see more exciting matches in the semi finals. 

Wimbledon 2015 4th round

Fourth round matches took place on Monday Serena Williams beat Venus Williams in straight sets.

 It was a great match of high quality however it evident Venus illness affected her energy levels so she was not able to play at the same level. 

So Serena progressed to the quarters final which is probably about right and hopefully this will inspire to keep her form and win the title on Saturday. 

Maria Sharapova beat Zarina Diyas in straight sets and this was not much of a challenge for Maria and it was a routine wins for her. 

Garbine Murguruza beat Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets and even though Caroline is high ranked player I was not surprised because Garbine it's the ball well and has a good serve. 

Agnieszka Radwanska beat Jelena Jankovic in three sets and it was good win for Aga considering has had a poor year. 

In the men's draw Andy Murray beat Ivo Karlovic in four sets and it was good win for Andy who dropped a set but was able  come win the match. 

Roger Federer beat Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets and in this tournament Roger has had little challenge playing players that I have never heard of. 

So the fourth round matches were good now hopefully the quarter final matches will be better. 

Wimbledon first week 2015

I cannot I haven't been blogging about Wimbledon.. I guess I have just been a little to busy with my day job:) but trust me I didn't miss a beat!

This week had it's highs and lows and the main high for me was how well Heather Watson did not only to make to the third round but to push Serena Williams to a third set and at point it looked she was going to win but it was not meant to be. 

Which in reality is not such a bad thing I am one of Heather biggest fan but being known as a "Serena slayer" would put untold pressure on her and her career and I know she wanted to win and is disappointed. 

But the match proved to the world that Heather has got the talent to play with the world best. 

For Serena it was a real relief that she managed to pull of the win and probably underestimating Heather was her biggest mistake. 

The low of the first week was Rafael Nadal going out. However watching his match he didn't seem like he was back to his best and seemed to lacking belief in his shots. But I am confident that he will soon rediscover his form. 

So it was a good first week with some real first class tennis and let's hope the second week will be as good. 

Wimbledon 2015 - Day one

Day one at Wimbledon and in the women's draw Serena Williams won her match in straight sets and Serena really found her range in in the second set and went on to get a comfortable victory. 

Venus Williams doubled bagled Madison Brengle and it has been a while since Venus has doubled bagled anyone.

Maria Sharapova beat Johanna Konta and it was expected victory for Maria but it's sad that Johanna had to exit the tournament so early. 

The surprise of the day was Carla Suarez Navarro getting knocked out in three sets.  She is now a top ten player so I was expecting to do reasonably well. 

In the men's draw Novak Djokovic got a straight sets win against.., and it was good first win for Novak who is hoping to make it to the final and win it.

Stanislas Wawrinka won in straight sets and he is through to the second and as the winner of the French Open he is looking to get is third grand slam.

Day one is only had one real surprise but all the players who have real potential of winning the tournament made it to the second round. 

Wimbledon 2015 preview

Ok to my shame I didn't complete the review of the French Open.. However it was truly wonderful to see Serena Williams win her 20th grand slam and it was nice to see Stanislas Wawrinka get is  2nd Grand Slam. 

But I am sure that Wimbledon challenge will be very different for both of these champions. 

The women's draw looks quite competitive this year but I cautiously optimistic that Serena will get the 6th Wimbledon title and her 21st Grand Slam. 

However it's not going to be easy and she will probably need to beat Maria Sharapova in the semis to even make it to the final. 

Last year winner Petra Kivitova is a contender to retain her title she has a very good grass court game and as there normally isn't many rallies on the grass it suits her game perfectly.

From a British prespective both Heather Watson and Johanna Konta have very tough draws and it will not be easy for either to progress to the second round. 

Heather faces Caroline Garcia and who has some powerful ground strokes and for Heather to win she will need to be aggressive and her serve has to be on point. 

Johanna faces Maria Sharapova and the chances of her winning are even more remote. Maybe if the crowd get behind her that might help to get one set! 

 

The men's draw is much more open and realistically either Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stanislas Wawrinka or Rafael Nadal can win the title. 

Rafa is my personal favourite but he has been having a torrid time of lately so is chance of winning the title do not look great. 

Andy Murray is home favourite and a former winner and he knows how to win so I would rule him out of at least getting to the final. 

Novak Djokovic is current champion and I would not bet against him making it to the final as the three time winner he can do it again. 

Stanislas Wawrinka will be feeling very confident so I would not rule him out of getting to at least the finals. 

Roger Federer is a Wimbledon favourite and has won at least six times but he is older now and he cannot win matches like he used and he is unlikely to win a tough five set matches like he used to and but as a former champion I cannot totally rule him out. 

So it should be a another great Wimbledon and hopefully a record breaking Wimbledon for Serena Williams. 

French Open - First week review

So it's been an eventful first week at the French Open and in the ladies draw Eugene Bouchard and Simona Halep have both been beaten. 

To be fair neither of them was a major surprise and I personally don't think either of them are top ten and they will both be lucky to still be in the top ten by the US Open. 

Heather Watson made to the second round before she was beaten by Sloane Stephens. By all accounts Heather was a bit of a disappointment and her serve and game was way off. 

I hoping she will turn this around for the grass court season and get back to being healthy and competitive on the court. 

Another surprise exit first round exit was Venus Williams and with her health problems and advancing age it was always going to be challenge.

 However Venus still believes she has a chance of winning and her best results have come in both the grass court and hard court season so we just have to wait to see. 

Venus's sister Serena Williams has had an up and down week. She has struggled both her second and third round matches, however would not bet against her reaching at least the final. 

The men's has been less eventful with all the favourites still in there. I am hoping Rafa Nadal can really turn his season around by winning this title. 

Andy Murray has been having a good clay court season so I would not bet against him making to to the final. 

Novak Djokovic has been really consistent so I would not bet against him making it to the final either. 

Then there is Roger Federer who has sailed through the first three rounds but I suspect when he comes up a better player it will be a real challenge for him to beat a better player in five sets. 

So both the men's and women's draw is looking exciting we should know by this time next week who the champions are. 

Premiership - 24th May

The last day of this season premership and to be honest once Chelsea won the league I lost the motivation to blog about it. 

But the last day of the season was highly entertaining and Arsenal beat West Bromwich Albion by four goals to one.

In my previous blog I moaned about Arsene Wenger not playing Theo Walcott and for some reason only Wenger will understand he decides to play Theo upfront and Theo scores a hat trick !  

It was a great win from and hopefully it will set up nicely for the FA Cup final against Aston Villa. 

Arsenal good day is in stark contrast to Liverpool's bad day. Liverpool where beaten by six goal to one and it had be on of their most humiliating defeats. 

This time last year Liverpool where challenging for the title and at the time I thought it was a big fluke. I was not impressed with Brendan Rogers but some how last year he seemed to wonders. 

This year his luck has run Liverpool are getting the kind of results I expected them to get last year. What's worse is they now stated they are not to going sack Brendan Rogers. 

So the final day was a little more interesting than I imagined it to be and yes Chelsea won the league but Arsenal got a good creditable win. 

Premier League 7th May 2015

I have blogged about the premiership for a while, however I haven't missed a match! Arsenal beat Hull City by three goals to one and it was a good win. 

I still don't know why Arsene Wenger is not playing Theo Walcott and it particularly annoyed me our previous game against Chelsea as that point we still had a little chance to win the premiership which has now gone. 

This because Chelsea beat Crystal Palace one nil and they won the title and that is another year that Arsenal don't win the title so it is frustrating but at least it help Arsenal secure second place.

Premier League - Easter Bank Holiday Games

In the bank holiday fixtures Arsenal beat Liverpool by four goals to one and it is probably the best football Arsenal have played in sometime. 

I am not always happy with the line up that Arsene Wenger goes for but this line up was very effective albeit he left Walcott and Gibbs who are two of my favourite players but most importantly a Arsenal won the game and collected three valuable points. 

Manchester United beat Aston Villa by three goals to one and this was a good win for them and keeps them in the title race. 

Chelsea beat Stoke City by two goals to one and this helped them to lead at the top and with a few top matches coming up this win was vital. 

Shock of the bank holiday fixtures was Manchester City losing to Crystal Palace and before the game I would have bet my months salary that Manchester City would have beaten Crystal Palace comfortably. 

This was a bad loss for Manchester City and they also dropped to fourth in the league and it will take a real miracle for them to retain their title. 

 

So the last eight/nine games of the league are looking exciting and realistically any of the top three Chelsea, Manchester United or Arsenal can awin it. 

Premier League - 28 February - 1st March

Liverpool beat Manchester City by two goals to one and this was a very good win Liverpool as Manchester City have a got a real chance to win the league this season.

 The loss would have a shock for Manchester City who are just five points behind the leaders Chelsea and losses like this reduce their chance of over taking Chelsea and winning the title. 

Arsenal beat Everton by two goals to nil and this was a good win for Arsenal but to be fair Everton have had a poor season but they are always a threat and this is why is was a good solid win. 

Man United beat Sunderland by two goals to nil and this was another good win for Manchester United who who are now consolidating there top four place. 

Premier league - 21st February 2015

In this weekend premiership fixtures Chelsea had a shock one all draw with Burnley at home and this after the club had spent most of the week on the front pages of the newspapers because of the disgraceful behaviour of a few fans. 

I am sure this did not help the concentration of their players and Burnley were able to capitalize on this. 

Another shock result was Swansea beating Manchester United by two goals to one. As Manchester United have been doing reasonable well so I personally didn't see before hand how they where going to lose this match. 

Arsenal beat Crystal Palace by two goals to one and it was a closely fought game. Which Arsenal managed to win by the skin of their teeth but a win is win and it have them three valuable points. 

Manchester City beat Newcastle by five goals to nil and it was an embarrassing defeat for Newcastle. Whilst it was the excellent result for City and it is also good for the goal difference with other teams. 

Liverpool beat Southampton by two goals to nil. This was a really good win for  Liverpool as Southampton have been in the team for most of the season. Liverpool can now realistically focus on a top five finish and a place in Europe. 

FA Cup - 15th February 2015

The FA Cup took place this weekend Liverpool beat Crystal Palace by two goals to one and this was good win for Liverpool and I would not be surprised if they made it to the final. 

Arsenal beat Middlesborough beat by two goals to nil and it was a good win for Arsenal and they managed to win without conceding a goal. 

Arsene Wenger put out a strong line up as these days he cannot afford to put out a weakened squad because in these kind of cups the lower division teams always do well. 

Manchester United beat Preston three goals to one and this was a good solid win for Manchester United. But to be fair I would have been very surprised if they had lost to Preston. 

This win put Manchester into quarter-finals and takes them a step closer to winning a trophy under Luis Van Gaal. 

FA Cup - 24th/25th January 2015

There were some truly shocking losses in the FA Cup. Chelsea who were two nil up ended up losing four goals to Bradford City at home. 

Manchester City provided more shocks as the lost two nil at home to Middlesborough. Southampton who have been so well also lost three goals to two to Crystal Palace. 

So Arsenal played there game a day later and Arsene Wenger got the memo that it was not the time to play a weakened squad so he picked a full strength squad and it paid off as Arsenal beat Brighton by three goals to two. 

The losses by three of the top teams has made it more realistic possibility that Arsenal can retain their title. 

Australian Open - Day thirteen - Women's Final

Day thirteen and in the women's final Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova in straight sets to win her nineteenth grand slam. It was an amazing match and the second set could have gone either way. 

It started with both Seren and Maria "posing" for there final picture and neither could raise a smile and it was one of most awkward final pictures I have seen in a while. 

In the first Serena broke Maria in the first and more or less maintained her advantage to win the set. The second was  a lot more competitive and could have gone either but Serena held to win the second set tie break and the match.

This win was a historic victory for Serena as she now only three grand slam titles behind Steffi and it is now looking like she could realistically get as many titles as Steffi.

Both Serena and Maria played very good tennis but for Maria her best was not good enough.

 Serena did incredibly well considering she was not feeling a 100%. So very excited to see she can get anymore grand slams in 2015. 

Australian Open - Day Five

Day five of the Austrialian Open and Maria Sharapova beat Zarina Diyas in straight sets. This was much easier match for Maria and needs to wins like this if she has any hope of winning the title.  

Eugenie Bouchard beat Caroline Garcia in straight sets. This was a straight forward win for Eugenie and the first set was competitive but after that Eugenie totally controlled the match. 

Yanina Wickmayer beat Sara Errani in three sets. This was a bit of surprise result but as Sara is the higher ranked player most people would have expected her to win. 

However Yanina is good player and can get these types of results but she doesn't do it consistently that's she is not ranked higher.

In the men's draw Andy Murray beat Joao Sousa in straight sets. This was a nice routine win for Andy and it to be honest it would have been more of surprise if he had lost. 

Rafa beat Dudi Sela in straight sets and this was routine win for Rafa and it would have been more of a surprise if he had lost.  

The surprise of the day Andreas Seppi beating Roger Federer in four sets. Roger won the Brisbane tournament so many thought this title was his. But with his advancing age I think winning a Grand Slam title is looking more remote. 

Australian Open - Day four

Day four of the Australian Open and Agnieszka Radwanska beat Johanna Larsson in straight and it was not much of a contest and Aga barely broke sweat to win this match. 

However she has got a tough draw ahead and reastically it will be hard for her  to beat both Venus and Serena to make to the final were could face either Simona or Maria so it could be a tough ask. 

Serena Wiliams beat Vera Zvonareva in straight sets and it was tough first set for Serena who came two sets down to win the set and ultimately the match. 

Venus Williams beat Lauren Davis in straight sets and it was pretty routine win for Venus who did not have to expand much energy to get this win. 

Victoria Azarenka beat Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets and this was a bit of a surprise result for me as I thought that Caroline was going to win as Victoria is still coming back from injury. But it was a very comfortable win for Victoria. 

In the men's draw Novak Djokovic beat Andrey Kuznetsov in straight sets and it was another routine win for Novak and I would not bet against him from winning the title. 

Stan Wawrinka beat Marius Copil in straight sets and as the defending champion there must be a lot of pressure on his shoulders which he seems to be handling very well. 

Australian Open - Day three

Day three at the Australian Open Maria Sharapova beat Alexandra Panova in three sets. It was really hard fought win for Maria to get this result.

It was a surprise Maria struggled because on paper this should have been a comfortable win. Maria is nice part of draw and should really make to the final. 

Simona Halep beat Jamila Gajdosova in straight sets and this was a comfortable win for Simona. Simona has also in the nice part of the draw so she should make to at least the semi finals. 

In the men's draw Rafael Nadal beat Tim Smyczek in five sets and it was tough old match for Rafa who eventually came through it to make the third. 

Rafa is coming back from injury so I guess he still a little rusty so I guess he trying to slowly build momentum. 

In the men's match Roger Federer beat Simone Bolelli in four sets and it was a tough old match for Roger who eventually came through it. 

This is the kind of player that Roger used to beat in his sleep so it was little surprising that he took Roger to four sets. 

I  think it will be a big ask to expect Roger to win this title as he would have to beat at least three top ten players and so it would be a big ask to expect him to win. 

Australian Open - Day Two

Day two of the Australia Open and Tsvetana Pironkova  beat Heather Watson in straight sets. This would have been bitterly disappointing for Heather after winning Hobart at the weekend she was expecting to do well. 

This was sadly not meant to be and Heather looked like she had zero energy or the strength to chase the balls. In her press conference she blamed her loss on "women problems". Hopefully Heather will find a better way to manage these "women problems" or her career will be very short. 

Venus Williams had a good straight sets win and was particularly impressive on serve and Venus never looked like she was going to lose the match. This in stark contrast to last year were she would have scrapped into the second round. 

Serena Williams had a very good straight sets win and in this match Serena showed her grit and ability that were missing at the Hopman Cup. This is really Serena title to lose and it all depends on how motivated she is for 19th title. 

Agnieszka Radwanska had a good straight sets win against Kumi Nara and Agnieszka's ability to chase down those loss balls helped to win her this match. 

In the men's draw Novak Djokovic had a reasonably comfortable first round win and against Aliz Bedene. 

Stanislas Wawrinka also won his first match reasonably comfortably and as defending champion there would presume to retain the title and losing early would be a disaster for his ranking.

Gael Monfils had a thrilling five set match and came through it make the second round. He was playing against a player that I had never heard off and his name was Lucas Pouille. 

Gael did well to come back and I am hoping the energy he spent on winning this match does not affect him too much in the next round. 

Premier league - 31st January & 1st February 2015

In this weekend Premiership results Manchester United beat Leicester City by three goals to one and this a much needed win for United who probably still think they can win the title so with that in mind they cannot afford to drop points. 

Tottenham had good win against West Brom as they beat them by three goals to  nil. This win helped Tottenham to keep in touch with the top five. 

Chelsea and Manchester City drew one all and this was a fantastic result for the chasing pack. if Chelsea had one maybe they would have one hand on the trophy. 

If Manchester City had won that would have helped them to pull clear from the chasing pack so the result was good for the teams vying for title. 

Arsenal beat Aston Villa by five goals to nil and this the best win that Arsenal have had in a while. They got this win without Arsenal top goal scorer Sanchez was not selected to play. 

It just goes to show that Arsenal can results when needed now just have to be string together a couple more results. 

Australian Open 2015 - Day one

Day one of the Australian Open and it is the first Grand Slam of the calendar year and some of the players are still not ready to play. 

There were lots of surprises in the women's draw and the first high profile seed to go out was Ana Ivanovic who lost three sets to Lucie Hradecka   

Next Angelique Kerber lost in three sets to Irina Begu the first day shock kept coming and it ended with eight female seeds going out in one day. 

However there were wins for Simona Halep, Eugenie Bouchard and Maria Sharapova. 

In the men's draw the main title contenders all made it successfully to the second round and these were Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. 

There were few shock losses in the men's draw and I think the women's draw has changed a lot in the last five years and now its not too much of a surprise for a top ten seed to go out as these days women are much closer in ability. 

Hobart final - Australia

In the Hobart final Heather Watson beat Madison Brengle in straight sets to win her second WTA title. Heather is the first Britain in thirty years to win two WTA titles. 

Heather did not drop a set the whole tournament and beat three seeded players on the way the final. 

The first set was a little topsy turvy but in the second set Heather did not drop her serve and was more comfortable. 

This win gives Heather the perfect start to 2015 and it also means she will be more optimistic going into the Australian Open which starts tomorrow. 

WTA New Zealand - Final

Tennis season is back and of the first tournaments to start was the ASB tournament in New Zealand. 

In the Final Venus Williams beat Caroline Wozniacki in three sets. It was a reasonably good match and I was surprised that Venus was able to win. 

Venus is now thirty four years old and still has the fatigue illness. However what impressed me the most was that her confidence never dropped even after losing the first set. 

 So it was a good and largely unexpected win from Venus. I am hoping will be able to build on this win but it largely depends on how well she is able to manage her illness. 

Premiership - 1st January 2015

I haven't blogged in a while mainly because I wanted to get some well earned rest from blogging as well holding down a job. 

My lack of blogging was not particularly helped by watching Arsenal mess things up time and time again. 

New year but same old Arsenal as soon as I saw the team line up I knew it was going to be a tough match to win against a Southampton team that have had an amazing start. 

So I was not too surprised when Southampton beat Arsenal by two goals to nil. Arsenal defence is probably the worst I have ever seen. 

They are not comfortable in the air and when the other team is running at them the defence backs off. 

So it was another terrible loss for Arsenal and Arsene Wenger has no plans to strengthen the defence in the transfer window so it could be a really tough next five months for the team. 

Elsewhere Manchester United drew one  all with Stoke City this was a surprising result as Man United have being doing well and if they had won this match it would have helped to consolidate their third position and even challenge for the top two positions. 

Manchester City just about beat Sunderland by three goals two to help them retain the title they won last year. 

I don't think Manchester City are playing well but they are doing enough to win their games and get those valuable points. 

The shock of the day was Tottenham beating Chelsa by five goals to three. This loss would have really have hurt Chelsea because many including myself had gifted them title and I did not see them losing a match. 

So this loss to Tottenham has definitely made the race to the title a little more interesting as Manchester City and Chelsea are now only separated by goal difference.