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. 

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.

 

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. 

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. 

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. 

WTA - Bank of West Classic - Stanford - Day two

Day two of the Stanford Open and Venus Williams beat Paula Kania in straight sets. This was a good solid win for Venus who has put the Wimbledon disappointment behind her. 

Venus now plays Victoria Azarenka in the second round and if she can get past Vika then I can see her at least making to the semi-finals and beyond. 

Ana Ivanovic beat Sabine Lisicki in straight and It was a very competitive first set. Which Sabine set the World Record for the fastest serve. 

However the second set was a not very eventful and Ana won the set comfortably and the match.

Wimbledon - Day seven

Day seven at Wimbledon and Eugenie Bouchard beat Alize Cornet in straight sets. 

This was a good win for Eugenie and she  is having a great year after reaching the quarter finals in both the French and the Australian Open. 

Sabine Lisciki beat Ana Ivanovic in three sets and it was a good win for Sabine as Ana has had a good year. It was also a much needed win for Sabine as she has a lot points to defend for making it to the final last year. 

Petra Kivitova beat Shuai Peng in straight sets and this was a good routine win for Petra. Petra has that huge serve which is very effective on grass and it's difficult for any player to get it back.

In the men's draw Andy Murray beat Kevin Anderson in straight sets and this was a nice routine win for Andy who has been winning in clinical fashion. 

Novak Djokovic beat Jo Wilfred Tsonga in straight sets and he won the first two sets with ease but Jo Wilfred put up more of an effort in the third set. But Novak seem to have a little bit more to win the set and the match. 

Stan Wawrinka beat Denis Istomin in straight sets and this was a nice routine win for Stan who is aiming to win second grandslam of the year. 

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 five

Day five of the French Open and Simona Halep beat Heather Watson in straight sets. The second set was very competitive but Heather made way too many unforced errors to win this match. 

Ana Ivanovic beat Elina Svitolina in straight sets and it was routine win for Ana and if she keeps it up she may win this grandslam.

Sloane Stephens beat Polona Hercog in straight sets and it was a very convincing win by Sloane. 

In the men's draw Rafael Nadal beat Dominic Theim in straight sets and this was a good comfortable win for Rafa.  

Andy Murray beat Marinko Matosevic in straight sets and it was a comfortable match for Andy. 

This hopefully the type of match that should prepare Andy for the tougher matches that will come his way.

French Open - day three

Day three of the French Open was eventful and in the women's draw Sloane Stephens beat Shuai Peng in straight sets. 

Sloane has had some real tough losses recently but I am convinced that she is only really motivated for Grand Slam tournaments and hence why she is able to pick up her level and get routine wins. 

Ana Ivanovic beat Caroline Garcia in straight sets and this was a very good win for Ana as Caroline has been playing well on the clay.

The shock result of the day was Ni La losing to Kristina Mladenovic in three sets.   

I thought that Ni La was going to do quite well and I thought she would at least make it to the semi-finals.    

 

So this was a huge surprise and has certainly opened up the bottom half the draw.

In the men's draw Andy Murray beat Andrey Golubev in four sets. Andy was doing well then lost his concentration but regained it quickly enough to win the fourth set and the match.  

Another surprise result was Ivo Karlovic beating Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets. It was a close match but Ivo seemed to have the edge when it came to big the points. 

Rome Open - Semi Finals

In today's semi-finals Sara Errani beat Jelena Jankovic in straight sets and this a fantastic win for Sara. 

She is the first Italian women to make it to the final since 1985, so she has banked some valuable points and has chance to win this title.

Serena Williams beat Ana Ivanovic in three sets and this was a good win for Serena. 

Serena is now one match way from retaining the title. Serena is on course to win this title for the third time and it would also be her 60th title overall. 

Rome Open - Quarter finals

Quarter finals day at the Rome Open and this is what I call the business end of the tournaments. In today's matches Ana Ivanovic beat Carla Suarez Navarro in three sets. 

It was a close a match and to be fair it could have gone either way. But Ana in now winning matches that she used to lose and has to be a genuine contender for the French Open. 

Jelena Jankovic beat Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets and it was good win for Jelena and it will give her valuable ranking points. 

Serena Williams beat Shaui Zhang in straight sets and for Serena this was a routine win. 

The surprise of the day was Sara Errani beating Ni La in three sets. This was  an excellent win for Sara and will also bank valuable ranking points. 

Indian Wells - Day six

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dubai Open - Day three

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Review of the Australian Open from the sofa!

This years Australian Open was interesting to say the least. The adverse weather conditions meant players where playing tennis in forty two degrees heat. 

These weather conditions lasted for almost the first week of the slam and resulted in players getting dehydrated, vomiting or some even passing out. 

The second week started with a shock when the women's favourite for title Serena Williams was beating by Ana Ivanovic. 

Serena's exit of the tournament was closely followed by Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka's exits. This ultimately lead to Li Na beating Dominika Cibulkova in the final. 

The men's draw was much more stable and than the women's. It was only final that had me most surprised when Stanislas Wawrinka beat Rafael Nadal. 

The Aussie fans where particularly vocal in the men's final and had some point sections in the crowd where booing Rafael Nadal for his injury time out. Which I thought was particularly unpleasant and was totally uncalled for. 

Some of the men's matches where played until 01.30 in the morning which I thought was a little strange. 

Overall I was surprised by wins of Li Na and Stanislas Wawrinka which I did not see coming. I guess that is why I love tennis because sometimes it can be unpredictable. 

However I can bet a bottom dollar that the players who under performed at this tournament will have a bigger impact in the remaining Gram Slams. 

Australian Open - Day Nine

Day nine at the Australian Open and Ni La beat Flavia Pennetta in straight sets. This result was not a surprise as Ni La has been playing very well and did not really give Flavia the opportunity to really get into the match. 

Eugenie Bouchard beat Ana Ivanovic in three sets. Bearing in mind that Ana beat Serena Williams in the previous round. I would have thought Ana would have beat Eugenie. 

However Eugenie battled through to victory after losing the first set and she will now play Li Na for a place in the final. 

In the men's draw Tomas Berdych beat the number three seed David Ferrer in four sets. This was a surprise result for me as David has been playing well so I thought he was going to win the match. 

The shock result of the day was Stanislas Wawrinka beating Novak Djokovic in five sets.It was a pulsating match that had twists and turns.

 Stanislas just seem to play the bigger points better and had the marginal advantage of serving first in the fifth set. Novak made to very costly errors which cost him the game and the match. 

Australian Open - Day Seven

Day seven at the Australian Open and Ana Ivanovic beat the favourite and World Number One Serena Williams in three sets. 

It was certainly a shock for me and I was disappointed to see Serena tamely returning the balls and not really going for winners. Apparently she had a back injury  which explains the tameness in her game. 

However Ana served and returned the ball well and she could do very well at this tournament if she keeps playing with this level of consistency. 

Eugenie Bouchard beat Casey Dellacqua in three sets. Eugenie started off a little slow but by the third set the momentum she had all the momentum. Eugenie now plays Ana Ivanovic for a place in the semi- finals. 

Flavia Penetta beat Angelique Kerber in three sets it was a surprise result as Angelique has been playing well. 

Ni La beat Ekaterina Makarova in straight set and it was a very solid win for Ni La who now faces Flavia Penetta in the quarter finals. 

In the men's draw, Novak Djokovic beat Fabio Fognini in straight sets. It was a very comfortable match for Novak who was never really danger of losing the match. 

WTA Auckland International, New Zealand- Final

The final of the Auckland International took place over the weekend and Ana Ivanovic beat Venus Williams in three sets. 

It was a pulsating match which could have gone any way. As I was watching the match I couldn't help but think how fortunate the Auckland crowd where to witness this and two former grand slam champions battling so hard for this title. 

For Ana it was her first WTA title in two years and you could tell she was nervous as the would have renewed the somewhat stalling career. 

For Venus the win would have been huge as she is battling a debilitating illness that saps her of her energy, so the win would have been huge for her. 

However for Venus it was not meant to be but the way she is fighting this debilitating illness is very inspiring. 

The fact is Venus has seven grand slam titles and has made over twenty nine million dollars in prize money.

 The fact that she refuses to give up and is playing top level tennis at thirty three years old is truly amazing. 

Well done to Ana for winning this title hopefully this win enable her to have a much more successful 2014.