Australian Open 2016 - Women draw review

Well the Australian Open 2016 is now over and the winner of the women's draw   was Angelique Kerber. She beat Serena Williams in three sets. 

It was unexpected result everyone including me thought that Serena would win this in straight sets! But Angelique Kerber had other ideas and her serve and return of serve is what won her the match. 

Angelique's serve was reasonably impressive and her never give up attitude was incredible! Whereas Serena lacked match fitness and found it difficult to stay in points. 

So I believe that Angelique was the rightful winner and Serena lack of matches plus pressure of breaking Steffi Graf's 22 Grand Slams title is making even harder for Serena to concentrate.

Elsewhere in the Women's draw British/Hungarian player Johanna Konta played well and reached the quarters finals and I am sure she has won some tier one titles then she will have a realistic chance of winning a Grand Slam.

Whereas it was another disappointing Australian Open for Heather Watson an as she went out in the first round again. 

I really think for Heather this her make or break year and even for retain her become British number one is going to be a mammoth task. However maybe possible but is really going to require to have a complete change of mindset. 

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 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. 

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. 

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. 

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 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. 

Wimbledon - Day eight

Day eight at Wimbledon and Angelique Kerber beat Maria Sharapova in three sets and it was three very tight sets and could have gone either way. 

However Angelique was able to serve better when it mattered and was able to put away some amazing winners. 

Petra Kivitova beat Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in straight sets and to be fair it would have been a bigger surprise if Barbora had won. 

Petra has a big serve so it is incredibly difficult to get the ball back and out of her hitting zone. But Barbora gave it her all and put up an amazing fight which was sadly not good enough. 

Simona Halep beat Zarina Diyas in straight sets and it was a tough match for Zarina who was unable to show case her talent and I think this was probably not helped by nerves and this being her first fourth round draw. 

In the men's draw Roger Federer beat Tommy Rebredo in straight sets and it was a routine win for Roger but he faces tougher challenges ahead. 

The shock of day was Nick Kyrgios beating Rafael Nadal in four sets and it was difficult day for Rafal as Nick's serve was a little too hot to handle.

Rafael seemed a little tired and did not seem to have the energy to run around and Nick just seem to have little more energy and that great serve. 

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. 

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. 

Miami Open - Day eight

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

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

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

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

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

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. 

AIPA International, Sydney - Final

The APIA International took place in Sydney and Tsvetana Pironkova beat Angelique Kerber. 

It was surprise result however when Tsvetana is playing well she is difficult to beat. This win sets up Tsvetana nicely for the Australian Open. 

For Angelique going into this match she was favourite and the higher ranked player. 

So even though I am sure she was disappointed, Angelique is probably now focusing on the Australian Open. 

APIA International, Sydney - Semi-Finals

The semi-final matches took place yesterday and in the first semi final Tsvetana Pironkova beat Petra Kivitova in straight sets. 

This was an unexpected result as Petra is  a grand slam winner Tsvetana is currently ranked outside of the top 100.

 So the points gained from beating Petra will really help Tsvetana ranking and also give her some much needed confidence. 

In the second semi-final Angelique Kerber beat Madison Keys in straight sets. To be honest the bigger surprise would have been Madison beating Angelique. 

Madison is still learning and she has gained from valuable ranking points for reaching this stage. 

Angelique is an experienced player and rarely loses to lower ranked players. So though it would been nice to see a Madison grab a set. I was not overly surprised by the result.

So the APIA International final will be between Tsvetana Pironkova and Angelique Kerber. 

I suspect it will be a three set match and I think Angelique will win it. 

APIA International, Sydney, - Quarter - Finals

The quarter finals for the APIA International took place yesterday and Madison Keys played Bethanie Mattek Sands.

Sadly Bethanie was unable to complete this match due to an injury. I felt bad for Bethanie who had come through some tough qualifying matches and beat the defending champion Aganieska Radwanska in the first round. 

Bethanie retirement from the match meant that Madison progressed to the semi-finals.

 For Madison it has been a great start to the tennis year and at this stage she has nothing to lose so she can really go for it in semi-finals. 

Elsewhere Tsevtana Pironkova beat Sara Errani in straight sets. This was good win for Tsevtana who tends to shine at Wimbledon so it's good to see she has playing so well and early in the season.

Angelique Kerber and Petra Kivitova are made it to the Semi-Finals and both won their quarter final matches in straight set. 

WTA Championships - day three

Day three of the WTA Championships and Serena Willams beat Petra Kivitova in straight sets. 

Petra was trying so hard to win every point but Serena is just the better athlete and more comfortable in these pressure situations. 

In both sets Serena played flawless tennis hopefully she can keep this level up for the semi-finals.

Na Li also managed a very good win over Jelena Jankovic. It was a hard fought match in which Na Li eventually on in three sets.

But the shock so far of this tournament was Angelique Kerber beating  Aga Radwanksa in straight sets. 

This means that Aga goes out of this tournament with no wins and three losses. 

It was definitely a surprise for me as I didn't expect Aga lose so early. It also means she can go home get some rest and prepare for 2014.

WTA Championships - day one

WTA Championships started yesterday and Serena Williams beat Angelique Kerber in straight sets. 

Serena was in fine form and barely gave Angelique an opportunity to get into the match. 

Petra Kivitova beat Aga Radwanska in straight sets. Petra was also in fine form and kept her errors down. 

Aga was apparently in tears after match and took this loss pretty badly. 

WTA Generali Linz - Final

The Generali Linz final took place over the weekend Angelique Kerber beat Ana Ivanovic in straight sets. 

Angelique had already gained enough points to compete in the WTA end of year tournament. 

But Angelique's win was somewhat controversial as she was a last minute entrant for this tournament. Which meant that another player had their wild card rescinded. 

However should not take way from Angelique's win and hopefully she will start to do better at the Grand Slams in 2014.