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 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 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 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 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. 

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. 

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. 

Wimbledon - day twelve

Day twelve at Wimbledon and it is the Women's final day and Petra Kvitova beat Eugenie Bouchard in straight sets. 

It was the most one sided final since 1992! Petra controlled the game from tbs start to the end. Eugenie could barely get her racket on Petra's serve. 

Petra broke Eugenie's serve with such ease that it was embarrassing to watch. Time and time again Eugenie made the same errors and Petra got the same winners 

To be fair Eugenie made Petra look better than she is. Petra has not had a great year so far but must have saved all her best tennis for Wimbledon!

It was a bit of demolition job but Eugenie has a lot to be proud of. it is not easy to get to a Grand Slam final and Eugenie was able to do that. 

She now needs to work on improving her serve and her fitness to have any real realistic chances of winning a Grand Slam.  

Wimbledon - Day ten

Day ten at Wimbledon and it is Women 's semi-finals day and Petra Kivitova beat Lucie Safarova in straight sets. 

To be fair on paper it always looked like a routine win for Petra and with the strong serve that she has it always going to be a real challenge for Lucie. 

In the second semi final Eugenie Bouchard beat Simona Halep in straight sets and this was a surprise result. However Simona get and ankle injury in the fourth game made it Eugenie's challenge a lot easier. 

I would say that the standard of tennis for both semi-finals was low in the first semi -final it was all about the serve and in the second semi final Eugenie and Simona slugged it out from the baseline and it certainly did not showcase women's tennis. 

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 twelve

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

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

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

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

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

French Open - Day ten

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

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

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

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

French Open - Day eight

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

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

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

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

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

French Open - Day two

Day two at the French Open and in the women's draw Maria Sharapova beat Ksenia Pervak in straight sets and this was a routine win for Maria, who is hoping to win her fifth grand slam. 

Petra Kivitova beat Zarina Diyas in straight sets and it was also a fairly routine win for Petra who is aiming for her second grand slam. 

Eugenie Bouchard beat Shahar Peer in straight sets and Eugenie has been playing great tennis and she should at least make it to the semi-finals. 

In the men's draw Rafael Nadal beat Robby Ginepri in straight sets and it was a very good win for Rafa who also bagled Robby twice in the three sets.

Novak Djokovic beat Joao Sousa in straight sets and it was a fairly routine win for Novak who is hoping to at least make it to the final. 

The shock result of the day was Guillermo Garcia- Lopez beat Stanislas Wawrinka in four sets and bagled Stanislas in the fourth set. 

Stanislas is the current Australian Open champion and many pundits thought he was going to do well here so losing to Guillermo in the first round was definitely the shock of the day. 

WTA Mutual Madrid Open - Day three

Day three of the Madrid Open and Agnieszka Radwanka beat Eugenie Bouchard in straight sets. 

This was a good win for Aga against Eugenie a player I see winning a Grand Slam in the not too distant future. 

Ni La beat Kirsten Flipkens in straight sets and this was a good solid win for Ni La who hoping to at least make it to the final. 

The surprise is of the day was Sam Stosur beating Dominika Cibulkova in straight  sets. Dominika had a fairly good hard court season so was expecting her to do reasonably well, maybe she has not adjusted to the clay yet. 

Indian Wells - Day seven

Day seven at Indian Wells and Sloane Stephens beat Alisa Kleybanova in straight sets to make it to the quarter finals. 

Sloane is having a great tournament and has had some great wins. Now we are the business of the tournament where she has a every realistic chance of winning the tournament.

Simona Halep beat Eugenie Bouchard in three sets and this match would have been a great learning curve for Eugenie. 

It would give a better idea of where and how she needs to improve her game to become a top ten player. 

Also good win for the Australian finalist Dominika Cibulkova who beat Petra Kivitova in three sets. 

Dominkia has good tournament and I would not be surprised if she makes to the final. 

Indian Wells - Day Five

Day five at Indian Wells and Aga Radwanska beat Annika Beck in straight sets. This was a very good win for Aga who looked largely unimpressive in the previous round. 

Lauren Davis followed up her impressive win against Victoria Azarenka with a straights sets win over Vavara Lepchenko. 

But the big upset of the day was Eugenie Bouchard beating the ninth seed Sara Errani in straight sets. 

This was a very good win Eugenie and she is marching closer to being a top twenty player and I am sure by the end of the year she will be top ten.

Australian Open - Day Eleven

Day eleven at the Australian Open and it is ladies semi finals day. Li Na beat the young Canadian Eugenie Bouchard in straight sets. 

This result was not a surprise as Eugenie did incredibly well to get to this stage and I am sure in a few years time she will be winning grand slams. 

Dominika Cibulkova beat Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets and this result was a surprise as Agnieszka is the higher ranked player. 

But at the same time Agnieszka has played a lot of three set matches and it was only matter of time before her energy levels dropped. 

So the women's final will be between Li Na and Dominika Cibulkova. 

In the men's draw Stanislas Wawrinka beat Tomas Berdych in four sets and he is now through to the final where he will face  either Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. 

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. 

WTA tennis review of 2013

So much happened in the tennis world in 2013, some good some not so good. 

The main highlight  for me was watching Serena Williams clinically win the French Open. 

One of the lows was the decline of Britain's Heather Watson who has gone from a pontential top twenty player to outside of the top one hundred. 

A player I think did very well in 2013 was Canada's Eugenie Bouchard. She had a strong end to 2013 and has lot potential to do well in 2014.

Predictions 2014 

I expect Serena to win at couple more grand slams and surpass both Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. 

I think this year the teengers are going to have a real influence on the grandslams. Therefore I am expecting Sloane Stephens, Eugenie Bouchard or Jamie Hampton to do well this year.