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 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.

US Open - day twelve

Day twelve at the US Open was the women's semi - finals day.

In the first semi - final Victoria Azarenka beat Flavia Pennetta in straight sets. This result was not unexpected and Victoria was able to win and set up a final match against Serena Williams.

In the second semi - final Serena beat Na Li in straight sets and I was little surprised with the ease in which Serena won this match.  

In the first set Na Li did not win a game and the second set only really became, competitive at the end by this time it was a little too late for Na Li.

The final between Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka will take place about 9.30pm UK time. 

Shortly after winning her singles semi-finals match, Serena then played doubles with her sister Venus. They lost in straight sets to Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka.

Serena appeared to be a little tired from her earlier singles match, however Lucie and Andrea played well to win this match.

US Open- Women's semi-finals preview

The women's semi-finals is due to take place tomorrow.

Serena Williams will take on Na Li and they have played each other nine times and Serena is currently leading eight to one.

 This does not mean that Serena will win as Na Li has been playing some really good tennis. If Serena serves well then she will probably make it to the final. 

However if Na Li is able to consistently return Serena's serve then that will also increase her chances of winning.

In the second semi-final Victoria Azarenka takes on the unseeded Flavia Pennetta. On paper it would look like a clear win for Victoria.

 However Flavia has had a great tournament so the momentum she currently has could help her to win the game.

I think the women's final will be between Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka but would not be surprised if either Na Li or Flavia Pennetta caused an upset.

US Open- day nine

Day nine at the US open was all about the bagels... 

Novak Djokovic beat Marcel Granollers in straight sets and he bagled Marcel in the second and the third set. Novak completed this match in under two hours and he will now face Mikhail Youzhny in the quarter finals for a place in the semi final. 

Serena bagled Carla Suarez Narravo in both the first and second set. Serena was obviously still pumped up from her previous match and was not taking any prisoners.

Sadly for Carla this humiliation was probably made worst by the fact that was her 25th birthday and Serena knew!

Some in the crowd where demanding Serena give Carla a game. But in a ground slam match you cannot afford to be so charitable things can change very quickly. 

It's good that Serena was able to maintain her focus. As I have watched one or two of Serena's matches where she starts off very focused then loses it. So I was pleased that she was able to maintain her focus.

Andy Murray beat Denis Istomin in four sets. It was a good win for Andy ad he started a little slow and maybe he was not expecting the match between Serena and Carla to finish so quickly.

However he refocused and won the remaining sets quite comfortably. He will now play Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarter finals for a place in the semi finals. 

Li Na beat Ekaterina Makarova in three sets and Li Na has been in good form. She played well at Wimbledon and has played well here. 

She now faces Serena Williams and they have met nine times and Li Na has beaten Serena once this was about three years ago.

Victoria Azarenka beat Ana Ivanovic in three sets. This was a hard fought win for Victoria but bearing in mind she has had to play on consecutive days this was a good win for Victoria. 

Victoria will now play Daniela Hantuchova in the quarter finals for a place in the semi finals.

Canadian Open Semi-Finals

The finals two spots have been decided!!! Sorana Cirstea beat Na Li to reach the final. Sorana has had an amazing tournament beating at least two grand slam champions to reach the final. Where she will face the current Canadian Open champion Serena Williams.

Serena beat Aga Radwanska in straight sets to reach the final. I am not Aga's biggest fan but my respect for her has certainly increased after this match. 

Though she still made only nine winners in the whole match she really gave it her all. Serena made forty one winners and about forty seven unforced areas so this alone should indicate the type of match it was. 

Serena had to work had to secure her place in the semi-finals but her serve let her down. At the end of the first set she had an injury time out as she needed to take pills because she was having stomach issues.

Predictions !!!!

I think that Serena will be pushed hard by Sorana but Serena's experience will see her through...

Canadian Open

The Canadian Open is hotting up nicely! Yesterday Serena Williams beat Magdalena Rybarikova in straight sets to move to the semi-finals where she will play Agnieska Radwanska who beat Sara  Errani in straight sets.

Na Li beat Dominika Cibulkova also in straight sets. But so far the surprise has been Petra Kivitova losing in three sets to Sorana Cirstea. 

Petra has had a bit of an up and down season however I would have expected her to beat Sorana quite comfortably. So the second semi-final  will be between Sorana Cirstea and Na Li.

The women's game is really throwing up some surprises and without likes of Azarenka and Sharapova in the last four it gives a chance to likes of Cirstea  to get to the final and winning the tournament!