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. 

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. 

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. 

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 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. 

Final - WTA Finals - Singapore

In yesterday finals at the WTA finals Serena Williams beat Simona Halep straight sets. 

The first set was reasonably competitive and they traded breaks early on but once the match settled down Serena went on to win the first set and bagled Simona in the second set.

This came after Simona beat Serena very comfortably in the Round Robin stages and it had the world tennis media excited that Simona had ended Serena winning streak. 

Serena regrouped and became more focused and this I am sure helped to beat Simona in the final and retain her title. 

Semi-finals - WTA Finals - Singapore

In the semi finals of the WTA finals Simona Halep beat Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets. 

To be fair Aga was very fortunate to get out of the Round Robin stage with just one win. 

So it was always going to be a tough ask to expect Aga to beat an in form Simona Halep. It was a routine win for Simona where she will face Serena Williams. 

Serena Williams beat her new best friend Caroline Wozniacki in three sets. It was a tops turvy match  and it was the last couple points of the in tiebreak that Serena was able to take control and win the third set and the match. 

I am not sure that being Serena's new best friend is helping Caroline who has a difficult year both personally and professionally. 

But in the latter part of the season Caroline improved and made the final of the US Open where she was beaten by Serena. 

Caroline is still young I can now see her winning a couple of Grand Slams in the next couple of years. 

Serena has so far had an indifferent tournament and hopefully this win will inspire her to play better tennis in the final. 

Day fourteen - US Open

Day fourteen at the US Open and the ladies final day and Serena Williams beat Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets.  

This was a pretty routine win for Serena however I was expecting a bit more from Caroline.

But she seemed a little overwhelmed by the occasion and did not really look like she had the game to trouble Serena. 

For Caroline she probably wished she had been a little more competitive and given a better account of herself. 

For Serena everything went according to plan and she was able to win her eighteen Grand Slam. She has now tied with Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. 

So now the pressure is off and I hope she will be get back to playing free flowing tennis that I loved about her game. 

Day twelve - US Open

Day twelve at the US Open and it was ladies semi finals day. In the first semi-final Caroline Wozniacki beat Shuai Peng after Shaui retired in the second set. 

It was rather tragic way to get to the finals for Caroline but she played well and sized her opportunity. 

Second semi finals Serena Williams beat Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets and a Serena played a near perfect game of tennis to secure the win and move to the finals. 

Day Ten - US Open

Day ten at the US Open and Serena Williams beat Flavia Pennetta and it was a routine win for Serena who is now into the semi finals. 

Ekaterina Makarova beat Victoria Azarenka in straight sets and it was great win for Ekaterina. Victoria is still coming back from injury and it will take time to get back into form.  

In the men's draw Kei Nishkori beat Stan Wawrinka in five sets and this a huge win for Kei against player that many including me thought Stan had an outside chance to win. 

In the other men's match Novak Djokovic beat Andy Murray in four sets and Andy his chance to take control of the match but he was unable to do so and lost the match. 

Day eight - US Open

Day eight at the US Open and Serena Williams beat Kaia Kanepi in straight sets and this was a hard fought win for Serena. Kaia made Serena work and fight for every point. 

This was a good strong win for Serena who is now in her first quarter finals of the year. 

Victoria Azarenka best Aleksandra Krunic in three sets and this was a good win for Victoria and she needs to make it to least the semi finals to ensure that she stays in the top twenty. 

In the men's draw Andy Murray beat Jo Wilfred Tsonga in straight sets and this was a good win for Andy as he lost to Jo Wilfred at Canadian Open. 

Kei Nishikori beat Milos Raonic in five sets and it was a surprise win as I was expecting Milos to make it to at least the semi-finals. 

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.