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. 

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 three

Day three at the Australian Open Maria Sharapova beat Alexandra Panova in three sets. It was really hard fought win for Maria to get this result.

It was a surprise Maria struggled because on paper this should have been a comfortable win. Maria is nice part of draw and should really make to the final. 

Simona Halep beat Jamila Gajdosova in straight sets and this was a comfortable win for Simona. Simona has also in the nice part of the draw so she should make to at least the semi finals. 

In the men's draw Rafael Nadal beat Tim Smyczek in five sets and it was tough old match for Rafa who eventually came through it to make the third. 

Rafa is coming back from injury so I guess he still a little rusty so I guess he trying to slowly build momentum. 

In the men's match Roger Federer beat Simone Bolelli in four sets and it was a tough old match for Roger who eventually came through it. 

This is the kind of player that Roger used to beat in his sleep so it was little surprising that he took Roger to four sets. 

I  think it will be a big ask to expect Roger to win this title as he would have to beat at least three top ten players and so it would be a big ask to expect him to win. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

US Open - Day one

Day one at the US Open and Venus Williams beat Kimiko Date Krumm in three sets. 

It was a tough match for Venus and if I am totally honest these days I find Venus's games painful to watch because there is little chance of her actually winning the trophy. 

I think if Venus makes it to the quarter finals then would be a very successful tournament for her. 

Maria Sharapova beat Maria Kirilenko in straight sets and this was a routine win for Maria Sharapova against Maria Kirilenko who is a former top twenty player. 

Agnieszka Radwanska got off to a great start and beat Sharon Fichman in straight sets. Aga has not had a great year so the US Open maybe her opportunity to try and win the first Grand Slam. 

Simona Halep beat Danielle Collins in three sets and Simona had to work had to come back from one set down to win the match.

Now Simona has to live up to hype she will find it a real task to win her first Grand Slam will be tough. 

In the men's draw Stan Wawrinka beat Jiri Veslet in straight sets and it was a relatively routine win for Stan. 

Novak Djokovic beat Diego Schwartzman in three sets. It was a good routine win for Novak but tougher challenges lay ahead. 

Andy Murray got off to a great start when he beat Robin Haase in straights and hopefully Andy will string consecutive wins together and at least make the semi-final. 

Preview to the US Open 2014- my take

So the US Open starts today and it is the last Grand Slam of the year. In the men my favourite Rafael Nadal has pulled out due to injury. 

I was disappointed because his style of tennis makes the men's game exciting to watch. But now Rafa is out I think that Novak Djokovic is my firm favourite to win the title. 

I would like to see Andy Murray do well but I am not quite sure if he is hungry enough to win his second US Open title.  

I think that Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka are both dark horses to win this title and I suspect Roger will make it to at least the semi-finals. 

The women's draw is much more open but I would not bet against Serena Williams. 

She has not had a great grand slam year but this would be great way to end the year. 

Outside of Serena, Maria Sharapova could win her second grand slam of the year. I think Petra Kivitova has got a good draw and could do quite well. 

The dark horse to win women's title is Simona Halep and there is always a lot of hype around Simona interesting to see if she can live up to the hype. 

Another of my personal favourite is Britain's Heather Watson, Heather has never won round at senior level so hopefully this she will win a round and make it to at least the third round. 

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. 

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 nine

Day nine at Wimbledon and Simona Halep beat Sabine Lisicki in straight sets. After leading four games to one in the first set Sabine fell away and never recovered. 

Euguene Bouchard beat Angelique Kerber in straight sets and this was a good win for Eugene. Who used her strong serve and court craft to out manoeuvre and out power Angelique. 

In the men's draw Roger Federer beat Stanislas Wawrinka in four sets and it was a good win for Roger against Stan who was not well and needed a medical time out. 

Roger was able to capitalize on Stan's health problems to win the fourth set and the match. 

The shock of the day was Grigor Dimitrov beating Andy Murray in straight sets. Andy did not look himself and I have never watched a match where he has lost the first set so easily. 

Andy looked distracted and this was in a sharp contrast to how he had played his previous rounds. But credit goes to Grigor for playing a sound match and getting this important win. 

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. 

French Open - Day fourteen

Day fourteen of the French Open and it was ladies finals day and Maria Sharapova beat Simona Halep in three close sets. 

The first set was key to the outcome of this match as I suspect if Simona had won the first set she would have gone into the second set with the belief that she is only a set away and do this. 

However this was not the case and losing the first would have been a bit of a body blow and as she has never been in a grand slam final she would have any relevant experience that she could really use. 

Whilst Maria has been in many grand slam finals so is experienced in winning these big matches and knows how to adapt when things are not going her way. 

Simona played reasonably well but if she really wants to challenge for grand slam titles then she needs to improve her serve because against players like Serena Williams, Li Na or Vitoria Azarenka she will struggle to get her serve how out of their hitting zone.  

So it was a very good win for Maria but I think Maria's experience of winning Grand Slams was huge in this match. She was able to adapt her game and win the big points and the match. 

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 nine

Day nine of the French Open and Sara Errani beat Jelena Jankovic in straight sets and this was a big win for Sara and she must be one of the favourites for the title. 

Simona Halep beat Sloane Stephens in straight sets and Sloane played pretty poorly and committed too many unforced errors. 

Simona Halep played reasonably well and was able to win the big points and ultimately the match. 

In the men's draw Rafael Nadal beat Dusan Lajovic in straight sets and this was another comfortable win for Rafa and I am hoping he will be able to keep this form up. 

Andy Murray beat Fernando Verdasco in straight sets and this was an excellent win for Andy especially when you think how he struggled in the previous round. 

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.

Mutua Madrid Open - Women's final

The final of Madrid Open and Maria Sharapova beat Simona Halep three sets. 

The first set went to Simona but after that Maria was able win the second and the third set comfortably. 

For Simona this has been a very good tournament as she is now very much a top ten player. I am sure with more experience of these big finals she will start to win some. 

For Maria this was a much needed win and before this tournament she was in danger of falling out of the top ten! 

So this win has given her some much needed ranking points and this win has put her back in the top seven. 

Mutua Madrid Open - Day eight

Day eight and semi- finals day and Simona Halep beat Petra Kivitova in three sets. 

Petra won the first set on a tie break but after that Simona won the next two sets comfortably. 

This was a big win for Simona and now she is in the final she has to believe that she can take this title. 

In the second semi-final Maria Sharapova beat Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets. To be honest I would have been more surprised if Aga had won the match. 

Maria has defended her points from lasts year so if she wins the final she will back into the top eight. 

Mutua Madrid Open - Day six

Day six at the Madrid Open and Caroline Garcia beat Sara Errani in three sets and this was a good win for Caroline who has had a stelar year so far. 

If Caroline carries on recording wins like these she will be in the top twenty before the end of the year. 

Simona Halep beat Sabine Lisicki in three sets and although Simona is the higher ranked player I thought it was a match that Sabine was going to win. 

Agnieszka Radwanska beat Roberta Vinci in straight sets and this was good win for Aga who is hoping to win her first WTA title of the year. 

Serena Willliams beat Carla Suarez Navarro in straight sets and it was a good win for Serena against Carla who has a good record on the clay. 

Ni La beat Sloane Stephens in three sets and it was always going to be a tough match for Sloane.

Sloane played a lot better than I imagined  especially as she has been really struggling recently.  

Elsewhere both Maria Sharapova and Petra Kivitova recorded wins to move to the quarter finals.