US Open - Day three

Day three at the US Open and Venus Williams beat Timea Bacsinszky in straight sets.

 It was a good routine win for Venus and to be fair Timea did not really pose much of the threat. So Venus did what she needed to do to win the match. 

Maria Sharapova struggled to beat Alexandra Dulgheru in three sets and  it was match that I thought Maria would breezed through so I was presently surprised when she dropped the first set. 

The shock of the day in the ladies draw was Shuai Peng beating Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets. 

Now I knew Aga was not going to win this title but I expected her to get to at least the quarter finals so this was a surprise defeat. 

However I say that it was a surprise defeat but at the same time the kind of tennis Aga plays makes it more likely that she will get beaten in the earlier rounds. 

Joanna Larsson beat Sloane Stephens in three sets and it  was a match that I expected Sloane to win. However her game is too predictable and she needs to change fast before she drops out of the top thirty. 

In the men's draw Stan Wawrinka beat Thomas Bellucci in four sets and it was a good win for Stan. 

I am surprised he dropped a set against a player that I have never heard of I hope for is sake it was a blip and not a sign of things to come. 

Grigor Dimitrov beat Ryan Harrison in straight sets and it was a good win for Grigor who should at least make it to the quarter finals and beyond. 

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. 

Southern & Western - Cincinnati - Day Two

Day two of the Southern and Western Open and Maria Sharapova beat Madison Keys in three sets.

 I thought this match was going to be difficult for Maria but in the third set Maria showed her true championship quality. 

Lucie Safarova beat Venus Williams in three sets and whilst Lucie has improved her game. 

Venus simply ran out of energy and this would have been her third consecutive tournament which is probably too much when factor in the medical condition that she has got 

I hoping she will get lots of rest from now until the US Open and show some of the form that got her to the Montreal final. 

Sloane Stephens beat Andrea Petkovic in straight sets and this was a very good win for Sloane. 

Who has had a very indifferent summer and is hoping for a good run in this tournament. 

Rogers Cup - Montreal - Day one

Day one of the Rogers Cup and Sloane Stephens beat Aleksandra Wozniak in straight sets. 

This was a much needed win for Sloane who has not by own standards not had a good year and has been falling down the rankings. 

So hopefully this win will give her some much needed confidence and get her back up the rankings. 

Heather Watson beat Tereza Smitkova in three sets and this was one of the poorest matches I have seen Heather play but most importantly she won the match and some valuable ranking points. 

Sabine Lisicki beat Sara Errani in straight sets and this was a tough first round match for Sabine but came out of in flying colours. 

Wimbledon - day one

Day one at Wimbledon and Venus Williams beat Maria-Teresa Torro Flo in three sets.  

Venus's serve was on point and she was served about eleven aces and most importantly had no double faults. 

Venus had a bit of a stutter in the second set but totally took control of the third set and the match.  

Elsewhere Maria Kirilenko beat Sloane Stephens in straight sets and Sloane had a poor match. 

She was always on the back foot and when she finally got a set point in the second set she was unable to take it. 

After this embarrasing loss Sloane needs to regroup as she will fall out of the top twenty and is going to need to work to get back into the top twenty and beyond. 

Li Na beat Paula Kania in straights sets and this good routine win for Li Na as she attempts to win her third grand slam and after her terrible first round loss in the French Open. 

In the men's draw the current men's champion Andy Murray beat David Goffin in straight sets. This was a good routine win for Andy who has quite a tough draw but will hoping to make at least the semi finals.

Novak Djokovic beat Andrey Golubev in straight sets and he will be happy to have had a nice routine and win will be hoping to win his second Wimbledon title. 

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 seven

Day seven at the French Open and Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Petra Kivitova in three sets. The third set could have gone either but a few lose balls from Petra and it handed the game and the match to Svetlana. 

Sloane Stephens beat Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets and this was a good win for Sloane as Ekaterina strikes the ball well and it's hard to break her game down. 

The surprise result in the women draw was Lucie Safarova beating Ana Ivanovic in straight sets. I thought that Ana had a real chance of winning this title so it was  a surprise see her ousted so easily. 

Rafael Nadal beat Lenardo Mayer in straight sets and it was a straight forward win for Rafa. But to be fair I would have been surprised if Lenardo had been Rafa. 

David Ferrer beat Andreas Seppi in straight sets and it was straight forward win and David is quietly going through the draw he could be surprising winner of  this year French Open.  

Guillermo Garcia Lopez beat Donald Young in give sets and Guillermo won the first two sets then gave away set three and four then just about beat Donald in the fifth set. 

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.

French Open - day three

Day three of the French Open was eventful and in the women's draw Sloane Stephens beat Shuai Peng in straight sets. 

Sloane has had some real tough losses recently but I am convinced that she is only really motivated for Grand Slam tournaments and hence why she is able to pick up her level and get routine wins. 

Ana Ivanovic beat Caroline Garcia in straight sets and this was a very good win for Ana as Caroline has been playing well on the clay.

The shock result of the day was Ni La losing to Kristina Mladenovic in three sets.   

I thought that Ni La was going to do quite well and I thought she would at least make it to the semi-finals.    

 

So this was a huge surprise and has certainly opened up the bottom half the draw.

In the men's draw Andy Murray beat Andrey Golubev in four sets. Andy was doing well then lost his concentration but regained it quickly enough to win the fourth set and the match.  

Another surprise result was Ivo Karlovic beating Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets. It was a close match but Ivo seemed to have the edge when it came to big the points. 

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.  

Mutua Madrid Open - Day four

Day four at the Madrid Open and Maria Sharapova beat Christina Mchale in three tough sets. 

At one point Maria was four games to one down in the third set and managed to come back and win it. 

If Maria is to win this title she is going have to play a lot better or else I don't see her getting past the semi-finals. 

Ni La beat Jie Zheng in straight sets and she had little trouble getting past her Chinese compatriot and is getting better and more tactical with each round. 

Sloane Stephens beat Petra Cetkovska in three tough set and Sloane has had some very tough losses and seem to suffering from a loss of form and confidence so badly needed this win. 

Miami Open - Day six

TDay six at the Miami Open and Venus Williams beat Casey Dellacqua in three sets. 

This was a very good win for Venus and commentators have appointed out this was the kind of match that Venus would have lost this time last year.

 So Venus has made vast improvement this year and I  am hoping that she will be back in the top twenty. 

Caroline Wozniacki hammered Sloane Stephens in three sets. This was very bad result for Sloane and surprising that as I was expecting her to do a lot better. 

Agnieszka Radwanska beat Elena Vesnins in straight sets. This was a good win for Aga and hopefully she has put her previous injury problems behind her.

Miami Open - Day four

Day four at the Miami Open and Venus Williams beat Anna Schmiedlova in straight sets. This was a very good second round victory as she continues to gain momentum. 

Elsewhere Agnieszka Radwanska beat  Romina Oprandi in straights to move the third round. This should mean that the injury that hampered her in the final of the Indian Wells is behind her.

Sloane Stephens beat Zarina Dyas in straight sets and this was quite a routine win for Sloane but tougher opponents await her. 

Caroline Wozniacki beat Monica Puig in three sets and a good run in this tournament and Caroline will be back in the top ten.

Indian Wells - Day eight and nine

Day eight at Indian Wells and Agnieszka Radwanska beat Jelena Jankovic in three  sets. 

Aga's game seems to be really coming together and now she has made it to the semi finals she has every chance of winning it. 

Day nine and Ni La beat Dominika Cibulkova in three sets and Dominika played well but in the third set Ni La was able to win the big points and the game. 

Flavia Pennetta beat Sloane Stephens in three sets. Sloane did not look 100% fit and was making some really basic errors. 

Flavia was very consistent and could have won the match in two sets but I guess her persistence and patience paid off in the end. 

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 six

Day six at Indian Wells and Sloane Stephens beat Ana Ivanovic in straight sets. This was very good win for Sloane against player like Ana who has been in good form 

It was good for Sloane as she is coming back from injury and has also been falling down the rankings. So a good run at this tournament could see her back in the top fifteen.

The shock of the day was the qualifier Camilia Giorgi beat the defending champion Maria Sharapova in three sets.

It was a very close match but somehow Camilia was able to find that next gear win the third set and the match. 

This would have been a tough loss for Maria as she had a lot of ranking points to defend. 

Maria probably hoping that this loss is a minor set back and she can regain the points and her form in forthcoming tournaments.

Indian Wells - Day four

Day four at Indian Wells and Maria Sharapova  beat Julia Goerges in straight sets and this was a good win for the defending champion who also has lots of points to defend. 

 

Sloane Stephens also had a straights win against Ajla Tomljanovic and this was a good win for Sloane. 

She is just coming back from injury and has also slipped in the rankings so she needs to perform well to at least stay top twenty. 

 

Ni La also got a good straight sets win against Jie Zheng and Ni La has just won the Australian Open and is also coming back from injury. 

Winning this tournament would definitely help to cement her second place ranking. 

Dubai Open - Day One

Day one of the Dubai Open and Lucie Safarova beat Sloane Stephens in straight sets.

 Sloane is just coming back from injury but at the same time she is not  playing the kind of tennis that got her to the top fifteen.

I am also not sure how motivated Sloane is for these smaller tournaments or to even win a Grand Slam. Only time will tell if she is good enough to crack the top ten and win Grand Slams.

Venus Williams beat Elena Vesnina in straight sets and it was really a good win for Venus against a player she has never beaten. 

For me that it was the best I have seen Venus play in about three years. She was putting winners away and looked energetic. 

But I was surprised by Elena's performance as she looked like she was low in confidence and never really looked like she was going to beat Venus. 

Australian Open - Day Eight

Day eight at the Australian Open and Dominika Cibulkova beat Maria Sharapova in three sets. 

This result was not a huge surprise for me as Maria has been struggling with her serve for a while now and against a player like Dominika it is understandable that her serve would break down. 

 

Victoria Azarenka beat a very poor Sloane Stephens in straight sets. Sloane was desparately disappointing and did not mount any kind of significant attack on Victoria's serve. 

Victoria now goes through to face Agnieszka Radwanska who beat Garbine Muguruza in straight sets. 

In the men's draw Roger Federer beat Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in straight sets. Jo- Wilfred did not play badly just that Roger was able to win those big points when it mattered. 

Andy Murray beat the 'lucky loser' Stephane Robert in four sets and he will now play Roger Federer in the quarters for a place in the semi- finals.

Rafael Nadal beat Kei Nishikori in three marginally close sets to make it to the quarter finals. 

Kei had chances to win at a least set and he could not take them as Rafa was always able to raise his level and win the match. 

 

Australian Open - Day Six

Day six at the Australian Open and Victoria Azarenka hammered Yvonne Meusburger in straight sets. 

It was a very routine win for Victoria who played well but didn't have to over extend herself to win the match. Next she plays Sloane Stephen and this match could be a very good match. 

Maria Sharapova beat Alize Cornet in straight sets. But Maria was made to work considerably harder in the second set.

In the men's draw, Rafael Nadal beat Gael Monfils in straight sets. It was the kind of game where Rafael was in completely in control and never any worry about him losing.

Andy Murray beat Feliciano Lopez in straight sets it was a comfortable victory and nothing like the mini drama he had in previous match.