WTA HP Open, Osaka, Japan- podcast

Something a little different for this blog!

My take on Laura Robson and Heather Watson's participation in the Osaka Open.

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Premiership round up 06/10/13

Well it was definitely an exciting weekend of Premiership matches. 

Manchester United beat Sunderland two goals to one and had to come from behind to secure the win. 

This has taken the pressure of David Moyes as I suspect if they had lost this match. There would have been fans out there who would have demanded that he be sacked. 

Liverpool beat Crystal Palace three goals to one to maintain there impressive start to the season. 

Man City also had a good win as they beat Everton by three goals to one and that win ensured that they stay top five in the league.

Chelsea had a good win against Norwich who they beat by three goals to one and that keeps them third in the league. 

Arsenal drew one all to West Bromwich Albion which was not a bad result as we are still joint top of the league with Liverpool.

But at the same time drawing to teams like West Brom is not good for team that like Arsenal that desperately needs to win a trophy after eight trophy less years.

 I am hoping that this was a blip and we will get back to our winning ways after the international break. 

But the shock result of the weekend was title challenging Tottenham losing three goals to nil at home to West Ham. 

This has now put them sixth in the league like I said in previous blogs. I can't seem them mounting a serious challenge in the league as Spurs are too inconsistent. But who knows they might prove me wrong, somehow I doubt it.

WTA Beijing Open - Final

The final of the Beijing Open took place yesterday and Serena Williams beat Jelena Jankovic in straight sets. 

Serena was very dominant in the first set and Jelena did not get many chance to break. The second was little more competitive but this was  more to do with the fact that both Serena and Jelena where carrying injuries. 

Other than one services blip in the second set Serena's serve was on fire! and alot of the time the ball was whistling past Jelena's ears.

 However Jelena played well and against in other player she would have got a better result.

 But the reality is Serena at the grand old age of thirty two, is light years ahead of the other women. I would say this is largely due to her athleticism and that amazing serve. 

If the other ladies on the tour want to beat Serena they really need to work on their fitness first and foremost. 

As much as I enjoy watching Serena win, her matches are far more fun when Serena is stretched to the limit. 

I am hoping that Serena's match will be a little more competitive and not just a forgone conclusion. 

WTA Beijing Open - Semi-Finals

The semi- finals took place yesterday and Serena Williams beat Aga Radwanska comfortably and in straight sets.  

Serena did have injury time out for her back but she was still able to close out the set and win the match. 

Serena will play Jelena Jankovic in the final. As Jelena beat Petra Kivitova in three sets. 

The final between Serena and Jelena takes place today. It promises to be a good match as Jelena last beat Serena in in the Charleston final in 2012.

WTA Beijing Open- Quarter finals

Yesterday was quarter finals day and Serena Williams beat Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets. 

To be fair it was always going to be a challenge for Caroline. The second set was more more competitive, but that was because Serena started to relax after racing into a four love lead. 

I would say that in this tournament I have seen Caroline play some good tennis. If she can keep this up then she might start going a little further in the Grand Slams.

Agnieszka Radwanska beat Angelique Kerber in straight sets. However this was a strange match where in the first set Agnieszka raced into a five to one lead. 

Then Angelique worked hard and clawed it back and brought it to a tie break. Angelique then had three set points and could not take any of them. 

She never got over losing the first set and the second set came went quickly too. 

So Agniezka Radwanska will play Serena Williams the semi- finals. Agnieska  likes to get every ball back into play and Serena likes to blast winners from anywhere. Therefore it should be an interesting match. 

In the other quarter finals Jelena Jankovic     

beat Lucie Safarova in three sets. Petra Kivitova beat Ni La in three sets, so Petra and Jelena will play against in each other the semi-finals. 

WTA Beijing Open- 3rd round

The third round matches took place yesterday and Serena Williams beat Maria Kirilenko in straight sets. But it was a much closer encounter than I expected. 

I think because Serena is a little tired now so we are not seeing the type of efficient tennis she would normally play. She will now goes through to play Caroline Wozniacki in the quarter finals.  

Caroline Wozniacki beat a very poor Sloane Stephens in straight sets. Sloane seemed a little off her game and she is challenging for a top ten ranking.

However the way she played today as probably been a ranking set back. But she is young so hopefully she will learn from this loss.

Both Angelique Kerber and Agnieszka Radwanska won their respective matches. They will each other in tomorrow's night match.

Champions League Round Up 03/10/13

Champion league games took place this week. Arsenal beat Napoli two goals to nil. 

It was very good win for Arsenal and Mesut Ozil scored his first goal. The Arsenal defence played well and it has brought us that step closer to qualifying the second round. 

Chelsea had good night and as they beat Steaua Bucharest four goals to nil. This was much a needed result for Chelsea as  they lost there first game and if they had lost this game it would have made qualification for second round difficult. 

Both Manchester City and Manchester United did not have good nights. Manchester City lost lost three goals to one to Bayern Munich. 

But it is not that bad for them they still have every opportunity to qualify for the second round. 

I have to say I was shocked that Manchester United drew one all to Shakhtar  Donetsk. 

It's kind of result that heaps even more pressure on David Moyes's shoulders. It is still early in the group stages but fans can be inpatient. 

So I think a couple more poor results for Man United and Moyes will be fighting to hold on to his job.