Preview of the French Open 2014

The French Open starts this week and it promises to bring us lots of entertainment. 

In the men's draw the defending Champion Rafal Nadal has his work cut out to retain the his title. 

Rafa is not playing at the level you would expect him to be playing. However I think he will retain his title. 

He will have stiff competition from Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray who have been playing well and I am sure they will both push Rafa to limit if he is to retain his title. 

In the women's draw the defending champion Serena Williams will also have stiff competition to retain her title.

Both Li Na and Maria Sharapova will provide Serena with some stiff competition.

 However I think barring injury Serena will retain her title as others don't have the speed or Serena's serve. 

From a British point of view Heather Watson is our sole  female representative and her realistic goal is to try and pick up as many ranking points as possible. 

Hopefully Heather will at least make it to third round then she will pick up some very much needed ranking points to help her get back into the top fifty. 

Overall I am expect both Rafa Nadal and Serena Williams to retain their titles but it will not be easy for either of them. 

Arsenal v Hull City - FA Cup Final

In the FA Cup final Arsenal beat Hull City three goals to two and this after extra time had been played. 

Arsenal started of this match very badly and they where two nil down within the first ten minutes. 

It was at this point that I started having visions of Arsenal's others bad losses against Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City and Everton. 

But some how Arsenal where able to get back into the match thanks to a free kick taken by Carzola. 

It was a very tense but highly entertaining match and it was the mid point of the second half that I noticed that the Hull players where looking tired. 

At this point Arsenal scored the equaliser but Hull held on and Arsenal had to wait and score the winning goal in second half of extra time and win the trophy.

Overall it was a fantastic match and one that certainly saved Arsene Wenger's job because had Arsenal lost it would have been difficult for him to justify why he should stay in post. So after a nine year drought Arsenal finally won a trophy. 

Rome Open - Final

In the final of the Rome Open, Serena Williams beat Sara Errani in straight sets to win her third title of the year. 

Serena was completely dominant in this match and it was towards the end of the first set that Sara had an injury time out. 

This did not help Sara but credit her for finishing match when so many others would have given up. 

For Sara this has been a great tournament and she was the first Italian women to reach the final since 1985 and that in a sense is a massive achievement. 

For Serena she has been able to defend the title that she won last year and it excellent preparation for the French Open. As every time she has won this tournament she has gone on to win the French Open. 

Rome Open - Semi Finals

In today's semi-finals Sara Errani beat Jelena Jankovic in straight sets and this a fantastic win for Sara. 

She is the first Italian women to make it to the final since 1985, so she has banked some valuable points and has chance to win this title.

Serena Williams beat Ana Ivanovic in three sets and this was a good win for Serena. 

Serena is now one match way from retaining the title. Serena is on course to win this title for the third time and it would also be her 60th title overall. 

Rome Open - Quarter finals

Quarter finals day at the Rome Open and this is what I call the business end of the tournaments. In today's matches Ana Ivanovic beat Carla Suarez Navarro in three sets. 

It was a close a match and to be fair it could have gone either way. But Ana in now winning matches that she used to lose and has to be a genuine contender for the French Open. 

Jelena Jankovic beat Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets and it was good win for Jelena and it will give her valuable ranking points. 

Serena Williams beat Shaui Zhang in straight sets and for Serena this was a routine win. 

The surprise of the day was Sara Errani beating Ni La in three sets. This was  an excellent win for Sara and will also bank valuable ranking points. 

Premiership review 11th May 2014

This was the last day of premiership season, Liverpool beat Newcastle by two goals to one. 

Liverpool had to win this match and hope that  Manchester City slip up. Sadly for Liverpool, Manchester City where able to beat West Ham by two goals to nil. This win meant that Manchester City have won the title twice in five years. 

If you had asked me at the beginning of the season, I would not have picked Manchester City to win the title but they where consistent and I am sure this helped them to win the title. 

Arsenal beat Norwich by two goals to nil and this was a good win for Arsenal and great preparation for there FA Cup final against Hull.  

So Manchester City won the title, not many people outside of Manchester would have predicted them to win but the title but they deserve it. 

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.