World Cup - Day fourteen

Day fourteen at the World Cup and Argentina beat Nigeria by three goals two and this was a very entertaining game. 

In the first hour Nigeria looked like they where going to win this match, however somehow Argentina just seemed to have a little bit more in terms of attack and defence. 

France drew nil nil with Ecuador and France had already qualified so this draw meant that they would finish as group winners. 

Like I said in my previous blog France definitely had the strength and depth to do very well at this World Cup. 

Switzerland beat Honduras by three goals to nil and this win helped Switzerland to qualify for the knock out stages. 

Wimbledon - Day seven

Day seven at Wimbledon and Eugenie Bouchard beat Alize Cornet in straight sets. 

This was a good win for Eugenie and she  is having a great year after reaching the quarter finals in both the French and the Australian Open. 

Sabine Lisciki beat Ana Ivanovic in three sets and it was a good win for Sabine as Ana has had a good year. It was also a much needed win for Sabine as she has a lot points to defend for making it to the final last year. 

Petra Kivitova beat Shuai Peng in straight sets and this was a good routine win for Petra. Petra has that huge serve which is very effective on grass and it's difficult for any player to get it back.

In the men's draw Andy Murray beat Kevin Anderson in straight sets and this was a nice routine win for Andy who has been winning in clinical fashion. 

Novak Djokovic beat Jo Wilfred Tsonga in straight sets and he won the first two sets with ease but Jo Wilfred put up more of an effort in the third set. But Novak seem to have a little bit more to win the set and the match. 

Stan Wawrinka beat Denis Istomin in straight sets and this was a nice routine win for Stan who is aiming to win second grandslam of the year. 

Wimbledon - Day six

Day six at Wimbledon and it was a bit of a rainy day so not all the matches where completed. However Maria Sharapova beat Alison Riske in straight sets. 

It was a routine win for Maria who has yet to lose a set and Alison did get an early break but was unable to consolidate and Maria went on win the set and the match.

Eugene Bouchard beat Andrea Petkovic in straight sets and this was a good routine win for Eugene who will face tougher challenges as the tournament progresses. 

The shock of the day was Alize Cornet beating Serena Williams in three sets. It was a weird match Serena barely moved her feet and took all the power out of hitting the ball. 

I suspect that either there is a lingering injury or things are not great with her current coach Patrick. 

However it was a good win for Alize and her second consecutive win against Serena this year. This should give her the confidence to believe that she can do well this year. 

In the men's draw Rafael Nadal beat Mikhail Kukushin in four sets and Rafa dropped the first set on a tie break but on the next three sets and the match with ease. 

Roger Federer beat Santiago Giraldo in straight sets and this was a nice routine win for the seven time champion.

Wimbledon - Day Five

Day five at Wimbledon and Petra Kivitova beat Venus Williams in three sets and this was probably the match of the tournament. 

Venus played incredibly well and only dropped her serve once in the entire match. But sadly these days Venus does not have the movement that she once had. 

Therefore had to overly rely on her serve and to be fair Petra has a fantastic serve and it's difficult to get her serves back!

So all credit to Petra for getting this win and for Venus the furthest she has progressed in a grandslam in three years.

Simona Halep beat Lesia Tsurenko in three sets and it was a really topsy turvy match which really Simona should have won in straight sets. 

Especially as Lesia is ranked a hundred and seventy in the world. But Simona prevailed and won the third set and the match. 

The shock of the day was Barbora Zahlavova Strycova beating Li Na in straight sets. Li Na was not able to play her game  against Barbora who was able to win the big points when it mattered.  

In the men's draw Novak Djokovic beat Gilles Simon in straight sets and it was another routine win for Novak who has yet to be tested in this tournament. 

Andy Murray beat Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets and it was a routine win for Andy who has been playing without the pressure he was under last year. 

However he will face tougher opponents as he progresses through the draw. He may face Novak in the semi finals and who will be different to the kind of player to the ones he has faced so far. 

Wimbledon - Day four

Day four at Wimbledon and Serena Williams beat Chanelle Scheepers in straight sets. 

This was a routine win for Serena as she tries build momentum to win her eighteen grand slam and her sixth Wimbledon.

Maria Sharapova beat Timea Bacsinszky in straight sets and this was a routine win Maria and her serve seem to hold up better than in the previous round. 

Angelique Kerber beat Heather Watson in three sets and Heather played reasonably well but had too many unforced errors. 

Heather's serve seem let her down and she was unable to get the free points she would have normally gave gotten from her serve. 

However Heather will have many positives to take out of the match and most importantly the ranking points she would gained from making it to the second round. 

In the men's draw Rafael Nadal beat Lukas Rosol in four sets and Rafa really had to pull out all the stops to win this match.

Rafa played well and he kept his unforced errors down although I got the impression that he was quite nervous. 

Roger Federer beat Gilles Muller in straight sets and this was another routine win for Roger. 

Stan Wawrinka beat Yen Hsun Lu in four sets and this the first time in the tournament that Stan has been tested and he managed to dig deep and win the match. 

Wimbledon - Day three

Day three at Wimbledon and Venus Williams beat Kurumi Dara in straight sets    and this the best I have seen Venus play in quite while. 

Venus's serve was dominant but she backed it up with some powerful groundstrokes and she was a real joy to watch. 

Li Na beat Yvonne Meusburger in straight sets and this was a routine win for Li Na who quietly making her way through the draw. 

Agnieszka Radwanska beat Casey Dellacqua in straight sets and this a routine win for Aga who is also quietly making her way through the draw. 

In the men's draw Andy Murray beat Blaz Rola in straights and Andy wrapped up the win very quickly as he aims to retain the title he win last year. 

Novak Djokovic beat Radek Stepanek in four tough sets and this Novak had to dig deep to win this match which hopefully help him in the later rounds. 

Wimbledon - Day two

Day two at Wimbledon and Serena Williams beat Anna Tashivilli in straight sets and this was quite a routine win for Serena has adapted nicely to the grass. 

Maria Sharapova beat Samantha Murray in straight sets and although the score line would suggest that it was routine win. Maria really struggled with her serve committing three double faults in the first game. 

Maria was rather fortunate to be playing someone that was unable to take advantage of her serving problems and went on to win the second set and the match. 

Britain's Heather Watson beat Ajla Tomljanovic in straight sets and this was good win for Heather. Heather struggled on her serve and was holding on but managed to close it out in straight sets. 

The surprise of the day was Caroline Garcia beating Sara Errani in three sets. Caroline has had a good year but it's good to see that her game can be played well on all surfaces.

 

In the men 's draw Roger Federer beat Paolo Lorenzi in straight sets. This was a routine first round win for Roger as he aims to win his eighth Wimbledon title. 

Stan Wawrinka beat Joao Sousa in straight sets and it was a routine win for Stan who always seems have a bit more than Joao.