Friday, 5 September 2014

Day eight - US Open

Day eight at the US Open and Serena Williams beat Kaia Kanepi in straight sets and this was a hard fought win for Serena. Kaia made Serena work and fight for every point. 

This was a good strong win for Serena who is now in her first quarter finals of the year. 

Victoria Azarenka best Aleksandra Krunic in three sets and this was a good win for Victoria and she needs to make it to least the semi finals to ensure that she stays in the top twenty. 

In the men's draw Andy Murray beat Jo Wilfred Tsonga in straight sets and this was a good win for Andy as he lost to Jo Wilfred at Canadian Open. 

Kei Nishikori beat Milos Raonic in five sets and it was a surprise win as I was expecting Milos to make it to at least the semi-finals. 

Day seven - US Open

Day seven at the US Open and Caroline Wozniacki beat Maria Sharapova in three sets.

 This was a really good result for Caroline as I did not think she would have fire power to beat Maria.

It was a shocking result for Maria and a certainly a result that I did not see coming but Caroline has been playing for quite well for some time. 

Belinda Bencic beats Jelena Jankovic in straight sets and that this was a great win for Belinda and very much unexpected. 

Before this tournament I had not really heard of Belinda and I think it's good that she is having a strong tournament. 

But I am always little wary of players who have done nothing for the whole tennis year turn up at one a Grand Slam and all of a sudden are able to get amazing wins. 

It will be interesting to see if Belinda can go all the way in this tournament and these days with the women's draw never say never. 

In the men's draw Roger Federer beat Marcel Granollers in four sets and I really think Roger has had a good draw and surprised he dropped against Marcel. 

The surprise of the day was Giles Simon beating David Ferrer in four sets and I was not expecting David to win the title but was expecting him to get past Giles. 


Sunday, 31 August 2014

US Open - Day six

Day six of the US Open and Serena Williams beat Vavara Lepchenko in straight sets and it was little more competitive than her previous round but I didn't ever see her losing this match. 

Eugenie Bouchard beat Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in three sets and this was a good win for Eugenie. 

There is a lot of hype around Eugenie but I think she does have the talent to break through and win.

At the the moment she is getting a lot of favourable draws this is really helping her cause. 

The shock of the day was Aleksandra Krunic beating Petra Kvitova in a straight sets. This was an embarrassing loss for Petra against someone I have never heard of. 

Especially now that Petra is a two time Wimbledon Grand Slam winner she should be doing a lot better. 

In the men's draw Andy Murray beat Andrey Kuznetsov in four sets and this was a good win for Andy but he definitely faces tougher opponents the later rounds. 

Jo Wilfred Tsonga beat Pablo Carreno Busta in straight sets and I would like to believe Jo Wilfred can mount a serious challenge for the title but when it comes to those big games he often found wanting. 

Milos Raonic beat Victor Estrella Burgos in three tight sets and he is quietly making is way through the draw and would not be so surprised if he ended up in the final.  

Saturday, 30 August 2014

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 four

Day four at the US Open and Serena Williams beat Vania King in straight sets and to be honest it was more of a practice match than a round two match. 

Serena seems to win this match by expanding little energy and made it all look very easy. 

Eugenie Bouchard beat Sorana Cirstea in three sets and it was not an easy match for Eugenie but importantly she got through it but their will be tougher matches ahead for her. 

The shock of the day for the women's draw was Karolina Pliskova beating Ana Ivanovic in straight sets. I was expecting Anna to do a lot better than this so I was surprised by this result. 

In the men's draw Novak Djokovic beat Paul-Henri Mathieu in straight set and it was a routine win for Novak who would have conserved his energy for the later rounds. 

Andy Murray beat Mattias Bachinger in straight sets and to be fair I have never heard of his opponent before but all the same it was a good strong win.

 

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. 


Thursday, 28 August 2014

English Premiership - Week two

In week two Premiership games, Arsenal came back from two nil down to draw two all with Everton.

 To be fair was a good draw as last year Everton thumped Arsenal three nil at home. So I was relieved that we where at least able to come home with a point. 

What I am not so comfortable with is Arsene Wenger team selection as I think we look vulnerable at the back and a better team will be able to exploit that. 

Manchester City beat Liverpool by three goals to one and this was a surprise result. I thought the scoreline was going to be a lot closer as Liverpool have got a title challenging squad. 

However Manchester City have a very good team and were able to score the goals when it mattered to win the match.  

Chelsea beat Leicester City by two goals to nil and this season Chelsea have added some key players to their squad but I am not entirely convinced about their defence. 

Manchester United drew one all with Sunderland and their lean spell continue it could be very tough season for Man United fans. 

Tottenham beat Queens Park Rangers by four goals to nil and it could be the start of a great season for Spurs fans.