Australian Open 2015 - Day one

Day one of the Australian Open and it is the first Grand Slam of the calendar year and some of the players are still not ready to play. 

There were lots of surprises in the women's draw and the first high profile seed to go out was Ana Ivanovic who lost three sets to Lucie Hradecka   

Next Angelique Kerber lost in three sets to Irina Begu the first day shock kept coming and it ended with eight female seeds going out in one day. 

However there were wins for Simona Halep, Eugenie Bouchard and Maria Sharapova. 

In the men's draw the main title contenders all made it successfully to the second round and these were Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. 

There were few shock losses in the men's draw and I think the women's draw has changed a lot in the last five years and now its not too much of a surprise for a top ten seed to go out as these days women are much closer in ability. 

Hobart final - Australia

In the Hobart final Heather Watson beat Madison Brengle in straight sets to win her second WTA title. Heather is the first Britain in thirty years to win two WTA titles. 

Heather did not drop a set the whole tournament and beat three seeded players on the way the final. 

The first set was a little topsy turvy but in the second set Heather did not drop her serve and was more comfortable. 

This win gives Heather the perfect start to 2015 and it also means she will be more optimistic going into the Australian Open which starts tomorrow. 

WTA New Zealand - Final

Tennis season is back and of the first tournaments to start was the ASB tournament in New Zealand. 

In the Final Venus Williams beat Caroline Wozniacki in three sets. It was a reasonably good match and I was surprised that Venus was able to win. 

Venus is now thirty four years old and still has the fatigue illness. However what impressed me the most was that her confidence never dropped even after losing the first set. 

 So it was a good and largely unexpected win from Venus. I am hoping will be able to build on this win but it largely depends on how well she is able to manage her illness. 

Premiership - 1st January 2015

I haven't blogged in a while mainly because I wanted to get some well earned rest from blogging as well holding down a job. 

My lack of blogging was not particularly helped by watching Arsenal mess things up time and time again. 

New year but same old Arsenal as soon as I saw the team line up I knew it was going to be a tough match to win against a Southampton team that have had an amazing start. 

So I was not too surprised when Southampton beat Arsenal by two goals to nil. Arsenal defence is probably the worst I have ever seen. 

They are not comfortable in the air and when the other team is running at them the defence backs off. 

So it was another terrible loss for Arsenal and Arsene Wenger has no plans to strengthen the defence in the transfer window so it could be a really tough next five months for the team. 

Elsewhere Manchester United drew one  all with Stoke City this was a surprising result as Man United have being doing well and if they had won this match it would have helped to consolidate their third position and even challenge for the top two positions. 

Manchester City just about beat Sunderland by three goals two to help them retain the title they won last year. 

I don't think Manchester City are playing well but they are doing enough to win their games and get those valuable points. 

The shock of the day was Tottenham beating Chelsa by five goals to three. This loss would have really have hurt Chelsea because many including myself had gifted them title and I did not see them losing a match. 

So this loss to Tottenham has definitely made the race to the title a little more interesting as Manchester City and Chelsea are now only separated by goal difference.  

Premier League - 6th December 2014

In this weekend Premier league games, Newcastle United beat Chelsea by two goals to one. This was unbelievable win for Newcastle and it ended Chelsea unbeaten run. 

A lot of people including me had already given Chelsea the title, so this loss was a reminder that anything can happen the premiership. 

Stoke City beat Arsenal by three goals to two and it was another embarrassing loss for Arsenal. 

I have no idea why Arsene Wenger thought it was wise to play Olivier Giroud after he has only just come back from injury. 

However Arsenal biggest problem is the back four. I think it's the worse back four that Arsenal has ever had. Which means we now have to score at least three goals to be assured of a win. 

Manchester United beat Crystal Palace by two goals to nil and this win has helped them back into the top four.

It was only a matter time before Manchester United started performing and after all they spent close to hundred million pounds on players.

Manchester City beat Everton by one goal to nil and this win closed the gap between them and Chelsea to three points. 

Champions League - 25th/26th November 2014

In this weeks Champions League Manchester City beat Bayern Munich three goals to two. It was an amazing match and I have to admit part of me wanted Manchester City win. 

When they scored the last minute winner I was happy for them. I guess from a British prespective it is quite nice to have all the British teams in the knock out stages. 

Chelsea won by five goals to nil which was a good win. Ok they beat a team that most of have never heard of but a win is a win especially in the lucrative Champions League. 

Liverpool are really making a meal of qualifying for the knockout stages. They drew two all to a team most of have never heard of. It won't be long before some fans start banging the drum for Brendan Rogers. 

Arsenal beat Brussia Dortumand two goals to nil and it was a much needed win. Most importantly this win meant that Arsenal qualified for the next round. 

Arsene Wenger used the 4-4-2 formation which he has not used for like ten years. He started up front with Ya Ya Sanogo who got the first goal. 

I am hoping that Arsene will return to the 4-4-2 formation and ditch this 4-5-1 formation he has been using. 

Hopefully now that Arsenal have qualified for the second round they now focus on the premiership. 

Premiership 22nd/23rd November 2014

In last weekend premiership games Chelsea beat West Bromwich Albion by two goals to nil. It was another good win for Chelsea who cannot stop winning! 

The premiership is really theres is to lose and I suspect if they are still leading by Christmas then it will be difficult to see them not winning title. 

Manchester City beat Swansea City  by two goals to one and this was good win as they came from behind to win this match and they still have every chance of winning the premiership. 

Manchester United beat Arsenal by two goals to one and it was embarrasing loss for Arsenal. 

The makeshift defence struggled to contain Manchester United and what compounded Arsenal embarrassment was it Manchester United first away win all season. 

Arsene Wenger insistence on play 4-5-1- formation is doing more damage than good that Olivier Giroud came off the bench to at least score a goal. 

Overall poor Arsenal performance and it seems like Manchester United have played themselves back into form.