FA Cup - 15th February 2015

The FA Cup took place this weekend Liverpool beat Crystal Palace by two goals to one and this was good win for Liverpool and I would not be surprised if they made it to the final. 

Arsenal beat Middlesborough beat by two goals to nil and it was a good win for Arsenal and they managed to win without conceding a goal. 

Arsene Wenger put out a strong line up as these days he cannot afford to put out a weakened squad because in these kind of cups the lower division teams always do well. 

Manchester United beat Preston three goals to one and this was a good solid win for Manchester United. But to be fair I would have been very surprised if they had lost to Preston. 

This win put Manchester into quarter-finals and takes them a step closer to winning a trophy under Luis Van Gaal. 

FA Cup - 24th/25th January 2015

There were some truly shocking losses in the FA Cup. Chelsea who were two nil up ended up losing four goals to Bradford City at home. 

Manchester City provided more shocks as the lost two nil at home to Middlesborough. Southampton who have been so well also lost three goals to two to Crystal Palace. 

So Arsenal played there game a day later and Arsene Wenger got the memo that it was not the time to play a weakened squad so he picked a full strength squad and it paid off as Arsenal beat Brighton by three goals to two. 

The losses by three of the top teams has made it more realistic possibility that Arsenal can retain their title. 

Australian Open - Day thirteen - Women's Final

Day thirteen and in the women's final Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova in straight sets to win her nineteenth grand slam. It was an amazing match and the second set could have gone either way. 

It started with both Seren and Maria "posing" for there final picture and neither could raise a smile and it was one of most awkward final pictures I have seen in a while. 

In the first Serena broke Maria in the first and more or less maintained her advantage to win the set. The second was  a lot more competitive and could have gone either but Serena held to win the second set tie break and the match.

This win was a historic victory for Serena as she now only three grand slam titles behind Steffi and it is now looking like she could realistically get as many titles as Steffi.

Both Serena and Maria played very good tennis but for Maria her best was not good enough.

 Serena did incredibly well considering she was not feeling a 100%. So very excited to see she can get anymore grand slams in 2015. 

Australian Open - Day Five

Day five of the Austrialian Open and Maria Sharapova beat Zarina Diyas in straight sets. This was much easier match for Maria and needs to wins like this if she has any hope of winning the title.  

Eugenie Bouchard beat Caroline Garcia in straight sets. This was a straight forward win for Eugenie and the first set was competitive but after that Eugenie totally controlled the match. 

Yanina Wickmayer beat Sara Errani in three sets. This was a bit of surprise result but as Sara is the higher ranked player most people would have expected her to win. 

However Yanina is good player and can get these types of results but she doesn't do it consistently that's she is not ranked higher.

In the men's draw Andy Murray beat Joao Sousa in straight sets. This was a nice routine win for Andy and it to be honest it would have been more of surprise if he had lost. 

Rafa beat Dudi Sela in straight sets and this was routine win for Rafa and it would have been more of a surprise if he had lost.  

The surprise of the day Andreas Seppi beating Roger Federer in four sets. Roger won the Brisbane tournament so many thought this title was his. But with his advancing age I think winning a Grand Slam title is looking more remote. 

Australian Open - Day four

Day four of the Australian Open and Agnieszka Radwanska beat Johanna Larsson in straight and it was not much of a contest and Aga barely broke sweat to win this match. 

However she has got a tough draw ahead and reastically it will be hard for her  to beat both Venus and Serena to make to the final were could face either Simona or Maria so it could be a tough ask. 

Serena Wiliams beat Vera Zvonareva in straight sets and it was tough first set for Serena who came two sets down to win the set and ultimately the match. 

Venus Williams beat Lauren Davis in straight sets and it was pretty routine win for Venus who did not have to expand much energy to get this win. 

Victoria Azarenka beat Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets and this was a bit of a surprise result for me as I thought that Caroline was going to win as Victoria is still coming back from injury. But it was a very comfortable win for Victoria. 

In the men's draw Novak Djokovic beat Andrey Kuznetsov in straight sets and it was another routine win for Novak and I would not bet against him from winning the title. 

Stan Wawrinka beat Marius Copil in straight sets and as the defending champion there must be a lot of pressure on his shoulders which he seems to be handling very well. 

Australian Open - Day three

Day three at the Australian Open Maria Sharapova beat Alexandra Panova in three sets. It was really hard fought win for Maria to get this result.

It was a surprise Maria struggled because on paper this should have been a comfortable win. Maria is nice part of draw and should really make to the final. 

Simona Halep beat Jamila Gajdosova in straight sets and this was a comfortable win for Simona. Simona has also in the nice part of the draw so she should make to at least the semi finals. 

In the men's draw Rafael Nadal beat Tim Smyczek in five sets and it was tough old match for Rafa who eventually came through it to make the third. 

Rafa is coming back from injury so I guess he still a little rusty so I guess he trying to slowly build momentum. 

In the men's match Roger Federer beat Simone Bolelli in four sets and it was a tough old match for Roger who eventually came through it. 

This is the kind of player that Roger used to beat in his sleep so it was little surprising that he took Roger to four sets. 

I  think it will be a big ask to expect Roger to win this title as he would have to beat at least three top ten players and so it would be a big ask to expect him to win. 

Australian Open - Day Two

Day two of the Australia Open and Tsvetana Pironkova  beat Heather Watson in straight sets. This would have been bitterly disappointing for Heather after winning Hobart at the weekend she was expecting to do well. 

This was sadly not meant to be and Heather looked like she had zero energy or the strength to chase the balls. In her press conference she blamed her loss on "women problems". Hopefully Heather will find a better way to manage these "women problems" or her career will be very short. 

Venus Williams had a good straight sets win and was particularly impressive on serve and Venus never looked like she was going to lose the match. This in stark contrast to last year were she would have scrapped into the second round. 

Serena Williams had a very good straight sets win and in this match Serena showed her grit and ability that were missing at the Hopman Cup. This is really Serena title to lose and it all depends on how motivated she is for 19th title. 

Agnieszka Radwanska had a good straight sets win against Kumi Nara and Agnieszka's ability to chase down those loss balls helped to win her this match. 

In the men's draw Novak Djokovic had a reasonably comfortable first round win and against Aliz Bedene. 

Stanislas Wawrinka also won his first match reasonably comfortably and as defending champion there would presume to retain the title and losing early would be a disaster for his ranking.

Gael Monfils had a thrilling five set match and came through it make the second round. He was playing against a player that I had never heard off and his name was Lucas Pouille. 

Gael did well to come back and I am hoping the energy he spent on winning this match does not affect him too much in the next round.