Premier league - 19/20 September

In this weekend fixitures Chelsea beat Arsenal by two goals to nil in a controversial match that saw two Arsenal players sent off! 

This was defintely a surprise result for me as Chelsea have not being getting the results and so I thought Arsenal would be able to take advantage and get a win against them but it was not meant to be. 

The sending off Gaberial definitely impacted on the game and Arsenal ability to get a goal. However I still think Arsenal defensive frailties will cost them a few matches this season and the realistic chance to win the league. 

Elsewhere Manchester United got a narrow victory against Southampton has they beat them by three goals to two and helped to keep them within two points of leaders Man City. 

Manchester City had an awful weekend as they lost at home to West Ham. West Ham beat them by two goals to one and this ended Manchester City unbeaten run. However they are still top the league by two points. 

Liverpool drew one all to Norwich as there indifferent season continues and I really think Liverpool will struggle this season as they don't see have too many world class players in their team.  

US Open - review 2015

So I didn't get to blog daily about the US Open, however I didn't miss a match! The first week of the US Open was eventful in the women draw at least three of the top ten seeds went out very early and I think that really set the tone for the championships. 

The British number one Heather Watson went out on day one and it was a very disappointing tournament for her. I think it was largely down to poor preparation and still lamenting about the loss to Serena at Wimbledon. 

However the British number two Johanna  Konta did very well and she made it to the fourth round before being knocked out by Petra Kivitova.

The men's first week was largerly uneventful the only real shock was the early exit of Rafael Nadal. Rafa is in a real slump and he threw away a two set lead in a match that he should have won comfortably. 

 

The second of US Open became more eventful in the semi-finals as Serena Williams who was expected to beat Roberta Vinci lost in three sets. 

Serena had looked very nervous and unsure of herself in previous rounds and rightly so Roberta pounced on Serena's uncertainty and was able to win the match and end Serena's bid to win four Grand Slams in a calendar year. 

The other semi final Flavia Panetta beat Simona Halep in straight sets and this too was largely unexpected but Flavia just proved too strong for Simona. 

The men's semi finals was more straight forward both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer recorded comfortable wins to reach the finals were it would be number one versus number two. 

The women's final was an all Italian affair and Flavia Panetta beat Roberta Vinci in straight sets and rightly so. Has been reasonably well in the last couple of years  so to me richly derseved this title. 

The Men's final Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer to win his 10th Grand Slam title. I think it's only the disgraceful behaviour of the fans that marred his victory. 

The fans where so desperate to see a Roger win that they were clapping a Novak errors which was not nice to see.. However Novak overcame the hostility from the crowd to claim his 10th Grand slam.

US Open - Preview 2015

The US Open starts today and as usual it promises to be the best ever.. In the Women's draw Serena Williams is going for the Grand Slam record and vying for her 22nd Grand Slam..

This is not going to be easy and she is up against history and the burden of expectation and only time will tell if she can overcome the pressure and burden of expectation to win this 22nd Grand Slam. 

Another challenge for the title would be Petra Kivitova and after winning the New Haven this weekend she is now fully fit and could contend for title. 

Simona Halep is another contender for the title and she is yet to win a Grand Slam so she may win her maiden title. 

Garbine Murgurza is another contender for the title and after getting to the final Wimbledon, I would not be surprised if she made it to this final 

From a British prespective I am really hoping that Heather Watson can at least make it third round of this would be great from ranking points of view as she has never been past the first round. Which is a surprise as she won junior US Open. 

Johanna Konta has also made the main draw and I think she can realistically make it to the second round. 

Laura Robson is also in the main draw but she has been out so long with injury and has not played any warm up tournaments so should be interesting to see how well she does. 

The men's draw is more competitive and any of the top four men can win the title. I am hoping that Rafa Nadal will get his act together and get back to his winning ways. 

Roger Federer would love to win his 18th title however I don't believe that these days he can consistently win five set matches. 

Novak Djokovic is the firm favourite to win his 10th Grand Slam title and I personally would not bet against him but anything can happen. 

From a British prespective Andy Murray has a real realistic opportunity of winning his second US Open title. Hopefully he will overcome his semi -final problems  to make it to the final and win. 

Premier League - 28th/29th August 2015

This weekends premiership was definitely eventful to say the least. It probably started the premiership holders Chelsea losing by two goals to one Crystal Palace. 

Chelsea have had a truly rotten start and they are not firing on all cylinders and it is a big surprise I thought with all there amazing players they would have no problems. But somehow they are not clicking together. 

Arsenal were fortunate enough to beat Newcastle by a goal to nil and Arsenal are also struggling and have not found there stride yet. 

Last week Arsenal managed a nil nil draw with Liverpool and they had a lot of chance and this week they managed to beat Newcastle by an own goal and their win was not convincing. 

Manchester City are doing well they beat Watford by two goals to nil and they continue the start of the season with 100% wins. 

One of the shocks of the weekend was Manchester United losing  by two goals to one to Swansea City. Manchester United  have been doing reasonably well so I did not see them losing to Swansea City. 

Another big shock was Liverpool losing by three goals to nil to West Ham. However although it was a shock result, I suspected that Liverpool would struggle as losing two key players would impact on them and in my opinion Brendan Rogers as not replaced them. 

Now there will be a break for the international break and it will be interesting to see how they could come back from this break. 

Premier League 14th/15th/16/17th August 2015

In this weekend fixtures Manchester United beat Aston Villa by a goal to nil and this was an expected win for Man U anything else would have been a little odd. 

Tottenham continued their poor start with a two all draw against Stoke City. I am think that Tottenham still have a holiday mindset. It's a little unusual to see them start to badly. 

Arsenal got their first win of the season and they had to work very hard to beat Crystal Palace by two goals one. 

I have to say I am little surprised by this struggle because the preseason games they played suggested that Arsenal would have a good season. 

Manchester City hammered Chelsea three goals to nil and Chelsea have also had a poor start to their season. As the holders of the title they should be doing a lot better.  But frankly I think they were very fortunate to win the title last season. 

Liverpool beat Bournemouth by a goal to nil to win their match. Liverpool have have done well in two games of the season. 

However it will be interesting to see how cope with tougher opposition and without their former captain Gerard. 

So it was a real mixed bag of results this weekend and the team that maybe struggling the most are last years winners Chelsea. 

Premier League - 8/9/10th August 2015

Yay the Premier league is back! Yes I missed it but the same time glad for the break.. Football can make or break a weekend it has been nice not worry about Arsenal!

Manchester United started the new season well they beat Tottenham by one goal to nil. I still think this will be another tough season for Man U were fans have unrealistic expectations of them winning everything. 

I think Tottenham will also struggle this season as they haven't really spent any money and I think they want a top four finish then they would have needed to spend more money. 

Chelsea drew two all with Swansea City in a match they would have been expected to win. This is not the kind of start the holders would have wanted but at least they got a point. 

Liverpool got off too a good start as they beat Stoke City by a goal to nil. I am not quite sure Liverpool will do this season now that both Steven Gerard and Raheem Stirling have moved on but I guess only time will tell..

The worst start of the new season goes to Arsenal who somehow managed to lose two goals to nil at home! Now if anybody asked me about Arsenal chances last week I would have said this the season that I am most optimistic. 

Then they season starts and Arsenal play exactly the same way they started last season. It is very frustating if Arsenal have any realistic chances of winning the league then they need to be consistent or it's going to be another top four finish. 

Wimbledon 2015 finals

In the women's finals Serena Williams beat Garbine Murguruza in straight sets. Garbine played well however she was up against an inform Serena Williams who was determined to get her 21st Grand Slam title. 

It was a good match and Garbine made Serena work hard for the victory but Serena serve and movement around the court was just a better than Garbine's serve and movement. 

So this win takes Serena to one Grand Slam title behind Steffi Graff and I think it is realistic possibility for Serena to win at least two or three more Grand Slams before retiring. 

In the men's final Novak Djokovi beat Roger Federer in four sets and despite the crowd and the media desparate attempts to get Roger to the win. Novak was just too good and proved why he is the world number one. 

Roger played well but Novak played the big points better and when Novak went two sets to one up both Roger and the crowd seem deflated. 

Novak looked like could have easily have gone to five sets and still won the match whilst Roger would have needed to win this match in four sets as he came across someone who did not have the energy for five sets. 

So Novak won his third Wimbledon title and his ninth Grand Slam title and if he wins in the US Open then he will be into double figures in Grand Slams which would be very impressive.