Dellacqua into third round, Stosur out
June 25, 2008
Two aussie females took to the Wimbledon courts on day three. Samantha Stosur was playing the no. 18 seed Nicole Vaidisova on court three and at the same time Casey Dellacqua was up against Pauline Parmentier of France.
For both girls it was not looking good after the first set. Stosur lost 6-2 however she came storming back in the second to record a 6-0 win. For Dellacqua is was almost a carbon copy. She dropped the first set 6-1.
Like Stosur she hit back in the second set to level the match. Both aussie girls looked as though they would go on and win their match. Stosur had a good lead in the third set however she let this slip and in the end lost to Vaidisova. The final score being 6-2 , 0-6, 6-4 to the 18th seed.
Dellacqua was able to maintain the momentum and she went on to win the match 1-6, 6-2, 6-3. This came on the back of her first round upset of Patty Schnyder.
For Stosur it was the one that got away and she would be really disappointed to exit Wimbledon at this stage. For Dellacqua she will now face Stosur’s conquerer in the third round. It is also a continuation of her good grand slam form in 2008. She reached the fourth round at the Australian Open and the third at Roland Garros.
Women’s defending champ off to a winning start at Wimbledon
June 25, 2008
Defending Wimbledon women’s champion Venus Williams has defeated Great Britain’s Naomi Cavaday 7-6(5), 6-1 in her opening match on centre court.
The young Brit who is ranked 197 in the world took it to Williams in the first set and who knows how the match may have gone if she could have taken the first set.
The 2004 champion, Maria Sharapova had a good opening match winning 6-1, 6-4 against Stephanie Foretz of France. Sharapova will be out to win her second Wimbledon title and also grab back the no. 1 ranking in women’s tennis.
Jelena Jankovic who is no. 2 seed at Wimbledon thanks to a brief moment as no. 2 in the world is still looking for her first grand slam title. She is knocking on the door and you would expect her to win one some time soon. She opened her account with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Olga Savchuk from Ukraine.
Day 2 was kind to the seeded players. The only one to fall was no. 23 seeded Katarina Srebotnik from Slovakia who lost a marathon to Julia Goerges from Germany. The score was 4-6, 7-6(6), 16-14. The match went for over 3 and a half hours with the third set alone going for 2 hours 16 minutes.
All the results for the Wimbledon seeded women are below.
(2) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. Olga Savchuk (UKR) 6-3,6-2
(3) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. (Q) Stéphanie Foretz (FRA) 6-1, 6-4
(7) Venus Williams (USA) d. (WC) Naomi Cavaday (GBR) 7-6(5), 6-1
(9) Dinara Safina (RUS) d. Chan Yung-Jan (TPE) 7-6(8), 6-2
(10) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) d. Sara Errani (ITA) 7-6(5), 6-4
(13) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. Aiko Nakamura (JPN) 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-1
(16) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) 6-1, 6-1
(20) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) d. Tamira Paszek (AUT) 6-3, 5-7, 10-8
(21) Nadia Petrova (RUS) d. Olga Govortsova (BLR) 6-4, 6-4
(22) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) d. Julia Vakulenko (UKR) 6-3, 6-4
Julia Goerges (GER) d. (23) Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) 4-6, 7-6(6), 16-14
(24) Shahar Peer (ISR) d. (WC) Katie O’Brien (GBR) 6-3, 7-5
(25) Lindsay Davenport (USA) d. Renata Voracova (CZE) 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
(26) Sybille Bammer (AUT) d. Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) 4-6, 4-1 ret (right knee injury)
(31) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. (Q) Eva Hrdinova (CZE) 6-2, 7-5
(32) Sania Mirza (IND) d. Catalina Castaño (COL) 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4
Day 2 Wimbledon men’s wrapup
June 25, 2008
On day two at Wimbledon no. 4 seed Nikolay Davydenko was the highest seed to fall. In what was a good day for seeds only the no. 26 seed Ivan Ljubicic also went out.
“I just starting feeling I am too slow today. Just soft grass you need to be much faster and play faster. And so from beginning I feeling like hitting balls, and it’s pretty slow”, Davydenko said after his match against Germany’s Benjamin Becker. The Russian lost 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
Rafael Nadal got his 2008 Wimbledon campaign started with a solid 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(0) over German Andreas Beck. The match was probably closer than most tennis fans expected however it was a good workout for the no. 2 seed.
Nadal served well in the match and he did not offer a single break point to his opponent. The Spaniard will face Ernests Gulbis who defeated John Isner, 7-5, 7-5, 6-7, 7-6.
When Gulbis was asked if he could defeat Nadal in the second round he said “Of course I can. I don’t want to go with an attitude of a loser on the court. I want to go with attitude of a winner.”
Andy Murray(12) has the hopes of a nation on his shoulders as he plays at Wimbledon. He moved into the second round with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(5) first round win against Fabrice Santoro from France.
No. 8 seed Richard Gasquet got through what was a tough opening round matchup against USA’s Mardy Fish 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
Other men’s seeds to win on day 2 were Andy Roddick(6), James Blake(9), Radek Stepanek(16), Jarkko Nieminen(24), Nicolas Almagro(19), Nicolas Kiefer(27), Gilles Simon(28), Mikhail Youzhny(17), Paul-Henri Mathieu(14), Tommy Robredo(23) and Dmitry Tursunov(25)
For a full list of results you can visit the Wimbledon website.
Rugby League State of Origin game 3 teams announced
June 25, 2008
Below are the players selected to represent NSW and QLD in the decider
of the 2008 State of Origin Series. The match will be played at ANZ
Stadium, Sydney, on Wednesday, July 2.
Joel Monaghan and Mitchell Pearce will be making their State of Origin
debut. Pearce is the son of former Blues great Wayne Pearce. Several
changes were forced on the Blues due to injury. Mark Gasnier, Greg Bird
and Peter Wallace were unavailable.
New South Wales Blues
| Fullback | Brett Stewart (Sea Eagles) |
| Wing | Jarryd Hayne (Eels) |
| Centre | Joel Monaghan (Raiders) |
| Centre | Matt Cooper (Dragons) |
| Wing | Anthony Quinn (Storm) |
| Five-eighth | Braith Anasta (Roosters) |
| Halfback | Mitchell Pearce (Roosters) |
| Front Row | Willie Mason (Roosters) |
| Hooker | Danny Buderus (C) (Knights) |
| Front Row | Brett White (Storm) |
| Second Row | Craig Fitzgibbon (Roosters) |
| Second Row | Ryan Hoffman (Storm) |
| Lock | Paul Gallen (Sharks) |
| Interchange | |
| Kurt Gidley (Knights) | |
| Ben Cross (Knights) | |
| Anthony Laffranchi (Titans) | |
| Anthony Tupou (Roosters) |
Queensland Maroons
| Fullback | Karmichael Hunt (Broncos) |
| Wing | Darius Boyd (Broncos) |
| Centre | Greg Inglis (Storm) |
| Centre | Brent Tate (Warriors) |
| Wing | Israel Folau (Storm) |
| Five-eighth | Johnathan Thurston (Cowboys) |
| Halfback | Scott Prince (Titans) |
| Front Row | Steven Price (Warriors) |
| Hooker | Cameron Smith (C) (Storm) |
| Front Row | Petero Civoniceva (Panthers) |
| Second Row | Michael Crocker (Storm) |
| Second Row | Ashley Harrison (Titans) |
| Lock | Dallas Johnson (Storm) |
| Interchange | |
| Billy Slater (Storm) | |
| Ben Hannant (Broncos) | |
| Nate Myles (Roosters) | |
| Sam Thaiday (Broncos) |
Who is your pick to win game three? Leave your comments below.
I know you’re thinking can the USA Olympic basketball team win gold again
June 24, 2008
USA Basketball has announced the team to take part in the Beijing Olympic men’s basketball tournament.
The team will be looking to erase the memories of the bronze medal results at the Athens Olympics and the most recent World Championships. The basketball world was shocked when the USA team lost in Athens.
The team announced by the managing director Jerry Colangelo is:
Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets)
Carlos Boozer (Utah Jazz)Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors)
Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers)
Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic)
LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers;)
Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks)
Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets)
Tayshaun Prince (Detroit Pistons)
Michael Redd (Milwaukee Bucks)
Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat)
Deron Williams (Utah Jazz)
It is interesting to see that none of the NBA champion winning Boston Celtics are in the team. I also noted that they do not have a true center. Dwight Howard at 6-11 is the tallest in the team. It will be good to see how the USA team handles someone like Yao Ming who will have a height advantage.
The head coach for a team of NBA stars is Duke University coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Jason Kidd has been brought back to the Olympic team after winning a gold medal in Sydney in 2000. Kidd is a member of eight USA Basketball teams and can say that his record is 44-0 when playing for the USA. The 2008 USA Olympic team will be hoping that this winning streak continues with Kidd in the side.
Do you think the USA will once again dominate the Olympic Basketball tournament? Leave your comment below. You can then share this with your friends using the ShareThis link below.
Three men’s seeds knocked out on day 1 at Wimbledon
June 24, 2008
2002 Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian is the highest seed to fall on day 1 of the 2008 Wimbledon Championships. The number 7 seed lost in straight sets to Canada’s Frank Dancevic 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.
Ivo Karlovic (18) and Michael Llodra (32) failed to move into the second round. Croatia’s Karlovic was beaten by Germany’s Simon Stadler 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-3, 7-5. Llodra retired from his match against another Croatian, Mario Ancic.
The top seed Roger Federer had no problems against Dominic Hrbaty. The five time defending champion opened up on centre court with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory. Federer showed that he means business with a solid display and did not have a single break point against his serve.
Novak Djokovic was made to work for his win. The world number 3 took four sets to overcome Michael Berrer from Germany, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0.
2002 Wimbledon champion and former world number 1, Lleyton Hewitt was taken to five sets by Robin Haase of the Netherlands. The final score was 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3, 6-7(1), 6-2. Hewitt has been suffering from a hip injury for several months however feels he is up to the challenge of playing at Wimbledon.
Marcos Baghdatis seeded 10 had a solid start at Wimbledon. He defeated Steve Darcis 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3. The number 5 seed, David Ferrer won his match after Sergiy Stakhovsky from Ukraine retired from the match.
On day 2 at Wimbledon I look forward to seeing Rafael Nadal as he takes on Germany’s Andreas Beck in the second match on centre court.
Schnyder highest women’s seed to exit day 1 at Wimbledon
June 24, 2008
Australia’s Casey Dellacqua has repeated her Australian Open round 2 defeat of Switzerland’s Patty Schnyder on the opening day at Wimbledon. Schnyder was seeded 12 at the event. In today’s match Dellacqua won 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.
Opening day action at Wimbledon also saw four other seeded players exit the draw. Alize Cornett(17) lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Maria Kirilenko(19) lost to Vera Dushevina, Virginie Razzano(27) lost to Evgeniya Rodina after winning the opening set 6-0 and Dominika Cibulkova(30) went out to China’s Jie Zheng.
There were no problems for the top seeded Ana Ivanovic. She won her opening match against Rossan De los rios 6-1, 6-2 and will play Nathalie Dechy in the second round.
Former champion Serena Williams(6) eased her way into the second round with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Kaia Kanepi.
Other notable players to advance include the number 4 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and 29 seeded Amelie Mauresmo.
Day 2 action opens on centre court with Venus Williams playing Naomi Cavaday from Great Britain.
For all the results visit Wimbledon.org
Titans miserable away record continues as Rabbitohs take win
June 23, 2008
Most of the teams with an away record as bad as the Gold Coast Titans are found down at the bottom of the NRL ladder. Thanks to an impressive 7-0 home record the NRL new boys are going ok.
Tonight the misery continued for the Gold Coast as they took on South Sydney at the ANZ Stadium. After looking to have clinched the match with a field goal in the 72nd minute the Gold Coast surrended the lead with a penalty goal to Issac Luke in the 78th minute.
The match was a good contest throughout with the score 12-10 at the halftime break. Midway through the second half the Titans were ahead 22-16 only to see the scores leveled. Scott Prince kicked the field goal to put the Titans up by one before a penalty was awarded against Jordan Atkins for holding down Beau Champion.
The Rabbitohs have now won back to back matches for the first time this season.
In other games on Sunday there were also thrilling finishes. The Roosters snuck home against Newcastle 16-14 and Cronulla defeated Parramatta with a last minute penalty goal which broke a 14 all deadlock. Manly defeated the Warriors 20-14.
Looking at the ladder the Sea Eagles, Storm, Roosters and Sharks lead the way with 22 points. The Titans are fifth with 20 followed by the Dragons and Broncos on 18. The Knights hold down eighth place on the ladder with 16. Four other teams are also on 16 points however the Knights have the better for and against record.
Play is underway at Wimbledon 2008
June 23, 2008
Nicole Vaidisova has managed to do what she could not at the French Open, win her opening match. Vaidisova was the first player into the second round at Wimbledon. At the French Open she lost to Iveta Benesova 7-6(2), 6-1. Today at Wimbledon the no. 18 seed defeated country woman Zuzana Ondraskova 6-2, 6-2.
Samantha Stosur followed close behind Vaidisova with a good 6-2, 6-2 win over Romania’s Ioana Raluca Olaru. Stosur is my dark horse for the women’s title. The Aussie doubles champion has the game to do well on grass. Last week at Eastbourne she put in a good performance and reached the semifinals before losing to Nadia Petrova.
Stosur is on the comeback trail from a viral illness and will be hoping for success at Wimbledon to get her back up the rankings. Her next opponent is Nicole Vaidisova who is beatable for Stosur.
Wimbledon 2008 - Will it be Roger or Rafa?
June 23, 2008
Monday June 23, 2008 sees Roger Federer open his title defence at the spiritual home of tennis, Wimbledon. Federer the world no. 1 and top seed is going for title number 6. The amazing thing about this is that he has won the past five titles and he will beat Bjorn Borg’s record if he claims his sixth title.
Rafael Nadal is expected to be the one man most likely to upset Federer’s Wimbledon party. Nadal crushed Federer on the red clay at Roland Garros just a few weeks ago. Nadal also showed he can win on grass after claiming the Queen’s title last week.
Last year Nadal gave Federer a good run for his money in the final at Wimbledon. This year I think he can go one better and end the reign of King Roger. They say history repeats itself. It was in 1980 that Borg won his epic final against the young upstart, John McEnroe. The following year it was McEnroe who knocked off Borg.
The scene is set for a repeat. Last year Nadal and Federer played a memorable five set final where Federer came out on top. It was not quite up there with the 1980 final, however that is hard to beat. It was still a final where Nadal proved himself capable of taking the title from Federer.
Novak Djokovic is the man most likely to get in the way of either a Nadal or Federer tournament victory. The world number three had a reasonable tournament at Queen’s losing in a tightly contested final to Nadal.
I think it will be one of the big three what will hold up the trophy on the final Sunday of Wimbledon. I would like to see Lleyton Hewitt pull off the big upset and knock off Federer in the fourth round but that probably won’t happen.
There is a long way to go…
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