Another early grand slam exit for Ivanovic
August 29, 2008
Since winning the making the final of the Australian Open and winning the French Open it has not been good for Ana Ivanovic in the grand slams.
The current world number 1 was knocked out of Wimbledon in round 3 by No. 133-ranked Jie Zheng and now in a bigger upset Ivanovic has been bundled out of the US Open in round 2.
She was defeated by Julie Coin of France 6-3,4-6,6-3. Coin is ranked 188 in the world.
Heading home from Beijing
August 29, 2008
Just moments away from heading down from the apartment here in Beijing and off to the airport to catch a flight to Australia.
It has been an interesting month in Beijing which of course included the Olympics. They may have been the best run Olympics but I still feel the Sydney Olympics were the fans Olympics. It just had a better feel.
In Beijing apart from seeing the banners everywhere you did not get the same buzz as I experienced in Sydney. I guess if I spoke Chinese it may have been different. In Sydney you could see Olympic tourists everywhere, in Beijing I got excited when I saw just one.
I have to say it has been a good experience and one I will not forget in a hurry. Now gotta get through the four long years until the London Olympics.
At least in the world of sport there is always plenty happening. I hope you have enjoyed reading my posts while I have been here in Beijing.
US Open tennis in full swing
August 28, 2008
Just as I am getting over my Olympics hangover the US Open tennis is underway. Rafael is playing in his first grand slam as the world’s number 1 tennis player.
Roger Federer will be out to continue his run of four US Open tennis titles while Nadal will be wanting to claim his third grand slam title for the season. If Nadal can win this tournament it will add to an already list of titles in 2008. If only he could have taken the Australian Open he would have been playing for a golden grand slam.
The golden grand slam is where a player wins all of the grand slam title in an Olympic year as well as winning the gold medal at that years Olympics.
On the women’s side the Williams sisters will be looking to add another grand slam title to the family collection after Venus had won Wimbledon in July. The Serbian girls, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic will be once again fighting for top spot in the women’s rankings. Serena also has the top spot in her sights and could end the tournament as the no.1.
Jankovic has been troubled by injuries in 2008. She says she is injury free going into the 2008 US Open however she is not as fit as she would like to be so fatigue could see her stumble if taken to too many three set matches.
Getting back to the men’s tournament it is likely that Djokovic and Nadal will be the toughest challenge for Federer as he goes for five consecutive US Open titles. Based on past US Open results Djokovic is perhaps the strongest challenger. He lost last years final. Nadal on the other hand has not been further than the quarters. Last year he was ousted in fourth round by David Ferrer. For Nadal past results probably count for nought as he is riding a high from winning the French Open, Wimbledon and the Beijing Olympic gold medal.
I am tipping Federer to get back into winning form at a grand slam as he claims his fifth US Open and in the women’s I am tipping Elena Dementieva to improve on her 2004 result when she made the final. I think her Olympic win will boost her confidence for the US Open.
Who are your tips for the 2008 US Open?
Liverpool sneak through to Champions League group stage
August 28, 2008
Liverpool has taken until the 118th minute of their second leg Champions League playoff match against Standard Liege to score a goal that sees them advance to the prestigous group stage.
The goal was scored by Dirk Kuyt after a cross was supplied by Ryan Babel. It was more significant for the Dutch star as he was playing in his 100th match for the club.
To miss the group stage would have dealt Liverpool a financial blow as the revenue generated from the group stage is quite lucrative and has been relied on in recent years to improve the Liverpool squad.
Liverpool will be keen to make the final in May 2009 to be played in Rome as this was the stadium where Liverpool’s Emlyn Hughes lifted the club’s first European Cup back in 1977.
Standard Liege can be proud of their effort to hold the might of Liverpool to just the one goal however they would also be bitterly dissapointed to go so close to forcing a penalty shootout that could have gone either way.
The draw for the 2008/09 Champions League group stage will take place from 1800 CET on Thursday 28th August at Monaco’s Grimaldi Forum.
For a full list of stage 3 Champions League results you can visit the UEFA website.
What was your Beijing Olympic highlight?
August 27, 2008
Now that the 2008 Olympics have been run and won it is a time to look back on my favourite moments.
It was good to see the host country experience success through winning the 51 gold medals.
Going to the 100m men’s athletics final on Saturday 16th August was a buzz. Just to be in the stadium was good enough for me. To have Usain Bolt excite the fans with his comprehensive win in world record time took it to a whole new level. That was hard to beat.
Michael Phelps and his eight gold medal haul was impressive. I had another on the buses moment with one of his races. He was swimming the 100m butterfly final when I was on my way to one of the venues. It was an exciting race and for Phelps to snatch it in the last stroke by such a tight margin was another moment to remember. The win kept him on track to win the eight gold medals. You have to feel sorry for Milorad Cavic who Phelps edged out by the 1/100th of a second margin.
Another swimming highlight was watching Stephanie Rice claim three gold medals, all in world record times. First up was the 400m individual medley. Rice then completed the double by winning the 200m medley. It was a great race between her and Kirsty Coventry. The surprise medal came when Rice swam the lead off leg for the Australian women in the 4x200m freestyle relay. Her teammates swam a great team race to smash the world record and beat home the Chinese. The third gold medal for Rice made her the most successful women in the pool.
Another great moment was watching the men’s final of the volleyball, all without ads. That was a great thing about watching the Olympics on Chinese television. The USA claimed their third Olympic men’s volleyball gold medal in what was a great game to watch. As an ex volleyballer I loved watching all the beach and indoor volleyball at the Beijing Olympics. The Chinese coverage was great.
Next up on the final day was the men’s basketball final. This was another highlight for me. I had been to the basketball stadium on women’s quarterfinal day and got a feel of the atmosphere. This was probably nothing compared with the men’s final. Watching on tv was still great as the Spanish team gave the redeem team a run for their money. In the end the US won the gold in what will go down as one of the great finals.
There were other great moments such as in the men’s platform diving when Matthew Mitcham stole the gold with the best ever Olympic dive. The opening ceremony was great as was seeing the Chinese men dominate the gymnastics. I also enjoyed watching the women battle it out in the team final of gymnastics even if China had a so called underage competitor.
They are the memories that come to mind for me. What was your favourite moment. Leave a comment below. I would love to hear from you.
The people’s fireworks on closing ceremony night
August 27, 2008
The Olympic closing ceremony was a big hit watched by millions around the globe. Part of the big night was the spectacular fireworks display. As part of this the city of Beijing put on a treat for the regular citizens.
In south Beijing above Longtan Park they let loose with a ten minute fireworks show probably watched by millions in the streets of Beijing. I was in a fortunate position as the apartment I am staying in had a ringside seat to watch the show. My wife, daughter and I went from the 11th floor up to the 18th floor for a better view.
From our vantage point you could see people come from all directions to watch the show as we enjoyed the fireworks. It was a great end to the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Before the show I enjoyed watching the closing ceremony. I think it is better to watch as the athletes come out in a large group together and it is more of a party atmosphere. The way this is done was actually suggested by a Chinese-Australian boy for the closing ceremony of Melbourne games in 1956. At least that is what I have heard.
Olympic games over but Olympic shopping still popular
August 26, 2008
Beijing store at Wangfujing packed out with souvenir shoppers.
The Olympics were capped off with the spectacular closing ceremony last night. As I no longer had sports action to watch I headed off to the Beijing store to grab some souvenirs.
My wife and I went to Wangfujing which is just down the road from Tiananmen and the Forbidden City. In this popular shopping strip there are two large Olympic souvenir shops. I have to say it was chaos in the two stores.
The stores were packed and with the system they have for buying goods it is not the easiest way to shop. First of all you have to select the item or items you would like to purchase. You then get an order slip for each one. You make your way to the cashier and make your payment. You then return to where you selected your item.
If you buy several non-related items you go from place to place within the store. Then if after all that something else takes your fancy you have to repeat the process. A friend of mine here in Beijing was saying there have been many complaints about the Olympic souvenir shopping experience.
In Sydney during the 2000 Olympics there was a huge store that you could visit to buy souvenirs. I also remember many departments stores also stocked souvenirs. It was a totally different experience.
This is one area I can say was not handled well by the Chinese. In the long run I got what I wanted however it was a difficult process.
Many of the collectable items such as medallions and coins seemed to be quite popular.
Now I have to start looking at what London has to offer.
Magical Olympic moment on Beijing bus as Mitcham stuns China
August 25, 2008
Last night I was on my way home from checking out the nightlife at the lake near Beijing’s Drum Tower. There are heaps and heaps of bars with projection screens and projectors showing the Olympics.
After leaving there on bus 60 I was watching the men’s 10m platform diving. It was just three dives from the end and a lot of the Chinese on the bus were cheering on the hometown boys.
With one dive to go the Aussie Matthew Mitcham was in second place. Up to the platform he came with a gold medal a slight chance but probably not his on the night. What came next stunned the crowd on the bus as Mitcham performed a spectacular 112.10-point final dive that overcame a 32.50-point gap.
I had to stay on the bus to see the next dive and I witnessed the Chinese diver Zhou Luxin put in an average dive for which he was awarded just 74.80 points. This left Mitcham with an advantage of 4.80 points.
Amazingly the gold was his. I let out a small cheer and clapped as the Chinese on the bus looked on. The Chinese diving team were hoping to complete a cleansweep however the highest ever Olympic dive denied them.
This was a great moment in my Olympic fortnight here in Beijing. It is not always about being at the events but the overall experience.
USA back on top in men’s volleyball after claiming Olympic gold
August 24, 2008
It has been a long time since the glory days of US volleyball back in the mid to late 80′s. Things are looking good for US volleyball once again after the men’s team claimed the Olympic gold medal with a 3-1 victory over Brazil. This comes on top of its first World League title earlier this year.
In the Gold medal match Brazil started well and took the first set 25-20. The Brazilians had a slight buffer after jumping out to a 3-0 lead. In the second set it was the Americans who got the early lead as they went out to 6-0. This was enough to see them take the second set 25-22. The Brazilians had got it back to 21-20 but could not edge past the USA.
The third set was tight to start with before team USA took a slight advantage to get out to a 16-12 lead. Brazil got it back to 21-19 down before taking the pressure off the US with a few service faults. This helped USA take the set 25-21.
The fourth set was pretty tight most of the way through. Until Brazil took a 20-17 lead it was just a see sawing affair where Brazil had a two point lead from time to time. With the 3 point buffer you would have favoured Brazil taking it to a fifth set to decide the gold.
USA were not giving up that easily. Some great pickups and good allround play saw the US make a run from 17 to 22. Some key plays included two kill blocks by Clayton Stanley. The Brazilians finally got a point to make the score 22-21 in favour of the US.
From here the USA were pumped as they could almost reach out and touch the gold. Another kill block from Stanley and a spiking error from Brazil saw the Olympic gold medal point come up. It took just one for the USA to wrap it up.
The celebrations started!!
Congratulations to the US men’s volleyball team. It has been a good Olympics for the USA on the volleyball courts, both indoors and out. The women took silver and on the beach volleyball courts the USA picked up both gold medals.
Out shopping with Dayron Robles
August 24, 2008
Yesterday I went shopping with my wife. Can’t watch sports all the time. We went to the YaShow clothing market in Sanlitun. The last time I went to that building in 1998 it was a department store and I purchased what was back then a large 80cm tv. Now it is a huge market for mainly clothing.
The market seems to be on the list of popular places to visit for Olympic accreditted visitors as I saw th e most passes I have seen in my time in Beijing. The Olympic transport fleet was lined up outside waiting for their passengers.
After grabbing a few shirts and pants, along with some Olympic souvenirs we headed next door to the Adidas shop. When I went in I saw an Australian tracksuit on display. I snapped a photo just before a staff member approached me to say no photos. Guess they don’t like free publicity.
I then continued to browse in this superstore for Adidas. They had plenty of Olympic t-shirts priced around 160rmb. Whatever you wanted in the adidas range was in the store. As we walked around the top level I noticed a tall athletic looking guy surrounded by security guards. At first I thought this was Usain Bolt. I went to take a photo but had a hand shoved over the camera.
As I was leaving the area I snapped a shot however security were once again in the way. At this time I saw several Cuban athletes in the official tracksuit. I then realised it was the winner of the 110m hurdles, Dayron Robles. Later that night on CCTV I saw a news item about his visit to the store. I knew it was the same guy as I recognised the rather chunky necklace her was wearing.
In the same Sanlitun location Nike and Puma also have a store. In the Puma window there is a huge display using photos of Usain Bolt after he won the 100m final at the Olympics. They did not waste time getting that into the store.
After my wife got home and talked to her parents about prices at the market and also after talking to more relatives today we discoved that prices are about 40% higher than normal during the Olympic period as the locals cash in.
An example of this was for some pants my wife purchased that she paid 130rmb. Despite her best efforts in bargaining that was as low as she could get. Tina is a Beijing local so knows how to bargain. Her relatives said the normal price you would get is around 70-80rmb.
It was an interesting day out.
