Top Four Seeds Make Wimbledon Ladies Semis
July 1, 2009
The top four ladies seeds have booked their spots in the Wimbledon semifinals. We can now look forward to US v Russia matchups in both semis. The most likely outcome would be an all Williams final.
In the top half of the draw it was Dinara Safina who struggled the most as she defeated German Sabine Lisicki 6-7, 6-4, 6-1. Safina gave her opponent the first set with a double-fault. Lisicki then missed her chance to break back in the second set to level at 5-5. Safina was too strong for her 19-year-old opponent in the crucial third set and will now play Venus Williams.
Venus easily got past Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1, 6-2. In the first set she barely lost a point on serve to take control of the match. Despite playing with a heavily bandaged leg. On that form it is hard to see her losing to the current world no. 1.
In the bottom half of the draw both Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva had easy wins. Serena knocked out Victoria Azarenka with a 6-2, 6-3 win. Dementieva accounted for Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-2. This semi is likely to offer more of a contest than the Safina/V. Williams matchup.
History Made at Wimbledon on Monday
June 30, 2009
If you are into trivia remember Dinara Safina and Amelie Mauresmo, and maybe throw in Andy Murray and Stanislas Wawrinka. Why you may ask? Well the first two players have had the honor of being the first players to play a competitive match at Wimbledon under the new roof.
This took place a bit after 5.15pm on Monday 29 June after the players returned from a short break. It did not matter that the outside courts were able to be used after the rain stopped. They wanted a match to be played under the roof. As it turned out the match continued under the roof and Safina went on to rack up a win over Mauresmo. The final score was 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Next to play on centre court were Andy Murray and Stanislas Wawrinka. Murray of course is playing with the added pressure of being the great British hope. No male Brit has won Wimbledon since Fred Perry way back in 1936.
Murray did not start well and soon found himself down 0-4 and ended up losing the first set 6-2. Things turned around in the second set and Murray leveled the match with a 6-3 second set win. With so many watching around Britain Murray consolidated with a 6-3 third set. Under lights with the roof closed Murray would go on to record a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 victory.
With the match being played under lights and with the roof closed it goes does as another moment in history. For the record it ended at 10.38 pm, the latest end to a match at Wimbledon.
In other matches on Monday Lleyton Hewitt pulled off another fighting win when he beat Radek Stepanek 4-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. In the first two sets Hewitt looked ordinary. He received treatment for a leg strain and after that he seemed to be a changed man, especially after a short rain delay when he had further treatment. It was the Lleyton of old that won the last three sets to setup a matchup with Andy Roddick. The big serving American defeated Tomas Berdych in straight sets.
Juan Carlos Ferrero continued to make the most of his wildcard as he defeated Gilles Simon. Ivo Karlovic defeated Fernando Verdasco.
Tuesday at Wimbledon is ladies quarterfinals day.
Roger Raises Eyebrows with Fashion Choice at Wimbledon
June 24, 2009
Not for the first time Roger Federer has come out in what some might call outrageous clothing in his latest Wimbledon campaign. On this occasion he looked resplendent in a white military-style jacket complete with gold trimmings. He matched this with a pair of long white pants more common in Wimbledon days long ago.
The jacket of course was nicely finished off with the “RF” logo seen on the Roger Federer clothing line. After wowing the crowd with his new fashion choice Federer took off his jacket to reveal a formal white waistcoat. He kept this on during the warm-up for his Wimbledon 2009 first round match against Taiwan’s Yen-Hsun Lu.
Federer also took to the court with a new design for his racket bag. It featured plenty of gold. Federer said after the match that it had tongues wagging in the locker room. “People were saying ‘Wow, looks great!’”
Federer the five time Wimbledon champion was not the only one to make a fashion statement on opening day. Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams both walked out in interesting overcoats not often seen on a tennis court.
Federer gets together with Nike representatives once a year to discuss his Wimbledon fashion. “They always have lots of good ideas and even though it didn’t look right to begin with, they got there in the end,” he said, adding that it’s important to him to respect the Wimbledon tradition of wearing white.
Getting back to the tennis, Federer defeated his opponent 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 as he attempts to win his sixth All England title and more importantly his 15th Grand Slam singles title. If he can pull off the win he will stand alone at the top of the Grand Slam singles titles list. He currently shares the honour with Pete Sampras.
Rafael Nadal the defending champion was forced out of the 2009 Wimbledon tournament due to injury.
What do you think of Federer’s fashion choice for Wimbledon? Some of the comments I have seen have not been too complimentary. I think he should be applauded for breaking the mould of you regular tennis player. It gives the crowd something to discuss during the warmup at least.
Leave your comments below.
Roger Finally Sees Red
June 7, 2009
Roger Federer got knocked down and then got up, and got knocked down then got up, then finally he made it to the top. Three times Federer had been denied the French Open crown by Rafael Nadal. This time Federer was in the final without Nadal however the player that eliminated the King of Clay was there in his place.
Could Robin Soderling deny Federer yet again? or would Federer take another step towards tennis immortality? As it turned out there was no stopping Federer this time as he claimed his 14th Grand Slam title to equal the record held by Pete Sampras, not only that he became the sixth man in history to win all four Grand Slam singles titles.
“This is the most satisfying win of my life, along with my first Wimbledon,” Federer said. “I have tried for so many years, so there was much pressure involved… I always believed in it but it becomes harder with time.”
Federer played like a man on a mission as he cruised to a 6-1, 7-6, 6-4 victory. In the first set he raced to a 4-0 lead as Soderling struggled to overcome his nerves on this big occasion. Federer broke Soderling three times in the opening set.
In the second set Soderling settled into a bit more of a rhythm and managed to lower his unforced error rate to give Federer some work to do. This time there were no breaks of serve as the set went into a tie-break. Federer dominated and after three aces and two forehand winners he took the breaker 7-1.
In the third set Federer got an early break and was up 3-1. From there Soderling kept things tight and actually had a break back point as Federer was serving for the championship. An over eager Soderling miss-hit a forehand to see that opportunity wasted. After one hour and 55 minutes Federer wrapped up the match as Soderling hit a forehand return into the net.
There is was! Federer the French Open champion. Many would have written him off after last year but Federer was having none of this. He did win another Grand Slam after defeating Andy Murray in the US Open final and now he has won that elusive French Open title.
Soderling was the first Swedish player to reach a Grand Slam final since the 2002 Australian Open final when Thomas Johansson surprised the tennis world to win against Marat Safin. Soderling will move to a career-high ranking of no. 12.
Do you now think Federer can be called the greatest tennis player ever? Leave your comments below.
Safina crumbles as Kuznetsova claims French Open
June 6, 2009
World no. 1 women’s tennis player Dinara Safina has once again performed poorly in a grand slam final. This time she let her nerves get the better of her in the final of the French Open tennis against Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Both players were aiming for their first French Open crown. Both players were also making their second appearance in the final at Roland Garros. Safina was the beaten finalist in 2008 going down to Ana Ivanovic while Kuznetsova had lost to Justine Henin in the 2006 final.
Safina was playing in her third grand slam final and was looking to get her first title. Unfortunately she does not seem able to handle the big match occasion. After early breaks it was Kuznetsova who took control of the match when she took the first set 6-4.
Safina could not get her game together in the second set and allowed her fellow Russian to claim her second grand slam title with a 6-4, 6-2 win.
All eyes will now be on Roger Federer as he looks to win his 14th grand slam title and more importantly his first ever French Open title.
Huge Upset at French Open Tennis
June 1, 2009
Rafael Nadal went into his match against Robin Soderling on the back of a 31 match win streak at Roland Garros, in fact he had never lost on the Paris clay. This all changed as Soderling pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Grand Slam history enroute to a 6-2 6-7(2) 6-4 7-6(2) victory over the King of Clay.
Nadal went into the match with a 3-0 head-to-head record against the Swede and had won 6-1, 6-0 earlier this season on clay at the Rome Masters. This all counted for nothing as Soderling was way too good in the fourth round match against the four-time defending champion.
When asked what went wrong in the after match press conference Nadal said “I playedvery short, you know. I play veryshort. I didn’t play great”. He gave full credit to Soderling who played too consistently for Nadal.
Nadal went on to say “So was my fault, and more than ‑‑ well, sure, he did well. He did very well, but I didn’t ‑‑ yeah,I think I didn’t play my best tennis. And I didn’t play not my best tennis, no? I didn’t play my tennis, and for that reasonI lose. That’s it.”
The loss for Nadal opens the door for Roger Federer. We all know that the French Open title is one he really wants in order to complete a career grand slam. Nadal has stood in his way the past four tournaments having defeated Federer in the semis in 2005 and then in the final in 2006-08.
Federer himself is probably just thinking about his next match against Tommy Haas and would not look too far ahead. If we do look ahead Federer will have either Andy Roddick or Gael Monfils as his quarterfinal opponent. Beyond that Juan Martin Del Potro or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga could be a semifinal opponent. In the top half of the draw Andy Murray is the top seeded player still in that half of the draw.
Do you think Federer will finally get his French Open title. Leave a comment below.
Who can stop Rafa?
May 3, 2009
The King of Clay moved into yet another clay court final as Rafael Nadal defeated Chilean Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 6-3. Nadal will meet Novak Djokovic in the final of the Rome Masters tournament.
Djokovic defeated Roger Federer 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Now the question is can anyone stop Rafa on clay? Will it be Djokovic? Nadal is 7-0 against the world no. 3 on clay and 12-4 in all matches. Djokovic is however the only player to win a set against Nadal on clay this season from a total of 15. That is domination.
Nadal just keeps on racking up the records when it comes to claycourt play. The Rome title is one he does not currently hold after a surprise loss in the 2008 tournament in the second round. He lost to former world no. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero. He has won three consecutive Rome titles before the slip up last year.
With the French Open just weeks away it will be interesting to see if Djokovic can stop Nadal in Rome. Even if Nadal does lose here it is another thing to beat him on the Roland Garros clay. Can it be done at the 2009 French Open?
Hewitt Claims First Tennis Title Since March 07
April 13, 2009
Former world no. 1 tennis player Lleyton Hewitt has won his first ATP tour title since March 2007 when he won the Las Vegas tournament.
Success came at the US Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston where Hewitt defeated Wayne Odesnik 6-2, 7-5. Hewitt now 28 is on a comeback of sorts after having undergone hip surgery last year.
“[It’s been] a while coming, so it feels great,” said Hewitt. “It’s always nice to get back in the winner’s circle. This is what the hard work’s for, to play weeks like this and to have this kind of feeling at the end of them. It makes all the hard work and gone through the surgery all worth it, so it’s a good start to the year now.”
Before 2008 Hewitt had won at least one tournament every year over a 10 year period. The win on clay is just his second clay court tournament title, the first came way back in May 1999 when he won at Delray Beach. Hewitt has now won 28 ATP tour titles.
The win also took Hewitt close to another milestone. He is on win no. 499 and one more win will see him as just one of three active players with more than 500 tour wins. Roger Federe with 634 and Carlos Moya with 573 are the only active players with more than 500 wins.
Hewitt now moves onto Monte Carlo where he has accepted a wildcard. He faces another former world no. 1, Marat Safin in the first round.
Hewitt will move from no. 88 to around no. 56 on the ATP tour rankings. Odesnik will move from 100 to a career high of around 73 following his runner-up effort in Houston.
Roger Federer finally gets hitched
April 13, 2009
Congratulations to Roger Federer and Mirka Vavrinec who finally got married in Federer’s hometown in Basel on Saturday.
The pair first met at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 where they both represented Switzerland. Vavrinec played on the Sony Ericcson WTA tour before retiring in 2002.
Over the years while watching Federer’s matches I would always see Mirka in the players box. She was always the girlfriend. I was often wondering when this day would come.
Now they have finally done it. Perhaps it is to do with the other big news for the couple. They are expecting a child later this year during the northern summer.
Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Federer.
Below is the message from RogerFederer.com announcing the marriage.
Dear Fans
Earlier today, in my hometown of Basel, surrounded by a small group of close friends and family, Mirka and I got married. It was a beautiful spring day and an incredibly joyous occasion.
Mr. and Mrs. Roger Federer wish all of you a Happy Easter weekend.
Love,
Roger
Azarenka Steps Up For Biggest Career Title
April 5, 2009
Victoria Azarenka showed she is a player to watch after claiming the biggest title of her career at the Miami tournament. She was a suprise winner over world no. 1 Serena Williams taking the match 6-3, 6-1. It is the third career title for Azarenka.
Williams struggled in the match with a thigh injury but still credit has to be given to Azarenka for putting away Williams, the defending champion. Williams was going for her third straight Son Ericsson Open and her sixth overall.
Williams, despite playing with a strapped thigh started ok going up 3-2 in the first set only to see Azarenka come storming back with five consecutive games to take control of the match. From then it was all the young Belarussian.
Azarenka who trains in Scottsdale, Arizona will now move into the top ten for the first time in her career. She will be no. 8 when the revised rankings come out on Monday. Williams despite the loss will keep the no. 1 ranking.
