Can Zheng or Dementieva stop an all Williams Wimbledon final?
July 2, 2008
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Venus Williams and little sister Serena have stormed into the women’s semifinals at Wimbledon. Both won convincingly in straight sets. It remains to be seen if Zheng Jie or Elena Dementieva can stop an all Williams Wimbledon final.
Zheng continued her dream run breaking records along the way. By defeating Nicole Vaidisova 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 the popular Chinese player becomes the first ever Chinese player into a singles grand slam semifinal and also the first ladies wildcard to go this far.
Zheng earlier in the tournament defeated the top seed Ana Ivanovic and has now made the most of that win by reaching the semis. Quite often after a lesser known player defeats one of the top seeds they lose in the next match. There has been no such problem for Zheng as her march continued.
Against Vaidisova, Zheng the doubles champion in 2006 was too solid from the back of the court. After losing the first set Vaidisova adjusted her game and tried to keep the ball in play for longer. This worked as Zheng made more errors and the Czech player levelled the match.
In the decider Vaidisova handed her Chinese opponent the match as she hit too many unforced errors. The final game was a good indication of why she lost. Vaidisova hit four unforced errors to give her opponent 3 match points. On the third match point Zheng saw Vaidisova hit the ball into the net to give her victory. Her win no doubt will give tennis a huge boost back home in China.
Zheng’s oppponent in the semi will be Serena Williams who easily accounted for Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, 6-4, 6-0. This will be a classic David and Goliath confrontation. Zheng has shown she can mix it with the best so she cannot be ruled out in this match.
The defending champion Venus Williams also won in straight sets. After a closely contested first set against Thailands Tamarine Tanasugarn the four time champion grew in confidence and wrapped up the match 6-4, 6-3. Early in the second set she sent down four thunderous serves that were as good as aces as she did not have to play a single ground stroke to take the game. Venus will play Elena Dementieva in the other semi.
The number five seeded Russian overcame countrywoman Nadia Petrova and her nerves to move into her first Wimbledon semifinal. Dementieva looked to be cruising to a straight sets win. She had taken the first 6-1 and was cruising to a 5-1 lead in the second set. Then it all changed. Throw in some doubles faults from Dementieva and the match was turned around and we had a tie break. Once again the highest seed left in the tournament was looking likely to win as she held two match points. She didn’t and the match was level after Petrova took the breaker 8-6.
Now you had to wonder what would this do to Dementieva’s confidence. Was she going to crumble and hand the match to her Russian opponent? She was a bit shaky but in the end she kept it together long enough to take the third set 6-3. This made the final score 6-1, 7-6, 6-3.
The semis are going to be intriguing. Can Zheng pull off the fairytale win and go all the way to the final and not only reach the final but win it? Will nerves get the better of Dementieva and see her crash out against Venus?
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Where did the top 4 women’s seeds go?
July 1, 2008
Svetlana Kuznetsova seeded at number four at the 2008 Wimbledon tournament lost her match to Agnieszka Radwanska. The Polish player rallied back from 4-1 down in the third to beat Kuznetsova, 6-4 1-6, 7-5.
The loss of Kuznetsova means that for the first time in the open era all of the top four seeds have fallen prior to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam.
First to go was third seed Maria Sharapova who lost in the second round. Next to go was the top seed Ana Ivanovic who lost in round three. In round four we also saw Jelena Jankovic exit the Wimbledon tournament.
With the top four gone the number 5 seed Elena Dementieva is the highest seed left in the draw.
The quarterfinals matchups are below.
(7) Venus Williams (USA) vs. Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) V.Williams leads 6-0
(WC) Zheng Jie (CHN) vs. (18) Nicole Vaidisova (CZE) Vaidisova leads 2-0
(14) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) vs. (6) Serena Williams (USA) S.Williams leads 1-0
(5) Elena Dementieva (RUS) vs. (21) Nadia Petrova (RUS) Petrova leads 7-4
My tips are in bold.
For a full preview of the Wimbledon ladies quarterfinals you can visit the WTA site.
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Murray, Lopez and Ancic take five to advance
July 1, 2008
In men’s round four action at Wimbledon the top two seeds advanced in straight sets. For Andy Murray, Feliciano Lopez and Mario Ancic it was not so straight forward.
Roger Federer (1) overcame 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt 7-6(7), 6-2, 6-4. Rafael Nadal (2) was too good for the 17th seed Mikhail Youzhny winning 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.
Andy Murray delighted centre court and Henman Hill, or is that Murray Mound fans as he battled darkness and last years semifinalist Richard Gasquet to win a stunning five set match. The local hope came back from two sets to nil down to win 5-7, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2, 6-4. The reward for Murray is his first ever grand slam quarterfinal where he is drawn to play Nadal. The Spaniard leads the head to head 3-0.
Spains Feliciano Lopez defeated 2006 semifinalist Marcos Baghdatis 5-7, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(4), 8-6. The win takes him into his second quarterfinal at Wimbledon after having gone that far in 2005. Lopez will play Marat Safin in the next round.
Safin advanced to the quarters after his win over Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 6-3, 7-5, 6-1. It is the first time Safin has gone this far since the 2001 Wimbledon tournament.
Mario Ancic defeated Fernando Verdasco 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 13-11. The match lasted for 229 minutes. The last set alone took 95 minutes. Ancic was serving for the match when leading 7-6 in the fifth. Verdasco broke back after hitting some good returns. Ancic now plays Roger Federer.
2003 Australian Open finalist Rainer Schuettler defeated Janko Tipsarevic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6. Asked about how he made his way into a Wimbledon quarterfinal Schuettler said “Because I’m healthy. Because I enjoy playing tennis. Because I work hard”.
Arnaud Clement setup a meeting with Schuettler after he defeated Marin Cilic 6-3, 7-5, 6-2. It is the first time Clement has reached the quarters at Wimbledon.
Day eight action is ladies quarterfinals day.
Jankovic latest of the top seeds to tumble at Wimbledon
July 1, 2008
Jelena Jankovic has joined the casualty list for the seeds at Wimbledon. The no. 2 seed lost to Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-3, 6-2.
Tanasugarn has earnt a spot in the quarters where she will face the defending champion Venus Williams.
Jie Zheng and Nicole Vaidisova will meet one another in another quarterfinal.
With the top three seeds now out of the tournament it is now looking likely that there will be an all Williams final at Wimbledon. Both Williams girls are playing well.
Federer ends Hewitt’s 2008 Wimbledon campaign
July 1, 2008
After a tight first set which Federer won in a tie break he has gone on to defeat Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets. The final score was 7-6(7), 6-2, 6-4.
Hewitt had many break points however he did not convert on any. He had 8 compared with Federer’s three. Federer converted all three. This was pretty much the difference today.
Hewitt actually made less unforced errors than Federer however as mentioned above Hewitt did not win the points that mattered.
Federer marches on in his quest to win his sixth straight Wimbledon title. Next up will be the winner of the Fernando Verdasco - Mario Ancic match. Ancic is the last player to defeat Federer at Wimbledon.
Chris Evert and Greg Norman tie the knot in paradise
June 29, 2008
Amid tight security golf champion Greg Norman and tennis legend Chris Evert have married in paradise on an island aptly named Paradise Island. The island is in the Bahamas.
For Evert it his her third marriage after previously saying “I do” to tennis player John Lloyd and US skier Andy Mills. Greg Norman had been married to Laura.
Norman’s 21-year-old son Gregory Junior is reported as being best man. Both parties are 53-years-old.
Some unwitting tourists were caught up in the security operations and were turned away from where the wedding was held. The guest list is reported as being a who’s who of sport and show business. Even Bill Clinton was believed to have attended the wedding.
Greg Norman spent 331 weeks as the world’s number one ranked golfer. He continues to play on the senior’s tour when not working on his business interests which include golf course design and construction.
Golf fans know him as the “Great White Shark” due to his aggressive style of play on the golf course. Norman won the British Open twice, in 1986 and 1993. He is one of the best players to not have won a US major. He famously came close several times.
Perhaps the most agonizing were the 1986 PGA Championship when Bob Tway holed a greenside bunker shot. Yet another amazing shot snatched away the 1987 Masters when Larry Mize knocked in a 45-yard chip shot on the second playoff hole.
Chris Evert was the world no. 1 women’s tennis player for seven years. She won 18 grand slam singles titles, including a record seven French Open titles. At one time she was engaged to tennis great, Jimmy Connors. The couple did not get married.
All the best to the newlyweds.
Nadal - Federer final still on track at Wimbledon
June 29, 2008
After day 6 action at Wimbledon the odds are still looking good for a Roger Federer versus Rafael Nadal final.
Nadal completed a straight sets win over Germany’s Nicolas Kiefer 7-6(3), 6-2, 6-3. That was a good win for the Spaniard as Kiefer can be a tricky opponent on grass.
Nadal will play Mikhail Youzhny in the next round. The Russian was taken to five sets by Radek Stepanek but came through 6-3 in the fifth. Youzhny the 17th seed will test Nadal although he has never made it past the fourth round.
If Nadal does get past the Russian he will have either Andy Murray or Richard Gasquet to contend with in the quarterfinals. Gasquet of course made the semifinals in 2007. Whoever it is that advances will be hard to beat for Nadal.
On the other side of the draw we see Roger Federer in the fourth round against the last man to hold up the Wimbledon trophy before Federer made it his own. The 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt. This will be a tough match for Federer as Hewitt is playing well at the 2008 Wimbledon event and is keen to finally beat Federer in a grand slam. He has lost the past five times the pair have met in a grand slam.
Federer has also defeated Hewitt 11 straight times in their head to head. The overall head to head record is 13-7 to Federer. The last time Hewitt defeated the world no. 1 was in their memorable Davis Cup semifinal in 2003.
I am hoping for an upset win by Hewitt but form dictates that Federer will take his win streak over Hewitt to 12.
Marat Safin still looms as a danger man in Federer’s half of the draw. He next plays Stanislas Wawrinka. The Swiss no. 2 player in reaching the fourth round has achieved his best ever result at Wimbledon. Safin if he can play at the top of his game should beat the 13th seed.
Mario Ancic and Baghdatis would also need to be kept in check for Federer to make the final.
Exciting times are ahead for week 2 at Wimbledon. As is tradition for Wimbledon the middle Sunday is a rest day so no play will take place.
Who is your tip to win the 2008 title?
Jankovic through to fourth round
June 29, 2008
Jelena Jankovic has overcome a slow start to move into the fourth round at Wimbledon. She defeated Caroline Wozniacki 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Jankovic was troubled by a leg injury and took time out for treatment during the match. In the end it did not hamper her enough to lose the match.
We have seen Jankovic battle through injury to get good results at grand slam tournaments in the past. At the Australian Open and the French Open she had various injuries.
The win today sees the highest remaining seed advance to a matchup with Tamarine Tanasugarn.
After the match Jankovic spoke about her injury. She said she slipped at one stage during the match and strained her knee. It was strapped by the trainer however later in the match Jankovic removed the strapping as she felt restricted in her movement.
Hopefully the injury is not bad enough to prevent Jankovic taking to the court in the next round.
Another Friday night thriller in NRL
June 28, 2008
There have been plenty of tight matches in the NRL over recent times. On friday night in the match between Brisbane and Penrith we got more of the same. Well almost.
Instead of the match being decided at the last minute, or in golden point extra time both teams were locked on 12 a piece after 90 minutes. That’s right, teams level after 80 minutes and still level after an additional 5 minutes each way extra time for the first draw of the season.
Both teams came into the match with understrength teams. Brisbane had four players sitting out on State of Origin duty and also a few more out injured. Most notably Darren Lockyer. The Penrith team were without Petero Civoniceva who lines up for Queensland in the State of Origin decider and many other top players who were out injured. When you add them all up each team was without nine regular first graders.
The match did not see many points as it was 6-6 at halftime and then 12-12 at fulltime. Luke Jennings got the first try of the match in the 24th minute. The Broncos scored the next two with Dave Taylor crossing in the 33rd minute and Corey Parker in the 48th minute.
With time winding down Michael Jennings scored a good try for the Panthers in the 73rd minute. 18 year old Lachlan Coote who was making his debut at fullback had the chance to win the match with the conversion. He also had several more opportunities to be the hero in his first ever first grade match in the NRL. A penalty shot just missed after two minutes of extra time and Coote also missed a well struck long range field goal attempt. As time wound down he missed a second field goal however that one was a dud shot.
Brisbane had a chance to steal the match at the end of regular time however Greg Eastwood’s field goal attempt was charged down.
In the end both teams walked away with a point. A good result considering.
In the other match on Friday night the Roosters pulled off a good win without 6 players who were on State of Origin duty. After falling behind 10-0 the Roosters worked their way back into the match before running out 24-14 winners.
One players misfortune is another players opportunity.
First Maria now Ana out at Wimbledon
June 28, 2008
In the second round at Wimbledon we saw Maria Sharapova take an early exit after losing to countrywoman Alla Kudryavtseva. Now in another shock result, or was it? world no. 1 Ana Ivanovic has been bundled out of Wimbledon.
Ivanovic was up against Chinese wildcard Zheng Jie who is currently ranked 133 in the world. This is not a true indication of her ability as she missed most of 2007 through injury and was up to no. 27 in August 2006.
My wife, who is Chinese, said to me that it is unfair that Zheng should play the world no. 1. I said to her that after Ivanovic previous round’s match that Zheng was in with a chance against the no. 1 seed.
I must admit I was not expecting such a one sided first set. It ended up going to the hard hitting Chinese player 6-1. Ivanovic admitted after the match that she had trouble adjusting to the hitting style of Zheng. The Chinese girl is relatively short and hits the ball flat and hard. On grass this is hard to handle. A string of unforced errors from Ivanovic also made it easier for Zheng.
In the second set Ivanovic worked hard to get back into the match. She would have felt she could repeat the comeback win she completed in the second round. Ivanovic did play better however she was not solid enough against Zheng. Perhaps a change of tactics was called for.
Zheng did not let Ivanovic back into the match and the result was that we farewell the no. 1 player in the women’s world of tennis from Wimbledon.
Zheng is a past doubles champion having won the title in 2006. Her win in the third round surpasses her best ever Wimbledon singles result which was a third round appearance in 2006.
The Williams sisters probably now would come to mind when thinking of who might claim the 2008 Wimbledon title. Jelana Jankovic or Svetlana Kuznetsova should also be considered.
Zheng will face 15th seeded Agnes Szavay from Hungary in the next round. The winner will book a quarterfinal place against either Russia’s 8th seed Anna Chakvetadze or Czech Republic’s 18th seeded Nicole Vaidisova.
