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.
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.
Sharapova bounced out of Wimbledon in second round
June 27, 2008
2004 women’s Wimbledon champion and no. 3 seed Maria Sharapova has been knocked out of Wimbledon by fellow Russian Alla Kudryavtseva who is ranked 154 in the world. The final score was rather embarrassing for a former champion and past world no. 1. 6-2, 6-4.
No. 2 seed Jelena Jankovic had no trouble advancing to the third round with a win over Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1, 6-3.
French Open finalist Dinara Safina defeated Su-Wei Hsieh 6-3, 6-2.
With Sharapova out of the tournament the bottom half of the draw has opened up. The no. 5 seed Elena Dementieva is now the highest seed left in Sharapova’s quarter of the draw. Jankovic, if she can go all the the semi’s will also now not have to worry about Sharapova.
The no. 10 seed Daniela Hantuchova also was knocked out of Wimbledon on day 4. She lost to Alisa Kleybanova from Russia 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.
Russia is well represented in the women’s singles with 17 players that started in the main draw
Ivanovic faces match point then…
June 26, 2008
Ana Ivanovic has come into Wimbledon with the expectations of the tennis world on her shoulders. She is the new world no. 1 and the top seed.
In the first round Ivanovic strolled into the next stage with a comfortable 6-1, 6-2 win against Rossana De los rios. In the second round she found herself facing a seasoned campaigner in the form of French women Natalie Dechy.
Back in early 2006 Dechy was ranked as high as no. 11 in the world. Since then she has slipped down to her current singles ranking of 97. Her past shows that she is capable of playing some quality tennis. Dechy reached the semi finals at the 2005 Australian Open but I have to say after looking through the past few years of playing history she has not done much since her best year of 2005.
Today the Frenchwoman showed she can handle the power game of Ivanovic. She kept the pressure on the top seed with good all round play. In the first set Dechy surprised all by taking it in a tie break.
In the second set Ivanovic faced two match points before coming back to win the second in another tie break. She was inches away from being out after the net kept her in the match.
The third set was a battle with both girls dropping serve in the middle of the set. The pressure was on as Ivanovic tried to close out the match. She failed when serving at 5-4 up. This match was going the distance.
Ivanovic edged ahead 6-5 and was looking likely to take the match. Dechy had other ideas and saved two match points herself. She then won the game to make it 6-6.
Games went with serve until Dechy found herself serving to stay in the match at 8-9. Two winners and a forced error gave Ivanovic three match points. Dechy saved one. Finally at 40-15 up Ivanovic converted the match point with a winner hit close to the line to take the match. A squeal of delight came from Ivanovic as she knew she had finally won after 3 hours and 24 minutes.
The final score was 6-7(2), 7-6(3), 10-8
A great match from Dechy and a true test of Ivanovic’s fighting spirit. The no. 1 seed will face China’s Jie Zheng in the third round.
Ivanovic has to thank the net cord for keeping her in the Wimbledon tournament after it went her way on a second match point for Dechy in the second set.
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Djokovic out of Wimbledon
June 26, 2008
Marat Safin has pulled off the biggest upset so far at the 2008 Wimbledon. He has defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6(3), 6-2.
Safin was playing at the top of his game in contrast to Djokovic who did not look at ease against the big Russian. Safin is of course a former world no. 1 and has won at the US Open and the Australian Open. Currently he is ranked 75 in the world.
So far this season Safin has not set the world on fire. He went out in the second round of the Australian Open and his best result to date was a quarterfinal in Munich.
Based on recent form you had to favor Djokovic going into the match. Nonetheless Safin is someone you would want to avoid in the second round of any tournament. Djokovic found out that Marat is back.
It now remains to be seen if this was a one off hot streak for Safin or can he play at a level to take him all the way to a Wimbledon title. Probably a bit soon to get too excited.
Let me know what you think. Who is your pick for the men’s title?
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Stumble It!
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.
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.
