James Blake stopped Gilles Simon from starting another run by beating him in straight sets. Simon went up a break in the first but Blake raised his game and trounced Simon. Can't say I'm really surprised by the results, defensive players like Monfils, Nadal, and Simon typically have trouble against Blake's aggressiveness.
Gasquet, Ferrer, and Berdych also lost today. I didn't watch either of the matches but Gasquet got bagled in the second set. Nadal, was particularly successful in his match against Serra. Nadal crushed the man from France 6-0, 6-1 in 46 minutes. Wow, I guess Nadal is still planning on winning in Cincinnati after tonight's performance.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Federer, survives scare in Cincinnati
Roger Federer, barely managed to save his #1 ranking in his match against Ginepri today. Ginepri, was up a set and a break serving for the match at 6-5 but he choked the game away and then lost the tie break. Federer, then proceeded to demolish Ginepri in the third set 6-0.
Had Federer lost the match today he would have lost his #1 ranking because the South African Airways Ranking system ranks players based on how far they are able to get into various tournaments. For example, if a player makes it to the quarter finals of Hamburg and then loses in the second round of that tournament the next year that player will lose all of the points that they accumulated between the quarter finals and the second round and would fall down in the rankings. Federer, was the champion last year in Cincinnati and would have sacrificed all 500 of his points had he lost today. Nadal, however lost in his opening match last year so his difference (had he lost in his first match) would have been the same. There is only 300 points that separates Federer from Nadal at this point so Federer would have lost his ranking regardless of how Nadal did in Cincinnati. It's a little confusing but the important thing for Federer is that he doesn't have to give up his reign yet.
Federer, has had too many sub par performances this year and if he doesn't start playing well he will continue to drop until he's out of the top ten. It seems hard to imagine a top ten without him but his last two matches haven't been top 10 level quality. I don't know where it goes from here for him but if he doesn't gain some confidence soon he won't have that #1 ranking for more than two weeks.
Had Federer lost the match today he would have lost his #1 ranking because the South African Airways Ranking system ranks players based on how far they are able to get into various tournaments. For example, if a player makes it to the quarter finals of Hamburg and then loses in the second round of that tournament the next year that player will lose all of the points that they accumulated between the quarter finals and the second round and would fall down in the rankings. Federer, was the champion last year in Cincinnati and would have sacrificed all 500 of his points had he lost today. Nadal, however lost in his opening match last year so his difference (had he lost in his first match) would have been the same. There is only 300 points that separates Federer from Nadal at this point so Federer would have lost his ranking regardless of how Nadal did in Cincinnati. It's a little confusing but the important thing for Federer is that he doesn't have to give up his reign yet.
Federer, has had too many sub par performances this year and if he doesn't start playing well he will continue to drop until he's out of the top ten. It seems hard to imagine a top ten without him but his last two matches haven't been top 10 level quality. I don't know where it goes from here for him but if he doesn't gain some confidence soon he won't have that #1 ranking for more than two weeks.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Cincinnati draw
The new Cincinnati draw is out and it looks pretty favorable for the defending champion Roger Federer. Like all of the top eight players Fed, has a bye for the first round. His second round opponent will be either Roby Ginepri or Jonas Bjorkman (neither of whom have beaten Federer before.) In the third round it will most likely be Mario Ancic, followed potentially by Roddick and Murray may be his semi-final opponent. Murray, is by far the most dangerous of all of these guys but I'd still have to say that Federer will be in the finals this time.
Nadal's draw isn't too bad either. Marin Cilic, Mikhail Youzhny, Fernando Verdasco, and David Ferrer have all landed in his part of the draw. Youzhny, in my mind would be the most likely of them to cause the upset but if Nadal gets into the semi-finals he's going to have to play Djokovic and I think that's where things will really get interesting. Djokovic, has a pretty good draw to the semis. Berdych, Gonzalez, and Blake are the seeded players in his part of the draw although I could see Gulbis scoring an upset win over Djokovic. Gilles Simon, may have done well in the past two tournaments but this draw isn't giving him any favors. Nicolas Kiefer, who beat him in three close sets last Saturday will be his first opponent. Now Kiefer, is probably burned out from his match against Nadal yesterday so this will be a winnable match for Gilles, however if he makes it through he'll have to play Blake and that's not a good match up for Simon.
Nadal's draw isn't too bad either. Marin Cilic, Mikhail Youzhny, Fernando Verdasco, and David Ferrer have all landed in his part of the draw. Youzhny, in my mind would be the most likely of them to cause the upset but if Nadal gets into the semi-finals he's going to have to play Djokovic and I think that's where things will really get interesting. Djokovic, has a pretty good draw to the semis. Berdych, Gonzalez, and Blake are the seeded players in his part of the draw although I could see Gulbis scoring an upset win over Djokovic. Gilles Simon, may have done well in the past two tournaments but this draw isn't giving him any favors. Nicolas Kiefer, who beat him in three close sets last Saturday will be his first opponent. Now Kiefer, is probably burned out from his match against Nadal yesterday so this will be a winnable match for Gilles, however if he makes it through he'll have to play Blake and that's not a good match up for Simon.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
When will Nadal become the new #1?
Over the last month the question of whether Nadal will become the #1 player in the world has changed to when? As Federer continues his fall out of the top of the game it seems like nothing can stop Rafa right now. He's on a 27 match winning streak and he's collecting trophies left and right. This next week in Cincinnati will be crucial for Federer. He can't wait for the US Open he's got to start winning now. The other person to consider is Novak Djokovic. He was the best player in the world from the #3 position in the begining of the year but he's recently become iratic and he's lost his opportunity to take over the #1 spot for right now. I don't see Federer going on a winning streak anytime soon especially not after that loss to Simon and let's not forget that Federer won the Cincinnati title last year, which means he'll have to defend all of those points. I predict Nadal will become the new #1 by the end of Cincinnati next week. Mostly because he has hardly any points to defend their.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Rogers Cup Friday
Today, was the quarter-final day at the Rogers Cup. Things kicked off with Gilles Simon going up against Marin Cilic. It wasn't a great match because there were alot of unforced errors from both of the players. What made the difference today was Cilic's number of unforced errors sky-rocketed during the last two sets which allowed Simon to sneak by him. Simon, seems to be on a course for the final. Unfortunately for him, if he gets there he's going to be met with some heavy adversity.
The second match was between James Blake and Nicolas Kiefer, which turned out to be surprisingly one sided. Kiefer, was into the match right from the start, he played unbelievably well and crushed Blake. Blake, on the other hand just played awful. His ball bashing tactics backfired on him today and his backhand was particularly bad. Still, this is a big win for Kiefer and he'll play Gilles Simon for a spot in the finals tomorrow.
Andy Murray, won his first match in five tries against Novak Djokovic. Djokovic, was a little bit off but Murray played incredibly well, especially in the tie break. Rafael Nadal will be facing Murray in the semi-finals after his win over Richard Gasquet. Gasquet, had a great start to the match and won the first set in a tie break (14 points to 12.) He had an opportunity to go up an early break in the second but after Nadal, saved the game Gasquet, floundered and Nadal won the next two sets 6-2 and 6-1.
The second match was between James Blake and Nicolas Kiefer, which turned out to be surprisingly one sided. Kiefer, was into the match right from the start, he played unbelievably well and crushed Blake. Blake, on the other hand just played awful. His ball bashing tactics backfired on him today and his backhand was particularly bad. Still, this is a big win for Kiefer and he'll play Gilles Simon for a spot in the finals tomorrow.
Andy Murray, won his first match in five tries against Novak Djokovic. Djokovic, was a little bit off but Murray played incredibly well, especially in the tie break. Rafael Nadal will be facing Murray in the semi-finals after his win over Richard Gasquet. Gasquet, had a great start to the match and won the first set in a tie break (14 points to 12.) He had an opportunity to go up an early break in the second but after Nadal, saved the game Gasquet, floundered and Nadal won the next two sets 6-2 and 6-1.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Rogers Cup recap
Well, the second US Open Series event has been interesting so far. Roger Federer, lost yesterday to Gilles Simon in three sets 6-2, 5-7, 4-6. Simon, has really played well for the past week and he's now positioned himself to be a serious contender for winning the US Open Series. But it's sad the way that Federer mentally folded in the third set. I think alot of Federer's problems this year have been confidence related and he's got to win a tournament, now more than ever if he still wants to be #1.
Nadal, struggled through his match against Jesse Levine. He was serving and down 4-1 with a several break point chances against him. He managed to turn the set around by winning the next five games and won the second set fairly comfortably 6-2. Nadal's going to have to step it up if he wants to win here. His next opponent will be Igor Andreev, so we'll see how it goes.
Also James Blake, almost got upset against Bjorkman. The 36 year old veteran Bjorkman won the first set 6-1 before perishing 1-6, 2-6 in the second and third. While this may be a great achievement for Bjorkman, taking a 6-1 set off of a guy who's ranked #8 in the world. It does say something about how fragile Blake is right now. Blake, didn't do well at Wimbledon or Indianapolis either so this could be a forewarning that Blake is about to take a major hit at the US Open and also the rest of the hard court season.
Roddick, is struggling as well. He had trouble getting past Nicolas Mahut in the second round and I could see him getting upset by Marin Cilic in the next round. Roddick, definitely needs to build some momentum for himself so that he'll have a decent performance at the US Open this year.
Novak Djokovic, makes a comeback from his Wimbledon defeat by besting Frank Dancevic in the second round. Djokovic, had a tremendous start this year on the hard courts and he looks like the favorite to win the US Open right now. I could also see him winning the Olympics which are going to be played on hard courts.
Nadal, struggled through his match against Jesse Levine. He was serving and down 4-1 with a several break point chances against him. He managed to turn the set around by winning the next five games and won the second set fairly comfortably 6-2. Nadal's going to have to step it up if he wants to win here. His next opponent will be Igor Andreev, so we'll see how it goes.
Also James Blake, almost got upset against Bjorkman. The 36 year old veteran Bjorkman won the first set 6-1 before perishing 1-6, 2-6 in the second and third. While this may be a great achievement for Bjorkman, taking a 6-1 set off of a guy who's ranked #8 in the world. It does say something about how fragile Blake is right now. Blake, didn't do well at Wimbledon or Indianapolis either so this could be a forewarning that Blake is about to take a major hit at the US Open and also the rest of the hard court season.
Roddick, is struggling as well. He had trouble getting past Nicolas Mahut in the second round and I could see him getting upset by Marin Cilic in the next round. Roddick, definitely needs to build some momentum for himself so that he'll have a decent performance at the US Open this year.
Novak Djokovic, makes a comeback from his Wimbledon defeat by besting Frank Dancevic in the second round. Djokovic, had a tremendous start this year on the hard courts and he looks like the favorite to win the US Open right now. I could also see him winning the Olympics which are going to be played on hard courts.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
US Open Series
We're into the summer hard court season now that the US Open Series has started and I'm very exited to see what's going to happen in these tournaments. Ever since Nadal has won Wimbledon there has been alot of talk about him becoming the new unofficial #1. Personally, I don't agree with that. You either are #1 or you're not. Rafa, is going to have to take that away from Federer. However, I think that might happen pretty soon. Nadal's, ability has definitely improved since last year. He serves better than he did a year ago and this is of course key to winning hard court tournaments. Depending on how he feels Rafa could take over the #1 position this year. He just needs some good results at the US Open Series as well as the Open.
Federer, on the other hand is now looking to reinforce his position as #1. I think he's got his mind set on winning the US Open which would silence the speculation that he's no longer in his prime.
Also, congratulations to Gilles Simon, he won the Indianapolis tennis championships last week.
Hopefully he'll be able to produce more results throughout the rest of the US Open Series.
Federer, on the other hand is now looking to reinforce his position as #1. I think he's got his mind set on winning the US Open which would silence the speculation that he's no longer in his prime.
Also, congratulations to Gilles Simon, he won the Indianapolis tennis championships last week.
Hopefully he'll be able to produce more results throughout the rest of the US Open Series.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Nadal Wins Wimbledon
Wow. That's all I can say about this match. It probably had the highest quality of tennis that I've ever seen and the level of emotion was insane. It was one of those matches that sucks you in right from the start. Federer, has been the Wimbledon king for the past five years. We all know that but Nadal has made big improvements to his game on grass and Federer addmited that Nadal had him from the base line at last years final. Federer, had by far the better serve and volleys so all in all it looked like a pretty fair match up. Let's take a quick look at what happened.
In the first two sets Nadal managed to go up a break even though Federer's service games were mostly air-tight. Nadal, did have some trouble when he tried to serve out the sets and was pushed to break point in both games but he was eventually able to serve it out and he went up two-sets-to-love. Federer was in alot of trouble in the third at love-forty 3-all with him serving. He still managed to get out of it and took the third set to a tie-break. In the end Federer won the third set. The fourth set also went to a tie-break but Nadal wasn't able to hold off his nerves, he had a match point but Federer hit an unbelievable winner down the line and he eventually took the set. The fifth set was probably the best of all. In the fifth set both players came up with unbelievable shots just to stay in the match. Nadal had about seven break point oppertunities by the time the score reach 7 games all. He finally got the break after four opportunities during the 15th game of the set but even after obtaining the break it still looked like Federer would break back. Federer pushed him all the way to deuce but in the end Nadal won the match 9-7 in the fifth to become the new Wimbledon Champion.
Nadal, had to fight for every point in the match and literally until match point it looked like it could go either way. I have no doubt that Federer will be back next year to try to regain his thrown but for right now the torch has been passed to Nadal.
In the first two sets Nadal managed to go up a break even though Federer's service games were mostly air-tight. Nadal, did have some trouble when he tried to serve out the sets and was pushed to break point in both games but he was eventually able to serve it out and he went up two-sets-to-love. Federer was in alot of trouble in the third at love-forty 3-all with him serving. He still managed to get out of it and took the third set to a tie-break. In the end Federer won the third set. The fourth set also went to a tie-break but Nadal wasn't able to hold off his nerves, he had a match point but Federer hit an unbelievable winner down the line and he eventually took the set. The fifth set was probably the best of all. In the fifth set both players came up with unbelievable shots just to stay in the match. Nadal had about seven break point oppertunities by the time the score reach 7 games all. He finally got the break after four opportunities during the 15th game of the set but even after obtaining the break it still looked like Federer would break back. Federer pushed him all the way to deuce but in the end Nadal won the match 9-7 in the fifth to become the new Wimbledon Champion.
Nadal, had to fight for every point in the match and literally until match point it looked like it could go either way. I have no doubt that Federer will be back next year to try to regain his thrown but for right now the torch has been passed to Nadal.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Nike Tattoo tennis shirt
Pretty original design from Nike. I actually like this shirt. I wonder if any of the players will be wearing this at the US Open?
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