What a shame, the Nadal/Murray match had to end with a retirement. It was really getting good in that second set, both players were starting to play great tennis, especially Murray, who dominated with his serve and returned great against Nadal. After losing the second set in a tie-break, all hope for a come from behind, win quickly flew out the window for Nadal, his right knee gave out on him and rather than risk injuring it any further, he chose to retire, putting Murray, in the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the first time in his career.
I like, what I saw from Murray in this match, if he manages to return this well against Cilic, he's got a great chance of reaching the finals and maybe, just maybe, my prediction will come true and he'll win his first major at the Australian Open.:)
The Roddick vs Cilic match, was a strange battle of ups and downs. First Cilic, came out playing amazingly well and crushed Roddick in the first two sets. Roddick, managed to claw his way through set number 3 and then in the fourth, Cilic's game fell through the floor, while Roddick's couldn't have been better, he dominated up until 5-0 when Cilic suddenly found his game again but still managed to serve out the set 6-2. In the deciding set Roddick faltered, his shoulder injury flared up again and Cilic was able to take the fifth set 6 games to 3.
This is Cilic's, first appearance in a grand slam semi final. Because it's only his first time and because Andy Murray returned unbelievably well against Isner and Nadal I'm going to give him the edge to beat Cilic but it wouldn't surprise me if this next match turned out to be very close. Think I'll take Murray over Cilic in 5 sets and then Murray will meet Roger in the finals.:)
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Roger Narrowly avoids first round upset
Even the number 1 player in the world isn't invulnerable. In fact he may be more vulnerable than any of the other top 5 players. Federer, came out playing terribly in this match. His forehand was inconsistent and has backhand had nothing on it, he just blocked the ball back to Andreev and allowed him to completely dictate play for almost all of the third set. Finally towards the end of the third Andreev, broke Roger and went to serve for a two sets to one lead. Then everything went awry. Andreev, had 4 set points but he choked them all away, in some really bizarre ways, then in the tie-break, Andreev, mentally collapsed, he lost the tie-break seven points to two and by the beginning of the fourth it was obvious that he was defeated. Roger sent him packing from the tournament with a bagel.
This was a weak showing from Roger, but it's only the first round of the tournament. Most likely he'll continue to improve as the Open progresses and by the end of the first week he'll be playing at a much higher level than he did today. He's got to find a higher level if he wants to reach the finals again because this performance was very, very weak.
This was a weak showing from Roger, but it's only the first round of the tournament. Most likely he'll continue to improve as the Open progresses and by the end of the first week he'll be playing at a much higher level than he did today. He's got to find a higher level if he wants to reach the finals again because this performance was very, very weak.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Davydenko won't win the Australian Open
No doubt, you've heard that Davydenko, has been playing outstanding tennis as of late. He's beaten Nadal and Roger, twice in the last month, he's won 3 consecutive tournaments and played some of his best tennis while doing it. So then why do I say that he has no chance? Well, here's a few reasons:
1. Never been past the semi-finals of a major before.
2. Never beaten Roger or Nadal at a grand slam tournament and let's face it. Roger, always packs his A game at the majors. Lots of players have beaten him in the smaller tournaments, like Karlovic, Benneteau, and Simon, but beating him at a major is something entirely different. Not to mention Davydenko, is scheduled to meet Federer in the quarters and will have to end his streak of 22 straight major semi-finals.
3. Davydenko, is a cold weather guy. He was born in the Ukraine and currently lives in Russia. He's not going to want any part of the Australian summer, with practice sessions and matches in the 90-100 degree range.
Davydenko, is a great player and he's kept himself solidified in the top 10 for almost every week of the last 4 and a half years. He's capable of winning a major but I don't think it's likely to happen and he's definitely not the favorite. Maybe, I'm wrong and he'll pull off an upset victory over Roger but with a 2-12 head to head and Roger's consistency in reaching the later rounds of a major tournament, the odds are stacked heavily against him.
1. Never been past the semi-finals of a major before.
2. Never beaten Roger or Nadal at a grand slam tournament and let's face it. Roger, always packs his A game at the majors. Lots of players have beaten him in the smaller tournaments, like Karlovic, Benneteau, and Simon, but beating him at a major is something entirely different. Not to mention Davydenko, is scheduled to meet Federer in the quarters and will have to end his streak of 22 straight major semi-finals.
3. Davydenko, is a cold weather guy. He was born in the Ukraine and currently lives in Russia. He's not going to want any part of the Australian summer, with practice sessions and matches in the 90-100 degree range.
Davydenko, is a great player and he's kept himself solidified in the top 10 for almost every week of the last 4 and a half years. He's capable of winning a major but I don't think it's likely to happen and he's definitely not the favorite. Maybe, I'm wrong and he'll pull off an upset victory over Roger but with a 2-12 head to head and Roger's consistency in reaching the later rounds of a major tournament, the odds are stacked heavily against him.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Andre Agassi Open review
I just finished this book a couple of days ago. It was really good, I'd strongly recommend it to all tennis fans. There's a lot of information about the life on tour, Andre's, relationship with past players, and even a little bit on Roger, Jame Blake, and Nadal. But with that said there's also quiet a bit of negativity from Andre. After reading it you might think of him as a bitter, selfish, prick rather than the mature, insightful, ex-rebel that he was portrayed to be, prior to the release of his book.
Andre's book, is more centered around his personal life, than tennis. Towards the end, he talks more about his family and less about his matches, even if they were important ones. He doesn't hesitate to critisize his peers. He's particularly down on Sampras, Chang, Becker, Muster, and Nick Bolletelli and his basis for disliking them is over small, petty things, like Muster ruffling Andre's hair at the end of a match, or Chang thanking God for his victory.
Even if you read the book, you won't be able to get inside of Andre's head. Some of his decisions just don't make much sense. I really don't know why he chose to marry Brooke Sheilds. Their relationship was going through a hard time when he proposed and he later admitted that he didn't want to go through with marrying her. So then why didn't he just break off their engagement?
Early in the book Andre, talks about meeting his fitness trainer Gil Reyes, during the fall of 1989. At the time, Gil was in charge of training young athletes, at a local college fitness center. Andre, had recently lost a tough five set match to a clay courter named Alberto Mancini and wanted Gil's help to improve his stamina. They hit it off, right away and before long, Andre, wanted Gil to quit his job and work full time for him on the road, as his personal trainer. Gil agrees, quits his job but he leaves his family for 16 years to go work with Andre! At the time Gil, had young children, one of whom is less than 7 years old. Yet, he seems to just disregard it and left his wife to take care of their kids. I thought this was very strange and I wish Andre, had given a better explanation as to why Gil agreed to do this.
Overall this is a good book, it has many surprises and after reading it, you should have a good idea who the real Andre Agassi is.
Andre's book, is more centered around his personal life, than tennis. Towards the end, he talks more about his family and less about his matches, even if they were important ones. He doesn't hesitate to critisize his peers. He's particularly down on Sampras, Chang, Becker, Muster, and Nick Bolletelli and his basis for disliking them is over small, petty things, like Muster ruffling Andre's hair at the end of a match, or Chang thanking God for his victory.
Even if you read the book, you won't be able to get inside of Andre's head. Some of his decisions just don't make much sense. I really don't know why he chose to marry Brooke Sheilds. Their relationship was going through a hard time when he proposed and he later admitted that he didn't want to go through with marrying her. So then why didn't he just break off their engagement?
Early in the book Andre, talks about meeting his fitness trainer Gil Reyes, during the fall of 1989. At the time, Gil was in charge of training young athletes, at a local college fitness center. Andre, had recently lost a tough five set match to a clay courter named Alberto Mancini and wanted Gil's help to improve his stamina. They hit it off, right away and before long, Andre, wanted Gil to quit his job and work full time for him on the road, as his personal trainer. Gil agrees, quits his job but he leaves his family for 16 years to go work with Andre! At the time Gil, had young children, one of whom is less than 7 years old. Yet, he seems to just disregard it and left his wife to take care of their kids. I thought this was very strange and I wish Andre, had given a better explanation as to why Gil agreed to do this.
Overall this is a good book, it has many surprises and after reading it, you should have a good idea who the real Andre Agassi is.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Nadal stops Soderling in the Abu Dhabi exhibition match
Although this little exhibition, tourney in Abu Dhabi, doesn't mean much of anything, it's still a nice way for Nadal to start the new year. By defeating the man who literally ripped him a new one at the French Open and then again at the World Tour Finals.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to see this match since it was only an exhibition tournament and didn't get any broadcasting, (at least none that I'm aware of) so I can't tell you for sure how well Nadal or Soderling were playing, but I'm guessing Nadal must have done pretty well to have beaten Soderling in straight sets on a hard court.
The day before their match, Soderling, stunned Federer in 3 sets, making this the first time that he's beaten the #1 player in the world. I don't think Roger, particularly cares about these exhibition matches. In fact he doesn't seem to care about any of the tournaments except for the majors. That's where he plays his best tennis, so this loss isn't really all that surprising. If Julien Benneteau, can beat Roger Federer on hard courts, then Robin Soderling, sure as hell can do it.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to see this match since it was only an exhibition tournament and didn't get any broadcasting, (at least none that I'm aware of) so I can't tell you for sure how well Nadal or Soderling were playing, but I'm guessing Nadal must have done pretty well to have beaten Soderling in straight sets on a hard court.
The day before their match, Soderling, stunned Federer in 3 sets, making this the first time that he's beaten the #1 player in the world. I don't think Roger, particularly cares about these exhibition matches. In fact he doesn't seem to care about any of the tournaments except for the majors. That's where he plays his best tennis, so this loss isn't really all that surprising. If Julien Benneteau, can beat Roger Federer on hard courts, then Robin Soderling, sure as hell can do it.
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