Andy Murray Wins the US Open

Posted by Jeff in Sports, Tennis

Andy Murray wins the 2012 US Open tennis championship & becomes the first British male in 76 years todo so.

Murray 7-6 (12-10) 7-5 2-6 3-6 6-2 Djokovic

In an epic contest between in form Andy Murray and Novac Djokovic that lasted almost 5 hours, Murray came out on top on the final set.

In the year that London held the Olympics and on the day British Olympians paraded through London, it somehow seems appropriate that this should be the year that Murray finally achieved his dream and lived up to his potential by winning a Grand Slam.

Andy Murray got off to a flying start when he grabbed the first two sets 7-6 & 7-5. This was followed by a resurgence by Djokovic who managed to break in the 3rd set and maintain momentum to control the 4th.

So it went to the 5th set and Andy Murray regained his composure to start playing the best tennis of the match, possibly helped by a light injury to Djokovic’s thigh. In the end he was the comfortable winner, seeing the match out 6-2.

At the end Djokovic was his usual graceful self,

“It wasn’t to be but I want to congratulate Andy for his first Grand Slam, he absolutely deserves it,” said Novak Djokovic

The new US Open Champion Andy Murray summed up the match by saying,

“They were incredibly tricky conditions. After the third and fourth sets it was tough mentally, Novak is so strong. He fights until the end of every match & I don’t know how I managed to come through in the end.

Murray also joked about the iceman that is Ivan Lendl,

“That was almost a smile [from Ivan Lendl]. He’s one of greatest players ever to play, here he made eight consecutive finals. Having him here supporting me has helped in the tough moments, but not only him, everyone else too. They’ve been there since the start. Thanks very much.”

Photo: Karlnorling

Djokovic Wins Mens Wimbledon 2011 Title

Posted by James in Sports, Tennis

Novak Djokovic celebrated winning his first men’s Wimbledon title by eating the centre court grass. He beat Rafael Nadal in 4 sets, 6-4,6-1,1-6,6-3.

Novak Djokovic really confirmed his imminent world no. 1 status today as he out-played, and yes, out-muscled Rafael Nadal in a pulsating Wimbledon final on the famous Centre Court.

Djokovic’s defence was at times astonishing and Nadal must have been wondering what on earth he would have todo to win a point.

It was a tight first set, but the fact that Djokovic was always able to get just one more ball back over the net forced Nadal into making a few uncharacteristic errors. A Nadal shot into the net gave the Serbian the first set.

Nadal knew he had to hit the corners to try and win the points which increased the risks of missing. Ironically, it is exactly what Nadal usually does to his opponents, today the shoe was on the other foot.

In the second set Djokovic was really in the zone, winners were zipping off his racket at an alarming rate and the set flew past Nadal in much the same way as one of Djokovic’s passing shots.

The arrival of the third set at least enabled Nadal to get his breath back, regroup and refocus. As the defending champion and winner of 10 Grand Slams he wasn’t going to let go of the Wimbledon trophy that easily.

And so it proved, Djokovic had suddenly lost the momentum that he had in the 2nd set and Nadal dug deep to play a perfect set of his own winning a comfortable 6-1.

So, onto a fourth set. Could Nadal do what very few manage, come back from 2 sets down?

A very poor service game in the middle of the set by Nadal proved to be the turning point and gave Djokovic the chance to serve for the Wimbledon Championship.

One of the hardest things todo is to serve out a Wimbledon final under the spotlight of the world but Djokovic somehow managed to stay calm. Nadal seemed to sense that it wasn’t going to his year and looked uncomfortable has he stood waiting to receive after having just been broken.

A couple of Nadal errors enabled Djokovic to get to Championship point and after a return from Nadal, he hit a rasping shot into the corner that Nadal couldn’t get back into play.

Falling on his knees, where most players kiss the grass, Djokovic decided to go one better and actually eat some of the Wimbledon grass!

Who can blame him, if we had just won Wimbledon we would want to take the court home too.

Photo: Carine06

Petra Kvitova Upsets the Odds to Beat Sharapova for the Wimbledon Title

Posted by Clive in Sports, Tennis

Petra Kvitova ended Maria Sharapova’s dream of a second Wimbledon title today as she powered to her first Grand Slam title.

Sharapova is the highest paid female sports star in the world and the winner of 3 Grand Slam titles, so started as slight favourite for today’s final; but since coming back from a serious shoulder injury she has had to change her serve and still hasn’t quite recovered the form that saw her reach the top of women’s tennis.

Both players however, struggled from the start of the match to hold onto their serve. Sharapova broke Kvitova’s service game early on but failed to capitalise as Kvitova immediately broke back.

They were the first of 8 breaks of serve and both players really suffered when they failed to get their 1st serve in, Sharapova’s % of points won on second serve was below 30% for the entire match and Kvitova’s wasn’t much better.

It was Kvitova’s ground strokes that did the damage though. She manages to get enormous power, especially off the forehand side, and Sharapova struggled to deal with it.

In the end it was relatively straightforward for Kvitova who served out the match to win 6-3, 6-4.

Do we have a major new force in women’s Grand Slam tennis?

Photo: Huge.Look.Left

Nadal Beats Murray To Face Djokovic In Wimbledon Final

Posted by Clive in Sports, Tennis

Rafael Nadal dashed Andy Murray’s hopes of reaching his first Wimbledon final today, beating him 5-7, 6-2,6-2,6-4. Djokovic overcame Tsonga in the other semi-final setting up a mouthwatering Wimbledon final.

It all went to the form book today as the No.1 seed and defending champion, Rafael Nadal, put out the no. 4 seed Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, the no. 2 seed beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Andy Murray has now lost a semi-final at Wimbledon 3 times in succession and must be deeply disappointed that he couldn’t build on a first set lead.

Although nursing an injury that clearly bothered him at the start of the match, Murray made a flying start against the no.1 seed. Serving and returning well to clinch the first set 7-5 to great cheers from the home supporters.

The momentum stayed with Murray at the start of the second set and at 2-1 and 15-30, he had a great chance to get 2 break points on the Nadal serve, but he missed what can only be described as a ‘sitter’, bringing Nadal back to 30-30.

That point seemed to stick in Murray’s mind and incredibly lost the next 7 games in a row. For the rest of the match he never again reached the heights of  tennis he had previously been playing.

Murray’s serve, which had been so reliable suddenly wasn’t firing, the unforced errors rapidly grew while on the other side of the net, Nadal was getting better.

Fired up by Murray’s disintegrating game Nadal started pushing his serve percentage higher and kept his unforced errors remarkably low.

It all played out in four sets and it seems that if Murray wants to win a Grand Slam he will have to learn to have a Nadal like focus and iron will to win.

Technically, at the top of the mens game there is not very much in it, perhaps Federer is the most technically gifted and yet he was seeded 3rd and eventually knocked out by 12th seed Tsonga. Something else is obviously important and Nadal has it in spades.

Tsonga meanwhile played Djokovic in the earlier semi-final of the day.

It took Djokovic just over 3 hours to win the game 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, 6-7 (9-11), 6-3 after he played a much more consistent game than Tsonga.

Tsonga sometimes showed flashes of brilliance but it wasn’t consistent enough and he mixed it with too many errors.

Much like Murray, Tsonga’s game deserted him at times although he showed that he could mix it with the best if he manages to get some consistency.

Mr. Consistency himself, Djokovic, managed to maintain a high standard throughout and did enough to make sure that the match didn’t go to 5 sets.

He has now only lost 1 match in 50 over a period of 7 months and will take the World number 1 ranking away from Nadal on Monday no matter what happens in the Wimbledon Final on Sunday.

It should be a cracker of a game.

Photo: Corrine06

Tsonga Knocks Federer Out of Wimbledon

Posted by James in Sports, Tennis

The biggest Wimbledon upset this year as Tsonga knocks Federer out of the tennis competition in the quarter-final.

It was a remarkable victory for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as he had to come back from 2 sets down against Federer, a player who has never lost at Wimbledon or any of the other Grand Slams, after going 2 sets up.

After claiming the first 2 sets it looked like it would be business as usual for Roger Federer, on course for yet another semi-final, but Tsonga had other ideas.

Tsonga hadn’t been playing badly in the first 2 sets but he did take time to get going in the first set and was broken quickly. The second set was closer, won by Federer in the tie break.

In the 3rd set Tsonga started to become even more aggressive, attacking the Federer serve and hitting some huge shots.

Suddenly everything started going in for the Frenchman and he managed to break Federer’s serve once in each of the next 3 sets, finally winning through 3-6,6-7,6-4,6-4,6-4.

Tsonga will now play Djokovic in the semi-final on Friday after he beat the Australian qualifier Bernard Tomic.

Photo: Carine06

Serena and Venus Williams Both Out of Wimbledon

Posted by Jeff in Sports, Tennis

The defending Wimbledon Champion, Serena Williams and her 5 times Wimbledon winning sister Venus Williams, have both been knocked out of the Championship in the 4th round.

The Williams sisters have won an incredible 9 Wimbledon titles in the last 11 years but this time it wasn’t to be.

Serena has just returned back to the tennis court after suffering from a life threatening illness and Venus has just come back from injury. Both have been a little rusty but have still been too strong for their opponents thus far.

That changed in the fourth round, first on court was Serena who was playing Marion Bartoli of France. Bartoli has previously been a finalist in the 2007 Wimbledon championship, beaten ironically by Venus.

She broke Serena to claim the first set 6-3 before taking the second set to a tie break, which after a nervous start, she held out to win 7-6 (8-6).

Venus arrived on centre court just after Serena’s match had just finished so she obviously knew the scoreline, perhaps it affected her concentration, perhaps not but she looked a little less focused and confident than in previous rounds.

She was playing Tsvetana Pironkova, a lady who is obviously talented, but has so far failed to shine this year winning very few matches on tour.

However, she seems to be taking to Wimbledon in a way that belies her year so far and hasn’t dropped a set.

Pironkova broke Venus twice in the first set to take it 6-2 and the second set went the way of the first, 6-3, with Venus looking a shadow of her former self.

Bartoli will now face Sabine Lisicki in the quarterfinals and Pironkova will play Petra Kvitova.

Photo: left-hand

Murray Into Wimbledon 2nd Week, Roddick Crashes Out

Posted by James in Sports, Tennis

Andy Murray is the first of the big 4 mens seeds to make it through to the second week of Wimbledon while Andy Roddick crashes out, beaten by Feliciano Lopez.

On a rainy Wimbledon day, Lopez showed a set of skills that suggest that he will reach alot higher than his current world ranking of 44.

Both players have enormous serves and both Roddick and Lopez struggled to break each other in the first two sets, forcing both to go to tie-breaks. Lopez managed to take advantage on both occasions.

In the 3rd and deciding set it was Roddicks unforced errors that proved to be the turning point in the match. Lopez running out a 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 victory.

The 4th Seed Andy Murray survived the rainy afternoon by playing under the confines of the centre court roof, against the talented and experienced Croat, Ivan Ljubicic.

Ljubicic’s huge serve asked constant questions of Murray, although one of the best returners on the mens circuit was always going to have a chance of breaking.

Ljubicic was the first to break in the first set though, Murray’s serve letting him down and handing the initiative to Ljubicic.

However, the Croat then had serving problems of his own giving away 2 double faults and allowing the instant break back. Murray then managed to keep the initiative and a huge forehand secured the first set.

Murray again had serving problems at the start of the 2nd set, double faulting on break point to give Ljubicic the advantage which he never relinquished, winning the set 6-4.

Murray then seemed to step up another gear in the 3rd set though, just as it looked like Ljubicic might push him all the way he played on a different level from his opponent.

Suddenly he was in the zone playing some great tennis and rampaged away to a 6-1 set win that belied the difficulties that were present in the first 2 sets.

The fourth set was more competitive with Ivan Ljubicic at one point hitting a 139mph service, but ultimately it was Murray who had the greater range of shot making, including an audacious shot through his legs. To the delight of the British crowd on centre court their man claimed the 3rd set 7-6.

Murray will now play the 17th seed, Richard Gasquet, bringing back memories of an epic Wimbledon 5 set battle a few years ago between the two players. As the matches get harder it will be interesting to see how Murray can react in his mission to claim his first Grand Slam title.

Womens Tennis Launches Wimbledon 2011 With Party in London

Posted by Jo in Sports, Tennis

With the Wimbledon Tennis Championships 2011 about to start in London, the stars of the Women’s tennis tour glam up for a party.

This year the Wimbledon tennis championship celebrates it’s 125th anniversary and the stars of the Women’s game were out and about at a pre-Wimbledon party hosted by Land Rover.

Maria Sharapova looked stunning in red and she was joined by Ana Ivanovic, as well as the up and coming British stars such as Laura Robson and Heather Watson.

You can watch some interviews below, although be aware that there is some flash photography.

It looks like this year will be the year that the new million dollar Wimbledon roof will finally get a real workout, ever since the roof was finished the Wimbledon Championships have been virtually dry.

This year, after a dry spell that has seen parts of the UK issued with drought warnings, it seems as though the weather has turned and they are in for a prolonged showery spell.

The Wimbledon Championships officially get underway on the 20th June and end on 3rd July.

Nadal Wins French Open For 6th Time Against Federer

Posted by Jeff in Sports, Tennis

Rafael Nadal has beaten Roger Federer in the French Open to win a record equalling 6th French Open title.

It was not only the French Open title that was at stake for Nadal, it was also the no.1 spot in the world rankings and the possibility to equal Bjorn Borg’s 6 French Open titles.

It hadn’t started well for Nadal as Roger Federer continued his sparkling form from the semi-final against Djokovoc, reaching set point at 5-3 up only to see an attempted drop shot land just wide.

That miss was a turning point in the match. Nadal suddenly found an extra gear and Federer seemed to lose something.

Suddenly the tables had turned and it was Federer who faced set point as Nadal fought back to lead 6-5. Now the momentum had shifted so dramatically in Nadal’s favour it seemed inevitable that he would claim the first set, so it proved with a viscous forehand that sealed the set.

Federer was visibly ruing the lost first set and his unforced errors started to rise quickly, the second set started how the first set finished.

However he managed to hold on to the coat tails of Nadal as it reached 4-4 but he could never pull out any sort of advantage.

At 5-4 down and 40-40 Federer got a chance to re-group as the heavens opened and the expected rain delay came, albeit for only 10 minutes it allowed Federer a chance to re-focus.

Federer came out of the blocks faster and Nadal looked a little un-nerved causing the set to go into a tie break.

His comeback stuttered though with more unforced errors and Nadal steamed ahead and won out in the tie break 7-3 leaving Federer a seemingly impossible task.

Nadal is not called the King of clay for nothing having only been beaten once at the French Open in all the years he has been competing.

Nadal also started well in the third set stretching out a 4-2 lead but Federer suddenly re-discovered his form from the start of the match, fighting back to take the set to the excitement of the crowd.

However his exertions seemed to have taken their toll in the 4th set and he was, after all, playing the fittest man on the tour in Nadal.

Nadal powered to victory in the final set 6-1 to ensure another place in the history books, a 10th title and the no.1 ranking.

Next stop Wimbledon.

Photo: Frédéric de Villamil