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

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

Djokovic Beaten By Superb Federer in French Open Semi-Final

Posted by Jeff in Sports, Tennis

Novak Djokovic has been beaten by Roger Federer in the second French Open semi-final, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-5).

The defeat puts an end to the magnificent run of 43 unbeaten matches by Djokovic who would have taken the no.1 world ranking from Nadal if he had won today.

We mentioned in our French Open post that this match could go either way and so it proved as the first and fourth sets had to be settled on tie-breaks.

Federer just edged both of them meaning that he avoided having to come back tomorrow to play a fifth set, there would have been no way that they would have played the fifth set tonight as the darkness came creeping in.

Both players showed why they are amongst the best in the world, it wouldn’t have been out of place for this match to be the final with some ferocious ground shots raining in from both sides. The speed and depth of the shots seemed relentless.

Federer looked back to his best with his serve working well and it was his 18th ace of the match that sealed his victory in the forth set after Djokovic had saved two match points.

Now the final on sunday will be between Federer and Nadal, perhaps on current form Federer looks slightly stronger but Nadal is not ranked no.1 at the French Open for nothing. He has only ever lost one previous match here and has a habit of rising to the occasion. Another one that will be too close to call.

Photo: mbevis

French Open Tennis Reaches Semi-Final Stages

Posted by Jeff in Sports, Tennis

The French Open has now reached the semi-final stages with the top 4 seeds in the Mens draw making it through. Nadal will play Murray and Djokovic will play Federer.

Murray played the Argentinian Juan Ignacio Chela in a match that at times had some brutal hitting from the back of the court.

Murray had done some ligament damage to his ankle in an earlier match but with the help of pain killers and strapping he still had decent movement around the court.

Chela is one of the older players on the tour and in the end he didn’t quite have enough to challenge Murray on the big points when it really mattered.

Nadal defeated Robin Soderling in straight sets in a re-match of last years final. It took him 2 hours and 35 minutes as Soderling failed to make any meaningful inroads into Nadal’s game.

Djokovic got a by into the semi’s when his quarter final opponent pulled out for health reasons. It means that he has had more time for rest but this doesn’t always help when trying to win Grand Slams.

Djokovic seems to be the man to beat however as it seems likely that he will claim the No.1 spot from Nadal sometime this year after going on an unbeaten run stretching back to 2010.

He will play Federer in the semis in his biggest test so far, Federer has looked back to his imperious best in France and who will win is, quite frankly, anyone’s guess.

Photo: y.caradec

Novak Djokovic Closing in on the Tennis Number One Ranking

Posted by James in Sports, Tennis

Novak Djokovic is closing in on the Tennis number one ranking after the best start to a tennis season since Ivan Lendl in the 1986 season.

Rafael Nadal once again suffered defeat this weekend at the Sony Ericsson Open final in Miami, at the hands of Novak Djokovic, and believes that he is in serious danger of losing his number one status this summer.

He is currently 3170 points ahead of the number two Djokovic, but that total is based on his hugely successful season last year. The chances of him repeating those results are looking slimmer and slimmer as the Djokovic run continues, he is now unbeaten in 24 games this year and has beaten Nadal in the 2 finals they have contested in 2011.

Djokovic himself plays down the prospect saying “I think it’s a bit early to talk about getting that top spot in the rankings” and the Australian Open champion went on to say that he thought that Nadal was currently the best player in the world.

Photo: mbevis

Novak Djokovic Smashes Andy Murray in Straight Sets

Posted by Gary in Sports, Tennis

It took only 2 hours 39 minutes for Novak Djokovic to brush aside Andy Murray in the Australian Open Mens Final.

Djokovic, who is the same age as Murray at 23, comprehensively outplayed his friend to win his second Australian Open title in straight sets 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.

Murray said afterwards,

“He had an unbelievable tournament and deserved to win, hopefully I’ll come back and have more chances in the future.”

In truth Murray will have to learn how to step up if he is ever going to break his duck and win one of the major titles, the final this year was very similar to the final last year when he was comprehensively outplayed by Roger Federer. He has now been in 3 Major finals and failed to win a set.

That is to take nothing away from Novak Djokovic though, who rarely put a foot wrong during the match. He served well and played some barely believable defensive play at times, at one point actually doing the splits during a rally.

Murray for his part was put under constant pressure, committing a large number of unforced errors that meant he rarely had the chance to break Djokovic’s serve.

Djokovic went into the game most people’s favourite after beating Roger Federer in straight sets in the previous round, he also had the experience of winning the tournament previously and the experience showed.

The turning point in the first set came when an amazing 38 stoke rally in which Djokovic looked to be down and out on a few occasions, but somehow he always got the ball back over the net; the point eventually ended with a tired looking shot from Murray slammed into the net.

The second set was all Djokovic as Murray’s game crumbled and at one point he faced set point at 5-0 down. He managed to avoid the dreaded bagel but by then it was too late and Djokovic took the set.

Murray dug deep in the third set to make a breakthrough but again made errors when the rallies went into double figures while Djokovic was relatively calm and collected.

Djokovic is now the world number 3 but on this form it looks like he is serious competition for the number 2 or 1 spot. Watch out Nadal and Federer.

Murray on the other hand, has the all round game to challenge the top 2 as well, but he needs to find a way to increase his focus during a match.

He needs to get into the headspace where he has the cast iron belief that winning the match, whether it is a final or not, is the only outcome possible in his mind.

Easier said than done when the top 2 in the world are quite possibly the finest tennis players the world has ever seen, and when you also have the added weight of history on your shoulders. A British mens tennis player hasn’t won a Major Open tournament since Fred Perry in the 1930′s.

Photo: mbevis

Nadal and Federer Out of 2011 Australian Open

Posted by Gary in Sports, Tennis

Roger Federer and Rapael Nadal have both been knocked out of the 2011 Australian Open, Federer by Novak Djokovic and Nadal by David Ferrer.

Nadal took on his fellow countryman and close friend David Ferrer in the Rod Laver Arena quarter finals, hoping to be the first mens player to hold all four majors at the same time for many years.

Nadal went out at the quarter final stage last year at the Australian Open when he had to retire against Andy Murray with knee problems, and it quickly became obvious within the first set, that he was having similar problems this time around.

He was sweating heavily, even though it was relatively cool for Melbourne, and it seemed like he was suffering in a similar way to a few weeks ago when he had to pull out of a tournament in the middle east feeling ill.

However, when he did take an injury timeout and disappeared into the locker room, he returned with strapping on his upper thigh and it looked like it was a more straight forward muscle injury.

Maybe we will never know for sure, Nadal was coy about the injuries after the game, but it certainly looked to me that with the excess perspiration, like it was more than just a thigh problem.

After the first set Nadal was never in the game with only a few sketchy points here and there displaying any of his normal technique and swagger as he struggled to move and focus.

7th seed Ferrer for his part played an impressive game, sometimes it is not easy to keep your focus in such circumstances but even a 50% fit Nadal is still a dangerous opponent. However, he would have had to ask himself serious questions if he had not finished this match in 3 sets.

2nd seeded Federer was playing a semi-final match against the 3rd seed Novak Djokovic and after a slightly nervous start it became quickly obvious that Djokovic meant business.

Supported by fellow Serb Ana Ivanovic in the stands, he quickly found his serving rhythm which continued through out the match with his first serve stats over 70% and a very high conversion rate off of that 1st serve.

Federer gave his all out there but never really reached the heights that we know that he can reach with his normally reliable and, often, stunning backhand letting him down on numerous occasions.

Federer said afterwards,

“I thought he played a great match. I didn’t think I played bad myself, so it was a match played at a very high intensity for a long period of time. Clearly it’s disappointing to lose, but what to do if he plays well on the big points and potentially maybe I didn’t. It was a tough match. I was ready for another two sets easily. Pity I couldn’t push him there. I wish I could have won here for the fifth time, but it wasn’t possible tonight.”

Djokovic eventually closed out Federer in straight sets 7-6 (7-3 tie break), 7-5, 6-4 to book his place in this weekends Australian Open Final.

He will play either Andy Murray or David Ferrer who play their semi-final on Friday.

Photo: mbevis

Murray & Nadal Breeze into the Australian Open 3rd Round. Federer Struggles.

Posted by Gary in Sports, Tennis

The first major tennis tournament of the year, the Australian Open, kicked off this week in Melbourne.

The tournament has so far gone to plan for the top mens seeds as the quarter finals get closer. Roger Federer was the only one to have a scare when he was in danger of losing his second round match with Frenchman Gilles Simon.

Federer initially looked to be cruising in the 3rd round as Simon showed no real spark in the first two sets. Simon then began to show why he had previously been ranked as 6th in the world before an injury forced a lengthy absence.

Forcing Federer to go all out for his shots by the sheer quality of his defence and counter punching, the defending champion began to make errors. It started to seem obvious why Federer had lost their two previous encounters with Simon.

If Simon manages to move his game into a move pro-active game rather than relying on counter punches and strong defence then he really will be a force to be reckoned with.

After evening up the sets at 2-2 the 5th set was a tense affair with Roger Federer eventually emerging as the winner after gaining an early break.

Andy Murray had a similar philosophy to Simon in previous years, his game mainly based on defence and counter attack, but this year there seems to have been a change.

It looks like, after losing the final here last year, that he realises that he has to come out all guns blazing and really take the game to his opponents rather than sitting back and soaking up pressure.

He did that in his 2nd round match with Illya Marchenko not really posing enough questions of the number 5 seed as he came through 6-1,6-3,6-3.

Nadal too had no problems beating qualifier Ryan Sweeting 6-2 6-1 6-1 comfortably.

Photo: n.hewson