Sam Stosur fell to 59th seed Sorana Cirstea on a blistering second day of the Australian Open. Stosur, the US Open Champion and home favourite, looked nervous from the start and lost the first set on a crucial tie-break and never quite recovered, playing out a poor second set to limp loosely to a 7-6 (6-2) 6-3 defeat. Stosur has never played well at her home Slam and will have to spend the next two weeks wondering where her game goes every time she has the roar of support solely on her side.
Williams, making her first appearance at the Aussie Open for two years, made a stodgy start to this years campaign against Austria's Tamira Paszek, winning 6-3 6-2. It was a patchy performance from the former world number one and she'll have to improve if she's going to prove as dangerous as in former years.
In the men's draw Djokovic and Murray made their starts and the world number one carried his imperious form of last year into this as he demolished Paolo Lorenzi of Italy 6-2 6-0 6-0. He is looking pretty darn good, I have to say.
Murray fought to win a decidedly tougher match in defeating dangerous American Ryan Harrison 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-2. He made a sluggish start and lost the first set tamely to a firing Harrison who had said before the match that he was excited to play Murray. The Scot, however, began to find his range mid-way through the second set and his experience showed as the game wore on and Harrison tired. Murray will meet Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin on Thursday for a place in the third round.
Roddick, Ferrer, Simon, Monfils and Hewitt are also through to the next round, with Kvitova, Wozniacki, Zvonareva and Sharapova joining them.
Day three will bring Federer and Nadal, Clijsters and Azarenka back to the forefront. But my second round pick? Roddick v Hewitt. It's going to be a humdinger, no doubt about it.
I'll keep you blogged...
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Monday, 16 January 2012
Aussie Open 2012, Day 1
The first day of this year's Australian Open was bathed in glorious sunshine and steaming heat. It saw many of the favourites go through - Federer, Nadal, Ferrer, Clijsters, Azarenka, Wozniacki - and many a Brit fall short - all five British players lost and lost convincingly.
Watson was the first victim. She started well against Victoria Azarenka, with a service hold and break points against the 3rd seed but once Azarenka held her first game she didn't look back. The heat seemed to be getting to an increasingly frustrated Watson who surrendered the first set in 36 minutes. She started the second brightly with some penetrating shots but Azarenka was in her stride and hitting winners at will. A bagel looked inevitable and thus it proved when Watson made her 27th unforced error and handed Azarenka the game.
Next came Baltacha who was playing a player ranked 53 places lower than the world number 54. She would have been confident of a win over Frenchwoman Foretz Gacon but suffered a terrible start and never really recovered, losing the first set 6-2 and faltering at 4-4 in the second to hand Gacon the break and then the match - 6-2 6-4. She said afterwards that she hadn't felt comfortable on court.
Laura Robson was outclassed by former number one Jelena Jankovic 6-2 6-0. The left-hander looked ill-at-ease from the beginning dropping her serve straight away and losing the second set to another bagel - the second of the day for the British players.
James Ward was beaten solidly by his 103rd ranked opponent Kavcic of Slovakia, 6-4 6-3 6-4. He couldn't find the magical form that saw him reach the semi-final of Queen's last year despite having come through qualifying to reach the main draw of the Australian Open by rights for the first time. Kavcic goes on to play Del Potro in the second round.
Keothavong, Britain's fifth player of the day, faired worst of all against Germany's Barthel, retiring after losing the first set 6-0 with suspected food poisoning - a third bagel set of the day for the Brits.
So our hopes, once again, rest squarely on Andy Murray's shoulders. Not a bad shout, according to many experts predicting a maiden Slam for the number four seed here. Having reached the final for the last two years, off the back of his victory in Brisbane, and with new coach Llendl breathing life into his game, Murray could produce an Open to remember.
Men's match of the day: Tomic v Verdasco, 4-6 6-7 6-4 6-2 7-5 - Tomic, the young Australian hopeful, came back from two sets down to beat 22nd seed Fernando Verdasco. It was a real hum-dinger of a match with momentum swinging this way and that. Ultimately Tomic handled the pressure better and seemed to relish in the crowd's attention.
Women's match of the day: Radwanska v Mattek-Sands, 6-7 6-4 6-2 - Radwanska found it tough going against the spirited American. The first set could have been either ladies as they traded blows and each had chances to tie it up. It was Mattek-Sands who found the way through eventually taking it 12-10 in the tie break. Radwanska, the 8th seed, broke back in the second set to take it to a decider where she played her best tennis of the match against a wilting opponent. Great match.
On a day that saw eight seeds fall (three women and five men - Panetta, at 19th, the highest ranked) and nine five-setters contested, with temperatures hitting 30 degrees and the wind causing havoc, the Aussie Open has started with a bang.
And what we've all been waiting for, my predictions.
Men's Champion: Andy Murray
Women's Champion: Petra Kvitova
We shall see.
I'll keep you blogged...
Watson was the first victim. She started well against Victoria Azarenka, with a service hold and break points against the 3rd seed but once Azarenka held her first game she didn't look back. The heat seemed to be getting to an increasingly frustrated Watson who surrendered the first set in 36 minutes. She started the second brightly with some penetrating shots but Azarenka was in her stride and hitting winners at will. A bagel looked inevitable and thus it proved when Watson made her 27th unforced error and handed Azarenka the game.
Next came Baltacha who was playing a player ranked 53 places lower than the world number 54. She would have been confident of a win over Frenchwoman Foretz Gacon but suffered a terrible start and never really recovered, losing the first set 6-2 and faltering at 4-4 in the second to hand Gacon the break and then the match - 6-2 6-4. She said afterwards that she hadn't felt comfortable on court.
Laura Robson was outclassed by former number one Jelena Jankovic 6-2 6-0. The left-hander looked ill-at-ease from the beginning dropping her serve straight away and losing the second set to another bagel - the second of the day for the British players.
James Ward was beaten solidly by his 103rd ranked opponent Kavcic of Slovakia, 6-4 6-3 6-4. He couldn't find the magical form that saw him reach the semi-final of Queen's last year despite having come through qualifying to reach the main draw of the Australian Open by rights for the first time. Kavcic goes on to play Del Potro in the second round.
Keothavong, Britain's fifth player of the day, faired worst of all against Germany's Barthel, retiring after losing the first set 6-0 with suspected food poisoning - a third bagel set of the day for the Brits.
So our hopes, once again, rest squarely on Andy Murray's shoulders. Not a bad shout, according to many experts predicting a maiden Slam for the number four seed here. Having reached the final for the last two years, off the back of his victory in Brisbane, and with new coach Llendl breathing life into his game, Murray could produce an Open to remember.
Men's match of the day: Tomic v Verdasco, 4-6 6-7 6-4 6-2 7-5 - Tomic, the young Australian hopeful, came back from two sets down to beat 22nd seed Fernando Verdasco. It was a real hum-dinger of a match with momentum swinging this way and that. Ultimately Tomic handled the pressure better and seemed to relish in the crowd's attention.
Women's match of the day: Radwanska v Mattek-Sands, 6-7 6-4 6-2 - Radwanska found it tough going against the spirited American. The first set could have been either ladies as they traded blows and each had chances to tie it up. It was Mattek-Sands who found the way through eventually taking it 12-10 in the tie break. Radwanska, the 8th seed, broke back in the second set to take it to a decider where she played her best tennis of the match against a wilting opponent. Great match.
On a day that saw eight seeds fall (three women and five men - Panetta, at 19th, the highest ranked) and nine five-setters contested, with temperatures hitting 30 degrees and the wind causing havoc, the Aussie Open has started with a bang.
And what we've all been waiting for, my predictions.
Men's Champion: Andy Murray
Women's Champion: Petra Kvitova
We shall see.
I'll keep you blogged...
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Tennis 2012
I have blinked and it's 2012 and the tennis season is starting all over again. Boy oh boy. Suddenly we have the Australian Open to gorge on in just 13 days. The French will be here before we know it, then Wimbledon, and at last the US. I can't believe it's about to happen all over again.
Already there are results to talk about. Djoko has made a very promising start to the year after crushing The Fed and Ferrer to win the Abu Dhabi exhibition. Ferrer, in his turn, defeated Nadal. Will Djokovic be able to live up to the exceptional standard he set last year? Will Nadal bounce back from a whole host of defeats against the unflappable Serb to win more than just the French this year? Will Federer pick up his first slam since 2010 on the back of his brilliant triumph against Tsonga at the World Tour Finals in November? Will Murray win his first major? Will one of the others do the impossible and take a slam from the top four?
And on the women's tour will Serena bounce back from a tough couple of years? Will this be the year that the Williams sisters retire (possibly after the Olympics)? Will we see a more dominant player emerge or will there be four different women winning the slams again? Will any British women make roads into the bigger tournaments?
We shall see.
Murray has finally appointed a full-time coach and it is to be one Ivan Lendl. He hopes Lendl can help him 'mentally' with certain things. Although Lendl has never coached before and has kept a low profile since his retirement in 1994, he is certainly qualified to help Murray. He lost his first four grand slam finals before going on to win eight major singles titles and hold the number one spot for 270 weeks. Lets hope whatever clicked for Lendl can click for Murray and 2012 can be the start of something great for the young Scot.
Murray is through a tough opener at his first tournament of the year, the Brisbane International, coming through against Mikhail Kukushkin, 5-7 6-3 6-2.
Bring on the next few weeks and the first major of the year.
I'll keep you blogged...
Already there are results to talk about. Djoko has made a very promising start to the year after crushing The Fed and Ferrer to win the Abu Dhabi exhibition. Ferrer, in his turn, defeated Nadal. Will Djokovic be able to live up to the exceptional standard he set last year? Will Nadal bounce back from a whole host of defeats against the unflappable Serb to win more than just the French this year? Will Federer pick up his first slam since 2010 on the back of his brilliant triumph against Tsonga at the World Tour Finals in November? Will Murray win his first major? Will one of the others do the impossible and take a slam from the top four?
And on the women's tour will Serena bounce back from a tough couple of years? Will this be the year that the Williams sisters retire (possibly after the Olympics)? Will we see a more dominant player emerge or will there be four different women winning the slams again? Will any British women make roads into the bigger tournaments?
We shall see.
Murray has finally appointed a full-time coach and it is to be one Ivan Lendl. He hopes Lendl can help him 'mentally' with certain things. Although Lendl has never coached before and has kept a low profile since his retirement in 1994, he is certainly qualified to help Murray. He lost his first four grand slam finals before going on to win eight major singles titles and hold the number one spot for 270 weeks. Lets hope whatever clicked for Lendl can click for Murray and 2012 can be the start of something great for the young Scot.
Murray is through a tough opener at his first tournament of the year, the Brisbane International, coming through against Mikhail Kukushkin, 5-7 6-3 6-2.
Bring on the next few weeks and the first major of the year.
I'll keep you blogged...
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
ATP World Tour Finals - Day 5
Friday 25th November
Djokovic and Berdych were fighting for their places today as wins were the name of the game for this pair. Djoko took on Davis Cup team mate Tipsarevic in the day match and Berdy fought for his place against so far unbeatable Ferrer in the evening match.
Djokovic and Tipsarevic are good friends off the court but there was little evidence of this as the pair battled it out in the O2. Djokovic came out all guns firing and quickly wrapped up the first set 6-3. He looked to be drawing on unknown reserves and making a fight for the finals of the last tournament of what has been an incredible year for the world number 1. Tipsarevic, a reserve for Andy Murray who lost his opening match, had nothing to gain by winning this match in terms of progression in the competition, and surely would want to see his good friend go through to have a chance of another title? Sportsmen, however, do not think this way. A match is a match and no player would go into one not wanting to win, or not caring whether they won or not. Tipsarevic was not about to bow out of his first Tour End Finals without a show.
He rallied in the second set and hit huge groundstrokes to take it 6-3 and set up a decider. Djokovic was broken in the very first game of the third set and never quite recovered as Tipsarevic hit clever shots and then booming groundstrokes to beat Djoko for only the 6th time this year (in 76 matches).
Djoko had to hope that Ferrer beat Berdych in straight sets to go through to the semis.
Ferrer is on a winning streak. He defeated a crook Murray in straight sets on Monday and then destroyed Djokovic on Wednesday. He is already sure of a place in the semis but a victory today ensures he will play the second place player in the other group, a far better prospect than Federer who he has not beaten in 11 meetings. He should have had no fear, then, of Berdych - a lower ranked player than himself and one who has a 1-1 win/loss ratio in the tournament so far.
He didn't look like he feared Berdy as he won the first set 6-3 and was twice a break up in the second and seemingly cruising to victory. This fearlessness, however, didn't last. He suffered a dramatic collapse and lost the second set 7-5, then the third 6-1. Berdych played well and took full advantage of his opponents loss of form, but Ferrer basically handed Berdych the win and as such the right to play Tsonga instead of Fed in the semi finals.
Ferrer said of his match against Federer that he would fight and acknowledged he's never beaten Federer before but will try his hardest to do so.
I'll keep you blogged...
Djokovic and Berdych were fighting for their places today as wins were the name of the game for this pair. Djoko took on Davis Cup team mate Tipsarevic in the day match and Berdy fought for his place against so far unbeatable Ferrer in the evening match.
Djokovic and Tipsarevic are good friends off the court but there was little evidence of this as the pair battled it out in the O2. Djokovic came out all guns firing and quickly wrapped up the first set 6-3. He looked to be drawing on unknown reserves and making a fight for the finals of the last tournament of what has been an incredible year for the world number 1. Tipsarevic, a reserve for Andy Murray who lost his opening match, had nothing to gain by winning this match in terms of progression in the competition, and surely would want to see his good friend go through to have a chance of another title? Sportsmen, however, do not think this way. A match is a match and no player would go into one not wanting to win, or not caring whether they won or not. Tipsarevic was not about to bow out of his first Tour End Finals without a show.
He rallied in the second set and hit huge groundstrokes to take it 6-3 and set up a decider. Djokovic was broken in the very first game of the third set and never quite recovered as Tipsarevic hit clever shots and then booming groundstrokes to beat Djoko for only the 6th time this year (in 76 matches).
Djoko had to hope that Ferrer beat Berdych in straight sets to go through to the semis.
Ferrer is on a winning streak. He defeated a crook Murray in straight sets on Monday and then destroyed Djokovic on Wednesday. He is already sure of a place in the semis but a victory today ensures he will play the second place player in the other group, a far better prospect than Federer who he has not beaten in 11 meetings. He should have had no fear, then, of Berdych - a lower ranked player than himself and one who has a 1-1 win/loss ratio in the tournament so far.
He didn't look like he feared Berdy as he won the first set 6-3 and was twice a break up in the second and seemingly cruising to victory. This fearlessness, however, didn't last. He suffered a dramatic collapse and lost the second set 7-5, then the third 6-1. Berdych played well and took full advantage of his opponents loss of form, but Ferrer basically handed Berdych the win and as such the right to play Tsonga instead of Fed in the semi finals.
Ferrer said of his match against Federer that he would fight and acknowledged he's never beaten Federer before but will try his hardest to do so.
I'll keep you blogged...
Monday, 28 November 2011
ATP World Tour Finals - Day 4
Thursday 24th November
Today Federer took on Fish in a dead rubber match on day 4 of the ATP World Tour Finals. Fish doesn't have a good record against Federer but in a contest like this - his first tour end finals, Federer already through after two stonking performances, Fish's parents in the audience - he had nothing to lose. He started poorly, however, and soon found himself a set down with only one game on the board.
He rallied in the second set and produced some beautiful serving to gain some momentum. He then rushed Federer into a couple of mistakes and found himself a break up and cruising to the business end of the set. Federer looked edgy as Fish continued to hit the ball early and find the lines with his booming groundstrokes. He was also showing his metal at the net and served out confidently for the set to take it to a decider.
The third was a very tight affair and Federer himself said afterwards that he was worried and that he thought he was going to lose. He quickly gained a stranglehold on the set, however, as he broke Fish to go 2-0 up. Fish held on and the two men put on quite a show until Federer's trademark backhand ensured a 37th career victory in the competition - putting him second on the list and two behind top dog Ivan Lendl (39).
Fish can go home a happy man having completed his best year ever on a fine performance this Thanksgiving day.
The other match was Tsonga v. Nadal, a must-win match for both players. Nadal has had a relatively weak competition so far and would have wanted to come out all guns blazing against the in-form Frenchman. Tsonga, on the other hand, was looking to reach his first Tour Finals semi-final.
The two men commenced battle from the very first point and neither admitted defeat until Tsonga sunk Nadal and sent him home nearly three hours later. It was a great match. Two hard-hitting scrappy players fighting tooth and nail. Tsonga won a tough first set on the tie-break and Nadal took the second on a single break.
Here was another third set decider. Nadal, famed for his resilience and ability to close out tough matches was now surely firm favourite. It was Tsonga, however, who responded best to the crowd's cheers and the pressure. He played brilliantly to break Nadal in the third game, held to love, then broke the Spaniard again to secure a 5-2 lead and a chance to serve for the semi-finals. With his superb shot-making and athleticism it was hard to see how Nadal could find a way back into the match but Tsonga choked when serving for the match and three double faults kept Nadal in contention.
Nadal was a broken man though and Tsonga, no doubt annoyed with his poor display in the previous game, broke him to love with an inside-out forehand that wrapped up an awesome performance.
Tsonga - through; Nadal - gone.
I'll keep you blogged...
Today Federer took on Fish in a dead rubber match on day 4 of the ATP World Tour Finals. Fish doesn't have a good record against Federer but in a contest like this - his first tour end finals, Federer already through after two stonking performances, Fish's parents in the audience - he had nothing to lose. He started poorly, however, and soon found himself a set down with only one game on the board.
He rallied in the second set and produced some beautiful serving to gain some momentum. He then rushed Federer into a couple of mistakes and found himself a break up and cruising to the business end of the set. Federer looked edgy as Fish continued to hit the ball early and find the lines with his booming groundstrokes. He was also showing his metal at the net and served out confidently for the set to take it to a decider.
The third was a very tight affair and Federer himself said afterwards that he was worried and that he thought he was going to lose. He quickly gained a stranglehold on the set, however, as he broke Fish to go 2-0 up. Fish held on and the two men put on quite a show until Federer's trademark backhand ensured a 37th career victory in the competition - putting him second on the list and two behind top dog Ivan Lendl (39).
Fish can go home a happy man having completed his best year ever on a fine performance this Thanksgiving day.
The other match was Tsonga v. Nadal, a must-win match for both players. Nadal has had a relatively weak competition so far and would have wanted to come out all guns blazing against the in-form Frenchman. Tsonga, on the other hand, was looking to reach his first Tour Finals semi-final.
The two men commenced battle from the very first point and neither admitted defeat until Tsonga sunk Nadal and sent him home nearly three hours later. It was a great match. Two hard-hitting scrappy players fighting tooth and nail. Tsonga won a tough first set on the tie-break and Nadal took the second on a single break.
Here was another third set decider. Nadal, famed for his resilience and ability to close out tough matches was now surely firm favourite. It was Tsonga, however, who responded best to the crowd's cheers and the pressure. He played brilliantly to break Nadal in the third game, held to love, then broke the Spaniard again to secure a 5-2 lead and a chance to serve for the semi-finals. With his superb shot-making and athleticism it was hard to see how Nadal could find a way back into the match but Tsonga choked when serving for the match and three double faults kept Nadal in contention.
Nadal was a broken man though and Tsonga, no doubt annoyed with his poor display in the previous game, broke him to love with an inside-out forehand that wrapped up an awesome performance.
Tsonga - through; Nadal - gone.
I'll keep you blogged...
Saturday, 26 November 2011
ATP Tour Finals - O2
Wednesday 23rd November
Today Tipsarevic stepped into the fray as Andy Murray's replacement and the lucky number nine. He played Berdych who, after Monday's disappointment against Djokovic, had to win in order to have a chance of going through. Tipsarevic, I would imagine, was just pretty happy to be there. He can, however, go through if he wins both his matches.
Tipsy, with his trademark glasses, embraced the stage from the get-go. He won the first set 6-2 and had Berdy flustered on the other side of the net. He was looking very dangerous in fact. Berdy was going to have to step up his game if he was going to progress and beat a man obviously relishing his chance at being in this tournament for the first time.
Berdych was up for the challenge and battled in the second set to take it to a third. Tipsarevic's form didn't waver as he took Berdych to a tie-break - the third third set tie-break of the tournament. It was amazingly close with both players stretching to the limit. Tipsarevic was the first to gain that vital mini-break which brought up match point but he missed his shot and then served a double to hand Berdych a match point. He wasn't about to give that up as he had against Djokovic two days earlier, and the match ended on a rather dramatic note as Tipsarevic stretched to return a booming serve from Berdy and then slipped to the ground, tried to struggle up, slipped again, and ended up flat on the ground, face down. Great stuff.
Djokovic and Ferrer contested the evening match, both needing victory to ensure a place in the semis. Djokovic, of course, started as favourite but Ferrer had carved an admittedly crook Murray in half on Monday and would no doubt be feeling good about his chances against the world number 1.
And well he might as under 90 minutes later he had beaten the unbeatable 6-3 6-1. A rather emphatic score and an equally emphatic performance. Yes, Djoko looked absolutely knackered and in the second set could hardly find the court but Ferrer's form never wavered. He hit good clean winners in the second set and scampered about returning every Djoko ball in the first. Djokovic, tired and flat in his post-match interview, conceded that Ferrer deserved the match. Djoko will go home to some well-deserved time off. Three slams and 75 matches won to five lost is a pretty decent year, I'd say.
I'll keep you blogged...
Today Tipsarevic stepped into the fray as Andy Murray's replacement and the lucky number nine. He played Berdych who, after Monday's disappointment against Djokovic, had to win in order to have a chance of going through. Tipsarevic, I would imagine, was just pretty happy to be there. He can, however, go through if he wins both his matches.
Tipsy, with his trademark glasses, embraced the stage from the get-go. He won the first set 6-2 and had Berdy flustered on the other side of the net. He was looking very dangerous in fact. Berdy was going to have to step up his game if he was going to progress and beat a man obviously relishing his chance at being in this tournament for the first time.
Berdych was up for the challenge and battled in the second set to take it to a third. Tipsarevic's form didn't waver as he took Berdych to a tie-break - the third third set tie-break of the tournament. It was amazingly close with both players stretching to the limit. Tipsarevic was the first to gain that vital mini-break which brought up match point but he missed his shot and then served a double to hand Berdych a match point. He wasn't about to give that up as he had against Djokovic two days earlier, and the match ended on a rather dramatic note as Tipsarevic stretched to return a booming serve from Berdy and then slipped to the ground, tried to struggle up, slipped again, and ended up flat on the ground, face down. Great stuff.
Djokovic and Ferrer contested the evening match, both needing victory to ensure a place in the semis. Djokovic, of course, started as favourite but Ferrer had carved an admittedly crook Murray in half on Monday and would no doubt be feeling good about his chances against the world number 1.
And well he might as under 90 minutes later he had beaten the unbeatable 6-3 6-1. A rather emphatic score and an equally emphatic performance. Yes, Djoko looked absolutely knackered and in the second set could hardly find the court but Ferrer's form never wavered. He hit good clean winners in the second set and scampered about returning every Djoko ball in the first. Djokovic, tired and flat in his post-match interview, conceded that Ferrer deserved the match. Djoko will go home to some well-deserved time off. Three slams and 75 matches won to five lost is a pretty decent year, I'd say.
I'll keep you blogged...
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
ATP Tour Finals - O2
Tuesday 22nd November
Mardy Fish has had a stella year. He's reached his highest ever ranking, ousted Roddick as America's number 1 and saw a quarter final of a Slam for the first time. He's playing in the World Tour Finals for the first (and, dare I say it, possibly the last...) time and he's not let himself down. He was brilliant against Nadal, only missing out by a point or two. Some of his shots were breathtaking.
Today he played Tsonga and needed to win to have any chance of going through to the semi finals. The first set was a tight affair, with momentum swinging this way and that. It went to a tie-break and Fish made one too many mistakes as Tsonga wrestled the set into submission. Fish seemed to lose faith after that and apart from a couple of flashes of his previous brilliance he was beaten easily by the hard-hitting and very smiley Frenchman.
Fish will have a last hurrah against the mighty Fed on Thursday and then he goes home for Christmas and training for the new season. Tsonga, meanwhile, will play Nadal - winner takes all.
The night match was a masterclass. A look back into the past where one man was absolutely unbeatable. He was graceful, elegant, stylish, unplayable, incredible and astonishing. I know, too many verbs, but it was that good. Federer's destruction of Nadal was a match that will go down in the history books. Federer himself said of the match that it was highly ranked because it was against one of his biggest rivals and that he was excited about the way he played. The 30-year-olds 26th meeting with Nadal was set up as THE match of the tournament so far. The fans were looking for some brilliance, especially after the news of Murray's withdrawal, but nobody could have predicted the level of play Federer brought.
He beat a confounded Nadal 6-3 6-0, and hit 28 winners to Nadal's 4. He won 85% points off his first serve and afforded Nadal not a single break point. He was, as Nadal graciously pointed out afterwards, 'too good'.
I'll keep you blogged...
Mardy Fish has had a stella year. He's reached his highest ever ranking, ousted Roddick as America's number 1 and saw a quarter final of a Slam for the first time. He's playing in the World Tour Finals for the first (and, dare I say it, possibly the last...) time and he's not let himself down. He was brilliant against Nadal, only missing out by a point or two. Some of his shots were breathtaking.
Today he played Tsonga and needed to win to have any chance of going through to the semi finals. The first set was a tight affair, with momentum swinging this way and that. It went to a tie-break and Fish made one too many mistakes as Tsonga wrestled the set into submission. Fish seemed to lose faith after that and apart from a couple of flashes of his previous brilliance he was beaten easily by the hard-hitting and very smiley Frenchman.
Fish will have a last hurrah against the mighty Fed on Thursday and then he goes home for Christmas and training for the new season. Tsonga, meanwhile, will play Nadal - winner takes all.
The night match was a masterclass. A look back into the past where one man was absolutely unbeatable. He was graceful, elegant, stylish, unplayable, incredible and astonishing. I know, too many verbs, but it was that good. Federer's destruction of Nadal was a match that will go down in the history books. Federer himself said of the match that it was highly ranked because it was against one of his biggest rivals and that he was excited about the way he played. The 30-year-olds 26th meeting with Nadal was set up as THE match of the tournament so far. The fans were looking for some brilliance, especially after the news of Murray's withdrawal, but nobody could have predicted the level of play Federer brought.
He beat a confounded Nadal 6-3 6-0, and hit 28 winners to Nadal's 4. He won 85% points off his first serve and afforded Nadal not a single break point. He was, as Nadal graciously pointed out afterwards, 'too good'.
I'll keep you blogged...
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