YES Alaistair Cook!
England destroy Sri Lanka by 10 wickets to draw the series level at 2-2. That's more like it. That's the England I know we can be, even in ODI cricket. Not only did we win by 10 wickets, we had nearly half our overs left in order to reach the target of 171 runs (reduced from 174 and to 48 overs after a brief rain delay). Cook batted like a man out to prove what a great opening batsmen he can be not only for Test cricket but for the shorter versions of the game as well, scoring 12 in the first over alone. He reached a magnificent 95 and Kieswetter a sublime 72 as England strolled to victory. The scorecard makes for happy reading as all of the bowlers but Swann got 2 or more wickets and their economies were very respectable.
Bring on Old Trafford. My little brother was worried about this series when we went 2-1 down - how do you feel now, Row?
I'll keep you blogged...
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
Monday, 4 July 2011
Wimbledon Finals
Kvitova beats Sharapova in straight sets to become Wimbledon champion for the first time at the age of 21.
Sharapova did not play a bad match - she returned well, her serve, although not devastating, was not a liability, she ran around that court like a bat out of hell and although she's never been the quickest on court, she was looking pretty fit and slick... Kvitova, however, was just better in every way that a player can be. Her groundstrokes were something to be seen to believe as she continuously pummelled the corners with frightening accuracy; her serves were fast and devastating and her quiet concentration was louder than any Shara scream as she beat her - and comfortably so - in straight sets - 6-3 6-4.
The tennis world has a new champion in Kvitova. The fact that she is Czech and left-handed sends the media into a frenzy of comparisons with Navratilova, but I think Kvitova has some way to go before she can boast 59 Grand Slam titles (18 singles, 31 ladies doubles, 10 mixed doubles) and 167 titles all-told (the record for any man or woman in the sport).
Saying that, she is an exciting talent and if she is able to build on her success at Wimbledon and to continue improving her game, great things could lie ahead for her. The new ear of women - Kvitova, Lisicki, Azarenka - are coming and the veterans and champions of old - Sharapova (she's 24, I know) and the Williams sisters - should watch out. As for the maybes, the so-near-and-yet-so-fars, the will-she-evers? - Wozza, Zvo, Janko and Ivano - they better step up because with Kvitova's win and the others all appearing in the semis, ladies tennis looks to be shifting and the maybes could become what ifs?
Djoko beats GoNads in four sets to make his 'dream' come true and win his first Wimbledon title.
Playing as good as he's ever done on grass, and probably as good as anyone could ever do on grass, Djokovic's scintilating pace and aggression was largely too much for Nadal.
Djoko took a tight and tense first set when Nadal was serving at 4-5. The crowd were restless waiting for the inevitable tie break where most of them, I'm sure, thought Nadal would step it up and outplay his Serbian opponent. It was Djoko, however, who stepped it up, and long before a tie break was even necessary. He hit deep and hard and accurately and GoNads found himself a break and then a set down to the man who would take his world number 1 spot the following day, no matter what the result.
The second set, where the commentators were calling on Nadal to 'push' and get it to one set all and even pegging, was a masterclass from Djoko. His defense was remarkable and GoNads got a real taste of his own medicine as he saw ball after ball coming back to him. Nadal made 15 unforced errors in total in the final, which is more than double how many he made against Ray-ray in the semis. He won only 44% of points behind his second serve and hit a mediocre 21 winners compared to Djoko's 27.
Something had to change in the third but when Djoko threatened to break again early on, the crowd, the commentators, and the viewers at home all suspected a straight sets annihilation. Nadal was not about to let that happen and he rallied himself admirably (as Djoko's level dropped) and broke Djoko twice on his way to a 6-1 third set victory.
The fourth set started shakily for a shocked Djoko and he was break points down in his first game. Now, the pundits were saying, this has the makings of a classic five-setter. Djoko is rattled and Nadal's on the hunt - final set shoot out here we come. Djoko managed to cling on to those early games and grew in confidence with every forehand cross court and backhand down the line, whilst Nadal, failing to capture that early break, started again with the unforced errors we'd seen in the first and second sets. He did not play the big points well which is something I've never said or even thought about GoNads before. His forehand, so often a weapon feared and revered in the tennis world, was misfiring long and into the net and his serve and backhand - his most improved shots - were not finding the placement or power consistently enough to trouble Novak. He got the break and found himself serving for the Championship at 5-3. A nervy few points got him to 30-30 and with a beady GoNads at the other end of the court Djoko needed some inspiration to see him win his fairytale Slam... and he served and volleyed for the first time in the match. Now that, my friend, is balls. On his first Championship point he sent a crushing serve down the tee, powered a beautiful forehand to the corner and flopped to the ground as GoNads could only push a desperate backhand wide and long.
Djoko becomes the first man other than Nadal or The Fed to win Wimbledon since 2004. And as his world number 1 ranking is confirmed today, have we stepped into a new era of a Djoko/GoNads rivalry? Can The Fed find his way back to winning ways? Can Ray-ray find any winning ways? Will the return of Del Potto tear the top four open?
We shall see, Mr Bumble.
I'll keep you blogged...
Sharapova did not play a bad match - she returned well, her serve, although not devastating, was not a liability, she ran around that court like a bat out of hell and although she's never been the quickest on court, she was looking pretty fit and slick... Kvitova, however, was just better in every way that a player can be. Her groundstrokes were something to be seen to believe as she continuously pummelled the corners with frightening accuracy; her serves were fast and devastating and her quiet concentration was louder than any Shara scream as she beat her - and comfortably so - in straight sets - 6-3 6-4.
The tennis world has a new champion in Kvitova. The fact that she is Czech and left-handed sends the media into a frenzy of comparisons with Navratilova, but I think Kvitova has some way to go before she can boast 59 Grand Slam titles (18 singles, 31 ladies doubles, 10 mixed doubles) and 167 titles all-told (the record for any man or woman in the sport).
Saying that, she is an exciting talent and if she is able to build on her success at Wimbledon and to continue improving her game, great things could lie ahead for her. The new ear of women - Kvitova, Lisicki, Azarenka - are coming and the veterans and champions of old - Sharapova (she's 24, I know) and the Williams sisters - should watch out. As for the maybes, the so-near-and-yet-so-fars, the will-she-evers? - Wozza, Zvo, Janko and Ivano - they better step up because with Kvitova's win and the others all appearing in the semis, ladies tennis looks to be shifting and the maybes could become what ifs?
Djoko beats GoNads in four sets to make his 'dream' come true and win his first Wimbledon title.
Playing as good as he's ever done on grass, and probably as good as anyone could ever do on grass, Djokovic's scintilating pace and aggression was largely too much for Nadal.
Djoko took a tight and tense first set when Nadal was serving at 4-5. The crowd were restless waiting for the inevitable tie break where most of them, I'm sure, thought Nadal would step it up and outplay his Serbian opponent. It was Djoko, however, who stepped it up, and long before a tie break was even necessary. He hit deep and hard and accurately and GoNads found himself a break and then a set down to the man who would take his world number 1 spot the following day, no matter what the result.
The second set, where the commentators were calling on Nadal to 'push' and get it to one set all and even pegging, was a masterclass from Djoko. His defense was remarkable and GoNads got a real taste of his own medicine as he saw ball after ball coming back to him. Nadal made 15 unforced errors in total in the final, which is more than double how many he made against Ray-ray in the semis. He won only 44% of points behind his second serve and hit a mediocre 21 winners compared to Djoko's 27.
Something had to change in the third but when Djoko threatened to break again early on, the crowd, the commentators, and the viewers at home all suspected a straight sets annihilation. Nadal was not about to let that happen and he rallied himself admirably (as Djoko's level dropped) and broke Djoko twice on his way to a 6-1 third set victory.
The fourth set started shakily for a shocked Djoko and he was break points down in his first game. Now, the pundits were saying, this has the makings of a classic five-setter. Djoko is rattled and Nadal's on the hunt - final set shoot out here we come. Djoko managed to cling on to those early games and grew in confidence with every forehand cross court and backhand down the line, whilst Nadal, failing to capture that early break, started again with the unforced errors we'd seen in the first and second sets. He did not play the big points well which is something I've never said or even thought about GoNads before. His forehand, so often a weapon feared and revered in the tennis world, was misfiring long and into the net and his serve and backhand - his most improved shots - were not finding the placement or power consistently enough to trouble Novak. He got the break and found himself serving for the Championship at 5-3. A nervy few points got him to 30-30 and with a beady GoNads at the other end of the court Djoko needed some inspiration to see him win his fairytale Slam... and he served and volleyed for the first time in the match. Now that, my friend, is balls. On his first Championship point he sent a crushing serve down the tee, powered a beautiful forehand to the corner and flopped to the ground as GoNads could only push a desperate backhand wide and long.
Djoko becomes the first man other than Nadal or The Fed to win Wimbledon since 2004. And as his world number 1 ranking is confirmed today, have we stepped into a new era of a Djoko/GoNads rivalry? Can The Fed find his way back to winning ways? Can Ray-ray find any winning ways? Will the return of Del Potto tear the top four open?
We shall see, Mr Bumble.
I'll keep you blogged...
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
Claws
The fed loses to Tsonga after being two sets up and cruising.
Well well well.
Tsonga wins 3-6 6-7 6-4 6-4 6-4
Very weird. Federer didn't even look like he was trying in the fifth set. Really sluggish and careless and way way too casual. That is not what I expect to see from Federer. I'm disappointed. Can feel the claws of unhappiness squeezing at my heart. Hum.
Djoko beat Tomic in four tight sets (well, three tight sets - the first was a bit of a walkover as I suspect Tomic gave in to a few nerves at the big occassion and Djoko capitalised) - 6-2 3-6 6-3 7-5.
So Djoko will face Tsonga in the semis - a repeat of the US Open final that Djoko won easily. What will come of Ray-ray/Lopez and GoNads/Fish? I don't think I can handle anymore shocks.
I'll keep you blogged...
Well well well.
Tsonga wins 3-6 6-7 6-4 6-4 6-4
Very weird. Federer didn't even look like he was trying in the fifth set. Really sluggish and careless and way way too casual. That is not what I expect to see from Federer. I'm disappointed. Can feel the claws of unhappiness squeezing at my heart. Hum.
Djoko beat Tomic in four tight sets (well, three tight sets - the first was a bit of a walkover as I suspect Tomic gave in to a few nerves at the big occassion and Djoko capitalised) - 6-2 3-6 6-3 7-5.
So Djoko will face Tsonga in the semis - a repeat of the US Open final that Djoko won easily. What will come of Ray-ray/Lopez and GoNads/Fish? I don't think I can handle anymore shocks.
I'll keep you blogged...
Magic Monday and Thunderstorm Tuesday
Hmm, may need to work on the title a little. In my head 'Thunderstorm Tuesday' sounded great but written down it looks a little... well, rubbish.
MONDAY was a mind-blowing day of tennis. So many three-/five-setters; so many upsets. The biggest casualties? I guess it's a toss-up between world number 1 (not to mention my tip for the title) Caroline Wozniacki crashing out to Diminutive (because she's only 5'3"...) Cibulkova, and both Williams sisters being beaten - Serena to Bartoli and Venus to Pironkova. Who'd have thunk it? Well, actually, I have to point out that I did think that from the get go. No further than the third or fourth rounds. You can see it in writing a few blogs down. proof that occassionally I know what I'm talking about.
Bartoli was brutal in her demolition of Serena, winning in straight sets 6-3 7-6. Serena's fighting instincts saw her pushing through to a tie break in the second set, after being a break down with Bouncy Bartoli serving for the match at 5-4, but she was unable to withstand the accurate and powerful hitting from the double-handed Bartoli. Or perhaps she was mesmerized by Bartoli's bizarre pre-point-post-point bouncing and swishing and running around. I know I was distracted. As Alistair McGowan quipped, 'She seems to be playing two matches at once - one against her opponent and one against an imaginary friend.' (NB: NOT an accurate quote.)
Pironkova is becoming something of an achilles heal for Venus. She beat her at Wimbledon last year, didn't do a lot of anything in between, and now comes back to SW19 only to beat Venus again. And comfortably at that - 6-2 6-3. Perhaps Venus was reeling from the shock of her sister losing but I suspect her defeat, and the defeat of Serena, has more to do with the inevitable decline of the sisters. They've been unbeatable for over 10 years but with Venus turning 31 and Serena 30 in September, surely their time has passed?
The men's draw fared much more predictable results as all four of the top four got
through, although that isn't to say there were not some tricky matches. Ray-ray found his best form of the Championships so far and beat a dangerous Gasquet 7-6 6-3 6-2, whose challenge all but crumpled after losing a very tight first set. Dojoko creamed Llodra 6-3 6-3 6-3 and never looked threatened. The Fed and GoNads both dropped sets against their opponents - Youzhny and Del Potro respectively - but the Swiss came through far more comfortably than GoNads, who required treatment before the first-set tie break on his heel. He put in a typical gritty performance and eventually over came old Potty but it was not an easy win and I sense he'll be feeling the repurcussions of it going into his quarter final.
The other quarter finalists are Tomic (that's ICK not ITCH) who continues his amazing run and becomes the youngest player - at 18 - to go into the quarters since Boris Becker in 1986 by beating Malisse 6-1 7-5 6-4. He'll now play Djoko in the next round. Tsonga beat Ferrer in rather convincing fashion and will become The Fed's dangerous quarter-final opponent. My tennis coach reckons Fed will win in four with Tsonga squeezing a tie break, I countered with straight sets to Fed but close all the way. We shall see. Ray-ray's opponent will be one Feliziano Lopez who beat Kubot in 5 nail biting sets - 3-6 6-7 7-6 7-5 7-5. That is one close match. Last but not least we have GoNads who will be playing America's number 1 male and only remaining American player in the torunament, Mardi Fish.
BRING IT ON!
Yesterday the women's semi finalists were decided:
Screamy Shara v wildcard Lisicki
Annoying Azarenka v Kvitova.
What do I want? A Lisicki/Kvitova final. I'll leave it at that.
I'll keep you blogged...
MONDAY was a mind-blowing day of tennis. So many three-/five-setters; so many upsets. The biggest casualties? I guess it's a toss-up between world number 1 (not to mention my tip for the title) Caroline Wozniacki crashing out to Diminutive (because she's only 5'3"...) Cibulkova, and both Williams sisters being beaten - Serena to Bartoli and Venus to Pironkova. Who'd have thunk it? Well, actually, I have to point out that I did think that from the get go. No further than the third or fourth rounds. You can see it in writing a few blogs down. proof that occassionally I know what I'm talking about.
Bartoli was brutal in her demolition of Serena, winning in straight sets 6-3 7-6. Serena's fighting instincts saw her pushing through to a tie break in the second set, after being a break down with Bouncy Bartoli serving for the match at 5-4, but she was unable to withstand the accurate and powerful hitting from the double-handed Bartoli. Or perhaps she was mesmerized by Bartoli's bizarre pre-point-post-point bouncing and swishing and running around. I know I was distracted. As Alistair McGowan quipped, 'She seems to be playing two matches at once - one against her opponent and one against an imaginary friend.' (NB: NOT an accurate quote.)
Pironkova is becoming something of an achilles heal for Venus. She beat her at Wimbledon last year, didn't do a lot of anything in between, and now comes back to SW19 only to beat Venus again. And comfortably at that - 6-2 6-3. Perhaps Venus was reeling from the shock of her sister losing but I suspect her defeat, and the defeat of Serena, has more to do with the inevitable decline of the sisters. They've been unbeatable for over 10 years but with Venus turning 31 and Serena 30 in September, surely their time has passed?
The men's draw fared much more predictable results as all four of the top four got
through, although that isn't to say there were not some tricky matches. Ray-ray found his best form of the Championships so far and beat a dangerous Gasquet 7-6 6-3 6-2, whose challenge all but crumpled after losing a very tight first set. Dojoko creamed Llodra 6-3 6-3 6-3 and never looked threatened. The Fed and GoNads both dropped sets against their opponents - Youzhny and Del Potro respectively - but the Swiss came through far more comfortably than GoNads, who required treatment before the first-set tie break on his heel. He put in a typical gritty performance and eventually over came old Potty but it was not an easy win and I sense he'll be feeling the repurcussions of it going into his quarter final.
The other quarter finalists are Tomic (that's ICK not ITCH) who continues his amazing run and becomes the youngest player - at 18 - to go into the quarters since Boris Becker in 1986 by beating Malisse 6-1 7-5 6-4. He'll now play Djoko in the next round. Tsonga beat Ferrer in rather convincing fashion and will become The Fed's dangerous quarter-final opponent. My tennis coach reckons Fed will win in four with Tsonga squeezing a tie break, I countered with straight sets to Fed but close all the way. We shall see. Ray-ray's opponent will be one Feliziano Lopez who beat Kubot in 5 nail biting sets - 3-6 6-7 7-6 7-5 7-5. That is one close match. Last but not least we have GoNads who will be playing America's number 1 male and only remaining American player in the torunament, Mardi Fish.
BRING IT ON!
Yesterday the women's semi finalists were decided:
Screamy Shara v wildcard Lisicki
Annoying Azarenka v Kvitova.
What do I want? A Lisicki/Kvitova final. I'll leave it at that.
I'll keep you blogged...
Sunday, 26 June 2011
Wimbledon, Days 4, 5 and 6
So the first week of the Womble is over and there have been some juicy juicy matches, some great wins, some crushing losses, and some big names on their planes home already. The highest casualty in the men's draw so far is 8th Andy Roddick who lost in straight sets to an outrageously inspired performance by Lopez. He looked smooth as galaxy chocolate as he annihilated Roddick's game piece by piece. There's no doubt he deserved the win and an always humble Roddy acknowledged this as they shook hands. Elsewhere Monfils and The Sod suffered 3rd round losses to two up-and-coming players - Tomic and Kubot; names to watch out for. Melzer also went out to an inspired Malisse.
In the women's draw 2nd seed Vera Zvo crashed out to Little Pironkova who looked muy impressivo as she took apart Zvo's game and booked her place for the second week. Wozza progressed serenely through and looks on course for her maiden Slam, even if Screamy Shara is the bookies favourites. Bartoli had a brute of a match against Pennetta but squeezed through eventually, 9-7 in the decider. Scary Schia did not fare as well in her equally epic match against Paszet, 3+ hours of hard-fought slogging which Paszet came through 3-6 6-8 11-9. Great match.
Of the top four men, only The Fed has progressed with grace and ease. GoNads has continued to look tired and sometimes ragged against opponents he was crushing on his way to his second Wimbledon trophy this time last year. Djoko seems to have reverted back to his old ways of looking dead on his feet and staring up at his box in disbelief as he struggles for form, energy and concentration. Ray-ray is, as ever, giving us a hell of a ride as he flirts with brilliance and rubbish from one shot to the next.
My pick of the up coming matches:
Has to be GoNads/Del Potty. What a match that could be. If Potty plays as we all know he can, it could be one hell of a humdinger. Bring it ON.
Also, Ray-ray plays Gasquet. Will it be a repeat of their 2008 first round encounter? I don't think my nerves could take it.
I'll keep you blogged...
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Wimbledon, Day 2 & 3
ATTACK OF THE KILLER BEES!
Okay, so attack is not really the right word, it was more they were mass-moving and we were getting in their way, and there wasn't a lot of killing going on either. But still, hiding under my coat and my boyfriend whilst thousands of bees swarmed overhead was not how I was expecting to spend my time on Henman Hill. Pretty interesting though.
The tennis seemed to tie seamlessly with the warm, breezy, changeable day - a sedate match or period of play in the sunshine for The Fed and Djoko and a tumultuous emotional storm for Serena Williams, playing in her first Slam since she injured her foot after winning Wimbledon last year. But she came through against a dangerous first-round opponent (Rezai) and made it clear for all the world to see that she was more than happy to be back. After the year she's had, a win at Wimbledon - nothing major for the Serena of old - must feel like a mountain climbed.
There have been few shocks so far but some amazing tennis. My matches of the Championships so far:
Stepanek v Verdasco - Verdasco the eventual winner in five scintillating sets. A match I would have seen had the rain not come early on the opening day...
Kimiko Date-Krumm v Venus Williams - absolute peach. Exactly why I like tennis.
Roll on tomorrow, hopefully with less swarms.
I'll keep you blogged...
Monday, 20 June 2011
Wimbledon, Day 1
I had the pleasure and the privilege of going to Wimbledon today. My Dad and I had Court 2 tickets and enjoyed a better than expected day as the weather held off for a good five hours of tennis. We saw a resurgent Venus Williams beat giant, 6'3" Uzbekistan, Akgul Amanmuradova, 6-3 6-1. A very entertaining and impressive Gael Monfils defeated Germany's Matthias Bachinger 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 in a great and sometimes highly competitive (especially in the second set) match. Next up was number 4 seed Victoria Azarenka against Rybarikova. They scrapped and screamed through a tight first set, Aza eventually claiming it 6-4, and it was on serve in the second at 3-2 when the rain started. I haven't been at Wimbledon where rain stops play for a significant amount of time for a number of a years so it felt a little alien at first. But then the brollies went up and the cloudy sky turned that solid wet blanket of grey... and I knew I'd seen that before. My Dad waited for half an hour with his restless leg jiggling up and down before he turned to me and suggested we go home. I have to say, I'm glad he convinced me as it's still raining now (at 8pm) and play has been suspended on all courts apart from Centre until tomorrow. Phew. So we popped into the incredibly packed shop, bought some lovely tea towels and oven gloves, new grips for my raquet (in pastel shades - very pretty) and three Wimbledon dampeners and a sweatband, and trekked across the soggy golf course to the car and drove home.
A great day all round, despite the rain.
Ray-ray, fresh off his Queens title (the second British man to win two since 1914), is playing under the roof on Centre Court right now and after a shaky start - losing his first set - he's looking very much in command at one set all and 4-0 up. Make that 5-0.
Ray-ray is the only one of the top four to have won a competition on grass this season. GoNads was knocked out in the quarters of Queens and neither Djoko nor The Fed played their pre-Wimbledon grass competition due to injury/fatigue. Does this bode well for Andy Murray?
Time to bite the bullet and commit my predictions to computer screen:
Men's final - Ray-ray v. The Fed and The Fed to win in four.
Djoko/Fed semi with Fed to come through a tight tight match. And Ray- ray/GoNads in the other with Ray-ray to beat a fatigued and sluggish Nadal.
Women's final - Wozza to win in three tight sets and get that first Slam she's been dreaming of. Serena and Venus to get nowhere past the quarters as they are both under fit and over hyped.
GOLF
Rory McIlroy won the US Open and became the youngest major winner since Tiger Woods won at the masters in 1997. Watch out for this guy - he's going to become a golfing great.
Day 2 of the womble tomorrow and I'm dragging the anti-sports boyfriend for a day of fun in the (fingers-crossed!) sun!
I'll keep you blogged...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
