Well isn't Wimbledon such an exciting event. Today has probably been my favourite day in Wimbledon for a long time! I have to say the positives far outweight the negatives. To be very honest there are only possibly two players who I would have liked to see the back of, but as long as my favourites are still intact it makes me all the happier.
Unfortunately I was unable to watch the matches until about 3pm which meant I just had enough time to see one of my favourite players beat Anna Chakvetadze (this being Nicole Vaidisova by the way). I sadly missed all the drama that supposedly went on court and was only able to see about one and a half games of the match. So it means Channel 301 (freeview) for me tonight! Anyway besides Nicole's fantastic win which lifts my spirits up from a very boring and tiring day, Jie Zheng also made it through. I never could have believed that Zheng would make it to the Quaters, could she pull of another upset - I hope not! As she will play Nicole Vaidisova next and I am praying for a Nicole/Serena semifinal!
Both Serena and Venus seemed to swat their opponents. Kleybanova having previously beaten Hantuchova and Mattek having beaten Bartoli.
Petrova (an unlikely quaterfinalist) also made it through after defeating the Sharapovaslayer Alla Kudrysvtseva. If only Sharapova was in this Quaterfinal section, it would be much more interesting. Instead we have a sure fire finalist from section 4 (most probably Venus Williams, but Tanasugarn could cause a huge huge upset!). If only I hadn't started to like Sharapova this year I would have had one of my favourite draws of the decade, but sadly I had to also jump on the Sharapova bandwagon and become a slight fan! It also saddens me that Henin wasn't here either.
At the time of this post there are still two matches being played to fill the Quaterfinal draw. One is between the highest seed left (amazingly) Kuznetsova and Radwanska (they'll be beaten by Serena anyway) and the other between Dementieva and the unlikely Peer (and I thought Peer was supposedly out of it this year). Either way the winner of that match against Petrova would be my least favourite match of the 4 - as the other three include my 3 favourite players of the tour.
As I am typing Ancic has won the match against Verdasco, but he'll need much more to beat Federer, who though I think is losing his game I have to admit he is still looking dominant on grass.
Also looking at the draws, on both sides the third section looks unexpected. What should have been easy taking for Sharapova and Roddick, now sees Dementieva or Peer pitted against Petrova and four unseeded players in the mens draw hoping to get a semifinal spot.
I just hope Safin will continue to play well and defeat possibly Baghdatis - who I think will be a Quaterfinalist.
Well now that the Doubles look like they are reaching a climax (as I never like looking at the draws of Doubles in the early stage; as there are so many I don't know) I will post about it.
I have never really understood how the seeds in the doubles game sometimes don't even matter. Of course the top 3 or 4 seeds look in shape but after that it seems to be all for the taking. Well anyway my favourite doubles team - the Bryan brothers (I am all for Americans!) are through to the Quaters, against a team I have never known of their existance. Then another team who I never heard of will play the winner of Lopez/Verdasco against Bjorkman/Ullyett. I just hope it is the Bryan brothers who get to the finals!
I recognize the teams in the second half, being the 3rd and 9th seed. Hopefully Mirnyi/Murray will give the second seeds a run for their money.
In the Womens doubles Black/Huber are going strong. Safina/Szavay Vs. Azarenka/Peer will be their opponents. I am clueless about rankings in the womens doubles and I am still in the day where I thought Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur were in the top 10, but amazingly they are the 16th seeds.
Be nice to see Yan/Zheng get far also aswell of course the Williams duo.
One little thing to add. By the time I finished the post (as I was swept off to meet my cousin) Radwanska had beaten the 4th seed - will Ivanovic therefore keep her No.1? If Dementieva can get to the semis could she get higher than No.5? If the Williams win who will lose their rankings to them? Anyway the tournament is definitely getting exciting.
Monday 30 June 2008
Friday 27 June 2008
Quick Update
I was just so excited today after watching Jie Zheng thrash Ivanovic that I decided to post on the top half of the womens draw. Jie Zheng beat Ivanovic 6-1,6-4. To other people this may be a shock but I expected it and I knew it was a very likely outcome. She will play Szavay next, if Jie Zheng continues to play well I don't see why she can't make this win and get to the QF's. Szavay's best record here is the 2nd round and she hasn't been doing well this year either. But the game I'm really hoping for is Nicole Vaidisova Vs. Serena Williams (which would be in the Semis). I think Nicole has a shot against Anna Chakvetadze but I do think Chakvetadze looks to have the edge here. I really do hope Nicole can find something in her because if she was at her best I am sure this match would be an easy taking. The icing on top of the cake was that Bethanie Mattek beat Marion Bartoli. Though I knew Marion Bartoli wasn't going to get anywhere near the final with Serena as her 4th round opponent, but knowing that Bethanie Mattek beat Bartoli is better than anything. I really do think that Serena is going to get to the final along with Venus. It would be great to see them in the final! But what I am praying for is the good form of Nicole Vaidisova.
Thursday 26 June 2008
Wimbledon Day 1-4
Just thought I'd post on the controversial occurrences of Wimbledon 2008 (to the person who commented on my use of controversial, I'm very happy you said something bu please don't do that again!)
So in 4 days already a score of seeded players have dropped out. In total 13 mens seeds and 15 womens seeds have lost out and all before R3. What is the most shocking is that 5 of the top 10 mens seeds have fallen before R3!
Anyway let me talk about the draw.
Federer has played two rather easy matches. Robin Soderling did cause a slight threat in the third set but other than that all is going to plan for the Wimbledon champion. His third round opponent Marc Giquel would probably be swept off his feet. Giquel had a retirement in his first round and then played Lucky Loser Bozolijac which took him to 5 sets. Gicquel played only in 2007 in Wimbledon but lost in the 1st round. Hewitt had a difficult first round and I was very nervous for him but luckily his second round was less difficult. Sadly Bogdanovic lost out early (I don't particularly like him but I cheer for any British player - unless they go against my favourites!). Anyway Bolelli (who is quickly becoming a player I like) took Gonzalez out. So Hewitt faces Bolelli who has previously been to the 2nd round. I still think my 4th round prediction of Federer against Hewitt is likely though.
Berdych Vs. Ancic looks to be possible as well. Berdych hasn't had an easy way into the 3rd round, having to defeat Korolev in 3 sets and Hanescu in 4. Verdasco could be a strong opponent but it all depends on the day. Ancic had a difficult second round whilst Ferrer has had a much easier passage. With these two matches I think it is equally likely it will be Berdych/Ancic or Verdasco/Ferrer so currently I'll have to wait and see.
I did say Ferrero was one who I was unsure about so retiring counts as well. But what shocked me most (and probably all would have guessed by now) is the loss of Novak Djokovic. WHAT A SHOCK! But at least the winner was Marat Safin who should be able to get to the QF's now as neither Seppi nor Wawrinka look like QF's.
Baghdatis looks like the Quaterfinalist opponent of Safin in my opinion -though I would love it if Feliciano Lopez was. I just hope Safin has the strength to get to the semis or the semifinal line up would look very dissapointing for me.
Roddick against Blake is also one which is no longer existant. I was totally shocked when I knew that Roddick lost, I was in utter shock. Well I guess this gives Tursunov a chance which is good. I think the QF's should come from the Tipsaveric/ Tursunov match because Garcia Lopez isn't really experienced here and Schuettler is slightly too experienced!
Again my predictions went down the drain in Section 6 (I'm so dissapointed!) Anyway Paul Henri Mathieu was an alternative! I think Arnaud Clement is the possible Round 4 opponent of Mathieu because Melzer has played two 5 set matches already. That would mean another unexpected Quaterfinalist.
Well at least Gasquet/Murray is looking likely, and it's great that Haas is in R3. This years Wimbledon is like the return of my old favourites! (and the fall of my new ones!) I will be sitting closely to the TV for these two matches because they will likely save my grace!
Youzhny Vs Nadal is still very possible. Both Stepanek and Youzhny have looked to be on equal levels througout this tournament. It would be nice if Youzhny could shocked Nadal a bit (if he gets through) or even Kiefer, as Nadal looks slightly vulnerable (now that I have seen 4 days of tennis I actually think Federer is by far most likely). But if the shocks continue I think Nadal, Murray and Ferrer are the most likely Top 12 or seeds to be out next! Anyway looking at my predictions already 7 players in my top 16 are out!
I have to say though Federer should be the finalist (unless Hewitt or Safin have anything to say about that or even Baghdatis). Whilst his opponent is likely from Section 7 or 8, (Murray has a huge chance here to cause a shock you know! I actually don't think Nadal is as dominant in the bottom half as people may think - though Federer/Nadal is still the most likely final).
Well its sad that Djokovic and Roddick (my favourite two players) have fallen early, but lets hope they come back strong in the US.
The womens draw hasn't been as planned either, and definitely a few shocks have occured.
Firstly the Ivanovic/Dechy game was amazing! It was so tense, I actually thought Dechy could win it. Anyway that gives Jie Zheng (the wildcard) confidence to beat Ivanovic. I think with some wit Jie Zheng could cause a shock in this tournament and make it to the QF's. I think Garrigues/Szavay will blow each other out so the Quaterfinalist will be between Ivanovic/Zheng. I have to congratulate Baltacha though. I am so excited for Section 2 as Nicole has a chance here. If Nicole can defeat Dellacqua who has already played in two three setters she will most likely meet Chakvetadze who is definitely the weakest of the top 8. If Nicole reaches the QF's it would definitely make my tournament (even though Djokovic, Roddick and Sharapova are out). It's scary though because the thought of Nicole losing to Dellacqua lingers in my mind!
Well I think Kuznetsova should be safely through to the 4th round whilst Pavlyuchekova has done unexpectedly well in my opinion. Sadly it was to the cost of Na Li. Bethanie Mattek is doing well though, sadly Kirilenko lost out in R1. Serena Williams should be fine even though she is playing Amelie Mauresmo. I don't think Bartoli will be a threat to be honest.
Davenport sadly withdrew but that makes three of the 4 players in section 5 part of my liked list! Anyway it is all to play for in these two matches, to be honest they all seem to have had about the same performances.
Section 6 saw the biggest shock, meaning an unexpected semifinalist is on its way. Sharapova was shocked by Kudryavtseva. Though I think now that Sharapova's gone it is Azarenka who looks the strongest. Just look at her previous two matches - she has only lost 6 games and Petrova shouldn't cause too much of a threat. I hope Shuai Peng does well though. Amazing to think that out of the three Chinese tennis players it was Na Li who lost out first!
Venus Williams should have a safe journey to the Quaters, as her draw is decimating itself in front of her eyes. Sadly Pennetta lost to Sugiyama, but at least it was Sugiyama. Hantuchova also lost. But therefore we have a good draw for Venus. Jankovic is also looking strong, but Wozniacki is too. I think the Quaterfinalist will be between Wozniacki/Jankovic rather than the other r3 match. Well anyway I hope one of the Williams sisters win the title as I hate to think that either of the Serbians would win. But the second finalist should be between Jankovic/V.Williams. If shocks continue Ivanovic, Serena, Safina and Jankovic look the most vulnerable.
So in 4 days already a score of seeded players have dropped out. In total 13 mens seeds and 15 womens seeds have lost out and all before R3. What is the most shocking is that 5 of the top 10 mens seeds have fallen before R3!
Anyway let me talk about the draw.
Federer has played two rather easy matches. Robin Soderling did cause a slight threat in the third set but other than that all is going to plan for the Wimbledon champion. His third round opponent Marc Giquel would probably be swept off his feet. Giquel had a retirement in his first round and then played Lucky Loser Bozolijac which took him to 5 sets. Gicquel played only in 2007 in Wimbledon but lost in the 1st round. Hewitt had a difficult first round and I was very nervous for him but luckily his second round was less difficult. Sadly Bogdanovic lost out early (I don't particularly like him but I cheer for any British player - unless they go against my favourites!). Anyway Bolelli (who is quickly becoming a player I like) took Gonzalez out. So Hewitt faces Bolelli who has previously been to the 2nd round. I still think my 4th round prediction of Federer against Hewitt is likely though.
Berdych Vs. Ancic looks to be possible as well. Berdych hasn't had an easy way into the 3rd round, having to defeat Korolev in 3 sets and Hanescu in 4. Verdasco could be a strong opponent but it all depends on the day. Ancic had a difficult second round whilst Ferrer has had a much easier passage. With these two matches I think it is equally likely it will be Berdych/Ancic or Verdasco/Ferrer so currently I'll have to wait and see.
I did say Ferrero was one who I was unsure about so retiring counts as well. But what shocked me most (and probably all would have guessed by now) is the loss of Novak Djokovic. WHAT A SHOCK! But at least the winner was Marat Safin who should be able to get to the QF's now as neither Seppi nor Wawrinka look like QF's.
Baghdatis looks like the Quaterfinalist opponent of Safin in my opinion -though I would love it if Feliciano Lopez was. I just hope Safin has the strength to get to the semis or the semifinal line up would look very dissapointing for me.
Roddick against Blake is also one which is no longer existant. I was totally shocked when I knew that Roddick lost, I was in utter shock. Well I guess this gives Tursunov a chance which is good. I think the QF's should come from the Tipsaveric/ Tursunov match because Garcia Lopez isn't really experienced here and Schuettler is slightly too experienced!
Again my predictions went down the drain in Section 6 (I'm so dissapointed!) Anyway Paul Henri Mathieu was an alternative! I think Arnaud Clement is the possible Round 4 opponent of Mathieu because Melzer has played two 5 set matches already. That would mean another unexpected Quaterfinalist.
Well at least Gasquet/Murray is looking likely, and it's great that Haas is in R3. This years Wimbledon is like the return of my old favourites! (and the fall of my new ones!) I will be sitting closely to the TV for these two matches because they will likely save my grace!
Youzhny Vs Nadal is still very possible. Both Stepanek and Youzhny have looked to be on equal levels througout this tournament. It would be nice if Youzhny could shocked Nadal a bit (if he gets through) or even Kiefer, as Nadal looks slightly vulnerable (now that I have seen 4 days of tennis I actually think Federer is by far most likely). But if the shocks continue I think Nadal, Murray and Ferrer are the most likely Top 12 or seeds to be out next! Anyway looking at my predictions already 7 players in my top 16 are out!
I have to say though Federer should be the finalist (unless Hewitt or Safin have anything to say about that or even Baghdatis). Whilst his opponent is likely from Section 7 or 8, (Murray has a huge chance here to cause a shock you know! I actually don't think Nadal is as dominant in the bottom half as people may think - though Federer/Nadal is still the most likely final).
Well its sad that Djokovic and Roddick (my favourite two players) have fallen early, but lets hope they come back strong in the US.
The womens draw hasn't been as planned either, and definitely a few shocks have occured.
Firstly the Ivanovic/Dechy game was amazing! It was so tense, I actually thought Dechy could win it. Anyway that gives Jie Zheng (the wildcard) confidence to beat Ivanovic. I think with some wit Jie Zheng could cause a shock in this tournament and make it to the QF's. I think Garrigues/Szavay will blow each other out so the Quaterfinalist will be between Ivanovic/Zheng. I have to congratulate Baltacha though. I am so excited for Section 2 as Nicole has a chance here. If Nicole can defeat Dellacqua who has already played in two three setters she will most likely meet Chakvetadze who is definitely the weakest of the top 8. If Nicole reaches the QF's it would definitely make my tournament (even though Djokovic, Roddick and Sharapova are out). It's scary though because the thought of Nicole losing to Dellacqua lingers in my mind!
Well I think Kuznetsova should be safely through to the 4th round whilst Pavlyuchekova has done unexpectedly well in my opinion. Sadly it was to the cost of Na Li. Bethanie Mattek is doing well though, sadly Kirilenko lost out in R1. Serena Williams should be fine even though she is playing Amelie Mauresmo. I don't think Bartoli will be a threat to be honest.
Davenport sadly withdrew but that makes three of the 4 players in section 5 part of my liked list! Anyway it is all to play for in these two matches, to be honest they all seem to have had about the same performances.
Section 6 saw the biggest shock, meaning an unexpected semifinalist is on its way. Sharapova was shocked by Kudryavtseva. Though I think now that Sharapova's gone it is Azarenka who looks the strongest. Just look at her previous two matches - she has only lost 6 games and Petrova shouldn't cause too much of a threat. I hope Shuai Peng does well though. Amazing to think that out of the three Chinese tennis players it was Na Li who lost out first!
Venus Williams should have a safe journey to the Quaters, as her draw is decimating itself in front of her eyes. Sadly Pennetta lost to Sugiyama, but at least it was Sugiyama. Hantuchova also lost. But therefore we have a good draw for Venus. Jankovic is also looking strong, but Wozniacki is too. I think the Quaterfinalist will be between Wozniacki/Jankovic rather than the other r3 match. Well anyway I hope one of the Williams sisters win the title as I hate to think that either of the Serbians would win. But the second finalist should be between Jankovic/V.Williams. If shocks continue Ivanovic, Serena, Safina and Jankovic look the most vulnerable.
SHOCK!
Just needed to post about my shock of Maria Sharapova loosing. Can't believe it at all. Yesterday Djokovic lost but in a way I sort of was Ok about ti because Safin beat him but for Sharapova to loose to a ranked 150 below I was utterly SHOCKED!
Friday 20 June 2008
Wimbledon
Ok it is this time of the year again and this years Wimbledon is looking like a great Slam to watch, who will win - for once in a long time we can actually say the mens draw looks closer than ever whilst the womens is still looking for the illusive dominant player to take the lead where Henin has left it. Lets talk about the Mens draw first.
Federer has an easy draw in my opinion for his run up to the quaters. Monfils the possible first seed he will face is not a grass court specialist by any means. For the first three rounds he can simply relax. Hewitt will be a possible 4th Round match for Federer seeing that Gonzalez the 15th seed doesn't seem to have a great record on Grass.
Tomas Berdych on the next section has an easy draw and with his ok history here he should be fine but this year he seems to be out of sorts and I really haven't heard much about him. Ancic drops in on the last part of this section and with an easy draw he could be a possible quaterfinalist, it all depends on the day really but I can't see too many other people coming out of this section. My choice for a quaterfinalist match against Federer would be either Berdych or Ancic even though Berdych hasn't been on great form.
Novak Djokovic leads the next section which is great because this year I think the one to beat is actually Nadal so we'll see if Djokovic can be a threat. Sadly Safin is a possible second round opponent which means he will lose out early (i hope he can at least be Fognini). Seppi isn't a threat at all so overall like Federer, Djokovic should have an easy first three rounds. Ferrero though not a great grass court player is probably one of the likely candidates for a 4th round match up with Djokovic which should go well for Djokovic as I think he knows he has a chance here.
Well Baghdatis is on the next part and his highest seeded opponent for the early stages is Ivo karlovic. Karlovic should technically be a threat on grass but his performance here has said otherwise, though saying that I don't think there are any players to test them really. Lopez should not be taken lightly of because he has been generally consistent in Wimbledon but Nalbandian will be a big question mark, would his shocking defeat by Djokovic hurt him! I think though he will be able to get to a match against Baghdatis but I hate to say it; on paper it looks like Djokovic's quaterfinal match will probably be against Baghdatis.
Andy Roddick should fancy his chances to get to the semis seeing himself match up against Davydenko. However he will have to defeat Tipsaveric beforehand, Tipsaveric could be a venom against top players but recently he hasn't been to good so we will have to wait and see. I will be interested to see how Chris Eaton does but I will support Tursunov to play against Roddick in the third round. Blake has an easy early draw, probably one of the easiest but Blake himself isn't fabulous on Wimbledon so could he break through, all in all I think Roddick should land safely to the Quaters here as he has a weak draw.
If there is one section of the draw I have the least opinion about it is the Mathieu/Davydenko draw. Personally I think it is quite open and I can see a list of people becoming the Quaterfinal match up against Roddick. I think Nieminen and Mathieu will both be strong opponents for Davydenko; maybe too strong, Roger-Vasselin I think could also provide a shock. Bjorkman is also a strong grass player but for some reason I doubt he will be able to shock. I still think if he matched against Davydenko that Davydenko would win but in my honest opinion I think the Roddick quaterfinal is wide open for an opponent.
Gasquet leads the 7th section with Murray being his highest seeded opponent. If Gasquet can play like last year I am sure he has a strong chance for the quaterfinals but it would be a lot to bet on seeing his unpredictable form this year. It's nice to see Haas back but I don't think he will pose much of a threat. To be honest I think this is one of the draws in which I think the top two seeds are the strongest and most likely to play each other in the 4th Round, well we'll have to wait and see.
Finally the Nadal draw. Anyway is it me or is Youzhny drawn near Nadal a lot of the time! Anyway Stepanek is unpredictable in my opinion which gives Youzhny a chance to breakthrough. I think Nadal has an easy draw in my opinion so he should be fine for the semifinals unless Gasquet or Murray have anything to say about that.
My 4th Round predictions:
Federer (quite obviously) Vs. Hewitt
Berdych Vs. Ancic
Djokovic Vs. Ferrero (one which I am unsure about)
Baghdatis Vs. Nalbandian
Roddick Vs. Blake (if he is motivated enough)
Nieminen Vs. Davydenko (the one which I have little clue)
Gasquet Vs. Murray (if that happens it would be my favourite)
Youzhny Vs. Nadal
of course these are only predictions and I believe at least 6 players will differ seeing that I am unsure about some of the possible line ups but anyway it is never an all seed draw.
Well lets go onto the womans draw.
Ivanovic leads the seeds ugh; don't get me wrong I don't hate her I just don't think she should be No.1. Her draw is a real question mark to me because the strongest player here (Cibulkova) I have little knowledge about her Grass court game, but because of that I think Ivanovic will have a comfortable start. No player on the opposite side strikes me as a possible 4th round opponent for Ana Ivanovic, therefore Ivanovic will have an easy stroll towards the quaterfinals. Tamira Paszek has the best history out of the Schiavone/Szavay draw but she has been weak as of late.
In my opinion Ivanovic has the easiest draw I have ever seen (yet again!) this would normally be a plus point for me seeing that Vaidisova is in this draw but the sad thing is that with Vaidisoavs current form I would be happy to see her make the third round! I personally think any draw with Chakvetdaze in it is weak especially when it is on Grass. This basically gives Ivanovic a semifinal spot! I actually don't have any opinion on who will possibly fill this 4th round gap because it is wide open for the taking, lets just hope Vaidisova finds the form she needs.
Well the weak top half should possibly give Serena the advantage she needs to get to the finals. I don't think Kuznetsova is a threat for the semis but I think she is likely to reach the quarters, if Na Li is on form (which I hope she is) then she may be a threat though she has only played here once. I think thought the safe bet to place on would be Radwanska who is a consistent player on Wimbledon so I think she would be the one to choose to play Kuznetsova.
Though some people may think Bartoli would be a difficult match for Williams I find this a perfect scenario. Serena has generally an easy draw with Mauresmo (the falling star) as her possible 3rd round match. Not only would playing Bartoli in the 4th Round match bar Bartoli of further progress but it would also show that last year was an utter fluke. I'm sad to say how ever much I think Bartoli is not a great grass player she should find herself in the 4th round because Kirilenko isn't exactly the best Grass player.
I think with this draw I am about 60% sure that Ivanovic will play Serena in the semis; this may sound low to you when I have been basically preaching this semifinal line up but added with all the possible outcomes I need to be safe (though I would be quite shocked if the line up doesn't include either one of these two players).
Though both Dementieva and Safina are having a great year I doubt they would be much of a threat on grass. Therefore it would be very interesting to see if Davenport could make the Quaters; I hasten to add she hasn't failed to do so in the past 7 attempts at Wimbledon!
Therefore I find Sharapova a very likely semifinalist here. To be honest with this draw I don't think it is "will Sharapova get to the Semis" but "how she will get to the Semis". I think there is probably only one or two threats who maybe able to stop her from reaching the semifinals but other than that I think I am about 90% sure this is will be dominated by Sharapova.
I think Venus has an easy first three rounds here so it will work well for her, I'm actually praying that Pennetta does well because she has had a good year overall. In the end I don't hope it is Wickmayer who takes Pennetta out! Hantuchova has been absent for a while so I don't know what to say but overall I think Venus has a quaterfinal place in the bag.
I do hope Krajicek is back to form as her draw is a good one, if she can play like last year I don' think this draw will cause too much of a problem. Whilst for Jankovic's early rounds I have to say a lot of the players I didn't even think had played on Wimbledon before!
I don't want to predict the 4th Round matches because I think it would be way too hard so lets look at the quaterfinals.
A.Ivanovic Vs. ????? (this is the biggest question mark, who could take it!)
? Vs. S. Williams (I don't know I would say Kuznetsova but then I think their are strong possibilities of an upset.)
? Vs. M.Sharapova (Yet Again, I really don't know but Davenport is leading my choice here)
V.Williams Vs J.Jankovic
So you see I am quite puzzled here as I have 3 blank spots, but honestly who looks capable of taking the Quaters in section 2! Vaidisova could have but she is not in great shape.
Then their is the question of section 3, there are a lot of possibilites but I do think Kuznetsova is favourite there.
Finally Section 5 which leaves me clueless, how could I pick from them! I don't know but lets say this...
Vaidisova, Kuznetsova and Davenport
there you go now the top 8 are filled!
But honestly the favourites are clear. The Williams sisters and Sharapova are by far the favourites to capture the title but then the Serbians lead the second pack of players trying to shock an unwary Williams or Sharapova. However I think Serena should find herself in the final and to be honest a William's final isn't too far fetch'd.
With the doubles and that I don't want to predict because I know very little about it but anyway I will support the Bryan Brothers!
Federer has an easy draw in my opinion for his run up to the quaters. Monfils the possible first seed he will face is not a grass court specialist by any means. For the first three rounds he can simply relax. Hewitt will be a possible 4th Round match for Federer seeing that Gonzalez the 15th seed doesn't seem to have a great record on Grass.
Tomas Berdych on the next section has an easy draw and with his ok history here he should be fine but this year he seems to be out of sorts and I really haven't heard much about him. Ancic drops in on the last part of this section and with an easy draw he could be a possible quaterfinalist, it all depends on the day really but I can't see too many other people coming out of this section. My choice for a quaterfinalist match against Federer would be either Berdych or Ancic even though Berdych hasn't been on great form.
Novak Djokovic leads the next section which is great because this year I think the one to beat is actually Nadal so we'll see if Djokovic can be a threat. Sadly Safin is a possible second round opponent which means he will lose out early (i hope he can at least be Fognini). Seppi isn't a threat at all so overall like Federer, Djokovic should have an easy first three rounds. Ferrero though not a great grass court player is probably one of the likely candidates for a 4th round match up with Djokovic which should go well for Djokovic as I think he knows he has a chance here.
Well Baghdatis is on the next part and his highest seeded opponent for the early stages is Ivo karlovic. Karlovic should technically be a threat on grass but his performance here has said otherwise, though saying that I don't think there are any players to test them really. Lopez should not be taken lightly of because he has been generally consistent in Wimbledon but Nalbandian will be a big question mark, would his shocking defeat by Djokovic hurt him! I think though he will be able to get to a match against Baghdatis but I hate to say it; on paper it looks like Djokovic's quaterfinal match will probably be against Baghdatis.
Andy Roddick should fancy his chances to get to the semis seeing himself match up against Davydenko. However he will have to defeat Tipsaveric beforehand, Tipsaveric could be a venom against top players but recently he hasn't been to good so we will have to wait and see. I will be interested to see how Chris Eaton does but I will support Tursunov to play against Roddick in the third round. Blake has an easy early draw, probably one of the easiest but Blake himself isn't fabulous on Wimbledon so could he break through, all in all I think Roddick should land safely to the Quaters here as he has a weak draw.
If there is one section of the draw I have the least opinion about it is the Mathieu/Davydenko draw. Personally I think it is quite open and I can see a list of people becoming the Quaterfinal match up against Roddick. I think Nieminen and Mathieu will both be strong opponents for Davydenko; maybe too strong, Roger-Vasselin I think could also provide a shock. Bjorkman is also a strong grass player but for some reason I doubt he will be able to shock. I still think if he matched against Davydenko that Davydenko would win but in my honest opinion I think the Roddick quaterfinal is wide open for an opponent.
Gasquet leads the 7th section with Murray being his highest seeded opponent. If Gasquet can play like last year I am sure he has a strong chance for the quaterfinals but it would be a lot to bet on seeing his unpredictable form this year. It's nice to see Haas back but I don't think he will pose much of a threat. To be honest I think this is one of the draws in which I think the top two seeds are the strongest and most likely to play each other in the 4th Round, well we'll have to wait and see.
Finally the Nadal draw. Anyway is it me or is Youzhny drawn near Nadal a lot of the time! Anyway Stepanek is unpredictable in my opinion which gives Youzhny a chance to breakthrough. I think Nadal has an easy draw in my opinion so he should be fine for the semifinals unless Gasquet or Murray have anything to say about that.
My 4th Round predictions:
Federer (quite obviously) Vs. Hewitt
Berdych Vs. Ancic
Djokovic Vs. Ferrero (one which I am unsure about)
Baghdatis Vs. Nalbandian
Roddick Vs. Blake (if he is motivated enough)
Nieminen Vs. Davydenko (the one which I have little clue)
Gasquet Vs. Murray (if that happens it would be my favourite)
Youzhny Vs. Nadal
of course these are only predictions and I believe at least 6 players will differ seeing that I am unsure about some of the possible line ups but anyway it is never an all seed draw.
Well lets go onto the womans draw.
Ivanovic leads the seeds ugh; don't get me wrong I don't hate her I just don't think she should be No.1. Her draw is a real question mark to me because the strongest player here (Cibulkova) I have little knowledge about her Grass court game, but because of that I think Ivanovic will have a comfortable start. No player on the opposite side strikes me as a possible 4th round opponent for Ana Ivanovic, therefore Ivanovic will have an easy stroll towards the quaterfinals. Tamira Paszek has the best history out of the Schiavone/Szavay draw but she has been weak as of late.
In my opinion Ivanovic has the easiest draw I have ever seen (yet again!) this would normally be a plus point for me seeing that Vaidisova is in this draw but the sad thing is that with Vaidisoavs current form I would be happy to see her make the third round! I personally think any draw with Chakvetdaze in it is weak especially when it is on Grass. This basically gives Ivanovic a semifinal spot! I actually don't have any opinion on who will possibly fill this 4th round gap because it is wide open for the taking, lets just hope Vaidisova finds the form she needs.
Well the weak top half should possibly give Serena the advantage she needs to get to the finals. I don't think Kuznetsova is a threat for the semis but I think she is likely to reach the quarters, if Na Li is on form (which I hope she is) then she may be a threat though she has only played here once. I think thought the safe bet to place on would be Radwanska who is a consistent player on Wimbledon so I think she would be the one to choose to play Kuznetsova.
Though some people may think Bartoli would be a difficult match for Williams I find this a perfect scenario. Serena has generally an easy draw with Mauresmo (the falling star) as her possible 3rd round match. Not only would playing Bartoli in the 4th Round match bar Bartoli of further progress but it would also show that last year was an utter fluke. I'm sad to say how ever much I think Bartoli is not a great grass player she should find herself in the 4th round because Kirilenko isn't exactly the best Grass player.
I think with this draw I am about 60% sure that Ivanovic will play Serena in the semis; this may sound low to you when I have been basically preaching this semifinal line up but added with all the possible outcomes I need to be safe (though I would be quite shocked if the line up doesn't include either one of these two players).
Though both Dementieva and Safina are having a great year I doubt they would be much of a threat on grass. Therefore it would be very interesting to see if Davenport could make the Quaters; I hasten to add she hasn't failed to do so in the past 7 attempts at Wimbledon!
Therefore I find Sharapova a very likely semifinalist here. To be honest with this draw I don't think it is "will Sharapova get to the Semis" but "how she will get to the Semis". I think there is probably only one or two threats who maybe able to stop her from reaching the semifinals but other than that I think I am about 90% sure this is will be dominated by Sharapova.
I think Venus has an easy first three rounds here so it will work well for her, I'm actually praying that Pennetta does well because she has had a good year overall. In the end I don't hope it is Wickmayer who takes Pennetta out! Hantuchova has been absent for a while so I don't know what to say but overall I think Venus has a quaterfinal place in the bag.
I do hope Krajicek is back to form as her draw is a good one, if she can play like last year I don' think this draw will cause too much of a problem. Whilst for Jankovic's early rounds I have to say a lot of the players I didn't even think had played on Wimbledon before!
I don't want to predict the 4th Round matches because I think it would be way too hard so lets look at the quaterfinals.
A.Ivanovic Vs. ????? (this is the biggest question mark, who could take it!)
? Vs. S. Williams (I don't know I would say Kuznetsova but then I think their are strong possibilities of an upset.)
? Vs. M.Sharapova (Yet Again, I really don't know but Davenport is leading my choice here)
V.Williams Vs J.Jankovic
So you see I am quite puzzled here as I have 3 blank spots, but honestly who looks capable of taking the Quaters in section 2! Vaidisova could have but she is not in great shape.
Then their is the question of section 3, there are a lot of possibilites but I do think Kuznetsova is favourite there.
Finally Section 5 which leaves me clueless, how could I pick from them! I don't know but lets say this...
Vaidisova, Kuznetsova and Davenport
there you go now the top 8 are filled!
But honestly the favourites are clear. The Williams sisters and Sharapova are by far the favourites to capture the title but then the Serbians lead the second pack of players trying to shock an unwary Williams or Sharapova. However I think Serena should find herself in the final and to be honest a William's final isn't too far fetch'd.
With the doubles and that I don't want to predict because I know very little about it but anyway I will support the Bryan Brothers!
Sunday 15 June 2008
One more week
Only 4 more tournaments until Wimbledon! Those being the Ordina Open for both ATP and WTA, the Slazenger Open for the ATP and the International Women's Open for the WTA. The Slazanger Open sees a score of players around the same rank playing for the title. Top seed is Radek Stepanek with Paul Henri Mathieu as second see. The first quarter will see Gael Monfils hope to take out the threat of Radek Stepanek as well as the newcomer John Isner taking a hit at the top seed. Alexandei Slabinsky is one of the few British players in the draw starting his campain to a qualifier. The big serving Ivo Karlovic should do fine in his part of the draw in able to take him to the Semis. Michael Llodra and possibly Sam Querrey could be his biggest threat with Andreas Seppi being the 7th seed here.
Gilles Simon will take on Donald Young in the first round with Jamie Baker the british hopeful also starting off against a qualifier. This quarter doesn't seem to pose a threat in my opinion. Dmitry Tursunov will be my man of the tournament (basically my favourite here) hopefully he'll be able to win his first few matches to get to the latter stages of the tournament.
Jumping to the WTA now with the International Womens Open (leaving the Ordina Open till last). Svetlana Kuznetsova will lead the draw - only slightly better than Marion Bartoli! Katie O'Brien will lead the British hopes in this first quarter. The match to watch here is definitely Alize Cornet Vs. Amelie Mauresmo not because it is the best match but because it defines the French - will it be the experience that takes over or will the young break away.
The next quarter sees my favourite Na Li take the stage hopefully she'll be better now because she has been injured a lot of times now. But of course the one who I will be cheering on is Nicole Vaidisova, though she isn't back to full form it looks like she is coming back. She will have a tough task ahead of her with a possible Lindsay Davenport or Agnieszka Radwanska lurking underneath but as long as she passes that she will have an easy semifinal against most likely Victoria Azarena as I have written of Marion Bartoli as ever being a threat though I think she has an easy draw! Hopefully Melanie South will find some form also. Overall Nicole has a good draw but if she doesn't capitalize on it she may lose out seeing that she lost to Bethanie Mattek last week.
Well finally the Ordina Open. David Ferrer leads the race in the mens with mario Ancic taking the opposite side on his quarter. Richard Gasquet is the second seed. I think the three players I said are most likely to be the possible winner. Ivan Ljubicic may cause a stir but other than that there isn't too many threats in this draw. Elena Dementieva leads the womens draw and after being in great form for the first half of the year it is likely she'll carry that into the Grass courts. Hopefully both Anne Keothavong and Maria Kirilenko will do well here so that both can rise in the rankings. Maria will likely be off a win as well. Dinara Safina will be hot off the trot but will her grass game be any use against the top seeds. Yanina Wickmayer will also be off a final (don't know who won yet) but that could be the best or the worst thing for her in this draw. Flavia Pennetta will be the girl to watch in the bottom draw for me. She will face off against an out of form Sania Mirza and it isn't likely she'll need to be wary of Michaella Krajicek (even though I wish she would have to). Kateryna Bondarenko will be a possible threat but besides that it is all for the taking. The last quarter is filled with Qualifiers so I don't know the possible outcomes yet. It is likely Anna and Alona would play here but I don't think Anna is too much of a threat. All in all I'll be cheering for Elena, Dinara, Flavia, Maria, Both Bondarenko's, Michaella, Ashley and Anne - basically about half of the draw! I'll be looking forward to the Flavia/Maria partnership in the doubles also!
Gilles Simon will take on Donald Young in the first round with Jamie Baker the british hopeful also starting off against a qualifier. This quarter doesn't seem to pose a threat in my opinion. Dmitry Tursunov will be my man of the tournament (basically my favourite here) hopefully he'll be able to win his first few matches to get to the latter stages of the tournament.
Jumping to the WTA now with the International Womens Open (leaving the Ordina Open till last). Svetlana Kuznetsova will lead the draw - only slightly better than Marion Bartoli! Katie O'Brien will lead the British hopes in this first quarter. The match to watch here is definitely Alize Cornet Vs. Amelie Mauresmo not because it is the best match but because it defines the French - will it be the experience that takes over or will the young break away.
The next quarter sees my favourite Na Li take the stage hopefully she'll be better now because she has been injured a lot of times now. But of course the one who I will be cheering on is Nicole Vaidisova, though she isn't back to full form it looks like she is coming back. She will have a tough task ahead of her with a possible Lindsay Davenport or Agnieszka Radwanska lurking underneath but as long as she passes that she will have an easy semifinal against most likely Victoria Azarena as I have written of Marion Bartoli as ever being a threat though I think she has an easy draw! Hopefully Melanie South will find some form also. Overall Nicole has a good draw but if she doesn't capitalize on it she may lose out seeing that she lost to Bethanie Mattek last week.
Well finally the Ordina Open. David Ferrer leads the race in the mens with mario Ancic taking the opposite side on his quarter. Richard Gasquet is the second seed. I think the three players I said are most likely to be the possible winner. Ivan Ljubicic may cause a stir but other than that there isn't too many threats in this draw. Elena Dementieva leads the womens draw and after being in great form for the first half of the year it is likely she'll carry that into the Grass courts. Hopefully both Anne Keothavong and Maria Kirilenko will do well here so that both can rise in the rankings. Maria will likely be off a win as well. Dinara Safina will be hot off the trot but will her grass game be any use against the top seeds. Yanina Wickmayer will also be off a final (don't know who won yet) but that could be the best or the worst thing for her in this draw. Flavia Pennetta will be the girl to watch in the bottom draw for me. She will face off against an out of form Sania Mirza and it isn't likely she'll need to be wary of Michaella Krajicek (even though I wish she would have to). Kateryna Bondarenko will be a possible threat but besides that it is all for the taking. The last quarter is filled with Qualifiers so I don't know the possible outcomes yet. It is likely Anna and Alona would play here but I don't think Anna is too much of a threat. All in all I'll be cheering for Elena, Dinara, Flavia, Maria, Both Bondarenko's, Michaella, Ashley and Anne - basically about half of the draw! I'll be looking forward to the Flavia/Maria partnership in the doubles also!
Saturday 14 June 2008
Just to conclude...
Just had to say my shock on how easy Djokovic against Nalbandian's match was. Djokovic absolutely thrashed Nalbandian and it must be a very big blow for Nalbandian! I'll be cheering on Djokovic for the title so I'll definitely watch the game tomorrow! Anyway K.Bondarenko and Y.Wickmayer will play in the DFS Classic final - what a weird and not really wonderful final that will be! Anyway go Kateryna I'll be cheering you on as before this tournament I had never heard of Yanina Wickmayer!
Friday 13 June 2008
Another W/O
Roddick receives another Walkover but this time from Andy Murray therefore he will be in fall form to play Rafael Nadal in the Semis. I really hope Roddick does show his grass court prowess because Nadal has played two tough matches, especially against Ivo Karlovic which I thought could have gone either way. Sadly Nicole Vaidisova lost to Bethanie Mattek whilst Melanie South also fell to Yanina Wickmayer - The DFS Classic is looking very different from what people expected! Anyway Hopefully it will be Bethanie who excels and play in the finals. However I will be cheering on the Bondarenko sisters.
Thursday 12 June 2008
A whole Post on the 12th of June
This is what the post is about - the matches on the 12th of June. I felt so worried about some of them that I had to just post about it.
Firstly Nadal against Nishikori. Nishikori is definitely a guy I'll develop to like and he's already doing well in my books and in the tour. Though he didn't beat Nadal at times I felt he was going to create a shock and I was really looking to see whether that would happen. He did some great things in that match and I am looking forward to seeing him in the future. One thing I'm totally confused about is the match between Karlovic and Gonzalez - who won! On the site it says Gonzalez won but on the live scores it says Karlovic has won! This is actually the first time I have seen this happen. Murray's match was rather dramatic. Though I didn't watch much of it I knew he collapsed to the floor and stuff. Well at least he won and gets a chance to play Roddick. With Murray the past few years I have always felt excited to know what happens to him because I always seem to think he has a chance, that feeling has gone from me currently and it would take some work to make me feel like that again. Well Gasquet against Ancic was a good match and maybe we're seeing that Gasquet loves his Grass so a good run in Wimbledon maybe likely. Hewitt was another exciting match. He was losing like 3-0 at the start I remember but then went on to win the match - so happy for him. Djokovic also nearly scared me. Though I didn't watch it I followed the scores. The first time I saw it he was losing a set and down the second but then he managed to win the second and eventually win the match.
Sadly in Halle Youzhny fell to Kiefer.
Whilst in Birmingham two of my predictions went wrong though for both I knew it would be close. These being Mattek Vs. Tanasugarn and Wickmayer Vs. Krajicek. With the 8 matches being played it means that Melanie South has a considerable chance of making the semifinals but hopefully it also means Nicole Vaidisova will have an easy run to the finals.
Like in the earlier post I will analyse the matches in the Artois Championships.
Nadal (2) and Karlovic (22)have only played once and that was in 2004 in distant Milan. Nadal played a tough match against Nishikori and Karlovic isn't going to be any easier. I think it would be interesting to see what happens but Nadal is still the favourite here.
The two Andy's have faced off 6 times with Andy Murray (11) winning 4 times against Andy Roddick (6). There only match on Grass was won by Murray in Wimbledon. There matches have never been easy, the latest full match they had Roddick came out victorius. However the form the two are in are very different. Before Roland Garros Roddick was seen as having a good year playing very well in many tournaments which is not what we could say for Murray, on top of that Roddick has a great history here and will be deemed as one of the favourites. I think the match will be tough but I believe Roddick will have the upper hand.
Nalbandian (8) Vs. Gasquet (10) is going to be interesting. Gasquet will be trying to find form in on a good surface for him whilst Nalbandian will also be trying to find the form in which took him to two Masters Series wins last year. However what makes this match different is Nalbandian has an overwhelming win rate against Gasquet. it is 5-0 for Nalbandian. 2005 Wimbledon is the only time they met on Grass. I really don't want to predict this match but with this overwhelming evidence Gasquet either has to play a great game or Nalbandian has to fall at the first hudrle.
Hewitt (30) Vs. Djokovic (3) is my blockbuster match, both are liked by me and both are great players - (the Andy's match is also another blockbuster for me). Djokovic the World No.3 and likely a future No.1 and Hewitt a five times champion here will face off against each other in the hope of playing against the winner of Nalbandian/Gasquet. Being Rank 30th is not the position Hewitt wants to be in but we have to give him credit for being one of the few former top players to keep his grace in the rankings (which we can't really apply to Marat Safin). Djokovic is 2-1 up against Hewitt but the loss came in 2006 which was definitely not when Djokovic was strongest. However last year in Wimbledon we saw the two face off in a very long match. Though I don't think Hewitt has been doing as well this year you have to fancy his chances in this tournament where he has won five times previously. On top of that Djokovic looked shaky against Tipsaveric at the start. However Djokovic will still go in as favourite here for me.
Well whilst I'm on it let's look at the DFS Classic. (I'm actually kind of enjoying this anaylsis!)
Cetkovska against K. Bondarenko. I don;t know who to go for but I personally think Petra has done better this year so I'll put my money on her.
The next match is Alona Bondarenko and to my memory Marina Erakovic. Yet again they have never played each other so based on who is doing better - erm I don't know as they both play in very different tournaments. I think Alona should win though!
Wickmayer against South is the lowest ranked match in this Quaterfinal. Personally I think Melanie has a chance but it all depends on the day with this match in my opinion.
Mattek against Vaidisova will be the one I watch. They've played once before with Vaidisova winning. Hopefully Vaidisova will keep her winning streak and beat Bethanie Mattek and get an easy tournament win. I hate to think who will win if Vaidisova loses this Quaterfinal!
Firstly Nadal against Nishikori. Nishikori is definitely a guy I'll develop to like and he's already doing well in my books and in the tour. Though he didn't beat Nadal at times I felt he was going to create a shock and I was really looking to see whether that would happen. He did some great things in that match and I am looking forward to seeing him in the future. One thing I'm totally confused about is the match between Karlovic and Gonzalez - who won! On the site it says Gonzalez won but on the live scores it says Karlovic has won! This is actually the first time I have seen this happen. Murray's match was rather dramatic. Though I didn't watch much of it I knew he collapsed to the floor and stuff. Well at least he won and gets a chance to play Roddick. With Murray the past few years I have always felt excited to know what happens to him because I always seem to think he has a chance, that feeling has gone from me currently and it would take some work to make me feel like that again. Well Gasquet against Ancic was a good match and maybe we're seeing that Gasquet loves his Grass so a good run in Wimbledon maybe likely. Hewitt was another exciting match. He was losing like 3-0 at the start I remember but then went on to win the match - so happy for him. Djokovic also nearly scared me. Though I didn't watch it I followed the scores. The first time I saw it he was losing a set and down the second but then he managed to win the second and eventually win the match.
Sadly in Halle Youzhny fell to Kiefer.
Whilst in Birmingham two of my predictions went wrong though for both I knew it would be close. These being Mattek Vs. Tanasugarn and Wickmayer Vs. Krajicek. With the 8 matches being played it means that Melanie South has a considerable chance of making the semifinals but hopefully it also means Nicole Vaidisova will have an easy run to the finals.
Like in the earlier post I will analyse the matches in the Artois Championships.
Nadal (2) and Karlovic (22)have only played once and that was in 2004 in distant Milan. Nadal played a tough match against Nishikori and Karlovic isn't going to be any easier. I think it would be interesting to see what happens but Nadal is still the favourite here.
The two Andy's have faced off 6 times with Andy Murray (11) winning 4 times against Andy Roddick (6). There only match on Grass was won by Murray in Wimbledon. There matches have never been easy, the latest full match they had Roddick came out victorius. However the form the two are in are very different. Before Roland Garros Roddick was seen as having a good year playing very well in many tournaments which is not what we could say for Murray, on top of that Roddick has a great history here and will be deemed as one of the favourites. I think the match will be tough but I believe Roddick will have the upper hand.
Nalbandian (8) Vs. Gasquet (10) is going to be interesting. Gasquet will be trying to find form in on a good surface for him whilst Nalbandian will also be trying to find the form in which took him to two Masters Series wins last year. However what makes this match different is Nalbandian has an overwhelming win rate against Gasquet. it is 5-0 for Nalbandian. 2005 Wimbledon is the only time they met on Grass. I really don't want to predict this match but with this overwhelming evidence Gasquet either has to play a great game or Nalbandian has to fall at the first hudrle.
Hewitt (30) Vs. Djokovic (3) is my blockbuster match, both are liked by me and both are great players - (the Andy's match is also another blockbuster for me). Djokovic the World No.3 and likely a future No.1 and Hewitt a five times champion here will face off against each other in the hope of playing against the winner of Nalbandian/Gasquet. Being Rank 30th is not the position Hewitt wants to be in but we have to give him credit for being one of the few former top players to keep his grace in the rankings (which we can't really apply to Marat Safin). Djokovic is 2-1 up against Hewitt but the loss came in 2006 which was definitely not when Djokovic was strongest. However last year in Wimbledon we saw the two face off in a very long match. Though I don't think Hewitt has been doing as well this year you have to fancy his chances in this tournament where he has won five times previously. On top of that Djokovic looked shaky against Tipsaveric at the start. However Djokovic will still go in as favourite here for me.
Well whilst I'm on it let's look at the DFS Classic. (I'm actually kind of enjoying this anaylsis!)
Cetkovska against K. Bondarenko. I don;t know who to go for but I personally think Petra has done better this year so I'll put my money on her.
The next match is Alona Bondarenko and to my memory Marina Erakovic. Yet again they have never played each other so based on who is doing better - erm I don't know as they both play in very different tournaments. I think Alona should win though!
Wickmayer against South is the lowest ranked match in this Quaterfinal. Personally I think Melanie has a chance but it all depends on the day with this match in my opinion.
Mattek against Vaidisova will be the one I watch. They've played once before with Vaidisova winning. Hopefully Vaidisova will keep her winning streak and beat Bethanie Mattek and get an easy tournament win. I hate to think who will win if Vaidisova loses this Quaterfinal!
DFS Classics
Finally I have much more time now to look back at the tennis world and my God am I happy I did so. The DFS Classic just looked too tempting to not post.
Firstly Marion Bartoli loses again! This year that hasn't been an uncommon title and if you have read my blog I have already stated how this year she is a losing horse to me and for the people who know me you'll know that she is my least favourite player. Though Cetkovska was a strong second round opponent for someone who reached the Wimbledon Final it surely wouldn't be much of a problem - this leads me to conclude that the feat was a fluke and after Wimbledon we'll see her in the low 20's rank wise which is where she deserves to be (or even lower) considering players like Flavia Pennetta who are doing much better are still in the 20's. Therefore we find ourselves with an unlikely Semifinal player between Cetkovska and Pin and K.Bondarenko (who beat Ann Keothavong aswell as Samantha Stosur) and Melinda Czink. Only Bondarenko is a seed in this field of 16 seeds - way different from a normal Tier III tournament! Her sister Alona Bondarenko will be aiming to be her opponent with her being the two being the only seeds left in this half - wouldn't that be a nice match! Sunitha Rao is her opponent who beat Naomi Cavaday sadly. A player who I thought was rising the ranks was Akgul Amanmuradova but she lost in the first round to Yaroslava Shvedova who beat Katie O'Brien another British hopeful. Shvedova will play Erakovic who beat Sania Mirza in straight sets. The first half definitely looks very wierd with a slex of below Top 50 players - Cetkovska 52, Pin 79, Kateryna Bondarenko 69, Erakovic 64 and the rest being outside the Top 100 with only Kateryna Bondarenko securing a decent ranking. Whilst I'm on rankings I congratulate Anne Keothavong for finally making the Top 100 (which I didn't know until last week) but is this all to late for the 24 year old.
The second half looks much more like my game. Krajicek won an easy to match to ensure a match against Y. Wickmayer who I have never heard of. Hopefully Krajicek will capitalize on this. The only British player left will be in the next match up with 17th seed Nakamura. This is no less than Melanie South who beat the failing Austrian Sybille Bammer. If all goes well we may even see a British player in the Quaterfinals against Krajicek the Wimbledon Quaterfinalist last year who is playing much better than her fellow shocker Marion Bartoli. Tanasugarn who seems to be taking much more attention defeated Tamira Paszek a player who saw a good end of season last year but seems to be out of her depth in this one. Bethanie Mattek who recently rejoined the Top 100 will meet Tanasugarn. The final match sees one of my favourite players Nicole Vaidisova take to the spot against Ekaterina Makarova ranked 62 in the world. The youngster has had a steady start to her career and shoudn't be taken lightly of. But if Nicole continues her form she should be able to sail through.
Therefore I am hoping for a Bondarenko sisters semifinal with a Krajicek/Vaidisova one in the bottom half.
As I had some time I looked up all the head to heads.
Petra has never player Pin but Petra is ranked 52 compared to 79. Both have never won a title but from what Petra looks to be doing she may have a chance this year with a 23-13 win loss record. Therefore I hand this match to Petra Cetkovska.
The next match sees Kateryna Bondarenko ranked 69 against Melinda Czink ranked 124. Kateryna has won both previous meetings but both were on Clay, however Kateryna looks stronger so Kateryna wins this match.
Alona is ranked 29 whilst her oppponent Sunitha Rao is way down at 160. Both are of similar stature and both have a similar win loss record though Alona has won one title before. Considering all the facts Alona looks the favourite here.
Yaroslava plays Erakovic in this next match. Yaroslava ranks 129 whilst Erakovic ranks at 64. Both are of the same age. Erakovic however has a much better win loss record at 27-10 than Yaroslava Shvedova, considering all of these Erakovic looks the victor.
Krajicek ranks 53 whilst Yanina Wickmayer ranks at 85. Both are in their teens. Krajicek has had an awful year with a win loss of 1-10 whilst Wickmayer is 28-9. They have never played each other before either. From what I see Krajicek looks like she maybe finding form but Yanina Wickmayer did cause an upset to Casey Dellacqua who has had a better year compared to Michaella Krajicek. With all these factors it's looking very bad for Michaella Krajicek but she could pull it through seeing that Grass is a good surface for her.
Nakamura is ranked 78 whilst Melanie South is at 154 which is probably the second lowest rank left. Melanie has had a good start to the year but at lower Tier event I expect compared to Nakamura. I think on the day this one can go to either player as Melanie has the backing of the crowd but Nakamura has the upper hand of being the better player overall.
Tanasugarn is a 31 year old Thai player ranked 89 whilst Mattek ranked 81 at 23 years old. Both are similar in stature and have very similar win loss records. These statistics give nothing away except for their age. Both of them beat seeds who aren't uncomfortable on grass so with all the information Tanasugarn may be the victor as she seems to have had an easier journey to reach the Third Round.
Makarova and Vaidisova played earlier in the year on Clay when Makarova beat Vaidisova (note Vaidisova was in her losing streak at this point) Makarova is ranked 62 whilst Vaidisova is the highest rank left at 19. Both have a winning win loss record but just by a thread. On rankings and past performances Vaidisova will be the winning choice but when we add the loss Vaidisova had against her earlier this year. But we have to understand that Makarova's Grass court play hasn't been developed too much with her only playing three matches competitively on Grass since 2006. If we then add on the two difficult wins to Elena Baltacha and Angelique Kerber we see the chances of a Vaidisova win much higher. Though Nathalie Dechy has not been having a great year or for the past year she still isn't too shabby on Grass, as Vaidisova beat her I believe the probability of a Vaidisova win is high.
Therefore we most likely get a:
Petra Cetkovska (52) Vs. Kateryna Bondarenko (69)
Alona Bondarenko (29) Vs. Marina Erakovic (64)
Michaella Krajicek (53) Vs. Melanie South (154) I am going to bet on her.
Tamarine Tanasugarn (89) Vs. Nicole Vaidisova (19)
As we can see only two players are in the Top 50 which seems far away from last year where Sharapova and Jankovic competed for the title. Anyway I'll cheer on Nicole as a win here will be a big boost for her confidence after a 6 match losing streak (maybe this will be the time where she does a Jankovic!)
Firstly Marion Bartoli loses again! This year that hasn't been an uncommon title and if you have read my blog I have already stated how this year she is a losing horse to me and for the people who know me you'll know that she is my least favourite player. Though Cetkovska was a strong second round opponent for someone who reached the Wimbledon Final it surely wouldn't be much of a problem - this leads me to conclude that the feat was a fluke and after Wimbledon we'll see her in the low 20's rank wise which is where she deserves to be (or even lower) considering players like Flavia Pennetta who are doing much better are still in the 20's. Therefore we find ourselves with an unlikely Semifinal player between Cetkovska and Pin and K.Bondarenko (who beat Ann Keothavong aswell as Samantha Stosur) and Melinda Czink. Only Bondarenko is a seed in this field of 16 seeds - way different from a normal Tier III tournament! Her sister Alona Bondarenko will be aiming to be her opponent with her being the two being the only seeds left in this half - wouldn't that be a nice match! Sunitha Rao is her opponent who beat Naomi Cavaday sadly. A player who I thought was rising the ranks was Akgul Amanmuradova but she lost in the first round to Yaroslava Shvedova who beat Katie O'Brien another British hopeful. Shvedova will play Erakovic who beat Sania Mirza in straight sets. The first half definitely looks very wierd with a slex of below Top 50 players - Cetkovska 52, Pin 79, Kateryna Bondarenko 69, Erakovic 64 and the rest being outside the Top 100 with only Kateryna Bondarenko securing a decent ranking. Whilst I'm on rankings I congratulate Anne Keothavong for finally making the Top 100 (which I didn't know until last week) but is this all to late for the 24 year old.
The second half looks much more like my game. Krajicek won an easy to match to ensure a match against Y. Wickmayer who I have never heard of. Hopefully Krajicek will capitalize on this. The only British player left will be in the next match up with 17th seed Nakamura. This is no less than Melanie South who beat the failing Austrian Sybille Bammer. If all goes well we may even see a British player in the Quaterfinals against Krajicek the Wimbledon Quaterfinalist last year who is playing much better than her fellow shocker Marion Bartoli. Tanasugarn who seems to be taking much more attention defeated Tamira Paszek a player who saw a good end of season last year but seems to be out of her depth in this one. Bethanie Mattek who recently rejoined the Top 100 will meet Tanasugarn. The final match sees one of my favourite players Nicole Vaidisova take to the spot against Ekaterina Makarova ranked 62 in the world. The youngster has had a steady start to her career and shoudn't be taken lightly of. But if Nicole continues her form she should be able to sail through.
Therefore I am hoping for a Bondarenko sisters semifinal with a Krajicek/Vaidisova one in the bottom half.
As I had some time I looked up all the head to heads.
Petra has never player Pin but Petra is ranked 52 compared to 79. Both have never won a title but from what Petra looks to be doing she may have a chance this year with a 23-13 win loss record. Therefore I hand this match to Petra Cetkovska.
The next match sees Kateryna Bondarenko ranked 69 against Melinda Czink ranked 124. Kateryna has won both previous meetings but both were on Clay, however Kateryna looks stronger so Kateryna wins this match.
Alona is ranked 29 whilst her oppponent Sunitha Rao is way down at 160. Both are of similar stature and both have a similar win loss record though Alona has won one title before. Considering all the facts Alona looks the favourite here.
Yaroslava plays Erakovic in this next match. Yaroslava ranks 129 whilst Erakovic ranks at 64. Both are of the same age. Erakovic however has a much better win loss record at 27-10 than Yaroslava Shvedova, considering all of these Erakovic looks the victor.
Krajicek ranks 53 whilst Yanina Wickmayer ranks at 85. Both are in their teens. Krajicek has had an awful year with a win loss of 1-10 whilst Wickmayer is 28-9. They have never played each other before either. From what I see Krajicek looks like she maybe finding form but Yanina Wickmayer did cause an upset to Casey Dellacqua who has had a better year compared to Michaella Krajicek. With all these factors it's looking very bad for Michaella Krajicek but she could pull it through seeing that Grass is a good surface for her.
Nakamura is ranked 78 whilst Melanie South is at 154 which is probably the second lowest rank left. Melanie has had a good start to the year but at lower Tier event I expect compared to Nakamura. I think on the day this one can go to either player as Melanie has the backing of the crowd but Nakamura has the upper hand of being the better player overall.
Tanasugarn is a 31 year old Thai player ranked 89 whilst Mattek ranked 81 at 23 years old. Both are similar in stature and have very similar win loss records. These statistics give nothing away except for their age. Both of them beat seeds who aren't uncomfortable on grass so with all the information Tanasugarn may be the victor as she seems to have had an easier journey to reach the Third Round.
Makarova and Vaidisova played earlier in the year on Clay when Makarova beat Vaidisova (note Vaidisova was in her losing streak at this point) Makarova is ranked 62 whilst Vaidisova is the highest rank left at 19. Both have a winning win loss record but just by a thread. On rankings and past performances Vaidisova will be the winning choice but when we add the loss Vaidisova had against her earlier this year. But we have to understand that Makarova's Grass court play hasn't been developed too much with her only playing three matches competitively on Grass since 2006. If we then add on the two difficult wins to Elena Baltacha and Angelique Kerber we see the chances of a Vaidisova win much higher. Though Nathalie Dechy has not been having a great year or for the past year she still isn't too shabby on Grass, as Vaidisova beat her I believe the probability of a Vaidisova win is high.
Therefore we most likely get a:
Petra Cetkovska (52) Vs. Kateryna Bondarenko (69)
Alona Bondarenko (29) Vs. Marina Erakovic (64)
Michaella Krajicek (53) Vs. Melanie South (154) I am going to bet on her.
Tamarine Tanasugarn (89) Vs. Nicole Vaidisova (19)
As we can see only two players are in the Top 50 which seems far away from last year where Sharapova and Jankovic competed for the title. Anyway I'll cheer on Nicole as a win here will be a big boost for her confidence after a 6 match losing streak (maybe this will be the time where she does a Jankovic!)
Sunday 8 June 2008
ATP next week
I start with the Artois Championships because I am interested in it. Firstly Federer is missing but playing somewhere else, which leads me to think he needs a huge confidence boosting! That doesn't bode well for Wimbledon. The first part of the draw has Marat Safin - yeah! I hope he does well here, other than that the first half of the draw doesn't interest me that much, but I still have to cheer on the British players and Kei Nishikori!
On the secong section I hope Roddick shows his Grass court prowess and hopefully he'll beat Nadal! But of course I do hope Murray does well because he hasn't been having a great time recently. I don't know what to think about with Gasquet because he is so unpredictable - but then I remember the match he played against Roddick in Wimbledon last year and I have to continue liking him. Hopefully Ancic will also get back on form. I'll also cheer on Feliciano Lopez and John Isner.
I'm also supporting Daniel Evans and Joshua Goodall in the second quarter of the draw and of course my favourite player Novak Djokovic! He should be fine here but Hewitt may cause a problem.
Like Federer Davydenko has avoided the big names and chose to play in Warsaw. Which I'll hopefully see Juan Monaco taking the crown their!
Federer has decided to join the Halle tournament which sees Mikhail Youzhny play Dmitry Tursunov in the first round! I am very dissapointed that they have to knock each other out so early. Tommy Haas will also make a welcome return to the tour whilst hopefully Blake does well also. Hopefully my favourites will do well but Federer is still the favourite here!
On the secong section I hope Roddick shows his Grass court prowess and hopefully he'll beat Nadal! But of course I do hope Murray does well because he hasn't been having a great time recently. I don't know what to think about with Gasquet because he is so unpredictable - but then I remember the match he played against Roddick in Wimbledon last year and I have to continue liking him. Hopefully Ancic will also get back on form. I'll also cheer on Feliciano Lopez and John Isner.
I'm also supporting Daniel Evans and Joshua Goodall in the second quarter of the draw and of course my favourite player Novak Djokovic! He should be fine here but Hewitt may cause a problem.
Like Federer Davydenko has avoided the big names and chose to play in Warsaw. Which I'll hopefully see Juan Monaco taking the crown their!
Federer has decided to join the Halle tournament which sees Mikhail Youzhny play Dmitry Tursunov in the first round! I am very dissapointed that they have to knock each other out so early. Tommy Haas will also make a welcome return to the tour whilst hopefully Blake does well also. Hopefully my favourites will do well but Federer is still the favourite here!
WTA next week
Well firstly I am so annoyed that Marion Bartoli is No.1 seed. With her weak draw if she doesn't win it is likely that she'll fail to do anything better towards the later stages of the season. I will cheet on Anne Keothavong (patriotism) Alona Bondarenko will also be on my list of hopefuls whilst I hope Naomi Cavaday and Katie O'Briend do well here. Hopefully Michaella Krajicek will find form again which took her to the Quarterfinals of Wimbledon last year whilst another two British players lurk in this part of the draw. Of course I will cheer on Nicole Vaidisova - if she fails here I think I will have to shut my eyes on her for the rest of the season and hope she comes back on top form in the Australian Open next year. Overall their are 6 British players and I do hope at least one of them get to the Quarterfinals!
For Barcelona all I have to say is "Go Kirilenko!"
For Barcelona all I have to say is "Go Kirilenko!"
In Conclusion...
To all the supporters of Federer only being in a phase - he is not! After the humiliating defeat by Nadal I am quite sure Federer has only one way to go and that is down, the only question now is how long it will take. After this defeat I think it is safe to say that Federer is no longer the dominant player he was for the past few years. I believe he will have to fight tough for him to win Wimbledon, with Djokovic, Nadal and even Roddick looking on top of their game I think the likelihood of Federer having an easy tournament is unlikely. In the end for Federer to take back the dominating spot he'll need to win both the US and Wimbledon, if not the likelihood of him dominating ever again is unlikely as Nadal and Djokovic aren't likely to back down.
Saturday 7 June 2008
Roland Garros
I think it is time for me to post now even when the Men's Single has not been played! Lets go to the less known draws.
The Juniors!
I don't know many of these players but I have heard of Bernard Tomic! Anyway Tsung-Hua Yang you are doing Asis proud, I hope you win! It's interesting in the Girl's final both are from Romania! Would the romanians finally come out with a great player! On the girls Double draw (i've decided to skip the Boy's doubles) sadly Jade Curtis didn't get to the finals and loss dismally.
Doubles
The Mixed doubles was won by Azarenka and Bryan which is a nice pairing. I hope they continue winning. Sadly Jie Zheng and Mahesh Bhupathi the Asian duo had to hand the No.1's a walkover, I would have loved for them to be in the final! Also congrats to Jamie Murray for making the top 8 pairs. The women's doubles seemed slightly weak but congrats to the Spanish pair. The Men's doubles look slightly different from usual and I would have loved it is the Bryans were their or Tursunov who did so well to get to the semis.
The main ones!
Women's
Ok lets start from the very beginnings.
Well the first eighth saw Dinara Safin break through, she looked strong and steady throughout and it was evident that Maria Sharapova was not going to find it easy to defeat her compatriot. In the end it was inevitable that Maria would lose. Anyway congratulations to Maria Kirilenko who didn't lose in the 1st Round.
The next eighth saw Elena Dementieva take the spot, she did well but I never saw her as a potential champion.
The next quarter as a whole was weak in comparison with Kuznetsova being the bridesmaid to the competition again, you expect her to be their but never win!
The next quarter was Jankovic's turn but when Venus left I knew nobody could take Jankovic out until the semis even if she didn't seem that steady.
Serena also lost out and the same applied to Ivanovic - that she will have no competition until the Semis. With the Williams gone the bottom half was left wide open and became an easy taking for Ivanovic, the thing is if Ivanovic won the tournament being on the top half of the draw I'll feel more respect for her but every time she does well I just feel that she has avoided the toughest sections of the draw and left the others fighting when she goes past smoothly.
Well I'll start my analysis from Round 4 which is the place I think I left the tournament to continue on, special mentions go to the demise of the Williams sisters and the loss of Agnes Szavay who could really have capitalized on such a weak draw on her section.
Well Dinara was the first to scalp off Sharapova and because of that Maria loses out before the Quarters. Elena played strongly to beat Vera - a strong returning power to the womans game. The top draw was all a Russian affair with Dinara Safina having to defeat three of her compatriots before the final.
Svetlana saw off Victoria Azarenka, who was supposed to be a major threat in Sue Barkers mind. Flavia Pennetta was sadly ousted by the unknown Navarro who I still don't know how she got here. Then we had stalwart Schnyder and Ana winning a double bagel (from my previous comment I have to say Ana plays well but she needs to play better players for me to give her respect like other Grand Slam winners, she is probably the first No.1 player who I feel is here because the competition is scarce! The Semi finals saw a Russian Russian and Serbian Serbian affair meaning it was Russia against Serbia in the final. Honestly I found this years tournament weak and wierdly I didn't watch any of the latter matches between the female competitors even though I had the time to do so, I think Roland Garros will be a gap for players to win a Grand Slam for the future because their is just no dominating force. I bet Ana Ivanovic is so happy that Justine has gone because now she will be the one to beat here! I hope Nicole Vaidisova will get better for next years Roland Garros as her chances here have grown ten fold with Justine being gone.
Overall I try to like Ivanovic but by the time I find something I like about her she goes and does something I dislike her for. I just think most of the times she has got to latter stages of Grand Slams are because the competition has just avoided her, she seems to be always on the bottom half of the draw playing unseeded players or seeded players who are flaking away. The time when I give respect to her is when she plays about 2 top 10 players to win a Grand Slam, if not I don't think I'll ever deem any of her Gran Slam victories as deserved!
With the mens I really don't want to say much because it is a Federer/Nadal thing again. I think Nadal will win easily here because he has just been so good currently on Clay whilst Federer really didn't play such a difficult field to get to the finals!
Once the Rankings come up I will debate about them!
The Juniors!
I don't know many of these players but I have heard of Bernard Tomic! Anyway Tsung-Hua Yang you are doing Asis proud, I hope you win! It's interesting in the Girl's final both are from Romania! Would the romanians finally come out with a great player! On the girls Double draw (i've decided to skip the Boy's doubles) sadly Jade Curtis didn't get to the finals and loss dismally.
Doubles
The Mixed doubles was won by Azarenka and Bryan which is a nice pairing. I hope they continue winning. Sadly Jie Zheng and Mahesh Bhupathi the Asian duo had to hand the No.1's a walkover, I would have loved for them to be in the final! Also congrats to Jamie Murray for making the top 8 pairs. The women's doubles seemed slightly weak but congrats to the Spanish pair. The Men's doubles look slightly different from usual and I would have loved it is the Bryans were their or Tursunov who did so well to get to the semis.
The main ones!
Women's
Ok lets start from the very beginnings.
Well the first eighth saw Dinara Safin break through, she looked strong and steady throughout and it was evident that Maria Sharapova was not going to find it easy to defeat her compatriot. In the end it was inevitable that Maria would lose. Anyway congratulations to Maria Kirilenko who didn't lose in the 1st Round.
The next eighth saw Elena Dementieva take the spot, she did well but I never saw her as a potential champion.
The next quarter as a whole was weak in comparison with Kuznetsova being the bridesmaid to the competition again, you expect her to be their but never win!
The next quarter was Jankovic's turn but when Venus left I knew nobody could take Jankovic out until the semis even if she didn't seem that steady.
Serena also lost out and the same applied to Ivanovic - that she will have no competition until the Semis. With the Williams gone the bottom half was left wide open and became an easy taking for Ivanovic, the thing is if Ivanovic won the tournament being on the top half of the draw I'll feel more respect for her but every time she does well I just feel that she has avoided the toughest sections of the draw and left the others fighting when she goes past smoothly.
Well I'll start my analysis from Round 4 which is the place I think I left the tournament to continue on, special mentions go to the demise of the Williams sisters and the loss of Agnes Szavay who could really have capitalized on such a weak draw on her section.
Well Dinara was the first to scalp off Sharapova and because of that Maria loses out before the Quarters. Elena played strongly to beat Vera - a strong returning power to the womans game. The top draw was all a Russian affair with Dinara Safina having to defeat three of her compatriots before the final.
Svetlana saw off Victoria Azarenka, who was supposed to be a major threat in Sue Barkers mind. Flavia Pennetta was sadly ousted by the unknown Navarro who I still don't know how she got here. Then we had stalwart Schnyder and Ana winning a double bagel (from my previous comment I have to say Ana plays well but she needs to play better players for me to give her respect like other Grand Slam winners, she is probably the first No.1 player who I feel is here because the competition is scarce! The Semi finals saw a Russian Russian and Serbian Serbian affair meaning it was Russia against Serbia in the final. Honestly I found this years tournament weak and wierdly I didn't watch any of the latter matches between the female competitors even though I had the time to do so, I think Roland Garros will be a gap for players to win a Grand Slam for the future because their is just no dominating force. I bet Ana Ivanovic is so happy that Justine has gone because now she will be the one to beat here! I hope Nicole Vaidisova will get better for next years Roland Garros as her chances here have grown ten fold with Justine being gone.
Overall I try to like Ivanovic but by the time I find something I like about her she goes and does something I dislike her for. I just think most of the times she has got to latter stages of Grand Slams are because the competition has just avoided her, she seems to be always on the bottom half of the draw playing unseeded players or seeded players who are flaking away. The time when I give respect to her is when she plays about 2 top 10 players to win a Grand Slam, if not I don't think I'll ever deem any of her Gran Slam victories as deserved!
With the mens I really don't want to say much because it is a Federer/Nadal thing again. I think Nadal will win easily here because he has just been so good currently on Clay whilst Federer really didn't play such a difficult field to get to the finals!
Once the Rankings come up I will debate about them!
Monday 2 June 2008
Time!
I really wanted to post a long post today just before the Quaters but I simply don't have enough time to do the long posts which I do every time. It's a shame but I will do a very very long post on Saturday or so talking about the whole tournament and the winners and losers. Anyway had to say I was quite shocked when the first quartet was dominated by Russians (well not shocked but it looked amazing that they were all Russian!)
Sunday 1 June 2008
Another Shock
Just a quick update, I was shocked to see Carla Suarez Navarro continue her streak and get to the Quaters, I have to be honest I never expected that and I'm really sad that Flavia lost to her in straight sets, hopefully Flavia would improve from here on and reach the Top 20 again soon. Ana Ivanovic also got a double bagle, this has definitely increased my belief that she is looking for her first Grand Slam title - as much as I hate to say it.
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