Tennis (and other sports) Tips and Opinions

...Gisella Dulko didn't manage to capitalise on her defeat of Maria Sharapova on Wednesday, as she crashed out of the 3rd round in 3 sets to Sharapova's compatriot, Nadia Petrova.

However it was a different story for my "one to watch" Elena Vesnina, as she managed to edge 14th seed Dominika Cilbulkova in a tight 3 set match. She will face Elena Dementieva on "4th Round Monday" in what looks to be another very tough, but equally winnable match.

...With so many successful Russian tennis players, one or two can usually be forgotten about. However, one of the better bets to put your money on this fortnight, is 22 year old Elena Vesnina.
A great all round player, Vesnina is currently ranked 17 in doubles, and is currently on the way up with a career high singles ranking of 37, so was just 5 players away from being seeded this year!
At most bookies you'll find her at odds of around 250-1, but this past year she has improved immensely, reaching the finals at Auckland in January, losing to top seed Elena Dementieva. Since then, she has won match after match, discreetly making her way up the WTA rankings, and there has to be a "breakout tournament" for her sometime soon. Is it going to be Wimbledon? At a price of 250-1 its definitely worth gambling on here.

...WTA's Worst Nightmare??

Just a quick blog as unfortunately my University Assignment deadlines do not take into account my blog =[ haha...

Well Indian Wells has already been shocking in it's first few days, as an extremely large majority of Women's seeds were sent packing in their 2nd and 3rd round matches...

And there's only a few women left who look like they could actually be up for the title...Safina hasn't been seen since her Aussi Open Demolition, but she has been back in force at Indian Wells. Also, Ana Ivanovic looks as good as she did against Serena Williams in Dubai. With the Williams sisters out this really is anybody's title. And for me, i'm going to make a bold pick this week and go with Na Li of China to get to the final and even lift the trophy. Li returned from injury and made a run all the way to the final of the tournament in Mexico last week. And here she has already taken out 17th seed Mauresmo. Her higher ranked compatriot Zheng Jie has already been knocked out in her 2nd round match, so with Li as the sole surviving Chinese player, can she make it to her 2nd consecutive final and possibly go 1 step further and take the trophy?

As for the men, Andy Murray is looking like he is making up for lost time due to his virus, whilst the top 3 seeds have also all looked untroubled. I think we may see a top 4 seeded semi-final line-up this year at Indian Wells. And think the final will consist of Nadal and Murray. As for the victor...It will all depend on the way the play on the day. But being a true Brit...I'm gonna have to go with Murray...

Well i'll try and blog further on this tournament later in the week but i can't promise anything... Good Luck with any bets people =]

...Unless They're On Venus!!

Well Venus looked pretty impressive in Dubai...and then went on to the finals of Acapulco, where she faced the "Woman of the Week", Flavia Penetta, who had looked well on her way to ANOTHER Acapulco title...yet the final score of the night read... 6-1 6-2 to Venus Williams!!!

With a score like that, it's hard to believe that Venus was pushed to 3 sets regularly during the week. But with this victory, it means Venus has won her 40th and 41st titles in just 2 weeks!
Whilst the French Open isn't until the end of May, you can't help thinking that Venus may be on her way to the 1st French Open title of her career!

It is hard to even conjure up a name right now that is as good on the clay courts as Venus seemed this past weekend. All i can think of is Ana Ivanovic, with the momentum of being the current champion, and maybe perhaps Zheng Jie, who did extremely well in the contest last year, after going through qualifying. However this year she will be in the tournament as of right, and therefore should be fitter and more prepared than last year, so maybe she will surprise a few people.

Also, watch for some tennis tonight at MSG in New York. As The Williams Sisters and Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic battle it out for the Billie Jean Cup... It's going to be a fantastic night of tennis!

So my "One to Watch" from the Australian Open, Alize Cornet, has yet to disappoint, coming so close to defeating Jelena Jankovic in the GDF Suez tournament this week...She is going to be a serious threat in the Doha Championships this coming week...

And congratulations to Amelie Mauresmo...I don't know whether it was being in her home country or just that she's back to her best, but she put on a truly AMAZING show against Elena Dementieva today to take the title, and will now move back up the rankings, and may go even further if she continues to play the way she has this week...

Perhaps the most intriguing match of the next week will be a FIRST ROUND MATCH!!! Between number one seed in America, Caroline Wozniaki, who takes on the heart-warming player who took her out of the Australian Open, Jelena Dokic. Dokic has cruised through the qualifying tournament, and it will be interesting to see how she plays against Wozniaki without a loud Australian crowd behind her. But being that she is a former World Number 4, i believe she can pull it off for a 2nd time this year...

Also, Anne Keothavong competes in the same tournament in her first time as a seeded player. The number 4 seed has a pretty good draw, with the first real threat looking to be Wozniaki or Dokic in the semi finals. So hopefully Anne can repeat her success which she had in Auckland at the start of the year, and get herself into the top 50 in the World...

So...with a little bit of patriotism involved, I'm going to suggest that it will be a Dokic/Keothavong semi-final in America this week, and i would also predict that the winner of the tournament comes out of that half of the draw...
And in Dubai, its a pretty full field, with the 16 seeds all being in the World's top 23!!! Serena Williams seems unstoppable at the minute, but withdrawing from GDF Suez with an injury makes her seem a little risky... Jie Zheng also returns in Dubai after a wrist injury forced her to retire at the Australian Open. So it really could be anyone's game at Dubai, but Im going to choose a few people i believe could be real threats...Obviously Mauresmo has ot be one after her amazing tournament this week. I would also choose Zheng as she was looking good in the Aussie Open before her injury, and Alize Cornet has been rapidly improving match by match, so i expect these 3 to go very far into the tournament...

Well thats all for now, hopefully my tips work out and i shall be back to update people on all results some time in the week...

WHY is Anne Keothavong still outside the world's top 50?

The British number 1 and World number 54 reached the 3rd round of the US Open late last year and only went out to Elena Dementieva, who later made it to the semi-finals. And this year she reached her first WTA Tour semi-final, only narrowly missing out on a place in the final.

And during this weeks Fed-Cup tie, Great Britain won all 3 of their round robin contests 3-0, with Anne playing a singles match in each contest. And then came the semi-final play-off against Poland. And Anne drew against World number 9 Agnieszka Radwanska 6-7, 6-7. Whilst on the surface this seems like a simple loss, you fail to remember that Radwanska in the 9th BEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD!! And yet this time last year Anne Keothavong was around 150 in the World. This match was a true testament to not only how far Keothavong has come, but how far she can go. a 2-set loss in 2 tie-breaks to a top 10 player is good for ANYONE, let alone someone who isn't even in the top 50. All i can say is i hope this gives Anne a lot more hope and belief in herself, as it shows she really has what it takes to go toe-to-toe with the world's best, and who knows maybe next time, she'll be the one that comes out on top??

Firstly i apologise for not posting the last couple of days but i haven't been too well
Having said that, i was made better this morning by the amazing Men's Singles Final between Nadal and Federer. Many people were worried that it wouldn't live up to the Wimbledon match last year, but in my opinion it surpassed that, and was more enjoyable for the fct that it wasn't tainted by countless rain delays as there Wimbledon final was.

However the tournament is over and we have a new champion, Rafael Nadal, who now currently holds 3 of the 4 Grand Slam singles titles and seems to be going from strength to strength. And you had to be made of stone to not feel for Federer as he broke down with the realisation that he would have to wait at least another 5 months before thinking again about matching Pete Sampras' record of 14 career Grand Slam titles. I along with millions of others truly believe he will do that, and i don't mean to put down Nadal, but i hope Federer does it as soon as he possibly can, maybe at the French Open? Which would be quite fitting as this is the only Grand Slam he is still yet to win. Now lets have a retrospective of the past 2 weeks of tennis...

SURPRISE OF THE TOURNAMENT - The "surprise" for me has to be the great news of Andy Roddicks return to form. Until the semi final Roddick had lost just 2 sets, and in doing so displayed some of the best tennis we've seen from him possibly since he won the US Open in 2003. With a new coach and a new body (losing over a stone over the off season) Roddick was as powerful as always but had advanced agility and speed, something which should make him a deadly threat in the months to come.

UPSET OF THE TOURNAMENT - Anytime the World number 1 exits a tournament it would be considered an upset. But the way Marion Bartoli humiliated Jelena Jankovic was something that had to be seen to be believed. Calm and collected the whole way through the match, Bartoli took everything Jankovic had to offer, and shrugged it off as she soundly defeated the "Best player in the world" 6-1 6-4.

STORY OF THE TOURNAMENT - 2 words which will get everybody reminiscing about this tournament are...Jelena Dokic...Former number 4 player in the World, her entire career plagued by family problems, Dokic managed to grab a wildcard for the tournament, and boy did she make use of it, using her determination and never-say-die attitude, Dokic managed to fight her way all the way to the quarter-finals, defeating 3 top 30 players, before finally being silenced by Dinara Safina, in a tough match that went 3 sets. But it wasn't all sad, as this tournament was merely a statement...Dokic is back, and she is better than before.

1 TO WATCH - I remember in the Beijing Olympics, a young French girl that i simply knew as Cornet was taking on Serena Williams. Whilst Williams won the match, i was intrigued by this teenagers amazing ability, and the rest of the world seen this at the Australian Open. Alize Cornet lost just 8 games in her first 2 matches, then managed to finish off Daniela Hantuchova in the 3rd round, and booked her place in the 4th round where she faced Dinara Safina. Safina had to fend off match points from Cornet in order to complete that match, and many people saw the potential this young French player has for the future. Keep her name in mind when next looking at betting odds for tournaments.

MATCH OF THE TOURNAMENT - Rafael Nadal taking on his compatriot Fernando Verdasco has to be one of the most exhilarating matches in Aussie Open history. 5 sets in 5 hours and 14 minutes, the longest match in Aussie open history had nothing but drama and amazing rallies, in a match that will be forever remembered as the point in time where Verdasco put the top 10 on notice.

MOMENT OF THE TOURNAMENT - Whilst technically not part of the tournament, nobody can honestly say they didn't feel a quiver inside themselves, when Champion Rafael Nadal consoled a distraught Roger Federer after his realisation of the history making moment which had just eluded him. Whilst bitter enemies on the court, it is probable that off court, these 2 amazing players will be lifelong friends, with nothing but respect for each other, their "respectable rivalry" is a fantatsic advertisement for the sport of tennis.

SHOCK OF THE TOURNAMENT - After the past 2 weeks, you wouldn't be blamed for forgetting the name Agnieszka Radwanska. But the number 9 seed was a quarter finalist last year, and one of the dark horses to take this title. However, after 2 hours and 19 minutes, Radwanska's Australian Open was over, in a first round loss to Kateryna Bondarenko. This was a huge shock and i'm sure Radwanska will be keen to get revenge on Bondarenko in the future.

PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT - Gael Monfils...Whilst he didn;t get very far in the tournament, Monfils lost just 1 set in his first 3 matches, and easily made his way into the 4th round, where he faces fellow Frenchmen Giles. Monfils was down 2 sets to 1 when he had to retire with a wrist injury. After seeing the way he played before he became injured, i really think this would have been Monfils' breakout tournament. So keep your eye on Monfils when he returns fit and healthy, and ready to get back into the title race.

...But It Sure As Hell Makes You A Good Tennis Player!!

Ana Ivanovic and Fernando Verdasco ended their relationship just days before he sent out 4th seed and tournament favourite Andy Murray. Many thought that Verdasco had gotten out his personal frustrations in that match and was lucky to reach the quarter-finals, yet he proved he was far from done by brushing aside Tsonga in his next match. And after 5 hours and 14 minutes of the most amazing tennis seen in a long time, Verdasco was finally silenced, but he could only be stopped by a heroic performance from the World's Best Player, Rafael Nadal. Even though i predicted a Nadal/Federer final, i couldn't help but root for Verdasco, who up until the final set served up just 1 double fault. Yet Nadal proved why he is the number player in the World, and in a fantastic show of sportsmanship, leaped over the net after his victory and embraced his fellow countrymen as the crowd showed their huge appreciation for the longest Australian Open Men's match in history...

You would be forgiven for assuming that the final took place today, but it was a semi-final, and we still have 2 finals to talk about...
Tomorrow evening in Australia, Dinara Safina takes on 3 time former champion Serena Williams. Everybody is talking about Williams, with her becoming a 10-time Grand-Slam champion if she succeeds tomorrow evening. However, people seem to have already forgotten how soundly Safina sent Zvonereva packing in the semi's. Safina is currently the outsider at the Bookies with odds of 2-1, but personally i think, if she can keep her emotions in check, and ensure that her serve percentage remains high, then she could cause the upset. Last year Safina surprised everyone with her meteoric rise through the WTA rankings,. and now at number 3, she is poised to take the number 1 ranking if she can succeed tomorrow. I'm gonna take a risk here, and i'm going to predict a Safina victory, which will both be fantastic and deserved for the Russian who only narrowly lost out on Olympic Gold...

Also, for the 3rd time running, Congratullations and Good Luck to Laura Robson... She defeated World number 1 junior, Noppawan Lertcheewakarn 6-4 6-3, which is absolutely incredible considering Lertcheewakarn had only lost 10 games prior to her meeting with Robson. I seriously think this girl is destined for great things. She doesn't play too many tournament but she is STILL able to attain World number 1 status if she gets a victory tonight. Also, Lertcheewakarn has been labelled as the next big threat to the women's division, yet Robson has had little trouble disposing of her in their past 2 meetings. So once she turns professional, it wouldn't surprise me if within 1 or 2 years she is the British Number 1, and may even be within the World's top 10...

Thats it for now anyway, Good Luck to Dinara and Laura and i shall be back tomorrow with the round-up of those 2 matches, and with my opinions on the Wimbledon rematch of Nadal/Federer.

So ONCE AGAIN!!! 1 of the picks were wrong. Safina soundly defeated Zvonereva, and Federer took control of Roddick, yet Serena Williams managed to get past Dementieva, and handed Dementieva her 1st defeat of 2009 on her way to the final.

So with only one big match tonight there aren't many predictions for me to make, and on the surface it looks like another simple one. Nadal is taking on his fellow countryman Verdasco. Both growing up in Spain they must have played each other many times before they turned professional, so Nadal probably won't be as far ahead as you would think. However, as i have stated a few times this week, whether Verdasco is on a roll or not, i still predict another Federer/Nadal showdown, so im expecting Nadal to take this one.

Also, congratulations AGAIN to Laura Robson, who managed to get into the Junior's semi-finals, and good luck for her today as she takes on World number 1 junior Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, who has only dropped an amazing 10 GAMES on her way to the semi-finals! So it will definitely be a tough ask for her, but she managed to easily beat her at Wimbledon, and i hope she can do it again tonight.

So another 3 out of 4 picks isn't too shabby... The only mistake this time was in the Tsonga/Verdasco match, which even now i'm still wondering how Verdasco managed to pull it off.

So Today is Semi-Final day, with 3 of 4 matches being contested. At the end of the night we will know the women's final, as well as half of the men's. Zvonereva will take on Safina in ANOTHER all Russian encounter. Zvonereva dominated in her match against Bartoli and Safina had to throw everything she had to finally kill of Dokic's dream in their respective semi-finals, but for some reason i just can't see Zvonereva having the mental stability she needs to finish off a fighter like Safina. The second Safina gets an advantage i feel Zvonereva will fall apart and be easy prey for Safina.

The other women's Semi is much more exciting. Elena Dementieva takes on Serena Williams. It is extremely difficult to predict the result of this match, with both women seeming very strong recently. Serena had a lot of problems in her 4th round match, and Kuznetsova had a lot of chances to finish off their quarter final. However, Dementieva also looked very strong in the early parts of the tournament, but in her quarter-final, even though she easily won, she had a huge amount of trouble with her serve, a problem that has plagued her entire career and is probably the only reason she isn't currently the World number 1. The only way i could distinguish these two is by looking at their last matches. Serena Williams won her final set 6-1, however Dementieva won her last match 6-2 6-2, which is good for ANY quarter-final. So i'm even surprising myself here, but i'm going to pick Dementieva, and i think we're going to see a replay of the 2008 Olympic Final.

The men's semi-final today, which could be, and i REALLLY hope is, the match of the fortnight. With World number 2 and tennis legend Roger Federer, taking on the man who has breezed through the tournament, Andy Roddick. I really don't want to ruin either man's chances here, but i HAVE to pick a winner. I think it will possibly go 5 sets, if Roddick can keep his nerve and not give up (as he seemed to do against Murray in Doha). Federer looked incredible in his match against Del Potro, making the 8th seed look like a luck wildcard contestant, and Roddick has dropped only 2 sets in the entire tournament so far. However, as i said in a previous blog, i predict another Federer/Nadal final, therefore as much as i am rooting for Roddick to get back to his best, i just think Federer will put him in his place tonight.

Also, Congratulations AND Good Luck again to Laura Robson and Heather Watson, the British juniors who both sailed through their 3rd round matches and compete in their respective quarter-finals first thing this morning. They have the chance of meeting in an all-British final if they can both win just 2 more matches...

Other than that, enjoy the tennis people and i shall update you on the results tomorrow.