I’m not going into a detailed analysis of each section of the draw and I’m not going to predict every match, but I’m going to touch on what I see could be key points in the Wimbledon Draw this year. The Wimbledon draw threw us an interesting surprise in giving us a re-run of Mahut vs Isner. I think the hype about this match is about much, especially since I don’t see how it can resemble the affair of last year. This time we might have three straights to Isner for example. But if both players serve as well and …
Soderling
And so here it is, the match we’ve been waiting for, another grand slam final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. In some way this final feels different then the previous ones, especially since they played their last GS final against each other in the 2009 Australian Open 2,5 years ago. A lot has happened since then. Djokovic has showed he’s probably the best player in the world right now. Federer has won the French Open and reached 16 Grand Slam titles. Nadal has proven that he wants to be in the GOAT discussion by making a career slam and winning 9 …
While people were talking about Djokovic‘s fantastic streak and Nadal‘s lack of confidence, Roger Federer found his form and has now won all his matches on the road to the semi-final without losing a set. This should be a slight warning to Djokovic. The Serb is also bound to be a little nervous as he for once is the favorite and has a lot more on the line than Federer. If Djokovic wins he will be the number one player in the world and play his first Roland Garros final. In the final the winner of the Djokovic vs Federer …
The big talk of day 9 of the French Open was not how local hero Gael Monfils managed to beat marathon man David Ferrer. It was not about how Andy Murray fought back from 0-2 in sets to 2-2 before the match was postponed due to bad light against Victor Troicki. It was not how veteran Juan Ignacio Chela won a tough five setter against Colombian Alejandro Falla. It was all about how five time champion Rafael Nadal doesn’t look like himself this tournament, although he won in three sets against Ljubicic. Nadal doesn’t look as confident as he did …
Most people probably thought it would be easy for Nadal to beat his compatriot Andujar, but tricky windy conditions together with great resistance and aggressive play from Andujar made the three setter a whole lot tougher than predicted. Andujar was attacking Nadal and although the world number one managed to win the first two sets, he was down 5-1 in the third. Then Nadal launched his famous fighting skills and together with Andujar’s nervousness he managed to win the third set in a tie-break. Nadal has now had to fight quite hard in both his opening matches which should have …
It was a bit like the slow start on Sunday and not a very eventful day at Roland Garros, but at least we got to see three of the top names in action. Federer made it look easy against French qualifier Texeira and after an inspired start from the Frenchman made it clear that he’s still one of the most elegant and forceful players. Scoreline: 6-3 6-0 6-2. Djokovic cruised through Hanescu who had to retire early in the third set. The Djoker will now play Del Potro who also won in three straight sets today. This match will be …
Yeah, I’m sticking with the afro name until the Scot cuts his hair. And yes, I think there is a chance that with basically no pressure on his shoulders, Andy Murray can be the one to break the seemingly endless winning streak of Novak Djokovic. He needs to relax, hit out and hope that Djokovic will get tired and irritated. Although the Serb beat Soderling in fine style (the big Swede was from his best) he looked a bit out of sorts at times. His breathing seemed heavy and on one occasion he was kicking at the ball and looked …
First a sad message: Mr Juan Martin Del Potro, why do you get injured now when we need you the most to stir up Roland Garros and make it even more exciting? We will miss you and your fly-swatting shots… Yesterday I only bet on one match, the one between Monfils and Nishikori and then both got injured. Bad luck for me and even more bad luck for them. Many good matches on the menu today. Serve and volley battle between Lopez and Llodra. Croat clash between Karlovic and Cilic. Serving contest between Querrey and Anderson. Big hitting hate-match between …
Federer and Nadal on adjacent practice courts. Please put them on a match court as well! At the time of writing Afro Murray has just lost the first set to Bellucci and we’re seeing how Murray’s passive playing style can be a problem against guys who can control the court like Bellucci can when he is on his game. Lot of tennis left though of course. Side note: I think Murray is trying to grow his hair enough to have dreadlocks and become Rastamurray. On another court the two giant mega hitters, Tsonga and Soderling is battling it out and …
Yes, this week in tennis was all about D. Djokovic, Davydenko, and Del Potro won a title each and especially for Davydenko it was a sign of good old form. A few things I noticed before Madrid: 1. Djokovic doesn’t look as comfortable on the clay as he does on the hardcourts. I don’t think he’ll be able to beat a fit Nadal. 2. Djokovic looks silly in long sleeves. I guess everybody does. On a tennis court. 3. Davydenko might have lost almost all his hair, but the guy can still play. He can still be a force for …