US Open 2010: Days 9 + 10 wrap

Hey, sorry I disappeared for a second there. I couldn’t bring myself to watch tennis yesterday, Day 9, because of the recent development that is Caroline Wozniacki. I just didn’t want to hear about it. Pardon my moment of weakness.

I did, however, hear about (and later saw) Fernando Verdasco’s amazing match point against David Ferrer. Then, I read that Kim Clijsters and Sam Stosur played a match that started off with high quality tennis but ended pretty poorly. With that, it’s hard to bet against Venus Williams now.

Day 9 results:
Quarterfinals
Kim Clijsters [2] def. Samantha Stosur [5] 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
Venus Williams [3] def. Francesca Schiavone [6] 7-6(5), 6-4

Round of 16
Rafael Nadal [1] def. Feliciano Lopez [23] 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
Fernando Verdasco [8] def. David Ferrer [10] 5-7, 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(4)
Mikhail Youzhny [12] def. Tommy Robredo 7-5, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
Stanislas Wawrinka [25] def. Sam Querrey [20] 7-6(9), 6-7(5), 7-5, 4-6, 6-4

Day 10 was pretty uneventful. The wind made it hard for everyone. It was hard to play under those conditions and it was hard to watch the pros play under those conditions. The favorites all came through relatively easily. Straight sets on tap.

Day 10 results:
Quarterfinals
Caroline Wozniacki [1] def. Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 7-5
Vera Zvonareva [7] def. Kaia Kanepi [31] 6-3, 7-5

Roger Federer [2] def. Robin Soderling [5] 6-4, 6-4, 7-5
Novak Djokovic [3] def. Gael Monfils [17] 7-6(2), 6-1, 6-2

Image via Getty

US Open 2010: Day 8 wrap

Day 8 sucked! Svetlana Kuznetsova and the rest of the world was stunned by Dominika Cibulkova. My only favorite left in the draw was ousted by Caroline Wozniacki.

Guess I can’t give Caro shit anymore this summer, can I? She shut down Maria Sharapova in their R16 match and was definitely the steadier player out there today. True to her game, she got all of Masha’s balls back and forced the error. Caro’s first serves were also very effective and I think that threw Masha off. I’m still puzzled why Masha allowed very long rallies to happen but she did and they weren’t pretty.

Ah, well, Masha will learn and better never lose to Caro again.

Day 8 results:
Caroline Wozniacki [1] def. Maria Sharapova [14] 6-3, 6-4
Vera Zvonareva [7] def. Andrea Petkovic 6-1, 6-2
Dominika Cibulkova def. Svetlana Kuznetsova [11] 7-5, 7-6(4)
Kaia Kanepi [31] def. Yanina Wickmayer [15] 0-6, 7-6(2), 6-1

Roger Federer [2] def. Jurgen Melzer [13] 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3
Novak Djokovic [3] def. Mardy Fish [19] 6-3, 6-4, 6-1
Robin Soderling [5] def. Albert Montanes [21] 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3
Gael Monfils [17] def. Richard Gasquet 6-4, 7-5, 7-5

Image via Getty

US Open 2010: Day 4 preview

It’s frazzle day. Day 4 will showcase a slew of former champions and finalists. Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Novak Djokovic, Jelena Jankovic and Caroline Wozniacki are all scheduled to play.

• Sabine Lisicki vs Vera Zvonareva [7]
  These two have had an interesting few months. Sabine’s has been plagued with injury and her first round win over Coco Vandeweghe a few days ago was her first tour win since Dubai in February. Vera, on the other hand, had a nice little trip to the finals at Wimbledon last Spring. That was immediately followed by a little hiccup early in the summer but she has bounced back looked sharp in her first round match.
• Iveta Benesova vs Maria Sharapova [14]
  Go, Masha! Go!
• Philipp Petzschner vs Novak Djokovic [3]
  Let’s see if Nole will use his second shot at US Open life well. Philipp shouldn’t give Nole any trouble on this surface.
• Nikolay Davydenko [6] vs Richard Gasquet
  I would like to see Richie get this scalp. That is all.
• Robin Soderling [5] vs Taylor Dent
  I’m sorry balls but you’re going to get crushed more than usual. If Sod plays the kind of tennis that got him to the top 5 then I wouldn’t give Taylor any chance. Unfortunately, he hasn’t really showed much of it this summer.
• Kei Nishikori vs Marin Cilic [11]
  Upset alert! As in, Marin defeating Kei.

Complete Day 4 schedule here.

Image via Getty

Trophy case: August 22-23, 2010

Roger Federer defeated Mardy Fish 6-7(5), 7-6(1), 6-4 in the finals of the Western & Souther Financial Group Masters in Mason, OH to win his second title of the year and 63rd (!) of his career.

After winning Melbourne to start the year, 2010 has been a battle for RF. I’m sure he’s not used playing for 7 months without winning a title. But that happened and while I think he had a good run in Cincy- a much needed one, I’m still not convinced that he can go on and reclaim his crown in New York.

The same goes for Mardy and his USO sleeper status, I’m not convinced.

Caroline Wozniacki defeated Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2 in the finals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Canada to claim her third title of the year and ninth of her career.

The semifinals and finals weekend in Montreal were rained out so Caro had to play her semifinal and final matches today. Props, girl. Props!

Images via Getty

Wimbledon 2010: That’s a wrap!

Cheers to the World Number 1s! They made it happen in this year’s Championships and no one was going to stop them.

Serena Williams put up a clinic on Centre Court this Championship Saturday on how to win Wimbledon. Her oppponent, Vera Zvonareva, and some 15,000 other spectators were treated to a nice serving and hard hitting display for just over an hour.

I don’t think any of us had doubts about the outcome of the women’s final. It was Vera’s first time at a major final and Serena’s 16th. To top that off, Serena’s been flawlessly serving this fortnight landing double-digit aces in almost every match. How can someone stop that?

Final score: Serena Williams def Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2

Rafael Nadal was not as flawless as Serena in this fortnight but he had his heart (and experience) to carry him to the second Sunday. Rafa was taken to 5 sets twice in the first week by opponents one would think he’d routinely send home but he fought through them, got to the second week refreshed and claimed his 2nd Wimbledon title.

The men’s final was much like the women’s. Tomas Berdych was in his 1st major final and Rafa was in his 10th. Rafa elevated his game when he needed to and didn’t give Berd a chance to be comfortable out there.

Final score: Rafael Nadal def Tomas Berdych 6-3, 7-5, 6-4

For both finalists, they have plenty to be proud of in this fortnight. They gained a lot of experience. They can only build on it and hopefully go one better the next time.

Images via Getty and Wimbledon

Wimbledon 2010: Days 10 + 11 wrap

Day 10 was the women’s semifinal. Favorites to come through, Serena Williams and Vera Zvonareva, did and so it was a weird day for the women’s side at Wimbledon.

Serena was still her usual SW19-10 self. Although low on the ace count, she still served huge and over powered her opponent for most of the match. You know, it was a Serena match.

Vera’s back to her old winning-form self. Oh, what non-injury does to you. *sigh* She’s always been a solid Top 10 player, was in the Top 5 for a while but suffered a few injuries that set her back for the past year or so. Vera being in the finals of a major isn’t really the surprise rather it’s being in the finals of a major that’s played on grass. She hasn’t done well on this surface lately (1 grass title, Birmingham in 2006) to even be mentioned as a “sleeper” in the tournament but she’s snuck in there and beat Kim Clijsters, who was one of the favorites, along the way. The draw opened up for her when Venus Williams was taken out, she took that opportunity and viola! Welcome to your first major final, please do not get your ass handed to you.

Day 10 results:
Serena Williams (1) def. Petra Kvitova 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
Vera Zvonareva (21) def. Tsvetana Pironkova 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

Day 11 was the men’s semifinal. I wish we could have a 4-way tie but I see how that cannot work out. We had 2 men that are major title holders, 1 that’s an almost major title holder and a Tomas Berdych. Of course my heart went out to the ones who haven’t tasted the glory yet. I’m happy to see atleast one of them made it through and gets a shot at glory. And Rafael Nadal.

Berd’s groundies are fucking ridiculous. Excuse my language (it’s not French) but there’s no other way of putting it. He really hit his spots today and looked very comfortable for most of the match- a little nervy closing out the second set and in that TB. There was a point in the match where Berd hit a forehand pick-up winner from the baseline. That kind where you use all wrist? Yeah, that blew my mind. Among other things. It was that kind of day for Berd. It’s been that kind of few months actually and I’m so happy for him.

Rafa won a well-fought victory against Britain’s great hope. I didn’t see the entire match but from what I caught and read, both players played very well but it was Rafa who was more solid on the important points. On a close match, that’s where you want to give your heart, mind and body to.

Q. What about Andy, you said to him after the match that he could win a major.

RAFAEL NADAL: I wished him best of luck for the rest of the season, and sorry for today. I know it was an important match for him I think because he play at home, and this is a chance for him to win probably the most important title for him win here at home in Wimbledon.

Just I felt sorry for him because he’s a very nice person, very good person. I am sure he gonna win a Grand Slam very soon, because when you have final in US Open, final in Australia, semifinals here this year and the last year, you are there all the time. So one day you win. I am sure he gonna win. He deserve to win.

I’m sure Muzz will win a major soon too.

Day 11 results:
Rafael Nadal (2) def. Andy Murray (4) 6-4, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
Tomas Berdych (12) def. Novak Djokovic (3) 6-3, 7-6 (11-9), 6-3

Images via Getty

Wimbledon 2010: Day 8 wrap

What a day. No, what a tournament it has been.

You’d think as we get down to the wire, the upsets would be fewer and farther in between. I mean, this is the time where the champions show why they’re champions- clutch play, come-from-behind wins, those kinds of things. But no, not at this year’s Championships.

Going into the women’s quarterfinals, we had 3 players who are multiple major title holders and none of them were to meet each other. There were also 3 players who are outside of the Top 50. How does that Jay-Z song go? Men lie, women lie, numbers don’t. Yeah, that song is bullsh (or does not apply in sports but it came to my mind). Only 1 of the multiple major title holder players survived while 2 of the players outside the Top 50 got through. “That’s why we play and why they put the net up everyday,” is what someone once said.

Venus Williams, 5-time Wimbledon champion, was defeated by Tsvetana Pironkova in a shocking 2-set routine-like scoreline, 2-6, 3-6. Tsvetana knows how to play Vee, she’s defeated the former champ at a major before- the Australian Open in 2006.

Kim Clijsters, 2-time Grand Slam champion, was defeated by a not so shocking opponent, Vera Zvonareva, 6-3, 4-6, 2-6.

Both Vee and Kim showed some below par play in their Round of 16 matches but were able to gut them out. Unfortunately, the 24-hour turnaround was not enough for them to shake off the below par play and they came up against much tougher opponents today.

Day 8 results:
Serena Williams (1) def. Na Li (9) 7-5, 6-3
Tsvetana Pironkova def. Venus Williams (2) 6-2, 6-3
Vera Zvonareva (21) def. Kim Clijsters (8) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
Petra Kvitova def. Kaia Kanepi 4-6, 7-6 (10-8), 8-6

Image via Getty

Wimbledon 2010: A look ahead to Day 8

Quarterfinal day for the ladies at Wimbledon! It’s going to be interesting to see if the Williamses can keep rolling and keep the dream (yawn) of another all-Williams final alive. Na Li will be looking to crash that party and so will Tsvetana Pironkova.

Day 8 schedule:

Centre Court

• Kim Clijsters [8] vs Vera Zvonareva [21]
• Serena Williams [1] vs Na Li [9]

Court No. 1

• Tsvetana Pironkova vs Venus Williams [2]
• Petra Kvitova vs Kaia Kanepi

Image via Getty

Wimbledon 2010: Day 7 wrap

Ah, yes. Of course they both lose on the same day. When the world decides it hates you on one particular day, it really makes you feel it.

In Andy Roddick’s own words, he played like “crap” in his return games. He’s letting himself off too easily. He actually played shit return games in the entire 5-set match against Yen-Hsun Lu. To Lu’s credit, he hung in there with Andy when he couldn’t even sniff a break point on Andy’s serve and was definitely more aggressive on most of the points during the tiebreaks.

Maria Sharapova, on the other hand, didn’t play like crap or shit. Far from it. She played some of her best tennis since her return from surgery. She served huge and cracked returns against the best server on the women’s tour. Maria had her chances but was unable to step up and take them. On set point on her own racket in that first set tiebreak, a forehand error cost her big time. Then, a double fault to go down set point cost her the first set. Those mistakes you cannot afford against a champion like Serena Williams. Maria got broken early in the second set and Serena never looked back. Yes, Serena is still the serving machine of the tournament.

Right, Masha. Her name is Masha.

In other news, Kim Clijsters started slow against Justine Henin but found her form early in the second set and was able to get past Justine in 3 sets.

Petra Kvitova, Tsvetana Pironkova and Kaia Kanepi are still in the tournament somehow. Leave it to the WTA to always have surprise quater- or semi- finalists.

Day 7 results:
Serena Williams (1) def. Maria Sharapova (16) 7-6 (11-9), 6-4
Venus Williams (2) def. Jarmila Groth 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
Petra Kvitova def. Caroline Wozniacki (3) 6-2, 6-0
Vera Zvonareva (21) def. Jelena Jankovic (4) 6-1, 3-0 retired
Na Li (9) def. Agnieszka Radwanska (7) 6-3, 6-2
Kim Clijsters (8) def. Justine Henin (17) 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
Tsvetana Pironkova def. Marion Bartoli (11) 6-4, 6-4
Kaia Kanepi def. Klara Zakopalova 6-2, 6-4

Wimbledon 2010: A look ahead to Day 7

There’s going to be blood and tears. Let’s get real, Serena would like to see Maria bleed to death in their Round of 16 match. Hence, the tears from me.

The second Monday at Wimbledon is single-handedly the best Monday in tennis. All R16 matches will be played and it is always wild. Sometimes the rain makes it wild but forecast says the matches will be the ones taking all the attention this year.

Day 7 schedule:

Centre Court

• Roger Federer [1] vs Jurgen Melzer [16]
• Serena Williams [1] vs Maria Sharapova [16]
• Sam Querrey [18] vs Andy Murray [4]

No. 1 Court

• Kim Clijsters [8] vs Justine Henin [17]
• Novak Djokovic [3] vs Lleyton Hewitt [15]
• Paul-Henri Mathieu vs Rafael Nadal [2]

No. 2 Court

• Jarmila Groth vs Venus Williams [2]
• Caroline Wozniacki [3] vs Petra Kvitova
• Yen-Hsun Lu vs Andy Roddick [5]

Court 5

• Tsvetana Pironkova vs Marion Bartoli [11]
• Klara Zakapalova vs Kaia Kanepi (Huh?)

Court 12

• Vera Zvonareva [21] vs Jelena Jankovic [4]
• Julien Benneteau [32] vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga [10]
• Robin Soderling [6] vs David Ferrer [9]

Court 18

• Na Li [9] vs Agnieszka Radwanska [7]
• Tomas Berdych [12] vs Daniel Brands

Game on, boys and girls!