Hai karamaba, Wimbledon’s 1^st week is already over!

So much happened!

The sun God won the weather battle, bathing the lush green courts with warm bright beautiful sunshine, leaving the rain God with only ½ day of lost play.

The top players exited early in quick succession to shock defeats by much lower ranked players.

First to go on the opening day was Nadal, falling to 137^th ranked Belgian Darcis in 3 sets 7-6(8), 7-6(4), 6-4.

Roger Federer’s dream of an 8^th title were shattered...

Continue reading ...

For once the sun was shining and the winds took a day off. The temperature climbed as did the crowd anticipation of a British player qualifying for Wimbledon next week. 

10 players remained. 7 women and 3 men.

Qualifying has no winner. From a total of 224 players fighting for a grand prize of a 1^st round draw at the All England Club only 28 will make it through.

All 3^rd round winners get into the main.

Sadly by the end of the day the mood was a dour as the overcast skies as no British pla...

Continue reading ...

Fighting for main rounds has begun on the green grass of the National Training Centre (NTC).

The stakes are high, with a guaranteed first round place in Wimbledon's main draw and a £23,500 cheque (62% up on last year).     

Sadly Dan Evans failed in his quest yesterday going down to 31 year old Spaniard Daniel Munoz-de la Nava in 3 sets.

However new Brit Dave Rice, and a resurgent Jamie Baker safely reached the second round.

“Veteran” Alex Bogdanovic also pulled through.

Sadly fello...

Continue reading ...

After missing the French Open to rest his painful back, Andy Murray faced last years winner, Cilic on a damp, typically English summer day.  

Andy raced into a lead,playing confident attacking tennis using his big forehand to finish off the points. A mid set potential injurious slip at the back of the court stemmed Andy's momentum with Cilic taking full advantage, winning the set 7-5.

Cilic was unable to extend this gain in the second set as the number of his unforced errors continued rising. ...
Continue reading ...

A cold dreary opening day that had players starting play with top layers and blowing into their hands to stay warm!

Seeded players on both sides were rattled by contenders hoping to take full advantage of their early nerves.   

On the women’s side Poland’s Urzula Radwanska ranked 37 in the world succeeded by beating 30^th seeded Venus Williams who has been struggling with form after returning from a long absence because of Sjogren’s Syndrome. This condition is associated with dry...

Continue reading ...

It’s the Italian Open ATP 1000 men’s final in beautiful Italy. An exiting prospect as Roger Federer faced Nadal again.    

 

Fresh off winning in Madrid, Nadal’s continued dominating with tennis as beautiful as the pine trees and statues silhouetted against the warm blue sky of a packed stadium.

 

Playing against his arch rival and world number 2 Roger Federer, Nadal once again showed why he has earned the right to be called the “King of Clay. His quick 6-1, 6-2 win in 1 hour, 9...

Continue reading ...

Yesterday's ATP Madrid 1000 final between Stanislas Wawrinka and Rafael Nadal was fast.

Both players were in a hurry.

Rafa asserted his authority from the first point maintaining the pressure till the winning ball. Wawrinka never settled down. His normally strong backhand deserted him. He looked nervous and very tired. It's not surprising. His last 2 weeks have been tough. After winning the final in Portugal last week, he took 3 sets to beat Berdych,Tsonga and the upcoming youngster Dimitrov ...
Continue reading ...