A Winner in Isner?

After dealing with a disappointing loss to Kevin Anderson in the semi final of Del Ray Beach, John Isner stormed back in Indian Wells. 

He came to full attention in the semi final against the world number one, Novak Djokovic.  Isner came through in a thrilling encounter that went to three sets and lasted two hours and 45 minutes, where Isner was able to take his chances to win 7-6(7), 3-6, 7-6(5).  Isner used his height to his advantage firing down 20 aces.  His forehand backed his phenomenal serve up and he was able to finish the points quickly against the relentless Djokovic.  This win takes Isner up to a career high of number 10 in the rankings. 



American John Isner

Isner then faced Roger Federer in the finals of the Masters 1000 event which would see him become the American number one, going into eighth place above Mardy Fish if he was to win.  This was not to be as the master that is Federer beat him 7-6(7), 3-6.  The American fought gallantly earning a set point and saving a few of Federer’s own opportunities. 

Isner had beaten Federer in the Davis Cup a few weeks ago, but Federer made sure that he would take revenge.   The Swiss world number three exploited his movement, although much improved was not going to get him to some of the brilliant drop shots that Federer was displaying.  Federer also showed off his own serving skills serving down the tee on the deuce side making Isner feel uncomfortable when trying to run round it to play a forehand. 

Clearly there are things that Isner needs to work on to stay in the top 10 and beat the top players more consistently, but at 26 he has the desire to improve and become a more complete player and challenge the top four guys regularly on the tour. 

Murray out of Indian Wells

Andy Murray had such a promising start to the season with a run to the finals in Dubai, after losing in an epic semi final match to the world number one Novak Djokovic, that it did not seem at all likely that Murray would stumble out of the draw in his first match at Indian Wells for a second year in a row. 

Murray looked to have overcome his demons after another heartbreaking loss at the first grand slam of the year when he beat Djokovic in Dubai.  But today he was upset by Spaniard Guilermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4, 6-2. 

The Spaniard is currently ranked 92^nd but managed to break the Scott twice in the second set to seal the match in one hour and 40 minutes.  Garcia-Lopez stuck the ball sweetly moving Murray around the court soaking up Murray’s errors on both wings.  He will now play Ryan Harrison in the next round.  Murray on the other hand will travel to Miami hoping to bring his game together for the next event.    

Djokovic eased through to the third round with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Andreev Golubev and will now play Kevin Anderson who has just won his second career title at Delray Beach.  Tomas Berdych also advanced but had it tougher, having to close the match in three sets against Sergiy Stakhovsky.  Rafael Nadal returns to the game after having a month out to play Leonardo Mayer.   

Indian Wells, California

 On the women’s side of the draw Caroline Wozniacki demolished Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-0 although still insisted on her father coming onto court after winning the first set.  She has done enough at this event to secure her top five ranking for another week.  Maria Sharapova made light work of Gisela Dulko with the same score line and will now take on Simona Halep.  The new world number one Victoria Azarenka had a tougher route through against promising player Mona Barthel winning 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(6).     

 

Federer and Azarenka stemrolled through tournament to seize titles

Roger Federer breezed past Juan Martin Del Potro to take the title in Rotterdam in straight sets 6-1, 6-4. 

Federer took his first title of this season in a straightforward encounter easing to a 5-0 lead in the first set.  Del Potro managed to hold one service game but in the end he succumbed to Federer’s master class as the Swiss man took the set in 34 minutes. 

Del Potro did have chances in the match but failed to take any of his seven break points.  Federer on the other hand did not let any of his chances go as he broke the Argentine in the fifth game of the second set and continued in formidable fashion to take the match at the third time of asking in one hour and 26 minutes.  Federer has now managed to win at least one ATP World Tour Title in a season 12 years in a row. 

In the Qatar Total Open Victoria Azarenka faced Sam Stosur for the sixth time in her career and for the sixth time in a row as she beat the Australian without losing a set.  

Azarenka looked invincible even with her ankle injury that she sustained in her semi final match.  The injury focused Azarenka’s mind as she only made eight unforced errors compared to Stosur’s 25.  Azarenka dominated with her forehand taking Stosur’s weapons away from her as she won the match 6-1, 6-2 and looking like a very worthy world number one. 

On court reports, retirements

After finding myself in a final of event without having to play a single match because only one other girl entered along with me, my opponent in the final did not turn up and was therefore disqualified.  I walked away with a trophy in my hand but still feeling slightly annoyed as I would have liked to have won the event properly by stepping onto court.  In the tournament that I was playing in, there was an excessive amount of withdrawals before the tournament begun and during the event a lot of players withdrew due to injury.  This happens at all levels as well as on the ATP and the WTA Tour. 

On the ATP Tour this week there are three tournaments taking place; Rotterdam, an ATP 500 event, San Jose and Sao Paulo, both ATP 250 events.  In Rotterdam, Roger Federer eased through to the quarter finals after receiving a walkover due to the retirement of Mikhail Youzhny as he had a foot injury.  Marcos Baghdatis left the event due to a left calf injury and Sergiy Stakhovsky retired because of a viral illness.  In San Jose the tournament lost its number one seed just before the event, Gael Monfils, due to a knee injury letting Blake Strode, a lucky loser take his place.  In Sao Paulo there have been no retirements.... so far. 



Youzhny retires from Rotterdam



Doha is celebrating its tenth year on the WTA tour calendar in style with 6 of the top 10 women entering the event.  However Carla Suarez Navarro retired in her match against Ana Ivanovic after losing the first set and down in the second with a right hip injury.  The number 6^th seed Vera Zvonareva also retired due to a left hip injury.      

Unfinished matches upset the fans who feel they have not had their money’s worth as they were desperate to see a man like Roger Federer work his magic.  It also upsets the tournament organisers when they lose their top seeds as they are the top attractions and so they will lose money.  But more than anything it can annoy the players who are hungry to step on court and win matches.  There will be some who are happy to pocket the extra money they receive after reaching another round but the real professionals will want to play matches in order to get into a rhythm and to please the fans.  It also begs the question, which is frequently discussed and debated, if the tour is too tough with a longer break needed between seasons.  Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic seem to think so as they will not be playing in February. 

Austraila Warm up - Round Up

The 2012 tennis season has already begun with 3 main ATP tournaments already completed.  World No. 4 Andy Murray was number 1 seed for this tournament and he got his first trophy of the year defeating Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-1, 6-3.  Although the final was a relatively easy win for him due to the Ukrainian not being fully fit, he struggled in the early stages of the tournament having to win the first two rounds in 3 sets but maybe his loss of concentration will be ironed out by his new coach Ivan Lendl. 

It was all French affair at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open with Jo Wilfred Tsonga going head to head against Gael Monfils winning 7-5, 6-3.  Hopefully it will serve up as a good warm up towards his Australian open hopes, he will certainly be looking to do well at the first grand slam event of the year. 

The final men’s 250 event was one by Milos Raonic in Chennai.  2011 was an amazing year for the Canadian but the 21 year old had some doubters who did not believe he could follow up his breakthrough year.  He has started to prove them wrong winning a hard fought match against Janko Tipsarevic, 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 7-6(4) to win his second ATP World Tour title.  Now Milos Raonic is now tied with Andy Murray and Jo Wilfred Tsonga at the top of the ATP 2012 race – a place where I am sure he wants to stay!

The Australian Open starts on the 16^th January. 

6 Year end Championships for Federer

Roger Federer wins the final tournament of the season with a 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3, win over Jo Wilfred Tsonga.  Federer always looked the better player displaying his stylish shot making to the packed crowed at the O2 arena. 

Tsonga showed his own impressive shot making keeping the 1^st set close up until he provided a poor service game to let the former world No.1 break him and then ease to a first set lead of 6-3. 

In the second set Tsonga made some poor shot selections to let Federer back into the points.  Although Tsonga managed to break the Swiss man when he was 5-4 up with some mighty return of serves, it appeared to be too much for him as he went match point down in the tie break, but with some ferocious forehands he saved it and created a set point for himself.  He took it and stormed off to his chair with the momentum. 

The third and final set started in the same fashion with both players holding their service games.  Tsonga looked the edgier of the two again making some poor shot selections and a few double faults but still managed to keep in contention with pure power. 

Classic Federer was produced at the right time as he broke the Frenchmen for a 5-3 lead.  Then 40 minutes after his previous match point he created 3 more.  He took it with a volley and won his 70^th career title in his 100^th career final.  It was as good as it gets from Mr Federer and his celebrations were jubilant as he took the title along with a nice sum of money. 

Murray withdraws from the ATP Finals

Andy Murray withdraws from the ATP Tour Finals

Andy Murray has pulled out of the ATP Tour Finals with a groin injury.  It is not entirely surprising after having treatment during his defeat against David Ferrer yesterday.  Whilst warming up with his replacement, Janko Tipsarevic on Sunday, he was also touching his arm which could also have been a factor to him pulling out of the last tournament of the year.  As Federer has beaten Nadal, Federer regains the No.3 ranking. 



Janko Tipsarevic takes Murray's place after practising with him on Sunday. 



Flawless Federer

The audience at the O2 have been anticipating an epic match between Federer and Nadal.  Although it wasn’t the close encounter they had been expecting Federer produced a master class and won 6-3, 6-0.  Federer made some amazing shots whereas Nadal looked a step to slow, but Federer played too well for the World No.2 tonight.  He is now the first person to qualify for the Semi Finals even though he still has to play against Mardy Fish.  Nadal also has another chance to go through against Tsonga. 

Sundays Doubles Action

The doubles started the tournament off with a tense match as M Miryni / D Nestor bt R Bopanna / A Qureshi 7-6(2), 4-6, 11-9.  The second doubles match finished in the same fashion.  M Fyrstenber / M Matkowski bt M Llodra/ N Zimonjic 6-4, 5-7, 11-9. 

Here are some pictures of the first doubles match of the tournament.     



Quershi & Bopanna







Nestor & Miryni



Federer Starts Title Defence

Reigning champion Roger Federer dispatched Jo Wilfred Tsonga in 89 minutes to win 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.  Federer made light work of the first set as he made his 10^th straight appearance at the ATP Tour finale, winning it in 21 minutes. 



There was lots of support for Roger Federer

It looked as though Federer was going to ease away with the match, but the Frenchmen came back strongly, swinging freely and making some stunning returns to level the match in another quick time of 30 minutes. 

The pair remained level with some great points in the deciding set and the atmosphere lifted inside the O2 as the two players kept the set with serve until Tsonga fell 0-40, 4-5 down.  The game suddenly shifted Federer’s way after Tsonga made a double fault and a backhand error to give Federer 3 match points.  Although Tsonga managed to save 1 match point he could not hold off the supreme Swiss man any longer and so Federer finished off the match to gain his first win at the tournament.    

 



Federer made light work of the Frenchmen. 



London's Calling

The top 8 players and teams have been finalised and they are heading to London for the ATP Tour World Finals and today the groups were announced. 

Group A                                                                                                                       Group B

Novak Djokovic                                                                                                             Rafael Nadal

Andy Murray                                                                                                                 Roger Federer

David Ferrer                                                                                                                  Jo Wilfred Tsonga

Thomas Berdych                                                                                                           Mardy Fish

I think the two that make it out of each group will depend on injuries.  It has been a long hard season for all 8 with Djokovic, Nadal and Fish all pulling out of last week’s Paris Masters so we will have to wait and see how ready they will be.  This is why I think Murray has a real chance to win this year as he has had a fantastic end to the season.  Even though he lost to Berdych in the Semis in Paris this will fire up his determination and remind him that he can be beaten by everybody in this final 8.  Tsonga could be the dark horse of the competition, he made it to the final in Paris with the help of the French crowed; but the English love him to with his magnificent showing at Queens adn Wimbledon this summer.  But again his progress through Group B could depend on any injuries that the players have sustained in the past few weeks.   

Easy Pickings for top 4 seeds in Paris

The top seeds have hit Paris today, all dispatching their opponents in 2 straightforward sets. 

Andy Murray bt Jeremy Chardy 6-2, 6-4

Roger Federer bt Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 6-3

Novak Djokovic bt Ivan Dodig 6-4, 6-3

David Ferrer bt Nicholas Mahut 6-4, 6-4

They all had convincing wins to progress into the 3^rd round and never faced any real pressure.  Murray suited the court as the French have made the surface incredibly slow compared to last year; this has played into the hands of Murray as it will make it very difficult for his opponents to get the ball past him.  Novak Djokovic made easy progress into the 3^rd round but he did not have to play his best against Dodig which is just as well as it he did not have to push his shoulder as hard as he will against the top players.  Andy Murray’s next match will be against the American, Andy Roddick.

British ITF Success

It’s not just the ATP and the WTA Tour tournaments that have been going on in the last few weeks.  The Brits, especially Anne Keothavong have been doing well in the last few weeks at some ITF events. 

Firstly in Barnstaple, Great Britain, Anne Keothavong won the $75,000 tournament in the singles and doubles.  Then she followed up her success again in a $50,000 event in Ismaning, Germany.  She beat Yvonne Meusburger in a tough 3 set match, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2.  Keothavong then managed to spur herself on to win the doubles 6-3, 6-3. 

ATP Round Up

Neither Basel nor Valencia’s finals were completely as expected with the No. 1 seeds in both tournaments being knocked out.  In Basel Rodger Federer glided to victory over Kei Nishikori who had defeated Djokovic in the Semi-Finals, 6-1, 6-3.  In Valencia a tough match saw Marcel Granollers taking the title away from Juan Monaco 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3).  

With Nadal already out of the Paris Masters and Djokovic not playing his best, could Murray be the No.1 seed and take another Masters series title?  This is the last tournament before ATP World Tour Finals in London so there will be other players looking to secure their place at the last tournament of the season. 

Kvitova gains WTA Championships and No. 2 Ranking

Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka have made it through to the final and deservedly so as they have played the best the whole week fighting for their matches and showing great strength of character after other players have struggled to close out their contests. 

Kvitova started out the better of the two, gliding into a 5-0 lead with high-quality serving and effortless winners whereas Azarenka didn’t seem to show up giving her service games away with an abundance of errors.  She started to attend towards the closing stages of the first set breaking Kvitova’s serve and bringing more substance to her own.  It was now Kvitova’s turn to be tentative as she lost the rhythm on her usually blistering forehand to allow Azarenka back into the match and so the Belarusian levelled to 5-5.   But Kvitova managed to stumble on some momentum to win a bizarre first set 7-5.  Although this came with difficulty as Kvitova was only able to take the set at the fifth time of asking due to Azarenka relieving the Czech of any pressure by letting out an unforced error.

The final continued its unpredictability with Azarenka gaining a break and then promptly losing it.  Kvitova carried on the theme making unbelievable shots and then breaking down mentally awarding silly errors to let Azarenka gain another break.  As the second set progressed Azarenka looked the calmer with Kvitova’s reactions becoming louder, sharper and more aggressive after she won each point.  But this did not deter the focused Azarenka as she levelled the match with a set of her own 6-4. 

After working herself up into a frenzy in the previous set Kvitova started the better of two going into a 3-0 lead displaying some of her best tennis.  With her back against the wall Azarenka started to battle back but this was stopped by Kvitova’s defiant yelps and she kept herself ahead in the important points to win the Championships in energetic style, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. 

This has been an amazing season for Kvitova starting at No. 34 and finishing at World No. 2, with wins at Wimbledon and now the end of year championships.  Both women will certainly be formidable opponents next year. 

Results on the ATP Tour:

Vienna

J Tsonga bt J Del Potro 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4

B Bryan/M Bryan bt M Mirnyi/D Nestor 7-6(10), 6-3

St. Petersburg

M Cilic bt J Tipsarevic 6-3, 3-6, 6-2

C Fleming/R Hutchins bt M Elgin A Kudryavtsev 6-3, 6-7(5), 10-8