Wimbledon - Second Round

Hi everyone,

The match between Wozniacki and Paszek turned out to be a real thriller! The seeded Dane took the first set 7-5 although Paszek was serving for the set at a 5-4 score in her favor. Some missed chances for the Austrian to think about at the change over:

Wozniacki seemed to do the same thing in the second set, but Paszek forced a tiebreak after getting rid of two matchballs. The Austrian held her cool to take the tiebreak: 7-6(4). Now it was Wozniacki's turn to be frustrated about missed opportunities:

It was a close third set, but Paszek proved herself as the more confident player to take the win: 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-4. Although Wozniacki is now already out in the first round, she showed some improvements to be more agressive and against any other normal first round opponent, she would have won. I'm getting the feeling many first and second round matches are pretty tough already instead of the third and fourth rounds.

Paszek got through to the third round quite easily, winning with 6-2, 6-1 against Cornet.

Kim Clijsters had another solid win against Hlavackova: 6-3, 6-3. Azarenka and Kvitova impressed in the second round with a bagel set: Azarenka against Oprandi (6-2, 6-0) and Kvitova against Baltacha (6-0, 6-4). Kerber got past Makarova in two sets: 7-5, 6-3.

There were some upsets this round! Stosur got knocked out by Rus: 2-6, 6-0, 4-6. It was a very strange match because the Australian did win the second set quite easily and it seemed she had the match under control again but Rus used her powerful backhand to take away the victory from the number five. Stosur hasn't been succesful on the grassy Grand Slam so far and she'll have to wait another year to get another crack at it.

Na Li is out too, she lost against Cirstea: 3-6, 4-6. Bartoli will have to pack her bags also because Lucic proved too strong in the third round: 4-6, 3-6. She won't be competing in the Olympics due to an argument with the French committee and that's such a shame if you ask me!

Wimbledon's second round got three very tough matches to entertain the crowd. First up Wickmayer needed 8-6 in the third set to get past Voskoboeva. Lisicki did the same against Jovanovski, winning: 3-6, 6-2, 8-6. But the match that everybody was waiting for: Pironkova against Sharapova. A very tough second round match for the number one.

The strong Bulgarian took a surprising lead of 5-2 in the first set and then the nerves set in. Sharapova managed to get the set to a tiebreak on pure willpower to make five setballs disappear. Pironkova lost the first set: (3)6-7. Exactly the same score went in favor of the Bulgarian in the second set!

The number one looked in trouble because Pironkova won some incredible points while Sharapova dictated play. The Bulgarian however was all out of physical and mental power in the last set and Sharapova never looked so focused and determined to get 6-0 in the third set.

More is yet to come, so be sure to keep on reading the next few days!

Wimbledon - First Round

Hi everyone,

There were a lot of interesting first round matches already! Let's start with two former number ones: Kim Clijsters vs. Jankovic.

Clijsters started great, probably wanting to stun Jankovic from the beginning. Many people are doubting Kim's chances but her 6-2, 6-4 victory can only be a good sign for the coming matches.

Sursprise one: Venus out against Vesnina: 1-6, 3-6. The Russian even had the chance to take the first set 6-0, Venus was just blown away. This means Radwanska will not be facing Venus in the second round as she did at Roland Garros. But I wouldn't underestimate Vesnina either.

Wickmayer won against Kuznetsova: 6-2, 6-3. I was kinda worried for this match, the Belgian looked good at the prep tournaments for Wimbledon but Kuznetsova had such a good run at Roland Garros! It didn't turn out to be the tight three setter I expected, but this will do just fine!

Sharapova got through easily 6-2, 6-3 against Rodionova. She'll face the unseeded semifinalist of last year: Pironkova. Radwanska won after a slow start against Rybarikova, twice 6-3. Kvitova had to come back from a 0-3 deficit in the first set to win it: 6-4, 6-4. Azarenka didn't have much difficulty winning against Falconi: 6-1, 6-4.

Zvonareva had a tough struggle against Barthel: 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-4. Serena got through here at Wimbledon: 6-2, 6-4 against Zahlavova Strycova. Ivanovic needed three sets to overcome Martinez Sanchez: 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Hantuchova is out against Jamie Hampton of the USA with: 4-6, (1)6-7. Pennetta got send home already by fellow country woman Giorgi: 4-6, 3-6. Also Safarova out against Dutch Kiki Bertens: 3-6, 0-6.

There's a thrilling match yet to come tomorrow: Wozniacki against Paszek (winner of Eastbourne a week ago!). Their match got suspended after rainfall, so keep posted!

Draw Analyse: Wimbledon

Hi everyone,

Tomorrow is the big day: the start of Wimbledon! Two weeks of white outfits, ladies and gentlemen matches and surely many rainbreaks to determine our Wimbledon Queen of grass!

Let's check out the ladies draw!

Upper quarter:

- Seeded players = Sharapova (champion of 2004 and winner of Roland Garros this year), Lisicki, Zvonareva, Jankovic, Kerber

- Outsiders = Pironkova (surprise semifinalist last year), Clijsters!, Makarova

- Anticipated matches = Clijsters - Jankovic (first round), Sharapova - Pironkova (second round), Makarova - Kerber (second round), Zvonareva - Clijsters (third round), Sharapova - Lisicki (fourth round)

- Anticipated quarter finalists = definitely Sharapova and hopefully Kim Clijsters!

(she looks so cute, doesn't she? Sharapova in 2004 winning Wimbledon aged 17)

Upper-middle quarter:

- Seeded players = Radwanska, Hantuchova, Petrova, Pennetta, Na Li, Stosur

- Outsiders = Venus Williams

- Anticipated matches = Radwanska - Venus Williams (second round, same story as Roland Garros, the Pole won there: 6-2, 6-3), Radwanska - Hantuchova (third round), Petrova - Pennetta (third round), Na Li - Stosur (fourth round), Radwanska - Petrova (fourth round)

- Anticipated quarter finalists = I'm gonna go for Radwanska and Stosur (wishful thinking, I know! Radwanska just can't catch a break with another tough draw for her here and Stosur hasn't been playing that well on grass either).

(just a few weeks ago, Radwanska also had to battle against Venus in the second round at Roland Garros, tough luck!)

Down-middle quarter:

- Seeded players = Serena Williams, Errani, Cibulkova, Schiavone, Pavly, Kvitova (last year's Wimbledon champion)

- Outsiders = maybe Lepchenko, she had a good run at Roland Garros but I know nothing about her grass capacities

- Anticipated matches = Cibulkova - Schiavone (third round), Serena - Errani (fourth round), Kvitova - Cibulkova or Schiavone (fourth round)

- Anticipated quarter finalists = I don't see a lot of opposition keeping Kvitova and Serena Williams from a quarter final clash, but admitted that would be awesome!

(Is Djokovic checking if his trophee is heavier than Kvitova's or something?)

Down quarter:

- Seeded players = Wozniacki, Kuznetsova, Vinci, Bartoli, Ivanovic, Goerges, Azarenka

- Outsiders = Paszek (winning Eastbourne just yesterday!), Urszula Radwanska (playing excellent on grass with reaching the Unicef Open final as a result), Wickmayer

- Anticipated matches = Paszek - Wozniacki (first round), Wickmayer - Kuznetsova (first round), Wozniacki - Kuznetsova (third round), Radwanska - Bartoli (third round), Ivanovic - Goerges (third round), Bartoli - Kuznetsova or Wozniacki (fourth round), Azarenka - Goerges or Ivanovic (fourth round)

- Anticipated quarter finalists = true, I'm going for the outsiders in this draw just to mix things up! But I'm guessing Azarenka will reach the quarter final, not sure about the other one: maybe Bartoli is the better one on grass.

(Will there be another Azarenka - Sharapova clash for the number one spot again? By the way, this picture is way to serious to not laugh!)

So that was the Wimbledon draw! Certain people have a way tougher road than others (Clijsters & Radwanska in comparison to Serena).

To finish off: some funny moments from last year's Wimbledon:

Bring on the grassy games!

Update: Eastbourne & 's Hertogenbosch

Hi everyone,

It's been an interesting day tennis wise: both finals were played today! And I discovered I can watch two matches at once (they're just cruel to make those finals overlap because I wanted to see both!)

We'll kick off with Eastbourne. It's been very windy over in the UK and it surely affected the final between Kerber and Paszek. It's a first a German or an Austrian reaches the final here and they both made an excellent impression in their previous matches, so I was excited to see who would take the title.

The obvious choice would be Kerber because she's the number eight and with 40 won dues already this year, she's on top of the 'most-wins' list before Azarenka and Radwanska. She definitely started the best, taking the first set: 7-5.

Paszek countered by taking the second set: 6-3.

The third set featured five match balls for Kerber at 5-3 on the Austrian's serve, all not used. Paszek always played her most incredible points at match point down, she just refused to give up! She made it through to 5-4 (with a lot of cheering on from the crowd) and it was up to the German to serve for the match. And there is not a better way to describe that game than the people at Eurosport were so kindly to do so: 'It was horrible!'. Easy balls going into the net, the serve was shaky and the break was practically handed over to Paszek.

So 5-5 in the third set, this was getting quite interesting! Kerber didn't crack in this game like the last and forced a break point on Paszek's serve but she swiftly rallied that out of the way. And then I witnessed an ankle twitch yet again (too many this year already!) from the Austrian. She played on and got it taped at the change-over. Kerber couldn't take advantage of her decreased mobility because of the wind and faultered yet again on her own serve. Final score Kerber - Paszek: 7-5, 3-6, 5-7.

It's unbelievable because Kerber had 5 match balls! I'm hoping Paszek's ankle is going to be alright, because she opens against Wozniacki in Wimbledon and with her form, that could result in an early upset!

Second final today: 's Hertogenbosch - Unicef Open between Urszula Radwanska and Petrova. This match was more one sided. Radwanska got an early break in each set but saw her lead disappear because of Petrova's good serving and hard hitting. Final score Petrova - Radwanska: 6-4, 6-3.

Petrova had a doubles final right after that with Maria Kirilenko against Vinci and Errani. It was very tight but Petrova couldn't haul in the double victory: 4-6, 6-4, 9-11!

And I must see, I love the trophees at this tournament, very Unicef Open like!

Be sure to keep posted, the draw analyse of Wimbledon is coming up!

Preview Wimbledon - Birmingham & 's Hertogen-bosch & Eastbourne

Hi everyone,

The grass season is in full motion (as are my exams unfortunately!) with tournaments in Birmingham, Eastbourne and 's Hertogenbosch (just love it when English sports commentators have to pronounce that because it's Dutch).

It's been a real blood bath for the seeded players in these tournaments!

In Birmingham the four highest ranked players were: Schiavone, Lisicki, Hantuchova and Vinci in that order. Schiavone was outplayed by Doi in the second round: 5-7, 4-6 as was Lisicki at the hands of the younger Radwanska: 3-6, 4-6. The German was last year's victor, so she shall loose quite some points and more important: she doesn't seem to ready to defend her semifinal spot of last year at Wimbledon!

Hantuchova faced a tough second round loss against Czink: 5-7, (5)6-7. At least Vinci made it to the quarter finals but got knocked out there against Zheng: 3-6, 7-5, 4-6.

But there was a familiar name in the final: Jankovic, but is was Oudin who won the Birmingham title defeating the Serbian: 6-4, 6-2.

At the Unicef Open in 's Hertogenbosch, Kim Clijsters made her comeback after a lingering hip injury sustained in Miami. For the moment she's still on track, defeating Oprandi first: (5)6-7, 6-2, 6-3 and Bondarenko next: 6-2, 6-1 to reach the third round. She'll face Schiavone next, who won her match against Begu: 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(8) after fending off 0-6 in the final set tiebreak!

The same doesn't apply for Stosur, who lost quite surprisingly against Flipkens in the first round: (7)6-7, 3-6. She was seeded number one in this tournament!

Errani had a fantastic run on gravel, but her grass-ambitions ended in the first round of the Unicef Open at the hands of Bondarenko: 7-5, 3-6, 4-6. Also Pennetta (fourth seeded) got knocked out already in the second round against none other than the younger sister of Radwanska: 1-6, 1-6. She's certainly on a roll of defeating high ranked players!

Not such great news for her big sister, who lost immediately in the first round in Eastbourne against Pironkova: 2-6, 4-6. Sure, it's an upset but after all it's Pironkova, she made the semifinals at Wimbledon last year! The number two seed at the tournament, Kvitova, got send off to Wimbledon already by Makarova: 5-7, 4-6. Also Wozniacki is out after losing to her American nemesis McHale: 1-6, 7-6(7), 6-4 in the first round. Bartoli won last year at Eastbourne and she's looking good to maybe win it again!

Be sure to keep posted, with a lot of high ranked players out, this could get very interesting!

WTA Ranking update

Hi everyone,

After every Grand Slam, it's worth to take a look at the rankings, especially now because we have a new number one!

1) Maria Sharapova - 9490p - jumped one spot up and set up quite a big lead

2) Victoria Azarenka - 8800p - dropped one place

3) Agi Radwanska - 7230p - stays the same

4) Petra Kvitova - 6895p - same spot

5) Samantha Stosur - 6180p - traded a place up

6) Serena Williams - 5700p - her first round loss made her go down a spot

7) Caroline Wozniacki - 4366p - battles back up from number 9

8) Marion Bartoli - 4070p - same place

9) Angelique Kerber - 4055p - jumps one up

10) Sara Errani - 3350 - biggest jump in the top 20 with 14 places up!

11) Na Li - 3245p - previously number 7, so she loses some spots

12) Dominika Cibulkova - 3180p - trades her place 16 for 12

Other noticable changes: Kanepi jumps from spot 23 to 16, Petkovic another three places down, Petrova wins 6 spots from 29 to 23, Schiavone gets kicked back 15 places from 12 to 27, Shvedova jumps 80 places and gets spot 62 now and if anybody is wondering: Kim Clijsters down to spot 50.

We're all ready now for Eastbourne and Wimbledon, bring the grass on!

Bye Bye Roland Garros

Hi everyone,

So just to tie things up at Roland Garros, some interesting interviews of retired players:
- Martina Hingis
- Justine Henin

And of course, some hilarious 'Road-to-Roland-Garros' clips:

- Julia Goerges (will get drunk if she wins a Grand Slam and skipped quite obviously the question about having a boyfriend!)

- Cibulkova (says she's a lazy person off the court - really?! - and forget about missing her boyfriend when she's at Roland Garros, it's her puppies she misses!)

- Kvitova (giggles a lot when talking about her boyfriend! And why are all tennis players so old fashioned about the boy planning something?)

So it's bye bye to Roland Garros, can't wait for it next year!

Roland Garros - Final

Hi everyone,

In one corner the small build but fierce Italian Errani with excellent net skills (she won the doubles titles with Vinci, just the day before the final!).

In the other corner the giant Sharapova, not only by height but also by performance (three Grand Slam titles already!) and ball-striking capacities.

Let the match begin:

Sharapova started with flawless play and quickly led 4-0. I really started to wonder: if this was her worst surface, how the hell would she play on grass and hardcourt?! Her return was deadly, combined with magnificent winners down the line.

At 4-0 Sharapova's serve stumbled with two double faults that handed Errani 3 breakpoints. By finally getting on the scoreboard, Errani played more freely and managed to grab her own service game: 4-2.

Still, Sharapova wasn't impressed at all and knocked her way to setpoints at 5-2 and 5-3 and finally got the first set: 6-3.

The Russian battled further with her fast paced and well placed balls. Errani showed some of her incredible doubles skills in the second set but she couldn't stop Sharapova from taking another early break to lead: 2-0. It was 4-1 before Errani could force a rebreak to take it to 4-2. But Sharapova wasn't lingering about her bad game and raced to 5-2 and matchpoints on her own serve.
What followed were phenomenal points where Errani saved two matchpoints with dropshots, while Sharapova aced to another championship point.

And then the third matchpoint proved to be the right one: 6-2! Sharapova fell to her knees like she did in Wimbledon and started her victory celebrations.

She got her Career Grand Slam! You know, she's just the tenth women in history to accomplish that. And as any Grand Slam victor these days, she climbed (gracefully, it's Sharapova after all!) to her coach and box. (It's hilarious how that guy on the left above doesn't help at all!)

Meanwhile Errani was left with dealing with her loss.

What got her to smile was actually a technical fail when announcing the players. The French voice called Sharapova on the stage as runner-up. The Russian had a good laugh while Errani celebrated like she was declared victor now.

Eventually they both got their - right - trophee.

Sharapova didn't even have to stop celebrating when getting back in the locker room.

And of course, the French just need their photo of the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen with the Eiffel tower!

Can't wait for the grass season, stay posted!