ATP World Tour on Any Sport Any Time
Sunday, January 29th, 2012
Novak Djokovic (Wikimedia Commons)
It could be considered one of the greatest tennis matches of all-time.
On Sunday in Melbourne, Australia, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, the world number one, defeated Rafael Nadal of Spain, the world number two 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5.
It was the longest match in terms of time for a final in Grand Slam tennis history since the ATP decided to bring in the tie-breaker in 1968.
In all the match lasted 5 hours and 53 minutes, including a ten minute rain delay as organizers had to close the roof at Rod Laver Arena. I woke up at 1:30am this morning and went back to bed at 7:30am.
There were times when Djokovic could have beaten Nadal earlier. In the fourth set, Djokovic had a triple break opportunity, but Nadal was able to hold his serve in a very gritty performance. Nadal would go on to win the set and force a fifth and deciding set.
Once again the unforced error category could have been the difference. Nadal had 71 compared to Djokovic’s 69.
With the win, Djokovic defended his Australian Open title, and won his third consecutive Grand Slam as he also won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year.
Tags: australian open, novak djokovic, RAFAEL NADAL
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Friday, January 27th, 2012
Rafael Nadal (Chris Johnson, Wikimedia Commons)
This is an odd weekend in sports for me. For the first time in a long time I’m not watching sports on television during the day.
This is not to say I’m not watching sports. As a matter of fact I’ll be up all night watching sports, catch a few hours of sleep, before attending the World Sprint Speed Skating Championships at the Olympic Oval in Calgary.
So, I’ll be missing the NHL All-Star Game Sunday in Ottawa and have decided to boycott the Pro Bowl Sunday night in Honolulu because in my opinion, you cannot have a legitimate all-star game with the two top teams in the league not represented.
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Tags: australian open, christine nesbitt, denny morrison, maria sharapova, novak djokovic, RAFAEL NADAL, victoria azarenka, world sprint speed skating championships
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Friday, January 27th, 2012
Novak Djokovic (Wikimedia Commons)
We now know who Rafael Nadal’s opponent will be in the men’s final at the Australian Open.
On Friday, top seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia defeated the fourth seeded Andy Murray of Great Britain 6-3, 3-6, 6-7, 6-1, 7-5 in a five set thriller semi-final that went four hours and fifty minutes to complete.
Yes, folks I watched the entire match, even though it started at 1:30am Mountain Time.
The second and third sets in particular were very high quality tennis, where it took over an hour to complete each set. I think a major turning point in the match came in the first game of the fourth set. After Murray won the third set tiebreak to take a 2-1 lead in sets, Djokovic broke Murray’s serve immediately and coasted over the next twenty minutes to tie the match at two sets each.
In the fifth set, it looked like Djokovic was cramping more than Murray, but the Scot was committing more unforced errors. Overall, Murray had 86 unforced errors to Djokovic’s 69.
Tags: andy murray, australian open, novak djokovic
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Thursday, January 26th, 2012
Rafael Nadal (Chris Johnson, Wikimedia Commons)
In one of the greatest tennis matches of all time, Rafael Nadal has qualified for the Australian Open Men’s Final.
On Wednesday, he defeated Roger Federer 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-4 in a classic semi-final. Nadal is now looking for his second Australian Open crown, having defeated Federer in five sets in 2009, while Federer is a four-time champion.
A major turning point in the match came in the second set, when Nadal seemed out of a particular point, but ran from one end of the court to the other and hit the cross court winner. When he made contact with the ball, the fans in the stands could have reached out and touched him.
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Tags: andy murray, australian open, novak djokovic, RAFAEL NADAL, ROGER FEDERER
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Thursday, January 26th, 2012
Maria Sharapova (Andrew Huse, Wikimedia Commons)
We now know who will be the two female finalists of the 2012 Australian Open.
Last night, Maria Sharapova of Russia, the fourth seed, defeated Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, the second seed 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in the semi-final– a rematch of the 2011 Wimbledon Final, where Kvitova won her first Grand Slam final.
In the other semi-final, we learned that there will be a new Australian Open champion this year. Belgium’s Kim Clijsters, the 11th seed, lost in three sets to Belarussian Victoria Azarenka, the second seed, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
If Sharapova hopes to beat Azarenka in the final, she will have to work on her serve. It was erratic throughout the match, as she had ten double faults, compared to Kvitova’s four. But a key reason why Sharapova was able to win the match was because she was able to limit her unforced errors, where she had 30, compared to Kvitova’s 41.
For Clijsters, she lost a devastating match because it looks like this will be her final season in tennis. There are reports she wants to have another child with her husband, American Brian Lynch, who played at the University of Villanova, and is currently coaching professionally in Belgium.
Tags: brian lynch, kim clijsters, maria sharapova, petra kvitova, victoria azarenka
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Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
Stephanie Dubois (Robbie Mendelson, Wikimedia Commons)
It was a solid Monday for three Canadians at the Australian Open.
Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ontario, Stephanie Dubois of Laval, Quebec and Aleksandra Wozniak of Montreal, Quebec have all advanced to round two.
Yesterday, Raonic, seeded 23rd, defeated Filippo Volandri of Italy 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 in 91 minutes. Raonic had 13 aces and 13 winners to Violandri’s none.
In women’s action, Dubois defeated Elena Vesnina of Russia 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 and Wozniak defeated Shuai Zhang of China 6-3, 6-3. Toronto’s Rebecca Marino lost to Greta Arn of Hungary 6-4, 6-2.
Raonic will now play Philipp Petzschner of Germany in the second round. Petzschner beat Raonic in the quarterfinals of Halle, Germany last year 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.
Wozniak will now play the 27th seed, Maria Kirilenko of Russia and Dubois will play the 30th seed, Angelique Kerber of Germany.
The upset of the tournament so far came from Simona Cirstea of Romania, who beat U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur of Australia 7-6, 6-3. Stosur, a fan favourite, was the sixth seed.
The best match of the tournament I have seen so far came on Sunday night. Australian Bernard Tomic, who is only 19, beat Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, 7-5.
Tags: aleksandra wozniak, angelique kerber, australian open, bernard tomic, fernando verdasco, greta arn, maria kirilenko, milos raonic, philipp petzschner, simona cirstea, stephanie dubois
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Saturday, January 14th, 2012
Tom Brady (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
We are down to eight teams left now in the National Football League.
In the AFC, the New England Patriots (13-3) will host the Denver Broncos (8-8) this evening (CBS, 6pm) in the most anticipated game of the weekend.
Tebownmania is larger now than it ever has, and possibly ever will be. But the bottom line is how many championships in the NFL has Tim Tebow won? The answer is zero and he will be up against a quarterback that has won three Super Bowls, is a two-time MVP and is a seven-time Pro Bowler in Tom Brady. And oh yes, the Patriots hammered the Broncos 41-23 in Denver on December 18, as Brady threw for 320 yards, including 129 yards to underrated tight end Aaron Hernandez. I’m picking New England in a rout.
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Tags: Aaron Rodgers, australian open, baltimore ravens, bernard tomic, calgary flames, david hearn, denver broncos, drew brees, fernando verdasco, green bay packers, houston texans, los angeles kings, matt every, michael cammalleri, milos raonic, new england patriots, new orleans saints, new york giants, phoenix suns, rene bourque, san antonio spurs, san francisco 49ers, t.j. yates, tim tebow, tom brady, tony parker
Posted in ATP World Tour, More, NBA, NFL, NHL, PGA | No Comments »
Sunday, January 8th, 2012
Milos Raonic (Wikimedia Commons)
Milos Raonic has won his second tennis tournament of his career.
Sunday morning in Chennai, India, Raonic defeated Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 6-7, 7-6, 7-6 in a three set match where there was not one break of serve.
Raonic recorded 35 aces in the victory and had ample of opportunities to break Tipsarevic’s serve, but Tipsarevic, nicknamed the Serbian Philosopher because of his thoughtful postmatch interviews, was able to save off nine break point opportunities.
The match was significant because it is one of three Australian Open tuneups this weekend. In Brisbane, Andy Murray of Great Britain defeated Alexander Dolgopolov 6-1, 6-3, and in Qatar, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France defeated Gael Monfils of France 7-5, 6-3.
Raonic, who will now definitely be seeded at the Australian Open, which starts next weekend, will probably see his ranking increase by five or six spots. Previously ranked 31st, he has a chance of matching his career best 25th ranking he had in May, before he injured his hip at Wimbledon. At the 2011 Australian Open, Raonic advanced to the fourth round.
Tags: andy murray, janko tipsarevic, jo-wilfried tsonga, milos raonic
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Saturday, January 7th, 2012
Milos Raonic (Chris Johnson, Wikimedia Commons)
Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ontario has advanced to third final on the ATP Tour on Saturday.
In Chennai, India, Raonic, seeded fourth defeated second seed Nicolas Almagro of Spain today 6-4, 6-4 and will now play the top seed, Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia in tomorrow’s final.
Tipsarevic, nicknamed the Serbian Philosopher for outstanding post-match press conferences and interviews, defeated Japanese qualifier Go Soeda 6-1, 6-4 in the other semi-final.
In Raonic’s semi-final win, he posted 17 aces and was able to break Almagro once in each set.
The Chennai Open is running simultaneously with the Brisbane International and the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. All three events are in the ATP World Tour 250 category. In the Brisbane final, Andy Murray of Great Britain is playing Alexander Dolgopolov of the Ukraine, and in the Qatar final, it will be an all-French final as Gael Monfils will play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
All three events this weekend are considered significant because they are tune-ups for the Australian Open that starts January 16 in Melbourne.
Tags: alexander dolgopolov, andy murray, gael monfils, go soeda, janko tipsarevic, jo-wilfried tsonga, milos raonic, nicolas almagro
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Saturday, October 22nd, 2011
Milos Raonic (Matthew Stockman, Getty Images)
This morning I watched Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ontario for the first time since he injured his hip against Gilles Mueller at Wimbledon.
Raonic was playing French superstar Gael Monfils in the semi-finals of the Stockholm Open. Raonic, seeded sixth, lost in three sets to the tournament’s number one seed, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3. Monfils will now play Jarkko Nieminen of Finland in the final.
I know it was a loss but there were some very positive signs from Raonic. His serve was working extremely well, and the flu bug that plagued him at the Davis Cup last month in Israel, didn’t seem to be an issue in Sweden.
Along the way to the semi-finals, Raonic beat three formidable opponents– former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, Philipp Petzschner of Germany, who beat Raonic in the quarterfinals in Halle, Germany in June, and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who was seeded number one in the world in juniors in 2008. With his semi-final appearance, Raonic should move up a couple of spots in the ATP Rankings from his current ranking of 29th.
Tags: gael monfils, grigor dimitrov, jarkko nieminen, marcos baghdatis, milos raonic, philipp petzschner
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Sunday, September 18th, 2011
Vasek Pospisil (Patricio Realpe, Associated Press)
It was a very proud moment in Canadian tennis history today.
Our country is off to the World Group of the Davis Cup for the first time since 2004.
In a dominating performance today, Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, British Columbia defeated Israel’s Amir Weintraub 6-2, 7-6, 6-4 to win the deciding match.
Pospisil’s serve was electric. Pospisil had 27 aces, while Weintraub only had one. Pospisil also collected 54 winners, while Weintraub only had 16.
Canada beat Israel three matches to two. Earlier in the day, Milos Raonic, who was still feeling the effects of food poisoning that plagued him earlier in the week, decided not to compete against Israel’s Dudi Sela. In came Peter Polansky of Thornhill, Ontario, who lost in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
Spain will play Argentina in the 2011 Davis Cup Final. Spain, led by Rafael Nadal, defeated France, while Argentina defeated the defending champion, Serbia.
Other nations to advance to the 2012 World Group are the Czech Republic, Russia, Croatia, Italy, Japan, Austria and Switzerland.
Tags: davis cup, dudi sela, RAFAEL NADAL, vasek pospisil
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Saturday, September 17th, 2011
Adam Kleeberger (Bing Images)
It is a jammed pack weekend of sports coverage, and I will be keeping an eye on a wide variety of sports.
In rugby, Canada is looking for a second consecutive victory when they take on the mighty French. France has one more point in the Group A Standings because they were able to record four tries in their 47-21 hammering of Japan.
The Canadians meanwhile exemplified outstanding determination in coming from behind to beat Tonga. They were down 20-13 with about ten minutes left before the Canadians scored 12 unanswered points to win. The game can be seen at 2:30am on Sunday morning on TSN.
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Tags: andy ram, atlanta falcons, boston red sox, british columbia lions, buffalo bills, Calgary Stampeders, chris carpenter, cole hamels, dallas cowboys, daniel nestor, davis cup, jeff niemann, jim harbaugh, jon lester, jonathan erlich, michael vick, mike tolbert, new england patriots, oakland raiders, philadelphia eagles, philadelphia phillies, pittsburgh steelers, rugby world cup, ryan fitzpatrick, san diego chargers, san francisco 49ers, seattle seahawks, st. louis cardinals, tampa bay rays, ted ginn jr., tom brady, vasek pospisil
Posted in Amateur Sports, ATP World Tour, CFL, Home, MLB, More, NFL, Rugby | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 13th, 2011
Novak Djokovic (Wikimedia Commons)
After four grueling sets and incredible long rallies, Novak Djokovic has won the U.S. Open at Flushing Meadows, New York.
Djokovic, the number one seed from Serbia, beat Spain’s Rafael Nadal, the world ranked number two seed, 6-2, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1.
Djokovic now has won three major titles this calendar year, having already won the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Nadal, meanwhile won the French Open.
What was mesmerizing in watching the final, was Djokovic’s ability to break right back after he was broken by Nadal.
Nadal, actually broke Djokovic six times, but on the first four times Djokovic was able to break Nadal right back.
A remarkable statistic though was that Nadal was broken 11 times. When was the last time you saw the world’s number two simply not confident with his serve?
Nadal also had to work for many more points on his service game than Djokovic had to for his. The match just came easier for Djokovic, who improves to 64-2.
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Sunday, September 11th, 2011
Samantha Stosur (Diana Ross, Wikimedia Commons)
Samantha Stosur is the 2011 United States Open Champion, and on Sunday she displayed significant amount more poise, professionalism and class than her opponent, Serena Williams.
Early in the second set, Williams yelled out “come on”, as soon as Stosur was attempting to make a shot. Williams lost the point and was not happy about it. She then verbally attacked the chair umpire Eva Asderaki by calling her “unattractive inside”, “you screwed me over”, “you’re out of control”, and “don’t look my way”. Williams even refused to shake Asderaki’s hand at the end of the match.
The pro-American crowd also deserves some criticism for getting behind Williams as much as they did. It was Stosur that performed admirably and delivered fantastic patience under the situation.
Stosur had one more winner, 20 to Williams’ 19, and had thirteen fewer unforced errors.
It was sweet redemption for Stosur, who struggled in the 2010 French Open Final, in losing 6-4, 7-6 to Italy’s Franseca Schiavone.
The men’s final between Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic goes tomorrow.
Tags: eva asderaki, franseca schiavone, novak djokovic, RAFAEL NADAL, samantha stosur, serena williams, u.s. open
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