Another week and another big clay court tournament in the preparation for Roland Garros. Madrid was so-so, but Rome has very similar conditions to Roland Garros so this will be the big tournament to base things on for Paris, which begins in just TWO WEEKS! Note the top eight seeds all have byes in round…
This is the crazy stage of the season and I am struggling to keep up! Here is my preview for the ATP Masters 1000 event, which begins this morning in Rome. Note – the top eight players have byes in round one. QUARTER 1 – N.Djokovic (1) v T.Berdych (6) Tomas Berdych Novak Djokovic arrived…
Maria Sharapova and Li Na battled for nearly three hours with neither player seemingly wanting to claim the title; however in the end, Sharapova edged the Roland Garros champion and saved one match point in a 4-6 6-4 7-6 victory. Li was playing her best tennis in the first set as she led 6-4 4-0. …
ATP Final – Novak Djokovic v Rafael Nadal Djokovic progressed to the final with an excellent performance to dispatch Roger Federer in the semi-finals, 6-2 7-6. Despite some stern resistance at the end of the second set, it was a flat display from Federer; however I think he has had the perfect preparation for Roland…
Rafael Nadal (2) v David Ferrer (6) Nadal was back to his best on Friday as he fended off a stern test from the in-form, Tomas Berdych, 6-4 7-5. Ferrer also made it through in straight sets as he overcome a tight first set to beat Richard Gasquet, 7-6 6-3. Nadal has always held an…
Serena Williams Li Na (8) v Serena Williams (9) Li progressed to the semi-finals with a win over Dominika Cibulkova, 6-1 7-6. It was another inconsistent display from Li who played some great tennis in the first set but struggled to finish the match off in the second. I think having seen Azarenka pull out…
Venus Williams The third round action in Rome for both the men and women wrapped up on Thursday ensuring a fantastic order of play for the quarter-finals on Friday. Venus Williams had one of her best wins since returning to the tour as she defeated Sam Stosur, 6-4 6-3. In truth, it was not a…
Li Na Victoria Azarenka (1) v Dominika Cibulkova (14)Azarenka has now withdrawn from Rome citing a shoulder injury. Chanelle Scheepers v Li Na (8) Scheepers progressed to the 3rd round with a victory over Marina Erakovic, who had previously taken out Sabine Lisicki in a lengthy three set encounter in round one. Li beat Iveta…
Ana Ivanovic Ana Ivanovic overcame a potentially sticky opener as she beat Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-4 6-3 in the stand-out first round match in Rome. Ivanovic had lost to the Russian in Fed Cup action several weeks ago, but she produced a fine performance to make it into the second round. Francesca Schiavone was the only…
PROJECTED FIRST QUARTER – Victoria Azarenka (1) v Li Na (8) Victoria Azarenka will play her opening match in Rome against the winner of the first round match between Peng Shuai and Shahar Peer. Azarenka has not played as well in Stuttgart and Madrid as she did in Australia and Indian Wells, but has remained…
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