US TENNIS OPEN DAY 7

A little better with the selections yesterday 13 out of 16 up.Hope I can maintain that form for today's selections.


Ana Ivanovic Vs Kim Clijsters - Ana has had three wins I refuse to tip her on past performance beat Kimmy and I will have to rethink!!!


Shahar Peer Vs Venus Williams - Great another Venus designed outfit ...really the only interest I will have in this match!


Mikhail Youzhny Vs John Isner - This is a tricky contest ,I'm going with the Russian for his versatility.


Samantha Stosur Vs Elena Dementieva - This will be a great match if Stosur can produce her form from last round .Australia on a roll with the rugby and the netball so will stick with Grandslam Sam.


Rafael Nadal Vs Giles Simon - Another test for Rafa , if he is a serious contender he has to beat a player like Simon. Will be tough.


Sam Querrey Vs Nicolas Almagro - Another tough one , could go either way, despite home ground advantage I will pick the Spaniard


Francesca Schiavone Vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova - C'mon Franny beat this alphabet .


David Nalbandian Vs Fernando Verdasco - Toss a coin for this one! I think Nalbandian if he has the desire.


Andy Murray Vs Stan Wawrinka - Murray seems to always get over Stan the Man...I tip Murray but won't be disappointed  if Stan gets there.


Feliciano Lopez Vs Sergiy Stakhosvky - Dare I go for the unseeded Ukrainian or the seed . Will throw caution to the wind! 


Tommy Robredo Vs Michael Llodra - Ok I will pick the french man this time!


David Ferrer Vs Daniel Gimeno-Traver - Ferrer should get the money.


The first round of the Juniors get under way with Local New Zealander Ben Mclachlan competing. Look for plenty of upsets in the juniors.American Jack Sock played in the Men's going down in 4 sets and will be hard to beat.He is unseeded , as I have said before many Juniors have inflated points and when quality players come into the draw are found wanting.Sock is ranked 651 ATP whilst many players in the Juniors Draw have only had Junior experience .One can waste too much time playing the Junior Tour and at the end of the day lots of money spent and not much reward in transition to senior ranks.


Finally another clever photo Shop creation can you guess these all time greats .Only one can get that honour in my opinion because they have won each of the Grand Slam titles ....the other's in the picture have fell short of at least 1 grandslam title.One other is of course current.Leave me a comment on who are these players and which Grandslam they have not won.Of course 1 of these have won all four.!

EARTHQUAKE NEW ZEALAND AND DAY 6 US OPEN!

I won't forget the match between Daniela Hantuchova Vs Elena Dementieva for a long time not because of the great tennis but because that's when the earthquake hit during the match!First of all I thought it was wind, then after ten seconds I knew it was a quake,now I'm Australian and I have never experienced a tremor let alone a quake , since I've been in New Zealand there has been earthquakes but never near me or have never felt the ones that have occurred.Boy did I feel this one! The whole house started shaking and swaying and I could hear a rumbling noise, I stood not quite knowing what to do as other members of the household made their way to the lounge room where I was.It shook and swayed for a minute which seemed like eternity, I thought oh yeh 15 sec and its finished..........hahah it kept going on an on.Even some 12 hours as I write this post an aftershock just occurred and trembled my house a little!I am in Timaru but have coached in Darfield where the quake was centered!Wow its not something I thought I would experience and its something I don't want to again.I actually feel like I am sea sick and any slight movement or bump startles me! Anyhow above is some pictures of Christchurch where a lot of the damage occurred.We are all ok in Timaru but definitely shaken. 

Well ok here are my selections for play today.Hope watching is less eventful!


Jelena Jankovic Vs Kaia Kanepi - Jelena Jelly bean for the win.
Beatrice Capra Vs Maria Sharapova- The courts are alive with the sound of Maria
Paul-Henri Mathieu Vs Roger Federer-Will be a good test for Rodger!
James Blake Vs Novak Djokovic - The Djoker is playing with us he will let us think he is a contender then have a dizzy spell and lose! But not this round.


Svetlana Kutnetsova Vs Maria Kirilenko - Its Russian roulette 
Robert Soderling Vs Thiemo De Bakker -Soderling has not really impressed me so far but should get the job done.
Caroline Wozniacki Vs Yung Jan Cheng - The top seed to get through.
Arnaud Clement Vs Mardy Fish - The Frenchman wont be catching any Fish here.


Alexandra Dulgheru Vs Vera Zvonareva - Vera to get there may be tight.
Gail Monfils Vs Janko Tipsaravic- I would never put money on either of these in a grandslam tournament.Monfils just.
Patty Schnyder Vs Yanina Wickmayer - So Long Patty
Jurgen Melzer Vs Juan Carlos Ferrero - I'm think Juan Carlos


Albert Montanes Vs Kei Nishikori- Could go either way. Will go with the higher seed.
Richard Gasquet Vs Kevin Anderson - The Frenchman
Shuai Peng Vs Andrea Petkovik - Peng maybe
Dominika Cibulkova Vs Lourdes Lino - Anyone's guess


Competition players still needing to pick for Round 3 use this post.


Finally Venus Williams Outfit of the round

Federer Photo Shopped

I drop in from time to time to a message board that has the above thread, there are some very clever people that create funny pictures.Thought I would post a few for you to enjoy and get a laugh at.

And a couple more! Some people have gone to a lot of effort to make these.!

And the last one , lots of players in this picture can you guess? ATP University.!

Day 7 Roland Garros Picks

Well yesterday 8 out of 10 in the men's, my long shots failed namely Baghdatis and Bakker!Below are my picks for today.

Victor Hanescu(ROU)[31] vs. Novak Djokovic(SRB)[3]
Is it not time Djokovic takes a dizzy spell or something or is that next round so Ill go for Novak today.

Lleyton Hewitt(AUS)[28] vs. Rafael Nadal(ESP)[2]
By the time Sky NZ switches to the tennis Hewitt will be done and dusted ,Nadal was injured last year and beat him so what will he do to the Aussie Battler this year.!

Andy Roddick(USA)[6] vs. Teimuraz Gabashvili(RUS)
Roddick trying for his best French Open ever! Surely he must run into a name soon and send him off across the channel.

Fernando Verdasco(ESP) vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber(GER)
This is a tricky match up cant under estimate the German and Vedasco has been just scrapping through.Will go with the lefty from Spain.

Jurgen Melzer(AUT)[22] vs. David Ferrer(ESP)[9]
Ferrer is in good form and should be to tough for Jurgen

Juan Carlos Ferrero(ESP)[16] vs. Robby Ginepri(USA)
Ginepri still around! Time for him to go via Juan Carlos

Ivan Ljubicic(CRO)[14] vs. Thomaz Bellucci(BRA)[24]
Ivan seems to have been around for yonks! Cant see him backing up after the Fish match.

Nicolas Almagro(ESP) vs. Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr(UKR)

This is going to be close I think but Almagro to get there just.

Women

The Chinese where sent packing yesterday along with defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.Picks most correct, and happy I finally backed the South African Chanelle Scheepers.

Serena Williams(USA)[1] vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova(RUS)[29]
The Willams machine will keep moving .

Maria Sharapova(RUS)[12] vs. Justine Henin(BEL)[22]
MATCH OF THE DAY FOR SURE. THIS WILL BE AN INETERSTING MATCH FOR SURE.I have to go with consistency so Henin for me.

Shahar Peer(ISR)[18] vs. Marion Bartoli(FRA)[13]
Not many players like coming up against Marion.....not too many friends against peers! sorry for the pun.

Jelena Jankovic(SRB)[4] vs. Alona Bondarenko(UKR)[27]
I guess its going to be Jankovic............BUT !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jarmila Groth(AUS) vs. Anastasia Rodionova(AUS)
How ironic a match up with "true blue Aussie's" NOT .No doubt Tennis Australia will jump on the fact that an Aussie will be in the 4th round........what development program did the come through again?

Anastasia Pivovarova(RUS) vs. Samantha Stosur(AUS)[7]

Stotsur has looked shaky! I have a gut feeling she is going out this round or next.



Above Maria Kirilenko who put out the Defending Ladies Champ

The Long Road Home is Near the End, Federer Vs Murray Australian Open Men's Final 2010

The battle grounds are drawn ,The hopes of the British rest on the shoulders of a young Scot Andy Murray ,its been written countless times Murray will be a Grandslam Champion, the moment is near.........and the British Amarda( the press) has arrived in Melbourne to record this momentous event.But hold on a sec ,in his way is a legend perhaps the best player ever to pick up a tennis racket and Roger Federer will not just let the Murray destiny just happen.If it does we know to well Murray has truly arrived and he can conquer the highest mountain winning a Slam title. Murray had this to say when asked if he could win,"Have to wait and see, you know. I think, you know, if I play my best, I think I got a good chance against anyone. And then, you know, at the top of any sport, it can come down to, you know, a few points here or there, sometimes a little bit of luck. You have to wait and see. But if I play my best, I think I got a chance against anyone."

And Federer speaks about the pressure for both players

"look, he's in his second Grand Slam final now. I think the first one's always a bit tougher than the second one. But now that he didn't win the first one, I think doesn't help, you know, for the second one around.

Plus he's playing, you know, me, who's won many Grand Slams prior to that, been able to win here three times so I know what it takes and how to do it, which is definitely an advantage.

I don't feel like the pressure's really on me having to do it again, because I did it before. I think he really needs it more than I do, you know. So I think the pressure's big on him.

But we'll see how he's gonna handle it. It's not going to be easy for him, that's for sure."

Murray knows to well defeat will mean he has to read the British tabloids the next day and that provides also extra pressure.My thoughts on the match ,it will be tough Federer will have to be at his very best to win and if he is his game will be too good for the Murray game at his best.Also in one corner we have the very Animated support Box of Murray led by "Punch n Judy" Murray's Mum......and the more conservative support crew of Federer with his wife Mirka at the helm.

And a change of tack this from the Sunday News reports Tennis New Zealand is heading into deeper crisis with the prospect of a vote of no confidence in the board looming.

Sunday News understands a number of clubs and regions are so sick of the way the sport it being run that they're using Tennis NZ's proposal for a dramatic increase in membership affiliation fees as a way to vent their anger.Read the full story here

Talk about Ostrich and head in the sand syndrome,every body knows Tennis in this country is on the ropes Onny Parun has been telling us for the past few years.Sadly this generation of young tennis players will be lost because of ........running the game ,actually I'm at a lost for words and it would be inappropriate to use the word Idiots, if anyone else has a better word please leave it in the comments section.

If Henin Wins Today's Australian Women's Final it will be a Fairy Tale Finish

Justine Henin and Serena Wlliams will today battle for the ultimate prize the Australian Open Women's title.Head to Head Serena leads 7-6 but both players have never met in a Grand slam Final before today.Both Players defeated Chinese players in their respective Semi Finals.Thank goodness they did with no offense to the Chinese pair I could not imagine watching the final between those players.Henin has had the tougher path to the final beating 5th seed Elena Dementieva, Alisa Kleybanova, Yanina Wickmayer and Nadia Petrova en route to the semis.Serena has had a slightly easier path.Serena if she wins today adds to history it will be her 12th Grand Slam singles victory.Henin if she wins today will create the Fairy Tale Finish many are hoping for after officially retired from the tennis circuit in May 2008.It should be a great final my only concern is if Serena's bandages happen to come undone, medical time out wont be long enough to address the problem.

Well Travelled - Sean Berman Now Becomes an Aussie

Today Sean Berman plays his Semi final of the Australian Junior Champs at Melbourne Park.Now if you have been following Bermans Path his Nationality Status would be very confusing, Sean was born in South Africa just before the Berman’s moved to New Zealand. When Sean was 12, the family then relocated to Los Angeles to further Sean’s tennis education. That remained their home until a few months ago, when they settled in Melbourne.Berman played for New Zealand in some 12 and under test matches(against Australia) both in New Zealand and Australia.In fact Berman this time last year was back in New Zealand playing Itf juniors where he had mixed success winning Christchurch but being bundled out in the Auckland event by local Jamie ECCLETON in the round of 16. Berman speaks on his recent move “I spent some time in America, playing and travelling and training. But now I’m here in Australia and playing for Australia,” Sean said in a post-match interview.

Asked how he thinks the move to Australia will improve his game, he replied, “Tennis Australia has some unbelievably good tennis coaches with extremely good knowledge. I think what they’ve got to offer me will be very beneficial to my game, and I think it can really work out.”

Sean has been representing Australia at the Australian Open 2010 in both the main draw qualifying rounds and the junior boys’ singles competition.

Monitoring the Zoo Tennis Web Site some of the comments left there have been stinging,mainly not of Berman but the USTA for taking him under their wing and by reports neglecting their own junior players. Below are a couple and you can read the rest here at this link

Waste of Time... said...
it is amazing how much attention is on sean berman only because he won a few matches at the weakest junior grand slam. That is not success. There are so many junior players that are not there. Australia can have sean berman.

He will have a decent itf ranking now because of this tournament but the itf rankings are a joke anyway. They have no reflection anymore of which juniors will make it in the pros.

Get real --can you name some other "other equally deserving Americans" that did not get help because sean berman did?

To…Will he be South African next?

Berman was not an American when he came to the USTA for help, he was shopping for the best deal and at the time his results were not that glittering. Shame on the USTA for taking the bait when there were equally or more talented US juniors who were not getting their support. As for his potential, whether his style of game translates from the juniors to the pros is a huge question mark and only time will tell. So lets not read too much into his recent success and that is not taking anything away from his run at the Aussie open. If anything Donald Young highlighted that it’s a huge leap to the pros.

The point here is USTA high performance clearly has egg on its face and well deserved. Its not "glad we spent our US dollars developing..." but what Berman begs is the question why did the USTA support a foreign junior money when there were other equally deserving Americans. What the USTA needs is TRANSPARENCY in how its allocates its high performance dollars much like some other federations, not have all decisions decided behind closed doors.

I wonder did anyone mention to Berman nothing much has changed in Australia for the past 21 years. And that readers is another story in itself.And one more thing Tennis Australia you will certainly have some interested people watching how you handle the support given to Berman. Below is a You Tube piece featuring Berman and guess who ! Rafa Nadal.

STOP PRESS Semi Final Australian Open Junior Boys Sean Berman(Aus) def Marton Fucsovics HUN (6) 7/6 6/3

Let the Games Begin!

Tonights match up against Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal will I think sort out a few things.Tennis writers around the world talk Murray up saying he his Grand slam material destined to win one of the majors.We have heard that all before with Henman but I have to say Andy Murray does have more to is game than Timmy Henman.A lot have written off Rafa with his time out with injury and personal family problems , many are saying he has lost his sharpness.So will Murray prove his pundits correct and continue his Grand slam quest to the Australian Open Crown.Will Rafa prove that he is capable of defending the crown he won in a superb final last year against King Roger Federer.Murray will play his own game mixing it up ,crosscourt angles to Nadals Backhands and of course putting pressure on the Nadal second serve which looks a little shaky.Nadal will also stick to what he does best and will try to stay with Murray using his forehand to dictate play.Murray has the ability to come to net and in a close five setter this could prove the difference.Its the Spanish Bullfighter versus Braveheart the Scot.I have put a small wager on Nadal to win , I hope this has not jinxed the guy!.Nadal in five.