Posts Tagged ‘jo-wilfried tsonga’
Monday, January 21st, 2013
Roger Federer (Vinod Divakaran, Wikimedia Commons)
Milos Raonic may be ranked 13th at the Australian Open, but he has a lot of work to do to crack the top five in men’s tennis.
On Sunday, Raonic lost 6-4, 7-6, 6-2 in straight sets to the great Roger Federer in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Federer made Raonic run and exploit his weak backhand. The bottom line is Federer’s experience and maturity paid off and despite Raonic’s 19 aces, Raonic was unable to win many long points against the four time Australian Open champion.
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Tags: agnieszka radwanska, andy murray, australian open, david ferrer, ekaterina makarova, jeremy chardy, jo-wilfried tsonga, li na, maria sharapova, milos raonic, nicolas almagro, novak djokovic, ROGER FEDERER, serena williams, sloane stephens, svetlana kuznetsova, tomas berdych, victoria azarenka
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Friday, July 6th, 2012
Andy Murray (May Su, Wikimedia Commons)
We now know who will meet each other in the 2012 Wimbledon Final.
Friday Andy Murray, the fourth seed from Great Britain defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the fifth seed from France 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. Murray becomes the first British men’s tennis player to advance to the Wimbledon men’s final since Bunny Austin in 1938. Fred Perry was the last British male player to win Wimbledon in 1936. Virginia Wade won Wimbledon on the women’s side in 1977.
Austin made headlines in 1938 as he was one of the first tennis players to wear shorts at Wimbledon.
Meanwhile, Roger Federer of Switzerland, seeded third, defeated Novak Djokovic of Serbia, the first seed 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Federer and Djokovic competed at a very fast pace. It took them less than an hour to compete the first two sets. The tempo seemed to be dictated by Federer throughout the entire match, as Djokovic normally plays very slow, as he bounces the tennis ball numerous times before serving.
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Tags: andy murray, bunny austin, fred perry, jo-wilfried tsonga, novak djokovic, ROGER FEDERER, Wimbledon
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Wednesday, July 4th, 2012
Roger Federer (Wikimedia Commons)
Roger Federer might just have had his most complete victory in his history at Wimbledon.
Wednesday in England, Federer, the six-time Wimbledon champion, defeated Mikhail Youzhny of Russia in straight sets 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. The match only took ninety minutes to complete.
Federer won 88% of his first serve points and won thirty more points than Youzhny. He also had no double faults and broke Youzhny’s serve six times.
Down 4-1 in the third set, ESPN’s John McEnroe stated the only way Youzhny would get back into the match is if he got Tonya Harding’s help.
Prior to the 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer, Harding’s bodyguard and ex-husband hired someone to smack Harding’s major women’s figure skating competitor Nancy Kerrigan with a police baton. Kerrigan was struck, but only suffered a leg bruise as a result. Harding, who was aware of the development of the incident, was sentenced to three years probation.
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Tags: andy murray, jo-wilfried tsonga, novak djokovic, ROGER FEDERER
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Tuesday, June 5th, 2012
Petra Kvitova (Pavel Lebeda, Wikimedia Commons)
With all the talk surrounding Maria Sharapova being the player to beat at the 2012 French Open, it was Petra Kvitova’s play in the fourth round that impressed me more.
Kvitova, the defending Wimbledon champion, only had seven winners against yesterday in an impressive 6-2, 6-1 win over unseeded American Varvara Lepchenko, who was born in Uzbekistan and only recently became an American citizen.
Kvitova is ranked fourth in the world, but everybody in the tennis world is projecting Sharapova as the clear cut favourite. I’m sorry, but the last time I checked Sharapova hasn’t won a major since 2008.
Meanwhile on the men’s side Tuesday there were two terrific five setters. Both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer won, but were pushed to the limit.
Djokovic, the top seed, is looking to be the reigning champion in all four majors at the same time since Rod Laver of Australia accomplished the feat in 1969. Djokovic defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-1, 5-7, 5-7, 7-6, 6-1.
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Tags: french open, jo-wilfried tsonga, juan martin del potro, novak djokovic, petra kvitova, rod laver, ROGER FEDERER
Posted in Home |
Sunday, June 3rd, 2012
Dominika Cibulkova (Christian Mesiano, Wikimedia Commons)
Victoria Azarenka’s attempt to duplicate her outstanding performance at the Australian Open at Roland Garros this week came to an abrupt end in the fourth round today.
Azarenka lost to Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 7-6 in the fourth round today. Despite only having a first serve percentage of 47%, Cibulkova had more winners and less unforced errors than the world number one.
On the men’s side, Milos Raonic lost in five grueling sets yesterday to Argentina’s Juan Monaco.
But there was a particular instance where Raonic needs to be applauded for sportsmanship. Early in the fifth set, the ball that Monaco hit was counted out, but Raonic told the umpire that Monaco’s shot was indeed in. High praise needs to go to Raonic!
In other action today, two key fourth round matches have been suspended until tomorrow. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, the fifth seed, leads Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, the 18th seed, 6-4, 7-6, 3-6, 3-6, 4-2 in the fifth set, and Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina, the ninth seed, leads the seventh seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 7-6, 1-6, 6-3.
Tags: dominika cibulkova, french open, jo-wilfried tsonga, juan martin del potro, juan monaco, milos raonic, stanislas wawrinka, tomas berdych, victoria azarenka
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Saturday, February 18th, 2012
Milos Raonic (Chris Johnson, Wikimedia Commons)
Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ontario has advanced to the semi-finals of the SAP Open in San Jose, California.
Yesterday, the 21 year-old sensation defeated Kevin Anderson of South Africa 7-5, 7-6 in the quarterfinals. Raonic, the defending champion, will now play American Ryan Harrison in the semi-finals. Harrison defeated Bulgaria’s Dimitar Kutrovsky 6-1, 6-4.
But the real question now regarding Raonic is why has he looked rather solid at the San Jose Tournament when he had to pull out of his huge Davis Cup match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Vancouver last Sunday because of a knee injury?
Did the knee miraculously improve over two days, or was Raonic resting up for an event where there was money and ATP Rankin points over national pride on the line? According to various doctors of Tennis Canada, the injury was legitimate and it was in Raonic’s best interests of the season for him not to participate at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre last weekend. Just try to explain that to the very interested Vancouver tennis fans who bought tickets in anticipation of the Raonic-Tsonga match that simply never happened.
Tags: jo-wilfried tsonga, milos raonic, ryan harrison
Posted in ATP World Tour, Home, More |
Monday, February 13th, 2012
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Rob Young, Wikimedia Commons)
Team Canada was beaten 3-1 to Team France on the weekend in the first round of the Davis Cup in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Yesterday, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Frank Dancevic in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 to send France to the second round in April where they will play the United States.
But the major story from yesterday was not who represented Canada but who did not. It was widely expected that Milos Raonic would play Tsonga, but it was Dancevic instead.
According to Rogers Sportsnet, Raonic injured his knee while training earlier in this month in Toronto and was not 100% this weekend. Canadian tennis fans obviously didn’t see any indication Raonic might have been injured Friday night when he easily beat Julien Benneteau 6-2, 6-4, 7-5, but he apparently was feeling the effects of the injury in the first set of his doubles match on Saturday.
Other countries that advanced to round two Spain, Austria, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Croatia and Argentina.
Tags: frank dancevic, jo-wilfried tsonga, milos raonic
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Sunday, February 12th, 2012
Julien Benneteau (Robbie Mendelson, Wikimedia Commons)
If Canada was going to pull off the upset and defeat France in the first round of the 2012 Davis Cup at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Stadium at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver this weekend, they desperately needed a victory in men’s doubles Saturday.
Well, the Canadian duo of Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ontario and Daniel Nestor of Toronto stayed even with the French duo of Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra for the majority of the first two sets (except the tie-break where they lost 7-1 and 7-2 respectively). In the end though it was a straight sets French victory of 7-6, 7-6, 6-3.
Canadian captain Martin Laurendeau’s decision to go with Raonic over Vasek Pospisil will now be questioned. Pospisil and Nestor helped Canada defeat Israel in four sets in the World Group Playoff, and seem to have more chemistry. Raonic as well, will now have to play the well-rested Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France today at 3pm with Canada in a do-or-die situation as they are currently down 2-1 in the best of five. The winner will take on the United States in round two in April.
Tags: daniel nestor, davis cup, jo-wilfried tsonga, julien benneteau, michael llodra, milos raonic, vasek pospisil
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Friday, February 10th, 2012
Gael Monfils (Christian Mesiano, Wikimedia Commons)
With the first round of the 2012 Davis Cup action set to start today in Vancouver, Team Canada got a huge break when it was announced that Team France would not have star Gael Monfils in their lineup for singles action.
Monfils, the 2010 United States Open quarterfinalist, is not participating for France this weekend due to a knee injury. Currently at number 13 in the world, Team Canada got a huge break as Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil will now play thirty-fifth ranked Julien Benneteau in singles action instead. Benneteau’s tennis resume is simply not as intimidating to the Canadians as Monfils’ resume.
But France will still be a very formidable opponent as they will be led by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the sixth ranked player in the world and the 2008 Australian Open finalist.
Tsonga will play Pospisil and Benneteau will play Raonic at Vancouver’s Thunderbird Stadium today.
In other first round action today, the United States went up 2-0 on Switzerland when John Isner upset Roger Federer 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2.
Tags: davis cup, gael monfils, jo-wilfried tsonga, john isner, julien benneteau, milos raonic, vasek pospisil
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
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
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
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
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Friday, September 9th, 2011
Angelique Kerber (Robbie Saurus, Wikimedia Commons)
The women’s semi-finals are now set at the U.S. Open and there is a significant surprise in the final four.
Joining Australia’s Samantha Stosur, American Serena Williams and Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki is German Angelique Kerber, ranked 92nd in the world heading into Flushing Meadows.
But it is not like Kerber has had to deliver any huge upsets along the way. She has only had to beat two seeded players– 12th ranked Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland and yesterday, 26th ranked Flavia Pennetta of Poland, 6-4, 7-6.
Kerber will play Stosur and Wozniacki will play Williams in the semi-finals tomorrow.
In the men’s quarters yesterday, Roger Federer would not lose to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga thrice in a row. He lost to him at Wimbledon and the Canadian Open, but knocked off Tsonga in convincing fashion, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 last night. He’ll be playing Novak Djokovic in Saturday’s semi-final.
In today’s men’s quarterfinals, American marathon man John Isner plays Andy Murray and American Andy Roddick plays Rafael Nadal.
Tags: andy murray, andy roddick, angelique kerber, caroline wozniacki, jo-wilfried tsonga, john isner, novak djokovic, RAFAEL NADAL, ROGER FEDERER, samantha stosur, serena williams, us open
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Saturday, August 13th, 2011
Keegan Bradley (Stan Badz, PGA Tour)
This year I have already introduced you to Keegan Bradley, the Byron Nelson Classic winner, and the 25 year-old rookie on the PGA Tour whose aunt is LPGA legend Pat Bradley. Now the native of Woodstock, Vermont is tied for the lead after round two of the PGA Championship at -5 with American Jason Dufner.
Bradley shot a dazzling 64 yesterday at the Atlanta Athletic Club, but because he finished on the front nine of the Highlands Course, he didn’t have a strong of a gallery on his final hole if he would have finished on the eighteenth hole.
Dufner, meanwhile, shot a 65, including an eagle on the fifth. Only once has Dufner, a native of Cleveland, finished in the top ten of a Major. He finished fifth at the 2010 PGA Championship in Wisconsin and is still looking for his first win on tour.
An American is in great position to win a major for the first time since Phil Mickelson won the 2010 Masters. Only two non-Americans (John Senden of Australia, tied for third at -4, and Andres Hansen of Denmark, tied for seventh at -3) are in the top ten.
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Tags: adam scott, agnieszka radwanska, d.a. points, davis love iii, franseca schiavone, janko tipsarevic, jason dufner, jerry kelly, jhonattan vegas, jie zheng, jim furyk, jo-wilfried tsonga, keegan bradley, li na, lucie safarova, mardy fish, novak djokovic, pat bradley, pga championship, ROGER FEDERER, samantha stosur, scott verplank, serena williams, steve stricker, victoria azarenka
Posted in PGA |
Friday, August 12th, 2011
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Rob Young, Wikimedia Commons)
I think there is no question now that France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s play making is significantly puzzling the great Roger Federer.
Last night in the third round of the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Tsonga defeated Federer 7-6, 4-6, 6-1, having defeated Federer for the third time in two years.
Two years ago in Montreal, in one of the greatest comebacks in tennis of all-time, Tsonga defeated Federer in the quarterfinals, 7-6,1-6,7-6 after being down 5-1 to Federer in the third and final set. Then at Wimbledon this year, he came back from being down two sets, to defeat Federer again, 3-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
On Thursday, Federer struggled significantly with his return game in the third and final set, only winning three times on nineteen chances when he wasn’t serving. Tsonga, meanwhile won points on 11 times of 21 chances when he was returning.
Today, the men’s quarterfinals in Montreal will see Djokovic play the fifth seed, Gael Monfils of France. Tsonga will play the eighth seed, Nicolas Almagro of Spain. In the other quarterfinals, Mardy Fish, the sixth seeded American, will play Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka, the fourteenth seed and Tomas Berdych, the seventh seed of the Czech Republic will play Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia.
Tags: gael monfils, janko tipsarevic, jo-wilfried tsonga, mardy fish, nicolas almagro, novak djokovic, ROGER FEDERER, rogers cup, stanislas wawrinka, tomas berdych
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
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