Posts Tagged ‘petra kvitova’
Saturday, September 1st, 2012
On Monday the Edmonton Eskimos will play the Calgary Stampeders at McMahon Stadium in the Labour Day Classic.
Even though the Eskimos are two points ahead of the Stampeders in the CFL Western Division, my gut is telling me the Stampeders will be coming away with the victory. Why am of I of this opinion? Well three reasons.
Home teams have done better this season to date. The teams that have hosted games are 20-13 so far this season.
The Eskimos never do well on the second game of a two game road trip. The second worst game the Eskimos had this season was in Winnipeg after the team won an impressive game in British Columbia. This factor smells trouble.
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Tags: bruce springsteen, Calgary Stampeders, chicago cubs, Edmonton Eskimos, james blake, laura robson, lleyton hewitt, maria sharapova, marion bartoli, milos raonic, nadia petrova, petra kvitova, samantha stosur, san francisco giants, Saskatchewan Roughriders, tim burke, tim lincecum, u.s. open, winnipeg blue bombers
Posted in ATP World Tour, CFL, MLB, More |
Tuesday, August 14th, 2012
Petra Kvitova (Pavel Lebeda, Wikimedia Commons)
Despite playing very poor tennis for the majority of the second set, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic defeated China’s Li Na Monday night in Montreal to win the 2012 Rogers Cup 7-5, 2-6, 6-3.
Th first and third sets were highly contested tennis with Kvoitova winning the sets each time. But Na deserves some credit for destroying Kvitova in the second set, winning the first twelve points in the set en route to an easy set win that lasted only 32 minutes.
Kvitova might have won the Rogers Cup, but in how many sports are you allowed to take a break, and then return to win the match. Kvitova and Na each won 192 total points from the match, but Kvitova won because she won her points at the right time.
The problem with tennis is that the sport rewards timing, unlike golf, where if a player is horrible for a particular time during a round, the result is reflected in the final score much better. Tennis does not award consistency enough by the way its scoring system works.
It was Kvitova’s first win in 2012 and her first victory in North America.
Tags: li na, petra kvitova, rogers cup, tennis
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Monday, August 13th, 2012
Novak Djokovic (Wikimedia Commons)
For the third time in his career, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, the world ranked number two player in the world, has won the Rogers Cup.
Djokovic defeated Richard Gasquet of France handily last night 6-3, 6-2 at Rexall Centre in Toronto. Gasquet played Djokovic tight in the first set, but got broken in the seventh game, and after that it was quite smooth sailing.
Djokovic previously won the Rogers Cup in 2007 in Montreal when he beat Roger Federer 7-6, 2-6, 7-6, and then won again over American Mardy Fish last year in Montreal 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
Djokovic also had an advantage because of withdrawals in the tournament to Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
On the women’s side, Li Na of China will play Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic for the final in Montreal today. Na won the French Open last year and Kvitova won Wimbledon a year ago. Na defeated another Czech, Lucie Safarova in an epic match yesterday. Down 5-1 in the third set, Na won six consecutive games to come back and win 7-5.
Tags: li na, lucie safarova, novak djokovic, petra kvitova, richard gasquet, rogers cup
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Thursday, June 7th, 2012
Maria Sharapova (Wikimedia Commons)
It was a big win for Maria Sharapova on Thursday.
By defeating Wimbledon Champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-3, she not only advanced to her first French Open final of her career, but she also passed Belarussian Victoria Azarenka into number one in the world.
Sharapova last was ranked no.1 in the world in 2008. The three-time Grand Slam winner (2004 Wimbledon, 2006 U.S. Open and 2008 Australian Open champion) will also win the career grand slam with a victory on Saturday.
Sharapova’s opponent will be no.21 ranked Sara Errani of Italy, who upset no.6 seeded Samantha Stosur 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 in a topsy-turvy match. Errani won despite having 24 fewer winners than Stosur.
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Tags: bob bryan, daniel nestor, french open, maria kirilenko, maria sharapova, max mirnyi, mike bryan, nadia petrova, petra kvitova, roberta vinci, samantha stosur, sara errani, victoria azarenka
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 |
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
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Monday, August 29th, 2011
Alexandra Dulgheru (Robbie Mendelson, Wikimedia Commons)
There was a major upset on the opening day of the U.S. Open.
Wimbledon champion, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, the sixth ranked player in the world, lost her opening round match to Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania 7-6, 6-3.
It has been a tough summer for Kvitova since winning at the last major of the year. Kvitova lost in the third round of the Rogers Cup in Toronto in convincing fashion to German Andrea Petkovic 6-1, 6-2, and then lost to Petkovic again a week later at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, 6-3, 6-3.
In other action Monday, Montreal’s Aleksandra Wozniak lost to American Christina McHale 6-3, 6-7, 6-4. The only other Canadian, Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino will play Argentina’s Gisela Dulko in the first round tomorrow.
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Tags: alejandro falla, alexandra dulgheru, andrea petkovic, christina mchale, frank dancevic, gisela dulko, marsel ilhan, petra kvitova, rebecca marino, u.s. open
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Saturday, July 2nd, 2011
Petra Kvitova (Wikimedia Commons)
Broken games were common in the women’s final at Wimbledon on Saturday.
Petra Kvitova, the eighth seed from the Czech Republic, broke Maria Sharapova of Russia five times en route to a straight set 6-3, 6-4 victory that took 85 minutes to complete.
Double faults were once again an issue for Sharapova, the fifth seed. She had six of them, to go along with 12 unforced errors. Her return game worked as well however, as she broke Kvitova three times. The major flaw in Sharapova’s game though was the lack of confidence in her own serve, something Kvitova was successfully able to exploit.
Interestingly Kvitova only had one ace the entire match, and it came on match point.
Kvitova is the youngest player to win Wimbledon since Sharapova won in 2004. This was also the first time ever that Kvitova had advanced to a Grand Slam final. Her previous best result was advancing to the 2010 Wimbledon Final, where she lost to Serena Williams of the United States 7-6, 6-2.
This is also Kvitova’s fourth championship of the year. She had previously won events in Brisbane, Madrid and the Paris Indoor Hard Court title.
Tags: maria sharapova, petra kvitova, serena williams, Wimbledon
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Saturday, July 2nd, 2011
Novak Djokovic (Wikimedia Commons)
The best two tennis players on the planet will play Sunday morning on a Canada Day long weekend treat. Rafael Nadal of Spain though will no longer be the number one player in the world Monday morning, even if he wins on Sunday. Novak Djokovic will be the world’s number one after his four set win Friday over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France. That is because Djokovic had an opportunity to generate more points over the last two weeks because of his poorer performance than Nadal last year.
Sunday’s final is on NBC at 7am Mountain Time.
Here are the other weekend events I’ll be watching:
Saturday–7am–Wimbledon–Women’s Final–Petra Kvitova vs. Maria Sharapova–NBC–Maria Sharapova will be going for her fourth Wimbledon Championship tomorrow morning, having won each Grand Slam title except the French Open once. This is Kvitova’s first Grand Slam final, but has made some noise in the first two grand slams. She reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and round of sixteen at the French Open. Head to head, Sharapova has won the only meeting, having defeated Kvitova 6-4, 6-3 in the semi-finals at Memphis last year.
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Tags: calgary vipers, Edmonton Eskimos, geoff freeborn, jo-wilfried tsonga, jose canseco, maria sharapova, novak djokovic, petra kvitova, RAFAEL NADAL, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Wimbledon, yuma scorpions
Posted in ATP World Tour, CFL, More, North American Baseball League |
Thursday, June 30th, 2011
Maria Sharapova (Wikimedia Commons)
The women’s final is now set at Wimbledon.
Fifth seed Maria Sharapova of Russia will take on eighth seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic on Saturday.
In a very topsy-turvy match Kvitova defeated the fourth seeded Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. Kvitova dominated the first and third sets, while Azarenka dominated the second.
Kvitova also becomes the first Wimbledon left-handed finalist since Martina Navratilova in 1994 and last Grand slam left-handed finalist since Monica Seles at the French Open in 1998.
The most incredible statistic in Kvitova’s three set victory was in the winners’ category. Kvitova had forty, compared to Azarenka’s nine.
Sharapova, is looking for her second Wimbledon Championship, and fourth Grand Slam title of her career. If she hopes to win, her serve needs to be significantly better. Sharapova had thirteen double faults in her 6-4, 6-3 win over Germany’s Sabine Lisicki. I didn’t watch the match because I refuse to see NBC’s taped-delay coverage.
In the men’s semi-final tomorrow, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, the twelfth seed will play Novak Djokovic of Serbia, the second seed, tomorrow morning live at 6am on TSN.
Tags: jo-wilfried tsonga, maria sharapova, martina navratilova, monica seles, novak djokovic, petra kvitova, sabine lisicki, victoria azarenka, Wimbledon
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Wednesday, June 29th, 2011
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Rob Young, Wikimedia Commons)
The final four for the men and women are now decided at Wimbledon.
Today, three of the top four men’s players in the world punched their ticket to center court on Friday. Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic all advanced.
Roger Federer was the elite men’s player that was upset. The third ranked player from Switzerland lost to Jo-Wilfriend Tsonga of France 3-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in a five set thriller. It was the first time in Federer’s career where he was up two sets to none and failed to win. He had gone 178-0 prior to Wednesday’s remarkable defeat.
Tsonga will now play Djokovic in one semi-final, while Murray will play Nadal in the other semi-final.
On the women’s side, Russian Maria Sharapova will play German wildcard Sabine Lisicki in one semi-final tomorrow, while Victoria Azarenka of Belarus will play Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in the other semi-final.
I know Sharapova is the only player left in the field with a Grand Slam title (2004 Wimbledon, 2006 U.S. Open and 2008 Australian Open), but she isn’t the clear cut favourite. Azarenka is seeded fourth, while Sharapova is fifth, and you cannot count out Kvitova, who was ESPN’s Brad Gilbert favourite to win the title and has looked very sharp to date.
Tags: andy murray, jo-wilfried tsonga, maria sharapova, novak djokovic, petra kvitova, RAFAEL NADAL, ROGER FEDERER, sabine lisicki, victoria azarenka
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Friday, January 21st, 2011
Samantha Stosur (Wikimedia Commons)
I’m in the process of sleeping considerably during the day because there is outstanding tennis at night. The Australian Open and the National Football League’s Conference Championships will dominate my television viewing this weekend.
Here is what I’ll be watching:
Saturday–1am–Australian Open–(5) Samantha Stosur-Australia vs. (25) Petra Kvitova-Czech Republic–Women’s 3rd Round–TSN2–Stosur, the finalist of the 2010 French Open, is the last remaining Australian on the women’s side. Even though Stosur isn’t very big in stature, (5’9″, 140 pounds), she has very muscular legs and is very fit on the court. Her opponent Saturday is rising Czech star Petra Kvitova, who has defeated Caroline Wozniacki and Nadia Petrova in the past year.
Saturday–5pm–NHL–Anaheim Ducks @ Montreal Canadiens–CBC-In a battle of two teams currently in playoff position, the Canadiens (26-17-4) host the Ducks (26-20-4). Anaheim is currently sixth in the west and Montreal is seventh in the east. The Canadiens though are battling the Boston Bruins for first place in the Northeast Division. They’re currently only three points back. The Ducks’ best player this year has been Corey Perry, who has 50 points in 50 games. The Habs, meanwhile, continue to get sparkling goaltending from Carey Price, who has a 2.34 goals against average with four shutouts, and oh, yeah, he’ll be playing in the NHL All-Star Game in Carolina next weekend.
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Tags: Aaron Rodgers, ales hemsky, ben roethlisberger, brian urlacher, carey price, claude giroux, corey perry, daniel briere, daniel sedin, duncan keith, dustin penner, greg jennings, henrik sedin, jonathan toews, patrick kane, patrick sharp, petra kvitova, ryan kesler, samatha stosur, shea weber, Sidney Crosby, steven stamkos
Posted in ATP World Tour, Home, More, NFL, NHL |
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