Posts Tagged ‘vasek pospisil’
Sunday, April 7th, 2013
Daniel Nestor (Wikimedia Commons)
This is an outstanding time for Canadian tennis at the moment. For the first time in exactly 100 years, Canada is on the brink of qualifying for the semi-finals of Davis Cup.
This is not Davis Cup qualifying. This is the real thing.
On Saturday afternoon in Vancouver, Daniel Nestor of Toronto and Vasek Pospisil of Vancouver beat the Italian duo of Fabio Fognini and Daniele Braccaili in five grueling sets, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 15-13.
With the win, Canada now leads Italy 2-1 and can advance to the semis if Milos Raonic defeats Andreas Seppi this afternoon or if Canada wins the fifth and deciding match. Right now Pospisil is expected to play Fognini, but don’t be surprised if Canadian coach Martin Laurendeau gives the assignment to Jesse Levine, because Pospisil has played ten sets in the last two days.
It was also a great week in Canadian women’s tennis as Eugenie Bouchard of Westmount, Quebec defeated Laura Robson of Great Britain and former U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur of Australia at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina before losing to Jelena Jankovic in the quarterfinals.
Tags: andreas seppi, daniel nestor, daniele braccaili, davis cup, eugenie bouchard, fabio fognini, family circle cup, jelena jankovic, jesse levine, laura robson, martin laurendeau, milos raonic, samntha stosur, vasek pospisil
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Saturday, April 6th, 2013
Daniel Nestor (Wikimedia Commons)
This weekend is an extremely significant one when it comes to the history of Canadian tennis. Team Canada is tied 1-1 with Team Italy in the quarterfinals heading into a key doubles match today and two singles matches on Sunday.
This afternoon (Saturday, Sportsnet, 4:30 p.m., joined in progress) Daniel Nestor of Toronto and Vasek Pospisil of Vancouver will take on the Italian pair of Paolo Lorenzi and Daniele Braccaili. It will be interesting to see how much energy Pospisil has in the tank after he lost a five set marathon to Andreas Seppi on Friday afternoon. Canadian head coach Martin Laurendeau ridiculously went with Pospisil over Jesse Levine, who is overall a much better tennis player.
Sunday’s matches are right now Milos Raonic versus Seppi (Saturday, Sportsnet, 3:00 p.m.) followed by Pospisil versus Fabio Fognini.
Here are the other events I’ll be watching this weekend:
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Tags: 2013 world men's curling championship, andreas seppi, Blake Griffin, brad jacobs, chris stewart, daniel nestor, daniele braccaili, david murdoch, davis cup, detroit red wings, Edmonton Oilers, fabo fognini, jered weaver, los angeles angels of anaheim, Los ANgeles Clippers, los angeles kings, los angeles lakers, milos raonic, nik stauskas, niklas edin, paolo lorenzi, Philadelphia Flyers, rasmus sterjne, rick pitino, russ smith, st. louis blues, Taylor Hall, texas rangers, tom brewster, university of louisville cardinals, university of michigan wolverines, university of syracuse orange, university of wichita state shockers, vasek pospisil, winnipeg jets, yu darvish
Posted in Amateur Sports, ATP World Tour, Curling, Home, MLB, More, NBA, NHL, University Sports |
Tuesday, January 29th, 2013
Novak Djokovic (Wikimedia Commons)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia is the 2012 Australian Open champion. On Sunday from Melbourne, Djokovic defeated Andy Murray of Great Britain 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-2.
After a relatively even first two sets, Djokovic took complete control of the match by dominating the third and fourth sets to win his third consecutive Australian Open title. Djokovic beat Murray in 2011 and Rafael Nadal of Spain last year. It was also Djokovic’s fourth Australian Open win of his career as he beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France in 2008, and the sixth grand slam title of his career, as he also won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2011.
There should be great excitement on the Canadian tennis scene because Canada has a very good chance to beat Spain in the first round action at the Davis Cup in Vancouver. The top four ranked Spaniards won’t be there, leaving Albert Ramos and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez as the players leading Spain, who lost in the 2012 Davis Cup Final to the Czech Republic. Canada will counter with Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil, who missed the Australian Open due to mononucleosis.
Tags: albert ramos, andy murray, australian open, davis cup, guillermo garcia-lopez, milos raonic, novak djokovic, vasek pospisil
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Saturday, September 15th, 2012
The Edmonton Eskimos will try to snap a two game losing streak to their provincial rivals, the Calgary Stampeders, when they face the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Ivor Wynne Stadium this afternoon (TSN, 1pm).
The Eskimos may be sitting last in the Western Division at 5-5, but with a victory can move an important six points up on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a possible opportunity to cross-over in the East come playoff time, if they cannot make up ground on the 5-5 Saskatchewan Roughriders.
This week the Eskimos and Tiger-Cats also made a trade. Edmonton acquired fullback Darcy Brown from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for defensive back Ricardo Colclough and a sixth round pick in the 2015 Canadian Football League draft.
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Tags: baltimore ravens, british columbia lions, british women's open, chris gimenez, dallas cowboys, daniel nestor, darcy brown, davis cup, detroit lions, Edmonton Eskimos, hamilton tiger-cats, inbee park, ivan nova, izak van der merwe, james shields, jiyai shin, kevin smith, lesean mccoy, marco andretti, matt stafford, michael vick, milos raonic, montreal alouettes, new york jets, New York Yankees, philadelphia eagles, pittsburgh steelers, raven klaasen, ricardo colclough, san francisco 49ers, Saskatchewan Roughriders, seattle seahawks, tampa bay rays, toronto argonauts, vasek pospisil
Posted in ATP World Tour, CFL, Indy Racing League, Ladies Professional Golfers Association, MLB, More, NFL |
Saturday, July 28th, 2012
The Chinese have made major strides in the sport of swimming. That wasn’t more evident than on day one of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Shiwen Ye, who is only 16 years of age, won the Olympic Gold medal in the women’s 400m individual medley in World Record time of 4:28.43. Meanwhile in the men’s 400m freestyle, Sun Yang won a Gold medal.
China leads the medal standings with six medals overall, one more medal than Italy and the United States.
In Saturday’s other high profile event, Kazakhstan’s Alexandre Vinokourov, at the age of 38, surprised many by winning Olympic Gold in the men’s cycling road race.
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Tags: alexandre vinokourov, beach volleyball, cycling, dave calder, david ferrer, diving, emilie heymans, jennifer abel, josh binstock, martin reader, rowing, scott frandsen, shiwen ye, sun yang, Swimming, tennis, vasek pospisil
Posted in Amateur Sports, 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 |
Saturday, February 11th, 2012
Daniel Nestor (Wikimedia Commons)
One of the most exciting sporting events of the entire year got under way last night in Vancouver.
For only the fourth time since 1923, Canada is in the main World Group of the Davis Cup, and yes folks there are reasons to be very excited.
Last night, Milos Raonic was dominant with his serve in his 6-2, 6-4, 7-5 win over France’s Julien Benneteau. Equally as dominant though was France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who beat Canada’s Vasek Pospisil yesterday afternoon 6-1, 6-3, 6-3.
Now the stage is set for exciting doubles action today. I know Milos Raonic is the best Canadian tennis player today, but you could make the serious case that Daniel Nestor is the greatest Canadian tennis player ever. Nestor is a doubles specialist, who has a remarkable career record of 830-318. The seven-time major winner is still going great at age 39 and is currently ranked number three in the world. Like Steve Nash who I discussed yesterday, Daniel Nestor is playing at an elite level which is truly amazing to watch. Nestor along with Pospisil will play the French duo of Michael Llodra and Benneteau with the Canadian team favoured to win the match (Sportsnet, 3pm).
Play will continue Sunday (Sportsnet, 3pm) with Raonic taking on Tsonga and a fifth match with possible meaning. The two have never faced each other.
Here are the other events I’ll be watching this weekend:
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Tags: andrew bynum, bill murray, calgary flames, charlie wi, dallas mavericks, daniel nestor, daniel sedin, davis cup, dustin johnson, Edmonton Oilers, george lopez, henrik sedin, jo-wilfried tsona, julien benneteau, Kobe Bryant, lamarcus aldridge, los angeles lakers, michael llodra, milos raonic, Ottawa Senators, paul maclean, portland trail blazers, ray romano, Toronto Raptors, Vancouver Canucks, vasek pospisil
Posted in ATP World Tour, More, NBA, NHL, PGA |
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, 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
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
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 |
Friday, September 2nd, 2011
Juan Carlos Ferrero (Sergio Ruiz, Wikimedia Commons)
Three seeded players from France lost on day four of the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, New York.
In one of the most intriguing matches so far, former world number one and 2003 French Open Champion Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain defeated the dynamic Gael Monfils of France, the seventh seed, 7-6, 5-7, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, in a five set thriller in the second round.
Richard Gasquet, the unlucky thirteenth seed, lost in four sets to Croatian Ivo Karlovic 6-4, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6. Karlovic, known for his outstanding serve and volley ability, is the tallest player on the ATP Tour at 6’10″.
The other French seeded player to fall was the 29th seed Michael Llodra, who lost easily in straight sets 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 to South African Kevin Anderson. This to me was not much of an upset at all, as Anderson, ranked 34th, is the second best player in the U.S. Open field not seeded, and had a strong Rogers Cup, where he defeated Andy Murray of Great Britain in the second round, 6-3, 6-1.
The only other seeded player to lose Thursday was Czech Republic’s Radek Stepanek, who withdrew in the third set with a shoulder injury, trailing 6-4, 6-1, 2-0 to Argentina’s Juan Monaco.
On the women’s side, American Sloane Stephens upset Israel’s Shahar Peer, the 23rd seed, 6-1, 7-6. Another American to deliver a second round upset was Vania King, who completely dominated Australian Jarmila Gajdosova 6-2, 6-0. The other upset came from Spain’s Silvia Soler-Espinosa, who beat Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi 6-4, 6-2.
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Tags: feliciano lopez, gael monfils, ivo karlovic, juan carlos ferrero, juan monaco, kevin anderson, michael llodra, richard gasquet, silvia soler-espinosa, sloane stephens, u.s. open, vania king, vasek pospisil
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Thursday, September 1st, 2011
Vasek Pospisil (Patricio Realpe, Associated Press)
Vasek Pospisil’s success at the Rogers Cup is continuing at the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, New York.
Yesterday, Pospisil, of Vernon, British Columbia, literally steamrolled into round two, dominating Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 in just over an hour. Pospisil had ten more aces than Rosol and won 81% of points on his first serve.
You could possibly state it was the most dominant performance ever by a Canadian in a Grand Slam singles tournament.
To Rosol’s defense, he was diagnosed with gastrointestinal virus, the same virus that forced two-time French Open finalist Robin Soderling of Sweden to retire from his match against Ireland’s Louk Sorensen. The Irishman didn’t get lucky though, as organizers were able to find a replacement, Rogerio Dutra Da Silva of Brazil, who defeated Sorenson 6-0, 3-6,6-4, 1-0. Sorenson had to pull out with an arm injury.
The upset on the men’s side Wednesday came from France’s Julien Benneteau, who defeated Spain’s Nicolas Almagro, the tenth seed, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3.
On the women’s side, seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams of the United States had to pull out against German Sabine Lisicki because of symptoms related to an autoimmune disease she was recently diagnosed with. The major surprise on the women’s side came from American Christina McHale, who defeated France’s Marion Bartoli, the eighth seed, 7-6, 6-2.
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Tags: alla kudryavtseva, angelique kerber, christina mchale, irina falconi, julien benneteau, rogerio dutra da sailva, sabine lisicki, u.s. open, vasek pospisil
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Wednesday, August 31st, 2011
Simona Halep (Wikimedia Commons)
On Monday, Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova was bounced from Flushing Meadows. On Tuesday, China’s Li Na, the French Open champion, was eliminated.
Na, the only Asian woman to win a major in the history of women’s tennis, lost 6-2, 7-5 to Romania’s Simona Halep. This was Halep’s second impressive victory within the past month. Earlier in August at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Halep defeated former French Open and U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the first round.
A major reason for Halep’s victory Tuesday was unforced errors. Halep had 19, while Na had 54.
I was able to watch parts of two matches on Tuesday. American Serena Williams, the 28th seed at the U.S. Open, coming off her dominant win over Samantha Stosur of Australia in the final of the Rogers Cup, easily beat Serbia’s Bojana Jovanovski 6-1, 6-1. Williams only had ten unforced errors the entire match.
At least Jovanovski found her way to New York City. In a brilliant piece of journalism by anysportanytime’s Jim Kerr a month ago, Kerr reported that Jovanovski went to Carlsbad, New Mexico for a tennis tournament this summer rather than Carlsbad, California, and only barely got to her match on time.
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Tags: bojana jovanovski, fernando verdasco, gisela dulko, lukas rosol, marsel ilhan, serena williams, simona halep, u.s. open, vasek pospisil
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Tuesday, August 9th, 2011
Vasek Pospisil (Patricio Realpe, Associated Press)
Without the presence of Canadian tennis players Milos Raonic, Frank Dancevic, Peter Polansky and Philip Bester, nothing was expected from the Canadian men this week at the Rogers Cup in Montreal.
I guess Vernon, British Columbia’s Vasek Pospisil didn’t read the memo.
Ranked 155th in the world, Pospisil delivered seven aces in defeating Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela, ranked 22nd in the world, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. It was also a tremendous comeback by Pospisil, who showed great resiliency. The 21 year-old won the final four games of the match. The bad news for Pospisil is he gets world number three Roger Federer of Switzerland in the second round.
Pospisil was not the only Canadian to get in the winner’s circle Tuesday. Aleksandra Wozniak of Montreal upset Shahar Peer of Israel in dominant fashion 6-1, 6-0, while Stephanie Dubois of Laval defeated Kathrin Woerle of Germany easily 7-6, 6-1.
Wozniak will play 2010 French Open finalist Samantha Stosur of Australia, the tenth seed next. Surprisingly though, Wozniak has a 2-1 edge , having beaten her in Stanford and Tokyo in 2008.
As for Dubois, she will play Belarussian Victoria Azarenka, the fourth seed, in round two.
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Tags: aleksandra wozniak, jie zheng, kevin anderson, ROGER FEDERER, samantha stosur, stephanie dubois, vasek pospisil, victoria azarenka
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
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