Murray on fire!!!

Andy Murray keeps on going from strength to strength with his 5th ATP title of the year! Now ranked 4th in the world, the Scotsman isn't doing too badly! Sky Sports columnist Mark Petchey has a very high opinion of our Andy at the moment... "It's difficult to know what else you can say about Andy right now but the way he has been playing during the indoor season it would be no exaggeration to say that he is the best player in the world with a roof over his head" (skysports.com). He speaks ahead of the Paris Masters which begin on Monday, and surely Murray must now be one of the favourites to steal the title and make it six for the year. Could we have ourselves a new British sporting superstar long-term? I certainly hope so, the country needs something to cheer about amongst all the recent doom and gloom.

Underdog

Everyone loves an underdog. Everyone loves to see the favourite get beaten by a lesser ranked opponent, it shakes things up a bit. This happened yesterday when women's number 1 Jelena Jankovic was beaten by Italian Flavia Pennetta in three sets. It was said that Jankovic was suffering from a wrist injury incurred during the match, but even so, a great victory for the Italian underdog.

It was the same when Nadal played Federer in the Wimbledon final this July. Although Nadal wasn't exactly a low ranked player, many wanted to see Federer knocked off the world Number One spot to be replaced by the Spaniard. I think this is almost instinct, it's nice to see someone beat the best! As it happens we were given an exquisite display of tennis, the best Wimbledon final of all time...as far as I'm concerned.

Now Nadal is world number one....Federer has taken leave from the sport....the feeling begins to emerge that we want to see the Swiss superstar back to his emphatic best. Hopefully Roger can do this for his fans...and his own career.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7674444.stm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heGaAh1dzQo (VideoCave, July 2008)

First Blog!

Welcome to my blog.....first one so here goes...

It comes as surprising news to most that Roger Federer has decided to take leave from tennis, starting with his absence from next week's Stockholm Open. The former world number one, who recently lost his title to Rafael Nadal, says that he needs rest after suffering from glandular fever at the beginning of the year. Maybe his new world number two status has pushed the Swiss supremo to deciding to take a break, and try to get back to his formidable best.

Another absence, this time for the rest of the season, comes in the shape of Maria Sharapova, who has been sidelined with a shoulder injury since August. It hasn't been the best year for Sharapova, despite winning the Australian Open in January. The Russian crashed out of Wimbledon in the second round, and due to her injury was forced to miss the Beijing Olympics and the US Open, both major events on the tennis calendar.

It's good to see Andy Roddick on form, last week winning the China Open. He beat world number 92 Dudi Sela in three close-run sets; 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, leading the American to his third ATP title of the year. The victory seen Roddick move up to sixth in the ATP 2008 race, which if sustained will see him compete in the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai in November. It's refreshing to see that despite Roddick's 'celebrity status'; ie. dating models and pop stars, that he can still perform on the court. Andy would hope to fill one of the four remaining spots at Shanghai, with four already being filled by Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Britain's own Andy Murray and Roger Federer. But with the recent announcement of Federer's withdrawal, one extra place is available....

Speaking of Andy Roddick, he has today reached the semi-finals of the ATP AIG Japan Open in Tokyo; alongside Juan Martin Del Potro, France's Richard Gasquet and Tomas Berdych. The semi-finals, which take place tomorrow, see ATP 12th seed against 13th seed, in the form of Del Potro and Gasquet, respectively. Roddick will take on Czech Tomas Berdych.

In ladies tennis, Serena Williams has learned she is to lose her first place world ranking to Jelena Jankovic, after a shocking 2nd round exit to China's Li Na in the Porsche Grand Prix. This will be a huge blow to the American, who only got the top spot three weeks ago. Meanwhile, the other Williams sister Venus, and Jelena Jankovic have reached the quarter-finals of the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart. The Williams sisters are amazing tennis players, but both seem to be at times erratic, this was shown by Serena in her 2nd round loss, after winning the first set 6-0 she then crashed out, losing the following two sets. I'm a fan of the sisters and admire their determination and attitude and I'm sure Serena will be back on a winning streak again soon.