Fed Express Derailed

Aus Open

What should we read into Djokovic's straight-sets defeat of Federer in the semi ? The great man certainly had an off-day with an uncharacteristically high amount of unforced errors. Does it mean his dominance of the game is over, or is it just a temporary blip ? I think the latter. The younger generation of Djokovic & Nadal may have to wait a while longer . I'm convinced Roger will win Wimbledon again this year, though Nadal will probably thwart him again at Roland Garros. Against Djokovic, though, Fed's Sampras-like ability to produce a couple of aces to get out of trouble, was absent.
The revelation of the tournament has been Jo-Wilfred Tsonga. Ranked 38 coming into the tournament, he plays Djokovic in tomorrow's final, having crushed Nadal in the semi as well as dispatching Andy Murray in the first round. Tsonga was in the zone against Rafa- he hit 49 winners in three sets. I think Djokovic will just be too consistent in the final though, & win it in five sets. It could be a classic if both men can reproduce the form they showed in the semis.

The women's tournament has also seen its share of upsets. In my last post I predicted a Henin-Venus Williams final. My betting slip was torn up after the the quarters: Ivanovic took out Venus Williams, & the biggest shock of the same round was Sharapova beating Henin 4 & 0, ending Justine's 32 match win streak. Sharapova's tournament win is being seen by some pundits as a sign that she will dominate this year, but I still expect Henin to be no. 1 at the end of the season, & to win in Paris for a fifth time.

Up for the Cup

FA CUP


Dig out all the old cliches about the romance of the FA Cup. The Third Round saw its share of shocks. The biggest was third division (League One as its now ridiculously called) Oldham beating Everton away. Championship sides Huddersfield & Coventry also dispatched top-flight opposition. Havant & Waterlooville earned a replay against Swansea, to keep non-league representation in the competition. Incidentally, Sutton United were the last non-league side to beat top-flight opposition- Coventry in 1989 (3rd round). Coventry had been finalists the year before. The most replayed cup shock on TV is probably Motty's favourite, Hereford (Ronnie Radford et al. v Newcastle,1972).


Aus Open Tennis

Justine Henin is the hot favourite amongst the women, & is on a 28 match win streak. I think she will make the final, although Serena Williams should give her a tough match. Venus Williams is in the easier lower half of the draw, from which I would pick only Ivanovic & Kuznetsova as having realistic chances of beating Venus. So my tip is a Venus-Henin final.

In the men's, Andy Murray is in hot form after winning the title in Doha. He faces the big-hitting Frenchman, Tsonga, in the first round. Richard Gasquet is also in Murray's section though, against whom AM has a 0-2 record. I'll pick Federer to win, although some of the chasing pack (Djokovic, Nalbandian) showed last year it's not just Nadal who can beat the Swiss- Federer has lost some of his dominance. Other potential winners then, are Djokovic, Nalbandian & Gonzalez from the top half; Nadal, Gasquet, Murray, & Roddick from the lower half.