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.
Showing posts with label Murray. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Murray. Show all posts
Sunday, 13 January 2008
Sunday, 25 November 2007
Football Failures
End of season WTA & ATP Championships
Henin defeated Sharapova in the WTA Championship final in a match lasting three & a half hours. Henin hasn't lost since losing from a set up to Bartoli at Wimbledon, a 25-match win streak. As well as being arguably the most talented female player, the stats prove Henin is the best too.
The end of the ATP season saw a return to form for David Nalbandian. He showed his potential by reaching the Wimbledon final in 2002, and has made the semis of the other 3 Slams- French (04, 06) Aus (2006) & US (03). He had struggled for form this season, but incredibly he won back-to back Masters titles in Paris & Madrid, beating both Federer & Nadal twice. Andy Murray did very well to be in contention to qualify for the Masters Cup, considering the period he lost to injury (Wimbledon & US Open) & consequent loss of opportunity to pick up ranking points.
The ATP Masters Cup was business as usual for the Fed Express, although Fernando Gonzalez beat Federer in the round-robin stage. When his forehand is in the groove, Gonzo is unstoppable, but he is erratic. End of season tiredness can lead to unexpected defeats in this tournament. Novak Djokovic has had an excellent year, but lost all three matches to be eliminated at the group stage. Federer comfortably defeated Roddick & Ferrer in the semi & final respectively, and the question remains whether Nadal can challenge him for the no. 1 ranking in 2008. I expect Roger to be top of the pile again this time next year.
Euro 2008 qualifying
Scotland coming third in their group was a glorious failure. Not so for England. In a previous post I had predicted Scotland would qualify. Unfortunately their loss 2-0 way to Georgia has proved to be a killer blow. Their qualifying group was an incredibly tough draw, with both France & Italy in the top 5 of FIFA's rankings. Still, they did the double over the French, have improved their seeding for future tournaments, & restored Scotland's reputation in world football.
England got what they deserved against Croatia. The only tactic was the long punt up to Crouch. It was the same old story for England- without Rooney, they struggle for creativity. Wright-Philips did well in the first-half, but then made way for Becks. Joe Cole can beat opponents one-on-one, but he had an off-day. The failure to qualify could be a blessing in disguise though. The FA now have the opportunity to recruit a world-class coach like Fabio Capello, Marcello Lippi, or Mourinho. All are proven winners at the top level. Only Lippi has managed a national side, but the other two have extensive Champions League experience.
So, none of the Home Nations or the Irish will be represented at Euro 2008. Northern Ireland had some excellent results, beating Spain, Sweden & Denmark; & David Healy finished as the top scorer in the entire quaifying competition with 13 goals. Wales & ROI were disappointing, although the Welsh finished with an encouraging away draw against the Germans.
Henin defeated Sharapova in the WTA Championship final in a match lasting three & a half hours. Henin hasn't lost since losing from a set up to Bartoli at Wimbledon, a 25-match win streak. As well as being arguably the most talented female player, the stats prove Henin is the best too.
The end of the ATP season saw a return to form for David Nalbandian. He showed his potential by reaching the Wimbledon final in 2002, and has made the semis of the other 3 Slams- French (04, 06) Aus (2006) & US (03). He had struggled for form this season, but incredibly he won back-to back Masters titles in Paris & Madrid, beating both Federer & Nadal twice. Andy Murray did very well to be in contention to qualify for the Masters Cup, considering the period he lost to injury (Wimbledon & US Open) & consequent loss of opportunity to pick up ranking points.
The ATP Masters Cup was business as usual for the Fed Express, although Fernando Gonzalez beat Federer in the round-robin stage. When his forehand is in the groove, Gonzo is unstoppable, but he is erratic. End of season tiredness can lead to unexpected defeats in this tournament. Novak Djokovic has had an excellent year, but lost all three matches to be eliminated at the group stage. Federer comfortably defeated Roddick & Ferrer in the semi & final respectively, and the question remains whether Nadal can challenge him for the no. 1 ranking in 2008. I expect Roger to be top of the pile again this time next year.
Euro 2008 qualifying
Scotland coming third in their group was a glorious failure. Not so for England. In a previous post I had predicted Scotland would qualify. Unfortunately their loss 2-0 way to Georgia has proved to be a killer blow. Their qualifying group was an incredibly tough draw, with both France & Italy in the top 5 of FIFA's rankings. Still, they did the double over the French, have improved their seeding for future tournaments, & restored Scotland's reputation in world football.
England got what they deserved against Croatia. The only tactic was the long punt up to Crouch. It was the same old story for England- without Rooney, they struggle for creativity. Wright-Philips did well in the first-half, but then made way for Becks. Joe Cole can beat opponents one-on-one, but he had an off-day. The failure to qualify could be a blessing in disguise though. The FA now have the opportunity to recruit a world-class coach like Fabio Capello, Marcello Lippi, or Mourinho. All are proven winners at the top level. Only Lippi has managed a national side, but the other two have extensive Champions League experience.
So, none of the Home Nations or the Irish will be represented at Euro 2008. Northern Ireland had some excellent results, beating Spain, Sweden & Denmark; & David Healy finished as the top scorer in the entire quaifying competition with 13 goals. Wales & ROI were disappointing, although the Welsh finished with an encouraging away draw against the Germans.
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