Tag: Tennis

MIAMI HAPPY TO HAVE TOP PLAYERS

The organizers of Miami Masters Tennis tournament are very happy that two of the greatest entertainers in the game i.e. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are going to take part in the event this year.

Both of them were absent last year and the popularity of the tournament had decreased immensely because of that. Only about 30,000 people had turned up which was about 5 percent less than the no. of spectators that had gathered to watch the matches in 2012.

The reason behind Nadal withdrawing from Miami last season was his fitness. He had not recovered from that famous knee injury. Federer was fit though, but, he had taken some time off the game at that point of time and thus, he hadn’t participated in the tournament.

With both these superstars back, the upcoming edition of Miami Masters is anticipated to be a big success. After quite some time, Federer is looking in top form and he would certainly attract big crowd to the playing arena.

Talking to the reporters about the availability of Federer and Nadal yesterday, one of the senior officials of the organizing committee said, “These two players are probably the biggest heroes going around at the moment. So, not having them last year was obviously disappointing and we did suffer a little bit due to that. But, we are absolutely thrilled that they are back for this year. I hope we will have some decent crowd during the matches.”

Apart from the male category, all the top female tennis players are available as well for the Miami Masters 2014. The weather forecast on the match days is not too bad either. So, there would surely be heavy increment in the ticket sales for this year’s tournament.

RUSSIA LOSING OUT

Svetlana Kuznetsova’s countrywoman, Ekaterina Makarova, has been defeated by Polona Hercog in the second round of the China Open. Hercog won the match by 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(3). It was the third match between these two players and Hercog defeated Makarova for the first time.

The match went on for two hours and 48 minutes and two out of three sets went into the tie breaker.

In the opening set, Hercog got a breakthrough in the second game and she was ahead by 3-0 at the end of the third game. But, Makarova made a comeback and won four out of the next five games to level the scores. The next four games went with the serve and the set went into the tie breaker. In the tie breaker, the Slovenian player played slightly better than Makarova and won the first set.

In the second set, Makarova started brilliantly and broke Hercog’s service in the second game to get ahead by 2-0. She maintained the lead till the end of the set and sealed the second set by 6-3.

In the final set, Makarova was ahead by 5-2 at one point of time. But, all of a sudden, she lost the momentum. Her service was broken twice in the next five games and the scores were tied at 6-6 at the end of the 12th game. The set was extended into the tie breaker again. Makarova didn’t manage to hold her nerves and lost the tie breaker again.

After winning the match, Hercog said, “It was a very close contest and I am delighted that I end up on the winning side. The pressure was huge in the tie breaker of the final set. Fortunately, I made a good start in the tie breaker and pulled off the victory.”

In the third round, Hercog will take on Maria Sharapova. When asked about that match, Hercog said, “Sharapova is in fantastic form at the moment and it will be very tough for me to go past her. I am looking forward to that match. Hopefully, I would put up a special performance on Thursday.”

On the other hand, Makarova was gutted with her performance. The Russian player said, “It certainly hurts if you lose the tie breaker in the final set of the match. I am hugely disappointed at the moment. Hercog soaked up the pressure better than me and that’s why, she won.”

Kuznetsova could have outside chance

Three months into another predictably unpredictable season, the former  world number two Sevetlana Kuznetsova  split with coach Olga Morozova and hired former pro Amos Mansdorf as her new coach.  Although the Russian has slipped to number 26 in the world she remains a distinct possibility of winning in Paris at this years French open.

The reasons for this are that despite an up and down year,  the two-time Grand Slam champion beat former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic on red clay in the Fed Cup semifinals, before a poor performance in the final. Kuznetsova seems to lift her level against higher-ranked foes to gain traction on dirt. She’s 2-4 versus top-20 opponents this season after going 5-10 against top-20 players last season. Despite this it has been over two years since her last successful tournament.

Consistency has been the twenty six year old biggest concern, and she’s prone to flakiness and frustration under pressure. But the 2009 French Open champion has reached at least the quarterfinals in five of her past six appearances in Paris; she can alter the spin, speed and height of her shots and owns the variety that plays well on clay. Thus with some momentum and the continuation of strong performances against the top player, Kuznetsova may be able to recapture her form to challenge for a grand slam victory.

Despite this after a first round defeat in the Italian Open in Rome to Ana Ivanovic, and a two year slump in ranking and performance, it would seem to early in her recovery to the top of the game for a grand slam victory, although with a French Open victory in 2009, there is potential for her to turn back the clock.