Not a great day for the Brits unfortunately.
Kyle Edmund got off to a great start taking the 1st set 6-1 over Damir Dzumhur and looked very comfortable.... However a couple of loose service games and the Kyle had to start fighting and the Bosnian levelled up with a tie-break in 2nd set. Edmund went 2 sets to 1 and again looked like the likely victor but his fitness started to deteriorate and had to have massages for cramps in his legs. Dzumhur won the 4th set and although Kyle battled hard at the beginning of the 5th set it soon slipped away. He will learn but he will also know it was an opportunity missed Heather Watson also let her match slip. She won the opening set 7-6 (7-4) in 70 minutes against Timea Babos and served for the match 7-6 5-4 and at Deuce couldn't hold. Timea won 10 of the next 11 points to wrap up the set. In the decider a cruise bad call from Watson on the baseline when the ball was in and Babos took a 4-2 lead. Watson was always playing catch up and although she fought back inevitably her serve was pressured and Babos won 6-7 7-5 7-5 Tonight Andy Murray, Jo Konta, Dan Evans and Aljaz Bedene all take to the courts in Melbourne Australian Open Round 1 - Match Predictions1/17/2016
0 Comments Krajinovic v Kudla over 3.5 sets 4/7 - This match could be close. Denis had an awful Auckland qualifying losing 12 games in a row from 2-0 up..... not sure you cant take much out of that match but I think the Serbian can take a set in this match as the outsider, he could even get the win if he wants it Kovalik v Trungellitti over 3.5 sets 4/9 - Doubt either of these qualifiers can win 3 sets in a row.... Gabashvili v Seppi over 3.5 sets 4/9 - The Russian in good form and Seppi usually loses concentration somewhere in his matches. This could even go to 5 sets but over 3.5 seems safer Gulbis 9/4 to defeat J Chardy - Interesting match up..... Chardy the big favourite and higher ranked while Ernests has showed poor form in 2016 so far.... However the Latvian will like being underdog in a big event and if he gets confidence he is capable and has the wins over Jeremy. Only very low stakes but worth a punt Hewitt 8/15 to defeat J Duckworth. No doubt Lleyton is James idol and I cant see Duckworth wanting to end Hewitt's career even if he is capable of it. Lleyton will be hugely motivated not to go out in the 1st round and has plenty of matches under he belt in 2016 already B Mattek-Sands 8/11 to defeat D Allertova - The American is a good price here and should be too strong for the Czech. The only issue is Bethanie is not in great form, but has still played more than Allertova in 2016 and her all round game should get her the win K Bertens 2/5 to defeat L Siegemund - The German player has done well to make the main draw with her ITF wins building her ranking up. Kiki should be way to strong & Solid in this match-up V Lepchenko 4/6 to defeat L Tsurenko - Lots of pressure in 2016 for Lesia to defend her points and WTA ranking. Seeded this year I think she may find Lepchenko too good in this match. D Kovinic 11/8 to defeat Sam Crawford - Both big serves and I think Sam has been given favourite odds here due to her run in Brisbane. The American has to back that week up and Danka is more than capable of winning this match. Low stakes only though as Crawford may well continue her form if confident C McHale + 7.5 games 5/6 v A Radwanska - Aga may not be on top form in the first match and Christina is capable of winning 5 games in a say a 2-6 3-6 scoreline... Y Putintseva + 6.5 games 5/6 v C Wozniacki - Yulia is very talented and often likes being the big underdog. If she can start well against Caro then she can keep at least 1 set close and get this handicap Kulichkova + 5.5 games 5/6 v Petkovic - Elizaveta is a big talent and won't be over powered by Andrea.... If like other outsiders she can start well then she will get her chances K Pliskova +4.5 games 5/6 v Stosur - Kristyna will like being the underdog and having come through qualifying will be very confident. Stosur is known to wobble in Australia infront of her supporters so anything can happen D Thiem 4/7 to defeat L Mayer As long as the young Austrian is fit then I think he should get the better of Mayer in this 1st round match. They have only played on clay before and Dominic has a 2-1 lead though his wins have been very tight 3 setters. I think this will be close but Thiem's natural quality should be enough to get him through J Benneteau 3/1 to defeat N Almagro - 2 players struggling with injuries and making comebacks... Both players desperate for a win to boost their rankings and I don't think Nico should be as short as he is.... - only if Julien still has injury doubts having pulled out of a tournament last week. Julien has a 3-1 H2H over Almagro who hasn't won a clash since 2007! Punt but stranger things have happened G Simon 4/9 to defeat V Pospisil - Vasek has the 1-0 H2H but Gilles retired a set down in that match. Simon likes Melbourne and is a former quarter finalist here and has only failed once to reach at least the second round in his 9 appearances. Vasek is capable but over a best of 5 sets clash I think Gilles will have more opportunities and will take them Nishikori v Kohlschreiber over 35.5 games 5/6 & over 3.5 sets 5/6 - Tough match here and Philip has a lot of ability and can cause Kei big problems. I expect all the sets to be close and if it goes to at least 4 sets then over 35.5 games is a big possibility Vesely v Olivo over 33.5 games 5/6 - Renzo has played well in qualifying and will be motivated in this match. Vesely's concentration is likely to lapse during the match and Olivo is capable of making this match tight Berankis v Dolgopolov over 34.5 games 5/6 & over 3.5 sets 5/6- The Ukrainian is the big favourite but he is very up and down and Ricardas is sure to get chances. I expect a closer match than most here and I think overs is a good price Krajicek v Wu over 3.5 sets 4/9 - Both players will be nervous. Austin only just made the main draw direct with injuries and Wu qualified. I don't see either player winning in straight sets M Sakkari 5/6 to defeat Y Wang - 2 qualifiers and not much in this. Either player could win but I think the Greek player was just the better in qualifying. S Errani 2/5 to defeat M Gasparyan - Errani very experienced and should be able to find a way to defeat the Russian even if she gets into trouble. Margarita has the game but this is a tough opener D Kasatkina 11/10 t defeat AK Schmiedlova - The Russian RET in her last tournament which is a concern while Schimedlova was thrashed by Puig in Sydney.... Both have big careers ahead of them but I think the Russian may just be more confident if fit.. A Konjuh 8/11 to defeat U Radwanska. - Have not seen much of these 2 recently but they have some big battles already in their careers. I expect Ana to come good in 2016 and a win here would start her off. Very powerful just needs to know when to use it A Tomljanovic 11/8 to defeat K Bondarenko - Alja out of form but with Aussies behind her could find some confidence.... Kateryna is powerful and a very even match. I think value lies with the Aussie but only a punt and low stakes E Kulichkova 7/2 to defeat A Petkovic - Big Punt here but Elizaveta very capable. The young Russian is a name for the future and although her rankings rise has stalled she has power to hurt Andrea. Experience lies with the German though. Very low stakes as again it would be a big upset. K Pliskova 5/2 to defeat S Stosur - Sam often struggles in Australia..... Kristyna has 3 wins in qualifying and we all know is much better than her ranking.... she just doesn't prove it that often..... Could be tight match especially if Pliskova is serving well Tennis fans across the world are getting very excited as the 1st Grand Slam of 2016 is about to get underway in Sunny Australia.
Many European fans will be staying awake all night to watch the action and I will do my very best to cover the scores, results and major headlines day by day. Follow me here or on twitter for live tennis tweets @thetennistalker If you like a little gamble on who will defeat who then check out some of my predictions over at http://thetennistipster.weebly.com/daily-blog-tennis-tips Enjoy the tennis and I would love to have your company! Great week in Melbourne for Britain's Dan Evans.
Having upset top seed Luca Vanni in straight sets in the 1st round, Dan battled past Israeli Amir Weintraub and then won a 3rd set 6-0 over Bjorn Fratangelo to qualify for the 1st Grand Slam of 2016. Not without some scares, a few crazy collapses and some Andy Murray courtside support, Dan Evans now plays 18th seed Feliciano Lopez in round 1! Vika Azarenka returned to the winners arena with a brilliant display in Brisbane. Life was made easier with the withdrawals of Simona Halep and Maria Sharapova but you can only beat the players you come across and Vika did just that. Its a great start to 2016 who now leads the WTA Road to Singapore leaderboard at the very early stages and also earns herself an Australian Open top 16 seeding so will avoid the big guns until at the 4th round. Angelique Kerber will also be happy with her start to 2016 and moves on to WTA Sydney for another title challenge
Sloane Stephens avoided the controversies in Auckland to take the title with some solid aggressive tennis. She defeated Broady, Wozniacki and Goerges in the QFs, SFs and final all in straight sets and will now be very confident ahead of the Australian Open where she has played well before.... Sloane will be seeded top 32 but could be a very tricky 3rd round opponent in Melbourne for one of the top 16 seeds. Good to see a return to form of Julia Goerges also The 3rd WTA of the week went to Aga Radwanska over in WTA Shenzhen, China. The Pole plays some of her best tennis in Asia and has won titles Tokyo, Tianjin and of course The WTA finals in Singapore in recent months. The great news for Radwanska is that she moves up to WTA top 4 on Monday and pushes Maria Sharapova out of the top 4 seeds for the Australian Open. Great first week of the new WTA season with LOTS of talking points..... Lets see what week 2 comes up with in preparation for the first Grand Slam of 2016 The most controversial match of the 2016 so far by a long way
Everyone has their opinion.......... And here is mine........ Firstly Jelena Ostapenko was wrong to throw her racquet. It was silly and against the rules as it hit the ball boy. However it was 100% not intentionally aimed at him and I don't feel the force used by Ostapenko was very heavy at all. But I again repeat ... it was wrong to do. The WTA referee was called and it was his call to disqualify Jelena Ostapenko. He chatted to the umpire and the ball boy and found it accidental and gave a code violation as punishment, though really if looking at the WTA rulebook it should have been a disqualification for the Latvian The decision though is the WTA Officials. They are there to punish players if needed or make decisions according to the rule book. It is not the opposing player who should be making these decisions or demanding what should happen to a player or quoting the rule book. Naomi Broady got very upset and demanding Jelena be disqualified - something that was to be fair a little unprofessional on her part and to an impartial looked a cheap way out of the match with a walkover rather than playing a full match etc. She had no need to get so worked up.... she was about to win the set and was on top in the match..... If any player was watching another player shouting, crying at the other side of the court trying to get you disqualified then understandably you are going to be quite upset...... I repeat the issue is between Ostapenko and the WTA referee. Broady only should have got involved if for instance Jelena had flung her racquet in the direction of Naomi and it was an attack on the player. It wasn't..... Jelena was just frustrated about losing a big lead in a set and took out this frustration with a throw of her racquet - we all know this is wrong..... Broady then makes a huge 3rd set comeback to defeat Ostapenko. Again put yourself in Jelena's situation ..... you would also be upset with yourself and in a bad mood.... and she probably let her mood overflow to a few words of her dismay at Broady's antics when crying for her to be disqualified. Naomi then defended her opinion and gave as good as she got after the match had finished as we all saw in the GIF. But shouting at Ostapenko regarding her hitting a ball boy is again no concern of Naomi's..... it is the WTA referee's concern. Ostapenko wasn't going to disqualify herself..... it is the referee's job on a football pitch to give red cards etc. People argue all the time, and people stick up for themselves all the time. Ostapenko was wrong for throwing her racquet without seeing where it was going....... Broady was wrong to demand her opponent be disqualified and crying/shouting on court. The WTA referee was probably wrong not to disqualify Ostapenko. EVERYONE was in the wrong at some point in the match. Whilst it was good TV, it was unprofessional from both players...... and later on it as also very unprofessional of current WTA players to view their thoughts or should I say join the 'band wagon' and attack Ostapenko in such a open environment as Twitter ..... If they have a problem with Ostapenko they could formally complaint to the WTA about her or speak to the player directly. Instead they attack the Latvian on Twitter. Naomi Broady was correct to explain herself on twitter as it was constructive, Mladenovic, and Glushko amongst others where highly unprofessional in my opinion. So what if Ostapenko was a little standoffish against Kiki.... she lost a big lead in that match and was again understandably annoyed as a 17 year old junior champ for not closing the match out. As for Glushko..... why didn't Julia complain about Jelena at US Open qualies directly after? Why did she wait until somebody else had an incident then just add her cheap 140 character tweet? Be more professional ladies..... you are representing sponsors, your countries and most importantly yourselves. I am a big Naomi Broady fan so I take no sides. I have given my views and I think it is quite a consistent one and that makes sense if you put yourself in the shoes of both players. Lets hope both players forget and get on with their 2016 seasons. Broady had a fantastic week on Auckland, qualifying, reaching the QFs and defeating Ivanovic and undoubtedly Ostapenko has a big career ahead of her. With Venus Williams going out to Daria Kasatkina not many tennis watchers thought we would see another upset straight after as Naomi Broady took on Ana Ivanovic.
However Naomi came out hitting hard and full of confidence having already won 3 qualifying matches in Auckland. Naomi broke instantly before Ivanovic pulled it back to 2-2 in the first set. The games where close and both players hitting their shots. At 4-4 Broady got into trouble and with Ana breaking many though that the match was over right there. However Broady knew she was competing well on the Serbian's serve and with the help of some Ivanovic 2nd serves Naomi broke back to level at 5-5 before holding to love and then pressing Ana again. Ivanovic got flustered and double faulted as Broady completed a dramatic 1st set comeback and took it 7-5. Both players put each others serves under pressure throughout the 2nd set, but Naomi's big 1st serve kept striking the aces at the correct time and getting the Brit out of trouble. Naomi is prone to the odd collapse in matches but today she remained focused, powerful and full of ability. Broady held for a 7-5 5-4 lead and gained 2 MP at 15-40 before Ivanovic got back to deuce. Again this could have been Naomi's chance gone, but nope..... the British number 3 was not going to be outdone! A wild miss at the net from Ivanovic and it was all over.... Naomi Broady had done the unthinkable. The World number 122 had defeated tennis royalty in Ana Ivanovic. Its a massive achievement for Naomi who really had a solid end to 2015 with experience gained at WTA level which is what she needed. She has very few WTA points to defend until summer so has a realistic chance of breaking into the top 100 if she can keep this form up. Next for Naomi is young Latvian sensation Jelena Ostapenko - another big test. Broady lost 2-6 4-6 in Quebec last year and I expect another hard hitting match up here in Auckland. Good Luck Naomi Broady, you did us Brits very proud Three British players started this weekend in qualifying draws for ATP & WTA tournaments in the first week of the new tennis season.
Kyle Edmund fresh from his Davis Cup triumph had two very successful wins yesterday and today to qualify for ATP Doha. The 20 year old who turns 21 later in the week defeated Arnaboldi yesterday and hit 9 aces in another straight sets victory today over Radu Albot. The Brit could have drawn Novak Djokovic in the 1st round but instead slotted into the draw to face Martin Klizan. This match will be tough for Kyle but is exactly the test he needs and experience is still vital at this stage of his career James Ward is playing this week in Chennai, India. Its a tough time for James as his coach sadly passed away last week after a battle with cancer. This has surely put a strain on Ward's mental approach to games throughout the end of 2015 season. James in fact went 6-2 3-1 up on Somdev Devvarman and looked like a certain qualifier, however as soon as he had got the 2nd set break he handed it straight back to the Indian. From then on Devvarman never looked back and too the 2nd set 7-5 before racing to a double break lead in the decider. James did fight but eventually lost 6-2 5-7 4-6 and will now go to Melbourne to play Australian Open qualifying next week. Fingers crossed! Naomi Broady had a successful Autumn on the WTA Tour and only a few big slips in matches late on in 2015 stopped the Brit from threatening to break into the WTA top 100. However 2016 is a new season and you never know what form a player will be in. I'm glad to say Naomi looks like she is bang in form and has 2 very good wins under her belt already over Siegemund and Kozlova. The big serving Brit next faces the tough challenge of former WTA top 40 player Magdalena Rybarikova for a place in the Auckland main draw. Its a tough one but still winnable if Naomi believes in herself. Other Brits in action this week include Andy Murray & Heather Watson in Hopman Cup, Aljaz Bedene in Chennai and Jo Konta in Shenzhen. Keep up to date with all the results right here or follow me on @thetennistalker on twitter. Enjoy the tennis! You expect upsets all year on the WTA tour and even more so at the start of a new tennis season. You never know which players are in form. who has done the off season training and who will breakthrough at the start of a new year. Today in Brisbane saw the start of the 2016 WTA Tour and 5 of the 8 seeds in qualifying all crashed out in the 1st round. Experience counted for nothing it seems as the likes of Pironkova, Hantuchova and Karatantcheva all collapsed.
Lets see what happens when the main draw begins....... Its January the 1st 2016 and the tennis has already started. Qualifying 1st round in Brisbane is complete for the women's event and men's about to start. Main draws are being made for all the WTA and ATP events today so watch out for plenty of action. With tournaments in Shenzhen, Auckland, Brisbane, Doha and Chennai + The Hopman Cup there is A LOT of tennis to follow!
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AuthorHi I'm The Tennis Talker and as you may have guessed I talk a lot about #TENNIS Archives
February 2016
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