The remaining sixteen men and women took the courts to play out the singles quarter finals at Wimbledon. The women played their matches yesterday and for once, the men out shadowed them today. The only previous women's Wimbledon champion remaining, Maria Sharapova, wasted no time in booking her place in the semi-finals; she beat Cibulkova 6-1 6-1. Sharapova will face Sabine Lisicki in the semis and I think the winner will win the tournament. Lisicki beat ninth seed Bartoli 6-4 6-7 6-1 to progress and remain as the real dark horse of the competition. Fourth seed Azarenka also won in straight sets against the unseeded Paszek, winning 6-3 6-1. Azarenka will face eighth seed Kvitova as the Czech beat Pironkova 6-3 6-7 6-2.
But it was the men's quarter finals that produced the drama as they took place today. Up first on centre court was third seed Federer who was against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The twelfth seed looked extremely nervous in the first set and quickly lost it 6-3. But the Frenchman battled back in the second set and showed us all that he really is quite a good player. The second set went into a tie break which Federer easily won 6-3 to make it two sets to nil and looked certain to progress into the semis. But Tsonga wasn't finished and took the third set 6-4 before repeating the feat in the fourth set. Unbelievably, Tsonga was able to complete the comeback and won the final set also by 6-4 to dump Federer out and progress into the semi-finals.
Tsonga will meet second seed Djokovic in the semis but faced his fair share of drama on court one. Djokovic played the unseeded Australian teenager Tomic and looked to be cruising when he took the first set 6-2. But Tomic showed fantastic character and equalised by taking the set 6-3. Unfortunately, Tomic couldn't keep the momentum up and Djokovic took the third set 6-3 and the fourth set 7-5 to progress.
Andy Murray had arguably the easiest test against the unseeded Feliciano Lopez, the ladies favourite. But Murray eased to victory with set wins of 6-3 6-4 6-4. Murray has unsurprisingly set up a semi-final battle against Nadal. The top seed faced tenth seed Mardy Fish but found himself two sets down as Nadal won them 6-3 6-3. But the American fought back to take the third set 7-5 but Nadal stopped any chance of a Tsonga-style comeback and won the fourth set 6-4.
Wednesday 29 June 2011
Tuesday 28 June 2011
New Women's Era? No Change In The Men's
The second week of Wimbledon got under way yesterday and today marks the quarter finals stage. As expected, the men's quarter finals are rather predictable as Nadal, Federer, Djokovic and Murray have all made it through and look set to progress further. Nadal had a injury scare in his last match but his MRI scans show that his foot has no real injury and should be fine to take on tenth seed Mardy Fish. Murray will face the unseeded Feliciano Lopez and Djokovic will also face an unseeded opponent in Bernard Tomic from Australia. Federer has arguably the toughest test against Queen's runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who is seeded twelfth.
But it is the women's singles that is still throwing up the surprises as the draw has been blown wide open. Third seed and French Open winner Na Li lost in the second round to Sabine Lisicki and this was followed by second seed Vera Zvonareva losing in the third round to thirty-second seed Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria 2-6 3-6. But this was nothing compared to the drama of the fourth round; top seed Caroline Wozniacki was beaten 6-1 6-7 5-7 by twenty-fourth seed Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia. The both of the Williams sisters were also knocked out, Serena lost 3-6 6-7 to ninth seed Marion Bartoli and Venus lost 2-6 3-6 to Pironkova. This means that the highest seed that can win the tournament is fourth seed Victoria Azarenka who faces the unseeded Tamira Paszek of Austria in the quarter finals. Fifth seed Maria Sharapova will face Cibulkova. Petra Kvitova is seeded eighth and will face Pironkova while ninth seed Bartoli will face Lisicki.
But it is the women's singles that is still throwing up the surprises as the draw has been blown wide open. Third seed and French Open winner Na Li lost in the second round to Sabine Lisicki and this was followed by second seed Vera Zvonareva losing in the third round to thirty-second seed Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria 2-6 3-6. But this was nothing compared to the drama of the fourth round; top seed Caroline Wozniacki was beaten 6-1 6-7 5-7 by twenty-fourth seed Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia. The both of the Williams sisters were also knocked out, Serena lost 3-6 6-7 to ninth seed Marion Bartoli and Venus lost 2-6 3-6 to Pironkova. This means that the highest seed that can win the tournament is fourth seed Victoria Azarenka who faces the unseeded Tamira Paszek of Austria in the quarter finals. Fifth seed Maria Sharapova will face Cibulkova. Petra Kvitova is seeded eighth and will face Pironkova while ninth seed Bartoli will face Lisicki.
Sunday 26 June 2011
Vettel Reigns In Spain (Again)
For the first time this season, all twenty-four drivers finished the race in Valencia. Unfortunately, the race as a whole wasn't as much as a spectacle as there were so few incidents but there were a lot of battles for position.
From the start, Vettel and Webber got away cleanly but the Ferrari's both overtook Hamilton and Button was overtaken by Rosberg. Six laps into the race Button finally managed to pass Rosberg back into sixth but that was all Button managed to do throughout the race. Hamilton managed to overtake Massa on lap sixteen during the first set of pit stops, but from there Hamilton went through the race without any hiccups and arguments between him and the McLaren team about tyre wear meant he didn't compete for a podium.
Michael Schumacher came out from that first set of pit-stops and instantly collided with Petrov which resulted in the Mercedes car losing its front wing and ultimately ended Schumacher's hunt for any points. The stewards dismissed the incident much as we did the race. The only drama throughout the race was the battle for second between Webber and Alonso. Alonso managed to overtake the Red Bull on lap 21 but Webber pitted a lap earlier and it paid dividends as he over-took Alonso on lap thirty. But Alonso got his own back by doing virtually the same thing on lap forty-six to stop Red Bull from sealing a one-two. Race results in full:
1.Vettel (Red Bull), 2.Alonso (Ferrari), 3.Webber (Red Bull), 4.Hamilton (McLaren), 5.Massa (Ferrari), 6.Button (McLaren), 7.Rosberg (Mercedes), 8.Alguersuari (Toro Rosso), 9.Sutil (Force India), 10.Heidfeld (Renault), 11.Perez (Sauber), 12.Barrichello (Williams), 13.Buemi (Toro Rosso), 14.Di Resta (Force India), 15.Petrov (Renault), 16.Kobayashi (Sauber), 17.Schumacher (Mercedes), 18.Maldonado (Williams), 19.Kovalainen (Lotus), 20.Trulli (Lotus), 21.Glock (Virgin), 22.D'Ambrosio (Virgin), 23.Liuzzi (Hispania), 24.Karthikeyan (Hispania).
From the start, Vettel and Webber got away cleanly but the Ferrari's both overtook Hamilton and Button was overtaken by Rosberg. Six laps into the race Button finally managed to pass Rosberg back into sixth but that was all Button managed to do throughout the race. Hamilton managed to overtake Massa on lap sixteen during the first set of pit stops, but from there Hamilton went through the race without any hiccups and arguments between him and the McLaren team about tyre wear meant he didn't compete for a podium.
Michael Schumacher came out from that first set of pit-stops and instantly collided with Petrov which resulted in the Mercedes car losing its front wing and ultimately ended Schumacher's hunt for any points. The stewards dismissed the incident much as we did the race. The only drama throughout the race was the battle for second between Webber and Alonso. Alonso managed to overtake the Red Bull on lap 21 but Webber pitted a lap earlier and it paid dividends as he over-took Alonso on lap thirty. But Alonso got his own back by doing virtually the same thing on lap forty-six to stop Red Bull from sealing a one-two. Race results in full:
1.Vettel (Red Bull), 2.Alonso (Ferrari), 3.Webber (Red Bull), 4.Hamilton (McLaren), 5.Massa (Ferrari), 6.Button (McLaren), 7.Rosberg (Mercedes), 8.Alguersuari (Toro Rosso), 9.Sutil (Force India), 10.Heidfeld (Renault), 11.Perez (Sauber), 12.Barrichello (Williams), 13.Buemi (Toro Rosso), 14.Di Resta (Force India), 15.Petrov (Renault), 16.Kobayashi (Sauber), 17.Schumacher (Mercedes), 18.Maldonado (Williams), 19.Kovalainen (Lotus), 20.Trulli (Lotus), 21.Glock (Virgin), 22.D'Ambrosio (Virgin), 23.Liuzzi (Hispania), 24.Karthikeyan (Hispania).
Hancock Conquers Cardiff
The Speedway GP series headed to Cardiff's Millennium Stadium for the fifth round of eleven. After this round there will be a break as the Speedway World Cup takes place. But there was drama before the round started as Artem Laguta failed to get his visa in time, meaning that Magnus 'Zorro' Zetterstom made a one off welcome return the roster. The closeness of the competition was shown again as only three of the sixteen riders failed to win a heat.
The first heat saw Zetterstrom and the British wildcard Scott Nicholls enter the fray, Zorro finished second and Nicholls fourth with Crump starting with a win. This was followed up by current leader Gollob winning with his closest rival Hancock finishing second. Nicky Pedersen continued his form this season with an opening heat win in heat three. The fourth heat saw Chris Holder out-numbered by three Swedes as Lindback took the flag from Jonsson and Lindgren with the Aussie down in fourth.
Janusz Kolodziej took heat five and his compatriot Bjerre took heat six. Heat seven saw Zetterstrom win on his return and Gollob could only manage fourth. This opened the door for Hancock and the American took full advantage by winning heat eight with Crump finishing fourth.
Nicky Pedersen became the first of only five riders to win two heats in the ninth. The first bit of drama came in heat ten when Hampel's bike packed up, then Rune Holta's bike had too much acceleration and flew up into the air, knocking Holta to the floor. The restart saw Chris Harris battle Lindgren for the win and British crowd got to see the Brit take the chequered flag. Heat eleven was won by Holder as Hancock could only manage third but this was matched by Gollob in heat twelve. Crump was looking to be victorious in the twelfth heat but Emil Sayfutdinov took Crump on the last corner to steal the win.
Holder won his second heat in the thirteenth with Gollob continuing his miserable time in third and the wildcard Nicholls finished second. Hancock again took full advantage by winning his second heat and Sayfutdinov also made it back to back heat wins in the fifteenth. Kenneth Bjerre also won his second heat in the sixteenth with Crump finishing second.
The final set of heats saw their fair share of drama; Freddy Lindgren took out Sayfutdinov in the seventeenth and was rightly excluded. Hancock took the restart to win his third heat of the night. Andreas Jonsson won heat eighteen with Gollob second and Hampel took heat nineteen. The final heat saw Pedersen make a false start but was allowed to restart, but the Dane then did it again but went through the tapes and was subsequently excluded. This allowed reserve driver Tai Woffinden take part and the young Brit, who took part in last year's GP series, finished second after leading for two laps. Holder won it with Crump in third.
The first semi-final saw Sayfutdinov beat Hancock with Jonsson finishing third and Crump fourth. The second semi-final saw Bjerre unfortunately start too early and drove straight through the tapes, prompting his exclusion. Holder took the semi-final with Pedersen second and the returning Zetterstrom unfortunately came third. The final saw Pedersen knock into Holder who then knocked into Sayfutdinov and the Russian came down. Sayfutdinov was harshly excluded from the restart which saw the veteran Hancock win ahead of Pedersen and Holder.
Surprisingly, Gollob failed to make the semi-finals and only scored seven points compared to Hancock's twenty. Pedersen scored sixteen with Holder fifteen and Sayfutdinov thirteen. Bjerre took eleven points with Jonsson ten. Zetterstom accumulated nine points on his one-off return to this year's GP series and Cump finished with eight.
This means that after five rounds, Hancock is now back in the lead on eighty points, Gollob has fallen a little to sixty-eight. Holder is now fifty-seven with Hampel and Pedersen both only four points behind. Crump is on a round fifty with Sayfutdinov now only two behind and Lindgren is on forty. The only three not to win a heat in this round were Lindgren, Holta and the wildcard Nicholls.
The first heat saw Zetterstrom and the British wildcard Scott Nicholls enter the fray, Zorro finished second and Nicholls fourth with Crump starting with a win. This was followed up by current leader Gollob winning with his closest rival Hancock finishing second. Nicky Pedersen continued his form this season with an opening heat win in heat three. The fourth heat saw Chris Holder out-numbered by three Swedes as Lindback took the flag from Jonsson and Lindgren with the Aussie down in fourth.
Janusz Kolodziej took heat five and his compatriot Bjerre took heat six. Heat seven saw Zetterstrom win on his return and Gollob could only manage fourth. This opened the door for Hancock and the American took full advantage by winning heat eight with Crump finishing fourth.
Nicky Pedersen became the first of only five riders to win two heats in the ninth. The first bit of drama came in heat ten when Hampel's bike packed up, then Rune Holta's bike had too much acceleration and flew up into the air, knocking Holta to the floor. The restart saw Chris Harris battle Lindgren for the win and British crowd got to see the Brit take the chequered flag. Heat eleven was won by Holder as Hancock could only manage third but this was matched by Gollob in heat twelve. Crump was looking to be victorious in the twelfth heat but Emil Sayfutdinov took Crump on the last corner to steal the win.
Holder won his second heat in the thirteenth with Gollob continuing his miserable time in third and the wildcard Nicholls finished second. Hancock again took full advantage by winning his second heat and Sayfutdinov also made it back to back heat wins in the fifteenth. Kenneth Bjerre also won his second heat in the sixteenth with Crump finishing second.
The final set of heats saw their fair share of drama; Freddy Lindgren took out Sayfutdinov in the seventeenth and was rightly excluded. Hancock took the restart to win his third heat of the night. Andreas Jonsson won heat eighteen with Gollob second and Hampel took heat nineteen. The final heat saw Pedersen make a false start but was allowed to restart, but the Dane then did it again but went through the tapes and was subsequently excluded. This allowed reserve driver Tai Woffinden take part and the young Brit, who took part in last year's GP series, finished second after leading for two laps. Holder won it with Crump in third.
The first semi-final saw Sayfutdinov beat Hancock with Jonsson finishing third and Crump fourth. The second semi-final saw Bjerre unfortunately start too early and drove straight through the tapes, prompting his exclusion. Holder took the semi-final with Pedersen second and the returning Zetterstrom unfortunately came third. The final saw Pedersen knock into Holder who then knocked into Sayfutdinov and the Russian came down. Sayfutdinov was harshly excluded from the restart which saw the veteran Hancock win ahead of Pedersen and Holder.
Surprisingly, Gollob failed to make the semi-finals and only scored seven points compared to Hancock's twenty. Pedersen scored sixteen with Holder fifteen and Sayfutdinov thirteen. Bjerre took eleven points with Jonsson ten. Zetterstom accumulated nine points on his one-off return to this year's GP series and Cump finished with eight.
This means that after five rounds, Hancock is now back in the lead on eighty points, Gollob has fallen a little to sixty-eight. Holder is now fifty-seven with Hampel and Pedersen both only four points behind. Crump is on a round fifty with Sayfutdinov now only two behind and Lindgren is on forty. The only three not to win a heat in this round were Lindgren, Holta and the wildcard Nicholls.
Saturday 25 June 2011
Red Bull Reign Qualifying In Spain
The Formula One show returned to Spain this weekend for the European Grand Prix in Valencia. It's another street circuit that is destined to have all the major thrills and spills, last year it saw Mark Webber suffer that aerial crash that he was lucky to escape unscathed. Today, we welcomed back Sergio Perez who returned to qualifying after his crash in Monaco two races ago.
Q1 turned out to be the usual six plus one, but it was an extremely close encounter as both Massa and Webber lingered above the drop zone at times during the session. Unsurprisingly, Karthikeyan starts twenty-fourth but Liuzzi out-qualified Virgin's D'Ambrosio into twenty-second. Glock remains behind the Lotus' although both Lotus drivers were close to progressing into Q2. Trulli span on the last corner of his last qualifying lap which allowed Kovalainen to out-qualify him yet again. For the third time this season, Jaime Alguersuari of Toro Rosso was also eliminated in Q3 in front of his home crowd. Massa was the fastest for the seventh time in a Q1 session.
Q2 was red flagged with eight minutes to go when Williams' Maldonado suffered an electrical fault which left him stranded in the middle of the track. Despite this, Malonado will start fifteenth tomorrow as Buemi and the returning Perez couldn't find a time quicker than Maldonado's earlier effort. Kobayashi didn't seem comfortable throughout qualifying and will start fourteenth behind Barrichello in the other Williams. Di Resta will start twelfth but his team-mate Sutil managed to sneak into Q3 at the final attempt, pushing Petrov out and into eleventh place. Unsurprisingly, Vettel led the pack in the Q2 to set the toll in Q3.
Unfortunately, both Sutil and Heidfeld decided not to make a time to save the tyres for tomorrow's race. The two Mercedes' will then line up side by side with Rosberg edging Schumacher into seventh. Button looked well off the pace and will start behind both of the Ferrari's with Alonso out-qualifying Massa for the eighth time this season. Hamilton will start third behind the two Red Bulls and there was no surprise seeing Vettel make Pole position yet again.
Q1 turned out to be the usual six plus one, but it was an extremely close encounter as both Massa and Webber lingered above the drop zone at times during the session. Unsurprisingly, Karthikeyan starts twenty-fourth but Liuzzi out-qualified Virgin's D'Ambrosio into twenty-second. Glock remains behind the Lotus' although both Lotus drivers were close to progressing into Q2. Trulli span on the last corner of his last qualifying lap which allowed Kovalainen to out-qualify him yet again. For the third time this season, Jaime Alguersuari of Toro Rosso was also eliminated in Q3 in front of his home crowd. Massa was the fastest for the seventh time in a Q1 session.
Q2 was red flagged with eight minutes to go when Williams' Maldonado suffered an electrical fault which left him stranded in the middle of the track. Despite this, Malonado will start fifteenth tomorrow as Buemi and the returning Perez couldn't find a time quicker than Maldonado's earlier effort. Kobayashi didn't seem comfortable throughout qualifying and will start fourteenth behind Barrichello in the other Williams. Di Resta will start twelfth but his team-mate Sutil managed to sneak into Q3 at the final attempt, pushing Petrov out and into eleventh place. Unsurprisingly, Vettel led the pack in the Q2 to set the toll in Q3.
Unfortunately, both Sutil and Heidfeld decided not to make a time to save the tyres for tomorrow's race. The two Mercedes' will then line up side by side with Rosberg edging Schumacher into seventh. Button looked well off the pace and will start behind both of the Ferrari's with Alonso out-qualifying Massa for the eighth time this season. Hamilton will start third behind the two Red Bulls and there was no surprise seeing Vettel make Pole position yet again.
Friday 24 June 2011
Women's Or Men's?
No disrespect to the women but, as an inexperienced watcher of tennis, I didn't expect to be more entertained by the Women's Wimbledon Championships than the men's. It all started with that epic between Date-Krumm and Venus Williams on Wednesday and it has just grown and grown since. Yesterday saw a fantastic second round encounter between Sabine Lisicki of Germany and China's French Open winner Na Li. The third seed took the first set 6-3 but the highly rated German retaliated in the second set and won it 6-4. We knew the final set would be very close and we weren't disappointed, as there is no tie break the match had to continue at 6-6. Lisicki pulled out serves of 120-124 consecutively to blow Li away and win the match 8-6.
The reason why the women's tennis has been the most exciting is because it's a lot closer. Nadal, Federer, Djokovic and Murray haven't had to face anyone too challenging whereas the top women players haven't had an easy ride. Serena Williams lost the first set 6-3 in her second round match against Russia's Halep. But Williams fought back to win the following sets 6-2 6-1 to progress.
The action only got better in the women's tennis today as twentieth seed Peng Shuai took on Britain's Elena Baltacha. Everyone had tipped this match to be close and they weren't wrong, the first set went with serve until Baltacha found that important break in the ninth game to go onto win the set 6-4. Peng game out with all guns blazing in the second set and just blew Baltacha away 6-2 to take the game into yet another deciding set. Baltacha was hoping for a dream start and she got as she broke straight away to win the first game. Unfortunately for the Brit, Peng broke back instantly and then came from 0-30 to hold her serve after deuce. Baltacha also held her serve to equalise and then broke Peng for the second time to make it 3-2 and importantly held her serve to double her lead. Peng crucially held her serve in the seventh and won it to love with an ace included before Baltacha hit a double fault in yet another game that went to deuce, Peng took it to equalise at 4-4. The women both held their serve to take it 5-5 and Peng also held her serve again to make it 6-5. This meant Baltacha had to hold her serve and it agonisingly went into deuce. Four match points later, Peng was finally able to dispatch Baltacha and progress into the next round.
The only match so far in the men's tournament that could be comparable was between Lleyton Hewitt and fifth seed Robin Soderling which took place yesterday. Hewitt took the first two sets 7-6 6-3 to need just one more set to win. Soderling took the third set 7-5 and then equalised by winning the fourth set 6-4 to set up what looked like an unlikely deciding set. Somehow Soderling found it in him to complete the comeback and take the final set 6-4 to break Hewitt's heart.
On the British front, young Laura Robson exited the competition today with an unsurprising defeat to Maria Sharapova. The former world number one won 7-6 6-3 to progress into the next round.
The reason why the women's tennis has been the most exciting is because it's a lot closer. Nadal, Federer, Djokovic and Murray haven't had to face anyone too challenging whereas the top women players haven't had an easy ride. Serena Williams lost the first set 6-3 in her second round match against Russia's Halep. But Williams fought back to win the following sets 6-2 6-1 to progress.
The action only got better in the women's tennis today as twentieth seed Peng Shuai took on Britain's Elena Baltacha. Everyone had tipped this match to be close and they weren't wrong, the first set went with serve until Baltacha found that important break in the ninth game to go onto win the set 6-4. Peng game out with all guns blazing in the second set and just blew Baltacha away 6-2 to take the game into yet another deciding set. Baltacha was hoping for a dream start and she got as she broke straight away to win the first game. Unfortunately for the Brit, Peng broke back instantly and then came from 0-30 to hold her serve after deuce. Baltacha also held her serve to equalise and then broke Peng for the second time to make it 3-2 and importantly held her serve to double her lead. Peng crucially held her serve in the seventh and won it to love with an ace included before Baltacha hit a double fault in yet another game that went to deuce, Peng took it to equalise at 4-4. The women both held their serve to take it 5-5 and Peng also held her serve again to make it 6-5. This meant Baltacha had to hold her serve and it agonisingly went into deuce. Four match points later, Peng was finally able to dispatch Baltacha and progress into the next round.
The only match so far in the men's tournament that could be comparable was between Lleyton Hewitt and fifth seed Robin Soderling which took place yesterday. Hewitt took the first two sets 7-6 6-3 to need just one more set to win. Soderling took the third set 7-5 and then equalised by winning the fourth set 6-4 to set up what looked like an unlikely deciding set. Somehow Soderling found it in him to complete the comeback and take the final set 6-4 to break Hewitt's heart.
On the British front, young Laura Robson exited the competition today with an unsurprising defeat to Maria Sharapova. The former world number one won 7-6 6-3 to progress into the next round.
Wednesday 22 June 2011
Zimmer Frame Game? No Chance!
Wimbledon 2011 got under way this week and today saw, for the first time since its erection, the roof being used at the start of a day's play. And thank god that roof was there because it meant we were able to witness a breathtaking second round match. Before this match, the newspapers had dubbed as the zimmer frame game as forty year old Komiko Date-Krumm took on thirty-one year old and five time champion Venus Williams.
But this game was anything but slow and there times of absolute brilliance. Williams looked at little uncomfortable in the warm-up and her performance suffered as the returning Date-Krumm took a 3-0 lead in the opening, winning the first game to love against serve. Williams pulled a game back before Krumm went onto 5-1. All of a sudden, Williams got herself into her groove and battled back. The American hit two aces on her way to making 5-2. Williams then lead 15-40 before Date-Krumm made it the first deuce game, but she went onto make a double fault although hawk-eye revealed the second one was in and Williams reduced it to 5-3. Date-Krumm missed three set points in the following two games and Williams then produced three aces to take the lead 6-5. This time it was Williams who missed a set point and the set went into a tie break. The tie break was deja vu as Date-Krumm took a 3-0 lead before Williams aced to make it 3-1. Krumm then went 6-2 ahead before another Williams ace helped her to equalise at 6-6. But Date-Krumm wasn't going to be denied and made it 7-6 after an unsuccessful Williams challenge and Krumm took the set 8-6 on the tie break.
The second started by going with serve. Williams broke in the third game to love and went onto lead 3-1. Krumm halved the deficit and then fought back to 4-3 before Williams ran away with it to take the second set 6-3. The stat of the day had to be that only thirty-six of the participating women was born when Date-Krumm first took to the professional courts before retiring in 2005 at the age of twenty-six. But, now out of retirement, Date-Krumm battled hard in an exciting third set.
Williams aced the first game before a double fault allowed Krumm fight back to 2-1 behind. After seven deuces Date-Krumm equalised and did so again after Williams won the fifth game to love. Williams then pulled two aces out of the bag to take a 5-4 but there was no shaking Krumm off and it was soon 6-6. With no tie break in the final set, play continued and a tiring Krumm played an out shot which gave Williams the set at 8-6 to give her the 2-1 win, in what was an emphatic battle.
In other news, possible semi-final opponents Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray cruised into the third round. Nadal beat Ryan Sweeting 6-3 6-2 6-4 whereas Murray beat Germany's Kamke 6-3 6-3 7-5. Unfortunately for Britain, Heather Watson fell at the first hurdle to France's Johansson. Despite winning the first set 6-2, Johansson fought back to win 6-4 in the following sets to progress.
But this game was anything but slow and there times of absolute brilliance. Williams looked at little uncomfortable in the warm-up and her performance suffered as the returning Date-Krumm took a 3-0 lead in the opening, winning the first game to love against serve. Williams pulled a game back before Krumm went onto 5-1. All of a sudden, Williams got herself into her groove and battled back. The American hit two aces on her way to making 5-2. Williams then lead 15-40 before Date-Krumm made it the first deuce game, but she went onto make a double fault although hawk-eye revealed the second one was in and Williams reduced it to 5-3. Date-Krumm missed three set points in the following two games and Williams then produced three aces to take the lead 6-5. This time it was Williams who missed a set point and the set went into a tie break. The tie break was deja vu as Date-Krumm took a 3-0 lead before Williams aced to make it 3-1. Krumm then went 6-2 ahead before another Williams ace helped her to equalise at 6-6. But Date-Krumm wasn't going to be denied and made it 7-6 after an unsuccessful Williams challenge and Krumm took the set 8-6 on the tie break.
The second started by going with serve. Williams broke in the third game to love and went onto lead 3-1. Krumm halved the deficit and then fought back to 4-3 before Williams ran away with it to take the second set 6-3. The stat of the day had to be that only thirty-six of the participating women was born when Date-Krumm first took to the professional courts before retiring in 2005 at the age of twenty-six. But, now out of retirement, Date-Krumm battled hard in an exciting third set.
Williams aced the first game before a double fault allowed Krumm fight back to 2-1 behind. After seven deuces Date-Krumm equalised and did so again after Williams won the fifth game to love. Williams then pulled two aces out of the bag to take a 5-4 but there was no shaking Krumm off and it was soon 6-6. With no tie break in the final set, play continued and a tiring Krumm played an out shot which gave Williams the set at 8-6 to give her the 2-1 win, in what was an emphatic battle.
In other news, possible semi-final opponents Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray cruised into the third round. Nadal beat Ryan Sweeting 6-3 6-2 6-4 whereas Murray beat Germany's Kamke 6-3 6-3 7-5. Unfortunately for Britain, Heather Watson fell at the first hurdle to France's Johansson. Despite winning the first set 6-2, Johansson fought back to win 6-4 in the following sets to progress.
Monday 13 June 2011
Manic Montreal
Canada's Formula One Grand Prix race has to go down as one of the most craziest races for a long time. The conditions were extremely wet and the driver who led for the most laps was Bert Mylander in the Safety Car. Due to the weather, the race started, controversially, under the safety car. Toro Rosso's Alguersuari had to start from the pit lane so this actually helped him.
Five laps into the race, the Safety Car finally departed and the race got under way. It only took a few corners before Lewis Hamilton showed us why he is becoming the stewards' worst nightmare; Hamilton tried to overtake Webber on a corner which Webber had given him enough room, but Hamilton wanted more room and subsequently shunted Webber aside. Luckily, Webber was able to turn his car back around and continue the race. Hamilton was then forced wide by Schumacher a lap later, this allowed Button to overtake his teammate. But the two McLarens would meet on lap eight when Hamilton looked to have the drive on Button, but Button didn't see him and forced Hamilton into the wall and out of the race. The stewards stopped enquiring about his collision with Webber now Hamilton was out and confirmed that the stewards would look into that crash after the race.
The collision unsurprisingly caused the Safety Car back onto the track but was back in on lap twelve. The day got worse for Button as he received a drive through penalty for speeding during the Safety Car period. There was a sudden heavy downpour on lap twenty that again forced the Safety Car onto the track but just five laps later the race was red flagged due to the undriveable conditions.
Just over two hours later the race resumed as the weather was clearing up. Again, unsurprisingly, the race resumed under the Safety Car. Heikki Kovalainen waited for two hours just to see his engine fail five laps into the Safety Car period and had to retire. The Safety Car finally departed on lap 34, nine laps after the restart. D'Ambrosio received a drive through penalty for having the wrong tyres during that period because the pit crew changed them to intermediates while the Safety Car was in operation.
The Safety Car was again deployed on lap 37 when Alonso tried shutting the door on an overtaking Button, Button contacted Alonso which sent the Ferrari onto the kerb and beached so it couldn't move. Button suffered a puncture but was able to carry on and the incident was also under investigation after the race. The Safety Car again departed on lap forty.
Three laps later Di Resta collided into the back of Heidfeld and consequently lost his front wing. A lap later his Force India teammate Sutil was branded a drive through penalty for overtaking during the Safety Car and then Di Resta was handed the same punishment on lap fifty for causing an avoidable collision with Heidfeld. Two laps later Sutil then retired after just changing his tyres due to a right rear puncture.
Front wings took a battering throughout the race as Massa had a fight with the wall on lap 54 which caused mass damage to the front wing but the Ferrari was able to continue. Heidfeld was not so lucky two laps later; he went up the back of Kobayashi which caused front wing damage before the wing then collapsed and went under the Renault causing Heidfeld to crash in a run off area. The amount of debris left on the tack caused yet another Safety Car deployment.
The Safety Car departed on lap sixty and three laps later Maldonado became the latest retirement. The last six laps caused some of the best excitement in Formula One that didn't involve any collisions: Button overtook Webber to climb into third place on lap 64, a lap later Button then overtook Schumacher for second in what has to be Schumacher's best race since his comeback. Unfortunately Schumacher was denied a podium as Webber also overtook the Mercedes on lap 68. Di Resta ended a poor day for Force India by crashing on the penultimate lap but it didn't stop the last lap drama between leader Vettel and the hunter, Button. Button closed in on Vettel and the pressure got to the Red Bull as Vettel went wide on a corner, this allowed Button to overtake and unbelievably take the chequered flag. Although the real race winner should be Bert Mylander who led for thirty of the seventy laps in the Safety Car! Race results:
1.Button (McLaren), 2.Vettel (Red Bull), 3.Webber (Red Bull), 4.Schumacher (Mercedes), 5.Petrov (Renault), 6.Massa (Ferrari), 7.Kobayashi (Sauber), 8.Alguersuari (Toro Rosso), 9.Barrichello (Williams), 10.Buemi (Toro Rosso), 11.Rosberg (Mercedes), 12.De La Rosa (Sauber), 13.Liuzzi (Hispania), 14.Karthikeyan (Hispania), 15.D'Ambrosio (Virgin), 16.Glock (Virgin), 17.Trulli (Lotus) DNF: Hamilton (McLaren), Kovalainen (Lotus), Alonso (Ferrari), Sutil (Force India), Heidfeld (Renault), Maldonado (Williams), Di Resta (Force India).
Five laps into the race, the Safety Car finally departed and the race got under way. It only took a few corners before Lewis Hamilton showed us why he is becoming the stewards' worst nightmare; Hamilton tried to overtake Webber on a corner which Webber had given him enough room, but Hamilton wanted more room and subsequently shunted Webber aside. Luckily, Webber was able to turn his car back around and continue the race. Hamilton was then forced wide by Schumacher a lap later, this allowed Button to overtake his teammate. But the two McLarens would meet on lap eight when Hamilton looked to have the drive on Button, but Button didn't see him and forced Hamilton into the wall and out of the race. The stewards stopped enquiring about his collision with Webber now Hamilton was out and confirmed that the stewards would look into that crash after the race.
The collision unsurprisingly caused the Safety Car back onto the track but was back in on lap twelve. The day got worse for Button as he received a drive through penalty for speeding during the Safety Car period. There was a sudden heavy downpour on lap twenty that again forced the Safety Car onto the track but just five laps later the race was red flagged due to the undriveable conditions.
Just over two hours later the race resumed as the weather was clearing up. Again, unsurprisingly, the race resumed under the Safety Car. Heikki Kovalainen waited for two hours just to see his engine fail five laps into the Safety Car period and had to retire. The Safety Car finally departed on lap 34, nine laps after the restart. D'Ambrosio received a drive through penalty for having the wrong tyres during that period because the pit crew changed them to intermediates while the Safety Car was in operation.
The Safety Car was again deployed on lap 37 when Alonso tried shutting the door on an overtaking Button, Button contacted Alonso which sent the Ferrari onto the kerb and beached so it couldn't move. Button suffered a puncture but was able to carry on and the incident was also under investigation after the race. The Safety Car again departed on lap forty.
Three laps later Di Resta collided into the back of Heidfeld and consequently lost his front wing. A lap later his Force India teammate Sutil was branded a drive through penalty for overtaking during the Safety Car and then Di Resta was handed the same punishment on lap fifty for causing an avoidable collision with Heidfeld. Two laps later Sutil then retired after just changing his tyres due to a right rear puncture.
Front wings took a battering throughout the race as Massa had a fight with the wall on lap 54 which caused mass damage to the front wing but the Ferrari was able to continue. Heidfeld was not so lucky two laps later; he went up the back of Kobayashi which caused front wing damage before the wing then collapsed and went under the Renault causing Heidfeld to crash in a run off area. The amount of debris left on the tack caused yet another Safety Car deployment.
The Safety Car departed on lap sixty and three laps later Maldonado became the latest retirement. The last six laps caused some of the best excitement in Formula One that didn't involve any collisions: Button overtook Webber to climb into third place on lap 64, a lap later Button then overtook Schumacher for second in what has to be Schumacher's best race since his comeback. Unfortunately Schumacher was denied a podium as Webber also overtook the Mercedes on lap 68. Di Resta ended a poor day for Force India by crashing on the penultimate lap but it didn't stop the last lap drama between leader Vettel and the hunter, Button. Button closed in on Vettel and the pressure got to the Red Bull as Vettel went wide on a corner, this allowed Button to overtake and unbelievably take the chequered flag. Although the real race winner should be Bert Mylander who led for thirty of the seventy laps in the Safety Car! Race results:
1.Button (McLaren), 2.Vettel (Red Bull), 3.Webber (Red Bull), 4.Schumacher (Mercedes), 5.Petrov (Renault), 6.Massa (Ferrari), 7.Kobayashi (Sauber), 8.Alguersuari (Toro Rosso), 9.Barrichello (Williams), 10.Buemi (Toro Rosso), 11.Rosberg (Mercedes), 12.De La Rosa (Sauber), 13.Liuzzi (Hispania), 14.Karthikeyan (Hispania), 15.D'Ambrosio (Virgin), 16.Glock (Virgin), 17.Trulli (Lotus) DNF: Hamilton (McLaren), Kovalainen (Lotus), Alonso (Ferrari), Sutil (Force India), Heidfeld (Renault), Maldonado (Williams), Di Resta (Force India).
Sunday 12 June 2011
cOPENhagen
The fourth round of the Speedway Grand Prix series headed to Copenhagen, Denmark. Surprisingly, twelve of the sixteen riders won a heat which left the meeting open for anyone to win. Although it was the usual candidates that got to the final and eventually won the meeting.
Antonio Lindback took the first heat. Heat two was a sort of warm-up for the World Cup between Russia and Denmark; if it was a World Cup race then the points would have been tied at three each. Surprisingly Artem Laguta took the heat to double his overall tally for the season, Bjerre came second with Pedersen third in front of their home crowd, Emil Sayfutdinov came last. Janusz Kolodziej filed to start heat three as his bike packed up, this gave wildcard Mikkel Jensen an automatic point but series leader Hancock won it. Andreas Jonsson took heat four.
Chris Holder won heat five before Nicky Pedersen became the first Dane to win a heat in the meeting, with Hancock third and Gollob fourth. Jason Crump took advantage by winning heat seven with the only Brit Chris Harris taking heat eight.
Heats 9-12 were complete carnage: Heat nine ended up as a last man standing match ; Chris Harris collided with Jason Crump which left Harris excluded, following the restart Nicky Pedersen ran out of room and hit the deck which left him excluded. This left the two Aussies fighting for the win which Crump emerged victorious. Heat ten saw a monumental crash between Freddy Lindgren and Kolodziej, Lindgren looked to have landed awkwardly but all four riders were able to restart and Lindgren ended up winning the heat. After a poor start to the meeting, Thomasz Gollob took the flag in an uneventful heat eleven. But heat twelve saw Jonsson's bike fail on the opening corner and Hancock had nowhere to go but up Jonsson's bike and onto the floor. Jonsson was excluded and thankfully Hancock was fit enough to continue but Rune Holta won the restart.
Gollob won his second heat in a row in the thirteenth before Jaroslaw Hampel became the eleventh different heat winner in heat fourteen. Chris Harris won his second heat in the fifteenth before Pedersen won his second in the sixteenth.
Greg Hancock became the latest to win two heats in heat seventeen with Hampel following suit in the eighteenth. Nicky Pedersen hit the floor in the penultimate heat and was subsequently excluded before Kolodziej became winner number twelve. The final heat saw Gollob win his third heat with rival Crump in second.
The first semi-final was won by the veteran Hancock with Championship contender Crump in second, Lindgren came third with Harris in fourth. The second semi-final was won by the reigning Champion Gollob with Chris Holder making sure both Aussies made the final, Hampel came third with Nicky Pedersen ending Denmark's hopes in fourth. Gollob took the chequered flag in the final with Crump beating his compatriot to second, Hancock finished fourth.
This meant that Gollob took twenty points from the meeting with Crump on eighteen. Holder finished with fourteen, a solitary point ahead of Hancock. Hampel finished with twelve, Lindgren on nine with Harris and Pedersen taking seven points. After four rounds, Gollob now leads the series by a single point on 61 ahead of Hancock. Hampel is third on 48 with both of the Aussies on 42. Pedersen is on 37 with both Sayfutdinov and Lindgren currently on 35.
Antonio Lindback took the first heat. Heat two was a sort of warm-up for the World Cup between Russia and Denmark; if it was a World Cup race then the points would have been tied at three each. Surprisingly Artem Laguta took the heat to double his overall tally for the season, Bjerre came second with Pedersen third in front of their home crowd, Emil Sayfutdinov came last. Janusz Kolodziej filed to start heat three as his bike packed up, this gave wildcard Mikkel Jensen an automatic point but series leader Hancock won it. Andreas Jonsson took heat four.
Chris Holder won heat five before Nicky Pedersen became the first Dane to win a heat in the meeting, with Hancock third and Gollob fourth. Jason Crump took advantage by winning heat seven with the only Brit Chris Harris taking heat eight.
Heats 9-12 were complete carnage: Heat nine ended up as a last man standing match ; Chris Harris collided with Jason Crump which left Harris excluded, following the restart Nicky Pedersen ran out of room and hit the deck which left him excluded. This left the two Aussies fighting for the win which Crump emerged victorious. Heat ten saw a monumental crash between Freddy Lindgren and Kolodziej, Lindgren looked to have landed awkwardly but all four riders were able to restart and Lindgren ended up winning the heat. After a poor start to the meeting, Thomasz Gollob took the flag in an uneventful heat eleven. But heat twelve saw Jonsson's bike fail on the opening corner and Hancock had nowhere to go but up Jonsson's bike and onto the floor. Jonsson was excluded and thankfully Hancock was fit enough to continue but Rune Holta won the restart.
Gollob won his second heat in a row in the thirteenth before Jaroslaw Hampel became the eleventh different heat winner in heat fourteen. Chris Harris won his second heat in the fifteenth before Pedersen won his second in the sixteenth.
Greg Hancock became the latest to win two heats in heat seventeen with Hampel following suit in the eighteenth. Nicky Pedersen hit the floor in the penultimate heat and was subsequently excluded before Kolodziej became winner number twelve. The final heat saw Gollob win his third heat with rival Crump in second.
The first semi-final was won by the veteran Hancock with Championship contender Crump in second, Lindgren came third with Harris in fourth. The second semi-final was won by the reigning Champion Gollob with Chris Holder making sure both Aussies made the final, Hampel came third with Nicky Pedersen ending Denmark's hopes in fourth. Gollob took the chequered flag in the final with Crump beating his compatriot to second, Hancock finished fourth.
This meant that Gollob took twenty points from the meeting with Crump on eighteen. Holder finished with fourteen, a solitary point ahead of Hancock. Hampel finished with twelve, Lindgren on nine with Harris and Pedersen taking seven points. After four rounds, Gollob now leads the series by a single point on 61 ahead of Hancock. Hampel is third on 48 with both of the Aussies on 42. Pedersen is on 37 with both Sayfutdinov and Lindgren currently on 35.
Saturday 11 June 2011
Ferrari Finally Join The Party
Formula One returns this week with Montreal being the latest host. Sergio Perez remains out of action for tomorrow's race, so Pedro De La Rosa deputised in qualifying for the Sauber team. There was no real drama in Q1 apart from Liuzzi spinning out onto the grass but it didn't cause any disruption and the Hispania had already made a competitive time. D'Ambrosio is the only possible faller from the 107% rule but I'm pretty sure he'll be allowed to race. Glock became the meat in the Hispania sandwich, qualifying 22nd ahead of Karthikeyan and behind Liuzzi. Jarno Trulli out-qualified his Lotus team-mate Kovalainen for the first time this season in nineteenth and twentieth. The 'one' to fall from Q1 was the under pressure Alguersuari who suffered a lot of under-steer during the session. Alonso was the fastest in Q1.
Q2 saw De La Rosa finish seventeenth after a near miss of the wall in Q1, there was sparks as contact was made but the car was able to carry on. Barrichello will start sixteenth behind Buemi and Sutil. Kobayashi will start thirteenth in the other Sauber with Maldonado twelfth and Di Resta just missed out on Q3. Massa was the fastest in Q2 in the other Ferrari.
The two Renualts will start ninth and tenth with Heidfeld ahead of Petrov. Button is the meat in the Mercedes sandwich with Schumacher eighth and Rosberg sixth. McLaren looked well off the pace as Hamilton will start fifth. Webber is fourth behind the two Ferraris with Alonso in second, meaning that Sebastian Vettel will start from Pole for the sixth race out of seven.
Q2 saw De La Rosa finish seventeenth after a near miss of the wall in Q1, there was sparks as contact was made but the car was able to carry on. Barrichello will start sixteenth behind Buemi and Sutil. Kobayashi will start thirteenth in the other Sauber with Maldonado twelfth and Di Resta just missed out on Q3. Massa was the fastest in Q2 in the other Ferrari.
The two Renualts will start ninth and tenth with Heidfeld ahead of Petrov. Button is the meat in the Mercedes sandwich with Schumacher eighth and Rosberg sixth. McLaren looked well off the pace as Hamilton will start fifth. Webber is fourth behind the two Ferraris with Alonso in second, meaning that Sebastian Vettel will start from Pole for the sixth race out of seven.
Wednesday 8 June 2011
Welcome To The World Of Football
How wonderful must it be to live in the world of football? Men all run free around the grassy areas, kicking balls around aimlessly for hours on end. Getting paid hundreds of thousands of pounds each week to show up for a few hours a day to play football, yet moan about everything and break every moral rule there is within the social life. Complaints of tiredness are frequently brought to our attention, so much so that everyone (including the players) are sick of it.
Yet the best part of the football world has to be how money is no object to anyone within this unreal community. The third world is still amassed in poverty, the rest of the world has a crippling debt overhanging which the loyal taxpayers are forking out for. But, within eight days of the transfer window opening, the footballing world has dealt some unbelievable price tags for players that are certainly not worth these ridiculous amounts.
Today has seen 'hot prospect' Phil Jones leave Blackburn after Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United were all interested. United look to have won the race for the nineteen year old at the price of £16Million. Jones made twenty-five appearances last season in a team that narrowly avoided relegation and only kept twelve clean sheets all season.
Jordan Henderson has left Sunderland to join Liverpool for £20Million plus David Ngog. I do personally rate Henderson but he's nowhere in the region of £20Million, the play maker scored three goals in thirty seven league matches last season. To think I originally thought the £20Million offer of Ashley Young was extremely high.
Although the fantasy of the football currency which appears to exist in real life as well as on the latest FIFA video game, it's nice to hear stories of those teams that are still slightly down to earth. Swansea broke their transfer fee record this week for Watford striker Danny Graham, a fee that cost £3.5Million, by today's standards it's an absolute bargain. God help us all when September 1st comes around and the Premier League spending totaliser hits around the £1.5Billion region!
Yet the best part of the football world has to be how money is no object to anyone within this unreal community. The third world is still amassed in poverty, the rest of the world has a crippling debt overhanging which the loyal taxpayers are forking out for. But, within eight days of the transfer window opening, the footballing world has dealt some unbelievable price tags for players that are certainly not worth these ridiculous amounts.
Today has seen 'hot prospect' Phil Jones leave Blackburn after Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United were all interested. United look to have won the race for the nineteen year old at the price of £16Million. Jones made twenty-five appearances last season in a team that narrowly avoided relegation and only kept twelve clean sheets all season.
Jordan Henderson has left Sunderland to join Liverpool for £20Million plus David Ngog. I do personally rate Henderson but he's nowhere in the region of £20Million, the play maker scored three goals in thirty seven league matches last season. To think I originally thought the £20Million offer of Ashley Young was extremely high.
Although the fantasy of the football currency which appears to exist in real life as well as on the latest FIFA video game, it's nice to hear stories of those teams that are still slightly down to earth. Swansea broke their transfer fee record this week for Watford striker Danny Graham, a fee that cost £3.5Million, by today's standards it's an absolute bargain. God help us all when September 1st comes around and the Premier League spending totaliser hits around the £1.5Billion region!
Monday 6 June 2011
UK Open Finals Night
After the quarter finals yesterday afternoon, the four semi-finalists had about two hours to prepare for the semi-finals last night. The first semi-final saw two Premier League players battle it out for the place in the final. Webster made much of the early going against Wade and the Welshman went 2-0 ahead before extending it to a healthy 7-3. But Webster was then 9-7 ahead and missed the bulls-eye to take the prize, Wade followed up with Shanghai 120 to remain in the game. This rocked Webster and it caused him to lose the momentum, Wade fought all the back to win 10-9.
The second semi-final saw that whoever won would be entering their first major TV darts final. Denis Ovens moved into a 5-2 lead over Wes Newton but Newton found his darts and won five legs on the spin to make it 7-4. From there Newton was always the favourite as the veteran Ovens lost steam to give Newton a 9-6 victory.
Newton had twenty minutes to recover from his semi-final victory before taking to the stage again to face Wade in the final. Wade out scored Newton throughout the contest but his missed doubles allowed Newton to remain in touch at 6-6. Wade then found his beloved double top and it spelt the end for Newton as Wade won 8-6. This is Wade's sixth major (seven if you count the Premier League) but although it was Newton's first final, I think we'll be seeing a lot more from him and possibly even a Premier League spot next year.
The second semi-final saw that whoever won would be entering their first major TV darts final. Denis Ovens moved into a 5-2 lead over Wes Newton but Newton found his darts and won five legs on the spin to make it 7-4. From there Newton was always the favourite as the veteran Ovens lost steam to give Newton a 9-6 victory.
Newton had twenty minutes to recover from his semi-final victory before taking to the stage again to face Wade in the final. Wade out scored Newton throughout the contest but his missed doubles allowed Newton to remain in touch at 6-6. Wade then found his beloved double top and it spelt the end for Newton as Wade won 8-6. This is Wade's sixth major (seven if you count the Premier League) but although it was Newton's first final, I think we'll be seeing a lot more from him and possibly even a Premier League spot next year.
Sunday 5 June 2011
UK Open Quarter Finals
Finals day of the UK Open is at half-time with the quarter finals having took place. Veteran Denis Ovens will be the only semi-finalist over the age of thirty-three. Ovens stormed into a 5-0 lead over Hylton but it didn't end as close as that as Hylton fought his way back. The Heat eventually won 10-6 over Mile High Hylton.
Wes Newton will face Ovens in tonight's semi-finals after a close shave against Dave Chisnall. Newton was the favourite especially after his 9-1 demolition over Van Barneveld yesterday. Chisnall made it hard work but Newton managed to win 10-8 in the end.
Mark Webster continued his comeback to form with a 10-7 victory over Robert Thornton. Webster will now meet fellow 2011 Premier League participant Wade in the semi-finals after the Machine stopped Paul Nicholson's run of upsets, winning 10-7.
Wes Newton will face Ovens in tonight's semi-finals after a close shave against Dave Chisnall. Newton was the favourite especially after his 9-1 demolition over Van Barneveld yesterday. Chisnall made it hard work but Newton managed to win 10-8 in the end.
Mark Webster continued his comeback to form with a 10-7 victory over Robert Thornton. Webster will now meet fellow 2011 Premier League participant Wade in the semi-finals after the Machine stopped Paul Nicholson's run of upsets, winning 10-7.
Disappointing End To the Season
The football season properly ended yesterday as England played Switzerland in their Euro 2012 qualifier. Prior to the game England led their group on goal difference with ten points from four games alongside Montenegro. Switzerland on the other hand were struggling with only four points from four games.
After the FIFA farce, the English press were telling the team to thrash Switzerland as Blatter is Swiss-born. This never came into fruition as England were unsurprisingly below par. Switzerland took the lead after 32 minutes when Tranquillo Barnetta looped a free-kick into the box that beat everyone, including the wrong footed Joe Hart as the ball trickled into the bottom corner. It got worse for England as Switzerland were given another free-kick three minutes later; Barnetta stepped up again and took full advantage as James Milner departed from the two man wall, the ball went through the wall and beat Hart to his front post. England were able to pull one back two minutes later (37) when Wilshere was fouled by his Arsenal teammate Djourou in the box. Lampard stepped up and converted although keeper Benaglio was mighty close to saving it.
The second half saw substitute Ashley Young equalise make an instant impact when his half-volley rippled to net just six minutes after the restart. From there both teams created chances with Bent missing a half empty net for England. But neither team found the net and game finished 2-2. Luckily for England Montenegro also drew with Bulgaria so England remain top on goal difference. However, despite the poor performance Fabio Capello decided to play the tired game, which everyone must be getting tired of. Yes England has just finished its football season, although two weeks should have been enough time apart from Ferdinand, so they may be feeling the pinch. But hasn't Switzerland also finished its football season also? It's got to work both ways and as Switzerland looked the better team and not lethargic at all then I'm sorry Fabio Capello but this tiredness lark just doesn't wash anymore. Either put up or shut up and admit to England's defensive and attacking mistakes when they happen, they're not tired they're just not good enough.
After the FIFA farce, the English press were telling the team to thrash Switzerland as Blatter is Swiss-born. This never came into fruition as England were unsurprisingly below par. Switzerland took the lead after 32 minutes when Tranquillo Barnetta looped a free-kick into the box that beat everyone, including the wrong footed Joe Hart as the ball trickled into the bottom corner. It got worse for England as Switzerland were given another free-kick three minutes later; Barnetta stepped up again and took full advantage as James Milner departed from the two man wall, the ball went through the wall and beat Hart to his front post. England were able to pull one back two minutes later (37) when Wilshere was fouled by his Arsenal teammate Djourou in the box. Lampard stepped up and converted although keeper Benaglio was mighty close to saving it.
The second half saw substitute Ashley Young equalise make an instant impact when his half-volley rippled to net just six minutes after the restart. From there both teams created chances with Bent missing a half empty net for England. But neither team found the net and game finished 2-2. Luckily for England Montenegro also drew with Bulgaria so England remain top on goal difference. However, despite the poor performance Fabio Capello decided to play the tired game, which everyone must be getting tired of. Yes England has just finished its football season, although two weeks should have been enough time apart from Ferdinand, so they may be feeling the pinch. But hasn't Switzerland also finished its football season also? It's got to work both ways and as Switzerland looked the better team and not lethargic at all then I'm sorry Fabio Capello but this tiredness lark just doesn't wash anymore. Either put up or shut up and admit to England's defensive and attacking mistakes when they happen, they're not tired they're just not good enough.
Changing Of The Guard?
The football season may be over for Bolton, but the Reebok Stadium has been hosting the Darts UK Open or the FA Cup of Darts as it has been dubbed. The tournament started on Thursday and today will the see the quarter finals to the final. The biggest surprise is that only two from the Premier League have survived as new names look set to take over the mantle.
World Champion Adrian Lewis was the first to fall as he lost 9-7 in the third round to Terry Jenkins. Simon Whitlock also fell in round three with a 9-7 defeat to Co Stompe, 2010 Premier League participant Mervyn King lost 9-5 to Mark Walsh.
Yesterday saw rounds four and five take place with yet more huge upsets. Premier League champion Gary Anderson went 5-1 ahead of Paul Nicholson but Nicholson managed to win 9-8. Jenkins lost in a big battle with James Wade as Wade won 9-6. Stompe went 6-0 ahead, then 8-4 ahead but Mark Webster was able to fight back and win 9-8. Another 2010 Premier League participant was knocked out as Ronnie Baxter lost 9-7 to Dave Chisnall.
Round five saw the two big scalps as both Taylor and Van Barneveld were beaten. Taylor faced Paul Nicholson who carried on his momentum after beating Anderson, Nicholson won 9-8 by winning the deciding leg against the throw. Van Barneveld got completely hammered by Wes Newton 9-1.
This leaves only Wade and Webster from the Premier League in the quarter finals. Paul Nicholson will have to do it the hard way after beating both Anderson and Taylor, he now faces Wade in the quarters. Mark Webster will face Scotland's Robert Thornton, Newton will face Chisnall and veteran Denis Ovens will take on Mark Hylton.
World Champion Adrian Lewis was the first to fall as he lost 9-7 in the third round to Terry Jenkins. Simon Whitlock also fell in round three with a 9-7 defeat to Co Stompe, 2010 Premier League participant Mervyn King lost 9-5 to Mark Walsh.
Yesterday saw rounds four and five take place with yet more huge upsets. Premier League champion Gary Anderson went 5-1 ahead of Paul Nicholson but Nicholson managed to win 9-8. Jenkins lost in a big battle with James Wade as Wade won 9-6. Stompe went 6-0 ahead, then 8-4 ahead but Mark Webster was able to fight back and win 9-8. Another 2010 Premier League participant was knocked out as Ronnie Baxter lost 9-7 to Dave Chisnall.
Round five saw the two big scalps as both Taylor and Van Barneveld were beaten. Taylor faced Paul Nicholson who carried on his momentum after beating Anderson, Nicholson won 9-8 by winning the deciding leg against the throw. Van Barneveld got completely hammered by Wes Newton 9-1.
This leaves only Wade and Webster from the Premier League in the quarter finals. Paul Nicholson will have to do it the hard way after beating both Anderson and Taylor, he now faces Wade in the quarters. Mark Webster will face Scotland's Robert Thornton, Newton will face Chisnall and veteran Denis Ovens will take on Mark Hylton.
Football's International Farce Association
This past week has seen the English FA belittled by the rest of the world. The question is, how do you stop a disease from spreading when the cure is ignored? Allegations into FIFA's corrupt governing body started way back when the votes for the next World Cup were being given. As we know, Russia will host the 2018 World Cup and Qatar will host it in 2022. Immediately questions were asked over how Qatar managed to get the World Cup but FIFA swept them aside rather quickly.
At first it was the English press that brought the allegations to light with Jack Warner being the man exposed. But is has took until last week's FIFA Presidential elections before anyone started listening. This was because both America and Germany also accused FIFA of being corrupt. This lead to Jack Warner being suspended along with Mohamed Bin Hammam who was running for Presidency. Following his suspension, Bin Hammam decided to withdraw from the Presidential election, leaving Sepp Blatter the only candidate to regain his position.
There was supposed to be a investigation into Blatter's part of the bride allegations but as he is the President, how can you prove anything against him? This would mean that Blatter would stand unopposed in what would be the most pointless election process. The FA tried to postpone the election until someone else stepped forward to compete with Blatter but the FA lost that vote 172-17.
The failed vote put the FA in a bad position. This was because the bigwigs at FIFA could use England as a scapegoat by saying all they ever do is moan and whinge when they should get on with it. Needless to say the election vote saw Blatter get re-elected with 186 votes, surprise surprise.
One change within FIFA saw Blatter change the World Cup voting system. Originally the voting system has seen representatives from the Continental organisations vote on the hosts of World Cups. But now, Blatter said, all 208 member associations will get a chance to vote. As for England, there's not a lot we can do. We are in the catch 22 situation because although we are against FIFA because of their corrupt nature, we can't exactly leave FIFA because there's nowhere we can go unless you fancy a tournament with the likes of Tuvalu?
At first it was the English press that brought the allegations to light with Jack Warner being the man exposed. But is has took until last week's FIFA Presidential elections before anyone started listening. This was because both America and Germany also accused FIFA of being corrupt. This lead to Jack Warner being suspended along with Mohamed Bin Hammam who was running for Presidency. Following his suspension, Bin Hammam decided to withdraw from the Presidential election, leaving Sepp Blatter the only candidate to regain his position.
There was supposed to be a investigation into Blatter's part of the bride allegations but as he is the President, how can you prove anything against him? This would mean that Blatter would stand unopposed in what would be the most pointless election process. The FA tried to postpone the election until someone else stepped forward to compete with Blatter but the FA lost that vote 172-17.
The failed vote put the FA in a bad position. This was because the bigwigs at FIFA could use England as a scapegoat by saying all they ever do is moan and whinge when they should get on with it. Needless to say the election vote saw Blatter get re-elected with 186 votes, surprise surprise.
One change within FIFA saw Blatter change the World Cup voting system. Originally the voting system has seen representatives from the Continental organisations vote on the hosts of World Cups. But now, Blatter said, all 208 member associations will get a chance to vote. As for England, there's not a lot we can do. We are in the catch 22 situation because although we are against FIFA because of their corrupt nature, we can't exactly leave FIFA because there's nowhere we can go unless you fancy a tournament with the likes of Tuvalu?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)