The Davis Cup returned this weekend and although the main focus would have been on the quarter finals, Great Britain had a Europe/Africa Zone II match against Luxembourg. On paper the result wasn't much of a surprise as Andy Murray took part for Britain in Glasgow whereas Luxembourg's main star was Gilles Muller.
But if Great Britain won, they would be in the playoff final for the chance to be promoted to Group I. Up first was Muller against James Ward, Muller probably unsurprisingly won in straight sets 6-3 7-6 6-1. Andy Murray was up next and he faced Laurent Bram who was mainly a coach and very much a part time player. It was no surprise to see Murray win, but Murray did it in fantastic style by winning 6-0 6-0 6-0 to level the score after day one.
Day two saw the doubles event and Andy Murray teamed with his brother Jamie to take on Bram and Mike Vermeer who is ranked 971st in the world. the Murray's had to fight to win the first set but took it 7-5. From there the Luxembourg pair had no answer and the Murray's won the other two sets 6-2 6-0 to give Britain the edge going into the final day.
Andy Murray kicked off day three knowing that a win over Gilles Muller would secure Britain's place in the promotion play-off. Again it was quickly won in straight sets as Murray took the match 6-4 6-3 6-1 to secure the final play-off. James Ward rounded day three off with a 6-1 6-3. Great Britain will now face Hungary in the promotion play-off.
Monday, 11 July 2011
Sunday, 10 July 2011
Pit Stop Mistakes Lose Races
The Silverstone Formula 1 GP certainly didn't disappoint with so much more drama than in Valencia two weeks ago. Vettel took the lead from the start as Webber was a little slow in maintaining track position. Button managed to get himself up to fourth and Hamilton sixth after starting fifth and tenth respectively. The track was half wet and half dry which left the drivers starting the race on intermediates but the mixed conditions helped build the drama. The second lap was the beginning of the end for Button as both Massa and Hamilton were able to overtake him. Kovalainen became the first retirement in two races a lap later due to a gearbox failure.
The conditions were proving difficult for some drivers and Hamilton quickly found himself going into a run off area whilst battling with Massa, but the McLaren was able to carry on. Sauber's Kobayashi arguably had the most eventful race and it all started on lap nine when when Schumacher collided into him, the Sauber span but was able to carry on while the Mercedes lost his front wing and was issued a stop/go penalty five laps later for causing an avoidable collision. Lap thirteen saw Kobayashi move slowly away from his pit release and nearly collided into Maldonado but did end up taking a Force India wheel gun out of the cable. Kobayashi was also handed a stop/go penalty on lap twenty for an unsafe pit release.
Lap thirteen saw Hamilton overtake Massa into fourth while Trulli was forced to retire for an unknown reason. A lap later Button also overtook Massa and went into fifth place. The McLarens were flying at this point and Hamilton was able to overtake Alonso on lap fifteen to take third place. But this only lasted nine laps before Alonso regained the podium position.
Kobayashi's race finished on lap twenty-five when his stop/go penalty caused his engine to overheat and subsequently fail. There was another pit lane cock-up on lap twenty-six as Force India's Di Resta came in to pit but the team has Sutil's tyres out and quickly had to change them, pretty much ending Di Resta's fine race. Di Resta then caused contact with Toro Rosso's Buemi a lap later, causing Buemi to suffer a left rear puncture and retired from the race. The penultimate pit-stop mix-up was arguably the most indicative for the race as Vettel and second placed Alonso pitted together. But Vettel's rear tyre wouldn't fasten quickly enough and Alonso took the lead with Hamilton now suddenly in second place.
It took ten laps before Vettel could re-overtake Hamilton by pitting a lap earlier to gain a lap's worth of pace. The final pit-lane mix-up occurred on lap forty when Button's front right tyre wasn't fastened at all, causing Button to park on the outside of the pit lane before the tyre would come clean off and the McLaren had to therefore retire. It got worse for McLaren as Hamilton had to go into fuel saving mode which allowed Webber to take full advantage and regain third place. The final lap saw Webber battle Vettel for second before the Red Bull garage intervened on the final corners. But Hamilton's fuel saving mode allowed Massa to battle for fourth and Hamilton collided into the Ferrari on the final corner to ensure his fourth place ahead of Massa, but surely a steward's enquiry will be made. Race results:
1.Alonso (Ferrari), 2.Vettel (Red Bull), 3.Webber (Red Bull), 4.Hamilton (McLaren), 5.Massa (Ferrari), 6.Rosberg (Mercedes), 7.Perez (Sauber), 8.Heidfeld (Renault), 9.Schumacher (Mercedes), 10.Alguersuari (Toro Rosso), 11.Sutil (Force India), 12.Petrov (Renault), 13.Barrichello (Williams), 14.Maldonado (Williams), 15.Di Resta (Force India), 16.Glock (Virgin), 17.D'Ambrosio (Virgin), 18.Liuzzi (Hispania), 19.Ricciardo (Hispania) DNF: Kovalainen (Lotus), Trulli (Lotus), Kobayashi (Sauber), Beumi (Toro Rosso), Button (McLaren)
The conditions were proving difficult for some drivers and Hamilton quickly found himself going into a run off area whilst battling with Massa, but the McLaren was able to carry on. Sauber's Kobayashi arguably had the most eventful race and it all started on lap nine when when Schumacher collided into him, the Sauber span but was able to carry on while the Mercedes lost his front wing and was issued a stop/go penalty five laps later for causing an avoidable collision. Lap thirteen saw Kobayashi move slowly away from his pit release and nearly collided into Maldonado but did end up taking a Force India wheel gun out of the cable. Kobayashi was also handed a stop/go penalty on lap twenty for an unsafe pit release.
Lap thirteen saw Hamilton overtake Massa into fourth while Trulli was forced to retire for an unknown reason. A lap later Button also overtook Massa and went into fifth place. The McLarens were flying at this point and Hamilton was able to overtake Alonso on lap fifteen to take third place. But this only lasted nine laps before Alonso regained the podium position.
Kobayashi's race finished on lap twenty-five when his stop/go penalty caused his engine to overheat and subsequently fail. There was another pit lane cock-up on lap twenty-six as Force India's Di Resta came in to pit but the team has Sutil's tyres out and quickly had to change them, pretty much ending Di Resta's fine race. Di Resta then caused contact with Toro Rosso's Buemi a lap later, causing Buemi to suffer a left rear puncture and retired from the race. The penultimate pit-stop mix-up was arguably the most indicative for the race as Vettel and second placed Alonso pitted together. But Vettel's rear tyre wouldn't fasten quickly enough and Alonso took the lead with Hamilton now suddenly in second place.
It took ten laps before Vettel could re-overtake Hamilton by pitting a lap earlier to gain a lap's worth of pace. The final pit-lane mix-up occurred on lap forty when Button's front right tyre wasn't fastened at all, causing Button to park on the outside of the pit lane before the tyre would come clean off and the McLaren had to therefore retire. It got worse for McLaren as Hamilton had to go into fuel saving mode which allowed Webber to take full advantage and regain third place. The final lap saw Webber battle Vettel for second before the Red Bull garage intervened on the final corners. But Hamilton's fuel saving mode allowed Massa to battle for fourth and Hamilton collided into the Ferrari on the final corner to ensure his fourth place ahead of Massa, but surely a steward's enquiry will be made. Race results:
1.Alonso (Ferrari), 2.Vettel (Red Bull), 3.Webber (Red Bull), 4.Hamilton (McLaren), 5.Massa (Ferrari), 6.Rosberg (Mercedes), 7.Perez (Sauber), 8.Heidfeld (Renault), 9.Schumacher (Mercedes), 10.Alguersuari (Toro Rosso), 11.Sutil (Force India), 12.Petrov (Renault), 13.Barrichello (Williams), 14.Maldonado (Williams), 15.Di Resta (Force India), 16.Glock (Virgin), 17.D'Ambrosio (Virgin), 18.Liuzzi (Hispania), 19.Ricciardo (Hispania) DNF: Kovalainen (Lotus), Trulli (Lotus), Kobayashi (Sauber), Beumi (Toro Rosso), Button (McLaren)
SWC 2011: Event One
The Speedway Grand Prix series has taken a break this week as the Speedway World Cup began yesterday. It is split into four events where eight nations compete for the title. The winners from events one and two will progress into the final whereas the teams who finish second and third will meet in the play-off on Thursday. Event One was held in Vojens, Denmark, where the scoring system is the same as normal Speedway: three points for first, two for second and three for third. But in the World Cup, if a nation is six or more points behind the leader during the twenty-five heats they can use a joker for one heat where the points scored in that race will be doubled.
The four teams who competed in event one were Denmark, Sweden, Australia and Germany. The hosts controversially left out last year's captain Hans Andersen in favour of Mads Korneliussen. Grand Prix riders Nicky Pedersen and Kenneth Bjerre were also joined by Niels-Kristian Iversen and Bjarne Pedersen. Sweden's controversial choice saw Magnus 'Zorro' Zetterstrom left out. Grand Prix riders Andreas Jonsson, Freddie Lindgren and Antonio Lindback were joined by Jonas Davidsson and Thomas H Jonasson. Australia left out Davey Watt for a more younger set up. GP riders Jason Crump and Chris Holder were joined by Darcy Ward, Troy Batchelor and Rory Schlein. Germany were definitely the minnows as none of their riders take part in the GP and were represented by Kevin Wolbert, Max Dilger, Tobias Busch, Mathias Schultz and Tobias Kroner.
Jonsson won the first heat for Sweden but Bjarne Pedersen and Kenneth Bjerre won the next two to give Denamrk a point lead after three heats. Australia got off to an awful start and Batchelor packed up in heat three to give Germany their second point in three heats to take third place. Jonas Davidsson won heat four with Mads Korneliussen proving his critics wrong to win the fifth heat. After five heats Denmark had twelve, Sweden eleven, Australia five and Germany two.
Kenneth Bjerre won his second heat in the heat six with Germany using their joker, but Wolbert could only manage third to pick up two points. Chris holder won Australia's first heat before Korneliussen continued the Danish charge in heat eight with his second win. Heat nine saw Nicky Pedersen fall and was subsequently excluded, allowing Freddie Lindgren to take the lead over Denmark. But Bjarne Pedersen restored parity by winning the tenth heat. After ten heats Denamrk and Sweden both had twenty-one points, Australia thirteen and Germany six.
Australia began a gallant fight back in the following five heats; Darcy Ward won heat eleven with Holder, Crump and Ward again winning after Lindgren had taken heat twelve. Heat fourteen saw Bjarne Pedersen pack-up which led to Crump's victory. After fifteen heats Sweden had taken the lead on thirty, Australia were now level with Denmark on twenty-seven with Germany on seven.
Heats 16-20 were very much Denmark's power surge. Bjarne Pedersen and Bjerre took heats sixteen and seventeen. Ward won his third heat before Korneliussen and Nicky Pedersen put Denmark in charge. After twenty heats Denmark had forty points, Sweden thirty-eight, Australia thirty-six and Germany seven.
Darcy Ward won his fourth heat to level with Sweden after twenty-one heats. The two Pedersen's won the following heats to almost ensure their progression into the final. Heat twenty-three saw Holder play Australia's joker but could only manage third before winning the following heat, Lindgren finished second with Sweden's joker. The final heat was won by Crump but it wasn't enough to steal second. Denmark won the event with fifty points, Sweden and Australia will take part in Thursday's race-off with forty-eight and forty-seven points respectively, Germany unsurprisingly finished last with a solitary nine points. Event two takes place on Monday and features Poland, Great Britain, Russia and Czech Republic.
The four teams who competed in event one were Denmark, Sweden, Australia and Germany. The hosts controversially left out last year's captain Hans Andersen in favour of Mads Korneliussen. Grand Prix riders Nicky Pedersen and Kenneth Bjerre were also joined by Niels-Kristian Iversen and Bjarne Pedersen. Sweden's controversial choice saw Magnus 'Zorro' Zetterstrom left out. Grand Prix riders Andreas Jonsson, Freddie Lindgren and Antonio Lindback were joined by Jonas Davidsson and Thomas H Jonasson. Australia left out Davey Watt for a more younger set up. GP riders Jason Crump and Chris Holder were joined by Darcy Ward, Troy Batchelor and Rory Schlein. Germany were definitely the minnows as none of their riders take part in the GP and were represented by Kevin Wolbert, Max Dilger, Tobias Busch, Mathias Schultz and Tobias Kroner.
Jonsson won the first heat for Sweden but Bjarne Pedersen and Kenneth Bjerre won the next two to give Denamrk a point lead after three heats. Australia got off to an awful start and Batchelor packed up in heat three to give Germany their second point in three heats to take third place. Jonas Davidsson won heat four with Mads Korneliussen proving his critics wrong to win the fifth heat. After five heats Denmark had twelve, Sweden eleven, Australia five and Germany two.
Kenneth Bjerre won his second heat in the heat six with Germany using their joker, but Wolbert could only manage third to pick up two points. Chris holder won Australia's first heat before Korneliussen continued the Danish charge in heat eight with his second win. Heat nine saw Nicky Pedersen fall and was subsequently excluded, allowing Freddie Lindgren to take the lead over Denmark. But Bjarne Pedersen restored parity by winning the tenth heat. After ten heats Denamrk and Sweden both had twenty-one points, Australia thirteen and Germany six.
Australia began a gallant fight back in the following five heats; Darcy Ward won heat eleven with Holder, Crump and Ward again winning after Lindgren had taken heat twelve. Heat fourteen saw Bjarne Pedersen pack-up which led to Crump's victory. After fifteen heats Sweden had taken the lead on thirty, Australia were now level with Denmark on twenty-seven with Germany on seven.
Heats 16-20 were very much Denmark's power surge. Bjarne Pedersen and Bjerre took heats sixteen and seventeen. Ward won his third heat before Korneliussen and Nicky Pedersen put Denmark in charge. After twenty heats Denmark had forty points, Sweden thirty-eight, Australia thirty-six and Germany seven.
Darcy Ward won his fourth heat to level with Sweden after twenty-one heats. The two Pedersen's won the following heats to almost ensure their progression into the final. Heat twenty-three saw Holder play Australia's joker but could only manage third before winning the following heat, Lindgren finished second with Sweden's joker. The final heat was won by Crump but it wasn't enough to steal second. Denmark won the event with fifty points, Sweden and Australia will take part in Thursday's race-off with forty-eight and forty-seven points respectively, Germany unsurprisingly finished last with a solitary nine points. Event two takes place on Monday and features Poland, Great Britain, Russia and Czech Republic.
Saturday, 9 July 2011
Mixed Weather, Mixed Results
After the uneventful Valencia Grand Prix, the Formula One cartel headed to Silverstone and was struck by the Great British weather. But the unpredictable weather brings unpredictable results and qualifying certainly showed it. The big news before it all started was that Red Bull practice driver, Daniel Ricciardo, has been granted a place on the Hispania team, replacing Karthikeyan. The other news surrounded the FIA's decision to ban the blown diffuser that helps drivers accelerate during the corners for less down force. This in itself wasn't controversial but disappointing, the controversial side came from McLaren and Mercedes who still have the blown diffuser type system because 'it's how their engines work'. This has led to the other big teams feeling handicapped but in the end the results showed otherwise.
Debutant Ricciardo's first qualifying session behind an F1 car finished with a 'Karthikeyan-style' last place, followed by Liuzzi in twenty-third. Still unsurprisingly, D'Ambrosio starts twenty-second but his Virgin team-mate Glock out-qualified Trulli's Lotus into twentieth place. The other shocks from Q1 saw both Toro Rosso's get eliminated at the hands of Kovalainen but Alguersuari will start ahead of Buemi in eighteenth. The rain came down mid-way through the session which left the final minutes of the session un-fought and Alonso came off the track but was luckily able to continue. Although Webber was fastest in Q1, Williams' Pastor Maldonado was second quickest, suggesting a shock could well be on the cards this weekend.
Q2 saw Kovalainen finish seventeenth but was as high as eleventh at one point before everyone made a mad dash to the line. Heidfeld continues his qualifying hoodoo by starting sixteenth in tomorrow's race, his team-mate Petrov finishes fourteenth with Barrichello stuck in between. Michael Schumacher recorded his worst finish in qualifying and starts thirteenth tomorrow with Perez and Sutil ahead of him in twelfth and eleventh. Massa was the fastest in Q2, showing that Ferrari are still competing this season.
Q3 had surprise entrants with Maldonado, Di Resta and Kobayashi all making into the final shoot-out. Rain again interfered with the final moments of the session and it yet again provided unusual results. After McLaren's supposed advantage, Hamilton will start tenth tomorrow with Rosberg just ahead of him. Kobayashi managed eight with Maldonado seventh and Di Resta sixth. Button will yet again start behind his rivals in fifth as the Ferrari's occupy the second row, Alonso out-qualifies Massa yet again. This means that Red Bull still reign at the top of qualifying but Mark Webber finally found the anti-dote to temporarily stop Vettel and the Aussie will start from Pole for tomorrow's race.
Debutant Ricciardo's first qualifying session behind an F1 car finished with a 'Karthikeyan-style' last place, followed by Liuzzi in twenty-third. Still unsurprisingly, D'Ambrosio starts twenty-second but his Virgin team-mate Glock out-qualified Trulli's Lotus into twentieth place. The other shocks from Q1 saw both Toro Rosso's get eliminated at the hands of Kovalainen but Alguersuari will start ahead of Buemi in eighteenth. The rain came down mid-way through the session which left the final minutes of the session un-fought and Alonso came off the track but was luckily able to continue. Although Webber was fastest in Q1, Williams' Pastor Maldonado was second quickest, suggesting a shock could well be on the cards this weekend.
Q2 saw Kovalainen finish seventeenth but was as high as eleventh at one point before everyone made a mad dash to the line. Heidfeld continues his qualifying hoodoo by starting sixteenth in tomorrow's race, his team-mate Petrov finishes fourteenth with Barrichello stuck in between. Michael Schumacher recorded his worst finish in qualifying and starts thirteenth tomorrow with Perez and Sutil ahead of him in twelfth and eleventh. Massa was the fastest in Q2, showing that Ferrari are still competing this season.
Q3 had surprise entrants with Maldonado, Di Resta and Kobayashi all making into the final shoot-out. Rain again interfered with the final moments of the session and it yet again provided unusual results. After McLaren's supposed advantage, Hamilton will start tenth tomorrow with Rosberg just ahead of him. Kobayashi managed eight with Maldonado seventh and Di Resta sixth. Button will yet again start behind his rivals in fifth as the Ferrari's occupy the second row, Alonso out-qualifies Massa yet again. This means that Red Bull still reign at the top of qualifying but Mark Webber finally found the anti-dote to temporarily stop Vettel and the Aussie will start from Pole for tomorrow's race.
Monday, 4 July 2011
Serbulant Times For Nadal
Novak Djokovic won his fiftieth, out of fifty-one, game yesterday to be crowned Wimbledon Champion. Nadal knew that whatever the outcome, he would be demoted to second in the world with the Serb taking top rank.
Although, as a spectacle, none of the sets were really close which may have lessened the tension and drama but Djokovic found the answer to how to play Nadal on grass, somehow make less unforced errors than hm. Djokovic took the first set 6-4 before blowing Nadal away 6-1 in the second. Nadal kept himself in the match by returning the favour in the third set and also won it 6-1. But Djokovic wasn't to be denied and he took the fourth set 6-3 to win his first Wimbledon trophy, his third Grand Slam victory.
Djokovic has now beaten Nadal five times this calender year with only Roger Federer managing to beat the Serb this year so far. Djokovic celebrated his win by eating a bit of the Wimbledon turf so he could take some of the magic home with him.
Although, as a spectacle, none of the sets were really close which may have lessened the tension and drama but Djokovic found the answer to how to play Nadal on grass, somehow make less unforced errors than hm. Djokovic took the first set 6-4 before blowing Nadal away 6-1 in the second. Nadal kept himself in the match by returning the favour in the third set and also won it 6-1. But Djokovic wasn't to be denied and he took the fourth set 6-3 to win his first Wimbledon trophy, his third Grand Slam victory.
Djokovic has now beaten Nadal five times this calender year with only Roger Federer managing to beat the Serb this year so far. Djokovic celebrated his win by eating a bit of the Wimbledon turf so he could take some of the magic home with him.
Saturday, 2 July 2011
Left-Handed Czech Champion
Today saw Petra Kvitova become the first left-hander to win the ladies' Wimbledon championship since her idol and compatriot Martina Navratilova. The eighth seed Kvitova was certainly the underdog against fifth seed Maria Sharapova who hadn't dropped a single set in the tournament.
If Kvitova was nervous ahead of her debut Grand Slam final, she certainly didn't show it and took the first set 6-3. Sharapova looked a little uncomfortable against Kvitova and she looked a little uneasy about to how to counteract playing a left-hander. Sharapova tried to hold her own in the second set but the powerful returns of Kvitova left the Russian in despair. Kvitova took the second set 6-4 and won the final point with an ace to earn her first Grand Slam title.
If Kvitova was nervous ahead of her debut Grand Slam final, she certainly didn't show it and took the first set 6-3. Sharapova looked a little uncomfortable against Kvitova and she looked a little uneasy about to how to counteract playing a left-hander. Sharapova tried to hold her own in the second set but the powerful returns of Kvitova left the Russian in despair. Kvitova took the second set 6-4 and won the final point with an ace to earn her first Grand Slam title.
End Of Murray-Mania
Yesterday saw what many of the neutrals knew was going to happen, Andy Murray losing to Rafal Nadal in the semi-finals. All the hype surrounding Murray started after he won Queen's against Tsonga and it finally ended yesterday. Although it nearly wasn't the case, Murray did actually take the first set 7-5 and made the world sit up an take note. But from there Nadal just blew Murray away by making no unforced errors on his way to taking the second set 6-2. Nadal then took the third set by the same margin before finishing Murray with a 6-4 win in the fourth set.
Although Nadal will be in the final, he won't be world number one regardless of the result. That is because Novak Djokovic has also made it into the final after beating Tsonga. It also took four sets but Djokovic went 2-0 ahead after winning the tie-break 7-4 in the first set and winning 6-2 in the second set. Tsonga battled back and won a monumental tie-break 11-9 in the third set to prompt questions of a comeback like in the quarter-finals. But it wasn't to be as Djokovic took the fourth set 6-3 to mark his place in the final.
The women's semi-finals took place on Thursday with the final today. Sharapova took on Lisicki and the German wildcard went 3-0 ahead in the first set before Sharapova fought back to win 6-4. Sharapova is still yet to drop a set in this tournament as she took the second set 6-3 and is the favourite to win the title, seven years since her last victory at Wimbledon.
Sharapova's opponent will be eighth seed Kvitova who will be only the fourth female Czech to make it to the final. She played fourth seed Azarenka in the semi-final but Kvitova blew her away in the first set 6-1. Azarenka fought back to take the second set 6-3 to take it to a deciding set. But Kvitova took the final set 6-2 to book her place in today's final.
Although Nadal will be in the final, he won't be world number one regardless of the result. That is because Novak Djokovic has also made it into the final after beating Tsonga. It also took four sets but Djokovic went 2-0 ahead after winning the tie-break 7-4 in the first set and winning 6-2 in the second set. Tsonga battled back and won a monumental tie-break 11-9 in the third set to prompt questions of a comeback like in the quarter-finals. But it wasn't to be as Djokovic took the fourth set 6-3 to mark his place in the final.
The women's semi-finals took place on Thursday with the final today. Sharapova took on Lisicki and the German wildcard went 3-0 ahead in the first set before Sharapova fought back to win 6-4. Sharapova is still yet to drop a set in this tournament as she took the second set 6-3 and is the favourite to win the title, seven years since her last victory at Wimbledon.
Sharapova's opponent will be eighth seed Kvitova who will be only the fourth female Czech to make it to the final. She played fourth seed Azarenka in the semi-final but Kvitova blew her away in the first set 6-1. Azarenka fought back to take the second set 6-3 to take it to a deciding set. But Kvitova took the final set 6-2 to book her place in today's final.
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