Novak Djokovic Defeats Roger Federer to Win ATP Final

Novak Djokovic ends the year with the number one ranking. 0matthew0 | photobucket.com

Novak Djokovic has denied Roger Federer his seventh ATP final win in a very close match on Monday night.

In the opening set it seemed like it would be an easy match for Federer, he went up 3-love and Djokovic only won a point.

Then in the fourth game Djokovic needed four game points to win his first game of the match and then went on to win two more games in a row.

Federer answered this with a 40-15 game before Djokovic made the score 4-all.

In the ninth game Djokovic went up 15-0 and was in the lead for the first time in the match. This game went to deuce six times and Djokovic earned three break points to win the game and serve for the set.

Djokovic earned a set point, but Federer saved the point and earned a break point to tie the set 5-all.

During the 11th game Djokovic lunged and fell on his knee and elbow and they started bleeding. During the change over the trainer came out and attended to the wounds.

Federer had gone up 6-5 and made Djokovic serve to stay in the set.

Despite falling Djokovic took the set to a tie-break.

Djokovic went up 2-love and then Federer hit the winner and Djokovic applauded the shot.

They went back and forth before Djokovic earned a set point and then Federer saved the point.

Djokovic hit the winner to take the set at 8-6.

The first game of the second set went to deuce six times and Federer earned three break ponts.

Djokovic was talking to himself in frustration on the third break point.

Federer broke Djokovic and went on to lead 4-2.

Djokovic then held for 3-4.

Federer went on to hold and force Djokovic to serve to stay in the set.

Djokovic held and then saved two set points with a burst of energy and broke Federer for 5-all.

Djokovic then held and forced Federer to serve to stay in the match.

The final game went to 30-all and Djokovic earned his match point at 40-30 and won with a winner down the line.

Djokovic beats Federer 7-6 (8-6) 7-5.

Maria Sharapova Knocked out of Pan Pacific Open

Maria Sharapova was the Toray Pan Pacific Open champion in 2005 and 2009. damien137 | photobucket.com

Samantha Stosur knocked Maria Sharapova out of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

Sharapova battled to the end in a 22 point tie-break in the second set.

Sharapova earned the first break of the match at 4-3, but Stosur won the next three games to take the first set.

Stosur took the lead in the second set 5-3. Sharapova then won eight points in a row to tie the set up at 5 all.

Sharapova saved three match points and almost won the set before Stosur won her fourth match point and advanced to the semi-finals.

Sharapova was forced to three sets and more than three hours of play in the second round by Heather Watson.

Lucie Safarova brought the second set to a tie-break in the third round against Sharapova.

Sharapova’s next tournament is the China Open in Beijing starting on Saturday. This will be her last WTA event before the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships on October 23.

Andy Murray Wins First Grand Slam Title

Andy Murray will now go above Rafael Nadal in the rankings. Dirk_Thrust | photobucket.com

Andy Murray became the first British man to win a grand slam in 76 years when he won the US Open on Monday.

The last British man to win a grand slam was Fred Perry. He won his first grand slam exactly 79 years ago. Perry’s first grand slam win was at the US Open on September 10. He also won in five sets.

Murray also became the the first man in history to win the Olympic gold medal and the US Open in the same year.

To win his first grand slam Murray had to defeat Novak Djokovic in five tough sets.

The first set went to a tie-break.

Djokovic went up 2-love in the tie break, then Murray came back 2-2. They went back and forth till they reached 10-all.

Murray was able to win two more points and take the first set.

Before Monday, Murray had only been able to win one set in a grand slam final. He wasn’t able to win the second set in the Wimbledon final and Roger Federer ended up defeating him in four sets.

Murray went up 4-love, breaking Djokovic twice in the second set. Things were going Murray’s way and it seemed like he was going to take his first second set of a grand slam final easily.

Djokovic had other things in mind. He held on his serve for 1-2 and then broke back for 2-4.

Murray held on his serve for 5-2 and forced Djokovic to serve to stay in the set.

Djokovic held on his serve for 3-5 and forced Murray to serve for the set.

Djokovic then broke Murray for 4-5 and went on to hold his serve for 5-all.

Murray won his service game and made Djokovic serve again to stay in the set.

Murray broke Djokovic again to take the second set.

Djokovic went on to dominate the third and fourth sets.

Djokovic broke Murray in the third game of the third set and the first game of the fourth set.

Djokovic won the third set 6-2 and the fourth set 6-3.

Murray opened up the fifth and final set strong, breaking Djokovic and then going up 3-love.

Djokovic broke back for 1-3 and then held for 2-3.

Murray went on to win a 40-love service game with an ace to continue his lead of 4-2.

Murray then broke Djokovic for 5-2 and served for the match.

Murray served an ace to open up the final game. His ace was only a millimeter on the line.

Murray earned himself a championship point at 40-love, but Djokovic saved the point.

Djokovic hit the ball long to give Murray his first grand slam title.

Murray and Djokovic played for just under five hours and they battled windy conditions as well. The wind was not as strong as what Murray dealt with in his semi-final match, but the wind was still a challenge.

Murray has been to five grand slam finals and he has now finally won his first grand slam title.

Andy Murray		Novak Djokovic
65%	First Serve %	62%
5	Aces	7
4	Double Faults	5
31	Winners	40
56	Unforced Errors	65
8/17	Break Points Won	9/18
16/24	Net Points Won	39/56

Match Time: 4h 54m

Andy Murray	7(12)	7	2	3	6
Novak Djokovic	6(10)	5	6	6	2

Andy Murray Through to US Open Final

Andy Murray does not know who he will face in the final yet. He defeated Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals at the Olympics and David Ferrer in the quater-finals at Wimbledon. aompop | photobucket.com

Andy Murray battled the extremely windy conditions on Saturday to earn a place in his second US Open Final.

The wind was so bad that garbage, chairs, water bottles and hats were flying around on court.

“Brutal…. Hard to describe…. You had to focus for every single point…. You had to get yourself in the right position for every shot because the ball was sometimes stopping…moving the other way. The chairs were flying onto the court…. It was hard to serve…. Some of the hardest conditions I’ve ever played in,” Murray said in his post-match interview.

Murray earned the early break against Tomas Berdych in the first set.

In the fourth game of the set, Berdych earned a break point. On the point, Murray’s hat fell off, because of the wind. The point appeared to be going in favor of Murray, but Berdych argued that he got distracted by Murray’s hat.

Murray and Berdych got into a heated debate about the point. Murray agreed to re-play the point. Berdych went on to earn the break back.

From this point on the first set was an even match-up.

Murray served to for the first set.

Berdych earned the first point, 15-0. Murray screamed out in frustration when his ball went long.

Then Murray tied the game up, 15-all.

Berdych went up 30-15. Murray then hit his head a few times with an open palm.

Berdych earned himself a set point and then broke Murray to take the first set.

Murray opened up the second set strong, breaking Berdych in the first game.

Murray held on his serve for a 2-love lead.

Berdych then earned his first game of the set.

Murray went on to dominate the second set.

Berdych only won one more game.

The third set started out the same as the second. Murray won his first service game, then broke Berdych.

Murray went up 4-love before Berdych won a game.

Berdych was making so many errors he was only able to win one game in the third set.

Murray on the other hand, didn’t lose one point on his serve.

In the final game of the third set, Murray and Berdych went to deuce five times and Berdych saved four set points.

Murray went up 3-love in the fourth set, but this would be the end of his easy run.

Murray had gotten a handle on the wind, but Murray had the lead mainly because of Berdych’s errors.

Berdych began to take control of his game. In spite of the wind, he was able to serve five aces in the fourth set.

Berdych was going through the motions in the third set, but he was now back in the match.

Berdych won on his service game and then broke back for 2-3.

Berdych then held for 3-all.

Both players continued to win their service games and went to a tie-break.

Berdych took an early lead in the tie-break of 3-love. He then went to lead 5-2.

Murray fought back to 5-6 and saved a set point.

Then Murray earned a match point, but Berdych saved the point.

Murray then earned himself another match point. This time he was able to win and end the almost four hour match.

Murray will play his US Open final on Monday, because the other men’s semi-final was postponed till Sunday.

Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer didn’t even get to finish the first set in their match before the match was postponed, due to severe weather on its way.

The forecast called for strong thunder storms and a tornado watch.

Murray will have an extra day off to get ready for his opponent.

Tomas Berdych		Andy Murray
62%	First Serve %	74%
7	Aces	5
6	Double Faults	3
45	Winners	37
64	Unforced Errors	20
3/6	Break Points Won	7/22
34/66	Net Points Won	10/19

Match Time: 3h 58m

Tomas Berdych	5	6	6	7(9)
Andy Murray	7	2	1	6(7)

Azarenka Defeats Sharapova to Advance to US Open Final

Maria Sharapova has not advanced to the semi-finals of the US Open since she won the title in 2006. satan_is_evil | photobucket.com

Victoria Azarenka battled Maria Sharapova for a spot in the finals and won.

The first set was dominated by Sharapova, the second by Azarenka and the third they both fought for a place in the US Open final.

The final set was such a close match-up that the set lasted over an hour.

Sharapova came out strong going up 3-love in the first set.

Azarenka double faulted in her

Victoria Azarenka will play her first US Open Final on Saturday. She won her first grand slam of her career in January this year. dominatorb29 | photobucket.com

first service game to give Sharapova an early break for 2-0.

Sharapova served into the sun in the third game, but managed to hold for the 3-love lead.

Azarenka and Sharapova went to deuce in the fourth game. Azarenka gained the advantage and won her first game of the match for 1-3.

Sharapova went on to win a 40-love service game. For the game winning shot Sharapova hit the ball over Azarenka’s head. Azarenka looked like she assumed the ball was going out and let the ball go. The ball landed in.

Azarenka then had a bad service game. She double faulted to give Sharapova another break. Azarenka didn’t even earn a point on her own serve.

Sharapova served for the set.

Sharapova double faulted two times in a row to give Azarenka the break back for 2-5.

Azarenka went on to hold for 3-5 and only let Sharapova win one point in the game.

Sharapova served for the set again.

Sharapova once again double faulted two times in a row. This time giving Azarenka a 30-15 lead.

Azarenka then earned a break point.

Sharapova saved the break point, then earned a set point.

Azarenka was able to save the set point, but Sharapova went on to close out the set at 6-3.

Azarenka double faulted in her first service game of the second set to bring the score to deuce. Sharapova then broke Azarenka.

Sharapova went up 40-30 on her service game with a chance to take an early lead in the second set.

Azarenka brought the game to deuce.

Sharapova then took the advantage point with an ace.

Sharapova hit the ball wide and the score was deuce. Sharapova thrashed her racket through the air in frustration.

When Azarenka earned the break point, Sharapova hit the ground with her racket.

Azarenka broke back.

Azarenka went up 40-love on her serve and then double faulted to give Sharapova a point.

Azarenka was able to hold 2-1.

In the fourth game of the second set, Sharapova double faulted and served an ace.

When Sharapova double faulted, she gave the break to Azarenka to lead 3-1.

This is where things started to really turn around for Azarenka.

Sharapova was only able to win one more game of the set.

Azarenka broke Sharapova to take the set 6-2.

The match really started to heat up in the third set.

Azarenka won the first game and took Sharapova to deuce on Sharapova’s service game.

Sharapova still managed to hold 1-1.

Azarenka and Sharapova continued to win their service games and taking each other to deuce.

Azarenka went up 40-30 in Sharapova’s service game and earned herself a match point.

Sharapova saved the match point to bring the game to deuce.

Azarenka went on to break Sharapova to advance to the finals.

Azarenka will play either Serena Williams or Sara Errani in the final on Saturday.

Victoria Azarenka		Maria Sharapova
65%	First Serve %	70%
0	Aces	8
5	Double Faults	10
19	Winners	44
19	Unforced Errors	43
5/12	Break Points Won	3/5
11/13	Net Points Won	10/11

Match Time: 2h 42m

Victoria Azarenka	3	6	6
Maria Sharapova	6	3	4

Roger Federer Knocked-out of US Open in Quarter-finals

Roger Federer will keep his number 1 spot regardless who wins the US Open, but he will have to battle to keep the ranking for the end of the season. balence | photobucket.com

Roger Federer just couldn’t measure up to Tomas Berdych on Wednesday night ant was knocked-out of the US Open.

This is the first time since 2003 that Federer has lost before the semi-finals at the US Open.

Federer went up a break in the first set, but Berdych came back and brought the set to a tie-break.

Berdych dominated the tie-break 7-1.

Berdych went on to take the second set 6-4.

In the third set things turned around for Federer and he won 6-3.

Things seemed like Federer would be talking control of the match from this point on, but Berdych sealed his fate in the fourth set.

Berdych defeated Federer 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

“I really expected myself to play better tonight,” Federer said at his press conference. “Especially at night, I have had such a great record.”

Federer has played 23 night-session matches at the US Open and hasn’t lost any of them.

Berdych on the other hand, has never played a night match till Wednesday.

This is the second time Berdych has beaten Federer in a quarter-final of grand slam. The last time was in 2010 at Wimbledon.

Federer also said: “I felt good. It’s such an amazing summer I had. I really thought I was going to come out and play a solid match. I didn’t do that tonight. Obviously there is a bit of a letdown now.”

Roger Federer		Tomas Berdych
63%	First Serve %	59%
7	Aces	14
3	Double Faults	3
44	Winners	30
40	Unforced Errors	21
4/6	Break Points Won	5/11
25/30	Net Points Won	9/16

Match Time: 2h 40m

Roger Federer	6(1)	4	6	3
Tomas Berdych	7(7)	6	3	6

Andy Murray Battles Back From a Set and 5-1 Down at US Open

Andy Murray has reached the semi-finals of seven of the last eight Grand Slams. tylovepchy | photobucket.com

On Wednesday night, Andy Murray looked like he was going to be knocked out of the tournament, but he battled his way back to advance to the semi-finals.

Murray lost the first set against Marin Cilic, 6-3.

Murray then went down 5-1 in the second set.

Murray was able to save a set point at 5-2 and turn the match around.

Murray brought the second set to a tie-break and won.

After the tie-break Murray won the last two sets easily, 6-2, 6-0.

This win earned Murray a place in the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London in November.

The rain delays caused more shuffling about on Wednesday.

Murray was scheduled to play on Arthur Ashe Stadium, but due to rain was moved to the Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Andy Roddick and Juan Martin del Potro were still playing when Murray and Cilic took the court.

The Louis Armstrong Stadium was almost empty until the the people watching Roddick filtered in after the other men’s quarter-final was finished. Pippa Middleton was one of the spectators.

Murray mentioned in his press conference how he’s had a lot of tough matches on the Louis Armstrong Stadium.

An example of that was two years ago when he experienced one of his worst losses against Stanislas Wawrinka.

Murray also mentioned that the Louis Armstrong Stadium’s conditions are quicker than Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“I think when the conditions slowed down a bit and it started to get a bit darker that helped me,” Murray said in his press conference.

Murray will play Tomas Berdych on Friday in the semi-finals.

Murray was probably expecting to play Roger Federer, but Berdych knocked Federer out in four sets.

Andy Murray		Marin Cilic
55%	First Serve %	53%
11	Aces	2
4	Double Faults	6
39	Winners	32
31	Unforced Errors	50
8/19	Break Points Won	4/9
19/22	Net Points Won	19/29

Match Time: 3h

Andy Murray	3	7(7)	6	6
Marin Cilic	6	6(4)	2	0

Maria Sharapova Battles Back for Semi-final Spot at US Open

“It’s a great statistic,” said Sharapova of her three-set matches.  “It shows that I enjoy the battle no matter what the score is.” onghuibeng | photobucket.com

Maria Sharapova had to battle back on Wednesday to earn herself a spot in the semi-finals.

Sharapova’s match against Marion Bartoli started on Tuesday.

Rain started to be a factor right from the start. The players came on for a warm-up and then were sent off before they even played a point.

When they came back on, Bartoli had a stunning first service game, a 40-love game.

This was Bartoli’s first ever US Open quarter-final match.

Sharapova did not have a stellar opening service game, Bartoli went up 30-love.

Bartoli was bouncing around like most tennis players do as they’re waiting for their opponent to serve, but when Sharapova went to serve, Bartoli was bouncing around even more and swinging her racket. This appeared to be distracting Sharapova.

Bartoli broke Sharapova twice on Tuesday.

Usually if Sharapova is struggling on her serve she can play well on her return game to get back into the match, this was not the case.

Bartoli was serving first serves on second serves and Sharapova just couldn’t get a handle on the them.

When rain inevitably sent the players off, Bartoli was up 4-love.

Play ended up being suspended till Wednesday.

The US Open’s game plan was to get the Andy Roddick and Juan Martin del Porto’s match played. This match was also postponed to Wednesday.

Rain once again delayed the start of Sharapova’s match on Wednesday.

When the players finally resumed play, Sharapova won three games in a row, breaking back to get to 3-4.

Just like in her fourth round match, this comeback was all for nothing. Bartoli won the first set 6-3.

In the first set Sharapova was really struggling with her serve, getting only 59% of them in.

In the second set Sharapova improved on her serve. She was getting 74% of them in.

Sharapova still double faulted five times in this set, but after her shoulder surgery she has gotten use to double faulting and still serving well.

Sharapova was able to win the second set 6-3.

In the third set Sharapova’s first serve percentage dropped a little, to 59%.  She was winning 76% of the points on her first serve though.

Bartoli’s game fell a little in the third set. Her first serve percentage was only 41%.

Bartoli only earned three break points and was only able to convert one of them.

Sharapova has not lost a three-set match since last year when she played Flavia Pennetta in the third round. She has won 12 out of 12 three-set matches this season.

Sharapova earned five break points and broke Bartoli twice to win the third set 6-4 and advance to the semi-finals.

“It was good to have that period of time to get a good night sleep and come back …not always a good feeling to go back into a match 0-4 …. I’m so thrilled to be in the semis here,” Sharapova said in her press conference.

This is the first time Sharapova has been in the semi-finals since she won the title in 2006.

“I’m happy that I pulled through no matter how tough it was,” Sharapova also said.

“I did like 20 diffetent warm-ups in the gym, I was so sick of it,” Sharapova said of the rain delays.

Sharapova will play Victoria Azarenka in the semi-finals on Friday.

Maria Sharapova		Marion Bartoli
64%	First Serve %	49%
10	Aces	2
11	Double Faults	6
44	Winners	18
35	Unforced Errors	25
5/10	Break Points Won	4/16
8/10	Net Points Won	7/10

Match Time: 2h 32m

Maria Sharapova	3	6	6
Marion Bartoli	6	3	4

Andy Murray in Perfect Form to Advance to Quarter-finals of US Open

Andy Murray played his next opponent, Marin Cilic, at Wimbledon this year and defeated him in straight sets over two days of play, due to rain delay. tylovepchy | photobucket.com

Andy Murray walked on court Monday night knowing that rain was forecasted to rain in two hours.

Murray walked off the court exactly two hours later defeating Milos Raonic 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.

Murray played his best tennis of the tournament so far.

In the first set he was winning 93% of the points on his first serve and 67% on his second serve.

Murray was in perfect form having only two unforced errors.

Murray didn’t even give Raonic one chance to break in the first set.

In the second set Murray was winning 88% of the points on his first serve and once again didn’t let Raonic have a chance to get a break point.

Raonic has a massive first serve, but Murray handled the serve with no problem.

Raonic served more aces than Murray, but Murray was earning more points.

This will be Murray’s eighth time in the quarter-finals at the US Open.

Murray is scheduled to play 12th seed Marin Cilic on Wednesday, if the weather permits.

Rain delays have continued to plague the US Open this year.

Murray was scheduled to play on Arthur Ashe Stadium after the Venus and Serena Williams and Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova match, but the women’s doubles match was moved to the Louis Armstrong Stadium. Murray was moved up and began his match a little after 7 pm on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

This was to make sure both night matches were played before the rain was scheduled.

Andy Murray		Milos Raonic
64%	First Serve %	70%
8	Aces	14
1	Double Faults	6
31	Winners	34
48	Unforced Errors	55
4/12	Break Points Won	0/0
9/11	Net Points Won	17/38

Match Time: 2h

Andy Murray	6	6	6
Milos Raonic	4	4	2

Fish Withdraws, Federer Walks Over to Quarter-finals of US Open

Mardy Fish advanced to the fourth round of Wimbledon this year, despite his health problems. Actu-Tennis | photobucket.com

Mardy Fish withdrew from his fourth round match against Roger Federer for health reasons on Monday.

“I regret that I have to withdraw from the US Open for precautionary measures,” Fish said in a statement on the US Open website. “I was reluctant to do so, but am following medical advisement. I had a good summer and look forward to resuming my tournament schedule in the fall.”

Fish had heart surgery in May, because of an accelerated heart problem. He did not play for about two months this season.

Fish’s agent, John Tobias told USA Today: “we are not 100 percent sure what the issue is and if it is related to his previous issues.”

Fish is going back to Los Angeles this week for more tests.

Fish has not had an easy tournament at the US Open this year.

Fish’s third round match against Giles Simon lasted just over three hours and went to four sets. Simon and Fish finished their match about 1 a.m. Sunday morning.

Fish’s fifth round match went to five sets and lasted about three and half hours.

Fish went to a tie-break in the third round and in the second round against Nikolay Davydenko.

Fish was able to win in straight sets agains Go Soeda, but had two tie-breaks in the match. The match lasted just over two and half hours.

Federer will face No. 6 seed Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals.

“I am really sorry for Mardy. I just want to wish him a speedy recovery. We all want to see him back on tour soon,” Federer said on the US Open website. “It will be a tough match against Tomas. We have played many times in the past and he has always been a tough opponent. I will have to continue to serve well and dictate the points.”