I Love Fuzzy Yellow Balls

What can I say, life isn't always a bed of roses. Been through one hell of a rollercoaster ride but I gotta say it's made me appreciate the little things so much more. Just can't get enough of TENNIS:) From the tiny red dot Singapore!

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Young blood on the courts right now. Gauff vs Osaka and Tsitsipas vs Raonic.

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Big Upset in Third Round of Australian Open - Wang Qiang vs Serena Williams

6-4,  6-7, 7-5. 

Above is the scoreline of Wang Qiang’s third round match against Serena Williams in the Australian Open. In case you were wondering, Wang Qiang delivered the upset, winning Serena in three sets.

Now let us rewind a few months back to the US Open in September, the same line-up of Wang Qiang vs Serena Williams. 

6-1, 6-0.

Above is the scoreline that fateful match. Back then Serena thrashed - and I mean really THRASHED - Wang in under 45 minutes. Given that history, it is safe to say no one would have predicted the fight from Wang today, let alone such a result. If Wang struggled helplessly against Serena in the US Open, the player we saw on court today was a whole different person.

During her on-court interview after the match, Wang credits her team for believing she could beat Serena, as well as the immense hard work she put in on and off the court after their previous encounter. What an inspiring turn around by Wang Qiang and over such a short span of just four months. Her display today is truly the epitome of the phrase “Hard Work Pays Off”. 

Before ending the interview, Sam Smith asked Wang if she is going to allow herself any celebrations tonight, given that Lunar New Year is tomorrow. 

“Nope,” replied the 28-year-old with a giggle. 

When asked what she will be doing, Wang responded, “Take a rest before preparing for the next match.” 

Interestingly, her next round opponent is Ons Jabeur, who coincidentally took out Serena’s best friend Caroline Wozniacki earlier today. Although we will not be seeing a reunion of two of tennis’s best friends on court, I am pretty sure we will be up for an exciting match between Wang and Jabeur, two players hungry to get into week 2 of the Happiest Slam of the year!

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Caroline Wozniacki bows out of the Australian Open, sealing her retirement from Tennis. The Danish announced her decision to retire in December 2019, but not before participating in one more final grand slam, and fittingly at the venue where she holds her only Grand Slam title - The Australian Open. 

Of course Wozniacki didn’t go down easy in her final match of her career, succumbing in a tight 3 set match against Ons Jabeur.

Photo: Australian Open FB

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A new year, a new decade. Let's break this hiatus and start talking TENNIS again!

JK

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After her second round loss at the Western & Southern Open to Simona Halep, Marion Bartoli makes a shocking announcement revealing that she is leaving the sport! The French woman stated that she has been playing through pain while on court.

[Click the link above to see more news about Bartoli's retirement]

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All Smiles at the end (; - There seems to be no hard feelings between Nadal and Djokovic after the end of their semi final match of the Rogers Cup. Earlier in the match, Djokovic got smacked in the face by a tennis ball swung by Nadal and the moment looked pretty tense. But after match point and victory for Nadal, the two tennis greats met at the net and gave a friendly shake and exchange, and it seems like Nadal tried apologizing again and Djokovic looks more jolly about the incident now. It's always good to see harmony between competitors;]

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Bullseye! Right smack in the face - In the semi finals of the Rogers Cup between Nadal and Djokovic, there was a pretty tense moment in the match when one of the players got smacked in the face by a tennis ball during a rally. Standing at the net, Djokovic's face (or mouth rather) connected with the tennis ball as Nadal rushed forward and swung at the ball which flew in the direction of the Serb. What followed was a death stare expression by Djokovic, clearly frustrated by the smack that he had received, which was pretty understandable (Nadal's swing must have hurt given all that muscle in his forearm). Nadal waited at the net wanting to apologize but I guess the Spaniard must have really hurt Djokovic's feelings as the Serb took one look at Nadal and turned away.

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The Clay King Bows Out in the First Round of Wimbledon

"Was it the knees?"

That was the top question coming out the lips of many when the reigning French Open champion, Rafael Nadal, bowed out early in straight sets in the first round of Wimbledon 2013. Like a magnet for news, Nadal's knees have always been under the spotlight ever since his return to the game following a 7 month absence to recuperate his troubled knees.

On Monday evening, Belgian Steve Darcis - ranked 135 - shocked the world by defeating Nadal in straight sets to earn a spot in the second round of Wimbledon. As Nadal exited the court, the scene was like a shadow of his early second round exit the year before, shocking and solemn. Everyone understood that Nadal is still testing his limits and is not yet back at his 100% best as compared to his peak form, but fresh from a historic 8th Roland Garros title and a rest before hitting Wimbledon, many expected the Spaniard to arrive fighting hard and to push through to the late stages. Instead, Nadal exited in the earliest stage and all eyes were back on his knees.

Honestly, people should stop targeting Nadal's knees and give credit to Darcis who played some great tennis last night. Yes, Nadal was not at his best making many silly errors during the match, but Darcis produced a great serve with many aces and had a good moving game. He definitely deserved the win. Other factors that could have contributed to the unexpected loss are aplenty, such as fatigue given that Nadal had just comeback on tour, nerves due to playing an unfamiliar player... ... people should just give the poor ol knees a break! Wear and tear and injuries are common to any sports player, and to be constantly reminded of it isn't a very pleasant feeling.

Alas, we will never really know how good Nadal's knees are today, but the fact that he has comeback and managed to win a French Open title shows the ability that Nadal is still capable of. It might be the case that now he needs more recuperation time between matches due to the years of toil he has subjected his knees to, but when he feels great we all know that Nadal sure can deliver and nothing can stop him during those moments!

For now though, everyone's eyes will be on Steve Darcis, the man who gave Nadal his first every first round loss in a major. The question is "Can Darcis go all they way" or "Was it just a moment of adrenaline".

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One Bad Fall and One Loud Ouch - It's the time of year again when tennis goes green on the lawns of Wimbledon and everyone else goes white. One of the first women's matches up on day 1 is that between number 2 seed Victoria Azarenka and Portugal's Maria Joao Koehler.

During the match, Azarenka slipped on the wet glass and let out an ear piercing scream as she lay sobbing on the grass. It looks like she hurt her right knee and was promptly attended to during an injury timeout. It is hard to gauge the extent of her injury as Azarenka returned to finish and even win the match! However, she had a heavily wrapped up knee and could be seen limping and wincing throughout. 

It's always sad to see someone get hurt on the game, so I hope that all will be well with Azarenka and that the injury is not something major. Kudos to her for winning the game under such tough mental and physical conditions!

Video from ESPN youtube channel:]

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Film Trailer Gives A Sneak Peek At The Real Williams Sisters - If you love tennis, you would have surely heard of the names of the Williams Sisters. Now we can all have a closer look at their journey to the top of the WTA rankings! Their new documentary film hits itunes April 4th and in cinemas in May:) 

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Colourful Nike wristbands - Feeling over the moon because I spotted these gorgeous wristbands at the departmental store yesterday. I got the green tennis coloured ones as well as a reversible black/pink combi:)

Location: Ngee Ann City, Singapore. Takshimaya Deparment, 4th floor, Nike store.

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S.Williams Loses her Cool in her Loss to Teen Sloane Stephens

In today's quarterfinal between two Americans, one a veteran grand slam champion and the other an up and rising young talent, teen Sloane Stephens came out on top beating Serena Williams in 3 sets (3-6, 7-5, 6-4). 

It all started in Serena's favour with the world no.3 winning the first set. But things started falling apart in the second set for Serena as she showed signs of back trouble towards the end of the set. When Stephens won the second set, a trainer was called on court to assess Williams and she was taken off court for treatment. 

Back on court and fighting for the third set and the match, Williams clearly looked not at her 100% in terms of power but she was still one tough cookie to handle even when not in perfect form. If you wanted the points, you needed to earn it! In the third game of the third set, the frustration was getting to Williams as she felt the game slipping away from her grasp. After sending a return of serve sailing wide thus giving Stephens a service game, Williams took to venting her anger on her poor defenseless racket - smashing it in the process and earning a code violation. The act can be seen here through the Australian Open video gallery - Smashing Serena.

Despite all these, the young American Sloane kept her cool and continued performing good quality tennis.  This consisted of risky drop shots that demonstrated control and beautiful forehand winners when facing a break point that showed her collectiveness and precision. 

Alas, Williams could not hold out and on her first match point, Stephens managed to do what she never expected coming into this match - winning a match against her idol and advancing to her first Grand Slam Semi-Final event. The shock and joy is clearly evident during Stephens' post-match interview on court as she wiped away tears when asked to  describe her feelings of the moment. It is clearly Stephens' moment now and as the interviewer put it, "You are not the new Serena Williams. You are the new Sloane Stephens."

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OUCH!!! On matchpoint, Radwanska hit an ace. Ivanovic called upon the mighty Hawk-eye which showed the ball's shadow touching the line ever so slightly, looks just about 1mm. Joy for Radwanska, the end of her run in the Australian Open 2013 for Ivanovic. (Final Score: 6-2, 6-4)

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First an ankle scare and now a racket smack to the mouth ?! - Serena seems to be having a somewhat colourful experience in the current Australian Open. In her first round match, the World No.3 fell on her ankle and gave fans a scare. But thankfully, no damage was done there and she went on to win the match. Today in her second round match, Serena accidentally hit her mouth with her racket when trying to hit a high lob. Check out the video of her mouth smacking incident via the Australian Open match videos link. It certainly looks painful. But being Serena, nothing unfazes her and she went on to win the match!

All seems to be well as Serena responded to questions about the incident while laughing:

"I just busted it, busted it wide open”

“I think it happens to everyone, but I have never busted it wide open like that. So, yeah, I was like, Oh, no. I can’t have a tooth fall out. That would be horrible.”

“I don’t know why my racket was even in my face. I mean, it’s like I have been playing tennis far too long to hit myself.”

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Tomic and Federer Set For A 3rd Round Showdown

Known for his wayward behaviour ranging from walking off court during a game, multiple traffic offenses to being put on a 12-month good behaviour bond, the young Australian Bernard Tomic has once against rifled tennis fans and players alike with bold statements coming into the Australian Open. Coming from a young player, statements like this sure make him sound egoistical, especially if it's about a veteran and experienced player in the tour. Tomic talked about possibly breaking into the top 10 by year's end and when asked about a potential third round clash with the great Federer, Tomic replied, "Well, if he gets that far."

To me, it sounds just like the ramblings of a smirk confident young lad and as long as he does what he preaches, I'll be okay with it. Lucky for Tomic, his actions are following up with his words. Earlier today, the Australian beat German qualifier Daniel Brands in a tight match to set up the much awaited 3rd round clash with Roger Federer. Tomic lost the first set but came back in the next three to win 6-7, 7-5, 7-6, 7-6.

Like many out there, i can't wait to see what will Federer's response be to Tomic's statement in their showdown on Saturday. Will the Fed Express wipe the court clean with Tomic or will it be the young lad who has the last laugh? Only time will tell:]

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"Never Say Die" Zheng Jie Squashes the Hope of Home Crowd Favourite Samantha Stosur

Small in stature but tenacious in spirit, Zheng Jie's unrelenting fight that she brings to her games has been the silver lining in her matches against bigger and more powerful opponents.

On day 3 of the Australian Open, Zheng Jie might have seemed the villain when she defeated home crowd favourite Samantha Stosur in a thrilling 3 setter. Zheng took the match in 2hours and 42minutes, prevailing 6-4, 1-6, 7-5. 

Coincidentally, both Zheng and Stosur share many similarities in their career coming into this game. Both are accomplished doubles players; Zheng being a former World No.3 and Stosur a former world No.1. Both women have also previously won Grand Slam Doubles titles and are hence no strangers to the pressure of being in a big match. Unfortunately for Stosur, the pressure of playing in front of the home crowd might have been too much.

During the first set, Stosur had many awkward hits coming off her racket, sending balls flying skyhigh and almost soaring out of the court. Even her serves seemed erratic with balls landing clearly wide off the service lines. It took the Australian quite a while to find her groove and to settle into the match, however the power of her shots were undeniable. In contrast, Zheng's shots were less powerful. Already the power of Zheng's first serve was moderate, and it was even more mellow during her more cautious second serve; it is an area that Stosur should have taken advantage of given her powerful returns. A major pro in the Chinese's game had to be her awesome retrieval skills, going after every ball with such determination regardless of the score. Her ability to scamper back and forth, right and left across the court was a real pleasure to watch given her small size, it makes you wonder how in the world she manages such court coverage against one hard hitting Sam Stosur! And all Zheng really needed to worry about most of the match was just getting the ball back, because more often than not Stosur would give away points with the huge number of unforced errors she amassed.

Alas in the final set, it seemed that all was lost for the Chinese with Stosur leading 5-2. But the pressure must have set in for Stosur to close the match because Zheng Jie came storming back to win five straight games and it was game, set and match for the Chinese. It must have been heartbreaking for the Aussie to lose early on home ground and through a double fault no less, but kudos to Zheng as it must have been tough playing against Stosur as well as a very vocal and supportive home crowd.

In a post match interview, Zheng was asked what went through her mind during the last set and whether there was any thought of losing. Zheng replied that yes there were definitely moments that she though she might lose but then she thought about just being able to play in a main court.

"I [was] thinking, ‘How many times I can play [somewhere] like this court? I need to keep fighting and enjoy the match'," said the current World No.40.

Stosur sure has something to learn from Zheng if she wants to keep nerves and pressure from ruining her winning chances. Sometimes all you have to do is just play like you are having fun, and forget all your baggages. No matter the outcome as long as you are enjoying yourself and you fight all the way, I am pretty sure you'll be a winner in the fans' hearts. As for Zheng Jie, that 'Never Say Die' and 'Enjoy the match" attitude sure paid off for her!

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Ivanovic Skips Through Round 1

Under the bright lights of Rod Laver Stadium, Ivanovic stands on court and playfully replies the post-game interviewer, "I really shouldn't be here, it's way past my bedtime!" 

It is a quarter to midnight and just a few minutes earlier, 13 seeded Anna Ivanovic had wrapped up her first round match with a forehand winner against Melinda Czink of Hungary. The serb was a confident figure in her 6-2, 6-1 win tonight, going for every ball and pumping her fist during winners. There was one game in the match where it looked like Ivanovic had clearly lost the point, but she continued running for the ball and managed to keep it in play against all odds. She eventually went one further and won the point. That perseverance reminded me of the way Nadal goes for every ball, and seeing that drive in her makes me believe that this year could be the comeback year for Anna (break into the top 10 again) - if she continues to play with such drive and confidence that is. Overall things were smooth sailing for the serb throughout except for that one scare in the second set, where Anna's feet got stuck while sliding to return a ball and she fell. Thankfully no damage was suffered to the foot, and even in that scare Ivanovic managed to squeeze out a return winner while falling!

Ever since her first and only Grand Slam win at the 2008 French Open 5 years ago, Ivanovic has had one giant rollercoaster ride, reaching the peak with the title of World No.1 and falling to a real low in 2010 ranked No.65. During that period, it seemed that Ivanovic had lost her groove - some say her confidence - as she lost in first round fixtures, got double bagel-ed,  as well as lost matches in which she had match points.

But lately, it seems that Anna's form is returning - not that she lost it in the first place as her game and strokes have always been decent) - but she looks to be playing more consistently and with lesser errors now. This can clearly be seen by her rise in the rankings where she stands at No.13 today. But the real sign of breakthrough came during last year's US Open tournament where she finally broke her grand slam slum and  reached her first grand slam quarterfinals since 2008.

Though it looks like we can expect more from Ivanovic this year, it might still be too early to make predictions. After all in today's match there were signs of weakness in her serve, in particular the ball toss. There were times when the ball was clearly thrown off course and when Ivanovic continued following through with such a toss, her serve was way wayyy off. But on the occasions when she connected perfectly, her serve was pretty powerful and deadly. Thus, as long as Ivanovic keeps her focus and confidence, I am pretty sure she can conquer most of the challenges ahead and go far in this tournament. And judging by the crowd's reaction at the arena, she already looks like a winner as she certainly has got the support of the Australian crowd/fans;]