Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Wimbledon 2013 | Agnieszka Radwanska v Na Li July 2, 2013

The Ladies' Singles Quarterfinals of Wimbledon 2013 will start at 1 PM on Centre Court with the match between Agnieszka Radwanska and Na Li.

Polish Agnieszka Radwanska is currently seeded 4 and Chinese Na Li is seeded 6.

With Serena Williams out, there's a huge amount riding on this match as the winner will have a great shot at the title. For Radwanska, this could be her best opportunity to win a Grand Slam title. The Pole made the final last year and she's at her best on the grass. She hasn't been especially impressive so far, needing three sets to overcome Madison Keys and Tsvetana Pironkova, but at this stage of a slam you really have to take it one match at a time and Li is also into the last eight without ever really producing her best.

The Chinese star has never been past the quarter-finals of Wimbledon and she really had to battle to see off Klara Zakopalova in a tense third round match on Saturday, edging through 4-6 6-0 8-6. However, she rebounded to demolish Italy's Roberta Vinci 6-2 6-0 in the last sixteen on Monday afternoon.

Matches between Li and Radwanska are always a classic clash of styles. Li looks to dominate from the baseline, unleashing fierce, flat shots off both wings with a relentless intensity while Radwanska prefers to sit back and counter-punch using her speed and anticipation to frustrate opponents before catching them out with delicate lobs or angled passing shots.

However apart from Wimbledon 2012, it's been a strategy which hasn't really worked out for the Pole when it comes to the latter stages of the majors. Li has won six of their ten career matches, beating her three times on hard courts last year. Radwanska scored a 6-3 6-4 victory in the Sydney semi-finals at the start of the year but Li won the one which counted - 7-5 6-3 in the quarters of the Australian Open.

Na Li | Wimbledon 2013
Na Li | Wimbledon 2013
Na Li | Wimbledon 2013
Na Li | Wimbledon 2013
Agnieszka Radwanska | Wimbledon 2013
Agnieszka Radwanska | Wimbledon 2013
Agnieszka Radwanska | Wimbledon 2013
Agnieszka Radwanska | Wimbledon 2013

Monday, July 1, 2013

Wimbledon 2013 | Sabine Lisicki defeats Serena Williams

Wimbledon 2013 | Sabine Lisicki defeats Serena Williams

 Defending Ladies Singles champion of Wimbledon, Serena Williams lost her last match against Sabine Lisicki with a 2-1 score and eliminated from Wimbledon 2013.

Sabine Lisicki defeated Serena Williams
Sabine Lisicki defeated Serena Williams


In the first match of the day played on Centre Court, Serena Williams with 5 Wimbledon and 16 Grand Slam  championships, eliminated against 23 years old Sabine Lisicki. Sabine Lisicki has seen only 2 quarterfinals and 1 semifinals. The match ended with 2-6, 6-1 and 4-6 sets.

Sabine Lisicki defeated Serena Williams
Serena Williams after her loss against Sabine Lisicki


Sabine Lisicki was defeated by Serena Williams once on green court and twice on clay court before. Sabine Lisicki won the first set of the match with a 6-2 score. Then, Serena Williamss tied the match with a 6-1. Second set was a display of Serena Williams' domination.

Although Serena Williams started 3rd set with a fast pace winning first 3 games, Sabine Lisicki tied the set with 4-4. Sabine Lisicki gained the service advantage in the 9th game and took the 5-4 lead.

Serena Williams ended the match with 7 aces, 25 winners, 23 simple and 2 double faults.  Sabine Lisicki ended the match with 10 aces, 35 winners, 25 simple and 3 double faults. Sabine Lisicki moved to the quarterfinals after her victory over Serena Williams.

Wimbledon 2013 surprised everyone with the elimination of famous rackets like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki and recently Serena Williams.

Defending Champion Serena Williams said that losing the game wasn't shocking and she should have played better. 16 times Grand Slam champion told that her biggest mistake was hesitating throughout the match.

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Wimbledon 2013 | Novak Djokovic v Tommy Haas July 1, 2013

Wimbledon 2013 | Novak Djokovic v Tommy Haas July 1, 2013

The  4th round of Wimbledon 2013 line-up will see a repeat of a French Open quarter-final between Novak Djokovic and Tommy Haas. On that occasion, Tommy Haas had exerted a lot of energy, most of it in a third round epic against John Isner, but this time round, and on the grass, I think this will be a much closer affair. Novak Djokovic has sailed through his first three matches and on Saturday, he barely made an unforced error in a 6-3 6-2 6-2 rout of Jeremy Chardy. Haas lost the opening set of his third round match to Feliciano Lopez, but rebounded extremely well to post a promising four set win against the Eastbourne champion. Haas has beaten Djokovic this year in Miami and at Wimbledon too in 2009. The German player has weapons to threaten Djokovic, but I have to sit up and take note of the Djokovic's progress through the draw and I think the quarter-finals beckon for sure.

Novak Djokovic | Wimbledon 2013
Novak Djokovic | Wimbledon 2013


Novak Djokovic | Wimbledon 2013
Novak Djokovic | Wimbledon 2013


Haas’ long and injury-riddled career has seen him make semi-final appearances at the Australian Open (1999, 2002, and 2007) and the Wimbledon (in 2009). The world No. 13 has won three out of his eight clashes with Djokovic, including a straight-set demolition in the 2013 Miami Masters. Though the Djokovic is the favourite in this draw, it could end up being a crackerjack of a game.

Tommy Haas | Wimbledon 2013
Tommy Haas | Wimbledon 2013

Tommy Haas | Wimbledon 2013
Tommy Haas | Wimbledon 2013

Wimbledon 2013 | Mikhail Youzhny v Andy Murray July 1, 2013

Wimbledon 2013 | Mikhail Youzhny v Andy Murray July 1, 2013

 The Wimbledon 2013 Men's Fourth round match between world number 2 Andy Murray and Mikhail Youzhny will be played in July 1, 2013 on Centre Court after the match between Serena Williams and Sabine Lisicki.

Andy Murray | Wimbledon 2013
Andy Murray | Wimbledon 2013


Andy Murray | Wimbledon 2013
Andy Murray | Wimbledon 2013

Andy Murray — one of the top seeds to have endured Wimbledon 2013 — has won both his clashes with the 30-year-old Russian. Mikhail Youznhy (world No. 26) is no mug though, with 10-2 record since the Rome Masters, and two straight-set victores in his last three games. Though the odds are heavily in favour of the Andy Murray, this match has the potential to surprise us.

Mikhail Youzhny | Wimbledon 2013
Mikhail Youzhny | Wimbledon 2013


Andy Murray overcame Tommy Robredo in Third Round of Wimbledon 2013.

Wimbledon 2013 | Serena Williams v Sabine Lisicki July 1, 2013

Wimbledon 2013 | Serena Williams v Sabine Lisicki July 1, 2013 

The ladies semifinal Wimbledon 2013 match between Serena Williams and Sabine Lisicki will be played in July 1, 2013 on Centre Court.

The defending champion Serena Williams seems unstoppable at the moment, recording her 600th career victory with a 61-minute rout of veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm in the third round. Sabine Lisicki — who started her Wimbledon campaign with a 20-12 win record and a singles title this year — has been in good form as well, overcoming World No. 13 Samantha Stosur in her previous match.

Serena Williams | Wimbledon 2013
Serena Williams | Wimbledon 2013


Serena Williams | Wimbledon 2013
Serena Williams | Wimbledon 2013


Serena Williams, right now on a 34 match winning-streak, will also be eyeing her sister Venus’ decade-long record of 35. Serena Williams displayed excellent performance in French Open and Wimbledon 2013 thus, Williams is the favorite of the tournament. As expected, Williams probably overcome Lisicki and proceed to the Wimbledon 2013 finals.

Sabine Lisicki | Wimbledon 2013
Sabine Lisicki | Wimbledon 2013


Saturday, June 29, 2013

Blackhawks Parade June 29, 2013

Blackhawks Parade

The Chicago police said more than two million people turned out to celebrate the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup win. Fans dressed in the team’s colors, red and black, started streaming into the city early Friday and by midmorning were lined up along the parade route. Later fans streamed into Grant Park, where a huge throng waited for players to speak.

Blackhawks Parade June 29, 2013
Blackhawks Parade June 29, 2013

Commissioner Gary Bettman will try to close a deal Monday allowing NHL players to compete in the Sochi Olympics next winter. He said the league would meet in New York with the players’ association, the International Olympic Committee and International Ice Hockey Federation.

Blackhawks Parade June 29, 2013
Blackhawks Parade June 29, 2013

The Blackhawks' run for the cup was definitely worth celebrating. Blackhawks entered the postseason with the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and lost just six games en route to the Stanley Cup Finals. Once there they engaged in a highly entertaining series that featured five overtimes in three of the six games. The series clincher was no different in terms of entertainment. The game seemed to be headed to a seventh game with Boston up 2-1 with less than two minutes left in the third period, but the Blackhawks scored back-to-back goals from Brian Bickell and Dave Bolland to give Chicago the 3-2 lead with 58 seconds left. It was a devastating finish to a well-deserved championship, and a moment that is sure to go down in Chicago sports history.

Blackhawks Parade June 29, 2013
Blackhawks Parade June 29, 2013

Wimbledon 2013 | Serena Williams v Kimiko Date-Krumm June 29, 2013

Wimbledon 2013 | Serena Williams v Kimiko Date-Krumm June 29, 2013

Serena Williams takes on Kimiko Date-Krumm later today in the third round of Wimbledon 2013 (17:30 BST start). Date-Krumm has caused a big stir at this year's Wimbledon, and let's not beat about the bush, it's because of her age.

Like Tommy Haas, the Japanese player has been receiving attention for being one of the most notorious golden oldies in professional tennis. It's a miracle that she's still playing at this level at 42 years of age, and an even bigger achievement that she's set up a third round meeting with Serena Williams. This match promises to end the feel good Date-Krumm run, as Serena has been at her all-conquering and all-powerful best in the early stages at the All-England Club.

Wimbledon 2013 | Serena Williams v Kimiko Date-Krumm June 29, 2013
Wimbledon 2013 | Serena Williams v Kimiko Date-Krumm June 29, 2013

Her unbeaten streak shows no signs of going away just yet, and she's still got everything to play for. With Steffi Graf's slam record in her sights, Williams won't be giving away any cheap points. Serena didn't lose more than three games in any set in her two opening matches at Wimbledon 2013 and it would be a surprise to see Date-Krumm do a better job than any of her previous opponents. At 5'4", the evergreen outsider is renowned more for her scrambling abilities than for explosive groundstrokes or a venomous serve, so it's hard to see how she'll beat the world No. 1. Grass can sometimes be a leveller, but it's arguably Serena's best surface so we can forget about that.

Wimbledon 2013 | Serena Williams v Kimiko Date-Krumm June 29, 2013
Wimbledon 2013 | Serena Williams v Kimiko Date-Krumm June 29, 2013

Whilst both players have been on the tour for years, this will be their first competitive meeting. It will be intriguing to see how well Date-Krumm's game stacks up but we're not anticipating an upset.