Author: iainfordyce

Tennis.
Australian Open, Australian Open 2020, Simona Halep, TennisLeave a comment

How good? Very good! Simona Halep powers through to round two !

iainfordyce

I said in my preview for the tournament that Simona Halep is a player who you will find out if she has a genuine chance of winning in Melbourne as the tournament progresses. On paper the American Jennifer Brady would cause some issues having seen off Ash Barty and Maria Sharapova in Brisbane and she certainly did that. Brady got ahead with an immediate break of serve and did a very credible job hanging onto that lead she had. At the same time despite going down an early break I thought Simona Halep played absolutely fantastic throughout the match. It … Continue reading How good? Very good! Simona Halep powers through to round two !

Australian Open, Australian Open 2020, Katie Boulter, TennisLeave a comment

Katie Boulter leaves with positives as Kyle Edmund and Jo Konta crash out!

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Katie Boulter may have joined the earlier casualties from the day with fellow Brits Jo Konta and Kyle Edmund going out in round one but Katie can leave Melbourne with plenty of positives. Katie found herself ranked outside the top 300 and used her protected ranking to play the Australian Open. Round one exit to Elina Svitolina will see the Brit fall outside the top 400 in the world but she showed great fight in her 4-6 5-7 defeat to Ukraine’s number one. The Brit of course missed around six months of tennis last year on the back of reaching … Continue reading Katie Boulter leaves with positives as Kyle Edmund and Jo Konta crash out!

Australian Open, Australian Open 2020, Donna Vekic, Maria Sharapova, TennisLeave a comment

Vekic 6-3 6-4 Sharapova; Russian dumped out despite 4-1 lead in the second set

iainfordyce

For Maria Sharapova it is back to the drawing board for the former world number one who was one of the high profile casualties on Day 2 at the Australian Open. The Russian who was defending quarter final points will now find herself down at 366 in the world following her defeat to Croatia’s Donna Vekic. I wasn’t really expecting much else in all honesty, I think the way Maria has come into the first major of the year is far from ideal and is something I will look at in the coming days. Maria did find some joy in … Continue reading Vekic 6-3 6-4 Sharapova; Russian dumped out despite 4-1 lead in the second set

Australian Open, Australian Open 2020, Borna Coric, Sam Querrey, TennisLeave a comment

Querrey 6-3 6-4 6-4 Coric; Borna’s going to have to pull up trees as the ‘nice’ tennis is causing himself more harm than good!

iainfordyce

Question. Describe Borna Coric’ game in one word? Nice. It’s nice tennis, it isn’t tennis which will hurt you or tennis which with all due respect will get you off your seat, it is just nice. Borna began his year with a win against Dominic Thiem, there was a point separating them. Fine margins, let’s not get carried away. With Borna I feel like the key facts have fallen beneauth trivia. Everyone made a big deal about his best of three record last year winning 17 of 27 matches that went to a deciding set but it screamed issues. If … Continue reading Querrey 6-3 6-4 6-4 Coric; Borna’s going to have to pull up trees as the ‘nice’ tennis is causing himself more harm than good!

Australian Open, Australian Open 2020, Caty McNally, Sam Stosur, TennisLeave a comment

Caty McNally 6-1 6-4 Sam Stosur – American teenager forced to dig deep as she extends her winning run!

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Caty McNally at one point was looking down the prospect of dumping out Sam Stosur 6-1 6-1 but despite a one-sided scoreline of 6-1 6-4 it was anything but straight forward for the American. Sam Stosur as you would expect did put up a good fight against the American qualifier McNally. The American like her good friend Coco Gauff looks fearless in their approach despite taking on some of the tours most experienced players and being so composed whilst at it. More than anything in the match the variety and the mental strength of the 18 year old impressed me. … Continue reading Caty McNally 6-1 6-4 Sam Stosur – American teenager forced to dig deep as she extends her winning run!

Anastasia Potapova, Australian Open, Australian Open 2020, Borna Coric, Dan Evans, Denis Shapovalov, Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams, TennisLeave a comment

Aus Open Day 1: Serena’s landmark win, Dan survives, Naomi’s happy but Coric and Shapovalov fall!

iainfordyce

Rain fall down at Melbourne Park may of delayed proceedings a bit but the stories still came quick and fast as the first day of the first major of 2020 got underway. Serena Williams was not messing about as she won 6-0 6-3 against Anastasia Potapova in what was a landmark win for the American. Not only is the hunt for 24 underway but Serena’s win against Potapova was her 350th Grand Slam singles win. Dan Evans on the other hand didn’t look like he was going to survive his first major as a seeded player. The British number one … Continue reading Aus Open Day 1: Serena’s landmark win, Dan survives, Naomi’s happy but Coric and Shapovalov fall!

Andy Murray, ATP, TennisLeave a comment

Andy Murray emphasises no ‘timeline’ on his recovery after latest setback sees him pull out of Montpellier & Rotterdam!

iainfordyce

2020 has not yet got going for Andy Murray. He had ATP Cup, Australian Open, Rotterdam and Montpellier on his schedule to begin his year but has not and will not compete at any of the events leaving question marks over what happens next? A pelvic injury brought his participation at the Davis Cup Finals in November to a short end after an incredible run of tournaments which saw him win in Antwerp. The injury is still lingering. So much so that he had to miss his usual scheduled training block down at Crandon Park in Miami. Some suggest Miami … Continue reading Andy Murray emphasises no ‘timeline’ on his recovery after latest setback sees him pull out of Montpellier & Rotterdam!