The semi-finals were a bit of a disappointment for me since I really wanted to see Andy Roddick advance but after a very close match against Juan Martin Del Potro, he was eliminated.  In the end, Del Potro took on Andy Murray and, while he was able to handle one player with that first name, he wasn’t able to beat the other.

Murray and Del Potro also played an intense match but the Scotsman ended up winning 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-1, with the Argentine looking exhausted.  I’m sure he was since his match with Roddick was pretty demanding as well.

I’m sure it was a thrilling time for Murray, who has climbed to a No. 2 ranking.  “I love winning tournaments, it’s great, and every player will tell you the same thing,” said Murray. “But it’s tough because I’ve never been to No. 2 in the world before, so that’s new to me. I’ve won a couple of Masters Series (events) now, and it still feels great. But getting to No. 2, maybe because it’s something different it means a little bit more.”

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Andy Murray Wins Rogers Cup

image: Zuma Press

The end of the match was predictable – Melzer and Roddick have battled nine times in the past and the Austrian has lost every single time.  Since Roddick has been the runner-up to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in both 2004 and 2005, I’m sure his mind is beginning to wonder if history will repeat itself.  Roddick will play Czech Tomas Berdych in the fourth round.

Andy Murray has also advanced to the fourth round and I’m sure the British player’s hopes have been boistered by yesterday’s 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 win over Serb Viktor Troicki on the Centre Court at the All England Club.  The victory only took 1 hour, 36 minutes during which Murray served 17 aces.  He is hoping to become the first male British champion at Wimbledon since Fred Perry won in 1936.  He will face Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka in the fourth round.

Meanwhile, unseeded Lleyton Hewitt beat Germany’s Philipp Petzschner 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3.   Hewitt, who won the Wimbledon title in 2002, will face Czech Radek Stepanek in the fourth round.

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Murray, Roddick and Hewitt Advance

According to the Telegraph, the massive home features “a large rear lawn with summerhouse, an indoor swimming pool with sauna and jacuzzi, a library and games room.”  Surprisingly, the property does not include a tennis court.  That surprised me since I can’t imagine playing a sport professionally and not having an area to practice in my (several) million dollar home.  He will, however, be installing PlayStation consoles throughout the house…

A lot of people are wondering about the timing of this move since he really should be focusing on competing at Wimbledon next week.  If you’ve ever moved, you will know that it can be very difficult and a move of this magnitude has got to be at least a little distracting.  Who knows, though.  Everyone is different and maybe the transition will have a relaxing effect on him.  Maybe his old neighbors were loud and now he’ll be able to get some sleep.  Whatever the case, I wish him the best!

image: TSN

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Murray Buys Home With No Tennis Court

“I’m not planning on getting caught up in the whole hype and the pressure, because I don’t think that that helps if you do” Murray said. “I’m going to try and just concentrate on playing and winning matches. You can let the pressure affect you if you want to. You can let the expectation get to you if you really want to, but I’m just going to play tennis and not worry about the rest of the stuff.”

image: Zuma Press

The win was also history-making since the last Brit to take the title at the event was Bunny Austin in 1938.  “It’s pretty special,” said Murray. “There have been some great grass-court players from Britain the last 70-odd years. Tim [Henman] and Greg [Rusedski] were both very good grass-court players. The names that are on the trophy, there’s a lot of great, great players. So to be on that trophy is great. Obviously, because it’s not happened that a British player has won for so long, that makes it nicer.”

With 2009 off to such a good start I am really interested in seeing what the rest of the year has in store for Murray.  Before Wimbledon, he will try his look on the grass courts of the All England Club.

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Andy Murray Wins at 2009 Queen’s Club

image: Zuma Press

Blake’s semifinal match came to an abrupt end when, with the score tied at 4-4, four-time Queen’s Club champion Andy Roddick withdrew from the match after suffering an ankle injury.

Murray is ranked third in the world with just Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer ahead of him.  I’m sure he would love to win the event since, after advances to the finals, he will be playing his first title match in his native Great Britain and could become the first Brit to take the title in 71 years (the last local to win was Bunny Austin way back in 1938).

Blake, on the other hand, has never won a title on a non-hard court but, if history is any indicator, he could upset the higher seeded, Murray – they’ve battled just once before and Blake emerged victorious at the 2006 ATP Masters Series.

This year’s 2009 Aegon champion will take home $117,000.

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2009 Queen’s Club Finals Set

“It’s about playing well and getting ready for Paris,” said Federer. “It’s good to get the first match.”

Federer came out strong and took advantage of his opponents unforced errors.

The Swiss star hit 24 winners and took advantage of the Swedish player’s 25 unforced errors to capture four break points. Federer fired down 11 aces, including on the final point to clinch his place in the third round.

Andy Murray had a tough win against Simone Bolelli, 7-6 (9), 6-4. Next up for Murray is No. 16 Tommy Robredo who defeated Mardy Fish of the United States 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2.

Source: NBC Sports

Image Credit: Newscom

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Roger Federer Wins Over Robin Soderling

Nadal defeated Nicolas Lapentti 6-3, 6-0 and Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 6-3. This takes him to 25 winning matches in Monte Carlo.

“I don’t remember ever winning two singles matches in one day, only doubles,” Nadal said. “I didn’t have a very long match (in the morning), so I was totally 100 percent to play the second. That’s important.”

Nadal’s next match is against Andy Murray, who defeated Nikolay Davydenko 7-6 (1), 6-4.

“Every time I play against Nikolay he makes me run a lot, so I was prepared for that going into the match,” Murray said. “I was down 4-1 and managed to fight back. I’m quite looking forward to getting into my bed now.”

I am definitely looking forward to a Nadal/Murray match.

Source: Tennis.com

Image Credit: Bauer Griffin

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Nadal Moves One Step Closer to Fifth Straight Title

Djokovic seemed to be a little confused in the second set and it was Murray’s to win.

The best example of that was the penultimate game of the second set today, in which Murray broke Djokovic in a way that was both unexpected and mortifying. Djokovic, playing spectator at his own execution, lost four straight points, at least two of them because his mind didn’t seem to be on the task at hand, and another because he got caught in the mid-court area, uncertain about whether to hang back or swarm the net.

Djokovic, like any great tennis player, knew what cost him the match.

“I was really impatient,” Djokovic said. “I made huge number of unforced errors and he was playing solid and waiting for his chances.”

Andy definitely started to struggle a bit in the second match, but was able to bag the win after getting his rhythm back.

“Novak started rushing me, he started to shorten the points and I struggled a little bit. He was coming in (to net) 60, 70 percent of the time in that second set. I lost my rhythm a little in that second set but I got it back.”

Check out some video highlights from the match below.

Source: Tennis.com
Image Credit: Newscom

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Andy Murray Wins in Miami

On Friday, March 20 , Andy Roddick defeated Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-2 and will face No.1 Rafael Nadal today in the semifinals. This is a match I am looking forward to! This would be Nadal’s third win at Indian Wells in three years. He reached the semifinals by defeating Juan Martin del Potro 6-2, 6-4.
Roger Federer will face Andy Murray today in the other semifinal. Again, this is a match I am stoked to see!

Stay tuned for the results of these matches and to see who will be heading to the finals!

Image Credit: Newscom

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Indian Wells Update for March 21st

Here’s what we liked best about the 2008 U.S. Open:

And here’s what almost ruined the whole tournament for us:

Images: Used with permission of www.newscom.com

The first picture shows our fave athlete of all time, Roger Federer, planting a wet one on us, in our most joyous dreams the U.S. Open trophy. The Fed Express collected his record 5th straight U.S. Open title and 13th major overall—quelling all the naysayers who pegged him as “done” after the loss to Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon.

The second picture shows our least favorite person ever to co-host “The View,” Star Jones. The some-would-say unlucky fella she’s puckering up with is Herb Wilson. (Are we the only ones who find the irony and/or humor in the fact that the gastric bypass lady is dating a chef?)

Consider this our official plea to the media: No more pictures of Star Jones playing kissyface, preferably forever but at least not when Roger Federer is still in the tournament.

It’s a testament to our willpower and Fed-affection that we were able to watch the rest of the U.S. Open despite the ever-looming threat of more Star-Herb candids. What did tennis fans do to deserve that?

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Federer Wins the U.S. Open; Plus, Star Jones’ Mystery Man Revealed