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Tuesday, 22 January 2013
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Nicolas Almagro vs David Ferer Quater Finals Australian Open 2013 (22/01/2013)

Tuesday, 22 January 2013 by dsdsd · 0 comments


Battling Ferrer trumps Almagro

David Ferrer capitalised on Nicolas Almagro's fragile temperament to hit back from two sets down and clinch a place in the Australian Open semi-finals.
Almagro had lost all 12 previous meetings with his Spanish compatriot before Tuesday and the mental baggage was apparent when he failed to serve out the match three times - once in the third set and then twice in the fourth.
By the fifth, Almagro was a psychological wreck and it was no surprise that Ferrer duly completed a gutsy 4-6 4-6 7-5 7-6 (7/4) 6-2 victory in three hours and 44 minutes to set up a last-four clash with the winner of Tuesday night's match between Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych.
"It was a miracle that I won this match," Ferrer said.
"Nicolas had a lot of chances to beat me but I tried to fight for every point - that is my game. I will always try to fight and do my best.
"In the important moments all the players get nervous, it has also happened to me."
Ferrer, one of the most dogged competitors on tour, played his usual steady game but was simply outplayed by the 10th seed for at least two thirds of an absorbing contest.
The pair share similar styles but Almagro's extra power, especially on the backhand side, consistently gave him the edge.
He was also ruthless when opportunities came his way, breaking once in each of the first three sets at the first opportunity to take him to the brink of victory, serving at two sets and 5-4 up.
It was shaping up to be a landmark performance and result for Almagro, who had never before reached the semi-finals of a grand slam, but then he realised what he was about to achieve and buckled horribly.
Ferrer did nothing special to get to 15-40 and although Almagro got it back to deuce he was powerless when Ferrer converted a third chance.
Almagro's composure was shot and it was no surprise when Ferrer broke again to claim the set and get himself back in the contest.
The fourth was error-ridden. Almagro was still the more aggressive player but continued to struggle when it really mattered.
He twice claimed and then relinquished a break early on but when he earned a third he had another chance to serve it out at 5-4.
But he could not get over the line as Ferrer seized on his jitters to level.
To his credit, Almagro hit straight back, winning a long game on his sixth break point.
But, for a third time, his nerves betrayed him at 6-5 as Ferrer took it into a tie-break and there was a sense of inevitability when he took it 7-4.
By now Almagro was also struggling with a groin injury suffered during the breaker and he had to undergo treatment before the decider got underway.
Ferrer was, in comparison, looking stronger than he had at any stage of the match and it was no surprise when he completed a wonderful comeback to progress through to the last four of a major for a fifth time.


 

Novak Djokovic vs Thomas Berdych Quater Final Australian Open 2013 (22/01/2013)

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Djokovic dismantles Berdych in four

Novak Djokovic showed no ill-effects from his marathon encounter with Stanislas Wawrinka by brushing aside the challenge of Tomas Berdych at the Australian Open.
Djokovic scraped past Wawrinka 12-10 in the fifth set on Sunday night in a match which lasted over five hours.
But, not for the first time in his career, he displayed his remarkable powers of recovery with an impressive performance against the fifth-seeded Czech, winning 6-1 4-6 6-1 6-4 to set up a semi-final clash with David Ferrer.
The victory also meant Djokovic will retain the number one ranking even if he does not win the title on Sunday.
"It was a great performance," he said. "I was hoping to have a shorter match, whoever won, just not go over five hours.
"It was always going to be tough against Tomas, he has been an established top-10 player now for the last five or six years and if he's on he can win against anyone on any surface.
"I was aware of his qualities and I was very pleased with my performance."
On the match-up with Ferrer, he added: "He is one of the most respected guys on the tour because he never gives up. He is one of the fittest guys around and I am expecting a long one."
For three of the four sets against Berdych, Djokovic was dominant.
Any doubts over his fitness were dispelled in a blistering start as, crushing winners from every angle, he ripped through the first set in just 28 minutes.
Berdych was shell-shocked but regrouped sufficiently to break early in the second and hold his advantage to 5-4 when he had the chance to serve it out.
Djokovic applied the pressure, having four break point chances, but Berdych stood firm with a backhand winner down the line on the Serbian's third opportunity arguably the shot of the night.
It was to prove as close as Berdych would get as from there he was swamped.
The top seed, aiming to become the first man in the Open era to win three successive Australian Open crowns, raced into a 4-0 third-set lead on his way to re-establishing his advantage.
Berdych did marginally better in the fourth but a solitary break in game three proved enough for Djokovic who moved into his 11th successive grand slam semi-final.
Ferrer capitalised on Nicolas Almagro's fragile temperament to hit back from two sets down and clinch his place in the last four.
Almagro had lost all 12 previous meetings with his Spanish compatriot before today and the mental baggage was apparent when he failed to serve out the match three times - once in the third set and then twice in the fourth.
By the fifth, Almagro was a psychological wreck and it was no surprise that Ferrer duly completed a gutsy 4-6 4-6 7-5 7-6 (7/4) 6-2 victory in three hours and 44 minutes.
"It was a miracle that I won this match," Ferrer said.
"Nicolas had a lot of chances to beat me but I tried to fight for every point - that is my game. I will always try to fight and do my best.
"In the important moments all the players get nervous, it has also happened to me."
Almagro denied he had 'choked' and blamed the defeat on a groin injury suffered in the fourth set tie-break.
"If you're not 100 per cent to play I am not sure if it's mental or not," he said.
"I tried to play my best tennis today and I think I did that.
"But that's not enough to beat David.
"I don't think that it's a mental problem. If I have a mental problem I don't think I would have won the first two sets."



 

Roger Federer vs Milos Raonic Australian open 2013 (21/01/2013)

Monday, 21 January 2013 by dsdsd · 0 comments

Majestic Federer eases past Raonic

Second seed Roger Federer reached his 35th consecutive grand slam quarter-final with a straight-sets victory over Canada's Milos Raonic.
Federer, seeking a fifth Australian Open title and 18th grand slam of his career, took a while to get to grips with his big-serving opponent before running out a convincing 6-4 7-6 (7/4) 6-2 winner in one hour and 54 minutes.
The Swiss star, who has yet to drop a set in Melbourne, will now face seventh seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last eight after the Frenchman beat compatriot Richard Gasquet in four sets in their fourth-round clash.
Tsonga famously beat Federer in the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2011, the first time Federer had ever lost a grand slam match from two sets up.
"He is a good guy with a great game, he is a great shot-maker and a great character for the game," Federer said of Tsonga. "We didn't play each other last year I don't think and the year before we played three times in 10 days.
"We just came from a trip in South America, played a couple of exhibition matches against each other which was a lot of fun and now we're going to try to bring it here to centre court and I am really looking forward to that. It should be exciting."
The first nine games of the match went with serve, but 13th seed Raonic was the first to blink and a double fault gifted Federer a set point which he gratefully accepted as Raonic netted a backhand volley.
Federer had amazingly made just one unforced error throughout the set and although much is often made of Raonic's powerful serve, the 31-year-old was more than holding his own in that department too.
Just nine points were lost on serve in the second set - Federer dropping only two - and a tie-break was required to decide the outcome.
Raonic produced aces with his first three serves, but Federer was simply waiting patiently for his opportunity and seized it with a backhand winner down the line as Raonic came into the net. An ace of his own gave Federer three set points and he took the second with a forehand winner.
That seemed to break Raonic's spirit and Federer broke serve twice early in the third set on his way to a convincing victory.



 

Valencia vs Real Madrid Latest Goals and Highlights (21/01/2013)

Sunday, 20 January 2013 by dsdsd · 0 comments


Real Madrid took out their pent-up LA Liga frustrations on sorry Valencia with a stunning first-half display en route to a 5-0 victory at the Mestalla.
Gonzalo Higuain opened the scoring early on and then Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel Di Maria helped themselves to braces during a devastating 11-minute spell just before half-time as Madrid, who beat the same opponents in the Copa del Rey in midweek, ran amok.
Valencia battled back after the break and had a number of chances to pull a goal back but Madrid's defence, with Iker Casillas selected ahead of Antonio Adan in goal, held firm to complete a great night for Jose Mourinho's men, who moved back to within 15 points of leaders Barcelona.
Madrid and Mourinho have found themselves under increasing pressure, with their title defence already looking in tatters by the midway stage of the season.
However, the capital club, no doubt buoyed by Barca's surprise defeat to Real Sociedad on Saturday, answered a few of their critics.
Higuain missed a glorious chance to open the scoring in the eighth minute when he side-footed Alvaro Arbeloa's cross wide but the Argentinian made no mistake 60 seconds later, slotting in Di Maria's cutback following a rapid counter-attack to make it 1-0.
Sami Khedira twice came close to increasing Madrid's lead around the half-hour mark but was denied both times by vital saves from Diego Alves.
Alves could do nothing as Madrid did make it 2-0 in the 34th minute though, Ronaldo turning Ricardo Costa inside out before sending over a low cross that the unmarked Di Maria tapped home at the far post.
Madrid were rampant and straight from the kick-off they regained possession, allowing Ronaldo to scamper free from the halfway line and drill a low shot past Alves at his near post.
It was 4-0 in the 41st minute when Di Maria's cross to the far post was knocked back by Ozil to Ronaldo, who thrashed home his second of the night.
Madrid were not finished there either, and on the stroke of half-time Di Maria added his second after being put through by Ozil and coolly slotting past Alves.
Valencia's fans voiced their anger as the teams left the pitch at the break, but they will have taken some consolation from their side's performance in the second half, even if it did not result in any goals.
Pablo Piatti struck the crossbar, Adil Rami saw a header cleared off the line and Tino Costa twice went close with volleys for the hosts.
Madrid were not without their chances either, though, and Ronaldo really should have netted his hat-trick four minutes from the end only to side-foot Luka Modric's cross wide from close range.
Mourinho's men return to the Mestalla on Wednesday, when they will look to defend a 2-0 lead in the second leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final against Los Che.



 

Totenham Hotspurs vs Machester United half time Highlights 0-1 (20/01/2013)

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The first goal scored by robin van persie. Manchester united 1 - 0 up. Clint Dempsey scored in the dying moments.


 

Liverpool vs Norwich City 5 - 0 Highlights and goals (19/01/2013)

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Rodgers was pleased to see the partnership between Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge develop further in the 5-0 demolition of Norwich.
Suarez took his tally to 20 for the season with the Reds' second - courtesy of a clever dummy by his strike partner - after Jordan Henderson's smart shot had opened the scoring.
Sturridge, a £12million signing from Chelsea earlier this month, then became the first Liverpool player since Ray Kennedy in 1974 to score in his first three matches before Steven Gerrard and a Ryan Bennett own goal completed the rout.
"I couldn't have asked for more. The players were brilliant in their application and their game and it was a great performance," said Rodgers.
"They (Suarez and Sturridge) linked very well, obviously both got on the scoresheet, which was great.
"Luis has done what he has done for us all season, given us 100% every game, and he combined well with Daniel up front.
"I think it gives the opponent someone else to worry about. Suarez has been incredible for us but you now have a recognised goalscorer up beside him.
"We had real fluidity with our play at the top end of the field.
"Daniel has pace and power but he is also clever and that was important today as Norwich are tough to break down and a tough team to play against.
"The second goal was a wonderful demonstration of how good players can link together.
"It was great vision by Daniel to see the run of Luis coming from the outside, great weight of pass by Lucas, and Suarez found himself one versus one.
"I've seen it in training in the early part he has been here.
"Behind that you have Steven Gerrard, who in that form I think he used every club in his bag.
"His passing was phenomenal and the goal he scored was trademark Steven Gerrard."
While Suarez and Sturridge caught the eye, the steadily-improving Henderson put in another good performance in what has been a good period for him.
And registering a third successive home win allowed Liverpool to banish memories of last week's defeat against Manchester United.
"We needed to find that goal early on and it was a terrific piece of play by Luis Suarez, who wriggled his way in and around the edge of the box and when the ball dropped to Jordan what a strike it was," Rodgers added.
"Once you get that it gives you the confidence because your opponent has to come out and that allows more spaces to open up.
"We controlled the game very well and we scored some outstanding goals.
"Equally I thought our pressing and defensively we were very intense and aggressive in getting the ball back. It was a terrific performance."
Rodgers revealed Jose Reina, who missed the match because of a thigh injury, had an operation to repair a nose broken at Old Trafford last week.
"Pepe was injured and Brad Jones came in and kept a clean sheet," he said.
"He had a thigh problem before the game last week and he played and the assessment afterwards was it had got worse - plus he had broken his nose.
"He had an operation to fix the nose yesterday so we will see how he is by next week and review it from there."
Norwich boss Chris Hughton admitted his side, who have taken just one point from their last six matches, fell well short of what was required.
"At this moment it is not a good feeling," he said.
"We were beaten by a very good side who were very clinical in everything they did.
"We weren't good enough and we have to be better than that. We were nowhere near as good as we could have been."


 

Roger Federer vs Bernard Tomic Australian Open 3rd Round Match Highlights

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Roger Federer successfully overcomes australian challenge tomic in straight sets. Roger Federer with this win enters into 4th round.

Roger Federer extinguished the Australian Open hopes of home favourite Bernard Tomic for the second year running with a ruthless 6-4 7-6 6-1 win.


Tomic declared in the build-up that "it was a good time to play him" but that optimism appeared horribly misplaced as the brash 20-year-old was swatted aside by the Swiss master.
Federer, 11 years his senior, was superior in every element as he secured a place in the last 16 for the 12th successive year.
Tomic required a fast start to back up his bold words but instead it was Federer who struck first, breaking in the opening game.
And the world number two, bidding to become just the second man in history to win this title five times, was rarely threatened on serve despite some breathtaking rallies in which Tomic displayed his immense talent.
Having claimed the opening set, Federer increased the pressure, creating break point chances in the first, third, ninth and 11th games of the second set but he could not find a way through as Tomic, roared on by a partisan crowd, managed to hold on.
And when the world number 43 moved 4-1 up in the tie-break it looked as though he was going to level the match up.
But Federer roared back with Tomic unable to match his levels of intensity.
The Australian had his first break point opportunity at the start of the third but once it came and went the writing was on the wall.
Federer claimed Tomic's serve twice more to move through to a last-16 meeting with Milos Raonic.
"It was a great match, Bernard has had a great run and he got the best out of me tonight [Saturday]," said Federer.



 

Chelsea vs Arsenal 2-1 All Goals and Highlights (20/01/2013)

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Rafael Benitez finally enjoyed some home comfort as Chelsea avoided throwing away another two-goal lead by clinging on to beat Arsenal 2-1.
It was very nearly Groundhog Day at snowy Stamford Bridge, with the Gunners making amends for an appalling first-half performance through Theo Walcott's first goal since signing his new contract.
But it was not enough to overturn the two-goal head start they gifted Chelsea, with Juan Mata's strike and Frank Lampard's penalty - his 195th goal for the club - ultimately proving the difference.
A Barclays Premier League double over Arsenal also saw the third-placed Blues move 11 points clear of their opponents and cast serious doubt over the top-four credentials of Arsene Wenger's men.
Amid the almost relentless negativity that seems to dog Chelsea - currently the fan revolt against Benitez, reported managerial target Pep Guardiola's decision to accept an offer from Bayern Munich, and the Lampard contract saga - there was finally some positive news to report over Ashley Cole's future ahead of today's game.
Talk of a new contract being agreed succeeded in appeasing disgruntled supporters who had witnessed just two wins in their previous seven Stamford Bridge outings.
Benitez was spared his usual frosty reception, despite the wintry weather, with abuse reserved instead for an Arsenal team for whom suffering has become second nature.
That might have all changed had Olivier Giroud not drilled narrowly wide in the fifth minute after being threaded in by Walcott, a miss that proved decisive, with Chelsea sweeping ahead in controversial fashion less than a minute later.
Francis Coquelin was arguably fouled by Ramires and the ball broke to Cesar Azpilicueta, whose crossfield pass found Mata, the Spaniard controlling the ball before lashing left-footed into the roof of the net.
Petr Cech tipped Santi Cazorla's sumptuous drive behind and Eden Hazard tested Gunners goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny after a dazzling run.
Arsenal's back line were all over the place, especially out wide, and Chelsea doubled their lead in the 16th minute with embarrassing ease.
Mata found Ramires in acres of space six yards out and the Brazilian tempted Szczesny into conceding a penalty - but crucially avoiding a red card - which Lampard slotted home.
Cue the predictable chants of "Sign him up", as Stamford Bridge rocked to the kind of noise rarely witnessed under Benitez.
Chelsea's control remained virtually absolute, although worrying parallels were developing with Wednesday's capitulation against Southampton as chances began to dry up.
Ramires blasted over after a typically barnstorming run 10 minutes before the break but Arsenal began to look more menacing as half-time approached.
Fernando Torres - sporting a severe new haircut - squandered a chance to settle the nerves with a woeful effort seconds before the break.
And like Southampton four days earlier, Arsenal approached the restart with renewed vigour, Per Mertesacker and Walcott both testing Cech inside three minutes.
Giroud's miscued header was another warning Chelsea failed to heed as Walcott halved the deficit in the 58th minute.
As for the opening goal, there was an element of controversy as Torres went down injured in the middle of the field.
Otherwise, it was all about the brilliance of Cazorla and Walcott, the former's inch-perfect through ball finding the latter's perfectly-timed run, with a clipped finish to match.
Aaron Ramsey immediately replaced Coquelin before Walcott threatened again with a darting run and shanked finish, Chelsea's nerves beginning to betray them.
Mata was booked for kicking the ball away uncharacteristically and Torres overran the ball after skinning Thomas Vermaelen.
Arsenal had completely overturned Chelsea's dominance out wide and Benitez took action by sending on Ryan Bertrand for Oscar after Ramires forced a scrambling Szczesny save.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger soon turned to Andrey Arshavin at the expense of Abou Diaby before Jack Wilshere was denied even a free-kick after being caught by the flailing arm of Ramires.
Torres' departure for Demba Ba finally elicited a cheer from an increasingly jittery home support and they should have been celebrating again when the substitute beat Szczesny to a ball over the top but saw his finish blocked on the line by Vermaelen.
Chelsea were edging towards victory but Cole's trip on Bacary Sagna gave Arsenal a free-kick which Vermaelen drilled just wide.
Bertrand's blocked volley drew futile handball appeals before the Gunners laid siege to their opponents goal, Gary Cahill producing stoppage-time heroics and Giroud's looping header sailing just over the crossbar




From Chelsea Mata and Lampard scored. In second half, Theo Wolcott scored first for Arsenal.

 

Novak Djokovic vs Stanislas Wawrinka Australian open 2013 Highlights

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World number one Novak Djokovic kept his hopes of a third successive Australian Open title alive with an extraordinary defeat of Stanislas Wawrinka.

Djokovic came through 1-6 7-5 6-4 6-7 (5/7) 12-10 in five hours and two minutes of absorbing tennis against an opponent who was inspired.
Having withstood an early Wawrinka barrage it seemed the momentum had turned in the Serbian's favour when he claimed sets two and three.
But back came Wawrinka to win the fourth in an epic tie-break to take it to a decider which could have gone either way until Djokovic finally made the breakthrough with the match finishing at 1.43am local time.
"It's really hard to find the words to describe the feeling we had tonight, especially in the fifth set," said Djokovic.
"He equally deserved to be a winner of this match. I give him a lot of credit, he has my respect. He showed his quality and was the aggressive player on the court."
Djokovic came through some nervous moments, none more so than when he found himself a set and 5-3, 30-0 down with Wawrinka closing in on a commanding lead.
But the Swiss got edgy, coughing up three unforced errors which gave Djokovic a route out of trouble and he gleefully accepted.
The momentum was firmly with the Serbian and he broke again for 6-5 before levelling the match on his own serve.
"Even at a set and 5-3 down I believed I could come back," Djokovic said.
"I was just being outplayed by my opponent. In those circumstances when you are not playing the way you want to play, you just try to fight and hope for the best."
To that point it had been all Wawrinka, the 27-year-old blasting winner after winner from all parts of the court with his single-handed backhand particularly venomous.
Djokovic, who has now won 18 consecutive matches here, had no answer. He looked ill-at-ease, not helped by frequently slipping as he struggled with his footwear.
Once level, though, he was expected to go on and turn the screw.
The early signs in the third set backed up that theory as he broke immediately, only for Wawrinka to rip up the script and hit back.
It remained tight, the two trading lusty blows from the back of the court until the ninth game when Wawrinka again blinked, although credit to Djokovic for raising his level when it really mattered.
Wawrinka would still not go away and he had break-point chances in the second and fourth games of the fourth set with Djokovic clinging on grimly.
Cling on he did, though, to take it to a dramatic tie-break.
Wawrinka never trailed and had three set points at 6-3. Djokovic dragged back two of them but Wawrinka came up with some inspired tennis to take the third with a point again set up by a wonderful backhand down the line.
The decider started, as the second did, with two breaks before serve again took over.
By now Wawrinka was appearing to cramp, stretching his right quadriceps at every opportunity.
It was not affecting his performance though, and after saving a break point at 3-4 he created four opportunities of his own in the next game, piling the pressure on Djokovic.
The Serbian came through, though, saving the first with an audacious drop shot and the fourth when Wawrinka failed to challenge a call on the baseline when replays showed it was in.
Serve then dominated with few chances on either side of the net until 10-11, when Djokovic's returning game clicked.
Wawrinka saved the first two match points - the first with a big serve and the second with an incredibly gutsy backhand winner down the line - but on the third he had no answer, as Djokovic ripped a backhand past him at the net.
Djokovic will take on fifth seed Tomas Berdych next, the Czech coming through in straight sets against South African Kevin Anderson.
Fourth seed David Ferrer cruised past Kei Nishikori with what he described as "one of the best matches of my career at the Australian Open".
Nishikori, the 16th seed, offered little threat to the Spaniard who won 6-2 6-1 6-4 in two hours and 10 minutes to advance to his third successive quarter-final in Melbourne.
Ferrer broke twice in each of the first two sets to set up a comfortable win. The third was wild as Nishikori started to go for broke but, hampered by a knee injury, he failed to seriously threaten Ferrer's chances of victory.
The fourth seed said: "It was a tough match but in the first two sets I didn't make any mistakes.
"Today [Sunday] I played very well, it was one of the best matches of my career at the Australian Open.
"I'm happy with my game."
Ferrer will take on another Spaniard, Nicolas Almagro, in the last eight after he advanced when Janko Tipsarevic had to withdraw through injury.
Serbian Tipsarevic won his previous two matches - against Lukas Lacko and Julien Benneteau - in five sets but was trailing 6-2 5-1 when he pulled out with a jarred heal.




 

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