Finals day at Estoril

Roger Federer has defeated Nikolay Davydenko 7-6 1-2 (Davydnko retired hurt).

The match looked to be producing the blockbuster finish to an exciting weeks tennis, but Davydenko was struck down untimely with a strain in his left leg at the end of the first set. The Russian tried to continue playing, and even managed to break Federer, but then decided that the pain was not worth the gain.

Whilst this is a relatively small title, it will mean a lot more to Federer, seeing as it his first of a troubled year so far. He did not play anywhere near his best tennis, but in truth never looked in any real danger of losing in Estoril.

In winning his 54th ATP title, Federer extended his record to 12-0 over his Russian counterpart, and should solidfy his slightly shaky grasp on the world No.1 spot.

In the doubles final, Brit Jamie Murray and Zimbabwean Kevin Ullyett went down fighting to top seedsWesley Moodie and Jeff Coetzee 6-2 4-6 10-8. The South African pair exploited Ullyett’s serve, breaking it twice in the first set to take it easily. However Murray and Ullyett fought back in the second, breaking Coetzee’s serve at 4-3 and forcing the match into a nailbiting champions tie break. But it was Coetzee’s quick reflexes which would seal the win, some excellent net play at 8-8 was truly gutsy.

It’s back to regular partner Max Mirnyi for Murray at the Monte Carlo Masters Series, where he will be hoping to add to his already impressive record this season.

Estoril Open Update

It is semi-final time here at the Estoril Open,after Roger Federer eased past local favourite Frederico Gil 6-4 6-1.

Portugese wild-card Gil has had an excellent week, but Federer was simply too good for the world No. 146, and apart from the two rain delays, it was a comfortable victory for the Swiss.

He now goes on to play German Denis Gremelmayr, who has reached his first ever ATP semi final with a hard fought victory over Jiri Vanek (6-2 3-6 6-2)

In the other half of the draw, second seed and world No.4 Nikolay Davydenko extended his winning streak to ten matches, with a gutsy win over Marc Gicquel of France. Davdydenko was runner up here in 2006, and was victorious in 2003, so he knows the courts well. Next up for him is another Frenchman, Florent Serra, who defeated Flavio Cippola easily 6-1 6-1.

In the doubles it is good news for Britain, as Jamie Murray made it through to the final with new partner Kevin Ullyett. The number two seeds recovered from a set down to defeat third seeds Frantisek Cermak and Jordan Kerr 3-6, 6-4, 10-6. Murray is up to a career best ranking of 34, and will be looking to improve on that when he and Ullyett face top seeds Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie in the final.

Davydenko the Master in Miami

Nikolay Davydenko today became the first Russian in 24 years to win the Miami Masters, as he defeated Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-2 to clinch the title.

The scoreline makes it appear a routine victory, and in truth it was for the world no.4, who as I predicted stood way inside the baseline and dictated play to Nadal. It was an unrelenting assault from the Russian, and once he had broken to go 5-3 up in the first set, the result never looked in any real doubt.

Gone were the nerves that have plagued him over the past year, and he has rediscovered his second serve, which prevented Nadal from gaining the upper hand off the return. When a bit of tension did start to show, double faulting when serving for the match, Davydenko quickly dispelled it the very next point, with some devastating groundstrokes from both wings.

It is not a total disaster for Nadal however; he will look back at this week and take a lot of positives. His hardcourt game is almost there, it just needs some fine tweaking, and not to come up against opponents playing the best tennis of their lives.

For Davydenko, he will be hoping of course to take this excellent form into the clay court season, where he will find Nadal to be somewhat tougher man to beat than he was today.

Davydenko to meet Nadal in final

Nikolay Davydenko produced one of the performances of his career so far as he outplayed home favourite Andy Roddick 7-6 6-2 to make it to his first Miami Masters final.

The Russian was congratulated by Roddick at the hand shake, who told him he was just “too good” on the night. Indeed it was a real eye opener for many tennis fans who have not really paid much notice to the Davydenko in the past.

As Roddick remarked, his style is similar to Andre Agassi in the way he stands inside the baseline and takes the ball very early, making his opponents do much of the running. It was his first victory over Roddick in six meetings, and he now meets Rafael Nadal who overcame Tomas Berdych 7-6 6-2.

Despite the tight nature of the first set, there was always the feeling that Berdych did not quite believe he could overcome Nadal on the biggest stage. Indeed it was the Czech’s nerve which let him down in the tie-break, as he double faulted to lose the set.

Nadal proceeded to steamroll over Berdych in the second set, confusing him with a mixture of high bouncing topspin shots and ankle high slice shots.

It makes for an interesting final, and although Davydenko has never beaten Nadal, I fancy the Russian to turn the tables on him. In the form he is in at the moment, he should be able to step inside the baseline often, and take Nadals high bouncing forehand early before it gets too high. If he can do that, I can see Davydenko winning his second Masters Series title.

Roddick topples Federer to meet Davydenko in the semi finals

After an enthralling match, this years second semi-final is as follows: Andy Roddick vs. Nikolay Davydenko.

World No. 6 Roddick forced a set off of the Roger Federer for the first time since the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai as he clinched the opening set tie-break with an ace down the line. Federer then levelled the match by converting on his third break point chance at 4-4 and holding serve to close out the second set.

But two errors by the Swiss in the eighth game of the third set set up triple break point for Roddick, and Federer returned a forehand into the net to give his opponent the crucial break. Roddick closed out the match in one hour and 55 minutes on his third match point with Federer unable to return his serve.

On the other hand Davydenko (beat Tipsarevic 6-2 6-1) had a comfortable route into the semi’s, and should be fresh for his next match. Davydenko looked in imperious form as he dismantled the 23 year old Tipsarevic, who only won 23% of his second serves, not an enviable stat by any means. He now meets Roddick who snapped an 11 match losing streak against Federer to beat the world number one 7-6 4-6 6-3.

It is the first time since 1988 that all four semi finalists are inside the worlds top ten, and my money is on Davydenko to be lifting the trophy above his head come Sunday evening.

Nadal grinds down Blake

Rafael Nadal will meet Tomas Berdych in the first of the semi-finals.

Nadal defeated James Blake for the second time in a week (3-6 6-3 6-1) to make it through to his second straight Masters Series semi. The American looked to have Rafa’s number in the first set, playing some scintilating tennis.

But, almost with a sense of inevitability about it, he could not keep to that level, and the Spaniard gradually wore him down. By the final few games of the third set, Blake looked as though he had fought, and lost, a war on the court; he simply had nothing left to fight Nadal with.

Tomas Berdych had a much simpler path through, as he defeated Russian Igor Andreev 6-4 6-4. Berdych, who is yet to drop a set in Miami this week, has made himself the first Czech player since 1993 to make it to the semi-finals. He only needed two break points, one in each set, to make the match a formality, and make light of a potentially dangerous opponent in Andreev.

However big match composure is something that many critics have felt Berdych is lacking in, and that could be his downfall against a player as tough as Nadal.

He has a respectable 3-3 lifetime record with the Spaniard however, and will go into this match believing he has every chance of making the final, even if nobody else does!

Djokovic fries Fish to take title

Novak Djokovic ended Mardy Fish’ dream of a first Masters Series title, defeating the plucky American 6-2 5-7 6-3 to clinch the win.

It was the Serb’s third Masters Series title, and not even the most ardent Fish supporter could argue that he did not deserve it, having played the best tennis consistenly all week.

Credit must go to the runner up Fish though, who has now risen 58 places in the rankings. He started the week only just inside the top 100 (98th) but now finds himself 40th, and certainly did not disgrace himself against Djokovic.

Fish started slowly, perhaps fatigued from exertions earlier in the week, and Djokovic broke him twice in the first set to take in comfortably. The world no.3 broke again early in the second and took a 4-2 lead, the situation looking ominous for the American. But showing the kind of courage and determination that has been his calling card at Indian Wells, Fish fought back to break Djokovic twice, winning the set 7-5.

Then came the crucial moment in the match, as ‘The Serbinator’ held off three break points against his serve, serving three aces and two unreturnables to win five straight points to take the game from 0-40. This gave him the impetus he needed, and the very next game he broke Fish and from then on the result never looked in doubt.

All in all, a very exciting weeks tennis, and whilst not quite the emergence of a new star, we are seeing a forgotten one shining bright again.

Fish stuns Federer to meet Djokovic in final

Mardy Fish produced some of the best tennis of his life to win the biggest match of his career so far.

He overwhelmed the world No.1 Roger Federer 6-3 6-2 to progress to his second Masters Series final. The last time he was at this stage, it was at the Cinncinati Masters in 2003, where he lost to Andy Roddick after holding two match points.

Despite having spent six more hours on court this week than the Swiss master, Fish looked the fresher of the two in the opening exchanges, breaking Federer in his first service game. It was the only break he needed to take the first set, and the American went on to break Federer twice more in the second set to wrap up a comfortable victory.

Next up for the flying Fish is world No.3 Novak Djokovic who produced an equally devastating performance to beat Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-2. The Serbian went down an early break, but fought back ferociously to break Nadal three times over the match. The Spaniard blamed his poor performance on being tired from gruelling encounters against Jo Wilfried-Tsonga and James Blake.

Djokovic goes into the final a clear favourite, but then, so did all of Fish’ other opponents this week!

Little Fish in the big pond

Mardy Fish will play Roger Federer in the second semi-final at Indian Wells.

The American booked himself a place in the second semi-final with an outstanding victory over David Nalbandian 6-3 6-7 7-6, in what is one of the best result of his career so far.

In a tight match that could have gone either way, it was Fish’ devastating serving that kept Nalbandian constantly on the back foot. It also ends the Argentines hopes of historic hat-trick of Masters Series titles, and is his first defeat in 19 Masters Series matches.

Roger Federer had a much simpler passage into the semi’s, as his opponent Tommy Haas had to withdraw. The German was struck down with a sinus infection, and it means that Federer is in the semi’s having played only six sets.

This lack of match practice could potentially be a stumbling block for the world No.1, as he will need to be at his sharpest to overcome Fish’ powerful serve.

Semi-Final Draw

R.Federer (1) vs. M.Fish; N.Djokovic (3) vs. R.Nadal (2)

Rafa rocks Indian Wells

Just when you thought he might be fading, after all he has not won a tournament since July, Rafael Nadal showed us why he’s catching Federer at the top.

Two emotional, gutsy and ferocious wins over Jo Wilfried-Tsonga and James Blake have catapulted the young Spanish matador back into the public eye, where he undoubtedly belongs.

There are few more inspiring sights to be found on a tennis court than Nadal in battle mode. By all rights he should have lost to Tsonga, 2-5 down in the final set, with the Frenchman hitting bombs, things did not look good for him. But showing a fighting spirit that is above and beyond any other player in the top 20 (including Federer), he dragged himself back from the brink, reeling of five straight games to win the match 6-7 7-6 7-5.

Then the very next day he was back on the court, this time to end the hopes of American James Blake 7-5 3-6 6-3. Next up for Rafa is the formidable Novak Djokovic who has cruised into the semifinals without dropping a set. A match not to be missed for any fan.

In the other half of the draw, the two quarter finals have some unexpected participants. Tommy Haas, former world no.2 has surprised everyone, and probably himself in getting there. The German has beaten Andy Roddick, Fernando Verdasco, and Andy Murray to get there, so you can’t say he does not deserve it.

After a shocking opening set against Murray, he clicked into gear and from then on was simply too good for the young Brit, winning it 2-6 7-5 6-3. Next up for Haas is Roger Federer, who like Djokovic, has not dropped a set so far, nor looked like dropping one.

The other surprise package this week has been American Mardy Fish, who is keeping the home fans hopes alive. Fish has notably beaten Nikolay Davydenko and Lleyton Hewitt to get into the quarters, where he now faces David Nalbandian, who beat Juan Carlos Ferrero comfortably 6-2 6-2 to get there. My money is predictably on a Federer-Nalbandian semi final, but Haas and Fish have both proved that they are capable of upsetting the very best.

Elsewhere it was defeat for the other Murray brother, as Jamie went out of the doubles at the semi-final stage. With new partner Max Mirnyi, they defeated number one seeds the Bryan brothers, but could not get past Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram who beat them 6-3 6-4.

All eyes on centre court for Super Rafa vs. Super Nole (Djokovic’s nickname!)