Wimbledon 2012: Federer made history, Murray denied yet again

Andy Murray, the world number 4, was aiming to be the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win a major single title.

But the Swiss best, Roger Federer, denied him once again by winning 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 to match Pete Sampras’ record of 7 Wimbledon title, and regain the world number one ranking.

Federer won his seventh Wimbledon and reclaimed the world number 1 ranking

Murray now has lost all four of his Grand Slam finals. Incidentally, his coach Ivan Lendl shared the same faith as he lost his first four Grand Slam finals.

The Briton, however, was able to win his first set in a Grand Slam final, something that he wasn’t able to do, partly due to his inexperience and nervousness. Mentality, on the other hand, wasn’t shown on Murray’s game last night as he started off excellently.

The Fed Express was the one that seemed to be under pressure as he uncharacteristically started off slow and gave Murray the early lead of 2-0 in the first set. Murray kept on coming at it, and got the first set after another break in the 10^th game.

In second set, both players were consistent in their service game. Federer hel 6-5 before going on his attack. Coming from 15-40 down he leveled the match with a sensational backhand drop volley.

Third set was halted because of heavy rain and for the first time the roof was closed in a Wimbledon final. This was the turning point of the game as Federer’s near perfect game indoor.

Even so, Federer fully deserved his victory as his splendid display in the last two sets. We once again saw the man that was above everyone else, as he fired shots after shots from forehand to backhand, slice to lob. Despite being the younger in the final, Murray fell down 3 times in the third set and chasing the ball with heavy feet in fourth set.

17 Grand Slam title and 286 week as world number one for Federer, the arguably all time best.

“It’s amazing. It equals me with Pete Sampras, who’s my hero,” said Federer, who lost in the quarterfinals at the All England Club 2010 and 2011. “It just feels amazing”.

“This year I guess I decided in the bigger matches to take it more to my opponent instead of waiting a bit more for mistakes”.

“Yeah, this is I guess how you want to win Wimbledon, is by going after your shots, believing you can do it, and that’s what I was able to do today. It’s special”.

Murray broke down in tears at the end, having beaten by Federer in three Grand Slam finals. He directed at the crowd: “Everybody always talks about the pressure playing at Wimbledon, how tough it is. It’s not the people watching. They make it so much easier to play. The support has been incredible, so thank you.”

Tears had been shed for Murray, he now has lost all his four Grand Slam finals

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Radwanska and Williams reach Wimbledon final

In Centre Court, Radwanska only needed one hour and nine minutes to secure victory over Kerber. She is the first Polish woman to reach a grand slam final for 75 years.

It did not look promising for the World number 3 when she was broken early in the first set, only to come back strongly in the sixth and eighth games to win 5 games in a row. Her relentless tennis forced the German to make many errors. After the decisive break in the sixth game of second set, the Polish sealed the straight set victory 6-3 6-4 to reach her first Gran Slam final

After the match, she said: "You really want to try your best but sometimes you want it too much and your hands are shaking. After that I concentrated on every point.

"I had a tough quarter-final and it was good to have a day off and rest because it's always tough against Angie.

"We are very good friends but on court we're opponents and you're trying everything to make the final."

Later on Centre Court, Serena Williams overpowered World Number 2 Victoria Azarenka and produced a Wimbledon record with 24 aces.

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Serena Williams is one victory away from her fifth Wimbledon title

Williams now moved within one victory of a fifth Wimbledon title. Her serve was impregnable and when she broke Azarenka in the third game of second set, victory seemed to be just matter of time. It was 3-1 lead for the sixth seed.

But Australian Open Champion Azarenka stopped Williams' momentum by breaking in the sixth game hence forcing a second tie-break.

The 22-year-old saved one match point in tie-break only to hit the net with a sloppy backhand right after, allowing Williams to serve for the match. Another aces for the American sealing the straight set victory.

Williams, who hit 45 winners in the match against Arazenka, expects her opponent to return well on Saturday. "She's going to get every ball back", she said. "I've been working so hard, I really wanted it. I was looking too far in the future. I was so close, but I can't do that".

Today on Centre Court the men semi-finals will take place. Federer will take on Djokovic while Murray, the hope of Britain, will face Frenchman Tsonga. 

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Andy Murray got the better of David Ferrer to reach Wimbledon semis

It was a superb fight back of Andy, grinding down David Ferrer to reach his fourth successive Wimbledon semis.

From a set and a break down, Murray came back and went through after 4 sets in three hours and 52 minutes.

This was a sweet revenge for the Scot after beaten by Ferrer in the quarter-finals of the French Open.

No British man has won a major since Fred Perry landed the Wimbledon and US Open titles in 1936, and Murray is the best hope in recent years.

Murray into semis

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After the match, Murray said: “It was a very tough match, a long match, a lot of tight moments. He’s a great player and sometimes doesn’t get enough respect.

“I’ve known him for a long time and he’s an unbelievably hard worker”

But it would have required more than hard work to beat Murray in this form. A rain delay in the fourth set only delayed the inevitable. However, Ferrer had given Murray a stern test after taking the first set and won a break in the second set.

Murray will be facing Tsonga in the semi-finals, the Frenchman showed a very steady performance since French Open till now. He almost got the better of defending champion Djokovic in the French Open quarter finals. It will be an interesting match to watch.

Federer and Djokovic to meet in semis

Six-time champion Roger Federer will once again face defending champion Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals at Wimbledon after both cruised easily through their quarter finals on Wenesday.

In only an hour and 32 minutes, the man with 16 Grand Slam titles beat Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny 6-1 6-2 6-2 on Centre Court.

Not less impressive, Djokovic took down Florian Mayer 6-4 6-1 6-4 in an hour and 44 minutes.

It is the sixth time in the last eight Grand Slam tournaments that Swiss met top seed Djokovic have met in the final four.

Djokovic has won four of those encounters, although this will be the first time they battle on the grass of Wimbledon.

“I though I played great out there” Roger said. “I’m extremely happy to be back in the semi-finals here at Wimbledon.

“I think it helps when royalty shows up and other legends of the game come to see my play. I think it’s inspiring. I’m happy they came to support tennis and support me. It was very special”

Djokovic, a five-time major champion, said: “I’m looking forward to it. It’s always a pleasure playing him. He is a great champion.

Djokovic looks clear in defending the title

“He has dominated for so long. He is so consistent and for me it will be the ultimate challenge.”

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Wimbledon 2012: Kvitova down at hands of Williams

In the tournament with shocking result and upset, Kvitova was the next big name out of the competition after overpowered by Serena Williams. The margin of victory was small for Serena with the minimum 2 breaks in two sets, 6-3 7-5.

The defending champion played some good tennis, and it required impressive display from the American to earn her place in the semi final

Serena Williams returns a shot in the quarter-final

 Kvitova had held a break at 4-5 in the second set which would have taken the contest to the full distance. Serena held firm though, once again relying on her big serve to clinch a straight set win. Williams needed to dig deep to win her previous matches at Wimbledon, but she was back to her ruthless form on Tuesday.

The serving advantage was clearly big for Serena, with the Czech failed to get to her racquet 13 times.

The American's French Open disaster now looks behind, and she surely has a good chance at winning the Championship.

Mario Sharapova crashed out of Wimbledon

Sharapova, French Open's champion, crashed out of Wimbledon after losing in straight sets to Sabine Lisicki. 

The result, although, came as a surprise to many, but the German is a tremendous competition on grass. After two sets 6-4 6-3, the Russian number one said goodbye to the third grand slam of the year. 

Sharapova found herself against the rope for most of the match. In the second set, she seemed to have given up when she went 4-1 down. 

After Nadal, Sharapova out of competition at  hands of Sabine Lisicki

The World Number 1 then attempted a comeback but it was too little too late for last year runner up to turn the table around. 

Aside from avenging her defeat against Sharapova 12 months ago, Lisicki is in the chance to win her first Grand Slam title. On other surface, you do not know, but on grass she is arguably the top players in the world.

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Nadal crashes out of Wimbledon in 2nd round

Second-seeded two time Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal was taken down at hands of relatively unknown Lukas Rosol after a five set stunner, 6-7 (11-9) 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. 


Nadal could not contain the relentless and brutal ground stroke from the 26 year old Czech on his Wimbledon debut. 

Lukas Rosol, the world number 100, just sent a shocking wave through tennis world

Undeterred after losing the tiebreak in set 1, Rosol immediately bounced back and took the next two sets 6-4, and he managed to get under Nadal's skin in the process. 

Nadal managed a 6-2 win in set 4 but this was the end of it as Rosol took the fifth set to complete a "freak" victory for the world number 100. This was Nadal's earliest exit since he was beaten by Gilles Muller in the second round at Wimbledon 2005. 

"I don't know what to say," Rosol said. "I'm not just surprised but it's like a miracle. I never expected something like this. There are so many emotions - I don't know what to say.

"[Nadal] is a superstar and I'm very sorry for him. I played unbelievably today. I hope I can play another match like this.

"I'm very happy for my support. Before the match I was thinking to play three good sets so I don't lose 3-0.

"I know Nadal is only human. Nadal played a good match but I think I was a little bit better."

So the big question here is this shocking outcome was how much did Nadal lose and how much did Rosol win? More of the latter we would say. Nadal's play was simply ripped off. Rosol came out and hit winner after winner. He thoroughly deserved it. 

David Mercer from BBC stated: ""These great championships have produced huge, huge upsets, but this is one of the greatest in history. How typical of Nadal. At one of his lowest moments, he is still signing autographs. It's a mark of the gentleman he is and the sportsman he is. But he wasn't good enough on the day. And for Lukas Rosol to be ranked 100 in the world is a joke."

11 Grand Slam title holder, Rafael Nadal, exit Wimbledon 2012 in second round

Rosol will now face Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round but how far can his Cinderella journey can go. People even come close to predict Rosol to win the Wimbeldon, but standing on his path are many great players. When the clock will strike midnight for the World 100?

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French Open Final: Postponed due to Rain

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will have to come back on Monday to complete their French Open final following rain abandoned the match with the Spaniard leading 6-4 6-3 2-6 1-2

The 2012 French Open has not been excessively suffered by deprived weather; though, the men's final has suffered delays. By the point in time of writing this news, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are off the court due to long-lasting rain in the area.

The most current rain stoppage came with Djokovic losing a set, though, the world number one had some force. Following down the first two sets, he stimulated back in the third set also by the time of the stoppage, he has broken the Spaniard serve and was serving for 2-1.

It means the match is probably going into the fifth set and Nadal have to win that in order to register his seventh French Open title when the match will resume after the rain.

If the rain not stopped on Monday as well, it would be a unsatisfactory ending to the 2012 French Open as several tennis fans may have to let pass the winding up of the clay court slam owed to further compulsions like work.

Djokovic Clinches Miami Hat-Trick

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic repeated as champion at the Sony Ericsson Open Sunday, defeating 2009 titlist Andy Murray 6-1, 7-6(4) to triumph for the third time at Crandon Park.

"Any title is big, and it means a lot," said Djokovic. "I've won three times here. I think that says enough about how I feel playing in Miami. I love the crowd... I have been really playing well in the last couple of years here, so this is going to be very encouraging for me prior to the clay-court season."

Novak Djokovic Defense Title?

The Sony Ericsson Open 2012 is almost finished.

The WTA, Women's Single, Radwanska denies Sharapova again. Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska claimed the biggest title of her career after handing Maria Sharapova her fourth defeat in the Sony Ericsson Open final, winning 7-5, 6-4 Saturday.

While orld No. 1 Novak Djokovic is within one win of a successful title defense at the sony ericsson open after beating Juan Monaco 6-0, 7-6(5) in Friday night’s semi-final at Crandon Park.

Will Novak defense the title?

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Sony Ericsson Open

The tournament is going to start on 19th March 2012. Who will be the tournament winners this year?

Let's follow below for your reference of the past winners, introduction of the tournament and history! :)

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The Miami Masters (currently sponsored by Sony Ericsson) is an annual tennis tournament for men and women held in Key Biscayne,Miami, Florida. It is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the men's tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the women's tour and is played on hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park. The tournament is currently held in March each year.

History

The tournament was founded by former player Butch Buchholz. His original aim was to make the event the first major tournament of the year (the Australian Open was held in December at that time), and he dubbed it the "Winter Wimbledon". Buchholz approached the ATP and the WTA and offered to provide the prize-money and give them a percentage of the ticket sales and worldwide television rights in return for the right to run the tournament for 15 years. The two associations agreed.

The first tournament was held in February 1985 at Laver's International Tennis Resort at Delray Beach, Florida. Buchholz brought in Alan Mills, the tournament referee at Wimbledon, as the head referee; and Ted Tinling, a well-known tennis fashion designer since the 1920s, as the director of protocol. The prize money of US$1.8 million was surpassed only by Wimbledon and the US Open at the time. (The event's prize money has since grown to over US$9 million.)

In 1986, the tournament relocated to Boca Raton. After its successful second year there then-Dade County Manager and Women's Tennis Association (WTA) President Merrett Stierheim helped pave the way for a move to its permanent home in Key Biscayne in 1987. In keeping with the ambitions of its founder, the tournament is one of the premiere events in tennis.