Karlovic loss saves me 250 big ones

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was no-one happier than me that Roger Federer defeated Ivo Karlovic in straight sets earlier today.

One of my friends is a massive Karlovic supporter and two years ago I bet him £250 that Big Ivo would not reach a grand slam semi final in his career and my goodness, he came a little bit too close to achieving this feat for my liking.

Federer, who has reached his 21st consequtive grand slam semi final, thankfully tamed the big serving Croatian in style breaking him twice with relevant ease.

Breaking the 6′10 giant was particularly significant as he had not been broken in a match since he arrived in England for the grass court season a month ago!

It’s not that I’m not a fan of the Croatian, in fact I love watching him hit aces past everyone, it’s just that if a rally develops he will lose the point 8 times of out 10.

I generally thought he had a chance against Federer today however the Swiss master picked off his massive serves brilliantly. This was seriously a returning clinic and a pleasure to watch from the five-time Wimbledon champion.

But Karlovic will be very pleased with his overall performance at Wimbledon as he has made his first ever quarter final appearance in a grand slam taking out two top ten players along the way in Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Fernando Verdasco.

If you have been won over by the Croatian giant’s massive serve and dodgy ground strokes join this Facebook group – ‘Ivo Karlovic – The King of Tennis’.

Three days in the stands at SW19

My apologies for the lack of content recently – last week I jumped on the train to Wimbledon on three occasions in four days.

I dreaded the sweaty uncomfortable hour-and-a-half journey but once I arrived at Southfields Station my travel woes were forgotten and I was looking forward to the day of tennis ahead.

I had ground tickets on Wednesday, court one tickets on Friday and centre court tickets on Saturday which meant for a high intensity Wimbledon experience! Read Wednesday’s match analysis here.

On exit from Southfields the first port of call was always the bookies to check a few prices followed by a cheese and bean melt from Greggs.

Depending on the heat and time constraints a choice would then be made to either walk to the grounds or take the £2 bus.

I used this particular bus on the Saturday as I went to meet my more organised brother, part of this years Wimbledon stringing team, who was already sitting in his front row seat on court one. 

I stepped onto the bus to hear the ramblings of two lads who could only be described as arrogant toffs. They asked the ticket inspector where they could sell their centre court tickets because ‘we care more about money than watching tennis’. It is ridiculous that these two ediots have got tickets over the thousands of people that queue over night to get in.

Sitting in the front row was an amazing experience and my brother and I returned home that evening to our Mum excitedly showing how many times we appeared on camera on a Sky+ recording.

The other advantage of being front row was that shout outs could be heard loud and clear and we had a few requests from friends who wanted to hear us on TV and we gladly obliged.

The newest additon to the Tennis Centre writing team, Amir Mehrad, joined me on Wednesday and he has written an in depth analysis of the epic match we saw between Nicolas Almagro vs Andreas Beck. Read it here. 

On Saturday I attended with fellow Tennis Centre writer Richard Shapcott who was furious when Andy Roddick, who was playing Jurgen Melzer dropped a set to lose him his 3 sets to love bet. It was another victory for me over Shapcott as I had bet than Melzer would get a set!

In depth analysis – Nicolas Almagro vs Karol Beck

Wimbledon second round match analysis - Nicolas Almagro vs Karol Beck

By Amir Mehrad, the newest addition to the Tennis Centre writing team.

On paper, this looked to be fairly straight forward encounter for Nicolas Almagro.

Ranked 95 places higher than what turned out to be a formidable opponent in Karol Beck, he arrived on court first and looked ready to progress. That looked the case from early on, as he used his powerful forehand to devastating effect.

Rallies were scarce in the first set as both players struggled to come to terms with each others high percentage of first serves which were proving critical to each game. However, the world number 48 and clay court specialist Nicolas Almagro finally got the break he desired and took the first set with relative ease 6-4.
 
Beck, who dropped to a ranking of 927 in the world after a two year drug ban in 2005, seemed somewhat dejected as he failed to make any real impact in the second set especially on Almagro service games, and even though it was tight there only seemed to be one outcome as the Spaniard took the set 7-6 (7-2).

While the crowd assumed the match was a formality from here on, Beck most certainly did not and looked to turn the contest around by upping his level and introducing a more skilful approach to his game in the third set. He hit the ball flatter and with more slice which didn’t allow Almagro as much time to get his forehand into play which had been so effective in the first two sets. 

The Slovakian also started to hit a number of clever drop shots throughout the games which caught the Spanish number 8 off-guard. This gave him a lift and through determination, skill and adaption and a little help from Almagro’s ongoing argument with the umpire, Beck managed to take the next two sets 6/3 6/4.
 
Moving into the fifth Beck was full of confidence as he had steam rolled through the third and fourth sets and an almost impossible comeback was now very much on. However Almagro started to improve causing the world number 148 to tense up which was seen early on in the contest and the momentum switched once again. Almagro’s class and superior fitness levels  shone through and after a gruelling five set match, Almagro finally took the victory to a standing ovation. A truly entertaining match.

A Great Experience for Ward

James Ward was beaten by Fernando Verdasco in the first round of Wimbledon however he didn’t go down without a fight.

Ward, playing in his first ever grand slam event, started nervously and lost the first set in 24 minutes however he started to find his feet on Court 1 in the second. He got much more involved in the return games and was able to match the Spaniard from the back of the court on many occasions.

In the third set he looked even more comfortable and had two chances to go 5-3 up when he piled the pressure on the seventh seed who coughed up some un-forced errors. Verdasco showed his class though by serving his way out of trouble before going on to break Ward at 4-4 and then closing out the match.

I noticed Verdasco was fist pumping during the third set which suggested he knew he was in a battle and this is a credit to the way the British number four played.

Ward will take encourgament from his performance as he played some brilliant shots and at times dominated rallys. 

This is his first taste of the big time and I am sure he will work extra hard over the coming year to ensure he features at SW19 once again. 

Catch him tomorrow on Court 6 at 12.00pm where he will be playing doubles with Alex Bogdanovic.

Final Score – F. Verdasco d J. Ward 6/1 6/3 6/4

View the match stats.

Ward practices with J.C.Ferrero ahead of Verdasco clash

James Ward has warmed up for his first ever Wimbledon match against Fernando Verdasco by hitting with former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero over the weekend.

Ward has become close friends with Ferrero after joining his Equelite Acedemy based in Valencia age 15.

The British number four told me yesterday that his preparations for his match have been going very well and that he is feeling in great shape going into the match.

This is a massive occasion for James and The Tennis Centre wishes him the best of luck.

The match will be taking place at around 4pm today on the BBC.

Ward to play Verdasco at Wimbledon

The Tennis Centre’s James Ward has drawn Fernando Verdasco in the first round of Wimbledon in what will be the biggest match of his career.

Ward is making his first ever appearance in a grand slam and playing against the Spanish number seven seed is a perfect opportunity for him to showcase his talent on a world stage.

Ward, who recieved a wildcard into the main draw, cannot wait to get on court at SW19.

He said: “Wimbledon is the biggest tournament of the year and it will be an honour to be involved.

“To play in a grand slam in your home city and in front of your own fans is a dream come true.

“A match against Verdasco is massive and I’ll just go out and do the best I can.

“There is nothing to lose and I feel I have been steadily improving on the grass  in the last couple of weeks.

“The transition from playing on clay has been tough but I won my first ATP Tour match at Eastbourne so that is a big step forward and I’m feeling good about things.

“I have been serving well which has contributed to my recent good form and hopefully I’ll be able to continue doing this at Wimbledon.”

Read a recent article on Ward on the Islington Gazette website.

James Ward set to appear on GMTV

The Tennis Centre’s James Ward will be appearing on your television screens tomorrow morning on GMTV.

Ward will be joined by his father Jim on the GMTV sofas ahead of his debut at Wimbledon next week.

The British number four has been given a wildcard into the main draw thanks to his rise into the top 250 players in the world. 

The Tennis Centre team wish him the best of luck in his first interview on live TV!

Is ‘Murray Mania’ madness?

It would appear that Andy Murray’s latest accomplishment’s have caught the eye of one or two of the tabloid papers…No surprises there! 

In past years the British public has always become rather excited with the ambitious hopes of a Brit lifting the trophy at Wimbledon.  ’Henmania’ captured the nation for two weeks (well actually normally only about 8 days for Tim) and we all seem to be wishing the same of our latest British hopefull.

Andy Murray, though, is a different kettle of fish.  His latest conquest at Queens was his first title on grass and having seen Djokovic lose to Tommy Haas on the surface last week, he will fancy his chances this year at SW19.  

‘Shouldn’t he be more concerned with Nadal and Federer?’  I hear you ask.  To be honest…not really, would be my answer.  Federer has been defeated by Murray on their last four encounters and Andy has seemingly learnt how to beat the former world number one (Just keep hitting to his backhand).  Rafa’s well documented injury problems have no doubt given Murray renewed optimism ahead of the most famous grass court tournament in the game.  The two have also been practising together on grass this week which will definitely be more beneficial to Andy, being able to establish how, and to what extent the injury is affecting Rafa’s game.

So, at the risk of sounding like just about every sports reporter in the country, it would appear ‘Murray Mania’ is justified…Andy Murray CAN win Wimbledon.

 

Andrew Johnson

Ward unlucky to lose to Dancevic

James Ward has crashed out of the Eastbourne AEGON International narrowly losing to Frank Dancevic 7-6 6-4.

Despite the loss Ward showed his class with a series of flashy winners and massive serves which left the crowd open mouthed.

He lost just six points on serve in the first set with Dancevic hardly making a return and was unfortunate to lose a close tie break 8-6.

In the second set the British number four lost his way momentarily falling 3-0 behind but with the home crowd cheering him on he was able break back twice to level at 3-3.

Dancevic threw his racket fiercely onto the ground after losing the three game advantage and this seemed to help the Canadian as he re-gained his focus to break Ward again to make the score 4-3.

Dancevic made no mistake in his next two service games winning the set 6-4 which silenced the Eastbourne spectators. 

I noticed him look back at his coach and puff his cheeks out at the end of the match as if to say ‘I’ve been lucky to come through this’.

Ward was on form today and certainly made life extremely uncomfortable for Dancevic who is an experienced grass court player.

Ward beats Victor Crivoi at Eastbourne

The Tennis Centre’s James Ward has advanced into the second round of the Eastbourne AEGON International by beating world number 87 Victor Crivoi 6/1 6/3 in just 52 minutes.

Ward played some superb tennis to see off the 27-year-old Romanian who has been rising up the rankings recently with wins over the likes of James Blake and Fabio Fognini.

The British number four will now play Frank Dancevic in the next round.

Ward has put his good performance down to having some tough practice sessions with seasoned professionals Leyton Hewitt and Juan Carlos Ferrero.

He said: “I was really pleased with how I played today. I served and returned really well which was key.

“This win is a significant one for me as it is my first in an ATP event and this will give me a lot of confidence going into the next round.

“My practice sessions with Hewitt and Ferrero at Queens have really helped me to settle in on the grass and I am feeling more and more comfortable on this surface.

“My next match against Dancevic will be a tough test however I think I have a chance if I play like I did today.

“He likes to serve volley and chip and charge so I’m going to work on my passing shots tomorrow with my coach in order to prepare well.

“He is a talented player and will come up with some great shots and I’m looking forward to it.”