Andy Murray Passes a Tough Test

Reigning Wimbledon champion Andy Murray came through an epic match with Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber on Sunday to make it through to the fourth round of the 2014 French Open. The two players began their match the previous day but play was suspended at 7-7 in the fifth and final set due to bad light. Murray had to save a break point at a crucial stage before coming through 3-6 6-3 6-3 4-6 12-10. The Scot had been suffering with a leg injury during the first session of play and Kohlschreiber was able to take the first set with relative ease before Murray came fighting back, taking the next two sets by the same scoreline of 6-3. Having led by a break in both the fourth and fifth set, this should really have been a straightforward victory for the former world number two but Philipp Kohlschreiber dug in and although he was ultimately defeated, he should take a lot of confidence from this impressive performance.

This epic battle is almost as huge as football teams fighting to be the leading world cup bet. Just like an epic match between two dominant teams in the World Cup, the match between Phillip Kohlschreiber and Andy Murray is by far the most exciting game in the 2014 French Open.

While Andy Murray is currently not working with a coach, the rumour mill has been in overdrive throughout this tournament with speculation rife regarding who will take up the position following the departure of Ivan Lendl. When questioned on the matter, Murray would not dismiss the option of a female coach, with former Wimbledon and Australian Open champion Amelie Mauresmo being strongly linked with the vacant position. Andy Murray has already achieved a huge amount of success with two Grand Slam tournaments to his credit already, but he has the potential to be challenging Nadal and Djokovic for the number one spot and a new coach might give him that extra edge required. Having been coached by his mother Judy for the early part of his career, Murray should have no problems working with a female coach such as Mauresmo.

Following his third round victory, Betfair have cut the Scot to odds of 14/1 to win his first clay court Grand Slam by capturing the French Open title. He is now the joint third favourite alongside Spaniard David Ferrer. Betfair are struggling to split the front two in the market, with Novak Djokovic just edging things slightly at Even money, while Rafael Nadal can be backed at 5/4. I’d fully expect these two to flip flop in the market over the coming days and they look likely to meet in Sunday’s final. Nadal has an incredible record where the French Open is concerned and is the only male player to win a single Grand Slam tournament on eight separate occasions. Nadal’s only defeat at Roland Garros came in 2009 when he was beaten in the fourth round by Sweden’s Robin Soderling. I’m slightly surprised that Betfair make Djokovic favourite to take the 2014 French Open on that basis but the Serb has showed incredible form since losing to Andy Murray at Wimbledon last year. It will be extremely interesting to see if Andy Murray can make it to the semi final stage an upset either of the aforementioned tennis gods on this surface.

In the latest development, Andy Murray defeated Fernando Verdasco to move into the last eight at the French Open.

Image by Dominique Faget/AFP/Getty Images

Novak Djokovic plays football with Andy Murray

Novak Djokovic was spotted playing football with a group of players including Andy Murray and Philipp Kohlschreiber in between training sessions during the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Check out the pictures here. Based on Murray's balancing skill, looks like he can play better football than Djokovic...

This is not a happy face (no djoke).

(Images via zimbio.com, Sina Sports)

Gael Monfils heading to Kuala Lumpur for a title streak

Gael Monfils the fifth seed at the Proton Malaysian Open Kuala Lumpur 2009 is heading here soon after having just won his first tournament of the year.

Monfils ended a four-year title drought by defeating Philip Kohlschreiber 7-6, 3-6, 6-2 in the final of the Open de Moselle in Metz, France.

“I am very happy about winning this second title; I've been waiting for it for a long time. Being in France, this title is even more special to me, as I won it here in front of my family and friends.

“I am now flying to Kuala Lumpur and getting ready to play there as soon as I arrive. I hope I will be able to get some rest during the flight.”

(Via IMG; Image via Yahoo! Sports)

US Open Day 4 Wrap-up: Elena Dementieva blows $1mil bonus, another smooth day for men's seeded players

It was another disastrous day at the US Open where several women's seeded players were knocked out from the season ending Grand Slam — no. 4 Elena Dementieva, no. 5 Jelena Jankovic, no. 19 Patty Schnyder, no. 23 Sabine Lisicki and no. 30 Alona Bondarenko.

Elena Dementieva blew her $1 million bonus after being stunned by American teenager Melanie Oudin 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.

The 17-year-old Oudin will set up a third-round match against Maria Sharapova who eliminated another 17-year-old American, Christina McHale 6-2, 6-1.

Dinara Safina was lucky to stay in the tournament, overcoming her second poor performance of the week before defeating Kristina Barrois 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3.

It was whole different scenario with the guys as no seeded men lost on Day 4 at the US Open.

Surprisingly, the Americans did pretty well as they sailed through to the next round — Andy Roddick, James Blake, Sam Querrey, John Isner and the unknown Jesse Witten.

Swiss Marco Chiudinelli currently ranked 161 in the world, surprised many after defeating Mikhail Youzhny 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-3.

Somdev Devvarman managed to bageled Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third set before he was shown the exit door by the German who won 6-3, 6-4, 0-6, 6-2.

US Open men's singles second round results from New York on Friday (prefix denotes seeding)

5-Andy Roddick (US) beat Marc Gicquel (France) 6-1 6-4 6-4
23-Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) beat Somdev Devvarman (India) 6-3 6-4 0-6 6-2
John Isner (US) beat Marsel Ilhan (Turkey) 6-3 6-4 7-6(1)
21-James Blake (US) beat Olivier Rochus (Belgium) 6-4 3-6 7-6(6) 6-3
4-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) beat Carsten Ball (Australia) 6-3 6-4 6-4
15-Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) beat Leonardo Mayer (Argentina) 7-6(5) 6-3 6-4
Marco Chiudinelli (Switzerland) beat Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) 2-6 7-6(4) 6-4 6-3
14-Tommy Robredo (Spain) beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain) 6-2 4-6 6-2 6-4
12-Robin Soederling (Sweden) beat Marcel Granollers (Spain) 2-0 (Granollers retired)
8-Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) beat Jan Hernych (Czech Republic) 6-4 6-1 6-2
22-Sam Querrey (US) beat Kevin Kim (U.S.) 7-5 6-7(6) 6-4 6-4
10-Fernando Verdasco (Spain) beat Florent Serra (France) 6-3 6-0 6-3
Jesse Witten (US) beat Maximo Gonzalez (Argentina) 6-7(3) 6-4 7-5 6-2
20-Tommy Haas (Germany) beat Robert Kendrick (US) 6-4 6-4 7-6(3)

US Open women's singles second round results from New York on Friday (prefix denotes seeding)

29-Maria Sharapova (Russia) beat Christina McHale (US) 6-2 6-1
Shahar Peer (Israel) beat Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) 6-2 6-0
6-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat Anastasija Sevastova (Latvia) 6-4 6-2
Anastasia Rodionova (Russia) beat 23-Sabine Lisicki (Germany) 6-3 3-6 7-5
Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan) beat 5-Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) 6-3 6-7(4) 7-6(6)
Sara Errani (Italy) beat 19-Patty Schnyder (Switzerland) 7-5 6-2
Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium) beat Peng Shuai (China) 2-6 6-1 6-4
Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) beat Tathiana Garbin (Italy) 6-1 6-3
21-Zheng Jie (China) beat Alize Cornet (France) 1-6 6-3 6-3
9-Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) beat Petra Martic (Croatia) 6-1 6-0
Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukraine) beat Shenay Perry (US) 6-1 6-1
Melanie Oudin (US) beat 4-Elena Dementieva (Russia) 5-7 6-4 6-3
24-Sorana Cirstea (Romania) beat Stephanie Dubois (Canada) 6-4 5-7 6-4
1-Dinara Safina (Russia) beat Kristina Barrois (Germany) 6-7(5) 6-2 6-3
13-Nadia Petrova (Russia) beat Julie Coin (France) 6-4 7-6(3)
Gisela Dulko (Argentina) beat 30-Alona Bondarenko (Ukraine) 6-4 6-0

(Via AP, TVNZ, US Open website)

2009 Davis Cup Quarterfinals matchups

As usual I'm not too keen about Davis Cup.

That simply because I don't get to watch the events LIVE on TV in my country.

Besides with Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer and Andy Roddick out of this team competition, it just gives me more reasons not to watch it on live stream.

If you can't watch it on TV in your country, you can always count on atdhe.net.

Anyway here are the matchups and photos (can't find Team Argentina, Team Israel and Team Czech Republic photos yet).

The Davis Cup world group quarterfinal ties beginning Friday (all times GMT).

CROATIA v UNITED STATES
Venue: Sportska Dvorana, Porec, Croatia
Surface: Indoor clay
Times: Friday (1400), Saturday (1330), Sunday (1400)
Head-to-head: Croatia lead 2-0

CZECH REPUBLIC v ARGENTINA
Venue: Cez Arena, Ostrava
Surface: Indoor hard courts
Times: Friday (1300), Saturday (1200), Sunday (1100)
Head-to-head: Czech Republic lead 2-1

ISRAEL v RUSSIA
Venue: Sport Palaces, Tel Aviv
Surface: Indoor hard court
Times: Friday (1000), Saturday (1200), Sunday (1200)
Head-to-head: Russia lead 1-0

SPAIN v GERMANY
Venue: Plaza de Toros de Puerto Banus, Marbella
Surface: Outdoor clay
Times: Friday (1100), Saturday (1400), Sunday (1100)
Head-to-head: Germany lead 9-5

SPAIN team: Fernando Verdasco, Tommy Robredo, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Feliciano Lopez; Captain: Albert Costa

GERMANY team: Philipp Kohlschreiber, Nicolas Kiefer, Mischa Zverev, Andreas Beck; Captain: Patrik Kuhnen

RUSSIA team: Igor Kunitsyn, Marat Safin, Igor Andreev, Mikhail Youzhny; Captain: Shamil Tarpischev

UNITED STATES team: Mardy Fish, James Blake, Mike Bryan, Bob Bryan; Captain: Patrick McEnroe

The other members of the following teams are:

CROATIA: Marin Cilic, Ivo Karlovic, Roko Karanusic, Lovro Zovko; Captain: Goran Prpic

CZECH REPUBLIC: Tomas Berdych, Radek Stepanek, Ivo Minar, Lukas Dlouhy; Captain: Jaroslav Navratil

ARGENTINA: Juan Martin del Potro, Jose Acasuso, Leonardo Mayer, Juan Monaco; Captain: Tito Vasquez

ISRAEL: Dudi Sela, Harel Levy, Jonathan Erlich, Andy Ram; Captain: Eyal Ran

(Images via Getty Images)

WAGs on Wimbledon Day 5

Remember this interview question?

Q. We notice today after many years Mirka wasn't in your box. Should we wait for some special announcement to be made sooner than expected, or not?

ROGER FEDERER: No, no, not really. She's just not feeling, you know, a hundred percent. She only felt 95%, so we decided it's better if she takes it easy instead of sitting in the sun maybe, feeling worse the next day.

It's important for her to rest. She's already feeling better, which is good.

Apparently Mirka is still hanging around at Federer's box.

So, no special announcement from Federer yet as Mirka was seen at her husband's match against Philipp Kohlschreiber yesterday.

Federer dropped the third set but went on to win 6-3, 6-2, 6-7, 6-1.

Tommy Haas' actress girlfriend Sara Foster was also spotted at the Wimbledon.

The 90210 star showing off her Blackberry and pouty lips.

The match against Marin Cilic continued on the 6th day and Haas eventually won 7-5, 7-5, 1-6, 6-7, 10-8.

I think we'll be seeing a lot more of Foster.

(Images by AP Photo)

Novak Djokovic, Tommy Haas reach Halle final

Tommy Haas who once ranked no. 2 back in 2002 (currently no. 41), will be playing his first final since winning the 2007 Morgan Keegan Tennis Championshps in Memphis.

After a great run at the French Open, which he eventually lost to champion Roger Federer in the quarterfinals, Haas will have a chance to stop Novak Djokovic who is bidding to win his first grass court title.

Haas beat fellow compatriot Philipp Kohlschreiber 2-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3) in an all-German semifinal at the Gerry Weber Open yesterday.

In another semifinals, Novak Djokovic defeated qualifier Olivier Rochus 7-6 (7), 6-4 at this Wimbledon tuneup.

“I had to work hard for my points, especially on his serve,” Djokovic said.

“He has a great touch; he rarely makes mistakes from the baseline. I served well and I tried to change the pace.”

This is Djokovic’s second final on grass, after Queen’s Club last year, which he lost to 2008 Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal.

Numbers wise, Djokovic has the advantage as he has beaten Haas twice in their last two matches.

The 31-year-old Haas has been slowed by injuries. He had his third shoulder operation in 2007.

Haas said the sunshine after wet, cloudy days created shadows on the court that bothered him at the start.

“I was really irritated,” he said. “I was thinking of too many things.”

(Via AP; Images by Philipp Guelland/AFP/Getty Images)

Weekend winners... who are not in Paris yet

Aravane Rezai won her first WTA title when she beat Lucie Hradecka 7-6, 6-1 in the Strasbourg International final.

Alexandra Dulgheru, a Romanian qualifier ranked no. 201, won the Warsaw Open (gulp!) in her WTA Tour debut by beating Alona Bondarenko 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-0. Lucky girl!

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez won his first ATP Tour title, rallying past Julien Benneteau 3-6, 7-6 (1), 6-3 in the Austrian Open final.

Serbia defeated Germany to win the World Team Cup, becoming only the second team in the tournament’s 32-year history to lift the trophy on its debut.

Viktor Troicki claimed a 6-4, 7-6 (5) win over Rainer Schuettler and Janko Tipsarevic sealed the victory by beating Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2, 6-4.

Nicolas Kiefer and Mischa Zverev took a point for Germany, beating Troicki and Nenad Zimonjic 7-5 4-6 10-7.

(Images via Yahoo! Sports)

Rafael Nadal owns the stage; A magical Madrid Masters final is not very far

He works hard on the court. And at times he's quite lucky too..

Rafael Nadal was handed a walkover into the quartersfinals at the Madrid Masters yesterday when his third-round opponent Philipp Kohlschreiber was forced out of the claycourt event with a left leg injury.

Nadal is now bidding for a sixth title of the season and a fourth on clay.

Seriously, there's no better place to make it happen that at the Magic Box!

(Images by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Australian Open 2008: Looking at tennis in a different angle

This is the second part of my 'Tennis is NOT boring' post.

No wonder Andy Roddick lost to Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round at the Australian Open. He is too busy to see the ball coming.

"Roddick, your habit is inappropriate on court!" Philipp Kohlschreiber is trying to teach Roddick a lesson. And he did.

Elena Dementieva showing off her sexy back. She is definitely too hot to handle by Shahar Peer, who lost to Dementieva in straight sets in the third round yesterday.

What the heck is Richard Gasquet doing? Oh no, tennis forums will be discussing about his gay rumour again!

When you win, everyone will be there and cheer for you. When you lost, you'll be crying alone. Try again next year, Mauresmo!

(All pictures from Getty Images)