A birthday cake for Novak Djokovic

World no. 1 Novak Djokovic was presented with an impressive multi-tiered tennis-themed birthday cake that came with edible tennis balls and a miniature racquet on the first day of the French Open tournament on Sunday. He also received a towel embroidered with his name by France's Davis Cup captain Guy Forget as his birthday present.

Djokovic who was upset by Stan Wawrinka in last year's French Open final, will begin his campaign against Taiwanese qualifier Rendy Lu Yen-hsun today. Overall, the Serb has a comfortable draw until the semifinals where he is scheduled to play nine-time champion Rafael Nadal.

Nevertheless, pressure is mounting on Djokovic to win the only major that has eluded him. While, Nadal is still finding his best form on clay surface, Andy Murray has risen and poses serious threat after defeated Djokovic at the Italian Open two weeks ago.

"Of course I anticipate myself, as everybody else (does), to try to get my hands on this title this year," Djokovic said.

"Even if my career was done tomorrow, I made some achievements that I must be proud of. So that's how I approach things. I don't try to approach them from a point of view of being obsessed with this tournament or with any other tournament, for that matter."

Should he win the French Open, Djokovic will become only the eighth player in history to complete a career Grand Slam of Australian, French, Wimbledon and US titles.

(Via ESPN, Images via Daily Mail Online)

Andy Murray and the quest for Wimbledon glory

This summer, Andy Murray will once again be Great Britain’s main hope for a success at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships. Since bursting onto the scene in 2005, Murray has matured into a fan favourite and the British number one is particularly well supported at his home event... but is he good enough to win this year’s competition?

On current form, yes. Murray has been phenomenal throughout the last eighteen months and the Scot is surely on the verge of a third Grand Slam title if he continues to play at his very best. At the time of writing, punters who want to bet on Andy Murray to win this year’s tournament can get 4/1 on the British number one to do just that.

But it will NOT be easy. Novak Djokovic is at the top of his game and the Serbian is on target to surpass Roger Federer’s all-time record of 17 Grand Slam titles. The world number one will be hoping to end his French Open drought next month before Wimbledon and Djokovic may benefit from the added confidence boost if he wins a maiden title at Roland Garros.

If Murray faces Djokovic in the final of the competition, it will be a titanic clash between two of tennis’ top heavyweights. Both players are capable of beating each other on their day and it would take a brave man to back against either player – especially considering Djokovic’s record over Murray but Murray’s support at the Wimbledon event.

One player who could once again throw a spanner in the works is Roger Federer. Last year, the Swiss superstar produced a world class performance to knock Murray out in the semi-final stage and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see the 34-year-old go all the way this summer. After all, it might be his last realistic opportunity to win the Wimbledon crown...

And while Federer is decent value at 6/1 in Betway’s betting markets, all eyes will be on Murray as he attempts to get the better of Djokovic in what is widely regarded as the most prestigious event on the tennis calendar. Wimbledon is, without a doubt, the one that everyone wants to win and with a bit of luck, Murray can continue his assault on the tennis world.

Djokovic will be Murray’s main threat this summer and the British number one will have to be at his best to cope with the resilient Serbian. However, Murray could take advantage of Djokovic’s busier schedule – especially after he had a break following the Australian Open in January.

Novak Djokovic continues to dominate men's tennis with 63rd career title in Miami

World no.1 Novak Djokovic continued his domination of men's tennis with a 6-3 6-3 win over fellow Uniqlo's ambassador Kei Nishikori in the Miami Open final at Key Biscayne, a win which sees him become tennis' all-time leading money winner.

Djokovic collected a sum of USD1,028,300 on weekend and his career earnings has approached USD100 million.

With four titles in 2016, following victories at the Australian Open, Qatar and Indian Wells, Djokovic will definitely be looking forward to the upcoming clay court season. The French Open remains to be the only Grand Slam title that is missing from his collection.

The Serbian only needed 85 minutes to join Andre Agassi as a six-time Miami Open winner.

Djokovic said his first Miami win in 2007 paved the way for a career that now includes a massive total of 63 ATP titles.

"It gave me a lot of confidence, a lot of self belief that I can finally win these big tournaments, finally beat the top players," he said.

"Every year I come back to this tournament I get goose bumps from those days. I was still 19 years old and making my way to the top."

Djokovic seems invincible and untouchable at the moment

It was his fourth consecutive championship, and a record 28th overall, in the Masters 1000.

(Images via Zimbio)

2015 Final Rankings - Women

In a world where Serena Williams is head and shoulders above the competition, it’s not a question of which tennis player is going to finish first in the WTA rankings at the end of the year, it’s which player will be second.

Serena defeats the competition as easily as Jack Hammer outsmarts the desperate Evil Dr. Wüten in the classic online slot game by NetEnt casinos. In fact, this and other slot games you can play on your mobile are both an entertaining way to pass the time, but also give you an insight into how Serena feels when she sends her opponents packing.

1. Serena Williams

This is the third year in a row that Serena is number one on the WTA rankings. She was off to a flying start at the beginning of the season and defeated Sharapova at the Australian Open. This was Sharapova’s 16^th consecutive defeat at the hands of the American, and she is surely having nightmares just at the thought of Serena.

Williams then went on to announce that she is going to stop the boycott towards the Indian Wells Masters tournament, which has been going on for 14 years before that.  She got to the semis there, but had to forfeit the match due to problems with her knee.

At the Miami Open she won her eighth title there, and managed to take her winning run to 21 consecutive matches without a loss. The Miami title was followed by the French Open one, and the French Open one was followed by the Wimbledon title. In doing so, Serena completed the ‘Serena Slam,’ meaning that she won all 4 majors in a row. That was the second time she had achieved to do that.

However, she didn’t succeed in winning the ‘Grand Slam’. At the US Open she reached the semi-final and had to face Roberta Vinci, who was a huge underdog before the match. During the match though, Vinci outplayed the American and recorded one of the biggest surprises in 2015.

2. Simona Halep

Halep had a great 2014, and this year she has kept the same level of performance. At the Australian Open she managed to reach the quarter-final round where she suffered a surprise defeat by the tenth-seeded Ekaterina Makarova.

At the Indian Wells Masters, Halep capitalized on Serena Williams’ injury and withdrawal in the semi-final, and progressed to the final where she defeated Jelena Jankovic 2-1 in the most important match of her career and her highest point of the season.

Her lowest point of the season however, was her first round elimination at Wimbledon at the hands of Jana Cepelova. She did manage to recover from that defeat though, and reached the semis at the US Open later in the season.

3. Garbine Muguruza

The Spanish, slash, Venezuelan tennis player should no longer be considered as a star in rising. She has already risen and is currently number 3 at the WTA rankings. She’s still only 22 and has the tennis world at her feet.

The undoubted highlight of this season for her was her participation in the Wimbledon final. There, she sent several high profile players home early. Kerber, Wozniacki, Bacsinszky and Radwańska were all dispatched with style by the talented youngster on her way to the final and the match-up with Serena Williams. She lost in straight sets, but her road to the final was enough for her to get in the Top 10 for the first time in her career.

4. Maria Sharapova

What is so remarkable about Sharapova’s season is that even though she missed four months of competitive matches, she still managed to finish 4^th at the end of the year. Basically, had she stayed fit until the end of the season she could have claimed 2^nd place in the WTA rankings.

At the start of the season she reached the final at the Australian Open, where she expectedly lost to Serena. Regardless of the loss though, the year ahead looked promising for the Russian. However, a poor run of form, and several injuries, resulted in a less than impressive year for Sharapova, who is now 5^th in the rankings, behind Agnieszka Radwanska.

5. Agnieszka Radwanska

The Pole didn’t start the season impressively and had to part ways with her coach Martina Navratilova. Radwanska’s first title of the season was at the 2015 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, and it was won in late September. If there was ever a strong finish to the season, this was it.

Before that, she managed to return to the Top 10 in the rankings by reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon. It was her third appearance in four years. Unfortunately for her though, she was eliminated by the talented Garbine Muguruza in three sets.

However, her biggest achievement of the season and her career in general, was when she defeated Petra Kvitova and won her first WTA Finals title in Singapore. Because of the strong finish to the season, and defying the odds Radwanska finished as number 5 at the rankings last year.