Daily Sports News

Roger Federer and Venus Williams had hard fought matches in the second round of Roland Garros, and came back into the match registering wins.

Federer made a comeback after being down 5-1 in the third set against Jose Acasuso of Argentina ranked No. 45 in the world. It was a tough match for Federer as he first saved the first set after not letting Acasuso take four set points and later came back again in the third set. The final score of the match was 7-6 (10-8), 5-7, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2. This is an important grand slam as a win will help him equal Pete Sampras’s record of 14.

In a post match interview Federer said “Yeah, could have won both, first three sets. Could have lost them, also. Of course, I’m thrilled, you know, to be through. It was sort of a fun match to be part of, you know, with so many ups and downs. It’s not the usual, you know. I thought Jose played well, and I started to struggle a little bit throughout the third set after sort of being up a break in the second set and things were looking like things were under control. I was mistaken. I’m happy to have come through such a tough match, you know. Those matches are good, you know, knowing that physically it wasn’t a problem. I’m excited about the next match, that’s for sure.”

Venus Williams defeated Lucie Safarova 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 7-5 in a match suspended by darkness after the first set last night. Williams in a post match interview said “Yeah, it was a well played match. Yesterday I think I did too many things wrong. She just was firing for every shot and making them. Obviously with the delay was a lot of things to think about beforehand, what I could do different, and just tried to be as aggressive as I could. The last two sets, you know, it was close. But these kind of matches are really rewarding, and she was playing well. But I felt like I deserved it.”
French Open men’s singles second round results:

French Open men’s singles second round

Roger Federer (2) def. Jose Acasuso, 7-6 (10-8), 5-7, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2
Novak Djokovic (4) vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky, 6-3, 6-4 suspended
Juan Martin Del Potro (5) def. Viktor Troicki, 6-3, 7-5, 6-0
Andy Roddick (6) def. Ivo Minar, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7-2)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (9) def. Juan Monaco, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10-8)
Nikolay Davydenko (10) def. Diego Junqueira, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0, 6-2
Gael Monfils (11) def. Victor Crivoi, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3
Tommy Robredo (16) def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3
Jurgen Melzer (24) def. Guillaume Rufin, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4
Igor Andreev (25) def. Martin Vassallo Arguello, 1-6, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
Philipp Kohlschreiber, (29) vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7) suspended
Paul-Henri Mathieu (32) def. Pablo Andujar, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4
Christophe Rochus def. Arnaud Clement, 6-1, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
Maximo Gonzalez def. Andreas Seppi, 7-6 (10-8), 6-3, 6-3
Tommy Haas def. Leonardo Mayer, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 4-6, 6-3
Marc Gicquel def. Andreas Beck, 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-3), 7-5
Jeremy Chardy def. Simone Bolelli, 6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-1

French Open women’s singles second round

Serena Williams (2) def. Virginia Ruano Pascual, 6-2, 6-0
Venus Williams (3) def. Lucie Safarova, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 7-5
Elena Dementieva (4) def. Jelena Dokic, , 2-6, 4-3 retired
Jelena Jankovic (5) def. Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-1, 6-2
Svetlana Kuznetsova (7) def. Galina Voskoboeva, 6-0, 6-2
Caroline Wozniacki (10) def. Jill Craybas, 6-1, 6-4
Agnieszka Radwanska (12) def. Mariya Koryttseva, 6-1, 6-4
Tathiana Garbin def. Marion Bartoli (13), 6-3, 7-5
Virginie Razzano def. Anabel Medina Garrigues (18), 6-2, 6-2
Sorana Cirstea def. Alize Cornet (21), 6-3, 6-2
Aleksandra Wozniak (24) def. Petra Martic, 6-3, 6-3
Melinda Czink def. Sybille Bammer (28), 4-6, 6-3, 10-8
Samantha Stosur (30) def. Yanina Wickmayer, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
Kateryna Bondarenko def. Olivia Rogowska, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5
Alexa Glatch vs. Lourdes Dominguez Lino, 6-7, 5-7
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez def. Viktoria Kutuzova, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
Jarmila Groth def. Mariana Duque Marino, 6-2, 7-6 (11-9)

Barcelona raised their game and left holders Manchester United in a state of shock. Catalans scored a breathtaking 2-0 victory over United to capture their third Champions League crown. Pep Guardiola in his debut season as a coach now has won the title twice one as a player and now as a coach. At the age 38 he also became the youngest coach to take European club football’s highest honor. Barcelona showed rhythm, elegance, dominance and possession which was too much for United to handle.

The march of the Red Devils came to and end in Rome and ended there unbeaten run of 25 games in the champions league. United also came to Rome with an unbeaten record of 2 yrs in the League. United’s 38 year old goal keeper Edwin Van Der Sar had not coincided a single goal in the last 14 matches but failed to defend the post in the grand finale. Samuel Eto’o scored the first goal with the help of deflection and Lionel Messi headed the second one of a cross from Xavi in the 70th minute closing all doors for United to get back in the game.

French striker Thierry Henry whose daughter also celebrated her birthday said in a post game interview

“Finally I have won it! I have been waiting for so long for this moment,”

“The last five minutes were the longest of my life. Even if we were 2-0 up we were playing the best team in the world (referring to the world club championship title United won earlier this year).”

United’s coach Sir Ferguson gracefully accepted defeat and said “We started the game brightly but the goal was a killer. However, they are a better team than us. We conceded two bad goals. Our defense has been good all season but those were two shoddy goals to lose.”

Barcelona Wins Champions League 2009 -The Award Cup

Head To Head

Played   –   9
Man Utd   –   3
Barcelona  -  2
Draws   –   4

It’s a fight for the Champions League Title for the best club in Europe. The Clash is between the English Champions and the Spanish Champions. Only time will tell whether Sir Alex Ferguson hunger will win or it will be the Pep Guardiola who won the title as a player in 1992 and now wants to do it as a coach. Sir Alex Ferguson would certainly like to continue the magical run of Manchester United. They are on an unbeaten run in the Champions League with an all time record of 25 games. It can certainly be said that all roads lead to Rome today when the Studio Olimpico hosts one of the most awaiting matched of the year.

Barcelona has a formidable attack like which includes Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto’ and Thierry Henry who can penetrate any defense. The three strikes are supported by creative midfielders in the form of Andres Iniesta and Xavi. Barcelona lacks in its defense due to the absence of key players. Full back Eric Abidal and Dani Alves are out due to suspension and Rafael Marquez is on the bench due to injury. Another key factor would be the difference in the experience of the two coaches where Manchester United might gain an edge if the two forwards are kept under check. In the run-up to the finals Barcelona has show there inventiveness which can be a decisive weapon in their armory.

United has the best defenses one can ever think of, Edwin Van Der Sar has 14 matches to his credit where he has not coincided a single goal. Rio Ferdinand is expected to cover the centre with Nemanja Vidic on his side and Patrice Evra is expected to be left loose to control Messi. United also banks a lot on its two key stickers England’s Wayne Rooney and Portugal’s World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo. The also have start like Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez in the form of reserve should they need any change.

Coach’s and players said :

Sir Alex Ferguson:

“We have negatives in the game that surface every year in all different ways. When we get a game of football that gives the real story of football then we are all lifted by it. Football always needs a boost. Manchester United and Barcelona can do that in this final.”

“The players that Barcelona and Manchester United have suggests a great final. We are playing a team with a fantastic philosophy of football, a great history. I watched the game against Real Madrid, an absolutely magnificent performance, and I said to myself: ‘Christ, we have to play them’ but then Chelsea showed [in narrowly losing the semi] they can be ‘beaten’. I take some encouragement from that.’’

Pep Guardiola:

“This is the most important match of my life as a player and a coach. We have our way of playing but there are other ways of playing that are equally valid. So we don’t feel superior. We are just going to focus on our tactics.”

Lionel Messi:

“If we play as we have done all year then we will have a great chance to win. Manchester United have a very similar style to us, playing with the ball. They know how to counter well with speed and they are clinical.”

“There are not favourites, but they are the ones who are defending the title so perhaps they are just ahead. For us, it has been a magnificent year, but we still have one big test left. Being so close to history gives us great motivation.”

Rio Ferdinand:

“Defending so deep against such talented players can be dangerous. But we are capable of doing both (attacking and defending). That is the strength we have as a squad and a team.

“It will be difficult whoever plays against him (Messi), he is a fantastic player with great control but we’ve done it before.”

Jordi Cruyff:

“Like the old fox that he (Ferguson) is, he will have a surprise prepared to beat Barca. In my time at Old Trafford he used to make incredible decisions and if he used an unexpected player he would usually get it right. He is unpredictable, but his gambles almost always work out.”

Marcel Desailly:

“For the players it would be something special to retain the Champions League. You have all that pressure to deal with and have been working all year to get there.

“If you look at the two teams, they are both full of exceptionally gifted players. But Barcelona have a bit extra. They can hold their shape from the beginning to the end. They are the ones I think will win.”

The 2nd seed Serena Williams celebrated the first round victory as if she had won the Roland Garros title after defeating an opponent ranked No. 100 in the world. Serena came into the match after loosing four consecutive matches after having lost the final of the hard-court tournament in Miami and the three round one exists from Marbella, Rome and Madrid. Serena also avenged her defeat which she has suffered from the hand of Klara Zakopalova at the Andalucia Tennis Championships in Marbella, Spain.

It clearly showed in her match play that she had not fully recovered from the thigh injury. She also showed lack of practice on clay as she had a lot of trouble sliding and hitting at the same time. The first set was easy for Serena with a score of 6-3. Serena could have finished the match itself in the second set but Zakopalova came back strongly with stunning returns. Serena lost five match points and gifted the set to Zakopalova.

In the third set Zakopalova continued the momentum by breaking Serena’s serve and taking a 2-1 lead. Williams stopped her advance with a double break and lead the set 5-2 but could not capitalize on three match points on her opponents serve. In total Serena lost eight match points during the match. She finally won the match with a score 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4.

Serena Williams will now face Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain in the second round. for a place in the third round. But it is clear that if Serena has to go deeper in the event she certainly need to improve her movement on the court.

Results for Day 3 –

French Open men’s singles first round

Novak Djokovic (4) def. Nicolas Lapentti, 6-3, 3-1 retired
Juan Martin Del Potro (5) def. Michael Llodra, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (9) def. Julien Benneteau, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
Gael Monfils (11) def. Bobby Reynolds, 6-2, 6-3, 6-1
James Blake (15) def. Leonardo Mayer, 6-7 (6-8), 5-7, 2-6
Tommy Robredo (16) def. Adrian Mannarino, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2
Dmitry Tursunov (21) def. Arnaud Clement, 3-6, 6-3 suspended
Mardy Fish (22) def. Maximo Gonzalez, 3-6, 6-1, 4-6, 6-7 (4-7)
Rainer Schuettler (27) def. Marc Gicquel, 0-6, 0-6, 4-6
Philipp Kohlschreiber (29) def. Bernard Tomic, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2
Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Ivan Ljubicic, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Viktor Troicki def. Lukasz Kubot, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3
Evgeny Korolev def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 4-6 retired
Brian Dabul def. Sergiy Stakhovsky, 6-4, 5-7, 6-7 (2-7), 3-6
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Andreas Seppi, 3-6, 3-6, 1-6
Victor Crivoi def. Simon Greul, 6-1, 7-6 (7-1), 6-2
Marcos Baghdatis def. Juan Monaco, 3-6, 2-6, 4-6
Andrei Pavel def. Tommy Haas, 1-6, 4-6, 4-6
Ivan Navarro def. Andreas Beck, 6-7 (9-11), 4-6, 1-6
Fabrice Santoro def. Christophe Rochus, 3-6, 1-6, 6-3, 3-5 suspended

French Open women’s singles first round

Serena Williams (2) def. Klara Zakopalova, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4
Elena Dementieva (4) def. Chanelle Scheepers,6-4, 6-3
Jelena Jankovic (5) def. Petra Cetkovska,6-2, 6-3
Svetlana Kuznetsova (7) def. Claire Feuerstein, 6-1, 6-4
Caroline Wozniacki (10) def. Vera Dushevina, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1
Anabel Medina Garrigues (18) def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-2, 5-7, 6-0
Alize Cornet, (21) def. Maret Ani, , 6-4, 4-4 suspended
Aleksandra Wozniak, (24) def. Monica Niculescu, , 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Sybille Bammer (28) def. Nathalie Dechy, 6-3, 7-6 (7-1)
Samantha Stosur (30) def. Francesca Schiavone, 6-4, 6-2
Shuai Peng (31) def. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, 6-1, 2-6, 4-6
Viktoria Kutuzova def. Zuzana Ondraskova, 6-2, 6-4
Yanina Wickmayer def. Urszula Radwanska, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
Jelena Dokic def. Karolina Sprem, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
Carly Gullickson def. Sorana Cirstea, 4-6, 2-6
Mara Santangelo def. Petra Martic, 4-6, 2-6
Galina Voskoboeva def. Sania Mirza, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
Virginia Ruano Pascual def. Nicole Vaidisova, 6-4, 6-3
Anastasija Sevastova def. Melinda Czink, 6-3, 4-6, 1-6
Magdalena Rybarikova def. Kristina Mladenovic, 6-1, 2-6, 8-6
Virginie Razzano def. Daniela Hantuchova, 6-3, 6-3

Not an ideal start what the reigning champion Rafael Nadal had expected on his fifth consecutive French Open title.World number one Rafael Nadal hobbled to second round with a victory over Brazilian Marcos Daniel in straight sets 7-5, 6-4, 6-3. It took Rafael Nadal two hours and twenty three minutes to beat the Brazilian. Rafael Nadal has a clean record at Roland Garros and has never lost a match since his debut in 2005. Wit the win Rafael Nadal also improved his record 29-0 at Roland Garros and equaled Christ Evert’s all-time record of consecutive match wins at the French Open. But Rafael Nadal showed that he is still human when we was down in the second set 1-3 but smartly managed to win the set 6-4.

During the course of the match Rafael Nadal broke Daniels serve seven times and hit 36 winners. Rafael Nadal had 32 unforced errors during the match.

In a post match interview Rafael Nadal said

“The first match is always difficult. I was a little nervous because this tournament is very special to me, but I feel good.”

On being asked about this choice of bright clothing, Rafael Nadal said “It’s the same reason why I wore white and yellow two weeks ago – because its better then dressing the same color every week.”

Rafael Nadal will now face either Teimuraz Gabashvili or Igor Kunitsyn of Russia in the second round of French Open.

Some other results for the day were:
Andy Roddick beat French wildcard Romain Jouan 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.
Dinara Safina demolished Britain’s Anne Keothavong  6-0, 6-0.
Russian Maria Sharapova beat Anastasiya Yakimova of Belarus 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Venus Williams beats fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-1, 4-6, 6-2

Roger Federer advanced to round two of the French Open by defeating Alberto Martin of Spain in straight sets 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. The last time Federer had played at the Roland Garros was in the 2008 finals where he was beaten by Rafael Nadal.

In a post match interview Federer said “I didn’t even think about last year’s match on the same court because I was so much concentrated, I wanted to do my best. I didn’t want to lose my first match.”

Federer is looking forward to win the French Open and complete his collection with all the four grand slam titles. Federer said that his current clay court form has given him a belief that he can win the elusive grand slam this year. He has already beaten Nadal once in Madrid where he won his first title of the year.

Federer also said that “The (2008) final was very difficult. It was the very last match. But what counts is how you played after in Madrid, Monte Carlo and Rome and on clay surfaces, and what you look at is the matches you’ve won, If you’ve lost, okay, no problem, because between then and now, you have played something like 60 matches, so that was okay today for me. ”

If Federer wins the French Open then he will equal Pete Sampra’s record of 14 grand slams. He had never been a advocate of the drop shot but on Monday there was a difference in his game and the same was acknowledged by him in a post match comment saying:

“I’m happy I got to learn how to use the drop shot over the years, I used to not be a fan of the drop shot at all. I always thought it was a shot you only hit when you’re panicking from the baseline, when you’re scared maybe to take on the fight. Today I realized that actually you can use it to your advantage against like players like Martin. It just makes it a little bit more easy. I’m happy to be through without a fright.”

Roger Federer will now face Jose Acasuso of Argentina in the new round.

Title holder Ana Ivanovic had a hard game to begin her journey in Roland Garros with a 7-6, 6-3 victory over Italian Sara Errani to reach the second round. Ana Ivanovic had to fight a long battle lasting two hours and two minutes to conquer the world no. 44. Even though Ivanovic won the match bust she showed signs of the recent knee injury which kept her out of the Madrid Open. She played the match with her right knee taped. In the second round she will meet either Camille Pin or Tamarine Tamasugarn.

Ivanovic has not won many matches on the clay court in the current year with just two wins before the start of the French Open. One could easily make out her lack of clay court exposure in the current year when she gave away ten break point in the first set and it got stretched into a tiebreaker. She eventfully won the exhausting set after 72 minutes.

In the second set Ivanovic avoided four break points in the first service game and later consolidated her position by leading the set at 5-1. Errani faough back hard and to her service game and broke Ivanovic’s service game to but the Surb finally won the match taking the set 6-3.

Post the match a tired Ana Ivanovic told the reporters

“I expected a tough match. I knew I would have to work hard for my points today, and I’m very happy I did that, I kept my composure even when I was making a few mistakes.”

“I think last year’s US Open was a great experience for me, I played when I wasn’t fit enough to play and I kept thinking about my injury through the matches,”.

“It was not going well. Before my matches, before I stepped on court, I was thinking, am I fit enough to play? And I felt fit enough, so I just put it out of my mind, and I don’t want to think about it.”

“This morning when I was warming up they were playing highlights on the big screen. It’s always good to see, and you always get a little bit excited watching that,” she said.

She also added that playing on the clay court reminded her of the last year when she had an excellent French Open.

Jesnson Button continued his good form and captured another pole position for Brawn, his fourth pole in six races. Everyone thought that Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen would take the pole in Monaco when he clocked 1m 14.927 but Button came from behind and made himself the star of the day by clocking the fastest lap at 1m 14.902s. This season Button and his team Brawn has impressed and shocked everyone giving sleepless nights to others like McLaren and Farrari. Button’s team mate and second in the driver standing for the season, Rubens Barrichello celebrated his 37th birthday by grabbing the third position with a lap timing of 1m 15.077s.

Defending World Champion Lewis Hamilton was considered as the pre-race favorite crashed out in the first qualifying session and could just manage 16th position. He would start the race on the 8th row of the grid on Sunday. Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel showed his driving skills and form to take the fourth place ahead of Ferrari driver Felipe Massa. Massa was lucky that he could still race after surviving the Q1 accident where he damaged the nose cone of his car in the swimming pool section of the race. Vettel Clocked 1m 15.271s and Massa clocked 1m 15.437s. Nico Rosberg and Heikki Kovalainen came sixth and seventh with a timing of 1m 15.455s and 1m 15.516s. Mark Webber drving the second Red Bull clocked 1m 15.653s taking him to the 8th spot. Alonso clocked 1m 16.009s and would share the fifth row on the grid with Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima who clocked 1m 17.344s.

The only accident in the Q2 happened with Nelson Piquet and finished 12th behind Toro Rosso driver Sebastien Buemi. Force Indian had a great qualifying with both the cars reaching Q2, Giancarlo Fisichella finished 13th while his German counterpart Adrian Sutil finished 15th. Sebastien Bourdais of the Toro Rosso team finished 14th and shares the grid with Fisichella. Sutil shares the grid with Hamilton who was out dude to Q1 accident. On the 9th row of the grid are the two drivers from BMW Sauber Team, Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica. The last row on the grid is shared by the two Toyota drivers Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock. The weather forecast for Sunday is clear and sunny and it is sure to be a great race day. Monaco is the most technical circuit and has a history of crashes and surprise winners. We just have to see who take the checkered flag at one of the most popular races of the Formula One season.

Jesnson Button

Kimi Raikkonen