And a little side bar

By the way, Serena Williams also entertained the crowd by her non-tennnis playing skills. Apparently she can break the racket as well as Marat Safin. Williams hammered her racket on the clay a couple of times.  The poor little misshapen strung out (racket I mean) could very well have predicted how the match would go! 

Andy Murray V/s Jeremy Chardy

In all championships there are always lesser players who elevate the game like a dark sky brightened by a brilliant but stray comet.  For the moment, your attention is diverted to its blaze, forgetting all about the giant planets who do their things.  So it was with Lucas Rosol at the 2012 Wimbledon when he defeated Rafa.  We won't even qualify Rosal as David.  And so it is now with Jeremy Chardy, who was born in France but now resides in Belgium.  I ‘write’ this to ‘play’ safe.  I have read Hercule Poirot and do not want to hurt Monsieur Chardy’s sentiments by calling him either French or Belgian!

Lets not forget, he is the man who brought the Tower of Tandil, Juan Martin Del Potro to his knees- 6-3, 6-3, 6-7, 3-6, 6-3.

Chardy was prepared to take the most risks, creating 17 break point opportunites and of which he took advantage of 5. However he also had a high count of unforced errors- 64 compared to 35 from Del Potro.

So how does he stand vis-à-vis Murray? My money is on Murray!  

And David defeats Goliath! Stephens wins against Williams in 3 sets!

Serena is serving to level the set at 5 games all.  Stephens wins the first point and pressure in on the server.  Stephens is showing steel and spine.  Rushing to the net and forces Williams to make an error.  Stephens is up 15-30.  Williams is two points away from losing!  Its 15-40. Match point for Sloane Stephens against the great Serena Williams.  Will Sloane do it? YESSSS

Yes World No 29, Sloane Williams DOES IT.  She has defeated Serena Williams 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.  She is seen sending a message from her phone.  Such a smile on her face. She is through to the semi-finals. Lets check out her tweet!

When asked who she texted immediately after the match, Stephens said during the post-match interview, “My mum was texting me during the match, I texted her back.”

“Stephens, you have a poster of Serena in your bedroom…  did you imagine you would do this one day?  “This is co crazy, I think I will put up a poster of myself now.” There were more laughs from the spectators.

“ Yeah you are the new Sloane Stephens not the new Serena Williams, so go out there and treat yourself to something nice”

“I thought I will buy one thing but now I will buy two!

Sloane Stephens will now play World no. 1 Victoria Azarenka.  My bets are on Azarenka.  However Stephens will now lose her reservations to go all out.  She has played and overcome Williams. Playing Azarenka should be like a walk in the Park- you may not find the exit but you will enjoy the walk nevertheless! 

Sloane V/s Williams, Day 10

2^nd Set- 3^rd game- Stephens is giving Serena a workout and a perfectly executed lob from Stephens earns her a point as Williams commits an unforced error.  Stephens rushes to the net and executes a neat volley to finish off the point and bag the game.  Stephens now leads 3-2.  I think for most young/ new players on the circuit, that constant jingle of nerves that is like excess baggage.  And it makes the hand heavy and the shoulders frozen while hitting the easiest of forehands or the simplest smash.  At this point, Stephens has loosened a bit, is playing freely and not thinking too much of Serena’s knee slash ankle.  The point is to exploit the weakness. Go for it Stephens! Oh oh, not a good sign for the fans as she hits a backhand into the net and hands Williams the game.  The score is now three games all.

And now we have the first rally of the match, in 4^th game of the third set - 26 shots and Stephens, I guess just needs more experience to play these rallies to win. Aggression + Frustration at deuce from Williams…is a dangerous sign, you can either gain from it as she goes on a full blown rant or forget all about the game, set and match.  My experience tells me that far from derailing Williams, it rattles her opponents while she hammers them into submission.  It could be scary really and Stephens has had her first taste of scary Wills. And so the story goes that Williams breaks Stephens to go up 4-3

The fifth game begins by a good rally and Stephens pockets the point to be up 0-15 but Williams soon levels it.  Williams commits a double fault and the score id now 15-40.  Stephens fritters away one game point by hitting out.  Score is 30-40. Second serve for Serena.  AND Stephens breaks Serena. The Fighting spirit is on and the painted talons are out.  Come on Stephens

Sloane Stephens V/s Serena Williams, Day 10

The world’s a stage (aka for the purposes of this blog also known as the Rod Laver arena) and the everyone’s watching the 18 year old Stephens play her role mode Williams.  The smart and witty Stephens had earlier said that she will try to not be star-struck while playing the giant but it will be a distraction nevertheless.

While some fireworks were expected, the match has gotten off to a slow start with both the players holding their serve for the first three games.  All were love games.  In the fourth game, Stephens was the first to make things happens, going for her shots instead of just returning them and as expected, Williams broke her and won the first set 6-3.

There have been no rallies so far.  Williams seems a little lethargic and it seems is forcing Stephens to play to her pace, which is the mark of a good player but makes for poor viewing.  Its almost like Williams is strolling in Melbourne park (I am sure there is one).  The first set lasted 28 minutes and the it is the 28^th minute now with both players level at 3 games each.  You can see the difference in the quality and maturity of the players in their eyes.  Stephens’ look like a fawn, alert, taking in everything, but not yet hardened with endless travel on the tennis circuit and the emotional yo-yo of wins and losses and of course the extraneous static that will manifest should she play to her potential (that phrase belongs to Paul Annacone, Federer’s co-coach). But all credit to Sloane Stephens for making things happen as I mentioned earlier, she is trying to set up points, rushing to the net and it shows in the 4^th game where is up 0-30 and Williams is serving.  And Sloane Stephens breaks Serena in the 4^th game to be up 5-3.  Oh no, Williams is limping,  Is that a cause for concern? She didn’t even move a muscle to return the Stephens’ shot in the earlier game. Her last serve was tame as well. Let’s see.

For now, Stephens is serving, its 30-30.  Serena hits a high backhand and Stephens has all the time in the world to return which she did, leisurely. Oh oh, Stephens is a bundle of nerves, what should have been a set point is not deuce and she double faults to give Serena the advantage. Come on Stephens, buckle up!  From set point, Stephens commits an unforced error  and gives away the game to Williams. Its now 4-5, with Serena serving.  Serena calls for a 3 minute medical timeout.  Whats that? Serena is leaving the court with her physio and Stephens will have to wait.

Just a little over 6 minutes and Serena is back to serve. A gingerly serve but follows it up with a powerful backhand and wins the point.  Sloane Stephens should make the most of the weakned Williams serve (133 kms/ hr).  I think the nerves are doing the talking here.  4 unforced errors out of which the last two were plump forehands hit wide. Williams holds and its 5 games all.

Stephens  serves and hits one more backhand wide of the sidelines. Its 15-15. Stephens rushes to the net and Williams hits a crosscourt forehand that lands out…and Stephens hold her SSSERVE! Yay Stephens way to go!

Serena serving and the score level at deuce, Serena returns a wide backhand and makes an error. Advantage Stephens…………..and Serena commits yet another unforced error, in the net this time and Stephens breaks Serena and wins the second set.

I am taking a break now but will keep you updated!

Berdych V/s Djokovic, day 9

Berdych that tall iceberg is playing Djokovic in his new-style Prussian blue shorts that are shorter than the length popularised by the Americans, his were classic European shorts that stop mid-thigh.
Djokovic has won the first set 6-1 and is down 2-1 in the second, the result of three consecutive unforced errors. Needless to say, Berdych will hold his serve and not squander the hard-earned reward that has come so late in the match.
Djokovic amazes me with his constant innovative shots, his sliding across the court with legs stretched and the ankle slightly bent. It allows him to get to ball without moving those extra steps but oh the risk to his ankle and the strain on his inner thigh and groin! He says this slide come naturally to him and he is not conscious of the strain or injury it could cause him. Novak attributes it to his skiing skills that he picked early at the ski resort that his parents run in Serbia.  He comes from a family of competitive skiers.
So far so good.  Dkokovic's ability to open up the court from his trademark down-the-line forehand has earned him quite a few points. His recovery time between two shots is amazing so when the opponent feels that he has Djokovic cornered, Djokovic is already at the spot where the ball hits next and flummoxes his opponent with a cross-court backhand or a lob. But, but , but...nothing;s going right for Djokovic at the moment.  He is serving at 15-30 and is being led from one end of the court to the other like marionette by Berdych. But we know that Djokovic is 'infamous' for getting out of the deep hole, crawling right back into the match and then 'roaring' to a win!
Keep watching while I keep you updated.