Wimbledon 2017 Preview

Wimbledon 2017

We are just a week away from one of the biggest events in the sporting calendar. SW19 is gearing up for what promises to be an intriguing Wimbledon 2017. 

So who are the contenders for these championships?    

Men's Contenders

Andy Murray

After an incredible last year, things are starting to get a little pear shaped for the world number 1 and the defending champion. Andy Murray doesn't seem to be showing the world why he is the top ranked player in the world. Whether it is to do with lack of match practice or something else, it looks like a slightly different Murray as opposed to last year, but I would still back him to reach the semis and possibly the final, so he is certainly not out of the equation. Murray is also considered as one of or if not the best movers on a grass court. 

Novak Djokovic

It has been an interesting season for the Serbinator. Djokovic is know longer the same player who was dominating mens tennis just a few years ago. Whether it's do with splitting up with former coach Boris Becker and replacing him with Andre Agassi or something else is debatable. However Novak is still up there with the best so he definitely should not be ruled out of contention of reaching the final or even winning it.        

Stan Wawrinka 

Stanislas Wawrinka seems to be under the spotlight of Roger Federer but is still a high quality player as he showed Murray in the semi-finals of  the French Open this year.  The Swiss no:2 has has three grand-slam titles under his belt, the most recent being the 2016 US Open where he defeated Djokovic in the final in four sets. In terms of my predictions for Wimbledon 2017, I definitely see him reaching the semi-finals at least. 

Roger Federer

Who can forget the most successful tennis player of all time. A true champion who has won a record of 18 grand slam titles should not be ruled out. Roger Federer is certainly the crowd's favourite at Wimbledon, especially when Murray isn't playing. Although he is 35, he still moves pretty well on the grass courts. Roger has had a great start to the grass court season by winning a tournament in Halle, Germany.  The key question is. How much does he have left in the tank in terms of energy and motivation? Having said this, a place in the semi finals should be his target at least. 

Rafael Nadal  

Another sporting great. Rafael Nadal the king of clay is still up their with the best for winning grand slams. Nadal is a true champion and is one of the fierce competitors in the mens game, but injuries have seamed to hinder his success. Having said that, the Spaniard has shown great character throughout his career and has proven this by winning a total of 15 grand slam titles including 2 Wimbledon titles along his favourite, the French Open in which he has won 10 times the most by any player in a single grand slam. Depending on what mindset Nadal is in, I would put him in contention of reaching the quarter finals.   

Women's Contenders:

Sadly there will be no Serena Williams featuring in this year's championships due to pregnancy. This gives the opportunity for someone else to clinch the women's title and make the women's draw very interesting. 

Simona Halep

Simona Halep is one to watch out for in this year's championships. Although she is yet to win a Grand Slam, she is has 14 WTA singles titles and is currently in 2nd place in the WTA rankings. The Romanian is considered as one of the best returners of serve in the women's game and is definitely not out of contention to win her first grand slam.  A place in the final should be the target for Helap. 

Garbiñe Muguruza

When your Country has a top male tennis player, it's always good to have a top female tennis player. Spain is lucky to have both of these. Many people know that Nadal is a true Grand Slam champion, but never discount Garbiñe Mugruza. This young lady has made rapid strides in the last 3 years  and won the French Open in 2016. she also reached the fineral of Wimbledon in 2015 where she unsurprisingly lost to Serena Williams in 2 close sets 6-4 6-4. This time round, I would expect her to at least reach the semi finals.

Angelique Kerber

Germany is well known for it football and motor racing. But the country has also produced some fine tennis players such as Boris Becker and Steffi Graf. Angelique Kerber is a dangerous player who is currently the top ranked female tennis player in the world. Last year she won her first two majors, the Australian Open where she beat Serena Williams in three sets and the US Open where she beat Karolina Plíšková also in three sets.  She is definitely a contender for the women's title this year.

Johanna Konta 

Ever since Virginia Wade won Wimbledon in 1977, Britain has never witnessed a female Grand slam champion. But over the last two years Johanna Konta has really stepped up her game and is currently ranked no:7 in the WTA rankings. Her best run in a grand slam came this year as she reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open where she was beaten by none other than Serena Williams. Konta is regarded as a very good match player by other pundits. It will be fascinating to see how she does from a British prospective in this year's championships. 
         
We should be in for a fascinating two weeks at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Let's  hope the weather stays fair throughout these championships.

ICC Champions Trophy 2017 Final report

Pakistan On Top of The World

Pakistan comprehensively defeated arch rivals India by 180 runs in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy at the Kia Oval on Sunday.

it was a glorious summer's day at the Kia Oval where thousands of Indian and Pakistani supporters where gathered to anticipate a enthralling contest between two great cricketing nations.

These two sides had previously met in the group stages at Edgbaston where India won by a whopping 124 runs in a rain effected game. The Pakistanis arrived at the KIA Oval looking to seek revenge from this defeat by their bitter rivals. 

When India captain Virat Kohli put the Pakistanis into to bat, India were hoping for an early breakthrough. They thought they had one when Fakhar Zaman nicked a full ball through to MS Dhoni when he was just on 3. However, the replay showed that Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah had unfortunately overstepped the bowling crease which resulted in a no ball.

Pakistan took advantage of the costly no ball by Bumrah by forming an opening partnership of 128 with Zaman and his fellow opener Azhar Ali.

Ali was then run out by Jasprit Bumrah following a mix up with Zaman, But that did not ruin the left hander’s day as Zaman went on to score a brilliant 114 runs from 142 balls along with some classy little cameos from Babar Azam who scored 46 of 84 and Mohammed Hafeez who scored 57 of 47.

It was a hot and difficult day in the field for the Indians who lacked the energy and fight throughout the match. When they went out to bat, left arm Pakistan seamer Mohammed Amir ripped through India’s top order removing Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and most importantly the skipper Kohli.

This was a huge blow for the Indians as these three batsmen had been in supreme form throughout most the tournament and were scoring the bulk of India's runs throughout the whole tournament.    

Once those three were dismissed Pakistan were right on top. Shadab Khan and Hasan Ali then came to the party and got rid of the highly experienced pair of Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Once these two were dismissed, you could say that this was probably the end for India.

Hardik Pandya tried is absolute best to get India back into the game. The hard, hitting all-rounder scored a blistering 76 runs of 46 balls, but a mix up between himself and Ravindra Jadeja proved to be his downfall as he ended up running himself out.

This was the final nail in the coffin for India as Hasan Ali and Junaid Khan knocked over India’s tail to claim Pakistan’s first major 50-over trophy since the 1992 World Cup.

Hassan Ali richly deserves to be the man of the tournament. I particularly liked his passion and enjoyment of the game and when you have that sort of a player in your team, it really motivates the rest of your players to perform well for your team.

India should not be disheartened by this defeat. Yes, it’s painful, but Virat Kohli and his men have had a pretty good tournament. What’s good to see is they are mixing experience with youth. I admire the emergence of fast bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya. He is a good addition to this Young Indian side and will be a huge asset for India in the future, especially on overseas tours to England and Australia etc.

As for Pakistan, it’s upwards and onwards. At the start of the tournament, they were ranked no:8 in the world and no one expected them to reach the semis let alone the final. But boy have they proved the critics wrong. Safraz Ahmed has been excellent as captain through the majority of this tournament. The way he had marshalled his bowlers and looked to take wickets rather than containing runs was exceptional. There’s a saying in sport where 'the best way to defend is to attack'. That is what Sarfraz’s team have done brilliantly throughout this tournament.  

These two teams were the best two teams of the tournament, but Pakistan were far the better team on the day. You could see that they wanted it more. It’s not a case of India not trying, it’s just that they were outplayed by a magnificent Pakistani team.

It will be fascinating to see how this match will have an impact on both teams, especially in the future.

England Vs Pakistan Semi final: What went wrong for England

England vs Pakistan:

Pakistan upset the odds by knocking out hosts England in the first semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, following a thumping eight-wicket victory at Cardiff. 

When Pakistani Captain Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss, and chose to bowl, England’s openers Alex Hales and Johnny Bairstow got England off to a reasonable start with an opening partnership of 34 runs in 5.4 overs. But they soon lost their wickets due to poor decision making with the bat and terrific bowling from the Pakistani bowlers. Once the top three batsman were dismissed, everything started to go pear-shaped as England lost 7 wickets for just 83 runs.   

What went wrong for England?

The problem for England was that four of their top 6 batsmen all got off to a reasonable start but could not convert them into big scores. It was only Joe Root and Johnny Bairstow who showed some courage to fight fire with fire against the Pakistani bowlers, but as soon as they were dismissed it looked as if the wheels were starting to come off the England innings.  

What went well for Pakistan?

Rising star Hassan Ali who took 3 wickets for 35 runs was the pick of the bowlers for me. I was impressed with his attitude and desire to perform well for his country.  The way he ran in and hit the pitch hard was sensational. Safraz’s decision to bring on left arm pacer Junaid Khan to remove the dangerous Jos Buttler also proved to be a master stroke as many people know how destructive he can be, especially towards the end of the innings.

England’s Bowling

When it was England’s turn to bowl, they were a little impatient from the start. Instead of bowling a good line and length, they were looking to bounce out the Pakistani openers Azhar Ali and Fakhar Zaman who looked comfortable against the short ball.

Mark Wood and Adil Rashid who was brought into the attack far too late in the Pakistan innings, were the pick of the bowlers in terms of how England’s bowling performance went despite them ending up on the losing side they finished with figures of 0-37 and 1-54 but Rashid looked the more threatening of the England bowlers.

                                                                                                                 

Tournament Success 

Since England had won the 2010 twenty20 in the Caribbean, they have only reached the final in one major tournament in the last 7 years, this was the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, where they lost to India by just 5 runs.

England went into this tournament following a One day international series win over South Africa and were considered as favourites to lift the Champions Trophy. They also looked good in their three group matches against Bangladesh, Australia and New Zealand where they won all three games quite convincingly.    

In their last 10 one day internationals, England had scored over 300 runs in each innings and this tournament was a chance for them to win their first global 50-over trophy but they were outplayed by the country who beat them in the 1992 World Cup final.

Pakistan on the other hand were sensational. When they lost their first game against arch rivals India, everybody thought that they were down and out, But the way they have responded since the defeat to India is incredible.

The fact that they had previously won a World T20 tournament in England in 2009 gives them some confidence ahead of Sunday's final against either Bangladesh or their greatest rivals India. 

We should be in for a Bollywood sizzler at the Kia Oval on Sunday.