Friday, July 3, 2009

Wimbledon 2009: Roddick beats Murray reaches final

Roddick won the battle of Andys as he dispatched home hope Murray in four sets to reach his third Wimbledon finals. The American who had got better after each match admitted that he played his best tennis and even jokingly said, "Even I can play a bit of tennis at times". His serving was immaculate and his powerful returns were too heavy for Murray. He fought back in the 3rd set to take it to tie breaker but again Roddick's booming serves saw him through and the 4th set also went to the tie break where Roddick did not even give a sniff and closed out the match. On Sunday he will face Roger Federer, whom he lost to in his previous two appearances in the finals at Wimbledon.

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Football : Michael Owen joins Manchester United

Manchester United have signed Michael Owen on a two year contract.
Manchester United are said to have agreed terms with out of contract striker Michael Owen. And the player has arrived at Carrington, United's training ground to have a medical. United doctors have given OK to Owen's troublesome knee and have given the green signal for Sir Alex to go ahead with the signing. It has been a remarkable day for the former Liverpool star who at a stage had no takers other than Hull and the approach of Manchester United has come out of the blue. It must been a pleasant surprise for the player himself and it seems he is ready to take a 50% pay cut in order to sign for the Premier League champions. And if the signing goes through, Manchester United fans can look forward to the partnership of Rooney and Owen. It had also been reported that the current United players themselves are excited about Owen's arrival. It is a calculated gamble that Sir Alex has taken and it might be well worth taking it given the fact that Owen is a proven goal scorer and knows the league inside out. And United can manage to keep him fit, United will not be short of firepower upfront. One thing is for sure, this news certainly will not be taken well in the red half of Merseyside.

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Wimbledon 2009: Federer reaches final for record 7th time

Roger Federer has booked his spot in the Wimbledon final after a straight sets masterclass over Tommy Haas. The former world no.1 is in rousing form and took that into the match against German Tommy Haas, who in the past has given some tough matches for Roger. But the five-time champion reached his seventh straight final at the All England Club after overcoming the 24th seeded German 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 6-3 and now has the chance to land a record-breaking 15th Grand Slam. The swiss master was in a punishing mood as he fired 49 winners in the two hours and two minutes contest and now awaits the winner of Friday's other semi-final between British hope Andy Murray and American Andy Roddick. He now has a date with destiny that he can overtake Sampras at the very same venue where he beat Pete to get his first Grand Slam. Come on Roger........

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Saturday, June 20, 2009

Carlos Tevez leaves Manchester United

Carlos Tevez, who was on loan at Manchester United has decided to leave Old Trafford. This announcement came from the official website of the Champions. After two hugely successful seasons, Carlos Tevez has decided to leave. It is a huge blow for the Red Devils who have already lost Cristiano Ronaldo to Realmadrid. This decision comes as a little surprise to everyone as Carlos had stated that remaining at United was his first priority. And having already confirmed that he wont be joining Liverpool, Tevez is likely to move to Chelsea or to the cross town rivals Manchester City. Now Sir Alex Ferguson has no other go but to dip into the transfer market and land a striker. Tevez became the second choice striker after the signing of Berbatov last season. And he did not start as many matches as he would have liked to but with Ronaldo's departure the chances of Tevez playing a lead role in the United side increased and the club also had offered him a 5 year contract. But Tevez chose to part ways. I'm not hugely disappointed but somewhat as Carlitos scored so many vital goals that won games for United but they club have only themselves to blame as they could have signed him a lot earlier. Thank you Carlos....

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Saturday, June 13, 2009

Manutd: Cristiano Ronaldo sold to Realmadrid for £80 million


The Cristiano Ronaldo saga is finally over. Manchester United have accepted a world record £80 million (€93 million | $134 million). Right after the Champions league win last season, Ronaldo made it clear that his sights were set on a move to Realmadrid. And after months of news and speculations Ronaldo said he was staying at United. Sir Alex was the reason behind that and also the kind of approach made by the then Realmadrid president Roman Calderon also had a role to play. Calderon was not professional in his pursuit of Ronaldo and it irritated Manchester United who closed the door on the Spanish side. Ronaldo played this season without a smile on his face and it was clear that he was again going to press for a move to Real. And when asked before the Champions League final, he came up the reply "Please don't ask this stupid question. I'm very happy in Manchester and I want to stay". Everyone knew that this was not his intention. And after Florentino Perez became the president of Real, Ronaldo's move looked very much on the cards as Perez has the knack of landing star players. He also wanted to build a bridge between clubs and his method seldom fails. Within weeks after landing Kaka from AC Milan for a world record £62 million, Realmadrid came up with a bid of £80 million for Cristiano Ronaldo. It was an offer that Manchester United could not refuse. And the English champions accepted the bid and announced that all the matters would be finalised by the end of June. I cannot compare the loyalty of Kaka and Ronaldo as Kaka is miles ahead of him. All I want to say to Ronaldo is "Thank you for whatever you have done in a Red shirt". His exit could have been a bit better but with his flirting with Real last season angered a few United fans including me. All I want now is Manchester United reaching the Champions League finals again and beating Realmadrid(if they come that far!!!!) at their own backyard(This year's final is at Santiago Bernebeu). Good bye Ronaldo.

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Sunday, June 7, 2009

Tennis : Roger Federer wins French Open 2009

Roger Federer finally managed to break his French Open jinx. The Swiss overcame Robin Soderling 6-1 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 at Roland Garros to become the sixth man to complete a career Grand Slam. This win surely makes him the Greatest Player of All time. And it was fitting that the last man to complete a career Grand Slam, Andre Agassi gave him the trophy. Federer was emotional and it was understandable as he had lost here in the finals in the last three years. Roger was the clear favourite going into the match and he had a 100% record (9-0) against Soderling. But Soderling had beaten Nadal on his way to the finals and an upset was also on the cards but Roger broke him in the very first game of the match and raced through the first set 6-1. The second was a bit even and Fedex sealed that in a tie breaker (7-1). In the deciding set Roger closed out at 6-4 after saving a break point. Federer is now level on 14 major titles with Pete Sampras and, at just 27-years-old, appears almost certain to make that record his own in the future. "It might be the greatest victory of my career," said Federer, who can go past Sampras at his favourite Wimbledon. Come on Roger !!!!!!!!!!

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Sunday, May 31, 2009

French Open 2009: Nadal loses to Soderling

Robin Soderling has done what no-one else has ever managed here at Roland Garros. It's the end of an era. Defending and four time champion and World No. 1 Rafael Nadal was finally defeated at the Roland Garros after reigning supreme for four long years. The 23rd seeded Robin Soderling was the man who made history when he swept past the defending champ in four sets. The score read 6-2,6-7,6-4,7-6 . This is a second consecutive defeat for Nadal in clay court tournament this year. He was beaten by Federer in Madrid just before the French Open. With Nadal's defeat, Roger Federer has a serious chance of winning the grand slam that has eluded him thus far and close the gap on Nadal in the ATP Champions race.

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