My 2011 Australian Open Predictions! January 14, 2011
Posted by johnthrasher in technology, Television, tennis.Tags: Australian Open, Kim Clijsters, Li Na, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer
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Well there isn’t a ton of drama heading in to this year’s Australian Open, which begins on Monday. On the women’s side Serena Williams is still absent from the game (nursing a foot injury from July), one of my favorites Elena Dementieva retired in November, and Li Na just beat Clijsters in Sydney to win the title.
On the men’s side, the top 100 players are entered, Nadal is looking to be the first man in 42 years to hold all four grand slams at once, and Roger Federer is now 30 – usually the beginning of the end in players past. With all of this considered, including the draw, here are my semis, finals, and champions for the 2011 Australian Open:
Women’s Singles
Semis: 11 Henin vs. 9 Li and 3 Clijsters vs. 2 Zvonareva
Final: 9 Li vs. 3 Clijsters
Champion: 9 Li
It’s a bit of a long shot for Li to win a slam considering she never has, and she’d have to beat Aussie favorite, and U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters to do it probably. However, Li just beat Clijsters today to win in Sydney. Maybe Clijsters is a little more fatigued than usual? Either way I expect Li to make a deep run.
Men’s Singles:
Semis: 1 Nadal vs 4 Soderling and 4 Djokovic vs. 2 Federer
Final: 1 Nadal vs. 2 Djokovic
Champion: 1 Nadal
I really went back and forth about putting Djokovic or Federer in the final, but am thinking that with an aging Federer and a vengeful Djokovic, maybe Djokovic could win. Djokovic has beaten Federer before so it’s not a long-shot really. I just hope that Nadal is over his recent flu that derailed him 2 weeks ago. It would be amazing to see him hit yet another career record!
My U.S. Open 2010 Predictions! August 29, 2010
Posted by johnthrasher in Geek Talk, Personally John, Television, tennis, Travel.Tags: Caroline Wozniacki, Kim Clijsters, New York City, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, U.S. Open, Venus Williams
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Though I am not entirely sure yet, there is a very high possibility that I will be attending the U.S. Open this year again! I’m really excited and will definitely be reporting on it when I am there. Click here to see my pics, and review of the Open last year.
But, for now I wanted to post my thoughts on who will win this year’s U.S. Open – both men and women. I used USOpen.org’s Bracket Challenge to plan out my quarterfinals, semis, finals, and champions. So without further ado.
Serena withdrew last week as she recovers from a freak accident a few months ago where she cut her foot on a glass at a restaurant and required emergency surgery. With Serena out of the mix, the field is actually very wide open. For the women’s side I have:
1 Caroline Wozniacki def. 2 Kim Clijsters in the final.
Caroline has been on absolute fire this summer and is the U.S. Open series winner, which means she will add a million dollar bonus to whatever prize money she makes during her run this year. Kim has been doing well this summer, but there is a bit more of a spark in Caroline’s play. Caroline doesn’t possess any major weapons but her consistency seems to be enough to really make it far in this tournament. Here’s how I think the women’s draw will go:
As for the men, Rafael Nadal goes in to the U.S. Open as the No.1 seed…though this is the only major he hasn’t won. I got to see Rafa play last year when I went to the Open. He definitely has what it takes to win this tournament – there’s no doubt about that. With Federer aging, and a not-s0-hot draw, I predict:
1 Rafael Nadal def. 19 Mardy Fish in the final.
Mardy has never played like a champion until this summer. He won a couple of tournaments and is in the best shape of his life. It’s a long shot to have him beating Federer – the greatest player of all time – but Federe has proved that he is not infallible. Here’s how I think the men’s singles draw will go:
In 2 weeks we’ll know the winner of both! Will someone surprise us (like Del Potro did last year) or will we see the No.1 seeds win? I’ll be back after the fortnight to analyze my usually accurate predictions! 
Yeah Right Roger Federer! August 18, 2010
Posted by johnthrasher in tennis.Tags: John Thrasher, Roger Federer, tennis
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Ummmm, does Gilette think we’re stupid?
Any tennis player (or human being) will know that this video that was spread all over the internet of Roger Federer serving a ball and knocking a cup of this guy’s head is completely fake!
Take a look and tell me what you think!
My 2010 Wimbledon Predictions! June 22, 2010
Posted by johnthrasher in Geek Talk, Personally John, Television, tennis.Tags: Andy Roddick, ESPN, Maria Sharapova, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Sports, tennis, Wimbledon
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Hey y’all! I can NOT believe that Wimbledon has already started! I feel like I was just at the U.S. Open the other day!
This post is coming hot off the heels of Roger Federer’s near-death defeat today at the hands of Alejandro Falla. Not sure how Falla didn’t pull that one off. Either way, here are my predictions that I’ve made after looking at the draw (before Roger played today).
Men:
5 Roddick vs. 2 Nadal
Champion: 2 Nadal
Women:
1 S. Williams vs. 2 V. Williams
Champion: 1 S. Williams
I’m wondering when the door is going to start closing for the Williams sisters when it comes to Wimbledon, but frankly, they are still major threats, and with Serena winning in Australia already this year, it would be stupid to bet against her. The only other person I could see making a run is Justine Henin, since this tournament is the whole reason she came out of retirement anyway.
After watching Roger today, I dare say I don’t see him getting as far as I thought. I had Roddick beating him in the semis, but I guess that will remain to be seen. Both men are somewhat iffy right now, so let’s hope they get to that round and make it a repeat of last year’s final.
I’ll be back after this fortnight with the results!
Click here for last year’s predictions. (Which I got 75% right!)
(PS I totally called Serena vs. Maria Sharapova back in 2004 before Maria had ever won a major, or was THAT talked about. I had Serena beating her, but I called it nonetheless!)
Serena Williams Wins 2 Grand Slam Titles In One Day! July 4, 2009
Posted by johnthrasher in Uncategorized.Tags: Andy Roddick, Australian Open, Dinara Safina, Grand Slam, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, tennis, Venus Williams, Wimbledon, WTA Tour
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Earlier today at the All England Lawn and Tennis Club in London, England, Serena Williams beat her sister Venus Williams to win her 3rd Wimbledon Singles Title, 11th Grand Slam Singles Title, and then partnered with Venus to win the Ladies’ Doubles title as well! How many people can say they won 2 Grand Slam titles in one day?
It was a similar scenario this year at the Australian Open back in January when Serena beat Dinara Safina for the singles title, and later partnered with Venus to win the Womens’ Doubles title. Last year Venus beat Serena for her 5th Wimbledon crown, and again went on to pair with her sister to win the Ladies’ Doubles title in 2008. Later that summer, the two would pair to win the Olympic gold medal in Womens’ Doubles as well.
Despite the fact that Serena Williams now holds 3 of the 4 yearly Grand Slam titles, she is still not the No.1 player in the world. Somehow the world No.1 ranking goes to Dinara Safina who was blasted off the court by Venus Williams in the semifinals 6-1, 6-0, and has never won a Grand Slam title. The WTA’s quantity over quality reflection of the rankings is a sad moment in professional sports when 1 person holds 3 of the 4 slams.
I hate to toot my own horn here, but I totally called this two weeks ago, right here on this very blog! Scroll down or click here to see my predictions from a few weeks ago. I also got 3/4 men’s semifinals, and the final right. I will find out tomorrow if (6) Andy Roddick beats the 5 time Wimbledon champion (2) Roger Federer. It’s a huge mountain to climb, but something is telling me this is Roddick’s chance.
Congratulations to Serena AND Venus for making tennis history today!
Wimbledon iPhone App June 25, 2009
Posted by johnthrasher in App Talk, Geek Talk, iPhone, Movies/Film, Sports, technology, Television, tennis, Travel.Tags: app, Apple, iPhone, iPod, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Wimbledon
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If you’re like me and can’t go 5 minutes without checking Wimbledon scores this time of year, then you’re in luck!
The All England Lawn and Tennis Club has released an iPhone app with all kinds of Wimbledon goodies in it!
Besides updating scores every 30 seconds, the app also offers Wimbledon-related news stories, the schedule and order-of-play, a view of the draw for all events, and even video highlights.
The best part is that it’s free! Check out the Wimbledon app here if you’re following the Championships this fortnight.
My Wimbledon 2009 Predictions June 22, 2009
Posted by johnthrasher in Geek Talk, Personally John, Sports, tennis, Travel.Tags: Andy Roddick, England, London, Novak Djokovic, predictions, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Sports, tennis, Venus Williams, Wimbledon, Wimbledon predictions
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Every year my summer is consumed by the French Open and Wimbledon. And every grand slam of the year, I fill out a bracket (as most do with March Madness) to determine who I think will win each slam. Back in 2004 when Maria Sharapova was just an up and coming, I pitted her against Serena Williams in the Wimbledon final, even when Sharapova was the No.13 seed. That was unheard of, but it came true! I had Serena winning, but Maria won convincingly to become the lowest seeded player to ever win Wimbledon. That stat was changed the very next year when Venus Williams was seeded No.14 and won.
I’ve filled out the entire draw sheet based on what I think will happen. I will update later with how many of the first round matches I got right (and the percentage) in hopes of keeping a record here on my blog for those of you who are tennis fans. I’ll say that I know the women’s game better and predict that my percentage of correct guesses will be much higher in that bracket. We’ll see!
So after a few tough decisions, a lot of consideration, and a lot of time and paper wasted, here are my predictions for the semifinals, finals, and champions of both the men and the women’s draws for the 2009 Wimbledon Championships.
Men
Semifinal 1: (6) Roddick vs. (3) Murray
Semifinal 2: (4) Djokovic vs. (2) Federer
Final: (6) Roddick vs. (4) Djokovic
Champion: (6) Andy Roddick
Women
Semifinal 1: (5) Kuznetsova vs. (3) V. Williams
Semifinal 2: (12) Bartoli vs. (2) S. Williams
Final: (3) V. Williams vs. (2) S. Williams (repeat of 02, 03, and 08 finals)
Champion: (2) Serena Williams
Roger Federer Makes Tennis History Twice June 7, 2009
Posted by johnthrasher in Geek Talk, Personally John, Sports, tennis, Travel.Tags: Andre Agassi, Don Budge, Fred Perry, French Open, Rafael Nadal, Robin Soderling, Rod Laver, Roger Federer, Roland Garros, Roy Emerson, Sports, tennis
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The picture should pretty much say it all. Today Roger Federer became only the 6th person in history to win all four Grand Slam major tennis tournaments, by beating Swede Robin Soderling 6-1, 7-6(1), 6-4 to win the 2009 French Open. The other 5 being Fred Perry, Roy Emerson, Don Budge, Rod Laver, and Andre Agassi. Not only did he make history in that category, but Federer also tied Pete Sampras’ record for winning the most Grand Slam major titles – at 14. One more for Federer and he will be the winningest Grand Slam champion in history.
For those that don’t follow, Federer has made the French Open final the last 3 years, losing to Rafael Nadal each time. A lot of people wondered if he could ever win this tournament, and when Nadal was beaten by Soderling early in the tournament, a lot of people thought this would be Federer’s year.
I woke up in time to watch most of the last set, and I am so excited and honored to be watching tennis history like this go down. After winning this tournament, it’s fair to say that Roger Federer will go down in history as the best tennis player that ever lived.
Here is a list of the majors that Roger Federer has won, which I pride myself in knowing without looking up!
2003 Wimbledon
2004 Australian Open
2004 Wimbledon
2004 U.S. Open
2005 Wimbledon
2005 U.S. Open
2006 Australian Open
2006 Wimbledon
2006 U.S. Open
2007 Australian Open
2007 Wimbledon
2007 U.S. Open
2008 U.S. Open
2009 French Open
Roger Federer To Retire From Tennis This Summer!? March 17, 2009
Posted by johnthrasher in Geek Talk, Personally John, Sports, Television, tennis, Travel.Tags: Australian Open, French Open, Rafael Nadal, retirement, Roger Federer, U.S. Open., Wimbledon
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If you haven’t heard the news, Roger Federer the No. 2 tennis player in the world, and his girlfriend Mirka are expecting their first child this summer.
That’s all well and good, but during a press conference today in Indian Wells, California, Federer said some interesting things.
After defending the fact that his tennis will not falter when the child is born, Federer had this to say about the summer:
“It’s a nice time. And yeah, the baby is due in summer. Summer is a big word, yeah. I’m not going to say anymore.”
Does it sound like he has some sort of big announcement pending? Maybe it’s me reading too deep, but with his recent changing of the guard to Rafael Nadal, you have to wonder what he’s thinking regarding his career. Will he pull an Henin and retire without notice!?
Even With Oversize Racquet Roddick Still Sucks March 4, 2009
Posted by johnthrasher in Geek Talk, Movies/Film, Personally John, Political, Sports, Television, tennis, Travel.Tags: America, Andy Roddick, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, tennis, U.S. Open., USTA
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I have never been a fan of Andy Roddick, except when he actually won the 2003 U.S. Open. When I saw him fall to the ground and then hug his trophy, it reminded me of the mental image and dreams that I have about winning majors.
However, since then he’s just been a whiney “crank-ass” as my Mom would say. All he does is complain complain complain.
Here he is playing with an oversize racquet and ball, and I would say there’s a pretty good chance he lost that match too.
Don’t get me wrong, I know Roddick is basically our only hope of America winning another slam at the moment, but his attitude is just really annoying. Do you think he’ll win a major this year? Yeah if the top 5 players in the world all get sick at the same time, and he gets to play with that oversize racquet.
Actually, no, not even then.
