For the 3rd time this year, Victoria Azarenka got the better of friend and rival Caroline Wozniacki. The Belarusian had already beaten her fellow former World 1 twice this season, in Australia and Doha. Azarenka’s mastery of Wozniacki continued with a hard-fought straight sets win, sealing the victory on her 5th match-point. Meanwhile Andy Murray extended his brilliant clay-court streak, with a handy win over France’s Jeremy Chardy. Murray has recently conjured up a new-found love for the dirt, after winning back-to back titles in Munich and Madrid last week, where he annihilated Rafael Nadal in the Final. Speaking of Mr Nadal, the 7times Rome Masters Champion got his quest under way for an 8th title, with a thumping win over Tunisian Marsel Ilhan.
ATP Rome Masters, Wed: 2nd rd
Murray bt Chardy: 6-4, 6-3 & Nadal bt Ilhan: 6-2, 6-0
Before two weeks ago, Andy Murray wasn’t exactly a fan of clay-courts, despite 2 previous SFs at Roland Garros. But over the past 14 days, the Olympic Champ has turned into a clay-court dynamo, who unlike Rafael Nadal hasn’t lost a match so far on the surface.
Triumphs in Munich and Madrid have made Murray an unexpected challenger for Nadal’s French Open Crown.
He extended his brilliant run on the dirt to 10 and zero, with an easy,breezy straight setter over Jeremy Chardy. It was a routine first set for the British No1, with Chardy just threatening with 2 bps in the sixth game. Murray though saved both of them, before sealing the opener by 6-4.
Andy then finished off the job quick time in the 2nd set, easing to victory by 6-3.
It was also a good days workout in the office for 7 times winner: Rafael Nadal. Despite getting a mauling at the hands of Andy Murray in Sundays Final, the World No7 insisted, it was still the best tennis he’s played all year so far.
The Mighty Matador then was in supreme form in the Ete4nal City, as he thumped Marcel Ilhan of Tunisia. Ilhan was luck a duck out of water playing Nadal, he literally had to be hoping for a miracle to rescue him.
Unfortunately for him that miracle never came, as Rafa annihilated his hapless opponent in 74 minutes: 6-2, then bagelling him in the 2nd.
2nd rd results:
David Goffin (Belgium) beat 13-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) 6-2 4-6 7-5
Viktor Troicki (Serbia) beat 11-Feliciano Lopez (Spain) 6-7(2) 6-4 6-3
2-Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat Pablo Cuevas (Uruguay) 7-6(3) 6-4
Fabio Fognini (Italy) beat 10-Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) 7-6(9) 4-6 6-0
Thomaz Bellucci (Brazil) beat 14-Roberto Bautista (Spain) 1-6 6-1 6-4
Dominic Thiem (Austria) beat 12-Gilles Simon (France) 7-6(5) 2-0 (Simon retired)
5-Kei Nishikori (Japan) beat Jiri Vesely (Czech Republic) 7-6(3) 7-5
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain) beat Alexandr Dolgopolov (Ukraine) 6-4 6-3
16-John Isner (U.S.) beat Leonardo Mayer (Argentina) 7-6(6) 6-4
WTA Rome Masters, Wed: 2nd rd
Azarenka bt Wozniacki: 6-2, 7-6 (7-2)
Caroline Wozniacki must be getting really annoyed at facing Vika Azarenka this season. That’s because the Great Dane for the 3rd time in 2015, failed to beat the Belarusian diva.
Azarenka posted straight sets wins over Caro in both the Australian Open and Doha. In Roma then it was exactly the same result.
Victoria came out all guns blazing, storming out to a 6-2, 2-1 lead. Down a set and a break in the 2nd set, Wozniacki had to react fast and quickly.
Boy she reacted and reacted well, going on to carve out a 5-3 lead. But the tenacious Azarenka just wouldn’t give up and broke back to level for 5-5, then broke again to lead 6-5.
That’s when things got really chaotic as match-point by match-point came passing by and Wozniacki somehow managed to save all 5 of them. In the end a valiant effort by Caroline proved dividends, as she broke back, to force a tie-break.
However all was not lost for the two-time Australian Open Winner, as she then proceeded to cruise through the breaker and seal the win by 7-2.
2nd rd results:
4-Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) beat Karin Knapp (Italy) 6-3 4-6 7-6(1)
Irina Begu (Romania) beat 9-Angelique Kerber (Germany) 6-3 6-3
14-Venus Williams (U.S.) beat Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) 6-4 6-3
10-Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) beat Heather Watson (Britain) 6-1 6-1
Alexandra Dulgheru (Romania) beat 12-Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) 1-6 6-4 7-6(6)
6-Eugenie Bouchard (Canada) beat Zarina Diyas (Kazakhstan) 6-3 6-4
Christina Mchale (U.S.) beat 13-Sara Errani (Italy) 6-4 6-4
8-Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) beat Kristina Mladenovic (France) 4-6 6-3 6-1
Bojana Jovanovski (Serbia) beat 15-Madison Keys (U.S.) 6-4 1-6 6-3
Daria Gavrilova (Russia) beat 7-Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) 5-7 7-6(2) 7-6(7)
2-Simona Halep (Romania) beat Alison Riske (U.S.) 6-3 6-0
16-Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) beat Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) 6-4 7-6(2)
All Things Tennis- from Hamza Shakeel 