Novak Djokovic took down Andy Murray in straight sets to win his 6th Australian Open title, 6-1, 7-5, 7-6.
No surprise here, Suga didn’t think Murray had a chance versus Novak’s recent dominance.
Congrats Novak!
Kerber upsets Serena and wins her first Australian Open!
The Women’s Australian Open Finals was quite a humdinger. Nerves got the best of Serena Williams in the 1st set. Her feet weren’t moving well, her serve was not on point and she had a lot of unforced errors.
The 28-year old German, Angelique Kerber broke Serena early in the 1st, Serena broke her back and then Kerber broke her again to win the 1st set 6-4.
Serena had better movement of the feet in the 2nd, served better, got her 1st ace and a few more, played better tennis but not her best and won the 2nd set 6-3.
In the 3rd and final set, Kerber started on serve then got the early break on Serena. Serena broke her right back and held serve to break even at 2-2. Kerber then broke Serena in the longest game of the match to go up 5-3 in the 3rd then started to smell victory. But Serena put that on hold and broke her to get to 4-5. Kerber kept calm and was able to break Serena to win the Championship and her 1st major title.
Kudos to Kerber for keeping up with Serena in those rallies and hitting many spectacular corner shots and 2 perfectly executed drop shots at crucial points in the game.
The number 22 seems daunting at the moment for Serena. Looks like Steffi Graf’s help last year helped Kerber. To keep Serena off her #22 perhaps? Steffi was the last German to win the Australian Open.
To catch what you missed while you were sleeping, check these channels:
Tennis: 5:30am-8am and highlights at 8-9am
ESPN Caribbean: 9-10:55am
Djokovic destroys Federer in a spectacular display in the semis at the Australian Open and more!
Serena Williams booked her spot to the Australian Open finals for the ladies in style.
Serena played an absolutely clean and dangerously good first set, winning it 6-0 versus Radwanska who moved well and didn’t play badly but didn’t play well either. She failed to capitalize on chances she had. Serena was also just too good and on top of her game.
Radwanska finally got on the board holding serve at the beginning of the 2nd set. Serena broke her then Radwanska got herself back in the match breaking back Serena at 3-3, then held at 4-3. Serena failed to convert break point for the first time in the match. Serena then came back, held her serve and stepped back up the level of her game to break Radwanska and serve 3 aces in a row, then won the next short rally in the final game to win the 2nd set and the match, 6-0, 6-4.
The 4-month break Serena took after the US Open loss and so much physical and psychological pressure seems to be working in her favour. Best of luck to her in the Finals.
Other semi-finalists left in the Australian Open included Johanna Konta and Andy Murray who both made history by being the first pair of Brits to make the semi-finals of the Australian Open since 1977, which was 39 years ago!
Konta was the first British woman to reach a Semi-final since Jo Durie in the US Open in 1983.
Konta, ranked 47th, had impressive wins throughout the Open, sending home Venus Williams in the 1st round and beat #21 Makarova in 3 sets. In the Quarters, she beat Zhang Shuai in 2 sets, who previously defeated Simona Halep and Madison Keys. Konta faced #7 Angelique Kerber last night.
Previously, Kerber defeated favourite, #14 Azarenka in 2 sets, who is thought to be more of a challenge to or fear for Serena Williams. It was the first time Kerber was reaching the semis of the Australian Open, but her overall Grand slam experience helped her to overcome Konta and she beat her in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2.
On the men’s side, #1 Djokovic vs #3 Federer was at 3:30am! It was their 45th and decisive meeting, as they were 22 a piece. However, Djokovic had the edge as he has won the majority of the most recent meetings, including the last 3 Grand slam face offs.
They were both ready and on form. Previously, Djokovic defeated Kei Nishikori in straight sets and Federer defeated Tomas Berdych in straight sets as well, even though the first set went to a tiebreak.
Last night, Djokovic came out blazing in the 1st 2 sets, probably the best 2 sets he has ever played versus Federer in his career. It was quite a display. Federer dug deep and got himself back in the match, winning the 3rd set. In the 4th set there was a delay with the overhead roof that affected both players, more so Federer, the 34 year old, as play was scratchy for the first few games but Djokovic came out on top with 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 and now is ahead of Federer in meetings with 23.
Note though, Djokovic may have won the match but Federer won the point of the Australian Open!
Watch it here:
In the last Semi-final to be played today, Andy Murray will face Milos Raonic, who beat Gael Monfils in 4 sets. Murray defeated #8 David Ferrer in 4 sets as well.
Spectacular night in tennis. The repeats will be worth the watch if you missed it.
Serena Williams is on watch again at the Australian Open!
Since one of the biggest upsets in tennis history at the last US Open when Vinci stopped Serena from achieving a Calendar slam, Serena has been plagued with injuries. But so have the other top 5 seeds for the women at the beginning of this year. Serena did knee surgery and ended up pulling out of the Hopman Cup recently so there were concerns of how well she could do this year.
Well, Serena steamed pass Sharapova in the Quarterfinals and she is looking like she is in good shape to not only face #4 Radwanska in the Semifinal tonight at 9:30pm on ESPN 2, but the whole Championship!
Suga thinks Serena is all business this year and will take all 4 Major Tournaments. History in the making. Go Serena!
Pink Apron Ja joined House of Loaves’ Pop-Up Mobile Truck last week!
You’ve seen it in the movies but now it’s here in Jamaica, popping up more and more at different locations – Food Trucks!
Three weeks ago, Thursday Life in the Jamaica Observer checked in with some local chefs and caterers and compiled their thoughts for ‘Culinary trends for 2016’. Quite a lovely piece. If you missed it, check it out on www.jamaicaobserver.com.
Pink Apron Jamaica’s caterer, Charissa Henry’s thoughts about Mobile cuisine peaked my interest, as I thought that it’s about time! There has been an influx of mobile eateries or trucks but from what I have seen, mainly junk food and hardly anything gourmet.
Social media plays a big part in the success of these mobile eateries in Jamaica and it was tested and proven last week. I follow Pink Apron Jamaica on Instagram (@pinkapronja) and was excited to see that they were doing a pop-up shop with the increasingly popular, House of Loaves Mobile Truck on Garelli Avenue (beside NCB’s Atrium), quite a central location.
What was on the Menu for the advertised Tex Mex Taco Truck?
Suga’s Experience?
I love the concept and enjoyed my lunch. Change and Craving were satisfied at once. Packaging was neat, the truck looked clean and staff were pleasant. Good service.
The truck was open from 11:30am-3pm. My lunch was at 1:30pm, so I got there just in time at about 12 minutes to 2pm. There were persons already in line but not a lot. Upon joining the line you receive a ticket number, a pink ticket of course. I made my order when my number was called and within literally 2 minutes I received my Grilled Chicken Bowl. Persons behind me were not so lucky though. The Chicken was almost finished when I got mine and I heard the Pork Belly finished as well. Just Sausages and Elote were left close to 3pm.
However, I saw that they noted the time when items were running low and would more than likely make the necessary adjustments for the next pop-up shop.
I overheard someone saying that they would like to call in their order but I think if that was put in place, it would stray from the concept. Other than that, feedback was good in the streets. The masses enjoyed the Pork Belly and the different cheeses and spiced used for the Corn cob (Elote).
My Grilled Chicken Bowl was filling. The chicken was bland but there were a lot more flavours in the bowl to make up for that, for instance, I am a cilantro, lime and rice combo fan so I enjoyed that along with the added tomato salsa flavour.
Affordable drinks were also on sale, from about $75JMD and up.
Follow @pinkapronja on Instagram to find out when and where their next pop up lunch will be with @houseofloaves that caters to your cravings. I can’t wait!
Panthers versus Broncos for Super Bowl 50!
Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos deflated Tom Brady and the New England Patriots’ dreams of going to Super Bowl 50 yesterday in the AFC Championship with a 20-18 win.
Hyped up match ups in the NFL are usually disappointing for the most part and this Manning-Brady match up was just that. Brady and the Patriots were not impressive at all. However, both teams had difficulty running the ball. But it was the Broncos who struggled all season and were considered as the underdogs that came through with the right plays and completed passes that Manning delivered!
It would be easy to say that the missed FG attempt in the first quarter could have costed the Patriots the game in the end but the Broncos also failed to convert a TD opportunity after acquiring an interception in the 1st half as well. The Broncos just were not going to let the Patriots win last night from the looks of it either. The Broncos stopped the Patriots from going for 2 after their TD with 12 seconds left in the game, then recovered the ball after the on-side kick. It was surely over then. Well done Broncos!
Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers booked their spot in Super Bowl 50 much easier than the Broncos with a blowout 49-15 win over the Arizona Cardinals last night.
The Panthers had a fast start again, scoring a TD after an 86 yard completion, leading 17-0 after the 1st Quarter and 24-7 HT.
Cardinals QB, Carson Palmer had horrible passes resulting in most of their turnovers. Larry Fitzgerald was not as impressive last night either or didn’t have a chance to be and had a few incompletions. In total they had 7 turnovers! The Panthers were too fast, too hungry and just too good.
The Panthers will face the Broncos at the Bank of America stadium in Santa Clara, CA for the Lombardi Trophy at 6:30pm ET on Sunday, February 7!
Jamaica National’s New Year of Giving Cash Prize
With just 3 clicks, help the non-profit organization, Rotaract Club of Kingston win Jamaica National Foundation’s New Year of Giving cash prize!
Vote for the Rotaract Club of Kingston by just clicking on the link below, selecting ‘Rotaract Club of Kingston’ and clicking ‘Vote’:
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NFL Weekend Roundup!
The fight to play in the Conference Championships was on over the weekend!
The Patriots booked their 5th consecutive AFC Championship with a 27-20 win over the Chiefs on Saturday.
The Cardinals-Packers game was the highlight Saturday night. Very exciting game. It all came down to a coin toss to head into OT. There was drama where the coin did not flip and had to be tossed again (See video below). Packers QB, Rodgers was quite upset that it came down to that, saw that it was on heads so called tails, then it didn’t flip. Then he did not get the chance to make another call before the coin was quickly tossed again. This situation stirred up talks of changing OT rules so the teams can play out a certain time for a chance of another Hail Mary. But it was clearly fate for the Cardinals who scored the TD first and therefore won 26-20, with Larry Fitzgerald having a huge game and scoring a TD.
Camera focusing on NFL coin that didn’t flip in Packers-Cardinals game:
The Panthers sent home the Seahawks yesterday, totally blowing them out in the first half. The Seahawks haven’t been handled like that in a long time. The Panthers scored 31 in the first half with 2 interceptions and it was enough to hold on to without scoring in the second half and despite a full force comeback by the Seahawks. The game ended 31-24.
Panthers QB Cam Newton stated that they just stuck to their game plan and it worked. The Panthers will face the Cardinals in the NFC Championship next Sunday at 6:40pm.
After a slow start, the Broncos overcame the Steelers 23-16 to book what is likely to be the final Manning-Brady face off chapter in the AFC Championship with the Patriots next Sunday at 3:05pm.
Zumba for a cause this Sunday with Shani!
Get a fun, excellent workout and contribute to charity at the same time.
ALL proceeds go towards Jamaica Environment Trust!
Help to build a better Jamaica. One Community at a time.