Venus Williams (L) and her sister, Serena Williams (R) embrace after their 3rd round match last Friday night at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Serena Williams played her best tennis since her return from having a baby, routing her sister, Venus Williams 6-1, 6-2. Probably because she knows her best?
Serena moved on to send home Kaia Kanepi who eliminated the world no. 1, Simona Halep in the 1st round. Everyone thought the match would be over quickly after Serena destroyed her 6-0 in the first set in 18 minutes, but she recovered and came back to take the 2nd set 6-4. Serena took on the challenge to win the 3rd set and match, 6-3.
Serena plays Karolina Pliskova next, tomorrow at 9am ET.
Maria Sharapova eliminated young, Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets.
Madison Keys is through to the Round of 16.
Madison Keys (Photo: BBC Sport)
Sloane Stephens, the last of the top seeds left in the tournament and Defending Champ, defeated Elise Mertens last night in straight sets and looks like she is in winning shape.
Young Naomi Osaka, is also still in it to win it.
Men
Things are coming down to a crunch with the Men as well. Will there be a Djokovic-Federer Semifinal?
Novak Djokovic eliminated Richard Gasquet easily in straight sets.
Dominic Thiem who eliminated Stan Wawrinka early, also eliminated marathon-setter, Kyle Anderson in straight sets, which is never easy to do.
American, John Isner eliminated the Canadian, Milos Raonic in an epic 5-setter.
Juan del Potro sailed through his match to reach the Quarterfinals. He plays John Isner tomorrow!
Roger Federer (Photo: Bleacher Report)
Roger Federer schooled the young Aussie, Nick Kyrgios in straight sets to advance to the round of 16.
Watch “US Open Hot Shot: Roger Federer Goes AROUND The Net” on YouTube here and the shot is legal!Â
Young, Kei Nishikori is still in it to win it, as well as 2014 US Open Champ, Marin Cilic.
Rafael Nadal (Photo: Bleacher Report)
World no. 1, Rafael Nadal was forced to rise to the occasion to eliminate hard-hitter, Nikoloz Basilashvili in 4 sets. That was quite a quality match! He plays Dominic Thiem tomorrow!
Stay tuned!
By: Gabrielle Burgess
If you liked this Blog, follow Suga Lifestyle Online, on Instagram (@sugalifestyle), Twitter (@sugalifestyleja) or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.
Serena Williams is out in her tutu for the US Open after her cat suit was banned. I mean, it’s not like the fashionable G.O.A.T would wear it again anyway.
Twirllll
Serena meets her sister, Venus today for the 3rd round at the Arthur Ashe Stadium at about 6pm ET on ESPN.
How has Serena been hitting? Check this video out from ESPN on her 2nd round win by clicking on the link here:
https://es.pn/2olVYVe
Upsets on the Ladies side so far
The no. 1 seed, Simona Halep crashed out of the US Open quite early in the 1st round! So did the no. 2, Caroline Wozniacki last night in her 2nd round match.
French and Wimbledon Champ, Garbiñe Muguruza also tapped out.
Who’s left for the Ladies besides the Williams Sisters who have dominated the sport for years?
The field is still wide open. But Defending Champ, Sloane Stephens is still in it to win it.
Maria Sharapova is still struggling with her comeback.
Then there is young Angelique Kerber, Naomi Osaka, Madison Keys, KarolÃna PlÃÅ¡ková, Jelena Ostapenko, Petra Kvitová and more!
What’s happening with Men?!
No upsets on the Men’s side just yet! Big name favourites Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are looking good and still in it to win it!
Stay tuned!
By: Gabrielle Burgess
If you liked this Blog, follow Suga Lifestyle Online, on Instagram (@sugalifestyle), Twitter (@sugalifestyleja) or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.
BRIANA WILLIAMS Won the Sprint Double (100m & 200m) for Jamaica at the Under 20 IAAF Championships in Tampere, Finland!
16-year old, Briana Williams won amongst a stacked field of predominantly 18-year olds in her 100m and 200m finals.Â
Jamaica’s Briana Williams edged out the World Leader from USA, Twanisha Terry to win the 100m in 11.16s.
She had a more convincing win for the 200m, clocking 22.50s in Championship record time.
Briana’s Coach, Ato Boldon says that she should be finishing high school before going pro. There is no rush.
Congrats Briana!
ANGELIQUE KERBER wins her 1st Wimbledon title!
Angelique Kerber is the first German to win Wimbledon since Steffi Graf in 1996. After a 2-hour delayed start time, she beat the mother of all Champions, Serena Williams 6-3, 6-3. She caught Serena on a bad day, off her serve and overhitting shots, but she held serve, mixed things up when she needed to and stuck to her game. Well done and Congrats to Angelique Kerber!
NOVAK DJOKOVIC shows he is back with a WIMBLEDON TITLE WIN!
Photo: ESPN
Novak Djokovic of Serbia won Wimbledon in straight sets vs. Kevin Anderson of South Africa, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 after a 2-year Grand Slam drought! It is Djokovic’s 4th Wimbledon title and 13th career Grand Slam title. Congrats Djokovic!
FRANCE WINS the WORLD CUP 4 – 2 over CROATIA!
Goal Scorers for France in yesterday’s World Cup Final
Kevin Anderson upset Roger Federer to reach the semis. He will face John Isner who took out Milos Raonic. Their match is scheduled for this morning at 7 am ET on ESPN.
Novak Djokovic who is attempting his comeback after an elbow injury will have a hard task ahead of him to get past Rafael Nadal to the final. Their Semifinal follows at 10 am ET on ESPN.
The Men’s Final will be this Sunday at 8 am ET. If it is a quick one, it will not clash with the World Cup Final that starts at 10am ET.
Women’s Final
Photo source: ESPN
Serena Williams is back in a Grand Slam final! She will play Angelique Kerber, who she defeated to win Wimbledon in 2016 in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3. The final is tomorrow at 8 am ET on ESPN.
Even though Serena is the G.O.A.T in the open era, will she get to 24 Grand Slams to match Margaret Court?
Stay tuned!
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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The Australian Open Grand Slam Tennis Tournament 2018
WOMEN
The ladies have been battling it out in some neck to neck matches. The focus has been on World #1, Simona Halep, former World #1, Angelique Kerber (21) and current World #2, Caroline Wozniacki.
Simona Halep from Romania a.k.a Jalapeño Pepper (Photo: GotCeleb)
Simona Halep has been struggling with a chronic ankle injury, but showed she was not backing out easily in the Quarterfinals after being down 3-0 in the 1st set to KarolÃna PlÃsková (6) and fighting back to win 6-3, 6-2.
Angelique Kerber (Photo: The Sun)
She then faced Angelique Kerber (21) in the Semifinals last night. Kerber has had a good run this Australian Open so far despite her inconsistencies in winning majors. She defeated huge contenders such as Maria Sharapova and Madison Keys (17).
On the other side of the draw, young Belgian, Elise Mertens had an impressive straight set win (6-4, 6-0) over Elina Svitolina (4). She has been a part of former Belgian Tennis Player and World #1, Kim Clijsters’ Tennis Camp. Kim has been texting her with encouragement for every match.
Elise Mertens (Photo: indianexpress.com)
Elise played one of the favourites, Caroline Wozniacki (2) last night in the Semifinals.
Caroline Wozniacki (Photo: www.usatoday.com)
So who’s meeting in the Women’s Final?!
It will be Caroline Wozniacki (2) versus Simona Halep (1)! Whoever wins will win their 1st Grand Slam title and will be World #1.
Wozniacki’s Semifinal vs Mertens
Wozniacki tightened up towards the end of the match versus Mertens, up 6-3, 5-4 (30-0), then was brought to a tiebreak. She managed to dominate and win the tiebreak, thus the match, 6-3, 7-6 and is heading to her 3rd Grand Slam Final. Will the 3rd time be a charm?
Halep’s Semifinal vs Kerber
The Halep-Kerber Semifinal was epic!
Halep was quite solid versus Kerber until she was up 5-0 to serve out the first set and probably couldn’t believe she got there so fast. It looked like she started to think about it and handed Kerber 2 free points from double faults. Kerber picked up her game after that until Halep broke her to win the first set 6-3.
The 2nd set was a ding-dong battle even though Kerber was still plagued with unforced errors. With Halep looking slightly fresher and up 8-7, both had lost 2 match points until Halep lost a 3rd match point on Kerber’s serve and she kept pressing until she took full advantage of the 4th match point in the same game and won.
Date and Time of the Women’s Final
Saturday (Friday night) at 3:30am
Suga’s Prediction
Simona Halep has the reputation of choking in major matches, always coming close and losing it mentally and physically. However, she has stated there is a new Simona now and I believe her after the courage she showed versus the stubborn, Angelique Kerber.
I do not think Halep is giving up on this opportunity. I also doubt it will be a close or epic final. Suga calls Halep for the win.
MEN
Marin Čilić (6) reached to the Semifinals after World #1, Rafael Nadal retired in the 5th set agonized by a hip injury.
Marin Čilić (Photo: The Sun)
I like to refer to Čilić as Sparta. Whether he reached to the Semifinals by default or not, he is quite a fighter.
He played Kyle Edmund in the Semis.
Kyle Edmund (Photo: www.express.co.uk)
On the other side of the draw lies the young, South Korean, Hyeon Chung. He is the first Korean to reach the Quarterfinals and the Semifinals.
Hyeon Chung (Photo: hindustantimes.com)
Chung sent former World #1, Novak Djokovic packing in the 4th round in straight sets. Djokovic expressed frustration with his chronic elbow injury.
Chung then went on to defeat Tennys Sandgren in the Quarterfinals who previously took out Dominic Thiem (5) in 5 sets.
Who does he meet next?
Roger Federer (Photo: The Indian Express)
He will meet the G.O.A.T and current World #2, Roger Federer tonight at 3:30am. Roger previously defeated Tomáš Berdych (19) in straight sets.
Were there any Upsets and Who’s Already in the Men’s Final?!
Marin Čilić has booked his spot in the Final and will wait on the winner of the Chung-Federer Semifinal! No surprises there. Čilić beat beat Edmund 6-2, 7-6, 6-2.
Stay tuned!
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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Garbine Muguruza (14), who reached the Final in 2015, upset World no. 1 Angelique Kerber today in quite a showdown, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Kerber hasn’t been playing well all year and even had a scare after losing the 1st set and going to a tiebreak in the 2nd set with American, Shelby Rogers in the round before.
Kerber will lose the no. 1 ranking as a result of losing in the 4th round to Muguruza.
Venus moves on to the round of 8! Â Photo: theguardian.com
Venus Williams (10) is also moving on to the Quarter Finals. She had a few early, hard fought matches but cruised pass Ana Konjuh (27) in the 4th round, 6-3, 6-2.
Photo: www.firstpost.com
French Open finalist, Simona Halep (2), who has never won a major, put a halt to Victoria Azarenka’s post-baby return.
The young American, Coco Vandeweghe (24) has been playing well under the guidance of her new Coach and upset Caroline Wozniacko (5) in straight sets. Wozniacki usually has difficulties on the grass.
Jelena Ostapenko through to the Round of 8! Photo: www.eurosport.com
Jelena Ostapenko (13) has not lost a match since her 1st career win at the French Open this year! She beat Elena Svitolina (4), who has been suffering from a foot injury in straight sets, 6-3, 7(8)-6(6).
Svetlana Kuznetsova took out Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets to get to the Quarterfinals. Radwanska had the task of beating Timea Bacsinsky in the 3rd round before meeting Kuznetsova.
Home favourite, Johanna Konta (6) is also through to the Quarters.
Quarterfinal Schedule and Match ups for Tomorrow morning:
Gentlemen moving on to the Quarterfinals!
Photo: www.express.co.uk
Gilles Müller (16) upset Rafael Nadal (4) in an epic 5-set thriller today, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 15-13! They went really deep into that 5th set.
Home fave and World no. 1, Andy Murray is safely through to the Quarterfinals.
Roger Federer (3), who decided to forego the Clay court season at his age, is doing well on his road to claiming a historic title. He beat Grigor Dimitrov (13) in straight sets to advance to the Quarterfinals.
Here is the Schedule for the Men’s Quarterfinals and Match ups for Wednesday morning:
Tomás Berdych (11) upset Dominic Thiem (8) in 5 sets. Berdych now awaits the winner of the Novak Djokovic (2) and Adrian Mannarino match tomorrow morning at 6am. Mannatino just defeated Gaël Monfils (15).
Stay tuned!
By: Gabrielle Burgess
If you liked this article, follow Suga Lifestyle or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.
Serena Williams (2)Â is on maternity leave and watching from the stands this French Open. So who is still in it for the Ladies?!
Photo of Venus Williams: ESPN
Her sister, Venus of course! Can Venus Williams (10) win another Grand Slam before she retires? It is very possible. She has been on top of her game and already through to the 4th round.
Who will stand in her way?
The Women’s side of the draw is usually a toss up, especially without Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams.
Photo of Angelique Kerber: ESPN
World #1, Angelique Kerber has been inconsistent and was defeated in the 1st round in straight sets by Tsurenko Makarova. Makarova was defeated in the 2nd round.
Suga thinks Venus’ biggest threat is Defending Champ, Garbine Muguruza(4), who is also moving on to Round 4.
Photo of Simona Halep: ESPN
Simona Halep (3) was questionable to enter the French Open because she injured her ankle in a tournament before this, but she is already through to Round 3. I don’t think she is in it for the long run though.
Agnieszka Radwanska (9) and Elina Svitolina (5) are through to Round 3.
Rounding off the top 10 ladies, Svetlana Kiznetsova (8) is through to the 4th round.
If Venus doesn’t win the French, my money is on her to win Wimbledon.
Men’s Singles
Photo of Rafael Nadal (L) and Novak Djokovic (R): ESPN
Novak Djokovic (2) seems to be back in Championship shape and he is now being coached by one of the greats, Andre Agassi. He is already through to Round 4 but may be destined to clash with the clay court specialist and veteran, Rafael Nadal (4)Â who is also through to Round 4.
Photo of Andy Murray: ESPN
Andy Murray (1) says he is feeling good again but he is still not at his best just yet. He will play Juan del Potro (29) in Round 3.
Milos Raonic (5) and the Austrian, Dominic Thiem (6) are through to Round 4.
Kei Nishikori (8), Stan Wawrinka (3) and Marin Cilic (7) who round off the top 10 Men are in Round 3.
Gaël Monfils (15), who is usually very competitive is in Round 3 as well.
Suga thinks either Djoko or Rafa will take the French Open for the Men.
Remember the veteran, Roger Federer is sitting this one out to save his energy for the grass and hard courts. If he stays in top shape, I believe he will win Wimbledon. Do we have another vintage Finals coming up at Wimbledon for the Ladies and Men? Possible.
Stay tuned everyone!
By: Gabrielle Burgess
If you liked this article, follow Suga Lifestyle or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.
No. 1 seed for the women and Defending Champion, Angelique Kerber was upset and overpowered by no. 35 American Coco Vandeweghe who hit 6 aces and 30 winners. Kerber lost 2-6, 3-6.
Photo: www.theguardian.com; Coco Vandeweghe
Does Serena have a better chance of winning her 23rd Grand Slam title now? Too early to say. Muguruza, Venus, Pliskova and more are still in it.
The no. 1 seed on the men’s side, Andy Murray was also sent packing. He lost to Mischa Zverev in 4 sets, 5-7, 7-5, 2-6, 4-6.
Old veterans and faves Nadal and Federer are still in it though and Federer looks like he is in great shape to win 1 more with Murray and Djokovic out of the way.
Football – NFC and AFC Championship
Photo: www.nj.com
The favoured Falcons face the Packers today in the NFC Championship at 3:05pm on FOX today. The Falcons injury list is now empty compared to a lengthy one for the Packers. Luckily, ESPN Scorecenter has reported that Wide Receivers, Jordy Nelson, Devante Adams and Geronimo Allison are now active for the game in less than an hour.
The favoured Patriots face the Steelers at 6:40pm on CBS for the AFC Championship.
Photo: www.nj.com
Enjoy and stay tuned!
By: Gabrielle Burgess If you liked this article, follow Suga Lifestyle or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.
The weekend belonged to Angelique Kerber and Stan Wawrinka! They both won their 1st US Open titles.
Photo: ESPN Score Center
Angelique Kerber (#2) beat Karoline Pliskova (#10) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Her first major won was in January at the US Open this year, beating Serena Williams and she looks like she has more to go!
She will be taking over the World’s #1 ranking from Serena Williams today.
Congrats to Angelique Kerber. The German has started to follow her idol, Steffi Graf’s footsteps very well.
‘STAN the Man’ WAWRINKA (#3) defeated World #1 Novak Djokovic to win the US Open in 4 sets, 6-7, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3.
Stan is now 3 for 3 for Grand Slam Finals. He was fully focused and did not panic at crucial points in the game. Even when the 1st set looked like it would have been lopsided, he came back and forced a tiebreak. He also recovered quickly mentally after coming back from so far to end up losing the 1st set and held for the 1st game in the 2nd set.
He made clutch shots when it counted and won the majority of rallies including arguably the best point of the tournament. Djokovic struggled with his serve all tournament and it definitely hurt him in the Final. Stan was determined, fit and ready for the battle though. Well deserved win. Congrats Stan!
Germany’s Angelique Kerber has a chance to knock Serena Williams from the top of the tennis rankings.
Serena will not only need to reach the US Open Finals to remain at #1, but if she meets Kerber she will also have to beat her.
Photo: wtatennis.com
If Serena wins the US Open she would not only pass the monumental 22 Grand Slam title wins, but also be tied with Steffi Graf for the longest stay at #1 (186 weeks).
Currently, Serena surpassed Martina Navratilova for the most Grand Slam match wins and is now equal with Roger Federer’s mark for the men. Amazing.
If Aga Radwanska wins the Open she can also be #1.
If Serena continues to win as well as her sister, Venus, they are on a collision course to meet in the Semi-Final.
Can Serena come out on top this time around with all of the pressure mounted against her again?
Roberta Vince who pulled off what was considered to be the biggest upset in Sports last year, beating Serena in the Semi-Final of the US Open is through to the Quarterfinals (QF) on the other side of the draw from Serena. She has dropped just 1 set so far in the tournament.
She could meet Kerber on her side of the draw who is also through to the QF after beating Kvitova.
Upsets so far for the Ladies?
Caroline Wozniaki just upset Madison Keys (#8) in straight sets.
World #3, French Open 2016 winner, Muguruza was sent home in Round 2.
Defending Champ, Lepchenko was defeated in Round 3.
Matches to be played today for the Ladies?
Simona Halep (#5), Radwanska (#4), Serena (#1) and Venus (#6), should be playing their Round 4 matches today.
What’s happening with the Men?
Photo: bbc.com
Novak Djokovic is through easily to the Quarterfinals, as well as Tsonga and Monfils.
Andy Murray, Wawrinka, Nishikori and Juan MartÃn del Potro should know their fate for the Quarterfinals today.
Juan Martìn del Potro is one to watch as he seems to be making quite a comeback.
Upsets so far?
Rafael Nadal was defeated by Lucas Pouille in 5 sets and has failed to reach the Quarterfinals for the 3rd straight year.
Wimbledon 2016 Finalist, Milos Raonic was out from the 2nd round. Veteran John McEnroe is no longer his Coach after Wimbledon possibly because of a conflict of interest since McEnroe is a commentator on ESPN. Looks like the change hurt him.
Juan del Potro beat David Ferrer (#11) in the 3rd round.
